Godclads

+Jhred Greatling’s Frame is gone; Elder D’Rongo just got arrested. I am severing this proxy. This is the last time I use its memories to contact you. I won’t remember our near-term conversations after this. I suggest you dispose of your own memories somehow.+

+Received. Do you have any leads? Highflame’s inner channels claim Abrel Greatling’s entire cadre got wiped out and that she got picked up by Chief Paladin Naeko of all people.+

+Her entire cadre?+

+One Ruptured and died. Frame lost. Two other Frames missing along with their Ensouled. Godclads don’t go missing that easily, so if I was a wagering man, I’d put imps on them being in the same state as Jhred….+

+Three missing Frames isn’t a mystery, Instrument. It's a pattern. Some unconfirmed eyewitness accounts are leaking out from the Sovereignty. They’re claiming a “pantless” man was part of a Fallwalker cadre facing off against Abrel near the end. Do you have any details on that?+

+I… No. First noise I’m getting about it. “Pantless”?+

+Yeah. Apparently, his genitals were exposed as Greatling chased him and his across the district into a hypertube station.+

+...The fuck?+

-Thoughtcast between Glaive [Redacted] and Instrument Santanado “Starsinger” Mondelles

12-7

Retrieval

“Hey, consangs, does this feel too easy to anyone el–”

Draus’ hand snapped out as a lashing blur. A sudden crunch followed and Chambers’ Adam’s apple went from being visible to parted between distended ridges of tissue as he clawed at his neck, choking.

Essus offered Chambers a brief look of pity before shooting Draus a wary glance. “Was that necessary? He was just talking about–”

“Now don’t you go repeatin’ what he just said, Essus.” Draus narrowed her eyes as Chambers collapsed in front of her. Denton and Cas watched from the side as the man kicked and wheezed, his left arm flopping about for aide while his right continued to dig at his pulverized throat. “Ain’t no one invokin’ the words 'milk' connected to the word that kinda means ‘sprint.’”

Essus blinked. “I… I do not understand.”

Sunrise’s many selves buzzed over Chambers, examining him as he struggled. “Damage severe. Deep lacerations. Biological recovery baseline insufficient to overcome trauma.”

“The aero’s gonna pick Kae up. It’s gonna pick her up and there ain’t gonna be any problems ‘bout it.” Draus’ expression hardened. “Things will go just fine. Just fine.”

“I remain… confused,” Essus said, looking to the others for aid.

“An old street squire superstition,” Denton explained. Beside them, the aero lifted up as the field holding it in place flicked off. The aerodock flashed white as a sheet of glass in the departing vehicle shimmered in time with a floating shard of glass hovering next to Draus. “She crushed his throat because he was about to question why things were progressing so smoothly. Tempting the city, if you will.”

“You mean the fates?” Essus asked.

“She means the city,” Avo said. “Fates are fickle. New Vultun just wants you dead.”

The former father’s expression darkened. He looked away from the others, lowering his gaze to the rusted plates forming the floor. “Ah. I understand.”

The cityscape outside however no longer overlooked the district of Loathing–or even Light’s End for that matter. Instead, they were somewhere in the Throat of the Warrens–a section between Layer Three and Layer Two closer to a checkpoint or partition to separate the useful from the truly FATELESS, destined to feed the economy with their deaths.

Their departure from the Easy Armistice was preceded by three spiking notes followed by a melody. From where they once sat beneath the open terrace of a stone pagoda overlooking a tranquil pond, they had suddenly found themselves deposited around a dilapidated dinner table in an old aero-shop as space around them smeared.

It had felt as if all of reality around them was a disc of some kind and a needle was skipping them out of place into another location entirely.

From what Cas had to say thereafter, it seemed that there were more than a thousand exits to the Easy Armistice, but only that single way back, up in the district of Loathing. Avo supposed the futility of raiding such a place added to the reason why people called it the “Easy” Armistice — It was nigh impossible to actually engage in a prolonged fight within its confines.

As Denton led them out to a reserved aerodock with a Stormtree-licensed aero already prepared, Draus exercised her canons and created a sheet of glass on the side before linking it to another piece and forming a junction.

Avo studied his DeepNav and discovered they were suddenly only two hundred and eighty miles away from Xin Yunsha, and that the aero was being flown by a well-maintained Wight sporting Stormtree’s colors.

