The Decima, Enroute to Lo-Nine

Gideon

The dark square reflected no light.

He stared at the black cube, unable to comprehend it. It was, for all of his senses, something that wasn’t real. The sensitive equipment on the Decima could neither penetrate the mysterious object nor detect it. Even after having experienced angels, demons, God himself, and the devil herself, he was not prepared for the mysteries of the new existence. He felt the others were having an easier time adjusting. Adonai had brought the apocalypse to fruition, and all of reality changed. The somatheonic realm, the merging of the physical and spiritual realms, was made complete.

And then He and His Kingdom vanished.

This new Reality introduced itself to Gideon backwards, starting with gaining the Seal of the Tetragrammaton; God’s Mark. He then discovered how his old world had vanished, as did his family and empire. He was not alone, though, aboard the Decima. Shindow, Baxter, Steak, and Patricia were the other old worlders who took the journey, testing Primetech’s IIT drive, only to lose all sense of time being stuck inside of Nothing. And he gained new friends. He discovered the Seal's abilities, the first of which was to create covenants. Saddiffer was the only demon to submit to one. The second was after he suffered a major head wound from the demon god Slate aboard the Skylon. There were still questions to be had about his revival. The incident was traumatic to body, mind, and soul. But he wasn’t the only one that had grown.

Baxter was as plucky as ever, having defeated Saddiffer on the ruins of Karmmrak and possessing him. He grew more in that knowledge, using more of the former demon's powers to protect Gideon on the Skylon. He battled Slate, Amy, and Void; a conflict of head pats. His delay worked, buying Gideon time to use his clever brain and escape. His love of steak was a constant.

Deborah, the Lesser Angel of Multitudes, was tasked with protecting Gideon. Her loss of her Thrones and defeat by the elder demon had only taught her that the galaxy had become a harsh and brutal place. Driving herself hard, she ascended from the pits of hell and agony to ascend higher than ever, becoming the Lesser Angel of Life. The fight with the Breatherman shook her, including her hidden affection for Gideon. The introspection in that moment made her realize her blossoming feelings for her ‘Prince’.

The Elder Demon Saddiffer was humbled in his defeat by the tiny corgi Baxter, becoming possessed by the dog. And then joining in Gideon’s covenant after his crossroads of either destruction or life. The toll of such a covenant, something no demon had experienced before, crushed him to an almost comatose state. However, he had changed from Demon to Eudaemon. He had yet to be seen.

Steak and Pat branched further into their own specialities after having been officially named by Baxter. Steak had grown, using his own built QSD and Prosine's manufacturing to create hundreds of expendable bodies; a warmachine of one. Patricia had grown as a tech engineer and shipwright, managing the systems with Prosine's aid. Her transformation was more stark, having moved mostly away from combat to craft, on top of the normally genderless Excertius, she become female on the unintended iron-clad orders of Baxter.

Shindow grew, her programming, and expertise increased, as did her wit and charm. She survived the Compiler, survived the Angel Amy's bullying, and gave Gideon the key for defeating Slate's precious ebon slime. The biggest news for her were the dreams. They started with her shutdown on Karmmrak due to the CK-DINES protecting the dead moon. She began to feel something else, something new had blossomed.

Prosine and his personal army now made their home on the Decima, abandoning Karmmrak for good. He saw fit to watch and steward over Gideon and the crew, honing the abilities of the entire party. His was a support role, keeping as much information flowing as he could despite his fragmentation. The Crypt Wurm attack, brought on by sinister unknown parties, had locked down the Galactic Nebula, shutting off the flow of information across the universe. Prosine had decoded the Crypt Wurm as it acted and was only able to send it out as a broadcast before his own encryption. Shindow then rescued him by deciphering his broken encoding, freeing him from a quantum hell.

And now they continued their journey to Lo-Nine to deliver the Tesseract Catalyst and meet the other Seal holder crew led by Soltana. He had no doubt it would be a perilous journey.

