Poor Chisels for Peaceful Tomorrows

"Poor Chisels for Peaceful Tomorrows" is a BOTGD 2 Act III thread started on September 7th, 2021 and finished on January 5th, 2022.
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
The Warden/Liam: “Forward…! Forward…! Alright, PULL!!”
Wood and stone ground out through the air of the Jaw as the last of the scaffolding was made to be wheeled away from a menacing silhouette–the hunched figure of the Construct, the beast that had terrorized the Rebellion during the Battle of the Jaw, which seemed like so long ago. A few remaining ropes snapped and drifted downwards like heavy spider’s silk as the white sun glistened across a curved crest and dark, empty eyes.
The pair of harnessed, working Grimler dragons snorted as they passed by the perimeter of volunteer rebels that were keeping the curious, excited crowds at bay. Several city blocks in a radius around the Construct were vacant, but beyond that, it was bustling. Once again, word had gotten around, and they knew that Jari and her team would be helping the Warden work on animating the Construct and moving it away from the Jaw for testing. But for the moment, it seemed that the possible involvement of a half-breed and a bookkeeper stolen away and watching closely in one of the lookout points built into the southernmost fang of Fenrir was kept a secret.
Nalaagura herself stood present almost directly in front of the limp Construct, imposing, yet somehow radiating the slightest bit of uncertainty in her presence and pose. She tried not to, wanting to avoid instilling public panic, but it was still easy to sense. Liam, part of the barricade several hundred meters behind her, melded with her mind in solidarity. You got this.
I hope so.
Jari Ericson: Jari clicked her tongue as she looked at the gathering crowd and then down to her clipboard. “How is it that these things get out?” She asked to no one in particular. “I mean do people not get the term secret.” She sighed and walked over to Nala. “Ready?” If she was being honest she was sort of glum. Things were dire and there was very little chance things would get better anytime soon. Even if they won at Central, many would die in the process. It was a lot for the young pooka to bear. She wasn’t sure how Lila did it.
The Warden: Nala looked down at Jari, and for a moment, she couldn’t discern the tired, heavy-shouldered young woman standing before her from the tiny, hyper Pookan child that used to dart around Haligan island, getting into all kinds of mischief. The war had been cruel to her, especially lately. The demon’s eyes squinted in a kinder expression, and she quickly knelt down and deftly helped Jari to first the crook of her elbow, and then her shoulder, an extremely tall perch that gave her a better view of the area. Of course, so long as you’re here to watch my body for me. She tapped Jari on the head and then tilted her face upwards, to the other face that stared blankly down at them. Give them a warning. Her essence began to dim in preparation to flood into the Construct. 
Jari: The young woman was a bit surprised as she was hoisted up on her shoulder. She cannot help the small grin that creeps onto her face though. “Of course Nala, you know I’ve got your back.” She replied, humming at the gentle tap on her head. It reminded her of younger days, better days…
She snapped back to the present as the demon urged her to give those that were gathering around a warning. “Alright everyone listen up!” Jari called, projecting her voice so she can be heard by all around. “We will be beginning the test shortly! I strongly urge you all to move away from the area! If you absolutely feel it necessary to stand by and watch… For some fucking reason.” She murmured. “Please stand back and do not attempt to push past the line. These are trained soldiers and will not hesitate to restrain you if becomes necessary! Please do not make it necessary!” She turned to the construct and gave it a thumbs up.
The Warden/Liam/Kendra: The Warden seemed to entirely lose awareness as her body locked up, and for a few long minutes, there was absolute silence in the area. The wind whistled hollowly around the fangs towering around the outpost, and the babble of the crowd was low, confused, but still intensely curious and anxious. Liam’s neck began to hurt from being turned to look over his shoulder, cat eyes locked onto the slumped colossus. Waiting for any sign of his guardian, and seeing none. 
The more perceptive half-breeds with higher senses felt it first, with whiskers and ears made to see the unseen. Like a deep warble in the air, a slowly-spooling pulse that seemed to converge through the wind towards the heart of the construct. Across the circle made by the barricade, Kendra held the line as well, and her hand, which had previously been rhythmically circling across her chest in a silent please, please, please, please prayer to who knew what, suddenly stilled. Her eyes widened.
Like the throes of a seizure, giant mechanical parts began to shift and gyrate and lock inside of the construct’s belly, slowly traveling up the spine until the rippling gears reached the base of the construct’s head. The sudden movements caused gasps and screams. They were ugly and alarming, like a rabid dog, but to the engineers’ trained ears, they could hear everything moving rather smoothly inside their months-long project. Finally, the eyes caught a spark of red even in the harsh daylight, and with a groan, the chin slowly peeled upwards, trembling and occasionally twitching, and it made it almost parallel to the horizon before it suddenly jerked downwards and slowly lowered again. The crash of the head against the front of the sternum was deafening, and made everyone’s ears ring for a solid ten seconds. The whirring of metal and adamantine stone started grinding instead of nicely whining as it had moments before. While it hung, the head rotated on its neck, and the cavernous eyes focused on the small porcelain body below it. 
