The Last Bloodtail

Define "rescue"?

2011-05-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Qli, Ash and I were in the thick of it, fighting these witch-powered stompers to keep them away from Bloodwing (whose guts were laid out in a neat circle around a dimensional gate - don't ask). BW's magic was messy and beyond gross but it did bring Ash back to us. And he brought a posse with him too, the Digital Knights. A bunch of kick-ass warriors made from solid light, which is good because we needed all the help we could get. Qli's voice crackled in my ear on my radio headset.

"Koen! Father is being chased!"

Aw crap. I guess he didn't stay far enough away.

"I'll get him!" I was already dodging and weaving on my skimboard through the stompers, tripping them up with lashes of solid darkness so the Knights could pry 'em open like a pack of urchins at a free lobster buffet.

"Koen. Ash here. I detect two Masons in that sandspeeder. Darien's transmitter is off-frequency."

"TWO? Qli, I need backup!"

"I...am unable to assist."

"Ash here. Intercepting."

"Cloaking," I tap my headset off as I wrap the dark around me until the light bends. There's still a wake of sand behind me but the desert winds are starting to whip up as it is. Ash whizzes by me in a glowing light-cycle and almost cuts me in half with the wall of light he leaves behind him. I hop and glide down the edge of his wall, hiding my wake.

That blingtard's a Mason? Which one? That's a scummy dis...

He's wearing Qli's dancing outfit?

Mystery Mason's firing a souped-up mainland gun at Ash! I have to jump as he shatters the shield wall. Ash's wheels get plugged and the clank goes tumbling.

He's aiming at Darien now. Please Dad, hit the eject...hit the eject...HIT THE DAMN...GOOD!

He blew a hole in the dashboard! Doc's blind from the sparks!

**DECLOAK**

**SHADOW LASH**

GOT HIM! YOWCH! I got the lash stuck in the Tesla turbines and Doc's in the middle! This is NOT the way I wanted to go jet-skiing!

"KOEN! WE'RE GOING TO HIT THE CITY WALLS!"

"I'M STUCK!"

some assembly required

2011-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

I gotta admit, I almost lost my lunch when Nova opened up that chest and showed me what was left of Bloodwing. My fur stood on end when I heard his voice in my head.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?"

We cannot wait. A day here last weeks where he and his pack are stranded...

I did some fancy mental calculations, the kind you memorize when you start time-travelling.

"Bast...you're right."

Through me shall they find escape.

I looked over the huge circle of glass melted into the sand where Ash got blasted into...someplace else.

"Through you...? Ugh...I hate these Ereb'ai rituals! Qli! You got a pair of tongs?"

killer babushkas?

2011-03-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

I was just ready to spear this lizard for dinner when it happened. Spiraling darkness erupting from me, lifting me from the ground. I struggle for balance as I hear it whisper secrets of Erebus into my skull.

Your littermates are dead. All eight of them. Murdered by the Masons. Revenge Revenge Revenge.

I'll take it under advisement.

I just met a parallel me who was living with this curse! But in the other realm this happened after Qli was...

Qli?

I see a giant robot with long clawed stilts for legs lighting up the sands from where it trashed the tent my sister and I set up. It lunges away, but with the speed of thought I'm there, ripping into it like a tin can.

"YOU PICKED THE WRONG NIGHT TO MESS WITH MY FAMILY YOU ROBOT CHICKEN!"

I've got it pinned. It smells like a charnel house inside, and looks worse. Straw? Flasks? Coal brazier? How did all this medieval looking crap get stuffed inside a giant robot like this? Was it bigger on the inside...?

I pull out what looks like a mummy? Like an old hag dropped in the bog and left to preserve when the Druid robes were still in style. It's stuffed halfway in a giant stone...bucket? Was this half of it's sarco...sar...coffin...?

OW! IT'S BITING ME! GET OFF! GET OFF! GET...

*WHAM!*

Whew! Hey, thanks Qli! QLI! You're still alive! Um, who's your friend?

caught in between

2010-12-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

Qli's tremors started this morning. Then her body started shifting between human and construct, one piece at a time. Ash tried to help her, but the last time she shifted to metal it damaged Ash's neural network. Now I'm the one holding her down in the null-suit Doc Mason built for me for the Steal Head raid just to keep from getting electrocuted.

Doc tossed his monitor console into the sand bucket as it started to smoke and catch fire.

"I'm afraid my theory is correct, Koen. By turning human she's lost control of the nanobytes that remained with her body. She's caught in a vicious cycle..."

Qli screamed as electricity wrapped around her arm.

"...the more human she gets, the harder her nanobytes work to change her back into a form they can recognize..."

Her arm turned to brass. Luckily she didn't thrash when she was metal.

"...and when she turns back into a construct they fall back to their last command to rebuild her as human. And now they're all completely out of sync!"

"What happened to Ash?"

"The nanobytes started stealing the silicon in his nervous system, it very nearly damaged the circuitry in his soul chip."

"Can you fix this, Doc? ... Dad? Come on!"

"This is far beyond Steamlands technology, Son. She must have added this to her system in one of her trips forward. This is Nova's territory."

"So where the HELL is...?"

"She and Six skipped town in their own ship to get replacement parts for the Revenge. They could be anywhere or anywhen by now."

Qli whimpered as she fell asleep in a rare painless moment of stability.

He rolled down a map of the Steamlands on the Consulate wall.

"Her pain comes from the nanobytes craving silicon. They literally tear her apart to rebuild her. Steelhead's humidity only makes it worse. She needs to rest somewhere dry and sandy..."

He tapped on a spot in a desert, far west of Caledon.

"There's an oasis of Steam technology here...it's region called Cala Mondrago..."

connections in low places

2010-10-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'd figured out how to use the Time Window to contact New Erebus. Sure enough we found a signal. Jeremiah had a smaller model in his Steelhead workshop, I figured he'd use the same frequency. Some minor focusing, and there he was, clear and crisp, direct from Hell. Sitting in the new improved Throne of Hades, dressed in the scarlet robes.

"Congratulations, Grandpa. Are you getting the crown resized?"

"I'm not wearing a crown, Koen. At the self-coronation, instead of holding the sword up high, I raised a rolled-up copy of the Constitution. Erebus is now a republic."

Wow. I had to sit down for that one. This really isn't the madman that ripped me apart on that arco.

"And you got away with it?"

"There was some consternation at first, of course. But with a promise of only two century-long terms of office, that should convince the noble houses to wait out my reign. Pardon...administration."

"Riiight...about that sword? The Sword of the Blood Wing Knight? We've got an Elder Thing eating people's heads up here in Steelhead..."

"And you need the sword, something powerful enough to slay something before Death, like the Titans. Yes, well unfortunately it broke during the final battle with the Hydra. We're still searching the entire empire for the last fragment."

I pulled the knife from my boot, the one I made a handle for in New Babbage from an umbrella handle and twine, with the jagged dull grey rock for a blade.

"You mean this?"

dis is de briefin'

2010-09-09T18:59:00.001-07:00

For all the power that Regent version of me had, All he really wanted to do was laze around with Kira in Kittyswitch. This is for you, old man. And for me.

Mmmm... that's good tea. You don't mind if I jaw you for a while, do ya? Cool. Try the cucumber sandwiches, they're delish!

Well, as you can see, being in the center of that collapsing hellgate jumbled my lifecode. I've got red fur and black stripes now. It's growing on me. Qli was certain that BW got sucked into the hellgate and the Wasp Queen's jaws, but I was right there on the rim of the portal! It shut on the Queen before BW made contact with her! The Founder must have got caught in a flux wave from the collapse. He could be anywhere in the omniverse now. Don't count him out just yet.

So there's a new family member of a sort, Xavael. This bishy angel that popped out of nowhere to fight the wasps by Bloodwing's side. I'm not sure what gender it is, don't think I wanna know. Talks stilted worse than BW. Said something about being the creator of Qli's spheres? I'm not going there right now, my head's still spinning as it is.

