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Like Clockwork AT 02:00 - Digitally Accurate p2“-OOOON!!!!”Akita fell over as she was fully reformed again. Struggling to regain her bearing, she gasped when she got her first look at the alien looking room she currently found herself in. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. First of all, there were light blue, illuminated lines criss crossing all over the walls and even the ceiling. There were a ton of different displays everywhere with numbers on them, much like the one on the trinket that had teleported her here. There were even some regular clock faces, but these were again only displayed in that same blue light. The floor below her was something else. There was a huge 30:00 displayed in red. The moment she looked at it though, it displayed 29:59, and it just continued counting down from there.“This is… magitech?,” Akita muttered to herself. Magitech was a relatively new field of study. While combining magic with technology wasn’t new, magitech differed from standard auramancy or technomancy. It was a rare subclass of magic based on calculations and a ‘digital’ plane. There were only a handful of people who knew how it worked. Of course, with something so rare, and based on a lot of math, Akita was bound to get invested in it. It had always been nothing more than a hobby of hers to study it though so to actually see it for herself was something else. That said, she hadn’t asked to be here at all. She was about to finally talk to Bridget again about everything and now she couldn’t. And it was all because of…“You!” Akita snapped, now spotting the bracelet that was lying on the floor next to her. Why had it teleported her here? Why was this in Bridget’s possession in the first place? There were so many questions that filled her mind that she didn’t even know where to begin to try and answer them.“Akita Hirano. Finally, I get to speak to you,” came a sudden voice from all around her.“Wha… who’s there?! And why do you know my name?!” Akita called out. It sounded… odd. It was a female-sounding voice but rather than changing its tone naturally, it shifted its tones so abruptly. The tell-tale sign of a magitech-created, robotic voice-over.“I know your name for I have been waiting for you for a long time, just as the giant had been waiting for Bridget,” the voice replied. It seemed to conveniently skip over Akita’s first question.“The giant?” Akita asked but she soon answered her own question. “The clockwork giant…”“That is correct,” the voice said.“You were waiting… for me?” Akita pondered.The trinket that had been lying on the ground was then lifted up by some kind of holographic cube materializing around it. “Seven have now come before you. Four will follow after. This bracelet is called the Atomic Rebalancer and it is rightfully yours. Will you accept it and take your place as one of the Keepers of Time?” the voice said poetically.Akita’s eyes went wide. This had to be some kind of joke, right? So many thoughts raced across her mind and she didn’t know what to really do about them, or how to make sense of them to begin with. “Is that… what Bridget was offered as well?” she asked.“Indeed,” the voice responded.A Keeper of Time. So that’s what Bridget had become. And now, this voice was offering Akita to undergo the same process and to also become one of, as it turns out, eight Keepers of Time. “Why give that to me now? Why not six months ago?” she asked. Was that really the best question she should be asking right now? “You weren’t ready yet. You required a little more time. Only now are you prepared, for the Atomic Rebalancer was able to react to your presence,” the voice answered robotically.Akita began shaking her head and turned herself away from the bracelet. “No… no way… you got the wrong girl… I’m nothing special. You should offer that to Lavini…” she stammered. “This has to be some sort of mistake.”The voice took a few seconds to respond. “Lavini’s time will come but she, too, is not yet ready.”Akita turned her head to the side. “What?” Lavini was also chosen? How was Lavini not ready for something like this? She had always been such a devout follower of the goddess since joining Bridget and Akita. Then again, the same could be said about Akita herself… But, wait. Something was odd here. “Why are you telling me this? Why not tell Lavini herself?”“She cannot know yet, for she must not be influenced by this knowledge. You, also, could not be influenced by knowledge bestowed upon Bridget about your being chosen,” the voice explained calmly.Akita fully turned back to the bracelet again. Bridget knew. All this time, Bridget knew that Akita was chosen. All this time, she knew that this day would come. That both her and Lavini would one day be offered transformations of their own. Was that why Bridget accepted her transformation? Because she knew that one day, Lavini and Akita would join her as time elementals?“The Atomic Rebalancer is yours for the taking. Will you accept it?” the voice asked again.Akita didn’t really register the question though, still lost in thought. She was still processing the fact that Bridget knew all this time. Was this… did she, all along, trust her? Trust Akita to one day join her? If that was so, then there really was only one correct option…But why her? Why was she chosen? Yes, she had been just as avid and devout as Bridget and Lavini but still. She wasn’t anything special was she? Then again… Bridget did always say she was and if Bridget had put her full trust in Akita for all this time they had been apart, then all Akita could do was return the favour.