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avocado-frog · 2 years

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Forget-me-not. 10

Warnings: Implied torture, isolation, manipulation, referenced child neglect, human experimentation, past child abuse Rating: T Title: 11/17/2018. 2 Word count: 7,000 Summary: Jaxon goes to his old room. Leo gets answers.

It was a familiar hallway. Jaxon was surprised he could remember it.

The white hallways were coated with streaks of blood, having never been cleaned. This was the oldest wing of the building, the worst of them all. If anyone was going to be kept anywhere, it was either there, or the wing of the building that actually was supposed to hold people, where Leo was, because he didn't want her to go down this hall.

Each room did nothing to solve the painful churning in his stomach, each painfully empty, even though the rooms shouldn't be. He should have been glad that they were.

Floor two, room fifteen. His room. His room, which he wouldn't forget, no matter how hard he was hit with a fallen tree. Not even that was enough.

Ten rooms on each floor, five on each side of the hall. The first held a medical chair and a wall full of brightly colored needles. A second had a wall with hammers and wrenches hanging off of nails. The next, an empty room with a single hospital bed, splatters of blood on every surface.

He would have heard screaming from somewhere if anyone was there, even if they were unconscious. There would have been some noise, because they never stopped, even if they weren't awake. They didn't stop. They didn't stop.

He had taken a keycard for himself off the neck of an unconscious guard from the entrance, which he planned to burn later.

Jaxon stopped opening those doors, and moved on to the door at the end of the hallway. The window on the top was broken, shards of glass along the edges. Chicken wire crisscrossed across where the glass would have been. The door was blocked off by yellow tape.

Experiment 707 written on the side of the wall, by where he needed to swipe the card. He did, clenching his hand into a fist and holding his breath, eyes squeezed shut as he opened the door. Floor two, room fifteen, experiment seven-hundred-seven.

He had been seven-hundred-six, and Dylan had been seven-hundred-five. They had been together. Ages six and three, respectively, up until Jaxon was nine and Dylan was six.

Carefully, he opened an eye. It was like he remembered. Checkered walls, checkered floor, checkered ceiling. A pile of trash in the corner, a bright lightbulb hanging from a chain in the middle. A child in a white uniform staring at the lightbulb.

Slowly, the kid tilted his head down. Flat, white hair covered a bandage on his right eye, and fell over his other eye, a dull and empty gray, instead of a vibrant silver. Despite the blank expression, a glint of fear shone in his eye when he saw Jaxon.

Jaxon stopped dead in his tracks. He had been desperately hoping it to be empty.

In the security room, Jaxon had seen two boys who looked like Leo. One with straight black hair, that looked almost dark brown like Leo's, and the other with light brown hair, like Cass. They both had freckles, like the twins, and one had the golden eyes, the other had silver. There was supposed to be a third, a boy with silver eyes, with blond hair.

And holy shit, if he hadn't wanted the closure, if he hadn't come to room fifteen, if he hadn't gone to the lab, this kid would have been left behind.

So, he approached the kid like he was a stray, baby animal, and the boy shrank back, scrambling back on his hands, looking away, anticipating something that wasn't coming. Expecting Jaxon to hurt him.

He didn't want anyone- much less a child- to be afraid of him. He could barely bring himself to kill a spider. What if it had a family? What if it had a baseball game? That'd just be cruel.

So, he put his hands out in front of him and sat down, using the faint memories of comforting a terrified toddler Dylan to help this kid. His ability to comfort small baby Dylan, as well as stray kittens. This boy was, in fact, the equivalent of a stray kitten, and he would treat him as such.

"Hello," Jaxon started out, making sure to speak as quietly as he could. The kid flinched anyway. "My name is Jaxon. Can I talk to you?"

The child looked at him for a long time, and glanced at the open door, but nodded, looking a bit guarded, cautious.

"Great. So, I bet you don't like it here, do you?" Jaxon asked, tilting his head slightly.

"...Am I changing rooms?" The kid looked carefully hopeful. He felt a little sad for him. When Jaxon hesitated, the boy's face fell. "...Oh."

"Well, not exactly. I'm talking about leaving the whole building." Jaxon smiled softly, and the kid shrank again. "You see, my brother Logan, he has a really big house, not as big as this place, but it's better. It's very warm, there's a bed," he noticed the lack of mattress in the room. Worse yet, the kid must have been sleeping on that pile of trash in the corner. "That's always a plus, huh?"

The boy shrugged limply. "Do I have a choice?"

Jaxon faltered. It wasn't like he was going to leave him here, especially in the state he was in. Saying that he didn't have a choice just felt cruel.

"Well, I uh, I can't really leave you here," Jaxon chuckled nervously. The boy eyed him suspiciously.

The boy proceeded to move away from him, silent as he pulled an old, worn stuffed rabbit, with faded purple fur, and button eyes, out of the bottom of the trash pile. Jaxon cringed at that. The kid used the wall to help himself stand up on wobbly legs.

"Can I take this?" The boy asked, walking over, unsteady. He hugged the rabbit close. "...Please?"

"Of course." Jaxon smiled, holding out his hand. A cold, thin hand slipped into his, and Jaxon made sure not to grip too tightly, but enough to prevent him from getting lost.

---

If there was anything, anything, that could tell something about her past, Leo was going to take it, and she was being given a gold mine. A place that triggered memories she had forgotten. On floor three, the research rooms.

There were no regular bedrooms, like there had been for Sam and Ryan, and she didn't want to think about what the second floor contained, though she did briefly come across Jaxon, grinning as he told a small, fragile looking kid a story about something, while the kid watched with an excited look on his face, a small glint in his left eye. He seemed to not have the right one anymore.

Leo had met him, his name was Elliot, and his toy rabbit didn't have a name yet, but Jaxon was going to help. He stared at her, and told her that she looked like Emily, her mother. She'd been relieved, as Ryan had mentioned an Elliot in an offhanded comment, and Elliot looked like the third boy in the photograph. But only barely.

So, here she was, on the research floor. She knew because it was the only room. The final flight of stairs led to an area full of employees in lab coats and blue scrubs, in front of steel tables and swivel chairs, and Leo froze.

Leo managed to straighten herself out, she had worn a white coat for a reason, and she'd suspected it was why Ryan asked why she was helping them. They'd thought she worked here. She had a keycard, anyways.

None of them were armed, she noted, as she began to back away. She could take all of them, with her fire magic, but she didn't want to kill anyone. Regardless of how evil they were. She just couldn't.

Someone noticed her presence before she could make it back to the stairs, and Leo froze up again, as she stared her mother dead in the eye.

Her mother, Emily, looked surprised for a moment, but her gaze softened, and she smiled.

