Assembler
Rocking the life
Intentional AU change? In canon, it was Siberian who killed Hero.
Hymn of Harmony (Worm/Ar Tonelico Crossover Alt Trigger Taylor) (Complete)
- Thread starter dingbat779
- Start date
-
- Tags
- ar tonelico worm alt!power
- Status
Intentional AU change? In canon, it was Siberian who killed Hero.
- Location
- PA
Definitely AU.
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Since this is an AU can we avoid a slaughterhouse 9 arc and have them not exist or something because they drag the quality of many stories down and it would be more interesting to see the aftermath of what happens when the greatest known threats to the world are dead and how Taylor reacts to all the power she has gained
- Location
- PA
Read the chapter "The Unlamented" of this story after the Fourth Arc. They bite the dust there.
They died a while back.
Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Sorry forgot about that was reading other worm stories like monster and your hyperdemsion Taylor and got confused
and that is one of the best decisions you made in this story
Seventh Arc 7.4
- Location
- PA
Hymn of Harmony
or Melody of Escalation
Seventh Arc 7.4
-May 21, 2011-
-Outside of Brockton Bay-
Day 1
Today was the first day of practice for my new Song. I know roughly how it's supposed to work, but the implementation will be hard. Cocona, Despedia, Sonata, and Lisa were all at a safe distance. They insisted on coming out with me just in case I needed assistance. No way was I going to disagree. The area was fairly large as I was using force field generators to make a one hundred foot radius dome. It was for the best that no one wander into it accidentally. My family each had a device to let them walk through the barrier and the monitoring equipment was recording everything. I wasn't expecting it to go perfectly on the first try. My seat was one of those sinfully leather chairs just because I could. Also this wouldn't work if I had to worry about falling down.
The mental checklist included reinforcing my energy pathways, reinforcing my body, strengthening my bones, and enhancing my flesh. Four goals to meet. I was going to have to do them all at the same time which would require four different Songs. At least at first. Once I figured out the exact method then combining them into one was the next step. In order to avoid killing myself I was going to use my Tranquil Song. Healing and regeneration in one package. It was probably the only Song I felt safe using at this time.
First Step. Tranquil Song
My body flooded with healing energy. It had nothing to do at this moment, but that was fine. I waited a few minutes to let the momentum build.
Second Step: Reinforcement: Energy Pathways
I started a new tangent line of thought. The basic idea behind reinforcement was to create a stable shell around what you were trying to enhance and then fill it with energy. Deceptively simple and diabolically complex. My voice wove the energy carefully. I used a bit of extra energy for Oversight. Ugh. It was taking more and more energy to force it as I aligned more to this dimension. I dedicated a single Core to fueling Oversight and my mind expanded once more. I felt my inner strength improve. It felt a little bouncy, but I could iron it out later. The inner heat from using this power cooled, but didn't affect the flow.
Levels holding steady. Body condition green. If I move, it will still screw me over. Right now I'm balanced.
Third Step: Reinforcement: General Body
I started a third tangent line. For this step I was going to focus on a full body reinforcement. I wasn't going to focus on one specific area until later steps. Instead of wasting time with Oversight, I simply allocated another Core and hooked it up. There we are. Much more efficient. The energy flowed through my body. It seeped into my muscles, bones, and skin. Enhancement was at two hundred percent and holding. Today wasn't the day to push my luck. A faint sensation of pain crept through my body, but it faded soon after. Right. Gradual increase it is.
Fourth Step: Reinforcement: Skeletal Structure
I started a fourth tangent line. In order to contain the power my flesh and bones needed to be stronger. It would have the added benefit of giving me a nice Brute package. I connected Oversight to a third Core and allowed it to guide me further. It was a strange sensation as my bones hardened and grew denser with energy. I felt like my body was being pressed into the chair as my weight increased. The leather creaked in mute protest. One hundred percent increase and holding. A stronger sensation of pain arced up my spine, but it faded. Ugh. I needed more practice.
Fifth Step: Reinforcement: Musculature
I started the fifth tangent line. My body was starting to heat up, but I could manage this. The healing song cooled my body once more. The other enhancements were making it easier. That was good to know. They were already working. Oversight was connected to a fourth Core and I felt something spear my brain. Uh oh. Too much too fast. I didn't even get a chance to scream before a literally plume of fire shot straight upward. The chair was destroyed and my body crashed to the ground. I couldn't stop twitching. Oh that was nice. The healing song was still going so the worst injury was to my pride.
"Taylor!" There are worse things than injuries to your pride. Worrying your loved ones.
Day 1: Steps One through Four: Success. Step Five: Failure
Notes: I smell like barbecue.
-May 22, 2011-
-Outside of Brockton Bay-
Day 2
Initiating the first four steps happened as they did yesterday. I wasn't going to attempt step five yet. For now I was just going to grow more accustomed to the sensations. At least today I didn't need to spam Oversight to get to this point. Once it was done, the progress remained. Unfortunately the words to the Songs weren't coming to me. They were just wordless melodies. If I hadn't shown my family that there were no injuries, today's tests would have been scrapped. Without my input. Okay. No pain. Everything green. No excess heat.
Fifth Step: Reinforcement: Musculature
I started the fifth tangent line. The heat spiked sharply. I waited until my internal temperature dropped once more. Keep it stable. Connect the Core to the Oversight. Raw pain shot through my body as the energy slammed through me like a herd of horses wearing spiked shoes. I used more power for Tranquil Song. The heat and pain lowered, but persisted. My muscles hardened until they were as stone. I couldn't move. My lungs, diaphragm, and heart were paralyzed. No. Not paralyzed. Hardened muscle. Shit shit shit! All at once the tension in my body ended and everything failed. I was half delirious from lack of oxygen. Thank goodness that nearly asphyxiating could save my life.
"What the hell happened?" Cocona demanded as soon as she was within range.
"Cocona...let her breath." Lisa tried to calm my girlfriend down.
"Geez...trying to kill yourself?" Despedia asked. Sonata shook her head.
"Run us through the steps again?" My daughter half suggested/demanded.
"Reinforcement of the energy pathways, body, bones, and muscles." I ran through the list as my breathing stabilized. All five of us were probably feeling silly as a rather glaring error made itself known.
"Taylor honey? How could you move if you don't enhance your flexibility?" Cocona asked sweetly. Of course my body turned to stone. There was no flexibility or give anywhere.
"Heh heh...oops...?" I smiled sheepishly with the feeling that wasn't the right answer to give.
I was right.
-May 28, 2011-
-Outside of Brockton Bay-
Day 3
They made me wait an entire week to try again. I'll admit having that much time to examine the data was good. With everything active I had a three hundred percent boost in all physical parameters as well as energy manipulation. Unfortunately without flexibility there was no way to actually make use of it. Here's hoping I don't discover a new and exciting way to kill myself. Steps one through four remained unchanged. It was much easier to reach this point.
Fifth Step: Reinforcement: Flexibility and Elasticity
I started the fifth tangent line. With the time to analyze the data, I didn't need to resort to Oversight this time. Once the melody began I felt a peculiar lassitude settle over my limbs. My heart started to beat slower and my lungs could barely inflate. Oh damn it all to hell and back. Too much elasticity.
Sixth Step: Reinforcement: Musculature
I started the sixth tangent line. There was no time to play around with a gradual build up. This might actually kill me. The energy flowed through my muscles and caused them to harden once more. It rather neatly counteracted the negative side effect of the fifth stage. I managed to avoid a catastrophic failure this time.
"Don't get up. Just stick to the plan, Taylor." Lisa scolded me before I could even think of standing.
"How does it feel?" Cocona asked. I exhaled slowly.
"Hideously expensive, terribly inefficient, and I think it's deeply flawed. How it actually feels? Pretty good. They interact well together. I feel a three hundred percent improvement across the board." I told them.
"Three hundred percent? So wait...you're only three times stronger than you were...after all of this...?" Despedia's disbelief neatly summed up my own feelings.
"Mom that's so boo." Sonata chimed in. The blue black haired love of my life looked at her in amusement.
"Stealing my lines now? I have to agree. It is boo." Cocona replied.
"Well I just said it's hideously expensive." I released the Songs, except for the healing, and let the lethargy wash over me. This was ridiculous.
"What if you studied how an Endbringer did it? I know the flesh was really a strange form of projection, but don't the same principals apply?" Lisa suggested. See? It doesn't matter how brilliant you are there are going to be things missed. They looked surprised by my sudden face palm.
"Bad idea...?" Despedia hinted, but didn't look too sure.
"Oh it's not a bad idea at all. It's a great idea. I even have the methodology for how they constructed their bodies. That's how my healing Song evolved actually. I could just apply the principles directly to my Interface Layer. It would only take a single Core to sustain it instead of the five I was about to use. Honestly it wouldn't even take me that much power." The looks I was receiving did not help my ego at all.
"That's it. We're going home. No! Just no. We're going home and you're going over the calculations again. With Mir, Shurelia, Tyria, and Frelia. You hear me?" Cocona laid down the law. I just nodded meekly.
