Vices and Maces

Chapter 59: Virgil is Royally Fucked

Virgil really didn't want to get out of bed, but he unfortunately still had a job to do so he pulled himself out of the covers. He pulled on some fresh clothes as usual and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

He wasn't really hungry so he just grabbed a granola bar to eat as he went to set up the factory. While he did, he loosened a few bolts on the machines, 'forgot' to throw fresh coals in the furnaces, and let some tools slip behind some workstations.

Then he went to his lab, figuring that the usual workers would come in soon enough and they knew what to do. So Virgil went to focus on the project Black gave him, just because he wasn't given a due date doesn't mean Black would let him not work on it.

And since the last failures he had with laser guns, he's had a few ideas. The battery was too powerful or the magic in the crystal was too concentrated. So some simple solutions were to try a weaker battery or to somehow distribute the magic in a way that won't make it blow up in Virgil's face.

The day before he managed to make ice bullets, though it was harder for him to do that compared to fire bullets. He was immune to intense heat, not intense cold, and in fact he hated the cold. But that was only natural considering he's a dragon.

Plus when a fire crystal cracks, it just makes a quick burst of flames. When an ice crystal cracks... Well Virgil has used it to his advantage before but he had to wear thick gloves when he worked with ice crystals, and he was tired of defrosting his hands.

The ice crystals were lined up to the side in his lab and Virgil got to work building a trigger. He didn't need a giant complicated gun just yet, he just needed a trigger, a hammer, and a barrel-like tube to contain the blast. On the part of the hammer that hits the bullet, there was a small open wire that would hit the crystal or whatever is placed in front of it.

Of course Virgil was using fire crystals, there's no way he would be using an ice crystal for this. Those would need to be pre-cut. Virgil can cut the fire crystals without getting hurt, thankfully.

He connected the wire to a small battery, a circular one that is usually put into hearing aids or small lights. He set up a small fire crystal into the metal tube, making sure there was only a small opening in the back for the hammer.

Unfortunately when he shot it there was a small explosion in the tube, denting the sides into a bubble, and only a small blast came out from the other end which quickly died after a few inches.

"Ugh this is impossible!" Virgil groaned, leaning back in his chair. If the amount of energy wasn't the problem, then it had to be how concentrated the crystals were. How could he distribute the energy?

Or maybe the question should be, how can he dilute the power?

Virgil got up and immediately went to a box of empty bullet cases he had. He grabbed one before grabbing a fire crystal. He set them down on a stone tab and grabbed a chisel, cutting off a small part of the fire crystal. Then another small piece, and he grabbed a hammer to crush that piece. It sparked and cracked like pop rocks under the metal hammer head.

It needed something to conduct energy, so Virgil looked for any metal that was either turned into powder or small scraps. Unfortunately the smallest scrap was still too big, so Virgil went to cut it smaller.

Distantly he heard the regular workers get to work. Machines started turning on, and there was the constant metallic banging from the smiths. He must have been working on the laser for an hour or so.

As soon as he was satisfied with the small pieces of metal, he brought it to the table and mixed it in with the fire crystal powder. He filled up the bullet casing up with the mixture and topped it off with the small crystal piece, blowing some fire on the edges to bend it around the crystal.

Just as he was finishing it off, there was a knock at the door, making him jump in surprise. Did something go wrong already? That was fast.

But when the door opened, Virgil saw it was none of the factory workers, and instead it was Melany. Oh no... did Black change his mind about the due date? Please be something else.

"Hey Melany," Virgil greeted, putting on a fake smile. "Did you need something?"

"Black asked me to drop by to see how the laser is going," Melany explained. "Can I see it?"

"Of course." Virgil wasn't sure if he wanted the laser to succeed or fail right now. If it succeeds, then Black will know he's almost done. But if it fails, then he doesn't know what else he can do.

Still, he had to try. So he picked up the bullet and brought it over. He set it in place, grabbing a new metal tube to put over it. It was thicker than the last, so hopefully if it explodes, it won't bend.

Virgil pulled the hammer back and Melany watched carefully. He braced himself as he pulled the trigger, expecting an explosion. Instead, complete dread filled him as a blast of energy shot forth from the barrel-like tube. That was a laser... It worked.

Oh no... it worked. And Melany saw.

"That's amazing! Good job, Snap!" Melany congratulated him. "Black will be so excited to know about this! You get to work on making a proper gun for it, I'll go report to him."

Virgil wanted to stop her. As soon as he's finished designing and creating a laser, Black will kill him. But he felt frozen in place as he watched her leave. He needed to stop her, but what would he even say? How would he do it? It was clear that he couldn't bring himself to do it... And now he needed to prepare. More importantly, he should warn Roman... just in case.

~~~

"Woah... that's so cool!" Remus said as Janus finished explaining how they've been healing so fast. "I just knew you were special when I first met you! You can heal yourself!"

Janus smiled bashfully. "Well, I only figured it out recently."

"Wait, is your leg healed?"

"Not yet, that one is probably going to be harder to heal. My ribs were just fractures, but my leg wasn't a clean break. I mean, the doctors set it, but it still might be messy. However... I still want to try."

"If it's too risky..."

"It'll be even riskier if it takes forever to heal. I mean, sure I can fly, but I can't run like this. Plus if I fell or something... And the cast is annoying so I want to get this off of me."

"Oh, I can go get a knife for the cast if you wanna get it off! Unless you want to go to the doctors."

"Well I should get it checked by a doctor after I heal it to see if I healed it correctly."

"Yay, another doctor's visit..." Remus looked uncomfortable.

"You don't have to come, you can just ask your brother to take me. I don't mind. But first... let's see if I can heal this." Janus set a hand on the cast.

Remus watched patiently, not seeing or hearing anything. A frown formed on the shifter's face, but after a few minutes they moved their hand.

"Did it do it?" the halfling asked.

"I think so." Janus pressed on the cast with both hands. "I'm not feeling any pain."

"Are you sure you don't want my knife?"

Janus tilted their head. "Yeah, sure, try the knife."

Remus slipped a hand into their pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. The other didn't even question why he had a knife on him, and held their leg as still as possible.

The material of the cast was tough, and Remus had to push hard to cut through. But he still got it, and managed to keep the blade from touching Janus's skin. Eventually he finished cutting and the two of them tore the cast off.

Janus rolled their ankle, and smiled when they felt no pain. "I did it! I'm one hundred percent healed!"

"Yes!" Remus cheered with them, jumping on them and pulling Janus into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Goodbye cast, you were itchy." Janus kicked it off the bed. "Hopefully I can run soon, but I can try that tomorrow."

"Let's do something to celebrate, maybe get some ice cream and put on a movie or something?"

Janus laughed, "Sure, let's do that."