The World, the Flesh, and the Devil Pt1, Ch7.0: Work Like The Devil

[CobaltAzurean]

The Entrati family, cerulean-skinned arms both short and long, freely embraced each other under the jade glow of the Heart now deeply ensconced in the utter-most depths of the Tower of the Unum. It had taken an extensive amount of work, and even more effort to convince the Tenno that the disruption to their Void abilities would only be temporary and the numerous benefits of moving the Heart from the Necralisk on Deimos to within the safety of the Unum on Earth and away from the ever-encroaching appetite of the Grey Strain. In fact, it was far easier to convince the Family to subject themselves to Vitrica than Kaelli had thought imaginable.

After the initial shock of discovering Kaelli’s glassed bulb and body within, then subsequently even further shocking reappearance with Kahl very much at her side, Wukong unapologetically offered the remaining Orokin if they also wished to be relieved of their self-same burden of constraint. Compared to dealing with the Tenno, and Kaelli quite literally standing there as absolute proof of the process, it was only a matter of drawing them individually into their own respective oroshards. The youngest Entrati handled Vitrica delicately and precisely like it was surgical scalpel, performing the first glassing initially with minimal fuss to her mother Gomaitru, formerly known as Euleria, snapping the oroshard from the hilt’s gilded crosspiece and closing it to reform another while she glided over to her Grandmother, still relishing in the simple fact that she was walking.

“Come now, dearest.” Grandmother said, chiding Kaelli’s slight hesitation after she prised the hilt open, a fresh oroshard sparkling between her long fingers and Vitrica’s blade regrew like streaks of ice. “I’m not getting any younger,” she smiled encouragingly.

Her father Vilcor glanced from her light-footed approach to his left shoulder where his arm used to be, gripping the empty and viciously scarred socket with his right hand before gesturing to her to pause. “I have a question, my girl.”

“Of course, Father.”

“I couldn’t help but notice that both of your arms are the same length. How did you manage that while you were… that?” he bluntly asked while pointing a long, tapered finger at the two glowing shards in Kahl’s calloused grip, Grandmother’s a nearly black navy color while Mother’s was almost violet in hue.

“It’s something you have to want, Father. If you want both your arms back like they were before, then that’s what you’ll get.”

“Then you wanted it?”

Kaelli made no effort to hide her broad smile as she turned to look pointedly at Kahl before returning her gaze to Vilcor. “Yes.”

The Orokin weaponsmith nodded approvingly, both to Kaelli and to Kahl, before recoiling without further delay into his lower extremity. “Fire away,” his voice came muffled from within.

The blue-skinned biologist was nearly skipping as she finally approached her brother Kermerros, who looked increasingly uncomfortable as he had just witnessed not just his Mother and Father being glassed within their Infested encumbrances, but also their dear, doting Grandmother.

“Kael, I don’t know how I feel about this…” he began with a slight wavering tone.

“Ker, I’m literally standing right here. It’s hard to argue with results.” she replied smoothly, watching Vitrica’s blade reform the last time. “You’re the last one, and you don’t want to be left here, do you?”

He hung his head, silent.

“Ker-”

“It’s just, I,” he began in a low tone, voice thick with emotion. “This was my fault. I made this happen, so I always felt shame and felt it was my responsibility, you know, to fix it, cure the family. But, here you are, motley crew in tow,” Kahl and Wukong briefly sharing a glance at each other before turning away to inspect the architecture. “And you’re going to do it, what I couldn’t do with all my knowledge and expertise, I’ll never be able to undue my grave mistake and I’ll have to live with the shame forever. Or, if I stay here, until I’m consumed by my mistake if my guilt doesn’t do it first.”

“Ker-”

“Just leave me here, Kael.”

“I’m not going to do that. You’re coming with me, with us, and we’re going to be free from this hellscape once and for ever. Plus,” she stated with finality as she brandished the transparent blade of Nihil the Orokin Executioner. “It’s not like you can stop me. So, stop this ultimately selfish behavior making this about you when you can accept that we’re going to finally be able to move past it. Please, Ker. Let’s be free to be a real family again.”

Kermerros, feeling another stab of guilt from Kaelli’s words which, he thought ruefully, probably hurt slightly less than what he was about to feel. Kaelli always did have a way of speaking to the heart of the matter, keeping them grounded when their situation got the better of their temperaments. “Alright, one last thing before we do this.”

“What’s that?”

“I can have two normal arms like you, right?”

