Resonance
"C'mon already! We wasted enough time!"
The group followed the errant Luke. His antics grating on everyone's nerves, save for Ion. That one has the patience of a god.
They had reached the entrance to the Deo Pass, a rocky mountain road used to reach the mining town of Akzeriuth, their ultimate destination. While highly treacherous, and unused for normal travel, it was the only way through to reach Akzeriuth, for passage by Sea was far too risky, and was used by Dorian General Van Grants, elder brother to the team's own Tear Grants.
However…Luke knew something the others didn't…well, more like, he had a much higher agenda than just helping out at Akzeriuth. He was labeled Ambassador of Kimlasca, to improve relations between Kimlasca and Malkuth by means of assisting the people of the mining town. Not only that…
The sooner we get there, the sooner I can become a Hero, and be free!
His goal…was different…and unknown to him, he was about to encounter a barrier that, when passed, would lead to a different outcome of his entire life…
ZAP
"Gah what the hell?!"
"Wait…what?"
A semi-transparent wall barred their way to the mountain pass. On the wall itself glowed an unusual glyph, one none of them had ever encountered before.
The glyph was comprised of seven triangles and a circle, inside a much larger series of rings. When looked at carefully, the inside resembled the universal symbol for Hazardous material, surrounded by three more triangles, one above the center upside-down triangle, one pointing diagonally down and to the left on the left straight edge of the center, and one pointing down and to the right on the right side. These three triangles were slightly dimmer than the others, as well as slightly smaller, as if they were added as an afterthought.
"Oh dammit we don't have time for this!" Luke drew his blade and struck at the wall, only to be repelled. Jade and Anise prepared spells…when a voice called out.
"Not…the best idea."
They paused their casting, holding the gathering of fonons in place, as a stranger stepped from out behind one of the many large rocks. His hair was black as night, and just barely reached past his ears. Dark brown eyes took in the group, framed by light brown skin. He wore a short-sleeved shirt with a black denim vest with, unseen by them at the moment, a dark red version of the symbol behind him. Light blue jeans and a pair of flimsy looking sandals adorned his lower half.
Jade subtly eyed the youth with suspicion. "And how would you know?"
"I made it."
"What?!"
Luke cut in. "Dammit take it down then! We don't have time for this!"
The youth looked at Luke…and smirked.
"Want past this wall?"
"Yes!"
"Then duel me."
Immediately the group tensed, and the youth shook his head.
"No no…just the redhead."
"What? Why me?"
"Simple. I want to see how strong you are…Luke Fon Fabre."
Tear inquired: "How do you know his name?"
"I know a lot about him. His favorite color is oddly enough, blue, like the ocean he's only seen a few times in his life. His dream is to finally be able to move around the world freely, his favorite food doesn't exist, he just eats whatever's in front of him…oh and he was kidnapped by the Malkuth kingdom for reasons he doesn't know, and everyone assumes that due to the trauma of the event he lost his memory. He hates it when everyone treats him like an idiot just because he doesn't know much about the world outside his manor-
"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ALL THAT?!" Luke exploded with fear and anger. The youth's response put the rest of the group on edge.
"I know because it is my duty to know, it is my purpose."
"That…"
"Doesn't make sense. It's not supposed to. Now…I thought you didn't have time to waste."
"Damn right we don't!"
Jade and Anise continued prepping their spells when the youth held out a hand.
"Uh-uh. I gave you my terms. The red-head duels me."
Jade simply smirked. "I assume that this barrier is keyed to your life. If we kill you, it falls."
"True…but if I die, so does the little trap."
That made everyone pause, confused…until Anise exclaimed. "ION!"
They all whirled around to see the young Fon Master surrounded by glowing black broadswords, swirling around his person.
"Those swords are also keyed to my life force, with a final command in place that if my connection to them ends for any reason outside of my incanting them to fade, that little 'cage' will collapse, and you'll have a very well kabob'd kid."