I AM TRYING. The metallic words were suffocating, though not completely overwhelming as they were the night of the battle. They were accompanied by some of the same foghorn sounds, muffled as Nala tried to wildly balance the enormous amount of both power and weakness that she had just taken the helm of. IT IS…HEAVY. The interlocking outsides of the neck flexed as she spoke, in a mimicry of natural muscle, straining to lift once more.
Liam turned fully to face Nala and Jari’s backs, cocking his head up at the construct. It was a sight to see outside the cover of night. “Think it needs fuel, maybe?” he called out to Jari. He really hoped that wouldn’t have to be the case. They didn’t have a lot left to burn.
Jari: Jari can’t help the soft chuckle that escapes her lips at the gasps and screams from the crowd. She told them to leave. Her joy at the suffering of others was swiftly punished as she winced and covered her ears, the appendages both boon and curse. The ability to pick up the smallest of sounds was both a boon and a curse as the screeching and grinding gears were a testament to that fact
She sighed and looked down at her clipboard, scribbling a messy note. “I hope not. I’ve been trying to avoid that.” She replied to Liam. “Alright! What can you tell about this things weapons?” She called up to the Construct.
The Warden/Milae: The eyes glowed and dimmed, and then the head adjusted side to side slightly, several times. Many discordant clicks and squeals echoed across the Jaw as the Warden seemed to cycle through the construct’s abilities. The head swung to peer at one of its own legs as it suddenly lurched and bent backwards, pulling one of the curved, scythelike feet inch by inch out of the ground. It was clumped with wet soil, root and gravel, and when it cleared the earth, it relaxed gingerly next to the hole it left behind, with the delicate step of a doe.
EVERY PART OF ME IS STRONG. Through labored words, Nala did her best to communicate her findings to Jari. THE BODY CAN BE REARRANGED INTO OTHER FORMS. I CAN EASILY CLEAR EARTH. I CAN CHANNEL MY ESSENCE IN MANY WAYS. A flash of scarlet traveled down the construct’s spine like the pulse of blood through a vein, and the mechanical body groaned and hummed like a dragon, but didn’t seem to produce any results. I DO NOT KNOW HOW YET. 
Up in the rafters of the guards’ platform, Milae was leaned over the railing far enough to where the only thing keeping him from falling to certain death were his own arms, clenched around wood and metal bracket in anxious excitement, focused on the experiment down below. His tail flicked side to side briefly as he honed in on the Warden’s familiar ribcage, searching it for any sign of malicious energy like before. 
Jari: Jari quickly began to scribble down notes on her clipboard. “Can your remember anything from the last time you were in this thing? Like, the stun wave?”
The Warden/Liam: I…REMEMBER.
The words, still uncomfortably loud, were laced with wariness. The eyes clicked and shifted across the small sea of rebels in a ring around them, somehow distant with memory despite being so alien. 
With a steely screech, Nala increased the pressure on the freed leg until the main body started to lift up heavily, her other limbs and chest and belly rotating and swaying slowly underneath her efforts. I MUST TRY THEM. BUT NOT HERE. It focused outside Fenrir’s jaw, looking to the southernmost fields. Liam bit a fang into his lip in uncertainty, watching how much effort it took for her to even move one part at a time and remain in contact with the outside world. 
Jari: She nodded and took a look where the construct was facing and shook her head. "No offense Aunt Nala, but I don't think you have the strength to make it that far. Let's not push ourselves too much okay. Just see what you can remember for now."
Jin Juro: “Can we relax and try not to tempt fate for a second,” the laugh that escaped was slightly strained as a slender hand made to grab Milae’s hoof and pull him back to safety. It was insincere, however. Juro was every much as curious and high tensioned as the half breed. He watched as the construct struggled and screamed, smile on his cheek and furrow in his brow. He wasn’t aware, but he had defaulted to that defensive face before he knew it, his other hand trembling slightly around his unused pen as Pooka and demon conversed.
“She doesn’t have enough,” he murmured, one amber eye following the jerking motions very carefully, turning its attention towards its new battleground as Jari tried to talk her down. He leaned forward, as if trying to see better, but also like he needed, or wanted to be nearer.  “Milae, maybe I could he–” The word was caught in his throat.
Milae/The Warden: Milae’s other hoof jumped to their joined hands, and he observed his friend, watching his reactions carefully. It was his initial nudge that had sent him in this direction, but he was hesitant, especially after hearing about the initial meeting with the demon and the Bookkeeper. “You do not have to…” he said softly. “So soon…”
Trying to follow Jari’s advice, the Warden slowly inched the construct’s head up angle by angle towards the sky, and a hazy aura of scarlet gathered underneath its throat as she pulled all of her available energy into one of the weapons that they had already seen–the massive line of fiery light that had cut through the wolf of Ragnarok’s teeth like soft butter. It took a few long minutes, however, before anything manifested, and it was only a weak spool-up compared to the terrifyingly booming weapon from before. The aura gathered closer, and the mouth’s glow surged briefly before dying again. Nala lowered her head, letting the power die down. She seemed to be getting a little more comfortable with moving, but was struggling with the magical aspects of the construct. I LACK THE CONTRACT AND THE FUEL FROM BEFORE. IT IS ALRIGHT; I WILL AT LEAST MOVE THIS AWAY FROM THE REBELLION FOR FUTURE SAFETY. The legs adjusted again, gently testing her ability to put weight on them, and the many arm-like tails from behind helped anchor her as she began to do so.
