《Gears Of Rust (Abandoned)》 Ch 1 - The Village built over the Oasis. ¡°Ahem.¡± The judge cleared his throat as he stood at the edge of the iron village held up by massive wooden platforms, glancing behind him the elderly man saw the drop that awaited the accused. ¡±Before the court of Masters, bring forth the next accused.¡± It had been quite the slow day for the monthly court, only three accused and the last two were both cleared with minimal punishment. (¡°But this next one¡­¡±) the Judge thought as he brought up the holographic screen, glancing through it he saw the young child being forced to kneel by two guards before the iron platform. Up above them four Masters stared down at him in disgust, the higher ups of society, the leaders of their people. They looked down upon the dirty, rag wearing servant that was Jayce. Tall at the age of fourteen Jayce was a lanky child with black dyed hair hiding his crimson, light brown eyes and a long scar across his right cheek. He seemed terrified whilst staring down at his own handcuffed hands, shaking even as he lay there surrounded by dark glares. ¡°Judge Rodgers, continue.¡± One Master called down from their pedestal, an old fat woman with greying short brown hair and green eyes. ¡°Y-Yes Master Evans¡­¡± the Judge glanced up at the Masters then settled to staring down the child (¡°So young¡­how¡­¡±) he thought before reading out loud what he had just read on the child¡¯s accusation document ¡°On the count of thievery¡­¡± he began slowly before quickly raising his voice ¡°Soliciting illegal parts, Illegal manufacturing of weaponry,¡­On the black-mark count of first degree murder of a commanding Officer and hiding said count for several years. Cleaner servant Jayce, how do you plea?¡± The Judge, Masters and hundreds of citizens crowding around the platform at the village¡¯s edge all stared down at the child, as he trembled, as he poured sweat and paled. Jayce was innocent, he knew as much at least¡­¡±I-In-Innoc-¡± he tried to say. But was cut off as a young man wearing full guard exo-armour stepped out from the crowd ¡°Innocent? Are you kidding me? Pardon my intrusion Masters but I wish to speak.¡± The man was tall with short blonde hair and silver eyes. The Judge glanced up at the four Masters ¡°If the Masters allow, Commander Henry Troy has previously expressed his wish to give his count on the accused¡¯s story.¡± The four Masters didn¡¯t even speak to one another as a different one spoke ¡°He may.¡± Said a short man with dyed blue hair and beard, a green visor covering his eyes. Judge Rodgers turned to speak but Henry cut him off too as he began his telling, stepping to stand next to Jayce ¡°As many of you know three years ago my predecessor Commander Jean Teller was found dead presumably through an unauthorized raycast weapon discharge. The weapon was never found, the ray¡¯s output was not on legal level so it was deduced that the weapon used was home-made or black-market acquired.¡± Henry pointed down his armoured finger at Jayce ¡°This¡­¡¯Child¡¯ has been working at the barracks for years. True one would think he¡¯d grow loyal but it seems that growing bitter is not so an impossible chance. He knows the barracks and surrounding local in and out, he knows the shifts, he knows the patrol positions, he knows the servant paths and he also knows the Commander¡¯s timetable.¡± (¡°Like I had a choice¡­¡±) Jayce thought. As Henry spoke Jayce¡¯s shoulders slumped lower with each word, his expression darkening further ¡°To add upon that¡­¡± Henry continued to speak ¡°The accused is a known petty thief within the kitchens¡± (¡°A guy¡¯s gotta eat¡­) ¡°a trash rummager¡± (¡°¡­I have no excuses for that¡­I needed those parts!¡±) ¡°and as a trusted servant has had his hands about cleaning guard equipment. That includes weaponry, alone, with no supervision other than the first few months.¡± Henry glanced around the crowd, seeing their glares, hearing their murmuring ¡°The accused recently has approached Tinkerer Kylin with a home-made invention. This is when he was caught.¡± Jayce¡¯s shaking doubled in intensity (¡°But¡­I¡­¡±) Henry turned to the Judge ¡°Might you call Kylin over?¡± he politely asked. (¡°Well fuck.¡±) Rodgers nodded then glanced down at the thin pen like object in his hand through which the holographic screen was being produced. He pushed a couple buttons and off one end another ray of light was produced, forming the hologram of a tall elderly man wearing a labcoat. Henry turned to the hologram ¡°Tinkerer, what is your say of the¡­¡¯invention¡¯ ?¡± Kylin seemed anxious, his hands fidgeting with something as he sat behind a desk full of parts and tools ¡°Ah..Y-yes.¡± He reached off screen and pulled back a small pistol with a short metal barrel and long leather bound handle ¡°T-this¡­¡± he began staring down at the weapon. ¡°Tinkerer?¡± Henry prodded. ¡°Ah! T-This is the weapon in q-question!¡± Kylin exclaimed, his eyes rising to stare at Henry wide open. Henry coughed ¡°And?...¡± ¡°Hm? Oh, right.¡± Kylin raised the weapon forward ¡°I-It has been definitely made with make-shift part replacements, the energy unit was made to be one-use and the chipset is a tad too close to the barrel¡­supposing it was fired¡­the shot would burn away the chip destroying any recorded history of¡­well all recorded information would be physically wiped.¡± (¡°That¡¯s just how I found it!¡±) Jayce wanted to shout but couldn¡¯t find the courage to (¡°I-I¡­I just replaced what was broken!¡±) Henry made a gesture for him to continue. Kylin had begun staring down at the pistol again but noticing Henry¡¯s hand movements he snapped back to reality ¡°A-and from m-my deductions¡­the output ray would not only not be on legal levels but also similar if not the same as the ray levels of the supposed weapon used in C-Commander Jean¡¯s murder¡­¡± he cleared his throat, ending his statement. At this point Jayce looked up and stared at Kylin¡¯s projection dumbfounded (¡°It is?...¡±) ¡°All I hear is supposedly, theoretically and similarity.¡± Sighed one Master, a young bald man with a long blonde moustache and brown eyes ¡°Where are the facts? What do we know for sure? You bring me a fucking child and tell me he hand-built a deadly high-tech weapon with trash and close to zero-income then tell me he used it to murder the late Commander Jean?¡±. Jayce glanced over at the Master, brief relief coming to him before quickly being taken away. ¡°But the facts are clear, Master Jonathon.¡± responded Henry ¡°He was found with the weapon, which he states he made.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. (¡°I lied! I didn¡¯t make it! I¡­Fuck!¡±) Jayce continued his inner monologue, his emotions a chaotic mix of frustration, confusion and fear. ¡±He has the background to make it happen, he had the weapon¡­All that is missing is the why.¡± He gestured down at the now still Jayce ¡°Bitterness takes a long way, Masters. Commander Jean had constantly shut down the child¡¯s wishful thinking and blatant disrespect. Suggesting he could be of better use as a Tinkerer at the age of eleven¡­Although thinking back.¡± Henry smirked as he glanced at Kylin¡¯s projection ¡°Maybe he could have been, as morbid a thought as it might be.¡± Quickly turning back to the Masters he continued ¡°But what is done is done, can we forgive murder with potential?¡± Jayce¡¯s mind went blank, could they? The fourth Master now spoke, directly to Kylin ¡°Tinkerer, has the weapon been proven to be built by the accused? The child simply stating so cannot possibly be enough.¡± She was young, within her early twenties and an incredible beauty with short wrinkly black hair and bright green eyes. ¡°We¡¯ve t-tested the weapon in many ways Master Zyra¡­¡± Kylin immediately responded ¡°DNA, finger printing, replacement parts¡¯ market codes¡­they all come out as positive and point directly at either the barracks or specifically the ch-accused. His was the only DNA found on the weapon, h-his were the only finger prints¡­the market codes found on a small amount of the parts also point at scavenging from trashed weaponry within the barracks.¡± Jayce lowered his gaze down to the dirty wooden ground, he didn¡¯t know if to have hope on the holes within their evidence or give up. As he knew they were trying very hard to accuse him of something he himself knew he didn¡¯t do. But as he glanced up, all the sound was blocked out. Jayce looked around, at the disgusted faces of the Masters, the anxious face of the head Tinkerer. He glanced about, seeing the relieved face of the current guard Commander. He also saw many of the citizens around them. Servants he worked and lived with, wolfish grins plastered on their face. Guards he attended to, disappointment pointed directly at him. And others, the storekeepers he would procure things from, the workers he would pass by every morning, the miners he¡¯d salute off every month¡¯s change of shift. He knew then, no matter what he said that they¡¯d all already bought into it. No matter what he said, who would believe a lowly servant over the Guard Commander backed by a head Tinkerer? ¡°Accused, stand.¡± Said Judge Rodgers but seeing that the child was staring off in shock he signalled the guards around him, the two men roughly forced Jayce to his feet. He stared off at the edge, his vision seemingly blurring from the sweat and panic. ¡°How do you respond?