Post by Horo on Jan 8, 2014 22:40:24 GMT -5
Horo stood still as the door of the Arena’s medical bay slid shut behind her. The last hour had been rough, Giovanni had set the young Anulupis down and explained so much to her. His origins, their powers, and why her father, Ilmiore, felt he had to do what he did. Horo fought back the stinging in her eyes, in her heart as she worked her way to the elevators and away from the Arena.
”Giovanni... Why did you wait to tell me? Glorified telekinesis, is that really all that Pulse is?” Horo asked herself aloud. The sounds of the campus were dulled by the sounds of her own thoughts. She dragged her feet to the schoolhouse, wishing that Giovanni had asked her to go somewhere else. Alivon even, but not her. Horo had heard about Stein from students around campus. They called her a mad doctor, Frankenstein reborn. She had fought with Stein in the halls(Cbox) a few times before as well. Horo dragged herself to the door and took a deep breath.
”Excuse me. Dr. Stein?” Horo asked in a slightly less arrogant voice than normal. She reluctantly knocked on the steel again. ”This is Horo Whitetail. That girl from the cloning booth earlier... Can I.” Horo coughed, trying to exhibit good manners. ”May I, come in.” A dagger pierced Horo’s heart at the thought of asking Stein for help.
Stein heard someone knock, who then identified Horo herself as Horo. why would she came to visit me? she might be here for revenge. Stein thought as she turned off the microscope and opened the door with her metal affinity “Enter Horo.” Stein said as she put her samples away in a cabinet and turned to Horo.
Horo stepped into the room. Her body ached, but she didn’t know if it was from shame or her fight. Taking a seat on a nearby stool she took a deep breath as she began to explain. ”Stein. I need you to check out my bodies and ensure that my hormones aren’t out of whack. I recently... went through a body augmentation, I want to make sure everything is in line as it should be.” Horo turned her back to Stein and exposed her fresh new tattoo. ”Especially here.” Horo said, pointing to the wolf head.
Stein raised her eyebrow at Horo’s unusual request. “What exactly would have happened to throw your hormones off. Chrystilline wouldn’t have affected them while she was healing you...but Pierce might have I guess...”
Stein walked around to Horo’s back and looked at Horo’s new tattoo “Interesting, how and when did you get this tattoo?” While Horo was distracted answering that question Stein pulled out a needle and pricked Horo’s back to get a sample of the blood near the tattoo. She walked over to her desk and measured out some of it into a vial and added something else to the vial before shaking it for a minute and looking at it. “Horo, your antibodies are all being activated to attack something centered around the tattoo; there’s a new DNA thread that they’re trying to destroy....What exactly happened.” She asked looking at Horo before turning to look at something else in the test tube.
”Well, the battle with Pierce did something to my Pulse and ah- Horo winced as the needle pierced her skin. She wanted to snap at Stein for not giving her any warning of the poke. Horo reached her arm around her back and felt the small spot, rubbing it. She shook her head, re fixing herself on the explanation.
”I got the tattoo just an hour ago from Giovanni. It was done magically, made from Pulse... Yeah.” Horo listened and wondered how much she wanted to tell to Stein. It probably wouldn’t do her good to lie to the girl. With a heavy sigh Horo continued. ”The tattoo is all that is left... of my father. Pierce somehow stole my ability to use Pulse from me. Giovanni and my father restored my powers, at the price of my father’s life.”
Horo began to sniffle as the thought of never seeing her father again came to mind. She was angry at him, but missed him more than any other emotion. ”Giovanni took my father’s Pulse essence and integrated it into me, so it’s probably his DNA that you are finding.”
Stein raised her eyebrow as Horo mentioned that her pulse ability had disappeared during the fight with Pierce “Horo, do you know what Pierce’s affinity is? I’ve never heard of a pulse ability being ‘turned off’ before..”. Stein was very interested in how Pierce had ‘turned off’ an entire affinity “Interesting....I didn’t think Pulse had the ability to create tattoos...” Stein had put some of Horo’s blood onto a slide and was looking at it under a microscope. “The infection will only get worse if the antibodies are left unchecked.” Stein turned back to Horo “I can alter some of your antibodies to actually recognize your father ‘s DNA as your own....It will take an hour or so to alter them, and we’d need to draw a pint of blood to alter.” Stein explained to Horo. (Horo might recognize that antibody alteration should usually take a few weeks)
Horo shook her head at Stein’s first question. ”All I know of it is that whenever I tried something, it failed. Then it felt like he ripped my soul out of my body.” Horo shook her head left and right, forcing the memory out of her head for the time being. ”Anyway, Stein let me explain Pulse to you. I thought it was just the ability to manipulate objects, force them to move via their molecular vibrations and such. But Giovanni explained it in full to me. Pulse is a connection to the fabric of the Universe.
