Chapter 25 – Prince of Bedlamb

Long ago

 

 

Nathan sat about, surrounded by toys. The Petals of this world watched him suspiciously, gems that would take any order, except to let hm leave the palace if asked. He glanced around them, it’d been like this for almost 5 years ever since he was born. He was a mere kid in a world he hardly understood, but they

couldn’t be said to understand him either. Lying within the soul of the kid was not Nathan Nezura, the prince of the Domina who’d locked him away in this building for so long. Rather, he went by another name, remembered another life. Goliath still remembered those last words of the mysterious devil before he was reborn.

“Bring me this child, make him bleed and I’ll grant you immortality life for yourself and one other. I’ll even throw in a free wish, perhaps you can use it to live in luxury, or solve world hunger. I could care less.” Auxilitrix had told him.

Goliath at the time looked at their projection. “This, white haired brat? I just need to bring him to you? Then I can have Lucy back?”

The Novus of Pleasure and Pain nodded. “Don’t kill him, but if you must fight him abit, that’s

understandable. He’s in a very terrible galaxy, which lies between two others you’re going to need to be weary of.” They pointed to one of the spirals next to Harvest. “To get to him, you’re going to have to go through Xi. They’ve held the entire galaxy captive, like an island blockaded off, and only through them do you stand a chance of finding the boy.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Becca woke up briefly, medical devices beeping, Petal and Pyra in surgeon masks as they held her hand and operated on her shoulder. “Stay with me sparkling!” Petal said, before her vision faded and she fell back into the deep.

When reached the depths to a blackened floor, she saw a strange pale-faced woman in a gothic getup, stomper boots, a vinyl croptop and sheeny leggings. The woman stepped forward, her red eyes glowing in a garden of all white and black flowers. “No chance of Petaly gates for you, Becca.” Grahim said.

Becca got up and looked around. “Am I-“

“No, not yet.” Grahim kicked her ferry in a shallow pond. “Half-way there, but you’ll survive I’m sure.” She offered her hand to Becca and smiled. “While we have the time, why don’t you stick around and keep me company? I’ll tell you a story.”

☆ ☆ ☆

In his room Nathan continued playing with his toys. He hadn’t touched the meal the Petal had given him, lost in the chaos and confusion of being an edgerunner in the body of a 5 year old boy. A figure approached, she had blond hair and bangs combed over her and a face that spelt out maternal intentions. He glared at her rudely. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?” He asked.

She smiled at him. “You may call me Orion. I’m an advisor and confident of your mother.” Orion looked at him. “Is everything okay?” She asked. “Fuck you.” He replied.

“Such a charmer.” She sat down behind him and put her hands around him, feeling the young boy’s chest. “But I cannot help but wonder, if that’s because this isn’t your true face.” She said. Nathan’s eyes

widened. “W-what? What do you mean?”

She licked her palm and began to stroke his hair, cleaning and straightening his brown strands neatly. “Everyone has a face they keep in front of mortals, and in front of gods. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know, which one is yours, Nathan?” She smirked. “If that is your true name.” Nathan practically leapt back, stranger danger going off.

Do not you dare touch me again.” He said, the boy’s hand swiping hers away. She stood up. “And I do not intend to.” The boy glared at the mysterious woman. “Who the hell are you?” She turned around, putting her arm around the boy’s neck and grabbing his chin. “Someone who wants to know.” She said, turning

his head. “You’re from the same place.” She whispered. Nathan looked at the woman, puzzled. “Wha-!” She took him by the head and held it up to look him in the eyes. “Hell.” She offered him a strange necklace.

“You! Did,” He looked around to see if anyone was listening, the Petals standing guard outside the room. “Did the devil send you here?”

Astrid jibbed out her tongue. “Maybe. Would you like to see what’s down the rabbithole?” She held another necklace identical to her own. Leaning in to whisper sweet nothings, he precariously lifted the necklace up, and put it over his head until brimstone serenaded his vision.

“He had spent his entire life in captivity, a mother who scorned his existence. She’d desperately wanted a female heir and began to loathe her marriage because of it. As a precaution and punishment, she kept her son adrift from the

world, locked somewhere where not a soul would find him.“ The Novus of Life and Death continued to guide Becca. “Then one day, came a meddlesome woman that told him someday, she would take him outside. This was a child who did not the color of the sky, or what existed beyond these walls.”

“Where, are we?” Goliath asked. He looked down, seeing his body was grown once again to the state prior his death. In the cell parallel to his across the hall was Astrid leaning against the bars. The heat had grown intense, there seemed to be some manner of troglodyte guarding their cell outside. “This is a realm one would call, Bedlam. For the souls that come here, it’s a penhouse for the damned.” She clicked her heels. “But in time your soul may come to escape. And so too will your body out there.”

