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◆Nathym◆

Nathym woke up at [300] like every other day for the past several years. This time had been ingrained in him during high school, since if he ever woke up any later, his parents would yell at him. Now, his body’s internal clock always woke him up at that exact time, give or take a few minutes.

He rolled out of bed and threw on his clothes. Every day he wore the same thing because it was comfortable and easy to work in. Odds are that his clothes would be stained by the end of the day anyways, so he didn’t dare wear anything worth more than a few Commons. After wrapping his welder’s goggles around his wrist and equipping his toolbelt, he headed towards the kitchen. On his way, he poked his head in Ahvra’s lab to check on her. She was still running experiments on the blood Drim had procured for her, and looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. He decided it was best to not disturb her for now.

Waiting for him on the counter of the kitchen was a hot breakfast delivered earlier by Mallea, and the coffee machine had just finished pouring him a fresh cup. He couldn’t help but feel spoiled. Since he’d been here, he’d never had to worry about meals. When he went back to his room at the end of the day, it was clean and spotless. If he didn’t take care of managing his workshop himself, he was confident it’d be magically cleaned as well. It was like having an invisible wife that took care of his every need, as long as he didn’t need something specific.

Nathym ate his breakfast in the kitchen, then headed into his lab after getting another cup of coffee. He stared at the blueprints that covered his walls for a few minutes, trying to decide which he should work on for the day. Most of them were waiting on specific parts or materials to be delivered, and others just weren’t a high priority. He still had several facilities he needed to build for the FFH’s expansion plans, but it was severely delayed due to the spontaneous Common Card incident.

An entire factory had to be built for them, on top of the expenses for the cards themselves. This meant a lot of orders for specific supplies had to be canceled to save funds. They had made back all of their money now, but it meant those orders would be a few weeks behind schedule. This was honestly fine with Nathym, since it wasn’t what he really wanted to build anyways.

He pressed a hidden button on the wall, and a panel opened, revealing a secret blueprint. This is what Nathym really wanted to make. It was the love-child of his and Drim’s making, and was the key piece that was the center of Project Fiendless. Without it, the project was nothing unless the world decided to randomly gift them with equivalent powers. This wasn’t out of the realm of possibility given past events, but it certainly couldn’t be relied upon.

There was an issue stopping Nathym from building his dream. It wasn’t materials. He didn’t have all the ones he needed, but even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. Even with his curse, he didn’t know how to make it. This didn’t mean that it was impossible. No, his curse even specifically told him it could be made. The issue was in the logic of the device. Logistically, it was simple. Nathym could build the framework no problem, and even had made several prototypes in the past since he’d been working on it for close to two years.

The issue was the operations. He had no idea how to make it do what he wanted to do. This had to do with the collective intelligence of humanity. It had not yet reached a point that it could understand the intricacies of the device. Nathym had spent tireless nights on research, and when he finally understood the logic on something, the blueprint for that component or alteration would automatically be generated in his mind.

This was the reason he needed Ahvra. Her job was to research these things and push forward humanity's understanding of science. Since she’d been here, she had already filled in several of the logic gaps. All she had to do was send even a brief report explaining her findings to Nathym, and then his mind would refresh the blueprint and apply any changes. He had read a report from her last night, so now he was checking to see if there was anything new.

“No luck today again either… Don’t get down Ahvra, I know you’re working hard,” he muttered to himself. As of now, the device was about 40% complete so it would likely be a while still before they could unveil their project to the world. This was fine, since Drim still had to lay a lot of the groundwork. The sooner the project was finished, the better off humanity would be. Nathym truly believed that, but he also believed that if they rushed things, they could screw up the world worse than it already was.

He sat down at his computer while mulling over what to work on for the day and checked his email. Mostly, he was looking at tracking updates for supply shipments, since the materials he’d have available would be the biggest factor in making a decision. His eyes lit up when he saw a certain message. That wasn’t supposed to be delivered for another week!

