2018-11-21: Don't Forget...
- Log: Don't Forget...
- Cast: Alhazred, Riesenlied
- Where: Alhazred's Lab, the Photosphere
- Date: 21st November 2018
- Summary: When the light is running low, and the shadows start to grow... the Quarter Knight Alhazred awakens his latest experiment.
It is all for the glory of Mother and the Metal Demons, of course...
...Now, I Am To Be is a companion cutscene to this scene.
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
There are few things that can cause collective nightmares among the Metal Demons. For the most part they have tended to be a resilient people, especially following Mother's defeat and being cast into eternal slumber. They meet challenges with courage and determination, even if their motives can range from beneficent or banal.
But one of the places no Metal Demon would ever like to awaken is in Alhazred's laboratory.
This isn't his public work area. Alhazred's lab where his assistants can join him, where the other Quarter Knights can walk in on him, where it is possible to be observed... that place is not where he conducts his most interesting experiments. He prefers to work on this uninterrupted, for there are many who would not understand the nature of his work. The steps he needed to take to be successful.
So Riesenlied waking up in a tube is probably not going to be good for her peace of mind.
The fact that Alhazred is floating just before the tube, looking at a set of screens showing vital readouts and other information, is even more unsettling.
"Subject has awakened in response to stimulant administration within one and a half deviations of standard response. Note for determination if the aberration exists due to physiological changes or outside factors," he mutters, a tentacle extending from under the white cloth he drapes himself with to punch in numbers on a nearby terminal. Then those red eyes turn to regard Riesenlied, narrowing slightly. And a camera lowers down to shine a light in her face. "Please identify yourself for the record. Name, rank, current status will do. Please note that colorful invectives are not useful for the study and may result in a disciplinary response."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The Hyadean race -- as Riesenlied is wont to call them -- are collectively known for being martially excellent, with superior strength, agility and with a capability of resilience and regeneration well above the norm speaking to their quicksilver blood and living metal origin.
Riesenlied is... none of that.
She bleeds red, owing to the Tainted physiology that she bears along with her other so-called caste; she has no strength above that of even an average human's, and the mutations that have grown along her body have only deterred her agility such. She is not particularly resilient and is known to fall ill to human diseases like the flu and the cold, even.
In every way, a failure of a Metal Demon.
Yet...
It is this Tainted that has provided evidence of something thought impossible. The communion with a Guardian, given she's been much less deceptive and cagey about it than Noeline has (to her credit, given what has happened). Her so-called 'empathic' powers, which has manifested even before... it is a curiosity amongst hale Demons, let alone so-called failures.
But the unexpected can sometimes be found in the rough.
The battered Hyadean, still garbed in the now-ragged robes of the Fereshte, rouses to wakefulness. She's gotten rather used to feeling ill or under the weather on a given day given her perpetually degenerating condition, even moreso than the regular rejection Metal Demons feel to the planet they're on. But the stimulants that have been injected to her make for a strange-- strange...
Her eyes shoot further open, a look of panic and terror within her.
"Ah-- ah..."
That camera lowers, a light shone on her face. She squints; it doesn't help the anxiety, rather just spikes it.
She seems a bit too frightened right now to speak her name, rank and status, though 'status' perhaps indicates itself just fine the way she reacts.
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
Sigh.
A tentacle comes up and moves the camera out of the way, and Alhazred moves a bit closer to Riesenlied, his glowing red eyes narrowing in... disappointment? It's hard to say - the Quarter Knight was never terribly emotive, and he isn't going to start now. "Yes yes, a fear response is to be expected. Don't think that I haven't heard all of the rumors down in the Gutter. If you're not careful, you'll be taken off to Alhazred's laboratory and will never be seen again. And I am certain that you are thinking that you are about to undergo some terrible torture and experimentation because of your assisting the Filgaians against us."
He sighs, out loud this time. And floating away, Alhazred types another quick note on his workstation. "You are hardly a typical Tainted, and given our current situation I have to suspend my efforts to find a way to find useful roles for your kind. Instead..." And he zips back over, giving Riese a quick up and down. "...you've surprised me, Riesenlied. I had not expected someone to advance the possibility you have pursued successfully.
