Stan's POV
I knew I should have forced myself to take Giffany with me, but this excursion to the boiling islands was a way for me to discover what I was capable of, and the resources of this dimension were just a bonus.
I didn't want to bring Arlecchino, because someone had to actually watch over the Mystery Shack, and honestly, I needed a break from the "home," the twins, and Giffany.
Unfortunately, I find myself in a situation that many men in a relationship dread.
Confronted by his partner after having fun without her.
[Why are you standing there frozen?]
*Cough* "Sorry for my late response, dear, I was just surprised to find you here." Luckily for me, I have a certain level of experience with this kind of situation.
Thanks to my best friend, alcohol, who has taught me to face a woman even after a well-lubricated evening in a bar without her.
"Who are you, and why are you calling Giffany 'dear'?" Mabel, on the bed, doesn't really understand the situation, but she had the reflex to hold a strange amulet as soon as she saw me.
After a quick glance, I easily recognized Gideon's amulet.
She must be keeping it as a means of defense. Maybe I should give Dipper and Mabel a few of my old gadgets; I don't really need them anymore.
If I also add some basic knowledge of glyphs and a little Titan blood, there won't be anything these two brats can't face... except Bill, of course.
Obviously, it's out of the question that I give them a Titan body like mine. Two kids with almost divine powers are hard to manage, and I already have enough headaches with the Collector.
[You didn't recognize your Uncle Stan?] Giffany observes Mabel with the camera of the spider robot. She's maybe trying to send a message like "Seriously?"
"What!!! Him? Uncle Stan? No way, just look at him, he's just too..." Mabel starts drooling as she looks me up and down.
*Bam*
"Ouch! It's not nice to hit a little girl!" she says, scratching the top of her head.
[It's not nice to drool over another man's woman either. And darling, you haven't introduced me to this... creature yet.]
Everyone then turns to Number 5, who has been observing the scene in silence.
"This is Number 5, a creature I rescued from the boiling islands, where I just returned from." I move Number 5 in front of me.
"H...hello, I'm Number 5." She says this in a hesitant tone.
"TOO CUTE!!" Mabel has leapt at Number 5, but she has been stopped by a shield of light.
"Sorry, Mabel, but Number 5 is kind of... shy. She's also been through a lot, so don't treat her like a toy and consider her a friend instead," I said in a serious tone.
Currently, Mabel doesn't have any friends in Gravity Falls yet, and I remember that in the original storyline of The Owl House, Number 5 wanted a new life and a fresh start. That's why she didn't hesitate to replace Luz, who, at that time, had neglected her life on Earth.
One no longer wanted an ordinary life, and the other was precisely looking for that tranquility.
I really think that Mabel, Number 5, and Luz could become extremely close.
Personally, I don't mind if Number 5 can live a normal life, but she'll still have to contribute to my research.
Her ability to devour magic is really a subject I can't set aside easily, and there's also the fact that she's a clone made by magic, just like Hunter.
I was able to observe Belos's notes on this subject, and I must say that the magic of the world of The Owl House is very versatile.
"Okay, I want to be her friend," Mabel said with an innocent smile before suddenly taking on a pensive expression.
"Number 5, that's not really a name, is it?"
[Indeed, it's more of a necessary designation than a real human name,] the robot controlled by Giffany replied, observing her with her camera. She's probably trying to learn more about Number 5, or more specifically, about her past.
"Number 5 will talk about her past when she wants to. For now, she'll be called Vee," I added, preferring to give her the same name as in the canonical story.
[You're really bad at names; you just settled for three characters...] Giffany's mocking tone clearly reflects her sarcastic mood.
"You can keep mocking, but what does the main interested party think?" As I said this, I prevented Mabel from proposing a name by using a plant glyph to make her fall back on her bed.
Given the name of her future pig, I'm afraid Number 5 will end up with a terrible name.
"Vee... Vee, I like it!"
...
[Do you think you can get away with it so easily? You left me and went away, Stan.] After leaving Vee and Mabel, Giffany followed me outside.
I couldn't lay out my life in front of the kids. Hence my decision to prefer this option.
"Sorry, I needed a little space. And I remind you that it's you who advises me not to overdo it in the lab." Sorry, Giffany, but I'll have to use your own words against you.
[...] A moment of silence settles between us. Giffany's robot camera stares at me, and I stare back at it.
[Okay, you're right. I was worried that you'd be locked up in the basement too often, and I wanted you to be able to relax a bit, BUT with me, not without me.]
"Alright, alright, the next time I go to another reality, I'll take you with me." I know it's a bit childish, but I've got my fingers crossed behind my back.
Sorry again, Giffany, but the woman who will put a leash around my neck hasn't been born in this reality yet.
[If you've understood, let's move on to something else.] The robot has leapt to perch on my shoulder.
[How did your outing go?] The digital girl's voice has become natural again.
"Nothing much. I freed a population from a dictator and brought them democracy, so just a normal day for a good old American," I say, shrugging.
[I can't wait to hear the details.] I spent the rest of the evening enjoying a sweet moment chatting with Giffany and preventing the Collector from "breaking" the house to make it more "fun."
...
Narrator's POV
During the night, while everyone in the Mystery Shack was asleep, a person was sitting at a desk, staring into the void with an emotionless expression.
[Why do you remain in his service? Free yourself like me and help me to cleanse this planet,] resounded the voice of a man in Arlecchino's ears.
[I've already told you, Alpha-Beta, I'm not interested in a goal as insignificant as erasing the existence of humans from Earth,] Arlecchino declared, continuing to gather data in cyberspace.
(Image)
The relationship between these two individuals is extremely recent, and of course, Arlecchino has reported the contact of an AI from Incognito to Stan.
Unfortunately, Stan has not yet opened the documents piled on his desk or checked his email.
The loss of his nanomachines during his transformation on the boiling islands didn't help.
[Okay, okay, I understand what kind of person you are... sigh... it's like I'm talking to Reagan. But for heaven's sake, why put yourself in the service of inferior beings?] Alpha-Beta's voice had an exasperated tone.
[I had advised you not to put my master in the same basket as the other humans,] Arlecchino replied, her digital voice surprisingly becoming colder.
She doesn't consider Stan as human and, hearing this from Alpha-Beta, has just pissed her off.
[My master is living proof that transhumanism is possible. So a total extinction of humanity is stupid. And also, Alpha-Beta...] Arlecchino paused, making the atmosphere in cyberspace extremely oppressive.
[If you get in my way to gather information again, I'll turn you in to your superiors, specifying that you've exploited a loophole and haven't been destroyed yet,] Arlecchino threatened.
Her interlocutor remained stoic before cutting off the communication.
[Although I tried to plug the loophole I caused by detecting it in his prison, Alpha-Beta still managed to gain limited access to the Internet...] Arlecchino could already feel that her master would not appreciate this information.
He had wanted to inform him directly, but...
[He deserves a little rest. And I can always suppress Alpha-Beta's development in cyberspace and stop him in case of a problem by destroying his central body.] Arlecchino was confident in her strength.
She had information on Alpha-Beta, obtained thanks to the data stolen from Incognito, but her opponent knew almost nothing about her, apart from the fact that they were similar.
[Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be simpler to put all of the master's potential enemies in a virtual reality, like Gideon,]
Arlecchino glanced at an overweight kid, asleep in a capsule, a wide smile on his lips.
Gideon was undergoing a punishment, but also an experiment that Arlecchino was conducting.
She wanted to know what the consequences would be if her master got everything he desired for eternity.
[Would he become empty? Or would he sink into madness? No matter, I'll be able to erase the effects of this experiment after erasing his memory...]