"If you kill the Fon-Master, you'll have an entire planet after your blood!"
The youth turned to Guy.
"But you see, Sir Gailardia, it wouldn't have been 'me' that killed him. Those swords are harmless unless I dictate so. And I have dictated them to be harmless unless my phantom link to them is severed by any other than my own will. While they surround him, he cannot be reached by friend OR foe. Therefore, it would be seen as your fault he died, since my end came at your hand, and his end came because my end did."
Guy relaxed his stance slightly. "…you have a point."
Natalia thought otherwise. "Guy! You cannot be serious! He is threatening this entire effort!"
"No, I threaten no-one. I want one thing, and that is to Duel Luke."
"Fine…then I'll just have to kick your ass!"
Luke drew his blade and charged, ignoring everyone's cries to wait. This guy doesn't even have a weapon! This'll be cake!
Or so he thought.
In a flash of black, his overhead swing was blocked by a glowing black sword, much like the ones that surround Ion that very moment.
"What?!"
"Like them? They're called Phantom Blades. It's a collection of fonic energy gathered and temporarily solidified into the form of a sword." Effortlessly, the youth repelled Luke, and flicked the wrist holding his weapon in an underhand motion. A small blast of energy was released and bowled over Luke.
"Wh-what the hell?"
"Azure Edge. A wind based attack. Perhaps you should try a bit harder Luke."
The redhead got to his feet and swung his fist in an uppercut, releasing a small wave of energy along the ground. The youth easily sidestepped and then blocked the horizontal follow-up swing. With a quick push, Luke stumbled back only to get a fist embedded in his gut.
A fist that quickly began to glow violet.
"Reppashou!"
The energy detonated in the palm of the youth's hand, sending Luke flying backward. Luke recovered in mid-air, and ran right back towards the youth. Their blades clashed repeatedly, the youth seeming to calculate every move that Luke was making, the redhead unable to land a single blow. Quickly he grew frustrated, fearful of his inevitable defeat. In seconds he was kicked away.
"Good. Adaptation, improvisation…Van taught you well. You still have a long way to go, but I'm impressed thus far."
Luke got back to his feet, grabbed his blade with both hands, let loose an angered roar of defiance and brought his weapon down. The youth blocked with his blade…only to have it shatter in his hand.
Everything seemed to slow down. Luke's triumphant look slowly shifting to one of horror as the seconds passed, his blade falling straight down towards the youth's head.
And then Luke saw him smile.
What happened next, nobody fully understood. In a moment, the youth seemed to become a blur, and suddenly Luke found his momentum reversing as his legs were swept out from beneath him. A moment later, he felt an intense pain in his chest as the youth slammed a foot into his ribcage, launching the redhead towards the group.
Half a second after that, he felt himself spinning as an unusual pressure formed behind his legs, as the youth used one of his own legs to lock with both of Luke's, and spun him around in the air before ending the lock and slamming his heel down onto Luke's stomach.
"Luke!"
The girls gasped, Guy glared, and Jade stared at the scene calculatingly. Luke groaned and tried to get up, only to stop as another Phantom Sword materialized in the stranger's hand, its tip pointed at Luke's jugular.
The youth sighed, and stepped away. "Not bad. Not bad at all…"
Natalia ran over and began healing Luke, who slowly sat up. In his mind he was cursing his own weakness…now; they'd never make it to Akzeriuth.
FZZT
They all looked at the wall, which seemed to turn into static…and then shatter; the glyph fading slowly. A second group of shattering noises drew their attention to Ion, who was now freed, and unharmed, just as promised.
"Wait…what? But I lost!"
"Oh you poor thing. Even after all this time…" The youth sighed. Luke was still on the ground. In a blur, the youth was now standing in front of him…holding out his hand.
Confused, Luke took it, and felt himself be pulled to his feet.
"Luke, Luke, Luke…think my friend, what were my conditions to clearing the wall?"
