Chapter 30: Thirty
The highlights of yesterday's events were still the talk of the town, Tanagura and Midas alike keen with the discussion of what had happened during the Auction, of Riki's entrance and reintroduction and then the assassination attempt. Never had there been a mix of such dread and drama over anything, the populace inflamed, the elites murmuring. Iason could only shake his head.
As he sat down up his penthouse office in Eos, the superior Blondie reviewed last night's surveillance with much attention, though he did stop every now and then when the face of his beloved wafted up the screens, immediately filing a copy of his and his Pet's best moments in a personal databank. It was strange, how he somehow was becoming sentimental of their memories together although this would not have been the case before. His recollection alone would have been enough.
He even found himself compiling some of their shared intimacies as well, finding that he could be so easily enthralled to see his Riki crying out on the virtual screens. He enjoyed watching the Pet in his aroused state, even as he masturbated, Iason sometimes indulging his voyeuristic tendencies and ordering his Exclusive to stroke himself before he got to the part of fully fucking him...
It made Iason smile.
He wondered how Riki would react if he showed him these footages. Knowing the ever-obstinate, eternally noncompliant nature of his Pet, he'd certainly think the Blondie perverted without a second's thought. But it would be something he can tease him with definitely.
' Look at how you moan and thrust into my hand. You can never resist me can't you? ' he imagined crooning as he would abuse Riki in front of these virtual recordings.
The thought made Iason want to call upon his Pet now and nail him to the wall with his thrusting. But that had to wait (as tempting as it might be). He still had to sort through the mess of yesterday's events although he had a vague idea as to just who was after them. He had his own hackers on the prowl in fact, Katze having placed Zico and five others in charge of sifting through the cyber threats Tanagura's been receiving all around the world and the Star System.
Since putting out information about Eos Palace Two as bait, several beings had broken through the database Iason had purposely set up to draw them out...some amateurs, some experts, but majority seemingly coming from the Commonwealth nations, from those war-peddling colonies that were known for their piracy and such.
In fact, there was one nearby, Kryon, whose seat of power was a floating fortress in South Ocean, who'd tapped eagerly into the database for further information about him and his work. Riki's name alone came up at least two hundred times in any one given search, the results of course, all fabricated falsehood.
Now Iason knew hackers were a two-sided investment. They would turn around and sell you out in the name of good business on the next opportunity and at the proper price. The Blondie has then come up with an emergency plan made especially for them in case they decided to go against the contract they had agreed upon; one which involved a superior-class implant which would make certain Jupiter can never be betrayed.
Zico was first to fall prey to it, or rather he had no choice, the others followed, but all deemed the heir's cunning to be especially dangerous they'd conceded without protest. Albeit they were shocked when Iason ordered to let any hacking through during the Pet Auction. The hackers in their employ thought it was plain suicidal on the Blondie's behalf.
But then after Katron was revealed and the attempt thwarted, they all realized it was all just another staged snare, all part of a plan...this new Jupiter occupying the throne of Tanagura an even scary being than his predecessor...
"Midas has not been able to provide a sufficient explanation but it was a clear blow to the city's ego, how that could have happened," the first thing Raoul narrated as he walked in on his friend. "Gideon is still furious."
Iason set aside his work. The other Blondie always - always - had something to discuss with him about when he came in like this. He continued, "Even the Commonwealth has chastised them for being so loose, that it was an outrage amongst the other nations. They're feigning apologies to you in every possible media."
He knew this to be correct. The news was a hot item...the Commonwealth was apologizing to Tanagura's Neu-Jupiter for the lapse in security that they could have lent, assuming Midas had needed it, now sending him invitations or calling Eos, the higher-ups personally checking up to see if he were all right, if his Exclusive had not been traumatized, hilarious that they thought Riki to be some dainty flower now.
' But my Riki is fine. He ate a hearty breakfast this morning and went shopping with Kantre since Katron was still absent, ' Iason was at some point tempted to retort, with full mocking and sarcasm. Though it was also true. Riki had been unaffected: just sent word in fact to inform the Blondie that he'd found him a nice little gift…
Then there were Orphe and Aisha, unnerved and nearly-stressed out now, swamped since yesterday with inquiries though Iason's only instruction was to decline, come up with a generic statement that would suffice. He is not going to any other affairs no matter how lavish they were, for now.
He thought about Riki and would rather have the Pet stay indoors for the meantime after the attempt, but he did not stop him from leaving the Palace earlier. It was all right. He trusted Kantre who was fiercer anyway in terms of the transformation than Katron.
Not as equally bright, but a more ruthless killer which was preferable at the moment. In case anyone tried to get even just an inch close to his Exclusive. The Beta Twins have been left on high alert.
"Just desserts. Though it was rather alarming, and much so since it was a publicized event, we did earn attention."
"You seem complacent," Raoul had that distinctive frown on his face. "...seeing as you were the objective of the attack apparently."
