I. AM. BACK. :D
THAT'S RIGHT! THE ONE AND ONLY MORS DE INTERFICIO SILVAM IS BACK TO STAY!
I have decided to re-upload this story because it sucks in my opinion. I might make some (alot) of drastic changes to this story, just as a head's up!
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Traveling through the Ghosts of Time...
Arc One: 『 』
Kapitel Zero: The Past that Lies before You
Summary: Pandora's box is breaking, Mikhail is damaged and Verloren's soul treads closer with each second that passes. Fearing for their masters' lives, the two archangels summon their magic to send their saviors into the past. However, things don't go according to plan. Now with only two months left to prepare for catastrophe, will Teito and Ouka be able to stop Verloren's arrival or will they succumb to the growing darkness inside their hearts?
"..." - Speaking
Italics - thoughts, letters
Bold italics - Mikhail/Raphael talking in Teito/Ouka's minds
Bold - Mikhail/Raphael talking when they take over their masters' bodies.
*1 Week Ago, Hohburg Laboratory*
Chief Nanase exhaled contently as he lay back in his office chair in the dim light of the room. It was around one AM, and the laboratory was once again blissfully quiet and still, devoid of all the life, energy and frustrations that usually take place within its walls during office hours. It was one of Nanase's most favorite times of the day.
If they were all gone... Nanase thought dreamily, referring to the chatterboxes he was forced to work with. If they all disappeared... would it be like this all the time? This peace... its intoxicating...
To cut, to weather, to tear... their skin so soft and thin... it's so easy to break apart, like butter... he chuckled ominously. And they won't be missed...! I'll run the lab all by myself... I'll be forever alone... alone with my "children," my clones...! Nanase sucked in a large amount of air, sucking in his perfect white, rotting teeth, his eyes bulging at the thought. "My clones... my research... all to me and myself! Alone. Mine, mine, mine!" At that thought, Nanase started laughing in earnest. It was a terrifying laugh, a laugh that monsters make when they watch babies die in their mothers' arms.
"Freeeee! Free at lassstt! Ha ha ha GACK ACK ACK!" Nanase laughed/coughed, his mouth drying up. Wheezing, Nanase, fumbled for the green and gold bottle that lay on the table next to him. Expectantly, he put the bottle to his lips, waiting for the sweet/bitter taste of the golden drink known as alcohol to wash down his throat. When that didn't happen, Nanase pulled the bottle away towards the light and saw to his frustration that it was entirely empty. Growling, Nanase, pushed himself out of his chair and dragged his tired body over to the small adjourning kitchen. That was. All. The way. Across. The room.
Nanase held a tight grasp of the wine bottle as he made his way to the sink. He pulled out a clean, disposable paper cup from the stack on the counter and filled it to the brim with cold tap water. The cup's contents were drowned within seconds. His thirst satisfied, he decided it was probably time to search for another bottle of wine.
A quick glance at the mirror, though, froze the old man to the spot.
"YOU!" Nanase shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at the mirror in front of him. Nanase was an old man of average height with blood-shot blue eyes and grey skin that wrinkled on the sides of his eyes and. He had two patches of curly, light brown hair at the sides of his head, the top of his head being entirely bald. However, Nanase's face wasn't what caused him alarm. It was the shadowy figure with red eyes that was the source of his fear. "Why are you here?!"
The figure did nothing but smirk with its devilish eyes, taunting the pitiful old man through silent words. Furious and afraid, Nanase turned around to face the shadow only to see nothing there.
"...You have some nerve coming back here again," Nanase said as he stared into the arrogant red eyes the scientist knew too well. "You aren't welcome here! You never were! OUT, get OUT! This is MY lab now, this is MY research! I'm not handing anything over to you! LEAVE!"
(Un)Fortunately for Nanase, he was soon brought out of his half-crazed ramblings by the opening of the laboratory's main doors. Confused, Nanase, stumbled his way out of the bathroom and into the main room, his breath musty and bitter.
Near to the door stood General Ayanami and his little minion, Katsuragi. It was kind of hard for Nanase to see clearly, given his old age, sleep deprivation and drunken state but he was sure that Katsuragi had something drapped over his shoulder.
"Ayanami-sama," Nanase said as coherently as possible, grinning widely. "What brings you here at this time of night?"
"...I brought the boy. I want you to place the 'trap' on him." Ayanami said, after a brief pause, looking expressionlessly at Nanase's appearance.
"Boy...?" Nanase asked.
"Klein."
"Oh, OH yes Klein, of course, how could I forget," Nanase spoke quickly as he squinted at Katsuragi again. "But I thought you wanted to implant the thing into him after the princess's coronation...?"
"There has been a change of plans," Katsuragi interjected. "Miroku wants the Black Hawks to leave for Atlanta the day after the coronation to attend a diplomatic meeting to discuss our take-over of Antwort. A few foreign nations who had made security pacts with Antwort have expressed some- dismay- at our handling of the country."
Nanase chuckled. "Oh, oh, I bet they were absolutely terrified with how easily we were able to tear the country apart!"
"We will most likely have to stay in Atlanta for a few weeks," Ayanami continued smoothly. "I don't want to risk anything happening then so I want to get this over with now."
"Eh, sure, we can place the band on him now," Nanase said, "Wait outside the Laboratory. It's gonna take a lot of concentration to do this right."