¡± Rodgers asked. Jayce looked up and at the Judge, it was only procedure to ask the accused for a response before a decision was made. It was only procedure, as Jayce saw in all their faces, everything was already said and done. He was innocent. But to them? He was already guilty. This brought him relief somewhat, it was a strange feeling though. The weight of the moment seemed to drain away from his body, the shock dissipating entirely alongside the anxiousness. It was all already said and done, he couldn¡¯t think of any rebuttal and the decision might as well have already been made. It didn¡¯t matter anymore, so what possibly could he say? ¡°Jayce?¡± Rodgers asked once more with a raised bushy brow, feeling awkward as the child stared at him with hollow eyes. But he wouldn¡¯t go out like this (¡°Hah¡­Well that¡¯s just proper ain¡¯t it?¡±) no Jayce wouldn¡¯t go down quietly. ¡°It seems the accused has nothing to s-¡± Henry began to say but was cut off¡­as Jayce¡¯s laughter washed over all of them. It was a cold dreadful laugh, almost a cackle as his teeth clattered. With his body bent forward, held up by the two guards he rocked back and forth along with the laughter. ¡°Oh I¡¯ve got something to say.¡± Jayce said in a low tone yet sounding like a hiss. It was heard by everyone through the silence that had befallen the area. Jayce giggled madly as he looked up and briefly stared at the Masters with a grimace ¡°Screw you.¡± He said with as much malevolence as he could muster into his voice before turning to Henry ¡°Screw you too.¡± Then to the crowd ¡°Screw you all!¡± he shouted at the top of his lungs. Jayce pulled away from the guards, getting out of their grip as he shocked them with his outburst. And he ran, not at the Masters, not at Henry or at the crowd. Jayce ran towards the edge, as his feet stomped down on the ledge he leaned forward ¡°You can all go to hell!¡± he shouted, before leaping off. ¡°He¡¯s gone mad!¡± Jayce heard one guard say as gravity did what gravity did, but alas Jayce was far from mad. He had just accepted the situation, and decided to make the best of it. For if they had thrown him off themselves¡­well he couldn¡¯t have gotten enough forward thrust. Jayce was a lanky boy, tall but very thin. He had been kept in a cell for days, all alone. With little food and drink per day, given at least a change of clothing to survive the cold. Jayce was just a servant, but a damn smart one. As he opened his arms wide, the handcuffs coming off as if they hadn¡¯t even been locked in the first place. Jayce didn¡¯t fall, he glided. Using what leather and cloth his old clothes had to offer, he used the utensils given to him to eat with to knit them into his new pair and hide it all under the ragged coat they had also given him. Between his arms and torso, feet and legs then lastly between both legs Jayce had given himself wings of sorts. He made himself a glide suit. They all watched dumbfounded, as the young boy glided off into the distance and further away from the village built high up over the oasis below. As he chuckled, which then slowly turned into horror as he realised one small mistake of his. (¡°How do I¡­turn?¡±) Jayce thought and his laughter ended, glancing back he noticed he was getting further and further away. He¡¯d planned to land at the village¡¯s bottom then sneak into an elevator¡­but now the wooden exo-skeleton hidden beneath his clothing was set and solid. He couldn¡¯t move his arms or legs, barely his feet either. If he broke it, he¡¯d fall. All he could do, was stare off at the large platforms of wood and iron as they got further and further behind him. Then look downwards, as the tall trees beneath him got closer and closer. And lastly forwards, to see the seemingly infinite barren desert that lay before him. (¡°What¡­now?¡±) he thought, trying to figure a way out of his predicament before it got even worse. Seeing his angle of descent Jayce figured he¡¯d crash into a tree before long, which brought him slight relief. (¡°As long as it¡¯s not the sand¡­This is salvageable!¡±) he told himself. ¡°No! No! Fuck! No!¡± He then swore, as a gust of wind blew beneath him. Jayce ascended with the winds, gliding forward further than he thought possible¡­right over the oasis¡¯s edge and over the desert. His entire complexion paled severely as he stared down at the sand flowing below him, as he flew even further off. Further than anybody known to him had ever gotten from the village. Jayce¡¯s breathing was panicked as he glided over the barren land below him, as it quickly turned to deep sand and then to dunes. (¡°This¡­can¡¯t be happening.¡±) Jayce thought in disbelief, as the sand below him shifted. He acted quickly, putting all his weight on one side to turn ever so slightly just as the dunes beneath him exploded upwards ¡°Fuuucccckkk!!¡± Jayce swore, as the massive machine of blades burst out of the sand and up towards him. The thing was massive, like a gigantic worm made of iron with spinning blades covering its entire body. And its maw¡­blazing crimson as flames gushed through the razor fangs that spun around and out towards Jayce. Jayce¡¯s eyes widened to their fullest, as the goliath of metal ascended towards him. Breathing fire into his path. His slight turn gave him a different momentum than before though, and the flame¡¯s heat along with the beast¡¯s release of air pushed Jayce away. He flew out of control, one wing on fire as he spun and spun. The world spun before him, causing Jayce to grow queasy. Until it abruptly stopped spinning as he crashed into the dunes, stumbling down one¡¯s side in a cloud of sand and smoke. Jayce coughed out sand as he pulled himself together and tried to stand, having finally come to a stop at the dune¡¯s bottom. He hurriedly broke off the wooden exo-skeleton he¡¯d made out of his cell bed¡¯s parts, tore off the cloth and leather wings¡­Then ran, Jayce ran for his dear life as the goliath of metal screeched then turned down towards him. Flames gushing out of its circular maw, blades slashing the air itself as they spun around its body. The giant worm of iron blacked out the sky above Jayce as he ran, stumbled and climbed up the dune. Glancing up he watched as it fell down towards him. In that brief moment Jayce saw his entire life flash before him, his short, full of shit, horrible life. He stared death straight in the face, as it ever so slowly yet inescapably fell towards him¡­then he felt it. Jayce felt the sand turn beneath him. He didn¡¯t know what it was, he couldn¡¯t explain it fully but something inside him screamed. A part of Jayce roared out as he shouted as well ¡°I don¡¯t wanna die!¡± Jayce threw himself down the dune with every bit of strength his scrawny body had. As he stumbled down, the sand beneath him rose and parted. From beneath Jayce a second worm burst out, throwing him aside. As the sand flew over him, the last thing Jayce saw was the two goliaths clash mid-air. One¡¯s bladed side colliding with the other¡¯s maw, the maw being shredded as it melted through the other¡¯s body. Then the sand covered him, burying him beneath who knows how many inches of desert. Jayce then felt a shudder go through his entire body, as the sand all around him quaked once¡­then twice¡­and then fell silent. Ch 2 - The desert and that strange glimmer. Jayce dug his way through the sand, unable to breathe through being buried alive. He couldn¡¯t stay calm, his entire body shook as he pushed through. Thankfully he wasn¡¯t so deep, pulling himself out of the heap and standing up. ¡°Good glory¡­¡± Jayce mumbled as he found himself face to body with one of the goliaths of metal, its blades had stopped spinning as it lay still before him. He looked up at it, almost one third as wide as the village was tall. Then he realised he was still standing on sand, quickly glancing down at his feet and then about in a spin he surrendered himself to the only possibility of survival he had. Jayce rushed towards the seemingly disabled machine, grabbing hold of its studded hide and beginning to climb. As fast as his arms let him, as fast as his legs allowed him Jayce climbed. Hands holding onto metal studs, feet over the flat of blades he pulled himself up little by little. ¡°Oh pick up the gun J! You can fix it J!¡± he mumbled to himself while climbing ¡°It will be easy J! You¡¯ve got everything you need right in the damn trash J!¡± His tone was bitter, as he grimaced through exerting himself more than ever as he climbed the goliath ¡°Bring it to Kylin, why don¡¯t you J?! Easy promotion!¡± he continued to grumble ¡°What the hell was I thinking!?¡± As he neared the top the smell of melted metal hit his nostrils, as the air around him and the body beneath him began to feel warmer ¡°Make wings! Resist the fall! Sneak into elevator! Easy! No problem!¡± he suddenly slammed his fist into the goliath¡¯s side, cringing as pain filled his hand. He quickly grabbed his left hand with his right, slightly leaning back as he realised he had just let go. Jayce panicked as he began to slide back and off the blades¡¯ flat, putting all his weight forwards he quickly grabbed hold of one higher up and held tightly to its edge. Even as the skin on his hand tore from the blade he held on, pulling himself back as blood slid over the metal. ¡°Dammit!