DISCLAIMER: I, miho-hime, DO NOT OWN ANY PART OF THE 'TALES' SERIES. I DO NOT OWN TALES OF THE ABYSS.
Only my characters are mine, you may use them if you ask permission first.
Overview on my main OC (her bio can also be found on my deviant art pic of her):
Name: Lyra Jolene Balfour (Lyra Jolene Nadina Juliet Connelly-Balfour)
Alias: Lyra the Flash; Flash Master; Lyra the Hurricane Gale; Lyra the Blood Fist
Rank: God-General
Age: 17 (at the start- ages as timeline proceeds)
Date of Birth: Luna Day, Shadow-Decan 21, ND2000
Hair: Light Brown/ Dirty Blonde-ish
Eyes: Red/ Commonly mistaken from far away as Brown
Height: 5' 04" (approximately)
Weight: 126 lbs
Build: Athletic- Broad Shouldered- Toned- Muscular
Body Type: 34B-26-30
Arte Element: Lightning/ Wind
Weapon (s): Extendable Claws (with gloves), Fans/ Sutras for normal use, occasionally her mother's sword (mostly as she stands with the Coralian Imperial Guard)
Other: is a master of Sanken, or Blood Fist- a style of fighting that involved maiming the opponent and ripping them to shreds; Is a master of Flash-Step and has remarkable speed and agility; prefers to let her fists talk for her
Family: Sarah Connelly (mother-deceased); Jade Balfour-Curtiss (father); William "Liam" Balfour (Twin brother); Winnifred Beckinsale (Cousin-deceased)
Medical Info: Suffers from Bipolar Disorder; Suffers from A-plastic Anemia (hides the fact that the illness ravages her body until the point where she coughs up blood and is in need of hospitalization)
Arcane/Mystic Artes (Most Used): Indignation, Mystic Cage, Revitalize, Resurrection, Meteor Storm, Absolute, Freeze Lancer, Bloody Lance, Dance of the Crescent Moon, Dance of the Dead, Dance of Blades, Dance of Wolves, Wind Scythe (Only is she has her giant fan with her)
Interests/Hobbies: FonTech, Blades, Weaponry, Botany; Has a running Florist's shop called 'Havre de Fleur' (Floral Haven) which is taken care of by her friend, Princess Anastacia of Veluna during her time away.
Name Meaning: Glorious Light
xXx
Chapter 1: Allegiances
xXx
I sighed as I tugged on my restraints. Normally, ripping the ropes to shreds would be commonplace; however, when face to face with an angry Asch, one tends to NOT wish to anger him further.
"…Asch…why…" I started, frowning at him.
"Because you are neglecting your orders." His statement was simple, and I smirked as he glared at me.
"Hey, you should know by now: I have a problem with authority figures. I'm not one of you because I want to be..." I tore my gaze from his as I spoke, instead training it below. I watched somewhat interestedly as three figures made their way past Arietta's griffins and ligers. The female of the group, the breeze blowing at her long brown hair, raised her staff and began chanting. The soldiers that hadn't been killed had fallen asleep.
I watched Asch as he glared down to his replica, waiting for his moment. The taller man, the Malkuth soldier, and the woman had their heads turned to their red-headed companion,
"Let's take back the Tartarus. Tear, if you'd assist me." The Malkuth soldier ordered.
"Right." The woman, Tear, responded. The man and Tear turned and began to head though the door. Tear turned back as her other companion asked,
"Hey, what should I do?"
Tear looked back at him over her shoulder, "You stand watch here."
"Hmph...more like 'stay out of the way'." The boy turned and knelt beside the sleeping Oracle Knight, "How come that attack made him fall asleep, anyway?"
"Tear's Fonic hymns use the Seventh Fonon!" …the Cheagle with them was…talking?
"Here we go again. What the heck is a 'Seventh Fonon'?" I didn't bother to listen to the rest of their conversation, as the grinding of Asch's teeth was significantly annoying me.
"Must you do that?" I looked at him with a slight glare.
"Hmph."
