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2012-09-07, 12:21 | Link #37181 |
Just another Idiot
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Delusion world
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I take back my words....
This could be rather interesting.... As the result of contract with a lost Logia, the Intelligence operative gain multiple personality, work for multiple agency and is now on the run after being found out (with his original personality wondering what in the hell is happening). - Still not going to do it.
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Ara Han |
2012-09-07, 12:24 | Link #37182 |
The Flame Crussader
Join Date: Aug 2009
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What if the Band of boys end up being villains (or heroes) in disguise using their fame and songs to take an effect on the population xD?
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May 29 2010-2019 ...9 years ago, the day after never would be the same ~The ASFB~ |
2012-09-07, 12:30 | Link #37183 |
Just another Idiot
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Delusion world
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They are rather supportive of TSAB (willing to provide assist(making a super rare Photo-book) for the 1st Case...)
Hero path: (Original Plan) Three words: Propaganda for TSAB. They promote TSAB to attract young girls to join which in turn attract young boys to join because of the girls Because TSAB actually sponsor their concert... Edit: Can also justify why Yuuno is in the band..... Evil Path: However, that doesn't mean it is totally impossible...(being supportive is a way to throw TSAB from their track...) They are actually working for a Queen serving as her knights? They are trying to scout potential host for the Queen's revival. == Expansion of their role? Colina is their fan...which explain why she is taking part in the trial competition. (In spite the fact that she is pretty useless when it come to strike art)
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Ara Han Last edited by agetreme; 2012-09-07 at 13:10. |
2012-09-07, 18:09 | Link #37184 |
. . .
Author
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Here is the last available chapter of Santo's work. I'll be updating it when he gets more written.
He would greatly appreciate some feedback. Never Let Your Sword do the Talking The Stages of Grief ...and Cheesecake From Grief to Fury Plight The Witch The Horseman Escape Into Fire Spoiler for The First Flame:
"Mistress!” Screamed Schierke, her eyes and throat stinging from the heat and smoke as she forced her way forward through the burning mansion, uselessly trying to find a passage to Flora’s chambers that was not alight. “Mistress!”
A burning beam fell from the ceiling directly above her, causing her to freeze and scream in fright. Isidro snatched the back of her robes and pulled her out of the way, forcing the two of them to fall in an ungainly pile of limbs. “What the hell are you doing!” Screamed the kid as he extricated himself from her. “Aren’tcha a witch!? Use your magic! Your magic!” Isidro’s reminder caused Schierke to collapse into sobs. “I can’t!” Said the girl, forcing her words out through her grief. “I can’t achieve the calm! I can’t! I can’t! Mistress!” “Ahh crap.” Muttered Isidro, “I didn’t sign up to deal with screamin’ chicks.” “You two what are you doing!” Screamed Serpico as he caught up to the limber boy. “We need to get out of here, the building could fall around us any moment!” Isidro began asking if anything could be done about the fire, quickly falling into an argument with the older man. Schierke did not look up from the floor, or even acknowledge she was in danger. Instead, she closed her eyes and cast her mind out, seeking to form a mental link to Flora. ‘Mistress! Mistress where are you!?’ She absently felt arms lifting her from the floor and dragging her toward cooler air, but she barely noticed. ‘Schierke’ Spoke Flora’s voice directly into the girl’s mind, causing her to dig her heels into the floor, forcing whoever was holding her to redouble their efforts. “Mistress!” Schierke had no more chance to speak, for the image of a full set of pitch black plate armor with a helm styled after a human skull was forced into her mind. ‘My beloved pupil, take that to the Black Swordsman. Not only his survival, but the lives of our guests may very well depend upon it.’ Before Flora could explain any further, a deafening roar reverberated through the air, powerful enough to shake the walls of the mansion. ‘There is no time Schierke. You were well aware my time was nigh. I will not survive this night and all doves must someday leave the nest. Go my beloved pupil, go and save the Black Swordsman.’ ‘B-But Mistress!’ Before Schierke could protest further, she was driven to the floor, a body falling on top of her as a wall next to her collapsed. “Go back go back!” Screamed Serpico, his voice hoarse. “The hallway-Shit!” With a scream of tortured wood, the floor gave out in front of them, becoming a maze of jagged spikes. “Shit shit shit! Move move move!” Screamed Isidro as he boldly turned Shrike around and sprinted back the way he had come. ‘Enough child.’ said Flora, an enormous feeling of warmth emanating from her link to her pupil. Flora’s love for Schierke becoming completely evident to the girl, making the fire seem almost inconsequential. The sheer emotion making Schierke sob, tears making clean tracks down her soot covered face. ‘You are ready. There is nothing more I can do for you.’ Continued Flora. ‘Hold your roots in your heart, but always remember to look forward.’ Schierke saw what was happening outside through Flora’s eyes, three battles, held between demons, angels, and men. She saw a massive figure raise a shield, a moment later fire exploded from it with a deafening roar. “SHIT!” Screamed Isidro as a cannonball exploded through the wall next to him, covering him in splinters. The enormous projectile barreled its way through the opposite wall and disappeared from their sight. ‘Go child, give the armor to the swordsman. You will also find jewels, give those to the Young Wanderer. Live child, and know always that I loved you as if you were of my flesh and blood.’ With her last declaration the mental link between them fell. Not because it was dismissed, but because Flora could no longer hold the connection, so far had fallen the ability of the witch of the woods. Schierke ground her teeth. She snatched her arm from Isidro’s hand and turned resolutely in the direction of the treasure room. “Follow me!” Demanded the witch as she strode forward without checking to see if the two males would follow her order. She had been given her instruction, she would not disappoint. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Yet another long gash was made upon Zodd’s flesh. Yet another laceration vanished without a trace within seconds. The stalemate between the demon and the knights had gone on for several long minutes. However barring some quickened breathing, neither side showed any fatigue. Zodd once more emitted the coughing grunts that passed for his laughter. “Wonderful…truly wonderful.” Said the enormous demon as the two knights circled him, turning his head back and forth as he sought to keep both in his field of vision. “Six hundred years, six hundred long years have I waited for an enemy other than my beloved foe, an enemy that could match me in this form. And yet I find not one but two! Two warriors so close to one another that they fight as one. “A true shame that we had to meet tonight of all nights, were I not under orders, I would take the time necessary to truly savor this fight. “Unfortunately, I have my mission, and so I apologize to the two of you. For I will do everything necessary to kill you.” Zodd bared his teeth in a savage grin. “Even so…This night has made the long wait completely worth it!” roared Zodd as he once more rushed Shirou, who was hard-pressed to evade all of his attacks. For while he was a good warrior, he was not nearly as agile as Signum. Shirou planted his shield, and with the sound of stone striking metal, stopped Zodd’s right paw cold. He then stabbed the point of his sword into his opponent’s left hand, the hiss of burning flesh drowned out by the demon’s grunt of pain. Heedless of injury, he pressed down with both of his arms, using his weight to drive Shirou to the ground. Shirou struggled for all he was worth, but there was only so much an iron determination would do for him. His legs began to shake, and slowly, glacially slowly, he was driven to his knees. Zodd opened his enormous maw and with a quicksilver motion brought it down to his tiny opponent, intent on snapping his neck and crushing his skull. “Lilac Blitz!” Screamed the Blazing General. A mere moment later, Levatein’s flaming blade imbedded itself into Zodd’s shoulder with the hiss of flash-cooked meat. The device, heated to the point where it would melt through steel almost without resistance, cut through Zodd’s bones, rent through flesh, and imbedded itself into his hip. The full kinetic power of Signum’s charge was driven directly into Zodd’s frame. On that moment, Signum Yagami achieved something that not even the nameless Skull Knight had ever managed to accomplish in six hundred long years. On that night, at that precise moment in time. Signum Yagami, the Knight of the Sword and the Blazing General. Drove Nosferatu Zodd to his knees. Zodd took a deep breath. He then broke out into booming laughter, laughter so loud that it reverberated through the ground itself. The vibrations of his merriment shaking the bones of both his opponents. “Woman…Woman you…You’ve been holding out on me! This is the first time anyone has sunk a blade so deep into my flesh.” Declared Zodd with glee in his voice. “All this time…from the start of our combat, I assumed your man to be the greater. Yet now you show me the reverse to be true! He is most fortunate indeed.” Signum twisted the blade and expended even more of her magical energy, increasing the heat of the flames cooking Zodd from within. She spoke through clenched teeth. “He’s not my boyfriend.” Zodd chuckled more, it was at this moment that Signum realized the reason the demon was so calm. His rent and burnt flesh was healing, sealing the great wound she had inflicted upon him while healthy tissue consumed the seared meat as muscle and bone knit themselves together. She hastily attempted to extricate Levatein from Zodd’s flesh, but the blade was firmly stuck. “I told you woman, I will do anything necessary to defeat the two of you, no matter that the tactic lies far from honor.” With that he turned back to Shirou who still knelt on the ground, pinned in place due to Zodd’s weight. “Farewell my foe, you fought well.” With that he once more opened his maw. “Sturmwinde!” Screamed Signum in desperation, a shockwave of fire erupting from her blade as she shot to the skies, rending Zodd’s flesh open as she extricated her blade from his body and causing Zodd to convulse in agony. Not one to waste an opportunity, Shirou took advantage of Zodd’s momentary spasm to stand and free his blade form the monster’s hand. One of Zodd’s massive arms smacked into his shield a moment later, causing him to tumble across the ground until an apostle's corpse brought him to a halt. As his agonized seizure ended, Zodd sagged in place. He looked around until his eyes found Signum as she floated in the air. When the lacerations in his flesh closed, there was one long white scar that traversed the entirety of his back, a testament to the fury of the attack which had rent open his body not moments past. “Woman.” Panted Zodd. “You’ve surpassed all expectations. To be able not only to rend my flesh, but to scar it! Before you, only two beings had ever managed such.” Smoke poured from the enormous being, obscuring his massive form. “But this! This I never expected.” Two enormous leathery wings, like that of a massive bat, sprung out of the smoke and beat once, the air they displaced vanishing the cloud in an instant. “An enemy who would dare contest my skies! Magnificent!” Signum saw the massive creature quickly ascend towards her. She altered the vector of her flight and accelerated to meet it. As they drew closer to each other, Zodd threw his claw forward. Signum twisted in the air and avoided it, passing so close to the razor-sharp nails that two gashes were made to her jacket. Levatein’s flame-clad form opened Zodd from neck to groin in retaliation. They separated. Zodd’s enormous form moving ponderously as he attempted to once more close the distance between himself and Signum. The smaller knight flying circles around the demon, opening gashes on his skin whenever it was convenient to do so. On the ground Shirou stirred and then slowly pushed himself to his feet, his eyes locking unto the figures dueling in the skies. The pink colored light flying like a comet around an enormous shadow that blotted out the stars. He planted his shield on the ground beside him so that it would stand on its own, then sheathed his weapon. He’d need both hands for this. Silently, he reached for the black longbow that rested on one of his quivers. He knew the feelings coursing through him were not his own, even so he could not help but sympathize. The woman had to be protected at all costs. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Guts staggered as he stood from the ground, having been sent flying by Grunbeld’s attack. The sheer force of the blow had been akin to a canon ball. The enormous knight walked almost leisurely towards Guts. Guts barely managed to stand, the unbearable pain on his chest and back nearly making him black out. He tightened his grip on the handle of the Dragonslayer, his arms trembling from the effort of lifting it from the ground. ‘Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you call yourselves the Band of the Hawk!?’ Thought the Black Swordsman as fury coursed through his veins. He hefted the blade’s enormous weight. And then, with a violent twist of his hips, brought it about against Grunbeld with a furious grunt of effort. Grunbeld absorbed the absurdly heavy impact with his shield, a mild grunt of exertion being the only sound he made. The dragon knight then took a step forward and drove his weight down unto Guts, smashing the flat of Guts’ own blade and his own shield into the Black Swordsman, forcing him to the ground in a sprawling heap. He then raised his war hammer and brought it down onto the prone Guts who blocked it with the flat of the Dragonslayer, the deafening sound of steel striking iron reverberating through the clearing. The impact drove the breath out of Guts’ lungs and made his vision swim for the briefest of moments. He proceeded to roll away from Grunbeld, making space between the two of them so as to get his bearings. He got his knees under him and attempted to stand, only to be stopped by the agony blossoming across his chest. He could feel several of his ribs had cracked under the vicious impact. “That is quite a sword.” Rumbled Grunbeld with some admiration in his voice. “To not have broken after two blows from my war hammer. Very impressive indeed. “And yet your swordsmanship leaves much to be desired! Aside from a single strike of acceptable power, you’ve yet to do a thing!” Guts ground his teeth and once more attempted to push himself up, ignoring the searing agony on his chest and back. The wounds inflicted by Slan tore themselves open, spilling his life blood across the ground. ‘Shit!’ Thought Guts desperately as he ignored the agony they caused him and pushed himself to his feet. He barely managed to place the Dragonslayer across his chest in time to intercept another strike of Grunbeld’s hammer, the power behind the strike lifting him clear off his feet. Before he was subjected to the tender mercies of gravity, Grunbeld’s shield barreled into his stomach and hurled him to the ground. There the dragon knight’s boot came down onto his chest in a half hearted stomp, pushing the flat of the Dragonslayer into Guts’ ribs. “Pathetic.” Said Grunbeld with open contempt on his voice. “Are you truly the Black Swordsman? He who hunts Apostles like animals and has traded blows evenly with Nosferatu Zodd? Our old enemy is a coward like you?” Guts remained quiet, seeking only to draw a breath into his lungs. “Answer me!” Demanded the dragon knight as he stepped harder on his pinned foe. “An enemy who would dare contest my skies! Magnificent!” Screamed Zodd as he took off across the skies. A lone black figure remaining in the ground and preparing a bow. Grunbeld observed the contest for the skies with a wistful look in his eyes, tracking the arrows that were fired unerringly into Zodd’s flesh. “Milord Zodd is fortunate indeed. To face such powerful opponents. To warriors, the battleground should be their temple. Their greatest desire to die among blood and carnage, having spent their lives dearly, and killed by a warrior they could not best. “It would seem that you lack the pride of a warrior, swordsman.” Guts grinned up at the dragon knight. “Monsters like you…should not pretend to be warriors…you self absorbed shit.” Grunbeld absently kicked Guts away, sending the Black Swordsman skidding the length of three men across the grass. He then brought his shield up and pulled a lever on its underside, the shield released a mechanical sound Guts was quite familiar with. “As a warrior.” Said Grunbeld as he hefted the enormous shield. “You are not fit to be destroyed by my war hammer.” He pointed the shield at Guts. Through the mouth of the shield's head, Guts spied a long metal tube. Grunbeld sneered, “Now fall to pieces…And die gloriously!” He struck the firing mechanism with his hammer, the spark ignited the gunpowder charge, causing the dragon’s head on his shield to roar smoke and flame. Guts felt as if time had slowed, as if fate wanted him to engrave the memory of the twelve pound ball of lead that would take his life. The cannonball rotated toward him almost languidly. He could already picture it smacking against his chest, searing his skin but for an instant before it forced its way into the meat of his torso, tearing through muscle and bone and flesh. A black wind surged, and with the thunderous sound of metal striking metal, the cannonball changed course mid-flight and tore its way effortlessly through the wooden wall of the mansion. The nameless Skull Knight stood in front of Guts, completely unstained by blood, soot, or mud. “W-What?” Questioned Guts with awe in his voice. “Swordsman.” “You would intrude in a warrior’s battle?” Asked Grunbeld with fury in his tone. Guts was about to ask the reason why, when Schierke’s voice sounded directly in his mind. ‘Guts! Come to the treasure room!’ As she spoke, the way to the hidden room was shown to Guts. ‘Schierke?’ Answered Guts. ‘What about the old lady?’ ‘No time! Come to the treasure room.’ The image of a black suit of armor filled his mind. He could feel something in the suit of armor resonating within him, calling him, drawing him. ‘I see.’ Said Guts with a malevolent light in his eye and staggered in the direction of the cave. “Answer me!” Demanded Grunbeld after the third time the horseman had ignored him. Finally, the Skull Knight saw fit to direct his gaze to the apostle. “I’ve slaughtered all other apostles that were present. But know this undead one. If you are to pursue the Black Swordsman, you will find no impediment from me. Nor will I accept to do battle with you.” “You would insult my pride so?” Said Grunbeld, fury heavy in his voice. “Do you find me so unworthy that you’d refuse to do battle with me!?” “Far from it.” “What?” “I must save all I have left to stop Nosferatu. Causality dictates those two will not be enough to fell him. “However, if I am to join my might to theirs…” The Skull Knight left his statement open, somehow managing to make his speech mocking without changing his tone of voice. “What’s to stop you from joining their fight once the Black Swordsman emerges?” Asked Grunbeld as he took up his stance and readied himself to attack. “Nothing. But if we do battle, I will kill you.” The cold finality with which the horseman spoke gave Grunbeld pause. The Skull Knight had not spoken in boast, nor was it an attempt to intimidate him. Grunbeld could feel it in his bones. The Skull Knight had spoken a fact. As simple, obvious, and basic as saying that something covered in water is wet. “I would prefer not to however. For the struggle would further drain me, granting Nosferatu a sizable advantage. Something he would most certainly not be happy with, but will nonetheless exploit to the fullest.” Grunbeld tightened his grip on his war hammer before relaxing his hand. He absently began to reload the canon in his shield. “You are a devious one horseman.” Said Grunbeld. “We shall see if your swordsman will truly be able to hold me. But know this: Once I kill him, I will come for you.” The horseman and the dragon knight stopped moving, becoming two statues. He who made the first move would be at a disadvantage after all. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Signum dodged and weaved in the air, avoiding Zodd by minute margins. His agility in the air was not as great as that which he had on the ground, but even so he was still an extremely deadly and maneuverable foe. Where she had barely managed to deal any sort of lasting damage with one of her strongest attacks, Zodd could potentially cripple her if he were to land a single solid strike. As such, she concentrated on not allowing the demon that one lethal blow he needed. However in return, she could not focus her efforts on truly damaging him, as he would take advantage of that slight moment she needed to concentrate her energies. And so the demon and the knight continued their deadly dance for dominance of the skies. Signum opened a gash upon the inside of Zodd’s thigh for the third time, inflicting what on a human would be crippling damage, yet on Zodd barely more than a deep scratch. As she accelerated past him, Zodd kicked out at her viciously and forced her to go into a rolling dive in order to escape with nothing more than a scratch. They separated again, Zodd moving in a large circle as his ponderous weight forced him to maneuver over a large area. To her surprise, she saw at least two dozen arrows imbedded on the demon’s flesh, some which were blackened as if by soot sunk into his sides while others, red-fletched this time, were buried into his back and legs. As she took in this brief observation, yet another black arrow found its mark on one of Zodd’s arms. Bar a slight twitch, the demon ignored the projectile. Signum allowed herself a small smile. Shirou would do what he could to help her, no matter that it was ineffective. She supposed it was the thought that counted. Zodd’s roar of challenge drew her attention, the large demon was moving in a straight line to her at an ever increasing speed. Signum ground her teeth. She then burned her second to last cartage, the blade of Levatein was engulfed in a tornado of howling flame. With a roar as savage as any emitted by Zodd, she charged straight at the accelerating demon, a harbinger of death tracing a blazing line across the skies. Zodd saw the attack with which she had nearly split him in twain, and rejoiced. He would have the chance to face her full might head on. “Lilac-!” Roared Signum as she began drawing a violent arc with Levatein’s glowing steel. Zodd roared and threw his claw forward. At that precise moment, a mere instant before the two put the might of the other to a test, the blackened knight standing on the ground released his arrow. The red-fletched shaft, which was said to move with the speed of lightning, traversed the distance between the bowman and its mark almost instantaneously. Neither of the combatants dueling in the sky would have even noticed the shaft. Why should they? It would find itself unable to do more than prick the great demon it traveled towards, nor would it leave but a mark upon the white jacket of the knight contesting the skies. Yet this arrow, unlike its two dozen brethren that found their homes upon the demon’s flesh, was aimed at a vulnerable point. By all accounts it was an impossible shot. Any who witnessed it would call it luck. A shot of great fortune. A more pious speaker would call it divine favor. A poet might call it fate. They would all be wrong. Like nearly all the counterparts of Shirou Emiya that resided across the multiverse. Shirou the Guardian of Aramis, was not an excellent marksman. For to be an excellent marksman, one would need to possess the ability to miss. The red-fletched arrow imbedded its serrated steel head into the small carpals of Zodd’s right wing. Collapsing the base that supported the digits from which the flesh of his wing was anchored. Suddenly losing half of the support which allowed Zodd flight, the enormous beast fell into a chaotic and deadly tumble. Right into the path of Signum, who was but a few scant feet from the enormous being. Her eyes widened as Zodd’s massive form tumbled out of control in mid air. A hurried exclamation flying from her lips even as she desperately sought to alter her flight to allow her to dodge the mountain of muscle and bone flailing toward her. A triangular shield began to take form in front of her. Zodd’s immense form barreled into the pink haired knight, plowing through the half formed defense with his sheer mass. The colossal power behind the impact sending her plummeting in a straight line towards the ground, her comparatively petite form vanishing into the treetops a moment later. A few seconds after that, a titanic impact could be felt through the soles of everyone's feet, strong enough to shake the trees in an acre around it. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X “By the spirits this is terrible.” Muttered Schierke as she looked at the new collection of bruises and torn flesh on Guts. “Man just look at all these.” Said Puck as he knelt on Guts’ chest, sprinkling powder from his wings unto the Black Swordsman’s wounds, the numerous bruises and lacerations on Guts’ flesh disappearing without a trace. All were healing except the deep cuts that crossed his chest and back inflicted by Slan. “Just like you said Schierke.” Said Evarella. “These opened again, but last time we closed them without a problem, why are they being so stubborn?” Isidro backed away from the black suit of armor sitting in the corner. He could feel something emanating from it, like the feeling Guts’ sword gave off every now and then, something cold…cold but burning hot. “H-Hey…are you sure we should stick him in that thing? If it does what you say it does, in the shape he’s in it might kill ‘im.” “Do we have any choice?” Asked Serpico from the door, he kept the doorway to the room cracked slightly open to allow him to see the conflict outside. “If we stay here much longer the fire will spread here too. And out of all of us, Guts is the only one that can beat back any of those monsters out there.” “Well.” Said Isidro as he watched the fairies heal wound after wound on Guts’ flesh. “At least we can patch him up before we stick him in there.” The group fell to a tense silence while the fairies continued their work. Schierke palmed the bag with jewels in her belt and wondered how well the wanderer was fairing. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Shirou Zelretch Schweinorg blinked once. Slowly. The realization of what exactly he had done crashed upon him like an avalanche. “SIGNUM!” Screamed the slider as he threw the bow aside in his haste, leaving the trace’s armaments behind in his mad rush to the forest’s edge. A bass roar of incandescent rage shook the air around him, forcing the slider to pause. A moment later his eyes widened in horror. “Oh shit no! Cancel Pri-grghk!” Shirou’s incantation was cut off as if an iron hard grip had begun to strangle him. His hands uselessly grasping at an inexistent obstruction, he attempted to force the words past his throat, to cutoff the magic which allowed the template to take form. A second roar filled with white-hot fury shook the air around him, considerably closer than the first. Behind the helm, the slider’s eyes gradually lost the light they showed, his struggles ceasing as emotion left his being. The knight walked casually back to his armaments, picking up his bow and sheathing it in one of the quivers. He once more took hold of his shield and drew his sword. Then waited for the demon to arrive. He ground his teeth in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, his helm hiding the incredible amount of self-loathing that wracked his being. He’d failed again, a spectacular failure in a history of mediocrity. He’d fired hoping to grant the woman an advantage. He might as well have killed her himself. Nothing he did or said would excuse his failure. But no force in creation would stop the knight from avenging the woman. Trees splintered as Zodd barreled through them in his wrath, a never ending roar or rage flying from his throat as his eyes settled upon Shirou, the fury in his eyes so intense that Zodd could literally see nothing else. “You worthless husk!” Screamed Zodd as he raised his arms. “How dare you take her from me!? You dare call yourself a warrior!?” At the very last moment Shirou rolled to the side, Zodd’s enormous arms crashing into the ground he had stood upon with a palpable shockwave, his attack sending up a cloud of dust. “Honorless dog! I will destroy you! No part of you will remain! You accursed plague!” Zodd’s insults flew from his maw even as he rained a never ending wave of brutal attacks upon the blackened knight. Zodd, in his fury, did not care to put up any form of defense. The self-hatred Shirou felt caused the fires of his armor to blaze, inflicting burns upon the demon whenever his arms or legs came close enough to striking him. Taking advantage of Zodd’s distraught state of mind, he sunk his blade to the hilt in the demon’s belly. “I am no warrior!” Yelled the knight, emotion for the first time coloring his voice as he savagely removed his blade form Zodd’s stomach, the demon’s ruptured abdomen closing itself shortly after the attack was made. Zodd roared in rage and kicked at Shirou who took the strike on his shield. The sheer power behind the attack threw him to the ground, digging a furrow twice as long as he was tall through it. Zodd pursued the fallen knight and brought his enormous head down, intent on crushing the pathetic thing in his maw. A whip with razor-sharp blades wound around his neck and halted his movement cold. The eyes of the beast and the blackened knight followed it to its source, where they saw the battered Signum holding the hilt in her trembling arms. Her right leg was propped against a tree to anchor her against Zodd’s movement while her left hung in a mangled ruin, broken in at least two places. Momentarily, Zodd knew joy as he had not known it in centuries, she was alive. A moment after that the red-haze which had clouded his vision vanished, replaced by grief. In her current state, she would not be able to fight with the same ability she’d shown earlier. The razorwhip around his throat tightened, digging further into the flesh of his neck as it sought to decapitate him. He quickly wrapped an arm around the whip, ignoring the blades that sunk into his flesh and prepared to pull on the weapon. A searing hot agony blossomed from his chest. Shirou, taking advantage of the distraction provided by Signum, drove his blade into Zodd’s chest, the blade running parallel to the ground as it was driven between the monster’s ribs. The weapon stuck fast in the monster’s chest, trembles running down its length as its tip kissed Zodd’s massive heart. Shirou had lacked the strength to drive it any further through the steely bulwarks of Zodd’s muscle. Zodd’s fist smashed into his chest with the strength of a wrecking ball, sending Shirou skidding across the ground. He then took hold of Levatein with both hands and pulled on the weapon, throwing all of the considerable power his body could generate into the movement. Signum’s leg allowed her to remain in place for all of two seconds before Zodd’s titanic strength pulled her like a rag doll, instinctively she held her weapon in a deathgrip, unwilling to relinquish her device. It proved to be the wrong decision as she was smashed into the ground with such force she cratered the already ravaged ground. “Ha…Hayate.” Whispered Signum as agony coursed through her body. Moments later the shock of impact robbed her of consciousness. Shirou stood back up, a noticeable dent on his chest plate. Zodd absentmindedly dug the sword out of his chest and unwrapped the razor whip from his throat. He then broke Shirou’s sword in two with a contemptuous flick of his wrist. “Were it up to me I would leave and let the two of you recuperate so that I may fight the two of you at your prime without interruptions. But it is not.” Zodd began to advance to Shirou who stood between the demon and Signum. He could hear her breathing, he would not fail her again. Slowly, almost against his will, Shirou drew one last weapon from his belt, a thin weapon, curved like a scimitar. Longer than a dagger yet shorter than a sword, this hybrid was constructed from a material that resembled bleached bone. The entirety of the weapon: Hilt, guard, and blade, was a single piece. Zodd gave his grunting laugh. “Do you think such a puny thing can truly stop me? You must be desperate my foe.” Shirou darted forward, dodging the swipe of Zodd’s arm, and cut a long line into his side, just like Signum and himself had done at the start of the fight. Zodd laughed. “Fool, just bow down and accept the facts. Without her you might as well be dea-what?” Zodd’s confident speech was interrupted by his surprise. The gash on his side did not heal. Closer inspection would show that the rend in his flesh was, for all intents and purposes, perfect. There was no puckered flesh where an improperly honed edge had bludgeoned its way forward through the meat. An inch deep grove had been made into one of his ribs. The bone, which in the past had bent steel, had been parted seamlessly and effortlessly. Zodd looked to his enemy with trepidation, before roaring and charging at him, the broken knight on the ground left forgotten behind him. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X The door to the treasure room burst open in a sea of splinters, drawing the stares of the Skull Knight and Grunbeld. Striding out of the demolished door was a giant in black armor. It was composed of overlapping plates, ridged and thick, evocative of the large scales of a dragon. A tattered black cloak billowed from his shoulders like a black fog. His head was covered by a morbidly silent metal helm, styled after the skull of a man, its seemingly empty sockets staring with hate-filled intensity at the dragon knight. Carried in one hand as easily as a child might carry a stick, was the man’s sword. But to call that weapon a sword would be lunacy. Carried in his right hand was a weapon that was far too big, too heavy, and much too rough to be a sword. Akin more to a slab of raw iron. Grunbeld had to stop himself from taking a step back. For one instant, one small fleeting moment, he felt fear. “The Black Swordsman?” Said Grunbeld with disbelief in his voice. “His movements are as if from another person…but that blade…” Before Grunbeld could continue, the Black Swordsman threw back his head and released a blood curling howl, its sheer volume enough to deafen a man. Suddenly, with the scream of tortured metal, the black helm elongated, changing its shape until it resembled the lupine head of a wolf. Its right eye remained an empty black while the left became filled with a hate-filled glow of red. The ridge of the helm and the gorget of the chestplate morphed, gaining cruel points, becoming a black, serrated metal maw. He then crashed into Grunbeld’s shield with the sound of a cannon ball striking a metal wall, knocking the dragon knight back no fewer than ten feet and very nearly toppling him. The Black Swordsman had moved so fast that he seemed to have skipped the intervening space between himself and his target. The Skull Knight turned. Saw the great swaths of blood covering the grass. Blood. Red Blood. Zodd’s Blood. Zodd was injured. Injured quite heavily. A better opportunity had not presented itself in centuries. He hefted his sword and prepared to join the fray. ‘Wait my old friend.’ Spoke Flora directly into his mind, causing the tall knight to hesitate. ‘I can feel it. Something that is yet to pass. ‘If you join now. You will die.’ The Skull Knight gazed longingly at Zodd who began a struggle with the Shade that had taken possession of the Son of the Kaleidoscope. “But this is the perfect opportunity t-” ‘If you’ve ever heeded one of my warnings, please heed it now. I can feel it, something will come, something terrible. If you move in now, you will be touched by its barest margin. And you will be consumed.’ The Skull Knight paused. The Witch knew exactly how powerful he was. If she honestly believed that he would be easily destroyed, then what was coming would have to be monstrous indeed. The teeth of his helmet once more released the whine of tortured metal. To have the greatest of opportunities given to him in a silver platter, yet he dared not take it. Causality truly is a most cruel mistress. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Miraculously, against all logic, the large knife rent its way though flesh and muscle and bone. No part of Zodd’s body was strong enough to withstand its bite, within moments, both of Zodd’s hands had become bleeding ruins. With a roar of rage, Zodd brought his head down, intent on impaling the blackened knight upon his horn. The knight brandished the dagger and used it to cut into the massive horn, effortlessly cutting a grove into it until its edge wedged itself against an imperfection in the ivory, its super-keen edge stopping one scant inch from Zodd’s eye. Using the stuck dagger as a handhold, Shirou pulled himself to Zodd and smashed his shield against the monster’s ear. Again and again Shirou drove the image of the snarling direwolf into Zodd’s head, seeking to cave in the demon’s colossal skull. Zodd planted his elbows on the ground, set his feet, and savagely rolled his head in an attempt to dislodge his foe. Instinctively, Shirou set his feet and wrenched the dagger sideways in an attempt to pacify the large creature by using pain. Unknown to the two of them, the titanic stresses forced upon the thin dagger began to overwhelm even its incredible fortitude. Unseen by them both, a small crack appeared on the dagger’s edge. With his head twisted at a brutal angle Zodd opted to surprise his enemy and rolled on the ground, Shirou’s deathgrip on the dagger’s hilt ensuring he was dragged along for the ride. Zodd rolled a total of four times, savagely swinging his head from side to side in an attempt to dislodge the persistent human. Much to his chagrin however, the knight wrapped his legs around Zodd’s neck not unlike a man holding himself to a horse. Clenching his teeth, Zodd brought one of his enormous hands around in a strike against his foe, splattering the knight with a large amount of his blood and withstanding the searing agony that the fires of the knight’s armor caused upon his mangled flesh. Yet no matter how hard Zodd punched, no matter how savagely the demon moved, the knight would not relinquish the dagger. One of his legs was broken, the shield was driven from his arm, the helm knocked askew, some of his arrows driven point first into the groves of his armor, yet Shirou barely noticed. He would not relinquish his hold upon the weapon. Zodd’s struggles had brought them to the edge of the forest, the large monster got his feet under him, and with a roar filled with fury swung his enormous head at one of the trees. The wood of the ancient tree splintering like a twig as it was rent by his horn. Shirou impacted against the tree, the strike breaking three of his ribs. Yet he held on to the dagger with both hands even as his feet hung suspended a long way from the ground. Zodd planted his shoulder against the knight’s chest pressing him savagely against the trunk of the tree. He then twisted his head and pulled. Yet for all the power of his limbs, Shirou would not surrender the weapon, he would die first. Zodd set his feet and tugged again. Finally, after a long struggle, one of three things had to give. The crack on the dagger’s edge expanded, blossoming into a long rend that traversed its width. Zodd’s fifth tug snapped the blade in half, causing a loud crack, as if a large tree had snapped cleanly in half. The force of his movement, when it did not meet the expected resistance, caused him to tilt to the side and crash savagely into another tree, his opponent falling to the floor in a boneless heap. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X “Wow…he’s really cutting loose ain’t ‘e?” Said Isidro from what might or might not be the minimum safe distance to keep from the fighting. As he finished speaking, Guts completed a set of pirouettes that should be physically impossible for a man in flullplate armor, bringing down the Dragonslayer onto Grunbeld’s shield and sundering it in his violent motions. “This is impossible.” Said Serpico form behind them, staring at the Black Swordsman with open awe. “A minute ago he was not even able to stand. This...This is not right.” “Watcha’ tlakin’ about! Just look at him! This whole magic business is awesome! Shoulda given it to him for the troll extermination!” “No, Mr. Serpico is correct.” Interrupted Schierke. “The wounds to his spiritual body were not healed. What I gave him…it’s an armor made by Dwarves, The Berserkers armor. The armor has taken control of the flow of Od of his body, it has cut off the flow of information to his brain from most of the pain receptors of his nervous system, allowing him to freely bypass the self-limitations humans unconsciously impose upon their bodies. Just look at those movements, it’s likely he’s already suffering from at least a dozen torn muscles and a few microfractures.” “…Wut?” Said Isidro and Puck at the same time, both looking absolutely confused by her explanation. She did not know why but Schierke got a little angry at them for not understanding. She was about to clarify her answer when she felt the temperature of the air plummet, surrounding her with an arctic cold. An instant after that a bright flame came to light on the forest’s edge. For all its power, Schierke had a strange feeling that it was nothing more than a spark. “H-H-Hey w-w-what t-t-the h-hell!?” Said Isidro as he began to shiver. “H-H-How t-t-t-t-the h-hell is t-this s-sup-p-p-pposed t-to help!?” Schierke’s breathing sped up, her quick exhalations misting in front of her. She began to tremble, but not from the cold. “T-This is impossible.” Whispered the witch with fear and awe in her voice. “Hey! What’s going on?” Asked Serpico once he noticed the state Schierke was in. Schierke failed to notice his query. She could not tear her eyes away from that spark, now a fledgling flame. She could see them. The natural spirits of the world, earth, fire, water, wind. All of them were swarming to the light given off by the newborn flame in ever increasing numbers. Allowing it to consume them completely so it could grow, become stronger and brighter. All to burn hotter as though it were a kiln to be fed. She could see several plants around her begin to wither and die as the forces which gave them life fled from them to feed that flame. The frozen grass at her feet becoming nothing more than statues of ice. The air grew heavy and thick, making it harder and harder to breathe. Whatever that fire was, it would consume all; wipe the slate clean leaving behind only ash. And worst of all. She had no idea how to stop it. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X Zodd the immortal was lying on the ground, trying to regain control of his breathing. He could not remember the last time he was driven to such a point of exhaustion. Then again, rather than exhaustion it could be the massive amount of blood he had lost. He no longer knew the difference. His hands were pulped and burnt ruins. His chest and stomach riddled with bleeding lacerations. Were he to stand again his legs would tremble under his bulk. His one remaining horn had a long scar that traversed a third of its length, part of the small knife that had put him in such a sorry state embedded upon it. Zodd did not believe he had ever been this hurt. Never had he been driven so close to death. Zodd could not remember ever feeling happier. Since his ascension, the individuals capable of harming his skin were few and far between. Treasures beyond compare. Yet none had ever been of the caliber of the two who had fought him this very night. Individually they were weaker than his beloved foe, weaker than some of the now dead enemies who had been able to challenge him. They had driven him to new heights. And he could feel it in his bones. He, Nosferatu Zodd, the immortal of war was the victor. No matter how formidable this last trump-card had been, Zodd had transcended it. He had withstood their full might, been driven to the outmost of his endurance, and he had persevered. All that remained was to deliver the finishing blow. As he gathered his energy in order to stand, the temperature in the air plummeted. His heaving breath misted in front of him while the numerous cuts across his skin lost feeling due to the cold. He could feel the ground, turned into mud by his blood, freezing around his heavy form. A moment later, a torrid wave of heat washed over him, hot enough to sear the exposed tissues of his chest. Zodd propped himself up on his elbows to gaze at his defeated foe. Zodd was not one who would often be made to know fear. He had not felt that emotion in the seven hundred long years since he had become something no longer human. The only moment he had felt it in copious amounts was when he lost his left horn to his lord. He did not know why, but the image of his defeated foe terrified him. He sat there, in his blackened armor, broken and bleeding at the base of a sundered tree. His hand tightening and relaxing on the hilt of the once unnaturally keen dagger. The malevolent frost which spread from his form transformed the plant life it touched into sculptures of ice, crystalline and dead. The part of the tree he leaned against exploded as the water within it froze and expanded violently, peppering the area behind him in splinters. Lines of ice spread from his form in organic patterns, the cold spiking at the rate of a slow heart. With each beat, the lines grew a little longer, or new ones were born. The errant flames of his armor intensified. Engulfing him completely yet leaving his form untouched. Somehow, against all logic, that fire seemed to feed the unnatural cold, making it stronger, allowing it to grow. His enemy raised his head, his helmet still knocked askew from their struggles, allowing Zodd to see one single eye, the color of molten gold. Anger spilled from it like the opposing forces from his body. When he spoke his voice was calm. Clinically detached. Like the voice of a man who calmly announced he was about to die. “You should have killed me demon. I would have been fine with such an outcome. “The dagger we broke…that dagger was given to me by the woman I love. She withstood a great injury in order to present it to me. That dagger…was the proof of my bond. “That dagger was worth more than my life.” The fire intensified, gaining in strength. Zodd could barely keep his eyes open against the glare. The blackened knight stood. Each motion slow and agonized. Such motions ought to be impossible for a ruin such as he. “Without it, I am nothing more than fuel for the fire…” The molten gold of the solitary exposed eye seemed to burn like the sun. A sun which was filled with a malice and loathing. Such malevolence for himself and the mere thought of existence. "I shall feed you to it, demon...You and all your kin. "You and this entire corrupt world shall burn. Till naught but ash remains.”
