That one guy
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Ugh, should be longer but I think I missed the timing.
Spoiler for Angels and a demon:
Up above the sky, far beyond the clouds lay the sea of stars. On fortunate nights, one would be able to see them twinkle beautifully. Spread across a canvas of velvet, a collection of fine diamonds. But if one travelled beyond 5000 meters, they would see much of the same sight at night regardless of whether the sky was clear or not. Had circumstances been different, perhaps she would be looking up at these stars. Had circumstances been different, perhaps she would have been able to share this sight with someone close to her heart. As it stood, circumstances would not allow her to watch the stars with people close to her heart. In fact, beneath this splendor of these pinpricks of light was something that should not be there. A mass of land that could be described as the amalgamation of churches and holy structures. One as big as a city block crested over the clouds 5000 meters in the air and showed no stop of rising. It was the Star of Bethlehem, and beneath a thousand lights flickered red and yellow as black tendrils of smoke reached up to sully the heavens. The circumstances that surrounded them were that of World War III.
He sat in that carriage, or maybe cart would be more appropriate? A remnant of the trains that once traversed the tracks of the military base this floating monolith came from. He sighed despite himself. In this place so high up in the sky, he was supposed to get ready to face his greatest nemesis yet. He held his right hand before him, the right hand that had guided him from one situation into the next. The right hand that had always caused him misfortune, the right hand that had always ensured his survival against the most impossible of odds. As well as the right hand that could wipe out lives at a single touch. It was a hand he used to avoid tragedy, but it was also a hand that invited it as well.
"My first question: are you unwell?"
Kamijou Touma looked to the person beside him. She was a girl in practically nothing. What could be seen as a red habit only extended from her headdress into a cape of sorts. Beyond that she wore nothing but a revealing dress that seemingly composed of nothing but leather straps securing a translucent red cloth. It was a sight beyond revealing but it was still worn by someone who identified herself as a nun of the orthodox russian church, a member of Annihilitus. A member of a special sect within the church that dedicated themselves to the extermination of the supernatural with abilities and methods that went beyond what humans were capable of.
"Oh? It's nothing Mi-... Sasha."
Despite having seen someone in the same body overpower a full grown man convicted of serial murders, Kamijou Touma couldn't feel worked up over it. In fact he was despondent in a sense, like a jaded man that already saw all the wonders that could be offered.
Angel Fall
0930
British Halloween
Three incidents which revolved around the powers of angels. Just like the power of the angel that wreaked havoc down beneath the Star of Bethlehem. The same power that caused this artificial night to fall on this midday battle.
Misha Kreutzev, Power of God, Archangel Gabriel.
Those were the names that labelled the being soaring the sky below. A being of such unbelievable power that even the planets and stars aligned according to their will. Touma clenched his right fist. At that time, at the seaside. What had she been thinking? What had Misha Kreutzev been thinking? What was she thinking now? What was her will? He had been told that angels had no will. They were bags of telesma with programs to be executed integrated into their very being to perform specific functions. Automatons of pure power. But he had glimpsed it then, back at that beach.
My personal opinion: Hm, sweet foods are good. I often say that sweets are a source of longevity, it reminds me of God's grace.
When she had activated the sweep, hadn't she hesitated? Kanzaki had explained then that Misha did not have the power to immediately activate the sweep. But right now, Misha Kreutzev fired the sweep without delay or lag. Was the power she had now greater? Was her power then less? But even then, could she not have forced the spell to fruition sooner at that time? What had kept her?
Maybe it was this substance called telesma. Maybe it was those leylines which seemed so important to magicians. The elements and four cardinal directions even. Or was it the alignment of the stars? All of those could have been factors. But in the end, Touma had seen it. Under those circumstances where the world would end in a time limit set by a being of another plane. The wrapper of that one piece of gum he offered. She still had it clenched in her right hand.
WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! AT LEAST SAY SOMETHING! LISTEN UP, I'M ANGRY, I'M REALLY ANGRY!! THERE'S NO ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION, REMOVE THIS SPELL RIGHT NOW!!!
