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codenamehazard · 6 months

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.:Embers in the Forge:.

Chapter 19: Embers in the Forge

Hey guys!

This was also a chapter that gave me some grief trying to write out and sound right, but hopefully it does and everything looks and sounds good! Big thanks to @rogueshadeaux for helping me get my head on straight! I was really overthinking it. Everyone go check out InFAMOUS: Erosion! Especially the latest chapter! It's really good and you won't regret it!

Let's jump in!

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I lean my back against the wall of the workshop, music fills the room as Kestrel pulls out the tools and the cart that I had put the pieces of the Amp on. I’m thankful that she gave me permission to be here a few days ago when I asked her to fix it… Not that I needed it. Permission or not, I’m not letting the Amp out of my sight, not until she’s fixed and back slinged onto my backpack, but the permission makes it easier on the both of us. Besides, if she has any questions or I remember something that could be useful, I’m here to help

I watch as the silvery snakes grow from the spot in the middle of her back, the seat of all Conduits’ power, coiling and writhing like living vines 2… 3… 4 of them, maybe more. It’s still so fascinating to see power expression like that, and now that Kestrel wasn’t panicking over some cancer-tumor monster barreling into town ready to turn everyone into lunch, she’s much more relaxed, more in her element. It shows in how she moves, everything just flowing more naturally, she can take her time. I ain’t gonna rush her, I’m willing to give her all the time in the world to make sure the Amp is back in her prime.

However…

My mind flicks back to that day and the nuclear meltdown that was Pangolin verbally tearing into Kestrel like a rabid dog over the goddamned prototype. I don’t know how stubborn or idiotic the brain-dead buckethead is, but I wouldn’t put it past him to try and pull something stupid. Showing up to harass Kestrel while she’s working and like hell I’m going to let that walking liability fuck up her concentration, putting the Amp at risk of being damaged more because the bastard can’t leave well enough alone. Hopefully that idiot will be smart enough to read the sign she left for him out front and leave her alone.

My keen ears pick up the sound of thudding footsteps and the opening of a door, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Guess he’s as big of an idiot as I’m thinking of him now.

Pangolin steps in, his eyes looking around as he peeks in. I can feel my energy surge from the spot on my own back into my arms as I go on high alert. Pango’s eyes widen in fear as he sees me, good. He knows I’m here. I curl my scarred lips into a snarl as I notice him look at Kestrel, who has just turned around. He better not be thinking about doing what I think he’s going to do. If that bastard starts giving Kes shit, I will not hesitate to drag him outside for a good “talking to.” He approaches the Gunsmith, I’m about to step in and she’s about to say something, but he speaks before anything can happen.

“Kestrel… I’m sorry.”

We both stare at him with a look of shock (and my mind lets out a sigh of slight relief) at the sound of that, but Kestrel’s surprise is short lived as she narrows her eyes, the once relaxed and lifeful shine turning to something hardened and cold, like the very steel she could mold and shape.

“What…?” The Gunsmith questions with venom in her voice.

“Look…” Pangolin starts. “I’m sorry for… Riding your ass as hard as I’ve been when I should have been cutting you some slack.” Kestrel just shakes her head.

“That’s it?” She snaps, the Brick Spartan looks at her with a confused expression. “You think that you’re going to waltz into my shop like you own the place, apologize and then everything’s gonna go back to normal?” I watch her tendrils start to take on a biomechanical look as they darken into a wrought iron color.

“I get it Kestrel, I get it!” The brickheaded idiot blabbers out. “I got a little to in my emotions and I got carried away!” Carried away?! Is that what they’re calling it now?? The tendrils quickly move away from the Amp before twitching and writhing like enraged serpents.

“If you had “got it,” you would have read the sign!” She snarls out.

“He’s here and he’s barged in before!” Pangolin gestures towards me and I am about to deck him before Kestrel interrupts.