Bloodwing was in Grandpa Jeremiah for the battle. And apparently this was a good thing. He's got some broken bones, but he'll live. It's pretty tense when he and Xavael are in the same room. Yeah, I can imagine. So Xavael's in a mortal host too, someone in Steelhead? Did offer me a family discount at the store. But between you and me I'm gonna wait til they catch that critter that's chomping people's heads like brussel sprouts first.

Did they ever catch that guy with the sack eating kids? I think I was dead when all that went down. Bast sakes, glad I'm not an urchin anymore.

My littermates are all accounted for. Getting them all in one place to send them home is gonna be difficult. Assuming they want to go home. They were Crown Prince weren't they?

We're not sure what happened to Uncle Marcus. We know he got a fatal wound and fell into the ocean, but one of Jeremiah's submersibles, the Illuminautilus (Seriously, what kinda name is that? Oh yeah I forgot he was in his crazy evil phase) stole the body. Jeremiah says he had a clone on the ship that would have activated after he died on New Erebus, and that when that clone went down with the ship that activated the machines that reanimated Marcus in the first place. Damn, these Sparks have backups for everything don't they?

Ash saw the ship all the way up in the orbiting Caravel and he flipped on the Pandorus alarm. So the the machinery tried to reanimate grandpa's clone and went overboard? Not good. And whateveritis is running that kraken-ship? Very not good. And it's got Marcus, who was bred to steal control of other people's bodies? SO VERY VERY NOT GOOD!

So, here's some pictures of the new me. That first one I...found the last one of Wren's traps. (I'm OK, really! Steel-toed boots this time!)

And here's the obligatory "Oh look at me I'm so Steampunk!" pose. For The Ladies. Muahahaha!

And here's me fixing the Time Window after the Regent drew that portal energy through it. I wonder what he did with all that extra power?

Could you pass me another crumpet? Thanks.

Say, do I smell catnip?

the other side

2010-09-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

"HAHAHAHAHA! We did it! WE DID IT!"

Air raid sirens wail over Seraph City as a circle of absolute darkness widens in all directions overhead, blocking out the sun and plunging the city into starless night.

Atop the tallest building, a grayed old neko in a shimmering robe stares upwards, laughing in jubilation dancing across the border to madness. He bares his remaining fangs as his half-blind crescent pupils stretch across crimson. His silvered ears twitch as he tries to ignore the panic of the masses far below.

"It's so beautiful!" he shrieks. "Total Oblivion, all the way across the sky!"

The urchin with the gaslamp heart clutches his leg, her expression of terror betraying her smoky glasses reserved for the blind.

"What does it mean, Regent? What does it MEAN?"

"I'll tell you what it means, Wren! It means my plan WORKED! That lucky young bastard SUCCEEDED! It means...we're saved! WE'RE SAVED! WE'RE SAAAAVED!! HAHAHAHA...."

From the vantage of space, one would see the moon and slowly the Earth itself disappear through the Void's diameter.

Shortly thereafter, everything else - the Sun and the stars and nebulae blur and fade into nothingness.

Elsewhere...there is a universe very much like our own. Except there is a yellow sun missing a blue planet. And exactly where that orbit is missing is where a portal of lightless Void expands from an atom's width to the point where a planet and its moon slides through.

The Regent stares up at the new sun in silence, his knees buckle and he collapses to the concrete. Wren props up his head as the shadow of angel's wings cross over them both.

"Xavael." The Regent chuckles as he gasps for breath.

"Yes, Regent." A pale hand takes his gnarled paw as the white-robed angel kneels beside him.

"The Sephiroth?" The neko's ears perk anxiously.

Shimmering lights begin to glow through the angel's robes.

"The Tree of Life that your sister carried was connected to the greater. It's destruction hastened the End of All Things. That is why the Void became so powerful in you."

The Regent nodded in solemn agreement. "That's why...the Time Lords..."

"Yes. They taught you well. Here, the Spheres are in harmony again. Now Qlippothic can be rebuilt, and I may awaken her with this gift again. And perhaps...Ash may be rebuilt as well."

The Regent smiled. He looked beyond Xavael's face, and saw fresh grass and boughs gently swaying with springtime's blossoms. He recognized the face of the one sitting there reading a book, ,then standing and running towards him with arms oustretched.

"It's...it's Kira!"

"Yes, Koen." The angel closed his eyes and swallowed. "Go to her. She is waiting. The Void burdens you no more."

The frail old cat's chest rattled sharply a few times. Then he shut his eyes and breathed his last.

Xavael whispered a prayer over him as he nodded to the urchin. "The Regent is dead..."

Koen's body shuddered as the Gallifreyan lifecode woven into his cells began the rejuvenation process. His features flowed like wax. The sleek paw of a young neko with snowy fur squeezed the angel's hand. Xavael smiled warmly down at jade eyes marveling at the world.

"Long live the Regent!"

Later that night and across town, a young boy, shoeless, clad in castoff rags and his face covered in grime, stares at his reflection in the plate glass window of an abandoned storefront. Under the flickering streetlight he watches in astonishment as his scalp bulges and separates, and a pair of horns stretch from his temples. He whimpers from the pressure beneath his shoulder blades as two red shapes rip out from under his shirt...

THE BEGINNING

one-way ticket

2010-09-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Qli and I navigated hypertime back to the Steamlands. I made the final adjustments on the Time Window and unstrapped myself to pull down the stairs above deck. As she was making small talk with Hassanov I secured the ether-tether that created a weightless energy stream from the base of the Regent's staff to the Time Window. I took final look at this...thing my futureself gave me. I'm supposed to stab the edge of the portal like a can opener. I recognize the gray blade at the top. It's the tip of that Blood Wing Knight's sword that snapped off while Marcus and my sibs were fighting the Hydra. I still have mine, that I fastened a knife handle to strapped to my leg.

I was back to full strength so I can use my Void Alchemy to control my fall. Here I go...

Where's the Wasp Queen? I could hear her...

Nova's silver ship flies over me, machine-guns blazing and driving the Queen off.

This portal is huge, but the edge? I can't see it! I can tell where it is from this angle from the red light it gives off on the entrance! This is gonna be...wait! There it is! Steady...steady!

Got it! GAH! Enough with the explosions already! What the Hell's going on? I'm stuck here! I can't get my paws of the damn staff! And all the drones are...flying back into the portal! No, not flying...pulled back! Ah yes the Reverse Polarity trick, works every time!

Aaaand here comes the Wasp Queen...yep, she's flailing, probably screaming unspeakable curses in Vespriumese or whatever the Hell she speaks. WATCH THE CLAWS LADY!

Wait, my littermates are fromt he underworld, too! I hope they're out of range by now! Boy that Queen sure is putting up a fight! She's almost through...

What the...Oh NO! Bloodwing's being pulled towards the portal! And the big bug's still snapping her jaws! FIGHT IT, DEMONFATHER! FIGHT IT!!!

time may change me

2010-07-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

What was it that made me and the frozen urchin stand there slack-jawed like a Japanese tourist who stumbled into a Caledonian Burns Supper?

"'Oh hell no?' Is that any way to treat your Regent, Koen?"

Floating in the air. Gold and crimson robes. Red demon wings. The crest of House Bloodwing on the chest.

"Would you expect any less from me?"

An exquisitely decorated staff from an estate sale at the other side of the galaxy.

He descended as quiet as a thought in sleep.

"Yes, Koen. This is my doing."

A gold headdress of a bent circle perched on his shoulders and fanning out behind his head.

I cautiously padded forward. "When did you decide to become Regent?"

Gray fur with traces of black. Bags under his scarlet eyes. Slightly trembling paws with overgrown claws. I won't even think about the teeth.