Jari: “Alright just don’t strain yourself.” She said as she noted the weaker version and the increased spool up time to the second. “You’re one of three who could pilot this thing and the one most suited to it. Can’t have you out of commission before the finale.”
Juro: “If not now, then when…” his grip was tight, unable to peel his eyes away from the experiments below. 
Warden. His thoughts were agitated, in chaos as she had come to be familiar with, but also skimming on top of it all was a childlike eagerness. At least a portal, to the fields, perhaps I can…
The Warden/Milae: A hot wash of giddy possibility as large as a tidal wave nearly made him black out, as a reinforced, expanded version of Nala’s mind reached out in reply. Milae clung to Juro’s side as the construct angled its face upwards, directly at them, scarlet brightening to amber.
YES. 
Juro/Akkey: “Hgk–!” The oppressive sensation swept over him and he staggered momentarily. There were a few heavy, hesitant seconds as he returned the glowing gaze, hand clutched tight around hoof.
“If not now, then when…” Juro repeated, releasing a shallow laughing breath in a surrender to something he couldn’t place yet. Milae felt the telltale hum intensify beside him, and he saw the bookkeeper’s grin widen and crease the corner of his slanted eyes as the dark fabric seemingly melted away to reveal blue and gold flickers of light within his irises. “Hold on,” he murmured, swiftly wrapping his arm around his friend. The wind picked up around them like it did in the seidr fields, surrounding them in soft colours and lifting their robes in synchronized bursts. Then in a single bound, bookkeeper and seidkonur leapt over the very railing he had cautioned Milae, almost falling and streaking through the air towards where the construct stood.
She felt the air shift first before she made the connection in her head. Akkey swiveled her head around to look in the same direction as Nala, quickly recognizing the portal magic. “Oh, here we go…” she huffed under her breath, then crouched slightly, tapped her boot twice to open her own doorway, and called out, “We’re hitching a ride here, come on!”
Her portal yawned open just on time, as Virion’s gigantic wings burst open across the sky and descended upon the construct just as it had many months ago on the Conclave. It was different this time, however, the golem’s image wavering every now and then like an illusion, no longer the tangible body of a long necked crane as its wings morphed into wild gusts of wind. It surrounded the weapon like a tornado of bookkeeper colours, roaring gales attempting to match the construct’s own volume. Rebels pressed hands against their ears again as metallic and whistling sounds only became louder and louder, until it burst outwards and blew against their faces and rippled hair and skin backwards. The dust cleared as rebels peered from behind their arms. The construct had disappeared.
In the far south side of the Jaw, nature bent back as the portal released and the wind dissipated from its storm to a gentle breeze. Akkey stood a distance away as her own transportation also disappeared, staring up at the six eyed bird that now matched the construct’s height. Virion stretched its long neck up, new golden feathers glinting against the sunlight and wings tucked close to itself, to bring its passengers that were perched on its head to meet Nala’s eye level.
Juro knelt on one knee, keeping Milae extremely close to him and panting slightly at the weight he brought as he stared straight at the pilot’s seat, vision clear.
The Warden/Milae/Liam: It was something that the engineers of the Rebellion had been inspecting for months now, and that they had a pretty good idea of its composition and schematics. It wasn’t necessarily cushy, but it was very workable, with a narrow, tough sewn leather seat and several safety belts hanging around the shoulder and waist area, along with a few loops around the upper and lower arms and legs. At a first glance, they looked to be restraints, but they were definitely for the safety of the pilot instead of imprisonment. There were many runic scripts and seals in the surrounding panels that had been vigorously carved out and defaced to make them defunct. The seat was nested inside of an engraved metal pod, and the complicated outer shell was well-buried in the throat of the construct, built in such a way that it seemed to balance upright no matter what position they ended up in. It was made large, obviously meant for a rugged man with a tall stature, perhaps someone whose body had been disposed of long enough ago that without a personal recollection of his presence, he had been forgotten by most of the Rebellion.
The Jaw was filled with an excited chatter as they rushed to be in view of the Scrublands, some even climbing the deconstructed parts of the Jaw in which they had been harvesting bone for their weapons and armor. The sound was distant, though, as the Warden lifted her chin from her chest and bathed the pair in front of her in the same rippling, fiery glow from so long ago. Milae was focused on the pilot’s seat, as the pod hissed and clunked loudly before ejecting very slowly outwards, granting easier access for entry. The half-breed scooted forward and curiously reached out one of his legs, tapping the edge of the pod with a hoof and making it sway slightly. The construct’s vertebrae hummed and groaned as Nala cocked her head down at them, then at the small entourage that Akkey had transported, her entire presence a silent, patient invitation. 
