|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:22 pm
This meeting is for Meggie Fairbairn, and will be overseen by Zakaria Arrington and Nigel Price.
Location: Zak's Basement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:51 pm
It was ready.
The runes had been contructed properly, their complex formulas written down on the floor of the basement. Around the circle, a series of machines were hooked up, surrounding the formula on the floor. They would create a huge electrical charge which would help the magic create the effect that Nigel and Zak desired, if all went well.
The redhead mage could hardly believe that this was happening. For years, he'd been unable to find anyone who would be willing to try his theory, and with good reason - it was illegal. No one wanted to get in trouble for one of his ideas. No one was willing.
Aside from Zakaria Arrington, it seemed. That man apparently had no qualms with doing anything illegal, so long as it got him what he wanted.
"It's all ready. We just need to start the spell." Nigel lifted his eyes to look at the blond man who was standing on the other side of the circle. "The machines should turn themselves on in response to the energy."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:28 pm
Zakaria Arrington dusted chalk from his hands and nodded as Nigel spoke. He knew how the damn machines worked. They'd only been building them for months.
Well, Nigel had been building him. The mechanics of it all; that was his department. But the magic?
That was Zak. He had perfected the runes, the enormous circle that he stood in front of now. He couldn't help but smile as he looked down at it. It really was a thing of beauty. He was almost, nearly, very smug about it.
But now was not the time to be smug. That would have to wait until it actually worked.
To Zak, 'legal' was merely a matter of perception. And, most times, his perception was that it was perfectly fine. He didn't see who they would be hurting with this. Everything was born with magic of it's own; they were just tampering with the restorative abilities of it.
Of course, people getting hurt had never stopped Zak before.
"Say it again, Nigel, just in case I missed it the first fifty times you said it." Zak muttered, pushing his coat out of his way and stepping into the circle. The runes flared to life with a bright, emerald light, casting an eerie glow on his face and hair. He raised his hand and spoke a word of an ancient language, setting the spell in motion. The energy whirled around his feet, his coat flapping, hair rising on his head. Another word, louder this time, and the machines hummed to life. Electricity crackled, mixing with his magic. He could feel it, humming through the back of his mind.
It was working.
His eyes lit up with the magic and he grinned, turning his now-glowing gaze to the vials that sat at strategic points of the circle. His voice continued the spell, echoing strong throughout the spacious basement. Inside, he spoke a prayer to his goddess.
Work. Please, let this work.
The things they could do with this. The things they could achieve. They would break the constraints set upon them by the Council, set a new level of genius. They would literally have a non-exaustable source for magic!
Perhaps he looked a bit crazed; it would certainly explain the expression on his apprentice's face. She didn't think he saw her, crouched in the stairs. But he did. He even cackled at her, and she darted back up the stairs as the energy converged on the vials. There was an enormous boom; a flare of energy, a crackle, and lots of smoke. He held his sleeve in front of his mouth, blocking the smoke as he spoke the last words of the spell.
And then, there was silence. The light faded. Exhaustion swept over him, but he refused to fall. Refused to even let his shoulders slump.
"Did...did it work?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:00 pm
Sometime during the course of the spell, Nigel had been reminded that Zak was ******** crazy. It was probably the grin and the cackling - those were NORMALLY pretty good indications of insanity. Why had he agreed to partner up with him again?
Oh right. Because no one else would. ******** redheaded mage poured his own magic into the spell, mixing it with Zak's. If all went well, then they'd have something that no one else had ever made - familiars that would be able to work as magic sources as well. Like the blond magic user, Nigel found himself praying that the theory was right, that the formulas and months of planning would pull through and they would succeed.
Nigel covered his face with his arms as the explosion went off and he only removed them once all of the smoke had cleared. He didn't respond to Zak's question initially - he merely scurried over to one of the vials and picked it up to see if it would react.
It didn't. He could feel dormant life inside the vial, pulsating gently, but nothing else. It didn't spark, didn't transform, didn't react. Clearly, something had gone wrong.
