Note: This story is only very loosely based on the third BlazBlue game, Chronophantasma. It's my version of its events, and a sequel of sorts to Continuum Shift. Also, it's a comedy. Kinda. Chronophun!
The meeting of the past and the future, Chronophantasma...
The tale spun from the Azure shifts stages as it ever so carefully nears its conclusion, as if edging its way off a cliff just above a great abyss…
Placing an unlit pipe onto a small table, a dainty figure rested peacefully in a comfy-looking chair inside a small library. Her surroundings were dimly lit by several candles, highlighting her golden locks.
The girl had a gigantic tome resting in her hands, which she read with silent enthusiasm. She then looked up with a charming smile, as if to greet a live studio audience.
"Good evening, children. I trust you are all sitting comfortably." The maiden closed the book, which, on further inspection, turned out to be a strategy guide to Calamity Trigger's story mode. "I am Lady Rachel Alucard, and I will be accompanying you throughout the tale I'm abo—"
"Um, Rachel?" Completely wrecking the atmosphere Rachel had spent so much time building up, another blonde girl had very rudely opened the door to the dim library. "You're out of sugar, so I'm…"
She sheepishly looked around the room, observing Rachel's elaborate setup. It was as if she was reading to an (invisible) audience. "…i-interrupting something…?"
"Noel, would you mind?" Rachel scoffed at the girl, opening the strategy guide once more. "I'm very busy."
"Oh, jeez. You're reading. Oh, gosh. Um…" Crashing over piles and piles of books, Noel desperately fidgeted her way over to the door she came through. "Ow! O-ow. Oh… ooh! Ah!"
Paying no heed to Noel's troubles, Rachel had sunk herself deep into reading once again.
"S-sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry… sorry… p-please don't mind me…" A few hundred apologies later, Noel had disappeared through the door, leaving Rachel alone once more.
She cleared her throat, and spoke again.
"This may have seemed like a simple accident, but everything has a higher purpose in this world." The vampire had immersed herself deep within her own fantasy realm yet again. "Are you familiar with the tale of the Continuum Shift? It's a terribly long, overwrought story, so I'll just glance over it. Ahem…"
The princess had fallen into a deep slumber, forever to drift between existences, when a moderately un-hideous but sad, petty, small, and really rather pathetic "prince" performed a noble sacrifice. In an act of somewhat commendable selflessness, he gave one of his last remnants of humanity away to rescue her from an unspeakable, tragic fate. It was at that moment that everything changed…
A month has already passed since then.
Chronophantasma, the meeting of the past and the present, far beyond the Nemesis Horizon. The Ikaruga Federation, the stage for many terrible battles fought in the past, a land ravaged and destroyed by war…
That is where all roads lead to, no matter whose road it is. The Ikaruga Federation, the land forgotten by time, and the warriors who create time. The meeting of the two powers…
Chronophantasma.
Chronophantasma.
It doesn't even look like a word anymore, but it is.
I looked it up in one of my highly cohesive dictionaries, and it's there. It even has its very own definition.
Erm… the Ikaruga Federation, yes. The land forgotten by time.
That is where we are headed right now, to watch over and observe the warriors, history in the making, reaching to and beyond the Nemesis Horizon.
By the way, please refrain from asking me what that means.
We join our first… "champion", and watch over the hardships he is to face.
"Shit, it feels like I've been walking for days. Probably because I have." A young man with strikingly white hair wiped sweat off his brow. "I think I can finally see Ibukido, though. The Ikaruga Federation… man, my feet are killing me. How you holding up, Tao?"
There was no response.
"…Tao?"
He looked to his right, and saw only mountains.
"Tao!?"
He looked to his right, and saw only more mountains.
"…"
Indeed, his loyal travelling companion was nowhere to be found.
"God damn it!"
The Chronophantasmatic World of BlazBlue
Rebel 1
"Calamity Trigger Warning"
With the Kaka out of sight, Ragna the Bloodedge was left all alone. It had been about a month since he left Kagutsuchi for Ikaruga, as his old master, Jubei, had told him to do. At long last, he was almost there, albeit alone and abandoned.
