41 Chapter 9: Shaping a legend . . .
[Ripper Tavish POV]
Setting the master ball in the extraction device, I start running diagnostics on it and the Sandevistan housing I had created.
The objective here was to absorb the Time Titan's core into the device, and disperse his being safely across this godless world.
Theoretically, no belief would mean that he should fade.
However, It would be a slow release procedure.
If I did it too fast, his essence would reform, and then I'd be dealing with an angry titan.
But if I let each piece dispel before releasing more, I could harness the power of a titan without dealing with them attempting to kill me or take over.
Kinda like surgery, but on a mythological level.
Made for an interesting time passer anyway.
Initializing the extraction process, the safe guards immediately activated to suppress the entity.
I even had to tap into the "Spark of the Big Bang" to have the appropriate energy to do so.
Now, one might be asking why I'm going to such lengths to take Kronos's power when I obviously had a better power source.
This was purely to fuck him over, and get him out of my hair.
He was a rather dangerous card I had stuffed in my inventory; this way, he'd be used.
While I left that on to run, I switch to the motorcycle that I had recently acquired.
A Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X was in the process of being taken apart an examined.
I was debating on the merits of integrating a motorcycle with my cyberware, after all, anything integrated with my body can be affected by perks such as "Afterburner" or "Full Throttle".
But I decided against it for now.
I felt it was better to have external devices with which my cybernetics could freely integrate.
While I was doing this, I was expanding my selection of weaponry again.
Its more for variety purposes than actual practicality, but sometimes, a frying pan is just downright disrespectful.
[You killed eight or nine guys with a soda can two weeks ago. . .]
Well . . .
[I'm just saying . . .]
. . .
Anyway . . .
I pull out the Tetsubo I used the previous world.
Honestly, you can never have enough stuff to whack people with.
But, I didn't have many options outside of guns.
Maybe a bow?
Or dark matter shotguns?
. . .
Can I even make dark matter?
[Extraction Complete!]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Father Of the God's]
You faded the entity known as Kronos, and are in a position to integrate his power. Kronos will gradually fade into the annules of time.
Ejecting the previous Sandevistan, I start integrating the new one.
[Horizon's "Time Titan" Sandevistan Mk. 3] (God-Tier)
An upgrade from the previous model, A conduit of pure time and space was brought into existence after Tavish got bored. It's capabilities have been expanded to accommodate for a true lord of time and space. It initializes in a constant passive state.
Jumping up and down a few times, I activate it for the first time.
Time froze and I dashed towards the door, passing through as if it wasn't even there.
Running across the street, I leap off a bridge and plunge towards the toxic river.
Half way down, I freeze myself in place, and slowly start rewinding time.
The trippiest part of the experience when I lunged backwards and passed through my door in reverse.
Nice.
Turning to my old Sandevistan, I gingerly pick it up and a case slide's open on the wall.
Placing it into the case, it slides back into storage. Never know when you might need a backup.
Might get Eleanor one for her birthday.
My door was kicked open by a bloody David, fury etched across his features.
"What would be the cost to chip cyberware?" He demanded.
"Well, that would depend on what you want to chip." I reply lazily, pulling out a tablet to display the options.
"What did the psycho have for chrome?" He demanded scrolling through the options.
"More than you can chip choom. Better start small . . ." I start before he thrusts the tablet back into my hands with an item selected.
[Horizon's "Stopwatch" Sandevistan Mk. 0.5]
An attempt for Horizon to get into some different types of neural ware. The time jumping capabilities have been removed, instead speeding up response time to a whooping 93% over standard human baseline. It has been deemed "overkill" for open market, so Tavish was re-working it at the drawing board.
"Aaaand, you jump into the deep end . . . great." I grumble, scratching the back of my head.
"It's cheap enough, and it should leave enough for medical expenses, right?" David pushed, as I sighed.
I only really threw that on there to flesh out my shop inventory a little more . . .
"Fine, I'll throw in some synaptic dampeners to finish out the amount." I relent, as he determinedly walks over to my table.
"Kid's these days . . ." I gripe, prepping the anesthesia as David laid face down on the table.
[Monk Tavish POV]
I sat on a rug on a main thoroughfare playing with the Void accelerator that I had "acquired" from Rammatra.
It wasn't really the kind of toy I typically liked playing with, but it kinda fit the persona. I have debated swapping it out for a blackhole that threw anti-matter shots, before I quickly nixed the idea. That sounded wicked dangerous, and was quite possibly overkill for Night City.
That said, I still filed away the idea for later.
Still, It might be a way to attract worshipers to the temple.
The funding I got by supplying myself the Maelstrom bodies went a little way, but It was slowly running out.
This is why I was selling incense sticks and prayers on the streetcorner.
Theoretically, they buy the incense, and offer it up in prayer for the temple.
This led to my current predicament.
A group of monks had made themselves a spot right next to me.
Now, you would think that these guys would want nothing to do with a supposed heathen like me.
But they just used me as a point of comparison on what not to do for enlightenment.
Bunch of smug pricks the lot of 'em.
I did have my new Skitarii-omnic hybrids backing me up.
It was immediately apparent the benefits of this experiment, as this omnic variant was much more aesthetically pleasing than the standard skitarii, as their fleshy bits were hidden under the smooth plates of omnic structure.
