And that's another lesson: don't drink on an empty stomach. It only accelerates the absorption of alcohol into your system.
*pats yuiseppe*
Hang in there. I'm sure the Porcelain God will stop demanding offerings soon.
EDIT:
Heheh "AYE" to common sense and avoiding the Porcelain God *raises glass*
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShinySword
A lesson:
-kids and beer pong
lol nasty. I plan on avoiding THAT scenario forever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allquall
Like hell I'm passing up this challenge!
Spoiler for Fate Learns A Lesson:
...
“Oh, Fate’s an angry sober?” Hayate asked Nanoha mockingly causing Nanoha to laugh at the blond’s expression.
“Get over yourself,” smiled Hayate to Fate, “You can liquor up when we get back.”
“Do you mean ’liquor up’ or ‘lick her up?’” asked Fate.
“It could be both for all I care,” replied Hayate while she ignored Nanoha’s crimson face.
...
“Did you learn…(hic)…your lesson?” mumbled the still sloshed Hayate from the foot of the large bed.
“I think I just learned how to get out of DDing for the rest of my life,” mumbled Fate, “Yay.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Hayate, “once the room stops spinning.”
And to continue the story that's really growing on me...
Spoiler for I'll Take The Kids, And You Take My Heart part five:
-breastfast/breakfast
Oh, more lines of gold right there
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Dedicated to Wanwan :3
Spoiler for Drunk!Vivio/Syn:
-NO SHOUTING
Ahahaha I lol'ed at Nanoha's volume control
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki
Hmm...is that crack I smell?
--------------
Vivo and Syn groaned in the bathroom. Right now they figured it was best not to make any sudden movements. To them that meant no moving at all as they rested their heads on the rim of the toilet. Vivio's head lifted up a bit as she heard her mothers outside the bathroom door.
"Oh great Porcelain God, we humbly offer thee sacrifice this day from these two maidens. May their offerings please you until you have had your fill~"
The blond turned her head towards the snickering and opened her mouth to protest. However, it seemed that the Porcelain God demanded more offerings from her.
That's messy Definitely not an episode to repeat for either of them I'd hope hehehe
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allquall
This little bottle of embarrassment came as a request from a friend.
As you all should know, Syn Virage and everything associated with the character belong to Keroko.
Spoiler for NSFW-Just move along-Rated M:
-
Spoiler for Here be SMEX and VIOLINS!:
SMEX AND VIOLINS!!
Like hell I'm putting that NSFW section on AS.
I loved that one. I actually think that the reason why I like Syn is because she's still a fluid factor at the moment. Usually, the canon cast either feels out of character if they're developed beyond the original story too much, or like a flat cookie cutter by-product. Syn on the other hand feels more real; there are actually moments when someone writes something that I empathize with.
Well, it's been a while since I wrote anything on the FFT, so here I go. Chock full of OCs, though the ending has a twist on it that's my herald for future happenings. So here we go ^.^
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
I PRESENT TO YOU THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A NEW TALE
SAY HELLO, TO...
THE BLACK ORDER
Spoiler for Prologue: The story of things to come:
Administered World 2751
0000 Hours Local Time
4.02 kilometers above sea level
“Roger that, Archer, you may come in for a landing now on platform 1178.”
“Thank you, Station Command. We’re going to go ahead and prepare for landing.” “What are you guys picking up anyway?”
“Transporting some rich dude’s kid to World 01.”
The transport was large and clunky, resembling a cargo freighter more than it did anything that would carry people in it, let alone comfortably. Its twin thrusters seemed oversized for its fuselage, granting it amazing speed but poor maneuverability for its size. Because of this, as the transport rode high above the cloud line, it seemed to look out of place, considering the normal traffic of this planet; sleek, fast personal transports and massive cargo freights carrying tons of export.
“If you had to kill someone… could you do it?”
The rear hatch of the transport was flush with its main body, seamlessly integrated. Within the cargo bay that the hatch led to, a single figure sat in the middle; a young man, it appeared. His white attire and bright blue eyes are the only things that showed in the darkness of the transport, illuminated by a single red light. The young man appeared lost in thought; as the lone occupant, though, perhaps it was just due to his loneliness that he contributed to the sound of silence in the room. He looked about, appearing to wait…
“Could you take a life… with no remorse?”
“We are approaching 4 klicks above sea level,” A voice said over the cargo bay’s speakers. “Prepare for launch.”
“Yes, sir…” the boy whispered, standing up. Walking forward to the hatch of the cargo bay, he pulled a red necklace from under his white shirt. “Yama, set up.”
[Stand by, ready. Barrier Jacket.]
“Even if it’s what you are bred for?”
The boy’s white clothes suddenly warped and twisted; they tightened on him, becoming a full body suit and turning black in the process. His second shirt, the one hanging off his shoulders, morphed into a twin-tailed “cape” of sorts; his sleeves lengthened into clawed gloves; several silver lines traced their way throughout his barrier jacket in odd patterns and designs. Leather straps wrapped across his body like a bandolier, and several knives formed in slots. On his left shoulder, a dull gray plate formed, showing the symbol of a black dragon on it, hissing. Finally, a silver mask wrapped itself around his face, with the smallest openings for his eyes and to breathe.
“Even if it was the right thing to do, can you take the life of a man with family, friends, children?”
“Opening the rear bay.”
A hissing sound echoed through the bay as the cargo hatch opened, its hydraulics whining in protest due to the vessel’s descent and flight through the air. As it lowered, the boy walked onto it, pausing at the edge and looking down at the clouds below. He took a deep breath; condensed air as his Barrier Jacket circulated oxygen in the thin atmosphere. The boy looked up at the moon above, the blue light shining down on him like a beacon.
“Can you do it? …I have too… my name is Ezekiel. I am part of the Black Order.”
“Do it.”
“Yes, sir,” The boy replied. “Black Order, Commence.”
And without another thought, the boy fell forward, and fell out of the transport. The ship left him behind as he fell, ever faster, tucking in his arms to his side to propel himself downward like a bullet. He fell into a cloud, and the rain droplets within pelted against him until he broke through, revealing to him the city underneath. At this time of night, the city was still alive, and suddenly the sounds of city so far below called to him, made noise, and were oblivious to him. He couldn’t help but grin at that; that no one down there could see the black object falling at 60 meters a second – terminal velocity. With no magic, he knew, this would be instantly fatal. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t fly under his own power.
Fortunately, technology made up for that for him.
Spreading his arms, the boy, Ezekiel, gave his Device, Yama, a mental command. From his back, two rods opened up, becoming large glider wings that instantly began to slow his fall. A wireless controller on his belt came online, and the boy grabbed it, directing the ailerons on the wings to control his fall. Ezekiel spread his legs apart as well, further slowing his fall as he directed his flight into a straight beeline for his destination; an abandoned warehouse in an old naval port, which had fallen into similar disuse. He flew expertly to his destination, and only was he less than a kilometer away did he realize why the TSAB Best Force had a problem with this prototype.
There were no brakes.
“This is gonna hurt…” Ezekiel groaned to himself as the warehouse loomed closer. Raising up straight and flaring the wings, Ezekiel managed to cut his speed in half before he force-detached the wings and rolled up into a ball. The would-be mage slammed into the side of the warehouse window, bursting through it and rolling along the warehouse’s upper level for several meters before bouncing thrice, eventually colliding with the far wall.
Silence as the boy lay there for several minutes, unmoving. Eventually, he gasped suddenly, his eyes opening from their glazed look. He shot up and looked around, causing a glancing pain to enter his left arm. Taking a look at himself, the boy rotated the arm that took most of the fall for him. “Fortunately, the Barrier Jacket sustained most of the impact damage. Otherwise I would be dead right now.” Ezekiel stood up and took another look around, noticing how the darkness seamlessly blended in with him; or maybe it was the other way around. “Yama, Night Vision.”
[Darkvision.] The Device corrected.
“Whatever. Activate it.” Blue-black nodes on his mask lit up, instantly allowing perfect night vision, albeit in black and white. Ezekiel shook his head to clear his thoughts and held up his palm; a holograph emitted from his hand. The face of a smug man appeared, along with the pertinent data.
“David C. Ross,” he read. “Primary target; Found guilty of contributing to the illegal slave trade, especially of underage girls; guilty of murder on several accounts; guilty of money laundering in the millions; bribes the judicial system to keep his illegal operations going… Nice.” Ezekiel walked back over to his entrance point, through the glass he had broken through. Several of the target’s hired hands had noticed the commotion and had congregated at the bottom, staring up at the hole; a few had just entered the warehouse. Cursing, he retreated back into the safety of the warehouse’s interior. Sticking to the shadows, he put his hands together by the fingertips. “Yama, Black Cloak.”
[Yes, sir. Stalking the Shadows.]
There was a brief shimmer as Ezekiel began to fade from existence; only a silhouette of his profile remained as he snuck within the shadows of the warehouse. In this state and in this light, very few people would be able to see him, and only if they were smart enough to bring some Infrared magic or goggles with them. He believed that they wouldn’t be that smart; besides, he’d be long gone before that happened.
Ezekiel leaped into the air and grabbed hold of a support rafter above him, pulled himself up, and crouched upon it silently. He briefly searched the large attic-like room and noted two doors; one leading to a staircase down, the other to a staircase up. Another mental command to his Device amplified his hearing, allowing him to listen closely as he noted the approaching footsteps; loud and ungainly, the steps of hired hands rather than professional soldiers. They were probably no-ranked mages using Storage Devices that ran under their own power – which would mean that they were using illegal weaponry. A Storage Device that could cast spells from its own Power Core rather than a mage’s Linker Core were supposed to be restricted, at the least; these weren’t things you could buy on the open market. A Device of that type was far too similar to the guns and “trigger” weaponry that the TSAB had worked so hard on to ban from existence, after all.
The footfalls reached the door and abruptly stopped at it. He heard the doorknob turn and click open, followed quickly by the door being thrown open. It was a foolish gesture, to say the least. Four men poured into the room, two at a time and pointing their staves at anything that they deemed to be possibly someone. None of them bothered to check their corners, or look up. Ezekiel smirked as one passed under him, oblivious to his presence. As soon as the entrance to the door was clear, Ezekiel silently fell back to the floor and made his way there, making every effort to keep his presence from being detected. It was easy for him; these people were nobodies compared to what he had trained against.
Ezekiel quickly made his way to the ground level and slipped out through a window rather than any of the doors. His target was on the side of the dockyard across from where he was; this meant roughly a half-kilometer trek. It wasn’t a long walk, but Ezekiel could see no less than two dozen people in his local area, and accounting for the numbers he had been given, he figured that the 500 guards were evenly divided between him and his target. This didn’t count the target’s personal guard of some ten or twelve mid to upper--ranked mages. Ezekiel was unfazed; these guys were nothing. “Yama,” He whispered. “Shadow Walk.”
[Yes, sir. Walking Among Darkness.]
Shadow Walk was a spell Ezekiel had cooked up for places with, as implied, many shadows, although simple darkness could work as well. Ezekiel dropped his cloak, only to vanish again… but instead of being another cloak, he simply walked out of another shadow that had been in his line of this. His spell was essentially his version of a rapid transport spell, able to get him where he was going in all due haste. The more shadows they were and the darker they were, the less energy the spell took; pitch blackness was his friend in this case. With ease and grace, Ezekiel rapidly blinked between one shadow and the next, rapidly approaching the warehouse where he knew his target used as his base of operations.
Approaching said warehouse proper, however, was no easy task. Unlike the others, this one was well lit, inside and out. His target, furthermore, was most likely in an area where he wouldn’t be easy to reach; probably in the middle, right between all of his men. Ezekiel recalled the layout of the previous warehouse and applied it to this one, hoping it would be correct.
“Also, head count,” He whispered to himself.
[26 Exterior Units.] Yama reported. [/b][14 Lower Level, 4 Mid Level, and 4 Upper Level. 2 Units cover both side doors.][/b]
“Alright… wait, how can you determine what’s on the other side?”
[…An educated guess, sir.]
Ezekiel sighed and hoped that Yama was right. “Hm… I see cameras… five credits says that they have detection sensors on them that go beyond visual.” He magnified his vision and stared at the various cameras, each one in a key point, turning in 80 degree arcs, back and forth. “Well, for now I’ll just avoid the spotlight, so to say…” With that, he removed himself from the shadow and tried to appear as small as possible, gliding across a brief open area between two warehouses and sliding next to the second one. Briefly noting the angle of the security cameras, he made his way to the edge of the light and walked around to the back of the warehouse, ducking behind a large stack of barrels and looking up the side of the building. Two-thirds of the way up the side of the building was a ventilation shaft; no camera or guard appeared to be observing it directly. Above it, however, two snipers were looking down toward his direction, but made no indication of noticing him.
He needed a diversion of sorts, something to make the enemy look the other way briefly. Ezekiel found his answer no less than a building away; a warehouse that had fallen into disrepair. Producing one of his many throwing knives, Ezekiel charged it with just a bit of magic and hurled it at the upper windows of the building, causing it to shatter and produce a low rumble; the effect of the magic amplifying the sound of the knife hitting the floor underneath it.
