Hallows: Pretty Snakes & Devils

Pierce And Veil

Alesana- Apology

Carson

B.B. decided to bring Lucien back with us to distract me from the fact that she is going to spend the entire night in her lab. I don't understand why she's in this house all the time. A part of me wants to blow it up. The rest of me knows that she'd never forgive me for it and if I somehow got away with it, Ahsan would pay the price. Hmm, maybe I should do it. He can stay in New York for a while and it would be one less ass hole to worry about. On top of that, there is no sign of the f*****g changeling.

"You got your plotting face on," Lucien whispers as he tosses the hacky sack up and catches it on the tip of his shoe. "Dylan, pay attention," he tosses it up and jumps up to kick it in his direction. Dylan misses it and it goes straight past him towards the entrance of the lab as it's opening. Without missing a beat. B.B. holds her hand up catching it. She doesn't even look up from her iPad. "That was cool. Did you get that?"

"f**k yeah," Stacy comes over to us to show us the footage.

"Send me a copy of that," B.B. says as she leans in to see the video. "I am ready," she announces. We turn our attention to her as she wiggles excitedly. "I am so f*****g ready,"

"That's not how the Sponge Bob song goes, B," Stacy puts her hands on her hip when Lucien takes the camera from her.

"The Spon-no," she shakes her head. "I'm ready to present our robots to us. Where is everyone? It doesn't matter. Give me a second,"

"f**k," Stacy jumps forward catching the iPad before it hits the floor when B.B. disappears. "This is what Mr. Incredible must have felt like when Jack-Jack got his powers. How do we make it stop?"

"We can't," James sighs. "I am so glad Master Dante didn't have that ability," he rubs his temples. "I too am upset about what she's learned in Rionegro. I didn't think it would go this far. This is the first time I underestimate Ms. B.B.,"

"B.B. I can't just-" Delilah looks around and drops her head. "I hate her. If she was impossible before, she's so much worse now,"

"Mami no puedes-" Vic is her next victim. He looks around and laughs. "Okay, which ones of you double-teamed her and powered her up like this?"

"My bad," four of us answer.

"B.B. what the f**k?" Shane appears. He looks around and groans. "I'm not sure how I feel right now. She can teleport?"

"She can teleport," I nod.

"Sure," Marcos is the last to arrive with her. "I love bouncy you. You're going to save so much time getting to all your boyfriends as we take over the world,"

"Right," she laughs and hops over to Stacy who holds up her iPad. "Thank you,"

"You're welcome," Stacy smiles. Everyone she brought here against their will, fire off a bunch of questions at the same time.

"I'm ready!" she laughs. We all stare at her. "I will call your name and we will get you started,"

"What the f**k are you talking about, B.B.? I was just getting out of class. I want to go home," Delilah growls at her. "My apartment," she corrects herself. "I have a lot of s**t to do and I was going to get takeout,"

"Okay," B.B. rolls her eyes. "All I'm hearing is I had nothing more important to do. Since you want to b***h. You're going first. Get over here,"

"How do you have six boyfriends? You're a f*****g nightmare," she groans but goes over to her anyway.

"Okay," she holds up her iPad. "Hit record and read all the lines," Delilah glares at her but does what she says and hands her the iPad back. "Now say, Tilly, wake up,"

"B.B.," Delilah's entire demeanor changes. "You finished the robots?"

"f*****g say it," B.B. growls impatiently.

"Tilly, wake up," Delilah says out loud.

From the darkness of B.B.'s lab, two glowing red lights turn on and a whirling sound follows. It takes a moment for the sounds to stop. We all wait a few seconds before it steps out of the shadows. Only B.B. would turn off the lights to add this dramatic effect.

"Oh, my sweet baby B.B. reading us The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe at three," Delilah squeaks.

"Aww, that one was cute," B.B. smacks her with the back of the iPad.

This thing is sleek. In the shape of some kind of wild fantasy involving robots. The build is insane. The same height as Delilah and sort of the same shape. As she stares at it, I see the similarities between the two. If I were to put this thing in her clothes to cover up as much as possible, I'd think it was Delilah herself.