"It should have worked..." I argued weakly.
"Wow...Cocona's really laying into her..." My white haired friend sounded almost admiring.
"Mom mom mom..." Even my daughter was shaking her head at our antics.
"We could have avoided all of this that easily?" Lisa groaned. "I swear she'll be the death of me yet..."
-Hebert House: Late that Night-
The calculations for my aborted project sat in front of me. It was a great attempt at trying to remain flesh and blood. They probably didn't realize what this was going to cost me. Right now I was still mortal. Going through with using the Endbringer calculations would make me not mortal. They tolerated my experiments, but it was killing them by degrees to watch me hurt myself. I let them think the thought hadn't crossed my mind to try and avoid this, but it all came back to this solution. The connection to the chat channel was locked down. They didn't need to know of my conundrum. I would do it, but my heart was disquieted.
"Want to talk about it?" Cocona asked. I smiled wanly at her as she entered the kitchen. Even with the channel closed, she still knew my thoughts kept me awake. I stared at the terminal before me once more.
"I won't be mortal anymore, Cocona. Right now? I'll still die eventually. Two hundred and fifty years, but still a mortal lifespan. If I alter my Interface Layer? I won't be mortal anymore. That's what I keep coming back to. Everyone will grow old and die, but I won't." Future loneliness gripped my heart. Warm arms enfolded my head and dispelled the ice.
"I'll be here. You gave me a connection as well. Just teach me the Song and we'll be together." I stared at her in amazement. To her it really was that easy. I'm having an existential crisis and she cut right through it like it was nothing.
"How is it so easy for you?" I asked her in disbelief. She shook her head before sitting in my lap.
"You're looking at it wrong. Of course becoming immortal means that eventually you will outlive our friends. What it also means is that you can better protect them and their legacy. You won't be alone either. I'll be here." She slid her arms around my neck. I let it settle in my mind. It wasn't quite that easy to let go of my fears and uncertainties, but the girl in my arms did make a good argument.
"Fine. I'll go over the calculations for everything first and talk it over with the family." I kissed her softly. "Get their opinion." She purred softly.
"Good idea. You know what they'll say." Cocona stared in my eyes. She was right. I did know what they'd say. Anything to keep me safe. Considering that I would do anything to keep them safe we balanced each other out. My grand ideas ultimately boiled down to creating a world that was safe for my family. That would just have to be enough.
AN: Short chapter to get back into the writing groove for this story. I was going to extend it out to a few chapters, but frankly endless trial and error montages aren't exciting to me. It's like DBZ. Moments of excitement after twenty episodes of grunting and straining.
We're going to avoid that. Okay?
or Melody of Escalation
Seventh Arc 7.4
-May 21, 2011-
-Outside of Brockton Bay-
Day 1
Today was the first day of practice for my new Song. I know roughly how it's supposed to work, but the implementation will be hard. Cocona, Despedia, Sonata, and Lisa were all at a safe distance. They insisted on coming out with me just in case I needed assistance. No way was I going to disagree. The area was fairly large as I was using force field generators to make a one hundred foot radius dome. It was for the best that no one wander into it accidentally. My family each had a device to let them walk through the barrier and the monitoring equipment was recording everything. I wasn't expecting it to go perfectly on the first try. My seat was one of those sinfully leather chairs just because I could. Also this wouldn't work if I had to worry about falling down.
The mental checklist included reinforcing my energy pathways, reinforcing my body, strengthening my bones, and enhancing my flesh. Four goals to meet. I was going to have to do them all at the same time which would require four different Songs. At least at first. Once I figured out the exact method then combining them into one was the next step. In order to avoid killing myself I was going to use my Tranquil Song. Healing and regeneration in one package. It was probably the only Song I felt safe using at this time.
First Step. Tranquil Song
My body flooded with healing energy. It had nothing to do at this moment, but that was fine. I waited a few minutes to let the momentum build.
Second Step: Reinforcement: Energy Pathways
I started a new tangent line of thought. The basic idea behind reinforcement was to create a stable shell around what you were trying to enhance and then fill it with energy. Deceptively simple and diabolically complex. My voice wove the energy carefully. I used a bit of extra energy for Oversight. Ugh. It was taking more and more energy to force it as I aligned more to this dimension. I dedicated a single Core to fueling Oversight and my mind expanded once more. I felt my inner strength improve. It felt a little bouncy, but I could iron it out later. The inner heat from using this power cooled, but didn't affect the flow.
Levels holding steady. Body condition green. If I move, it will still screw me over. Right now I'm balanced.
Third Step: Reinforcement: General Body
I started a third tangent line. For this step I was going to focus on a full body reinforcement. I wasn't going to focus on one specific area until later steps. Instead of wasting time with Oversight, I simply allocated another Core and hooked it up. There we are. Much more efficient. The energy flowed through my body. It seeped into my muscles, bones, and skin. Enhancement was at two hundred percent and holding. Today wasn't the day to push my luck. A faint sensation of pain crept through my body, but it faded soon after. Right. Gradual increase it is.
Fourth Step: Reinforcement: Skeletal Structure
I started a fourth tangent line. In order to contain the power my flesh and bones needed to be stronger. It would have the added benefit of giving me a nice Brute package. I connected Oversight to a third Core and allowed it to guide me further. It was a strange sensation as my bones hardened and grew denser with energy. I felt like my body was being pressed into the chair as my weight increased. The leather creaked in mute protest. One hundred percent increase and holding. A stronger sensation of pain arced up my spine, but it faded. Ugh. I needed more practice.
Fifth Step: Reinforcement: Musculature
I started the fifth tangent line. My body was starting to heat up, but I could manage this. The healing song cooled my body once more. The other enhancements were making it easier. That was good to know. They were already working. Oversight was connected to a fourth Core and I felt something spear my brain. Uh oh. Too much too fast. I didn't even get a chance to scream before a literally plume of fire shot straight upward. The chair was destroyed and my body crashed to the ground. I couldn't stop twitching. Oh that was nice. The healing song was still going so the worst injury was to my pride.
"Taylor!" There are worse things than injuries to your pride. Worrying your loved ones.
Day 1: Steps One through Four: Success. Step Five: Failure
Notes: I smell like barbecue.
-May 22, 2011-
-Outside of Brockton Bay-
Day 2
Initiating the first four steps happened as they did yesterday. I wasn't going to attempt step five yet. For now I was just going to grow more accustomed to the sensations. At least today I didn't need to spam Oversight to get to this point. Once it was done, the progress remained. Unfortunately the words to the Songs weren't coming to me. They were just wordless melodies. If I hadn't shown my family that there were no injuries, today's tests would have been scrapped. Without my input. Okay. No pain. Everything green. No excess heat.
Fifth Step: Reinforcement: Musculature
I started the fifth tangent line. The heat spiked sharply. I waited until my internal temperature dropped once more. Keep it stable. Connect the Core to the Oversight. Raw pain shot through my body as the energy slammed through me like a herd of horses wearing spiked shoes. I used more power for Tranquil Song. The heat and pain lowered, but persisted. My muscles hardened until they were as stone. I couldn't move. My lungs, diaphragm, and heart were paralyzed. No. Not paralyzed. Hardened muscle. Shit shit shit! All at once the tension in my body ended and everything failed. I was half delirious from lack of oxygen. Thank goodness that nearly asphyxiating could save my life.
"What the hell happened?" Cocona demanded as soon as she was within range.
"Cocona...let her breath." Lisa tried to calm my girlfriend down.
"Geez...trying to kill yourself?" Despedia asked. Sonata shook her head.
"Run us through the steps again?" My daughter half suggested/demanded.
"Reinforcement of the energy pathways, body, bones, and muscles." I ran through the list as my breathing stabilized. All five of us were probably feeling silly as a rather glaring error made itself known.
"Taylor honey? How could you move if you don't enhance your flexibility?" Cocona asked sweetly. Of course my body turned to stone. There was no flexibility or give anywhere.
"Heh heh...oops...?" I smiled sheepishly with the feeling that wasn't the right answer to give.
I was right.
-May 28, 2011-
-Outside of Brockton Bay-
Day 3
They made me wait an entire week to try again. I'll admit having that much time to examine the data was good. With everything active I had a three hundred percent boost in all physical parameters as well as energy manipulation. Unfortunately without flexibility there was no way to actually make use of it. Here's hoping I don't discover a new and exciting way to kill myself. Steps one through four remained unchanged. It was much easier to reach this point.
Fifth Step: Reinforcement: Flexibility and Elasticity
I started the fifth tangent line. With the time to analyze the data, I didn't need to resort to Oversight this time. Once the melody began I felt a peculiar lassitude settle over my limbs. My heart started to beat slower and my lungs could barely inflate. Oh damn it all to hell and back. Too much elasticity.
Sixth Step: Reinforcement: Musculature
I started the sixth tangent line. There was no time to play around with a gradual build up. This might actually kill me. The energy flowed through my muscles and caused them to harden once more. It rather neatly counteracted the negative side effect of the fifth stage. I managed to avoid a catastrophic failure this time.