"Ugh…you're impossible, you know that?" I asked him, turning back to the boy who had just begun shaking the small Cheagle. The Cheagle at that point released a small fire ball upon the sleeping Oracle Knight.
The boy looked scared for a moment, as the Knight stirred. He dropped the Cheagle, "Damn. That scared the hell outta me… Go back to sleep!" he kicked the Knight, who promptly rose and attacked him.
Still, the boy looked scared as he fought our soldier… he had his eyes closed and his blade pointed out in a weak attempt at self-defense. He cried out as the Knight's limp body sagged to the hilt of his blade…
"…I stabbed him…I killed him…" the boy looked at his hands and then at his companions, who had just come through the door.
Asch put his arm around my waist and stated, "If you're scared of killing, then throw away your sword, you worthless reject!" and with that, he cast a Fonic Arte, which hit Tear and the boy, and jumped.
"…you bastard…" I muttered under my breath at him, rolling my eyes.
"And you're as hard to kill as they say, Necromancer." It was then that I got a good look at the Malkuth soldier…Colonel Jade Curtiss. I gasped slightly in surprise, 'mother was right…the resemblance is uncanny…' I thought as Asch threw me aside. I managed to sway on my feet before standing as straight as one can when tied up.
Jade just grunted as he looked upon the scene.
"Captain, what shall we do with them?" asked another Oracle Soldier, kneeling over the unconscious forms of Tear and the boy.
"Kill them." Asch stated simply, although he avoided eye contact with me.
Legretta, also landing in with the newest platoon of Oracle Knights, inquired, "Asch, have you forgotten your orders? Or have you just decided to ignore them?"
Asch rolled his eyes at the older god-general, but decided to keep calm, "Fine. Restrain them and lock them in a cabin somewhere. Take Lyra as well." Oh how I wanted to punch that pretty face of his…
xXx
I glared as the guard who led me to their detainment cabin began to leave, "Aren't you forgetting something?" I asked gruffly, tugging at the ropes binding my wrists together.
"Miss…" the soldier began, only to be cut off.
"That's Lieutenant General to you, asshole. Untie me, or I swear to Lorelei that if you don't, you won't ever be able to have children…" I watched as he cowered towards me, hands shaking as he untied the ropes and backed away quickly.
He left to go back to the others.
"My, my, what a mouth we have on us." Jade, finally speaking up as the door was quickly shut, turned to look at me.
I nodded to him, "My apologies, Colonel Curtiss." I watched as he sat down at the table in the room. My eyes darted over to Tear and the boy- the one who resembled Asch so… 'That must be why he was so angry…that boy, he's the replica Luke!'
"Those ropes must have been tight." I turned my attention back to him, raising my eyebrow questioningly, "You keep rubbing your wrists."
"Yes, I suppose they were. I suppose I could have broken out of them, myself." I sat across from the man, cracking my knuckles.
"You seem to know me, though I doubt that you are from Malkuth…are you Kimlascan?" I smiled slightly as he inquired.
"No, Colonel Curtiss. I hail from Veluna, as does my twin brother." I continued my survey as his eyes widened slightly and hastily returned to normal.
"I see…well isn't that interesting. Now, how may I ask, that someone from all the way across the sea knows me, naught as the Necromancer, but simply as Colonel Jade Curtiss?"
I laughed slightly, "My mother spoke very highly of you. She claimed you were 'old friends'."
"Oh? And who might your mother be?" He was intrigued now. I could tell. Perhaps it was because of our relationship? I know not.
"My mother is dead, sir. Sarah Connelly." I sighed sadly as I watched his eyes widen a second time.
A groan came from one of the beds, as Tear began to stir. I stood and made my way over to her bedside, "Are you alright? Any injuries?"
Her gaze brought itself to me, "You're… God-General…Colonel!" Her gaze left and met Jade's, although she seemed slightly anxious to be in such close proximity to me…
"If it's any consolation, I was thrown in here as well…" I deadpanned, crossing my arms across my chest.
"…" Tear looked back to me and asked skeptically, "…why would the God-Generals throw one of their own in with their prisoners?"
"Yes, I've been wondering that as well." Jade rose and strode over to the window.