"DAMMIT!" The curse escaped him before he had the chance to stop it. What had they done WRONG? All of the formulas had been PERFECT. Turning to Zak, the vial of golden liquid still in his hands, he wore a look on his face that clearly showed that he was not at all pleased. "They're alive, but they aren't REACTING." Whatever they'd created, it wasn't what they'd been intending to make. "This is something else entirely!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:12 pm
"Let me see." Zak said, limping over. His left foot was smoking; clearly, he'd stood too close to the explosions. Without asking permission, he snatched the vial from Nigel.
Nothing.
Not even a quiver of recognition.
He cursed, loud and long, in a language long forgotten by man.
"HOW?!" He finally bellowed, whirling on Nigel. "This isn't ******** POSSIBLE. Everything went as planned! I-" He looked down at the circle, double checked it all. Everything was as he had written it. Each line. Each mark. Every vial, in the right-
He stopped, and pushed the vial back into Nigel's hands. Near the center of the circle a bright violet puddle lay, the remnants of a vial that had lain there previously.
Kneeling, he dipped a finger into it, and swore again. The explosions. It hadn't been able to handle the surplus energy; and it had melted. Leaking, all over one of his runes, and washing it away.
"It's a failure." he said darkly. "Get rid of it, before it gains even more consciousness." He could feel it, when he held the vial. The creature was waking; it wanted something. Someone. Something close. Zak wasn't sure if Nigel noticed. He hoped he hadn't. Doubted it, unless it had gotten stronger already.
Nigel just seemed the type to object to getting rid of the vials, if he knew that they were conscious.If all else failed, though, he could always get Kali to clean up the mess...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:42 pm
Nigel's response was almost immediate. "Zak, these things are ALIVE. We can't just get rid of them." Where Zak seemed to lack moratily, Nigel more than made up for it. Doing illegal activities was one thing, but destroying life? Life that THEY'D created? That was too much for him. "Besides, it might not be a complete failure; maybe we can learn something from these!" Perhaps this attempt hadn't met with the desires that they'd been intending, but they'd still made something. Even Nigel could see that whatever was in the vials was something that had never been made before - there were still things that could be learned from them.
"We've obviously created something from this. If we study whatever it is, then the next attempt we make might be a success, or even better than what we intended!" Despite what Zak thought, Nigel could, in fact, feel the creature in the vial reaching out to something. He wasn't sure of what it was, but it was near. "This one feels like it's looking for something, and whatever it is, it's close. It might even be in the mansion."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:17 pm
Well, damn. He had noticed.
Zakaria heaved an exaggerated sigh, leaning on one of Nigel's precious machines. Really, he wanted to kick it. Hard. And possibly while wearing a magical exploding boot. Who needed two feet anyways?
But, the red head did have a point.
What was with all of his red headed companions and their points? This kid sounded almost painfully like Kali did when she was admonishing him for something. Which, he had to admit, she would do if she were still crouched on those stairs. A pity that Nigel would do it for her. He wasn't quite as vocal as Zak's apprentice was. (And trust him, he knew just how vocal she could get.) But now he had two people telling him things he didn't care to know.
'Zak, don't do this.' 'Zak, that's immoral.' 'Zak, those are orphans, no, you can't experiment on them.'
(He still didn't understand the orphan thing. Really, they had no parents. Who would care?)
Perhaps his head was stuck in the wrong century, though.
And perhaps, for once, he should listen to someone else.
Again; the kid had a point. If they studied...whatever it was, that they had created, perhaps they could find other places they had gone wrong. Perhaps they could fix them, before they went wrong again. On the bright side, this all meant that another experiment was to be had. That thought made him smile, and though he was exhausted, he pushed himself up off of the machine and limped over to Nigel, taking the vial.
"Yes. It's upstairs, actually. In the library." He knew the aura that this thing was reaching out too. And if Nigel paid any attention at all (Which Zak sometimes doubted, out of pure arrogance on his part.) he would recognize it too.
Tossing the vial up, he caught it deftly with two fingers, twirled it, and stuck it in his left breast pocket, all the while limping for the stairs.
If he couldn't get rid of this thing, the least he could do was see what it did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 7:22 am
Unlike Zak, Nigel hadn't been paying enough attention to realize which aura the vial was reaching out to. Had he been, he would have recognized it immediately. However, he was currently trying to convince Zak to NOT destroy the vials, a worthy endeavor in his opinion.