“Odin’s ghost,” Liam muttered nervously from behind Akkey and Jari.
Jari: Jari lost her composure due to fear and confusion. “Hey, what’s happening?” She called as she looked up at Juro and Milae and made a connection. “Hey, no! What are you doing?! Stop that! I haven’t sanctioned human testing yet!” As the metallic whistles grew louder and loud Jari called out again. “You stop that!”
She growled as no one seemed to be listening and lightning began to crawl down her arms. “I’m gonna fucking shock the shit out of you I swear!” And just as she was about to launch herself at it the whistles reached a fever pitch and she was forced to cover her ears and look away as she winced in pain.
There was a sudden burst and the pain subsided enough for her to look up again. “And of course… You are gone.” She says with a sigh. She climbs down from Nala’s shoulders and followed to the gap in the teeth, she’d taken to calling it Letterman’s Gap for some reason, and looked out across the scrublands and sees the construct and… Was that a giant bird. “God damn it!” She cursed as she tosses her clipboard on the ground and stomps next to it so as not to destroy the not. With her outbursts finished she scooped t the board again and sighs deeply before starting to mark towards them.
Akkey/Kanan/Kaliw/Juro: Even beneath the construct and elemental sounds that persisted, Akkey’s ears picked up cracking ice and swirling water from a short distance behind her. Twin nixes Kanan and Kaliw had been caught up in Rebellion excitement ever since their recruitment and eagerly followed along, bringing with them another small crowd and arriving at the new testing site as well. Akkey swung in a few practiced moves to her left, then to her right, sending long lines of icy spikes in a makeshift barricade from the incoming audience, before turning her attention back to the figures above, worried and anxious.
Juro finally caught his breath, his eyes flicking from Milae to seat to pod to red light and back far too quickly. There were visuals that were hitting extremely close to home as the buzzing in his core spread to his limbs. “That’s a lot of straps,” he said softly.
Jari: Jari sighed and put the clipboard in her bag and got down on all fours and took a deep breath before dashing quickly towards the construct. It took a few minutes but when she finally arrived she hopped over the wall and did a flip before doing a superhero landing. She stood and dusted herself off and started tapping her foot on the ground, scowling. “So do you want to tell the scientist what the fuck is going on or are we just throwing the scientific method out the window and going Willie Nillie?” It was clear she wasn’t happy.
Milae/The Warden: “Is this not a scientific method?” Milae called, hardly paying her any mind as he considered the construct again. He tilted his head, ears twitching as he made a brief contact with the residing demon, and then with a sudden movement, he squirmed out of Juro’s tight grip and leaped outwards, landing on the mouth of the pod with a thump and a wobble, keeping his balance with one arm propped on the seat arm. The construct then hummed heavily and groaned as it began to pull slowly away from Virion’s head, taking Milae with it like it fully intended to separate man from goat, who looked over his shoulder at his friend. There was an odd, amused frequency in Nala’s unfamiliar presence; it was difficult to read.
Jari: "The scientific method involves writing. The shit you're doing. Down." She says jabbing her finger into her clipboard a few times as she speaks. "You know so we can actually understand what this thing can do and how it works. You, like what the original point of the test was."
Juro/Akkey: "What are you doing."
Juro cried out, his hand shooting out to grab Milae's wrist, slowly leaning further out as he tried to keep him within reach. He glanced wildly between demon and half breed. The bookkeeper was no longer surprised by Milae's tendency to egg him on by putting himself in danger--it didn't mean he was getting used to it, if anything it merely pushed him towards more panic, "Get out of there!"
"Come on, Jari, let them test it," Akkey attempted a comforting grin, never breaking her gaze towards the events unfolding above, "Nala wasn't exactly having an easy time doing that by herself, right?"
Jari: She sighs. "I don't really care if they decided change it. It's more that they up and decided it, without even consulting me on it." She pauses as she thought about it. "Actually wait a minute, I do care. Won't you fucking die if you do this?!" she called.
Milae/The Warden: "We'll be fine." The goat called out to both Juro and Jari in one breath, keeping his eyes steady on the Bookkeeper. Nala paused in her gradual retreat, keeping their hands interlocked, their point of contact swaying slightly several dozen meters above the ground. The half-breed bounced very slightly on the edge, making it wobble again. "It's not dangerous. See?" He then tugged firmly, not enough to send Juro sprawling, but enough to start to unbalance him in Milae's direction. "Come on. It's alright."
Juro: He would have protested, but white-gold feathers beneath his feet shifted as if in agreement. He had his athleticism to thank, hovering high in the air for a split second from the momentum before stepping slightly beside Milae, and the pod shook at the new weight as he held on and found his balance. "Why'd you have to jump in, though," Juro gave an anxious groan, the image of Yun within the construct fresh in his mind, as he eyed the inner workings in a mix of wavering nerves and unending curiosity. Ah, I want to write this down.