The effect was immediate as several cameras on that end of the warehouse locked their attention on it and both men above him walked over to see. Taking his chance, Ezekiel ran for it, running into the spotlight and activating climbing claws on his gloves. Leaping onto the side of the warehouse, he pulled his way up rapidly, all the way to the ventilation grate and pulling another knife out. Hanging by one hand, he quickly unscrewed the grate from its place, taking care not to let the grate fall by catching it with his other hand. This of course briefly put him he freefall, but the assassin quickly activated grips on his boots and put them to the warehouse, stopping his fall.
Ezekiel walked up the side of the building and crawled into the ventilation shaft just as the two snipers resumed their watch. He took the grate with him briefly before depositing it in a side shaft gently, wary to any sound he could make. He made his way through the shaft, finding a downward-facing grate that would take him to what appeared to be a storage closet. Unable to unscrew this one, Ezekiel produced a heavier knife and carved a hole into the grate, plummeting through the opening and landing with only the faintest noise. Reactivating his Darkvision briefly, Ezekiel sidled up next to the closed door of the closet and listened carefully. Upon hearing no noise, he gently turned the doorknob and opened it, allowing a stream of light to flood into the closet.
Briefly poking his head out, the young assassin noticed no signs of life and exiting, pausing to close the door. He quickly made his way down the small hallway and paused at a 3-way intersection. Again amplifying his Barrier Jacket’s audio receptors, he heard several men directly in front of him, in what he presumed to be the warehouse proper. Opting not to go that way, he turned left and headed down the next hallway slowly, sure as to not make a sound. This proved useful, as he approached a turn in the hallway he heard something approaching him rapidly. Unsure of whether or not to activate his cloak, Ezekiel paused briefly; only to be relieved as he saw that it was nothing more than a cleaning “mouse” robot, continuing its duties as normal.
Ezekiel let the mindless automaton go about its way, turning the corner and ducking into an office room. The room was dark, and in the darkness he breathed a sigh of relief. Here he could gather his thoughts.
Nearby was a window that peered out into the expansive warehouse. Peering through it, he caught sight of the guards that were protecting his target. The man was seated in the middle of them, crates stacked high around him to prevent direct sight to any of the exterior windows in an effort to deter snipers. The only side without these crates was the side facing the assassin, and as he peered out he noted that the man was conversing with someone else, presumably the leader of his hired hands. “Yama, report.” He ordered, directing his Device to focus on the man with a Device.
[Midchilda School Mage; Linker Core scan shows approximately an A+ rank; Device is Type-4 Intelligent… It appears to have taken notice of us.]
Ezekiel cursed as he noticed the man turn around and stare directly at him; fortunately in the dark, he did not actually notice Ezekiel. The assassin nevertheless ducked back into the shadows as the man lifted off the ground and flew up to the window, peering inside. Ezekiel ducked under the desk in the room as the Intelligent Device activated a floodlight and peered inside, followed shortly by the sound of glass breaking. There was the sound of footsteps landing coming closer to him as the floodlight bounced around. It was getting closer to the desk.
The assassin quickly formulated a plan; one that would be useful only once, and only if he did it right. Re-visualizing the room around him, Ezekiel quickly recalled the darkness that normally precipitated in the room.
[Class-I Magic Detected.] He heard the man’s Intelligent Device report. [Under the desk.]
As the floodlight turned on the desk, Ezekiel sank into the shadow underneath it, coming out halfway from the shadows clinging to the ceiling of the room. He dove down and grabbed the man on the back on the throat.
“…Sensory Overload.” He whispered. The man began to turn around as a burst of magic flooded his nervous system, striking him deaf and blind at the same time.
The man screamed in surprise. That was Ezekiel’s cue to move quickly.
Reappearing in a different shadow on the ground level of the warehouse, the assassin quickly threw stealth out the window and ran into the crate-stacked area, revealing that it was a meeting area; maps, reports, a computer, and desks littered the area as his target turned around, surprised.
It was a look on his face that Ezekiel would never forget.
Pulling out his combat knife, Ezekiel ran up to the man, grabbed him by the shoulder and used it as a pivot, leaping around the man’s stunned body and using the momentum to slice the man’s neck from ear to ear in a mocking sort of grin.
The man gurgled and fell to the ground. Just like that, it was over.
Ezekiel stared down at the body, his eyes wide. Only the sound of his target’s so called protectors rushing to the aide of their leader’s Device’s warning clarion did he snap out of it and move. The upper crates were blasted apart by magic spells, causing shrapnel to rain down on him. Charging magic, Ezekiel ran forward, outside of the crated area and leapt into the air. Grabbing hold of a railing, he pulled himself up to the second level of the warehouse amidst blasts of magic energy as mercenaries poured in from outside and those within continued to fire at him. Producing a ball of grey mana in his right hand, he hurled it into the sky. “Sonic Flash!”
A burst of light was quickly followed by a howling clap of sounding, blinding and deafening anyone caught within the warehouse. Only Ezekiel’s own filters turned down the light, but he had made a grave mistake; he had forgotten to turn down the sound amplifiers on his Barrier Jacket. The sound thus was even stronger to him, disorienting him briefly. He struggled to maintain his balance and, before he had even fully recovered, began to run again. He ran down a catwalk as fast as he could and dived out of a window, shattering it and depositing him amidst spotlights.
The snipers on the roof saw him and took a bead on him.
[Redirection!] Yama shouted, erecting an angled defensive barrier around its master. Standing up and wobbling slightly, Ezekiel cleared his head of thoughts as magic blasts impacted against his barrier. Looking back only a second, he dropped the barrier and began to run again, diving into the nearest shadow he could find and reappearing at another one some hundred meters away. The surprised shouts of the mercenaries turned into one of anger as they gave chase into the blind darkness. Ezekiel took a brief breather and began to run again, back the way he had infiltrated. The call from before had extended to the others, and in his carelessness Ezekiel ran headlong into another mercenary.
“Gotcha!” Shouted the man, lifting his staff and bringing it down hard on the assassin. Ezekiel gritted his teeth as he heard his shoulder crack under the pressure, but leapt back twice, getting distance between him and his assailant.
Focusing his magic, Ezekiel formed several copies of himself and sent all of them – himself included – in several directions. Ezekiel himself ran past the mercenary as he chose a copy and fired at it, sending blue bolts of energy through the illusion. As soon as he got out of eyesight, Ezekiel dropped the spell and promptly cloaked, disappearing from normal vision and forcing the enemy to use their Devices’ auto-aiming abilities as their only source of targeting.
Ezekiel never stopped running until he found the glider he had ditched upon infiltration. Picking it up and strapping it back on, he ran forward and hit the “emergency” button on the glider’s control stick; this activated the backup 5-second thruster on the glider, rocketing him into the sky before quickly giving out. Using the momentum, Ezekiel dove back down and pulled up several inches above the beach line next to the dockyards, quickly speeding away from his pursuers as they fired badly aimed shots at him.
One of the shots hit home, striking the left wing of the glider and causing it to sink into the beach sand. Ezekiel screamed as his forward momentum was destroyed and he crashed violently into the sand, bouncing several times repeatedly before coming to a stop some eighty meters from where he had crashed. Ezekiel groaned and sat up, but the pain in his shoulder added with the injuries from infiltration and from the crash were too much for him to handle. He lay back on the sand and closed his eyes, fighting shock and unconsciousness.
A sound nearby caused him to open his eyes again, and he found himself staring at the spear-like tip of the mercenary leader’s Intelligent Device.
“It seems that it’s the end for you assassin…” he said mockingly. “Unless you want to tell me what Bureau dog sent you to kill my employer?”
Ezekiel only stared at the man, unable to talk; the shock had begun to take full control on him, and he felt himself going black. “Speak, pig!” The mercenary shouted as he charged magic.
The assassin opened his mouth to speak. He focused his eyes on the mercenary as sharply as he could… and then vanished.
The mercenary balked, looking around quickly for where his target went. Suddenly, he felt something cold strike his heart, and, upon looking down, saw a knife buried in his chest, having torn through his Barrier Jacket like so much paper. The man gasped and staggered as blood flowed freely from the wound, trying to pull the knife out but unable to maintain a grip on it. He looked up to see the assassin standing triumphantly, as if he had never been hurt. Gasping for breath, the mercenary lifted his Device at the assassin, but failed to fire as he felt the fingers of Death clench his heart. He croaked once, and fell backward, darkness enveloping him.
The knife vanished, as well as the assassin. Ezekiel sat up slowly, coughing up blood, as he stared at the comatose mercenary that had fallen prey to his Phantom Assassin. He stared bleakly as he saw several mercs in the distance begin to approach the scene, but mana drain and shock finally caught up to him. Ezekiel lay back down, and closed his eyes.
-=-
When he opened them again, Ezekiel found himself in a field of green energy. A gentle hand was upon his shoulder, and another over his chest.
“Relax now,” A familiar voice said. “It’s over, niisan.” Ezekiel looked up to see the gentle eyes of a dark haired girl; the eyes of his sister, Rena.
“You… saved me?” He asked, sitting up and removing his mask. Letting it drop to the floor, what greeted his sister was not the cold, hard eyes of an assassin… but rather, the youthful face of her 9-year-old brother, a boy the same age as her.
“Not just me, but your mentor did, as well…” Rena claimed, looking up at the shadow that clung to the wall of what appeared to be a dilapidated building. “We found you only seconds after you had passed out; just as planned.”
“I… see…” Ezekiel looked down. He suddenly doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain. “This is sick…”
“What is- ah!” Rena backed away as Ezekiel vomited on the floor next to him. “E-Ezekiel!” Her brother waved her off, causing her to back away further as he stood up slowly, staring at the shadow.
With a disdainful tone, he said to the shadow. “…Mission… accomplished…”
The shadow nodded. “Noted, Agent Zirnitra. You and your sister are hereby officially members of the Black Order, Maroflins Division. May the bodies of the corrupt pave your way into heaven.”
Ezekiel smirked. “Heaven has no room for demons,” He muttered, staring up through the hole where a roof should be, at the planet’s moon in the sky. “Is this what it will take… to save the Bureau… Sensei?”
“Yes,” the man affirmed. “We cut the cancer of corruption with its own fire.”
Ezekiel looked down, and Rena put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“You will become immune to it, in time,” The man assured Ezekiel. “You will not show weakness. You are an assassin… you are innocent no longer.”
And for the only time, in his life…
…Ezekiel cried.
-=-
Ten Years Later…
Administered World 001
MC0075, Shortly after the Cradle’s Destruction
The vehicle that carried Due’s body from TSAB HQ to a laboratory where they would both do an autopsy and pry her remains for any information regarding Combat Cyborgs was occupied by only two people. The first person, the driver, was acutely unaware of the second occupant, who slowly reappeared into existence from his cloaking magic within the sealed-off rear area of the vehicle. He placed a gloved hand on Due’s forehead, as if to lament her fate. He then abruptly removed it and cursed.
“It appears that we’ll have to do this the hard way,” he growled, pausing to adjust his mask. “Computer Override, password Omicron 3821002: Reboot System!”
Due’s eyes flashed open and she gasped as her Cyborg parts began to function again, despite the fact that her physical, human side was long dead. Only the spark of energy that remained in her artificial parts even allowed his much.
“What the hell?!” She croaked. “Who are you?”
“The man who reincarnated you,” replied the masked man. “This isn’t a gift, though; I need information, and depending on your answers, you may get to live.”
“What do you wanna know?” Due asked, her eyes gleaming malice.
“How did Jail develop the Sentokijin program?” The man asked sternly. Due spat.
“I would never tell you!” She growled.
“Tell me, or I’ll make this painful,” The man ordered.
“Go to Hell!”
“Computer Override: Access Information!” The man barked. Due’s eyes flashed as instantly her brain was overtaken by Cyborg AI. “Tell me, how was the program developed?”
“Outsourced through independent means,” Due replied robotically. “Jail had help from several scientists within Midchilda and the Bureau, notably from the R&D Department in TSAB HQ.”
“Who are these people?”
Due regained her senses. “You bastard, like I’d ever tell-”
“Computer Override: Produce the Information Requested!”
Due relapsed. “Information unavailable, but is held within the Type-0 Combat Cyborgs.”
“The Nakajima sisters…” the man whispered. “Very well… Thank you, Due.”
“You’re a monster,” Due said with venom. “Overriding human intelligence with artificial intelligence is a felony! You can’t do that!”
“Well, good thing no one will ever know,” The man replied coldly. “You have outlived your usefulness, Due; you must now be erased.”
“What-”
“Computer Override: Full deletion.”
“N-no, you can’t-”
Those were Due’s last words as her Cyborg parts began to systematically delete every aspect of information held within her brain, completely erasing the person that Due ever was, effectively killing her.
The man sighed. “Yama, did you get all that?”
[Yes, sir. Information has been processed. Shall I send it to Agent Karewit?]
“Please do.” And with that, Ezekiel sank into nothingness once more.
-=-
“So, the Type-Zero ones, eh?” Rena said.