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The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all. |
2012-09-07, 19:19 | Link #37185 |
Otaku Apprentice
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Shirou Alter shalt kick your ass Zodd.
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2012-09-07, 21:57 | Link #37187 |
Otaku Apprentice
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Then pissed off Emiya Shirou
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OS-tan Collections (temporary): https://discord.gg/Hv2rBs3
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2012-09-08, 00:16 | Link #37189 |
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Author
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Hey everyone! I have a chapter of Swords and Shields for you all. Sorry about the wait. Kuroi Hadou says you can blame him for the delay. =P
Enjoy~ Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3a Chapter 3b Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Spoiler for Swords and Shields: Chapter 7:
"A... school?" Signum could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Yet, everything in front of her was merely more evidence to prove it. The books. The shelves. The room. The design of the building. All of it was reminiscent of the school buildings Hayate had walked the halls of. Granted, this one had its own obvious differences, but the basic concept appeared to be the same.
Yuuno nodded and stood from his kneeling position before the fallen texts. "I don't know what level, but this was definitely one. This is..." A wide grin spread across his lips as he glanced to Signum, his voice filled with wonder and joy. "This is better than any temple." With careful footsteps, he entered the classroom and walked the aisles between dust covered desks. "Do you understand the significance of this discovery, Signum?" She was silent for a time as she pondered the possibilities, her expression contemplative. Truthfully, the significance was escaping her, though the fiery gleam in Yuuno's eyes bade her to look deeper within herself for an answer. She could not simply say no and leave it there, expecting to be told the correct response. After a few moments of silence, it seemed as though a light came on, a light which illuminated a comparable set of experiences. "This is the closest you will get to... a firsthand account." Her eyes widened as the truth began to sink in. "There is no other source of information about Ancient Belka as pure as this." There was the brief thought of what herself and the other Wolkenritter could have contributed to Yuuno's archaeological passions had they been in possession of their memories, but it was dismissed quickly. There was no use dwelling on such things. "Right in one." Yuuno smiled and spread his arms as though he were putting on a show. He looked as if he were doing everything in his power to not burst out laughing. "No matter how accurate our hypotheses and interpretations are, they're always going to be distorted to some degree. The more information collected, the closer we get to obtaining an accurate account of the past. This site... there's never been anything like it. Sure, we’ve recovered plenty of historical artifacts, but a school? A school with intact learning materials no less? I'd be more likely to convince Nanoha to give up flying and show some restraint than find another site like this." Signum merely stood by the fallen bookcase and soaked in Yuuno's words. She'd underestimated him. Again. It was no mere academic interest or hobby which drove him in his pursuits of the past. It was a passion the likes of which she knew all too well. An overpowering and greedy desire to know and experience all there was about a subject until there was nothing left. It was so very much like her lust for combat; an addiction which would never be satiated and demanded everything it could from her. And yet, the fire she saw in his eyes as he spoke was one she'd seen and felt so very recently. It was the same searing flame which she'd ignited in battle and had desired to see ever more of, a flame which had come to burn her in ways which brought no pain. Truly, she had finally come to realize Yuuno Scrya was a passionate man. One who pursued what he held such a personal interest in with all the fervor of a greedy dragon. However her companion's mention of Takamachi gave her pause. It reminded her of the talk she'd had with the brunette after her excursions with Yuuno had been discovered. Signum would hesitate to call it a discussion, for it was more a series of reprimands and a warning which had eventually led her to a number of grim realizations. Yet as she followed the blonde man's instructions for examining the insides of the numerous shelved cabinets, she could not help but wonder about Takamchi's relationship with Yuuno. Just how well did the Ace of Aces know the man she claimed to care for so deeply? It had taken Takamachi a great deal of time to finally learn of Yuuno's awakened battle-lust. What's more, Yuuno did not seem to show or admit any knowledge of such a meeting or intervention. It was becoming... troubling. She must have gotten lost in her thoughts as it took a moment for her to realize Yuuno had called her name while she removed the contents of a cabinet. He was in the process of sealing up a small mountain of books for safe transport back to the surface. "Pardon, I was distracted." An uncharacteristic notion, to be certain, but the weight on her mind had grown rapidly in short order. "What did you need?" Yuuno shook his head as he manipulated the spellwork. "You looked like you zoned out there for a bit. Are you feeling alright?" Signum certainly looked to be fine. Covered in dust and sweat from working, but otherwise fine. "I am. There has been... much on my mind as of late." She walked over to where he was working and carefully set down the metal boxes she'd found. His eyes gleamed at the sight of the boxes, but he turned his gaze back to Signum. "Would you like to talk about it? I might not be able to offer much advice, but it might help to get it off your chest at least." Yuuno briefly looked away to begin sealing up another batch of the ancient artifacts. Signum paused as she looked long and hard at Yuuno. They were... hardly strangers, friends at the very minimum, but were they more than friends? Friends did not do battle as they did, did not enjoy it as they did, and her concerns did involve him. They involved him quite a bit, as a matter of fact. Still, she hesitated. "...I do not wish to take away from your discovery, though if you are willing to listen then I will tell you." Yuuno simply nodded and slowed his work a bit. She drew in a breath. "Some time before I came to you to request permission to join you, I had a ...conversation with Takamchi. It was not long after our battle at the upper ranked training grounds." He had to fight back a blush at the memory of the battle in question. It had been one of their most heated exchanges. The mention of Nanoha made it a bit easier to control himself. "With... Nanoha?" Yuuno looked rather confused, and more than a little concerned. The timing put it rather close to the unfortunate ...lesson Signum had given Fate. "Did it have to do with Fate?" "Yes and no. While she was quite irate, and understandably so, Fate was not the main topic at hand." Her strong gaze met his. "It primarily involved you and me, more specifically our... training." She could not call it such without pause, for it had come to resemble training less and less with each subsequent session. The mention of such a topic led Yuuno to narrow his eyes slightly. What did Nanoha have to discuss with Signum involving their arrangement, enough to supersede mention of Fate? "I can honestly say I'm surprised. I thought it would be about, well, what happened with Fate. What did she say?" Yuuno may not have liked what happened to his blonde friend, but he had come to terms with it and Signum knew this as well. Signum sat down on the floor across from Yuuno, moving aside a pile of sealed artifacts so he could begin working on another. "She claimed I was using you to sate my own hunger for combat, distorting you into someone else in the process. Someone other than the kind man she knows you do be." There was far more involved in the claim, but she was not about to divulge those bits of information. They were of a more... personal nature to her. "She... what?" Nanoha had made such a claim? It sounded... preposterous, really, but Signum was not the sort of woman to make such fabrications. Why would Nanoha say something so outrageous? "I'm going to assume she caught wind of what we've been doing, then?" "It seems Takamachi came upon one of our sessions and recorded it. She was quite displeased with the situation." 'Displeased' was something of an understatement. Signum took a deep breath. "She demanded I find a way to remedy the situation before you were harmed by it." "’Remedy the situation’?" A look of mild irritation and befuddlement crossed his features. He treasured Nanoha, he really did. She was his first friend and they had been through a great deal together. She was always looking out for everyone, sometimes to excess in some peoples' eyes. It would appear his sessions with Signum were of great enough concern to Nanoha as to warrant her idea of an intervention. "Does she think we can't handle ourselves?" The sealing had ceased as Yuuno held Signum's gaze. "No, I believe she thinks I will be unable to handle myself at the pace we had set. Takamachi seems to fear losing you a great deal." The 'as do I' remained unsaid. It would remain as such until she could truly discern what such a statement meant to her. "I wish to hear your thoughts about this." Yuuno closed his eyes and let out a breath. Nanoha's protective streak was tall as a mountain and long as an ocean was wide. Even if she acted for the wellbeing of others, there were a few times when she could go a bit too far. It just went to show how much she loved those around her. He would have to speak with his friend when they returned to Mid-Childa in order clear up any misunderstandings and give Nanoha his side of the story. He looked up to Signum's questioning gaze. "I don't think there's a need for anything drastic. We both realized things were getting a little… heated, before we came here." The recollection of the sight of a panting Signum, clad in sweat and blood while lacking about as much decency in apparel as he after brutal exchanges, brought heat to his cheeks. Heat he was forced to allow the presence of. "I'll talk with Nanoha when we get back. We haven't done anything wrong, but I guess we haven't been fair with everyone either. I've found something here, something I don't want to give up. I need to let her know that." He did not say what it was he had found, nor would he. Not yet. The swelling in her heart was ignored for a stern but... warm expression. "As you wish, Yuuno." Silence reigned for a short time before she spoke again. "Perhaps we had best finish here and return to camp for the day?" "Sounds good." Yuuno granted her a kind smile as they set back to work. ---Scene Break--- When the pair had returned to their base camp, a quick dinner had been consumed courtesy of Signum's attempts at cooking. While she wasn't the best cook, certainly not on the level of Hayate, Yuuno was certainly in no state to be handling something like food. She'd rather not suffer food poisoning. At home would be bad enough. Here, it would be a nightmare. The reason for Yuuno's current state of half-present euphoria lay in the veritable pile of treasures they had managed to bring back with them from their first foray into the ruins of the Ancient Belkan school. Said treasures lay stacked carefully in one corner of the domicile. Each one of the artifacts emanated a soft green glow, sealed up to prevent accidental damage to them. Now they stood before the trinkets, treasures, and artifacts. Signum gazed at them curiously, and Yuuno was doing the same with a calculating eye. He seemed to be contemplating something of great importance. Signum was about to pose a query as to their next course of action when Yuuno finally spoke. "I think I've got it figured out." She tilted her head in a questioning expression as they turned to face one another. "Signum, I'd like