"What…the hell…did we just watch?" Iris gasped as she looked at Jiggles with an expression of awe and horror.
"JERICHO!" Jane cried out and fell to her knees.
"Fuuuuuuck…you might have gone a little too far Jiggles…" I muttered. Jiggles huffed and crossed his arms.
"Only proved your words, Star shaper. I won, left no room for doubt." Jiggles said. I groaned and shook my head, then looked across the room at Jane.
She'd collapsed to her knees with tears flowing down her cheek. Iris had already rushed over to her side and was trying to console her, but her words didn't seem to be reaching her.
"…Lady Jane, it's okay. Just because you lost doesn't mean Chase's theory was proven true…" Iris said, but those words were met with a blank indifference to her presence.
"It didn't even struggle against Jericho…I worked so hard to splice him, dozens of times I failed, and the one time I succeeded, and that…thing killed him so easily!" Jane sobbed, then punched the floor and glared at me. "Why is everything so easy for you? Why do all of us have to struggle so much at things that seem to come so easily to you! You have magic! You have enchanting! You have a damn star farm crystal! Why couldn't you let me have splicing."
"Easy…?!" I spat through gritted teeth.
I clenched my fists and started towards Jane to snap back at her when I saw Iris grab Jane by the collar and then reared back and slapped her so hard across her cheek that the sound echoed throughout the room. Everyone else in the room gasped and covered their mouths with their hands as Jane looked up at Iris with a bewildered look on her face.
"Lady Jane…STOP ACTING LIKE A SPOILED PRINCESS!" Iris bellowed then stood to her feet.
"Iris…did you…just hit…me?" Jane gasped, still in shock.
"Lady Jane, we have been around each other our whole lives and I've tried my hardest to be a good guardian and stay in a servants place but after everything we've seen of Chase's life and his struggles to deal with every challenge that's been put in his way…and you say he's had it easy?" Iris snapped. "He watched his grandmother die, spent years of his life in a country that wanted him dead. Nothing about his life was easy! He struggled! Endured! Fought! And clawed for everything that he had! Chase's evo was stronger than yours because he worked hard to make it strong, and it only looked easy for him because we didn't see the nights that he stayed up all night to study and research!"
"Iris…?" Jane muttered and rubbed her cheek where Iris slapped her.
"I'm sorry, my lady, I will, of course, step down as your guard after today, but I couldn't sit back and let you belittle everything that Chase has accomplished and overcome. He came to this college knowing nothing about splicing, and while yes, he can be a frustrating asshole you know he works just as hard as all of us. If not harder to catch up!" Iris barked.
Jane gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she stood up and looked at Iris.
"How else am I supposed to act, Iris? You were with me every time my evos failed! After so many failures and to finally have one success and it killed easily by…that!" Jane snapped and pointed at Jiggles.
"You admit defeat and accept the loss!" Baset spoke up, the steely tone of her voice sent a shiver down everyone in the room's spines. She stepped forward until she was directly between Jane and myself on the field and pointed to Jane. "This was a duel where your pride and your ideals were put on the line. You lost, now admit defeat!"
"How can you be fine with this? That abomination spits in the face of traditional splicing techniques and all our ancestors!" Jane yelled at Baset.
"That abomination…as you called it...is Chase's proof of concept for his new splicing technique called shaping. It works, and that evo is not the only one. Chase created three other evos using this process, and while Jiggles defeat of your Jericho doesn't prove Shaping's superiority over splicing, it proves his prowess with Shaping is superior than your prowess with splicing." Baset replied.
Jane looked at Baset with a look of awestruck audacity. That reaction to Baset's words made it clear that she expected Baset to be on her side. Jiggles trumped loudly while stomping his feet, gaining everyone's attention.
"Your evo lost! It's fat and no match for anyone blessed by the Star Shaper!" Jiggles barked and pointed at Jane.
'Wait…does he equate being fat with being weak?' I wondered.
"Why?! Why is it so strong? Why is he constantly surrounded by powerful evos, while all I have is Jingles!" Jane barked.
