“Ne, Sis?” One blond hummed to the other that was combing her hair.
The questioned one slowed down. “What is it?” she asked in a gentle tone.
“Do you think mommy will ever get better? She’s hasn’t been herself for a long time.” She looked back at her sibling.
“I don’t know,” an honest answer as her hand brushed a few strands of hair from her sister’s face, “I think she could get better, someday.” With that she gently nudged the other’s face to look forward again to resume her work.
“I wish dad was here… Things were nicer when he was here…”
The brush was set down in order to pick up a hair tie. “I wish he was here too…”
A minuet passed in silence.
“Sis... I’m hungry…” Sympathetic arms reached around to hold her from behind.
“I’m hungry too…”
Landscaper!Fate
“Sister”
Got a ways to go on it but its getting done…
Edit: HAPPY 200!
Sounds like It will be a touching chapter with some angst.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Experiment:
Magical Otome
Spoiler for If you get it.......:
"So our mission is to observe?" Fate asked Hayate as she looked at the papers in front of her. "And judge if the planet is worth taking into the T.S.A.B? Why would that involve us?"
The leader leaned back into her chair and looked at her two best friends. "Because this is a military merger request. The people you will be observing don't know who you will be, but the leaders do. If we both meet expectations then we will forma treaty."
Nanoha hummed. "And I'm here to evaluate the means and techniques?"
"That is correct."
Fate turned the page in her folder and looked at the picture of a blue haired woman paperclipped at the top. "Natsuki...will be our contact?"
Hayate put two boxes in front of the girls. "Yes. Your other is 'Shizuru'. You will need these."
Nanoha clicked open her box and gasped out. "Uwaaaaaaah! Pretty!" Taking out the ring, she looked at the gem.
Fate looked at her earring questiongly. "Why do we need jewelery?"
Hayate gave them a light smile. "This briefing session will be long..."
"So our mission is to observe?" Fate asked Hayate as she looked at the papers in front of her. "And judge if the planet is worth taking into the T.S.A.B? Why would that involve us?"
The leader leaned back into her chair and looked at her two best friends. "Because this is a military merger request. The people you will be observing don't know who you will be, but the leaders do. If we both meet expectations then we will forma treaty."
Nanoha hummed. "And I'm here to evaluate the means and techniques?"
"That is correct."
Fate turned the page in her folder and looked at the picture of a blue haired woman paperclipped at the top. "Natsuki...will be our contact?"
Hayate put two boxes in front of the girls. "Yes. Your other is 'Shizuru'. You will need these."
Nanoha clicked open her box and gasped out. "Uwaaaaaaah! Pretty!" Taking out the ring, she looked at the gem.
Fate looked at her earring questiongly. "Why do we need jewelery?"
Hayate gave them a light smile. "This briefing session will be long..."
Two of my most favorite crossover? Interesting. Technological magic contra technology..... I can't say I'm not looking forward for it. And two hottest and my most favorite pairs at one fic? Definitely catched my interest. Secretly hopes for something like leebot's fics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Hmmmm......Main pairings would be Shizuru/Natsuki of course. And since it's Otome based, naturally it would be Nanoha and Fate.
Fate being the otome and Nanoha the one who makes the contract. Gonna be hard to keep in character without good planning.........but I have an idea.
Oh and since people have asked about Angel and I watching this together......Here's basically how it went.
Spoiler for off topic:
Angel looked up from her bed as Satashi walked by the door. "What'cha doing?"
Satashi leaned back to look into the room with a smile. "Going to watch Otome."
"Want to watch it together?"
"Sure!"
~*a few eps in*~
Satashi: *laying upside down on couch with pocky in mouth* Arika is so cute.
Angel:Mokonaaaaaaaa
~*few more eps*~
Satashi: *laying long ways on couch now* Ers is their room mate right?
Angel: Mm. *nods* <3 Ers.
~* few more eps*~
Satashi: *plops down and hands over cookies* Enter emo arc huh?
Angel: *takes cookie* not yet.
Satashi: T_T!
~* few more *~
Angel: *laying on Satashi's lap* I want pizza...
~* few more*~
Satashi: *watching Shiznat moment* whew whew!
Angel: Kiss already!
~* more more *~
Satashi: *huddles with Angel under blanket* Noooooooo! *cry!*
Angel: *clinging to Satashi* Aaaooooooiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! *Cry cry*
~* later *~
Satashi : *screaming a name*
Angel: *screaming other name*
*yawns* amazing how fanfic ideas hit you at the weirdest moments....
But this will be mainly around Nanoha and Fate, to keep it on topic.
It seems you got to interesting part SpoilerI'm not sure but was Shizuru x Tomoe part yet?
If character are fictured carefully....
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghazghkull
*Slams hands on the table* I WISH TO SEE MORE OF THIS!!! XD
I think I can only sign under this statement.
__________________
Once some one asked me where I came from. I just pointed behind myself. When the same person asked where I was heading, I just pointed towards the horizon I was looking at. "It's simple, I neither belong here nor there. I am just walking..."Current fandoms: RWBY - White Rose, Frozen - Elsanna and all previous.
All right, I give. I missed a lot in my study week, definitely.
But all the same, I can't say I did nothing...
*whistles and drops his package*
It's got a bit too much OC in it, but there's still some familiarity in it, so yeah, well.
First Nanoha Fic Post. Hooray. Many happy returns. Though normally I'm pretty sleepy when I post this stuff
Spoiler for Title:
Zenith of Eternity Part I: The Wings of the Storm
Spoiler for The Forgotten Wanderer:
The feeling came upon me once more, stronger than ever, an asphyxiating smog that settled ominously, reminding me of my impending fate. Choking on my thoughts and the air within me, I struggled once more to keep going. To live, for just a while more.
Just a while more.
Is there no more time? Is it over for me? ...Ah, the wait agonizes…
My whole body felt light, almost non-existent…my limbs were slowly fading before my eyes. Just three hours ago, I had ceased to be able to touch anything material, and now, I constantly stared into a body seemingly made of a translucent ether, the sight of my eyes piercing through to that tiny device, that organ within me that was keeping me going.
And that was now slowly failing on me. Soon, there would be nothing left of the person called…
…What was my name again?
Of all things, to forget that. But that was ages ago, and there was no point in thinking about that now.
But the issue remained. I was about to die. I could feel it in my bones, and the cold that seeped through them, cutting through me like blades, blades through an empty heart and a lost mind. My only hope lay before me, lying amid those rags, the sole survivor of a deadly exchange of fire amid the urban ruins which I had wandered in for ages unknown.
The odds were stacked against survival…she herself was on the edge of life. But yet I had to hold out some hope. There was no choice left in the matter.
It was now, or never.
“Unh…”
She was alive after all. One doubt down…many more to go. In a process of such sensitivity, there still remained many links of doubt. They, I had to ignore. If I was ever to live, there would be no more space for doubt.
There is a way out…if only…
The girl in front of me finally stirred, her eyelids riveting in a mix of pain and fatigue, doing their utmost to open. Stirring up a minor storm in the makeshift blanket, nothing but a pile of rags which were thankfully cleaner than the rest, she balanced barely on an undamaged elbow.
She was young, and a lustrous head of blonde hair, matted though it was, fell with a strange sort of grace about her shoulders. And that look in those eyes, they haunted me strangely, reminded me of something.
A thought flashed through my mind. The same one as when we first met…
…If only you would agree…Alic- wait, who was that?
I could no longer remember a lot of things…and I kept forgetting a lot of things that I remembered. There was a pocket watch lying around somewhere, but it was missing two hands, so it was pretty much useless. Apart from that there was little to give me any sense of anything.
“Gahg…” She attempted, unsuccessfully to get up. Foolishly, I forgot myself and attempted to touch her, and promptly stuck my ethereal limb through her arm. An awkward silence ensued, as both of us started at the sight of the other’s face.
Don’t move. You’re already pretty badly off as it stands.
“Whu…what…does that mean…” She got her reply almost immediately, as she started to cough, barely having time to cover her mouth. Pulling away, she stared mutely into her outstretched palm, as though comprehending the level of trouble she was in. Her hand had came away red.
Since she’d found out, there was no point hiding it anymore. I’ll just be blunt. You’re very near death.
“How much time…have I got?...”
I shook my head. I had already looked it over countless times, but there seemed no way out for her, either. All the more important her consent became.
Not long. We will not live to see tomorrow.
She looked a little surprised. “We?”
I removed my cloak, showing her my see-through arms, uncovered by the clothes, and the bitter smile that I wore. They looked even worse for the wear then five minutes earlier, a clear indication of the increasing rate of the already rapid corruption that had plagued me for unknown lengths of time.
Merely a shadow of my old self…whatever it was.
This is not a person who is healthy and well, is it?
The girl looked away.
“I guess…not-UGHN!” Her pale face suddenly contorted in nightmarish pain, as a red stain grew under the bandages that swathed her stomach area. The wounds were re-opening, despite my efforts.
She rasped the words out, painfully. “Will I die here? I don’t wanna-die!”
Don’t want to die…
That sentiment resonated within me. Would I, too, die here, lost and forgotten to all who ever knew me? That was the last thing I wanted.
But I was helpless. My life as I knew it was in the fragile hands of another dying person.
There is something we can do…If we both want to live.
“We can live through this?”
If you would agree, then take my hand, and be one with me. Then, we can both live. I can save you, if only you would save me…But beware, there is a price to pay for life. We will not remember everything of our past lives once we are one, and I do not know if we will ever regain them. Are you willing to pay this price for an escape from death?
The blonde lifted her eyes to meet my gaze, a growing determination within them.
“To live…”
Yes, to live. To regain all that which we have lost, and gain more besides by living on…that is what both of us wish for, no?
“…Yes, I wish to live. I will live.”
I was stunned.
But why would you give your memories away so cheaply? Would you not prefer to die remembering everything, than live with nothing?
The young lady smiled, filling my eyes with a strangely peaceful, serene presence. She had obviously already made her choice, even though she knew that there was no more turning back, and she knew the cost. “That is alright…for if I die, then I would have lost everything. It is perhaps better this way, instead.”
With those words…with only those words from her mouth, she had lightened my heart’s burden infinitely. More than she, or I could ever comprehend.
Then…take my hand. This hand that will save both of us. Take it.
And thus we reached out, both of us, to the one who could save us. The world seemed to be a whirling vortex, as a strange sensation washed over me, filling me with its presence, and its confusion.
[TEPES SYSTEM BOOTUP.] The synchronization system flipped on with a low whine in my head. The product of circumstances which I was unclear of, it would allow me to completely meld soul and body with another. Not in the form of parasitism, but symbiosis, even perhaps mutualism, I knew it not.
I felt myself being pulled into something at a speed I could not comprehend, like being sucked into unknown deep depths: I was free-falling through her mind, a plain of blackness unending…with an ever-nearing light at the end of the tunnel. Rushing through into the warming glow of a false sun, images, suspended in artificial stasis like bubbles, passed me by, flashed through my mind as I feel through her, through everything that was her. Some seemed more coherent than others, while there were some that were completely disjointed, scattered puzzle pieces in a broken picture.
A picture that I had come into inheritance of.
That we would both have to endure for a time.
[TEPES SYSTEM – LOADED WITH 13% PERSONA ALPHA ERROR.]
This is…the synchronization system’s name? Funny thing, I never checked to see what it was.
Two voices spoke in that, no longer separated. It wasn’t me thinking anymore. I could feel her confusion, and my own shreds of memories filling up some of those gaps. I was no longer alone in this void that was a person’s mind and soul.
It was US now.
[SYNCHRONIZATION CAP AT 40%.]
Soul Synchronisation Cap of 40%. A very high number, for a first try, almost impossibly high. I have never in my life seen a higher count than this…how am I related to this girl? Is there some fate between us?...No matter, that can wait till later. For now, I must repair her confused psyche.
[ADMIN FIRST TO PERSONA BETA, PERSONA ALPHA SWITCH TO ‘REPAIR’ COMMAND…COMPLETED.]
My vision refocused slowly, now painfully aware of the stinging sunlight, which an unfamiliar hand shielded on reflex. Where before was ethereal imperviousness to the weather, now was a frozen heat amid the dusty sands of an unknown planet. A vast plain sprawled itself before bleary eyes as I took in my first sense of the environment in a long time.
A body at last.
[UPLOADING SPELL MEMORY…SPELL MEMORY IS 20% CORRUPT. REQUESTING ADMIN TEST FIRE.]
As if on cue, my left hand crackled to life with energy. Duly following the voice’s request, I threw my hand out lazily, sending the bolt of energy lancing outward towards a nearby rock, shattering it into tiny pieces. Her magic potential was obviously very high, only that much of her battle memory seemed to have been lost.
[TESTING AUTOGUARD.]
A transparent shield opened up around me as the stray pieces broke against it like water on rock. Nonetheless, they failed to make an opening in the barrier.
[PRELIMINARY TEST SEQUENCE COMPLETED. TEPES SYSTEM…SHUTDOWN IN 10. SETTING BODY FUNCTION TO REPAIR.]
Wait, why-
I suddenly dropped onto one knee, and my vision swam, my body attempting to comprehend the sudden seeming betrayal. And then I knew my folly, in doing exactly what had advised another against.
Shit. I forgot this person was injured…I overstrained her body with that spell.
[ADMIN SECOND SWITCHED TO PERSONA BETA.]
Isn’t there something I need to know?
I struggled to find the question in the chaos of dots that surrounded my darkening eyes. The thought had hit me out of the blue, like a bombshell. In the amount of time I had left before everything went black, there was something I had to ask.
Pray…tell me…who am I?
[PROCESSING REQUEST TO DATABANK…ONE MATCH FOUND.]
The answer stared me down face to face, proclaiming its truth to the audience of one. And what a pleased audience it was.
Ahh…is that so…That’s one question down, and now to the many more that await…they can themselves wait for another time, hmm?
[COMMENCING SHUTDOWN…10…]
[9…8…7…]
I could no longer see anything, and all thought seemed so distant, so wistful. Just like dreaming, save that these were the first good dreams for a time lost to my memory.
For I know who I am, and nothing else matters for now.
[4…3…2…]
I chuckled inwardly, for the first time looking forward to a tomorrow. If I would get one in the first place. There was still that measure of uncertainty: Was I certain I would survive this?
This shutdown – makes a person real sleepy, now doesn’t it.
[1…0…]
[SHUTDOWN COMPLETE.]
---------------------------------------------
A strange feeling crawls through me. I wake to the low mechanized rhythm of beeps, stemming from some unknown source.
[TEPES SYSTEM…REBOOT…COMPLETED WITH MARGINAL ERROR.]
Where is this?
“…picked up…thought…check this out…”
“What…say?”
Two voices conversing in the background. I am not alone, apparently.
“She…the hell she is-”
I appear to have survived the initial ordeal, somehow. My hearing seems to be warped in some strange way, filtering out parts of other’s sentences when I don’t need them to. Is this a side effect of the synchronization? Everything seems garbled in some strange way, blocked by some unknown…
[WARNING…PERIPHERAL SENSORY SYSTEMS ARE DAMAGED.]
I can tell already…What happened to me?
Hey. A thought pervades my mind, soothing and gentle in tone…and yet there is something harder, colder under it. You’re fine now, although your five senses seem a little messed up right now, so I’ll communicate like this. For your first question…
A sound like laughter breaks out on the other end. Please enlighten me.
…How would you like to know that you’re in a helo, and somewhere in the air?
A strange answer. Yet I have remembered feeling stranger, and so this is perhaps not so foreign. Some other thoughts start popping in. I cannot really comprehend them all, my mind seems to have slowed down a little.
Yeah, and well, we’re the lads from the TSAB. We just picked you off this place…we’ve got no idea what you’re doing here. Seriously, it’s such a hell of a mess it’s a miracle we actually found someone in there, you know?
The mention of the name seems to strike a chord within me, strangely. I must have known it in another time, before I began to forget. Like many other things.
Well, neither did I.
Your body has taken some severe levels of damage, quite critical as a matter of fact, so I’d advise that you not put too much physical or mental stress on yourself as yet. It would be better for you to simply stay put and have yourself a nice good break. We tried our worst to patch you up, but well, that’s the best we can do for now. You’ve been through a lot, as far as we can see…
Glad you-
[EMERGENCY SWITCH TO SAFE MODE.]