[Yes, Rena.] Her device answered. [Our orders stand: We must get the information by any means necessary. Since likely the Nakajima sisters know nothing of the information they hold, it must be… forced… out of them.]
Rena sighed. “Well, let’s do this then.” She looked up at the helicopter that carried the Forwards to a cruiser, and wondered briefly if she could remember the Override codes that would strip free will away from Subaru and Ginga…
~Owari
So whaddya think? :3
p.s. I see you online Keroko-chan
p.p.s. Just put it up on ff.net though it's not showing up yet >.>
The three women stared at each other with eyes narrowed.
“Rock! Paper! Scissors!” they yelled while their fists bounced in front of them, and the event ended with cheers from the two brunettes.
“Shit!” Fate growled staring at her closed fist, “Come on, guys. Best two out of three? Please?”
“Oh, no!” laughed Hayate, “You lost fair and square!”
Fate frowned, “But…but…I don’t want to be the DD!”
“Tooooooo bad!” taunted Nanoha with her tongue out, “I’ve been DD twice now. You’re due!”
“Damn it!” growled Fate, “Fine, whatever, let’s just go!”
“Oh, Fate’s an angry sober?” Hayate asked Nanoha mockingly causing Nanoha to laugh at the blond’s expression.
“Get over yourself,” smiled Hayate to Fate, “You can liquor up when we get back.”
“Do you mean ’liquor up’ or ‘lick her up?’” asked Fate.
“It could be both for all I care,” replied Hayate while she ignored Nanoha’s crimson face.
The trio of soldiers piled into Fate’s car and drove to the high awaited “Riot Reunion Rave” or "R3" as it had become affectionately named. Even three years after Riot Force 6 had been dismantled, its members still met once a year for a huge party on a field near the old base.
The trio of aces stepped out of the car to the cheers and applause of the party-goers. Old friends, colleagues, and even old enemies who became friends held up blue plastic cups to toast them.
Hayate and Nanoha instantly had full cups in their hands, but when one was offered to Fate, Nanoha intercepted it with her free hand.
“Sorry,” she told the young officer, “She’s the DD.”
Nanoha laughed at Fate’s scowl and started taking sips from the cups in her two hands. The party continued long into the night. Hayate mastered the “kegstand” on the fifth try, and Nanoha was happily losing a game of "Quarters" to Subaru.
‘Girl can’t hold her liquor!’ grumbled Fate to herself as she watched Nanoha get a little louder with each shot, ‘She should have been the Designated Driver!’
“Faaaaaaaate!”
She knew that voice. It was the voice of temptation. It was the call of the Alchy. It was the deep voice of Vice.
“NO!” she yelled instinctively, “I can’t!”
“But you want to…”
“Can’t! I’m the fucking DD tonight!”
She expected him to say “That sucks” or “too bad.” She hadn’t planned on him to say, “Just one won’t do anything will it? I thought you had a stronger liver than that?”
She turned to her Mephistopheles, “What are you mixing?”
“Sake bombs!”
“Hey!” yelled a drunk Griffith leaning on a tipsy Zafira, “Is Fate gonna do one too?”
“Sure, she is!” declared Vice as he handed a large pint of lager to Fate.
“But-“ Fate tried to argue.
“SAKE…” chanted the men around the keg, “SAKE….SAKE….”
Vice dropped a shotglass worth of the rice wine into Fate’s lager.
“BOMB!”
Fate hesitated briefly before succumbing to the pressure and downing the drink in multiple, rapid gulps. She gasped for air as the amber fluid dripped from her face and hair. The boys stared at her in awe.
“What?” she asked.
“AGAIN!!!” they cheered, and Vice started pumping the keg.
-- --- --
“I hope you’re happy,” Nanoha scolded.
“Ugh,” groaned Fate from the other side of the bed, “Inside voice, please”
Her head was pounding, but Nanoha was too pissed to care.
“Do you even realize how embarrassed I was when I had to beg Signum to drive us home? She even had to carry your drunk ass to bed!”
“Ummm…Murfle…” replied Fate pulling the pillow over her head.
“YOU’RE NOT SORRY ENOUGH!” yelled Nanoha into Fate’s ear causing the blond to wince with pain, “I’m never letting you drive to a party again!”
Nanoha angrily got up and walked to the bathroom slamming the door behind her.
“Did you learn…(hic)…your lesson?” mumbled the still sloshed Hayate from the foot of the large bed.
“I think I just learned how to get out of DDing for the rest of my life,” mumbled Fate, “Yay.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Hayate, “once the room stops spinning.”
And to continue the story that's really growing on me...
Spoiler for I'll Take The Kids, And You Take My Heart part five:
“Stop thanking me,” yawned Lindy, “I’ve already told you that you’re welcome over at any time.”
Nanoha slept soundly in her mother’s arms as Momoko followed Lindy through the dim hallway. Lindy stopped by a large bedroom door and carefully opened it. The door creaked softly, and Momoko could see the faint outline of Fate sleeping peacefully in her bed. Lindy moved over to the bed and lifted the sheets up carefully.
“Mom?” groaned Fate, “Is it day time?”
“No, honey,” whispered Lindy, “You’re ok. Go back to sleep.”
She brushed her daughter’s long blond hair out of her face and kissed her cheek. Fate rolled onto her side, her breathing evened, and Lindy moved out of the way for Momoko. The older Takamachi laid her daughter in the opening in the sheets, and Nanoha curled while sucking her thumb.
“What’s that look for?” asked Lindy to the concerned face of Momoko illuminated by the moonlight.
“She didn’t start sucking her thumb till after Shiro left us,” said Momoko quietly.
Momoko’s attention shifted from her curled up daughter to the woman standing next to her. While she had her robe closed with her cloth belt, Lindy let her robe lay open. Her light blue nightgown stopped midway down her thighs, and the spaghetti straps held up the plunging neckline that showcased her ample cleavage. Momoko’s study was cut off by Lindy folding her arms while raising a lone eyebrow.
“Tea?” offered Lindy with a sly smile while closing her robe.
“Please,” replied Momoko hoping that the dark could conceal her burning cheeks.
The two women walked to the lit kitchen where a pot of steaming water waited for them. With a simple outstretched hand, Lindy motioned to her guest to have a seat at the large table while two mugs clanked together as she removed them from the cabinet shelf.
“Is there any tea at all?” asked Momoko while she watched Lindy fill her glass of water with spoonfuls of sugar. She wrapped her fingers around the warm mug in front of her while her friend grinned.
The long green hair spilled haphazardly around Lindy’s neck and shoulders and down her back. “Let’s just say that I like my tea very weak,” she replied.
Momoko chuckled while taking a small sip from her mug.
“So, did you have nightmare or did you just want to see if I was serious about my offer?” smiled Lindy.
“I’m not sure,” said Momoko honestly, “Nanoha crawled in next to me, and I had some sort of bad dream, I suppose. I woke up terrified and just wanted someone to talk to.” Her gaze dropped as she realized how inane that must sound to someone.
“I’m glad you came over,” said Lindy reading the poor woman’s embarrassed expression, “It’s a horrible feeling to realize that you don’t have anyone to run to. I’m very happy that you know that I’m willing to listen no matter when and no matter how silly you may think it is.”
A lingering silence followed as Momoko weighed the risk of telling her new friend what plagued her mind at this ungodly hour.
“I had another dream about him,” said Momoko and paused to rub her tired eyes, “Does the pain ever go away? I always think that I’m healing, and then his face will appear in my dreams.” Her voice cracked as she tried to sort out her words, “It feels as bad as it did at the beginning, almost like a stitched wound that’s been ripped open.”
Lindy reached across the table and placed her slender fingers on Momoko’s trembling hand. Her own heart broke as she listened to the similar reflections that mirrored her own years ago. “It feels that way, because it is a wound,” she said clearly but quietly, “You’ve had half of you torn away without getting a say in the matter. It won’t heal overnight.”
Lindy felt warm water droplets fall onto her hand as Momoko hid her face behind her long hair. “Clyde died four years ago,” Lindy continued, “and I still have good days where I can laugh at my happy memories with him, but I have my bad days where those same memories will have me crying in a heartbeat.”
“Have you ever wanted to just…stop?”
Lindy looked hard at the woman who was clutching her hand, but Momoko refused to meet her eyes.
“Yes.”
Momoko finally looked up at Lindy with shock in her bloodshot eyes.
“There was a time,” Lindy cleared her throat while drawing her hand back and looking at the table, “when I wanted to….” Lindy’s voice trailed till she finally gave up on speaking altogether.
The women nervously sipped their tea while glancing up occasionally to see if the other one would speak.
“Do you feel that way?” Lindy finally asked.
Momoko turned her head away from the woman across the table, and her shoulders shook as she kept a wave of tears at bay.
“I want to,” Momoko finally gasped and wiped her eyes, “but Kyoya…and Miyu-”
She clenched her teeth as tears poured down her pained face. Unable to continue, she laid her head on her arms and silently cried. She was embarrassed at her inability to control her emotions, but that pain paled in comparison to the constant hurt of abandonment. She felt left behind and utterly alone.
Two warm arms surprised her as they lightly embraced her and gently pressed her into an inviting chest. She tried to stop her tears, but that only added hiccups interspersed in the deep sobs.
“I’m not leaving till you can,” whispered a voice kindly into her ear, “My kids were the only reason I didn’t go through with it either. No one should ever feel as lonely as I did, and my kids didn’t deserve that.” Lindy added a mother’s kiss to the crying woman’s temple.
Momoko could only nod in agreement as her tears made dark blue spots on the arms on Lindy’s robe. The green hair intermixed with the messy brunette locks, and Lindy held onto Momoko while she let a year’s worth of bitterness and anguish flow from her eyes. They stayed in that position for a long time while the clock on the kitchen wall continued to tick.
“I’m so sorry!” Momoko coughed when she realized the time. “I should let you get some sleep.”
She tried to stand but found that green-haired woman’s arms would not release her.
“Lindy?”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Lindy replied through a kind smile.
“Home,” answered Momoko sadly, “I should be getting ready for work in a half hour.”
The arms did not loosen their hold, “No, you’re not.”
“Excuse me?” Momoko said smiling.
“It would go against my conscience to let you go to work tired and mentally taxed,” said Lindy firmly but gently, “I know that you work seven days straight. You probably do it to keep your mind busy, but it won’t heal the real hurt. At the end of the day, you'll be just as lonely as ever.”
“Let go of me,” demanded an angry voice.
Lindy released her hold, and Momoko stormed to Fate’s bedroom door to get Nanoha.
“You can leave if you wish, but she stays,” said Lindy who was calmly leaning against the hallway wall.
“You’d be mistaken if you think you can keep me from my daughter,” stated Momoko warningly.
“But I will when I see that her mother is on the verge of a breakdown,” Lindy replied, "I won't risk you hurting her."
Momoko’s eyes narrowed as her hand gripped the doorknob of the bedroom.
“Open that door, and I call children’s services,” threatened Lindy, “All I need to tell them is that you told me that you’ve been considering suicide, and you’ll see the walls of a mental health ward instead of your kids.”
Momoko shook with anger but still held the brass doorknob. Lindy’s smile faded, and her hand reached down into the deep right pocket of her robe. Her hand reappeared with her mobile phone. Momoko continued to tremble while Lindy’s face became illuminated by the bright blue display as loud tones sounded while she punched in a telephone number. Momoko’s hand fell from the doorknob as she glared at Lindy in impotent rage. She leaned against the hallway next to the door, and her back slid down the smooth surface of the wall.
“I trusted you,” she whispered bitterly hugging her bent knees.
“I’m sorry,” said Lindy sincerely, “but trust me on the account that I was in your position at one point in time.” Lindy knelt down next to the angry woman, “Please,” she begged, “I don’t want you to be holding a liter of Popov and a bottle of Perocet, because you can’t take any more pressure.”
“I’m not going to break!” yelled Momoko, but the anger vanished from her face, “I can’t break!”
“I remember thinking that,” Lindy nodded, “but the world became complete noise for me. It was as if all the colors had smeared together and turned into an ugly shade of brown.”
Momoko stared at the kind eyes of the green haired woman.
“I’m strong, Momoko,” Lindy finally said, “and even I broke. Please, you don’t have to go through this alone, let me help you.”
“Why should I?” asked Momoko suspiciously.
Lindy gave a slight smile though her eyes were full of regret. She answered Momoko’s question by reaching out and turning the doorknob. She nodded toward the darkened room, and Momoko twisted around to see the snoring occupants. Nanoha was sleeping peacefully in Fate’s embrace. Long blond hair partially covered the five-year-old brunette, and Nanoha’s left arm was wrapped around Fate’s waist while her other arm was tucked next to the blond’s chest.
“She will suffer the most if you break down,” said Lindy sadly, “Thankfully, Fate was too young to remember, but I wonder about Chrono at times.”
Lindy offered her hand to Momoko, and the brunette took hold of Lindy’s hand and pulled herself up.
“So, what would you have me do?” Momoko finally asked.
“Close the café, but just for today,” Lindy added to ease Momoko’s fears, “and let your older kids go to their old clubs this afternoon.”