"Because he cares!" Iris snapped at her. "Lady Jane, I can say this because I've known you for years. You've never seen evos as more than a resource or a status symbol! So you treat the ones that fail to meet your standards with callous disregard, you throw life away so easily…it's almost worrying. Chase doesn't…with Bone-lasher and Alpa'nagia, he took a chance and was rewarded, twice as much with Grimm-Guard. He cared so much about them that he literally put a bit of himself in every single one of them. He treats his evos like they're treasures and they would do anything for him in return."
"But…but I…I tried so hard!" Jane cried. I walked over to Jane and pulled her into a hug. She tried to pull away from me and push me away, but I didn't leave her. Eventually, she relented and accepted the hug, crying silently into my chest.
"I was trying hard, too. Splicing is so different from techno-splicing that I couldn't wrap my head around it and find the perfect middle ground between the two. Honestly, even if I didn't have the mana-nana manipulation spell, I wouldn't be good at splicing. It's too imprecise for my liking." I said softly.
"But it's the way it's been done for millennia…" Jane protested.
"And I can't do it that way. I've done research on the history of it, Jane, and can understand the importance of it to you, but it's useless to me. It makes no sense for me to beat my head against a brick wall when I can just walk around it. You might not like it, Jane, but my shaping is the only way that I will ever be able to create evos just like enchanted items are the only way that I'll be able to cast spells." I interrupted.
Jane sniffled and wiped her tears as she looked away. For a brief second, I saw an indescribable look on her face. Seeing it brought a pang of guilt stabbing into my chest for some reason.
"You win, Chase, so for Lady Baset's assignment, we'll entire an evo created with your…shaping into the Andromeda Grand Royale." She said softly, then reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the bangle I threw at her a month ago to signal the duel and shoved it into my chest. "Take this back as well. It would have made finding you so much easier."
I took the bangle from Jane, and she stormed off towards the elevator. Iris moved to follow her, and Jane held her hand up to stop her.
"I need some time alone…" Jane said softly and pressed the elevator button to go back down.
Iris stopped in her tracks, looking lost for a brief second but fell back into her role as protector.
"Jangles." She said softly, then summoned her croyan. It emerged from its structure slightly behind Jane. "Follow her please…"
When the elevator door opened, Jane walked inside, and Jangles hopped into the elevator behind. Thankfully, Jane didn't say anything and pressed the button to take her to one of the lower floors. I looked to Iris as the doors closed and saw a tidal wave of emotions on her face. Mostly confusion and regret.
"Well, that was…entertaining…" Dean Baxter said.
"You mean messed up?" Bo asked, pointing at the elevator that Jane retreated in.
"Why are you acting like Jane's reaction was that bad. She just saw the evo she created utterly destroyed by…that!" Astrid exclaimed and pointed at Jiggles. Jiggles was oblivious to Astrid's comment and was instead looking at me expectantly.
"That! Is Jiggles, First-born of the ogrest!" I exclaimed and pointed enthusiastically at him. Jiggles adopted a domineering stance and channeled mana into his arms, and flames erupted from them.
"I'm the strongest Ogrest!" Jiggles barked.
Dean Baxter walked over to Jiggles and examined him from a slight distance. He was especially interested in the flames around Jiggles' arms.
"Interesting…how does it generate flames?" Dean Baxter asked.
"Evos created using shaping can channel mana through their body since they have a mana crystal. Based off the few tests that I have conducted over the last few days, all ogrest can channel blast attribute mana like Jiggles is now and that his mana capacity is about forty percent of mine." I explained to Dean Baxter.
"So you conducted tests?" Dean Baxter inquired as he looked to me.
"A few, while I had him and Pogs training to learn how to use enchanted items." I replied.
"Pogs?" Dean Baxter remarked.
"Pogs! He's the other ogrest that Chase gave to Sin. Sho'lajah's building security back at the shop!" Bo exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, that big gorilla looking guy." Damon said with a shudder.
"Training with Pogs was fun! Pogs are not the smartest but strong! Worthy of working for the man who guards your domain." Jiggles proclaimed happily as he stopped channeling mana. Dean Baxter nodded silently as he walked over to my side.
"You said earlier that you planned to mass-produce these evos…" Dean Baxter prompted.
"I plan to mass-produce a version of the ogrest would be better to say. Ogrests will be an evo that's specifically made for security staff at Sho'lajah artifact company. The version I'll sell to others will look similar but have a reduced mana capacity." I clarified.