He had screamed out those words. Those naive words that had been given way by anger. That time, she looked at him like he was odd. She looked at him like a struggling insect as it was pinned down by its wings. A look that clearly said: "Why should I?". But mixed in that look was something else. He watched for it, those signs that he hoped for. The signs that there was someone in there named Misha Kreutzev whom he had befriended. An inkling of hesitation ghosted over her features. She responded, with her true voice that came out in a piercing shriek garbled in such a way it was heavily reminiscent of old dial up internet.
krTOUMAhw... tlIqg... fbSWEETzv... mpTHANKdt...
A heavy static overtook her.
bzzzt... wfNOty... shRETURNpq...
Those were the last words he'd heard at that time before Kanzaki had told him to stop Angel Fall. The last words he'd heard from Misha Kreutzev before her gaze turned cold. She was swallowed up by the overwhelming directive that was God's will. It had been explained to him then, it had been explained to him then. But what he saw overcame it right? Even for just a moment, those words weren't part of her directive right? The will of God. Angels were absolutely obedient to it. They completed it without fail and without excess, only to the letter. So why had she said those words?
"My first observation: This is not nothing."
Sasha Kreutzev gave Kamijou a pointed look. He turned his gaze to her for a moment before smiling lightly.
"Maybe."
Yes, maybe. Maybe it wasn't part of God's will. Maybe those words weren't part of her directive? Maybe they were her own? It was possible wasn't it? Tsuchimikado had explained to him that she was basically formed with a program. An intelligence with a preset of rules built into it. Directives that should be followed. Her psyche was a program. But even programs had bugs. She was something perfect and pure. But coming in contact with something imperfect and impure. Had she changed? No, that was too romantic a thought. It was less a change but more a re-evaluation. She was always an automaton. She executed her directives perfectly and so she saw herself as nothing more than such. But being surrounded by humans, being alongside humans. Wasn't it possible a fragment of her began to see herself as human?
"Maybe."
Touma repeated that word under his breath. Looking at the clear night sky above the clouds, the twinkling stars and flaming arrows that stood at the ready to rain down on an angel's command. A beautiful but terrifying sight.
"My second observation: The man who opposes Fiamma of the right is a weirdo who speaks to himself."
"Bfffft!?! Where did that come from?"
"My first self-reminder: Stay away from this weirdo. Vasilisa is plenty."
"What!? Who is this Vasilisa? I am not a weirdo!"
"My second self-reminder: He has been staring at his right hand for some time while sitting beside a young woman like me. Perhaps he is..."
"Stop! Stop! I demand you not finish that sentence right this instant!"
BOOM!
Explosions rocked the cart, throwing the two off balance. Touma quickly recovered from the violent jostling and headed towards the window. He looked around frantically, trying to identify what could have caused those explosions. up above were still those flaming arrows of the sweep. the artificial night was clear except for the stray academy city bombers that have yet to be shot down as well as the floating pieces of the Star of Bethlehem which repeatedly broke off then rejoined. Peering down towards the ground, the sight of small objects growing in his vision made Kamijou's face pale.
"Those are-"
BOOM!
Shockwaves threw the boy down on the small area that would be the cart floor.
"BALLISTIC MISSILES!?", he screamed incredulously.
Indeed, ballistic missiles fired from the ground.
"Argh! What idiot ordered the firing of these missiles at a time like this!?"
Down below, a certain red princess sneezed.
"That revealing dress finally catching up to you in this tundra?", a sickly looking woman smiled thinly as she patted her own thin but layered dress.
Princess Carissa looked towards the Maiden of Versailles and grumbled, "Aah, blow it out your nose.".
Back above, the sight of the missiles grew larger. And behind even those, the regular highschool boy watched powerlessly as another salvo was following. His right hand was useless against ballistic missiles, what should he do? But the answer was already made for him. He could do nothing.
BOOM!
That was why the missiles stopped by another's power. Light and shockwaves rent the air but Kamijou Touma remained standing within the carriage. His hands gripping tightly for reasons other than stability. For outside, under the pale moonlight, he saw a white figure faintly glowing like luminescent moss against the black smoke and orange flame. It was an eerie glow which blurred the true shape of the body. Man? Woman? Human? That questionable physique which was slender but at the same time strong. An expressionless face that featured eyes, lips and nostrils all all seemingly chiseled from a single stone of marble.