Marinez looked at her, then out the cliffside that existed beyond his cell. “What’s the catch?”

Astrid walked to the edge of her cell with him. “You’ll need help. And I’ll be needing it too.” She cleared her throat. “Heed closely, the one who brought me here didn’t tell what your goal was, that’s fine. He did however give me mine, and a means to bring you yours.” She leaned down slightly, speaking firmly so he could hear. “Your first ability. Pact. It will be something of a godspring to all other gifts.”

“Pact?” Goliath raised a brow. “Sounds shady.”

“Listen to me, once we make this you will gain the ability to copy the power of others. But only those who have surrendered to your command and acknowledged your presence.” She continued. “So the more loyal your servants are to you, the more powerful you become.” Goliath shook his head. “That’s too good to be true.”

Astrid grinned. “Oh, it’s possible. You get to keep the memories and any and all abilities of your pacts. The problem is when you’re in danger, your subordinates suffer a blow. If you get damaged or harmed, the damage will redirect to a random thrall, someone pledged to you. So you get a mimicry of their abilities, but they'll take harm in return."

He laughed. "You're saying I'll be immune to harm and get meatshields too? That sounds like the opposite of a drawback." He looked at the other side of the cell, the hulking grey skinned guard and their orange horns guarding with a spear.

"If the pledge dies, you'll lose that ability." Astrid told him plainly. He rolled his eyes.

"I could make my minions stronger by copying all the abilities of those who follow me?" He pointed to the guard. "No, that's just what'll happen to you." She said, pointing at herself. "Pact is a one-way street. You can get as strong as you want, but anything strong enough to kill you might kill someone else." She

motioned at her chest. “Even if that person is stronger than you, immortal or indestructible, they’ll absorb your pain and injuries.”

“Alright alright I get it..”

“Not quite.” Astrid continued. “You won’t just get it here. You’ll keep the ability.. back where you were before.” She told him, hoping he understood the implications. His eyes widened. “You mean, in that body? His body?” He said. Astrid nodded. “This is the best way for you to acquire the means to pursue your goals, no matter what’s asked of you."

Nathan held his breath, his eyes glaring at the mysterious woman as she spoke with him. "You know who I am." Astrid told him. "Now you have your first ability. Now let's go get the rest. Your first goal.. will be your soul here escaping Bedlam."

☆ ☆ ☆

Grahim continued to walk with Becca along the shadowy garden path. “My sister offered him a means to acquire power, this boy certainly wouldn’t get very far otherwise on those stubby little legs and in that small body of his. The only requisite was he had to do it in a parallel life, one entirely unseen from the body he lived in as a child. The more he sought out followers and power in this life, the more powerful he would become in the captive life he lived, entirely

hidden within palace walls.” Grahim turned to Becca, sitting her down near a

bench. “But there was one extreme condition to this opportunity of his…“

☆ ☆ ☆

“I’m not doing that.” Nathan said. “I won’t.” “But you see, you’re locked up here Goliath. You won’t be able to travel far in Bedlam as only a wandering soul.” Astrid said, looking at the grey guard they’d beaten up and savagely dismembered. He picked up the guard’s keys and let Astrid out as she continued. “You need a body to come into this plane and stabilize properly. A vessel.

Otherwise you’ll flicker out and return to that body. You’ll return to the one you left behind in your waking life. A child named Nathan Nezura.” She turned her head with a smile, then cupped one hand on his cheek. “I was granted flesh and blood here for that special purpose. You must let me be your vessel beyond these halls.”

“Absolutely not.” Nathan turned his head in disgust, reeling at the implications. He said, pulling away and making a face. “I am not doing this.”

Astrid sighed. “You have the power to copy the abilities of others, but not take the flesh of the damned in Bedlam. So you stole this power from another. Someone you pledged to. Someone who was willing to suffer for your cause.” She smiled. “So why do you hesitate? Let me give you the strength you need.” She took his face in her hands again. “You’ll never become stronger than this unless you let me be the vessel in which your soul flees Bedlam. Otherwise you’ll be stuck inside that Orchid body forever and you won’t get any stronger.” She sighed. “But let me do it. Please. Please Nathan, you have to.” She kissed him on the lips, lingering on. His eyes fluttered, he pulled away.

“I’m not Nathan. You know that’s not my name.” Nathan said, remembering this lady was seeing him as a small boy outside.

“I’ve always wanted to take care of you.” Astrid leaned into his face, her nose pressing against his. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted you all to myself?” She whispered.

all to myself?” She whispered. “Let me feel you in my body. Come back here. Here.” She caressed his cheek. “Where you belong.” Nathan glanced back at his own skin. He looked back at her. “My real name is Astrid.” She whispered. “Astronomica, at your service.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For Lucy, he thought to himself. “Alright, fine.” Astrid smiled. “I’m offering you more than just that, boy. How would you like to become my child?” She asked, looking down at the small kid.

