Writer’s corner: GREETINGS FRIENDS! Right on time with the once every two weeks update for Beepy!

SO, this chapter I introduced the common side of the new character, Evon. A fairly cool headed but playful scientist slash mercenary of sorts. As well as made him dig his own grave because all characters of such kind in my story end up doing that. I hope it’s possible to see the place where he changes personality clearly, as I kinda wanted a clear difference between them. Not sure how well I pulled that one out.

BESIDES, about last weekend’s IO, I had to go to a friend’s house on Saturday and spent the Sunday dead in exhaustion for reasons I still don’t know (logic says that it was laziness, but I’m too responsible to be lazy. *proud nod*)

Beep, and enjoy your story!

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“Come on. Have a seat. No need to worry about me. I’m fine!” The Lynnian said with a wide smile while beckoning the group to sit down on the sofa.

However, Beepy and company could only stare at him in shock and confusion, as his state was anything but fine, with blood slowly flowing through his cheek as it dripped down from his head. Staring at him in worry, the party only took a seat when the elf finally approached and nodded to them while carrying a tray with tea.

“Erm… I could heal you… If you wanted.” Lunn offered a bit hesitant, not that it was strange when you take into account that it was the same man who kidnapped Ruby not even ten minutes ago.

Well, even that she was starting to doubt, as the person before her was completely unlike how he was before.

With brown hair cut at mid-length and a pair of triangular ears above his head, the scientist lynnian actually looked surprisingly friendly and calm compared to his previous state. He even looked a bit more lax, seeing how his hair had become messy thanks to the impact and he still didn’t exactly have the chance to fix it.

“Oh! A healer?” Evon asked surprised while staring at the elf. “That’s fairly rare… And please, lower the fist, Flora. I’m not going Syche yet. You know biology isn’t my forte.”

“Better be safe rather than sorry.” The elf replied coldly while setting the tray between him and the group. “Anyway, if it wouldn’t be much of a bother.” She said while turning to Lunn, who nodded weakly before approaching the elf and using her Esp to heal his head.

“Do you have anything to eat? Healing like this usually leave me very hungry.” The pink haired elf asked, to which Flora nodded before leaving the room once again. Not before sending an evil eye towards the lynnian.

For a while, silence fell on the room around them. Gaz simply stared at the scientist before him and then towards Ruby with some curiosity. Once a certain thought crossed his mind, a brief beep escaped him as he chuckled at the idea.

Becoming the center of attention for a moment and receiving a raised eyebrow from Evon, who noticed him for the first time, at least he managed to spark the conversation, as the lynnian cleared his throat and turned to the group.

“Anyway, my bad for earlier. Syche tends to take things overboard when he’s out like that, but he doesn’t mean any harm.” He started with an apology. “Now that I take a look, aren’t you two Volgoff and Ross?” He said while looking at the dwarf and the Troll, who were the ones who had already somewhat recovered.

“Aye. I’d say long time no see an’ all, but tis been what? Three days?” Ross asked amused. “Anyway, now I’m glad I gave yer mah trademark Left hook back at the car if that’s what yer been hiding.”

“Yeah. An already predisposition to insanity, long isolation times and more than a couple of Esp overdoses didn’t exactly help either.” The lynnian shrugged as if it wasn’t a problem, getting a a laugh from the dwarf.

“Well, at least it seems you’ve been alright.” Volgoff said with a gentle tone. “And from what I know, you probably already met Ruby here before.” He said while briefly caressing the girl’s head.

“Yeah. We met before, Professor.” He said while putting some emphasis on the last word. “I was quite shocked when I saw how much her personality changes when she’s serious back then.”

“"““You can’t say anything.”””” The group echoed in synchrony. Even Flora’s voice came from somewhere down the hall.

“You have a point.” He laughed for a moment before turning to the twins and Ylli. “Anyway, since I never saw you before… My name is Evon Fairsky. Mercenary. The crazed psycho is Syche, the scientist.” He said briefly.

“Ah. Name’s Sorius, and the one healing you is my sorry excuse of a sister, Lunn.” Said the elf quickly. “I’m somewhat of our leader and she’s the one in charge of money.”

“…Yllivia. Mercenary.” The white haired lynnian said briefly before turning to Gaz. “That’s beepy.”

“Beep.” He said immediately, earning another curious look from the scientist.

“Don’t let the lass attitude fool ya. She could kick all of our collective rears with one hand on ‘er back.” Ross said with a smirk once he received a brief glare from Yllivia. “She packs one hell of a mean punch, I tell ya.”

“Is that so?” He asked surprised before shrugging. “Then I guess that there shouldn’t be a problem if Syche comes out again.” He turned to the white haired lynnian and said. “Just need one good punch and things should be fine.” He had a half joking tone, but before he could even finish he felt as Lunn hit him in the head lightly.

“Look, I might be a good healer, but I can’t make miracles, you know?” She said angrily.

“Aww, it can’t be that bad, can it?” Evon asked with a mischievous smile, but once his gaze met with Lunn’s disappointment and with the others looks of pity, his smile slowly disappeared. “Y-You weren’t joking?” He asked.