He was actually surprised when Zak agreed so quickly. His mood seemed to have changed around completely, which suddenly made the redheaded mage wonder is his partner was bipolar or something. It wouldn't have surprised him, really?
"The library." He could pinpoint it too, now that he was concentrating on the aura. It was then that he also realized what it was that the vial was calling out to.
Or rather WHO it was.
'Megg.' The Nigel nodded wordlessly and followed his blond companion up the stairs. Sure enough, his foster daughter was there, just as he and Zak had sensed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 7:39 am
In the library, one Meggie Fairbairn sat at the end of one of the book aisles, leaned up against one of the shelves. It wasn't uncommon to find her here, as it was one of the quieter places in the mansion - her room didn't really count, since she usually had music blasting out of the speakers of her laptop. Nigel had soundproofed her room because of this, since she'd probably drive everyone else in the mansion crazy otherwise.
However, Megg was currently preferring the library to her bedroom, having taken refuge among the millions of books that were stacked up until they almost reached the ceiling. The brunette's blue eyes were glued down on a page in her notebook as she scrawled writing across it, completely entranced in the ideas that she had swimming around in her head. So engrossed was she in the story that she was writing that she didn't hear the door to the library open, nor did she notice the footsteps that were coming towards her.
She didn't notice a thing until a shadow came over her. Blinking, Megg finally looked up from her writing, only to see Nigel and Zak standing over her. Hadn't they been down in the library, working on that...THING that they'd been doing for the past couple of months? "Uh...hi guys. What's up?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:04 am
"Catch." Zak said, tossing the vial at Megg. He was sure, if she missed it, Nigel would more than make sure that it didn't shatter against the floor. And if it did, well, oh well. Wasn't his problem. Besides, it was what he'd wanted in the first place.
He couldn't help but wonder what they had created, if not what they intended. Something alive, obviously; which really wasn't the illegal part. So they were, technically, still obeying the law.
Unless this was another monster like the last one he'd inadvertently created while experimenting. In which case, he didn't care about Nigel's supposed 'ethic's. If it was anything like Jett, he was smashing all of those vials, destroying the machines, and burning all of their notes on top of the lovely pile of broken glass and machinery. And then he'd burn down his house, just to make sure. He would not take any chances with this.
"It likes you." He said, almost cheerily, rocking back on his heels and dropping into one of the many cushy armchairs that decorated his library. The tall shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, home to old tomes and scrolls that the council would have killed (And they had, in the past.) to get their hands on. The shelves were solid, enchanted wood; the carved vines that lined the walls would spring to life and strangle anyone who tried to steal his books. Alternatively, they would keep them alive until Zak got to them.
And by then they'd wish the vines had gotten them first.
There was a large fire place on one wall, which the armchairs were situated around, and long tables scattered along the room. One would wonder why Megg chose the floor, and not a table; the reason would be that said tables were covered in half-finished spells, scrolls that he was reading, and magical junk that he hadn't got around to cleaning since they started this little project of theirs. He smiled as he looked around at the chaotic disarray, jiggling his foot.
He should really, he thought, make Kali clean it up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:40 am
Megg's eyes widened and she dropped the notebook that she'd been holding as Zak tossed the vial at her. A look of confusion immediately crossed her features as she stared down at the vial of bright, golden liquid. "And...what exactly is 'it'?" Now, Megg was quite used to all sort of strange things happening in her life - it kind of came along with having a powerful mage as a foster father. Having a vial of brightly-coloured liquid thrown at her was new, however. Nigel didn't usually let her play around with anything that had magical properties in it. "And is 'it' going to explode in my face?"
Nigel looked as though he'd been about to respond, but the redhead stopped as the golden liquid in the vial began to...bubble. Almost like it was boiling. Both he and Megg stared at the vial, awe spreading across the latter's face as the vial in her hand began to glow with an ethereal light.
Then it became bright, blinding both of them. As she clamped her eyes shut, Megg felt the vial in her hands transforming into something else. Something...that was squirming. The light faded as the sound of whimpering suddenly filled her ears and she found herself looking down at what was no longer a vial of liquid, but a fuzzy, black infant that looked almost a little demonic in appearance.