“I’m a kid.” He said.

“And?” She nibbled on his ear playfully. “I’m offering you something no one else in the world can give you.” She leaned in and pressed her lips to his.

 

“A chance to walk in the sunlight once more.”

☆ ☆ ☆

And so, in accepting her body as his own, she became the person who gave him affection. Comfort, confidence, encouragement and attention. To her he was

practically a little child, clinging to her bosom to avoid death. What Goliath would seldom confess, was that he found woman who could fight quite beautiful, they earned his admiration and respect. A year passed with slow gains between Goliath and Astrid, starting with a prison riot, moving onto a crooked business and soon a bootleg salon the two ran in Bedlam for a time. Time continued to go on, and as Nathan grew, his mother sought to gift him with opportunities. One day he took him outside the palace he’d been confined in, blindfolded in a spaceship and taken to a far away world. The Domina informed him this was to be a special place, a game he’d play with other boys. A competition, where the winner got a prize unlike any other- ‘A mud that could have one made a girl.’

☆ ☆ ☆

“Mother, can this reward really make someone a girl?” ‘Nathan’ asked, the irony sinking in. He’d been possessing a female form for a full year, still getting used to the ins and outs of Astrid’s peculiar body while they pursued opportunities. Lyras bent down. “Who told you such nonsense? Well, only winners can find out for sure afterall. There’s over a hundred boys here competing, so do try not to embarrass

yourself.” She told him, taking him to what looked like a gigantic planet- sized themepark, complete with forests and mountains, snowparks, desert towns and safaris across dozens of miles on the planetoid. She, a very pregnant Lyras took him to the front of the park, an announcer in a golden catsuit and visor explaining the rules.

“There are 1500 stars located on this world. The winner is the one with the most stars by game’s end! You can win them all sorts of ways. From mini-games, puzzles and riddles, hunted monsters, even stolen from other players. It’s a grandiose adventure! Many of you have been dropped here and it’ll be many months still before you see any pickup again, the game can last long and be very intense. Try your best, and

remember there’s only one rule if you really must win.” Nathan turned and saw the other women, Lyras including leaving back on their ships.

“Just don’t die!” The announcer said.

Nathan walked around the star-shaped theme park, picking up his ears at strange noises,

looking at banners and scanning the area for dangers. The boy then found a huge door aching to be opened. With a shrug, he tried pulling on the handles to try and swing it open. Only for the doors to be locked and bolted shut. But why? He was certain he could have done it if he was in his original body! He saw another larger boy open a similar door.

A gigantic reptile came out the other side and ripped their torso like a steak, gobbling his squirming feet down. Nathan turned around and saw other boys screaming, everything on this planet could end you, from killer clowns to machines, to different manners of death. Nymphs who would fuck the life out of you like succubus if you answered their riddle wrong, sphinxes in the desert region that would turn you to stone.

Grabbing a bat from a rack, he ran towards the T- rex, a star above his forehead, and bashed it down in a climactic fight. An hour later he walked towards a beach when he was tackled by a jock who’d thrown him in the water. The other boy attempted to drown him, taking the star he’d retrieved. His body began to glow bright purple. “PULSE!” With a blur of speed, he got away and dashed along the boardwalk, his

only ability good for nothing but running away. “I want that star.” He turned around and started running back. “Oh shit you don’t want to see me-“ The giant jock said before being tackled into a tree, the purple aura of Nathan’s legs making them glow and sending a burst of wind out the side of the man’s neck, cutting through his body like a whirlwind and leaving him to fall back lifelessly. The kid then saw a sign nearby, an enormous rocket ship with a banner reading: “FLY UP HIGH, WIN THE STARS. DON’T GO TOO HIGH, OR YOU MIGHT JUST POP!” With a smile, Nathan climbed atop a colorful rocket’s cockpit and began to ride it like a bike through the air, noticing their was no covering over the cockpit. He saw a star high in the air and tried to reach for it, getting just close enough to grab it. “That’s two!” He

said, before it got hard to breathe. The atmosphere grew cold and thin. He kicked the brakes rapidly, but it was too late. He was ejected from his rocket and fell into the ocean. Something gigantic and monstrous rising out above him, its scaly snout hissing from above. “It’s.. A GIANT SEA SERPENT?!” He panicked. There was no way he could use Pulse in the water here, outside making himself sink. The sea monster crashed towards him, he awaited the worst. But something shielded him, when Nathan turned up he saw a man in crimson armor bashing the creature with a gigantic sword. The guy turned around.

