114: A Company of Fools VIV

"CHASE! CHAAAAAASSSSEEEE! CHAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEE!" Iris and Jane screamed. Their screams echoed throughout the Laboratory as I walked down the rows of the storage shelves towards the splicing circle. As I neared the circle I saw Jane and Iris lying almost motionless on the floor covered in a clear mucus.

I walked over to the edge of the pool of mucus and looked out to Iris and Jane. Iris was face up and glaring daggers at me even though it looked like she couldn't turn her head. Jane was laying on her side and couldn't see me.

"Chase you dumbass! Your evo just slimed Lady Jane and I!" Iris snapped.

"Grimm-Guard…?" I called out, looking up towards the ceiling. I saw Grimm-Guard's body skittering along the shadows of the lab's ceiling support beams. Grimm-Guard's head slid down from the ceiling and stopped a few feet above the ground about a foot from me.

"Yes, Star Boss?" Grimm-Guard said dutifully.

"Why did you slime Jane and Iris?" I asked.

"They were attempting to use the pain circle again to make another evo Boss! To stop them I used my venom since you said not to eat them!" Grimm-Guard exclaimed. He moved one of his front legs towards his head in a mock salute.

"Why the fuck did you do that for anyway?!" Iris demanded. "We have permission from Chase to be here!"

"Yes, I distinctly remember telling you to not hurt Jane." I said eyeing Grimm-Guard. Grimm-Guard recoiled and looked away, he'd have a guilty look on his face if his face was capable of such an expression.

"Heartless creator is not hurt, just paralyzed." He defended.

"Furthermore why are you two coming to the laboratory so late at night? It's almost midnight! We have class in the morning." I said.

"To use the splicing circle!" Iris snapped. I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose.

'I should have figured when I got that urgent message from Grimm-Guard waking me up…he's traumatized by his creation and doesn't want anything else to go through what he did.' I thought.

"Well for one, you two shouldn't have used the circle without asking me." I said pointing to Jane and Iris, then turned and pointed to Grimm-Guard. "And two Grimm-Guard you knew you weren't supposed to attack Jane and Iris. I get that you don't like Jane because of how you were created but she is still a valuable member of my team, I can't have you attacking her."

I started Channeling wash attribute mana into my left hand and held it up towards Jane and Iris. A torrent of water shot from my hand and drenched the girls, washing away the paralyzing slime. They both shrieked and yelled at me to stop but I ignored them until all the slime had been washed away.

"Oh stop whining! I'll dry your clothes off after I deal with the paralysis." I said then looked to Grimm-Guard. "Don't touch them Grimm."

I stopped channeling mana then turned and headed towards the vault. Inside I found my spare notepad and a pen. I quickly scribed a spell as I walked back to the girls. Hoping I was using the right runes for 'purge' and 'toxins' since they were rather intermediate runes and most of the ones I was used to using were beginner ones.

I ripped the sheet off then channeled mana into it and cast a utility spell sigil. A green mist spewed from my hand and blanketed the girls. They both coughed and Iris cursed at me. A few seconds later the mist dissipated and Jane and Iris started trying to get up. Their movements were slow and sluggish as they stood.

I covered my mouth to muffle my snickers as I looked at the girls. Iris flung her hair out of her face and glared at me.

"You look like a pair of drowned rats!" I giggled.

"If it wasn't for the giant evo above us right now Star Child I'd filet you…" Iris said through gritted teeth.

I channeled gust attribute mana into my hands and held them out to Iris and Jane. A small tornado formed in my hand and blew ferocious winds towards Jane and Iris, nearly knocking them over but drying them in no time. After a few moments I stopped channeling mana and the tornado disappeared.

"Thank you Chase…" Jane said sarcastically as she tried to use her fingers as a comb to tame her now wild hair. I snickered and shook my head then looked over to Grimm-Guard, my expression turned serious.

"Now Grimm, Do not attack them again, they are my teammates, friends, and valuable employees. I might not agree with their way of splicing but that doesn't mean I want them hurt. If you do it again I will be very upset." I said. Grimm-Guard recoiled and retreated further up into the rafters again.

"Yes Star Boss, it won't happen again." Grimm-Guard replied. I felt a wave of remorse and fear come from the massive evo.

"Good. I would never get rid of you but that would also mean you won't get any head pats anymore." I added.

"NO! Anything but that!" Grimm-Guard shot back down from the rafters and nudged me with his mandibles. It made a sound that sounded similar to a puppy begging for treats.

"I'm a little mad right now Grimm." I said crossing my arms. Grimm-Guard whined and slinked back up into the rafters. I heard his massive body clinking and chattering as it skittered across the metal beams moving to another part of the lab.

[I'll give you pats later Grimm, just don't attack the girls again.] I projected to him.