Have you heard of String theory, the idea that the Universe is made of small vibrating strings that vibrate through like 11 dimensions or something like that? The Master Pulse users believe that what we do is manipulate those strings that weave the universe together. Giovanni however is the only person I have ever met who, beside the ancient Anulupis tribes, know about Pulse. I’ve never met anyone else, any non Anulupis who could use it... I’m getting sidetracked. So Giovanni says that the ability to use Pulse rest on a 6th sense, a mixture of touch, sight and sound that lets us “feel” and manipulate. Mine was taken away, so he gave me my father’s in the form of a tattoo. Since his sense existed in the universe, it had be to made of those strings, Giovanni formed them into a tattoo and placed him, on my back.”
Horo was unacquainted with the procedure that Stein described. An hour didn’t seem like too much time to spend with Stein. Heck, maybe she would even being to like the girl in that time. Horo walked over to a lab bed and laid down. She was ready to get started.
Stein brought one of the empty blood bags over and pulled a pole off the edge of the bed and hung the bag. “Horo, I’m going to start the blood bag, please don’t run around the room, Stein cleaned off Horo’s arm and inserted the needle to begin.” Stein didn’t seem shocked that Giovanni had pulse, but was curious how Giovanni was the only other one “Why is Giovanni the only non-Anulupis that has Pulse?” Stein had to wait for the bag to be done before she could begin altering the antibodies, but she was observing the blood under the microscope with an avid curiosity. “I know much about string theory, I’ve written several papers and one of my theses on it. I’m very interested in your pulse ability; perhaps you could demonstrate it for me later, I’d like to get several scans.” Stein walked over with a metal headband and slid it over Horo’s head, allowing it to shape to Horo’s head with some help of her metal affinity. (think sweatband sized, and metal) “I’m doing a brain scan. If you now have Ilmiore’s strings, or consciousness in you I should be able to pick it up.” Stein sat down at her desk a few feet from Horo. Damu crept into the room and laid down under the bed listening to Horo; He was being sneaky, he got excited as Horo mentioned Giovanni, he liked Giovanni.
Horo nodded and stayed still while the long thin metal pierced her arm. Stein’s question was one that Horo had also possessed. ”That is a question I’ve also had. He told me that he was born a weak child, but gained his abilities during a terrible magical storm. He spent years learning about his powers alone saying that all the masters of the age had died by the time he was ready to learn. Giovanni found the Anulupis, new masters, but it seems like he is the last of us. I don’t know, he speaks of the Master’s like they are still alive. He does travel a lot, but I haven’t been able to sense any. We can sense each other’s abilities, but I can’t find any other user in Savale. It’s so strange.”
Horo laid there, thinking as she looked up at the ceiling. Something about the loss of blood was making the gears in her head spin in a different from usual manner. ”Wait. Giovanni has said that the tattoos of his body hold the history of his people... His tattoos are magical, maybe... just maybe... they are like mine?”
Stein noticed Damu sitting under the bed and picked him up and set him on the bed besides Horo, he’d never met Horo before, he’d been in recovery the last 2 weeks when she’d met and ‘battled’ with Horo. “Damu, this is Horo Whitetail, she’s an Anulupis. You can stay here with her as long as you’re not a nuisance.” Damu happily inched his way up beside Horo. He then inched up onto Horo’s stomach and rolled onto his back where Horo could see him and could reach his belly.
Stein remained seated near Horo and as the blood bag finished filling. “Horo, please tell me the first thing that comes to mind as I say these words. Apple...ship...fox...science...water...dessert...boys...perfection.” Stein took notes, jotting down whatever Horo said, always waiting for her to finish her sentence or thought before stein said the next word.
As Stein waited the bag finished filling; She stood up and removed the needle, placing a small bandage on the remaining needle prick and took the bag over to her desk. She hung it up on the edge of the desk by a window while she continued tinkering with something in the microscope, and several vials of various colors beside her.
