Standing atop an open plain Suwan casts her spiritual sense wide. She feels the grass sway gently under the morning breeze casting a fresh scent upon the winds. Bugs flit through the air, mice scuttle through the field and in the distance many meters away Suwan can see a fox dive back into its hole carrying a rabbit in his mouth. 

The plain is the very picture of peace and serenity.

“It’s not here.”

She clutches a jade slip to her palm. Sending her qi into it she frowns and looks around once more, sharpening her vision to observe the surroundings through more mundane means. She spots dew collecting on a leaf, the nightly mist slowly dissipating into droplets. She sees the bushes sway as a deer passes through, paying no heed to the blonde vagrant wandering the fields. Lifting the jade slip to her forehead she channels qi through her head hoping to catch anything she may have missed.

“Should be here. It’s rare for Teacher’s slip to be wrong.”

With a sigh she turns on her heel, a hollow thud resounding when she kicks off into the distance. Mid-jump she raises an eyebrow and looks back. Letting herself drop unto a tree dozens of meters away she casts her spiritual sense back to where she was standing. Except this time she extends it deeper. Worms crawl through the dirt, plowing the soil. Moles dig their tunnels, tearing through roots in their path. She pushes it further and feels it enter a wide open area, its ceiling half a dozen meters beneath the earth.

“Found it.”

She channels Qi into the tree to let it withstand the impact before she leaps upwards with all her strength. Reaching the height of her jump she feels a moment of weightlessness before she begins to drop. With a twist she ensures her legs are aimed up and goes down head first. A jet of fire explodes from her feet to send her careening down ever faster. She pulls her arm back and forms her fingers into a spearpoint. The instant before she hits the ground she strikes forward cutting deep into the soil. Her Qi pierces through packed earth and metal ceiling alike. She bursts through with thevsoudn of screeching metal, dirt falling around her as she beholds the large construction. 

Wings made of golden fire sprout from her back, harmlessly phasing through her clothes to arrest her momentum. Taking in her surroundings she spreads her spiritual sense through the unnatural cavern. Perfectly rectangular and metallic walls surround dilapidated ruins dozens of meters high and hundreds wide. Shattered golems sit broken amidst crumbling stone statues. Strange metallic carriages rust upon cracked roads of a hardened tar like substance. She notes a single building where Qi flows through strange cords and adjusts her fall to land in front of it.

Holding her breath she nudges the door open and peers through the gap. The bulbous building consists of a single large room, twelve numbered pods laying within. All but one are broken. Most have rusted away, some smashed in part by falling rubble while others appear to have malfunctioned and detonated. Only a single one has escaped the predations of time. Cracks run across its ceramic surface, a thick layer of dust covering the small window at its front. On her guard Suwan takes slow steps closer to the pod, wiping the window clean with one hand while resting the other on the hilt of her sword. Within she spots a young girl with black bob cut, seams around her neck and shoulders revealing her inhuman nature. A single surprisingly pristine piece of white cloth covers her, a hole cut into the center for her head and thin strings sown at the edges connecting the sides. Empty eyes open to meet Suwan’s gaze. Lights flicker on and the Qi flowing through the cords intensifies. With a pneumatic hiss the front of the pod slides open forcing Suwan to either take a step back or be hit. The doll’s head turns with rickety motions to follow her movements, clicks resounding as if unoiled gears are grinding sideways in her neck.

“Uhm, hello? Are you sentient? My name is Suwan, what’s yours?”

“Twelve.”

“No, your name, not age.”

“Twelve.”

“Can… can you say anything else?”

“Twelve.”

“Well okay then, I'll be going now. Good luck with whatever you’re doing.

“Please wait. I am in need of assistance. This unit has been inactive for three thousand and two hundred years. Without more Qi I am incapable of functioning. Please assist.”

Suwan considers her options for a moment before shrugging and placing a hand on the doll’s head. She channels her Qi into it, struggling to push through the intense interference.

“Damn, what the hells are you made of?”

“This unit was created from the finest materials available to Creator Tesdison.”

“That’s a weird name.”

“It is not from this realm. Creator Tesdison claims it was a reference. This unit does not possess the knowledge of what it references, Master.”

“Master?”

“As the first one to provide me Qi after my awakening this unit has now been linked to you, Master. Please take responsibility.”

“Wha-”

“This unit will perish unless provided with more Qi, Master. After being awoken and bound to you this unit is no longer capable of hibernating. Please take good care of me.”

“I don’t even know what you are.”

“I am the immortal doll Twelve, one of a dozen siblings.”

The emotionless puppet looks left and then right, analysing the wreckage of the pods to her sides.

