Chapter 5: Goodnight Moon
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Emily ran back through the winding alleyways towards the smithy, the orange light of the sun seeped away far above her head as the shadows of the night were slowly claiming its territory. She had forgotten to ask about the trip, Marianne had told Emily that after everything settled they both would be gone for a while. She didn't know what she was planning to ask, but she couldn't see them off without saying anything.
The past few days had flown by, having been able to see him freely was a pleasure she had taken for granted. She had put off the idea of the trip, grateful for the attention he gave her. Now the feelings were crashing down, the fear of not seeing him again for a long time churned in her gut.
Turning the corner to the small alcove that the smithy sat she felt a unfamiliar sense, a unsettling feeling crawled down her spine. Looking around everything was still, no wind curled through the stone walls of the other houses. The distant murmurs of lively townsfolk seemed even more drowned out by the noise. She could feel her ears reacting as if they were responding to a sound known her body could recognize but her mind couldn't conceive.
Emily walked toward the door and felt the rippling sensation in her ears. With that she could hear voices inside. One was Marianne who seemed to be guffawing about something, another softer voice seemed more concerned. She didn't recognize the voice, even though her throat tightened. She pulled the door open, not waiting to knock she felt her hand grip the handle. There was weight behind the wood as if something was leaning on it, which didn't register to her until she opened the door. There was a blur of messy brown hair, it was fell down between her shoes. She couldn't react in time as there was a heavy crack against the stone at her feet, she looked down.
There she saw him: Teppun. A biomechanical human responsible for the freedom of all races from the Demon kings tyranny. A being known as an Aegis, much different than the magical shield depicted in the imperial approved stories and documents. His tanned skin contrasted from the aged masonry that crumbled under his head. His messy brown hair fell down over his face, usually its tied back in a short ponytail if he's working or focused.
Kneeling down Emily rested her hand on his chest. It rose and fell slowly, instead of a beating heart she could feel the low vibrations from the empty hole in his chest that she recently learned about. He wore leather overalls over a black long sleeve shirt. His leather overalls pants were tucked into his metal tipped boots tied up to his calves.
Emily gaze went to his eyes, she followed the blue markings from his neck up to the white empty sockets where his blue-green irises would fall upon her. Over the past few days the times he would look at her were the most memorable to her. Often she would lose track of the conversation getting lost in his gaze.
Yet something was wrong, his eyes were partially open, behind them were blank white slates of an ivory color. A chill went down her spine as she felt helpless, she heard the whine of his chest slowing down until it was barely audible. Looking up she saw Marianne on her knees holding her belly now with stunned look and bleary eyes.
Marianne was the spirit of the holy sword said to be wielded by the hero over a thousand years ago. Though most of her claims were that the term "wielded" was a gross overstatement. A fair skinned silver haired woman, the last time Emily had seen her she had been wearing a silver dress at her birthday party. Now she wore her white priestess robes and a priestess head covering. She had silver eyes and an abrasive personality to anyone who wasn't Teppun. They had been together for over a thousand years, responsible for the falling of Demon King.
Emily's eyes turned to the other woman. Princess Tamaria, a fair skinned girl around her age with dark black hair and grey eyes. She wore the same knight training uniform she did, except hers was a lot cleaner. She had joined the knight training program along with her brother but she never took part in much of the sparring. She had some magic abilities but she was far to dainty to take part in the armed combat. She specialty leaned more toward the magical arts, she always seemed to be looking for something.
Emily's eyes flickered between her and Teppun. "What was she doing here?" She thought.
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The floor fell out beneath him, a cold dread made his movement sluggish unable to writhe free. Something ancient crept out of a dark abyss, its appendages feeling out hungrily searching. Fingers closed around his throat like a noose, it yanked him down into the inky black depths slowly. He wanted to scream, he wanted to bury it all back down again. The vaulted emotions he had grown used to ignoring drowned him. The all to familiar feeling of not being able to utter anything, the grip on his throat reeling him back from his quivering lips. His back found the wooden door to his smithy. It felt hostile, the air didn't feel safe. He could hear their screams again.