"Coexistance with the Guardians was considered to be impossible after my full hundred and twentieth experimental run - but there is something different about you that seems to have bent their ear. Clearly from your performance during my last field test there are bugs to be worked out, but you are a strong basis for continued exploration of that possibility. For that you certainly have my respect. And..."
Alhazred pauses, and then looks towards the door for a moment. "...my apologies."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has glanced at those eyes before, in contexts past.
But she has never faced up towards them in so close a distance, in ever the manner that he is bearing down on her now. Until now, she hasn't had the chance to really get that kind of bearing, and what she sees in there... the lack of emotion therein seems to give her so much context as to how this Metal Demon could do so much of the horrid things he's become infamous for.
Riesenlied suppresses that squeak for a moment; her aching mind races, as she starts to think of Noeline, of Janey and Mikaia, of Lydia and the others--
He speaks.
The talk of all the rumours, all the way down to the Gutter... she honestly is not certain what is to happen to her, save that she has made a deep mistake. Her expression is deflated, though catches his glance as he continues to work.
"... I implored them," Riesenlied whispers, her voice faint and wounded. "A year ago, at the Guardian Temple. I begged them to lend an ear to me -- to the plight that our people face..."
She's not certain why she's replying to him; certainly to shut up and endure it would be a valid strategy, but perhaps something within her is well spurred by the idea of coexistence.
Though it likely is a different sort of coexistence than what the Quarter Knight has in mind.
"... and at that point, when they granted an ear -- that we would have a chance to show them that we are more than mere killers..."
Her horns droop slowly. Horns shouldn't work like that.
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
"What rubbish! Utter nonsense - the fact that they would respond to that sort of appeal is disgusting in its utter hypocrisy!"
No, he's not terribly happy to hear that Riesenlied was given a chance along those lines.
"There is no inherent nobility among humanity that is deserving of protection. Indeed, they fight and kill each other on a far greater scale than the Metal Demons would ever dream of doing. That those miserable bags of meat would be blessed by this world, while we are cursed... pfah. Ridiculous." It's probably the most emotion Riese has ever seen out of the Quarter Knight - he is not given to demonstrations most of the time, and even this seems... subtle compared to Siegfried or Berserk's outbursts.
"It just confirms my belief that the Guardians are less benevolent gods and more the symptom of... something about the world. The strangeness of our refuge defies belief, as I am certain you have seen during your time wandering it, Riesenlied." As he speaks, Riese can probably feel that something is... off. A sort of inner wrongness that would give rise to the suspicion that Alhazred is not planning to do something to her... but has already begun some experiment or process and not even bothered to tell his victim what is going on.
"Still, your improved responsiveness is encouraging. I was told that if you remained cationic or lacked the vigor for your assignment that you would be... bolstered to ensure your were prepared."
Alhazred visibly shudders, the drape swirling around him for the moment. "Trust me, you do not want to have Mother's attention upon you any more than necessary."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Alhazred expels his disapproval and disgust--
--and she flinches a little; Riesenlied's head is still stirring, in truth. Her eyes have a blurriness that is both familiar and unfamiliar. And while she's consumed drugs the likes Jacqueline and other humans have concocted, stimulants are on another level-- something that's causing her to visibly pant for breath as she tries to work out what's going on within her.
But it doesn't surprise her that he would share similar opinions to Siegfried or Berserk. That humanity is not noble, and not deserving of protection.
"... the Guardians do not bless them because they are... noble," Riesenlied whispers. She sounds nearly at tears. "They are wounded, and bereft of eyes, as much as humans are with their short lifespans and selective memories." She bites her lip.
"The wounds that have been dealt to the world are -all- of ours, Lord Alhazred..."
'Lord' Alhazred. Seemingly, unfailingly polite even in the situation that she is placed in.