My vision darkens again, worse than when it started off. My head swims, and mustering thought seems to prove a grave challenge all of a sudden. Apparently, I reckon bitterly, just that puny amount of thought proved enough to knock my reserves to a flatline. I feel sick inside. A really strange, queasy sort of feeling.
The voice comes again, never really finishing what it meant to say. Hey wait, you there-?
[WARNING: SAFE MODE IS CORRUPT. SAFE MODE I-]
I fade out.
---------------------------------------------
And…um, you seem to be awake again. Hello.
[TEPES SYSTEM…RESTORE.]
Midchilda to you, Midchilda to you, do you read me?
[RECOVERY SUCESSFUL.]
The voice. Talking to me again, except this time coupled with an image. Though blurred, I can make out that he’s wearing black, and his hair white as the snow, with clear blue eyes…Looked awfully familiar somehow.
He decided to speak, instead of “think” into my head, this time. “You’re up. That’s good.”
My hearing…Where-
He stopped me with an outstretched palm. Had I asked this question before? “We’re still in the air in a helo, but we’ll be touching down shortly, young lady. It appears you knocked out at a timely moment, we were enduring some levels of turbulence.”
Turbu-what?
“Turbulence. It means we ran through some wind that shook us up rather badly. Nothing hurt withal though, so it’s all good for now. Anyway.” He leaned in closer. “What’s your name? Mine’s ‘Snake’, yeah, just ‘Snake’…and I just saved your ass.”
That was rather surprising, not to mention an awkward moment for him to introduce himself. All the same, a return of courtesy was in order for one’s rescuer.
Mine’s Al-
“Sir, we are landing.”
He winced a little sheepishly. “Oops. No time now. Hold on to your hat now, vertical landing is quite a ride.”
I don’t think I have one.
“That’s pretty sad, I reckon. It’s fun to have something to hold onto. For me, it’s my coat.” He said, as he wrapped said item around himself. The vertical landing seemed to be shifting my stomach a lot. There’s…a sick feeling in there.
“Hang on, though, we’re almost at the ground.” A large yellow ‘H’ on the ground.
That’s ‘H’ for ‘helicopter’, I’m hoping.
He laughs, amused. “No, no…it’s ‘H’ for ‘helicopter…pad.’” The helicopter landed amid huge wisps of wind, and another jump in my insides.
Then the feeling came upon me once more, stronger than ever, an asphyxiating smog that settled ominously, reminding me of my impending fate. Choking on my thoughts and the air within me, I had a feeling of déjà vu like never before…
“Mother?”
A familiar voice. Definitely female. Who?
“Mother?”
She was young, and a lustrous head of blonde hair, matted though it was, fell with a strange sort of grace about her shoulders. And that look in those eyes, they haunted me strangely, reminded me of something.
Red eyes, like the color of blood.
And she was calling…me. Calling me mother.
Who are you? I’m your mother? What the hell- Too many questions. Too little time. I can not process all these thoughts, emotions at once. Still not used to it at all-
[WARNING. TEPES SYSTEM SAFE MODE…MEMORY OVERLOAD.]
She moved towards me. No, she ran, another familiar sight.
“Mother? Is that you? I’m-”
Snake’s voice again. “Hey, one woman down here, could you-”
My eyes bugged. My brain raced to find matches. Links. Anything.
[TEPES SYSTEM CRITICAL. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM OVERPROCESSING DURING RECOVERY.]
Nothing.You are-
The answer stared me down face to face, proclaiming its truth to the audience of one.
[EMERGENCY-]
-No! Impossible!
I fade out.
---------------------------------------------
“You really have to stop blacking out on us, you know?”
Again, waking to that strange skin-crawling silence, punctuated by again those beeping sounds from bizarre contraptions. They probably seemed normal to everyone else, though at least I know where I am: This is a hospital ward. Blank, white walls, long halls, rows of beds, and-
“You still there?”
I turn to the left. The same fellow from the helo…his name…Snake. I surprise myself by actually remembering something after a prolonged period of time. There was another one of those silences, those strange awkward periods where neither of us spoke.
He broke the silence first with a drawn sigh.
“To be honest, we’re not sure what we’re going to do with you either. We don’t have the foggiest idea who you are, and you don’t remember anything apart from your name, which you were about to tell me before the turbulence, and then that little scene stopped me. Ah yes, and speaking of which, what was your name again?”
“Alemantas. Alemantas Zanber…What was that girl’s name again? The one I met when we landed.”
The man called snake tapped his chin lightly. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you her name, Miss Zanber. You can’t know that yet. Or should I say you simply shouldn’t know, either?”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“That is…another thing that I can’t tell you.”
Roadblocks to my questions. Just when I didn’t need them again, too. “So what am I going to do now?”
He shrugged, but without any air of nonchalance. It was purely a sign of self-admitted ignorance.
“You’re recovering surprisingly quickly, though we don’t have the equipment to check why, yet. So,” He did the sums briefly in his head. “You’ll be stuck here for another week or so, and then you can choose what you want to do. We’ve got nothing on or against you anyway, so you can go your own way. Or whatever…anyway,” He looked more awkward than I felt at this point, and checked his chronometer with a sidelong glance. “I need to take my leave, though I must say it’s good to see that the person I picked up personally didn’t kick the bucket.”
Now that’s very kind of you…
He turned to leave.
“Hold on a minute.”
“Yes?”
“…Snake…that isn’t your real name, is it?”
He waved dismissively. “And if it isn’t?” And laughing (while provoking some irate responses for his outburst from the other occupants of the ward), he walked off, leaving me alone to my thoughts, and the stares of said other occupants. Not that I cared about them at all.
But now, what am I going to do? He’s right, in spite of how much I am cheesed off by his nonchalance in stating it. I don’t have anywhere left to go…but forwards, and even if I were to move forward, I need some sort of base. And all the questions that I still have, all the things that I still need to know…They still require some answering.
And perhaps…just perhaps, this organization of theirs holds the key. It sounds familiar to me. More familiar than anything else seems to, lately. And since I have no other leads to what has happened to me in the past, among other things…
…Why not?
Raising my hand, I clenched it, and spoke words I never knew I did.
“Ignite. Anathema,”
My palm itself turned black, and a ruby lightning crackled from it, dancing gracefully, a being with a vibrant life of its own, arcing around my outstretched arm.
…After all…this shall forge my way.
The question was, just how far would I go?
Spoiler for INTERLUDE: The Hound and the Snake:
To the untrained eye, this would have been the greatest bravura epitome of poseur-ism that the world had ever seen.
Nice, well maintained bikes? Check. Immaculately dressed guys in nice clean dressing, looking to snatch themselves some women? Check that two. Qualified, well-spoken guys who are good at small, smart talk and looking good for a swing? Check that. Out in public, and on a roll? Check. Revving down roads, winding around like the pros? Definitely.
No, this wasn’t a pimping field trip, or a crash course on joining the echelons of elite cadres in said occupation.
It was something that bore far more weight than the number of crushed hearts in Cranagan City, and something more difficult than going off for a spin with a lady in tow.
“It’s the Bloodhound and Boa show.”
I said it with a bit of gusto too, quite rare for me in times like this. Especially times like these, when people like us had to take the brunt of assignments from superiors who were, to say the least, occupied with other things.
“Fancy you saying that when we got that nickname at the worst ever of times…I hope you were joking.” My partner’s head, encased and hidden within a helmet though it was, failed to prevent me from feeling his frustration. And his brief touch of real anger.
A rare thing for either of us.
“It was just a joke, don’t mind me. I just need something to cheer us up as we go along.”
We continued to race down the highway, communicating remotely via the glowing touchpad in front of us. His avatar, a pair of hunting dogs crisscrossed on the Saint Church’s coat of arms, stared out at me as the voice carried through into my helmet, with subtitles on the HMD. Not that I needed it, but it was useful, especially when I got distracted.
“It had better be. Now, we have five minutes before I reach my destination, and so we’ve got to finish up the serious business fast.”
“Yes, sir.”
He shook his head. “Just start calling me Acous already, Ravenholm, damn it.”
“Sorry. Anyway, I’ll start first. Brigadier General Yagami’s assignment for us. It’s still on, isn’t it? In spite of my…our failure so far, I mean.”
“What failure? You two barely had time to get anything started, not to hardly measure talk about failure. Don’t worry about it…too much, Ash. It’s still on, and note that the deadline presses you from the shadows. The brass hates to wait.”
“Yeah, yeah, especially that good friend of yours for all his smile says about him. That cleverly deceiving smile runs in the family.”
Verossa sounded very amused on the other end. “Watch your words, you’d get court marshaled if I ever leaked what you say about people in our private chats. And anyway, you needn’t let it stress you too much.
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Honestly, I still feel bad about it, in spite of my usual self. I’m not stressed or anything as that’s not my style, but I can’t help but shake the feeling that I could have done something more, something more than giving the warning just on time…the feeling that if we could have turned the tide.
“Colossus, Autopilot. Plot route to Location TERRE.”
[Gotcha. Going on Handsfree.]
Now that left me some space to gesticulate, with my twin Device handling the gyroscope function for me.
“Acous, it’s not really me, or Tesla I’m worrying that much about. It’s you. You know what happened back there at the helipad landing area, and I’m sure you know about how it is now between them?”
I seemed to have hit home, although that wasn’t always a good thing between us. It was, luckily, not about to degenerate, not with us riding on those accident-prone (but cool) speeding coffins, even if either of us was angry.
“Never you mind, Ash, that’s my business…and theirs. I appreciate your concern, but I’m afraid that this is not something you should get your hands on too hastily for your own good. You could get burned.”
“Burned…hmmm?”
“Yes.”
I threw a hand up in the air, shifting my weight to prevent any unwanted swerving. “I’m too much of a cold fish for that. You of all people should know that I am.” Suddenly hearing his mild snicker on the other end, I almost regretted having shot my mouth off too early.
“Yeah, yeah, wait till I tell the old dude that, and let’s see you become the joke of the whole SI for a week.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Fine. Next topic?”
“Right.” He would have clapped his hands like a happy child if not for the fact that he couldn’t ride a motorbike hands-free. And sounded it too over the line, except even more artificially than the clapping…there was no way he could hide this form of anxiety from me, though I wouldn’t have any proof of it.
“Next up, and last up, actually, is something slightly less casual. I have some instructions for you that I left with the Blue Rose.”
“That again, huh.”
There went the rest of my week, if it wasn’t gone already.
“And unlike the last time, they’re not going to come cheap for you to follow them. I’m not sure how tough you’ll find it, but trust me in that this will be no walk in the park, even for you. And I have great faith in your abilities, as you might already know.”
“Thanks.” We pulled up just outside the headquarters, with Acous turning in, while I stayed out. Not my final destination of the day. After all, the night was still young. “No clues at all to what it might be?”
“Just one, if you beg.”
I put on my best, wheeler-dealer voice. “Oh yes, I’m begging you for just one tiny pathetic excuse for a clue…pretty please?”
“Ha. Very phony. Didn’t believe it for a moment, but I’ll just tell you it’s code name, although it’s not going to help you much: Scanner Sweep.”
I laughed, and stamped the acceleration pedal. “That’s a hell lot already.”
“As expected from you.”
“Thanks. Boa, out.” I flipped my HMD off, and unslung my helmet, strapping it onto the back of my left shoulder in the chaos of flying white hair, freed from the stuffy black prison.
It doesn’t look like anything’s going to end very soon. The situation in Seretoia will not be the end point in this little arc in history. It can only be a beginning, I can feel it. No prophecies have been made, no portents on the horizon. There was nothing that could prepare us for what has already happened.
And what will happen, the inevitable chaos that starts with such a flashpoint.
But whatever that is, I am not in any way personally hampered by this, although nonetheless the big picture will affect my role in it very severely. My job is my job, and no one screws with me on it. If they do, they can go to hell, known being or unknown being alike.
And on this particular job, I feel that it will certainly be a very invigorating experience indeed. I am looking forward to the challenge…
…Of rooting some moles out from their holes.
And of course, I would have some backup. Backup that I just made for myself a while back out of nothing.
But…good backup, nonetheless.
“Enigma, bring up the co-ordinates for location FABLE. I’m going to clean off my artillery pieces. Can’t sleep if I know they ain’t fixed good.”
[Affirmative, Sir. Any…secondary reasons?]
“Ah yes, of course. It’ll save me some time too.”
Looking for my Blue Rose.
Spoiler for Blade of Omen:
“As of now, the situation appears to have subsided, with the TSAB obtaining victory as predicted initially. However, due to the nature of the victory, we were able to complete Phase 1 of our plan, which means that we will be able to fight away the next time, and complete our little experiment, just to be sure, not to mention to rub salt into some wounds. How are things on your end? You remember that we expressly stated that nothing but top level efficiency was expected.”
“I understand that. However, it remains incomplete. My schedule is rather tight even without the inclusion of these…matters, which are-”
“So, to cut the line short, it isn’t done yet?”
“No, it isn’t. We’ll remain stuck at Phase 1 for a while yet, I’m afraid, no thanks to rather bad cleanup work on one end of the assignment, that resulted in the need for a recoup of logistic material, which will invariable take time.” I replied with a vague sense of irritation in my voice. It was the umpteenth time they had come to me with their requests of status reports, as well as those useless exhortations and even more laughable moral support.
“Are you suggesting that we are low on efficiency.”
“If yes, then what? I don’t see when asserting one’s innocence became a crime, lordling.”
“Fine, Successor, you win this round, but I warn you,” The commanding voice on the other end of the line stated flatly, “there will be consequences for you if you fail to meet the deadline of two weeks.”
Successor indeed. Without any proof of your age given, you act as though you could be my great-great-grand-something.
“Yes, I understand.”
“That had better be so.” The feed cut there, leaving me alone in my mild exasperation. Not that I really minded this unwarranted outbursts. It was, after all, a part of everyday life. Either put up, or shut up.
Not that any of it would change either. And not that I cared about it, too. Still, I had my own plans to turn to, plans that no one knew of.
Plans that, once set in motion, would set everything that I knew on the road to their doom.
They really have to be more patient with me, honestly. I mean, even I need a break sometime, though I don’t look like I ever get tired of doing this. Especially when I was working on something that they need that much. I literally have them hanging as rag-tag on my command tassel, for goodness sake, so I wonder why they act as though I am their rag-tag. Impertinence.
No less frustrating is their constant insistence on keeping tight deadlines on me, what with getting that program up and running in as inanely a short time as two weeks, as though they were commanding the genius of the century around. Not that I’m not a genius though, but there’s only so much one person can do behind enemy lines…
All the same, patience seems to be a virtue lost upon most of the people I seem to know. After all, they do not understand the complexity of these things that they order others to do, for all the wisdom and civilization that they profess to have in whatever matters their fickle minds deem fit. And what fools they are, thinking that they could subject me to their will, thinking that they’ve played the winning hand. Too bad there IS no winning hand at this card table…the winning hand belongs to the best man, and him only.
Even bigger fools are those buffoons who employ me, happily sitting on their precious contemplative behinds, twiddling their contemplative thumbs, thinking that I’m actually an honest member of their organization! What brilliance. Ignoramuses all, sitting higher than their real sense warrants. I snicker to think of the fact that even up till two weeks ago, they had the gall and the sheer lack of foresight to think that their situation on some godforsaken planet and it’s puny rebellion was under control. Well, they’ll be submitting a damage report some time soon, and I’ll get a heck of a laugh out of it.
Oh well, the entertainment of being of being the puppet master is to watch others attempt to play my role, is it not? Nothing befits the role of a mastermind more. They will soon see who is pulling the strings, though, and see the royal flush that I’d been hiding in my velvet gloves for all these ages. Not just the Bureau, and not just those idiots I’m working for, but all will see that in the end it is pointless to fight against a plan that could best the gods.
The gears have already begun turning…though admittedly this is the re-fueling point. Therefore, I shall, for now at least, bide my time in silence and have me some little games with those people while watching them act out the script I wrote, entertaining me suitably at least for a little as they play, rather literally, out my plotlines to the very last letter. Even though they may resist, and attempt to throw monkey wrenches into my plans, it is all pointless: Everything that they have attempted cannot shatter this construct that I have forged with my hands.
Patience, of course is key, though my body itches for the sound of the battlefield’s carnage once more. Thus were all the great kings made, but only at the appointed times, and so shall I wait. But the signs are clear…a new age must begin, a new order will replace the old.