“But what about me?”
“Hmmm…” thought Lindy, “Stay here with me, and we’ll figure that one out later.”
The clock on the wall started to chime, and Momoko smiled as she walked away from Lindy.
“Where are you going?” asked Lindy.
“I need to let my son know the adjusted plans for today,” replied Momoko with the slight hint of a laugh in her voice, “I’ll be back.”
Lindy watched as Momoko transformed from an exhausted mother of three into something beautiful. Lindy felt her stomach turn at the sight of Momoko’s hair as it bounced on her back. Her eyes drifted downward and became fixated on her hips rhythmically moving back and forth. Lindy blinked at the subsequent mental image that was spawned from the stare and walked toward the kitchen.
“Time to start making breastfast…er…breakfast,” she caught herself saying and blushed.
Momoko ran back home to wake Kyoya in order to tell her son what she had decided, and the teenager nodded though he didn’t respond well in his sleepy confusion. Momoko rushed back to the house across the street and walked back in through the unlocked door. She heard the sounds of the radio as well as the clanking of pots and pans. The smell of breakfast cooking became stronger the closer Momoko crept to the kitchen as did the dulcet sounds of Lindy singing along with the radio:
“WHAT YOU WANT! BABY, I’VE GOT IT! WHAT YOU NEED….”
Writing Bloopers:
Spoiler for Allquall's Adventures in Proofreading!:
"Nanoha’s left arm was wrapped around Fate’s waist" conjures a very different mental image than the original horror "Nanoha’s left arm was wrapped around Fate’s waste."
Ummm...eww?
Well, it's been a while since I wrote anything on the FFT, so here I go. Chock full of OCs, though the ending has a twist on it that's my herald for future happenings. So here we go ^.^
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
I PRESENT TO YOU THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A NEW TALE
SAY HELLO, TO...
THE BLACK ORDER
Spoiler for Prologue: The story of things to come:
Administered World 2751
0000 Hours Local Time
4.02 kilometers above sea level
“Roger that, Archer, you may come in for a landing now on platform 1178.”
“Thank you, Station Command. We’re going to go ahead and prepare for landing.” “What are you guys picking up anyway?”
“Transporting some rich dude’s kid to World 01.”
The transport was large and clunky, resembling a cargo freighter more than it did anything that would carry people in it, let alone comfortably. Its twin thrusters seemed oversized for its fuselage, granting it amazing speed but poor maneuverability for its size. Because of this, as the transport rode high above the cloud line, it seemed to look out of place, considering the normal traffic of this planet; sleek, fast personal transports and massive cargo freights carrying tons of export.
“If you had to kill someone… could you do it?”
The rear hatch of the transport was flush with its main body, seamlessly integrated. Within the cargo bay that the hatch led to, a single figure sat in the middle; a young man, it appeared. His white attire and bright blue eyes are the only things that showed in the darkness of the transport, illuminated by a single red light. The young man appeared lost in thought; as the lone occupant, though, perhaps it was just due to his loneliness that he contributed to the sound of silence in the room. He looked about, appearing to wait…
“Could you take a life… with no remorse?”
“We are approaching 4 klicks above sea level,” A voice said over the cargo bay’s speakers. “Prepare for launch.”
“Yes, sir…” the boy whispered, standing up. Walking forward to the hatch of the cargo bay, he pulled a red necklace from under his white shirt. “Yama, set up.”
[Stand by, ready. Barrier Jacket.]
“Even if it’s what you are bred for?”
The boy’s white clothes suddenly warped and twisted; they tightened on him, becoming a full body suit and turning black in the process. His second shirt, the one hanging off his shoulders, morphed into a twin-tailed “cape” of sorts; his sleeves lengthened into clawed gloves; several silver lines traced their way throughout his barrier jacket in odd patterns and designs. Leather straps wrapped across his body like a bandolier, and several knives formed in slots. On his left shoulder, a dull gray plate formed, showing the symbol of a black dragon on it, hissing. Finally, a silver mask wrapped itself around his face, with the smallest openings for his eyes and to breathe.
“Even if it was the right thing to do, can you take the life of a man with family, friends, children?”
“Opening the rear bay.”
A hissing sound echoed through the bay as the cargo hatch opened, its hydraulics whining in protest due to the vessel’s descent and flight through the air. As it lowered, the boy walked onto it, pausing at the edge and looking down at the clouds below. He took a deep breath; condensed air as his Barrier Jacket circulated oxygen in the thin atmosphere. The boy looked up at the moon above, the blue light shining down on him like a beacon.
“Can you do it? …I have too… my name is Ezekiel. I am part of the Black Order.”
“Do it.”
“Yes, sir,” The boy replied. “Black Order, Commence.”
And without another thought, the boy fell forward, and fell out of the transport. The ship left him behind as he fell, ever faster, tucking in his arms to his side to propel himself downward like a bullet. He fell into a cloud, and the rain droplets within pelted against him until he broke through, revealing to him the city underneath. At this time of night, the city was still alive, and suddenly the sounds of city so far below called to him, made noise, and were oblivious to him. He couldn’t help but grin at that; that no one down there could see the black object falling at 60 meters a second – terminal velocity. With no magic, he knew, this would be instantly fatal. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t fly under his own power.
Fortunately, technology made up for that for him.
Spreading his arms, the boy, Ezekiel, gave his Device, Yama, a mental command. From his back, two rods opened up, becoming large glider wings that instantly began to slow his fall. A wireless controller on his belt came online, and the boy grabbed it, directing the ailerons on the wings to control his fall. Ezekiel spread his legs apart as well, further slowing his fall as he directed his flight into a straight beeline for his destination; an abandoned warehouse in an old naval port, which had fallen into similar disuse. He flew expertly to his destination, and only was he less than a kilometer away did he realize why the TSAB Best Force had a problem with this prototype.
There were no brakes.
“This is gonna hurt…” Ezekiel groaned to himself as the warehouse loomed closer. Raising up straight and flaring the wings, Ezekiel managed to cut his speed in half before he force-detached the wings and rolled up into a ball. The would-be mage slammed into the side of the warehouse window, bursting through it and rolling along the warehouse’s upper level for several meters before bouncing thrice, eventually colliding with the far wall.
Silence as the boy lay there for several minutes, unmoving. Eventually, he gasped suddenly, his eyes opening from their glazed look. He shot up and looked around, causing a glancing pain to enter his left arm. Taking a look at himself, the boy rotated the arm that took most of the fall for him. “Fortunately, the Barrier Jacket sustained most of the impact damage. Otherwise I would be dead right now.” Ezekiel stood up and took another look around, noticing how the darkness seamlessly blended in with him; or maybe it was the other way around. “Yama, Night Vision.”
[Darkvision.] The Device corrected.
“Whatever. Activate it.” Blue-black nodes on his mask lit up, instantly allowing perfect night vision, albeit in black and white. Ezekiel shook his head to clear his thoughts and held up his palm; a holograph emitted from his hand. The face of a smug man appeared, along with the pertinent data.
“David C. Ross,” he read. “Primary target; Found guilty of contributing to the illegal slave trade, especially of underage girls; guilty of murder on several accounts; guilty of money laundering in the millions; bribes the judicial system to keep his illegal operations going… Nice.” Ezekiel walked back over to his entrance point, through the glass he had broken through. Several of the target’s hired hands had noticed the commotion and had congregated at the bottom, staring up at the hole; a few had just entered the warehouse. Cursing, he retreated back into the safety of the warehouse’s interior. Sticking to the shadows, he put his hands together by the fingertips. “Yama, Black Cloak.”
[Yes, sir. Stalking the Shadows.]
There was a brief shimmer as Ezekiel began to fade from existence; only a silhouette of his profile remained as he snuck within the shadows of the warehouse. In this state and in this light, very few people would be able to see him, and only if they were smart enough to bring some Infrared magic or goggles with them. He believed that they wouldn’t be that smart; besides, he’d be long gone before that happened.
Ezekiel leaped into the air and grabbed hold of a support rafter above him, pulled himself up, and crouched upon it silently. He briefly searched the large attic-like room and noted two doors; one leading to a staircase down, the other to a staircase up. Another mental command to his Device amplified his hearing, allowing him to listen closely as he noted the approaching footsteps; loud and ungainly, the steps of hired hands rather than professional soldiers. They were probably no-ranked mages using Storage Devices that ran under their own power – which would mean that they were using illegal weaponry. A Storage Device that could cast spells from its own Power Core rather than a mage’s Linker Core were supposed to be restricted, at the least; these weren’t things you could buy on the open market. A Device of that type was far too similar to the guns and “trigger” weaponry that the TSAB had worked so hard on to ban from existence, after all.
The footfalls reached the door and abruptly stopped at it. He heard the doorknob turn and click open, followed quickly by the door being thrown open. It was a foolish gesture, to say the least. Four men poured into the room, two at a time and pointing their staves at anything that they deemed to be possibly someone. None of them bothered to check their corners, or look up. Ezekiel smirked as one passed under him, oblivious to his presence. As soon as the entrance to the door was clear, Ezekiel silently fell back to the floor and made his way there, making every effort to keep his presence from being detected. It was easy for him; these people were nobodies compared to what he had trained against.
Ezekiel quickly made his way to the ground level and slipped out through a window rather than any of the doors. His target was on the side of the dockyard across from where he was; this meant roughly a half-kilometer trek. It wasn’t a long walk, but Ezekiel could see no less than two dozen people in his local area, and accounting for the numbers he had been given, he figured that the 500 guards were evenly divided between him and his target. This didn’t count the target’s personal guard of some ten or twelve mid to upper--ranked mages. Ezekiel was unfazed; these guys were nothing. “Yama,” He whispered. “Shadow Walk.”
[Yes, sir. Walking Among Darkness.]
Shadow Walk was a spell Ezekiel had cooked up for places with, as implied, many shadows, although simple darkness could work as well. Ezekiel dropped his cloak, only to vanish again… but instead of being another cloak, he simply walked out of another shadow that had been in his line of this. His spell was essentially his version of a rapid transport spell, able to get him where he was going in all due haste. The more shadows they were and the darker they were, the less energy the spell took; pitch blackness was his friend in this case. With ease and grace, Ezekiel rapidly blinked between one shadow and the next, rapidly approaching the warehouse where he knew his target used as his base of operations.
Approaching said warehouse proper, however, was no easy task. Unlike the others, this one was well lit, inside and out. His target, furthermore, was most likely in an area where he wouldn’t be easy to reach; probably in the middle, right between all of his men. Ezekiel recalled the layout of the previous warehouse and applied it to this one, hoping it would be correct.
“Also, head count,” He whispered to himself.
[26 Exterior Units.] Yama reported. [/b][14 Lower Level, 4 Mid Level, and 4 Upper Level. 2 Units cover both side doors.][/b]
“Alright… wait, how can you determine what’s on the other side?”
[…An educated guess, sir.]
Ezekiel sighed and hoped that Yama was right. “Hm… I see cameras… five credits says that they have detection sensors on them that go beyond visual.” He magnified his vision and stared at the various cameras, each one in a key point, turning in 80 degree arcs, back and forth. “Well, for now I’ll just avoid the spotlight, so to say…” With that, he removed himself from the shadow and tried to appear as small as possible, gliding across a brief open area between two warehouses and sliding next to the second one. Briefly noting the angle of the security cameras, he made his way to the edge of the light and walked around to the back of the warehouse, ducking behind a large stack of barrels and looking up the side of the building. Two-thirds of the way up the side of the building was a ventilation shaft; no camera or guard appeared to be observing it directly. Above it, however, two snipers were looking down toward his direction, but made no indication of noticing him.
He needed a diversion of sorts, something to make the enemy look the other way briefly. Ezekiel found his answer no less than a building away; a warehouse that had fallen into disrepair. Producing one of his many throwing knives, Ezekiel charged it with just a bit of magic and hurled it at the upper windows of the building, causing it to shatter and produce a low rumble; the effect of the magic amplifying the sound of the knife hitting the floor underneath it.
The effect was immediate as several cameras on that end of the warehouse locked their attention on it and both men above him walked over to see. Taking his chance, Ezekiel ran for it, running into the spotlight and activating climbing claws on his gloves. Leaping onto the side of the warehouse, he pulled his way up rapidly, all the way to the ventilation grate and pulling another knife out. Hanging by one hand, he quickly unscrewed the grate from its place, taking care not to let the grate fall by catching it with his other hand. This of course briefly put him he freefall, but the assassin quickly activated grips on his boots and put them to the warehouse, stopping his fall.
Ezekiel walked up the side of the building and crawled into the ventilation shaft just as the two snipers resumed their watch. He took the grate with him briefly before depositing it in a side shaft gently, wary to any sound he could make. He made his way through the shaft, finding a downward-facing grate that would take him to what appeared to be a storage closet. Unable to unscrew this one, Ezekiel produced a heavier knife and carved a hole into the grate, plummeting through the opening and landing with only the faintest noise. Reactivating his Darkvision briefly, Ezekiel sidled up next to the closed door of the closet and listened carefully. Upon hearing no noise, he gently turned the doorknob and opened it, allowing a stream of light to flood into the closet.