Horo cranked her head so that she could get a look at Damu who was laying on her stomach. His weight pressed down on her ribs, causing her to have slight difficult breathing. Not meaning to be rude, she pushed him off of her stomach and onto the bed next to her. ”It” Horo took a deep breath between every other word. ”is nice... to meet you.” Horo took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh air. ”Sorry, I’m still in a lot of pain and I refuse to use their pain killers. I hate them. I prefer magical or natural remedies. I keep science for the things they can’t fix.”
Horo began scratching Damu’s belly, as Stein began her word association questions. Horo didn’t understand how this would help her gene/antibody therapy. Never the less, she did enjoy these types of questions. (apple) Sex... (ship) Speed... (fox) Phony... (science) Love... (water) Sexy... (dessert) Sexier... (boys) Gullible ... (perfection) Me. Humm, I like my foods almost as much as I like myself. Almost.” Horo covered her mouth and giggled at the sexual thoughts. She hoped she would take Stein by surprise or throw her off, but Horo realistically doubted it.
Happy to be able to use her arm again, Horo sat up and used one to rub Damu’s belly and the other to scratch herself behind the ears. She leaned over the side of the bed, looking over at Stein and the work she was doing and began to ask. ”So what are you doing over... the..r. . .” Horo’s body fell over the side of the bed and landed with a thud on the floor. The gentle rise and fall of her chest suggested that she was sleeping.
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Damu fell to the side with a soft ‘oof’ but he didn’t care, he giggled some and rolled. to better accommodate having his belly rubbed.
Stein was not at all surprised by Horo’s sexual train of thought She’s more narcissistic than I originally expected.... was Stein’s train of thought listening to Horo, she turned to look at Horo as the bed creaked a little. “Horo, you should probably lay-” Horo fell off the bed onto the ground, Damu looked over the edge of the bed at Horo, who was on the ground and said “Did she faint of die?” Stein stood up and sighed as she began injecting the various colored vials into the blood bag and massaging the bag to disperse the fluids “Damu, she’s narcoleptic, she’ll be fine. Can you please move off the bed?” Damu asked as she picked up several metal boxes with her affinity and the blood bag before walking across the floor to hang the bag above the bed. She set the boxes on the ground and flattened the metal out under Horo’s head and mid-section. After the metal had created several bands Stein bent down and lifted Horo, with the help of the metal bands and her affinity onto the bed again (Horo’s laying on her back again). Stein reformed the metal into the boxes in her hand and set them under the bed for possible later use. Stein then pulled a fresh needle out and inserted it into the back of Horo’s hand, putting tape over the needle for when Horo awoke and connected it to the bag. Stein then walked over to her bookshelf and pulled down a red binder before sitting beside Horo’s bed to read the books and various papers on “The History and Anatomy of the Anulupis Culture and Species”
Horo’s eyes blinked open a few moments after Stein had begun reading her book. She looked over at Stein, rubbing her head with her needless hand ”Did I go out again? Darn, feels like I ran into a brick wall.” Horo looked over at the book she was reading. ”What’s that you’re reading?”
“Hello Horo, the blood transfusion is in progress, please don’t mess with the IV.” Stein flipped a page on the thesis she was reading and continued speaking as she read “Yes, you sat up and asked what I was doing before having a narcoleptic episode and falling asleep on the floor; A brick wall would have been more comfortable to crash into.” She turned another page in the thesis “As to what I’m reading I’m currently reading a thesis on Anulupis nerve endings and reaction times before and after transformation....I already finished ‘The History of Anulupis Culture’ ‘Anulupis Anatomy’ and ‘The Psychology of the Anulupis’.... ” Stein flipped the last page of the Thesis and set it in the binder before picking up another thesis; probably another one about the Anulupis. Stein looked up at the bag and checked the flow. “It probably won't take much longer for the transfusion to finish; once the antibodies take effect in about another hour the inflammation should decrease, but if for some reason it continues just let me know and I’ll alter more of the cells.”
Horo nodded at all of Stein’s information. ”Oh, you probably know more than I do by now. The Anulupis are tribe based and my tribe was full of inbred swine who were afraid of any outside knowledge. They didn’t even believe pulse existed. I took a tour around the planet, so much technology and culture there, my people were still living in cave dens. CAVES!”
