Castle Hydra: Next Generation

[frostmourne]

"Madam, I have completed assembly of Adrian's cube." Jasper informed her briskly. Aza opened her mouth to respond but instead sighed happily when Kenan tightened his embrace. Her eyes drifted half shut and the AI decided to stop badgering her for now. Aza had suspected that Kenan would take a while to overcome his inhibitions around her, but she hadn't suspected that he would be afraid to offend her by something as simple as a hug. She nuzzled his neck gently, her frayed nerves relaxing. She lifted her head long enough to utter a sentence. "Jasper, turn off the cameras in this room." The AI did not respond, so Aza assumed the action had already been taken. She looked back to Kenan, her gaze almost expectant. She laughed quietly, think that now would be the time that Adrian would make some snarky remark about how flirting with death wasn't meant to be taken literally.

"I'm afraid it may be a rather long wait, madam. Even once the cube is assembled, I have found no way to free them." Jasper said apologetically.

[lycrawaterz14]

"What's so funny...?" he asked, sounding shy. He didn't mean to... Kenan decided he wasn't going to let go. He was happy right where he was.

[frostmourne]

Aza shook her head slightly and chuckled. "I was just thinking that if Adrian were here, he would be making some sarcastic comment about how flirting with death wasn't meant to be taken literally." she giggled. She didn't notice the completed cube being gingerly lowered by a pair of robotic arms to a small, square indentation in the table. She jumped when she heard Adrian's voice. "It feels like soneone downloaded my brain and hooked it up to a computer. Hey, Aza? Why are twelve of the cameras all black? You are there, right?" "Speak of the devil. Adrian? And why do you have twelve cameras installed in one room, Jasper?" "No, it's Dorothy. Who the heck is Jasper?" The sarcasm left his voice in the latter sentence. "That would be me, sir. I've translated the electrical pulses from the cube into a recognizable language." "As glad as I am to have Adrian back, we're kind of in the middle of something." Aza said, now sounding more irritated than glad. "What are you doing? Did he kiss you yet? Did you-" There was a muted clicking sound and the voice stopped. "My deepest apologies, madam, sir. I will see to it you are not disturbed again." Aza was fighting back a smile. She couldn't help thinking that Adrian had sounded like an overexcited schoolgirl. Not yet. Hopefully that'll change. She looked back to Kenan. "He's shameless. Simply shameless. Trapped in a two inch cube and all he cares about is what we're up to." she mumbled.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan actually cracked a smile. "Good to see he's okay." he murmured. "It's good he's like that. Someone has to say what everyone's thinking..." he chuckled a bit, but it sounded dark. Nearly evil... not that he meant to. It was just a part of being death.

[frostmourne]

"Next time, I'll get you to babysit him." Aza said teasingly. She paused to listen to him laugh. She smiled slightly, deciding that she liked it. "Ugh. No wonder you like him. He's as dark and twisted as you are. Was that laughter or the screams of tortured and crushed souls dying in terrible, slow agony? And what's this I hear about a baby?" His words came out muted and muffled, but as snarky as usual. "I swear Adrian, the moment you get out of that cube, I will personally saw off your arm, pan sear it, and then shove it down your throat." she muttered through clenched teeth. "I'll let you if you serve it with caramelized onions." Adrian responded lightly, unfazed by the threat. "Adrian, there is something psychologically wrong with you." she mumbled. "You're one to talk! Besides, it's obvious that I do have something wrong with me or else I would never stay around you two maniacs. Not that I currently have a choice. Now, about the baby-" "If your tongue gets any sharper, I think it's going to draw blood. Jasper, why hasn't he been shut up?" "Unless you would like me to stop sound waves from traveling in this room completely, I cannot do anything. I have stopped translating the electric pulses, but he has evidently started to communicate out loud." "Enough about me. Why were you talking about a baby? Did you two-" "ADRIAN!!!" "Alright, alright...no need to strain your vocal chords you crazy lady." There was a tinge of color in Aza's bone white cheeks, but by her standards, that was already blushing furiously. "Kenan, if this is what everyone thinks about, I must insist on leaving this solar system." she mumbled.

[lycrawaterz14]

He looked unphased. "Death cannot create life. You don't have to worry." he murmured, near somber. He put an arm around Aza's shoulder.