“It’ll pilot the aero over to the Second Fortune and deliver your message,” Denton said. “We might have to account for some delays as it passes through security checkpoints and Paladin pockets, so expect this to take four hours. Maybe a bit more.”

At her feet, Chamber crawled over and clawed at her silver pant legs. She offered the man a sympathetic look and regarded Avo immediately afterward. “How much Rend did he have leftover from the fight?”

“Not that much,” Avo said, curious to observe how Chambers might resurrect. It would be interesting to see how another returned. But even more than that, there was something else he could do.

META-FAC ACTIVATING

TRANSFERRING REND FROM SECOND CIRCLE [LUSHBURNER] TO FOURTH CIRCLE [WOUNDSHAPER]

->REND CAPACITY [LUSHBURNER]: 0%

->ACCESS CANONS

And before Avo’s sense, Chambers’ canons loaded into his awareness. Avo's Soul was flowing out in oscillating tides ebbing over and back across the borders of Chambers’ Frame. Interfacing didn’t feel so different than casting a ghost out to form a link, but ultimately, it was an action that was more–so much greater.

He was effectively bridging subrealities together, using the deviant nature of his Stillborn. And all it took was a thought.

“Fuck me,” Cas said. “What are you even doing?”

Avo considered being honest. He considered being dishonest. Considering how much more they knew about Frames and even his Frame in particular, and how much they had been willing to share, he didn’t see much point in lying.

If they knew about Godshaper, they probably could guess what some functions of his Meta-Fac might be.

“Drawing the Rend out of him. Wasn’t much. Now inside me.” However, not being willing to lie didn’t mean he was going to be entirely open with them. He stopped there, saying nothing about how he was currently interfacing with Chambers’ canons.

“And you can do this to other ‘Clads in combat?” Cas said.

Avo grunted. “Seem so.”

The man whistled. “Well, ghoul, you might just have the nastiest piece of Godclad perma-killing kit burning inside you. Congrats. Fuck. Three-Eyes gonna be pissed if she ever hears about this.”

Avo paused. “You used ‘he’ before.”

Cas shrugged. “We’re on an odd hour right now. He chrono-shifted to being his unborn sister or something. I don’t know how Sanctites work.”

Avo grunted again, this time in understanding. A Sanctite Godclad. A Sanctite Godclad serving Ninth Column. The city sure had its inventory of characters, but considering he was an enhanced ghoul created by an immortal priest to a kingdom nested inside the corpses of several dragons above the structure of existence, he really didn’t have much room to judge a temporally separated person who shifted between traits based on the passing of chronology.

“Right,” Cas said. “That’ll take a while. How about we go–”

“He is dead,” Sunrise said.

Avo noticed the slackening of Chambers’ muscles and the scent of the man relieving himself one final time.

What mattered more, however, was the burning presence of his Soul simmering in through the looking glass of reality. Where he died formed a layer of metaphysical scar tissue that was rapidly cauterizing away, peeling open a pathway between realities. Through the passage to the other side, only Essence and ghosts coursed to nourish the waters of mythology.

Here was a gate that only the absolutely conceptual were able to cross. Here was a gate that Avo could knock on using his Meta-Fac.

Again, he directed his fires to fuse with Chambers’ death-point, and this time, however, he felt the inner confines of Chambers’ Liminal Frame come into shape. It felt as if he was bridging himself over to the other Godclad, like he was greeting and speaking to one of his own Heavens.

“Chambers?” Avo said, wondering if the man could hear him.

“Guh! Fuck! You scared the shit out of me–well, fire. I squirted a godsdamn column of flame out from myself when your voice came outta nowhere. Where the hells are you, anyway? What the hells happened to me? I don’t see you floating around here–shit? Are those your Heavens? I think I see the Woundshaper.”

An affirmative note came from the Heaven. “The pitiful one is astute. Still, the gift of godhood is wasted on one such as he. You have learned enough from him. Shred his ego and take back what you gifted.”

The Galeslither recoiled at her suggestion. “Mother of Blood, how honorless can you be. To murder a master in their own house…”

“Oh, cease, you. To think one so simpering could have stood a member of a pantheon.”