Gideon placed his hand atop the cube, feeling nothing. He grasped it in his fingers and lifted it. He felt his muscles strain, but no feeling rang out along his flesh. He knocked on it with his knuckles, feeling the phantom pain of striking a hard object. He leaned back, folding his arms.

"Well, I've done all I can do," he muttered.

He sported longer blond hair, a silken green square stitched jumpsuit, a runner's build, and a sculpted physique, only marred by the large star scar along his right eye, running into the now paled hairline. He had lost much of his muscle mass from the trauma of that hideous wound inflicted by the demon god Slate.

Prosine had decrypted the Watcher's locked item in his QSD, materializing it for all to see. It had saved them one and a half Doms, out of the seventeen they had between Gideon, Baxter, and the Decima. The small black cube had taken nearly nine percent of the total space, but was now free again.

A small orange AI rushed down, standing next to the cube. She sported a business formal look, adjusting her large glasses as she inspected the mystery item. Her proportions were off, with a large head, tiny body and tiny limbs which some would describe as ‘chibi’; a word lost to time.

She touched the cube and instantly her semi-transparent form scattered to dots before they coalesced to the original.

"Ow. It disrupts my particle projection."

"Shin, are you just okay?" a smaller voice barked from just beneath the table.

Everyone glanced down at the diminutive corgi, Baxter. He wore a square stitched vest with his own ornate QSD attached to his back. He wiggled his rump at the sudden attention.

“Of course I’m fine, Baxter,” the AI replied, “It’s just this Tesseract Catalyst is beyond anything I’ve ever seen!”

“As have I,” another voice interjected. The holographic steel gridded eye floated just above the table, examining the artifact.

“But Prosine, you’ve spent the most time with the Dusk- I mean the Watchers.”

Gideon scratched at his scruff, knitting his brow at the puzzle.

“Yes, that is true, however-”

“- There’s the catch-”

“-The Watchers only showed me the barest sliver of technology, as if the CK-DINES were demonstration tech.”

“The DINES? What about the Rumblers?”

“A Machine Father original.”

Deborah interjected, adjusting her new golden halo hair piece, “Gideon, the Watchers were aloof at best, assisting in their own way. Are questions would receive no answers. They did as they desired and left shortly before the demon attacked.”

“Saddiffer?”

She nodded solemnly.

He glanced down to Baxter; both eyed each other. One with cool ponderance over their new Eudaemon crew member and the other on whether he would be getting a treat right about now.

“Baxter.”

“Gid.”

The corgi wiggled his rump at being addressed.

“How’s Saddiffer?”

“Him? Oh, yes. Let me see. Uh- I do not know!”

Gideon held up a hand, glancing to the rest of the crew.

“Wait- where’s Saddiffer?”

“Uh. Yes. Hold please."

Baxter spun in a circle, tracking his own stump of a tail before scurrying out the sliding door, into the main hall. Gideon followed behind, trying to keep up.

"Baxter- wait! Where's Saddiffer!"

The corgi let out a loud whining bark of frustration, scampering off.

He paused, feeling the presence of someone else weighing down atop him. Like a predator eying a mouse. He glanced to an alcove, seeing a tiny figure wearing a red oversized hoodie. Her sole eye spoke of madness, hunger, and murder.

He gasped, backing up. Slate.

He was dead.

With a malicious grin, she pointed a finger at him.

"Stop- no- stop!"

He fell back with a horrified shriek, hand out, trying to defend against her. A cracking bang rang out. He felt his skull blast apart, turning inside out.

He fell into Deborah's arms as she caught him.

"Gideon, what is wrong?!"

He looked up to Deborah's cowled and eye-shrouded form, and her gentle smile.

He looked back, seeing an empty alcove. He was whole, the phantom pain strobed through his skull.

He sputtered, his mind reeling from the encounter. He glanced up, seeing the leering face of a sad gargoyle. The terrifying force that destroyed Karmmrak. His arm bent and cracked, shattering under the casual strength of the demon.