"I heard it such from Lord Siegfried's friend - Lombardia, in Lunar. During the Day of Collapse... the devastation that the Elw and humans caused, so drained Filgaia of its splendour... was in response to our attack. Out of desperation, not malice or hubris..." A pause. "None of us can move forward so long as we individually believe ourselves blameless, and only the enemy is at fault..."
Wounded as she is, she can still speak deeply empathetically... though she's starting to feel that-- offness. An inner wrongness that's slowly stirring within her. She puts her hand to her neck for a moment, squinting an eye in duress.
"B-bolstered? What do you... what are you preparing...?"
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
"Lombardia? I'm surprised to hear they are still around - something to look into in the future, I suppose. When I have the time, at least." That might not be the best sort of admission to make to the most inquisitive of the Quarter Knights, but he seems to wave off the idea that the Metal Demons are responsible for the Guardians opposing them with a vague gesture of one claw. "The Day of Collapse was not our doing - certainly Siegfried participated, but the actual cause was something... else. He's always been coy about the exact reasons, and I don't particularly care - it was a... complicated situation. And with Mother dormant, it has seemed better to pursue her reawakening in the meantime."
Moving closer to the tank again, Alhazred fixes Riesenlied with one red eye from under his golden mask. "But do not believe everything they tell you, Riesenlied. There are others cursed by Filgaia besides ourselves - and this world is strange beyond reckoning. Another thousand years and perhaps I can begin to scratch the surface. As it is... there is so little time. So little, but at least my limitations have shown me that there are other opportunities out there. Yes... it is important that you understand. You may not have my appreciation for unraveling the secrets of the universe, but you have shown... possibility.
"Perhaps one day you might be able to convince the Guardians to accept us. I doubt Siegfried will ever renounce his hatred, and to be honest I do not care so long as I can continue my work. It would be an interesting data point at least, something unexpected. Beyond the bounds of likely outcomes." He chuckles, looking at another readout. "Unfortunately, I doubt that will come to pass. I have... orders. Mother wishes to use you to strike a blow against the Guardians, and has asked me to prepare you for her masterstroke - to spearhead her awakening while weakening her foes, perhaps unto death."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
In hindsight, it was perhaps something of a gamble -- Riesenlied did respect Lombardia's wish to be left alone, and yet hearing the despondence in her voice made her think that there was so much left unspoken, so many hatchets to be buried. And perhaps the name could have struck a bit of a chord--
But perhaps not, either.
It'll be something she will owe up to, if it ever comes to it.
She knows more about the Day of Collapse... at the very least, that Siegfried joined with the 'Seeker of Power' -- the self-same Seeker of Power that shredded her to the ground at an Ignasian dock not too long ago, if others were to be believed. But now's not the time--
Filgaia is strange beyond reckoning?
To be honest, perhaps Riesenlied could believe it. There are an incredible amount of seeming coincidences that aren't, histories that have been buried to leave things without context save for the devastation they sow. The depths of the history of Filgaia is not yet known to them, not even to someone like Alhazred, as he says. Another thousand years and...
"... perhaps this world is strange... but it is all we have now. I-- consider myself Filgaian. I was born here, and... I believe it is our responsibility to be its custodians. Collectively, not as any one given race..."
Alhazred's movement prompts something of a very weak shuffle where she's seated with her legs to one side, but her legs are both numb and feel barely capable of shifting. She's breathing harder still as her vision doubles intensely for a given moment.
Mother wishes to use you to strike a blow against the Guardians...
That revelation is inspiring much more panic. Strike a blow against the Guardians? To what end does he mean -- and what does Mother have in mind? The Statues, perhaps, but it's far too late now, unless they were able to smash them all. Berserk showed himself capable of smashing one -- but paid the ultimate price for it. She can't imagine...
"... do you... do you believe..." Riesenlied pauses for a moment, letting out a coughed choke as she focuses herself. "Do you truly believe Mother is our species' salvation, Lord Alhazred? Will... she leave much for you to investigate, if you give her what she wants...?"