“This transformation is permanent… right?” she hesitantly asked the voice.“Yes,” it replied robotically.Akita outstretched her hand as many more thoughts raced through her mind again. How would everybody react to her choosing to do this? What would her parents say? What would Lavini say? Would they run away as she had done from Bridget? Or would they cheer her on? What would it feel like to be a Keeper of Time? This… elemental being of time?No, this was not the time for questions and doubts like these, now was the time to act. “Bring it on then,” she said resolutely.“Thank you,” the voice spoke. There was… a strange tone to those last words. It was not as robotic and monotonous. There was more emotion behind it, though Akita could not quite pinpoint what emotion it was conveying….There wasn’t a lot of time to ponder it over though for the room around her soon hummed to life. All around her, several holographic boxes started appearing, each with different numbers on them. One such box even appeared to capture the bracelet. The floor below her by now was at 25:34 and each of these boxes all showed lower numbers on them. There was one set to 20:00, one set at 18:30 and so forth. There was even one set at only 00:10. And they were all beginning to count down simultaneously. Did that mean that the transformation was about to begin in ten seconds?Sure enough, the box soon counted down and as the 00:00 flashed on the cube, it opened up. From inside came four curious technomagical machines that floated down to Akita’s feet, where they formed a sort of holographic field between them. Instinctively, Akita lifted a foot but then lowered it again. She had chosen for this to happen after all. No backing out now. She placed her foot down and saw that the field was slowly rising, passing over her body. Wherever it passed over her body it altered her clothes. First were her shoes and socks, the comfy cotton and brown leather seemingly instantly transmuted into a slick singular marine coloured material that was skin tight.Next up were her pants. As the marine-colour made way for light-blue, she could feel her loose and comfy jeans transmute into the slick latex like material. Make that a very tight-fitting latex. It was like a second skin. To Akita’s surprise, it seemed that there was actually no split between her new shoes and her new pants. Here and there, there were small, red patterns which seemed to be giving off some light.When the field reached her hips, Akita thought that something was going wrong. On both of her legs, there appeared to be large tears in the clothing. Well, since they were on both sides, they must be part of this all somehow, but it still seemed odd. On top of that, it showed off a bit more skin than she was used to. The light-blue colour became more marine again as more red patterns appeared here and there.Curiously and carefully, Akita lowered her left hand down into the field where a red and marine coloured latex glove materialized around it. Of course, why would it be any different? Feeling a little bit more at ease, she lowered her right hand into it as well, where the same thing happened. From there, the latex simply spread further up her arms along with the rest of her body.The holographic field went further up from that point onwards, covering almost all of her body in this latex suit until finally stopping just before reaching Akita’s neck, where the machines turned off and vanished elsewhere again. “Whoah,” Akita murmured to herself. Looking down, she was now covered almost completely in latex with colours ranging from light blue to marine, alongside the red lights here and there. Her neck, her arms, her legs. It was tight. Tighter than anything she’d ever worn before. It would be her first choice of outfit and it was certainly something she had to get used to… but it wasn’t all that uncomfortable. It actually felt like her body was being hugged all over by the latex.There wasn’t too much time to think about it though as another box soon opened up, having finished its own count-down. This time, there was some sort of strange headset? It floated over to Akita where it came to rest on her head, covering her ears and connecting over her head. At first, it looked like a standard technomagical earphone system but it soon expanded itself. It wrapped a plating of sorts behind her, forming more of a helmet while a see-through screen lowered down from the headset over her eyes to around her nose. She could still see through the screen but everything looked a bit more blue to her now.Two more boxes finished their countdown. They opened up and from them came two strange black disks. They were oval-shaped with red and blue sides as well as a triangular antenna of sorts that seemingly hovered above them and they quickly snapped themselves onto Akita’s helmet on either side over her ears. It sent a bit of a shock through her as they did so, causing her to momentarily lose her bearing.“Ack, could that be a little calmer next time?” Akita stammered, as another black disk attached itself to her back with a similar amount of force.“I’m sorry but our time is limited,” the voice from before replied, ever as robotic.That’s when the cube that had captured the bracelet opened up. Akita hadn’t realized it yet but it, too, had held a counter. The bracelet-like trinket split itself up down the middle into two separate bracelets and they hovered to both of her hands where they wrapped themselves around her wrist. Even through the latex, Akita could feel the sheer technomagical energy that the two halves were emitting as lines of neon-light spread across them.