you to handle translating these books." He gestured to the stack of textbooks to his side. "Only translation?" she questioned. It seemed a rather... mundane task to her. Perhaps something better left to a translation program. However, she was also the novice here. Yuuno nodded and gave her a reassuring look. "It might seem boring, and it probably will be at first, but it’s a good first step. Plus, your fluency in Ancient Belkan puts mine to shame, honestly." He'd start her out small and let her work on some of the more delicate artifacts when he was certain she could handle them. Signum really was far more adept at the language than he was, anyway. The pinkette nodded in understanding before crossing her arms and placing one hand upon her chin. "You would not happen to have a spell which would help prevent further damage to the tomes?" She'd rather not touch the books with her bare hands and risk further damaging them. Something told her the loss of such irreplaceable information would not be good for Yuuno's health. "I do, actually. I was planning on showing it to you before dinner, but... I was a little distracted." He scratched his cheek in slight embarrassment. It seemed to be a habit of his. "Indeed you were." Signum gave a small grin. "I could have served you moss and mud and you probably wouldn't have noticed." Yuuno laughed somewhat lamely. "Ah... hahaha... Sorry about that. Dinner was really good though. Thank you for cooking." It really was a good dinner, and he felt a little ashamed at having not thanked Signum for her efforts before now. She shook her head. "Simply try to keep your head about you next time. Or I really will feed you that. Now... about this spell?" He chuckled. "I'll do my best." He raised his hands and a wide spell array erupted from his palms. It was not really a complex equation, but it would look rather unusual to any not familiar to spells used in archaeological work. "This will let you interact with the books without directly touching them or interfering with the seal." "That seems rather convenient." Surprisingly so. She wasn't expecting such a simple answer. Nor a relatively simple spell to match it. As she set about memorizing it, she posed a question. "Does it have any other uses outside of archaeology? "It's really only useful with the sealing spell. There’s plenty of other, better, spells to gain a similar effect in other fields, but for dealing with such delicate things like ancient artifacts, this is one of the best." He'd been using and updating it since he was a young boy. There was a mild apprehension at the thought of finally replacing it, but he'd yet to find a suitable substitute. "I see." With the spell memorized, Signum set about casting it to ensure all had gone well. Having never done so before, her actions were cautious and aimed away from the pile of artifacts. When her hands began glowing a brilliant pink, she raised an eyebrow. This did not seem quite right. "Yuuno, I believe I have made an error..." Her voice seemed a little put off at the notion. With a mildly amused smile on his face, Yuuno took Signum's hands into his own and gazed at them. He nodded not a few moments later. "You put too much power into this part of the equation. It’s causing a stack overflow with the spell." It took only a few moments for Signum to make the corrections and a mild pinkish aura now encased her hands. Though the fact Yuuno was still holding them brought a shade of pink to her cheeks as well. She glanced upwards and saw a similar color on his as well. "You're a fast learner, Signum." Yuuno released her hands and grinned, fighting off the color on his face. "Let’s get to work." Signum's own grin met his. "I am Wolkenritter." She gave a nod of thanks as Yuuno handed her a stack of tomes and further instruction on how he'd like her to translate the books. Verbatim would not do. She needed to be accurate in terms of context. Something a program couldn't accurately do as well as a human mind was capable of, hence why most active translation spells interfaced with the brain when functioning. In addition, speech was far easier to translate on the fly compared to the written word. Regardless, she had a task to accomplish, and she would do so. Perhaps two or three hours later, Signum was beginning to feel the onset of weariness. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she glanced over to the other side of the room where Yuuno worked stoically. He truly did love such work. She'd learned far more about Ancient Belka in the past few hours than she'd ever have thought possible, and she'd only touched on a few of the subjects covered in the textbooks in front of her. While it was common knowledge the Belkan Empire's history was a long one, what she'd found was beyond such a descriptor. The Empire's history stretched back even further than she had thought, seemingly covering a span of several millenium. Some of the events detailed in the textbooks told of a time when the long gone empire was not even large enough to hold a continent-sized landmass on its originating planet, much less entire systems and dimensions. Such a time extended some millennia and a half before they were even able to reach the stars. Signum found it rather difficult to marry the image of a relatively small, medieval kingdom being the predecessor to one of the mightiest empires in the knowing universe. Yet, everything had a beginning. Perhaps even the mythical Al Hazard, upon which Belka had made its leap into the universe, had such a beginning? And there was so much more. The Empire described to her was devoted to the notion of a strong empire, one which held dominance over all others. A strong empire built upon strong people. Such devotion came to influence every aspect of their military, government, and daily lives. Even friendships, marriages, and simple civil liberties were based upon this law. And those who were not strong were made strong. The small kingdom had spread its borders rapidly, with little pausing, until it had conquered the entire world. But it was not until Belka took to the stars and came upon the ruins of Al Hazard, a civilization stronger than their own, that they truly become the mighty Empire which would leave its mark on the universe. They took what was strong of other cultures and added it to their own might. They grew and adapted. If an enemy's sword was stronger than their own, they took it and learned from it. Studied it and added its might to their own armies. Each victory added the strength of the defeated to their own massive, constantly growing, power. Technology. Ideas. People. Nothing was ignored merely because it was not of Belkan origin. The Cradle was even written about in the texts. The massive and immensely powerful ship was one of many, a single vessel in an armada of ships-of-the-line. It was one of the Empire's most costly and powerful warships, but was regaled by impassioned description as a worthy cost the people were most willing to pay. At the time of this book's printing, not a single Cradle-class craft had fallen in battle. It painted the Scaglietti Incident in a whole other light. They had nearly lost everything to a single ship. An entire fleet was almost unreal. Had she not read it for herself, Signum would have considered such a thought to be madness. And the weapons wielded. They were terrifying. She knew Belka permitted and encouraged the use of mass-based weaponry alongside the magical power of its knights. Some of the arms mentioned here gave even her pause. Rifles capable of striking down men from miles away. Cannons and explosives which could eradicate cities, countries, continents. Even the horrific failures and losses chronicled in their history were used as stepping stones and learning blocks from which to grow ever more powerful. The catastrophic War of Heimdal. The bloody battles of Sturm Palast and Brennenden Himmel. She read of the hundreds of thousands and millions who perished in these events. She read how the Empire overcame these failures and became mightier than ever as they stormed across the cosmos like unrestrained lightning. As she found herself further immersing her intellectual self into the past, she was unaware of the brief smile sent her way by the room's sole other occupant. ---Scene Break--- Over the course of the expedition, the swordswoman and the archaeologist fell into an odd sort of pattern. Such was bound to happen when people lived together after all. In addition, it made for a rather interesting round of discoveries for both individuals. It would seem Yuuno was not the sort of person to prefer pajamas when he slept. The sight of him clad in nothing more than boxers and a tank-top had caused Signum's cheeks to color slightly, though she cited the warmth of their domicile as the cause. He was also not much of a coherent morning person. Certainly, he woke not long after she did, however he behaved much like the living dead in terms of his mental facilities. It reminded her of Hayate. At the very least, he didn't need to drown himself in coffee to get started in the morning. A nice hot shower or a splash of cold water on the face seemed to do the trick more often than not. On the topic of showers, Yuuno had quickly come to discover Signum much preferred the large bath back home to the relatively small shower their domicile provided. It wasn't much, but he could sense a slight feeling of irritation from the pink-haired woman whenever she stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower. He supposed the Yagami family bath would spoil anyone in short order. Granted, such thoughts were furthest from his mind whenever she appeared from the room with a cloud of steam behind her. Combined with the high humidity of the planet and the often sweltering heat, maintaining eye contact with Signum had become an exercise in willpower as he fought to avoid taking in the sight of her radiant form. Each moment they spent together on the expedition began to reveal little nuances about one another's preferences and personalities they'd not yet seen in the other or, at least, had only caught a glimpse of prior. Signum's enjoyment of reading whenever given the chance. How she preferred to wear long socks and seemed to only have the one yellow hair ribbon. Yuuno was also granted the sight of a Signum with far too much energy. Translating Ancient Belkan did not burn the usual masses of energy combat did. He'd granted her request when she'd asked to take a break and go through a few sword forms. Apparently a few forms took a few hours to complete and resulted in a very sweaty, red-faced Signum with a satisfied look on her face. This too, had been a great ordeal in keeping his head about himself. Signum had found living with Yuuno to be quite an eye opening experience as well. The man often left notes lying about in a chaotic manner she could not begin to describe. Not without threatening her sanity at the very least. His sense of time seemed to be rather warped as well, as she'd caught him still awake at abominable hours twice thus far. The second time had even required her to bodily throw him into his sleeping bag after he'd snuck out to do more work. Much to her surprise, this apparent lack of sleep did not seem to bother him in the least. How Yuuno had managed to maintain such energy had baffled her. Though she did reason her body was simply not as used to this type of work as his was. Warfare was a different sort of beast, after all. However this habit of his was also something which had begun to grate on her nerves. It was hardly the only part about living with him which was affecting her, but it was certainly one of the more prominent at the moment. Particularly considering the hour. It was the sixth day of the expedition when Signum began to truly understand the depths of Yuuno's devotion to his work. Rather, the effect such depths were having on him. The first few days had been about as she had expected given her first foray in the realm of archaeology. More of the same bouts of discovery followed by analysis. Yuuno still had her working on the less delicate task of translation while he worked on the artifacts requiring a far more experienced touch. The exploration had begun to occur with less frequency once the site had been completely mapped out and much of their time had been spent in further research. It was this research which had been occupying more and more of Yuuno's mind as time went on. She had already warned him about needing to get more sleep else he would collapse or otherwise leave himself in a state of poor health. The human body needed rest and she had been rather tolerant of his habits thus far. However at the moment, he was reaching the end of her good graces. Not helping Signum's mood was the fact the environmental systems seemed to have decided to take a break from functioning at peak performance earlier in the day. Said malfunction had kept both her and Yuuno from properly bathing owing to a lack of water. She was hot, sweaty, and she could hear the sounds of her companion still working through the closed door. Wide awake and frustrated, there was only one outlet for her to make use of. She was ready to storm out and instigate a repeat of the sleeping bag incident when the sounds stopped. Was he going to finally get some sleep? The sound of the bedroom door slowly opening dashed her hopes. The faint glow of Yuuno's small reading light was the only illumination in the room. It seemed he was trying to not wake her as he sought something. When he came within arms-reach, the swordswoman sat up and settled a flat look on the blonde. "Yuuno." Signum was rather glad she could see him jump in surprise and drop the light, deactivating it. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness some time ago. "Kindly explain why you are still awake." Yuuno swallowed nervously. The muggy air did not help him regain his senses from the shock. "Well... I, ah..." His eyes slowly began to focus as the darkness regressed at a crawl. Signum's gaze did not leave him as he fumbled. "I was really close to finishing off my analysis of—" He was cut off as a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. "And if I remember correctly, that is what you said last time." She was in no mood for games as she pulled him closer. "Now, will you go to sleep?" The blonde began trying to move away, forcing her to grab his other arm with her other hand in response. "I'll get some sleep in a bit, so please, Signum." He could keep going. Just a bit longer was all he wanted. He could rest on the trip home. Just like always. "No." Signum's tone was non-negotiable as her eyes narrowed. She would make sure he got his rest one way or another. The struggle was brief, if it could even be called as such. Even in such an odd position, she was more than capable of pulling the man into bed and holding him there. "You are going to get some sleep even if I have to hold you here all night. I will not have you finally give out at the worst possible moment." For Yuuno, held firm against Signum's body, it was a special kind of torture. He could feel her. The heat had forced her into a tank top and shorts, revealing far more of her body to him than he was able to handle at the moment. His own lack of a shirt allowed him to feel every inch of her pressed against him. Toned muscle defining a curvaceous frame. His mind could not help but burn every detail of her into his memory. Her soft, smooth skin, hot and sweaty. Ample bust, barely constrained by the thin, white fabric and heaving against him with each breath she took. Long legs, one of which was tightly locked around his own to further prevent his escape. His emerald gaze met her crystal blue. She was flushed, breathing deeply from the exertion to pull him into bed. Sweat dripped from her face as her unbound hair remained pasted to her flesh. Her gaze was steely, but fiery. Primal in appearance. And her lips... Those barely parted pink lips from which heated breath issued past. Such soft lips... Yuuno Scrya could not help himself. He wanted her. More than anything in the world, he wanted Signum Yagami. His lips captured hers, and months, if not years, of restrained up desire flowed forth. She tasted like metal, salt, and cinnamon. It was a taste he wanted to savor and make his. Only his to luxuriate in. Signum's eyes widened in shock at the sudden advance; she had not been expecting such a movement, and thus were her lips taken. Dominated. Her steely gaze melted and fire consumed her, spreading from her core to every part of her body. He had done it. He had conquered a part of her. And yet, she found herself fighting to regain control. Her own suppressed wants flowed forth as she began trying to retake what had been wrested from her. Even greater the fire grew as she assailed his own lips. She grasped his cheeks and pulled him against her yet harder. She wanted this. She wanted him. Just as much as he wanted her. Here was a man who had risen to every challenge she had put before him and had sought to stand against her upon her most treasured field. Yuuno wanted her. He wanted to dominate her. Her, the General of Blazing Fire. But she would not let him take her so easily. She would fight to take him as much as he to take her. The raging inferno which pulsed within her heart demanded no less. Neither did the furnace of her loins. Yuuno's hands responded to the advancement against his own lips as they sought out other territory to conquer. They moved with all the clumsiness and desperation of the exhausted and impassioned. One hand found itself pulling Signum tightly against him, further pressing their heated bodies against one another as it slid further and further down. Inching ever closer to the seductive curves which lay beyond the small of her back. Such curves which had drawn his attention so often as of late. He wanted to feel every possible inch of them, memorize them. Make them belong to him and only him. His hand slowly crept past the waistband of Signum's shorts and found perchance on her shapely rear, eliciting a shiver from the woman in his arms. It was soft, firm, and he knew he could have spent forever massaging such supple flesh. Not because it was such a wondrous feeling. But because it was Signum. His other hand moved beneath the nearly indecent shirt Signum wore, pressing against her back and forcing their bodies ever closer. As their lips and tongues danced and tasted one another, their already minimal clothing began feeling restricting and tight. Yuuno's dextrous fingers began making their way around to the heavy bust which was all but exposed by their fevered actions. A squeeze of the soft mound led Signum to moan deeply into Yuuno's mouth. A moan which as not the last. A moan which further spurred him on. He would pleasure her as he dominated her. He would make her scream his name in surrender. He would love her as no other was capable of loving. All because she was Signum. Each motion of Yuuno's hands further stoked the already rampaging fires burning away within Signum. She wanted so much more of him. To feel every nick and scar upon his body. Each sign of battle and badge of combat he had been granted. Both in their passionate exchanges on the field and in his own work. Marks which emboldened her actions and further drove her desires. One hand left Yuuno's cheek and began tracing over each and every wound which had left its mark upon his body. An action which was met with an approving groan from her bedmate. Even more so when her other hand joined in the exploration of Yuuno's body. Feeling him and memorizing him. His was not the sculpted frame of ancient gods enshrined as statues, but it need not be to her wanting touch. She would never have anyone. Not unless they were this man. This man who so drove her mad with impassioned thoughts. Thoughts of sin and warfare. She wanted no one else to stoke these fires and meet her in battle in such a sensuous way. She would only ever conquer and be conquered by Yuuno Scrya. This Yuuno Scrya she had come to love. Her leg, still wrapped around Yuuno's own as a means of further restraining him, tightened and pulled him closer, moving up towards his waist as it did so. It was an action which ground their hips together and further fueled her fires and led her to bemoan the separation between their bodies. Yet she was unable to distract her mind long enough to remove them. They trailed bites and searing kisses along one another's necks not a moment after breaking the lengthy kiss. Hands danced and grasped oh so willing flesh as their daring wants grew. Both Knight and librarian seeking to conquer the other without mercy. Both wanting to take everything the other had to offer and yet more. ---Scene Break--- It was late in the afternoon at the mostly empty Takamachi-Harlaown household. Caro and Vivio had gone out earlier in the day and wouldn't be back until after dinner. They were planning on having some fun as sisters with their friends. Something the two had been planning to do for some time now. Erio had commandeered Arf as a subject for a sparring partner. Ever since having seen the vicious battle between Yuuno and Signum, he'd been pouring over tomes about strategy and magical theory. It was often the unfortunate familiar who wound up as the one to test his experiments and new tactics, however when it was Erio who came home as a charred mess more often than not, Fate questioned whether or not Arf was really the unfortunate one in the arrangement. This left the house occupied only by Fate and Nanoha. While most would consider it a prime opportunity to simply relax and have a nice, quiet evening, most were not privy to the sight of Nanoha Takamachi looking less than content while seated across from her best friend and co-parent. The brunette rarely donned such a conflicted and concerned expression, and Fate had never been on the other side of the table whenever Nanoha did wear it. Fate had more than a few theories about what the source of Nanoha's worries was. It was her job to speculate and draw conclusions from situations presented to her, after all. However there were too many strings she was missing to get an accurate picture of what was going on. All she had were bits and pieces, some more useful than others. Quite a few of those bits and pieces pointed to two particular individuals as sources; Yuuno Scrya and Signum Yagami. Signum's recent bouts of violent and downright strange behavior had caused quite a stir. Setting aside the vicious and nonsensical beating she'd received at the hands of the pink-haired woman some time ago, there were at least three other factors which contributed to Signum's place in her theories. One was the sudden favor called in to have Hayate shipped off to boot camp. Not only had it come out of nowhere, but it had seemed so out of character for the stern and loyal Knight. Many of Signum's actions as of late had seemed as such. The supposedly heated argument Nanoha had with Signum was another. Neither had said anything about what had been discussed, but it was high on her list of possible reasons. Next was the inordinate amount of time Signum seemed to be spending with Yuuno. Being fully aware of Nanoha and Yuuno's history, it seemed to be perhaps an even greater source of worry than even her own treatment at Signum's hands. Fate folded her hands on the table and offered Nanoha a comforting smile. It seemed to relax the woman opposite her a little. Sitting in a tense silence for the past few minutes hadn't seemed to do Nanoha much good. If Nanoha wasn't going to start, then she'd have to get the ball rolling. "You said you had something important to tell me?" Her voice was gentle and soothing. Nanoha remained silent for a bit longer before nodding. "I do." She was nervous. Not because she was worried about how Fate would react, but rather because she wasn't sure how to begin. "Does this have to do with what you and Signum talked about?" Fate's voice never wavered in the slightest. The brunette nodded and steeled herself. "It does. We talked about her recent behavior and how she treated you in your fight. And what she's been doing to Yuuno." Nanoha's choice of words gave Fate pause. Had her best friend said 'with' rather than 'to', she wouldn't have felt a surge of concern well up within her. 