He let me come close enough to scent him. I lurched back. He ignored my response as he ambled towards Wren. "I had no choice. A construct can't become Regent..." He lay his paw on her shoulder, and her flame danced again. She looked up at him with a quivering lip and frightened eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Regent. He chased me..."

"It's alright, Wren. He's unharmed. That's what matters."

I scratched the back of my head, trying to wrap my head around what he was telling me. I couldn't even put together the words. I was afraid to.

"You understand now, don't you Koen? Why a reconsolidated version of your Qli-Nova just happened to be right under you when you arrived from a fifty-year jump?"

"That was you..."

"Yes. Yes it was."

He scratched the back of his head. Looks like he never quit that habit. Still a bit of red on those silver ears.

"In this timeline..." He leaned over on his staff. Was he exhausted from the giant Void bubble? Or was the headdress or his wings the heavier burden? "The Bloodwing's Revenge crashed before it got to Babbage. It didn't get to Qlippothic in time..."

"The most likely outcome..."

"Yes, Koen. You saw how it ended. No one was there when the Vesprium broke through. No one to hold them back at the hellgate. No one to raise the alarm..."

Wren embraced him while he sank to his knees, leaning on his staff for support.

"I miss Father..." Wren whimpered.

"We didn't even have time to finish mourning and rebuild the Foundation before we realized the Steamlands were being overrun!"

I knelt down next to him, whispering as I shook my head. "Why? Why are you telling me all this? We're not supposed to change..."

"You already changed it when you watched this world through the Time Window! The first thing I did after becoming a Time Lord was to trace those energies back to your ship and devise a rescue! LISTEN TO ME BOY!"

He gripped my shoulder with his other paw.

"Don't end up like me! Trapped with a legacy on your shoulders and nobody left to pass it to!" He looked up at me, trembling with bitterness growing in his eyes. "Look at you, aging yourself in a timejump! You can get those years back with the turn of a dial! I'd give up my last moments just to spend a do-nothing day in Kittiswitch one last..."

"FOR THE LOVE OF BAST WILL YOU JUST STOP!" I broke his grip and leaped to my feet. The bunnies at the other side of the building snapped back into land-piranha mode, converging on the space where I had been cowering moments ago. Theirs ears perked and I saw a hundred pair of green beady eyes staring at us. I assume it was the sight of the Regent that made them leap down to the fire escape.

I felt my back arching and the fur on my neck standing on end. "What do you want me to do?", I snarled.

The old, sad, bitter, weary version of me rose and tilted his staff towards me. I looked down at Wren as she pulled a yellow and tattered old newspaper from under her jacket....

frozen

2010-07-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

There's a giant fuzzy tidalwave of serious bionic pain bearing down on me. I spin and run like hell (on all fours no less!) back towards the fire escape, but there's a line of gaslamp bunnies already waiting for me haunched up in a row, all fuzzy wuzzy cute except for those steel uppers and beady radioactive eyes staring at me like I'm a giant carrot. These lop-eared rodents are hopping circles around me! I draw on what little magic I already recovered and hurl a Void bubble as they stretch out their shiny claws and...

...freeze in midair?

Yeah. All of them. Just floating. Lines of bunny drool trailing from their carnivorous bunny mouths. Even their gas flames in their little glass tummies are frozen in place. Except for the one that was caught in a Void bubble the size of a Caledon football. It's scratching furiously at the inside of the bubble, trying to get out.

"What the...?" If I had Qli pouring time-energy into me maybe I could pull something like this off. But my powers don't work that way!

So I carefully slip out from under the bunny-avalanche and look around. I still see the neon signs of Seraph City blinking in the distance. I look up and the stars are twinkling, probably from the clouds of exhaust from the airships. At least I know I didn't freeze this whole freakin' dieselpunk world.

Ah, there's Wren. She's frozen too, just like her pets. She's pointing towards where I was. But she's got this surprised look on her face? She's not looking towards me at all. She's looking up at...

OH. HELL. NO.

smackdown

2010-07-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

I kinda like this Seraph City, once you get over the exhaust fumes. But you really gotta watch your step. It seems anybody who's anybody has a horseless carriage and drives like a maniac! But the clubs! They got these crazy new kinda sounds called jazz and swing...wow, how do I even describe them to a Caledonian?

But anyway, at dusk I was struttin' down the street in my new black pinstripe suit and matching fedora en route to the next juke joint when I hear this girl shouting,

"PAPER! GET YOUR NEWSPAPER!"

Aw man, what a letdown. Of course, they would still have urchins in the future. Just look at her in her white blind-glasses and blonde ponytails and her smock glowing from the light in her...WAIT A GODDAM MINUTE!!!

She saw me alright! She ripped off her glasses and smock and dashed for the alley. I bolted after her. Yeah, she's still small and probably knows this city like the back of her hand. But I'm a neko. She covers her light, but I can still see in the dark. She hurls garbage cans at me (note to self: Mason hydraulics) and I leap over 'em.

"You almost cut my FOOT off you psycho little BRAT!"

"That was FIFTY YEARS ago! Get over it!"

"For YOU it's fifty years! I've still got the STITCHES!"

I turn the corner and it's a dead end. She's not there. Then I hear the clatter of the fire escape above. She's zigzagging from one level to the next. I'm jumping from railing to railing. I reach for her ankle as she hoists herself over the rooftop. I grab her ratty old shoe which slips off in my hand.

"WREN! I got a nine letter word for what I'm gonna lay on..."

I land on the gravel of the rooftop. She's standing there, her heart burning under the night sky, her beady eyes glowing a reanimation green...no wait, that's the bunny on her shoulder. And a bunny on her other shoulder. And the dozen at her feet. And another twenty behind her. Here comes another hrair of them. She's surrounded by what, a hundred...gaslamp bunnies?

They've got shiny teeth. Razor-sharp steel I must assume. Aw crap, the claws too?

"Hey..." I chuckle, "Y'know...fifty years is a long time..."

She just points at me.

"GET 'IM!"

Now if I was Doc Mason I'd write something like, "as one, the leaping legion of lepuses advanced upon me" but really the only words that came to mind were "OH SHI--"

Caught!

2010-06-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect jump! Why the HELL did the deck explode? The decompression sucked me clean out of the ship, and now I'm headed straight downwards.

Alright, don't panic...magic? Nope. I'm spent. Okay, I just have to land on all fours. I'm a cat. I can do this. I can do this. I can...

"OOF!"

Well that was unexpected. I've landed on the deck of another airship, in the arms a female android who is certainly not my sister. She had a windup key. How very retro.

"Well hello, kitty!"

"Hi. My name's Koen, but thanks for the catch. And you are?"

"I'm pleasure unit SX-069, but you can call me Six."

"Okayyy...like I said, I'm glad to meet you, but would you mind moving your hand please?"

"Why certainly!"

My fur bristled.

"I meant the other hand!"

"SIX!" Shouted a familiar voice from the helm. "Stop groping my brother and secure the tethers on this wreck!"

"Wait, what...brother? I...Qli-2? Is that you?"

"I was Qli-2, yes, but I'm calling myself Nova Sakigake again. We merged."

I shrugged. This is pretty run-of-the-mill for reunions in my family. I peeked behind Six's shoulder and saw the smoldering shell of the Revenge sitting in some sort of steel mesh attached to this ship (SIXES AND SEVENS according to the paint job on the deck.)

And there's the original Qli at the bow. She must have finally disconnected from the Revenge, what's left of it.

"KOEN" She shouted. I waved back with a relieved smile. "KOEN! YOU'VE AGED!"

Yep. My black fur was back. "Puberty was bad enough the first time! I arranged a controlled leak in the zero chamber! I've got from fifteen to thirty, give or take a few months!"

I'm sure she was gonna give me hell for it later. But I knew exactly what I was doing. I'm getting better at this time travel thing. I could make a career out of it?