"I have a problem with authority figures…I didn't agree with the orders given to me…I do this all the time, but this is a first for me…"
"And they allow you to remain a God-General?" Tear questioned, raising her only visible eyebrow.
"I didn't want to be a God-General in the first place…but that's a story for another time. Right now, we should focus on waking Luke up and getting out of here."
Of course the both of them agreed.
Tear nodded and went to kneel beside Luke's bed. She called to the boy who was now moaning slightly, "Luke!"
He remained sleeping, "Luke!" she called again, "Thank goodness! You were moaning in your sleep."
Luke looked around blearily, "…Where am I?" his eyes rested on me, "And who are you?!"
"Ah, here we start…as I have not yet been formally introduced, I am God-General, Lyra the Flash. I prefer to go by Lyra Balfour, however. Just call me Lyra." I felt Jade's curious gaze on my back as I walked forward.
My place behind Tear drew to be in front of the young woman. I kindly drew my hand for him to shake, which he did.
"To answer your other question, we're in a cabin, onboard the Tartarus." Jade relayed, turning his back from the bars on the cell.
"That's right…monsters attacked! And then…" Luke paused for a second, and then proceeded to grab his head. I watched as he started shaking, pulling at his hair.
"Alright," I turned to look at Jade, "We need to get out of here and rescue Ion."
Tear spoke softly, "It looked like they took Ion away…"
"From what we overheard the Oracle Knights saying, it sounds like they'll be returning to the Tartarus. Is this true?" Jade nodded over to me.
"This is the first I'm hearing of it…they had me tied up beforewe even left for our so called 'mission'…the bastards…" I found myself grinding my molars together, and forced myself to stop.
"In any case, we'll ambush them and rescue him then." Jade finished, looking to all of us.
"W-wait! If you do that, then there'll be more fighting!" Luke stammered, sounding worried.
"Yes. What about it?" Tear seemed subconsciously cold.
Luke stood his full height and brought himself to stand in front of the brunette girl, "We might end up killing people again!"
"…That can't be helped." Tear replied, closing her eyes, "They'll kill us if we don't kill them first."
"W-what are you saying?! We're talking about human lives!"
"Yes. Human life is a valuable thing." Jade added, monotonously, to which I nodded. He continued, "But if we sit here and do nothing, a war will start and more people will die."
"It's heartless, I know. However, the results in doing absolutely nothing, will merely lead to more death- that will be held over our shoulders. The results in…killing…a select few will give thousands the chance to live." I placed my hand on his shoulder, but Luke just shrugged it off. I pouted, slightly.
"Right now, this is our battlefield. There's no good or evil here, just life or death." Tear stared crossly at Luke, to which he responded with a barely audible gasp, "There's danger even in normal life. One could be attacked by monsters or bandits…those who lack strength do things like hire mercenaries, band together and travel by coach. Those with the strength to fight do, sometimes even children. They do what they must in order to survive."
"Humans are sinful creatures…" I added lightly, going along with the tense atmosphere.
"That's got nothing to do with me! I didn't know anything about that, and I didn't come here because I wanted to!" Luke's ignorance was beginning to annoy me greatly.
"Astonishing." Jade retorted sardonically, "What kind of environment must one grow up in to be this ignorant of the situation…?"
I merely stole a glance at the man and let out a subtle sigh.
Tear informed the Colonel, "Ever since the Malkuth attempt to kidnap him, he's been forbidden to leave his manor for his own safety."
"I see… Then I suppose it's natural for him not to know anything about the world…" Jade's tone was rather flat. I began to wonder if the man was always this way.
"I can't help it! I don't have memories of my childhood! I don't know anything!" Luke was beginning to let his anger get the better of him.
Tear turned to face Luke, "It's my responsibility that all of this happened, so I promise I'm going to get you back home." She backed herself up with a nod.
"…" Luke seemed to calm a bit at her words, since his facial features softened as he turned to her and gasped slightly.
"In return, don't get in our way. If you're not willing to fight, you'll only be a burden."
"…I didn't say I wouldn't fight! I just don't want to kill anyone."