How the <********> had a vial just turned into a BABY?! "Um...g-guys? What is this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:53 am
"A baby! Fascinating!" Zak beamed, leaning forward in his chair. "Wasn't expecting that. Though he does look a bit like I thought they might.." He stroked his chin, eyeing the child.
"Perhaps we should examine it closer." He muttered. "A test for potential would be best. When he's older, we'd need to test to see how long he can hold it for. I wonder how long it'd take..." He had the familiar light in his eyes that warned he was about to do something not very nice.
However, this time, he stopped. Paused, for once. And thought about what he was doing. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, fingers tapping his chin still. Then, he reconsidered, and the light faded.
"The child has obviously attached itself. And I have a bad feeling about taking it away. We don't know what it does. So we let it grow. Care for it. Study it as it does. It may have special needs due to the process it was made with." He spoke quietly, and not to Megg. His words were for Nigel. "When we see how it goes, we can consider what we're to do with the others. If we should continue, or not. Until then, they stay in the basement. Locked up, tight. I'll make sure they stay there. But we don't have a choice now." He gestured at the baby.
"We need to see this, at least, through. And if it starts to go sour, and we'll forced to take responsibility, you need not sully your hands with it. I'll handle it." Until then, though, they needed to see what this baby did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:39 pm
Nigel would have probably noticed the initial look in Zak's eyes if he'd been paying attention to the blond mage's face. As it was, his gaze was currently focused on the newborn creature in Megg's arms. It certainly wasn't like anything that he'd ever seen before. Has ANYONE ever seen one before? Or had he and Zak created an entirely new race? "Amazing..."
Blue eyes moved to Zak as he opened his mouth to speak against testing the child so soon, but he soon found that it wasn't necessary; the blond mage came to the conclusion all on his own. "I agree." he said, folding his arms over in front of his chest. "We'll have to keep a close eye on it then." He sincerely hoped that nothing would go wrong with the little creature, especially if it was attached to his foster daughter.
Because if it got attached to her, than it was more than likely that Megg would grow attached to it - and if that happened, they'd have an even harder time dealing with this. Not that they wouldn't be able to stop her if they had to, but Nigel would prefer it is they DIDN'T have to upset his foster daughter. If they were lucky though, it would be no different than looking after a regular baby. "We'll need to set up living arrangements for it here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 5:41 pm
"Um...this is all fine and dandy, but could someone explain to me what the hell's going on?" Megg asked, frowning a little. She shifted slightly, being careful of the squirming infant in her arms, as she watched the two mages discuss the baby's living arrangements. "What just happened? What do you mean that he's attached himself?" It seemed as though she were the only one calling the baby by a gender - probably because she was currently holding him and could see that he was, in fact, a he. "Does he...have to stay with me then?"
Turning her gaze down towards the baby in her arms. He was...pretty cute. Adorable, really. Black hair, and lighter coloured fur, big golden eyes...good God, he was like a stuffed toy! Well, a living, breathing, squirming one...but hell, that just made him all the cuter!. "Um...he could stay in my room with me, if all else fails..." Not that Zak had any shortage of bedrooms in the mansion, but she figured that it might be better to have someone watching the little guy at night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zakaria Arrington Captain
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 2:14 pm
"Well!" Zak said, clapping his hands together and smiling sarcastically at Megg. "That, is a baby. You, are now it's guardian. You need to feed it and bathe it and change it's diapers! Isn't it exciting?! I don't know. Have you heard of babies before?" With that last question, it was hard to tell if he was being serious or not. He wasn't, for the record, but one could never be sure with Zak. He was arrogant enough to assume it, after all.
He rolled his eyes and stood up, pulling a book off of the shelf as he did.
"Separating him from you would be a bad idea. Why would we do that? Of course he's going to be in your room, silly girl. I have a crib." Gods only knew why. Zak wasn't the kind of person you would trust with any semblance of an infant. But, he gave no justification as he buried his nose in the book, and walked out of the room.
"I'll have Kali set up your room. Nigel. Quit being sentimental and come with me. I need to show you what went wrong." And then, he thought, flippinng the page. He needed a nap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