And I shall–
“General.” The chirpy voice of my secretary broke in over the communication system, breaking my train of thoughts. At the worst of times too, as the good part was just coming along. All the same, however, official duties would be official duties.
Resigning myself to a temporary truce with my thoughts, I acknowledged the request.
“Yes?”
“Inspector Acous Verossa requests to see you, he says that it’s important, but it will be brief.”
And not a moment too soon, either, when I was just hoping to return to the normalcy of daydreaming over paperwork. Having that green-haired pretty boy around was a nice change, although that amount of variety came at the expense of my free time, which was little. “Yes, show him in.”
Ever I wonder what he has to say this time, the unpredictable piece of work that he is. Sometimes I cannot help but be fascinated these other people that I see around me… I swiveled in my rather opulent chair to face the visitor, the only articulate piece of furniture in my otherwise austere office, remnants of a former whimsical desire to create a healthy juxtaposition in my otherwise boring room, until I decided it was no longer necessary.
“Welcome, Inspector. I see that you are well. What news?” As if on cue, the inspector, effective head of the SI department as it stood, strode in, an immaculate white suit wrapped around his lithe, lanky figure, wearing his usual broad grin and aura of impeccability. As per normal, he was completely at ease with his surroundings, save for an unusual shadow in his eyes.
No doubt due to the same events that befell many other mages just a ways back. He must be looking one of the best among those that returned. Must be his job.
“Firstly, I’m not entirely well. I did, after all, sustain some extensive degree of injury in combat in an SnR mission. I believe you are aware of it.”
“Yes, it was rather high-profile, they seem to have had some stranded crack troops down there before you lot showed up and towed them off.”
Pretty risky it was too, if not for the heroics of those OFM snipers and that guy they called the Snake, it looked as though it would have been over in a heartbeat. But that doesn’t really matter…after all, it does provide more avenues for conflict between the two belligerents under my thumb, so why not?
“And…yes, you guessed true: I do have some things I want to show you, which I have to hand you personally, due to security reasons naturally. I’ll be brief about it, since I was given a tip-off on your schedule by your secretary just before she shoveled me into your office.”
Shoveled. An apt word, as always. I’ll be doing some shoveling of my own too. The shoveling of this era’s grave, that is.
“Your humor is as strangely good as always, Verossa. Not so your luck with women though.”
“Unfortunately so. However, I do have one in hand, and someone in mind.”
My eyebrows went up. “Two now, Verossa? I never knew you were into such things.”
“No, no…One, ‘Eclaire, one.” Acous winced somewhat while dismissing my suggestion with a rather sheepish wave of his hand.
“And who might that be, then?”
Acous grinned disarmingly like the eponymous Cheshire cat he was rumored to be, and fished in his coat for the appropriate item to pass to me. Like any good angler, he got a bite rather quickly, and handed it to me. “Well, I’ll be sure to send you a letter of notification when the church bells start ringing, just so that you stop worrying about dinner for once.”
“True, you speak to my heart. The nature of meals have always been a grave issue to me, and as you know, in all things grave style and not substance is the most important. Luckily, with your tastes you’ll spare me the trouble…” Removing the file at him, I noted the label of confidentiality on it. A sure sign of an interesting item. “…And this is?”
“This,” Acous stated with an air of pride that any father would have been shamed by, “is the result of a collaborative work between myself and Brigadier General Yagami. In short, for the top brass, this is just what the doctor ordered. We completed it slightly ahead of schedule, and on her suggestion we’re passing a short preview of sorts to certain members of the brass for their perusal, as well to make it open to comments before the actual presentation takes place next week.”
Oh, that? I’m surprised they actually finished it on time. It was supposed to be, according to a certain Admiral, a difficult job! ...Then again, considering the level at which those two have contacts, it shouldn’t be too shocking that they came through rather miraculously. I guess I shouldn’t even lift an eyebrow, then, if there are no shortage of big names in it, too.
“Excellent job. Maybe the next time we have a recruitment drive, you two could be our frontmen.” I paused. “And women.”
The Inspector laughed a little too casually for comfort. “Nah. I prefer to stick to my old job, but thanks for the offer.”
“Pertinent point.”
Acous laced his fingers together. “Also, I’ve thought of a…rather interesting name for this group.”
You never fail to surprise me, Acous Verossa, thinking up all the most unnecessary things at the strangest of times. Still, I don’t mind hearing it, so long as the name is good.
“Alright then, let’s here it.”
“I looked at the tentative member roster, and there is only one thing, in my opinion, that it could possibly be called: Task Force Serpent.”
A rather cheesy name, but it had a fine ring to it that no one could possibly ignore.
Acous cleared his throat, signaling the end of the small talk. “And that is more or less all I have to say. The rest of the details concerning said group is documented within the report itself, and can be read at your leisure, at least until next week. After all, I should not be detaining you any longer.”
“That means you’re requesting permission to leave the scene, yes?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“At your leisure then, Inspector.”
Acous nodded briefly. “Thank you, sir.” The sliding doors closed my office off to the world once more with their gentle hissing sound. Slowly, I peeled the seals of the file, noting from the amount that went into the nearby waste bin that there were a few barriers to many on it. Leafing through the appropriate documents swiftly, I pondered some of the more interesting morsels of information.
The Serpent. The ancient symbol of intelligence, corrupt and arcane wisdom…and deceptions. What an apt name for this small little group, which will answer to almost no one in the TSAB once it is fully grown, even if those that conceived the idea and created it have no idea what this particular brood of vipers can accomplish.
They are bound to make a big splash though. Exactly why I have chosen them. Chosen them to be my unwittingly clever automatons, who will benefit this cause of mine most suitably, as much as I predict that they will attempt to oppose the work of my hands.
As the classic saying goes, “they shall serve me well.”
Lifting my hand to the ceiling, I imagined the multitudes of the celestial bodies hanging in the void of space, thousands upon thousands of them, through the keyhole of my outstretched palm, the slender gaps between those fingers of mine.
Just two weeks ago, the first step towards this destruction was taken: An armed uprising that cost the TSAB their security, some of their power, and many lives. They will soon find that much of what they once knew to be true were all a pack of lies, but it will be too late: Their purpose, and their role in this scheme can only be realized fully in their wrack and utter ruination, much like many others that have preceded them, and the many that will soon follow.
Though the campaign on Seretoia may have ended in victory, it is but still a baby step…perhaps, shall we say that it was an incomplete step due to their victory. I look forward to seeing the whole thing play out, with them cast in the role of the tragic hero, already doomed to defeat but still fighting on to the end of their road, in which nothing awaits them but destruction: The epitome of heroism, and the apex of folly all at the same time.
…Look out below, mortals, and behold the sight…the zenith of an era has come…
…And the dawn of a new one approaches.
Spoiler for Final Lines:
The slumbering have awoken.
The curtain has lifted, as the die is cast on all sides.
The flames of ambition, honor and revenge burn high...
Their pillars licking upon the spires of heaven.
This shall be a time for crimson scars.
A time for the end of many things.
A time for the age of violent gods...
And those who will to surpass them...
And those who will stand up and resist, to fight them.
Come now, the time has come for crimson scars, for flashing weapons; the time for cold steel to meet cold steel, as blazing hearts meet blazing hearts in embrace of battle.
Come now, for courage, for honor, for love, for happiness, for sorrow, for all that one desires to protect, possess, and destroy.
Come...for the gold crown of victory, or the iron crown of defeat.
For the beginning of a new era forged from the hellfire flames of war.
Spoiler for Author's notes::
Yeah, the Final Lines were much more serious than those three. I realized that in first person views I tend to lapse too much into leaning towards the stream of consciousness writing style, which isn't too good all the time, though it sort of worked here.
The third person actual thing is going to be a lot more formal, though there should be some funny in it. That is the advantage of third-person narrative, perhaps, the ease of bringing out dramatic tension. Oh well. Whatever it is, I hope to write faster in the future.
Location: In the Netherrealm, thinking who to betray next...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kai the Reaper
Your writing is getting better, have I said that before? There's still some way to go though, but you are improving! And wow, Vivio sure is skilled.
I think the best solution would be Satashi's idea. Actually, part a and b would be different from two chapters, because you'd just be cutting it in two to be able to download it properly, not have to cut it properly to make sure that the distinction between chapters isn't too forced. For the 40 pages part... I don't know what to say.
The situation is this my dear Kay, I really like Zaphira si I had the intention to add a very importan battle involving him and a powerfull Slave, the problem is that if I not divide chapter 6 into Chapter 6 & 7, I will not be able do add that battle programed for one chapter after
Also, if I divide it, I will be able to add more details to the plot, 2 little surprises that will shock you
It's late and I've not done much research, but I must intervene!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron008R
XD XD XD
This is bloody BRILLIANT!!! Good job here!
And somebody... please remind me again why Subaru and Teana gave me TONS more yuri-vibes in one season versus all seasons combined with Nanoha and Fate?
Anyway, Mahou Shoujo-wise... hitting 20 is not a very compatible age progression ... Which makes me hate 7arcs even more for shafting Hayate's character development and appearances to hell and back...T_T
Though having a season with age 20+ magical girls sounds interestingly unique.
20's is NOT old. That's what you call young adults! It's 30's when you would be adult-adults and 40's are older adults!
......................................
*crickets chirping*
What?! >.>
<.< indeed...
Then again, I guess you should be happy that my first Nanoha fic attempt (that also kicked off the massive OC thread) was Auntie Nanoha at 40+ years old...
Yes like Lindy, she hasn't aged. In fact, its one of the reasons why I felt Nanoha looked old in StrikerS apart from really being old for a mahou shoujo... is because... 20 years later, she HASN'T CHANGED!
Hurraa from Khrack Logik. :3
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShinySword
Only because the ultimate choice isn't a choice *shakes head sadly*
YUURO FOREVER!
...
..
.
Yes Yuuro is Yuuno and Chrono :3
Yuuno: Oh Chrono~ *moves in for a kiss*
Chrono: *Yuuno is REJECTED* No my love we must not
Yuuno: Why ever not?
Chrono: Because we have a bunch fangirls stalking us
Nanoha/Fate/Hayate: *hide cameras*
Hayate: Oh no no please continue
Nanoha: Just pretend we're not here
Fate: *blushing too heavily to speak*
And YAOI is overrated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Experiment:
Magical Otome
Spoiler for If you get it.......:
"So our mission is to observe?" Fate asked Hayate as she looked at the papers in front of her. "And judge if the planet is worth taking into the T.S.A.B? Why would that involve us?"
The leader leaned back into her chair and looked at her two best friends. "Because this is a military merger request. The people you will be observing don't know who you will be, but the leaders do. If we both meet expectations then we will forma treaty."
Nanoha hummed. "And I'm here to evaluate the means and techniques?"
"That is correct."
Fate turned the page in her folder and looked at the picture of a blue haired woman paperclipped at the top. "Natsuki...will be our contact?"
Hayate put two boxes in front of the girls. "Yes. Your other is 'Shizuru'. You will need these."
Nanoha clicked open her box and gasped out. "Uwaaaaaaah! Pretty!" Taking out the ring, she looked at the gem.
Fate looked at her earring questiongly. "Why do we need jewelery?"
Hayate gave them a light smile. "This briefing session will be long..."
But most of it remained in my writing circle, in handwriting, and never completed, as I became very busy with OC Thread ever since.
Just wanna say GOOD JOB, for this definitely works! Now there's a Yuunoha version (SaintX and mine) AND a Fate/Nanoha version (Mercurial and Satashi-sama's) for the Nanohaverse. :3
-Title is from "Kiss!^2 Bang!^2 by Komatsu Ayaka. Anyone familiar with Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (which has eaten my soul, again -sigh-) will know that this is by far one of the most catchy songs ever written.
-Fate and Nanoha, after a week of Fate getting used the the idea of the new bond that they share, are finally starting to just be cute together.
-I figure that even though Nanoha hates Fate worrying over her, she will worry about Fate's condition. They care so much for each other. Its cute.
-Fate is very torn between action and nonaction here, mostly because she knows that she is still injured, but at the same time; she desperately needs to fight something.
-Point Me Spells are (c) JK Rowling. I modified it to work within a Nanoha-setting, and I firmly believe that a spell like this must exist on in Mid-Style magic, because they're so damn useful.
-When Fate changes her barrier jacket to her old, original one (from the first two series) she's doing it because when she uses Impulse Form she's sacrificing some of her speed in order to have more defense. In order to do well in the fight, Fate reasons that she's going to have to be faster than Subject A, who is easily as fast as she is when she's using Impulse Form for her Barrier Jacket.
-"Who the hell do you think I am?" Well, this isn't Gurren Laggan, but I couldn't resist the reference. Takeshi is rather insulted
-Protection Powered and Round Shield are both of Nanoha's stronger protection spells. I figured that she would be the sort to combine them when Fate was threatened.
-Nanoha giving Fate part of her barrier Jacket was something that is actually part of the original plans for this story. I always thought it strange that Impulse For of Fate's barrier jacket came with a white over coat that looked ... a lot like Nanoha's barrier Jacket. So I created an explanation.
-So if you completely destroy someone's linker core, they die.
-A lot of police officers, after their first shooting, require someone to talk to. I think that the TSAB might not have shrinks on staff, however, because that would have been the first thing that I would have suggested Nanoha do, had I been Chrono.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Experiment:
Magical Otome
Spoiler for If you get it.......:
"So our mission is to observe?" Fate asked Hayate as she looked at the papers in front of her. "And judge if the planet is worth taking into the T.S.A.B? Why would that involve us?"
The leader leaned back into her chair and looked at her two best friends. "Because this is a military merger request. The people you will be observing don't know who you will be, but the leaders do. If we both meet expectations then we will forma treaty."
Nanoha hummed. "And I'm here to evaluate the means and techniques?"
"That is correct."
Fate turned the page in her folder and looked at the picture of a blue haired woman paperclipped at the top. "Natsuki...will be our contact?"
Hayate put two boxes in front of the girls. "Yes. Your other is 'Shizuru'. You will need these."
Nanoha clicked open her box and gasped out. "Uwaaaaaaah! Pretty!" Taking out the ring, she looked at the gem.
Fate looked at her earring questiongly. "Why do we need jewelery?"
Hayate gave them a light smile. "This briefing session will be long..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by XenahortCharybdis
All right, I give. I missed a lot in my study week, definitely.
But all the same, I can't say I did nothing...
*whistles and drops his package*
It's got a bit too much OC in it, but there's still some familiarity in it, so yeah, well.
First Nanoha Fic Post. Hooray. Many happy returns. Though normally I'm pretty sleepy when I post this stuff
Spoiler for Title:
Zenith of Eternity Part I: The Wings of the Storm
Spoiler for The Forgotten Wanderer:
The feeling came upon me once more, stronger than ever, an asphyxiating smog that settled ominously, reminding me of my impending fate. Choking on my thoughts and the air within me, I struggled once more to keep going. To live, for just a while more.
Just a while more.
Is there no more time? Is it over for me? ...Ah, the wait agonizes…
My whole body felt light, almost non-existent…my limbs were slowly fading before my eyes. Just three hours ago, I had ceased to be able to touch anything material, and now, I constantly stared into a body seemingly made of a translucent ether, the sight of my eyes piercing through to that tiny device, that organ within me that was keeping me going.
And that was now slowly failing on me. Soon, there would be nothing left of the person called…
…What was my name again?
Of all things, to forget that. But that was ages ago, and there was no point in thinking about that now.
But the issue remained. I was about to die. I could feel it in my bones, and the cold that seeped through them, cutting through me like blades, blades through an empty heart and a lost mind. My only hope lay before me, lying amid those rags, the sole survivor of a deadly exchange of fire amid the urban ruins which I had wandered in for ages unknown.
The odds were stacked against survival…she herself was on the edge of life. But yet I had to hold out some hope. There was no choice left in the matter.
It was now, or never.
“Unh…”
She was alive after all. One doubt down…many more to go. In a process of such sensitivity, there still remained many links of doubt. They, I had to ignore. If I was ever to live, there would be no more space for doubt.
There is a way out…if only…
The girl in front of me finally stirred, her eyelids riveting in a mix of pain and fatigue, doing their utmost to open. Stirring up a minor storm in the makeshift blanket, nothing but a pile of rags which were thankfully cleaner than the rest, she balanced barely on an undamaged elbow.