¡± Jayce grumbled as he held onto the worm¡¯s metal studded body, resting his head onto it he sighed ¡°A murder weapon¡­a damn murder weapon¡­¡± he then looked up, at the several meters that remained for him to climb. Sighing once more he gritted his teeth and continued to climb, slowly and carefully. Watching every stud he held onto, testing every blade he stepped onto before doing so. Until finally after a few minutes, he reached a spot he could actually stand on the body itself. Jayce still held onto the studs but from here on he crawled, quickly he made his way further up the worm¡¯s body until¡­he reached a sudden edge. Stopping right before he touched molten iron Jayce found himself faced with a massive gaping hole, a huge chunk of the machine was melted off and still hadn¡¯t cooled down. But what he saw ahead of the gaping hole surprised him even further¡­ A second worm, its maw was just as melted as the first one¡¯s side but¡­this one was still moving slightly. Its blades were still spinning around its body like many dozen saws, as it seemingly felt around its surroundings by wiggling ever so slightly. Jayce lay dead still as he watched, his eyes wide, his mouth gaping open and his expression ghostly pale. He stared, petrified by fear. As the colossal machine spun and grinded sand, wriggling about like a confused worm. He knew of these machines from stories told to him by his elders, how they surrounded their oasis but never dared dig under or move over. They were the reason nobody could leave the oasis, the reason nobody knew what waited beyond the desert. Nobody knew what they actually were, nobody had ever successfully taken one down either. These were just one known type of machine that preyed on the dunes, but they all had one name Jayce¡¯s people used. Rust Wyverns they were called, after the rusty metallic bodies they had and¡­ the seemingly beastlike mentality of hunting down their prey to the very ends of the world similar to the creature of ancient myth. The only exception to that seemed to be the grounds the oasis lay on, the Rusts wouldn¡¯t even leap over it and crash into the village which they could very much accomplish. ¡°Rust Wyrms?...¡± Jayce mused, remembering what this kind of Rust was specifically called. Jayce had heard many a story about these beasts of metal, about how once they had chased after a hover craft around the entire oasis day and night for three weeks straight until the craft ran out of juice and the entire crew inside was melted down alongside it. There were many recorded kinds of Rusts, each with their own trait of either size, speed or power. But each one had one trait in common, they were relentless killing machines and these Wyrms were within the size and power category. Jayce watched the second Wyrm carefully, glancing between it and the trees of the oasis several dozen meters off from where it came out. Jayce clicked his tongue in annoyance ¡°Now what?...¡± he asked himself, he had to get back to the Oasis. He glanced down at the first Wyrm¡¯s melted body, it was still too warm for him to scrap parts out of it. Looking up the day was getting close to sun set, after which the desert would become dreadfully cold. ¡°Two? Two hours?¡± Jayce guessed as he watched the sun through the cover of his palm, just then remembering the cut over it. Jayce sighed as he settled down, watching the second Wyrm¡¯s movements while tending to his cut. He watched for several minutes, waiting patiently. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anything else to do¡­¡± he mumbled to himself to pass the time ¡°I wonder how this looks from over there¡­¡± he then mused, glancing up at the village. The two goliaths would have been very much visible from there, and with a magnification tool they could very well see Jayce too. Time passed as he waited, the sun beginning to set when¡­As Jayce glanced between the village and the still wriggling Wyrm he noticed a glint of light reflecting the descending sun behind him. The glint was coming from the village¡­and Jayce had been around enough weapons to recognise the green light that followed. Quickly ducking behind the flat of a blade ¡°Shit!¡± Jayce swore constantly as a blast of green light shot past his head¡¯s previous position. ¡°Buckets of shit! Are they try- Of course they¡¯re trying to kill me!¡± he exclaimed angrily while crawling and ducking behind cover. Several blasts of energy followed, thankfully the village guards weren¡¯t the best of marksmen as all but one shot ended up colliding with iron and slightly melting it. All but one which singed right over Jayce¡¯s left arm, disintegrating a part of his sleeve and searing his skin. ¡°Fuaaahh!!!¡± Jayce screamed as he ducked behind a blade and held his arm, smoke coming off the ray-wound. Grimacing and gritting his teeth through the waves of pain that followed. Jayce breathed heavily through the agony ¡°Fuuuu!!...Fuck!¡± squirming as the sudden heat slowly radiated off his flesh, tearing up as he momentarily lost all feeling in his left arm. ¡°Hah¡­Ahaha¡­¡± He began to laugh, through the pain, disbelief and frustration Jayce laughed. ¡°Well¡­ain¡¯t going that way I guess¡­¡± He resigned himself, trying his best to fight the urge to glance back at the village. Knowing full well he¡¯d lose more than a patch of skin now that the marksmen had gotten used to the range. With the pain mildly subsiding, Jayce thought over his current predicament. He needed to get off the Wyrm and out of the marksman¡¯s sight. Between him and the shooter was the large blade that he had his back to, and in front of him were several thousand more blades. He couldn¡¯t just slide down the way he came up either, the blades were set in a way that there was no doing that unless he wished to be sliced in two from the groin up. Jayce continued to glanced around, looking for anything, any way he could get out of this awful situation. Then he noticed, several of the blades around him had been melted by the other Wyrm¡¯s breath. And they had still not cooled down, to the point that many were bent and fallen over the next blade over.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A thought came to him. And he acted upon it, turning to inspect the bottom of the blade behind him which was still entire whole. Looking at where the blade met the Wyrm¡¯s shell he saw the blade continued inwards, there were slits in the armour were the blades were embedded. Jayce guessed that the entire shell moved to make the blades spin¡­ That meant something held the blades to move with the shell, something small, intricate and many of it per blade. And intricate systems if approached with extreme heat, became very fragile. Making up his mind, Jayce prepared his heart and gut for what was to come. Rising slightly he angled himself to dash, towards the closest melted blade. ¡°One¡­Two¡­¡± Counting up ¡°Three!¡± Jayce dashed to the blade, ducking behind another as two shots were fired after him before he dashed again continuing his momentum and ducking behind the blade in front of the melted one. Jayce took several quick breathes, clenching his chest as he tried to slow his breathing and calm his nerves. ¡°Yeap¡­Definitely trying to kill me.¡± He nervously mused while glancing at where the two shots had collided, the iron was melted and fused inwards. After several moments of calming himself down, he snapped back to his original goal of rushing through possible death to sniper. Slowly sit-crawling forwards and towards the bent and melted blade, it had cooled down severely over the past hour but was still slightly malleable. Nowhere near enough for Jayce to break it but enough to be very hot to the touch. Except for the blade¡¯s tip which was a few feet higher than Jayce could reach. So he had to deal with some warmth on his palms as he clasped the highest part possible of the blade¡¯s edge and¡­suddenly pulled upwards with all his might. The sound of something cracking beneath the shell reached his trained ears, telling him this incredibly stupid idea might just work. He gave it several more nudges and pulls, giving it his all in each one before suddenly¡­something inside snapped and the blade came entirely out. It was so sudden that Jayce fell back and slammed his head into the flat of the blade behind him ¡°Grah!...¡± he groaned in pain, while rubbing the back of his head. He stared at the fallen blade, he had let go of the thing when it fell so it now lay next to him. Five feet long and three feet wide the blade was large but it was barely a centimetre thick. On the end it was once firmly connected to the shell, a long chain had been going through what seemed like a bike¡¯s wheel chain mechanism. It kept the blade in place while allowing it to spin with the shell. Jayce followed the chain with his eyes, one part had snapped broke and came out with the blade but the other end lead straight back into the slit. ¡°That could be¡­useful.¡± He thought and got back to work, grasping the chain with both hands and then realising it was still extremely hot. ¡°Crapbaskets!