"Now you two…" I said frowning at him.

"What do you mean about you two?!" Iris growled. "We were attacked by your evo!"

"Chase I don't understand why you have a problem with Iris and I using the splicing circle." Jane said.

"Because the last time you used it you created Grimm-Guard, his genes were so messed up he would have nearly died if I hadn't done something. You act like it was some great success even though Baset has told you that it was a failure." I replied then pointed towards the Lysdale Gene Delver Simulator. "You two could have just as easily learned how to use the Gene delver and known exactly how your creation would have ended up."

"Chase! There you go again with that techno-magi stuff again! We are splicers not scientists, there are thousands of years of traditions that…"

"Won't work with me because I can't splice the traditional way Jane!" I snapped. Jane and Iris both flinched and looked at me bewildered. "Even if I could I wouldn't want to! I understand that a lot of splicers see evos as expendable assets to be discarded when they're done but I can't see them like that because that's how I was seen. If I'm going to make an evo I want a one hundred percent guarantee that I wasn't going to fuck it up royally like you did Jane!"

"That was…" Jane started.

"A fuck up!" I interrupted. "Look I know that in order to pass this final I need to lean heavily on you two, at least until I figure out a work around to splicing."

"There is no work around to splicing! There is either splicing or not!" Jane exclaimed.

"Then I won't be splicing then…Baset commented that my mind might not be compatible with splicing the way it is now maybe I should listen to her and try and find a way to create evos that is compatible for me." I said with a shrug. Jane scowled and threw her arms up.

"But you can't do that! Not to splicing! It has been the one thing in the history of the world that had remained unchanged since its conception! It is a perfect system and should not be tampered with!!' Jane yelled.

"Jane…" I started only to get cut off by her.

"No! Chase you are a star farm crystal bearer descended from a legendary tribe of splicers! How would your ancestors feel about you insulting and perverting that proud history by attempting to change splicing?! How would your grandmother after all she sacrificed?!" Jane snapped.

"Lady Jane!" Iris snapped, stepping in front of her ward. "That's too far…"

"Or maybe not far enough." Jane said.

"No…it was far enough…" I said softly. I grabbed my bangle and threw it on the ground in front of her. I clicked loudly as it bounced on the concrete and rolled to a stop against her feet. "…Jane Solomon, I challenge you to a duel."

'WHAT!?" Iris exclaimed and looked between Jane and me. "Hold on Chase, you can't joke about something like that!"

"He wasn't joking Iris." Jane spoke up. Our eyes locked in an unblinking contest of wills.

"He used my real name, not Yearwood like he normally would."

Iris turned and looked at me. Her eyes filled with confusion as she balled her hands up into fists.

"Chase! You can't go using Lady Jane's name like that!" Iris snapped.

"And she can't go using my grandmother to try and shut me up just because she doesn't like what I have to say!" I snapped back then pointed at the princess. "If she believes that traditional splicing is the end all be all she can prove it with results not by tugging at my heartstrings! Or is the little papered princess too used to having someone kiss her ass everytime she fails?"

Jane's eyes turned cold in that instant. She tilted her head up slightly and looked down her nose at me. We stared unblinking for several seconds while Iris tried to calm us down and break the tension but it was too late to calm down for me.

Jane didn't break our gaze even as she bent down to pick up the bangle. She held it loosely between her fingers as she took a deep breath.

"I accept, Chase Gaelbor Kingston. What are the terms?" She said, her voice so cold it sent chills up Iris's spine making her shiver involuntarily.

"One-on-one combat using evos. That battle will be a proof of concept. I will make an evo using a new splicing technique of my own creation and you make an evo using the traditional way. The loser will admit the other was wrong and will work with the winner to create an evo to enter into the Grand Royale using their splicing style." I replied.

"That's all? This will be easy." Jane said "You have to make those pendants for Caspian Ascred, but knowing you that won't take long. I say we have this duel in one month. That should give you plenty of time to realize that traditional splicing is superior."

"Whatever," I said with a shake of my head then held my hand up. [Grimm-Guard come with me for now.]

[Yes Star Boss!] Grimm-Guard replied. A bright burst of light illuminated the Lab as a crystalline structure formed around Grimm-Guard and returned to my crystal.

"You can have free use of the lab and splicing circle, just tack something to the door when you are using it. I won't have Grimm-Guard in here so don't worry about getting attacked or spied on." I said.

"How sporting of you." Jane said sarcastically. I ignored her tone as I turned and started to walk away.

"Just a fair warning Iris, the evo I make, is going to be a tier three or better." I said.

"You're confident for someone that can't even splice!" Jane snapped.

"I'm American!" I yelled over my shoulder. "We're always confident for no reason…"