"Don't get up. Just stick to the plan, Taylor." Lisa scolded me before I could even think of standing.
"How does it feel?" Cocona asked. I exhaled slowly.
"Hideously expensive, terribly inefficient, and I think it's deeply flawed. How it actually feels? Pretty good. They interact well together. I feel a three hundred percent improvement across the board." I told them.
"Three hundred percent? So wait...you're only three times stronger than you were...after all of this...?" Despedia's disbelief neatly summed up my own feelings.
"Mom that's so boo." Sonata chimed in. The blue black haired love of my life looked at her in amusement.
"Stealing my lines now? I have to agree. It is boo." Cocona replied.
"Well I just said it's hideously expensive." I released the Songs, except for the healing, and let the lethargy wash over me. This was ridiculous.
"What if you studied how an Endbringer did it? I know the flesh was really a strange form of projection, but don't the same principals apply?" Lisa suggested. See? It doesn't matter how brilliant you are there are going to be things missed. They looked surprised by my sudden face palm.
"Bad idea...?" Despedia hinted, but didn't look too sure.
"Oh it's not a bad idea at all. It's a great idea. I even have the methodology for how they constructed their bodies. That's how my healing Song evolved actually. I could just apply the principles directly to my Interface Layer. It would only take a single Core to sustain it instead of the five I was about to use. Honestly it wouldn't even take me that much power." The looks I was receiving did not help my ego at all.
"That's it. We're going home. No! Just no. We're going home and you're going over the calculations again. With Mir, Shurelia, Tyria, and Frelia. You hear me?" Cocona laid down the law. I just nodded meekly.
"It should have worked..." I argued weakly.
"Wow...Cocona's really laying into her..." My white haired friend sounded almost admiring.
"Mom mom mom..." Even my daughter was shaking her head at our antics.
"We could have avoided all of this that easily?" Lisa groaned. "I swear she'll be the death of me yet..."
-Hebert House: Late that Night-
The calculations for my aborted project sat in front of me. It was a great attempt at trying to remain flesh and blood. They probably didn't realize what this was going to cost me. Right now I was still mortal. Going through with using the Endbringer calculations would make me not mortal. They tolerated my experiments, but it was killing them by degrees to watch me hurt myself. I let them think the thought hadn't crossed my mind to try and avoid this, but it all came back to this solution. The connection to the chat channel was locked down. They didn't need to know of my conundrum. I would do it, but my heart was disquieted.
"Want to talk about it?" Cocona asked. I smiled wanly at her as she entered the kitchen. Even with the channel closed, she still knew my thoughts kept me awake. I stared at the terminal before me once more.
"I won't be mortal anymore, Cocona. Right now? I'll still die eventually. Two hundred and fifty years, but still a mortal lifespan. If I alter my Interface Layer? I won't be mortal anymore. That's what I keep coming back to. Everyone will grow old and die, but I won't." Future loneliness gripped my heart. Warm arms enfolded my head and dispelled the ice.
"I'll be here. You gave me a connection as well. Just teach me the Song and we'll be together." I stared at her in amazement. To her it really was that easy. I'm having an existential crisis and she cut right through it like it was nothing.
"How is it so easy for you?" I asked her in disbelief. She shook her head before sitting in my lap.
"You're looking at it wrong. Of course becoming immortal means that eventually you will outlive our friends. What it also means is that you can better protect them and their legacy. You won't be alone either. I'll be here." She slid her arms around my neck. I let it settle in my mind. It wasn't quite that easy to let go of my fears and uncertainties, but the girl in my arms did make a good argument.
"Fine. I'll go over the calculations for everything first and talk it over with the family." I kissed her softly. "Get their opinion." She purred softly.
"Good idea. You know what they'll say." Cocona stared in my eyes. She was right. I did know what they'd say. Anything to keep me safe. Considering that I would do anything to keep them safe we balanced each other out. My grand ideas ultimately boiled down to creating a world that was safe for my family. That would just have to be enough.
AN: Short chapter to get back into the writing groove for this story. I was going to extend it out to a few chapters, but frankly endless trial and error montages aren't exciting to me. It's like DBZ. Moments of excitement after twenty episodes of grunting and straining.
We're going to avoid that. Okay?
TortugaGreen
Constantly out of the loop
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Science!
Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
So Taylor and Cocona are becoming more like Mir and Shurelia and have to deal with the fact that all of their friends won't be able to live with them forever there's not much in either world to help them with that expect the experience that Shurelia and the other origins have
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
Honestly I've never understood the conundrum.
It might be my asocial tendencies speaking, but the people around you will grow old and die anyway, it's nnot like you'll be causing them to die faster by you not aging as well.
Basically what I'm saying is that there are only benefits to this course of action.
Though I can appreciate the attachment to, and sentiment about, having a flesh-and-blood body; those rather elegant for what they are.
It might be my asocial tendencies speaking, but the people around you will grow old and die anyway, it's nnot like you'll be causing them to die faster by you not aging as well.
Basically what I'm saying is that there are only benefits to this course of action.
Though I can appreciate the attachment to, and sentiment about, having a flesh-and-blood body; those rather elegant for what they are.
Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The issue is how do you deal when the people you care die. Because humans are social creatures and care for their friends very much and even when you know someone will die their death will still hurt
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
People die anyway.
Though as I've said, I am probably the worst person to use as a basis for any sort of social interaction, including the lack of it.
- Location
- PA
You're still giving a good argument for not worrying. Emotions, deep feelings, those are all good things. Sometimes knowing how and when to let go is just as important.
Seventh Arc 7.5
- Location
- PA
Hymn of Harmony
or Melody of Escalation
Seventh Arc 7.5
It felt like I was floating. My body had no weight. When I opened my eyes there was nothing but a strange blue light. I looked up towards the greatest brightness and down towards the dark. There was the oddest sensation that it didn't matter which way I looked. Up, down, to the sides, nothing was as it seemed. I floated in the blue expanse with a feeling of peace.
"Take heart, child. There is nothing that you cannot do." A voice spoke to me. I could not identify whether the speaker was male or female. The impression I got was of a vast presence. I felt so small in comparison.
"Why do you feel small? Your heart and will are strong. Fear is natural, but you have nothing to be afraid of my dear." The voice was soothing. It was as if it wrapped me in warmth and security.
"Who are you?" I managed to ask. A feeling of gentle amusement washed over me.
"Now is not the time for that. The Golden Warrior approaches. He knows not why. You have so much to do and so little time." The voice warned. Golden Warrior? Who was that? I know the voice said not to be afraid, but fear was a natural response to a warning.
"You're as bad as Mir..." I didn't mean to say that out loud, but there it was. The sense of amusement returned.
"She is a troublesome child. It's good to know she outgrew her rebellious phase." Before I could answer that shocker, my spirit body was catapulted towards the light.
-June 4, 2011-
-Hebert House-
I awoke with a gasp. That was not a dream. Ever since my disastrous experiments in reinforcement there has been a sense of anticipation. Like there is something looming on the horizon. The Golden Warrior approaches. While it doesn't tell me exactly who, or what, the threat is, I can assume it's dangerous. There was a feeling of vast distance between the voice and myself. It wasn't science that connected us. It was something much deeper and more instinctive. I know this being, but not in the same way as other people. Yep. That made things much clearer.
I have nothing to be afraid of.
The absolute certainty of that voice washed away what doubts I had. Not from some mystic mumbo jumbo. It reinforced what I already knew. Cocona has been telling me not to fear. That I shouldn't hold back. Today was the day I told everyone about my decision. So I've been procrastinating. It's not like I'm perfect or anything. I make mistakes.
"Taylor! Time to get up!" Dad called from downstairs. Time for another fun filled day in the life of Taylor Hebert, Girl Genius. Go me.
I made it downstairs after a quick shower and a change of clothes. At least my clothing program was still working properly. All I needed was for that to stop working too. Me, cynical? Surely you jest. Uh oh. My family was giving me wary looks. Now what did I do?
"Honey? Why are you scowling so hard?" My dad asked. Scowling? I caught a glimpse of my expression in the toaster and my scowl gave way to a grimace.
"I've got more wonderful news for everyone." I think my tone was neutral. No one eased up on their concern. This was going to be so much fun. How do you explain to your family that mortal is something you can choose not to be? Oh yes, dear family, I think from now on I'll be immortal. Lovely day for it.
"Cool off, Princess." Despedia's voice stopped my internal rambling cold. Nope. Chat channel was still secure. I wasn't projecting.
"If you keep scowling like that, your face will freeze that way." Dad warned me. Sonata wrapped her arms around me.
"Just smile, Mom. You've got a great smile." She told me with an angelic smile of her own.
"This isn't a little thing, I know, but you're making too much of a fuss." Cocona stroked my hair. I nodded with a ghost of a smile.