I tapped Six on her flesh-painted chin. "Speaking of puberty, I asked you to stop..."

She didn't move.

"Oh Hell...you wound down didn't you? ANYBODY GOT A CROWBAR? MINERAL OIL MAYBE?"

nowhere to go but...

2010-05-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Damn wasps. Demon wasps. Demon airship-flying wasps. And the Bloodwing's Revenge just popped up in the middle of a damn fleet of these bastards! Everywhere I turn the periscope, there's more of them!

I'm below deck. We're too high up for me to be on the bridge without insulation and a rebreather, which the airship-pirate vampire who owns this clockwork antique doesn't need. He's got a deep-sea diver suit in the closet, but I can't even lift the brass helmet!

Speaking of whom, Aleister is manning the weapons cockpit upstairs. It sounds like he's got some rotating cannons blazing from all sides of the ship. Look at that smoke. Black powder? Really? Please tell me you don't expect me to reload all of those myself?

Qlippothic's fused herself to the helm. I've got my toeclaws digging into the dusty old carpet with each step because she's got the ship jerking around every which way. Is she trying to shake more wasps off the ship?

I hear buzzing outside the porthole. BAST! That yellow-striped buzzer tried to stab me through the glass! Why is he holding a plank of rotted...oh BAST that's part of the damn HULL!

I turn on the intercom. "Guys! They're trying to rip open the ship down here!"

Qli responds. "I'm trying to keep them of off the main airbag! We've lost half our ropes already! I can barely manage a controlled descent..."

"Deploy the side balloons?"

"Not yet. They will block the chain cannons. Beginning distress signal. Mayday-mayday, invasion fleet intercepted at following coordinates..."

There has to be something I can do...wait...all this machinery...why is this so familiar? I've got it! The Time Window!

I hope Aleister doesn't mind that I'm scratching sigils through his moth-eaten carpet...there...black plumes of energy spreading through and around the ship...

"KOEN! Vat are you doink down zere?"

"I'm using my Void Alchemy to negate the weight of the ship! That will keep us from crashing long enough for us to tesseract the ship to safety!

"KOEN! I do not have the energy to tesseract this entire ship! Even if I wasn't busy with evasive maneuvers..."

"You shake off the bugs! I'll use the Time Window to find a safe timestream to jump into and the void-aura will negate the mass of the ship for you to carry us through!"

"You are turnink mein vessel into a TARDIS?"

Operating the dials...not enough energy for anti-paradox to make a back-jump...has to be the future...

"Und you zink you are some kind of TIME LORD?"

A future full of giant steel hives dotting the landscape? Not good...

"SCHTOP zis instant! I declare it VERBOTEN..."

"Pipe down you bloodwyne-swilling old coot! I can't build Mason techno-magic but I can sure as Hell use it! I figured out my Dad's Retroactive Continuity thing before, didn't I? Sort of? And I've been a Companion for Purdie Uggleh and Professor B!"

There's a city...too much static! Is that a demon with six wings on the tower? Still too blurry! Fine-tuning the fateline axis. No, not a demon...

"Ammunition depleted! Ejecting cannons! Deploying siderail balloons!"

Not a demon... That looks like...

"I've got a lock! Qli! Prepare to jump! Fifty-two-years-one-month-twelve-hours-thirty-six-seconds!"

"Koen! You can't! You'll age squared to the jump!"

"VOID ALCHEMY!"

I've got that angel in my sights...

"Explosions off der pert und starboard! Balloon rails destroyed!"

"TESSERACT IN THREE! TWO! ONE! WARP!"

The ship is pulled through a swirling nimbus of Nothing laced with galvanic torrents of liquefied time. Currents in directions I can't point to tugging at my insides. The Void protects me like a cloak. My personal zero chamber. My black fur is growing back in. My nails are growing longer and sharper. Some currents are getting through, enough for me to see the light of that gleaming metropolis that is hopefully not full of wasps.

Next stop...Seraph City.

this whole bloody ship is a huge creaking wreck

2010-03-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

I woke up tied down someplace dark. Could be worse I suppose. Smells musty in here.

"You are very lucky I vas en route, Koen. You vould have bled to death uzzervise."

"So now I'm bit to undeath?"

"Ach! Nein! I haff no need for an apprentice!"

"Then why am i tied up?"

"So you don't roll off. Zee gyrostabilizers are still a bit vobbly. Vat are you feeding on anyvay? Your blood smells terrible!"

"Canned fish, mostly. Gyro-WHA? We're on that flying jalope of yours?"

He ripped off the ropes on me. My ankle was bandaged up. Still a little sore.

"Ja, I finally got the Bludving's Revenge out of mottballz! It's all I haff left really, aside from some stores of bloodvyne..."

"Why did you save me, Aleister?"

I heard some clicking and a circle of light blinked on. I could see a guy in goggles and a labcoat working on a boatload of machinery. There was also a little girl in a black dress pushing more machinery around. BIG machinery.

"Ach! Too bright! Let me adjust...there...the Consulate."

"That's...umm..."

"Ja, your vader."

"My what? Oh, my Dad. I'm starting to remember...hey is that girl on FIRE?"

"Another vun of his Dolls. A gas powered innovation. If she vas clockvurk I could readjust..."

I snuck for the exit.

"Zat's zee clozet. Pleez hear me out first? Zen I vill let you go."

"Fine...fine..."

trapped

2010-03-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I stepped in one of those fucking claw traps I didn't even fucking see it oh shit I can't get this off I'm bleeding all over this roof I can't pry this off this isn't fair I just wanted one life without demons and mad scientists poking and prodding me do I cut my foot off with this knife no I just dropped it too weak...

Staring up at the beautiful sliver moon. Mom? I'm ready.

Oh will you get that fucking sky-galleon piece of museum shit out of the way! I don't wanna die with that ticking in my ears!

Damn. That's a huge fucking bat crouching over me. Turning into...

Oh crap. Not you again.

The six letter word

2010-01-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Begins with "I". Means "unhinged". INSANE.

That's what's going on. I realized that as I filled out the crossword puzzle someone left for me on the roof. The almost dead rat was a nice gesture. Didn't smell any poison on it. But who knows where that turkey leg's been. There was a fresh drop of machine oil on the roof. I smelled rabbit fur too, and...BAST! I KNOW that smell! Something chemical...medicinal. Like I was someplace that reeked of the stuff that I kept coming back to...

I know this is New Babbage. But I still don't know who I am. I feel like I've been here before when I wander the oldest part of town, but I sense a lot of stuff is wear it shouldn't be. I must be older than I look.

This knife I have, I don't remember where I got it. But it's got a strange symbol on it. It must mean something.

I found places were they serve free food to urchins. But I still enjoy hunting rats.

I found a big house made of glass filled with plants, it was very warm. It felt more familiar than the town outside. They had pictures on the walls of giant reptiles.

I stared at them. This one's is painted wrong. the scales should be redder. The meat on the flank tastes better...

For a moment I was jumping from a tree landing on something huge with a large stick...then I was back in the museum. I ran out of the building, grabbing someone else's umbrella from the stand on the way out. I sharpened the end into a spear. Never go anywhere without a spear. That I remember. Even in this jungle. The handle is good for pulling food out of traps too. You can even keep the rain off with it.

grist for the mill

2010-01-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

I'm trying desperately to escape the Vortex and Erebus. I'll save you the epic and give you the rundown. The other Koen was actually Uncle Marcus...the magic sword Grandpa Jeremiah (Am I really saying this?) whacked him with disintegrated his human DNA and left only the dormant Bloodtail DNA, which made him regenerate.

I told Vortex I don't CARE if he merges Marcus with the rest of his Nine Lives instead of me so he'll be strong enough to slay the Hydra once and for all *coughfatchancecough* and rule Erebus with an Iron Paw.