"I'm still alive am I not?"
"It's no laughing matter, Iason," here came the scolding. "We should be more cautious now. Because we are yet to identify our enemies -who knows what else they have planned and when they would strike next! They also most definitely did not take you lightly, sending ten capable assailants for you. And Riki!"
This time, Iason did laugh, further deepening the glaring expression on his friend's face. He counted twelve assassins that night. Though what Katron had done with the other two bodies, he would have to wait to know.
Raoul meanwhile ground out, "This is no time to be amused!"
All Neu-Jupiter could do was sigh at this. "Calm down Raoul. We shouldn't be too nervous: that's reckless. It wouldn't be like a Blondie to appear fazed."
He was right. Blondies were known for their collected nature, of seeing things in a logical way, dealing with troubles based on facts and plans, not hearsay, not rumours, encasing their counters in ice and endless calm. The sentiment seemed to have dampened on the other Blondie's afflictions somehow. But as shocking as the attempt had been, there was something else more bothersome than that for Raoul.
"Here."
To Iason's surprise, his best friend slid a slate in front of him. It was a snap footage, of Katron, lashing out with monster-like precision, his bleeding red eyes shining in the dark, as seen through infrared lenses of surveillance. So Raoul had likewise been digging around the grid? But then who else amongst their class wasn't?
"What's this?"
The other Blondie's nose flared. "You tell me," he pointed an accusing finger at his friend.
Iason shrugged, leaning back against his massive chair, "He's my Furniture."
"Gods Iason," for someone known for his atheism, Raoul sure used the terms of the religious a lot when he was cursing him. This was just simple blasphemy. "You tell me that the demise of those would-be assassinators is attributed to mere furniture?" Again, the other was on a tirade, pacing in front of him. "This is not a Guardian-bred decor but a lab-made imp! Don't you ever think of the dangers about having something like that run wild in your House?"
What was Raoul so angry about? Katron was another bioengineered, military grade armament. Iason just gave it a pleasant face and clear eyes so it can serve Riki further in public. There was nothing wrong with what he, as Neu-Jupiter, had done.
"On the contrary, I'm well aware of the dangers Raoul. All the more that I need Katron and his twins. I trust him with my life. And I most certainly trust them with Riki.
"They govern my house with such attentiveness, every Furniture should take up their example," Iason waved a gloved hand dismissively, but the latter would not put this down so easily. He never did let Iason bully him. Even on the issue of Riki once, Raoul had been the complete antithesis.
"But then we cannot all be Neu-Jupiter. We cannot all be too risky," said the Biochemist.
"So does this mean I'm the only one taking risks?"
"You're the only one who loves to push it to the limits!"
"That's absurd," Iason scowled this time. That can't be farther from the truth. "Making chimeras and tinkering with the natural order is also taking a risk Raoul. Manufacturing a Pet and controlling the population from the shadows is one and the same. What defines the lines between them when there is none. What makes our open bioengineering acceptably different from what I had done in private to my own Furniture when it's all the same?"
Indeed. In the society of Tanagura that they're in, when they did deal as the hand of God, they did not question about whether or not it was wrong or right, they did not spare all possible expense or virtue in the face of enhancements, innovation, breakthroughs and, ultimately, perfection.
Or was it perhaps out of their own pride?
Perhaps the real issue here was that Raoul, like the rest of their class, had not known about it. That, acting in secret and beyond them, Iason had demolished this sacred yet precarious bond and trust between all Blondies who preferred to function as a whole unit. But he was also Neu-Jupiter...and although made flesh and blood, he needed to carry on as the god had carried on.
He will have to keep secrets even from Raoul.
"We're Blondies. There's no time to talk about scientific morals. You're beginning to sound like those naturalists who hate your guts," Iason still smiled at his brother.
There was a clear flaw in Jupiter's artificial children who masqueraded themselves as the elites, Blondies including. Only when he had shared in Riki's humanity was he able to see it.
They were smart. They were too knowledgeable. Yet this superfluous intelligence did not equate to understanding, and all Blondies though capable of explaining things in equations and schematics, had no capacity to comprehend life as it was entirely. Or rather they dressed up understanding according to their own whims and fancies to satisfyingly chain it beside their chosen beliefs.
Though this was expected. As the parent called Jupiter was himself without this capability, only able to be as a mimic of living but forever looking at the world from behind his bell jar, he could not impart to them the answers to the real mysteries. He was never born of a womb. He never experienced human pain. Hell, he didn't even know love until he'd stared down upon him and Riki. And in all these shortcomings he made more alike to himself, perhaps to ease his misery, his elites, dressing them in the same manner as he was, mere voids.