The wiring exposed in the joints is covered with some kind of black flexible material. The rest of it is a very beautiful velvet-red shade. Delilah moves around it with her hands both covering her mouth. The face, if that's what she's calling it, looks like a small helmet. The glossy black visor displays a funny little digital smiley face.

"I love it," she screams and hugs the robot. The robot moves its arms to tap her back. "It's hugging me!"

"Her name is Tilly," B.B. rolls her eyes. "Tilly introduce yourself,"

"Originator's voice recognized," the robot straightens up. "Hello, my name is Tilly. I am your new personal assistant A.I.,"

"State owner's name," B.B. adds.

"My owner's name is Delilah Blackstone," and it goes on to say her blood type and a bunch of other personal things that identify Delilah.

"I emailed you the guide," B.B. stands next to Delilah to admire her work. "Cool huh?"

"Cool? This is f*****g nuts," she jumps on B.B. laughing.

"She comes with a cloak in case you want to take her outside," she disappears and reappears with a black cloak to give to Delilah. "James is making food. I'll take you guys back after," B.B. turns around to face us. She looks around until her eyes land on Ahsan. She waves him forward and hands him her iPad. "Your bots name is Blue,"

"Wake up, Blue" Ahsan says.

Two blue lights come to life. Ahsan's robot is a lot different than Delilah's. Where Dels was made to look like a woman, San's is definitely made to look male. Actually, it kind of looks like a Terminator. Most of it is covered with chrome wrap.

"You can dress him up," she points at it. "He's the same clothes and shoe size as you. Just tell him you want him dressed and he'll do it himself,"

"This is crazy," he goes around checking it out. Unlike Delilah's, she gave this one a more skeleton-looking face. The eyes are still digital but this thing is terrifying. Maybe not the right word but it is intimidating at Ahsan's height. "Is there a reason why you made them our sizes?"

"Yes, you can use them as decoys. They're combat-ready. It's all in your manuals,"

"I'm next," Lucien raises his hand. "Please, do me next," we all laugh. "Really mature," he rolls his eyes. "But if that's on the table, I'm not opposed to it,"

"Here," B.B. hands him her iPad. He takes it. "Your bot's name is Veil,"

"Aww, I love that," he coos at her. "Veil, wake up,"

Lucien's robot is similar to Ahsan's except it's all black. The joints and wiring areas are a shiny black while the plating is matte black. Lucien gasps burying his hands in his hair as the robot approaches him.

"Yours is also your same clothing size," she says as he moves around it.

"Veil, say Lucien I am your father," Lucien blurts out. We laugh.

"Lucien, I am your father," the robot repeats.

"Like this, baby," B.B. snorts. "Veil, Vader voice over,"

"Originator's voice recognized. Vader's voice over active,"

"Repeat Lucien's order,"

"Lucien, I am your father," it says in a Darth Vader voice. We all laugh. "Would you like Vader's voiceover as the default voice?"

"Yes, please," Lucien nods.

"Confirmed,"

"B, I want a cloak for him," he whispers and hugs the robot. "And a heat blade,"

"No," she shakes her head. "But you can buy fake lightsabers and play with him. I also put a bunch of camera programs in it and camera maintenance stuff,"

"Best girlfriend in the world," he pulls her into his side.

"I try my best," she shrugs. We all laugh.

"Veil, carry me around the house," Lucien orders.

"Yes, Lucien," the robot walks up to him and takes a knee. Lucien jumps onto his back.

"We're racing," Delilah declares and does the same. "Let's go, Tilly,"

"Me next," Stacy jumps up.

"This is going to take forever if we do it one by one. I didn't think that one through," B.B. taps her chin. She goes over to the entrance of her lab. "Wake up you metal f***s and come out here," she shouts. "Hurry up,"

We all step back when the whirling sound gets louder. The rest of the robots climb out of the entrance and line up in front of her. I immediately know that the gold one is mine. She starts at the end where the black and green one is.

"Dylan," she taps his chest. "This is Boloney,"

"You actually named him that," Dylan laughs and hugs her. "I love you,"

"Marc, this is Crush," she taps the orange and black one.