As soon as he confirmed the shipping status to be accurate, Nathym rushed out of his lab and headed to the elevator that led into his workshop. While Project Fiendless was his dream, he did have several other projects dotting a bucketlist of things he wanted to make. With the parts that just arrived, he could finally make one very close to the top. During the ride up, he started to reminisce over his childhood aspirations, glad that he got to live up to at least some of them. Today, he was going to launch satellites into space.

He was on his way to pick up the packages just outside the doors of his workshop, but Phon suddenly appeared a foot in front of him. Nathym recoiled by her sudden appearance, clutching at his chest while breathing heavily. “Cosdamn Phon, you practically scared me zjikless!”

“Oh, sorry about that,” Phon apologized. “I forget that not everyone is used to me teleporting.”

“No, I think anyone would be shocked if you suddenly appeared without warning,” Nathym rebutted. “How can I help you?”

Phon pulled out her yo-yo and held it out to him. “It’s about the string,” she informed him. “I really like the last modification you did to it. Being able to make it stiff really helped in sawing off some monster’s stinger. So, I have a few more ideas, but mostly I just want to be able to have more control over the length.”

After hearing a few more specifics, Nathym grabbed the yo-yo. His mind then went blank for a moment as his curse took over. It only lasted for a second, but he then had all the information he needed. “Yeah, I should be able to take care of it. Give me a few minutes.” He went and sat at his workbench then activated his curse again. The next thing he knew, four minutes had passed, and the modifications to the yo-yo had been completed.

Phon teleported away immediately after giving her thanks, and Nathym resumed being hyped about the satellites. However, that brief interruption had let his mind calm down enough to realize something. Launching things into space was heavily dependent on the weather, so he pulled out his phone and checked the forecast for the day. Hmm, I should be fine as long as I finish before the sun goes down.

A few minutes later, Nathym was outside staring at the packages with dismay. A large haul had been delivered overnight, and he had no idea which ones contained the parts he needed for the satellites. It wouldn’t take long to check them once he got them inside, since his curse could analyze and catalog all the components. The issue was getting them in there to begin with. He didn’t dare open them outside and only take the parts he needed. That was far too negligent and he’d be worried about it for the rest of the day.

It didn’t help that Nathym was rather weak. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell from his build, but that was entirely genetics. Unlike other Fiends, he could only lift a few hundred pounds. He’d almost assuredly wind and strain himself severely in the process as well.

Just then, Nathym felt as if a savior appeared before him. “Need some help with those?” Xard asked. Nathym didn’t even notice he’d arrived, and he also knew people never helped him without wanting something in return, but if it meant getting this tedious process over with faster, he’d gladly oblige with whatever the request was. After taking him up on his offer, they were able to get the packages inside ten times faster than if Nathym was working alone.

“So, what can I help you with Xard?” Nathym asked, feeling a bit of deja vu from only a few minutes ago.

“Oh, I have a few modifications I’d like you to make to my suit,” Xard explained. “Mostly, I want to be able to turn the shock enhancers on and off, but there’s a couple other nitpicks and…” Just like with Phon, Nathym heard him out, analyzed the process, then completed the changes in almost no time at all. Well, it would seem like no time to the people asking, but it was certainly raising Nathym’s stress. He definitely wanted to get the satellites done today, since according to the weather report, he may not get another chance for a while. Every minute was starting to matter more and more.

Thankfully, there were no further interruptions for the rest of the morning, and Nathym was able to get the majority of the work done. Just as he was about to break for lunch, Drim walked into his workshop. “Let me guess, you need something too?” Nathym asked, a little fatigued by this pattern.

“Huh?” Drim was taken aback.

“Sorry, just been one of those days,” Nathym relented.

“Oh, uhh, well I brought you lunch,” Drim held up a bag of food he’d gotten from Mallea. “I was hoping we could touch base on a few things while we ate.”

