Toni jumped slightly as Arty spoke up from right next to her. Giving him a surprised look she frowned at him as he spoke. ”Yeah well…. When you’ve had as shitty of a day as I have… you may not pay attention to things either.” she took a drink from her beer as her eyes traveled down to his legs. She barely registered what he was talking about while she looked at the blood on his pants. Glancing at the leg replacements on the table she reached out and picked on up having Val scan it. She did hear his assessment of how they worked and it made her frown deepen. Putting the prosthetic and her beer back onto the table she didn’t say much as she shifted and knelt in front of Arty on the couch. Without really asking permission she lifted the fabric of his pants and pushed it to just above where his amputation began. Taking one of his stubs in her hands she frowned again as she lightly ran her fingers quickly over the skin there. ”Map it Val.” She said as she moved to the other one quickly and did the same thing. ”Your crystal’s don’t seem to work well with meshing to skin. I’m surprised you don’t have more wounds from them. Not to mention they are not very useful for shock absorption and I would venture to say that it would be difficult to rebuild on the move. she tried not to let her hands stray to far above his amputation on his skin but this was nothing to her. She changed her mindframe from looking at a man’s body, to looking at a potential part. Knowing though that he probably wouldn’t be happy with her touching him without permission she let her hands fall to her sides as she looked up at him and asked, ”Val, do we have the parts?” A voice spoke up from a speaker in the room. ”Of course Toni. It will require his consent and some building but we can put it together. This school is optimal for gaining raw materials.” Toni nodded before twisting slightly to pick up her beer before standing. ”Sorry if I upset you. she gestured to his legs. ”One of the things I can do with my nanites is create potential legs for you. That is… if you want. It would require an implant under the skin above your spine at the base of your hairline. That’s how you would control them. And well something like my bracelets or similar to house them when not in use.” she held up her wrist to remind him of the bracelet she wore for some of her nano bots. As she paused though as she saw a return message from Seigmund pop up on her HUD. She frowned deeply as she read it. ”Val are you able to locate him and send him his coordinates? What the hell is he trying to pull?” she growled out momentarily forgetting about Arty. ”Of course Toni. Doing so now.” Val would pull up a school map and locate Seigmund via a transmitter that was in the arm Toni had repaired. Sending the coordinates to Siegmund via a text message. Toni opened a new message and replied to Seigmund.
To Siegmund:
Message: You better not be messing with me. You know damn well I can’t come to you. The school announced curfew that’s why I was teleported away and you weren’t. Being a student and all I have restrictions while you as a staff member do not. Rigel… Wait did me slapping you knock something loose? Rigel what is the last thing you remember BEFORE here?

She sent the message and sighed heavily rubbing her face and for once taking her visor off. Looking around the room it looked strange not seeing it with everything that was on her visor screen. Looking at Arty she frowned sadly. ”Sorry. I sorta slapped a staff member before being teleported back to the room. He has memory issues and I may have knocked something loose. I have no idea.” finishing her beer she let the night wane as her brain was working far too much to sleep.

--time skip—

For most of the skip Toni kept to herself and did a MASSIVE amount of research. Including but not limited to building new suits, a new body for Val, prosthetics for Arty, and she generally kept tabs on Seigmund. She wasn’t all that much over what had happened between the two of them.

On one of the days she called in her favor from Luke she took plenty of time to explain what she had as far as materials and where she had gotten in her own research. She found that when she removed the prospect of him even being ‘available’ or a ‘potential’ like he had been on the cruise game it made dealing with him much easier. She was able to remove the emotion from everything and focus solely on the task at hand. His understanding of Val without much explanation was a tip off to Toni that he knew more than he let on but that was deemed ok. If he knew more than hopefully he could help point out the areas she needed to work on.

She spent some time reviewing what Luke had told her but she turned her attention to the mass production of new suits and nano-bots. Once she figured out how to automate their production she did try to go and find Siegmund to attempt to understand his memory lapse. It would be up to him on how far they got.

Outside of classes she went around to different parts of the school and hid away depos of suits and nano bots. She had learned early on in her last class assignment that she needed to be more prepared. Hacking the school network to allow Val to infiltrate the school’s subnetwork and boost the connectivity made her neural commands stronger and faster. She would need to figure out a way to keep them working offline too.
This led her to research the parts and blueprints that Siegmund and Arty had given her. She wondered if the crystals that Arty created could be utilized as a power source. So when he asked her out on a “research” date she was confused at first. Not caring for the idea of the “date” aspect but if he wanted to do research together then she was fine with that. It was a perfect time to ask him more about the crystals and how she could potentially utilize them in her designs. 

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Siegmund had remained dormant during the whole ordeal upon falling down the flight of stairs, his systems setup doing what it could to retain what information it had gathered. The discovery from Zila or Abney finding his body went unnoticed by the Golem, having no true recollection in regards to it all. Zila had effortlessly picked up his body, and in a spur of impressing his roommate, carried him to the workshop. The two ladies in question had spent an ordeal of time working on Siegmund, trying to get him into functioning order. No signals made it to his core processors, no detection of recognition. Instead however, Siegmund had a phenomena materializing within his processors that went unnoticed by those around him. He dreamt. Visions of a starry sky flickered around him as the perspective seemed to drift into a void of space. Galaxies off in the distance brought on unwarranted light, drawing his attention as a millennia of ancient stars were born and died in the farthest reaches of space. He found himself just drifting along, not a single concept of a body or any form of life there to comfort him. It was an empty sensation, and when he reactivated, Siegmund only stared at the individuals around him. Completely unaware of the moments that transpired past last seeing Toni to now, Siegmund only blinked. The message from Toni had streamed across his eye sockets while out cold, but now he couldn’t open the message. Seeing Abney and Zila around him was concerning, knowing that his location had changed, the time around him was later, and he was in the workshop. Something must have gone down. 