So they sat as my fellow monks on this venture.
But even with them as backup, I needed to pull out some surprises of my own to get my religion to spread.
Thinking it over a bit, I snap my fingers in realization.
Miracles.
They add a bit of credibility and mysticism around any religion, makes it seem fun and exciting to the locals.
Plus, people will spend crap tons of cash just to find out your secrets.
Lets see, what miracle should I perform?
Glancing around, an old man was walking past, clutching his left arm.
Looking at it, it appears that a corp came and repossessed his augments, leaving him to find a cheap ripper who did an improper job with possible third hand replacements.
"Pardon me friend, it looks like your arm is not working right. Would you like me to fix it?" I ask, gently causing the man to recoil slightly.
[You sound like the damn paperclip from Microsoft . . .]
Shut up Iris.
The man glanced me over guardedly before sighing and practically collapsed in front of me; "Do what you want. Doc said the nerves of that side were practically fried anyway." He growled, as I took a look over his cybernetics.
His assessment was correct, and might be difficult to repair for anyone else.
But let's use a bit of magic to fix it.
[Lay on Hand's]
[Orb of Harmony]
[Repair]
Tendons and nerves reactivated and regenerated under my fingers, my hands glowing gold drawing the attention of passers-by.
His arm lit up, rebuilding itself back to a fully built Militech cyberarm. The connectors within started fusing with the flesh.
The omnic energy seemed to be on par with Unity for melding flesh and steel.
People nearby were gaping in awe as I remove my hands from the man.
The monks next to us were in shock.
Standing up, I brush off the hem of my robe; "Well brothers, I believe we've spread our message far enough for today." I state, the two skitarii nodding and standing up.
"The Iris embraces all my friend, be you man or metal." I address the man quickly, before I start making my way down the street.
Now, the first of many seeds have been planted.
All I had to do now is wait for the parishioners to come to me.
I pass by the monks, who stood slack jawed at us as we passed them by, smirking slightly as I make my way back to the monastery.
[Tavish: Cyberdemon POV]
I stood in the junk yard outside the city, a recently repaired practice bot, standing across from me.
Its been running me through its paces as I get some practice in for my hand to hand combat.
Several similar bots lay in the dirt nearby, arrows of various types sticking out of them.
Ultimately, I decided to attempt to use the bow just because I wasn't as familiar with it.
Plus, I had a lot of tech laying around from Horizon, that I was just itching to use.
And while many of the tools within horizon were somewhat primitive, in the hands of a superhuman, they were downright deadly.
Not to mention it was a hell of a lot easier to acquire parts for, than some of cyberpunks more "technological" weaponry.
[Cyber Shot] (Epic)
An unconventional piece of cyberware that takes the form of a bow.
[Blast Launcher] (Rare)
A modification to the standard blast sling into a lethal piece of cybernetic weaponry.
[Cable Launcher] (Epic)
Sometimes, you have to restrain a target, verses outright killing them. This, cyberware was designed with that purpose in mind, allowing the user to restrain machines and people alike.
[Spike Launcher] (Rare)
A odd piece of cyberware that enables the user to throw a variety of sharp implements such as spears or javelin's.
[Shredder Fists] (Rare)
A fist augment that allows configurations to throw a large array of sharp pointy objects.
I got to a point where I was about average with using these weapons, but unfortunately, I had to make the Shredder fists to pizzazz up throwing weapons.
At the end of the day, I just viewed a lot of throwing weapons impractical.
It just didn't have the same satisfaction in throwing a knife or a shuriken. Maybe I should not have made it a habit to kill people with frying pans.
But, I promised to compromise a bit to fit the Cyberdemon persona, so I begrudgingly installed the blade launchers.
Still, throwing a saw blade was pretty cool.
It also may seem like an excess of extra horizon tech that I'm adding to my body, but I honestly wanted to test it out to see if it was something I'd use.
Spike launcher? I could throw a spear farther than anyone I was aware of, so would the cyberware increase my range even further?
So many questions . . .
But back to my sparing buddy here, I had to restrict myself by several magnitudes in order to properly spar with the bot.
It taught me a few things, but this was mostly to test out a few skill shards I found.
New Skills learned!
[Arasaka-Te] (Rare) (2/100)
A mixed martial art taught to Arasaka agents, that while somewhat bland, is widely respected in 2077.
[Panzer Faust] (Epic) (5/100)
The "Armored Fist" is a martial art developed by and for full conversion cyborgs. It is designed to take full advantage of the vastly superior capabilities of human bodies.
[Steel Dragon] (Unknown) (?)
A creation of Tavish Byrne, he attempted to blend draconic cybernetics with his existing Cyberdemon body. The system has yet to assign a value to the concept.
I found the first two skill shards in a dumpster along with a bunch of other data shards, while the third was a result of my curiosity. I was trying to determine whether a tail would help as another weapon, or if there was any benefit to having any sort of extra appendage there.
The fact that a new martial art popped up surprised the crap out of me, so I was a bit curious if I could develop it into anything.
My phone rang, causing me to over extend on one of my blows with the bot, accidentally disintegrating his head.
Swearing silently, I answer the call; "Hello?"