“…One good punch. Got it.” Yllivia said while clenching her fist as if testing the grip.

“Ermm… On second though, maybe I should leave it to one of the guys to do the dirty work…” He said becoming slightly worried.

“No need… I’m good.” Yllivia shot him down almost immediately, looking strangely motivated.

“…It was nice knowing you.” Ruby said while bowing slightly.

“Oi, can’t someone stop her? I’m starting to get seriously worried here!” He said desperately while staring at the group. “She doesn’t look like she have any intention to hold back, you know?”

“You got what you deserve.” Flora said after appearing again, this time carrying some loaves of bread and fruits before offering them to Lunn.

The elf gladly took them as she had just finished her work and looked like she was starving. Mowing down the food at incredible pace, Lunn kept all her focus on the tray while leaving the rest of the group to talk in her stead.

Sorius left out a brief sigh while looking at his sister’s lack of manners before looking back to Evon, seeing as he had put on a bit more serious expression now that the joke had ended. Well, at least for himself, as it didn’t look like Yllivia would calm down any time soon from her strangely excited state.

“Anyway, I guess it’s time we talked business, right?” Asked the scientist, and the group quickly nodded seriously.

“Hmm. I wanted some help on two… No, three projects.” Ruby said getting serious. Or as serious looking as she could be without entering professor mode.

“Projects, you say?” He asked with a curious expression.

“Yes… But I don’t expect you to accept work for free.” Ruby said immediately, receiving a nod of approval from the man. “So I’ll give a payment or incentive for each one.”

“I see. Should I take it that it’s not related to robots since you of all people needs help?” He asked curious, but Ruby quickly shook her head.

“No. Only one doesn’t have any relation to robotics.” She said while turning towards Sorius for a moment. “That would be Sorius' gun, that we plan on giving an upgrade. Of course, I brought the materials for that.”

“Is the gun with your gear?” Evon asked while giving a glance towards the place where Flora had left the party’s gear. Ruby quickly nodded, and not even a moment later the elf left to pick up said gear.

“Also, on a similar situation, it’s something I need you to make for Beepy here.” She said while pointing to the small treadmill based robot.

“WAIT A SECOND!” Evon stopped her suddenly with a shocked expression in his face. “D-Did you just say that you want me to make a mod? YOU asked me for a mod?”

“I’m actually with Evon on that one.” Flora said confused. “Weren’t you the one who hated mods the most?”

This time, not only the duo they were visiting, but also the party looked at Ruby in confusion while trying to understand what she meant. As far as they knew her from the last weeks, she didn’t seem like someone who would ever do something like that. Even more thinking how she raged at the sight of modded robots during the gear-box.

But contrary to what they expected, Ruby quickly shook her head as if dispelling their thoughts.

“I’m… not exactly against mods.” She said a bit awkwardly. “You see, forced mods like the ones you usually find aren’t the only type of mods you can do to a robot. In fact, Mirage’s optical camouflage is something I made myself after my last visit.” She said, making Gaz blink in wonder.

[Oh, so that’s why you knew him.] Gaz said surprised.

[Somewhat. I managed to get my hand on a special piece thanks to the company, but I needed some really specialized accessory to make it work.] She said briefly.

Beepy nodded to himself and went back to watching Evon as he also processed Ruby’s words, taking a few seconds to let it sink in.

“Wait, you used that to make an optical camouflage mod?” He asked confused. “And you added it to your cat-robot?” Ruby nodded. “I… never expected that. No wonder I felt that your request was odd…” He said after making a pensive expression. “And from the way you speak, I take it that Mirage is still okay?”

“Hmm. I can tell about that later.” Ruby said hurriedly while cutting him, noticing as a small smile started appearing in his face. “A-Anyway. I need you to make me this.” She said while taking out a small paper and passing it to Evon, who read it with great interest. “I’m sure that beepy can take it, so no need to worry about that.”

For a few minutes Evon simply stood in silence while examining the small paper in his hand, confusion becoming clearer and clearer as he slowly understood what was being requested. After he finished reading the paper, he started looking around the messy laboratory and engineering area around him, as if looking for something before frowning.

“Flora, do we still have the compressor or did the guys from the Armory take it again?” He asked the elf after a while.

“It’s still here, but they should come in a couple of weeks.” The elf replied.

“Good. I can do this, somewhat.” He said with a frown. “I just need the super conductor you spoke about here. I take it that you brought it with you?”

At his words Ruby nodded and opened the bag that she brought with her and taking out a small black box the size of Ross’ fist and putting it on the table. Evon quickly took the box and peeked at the contents, only to stop with an amazed expression and start smiling.

“Oooh… I quite like what I’m seeing here.” He said with a strangely excited voice that made the twins feel a slight shiver. “I see… I see. So this is what you got." The lynnian turned back to the group and they noticed as a strange light appeared in his eyes. "Sooo... You wouldn't be willing to tell me where you got this little treasure, do you?"

“Hii...” Ruby said with a slightly surprised tone.

[Holy Corkscrews! That smile is scary!] Beepy said surprised.