"I love you," Marc goes over to his. She presses something in the chest area and tells them to do the sentences thing. She stops in front of the teal and silver one and waves Stacy over to it.

"This is Justine," she smiles at her. Stacy jumps into her arms and presses her face against her chest. I growl pulling her off.

"We've talked about this," I shove her away.

"But they're so soft," Stacy brushes me off and goes over to the robot. The girl ones are actually really cool. B.B. disappears and comes back with a white long coat and a huge white sun hat. "I love you,"

"Dec, this is D'Angelo," Dec's is half black and half white meant to look like a Yin and Yang symbol. Dec wipes his mouth. "And yes, he does sound like D'Angelo Holmes from Yin Yang Twins,"

"This s**t is nuts," he laughs and pulls her into a hug. "You are f*****g amazing. I love that I let you work on mine separately,"

"We should all go outside to race them," Dylan suggests.

"Let's go," Marcos laughs. B.B. rolls her eyes.

"How were you able to make all of these so fast?"

"I made mine and designed Carson's. Then they helped me make the rest," she says and goes over to the one that looks like Skeletor from He-Man. "Shane this one is yours. His name is obviously Skeletor,"

"I'm not complaining, B, but why do I get one?" he grins.

"You're family," she shrugs. "And Carson asked me to," she points at me. He looks over at me and nods. "So you should really be thanking him,"

"Why Skeletor?" I ask.

"He's my favorite," Shane answers. "I can't believe you remember that,"

"You can go out and race," she waves him off.

"Vic, this is Shadow," she taps the white one that looks like it's covered in cloth. "You can paint it. This is canvas,"

"You are god's gift to the world," he kisses her.

"Ro, this one is yours," she presents the silver.

"Are these real rubies?" he asks looking over the buttons. She nods. He lets out a heavy sigh. Victor and I turn away to give them a moment. Ro always takes things too far. She sends a purple one back inside. That one has to be Natalie's. She's been really busy. I don't know what Delilah has her doing.

"Sweetie, this has to stop," she stops in front of me.

"B-"

"No, Carson," she comes up to me and takes my hands. "I don't know what you want,"

"I want you to leave this f*****g house, B.B. It's not healthy for you to be here all the f*****g time. Isn't the reason why you wanted us to take the whole city because you didn't want to be stuck here anymore?"

"Yes,"

"And nothing has changed, Bella. Not a single thing,"

"Everything has changed," she cups my face. "All of it and it continues to change. I am doing a lot outside of here. I've been setting up antennas all over the city. I've been working on the arch that's going up in the middle of the city, and I've been trying to help the vampires settle on top of all the senior-year stuff. Tell me what you need me to do,"

"You were with Lucien all the time his senior year," Stacy clears her throat.

"Why are you still here?" I ask.

"I want to see B.B.'s robot and I am not going to race Justine. She's not a filthy girl,"

"Zero One, come out here," B.B. calls out. A pink and silver robot a lot like Stacy's comes out of the lab.

"You called?" the robot asks her.

The thing is wearing a pastel pink plaid skirt with a fitted white long-sleeve crop top. There are wires sticking out from the top of its head meant to look like a high ponytail. It also has white boots. We both look over at B.B.

"What?" she asks.

"Holy s**t, this thing is glorious. What are these?" Stacy reaches for the long wires.

"Don't touch my hair," the robot warns her.

"I upgrade Zero One and she upgrades her babies," B.B. explains. "They connect to the other ones for software upgrades,"

"Okay, well, she is beautiful," she smiles looking up at the robot.

"Thank you. As are you," the robot says.

"What voice-over is this?" she asks.

"Julia Andrews," B.B. shrugs.

"And mine?" she grins.

"Anne Hathaway,"

"I love you," she jumps on her again. This time the robot pulls her off B.B.

"That is not ladylike, Ms. Whitmore. Keep your hands to yourself," it scolds her.

"That will be all, Zero One. Are you done with your tasks?" B.B. rolls her eyes.

"Nearly,"

"What are you waiting for?"

"You interrupted me," the digital eyes flicker into a glare.

"Get to it," B.B. points at the lab.

"Of course," she bows and goes back into the lab.

