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eloieor, as it is known by the alternative title: HAH I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT
The laboratory was a mess of mechanical parts, clock work gears and every inch of the lab was coated in dust. Closing her eyes, Eloie flicked her wrist to the left. She imagined a gust of wind, but halfway through it turned into a hurricane that blew through half of her father's laboratory.
"Sorry!" Eloie peeped through her fingers and whispered, "Wind, die..." She tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing her, the dust would just explode, and a 6am punishment would not be a great way to start her birthday. "Daddy? Where are you?"
"Here, sweetheart!" Her father's voice came from a far corner of the laboratory. There were plates of half-eaten food growing mold around, and she sighed. When Thaddeus really got into his experiments and inventing process, he usually forgot the normal things. Eloie figured that he was lucky there were servbots, and that her mother was a big help in ensuring that Thaddeus got to bathe daily. "Thanks for the wind. It was getting rather dusty in here."
The lab was unnaturally quiet and dim, except for a shining light in the far corner. Following the light, she saw a floating ball on top of a velvet pillow, and her father standing next to it, proudly.
She looked at the ball, a large thing that hummed with the familiar sound of gears, clockwork, and electricity. It was about the size of a basketball, but covered with elegant golden markings on its' edges, and painted a soft teal, reminiscent of the rococo period. The Ball had an eye on a stalk, and occasionally it would emerge and peer around, observing its' surroundings. The eye paused to stare at her, and Eloie smiled at it.
It was charming, in its' own way.
"Happy birthday, princess. Ten years old already, and this calls for a very unique kind of gift. This is a ball created from the very best in mechanics and dust." Her father tapped the ball until it shrunk into the size of a regular Rubik's cube. When he lined up The Ball's gears a certain way, it opened and Eloie could see the whirring of gears inside of The Ball. There was a soft ice-blue glow and she could see that aside from the clockwork and mechanical gears, there was a small crystal in the center, encased in fluid.
"They said it couldn't be done, twenty years ago--but I've done it. This, my darling, is the very first Infinity Crystal."
Theoretically, it was possible to forge a dust-powered gear or crystal to simulate life. The application, however, was a different story. Thaddeus was grateful that his "insane" whim wasn't so farfetched after all.
Eloie's blue eyes shone with curiosity. "Is this going to be the next toy, daddy?" Thaddeus closed up the insides of The Ball, and tapped it again. This time, it grew back into the size of a basketball.
Thaddeus shook his head. "No, darling. This is the one and only toy of its' kind. Made just for you. It will protect you and since it runs on dust, you can just power it up with the stuff whenever you like."
Eloie felt happy. For the first time, she would have a toy that no other child possessed, and handmade by her father. Ever since Atlas funded Lavender Corporation with providing weapons for children entering training, time with her parents had been short.
"All that's left is to name it. Name it whatever you like, darling -- I've set it to respond only to you, me and your mother." Thaddeus looked at his daughter and decided that Lissandra was right; Eloie had forgotten her fencing sword at home. His daughter's sword arm was there, but the weapon itself was thrown onto the kitchen counter yesterday, and had remained there. She was losing interest in physical fighting. The latest grades that were sent from Atlas, however, showed that where her physical prowess declined, her agility rose. Eloie Lavender had signed up for ballet and gymnastics class, and withdrew from fencing.
He hoped that with this, she would finally learn the importance of self-defense, especially with the Grimm so close. He trusted Atlas to protect his family -- as long as they could provide schematics and weapons that made the children excited to learn about fighting -- but there was nothing wrong with being extra cautious. If The Ball was a success, he could branch out into toys powered by Infinity Crystals manufactured with the dust-talented in mind.
"Though Eloie is the only girl we've ever seen with an affinity that high..." Thaddeus remembered his colleagues commenting on his daughter's lack of focus, yet had high potential to manipulate and wield dust better than some of the adult hunters. There had been some scientists who wanted to take blood samples from his daughter, but he emphatically stated that "A child who is dust-talented will bring destruction more than good. If she throws a small temper tantrum, you'd find the lab in flames."
Wanting to keep their jobs (and their paychecks), the scientists had stopped hinting at Thaddeus bringing Eloie to work.
