FIVE. CLOVIS.
The name we chose for our group, and for our project, was CLOVIS, formed from the initials of each of our surnames, in sequence: Cossack-Light-Oppin-Vinue-Ivannova-Solaris.
The question was, what sort of being was best suited for fighting Daraku? The answer we all in the end, agreed upon, was: A Demon.
A Demon could disguise itself as almost anything. A Demon could drown its opponents by sheer bulk. A Demon could live a life very much like a human’s, but wield far greater power.
We decided to create a new breed of Demon, one more powerful than any before. Nate and Chadling were our primary inspirations. Anything any of us had ever learned about those two Demons went into the project.
The result was Alan and Alexis Clovis.
The first innovation I must describe here is also, possibly, the greatest. They required no control jewel.
This is one of the many things we owe to Chadling. At one point, his control jewel was irreparably destroyed. However, Dr. Light managed to devise a closed-system consciousness for Chadling; in other words a program that was constantly spread among the many circuits of his nanobots. A facsimile of the control jewel (that, incidentally, could shoot lasers) was given to him, and he kept it for decorative purposes.
This new method of containing a Demon’s personality matrix was used in the creation of Demons Alan and Alexis. The personality matrices were broadcast to the nanobotic clusters, and then “sealed off” by closing the communication and preventing re-access. From that point on, the Demons were fully conscious and alert.
One of our main goals in designing the Neo-Demons was to create nanomorphs that could in every circumstance pass for humans. The Demons had to have an external temperature within the realm of everyday people, and be capable of generating textures similar to human skin. Like Chadling, they were designed so they could speak perfectly, and generate many colors, including flesh tones.
At the basic nanoscopic level, though, their nanobots most resembled Nate’s, albeit with some modest changes. They had the same basic five-legged structure, (with sensory ports and added sound ports), which we deemed most useful for rapid reconfiguration, and were roughly the same size.
One more thing the duo inherited from their predecessors was the usage of hyperspace pockets. Both Nate, on a whim of Dr. Light’s, and Chadling per his creator’s design, kept a large amount of their actual matter in hyperspace tracts built into their systems. This allowed these Demons to associate with humans on an everyday level.
Alan and Alexis used hyperspace tracts as well, though they also put them to a couple of other uses. They used this space to store reconstitution chambers, which provide the perfect conditions for Demons to be at rest. This way, they could bring those chambers out at a moment’s notice. They also stored high-power blasters designed by the excellent Dr. Oppin, giving them extra weaponry in combat. Alexis bore a pair of rapid-fire blasters, while Alan held a single weapon with exceptional power.
(It should be noted that while Nate once appeared to use a blaster, it was in fact a laser beam fired through a blaster facsimile. Lasers are a trick Demons have pulled, through the use of nanoscopic energy fields, since Wily’s days.)
Like Demons before them, small thrusters on individual nanobots allowed Alan and Alexis to float for short periods of time. Though they could only remain airborne for a minute or so, this ability did allow the Demons to more easily scale sheer walls.
We discussed for a time whether we should allow Alan and Alexis to age artificially. In the end, we concluded that some amount of aging would be good for them. Thus, Alan and Alexis began with the intelligence of small children, but grew to maturity over the course of the next five years. By this time, they had spent a large portion of their lives dedicated to fighting Daraku.
Sadly Alexis, Alan, and even Mikhail’s dear child Kalinka, perished trying to attack Daraku head-on. Fortunately, all was not lost. They left behind those who would continue to fight on in their stead. Those who would carry on their legacy...
...Their daughters.