A (K)Night of Lost Memories
Summary/Preview
Hayate Yagami once had a strange book that seemed to one night produced 4 strangers out
of nowhere and is said to bring its owner (her) unsurpassed power once it's pages are
collected.
The Belkan Knights, as they called themselves, serve their master with unfaltering devotion,
no matter if the master's intentions are good or evil, and follow their master's orders. Hayate,
though, saw them as family after they lived with her for a while. A strange yet devoted family
that has managed to get her back on her feet after a corrupt Book of Darkness, which
cleansed itself of the bothersome bugs and is renamed Reinforce, took her ability to walk and
was aiming for her vitals.
One of those Knights is Shamal (above). She specializes in healing and magical support with
her device Klarwind. This story is about her who, one night, wasn't herself much.
This is a definite example of amnesia with a personality change, and how even nice people
can harbor monstrous demons inside them. (Yandere-type people. ^-^)
Note: On DeviantArt, this is the Second Version, which was completely redone to better understanding.
Fatigue
After several repeats, anything can be draining.
All Shamal could do is continue the healing support. Even though things are getting hairy in
the battlefields of far-off worlds. She sometimes wonders how much the other Knights are
going to last, with one mission starting minutes after another, and some going into the
nighttime hours. It's now to the point she even questions a program's endurance.
Her mistress Hayate Yagami took noticed of the mage's fatigue. One evening at home, she
brought it up to Shamal's attention as the TV ran an old paid-program on "innovating
vacuums".
"It's getting to you, isn't it?" the brunette mage asked. She couldn't avoid to look at Shamal's
baggy eyes.
The commercial kept on playing. The blonde mage started to bob her head.
Hayate reached for the remote to shut it off. She then grabbed the mage and steered her,
face to face.
"You're wearing yourself out!"
"I'm sorry," Shamal answered politely. "I just—."
"I know. The Bureau won't ease up on us. The same went for Nanoha and Fate and all the
others."
"They seem to be inconsiderate of our well-being, are they?"
"True, but I know that you haven't slept in weeks."
"I haven't?" Shamal was a tad surprised. She wasn't sure but it felt like days. "Weeks?", she
thought. "Have I lost track of time?"
Hayate then hugged the mage and started to cry. "Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"
"Well, you hand us the orders."
"I know that, but you didn't have to go to the extremes. This means I might lose you again!"
Shamal comforted the sobbing Hayate. "Trust me, I'm not entirely reckless." She then thought
of an idea. "How about we take some time off after this one mission, all of us, and just relax?
Let all the sleepiness fly off. Sound good?"
Hayate beamed. "Really?"
"It's only an evening patrol out on Midchilda, and then we're off for a whole week."
That familiar smile returned."Then come back in one piece, please!"
The blonde mage smiled back. "Promise!"
An hour into the patrol on the large city of Midchilda produced nothing unusual, and the night
is setting in. Alongside Shamal were the other Belkan Knights, flying in formation. "I'd like for
this to go on without a fight for once," spoke Vita, telepathically.
"Wouldn't we all," said the bold Signum, in the same manner. "I bet you need the most rest,
Shamal."
"Hayate told you, didn't she?" responded the mage.
"She didn't. I've noticed it for a while. What did she say?"
"She and I think we all should come back to Earth and then take a vacation. So we all regain
our strength."
"It's about damn time," interrupted Vita.
"I'm up for one, myself," spoke Zafira, the dog-knight.
Shamal couldn't help to chuckle. "Then it's decided! We'll—!"
A blur whizzed to the blonde mage, and struck her. It happened so fast, she didn't have time
for a magic shield. Whatever the blur was, it sent her straight down. The Knights were lucky
to be close enough to follow her rapid descent. The landing produced a cloud of blinding
debris that quickly faded away.
She lied on the street, seemingly dead. But...
"Thank god, she is still alive," Signum said after checking the vital signs.
"So she's out cold?" asked Vita.
"What did hit her?" inquired Zafira.
"Whatever it was, it can't be far. Let's split up and go a few clicks. Meet back here so we
transport Shamal straight home!"
A few moments later, all met back at Shamal's point of impact and teleported her back to the
Yagami house. The sun was setting on Earth, but the Knights had to resume the search for
whatever struck Shamal. Despite their valiant efforts, nothing.
Their search was cut short when Signum receive a call on her borrowed cell phone from
Hayate. "Shamal is missing!" cried the mistress.
"What?" cried the sword woman out loud.
"I'm so sorry!" Hayate sobbed as the remaining Knights came through the door. "I didn't‒!"
Signum hugged her and stroke the brunette's hair to calm her down. She shushed her gently
and said, "It's alright. It's not your fault."
"I went to get a bowl of water for her wound after I change her into regular clothes, but she‒
hic‒she was gone!"
