Spark of War (Progression Fantasy)

El stood in front of the door to Felps's lab and looked at Nidina beside her. "Do we have to?" she asked.

Nidina crossed her arms. "It won't be so bad. Didn't his interest in you start when you volunteered for one of his tests."

"Yeah, but it's gotten out of hand since then. Every time he calls me over there are needles, little suction cup things, treadmills – I hate treadmills – and enough flashing lights to make the Pyre's church look tame. I just… I just can't today."

"I promised I'd bring you, but if it sounds like it's going to get crazy or proby…"

"Proby? Why would there be probes?!"

"… I promise I'll make an excuse to get you out of there," Nidina went on, completely ignoring El's question.

Guess I know how it feels now…

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"And not after he does something you find funny?"

"How likely is that?"

"Fifty-fifty, honestly."

Nidina chewed on her bottom lip and didn't answer immediately.

"Nidina!"

"Fiiiine. Before anything starts. So, let's just get this over with. Apparently, I'm leaving the city again tomorrow…"

"I'm trusting you here."

"Yes, yes, yes. Stop procrastinating."

"Right. Let's do this," El said, taking a deep breath like she was charging into the fight of her life. After a second breath for good measure – not because she was stalling, nope, not at all – she waved her hand in front of a small panel, and the door to Felps's lab opened.

What she found when she stepped in was not what she was expecting. Gone were the target dummies at one end of the room, along with the multitude of measurement equipment that'd been there before – though there were still mattresses along the opposite wall – and it'd all been replaced with… a single table? Oh, and a large cabinet of some kind.

Teacups sat in perfect order in front of six chairs arrayed around the circular table, with Felps in one in his orange lab coat, a teacup held daintily in his hand – pinky extended and everything – as he took a sip. Across from him, his two new assistants likewise sat and nibbled on what looked to be some kind of scone or biscuit.

After the brutal deaths of his last two assistants when the Ignitio had taken everybody with a Spark worth mentioning to power the Pycrin golem, Felps had hesitated a long time before replacing them. The new older man and young woman had an uncanny resemblance to the former assistants, but at least Felps didn't call them by his old assistants' names.

Not that it meant he got their names right.

The older man, Dr. Cabitz, became Cabbage. Felps didn't even use the doctor part. The woman, Dr. Pinoa became Piano, which was arguably close, and the woman had a somewhat musical voice. Either way, the two researchers must've been warned about Felps's peculiarities, because they took the new names in stride.

"This seems strange, even for Felps," Nidina said quietly, like even speaking could spring a trap.

"Retreat?" El asked back.

"We're already here, and the assistants both saw us. Cover's blown."

"Uh, Felps?" El asked louder, head turning left and right to find the ambush that had to be coming.

"Ah, Elevator, just in time. The tea finished steeping only a minute ago," Felps said.

"Biscuits are good too," Cabitz said, holding one up. "Pinoa made them herself."

"Who is Pinoa?" Felps asked.

"Piano," Cabitz said.

"What did I tell you about the importance of getting people's names right?"

"Sorry, sir," Cabitz said with a quick dip of his head before returning his attention to the biscuit in hand.

"Sometimes I think this lab is more like another world than the In-Between," El whispered to Nidina.

"At least you always have a way out. I'm trapped in here if he locks the door," Nidina said out of the side of her mouth.

"Don't worry, I'd take you with me," El said. "Well… fifty-fifty."

"Oh, you…" Nidina started, but El tuned her out and headed for the tea-party, eyes still scanning around her for whatever surprise Felps had to have in store for her.

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"Felps… what happened to all your stuff? Garage sale?" El asked as she got within fifteen feet of the table. There was a pretty nice spread laid out – even little finger sandwiches – and the teacups were both fancy and cute.

"All moved to the new lab." Felps twirled one of the little sandwiches around as he spoke, like it hardly mattered. "Or, old lab, I guess? Different lab! No, that's not quite right other. Another, bigger lab. It is bigger, isn't Cabbage?"

"Yes, sir, it is. At least three times the square footage, double the available power, and walls thick enough to contain up to at least a Code-3," Cabitz explained.

"Does it have the mattresses?" El asked, thumbing over her shoulder.

"Er…" Cabtiz stumbled at the question.

"Cabbage?" Felps asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No mattresses," the man admitted.

"I ordered them," Pinoa saved her colleague. "King-size with the cushy-pillow-top. Anybody exploding into them is really going to enjoy the experience. Added bonus, even if it knocks them out, they'll have a comfy place to rest!"

"These two fit right in," Nidina said just for El's ears. Then, louder, "What's a Code-3?"

"Category of explosion. We rate them on an exponential scale of one to five," Cabtiz said.

"Technically," Felps interrupted. "It's not just an explosion, but an output of power. Usually occurs with an explosion, but the last Code-4 didn't come from one. Which reminds me, since this is the same lab, why didn't we upgrade the walls?"

"Wait, wait… wait," El stopped them all. "What was the Code-4?"