Milae: There was a gleam in his eye. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, I knew you'd save me if something happened."
Jari: "You two are both morons and I hate you!" She called, not looking up from her clipboard as she rapidly scribbled down notes.
Milae/The Warden: “Noted.” The goat patted down the seat analytically, tugged at the belts, and then squeezed Juro’s hand, bringing him a little nearer, though they both had to hunch slightly to properly see inside. The Construct’s ambient hum dipped a little, and the head lowered slightly before it picked back up again, like it was renewing the effort to stay upright. “See, these here at the shoulders, they’ll keep your head from snapping back too harshly. Most of these other ones could probably be foregone...maybe just one each of the straps above the knee...at least for now. Just to be safe.”
While her consciousness was still a bit intimidating, Nala reached out as gently as she could to the hesitant Bookkeeper, and in just a moment, he had a heavy taste of the sensitivity and protection and warmth that someone as close to the demon as Liam might feel. A flash of the power they felt in the seidr fields, an impression of their momentary embrace.
The feeling was projected to everyone in the area, in an attempt to calm the emotions that were starting to run high. The area that Jari was standing in lit up with the glow of her gaze. 
WE HAVE ONLY A FEW CHANCES TO GET THIS RIGHT. IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN?
Jari: Jari just sighed. "Yeah yeah yeah." She waved her off as she continued to write. "Just let me know what you're doing before you do it so I can make a note."
Juro: "Just to be safe," his hand remained clenched as he expelled a sigh, passing a gloved hand over his face, as if it composed him back to the easy grin once again. Juro spared one more heartbeat to steel himself, flipping through the same childhood images he had shown the Warden a few days prior at lightning speed, before turning and gingerly settling on the seat. His jaw was set in a hard line as the belts shifted over the edge of the leather, leaving only what Milae had indicated to use, and slowly slipping them over silk sleeves.
"You should reassure Jari before she gets even more upset," he tilted his head up in the practiced, hollow smirk, "Virion will stay with you..." Still, he wouldn't let go of his hoof.
demon-in-the-dungeon
“Are you going to keep that when I go?” he teased quietly.
Juro: He bit his lip, before returning the humoured sentiment as best he could. "Wouldn't that be nice..." Juro chuckled, giving one final squeeze before releasing his grip. Virion's croon echoed louder than before, especially where they stood within the pod, ready to bring the half breed down.
Milae/The Warden/Liam: "I won't fit." Milae bent to make sure the straps were even over Juro's shoulders, but it was a slight farce; his heart was beating quickly against the base of his throat. He tucked his hand behind Juro's head and touched foreheads for a few moments before backing out and confidently stepping in reverse off of the Construct, letting Virion carry him down.
"I know we've taken the experiment a bit far," he said as soon as he was in proximity to the Pookan scientist, "so my apologies...but it's still your experiment."
"On your mark, I guess," Liam mumbled to her. The pod shifted and began to retract into the construct's chest, giant metal plates and gears clicking and rotating to slide protectively in front of the pod.
Jari: Jari took a deep breath and side. In truth she was eager to see what would happen, however she was concerned with the consequences. But as the demon said, it's now or never. She finished scribbling something down before speaking. "All right, initiate test in 3, 2, 1, mark."
Juro: Virion settled itself around Milae’s shoulders in its new smaller form, long feathers trailing down the half breed’s back. It kept its head up, all six eyes trained obsessively towards the pod that slowly pulled into the construct, its feathers fluttering once in a mirror of a certain buzz of magic as Jari called out her signal.
Juro sat frozen, buckled into the seat alone. Whether light or sound filtered through the pod’s walls or not didn’t matter. He was far too focused on the same spot where Milae’s head had last dipped out of sight. For all the wavering resolve he had leading up to this, as the pod settled decisively before him, he seemed to snap into an automatic state of resignation.
It wasn’t on purpose, Juro had been slowly, truly trying to unlearn his habits. But it was all suddenly so familiar–the heavy bites of being held down to a singular chair, the swath of red that seemed to fill every corner of his vision, something akin to being essentially harvested of power–it unlocked centuries old feelings and he immediately reacted, pulling the calm, neutral mask on almost instantly, interlocking long fingers in front of him on his lap and leaning back where he was, the discreet hum of magic rising at intervals, ebbing inwards and out like ocean waves. He looked perfectly, entirely fine, and no one would have been any wiser.
I’m back to where I started…
The Warden: In the long, thin cracks of sun that threw strange shadows across his robes, Juro could see the red haze settle across them like a veil of smoke. There was a heavy chunk sound from behind the chair, which jolted slightly, and moving in little rolling banners, the surrounding walls began to sputter and brighten with sparks of the Warden’s essence. It seemed to be trying to fill the marred inscriptions that decorated the pod, but instead of elegantly filling like ink from a pen, they splattered and spat like a smoky mimicry of hot grease in a pan. The small motes of crimson began to drift inwards by their own gravity, seemingly attracted to the vibrations within Juro’s very being. 