"It's alright, Master Hayate. Just tell us to look for her and we'll find her before any damage is
done."
Hayate looked up. "What do you mean damage?"
Signum looked at the brunette with serious, stern eyes. "This only happened once before,
and it was because of our lack of timing, mostly mine."
"What did happen?"
"She," started the sword woman mage, "She once had an accident similar to this. She
couldn't remember who she was. It's probably the case now."
"But what happened?" asked Hayate.
"She went looking for herself, which is what she might be doing right now. But since people
aren't aware of us Knights or mages altogether, disaster might come to the most
unfortunate."
"What disaster?" The brunette sounded worried.
The First Casualty
A dumpster-strewn alleyway. It seemed so familiar to the blonde mage, but her mind's not
working right. It felt like that to her.
Thoughts were flowing. Things like, "It's so confusing. And everything is blurry and
strange..."
Her eyes glance left and right. Nothing seemed to click.
"Who am I? I just don't know anything. All I know is that there's something I have to
remember. But what?"
They darted to a muscular man smoking in the light of an outdoor street lamp. "He might
help me."
"Hiya, missy," the man said with a gruff voice. "What's your name?"
Shamal looked to the man's face with a lost look. "I...I don't know."
"Say what?"
"I don't know...my name."
"Are you dumb?"
"I just don't know‒!" The mage became scared as the man grabbed her arm sharply.
"God! I hate people playing dumb!" He viciously shoved Shamal to the ground. To add insult,
he kicked her sides and stomped on a leg, calling her "Stupid bitch!" Each yelp of pain lead to
more kicks and stomps, some straight to her stomach.
After a few minutes, he stood by and saw the finished product of his work. The mage began
to cough up a dark, red liquid. Unsatisfied, the stranger threw her onto one of the open
dumpsters, back first to its edge. He looked at the beaten Shamal, pleased at the damage as
she felt to the ground.
The blonde shot a glare at him, violet eyes becoming dark. She stood up, ignoring the pain
and keeping her balance steady with the dumpster. "How..." she snarled under her breath.
"How...fucking stupid of you!"
"Stupid?" snapped the man.
Shamal felt around the contents of the dumpster until she felt a golf club. "I just wanted
answers," she growled. "But since you don't have any, you're of no use to me."
"I gave you answers," joked the man. "13, the shoe size that kicked your ass!"
"You.." She lunged forward, yelling out "Heartless Bastard!" as the man yelped.
She swung as hard and as fast as possible, ignoring the bents she created and the man's
sudden pleads for her to stop beating him. She didn't even slow down, not when the man
started to bleed, not when the blood flung in all directions onto her and the street, and not
when the man stopped moving and breathing. When she finally stopped, she picked herself
up and limped down the alley with the aid of the club, ignoring the now dead man with a
scared look frozen on his face.
The Yagami house was never this silent. Signum and Hayate sat on the couch alone in the
den.
"No," Hayate whispered. "Shamal couldn't..."
"I'm afraid so," responded Signum. "She couldn't find herself for such a long time, her mind
went haywire. Her internal program became corrupt and that resulted in hundreds dead."
"She's not a program. She's a being, like the rest of you." The brunette covered her face and
tears.
Despite the attempts to comfort her, the sword woman couldn't shake off the guilt of such a
dark confession told straight to her caring mistress. It's worse than the Book of Darkness
incident, that bizarre fight they're trying to forget.
"I don't want to believe that she could do such a thing." A flash of Shamal's pleasant,
motherly smile came to Hayate's mind. "Why would she do that?"
"I wish I knew," spoke Signum. "I didn't want to believe it either, but I saw it happened. I
don't want that to repeat."
"Then, go find her. We can fix her, right?"
"Yes. I do remember one simple thing that can fix her. But I have to do alone."
"What?" Hayate took a moment to uncover her face in confusion.
"I alone know of this." The knight stood off the couch and knelt down in front of Hayate, like
knight to his king. "Please, let me do this on my own. I promise Shamal's safety and of my
own."
"But you'd be killed."
"Klarwind is programmed to not activate when Shamal isn't herself. And I won't attack
without any provocation. I also plan to attempt to persuade her with words."
The brunette wiped the tears. "Just bring her back, please."
"You have my unfaltering word."
Stopping Shamal
Blocks inside Uminari's skyline, Signum heard blood-curling screams. She perched herself
from her aerial flight onto a building ledge to look at the screaming's source.
Surrounding Shamal were six rough thugs, some carrying tire irons and guns. But before
Signum could break out Lavaltin, a terrible scene unfolded on the sidewalk.
One thug was quickly stabbed with the remains of a golf club. One stab pierced his head,
which Signum turned to avoid seeing. "This soon?" she thought.