“Better a simpering mule than a butcher.”

“Better a claimant to power than some fool-moralist who starves.”

“Holy shit, do they always talk?” Chambers asked. Avo suddenly realized that Chambers could hear his Heavens. Something worth considering.

“Sometimes,” Avo said. “Sometimes they’re just quiet.”

“...Can my Heaven talk?” Chambers asked.

“Probably if I keep building it,” Avo said. He wasn’t sure about that yet. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to keep Chambers as a Godclad.

There was too much Avo felt unsure about.

Some changes and plans needed to be set in motion.

“What the hells happened to me anyway?” Chambers asked.

“You said something close to milk run. Draus crushed your throat. We watched you choke to death.”

A lull came. Avo felt Chambers’ resurrection building fast. The man’s Frame was cycling back to fullness as the metaphysical scab melted away even more, shedding forty percent of itself.

“I’ll get her back for that,” Chambers said. “I’m telling you, Chambers-Clad ain’t taking it from half-strands no more.”

“Sure. Can let her know,” Avo said, absent-mindedly.

“Wait, fuck, not yet! I was just venting, consang relax. She doesn’t need to know. She really doesn’t need to know.”

“Won’t tell her,” Avo said.

Chambers’ Lushburner crackled in relief. “Thanks consang.”

Avo promptly turned to Draus and spoke in the real. “Chambers is probably going to want to kill you back for this.”

Her response was to throw her head back and laugh.

“So, as I was saying,” Cas continued, disregarding Chambers’ death. “If you want to secure a place to do some thoughtwave detonations, I might just have an option for you. And it could work pretty well with your Frame too. You’ll be able to keep draining the Rend out of Rendsinks maybe. Keep those golems in use.”

“Sure. Let’s hear it.” The shard of glass was orbiting Draus now. Like for Avo, it didn’t take much practice for her to wield her Heaven mechanically. Avo wondered if it was because the base form of the hollowed gods still contained something similar to muscle memory.

“Well,” Cas began.

Chambers dipped into his Soul’s root and suddenly his resurrection cycle accelerated. Unseen fire erupted and ate away the scarstuff, and Avo watched as shooting trails of Soulfire threaded the outline of a person over Chambers’ corpse, his reloaded vessel injected back into reality as the Soul poured itself back over through the veil filling into the body at last.

Chambers stood, arms folded, head held high, and grinning at Draus.

Also, his pants were gone again and his bits swung in the wind.

“I definitely gave him pants,” Denton said, sighing.

“It’s not your–”

Chambers’ lower pelvic region erupted into a chasm of gore as Draus fired her projectile launcher into his genitals. Mangled pulp spattered onto the ceiling as one of Chambers’ legs snapped free and flopped away from the body.

What followed was an expression of muted horror as Chambers began to scoop what he could back into the open chasm that used to constitute a stretch of flesh from his pelvic region leading up to his lower belly.

Shaking, he turned to Avo as his lip quivered. The ghoul thought he was going to cry. “I thought you said you weren’t going to tell her…”

“Didn’t,” Avo lied again. “She just does that.”

The horror on Chambers’ face deepened. A series of clicks and snaps followed as another missile was loaded into Draus’ projectile launcher.

“Chambers. Listen up.” Draus aimed her arm at his head. A Phys-Sim vector went red. “The ghoul loves killin’ people. I like killin’ half-strands. I want to make a couple things clear before I spread your head across the room again.”

Avo watched as Sunrise drifted away from Chambers, it's swarming mass moving behind Avo for cover. “Dangerous,” it said.

Draus continued. “Here’s the thing: You might’ve forgotten who you were, but I didn’t. You worked for Mirrorhead. You're a half-strand scumbag–a real funny one, but let’s not bullshit ourselves, you helped your old boss do plenty of horrible shit to folks that didn’t deserve it. Folks like Essus here.”

“Fuck,” Chambers moaned. “I…I helped you snuff Mirrorhead, didn’t I? I mean… that’s something right?” Draus stared at him flatly. “Sure I didn’t really have a choice–”

“Had your chance,” Avo snarled. “Should have done your research for that run.”

Suddenly, Chambers pulled his hands away from his castration, eyes widening in disbelief. “Wait, are you still hung up on that shit? That was our first run! How was I supposed to know about the Scalpers?”

