My arm plates and gears transformed and became a fire-extinguishing system, and I realized I was too late. The roar of the flames filled my ears as I sent my last command for it to save her.
The fire-extinguishing system worked fast, and in a matter of seconds, the flames that were engulfing Alizra had been put out, and she was unscathed from the experience.
My legs shook, and I sank to the ground, trying to process what had just happened. Here she stood, alive, unharmed because I had saved her.
Alizra looked at me wide-eyed, shock written on her face. She hobbled over to me, kneeling down next to me and embracing me tight.
"Thank you," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I was still stuck in the shock of it. One simple mistake could have fucked everything up, and Alizra could have died. Not only would that have prevented me from allying with her Clan, but that would have started a war, and I would have been forced to kill them all.
Even being a machine that could process things instantly didn't hide the fact I was still a human deep inside. This was a powerful lesson going forward.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I stood and helped her up, and she nodded.
"I realized what was going to happen the second the magic rushed to my hand, but it was too late to stop it... You didn't know that would happen, did you?" She asked after wiping her eyes and looking up at me.
"No. I had really hoped that the frequency would be able to still work, but that was clearly not the case," I said, looking at the mess of the cage. I needed my entire body back before I could do any major changes, but I was going to have to completely seal off the area like the cage, or there was bound to be another situation like what just happened.
"Do you have a place where I can get cleaned up? And maybe get some sleep? I have been up since you came to the city, and I was going to cast a spell of alertness on myself to wake up, but since you are protecting me, I think I will get some sleep if you permit?" Alizra asked, and I nodded.
"Yes, but you will have to give me a moment. I will build you a living space out here to keep you separate from the others, and you can help me examine and take care of the Mindless once you wake up," I said, walking to the southeast corner of the warehouse as I 3D modeled an adequate living area with a bath and shower. "How much sleep do you normally get?" I asked as my Nanobot got to work, slowly constructing the model. It would take them time since they had to get drones to bring the small amounts of garbage from the surrounding area.
"2 to 3 hours a week," She said casually, and I turned with a questioning look. "What? I am sure you had to deal with the same problems of people wanting to kill you? Worrying about if your own will turn on you for choices that you made?" She asked, but I shook my head. That was not how my life had been.
"No. Not to say that I am better than you, but our criminal operations are not in the same category. I slept eight hours every night and made a point of it. Most of my dealing was done from an office, and I had advisors that would look things over, and we would discuss what choices and operations we did. There was a difference, though. You all have no one to answer to, so you each do as you please, but that isn't how it works. There is always one more up the chain, and for me, it was a man that I only knew as the Big Guy. I strove to become a person that could take that role, but at the end of my life, I failed," I said, watching the living quarters slowly be built like it was materializing from nothing.
"You answered to someone?" She asked, sounding incredulous, and I looked at her with a smile.
"The Big Guy gave us a set of laws that we all followed. It wasn't like we had to do things for him, but we paid tribute to him because of the Laws that only he could enforce. This kept everyone working for the same goals, mostly. I failed because I didn't pay enough attention to all my business ventures and trusted people that I shouldn't have," I explained.
"And? What are these laws?" She asked, and I smiled.
"The laws are simple, and the logic of their sound. Never steal from family, never take what isn't yours, never kill out of malice, respect everyone, and always try to keep your word," I said, as Alizra looked stunned.
She nodded and then went inside the makeshift home that had been constructed for her and shut the door.
I stayed outside until I heard snores coming from the inside and then walked away back to my office. I sat down at my desk, looking over the notes I had taken while talking with Alizra, and then ran some simulations on my encounter with Thomas and Orion, also comparing his use of fire magic vs. Alizra's. I knew it would take a while to make something of my findings, but I was confident that I could do something to help the Mindless, but the fight was bothering me.
Watching the simulations of everything seemed normal, but it was when Orion cast his fireball at me. There had been men there, in the way, and I saw the fire clearly pass through them, or that is what it looked like at first. I slowed down and went frame by frame, zooming in on the guards. As the fireball hits them, it seems to squeeze and go between them, with only a hair width between them and the fire. Even stranger was that there was no sign of the heat affecting the material of their outfits.