The Tempore Rebellion

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Crono

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Gather round you upbeat youngsters and let be tell you the tale of the legendary Tempore Rebelion, one of the most miraculous reveloutions in history. I say miraculous because it all started with a small event of fate, one that would send the rebellion's leaders into a jorney that would put their future and even their lives at a razor's edge.
 
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Rain. A downpour. Hitting thin metal with the noise of a gatling gun. Okay, maybe not that loud but you get the point. Spur hated rain, it was bad for the cogs, rust was a constant and bothersome problem down in the Machination. That bloody TICKING was still ringing in his ears, he had just gotten off work in the more complex parts of the clockwork and it was midnight. His brass arms dragged behind him, he was so tired his could hardly think straight.

Spur tried to get ahold of his surroundings, but failed due to darkness and rain. Couldn't even find his own house, how pathetic could he get? He was starting to feel the cold of the rain now, it was honestly welcome after a sweaty work day but not helping his situation. He came up to a smaller building, he had just enough time to make out 'Book' on the sign before he fainted from exhaustion. He dreamed of long beaks, savage blades, and a steel willed woman he missed.
 
Amethyst swept the main parlor of the book shop as the pitter patter of the pouring rain pounded against the roof. Her aunt quietly hummed in the back room where she enjoyed one of the many novels that occupied the shelves lining all the walls. The sweet scent of bread wafted in from the neighboring bakery. Amethyst (or Amy as her aunt called her) slowly went about her chore as she enjoyed the surreal quiet of the shop. The scent of old paper mixed beautifully with the bread's bringing her to a perfect state of strange satisfaction.

She swept the debris towards the door mat as her aunt called her from the back. "Amy!" She shouted from her personal study. "Don't forget to turn over the sign when you finish up there"

"Alright Aunty," she answers nonchalantly while setting the broom aside. Without hesitation, her semi gloved hand opens the door to the torrential rain. Before her, a boy with two mechanical arms laid unconscious on the pavement. Amy immediately knelt down to the boy's level and rolled him over so she now saw his face. She shook his shoulders, to no avail, before dragging him beneath the metallic awning to protect and him and herself from the downpour.

"Hey! Hey you!" She spoke into the boy's face while gently smacking his icy cheeks. Her voice didn't waver as she fought to bring the boy to consciousness. "Wake up!" She exclaimed once again before checking his pulse and breathing.

He's alive. She thought to herself before turning to call for her aunt.
 
With a sudden jolt the boy awoke, his eyes snapping open with a breif torrent of panic and fury. In this molment Spur jumped to his feet, taking a wild swing that just missed the girl in front of him. "Off! Get your hands off her- I mean me damn it!" Spur started to collect himself, without even apologizing to the girl he examined his suffoundings. He was outside the book place under a awning, must have fainted, was he really that tired?

Yes he was. Spur suddenly felt the weight of his arms pulling him down along with the cold of the rain freezing his skin. His legs stalled as he attempted to take the confident stance he always had. He looked surprised at this before he saw who brought him under the awning, mainly her clothes. "No no no, this is not happening." He growled and started to slowly pull himself out from under the awning, trying to ignore how cold the rain was, how tired he felt, how rude he had just been, how far away his house was, and the smell of fucking BREAD?!
 
Amethyst fell backwards as the boy sprung to his feet in a spell of panic. She observed the mechanical boy in shock and bewilderment as he fought off imaginary assailants. As he cooled down, she got to her feet with help from the textured walls. She turned to the boy with her fist in front of the window. The rain came down like a constant curtain now, engulfing any poor soul who happened to wander into it. The empty streets and neighboring shops disappeared in the veil of rainwater leaving the duo in a secluded space under the striped awning that now bowed under the water.

"Who the hell are you?" she growled as he inched back into the torrential rain. His metal arms gleamed in the rain as the various street lanterns came on like ghostly will o wisps in fog. "What's happening?" she inquired with an equally threatening tone as to not seem weak in front of the stranger. Her heart roared in her ears and air got trapped in her throat as anxiety washed over her like a leaden wave. She tired to conceal all evidence of the storm in her body through her squared off stance and unrelenting gaze.

As his exhausted state became apparent, she took a cautionary step forward as if to assert some form of dominance in the strange situation. Her fists now balled at her sides in a faux fighting stance, and her breathing came in choked clumps through her nose making her slightly lightheaded.
 