"You sound tense Cyber. Did I interrupt something?" Wakako's voice crackled over the line.
"No, broke another training bot on accident. I may have to invest in some more durable materials." I groan, gently kicking the unresponsive boot of the bot.
I might have to go into the gamer shop to find a restrictive measure to provide "training wheels" while I figure this out.
"At least you are not slacking, something that will bode well for this next job." She replied, catching my attention.
"Oh?" I asked, inviting her to continue.
"A group of scav's kidnapped the daughter of a local official. They are asking for a rather large ransom." She stated, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"But?" I asked leadingly, hearing a sigh on the other end.
"They sent him a finger as "proof", and now he's out for blood. The client wishes for the issue to be rectified immediately and violently." Wakako informed.
My phone buzzed, giving me a location. An abandoned mega building.
"Its not very specific . . ." I supplied.
"That is why I called you. This needs to be done as quickly as possible. The client mouthed off at the scav's and his assistant strongly suspects that he will receive more body parts in response." She elaborates, causing me to groan.
"Alright, I'll take care of it." I finish, snapping the phone shut.
[New Quest Activated!]
Search and Rescue!
Objective 1: Rescue the daughter of the public official
Objective 2: Kill all the Scav's involved.
Rewards: ?
[Sandevistan]
Time froze as I stepped through a portal and onto pavement. Mega building H3 loomed up above me surrounded by police tape and graffiti.
I could see that the elevators were stripped for parts, but power was flowing freely up into the building.
Touching my hand against a interface panel, I activate my newest ability.
[Network Ninja]
My physical body vanishes and I zoom through the local net searching for my target.
It was a bit of an adjustment, because I could only observe where the local net ran, but It got me through most of the building.
The problem came from all the vagrants and other shady individuals operating in the structure.
I almost leaped out and stabbed a guy because I saw him tossing a human hand into a stew pot.
All I could do at the moment, was take note and move on, as this was not my target.
It was when I got to the top floor that it became really concerning.
The overall scav haunt was much larger than I was lead to believe, as it spanned multiple floors and rooms. Organ harvesting, cyberware trafficking, and XBD scrolling were just some of the activities occurring within the area. Hundreds of scav's moved quickly and efficiently throughout the facility.
I message Wakako quickly and send pictures.
-I found the haunt. If I follow the gig parameters, I'm going to attract a lot of attention from the NCPD.-
Passing quickly through the local net, I finally identify the girl in question. Her finger was missing, along with one of her eyes.
She was locked in a cage that was shoved up against the wall of a former bathroom.
[Teresa Dugan]
Lvl – 25
Thoughts – Terrified
-Found the target, she's in pretty rough shape, but she'll live.-
I finally get a text back from Wakako, but when I opened it up I almost broke the phone in anger.
-Your gig, your problem. Figure it out.-
Breaking the lock on the cage, I gently move the girl out and start administering medical care.
Bandaging her, up I prepare her for movement as I try to figure it out the best solution.
The girl groans in pain, her remaining eye fluttering open and recoils slightly.
"Shhh, its alright kiddo. I'm here to get you out of here." I shush, watching her eye dart fearfully around.
I hear the door side open behind me, and I react instantly.
[Cyber Shot]
A handle exposes itself from my back and I grab it, the bow unfolding as I pull.
Drawing back on the string, a hard light arrow forms along the full draw.
The arrow pierces through the surprised scav's head, causing him to drop his cargo. Another woman, unconscious. Possibly a doll judging by the implants.
Teresa surprises me by scrambling across the floor to check on her.
Checking outside the door, I drag the scav into the room.
I was quickly running into a dilemma. While I could travel at some remarkable speeds, most humans can't. And I definitely didn't want to risk trying it with an injured human.
If I used any abilities from my other bodies to heal the humans, I'd be drawing a link between the Cyberdemon and the Shambali monk.
. . .
Hold on . . .
That might not be such a bad idea . . .
It would give the monk a powerful backer, and I could possibly spin this in the monk's favor.
I check the doll to see if she's still alive, and she was barely breathing.
[Lay on Hands]
Her breathing eases as I channel a bit of holy energy, my hands glowing slightly.
Teresa's one eye widened slightly, as I put a finger to my lips.
"She's sleeping for now. And I'd be quite thankful if you keep what you just saw to yourself Ms. Dugan." I answer, watching her slowly nod.
"Excellent, let's fix up that eye and then see about making our way out of here." I add, tapping the side of her head and using the ability again to regenerate her eye.
Turning from her, I weighed my options once again.
I didn't want to use a portal, particularly in front of witnesses. I didn't mind using minor magic, cause I could pass it off as new cybernetics, spatial distortion is a bit harder to play off.
Thankfully, the scavs seemed to have missed my presence so far, but I was still stuck on how to get them out without getting noticed.
There had to be a working elevator somewhere, how else would the scavs be able to lug all this equipment and materials up here to the upper floors.
The fridges alone would have been a nightmare if they just carried them up over twenty flights of stairs.
Hefting the doll onto my shoulder, and motioning for them to follow, I begin creep down the hall.
[Byakungan]
I could feel the power coursing through the wall as I peer through the walls as I make my way towards where I think the elevator is.