[Huh? When did he change?] Ekis asked confused.

With a strange dangerous light in his eyes, Evon’s gaze had a starving look to them, as he eyed the young Morphian with curiosity and a smile that was anything but friendly. Looking almost like an entirely different person, the twins and Yllivia froze for a moment due to his sudden change.

“Evon…” Flora called out coldly.

“Yes?”

“He’s coming out.”

“…Whoops.” Evon said while slapping his cheeks with his hands, his previous expression coming back. “Sorry about that. It was kind of a surprise to see this.”

“Hmm…” Ruby nodded weakly.

“…Should I have punched him?” Yllivia asked confused.

“Please no.” Evon said briefly. “I’d like to avoid having to go to an hospital today. And seriously, what with you wanting to punch me so badly? You didn’t seem like that type of character, you know?”

“…Not everyday that punching is actually good.” She said while looking at her fist. “I’m only good at painting. And punching. Punching usually bad.”

[That sounds kind of pitiful…] Ruby said in the link before shaking her head. “A-Anyway. I plan on paying for these two in separate. That said, I don’t have any money with me now.” She quickly caught Evon’s attention.

“Oh? So I take it that you are willing to pay in service?” The Lynnian asked, and Ruby nodded.

“I could help you with a research if you wanted. Either that, or we could negotiate to split the remaining pieces of the alloy after these two works are done.” Her words quickly picked the man’s interest, as he nodded without a second thought.

“Fair enough.” As he said that, he turned towards Flora, who still held the bag with the group’s gear. “Then I guess I should at least take a look at what I will be working on, right?” He asked while picking the bag up and opening it.

The moment the rifle stood before him, the scientist froze in shock for a moment while staring at it.

Almost immediately, both Lunn’s and Sorius’ clicking tongues were heard as they quickly understood the situation. Seeing as the lynnian looked at the rifle with a surprised expression, his hands quickly trailed off through the blue grooves on the bulky rifle’s side and through the black metal of the body.

Suddenly, he twitched his hand and from the sleeves of his lab coat a small hair-brush appeared.

“…Ah crap…” They heard flora saying in a low tone.

The lynnian quickly combed over the hair with swift movements, starting with the hair that fell in front of his eyes and blocked the sight, but not even for a moment he raised his head. With the hair all neatly organized, he proceeded to examine the rifle with a bit less caution, starting with pulling off the cartridge, battery, testing the trigger and even seeing if the aim was removable or not.

“A Clocksmith’s Trenchbreaker. Long range magnetic rifle with great recoil reduction technology. Cooling time might be a problem depending on shot strength, but it’s more than capable of reaching the three kilometers mark with stopping power left.” He said as he looked at the barrel. His voice sounding strangely calm and cold. “Under low power, it’s capable of dishing out around three rounds per-second with enough strength to pierce light armor. Cartridge holds a total of twelve… no, this is a modded one. Fifteen bullets. Main problem would be the added deviation at high fire-rates and fairly long cooling speed.” He turned the weapon around and started to look for any difference. “Weapon’s body made of Crust-breaker Tortoise carcass, capable of taking out some serious blows without a dent. Rifling… I don’t quite know. Never had the chance to science this beauty up.” As he said those words, he raised his head.

An insane light shone deep into his iris as he gave a wicked smile. At that moment it didn’t take the others to know that the person before them was someone entirely different from the scientist who had been speaking before.

Even when he had a slightly crazy look, Evon at least still remembered his normal self, but what they saw there felt more like a madman than anything else.

“Aaah, Thin ears, I must really thank you. I can’t even remember the last time I had such a delicious treat before me." Syche, the scientist, said." After all, this is the weapon exclusive to the royal guard of the country of TasaeUGHWWW...”

However, he never got to finish his sentence, as the white haired girl had quickly landed a fist to his face. The impact being more than enough to make not only the scientist, but also the chair that he sat on tumble backwards and fall with a loud noise. However, the impact was such that Syche still rolled on the ground until he hit the wall on the opposing side, stopping upside down besides a table with his eyes spinning.

Yllivia quickly went back to a resting position and gave a brief nod while putting on a satisfied expression.

“…I stopped him.” She said.

“That’s the second farthest I’ve ever seen Syche fly.” Flora commented surprisingly calm from her place.

“T-THIS IS… THE PRICE OF SCIENCE!!!!” Syche shouted while trying to stand up, only for his hand to slip on a small metal piece and fall back to the ground. “And Science… Is painful!”

[Why does it feels like all scientists we meet seems to have odd personalities?] Gaz asked amused.

[Hey! I’m also a scientist!] Ruby complained with a glare.

[I stand by my words.] Beepy replied with a mocking tone. But not before grabbing a glance from Sorius and Lunn, both who had a grimm expression for a moment before recovering.

“Ylli! I just fixed him up!” Said the pink haired elf as she went to heal the lynnian scientist once again.

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Writer's corner: DUN DUN DUUUUN! PLOT DEVICE REVEALED!

EDIT: For fairness sake as i edited to improve humor, the country's name was Tasaegwynn.