❤Ί don't want to set the Ⱳorld on fire
I just want to start a Ƒlame in your ℌeart ❤

Over the course of the next two weeks, Siegmund was rather.. Distant in response to his normal day to day routines. He still showed up for each of his assigned tasks, but in between them he was hardly ever to be seen, wandering the campus grounds. If asked to help with a task however, Siegmund seemed eager to assist, though often times spoke very little, even for him. The analysis he’d conducted during his isolated moments was simply put: If he indulged in these memory lapses, he would harm those around him further. Logically it made sense, and as such it was grounds for avoidance. He was a Golem after all, a construct built to serve a purpose and to execute those purposes without fail. Perhaps it was best to just avoid pursuit of any organic life formalities.

Toni seemed rather persistent to speak to Siegmund on more occasion than one, to which Siegmund made apologies for all of his actions. Factoring in his lack of understanding for emotional discharge on his account, he hoped her anger or frustration towards him would surely die down. At the matter of his memory lapses though, Siegmund seemed reluctant to pursue discussion. He complied with letting her investigate his processors, though the cartridges and designs within his cranium provided little to no real effort towards finding the source. If anything, the only conclusion drew towards his core, indicating his core was the only true way to find out about his past.

Zila had often confronted Siegmund about the stairwell incident, Siegmund indefinitely dodging the truth behind it all. Though even if he had the answers, his decision had been made. The less he talked about his memories, the better off all the residents here were. Progress towards finding his old self with Zila was halted nearly to a slow crawl, but any other questions were answered with completely accuracy of at least seventy five point four percent. Time was irrelevant for him now, as there was no logical point to uncovering his past.

Abney, his roommate, seemed to be the only member around who wasn’t pushing for answers from Siegmund in a constant frequency. His time around her was quite on his end, often making a meal or two before venturing off to do his daily tasks. Internally, Siegmund knew something was wrong but, why dwell on something he couldn’t logically obtain on his own? The tension of not knowing what to do to fix his situation ate at him, but much like those of his creation, he remained silent about his worries. What were they supposed to do for him?  

❤In my ℌeart I have but one Đesire
And that one is Ɏou, no Øther will do❤

As the dawn of a new morning arrived, Siegmund was already well awake, activated, and stoically still in the corner. His internal clock was ticking down his moments until he was to depart for work. It had become his routine to just speed off to work, avoid much conversation with others, and diligently do his given tasks. He’d greet Abney if she stirred before his departure, but seemed rather hesitant to speak. He’d had another dream again in his ‘slumber’. They were getting more and more frequent, with increasingly higher tendencies to stir unwarranted conflicts within his internal core. Why couldn’t they just go away? 

Abney tended to Seigmund like the good roommate she was, tending to his flame and trying her damndest to ignore the message flying across his eyes and the name ‘Rigel’. The Golem eventually came around and seemed like he didn’t want to talk about the occurrence which was… disheartening. But Abney respected the wish, backing off and letting Seigmund come around on his own, should he wish to. Concern churned in her system for the Golem but she tried to play it off with some jokes and smiles while trying to ignore the alarm bells in her own mind on what happened. Seigmund didn’t just fall or slip down a pair of steps and crack his head in and who the hell was Rigel?!

Giving Seigmund space, and gaining a few other friends herself, Abney spent most of the next two weeks with the lovely librarian. Thalia was so sweet in her efforts: having gathered books about the school and even baked her cookies. Abney almost cried at the thoughtfulness of the other woman but she felt like the tears would be misunderstood so Abney laughed off the emotions and just focused on the time spent with Thalia and the parties they somehow managed to go to. Jérémie was a nice boy who wanted other’s to enjoy themselves and it showed; having a blast with one another, the two girls went to another party of his sometime later. The witch considered it a success in terms of building other friendships and meeting new people.

But coming back to the dorm just reminded her of why she wanted to stay away in the first place. Frowning, she felt almost… confined… to either the dorm or the workroom or even the library and that made her scrunch her nose. Maybe Abney should explore a bit more… now that the woods weren’t trying to kill her. So another bit of time was spent exploring the woods and finding plants similar to the ones of home which made Abney cheer internally; plants could be grown and potions could be made! She felt more and more like her witchy self with every discovery of plants and many notes were complied about the wildlife around the school.

The new dawn of the morning marked the end to the tiny vacation of two weeks. Abney gathered her courage and walked out of the bedroom, giving Seigmund a smile and a wave as she got out to the dining room. “Hey Seig,” she greeted warmly while sitting at the dining room table and tried to figure out how to express the concern she felt without seeming… overbearing. Picking idly at her nails, she figured bluntly was the best way to go since that’s how she existed in her every day life. “Hey uh… Seig. I know you don’t wanna talk about what happened when you fell down the steps. I’m not gonna push, you have your reasons. But if you wanna talk about what’s bugging you or… whatever is going on, you’re welcome to. I’m sure Zila won’t blab to anyone or I know I won’t.” Abney tried, finding that expressing concern wasn’t her strong suit. Anger and death threats she was good at - but other emotions weren’t so good apparently. “I’m just a… a bit concerned about you, I guess.” She told, giving him a weak smile before getting up. “Well - you endured enough of that! Have a great day, okay?” Abney told, giving a wave and another smile as she berated herself for the awkwardness. The witch facepalmed as she walked out of the dorm and made her way around, nitpicking at her every word.

At least she did until she slammed into the chest of someone. Someone with a steel chest according to her nose, that was for sure. “Oh fuck!” she cried in her surprise, stumbling back a step. “I’m sorry, I was… distracted. You okay?” she asked the older man she hadn't seen before. Oh great - first she slammed into someone then she cursed in front of grandpa. Her father must be rolling in… well not his grave but her father sure was rolling somewhere! 

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It was a curious case how each of the individuals revolving around Siegmund’s life tried to pry at his thoughts. Each one had a different method of inception, from expressing concepts of emotional motives or moral codes, to blatantly wanting to pry open his cranium to see what was inside. They all had their reasonings, but for each step towards the end goal they took, the harder it was for Siegmund to just accept it all. The proof of his past relapses were clear signs that.. Whatever he’d forgotten, it was meant to be forgotten. The only logical reason he would pursue finding answers would be to relive the moments he saw in those relapses.. And per his current state of mind, Siegmund couldn’t calculate if his processors could handle that. He found solace in those around him, knowing they didn’t deserve the imagery he saw.. No, no he couldn’t let that happen to people here, even if it meant isolating himself from others. 