“Prepare!” Avo hissed. “Ask. Investigate.”

“Fine, fuck, I’m sorry,” Chambers choked. “Anything else? Is… is anyone else mad at me for something? How about you two.” He looked at Denton and Cas. “Anything you want to take out on me? I'm just a half-strand right.” He laughed three times. A single tear ran down his face.

Cas folded his arms and looked away, expression unnerved.

Denton quirked an eyebrow. “I won’t intrude on whatever this is, but I have a request.”

Chambers nodded slowly.

“Can you please resurrect with pants the next time you die?”

“I… I’ll try?” Chambers said, sounding unsure.

“Right,” Denton said, wincing slightly.

“Did you care,” Essus said, capturing everyone’s attention. “Did you care what happened to me? To anyone that you profited from?”

Chambers whirled on Essus, mouth open with eyes glinting and glib remark at the ready. Despite his injured state, there was something persistent about Chambers – a determination to get others to like him no matter what.

But for whatever reason, he faltered at Essus' expression. Chambers went silent and hiccuped. Then, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain passed through him, he puffed a sigh. “I care about living, consang. I care about keeping myself safe and fed and not-dead. I used to care about other shit but… this city, it's power unleashed. People like us… we don’t really make it if we don’t go a little crazy – if we don’t be a little wrong in the head.”

“People like us,” Essus repeated.

“Yeah,” Chambers said. “People like us. You can talk about you being a good person all you want, consang. Shit you are – you are! I’m… I’m sorry about what that fucking Mirrorhead did to you. I’m sorry your boy died and everyone just watched and laughed and made imps from it. But I was relieved, you know? Because look at you. Good but suffering. What did it mean? And meanwhile, I'm a half-strand and alive. Doing fine.” He stopped looking at Essus and turned back to stare at Avo. “I survive. I do my best. Seven-eighteen years! The city’s never stopped trying to kill me, but here I am.”

He laughed. “Here I am. Godclad. Maybe just for now. But… it had to mean something, right? It had to be more than just luck that I’m here with you instead of dead with all the others.”

He glared at Draus. “Here’s the thing, Reg. I didn’t forget. I moved on. I moved on to you guys, and if shit goes wrong again, I’ll move on again.” He shrugged. He winced. “I don’t… I know why you might hate me but you… you gotta understand. Essus isn’t from here, but you gotta know, right?”

Unmoved, Draus held her implanted weapon online.

Chambers breathed out. “I don’t want to go off to the Big Nothing. I want to live too. I want to be happy. I want to enjoy life. Mine! Not just snippets of thrill I get from a vicarity. I’m a person too, godsdammit,” He paused and a haunted expression came over him. “Why don’t people see that.”

Quietly, Avo regarded the man as a distant expression consumed him. Through the Auto-Seance, Avo read flashes of trauma cycling through him, the pain of a hyper-heated gun barrel dug into one’s armpit. The throat-rending shrieks only a child could make.

And the outrage.

So much outrage. To be hurt by someone you were so desperate to love.

Chambers was a collection of sickness poured to cement a central faultline shut. All the vicarities, all the viruses, all the inward collapsing sequences were there drawn to that center mass of trauma he wouldn’t face.

And at that moment, Avo learned how to permanently shatter Chambers.

“Fuck it,” Chambers said. “Shoot me again, Reg. Snuff me. I’ll come back with pants this time. I’ll be good. I’ll do anything you guys want.” His lip quivered. “Please don’t take my Frame.”

Avo reached out with an Echohead and placed it over Draus’ projectile launcher. Slowly, he pushed her shot offline.

“Chambers,” Avo said. “Going to need something from you soon. You want to matter. You want to be part of us.” None of his words were presented as questions.

Chambers nodded. “Yeah, consang! Anything!”

“Good. You will help me fix someone. Then I want to see if I can make you better. Use your damage.”

Chambers was beginning to blink rapidly. He didn’t hear the last part. “Use my… what?”

“He lost too much blood,” Sunrise said. “We recommend killing and then talking to him.”

Avo grunted. “Draus. You can shoot him now.”

Chambers’ eyes widened. “Wait, wha–”

Chambers’ head promptly burst apart.