Nala’s mind returned. Like a second lens, it shifted over his consciousness and vision, which was limited to the inside of the pod, and while it didn’t blind him to his situation, it offered him an escape from the confined space. It was a simple scene–the demon sat cross-legged across from him in a meditative pose in a calm field of perpetual sunset, the breezy horizon lit up in every direction with broad strokes of brilliant carnelian. She lifted her chin and her dark eyes flashed open; if a being such as her could be masking pain, she certainly seemed to be doing so now. Tight neck, tension-wound hands, a slowly-lashing tail brushing the grass behind her. A tiny smirk lifted the corner of her mouth, baring the tip of a fang, acknowledging the strain.
Outside the construct, the Rebellion watched as a heady glow began emanating from the pod, like a bed of goals had began to catch flame in her belly. A rumble began to slowly ramp up through both ground and air, a repeating pulse that disturbed the very core of the onlookers’ bones and teeth. Within, her spectral form lifted a clawed hand to just below her sternum, pressing the pads to her chest, and slowly pulled it away, and strings of astral substance stretched and billowed in glowing ink-like clouds and strands when she did. The hand slowly uncurled away from her midriff and extended towards Juro, letting the energy spill outwards. She wasn’t taking a hold of him and forcing him to amplify her power. It was an offer. 
Juro: He had tilted his head up the same time she did, and it was a long time of them regarding each other, watching the demon’s essence swell between as the illusion continued around them, keeping himself under the practiced neutrality. Then slowly, very slowly, his right hand came to her arm’s level to reach out. Already the energy began to pull towards the Bookkeeper even without intent, disappearing in random wisps above the cracks in the exposed part of his hand and causing primary colours to glow and mix momentarily, the hum of magic growing another level.
Juro paused, his fingertips hovering just above a claw, blue peering clearly from underneath his lashes, “Will it be alright? What if it grows out of control again?” The memory of the first attempt in the seidr fields flashed for a second. He just needed one more reassurance. 
The Warden: Solid carmine met bicolor, and in a brief flash, like a claw-tipped hand flipping through a stack of ink-stained parchment, several sensations rippled across their minds. Hands squeezing within hands, heated cheeks and hot tongue caused by a warm hearth, chiming hums of seidr circling through the ground, and a very abstract feeling of some kind of outer layer being taken away, perhaps a layer of armor or a heavy coat, accompanied by the loosening and freeing of both shoulders and emotions. 
You trust those with little to give, especially in comparison to what I wield. Her tone was placated, her words weighted as truth. If you can give me the same confidence… The tip of a claw gently pricked one of his bare fingertips, and instead of pain, he felt a single line of flaming adrenaline sear up one of his veins. Nothing will stand in your way. Not even yourself.
Juro: He could feel the tips of his ears heat up, whether as a physical or emotional response from what she showed him he couldn’t tell, and his heart thudded heavily once. Almost like a conversation, amplified magic reacted and hummed through his limbs again to meet the waiting demon energy as he let her words ring. 
A worried smile tugged at the corner of his lips for a second, then with a nod and a sharp intake of breath, he grabbed her claw, interlocking long fingers with hers to pull the demon towards him. 
The fiery, billowing essence twisted, and once again the Warden experienced the surge of magic that echoed between them. Energy skipped through the air in spurts and spats of red, shooting up his arm and getting sucked into his being like a vacuum. It hit the edges of their visions in a myriad of undistinguished colours, an intensifying buzz of magic that receded for a breath, before returning again two, three, four times the original power. The cycle had begun.
Liam/The Warden: On the ground, Liam widened his eyes and shook his head roughly, ears twitching multiple times as he heard a high-pitched ring out of the frequency of most other humans in the area. It quickly ramped up in pitch and power, fracturing his senses. “Holy sh–”
Everything went blurry and faintly scarlet for just a moment as the first pulse rocked the air in a tidal wave of skin-tingling energy. Heat began to violently jet from several dedicated vents and openings across its withers. Several discordant growls and wails emanated from the construct as it seemed to inflate, limbs and neck unfolding into a full stance, and its eyes brightened to an unbearable level. Nala felt the same nearly-destructive amplification as before, but this time, it was like a river excitedly rushing through several open sluicegates, instead of a dam bursting uncontrollably. Fire raced through every channel of her new body, bringing all of her faculties up to full speed. 
She was so…excited.
The mech focused in on the crowd at its feet, suddenly seeming so small before it. Its bladelike feet adjusted and twitched easily, flicking from one spot to others several meters away, as light as paper. Several pipes and lines across its body were flowing with multiple spectrums of gold, dark amber and sky blue. It bowed like a dog, one limb then another grinding and clanking and settling next to Jari. It seemed out of focus constantly as its shiny, detailed surface vibrated like a satisfied machine, nose settling right in front of the scientist. Her voice echoed cleanly with unmitigated intensity. 
REMIND ME WHAT WE ARE HERE TO DO. 