❤Ί don't want to set the Ⱳorld on fire
I just want to start a Ƒlame in your ℌeart ❤

Abney seemed to be up and at her own routine earlier than normal, a factor Siegmund neglected to calculate. Her rather chipper tone was quickly replaced by her awkward moments trying to get answers out of Siegmund. For a good while, Siegmund looked to her person, before gazing off at the the far corner of the wall. He’d remained silent for a long while, Roughly ten hours, fifteen minutes and forty three seconds. Finally however, he spoke. ”Have you ever considered the notion that, one must forget something they cherish, in order to preserve an impossible act… Miss Abney?” He kept his stoically stern look across his face, the monotone reverb of his voice putting a eerie settle on the rooms atmosphere. ”One’s existence to protect others seems to demand sacrifice..” A small twinge in his voice shifted, as if he wasn’t actually speaking but.. Someone else was. ”Pay me no mind Abney, I have duties to attend to. Enjoy your pleasantries.” He awaited her departure before making any further movements, knowing it was best to stay put than to venture out and endure further conversations.  

❤In my ℌeart I have but one Đesire
And that one is Ɏou, no Øther will do❤

As Abney left however, Siegmund found his field of vision changing at the door’s shut. What once was a well kept suite room for two semi immortal adults was now a sick bay, numerous bodies sprawled across a dingy room. Cots and other forms of stretchers were set to and fro, trying to elevate several of the bodies from the ground to make more space. Coughs, sneezes, cries of agony and groans of sorrow deafened the room he stood in, a nearly endless wave of audible torment. His eyes stared around the room to see faces, but their physical attributes were blurred, smeared from clarity. Siegmund’s hands balled into fists as the fuel of anger flooded his core. Why was he still having these visions? Making every attempt to not trample or stomp any of the bodies across the floor, he pushed out the doorway into a foyer like space, now in ruins from some unknown cataclysmic event. What had happened here? His feet carried him past several people who seemingly ignored his presence, bringing in more injured humanoids to the buildings space. Out the front doors he ventured, eyes glancing towards the sky to witness the true course. The skies themselves were raining fires of anger, of wrath. Meteorites and volcanic debris riddled the skyline, blanketing out the sun with a dismal cloud of death. Why had this happened? What was the source? Holding up a palm to catch a falling soot, Siegmund found himself outside the front doors of Heartless academy now, a small smoldering ember in the palm of his hand. 

Toni was already up and in the kitchen when she heard Arty moving about. She had been going over schematics for her own research when he basically did a drive by tea grab and go. Just staring at the door after him she frowned. What the hell? Popping the last of the bacon into her mouth she dusted off her hands before standing and moving into the living room. She saw where Arty had posted up. Moving carefully through everything on the ground she came to a pause looking at the work from Arty’s point of view. One thing came to the fore front of her mind… She needed to get him used to using technology on her scale. Val scanned the layout of the paperwork and Toni nodded trying to understand what he was looking for.

With a shrug she headed off to her class. It didn’t take long for her to get there and of course after she arrived she was approached by the teacher to begin her lesson. Looking around she frowned. While Starlyte’s goal was similar to her own it was different enough that Toni didn’t feel it was the same thing. She knew damn well she could take care of herself. She just didn’t know as much about worrying about others. So looking at the teacher she shrugged lightly. ”I am unsure. I wanted to learn more about being able to support multiple people at once or provide something for them but I think my abilities would be too invasive for them? Not many here are as willing to wear technology as they feel it hampers their own abilities.”
she wasn’t sure how else to phrase it. Like Arika in her last big assignment had refused to wear the ear bud provided which would have hindered communication. Cloaking tech… she would need to research that as well. Her eyes continued to scan the groups around them as they worked on their own projects. She was more inspecting their techniques and what they would need filing the information away for later use. Not only would she be able to use it to support them but if she came into contact with others like them she would have a reference point. 

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Staring down into the smoldering embers in hand, Siegmund analyzed all the information he could. Where had he procured any of this? Why was the moment for his downfall happening now? None of his processors could fully analyze the full spectrum of his surroundings, and the lack of understanding overwhelming.”Why… why must i experience these faults when I am doing what my programming is designed for?” A mild flare of hidden emotion shifting into his standardized monotone. His palm remained open, the small billow of blackened smoke still wafting from his hand into the wind. He ventured further and further from the main building, distancing his presence from the school building. He’d done this many times before in the last few weeks, finding a locational perimeter limit to further understand his place. This time however.. It was for a different reason. He needed to isolate himself completely. He needed utter solitude. 

❤Ί don't want to set the Ⱳorld on fire
I just want to start a Ƒlame in your ℌeart ❤

Reaching the barrier’s furthest limits, Siegmund extended his free hand, touching the residual magic that kept them contained on school grounds. The warbling effects rippled up and over his presence, watching the magical energies reflect his curiosity. This was the farthest location he could find from the school. The chances of being disturbed here were rather slim… roughly twenty seven point eight percent given a loosely focused analysis. It was the school’s ability to move him without consent that concerned him. He could be stuck in a flashback of dreadful memories, only to awaken in another section of the school grounds. How was he going to be able to prevent further issues caused by his own doing? Logically trying to decipher any form of plan, Siegmund’s mind began to eliminate options one by one, narrowing down his final results until a singular choice was plausible. The decision was given to him, the words illuminating across his own internal HUD display. Was this truly his only option for preventative actions? Deciding to follow the words he found, Siegmund would do just what it instructed.

Dismantle.  

❤In my ℌeart I have but one Đesire
And that one is Ɏou, no Øther will do❤

Taking a seat on the ground, Siegmund set the now purely ashen soot next to him, reaching down to his legs. The less functioning parts he had, the better the probability of his maneuvering being incapacitated. Grasping about mid thigh on his legs, Siegmund went silent, his mental processors trying to analyze the actual logic behind his method. Was this truly necessary? Beginning to doubt his own approach to things. A flickering of his visual sensors showcased a world burning around him for a solid nanosecond. His mind was made up as hands dug into the metal surface of his legs. Crushing the plating, his hands kept crushing, twisting, and eventually pulling away from the main body, separating the lower legs from his torso. Sparks and smoke billowed from the stumps, as he tossed the appendages from his position.