For the past hour Spur's exhaustion was so great that his mind was worn bare and his body struggled to retain the ability to feel. The boy's brain was working in a slow unalert fashion until he hit a wall of water. A few steps back were taken, sputtering the liquid out as it carried the chemicals in his hair down to his mouth. Darkness had completely consumed the area, the moon swallowed by the behemoth storm. Spur cursed under his breath, the pale street lights were no help at all, no more then floating orbs in the black.

Spur reluctantly turned back to the middle class girl, who was attempting to seem tough but looked much more like a angry bunny to him. The boy scoffed and heaved his arms to a crossing position, his left claw spinning and the fingers clinking together threateningly. Once again he struggled to stand straight as he looked up at the girl dead in the eye, a snarl in his throat. "I'm Spur. You don't have the faintest idea what's happening." The words were spat at her eyes, as if to wash them, except Spur immediatly regretted the second sentence. Such words could get him killed with the right person hearing them, regardless of this he stood by his words as he always had.
 
Amethyst tightened her stance as the boy crossed his arms with an irritating smirk. His body still displayed the evidence of severe fatigue as he wobbled every so often in his confident pose.

I could probably take him. she thought as she discretely reached behind her for some kind of weapon. She kept eye contact with spur as to not set himself and retained her calm expression.

"You're right." she said with a complimentary smirk, "I don't know what's going on. Why don't you give me a little intel?" she inquired as her fingers continued to search for a new hope in the situation. The lamps grew brighter with the passing time as the bulbs warmed up to the new surge of electricity, allowing Amethyst to better see the battered boy. She felt a pit in her stomach as she saw the scars criss crossing his body as the chemical residue to stuck to his hair and clothes. Her fingers stalled for a moment as she stepped back at the sight with slight surprise and horror. She couldn't believe that someone so young could be in such a state in her city where everyone had access to a bath and decent food. That's what she believed anyways, but now a seed of doubt planted itself in her gut where she thought that her morals were stone solid.
 
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Spur's mind was begging his mouth to stop talking. He was going to get himself killed for no reason, saying this wouldn't change anything. But after seeing the shock in the girl's eyes he was determined, so he spoke again. "Well I just got out of my job. It goes from morning to midnight and all my fellow poor and homeless people do it. Very few of us get payed so we have to search for food and water then sleep all in only 4 hours. Afterwards we're forced back into our job."

Spur could tell by her eyes that he had the girl's full attention. His smirk widened but he was forced to drop his arms, crossing them wasted too much energy. "Oh and I haven't even told you what we all do for so long. We go down under this damned island and work on a massive clockwork Machination that keeps this place running. It's extremely exhausting and dangerous, more often then not, deadly. Just today I saw one person loose a leg and three more die, the talk of the evening was if one of them killed himself."

As the angry midget spoke the increased brightness of the streetlights made it so one could see the passing group of silent sentinels further down the road behind him. The Watching Crows. Masks pale like clean bone, robes as dark as crow feathers. One stopped and turned to veiw the conversation further down the road, causing the others to stop at the exact same time. The Crow that stopped turned to the group and made a series of gestures that ment, "we will return later" in their coded sign language. Then they all continued across the street as if nothing had happened.
 
Amethyst fingers cease to search the wall as the boy explained his work situation and the truth of her home. Her shaking fingers slowly went to her lips as she registered his words in horror. Had she contributed to this atrocity? Had she possibly added to these people's suffering by utilizing the islands various commodities? She looked to the ground as she considered every possible way these people suffered just so her and her neighbors could live in comfort. The brought a sour taste to her mouth that resembled bile in a way.

"How?" she murmured by her progressively lighter breaths. Her prior stance now crumbled as her anger and disgust overwhelmed her sense. Her usual strength dissolved under her revelations turning her into a worrisome child. Through her worry, she failed to notice the ominous presence of the Crows lurking on her street's corner. Their grotesque appearances seemed to blend in with the rain as they fade in and out of the torchlight. It was as if they were just malevolent spirits surveying the human world for souls to take back to the underworld, although in this case the truth wasn't too far off. "How can any of this be allowed?" she murmured with a bit more conviction invading her tone. Her eyes raised back to Spur as her fury overtook her worry in a merciless swoop. Fury warmed her hazel eyes to resemble an infuriated beasts'.