Another thug was spared of the rod. Instead, the blonde viciously dug through the brute's
torso. Organs spilled out, and Signum started to feel sick. She can smell the blood from up on
the roof and felt bile rising from her stomach.
The mage turned to where Signum can see her face. Tears were streaming. "She's crying?"
Shamal grabbed the gun of the third man and shot him and another man until the gun was
empty.
One gang member remained, shaking uncontrollably in fear.
The blonde cried out, "Why won't anyone answer to me? I just want to know who I am!"
She dashed to the man, grabbing him by the arm. "I need to know!"
The sword-wielding Knight flew to another hiding spot nearby in an alleyway behind the
blonde Knight without being seen, preparing for her plan.
The man flung her off. "Get off me, you monster!"
Shamal stood there, eyes to the ground. Her arms limped to her side. "A monster?" she
asked, flat and low in tone. "Is that what I am?"
"What?" The gangster tensed up.
"I see." She straighten her posture and exposed a now emotionless glare. "If I'm called a
monster, then a monster I shall be."
"No, you shall not!" Signum shouted as she revealed herself in her civilian attire. "Unlike this
man here, I have what you desire."
"And just who the hell are you?"
"A friend. One who knows who you really are." The Knight then turned to the gangster on
Shamal's other side. "Wanna live? Start running."
The thug dashed as fas as he could, and when he ran from her sights, Signum realigned her
attention to the bloodstained Shamal.
"Now that he's out of the picture, I want to know how devoted you are to find out who you
are."
"How should I do that?"
"Just follow my instructions. They may sound ridiculous at first, but when it's all done,
everything will come in full circle of you."
"OK, what now?"
"Remove your clothes first," the sword woman said with a stern face.
The mage couldn't believe the command. "That's absurd."
"One; it only sounds absurd, but it is vital. And Two; the bloodstained look will get you in
deeper trouble than the nude look."
"Really?"
"I wouldn't tell a lie just to get my way. I'm telling the truth to get your question answered."
No other choice. "If you say so..."
Shamal did as told, removing the bloodstained clothing until only bra and panties were on
her. "All of it," spoke Signum, "and don't worry. You're lucky it's summer."
The amnesic mage became red, as the undergarments were removed. The streetlights made
her pale skin glow vibrantly, which made Signum's heart skip a beat. Despite the breathtaking
views of the mage's skin and curves, the pony-tailed Knight kept her face professional.
"It is a bit warm, but I'm getting skeptical about it."
"I know, you exposed makes you vulnerable. But lemme worry about that."
"Now what?"
In the back of Signum's mind, she chanted a small spell, gathering enough magic for it's
requirements. "I have to do a little kiss for a transfer of your answers. This may work,
depending on if you're mentally ready. The clothes were removed so that you won't worry
about being caught. And I should ease any doubts that you might be violated by a shady man
who can't keep his trousers up, since you've slaughtered five of them." She walks up the the
nude mage. "Now I have to know for this to work properly. Are you prepared for what's in
store?"
Shamal closed her eyes and attempt to clear her head. She was able to, despite the recent
kills in her mind. She then boldly stated, "I'm ready."
It was fast, but in both of their minds it felt like it was in slow motion. Lips touched, arms
stretched across each other's backs, and Signum casted the spell. The floodgates of Shamal's
locked memories opened.
The spell was a success, as Signum detected a twitch and a change of heartbeat from the
mage. Bare breast to clothed, it was unmistakable.
The healing was completed, but Signum wasn't able to pull away. Shamal might have her
memory restored, and she is back to normal, but something in the sword woman's mind said
that her fellow Knight wasn't done just yet. She dragged poor Signum into the alleyway, lips
attached, and moved in on her.
"But I got you back," spoke the Knight as she caught her breath.
"I'm not done yet," Shamal smiled.
The Morning After
Mornings at the Yagami House was more relaxing now that they're off for the time being.
Signum was sleeping in, but knocking at the door of the bedroom prevented it from
happening.
"Come in," she said, weary.
In came the familiar sight of a blonde mage in homemaker clothing. Shamal.
"Hello, and sorry about last night's killing spree, Signum."
"It's alright, Shamal, as long as you're alright."
"I wanted to thank you for last night. I had to make you do that again, did I?"
"Hey, no one told me anything. It was of my own volition."
"I don't remember too much of last night, but I do remember our moments."
"I don't think you'd handle what you did before I came."
"I don't wish to know, but I have a pretty good idea that it's a horrible thing."
"I'll leave it at that, then." Signum then tossed to face away from the mage.
Shamal, on the other hand, sat and positioned herself alongside the pony tailed Knight. When
Signum turned her head at the blonde, she received a kiss on the lips. It surprised her, but
she didn't move away from it.
"Let's do it again sometime," Shamal proposed. "But let's skip the amnesia and just go for
Second Base."
"Er, Second?"
THE END