¡± he childishly swore in surprise before quickly letting go of the chain, sighing from the new injury to add to the ever growing list on his current body ¡°Alright¡­carefully this time.¡± He told himself while taking off his coat and wrapping it around the chain, then pulling with all his might. To his right he noticed another blade slightly move with his nudges, it seemed each chain went through several of the blades and probably all around the Wyrm. Jayce continued to pull, for much longer than before. Several minutes passed before finally, without the sound of snapping like earlier¡­ the chain began to come off. He pulled it out, little by little¡­carefully and pulling back his coat along the way until after a few more minutes he had a very long coil of the chain. ¡°Must of snapped somewhere a long ways away¡­¡± He still hadn¡¯t pulled it all out either, and he also had no way to break it so¡­for a few more minutes he continued to pull. As he did, he heard sound of clattering to his right so he agitatedly turned to see what had occurred. Jayce watched in surprise as off to his right a blade had come off and began sliding down the Wyrm¡¯s body, falling off and into the sand below. He had removed what kept the blade in place, and it was heavy enough that gravity pulled it down from its now weak lodge. Jayce continued to pull on the chain for a few more moments, watching as several dozen more blades came off and fell off. Until finally he had more chain around him than he probably had use for, so much that it was going to be too heavy for him to carry alone. ¡°Maybe they got bored and went home¡­¡± he mused while glancing at the blade behind him ¡°Yeah, right.¡± He sighed and grabbed the chain from an end that wasn¡¯t burning his hands. Pulling it over to the blade next to him he carefully entered that end into the blade¡¯s long tunnel, perfectly made to allow the chain in. He passed several feet of the chain through then brought it back around¡­and tied a few simple knots to keep it from coming back out. With the chain in place now he just needed to carry the blade, and the chain would follow. ¡°Hopefully it doesn¡¯t get stuck somewhere¡­¡± he lightly chuckled, mostly caused by his still present nervousness. Jayce lightly touched the blade¡¯s edge, feeling that it was still warm but not painfully so. Grabbing the blade by either edge Jayce heaved it up, it was surprisingly light for its size. At worst, it was as if he was carrying a thick wooden chair. Which was strange¡­because as far as he could tell this thing was entirely made of iron. Or was it? He didn¡¯t actually know, Jayce didn¡¯t fancy himself a miner or blacksmith. He knew about mechanisms, what part could go with what and a lot about electronics. The differentiation of metals wasn¡¯t his forte. He held the chunk of thin mangled metal on his back like armour, holding the two chains on either side to drag it with as he moved forward. Shielding himself from the shooter. Jayce made himself scarse as quickly as he could, dragging the blade on his back and the rest of the chain behind himself. The marksman didn''t fire another shot, probably knowing his caliber couldn''t penetrate the blade. Jayce made it safely down a few meters and out of sight, but the blade was going to be difficult to drag with from here onwards... Shrugging to himself Jayce dropped it over another blade and...slid it off, letting it fall down and clatter along to the bottom. All the while the chain was pulled after the blade ¡± Heh, quick delivery.¡±¡­until the chain whipped around Jayce¡¯s legs and a hook got stuck in his pants ¡°Shi-¡± Jayce¡¯s legs were swept from under him, his back slamming down onto the shell before suddenly being pulled down¡­towards a very badly angled blade. ¡°F-Fu-Fuck!¡± he swore while rolling to the left, evading being sliced in halve then rolling back over. As he fell Jayce opened his legs wide and pushed on two blade¡¯s flat sides that came up on either side of him, briefly stopping himself before the chain pulled on his leg once more and pulled it with. Jayce quickly reached out with his arm and replaced the leg, now holding himself between the blades with his right arm and left leg while his right leg was still being pulled. ¡°Okay! Okay! Ohohoho¡­This is a bad day isn¡¯t it?¡± Jayce nervously joked as he held himself, then began wiggling his caught leg ¡°Damnit get off!¡± He kicked and swung his leg left to right until finally the chain came off¡­by tearing through his pants. Jayce slumped down to the slanted ground, sighing as he watched the chain continue to fall down with a chunk of his lower clothing caught in it ¡°Just¡­Why.¡± Letting out a long breathe he stood back up, glancing to his side he noticed the chain had stopped falling. The blade must have reached the bottom. He looked over at the horizon, it was starting to get dark ¡°Shit out of luck today huh?...¡± he mused while glancing over the descent ahead of him¡­pondering for a moment what a quick death it would be. ¡°Nope, definitely still wanna live.¡± With that thought out of his tired mind, Jayce began the long climb downwards. Using whatever blade he found that was angled well enough for him to stand on and making sure not to slide into a badly angled one¡­he very much preferred to remain in one piece. It took him a while and once he reached the bottom, it was already night. Looking up Jayce briefly watched the illuminated night sky, as stars, far away galaxies and many other things lit it up. But nothing was brighter than the moon, a shattered and deformed object of stone that reflected the sun¡¯s light onto this side of the Earth. For as long as his people remembered, the moon had always been broken. ¡°Screw this world¡­so many others out there¡­why was I born here?¡± he pondered out loud whilst staring up at the bright stars. Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time this week alone, Jayce looked down and upon the gloomy and cold desert before him. ¡°So¡­what now you might ask to the brilliant Tinkerer Jayce, Ms.Chain.¡± mumbled out Jayce as he grabbed the chain that had been dangling over to his left ¡°Well I honestly don¡¯t know, all I got is you, a couple dozen sharp objects and fuck all else!¡± he pulled on the chain and the rest of it came tumbling down to the sand joining the rest. He sighed, again. ¡°What am I going to do?¡± he asked himself. Then suddenly the ground began to quake, even as he stood on a flat blade a few feet off from the sand below he still felt it. From behind the very Wyrm he stood on the sound of rumbling and heavily shifting sand filled the desert, as the ground shook and the machine beneath him trembled. Even as he froze, a quake was sent through his entire body. The rumbling ended a few moments later, the quake persisted for a couple more before it also disappeared¡­ ¡°That¡­was slightly terrifying.¡± Jayce chuckled squeamishly, amused and afraid at the same time ¡°So the wormie behind me didn¡¯t do that so¡­was that the second one or¡­Hell I don¡¯t even know how many of these things are out here!...¡± On that thought he looked down and around the sand below, there was no movement at all. Relieved but still alert Jayce made his way down a blade-platform lower ¡°Damn it¡¯s getting cold¡­¡± he noted while wrapping his coat around his lower half ¡°I¡¯m going to freeze out here before I fucking god damn starve!¡± Swearing this much seemingly made Jayce calmer¡­he thought it did at least. ¡°I need to cover myself with something more¡­¡± he glanced around ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it be a desert of blasted anything other than s-sand!?¡± Yet it was, and there was nothing he could do to change that so he continued to look around ¡°C-cover¡­s-s-somewher-re.¡± it was really starting to get cold. A thought came to him then as he looked over to one side of the Wyrm ¡°This thing does have a mouth¡­does it have a stomach?¡± Ch 3 - The Wyrm and what came out. Jayce stood over what he counted as the beast¡¯s lips, the bit of metal before the lines of teeth began. He stared into the dreadful cavern ¡°Looking for heat in an iron giant¡­I must be going insane.¡± He told himself before turning around, and that¡¯s when he heard it. A ticking noise was coming out of the machine, the sound ticked seemingly every second. Like nothing he had ever heard before, the sound continued on without end. Jayce felt drawn to it, his curiosity crushing him from the inside. ¡°What in the oasis¡­¡± he mumbled out whilst turning back to face the cavern, glancing about he noted that the Wyrm was still disabled so¡­¡±It couldn¡¯t hurt to check¡­¡± Jayce entered the beast¡¯s maw, stepping around the finely shaped blade-like teeth which he remembered rotating about in several rows. He stopped as the cavern got darker, taking out a small device from his pocket. His most treasured item, a multitask tool that helped him in all of his creations. It was like a short metal blue pen, with a white tip on each end. Jayce pressed one of the many smooth buttons on its side and one end suddenly lit up like a wide flashlight. He continued onwards, the tool now lighting his way. Jayce glanced around as he walked through the Wyrm¡¯s metal throat, seeing that at one angle there was a path of sorts for some reason. Else all he could see was rings of metal which made up the Wyrm¡¯s insides, all connected to each other with what seemed like some sort of elastic material to allow the machine¡¯s insane flexibility. Whatever allowed the machine to flex at all, Jayce figured was within the rings themselves. He delved deeper and deeper for several minutes, the entire thing was massive so it took him a while to even reach the massive hole the other Wyrm had made in this one¡¯s side. On this side though the damage was minimal, a few scattered chunks of missing metal in the rings. Jayce walked up to the closest one, aiming his flashlight inside to see. What he saw baffled him, mechanisms that he couldn¡¯t recognise filled the Wyrm. What seemed like electronics at first, on closer inspection were revealed to be organic. Like very tiny pipes with a glowing greenish liquid flowing through them, the wiring was entirely out worldly. Jayce backed off from the hole, confused at what he had seen ¡°I can¡¯t even¡­begin to understand how this thing was even made!