These Ereb'ai demons glorify Honor and Duty and Well-Done Treachery in the same damn breath. It's like Washington City got subbed out by the Aztecs. So they think I'm batshit crazy because I DON'T WANT TO BE KING. I left Marcus and Vortex arguing so they can work out. But the natives are waving shredded banners and chasing me through the streets and howling. I just want ONE NORMAL LIFE.

So now I'm at hiding out at a hangout that used to be big with the tourists. (Yes, Hell has tourists.) Since the place is almost empty I gave them all my inherited jewelry and they're not only keeping their traps shut, they're giving me VIP treatment.

This place is called the Rumor Mill. Down here metaphors are sometimes taken way too literally. You probably knew people ate souls as food down here. Well the "foodies" down here use parts of souls as ingredients for fancier fare. This here Rumor Mill that grinds people's deepest secrets into the best bread in Erebus. I was stooped over circling this huge freakin' grindstone for hours talking into it like it's one of Doc Mason's tiwttergraph machines. People used to crowd around this thing confessing their secrets into it, hoping for some bread in return. Some poor bastards got shoved too hard and squished into it. That makes for courser bread, of course.

Business has been piss-poor for the Mill since the Founder blew up the Capital Sector, so I don't have to fight anyone for a bit of bread in return. This is no ordinary bread, mind you. It's made from thousands of secrets ground to a powder, risen with Lethe-water and baked in hellfire. After I eat this, I will lose my memory and have it replaced with one that's totally reconstituted. That way the Imperial Guard can't track my soul down by scent again. And I'll get one more chance at something resembling a normal life.

I'm using that amulet I stole on the way to open a Siege Perilous to New Babbage. I won't be the same person coming out as I was going in. That's they're easy to steal.

Yep. This is Babbage alright. Damn, it's cold. Anything's colder than Hell, except for the icecaps of course. I asked the baker for bread from Steamlands secrets so I'll fit back in. Hmmm. Tastes a bit sooty, though. Oh! It's Babbage Pumpernickel! No wonder it tastes familiar...

...familiar?

I know where am, but...

Who am I?

the final task

2009-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

The Bloodtail stared back at up at the crimson neko perched on the shredded throne. The ruler of the remnants of Erebus, in turn, gazed back down at the feline, who balanced the massive blade over his shoulders.

Prince Vortex leaped quietly down to the ash strewn clay of the crater floor. "I am gratefully relieved at your return, Koen."

"I'm not happy about it. But I know what has to be done." He glanced behind the throne at the glistening red wall of scales.

"Joining us will be its reward. We shall be One. We shall be the undisputed King of Erebus!"

The black cat twirld the blade absently in his red paws. "You were looking for this too? This antique?"

Vortex halted, and stood motionless just out of swinging range of the sword. "The Sword of the Blood Wing Knight was forged when the gods were young to slay their eternal foes, the Titans. The Hydra shall not regenerate from its steel. It shall perish forever. And we shall rebuild this citadel to...

"BULLSHIT!" The word echoed through round walls of the crater, and the scales rippled like a see of grinding blades. The two turned and peered at the Bloodtail crouched at the edge of the crater.

"That's not me, you idiot! I'm the real Koen!"

"LIAR!" Screamed the other Bloodtail, who turned away from the prince, charging towards the cliff with sword raised with both arms overhead.

A scowl carved into the face of the Prince. His hands burst into dark flame, and immediately both the challenger and the offended were frozen in place. "Two Bloodtails?" roared Vortex. "Explain!"

taking a stand

2009-04-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

"No, Koen. I refuse to go along with this plan. A convoy robbery is one thing, but now that there's full civil..."

An artillery shell went off outside the Consulate so I couldn't hear the rest of the sentence, even if it he was piping it straight into my head from his soul chip.

"But what if..."

"Koen, this is a war. There is nothing more dangerous. If whomever wants my matrix wants to wade through a battle to get it, that makes the mission easier for me as he draws fire."

We've been to New Erebus. I've been to Fusang. We both knew the risks.

"You're making sense. As usual."

Ama looked back at us from the balcony as she reloaded her rifle.

"I swore to protect the Emperor and the Baron. I must act."

I sighed. I looked at the Staff and the refugees who barricaded themselves in the corner with his furniture. Screaming kids. Pregnant women. Ash's aspic-looking pet with the giant mouth was shivering like a leaf.

"Alright. Where do I plug you in?"

Directives and Dictates

2009-04-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Vortex had calmed down from the incident with the insubordinate. He landed quietly from the top of the twisted throne and padded softly to the replacement captain, circling him as he interrogated.

"What do you mean Jeremiah escaped? This is the Underworld. People do not escape."

"My Prince," the new captain replied in a calm, measured tone, "he had help from the spirits of his ancestors. Together they built an escape craft from wreckage gleaned from the remains of the city."

Vortex growled. "An aethership? Surely one of our surviving fleet would have caught and destroyed an improvised piece of Spark junk!"

"Not an aethership, Sir. A boat."

"A boat? The Styx is on the border of the kingdom! Th Masons were confined to the lowest level!"

"Sir, they took the River Lethe. That emptied into the Styx."

The red neko blinked incredulously. "And how did they manage to ditch the troops on the shores?"

The captain looked straight ahead, at full attention Vortex paced around him. "They built water cannons, Sir..."

The neko chuckled. "...drawn from the Lethe itself. Infinite ammunition and turns your targets into drooling idiots. Brilliant, I'll hand it to them."

"We did manage to inflict damage on the boat, Sir. Most of the crew were discorporated or knocked overboard to drown. The pilot, however, was shielded."

"Jeremiah, of course."

"Yes, Sir. The only survivor we saw on the vessel."

"And what happened when he reached the Styx? Did the Boatmen deal with him?"

The Captain shifted uncomfortably as he pressed his gauntlets together ina sign of submission. "The Boatmen did not interfere with him Sir. But they blocked our skiffs from pursuing him past the delta."

The Prince hissed as his claws drew deep scratches over the captain's armor. "Bloodwing was a Boatman once, in a lost future I believe. They must have a familial clause. That means...he's reincarnated by now!"

Vortex pointed to the troops watching over the crater. "Send some agents to the Surface World and find him! Start with the Steamlands!"

The demon cat wrapped his crimson claws around the Captain's throat. "And for LETTING HIM ESCAPE, my dear captain, I will..."

Just then the enormous carcass of the Hydra trembled. Expanses of ebony scales stories high shimmered from the reflection of the burning sky. The troops at the edge of the crater took a collective half-step back and whispered to each other nervously. The neko stared worriedly of his shoulder.

"Oh, by the burning Styx..." He pressed his face against the captain's visor.

"You have a chance to redeem yourself. We have a change of priorities. I need the Void magic to obliterate that monster once and for all before it regenerates! And I left that in the life Darien Mason ripped from me!"

He released the captain from his grip, who collapsed to the ground gasping for air. Vortex spread his crimson wings and soared upwards.

At a sufficient altitiude he rotated as he hovered to stare down at the Hyrdra again. He noted cauterized gashes of the mountain-sized serpent were smaller than they were the day before. "It's regenerating again. Our military's a fragment of what it was. And I've run out of favors." He scratched his chin. "If I call Mother for help again I will have to cede land to Horus. And we become a territory of Heliopolis..." He looked over the shoulder at the battalion, formed from the surviving regiments of the Imperial Guard from the Wormwood disaster and the Hydra's escape. "...I'll have a full scale revolt."

He spun back to address the troops.

"All of you! Go to the surface and find my missing life! The survival of Erebus is at stake! BRING KOEN BACK ALIVE!!!"

An Heir to the Throne

2009-04-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Crimson paws traced along the hypnotic curves of shredded metal. Its pur black sheen dimly reflected the burning sky above him.

"This was the Throne of Hades, you say?"

Vortex lowered his wings to stare behind him at the soldier, clad in the armor of the Imperial Guard, damaged yet still recognizable.