Warnings began to notify him of his malfunctions, but Siegmund disregarded them. This was for everyone’s safety after all. For Abney, for Zila… for Toni. Grasping his mechanical bicep with his left arm, he crushed his plating. Forcibly pulling, he tossed his right arm over into the heap pile where his legs were, watching the sparks fly from his appendage. The amount of disassembly he could do was beginning to dwindle. There was only one other appendage he could factor into removing. Grasping the top of his head, Siegmund took in a rather uncharacteristically deep breath. With a single decisive pull, he yanked his head clean from his torso, setting it down in his lap. Seeing the world from a lower angle was… interesting. His hand rested atop his severed head as he watched the forest around him. Perhaps now he could avoid being a problem to others.. 

Toni listened to her teacher ask about how she had approached others when trying to get them to use her tech. Granted no she had not been dumming everything down to a laymans terms and no she hadn’t been trying to reach a middle ground. She wouldn’t have time for such pleasantries out in the field. Considering the woman’s words though she figured she could at least… maybe… interact with them more to get them more familiar with herself and her tech. ”You make valid points. I worry though that some will never understand technology and want to always remain as they are. Which is not wrong, unless it puts your life or another’s in danger.” Toni crossed her arms over her chest and thought about it as she observed the other students.

Eventually Solaris called her back over and introduced her to someone named Chisei. Listening closely Toni understood what Solaris was doing and was grateful. Tilting her head and crossing her arms she lifted a hand to her chin and looked over Chisei. ”It would depend on what she would be requiring. Do you need armor? A training dummy? Perhaps even just a conduit? Are you able to start the fires yourself?” realizing she was peppering the girl with questions she blushed faintly and waved a hand dismissively. ”I apologize. If you agree, I’ll send you an email with a bunch of questions in it. Maybe looking it over and replying later on would be easier?” she didn’t know how much this Chisei knew about technology or how comfortable they were with it. Talking with them a bit more she already had Val typing up the email to Chisei just in case.

Just as she was wrapping up the conversation a bright red beacon popped up on her HUD and started scrolling the error message ID-10-T. To say Toni was confused at first was an understatement. She started reading through the error message logs and audibly growled when she saw the damage reports that were being sent to her from Seigmund. Excusing herself from Solaris’ class Toni called on the nano-bots that made up her current suit and made the short flight over to where Siegmund had dismantled himself. As she landed she saw the mess that he had made of himself and started cursing. ”What the ever living fuck Siegmund. What the hell have you done to yourself? I should finish this and just snuff out your flame. Why the frell did you do this?” she knelt in front of him her helmet retracting so he could see how angry she was with him. ”Do you realize how long it’s going to take me to put you back together?! What were you doing trying to commit suicide?! ” That was a completely illogical thing to think for someone like Siegmund. Why would he try to harm himself yet from her scans she could tell the damage was self-inflicted. She didn’t understand why her friend would want to harm himself. ”Val, bring Set 154 to this location.” ”Yes Toni. It’s on it’s way to you now.” Val responded to Toni’s command.

A soft whirring could be heard as a drone came to land next to Toni before she looked at it and it changed to a very finely meshed net. Picking up the pieces of Siegmund she put them in the net to start collecting his parts. It wasn’t that difficult to lift him in her suit but she knew that if she didn’t have that there was no way she would have ever moved him. 

__Abyssia didn’t have a security device but she did see the tension come into Zila’s form as her’s went off along with Kiyato’s. Was it good that both devices went off at the same time? Did the devices just go off and whoever was closer went? Abyssia said nothing, even as Zila wondered aloud about the barrier. Zila was currently a teacher so it would be impossible for her to break away right now, especially while trying to watch students at such a distance, and Kiyato would be going into an unknown situation by himself as a new guard. And if there was a student in trouble enough to run all the way out to the barrier, possibly specifically to alert the guard, then there wasn't much time for Zila to wrap up here to accompany Kiyato. Or perhaps it was something more nefarious like something trying to push it's way into the barrier; either way, students or faculty could possibly be in danger at this point in time and Zila was indisposed. Perhaps it was protectiveness, perhaps it was a sixth sense, perhaps it was an unending curiosity but the volunteer was an easy conclusion to jump to. “I volunteer to go.” Abyssia told aloud, breaking away from her musings for just a moment. It didn’t take much thought and Kiyato would probably accompany her since he didn’t have any prior engagements. “You are, after all, being a teacher right now. I can take Kiyato and go to the area to see what is happening,” Abyssia suggested, assisting the shadow fox to her shoulder as she stood. Once agreements were made, Abyssia smiled to Zila and went into the woods with Kiyato, toward the barrier.

______Abyssia had highly underestimated the amount of space in the woods, clearly. The Shade had always assumed that it was a reflective barrier, reflecting the woods to make it appear larger than it really was but within reality, it was just a large forest. Abyssia made a mental note to take more walks within them, marveling at the forest and it’s many creatures. The forest seemed so much like those she'd see in the human's realm before it was closed off forever to the Shade's and Abyssia had almost, almost forgotten how much she had enjoyed the woods back then for it seemed so very long ago. It was, in short, very lovely. Small talk was made while the two migrated through the forest, Kiyato seemingly having a general direction they were headed. They walked for what felt like forever, walking off the beaten path and deeper into more untamed depths before they happened upon… a torso… A mangled torso… that was holding its head… Comprehending the sight took Abyssia a bit longer than what she would admit freely, finding it difficult to actually understand what she was seeing. It also took her a shameful amount of time for her to realize it wasn't humanoid either, being made of metal and oil instead of flesh and blood. Once her brain processed that it was, indeed, a mechanical torso and head, Abyssia looked around and spotted the various limbs that were strewn about, sparks and smoke billowing from the various stumps and crushing metal that implied great force was used to rip the person almost limb from limb. But the man was a mechanical construct, perhaps he was still ‘alive’? Abyssia began to slowly make her way over to the torso, kneeling in front of him and looking at his head. The young-looking construct seemed content to just look around the forest. “Young man?” she asked, trying to catch his attention. “Are you the one who touched the barrier? Who did this to you? Is there someone you would like us to inform or call? A roommate?” Abyssia asked, her concern present in the way she spoke to the young man. Many possibilities were dancing around in her head from what could have enough force to not only tear off but throw the limbs away from him, how eerie was just to be talking to an unattached head in the short lap of a torso. It suddenly occurred to Abyssia that if she had stumbled upon this sight three months ago, it would have gone much differently than this. The Shade pushed away her amusement at the thought, focusing on the matter at hand: an injured construct and a possible threat. 