“Do you like it?” the voice asked.Akita inspected her new outfit all over, having a little bit of trouble with the blue visor over her head. “Is… this really necessary?” she asked, pointing at her exposed cleavage. Indeed, one of the more questionable parts about this transformation was the large boob window it had left. She didn’t care much for showing off that much skin…“It will become apparent,” the voice answered.“Right…” Akita said. As for the rest of her outfit, she had to admit that it looked pretty damn stylish. Yes, she would have to get used to this but it also felt quite comfortable. It certainly was a change from the baggy clothes she had often worn in the past. Of course, that would also mean that she was going to be standing out a lot more. Something that ran counter to her tendencies to hide away and let Bridget take the spotlight. For a moment, her thoughts wandered back to what Bridget had said on the day of their high school graduation.‘I’ll get you in the spotlight one way or another’ Akita guessed that, in the end, Bridget was right.“This visor…” she asked.“You can remove it and make it reappear easily. You will soon learn how,” the voice explained.“I see…” Akita mused. She had to admit, this was actually starting to become a little interesting. Everything about this was certainly different from what Bridget had become. Was she about to be a different kind of time elemental? One made out of magitech rather than clockwork?The next countdown timer soon went off, causing another cube to open up. This one only shone some sort of strange light over Akita’s body. However, she soon realized that it wasn’t just a normal light, as she could feel her body changing wherever the light shone. Most of her body was covered by latex of course, but along the few places where she was able to see her body, she could see her skin… turning blue?At first, Akita thought that this was simply the visor playing tricks with her but no. Her body was actually becoming blue! It wasn’t just a change in colour either. When she went to touch the exposed part of her hip, her new skin actually felt a bit… weird. Synthetic. More rubbery and shinier than it was. The changes spread across her entire body as she realized that her skin became made of crystalline silica. Her arms, her legs, even her face. Soon, not a single spot on her body even so much as hinted at her former humanity. Even her hair was not spared. Her black hair, when they weren’t in pony-tails, often reached down to mid-back but it seemed that the transformation was causing it to grow even longer than that. Of course, it too became various shades of blue. It seemed that the transformation kept her pony-tails intact though. They were simply a lot longer now, curling at the ends. Akita had to admit that it looked kind of cute.Another cube opened up behind her. Akita wanted to turn around to see what was happening but the voice spoke up again.“Please stand still. This next part might be a little bit shocking to you,” it said.Akita was about to ask what that meant when she suddenly felt three jolts in her back. One right in the center of where the black disk had attached itself and two below it. Had more things attached itself to her suit? Or… had they actually gone inside of her body? There was no time to think about it though as, just as the voice had said, Akita could soon feel several shocks throughout her entire body. She screamed and buckled over forwards but the electric shocks were not stopping. Instead, they increased in intensity!But there was something even more shocking about all of this. The electricity did not feel painful to Akita. Not at all. In fact, she found that her body welcomed these jolts of electricity that were being poured into her body. As the electricity spread, she could simply feel her entire body changing. Her earlier thoughts about what was happening were correct as she could simply feel herself becoming a technomagical equivalent of a human. What was once flesh and blood became technomagical chips and wires connecting them. Akita didn’t fully understand what it all meant yet but she also figured that it wouldn’t be too long before she did. The changes reached deeper and deeper, quickly overtaking her heart and turning it into the motherboard of her systems.Akita was still panting from the previous experience when two more wires inserted themselves into the middle of the disks on either side of her head. Within moments, the same shocks as before were now being sent directly into her head, causing her to scream out. She couldn’t really explain whether this was all painful or amazing for it seemed to be a strange mix of the two. The shocks quickly converted her senses into technomagical equipment instead. Her sense of touch was already quite strange because of her new silica skin but it felt so much weirder now that it was all dictated by digital pulses. Her sight and her hearing were seemingly being tuned to perfection yet it felt so alien to her. It was all wired in a way she wasn’t used to at all. The same applied to her scent and her sense of taste, even though there wasn’t much to taste at the moment.As the shocks dug deeper inside of her head, she could feel that it started affecting her brain. Instinctively, Akita reached for her head in panic.