She was young, and a lustrous head of blonde hair, matted though it was, fell with a strange sort of grace about her shoulders. And that look in those eyes, they haunted me strangely, reminded me of something.
A thought flashed through my mind. The same one as when we first met…
…If only you would agree…Alic- wait, who was that?
I could no longer remember a lot of things…and I kept forgetting a lot of things that I remembered. There was a pocket watch lying around somewhere, but it was missing two hands, so it was pretty much useless. Apart from that there was little to give me any sense of anything.
“Gahg…” She attempted, unsuccessfully to get up. Foolishly, I forgot myself and attempted to touch her, and promptly stuck my ethereal limb through her arm. An awkward silence ensued, as both of us started at the sight of the other’s face.
Don’t move. You’re already pretty badly off as it stands.
“Whu…what…does that mean…” She got her reply almost immediately, as she started to cough, barely having time to cover her mouth. Pulling away, she stared mutely into her outstretched palm, as though comprehending the level of trouble she was in. Her hand had came away red.
Since she’d found out, there was no point hiding it anymore. I’ll just be blunt. You’re very near death.
“How much time…have I got?...”
I shook my head. I had already looked it over countless times, but there seemed no way out for her, either. All the more important her consent became.
Not long. We will not live to see tomorrow.
She looked a little surprised. “We?”
I removed my cloak, showing her my see-through arms, uncovered by the clothes, and the bitter smile that I wore. They looked even worse for the wear then five minutes earlier, a clear indication of the increasing rate of the already rapid corruption that had plagued me for unknown lengths of time.
Merely a shadow of my old self…whatever it was.
This is not a person who is healthy and well, is it?
The girl looked away.
“I guess…not-UGHN!” Her pale face suddenly contorted in nightmarish pain, as a red stain grew under the bandages that swathed her stomach area. The wounds were re-opening, despite my efforts.
She rasped the words out, painfully. “Will I die here? I don’t wanna-die!”
Don’t want to die…
That sentiment resonated within me. Would I, too, die here, lost and forgotten to all who ever knew me? That was the last thing I wanted.
But I was helpless. My life as I knew it was in the fragile hands of another dying person.
There is something we can do…If we both want to live.
“We can live through this?”
If you would agree, then take my hand, and be one with me. Then, we can both live. I can save you, if only you would save me…But beware, there is a price to pay for life. We will not remember everything of our past lives once we are one, and I do not know if we will ever regain them. Are you willing to pay this price for an escape from death?
The blonde lifted her eyes to meet my gaze, a growing determination within them.
“To live…”
Yes, to live. To regain all that which we have lost, and gain more besides by living on…that is what both of us wish for, no?
“…Yes, I wish to live. I will live.”
I was stunned.
But why would you give your memories away so cheaply? Would you not prefer to die remembering everything, than live with nothing?
The young lady smiled, filling my eyes with a strangely peaceful, serene presence. She had obviously already made her choice, even though she knew that there was no more turning back, and she knew the cost. “That is alright…for if I die, then I would have lost everything. It is perhaps better this way, instead.”
With those words…with only those words from her mouth, she had lightened my heart’s burden infinitely. More than she, or I could ever comprehend.
Then…take my hand. This hand that will save both of us. Take it.
And thus we reached out, both of us, to the one who could save us. The world seemed to be a whirling vortex, as a strange sensation washed over me, filling me with its presence, and its confusion.
[TEPES SYSTEM BOOTUP.] The synchronization system flipped on with a low whine in my head. The product of circumstances which I was unclear of, it would allow me to completely meld soul and body with another. Not in the form of parasitism, but symbiosis, even perhaps mutualism, I knew it not.
I felt myself being pulled into something at a speed I could not comprehend, like being sucked into unknown deep depths: I was free-falling through her mind, a plain of blackness unending…with an ever-nearing light at the end of the tunnel. Rushing through into the warming glow of a false sun, images, suspended in artificial stasis like bubbles, passed me by, flashed through my mind as I feel through her, through everything that was her. Some seemed more coherent than others, while there were some that were completely disjointed, scattered puzzle pieces in a broken picture.
A picture that I had come into inheritance of.
That we would both have to endure for a time.
[TEPES SYSTEM – LOADED WITH 13% PERSONA ALPHA ERROR.]
This is…the synchronization system’s name? Funny thing, I never checked to see what it was.
Two voices spoke in that, no longer separated. It wasn’t me thinking anymore. I could feel her confusion, and my own shreds of memories filling up some of those gaps. I was no longer alone in this void that was a person’s mind and soul.
It was US now.
[SYNCHRONIZATION CAP AT 40%.]
Soul Synchronisation Cap of 40%. A very high number, for a first try, almost impossibly high. I have never in my life seen a higher count than this…how am I related to this girl? Is there some fate between us?...No matter, that can wait till later. For now, I must repair her confused psyche.
[ADMIN FIRST TO PERSONA BETA, PERSONA ALPHA SWITCH TO ‘REPAIR’ COMMAND…COMPLETED.]
My vision refocused slowly, now painfully aware of the stinging sunlight, which an unfamiliar hand shielded on reflex. Where before was ethereal imperviousness to the weather, now was a frozen heat amid the dusty sands of an unknown planet. A vast plain sprawled itself before bleary eyes as I took in my first sense of the environment in a long time.
A body at last.
[UPLOADING SPELL MEMORY…SPELL MEMORY IS 20% CORRUPT. REQUESTING ADMIN TEST FIRE.]
As if on cue, my left hand crackled to life with energy. Duly following the voice’s request, I threw my hand out lazily, sending the bolt of energy lancing outward towards a nearby rock, shattering it into tiny pieces. Her magic potential was obviously very high, only that much of her battle memory seemed to have been lost.
[TESTING AUTOGUARD.]
A transparent shield opened up around me as the stray pieces broke against it like water on rock. Nonetheless, they failed to make an opening in the barrier.
[PRELIMINARY TEST SEQUENCE COMPLETED. TEPES SYSTEM…SHUTDOWN IN 10. SETTING BODY FUNCTION TO REPAIR.]
Wait, why-
I suddenly dropped onto one knee, and my vision swam, my body attempting to comprehend the sudden seeming betrayal. And then I knew my folly, in doing exactly what had advised another against.
Shit. I forgot this person was injured…I overstrained her body with that spell.
[ADMIN SECOND SWITCHED TO PERSONA BETA.]
Isn’t there something I need to know?
I struggled to find the question in the chaos of dots that surrounded my darkening eyes. The thought had hit me out of the blue, like a bombshell. In the amount of time I had left before everything went black, there was something I had to ask.
Pray…tell me…who am I?
[PROCESSING REQUEST TO DATABANK…ONE MATCH FOUND.]
The answer stared me down face to face, proclaiming its truth to the audience of one. And what a pleased audience it was.
Ahh…is that so…That’s one question down, and now to the many more that await…they can themselves wait for another time, hmm?
[COMMENCING SHUTDOWN…10…]
[9…8…7…]
I could no longer see anything, and all thought seemed so distant, so wistful. Just like dreaming, save that these were the first good dreams for a time lost to my memory.
For I know who I am, and nothing else matters for now.
[4…3…2…]
I chuckled inwardly, for the first time looking forward to a tomorrow. If I would get one in the first place. There was still that measure of uncertainty: Was I certain I would survive this?
This shutdown – makes a person real sleepy, now doesn’t it.
[1…0…]
[SHUTDOWN COMPLETE.]
---------------------------------------------
A strange feeling crawls through me. I wake to the low mechanized rhythm of beeps, stemming from some unknown source.
[TEPES SYSTEM…REBOOT…COMPLETED WITH MARGINAL ERROR.]
Where is this?
“…picked up…thought…check this out…”
“What…say?”
Two voices conversing in the background. I am not alone, apparently.
“She…the hell she is-”
I appear to have survived the initial ordeal, somehow. My hearing seems to be warped in some strange way, filtering out parts of other’s sentences when I don’t need them to. Is this a side effect of the synchronization? Everything seems garbled in some strange way, blocked by some unknown…
[WARNING…PERIPHERAL SENSORY SYSTEMS ARE DAMAGED.]
I can tell already…What happened to me?
Hey. A thought pervades my mind, soothing and gentle in tone…and yet there is something harder, colder under it. You’re fine now, although your five senses seem a little messed up right now, so I’ll communicate like this. For your first question…
A sound like laughter breaks out on the other end. Please enlighten me.
…How would you like to know that you’re in a helo, and somewhere in the air?
A strange answer. Yet I have remembered feeling stranger, and so this is perhaps not so foreign. Some other thoughts start popping in. I cannot really comprehend them all, my mind seems to have slowed down a little.
Yeah, and well, we’re the lads from the TSAB. We just picked you off this place…we’ve got no idea what you’re doing here. Seriously, it’s such a hell of a mess it’s a miracle we actually found someone in there, you know?
The mention of the name seems to strike a chord within me, strangely. I must have known it in another time, before I began to forget. Like many other things.
Well, neither did I.
Your body has taken some severe levels of damage, quite critical as a matter of fact, so I’d advise that you not put too much physical or mental stress on yourself as yet. It would be better for you to simply stay put and have yourself a nice good break. We tried our worst to patch you up, but well, that’s the best we can do for now. You’ve been through a lot, as far as we can see…
Glad you-
[EMERGENCY SWITCH TO SAFE MODE.]
My vision darkens again, worse than when it started off. My head swims, and mustering thought seems to prove a grave challenge all of a sudden. Apparently, I reckon bitterly, just that puny amount of thought proved enough to knock my reserves to a flatline. I feel sick inside. A really strange, queasy sort of feeling.
The voice comes again, never really finishing what it meant to say. Hey wait, you there-?
[WARNING: SAFE MODE IS CORRUPT. SAFE MODE I-]
I fade out.
---------------------------------------------
And…um, you seem to be awake again. Hello.
[TEPES SYSTEM…RESTORE.]
Midchilda to you, Midchilda to you, do you read me?
[RECOVERY SUCESSFUL.]
The voice. Talking to me again, except this time coupled with an image. Though blurred, I can make out that he’s wearing black, and his hair white as the snow, with clear blue eyes…Looked awfully familiar somehow.
He decided to speak, instead of “think” into my head, this time. “You’re up. That’s good.”
My hearing…Where-
He stopped me with an outstretched palm. Had I asked this question before? “We’re still in the air in a helo, but we’ll be touching down shortly, young lady. It appears you knocked out at a timely moment, we were enduring some levels of turbulence.”
Turbu-what?
“Turbulence. It means we ran through some wind that shook us up rather badly. Nothing hurt withal though, so it’s all good for now. Anyway.” He leaned in closer. “What’s your name? Mine’s ‘Snake’, yeah, just ‘Snake’…and I just saved your ass.”
That was rather surprising, not to mention an awkward moment for him to introduce himself. All the same, a return of courtesy was in order for one’s rescuer.
Mine’s Al-
“Sir, we are landing.”
He winced a little sheepishly. “Oops. No time now. Hold on to your hat now, vertical landing is quite a ride.”
I don’t think I have one.
“That’s pretty sad, I reckon. It’s fun to have something to hold onto. For me, it’s my coat.” He said, as he wrapped said item around himself. The vertical landing seemed to be shifting my stomach a lot. There’s…a sick feeling in there.
“Hang on, though, we’re almost at the ground.” A large yellow ‘H’ on the ground.
That’s ‘H’ for ‘helicopter’, I’m hoping.
He laughs, amused. “No, no…it’s ‘H’ for ‘helicopter…pad.’” The helicopter landed amid huge wisps of wind, and another jump in my insides.
Then the feeling came upon me once more, stronger than ever, an asphyxiating smog that settled ominously, reminding me of my impending fate. Choking on my thoughts and the air within me, I had a feeling of déjà vu like never before…
“Mother?”
A familiar voice. Definitely female. Who?
“Mother?”
She was young, and a lustrous head of blonde hair, matted though it was, fell with a strange sort of grace about her shoulders. And that look in those eyes, they haunted me strangely, reminded me of something.
Red eyes, like the color of blood.
And she was calling…me. Calling me mother.
Who are you? I’m your mother? What the hell- Too many questions. Too little time. I can not process all these thoughts, emotions at once. Still not used to it at all-
[WARNING. TEPES SYSTEM SAFE MODE…MEMORY OVERLOAD.]
She moved towards me. No, she ran, another familiar sight.
“Mother? Is that you? I’m-”
Snake’s voice again. “Hey, one woman down here, could you-”
My eyes bugged. My brain raced to find matches. Links. Anything.
[TEPES SYSTEM CRITICAL. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM OVERPROCESSING DURING RECOVERY.]
Nothing.You are-
The answer stared me down face to face, proclaiming its truth to the audience of one.
[EMERGENCY-]
-No! Impossible!
I fade out.
---------------------------------------------
“You really have to stop blacking out on us, you know?”
Again, waking to that strange skin-crawling silence, punctuated by again those beeping sounds from bizarre contraptions. They probably seemed normal to everyone else, though at least I know where I am: This is a hospital ward. Blank, white walls, long halls, rows of beds, and-
“You still there?”
I turn to the left. The same fellow from the helo…his name…Snake. I surprise myself by actually remembering something after a prolonged period of time. There was another one of those silences, those strange awkward periods where neither of us spoke.
He broke the silence first with a drawn sigh.
“To be honest, we’re not sure what we’re going to do with you either. We don’t have the foggiest idea who you are, and you don’t remember anything apart from your name, which you were about to tell me before the turbulence, and then that little scene stopped me. Ah yes, and speaking of which, what was your name again?”
“Alemantas. Alemantas Zanber…What was that girl’s name again? The one I met when we landed.”
The man called snake tapped his chin lightly. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you her name, Miss Zanber. You can’t know that yet. Or should I say you simply shouldn’t know, either?”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“That is…another thing that I can’t tell you.”
Roadblocks to my questions. Just when I didn’t need them again, too. “So what am I going to do now?”
He shrugged, but without any air of nonchalance. It was purely a sign of self-admitted ignorance.
“You’re recovering surprisingly quickly, though we don’t have the equipment to check why, yet. So,” He did the sums briefly in his head. “You’ll be stuck here for another week or so, and then you can choose what you want to do. We’ve got nothing on or against you anyway, so you can go your own way. Or whatever…anyway,” He looked more awkward than I felt at this point, and checked his chronometer with a sidelong glance. “I need to take my leave, though I must say it’s good to see that the person I picked up personally didn’t kick the bucket.”
Now that’s very kind of you…
He turned to leave.
“Hold on a minute.”
“Yes?”
“…Snake…that isn’t your real name, is it?”
He waved dismissively. “And if it isn’t?” And laughing (while provoking some irate responses for his outburst from the other occupants of the ward), he walked off, leaving me alone to my thoughts, and the stares of said other occupants. Not that I cared about them at all.
But now, what am I going to do? He’s right, in spite of how much I am cheesed off by his nonchalance in stating it. I don’t have anywhere left to go…but forwards, and even if I were to move forward, I need some sort of base. And all the questions that I still have, all the things that I still need to know…They still require some answering.
And perhaps…just perhaps, this organization of theirs holds the key. It sounds familiar to me. More familiar than anything else seems to, lately. And since I have no other leads to what has happened to me in the past, among other things…
…Why not?
Raising my hand, I clenched it, and spoke words I never knew I did.
“Ignite. Anathema,”
My palm itself turned black, and a ruby lightning crackled from it, dancing gracefully, a being with a vibrant life of its own, arcing around my outstretched arm.
…After all…this shall forge my way.
The question was, just how far would I go?
Spoiler for INTERLUDE: The Hound and the Snake:
To the untrained eye, this would have been the greatest bravura epitome of poseur-ism that the world had ever seen.
Nice, well maintained bikes? Check. Immaculately dressed guys in nice clean dressing, looking to snatch themselves some women? Check that two. Qualified, well-spoken guys who are good at small, smart talk and looking good for a swing? Check that. Out in public, and on a roll? Check. Revving down roads, winding around like the pros? Definitely.
No, this wasn’t a pimping field trip, or a crash course on joining the echelons of elite cadres in said occupation.
It was something that bore far more weight than the number of crushed hearts in Cranagan City, and something more difficult than going off for a spin with a lady in tow.
“It’s the Bloodhound and Boa show.”