"Then I shall call it Ball. Hello, Ball. We're going to be great friends." The eye stalk on The Ball glowed and it floated out of its' spot on the pillow, and settled in front of Eloie. When the girl reached out to pet it, The Ball whirred and crackled with energy.
"Miss Greenwood told you about me, didn't she?"
Thaddeus nodded. "Your mother and I discussed it, and..." The door to the laboratory slid open and Lissandra Lavender came in, wearing her lab coat and holding two cups of hot coffee. "Room for one more in this party?" She kissed Thaddeus on the cheek and handed him the other cup of coffee. "Mom!" Eloie embraced her mother and smelled the familiar scent of patchouli and lilies. "Dad gave me the best present ever!"
"Glad you like it, sweetie. Miss Greenwood thought that you could use a pet, or some other training to focus the dust on...so that you would refrain from setting fire to Esther Goldman's skirt..."
Eloie nuzzled her face deeper into her mother's lab coat. "She said that my parents make toys marketed to children because they couldn't have their own, and I got mad because I'm here and I'm your child."
Lissandra petted the top of the ten year-old's head and took a long drink from her coffee cup. "Oh, honey. Still, you shouldn't hurt people...only the Grimm. Did your father tell you about Ball's...special abilities?"
The response was a shake of the head, and Lissandra mock-scolded her husband, saying "Already ten and she doesn't know her birthday present is a weapon? For shame, Thaddeus."
Thaddeus pretended to be hurt, but his amusement colored his voice. "Then let's show mummy what you can do with Ball, Eloie. Come with me to the training facility..."
As father and daughter walked out of the laboratory, hand in hand, Lissandra placed her coffee cup on the nearby work table, hoping that Eloie would never find out the truth. She tapped her manicured fingers on top of the table as she pulled out a pamphlet advertising Beacon Academy.
Eloie's adoption papers aside, how would Eloie react when she found out that her real parents had chosen to sell her to Atlas scientists when they found out that she was exceptionally talented with the dust?
Having happy and beautiful memories won't always bring you salvation. The more beautiful a memory is, the more painful it can become. It can even become terrifying -- both for the one who's leaving, and for the one left behind...
-Isla, Plastic Memories
The laboratory was a mess of mechanical parts, clock work gears and every inch of the lab was coated in dust. Closing her eyes, Eloie flicked her wrist to the left. She imagined a gust of wind, but halfway through it turned into a hurricane that blew through half of her father's laboratory.
"Sorry!" Eloie peeped through her fingers and whispered, "Wind, die..." She tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing her, the dust would just explode, and a 6am punishment would not be a great way to start her birthday. "Daddy? Where are you?"
"Here, sweetheart!" Her father's voice came from a far corner of the laboratory. There were plates of half-eaten food growing mold around, and she sighed. When Thaddeus really got into his experiments and inventing process, he usually forgot the normal things. Eloie figured that he was lucky there were servbots, and that her mother was a big help in ensuring that Thaddeus got to bathe daily. "Thanks for the wind. It was getting rather dusty in here."
The lab was unnaturally quiet and dim, except for a shining light in the far corner. Following the light, she saw a floating ball on top of a velvet pillow, and her father standing next to it, proudly.
She looked at the ball, a large thing that hummed with the familiar sound of gears, clockwork, and electricity. It was about the size of a basketball, but covered with elegant golden markings on its' edges, and painted a soft teal, reminiscent of the rococo period. The Ball had an eye on a stalk, and occasionally it would emerge and peer around, observing its' surroundings. The eye paused to stare at her, and Eloie smiled at it.
It was charming, in its' own way.
"Happy birthday, princess. Ten years old already, and this calls for a very unique kind of gift. This is a ball created from the very best in mechanics and dust." Her father tapped the ball until it shrunk into the size of a regular Rubik's cube. When he lined up The Ball's gears a certain way, it opened and Eloie could see the whirring of gears inside of The Ball. There was a soft ice-blue glow and she could see that aside from the clockwork and mechanical gears, there was a small crystal in the center, encased in fluid.
"They said it couldn't be done, twenty years ago--but I've done it. This, my darling, is the very first Infinity Crystal."