"That is cool," Stacy and I say at the same time. "Did you make it possessive?"

"No, she has an ettiquet program. I want to cut back on cursing and keep a good posture. The First Lady of the United States shouldn't say f**k as much as I do or slouch," she shrugs.

"Oookay," Stacy sings. "I'm out. I am going to check on my ladies,"

"Her what?" I ask when she's gone.

"The ladybugs. Which reminds me. We have to pick a name for our company," she turns to the gold robot. She looks back at me and waves me over. When I get to her she disappears and reappears with a suit and shoes in her arms. "Pierce, wake up,"

"His name is Pierce?" I ask.

"Yeah," she grins.

"Pierce and Veil for Pierce The Veil?"

"Yes, but also because being in love with you feels a lot like piercing my soul,"

"Mmm, now you're just flirting really hard so I can stop being upset with you,"

"Is that what you want?" she wraps her arms around me. "For me to be with you all the time?"

"Not all the time. Just most of it," I shrug. She laughs.

"So, you want me to hang out with you and do all kinds of criminal stuff together?"

"Is that too much to ask?"

"No," she shakes her head. "I could use a break from the lab. It wasn't easy getting the A.I.s to cooperate with one another. They're all meant for different things. Dec helped a lot with the programming, but it wasn't easy building without his help. However, with that being said, I can't always be out there with you,"

"I have a few questions,"

"Sure,"

"What are you doing to my house?" he asks.

"Our house and I am remodeling it. Vic, Damian, and I will be living it next year. It's a twelve-minute drive to H.U. from there. It's also like Fort Knox. Once I have your dad's systems up and running. It's going to be amazeballs,"

"I didn't know you were going to use it at all. What's going to happen to this place?"

"James and I are going to make an underground lab and reconstruct the outside of the house with black stone so no one can blast in or put a f*****g barrier around us ever again. No one can be here for that. Cracking black stone open is not safe,"

"I've been thinking," I clear my throat.

"You're going to do something insane, aren't you?" she pulls away.

"I want to get rid of the contract," as I get the words out. It feels like the fire inside of me is threatening to burn through my body.

"Carson, you drew up the contract," she reminds me.

"I know, Baby, and it works for the most part but it takes all the fun out of everything. We're all soul bound now. We're officially connected and we're on the move all the time. You were gone all summer and I hated that I couldn't just go to you when I wanted or have you come to me. It was so f*****g hard for all of us,"

Especially for Jimenez and Ahsan. We all agreed not to tell her that the two of them almost killed one another before they started feeding off each other. The two of them haven't been in the same room since. Jimenez is at war with the Hernandez Cartel and a bunch of other s**t that's going down with the fringe and Grim. She keeps us calm. Centered. Without her, we all fall apart. We can't survive just feeding off one another. We need more as the seven of us grow stronger and as long as we have this contract between us, s**t is only going to get worse.

"We'll talk about it," she agrees and lets out a heavy sigh. "Here, set him up,"

She steps back and motions the robot. This thing is really fancy looking. The plates are all gold but everything else is matte black. His skeleton features are sick as hell. I read the lines she set up for me and activate him.

"Get dressed," I order him. We step back and hand him the clothes. When he's done I can't help the smile on my face. She even got him holsters and its own custom guns.

"He's a military program. All of your schedules have been updated and it's synced to your phones. All four of them. You can teach him your business strategies and he has your voice over so he can deal with the less important things. He'll send you options and you can just choose what you want on your phone. They all also come with medical help. Dec helped Damian with that. D said they're good to assist with wounds, most first aid situations, and colds. He will tell you when he needs to be restocked,"

"You got real rubies for Ro?"

"Yeah, I feel like he needed a little extra dazzle. He's really stressed out. I hope the robot helps him a little. Have you talked to Vic? He also seems a little off. Which reminds me. We have a date tomorrow,"

"We do?" I look back at her.

"Me and Vic. If you want to go on a date, there's a schedule in the kitchen," she smirks.

"You have a date schedule?"

"Yeah, Lucien has booked every Friday night for the month," she laughs. "You've got to take a break more often. You're not president just yet,"