[frostmourne]

"Then where did you come from?" Adrian chirped. "Adrian!" Aza snapped, still blushing. "What? It's a valid question." She buried her face in Kenan's neck, somewhere between shocked and embarrassed. "Death can create life. Wildfires can help clear space for new plants." "We're not plants, Adrian." she said in a muffled voice, not raising her head. "Jared is." "What gave you that idea? Do you see him as green and leafy?" "Actually, yeah...He had a flower growing out of his head once when you were little. I think that was just to distract you from gouging his eyes out though. Don't you remember?" "....Adrian. Shut. Up. Now." she forced out through gritted teeth. He fell silent, sensing that he had pushed her far enough and she would likely start breaking things if he kept babbling. She calmed a bit and then kissed Kenan's neck softly. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer him." she sighed. Edited July 29, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan clutched her close, not used to all this touching. "It's fine really. Before I was killed I could have. After I was murdered I can't. I was born before my father took the throne. My sister was conceived by his second wife, but they tried. My father didn't want me to get the throne. You know. Sickly and blind. If their miscarriages had came through would have had over 300 siblings." he sounded sad. "Its nearly impossible to have children in my current state. It's alright though, I'm not interested in any right now anyway." he kissed her cheek.

Edited July 29, 2012 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

Aza shifted her weight uncomfortably and Adrian didn't speak for a while. "In order to maintain what scraps of sanity I have left, I will pretend you never said anything." Adrian said delicately. The thought of over three hundred infant corpses was a tad too much fuel for an over active imagination. "So, how do you plan to get me out?" he said with a rather forced cheerfulness. "From inside, it's just perfectly smooth gray walls. Not even a chink in the rock. Or whatever it is." Aza didn't offer any response, partially because she didn't have an answer, but mostly because she was still struggling to digest what Kenan had said. "Hellooooo? Aza?" A small glass case was being lowered over the cube and Adrian's voice was cut off as soon as it was. "Thank you Jasper." she said distractedly. A slight hum of acknowledgment, and the AI fell silent too. Aza was looking at Kenan like she was afraid he might break. The glass vibrated a little from how loudly Adrian was undoubtedly still trying to talk.

Edited July 29, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan just blinked, unphased. "I'm sorry. Did I say too much?" He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. We're just used to all of this death, I try to shield you from it as much as I can. I'll keep quiet again." He whimpered.

[frostmourne]

Aza laughed without much humor. "By all rights, I should already be used to it." she said with a rather self mocking smile. "Don't apologize. It isn't your fault." She stroked his cheek, enjoying the contact. She had been dubbed the political droid by the court before, aloof and untouchable. Unless among close friends, she rarely permitted more than three seconds of physical contact. She hadn't thought she would change so much around Kenan. "Madam, I am beginning reconstruction on Jared's cube. Would you care to observe?" Aza shook her head with looking away from Kenan. She then realized she asked Jasper to turn the cameras off and was about to decline vocally when Jasper gave a quiet beep of confirmation. "You needn't worry about my inability to see. There are motion sensors installed." Aza just looked rather surprised for a moment, thinking how ridiculous the amount of data Jasper could get from the various sensors was.

[lycrawaterz14]

He laid his head in her hand, looking happier than he had in a while. "Jasper's blind like me." he purred. "But you don't mind..."

Edited July 31, 2012 by lycrawaterz14

[frostmourne]

((I'm assuming you meant Jasper?))

"Only until she gives me permission to turn the cameras back on. I can still see anywhere but this room." Aza acted like she hadn't heard Jasper say anything. "I've never minded that you were blind. You usually act so normally that sometimes I can forget." she murmured. She wobbled a little, her exhaustion making itself known again. She shook herself a little and then looked back to Kenan. She wished she could just freeze this moment forever. It was perfect, except... She glanced over to the cube sitting under the glass case rather sadly. If they were both free, but Adrian a few thousand miles away, then it would be perfect.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan immediately caught her, steading her before she could fall. "You should rest. You're weak..." He mumbled, but sounded sad about her leaving. "Adele is probably worrying... as soon as those two are fixed I'm going to go home..."

[frostmourne]

Aza shook her head violently. "I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy." she said firmly. "They're going to take a while to free, so maybe you should at least tell Adele where you are. Then she can't blame me for kidnapping you!" She smiled and then looked around the room. "Jasper, I don't think I need Adrian to be gagged any more. Bring Jared's cube into this workshop to finish, please." The glass jar was immediately moved away, but the cube did not appear yet. "And what about Arachne, madam?" "That depends on what you did to get her to hand over the sand." As a reply, Jasper played the distorted recording, ending wih the horrible scream. Aza was speechless for a moment. "Jasper, if you had a throat, I would have my hands wrapped around it." she said, looking somewhere between disgusted and admiring. "I do have a throat, madam. Would you like to strangle me?" Its voice was completely serious, and it was obvious it would have been perfectly fine with Aza smashing it to pieces if it kept her happy. "You're kinda scary Jasper...Didn't Jared program any sense of self-preservation in to you? He probably wouldn't kill himself if Aza told him to. Well, now that I think about it...no, he would actually. He created you so...like father, like son?" Adrian chimed in. "First of all, Jasper, never ask me if I would like to terminate you again, because no matter what I say, I don't. Second, Adrian, that last statement was just creepy." Aza said. "Well, the only other option is God, so..."