Jari: “Watch your fucking language Liam.” She teased with a small grin. As she watched the Construct come to life she couldn’t help the swell of pride in her chest at helping to bring it back to life. She couldn’t help the sense of absolute fear and dread as she flashed back to that night at the battle. She knew this thing could kill scores of people with but a glance, and she helped bring it online… It would need to be dismantled once they were done with it. “Oh um… Well, we’re making a list of what this thing can do I guess. Just… Go down the list I guess and tell me everything and then we can test them out one by one.”
The Warden/Milae: Hyperthermal vents…active.
Vibracrystalline beam…active.
Tension emulators…active.
Like they were her own limbs, Nala could name the various mechanisms in the heart of her being one by one. She rose to a tall stance, the light inside her brightening even more.
Cockpit stabilizers…active.
Central energy processing…ac–
NO WAIT–
The Rebellion collectively screamed as the mech lurched forward, belly rolling outwards in a horrifying spread of metallic limbs, and a huge cloud of dirt billowed into the air, obscuring the team in front of it for several heart-wrenching seconds.
Then there was a heavy bout of coughing, and as the dust settled, it eventually revealed the group, crouched in shock, with Milae heaving on the particle-filled air and waving the space in front of him vigorously. They were surrounded by several filigree bars of ivory and steel, dug into the ground around them like massive slender fingers. Nobody had been hurt. Above their heads was a threatening, pulsing scarlet light, but there was no sudden crimson wave, no heavy drain of energy on their minds.
Inwardly, Nala’s eyes were wide, and Juro felt rather than saw her visibly wince.
APOLOGIES. She slowly peeled the ribs out of the ground with many thuds and crumbling sounds and leaned backwards on her haunches. NOT THAT ONE.
Akkey/Juro: “Nala–!”
Akkey’s barrier that would have surely been too late to protect them either way was cut off with a multitude of new thunks and grinding clanging from the mech. A sudden surge of energy flowed erratically through its channels and the construct was jerked backwards as it sat back, like reigns pulled on a wild horse to regain control, a straggling rib wrenched out of the ground and needing to catch itself from behind by another lightning fast limb.
“Sor–sorry! I didn’t mean to–” Juro’s thoughts stuttered with the amplification jumping several degrees far too quickly for either of their liking, but still reinvigorated the construct before the Rebellion’s eyes. Hands gripped the edges of the arm rest, eyes wide and watching the air clear from the near disaster that they barely missed, “Please be, uh… careful, Warden,” he said hesitantly. It wasn’t as if he had much knowledge or say on how to direct the weapon, anyway.
“Fucking Hel, Nala,” Akkey growled, heart thudding a little too fast and hard against her chest. It passed quickly, though, as she watched the mech realign itself in its control, “Holy shit…” she couldn’t help echo Liam’s sentiment. Several powerlines shifted between amber and gold while the red light receded from above them.
“How well can you fight?” It was somewhat rhetorical. They already had an idea of what it was capable of–the destructive beam, the monstrous speed, and the innate demon abilities multiplied to heights she couldn’t possibly grasp. But the Warden’s newfound control supplied by the Bookkeeper’s power could open up even more new avenues. A slow grin was beginning to split the nix’ face, fingers flexing by her side and the sound of ice cracking in response, “Can we throw some shit at you and see what weapons you can pull out of this thing?”
Sep 29, 2021
Something akin to twin red suns shone into her face. The amplification thrummed stronger as she eagerly considered it. IF YOU BELIEVE THAT IS WISE…
Jari: “Well I don’t!” Jari called, still shaking slightly in fear from the mishap if one could call it that. Fuck this thing is dangerous. “For the love of God can we just take things slow for once! Cripes! We barely understand what this thing can do and how it works and you already want to throw shit at it!”
Akkey: “Well, if you have any better ideas to coax out however fucking many undetermined hidden powers from a literal, one of a kind, destructive weapon that the demon-immortal battery hybrid these two fucking are before the turn of the century, then I’m all ears.”
The rabbit nix leaned and stretched sideways as if to prepare herself, and her dark hair shifted and partly obscured her profile, “Unfortunately, I actually don’t have ears.” A soft tap of a forearm and another resounding crack of ice, “So I’m not very good at listening.”
Whether Jari yelled at her again or not she couldn’t tell, launching into the air from the sudden growth of a frozen pillar beneath their feet. Virion responded with its own rough cry. There was a wild gust of wind before the small forward group, effectively separating and pushing Rebellion back from construct behind a protective wall.
Akkey had thrown herself higher up where the wind was biting cold even for the nix. Black tinged hands curled and tensed, squinting experimentally and recalling new Black Ice techniques they had been attempting, before throwing her arms forward. The atmosphere splintered around her and formed into a storm’s worth of deadly projectiles and blistering gales of black ice that rained straight for the back of the construct’s torso. The sharp wind, coupled with vague, unsettling whispers from Liam’s shadows reached it first, muddily frosting mech armour at its edges.
Jari: Jari threw her clipboard up in the air as she stormed off. The experiment clearly having gone beyond her control.