Briefly poking his head out, the young assassin noticed no signs of life and exiting, pausing to close the door. He quickly made his way down the small hallway and paused at a 3-way intersection. Again amplifying his Barrier Jacket’s audio receptors, he heard several men directly in front of him, in what he presumed to be the warehouse proper. Opting not to go that way, he turned left and headed down the next hallway slowly, sure as to not make a sound. This proved useful, as he approached a turn in the hallway he heard something approaching him rapidly. Unsure of whether or not to activate his cloak, Ezekiel paused briefly; only to be relieved as he saw that it was nothing more than a cleaning “mouse” robot, continuing its duties as normal.
Ezekiel let the mindless automaton go about its way, turning the corner and ducking into an office room. The room was dark, and in the darkness he breathed a sigh of relief. Here he could gather his thoughts.
Nearby was a window that peered out into the expansive warehouse. Peering through it, he caught sight of the guards that were protecting his target. The man was seated in the middle of them, crates stacked high around him to prevent direct sight to any of the exterior windows in an effort to deter snipers. The only side without these crates was the side facing the assassin, and as he peered out he noted that the man was conversing with someone else, presumably the leader of his hired hands. “Yama, report.” He ordered, directing his Device to focus on the man with a Device.
[Midchilda School Mage; Linker Core scan shows approximately an A+ rank; Device is Type-4 Intelligent… It appears to have taken notice of us.]
Ezekiel cursed as he noticed the man turn around and stare directly at him; fortunately in the dark, he did not actually notice Ezekiel. The assassin nevertheless ducked back into the shadows as the man lifted off the ground and flew up to the window, peering inside. Ezekiel ducked under the desk in the room as the Intelligent Device activated a floodlight and peered inside, followed shortly by the sound of glass breaking. There was the sound of footsteps landing coming closer to him as the floodlight bounced around. It was getting closer to the desk.
The assassin quickly formulated a plan; one that would be useful only once, and only if he did it right. Re-visualizing the room around him, Ezekiel quickly recalled the darkness that normally precipitated in the room.
[Class-I Magic Detected.] He heard the man’s Intelligent Device report. [Under the desk.]
As the floodlight turned on the desk, Ezekiel sank into the shadow underneath it, coming out halfway from the shadows clinging to the ceiling of the room. He dove down and grabbed the man on the back on the throat.
“…Sensory Overload.” He whispered. The man began to turn around as a burst of magic flooded his nervous system, striking him deaf and blind at the same time.
The man screamed in surprise. That was Ezekiel’s cue to move quickly.
Reappearing in a different shadow on the ground level of the warehouse, the assassin quickly threw stealth out the window and ran into the crate-stacked area, revealing that it was a meeting area; maps, reports, a computer, and desks littered the area as his target turned around, surprised.
It was a look on his face that Ezekiel would never forget.
Pulling out his combat knife, Ezekiel ran up to the man, grabbed him by the shoulder and used it as a pivot, leaping around the man’s stunned body and using the momentum to slice the man’s neck from ear to ear in a mocking sort of grin.
The man gurgled and fell to the ground. Just like that, it was over.
Ezekiel stared down at the body, his eyes wide. Only the sound of his target’s so called protectors rushing to the aide of their leader’s Device’s warning clarion did he snap out of it and move. The upper crates were blasted apart by magic spells, causing shrapnel to rain down on him. Charging magic, Ezekiel ran forward, outside of the crated area and leapt into the air. Grabbing hold of a railing, he pulled himself up to the second level of the warehouse amidst blasts of magic energy as mercenaries poured in from outside and those within continued to fire at him. Producing a ball of grey mana in his right hand, he hurled it into the sky. “Sonic Flash!”
A burst of light was quickly followed by a howling clap of sounding, blinding and deafening anyone caught within the warehouse. Only Ezekiel’s own filters turned down the light, but he had made a grave mistake; he had forgotten to turn down the sound amplifiers on his Barrier Jacket. The sound thus was even stronger to him, disorienting him briefly. He struggled to maintain his balance and, before he had even fully recovered, began to run again. He ran down a catwalk as fast as he could and dived out of a window, shattering it and depositing him amidst spotlights.
The snipers on the roof saw him and took a bead on him.
[Redirection!] Yama shouted, erecting an angled defensive barrier around its master. Standing up and wobbling slightly, Ezekiel cleared his head of thoughts as magic blasts impacted against his barrier. Looking back only a second, he dropped the barrier and began to run again, diving into the nearest shadow he could find and reappearing at another one some hundred meters away. The surprised shouts of the mercenaries turned into one of anger as they gave chase into the blind darkness. Ezekiel took a brief breather and began to run again, back the way he had infiltrated. The call from before had extended to the others, and in his carelessness Ezekiel ran headlong into another mercenary.
“Gotcha!” Shouted the man, lifting his staff and bringing it down hard on the assassin. Ezekiel gritted his teeth as he heard his shoulder crack under the pressure, but leapt back twice, getting distance between him and his assailant.
Focusing his magic, Ezekiel formed several copies of himself and sent all of them – himself included – in several directions. Ezekiel himself ran past the mercenary as he chose a copy and fired at it, sending blue bolts of energy through the illusion. As soon as he got out of eyesight, Ezekiel dropped the spell and promptly cloaked, disappearing from normal vision and forcing the enemy to use their Devices’ auto-aiming abilities as their only source of targeting.
Ezekiel never stopped running until he found the glider he had ditched upon infiltration. Picking it up and strapping it back on, he ran forward and hit the “emergency” button on the glider’s control stick; this activated the backup 5-second thruster on the glider, rocketing him into the sky before quickly giving out. Using the momentum, Ezekiel dove back down and pulled up several inches above the beach line next to the dockyards, quickly speeding away from his pursuers as they fired badly aimed shots at him.
One of the shots hit home, striking the left wing of the glider and causing it to sink into the beach sand. Ezekiel screamed as his forward momentum was destroyed and he crashed violently into the sand, bouncing several times repeatedly before coming to a stop some eighty meters from where he had crashed. Ezekiel groaned and sat up, but the pain in his shoulder added with the injuries from infiltration and from the crash were too much for him to handle. He lay back on the sand and closed his eyes, fighting shock and unconsciousness.
A sound nearby caused him to open his eyes again, and he found himself staring at the spear-like tip of the mercenary leader’s Intelligent Device.
“It seems that it’s the end for you assassin…” he said mockingly. “Unless you want to tell me what Bureau dog sent you to kill my employer?”
Ezekiel only stared at the man, unable to talk; the shock had begun to take full control on him, and he felt himself going black. “Speak, pig!” The mercenary shouted as he charged magic.
The assassin opened his mouth to speak. He focused his eyes on the mercenary as sharply as he could… and then vanished.
The mercenary balked, looking around quickly for where his target went. Suddenly, he felt something cold strike his heart, and, upon looking down, saw a knife buried in his chest, having torn through his Barrier Jacket like so much paper. The man gasped and staggered as blood flowed freely from the wound, trying to pull the knife out but unable to maintain a grip on it. He looked up to see the assassin standing triumphantly, as if he had never been hurt. Gasping for breath, the mercenary lifted his Device at the assassin, but failed to fire as he felt the fingers of Death clench his heart. He croaked once, and fell backward, darkness enveloping him.
The knife vanished, as well as the assassin. Ezekiel sat up slowly, coughing up blood, as he stared at the comatose mercenary that had fallen prey to his Phantom Assassin. He stared bleakly as he saw several mercs in the distance begin to approach the scene, but mana drain and shock finally caught up to him. Ezekiel lay back down, and closed his eyes.
-=-
When he opened them again, Ezekiel found himself in a field of green energy. A gentle hand was upon his shoulder, and another over his chest.
“Relax now,” A familiar voice said. “It’s over, niisan.” Ezekiel looked up to see the gentle eyes of a dark haired girl; the eyes of his sister, Rena.
“You… saved me?” He asked, sitting up and removing his mask. Letting it drop to the floor, what greeted his sister was not the cold, hard eyes of an assassin… but rather, the youthful face of her 9-year-old brother, a boy the same age as her.
“Not just me, but your mentor did, as well…” Rena claimed, looking up at the shadow that clung to the wall of what appeared to be a dilapidated building. “We found you only seconds after you had passed out; just as planned.”
“I… see…” Ezekiel looked down. He suddenly doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain. “This is sick…”
“What is- ah!” Rena backed away as Ezekiel vomited on the floor next to him. “E-Ezekiel!” Her brother waved her off, causing her to back away further as he stood up slowly, staring at the shadow.
With a disdainful tone, he said to the shadow. “…Mission… accomplished…”
The shadow nodded. “Noted, Agent Zirnitra. You and your sister are hereby officially members of the Black Order, Maroflins Division. May the bodies of the corrupt pave your way into heaven.”
Ezekiel smirked. “Heaven has no room for demons,” He muttered, staring up through the hole where a roof should be, at the planet’s moon in the sky. “Is this what it will take… to save the Bureau… Sensei?”
“Yes,” the man affirmed. “We cut the cancer of corruption with its own fire.”
Ezekiel looked down, and Rena put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“You will become immune to it, in time,” The man assured Ezekiel. “You will not show weakness. You are an assassin… you are innocent no longer.”
And for the only time, in his life…
…Ezekiel cried.
-=-
Ten Years Later…
Administered World 001
MC0075, Shortly after the Cradle’s Destruction
The vehicle that carried Due’s body from TSAB HQ to a laboratory where they would both do an autopsy and pry her remains for any information regarding Combat Cyborgs was occupied by only two people. The first person, the driver, was acutely unaware of the second occupant, who slowly reappeared into existence from his cloaking magic within the sealed-off rear area of the vehicle. He placed a gloved hand on Due’s forehead, as if to lament her fate. He then abruptly removed it and cursed.
“It appears that we’ll have to do this the hard way,” he growled, pausing to adjust his mask. “Computer Override, password Omicron 3821002: Reboot System!”
Due’s eyes flashed open and she gasped as her Cyborg parts began to function again, despite the fact that her physical, human side was long dead. Only the spark of energy that remained in her artificial parts even allowed his much.
“What the hell?!” She croaked. “Who are you?”
“The man who reincarnated you,” replied the masked man. “This isn’t a gift, though; I need information, and depending on your answers, you may get to live.”
“What do you wanna know?” Due asked, her eyes gleaming malice.
“How did Jail develop the Sentokijin program?” The man asked sternly. Due spat.
“I would never tell you!” She growled.
“Tell me, or I’ll make this painful,” The man ordered.
“Go to Hell!”
“Computer Override: Access Information!” The man barked. Due’s eyes flashed as instantly her brain was overtaken by Cyborg AI. “Tell me, how was the program developed?”
“Outsourced through independent means,” Due replied robotically. “Jail had help from several scientists within Midchilda and the Bureau, notably from the R&D Department in TSAB HQ.”
“Who are these people?”
Due regained her senses. “You bastard, like I’d ever tell-”
“Computer Override: Produce the Information Requested!”
Due relapsed. “Information unavailable, but is held within the Type-0 Combat Cyborgs.”
“The Nakajima sisters…” the man whispered. “Very well… Thank you, Due.”
“You’re a monster,” Due said with venom. “Overriding human intelligence with artificial intelligence is a felony! You can’t do that!”
“Well, good thing no one will ever know,” The man replied coldly. “You have outlived your usefulness, Due; you must now be erased.”
“What-”
“Computer Override: Full deletion.”
“N-no, you can’t-”
Those were Due’s last words as her Cyborg parts began to systematically delete every aspect of information held within her brain, completely erasing the person that Due ever was, effectively killing her.
The man sighed. “Yama, did you get all that?”
[Yes, sir. Information has been processed. Shall I send it to Agent Karewit?]
“Please do.” And with that, Ezekiel sank into nothingness once more.
-=-
“So, the Type-Zero ones, eh?” Rena said.
[Yes, Rena.] Her device answered. [Our orders stand: We must get the information by any means necessary. Since likely the Nakajima sisters know nothing of the information they hold, it must be… forced… out of them.]
Rena sighed. “Well, let’s do this then.” She looked up at the helicopter that carried the Forwards to a cruiser, and wondered briefly if she could remember the Override codes that would strip free will away from Subaru and Ginga…
~Owari
So whaddya think? :3
p.s. I see you online Keroko-chan
p.p.s. Just put it up on ff.net though it's not showing up yet >.>
Pretty dark, but black ops is a nice idea, looking forward to more.
"This is going to be great." Hair bounced merrily behind the blue haired girl sporting a cheerleader style ponytail. The strands tickled her neck slightly but was ignored after her friend had taken her hand to keep it from rubbing the area. "I can't beleive they were able to get us Fake IDs!"
"Shh!" Vivio nudged her friend. "We're still sixteen, we have to act the part! Just stay calm and act like you're twenty-one." She nodded at the doorman guarding the entrance to the bar and held up her ID card. With a wink she was allowed in and Syn followed.