“I gave Cole permission, I revoked yours!” She hisses out. “Just cut the crap, Pangolin. Why are you here?”

“To apologize to you for how I’ve been treating you lately!” He balks out.

“No, that’s not why. Because if you were truly sorry, you would have taken the fucking hint and not have barged in here. So I have to question, are you really sorry for what you did or are you just saying it because you oh-so suddenly remembered who was the one making the weapons for everyone? Huh?! You just apologizing to get back in my good graces so you can get your toy privileges back, hm?”

The fucker had the audacity to look shocked at Kestrel doubting his authenticity; guess what jackass, people tend to do that when you treat them like shit and start questioning their authenticity over petty bullshit.

“Kes, I-” The idiot is quickly cut off with a loud screeching hiss from the Gunsmith.

“Don’t call me that.” She snaps. “And I don’t want to hear any of your excuses, not a single one. All the things you snarled at me, holding a mistake over my head, calling me a child when I was in the middle of a fucking breakdown, accusing me of things you know damn well I didn’t do, all of that? You can’t take that back. Those words won’t be easily forgotten. Those wounds will scar and my trust in you is fractured. A pitiful little “I’m sorry” isn’t going to fucking cut it.”

“How else am I supposed to show that I’m genuine?” He questions, I resist the urge to facepalm.

“You can start by getting out and leaving me alone!!” The Gunsmith damn near roars at Pangolin. He has the nerve to look hurt, but thankfully for him, he takes the hint and leaves, but not before giving me a questioning glance. Tch, whatever. Kestrel sighs, sounding exhausted, before turning around and back to her workstation.

I let out a breath before going back to leaning on the wall, uncrossing my arms and popping my knuckles before turning my head toward Kes. I frown when I notice there is a little bit of a… “Hitch in her giddyup” as my cousin would have put it. Her movements, they have become more timid, hesitant even, and her eyes glance back at the door from time to time.

“This is stupid…” She mutters to herself. “I should just forgive him and get it over with….” My eyebrows furrow at that, now I know what’s going on. Doubt is infecting her thoughts, harshing her focus. Just as I feared Pangolin’s presence would do. She continues to ramble and mutter, going on about forgiveness and its virtue, but also how she’s hurting inside and debating on if she should forgive him at all. Almost on instinct, I blurt out.

“Don’t question your choice, Kes.”

I hold back a small chuckle as I see the girl jump as she turns around to look at me, her tendrils gently placing the parts and tools back on the table.

“What?” She questions, looking confused. “What brought that up?”

“Your movements and mutterings.” I state simply as I gesture with my hand. “Sounds like you’re doubting yourself.” She lets out a defeated sigh and slumps a bit, the tendrils losing their shine and wilting like plants.

“It’s… A mix of doubt and guilt…” She admits, looking at the scrap of the damned weapon that started all this mess in the first place, sitting in a crucible to be melted down. “The logical part of me wants to forgive this mess. The quickest way to put it behind us and get things back on track and back to normal. After all, it’s pointless to hold grudges and they end up being a waste of energy in the long run… But… I’m still so hurt… That he said all that to me…” She glares at the crucible before a tendril grabs it and shoves it into the forge.

“So does that mean you want that brick idiot to keep treating you like shit?” I ask, she looks at me like I’m crazy and shakes her head. “I don’t know if all of this is normal or not, but from what I've been seeing, he appears to be a bit too comfortable with how he’s been treating you to be a one-off thing.” She shakes her head.

“No… Normally he’s even keeled… He’s never treated me this badly before… At least, not that I can remember… This is all recent and I have no idea what’s gotten into him.” The Gunsmith picks up a small piece of smooth metal and starts to rub her thumb over it, looking down at it. “I don’t… I just don’t understand… I do want him to stop and just… Let me breathe.” I sigh and walk over to the table, pulling up a box and propping my foot up onto it, allowing myself to rest my weight on my knee.