A door opens in front of us, and a knife appears in my palm with a burst of hard light.
The scav steps out and lights a cigarette as I throw the knife.
It sunk half way into his shoulder, and he yelled it response.
New Skill unlocked!
[Throwing weapons] (1/100) (Common)
The ability to accurately use weapons designed to be thrown.
"Hey we got some people escaping here! I need a hand!" The guy yelled, as I swore setting the doll down.
[Hyperphase Blade]
My blade quickly found his throat, but the damage was done as the surrounding tower lit up, the sound of running feet coming from all directions.
The fuck? Why didn't "The Ancient art of throwing shit" kick in?!
[Sooo, I do have an explanation, but you probably won't like it.]
[You haven't actually used an actual weapon designed for throwing . . .]
[Pretty sure you just used brute force, so you could kill people with Thunder hammers, frying pans, bricks, and the occasional soda can.]
[Anything else was just solved with a gun.]
Fuck . . .
"Alright If we want to make it out of here alive, you need to carry your friend." I address Terisa, hefting the body of the scav.
She nodded hurriedly, helping the groggy doll to her feet.
Pulling out my personal link, I jack into the dead scav's head and pull his GPS path for the last week, and used that tot determine the direction of the elevator.
Hurrying down the hall now, the occasional scav took a shot that I blocked using the corpse of the scav I was holding.
Getting to the elevator itself, I thew the scav to the side and ripped a panel off.
"What now? Terisa said, clearly out of breath as she set her friend down.
"Now? You guys will leave. Me? I have to dig in for a helluva fight." I state in a matter of fact manner, plunging my hand into the circuitry and taking control via technomancy.
The Elevator jerked and started speeding to the base floor.
My phone pings, and I check the text.
-I sent a car.-
-Now go back and finish the job.-
I think I need to get a new fixer.
This one seems defective.
The doors jolt open, and I quickly shepherd them into the car waiting out front.
Watching it drive off, and receiving an affirming text from Wakako, I turn back to the mega building once more.
As the elevator slowly climbed back up to the scav infested floors, I pulled up my weapons, and planned my next move.
Their were a lot of people trapped up there.
A lot of them might die if I do nothing.
And I undoubtedly had a lot of scav's awaiting me when that elevator opens again, no doubt.
My optics gleamed bright red, rage slowly building as I drew my blades.
Thankfully, they forgot to put in the quit when they made me.
[Anchor Hold!]
My voice echo's out in a roar that shook the building, as those elevator doors slide open, and I lunged out my blades sinking into cybernetic flesh, bullets pinging off my metal skull.
"Lad's lets get one thing straight before we start this dance." I comment, hooking my leg around another guys head.
"I'm not locked in here with you . . ." I start, snapping the guys neck and following through, kicking a shotgun barrel and redirecting the blast at another guy that was trying to stab me.
"You guys are locked in here with me!" My voice taking on a demonic tinge as fire dances around me.
"Who's ready to play?!" I roared out flames surging around me as I burn out the rot that had made its home here.
[Time Skip]
[Tavish Byrne POV]
"The NCPD responded to a disturbance call at the abandoned H3 Mega building, only to discover the sheer amount of people attempting to escape the mega structure."
"After detaining some of the escapees, they discovered possibly one of the biggest scav haunts in Night City's history."
When the NCPD ventured into the mega building, they discovered the absolute slaughter that had allowed for the captives to escape.
"Arrows, littered the battlefield pinning scav's to the walls, others were bisected by blades, and yet more had seen burned alive, filling the halls with the smell of scorched flesh.
"Witness testimony described, "A cybernetic demon wreathed in a red flames, tore through the assorted thugs like a scythe through syn-wheat."
"Well whoever this Cybernetic demon is, the NCPD wish for him to come in for questioning as the body count is too high to ignore . . ."
I shut off the TV and sigh in exasperation.
God dammit.
Maintaining three separate aspects of myself was getting more difficult as time passed.
The Cyberdemon body has himself in a real pickle it at the moment.
Fuck it, not my problem.
I turn back to the book I have on my desk and open it back up.
The Big Book of Time and Space, was getting a bit of a re-read as the information I read last time, was different.
It wasn't quite my "time" yet to read more about the fundamentals of time and space.
Now that it was, the book revealed more of itself to me, and explaining more of the nuances.
Such as how while time and space were intermingled, time was the concept that most people recognized, while space denoted points within time, or places.
Hence both time and space were similar, yet different.
Real headscratcher when you got down to the brass tacks of it.
But the most important part about reading this more in depth, I think I figured out how to do full
on sorcery with Gallifreyan runes.
Thus, I was writing my first book to compile my findings.
One might question why I was doing so much magical research in such a technological world.
Unlike the original cyberpunk world, I could detect certain surges of magic. As if it is currently restrained, waiting on a catalyst to release it into the world.
Hence why I was developing my own magic using Gallifreyan as a base. I had acquired some Norse magics during my stint in the PJO world, through some roundabout trading which I was experimenting with.
But overall, I need a true magic world in order to complete my next project.
Psyker's.
Imperium Psyker's just didn't have the precision, that I would deem acceptable by the general public.
I figured out how to implant the parts and pieces for someone to naturally wield mana, but I had issues with what came after.