"My golem waking up," Felps said, his voice taking on an unusually serious tone. The half-eaten sandwich went back onto the plate in front of him, and he closed his eyes and took an obvious, deep breath, like he was trying to calm himself down. "But, that's not why you're here. Well, not exactly," he continued after opening his eyes again.

"That was actually my next question," El said. "I'm not really in top shape," she glanced down at her bandaged arm, "and I'm going to deploy again tomorrow. If you had a test you wanted…"

"Nothing like that." Felps waved a hand in front of him like he was actually deflecting her suggestion. "Deploying tomorrow though? Hrm. That's fine. You'll just have to tell me what you think when you get back."

"Think… of what?"

"Ah, I have a gift for you!"

"Why am I suddenly more nervous about this than another treadmill?" El mumbled. "What kind of gift?"

"Cabbage, help me." Felps got out of his chair and went to the large, wooden cabinet.

What, is he giving me a tea set?

The two researchers in their orange coats went over to the old-style cabinet, but instead of opening one of the small doors on the front, they lifted the top up on hinges near the back. As soon as the top was off, a clearly not-old-style device rose from inside the cabinet, a sword the length of the entire cabinet displayed. At each end of the mounting, what looked like some kind of fingerless gauntlets stood upright.

"What…?" El started to ask, but even that question caught in her throat as she got a better look at the weapon. It wasn't just a simple sword. The blade at to be at least three inches wide, completely straight, and only sharp on one side. The dull side was another three inches longer than the sharp side, resulting in an abrupt point. Sure, all of that was pretty standard for a sword, but it was the other end that made El pause.

The hilt itself was a solid foot long, but where there would normally be a crosspiece between it and the blade, there was instead… some kind of device. There wasn't a better word for it. The sharp side of the blade had the usual crosspiece to protect a wielder's hands, but the back half crawled six inches up the back of the blade. Small pipes of some kind, along with components that reminded El far too much of one of Felps's Personal Incendiary Cannons almost looked like they were growing out of the blade.

As her eyes traced the tubing from the device, she found lines continuing up the length of the blade in twisting yet flowing patterns. It almost looks like writing. Where do I know that from…?

"What do you think?" Felps asked, standing to the side with his hands on his hips, drawing El's attention back to the sword. Pride practically oozed off him.

"What… is it?" El finished the question she hadn't been able to get all the way out earlier.

"It's… a sword." Felps turned to Cabitz. "Elevator is a Firestorm, isn't she? She's supposed to know what a sword looks like."

"I'm sure she's just asking why this particular sword looks so fantastic," Cabtiz responded.

"Fantastic!" Pinoa added with a flourish of her teacup.

"Yup, they fit in far too well," Nidina whispered.

"Oh, is that all?" Felps said. "I can understand that. It is something else. Well, Elevator, what are you waiting for? Come on, come on."

"Do I have to?" El asked.

"Of course! I made it just for you… to test," he added the last words so quietly El almost didn't catch them.

"Knew it," El mumbled, but still approached the strange sword. "What's up with the cabinet?"

"Came with the table," Felps said. "Now, this sword…"

"Electrum," El said as she got closer. The shine of the metal was unmistakable, but electrum wasn't strong enough to forge impact-type weapons from. They used the metal for their foci, or for the PICs, but those never had to stand up to hitting something. Electrum was too soft for that. Unless…

"It's double-forged electrum?" she asked Felps.

A new level of pride ballooned around Felps as the smile split his face. Then he shook his head. "It's not double-forged electrum. You'd be better calling it triple-forged! Uh, though I guess you should have the real naming rights, since you're the one who actually did it…"

El looked from the sword to the scientist. "I…?"

"Stop stalling and pick up the sword!" Felps said, pointing at the hilt. "Then, thread your Spark into it. Actually, on second thought, wait until I'm behind the blast shield."

"Blast shield got moved to the new lab," Pinoa supplied.

Felps paused. "Fine, at least wait until I'm on the other side of the table." Then the man scurried over to sit beside Pinoa, Cabitz quickly joining him. Like they'd never left, they each had a cup of tea in their hands.

"Is this going to explode?" El asked him.

"Probably not," Felps said.

"Probably?"

"Not."

"I've only got one good arm left, Felps," El said.

"You only need one. What are you waiting for? I'm dying here."

"It'll be fine, El," Nidina said, her voice like she was…

"Why are you way over there!?" El asked her friend, who'd backed almost all the way to the door. "And why do you have a shield ignited?"

"Can't be too careful," Nidina said from behind the flaming shield on her arm.

"That's a good idea. We should…" Felps started, and all three scientists quickly stood and started towards Nidina.

Cabitz stopped, ran back to the table to grab a fourth cup of tea, then joined the others behind Nidina's shield.

"Thought you might be thirsty," Cabtiz said, offering the cup to Nidina.

"I hope they lock the doors after all," El said to Nidina, but her eyes went back to the weapon. Griping aside, she couldn't deny her curiosity. Felps did make some impressive toys.

So, without any real excuse not to, El reached out and picked up the sword.