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The quiet isolation of his predicament was rather.. Humbling. Tranquil sunshine shimmered through the evergreen leaves above, casting dancing shadows all about his location, whilst the ever present sounds of wildlife carried out a symphony just out of view. It truly painted a picture of wonder and joy for the Golem, despite his own current status. The visuals and sensory overloads he noticed were rather… strange, as if he’d been in such a state of euphoria long ago. Able to just watch the world turn before him in a stagnant yet ever changing landscape. Were such phenomena something he could comprehend, or were they perhaps… a memory?

Trying to remove the nostalgic notifications that were arising, Siegmund turned his attention to the ever flowing clouds above, well beyond the leaves above. My how wondrous such a view proved to be. Nothing short of the world they were inhabiting could hinder their flight paths, the magic of the barrier showcasing not a single effect upon their trajectory. Wildlife around him was also unaffected, another indication that the Academy was the only unnatural source in this humbling land. How long had this establishment been placed here?

It seemed that such considerable thoughts or theories would need to be placed on hold however, as the sound of voice off in the distance soon drew Siegmund’s attention away from his solitude. Was another faculty member out for a stroll? He’d done his best to conceal his location by venturing to the farthest premises he could.. There weren’t even pathways that led to this area, yet as the voices grew louder, Siegmund turned his eyes to their direction. Who could be arriving to the ruckus he’d caused? 

❤Ί don't want to set the Ⱳorld on fire
I just want to start a Ƒlame in your ℌeart ❤

Emerging from the foliage was none other than Abyssia and Kiyato, two of the individuals Zila often had accompanying her on guard patrols or just in general. The Golem had brief interaction with the other guardsmen when he came with Zila for patrols, but Abyssia he’d met at the pool party. She was a rather polite individual, one who showcased concern evidently, as her presence approached his mangled position. She referred to him as young man, a factor Siegmund found rather… confusing yet admirable. He’d never considered his age to be ‘young’. ”Greetings Ms. Abyssia. It has been some time since we last spoke. How is your day faring?” His voice was monotone as always, almost trying to avoid the situation completely.

The questioning was soon followed up by Kiyato making note of who he was with accurate notation, Siegmunds eyes flickering between the both of them. Both of them showcased heavy concern for a perpetrator or some kind of assailant residing in the woods around them, to which Siegmund simply stated ”There is no threat here.. At least not anymore.” Eyes focused on the pile of limbs he’d made a decent ways away from him. ”I took the liberty of removing a rather dangerous apparatus that had been freely roaming the school grounds, unsupervised, for the last few months.” Speaking in terms about himself, Siegmund paused to let them process the actions he’d done. ”Indeed, I dismantled myself until future use of my status is needed. Unfortunately I do not have the means to reassemble myself nor dismantle myself in a cleaner fashion so I used the tool in which my threat level resides.” Case in point, his own strength.  

❤In my ℌeart I have but one Đesire
And that one is Ɏou, no Øther will do❤

The air was filled with sounds of jet propulsion rapidly approaching their location, prompting Kiyato to jump into action. Quickly grabbing ahold of Abyssia, Kiyato vanished from his field of vision in an instant, leaving Siegmund seemingly isolated again. From his understanding however, this was a false accusation, knowing full well they were within visual distance and earshot. Eyes went skyward as the metallic suit of Toni descended in a hastily provided fashion, her harsh words snapping out fast towards Siegmund. No matter the cause or source, Siegmund seemed to be causing Toni some form of irritation.

As she landed and revealed her face, she was quick to lash out her anger, frustration, and harsh words in his direction. Staring up at her face, Siegmund only blinked, a small level of sparks leaping from the severed segments of his body. ”If that would make it easier for you then I cannot object Miss Toni.. “ Though monotoned as usual, Siegmund projected a motive of seriousness to his voice. ”My presence within these school grounds has proven to be problematic, as the status of my stability is slipping Toni.” Words began to flow through his severed cranium, the hindering factors still stored away in his torso. ”The longer I remain fully intact, the closer to destruction I find myself. Therefore, in a logical analysis I... Dismantled myself.“

Siegmund sensed a new wave of surging energy in his cranium, something that could be described as doubt or sorrow. Eyes lowered at the consideration of his actions. ”My apologies for my actions Toni.. Kiyato.. Abyssia. It seems my overzealous desire to be out of the way has caused myself to be more in the way for others..” Eyes settled on Toni as she gathered up his parts. ”Especially for you Toni. My plan was to just.. Remain inactive until I am needed… perhaps as a means to repress these memory lapses. I wish to not cause harm to others..” The shame of being a burden was weighing heavily upon him… at least until a final spark twitched in his skull.

A flicker in his eyes, as black sclera soon shifted to white, the bright, ever glowing yellows soon being replaced by bright blue irises. The sheer look of horror upon the severed heads face soon brought a pale coloration to the synthetic skin. Eyes stared up at Toni as out of the corners of his peripherals spotting the shards of this… constructed body. ”By the vastness of space! How am….. How am I alive?!” The severed head shrieked in absolute terror, eyes frantically scanning his surroundings as he took rapid breaths. The torso section of his severed body trembled slightly, the flickering of flames in the core compartment began to intensify, changing from the often soft, amber like reds or oranges, to bright, fiery blues and whites, radiating from the core. The still attached hand began to clench and unclench frantically, as if trying to grasp anything it could. ”What happened to me? It? This… This body!?” Heavy fluctuations of emotions flared out from the severed head, as it darted his sights from Toni to Kiyato. He needed answers. 