Leo swallowed nervously, as the other adults turned around to look at her, and she had to remind herself that none of them were armed, so she had nothing to worry about. Leo had gotten herself into worse situations before. She felt like she was eleven years old and had picked a fight with the seniors in high school, like she ran off to her cousin's house and stayed for a whole week before her parents noticed she was gone.

Nothing to worry about. Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, and it felt like a shock to her system, cold and unfeeling and she didn't move.

When she was ten, she thought she'd run away. Feeling impossibly angry at her mother and father, they weren't ever home, she couldn't do anything by herself, nothing was going right- she thought she would run away. She packed a backpack and walked to the grocery store, before it got too cold and she went home. No one had realized she left.

"Oh, Leo. You're finally here." Emily's smile did not falter. She turned around to the people in the lab coats. "Don't worry, I'll take care of my daughter. Come, dear, we have much to discuss."

Oliver, her father, stood up, and pushed his chair in, and followed the two back down the stairs. Leo didn't resist, though she knew she should. It wasn't really an option.

This was it, a chance to find out her connection to the kids. If she played her cards right, she could find out anything she needed to know, and leave. She just needed to focus.

She started to see her parents more often again when she was eleven and had gained a sort of reputation around town. When she had the police called on her for an assault charge and her mother had come to pick her up. They played cards that night, and Leo won every round. At one point, Emily stopped the game, and said Leo was smart, smart enough to not get caught next time. That was all she asked, that Leo didn't get caught again. Warmth buzzed through her veins at the compliment. That was what she wanted, wasn't it?

Leo was led to a small room, with black walls and nothing else. She swallowed the sick feeling in her throat, and bit her lip, and tried to hide any hint of fear.

"You know, I thought you were a tad too old for dress up," Emily commented, likely about the white coat, the fake lab coat. Emily shrugged. "I always thought you could work here when you got older."

"You're smart enough, you'd pass the test," Emily continued, circling around her like a snake. Oliver stood still somewhere behind her. "If you weren't magic, you'd be the perfect candidate. Of course, we can always fix that."

"What... do you mean?" Leo asked carefully, dreading the answer.

"We've been working on a new experiment," Emily responded, as if it was an easy answer. As if that wasn't a fucking terrifying thing to say. "We were going to test it on the one across the hall, but it seems your friend beat us to it. He wasn't supposed to live this long."

Whether she meant Jaxon or the kid he was with- Elliot, Leo didn't like that at all.

Leo looked down, silently telling Jaxon to be faster, to run before they could catch him. She stayed silent and felt like a little kid. Why did this have to be so difficult?

Leo stopped frequently leaving the house when she was twelve, when the threats and rocks and screaming became too much. Rumors spread like wildfire in a town that small, and everyone knew what she was. A witch, a demon, a monster, all sorts of stuff, she was called. No one ever bothered Cass like they bothered Leo. By her twelfth birthday, she stopped talking to Cass and stopped talking to her cousins and she didn't need them. She cut them off, closed herself off, she didn't need them, didn't want their company, didn't need her parents, her neighbors, her teachers, her classmates, or her siblings. She would be the bad guy if Cass was safe.

"Even in the few days you've been gone, it seems you've forgotten everything we've told you," Emily scoffed lightly, and patted her on the head. Leo flinched. A sudden rush of anger flooded her system. "That's okay, dear. You can come home, and we'll start training you to work with us. Everything will go back to the way it was before, won't that be nice?"

Leo stepped back, eyes hardening a bit. Oliver guarded the door. She was trapped, a caged animal, she shoved her hands deep into her pockets, to hide the shaking.

Things could go back to the way it was before, won't that be nice?

Back to the way they were, going home to an empty house, a cold bedroom, a plate of pretzels for breakfast because there was no one home to tell her no, because Cass always stayed with Kai, but Leo denied their pity, because she had been told to deny their pity. Because there was no sympathy in the world, it was earned, and she hadn't earned it. Was that the reality she wanted to return to? Did she want to be trained to be a guard and hold a gun against someone? A child with seemingly no remorse, no hesitation?

Leo was thirteen years old. Her mother swore to her one night that she was heartless. And that it was a good thing, too, because sensitive people were vulnerable. If she wasn't, and if she was guarded, she would be safe. Everyone was out to kill her, they'd do it without hesitation, they'd do it without remorse, and she needed to be careful, to be safe, don't get too close to anyone, they're using you.

And she had believed it.

"No."

Leo stepped forward again, letting her hands fall out of her pockets, as she glared at her mother, the woman in front of her, Emily.

It was a lie. An obvious lie, and Leo should have been smart enough, old enough to realize it.

She had known her friends for a week. One week, and everything Leo knew crumbled. If Logan wanted to poison her, he'd have done it by now. If Jaxon was manipulating her, she would have figured it out already. Lily swore to her that Dylan took years to trust someone, and that it was remarkable how quickly they warmed up to her.

So, with that, her mother was lying. That was her evidence, and she was stricken with the sudden thought that she didn't want to leave.

Three days ago, Lily told her that as a kid, she mentioned having three brothers. Three weeks ago, Oliver had shook his head during Emily's story. Leo looked up at Emily, her mother held a confident half-smile, arms crossed as she waited during their long silence.

"Oh? And why not?" Emily stepped closer. Leo held her ground.

"...I'm not like you," Leo answered, voice low. Her parents called her evil, her neighbors thought she was a demon, her teachers thought she was a witch, her classmates believed she was a monster.

She could feel the presence of someone behind her, urging her to keep going. The same sense she had felt when she found the photograph to begin with, when she almost gave up on it. There wasn't really anybody there, she knew that.

...Her mother never took photographs of the twins as kids, at least, that was what she had been told. Her parents never spoke to her, and didn't want anything to do with her. She barely saw them.

...The picture of herself, Cass, and the triplets. And the woman behind them. Someone had to have taken that picture.

...There was a whole chunk of her childhood that she couldn't remember.

Leo took a breath. "You're not my parents, are you?."

The words slid out before she even knew what she was saying, and Emily looked surprised again. For a moment, everything clicked, and it was blissfully peaceful. And then, it hit her like a freight train.

A snake constricted around her throat, her lungs, she gasped for the breath that had suddenly been removed, simply by six words.

"That's right," Emily said smoothly, stepping forward, and for a moment, Leo was sure she had been stabbed, or punched in the stomach, or anything that could explain the burning pain that had exploded like a firework. She stared at the concrete. "I figured you'd find out soon enough."

Leo didn't look up, but still tensed as she heard the click of Emily's heels come just a bit closer. A hand landed on her shoulder, and she flinched back.