"It's the same thing! Right now, fighting means fighting the human beings who took the Tartarus. If you don't want to kill the enemy, then stay hidden behind us."
"…I'm just saying, let's not fight anymore than we have to. I don't want to die either."
"It's not like I…! It's not like I'm killing people because I want to." Tear ended the discussion, while Jade began to speak.
"So, you're going to fight? I'll be counting on you as part of our force."
"I said I will." Luke sounded slightly serious, as he made his decision final.
"Good." Jade replied, turning around and walking to the other side of the room and up to the bars of energy keeping us locked up.
"Hm…" I watched as Jade blew the bars apart with a small burst of Fonic energy, and then made his way swiftly to the intercom of the Tartarus.
He spoke with great authority, "By my name as Necromancer, heed my command. Initiate emergency plan 'Corpse Hunt'."
I stood my ground as the land ship shook violently and the lights flickered on and off. The emergency shut-down was in affect.
I paced myself forward to stand next to both Luke and Jade. Tear was slightly off to the side.
"It's an emergency shutdown system I set up in advance. It should take some time to recover."
"…wow." Was all that Luke could say.
"Where should we head from here?" Tear asked, surveying the area.
"Go to the port hatch. During an Emergency Shutdown, that's the only one that will open. The Oracle Knights holding Ion should try to enter from there as well."
"But they took our weapons." Luke stated, pointing out the obvious.
"I'm not exactly sure if they even bothered bringing mine after they tied me up…either way, I don't exactly need them." I pouted, cracking my neck to the side slightly and giving out a small grunt.
"They're probably still nearby. Let's look for them." Tear suggested, shrugging her shoulders.
The three of them turned to exit the cell, as I began, "Look. I'll help you find your weapons, get out of here and get Ion back, but after that, I have to leave. I need to get to a rendezvous point soon, or else I'll have a major problem on my hands."
"Oh? A rendezvous with whom? The other God-Generals?" Jade asked curiously, adjusting his eyeglasses.
"Oh yes, I'm going to a rendezvous with the morons who decided to tie me up and throw me in a holding cell with their prisoners…no I'm meeting my brother and another member of the Velunian Imperial Guard for classified information that I cannot disclose to any of you."
"Interesting… Hurry up, Let's go." Jade turned on the spot and stepped through the door, with Tear following directly behind him.
Luke staggered behind and dropped to stay in sync with my strides, "Velunian Imperial Guard? What's that?"
I stayed silent for a few seconds, "Personal guards, hand-picked by the Princess Veluna. There are three of the Elite Imperial Guards, including myself, my brother and my best friend. According to chain of command, I myself am Lieutenant General in command of the entirety of the Imperial Guard, followed by my brother and friend who are both Brigadier General rank."
"Personal guard to the Princess? Then why are you here?" He asked crossing his arms across his chest.
"…Do the words 'tied up' mean anything other than 'kinky' to you?" I pushed forward to walk next to Tear, who nodded at my arrival. I nodded back.
The four of us were in a pregnant hush as we came upon the elevator. Tear pressed the button and waited…no response from the elevator led Tear to a slightly disgruntled gasp, "…The elevator isn't working."
"I expected as much." Jade placed his hands in the pockets of his overcoat and shifted his weight to his right leg as he spoke.
"What do we do? Is there any other way out?" Luke inquired, tilting his head while staring at Jade's back.
"Somewhere in one of these rooms should be something fun we can use to escape." Jade's words held a conniving air to them. That sounds somewhat familiar…
"What?" Tear and Luke asked simultaneously, turning their heads inquisitively toward the taller man.
"Sounds interesting." I said smirking, "Let's go."
"'Something fun?'" Luke asked, skeptically, turning to Jade.
"Colonel what are you talking about?" Tear asked, also turning to face the Colonel.
"It wouldn't be as fun if I told you, now would it? Let's search the rooms around here." Jade nodded his head to the side, indicating to the doors on either side of the hallway, and adjusted his glasses once more.
"O-okay!" Tear sputtered, standing slightly at attention.
"…I sure hope nobody spots us…" Luke stated, placing a hand on his hip.