_Abyssia tilted her head slightly at the response, eyes going wide briefly as she suspected much less calm behavior. Her eyes soon shut with a smile, giving him a small but warm laugh. “My day has been faring interestingly so far, Siegmund-san. Your's seems to be going less smoothly than mine.” Abyssia informed, opening her eyes to observe the construct in front of her. Listening to him made Abyssia grow with concern; he had dismantled himself with his own hand no less. The Shade frowned softly, opening her mouth to reply but the reply never came out. The sound of something… exploding?... filled the air, grasping Abyssia’s attention and pulling it toward the sky above her. Was something incoming? Whatever was that noise? Abyssia didn’t get to question it aloud, her response to Siegmund dying on her lips as Kiyato was on her in an instant, grasping her around the waist and pulling her into his shadows. Being pulled through someone else’s shadows was disorientating, stealing her breath and leaving her dizzy in Kiyato’s arms while the guard masked their presence with his own abilities. Abyssia’s shadows flared, hissing angrily and growling at the intruder, taking insult in his pulling Abyssia through his shadows. It took most of Abyssia’s present focus to quell them, all of her willpower going into suppressing their desire to teach the shadowling a lesson. Trying to turn or even move proved useless due to the fact that Kiyato’s arm was still firmly around her hips and the former princess gave up on moving rather quickly. Normally, Abyssia would have protested the hold the guard had upon her, and insisted that she could handle herself, but managing to stay upright and distinguish the sky from the forest floor took more precedence as the disorientation wore off.

______Seconds felt like hours but the hissing and growling of her shadows stopped and the dizziness wore off, Abyssia using her remaining willpower to make the nauseating waves of disorientation stop. Kiyato ordered her to stay behind, the rest of the his words becoming lost on her as he suddenly let her go and she blinked. Her focus came back to see a young, but angry, woman standing there. But even more concerning was the sudden pull to her instincts, the urge to run and get somewhere flooded her senses and it took several deep breaths to quell the desire. Abyssia disregarded the order to stay behind after a few moments, stepping out from behind the tree as the construct began to speak yet again, with more apologies. Abyssia’s concern for the construct grew, making a frown appear on her fact that only got worse when the head of the construct shreaked in terror. The flood of words made her tilt her head. “You did this to yourself, do you not remember Siegmund-san?” she asked, coming up from behind Kiyato and putting a hand on his shoulder to cease whatever concern he had. Making up her mind, Abyssia frowned and crossed her arms. “Siegmund-san, you need to talk about what it is driving you to dismantle yourself. I am sure you know where the counseling office is and you will find yourself in the chair within my office next Wednesday, yes?” Abyssia stated flatly, fixing a look upon the construct’s head. “If you do not find yourself in my office next Wednesday, in that chair, I will be forced to hunt you down and I genuinely would prefer not to.” Abyssia added, continuing the look until something tugged hard at her that had the Shade turning around and looking at the school in confusion. Was that… Is what she was sensing...? Memories flashed in her head of Luca’s healing and his grace… Was something happening to Luca? Stifling the gasp of horror that she felt, Abyssia whirled back around and tried not to look at Kiyato lest he ask questions. “I must go. Lovely to meet you Miss. Vanko, Siegmund, I will see you next week. I hope your reconstruction bodes well.” Abyssia said as she backed up before turning around and doing a full sprint back to the school.

_________Running through the halls, dodging students, was probably unbefitting of a counselor. It was unbefitting for many things but this was one instance where Abyssia could cast off her imprinted social norms and run through the halls, the feeling getting stronger with every twist and turn. Skidding to a stop at the library, Abyssia peered in to see a bright light within it. Her horror got stronger as she realized it was his grace and he wasn’t gripping onto it like he should. Aska tried, bless her heart. The shadow fox tried to keep the former princess from diving into the borderline suicidal situation. “Luca!” Abyssia called, running over to him. “Luca!” Abyssia repeated, her hands finding their way to his face and trying to grasp his attention. The Shade refused to yank her hands back, even when his grace easily burned her skin. His imminent explosion could put many people at risk, even herself but that was pushed off into the back of her mind for now. “Luca look at me! Whatever is going on - it will be okay! Just breathe!” Abyssia tried to encourage, struggling to push the already painful sensation of his grace off. Her shadows wrapped around her, trying to pull her back and away from The Threat, manifesting without her permission or attempts. Abyssia refused to move, firmly planting herself in front of the young man as if determined that, should his grace get out of hand, she would take the brunt of the hit. 

Toni barely recognized that there were other people there with Siegmund and frankly ignored them once she assessed that they were indeed staff and she knew from the marks on Siegmund that they couldn’t have done this to him. She simply glared at the one who named himself Kiyato Fujina. She just frowned at him and muttered an obviously before he left himself. It didn’t take much before his companion left as well. Wrinkling her nose at Siegmund she growled again finishing up as she collected everything she could find of him.

She hated that he was so dismissive about her killing him. He had no self-worth and it infuriated her. She listened to his self assessment that he was slipping in his stability and so his logic had ben to dismantle himself. ”Of course it caused you to be more in the way of others. One does not simply dismantle themselves Siegmund. What would you feel if I dismantled myself? Would you remain the same cold, dispassionate, monotone, creature that you are? You can’t even put yourself back together in the state you are in you idiot. If you wanted to be dismantled I could have helped and given a trigger that would put you back together. There are things called fail safes Siegmund.” Turning she picked up his head and looked at him as his eyes changed and he started spouting off strange things. Narrowing her eyes at him she tilted her head slightly. She vaguely remembered something about the last time she had gotten angry at him. ”You are alive because you thankfully didn’t snuff out your flame.” she noticed the flames growing and changing in his core and hummed softly. ”Rigel?” she made an educated guess wondering if this was a test or something. ”Your body is a golem. Flesh and mechanics meshed together. You thought you were in the way and decided to try to dismantle yourself.” 