¡± he chuckled, amused by his own ignorance. He continued on deeper, as the ticking sound got slightly louder. ¡°The Tinkerers would throw a fit at all this¡­¡± He grinned madly while glancing back at the holes he left behind, before turning to see where he was going¡­Only to be met with a wall. Jayce stared at the flat metal wall in front of him with raised brows, surprised at the sudden dead end. But on further inspection of the wall Jayce saw a metal door following the path he had seen before, upside down to his right and several meters higher than he could reach. ¡°Hm¡­I could¡­¡± Jayce thought for a moment, inspecting the path closer. The path popped out of the rings, laying a few feet out. It was made of the same material as what lay between the rings of metal that made up the Wyrm, a solid yet flexible substance. Jayce took several steps back, taking a few deep breaths before charging towards the path. The Wyrm was massive, so much so that it¡¯s cylindrical innards allowed Jayce to run up the side and grab onto the bars holding the path away from the actual rings. He put the flashlight behind his left ear and like threading monkeybars in a playground, he swung towards the wall. Reaching it after a dozen or so swings, he grabbed onto the doorway¡¯s side which was a few feet inward and pulled himself up into it. Jayce held his back to the metal door, looking downwards he whistled ¡°Getting back down is going to be¡­less simple.¡± He noted for later not to forget the fall. He then glanced around the doorway, looking for a touch pad, keypad or something that controlled the door¡¯s system. Beneath himself Jayce found a strange green pad, it popped out a centimetre or two from the doorway walls and had a greenish tint to its iron grey. There were no buttons on it, and Jayce highly doubted it was a touch pad. Taking the flashlight from behind his ear Jayce pressed another button and the shining end elongated then bent around like a cane, allowing him to flip it and still see wherever that end was aimed at. Pressing a third button, the other end opened up and from within came out a pointed tip like a pen¡¯s. Jayce pressed the tip to the panel¡¯s side and it suddenly shone red with heat, he began to slowly cut around the pad. Reaching back where he began to cut, the panel fell off revealing what lay within¡­more confusing organic wiring which Jayce had no clue about. Jayce sighed as he stared into the open panel. There were many theories as to what exactly the Rusts were. From a machine based lifeforms that long ago invaded their world to someone¡¯s invention gone wild. In reality, nobody really knew. Jayce was the first from his people to ever get this close to one, and as close as he was anybody back home would consider him dead a million times over. ¡°When in doubt¡­¡± Jayce said as he pulled the pen back slightly ¡°Start fucking around.¡± He then said¡­and began cutting wiring at random. Or at least that was his plan¡­before he cut the first one. Suddenly the green wires sprung out and wrapped around his hand ¡°What the f-¡± Jayce backed off and pulled his arm with the wires along ¡°F-Fu-¡± his voice suddenly changed, as his eyes opened wide ¡°F-Error, massive system failure. Immanent full Body shut dow-New Body detected.¡± With the momentum, Jayce had pulled his arm out and torn the wires off and out of the panel¡­his eyes returned to normal when he did and he took a sudden long breath as if he had been unable to. He glanced down at the transparent tiny pipes dripping the green liquid, confused ¡°What did¡­did I just say?¡± He stared at his own arm, noticing the wire he had cut first was inside his skin. In a panic, Jayce pulled on the wire and it smoothly came out from his flesh. He threw the wiring aside and began caressing his arm, entirely spooked ¡°The fuck!?¡± If he wasn¡¯t afraid before, Jayce was terrified now as he stared at the panel leaking the strange glowing green liquid ¡°Did¡­did that enter my sys-¡± he shuddered at the thought. When suddenly the door next to him slid wide open. Surprised and still spooked, Jayce stood up only to bump his head hard into the all too short doorway above him. ¡°Blasted¡­¡± He groaned in pain, falling to the side and through the door without his knowing. As he did so, Jayce fell a few meters from the severely off-angled room he had entered.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He hit the ground¡­wall with a loud thump. It was hard metal, and it hurt like a bitch. ¡°Oh¡­ohoh¡­F-f-fuuckk¡­¡± said Jayce as he forced himself to stand, bend back as he felt every bit of it on his back where he had hit the floor. As he did so he could see the doorway above himself, the door was closed. His eyes widened as he finally glanced around, finding himself in a metal room full of strange machines pumping large amounts of the glowing green liquid¡­seemingly out of a singular tank in the very centre of the room. The entire place was lit up by the green light, mainly coming from the tank. And Jayce noticed, the ticking noise was also coming from said tank of liquid. Along with the ticking, the green light dimmed and brightened with. He was entranced by it, as it suddenly permanently dimmed and the ticking stopped. Jayce was speechless from the fear, yet his curiosity prevailed and he approached the tank. He was a mere foot away from the seemingly glass cylinder, the glow dimming further the closer he got until the liquid within was entirely clear. Jayce stared inside, his eyes widened, his entire body petrifying with shock as he saw what floated within. It was a head. A severed human head. Staring straight at him. And it fucking blinked. ¡°Ah¡­Uh¡­Wa¡­¡± Jayce muttered pointlessly as he continued to stare at the head. It seemed male from the bulky features, entirely hairless with bright green eyes. Its skin was filled with pulsating veins of green light, unlike normal veins though these were¡­systematic, like a circuit. ¡°Hello.¡± The head spoke. Jayce felt like he was going to barf, pass out and cry at the same time. As he took a long step back, all too long as he ended up falling onto his ass. ¡°Hola?¡± the head spoke once more with question and seemingly a raised brow ¡°§©§Õ§â§Ñ§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§å§Û§ä§Ö?¡± it spoke again¡­¡±N¨« h¨£o?¡± then again. ¡°What the actual fuck¡­¡± said Jayce as he paled considerably, crawling back a few steps while continuing to stare into the tank. ¡°English¡­right.¡± The head said, comprehendible to Jayce once more ¡°Listen kid, I don¡¯t got much time so I¡¯ll explain this as quickly as I can. Your world is about to be turned up side the fucking down and there is nothing you can do about it.¡± Jayce tilted his head slightly to the left, his eyes still wide, his mouth half open and his face paper pale ¡°Huh?¡± The head sighed soundlessly ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t try, good luck kid. This machine has decided I¡¯m no longer useful¡­and you¡¯re available. I can¡¯t stall it any longer, and I doubt a lanky ass twerp like you can control this¡­¡¯thing¡¯. If I were you, I¡¯d try to blow my brains out within the next ten¡­nine¡­Eight¡­Seven.¡± Jayce stood up quickly and ran towards the wall, slamming both his hands onto the metal as he shouted ¡°LET ME OUT! LET ME THE FUCK OUTA HERE!¡± banging on it with both fists as tears rushed down his terrified expression. ¡°Three¡­Too¡­Two¡­Late¡­One¡± the sound of a loud pop from behind him reached Jayce¡¯s ears and he quickly turned to look back¡­the head had exploded all over the cylinder¡¯s inside. Skin, bone, flesh and green brain matter was splattered all over the glass, slowly dissipating¡­seemingly disintegrating into nothingness within the liquid. Then it all happened at once. The glass tank melted away into the same green liquid it contained, as did the rest of the room around him. The liquid came from every side at once, engulfing Jayce entirely. Jayce sank and drowned within the bright green liquid, as he saw right in front of his own wide open eyes...cybernetic-like lines flowing through it. The liquid wasn¡¯t liquid at all, it didn¡¯t feel wet nor dry. It wasn¡¯t either cold or warm, he just didn¡¯t feel it at all other than the pressure it was putting on his entire body. Suddenly Jayce¡¯s mouth was forced open by some unknown force, he was unaware that the liquid was flowing into him¡­through every single orifice available. That is, until he felt the pressure of the flow on¡­each one. He wiggled, squirmed and shook around randomly. Panicked, confused and utterly afraid. He watched through his eyes as they too were forced to remain fully open, as the entire Wyrm melted around him from the inside out. And the liquid all converged on him, a never-ending stream of bright see-through green that flowed into his body. Until finally, after several moments. The stream of liquid ended, with the last tendrils of green flowing into his eyes, mouth, ears, nose and clothing. ¡°Computing.