“Correction: This one is an only child. Speculation: Due to the time span of my hibernation, this one is likely an orphan. Query: Will Master Suwan adopt me?”

Suwan’s eye twitches at her head tilt. Running a hand through her hair she looks at Twelve with a strained smile.

“What’s in it for me?”

“I am very strong when fully powered. I could take you.”

“Alright, fine. We’ll see about that, I'll take you along.”

Twelve raises her hands to the side of her head, index and middle fingers extended in a V shape.

“This loyal servant shall serve you well. Please provide me with sufficient Qi to complete boot-up procedures.”

“How much more do you need?”

“Your previous attempt filled unit Twelve with 0.5% of required Qi.”

Suwan crosses her arms. She’d expended nearly a tenth of her Qi attempting to pierce through the interference caused by the materials comprising Twelve’s body. Noticing her hesitation the doll's eyes flash with an internal light.

“Observation: Thou art in possession of a dual cultivation art. Efficiency of Qi sharing shall be greatly improved when active.”

“Can you.. Uh, I mean, do you have…”

“This unit is anatomically accurate. Venerable Creator claims this is purely for authenticity. Unit Twelve does not have permission to reveal lie detector test results.”

“Right. Should I just start?”

“Yes. I am presently unable to move myself. Please use your techniques to fuck me roughly. Please use your techniques to fill me with Qi. Error. Inner desires and intended words both vocalised. Preparing software update. Error. Unable to connect to server.”

“Riiiiight.”

Suwan uncomfortably walks up to Twelve. Pushing her Qi out through her tongue she feels it cycle through artificial spiritual veins similar to yet different from her own. When it cycles back to her it feels different, smoother and faster. She pulls back with a gasp, feeling her returned qi cycle through her faster than ever before. Greedily she pushes the doll’s cloth up over her head and stores her own outfit in her ring. Lifting one of her legs she pushes their crotches together, pressing Twelve down into the spongy padding within the pod. They share another kiss. Her Qi cycles through both their bodies as if they were one. Suwan runs her hand down Twelve’s cheek, feeling out the seam where the artificial skin on her face meets her neck. Her hands continue over her shoulders, the feel of synthetic muscles beneath her fingers an entirely new sensation to her. The doll's shoulders are separated from her arms by a skin coloured ball joint. Stroking it gives Suwan the impression of finely polished wood, yet far tougher than even spiritual wood could be.

Fiery streams rush through cold iron veins, energising them and being tempered in turn. She feels the doll’s lungs fill with air, a deep breath taken through her nose without breaking their kiss. A core unlike the one a cultivator would form begins to thrum deep within Twelve’s body. Song loses herself in her passion, studying every inch of her partner’s form with wonder. She feels Twelve’s fingers run through her hair, careful not to pinch it between the joints. Moaning into her mouth as the doll rhythmically scratches her scalp she feels her own heat mirrored within the puppet’s tongue. She runs hers around every inch of Twelve’s, the taste similar to a woman’s yet just different enough to be an exotic experience. 

Twelve sinks into her embrace, her joints twisting unnaturally to press their bodies closer together than any two humans could. Cycling back and forth the two lose track of time as their qi is purified, refined and distributed throughout Twelve’s body; Each cycle filling her just a little more. So caught up in it are they that neither notices the impure qi they cast out starting a chain reaction. Lights flick on all around, the grinding of gears and hum of machinery beginning to resound as the city wakes. They are shaken from their reverie when the place quakes and dust falls from the ceiling.

Years of experience kick in for Song, she separates their cycles and jumps to her feet blade drawn. Her clothes reappear as she does. Spreading her sense around she takes in the scene. Her grip tightens around her sword. Controlling her breathing to rid herself of the flush on her face she turns to her new companion.

“We’ve gotta go.”

“I have not fully recharged yet, Master. I am incapable of fighting or moving on my own. Please carry me.”

“Ah hells.”

She picks the doll up. Twelve curls her arms and legs around her like a koala around a tree, her face firmly planted between Suwan’s breasts. Without time to question her Suwan kicks the door open and rushes out. She parries an incoming strike from a suit of armor wielding a Guandao. Its plates once forged in the image of bronze scale mail long covered in rust, bits and pieces having fallen off ages past. 

It appears to suffer little for it, striking out with thunderous blows at lightning speeds. Suwan parries, blocks and dodges. Weaving around the strikes she awaits an opening. Finally she hears the sound of tearing metal as she smashes aside a thrust. Taking advantage of it she focuses her qi on her blade’s tip. Having used her spiritual sense to search for it throughout the entire battle she accurately strikes the golem’s core. Suwan has long moved on by the time the light in its eyes dims. Dashing through the streets she notes the hole she entered from closed when the walls shifted. 