Sure I could make a psyker, but they would end up being one hundred percent open to demonic manipulations.
So I had to call in an expert.
After some digging through "Mirror Tavish's" inventory, I came across a book of ritual summoning.
Probably something that I should have used upon attaining the title: Primeval, but honestly, didn't feel like dealing with hell at the time.
[Flashback]
I just finished scribbling the last rune on the floor for the summoning circle.
It seemed kind of archaic, but I guess this is how it must be done.
Note to self; update summoning system for hell.
Suppressing my healing factor and slicing open my palm, I drip blood on the circle, causing it to gleam red.
The circle morphed into a red portal, and a figure rose up out of it.
A red skinned woman rose out, before it closed behind her.
She wore a suit, clutching a briefcase at her side. Gave off the aesthetic as a business woman, but her horns and tail gave way to her true nature.
"Hello, my name is Zissa, of the house Ahsanda. I'll be your contract demon today, how can I help you . . . ." her speech drew to a halt, as I waved at her lazily.
"Forgive me lord! I didn't know you were the summoner! Shall I summon the family head?" She immediately dropped into a deep bow as I waved it off.
"Chill Zissa, I need a professional opinion from one such as yourself." I state calmly, gesturing for her over to a table and chairs.
"Of course, lord! Whatever you need." She said enthusiastically, as I spread out documentation across the table.
"I assume, the way hell currently functions, or acquires argent, is through contracts with sentient species?"
"Yes, lord. My job is to get humans to sign contract's that basically guarantee ownership of their soul. Once it is used up, it makes its way back to the ether to be recycled." She informs, dropping into business mode.
"So, transactions are made with souls, correct?" I question, causing her to nod hesitantly.
"Strictly speaking, yes. It was a policy instituted before your predecessor." She replied.
I nod once, and pull a soul out of my soul well.
"Very well, I would like to make a contract with yourself. The terms are as thus; I need someone to acquire materials, information, and people for my various projects. I basically want to keep you on retainer so I may find solutions to several of my existing issues." I state, holding up the soul in my hand.
Her eyes widen at the sudden suggestion and her eyes are drawn immediately to the soul in my hand.
"The contract lasts for a year with the option for renewal or cancellation at the beginning of each year. Is that acceptable?" I push ahead, watching her closely for a reaction.
She weighs the offer for a bit before bowing once more.
"I will do my best lord." She answered, so I nodded and handed her the soul.
"Cool, first up on the agenda, If I needed to chaos proof a bunch of humans and machines, how would I do it?" I question, causing her to blink.
"Goddammit . . ." She swore, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"Look, first thing you have to understand, is that plain is sealed off from the rest of us. It became too risky to work there. The intelligent demons got together and decided to cut off all communication and seal them in their own little bubble, till they eventually die out." She starts explaining, surprising me.
"So the warp?" I question.
"An experiment from long before. Time flows differently in hell, and some egg head decided to experiment with a renewable energy project. Ended mixing in too many components, which resulted in that galaxies slow but inevitable destruction." She informed bluntly.
"And the Tyranids . . ." I continue.
"A byproduct . . . They will vanish after all life is gone." She replied, nodding in a self-assured manner.
"Alright, well that kinda sucks." I stated, causing her to raise an eyebrow.
"Made a deal with a C'tan. In exchange for assimilating his power, I got to go visit his cult at some point and point them in the right direction." I informed her, and Zissa swore.
"However, after what you just told me, I might be able to reverse the damage. The cavate being I need to know how to prevent the infection of chaos." I supply, causing her to stop and think.
"Alright, I need to talk to some people, but I can get you some answers. I'll be back in a tick." She said, sighing before vanishing back into the portal.
[Flashback end]
Thus, I had a new source of input for my background projects.
Not a lot of business during the day, so this helped me troubleshoot the finer points of magic.
This body, had the distinct honor, of not having to do a whole lot, so I got experimentative during my free time.
[Blaze Blue] (Rare)
An experimental drug that enables the user to control fire for ten minutes.
Side Effects: Dry throat, dehydration, fever like symptoms, and slight possibility of spontaneous combustion. Over use may alter genetics.
I had been neglecting on selling stuff through the gamers shop, so I decided to start replenishing my depleted funds by selling off some of my inventions.
Much of my cybernetics were popular in the market, but the most popular items was any alchemical items that I produced.
It disappointed me slightly that something as basic as a health potion sold better than something more exotic.
I invented a potion that will turn you into a velociraptor for an hour. A full hour! And yet I only sold three in the last fifty years.
A bit disappointing, but I guess people just didn't understand how cool dinosaurs are.
The front door slide open causing me to snap my book shut.
"Welcome to Tavish's Trinkets! How can I help . . . you?" I trail off, at the new customers.
[Maine]
Lvl – 236
Thoughts – Anger
[Dorio]
Lvl – 194
Thoughts – Apathy
[Pilar]
Lvl -162
Thoughts – Excitement
"Holy shit Maine. This guy has some serious custom work in here!" The long-armed techie exclaimed, looking around in excitement.
"I'm only looking for one piece of custom work . . ." The big merc growled, setting his hands on the desk across from me.
Pulling out a stick of Purity, I light it with the tip of my finger.