“You okay kid?” He asked. “Uh.. y-yehhh.” Nathan nodded.

“You’re lucky you ran into me, not that sea serpent. I can only guess what he’s gonna do with a boy this tiny. And how’s your luck?” The man asked. “What?” Nathan asked confused.

The guy poked a little dot above Nathan’s forehead, his UI appearing. “Not bad stats. Already got two stars on the first day? I’m impressed.”

Nathan smiled and rubbed the bump that appeared on his forehead. “Thanks, but.. I’m not supposed to get killed in this game am I?” The man turned around. “It depends.” He continued with a smile. “What the hells your name kid?” He asked. “N-Nathan.” The boy said with a face. “It’s not my real name tho.”

The man smiled. “I’m Jackson. Jackson Bazalgette.” He said.

That night, Nathan sat on the dark beach, heated up and lit by their campfire on the shore. Jackson had hunted and cooked a series of fish, feeding Nathan with a hearty smile on his face. Occasionally Nathan turned back to the man. “What is someone your age doing here anyway?”

Jackson chuckled. “Oh, I was dropped here just like you were. My owner kind of.. forgot.” He shrugged. “Most don’t expect their boys to win. Think about it, hundreds of players, only 1 winner? The only way to win is to gather stars, and at the risks and difficulty of most challenges here, its prettymuch guaranteed you’ll die.” He sat up straight. “Women drop off boys here for expressly that purpose, unless they think

that highly of theirs.”

Nathan’s mind went quiet. The man laughed. “Don’t worry, there’s other ways to win. Other than just getting killed. It’s a good way to try and have fun though, and I had the best time of my life playing this game.” He offered Nathan a drink. “Just out of curiosity, who owns you?” Nathan asked.

He shrugged. “I guess, no one anymore. It’s been over a decade and a half.” He took a raw bite of his fish. “I’ve learned to survive here. Maxed all my stats and levels, got the best equipment. I know this entire game like the back of my hand, you just get good after awhile.” He made a point to clang the armor around his shoulder. “Well, most don’t. But somehow I did.” He said with a smirk. “Don’t tell anyone about that, they’ll get jealous.” Jackson was the first male ever to open up to Nathan. “Take a look.”

Jackson Bazalgette [AGE] 305

[HP] 5500/5500 [MP] 1000/1000 [STAMINA] 200/200 [STR] 1500/1500 [AGI] 1500/1500 [LUC] 1500/1500 [INT] 1500/1500

EQUIPMENT: GAVIN ARMOR

“So, what are your goals here? May I ask, if you’re so strong and skilled, why haven’t you won the game yet?” He asked Jackson.

The guy shrugged. “Eh, I’ve never really cared about that. My owner is long gone, I’m never going home. Life outside of this planet is, well not great for my kind. So life for me is fine where I’m at.” He winked, looking around at the campfire until he glanced back at the boy. “You?”

Nathan swallowed and then looked up slowly. “I want to get back home.” Nathan admitted. He thought about what Astrid had said. “And you’re in the best place to do that.” Jackson nodded.

“The way to get back home is to win this game. But only with your life, not with your death. And that won’t happen if you take it too fast kiddo.” He said.

“Yeah.. Jackson, if I may ask, who was your last owner?”

Jackson scratched his head. “That’s, a loooooooong story. You know the funny thing is I wasn’t born into slavery or anything. Well, kinda.. I grew up in a big mansion with some friends, who were like family to me. Another boy, who was very rough, and two clever girls. We were brought up in a household with a horrible, horrifying woman and had to do everything we could to escape, even play a dangerous game of hers. Probably even more dangerous than this one. It was a miracle that we ever got out, but.. eventually we all kind of went our separate ways and each had our own slice of the pie.” He folded both hands on his belly and looked at the fire.

“My ‘owner’ was a woman by the name of Lyra, a high priestess. I served her as a top soldier in one of her brigades, and that old friend I mentioned, that rough boy? He later served her too, for hire, but I didn’t quite like what they were doing so, I kinda went against them. We ended up having a big fight, the kind that lasts months and takes a few battalions and comrades with you, he served her and I served, well would you believe me if I said the other two girls I grewup with? How funny is that, I guess I’ve always been kind of a simp for women.” He winked. “Anyway, I was strong enough to beat him and we called it off. Our little skirmish ended, and I returned to Lyras- but she wasn’t happy that I fought against her, so she banished me here.”

Jackson tapped his chest. “I’ve been here for ages, and there’s nothing that can move me.” Nathan blinked and scratched his head. “But what about your owners now?” Jackson looked back at him with a smile. “I don’t have anymore owners, I’m free! Free as the stars to blow about how they choose. Dunno where Lyras is or how she ended up, I’m sure she’s doing fine these days.. She was a pretty bright kid.” He sighed. “I do miss all my friends though. Wonder what they’re doing now..”