"Wait!" A large hand grabbed Syn's shoulder, making her stop in her tracks. "Let me look at you again."
Syn turned and blinked. "Huh?" She put a hand on her hip and glared. "Look, pal, I'm not interested in dating a bouncer. Too many girls pass by for me to feel comfortable."
The man blushed and tried to ignore the snickering behind him. "My bad, go ahead."
"Thanks." Syn took her card back and met with Vivio again. "I think my heart skipped a beat."
"Good job," Vivio nudged her lightly and grinned as they sat at the bar. "Hey! Hey barkeep! Give us some beer!"
"What kind?" The man asked while cleaning a glass and talking to a girl in front of him.
Vivio pouted. "Um..."
The man looked at them and fumbled his cleaning, almost dropping his glass. "You two..." He went over to them and leaned closer, looking at the miscolored eyes."
Vivio tried the card Syn played earlier. "What, you going to hit on your customers?"
The man smirked and leaned back. "Oh no, no not at all. This is your first time in a bar, huh?"
"Just turned." Syn flashed her ID and put it back after letting the man glance at it. "Give us something good."
"Oh, I will." The man flipped his blue ponytail over his shoulder and took two Collins glasses out before mixing several things into them. "We call this 'Riot Force Breaker'. I made it for the top Aces who come in here a lot. Are you woman enough to handle what they do?"
Vivio's nerve was struck hard. "Of course!" She grabbed the glass and downed it back so fast she didn't even taste it. "HA! Give me another!"
Syn copied the move and slammed her glass down. "That tasted like no alcohol at all!"
Kuhn grinned to himself. "Oh, I know... I know..."
~**~
"You know what?" Vivio looked at Syn and out an arm around her, leaning heavily on the girl. Her eyes were unfocused and voice slurring more with every word. "I... I wanna... I wanna... you listenin'? you listenin'? Good...I wanna tell you... that I... I respect you..." Vivio poked Syn's chest and both of them would have fallen off the stools if not for the people next to them shoving them back over.
Syn grinned stupidly at her. "I reshpak yuu tuu." She hiccuped loudly and gave her friend an over exaggerated hug. "You... You're she apples of mine eyesh."
"Cuppycakes!"
"Mai cuppcakesh!" Syn raised her mostly empty glass and started singing the song with Vivio, much to the amusement of the people around them. " You kno whatsh, Vi? I..." She hiccuped again. "I lurv you. Shooooooooooo much."
"Me too!" Vivio cheered happily, eyes wide and throwing out her arms. What was left in her glass was slung onto the floor, making someone behind her slip and fall. "Syn is my secret crush!"
"Yay!" The two hugged again and kissed sloppily, trying to use their tongue but ending up snickering and laughing, their kissing turning into a hug while giggling. Syn turned back to an amused Kuhn and raised her glass. "More!"
"You got it!" He proudly filled their drinks with a dark amber liquid."
Haseo looked over at him and shook his head, whispering to the barkeep. "Hey, they're wasted, you should cut them off!"
Kuhn shook his head. "Nothing gives a worse hangover than drinking this stuff. They'll be throwing up all night, I promise you." He slid the drinks over and smiled at the two. "On the house if you can drink it all in one go!" The two drunk girls nodded and turned up the glass before slamming them onto the floor, along with the rest of their bodies. "Haseo, be a pal and take them home for me?"
"Oh god, why me?" The white haired waiter leapt over the bar and sank down, picking both up at the same time with skill he learned over the years. "If Nanoha ask, I'm telling them it was your fault."
"Go ahead," Kuhn started juggling some bottles to pass the time while waiting for another order. "I promise they learned their lesson.
~**~
Nanoha groaned and opened her door angrily. "WHAT do you want!?" She yelled at the person. It was three in the morning ans she wasn't in a good mood.
"Special delivery." Haseo spoke up, making Nanoha wake a little more.
"...wha...?"
"Here, this'll explain it." He moved expertly to reach into his pocket to take out two plastic cards to give to Nanoha while the drunken girls moaned in their sleep. "They got fake IDs and came to Fuji's."
Nanoha's eyes narrowed. "Who served them!?"
"Kuhn, gave them multiple riot breakers and some whiskey and burbon."
Nanoha's frown turned to a smile. "Well, I don't need to punish them then... did they eat anything?"
"Spicy wings." Haseo grimmaced. "They're in for a wild night." The blue haired one in his arms groaned louder and burped, making him wince. "Hey, they're yours now."
Nanoha took Vivio and allowed her friend to drag Syn into their house, placing them both on Vivio's bed. "Thanks, Haseo. I'll tip you big next time we're there."
"Don't mention it. Say hi to everyone for me."
"Sure," She waved to him as he left and then went to her own bedroom.
Fate groaned lightly when the cold air was let into her bed. "Ugh, who was that?"
"Haseo. I'lll explain in the morning." Fate answered with heavy breathing, her own version of snoring. The mother grinned and curled up next to her, hearing scrambling and tripping sounds from across the house, followed shortly by the sounds of throwing up.
~**~
"TIME FOR SCHOOL!" Nanoha yelled loudly at her daughter, who cried at once, covering her ears. "WAKEY WAKEY VIVIO!!" She saw Syn fall out of the bed and hold a pillow to her head. "HELLO SYN!" She practically screamed at the girl, who whimpered and cried.
"Mama, I don't feel good..." Vivio's voice wavered.
"YOU'RE FINE!" Nanoha told, her pulling her daughter out of bed.
Syn groaned loudly. "My heeeaaaad..."
Fate chose that moment to enter the room, holding two glasses of water. "Thirsty, girls?"
Vivio instantly took the glass and drank it all in one go, followed by Syn as soon as she managed to sit up.
Nanoha looked over at Fate and grinned. "Oooooh, you're mean."
Fate smiled back. "They need to learn their lesson."
Vivio looked at the empty glass for a few moment before a hiccup died in her throat. "...Oh god..." she stumbled to the bathroom, where Syn quickly chased. The two mothers put their hands on their hips and waited. "Oh Syn, my hair!"
Nanoha nodded in satisfaction. "Should we make them go to school?"
"Oh yes, they're going." Fate said firmly. "And I'm calling the nurse and tellnig her not to let them sleep too."
"I'll get the number," Nanoha scurried off while Fate walked to the bathroom and took a deep breath. "OKAY GIRLS, GET READY FOR SCHOOL!"
Vivio sobbed loudly. "My heeeaaaad!"
ooohhh.. nanoha and fate are mean. I feel bad for syn and vivio. nice work satashi.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShinySword
And now for your daily shiny crack
I suggest watching this first in order to get the dance in your head
Spoiler for this:
Spoiler for Three syllables anyone?:
The men of Nanoha: Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
*Nanoha is running straight ahead holding raging heart*
Rein: If you run straight ahead it's Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate bursts from a bush and gropes Nanoha*
*Signum and Vita are backed up against the wall hiding from the patroling Hayate with a red arrow pointing at her*
With the hands of doom is Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate turns towards them with a evil glint*
Oh noes she saw us Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate locks the door*
No where to run Ha-Ya-Te!
*Signum and Vita panic as Hayate comes closer*
Quickly approaching Ha-Ya-Te!
*Signum's lying on the floor having been groped already*
Signum has been knocked out Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate turns to the fearful Vita who breaks down the wall with Graf Eisen and runs away. Hayate speeds after her easily catching up*
Vita: There's no way
*Hayate smiles sweetly and feels Vita's chest the words 'Hayate has defeated the party' flash across the screen*
*Hayate in Fate's car*
Rein: Moving even faster it's a Ha-Ya-Te!
*Tia is walking down the hall*
If you turn the wrong corner it's Ha-Ya-Te!
*She turns and is promptly groped*
Nothing can stop her Ha-Ya-Te!
*Fate rummages around in her pockets looking for her keys*
Don't forget your car keys Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate pounces on Fate*
The men of Nanoha: Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
*Shamal is walking down the hall*
Rein: Suddenly from an angle Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate dives in from an angle*
That spell might hurt Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate casts a bind on Signum to hold her still*
Rein: If you open the door Ha-Ya-Te!
*Nanoha opens the door and is tackled*
Rein: Every single day it's Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate marks the days off on a calender*
*Rein slides into Shari's workspace*
Shari move that's Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate bursts out from a box*
*Hayate flexs her hands*
Hayate: The muscles on my hands are great!
*Pictures slide across the screen of Hayate and her various exploints including
Spoiler:
*Hayate chases a bunch of TSAB women around*
Rein: Run girls run girls Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate looks around but misses the girls hiding in crates*
Hide girls hide girls Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate dives for Fate but she ducks*
Dodge girls dodge girls Ha-Ya-Te!
*Hayate traps all of the Nanoha women in a giant cage*
No use No use Ha-Ya-Te!
Everyone: Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
Ha-Ya-Te!
*Yuuno, Zafira and Chrono walk into the room with all the now dazed women*
Chrono... Who could have done this?
*Yuuno and Zafira look at each other and nod*
Together: Hayate
Hayate: Oh ho ho ho ho ho
Yes I have been playing EO2 why do you ask? The pic was put together a while back by TeleIce btw
Ha-YA-Te!!!!! ahahahahar!!!! LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allquall
This little bottle of embarrassment came as a request from a friend.
As you all should know, Syn Virage and everything associated with the character belong to Keroko.
Spoiler for NSFW-Just move along-Rated M:
“Virage!” bellowed the old commanding officer, “Takamachi!”
The two navy captains saluted the elderly mage while Vivio stared daggers at the blue haired woman next to her.
“You two have been at each other’s throats all fucking day!” Syn watched the old man’s spittle launch from his lips and his gray hair bounce on his wrinkled forehead. “If this is your idea of foreplay, save us the courtship dance and go home and fuck yourselves already! If not, pay attention!”
While Tactics Instructor Rigby’s body may have aged, his temper was just as short as ever.
“Aye, Sir!” the two young knights replied though Syn rolled her eyes when Rigby turned to face the other members of the elite squad.
“Virage!” yelled Rigby without turning around, “What’s your killzone?”
“One hundred to six hundred yards, sir.”
“How far am I away from you?”
“Eight yards, sir.”
“My killzone is zero to thirty,” barked the old man, “Mind your manners, you arrogant piece of shit!”
Syn jerked her head suddenly in the direction of the person who chuckled at the old man’s threat. Vivio stopped laughing when she saw Syn looking her way, and her lips pursed in annoyance as she turned her attention to the training field in front of them. Syn could see the anger flash in her girlfriend’s eyes, but she’d be damned if she could think of a reason to set Vivio off like this. Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember if she had picked up her clothes off of the floor or put her dishes in the dishwasher that morning.
“What the hell is your problem?” she whispered unable to think of anything.
“Oh,” sniped Vivio sarcastically, “Is the great Syn Virage willing to listen to the pleas of her people?”
“Not if ‘my people’ are going to be this bitchy!” Syn said with a sneer, “Geez, I thought your period wasn’t for another week. Do I need to get a box of tampons for you when we head back to the barracks?”
Syn knew immediately that that was the wrong answer. Vivio bared her teeth as her annoyance instantly turned to blinding rage. However, Syn handled Vivio’s anger the same way she always had: the angrier Vivio became, the calmer she would be. Syn sighed nonchalantly while green sparks started to fly from Vivio’s grinding device gloves.
“Are you going to just stand there,” smiled Syn, “or are you going to back up that expression?”
Vivio’s curled fist flew toward Syn’s smile but was quickly intercepted by an old, grizzled, but strong hand.
“I warned you two!” growled the angry Rigby, “Go settle whatever’s got your bollocks in a twist in the cage!”
The ranks went silent as they watched Rigby drag the two famous daughters to the equally famous place. Syn and Vivio knew about the cage though they had never been there. In fact, no one had been in there in years. It was a large, magically protected room that was used for the occasional heavy artillery and ballistics testing. Vivio’s mother had rented out the room years ago to show advanced airmen her “Starlight Breaker.” However, the room had another purpose for those in the Navy. If two men were arguing to the point of being distracting, the punishment might be the cage. Two men would go in, and the magical door would not open until one or both of the men were unconscious.
“I don’t care what you’re bitching about!” roared Rigby, “but it better be over when that door opens again!”
The old man threw them into the spacious room, and lone exit door sealed shut. Syn stood up and dusted herself off.
“Well, we’re stuck, so how did I piss you off this time?” asked Syn while hiding any sign of concern or sincerity behind her protective mask of sarcasm.
“I’ve been trying to tell you since last night,” yelled Vivio, “but you’re too dense to get it!”
“What?” replied a perplexed Syn, “You were whining about your device not working properly! See, I listen!”
“You idiot!” Vivio fired back, “I said ‘This wasn’t working for me!’ ‘This!’” She pointed to herself and to Syn, “As in 'you and me' wasn’t working for me anymore!”
Syn paled as she experienced the unwanted epiphany, “You’re…you’re…breaking up with me?”
Vivio had a million witty retorts, but all she could do was stare at the wounded expression on the usually confident face of Syn.
“Why?” Syn finally said.
“If you need to ask that, then there’s your first reason,” replied Vivio as her anger transformed into pity, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore.”
