Augmented Aspects [Steampunk], [Progression], [Gamelit]

Physiological Distinctions

"What are you doing?"

Hearing that, I feel myself tense up, as I realize I have been caught before I could avoid this otherwise embarrassing moment. Realizing I don't have much else to do, I just state the truth.

"You know, sometimes we all make mistakes where we just have to try to fix it before anyone asks that exact question. Apparently, I was not quick enough," I respond honestly to Penelope, though honestly who asked that question at that time was irrelevant.

What was relevant was the fact that invariably when something catastrophically mortifying can happen, you can guarantee that someone who you never wanted to catch you in such a state, will see you in said state. That was me, right now.

"Okay," Penelope begins, then after a heartbeat she asks the deeper question, "are you okay?"

This is that moment when I pause, normally I would give a dismissive answer. Something that completely masked my true feelings, the times when I would offer such platitudes of course were the times before I became a truth cursed pixie, where I feel nauseously compelled to always tell the truth. That's why I invariably tell the truth.

"You want the truth?" I ask, hoping that I can get a reprieve from having to answer accurately.

Of course, Penelope who looks innocent like a deer caught in the headlight of bad choices just nods her head.

"Yeah," and she means it, which only makes this worse. The more truthful or innocent I feel her questions to be, the more I instinctively feel the overwhelming need to answer her.

"The truth is no, I am not okay. I just got molested by a robot alien tongue-tentacle-thing, and I realize that if I want to save the world, I must get back into that groping monster cockpit, as I've already registered myself as the driver, with Raygunnr as my ride." I answer honestly.

Hearing my frustration and obvious distress with what has happened, I see the lock of shock and concern come to Penelope's face. Which oddly makes things worse. It was one thing when this was my issue to work through independently, but another thing entirely when it affects Penelope.

"What? Are you sure?" Penelope asks, I can see why she would ask such a question. The idea of having a monster tongue-tentacle thing groping anyone is disgusting.

Looking quickly, I pointed to the now healing part of my pants, the part where the alien appendage attached itself and tried to siphon my soulbound clothing off. Fortunately, something stopped the attack, or whatever it was, but the damage had been done.

Then off in the distance I cannot help but notice the oddly moving form of Raygunnr, my attacker. Realizing that I don't quite want to deal with this right now, I decide to leave and give myself a moment to myself.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." I reply, then shaking my head, I get frustrated. Then before anyone can stop me, I make my getaway.

Poof.

And I'm gone.

***

(Penelope)

Penelope just stood there dumbfounded at the result of what just happened.

The entire thing was so absurd that it couldn't be real. There had to be some logical explanation for what happened, yet the proof was undeniable. For she had seen it with her own eyes. Cass had been attacked?

There was no other logical explanation for what had happened.

Clunk-clump-clunk.

An unmistakable sound of steampunk gears and pistons exploding with barely restrained force as a sight that would have sent chills down Penelope's spine years ago now seemed oddly mundane by comparison to some of the crazy sights that Penelope had seen recently. For there, charging in pure serial killer form was a Teleiotís, a massive twenty-foot-tall machine of destruction built to destroy and take over the world.

Yet, staring at the monster charging towards her, Penelope felt herself fill with righteous indignation on behalf of her friend. Seeing the charging monster barreling forward, Penelope felt herself fill with the power of the world. It was oddly invigorating, as for a moment she felt like she could control the world around her. Idly in the back of her mind she wondered if this was how Cass normally felt, as she always seemed to exude power and presence far beyond her miniature stature.

"STOP!" Penelope shouted, anger filling her words as she automatically infused her words with the power of mana. A feature needed to speak to the Teleiotís.

Hearing her speak, the massive killing machine heard the command and seemed to come to a complete stop almost immediately. For a moment she wondered if this was an aspect of her Master Taming Class coming into play, as it seemed that this Teleiotís came to a complete and halting stop.

Dust clouds.