Ragna the Bloodedge
Also goes by "Grim Reaper" and "Good Guy"
Gender: Male (we think)
Height: 185cm
Weight: 78kg
Date of Birth: March 3
Blood Type: B
Favourite Perfume song: Hurly Burly
Threat Level: He's all Rank S and stuff, oooooh
Additional notes: May or may not lust after his own brother and/or misc. little girls
With an exasperated sigh, he sat himself down on a rather sizeable rock, scratching his head. "Wonder where she went… couldn't have been that far, but…" He said to himself.
"Excuse me."
"Hm?"
"You're sitting on me."
"Sitting on who, now?"
At that moment, Ragna was very suddenly tossed up into the air, landing what seemed like several minutes later on his head. Mountain life is harsh, indeed.
"Ow… ow, ow… oww…" He moaned out in pain as he clutched his head and slowly got up. "Who… who the hell are you?"
Ragna's vision eventually cleared, revealing to him a muscular, dark-skinned man with bright blue hair. Additionally, he seemed rather gleeful for someone who had just been sat on.
"I'm the one who's gonna kill your ass dead, that's who the hell I am!" The man cracked his knuckles and began walking menacingly towards the groggy Ragna, to which he replied with a groan of frustration.
"Argh, why does everyone I meet want to kill me!?"
With that, the man disappeared in a flash, but reappeared mere micrometres away from Ragna's face.
"You've got a thing going on with your face." He took a deep breath. "It makes you seem very… killable."
"Why didn't anyone tell me about tha—"
The blue-haired gentleman interrupted Ragna with an impromptu punch to the gut. A hard one, in fact, sending the smaller man flying back.
"Name's Azrael," the man said, his unpleasant smile never fading. "I reckon we'll be seeing a lot of each other the coming days."
"Dammit…" Gripping his sword tight, Ragna got up once more. "I'd rather we didn't."
Azrael
Also goes by "The Emperor" and "I'd tap that if I knew I could survive it"
Gender: Male (most definitely)
Height: 203cm (really tall)
Weight: 160kg (really heavy)
Date of Birth: October 10
Blood Type: A
Favourite Perfume song: GLITTER
Threat Level: Considerably high
Additional notes: May or may not be completely crazy, used to bunk with Sector Seven until they threw him out for not paying rent or whatever.
"Hmm, you're right. That does sound pretty boring." Azrael tilted his head, the smile on his face growing wider by the second. "How about I just kill you right here, right now?"
Ragna readied himself for battle. "Huh! I'd rather die than let you… wait, that's not right."
Azrael couldn't help but laugh heartily at his opponent's determination. "Oh ho, most people would have run away in fear by now! How interesting."
"Shut up already!" In a swift motion, Ragna swung his blade forward to hit his assailant, but he vanished in a flash once again.
"You're Ragna the Bloodedge, aren't you? I've heard the stories." Ragna could hear Azrael's gruff voice from behind him. "I like you. I think I'll keep you around for a little while."
Ragna turned around quickly, but saw nothing. Looking around himself, it became increasingly apparent that Azrael had, somehow, vanished.
"Aw, man. I can just tell this guy's gonna be a pain."
In a different place, at the same time, yet another tale unfolds…
A lone figure sighed heavily as she scaled yet another mountain not far from where the previous event had transpired.
"Go to Ibukido, we'll, like, so totally catch up with you and stuff later!" She muttered to herself. "Yeah, th-that's easy for you to say, Makoto! You're not the one on a cliff like a mile above ground!"
Her much too tiny miniskirt fluttering in the wind, Noel Vermillion clung to her dear life on the mountain leading up to the City of Ibukido.
"The map said this was the fastest way up, but… how do I even get up there?"
Noel Vermillion
Also goes by "trash", "garbage", "rotting pile of fermented compost", "Sword of the Godslayer", and "Noelly"
Gender: Female (citation needed)
Height: 157cm
Weight: 48kg
Date of Birth: December 25
Blood Type: AO
Favourite Perfume song: I still love U
Threat Level: That's a pretty funny joke
Additional notes: Turned all homicidal and sociopathic at one point, but she got over it.
Sudden sounds of conflict above her startled the poor girl, nearly causing her to fall. Catching a ledge in a death grip, so to speak, she very barely managed to save herself from falling to her demise.
"Isn't there an easier way of getting up here!?" She cried out to the heavens.
"Who in the hell?"