“No!” yelled Syn as she tried to control her emotions, “Tell me why! How can I fix this?”
“It’s too late.”
“Is there someone else?” gulped Syn in a moment of complete weakness.
“No,” said Vivio truthfully, “but I know you too well to hope that you can change. If we’ve only made this much progress in seven years, we might need to cut our losses and find-“
“UN-FUCKING-ACCEPTABLE!”
The swift change in demeanor took Vivio by surprise.
“You’re the only one for me!” roared Syn as rare tears danced in her eyes, “Don’t just throw this at me and expect me to go away without asking why! I LO-“
Syn cut off her statement with a crimson blush on her face.
“Say it!” commanded Vivio, “I’ve said it to you a million times, but you’ve never reciprocated! You want me back? Say it!”
“I…” Syn fought through the fortified walls of pride that surrounded her heart. Part of her reasoned that if Vivio had this much control over her that it may be worth ending the relationship, but the other part of her didn’t want to consider a life without waking up with that messy head of blond hair in her face every morning.
“…I love you…”
“Do you?” asked Vivio with her face steeled in seriousness.
Syn nodded without meeting the victorious red and green eyes. She did look up when she heard the sound of two cartridges loading and clanking onto the cage floor. Syn watched Vivio’s uniform melt away and replaced by her barrier jacket.
“Syn, do you love me?”
Syn stared at the woman walking toward her with the gears of her device gloves grinding with magical energy.
“Yes, I do,” Syn replied though she also ordered her barrier jacket to manifest.
“You have one chance to prove it,” Vivio declared as she started to charge at the blue haired woman.
“So be it,” replied Syn through clenched teeth, “Hellskor!”
The large battle bow sparkled with magical energy as its master jumped back to take aim at her charging lover and current opponent.
Spoiler for Here be SMEX and VIOLINS!:
SMEX AND VIOLINS!!
Like hell I'm putting that NSFW section on AS.
I actually felt sorry for Due. I mean, sure, she was one of the bad guys in StrikerS, but to suddenly be revived, treated like that and then killed again...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
I think I've written more about Syn than Keroko-chan has :3 *feels strangely amused at this*
It's not the first time this has happened.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Same thing happens in the OC thread. More things get written about Keroko than her creator has done.
I'm a slow writer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krisslanza
It's the shy ones you always gotta watch out for in bed.
Tropewise, yes. But in a fic? Bunny Fate just keeps causing red screens of Does Not Compute with me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShinySword
I think most of us, myself included, have used Syn. Satashi's written a couple of shorts and one shots with her, she's in my RebelS... I can't think of more off the top of my head but a lot of us use her in shorts so just look around in the backlog ^^;;;
And Keroko get on that It'd be so much easier to write Syn if we had something "official" to go off of.
T_T I knoooow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Dedicated to Wanwan :3
Spoiler for Drunk!Vivio/Syn:
-snip-
When I read they were sixteen, the first thing that rang through my head was 'Oh, so they want to drink something more heavy then beer?'
Then I remembered this wasn't Holland, and the peope on Mid probably aren't allowed to drink beer when they are sixteen.
And cruel Nanoha is cruel. But the best lessons are the hard ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki
Vivo and Syn groaned in the bathroom. Right now they figured it was best not to make any sudden movements. To them that meant no moving at all as they rested their heads on the rim of the toilet. Vivio's head lifted up a bit as she heard her mothers outside the bathroom door.
"Oh great Porcelain God, we humbly offer thee sacrifice this day from these two maidens. May their offerings please you until you have had your fill~"
The blond turned her head towards the snickering and opened her mouth to protest. However, it seemed that the Porcelain God demanded more offerings from her.
Yik. Thank the Cradle I don't drink any form of alcohol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allquall
This little bottle of embarrassment came as a request from a friend.
As you all should know, Syn Virage and everything associated with the character belong to Keroko.
Spoiler for NSFW-Just move along-Rated M:
-snip-
Spoiler for Here be SMEX and VIOLINS!:
SMEX AND VIOLINS!!
Like hell I'm putting that NSFW section on AS.
Now this is a very interesting write of Syn, instead of what has been written so far, which usually has Syn and Vivio already in a relationship or obviously heading that way, this one focusses on Syn's stuborness to actually aknowledge she just may love someone enough that she doesn't care about her own needs.
I like it. I like it a lot. I'll be sure to keep this in mind further down the road when I reach that point myself.
Also, requesting NSFAS. :3
Quote:
Originally Posted by krisslanza
TSS reminds me! This is my newest short series... I won't probably be able to write much for the next few days (Labor Day weekend = BUSY DAYS at work) but I should be able to by maybe Mon or Tue... Wed for sure.
So without further ado here's a teaser! (It's all I've written so far )
Spoiler for Lyrical Odyssey:
-snip-
*Sneaks out*
This reminds me of the old Nanoha-cast playing MMO shorts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yuiseppe
I loved that one. I actually think that the reason why I like Syn is because she's still a fluid factor at the moment. Usually, the canon cast either feels out of character if they're developed beyond the original story too much, or like a flat cookie cutter by-product. Syn on the other hand feels more real; there are actually moments when someone writes something that I empathize with.
I've done some thinking as to why people seem to like my characters so much, and I think its for a very simple reason: All of my characters are flawed.
Strange as this sounds, this may just be the reason. For example, my star OC Keroko isn't a perfect person. Sure, she has the related-to-main-character sueish ellement, but she isn't a perfect person. She's impulsive, prone to speaking or acting without thinking, and can quickly get agressive. Syn on the other hand, is more stubborn then a brick wall, and her unyielding urge to talk back can be very annoying, if not get her into trouble. It's just that little bit of extra realism that does it.
I've done some thinking as to why people seem to like my characters so much, and I think its for a very simple reason: All of my characters are flawed.
Strange as this sounds, this may just be the reason. For example, my star OC Keroko isn't a perfect person. Sure, she has the related-to-main-character sueish ellement, but she isn't a perfect person. She's impulsive, prone to speaking or acting without thinking, and can quickly get agressive. Syn on the other hand, is more stubborn then a brick wall, and her unyielding urge to talk back can be very annoying, if not get her into trouble. It's just that little bit of extra realism that does it.
Or at least, that's my theory.
I don't really think so Personally I think it's just because you did it first and it's easier to use a character that's preexisting then create your own ^^;; that's one of the reasons people write fanfiction in the first place, it's far easier to use a preexisting world then to create your own.
Besides most characters are flawed, that's part of what being a character and not a mary sue is. That's the best way to tell if a characters any good, it's not a long annoying test, it's one question Are they flawed? Even so called "complete characters" have some sort of issue, perhaps not as gapping as those of the arching characters.
... >/////> Whoops sorry went on a little tirade .
I've done some thinking as to why people seem to like my characters so much, and I think its for a very simple reason: All of my characters are flawed.
Strange as this sounds, this may just be the reason. For example, my star OC Keroko isn't a perfect person. Sure, she has the related-to-main-character sueish ellement, but she isn't a perfect person. She's impulsive, prone to speaking or acting without thinking, and can quickly get agressive. Syn on the other hand, is more stubborn then a brick wall, and her unyielding urge to talk back can be very annoying, if not get her into trouble. It's just that little bit of extra realism that does it.
Or at least, that's my theory.
I agree with TSS to a point. I think your characters are nice, but it's also something else. "Syn" is liked because she offers a connection to Vivio, who is hard to write about on her own. A person with no friends outside of the original cast is hard to revolve around because the main stars take her thunder. Adding in Syn is a good way to give her a friend to build off of. Plus, it's 100 times better to agree on a single character than use multiple ones.
Although I don't really like most OCs, Syn is spiffy because I can use her to enhance stories about Vivio without making people wonder who all the new people are.
...Plus I like her attitude. :3 My current story is having them meet for the first time and I plan on them not liking each other at the start.
Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost
Age: 44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
I've done some thinking as to why people seem to like my characters so much, and I think its for a very simple reason: All of my characters are flawed.
Strange as this sounds, this may just be the reason. For example, my star OC Keroko isn't a perfect person. Sure, she has the related-to-main-character sueish ellement, but she isn't a perfect person. She's impulsive, prone to speaking or acting without thinking, and can quickly get agressive. Syn on the other hand, is more stubborn then a brick wall, and her unyielding urge to talk back can be very annoying, if not get her into trouble. It's just that little bit of extra realism that does it.
Or at least, that's my theory.
I love flawed characters. Who else doesn't? As I write my stories, I tend to get carried away in the writing and sometime omit the flaws of my characters, something I try to improve on.
PS: Only one character flaw I don't like is "angst". I tend to find it too common nowadays, and it struck me as the easy shortcut.
When did Syn take off her eyepatch? (the one to cover up her heterochromia)
Just thought I'd throw it out there.
Syn featured (somewhat) in ch. 2! >.< Please read~~
Spoiler for Before you read:
A/N: Ah the mood of the first chapter was indirectly dedicated to Allquall's "Name of War" in such that Hayate is featured as heavily stressed by the demands of what is asked of her (for totally different reasons here, but meh). Also, Syn is the property of Kereko, tho she has become something of a generally-accepted-and-used-OC. Finally, may I remind you that this is only a half-sequel "What is and What Could Be" continuation of the Shard Card universe. Many things have changed, but many have stayed the same. So please don't waste your breath telling me that it doesn't fit Shard Card /or/ canon and just enjoy it for what it is- fanfiction by yours truly. With that, let's begin.
P.S. I'm aware that the bit in the beginning with using silver as part of a fuel source and especially as being as plentiful as I say, is a bit of bull, but just consider it a space-filler.
Shard Card 2: Hayate's Story
"What Is and What If"
Short Summary: As a competent "expendable" TSAB official, Hayate has been assigned to explore the newest frontiers with a hodgepodge team that she handselected for the optimum performance in the long run. She knows not if her prowess is really needed on this seemingly mundane mission, but she will take responsibility for the task at hand regardless.
Spoiler for SC2: ch.2- Its all Relative:
Chapter 2- It's all Relative
Hayate sighed softly as the soft rumble of Claudia III gently roused her from her slumber. She had caught up on much needed rest and was once more ready to tackle the world- or universe as the case may be- one planetary system at a time. She had her crew, a ship, a goal. Now all she needed was a specific destination and a time frame.
'We'll need fuel. Our gas tanks may be more efficient now, but that doesn't change that we'll have to refill eventually. Especially if this is a long-term assignment.' Half dressed with her jacket lying beside her on her freshly made bed, Hayate poured over several documents and maps at once, locating the nearest and farthest known fuel stations between their current location and the area of the frontier that they would start with.
"This one." Hayate tapped the photo of the planet that she had drawn up. "At 500 kly (kilo-light-years), that should take us close to the border of our known universe. Our fuel supply should be close to depleted by then, but this planet, administered planet 545, is made up of almost nothing but fuel. And I'm sure the occupants wouldn't mind seeing some faces from their far-off beneficiaries. What do you think, Rein? I've never been this far out before. Should be interesting, right? And we can get out and stretch our legs a bit."
Rein was watching Hayate from her shoulder, using said shoulder as a prop for her elbows as most of her body dangled behind Hayate. "Yes! It sounds fun. The natives of this planet are humans too, aren't they?"
Hayate nodded as she scrolled down the info page. "It was first colonized about 135 years ago, back in the Silver Age."
"Silver Age? Did we find a lot of silver?"
"It was already fairly plentiful, but that was when we learned how to incorporate silver into our fuels so that we could recycle the waste, so to speak, into colonial coinage, worth much less without the backing of the government. And then planets like this were found to be loaded with silver, so the Silver Age was all about acquiring more silver as well as refining how best to use it." Hayate paused and then continued on her original thread of thought, "There aren't many colonies, as much of the planet is still untamed, but those in the colonies are once-Midchildan explorers. They may have learned to speak a different language, but the translators in our devices should operate for us just fine, right, Rein?"
Rein nodded, still grinning. "Rein can speak 3500 languages and dialects!"
Hayate laughed. "As expected from the former Tome of the Night Sky. I'll be counting on you."
"Roger!"
As they were laughing about something and nothing at all, Hayate heard a knock at the door. Smiling, she permitted, "It's open; come in."
She heard muffled insistences along the lines of "You go first!" and "No, you go! You're older!" before the door slid open to reveal Syn with Vivio close behind.
Hayate smiled at her two youngest selections for her team, both prodigal children of famous friends of hers. It had been more whim than need, requesting that they join her, but with Nanoha alongside her, she was not wholly concerned with anything that might result from having the two onboard. "Syn-chan, Vivio-chan, good morning. What can I do for the two of you?"
They exchanged looks with each other, likely continuing their petty argument from when they were outside the room. Eventually, Vivio bowed and said, "We, uh, we just wanted to thank you for giving us the opportunity to go on this mission with you. So, um, thank you, General Yagami."
Hayate smiled with amusement as Syn bowed her head as well. "No thanks is necessary you two. If you want to 'thank' me, work to the best of your ability, especially while you're under my watch. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" They were almost like twins, Hayate mused, when they were both nervous at least. 'Time for an ice-breaker.' "Are those your official uniforms? Hmm... brown doesn't really seem to suit you two, does it? Hold on just a moment, I want you to try on one of the prototypes I've been testing."