¡± Jayce said in a mechanical voice not his own, his face becoming a blank slate ¡°Central processing organ 30% loaded.¡± Jayce suddenly twitched, grabbing hold of his head as his expression warped to agony ¡°Ah!!¡± he screamed in pain ¡°Get the fuck out! Get out! Get out!¡± Before twitching back into emptiness ¡°Central processing organ 40% loaded.¡± Then again, back to screaming and wriggling in pain ¡°No! Get out! Get out of my fucking he-¡± And again returning to his blank expression, with wide hollow eyes staring off at nowhere in particular ¡°Central processing organ 50 per-Firewall computing.¡± Jayce twitched once more, slamming his head into the sand beneath him as he shouted ¡°No!¡± The switching between these two states continued for Jayce, getting faster and faster¡­ ¡°Firewall resisting take-over, Central processing or-¡± ¡°Ahh!! The fuck!? Wh-¡± ¡°Firewall res-¡± ¡°M-My-¡± And finally, Jayce fell limp. He lay there unmoving, making not a single sound, his eyes wide open as his face lay in the sand. As slowly green circuit like bright veins began forming all over his skin. And suddenly, he began to grow. Elongating, widening and¡­aging. Jayce began to age, his body growing older as the veins spread. With this change his eyes also began to shine a bright green, his hair raising straight to the very tips as the black dye dissipated briefly revealing the dark crimson. Within the dark red hair, some began turning to a bright green. For several hours these changes went through his body, slowly, he was being altered. Until the sun finally began to rise behind the village built over the oasis, off in the distance. And with it, the changes ended. Which is when Jayce began to stand, calmly he stood up. An entire foot taller, once the age of fourteen now closer to his mid-twenties. His hair, a mix of dark red and bright green hairs. His eyes, a deep green with yellowish methodical line patterns. His skin, full of green veins in the same pattern as the yellow in his eyes¡­as slowly both faded away before disappearing completely. Jayce took a long breath ¡°Firewall resisted invasive element. Element has been assimilated¡­computing.¡± He looked down as he raised both his arms into view, clenching his fists as he smiled coldly ¡°Invasive element is no more¡­yet neither is the one known as Jayce¡­Hm.¡± The creature chuckled, was it human? Was it machine? Or was it something else and neither? ¡°This one needs a personifier, an identifier, a name. Hm¡­¡± the being spoke to itself, seemingly entirely ignoring the shifting sand to its right. ¡°This one shall merge old identifiers, human name Jayce and¡­invasive element name? Element identifier? CyberDNA.V.4.3.2178¡­Cyber Jayce?...Insufficient. Reprocessing¡­recalibrating vocal patterns too.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± it hummed thoughtfully when suddenly the sand to its right exploded outwards, as a Wyrm burst out several meters away. Its massive form ripping through the sand and heading directly towards him, its teeth rotating threateningly as they approached him. He raised his right arm towards the looming Wyrm, as it deformed into the green liquid and then reformed into a metallic claw-like arm with a single antenna protruding out of the palm and the three clawed fingers surrounding it. The antenna buzzed with green electricity, as the energy surged into the claws and then suddenly forwards in a burst of lightning. The electricity collided with the incoming Wyrm, melting it to green liquid as the energy passed through its entire body. He was splattered with the green liquid which quickly changed colour to blood-red, then evaporated away into nothingness. ¡°Huh¡­a thought does come to mind.¡± The being continued talking to itself, as if nothing had just happened ¡°They call these creations of element¡­Rust Wyverns? Wyverns, mythological creatures of frenzy. I am¡­in part, of similar make. Then I should be called¡­something also out of myth¡­Dragon? Draco? No¡­Angel?...Nah¡­¡± He thought it over for a few moments, while glancing around¡­until his gaze fell upon the village as the sun rose behind it¡­ Suddenly anger flashed within, before his better judgement flushed it out ¡°Hmph, I am no Angel but a Dragon is not enough¡­Ah!...¡° he grinned widely, revealing his now perfect teeth ¡°I shall be called after what they should call me!¡± Wickedly he smiled, whilst staring at the village ¡°After what I¡¯ll do to them¡­for what they did to me. Demon...Devil?...Daemon.¡± he chuckled as he raised his claw arm to lay in between his sight and the village. ¡±I¡¯ll be called Daemon.¡± Electricity sparked viciously through his claws. ¡°And I¡¯ll turn this entire oasis into my personal hell pit.¡± Ch 4 - The spire and his prowess. Daemon gave out a long exhilarated sigh, as he stood at the edge of the village above the oasis. Coldly ignoring those who passed him by, people would give him long curious glances. He had changed his clothing using his new augmented abilities, wearing now a sleek dark green suit with gold trimming, bowler hat with a gold band and golden goggles with green lenses. Daemon found that through expending his own body mass he could create things through the green energy that flowed through him. And the green energy was highly condensed into his body mass. He could create things like weapons, or clothing. Or like before, alter his own body. Using this ability he snuck back into the village, unseen but very much noticed as his attire gained him all kinds of attention. But he didn¡¯t care, he enjoyed the attention. Smiling all the while as he entered the village proper, glancing at the bulky iron buildings through his new elevation. To Jayce the buildings looked large and terrifying, to Daemon they just looked ugly and old. The village though was still very much large. The Oasis was a land mass of around 800km squared, massive compared to normal standards. Above it was the village, a beastly construct standing around 600km squared. Held up by steel pillars, the buildings were iron reinforced with a steel skeleton. The paths people walked on were wooden, held up by iron and minimal steel. From afar it might have looked impressive, but up close the village was rusty, old and poorly maintained. Yet within it lived over 6 million people. It was called The Village but in reality, it was an entire city. An entire city Daemon looked forward to burning down to the ground, as he roamed its streets pondering and plotting. (¡°First thing¡¯s first, I need all the information I can get my hands on.¡±) He decided, having little to go on other than Jayce¡¯s memories. (¡°And what better place to gather information at¡­than the Masters.¡±) Daemon then thought with a smirk, as he stopped in front of the city¡¯s central governmental building. Standing a dozen times taller than the rest, the building was a steel skyscraper. Starting out bulky and armoured till one third up where the building turned sleek, glass paned and posh. This was where the Village¡¯s high class lived, where the leaders of these people watched from above. Daemon stood in front of the Master Spire, an amused smirk as he was faced with a small army of guards at its entrance. Wearing a full suite of powered exoskeletal armour, they stood tall and menacing wielding a long staff-rifle in both hands. He knew exactly what he was facing, but fear was absent in his mind. The emotion alien to his augmented methodical thinking. He had a goal, had thought up several paths to achieve it. And achieve he would. Daemon stepped away from the entrance, it was still morning so the sun was bright out. Most might have waited for night time but¡­Daemon wasn¡¯t like most. Turning the corner and into the building¡¯s shadow he glanced about and stepped out of sight, finding himself hidden and unwatched he began. His mind was like a computer, reading millions of lines of code which he could call upon to activate certain things the energy could do. The energy was full of this strange yet understandable language, he didn¡¯t know how he could understand it but something inside his head decoded it as he went through it. Within the data that lay inside his head Daemon found many things he could make the energy do. While still outside the village he had tested with many things, understanding what each of these ¡®Scripts¡¯ did. Some accessed a specific part of his body, bones, skin, muscles and such. Others were a call to alter the previously called on part, changing it to iron, steel, glass or any other material Daemon knew the molecular make