devil_forge | [RL with 9]

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[RL with 9]

It was not long before Hector, with Crystal Rod, appeared in the library in 9's world. It looked like no human had been there for some time now, and there was an eerie feeling in the air. The Devil Forgemaster knew that feeling all to well. It was death, but it did not surprise him, since 9 did say that plants and animals no longer lived on this world.

Hector glanced around, wondering where 9 was. The little devil with him started hoovering around, making curious noises as it inspected the various books laying around.

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"7!" 9 called again, watching the other and frowning in exasperation. The white-skinned one that was now dangling from Hector's side finally listened to him and stopped, blinking its lenses at 9 in confusion.

"What? 9, this thing is--" The voice clearly detonated the other as female.

"He's a friend," 9 cut in, his tone coaxing and reassuring at the same time.

7 hung there for a moment, glancing up at the creature she hung from, and realized that he was making no effort to hurt either of them.

"... who are you?" She demanded, her tone sharp.

"Thing?" That was something Hector hadn't been called before, and he had been called a lot of things in the past. But then again, he was probably the first human she has seen ever, if not for a long time.

With his free hand, he carefully and gently lifted her off his armor and placed her on his palm next to 9. "I'm Hector, a human, and this is Crystal Rod," he said and nodded towards the devil hoovering close by, which looked a bit annoyed at its master being called a 'thing'. "He and I are from another world."

"... another world?"

"I told you about the community before," 9 said. "I met him there. He's going to take me to another world."

7 took a moment to take that in.

"... what? No, you can't just-- leave like that!" As she spoke, she grabbed his hand, turning urgently to him. "You're just going to leave us with some-- human you just met? 9, you know what the humans did to the world--"

"I'm coming back," he said, closing his other hand over hers. "I promise. I'll be fine."

"And you have my word that I will return him safely," Hector added, trying to reassure the apparently female doll creature, 7. "Tis only going to be a short visit. He just wanted to see plants and animals with his own eyes, and there are plenty of those in Walachia. He will be back before the sun sets."

"... I still don't trust you," she said. The unspoken threat in her tone was unmistakable.

9 smiled weakly in relief. "Back before sunset. You have both of our word."

"... okay," she said reluctantly, pulling away but not releasing his hand just yet. "... human, you had better take good care of him."

"I swear no harm will come to him." Hector said, giving a respectable nod to 7. He slowly lowered his hand so that she could get off if she wanted too.

The stitchpunks stood, still hand-in-hand; but, rather than leave immediately, 7 roughly tugged him into a tight hug.

"... be careful," she murmured, her usual tough-girl edge noticeably quieted. She pulled away and nearly forced her weapon into 9's hand.

"... I can't--" 9 started to protest, but 7 interrupted him quickly.

"Take it. Even if I can't be there, I'm still not about to let anything get you."

"... you could come with us," 9 offered, glancing up at Hector; but 7 shook her head.

"Someone's got to keep an eye on the twins," she said, smiling just a little. 9 just nodded in response, returning her small smile, and then she finally stepped away from him, reluctantly letting go of his hand.

"... goodbye," 9 said. "I'll be back soon-- I promise."

"I know," she answered quietly, and then she turned and went to the door, stopping to watch them leave. 9 waved at her a little, and she returned it before speaking up one last time, her tone teasing.

"Go on, get out of here!"

It was quite obvious to Hector that the two dolls fancied each other. He watched their exchange with amusement before he stood up. He raised his hand to his shoulder, so 9 could ride there. "Are you ready?"

9 took the invitation, very careful not to fall, and then nodded. "I'm ready."

Hector nodded and looked towards the innocent devil. "Crystal Rod, now!" he said in a commanding voice. The staff the devil was holding started to glow, and a circle of light started to form around them. In a flash, they left 9's world and appeared in the mountains of Walachia.

They were standing on a cliff, over looking a lush forest below. It was fall, so the leaves of on the trees were changing color. Ancient arches straddled the path that went further into the mountains. Near by, you could here the sound of running water of the aqueduct that was near by.

9 was frozen for a moment, transfixed-- he'd never seen anything like it. Not even in the paintings had the world ever looked anything like what he saw before him then.

"... wow." It was all he could manage.

Hector smiled as he looked out over the valley. "Is it what you expected?"

He shook his head numbly.

"It's-- better! I-I had no idea that anything like this existed."

Hector nodded. "Tis fall, so the trees are going to be shedding their leaves soon. Usually they are green." He then looked up and noticed a few birds flying above.

"Fall? What does that mean?" Seasons were a lost concept in a world free from any living thing to react to them.

"Tis the time of the year when it starts to get colder," Hector explained. "All the crops that have grown during the spring and summer are gathered before the winter chill. The trees change color and shed their leaves in preparation for winter."

"Colder...?" 9 looked down at one of his little copper hands and then held it out into the air, watching it oddly. "... I'm not sure I understand." He felt things, but... not the same way that humans did. Humans had nerve endings and brains and skin and everything was so much more intense to them-- the little stitchpunks had burlap skin and clockwork and wire, but were somehow allowed limited feeling. But it was only limited. Subtle changes often went undetected-- for example, except for in extreme cases, temperature.

Hector thought for a minute, trying to think of how he would explain it something that was common sense to humans. "The seasons that happen through out the year. Summer is very warm, and winter is very cold. Fall happens between summer and winter so it is the time when it gets cooler outside." He started walking along the mountain path. Up a head, a rabbit crossed the path. It was this time of day that most animals were active.

9 made to ask exactly what warm and cool meant, but the rabbit's arrival startled him. "Whoa-- what was that?"

"Hm?" Hector wondered what he meant until he noticed the rabbit. They were fairly common around here so it wasn't an unusual sight. "Tis just a rabbit. They are fairly harmless and timid creature."

"A rabbit..." 9 smiled a little to himself. "So-- so that was a real animal!"

Hector smiled and nodded. "Yes, it was." An idea came to mind and he knelt on one knee close to where the rabbit was. He held out his hand and waited. Animals were always attracted to him, no matter how wild they were. Soon the rabbit was hopping closer until Hector was gently petting it on the head, thus giving 9 a closer look at the creature.

9 smiled more surely then, watching him pet the little animal.

"Can-- can I touch it?"

"I don't see why not," Hector replied and held up his free hand so she can bring 9 down closer to the animal.

9 carefully stepped into his hand and, when within reach of the rabbit, he gingerly reached out a hand and touched it-- but it shied away from the cold metal. He frowned, disappointed, but then offered it a weak smile.

"I don't really blame you. I guess I'm just not as soft as humans are." The rabbit didn't acknowledge that he was addressing it, and he turned to look at Hector.

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