"But we aren't entirely unrelated. I'm still your aunt, and your mother and I had been as close as you and your sister. Until you were born, and your mother ran away and hid. Some five years later, and we had her killed."

Hands clenched into fists at her sides. Leo didn't move. That would have made the triplets five or six years old when their mother died. The words barely registered in her ears, becoming nothing more than a dull ring and a heavy static.

"It had to be done." Leo could sense Emily's dismissive shrug. "The memory altering experiment hadn't gone as well as we'd hoped. We needed new subjects."

Memory altering.

Oh. Okay. Checked out. Why not? Sure. Sure. Sure.

Leo didn't move.

A fog took over, she couldn't think, barely processed anything around her. The floor was cold, she felt like she was on fire. She literally, genuinely couldn't remember anything. No matter how hard she tried, she could only get a spark, something small. A headache seared through the fog if she tried to remember anything else.

Leo stood up, and the air was cold, and a swirling numbness overtook every muscle, but she managed a slight glare, and she stuck her hand out, and shot the smallest spark of blue fire at her mother, and caught her hair on fire. She turned around, where Oliver had been silent, and she told him to move, in a voice she didn't know she possessed, and Oliver held his hands up in surrender, opening the door for her.

"Don't come home," Oliver warned in a mutter as Leo stepped out. She looked at him, too tired to respond, but she understood. She had no place there. She'd be killed. Leo nodded silently.

---

"Hey."

Leo stepped into the back of the van, giving her sister, and her brothers, a small wave. Cass shot upwards, engulfing her in a sudden hug that she was not prepared for. She nearly broke down just from that, but managed to keep it together.

"You were gone for two hours. What on Earth were you doing? I nearly came in there myself!" Cass scolded, motioning for Leo to sit down. She did. Cass brought over one of her folded blankets, and Leo held it in her hands, brushing her fingers through the softness, it was something to focus on.

"Sorry," Leo mumbled, focusing on the black blanket. "I ran into... Emily and Oliver. Not our parents, by the way. Long story."

She explained their new situation, that going home wasn't even an option anymore, that their parents weren't really their parents, and their mother had been killed. Cass listened, and nodded, and provided Leo with a water bottle, which she was grateful for, and continued to be worried about her.

Leo stared at her photograph again, seeking comfort by looking at the image, she seemed to have a new clarity. It was the same picture; nothing changed. She glanced up. Ryan was sitting on the floor, using the chair as a backrest, and drawing patterns into the floor. In the picture, he was likely the small boy asleep in the woman's arms, with a white bear hoodie and gray bracelet.

Sighing, she looked down at the photo again. It didn't seem real, having names to the faces. The boy hugging Cass with a bright grin and yellow rain coat, based on the curlier hair and freckles, it must have been Sam.

Ahead of her, Sam was sitting in the chair near Ryan's spot on the floor, looking around with a wary, anxious gaze and a dull, pale face. Looking at the picture, it didn't seem like the same kid.

That left Elliot. The boy in the picture had two eyes, a noticeable difference from the Elliot of the present. She looked for the kid, panicking slightly when she didn't see him at first.

He laid with his small head pressed against her arm, otherwise completely still. Only one silver eye stared blankly into nothingness. The one in the photo had blond hair, where the current Elliot had bleached, white hair. His skin was pale enough to be considered gray, and if she couldn't feel cold puffs of air coming out of an opened mouth, she would have thought he was dead.

Elliot, very slow and very careful, pointed at the woman, apparently Leo's mother, and tapped her with a shaky finger. He then looked her dead in the eye, and made a sound with his mouth as he slid his finger across his throat, and fell over.

Well, that was somewhat concerning. Leo glanced at the kid, who bounced back up and stood, calmly walking over to Sam with his hands behind his back. Sam looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Leo couldn't tell if Elliot was saying anything, or just standing there, but either way, Sam looked very confused when Elliot turned around and sat next to Leo again, moving to lean against her.

"I'm tired. Can we go home?" Elliot asked, his voice soft, sounding more like a young child than he already was. He looked at the photo in Leo's hand for a while, and looked up at her, singular eye shining with panic. "Where are we going?"

The sudden personality shift gave her whiplash, though she recovered easily enough. Speaking with as calm of a voice as she could muster, she smiled softly. "We're going to my friend, Logan's house. We'll figure it out from there."

That didn't seem to calm him down. He had his face buried in his hands, mumbling something to himself in a hushed whisper. He rocked himself back and forth, and Leo held her hands out, hesitating, ready to catch him if he passed out.

She desperately hoped he wouldn't pass out. She was not equipped for that. It barely took him a second to calm himself down, as he took a deep breath and simply stared at the floor, unmoving.

Sam had introduced Ryan as his older brother, but the three of them looked like triplets, and Elliot had allegedly told Jaxon he was ten years old, and that's how old Sam had said he and Ryan were when they were walking down the hall, trying to find the entrance. That would put Sam as either the middle child or the youngest, with Ryan either the oldest or in the middle. She couldn't imagine Elliot as the oldest of the three, so she was going to assume Ryan as the oldest, Sam as the middle child, and Elliot as the youngest.

Three months ago, Leo would go to the aquarium, and she would know someone who would have loved it. The name would have been on the tip of her tongue, but she had forgotten, and she would brush it off.

A year ago, she would walk by the park in the summer, and sudden anxiety would spike upon seeing people there. She always felt like there was someone she was supposed to be looking after. A voice in the back of her head screamed at her, told her to find them. She didn't know who she was supposed to be looking for.

Two years ago, Leo was fourteen, and the triplets were eight. Leo had volunteered for three months at a public elementary school, and tutored the younger kids for twenty dollars. Back then, she had been asked if she had younger siblings, and she had said no, and the word had felt like acid in her throat.

Leo did have younger siblings. Four of them, in fact, if Cass counted. Three younger brothers who she had just found out about, and a twin sister. She was the oldest.

She could not remember anything from the age of ten or before. Her brothers were ten. She wanted to remember anything else about them. Anything else.

Elliot used to have glow stars on the ceiling. Sam's favorite animal had been a different type of bird depending on the day. Ryan used to beg to see the fish at the pet store.

Ryan had fallen asleep sitting up, Sam still stared at the floor, breathing slowly, and Elliot clung to a stuffed rabbit, knees drawn up close, face buried into his stuffed animal.

Leo was tired, and Cass had fallen asleep with one of the blankets she had brought. She considered falling asleep as well, but she had the triplets, her brothers, to watch over. She could make it until then.

She would protect them with her life.

-----

Something bad happened, but nobody knew what it was.