"Misha... Kreutzev?", spoke Touma's oddly dry mouth.
The figure seemed to hear him as it turned only for a moment to look at him. Soulless, emotionless chalk white eyes that reflected nothing but a blank canvas. She begins to speak but the voice is nothing more than screeches. Misha Kreutzev turns completely to face Touma's cart which is still travelling the rails at a relatively fast pace. His pulse raced and his sweat ran down his neck.
"Misha Kreutzev.", he said in a whisper.
The angel reached out with one hand. It's voice was still screeching.
"Misha Kreutzev!"
Touma shouted as he feared that she would attack him under Fiamma's order.
"MISHA KREUTZEV!"
She had begun screeching loudly and incessantly as her fingers stretched out to him. Enough so that the hands which had been gripping at the corners of the window quickly grabbed at his ears in order to suppress the painful shrieks. He wanted to shut it out. He wanted to shut that noise out.
"STOP!"
Touma screamed the word out himself. He wanted that pain to stop. He wanted Misha Kreutzev to stop. He looked out the window with eyes bleary from pain. He could see her silhouette, oddly outlined by the glow from her body. But that face, those eyes, those lips and nostrils. Those which should have been emotionless. Why did they seem so sad?
Confusion overtook Kamijou Touma as a name rang in his head.
"krfTOUMAwbt!"
"M-Misha? Misha Kreutzev?"
Kamijou repeated the russian name, but this time in confusion.
Some form of inexplicable gladness seemed to have overcome the angel as it stopped its screeching. Its features almost smiled. Its outstretched hand falling limp at its side. What was going on?
BZZZT!
Static. The same sound Touma heard then as well. The sound similar to a high pitched dial-up internet connection. Something was changing. Something was happening to Misha Kreutzev. Touma watched as time seemed to slow down. He heard the familiar screech as the angel's eyes met his.
"ldnTOUMAqgt bwyTOUMAflt meet. I'm glad."
With those last words spoken in the language of humans, Archangel Misha Kreutzec screamed. It was not the screech of an angel's voice trying to speak. It was purely a scream. One that echoed between the voice of a man and a woman. It's as if she was in pain.
"MISHA!"
Touma shouted in worry. But that was moot. After that scream the angel flew straight at the cart. The speed of which was so great the vehicle may as well have been moving still. Kamijou was face to face with it. He saw the face of a true angel as it appeared right before his window in the moment before it would knock the wooden vessel of the track with its body. It was emotionless and there was no trace of the Misha Kreutzev he knew.
No!
SLAM!
an explosive impact threw the cart tipping dangerously off the rails but still keeping to it. Touma trembled as he sat on the floor. His eyes were still able to see out the window. No matter how it was shaking, the carriage was still well on its way. It was on its way to Fiamma of the Right, not spiraling down to the icy ground below. Because the blow that should have led to that was intercepted. An angel was stopped... by another angel.
Kazakiri Hyouka had entered the scene. Her foot had kicked away the archangel and the two supernatural beings now floated on opposing ends of this conflicted sky. The brown eyes behind were normally soft, but now they held steely resolve.
"I won't let you hurt my friends.", declared the angel of science.
She looked towards the carriage. Making sure it was safely away before starting this battle which she involved herself in. "Everything's alright now.", she mouthed. "I will protect you.". That was her intention. She flew from Academy City, following the AIM field path set-up by the Misaka Network to do just that.
Don't hurt her!
Kazakiri knit her eyebrows in confusion. Kamijou was at the window, banging and screaming. "Don't hurt her!" he was screaming.
"Please don't hurt her!", Kamijou roared inside the cart. Sasha Kreutzev was off to the side of the cart, watching him silently.
"I'm an idiot. I'm such an idiot!", Kamijou continued this pointless tantrum. "She's our friend. So please don't hurt her!". But even if he shredded his throat with the volume he was forcing, that voice would not carry over. Hyouka would not hear. He only prayed that his feelings would somehow be sent over. He prayed, Kamijou Touma prayed as the cart entered the darkness of the interior once more. His legs giving way, sliding down to meet the floor.