Despite having run through fields of lush green grass, the murder bot managed to grind its feet down into the ground, kicking up mana infused dirt. This seeming attack on the perfectly healthy earth beneath the monster's feet only caused more indignation to form in Penelope's mind.

"Wait, I can explain!" Raygunnr began, a somewhat pleading tone to his cadence.

While Penelope had improved her ability to sense mana incredibly by speaking with Raygunnr and the other Teleiotís who now called World's End their home, she still found herself relying on her artifacts to help get tone and inflection.

That was why Penelope could almost feel the fear rolling off of Raygunnr.

Feeling her rage still resolute within her mind, Penelope thought about slaying the giant murder bot right before her. While she was not prone to violence, she had developed ways and counters. Heck, just looking at the machine before her, Penelope could come up with a few ways that the devices she had on her now could help take out such a superior monster.

Pack presence.

Then she got the mental notification she had been waiting for, a sign that her pack was here and ready to help. While she couldn't see them, she could feel that Kujo and the rest of his pack were positioning themselves behind the Teleiotís, should Penelope demand its death.

Feeling their presence, and their willingness to help, regardless of the costs helped Penelope calm down and try to access the situation.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Poof.

Then Umbra, the ever growing albino pup that was nearly up to Penelope's chest appeared next to her. This made it so Umbra would act as the sword and shield for Penelope, taking any direct hit, while the rest of the pack moved into position. A final testament to how much the pack was ready to take down the monster before them.

Realizing she was safe, Penelope relaxed, letting her rage subside long enough to ask pertinent questions.

"Okay, then explain," Penelope spoke calmly, letting her control of mana translate her words into the native Mana Language used by the Teleiotís to communicate with each other.

At that, Raygunnr, the mighty killing robot and ambassador for his kind paused, as he had that deer caught in a headlight look. Or maybe headlight caught staring down a sasquatch look? One that the headlights might make right before they crash into something that will completely destroy them and ruin their entire exterior.

"Actually, I really don't know what happened, she just got into my piloting chamber. Then she did something that caused me to feel relaxed, and next thing I know I felt part of my body that I didn't even know existed come to life and . . ." Raygunnr began speaking, as he did, he gestured towards his torso, the area where a cockpit clearly could be seen. Oddly enough, despite clearly being empty, the residual sign of energy and lights being on could be seen illuminating the fact that the piloting harness was now empty. With that, there were signs of cords and other larger tubes that seemed to be dangling down and around the harness.

"BLEH!" Penelope let out reflexively, not wanting Raygunnr to continue this description. Yet, there was something to his words as she could see a multitude of cables that hung down and around the cockpit.

Seeing all the exposed cables, Penelope felt her mind coming to life as she realized this might be her chance to have her number one secret obsession come to life. Namely, she might need to come up with a new super cute space suit that would protect Cass in space, and protect her against all these odd wires and tubes that were coming down. Seeing them it was clear that one of these could easily cut through clothing, but the hole that she saw was a bit too perfect. Not a tear, but rather a gouge, which meant that it was likely something else?

Before Penelope could get too lost in her own musings, she felt a slight tug of energy. Not much, but enough to cause the hairs on the back of her neck to rise up.

Poof.

Then from seemingly out of nowhere, Penelope first felt a presence next to her, then felt the unmistakable sensation of someone distorting space around them to appear next to her.

Perhaps it was a sign of her Mana Sensing skills getting so high that she could now feel the distinct pull of Spatial magic at work. She could also tell that it was not Cass's use of Spatial Magic, mainly because she could feel it, as Cass was more subtle, more precise with her use of Spatial Magic. By comparison, this was clingy and seemed to leave behind a magical film that tethered her to the person performing the magic.

Then just as her mind made the mental connection and differences, Mallory, the Guild Leader and Penelope's former lover appeared next to her.

Seeing her appear so close at one point would have sent a shiver down her spine. A faint echo of want. A reminder of what used to be, but now no more. For her part Penelope had moved on, and had grown from her dependency on Mallory. That was her original reason for staying with the Midnight Hunters, on the off chance that she could get Mallory back. This was of course before, back when she was at her lowest. Back before she realized her worth.