“Sure,” Nathym agreed to it even though he did feel a little pressed for time. “Mind if I work while we eat?”

“Uhh, but then you wouldn’t be able to hear me,” Drim was confused again. Nathym’s curse effectively put him in a trance. He couldn’t see or hear anything that wasn’t related to what he was working on, making him entirely oblivious to his surroundings.

“Oh, sorry, I meant I have some components I can work on that I don’t need my curse for,” Nathym elaborated. “Plus, I can’t be relying on it all the time, or I’ll never get better myself.” The two ended up talking for quite a while, a lot longer than he would have liked given his time crunch, but admittedly, the time just flew by. They started out by talking about the Common Card execution and Project Fiendless, but eventually the conversation strayed to random topics.

Nathym always enjoyed talking to Drim, and wouldn't be reluctant in calling him his best friend or even a brother. They’d been through a lot together these past four years, and without Drim, Nathym wasn’t sure where his life would be right now. He never understood the ‘Silent’ descriptor either, since he honestly found Drim to be rather talkative. Perhaps it was because Drim had never really stuck around in one place long enough to form a real connection.

After Drim finally left, Nathym decided to move his operation outside. While the satellites weren’t going to be huge, he couldn’t exactly launch them from inside his workshop. They’d destroy everything around them in the launch procedure. So, Nathym wanted to move the components before the satellites were finished, since then they’d be too much of a pain to move afterwards.

He loaded all the components onto a few hover wagons, wishing he had asked for Drim’s help because they were still heavy. The wagons then trailed behind him as he looked for a spot. There was a relatively empty spot that had been paved, which was the foundation for a future building. He decided to use it for now since it wouldn’t damage anything.

Just as he was about to get started working again, Mallea sped up to him in her golf cart. “There you are, Nathym. I’ve been looking for you,” Mallea addressed him as she approached.

“Ah, Miss Mallea. I haven’t seen you since my return. How are you?” Nathym greeted her. He didn’t know why he treated her in a much more professional sense than the others. It was just how he greeted her the first time they met, and he felt it would be awkward to stop now and a pain to train away the reflex. It might be caused by the fact that she exudes professionalism, well, except for when it comes to remembering things.

“Well, I’d be doing a lot better if we were having this conversation earlier,” Mallea groaned. “It took me over an hour to find my keys this morning. Which brings me to my point. I want you to make me a tracking device.”

“Uhh… but Miss Mallea…” Nathym was flabbergasted. “I already made you a tracking device, specifically for your keys and your other daily necessities. Then you can find any of them using your phone. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that too?”

“No, of course I remember that,” Mallea almost seemed a little offended. “The issue is that I can’t find my phone, so I can’t use it to find everything else. Really, that mansion is far too big, I keep misplacing everything.”

But you’re the one who wanted to make it as grand as possible, Nathym chastised her internally.

“So, I want you to make a tracking device that I can use to find my phone,” Mallea continued. “Something I have on me at all times, maybe part of my clothing or something.” Nathym immediately came up with a solution that would hopefully fix everything. The two headed back to his workshop where he made a pair of cufflinks for her that would glow in the direction of her phone when activated.

Nathym scowled at his phone after checking the time when he got back to his work site. If he experienced no further interruptions, he’d likely just make it before the deadline. However, he wasn’t optimistic given today’s pattern, and there was still one needy child left that could come and demand his attention at any moment. Surprisingly, he managed to get a good solid hour of work in, managing to complete six of his ten satellites without further disturbance.

When he was in the middle of the seventh, though, he was suddenly jolted out of his curse. Thankfully, the trance effect of his curse wasn’t all encompassing, and he could be shaken out of it in an emergency. Nathym tried to get a grasp of what was going on that would cause him to awaken so suddenly. He felt soft sensations around him, and then he realized that there was an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Nathym immediately broke away from the embrace and bolted a few feet when he realized it was Kada touching him. This didn’t have anything to do with feeling embarrassed or harboring any ill feelings towards her. Nathym had a slight phobia when it came to being touched by women. It started as just a general discomfort but developed into something more severe over time. He could manage a handshake, but that was about his limit now. If the touching was unexpected that escalated it even more.