He howled, shaking free from his grasp, falling to the floor.

"Gideon!" Deborah cried.

"Get away- get back!"

All he could see was that monster.

The hallway darkened. The two dead eyes appeared. The giant bladed grin whipped into existence.

Void.

He looked to the cosmic horror, seeing his hand showering the hall with blood like an arm through a buzzsaw. Before he could cry out, Deborah tore off the shroud covering her eyes, engulfing the hall with brilliant light.

"I am no demon, Gideon! Release your fear! Trust me!"

He covered his eyes, blinded by the light as he tried to crawl away. He felt a calm warmth rush over him as the angelic figure knelt down. The terror vanished. The pain lancing through his hand and arm quieted.

He wiped away the stinging tears, unable to see. The light vanished as Deborah raised her eye shroud, hiding her glory. He trembled, his mind whirring at what had happened. Deborah knelt down, cradling him in her lap. The sudden mental breakdown shocked him. The faces of his demons haunted him. Shindow and Prosine rushed to his side, hearing the commotion.

“Oh my God, Gideon are you all right??”

Shindow brushed his forehead, scanning him.

“Your body’s in shock, just like the trauma from Karmmrak and the Skylon! Deborah, please get him to medical!”

His stomach lurched as she easily lifted him in her arms like a child. His vision doubled, his hands trembled. He needed a drink.

“I need to get away…”

He heard himself muttering incoherently, like he was witnessing the mental breakdown of someone else. A column blue light appeared behind Deborah. Patricia hurriedly marched beside her. She had her specialized silvered chassis, thin and elegant, sporting four arms and a spherical head with a blue glowing star for an eye. She wore white flowing robes. She materialized an injector, clicking it into his neck.

He felt the bite, then the numbing solution. His mind shivered down to his spine, feeling the instant relief as the burden lifted. His vision spun, going white. The voices of his friends faded away.

He was in a large room, more massive than existence.

Gideon clasped the bridge of his nose, knowing full well where he was.

He dreamed.

“What’s happening to me?”

“Fear. Your heart. Your mind. Your body has reached its limit.”

The older man stood nearby, wearing robes of red and black. He had short cut hair, and a well-trimmed beard. He looked just like Father, sans cybernetics. His face was downcast. Gideon turned, blinking in shock at the complete change.

“What do I do? What can I do?”

Gideon turned to the man, desperate injured anger clear on his face.

“Lean on me. My power, my very being will protect you.”

“But I died,” his voice was quiet, trembling at the memory of the encounters.

Gideon turned around, palming his face. He looked back, seeing Adonai’s pained expression.

“She shot me in the face. I died- I-I-I couldn’t do anything!”

He stumbled to his knees, his breath trembling. Adonai knelt down, gently gripping his shoulder.

“I was there. I saw the injustice. I was with you, as I am always with you. You have been faithful, humble in heart, and selfless to others. The Seal’s power, my power, has matured as you grow closer to me.”

Gideon looked back, understanding flooding through him, “you were the one calling me.”

He remembered seeing his own slain body, hearing the voice of the loving father willing him to stand again. He could have laid down, accepting his fate. But that act would abandon his friends. His family. His future.

Adonai smiled.

“Get up.”

He rose, gripping Gideon’s hand.

“The average human was meant not for this realm. You’ve reached your limits. But fear not, the time for your redemption and change is at hand. Continue on, my son, keep to the path at hand. Continue leading your crew with wisdom and grace. They’ll need you. Shindow will especially need you. My grace is sufficient for you.”

He shook his head. It was all too much. He brushed back the tears.

“How? I need her! Deborah. Prosine… Everyone!”

“Yes. And they in turn need you. Shindow is struggling the most with her changes.”

“Her changes? What did you do?”

“Gideon.”

He stared into Adonai’s eyes. His accusation fell dead.

“I gave Shindow her inheritance. Her blessing.”

“Inheritance?”