I said it with a bit of gusto too, quite rare for me in times like this. Especially times like these, when people like us had to take the brunt of assignments from superiors who were, to say the least, occupied with other things.
“Fancy you saying that when we got that nickname at the worst ever of times…I hope you were joking.” My partner’s head, encased and hidden within a helmet though it was, failed to prevent me from feeling his frustration. And his brief touch of real anger.
A rare thing for either of us.
“It was just a joke, don’t mind me. I just need something to cheer us up as we go along.”
We continued to race down the highway, communicating remotely via the glowing touchpad in front of us. His avatar, a pair of hunting dogs crisscrossed on the Saint Church’s coat of arms, stared out at me as the voice carried through into my helmet, with subtitles on the HMD. Not that I needed it, but it was useful, especially when I got distracted.
“It had better be. Now, we have five minutes before I reach my destination, and so we’ve got to finish up the serious business fast.”
“Yes, sir.”
He shook his head. “Just start calling me Acous already, Ravenholm, damn it.”
“Sorry. Anyway, I’ll start first. Brigadier General Yagami’s assignment for us. It’s still on, isn’t it? In spite of my…our failure so far, I mean.”
“What failure? You two barely had time to get anything started, not to hardly measure talk about failure. Don’t worry about it…too much, Ash. It’s still on, and note that the deadline presses you from the shadows. The brass hates to wait.”
“Yeah, yeah, especially that good friend of yours for all his smile says about him. That cleverly deceiving smile runs in the family.”
Verossa sounded very amused on the other end. “Watch your words, you’d get court marshaled if I ever leaked what you say about people in our private chats. And anyway, you needn’t let it stress you too much.
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Honestly, I still feel bad about it, in spite of my usual self. I’m not stressed or anything as that’s not my style, but I can’t help but shake the feeling that I could have done something more, something more than giving the warning just on time…the feeling that if we could have turned the tide.
“Colossus, Autopilot. Plot route to Location TERRE.”
[Gotcha. Going on Handsfree.]
Now that left me some space to gesticulate, with my twin Device handling the gyroscope function for me.
“Acous, it’s not really me, or Tesla I’m worrying that much about. It’s you. You know what happened back there at the helipad landing area, and I’m sure you know about how it is now between them?”
I seemed to have hit home, although that wasn’t always a good thing between us. It was, luckily, not about to degenerate, not with us riding on those accident-prone (but cool) speeding coffins, even if either of us was angry.
“Never you mind, Ash, that’s my business…and theirs. I appreciate your concern, but I’m afraid that this is not something you should get your hands on too hastily for your own good. You could get burned.”
“Burned…hmmm?”
“Yes.”
I threw a hand up in the air, shifting my weight to prevent any unwanted swerving. “I’m too much of a cold fish for that. You of all people should know that I am.” Suddenly hearing his mild snicker on the other end, I almost regretted having shot my mouth off too early.
“Yeah, yeah, wait till I tell the old dude that, and let’s see you become the joke of the whole SI for a week.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Fine. Next topic?”
“Right.” He would have clapped his hands like a happy child if not for the fact that he couldn’t ride a motorbike hands-free. And sounded it too over the line, except even more artificially than the clapping…there was no way he could hide this form of anxiety from me, though I wouldn’t have any proof of it.
“Next up, and last up, actually, is something slightly less casual. I have some instructions for you that I left with the Blue Rose.”
“That again, huh.”
There went the rest of my week, if it wasn’t gone already.
“And unlike the last time, they’re not going to come cheap for you to follow them. I’m not sure how tough you’ll find it, but trust me in that this will be no walk in the park, even for you. And I have great faith in your abilities, as you might already know.”
“Thanks.” We pulled up just outside the headquarters, with Acous turning in, while I stayed out. Not my final destination of the day. After all, the night was still young. “No clues at all to what it might be?”
“Just one, if you beg.”
I put on my best, wheeler-dealer voice. “Oh yes, I’m begging you for just one tiny pathetic excuse for a clue…pretty please?”
“Ha. Very phony. Didn’t believe it for a moment, but I’ll just tell you it’s code name, although it’s not going to help you much: Scanner Sweep.”
I laughed, and stamped the acceleration pedal. “That’s a hell lot already.”
“As expected from you.”
“Thanks. Boa, out.” I flipped my HMD off, and unslung my helmet, strapping it onto the back of my left shoulder in the chaos of flying white hair, freed from the stuffy black prison.
It doesn’t look like anything’s going to end very soon. The situation in Seretoia will not be the end point in this little arc in history. It can only be a beginning, I can feel it. No prophecies have been made, no portents on the horizon. There was nothing that could prepare us for what has already happened.
And what will happen, the inevitable chaos that starts with such a flashpoint.
But whatever that is, I am not in any way personally hampered by this, although nonetheless the big picture will affect my role in it very severely. My job is my job, and no one screws with me on it. If they do, they can go to hell, known being or unknown being alike.
And on this particular job, I feel that it will certainly be a very invigorating experience indeed. I am looking forward to the challenge…
…Of rooting some moles out from their holes.
And of course, I would have some backup. Backup that I just made for myself a while back out of nothing.
But…good backup, nonetheless.
“Enigma, bring up the co-ordinates for location FABLE. I’m going to clean off my artillery pieces. Can’t sleep if I know they ain’t fixed good.”
[Affirmative, Sir. Any…secondary reasons?]
“Ah yes, of course. It’ll save me some time too.”
Looking for my Blue Rose.
Spoiler for Blade of Omen:
“As of now, the situation appears to have subsided, with the TSAB obtaining victory as predicted initially. However, due to the nature of the victory, we were able to complete Phase 1 of our plan, which means that we will be able to fight away the next time, and complete our little experiment, just to be sure, not to mention to rub salt into some wounds. How are things on your end? You remember that we expressly stated that nothing but top level efficiency was expected.”
“I understand that. However, it remains incomplete. My schedule is rather tight even without the inclusion of these…matters, which are-”
“So, to cut the line short, it isn’t done yet?”
“No, it isn’t. We’ll remain stuck at Phase 1 for a while yet, I’m afraid, no thanks to rather bad cleanup work on one end of the assignment, that resulted in the need for a recoup of logistic material, which will invariable take time.” I replied with a vague sense of irritation in my voice. It was the umpteenth time they had come to me with their requests of status reports, as well as those useless exhortations and even more laughable moral support.
“Are you suggesting that we are low on efficiency.”
“If yes, then what? I don’t see when asserting one’s innocence became a crime, lordling.”
“Fine, Successor, you win this round, but I warn you,” The commanding voice on the other end of the line stated flatly, “there will be consequences for you if you fail to meet the deadline of two weeks.”
Successor indeed. Without any proof of your age given, you act as though you could be my great-great-grand-something.
“Yes, I understand.”
“That had better be so.” The feed cut there, leaving me alone in my mild exasperation. Not that I really minded this unwarranted outbursts. It was, after all, a part of everyday life. Either put up, or shut up.
Not that any of it would change either. And not that I cared about it, too. Still, I had my own plans to turn to, plans that no one knew of.
Plans that, once set in motion, would set everything that I knew on the road to their doom.
They really have to be more patient with me, honestly. I mean, even I need a break sometime, though I don’t look like I ever get tired of doing this. Especially when I was working on something that they need that much. I literally have them hanging as rag-tag on my command tassel, for goodness sake, so I wonder why they act as though I am their rag-tag. Impertinence.
No less frustrating is their constant insistence on keeping tight deadlines on me, what with getting that program up and running in as inanely a short time as two weeks, as though they were commanding the genius of the century around. Not that I’m not a genius though, but there’s only so much one person can do behind enemy lines…
All the same, patience seems to be a virtue lost upon most of the people I seem to know. After all, they do not understand the complexity of these things that they order others to do, for all the wisdom and civilization that they profess to have in whatever matters their fickle minds deem fit. And what fools they are, thinking that they could subject me to their will, thinking that they’ve played the winning hand. Too bad there IS no winning hand at this card table…the winning hand belongs to the best man, and him only.
Even bigger fools are those buffoons who employ me, happily sitting on their precious contemplative behinds, twiddling their contemplative thumbs, thinking that I’m actually an honest member of their organization! What brilliance. Ignoramuses all, sitting higher than their real sense warrants. I snicker to think of the fact that even up till two weeks ago, they had the gall and the sheer lack of foresight to think that their situation on some godforsaken planet and it’s puny rebellion was under control. Well, they’ll be submitting a damage report some time soon, and I’ll get a heck of a laugh out of it.
Oh well, the entertainment of being of being the puppet master is to watch others attempt to play my role, is it not? Nothing befits the role of a mastermind more. They will soon see who is pulling the strings, though, and see the royal flush that I’d been hiding in my velvet gloves for all these ages. Not just the Bureau, and not just those idiots I’m working for, but all will see that in the end it is pointless to fight against a plan that could best the gods.
The gears have already begun turning…though admittedly this is the re-fueling point. Therefore, I shall, for now at least, bide my time in silence and have me some little games with those people while watching them act out the script I wrote, entertaining me suitably at least for a little as they play, rather literally, out my plotlines to the very last letter. Even though they may resist, and attempt to throw monkey wrenches into my plans, it is all pointless: Everything that they have attempted cannot shatter this construct that I have forged with my hands.
Patience, of course is key, though my body itches for the sound of the battlefield’s carnage once more. Thus were all the great kings made, but only at the appointed times, and so shall I wait. But the signs are clear…a new age must begin, a new order will replace the old.
And I shall–
“General.” The chirpy voice of my secretary broke in over the communication system, breaking my train of thoughts. At the worst of times too, as the good part was just coming along. All the same, however, official duties would be official duties.
Resigning myself to a temporary truce with my thoughts, I acknowledged the request.
“Yes?”
“Inspector Acous Verossa requests to see you, he says that it’s important, but it will be brief.”
And not a moment too soon, either, when I was just hoping to return to the normalcy of daydreaming over paperwork. Having that green-haired pretty boy around was a nice change, although that amount of variety came at the expense of my free time, which was little. “Yes, show him in.”
Ever I wonder what he has to say this time, the unpredictable piece of work that he is. Sometimes I cannot help but be fascinated these other people that I see around me… I swiveled in my rather opulent chair to face the visitor, the only articulate piece of furniture in my otherwise austere office, remnants of a former whimsical desire to create a healthy juxtaposition in my otherwise boring room, until I decided it was no longer necessary.
“Welcome, Inspector. I see that you are well. What news?” As if on cue, the inspector, effective head of the SI department as it stood, strode in, an immaculate white suit wrapped around his lithe, lanky figure, wearing his usual broad grin and aura of impeccability. As per normal, he was completely at ease with his surroundings, save for an unusual shadow in his eyes.
No doubt due to the same events that befell many other mages just a ways back. He must be looking one of the best among those that returned. Must be his job.
“Firstly, I’m not entirely well. I did, after all, sustain some extensive degree of injury in combat in an SnR mission. I believe you are aware of it.”
“Yes, it was rather high-profile, they seem to have had some stranded crack troops down there before you lot showed up and towed them off.”
Pretty risky it was too, if not for the heroics of those OFM snipers and that guy they called the Snake, it looked as though it would have been over in a heartbeat. But that doesn’t really matter…after all, it does provide more avenues for conflict between the two belligerents under my thumb, so why not?
“And…yes, you guessed true: I do have some things I want to show you, which I have to hand you personally, due to security reasons naturally. I’ll be brief about it, since I was given a tip-off on your schedule by your secretary just before she shoveled me into your office.”
Shoveled. An apt word, as always. I’ll be doing some shoveling of my own too. The shoveling of this era’s grave, that is.
“Your humor is as strangely good as always, Verossa. Not so your luck with women though.”
“Unfortunately so. However, I do have one in hand, and someone in mind.”
My eyebrows went up. “Two now, Verossa? I never knew you were into such things.”
“No, no…One, ‘Eclaire, one.” Acous winced somewhat while dismissing my suggestion with a rather sheepish wave of his hand.
“And who might that be, then?”
Acous grinned disarmingly like the eponymous Cheshire cat he was rumored to be, and fished in his coat for the appropriate item to pass to me. Like any good angler, he got a bite rather quickly, and handed it to me. “Well, I’ll be sure to send you a letter of notification when the church bells start ringing, just so that you stop worrying about dinner for once.”
“True, you speak to my heart. The nature of meals have always been a grave issue to me, and as you know, in all things grave style and not substance is the most important. Luckily, with your tastes you’ll spare me the trouble…” Removing the file at him, I noted the label of confidentiality on it. A sure sign of an interesting item. “…And this is?”
“This,” Acous stated with an air of pride that any father would have been shamed by, “is the result of a collaborative work between myself and Brigadier General Yagami. In short, for the top brass, this is just what the doctor ordered. We completed it slightly ahead of schedule, and on her suggestion we’re passing a short preview of sorts to certain members of the brass for their perusal, as well to make it open to comments before the actual presentation takes place next week.”
Oh, that? I’m surprised they actually finished it on time. It was supposed to be, according to a certain Admiral, a difficult job! ...Then again, considering the level at which those two have contacts, it shouldn’t be too shocking that they came through rather miraculously. I guess I shouldn’t even lift an eyebrow, then, if there are no shortage of big names in it, too.
“Excellent job. Maybe the next time we have a recruitment drive, you two could be our frontmen.” I paused. “And women.”
The Inspector laughed a little too casually for comfort. “Nah. I prefer to stick to my old job, but thanks for the offer.”
“Pertinent point.”
Acous laced his fingers together. “Also, I’ve thought of a…rather interesting name for this group.”
You never fail to surprise me, Acous Verossa, thinking up all the most unnecessary things at the strangest of times. Still, I don’t mind hearing it, so long as the name is good.
“Alright then, let’s here it.”
“I looked at the tentative member roster, and there is only one thing, in my opinion, that it could possibly be called: Task Force Serpent.”
A rather cheesy name, but it had a fine ring to it that no one could possibly ignore.
Acous cleared his throat, signaling the end of the small talk. “And that is more or less all I have to say. The rest of the details concerning said group is documented within the report itself, and can be read at your leisure, at least until next week. After all, I should not be detaining you any longer.”
“That means you’re requesting permission to leave the scene, yes?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“At your leisure then, Inspector.”
Acous nodded briefly. “Thank you, sir.” The sliding doors closed my office off to the world once more with their gentle hissing sound. Slowly, I peeled the seals of the file, noting from the amount that went into the nearby waste bin that there were a few barriers to many on it. Leafing through the appropriate documents swiftly, I pondered some of the more interesting morsels of information.
The Serpent. The ancient symbol of intelligence, corrupt and arcane wisdom…and deceptions. What an apt name for this small little group, which will answer to almost no one in the TSAB once it is fully grown, even if those that conceived the idea and created it have no idea what this particular brood of vipers can accomplish.
They are bound to make a big splash though. Exactly why I have chosen them. Chosen them to be my unwittingly clever automatons, who will benefit this cause of mine most suitably, as much as I predict that they will attempt to oppose the work of my hands.
As the classic saying goes, “they shall serve me well.”
Lifting my hand to the ceiling, I imagined the multitudes of the celestial bodies hanging in the void of space, thousands upon thousands of them, through the keyhole of my outstretched palm, the slender gaps between those fingers of mine.
Just two weeks ago, the first step towards this destruction was taken: An armed uprising that cost the TSAB their security, some of their power, and many lives. They will soon find that much of what they once knew to be true were all a pack of lies, but it will be too late: Their purpose, and their role in this scheme can only be realized fully in their wrack and utter ruination, much like many others that have preceded them, and the many that will soon follow.
Though the campaign on Seretoia may have ended in victory, it is but still a baby step…perhaps, shall we say that it was an incomplete step due to their victory. I look forward to seeing the whole thing play out, with them cast in the role of the tragic hero, already doomed to defeat but still fighting on to the end of their road, in which nothing awaits them but destruction: The epitome of heroism, and the apex of folly all at the same time.
…Look out below, mortals, and behold the sight…the zenith of an era has come…
…And the dawn of a new one approaches.
Spoiler for Final Lines:
The slumbering have awoken.
The curtain has lifted, as the die is cast on all sides.
The flames of ambition, honor and revenge burn high...
Their pillars licking upon the spires of heaven.
This shall be a time for crimson scars.
A time for the end of many things.
A time for the age of violent gods...
And those who will to surpass them...
And those who will stand up and resist, to fight them.