"Even with a reduced mana capacity, those evos would have an advantage over evos without mana…especially with the right enchanted items…" Dean Baxter said softly.
The Dean became silent for a moment as he looked off into the distance in a contemplative way. His gaze suddenly became determined as he looked back at me.
"Is your company currently able to mass-produce large quantities of this evo?" He asked.
"Not…exactly…" I said sheepishly. "Shaping requires a heavy dependence on techno-splicing equipment. Specifically, a maturation tank or vat, and we had to destroy our only one in the lab. So we can't create evos unless it's traditionally…"
"How about if the college supplies your company with the technology you need to start mass producing evos with your shaping and in return you supply the college with some of your new evos?" Dean Baxter offered.
"Wait? You'll give us more maturation tanks?" I asked and narrowed my eyes at Dean Baxter.
"Yes or whatever else you need." Dean Baxter replied, then smirked when he saw my look of suspicion. "You have every reason to be suspicious. The cost of whatever machine you need even in massive quantities would still be significantly less than whatever you could charge the college to make those altered evos."
"So basically, you want to exploit my current lack of equipment to get evos at a much cheaper cost…?" I summed up the dean's plan. He shrugged and turned away.
"If the deal is not to your liking, you're making money now, and you can buy the equipment yourself." Dean Baxter said.
"I never said that. Though I have a counter deal for you." I replied. The Dean visibility flinched, and he turned around and frowned at me.
"Counter deal?" He parroted. The suspicion in his voice was thicker than it was in mine.
"Now, there is no reason for you to sound suspicious. One of my employees happened to tell me that the college owns a few choice buildings at the edge of Gold City that would be perfect for plans I have. You sell me that building at a reduced price as well as buy all the equipment I need to stock both that building and my lab I will supply the college with twenty altered Ogrest and as a bonus give each one a enchanted item." I said.
The dean's eyes widened, and I saw him sweat a little when I finished my counter offer. The property in question that I wanted was a vacant warehouse that had been abandoned for a number of years. According to Sin and Nate, it was currently the home base of that gang that attacked Sin a few days ago. While the main reason I wanted the property was for the space, those guys also killed Sin's evos, so I also wanted them gone. Since the property was so close to the gold city, Sin, Nate, and Jade all advised against attacking tjem directly since they probably had the police in the area in their pocket.
"That is a very…suspicious deal…however I would be a fool to not take it…depending on how many machines you wanted…" Dean Baxter said.
"Currently, I need one Relfez type-XL tank to replace the one that is broken in my lab and then five Relfez type-M as well for the lab. Based off my estimates for the property, I might need five type-S, ten type-M, and two type-xl as well as three new gene resonators." I said. The Dean stayed silent for several moments and then nodded.
"I'll have the necessary documents drawn up." Dean Baxter said, then turned and headed towards the elevator. "Twenty million is the least I can sell any property owned by Andromeda any less, and the board will call for my dismissal."
"That's fine. I'll pay up after I sign." I said nonchalantly.
"I'll take my leave then. Lady Baset, enchanting time as always. Thank you for inviting me." Dean Baxter said, turning to Baset before pressing the button for the elevator.
"Yes…it always is when Chase is involved…" Baset said with sigh.
Dean Baxter entered the elevator and left the floor as soon as the doors opened. The moment the doors closed, Baset, Damon, and Astrid all rushed over and surrounded me and started barraging me with questions. Jiggles didn't like everyone crowding me and quickly put himself between myself and them.
I glanced over at Iris and saw her curled up into a small ball against the wall. Bo was standing over her, looking distraught and unsure what to do. I walked around everyone and rushed over to Iris and Bo.
"Iris, are you okay?" I asked as I knelt down in front of her. Her head was buried in her arms, but I could still hear her crying. "Oh, Iris, talk to me…"
"…I hit her…." Iris mumbled. Her voice was muffled by her clothes, but I could still hear her. "…I hit lady Jane!"
"Yeah…that's caught me off guard…" I admitted. Iris looked up at me. Tears streamed down her cheek, and her eyes were starting to get puffy.