Horo laid back and relaxed into her seat. Her mind was in a strange place but it felt compelled to ask. ”Stein. Would you like to join a club? A medical expert and researcher would be a great addition for when I take over the school. Pierce is a villain, I’ve got to stop his reign.” Horo looked at Stein and lifted Damu with Pulse, and floating him onto her lab table. ”I’ll show you Pulse, first hand. I’ll even let you do some experiments with it.”
Stein smiled a little “Don’t be too against caves; what do you think houses were based off of, and caves are where most civilizations started. As to my knowledge of the Anulupis; I only have academic knowledge of the Anulupis tribes and culture, I’ve never had first hand experience with it. I can only read accounts of others visits to the planet, and there’s not many to read.” Stein put a paperclip in the thesis she was reading and returned it to the binder and closed the binder.
Stein picked up the binder and stood up “I would not suggest making me a member of your club Horo; I know a few people in your Quikstep Club already who are scared or nervous of me; I’d upset the balance. However, I’d be happy to collaborate on any projects you do.” Stein walked over to her bookshelf and put the binder on one of the lower shelves. “Be wary of Pierce Veil. You may believe that he’s a dictator, but to much of the school he’s a benevolent god.” Stein sat in her rollie chair facing backwards in it. and turned to Horo “I would be very interested in observing your pulse abilities, and I have a few experiments in mind I’d like to try; mostly stress and limit tests.”
As Damu was lifted up into the air by Horo’s pulse he giggled and squirmed before being set down on the lab table. Damu decided he wanted to play his classic prank on Horo; He ‘fell’ off the table and landed before falling onto his side, he laid still for a few moments then twitched for a few moments, before standing up and locking all his legs. His eyes were crossed and he was speaking funny as he walked towards Horo and said “Braaaaaaiinnnnnnsssss” Stein picked up her feet from the floor as he started pretending to be a zombie, she knew how this prank ended.
Horo sighed at Stein’s response. She assessed Stein’s cold look and decided that she wouldn’t push for it right now, a middle ground would be sufficient for the moment. What Horo wanted was reliable people with well rounded talents. Stein’s medical and biological knowledge would be advantageous. Well Stein I’ll accept your offer. I’m happy that I’ll be able to call upon you when I need assistance.” Horo smiled. She felt it wouldn’t be long before she called in on that favor.
Horo reached out as Damu fell off the table, but she wasn’t able to grab the pup with Pulse before he landed on the ground. Horo looked at him questioningly as he began to moan for brains and walk towards her. ”I don’t get it? You’re a zombie, but you didn’t just die... I don’t understand. 不知道 (buzhidao = I dont know).”
Horo began to slide back in her bed as Damu inched closer. She tied activating a shield of Pulse energy, but found herself too tired to do more than lift objects.
.....................................
Stein sighed as Damu continued advancing on Horo. “He is a zombie technically. He died 4 years ago and I cloned and reconstructed him. He has some quirks from the process particularly in his brain functions, but he’s here and functioning....mostly” “Braaaaaainns...” Damu continued as he ‘attacked’ the foot of the bed and was ‘nomming’ it. Stein decided that Damu had done enough and said “Damu. teacht anseo, suí!” Damu stopped his advance on Horo and made a quick U-turn to run at Stein, skidding to her feet and sitting, looking up at Stein.
“ Horo, you should lay down and take a nap; You’re tired and need the rest.” Stein said as the lights clicked off, giving the lab an even more eerie look. “You can’t take over the entire school, or be perfect if you’re biological functions are not properly functioning.” Stein continued to work around the lab in the dark, she was fiddling with a microscope and several slides, muttering to herself about improper functions, isotopes and impermeable membranes and a cure for something.
.
Horo took a breath of fresh air as Damu retreated from the side of her bed. Stein was right so Horo made herself comfortable and allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep. Horo’s senses were tired, she was nearly dead to the world. She probably wouldn’t even wake up if Stein started doing experiments on her.
Stein continued her work quietly and listened to Horo’s breathing slow as the girl fell asleep. Damu fell asleep a few minutes later curled up under the desk, twitching occasionally.