Jasper was moving discreetly towards the table in the other workshop so that his body blocked Arachne's view of what he was doing. He held out a finger and the fine black sand stuck to it like it was iron filings to a magnet. The black specks passed through the skin smoothly, leaving no trace of evidence behind. He then switched a bit of programming an the room was plunged in darkness except for the soft glow Jasper was giving off. " I think there might be a problem with the electricity. Excuse me, madam." He left the room swiftly and started heading to the basement.

Edited August 2, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

"I've been watching, there is no need." Judeao grinned, smoothly stepping out of the shadows. Kenan actually jumped. "Don't frighten me like that. How can you sneak up on me?!" he asked, outraged. "Because I am a ing ninja." Judeao sighed. Arachne tackle him in a great hug, nuzzling under his arm, and he pet her hair. "Evening." he grinned, treating her as if a pet. She just smiled up at him.

[frostmourne]

((Aren't Kenan and Arachne in different rooms?))

[lycrawaterz14]

(Arachne can shadow step too...)

 

[frostmourne]

Aza didn't seem surprised, but a brief, irritated expression flitted across her face at Arachne. "I was wondering when they would show up." Adrian commented. "Can you still-" Aza began asking. "Of course I can! This tin can doesn't affect my abilities." Adrian interrupted, sounding offended. Aza didn't say anything, attention focused on something in the distance. Her spine was as rigid and straight as a steel pole. She didn't seem particularly happy at the moment. Her right hand was half clenched, as if recalling Arachne's venom. Adrian had a feeling that she didn't like Arachne very much for various reasons, although she would act much too polite to ever let it show.

Jasper went to the basement and slid out a hollow stone in the wall. It was white and immaculately clean on the inside. He placed the half finished cube and sand into it and pushed it back in. He turned the lights back on before heading back upstairs. Finding the workshop Arachne had been in empty, he headed to the other workshop with his eyes shut. "It's alright. You can turn the cameras back on." Aza said offhandedly.

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan just pet her side, shushing her. "It's okay." He said, barely a whisper. "I don't even mind her anymore."

 

Arachne seemed like an attention starved puppy. "Have you been doing good? I haven't seen you since the wedding." Arachne just nodded. "I've been better before. Are you happy with her?" She asked suspiciously. Judeao smiled and looked at the ground. "Yes. She makes me very happy. She is a very good wife. It is a shame her people cause so much trouble, she is nothing like the rest."

[frostmourne]

Aza relaxed only slightly, her fingers opening to reveal tiny cuts from her nails that were quickly sealing up. The drain of being so stiff was starting to make itself known anyway. "Madam, there is someone who wants to meet you. He refuses to leave." Jasper said after a slight pause. Aza was glad for a distraction and was heading for the door before Jasper even finished speaking. "It's probably that duke again. I'll be right back." she said with more cheerfulness than she felt. Jasper silently followed her, his face expressionless. "You are heading the wrong way, madam." "Don't be silly, I know my way around my own home." Aza scoffed. She paused and then looked around at a dead end. "You haven't gotten your sense of direction back. You haven't returned the mermaid's comb. This way." Jasper took her hand and led her to the main entrance. As if noticing some breach of decorum, he immediately dropped her hand. She didn't seem to mind and pushed the door open. Skulni stood in a pool of blood, looking exhausted. "Your new dog...it's very...persistent." he coughed out, grinning lopsidedly. "Jasper isn't a dog." she snarled, kicking him down the steps. "Always so direct. So what would you like to call it? Your mechanical slave? Did you know that it has a self destruct order that will force it to destroy itself if it ever disobeys a single order unless necessary?" Skulni taunted. "Enough. Why do you keep showing up?" she snapped. "I'm a monster that feeds on doubt, fear, jealousy, vanity, lies and secrecy. You ask me why I keep following you? You're my idea of a chocolate bar." he snickered. She simply turned and walked away, slamming the door shut as she did. She started on her way back, but without Jasper to guide her she was soon completely lost. "Just a little bite?" a sing song voice called out. "Will you leave me alone already?" she growled, running into yet another dead end. She suddenly noticed the mansion was unusually quiet. There should be staff bustling all over the place, but the house was completely empty. "Where are the staff?" she asked. "Not until I get a snack." he said in a voice that should have belonged to a five year old asking for crackers and juice. "Get away from her." Jasper's voice rang out. "Let him. Stop him if he goes overboard." she sighed. Instantly thin fingers were impatiently pushing aside fabric to expose her throat. She flinched slightly at the bite and struggled to keep still. She collapsed after about a minute, but Skulni was still latched on to her throat. Jasper tore him away from her, still completely expressionless. Jasper's fingers then fused together, forming a steely blue blade that seemed to grow out of his arm. Skulni's head rolled off, lips still stained red seconds later. Jasper helped Aza back to her feet. "The staff have been given a day off. I would have told you if you had waited." In a flash, the blade vanished leaving only some blood across his fingers that he wiped away. He offered her his arm and cleaned up any traces of what had happened. He knew she wouldn't want Kenan finding out about it. He guided her back to the workshop where she skipped in all smiles and laughter. "Sorry I took so long!" she said beaming. Jasper could tell she was going to collapse again if she insisted on acting although everything was fine. She was a tad better emotionally though. Skulni did drain something away besides massive amounts of blood, although Jasper suspect that it wasn't worth it.