He knit his brows, trying to determine what that meant.

“What is the one thing all AI and Anforms desire? What is the common thread between Steak, Patricia, and Shindow?”

“A soul… They- we’re all old world. That’s it. I remember. The- the divine spark.”

Adonai smiled, pinching his shoulder gently. He felt a calm peace growing over him. The panic of yestermoment gone.

“Shindow has had the biggest struggle with it. She’s the most empathic; the depth of her emotions and care rival any humans. She will need your help. Lean on me.”

He did, literally.

“I can’t do it… It’s too much-”

“I know. Lean on me. It will be the only way you can overcome it. In fact. It’s you’ve already overcome it. I have already redeemed it. It is finished.”

“Then why do I still struggle to keep it together?”

“Because in the present moment, at this present time, it has yet to be born.”

Gideon relented. He didn’t know what to think.

“I don’t understand- I-”

“Rest now. Your burdens are mine. Only peaceful dreams will visit.”

He felt relief. He could finally sleep. Adonai gently touched his forehead. He felt a warm peace flowing through him.

"You are not alone. I am here. Your friends are here. As is your family."

Gideon's heart trembled at the mention of his parents and siblings.

"What??"

He snapped away, flowing through the universe. He knew the star system.

The Milky Way Galaxy.

He shot past the Neptune outposts. He saw the glints of lights. They were still active. He rushed past the occupied moons of Jupiter. The revitalized Mars was next, with its fields of red and cyan. He arrived at humanity's cradle.

Earth.

He saw the singular continent, occupying nearly forty percent of the globe. Near the western side of the center continental mass. He spotted the tall mountain ranges. He recognized the place, but all appeared smaller than he remembered.

The tectonic plates hadn’t shifted yet. Will it grow with time? Will the plates part this time?

He never thought he’d ever experience the idea of living long enough to see the tectonic plates separate, and the idea that they may never retreat at all.

He vacationed there, back when the mountains ruled the skies. But now, it was dotted with plains and pines. Big pines. Redwood sized pines. The closer he rushed in, the more he could see. Broad varieties of trees grew under the well spaced bows of these Titanic conifers.

He spotted the column of smoke in the distance. A forest fire. Except it was sequestered to a single tree. The fire didn't spread, nor were there sparks. It was a pure fire, consuming branch and bow, needle and bark. A mystery of nature. He flowed past, to the tallest mountain. There atop was what appeared to be an unfinished temple.

He spotted three figures. One gleamed like the sun, tall and mighty. One reflected the aura off their chromic chassis. And finally a man of small stature towering over both of them.

His breath caught at that man. Cybernetic arm and a portion of his face. Short trimmed hair and beard. An intense stare and presence of a person that was larger than life. His father.

Mikial McDonough.

All three turned to address him.

Chamuel, Archangel of Peace.

Amelia, his half sister, half human, and half anform.

And Father. CEO of Primetech. The strongest man he knew.

He looked at his hands, seeing the ghostly glow. He fell to his knees, tears falling freely.

He wept.

They were alive.

He couldn’t think, couldn’t say anything. His soul crumpled under the weight of the news. The family he thought dead was in fact alive. The family he thought gone forever was here. His spirit lept. The flooding, cooling waters of relief extinguished the decrepitating flames of fear and worry. He sat for a time, letting the built up emotions of loneliness, burdens, and isolation break free. Amelia rushed to him, her visor eye glowing yellow. She reached out, trying to hug him as her arms passed through his ghostly form. She pulled back in surprise, her eye snapping to Father. Her smile took on a pained edge. They reunited, but only partially.

Father smiled as a tear ran down his cheek.

He looked as young as Gideon. There was no surprise on his Father's face. Only pained relief.

“Father… I.”

He halted, still unable to stop the flood of feelings. This couldn’t be happening. It was too good. Too hopeful. Too uplifting. It was all a dream. And yet, he knew as well as any in this new reality that dreams mattered.

They were alive.