of and he knew many. It was all stored inside his head in long rows of data. And now he accessed that data, quickly making sense of it and calling upon script after script to create a new ability like he had with morphing his hand to a lightning blaster. He called upon his skin, then activated the alteration script. Daemon went through the recorded materials that lay in a list within his mind, ¡®scrolling¡¯ over each one he¡¯d gain access to a short description of each. It was a very long list but alas his mind was working faster than the primitive computers he sensed within the building he was standing by. He found what he was looking for, called upon it and the alteration began. His skin glimmered briefly before suddenly beginning to disappear, starting from his hands, toes and head the alteration working from out to inwards as it was coded. Quickly Daemon called upon his clothing and hair, then activating the same alteration on them too. Before long he was entirely invisible within the building¡¯s shadow. He had altered his skin, hair and clothing to a certain material whose properties allowed this pseudo-invisibility. But he had to be careful, as movement made his entire body shimmer like glass next to a flame. So he moved fast, lowering his stance he accessed his legs and bones. Reinforcing the bones to a stronger material he then altered his legs entirely, accessing several materials at once with the alteration script and then accessing a new script. He gave the material new form, reshaping his legs at the same time until he stood over two long sonic propellers. Silent yet powerful, he had copied the propelling system from a bike-like vehicle these people used. He then altered some of energy into fuel for the propellers, willing them to activate he waited for them to charge up. Silently they briefly whistled, before suddenly Daemon shot up into the air leaving behind a cloud of spreading dust within the shadows. It was a brief burst but enough to shoot him all the way up to half the building¡¯s height. He reactivated the propellers at minimum power, allowing him to hover in place. He altered his back then, giving himself tiny propellers to hover close to the glass pane he stood before. Daemon looked through the red tinted window, seeing the lavish living room within. He carefully pressed his left hand to the reinforced glass, slowly as to not shimmer. He sensed the alarm system within the glass, and connected to it. Visibly one could see yellow lines of light forming on the glass, spreading and flowing in perfect 90 degrees angles. Daemon was surprised at first, he didn¡¯t willingly do that¡­ But accepted things as they were, and made use of it as inside his head he gained access to the upper security system within the building. He forced his way through, the primitive computer language it was made of proving to be nothing compared to what flowed through his mind. Within his mind Daemon could easily alter and change anything he connected to, and as he processed the security system he found doors and windows into others. He roamed through the different systems, searching, hunting down any database that he might find an interest in. There were many databases he easily gained access to, but none that interested him that much. Sure he could have drained the Master¡¯s bank accounts but seeing as he was going to physically burn them later¡­what was the point?... (¡°Nothing on their databases¡­a hard database perhaps?¡±) He then thought, and logged off from the system. Pulling his hand away as the window pane in front of him flipped open. By his own doing. Daemon hovered inside, the window closing behind him as his back and feet turned back to normal. The floor was smooth tiled marble, the walls birch wooden and ceiling whole marble. All around him he could see priceless decorations that would have costed someone outside more arms than they actually had. The white wood alone was priceless, difficult to grow due to the environmental requirements needed. The marble was also very rare, the mines having little to offer in its regard. Daemon immediately knew he wasn¡¯t in just any Master¡¯s room, but a well-regarded one. Looking around he figured he might as well get cosy, finding himself a costly looking peach arm-chair he sat down. Making himself comfortable he took off his bowler hat and laid in deeper into the soft material ¡°I could get used to this.¡± He grinned to himself. He waited a few minutes, until finally the sound of shuffling in the next room caught his attention. (¡°They¡¯re here.¡±) He thought and stood up, putting his hat back on he stood in the centre of the room with an expectant smile. Invisible. The wooden door ahead slid wide open as armed men rushed inside, five of them wearing light suit armour and wielding small ray cast weapons for close range engagement. They silently checked the perimeter, looking into other rooms with what seemed to be a rush. Nobody had ever successfully infiltrated the Master Spire, so the guards having received a perimeter breach were more than just anxious. Daemon hadn¡¯t hid his access to the system at all, so the system had recorded the anomaly that was his access and tracked the location of it.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. He noticed that the guards relaxed as another entered the room, casually this time ¡°Nothing here.¡± The man noted as another guard turned to him. ¡°What the hell captain?¡± asked a female guard ¡°Not even a breach, nothing.¡± She was scanning the room for electronic anomalies with her goggles but she couldn¡¯t find anything, her technology unable to detect the being standing right beside her. ¡°Must have been an error then, the system hasn¡¯t needed change in years¡­¡± suggest another guard as he stepped out of the next room. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­We¡¯d have to check in with Judith and-¡± began saying the Captain before being cut off as an unarmoured woman pushed him aside from the doorway. ¡°Done with your check? Can you get out now?¡± a woman Daemon recognised as Master Zyra, one of the four called on to judge Jayce¡¯s case. ¡°Oh but I¡¯ve only just arrived.¡± Suddenly spoke a different voice, Daemon¡¯s voice. Zyra¡¯s eyebrow immediately rose as she stared at the guard Captain, until she and everyone else noticed that it was neither of them who spoke. Daemon dropped his invisibility. The six guards immediately turned their weapons towards him, some from the side rooms moved to surround him while the Captain moved to stand in front of the Master as she stared with wide surprised eyes at Daemon. ¡°Breach found, requesting assistance flo-¡± One guard began speaking into their helmet. ¡°It¡¯s no use.¡± Commented Daemon as he glanced at the guard, then at the ground where yellow lines of light had spread from his feet and into the guard¡¯s armour ¡°Nobody is listening.¡± The guards immediately stepped away from the strange lights, but they clung to them as electricity flowing through the air. One even began kicking around his left leg, but it was no use, the light stuck on. ¡°Keep, calm.¡± Said the Captain as he noticed the quickly faltered guards around him, confused at what was happening. ¡°Bjorn, how are the comm-¡± ¡°I grow bored of this.¡± Sighed Daemon as he took a step forward, and each guard¡¯s weapon straightened at his head. Before suddenly a jolt of electricity surged through each of their suits, decapacitating them all. As the guards fell unconscious to the floor, Daemon stepped closer to Zyra. Who seemed strangely calm, faking calm actually. Sternly looking at Daemon, as she clenched her hands but keeping them low. ¡°W-Who are you?!¡± she demanded. Daemon didn¡¯t answer at first, he was going through the guard¡¯s coms and had gained access to their systems. He searched it for something of interest but yet again, nothing. He sighed before turning to fully face the Master ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you, so let¡¯s just keep it short because I¡¯m in need of your head at the moment.¡± Zyra paled as she glanced about at the fallen guards ¡°M-My h-head?¡± she stuttered in fear. Daemon smirked ¡°Apologies, I meant your mind. I¡¯d like to have a pick at it.¡± His smirk turned into a wide wicked smile, as his right hand suddenly changed into metal. Zyra immediately stepped back, before taking several more. Through the confusion she tripped and fell back, trembling as she sat there. Daemon chuckled lightly as he raised his now metal arm in front of himself ¡°You don¡¯t need to know who I am, only what I am. So tell me, Master.¡± He crouched down before her ¡°What am I?¡± he asked, whilst looking into her eyes. Which he noted¡­weren¡¯t as terrified as her demeanour showed. ¡°Fucked that¡¯s what.¡± Said Zyra as she suddenly kicked forward with one leg, which Daemon grabbed with his left hand¡­now noticing that she wasn¡¯t terrified at all, just a good actor. Daemon tilted his head to the left as her other leg shot forward towards it, evading the painful looking shoes she was wearing before grabbing that leg too with his metal hand. He sighed in annoyance and stood up, carrying her up with ¡°This is going to be bothersome isn¡¯t it¡­¡± he mumbled out before noting to himself that she was wearing a night dress¡­that fell down as he pulled her up. ¡°Don¡¯t look!