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
"I do not particularly care in one way or another. The humans and the Guardians have proven to be annoying complications in my work, and the sooner that they have been removed as obstacles the better than things shall be. Besides, you did not ever meet Mother, young one. You do not realize what she is capable of, and how she expresses her... displeasure to those who do not succeed in living up to her expectations." For Alhazred, the idea of mass slaughter is only another data point to be added to his growing collection - he would certainly watch the proceedings with interest, but his lack of emotional attachment to anything means he would not feel even the slightest bit of guilt or shame over what happened.
For someone like Riesenlied, who tends to form empathic connections with others, this man is perhaps her utter antithesis. Alhazred has no emotional connections, for he does not view anyone has being more than mere subjects of study.
"The universe is more than any one world. If this one is destroyed, there will be others. No, what I am concerned about is that you represent something... unique. And instead of making a proper study of you, I am instead forced to create a tool out of you. And that annoys me.
"Because THIS IS NOT SCIENCE! This is recklessly pushing an opportunity without even considering the myriad other options we could pursue." Alhazred growls out his frustration, although its clear he hasn't even begun to explain just how much trouble Riese is in at this point. "It is my belief that Metal Demons can take hold of their future by either altering this world to suit or needs, or by altering ourselves so that Filgaia no longer has the power to reject us. If just destroying the Guardians is our goal, then we've had THAT plan underway for quite a while now. My masterwork is certain to succeed given enough time! But Mother is not satisfied with that, and she has insisted on... exploiting your connection to the Guardians."
One tentacle snakes out, picking up an injector laying on a nearby table. The tube which would contain whatever compound that will be administered is, ominously, empty. "This was my last dose - obtained via great risk and for several significant favors. A collection of invisibly small devices called nanomachines - no no, any sensation of something crawling up your spine is purely somatic, I assure you." Alhazred chuckles, almost as if he had made a joke only he understands.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Something about that statement - 'you did not ever meet Mother' - brings so much pain to Riesenlied, and she knows it. The way Alhazred speaks of how she expresses her displeasure of those who disappoint her.
She was, in many ways, always religious -- and she remembers spending so much time imagining a Mother that was infinitely gentle, infinitely caring, infinitely patient... a Mother that-- if she were just to be awakened, would become their shining star, a diplomat who would smooth everything over. It was wishful thinking, a selfish devotion to something that only existed in her mind.
There is an irony, perhaps, in how Alhazred is her utter antithesis. A being of so little emotional connection-- in how she got here. Because it was through the accidental words of another man who seems to bear no emotional connections whatsoever, who only observes others through some kind of intense scrutiny that seems to bear no social compassion, at least on the surface, that she was rattled enough...
...No, she will not blame Ethius for this. This was hers... and her mistake alone.
"... her wrath must be great indeed, if her order is something... that you would not disobey," Riesenlied whispers. It seems like an observation more than anything else. Though she is genuinely terrified at what 'proper study' would mean, and how prolonged that suffering may be.
That she is to be a 'tool'... for Mother... she can only tremble in terror at what awaits her.
"Exploiting my... connection..." Riesenlied's eyes lose some of their lustre as she places a hand -- that soft, human hand, not her deformed one -- to the glass. Her breathing has not become less difficult. As he describes-- something is creeping up her spine, and she starts to shiver as if in the midst of a deep and horrible cold.
"D-dose? Nanomachines? What... what's going to happen to me? What did you do?"
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
"The Forced Evolutionary Vector will... modify your body. The first step is reinforcement - I both saw and studied the damage that you had taken during your invocation of the Guardian's power. Handling such energy causes you both pain and some degree of physical damage - so your physiology and mental processes will be altered to ensure that you can both handle channeling vast amounts of energy and that your ability to be discomforted is removed." Alhazred recites Riese's upcoming alterations as if he were merely reading items off the list of something that needed to be picked up from the commissary later.