"Aye, my Prince. This was the largest object left in the epicenter of the crater."

Such was the condition of the throne that sitting upon it would prove impossible, if not fatal. Instead, he leaped in a flutter of wings to the top of it, and perched upon it with his claws balancing upon the fragments least likely to draw ichor.

The captain's eyes widened in horror. His brow furrowed as he instinctively reached for his sword. However, he had forgotten that his arm had already been ripped away by the Hydra below the elbow. He slowly raised his stoic gaze at Vortex, who arched his back and hissed.

"Fool!" bellowed the captain. "Dare you to think that...?"

Vortex pounced upon the soldier faster in a blur. Armor and flesh tore like paper under the demigod's claws. The captain was dead in an instant.

Vortex roared as he stared up at the edge of the crater. The neko spat a fragment of bone aside and pinted an ichor-stained digit at the regiment lined at the precipice.

"I am the closest thing you have to a rightful ruler and you know it! Does that..." He pointed at the wall of ebony scales behind him. "...count for nothing?"

His ear perked to an orchestra of metal tapping against metal rock as one soldier after another fell to one knee and bowed his head in supplication.

"Now...search what is left of Erebus for the soul who brought about all this chaos in the first place! He must face punishment! FIND JEREMIAH MASON AND BRING HIM TO ME!!"

stepping out of the shadows

2009-03-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. I've been keeping quiet for a while. If you're interested, I'll start talking.

You probably read the Doc's diary of the Fusang adventure. Well, right after I teleported him beck to the boat where that other neko boy servant he had was waiting, I took a trip back to Sumatra. I had some investigating to do.

From there, I turned on the TARDIS Emergency Beacon that Purdie gave me. I hoped if he survived that gunshot and regenerated he'd pick me up. Well, I got a ride from a Time Lord, but not Purdie. A giant stone tiki popped up and a guy named Professor Badass showed up. That guy is One Cool Dude. Look him up. (Gem? He says he met you?)

Anyway, he dropped me off in Belhaven and told me I had to destroy the Marcus's bloodfruit tree before Marcus drank the juice from it and turned into a new Bloodwing. I found the tree in the underground tunnels and torched it. But he must have had a bottle of bloodwyne squirrelled away. It looks like Jeremiah handled things from there.

I talked to Doc Mason when I got back to Steelhead. I explained to him that when he reanimated me, he ripped one of Vortex's nine lives from him. Now he wants it back. Problem is, I'm not interested in ruling a huge crater that used to be an underworld kingdom. Especially if there's a Hydra chained in the bottom of it with the magic equivalent spit and bailing wire trying to break free.

Of all the looney Spark-inspired things he's done, stitching Marcus's wings on his back has to be the looniest. Okay, becoming his own father in a time loop was Epic Looney, but we fixed that. He needs the power to fight Jeremiah, he says. Maybe he does.

But he's already started changing. Not just that red glow in his eyes. He's starting to think like a demon. Brooding. Arrogant. Easily enraged.

Dad! Listen to me! You almost incinerated a JAGER! Do you want the Consulate hunting you down? Do you want to get banished from Steelhead just like You-Know-Who? Keep it up. You'll be perching on top of a tower in Belhaven groaning about how everything went wrong.

There was another Qlippothic Steel Unit spotted in Steeltopia, at the Europan Consulate. It tried to take out Ash, but that big-mouth blob he has for a pet raised the alarm. (Yech! That thing gives me the creeps! Brush its teeth, will ya Bro?)

Ash said he snuck up on it with some Ninja moves and lit into it with some heavy barrel action before it teleported out. Now Emperor Squid's got a tank parked outside the Consulate. This is the same blue bot who put Jobias on his payroll? Guy needs a tune-up!

I asked Ash where he learned ninjitsu. He said from the Emperor's sister. He seemed really sad when he told me she got banned from Steeltopia. He seemed...heartbroken?

Gem isn't taking any chances. She's got a cannon for an arm now. She's hosting for Squid at Steam Sky City on Monday Nights, but she's bummed that nobody shows up. I said "Private Dancer?" and she shook her cannon at me. Yeeeesh!

I bumped into Genie's new farmhand, Jeremy. He was busy rebuilding the shed on her farm and setting up a blacksmith forge. He told me Genie still doesn't have her powers back, but her ankle's getting better. Dad's mithril bracelet didn't do squat.

Jeremy seems like a nice guy. He's brighter than he's letting on, but something smells...odd about him. Like...two or three steps from familiar.

Last but not least, I'm hooking up with Kira again to help her play music at her teahouse in Caledon on Fridays! She said I could use the tips to buy a new outfit. Hmph.

Steelhead Adventures: Journey to Fusang Part Twelve Thirteen

2008-11-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

Heh. My lucky number!

The Dungeon of Fusang Castle

"WAIT" the first guard called out, stopping the second from punching Purdie "We shall try a different measure."

A door opened and two more guards walked in, dragging Koen behind. They threw Koen up against a wall. The first guard turned to Purdie and smiled.

"Now," he said "tell us what we want to know.....or we torture him."

"No" Purdie whispered as the guards moved closer to Koen.

Oh no you don't.

The guards looked to each other in bewilderment as the neko vanished from their grip like smoke. His shackles clattered to the ground.

I should have killed them all, but Time Lords are squeamish about that sort of thing and I'd need the ride home.

Koen landed on the shoulders of the two henchmen, his red paws balancing himself effortlessly and flexing, digging in claws just enough of a grip to slam their heads together.

I've been tortured and killed enough times. I'm not falling to these goons. Not to anyone.

As the men fell, he released his grip and sprung towards the guards that held Purdie with a roar. One of them turned to face him, reaching for the sword in his belt.

I may not be the Vortex any more. But I still know magic. And in this life? I have these.

Curved claws extended from his fingertips. One hand gripped the swordsman's wrist, sinking deep into the flesh. He howled in pain as Koen threw him across the room onto the other two guards.

Hotspur risked his life to save me. Of course I'll return the favor. After what Father did to me? That's another story.

Koen growled long and deep before flashing his fangs at the trembling guard, who now held Purdie in front of him as a shield.

"You have a choice," Koen said as he advanced slowly. "You can give me the keys, or you can give me your heart..."

Mrrrf...

2008-09-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

So the Novem thing didn't work out last night. Oh well. At least I got to talk to Kira for a while. I breezed through Steelhead and felt real hungry, so I fell into an old habit. Unfortunately the rat I caught was clockwork. I know Emilly's store sells them, but there's something familiar about this gear setup. I'm not a Spark so I gave it to Lunar for Tensai to look over. (Back from the future already, apparently.)

Purdie gave Fuzz a mini-Tardis that almost protects him from bullets. Which it did. Personally? I'd take a mirage maker that makes the bullets miss you completely. So what if it makes you look like you're dancing out of sync? The laws of physics are so screwed up in this realm it looks like you and your partner are dancing with ghosts instead of each other half the time anyway!

Meanwhile that magic poison-proof cup thing is still missing. And if you assume I'm probably the only one looking for it, I've got a bridge in Steelhead to sell you.

sinking, thinking and drinking

2008-09-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ash and I took it upon ourselves to give that lobster-demon a decent burial. Ash got a lot of funny looks as we carried that coffin through town with the Foundation flag on it, especially from the SWAT team. To be honest he gave me a start myself when I saw him. (I'm not gonna steal his thunder. You just have see him for yourself.)

We both knew enough about Ereb'ai customs. An aquatic species like his would want a burial at sea. The Styx is a ways off, so the Pacific will have to do. We had time for small talk. Ash and I talked a lot as he stuck his propeller hand in the water at the back of the rowboat and pushed us out of sight of land. We talked about deep, personal stuff. I told him it's every person's mission to figure out who he is. And since he's my brother I'll support him every step of the way. He told me it's only logical that I make time for myself and those I care about.