¡± Zyra shouted as she struggled with her legs¡­her naked lower body gloriously in full view. ¡°Hm? Oh goo-¡± Daemon¡¯s eyes went wide but he wasn¡¯t given the chance to finish as Zyra¡¯s leg struggled out of his left hand¡­and kicked him across the face. Daemon stumbled back, completely letting go of her as he held his jaw ¡°F-Fwuck whoman¡­¡± he groaned. That kick somewhat damaged his jaw¡­ ¡°Suits you!¡± shouted Zyra as she pulled her dress down and stood up, rushing to a nearby table on which she opened a touch-lock and pulled out a gun. Turning back to face Daemon she watched as his unset jaw changed to a greenish light before reshaping back into a well set one¡­ ¡°What¡­are you?¡± she mumbled out while aiming the gun at him with both hands. Daemon caressed his fixed jaw as he turned to face her ¡°Oh you don¡¯t know? Well shit, I don¡¯t either.¡± He glanced at her gun ¡°What I do know, is that won¡¯t help you.¡± Zyra smiled devilishly ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± then pressed the trigger. The weapon quickly charged up, volatile red energy forming in its barrel before suddenly bursting forwards and towards Daemon. It was completely silent, not a sound was made as the deadly ray of cast energy flew towards him. Daemon didn¡¯t make a flinch, he didn¡¯t react where he very much could have even though the projectile of energy was so fast. He stood there, smiling as it burned through his left bicep. There was no force behind it, nothing like a bullet. Just heat, quickly spreading and disintegrating on touch. He grimaced as his flesh was seared, a brief grimace before suddenly the pain was all gone. He shut it off¡­Daemon turned off his own pain. Straightening himself as he stared at Zyra¡¯s faltering smile, as she stared at the still bright and burning hole in his chest. Then glancing at his smile. ¡°Must I really repeat myself?¡± he said, while gesturing at the gaping hole in his flesh ¡°You see, there is one thing I do know about myself for sure.¡± He explained as green energy flowed out of his flesh and filled the hole¡­¡±I¡¯m no longer human.¡± The energy looked malleable, nothing like electricity or the projectile of heat. It was similar to light yet so much slower, like a hologram but seemingly physical. Zyra stared at it, her expression frozen as she watched it turn to flesh¡­then clothing. Slowly she met Daemon¡¯s eyes ¡°Wha¡­¡± she dropped the gun and pulled her arms back, hugging in her own shoulders as she rubbed them against the chill that suddenly went through her ¡°What¡­¡± Daemon chuckled in amusement ¡°Oh what¡¯s this? Now you¡¯re afraid? Or is that confusion? Oh wait, it¡¯s both.¡± He stepped closer towards her ¡°Let me spell it out for you. The things out there? The monsters you call Wyverns of Rust? They are beyond what our people think they are.¡± As he walked closer, his form changed¡­shrunk too whilst he continued to speak ¡°I want to know what, because this¡­is what they did to me.¡± His voice changed as well, as suddenly Jayce stood before Zyra. She fell to her knees ¡°You¡­t-the child¡­H-how?¡± He changed back, retaking his form as Daemon ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± he sighed in annoyance ¡°But I won¡¯t stop till I find out¡­¡± he glanced down at his own hands ¡°What do you see, when you look at me? Master?¡± he suddenly asked. ¡°I..I don¡¯t¡­¡± she slowly stood back up, carefully stepping away from him. Daemon smirked ¡°You see an abomination, tell the truth. But I? I see potential, I see a gift brought down upon me by the luck of probability. I¡¯ll take that luck, I¡¯ll abuse of it. I¡¯ll make the best out of it.¡± He then gestured around ¡°But to do that, I NEED to know more! And I¡¯m sure someone in this damn village knows something.¡± He then pointed at her ¡°Now you must be wondering, why am I telling you?¡± His smile grew ¡°Because you¡¯re going to help me.¡± into a wicked grin as his eyes looked right through her, seeing what possible use she could be to him. As if he was looking at potential, at a tool. Not a person. Zyra slowly shook her head ¡°W-What if I don¡¯t want to help you?!¡± Daemon briefly looked away, chuckling before suddenly turning to glare at her with cold eyes ¡°I don¡¯t believe that was a choice? Was it?...because you don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Y-You can¡¯t keep me against my will! S-someone-¡± she began, but Daemon cut her off¡­as he laughed hysterically. She froze, staring at him with actual terror now. ¡°Oh Boohoo I cannot keep you against your will! Someone! Anyone! Will surely come¡­to save you?¡± he asked with a wide grin, then gestured for her to follow with his still metallic hand ¡°Maybe the guards, maybe the wound¡­weren¡¯t enough.¡± He whispered now whilst walking towards this room¡¯s window paned wall. He looked back at her, still grinning while raising his right hand to the window¡­pressing his palm onto the glass ¡°I¡¯m not human, I¡¯m somewhat of a machine. Somewhat of a computer I¡¯d say. But like nothing we¡¯ve ever seen before, so different¡­that it makes what we use in our own military defence seem primitive in comparison.¡± Daemon turned to watch outside, looking over the city he looked for a target¡­for an example. ¡°Hm¡­Ah, see that open street?¡± he pointed with his free hand at a plain looking vehicle path that took from one sector of the city to another. It was in plain view from this high up. ¡°Pay close attention to it¡­¡± Daemon glanced back to see her reaction, as he connected to the system like he had before. He searched through the doors, snuck through windows of other systems¡­everything within the village was hard connected. Each database, each system, was its own standalone machine. There was no Wi-Fi. There was no Bluetooth. There was no internet. The people here knew none of that, only wiring and at best radio connection. But it was enough for Daemon¡­to connect to each and every system within the city. What had no wire-less connection, he accessed by flowing his energy physically from one machine to another¡­Like he had with the guard¡¯s armour. It moved to his will, even when outside his body. Until he finally reached that road, and from a traffic light connected to a passing by vehicle¡­ Zyra jumped back as a vehicle suddenly swerved off the road, crashed into a building and exploded. ¡°No matter where I am, no matter from where I must. I can find you, I can reach you¡­I can hurt you.¡± Calmly said Daemon as he stared her straight in the eyes. She moved from the now bloody scene that lay miles away, and met his cold dreadful gaze. ¡°Y-You¡¯re insane¡­¡± He smiled, turning around then stepping close to her. She was frozen, unable to react from the fear as he suddenly caressed her left cheek with his metal hand ¡°Hardly. I simply don¡¯t see the point in the feeling of guilt or compassion. I turned those off alongside pain and fear.¡± it was cold and something else¡­ She stared up at his smile, it was uncaring yet full of amusement¡­now filling with excitement as he glanced back outside. Zyra felt the energy within his hand through her skin, it wasn¡¯t numbing like electricity¡­on the contrary actually. It made her very aware of the touch, so much more aware than should have been possible. ¡°I¡¯ll turn off this entire city too one da-¡± Daemon glanced back at her ¡°Are you even listening?¡± Zyra was definitely not listening; her entire focus was on the touch she felt through her left cheek. It was an exhilarating feeling, forcing her full attention on it unnaturally. As if she had been possessed by it. It was more than just touch. It was more than just sensual at this point. It was a pleasure so intense that she couldn¡¯t hold back¡­Yet she just couldn¡¯t go through either. As if it was being blocked¡­as if she was stuck in the moment. And the moment was insanely gratifying, until it became too much. She wanted it to stop, but at the same time she wanted it to continue. ¡°What the¡­¡± Daemon stared down at her in confusion, as her eyes rolled over into her head and she fell to the floor ¡°Uhm¡­?¡± He stepped back and glanced at his hand, then at the unconscious Zyra who lay on the ground. As his eyes wandered he also noticed¡­the dress that fell upon her shape became incredibly wet where her legs met. ¡°The actual hell?¡± he kicked her leg gently but no reaction came back "Well...so much for my monologging...Fuck". [Announcement] Yeah it sounded like a good plan and I''ve always loved Sci-Fi but...I just can''t get it on you know? I''ve tried writing and it''s sounding good so far but...I''m stuck. I don''t know where I want the story to go anymore...And I''ve learned from my past stories that if it''s not fun to write at the start it''s not gonna be later on...Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. So I''m abandoning this idea :/ If anyone wants to take this idea and write their own, even with the same title and premise...Hell if you want to continue writing from where I left over? Go for it. I honestly would love to see what you would come up with... But I''m moving on to try something else...Maybe that''ll turn on the bulb in my head... - Author just made himself cringe - Acheivement unlocked...