Come now, the time has come for crimson scars, for flashing weapons; the time for cold steel to meet cold steel, as blazing hearts meet blazing hearts in embrace of battle.
Come now, for courage, for honor, for love, for happiness, for sorrow, for all that one desires to protect, possess, and destroy.
Come...for the gold crown of victory, or the iron crown of defeat.
For the beginning of a new era forged from the hellfire flames of war.
Spoiler for Author's notes::
Yeah, the Final Lines were much more serious than those three. I realized that in first person views I tend to lapse too much into leaning towards the stream of consciousness writing style, which isn't too good all the time, though it sort of worked here.
The third person actual thing is going to be a lot more formal, though there should be some funny in it. That is the advantage of third-person narrative, perhaps, the ease of bringing out dramatic tension. Oh well. Whatever it is, I hope to write faster in the future.
Just wanna say GOOD JOB, for this definitely works! Now there's a Yuunoha version (SaintX and mine) AND a Fate/Nanoha version (Mercurial and Satashi-sama's) for the Nanohaverse. :3
Last but not least...
NATZURU HAWT YURI RABU FTW!!!
Kha-chan, you can't link your live preview you have to link the story itself. Anything from FF.N with "Secure" in the URL is only available from your log in session
Mercurial? Notion to have her name changed to Angel-sama!
All right, I give. I missed a lot in my study week, definitely.
But all the same, I can't say I did nothing...
*whistles and drops his package*
It's got a bit too much OC in it, but there's still some familiarity in it, so yeah, well.
First Nanoha Fic Post. Hooray. Many happy returns. Though normally I'm pretty sleepy when I post this stuff
Spoiler for Title:
Zenith of Eternity Part I: The Wings of the Storm
Spoiler for The Forgotten Wanderer:
The feeling came upon me once more, stronger than ever, an asphyxiating smog that settled ominously, reminding me of my impending fate. Choking on my thoughts and the air within me, I struggled once more to keep going. To live, for just a while more.
Just a while more.
Is there no more time? Is it over for me? ...Ah, the wait agonizes…
My whole body felt light, almost non-existent…my limbs were slowly fading before my eyes. Just three hours ago, I had ceased to be able to touch anything material, and now, I constantly stared into a body seemingly made of a translucent ether, the sight of my eyes piercing through to that tiny device, that organ within me that was keeping me going.
And that was now slowly failing on me. Soon, there would be nothing left of the person called…
…What was my name again?
Of all things, to forget that. But that was ages ago, and there was no point in thinking about that now.
But the issue remained. I was about to die. I could feel it in my bones, and the cold that seeped through them, cutting through me like blades, blades through an empty heart and a lost mind. My only hope lay before me, lying amid those rags, the sole survivor of a deadly exchange of fire amid the urban ruins which I had wandered in for ages unknown.
The odds were stacked against survival…she herself was on the edge of life. But yet I had to hold out some hope. There was no choice left in the matter.
It was now, or never.
“Unh…”
She was alive after all. One doubt down…many more to go. In a process of such sensitivity, there still remained many links of doubt. They, I had to ignore. If I was ever to live, there would be no more space for doubt.
There is a way out…if only…
The girl in front of me finally stirred, her eyelids riveting in a mix of pain and fatigue, doing their utmost to open. Stirring up a minor storm in the makeshift blanket, nothing but a pile of rags which were thankfully cleaner than the rest, she balanced barely on an undamaged elbow.
She was young, and a lustrous head of blonde hair, matted though it was, fell with a strange sort of grace about her shoulders. And that look in those eyes, they haunted me strangely, reminded me of something.
A thought flashed through my mind. The same one as when we first met…
…If only you would agree…Alic- wait, who was that?
I could no longer remember a lot of things…and I kept forgetting a lot of things that I remembered. There was a pocket watch lying around somewhere, but it was missing two hands, so it was pretty much useless. Apart from that there was little to give me any sense of anything.
“Gahg…” She attempted, unsuccessfully to get up. Foolishly, I forgot myself and attempted to touch her, and promptly stuck my ethereal limb through her arm. An awkward silence ensued, as both of us started at the sight of the other’s face.
Don’t move. You’re already pretty badly off as it stands.
“Whu…what…does that mean…” She got her reply almost immediately, as she started to cough, barely having time to cover her mouth. Pulling away, she stared mutely into her outstretched palm, as though comprehending the level of trouble she was in. Her hand had came away red.
Since she’d found out, there was no point hiding it anymore. I’ll just be blunt. You’re very near death.
“How much time…have I got?...”
I shook my head. I had already looked it over countless times, but there seemed no way out for her, either. All the more important her consent became.
Not long. We will not live to see tomorrow.
She looked a little surprised. “We?”
I removed my cloak, showing her my see-through arms, uncovered by the clothes, and the bitter smile that I wore. They looked even worse for the wear then five minutes earlier, a clear indication of the increasing rate of the already rapid corruption that had plagued me for unknown lengths of time.
Merely a shadow of my old self…whatever it was.
This is not a person who is healthy and well, is it?
The girl looked away.
“I guess…not-UGHN!” Her pale face suddenly contorted in nightmarish pain, as a red stain grew under the bandages that swathed her stomach area. The wounds were re-opening, despite my efforts.
She rasped the words out, painfully. “Will I die here? I don’t wanna-die!”
Don’t want to die…
That sentiment resonated within me. Would I, too, die here, lost and forgotten to all who ever knew me? That was the last thing I wanted.
But I was helpless. My life as I knew it was in the fragile hands of another dying person.
There is something we can do…If we both want to live.
“We can live through this?”
If you would agree, then take my hand, and be one with me. Then, we can both live. I can save you, if only you would save me…But beware, there is a price to pay for life. We will not remember everything of our past lives once we are one, and I do not know if we will ever regain them. Are you willing to pay this price for an escape from death?
The blonde lifted her eyes to meet my gaze, a growing determination within them.
“To live…”
Yes, to live. To regain all that which we have lost, and gain more besides by living on…that is what both of us wish for, no?
“…Yes, I wish to live. I will live.”
I was stunned.
But why would you give your memories away so cheaply? Would you not prefer to die remembering everything, than live with nothing?
The young lady smiled, filling my eyes with a strangely peaceful, serene presence. She had obviously already made her choice, even though she knew that there was no more turning back, and she knew the cost. “That is alright…for if I die, then I would have lost everything. It is perhaps better this way, instead.”
With those words…with only those words from her mouth, she had lightened my heart’s burden infinitely. More than she, or I could ever comprehend.
Then…take my hand. This hand that will save both of us. Take it.
And thus we reached out, both of us, to the one who could save us. The world seemed to be a whirling vortex, as a strange sensation washed over me, filling me with its presence, and its confusion.
[TEPES SYSTEM BOOTUP.] The synchronization system flipped on with a low whine in my head. The product of circumstances which I was unclear of, it would allow me to completely meld soul and body with another. Not in the form of parasitism, but symbiosis, even perhaps mutualism, I knew it not.
I felt myself being pulled into something at a speed I could not comprehend, like being sucked into unknown deep depths: I was free-falling through her mind, a plain of blackness unending…with an ever-nearing light at the end of the tunnel. Rushing through into the warming glow of a false sun, images, suspended in artificial stasis like bubbles, passed me by, flashed through my mind as I feel through her, through everything that was her. Some seemed more coherent than others, while there were some that were completely disjointed, scattered puzzle pieces in a broken picture.
A picture that I had come into inheritance of.
That we would both have to endure for a time.
[TEPES SYSTEM – LOADED WITH 13% PERSONA ALPHA ERROR.]
This is…the synchronization system’s name? Funny thing, I never checked to see what it was.
Two voices spoke in that, no longer separated. It wasn’t me thinking anymore. I could feel her confusion, and my own shreds of memories filling up some of those gaps. I was no longer alone in this void that was a person’s mind and soul.
It was US now.
[SYNCHRONIZATION CAP AT 40%.]
Soul Synchronisation Cap of 40%. A very high number, for a first try, almost impossibly high. I have never in my life seen a higher count than this…how am I related to this girl? Is there some fate between us?...No matter, that can wait till later. For now, I must repair her confused psyche.
[ADMIN FIRST TO PERSONA BETA, PERSONA ALPHA SWITCH TO ‘REPAIR’ COMMAND…COMPLETED.]
My vision refocused slowly, now painfully aware of the stinging sunlight, which an unfamiliar hand shielded on reflex. Where before was ethereal imperviousness to the weather, now was a frozen heat amid the dusty sands of an unknown planet. A vast plain sprawled itself before bleary eyes as I took in my first sense of the environment in a long time.
A body at last.
[UPLOADING SPELL MEMORY…SPELL MEMORY IS 20% CORRUPT. REQUESTING ADMIN TEST FIRE.]
As if on cue, my left hand crackled to life with energy. Duly following the voice’s request, I threw my hand out lazily, sending the bolt of energy lancing outward towards a nearby rock, shattering it into tiny pieces. Her magic potential was obviously very high, only that much of her battle memory seemed to have been lost.
[TESTING AUTOGUARD.]
A transparent shield opened up around me as the stray pieces broke against it like water on rock. Nonetheless, they failed to make an opening in the barrier.
[PRELIMINARY TEST SEQUENCE COMPLETED. TEPES SYSTEM…SHUTDOWN IN 10. SETTING BODY FUNCTION TO REPAIR.]
Wait, why-
I suddenly dropped onto one knee, and my vision swam, my body attempting to comprehend the sudden seeming betrayal. And then I knew my folly, in doing exactly what had advised another against.
Shit. I forgot this person was injured…I overstrained her body with that spell.
[ADMIN SECOND SWITCHED TO PERSONA BETA.]
Isn’t there something I need to know?
I struggled to find the question in the chaos of dots that surrounded my darkening eyes. The thought had hit me out of the blue, like a bombshell. In the amount of time I had left before everything went black, there was something I had to ask.
Pray…tell me…who am I?
[PROCESSING REQUEST TO DATABANK…ONE MATCH FOUND.]
The answer stared me down face to face, proclaiming its truth to the audience of one. And what a pleased audience it was.
Ahh…is that so…That’s one question down, and now to the many more that await…they can themselves wait for another time, hmm?
[COMMENCING SHUTDOWN…10…]
[9…8…7…]
I could no longer see anything, and all thought seemed so distant, so wistful. Just like dreaming, save that these were the first good dreams for a time lost to my memory.
For I know who I am, and nothing else matters for now.
[4…3…2…]
I chuckled inwardly, for the first time looking forward to a tomorrow. If I would get one in the first place. There was still that measure of uncertainty: Was I certain I would survive this?
This shutdown – makes a person real sleepy, now doesn’t it.
[1…0…]
[SHUTDOWN COMPLETE.]
---------------------------------------------
A strange feeling crawls through me. I wake to the low mechanized rhythm of beeps, stemming from some unknown source.
[TEPES SYSTEM…REBOOT…COMPLETED WITH MARGINAL ERROR.]
Where is this?
“…picked up…thought…check this out…”
“What…say?”
Two voices conversing in the background. I am not alone, apparently.
“She…the hell she is-”
I appear to have survived the initial ordeal, somehow. My hearing seems to be warped in some strange way, filtering out parts of other’s sentences when I don’t need them to. Is this a side effect of the synchronization? Everything seems garbled in some strange way, blocked by some unknown…
[WARNING…PERIPHERAL SENSORY SYSTEMS ARE DAMAGED.]
I can tell already…What happened to me?
Hey. A thought pervades my mind, soothing and gentle in tone…and yet there is something harder, colder under it. You’re fine now, although your five senses seem a little messed up right now, so I’ll communicate like this. For your first question…
A sound like laughter breaks out on the other end. Please enlighten me.
…How would you like to know that you’re in a helo, and somewhere in the air?
A strange answer. Yet I have remembered feeling stranger, and so this is perhaps not so foreign. Some other thoughts start popping in. I cannot really comprehend them all, my mind seems to have slowed down a little.
Yeah, and well, we’re the lads from the TSAB. We just picked you off this place…we’ve got no idea what you’re doing here. Seriously, it’s such a hell of a mess it’s a miracle we actually found someone in there, you know?
The mention of the name seems to strike a chord within me, strangely. I must have known it in another time, before I began to forget. Like many other things.
Well, neither did I.
Your body has taken some severe levels of damage, quite critical as a matter of fact, so I’d advise that you not put too much physical or mental stress on yourself as yet. It would be better for you to simply stay put and have yourself a nice good break. We tried our worst to patch you up, but well, that’s the best we can do for now. You’ve been through a lot, as far as we can see…
Glad you-
[EMERGENCY SWITCH TO SAFE MODE.]
My vision darkens again, worse than when it started off. My head swims, and mustering thought seems to prove a grave challenge all of a sudden. Apparently, I reckon bitterly, just that puny amount of thought proved enough to knock my reserves to a flatline. I feel sick inside. A really strange, queasy sort of feeling.
The voice comes again, never really finishing what it meant to say. Hey wait, you there-?
[WARNING: SAFE MODE IS CORRUPT. SAFE MODE I-]
I fade out.
---------------------------------------------
And…um, you seem to be awake again. Hello.
[TEPES SYSTEM…RESTORE.]
Midchilda to you, Midchilda to you, do you read me?
[RECOVERY SUCESSFUL.]
The voice. Talking to me again, except this time coupled with an image. Though blurred, I can make out that he’s wearing black, and his hair white as the snow, with clear blue eyes…Looked awfully familiar somehow.
He decided to speak, instead of “think” into my head, this time. “You’re up. That’s good.”
My hearing…Where-
He stopped me with an outstretched palm. Had I asked this question before? “We’re still in the air in a helo, but we’ll be touching down shortly, young lady. It appears you knocked out at a timely moment, we were enduring some levels of turbulence.”
Turbu-what?
“Turbulence. It means we ran through some wind that shook us up rather badly. Nothing hurt withal though, so it’s all good for now. Anyway.” He leaned in closer. “What’s your name? Mine’s ‘Snake’, yeah, just ‘Snake’…and I just saved your ass.”
That was rather surprising, not to mention an awkward moment for him to introduce himself. All the same, a return of courtesy was in order for one’s rescuer.
Mine’s Al-
“Sir, we are landing.”
He winced a little sheepishly. “Oops. No time now. Hold on to your hat now, vertical landing is quite a ride.”
I don’t think I have one.
“That’s pretty sad, I reckon. It’s fun to have something to hold onto. For me, it’s my coat.” He said, as he wrapped said item around himself. The vertical landing seemed to be shifting my stomach a lot. There’s…a sick feeling in there.
“Hang on, though, we’re almost at the ground.” A large yellow ‘H’ on the ground.
That’s ‘H’ for ‘helicopter’, I’m hoping.
He laughs, amused. “No, no…it’s ‘H’ for ‘helicopter…pad.’” The helicopter landed amid huge wisps of wind, and another jump in my insides.
Then the feeling came upon me once more, stronger than ever, an asphyxiating smog that settled ominously, reminding me of my impending fate. Choking on my thoughts and the air within me, I had a feeling of déjà vu like never before…
“Mother?”
A familiar voice. Definitely female. Who?
“Mother?”
She was young, and a lustrous head of blonde hair, matted though it was, fell with a strange sort of grace about her shoulders. And that look in those eyes, they haunted me strangely, reminded me of something.
Red eyes, like the color of blood.
And she was calling…me. Calling me mother.
Who are you? I’m your mother? What the hell- Too many questions. Too little time. I can not process all these thoughts, emotions at once. Still not used to it at all-
[WARNING. TEPES SYSTEM SAFE MODE…MEMORY OVERLOAD.]
She moved towards me. No, she ran, another familiar sight.
“Mother? Is that you? I’m-”
Snake’s voice again. “Hey, one woman down here, could you-”
My eyes bugged. My brain raced to find matches. Links. Anything.
[TEPES SYSTEM CRITICAL. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM OVERPROCESSING DURING RECOVERY.]
Nothing.You are-
The answer stared me down face to face, proclaiming its truth to the audience of one.
[EMERGENCY-]
-No! Impossible!
I fade out.
---------------------------------------------
“You really have to stop blacking out on us, you know?”
Again, waking to that strange skin-crawling silence, punctuated by again those beeping sounds from bizarre contraptions. They probably seemed normal to everyone else, though at least I know where I am: This is a hospital ward. Blank, white walls, long halls, rows of beds, and-
“You still there?”