We both admitted we felt that Instinct before Aunt Lumina took the title of Regent. Yes, I thought about become Regent myself. But the brilliant part is giving it to someone who won't abuse the title like Demonfather did. Yes, she's got that glow that stops evil in its tracks, but is a figurehead enough to keep the family together?

We did agree on something. We can't let Qlippothic and Nova hang out together. With that eye of Yogga-Wogga or whatever it is and them both hearing the call of the Old Ones...well no campsongs around the fire for them.

We found a good spot, and Ash found a dedication (what passes among in Hell for "prayers" aren't repeatable topside) for the most loyal of fallen servants. The coffin slid past the flag as we tilted the coffin. There was a quick splash we lost sight of it under the waves.

I mentioned how Tensai had a time-travel accident. There wasn't much we could do with the GT still crippled, except for Qlippothic and her Eye. But that might be risky in itself.

We tried to figure out what lobster-boy was doing in Steelhead to begin with. Ash tells me he was the Sommelier, the winemaster on board that demon-ship. He should have been wearing a tastevin, a small cup on a necklace chain that they use to take a good look at wine before they pour it for the King. He said with his station in the Court, his tastevin would have been enchanted to protect him from poison...in the court of Erebus, spiking each others' bottles was a common pastime.

I think this is starting to make sense now.

~K the K

A funny thing happened on the way to the wake

2008-09-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Gem called me crying to ask me to take over as she was winding down. As I'm creepin' down Laudanum I see none other that Aleister himself! Out in the open. I step out of the shadows and have a chat.

"I am here to pay my respects to the Founder. I have no threats or deceptions this night." He says this in his Swiss/Belgian accent that I'm too lazy to write out.

"Fair enough" I say. "You've had some staffing problems lately haven't you?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "For that reason I have abandoned my plans to take Winterfell by force. And now with the Hydra freed, we have a common enemy far more dangerous than we are to each other. I wish to arrange a détente."

Then he tells me that he still supplies most of Winterfell with bloodwine which is why a sparsely populated region like this is crawling with vampires and the human population is neither dying off nor constantly anemic. If we kill him off, the vamps might get hungry and wander south into Caledon for midnight snacks before they find new suppliers. Furthermore he'll start supplying Dr. Mason again for his Reanimation Serum ingredient as long as he leaves him alone.

"You mean I didn't have to hunt game for blood??"

"You staked me before I could tell you."

Grrrr...

He couldn't come in when he saw Lumina's glow through the window. It's that sunlight thing.

"An excellent choice...for you. I have one warning before I leave. Your sister, Qlippothic. She is in league with the Old Ones. She uses the Eye of Yog Sothoth to circumvent the Edict on the Masons against time travel! Mark my words! She must be purged of her madness or she will unleash horrors upon us far more dangerous than the Hydra!"

Before I could voice my opinion he vanished in the mist. Such Drama.

Oh, I updated the Heroes and Villains entries. Look down.

~K the K

The Founder is Dead...

2008-09-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

I never moved so fast in any of my lives. I kept both hands on my sachel. I kept to the shadows, past where I'd seen the Sheriff fall. I saw Jobias and Dr. O in the saloon, crouched over a table gloating in the over a couple glasses of red. I could have slit both their throats right then and there, but there were bigger things at stake.

I should have realized it before, why the Hydra kidnapped Lumina. Why an ancient creature was so scared of one woman as to imprison her with magic, but unwilling...unable to kill her outright.

I straightened up and rang my Aunt's doorbell. I smiled weakly, squinting at first from her glow. She hugged me and told me to come in. I asked to sit down with her.

We needed to talk.

clones clones clones clones....

2008-08-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

So I drop this lady off in Steelhead and it's drama central. Jobias is strutting around and Dr. O is complaining about the rain on his joints. No sign of Malegatto though. I was hoping for her autograph.

What I can figure out Genie was in heat and built a clone of the Baron that's now in the hooskow. I thought he already was a clone to be honest. How can he be hanging out in Steelhead and arguing with New Babbage's Ann Coulter/Paris Hilton fur on the Ning when there's all that craziness going on in Europa?

I also heard St. Kitt blew up. Too bad, I used to go on vacation there with Mom back when the neko ruled the island. We had so much fun setting up those moai...then the humans cam and put lawn chairs all over them! *sniff!* Well, that's one prophesy off the list. Too bad the Middlesea Fleet was busy with it, they had to break off chasing the Midas...

Aw crap, the Midas! It's over Winterfell? Darien and Ash are still on it? Gem and Ama are fighting Loli Ogre Ninjas? *sigh* I should get over there...

I'm out standing in my field

2008-08-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

In Steelhead I saw the priestesses (Oh, you call them nuns? Whatever...)pounding on door after door looking for silver bars. I also saw them cordon off the old Lighthouse before Tensai demolished it. I felt a lump in my throat, and a tightness in the air like the Universe was holding its breath...

I visited Kira. I told her best I could what happened to us up there. She told me best she could what's changed down here.

So...I'm waiting in Victoria City for...something...important?

What's with all these mushrooms, anyway? And what's wrong with that bunny? Why is it red? Is it ready to catch on fire or something? I'm not used to standing out in the open like this! Daylight doesn't match my coat at all...

Scorecard II: The Villains

2008-08-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hades (R.I.P.?)
Greek God of the Underworld. aka Ruler of Erebus aka the Obsidian King. I always was told he was the father of Bloodwing, but we found out Bloodwing's real dad (and my Grandpa) was Prometheus. He exiled Bloodwing for helping Persephone escape the Underworld permanently, then sent the Hydra to kill them both. The details are scribbled down here. Hades was last seem screaming at Bloodwing as New Erebus slammed into the old one.

The Hydra
One of the Titans and enemy of the gods. You may have read it was killed by Hercules. Apparently one head survived. The Hydra is more of a hive-mind of snake-headed demons than one big creature, but Hades had the main body caged under his palace. We're talking mountainous huge here. The Hydra can send its heads across dimensions to bite people and inject them with venom that turns them into Hydra Heads...snake demons. The one barrier the Hydra can't pass through is the time barrier. That's how Dr. Mason killed the whole Hydra before, by going back in time while he was infected and severing the colony link. But now, History's been changed so it wasn't killed.

Now I hear Dad may have freed the main body of the Hydra when he destroyed Erebus? Ummm THAT WAS SMART! NOT!

Aleister Mason
The last Mason to be possessed by Bloodwing over a century ago. He found a secret from Bloodwing's past and became a vampire to escape being Bloodwing's Host. Is it a fair trade? You tell me. He's got a stock of Bloodwine that's so concentrated one sip will feed a vamp for a week. It's also the base ingredient for Darien's Reanimation Serum. He's a Spark and way into clockwork...vampire doll constructs, time window clocks, all kinds of stuff.

He lost control of his Dolls, so he threw in the towel when a new Regent was chosen and called a truce. Do I think he's still got something up his sleeve? Of course. He hasn't survived as long as he has without knowing when to retreat and regroup.

Jeremiah Mason
Don't get me started! This guy's a first class Spark as well as a Mage. He's also Darien's Dad. And by "Dad" I mean "make a couple clones of myself and not put my memories in them and see if either of them turn into Bloodwing". He had extra copies of himself stored all over the place. Yeah. He's evil. He had a plan to raise Nekos as slaves and become President of the United States. Then when that didn't work he built an army of Qlippothic copies on a stolen space station to use them to invade Earth. He tried to use me as a fuel source for his space station, and I lost a life. I'm still sore about that. We think he ran out of clones because of this transmission (assuming its legit), and the fact that his other son Marcus just showed up.