Nathan, listening to the man’s strange story felt more confident now than ever, he felt that he was going to make it out of this game, and he was going to play it all he had to have fun. They spent the next several months together as a pair, trying to explore everything in the game as best he could.

They won a few stars here and there, but mostly they just looked at all the secrets of the game and everything it had to offer. They ran into some boys that seemed willing to have sex with Jackson for stars, but he refused for the most part, saying they didn’t really mean it. To Nathan’s curiosity, he wondered what it meant to really mean him, as Jackson often did not show much interest in trying to win this game for reasons that were not clear to him.

As the weeks passed, the two slowly grew closer together in one region of the world to the next. Jackson often told him about his past, how his body had nearly died because he wouldn’t give in to a woman’s request, how another girl had saved him and grown closely attached. How he loved her up until her

untimely death, when the woman’s unruly daughter inherited her. It was she who regarded Jackson with disgust, eventually dropping him off at this world where he’s lived for years.

“Jackson, just how close are you to winning this?” Nathan asked one night.

Jackson looked up at the stars, the sand crushing and crashing along the gentle winds as they laid back together. “Probably? Not very. The stars for me have always best been twinkling from afar, somewhere unreachable.” He sighed. “Some wishes ain’t meant to come to fruition kid.”

Nathan was silent for a bit, before he looked around at their surroundings. “We’re pretty alone out here..” “Aye.” The man said, sitting up. “But it ain’t that bad. I like my solitude.”

He looked at Nathan with a smile. “But as far as company goes, cannot think of anyone else I’d rather have.” He ran his hand through Nathan’s hair. “Well, maybe a woman. One with some pretty bouncy knockers.” Jackson burst into a fit of laughter, coughing into a rag a few times rather violently. “You okay?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah, just need my rest. These past few months have been a blast.” He smiled. Nathan curled up into his blanket and slowly drifted off.

The two traveled on a large cart speeding along the desert highway. No one around for hundreds of miles, no buildings, no people, no other carts but them. They’d been traveling like this for several weeks now.

Nathan looked at the cart in awe, it seemed Jackson had stolen it from some kind of giant flying sandworm out of their home world’s desert, they’d used it to travel here. For a few moments the only sounds were the creaking of the cart’s wheels as they sped across the dunes. Then Nathan heard a distant sound, a roar. He saw Jackson put his hand on the hilt of his saber. “Jackson?” He said quietly.

The man looked behind them, the sand rising up in a massive hulking form of a feline-like behemoth. “We’ve got trouble kid.” With an Egyptian headdress, a snake for a tail and four gigantic paws the

sandstone sphinx followed them through the sands, the woosh of their tail making waves every time they leapt and crashed forward. “Hold on kid!” Jackson yelled, pulling a lever on the cart and slamming his

foot on the accelerator. Nathan stared up at the gargantuan feline monster approaching them, he yelped turning back and staring at the giant claws ready to tear their cart to pieces. “Oh shiit.” The boy muttered, his hand tightening on the cart’s edge. Nathan felt his heart race in his chest, the air feeling the pressure of the cart as it sped, the roar of the sandworm charging like a freight train and tearing at the wind around them, getting closer and closer every passing moment. “We’re not gonna make it Jackson!”

But it wasn’t true. The roar suddenly halted, the air blowing around Nathan’s face stopping. “What’s

wrong?!” He cried out. “Hold on!” The cart stopped short. Soon it went in reverse and Jacob drove around behind the Sphinx, then he flipped the switch again and accelerated from it’s tail upwards, riding atop the monster. “Take the wheel kid!” He leapt up, the cart speeding high into the air with Nathan screaming.

Taking his blade out, he stabbed up top the Sphinx, wrestling it like a rodeo and fighting the 3-story creature while it thrashed. Nathan grabbed the wheels and steered. After a few more minutes, he turned the cart around and saw the Sphinx slain, the sword in its neck as Jackson stood above it triumphant.

Nezura stopped and cheered, unable to believe the valor of a single man.

A star popped out of the Sphinx as it crumbled to dust in the desert sands. He picked it up and tossed it to Nathan, before hopping back in the cart. He gave him a thumbs up and the two continued to drive. A huge keep, the Astronomy Tower signaled the end- after acquiring a certain percentage of the world’s star, a player could stop in and end the game prematurely and declaring victory. The boy’s reverie began to drift back to the hazy depths of his memories, that sweaty thrilling feeling when he’d rode off with a crew long gone. Lucy. Becca. Kiwi. Maine.

