177. Games with Time

- I'M CLOCKWORK… What the hell? - I exclaimed against my will, with a strong German accent, which was pretty surprised. Not to an accent, this is quite logical, but to what I called the alien's nickname.

- What? Is there something you don't like? After all, I did as you wanted and opened access to Chronosapiens, which you actively hinted at. - Azmuth asked as if innocently, but it was clear from his eyes that he was now laughing in his heart.

- Why am I, like a fool, shouting out the hero's name? - I asked indignantly, throwing a menacing glance of my robotic eyes at Azmuth, who was looking at me with noticeable gloating.

It was evident from Galvan's face that he was not going to answer my question and wanted me to suffer a little longer, but fortunately, my dear Morgana came to the rescue.

- [Azmuth not only unlocked this alien, but also unlocked the Transformation Speech Function. To put it simply, now when you transform, you will always call the name of the alien, regardless of your desire. Moreover, the name is selected automatically by the Omnitrix systems.] - Morgana reported, in whose voice one could notice suppressed laughter.

- Why? This is so stupid and embarrassing… - I said sadly, looking at Azmuth.

- Did you think you could blackmail me just like that, and there would be no consequences? - Azmuth asked, arching a nonexistent eyebrow.

- I didn't blackmail, I only persuaded you the right decision... - I said awkwardly, looking away.

- Whatever you call it and what wording you don't use, it was pure blackmail. - said the Galvan, throwing a contemptuous look at me.

- [That frog is right, dear.] - Morgana said.

- And you, Brutus… - I said contritely. One pleased that Azmuth was notably jarred by the way Morgana called him and his reaction will amuse me for a long time to come.

- Khm, in general, enjoy your punishment. Now you will be doing this for a long time. I hope you feel ashamed. - Azmuth said, regaining his composure, with a nasty smirk.

- But, I didn't do anything wrong. On the contrary, I want to correct my actions and return everything as it was. Yes, I used a little blackmail, but only because I knew that you would reject a direct request right away. - I said, directly exuding resentment at everything and everything.

- You are, in general, right. And I understand thus. That's why you got such a lenient punishment. Other than feeling ashamed, nothing will change for you. - Azmuth said, grinning again. Infuriates...

- Morgana, can you turn off this function? - I asked, realizing that I would not get anything from Azmuth. Old stubborn…

- [I can, honey, but I won't. You react so strongly to such absurdity, and I simply cannot deny myself this pleasure. This is very funny.] - said Morgan, frankly mocking me.

- Absurdity? It's a real shame! Every time I'll make a fool of myself by screaming the names of the heroes. What about my reputation as a tough hero? Now I have become like a teenager with eighth grade syndrome… - squatting down, which was not easy due to my overweight, metal body, I said bashfully, covering my face with my hands.

- [You are a teenager…] - Morgana said, but I ignored she.

- Well, don't worry about it. You will suffer for a couple of months, and then you will get used to it and the function will turn itself off, because it will no longer be so funny. - Azmuth said as if sympathetically, to whom my suffering is clearly a joy.

- Why did you add such stupidity to your watch in the first place? - I asked, removing my hands.

- What do you mean why? To mock, of course. You know how funny it looks from the outside when you shout out the name of the hero with a confident voice? At this spectacle, I am ready to look forever. - As if nothing had happened, Azmuth said, also showing a thumbs up.

- I'll take revenge... on both of you... - I promised irritably.

- You can try, but you probably won't succeed. Don't forget, I'm older and more experienced than you by several dozen times. To me, all your intentions are as clear as water. You can never surprise me. - Azmuth said calmly. without doubting your words.

- We'll see. The day will come when you will regret that you made me feel this humiliation. This goes for you too, Morgana. - standing up straight, I said, pointing my finger at Galvan.

From which, however, he simply brushed aside, obviously not taking my words seriously, saying lightly:

- Do not overdo it. And in any case, stop pulling the rubber. You got your way and got Chronosapiens, so do your job and put everything back the way it was.

- We'll see who will cry last… - I muttered in annoyance, but still did as Azmuth said.

Feeling on an instinctive level the ability to Chronokinesis of this alien, I called out to them and, collecting the power of time in my hand, directed it at the small alien in the form of a beam of green energy, with the desire to return everything as it was, until the moment I imposed my curse.

Azmuth' body flew upwards, enveloped in temporal energy. Turning my hand slightly to the left, I began to rewind time for his body, but not for his mind, so that he would not forget what had happened in the last few hours. I do not want the previous conflict to resume.

Since the powers of the Clockwork are extremely high and this race is accustomed to using Chronokinesis for bigger games with time, I had to be as careful as possible not to overdo it and erase the Galvan from time.

Luckily, my concentration was enough and soon, a ball of magical energy flew out of Azmuth' head, which I grabbed into the time bubble using my other hand. After freeing Azmuth and making sure he was all right, I turned my attention to my spell.