“Do not be afraid,” the voice spoke up. “Let the digital network wash over you. Let it be a part of you.”Akita was still uncertain about it all but… well… she did agree to all of this. Besides, Bridget was waiting for her. She couldn’t stay behind. She couldn’t live her entire life in nothing but doubt. She wanted this. And so… she let the transformation win. Within moments, the shocks went into her brain, transforming it all. As it did so… she opened her eyes as a lot of new knowledge entered her mind. Her thoughts… were now all organized by RAM processors, her senses were now dictated by GPU systems, her memories were now all stored in SS drives.Wait… how did she even know these terms? She hadn’t ever heard of them before when learning about magitech. It was… as if it was instinct to her now to know these things.Everything felt so… strange to her at that point, realizing how her entire body was now connected. How it all functioned. It almost became too much for her to handle.“You are almost complete. All that remains now is to let time enter your mind,” the voice spoke.“... time…” Akita muttered. She was still panting from the transformation that had been happening. Her voice still sounded the same as it always had, only… there was a kind of digitization to it. A slight hint of the same robotic tone changes that the voice had. It was only really noticeable if one were to pay attention to it. So, naturally, Akita noticed it a whole lot.But the most important part now was time. Indeed, that was what this whole transformation was about. Akita was to be a time elemental through and through. Time would flow through her freely like the streams of data that were being sent from her senses to her processors. She braced herself for it. She was ready for it. She welcomed it.And there it was. She opened her eyes wide which reflected as neon light blue light against her visor, as the wires attached to her body sent it coursing through her. She felt the stream of time throughout her entire being. From the tips of her toes to the very top of her head. Even deep into her mind, she could feel the gentle stream of time ever ticking onwards. She was now a part of time. She was time.Exactly 2 minutes and 19 seconds later, the wires that had attached themselves to her body finally let go and Akita knew that the transformation was now complete. She looked down at her new body. The openings in her suit were now proudly displaying the current time in red digital notations. Even her visor showed it. Speaking of which, her visor actually turned out to be quite incredible. Whatever she looked at, she could see data appearing on it. Whatever she thought of, her visor would show more information on the subject matter. There was even some information regarding her own body and its functionalities. And then there was the fact that her senses were being processed so efficiently and in such great detail. There was so much to this new body…… and she loved it.Never had she expected to feel so great. She felt so alive. She felt wonderful. She felt confident and she hadn’t even explored all features of her new body yet. But the greatest aspect of her new form was of course the stream of time itself. It felt incredible. Though she had been skeptical at first, she felt so happy knowing that she made the right choice today.“Our time here is almost over,” the robotic voice said, interrupting Akita’s bliss.“R-right…” Akita stammered.“Akita, believe and trust in yourself. Go back to her. She is waiting for you,” the voice continued. It was that same… different voice that had thanked her earlier. It was as if there were actually two people talking to her. Akita wasn’t really sure what was up with that.“Thank you…” Akita nodded, knowing what the voice meant. It was time, the six months of separation were going to end today…, “Okay Bridget… this is it. You’re going to walk inside and Akita will be there and you’re going to finally talk to her again. You’ve practiced this many times with Lavini… and in front of the mirror too! You can do this!” Bridget spoke to herself. The clockwork time elemental had been pacing back and forth in front of her house for 3 minutes and 44 seconds now, imbuing herself with courage. Lavini’s idea for her to go to a spa today was actually a pretty good idea. Her body was running like a well-oiled machine again. Well, that’s probably because it WAS a well-oiled machine but regardless. She felt her gears twitch nervously whenever she got closer to the door, knowing that Akita might be on the other side. Maybe she should pace back a few more times and… no, this was not the time for hesitation. This was it. Finally, she walked up the steps and opened the front door.“I’m back…” Bridget called out nervously. For a moment, she considered the possibility that she may be the first one to return home and that Lavini was still off at Akita’s place but that’s when Lavini appeared in the hallway.“Bridget…” Lavini said, a look of shock all over her face. Oh no… something must have happened…Bridget frowned nervously. “Is Akita…?” she began but she couldn’t really finish the question.“You… she… oh, confound it. Come inside, Bridget dear,” Lavini stammered. Bridget had never heard Lavini stammer like this before. She always knew what to say. What in the world had happened?Growing concerned, Bridget closed the door behind her and entered the living room, where Cassie was sitting… and nobody else. Bridget’s clockwork heart sank. “She’s not here…” she whispered sadly.“Bridget dear… look in the box,” Lavini said, entering the living room herself.“The box?” Bridget pondered.