Description
"LAWRENCE!!"
Lawrence had a strange case of deja vu in that moment. He felt like he'd done this before. Many times before, in fact. But it probably didn't matter. His boss was screaming at him yet again for.. something. Probably something stupid, honestly. But, not like he had a choice in the matter. Turning on his heel, he made his way down the technological tunnels and vast, magical halls of the Great Clock. The heavy ticking of its interior amongst the tiny beeps and boops of the computers left an odd and almost eerie sort of ambience to the gargantuan station. It wasn't like something he'd seen or heard before.
Making his way to the entrance of a rounded room, the eons-beyond-their-technology-style-door opened up. Inside, Nefarious stood, covering the robot's view of what sat in the tube-like contraption in front of him.
"You called, sir?" He walked down the slightly slanted stairway towards his boss, who seemed deeply focused on something. "Sir?"
"What do the zoni say about pneumonic testing?" Was the only response he got, short and raspy, as the taller robot typed furiously on a holographic screen. Behind that screen, Lawrence glanced to see the small robotic sidekick of that furball hero his boss had it in for. Usually full of life and intelligent quips, his body now hung lifeless in mid-air suspension. His eyes were closed and the only light coming from him was the small, blinking antennae on the top of his head. Lawrence didn't really care. It wasn't his job to keep the tiny robot safe, if that lombax couldn't protect his best friend good enough, that was his problem. But his boss' words certainly confused him.
"Erm... what do you mean, sir?" He tried to ask politely, only to be snapped with a similar question to before.
"Pneumonic testing! Have the zoni said anything about that?" His voice was harsh and his tone temperamental, having only stopped his typing to shout at Lawrence before he resumed the action once more. The butler was still utterly perplexed. Had his boss actually lost it all the way this time?
"Well.. the zoni don't really speak to me, sir. Mostly to each other." He gave a cold glance at Nefarious. "And you, of course."
Obviously Nefarious didn't see his face, and only heard his tone that was noticeably different and "nicer" than his expression. But that didn't stop Nefarious from screaming and kicking harshly at the base of the tube anyway. He gave an angry growl and stepped away from the screen, which disappeared quickly as he departed. Around now Lawrence figured it would be a good time to ask his boss if he was okay (obviously he wasn't).
"Is everything going alright, sir?-"
"NO EVERYTHING ISN'T GOING ALRIGHT!" He was screamed at extremely loudly and almost blown back by the robot's loud voice.
"I expected as much." He responded.
"4 months..." Nefarious paced back and forth, "4 months I have been struggling to gain some kind of access to this pathetic little tin can's brain." He stepped forward in front of Clank, still floating lifelessly in space, and glared at him.
"And yet... nothing! I have learned how to type the zoni language, read their programming, and yet even my expertise cannot crack into even a smidgen of information about the Orvus Chamber!" He fumed and reached forward to mock grabbing the tiny robot, his claws coming inches in front of his face.
"These zoni are always keeping their secrets, its almost impossible to break through to them!" Lawrence stared at him blankly.
"Well considering the nature of this place..."
"The current nature of this to help us reverse the flow of time." Nefarious spoke in a more hushed tone now, hoping to avoid any questioning from the prying ears of the mysterious zoni.
"I should have made some progress by now..." He began to pace in circles around the room. The quiet beeps and flickering computer lights their only company. He held his arms behind his back and stared at the floor as he spoke.
"Something... there must be something I can use, a hack I can find!" He placed a finger to his chin and stopped. "Perhaps if I reverse the code... find a way to mess with the pneumonic chamber and make it work to my will..."
"Sir, if I may.."
"Oh what is it Lawrence!?" The robot swung back, angered at his butler's interruption of his thoughts. The shorter robot leaned back a bit, but otherwise didn't seemed phased by his boss' temper. He simply dusted himself off and went on with his suggestion.
"As I was saying, perhaps we should be a bit more secretive about the... situation. We wouldn't want the zoni learning our true intentions."
Nefarious growled, turning around hissing back at him, but noticeably quieter this time. "You don't think I already know that? You must take me for a fool." Lawrence cocked an eyelid at that. He tried not to give a sarcastic response. Nefarious kept pacing, taking large, rounded turns every time he neared the wall.
"This is all too slow, at this rate we'll never get what we want..."
"Yes sir, what 'we' want.." Lawrence snuck in. The line didn't really hit Nefarious, who eventually stopped in front of the floating Clank. He stared at him with intense thought before the butler robot cut back in.
"Perhaps a break would be advised-" Nefarious whirled back around with intense speed, pointing a claw directly into Lawrence's face.
"No! No breaks! I'm going to see this through to the end!" He declared wrathfully. Lawrence appeared a tad nervous at his reply and the crazed way he said it, noticing a hint of an eyelid twitch as he stared at him. He nodded quickly.
"I understand sir. But, perhaps we should check in on the progress at the Station." Nefarious had turned around by now, but the suggestion caught his ear, causing him to move his head a bit.
"I heard the Terachnoids are making progress. It's been a while since we've made a visit." The taller robot didn't respond, simply stood there for a moment, thinking. He took one more glance at the small bot. Eventually, he shuffled his feet a tad.
"...Alright. Yes. I suppose that... would be a good idea." He slowly turned around, allowing his eyes to pull away from the pneumonic station. Lawrence had begun to start for the door, with Nefarious soon following. By the time they were close to exit, one last look was taken at the floating Clank, before the door closed shut, and they left for their new destination.
He would make progress one day...
The definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results. Nefarious never quite did learn that lesson, did he?
Still the same maniacal and hammy villain as ever, Nefarious was humiliated by his past defeat and set out to make things wrong with a new plan and new allies for his next big scheme. But changing time, and subsequently the universe is no easy task, and something like this would take time.. is he willing to wait? With someone as stubborn as he, probably.
AAAAHHHHHHH and there he is. my robot scientist man and the best robot scientist everrr. Dr. Nefarious! i'm really proud of all these pictures i did and i'm glad i finally got them out before website switches. i'm excited to hopefully get to what these pictures were all made for, a story i've had in mind for a while, about Nefarious! I think I'll be making concepts for it sometime soon, we'll see where I go in the next months, cause i tend to flip through projects a lot also sorry about the stories getting a tad long, I tried to keep them relatively short. but i hope you enjoy them at least, i know i did. lol