He looked up, face beaming with joy as the memories game rushing back. Even for all the danger and cold indifference of Nightcity, a part of him felt a sense of belonging there with them. And when they’d

dropped him into this bizarre game, he knew exactly who he’d have to come out with in the end.

“Jackson..!” He turned around, seeing the man coughing abit more blood into a rag. “It’s fine, go on kid!” He said, leaning back and languishing slightly. The man had a serene smile on his face, even as his lips slowly turned blue. Nathan looked back at the man and sighed, as the sunset slowly bled into the horizon. He felt it was his turn to win this game, or else die trying. Soon they reached the observatory’s entrance, and the man began to close his eyes.

“C’mon mister, we’re outtie!” He said tugging on Jackon’s arm. The man smiled and leaned back into his seat. “Kid, can you take you the lighter in my pocket? There’s a pack of cigarettes.”

“Uh.. sure? Yeah!” Nathan did so, lighting up a cigarette at his command in his mouth. “They call it Mudskip disease. When my owner dropped me here, I’d been long since diagnosed. The disease is fatal, but it’s not something that can take your chill away.” He took a puff, leaning back. “I’d known that from the moment I landed here this game would be my grave. No one’s coming back for me, even if I won and yet.. something about it felt freeing. I devoted myself to having as much fun as possible, to trying to find what it meant to be alive for awhile.” He chuckled, taking another long drag and savoring the sight of

Nathan’s visage before coughing abit more, eyes weary and tired. “You’re the only thing that’s changed in over a decade kiddo. I’ve lived for a long long time and have made peace with it. But I guess I’m just not ready to have to let you go yet.” He turned to the boy and smiled, “But you’ll have to let me go. Go on in, win the game. Get your girl on or whatever.” His mind was far away, he closed his eyes and coughed some blood into the rag. “What’s.. her name?” He whispered, the boy’s memory becoming like a dream.

“Whose name?” Nathan asked.

“The girl you want to save. The hoochie.. I can tell when there’s a hoochie, you’ve had it written in your eyes since you got here. A little puppydog crush, right? You probably thought if you won and became a

woman, you could earn your freedom and marry her. Maybe make her your daughter.” He chuckled, fading out.

The boy stood silent, he had an opportunity to do it, after years of her growing distant and him being

locked away in this room. The man laid deadly still. “L-lucy.” He said. The man was already letting the tranquility of the darkness comb over, heart slowing in resonance with the empty sands he’d later be buried with.

“What was that, kiddo?” Were his last words, before the lights flickered out. “The girl’s name is-“ The man didn’t hear him. Jackson was dead.

Nathan got out of the cart, staring silently. The world’s red and purples seemed to appear hazy above the road, he’d never meant to get here, not like this. In less than an hour, he’d taken him out of his armor which he stashed away and put him to rest in the ground bare naked, never to be dug up.

A star shining out in the world as the boy ran and went to the entrance, depositing 769 stars into the gate before it activated and let him in, like a horrifying maw waiting to consume his innocence raw. entered the tower, his mother, Orion and the Novus of Pleasure and Pain looking at him in silence. Lyras couldn’t see Auxilitrix- he chose not to be seen by her. “What’s with that ridiculous armor?” She asked, surprised to see this boy still alive. Nathan scratched his head. “It was, a reward from the game. I won.” He said,

holding Jackson’s clunky armored suit. Gavin Armor. The armor that would later be reforged into his Shadowking visage, fused with dark density and become his shield, as if Jackson was still protecting him from beyond the grave. “Aww, how cute. I’m sure it’ll fit you in good time, you can play dressup.” Orion said pinching his cheek. Lyras rolled her eyes. “I’ll be awaiting in the shuttle, don’t take all day.” The Domina remarked, leaving the room to be as far away from him as possible. The room went dead silent, the only thing in the room its own self. The world seemed to have gone dead.

Auxilitrix bowed. "Astronomica. Goliath. How's this for a new power? It's called 'Rewind' and it lets you see everything you've done, as if it never happened. It's like a second chance if you have any sense, and when you've made a better decision then do it all again."

The small boy nodded. "Yes, sure. Whatever." He said, still distraught. "Good good, I'll add the power to your pact. There's something else I believe you're going to love. The instructions say if you finish the game, it can make you a girl right?" He looked up at the Novus. "Yes?"

"Come with me." He pressed a button on a pedestal leading to a downward spiral corridor. "Right this way." Goliath followed them, carrying the armor casually and reaching a strange kindergarten with black monoliths and spires throughout. The boy and Orion were led to a well full of boiling lava, golden bubbles popping out of molten slag, an ethereal light leaving from its heated cauldron.

"Since I'm so generous and am a fan of the salon you've been running, I thought I'd offer you another gift." Auxilitrix lowered from a series of ropes a hulking figure underneath a cloth. "Ta- da!" They removed the sheet.