"I second that motion." I crossed my arms behind my back and leaned forward a tad.
xXx
After searching a bit, and entering the last door, we came upon a large, locked chest in the corner.
"Three guesses what's in this chest…" I pursed my lips as the three of them looked at me, "What?"
"…The chest is locked. How are we supposed to get our weapons now?" Luke turned to Jade, as if he was expecting a miracle answer from the man.
"Now, now, why are you looking at me?" Jade was smiling.
"Honestly, you think women can't do any work?" I asked flatly, "Fine, just watch."
Luke looked at me as if I'd just grown two heads, a look which I ignored and walked up to the chest, looking carefully at the lock.
"You're picking the lock? Too easy." Luke huffed, rolling his eyes.
"…Do I look like I bother with wearing bobby pins? Really now, don't be so sexist, Luke." I dropped the lock from my hand after I turned away from the red-head and placed my hand on my chin, "Besides, we don't have the time for me to be fiddling around lock-picking."
I brought my foot up to the top of the chest and stretched my leg muscles, "What are you doing?" Luke asked, frowning slightly.
"Shut up…" I breathed out as I raised my foot from the top of the chest and swiftly brought it down upon the lock, which immediately snapped in half and slid across the metal floor.
Luke and Tear were looking at me in awe, while Jade hid behind the glare on his glasses.
"H-how did you-" Luke stuttered out, raising his finger and pointing at me.
"It's rude to point. Catch." I threw his sword at him, which he sloppily caught, "Tear," she caught her staff with little difficulty, "Aha!" I smiled as I pulled up the hilt and sheath attached to a belt from the large chest. My mother's sword, the Célestine, was in excellent condition from sheath tip to hilt to the family crest.
"Wow…they didn't take them very far…and they aren't even guarding them." Luke stated while reattaching his sword to its place on the back of his belt.
"I imagine they were guarding them, originally. Right now, they're probably busy trying to revive the Tartarus." Jade noted, tearing his eyes away from the hilt of my sword.
He scanned the empty room when Tear replied, "Let's go."
xXx
Another small trek following behind the Necromancer, and we found ourselves in a cargo hold filled with boxes.
"Ah, here we are. We'll find our something fun in the back, behind these boxes." Jade stated, moving up the single step and surveying the area.
"So we just need to move these boxes, then?" Tear asked, shifting her staff from her left to her right hand and finally placing it down on the ground. She moved forward and attempted to push the boxes.
"That's right. By the way, Luke, I can't say I think much of you forcing a woman to do all the heavy lifting." Jade smiled an eerie smile as he turned to the younger boy.
"But Lyra-"he began.
"I opened the chest and got the weapons out. Don't be a chauvinist pig, Luke. Help the lady out." I leaned against the door and closed my eyes.
"I'm fine Colonel, General." Tear responded pushing the boxes slowly further.
"Or do rich aristocrat boys lack any muscles?" Jade shrugged his shoulders mockingly, he sighed, "And here I thought even your brain was made of muscle."
Luke, much to my dismay, began grinding his teeth, "What did you say?!" I believe he was somewhat offended…
Luke rushed forward and began to help Tear push the boxes, starting to sweat, he turned back to Jade and said, "Wait a minute…you're a guy, too. You help out."
"No, I'd rather not. You're younger than I am, after all. At my age, all my joints ache…" the Necromancer replied, while I laughed a bit. He cast me his never ceasing smile.
Luke grumbled, "Fine, whatever. Out of the way, I'll do it." He shoved Tear out of the way gently, to which the young female blushed slightly.
"Th-thanks…" she stated, rubbing her shoulders.
"You can do it, Master!" the infant Cheagle, Mieu, encouraged, only to be shot down by the hot headed boy.
"I thought I told you to shut up!" he snapped, saddening the young Cheagle.
After watching Luke struggle, which in its own right was extremely amusing, and the boxes were all moved, we all headed to the back to find a rather large crate.
"Here it is." Jade kept smiling.
"This is your 'something fun'?" Luke asked skeptically, flinching as I stepped on his foot with my stiletto heel.