Without fail, any time a woman touched him he’d flashback to that day with Cast. Over and over again the image of her face that day would replay in his mind; how desperately she screamed and struggled to get free as her brother’s corpse laid on top of her. Nathym had found out about a year later that she had been placed in a mental institution, and took it upon himself to pay for her medical fees, anonymously of course. He never could forgive himself for what he’d done to her, but maybe, just maybe when Project Fiendless was complete, he could find solace and get over this fear.

“Uhm- How… how are you- What… what can I help you with Kada?” Nathym stammered heavily as he tried to recoup from his shaken state.

“Oh, nothing… I was just bored.” Kada stared at him, a little perplexed by his odd reaction. “So, what are you up to?”

I was just bored… The worst possible answer for Nathym’s predicament. This meant it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of her like the others through a simple favor. However, he had expected something like this might happen, and had planned a contingency just in case. “I’m launching satellites,” Nathym told her. “Some will monitor our planet, some will scan nearby planets, and some will go to the far reaches of space.”

“I see, I see,” Kada only seemed mildly interested. “I get sending them off to expand our knowledge, but what do we need ones monitoring this planet for? Aren't there a bunch we can just hack into, or whatever the proper sciency words are?”

“Well, it would be helpful if we had our own we could fully control and maneuver, ones dedicated to what we want to look at,” Nathym informed her. “Remember when you were stranded in the desert with no GPS or any kind of map?”

“Wow, point totally taken. I’m now completely on board,” Kada showed her support. “Mind if I hang around and watch? Never seen you work before.”

This was another conundrum. Kada wanting to watch would most likely mean she’d have questions and would ultimately slow him down. However, he had babysat his cousins in the past when he was a teenager and knew how to take care of a bored child. “Oh, well I actually have something I could use your help with,” Nathym set the bait. “Admittedly, I’m not very artistic so all the satellites look pretty similar. It’s honestly difficult to tell them apart. You’re pretty good from what I’ve heard, so I was wondering if you’d paint them for me.”

“Uhh… well, I’m not that good…” Kada blushed with clear embarrassment. “But if you’re fine with that, then I don’t mind helping you out. I’ll go get my paints!” Before Nathym was even ready to start working again, Kada was back and began painting one of the satellites. She became completely focused, and would surely be too engrossed to bother him any longer.

Nathym managed to finish the rest of the satellites at a good pace, finishing the tenth one right around the time Kada finished painting the eighth. He had to admit she was good. They all had intricate and unique designs which were especially impressive since she’d done them in such a short amount of time. The only one he didn’t particularly care for was a characterized version of himself depicted as riding the satellite. He would definitely be sending that one where no one would see it.

“I’ll be right back,” he mentioned to Kada as she kept painting, likely not hearing him at all. He grabbed a few things from his workshop, as well as quickly whipping up a new concoction. Kada was working on the last satellite by the time he returned, and figured she’d be just about finished by the time he got around to prepping that one for launch. His estimations were correct, and she stepped back to admire her work just as he was about to check on her. “Alright, now we need to apply a bit of this to each one,” Nathym told her as he held out a spray can.

“What is it?” Kada questioned as she took it.

“It’s a protective coating that should keep the paint from peeling off during the ascent,” Nathym explained. “Wouldn’t want your fantastic work being ruined so soon.” Kada gushed a bit from being praised that much, and then quietly began spraying the satellites. “Well, do you want to stick around and watch the launches?” Nathym asked her after they finished coating them all.

“Uhh, will there be lots of fire and smoke and huge Rathe shattering noises?!” Kada eagerly inquired.

“Uhm, well not exactly,” Nathym admitted. “These are state of the art and will be pretty quiet with almost no emissions. For the town, it will just sound like a skycraft flying by.