Stein took a deep breath and stood up, gathering the necessary materials before she began. The goal of my experiment, to determine what parts of the brain function more in Analupis species, and during the use of pulse. Stein disconnected the blood bag from the IV and disposed of it, she then took 3 small vials of blood, leaving the needle in place since moving it might awaken Horo. After storing the vial safely Stein connected several wires to the metal band on Horo’s head and begun taking reading of it, and downloading the past and current data onto her computer where she was organizing and compiling all of it. I’ll give her some pleasant dreams while she’s here. Stein injected a blend of hormones into the needle feed, which should allow Horo several pleasant dreams till she awoke. Stein sat at at the computer again sending small, harmless shocks into Horo’s head to stimulate different sections of her brain, they’d be impossible to feel to Horo while she was sleeping, it’d just feel like she was actively dreaming
Horo’s dream was not surprisingly about Horo. She sat in a bath, across from herself and had a talk show about how great she was. The Horo’s stepped out of the bath, fully dry and clothed for a day on the beach. The bath house fell away and they were on warm sands at the edge of a large ocean filled with crystal clear waters. The temperature was about 79 F and the ocean breeze was relaxing the water was warm. Host Horo sat on a beach towel while Guest Horo sat with her feet in the ocean. Host Horo magically appeared in front of Guest Horo on a floatation device as the interview continued.
(H for host G for Guest)
H: So Horo, tell us about yourself.
G: Well, I was born small. My mother died in the birth. Raised by my father we got along. Life was interesting because I was always in trouble. Eventually, Giovanni showed up and took us away from Lyceaus. (At this point, Horo began to subconsciously use Pulse on various objects in the room, doing what she describes)
H: So, Giovanni was your saviour. What else did he do for you?
G: Well, Giovanni taught me how to use my Pulse. I transformed from my beast form to human form, then settled into my half transformation. I learned small things like sensing by feeling the Pulse of objects. My real training however came from Ben after I failed to save the Baseball team. He taught me how to cloudburst, which became the foundation for how I used Pulse. Giovanni wasn’t happy with it though. He refused to teach me more. But so I did lots of cool things and money came in and the thug life happened... but I battle Pierce and lost it all.
H: But you have your powers back?
G: My dad gave me his powers. He died doing so however. I got a cool tattoo from it, so it is like he’s always with me. I wonder if that is... Wait! Giovanni’s pulse works like telekinesis. So, I can move your pens around and make them dance! I can take these locks and open them! I can do so much like this! I wonder if I can even create bubbles out of raw atoms and skip having to coax the wind into it! LIke POW FORCE BUBBLE!
H: So Giovanni has tattoos all over his body. He also has Pulse that he “learned” from the masters, but they aren’t around. You’re pulse seems stronger since you absorbed your father. What could all of this mean.
G: It means that Giovanni absorbed all the masters of course! That’s why he... !!!
At that moment Horo’s eyes flew open. The pens of the room stopped their dance as she sat up stiff and scarred. “Giovanni” Horo began “has the history of his entire race written in the tattoos on his body...” Horo ripped the needle out of her arm and removed the metal band from her head. She rushed across the lab and took Stein by the shoulders. “DO you have ANY record on the Veyous people?” Horo asked in earnest.
Stein paused in her work as Horo transformed into her full fox form before, shifting back to her half-transformed state. She looked around as the lock on her door clicked and unclicked and the pens on her desk begin dancing in circles. Interesting, she must be using pulse subconsciously....what parts of the brain are most active currently Stein tried to lean forward and look at her computer, but a bubble of force hit her in the chest and pushed her back a few feet. At that moment all the pens ceased their movements and dropped and Horo sat up, rigid and frightened of something. As Horo ripped the needle out and pulled the band off Stein said “I’d prefer if you remained seated and plea-” Horo raced across the room and grabbed Stein’s shoulders, cutting her thought short. Stein took a breath and said to Horo “Not much is known about the Veyous Race, They existed nearly 700 years ago, then vanished without a trace. Solar and weather charts suggest that there was a massive storm of energy around the same time. The only remains of the civilization are found in their cryptic artwork made of thin strings woven together. From a distance they create intricate patterns that are beautiful to behold. Scholars believe that this art was created to evoke a feeling that everything is apart of a much larger picture.” She stood up and continued, waving her right hand in a dramatic fashion as she started walking around “Giovanni’s the only one known to still be alive, and everytime I ask I get a different story... They’re all centered around whales however, I’ve heard they were pirates who stole the fat off of whales, about their art masterpieces,and about how cold their world was...” she turned to face Horo “They’re all probably mostly lies.”