The Warden: A cascade of sonic cracks accompanied the various blinding flashes that obscured the Rebellion’s view of the experiment. There was another cloud of dust, caused by two massive forelimbs clutched into the ground like it was the wall above a hanging chasm, and above it, the meters-long spikes that formed its many tails were whipping overhead at impossible speeds, forming a brief shield that shredded the body of the attack into clouds of splintering mist, raining down against the protective ice wall that held them back. But the shadows remained, they roared and hissed while slamming into the construct in swaths. They started to creep inwards into the pod, flooding over demon neck and shoulder to edge at the Bookkeeper’s toes.
Another heavy brass sound echoed across the plains. Nala’s eyes were unbearably intense. Her neck jangled loudly as she snapped it to and fro, like she was trying to reach inside of her. The inner workings of her gut struck together and held, some new instinct awakening.
Heat envulsion engaged.
Every curve and edge of the beast began to bleed dull orange. The ice collecting on tips and surfaces whistled and steamed as it began to quickly boil away, heated into nothing. The shadows soon began to follow, taking on a far more soiled and gooey tarlike form, and also smoked heavily along with the white clouds of steam. The smell was quite alarming, ashy and volatile like electricity. Within the construct, Juro was protected, if a little warm from the humming of foreign engines behind and below him. 
Seeing that it was waning, the attack returned twofold, and instead of a whirl of spinning limbs turned shields, the tails of the construct compressed and banded together in the curve of a scythe’s enormous blade. The largest shard of black ice aimed downwards at the base of the construct’s skull, and with another ear-splitting scream and wiry twang, the improvised weapon ended up flying faster than any known dragon forwards over its own head. The ice embedded itself in the ground in two frosty halves, one on either side. The momentum carried, Nala pulled the mech’s legs up and over as well, turning the entire being upside-down, and then its torso and head briskly rotated with bellowing grinds and it was upright once more, and like a coiled spring, it shot upwards at a frightening speed and then froze at the apex of its launch.
Everything stilled. The Warden had paused like a statue, every part of her body extended to give her more height, and from her strange, insect-like jaws tucked underneath the dragonish head, two legs dangled, trapped but unbloodied, and the demon’s eyes shifted downwards and peered at the nix it had caught out of the air, perfectly capable of crushing her into coppery nothingness. From the ground, Liam relaxed his hold on the icy fence, through which he had been channeling curtains of black, oily shadow for Akkey to use as ammo.
I ALMOST WASN’T READY FOR THAT. Her blaring voice was full of mirth.
Akkey/Juro: “Wasn’t that the point?” The voice that rang out from within the construct’s mouth was practically hysterical, the nix’s heart hammering in her chest in a mix of sudden fear and delight while she tried to peer around where she was held, “Gotta poke at the bear a little!” 
“Your bear is an amplified demon weapon, Akkey Black. What will you do if the Warden didn’t have a handle on it?” Juro couldn’t help the smirk that stretched across his face as he shook his head, and he looked like his old, confident self for a moment, marveling at the abilities they were slowly discovering and tapping into. His curiosity was continuously overtaking his caution, amber eyes taking in every single detail to memory. With a slow breath, he allowed for another surge of energy, testing the weapon further.
The construct responded almost immediately, like a coursing wave that began from where he sat and down the body and many limbs, amber and red lights briefly shifting to purer blue through the glowing channels. Nala felt a new shot of magic, and it collected the drifting steam and mist into something controllable, expelling it in vertical arcs from its vents towards the empty stage that was behind them. It took the wing-like wind and heat with such force that it already melted a good portion of both icy projectiles the demon had cut, and left large streaks of dried, crumbling soil and vegetation below them as the extra display of energy settled and found their ways into the weapon with a hiss.
The Warden: The background filled with a smattering of hesitant, distant applause as the Construct groaned and bowed, lowering the tiny nix in its jaws to the ground, and the Warden reached out for Jari in a mix of mirth and apology. The pod in its chest swung forward with the change in gravity and cracked into several sections with glowing scarlet lines, beginning to pry open to release the Bookkeeper inside. 
I BELIEVE THAT IS ENOUGH STRESS-TESTING FOR ONE DAY. I WILL BE PREPARED TO RUN MORE MINUTE MECHANICAL TESTS WITH YOU WHENEVER YOU WISH.
Lila Ericson: Suddenly the crowd that had begun to gather parted as the commander stormed towards the construct. She melted the ice wall that had been formed by sheer fury and stepped through. It didn’t take a genius to see she was upset. “What in the hel, do you think you’re doing?!” She demanded from the group. “And where’s Jari?” She asked looking around for her sister who had disappeared from the experiment. 
The Warden: The rest of the pod cracked and opened, tilting a little to let Juro step out unharmed, and the head of the construct rotated like a curious animal. 
WE HAD NEED TO PREPARE. WE ARE NOW WELL ON OUR WAY TO BECOMING A TOOL IN YOUR HANDS. WHETHER OR NOT YOU WISHED IT…IT IS DONE.