Theoretically, it was possible to forge a dust-powered gear or crystal to simulate life. The application, however, was a different story. Thaddeus was grateful that his "insane" whim wasn't so farfetched after all.
Eloie's blue eyes shone with curiosity. "Is this going to be the next toy, daddy?" Thaddeus closed up the insides of The Ball, and tapped it again. This time, it grew back into the size of a basketball.
Thaddeus shook his head. "No, darling. This is the one and only toy of its' kind. Made just for you. It will protect you and since it runs on dust, you can just power it up with the stuff whenever you like."
Eloie felt happy. For the first time, she would have a toy that no other child possessed, and handmade by her father. Ever since Atlas funded Lavender Corporation with providing weapons for children entering training, time with her parents had been short.
"All that's left is to name it. Name it whatever you like, darling -- I've set it to respond only to you, me and your mother." Thaddeus looked at his daughter and decided that Lissandra was right; Eloie had forgotten her fencing sword at home. His daughter's sword arm was there, but the weapon itself was thrown onto the kitchen counter yesterday, and had remained there. She was losing interest in physical fighting. The latest grades that were sent from Atlas, however, showed that where her physical prowess declined, her agility rose. Eloie Lavender had signed up for ballet and gymnastics class, and withdrew from fencing.
He hoped that with this, she would finally learn the importance of self-defense, especially with the Grimm so close. He trusted Atlas to protect his family -- as long as they could provide schematics and weapons that made the children excited to learn about fighting -- but there was nothing wrong with being extra cautious. If The Ball was a success, he could branch out into toys powered by Infinity Crystals manufactured with the dust-talented in mind.
"Though Eloie is the only girl we've ever seen with an affinity that high..." Thaddeus remembered his colleagues commenting on his daughter's lack of focus, yet had high potential to manipulate and wield dust better than some of the adult hunters. There had been some scientists who wanted to take blood samples from his daughter, but he emphatically stated that "A child who is dust-talented will bring destruction more than good. If she throws a small temper tantrum, you'd find the lab in flames."
Wanting to keep their jobs (and their paychecks), the scientists had stopped hinting at Thaddeus bringing Eloie to work.
"Then I shall call it Ball. Hello, Ball. We're going to be great friends." The eye stalk on The Ball glowed and it floated out of its' spot on the pillow, and settled in front of Eloie. When the girl reached out to pet it, The Ball whirred and crackled with energy.
"Miss Greenwood told you about me, didn't she?"
Thaddeus nodded. "Your mother and I discussed it, and..." The door to the laboratory slid open and Lissandra Lavender came in, wearing her lab coat and holding two cups of hot coffee. "Room for one more in this party?" She kissed Thaddeus on the cheek and handed him the other cup of coffee. "Mom!" Eloie embraced her mother and smelled the familiar scent of patchouli and lilies. "Dad gave me the best present ever!"
"Glad you like it, sweetie. Miss Greenwood thought that you could use a pet, or some other training to focus the dust on...so that you would refrain from setting fire to Esther Goldman's skirt..."
Eloie nuzzled her face deeper into her mother's lab coat. "She said that my parents make toys marketed to children because they couldn't have their own, and I got mad because I'm here and I'm your child."
Lissandra petted the top of the ten year-old's head and took a long drink from her coffee cup. "Oh, honey. Still, you shouldn't hurt people...only the Grimm. Did your father tell you about Ball's...special abilities?"
The response was a shake of the head, and Lissandra mock-scolded her husband, saying "Already ten and she doesn't know her birthday present is a weapon? For shame, Thaddeus."
Thaddeus pretended to be hurt, but his amusement colored his voice. "Then let's show mummy what you can do with Ball, Eloie. Come with me to the training facility..."
As father and daughter walked out of the laboratory, hand in hand, Lissandra placed her coffee cup on the nearby work table, hoping that Eloie would never find out the truth. She tapped her manicured fingers on top of the table as she pulled out a pamphlet advertising Beacon Academy.
Eloie's adoption papers aside, how would Eloie react when she found out that her real parents had chosen to sell her to Atlas scientists when they found out that she was exceptionally talented with the dust?