While creating this spell, I was under the influence of strong emotions and, frankly, I don't quite understand how I did it. I found the spell itself in my grimoire, but initially it was much weaker, and in some unknown way I was able to modify and strengthen it.

No wonder they say that emotions have great power, and in symbiosis with magic, it turns into something even more incredible. At the time I cast the curse, my main desire was to punish Azmuth and deprive him of what was most important. His intellect.

However, knowing all the possibilities of Galvan, I passionately wanted to make sure that he could not remove the spell before he was completely stunned. And I obviously overdid it.

When I regained my self-control, I saw the result of my labor, and, to put it mildly, I was shocked. I couldn't even imagine that I could use such complex magic. It seemed to me that to such a level, I'm still very far away. But it turned out that I just need to go crazy with anger, and everything is under my control.

The only problem is that due to the complexity of the spell itself, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off even though I created it myself. And in no case was it possible to take risks, because one mistake could lead to the death of Azmuth. So, I had to look for alternative ways to solve the problem.

I had a few ideas, but luckily, the Omnitrix worked again, and everything became easier. Thanks to Azmuth, I got the Clockwork (I tried in vain for this bastard), so, using his power over time, I decided to make it look like the spell never hit Azmuth. And everything worked wonderfully.

Still, when I was in the form of Anodite, I became the very embodiment of Magic and only something as powerful, a force of a higher order, could mark my actions. The power of time turned out to be just what was needed.

True, I now regret that I removed my curse so quickly, I should have given Azmuth a little time so that he would suffer more. Maybe he would be nicer, like ma… alien. And it seems that he still has not corrected his terrible character.

While I was indulging in my thoughts, Azmuth came to his senses and, rising to his feet, said with difficulty: - Urgh, now my head hurts again...

- Deserved. - I said harshly, erasing my spell using my power of time.

Still, this speel turned out to be too dangerous for me. I, too, am afraid of losing my intellect, and for me this spell would also become the worst nightmare.

- Maybe… - the alien said wearily, rubbing his head.

Feeling a little pity for him, still he is an old man, I decided to help him, and turning into Dr. Fatty, I used his healing powers in order to ease the pain of Azmuth. True, I again exclaimed the name of the hero, and all my pity was replaced by irritation, but since I had already decided to do the job, I did not back down and helped Azmuth.

- Ah, it's easier… - Azmuth said with relief as I treated him.

At the same time, I decided to improve his health, after all, he is not young and he has enough of his sores caused by age, so my help will not be superfluous. As annoying as he is, I don't want him to die. He will still be useful to me.

Since the treatment was supposed to take several minutes, and I did not want to sit in silence, I decided to ask a question: - Can I ask you something?

- You already did it. - Azmuth said with a smirk, but when he saw my twitching eye, he relented and added: - Okey, ask.

- I created the spell thinking that two months would not be enough for you to create something that could remove it, especially if you get dumber every day. But, in light of how I solved this problem myself, I had a question: Could you turn to the Chronosapiens for help or create some kind of machine that can rewind time, just like i did now?

- The answer to both of your questions is no. Chronosapiens are not so easy to find, and two months would not have been enough for me to find at least one representative of this race, and even if I were lucky, it is not a fact that he would agree to help. They are generally not very pleasant in communication reasonable. And as for the machine, maybe I could have come up with an apparatus capable of this, but again, I would not have had enough time to bring it to life. Yet to create something so complex is not so simple. And I could not even trust this to anyone else, not even my assistant, because the price of a mistake is too high. - Azmuth said honestly.

- So you really couldn't get rid of the spell? - I asked.

Throwing a menacing look at me, Azmuth hesitated, but answered, while sighing: - Eh, I don't want to admit it, but yes, with your spell, you confused me, and in the conditions in which I found myself, I would not have been able to solve the problem. At least without outside help, that's for sure.

- That's good to know. - I said, trying to hide my smirk.

- And I don't need to smirk here, this is just a coincidence. You have nothing to be proud of, understand? - Azmuth said displeasedly, trying to scare me with his menacing look.

- I didn't think of anything like that. Plus, I'm done with your treatment. - I said, rising from my knees on which I was standing to make it easier to healing.

- Something I doubt... - Azimus muttered.

- Okay, let's not argue anymore, I still have something to do. Go to the captain's bridge and tell the others that I'll be done soon. I'M CLOCKWORK... motherf**ker! - I said, changing the alien again, and again involuntarily screaming, which again enraged me.

- Ha ha ha, it's all funny too. - Azmuth said with a laugh, starting to walk into the depths of the ship, finally adding: - Okay, I won't distract you.

Continuing to grumble and throw curses at the little aline's back (only verbal this time, without magic), I nevertheless set off on my way, simultaneously using the power of time in order to restore Xenon to his original beauty