As Hayate stood up to move to the closet, she heard and saw Vivio snickering and grinning, likely in conjunction with the hot-red flush on Syn's cheeks that wildly clashed with her long blue hair. She also heard Syn mumbling, "It took me forever to agree to wear this and now there's something different just around the corner...? God hates me..."
Vivio giggled, whispering loudly to her best friend, "Aunt Hayate knows her clothes though. Anything she recommends, you'll love- 100 percent guaranteed."
"Didn't she design this one too?"
"Here it is!" Hayate grinned as she turned back to face them, two fresh uniforms in her hands. "You're about the right age and stature that you should fill them in quite nicely. Do try them on?"
"Yes, ma'am." Vivio was about to turn away when she realized, about the same time as Syn did, "Or... did you want us to change here?"
Hayate just barely managed to conceal the feral nature of her grin. "Why not? We're all girls here, aren't we?"
Vivio looked at her with open suspicion, which Hayate guessed was from having grown up with Aunt Hayate and knowing full well what she was capable of acting on. She glanced at Syn, who was aware yet blissfully unaware of the true dangers that lay ahead for her.
Syn did, at least, make a feeble attempt to get out of it. "General Yagami, I'm not certain that doing such would be... appropriate."
"Pfft." Hayate grinned as she slung an arm around Syn's and Vivio's necks. "If you're going to call me 'General Yagami' then you had better treat me as a superior officer. And as such, what I say goes. Now strip. Let's see how well you two have grown up over the years."
--The rest of this scene has been omitted at the discretion of a certain bluenette who requested the right to maintain a sense of privacy--
"Hayate-chan, you look like you just ate a canary." Nanoha laughed as she sat down next to Hayate in the cafeteria. "Who'd you grope now?"
Hayate giggled, too pleased to deny the claim. "You've done well with Vivio-chan, Nanoha-chan. She's very healthy, especially for her age."
It took a moment for Nanoha to catch on, but when she did, she merely sighed. "I'm not going to ask how you reached that verdict. But just FMI (for my information), is she wearing the right size bra? She wouldn't let me go shopping with her last time, so I'm a bit worried..."
Hayate flashed a grin. "She was just a little off, but that's probably because she's grown a bit since she bought that bra. No worries, I gave her a new one just in case. Syn, however..." Hayate shook her head sadly, as if she were talking a neighbor's troublemaker of a son. "Sadly, she's a bit of a late bloomer it seems."
Nanoha sighed. "Even Syn-chan? Have you no sense of mercy?"
Hayate pretended to look affronted. "Mercy? Hah! Mercy's my middle name. I-"
"I thought it was Re-"
"Oh hush you," Hayate narrowed her eyes although they still glinted with merriment. "Do you want me to dock your pay?"
Nanoha laughed. "I never said anything," she amended.
Hayate nodded resolutely. "Anyway, I gave them both new uniforms. The brown just wasn't cutting it for them. So if you see them in grayish suits, don't tell them that-"
"They're for support staff? They're smart enough to figure that much out."
"Ah, but I made adjustments," Hayate revealed. "The fringes are specifically tailored for their eyes so it's very distinct. They look cool- they thought so themselves!"
Nanoha laughed again. "I never said the support staff uniform design wasn't 'cool', you know. But as long as they're happy, that's fine."
Deciding to change the subject, Hayate asked, "Have you called Fate-chan yet?"
"Mm." Nanoha nodded. "I called her when we passed the border for Galaxy 001. She's doing fine, as is Teana. They've had smooth sailing so far."
"Ah... where are they now?"
"They're southwest of us now, since we headed north from Mid-Childa."
"How far out are they going?" Hayate added sheepishly, "I was too preoccupied to ask her for the details myself."
"That's okay. It's not too far, relatively speaking. Just the next galaxy over from Mid-Childa. It has a lot of asteroids and debris in that area though; I hope she'll be okay."
"She'll be just fine, Nanoha-chan." Hayate's smile conveyed her confidence in her fellow Ace. "She'll be fine as long as she knows you're fine."
"Nyahaha... that works the other way around too." A quiet smile graced Nanoha's lips as she looked off into the distance. "How long do you think this mission will be, Hayate-chan?"
"I'm not sure. I'm sorry I'm dragging you away from Fate-chan for such an uncertain amount of time."
"What?" Nanoha snapped out of her daze at Hayate's words. "Oh! No, no, don't be silly, Hayate-chan. That's not what I meant. I was just wondering if you knew. If we can't return quickly then we don't return quickly, that's all. I'm happy you decided to ask me to join you out here. Sometimes I feel we haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together since we're in such different fields within TSAB... so... this is good... this is really good." Nanoha grinned, hardly recognizing that she had placed her hand over Hayate's while she was talking. "Yeah, I miss Fate-chan, of course, but it happens. No sense in dwelling on it, especially while M2D communication still works. Ah... I mean... well... let's just do our best, hm?"
Hayate smiled, acknowledging that Nanoha was merely trying to cheer her up. "Thank you, Nanoha-chan." A companionable silence drifted between them, but when she heard Signum summoning her to the bridge, Hayate slipped her hand out from under Nanoha's and stood up. "Duty calls. Would you do me a favor and make sure everything and everyone is operating at optimum capacity? And maybe organize some team exercises so that if anything does happen, we'll be ready?"
Nanoha nodded. "Of course. And I'll see you around then, Hayate-chan."
"See ya."
--
Hayate arrived on the bridge and Signum quickly noticed. "Is anything wrong?"
Signum explained, "We received an SOS signal from a non-Midchildan registered cruiser. It's only about 4 ly due west, but there are too many obstacles in the way for this vessel to cross it safely. We could release a small cruiser to rescue any survivors. But we would have to stall this one in order to not overshoot it. Your orders?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Hayate smiled as she raised her voice. "Halt the engines! Deploy officers Erio and Tomoyo on Cruzar N200 to rescue any survivors. All Strikers on standby until those deployed return to the ship. Send destination coordinates to Cruzar computer. Put up a shot of the target cruiser on the main screen. Show me what we're dealing with here."
Signum reinforced, "You heard her; get to it! Daidoji, Mondial, report to dock 3T, on the double!"
On the side, two smaller screens popped up showing Tomoyo and Erio hurrying towards said dock. Both saluted as they responded with a crisp, "Roger!"
Meanwhile, Hayate was looking at the footage and it struck her that there was something very... familiar about the ship. There was nothing special or glamorous about it, and yet..."
"Hayate?"
Hayate looked over at Rein, who also seemed to have a vague sense of recollection at the picture. She smiled. "Let's leave it up to Tomoyo and Erio for now, all right? We'll keep an eye on them from here."
"Yes, Hayate!"
Spoiler for After you read:
A/N: My last Astronomy class featured thinking of light years in perspective, and so I actually made new calculations based off of that to determine how fast a ship would have to go to make "intergalactic" travel reasonable. A long-term ship like the Claudia III moves at a projected speed of 3000 light-hours per second. Or, in scientific notation, 3.24 x 10(to the 12th power) km per second, or if you want to write out all the zeros... 3,240,000,000,000 kilometers per second. light-hours are projected in much the same way as cars move in kilometers (or miles, whatever). A small cruiser like Cruzar N200, averages at 60 lh/s, like a car might move 60 mph. Claudia III at normal speed can cross the Milky Way (100,000 light years across) in about 3 days give or take a little. The Cruzar N200 can move from Earth to the nearest star (besides earth) in about 10 min. I hope that makes sense. I made up "Kly" of course, as even traveling at the speed of light (that fastest conceiveable speed of any known material in existence) would take ages to even get to the nearest star. Hope you don't mind me taking liberties. :3
Strictly speaking, going at 3000 lh/s, the Claudia would never have been able to pick up the SOS from something so "close" to them, but... maybe it was a very carefully directed SOS signal or carefully projected radar that picked it up. I dunno.
Featured from Theatre class was the overall aspect of this story. Aesthetic distance in that you, the reader, to not feel the need to react to Hayate's commands (nor are you physically able to) and so can enjoy it from a distance. Empathy... meh... that's up to you, I suppose, if you empathize with the characters. Pretty mundane stuff happened in this chapter. And ah, suspension of disbelief. Much needed for the aforementioned putting-space-travel-in-reasonable-perspective.
Finally, very remotely hinted in this chapter will be featured in the next.
Aristotle's Mimesis.
That's all the spoiler you get. Til next time!
P.S. I would put my Calculus in here, but I'm not sure how computing the area of a function would... work here. I also have a class on Mental illnesses, but you probably don't want me to make anyone you know and love schizophrenic... So yes, Astronomy + Theatre + Economics FTW!!
Wanted to post here since I can't wait til next thursday to post another chapter in ff.net but I already finished the next chapter.... >.>
Now hold on just a darn second...
Knight, you do realize that there are no directions in space relative to the ones we have on earth? You do not have "north/south/east/west" or anything in between; it simply cannot apply to the vastness of space. Moreover, how would you explain up and down? You can't, not with those directions.
The best thing, and really the only thing I can think of, is to use directional terms in "degrees", where whatever is in front of the ship would be listed at "zero" degrees, and the aft of the ship would be "180" degrees. Up and down would start at zero for level flight and either "90" or "-90" for above and below, respectively.
As an example, using the scene you have just written:
Quote:
"We received an SOS signal from a non-Midchildan registered cruiser. We have it designated at approximately 85 by 20 degrees port, distance calculated at about 4 light years, give or take a light second. but there are too many obstacles in the way for this vessel to cross it safely. We could release a small cruiser to rescue any survivors. But we would have to stall this one in order to not overshoot it. Your orders?"
In this case, 85 by 20 degrees port would be almost completely "west" of the ship, as well as a little above it.
Anyway, it was just a theory. For some reason most of my characters are well liked, even characters I concidered to be side-characters. I still haven't figured out why, but it looks like this theory is a goner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama
>.>
<.<
When did Syn take off her eyepatch? (the one to cover up her heterochromia)
I made some mahor changes to her profile a while back, and I dropped the eyepatch. It clashed with her personallity, I build Syn to be a very confident girl, or at least choosing to apear so, and having her wearing an eyepatch to cover her heterochromia would clash with that personality. Someone very confident wouldn't openly wear an eyepatch to hide something, that would ruin the image.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama
Syn featured (somewhat) in ch. 2! >.< Please read~~
Spoiler for Before you read:
-snip-
Wanted to post here since I can't wait til next thursday to post another chapter in ff.net but I already finished the next chapter.... >.>
"--The rest of this scene has been omitted at the discretion of a certain bluenette who requested the right to maintain a sense of privacy--"
*scene changes as we see Knight behind the computer, with an angry red-faced Syn, Hellskor drawn and a black arrow brimming with magic energy pointed at Knight*
Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost
Age: 44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
Question out of curiosity: What defines as angst in your eyes?
First, it would be a character loaded with a tragic past, or who had received glimpse of an ill fate, and whines too damn much about it, and do nothing about it. Or use it to justify his deeds. But here is the key for me, that character would whine too damn much.
It may be cool with me when I was 12, but not anymore in my age.
First, it would be a character loaded with a tragic past, or who had received glimpse of an ill fate, and whines too damn much about it, and do nothing about it. Or use it to justify his deeds. But here is the key for me, that character would whine too damn much.
It may be cool with me when I was 12, but not anymore in my age.
So you Hate Most of Main Characters, the ones you play as any ways,of the Final Fantasy Series.
Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost
Age: 44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seraph42
So you Hate Most of Main Characters, the ones you play as any ways,of the Final Fantasy Series.
Well, I don't have this problem, I don't play Final Fantasy. I don't like idiotic main characters a la Naruto too. The exceptions would be Ryo Saeba and Monkey D. Luffy.
I don't know if this has been posted, but I think I have found the full (untranslated) version of Nanoha BetrayerS. Since this doujin is based on StrikerS (which is unlicensed ), and from a quick look over I didn't see any obvious NSFW material ... I have decided to provide a link to this via the forum... Anyway here it is: http://rapidshare.com/files/14141116..._Betrayers.zip. I hope this isn't a repost, but whatever . Also, I know this will probably be a lot of work, but could someone/some people translate it. Thanks.
I don't know if this has been posted, but I think I have found the full (untranslated) version of Nanoha BetrayerS. Since this doujin is based on StrikerS (which is unlicensed ), and from a quick look over I didn't see any obvious NSFW material ... I have decided to provide a link to this via the forum... Anyway here it is: http://rapidshare.com/files/14141116..._Betrayers.zip. I hope this isn't a repost, but whatever . Also, I know this will probably be a lot of work, but could someone/some people translate it. Thanks.
^^;;; it's already been posted here but thanks anyway.
Page Claim for someone being kind enough to translate it one day.
2008-08-29, 23:43
Author
. Also, I know this will probably be a lot of work, but could someone/some people translate it.
The pic was put together a while back by TeleIce btw