“That box…” Lavini said, pointing over at the box that contained all of the items she had been given by the clockwork giant that had transformed her into the time elemental she was today.Raising an eyebrow, Bridget walked over to the box and then jumped up in surprise. “The bracelet! It’s gone!” She looked back at Lavini in utter shock. “What happened?!”“Akita was here and then the bracelet started floating and teleported her off somewhere… she’s been gone ever since,” Cassie explained.“What?!” Bridget cried out. The bracelet… one of the five divine trinkets… reacted to Akita’s presence? Did that mean… was it finally Akita’s time? Was she really…“Look!” Lavini gasped, pointing to a spot behind Bridget. Looking over, she could see a strange blue light appearing out of thin air. It got brighter and brighter until finally, the shape of a person could be seen, slowly manifesting. The shape became more and more tangible as the seconds passed until finally, the light faded again, leaving behind a girl that was facing her back towards Bridget and Lavini. A blue girl entirely clad in latex wearing a peculiar looking helmet of sorts had appeared before them. There was a black clock attached to her back as well as to her helmet and there were strange lights coming from here and there. Her hair was very long and hung behind her in two pony tails.Silence fell in the room as Bridget eyed her all over. She was a time elemental alright. Bridget could tell not only from the various clocks but also because she could feel it. On the girl’s wrists were bracelets that Bridget recognized as the divine trinket that had gone missing from the box.The girl stood there calmly for a moment, checking out her surroundings until finally, she turned around. She had some sort of strange visor over her face but Bridget could still see her illuminated light-blue eyes behind it. There was no doubt about it. This was it. It was her.For exactly 17 seconds, the two stared into each-other’s eyes. Neither of them really knew what to say or do…She opened her mouth, showing the same light that also shone from her eyes. “... Bridget…” the girl said… before lunging forwards and grabbing Bridget tightly in a hug.“Akita!” Bridget cried out, tears of oil beginning to stream down her face. They embraced each-other for what felt like an eternity. Finally… they were back together. Akita had come back into her life… and Bridget was not about to let go of her again.Behind her, Bridget could hear Lavini sniffing as well before ushering Cassie and herself out of the room to give the newly reunited couple some alone time. Something Bridget was very much grateful for.“I’m so sorry…” Akita whispered. “I shouldn’t have run… I should have trusted you…”“No… I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before…” Bridget whispered back.Those were all the words they could really say to each-other at that point. They just held each-other tightly, knowing that finally, they were back together., “Thank you, Cassie dear,” Lavini said as her cup of tea was refilled. She was still wiping her tears of joy from her face. She had, after all, been working tirelessly towards this very moment for six months.“You’re welcome,” Cassie replied as she poured herself another cup as well. She was still very much getting used to all of the mannerisms that Lavini had taught her but she was doing her best.“I must say… I certainly did not expect the way this all turned out. To think that Akita is now also a time elemental,” Lavini mused.“So… what about you?” Cassie asked, a frown on her face.“What about me?” Lavini asked, tilting her head.“Are you not jealous of them? They’re both time elementals now while you’ve put in just as much work as they have. You’re just as dedicated to your goddess, if not more,” Cassie asked. She was always quite silent when around others but it seems that she trusted Lavini enough to speak her mind a bit more boldly.“Jealousy is unbecoming of a lady, Cassie dear,” Lavini replied. Of course, she did understand where Cassie was coming from. It was true that she had been just as devout in all of this as Akita and Bridget had been but there was no sense in growing jealous.“I… I guess… but still. Why wouldn’t you deserve such an honour?” Cassie continued.“I know what you are trying to say and I appreciate it very much. However, I believe only time will tell. Their relationship has been a far more pressing matter,” Lavini answered, taking a sip from her tea.In return, Cassie actually appeared to grow angry. “Lavini, you’ve been putting them before you for half a year now. Heck, you’ve even been putting me before you for this last month. When are you going to put yourself first for a change?” she hissed. She was still silent enough so as not to disturb Akita and Bridget but it did shock Lavini.“I…” Lavini started but she did not know how to finish the sentence.“You’ve been carrying that letter about your mother around for two weeks now. I think it’s high time you address it,” Cassie argued.Lavini looked down into her teacup. Cassie was right, of course. She reached into the folds of her clothes and got out the letter. It was a very formal letter written up by officials from her hometown of Alicendria. The letter had shaken her entire world down to the very core. Her mother, Orketra Providence. The woman that had raised her from a simple streetrat into the refined lady she was today, had gone missing. She didn’t know how to address this and so… she simply hadn’t done so yet.Cassie placed her hand on that of Lavini. “Will you tell them now?” she asked.Lavini looked Cassie in the eyes. She let out a sigh that she didn’t realize she’d been keeping in for a while now. “Yes… I will,” she whispered.