EoH Evolution: Season 4

by Bahamut0

Episode 13: Upgrades

"Hmm." Nightfall Silver was giving the form his upgraded suit a good look over. "The new design's a lot sleeker than my old one and it looks more armored too. Overall, it's a huge improvement from the model it was previously."

"That's good to hear." Twilight said with a smile as she levitated over the suit's power source. "Most of vehicles run on a magic-based engine that cuts the need for fuel. All we needed to do was just make one on a smaller scale that'll fit the suit." She then noticed how cautious Nightfall was in installing the suit's power supply. "You're pretty tense. Did something like this lterally blow up in your face once?"

"Sorry, but this caution isn't exclusive for the power source." Nightfall said with a nervous chuckle as he put the power source in place. "I'm cautious with every piece of tech and its components. I feel that the care and effort you put into assembling something is felt when you see the finished product. My dad shared that thought with me whenever we'd get together to build something. He taught me a lot about how to live. I think the most important lesson he ever taught me was that while tech can enhance life, it shouldn't replace it. That it never hurt to get your own hands dirty and just explore the world and enjoy it as it is."

"I'd say that's a pretty good lesson." Twilight said with a smile. She then noticed the sad look in Nightfall's eyes. "Nightfall? If you don't mind me asking, did something happen to your father? And you also seem to never talk about your mother either. I don't want to sound like I'm prying, but if you don't want to-"

"No." Nightfall sighed. "Maybe it's better that I talk with someone about my family life. Celestia knows I've kept it to just myself for far too long. My dad's name was Silver Gear. You might know him as one of the best inventors in the field of magi-tech."

"I knew you looked a little familiar!" Twilight said in awe. "One of Silver's most distinguishing traits was his silver hair. You seem to have inherited that from him. Along with his talent with technology given how you've been able to build this suit of armor." Twilight then decided to return to the topic at hand. "So, what happened to him?"

"He was working on something." Nightfall said. "It was some sort of new project that he'd been working on. I remember him saying that it was like living technology. But shortly after he started working on it, he disappeared. And I haven't seen him since. All I remember was that he'd thrown himself into that last project. I was about ten when it happened."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Twilight said sadly. "I couldn't even imagine what it would be to lose a parent like that at your age." She then came to another thought. "Did. . . you have to deal with that feeling more than once?"

"No." Nightfall shook his head, and clenched his fist. "I guess you could say I had to deal with something worse. A mother who didn't bother to look at me as a child. Maybe you've heard of her too. Her name is Abacus Cinch. She was the former principal of Castalot Prep."

"I remember seeing her visit once at Celestia's School for Gifted Magi." Twilight said. "At the first sight of her, I instantly didn't like her. She just seemed to give off this unpleasant aura the moment she set foot in the school. I'm just glad I never saw her again after that." Twilight then realized who she was talking about was in relation to her current company. "B-But I'm sure she was a very caring person around you!"

"Heh. If only." Nightfall said with a bitter smile. "After my dad disappeared, she started to pressure me into taking up his work when I had barely any concept of what he'd been working on. She wanted to uphold her reputation of 'excellence' by having a child prodigy who was her own child. Working on technology was something I did with my dad for fun. For enjoyment. And she twisted it into something that would make her look like the picture of an elite mother and head of education."

Nightfall clenched his fist even tighter. "But there was probably more to it than that. Maybe she did it to feel like dad was still with us, or maybe she saw how much of him was in me. But all the same, I couldn't forgive her for that!" Though it wasn't too clear, Nightfall's entire body was trembling. "The worst part is, she used the excuse that it would be what dad wanted. But how could she know?!" Soon enough, Nightfall's trembling ceased. "How could she. . . when she so easily gave up any hope he was still out there. The second I got out of high school, I joined the Night Guard just to get away from her and I set myself up in my dad's old workshop."

"Nightfall. . . " Twilight said as she wrapped her arms around Nightfall. "I'm so sorry you've gone through this. You're so similar to me, but also so different. I grew up surrounded by a loving family. But the family you had fell to pieces when you were just a kid. But both of us thought we were better off alone until we began to see how wrong we were." She then enhanced the hug by wrapping her wings around Nightfall. "I can't fix what happened back then. But I can make things better for you in the present."

"You know Twilight?" Nightfall said with a small smile. "I think you're just the upgrade I've needed in my life." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Night."

"Hm?"

"You can call me Night for short." Nightfall said with a slight blush. "My dad used to call me it all the time. Especially whenever my mother would insist I be called by my full name."

"Sure thing. . . Night." Twilight said with a small blush as she released Nightfall from her embrace. "Speaking of upgrades, how do you feel about making the suit have a modular nature so that it can equip different pieces of support gear?"

"That sounds great. It'll allow me to be more versatile in combat. In fact. . . " Nightfall pulled out a couple more blueprints for support gear and equipment he had originally planned on building. One such being an old-school flip phone that doubled as a laser gun. "I've got a few items I've been meaning to get off the ground."

Author's Note:

As you can guess, more of Nightfall's arsenal will be based on the Cyber/Cyber Dragon archetype. As for the phone? Well, it's a little something I saw from Kamen Rider Faiz that I thought would look cool and fit right into Nightfall's arsenal.

Comments

[Bahamut0]

9272579
Glad you liked it. More moments with these two are up ahead since I posted the next chapter.

[MasterPhoenix93]

I didn't mention this, I was never a fan of the Cyber Dragon archetype (Personal experience...*shudders*)

Good to see more fluff between Night and Twilight

[Bahamut0]

9273404
I'm more into how the Cyber Dragon looks. It's not a deck I'm too crazy about, but I at least appreciate the design of the Cyber Dragons. They are very good at looking cool.

[MasterPhoenix93]

9273410
...agreed...they do look good

[Bahamut0]

9273417
Indeed they do. I'm just glad I can break up the major action arcs with sweet moments like these. Gives everyone time to adjust.

[MasterPhoenix93]

9273424
Well...of course not.

A little rest is good for the soul...even fictional ones

[Bahamut0]

9273503
That, and Twilight and Nightfall are incredibly adorkable.

[MasterPhoenix93]

9273535
agreed

[ArcticAce01]

9273366
This was really great and it was nice to see twilight be there a comforting Nightfall about his life past