"Fine. I'll explain what's turned me into a grouchy bear when Lisa gets here." Damn it all I wanted to sulk. That's a teenager's prerogative, right? Especially when the problems of a world drop into their lap. One of these days I was going to get some stress relief. Once I was no longer in danger of blowing my fragile body into bloody gibbets. We managed to get through breakfast, but the curiousity was eating them alive. The only one who knew the issue was Cocona. I'm glad she respected my wishes and let me handle explaining it all. Dad actually left to get Lisa instead of waiting for her to come here. I was puttering in the basement while we waited for him to get back.
"Whatcha doin'?" Despedia asked me.
"Hmmm...programming a jamming field. It's something I should have done sooner, but never really thought about it." I tapped a few keys on the terminal and a quiet hum let me know it was on.
"This is that big, huh?" My pink eyed friend sat on the sofa in the basement.
"It's pretty hard to swallow." I admitted. The urge to tell her everything nearly overwhelmed me. I resisted and tried so hard to avoid telling anyone. Now that the moment was almost upon me I could barely contain myself. I never said I was consistent. I squeaked as Despedia got tired of my moping and lifted me straight into her lap. Strange, but I didn't notice when she got taller. It was a couple inches at least. Did her physical changes include that?
"Relax. We love you. That's what should matter. Whatever you have to say can't be that bad." She genuinely meant that. Oh I know part of that was her loyalty talking. If I asked her to go pick apples in Washington she'd ask if I wanted Golden Delicious or Granny Smith. The fact that I could picture Emma saying that before everything got so fucked up made it mean more to me.
"This is cozy." Sonata sat down on the sofa beside Despedia. The feral girl wrapped an arm around the family cuddle bug. She was followed downstairs by the rest of the household plus Lisa. Why she didn't just live here was a mystery. The observant blonde arched an eyebrow and smirked. Right. That was why she didn't. A couple of know-at-alls in the same house was just begging for trouble.
"Okay kid. What did ya break?" Kat asked as she followed my dad down the steps. I was kind of surprised, but not really. Yes, I heard her melody, but the surprising thing was that he even brought her. Now I found myself wishing we'd brought Madison in on this.
"You tried to avoid it, but now you want to tell everyone." Cocona poked me in the side. I squirmed away.
"Stop teasing me or I'll stay silent. No one will know anything." Then just to prove I was serious, I stuck out my tongue.
"I swear, Taylor. We can't take you anywhere." Dad face palmed.
"This is my house. No one took me anywhere." I pointed out. Lisa groaned.
"You had to put her in a playful mood. What is wrong with you people? Now we'll never get around to whatever little thing she's obsessing over. It is little, Taylor. You'll get tongue-tied and embarrassed. We'll coax it out of you. Then we tell you we love you. Hugs all around. Can we skip all that and go to the hugs?" Lisa suited actions to words and hugged me.
"...We're missing a few steps, Lisa. Like me explaining that I solved my Core issue. That the cure for it is to essentially use the same thing the Endbringers did. It would have to be modified to work and so that I could still keep my biology. The thing is that with my body directly hooked up to a near inexhaustible source of power, I would be effectively immortal. Not just in the long life sense, but in the damn near unkillable sense too." Huh. That was strangely easier than I thought it would be. It would be kind of neat if it had been all a ploy by Lisa, but she looked faintly surprised.
"Whoa...Mini Endbringer?" Kat questioned. She looked gobsmacked. Her and Dad were holding hands as they stared at me.
"What does all that mean, sweetheart?" Dad coaxed. In for a penny, in for a pound.
"I plan on converting my Interface Layer into something similar to what Endbringers used. It won't be exactly the same, but it would mean several things. One? As long as I have energy then death would be impossible. Unless I self terminated. Ar Ciel and Ra Ciela perfected energy to matter conversion. I would actually be more efficient at recovery then the Endbringers themselves. The second thing would be my strength would go through the roof. I would have a rating of Brute: Yes. These are secondary to actually being able to use this power without killing myself. Then I can move forward with my plans. I wanted to construct my Tower, but everything I did was causing heat build up." Cocona kissed me before I set off on a rant. Despedia kissed me on the cheek while Sonata got my other cheek. Lisa smooched my forehead. The tension was utterly shattered. Kat and Dad were laughing at my expression. I imagine it was pretty funny.
"Just to be clear. Kat's not wrong in calling you a Mini Endbringer?" Dad asked once he stopped laughing.
"Fear the terrible might of Aria!" Despedia gave me a squeeze. A fresh round of laughter started.
"Guys! I won't be mortal anymore. Do you know what that means?" I tried to get them back on track.
"It means we never have to worry about our best friend dying because she's too damn heroic for her own good?" Well when you put it like that, Lisa. The fact that no one was clamoring in opposition to her statement shot the last of my arguments down, hard. It was all well and good to have an existential crisis, but I wasn't living in a bubble.
"It's not like you'll be alone either. Aren't the others from Ar Ciel immortal?" That was a generalization, but Dad wasn't far off.
"I'll be with her too." Cocona asserted. The same process that would turn my Interface Layer into the hax of Endbringers could be used with her. The amount of power it required was astronomical, but possible.
"So there you go. No more excuses, right?" Sonata asked. Oh I had dozens more, but they were all variants on the same thing. They were treating this seriously, but not like I was. Was I right? Were they right? Yes. There is no right or wrong answer. Looking at the faces of my family I was forced to correct myself. There is a wrong answer. Any action that keeps me from living is wrong.
-Later that Night-
The rest of the day was spent watching Mel Brooks at his finest. We gorged on pizza, wings, and ice cream. Cases of pop vanished without a trace. I took a look at my family. Was I the luckiest person in the world or what? My thoughts periodically returned to the Golden Warrior. Whatever the hell that was I would not allow him to harm my loved ones. The house was still. Not a soul was stirring. Good. I didn't need an entourage for this.
What I didn't tell them was that the outfits from my Cosmosphere could be used. Cocona knew that, but I was holding on to the knowledge. I called up Divine in White. The armor that resembled my ELMA Linkage with angelic wings. I flew away from the house using the power inherent in the costume. Calling one of the Cutey ELMAs for a ride would have been easier, but this seemed more appropriate. I wasn't telling them the whole truth. The calculations for the conversion were already finished. When I stopped putting obstacles in my path it became laughably easy. My testing field was up ahead. There was no one for miles.
The Interface Layer was an impressive piece of work. It was designed to keep my inner waveform physics from interacting in a messy fashion with this dimension's particle physics. Now this meant something for me. Endbringers had a similar layer. A self propagating field that drew energy from their core and converted it to mass. The calculations for interweaving the two fields was actually very simple. The reality coding was something any sufficiently adept Reyvateil could perform. Considering who my mother is this was as easy as pie. The only rough part was going to be dropping the barriers between myself and the Cores I had erected. There would be a time where I would be completely exposed.
I wasn't actually worried about my own health. Once the change started nothing would be able to stop me. I imposed my will on reality. The next moment my world turned inside out. My body was destroyed. Consumed utterly by the unrestrained power. I existed as a heart of energy. Heart of Gaia. The energy crystallized with agonizing slowness, but I dared not go any faster. I couldn't allow this to fail. No. It won't fail.
IT WON'T FAIL!
My world slammed back into focus. Crystallization complete. Well that was the hard part. Now I was in the awkward transition stage. The body would have to be rebuilt of course. I couldn't exactly exist as just a crystal core. Oh wow did I do a number on the clearing. The whole area was on fire that didn't burn. Fire, ice, and lightning were all locked in crystal. How the hell do I explain this? Ugh, focus. Focus. Say your name. Say your name and claim your destiny.
TAYLOR_TEIWAZ_ARIA
My true name. I never used it at all up until this point. It just didn't feel like the right time. Now? Now was the time. The outer shell was constructed while the inner parts grew rapidly to fill the space. The sensation was indescribable. As dictated by My word and My name the form was created. The Tree inside of me grew rapidly. The crystal trunk became my torso. The boughs became my arms and the roots my legs. My mind expanded to encompass a new wealth of sensations. Almost as an afterthought, I manifested Divine in White. I stared at the sky and had to reign in my senses.
When you accidentally see the moon due to extreme close up it's time to reign it in.
Uh oh. Protectorate inbound. I knew that this would be fairly visible. If I flew away someone would see me. This was not the time to reveal my new status. Wait a minute. I focused on my kitchen. Focused hard. What I was about to do would be a hideous waste of power for a normal person. I stepped through a weak point in reality and exited back at home. There was a sudden scream and the sound of shattering glass. My head whipped around. There was Kat in a tank top and panties.
"THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" We screamed in unison. Yeah. This won't end well.
or Melody of Escalation
Seventh Arc 7.5
It felt like I was floating. My body had no weight. When I opened my eyes there was nothing but a strange blue light. I looked up towards the greatest brightness and down towards the dark. There was the oddest sensation that it didn't matter which way I looked. Up, down, to the sides, nothing was as it seemed. I floated in the blue expanse with a feeling of peace.
"Take heart, child. There is nothing that you cannot do." A voice spoke to me. I could not identify whether the speaker was male or female. The impression I got was of a vast presence. I felt so small in comparison.