Horo began to pace back and forth, her mind was ablaze with ideas and information. Curious of what her active mind looked like, she returned to the bed and slipped the metal headband back over her hair until it was tight against her forehead. Lifting two small metal spheres into the air, Horo began to use them as stress balls and twirl them around with the fingers on her left hand.
”Now, run with me on this one. It took a lot of energy to transfer my father, Ilmiore into tattoo form to give me his Pulse abilities. Now that I’ve rested, I feel stronger than ever. I feel more connected, even though I can’t use my powers to my max ability, like my powers are urging and pushing me with my father’s will.” The metal spheres began to spin as they traveled through the air. Horo wanted to walk around, but the medical equipment prevented her. ”Now, I know Giovanni. He loves to play pranks, but he doesn’t like to lie. I feel like his stories are metaphors.”
The thoughts flew through Horo’s mind, but something just didn’t add up. She need more information. Another clue or a word to help nudge her along. Something that would connect all of her thoughts. Her mind continuously drifted back to the tattoo on her lower back. That had to be the clue... Then it clicked.
”Stein. What if, Giovanni was the Veyous... What if, like how I took my father’s power, he took all of theirs?”
As Horo replaced the metal band and sat on the bed again Stein moved the scans to the projector on the wall so that Horo could see the scans as well. She extended her skills to the metal orbs Horo was controlling to see how she was controlling them. Horo was manipulating something smaller than the individual atoms, Stein could feel the molecular bonds being stretched and compressed as they moved. Interesting.... what happens when I provide resistance to her pulse Stein walked over and extended the wires from the wall so that Horo could walk around most of the lab. “I could see Giovanni using metaphors to tell stories,and perhaps if I analyzed them further I could better understand the stories.” As Horo released her hypothesis on Giovanni’s tattoos Stein thought about it “That would be fascinating, if he really did contain all of the Veyous’s powers. I wonder if the tattoos also contain all the separate DNA’s...that would make him a Noah’s ark of genetic information. and it’s possible that the storms reported in that area were caused by a massive absorbance of power by the Veyous people.” as she spoke she used her metal affinity to pull one of the metal orbs out of it’s orbit and towards her.
…...............................................
The pull against the orb took Horo’s attention. She tugged back against Stein’s pull, shifting off the bed and lashing her tail back and forth at Stein’s challenge. Her grip would have placed a slight strain on Stein’s current pressure but Horo decided that if Stein pulled any harder she would let her have it.
The metaphors returned to being Horo’s main focus. The whale seemed to be the key connector between everything. The energy storm was said to be large, maybe the whale was the storm of power in the metaphors. ”Stein, this isn’t going to go very far without more knowledge of the Veyous. But Giovanni did say that he hadn’t used that magic in a very long time. Maybe he was supposed to represent that unity, or maybe there was an issue with the climate... We need to coax it out of him...”
Horo began to pace again, if only there was a way to know his entire history. Then they could solve the mystery. That thought gave Horo another idea. ”Do you know Luca Aldebaran. Maybe we could hire him to go touch Giovanni and sell us the information?”
“Try to keep the orb from me, I’m measuring your brain activity while you’re using your affinity.”Stein said as she released ball one and pushed ball 2 towards Horo, and re-pulled ball 1 towards her
.”Interesting, there’s increased activity in your sensory cortex and parietal lobe, which would be logical since that is the part of the brain that controls sensations, perception, and helps you make sense of the world.” Stein listened to Horo’s explanation of the whale metaphor and thought on it further. “That would make sense, many scholars believed that they placed great importance on power of the magical variety, and their desire for unity would be supported by being joined together into one body.”
Stein sat down again as Horo mentioned Luca “I’m sure Luca would be able to help, but Giovanni would not want Luca to touch him, otherwise it probably would have happened already. It’s worth a try.” she concluded sending another small spark into Horo’s brain.
Horo nodded and began to push orb 2 away from her body, controlling it visually with her right hand while she pulled against orb 1 with her left hand. Horo’s brow furrowed with concentration as she tried to bring the balls to a midway point between Stein and herself, then force them to resume their orbits.
”So the scholarly data, supports that theory.” Horo was beginning to sweat from her exertion. She focused hard to remove her hand from orb 1 and pull a holo phone from her pocket. ”I’ll call him now.” Horo called Luca and began to explain the issue.