But what was he talking about? Oh that's correct. Iason was no longer like his brethren therefore he can say this seeming ridicule, the only trait that made them the same was the hair colour, otherwise, he was now only more similar to Riki. And they were the only two on all the planet…
But he had to give his respects to Jupiter still, for in death, he had managed to revive them, and giving them even greater attention, they had become two entirely unique forms, the most stunning achievement the old god could boast about: himself in living and breathing bodies who could touch and feel and love, never mind if he was only an insignificant factor in them now, occupying but the tiniest portions of his lovers' anatomies.
Yes. Most shockingly enough, the old Jupiter still lived, but he now resided in both Iason's and Riki's every cell…
"But then tell me this: where did you get the design for this serving weapon of yours?" Trust Raoul to pry.
"Jupiter's Will."
"What!? You mean he sponsored this?" that shouldn't have come as a shock though it already did.
"Ordered," Iason returned. "The one year's sleep wasn't actually entirely unconscious. We - and I mean Riki and I - had been in constant communion with Jupiter that whole time. We had been schooled in his schemes. Riki has forgotten them however, and I only recently began recalling."
This was unbelievable. And here they thought that the sleep was just that, a mere comatose state when in fact, they, the Pet including, communed with Jupiter for the year while Tanagura was in utter chaos?
"Sometimes I wonder whatever it was that Jupiter had left to you. What that Will really contained."
Iason smiled. He was waiting as to when Raoul would ask this question, which marked then that all was ready. It meant the Blondie was at this point of curiousity to be fruitful in the next steps Iason was to take.
"I'll share part of it with you if you are willing," he said.
Immediately Raoul was incredulous.
"Are you jesting? Don't humour me."
For fact, they all knew the Will of Jupiter was confidential.
"I'm not. I'm serious," Iason drummed his fingers on his table with a tinge of impatience.
"And why is that?"
Raoul balanced a hand on his hip, brows furrowing but piqued nonetheless. The chance of a lifetime, or the culmination of his life's work, whichever came first. Yet the other Blondie could not help but think how there must be some heavy reason by which Iason had decided this all of a sudden. He has not revealed much of his intentions until now even to Raoul. He has got to hear the other's explanations…
What Neu-Jupiter said next came as even more surprising; he confided, "First because I intend on making more of Katron. I find his design to be...better as you have already witnessed. Only in a variation from the current form.
"Second, I need your particular expertise to create a new breed of weapons as per the original blueprints Jupiter and I have discussed.
"And third, as with Katze, I need someone whom I can entrust the next phase of the Will to. Someone who can carry out the plans from this part of Tanagura without fear or fail."
Raoul was rendered speechless after he had heard those three reasons, coming from the superior Blondie's mouth with such calm and coolness, it burned out of reason. He looked at his friend for a very long minute…
There was an intention to make more of Katron? Create a new breed of weapons? But for what? He likewise replayed the phrase 'as with Katze' in his head.
That broker who handled all of Iason's affairs in the deep darkness of the Black Markets and its subtle undergrounds Raoul has not spoken to or seen after the Lovers' awakening, the first time in person being when the Biochemist had summoned him to know what became of Iason and Riki at Dana Burn...
Since the danger posed upon the Pet and the Master had been lifted, thanks to much persistence, Raoul had not found a reason to maintain contact with the broker, though now he realized Iason was still certainly making full use of Katze's loyalty, even, unbelievably, being the first to learn of the Will as proven by Iason's own words…
He was confounded. And disappointed.
Does this mean his friend trusted Katze more than he did him? Does this also mean the scarred redhead was already making a move according to Neu-Jupiter's orders? If ever, what were these orders? And where was all this leading to?
"You want me to work with your underground crony?" was all that the other Blondie asked, a clear aversion wrinkling his features.
Iason expected as much, having just slandered their friendship with the fact that he had consulted and requested for Katze's help first before he had asked for that of Raoul's. But then it can't be helped. In terms of cunning and street smarts, his former Furniture was beyond capable, and the fact that he also cared for Riki despite having maintained his subarctic facade, was something Iason could not overlook…
Yet it was also true that without further support from this side, the goal Neu-Jupiter was striving for would collapse in the weight of its own ambitions. A captain needed his lieutenants and the superior Blondie could find no other mind suitable to assist him from here in the Towers, nein, in Tanagura, but that of Raoul's.
"Can I trust you then? Or will you be my opposition?" Iason asked, confident though ever-reflecting on the smallest possibility that Raul would decline.
In the end, it will all boil down on how the two will build upon cooperation. Of course the other Blondie will have time to consider his proposition if he would ask Iason for it. It will not be like the time Jupiter called him back to life; he'll give his friend the choice.
Raoul this time was silent.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Yuri_the_Eighth
Yuri_the_Eighth I never really expected to please everyone when I set out writing Cinco. Never even expected I'd continue writing it but then I just did, neh? ^_^
Anyway, on with today's affairs, as it's time to build up the next chapters; let's start with this: I always find Iason's and Raoul's little 'discussions' interesting. Raoul just likes to contradict that it's amusing.
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