A gruff voice could be heard from beyond the cliff, startling Noel. She closed her eyes, crying for that pet panda she never had. She had a good life. Actually, it was really a rather miserable one, and only about seven years long, but that's not the point. It was her time to die, and she was at peace with that fact.
The voice grumbled, growing ever closer until it finally sounded from right above her.
"Noel, is that you?"
"Don't kill me, please!" She yelled. "I-I'm unarmed… kind of! I mean, I can't reach my guns because if I let go of this l-l-ledge thingy I'll fall to my death, so…!"
"Come on." A gloved hand reached out to her. "Unless you wanna just… keep hanging there."
Noel slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see Ragna's ever-threatening, sharp eyes staring her down.
"R-Ragna?"
"Well? I don't have all day."
Gulping quietly, Noel very quickly loosened her grip on the cliff, and grabbed onto Ragna's hand with both of hers. Luckily for the both of them, she wasn't particularly heavy.
Having rescued her from falling to her death, Ragna watched as Noel drooped down to her knees. "J-jeez… I thought I was a goner…" She smiled sheepishly at her saviour. "Thanks."
"It's cool." Ragna found himself a rock to sit down on, which began a period of awkward silence.
…
"So… uh…" Looking around aimlessly, Ragna decided to strike up a conversation. "It's been a while, huh?"
"Hm? Oh, yes…" Noel had moved into a more dignified position, all without even once flashing her underwear. Masterful. "It's been… a month since we last, er, met?"
"Something like that."
Their last 'meeting' had actually been Noel going insane and swearing to destroy all life on earth, ending up in Ragna losing his arm in an effort to calm her down. Details.
Ragna carefully and intently scanned Noel's figure, which brought back her very awkward smile. "Wh-what?"
"You look… different."
He was right. Noel's long, blonde locks now flowed freely, unrestrained by any (admittedly snazzy) berets. In the beret's place were two blue hairclips, matching a weird cape thing she wore on her shoulders and a particularly low-hanging micro-mini skirt. Rounding out the ensemble was a simple sleeveless shirt with a charming red tie.
Noel noticed where Ragna's gaze would occasionally fall, and blushed profusely. "Th-these are Makoto's. She let me raid her closet because I didn't really have anything to wear…"
"Makoto…? I dunno who that is, but whatever." With a sigh, Ragna rose up from his seat. "Welp, I'm headed to Ibukido, so…"
"W-wait, did you say Ibukido?" Noel hastily stood up, still taking much care to not flash her panda-patterned panties.
Ragna's silver hair fluttered gracefully in the wind as he skimmed the horizon for any blue-haired menaces. "Yeah, Ibukido. Why, that mean something to you?"
"Yes, I'm supposed to meet up with Makoto and Mr. Tager there later for… business reasons." Noel sheepishly looked to her side.
"Business reasons? You in Sector Seven now or something?"
"Not officially, but… um…"
Ragna exhaled and clumsily pat Noel on the head. "You can tag along if you really want to. But only until I find what I'm looking for, okay?"
For the first time since he met her, Ragna caught a glimpse at Noel's genuine, radiant smile, the mere sight of which warmed his heart ever so slightly.
"Thanks."
For a second, Ragna got somewhat flustered, which he hid by quickly turning around and doing impromptu stretching exercises. "No big deal, really, ha ha…"
His composure regained, he looked back at Noel and motioned for her to follow him. "Let's go."
Noel nodded, and the two were on their way to Ibukido. What fresh adventures await them in this exciting new location?
Little did they know that a sinister figure was watching them from the shadows.
"Noel…"
The mysterious redhead oh you already know it's Tsubaki.
Tsubaki adjusted her snazzy hat and menacingly narrowed her eyes at the dynamic duo.
"By the orders of the Imperator Librarius… I shall have to put you to death. For justice!" She said to no one in particular.
Tsubaki Yayoi
Also goes by "Eye Lady", "Blind Lady", "Imagine", "Christina", "The Zombie", and "Lab Assistant"
Gender: Female
Height: 160cm
Weight: 47kg
Date of Birth: March 14
Blood Type: A
Favourite Perfume song: Laser Beam
Threat Level: Eh…
Additional notes: Noel's childhood friend, currently brainwashed and evil.
"Wait…"
Tsubaki frantically looked around herself, a cold sweat running down her face.
"Where… where did they go…?"
つづく