"For me to duel you. But I lost!"
"Think about what you just said Luke."
The redhead, pride hurt, body still tingling with the remnant fonons of Natalia's healing spell, stared at the stranger, confused.
"Wait…all I had to do was fight you?"
The youth smiled.
"But…that means…"
"Had you bested me, this outcome would be the same, with you able to pass. Take this as a lesson Luke; always pay close attention to the terms of an agreement. Sometimes there's a loophole, other times the terms are vague enough for you to do the barest minimum requirement and still be allowed to claim victory."
Luke stared at the youth. "That's…almost like something that Master Van would say."
"Then he has good methods."
Guy jumped in. "What was that, that you just did?"
The youth smiled.
"Wouldn't you like to know…?"
"Dammit quit following us!"
"Following you? No no, I just happen to be going in the same direction."
Guy had to repress a snort. The youth, learned name being Zero, had been irritating the hell out of Luke for the past twenty minutes. It was fun to see their chief irritant get a taste of his own medicine…from someone other than Mieu of course.
Unfortunately, it was then that Ion stumbled.
"ugh…"
"Ion!"
Jade picked up on what was going on. "We should rest here."
"No! We don't have time!"
Everyone but Zero glared at Luke. The dark skinned traveler doubled back, seeing as he'd passed the group accidentally. As he stepped past Luke, he whispered in the redhead's ear.
"Relax Luke…your chance to be a hero will come."
Luke paled at that, the youth's knowledge of exactly what was on Luke's mind freaking him out. Zero knelt down and picked up Ion onto his back. The young Fon Master blinked rapidly, surprised.
"It's faster this way. Luke gets his desire of hurrying up, and Ion gets to rest."
Luke just stared at the newcomer. Why…why is he doing all this?
The youth just smiled at Luke and continued on.
"You know you never did explain that little trick of yours."
"Trick? Oh you mean Shunpo."
"Shoe…what?"
"Shunpo. Also known as the Flash Step. It's a technique that allows the user to temporarily move at high speeds. But…its name is apt; it's called Flash Step because one can only move in small bursts. The distance covered with each burst varies upon the stamina, skill, and intent of the user."
Jade made his statement. "If that's true, then you could easily reach Akzeriuth before we can. Why don't you?"
"Awe, trying to get rid of me already? It's simple. I've been traveling alone for a while, it's boring now. Besides…" He looked very pointedly at Luke.
"I think it would be a good idea for this one to learn it."
Luke froze for a moment. "Wait…what?"
"Tell me Luke, what happens if you come across someone who knows your style, but is far more skilled at it than you? You lose. And what happens if someone knows a style that was made to COUNTER yours? You lose. But if you know moves from another style, one that works alongside yours, but is just vague enough that nobody can pick up on it, you stand a greater chance of victory."
Luke looked to the ground, impressed.
"Actually the Shunpo isn't the only speed skill I know. In fact there's a maneuver that's potentially better than it."
Luke grew indignant. "Then why don't you teach me that instead?!"
"Peace brother. The Shukuchi or, Reduced Earth technique, is meant for those with light footsteps. I'm sorry to say Luke; you are not suited for it. Your sword style is too slow, too powerful. Shukuchi is meant for those with fast movements. Both of them have their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Shukuchi's name is quite literal. It's useless if you can't touch the ground, or if you're forced in an environment where you can't obtain a solid foothold…at least for the baser forms of it. The higher forms become a bit more wieldly in less stable grounds, but say your opponent can fly, and is hovering over a lake. You can't reach it with Shukuchi, because the technique relies on rapid legwork. Each step being light enough to propel you forward, but requiring the full weight of your body to be placed onto the ground, with the initial forms forcing your feet much harder onto the ground than normal running."
He adjusted Ion on his back and continued.
"Whereas a master of Shunpo would be able to give chase to the opponent, because they're making quick single steps in an instant. If you kept up your movement with Shunpo, you could practically run on the water, solely because you're moving too fast for the displacement effect of water to take hold."