Ⓕ┈┈ⓘ┈┈ⓡ┈┈ⓔ┈┈Ⓗ┈┈ⓔ┈┈ⓐ┈┈ⓡ┈┈ⓣ

Though Abyssia had shown some form of concern for Siegmund, he in turn found no need for such formalities on her end. He was, after all, a construct, nothing more nothing less. However as things began to turn sour for the Golem’s predicament, it seemed that, whoever else was in use of this body, was now in full command of the situation. Panic and paranoia were quickly onset as Rigel couldn’t comprehend the issue here. Had someone done this to him? Whilst hearing this new stranger speak to him, she kept referring to him as Siegmund.. That was the name the girl arguing with him last time he was around called him. Blinking in response to the words being procured towards his person, Rigel noticed a strange blinking light inside his own head, an indication that perhaps whatever this individual said was now in place. What was going on?

Soon though, the head of Siegmund was left alone with Toni, as Rigel attempted to calm himself down over the situation. This was insanity! However, as the woman before him was speaking to this ‘Siegmund’ individual again, Rigel could sense the emotional attachment this one had for the host. His panicking soon came to a stop, as he stared up into her own face, watching as her lips formed each syllable and sentence. She was concerned, angered even by this individuals actions. He could not blame her, nor could he speak on behalf of the host. ”Miss Vanko was it? If my understanding is correct..” Rigel began to speak, his tone much calmer, smoother than his previous shrieks. ”I know my words probably won’t mean as much, since they are not coming from your… friend I seem to be inhabiting but.. For what it’s worth I am sorry for his.. Hers… their actions.” Eyes hung low in his sockets, a frown forming across the predominantly stoic face of Siegmund. ”I.. Am not fully aware of the situation that is at hand, nor do I fully comprehend how or why I am so far from… me, but I do believe I can shed some light onto the situation.” 

❤Ί don't want to set the Ⱳorld on fire
I just want to start a Ƒlame in your ℌeart ❤

Toni had begun explaining the situation to Rigel, something he found rather solemn and dreary. ”So… this host suffers, just as I once did… I see.” She had guessed his name correctly, to which a small smirk broke across his face. ”If my memory serves right.. You are the one whom I spoke to before.. correct?” With her confirmation on the notation, Rigel let out a few hums and sighs. Eyes flickered over to the limbs and assorted parts she was gathering up from his hosts remains. ”Miss Vanko.. If I may inquire on an inquiry, can you bring those… parts.. .closer? I may be able to help with the scenario or situation of your friend here.” As he was brought closer to the pieces, he made a few head gestures to be lifted up, held at different angles, and rotated as he inspected the pieces. ”Hmm… yes.. .. it does seem to be their handiwork… the craftsmanship of this all is iconic..” Once his analysis was complete, he looked up to her own face. ”I am unsure as to who this host fully belongs to, or what he is doing here, but I can shed some light onto his origins and design.” Looking directly into Toni’s eyes, he emphasized the seriousness of this situation. ”Your friend here was built by my people, and was originally designed as a War Machine. I’d say judging by the sheer amount of time and effort put into his construction, a doomsday, world destruction level Golem.”

The atmosphere was rather heavy after his words, particularly on his own regards. ”I am… unsure as to why such a creation was ever made by my people, but regardless they must have sought out to build such a contraption.” Eyes settled on the partially ajar chest piece, seeing the faint whitish glow from the core inside. ”The light I see from him… it reminds me of home… it reminds me of Beta Orionis.” He let out a sigh, eyes scanning up to Toni’s face again. ”I hope my information has been of some use to you young lady. I am aware I cannot undo what your friend has done to himself, nor what his actions has done to you but, I’m sure it was not meant for harm.”

”Listen, I do not know how much longer I have in control of your friends body but, if you need to know more about him, you can search for me… well… maybe my body?” Wording things like this was proving to be… difficult. ”Suffice to say however I cannot determine how far away we are from my own self. As I cannot get an accurate reading of our star coordinates..” His eyes glanced skyward, trying to make out any form of notification as to their positioning. ”If only I could get an accurate reading of the cosmos here..” Putting on a smile though, he looked back to Toni. ”At any rate, If you are capable of re-assembling your friend, both of us would be in your debt.” . 

❤In my ℌeart I have but one Đesire
And that one is Ɏou, no Øther will do❤

The sound of a bell ringing signaled a rather rapid plummet from Rigel, as he found himself tumbling to the ground below. The woman Toni had vanished from his location, leaving aloft until striking the ground with a THUD! A mild groan, Rigel looked about his positioning to see he was alone, in the forest, and without a body. ”Ah by the grace of the stars around me, why do I feel so out of body like this?” Obviously he knew the answer, but what was he to do now? Clearing what normally would be his throat, RIgel did the one thing he could think of in a moment like this. ”HELLO?! IS Anyone OUT THERE!? I need some ASSISTANCE!” Perhaps his pleas for help would find him a rescuer. 

Abney won’t lie - she got distracted by the crystals she held and, admittedly, gotten lost. Scratching the back of her neck and scrunching her face, she pulled her phone out at the bell and sighed unhappily. Where the hell was her mind today? Not in her cranium that was for damn sure. Now Abney just felt bad. Tucking the crystals away in her romper, the Engineer began to text out a reply.

To Thalia: I got lost on the way! I was gonna ask for directions but then the bell rang! If you girls are free tomorrow - I could stop by for a meet or two at your choosing! Library or cafe! (◕▿◕✿)

My treat to make up for the time I spent being lost ^ -^/

Abney felt that was appropriate and, honestly, the emoji’s were so damn cute! The engineer made a mental note to program those into the phones and communication devices when she got back home. Whenever that’d be. Taking her time walking around the school, Abney’s phone buzzed again. Assuming it to be Thalia, Abney pulled the phone out only to frown heavily at the message.

From Zila: Do you know where Sieg is? Is he with you?