"Why do you feel small? Your heart and will are strong. Fear is natural, but you have nothing to be afraid of my dear." The voice was soothing. It was as if it wrapped me in warmth and security.
"Who are you?" I managed to ask. A feeling of gentle amusement washed over me.
"Now is not the time for that. The Golden Warrior approaches. He knows not why. You have so much to do and so little time." The voice warned. Golden Warrior? Who was that? I know the voice said not to be afraid, but fear was a natural response to a warning.
"You're as bad as Mir..." I didn't mean to say that out loud, but there it was. The sense of amusement returned.
"She is a troublesome child. It's good to know she outgrew her rebellious phase." Before I could answer that shocker, my spirit body was catapulted towards the light.
-June 4, 2011-
-Hebert House-
I awoke with a gasp. That was not a dream. Ever since my disastrous experiments in reinforcement there has been a sense of anticipation. Like there is something looming on the horizon. The Golden Warrior approaches. While it doesn't tell me exactly who, or what, the threat is, I can assume it's dangerous. There was a feeling of vast distance between the voice and myself. It wasn't science that connected us. It was something much deeper and more instinctive. I know this being, but not in the same way as other people. Yep. That made things much clearer.
I have nothing to be afraid of.
The absolute certainty of that voice washed away what doubts I had. Not from some mystic mumbo jumbo. It reinforced what I already knew. Cocona has been telling me not to fear. That I shouldn't hold back. Today was the day I told everyone about my decision. So I've been procrastinating. It's not like I'm perfect or anything. I make mistakes.
"Taylor! Time to get up!" Dad called from downstairs. Time for another fun filled day in the life of Taylor Hebert, Girl Genius. Go me.
I made it downstairs after a quick shower and a change of clothes. At least my clothing program was still working properly. All I needed was for that to stop working too. Me, cynical? Surely you jest. Uh oh. My family was giving me wary looks. Now what did I do?
"Honey? Why are you scowling so hard?" My dad asked. Scowling? I caught a glimpse of my expression in the toaster and my scowl gave way to a grimace.
"I've got more wonderful news for everyone." I think my tone was neutral. No one eased up on their concern. This was going to be so much fun. How do you explain to your family that mortal is something you can choose not to be? Oh yes, dear family, I think from now on I'll be immortal. Lovely day for it.
"Cool off, Princess." Despedia's voice stopped my internal rambling cold. Nope. Chat channel was still secure. I wasn't projecting.
"If you keep scowling like that, your face will freeze that way." Dad warned me. Sonata wrapped her arms around me.
"Just smile, Mom. You've got a great smile." She told me with an angelic smile of her own.
"This isn't a little thing, I know, but you're making too much of a fuss." Cocona stroked my hair. I nodded with a ghost of a smile.
"Fine. I'll explain what's turned me into a grouchy bear when Lisa gets here." Damn it all I wanted to sulk. That's a teenager's prerogative, right? Especially when the problems of a world drop into their lap. One of these days I was going to get some stress relief. Once I was no longer in danger of blowing my fragile body into bloody gibbets. We managed to get through breakfast, but the curiousity was eating them alive. The only one who knew the issue was Cocona. I'm glad she respected my wishes and let me handle explaining it all. Dad actually left to get Lisa instead of waiting for her to come here. I was puttering in the basement while we waited for him to get back.
"Whatcha doin'?" Despedia asked me.
"Hmmm...programming a jamming field. It's something I should have done sooner, but never really thought about it." I tapped a few keys on the terminal and a quiet hum let me know it was on.
"This is that big, huh?" My pink eyed friend sat on the sofa in the basement.
"It's pretty hard to swallow." I admitted. The urge to tell her everything nearly overwhelmed me. I resisted and tried so hard to avoid telling anyone. Now that the moment was almost upon me I could barely contain myself. I never said I was consistent. I squeaked as Despedia got tired of my moping and lifted me straight into her lap. Strange, but I didn't notice when she got taller. It was a couple inches at least. Did her physical changes include that?
"Relax. We love you. That's what should matter. Whatever you have to say can't be that bad." She genuinely meant that. Oh I know part of that was her loyalty talking. If I asked her to go pick apples in Washington she'd ask if I wanted Golden Delicious or Granny Smith. The fact that I could picture Emma saying that before everything got so fucked up made it mean more to me.
"This is cozy." Sonata sat down on the sofa beside Despedia. The feral girl wrapped an arm around the family cuddle bug. She was followed downstairs by the rest of the household plus Lisa. Why she didn't just live here was a mystery. The observant blonde arched an eyebrow and smirked. Right. That was why she didn't. A couple of know-at-alls in the same house was just begging for trouble.
"Okay kid. What did ya break?" Kat asked as she followed my dad down the steps. I was kind of surprised, but not really. Yes, I heard her melody, but the surprising thing was that he even brought her. Now I found myself wishing we'd brought Madison in on this.
"You tried to avoid it, but now you want to tell everyone." Cocona poked me in the side. I squirmed away.
"Stop teasing me or I'll stay silent. No one will know anything." Then just to prove I was serious, I stuck out my tongue.
"I swear, Taylor. We can't take you anywhere." Dad face palmed.
"This is my house. No one took me anywhere." I pointed out. Lisa groaned.
"You had to put her in a playful mood. What is wrong with you people? Now we'll never get around to whatever little thing she's obsessing over. It is little, Taylor. You'll get tongue-tied and embarrassed. We'll coax it out of you. Then we tell you we love you. Hugs all around. Can we skip all that and go to the hugs?" Lisa suited actions to words and hugged me.
"...We're missing a few steps, Lisa. Like me explaining that I solved my Core issue. That the cure for it is to essentially use the same thing the Endbringers did. It would have to be modified to work and so that I could still keep my biology. The thing is that with my body directly hooked up to a near inexhaustible source of power, I would be effectively immortal. Not just in the long life sense, but in the damn near unkillable sense too." Huh. That was strangely easier than I thought it would be. It would be kind of neat if it had been all a ploy by Lisa, but she looked faintly surprised.
"Whoa...Mini Endbringer?" Kat questioned. She looked gobsmacked. Her and Dad were holding hands as they stared at me.
"What does all that mean, sweetheart?" Dad coaxed. In for a penny, in for a pound.
"I plan on converting my Interface Layer into something similar to what Endbringers used. It won't be exactly the same, but it would mean several things. One? As long as I have energy then death would be impossible. Unless I self terminated. Ar Ciel and Ra Ciela perfected energy to matter conversion. I would actually be more efficient at recovery then the Endbringers themselves. The second thing would be my strength would go through the roof. I would have a rating of Brute: Yes. These are secondary to actually being able to use this power without killing myself. Then I can move forward with my plans. I wanted to construct my Tower, but everything I did was causing heat build up." Cocona kissed me before I set off on a rant. Despedia kissed me on the cheek while Sonata got my other cheek. Lisa smooched my forehead. The tension was utterly shattered. Kat and Dad were laughing at my expression. I imagine it was pretty funny.
"Just to be clear. Kat's not wrong in calling you a Mini Endbringer?" Dad asked once he stopped laughing.
"Fear the terrible might of Aria!" Despedia gave me a squeeze. A fresh round of laughter started.
"Guys! I won't be mortal anymore. Do you know what that means?" I tried to get them back on track.
"It means we never have to worry about our best friend dying because she's too damn heroic for her own good?" Well when you put it like that, Lisa. The fact that no one was clamoring in opposition to her statement shot the last of my arguments down, hard. It was all well and good to have an existential crisis, but I wasn't living in a bubble.
"It's not like you'll be alone either. Aren't the others from Ar Ciel immortal?" That was a generalization, but Dad wasn't far off.
"I'll be with her too." Cocona asserted. The same process that would turn my Interface Layer into the hax of Endbringers could be used with her. The amount of power it required was astronomical, but possible.
"So there you go. No more excuses, right?" Sonata asked. Oh I had dozens more, but they were all variants on the same thing. They were treating this seriously, but not like I was. Was I right? Were they right? Yes. There is no right or wrong answer. Looking at the faces of my family I was forced to correct myself. There is a wrong answer. Any action that keeps me from living is wrong.
-Later that Night-
The rest of the day was spent watching Mel Brooks at his finest. We gorged on pizza, wings, and ice cream. Cases of pop vanished without a trace. I took a look at my family. Was I the luckiest person in the world or what? My thoughts periodically returned to the Golden Warrior. Whatever the hell that was I would not allow him to harm my loved ones. The house was still. Not a soul was stirring. Good. I didn't need an entourage for this.
What I didn't tell them was that the outfits from my Cosmosphere could be used. Cocona knew that, but I was holding on to the knowledge. I called up Divine in White. The armor that resembled my ELMA Linkage with angelic wings. I flew away from the house using the power inherent in the costume. Calling one of the Cutey ELMAs for a ride would have been easier, but this seemed more appropriate. I wasn't telling them the whole truth. The calculations for the conversion were already finished. When I stopped putting obstacles in my path it became laughably easy. My testing field was up ahead. There was no one for miles.