This figure, their morbid skull-like horrified Goliath. Their black chromium-alloy armor bulking, the red lenses for eyes, the projectile carriage still attached to his back. Goliath's heart raced beyond its limit, he gagged and almost puked. The monster that ended his life, that thing that he couldn't even fight back against. It had changed, grown more horrified, more evil. The reaper from NeoCity.

His own assassin.

"But- this is a machine!" Astrid yelled.

"A cyborg." Goliath corrected. "A living, breathing, deadly weapon of Arasaka. Elite Arid-class model." The robot's head, a mass of silvery spikes and bulky armor, it's eyes scanning them. Auxilitrix. "I believed it would be of service to you, and my intuition turned out to be correct." She lifted multiple ropes to hoist him up over the cauldron. "What this is, is something similar to a Cauldron. Rather it's how Obsidian gems are smelted and produced. The prize for winning the 'game' is not merely a uranian transfiguration ol' boy, no sir-ee. It's a full model make-a-bear." They leaned in. "One can quite literally, 'make a girl' from it."

The young boy was confused at the power he'd be given. "But.. that's.."

"This is that help." Auxilitrix continued, placing a hand on the mechanical giant's head. "Ask it for the power you want and you will have it." He pressed the button on the monolith, a red and white aura of light and energy bursting and crackling off the monolith. The machine made a series of distorted warbles and sound effects as it was lowered into the heated bubbling well of molten slag. As he went in, his body sizzled, pitch-black obsidian slowly covering and coating him, absorbing the mass and taking his soul deep into the abyss. As the red and white lights began to radiate abit less and less, the machine sunk into the molten depths until it was no longer visible. The power glowed around his hand, the mechanical monster's form slowly turning from molten metal to solid, silvery crystalline obsidian glass.

Underneath he dissolved, every single nanomachine that composed his frame changing by the lava. The creature's soul laid within a dark, sheeny shell becoming embodied within a lone gem.

“Please tell me.. How did he die?” Goliath asked. Auxilitrix gave a smug smirk.

“During Xi’s civil war, was assigned a mission in the place I told you about. They encountered a powerful fighter by the name of Theta, and were slain going over there trying to fight her.”

"Auxilitrix, is this truly safe?" Astrid asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Lucy laughed, watching the body slowly ascend back up. "Think of this as your very own custom made gem. A female servant for the both of you." They said.

"Ours?" Astrid blushed. "So you're saying, this is like our own very own daughter? Oh.. dear dear, that makes me like her mother! And you, YOU Goliath, you're her father! It's just like we're her parents, and this is our child. Exactly like that."

Goliath looked down, he couldn't think of a way to dissuade her from saying this. "That's not-"

"EXACTLY. Like that." She repeated, seeing the new obsidian gem push past the molten goop and rise up onto the surface.

"She's our special baby!" She took the boy's hand and kissed him." Astrid was overjoyed, deep down she'd always wanted to have kids. "Oo what should we name her?" She asked. "How about, Rose, or nono, Rosella?"

Nathan looked at the armor, setting it aside and examining the strange gem girl's body. "Jackson. Her name is Jackson."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Isn't that a boy's name? They're not gonna be our 'son!'" "Fine fine. It's Jack.." She squinted her eyes still. "Jack.. Rosella?"

Goliath took the obsidian gem in his hand. "Jack. Rosella."

Auxilitrix slowly clapped. "While I think it's a wonderful name. Sure does spice off the tongue doesn't it?" She chuckled.

She looked up at Orion, still getting hold of new instincts, a whole new identity. The previous slate had been entirely wiped clean. "She's.. gorgeous." Astrid said. "Beautiful." The young boy looked down at the mercenary's new body, still unsure of it's meaning. "We really have our own daughter now?" He asked.

"Aye aye." Astrid said, hugging him.

He turned to her. "Astrid, you need to hide her from mom. She absolutely cannot know, you know what she did to the last gem I got attached to."

Astrid looked into his eyes and nodded, "Yes I know. Yes of course, I promise we'll keep her safe."

Goliath nodded and admired up the new gem, Orion holding onto the obsidian body. "She looks a little bit like me I think, Goliath." Astrid smiled. "She's perfect."

☆ ☆ ☆

Grahim guided Becca to the end of the little path, a pure door of white light at the end. “And so Goliath played a game, one where he met a man who was dying of illness, but that man made him strong enough to get out of that world, find his courage and win. For his reward, him and his acolyte were awarded a special prize, a girl. You know her as Jack.” Becca stopped and was beginning to understand. The imagery of that individual in the pond, lowered into the heated well made her stomach sick. “It was through her that he was able to fake his own death. The boy took the man’s armor for himself and would reshape it in time, just as he had reshaped his former killer into a devoted, deranged servant.” She kicked the ground.