The night they came back from the lab, it'd been around nine o'clock, too late for dinner, but Logan made sandwiches and chips anyway, and it had been awkward. Leo had gone upstairs, the adrenaline crashed, she barely made it to the guest room she had stolen, and Cass had gone after her. Apparently, they needed to talk in private.

Meanwhile, the new kids, triplets at the age of ten and a half, were wary at best. They sat in their usual arrangement, with Logan on one end of the table, Lily next to him, and Dylan next to Jaxon. Leo and Cass were still gone, so Ryan sat on the opposite end of the table, and Sam and Elliot sat one chair apart.

There were two chairs left, just enough for the twins to have their own seats if they joined them for their meal of ham sandwiches and barbeque chips.

Jaxon didn't consider it a big meal by any means, but he sat across from Elliot, who stared at it like it was the most he'd seen in a week, and he'd looked up at Jaxon, silently asking him if he could really have it. Jaxon, of course, nodded and smiled. Elliot shoved it in his mouth, to Logan's dismay, like it would grow legs and jump out the window if he wasn't quick enough.

Ryan was, in fact, allergic to dairy. They hadn't known that until the kid had pulled the cheese off his sandwich with a nervous expression, and handed it off to Sam, who was glad to have the extra slice. And then Logan felt bad for not asking, and wouldn't stop apologizing.

Dylan would give Elliot side-glances every so often, looking wary, eventually turning into full-on staring at Elliot, until Jaxon had to tell them to quit it, they were freaking the poor kid out.

Both Dylan and Ryan didn't talk much, though Dylan was deaf and he suspected that Ryan simply didn't. Sam talked for Ryan most of the time, and seemed excited to have more people to talk to, while the other two weren't.

Sam chewed on his own food quietly, carefully, took in the flavors of the bread and the ham and the absurd amount of cheese. Five slices. Five.

Elliot finished first, and didn't seem to know what to do next. He stared at Jaxon with a vacant expression, and he very deeply regretted being the one who Elliot decided to follow. He wasn't a good influence.

Jaxon shoveled the last handful of chips into his mouth, and figured Logan would take his plate like he always did, and he smiled at Elliot.

"Come on, Ell! I'll take you to go find a room. I'm sure you're tired." Jaxon stood up, and the kid followed. Logan gave him a grateful look and a nod.

Elliot grabbed his hand again, routine at this point. For nine hours, where he went, Elliot latched onto his sleeve and followed.

They stopped at the bottom of the staircase. Really, Jaxon tried to keep going, but Elliot came to a dead, screeching halt.

"What's wrong?" Jaxon tilted his head at his new friend, who stood stiff, staring at the floor.

"...stairs."

Jaxon didn't take into account of the child's small and incredibly out of shape form, he would probably have an asthma attack from walking up the stairs. That must be what he was worried about.

He had no problem with picking Elliot up; the boy was approximately the weight of a malnourished cat, or maybe a puppy. Possibly a guinea pig. Whatever small animal Jaxon could compare him to, he was light, and that was the point.

So, Jaxon lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of (very small) potatoes, while Elliot gripped onto the hood of his jacket, breathing a bit too heavily for someone who wasn't even moving.

"And we made it!" Jaxon said triumphantly, setting Elliot down with a pat on the head. "Alright, let's go find a room for you. I put all the stuff from the store in the room at the end of the hall, but if you want to share a room with your brothers, I can-"

"No."

Jaxon faltered at the bluntness. "Okay, sure. Come on, I'll show you."

So, Elliot grabbed his hand again, and it was a bit warmer than the first time, but it was still small. They walked down the hall, where Jaxon gave him a small tour. His room would be across from Ryan and Sam's, because they didn't have enough guest rooms for them to each have their own, and next to Elliot's bedroom would be Cass's room, with Leo's across from it. Then the bathroom, and then Jaxon and Dylan's, and Lily's on the other side. There was the attic as well, which he advised Elliot not to go in without telling anyone, because the door tended to lock on its own.

On the inside of Elliot's new room, the walls were a light gray, with white trim, similar to the rest of the house. Jaxon had replaced the old, red and golden sheets from when it had just been a guest room that no one used, with the purple ones they'd found at the store, and the black and navy blankets with constellations and planets adorning them. A few of the stuffed animals, including the incredibly important purple rabbit that no one under any circumstances could touch, sat limply by the lilac-colored pillow.

He had a TV on a wooden stand, and Jaxon taught Elliot the functions of every button on the remote, in case he wanted to watch a movie. Elliot crawled into the bed tiredly, but looked in sheer awe as he wrapped a blanket over his head.

Elliot stared at Jaxon as he fought with a plastic box to free a night-light, (he was ten-and-a-half, a bit too old to be scared of the dark, but Jaxon didn't blame him and wouldn't judge) and upon his success, plugged it in to the closest outlet he could find.

Other than that, the room was mostly empty and ready for further decoration in the morning, because Jaxon could tell he himself was going to crash at any given minute.

"So, normally we have breakfast at nine on the weekends. It's Fall break right now, so we're all off school this week. Feel free to sleep in."

Elliot nodded, staring wide-eyed at the TV as he flipped through a few channels, and ended up on Coraline, of all things. That movie terrified Jaxon when he was nine, and it still scared him to this day. That movie was the origin of his arachnophobia, he was sure.

Jaxon left, and he saw Logan guiding the other two to their room on the other side of the hall, and Jaxon sighed in relief, not wanting to repeat the process again.

He waited outside the door for his brother, waited for something to happen.

#writing #original work #original characters #writeblr #writers #ao3 writer #yeah i still don't know what to tag

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tenebraevesper · 2 years

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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 2: Showdown At Eden

''I can feel your every rage, step aside, I'll turn the page. Breaking through your crazy maze, like a laser beam, my eyes on you.''

– Sonic Heroes by Sonic Heroes (NateWantsToBattle Cover)

xXxXxXx

''Here we are!''

The pink-furred anthropomorphic hedgehog stepped in front of the entrance to the Eden Botanical Garden. She had light green eyes and peach skin covering her muzzle, inner ears, and arms, a small black nose, triangular ears on top of her head, and five short head quills point downwards, somewhat resembling a bob cut, and a short pointy tail. She was wearing a white and rose dress-like tank top; rose sweatpants with a white stripe on each side; white wrist-length gloves that possessed visible lining along with red wristbands with a single yellow stripe; and red sport shoes with white stripes, white shoelaces caught on yellow triangular-hooked eyelets, and gray soles. On the top of her head was a red headband and red sunglasses with clear lenses.

''Uh, Amy? Are you sure that we are supposed to be at Eden?''