The Interface Layer was an impressive piece of work. It was designed to keep my inner waveform physics from interacting in a messy fashion with this dimension's particle physics. Now this meant something for me. Endbringers had a similar layer. A self propagating field that drew energy from their core and converted it to mass. The calculations for interweaving the two fields was actually very simple. The reality coding was something any sufficiently adept Reyvateil could perform. Considering who my mother is this was as easy as pie. The only rough part was going to be dropping the barriers between myself and the Cores I had erected. There would be a time where I would be completely exposed.
I wasn't actually worried about my own health. Once the change started nothing would be able to stop me. I imposed my will on reality. The next moment my world turned inside out. My body was destroyed. Consumed utterly by the unrestrained power. I existed as a heart of energy. Heart of Gaia. The energy crystallized with agonizing slowness, but I dared not go any faster. I couldn't allow this to fail. No. It won't fail.
IT WON'T FAIL!
My world slammed back into focus. Crystallization complete. Well that was the hard part. Now I was in the awkward transition stage. The body would have to be rebuilt of course. I couldn't exactly exist as just a crystal core. Oh wow did I do a number on the clearing. The whole area was on fire that didn't burn. Fire, ice, and lightning were all locked in crystal. How the hell do I explain this? Ugh, focus. Focus. Say your name. Say your name and claim your destiny.
TAYLOR_TEIWAZ_ARIA
My true name. I never used it at all up until this point. It just didn't feel like the right time. Now? Now was the time. The outer shell was constructed while the inner parts grew rapidly to fill the space. The sensation was indescribable. As dictated by My word and My name the form was created. The Tree inside of me grew rapidly. The crystal trunk became my torso. The boughs became my arms and the roots my legs. My mind expanded to encompass a new wealth of sensations. Almost as an afterthought, I manifested Divine in White. I stared at the sky and had to reign in my senses.
When you accidentally see the moon due to extreme close up it's time to reign it in.
Uh oh. Protectorate inbound. I knew that this would be fairly visible. If I flew away someone would see me. This was not the time to reveal my new status. Wait a minute. I focused on my kitchen. Focused hard. What I was about to do would be a hideous waste of power for a normal person. I stepped through a weak point in reality and exited back at home. There was a sudden scream and the sound of shattering glass. My head whipped around. There was Kat in a tank top and panties.
"THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" We screamed in unison. Yeah. This won't end well.
Last edited:
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
Teiwaz...?
Well that's not at all ominous.
Well that's not at all ominous.
Seventh Arc 7.6
- Location
- PA
Hymn of Harmony
or Melody of Escalation
Seventh Arc 7.6
-June 5, 2011-
-Hebert House-
I was beside myself. Literally. There were two of me working in the basement. There three of me wandering around the house. I was doing a fair impression of Dr. Manhattan without the nudity thing. Or the sexing up the girlfriend thing. The distracting thing wasn't the multitude of viewpoints, but the fact I could do it all. How did this happen? I wanted to see how many tangent lines of thought I could generate now. Well for each one I generated, another me appeared. We agreed to see what other things could be done.
The house never looked better. Me was a crowd, however, so I was heading out for awhile. The rest of my family was getting their own personal Taylor. Taylor made for them. Ouch. That pun was painful. One me was heading to the Lisa's house. Another was going with Dad for the day. Despedia and I were heading to the Boardwalk. Me and Cocona were cuddling on the sofa in the basement. Sonata and myself were going to bake today.
Today was going to be a day for just me. I can no longer remember why I hesitated. It just doesn't make sense anymore. Oh there were reasons. Lots of reasons. Now? Now I had all the time in the world to spend with my loved ones. No one had to feel neglected. This feeling of freedom was just amazing. It was beyond my wildest dreams. My new state wasn't just good for them, but good for me. I could spend time with everyone. At any time if they wanted. Each of my duplicates had a similar power set to my own. How long had it been since I rode a bus anywhere?
Public transit was a wonderful thing. The sense of people surrounding me was strangely welcome. I honestly expected my heightened senses to make me leery of crowds, but the opposite happened. The idea of going to the junkyard and looking around struck me. When was the last time I visited the old man? He was so friendly and helpful. No. I was not making another me just to spend time with him. My main body could do that easily. I got out a couple blocks from my destination. The sun was shining. The temperature was perfect. The sky overhead was such a clear blue one could see into forever.
Hostile melodies up ahead. I wasn't exactly looking for a stress test, but there you go. Nothing ever goes according to plan. I used Divine in White and approached the situation. Empire 88? Oh brother. My day off and it's Nazis. It looked like an initiation. There were five men and five women of different races crucified in the street. They probably assumed that because it was happening near the junkyard they could get away before anyone responded. Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket were overseeing this abominable act. They had twenty joy boys standing out in the open. Most of them armed with guns.
"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. My voice echoed like thunder. The Empire capes didn't look threatened. Why should they? They didn't know what I could do now.
"Run back home, kid. This doesn't concern you." The large man known as Hookwolf snarled. Air stirred around me. Oh that was cute. They were trying to intimidate me. The thugs looked unsure of what to do. I solved that problem by Singing a Song and turning their weapons into cherry cheesecake. The mass hysteria and screaming was hilarious.
"Hey now if you didn't want cheesecake I can do chocolate." I grinned. That was hilarious. Their nerve broke.
"What the fuck did you do?" Stormtiger caused the air around me to grow heavy. I tweaked his Seed and the wind stopped. He gawked in surprise before an invisible blow bowled him over. Cricket started to back away. The poor dear was clearly tired of all this so I gave her a nap. The female cape collapsed in a lightly snoring heap. Hookwolf wasn't as hesitant. Even though I was demonstrating powers that weren't seen before. Even though I vaporized an Endbringer. He turned into a mass of metal and...fled the other way? Okay. Not stupid at all. I tweaked his Seed and he slammed into the ground. I hummed softly and put the remaining capes to sleep. With a gesture the victims were freed. I left a version of myself behind to deal with the situation while manifesting an unarmored Taylor down the street.
My trip finally came to an end just outside of the junkyard. Nothing else had leaped out at me. No desperate battle with the Butcher or something equally inane. I tried to call up my feelings when facing the E88 and all that came to mind was indifference. They were harming people and needed to be stopped. I felt nothing for them except annoyance. Not even anger. The mental shift was something that needed exploring. I guess it explained rather nicely why casually cloning myself is perfectly okay. There was an odd jumble of signals up ahead. A dimensional signature somewhere in the junkyard. Why would there be a dimensional signal? I was the only one here so it fell to me to investigate. It felt old. Like it was within the past few weeks. The weird signal was found at the very edge of the junkyard. I almost tripped over something on the ground. There was a gynoid on the ground. Dark haired with a well known face. Her appearance was that of the Simurgh. I felt for signs of life, but there were none. If this had been used by the winged Endbringer then I could safely say she was truly gone. Someone reconfigured the brain. There was no way this could be used to operate the body now. It was full of information that would definitely be useful. Unless it was all a plant. The knowledge that Scion was also a powerful interdimensional being capable of destroying all Earths threw me for a loop.
The Golden Warrior.
Oh damn. It fits. It all fits. The clues that my brain refused to put together came together with startling swiftness. I dropped a lightning bomb on the gynoid body and watched it vanish. There was nothing left behind but an electrically damaged wreckage. I couldn't chance that someone would get a hold of this information. Scion was the Golden Warrior. Scion, or Zion, was responsible for parahumans. Was this supposed to blow my mind and confuse me? A peculiar feeling of indifference crept over me. I had a target didn't I? Maybe that was the intention.
"Without more information I'm just spinning my wheels." I looked in the direction of the closed anomaly. This weak point lead off world. I cast my thought through the portal, but nothing stood out. I was probably going to have to enter it personally. With an application of will the portal opened on my end. I used my Divine in White before stepping through. The room beyond resembled a boardroom or a council chamber. The table in the center of the room and chairs indicated that they were used frequently.
My senses informed me of something else. I was surrounded by Seeds. Dead seeds. They still possessed their programming, but their capacity for growth was stunted. How unbelievably creepy. Since there wasn't a welcoming committee it fell to me to search for signs of life. My first visit to another world and it's right in the middle of a fucking crypt. The death all around was setting me on edge. The halls were some sick parody of the PRT building's. Due to this similarity I had an idea of where to go. I could avoid being found by extending my senses and just paying attention.
I had the sense of many people somewhere below me. That was as good a place as any to start. There was a feeling of fear, worry, and despair. There were a five people on the higher levels. Only one of them was not a parahuman. The electronic devices were on a closed circuit. There just wasn't any way for me to sneak around. I didn't feel comfortable making use of the weak points in reality here. The amount of dimensional travel into and out of this place left the boundary fragile. Whatever. I strode through the halls and towards the dark feelings.