"Colonel, is that gunpowder?" Tear asked, placing one hand on her hip.
"Gunpowder?! Why is THAT here?!" Luke asked shifting back slightly, bringing his hands up.
"Ooh…fun, fun! I like your style Colonel!" I patted the tall man's shoulder lightly.
"A group of soldiers aboard the ship had been pilfering supplies to sell on their own. I discovered that they'd been hiding gunpowder here." Jade put his hands in his pockets and continued, "Though this commotion has made my investigation pointless."
"I see. So we're going to ignite this and destroy the wall." Tear noted, nodding her head.
"Are you serious? You sure that's going to be okay?" Luke asked, sounding slightly anxious.
"We'll be fine as long as we're not caught in the explosion. Now let's hurry."
"Do we light it with a Fonic Arte?" Tear asked, turning to face the Colonel.
"No, we light it with Mieu. You're on Mieu!" Jade ordered the little Cheagle, who responded quickly.
"Yes, sir!"
"Whoa! Wait a-" Luke started, shielding his body as Mieu fired a burst of fonons at the crate containing the gunpowder. It exploded, taking the entirety of the wall along with it.
"Jeez…! You could have waited half a second!" Luke complained to Mieu, who looked up at him sadly.
"Mieuuuu. I'm sorry Master…"
Jade cut in, "No. That was perfect Mieu. No let us be going."
He stepped through the crater in the wall, "R-right…" Luke responded, sighing a bit.
Tear and I stepped through the hole next, Mieu floating along beside us as Luke brought up the rear.
"It looks like we made it in time. There they are." Jade pointed out the return of Legretta, who was in formation with her platoon in front of Ion.
"…bitch…" I muttered under my breath, pouting my lips slightly.
We watched as the tall blonde woman looked up to the emergency hatch, waiting.
"Have they realized the Tartarus did an emergency shutdown?" Luke asked, standing off to my left.
"I'd be rather surprised if they haven't." the Colonel stated blandly, surveying he new scene in front of our group. "More importantly, we can't use Fonic Artes. There's no time for casting."
"It's not like you can use any decent Fonic Artes, anyway, with that Fon Slot Seal." Luke admonished.
Tear scolded, "How can you say that? The Colonel's been working hard to undo the Fon Slot Seal."
"I don't mind. It's the truth." Jade stated bluntly, adjusting his glasses once more.
We listened to Legretta speak from below, "Open the emergency hatch!"
The Oracle Knight beside her nodded, "Right away!" and then proceeded to open the hatch.
"Leave the fist-fighting to me. It's what I'm really good at." I stated, cracking my knuckles.
As the Oracle Knight sprinted up the stairs and pressed the button to open the door, I made a leap to my mark. As soon as the door opened, the knight's helmeted face came into direct contact with my knee. I used my mastery of the art of Flash Step to kick him to the ground after he fell from the staircase. Luke, although seemingly surprised at my speed, continued on his way down to the bottom where the other soldiers stood. He held up Mieu, "Fire! Now!"
Before Legretta could get a shot in, Jade flung himself from the staircase and forcing her hand with his spear.
"Jade Curtiss…You're a force to be reckoned with, even with your Fonic Artes sealed."
Fingering the rim of his glasses and losing no bearing on his spear, Jade countered, "That's quite a compliment. I'm honored. Now, throw down your weapons."
Legretta complied, eyeing me disdainfully, "And you. Why do you resist your orders so?" I looked at her with a freakish smile, showing my sharpened canines.
"Sorry to leave you here, Colonel, but I really must get to that rendezvous. I'm good by word of mouth. If you need me, ask around." I leapt up, forcing the fonons around me to constrict. I managed to flash-step myself away from the field and made my way through the trees on foot. I don't quite know how fast I was going…but fast enough to leave a breeze and not be seen.
I stopped in a clearing, and took a single breath.
"It's about time you got here…what took you so long?" a voice from within the depths of the trees resounded as a figure, clad in a purple and blue uniform dropped down.
"I got a little…sidetracked." I replied, "Didn't think I would meet him so soon, though."
xXx
End of chapter 1
What do you think? R & R please!!!