“Mfghmfnhgmf.”

“I can’t understand you like that. Face between tits or talking, choose one.”

“...”

“You…”

Cornered by a three legged contraption Suwan puts all her focus into avoiding the razor thin whips lashing around it. She inhales deeply and spits out a torrent of flames reducing the steel cords to molten droplets. Rushing through the fire she leaps atop the spider-like machine’s back and uses it as a stepping stone to leap atop a nearby high rise. 

“Please be careful master, many of the defences within this facility are highly dangerous. One such example is this harpy-style attack droid.”

A two handed block sends her tumbling to the edge of the roof. Rolling sideways she avoids its lashing talons and breaks into a sprint once more.

“Where’s the exit, Twelve?”

“Three hundred meters south, Master.”

She cuts her way through an animated statue, pushing off its back to land atop another and sever its head. 

“We’re underground, which way’s south?”

Twelve raises one arm to point, hurriedly clutching Song again when she meets another foe. 

“Approaching a Goliath, Master Suwan. Please circle around it.”

“No time, we’ve got several hot on our tail. Also, stop calling me master.”

“Understood, henceforth I shall refer to you as Sister Suwan. We are sisters now after all. Scissor sisters.”

Suwan chokes and misses a step, taking a blow straight to the face for it. Blasting through several walls she rams her sword into the ground, tearing through metal and concrete as she skids to a halt. A loud clunk behind her heralds the arrival of a five meter tall behemoth of steel. With loud flaps another metallic harpy lands atop a nearby pole as dozens of other golems approach from multiple sides.

The warrior stands serene against the approaching hordes. Yellowish green scales form in patches atop her cheeks and the back of her hands. Her pupils turn slitted and yellow as her teeth sharpen, a puff of smoke blowing through them as she exhales. She holds her battered sword horizontally in front of her and places two fingers atop it near the guard. Slowly she runs them across the side of its blade leaving golden flames in their wake. Enemies close in all around her, rearing back to strike yet she does not move even an inch until they are but a meter away.

Then all at once she erupts. With a loud roar she swings the blade around herself, a circle of golden flames melting those closest to her. Fiery wings send her up above the mass. She swoops around the battlefield, each strike leaving an enemy destroyed. She clashes with harpies mid-air, every blow exchanged sending shockwaves strong enough to flatten lesser warriors. Her strikes tear through armor like a hot knife through butter, golden flames piercing through qi resistant hides like they aren’t there. Ten fall, then a hundred and then a thousand until only one remains. 

Leaning atop her sword she stands amidst a scrapyard of her own making. With a shuddering step Suwan straightens, scales fading and wings dissipating as she faces the goliath. She dodges back to avoid a fist bigger than her entire body. The entire facility shakes like an earthquake when its hand hits the ground. The very air pressure sends her into a wall, spinning mid air her feet hit it first and she kicks off again before the strike finishes. A battle crazed laugh erupts from her throat. She gleefully takes her sword in both hands and rushes headfirst back into the fray. A bloody red aura trails off the back of the blade mixing with the golden flames. Firmly pressing her heel into the ground she swings the blade in an arc, muscles straining with resistance whilst air hisses from the heat. Her swing sets the entire beast ablaze, flames sticking to both it and everything within its vicinity like liquid fire.

Its armor glows red beginning to melt under the assault. She starts to dodge before the iron titan even begins to move, all ten of its metallic fingers rocketing off its fists. The first goes wide, aimed at where she was but a fraction of a second ago. The second is parried with ease, the third meeting the same fate. The fourth takes its toll as Song’s parry sends it into her shoulder, twisting her torso enough that her blade can’t reach the fifth. She grits her teeth and meets it with a palm strike. Heat weakened metal crumples against her hand as the force sends her flying back. She bounces several times, clutching Twelve to her chest to shield her from the remaining hits. The sixth drives the air from her lungs as it sends her through several walls. The seventh is barely kicked aside by her, the awkward angle twisting her ankle. The eight and ninth strike at the same time. With a roar she punches one into the other full force, her knuckles shattering from the blow. The tenth hits her straight in the face, the back of her head hitting the floor with enough force to shatter it.

She heaves out a breath as she rises to face the goliath once more. Blood runs over the hilt of her blade when she grips it tight, her form radiating violence while she waits for an opening. A beam of light tears through the machine forming a hole where its torso once was. Suwan watches its arms fall off with wide eyes. Following the trail of the beam back she looks down. A tiny palm extends from a thin wrist, Twelve’s emotionless face staring back at her.

“I thought you needed to recharge more before you could do anything.”

“I lied.”