The dead feeling coupled with the dark sensation was making me feel creepier. There were no alarms blaring. No one was moving to intercept. I noted the presence of cameras, but no reaction. What the hell? They couldn't possibly be this lax. Down three floors with no sign of opposition. My stomach was twisting in knots. I hated horror movies and right now I was in one. If only I could just go back to this morning when everything was simpler. Much of the worry left me as I remembered there were numerous other mes back home. If something happened to this body then no harm no foul. It didn't stop the negative feelings. I reached a large door on the fourth basement level. The keypad was extremely complex and I cracked it in seconds. On the other side of the door there was horror.
My mind couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. I saw it all, but something refused to classify the sight before me. The creepy feeling had only been a prelude to this nightmare. There were cells holding all manner of people. These people all had one thing in common. They were Case 53s. Their forms were twisted and warped by their powers. The Seeds were acting bizarre. They weren't adjusted for their hosts at all. These Seeds were exerting greater influence over these people than they should. I heard someone approach me from behind.
"How did you get in here?" Alexandria asked from behind me. Her voice was quiet. I turned to look at her. She didn't flinch from my glare, but then again I had a visor concealing my expression.
"Why I found a key right under the doormat, but no one to greet me. I love what you've done with the place." Her petulant expression was adorable.
"The Endbringer Cores. You already assimilated them." The woman guessed correctly. Now her melody was showing stark terror. Funny. I was all outta fucks to give.
"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. She tried to hold up her tough girl expression, but caved. I heard someone whispering in her ear. Judging by her expression she was not happy with the other person.
"Come with me and we'll tell you everything." She told me grudgingly. The Seeds needed to be tended before I went with her.
"Just wait a moment. These Seeds are improperly adjusted." There was no need for me to be deliberately insulting, but I was absolutely livid. The only thing that saved them was the fact that I didn't want to be that kind of person. Just because I had power did not excuse being a tyrant. None of my parents would approve. I queued up the Seeds and gave them a complete overhaul. I had done the same for Lisa. Back then it required absolute trust and for her to lower all defenses. These Seeds were dead, read only files, that needed no such consideration. While I was at it the Seeds were connected to my network.
"What are you doing?" Alexandria asked me.
"Hmmm? Oh. I provided adjustments. You will be sending them home, I hope." I started walking towards the conference room. The rest of this group was already assembled.
"You already know where we're going." The powerful woman sounded sour. "Who do you think you are to demand anything of us?"
"Your best chance at dealing with the Golden Warrior." I informed her. For a moment I thought she spontaneously died. Her breathing froze and heart rate dropped.
"H-How...? That...wasn't in the information we left you..." She managed to say before hurrying to catch up. I hadn't stopped walking.
"Good to know I'm right." I drew on the peace and happiness that my other selves were experiencing while keeping my own feelings from them. That was very useful in this instance. Being the main body had perks. The melodies up ahead were filled with apprehension. One of them was supremely confident while the other felt black. There was a black soul up ahead. The term monster was often used to refer to someone that was amoral. In this case I could honestly say he was a monster. A beast without morals. The confident woman had no special powers but a distortion of values left her detached. I could identify Legend and Eidolon. There was also someone that felt very strange. Like she had Oversight. Alexandria hurried to keep up with me as I barged straight into the room.
"Welcome Aria. Did you enjoy your visit so far?" The woman in a lab coat spoke. She was the confident one. There was a man that looked like a nerdy banker in a three piece suit. He was the black presence.
"Give me a good reason that I shouldn't destroy all of you." That shut the talks down cold.
"So you saw the truth." A woman in a fedora deduced. I nodded tersely.
"Those are human beings that you're holding. That you experimented on." My anger was building, but I tempered it once more with positive emotion. Legend stared at me in horror.
"What do you mean experimented...? What's she talking about?" He questioned sharply. Eidolon was spiraling downward emotionally. Alexandria felt like she was breaking. The only ones not glaring at the idiot woman in the lab coat were me and the banker.
"That will be discussed later, Legend. Right now we have to convince Aria to join our cause. She has seen too much and we have no leverage on her." The doctor informed him.
"Go ahead. Try to convince me. I will promise to listen to you. First? Send those people home. I adjusted their Seeds so that they will be in control of their powers. So go ahead and explain where experimentation comes into this." I sat down without waiting for an invitation. They shared a look. My entry had fractured their cohesion. Even the Triumvirate was splintering. I wasn't thrilled about the collateral damage, but one way or another all of this would be done.
No more cloak and dagger bullshit.
or Melody of Escalation
Seventh Arc 7.6
-June 5, 2011-
-Hebert House-
I was beside myself. Literally. There were two of me working in the basement. There three of me wandering around the house. I was doing a fair impression of Dr. Manhattan without the nudity thing. Or the sexing up the girlfriend thing. The distracting thing wasn't the multitude of viewpoints, but the fact I could do it all. How did this happen? I wanted to see how many tangent lines of thought I could generate now. Well for each one I generated, another me appeared. We agreed to see what other things could be done.
The house never looked better. Me was a crowd, however, so I was heading out for awhile. The rest of my family was getting their own personal Taylor. Taylor made for them. Ouch. That pun was painful. One me was heading to the Lisa's house. Another was going with Dad for the day. Despedia and I were heading to the Boardwalk. Me and Cocona were cuddling on the sofa in the basement. Sonata and myself were going to bake today.
Today was going to be a day for just me. I can no longer remember why I hesitated. It just doesn't make sense anymore. Oh there were reasons. Lots of reasons. Now? Now I had all the time in the world to spend with my loved ones. No one had to feel neglected. This feeling of freedom was just amazing. It was beyond my wildest dreams. My new state wasn't just good for them, but good for me. I could spend time with everyone. At any time if they wanted. Each of my duplicates had a similar power set to my own. How long had it been since I rode a bus anywhere?
Public transit was a wonderful thing. The sense of people surrounding me was strangely welcome. I honestly expected my heightened senses to make me leery of crowds, but the opposite happened. The idea of going to the junkyard and looking around struck me. When was the last time I visited the old man? He was so friendly and helpful. No. I was not making another me just to spend time with him. My main body could do that easily. I got out a couple blocks from my destination. The sun was shining. The temperature was perfect. The sky overhead was such a clear blue one could see into forever.
Hostile melodies up ahead. I wasn't exactly looking for a stress test, but there you go. Nothing ever goes according to plan. I used Divine in White and approached the situation. Empire 88? Oh brother. My day off and it's Nazis. It looked like an initiation. There were five men and five women of different races crucified in the street. They probably assumed that because it was happening near the junkyard they could get away before anyone responded. Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket were overseeing this abominable act. They had twenty joy boys standing out in the open. Most of them armed with guns.
"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. My voice echoed like thunder. The Empire capes didn't look threatened. Why should they? They didn't know what I could do now.
"Run back home, kid. This doesn't concern you." The large man known as Hookwolf snarled. Air stirred around me. Oh that was cute. They were trying to intimidate me. The thugs looked unsure of what to do. I solved that problem by Singing a Song and turning their weapons into cherry cheesecake. The mass hysteria and screaming was hilarious.
"Hey now if you didn't want cheesecake I can do chocolate." I grinned. That was hilarious. Their nerve broke.
"What the fuck did you do?" Stormtiger caused the air around me to grow heavy. I tweaked his Seed and the wind stopped. He gawked in surprise before an invisible blow bowled him over. Cricket started to back away. The poor dear was clearly tired of all this so I gave her a nap. The female cape collapsed in a lightly snoring heap. Hookwolf wasn't as hesitant. Even though I was demonstrating powers that weren't seen before. Even though I vaporized an Endbringer. He turned into a mass of metal and...fled the other way? Okay. Not stupid at all. I tweaked his Seed and he slammed into the ground. I hummed softly and put the remaining capes to sleep. With a gesture the victims were freed. I left a version of myself behind to deal with the situation while manifesting an unarmored Taylor down the street.
My trip finally came to an end just outside of the junkyard. Nothing else had leaped out at me. No desperate battle with the Butcher or something equally inane. I tried to call up my feelings when facing the E88 and all that came to mind was indifference. They were harming people and needed to be stopped. I felt nothing for them except annoyance. Not even anger. The mental shift was something that needed exploring. I guess it explained rather nicely why casually cloning myself is perfectly okay. There was an odd jumble of signals up ahead. A dimensional signature somewhere in the junkyard. Why would there be a dimensional signal? I was the only one here so it fell to me to investigate. It felt old. Like it was within the past few weeks. The weird signal was found at the very edge of the junkyard. I almost tripped over something on the ground. There was a gynoid on the ground. Dark haired with a well known face. Her appearance was that of the Simurgh. I felt for signs of life, but there were none. If this had been used by the winged Endbringer then I could safely say she was truly gone. Someone reconfigured the brain. There was no way this could be used to operate the body now. It was full of information that would definitely be useful. Unless it was all a plant. The knowledge that Scion was also a powerful interdimensional being capable of destroying all Earths threw me for a loop.
The Golden Warrior.
Oh damn. It fits. It all fits. The clues that my brain refused to put together came together with startling swiftness. I dropped a lightning bomb on the gynoid body and watched it vanish. There was nothing left behind but an electrically damaged wreckage. I couldn't chance that someone would get a hold of this information. Scion was the Golden Warrior. Scion, or Zion, was responsible for parahumans. Was this supposed to blow my mind and confuse me? A peculiar feeling of indifference crept over me. I had a target didn't I? Maybe that was the intention.