Now seeing the Valkyrie before her, Penelope just nodded, somehow expecting the Guild Leader to appear at such a time. She always had a knack for finding the right times to appear and try to diffuse situations before they escalated.

Mallory, seeing Penelope and Raygunrr strode forth between the two. Clearly placing her body in front of Penelope as a sign of protection. Again, this would have been endearing to the Penelope of old, but she had grown beyond needing help of protection, especially from someone like Raygunr. Still, Penelope recognized the gesture for its intended purpose, Mallory was trying to deescalate the situation.

"One season," Mallory let out in broken Mana Language, while holding up one finger in the air. It was clear that she was trying to say "one second," but her use of Mana still left much to be desired.

Fortunately, Raygunnr was either too confused by the random statement, or was trying to understand why Mallory suddenly appeared to do anything. Which was good, as after that, Mallory dropped all pretense of trying to use Mana Language as she again used her own off kilter form of Spatial Magic.

"Get over here!" Mallory called out. Seeing the gesture and hearing the famous words, Penelope instantly tensed up as she hoped that Cass would be called. Then part of her mind rebelled as this was likely too much for her at the moment. Cass was still offended by what happened, and clearly embarrassed by having part of her clothing ripped by her time in Raygunnr's odd cockpit.

Before too much could happen, or Penelope's mind could go to too many wild thoughts about trying to stop Mallory from pulling Cass here with her daily use Guild powers, she saw a beautiful elf appear.

An elf that looked like she had some of the traits of Cass, but was nowhere near as cute. Almost like a cheap knock off version.

Seeing the beautiful elf appear next to Mallory would have also caused a ping of pain to course through Penelope at one time. Especially given their apparent closeness, the way that Mallory all but brightened and seemed to smile brightly at her presence. Likewise, the elf smiled coyly at seeing Mallory. To the elf, Penelope wasn't even here, as she only had eyes for Mallory. Even the giant killer robot before them was nothing for the elf.

It was at this moment, and times like this that Penelope felt relief course through her soul. Relief that she had officially moved on from her otherwise unhealthy infatuation with Mallory. Even seeing Mallory with her replacement didn't hurt at this moment, for she had moved on.

While she wasn't ready for her own relationship, her heart was still too raw and vulnerable for anything of the sort, Penelope knew that in a few years, if things went well then what was a clear platonic friendship could improve to something more.

"I think I can explain what is happened," Gwen began.

Hearing Gwen take over the scene with a false knowledge, caused Penelope to mentally roll her eyes. As it was clear whatever Gwen spoke next would be intelligence gained from quoting others. This wasn't her insight, but rather something that she was gaining from her paid subscription to the outside world. A fact that was clearly evident by the way she stared up to the right every so often, as if to read some form of hidden text.

Still this was important, as Penelope was curious about what exactly caused the tear.

"To be clear, this was your first time that anyone used your cockpit?" Gwen began.

"Yes," Raygunnr began.

"And you were not aware of safety cables, harnesses, and other attachments that your chassis naturally has?" Gwen continued her questioning though it was clear she was trying to help explain what might have happened, as opposed to indicting the murder bot.

"Yes," Raygunnr replied hanging his head in sadness.

"With that, it is likely safe to assume that you are not aware that your species has a physiological response to your pilots? Applying lines to both siphon off residual power, and as a means of helping them remain active for extended periods of time?" Gwen asked.

"Extended periods?"

"Yes, as in most Teleiotís were designed with the intent to let a driver remain active for a full twelve-hour shift." Gwen began.

At this, Penelope's mind began to understand some of the hidden nuances that Gwen was getting at. In a twelve-hour shift, it would be expected that certain bodily functions would need to occur. It would also explain why a suit might be designed with a way to remove such bodily waste without too much embarrassment to the pilot. A relatively great idea, except for the fact of someone like Cass who wouldn't need such assistance.