“Regardless if this is old or new behavior, the result is still the same.” I point out. “He treated you poorly, held something over your head even though we had all promised to let it go and blamed you for something you didn’t do all because of a malfunction you had no control over.”

The look in her eyes tells me she’s still fighting with herself, I sigh softly. Maybe a little life experience might help her, seeing as Pangolin is her friend and all.

“Look… Kestrel…” I start slowly, trying to find the right tone before taking a breath. “The one who made the Amp? Me and him had a… Falling out… If you will…. He hurt me real bad and I wanted nothing to do with him… Didn’t stop him from trying to make it right.”

The girl tilts her head at me, but she stays silent, just as she did the night I asked her to repair the weapon in question…. “She’s listening to me….” My thoughts whisper in my mind. Trying not to show my surprise, I take her silence as permission to continue.

“Point is… It took me a long time for me to forgive him after what he did. Granted, I treated him like shit and I still regret that to this day… But at the time, I wasn’t ready to forgive him. I still needed to heal.” I murmur softly, my eyes cast downwards as I remember those bitter memories. “Forgiveness is a privilege, not a right, It’s up to you to decide when the privilege is earned.”

I can see her eyes darting as she processes the information before looking towards me.

“Why are you telling me this?” She questions. I take a moment to think. It is a good question. Why am I doing this? All I can do is shrug.

“Guess I wanted to give you some food for thought… Or maybe to let you know I get where you’re coming from.”

She narrows her eyes a little, but she shrugs before taking a deep breath and sighing. I can see in her eyes there’s something still bothering her, but she seems to be putting a pin in it for now.

“ Thanks…” She whispers softly. “For having my back…”

“Mmm.” I hum in response before nodding my head. I watch her stretch her arms and tendrils out before going back to working on the Amp. The tension now more relaxed and loose. I watch her as she works her magic.

I can’t help but to think to myself what a sight this is to watch, granted I have seen it before with me barging in when she was working on the core of the brickzooka, but this… This is something else entirely.

The tendrils shine with a renewed splendor as they move gracefully around. Every piece of the Amp is picked up with gentlest of grasps, akin to handling the most delicate of jewelry. Every action deliberate and methodical, purposeful. Her hands ghost over the remains with a touch analytical, yet respectful. Both hand and tentacle working together to study the Amp down to the smallest of details, the tendrils would split into filaments to get into the nooks and crannies. It made me nervous, but it is clear what she was doing. She’s trying to get to know the weapon…

She’s trying to know it not only as I do, but as Zeke did. Down to the very components and materials used.

My mind starts to slip into the similar spell that it fell into the last time as I watch her fluid movements, now more flowy with her more relaxed mind, and I begin to notice something interesting. Her methodical actions flowed with the rhythm, like she’s part of the music. My ears can hear how the sounds of her tinkering and work synced with the melody, the whole thing almost like a performance. Everything just moving so smoothly and in time… It is… Quite the sight.

I close my eyes and just… Listen to the music. My head almost instinctively started to bob and sway to the beat. Everything is just… So soothing. When my mind figures out the rhythm of the song, I start to hum along. I don’t care if the Gunsmith could hear it. I guess one could say I’m getting into the zone right along with her.

I hate to admit it, I really do, but I’d be lying to myself if I said that I’m not enjoying the shared calm. Turns out that when Kestrel isn’t being an absolute pain in my ass and wanting to start trouble and provoke me, she’s… Not too bad to be around… Though it could be the isolation talking. Been alone for so long that the human need for comradery is latching onto any human who would be willing to give me the time of day.

Still… The fact that she’s even doing this despite all the shit we put each-other through? Speaks volumes of her character.

I can feel the ghost of a smile form on my face as I continue to hum, getting lost in the music and the company. I got so lost in it that I didn’t hear the door open and Mako walk inside. "Hey Kes!"

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #kestrel morrison #Pangolin #the Amp #Mako #conduit ocs

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