”So do you know anything? You do, yes. I need to pay you? Why? Right information broker... Well what is your price? A favor in the future? Why does everyone ask me for favors as payment? Alternative... WHAT! No, you can’t use my tail as a lucky charm! I Won’t let you take those kinds of pictures either! … … … Fine, come down to Dr. Stein’s lab. Bring your camera.” Horo tossed her phone back onto the lab bed and in agitation (and accident) began to make the metal balls vibrate faster. Their temperatures increased by a degree or two before Horo took in a deep breath and relaxed once more.
”Luca said he was on his way. He should be here in a few minutes.” Horo grumbled, not looking forward to their agreement.
Stein stopped manipulating the balls and typed several strings of numbers into the computer.Listening quietly at Horo talked on the phone to Horo, and was complaining about Luca taking ‘those kinds of photos’.
“What’s the problem Horo, does her want to scratch behind your ears or pet your tail?” She asked, obviously teasing Horo. “If you want to scare him I have a plan though...just for fun.....” Stein patted a metal table that was parallel to another. “Lay down here, and get rid of your tail. lay here and pretend to be dead.” as Horo listened to her and laid down, hopefully with her eyes closed stein opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a near perfect replica of Horo’s tail...Stein had horo, DNA, so she’d made the tail to make fun of Horo with. She hung it above her desk as if she’d just taken it.
As Luca walked in Stein attempted to put another metal band on his head and lead him to the parallel table to Horo. “It’s a good thing you’re here. There was a problem with one of the experiments, so I’m going to store Horo’s consciousness in your brain. Lay down and close your eyes, this should only take a few minutes.”
Horo tried her best to play dead on the table. She kept her breathing shallow so that her stomach and chest wouldn't move much while breathing. Luca knocked and entered. His toes gripped on his flip flops as he ducked away from Stein’s metal headband. Luca looked around the room and walked over to the table where Horo laid. ”Well I can’t take advertisement shots with a dead woman. Although I don’t really care to share my mind with hers, I guess it is all that can be done.”
Luca ran a finger through Horo’s hair then around the side of her face. His finger traced down her centerline, between her breast and rib cage and finally across her abdomen. He looked at Stein and began to sign with his free hand. ’What do you really have planned?’ He asked as he walked over and took the metal band from her he continued to sign. ’If you want all of my information on Giovanni, I’m going to need something in return. I was going to use Horo for advertising my business, but apparently taking pictures of her hiding behind her tail doesn’t fly as easily as I had hoped. what do you have to offer?’
Luca began to speak aloud again. ”Actually, why not place her consciousness into Damu? I’m sure his body would take better to it.”[/fon] Luca said, kneeling down to scratch the small, sleeping Chimera.
“I had nothing planned, I was going to help Horo with a project, but she died from excitement that you were coming. You’re really planning on using Horo for advertisements? That would have gone to her head quick, once she got over the fact you wanted pictures of her tail I suppose.” Stein smiled “Well if all else fails, I have her tail.” Stein said gesturing to the Horo-tail that was hanging above her desk. “Maybe you can play coy behind her tail.” Stein said, offering up a more entertaining solution, but Horo probably didn’t like it.
When Lucas suggested putting Horo’s consciousness in Damu, Stein just shook her head. “Damu’s brain is not big enough to house both Damu and Horo’s consciousness, your brain is one of the few that has the storage capacity.” Damu responded by rolling over so that Luca could give him a bellyrub.
“Just be careful.” Stein warned “Horo might still have control over her pulse.” She finished, hoping Horo would get the idea and do something, Stein figured Horo would enjoy messing with Luca.
…..........................................................
Luca laughed at Stein. ”Stein, the dead can’t use pulse, unless you bring that silly Spirit Detective into the mix. No, I don’t think I’ll have anything to worry about. I guess I can find some matching ears and hire another cute girl for the pictures. A shame, it would have been up on billboards.” Horo’s mouth began to water. Her face on billboards, how wonderful a thing that would be. Horo had to let Luca know that she was alive! She couldn’t miss this opportunity.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent a wave of energy through the floor, causing it to rise and fall like a wave on the ocean. She quickly returned to playing dead though, realising that Luca might get mad and not help her. ’Damn, I just did that because it was the first thing I could think of. Stein, why did you put that in my head?’ Luca raised his hand from Damu’s belly as the moving floor approached him. With a wink to Stein her began to stand just as the floor reached his feet, falsely stumbling backwards and falling onto Horo’s table. His lips landed on hers with precision accuracy. Horo’s eyes flung open as she began to scramble at the table, trying to break the connection between their lips. She kicked Luca’s chest, moving him backwards and sat up straight.