With this revelation, Penelope's mind went wild with the idea of having slightly reinforced padding in certain areas to prevent such actions from happening in the future. Her mind only partially tracked the continued conversation around a Teleiotís murder bot trying to understand basic humanoid physiological needs in a way that both made sense and helped him realize he was a machine. A machine with a lot of specialized tubes and wires that might not make sense immediately, but might later on.

By the time the others had finished talking to the Teleiotís, the same way a parent might have a talk about the birds and the bees with a child, Penelope realized there were a few things she herself needed to understand.

Pulling out her modified energy lenses, Penelope found herself striding forward. But before she could, she saw the faint distortion of purple energy appear next to her. This was faint in nature, even with having her eyes tell her that something was about to happen, it still took all her concentration to feel the effects of this specialized use of Spatial Magic. That alone was enough for her mind to process who this new person was.

Poof.

Then with a forced sound caused by the landing of a purple anchor into the ground, followed quickly by the appearance of Cass, Penelope felt her heart lighten up as her best friend and confidant appeared right next to her. Before she realized it, a smile crested her lips the same exact way that Mallory and Gwen both smiled at each other. A smile that might not appear to mean much magically, but visually it showed tremendously.

"Wait, you mean he wasn't being a pervy hentai bot?" Cass called out, her voice somewhat accusatory, but also seeming to be willing to believe this explanation. Knowing Cass, Penelope realized this was likely her mind wanting to believe the best in people, and apparently the best out of murder bots as well.

"What? No, I never. . ." Raygunnr stammered out, fear and concern quarreling on his features as he waved his hands about wildly.

Cackle.

With that Cass cackled, not laughed, not giggled, but a full-blown cackle at the nervous look that Raygunnr had sported.

There was a moment's pause, before Cass, in only the way Cass could, defused the entire situation.

"Yeah, I figured it was just an auto-mechanical impulse, but still kind of creepy." Cass began, then turning towards Penelope, Penelope saw the moment when Cass blushed.

Yes, she blushed at the awkward moment that had been witnessed. For a moment, Penelope wondered why such an event would be cause for concern for the pixie, as there were plenty of worse moments that Penelope had caught her in the midst of performing. Yet, it was this one act that caused her to blush?

"I spoke to the other Simulacrums," Cass began.

"I knew it!" Mallory declared.

"Mentally, I spoke to them through our Mental bond," Cass declared while pointing at her head, before continuing. "Anyways, they noted how the cords came out as well, but most were able to be wrapped around themselves or together to act as additional harnesses."

With that, Raygunnr looked visibly relieved, as his otherwise compressed cockpit expanded with signs that the danger and concern he had felt a moment ago was over.

"Actually, I think I can help?" Penelope began, still having on her glasses, but chose this time to get closer to Raygunnr.

"You can?" Cass asked.

"Yeah, but my help would mean you and your Simulacrums will all need to wear super cute spacesuits." Penelope replied with a smile filling her face.

Hearing that, Cass defeatedly rolled back her head towards the sky as she replied, "fine."

Hearing that, Penelope smiled as her favorite model would show off more of her works, best off all, this could be a space suit that might just save her life, if she was somehow exposed to the vacuum of space, a fear that had been niggling at her consciousness all along.

"What do you need?" Cass began.

"From you, nothing, I know your measurements by heart," Penelope declared before walking towards the otherwise quiet Raygunner. "Now as for you, I will need you to open wide and say Ahh!"

And like that, Penelope felt her mind truly come to life as ideas of a pixie in a black with hot pink accented space suit flashed in her mind.

"This is going to be epic." Penelope thought to herself.

"What was that?" Everyone asked.

Suddenly realizing that she had spoken her thoughts out loud, Penelope felt flustered for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.

"Nothing, now let me see the inside of your cockpit," a flustered Penelope demanded of Raygunnr, trying to change the subject away from her.

"Phrasing. . ."