The whirring in his chest heightened into a crescendo, he couldn't stop it he felt like he was going to shatter. For all he knew he may have. The world faded into a hollow darkness and he fell, the last thing Teppun heard was a gasp and something hard cratering into the stone.
When his eyes opened everything was a dull green blur, he could feel the pressure of the liquid enveloping him in a warm embrace. It was a comforting feeling for an mind muddied with emptiness and a lack of emotion. This feeling was familiar, instinctual… He just didn't know why…
Looking around was a all too familiar blur, the repressed memory taking shape before him. Men in robes observing multiple tubes holding other blurry figures. He could hear the muddled whispers of a conversation as two men passed his tube.
"Delta batch… Quite satisfactory…"
As he remembered he watched as his right hand raised and pressed against the glass, the contact made a dull "thunk" noise that alerted the robed men. They turned and peered into the container.
"It seems like the Delta Batch has gotten another take. Responsiveness is low but the binding has been successful." The older of the two men stated.
After a few minutes Teppun felt the warm fluid drain and his tube was tilted vertically causing his knees to buckle. The connections to his head and upper torso held him, his body was numb yet the weight of his body tugging him down caused a severe stinging sensation in his spine. He tried to yell, and only coughed fluid. He felt something deep in his chest, the rhythmic beating of his heart. Everything was a blur, images he could barely follow. The lights distanced themselves with the sudden slam of a metal door, the sound pounded against his newly developed eardrums. He held his palms over his ears, there was a buzzing noise that seemed to be coming from somewhere. It was an hour or so before he found that buzzing sound was his own screaming.
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Emily stood silently looking at Teppun in this state. She knelt down to try and take his pulse, there was nothing which shouldn't have surprised her. She tried to lift his body but the weight was far too heavy for her. Her attention was taken away by the other woman who knelt by her side.
"I-I don't understand… Does his happen often?" The princess mumbled anxiously.
Emily eyed her accusingly. "What did you do?"
Tamaria shook her head defensively. "Nothing! We just talked, well I talked…" The crown princess's head fell down seemingly not meeting her gaze.
It was Marianne's voice that caught both of their attention. "Emily, I need you to bring me to him. We need to bring him inside."
Emily's eyes flickered to the blade on the wall, the silver longsword gleamed in the lantern light. Without hesitation she stood up and walked over to it. Reaching out her hand hesitated over the handle, the last time she tried to hold the blade it weighed an immeasurable amount. Marianne seemed to be expecting that and responded.
"Its fine, I give you permission this once. Hurry, we can't close the door with his head cratered in the doorstep." Marianne said. All of the usual bravado or edge in her voice gone, replaced by a urgency that didn't help Emily's anxiousness.
Emily gripped the hilt her body expecting the weight of her prior experience holding the silver sword. The blade lifted free of the scabbard as if it had been freshly oiled it slid out with a light metallic: "Ting."
Emily held the blade the moment lost on her as she focused on Teppun. She walked towards his body as the blade leaped from her hand without warning. The tip of the blade sunk into the floor causing it to lean forward, the hilt landed on Teppun's chest and flashed a bright light briefly blinding Both Emily and Tamaria.
Emily returned her eyes to Teppun's body as the sword changed to the silver armor he had donned during his latest fight. Both girls hearts skipped a beat when his arm raised and grabbed the doorframe. As the armor pulled itself up Teppun's head flopped down which was a startling contrast the stiff movements of the armor. Marianne groaned as she hoisted herself up. The wood floor of the smithy groaned heavily. As the sword spirit stomped to the nearby waiting room couch and released its form.
Marianne manifested leaning forward tripping over the coffee table and landing a face first into the couch across. After a moment she groaned, muffled by the couch cushions. "Heavy ass…"
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Teppun shivered for what felt like hours, the cold biting at his body forcing him to stay awake and causing him difficulty to breathe. He stopped screaming after the numbness in his body went away, each breath was stinging reminder that his existence was something unnatural. In the darkness time was unknown, it was an oppressive force that seemed to bear down on his weak form.