As she faced off with the stranger, her aunt became suspicious and began searching the homey bookshop for her preoccupied niece. Her usually calm expression gradually turned puzzle as she discovered the wooden broom resting against the door frame. She picked up the article to examine the grainy texture as if its appearance would provide some clue to the girl's whereabouts. With a shrug she put it back down and ventured to the back part of the store where the restroom and bedrooms were thinking her teen aged niece was taken a nice little break. She sighed when she failed to find Amethyst. With one last glance towards the store entrance she shook her head. "She wouldn't be out there" she whispered to herself. "She's probably picking up bread from the neighbors again," she convinced herself with half assed sincerity.
 
Spur watched terror and shame fill the girl's eyes as her once defensive stance crumbled. He snarled at the girl's defeated question, her anger fueling his. "How? I'll tell you how damn it. It's that bloody Baron. This entire island was built with the blood, sweat, and tears of slaves years ago, but he hides it behind his 'charity' to you lot! While you and the nobles live in luxury we're stuck breaking our backs! The traders are too busy making money to notice and the slums are hidden behind that huge walled off area."

"That's how damn it." Spur growled lowly. He turned to see that the street lights were glowing properly now and looked back at the girl. "I have to go. As I said I only have four hours to sleep and eat, besides what I just said here is going to get me killed and you probably don't care. Goodbye whatever your name is." The boy spat at the woman's feet and made it a whole two steps before collapsing. "Damnit," he muttered while trying to pull himself up to no avail.
 
Amethyst quickly shook her head to rid herself of whatever daze was consuming her mind. The boy struggled on the wet pavement from his exhaustion. Amethyst dropped to her knees and immediately placed herself beneath the boy's left arm before proceeding to lift him from the slimy cobblestone.
"I'm sorry" she murmured under light breaths repeatedly, almost like a chant from a possessed cult attendant.
"I'm sorry" she reported as her petite frame struggled to lift the half bionic boy from the street. Her short boots became saturated with rainwater, soaking her socks underneath.
"No one should...." she trailed off, "No one should ever..." she whispered while succeeding to slightly straighten out under the boy's weight finding new strength. Her heart slowed (but mind remained blank) as the malevolent presences returned on the peripheral of the peaceful neighborhood.

"Amethyst!" Came a choked squeak. The girl lifted her weary head and her aunt's worried form came into view. The woman's hands covered her taut lips as the scene came into view. Spur's battered form sent a wave of worry and confusion through her worked form. Amethyst mindlessly put a free finger to her lips while slowly making her way to the threshold blocked by her worried relatively. Her aunt, not knowing what to do, silently stepped to the side in utter shock. The warmth of the shop immediately invaded Amethyst chilled body, alleviating her of some of the shock bestowed upon her. Her mind gradually come back as the familiar atmosphere brought some sense of comfort to the confused child.

She manged to drag Spur past the threshold before her knees buckled. She fell onto her knees with a pronounced Thud, and her aunt came to her side to relieve her of the weight.

(Happy New Year)
 
Spur wanted to struggle, to free himself of the girl's grasp, but his body refused to respond. He wanted to think that he didn't need the girl's pity, but he gave in. His frozen feet dragged on the floor until his body dropped again. This time there was warmth, there was a floor that was not wet, and the sound of rain was quieted. He released a muffled "thank you." It was the first one he had given in years.

Icy eyes eventually opened and searched their surroundings. Another older woman stood by the girl and soon moved to carry Spur in her stead. He looked at the girl who had carried him into her own house after knowing him for a few minutes. She could be killed for what she was doing, yet she did it. "Why," he struggled to say, "why are you doing this?"
 
Amethyst smiled when she heard the minuscule 'thank you' from the bionic boy. Her aunt dragged Spur to the flat rug that bordered the dictionary section of the store where his emaciated form came into full view in the lantern light. Amethyst wandered over in time to hear the boy's inquiries. She straightened with the wave of heavy emotion finally washing over.

"What is this?" Squeaked her aunt who now ruffled up her hair with scrawny fingers that only lifted pages, not bodies. Her wet clothes clung to her heaving frame as she tried to process what was happening.

"Shh aunty, he's been through enough. Please don't shout" Amy pleaded as she came to the boy's side. She examined his form to a further extent as he eyed her through his exhaustion. "This is Spur. He works for the city and has been wronged" She glanced up to her bewildered aunt who situated herself on a nearby bench. Her small fists balled against the wood grain floor, and new tear formed in her eyes. "We've wronged him without even knowing it. Him and many others suffer daily! Don't you understand, Aunty?" She whimpered.

The aunt sighed with fingers to her temples. "What the hell...." she murmured. Her opposite hand combed through her messy hair while Amethyst examined the boy.

"What can we do?" she asked with sincerity.
 
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