 

“WHAT?!!?!?”

Grahim watched her scream and clutch her head, before bashing it against a black obsidian wall, refusing to let that fact sink into her head. “But he’s not a girl! He’s a monstrous machine, he’s a weapon.” She gripped at her own hair. “Goliath fell so far that he sided with this version of Smasher? Over me? The one who STOMPED ME FLAT.” She stomped her foot for emphasis. “The one that killed him.”

Grahim smiled. “We all come to our own decisions in times of need, as one does.”

“A DECISION?!.” She turned and glared up at Grahim. “You could have stopped him. You COULD HAVE STOPPED HIM!” The Novus folded her arms and sighed. “I am the Novus of Death, I have my means and ways. But, getting in the way of my siblings schemes or stepping over them, I’m hardly

qualified for. Politics aren’t my thing.” She shrugged. “If I’d stopped Goliath’s resurrection, I cannot say my sister wouldn’t have chosen someone more dangerous. The future is moving forward."

"Right, like Goliath is moving forward? To some serious bullshit, I'm sure." Becca retorted.

The Novus shrugged. “Even if Goliath loved or cared about you once, you weren’t someone he was able to set aside his dreams for. Think about it, in MidNeoCity did he ever once slow down? Or look back and examine the people he was dragging along the way, to the wreckage of his life? He was always a trainwreck, you know that. You were just along for the ride, until it killed you.” The Novus said, slowly waltzing her over to the white door-shaped light. “Don’t think you’re going to save your boy, that boy you knew is dead and buried. He's well beyond saving. His heart was blown away, lost in his own desires.

Auxilitrix has ways of corrupting others and bringing out the vices in their heart, letting them consume them. But still really- a tragedy.” She leaned in and whispered. “The dead cannot be saved. But those who’ve suffered from your boy, still can.” Becca considered Grahim’s words carefully. “He cannot be saved? I’ll be the one to decide that.” She started to march forward into the light until it eclipsed her.

“And Becca..” Grahim’s voice distorted, becoming Pyra’s “We love you.” The Gem said, looking at Becca’s body on the bed in the medbay. She got up slowly, observing the bandages around her shoulder for the arm that was never coming back, then at Pyra, Maisma and Petal. The three began to tear up, and the next thing she knew their arms were around her sobbing intensely. “I was so afraid dude..” Maisma said.

“For a moment I’d thought we’d lost you. Don’t ever leave us again.” Petal chimed in.

Pyra reached up and ran her hand along Becca’s neck. “You survived your little jaunt from home, but you were tough enough to make it.” She turned to the window. “We’re in Xi now, we’ve fled. It’s best if you lay low for awhile. Things in Orchid are going to be, chaotic for quite abit.”

Becca understood, frustrated but at the moment, any fits were futile. Suspended in a disaster. She walked towards the window, Becca's body still getting used to the changes in balance, still unable to process the events that had just taken place. She was now in a different body, her friend she'd known dearly, a child-like girl, who offered a child's body for Becca's adult soul. A young boy, who had lost everything once, reborn from hell's temptation now stood at the precipice of power, as the holy Domina in another world. And she was without a weapon, magic or means she could possibly think of. The situation appeared bleak and darker still.

Pyra cleared her throat and handed Becca Thatti’s phone, which she took off from her prior. “It’s Hyde, he’s been calling you all afternoon. Wants you to call back and talk to him.” She said.

Becca picked up the device and clicked the callback key.

“Hello.” Hyde replied.

“Sup homeboy.” Becca sighed.

“Holy shit, you’re alive. Are you.. alright?” He asked.

“Yeah, just out here in some big fight for the universe or whatever. I don’t know, got my arm sliced by your little bitch boss, so thanks for that.” She looked at the bandages around her shoulder, the phantom sensations creating anxiety from the empty space.

“He’s not my boss, sorry about that. Look, I’ve come to try to offer you a little olive branch. A really useful branch, you might want it.”

“How pleasant. What is it?” She asked.

“Your wand. Well, the hilt anyway. Goliath got his hands on it way back when. Me and Diane are going to try to retrieve it, we have a plan that might be able to make your situation a little less bleak. We’ll need it down the line.”

She raised one eyebrow.

“How are you guys going to do that?” “We’re going to kill Goliath and his god damn demonic ass.” Becca paused. “So, do you have some sort of timeframe on that?”

“We’re going to need some time to prepare, maybe a few weeks?”

“Fine, just, get me my wand back.” She looked at the other texts she got. “I won’t let you down.” He replied, before hanging up.

 

The mint girl sighed. "Whatever. Let's go to the beach."