"Following that, Mother will have the Medium you possessed fused to your body, in order to allow you to access its power freely. I am certain the Vector will continue to perform modifications to you as you tap into the Guardians' power and channel it for Mother's own use - in theory it should continue to make modifications to you for years, but in my experiments I've found that high energy exposure will cause it to burn out after a few weeks at best." He turns away, consulting several screens that show scans and readouts, although the exact nature of the information being displayed on them is impossible for anyone besides Alhazred to understand. "Feh, this is why I do not care for this process. It is impossible to predict what exactly will happen to you - the timescale is too short and the possible outcomes impossible to narrow down without a more guided process. This is using an industrial rock grinder where a surgeon's blade is called for! And yet..."
Alhazred turns and looks at the door again. Remembering as the requirements were laid out to him in... painful detail. He would prefer to avoid that attention again.
"...here we are. Your own mental state will have some effect on the changes as well, although how much lucidity you will possess in the end is questionable. And overall... well, let us hope Mother is satisfied with my work, and you do not require any further optimization. For both our sakes."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Modify her body.
Tears are starting to well and stream down one of her eyes, as a primal kind of fear starts to come over her. Riesenlied cups her mouth with her hand as she stares towards the Quarter Knight. The phrasing... 'Your ability to be discomforted is removed'... sound particularly concerning. As if there was a bit of legalese there that masks just exactly how he intended to go about it.
She can start to feel it, she thinks -- something foreign that's racing throughout her body. Nanomachines. She's starting to feel exceedingly warm-- as if her heart was going into overdrive, palpitations echoing about her as she starts to involuntarily twitch.
Fuse the Medium to her body, he speaks. A pang of terror screams at her as she wonders if Mother is truly aware of what Noeline possesses - she is no fool, and cautious as Noeline is, she wonders if those displays of power have planted the idea in her head should an opportunity showed itself...
... and how she herself showed it, in plain sight.
"Burn-- burn out? You mean Mother--"
The way he describes his displeasure and how it is the equivalent of using a rock grinder... Mother does not appear to have long-term plants for her. Whatever this 'Vector' is-- she can start to feel it eroding at her thoughts. Is she to become... a battery? To be spent, and then discarded? No matter what Alhazred describes of how well her new form -- whatever it is -- can handle it...
Scarce anything ought to be able to handle the level of power /Mother/ desires for a long time. And does Mother really care what happens, so long as she receives that power in the end?
She grapples at her head as she struggles, gasping further.
"Please-- please no--" Riesenlied finds herself begging, her mouth open as she weakly presses against the glass. Of everything horrible that has been described to her, of how much her body will transform...
It is only a threat at her conscience, her lucidity--
Her heart.
That causes her to panic. "I do not want to forget. Don't... don't take that away from me..."
Something is stirring already. Something primal...
<Pose Tracker> Alhazred has posed.
Perhaps there is just a small amount of pity left in Alhazred's makeup, as Riesenlied begins to suffer from the effects of his experimentation. "I will leave you to the process. The camera will be running, for proper documentation. But if you have anything you would like to say... well, I cannot guarantee you that it will be for anything other than the scientific record, but it is amazing what can be recovered after the fact."
He pauses, moving the camera in a bit closer before adding, "And seeing how quickly you regress is important for the next subject, of course. Remember - this is for science, and to help unravel the secrets of the universe."
A pause.
"And for the glory of Mother and the Metal Demons, of course."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied trembles further, her shoulders stiffened and raised as she looks up pitiably towards the leaving Quarter Knight. She scarce seems to be cognisant of his voice at this point; his observation that her lucidity may be impaired, and what is left of her mental state, is definitively on point.
Inwards, a great and arduous battle within the mind is occurring. Visions of the Quarter Knight as are last imprinted upon her, with how precarious and tender the psyche -- especially in one so fractured as her can be.
"... I don't want to... forget... don't forget..."
Her head slumps forward. She nearly hits the glass tubing.
"...Lydi...a... Noe...line..."
Within the dark... left to her own devices, the camera continues to observe. Silently, passively, without judgement. An observation device that can only record, feeling no pain, no emotion, no opinion.
And as such, its last observation, well after the Quarter Knight has left...
A primal and Draconic scream
The shattering of glass
The camera feed violently cutting out.