Chapter 82 : Family trouble

[Author note : Sorry about the late update, people ! As always, if you want to read ahead, or some of my other stories (original ones), visit my Patréon page (e instead of é). Search for Cathbel on the website. And now... Behold !]

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Silver Lad looked at his creation with a maddened gaze. As he progressed in his great work, his fervor and single-mindedness only grew with it, leaving very little else on his mind. In actual fact, sometimes he had a hard time even recalling who he was or why he felt so afraid. Most of the time, he simply didn't care about all this. All that mattered was for him to complete the gonites.

And while he would normally be very circumspect about any new technology he developed, this time, he knew more than anything, that they would be flawless ! His masterpiece. His greatest and perhaps final work.

This last thought should have warned him that something was seriously wrong with him, but by that point, Ned Stark was already too far gone. It was actually why he was thinking of himself as just Silver Lad, now…

The whispers never left him now. They were his trusted companions, friends and family, all in one. He still didn't know what they were. And yet, he didn't question them, didn't doubt them. They were there only to help him. Help him reach… something higher.

So, when two unknown people barged in on his work and disrupted it by talking to him… He was pissed ! More than that, he was beyond furious. As he flew into a rage, the armor sitting in their stands booted up in order to get rid of the intruders.

Never mind the fact that the intruders were his beloved children, only there because they cared and worried about him. All Silver Lad wanted right now, was for them to be gone. For good ! Still, it wouldn't do for their fight to put him back on his work ; he wouldn't have his hard work damaged by some unthinking, bothersome meddlers !

One armor and himself stood next to the miniature factory were the gonites final version were getting produced while the other three armors went on the warpath.

* * * * *

« Is he seriously trying to kill us ? » Sombra asked, in disbelief, more that a little hurt.

« Destroying our bodies wouldn't kill us… » Winston commented as he checked his force-field remaining durability.

« Does he know this, though ? »

Winston didn't answer. He wasn't sure… Ned's gaze didn't contain the sympathy he usually had for them, or even the slightest recognition for that matter. Only madness, annoyance and rage. The only thing he seemed to care for at the moment was the strange and otherworldly structure he used his own body to shield from the indiscriminate rampage he sent the armors on.

« I'm surprised he can remote-control several armors… I wonder if his cognitive functions are truly as impaired as we initially thought. »

« That's not the only weird thing… »

Indeed, it wasn't. In fact, in the last hour, they had discovered quite a few strange things from Ned. Things they didn't know he worked on, things he changed without telling them. Perhaps things he worked on without even knowing about it.

At this point, their theory that an external force was driving Ned's actions was almost confirmed. The question coming to light now was… Who or what ?

* * * * *

A little earlier, on Ned's disillusioned satellite orbiting the Earth.

As Sombra and Winston appeared almost simultaneously, they gazed around at the interior in wonder. It had change quite a bit since they were last here. For one, it had been expanded. A lot ! The space inside had been stretched to about ten times what it was last time, making it quite dangerous and unstable. Especially if they used space magic… Which they kind of did to get here. However, it was the only way for anyone to get here.

Winston shook his head :

« Why did Ned do something so dangerous and… foolish ? »

This was clearly unlike him. Ned himself wrote the importance of safety measures in Winston's code for anything they did or made. And now, this ? The gorilla sighed and looked around. At this point, it was less a satellite and more a small space station. There were a few consoles whose screens were currently switched off, a table with a couple of chairs for when it was relevant and…

On one of the walls near the table, there was a star chart of the local area of the solar system. It was pretty detailed. However, what drew Winston attention was the few circles drawn by hand here and there. There should be nothing at all in those places, or at least, nothing that would mean much to Ned. As he studied it in silence, Winston asked himself what would the reason for these areas to be of any interest to Ned.

One of those points of interest was actually the natural satellite Phobos, orbiting around Mars. He also seemed to have circled one of Jupiter's many moons, empty spaces of… Well, space, even an area in the asteroid belt. Winston was quite puzzled until Sombra asked in passing, also drawn by the weird sight :

« Is he planning on putting stations in these places ? Building some kind of stellar empire ? »

Winston stilled when he heard. He wouldn't ! Would he… ? Considering that Ned seemingly hid all this from him and the others, or that he didn't know himself, maybe he could be doing just that. The resources needed for such an undertaking however… Despite Ned's genius, and the means magic and his growing riches afforded him, this would bankrupt him ! And for what ? Was he looking for something specific or…

« Come on ! We're not here to dawdle. We have to save our father ! »

The gorilla nodded solemnly.

« You're right. Okay… Let me boot up the Portkeying console. Since Ned apparently forgot to cut our access from this satellite, he'll hopefully also have forgotten to bar its direct access to his workshop. »

Winston's big fingers proceeded to fly over the keys as he babbled over each and every step he was making. Soon, a large smile appeared on his face.

« Looks like I was right ! » Then, the smile faded and a frown replaced it : « Another careless mistake… I can't tell anymore… »

« Can't tell what ? » Sombra asked after a few seconds when Winston didn't speak up to finish his sentence.

« Well… From what you've told me, what he is currently working on is years ahead of anything he should be able to accomplish, which proves that he's more brilliant than ever and then… There's this. » He said as he gestured around them.

« The spatial expansion of this satellite is putting its integrity in jeopardy. Too many teleportations, a not well thought-out use of spatial magic and it could implode. Then, these plans… And the fact that he forgot the fact that this satellite could actually give us access to his house. It's more than simply the fact that he hyper-focused on his current objective. It's like everything else other than it was deemed irrelevant and thus discarded from his mind ! »

Sombra shrugged :

« You think they're mistakes… But what if they aren't ? »

« What do you mean ? »

« What if he unconsciously wanted us to help him ? »

Silence set in for a while before the woman tech spirit told her brother :

« Anyway, it's time for us to go ! »

Without another word, but with a bit of trepidation, Winston pressed the key that would open up a portal. In the moment his finger made the journey toward the key, Winston hoped for the best, envisioning everything that could go wrong. And then, the moment was over. Nothing happened for the briefest of time in which Winston was almost relieved. When the portal opened, and nothing collapsed, he was finally relieved.

Sombra and Winston exchange a nod before crossing over.

* * * * *

They had tried to talk it out, appeal to their relationship with him. Ned didn't seem to listen. In fact, Winston was pretty sure he didn't process anything of what they said. It wasn't like he didn't listen, he didn't even hear them. Perhaps, to him, it was all just noise.

Not just his hearing, his sight and recognition capabilities didn't seem to work either. The same was true for his memories. To the current him, Winston and Sombra were just… annoyances.

Although that should have stung, it only affirmed their beliefs that they needed to act now. Before he was truly lost to them. Sombra couldn't help the feeling that Ned was changing. And not just because of a disease, that he was slowly approaching a state where he would stop to function. No… She believed he was changing into something else. Something… alien.

Sombra rubbed her fingers, making sure they were ready for what came next… Her part in this would be crucial, after all.