"I don't know why I did it! One second, I was listening her and the next…I struck her…oh my gods! The things I said to her!" Iris cried loudly and dropped her head back into her lap to cry.
"They were words that needed to be said, Iris, and they needed to be said by you." Baset said as she walked over and crouched down beside me. Iris looked up at Baset, confusion written all over her face. "Had those words come from anyone else, they wouldn't have held as much weight. While what you did was wrong ethically, as her guardian, as her friend, you needed to be the one that set her straight before she went down a path that would only end in pain."
"A path?" Iris asked.
"A path of self-delusion. In all honesty, she was probably already on that path. Grimm-Guard wasn't the first evo that she failed to splice, was he?" Baset asked. Iris shook her head and looked down at the ground.
"She's always struggled with splicing, especially with tier-three evos. Her mother and father are both prodigies of splicing, so when she always felt that talent should reside in her as well. The truth is she's better with spells than splicing. She tried dozens of times before she managed to splice Jericho, and even then, he wasn't complete." Iris said.
"What do you mean not complete?" I asked.
"She messed up while splicing him only instead of a complete failure he came out with a few missing organs…" Iris sighed. "…She figured he was good enough since you couldn't splice traditionally, and nothing can beat traditional splicing…until today."
"Is she so caught up on traditional splicing because she's comparing herself to her parents?" I asked.
"Partly…Lady Jane's family has always been talented with splicing. Her ancestors' accomplishments have always been a source of pride for her. Not being great at something that her family is known for…took a toll on her. Not that I or her instructors helped the situation." Iris said. "Every time she stumbled or failed, we always blamed the materials or told her she just wasn't focused enough…anything to spare her ego."
"Basically, you became her 'yes' men. You spun a story that it was never her fault for not being able to splice correctly rather than tell her she had no talent." I said bluntly.
"Yes…." Iris whispered softly, then burrowed her head in her arms and knees again.
"Thor's breath! Your nobles are all insufferable!" I grumbled as I ran my hands through my head. "Don't tell me that was the first time you actually spoke your mind with her?"
"Yes…I'm her guardian. I don't need thoughts or opinions to do my job…a job I'm relying on an evo to do in my stead because I messed up." Iris said.
"Yeah you fucked up royally but not just now. You fucked up years ago when you first became her yes man. How can she grow and change if you're constantly telling her that she's doing nothing wrong?" I said.
"I know! But once I started…I couldn't stop…it was never my place to correct her and the people that could never did…!" Iris exclaimed and slammed her fist into the ground. "I'm just her guardian! I don't have the right to correct her!"
I reared back and slapped Iris across the face as hard as I could then slapped across the other cheek with a backhand. She stared at me blankly and reached up to touch her cheek.
"THE FUCK YOU DON'T!" I bellowed. "You two were raised together! You fought for her, trained for her, gave up so much in your own life to be there for her! If nothing else your sacrifice and diligence has earned you the right to tell her when she's wrong and acting like a fucking idiot!"
Iris looked at me in disbelief. She opened her mouth several times to speak but no words came out each time. Finally she just broke down and cried some more. I grabbed and pulled her into a tight hug and she started to cry into my chest.
"What do I do?! I don't know what to do!" She sobbed. I said nothing and let her cry, stroking her hair softly as she did to help calm her.
Baset and the others all turned their backs to Iris to give her privacy to cry. It was a sign of respect that I hadn't seen before from Astrid and Damon or expected to see.
When Iris crying came to a close and she wiped the tears from her eyes I looked at her sternly to let her know what I was about to sat was serious.
"What you're going to do is give her some space for a few days. Have your evos watch her. Hell I'll have Alpa'nagia watch her too just to be safe. Then after a few days you talk to her, calmly, rationally, and you tell her how you feel." I said.
"I can't..."
"Sure you can! You had not problem earlier!" I exclaimed with a chuckle. Iris blushed and buried her face in my chest.
"I can't believe I did that?!" She screamed.
"Believe it. You sounded pretty cool too…" I teased making her blush even more and hit me lightly on my chest.
"Shut up!" She groaned. I laughed lightly then hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Tri-clops. All that meant a lot coming from you…" I whispered softly into her ear. She froze for a second then replied in a voice I could just barely hear.
"You're welcome…Star Child…"