Within the facility that did not exist, Scientist 18 was hard at work on her latest project. Her blonde hair was tied back into a bun and a heavy welders mask covered her face, protecting her from the sparks and blinding light.

A small flame burned at the tip of her outstretched finger as she welded with her bare hands.

She pulled her mask up, taking a close look at her work to make sure that it was going to hold, before 18 leaned back with a smile on her face.

"There you go sweetie, that should be all better. How does it feel?"

The project that she had been working on, a being made of metal that resembled a young girl, lifted up their arm and examined the freshly added limb. She flexed the fingers, her adorable chrome face pouting as she tried it out, before bursting into a bright and dazzling smile.

"It's great! Thank you Miss 18, I promise I'll take good care of this one!"

The woman known only as Scientist 18 laughed as the chrome plated girl pulled her into a bear hug. The girl quickly broke the hug, glancing at 18's real project, that she had been pulled away from to perform a quick repair job.

"Do you think they will be ready soon?"

"I think so... We just need to work out a few issues with the power supply. But that's the overseers job. I'm trying to see if I can get them easier to transport."

"Promise you'll let me be the first to use one!"

"You don't need to wait! You could possess it right now and get it working. But... ugh, fine. I promise you can be one of the first."

18 broke under the pouting eyes of the metallic girl, who let out another dazzling smile and hugged her tight once more. It was only a quick hug, as she immediately broke it and hurried off out of the room as fast as her feet could carry her.

The scientist chuckled softly, glancing at the giant project looming over her.

"I wonder... Could I get you to fit into a suitcase..."

***

The metallic girl hummed a song to herself as her hurried steps slowed, eventually turning into a merry skip. Although her body was entirely made of metal, it was not because she was a robot.

The metal was simply an empty shell, one of a few bodies she had access to and had inhabited so far. The girl, whose name was Daisy, was the ghost that inhabited the shell. She had lost her head, and her life, in some of the first days of the new world. But for some reason she couldn't figure out... she stuck around.

She had tried looking for her parents, hoping they had stuck around too, but it seemed that they had moved onto the next place. Wherever that was. She had met others like her, and eventually met the nice man.

He had worked hard to give people like her, those who stuck around, bodies. The first ones were a little ugly, but these new ones were the culmination of all their work. A metallic body that was identical in appearance to her old one, but the head was actually attached to this one!

Not just that, but she could feel things. Not as much as she used to though, she still couldn't eat or taste anything, but that didn't matter much! She was just happy to have others to play with. That was how her arm broke in the first place.

Skipping into the Overseers room, Daisy smiled brightly and took her place next to the tall, spindly man who resembled a spider, who was surrounded by other scientists. But even if some found his appearance a little creepy, Daisy didn't mind. She thought he was pretty.

Julius turned when he felt a new presence beside him, his eyes squinting in his version of a smile as he saw Daisy beaming up at him.

"Hello little one. Good timing, I have need of my favourite assistant. I need another pair of hands to hold this down while I work."

Despite Julius having another two pairs of hands free at the moment, he ushered Daisy forwards to hold down the second version of the soul extractor gun he was working with. The girl giggled at the words that wrote themselves into the air beside Julius' head, knowing that he was lying, but still helped him.

Help that Julius was greatful for.

It had been over a year since his Father first set foot into this facility. 1 year, 2 months, 27 days to be exact. Not that he was counting, of course.

Julius and his brother had moved their equipment here, along with their studies. Not just because they were getting cramped in their previous workspace, but because it allowed them to 'work on their social skills'. Something Father had insisted was important.

Julius had no idea why, he socialised with Titus all the time. Surely that counted, right?

But apparently it was also so he could 'move out of his parents basement.' which was another thing Julius didn't understand. Father did speak a lot of nonsense, but he gave him more access to complex runes to work with, so he accepted the nonsense. Plus... Julius would be lying if he said he didn't say he enjoyed learning about new things from all the other scientists.

At least those who talked to him.

Although he had been given the title of Overseer of the Magi-science department, Julius only interacted with a chosen few. Most of the new recruits found him intimidating or creepy, apparently.

The entire facility shuddered just as he was about to pour the 'Soul Extract' out of the new and improved harvester, causing Daisy to put on an extra serious face as she put all her effort into holding the empty container still.

Julius smiled at her efforts, his other hands catching delicate equipment that was falling, before placing it in a more secure spot just before another tremble pulsed through the facility.

'Sigh... I guess I will have to upgrade the shielding in the training room again. Her strength is getting out of control...'

***

The training room, as it was now known, used to be the prison for the Ancient Dragon Prometheus. Since he was no longer around to use it, and since Seth had unofficially 'liberated' this facility, he felt it only right to use this big open space to train and improve their skills.

Of course since it was still a secret facility, it was a training room allowed only to the elite of Ravenkeep.

A young girl, who looked roughly ten years old, pulled her hand out of the floor. The reinforced metal had crumpled and warped under her devastating punch, leaving a perfect indentation of her fist in the floor. It was not the first one either, as those same indentations covered the walls and the floor all over the room.

Even still, She winced at the screeching metal as she pulled her fist free and bit her lip softly.

"Whoops... I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry, I was just- Woah!"

The girl stumbled back, dodging the sword that swiped past her face and weaved through the next few swipes. She took to the air, flipping over the next swipe and landed behind Fox before slamming her fist into his back.

His body flew across the training room, bouncing along the floor like a skimming stone, before slamming into the wall hard enough to dent it and send another earthquake like tremor throughout the facility.

Cracks extended across the entirety of his broken body, before he scattered into a rain of glass shards that clattered to the ground.

"Sorry!"

"Stop apologising and focus!"

Another Fox appeared behind the girl, swiping at her head, while a third version of the grey haired swordsman charged her from the front, stabbing towards her chest.

In the middle of the room, where the Dragon had once been kept prisoner in human form, a pair of men stood shoulder to shoulder while a pair of full length mirrors stood either side of them.

The real Fox crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes as he watched the girl disbatch another clone with ease. He was going easy on her, but even still, her strength was unmatched within their kingdom.

As another clone of himself leapt from the mirror and charged into the fray, Fox spoke softly to the man who stood next to him.

"It's increased again. It's getting hard to keep up."

Seth, possessing the body of a puppet, let out a deep sigh. This puppet was much like the bodies that the Dead Men, like Daisy, used when not in combat. Only his version didn't have the upgrades needed to withstand his soul, as his abilities took care of that. This was simply a fully metallic clone of him.

His Avatar, as he called it.

"I know Graham. But I can't really stop it. That's what her powers do, it's just part of who she is. The older she gets, the stronger she'll grow.

I should know, I designed it myself."

Seth crossed his arms and tapped his chin as he watched the girl upper cut another clone so hard it buried itself in the ceiling, ten metres in the air.

It was hard to think that girl, was Nixie. But in just over a year, she had somehow gone from looking like a 3 year old girl, to looking like she was ready to go into her early teens. She had aged 7 years, in just 1.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.