Luke was confused. "What do you mean?"
"You know why you can't walk on water right?"
"Yeah, it's not capable of holding people."
"Oh it is. It's just that it's not solid enough to hold weight for a prolonged period of time. It would become displaced, and that which is attempting to stay on it, drops. One would have to be almost lighter than air, or a boat in order to stand on water, and even then, boats are only 'on top' of the water because of buoyancy. They can float, but they also sink a little at the same time. A master of Shunpo would be moving fast enough that their weight wouldn't matter, because their steps are so quick that water doesn't have time to displace. Shukuchi would fail because it requires solid ground, because while they're fast, the steps are also very powerful. Shukuchi would basically 'shatter' the water beneath the user, which would then get them stuck because their feet would sink in."
Luke shook his head. "I still don't get it."
"Alright lemme try again. Shunpo is a burst of speed for a moment. Its name, Flash Step is due to you moving large distances with a single step. Think of the comparison of say if a Giant were to take one big step, at the exact same time a child did. The Giant would obviously go farther, in fewer steps than it would take the child, because it has longer legs, and is a generally larger being. Now, if the child was a master of the Flash Step, then a single step from the child, could rival the distance that the Giant covered, even though the child is smaller."
"…I think I get it...but not the water part."
"The thing about Shunpo is that it can be triggered just by touching a surface. Say there's a rockslide. Hundreds of boulders are falling towards your position, and someone or something you hold dear is falling with them. With Shunpo you would be able to bounce from boulder to boulder, just by touching them for a brief moment, to catch that which you desire."
"So…the Flash Step is like teleporting?"
"The speeds you reach are indeed similar, but it still requires contact with a solid surface…even if that surface doesn't remain solid."
"…" Luke thought for a moment. "So it's not because you're lighter…it's because you don't stay in one place long enough?"
"Exactly. Since it's a bunch of single 'steps' you don't displace any water until after you're already gone. Whereas with Shukuchi you're basically just running really fast. Even though the first and third stages of Shukuchi resemble Shunpo very well, since the first stage gets you used to making larger, heavier movements."
Ion tapped Zero on the shoulder. The traveler glanced back at the young Fon Master.
"I think I'm fine now."
"Sure thing."
Kneeling again, Zero put Ion back on solid ground.
"Thank you."
Zero just made a simple waving motion and rotated his shoulders, resetting his internal balance.
"I think I get it now…so…how do I learn it?"
"Deo Pass is a bad place to start learning it. Once we get off this mountain range I'll teach you the basics. Don't expect to learn it too quickly though."
"Hah! I'll teach you to underestimate me!"
"Please do. Rarely do I like to be proven wrong, this would be one of those times."
Natalia cut in. "This is all well and good, but I have to ask." The youth turned. "Why aren't we being attacked?"
Zero held out an empty bottle. "Holy Bottle. Used one just after I started trailing you guys. I figured you didn't need the interruptions."
"Ahh…thank you then." He just shrugged and continued.
"Tear! Step away from that child!"
"Wait…is she talking about me?!"
A blonde haired woman holding a pair of pistols stood on a rock just feet away from the group. She had fired a shot into the ground before Luke's feet, which halted their progress.
Meddle…or don't…ehh, I need some fun. Let's see if this works.
"Major Regret, why are you here?"
Zero let out a loud snort, catching everyone's attention.
"What might I ask is so funny?"
"Your name is Regret…and your title is Major? Wow, someone was drunk off their ass when they named you."
Outwardly, the blonde woman showed no emotion, inside though, a small tick of irritation was brewing.
"Dumb name aside…I've seen the files on you…I have to say…"
Everyone waited for his next statement.
"You've got a nice can."
Silence.
"…what?"