'With' implied Nanoha saw whatever Signum and Yuuno were doing to be of benefit or otherwise approved of it. From the sound of it, however, Signum's actions were definitely neither in Nanoha's eyes. "What has she been doing to Yuuno?" "She's been manipulating him. Turning him into something to satisfy her own desires. The… the fight. I saw the fight they had right after she hurt you." Nanoha shook her head. "It was wrong. I've never seen those eyes on him before…" Fate's eyes narrowed. She was getting closer to what was happening. The true nature of things. "What sort of eyes, Nanoha? How was he different?" She was indeed concerned about Yuuno's welfare, but so far there had been no indication of him needing any sort of help. The brunette gazed into Fate's ruby eyes. "He was wearing the same expression Signum does when she cuts loose. Those eyes… It was like he had become a different person. One perfectly suited to giving Signum what she wants in a fight." Her voice sounded smaller now. "Signum… She said Yuuno was a man who didn't belong stuck behind a desk for the rest of his life. She said he was someone who 'would step up the the greatest of foes and do everything in his power to make them submit to him'. Those were her exact words…" "Signum said that about Yuuno? But…" Fate trailed off as more bits of the puzzle began sliding into place. Nanoha wasn't done. "If they were being careful, I wouldn't mind! I'd be happy they'd found a common interest and were enjoying each other's company. But this is… It’s just reckless." She looks down as she continues, a slight tremble appearing in her voice. "I don't want him to get hurt like that… He's too important to me. To you. To everyone." Fate blinked as the picture finally finished gathering in her mind. Now everything made sense. Why Signum had lost herself and gone wild in their match, why Nanoha was so distressed, and why Yuuno was spending so much time with the General. Now she knew the answers. The blonde beauty cleared her throat and reached out to hold Nanoha's hands. "Nanoha." Her kind, soothing voice paused so her friend could look up into her eyes. "Have you considered the possibility that he wants this? That he wants to throw caution to the wind?" "I… I have. Signum suggested it as well. It’s up to Yuuno whether or not he wants to continue this, but I'm worried he's going to go too far before he can stop and think and we're all going to lose him." Nanoha looked down at where Fate's hands were overlapping her own. "One way or another…" "We're not going to lose him. We both know he can take care of himself. Yuuno is still the kind and gentle man we know. But…" Fate paused for a moment as she chose her words carefully. "But he's not the boy you fell in love with anymore. He's also not the young man you broke up with either." Fate recalled all too well the few years Nanoha and Yuuno had spent as a couple. They had done well together. Quite well, actually. It had even reached the point where she was certain if Vivio had been present in their lives, the girl would have been calling Yuuno her father. Yet, even with all their closeness, the spark had still gone out. They had reached some barrier, some line, they were unable to cross. It had been an amicable separation, and both were still close friends. They had moved on, grown up, and learned from it. "I know, Fate. I know… I just… Never expected something like this to happen." Yuuno was a central figure in her life. He had brought her into the world of magic. Had been her friend, her lover, and nearly more. This sudden and violent immersion of his into Signum's world had come as a shock, and one she felt she could not leave alone. She cared about her friends far too deeply to do otherwise. Fate gave a soft smile as she spoke. "I don't think anyone did, really, and if it hadn't been for Signum tossing me about I doubt we'd have seen it for quite a while longer." She recalled the harsh treatment she'd received at the hands of the Blazing General as she spoke. It had been a wakeup call of considerable magnitude. Not only had the very real possibility of her having become complacent been thrown in her face, but she had also been forced to take a long and hard look inside of herself to see where she stood as an Enforcer. It hadn't taken her long to be cleared for combat again, and she'd opted to see just how true Signum's words were. She had not been pleased at the results. While not nearly so bad as the pinkette had claimed, Fate had still found herself to be lacking and was now taking action to pull herself from the mire Signum saw her to be stuck in. "I'm still mad at her for doing that to you." Nanoha's attention was temporarily diverted at the mention of what had led to her discovering what Signum and Yuuno had been up to in their free time. It would be a little while longer before she was ready to fully forgive Signum for what she had done to Fate. Nanoha's reaction was met with a look of acceptance. "I'm still not happy with her about it either, but at least I know now rather than later. And it could have been a lot worse." It really could have. The fact it had not was a great relief to her. Bruises upon her body and ego were a small price to pay for what could have been crippling or lethal injuries. The brunette gave the blonde a dry look. Fate was too kind at times. Still, it was one of the things she loved about the other woman. "It could have been a lot worse? You were one big bruise when they called me. I thought you were a giant purple potato!" Fate giggled at the description. Nanoha's tendency to exaggerate rarely failed to bring a smile to her face. "I don't think I was quite that bad. And I'd like to think I didn't look like a potato of all things." It was an amusing image, but not one she'd like to replicate. Nanoha shook her head with a concerned expression, the brief moment of mirth fading back into the more serious conversation they had become sidetracked from. "If they were only training, I could see why he'd go an extra mile. But this… I just have a hard time understanding it." She really did. Part of her still associated the blonde man with the kind librarian rather than the beast she'd seen squaring off against Signum. It seemed too drastic. It was a side of Yuuno she'd never seen before. "Have you considered the possibility he loves her?" Fate's suggestion made Nanoha blink in confusion at the sudden suggestion. "And he's continuing to do this because he loves her and wants to understand her more? His violent side may be something he's awakened to in fighting her, and it’s something he's alright with, something she finds attractive in him as well?" This combat-driven side of Yuuno explained much of Signum's actions and Nanoha's displeasure. "There's also the possibility that Signum isn't sure what to do with this attraction. And perhaps it’s why she's been acting so odd. She wanted something from me when we fought, something I wasn't able to give her. My own complacency aside, I couldn't give it to her because I wasn't Yuuno." She paused to let her words sink in. From the looks of it, Nanoha seemed to at least be taking her words seriously. "They… love each other?" She knew Yuuno would one day find love again in the arms of another, and she was certain he knew the same about her. Signum, however, was not someone she imagined would fill his heart. Shamal or Hayate, perhaps. But not the Blazing General. "...I can't say I saw that one coming." Fate smiled comfortingly. "You know firsthand how love can make people act and just how strange it is." She released her hold on Nanoha's hands and walked around the table to stand behind the brunette. " Look at Subaru and Teana." A giggle escapes her lips. "They're still trying to figure out how Subaru modified her Wing Road like that." The exuberant Nakajima had somehow modified the spell into a banner proclaiming her love for Teana. Nanoha laughed at the memory of the event before sobering with a smile. "I'm just worried about him, but I guess I might be going a bit too far this time." She leaned back against Fate and smiled. "I owe him an apology. But he also owes me an explanation." "An explanation?" Fate was rather curious as to what sort of explanation Nanoha would want out of Yuuno. She had an idea of what would be demanded, but the brunette she was embracing had a tendency for nonstandard. Craning her neck to look into Fate's ruby gaze, a feat made rather difficult owing to their positions and the blonde's assets, Nanoha grins. "Aside from telling me why he kept it a secret, I want to know exactly what he finds attractive about Signum." The blonde blinked in confusion. "…Pardon?" "How else am I going to tease him about it? Nyahahaha~!"
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The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all. |
2012-09-08, 00:28 | Link #37191 | |
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*looks at the bucket of extracted impurities and the noxious fumes wafting from its contents* ...Yeah, I got nothing.
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The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all. |
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2012-09-08, 02:03 | Link #37193 |
I am no one
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Inside your head
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No words can truly explain my happiness after such wonderful update. I can only say: WORTH THE WAIT. You two did a wonderful job in the workshop. I'll patiently wait for the future update.
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2012-09-08, 05:32 | Link #37194 | |
Crax
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: MY
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2012-09-08, 07:59 | Link #37195 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Age: 32
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*really can't comment more; in too much awe*
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2012-09-08, 09:42 | Link #37196 |
Heads or Tails?
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Under a pebble
Age: 32
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It's good to see you update your work rather then advertising and uploading the work of others. And yes, the picture worked like a charm, I think.
I love the dynamic relationship between Yuuno and Signum, and you've nailed humor in this chapter really well - with Yuunno's devotion in his work and Signum's strict demeanor, it's like a girlfriend trying to stop her boyfriend's addiction with video games. There is also mention of Hayate's trip to boot-camp that made me chuckle like a Hyena. Don't forget Nanoha, she's good at exploiting other people in their embarrassing moments - she's the white devil after all. I also have the feeling that Yuuno has a great potential to be an main-character in an harem based game or something. Thanks to Nanoha for quoting Signum's words in the last scene break about Yuuno being a "conqueror". Spoiler for A minor mistake:
Signum sat down on the floor across from Yuuno, moving aside a pile of sealed artifacts so he could begin working on another. "She claimed I was using you to sate my own hunger for combat, distorting you into someone else in the process. Someone other than the kind man she knows you do be." There was far more involved in the claim, but she was not about to divulge those bits of information. They were of a more... personal nature to her. I really hate my inner grammar-nazi-radar for spotting this small mistake. It ruins my fun for reading. |
2012-09-08, 10:38 | Link #37198 |
Otaku Apprentice
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@Craxuan: is pregnant?!
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OS-tan Collections (temporary): https://discord.gg/Hv2rBs3
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2012-09-08, 12:21 | Link #37199 | ||||
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Eh, close enough. =P
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And I have a few ideas for Nanoha's exploitation of the situation. >=3 Quote:
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The Art of Shipping is as profound as it is dangerous; not for the faint of heart nor the weak of will, it makes gods and devils out of us all. |
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2012-09-08, 14:51 | Link #37200 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Age: 32
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<.< Iron, have you been looking through other peoples' fanfic notes? D:
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authorshipping, befriending, fanfiction, interactive fanfiction, nanoha |
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