I turn to the left. The same fellow from the helo…his name…Snake. I surprise myself by actually remembering something after a prolonged period of time. There was another one of those silences, those strange awkward periods where neither of us spoke.
He broke the silence first with a drawn sigh.
“To be honest, we’re not sure what we’re going to do with you either. We don’t have the foggiest idea who you are, and you don’t remember anything apart from your name, which you were about to tell me before the turbulence, and then that little scene stopped me. Ah yes, and speaking of which, what was your name again?”
“Alemantas. Alemantas Zanber…What was that girl’s name again? The one I met when we landed.”
The man called snake tapped his chin lightly. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you her name, Miss Zanber. You can’t know that yet. Or should I say you simply shouldn’t know, either?”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“That is…another thing that I can’t tell you.”
Roadblocks to my questions. Just when I didn’t need them again, too. “So what am I going to do now?”
He shrugged, but without any air of nonchalance. It was purely a sign of self-admitted ignorance.
“You’re recovering surprisingly quickly, though we don’t have the equipment to check why, yet. So,” He did the sums briefly in his head. “You’ll be stuck here for another week or so, and then you can choose what you want to do. We’ve got nothing on or against you anyway, so you can go your own way. Or whatever…anyway,” He looked more awkward than I felt at this point, and checked his chronometer with a sidelong glance. “I need to take my leave, though I must say it’s good to see that the person I picked up personally didn’t kick the bucket.”
Now that’s very kind of you…
He turned to leave.
“Hold on a minute.”
“Yes?”
“…Snake…that isn’t your real name, is it?”
He waved dismissively. “And if it isn’t?” And laughing (while provoking some irate responses for his outburst from the other occupants of the ward), he walked off, leaving me alone to my thoughts, and the stares of said other occupants. Not that I cared about them at all.
But now, what am I going to do? He’s right, in spite of how much I am cheesed off by his nonchalance in stating it. I don’t have anywhere left to go…but forwards, and even if I were to move forward, I need some sort of base. And all the questions that I still have, all the things that I still need to know…They still require some answering.
And perhaps…just perhaps, this organization of theirs holds the key. It sounds familiar to me. More familiar than anything else seems to, lately. And since I have no other leads to what has happened to me in the past, among other things…
…Why not?
Raising my hand, I clenched it, and spoke words I never knew I did.
“Ignite. Anathema,”
My palm itself turned black, and a ruby lightning crackled from it, dancing gracefully, a being with a vibrant life of its own, arcing around my outstretched arm.
…After all…this shall forge my way.
The question was, just how far would I go?
Spoiler for INTERLUDE: The Hound and the Snake:
To the untrained eye, this would have been the greatest bravura epitome of poseur-ism that the world had ever seen.
Nice, well maintained bikes? Check. Immaculately dressed guys in nice clean dressing, looking to snatch themselves some women? Check that two. Qualified, well-spoken guys who are good at small, smart talk and looking good for a swing? Check that. Out in public, and on a roll? Check. Revving down roads, winding around like the pros? Definitely.
No, this wasn’t a pimping field trip, or a crash course on joining the echelons of elite cadres in said occupation.
It was something that bore far more weight than the number of crushed hearts in Cranagan City, and something more difficult than going off for a spin with a lady in tow.
“It’s the Bloodhound and Boa show.”
I said it with a bit of gusto too, quite rare for me in times like this. Especially times like these, when people like us had to take the brunt of assignments from superiors who were, to say the least, occupied with other things.
“Fancy you saying that when we got that nickname at the worst ever of times…I hope you were joking.” My partner’s head, encased and hidden within a helmet though it was, failed to prevent me from feeling his frustration. And his brief touch of real anger.
A rare thing for either of us.
“It was just a joke, don’t mind me. I just need something to cheer us up as we go along.”
We continued to race down the highway, communicating remotely via the glowing touchpad in front of us. His avatar, a pair of hunting dogs crisscrossed on the Saint Church’s coat of arms, stared out at me as the voice carried through into my helmet, with subtitles on the HMD. Not that I needed it, but it was useful, especially when I got distracted.
“It had better be. Now, we have five minutes before I reach my destination, and so we’ve got to finish up the serious business fast.”
“Yes, sir.”
He shook his head. “Just start calling me Acous already, Ravenholm, damn it.”
“Sorry. Anyway, I’ll start first. Brigadier General Yagami’s assignment for us. It’s still on, isn’t it? In spite of my…our failure so far, I mean.”
“What failure? You two barely had time to get anything started, not to hardly measure talk about failure. Don’t worry about it…too much, Ash. It’s still on, and note that the deadline presses you from the shadows. The brass hates to wait.”
“Yeah, yeah, especially that good friend of yours for all his smile says about him. That cleverly deceiving smile runs in the family.”
Verossa sounded very amused on the other end. “Watch your words, you’d get court marshaled if I ever leaked what you say about people in our private chats. And anyway, you needn’t let it stress you too much.
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Honestly, I still feel bad about it, in spite of my usual self. I’m not stressed or anything as that’s not my style, but I can’t help but shake the feeling that I could have done something more, something more than giving the warning just on time…the feeling that if we could have turned the tide.
“Colossus, Autopilot. Plot route to Location TERRE.”
[Gotcha. Going on Handsfree.]
Now that left me some space to gesticulate, with my twin Device handling the gyroscope function for me.
“Acous, it’s not really me, or Tesla I’m worrying that much about. It’s you. You know what happened back there at the helipad landing area, and I’m sure you know about how it is now between them?”
I seemed to have hit home, although that wasn’t always a good thing between us. It was, luckily, not about to degenerate, not with us riding on those accident-prone (but cool) speeding coffins, even if either of us was angry.
“Never you mind, Ash, that’s my business…and theirs. I appreciate your concern, but I’m afraid that this is not something you should get your hands on too hastily for your own good. You could get burned.”
“Burned…hmmm?”
“Yes.”
I threw a hand up in the air, shifting my weight to prevent any unwanted swerving. “I’m too much of a cold fish for that. You of all people should know that I am.” Suddenly hearing his mild snicker on the other end, I almost regretted having shot my mouth off too early.
“Yeah, yeah, wait till I tell the old dude that, and let’s see you become the joke of the whole SI for a week.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Fine. Next topic?”
“Right.” He would have clapped his hands like a happy child if not for the fact that he couldn’t ride a motorbike hands-free. And sounded it too over the line, except even more artificially than the clapping…there was no way he could hide this form of anxiety from me, though I wouldn’t have any proof of it.
“Next up, and last up, actually, is something slightly less casual. I have some instructions for you that I left with the Blue Rose.”
“That again, huh.”
There went the rest of my week, if it wasn’t gone already.
“And unlike the last time, they’re not going to come cheap for you to follow them. I’m not sure how tough you’ll find it, but trust me in that this will be no walk in the park, even for you. And I have great faith in your abilities, as you might already know.”
“Thanks.” We pulled up just outside the headquarters, with Acous turning in, while I stayed out. Not my final destination of the day. After all, the night was still young. “No clues at all to what it might be?”
“Just one, if you beg.”
I put on my best, wheeler-dealer voice. “Oh yes, I’m begging you for just one tiny pathetic excuse for a clue…pretty please?”
“Ha. Very phony. Didn’t believe it for a moment, but I’ll just tell you it’s code name, although it’s not going to help you much: Scanner Sweep.”
I laughed, and stamped the acceleration pedal. “That’s a hell lot already.”
“As expected from you.”
“Thanks. Boa, out.” I flipped my HMD off, and unslung my helmet, strapping it onto the back of my left shoulder in the chaos of flying white hair, freed from the stuffy black prison.
It doesn’t look like anything’s going to end very soon. The situation in Seretoia will not be the end point in this little arc in history. It can only be a beginning, I can feel it. No prophecies have been made, no portents on the horizon. There was nothing that could prepare us for what has already happened.
And what will happen, the inevitable chaos that starts with such a flashpoint.
But whatever that is, I am not in any way personally hampered by this, although nonetheless the big picture will affect my role in it very severely. My job is my job, and no one screws with me on it. If they do, they can go to hell, known being or unknown being alike.
And on this particular job, I feel that it will certainly be a very invigorating experience indeed. I am looking forward to the challenge…
…Of rooting some moles out from their holes.
And of course, I would have some backup. Backup that I just made for myself a while back out of nothing.
But…good backup, nonetheless.
“Enigma, bring up the co-ordinates for location FABLE. I’m going to clean off my artillery pieces. Can’t sleep if I know they ain’t fixed good.”
[Affirmative, Sir. Any…secondary reasons?]
“Ah yes, of course. It’ll save me some time too.”
Looking for my Blue Rose.
Spoiler for Blade of Omen:
“As of now, the situation appears to have subsided, with the TSAB obtaining victory as predicted initially. However, due to the nature of the victory, we were able to complete Phase 1 of our plan, which means that we will be able to fight away the next time, and complete our little experiment, just to be sure, not to mention to rub salt into some wounds. How are things on your end? You remember that we expressly stated that nothing but top level efficiency was expected.”
“I understand that. However, it remains incomplete. My schedule is rather tight even without the inclusion of these…matters, which are-”
“So, to cut the line short, it isn’t done yet?”
“No, it isn’t. We’ll remain stuck at Phase 1 for a while yet, I’m afraid, no thanks to rather bad cleanup work on one end of the assignment, that resulted in the need for a recoup of logistic material, which will invariable take time.” I replied with a vague sense of irritation in my voice. It was the umpteenth time they had come to me with their requests of status reports, as well as those useless exhortations and even more laughable moral support.
“Are you suggesting that we are low on efficiency.”
“If yes, then what? I don’t see when asserting one’s innocence became a crime, lordling.”
“Fine, Successor, you win this round, but I warn you,” The commanding voice on the other end of the line stated flatly, “there will be consequences for you if you fail to meet the deadline of two weeks.”
Successor indeed. Without any proof of your age given, you act as though you could be my great-great-grand-something.
“Yes, I understand.”
“That had better be so.” The feed cut there, leaving me alone in my mild exasperation. Not that I really minded this unwarranted outbursts. It was, after all, a part of everyday life. Either put up, or shut up.
Not that any of it would change either. And not that I cared about it, too. Still, I had my own plans to turn to, plans that no one knew of.
Plans that, once set in motion, would set everything that I knew on the road to their doom.
They really have to be more patient with me, honestly. I mean, even I need a break sometime, though I don’t look like I ever get tired of doing this. Especially when I was working on something that they need that much. I literally have them hanging as rag-tag on my command tassel, for goodness sake, so I wonder why they act as though I am their rag-tag. Impertinence.
No less frustrating is their constant insistence on keeping tight deadlines on me, what with getting that program up and running in as inanely a short time as two weeks, as though they were commanding the genius of the century around. Not that I’m not a genius though, but there’s only so much one person can do behind enemy lines…
All the same, patience seems to be a virtue lost upon most of the people I seem to know. After all, they do not understand the complexity of these things that they order others to do, for all the wisdom and civilization that they profess to have in whatever matters their fickle minds deem fit. And what fools they are, thinking that they could subject me to their will, thinking that they’ve played the winning hand. Too bad there IS no winning hand at this card table…the winning hand belongs to the best man, and him only.
Even bigger fools are those buffoons who employ me, happily sitting on their precious contemplative behinds, twiddling their contemplative thumbs, thinking that I’m actually an honest member of their organization! What brilliance. Ignoramuses all, sitting higher than their real sense warrants. I snicker to think of the fact that even up till two weeks ago, they had the gall and the sheer lack of foresight to think that their situation on some godforsaken planet and it’s puny rebellion was under control. Well, they’ll be submitting a damage report some time soon, and I’ll get a heck of a laugh out of it.
Oh well, the entertainment of being of being the puppet master is to watch others attempt to play my role, is it not? Nothing befits the role of a mastermind more. They will soon see who is pulling the strings, though, and see the royal flush that I’d been hiding in my velvet gloves for all these ages. Not just the Bureau, and not just those idiots I’m working for, but all will see that in the end it is pointless to fight against a plan that could best the gods.
The gears have already begun turning…though admittedly this is the re-fueling point. Therefore, I shall, for now at least, bide my time in silence and have me some little games with those people while watching them act out the script I wrote, entertaining me suitably at least for a little as they play, rather literally, out my plotlines to the very last letter. Even though they may resist, and attempt to throw monkey wrenches into my plans, it is all pointless: Everything that they have attempted cannot shatter this construct that I have forged with my hands.
Patience, of course is key, though my body itches for the sound of the battlefield’s carnage once more. Thus were all the great kings made, but only at the appointed times, and so shall I wait. But the signs are clear…a new age must begin, a new order will replace the old.
And I shall–
“General.” The chirpy voice of my secretary broke in over the communication system, breaking my train of thoughts. At the worst of times too, as the good part was just coming along. All the same, however, official duties would be official duties.
Resigning myself to a temporary truce with my thoughts, I acknowledged the request.
“Yes?”
“Inspector Acous Verossa requests to see you, he says that it’s important, but it will be brief.”
And not a moment too soon, either, when I was just hoping to return to the normalcy of daydreaming over paperwork. Having that green-haired pretty boy around was a nice change, although that amount of variety came at the expense of my free time, which was little. “Yes, show him in.”
Ever I wonder what he has to say this time, the unpredictable piece of work that he is. Sometimes I cannot help but be fascinated these other people that I see around me… I swiveled in my rather opulent chair to face the visitor, the only articulate piece of furniture in my otherwise austere office, remnants of a former whimsical desire to create a healthy juxtaposition in my otherwise boring room, until I decided it was no longer necessary.
“Welcome, Inspector. I see that you are well. What news?” As if on cue, the inspector, effective head of the SI department as it stood, strode in, an immaculate white suit wrapped around his lithe, lanky figure, wearing his usual broad grin and aura of impeccability. As per normal, he was completely at ease with his surroundings, save for an unusual shadow in his eyes.
No doubt due to the same events that befell many other mages just a ways back. He must be looking one of the best among those that returned. Must be his job.
“Firstly, I’m not entirely well. I did, after all, sustain some extensive degree of injury in combat in an SnR mission. I believe you are aware of it.”
“Yes, it was rather high-profile, they seem to have had some stranded crack troops down there before you lot showed up and towed them off.”
Pretty risky it was too, if not for the heroics of those OFM snipers and that guy they called the Snake, it looked as though it would have been over in a heartbeat. But that doesn’t really matter…after all, it does provide more avenues for conflict between the two belligerents under my thumb, so why not?
“And…yes, you guessed true: I do have some things I want to show you, which I have to hand you personally, due to security reasons naturally. I’ll be brief about it, since I was given a tip-off on your schedule by your secretary just before she shoveled me into your office.”
Shoveled. An apt word, as always. I’ll be doing some shoveling of my own too. The shoveling of this era’s grave, that is.
“Your humor is as strangely good as always, Verossa. Not so your luck with women though.”
“Unfortunately so. However, I do have one in hand, and someone in mind.”
My eyebrows went up. “Two now, Verossa? I never knew you were into such things.”
“No, no…One, ‘Eclaire, one.” Acous winced somewhat while dismissing my suggestion with a rather sheepish wave of his hand.
“And who might that be, then?”
Acous grinned disarmingly like the eponymous Cheshire cat he was rumored to be, and fished in his coat for the appropriate item to pass to me. Like any good angler, he got a bite rather quickly, and handed it to me. “Well, I’ll be sure to send you a letter of notification when the church bells start ringing, just so that you stop worrying about dinner for once.”
“True, you speak to my heart. The nature of meals have always been a grave issue to me, and as you know, in all things grave style and not substance is the most important. Luckily, with your tastes you’ll spare me the trouble…” Removing the file at him, I noted the label of confidentiality on it. A sure sign of an interesting item. “…And this is?”
“This,” Acous stated with an air of pride that any father would have been shamed by, “is the result of a collaborative work between myself and Brigadier General Yagami. In short, for the top brass, this is just what the doctor ordered. We completed it slightly ahead of schedule, and on her suggestion we’re passing a short preview of sorts to certain members of the brass for their perusal, as well to make it open to comments before the actual presentation takes place next week.”
Oh, that? I’m surprised they actually finished it on time. It was supposed to be, according to a certain Admiral, a difficult job! ...Then again, considering the level at which those two have contacts, it shouldn’t be too shocking that they came through rather miraculously. I guess I shouldn’t even lift an eyebrow, then, if there are no shortage of big names in it, too.