Amy Rose turned to her partner, a 15-year-old teenager with mid-length brown hair and brown eyes, dressed in a white T-shirt and a sleeveless zip-up pink hoodie, a light blue plated skirt, white stockings reaching to her tights and red and white tennis shoes. On the top of her head were red sunglasses with pink lenses.

Amy put a finger on her lips, thinking about it. ''Well, my tarot cards told me that there is something of great importance at a place with a lot of greenery, and that there is a shadow looming over it. My first thought was Eden, but it is also possible that the prediction meant Infinity Forest.''

''We could check both. If there isn't anything at Eden, then we go to Infinity Forest,'' her partner, Minami Kusakabe, suggested. Amy nodded in agreement and followed Minami into the huge greenhouse building. Admittedly, both were aware that Amy's tarot reading was something she liked doing for fun, something that should've been treated as a harmless hobby. However, her past experience made her realize that they should not take any of the predictions lightly.

Amy felt a shiver down her spine as a memory flashed in her mind. She could see other humans and ARNavs, all furious and accusing her of cursing them, despite the fact she had no such powers. She couldn't make whatever she foretold come true. All she would do is to read their fortune and, unfortunately, some had really bad luck.

''Only because I said that doesn't mean that it's true. The future can change depending on your actions. Nothing is set in stone.''

Unfortunately, no one had listened to her. Instead, they would claim how she was just going back on her word or making fun of them. They took her word for granted and abandoned her, telling anyone how she would bring them bad luck or curse them if she attempted to read their fortune. Amy was left wandering, wanting a place where she would be accept, and eventually came across Minami, who actually listened to her and even offered Amy to read her fortune. Amy had been reluctant, but agreed. She felt a sense of dread when she told Minami that she would have a bad day, but Minami shrugged it off. The next day, almost everything that could go wrong went wrong, but shockingly, Minami took it in stride.

''I'm so sorry, I never should've done that fortune telling,'' Amy apologized to her. ''Everything I say comes true, one way or another.''

''You don't have to worry,'' Minami replied casually, water dripping down from her clothes after someone turned on their hose to water their garden, only to accidentally spray water all over her. ''It's fine.''

Amy remained anxious, even though Minami continued to smile, assuring her that she was fine. It took a while for Amy to accept that Minami wouldn't abandon her just because her predictions would come true. Instead, Minami would note that her predictions could be interpreted in many ways and if a prediction was particularly intriguing, they would try to figure out what it meant. This is why there were here now, wanting to know what this shadow that was looming over them was.

xXx

''I had no idea that there is plant life this resilient.''

The light gray anthropomorphic hedgehog with white fur on his chest surrounding his neck with gold eyes and peach skin held up a fallen ginkgo leaf, looking absolutely fascinated. He had a black nose on his muzzle, two large spines at the back of his head, while on the front of his forehead there were five distinct spines flared up and back, the two final ones covering up most of his small, triangular ears. He also has a short, pointy tail. He wore white gloves with cyan circles with lines sticking out of the bottom leading to his golden bracelets accented in cyan. The tops of his boots were of a similar fashion with a red gem set in gold. The rest of his boots were navy blue with a white stripe down the center, cyan toes, and gray soles. He also had a cyan goggles with clear lenses around his neck.

''The Ginkgo biloba can survive in almost any kind of environment. Its ancestors date even to the age of dinosaurs,'' his partner, Makoto Ryle, explained. He was a 15-year-old teenager with light brown hair and light brown eyes, wearing a cyan T-shirt with white sleeves, a dark blue tracksuit jacket tied around his waist, brown trousers and blue high top sneakers. On his head was a pair of turquoise sunglasses with light blue lenses.

''Fascinating!'' Silver the Hedgehog said in awe, placing the fallen leaf into a nearby basket filled with other raked leaves, leaving this area in the greenhouse clean. Makoto then picked up the rake, handing it over to Silver and then grabbed the basket. His mother had been the owner of the Eden Botanical Garden, with Makoto helping out whenever he could.

As for Silver, Makoto had found him a few days ago, lying on the ground and breathing heavily, looking completely traumatized. He approached the ARNav carefully, wondering what caused such panicked reaction, and called out for the hedgehog, only to find himself suddenly floating in the air, unable to move at all.

''Where am I? Who are you?'' Silver asked, breathing heavily. Patches of his fur were covered in ashes and blood. He looked like he was ready to fight anyone who approached him.

''Ma-Makoto Ryle… I'm not here to hurt you,'' Makoto replied, trying to keep himself calm and hoping that the hedgehog too would calm down once he sees that Makoto isn't a threat. ''You're in Eden Botanical Garden in Neos City, Starpoint Area.''

''A… botanical garden?'' Silver was surprised, finally taking a proper look around. He appeared to be shocked by seeing so much plant life around him. He gave Makoto a confused look. ''What year is it?''

''What?''

Makoto was quite shocked when he learned that Silver was an Irregular from an apocalyptic future, where everything had burned down, and was sent to the present to prevent the bad future from happening. Unfortunately, he couldn't return to his own future as the device used for the time travel was broken. In the end, he decided to remain with Makoto and work hard to fulfill his task.

''Could we visit the rose garden next?'' Silver asked Makoto as they walked through the greenhouse, passing by other visitors, both humans and ARNavs. There was a faint shimmer, indicating that the AR Field inside the greenhouse was active and covering the surface, the digital layer being almost completely invisible. Makoto's AR Visor was on, allowing him to see the ARNavs residing purely inside the AR Field. Had he turned it off, the greenhouse would turn back to normal and he would only see the humans and whatever ARNavs decided to exit the AR Field.

''Sure, why not?'' Makoto replied. ''Once we return this, we can see how whether the new rosebushes are finally blooming.''

Silver smiled as he looked up at Makoto in excitement. Most of the flowers was already in bloom, except for the roses, as they had been planted around two weeks ago. When Silver had seen them for the first time, he wondered whether something was wrong with the rosebuds, feeling worried that the plant was damaged in some way. Makoto assured him that the roses would eventually bloom and that they just needed to keep an eye on them. He had even shown Silver pictures of roses in full bloom, with the hedgehog being excited to see them in real life.

Ever since he had arrived, he would carefully tend to the roses, awaiting the day when the buds would finally open up. Makoto would sometimes find him late in the evening, checking on the rosebushes, staring at them and hoping they would bloom right in front of him. However, he understood the hedgehog's fascination with the plants, as he had hadn't seen any in his time, having told Makoto that the land had been scorched. Makoto felt sorry for him and for what had happened to him, but Silver was confident that things would take a turn for the better.