[lycrawaterz14]

"You smell like blood." Kenan nearly growled. "Who hurt you?! I'll make sure they nev-" "Death, if I may...?" Judeao sighed. Kenan turned around quickly at him, as if blaming him first. "If you haven't made her your mate why does it matter? Can't she do as she pleases?"

[frostmourne]

"See! I told you! You do stink!" Adrian snickered. "But he is being just a touch overbearing." Aza ignored him completely, but the comment about her stinking got on her nerves a little. "Jasper could you-" she broke off and stifled a shriek of surprise. She was knocked to the ground and firmly pinned under a shadowy form. "Adrian, you idiot! You broke my nose!" she snapped. "You try forming a shadow when you're completely blind! Besides, you'll heal in seconds anyway even if I beheaded you." the shadow said defensively, rising and dusting himself off. Aza got up, holding a hand over her nose. Blood streamed between her fingers. "Eh? Why aren't you healing?" Aza staggered a little and leaned against the wall. "Give it a moment." she said tiredly. Jasper offered he and handkerchief, which she immediately accepted. When she finally pulled her hand away from her face, her nose was completely healed, but she could barely stand. "Madam...?" She shook he head and straightened. She started to walk towards Adrian and paused by a table with a computer lying on it. She glanced back to Jasper. "No important documents. I highly doubt you will be able to destroy the computer to the extent that no data can be retrieved from it anyway." "Good." She picked up one end of it with both hands and whacked the shadow wih all the strength she could muster. Its head sailed cleanly off and bounced off a wall into a corner. "....Have you ever considered taking up baseball as a hobby?" Aza snorted and put the computer back down as the shadow reattached its head. As Jasper had predicted, the computer was completely unharmed. Aza put a hand on the table to steady herself again. Edited August 8, 2012 by frostmourne

[lycrawaterz14]

Kenan's blood boiled. "Because I love her." he snarled. Judeao simply sighed. "But not enough to claim her." Kenan let go of Aza's hand, stepping between Judeao and her. "You don't know what I'm thinking." he hissed. "You won't lay with her. It's obvious. All I want to know is why. Have you two even kissed?" Judeao glared a bit. "SHUT. UP. This is not the time or place. If you have buisness with me, you are to wait! I reserve PLENTY of time for the many issues my people offer. I can be alone!" he growled, tension in the room building.

[frostmourne]

Aza looked confused, fearful and a tad hurt. "What?" she said softly. Her voice was reminiscent of a child watching her parents fight. The shadow looked like he very much wanted to hit Kenan. "Jasper, help Aza to bed please." it said in a strained voice. It turned to face the direction Judeao's voice as soon as she was out of the room. "You. Stop prying into their relationship. That's my job. And you. Don't you think it's a bit more importantly to find out how badly she's hurt before charging off the kill whoever hurt her?" He was looking in Kenan's direction, as if he thought he deserved most of the blame. "Believe it or not, holding a shouting match doesn't help either."

Jasper immediately pulled Aza out of the room and into a guest room. She sat down on the bed but looked too upset to sleep. Jasper quickly went to one corner of the room and came back with a cup of tea. Aza drank it without question and didn't notice a few specks of fine white powder until she finished most of the cup. "Jasper!" she complained, setting the cup down. She didn't want to go to sleep, afraid of the nightmares that would haunt her every time she was alone. Eventually she drifted off anyway, clinging to Jasper's wrist tightly.