“Excellent job. Maybe the next time we have a recruitment drive, you two could be our frontmen.” I paused. “And women.”
The Inspector laughed a little too casually for comfort. “Nah. I prefer to stick to my old job, but thanks for the offer.”
“Pertinent point.”
Acous laced his fingers together. “Also, I’ve thought of a…rather interesting name for this group.”
You never fail to surprise me, Acous Verossa, thinking up all the most unnecessary things at the strangest of times. Still, I don’t mind hearing it, so long as the name is good.
“Alright then, let’s here it.”
“I looked at the tentative member roster, and there is only one thing, in my opinion, that it could possibly be called: Task Force Serpent.”
A rather cheesy name, but it had a fine ring to it that no one could possibly ignore.
Acous cleared his throat, signaling the end of the small talk. “And that is more or less all I have to say. The rest of the details concerning said group is documented within the report itself, and can be read at your leisure, at least until next week. After all, I should not be detaining you any longer.”
“That means you’re requesting permission to leave the scene, yes?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“At your leisure then, Inspector.”
Acous nodded briefly. “Thank you, sir.” The sliding doors closed my office off to the world once more with their gentle hissing sound. Slowly, I peeled the seals of the file, noting from the amount that went into the nearby waste bin that there were a few barriers to many on it. Leafing through the appropriate documents swiftly, I pondered some of the more interesting morsels of information.
The Serpent. The ancient symbol of intelligence, corrupt and arcane wisdom…and deceptions. What an apt name for this small little group, which will answer to almost no one in the TSAB once it is fully grown, even if those that conceived the idea and created it have no idea what this particular brood of vipers can accomplish.
They are bound to make a big splash though. Exactly why I have chosen them. Chosen them to be my unwittingly clever automatons, who will benefit this cause of mine most suitably, as much as I predict that they will attempt to oppose the work of my hands.
As the classic saying goes, “they shall serve me well.”
Lifting my hand to the ceiling, I imagined the multitudes of the celestial bodies hanging in the void of space, thousands upon thousands of them, through the keyhole of my outstretched palm, the slender gaps between those fingers of mine.
Just two weeks ago, the first step towards this destruction was taken: An armed uprising that cost the TSAB their security, some of their power, and many lives. They will soon find that much of what they once knew to be true were all a pack of lies, but it will be too late: Their purpose, and their role in this scheme can only be realized fully in their wrack and utter ruination, much like many others that have preceded them, and the many that will soon follow.
Though the campaign on Seretoia may have ended in victory, it is but still a baby step…perhaps, shall we say that it was an incomplete step due to their victory. I look forward to seeing the whole thing play out, with them cast in the role of the tragic hero, already doomed to defeat but still fighting on to the end of their road, in which nothing awaits them but destruction: The epitome of heroism, and the apex of folly all at the same time.
…Look out below, mortals, and behold the sight…the zenith of an era has come…
…And the dawn of a new one approaches.
Spoiler for Final Lines:
The slumbering have awoken.
The curtain has lifted, as the die is cast on all sides.
The flames of ambition, honor and revenge burn high...
Their pillars licking upon the spires of heaven.
This shall be a time for crimson scars.
A time for the end of many things.
A time for the age of violent gods...
And those who will to surpass them...
And those who will stand up and resist, to fight them.
Come now, the time has come for crimson scars, for flashing weapons; the time for cold steel to meet cold steel, as blazing hearts meet blazing hearts in embrace of battle.
Come now, for courage, for honor, for love, for happiness, for sorrow, for all that one desires to protect, possess, and destroy.
Come...for the gold crown of victory, or the iron crown of defeat.
For the beginning of a new era forged from the hellfire flames of war.
Spoiler for Author's notes::
Yeah, the Final Lines were much more serious than those three. I realized that in first person views I tend to lapse too much into leaning towards the stream of consciousness writing style, which isn't too good all the time, though it sort of worked here.
The third person actual thing is going to be a lot more formal, though there should be some funny in it. That is the advantage of third-person narrative, perhaps, the ease of bringing out dramatic tension. Oh well. Whatever it is, I hope to write faster in the future.
“Ne, Sis?” One blond hummed to the other that was combing her hair.
The questioned one slowed down. “What is it?” she asked in a gentle tone.
“Do you think mommy will ever get better? She’s hasn’t been herself for a long time.” She looked back at her sibling.
“I don’t know,” an honest answer as her hand brushed a few strands of hair from her sister’s face, “I think she could get better, someday.” With that she gently nudged the other’s face to look forward again to resume her work.
“I wish dad was here… Things were nicer when he was here…”
The brush was set down in order to pick up a hair tie. “I wish he was here too…”
A minuet passed in silence.
“Sis... I’m hungry…” Sympathetic arms reached around to hold her from behind.
“I’m hungry too…”
Landscaper!Fate
“Sister”
Got a ways to go on it but its getting done…
AWESOME. Can't wait >.<
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satashi
Experiment:
Magical Otome
Spoiler for If you get it.......:
"So our mission is to observe?" Fate asked Hayate as she looked at the papers in front of her. "And judge if the planet is worth taking into the T.S.A.B? Why would that involve us?"
The leader leaned back into her chair and looked at her two best friends. "Because this is a military merger request. The people you will be observing don't know who you will be, but the leaders do. If we both meet expectations then we will forma treaty."
Nanoha hummed. "And I'm here to evaluate the means and techniques?"
"That is correct."
Fate turned the page in her folder and looked at the picture of a blue haired woman paperclipped at the top. "Natsuki...will be our contact?"
Hayate put two boxes in front of the girls. "Yes. Your other is 'Shizuru'. You will need these."
Nanoha clicked open her box and gasped out. "Uwaaaaaaah! Pretty!" Taking out the ring, she looked at the gem.
Fate looked at her earring questiongly. "Why do we need jewelery?"
Hayate gave them a light smile. "This briefing session will be long..."
*Gasps*
Oh....that would be an EPIC crossover. DO IT SATASHI-SAMA!!!
ShizNat + NanoFate = WIN
Not that I really like Mai Otome. Too much nasty fanservice. And don't forget the annoying, self-denying pedophile >.>
But I guess there was enough yuri.
Though it wasn't all about LESBIANS like Angel says. lol
I watched it last year
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShinySword
YuunoxChrono is my OTP now :3
Why?
Because if Yuuno's with Chrono, Nanoha's free for the taking.
Nanoha: Don't I get a say in this?
Fate: *Dragging Nanoha off* No not really.
AMEN!!! YuunoXChrono 4ever!!!
I still don't know what people see in Yuunoha. He's a nice guy and all but I can't imagine him with Nanoha. He's too gay. Just look at him!! And I don't mean that in a bad way. He and Chrono would be cute together >.<
But most of it remained in my writing circle, in handwriting, and never completed, as I became very busy with OC Thread ever since.
Just wanna say GOOD JOB, for this definitely works! Now there's a Yuunoha version (SaintX and mine) AND a Fate/Nanoha version (Mercurial and Satashi-sama's) for the Nanohaverse. :3
Last but not least...
NATZURU HAWT YURI RABU FTW!!!
*Drags himself out of bed*
*Takes a Thunder Hammer and smashes Kha over the head*
Ages: 17
Ranks: Fate: S-, Nanoha: AAA+, Hayate: S
Fate: Enforcer
Hayate: Special Investigations Unit
Nanoha: Instructor
Main Focus: Nanoha/Fate. Natsuki/Shizuru.
Side Focus: Arika/Mashiro (Arika/Nina)....Side being side, as in see them in background. Maybe. Gotta think a lot.
6th mobile unit has not been created yet.
I decided to go with Otome crossover. Instead of what I posted before, I think it would be better to make them a little younger. After completing the series today I figured this would be the best. This doesn't take place at any point in time in Otome, but in a general school year there. All this and more will be given in the chapter itself. May have a small time twist depending if I want Arika and them around.
All suggestions welcome.
If you want your OC to be mentioned as a cameo student in the Otome school, tell me and I'll give them a small spotlight
~**~
I gasped lightly when my cell phone started vibrating in my briefcase. Across the room from me I saw Nanoha quickly reach into hers as well, followed shortly by Hayate shoving her hand inside the bag hanging by her side. All three of us at the same time could only mean one thing: A mission. I discreetly peeked into my bag and saw my phone lit up and demanding to be answered. “T.S.A.B.” was flashing across the screen and I licked my lips. Fortunately for us the bell rang to signal the end of the school day and the three of us took off as fast as we could without looking suspicious. When we all assembled on the roof we took out our phones and answered. Three conversations went on at the same time but the end result was the same: Report to the briefing room for an assignment. It seemed as if we were going to be given a long distance mission again, on some remote planet accented by a blue star near it's moon.
@Satashi - are you planning on making Viola/Kruger 17 as well? Because that wouldn't make sense, as Kruger and Viola are both at least in their mid-twenties at the time of Otome. So if Kruger's going to be Gakuenchou and Viola's still a Column/Pillar of Gaulderobe, then you've got to take into account that time skip as well (and the fact that Shizuru's older than Natsuki)....
Arika-tachi are wonderful and all, but there are so many GOLD minor-otome characters that you could really do whatever you wanted with any of them.
Also: Fic needs NAO. LOTS OF HER.
/otome nerd.
(I always call Kruger/Viola by their last names because I got into the habit of doing it when I wrote a fic where there was both Kruger and Kuga running around in the same place and I needed a way to tell them apart... sorry if it's offputting)
@Satashi - are you planning on making Viola/Kruger 17 as well? Because that wouldn't make sense, as Kruger and Viola are both at least in their mid-twenties at the time of Otome. So if Kruger's going to be Gakuenchou and Viola's still a Column/Pillar of Gaulderobe, then you've got to take into account that time skip as well (and the fact that Shizuru's older than Natsuki)....
Arika-tachi are wonderful and all, but there are so many GOLD minor-otome characters that you could really do whatever you wanted with any of them.
Also: Fic needs NAO. LOTS OF HER.
/otome nerd.
(I always call Kruger/Viola by their last names because I got into the habit of doing it when I wrote a fic where there was both Kruger and Kuga running around in the same place and I needed a way to tell them apart... sorry if it's offputting)
Not sure exactly on ages right now. I need Nanoha and Fate to be coral when they are placed into the school. Planning on them being same age as Natsuki, who is number 2 coral. Mai being number 1. Shizuru would be older, and #1 pearl.
edit: Fic will have Nao. I like her :3 and she's not ultra b*tch anymore. Just semi :P
Not sure exactly on ages right now. I need Nanoha and Fate to be coral when they are placed into the school. Planning on them being same age as Natsuki, who is number 2 coral. Mai being number 1. Shizuru would be older, and #1 pearl.
edit: Fic will have Nao. I like her :3 and she's not ultra b*tch anymore. Just semi :P
Wait if Shiz and Nat are younger then how do Arika, Mashiro, Nina and Nao fit in considering they're a good 8 years at least younger?
Not sure how exactly you will be doing that. *shrugs* Maybe it's the drama CD nerd in me talking, but meh. Author's decisions stand and I'll respect that.
re: nao - if there's a school festival, can we have romeo and juliet? (spoiler for a certain untranslated 4 koma here xP)
Location: In the Netherrealm, thinking who to betray next...
Chapter 31
Vatican Knights
Spoiler for The De la Huerta Family:
We gone inside the enormus cave from were Los Ganados had came out, the smell inside it was like hell, I still don't want to know what my feets were footing, our only light was a torch that Sky was carrying up ahead, I was looking at the sniper rifle of Raphael,yes... it couldn't be another, it was the sniper I saw, the one that that strangue shadow used to kill Jack Velorius, Raphael was the traitor, I just knew it
"Look that!" A regulator spotted a little passage, the one that Sky had saw, we all go inside it, it was very small,a large tunel, like a mine, the passage was very largue, we walked fora long until we diviced the sunlight at the end of the corridor, when we go out we discovered that we were in an enormus gray garden, some stone chairs, statues of angels, even a little water spring, and in front of this... an enormus mansion, a big one, bigger tath Edmund's one
"Wow! Check this out" Karil sayed while pointing at a strangueplaque in the mansion's main door, it sayed
Mansion de la Familia de la Huerta
Of course, I couldn't understand it so I called Jasper to help us, he readed it and told me
"Here says: De la Huerta Family's mansion" We knew what does it means, Alastor had told us that if we killed Beatriz de la Huerta and Salazar dela Huerta, he shall asist us to kill Nanoha
Sky interrupted
"De la Huerta? Are not this the last name of the town mayor? Salazar de la Huerat. Right?" I saw an oportunity here
"Yes..." I said "So those two demons were actualy guarding the De la Huerta family... wich means"
"Wich means that they are conectedsomehow with Nanoha... and this may explain the strangue status of the villagers. Exellent Vivio!" Sky said, the things were going well
We opened the inmense doorsand enter in the mansion, it was certanly big, floor and columns of marble, a golden lamp in the top, beautifull paints in the wall, I even saw works of Goya in that colection
"Spread up!" Raphael comanded "Search every single corner of the mansion, now!"
Of course Karil, Jasper, Helga, Alphonse and Me gone together, we gone upstairsand trough several passagues, when I was sure no one were hearing I said to my comradess
"O.k this is our oportunity, we know Nanoha is not here, we must focus into find and kill Beatriz and Salazar"
"This mansion is enormus, were do will find them" Alphonse asked, I didn't knew what to answer, but then we hear a little voice, a voice that Helga and I knew very well"
"They are in the music room"
"Who said that?!" Jasper quickly pull out his weapon
"Could it be... Nanoha, it's you?" I asked
"Nanoha?!" Karil asked terrified
"Calm down, it's not the Nanoha that we... she is..." Helga din't know exatcly how to explain it, but before she could end, a little figure appear among us, the same little kid, with her japanese dress, her point nails and her purple ball, the little child Nanoha that Helga and me saw in the mansion of Edmund Testarrosa
"Salazar and Beatriz are in the music room right now" She said again "Just take the stairs at the end of this corridor and follow the passage full of paints"
"Are you sure, sweety?" I asked, she just noded
I standed up and looked at the corridor that ended with the begining of the stairs that this Nanoha had mentionated
"Just be carefull" She added "They are like... the others"
"The others?" Jasper asked but by our surprise, the little Nanoha had disapeared,ignoring that succes I answered him
"I think you know what does she means" I pulled out my gun and reloaded it, my friends do the same, we followed the corridor and gone upstairs,when we reach the top, we noticed a melodie, music played from a piano, in front of us there was the largue passague fulled of paints and at the end of it, there was a single door, from were the music was coming, for every step that putted us closer to the door, the music sounded harder and harder, finally,my hand reach the door, I opened it and...
well satashi here is one way to incorporate all characters without major time skips
Spoiler for facts in end of series and zwei:
simply place the characters after the series. now i don't know if you want to make shiznat classmates for romance so that might be the tragic flaw here. (of course with those two many people like fics of them staying together instead of romantically figuring each other out) However in episode 1 of zwei arika is still going to garderobe for tutoring since she became an otome prematurely. also in ep 4 of zwei, nina makes a contract with mashiro and since she's young also she will probably be tutored also. This way you have all the characters without creating large changes since usually simple answers are the best answers. from what i gathered from your first experiment natsuki being in on nanoha and fate's mission can make it more interesting
@Satashi - are you planning on making Viola/Kruger 17 as well? Because that wouldn't make sense, as Kruger and Viola are both at least in their mid-twenties at the time of Otome. So if Kruger's going to be Gakuenchou and Viola's still a Column/Pillar of Gaulderobe, then you've got to take into account that time skip as well (and the fact that Shizuru's older than Natsuki)....
Arika-tachi are wonderful and all, but there are so many GOLD minor-otome characters that you could really do whatever you wanted with any of them.
Also: Fic needs NAO. LOTS OF HER.
/otome nerd.
(I always call Kruger/Viola by their last names because I got into the habit of doing it when I wrote a fic where there was both Kruger and Kuga running around in the same place and I needed a way to tell them apart... sorry if it's offputting)
Everytime I hear "Nao" I think of Mabinogi... >.>;
2008-05-04, 05:33
SpoilerI'm not sure but was Shizuru x Tomoe part yet?
Graphic Designer
I don't know what to say. 