Then suddenly there was a new sensation against his skin. In the darkness he felt something draped over his bare body. Immediately the warmth of a tattered blanket enveloped him. He tried to turn his head but he couldn't, his neck muscles still in shock. From the darkness behind him a soft hoarse voice, its tone was trying to be soothing but with a fearful undertone.
"Sleep brother… Sleep."
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Two months later
Teppun cradled his arms as the newly installed mithril plating was trickling blood. The medicine the gave him to numb the pain wasn't working as well as he had hoped. He stepped out from the stone archway into the training ground, the suns warmth was a poor consolidation for the intense pain he had been subjected to. His eyes fell up the patch of land surrounded by stone walls and pillars where the others were training.
Two months ago there were eighty of the over three hundred who survived the bonding process. Over the next month it dropped to fifty four this month there were twenty left. Very few survived the grafting. Teppun; "Delta twenty three" was the last of the batch to receive and survive it. Nineteen ragged and scarred looking men moved with impressive speed while sparring.
The groups of two fought tooth an nail to overcome each other, some fights eventually ending in bare fisted brawls. All to impress the cloaked overseers who supervised their training. Far to the side of the facility was an observation deck made of darkened stone. The glass reflected the sunlight making it look like a darkened jewel on a pedestal. Teppun's irises flickered to a golden hue. Even though it was nearly a mile away he could make out several heat signatures watching their progress.
Teppun lowered his arms, showing weakness would make them reduce what freedom they already had. He passed under the stone archway into the area a
As he walked up to the training ground one of the Delta batch who was waiting for him stepped off the stone column. His hand flew out in a flourish as a silver gleam flew in the air between them spinning at a high speed.
Teppun's eyes flashed red briefly as his body recognized the projectile. He bent his knees leaning backwards lowering his center of gravity under the projectile's trajectory down pivoting his torso under the spinning blade and caught it in his right hand. The sword stopped its motion instantly as his fingers closed on the steel blade grip.
Teppun barely caught the blade of his sparring partner as Delta four lunged at him only a second after he had thrown the blade. Each strike between them was an intentional killing blow that Teppun blocked and parried. D-4 held a emotionless face as attacked relentlessly not giving Teppun a chance to breathe even as his whole body was screaming form pain.
D-4 was the appointed leader of the Delta batch. As the strongest imprinted Aegis he was responsible for his team doing their best and took the punishment for when his team failed. Teppun was reacting to each strike in kind, not pushing back but maintaining defensive positioning. His eyes caught the darkened glass at the heat signatures had walked away. Without a word his irises blinked a blue light as that information was passed to all of Delta batch. Each other Aegis in the training grounds eyes blinked blue in response.
Having been momentarily focused on passing the information. Teppun felt his gravity shift as the blunt end of D-4's blade caught his left ankle. The force sent him falling backwards with a heavy "Thwump." Teppun's face rolled to the side as D-4's blade sunk into the dirt in front of his eyes. Turning his head he saw his partner reach out a hand, Teppun took it hoisting himself off the ground.
"Sloppy attention to detail D-23." D-4 said not hiding his smile.
It had been apparent that D-4 had been worried Teppun wouldn't have survived the grafting. He looked around to see the other Aegis had stopped fighting and were coming together with smiles. They had lost too many of their brothers, even the knowledge of one making it though was cause for celebration.
D-4 turned to the crowd and chuckled under his breath.
"Saviors of humanity this lot… We can barely save ourselves from losing hope." D-4 grumbled.
Teppun nodded eyeing the group of misfits he called his family. All young men with low cut hair, only recently started growing. Apparently they were the first batch with the capability to grow hair. Some of them would joke about wondering what kinds of fashions they would wear their hair in, even though they knew non of them were going to be allowed hair until after their service had been paid.
"Its going to be fine Delta four, one day we will all be free. Us, Charlie batch, Bravo and even Alpha too." Teppun tried to assure him.
"We just have to fight for the humans for a while, they said its going to be a short war. The demons are relatively weak, we all survived the grafting. Certainly what could be worse?" Teppun wanted to sound cheerful, hopeful something positive.