"What you've never been told that before? I mean damn, look at what you're wearing! Doesn't leave much to the imagination. I guess that shawl looking thing kinda shows what you're into. Didn't know they let that type of person into the army…maybe I should try joining up…"
They all stared slack-jawed at the youth as he unabashedly insulted Regret to her face.
"Tits aren't bad either, I mean, not as big as Tear's massive melons but not a bad size either, though with how high up they are you've GOT to be wearing one seriously god-like bra."
As he continued spewing out seemingly random statements about the God-General, Regret found herself losing control of her emotions for the first time in a long while.
"I've heard rumors though; 'Magic Bullet Regret'…sounds like a stage name. Hey, were you ever a stripper at one time? Cause with that body-
She'd had enough…and that's when the group learned a bit more about the youth's skill.
Gotcha.
Everything slowed down. His eyes picked up on every minute detail as his instincts flared to life, warning him of impending danger. When asked, he would say he could almost see the current running from her brain, down her arm, and to her fingers, the slight twitch of her eye-brow being the only indication of her true feelings, and subsequently, her true intent.
Her arm rose, almost in slow motion, as a second impulse raced down her nervous system, commanding her finger to move, pulling the trigger on her handgun.
But as all that was going on…he was already in motion.
He pushed off the ground, launching himself towards the boulder just next to the one Regret stood on. In mere moments, he was then bounding off that boulder, as the fonon charged pulse of air shot from the tip of her gun to the location he just was. As he took a second Step, a very small amount of electrical fonons gathered to his right hand. Weak sparks raced along his fingertips, as he came to a stop just next to Regret, who had a look of shock on her face, as her mind registered that he had long since vacated where he first stood.
She knew no more however, for just as she was beginning to turn, feeling the rush of air that signified the end of his Step, she felt a light touch on the base of her neck, and fell unconscious as the weak electrical pulse scrambled her nerves, and knocked her out.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"And that, my dear Luke, is an example of how you can utilize perversion as a weapon in battle."
Anise queried. "Wait, you mean, all that stuff you said-
"Complete and total bullshit. While I admit, she has a nice ass, she's nowhere near my type, and if she was, do you really think I'd be dumb enough to outright harass her like that? Hah, no, the trick was to get her to lose her cool enough for her to instinctively shoot at me, so I could knock her out."
Jade grew even more suspicious. "And why would you be doing that?"
"No time to waste right? She's one of the Six G.G.'s. She's no pushover unless you know exactly what to do. And such an embarrassing defeat…she's not likely to spread word of that tactic."
"Indeed. Very well…shall we kill her here then?"
"Not…really. If we did that we could trigger an inter-continental war. One we don't need to be causing. If she was acting on orders, then Daath will be held responsible. If she was acting alone, or against orders, then She will be held responsible. Either way, it's best we let her live."
Here he picked her up, bridal style, and hopped off the boulder. He then placed her on the ground, and placed his palm next to her. That same symbol from before appeared beneath her body, and a transparent sky blue field appeared around her body.
"There. That barrier will fade when either another human passes by, or when she wakes up."
"How did you do that? I've never heard of such a spell."
"Let's just say…I did it because I wanted to. Anyway, Luke! Get over here. We've still got a little way to go before we reach the town, and I wanna get you started on the basics…it's gonna be a bit wordy at first, but try to pay attention no matter how boring it gets, it's all really useful, not just for Shunpo, but for other uses as well."
"Alright already…just teach me."
And with that, the group set off again…all but one not knowing what was to come.
Soon Luke…soon your history will be revealed…and I'll be able to stop fucking around as much…
Not my first ToA fic, but this one actually has a workable plot. I've already got a fair bit of it written out, but it wont be updated too often after the chapters I have setup are posted, until I'm at least done with F.E.A.R.
Feedback would be nice, but then again, this is just the introductory chapter. Things will jump around a bit, plenty of timeskips, and plenty of not knowing what's going on. But, as you'll see, there's a chapter dedicated to that. So, have fun reading.