''Leave this to me,'' Silver said as they arrived at the garden shed, using his psychokinesis to put the rake inside and the dropping the basket of leaves into the compost bin, then looked up at Makoto, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. ''Can we go now?''

''Sure- uh, hey, wait for me!'' Makoto said, only for Silver, in his excitement, to use his psychic powers to lift himself up and fly towards where the rosebushes were, with Makoto running after him. However, Silver didn't manage to get far until he flew into two familiar people.

''Makoto, Silver!'' Minami and Amy waved at them, with Silver landing in front of them and Makoto skidding to a halt.

''Hey, guys! What brings you here?'' Makoto asked.

''We've been trying to figure out what Amy's prediction meant,'' Minami explained.

''There is something of great importance at a place with a lot of greenery, but a shadow is looming over it,'' Amy added. ''Have you guys seen anything weird here?''

''No, we haven't,'' Silver replied. Minami and Amy exchanged glances, looking slightly disappointed.

''Maybe we are at the wrong place,'' Minami said.

''Or the prediction hadn't come true yet,'' Amy replied. ''Or we interpreted it wrong.''

''Perhaps we could help you with figuring out what your prediction meant,'' Makoto suggested. Amy clasped her hands together.

''That would be great!''

''Do you want to join us checking on the rosebushes? We wanted to see whether they're finally blooming,'' Silver asked.

''Sure, we would love to see them,'' Minami replied, her and Amy following Makoto and Silver.

xXx

''Okay, so we lost the Irregular, but we have a vague idea of what the general direction they took was. Any suggestions?'' Sonic asked as he and his friends walked through the park.

''I suggest a tactical approach. We should split up and search for the Irregular. That way we can cover a larger area,'' Knuckles said.

''While that isn't a bad idea, we would have a lot to cover, especially in comparison to a small park,'' Tails said, looking down at the screen of his device. ''If I could just pick up a BioEnergy signal, we would be able to narrow the Irregular's location down.''

''Maybe we should think of locations where an Irregular would remain undetected,'' Warren suggested.

''Unfortunately for us, there is plenty of them. Neos City is huge and I doubt we will ever be able to check all of them,'' Lily noted.

''We need a new plan, or at least a hint to where to go next,'' Lucas concluded. Fortunately for them, they did get the hint they needed, albeit in the form of a laser beam hitting the ground before them, exploding and creating a small crater. Everyone jumped back, stunned by what had happened, then looked up, seeing a robotic hedgehog hovering above them. Admittedly, while robot-like ARNavs weren't too common, they weren't a rarity either. The actual feeling of surprise came from from the fact that the ARNav resembled Sonic, at least in the case of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Lucas, Warren and Lily, however, already had an idea who this ARNav was.

Sonic broke the silence by taking a step towards his robotic counterpart, raising an eyebrow. ''Hey, Metal Me! What's the big idea of attacking us?''

Metal Sonic didn't respond, doing just a beckoning motion, as if mocking him and then flew away. Frowning, Sonic ran after him, with Tails and Knuckles exchanging glances with each other. Despite the questions they had, they followed Sonic with grim determination; Lucas, Warren and Lily being right behind them. While Knuckles was able to keep up on foot with him and Tails flew after him, Lucas, Warren and Lily followed the ARNavs via their hoverboards. Most people and ARNavs ignored them, figuring they were involved at some kind of race – with one sole exception.

A 16-year-old teenager was sitting on a platform on a building, observing the streets below. She had long dark brown hair and brown eyes with a reddish tint to them, and was wearing a black T-shirt with a white upside-down triangle with red lines on the front, as well as red triangles surrounding it making it look like a digital hazard symbol, as well as a red logo that looked like a spiral with spikes coming out of it; dark red jeans shorts and short black leggings underneath, and black, red and white high top tennis shoes. On the top of her head was a pair of goggles with black frames and light red lenses.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw Sonic and his friends chasing after Metal Sonic, who was flying in the direction of the Eden Botanical Garden. She was actually quite familiar with the group, even if she had only exchanged a few words with them, primarily Lucas. Admittedly, she had a mission of her own, and she certainly wouldn't waste her time with a group of strangers, but they had piqued her interest. It also helped that she was curious about why they were chasing what appeared to be a metal version of Sonic for some reason.

Grabbing her own hoverboard, she stepped on it, figuring that she should be present to witness whatever was going on. However, before she could do anything, she felt a sharp pain in her back, her arms and legs paralyzed. Her heart started to race as the world around her turned pitch-black for a moment, with a dim red light illuminating it. She feel on her knees, clutching her chest as a sense of dread washed over her. It only lasted for a moment, the daylight and city noise returning. She shuddered, getting on the hoverboard and quickly following the group, not wanting to lose them.

Why is this happening to me? They feel like memories, but they're so disconnected from reality. It's more like a dream… or a nightmare.

xXx

''They're so pretty!'' Amy exclaimed upon seeing the rosebushes. There were five rosebushes, each of a different colour, surrounding a lake outside the greenhouse. Silver excitedly examined each of the rosebuds, making sure the bushes were in full bloom. Minami and Makoto were trailing behind the two, with Minami looking just as amazed by the rosebushes as Amy. Silver eventually stopped running from one rosebush to another and returned to Makoto, looking slightly disappointed.

''Not all of them are in full bloom,'' he said.

''Really?'' Makoto said, giving his partner an assuring smile. ''I'm sure it's just not their time yet. All of them should bloom eventually, as long as the plant isn't sick or damaged.''

''I didn't see any signs of damage,'' Silver reported. ''They also look very healthy to me, but you should also take a look at them, just in case.''

Makoto nodded, while Minami joined Amy as she looked at the flowers. ''So far, it appears that there is nothing really connected to the prediction.''

''You're right, but still, I don't regret coming here,'' Amy said, her and Minami's eyes widening in awe as they spotted a couple of butterflies in the bushes. ''Amazing!''

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from the greenhouse and the four could see people and ARNavs running in panic. There was a sound of a window shattering and a lizard with a long tails and sharp claws, wearing khaki pants and a baggy shirt with tears in it, leapt out of it, hissing and snarling. His eyes were glowing and he emitted a sickly green aura.

''An Irregular!'' Minami gasped.

Makoto and Silver joined her and Amy, with Silver and Amy stepping in front of them. They both knew that the Irregular would attack Minami and Makoto and they needed to protect them. Amy held up her arm, an orb of red and pink data appearing above her before converting into a red and golden double-faced sledgehammer, the Piko Piko Hammer. The lines on Silver's gloves started to glow cyan and he was enveloped in a cyan aura. The lizard Irregular saw them, snarling and charging at them. A cyan barrier appeared right before them, with the lizard slamming its claw into it. At first, it seemed like it couldn't pass through it, but the Irregular charged the stolen BioEnergy into his next attack, creating a crack in the barrier, much to Silver's shock. The barrier broke down, with Amy charging towards the Irregular, brandishing the Piko Piko Hammer.