D-4 nodded putting an arm on Teppun's shoulder. "I hope so, when we do I think I want to run a farm. I want to see what farm animals are like." He said smiling back conceding his darkened expression…
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Two months later
Fifteen of them stood all in a straight line, the beacons were lit gallantly. All of the Delta batch stood proudly, not just for themselves but for their fallen brothers. The humans had deemed their time to be dispatched to be now, this was months ahead of schedule but the training they did to compensate was brutal.
They all stood in the middle of the stadium made for the training completion ceremony. The hot sun beating down on their uniformed bodies. They were promised their freedom after a year of service, provisions and land to call their own and develop.
Their overseer, an aged man in a robe surrounded by scientists and mages gave a grand speech as how proud he was of their growth. How this group provided enough data to determine that the grafting process would have to be limited from other batches as it created far too many unfortunate losses. The next batches should be more numerous but less hardy, so they would have to devote more time to training.
Off in the distance on their old training ground they could see Echo and Foxtrot batches training now. Their numbers were greater, this was a relief to Teppun. He knew they wouldn't have to experience as much loss as they did. At the end of the speech the mages stepped down from the stone stadium. Each batch were bestowed masks signifying their graduation and their designation from Delta batch, to Delta Squadron.
Teppun stood beside D-4, he didn't turn to look but he knew D-4 was wearing a proud stoic face. They had one year to go, then they would be free to live their own lives. They all spoke lively about their dreams after service.
D-47 wanted to purchase a telescope and chart the stars that he loved so much.
D-403 wanted to learn construction and masonry. He offered to build all of Delta batch their dream homes.
D-12 had a crush on one of the female mages, he was going to try and court her after his service was up.
D-33 Wanted to meet the King they were serving, he hoped to become a servant of the royal family.
Each of them all had their own dreams, all fantastical in their own rights and yet achievable if they all stuck together after the year. The black oval shaped mask has no distinctive features, just a single painted decal on the metal. A large "D" and each of their respective numbers.
Teppun received his mask and briefly looked down into it. He was proud to have it placed on his face. As it was seated he heard a sound that clicked in the chassis in his face. Confused he reached up and touched the mask, it seemed to have been fixated on his face somehow. With a great attempt with force he tried to remove the mask. It whizzed to life as the partition opened revealing some runes fixated across from where his eyes were.
The runes emitted a blue light as they casted into his eyes, he tried to shut them but he found he couldn't. Teppun could only stare silently as his face had frozen, his body frantically tried to rip the mask off. He could hear similar struggling noises around him, the other members of the Delta batch were suffering. Pained groans and yelps happened all around him as he could only fall too his knees.
The blue light seemed to penetrate his eyes and he felt that cold hollow feeling slowly rolling down his face just under his eyes. Then it fell past his neck and spread out from his chest, everywhere it went he lost control of his body. Falling face first he could only groan and breath heavily as the cold feeling of his body being taken away from him.
After all of the sounds of groaning and struggling ended around him a single voice erupted cold and orderly.
"Rise!" The overseer called out.
Teppun found his body moving without his consent. His legs and arms bent as he was forced to stand up. Mentally he tried to struggle against the order. A prisoner in his own body he screamed as loud as he could, his own lips did not part, did not utter a sound.
"Salute!" The same cold voice rung out.
Teppun felt his right arm cross over his chest horizontally, his fingers closed into a fist. His body stood stone still, inside he was still screaming.
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Five years later…
The wind whipped the barren battlefield weakly muting the last distant last remnants of the battle. The many demon corpses that littered the blood soaked ground were nothing in comparison to the much greater amount of humanoid cadavers. The final grunts and screams of battle ending.
Delta twenty three stepped over the fallen bodes of Kilo and Oscar squadron, and many human imperial soldiers. His armor was falling apart as he had lost his left arm entirely and the plating of his right leg in the battle. His mask had been fractured as only the top half still remained.
D-23 came upon a small band of freed human captives that were carrying a body across the stretch of crimson land. Their orders were to contain and save any human prisoners. The black armor of the body they carried was marked and torn badly. The humans saw D-23 and placed the body at his feet, the mask on his face had been shattered in the upper right corner revealing an eye that looked ahead with no focus. "D-4" marked on the remaining part of the forehead in red paint.