Why? Why did he never notice? Misha Kreutzev. Wasn't she suffering?
When she was screeching and reaching towards him, didn't she just want to meet him? Wasn't she just hoping for him to acknowledge her? Idiot! Idiot! He was such an idiot. That time, at the beach. He saw her as a threat to humanity, but hadn't she thanked him? She wasn't being contradictory to spite him. The sound of static, the sound of that modem connecting. Wasn't that the sound of a forced override? Misha Kreutzev. What if she indeed had her own heart? What if she had indeed her own will? Why did he believe this before but completely disregard it as soon as Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado told him otherwise? Because they were experts in magic? All this time, all this time Misha Kreutzev was there, wanting to meet him. It was his friend, the one he shared gum to. And continuously she is forced to follow set directives by God and this time by Fiamma of the right against her will. Her own heart sealed by the very essence of her being which is Archangel Gabriel. Why didn't he notice earlier that she wanted to be saved?
Once upon a time, he had said. "Maybe the angel just wanted to be human?"
It was scoffed at. The experts on the topic said that these beings known as angels had no emotions.
"Then what is Misha Kreutzev?"
Kamijou grit his teeth. He clenched his right fist hard as stone, and smashed it against the poorly carpeted floor.
"Why the hell didn't I do anything when she reached out to me!? Why did I push her away when she reached out for me!?"
And to that outburst, only Sasha Kreutzev bore witness. In that carriage which clicked, clacked and whined on the rails. She watched the boy breakdown as he realized he had shunned someone seeking to be saved. He had turned away a friend.
High upon the atmosphere, Kazakiri Hyouka watched in stunned amazement as the desperate expression of Kamijou Touma disappearred into the depths of darkness within the Star of Bethlehem.
Friend
This being
Kazakiri turned her glowing wings so she could face the archangel.
This person is our friend.
Just like I am their friend.
She grabbed above her left breast. The place where her heart should have been. It was the place where a human heart should be. She didn't have one. But she felt it constrict. She felt it hurt. This was sympathy. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
Understood
The triangle based AIM core prism inside of the science born angel spun. Keys singing as they slid in and out excitedly like a living organ being agitated. "You're just like me.", Hyouka spoke gently. "You are part of a system. You are being manipulated against your will. But all you want, is to be with the people important to you.".
"..."
"The person on that carriage, he was important to you wasn't he?"
"..."
"I can understand how you feel. He is important to me as well."
"..."
"That is why I will protect him, and his wishes.", Kazakiri's halo and wings shone brilliantly at that declaration.
psssht
"To-- u... ma-- I... wa-- nt... to-- meet-- you... Save... me..."
pssssshhhhhhhhttttttt
I once posted about an esper power that allowed one to see multiple endings, interpret the world in multiple ways and therefore give him access to multiple personal realities and powers. But that was the generic application on a higher level, at the very least that would have been level 4. What if this power was level 0 instead?
Before the ability to simulate a personal reality, one needs the ability to comprehend them first right? So basically what this level 0 version does is that it gives the user accurate information on the type of power a person's personal reality grants them as well as the preference of methods in how its used.
Level 1 would allow them to process a person's personal reality in parallel to calculate out the next move most likely to be used with the ability, knowing the exact limits and capabilities within only a few minutes.
Level 2 expands upon level 1 and allows a person's thoughts and feelings to be read via their personal reality.
Level 3 means that the esper has reached a stage where he can copy other personal realities but only in real time. This effect is normally used in parallel processing and causing AIM resonance.
Level 4 signifies the user has reached the ability to store a limited number of personal realities at up to level 3 for extended periods of time.
Level 5 the user at this point will have achieved the ability to freely create and store an unlimited number of personal realities. The level for each only reaches up to 4. By directly linking with someone of a similar personal reality, the specific personal reality it resonates with can generate level 5 abilities.
Last edited by demino_hellsin; 2013-06-23 at 19:13.
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