The process to rebody the remaining Entrati was amazing similar to Kaelli’s own process, except she got to witness the entire depth and breadth of the process from the outside, ironically ensconced at the holo-displays within the centrifuge chamber while her family was installed within their individual tubes. Kahl, ever-present, continued to use a secondary display to further his own education, the endless exchange of in-depth questions and exhaustive answers between the two making the days pass quickly.

Wukong remained dutifully absent until a week had passed and each Entrati exited their containment tubes, similarly garbed in decon coating; Grandmother looked surprisingly flush with the color of youth in her cheeks, Mother and Father both retained their asymmetry but Vilcor now had two to match Gomaitru’s, who with surprising fondness, clasped his once missing hand to hers, and Kermerros looking reborn with eyes bright and symmetrical appendages.

It was a time of powerful emotions. Hot tears of unbelievable relief and potent joy with long, lingering embraces as though they were all making up for lost time. After the wellspring of emotion had simmered down, and an uninspired meal of military rations, it was Gomaitru who would bring them back to business as they sat around in a semi-circle, using the cots as make-shift lounge chairs.

“Where’s Wukong? I have words for him.”

Kahl, still getting accustomed to being accepted as one of the family, shrugged his broad shoulders. “He’s usually here, but I think he’s just giving us some breathing room.”

“Correct.” the space simian replied from across the chamber, abruptly present and seemingly reviewing the data, comparing each tube’s readings against each other to check for correlations. Or, more importantly, outliers.

“Have you been hiding this whole time, watching us?” Kaelli inquired with a mild tone of exasperation, standing up from her half-folded cot.

“No, I was working. In fact, that’s why I’ve returned.”

Kaelli, ever inquisitive, started with to speak, “Returned? From wh-”

Gomaitru rose up as well, arms lopsidedly crossed over her chest, clearing her throat. The eyes of the family all turned to regard her closely, as some old patterns never change no matter how new the body is. “If there’s anything we can do to repay you, what you’ve done, giving us a new lease on life, please don’t hesitate to ask. We are forever in your debt.”

“Trust me when I say forever is a long time, but yes, thank you. I do plan to call that marker in immediately.”

“Ask.”

“I want the Heart to be moved from Deimos to the Tower of the Unum on Earth.”

Stunned silence.

It was Vilcor who actually spoke first, years of making decisions in the heat of battle giving him old but not unwelcome reflexes. “Well, at least you asked for something simple,” he said sarcastically. “I’d offer you our firstborn instead, but he’s right there and I think he’d put up a fight.”

“More importantly,” Gomaitru interjected in the hopes of keeping the conversation on topic and not into an exchange of barbs, glancing to Vilcor quickly before looking back to the space simian. “Why?”

“There are things that I need to do, places I need to go, and since I don’t know exactly how long it will take, I need to attempt to institute some measure of insurance that the Origin System, and most importantly Earth, will be safe.”

Kahl’s voice rumbled from the blue-skinned assemblage, realization dawning in his dark eyes. “So that’s why you did this, you want us to watch over Earth while you’re away.”

“Correct. As Gomaitru said, you are in my debt. And I don’t ask much, only that you live your lives as you normally would while keeping an eye on Earth.”

“Even if we can move the Heart, it’s not just that device. There’s the Wall of Lohk as well, which isn’t exactly small.” Vilcor stated as his mind was attacking the logistics of the problem. “Plus, it’s difficult to watch Earth all the way from Deimos.”

Wukong nodded once with infuriating calmness. “Yes, I’ve considered that, which is why one of my conditions is that you live predominantly on Earth. I’ve taken the liberty of securing suitable housing in the interim of being consigned to the tube.”

“You secured what, wait, did you build five houses in a week?” Kermerros asked in a surprised tone, eyebrows raised incredulously with wide eyes.

“No. That would be inefficient when there are suitable structures readily available. Look.” he replied with a taloned gesture, swiping at the nearest holo-display to turn it towards the group.

 The display was a rotating globe of the Earth with seven markers across the large landmasses, including the arctic region at the southern pole. The Entrati and Kahl quickly approached to crowd the display, Gomaitru tapping on the holo for the marker south-south-west of the Tower of the Unum, which consisted of largely arid and desert regions. The marker windowed a second screen that displayed an astonishing image in real time: another Orokin tower almost exactly in appearance as the Unum.