“Welp, that’s boring then.” Kada seemed rather disappointed. “I’ma go do something else, later Nathym.” She took off as suddenly as she arrived, and Nathym sighed.

People these days just don’t have an appreciation for science, huh? When Nathym was a child, he often fantasized about working for a space program. Little did he know that one day he’d be able to accomplish alone what others struggled to achieve as massive organizations. It was a satisfying feeling, and the satisfaction only grew with each launch. The sun was almost fully set by the time the last satellite launched, and Nathym was holding back tears from the beauty he’d just witnessed.

He stared up at the sky for a while, fantasizing about one day flying to the stars himself. What finally pulled him out of it was a strong tug on his pants leg. It was the creature named Pox, desperately pulling on his clothing. Nathym was rather befuddled. He had often seen Pox in passing, but the two had never really interacted before. Needless to say, he was confused that the animal was being so insistent all of a sudden. “Uhm, do you want me to follow you?” Nathym asked him, unsure if he’d be understood.

“Garuu!” Pox howled back at him as he nodded. He then dashed away in the direction of Nathym’s workshop. Nathym followed him closely behind, Pox eventually leading him to the hidden elevator. Once Nathym stepped inside, Pox howled again, then ran off, seeming to have accomplished his mission. Nathym was still as confused as ever, but understood once he got down into the lab.

Ahvra was sitting at the kitchen counter, passed out with her face half submerged into a bowl of liquid. She would surely drown soon if nothing was done, so Nathym pulled her head back until she was balanced in her seat. Liquid was dripping down her face, and Nathym gagged a little when he saw what it was. She had poured herself a bowl of cereal, but instead of milk, she had substituted it with an energy drink.

As he cleaned off her face, he started to feel like a father taking care of a child. A lot had gotten in her hair too, so he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom to rinse it out. Nathym’s affliction didn’t occur when he touched or was touched by Ahvra. He guessed that with her childlike body, he couldn’t really see her as a woman. She stayed asleep the entire time he washed her hair, clearly having pushed herself to her limits.

Once she was clean, Nathym started to carry her to her bedroom. Suddenly, his arms felt a lot heavier, and his neck now felt warm. Ahvra had spontaneously grown big in her sleep, and wrapped her arms around him as he carried her. “You’re so good to me, Assistant,” she mumbled unconsciously. Nathym dropped her immediately, his phobia instantly triggered upon the realization.

Ahvra still didn’t wake from this either, not looking remotely disturbed by the sudden fall. Nathym started wondering what to do now, but she turned small again after a few seconds. He picked her up again, a little more hesitant now, and carried her the rest of the way to her room. He hung up her lab coat and changed her into her pajamas. This wasn’t the first time he had done this, and Ahvra had specifically asked it of him in such cases since she didn’t like sleeping in anything else.

Her pajamas were cute. Like a lot of her normal clothes, they were clearly meant for children. They were pink and covered in fluffy animals. Looking at her as she lay in her bed, it was impossible to believe she was a grown woman that could cause him trauma.

Also, the way she would literally work nonstop until she couldn’t physically stay awake anymore didn’t exactly scream maturity.

Nathym had come to understand a lot about her sleep habits since they’d met, or rather a lack thereof. When Ahvra fell asleep it was entirely out of necessity, her body switching to emergency mode. Almost nothing would wake her when she got to this point. While Nathym was working on the Common Cards, he’d spend most of his time at the factory, but would come back to the compound on occasion to check on things.

One time, he found a woman he didn’t know strapped to Ahvra’s operating table. She was in the middle of a procedure but was wide awake. Instead, Ahvra was the one asleep. She had clearly been dissecting the woman, and was using her spleen as a pillow while cuddling up to her intestines. The woman insisted that he let her sleep and not to disturb her. Now feeling tired himself from the chaos of the day, he decided to turn in early after a quick shower.

 

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