''Take this!''

She leapt and swung the hammer, but the lizard Irregular was faster, the aura crackling around it. It dodged Amy's attack, turning on its heel and swinging its tail, knocking her away. Amy hit the ground hard, the hammer flying out of her hands, and her body twitching as it got covered in green sparks.

''Amy!'' Minami screamed and ran towards her, worried for her partner. She ignored Makoto and Silver screaming after her, being relieved when she saw Amy moving, if only barely. However, that move was also a mistake, as she now made herself a target for the lizard Irregular.

''Watch out!''

However, just as the lizard Irregular leapt at the two, jaws wide open, a blue blur hit it, causing it to crash in one of the rosebushes.

''Sonic!'' Minami was happy to see the blue hedgehog, who just turned to her, smiling and giving a thumbs up. Her eyes then went wide. ''Behind you!''

Sonic turned around, tensing as he saw the lizard tearing through the rosebush and leaping at him. A cyan barrier suddenly appeared before Sonic, temporarily stopping the Irregular. However, just as it attempted to attack Sonic again, Silver appeared, floating right next to Sonic with a scowl on his expression.

''This is for hurting Amy!'' Silver enveloped the lizard Irregular into cyan energy, lifting it up and then slamming it on the ground. ''And this is for destroying the roses!''

''Nice job, Silv,'' Sonic complimented him, with Silver smiling in response. However, the lizard Irregular wasn't out for the count yet, as it got up again, snarling at them. The toxic green energy started sparking up as the Irregular readied itself for another attack, only to get hit in the head by a yellow-orange boomerang. It turned its head to the one responsible, only to get clocked straight in the face by Knuckles. However, the moment he did, Knuckles felt sparks flying and rushing through his body. His limbs went numb and he fell on his knees, as if paralyzed.

''Wh-What is this?'' Knuckles couldn't move at all. Just as the lizard Irregular attempted to take a bite of him, Tails managed to swoop in and carry him away before the Irregular could get to him. ''Fox, my own body won't obey me!''

''It may be the effect the Irregular's attacks have on you,'' Tails said, struggling a little due to Knuckles' weight.

''The lizard shall pay for this!'' Knuckles responded, him and Tails landing next to Lucas, Warren and Lily as they got on the battleground. Tails turned to Warren.

''We need to stay away from the Irregular's aura. It appears to paralyze anyone who touches it,'' Tails informed them. While Sonic and Silver confronted the lizard Irregular, Makoto helped Minami bring the paralyzed Amy over to the rest of the group. Fortunately, Amy had managed to open her eyes.

''Ugh, my head…'' she moaned.

''Can you move?'' Minami asked.

''A little,'' Amy responded. Makoto meanwhile turned to the rest of the group.

''The Irregular had absorbed the BioEnergy of the Eden visitors. We need to make sure it doesn't hurt more,'' he said.

''That won't be easy,'' Lily commented. ''The Irregular looks like it's on steroids.''

''That's just the BioEnergy. If it runs out of it, it'll stop,'' Lucas said. ''We should keep it occupied as long as possible.''

''You guys should get away. If the Irregular gets close to you, you're done for,'' Amy noted.

''Hey, we're not leaving you guys behind,'' Lucas told her, turning to where Sonic and Silver were, dodging the lizard's attacks. Both had seen what happened to Amy and Knuckles and didn't want to get any closer to the Irregular. Fortunately, Sonic was much faster than the lizard, while Silver would rise a barrier whenever he could. He tried to envelop the lizard Irregular in a cyan aura once again, but the lizard's aura broke through it, the lizard using the absorbed BioEnergy to break through Silver's psychokinesis.

''Hey, Silv!'' Silver turned to Sonic, who smirked. ''How about tag-teaming this guy?''

''Sure!'' Silver's pointed his hands at Sonic, who curled up into a ball. A protective cyan aura appeared around the latter, with Sonic spin-dashing into the lizard, knocking him away. Sonic leapt back, landing next to Silver, with the two power-bumping. This time, the lizard appeared to be winded, with Sonic stepping up.

''Hey, buddy, why are you attacking everyone and absorbing the humans' BioEnergy?'' he asked. The lizard snarled, glaring at Sonic.

''Stop getting in my way, hedgehog!'' he growled. ''This power is mine!''

''I don't think there is a way to talk through this one, Sonic,'' Silver said, the cyan aura manifesting in his hands. However, Sonic took another step forward.

''Why do you need the BioEnergy? Is it really that important that you need to endanger other people?'' he asked.

Instead of answering, the lizard snarled, leaping at Sonic, but Sonic managed to dodge his attack using his super speed, appearing right behind the lizard. The lizard turned around, about to attack him, when he got suddenly hit Tails' boomerang. The boomerang flew back, Tails catching it and landing next to Silver.

''If you want to continue your battle with Sonic, then you will have to fight all of us as well,'' Tails said, pointing at himself, Silver, and even Amy and Knuckles, who had recovered from the paralysis, joining their friends. Amy had summoned the Piko Piko Hammer once again, while Knuckles banged his spiked knuckles against each other, ready to get his revenge. The lizard snarled, glaring at the group.

''We are a package deal, whether you like it or not,'' Sonic told him, crossing his arms, a confident smile on his expression. The group surrounded the lizard Irregular, determined to stop him.

Meanwhile, Minami turned back to Lucas, Warren and Lily as they realized something. ''Hey, how did you guys even know that we have a situation here?''

''We were led here by a metal version of Sonic after he attacked us,'' Lucas explained. Minami and Makoto gave the them a surprised look.

''Wait a minute, do you guys mean… that metal version of Sonic?'' Minami asked.

Lucas simply nodded, glancing at their partners. ''I guess there will be some stuff to explain afterwards. Although, knowing Sonic, he wouldn't care about it that much and just move on to the next thing.''

''Okay, so, where is he now?'' Makoto asked. The group realized that they lost sight of Metal Sonic after being forced to focus on the more immediate threat of the lizard Irregular.

''Up there!'' Warren spotted Metal Sonic hovering above the battleground. He was focused solely on Sonic, who was currently taunting the lizard Irregular.

Unknown to either the humans or ARNavs, another familiar figure had joined them, jumping of her hoverboard, hiding behind the foliage and observing what was going on. This should be interesting.