“How is this possible? There’s only one Tower left and it’s in Cetus! That’s why Narmer attacked it, that’s what we were briefed in the dropships.” Kahl exclaimed loudly, leaning in closer to the image in an attempt to glean more details.

“Actually, there are quite a few derelict Towers left in Origin System space, but you are correct in that there is only one Unum. And she is best equipped to caretake the Heart while the rest of you go about your lives in your new domiciles. Aside from the actual effort of moving the Heart and the Wall, I’m not asking for much. Kermerros can continue to study normal virology pathogens with the ample fauna of Earth, working with Kaelli and Kahl as biologists; Vilcor can tinker with his modular weapons to test in the wilderness, and Grandmother and Gomaitru can continue as they always have with grace and dignity. You can do all the things that you did before and more. I don’t want to make it seem like I’ve taken you from one prison to a more comfortable one, I just need people I can trust to ensure Earth’s continued existence until I return.”

“And when will that be? You said you didn’t know. It could be years.” Kermerros countered, unthinkingly mimicking Gomaitru’s body language by crossing his arms over his chest.

“Correct, but I suspect that it shouldn’t take years. Several months, at the most. It appears that the unknown time variable is the crux of the problem, which is understandable. So, give me this: one year to complete my task. One year of having no expenses, no worries for sustenance as the Tower will provide your basic needs. If I don’t return in a year, then consider your obligation fulfilled and debt to me provincially forgiven. After all, what’s a year to an immortal? Do we have an accord?”

Wukong’s eyes briefly flared as he looked at each of the Entrati in kind, his fiery gaze seeing the truth in their hearts and what their decision would be. Shortly, after they conferred with each other, they agreed. “Good, then let’s get to work.”

The work required to detach and disassemble the Heart and Wall from Deimos wasn’t as intensive as Vilcor had originally envisioned, largely due to the number of Wukongs performing a wide variety of tasks that took most of an entire day to disconnect and move to the modified RailJack with it’s altered interior to make room for the massive artifacts. Cephalon Cy had some choice words concerning the matter, mostly denoting the Wukongs being relegated to the status of drones, that Wukong himself entirely ignored.

The Ostron people of Cetus enjoyed the rare spectacle of a hovering spacecraft atop the gilded cresselations of the Tower of the Unum, the temporary crew of the vessel hastening about their work carrying the sizeable devices into the lowest reaches of the Orokin structure, it’s dark catacombs nearly as deep as it’s height to the heavens. As promised, the Heart and Wall of Lohk resumed its intended purpose of maintaining the connection to the Void as Sol dipped below the western horizon, enabling the abilities of the Tenno and their respective Warframes, and now forever relieved of being under the constant threat of succumbing to the Infestation.

It actually took significantly more effort to get the Entrati members moved into their Towers scattered across Earth’s surface, with the various trips back and forth to Deimos for personal effects and equipment that would make their year-long stay more comfortable and allow them to continue their professions and interests for the duration. Even Wukong’s normally inexhaustible energy was beginning to wane as he and Kahl carried the last of the packaged goods from the Skaut into the base chamber of the Tower, lazy dust motes visible in the rays of golden sunlight beaming in through the main entry that looked upon the long, waving plains of tall grass that extended across the central region of the particular Terran landmass.

“You all but said we should live in this specific Tower, Wukong, why is that?” Kaelli hazarded an inquiry once the space simian had set down the last chest and stood back up. He turned his head to regard Kaelli and Kahl both, both now dressed in traditionally colorful Ostron garb.

“Privacy and profession, Kaelli. You are still a biologist and this region is quite thriving with new forms of life, both flora and fauna, that should keep you involved for the time I require. It is also significantly distant from your family members and the area is relatively flat across this great plain so even if you were to receive unannounced visitors, you would have ample warning.”

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful.”

Wukong simply inclined his head and turned, moving towards the door with the familiar tac-tac-tac of his talons upon the floor. 

Kahl hesitantly took a step forward, clearing his throat. “Where will you go? After managing this whole thing, it’s hard to believe that you’re actually leaving.”

The mercurial monkey paused in the doorway, sharp points of his clawed fingertips resting upon the right side of the threshold, looking over his shoulder at the pair with his eyes afire, tech-ribbons of his syandana rippling in the warm breeze. “It’s not a question of where, Kahl. It’s whether or not I possess the constitution and depth to go as far as is needed.” Removing his hand from the entryway, Wukong gave a final wave and walked into the light, followed shortly by the identifiably shrill screech of the Skaut’s engines that signified his departure.