"Without more information I'm just spinning my wheels." I looked in the direction of the closed anomaly. This weak point lead off world. I cast my thought through the portal, but nothing stood out. I was probably going to have to enter it personally. With an application of will the portal opened on my end. I used my Divine in White before stepping through. The room beyond resembled a boardroom or a council chamber. The table in the center of the room and chairs indicated that they were used frequently.
My senses informed me of something else. I was surrounded by Seeds. Dead seeds. They still possessed their programming, but their capacity for growth was stunted. How unbelievably creepy. Since there wasn't a welcoming committee it fell to me to search for signs of life. My first visit to another world and it's right in the middle of a fucking crypt. The death all around was setting me on edge. The halls were some sick parody of the PRT building's. Due to this similarity I had an idea of where to go. I could avoid being found by extending my senses and just paying attention.
I had the sense of many people somewhere below me. That was as good a place as any to start. There was a feeling of fear, worry, and despair. There were a five people on the higher levels. Only one of them was not a parahuman. The electronic devices were on a closed circuit. There just wasn't any way for me to sneak around. I didn't feel comfortable making use of the weak points in reality here. The amount of dimensional travel into and out of this place left the boundary fragile. Whatever. I strode through the halls and towards the dark feelings.
The dead feeling coupled with the dark sensation was making me feel creepier. There were no alarms blaring. No one was moving to intercept. I noted the presence of cameras, but no reaction. What the hell? They couldn't possibly be this lax. Down three floors with no sign of opposition. My stomach was twisting in knots. I hated horror movies and right now I was in one. If only I could just go back to this morning when everything was simpler. Much of the worry left me as I remembered there were numerous other mes back home. If something happened to this body then no harm no foul. It didn't stop the negative feelings. I reached a large door on the fourth basement level. The keypad was extremely complex and I cracked it in seconds. On the other side of the door there was horror.
My mind couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. I saw it all, but something refused to classify the sight before me. The creepy feeling had only been a prelude to this nightmare. There were cells holding all manner of people. These people all had one thing in common. They were Case 53s. Their forms were twisted and warped by their powers. The Seeds were acting bizarre. They weren't adjusted for their hosts at all. These Seeds were exerting greater influence over these people than they should. I heard someone approach me from behind.
"How did you get in here?" Alexandria asked from behind me. Her voice was quiet. I turned to look at her. She didn't flinch from my glare, but then again I had a visor concealing my expression.
"Why I found a key right under the doormat, but no one to greet me. I love what you've done with the place." Her petulant expression was adorable.
"The Endbringer Cores. You already assimilated them." The woman guessed correctly. Now her melody was showing stark terror. Funny. I was all outta fucks to give.
"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. She tried to hold up her tough girl expression, but caved. I heard someone whispering in her ear. Judging by her expression she was not happy with the other person.
"Come with me and we'll tell you everything." She told me grudgingly. The Seeds needed to be tended before I went with her.
"Just wait a moment. These Seeds are improperly adjusted." There was no need for me to be deliberately insulting, but I was absolutely livid. The only thing that saved them was the fact that I didn't want to be that kind of person. Just because I had power did not excuse being a tyrant. None of my parents would approve. I queued up the Seeds and gave them a complete overhaul. I had done the same for Lisa. Back then it required absolute trust and for her to lower all defenses. These Seeds were dead, read only files, that needed no such consideration. While I was at it the Seeds were connected to my network.
"What are you doing?" Alexandria asked me.
"Hmmm? Oh. I provided adjustments. You will be sending them home, I hope." I started walking towards the conference room. The rest of this group was already assembled.
"You already know where we're going." The powerful woman sounded sour. "Who do you think you are to demand anything of us?"
"Your best chance at dealing with the Golden Warrior." I informed her. For a moment I thought she spontaneously died. Her breathing froze and heart rate dropped.
"H-How...? That...wasn't in the information we left you..." She managed to say before hurrying to catch up. I hadn't stopped walking.
"Good to know I'm right." I drew on the peace and happiness that my other selves were experiencing while keeping my own feelings from them. That was very useful in this instance. Being the main body had perks. The melodies up ahead were filled with apprehension. One of them was supremely confident while the other felt black. There was a black soul up ahead. The term monster was often used to refer to someone that was amoral. In this case I could honestly say he was a monster. A beast without morals. The confident woman had no special powers but a distortion of values left her detached. I could identify Legend and Eidolon. There was also someone that felt very strange. Like she had Oversight. Alexandria hurried to keep up with me as I barged straight into the room.
"Welcome Aria. Did you enjoy your visit so far?" The woman in a lab coat spoke. She was the confident one. There was a man that looked like a nerdy banker in a three piece suit. He was the black presence.
"Give me a good reason that I shouldn't destroy all of you." That shut the talks down cold.
"So you saw the truth." A woman in a fedora deduced. I nodded tersely.
"Those are human beings that you're holding. That you experimented on." My anger was building, but I tempered it once more with positive emotion. Legend stared at me in horror.
"What do you mean experimented...? What's she talking about?" He questioned sharply. Eidolon was spiraling downward emotionally. Alexandria felt like she was breaking. The only ones not glaring at the idiot woman in the lab coat were me and the banker.
"That will be discussed later, Legend. Right now we have to convince Aria to join our cause. She has seen too much and we have no leverage on her." The doctor informed him.
"Go ahead. Try to convince me. I will promise to listen to you. First? Send those people home. I adjusted their Seeds so that they will be in control of their powers. So go ahead and explain where experimentation comes into this." I sat down without waiting for an invitation. They shared a look. My entry had fractured their cohesion. Even the Triumvirate was splintering. I wasn't thrilled about the collateral damage, but one way or another all of this would be done.
No more cloak and dagger bullshit.
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
Haha.
Get wrecked Doctor Mother.
You're not even a real doctor.
And I guess it makes sense that Number Man would have a 'black soul' considering the shit he got up to with King.
Also kinda hoping Contessa'sshard Seed gets adjusted so she can have actual independent thought...
Get wrecked Doctor Mother.
You're not even a real doctor.
And I guess it makes sense that Number Man would have a 'black soul' considering the shit he got up to with King.
Also kinda hoping Contessa's
Context for those whose knowledge of Ar Tonelico is half-assed at best, please.
- Location
- PA
Teiwaz is the name Mir gave herself. She also bestowed it on Taylor. The Aria? Taylor gave that to herself.
Vox De Harlequin
Consequences are for other people
- Location
- Hyalean Theoric World
Also Teiwaz is the futhark rune rune associated with Tyr, the norse god of war.
Which is what I was actually referring to, seeing as the entirety of my knowledge of Ar Tonelico comes from this thread.
Which is what I was actually referring to, seeing as the entirety of my knowledge of Ar Tonelico comes from this thread.
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DualFront
Perhaps, this is Hell
In addition to what dingbat said, the TEIWAZ portion of the name Taylor declared is her Hymn Code, basically a tag which denotes what level of access privileges she has to her Tower.
Specifially, TEIWAZ is the highest access level that currently exists, beyond even the administrative privileges afforded to the Origins, and was hacked into Ar Tonelico by Mir in her genocidal phase for the purpose of pulling an end-run on Shurellia.
While it's perfectly innocent for Taylor to have that level of access to her own Tower (especially given that she is her own Tower at this point), Mir maaaay have given her untraceable backdoor access to the First Tower as well.
Not that it really matters, now that she's basically God.
Specifially, TEIWAZ is the highest access level that currently exists, beyond even the administrative privileges afforded to the Origins, and was hacked into Ar Tonelico by Mir in her genocidal phase for the purpose of pulling an end-run on Shurellia.
While it's perfectly innocent for Taylor to have that level of access to her own Tower (especially given that she is her own Tower at this point), Mir maaaay have given her untraceable backdoor access to the First Tower as well.
Not that it really matters, now that she's basically God.
False and completely wrong. TEIWAZ system-wise is no more than a synonym for FEHU_EOLIA, or in other words a redirect for that rank level (in short, to the Tower both ranks are indistinguishable from each other), and one that Mir created solely because she felt irritated at the idea of being considered a subordinate or property to Shurelia, as FEHU_XXX translated to "subordinate to XXX" in Tower terminology.
In short, there's no higher rank level in the Towers than the ANSUL one that's bestowed solely upon the Tower Administrators, as what access level could be higher than that of a ROOT user like the Origins are? And all the access Mir has managed so far is because either she hacked into the Tower using her advanced deductive reasoning and deep knowledge of wave science and the Tower's own data, command and programs structure (pre-AT2), or because Shurelia herself gave her access to the Tower for specific reasons (post-AT2).
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In other words, TAIWAZ is just an alias and nothing more.
You need a comma between these two words.
DualFront
Perhaps, this is Hell
Ah, I stand corrected then. Learn (or re-learn) something new every day.
- Status