The dread that settled within her and the drop in her stomach at the same time reading the words from the guard made Abney want to smash her head into a wall. Loki damn it! Siegmund disappeared didn’t he?! By Odin’s beard - she should have pressed him more on what was bugging him! But Abney didn’t want to push into his space; he seemed to want to be left alone... And pushing her roommate was something she didn’t want to do, she wanted to maintain their friendship, not destroy it. But now he could be hurt and - dear Odin.Groaning heavily, Abney put her head into her hands and roughly ran her fingers through what hair she could before her fingers were tangled in dreadlocks and different hair pieces. She had to take those out and re-fix them here soon… they were getting loose and messy. Back on track! Her fingers typed as fast as her jumbled thoughts allowed her to.

To Zila: No… he’s been acting weird for a hot minute. Where are you, I’ll come help look. It’s the least I can do.

Once Abney got her answer, which was the infirmary and she hoped everyone was okay, the Engineer was running as fast as her bare feet would take her. Stopping in front of the infirmary, Abney peeked in and saw a lady on the table with a man next to her, both covered in blood or what Abney assumed was blood since it was dark, almost purple. Well they were probably aliens. Either way - they kinda looked fucked up. Abney winced at the pair’s present state and briefly wondered if she could help that later. Did - did Abney completely miss a war that happened, what the hell. “Wow I missed a party apparently.” Abney mumbled more to herself than anything, crossing her arms and looking at Zila. Abney was just about to open her mouth to be more in detail with how Siegmund had been lately until a man literally popped out of nowhere carrying… Siegmund’s head. And… just his head. Entire body missing. What the hell.

Abney motioned to his head, her eyes wide and almost bugged out in momentary shock. How did he go from a whole Golem to just a damn head in the course of one day?! “What the entire hell?!” Abney voiced, her voice higher pitched than usual in her shock and in Norse no less. What the hell did Siegmund get himself into this time?! “Siegmund, what the shit.” Abney voiced again, calmly and in English, her hand still motioned to his head. The guy who came back with his head mentioned that the body was gone and only the head had remained. Who would take his whole body and leave just his head? Abney blinked owlishly at the guy before rubbing her temples briefly. The entire situation was getting more and more odd by the minute. 

Toni just frowned as she listened to Rigel speak. ”His.” she corrected when Rigel didn’t know what gender his own body was. ”His name is Siegmund.” He was right though his apology meant nothing to her as it wasn’t Siegmund apologizing. She was almost finished collecting his parts when he asked if she was the one he spoke to before. Nodding to him in affirmation and did as he requested showing him Siegmund’s body parts. ”I have been acting as Siegmund’s mechanic as we don’t have many here who understand technology.” she explained. She continued to watching him through her HUD. Val had been recording since they landed. She would need to show this to Sieg later on. Rigel’s words made her frown even more as she looked over Siegmund’s body. ”Perhaps. He does not remember who he is or what he was really before coming to this school. Minor memories and things he has scraped together. Not much to go off of. He did find a black box he showed me, it looked like some kind of storage device to me but I could be wrong.” she rarely was but it did happen. When Rigel mentioned a place in space immediately Val connected to the school’s database of star charts and started running simulations to find it. ”The best I can tell. The school is in it’s own pocket dimension. I’ve read and been told there are multi-generational beings. Children of current or recently graduated students from what I gather of the schools database. I have my companion Val looking into it, but I doubt she will find much.” she believed Rigel as he said he didn’t think Siegmund meant to harm himself or others. Siegmund’s very words verified that. He had dismantled himself to save everyone else. She nodded as Rigel made the request that she search for his body. ”I am currently trying to create a body for my AI unit. Perhaps if I can get more information sometime about your body I could separate you from Siegmund, or him from you?” although she didn’t like that idea. This was Siegmund’s body in her eyes.

Hearing the bell ring she looked up and was mid-curse word when she was teleported with Siegmund’s body to her dorm room. With a soft growl she looked around and saw Arty. She really had lucked out that he was her roommate. He even went and got her a beer. Taking it with a grateful smile she took a swig while looking at the metal body parts. Hearing his words she knelt down to start assessing the damage to the parts. ”Why not just request a space from the school? I made a request for a place to work from and was given it. Granted I have been forced to share it when someone else’s interests crowded my own. However I have a space to do my work in. I do not see why they would deny you the same?” she barely glanced up from the parts as she started laying them in the order they needed to be to fix. ”I was in class when I started receiving error messages indicating malfunctions and damage reports from Siegmund’s body. I had placed several monitoring chips in the parts I had replaced or attempted to upgrade in case they malfunctioned. As soon as class was over I went to his location and found he had purposefully dismantled himself in an effort to keep everyone in the school safe.” with a sigh she held a hand over the body parts and her armor transferred from her to the parts to begin repairing it. Why didn’t she just create a suit for him and transpose his head unit to that? Rubbing her face with her free hand she felt naked without the armor on, but in reality she had a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt on. Coming to sit near Arty she looked at him tiredly. ”I apologize for not being a better roommate. It’s difficult to remember to socially interact with people sometimes.” her eyes traveled down and paused on his legs. ”I almost forgot. I have a prototype for you to try if you would like.” she indicated his legs with the top of her beer. ”I finished it not long ago. I used some of those crystals you gave me in our last research bout to power the nanites, and I created a small receiver crystal for you. That one took some work. I encoded the crystal with the instructions to transfer your thought process for lower extremities to the other nanites.” she got up and went to get the pendant she had made him. It would be a bit clunky for a male to wear if he didn’t use the legs she had designed. Yet she had tried to make it look like the pendant he wore normally. The whole thing would change when he activated the legs. The stone would go and rest on the base of his neck on C7. Here it would intercede any messages the brain wanted to send to his legs. It would let them pass but duplicate the message and transmit it to the nanites that had traveled down his body to create prosthetics that would mimic real life limbs.
Coming back she held out the pendant to him. ”It’s up to you if you want to wear it or not. The chain itself is the nanites and the stone is what will help you control them.” she shrugged before sitting back down. Removing the HUD glasses she always wore she set them down on the coffee table in front of her and rubbed her face again. Blinking she looked around. It was so very strange to see things without Val interpreting everything for her. She was so fucked in this place if she ever lost Val.