"Chill Choom. You are looking for Gloria Martinez, right?" I comment, causing him to grin.
"It seems we have an understanding. Where is she?" He demanded.
I lazily walk out from around my desk towards the backroom, where Gloria was still unconscious.
Opening the door and stepping to the side, I could see the anger fall off from the merc as he saw Gloria's comatose form.
"What happened?" Dorio asked, speaking for the first time.
"Got caught in the middle of a hit and run. Her kid ran here with her, hoping for treatment. Traded a rather interesting piece of cyberware for fixing his mom up. Would not have touched that thing with a 10-foot pole, but felt bad for him so I accepted." I replied, watching Maine perk up.
"The Sandevistan? You still have it?" He asked, and I nodded and stretched.
"Yup. Why, you interested? I could let it go for a decent deal." I reply, my eyes snapping over to Pilar who was examining a set of buster fists I had hanging from a rack.
"What do you have in mind?" He asked walking back towards the front.
Puffing the smell of mint out into the room, I lay out my proposal.
"I'll let it go for the price of a Mk. 1, on the condition you let her kid run with your crew." I offer, watching him.
"Isn't the kid trying to work for a corp?" Maine asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"His mom was trying to get him there. But the accident threw that out the window. He's probably in the midst of getting expelled for punching out the principles kid. But he's going to be looking for work shortly to pay for medical bills." I start, walking over to the case in the wall and pulling the Sandevistan out.
"He's chipped with a Sandevistan and a set of neural dampeners so he won't lag behind for long." I finish watching the merc's reaction.
"Alright. I'll let him try out, but I can't promise anything more than that." Maine said grudgingly, causing me to grin.
"Best I could hope for really. Do you want me to chip you now? Or do you have a preferred Ripper?" I ask watching Maine shrug off his vest.
"We'll do it now. My chooms will hang around to keep you honest." He replied walking over towards the chair.
"And to shop!" Pilar added enthusiastically, holding up a pair cyberhands.
[Time Skip]
After that little disruption, I was back to my original peace and quiet.
Which left me to revert back to a previous project in creating a focus to help with various bits of magic.
The Cores of Power remain as my initial, yet only successful focus, and it remained purely focused for technomancy, and psionics.
Psionics could even be considered it's own brand of magic, but the system was a bit persnickety when I tried to use it for the magic I was currently experimenting with.
Thus, I was building out another set of nano cores that could be used for a broader spectrum of magic.
Eventually, I would upgrade my current cores to match these, but I needed to attain proof of concept before randomly adding magic to my cybernetics.
It was a very delicate balance and if I added the wrong shit in the wrong order, I'd have to probably reinstall the current cybernetics that I have.
A green portal opened up in front of my desk, and a body fell through, face planting the floor.
Eleanor's face was revealed as she scrambled her way to her feet.
"Kiddo, not that I'm not happy to see you, but how the hell did you get here?" I ask, surprised at the sudden arrival.
"I followed the bond. I needed Liz to supply a rift, but I needed to talk to you rather urgently." She said brushing some dirt off her pants.
"What could possibly be so urgent that you'd cross dimensional boundaries to talk?" I ask pulling up another chair.
Eleanor reached up to her head and parted her hair, revealing dark red roots that were ever so slowly regenerating and degrading.
"Ah. Yeah I would indeed consider it a problem." I reply gently brushing my hands through her hair and checking other spots.
"What's going on? Can you fix it?" She asked, her voice quavering slightly, betraying her outer calm.
A needle emerges from my finger tip and extracts a blood sample and I start analyzing it.
[Analysis complete!]
[Big Sister genetic material degradation detected!]
["Apex Daddy" perk is providing stand in power to prevent further damage.]
"You didn't receive treatment for being a Big Sister did you?" I ask, kicking myself for forgetting such a possibility. Their was an entire DLC in the game dedicated to finding a solution for the issue.
"No. I didn't think I needed to considering that I was different." She replied, relaxing back into the chair.
"Well, as far as I can see, the big sister stuff is degrading like the others. But we should be able to fix it by overwriting the genetic material." I offer, stabbing a syringe into my own arm.
"Which means?" She asked as I paged through the gamers shop and buy a potion.
[Genetic potion] (Epic)
Permanently rewrites the genetics of the drinker to that of the donor. (A drop of blood is required.)
"I have a genetic potion right here that should fix your issue. I'm more than happy to supply the material, but we can also visit Sophia and get the material from her. Or we can do something else if you like." I reply handing her the vial.
[That is quite the ingenious solution.]
[In any other context it might not work]
"Really?!" She exclaimed, jumping up and hugging me, surprising the hell out of me.
"Well yeah. Mind you, it will probably be a bit painful since we're recoding your genetics, but the end result will mean you're officially my kid." I reply, scratching the back of my head.
"Why didn't you offer before?" She asked, cradling the potion gingerly.
"It's a painful process, and unnecessary given how I don't care about stuff like that. Since we have to overwrite the big sister DNA, this is just a logical leap." I state, trying to run through all the variables in my head.
The biggest thing that constantly glared back at me however, was such a monumental leap, that I wasn't sure if Eleanor would take it.
"Eleanor, I do have to warn you. Your body may change in a manner that you won't like if you use my DNA." I try to explain, before she interrupts me.