“What the hell!”
“So, a kiss does wake up sleeping princesses. Stein, you should add that to your notes.”
“That’s not funny! That was my first kiss! I was saving that!”
“Really? Felt practiced to me. As a matter of fact, I recall an Anulupis standing naked in front of a bathroom mirror, practicing kissing herself after a long bath.”
“... Oh... really... wait.. How do you know that! DO you spy on people!?”
Luca walked back over to Damu and lifted him into his arms. “Something like that. So our deal, I get to take advertising photos with you as my fully committed and willing model, ready to take pictures how I deem necessary, and I will tell you about Giovanni. Do we have a deal? ”
Horo grabbed her (real)tail for comfort as she thought. She looked at Stein and imagined her face on a billboard. “Ok... Deal” The two shook on it and instantly Luca began.
”Giovanni is a creature called a Veyous. They were humanoid people who loved the natural beauty of the world they inhabited. In the time before the Divinity Gates, they were the leading producers of raw energy, but they would hord energy for themselves and use it to create works of music, art and of course to power their technology. With the completion of the Divinity Gates near, they feared that war would be upon their peaceful land, Their leader, the ALCHEMIST, declared that they needed warrior who could protect their ways, until peace had returned. He created an army trained them in his mystical arts and unleashed them into the universe to find others who could be recruited to their ranks. This was the founding of The Order of the Alchemist, a league of Pulse Masters who secretly recruit other Pulse users. The people went out and trained others on various worlds, Lyceaus, Targarius, Kydle, and a few other small planets but they began to find that the new recruits didn’t want to leave their home worlds for a war that they knew nothing about. Discouraged, the Pulse Master’s returned as the Gates were completed and the Wars began. Nations flooded to steal the artwork energy that the Veyous had hoarded and so the ALCHEMIST came to a decision, he selected a young and strong master of Pulse named Giovanni and in the middle of the night performed some of the most powerful magic the worlds has ever seen. He evaporated all the energy on the planet excluding himself and reformed it into Giovanni. The planet was destroyed from the magic, leaving only the Divinity gate and a throne. When people came to the now wasteland they simply left, Giovanni began a pilgrimage to continue the ways of the Order and the ALCHEMIST took a seat on his throne. It is said that there is where he stays even to this day.”
Horo’s mouth was gaping at Luca’s story. Luca pushed it shut and asked. ”Any other questions?”
…..................................................................................
Damu was pleased with all the attention he was getting, he was happy to be held by Luca again, he reached up and was smelling Luca’s hair again Yup, still smells like cherries he confirmed with himself before blurting out “Oh oh oh, I wanna be in the pictures too! wait, I can’t do that, I can’t help if I don’t know what Luca does, oh well.” Damu also settled in and listen to the story about Giovanni, she liked Giovanni and he sounded even more cool then he’d been before.
“The body’s been known to many interesting things after death, even excluding Soleth’s case. Just don’t try to use me in your advertisements, I’d scare off more business then I’d create. THere’s many other girls you could use; Briar, Alice, you could try to calm River down enough to do it, Rikka, Brielle, or...what’s her name, oh, Jena, she’s cute.” Stein said as she kicked off the desk and rolled across the room to a cabinet, she pulled down a vial by standing on her rolling chair and rolled back towards Horo as the wave hit her chair. Stein couldn’t help grinning at Luca and Horo’s reactions “Luca, falling on girls and kissing them is not the best way to score a date, even with a princess.” As Horo asked how Luca knew about her post-bathroom antics Stein simply said with a straight face “Horo, if you review his power set you’ll find the answer quickly, there are few secrets from Luca’s touch.” She said pulling out a notebook and writing what Luca said about the Veyous. as she finished writing she answered Luca’s question and said “Only one, Where’s the divinity gate to Veyous? that will connect all the data points I had, and open a few more I can connect.” Stein looked at how shocked Horo was by the story, and how nervous she was about the pictures as Stein closed her notepad “Don’t worry Horo, just imagine all the people who will be seeing your gorgeousness in giant form.” Stein knew flattering Horo was to way to go if you wanted to get something from her, sTein was saving up her ‘karma’ for later, she had an experiment in mind that would require many participants and she wanted Horo to be one of them.
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