Marcus Mason
Darien's brother. ~~Twelve years old~~ Adult Spark + Mage + Telekinetic = Big Trouble. So much trouble Jeremiah had his butler murder him because he was too powerful to control. Marcus was just reanimated, either as revenge by that disgruntled butler or as a failsafe when Jermiah lost his last life. Either way, something ain't right about this kid. Judging from the pictures he's not an exact clone of Jeremiah. In fact I'm not even sure he's human.

Jobias Barthelmess
He's Sheriff Fuzzball Ortega's arch-enemy. He's one of those obnoxious Human Supremacists. He's been in Steampunk Land for a couple years now, just looming over people and taking notes. I think he's finally making his move. He's not a Spark or a Mage as far as I can tell, but he probably has silver bullets. Somehow he scored an Ambassadorship with Steeltopia. Now he waves his passport around and gloats at everyone. Sorry Jobie, I'm a chat sans frontiers so don't even try it.

Malegatto Alter and Cato Quan
Evil Tiny Kitty and Clueless Minion. Dressing like Santa in August to tell Lunar he's been drafted by the workshop? GET A CLUE! You're an embarassment to the species!

Dr. Obolensky
The kind of villain you see in the moving pictures. Top hat, cape, cane, twirly stache, the whole nine deal. Not-so-secret lair? Check. Submarine? Check. Big Statue of himself? Check. Can't handle his cavorite? Check. Rumor has it he's powerless without his bran muffins in the morning.

EXPLAIN!

2008-08-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

That's what Ash said as I stepped out of that bear suit. "How did you survive that fall?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, you idiot. I didn't survive that fall." I tossed him his shins.

"You lost one of your lives?" He used his fingertorch to start welding them back on.

"NO. Listen. Mr. Bear fell out of the ship. I found Mr. Bear. I cleaned off the fur."

"What about the person who was in it?"

"It was empty."

"Congratulations, Koen. You have succeeded utterly confusing me."

I crouched next to him and gave him a crash course in Demon Psychology 101.

"Look, I've been to Erebus before. Their society is like a wolfpack. One huge pecking order. And on a cramped ship someone has to be the..."

"Ahem?"

"The Omega Wolf. And that Omega keeps from getting killed by being funny. He's the Court Jester, the chew toy..."

"Like Keenly the Clown?"

"EXACTLY! You met that guy?"

"I've read about him."

As I lectured him I helped him get to his feet. "So the thing about the Bear is he's anonymous. Because no one would submit to be the Bear if they knew they couldn't assume their own station again at some point without being blackmailed. As for throwing the Bear off the ship? That's just not done. That's like throwing the rum off a pirate ship!"

"So that would have been a decision by Marcus?"

"Right. And the crew is too afraid to correct him. Most likely they just let the guy slip out and threw out the costume!"

Ash picked up the mask.

"But I heard it cry out as it fell."

I reached in the mask and pressed a button in the muzzle. A voice roared from the device.

"MOARRRRR!! SAUUUUUCE!! LOL..." I clicked it off.

There was one of those long awkward silences. I could hear Ash's gears spinning double-time.

"I see why the Founder could never adjust to Human society."

"So here's the plan, Stan" I continued, "YOU put on this Bear and slip back on the ship. No one will ask who you are, in fact they'll be relieved that someone had an extra Bear on the ship. You just crawl and wobble around, act obnoxious like a Mainlan..."

"Koen!"

"Like Keenly. People will kick you around a bit, pour drinks on you, but you can take it. You can even pull some pranks back on them so they don't forget you're there. If they miss the Bear too long they'll start turning on each other, or those Dolls."

"I can't get back to the ship. My wings are destroyed."

I heard something. I pointed up to the small craft floating down. "Quick. Put this on. Act crazy and they'll take you back to the ship. I've gotta get back to Pretty Ugly's Super Happy Fun Time Cabinet. Later!"

Introductions and a Scorecard (revised)

2008-08-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

So, Hi. I'm that catboy in the Mason family that died in the New Erebus adventure. But I got better. I was staying with my Mom for a while in Helopolis before these time ripples happened and she turned back into Sekhmet and...well let's just say I plan to stay here for a while.

I know what you're thinking. OH GAWD NOT ANOTHER MASON! I CAN'T KEEP UP! Well, half the time we can't either. So...let me give you the rundown.

Bloodwing (R.I.P.)
Son of Persephone and raised by Hades as his own, but actually sired by the Titan Prometheus. Founder of the Mason bloodline (that's why we call him the Founder, also because we just get tired of hearing his name all the time.) He also built the Bloodwing Temple in Sumatra where my ancestors worshipped him, until they double-crossed him. Something to do with the Tree of Death.

He took over the comet/space-station I was trapped on (New Erebus) and claimed himself King, which by the ancient rulebook made him a god of the Greco-Roman pantheon. He spent his short reign growing buildings and arguing with the Fates who made him clean up most of the Family's time-rips. His last act was crashing New Erebus into the old Erebus, leaving a huge crater in the Underworld and destroying himself and Hades (we think) in the process.

Lumina Elvejhem

Bloodwing's twin sister. My Aunt. She's an artist. Clothes, buildings, gardening, bodyshaping, you name it. She just happened to be Bloodwing's neighbor when he moved to Steelhead. Small Grid. After Bloodwing died we had to find a new Regent fast, or those demon instincts would have kicked kick in and we'd all be at each other's throats. Trust me, nobody wants to see that. We sometimes slip and call her Founder, even though she wasn't the first, but it's the most literal translation from the ancient rites. You could say she's Founding something new. So there.

Dr. Darien James Mason
My dear old Dad. Well, I thought he was a bastard for ditching my Mom in the streets of New Babbage, but later I found out he was told she was dead. I wish someone told me that before I ripped his face off that time. But that's all under the bridge. He graduated from Miskatonic U. and now he runs Caledon Regency Hospital. He also likes to build constructs if you haven't noticed. He's built a lot of wacky inventions too that sometimes work right. And then there's that whole Reanimation Serum deal...

Qlippothic Projects
My android sister, or sisters. There were three of her, actually. Qli-1 was built by Dr. Mason and Bloodwing, when they were sharing bodies. Later Qli-1 tried to rescue her friend Nova Sakigake and their circuits got mixed together. No Qli-2 has Nova's memories and Qli-3 had the memories of the original Qlippothic. There's a quiz on this later.

Qli came back after Bloodwing's death. She's been adventuring, getting past the failure of the family's time-travel tech with something called the Eye of Yog... (What? It's too dangerous to say? Fine.) We're a bit concerned that she's turning into one of those Mythos Cultists like the other Nova Sakigake running around. To put it mildly.

Gematria is what the original Qlippothic's spirit is calling herself these days. She's become a Blood Doll - a creepy mechanical dolly that bites necks for blood like a vampire - apparently it's better lubricant than oil. OK she's not as creepy now, I'm getting to know her again. She's working as a Tavern Wench at Port Novem in Winterfell Laudanum, working for tips and a glass of cheap bloodwine a night. It's a living.

Ash Mason aka Tumim
Another android made from a shard of Bloodwing's bone and infected by Qli-3's magic circuitry that came to life. (Hey, I'm just reading the Histories, here.) Ash "grew" in Bloodwing's dying body and took it over when the Founder's soul was taken. When he tried to rescue me from my grandfather Jeremiah, he got zapped and Bloodwing's body disintegreated except for his shard. Now he's almost all metal, which is fine for me since he doesn't look so much like the Founder anymore except for that new set of wings he just got. He's got a job with the Europan Consulate acting as a mouthpiece in Steeltopia.

I'm glad I finally got to meet him. He seems to be a genius, and he's really nice too, but he still has stuff to learn about how living people act. He's starting to assert himself and telling people when he has emotions. Good work, bro. Keep it up.

Amarantis
I haven't met her yet, but she's a demon formed from mental echoes of the survivors (including Dr. Mason) of the trip they took to rescue me. We know she's legit because Bloodwing meeting a descendant in the future named Amarantis. Not that many in the aetherphone book.