"I am aware Tavish, but I'd much rather have you as a biological father than some stranger . . ." She started, before I held up a hand.
"Not what I'm getting at kiddo. I'm biologically immortal. My body has so many different factors within it that it's a real potluck on what you may get, and that's strictly biologically. Regardless of what happens, you'll most likely come out of the procedure a demigod at a minimum."
"I only stress this because I don't think I discussed it with anyone else properly. Living forever is a big task. What will happen after the first hundred years? How about two hundred? Are you sure you want to risk that?" I ask, letting silence fall between us as she thought about what I said.
"What are you going to do after we're all gone?" Eleanor slowly countered, as I smile sadly.
"Haven't got that far yet, I've only got two or three centuries under my belt so far. I imagine I'd get very sad for a time. But that's why I try to make the most of it. Usually when I cross dimensions, time freezes."
"My curiosity pushes me forward to keep discovering. To see how people react in different ways to different things. I'm just thankful that I never got access to omnipotence." I continue, rambling at this point.
"Then, you're just going to have to teach me how to be an immortal Dad. You said yourself that it was a "possibility". So lets get this done. Plus, I always wanted to see the universe through your eyes." She insists, excitement brimming under the surface.
"Alright, just wanted to warn you . . ." I reply, smiling slightly.
Taking the potion, I drop a bit of my blood in, watching it take on a shifting rainbow color.
"Well then, bottoms up Ellie." I reply, handing the potion back to her.
She downed the potion in one go, and I could see the degradation vanish from her scalp.
Her eyes then rolled up into her head and she passed out.
I watched her hair, slowly fall out and get replaced with my red locks, her bone structure shifting ever so slightly.
Probably a good thing that she passed out for this.
Could not be comfortable having her genetics rearranged like this.
Walking to the back, I lay her on a bed.
What all she had inherited, could only be determined with time. But that was ok. Its not like I was running short of it.
. . .
Maybe I should take her to a school to discover it. She was certainly young enough.
Marvel was a tad dangerous for someone coming into their powers.
It's a shame considering it would be funny if she was enrolled at Xavier's school for gifted youngsters.
Some of the veins in her arms glowed red, causing my eyes to narrow.
Argent . . .
Fuck, I forgot all about a rather crucial portion of my powers.
Might have to take her to hell for a few weeks to burn off some aggression.
. . .
Eh, who knows. Might be fun.
[Time Skip]
[Monk Tavish]
Well, my miracle worked as intended.
A lot of people started showing up to my monastery.
I even had a very official looking person show up and start watching my sermons.
One of the most common activities that now took up my day, was repairing improperly installed cyberware.
But I now had the benefit of donations.
This past week had seen the surge of roughly 24,000 eddies flowing in, allowing to dedicate one of my omnic hybrids to slowly start developing monk specific cyberware.
No religion gets anywhere without offering some form of benefit, so parishioners can show their "faith" with our own brand of cyberware, with the more faithful receiving access to higher end models.
I just received permits for what was created so far, allowing for use to finally cover our expenses independently, and we accepted our first "initiate" from Arroyo.
Tray Gurnam, an ex-soldier and borderline cyberpsycho, came in one day searching for any sort of closure for the voices in his head.
I spent the time talking him through his issues, and he hung around the temple cleaning, reading Shambali scripture, or praying at the alter.
He wouldn't let me touch his cyberware for the first week he was here, and I was only able to give him a medical check up.
Now I could see his arm gleam under the sunlight as he tended to several bonsai trees in the front yard.
[Spiritual Tree] (Legendary)
A bonsai tree that gathers pure mana with the simple intent of healing its surroundings to a natural state.
I doubt the locals noticed that the air, or the earth seemed cleaner here. But I did, and I think that Tray noticed a bit, but couldn't quite pinpoint the source.
A red fox bounded out of a bush nearby and sat itself on top of a rock, curling up to sun itself.
[Kitsune]
Class: Fox Spirit
Lvl – 101
Thoughts – Peace
The fox I honestly had no idea about. It just kinda showed up one day and made itself at home.
Pretty sure most of the gods in this world are gone, and unless spirits made it a purpose to wander freely, it was here on behalf of someone.
Still, it wasn't doing any harm so he could hang around.
I was pulled from my thoughts as a car pulled out in front of the gate.
And the van continued to sit outside the gate as I stood up. I could detect three or four minds beyond the door, but two were muddled, as if occupied with something else.
[Intrusion detected!]
[Activating Asgard!]
I felt the two minds be snuffed out as the data fortress on my mind violently lashed out, frying the brains of the two runners.
The program had spent the last several centuries refining itself, so I was curious as to what it would do.
I leap up and balance on top of the wall separating us from the street, and I could see the runners compatriots trying to elicit a response from the two plugged into the local network.
Looks like the four belonged to the Voodoo Boys judging by the Haitian creole them they seemed to favor.
"You know, If Maman Brigitte wished to talk, a simple message would suffice." I comment airily, causing the two to jump and glare up at me.
"Oh, stop your glares, I saw the virus you were trying to set loose in my network. And I'm sure Netwatch would be more than happy to know where you gentlemen are hanging out at. So, I recommend getting out of here and never coming back. I will even forget this incident." I offer, keeping the calm personality.