Father knelt down, his biological hand itching and twitching to touch his lost son. He smiled a tear trail gleamed on his youthful face.

“Gideon, my son. Adonai said you were taking the long way around. We always knew we’d see you again. I just- It’s-”

Seeing father stammer was as rare as the hope he now felt. Mikial halted, clasping his hands as he enjoyed the reunion. Gideon broke the silence.

“Dad- what happened?”

Father barked a sobbing laugh. His hand reached out, trying to grasp Gideon’s ghostly form; failing to do so.

“Son- It is alright- we’re alright.”

Gideon trembled. He wasn’t alone. It hit him: he was never alone. They were here, waiting for him. They trusted in Adonai in a way that he couldn’t understand.

“One moment we were aboard the Ark of the Covenant, enjoying heaven beyond anything imagined, and the next, Barman dropped us on Earth!”

“Barman?”

Amelia interjected, too excited to stay silent, “Barman, he is the Angel of Knowledge! He is… He was a good friend,” she looked away, her visor eye changing to a dark blue. Her countenance was so different. She appeared ancient. They both did.

He glanced to Chamuel, his brassy skin rippled like flesh. He remembered him clear as day from the dream. White waist robe, bare chest, and platinum gorget running to his shoulders. A face of stunning beauty. Those intense eyes. The battle of Earth. The pirates. The demons.

He shook free from the shock of the reunion. He had to tell them.

"Father- you need to leave- you all need to leave. Now!”

Father appeared troubled by his outburst, “leave? I mean, of course we’ve been planning to leave. Chamuel there has made it interesting at least, hah!”

“Forty-three attempts,” the Archangel interjected as he crossed his arms.

Gideon snapped his attention to the larger divine being, his brows knitting in anger.

“Let them go, Chamuel! You need to let them go.”

“Earth must remain hidden.”

“Obviously that doesn’t work! Do you know the visions I’ve had? Do you?”

“I do.”

“Jeremy ‘Death’ Harker is coming-”

Father interjected, his voice quiet.

“Wait- son, you mean that former Federacy hatchet-man?”

He nodded, remembering the grisly looking man. Of course, Father would know who it was. It made sense it was a Federacy asshole behind it. But they should have been extinguished like Primetech. Right?

“They were all bait for a fleet of demons.”

Chamuel in turn nodded.

“I know these demons. Each with their own pseudonym. Each of their names is a power in their own right. And there are more- those five were the first.”

Gideon felt the shiver travel down his spine. Slate was horrifying as it was. There were more.

“Neon, Burgundy, Slate, Noir, and Gold. They are who attacked. They are the ones who slew me.”

Everyone looked to Chamuel with a mixture of morose awe and downtrodden horror.

"Then you all need to get out of here! Leave Earth."

"Son."

Gideon stopped, looking up at Father.

"We all know. Chamuel’s told us everything. We’re not leaving to run away for our own safety- something that would never cross my mind! Barman gave us a fighting chance. We’re trying to reunite with you.”

Gideon was silent. The quiet wind whipped against the stony foundation. He got to his feet, facing the nine-foot Archangel. The divine being acted first, placing a hand on his shoulder. He felt the brassy flesh, he shivered at his touch. He almost toppled over in a mixture of shock and awe.

“Gideon. The future has already been changed by this meeting. Do not be so doubtful.”

He smiled down at him.

“Your father is a legendary man, as is the Machine Mother Amelia. Do not worry for us. We shall find our way.”

Gideon snapped his wide eyes to Amelia.

Machine Mother.

Only Tangence had that title. His step mother.

She smiled back at him, knowing that look all too well. He felt himself pulling away, his vision pulling back.

“Wait! The dream can’t end- please I need-”

“-Gideon.”

Father barked, smiling back at him.

“Do not fear my son! We’ll meet soon!”

Frustration, sorrow, and relief flooded through him. And one other.

Hope. He remembered what that felt like. It had been ages.

The dream ended.

The adventure continued.