EMBEROID Prototype #9



"Oi, bro, you've been holed up down here for a while now," Lava greeted, slinking into the laboratory. To the Banescale's surprise, a pair of glowing orange eyes suddenly opened, followed by a stream of hot liquid which he just managed to avoid. Shooting a glare at the massive, robotic guardian standing before him, he ducked under another blast, shouting, "Olimpia, deactivate!"

’Why is it even active? Anyway, that should- oh no,’ Lava thought, only to barely dodge the robot’s lunge. He twisted away again, and again, eventually roaring, “HEY! I thought you programmed this thing to recognize and listen to me!”

Snarling in annoyance, Lava leapt aside again and dashed onto the Emberoid's back, hoping to pin its head and shut its mouth... only to have the massive contraption buck and rear like an angry bull. Immediately knowing he couldn’t hold on - and besides that, the Emberoid’s wings were growing far too hot for comfort - he leapt off, yelping as a droplet of sizzling liquid splashed onto him. More annoyed than frightened, the Banescale was prepared to flee from the laboratory when a shift in the shadows drew his attention.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, somehow I thought you’d do better," a quiet, feminine voice sang from the shadows. "Olimpia, be a dear and stop attacking him, will you?"

At her words, the Emberoid stopped, lowering its flaming wings and closing its maw. The vibrant orange glow of its liquid fire dimmed a little, remaining just bright enough to light the corner they were in. Aside from the fire flowing over its wings, the machine stood lifelessly still.

With the threat dealt with, Lava turned in the voice’s direction, snarling. “Temptress, you-”

“Oh hush now, little warrior,” the sanguine Coatl sang, slinking out of the shadows. Her metallic body gleamed in the meager light, golden runes glowing with magic. “I’m only doing what your dear brother asked, that’s all.”

“So he asked you to sick one of those things on me?” Lava snapped, bristling in anger. ‘This crazy witch!’ he thought.

“Well, he didn’t specify that… but he also didn’t specify not to. And besides, we’re some of the very few to know of these things, who else do I have to test it on?” the enchantress answered. “Oh, well I suppose it doesn’t matter now. Olimpia, go ahead and listen to the guy now, the test is over.”

Lava gave the Coatl a doubtful glare, wondering if she really did restore his control over the robot. The golden glow from her runes faded as the witch ended her use of magic, and only then did he growl a command to deactivate. The Emberoid quickly shut down until a slight orange glow and heat were the only signs of its brief activation.

“Tsk, you ought to know by now that I’m at least honest,” Temptress hissed, noticing his doubt. “We should head in, now. Magma’s got something to show us, and we shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

“Honest isn’t the word I would use,” Lava muttered, shuddering at her echoing laughter. Nonetheless, he followed the Coatl deep into the room.

The laboratory was, as per usual, filled with things he didn’t understand. Several different Emberoid units stood or lay, deactivated, all over the laboratory floor, including a small Fae and Spiral Emberoid he didn’t recall seeing last time.

‘Someone’s been busy,’ he thought.

The duo meandered through the massive lab, eventually reaching a door near the very end. Temptress knocked thrice, waiting quietly until a voice from within responded, followed by a cream as the door opened. Behind it stood a Pearlcatcher dressed in his usual power pack coat and steampunk gadgets, a pair of goggles sitting over his eyes. Something was missing, however: the Pearlcatcher’s pearl was nowhere to be seen, hidden somewhere within the workshop.

“Come in, come in, come in! Don’t break anything!” Magma chattered enthusiastically, bounding around piles and cauldrons of material. “Quickly! But carefully, don’t break anything!”

The pearlless Pearlcatcher skidded to a halt in front of yet another massive Guardian Emberoid, but it wasn’t one Lava recognized. A new one, he realized, and already almost complete.

“Temptress!” the Pearlcatcher called dramatically, a childish grin stretching across his face, but hesitated. Lava watched in bemusement as his brother rummaged around, eventually locating his pearl amongst the piles of metal and obsidian. Treasured orb in hand, the Pearlcatcher hobbled to Lava’s side, snatching up a notebook and pen.

“Ahem. Temptress, please activate this one,” Magma ordered. “Emberoid Prototype Nine, Designation undecided, derived from Emberoid Prototype Four, Designation Olimpia and Emberoid Prototype Six, Designation Trurl.”

“As you wish, dear Magma,” the Coatl sang, her runes once again glowing gold with magic. The room filled with the witch’s enchanting voice, singing something in her native tongue that neither Lava or Magma could understand.

As she sang, the Banescale examined the new Emberoid, feeling that something was somehow different… and he soon saw it.

“Hey, what's wrong with its eyes?”

"Nothing. I'm just trying something new, that's all."

"Like wh-"

Lava’s question was interrupted as the Emberoid suddenly whirred to life, raising the temperature in the workshop exponentially. The robot’s wings and belly glowed bright red-orange as the chemical mixture reacted, and the vents in its wings opened near flawlessly to allow the chemical to flow.

The trio immediately spotted the wing issue - after all, Olimpia suffered the very same - but something else was quick to catch their attention. The Emberoid's eyes glowed brighter than normal, pulsing rhythmically. The relative silence of the workshop soon shattered as the Emberoid's odd eyes flashed and exploded outwards, the chemical leaking through the now broken lenses and forming a small blaze.

"Was... was that supposed to happen?"

"N-no?"

"...You know, sometimes I don't know what to say to you," Lava muttered, glancing between his brother and the Emberoid. His eyes widened a little at the sight of Magma's manic grin, only briefly flicking his gaze to the pearl slowly rolling around the workshop floor.

'Oh no,' the Banescale thought, almost seeing the gears turning in his brother's head.

"Are you planning to make this... a permanent thing?" Temptress suddenly chipped in, trotting around the Emberoid in fascination.

"YES!" the Pearlcatcher almost immediately shrieked in response. "Look at how fearsome it looks! Quite intimidating and fascinating. It made me drop my pearl. Oh, I hope it didn't get scratched..."

"It does look fierce. Though... how's it gonna see with its eyes like that?"

"..."

"..."

"What? All the other ones have eyes. This one's eyes just... exploded."

“...For Mather's sake, this is why Magma's the brains behind this operation, not you."

"Hey!"

"Lava, it's a robot. It doesn't really see - nor does it need to -as long as there's someone to tell it what to do and where to aim."

"Oh... think you can make more like that one then?"

"Uhhh... I think so?"