I watched them slowly getting back into their van, and driving away.
Hopefully I have a runner join up in the future so I could leave incidents like this to them.
"What was that, Abbot?" Tray called up to me."
Some Voodoo boys. They tried to set a daemon loose on the network for some reason." I reply landing back on the path inside.
"My data fortress held them off, but I'm afraid on what will happen if I wasn't here." I muse aloud, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"I know a runner from when I was serving. I could call her up if you like." Tray offered, causing me to look at him.
"Is she trustworthy?" I ask, and he shrugs/
"I lost contact about two years ago, so I have no idea if she still does freelance work." He returned, and I nodded.
"It is a place to start. Worst case scenario, she doesn't and I'll have to hire a fixer to find one for us." I reply, and he happily nods.
Hopefully the rest of the parishioners that join up are as easy going as Tray.
No need for extra drama in a place of healing.
[Interlude: Eleanor's Rage]
[3rd Person POV]
In the room's darkness, Eleanor's drastic shifts continue as components of Tavish's blood become prevalent.
Pulses of Argent flash throughout the room before her eyes shoot open.
Emerald green iris's spark and turn red, familiar words echoing throughout the room.
"Rip and Tear . . ." She snarled before the potion forced her to pass out once more.
Loud thumps and scrambling was heard as Tavish threw open the door.
"Goddammit, I was hopping that bit wasn't genetic." He swore, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside the bed.
"Guess I'm going to have to keep an eye on you until you wake up. Don't want you just running off and "ripping and tearing" just anyone to shreds." He grumbles, looking down at her affectionately, before pulling a book out of his inventory and beginning to read.
[Omake: Dimension Hopping, and the Tardis Tavern]
[Tavish POV]
I set a glass of rainbow fruit wine on the counter in front of Macha.
"One for the lovely lady." I offer, causing her to smile slightly.
"Why thank you dear barkeep. Mayhap you'll regale this fair maiden with tales of your adventures since leaving those Greeks?" She giggled, as I muse on which tale to tell.
"I became a divine dragon?" I offer up causing her to raise her eyebrow skeptically.
"Even had my own following and everything. But they were getting a bit creepy so I had to leave." I finish, causing her to grin.
"Well godhood isn't for everyone . . . ." she started, before there was a loud knock at the door.
Snapping my fingers, the door flew open and three individuals stepped through.
[The Doctor]
Lvl - ?
Thoughts - Curiosity, excitement, intrigue
[Amy Pond]
Lvl – 43
Thoughts – Curiosity
[Rory Pond]
Lvl – 39
Thoughts – Curiosity, confusion
"Tavish! How long has it been? I have not seen you since . . ." The Matt Smith lookalike started before I interrupted.
"Spoilers mate. Haven't met you folks yet." I reply, confusing Macha.
"Tavish, what are you talking about? She asked curiously, causing me to shrug.
"Well, they are time travelers, and they must have met me at a future point in my timeline. The Lanky bloke is a Time Lord, the other two are humans. I'll let them introduce themselves, shall I?"
"Right you are! I am the Doctor. These two are Amy and Rory Pond." The Doctor introduced looking the goddess up and down.
"A pleasure. I am Macha, goddess of life, war, and death." She replied, Amy and Rory, jumping a bit and watching her warily.
"From the Celtic Pantheon? I don't believe I've met an Irish god before. . ." The Doctor started ranting excitedly before I clear my throat.
"Anyway, welcome to the Tardis Tavern, what can I help you with." I introduce, watching the doctors eyes take a slightly shifty demeanor, glancing back at the goddess.
"Tavish, I will see you at a later time. Come and visit?" She asked, taking the hint. She picked up her glass and downing it in one."
"Always Macha." I grin, pulling a cask out from under the counter and handing it to her.
She swoops in and gives me a kiss on the cheek, before leaving with a swish of her Tartan.
"Lovely woman. It's a shame that I can't chat with her some more . . ." I comment, pouring three more glasses of rainbow fruit wine.
"Now, what can I help you folks with?" I ask, the Doctor sniffing his drink experimentally, while Amy took a sip of her's.
"Quick question. Was that really a goddess?" Rory piped up, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"'Course she is. Lot of gods wander through at one point or another. You should have seen Amaterasu when she was in here. The lady incinerated every patron, and then rebuilt them from atoms. Hell of a thing. I'm glad I can withstand that sort of thing." I comment airily, causing a slightly drunk Amy to comment; "That's not a euphemism, right?"
I move her drink a little bit away from her, remembering that most mortals can't handle straight 93% proof.
"Nope. They were reduced to atoms. Thankfully, as a goddess of creation, she has a bit of leeway with that sort of thing." I inform as the Doctor took a sip of the drink.
"Yes well, its not your knowledge of goddesses that I seek, but your knowledge of demon's . . ." The Doctor informed, causing me to sigh.
"The hell did they do now? And am I going to have to close the bar to deal with it?" I ask, as the Doctor looks around.
"Well, hell appears to be merging with a world we were visiting . . ." He starts explaining, causing me to sigh once more.
"Alright, let's see the damage." I reply ringing the last call bell, taking my apron off, and heading towards the door.