D-4 had his lower half gone completely, the top half still trickled blood from manufactured arteries that were failing to close fully. Imbedded in his right shoulder was a curved horn from an elder Demon. D-23 knelt down to pick him up, silently and emotionless he turned and began to lead the civilians to the war camp a few miles south.
As they neared the edge of the battlefield the storming of hooves rumbled from the distance. A bright gold shine appeared from the Fog tailed by two silver gleams. The Hero, gleaming in all his perfect gold armor stopped in front of them. The silver holy sword bestowed to him by the Priestess Istaye sat at his hip unmarked and unused.
D-23 lowered D4 and saluted, D-4 on the ground struggled but wrenched out a salute facing the sky. The refugees all got on their knees and bowed. The Hero who had been sweating for the first time since the battle started snapped his fingers. The large silver armored knight reigned in his horse forward and handed him his handkerchief and his gold helmet.
The hero looks at them all with a look of disgust while wiping his brow.
"Who are these?" He asked gesturing to the people on their knees.
D-23's monotone voice rung out from behind what was left of his scarred black mask.
"Human prisoners found in their encampment." He answered in a emotionless monotone.
"What are you doing with them?" The Hero asked producing a comb and smoothing over his black hair. His grey eyes not wanting to meet any if them.
"Human refugees are to be brought to safe-"
"I don't care, we don't have enough provisions to feed them. Kill them, you have your orders Aegis." The Hero said donning his gold helmet and not wasting a second he trotted off to see the end result of the battle.
D-23 watched the Hero trampling over the hills of his own men, then he turned to the refugees. He unsheathed his steel blade as the ragged humans watched in horror, unable to move from carrying the body for so long. D-23 raised his blade, the order flashing bright red in his mind. Inside he was screaming still after five years he had failed every attempt to take over his body.
As the blade came down his center of balance shifted. Falling back on one foot D-23 looked and saw D-4's Torso grabbing his leg. Looking into his eyes for the first time in five years he saw Delta four's face. He looked into his eyes and without a word his Irises flashed a bright blue color. The lenses behind D-23 mask blinked blue. Relayed information from Delta squadron's leader.
//Stay…your…blade…
D-23 growled as this new order came into conflict with the one made by the Hero, the General. This gave his body enough of a mental overload internally, enogh to utter a single word through the static
"Run." He growled.
The refugees all ran as fast as the adrenaline in their bodies could allow them. They carried each other out of sight. D-23 watched their forms disappear into specs in the distance. Then it was silent, but for the wind.
D-23 met Delta Four's eyes. Another flash of blue and then ended with a gold flash. A transference of rank. D-23 just was made the new leader of Delta squadron. D-23 knelt intending to hoist him again but was stopped when his brother grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. A dry gravelly voice filled with emotion for the first time in years.
"Brother… I-I saw a farm…" The dry voice of Delta Four wrenched out before it faded.
Delta four slowly lost his grip looking up into the grey cloudy sky. Drips of rain started falling from the heavens as his mask fell apart revealing his smiling face. D-23 knelt there long after his brothers chest stopped whirring.
D-23 pulled down his comrades collar and with his ungloved right and fingered an indentation on D-4's bare chest. Pressing down into it the slot rose a small flat oval where all an Aegis's memories were stored. This was an intended function as to pass knowledge down to other generations for a combat advantage. D-23 stripped his collar guard and slotted the memory unit into his collar bone.
The accumulated memories flashed before his eyes. Combat with the Elder demon, plans regarding the forward movement of all Aegis under his new control. Then an image appeared, a small wooden building painted a green color. It was a short set of images but a routine perimeter check. Despite his orders being to look out for threats D-4 had his eyes set on the buildings. On the creatures that dwelled within in it…
A twig snapped and D-23 stood turning to see where it came from. There standing there with a cautious look. Was the priestess herself, she looks at him the to D-4 and then to the far off horizon to where that handful of civilians ran away. Her deep blue eyes fixated on him, she stepped closer seeing the face behind the remnants behind the mask.
Her voice was a soft careful tone as if she were talking to a small animal as not to scare it away.
"You defied an order… From the Hero…"
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