The lizard Irregular snarled once again, about to attack Sonic, but before he could do that, Sonic got tackled by Metal Sonic, knocking him away from the lizard. Sonic landed on his back, but quickly got up, glaring at Metal Sonic.

''Metal Me? Why are you…?'' Sonic trailed off, realizing that Metal Sonic didn't lead them here to find the Irregular. He was here to fight Sonic. ''I see…'' Sonic clenched his fist, observing Metal Sonic, who glared at him.

''Sonic!'' Tails called out for his friend, worried. Sonic just smiled in response.

''I trust you guys to take down the troublemaker,'' he said, nodding towards the lizard Irregular, then turned towards Metal Sonic. ''I'll deal with Metal Me.''

Links:

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#Current Chapter

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

#sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #silver the hedgehog #metal sonic #Sonic Cyber Revolution

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govindhtech · 7 months

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ASRock X670E Steel Legend Wi-Fi Update

Well-connected ASRock X670E Steel Legend Wi-Fi update

ASRock’s X670E Steel Legend Wi-Fi is our next (and maybe last) AMD X670 evaluation on our current platform. We tested all Intel and AMD Steel Legend boards, ending with the X670E. The black, silver, and grey design has four M.2 sockets, four SATA ports, PCIe 5.0 (slot and socket), two NICs, and integrated Wi-Fi 6E. Finally, high-quality audio is provided.

As this platform progressed, ASRock offered five X670 SKUs. The top-of-the-line Taichi and Taichi Carrara, the mid-range Steel Legend, and the economical PG Lighting and Pro from X670 are available. For a smaller MicroATX or MiniITX form factor, use the B650 chipset or A620 boards. ASRock AM5-based motherboards include several features.

Most tests showed the X670E Steel Legend was average to above average. We saw its fastest performance in Procyon Office and gaming testing. Long-running multi-threaded functions are no problem for VRMs. Performance is fine out of the box.

Below, we’ll examine the board’s features to determine its place on our Best Motherboards list. Before we discuss testing and boards, we’ll list ASRock’s website specs.

Specifications: ASRock X670E Steel Legend Wi-Fi

Inside the ASRock X670E Steel Legend Wi-Fi Box

Inside the package, on a cardboard barrier on top of the motherboard, are some accessories to get you started without shopping. The user manual, two SATA cables, four M.2 screws/standoffs, and Wi-Fi antenna are included. For heavier video cards, ASRock supplies a motherboard graphics card holder.

Design of the ASRock X670E Steel Legend Wi-Fi

ASRock calls the Steel Legend a “philosophical state of rock-solid durability and irresistible aesthetics.” Black 8-layer PCBs with huge silver heatsinks and stencilled black-and-gray (nearly camouflage) design components target mainstream enthusiasts. The chipset and left VRM bank have Steel Legend branding, but it doesn’t light up like other SKUs.

Two RGB LED strips are on the X670E Steel Legend. One illuminates the Steel Legend branding on the chipset heatsink on the bottom of the board, while the other dwells under the SATA ports on the right edge. Bright LEDs and vivid colours create a light display inside your chassis. We appreciate the neutral aesthetic, which matches most build themes, but the board won’t win any awards.

Top half: The left VRM heatsink has a lot of mass and surface area to keep MOSFETs underneath running within spec. ASRock and Steel Legend branding and chipset mention are on top. Processor power comes from two 8-pin EPS connectors above the heatsinks (one required).

We encounter the first of six four-pin fan headers underneath the left VRM heatsink before moving right. The placement may seem odd, but it’s ideal for chassis rear fans. PWM and DC are supported by all fans. The CPU FAN1 can output 1A/12W, while the rest can handle 2A/24W. There’s enough power for fans or a custom water loop with fans and a pump.

After the socket, we find four reinforced DRAM slots with a top lock. Up to 192 GB of DDR5–7600 memory is supported. Our DDR5–5600 and DDR5–6000 kits worked OK, however our Temagroup DDR5–7200 kit didn’t, even though a faster (7600) kit with more capacity is mentioned. You’ll be fine with memory QVL kits.

Two more 4-pin fan headers are above the memory slots. Next, we see the first two 3-pin ARGB headers (the other and one RGB header are along). ASRock Polychrome Sync controls these devices.

The 4-LED Post Status Checker appears as we go down the right edge. The POST procedure illuminates the CPU, DRAM, VGA, and Boot LEDs. The LED stays lit if there’s a problem in one of those regions, giving people a basic sense. We then encounter the board’s 24-pin ATX connector, a 19-pin front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connection, and a Type-C connector.

X670E Steel Legend VRMs have 19 phases, 16 of which are Vcore. From the 8-pin EPS connectors, power goes to the Renesas RAA229628 20-phase PWM controller and the 16x 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs. As with other boards with the similar setup, the 960A wasn’t the most powerful, but it handled our flagship Ryzen 9 7950X chip without issue.

On the lower left, the audio component shines. Three yellow audio capacitors and the Realtek ALC1220 codec are visible. No Faraday cages or sophisticated DACs/Amps, but the audio solution is fine for most people.

Midboard has three PCIe slots (two full-length and one x1) and four M.2 connectors. Top PCIe slots connect through the CPU to PCIe 5.0 x16. Through the chipset, the bottom full-length socket supports PCIe 3.0 x4. If you like multi-GPU systems, these two slots support AMD Crossfire. The tiny open-ended x1 slot uses chipset lanes and supports PCIe 3.0 x1. Understand your hardware needs and if PCIe 3.0 speeds limit them with these slots.

Four M.2 sockets surround the PCIe slots. Top socket M2_1 is your processor-connected PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket. The rest connect through the chipset and run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) with 80mm module support per socket. The right edge has four SATA ports. All SATA and M.2 ports support RAID0/1/10. Storage is abundant, especially M.2.

Many headers are revealed on the board’s bottom. Additional USB connections, RGB headers, and power/reset buttons are standard. A complete left-to-right list follows.

Audio front panel

RGB 4-pin header

3-pin ARGB header

5-pin Thunderbolt AIC connector

(2) System fan headers

Clear CMOS jumper

(2) 2.0 USB headers

Fan system header

Talker heading

Panel header

Like most high-end models, the X670 Steel Legend’s motherboard has a back IO plate. It has the same black, white, and grey background and black labels as similar boards. However, the back IO has 12 USB slots. Plenty of ports include a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, a Type-A port, six Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connections, and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. HDMI and DisplayPort ports are for video, whereas 2.5 GbE and 1 GbE are for networking. Also present are Wi-Fi 6E antenna connectors. Last, the audio stack has two analogue and SPDIF ports.

#govindhtech #technology #news #technews #tech #cpu #gpu #ASrock #pcie #wifi

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