With that said, Nanase looked expectantly at Katsuragi. "Place the boy on to the capsule. Quickly now!" Hesitant, Katsuragi glanced over at Ayanami before handing over Teito's body to the drunk old man.
"Say, Ayanami-sama?" Katsuragi asked as he and the general stood outside the lab. "You are sure it was wise leaving him all by himself?"
"He's one of the top researchers in the country," Ayanami responded.
"He's drunk," Katsuragi countered.
"And thus is at his most dangerous potential."
"What do you mean, Ayanami-sama?"
"...Nanase's mind isn't exactly... stable. When he gets drunk, he becomes more... open-minded and able to analyze larger amounts of data or do tasks more efficiently."
So you aren't worried because he works better when he's drunk? Katsuragi thought, incredulously, though he didn't bother telling Ayanami that.
"What is this 'trap' are were talking about?" Katsuragi peered curiously at the silver-haired man besides him.
"A poison, " Ayanami said firmly. And with that, Katsuragi knew the conversation was over.
The laboratory doors opened. "Gentlemen," Nanase said. He was standing behind the doors, his arms behind his back to hide his shaking hands. "The operation is done. You may take the boy back to his quarters." After flashing a grin at them, Nanase shuddered, feeling a sudden chill in his bones, before dragging his feet back to the kitchen, muttering something under his breath.
Katsuragi looked at Nanase oddly, but then remembered Klein was still unconscious in the capsule and went to get him out.
*Zero Months Ago, Millea's room, Hohburg Fortress*
"Kal... please change everyone's soul number here besides mine. From now on, I'll meet up with Frau and the others and get out of this fortress," Teito Klein said as he let go of his mother's hand and rose to his feet.
"...So you plan to be as bait," Kal concluded.
"Rather than not knowing when he'll appear, it's much easier to move knowing he'll only appear before me." Teito confirmed. That guy will definitely appear in front of me once more...
"Teito, your wings still haven't recovered." Ouka pointed out. "Are you okay?"
"Eh? They're still out?" Teito asked, surprised. He turned to see that his wings were indeed still damaged and had not yet returned to his body. "The restoration hasn't finished yet?" Come to think of it, there's no feeling...
The eye of Raphael lit up once and Ouka shouted out "Ayanami's closing in!"
Teito and Kal sharply turned to face Ouka. "What is his exact position?!" Teito demanded.
"On the other side of the door 100 meters ahead!" Without turning, she told Teito, "Teito, this mission, I... I'll fulfill the mission of resealing Verloren's Soul!"
"What?! But Raphael is still recovering from the brainwashing!" The brunette argued.
"And you're still recovering from the last attack!" Ouka snapped back, taking in Teito's battered up appearance. "Raphael may be weaker than Mikhail, but we both still have more power than you do at the moment!"
Teito began as he ran to stand besides his friend. However, he stopped midway when he realized Mikhail wasn't responding. Come to think of it, even though Ouka realized Ayanami's approach, I didn't sense it at all...
"Master...!"Mikhail cried out suddenly, it's deeper voice resonating through Teito's head. "The restoration of the fracture won't start. Because of the damage caused by Raphael, errors are occurring on all circuits."
Teito's eyes' widened in shock as he "It can't be...Mikhail... is Broken...?"
"Teito! Leave this place to me." Ouka shouted again, taking on a defensive stance in front of the door. "Hurry up and go already!"
"No! We can't leave you behind!"
Mistress, Raphael called out to the restless Ouka, its voice calm and soothing, Please allow me to take over for a few minutes. It just might be the difference between winning and losing.
"As you wish Raphael. I'll trust your judgment." Ouka closed her pink-colored eyes. When she opened them again, they had changed to reveal blue irises.
"Humans, listen carefully to what I am about to say, as it may be the only chance we have now that Mikhail has been damaged."
"What do you have in store, Raphael?" Kal asked.
"And it better be good! You're the one who put me in this mess in the first place!" Mikhail snapped, wanting Raphael to know who exactly Mikhail blamed for the situation they were in.
"As you may already guess, we are running out of time." Raphael said, its eyes a little teary at his most favorite person in the world's harsh words.
"Yes, Raphael, we are pretty sure that we are," Teito told it, a little annoyed. "That's the problem. We need time to get ready for Verloren's revival!"
"Then why not just make more of it?"
"Make more of it?" Wolfram repeated. "You mean, make more of time? How?"
"Time travel," Raphael told him. "If we could go back in time... we will be able to go back and stop this catastrophe from occurring... or at least be more prepared to deal with the problem."
"But... is it really possible?" Kal asked. "To manipulate time itself? I know the archangels were powerful but this seems to be stretching it a bit."
"As you all know, I, the Angel Raphael, and the Archangel Michael were chosen by the chief of heaven himself to guard Verloren's body and soul." Raphael explained. "Therefore, we have been given numerous powers by the Chief, time travel being one of them."
"But if that's so," Teito said, as realization dawned on him, "then you can send us back in time, right?! To prevent this mess from coming around in the first place?!"
"Yes... However... there are many restrictions to this power, most of which I can't remember..."
"...What about the reincarnations of those souls who have died? What about the cursed tickets? Will I have to visit the god houses again? And the Wars and the Kor? Will they also not exist when we go back?" Teito asked worriedly.
"There is not enough time left to answer your questions. When we go back, you may ask Mikhail-sama."
"...Alright then." Teito turned towards the emperor and Kal. "What about you, Kal, your majesty? Do you want to come to the past along with us?"
"O-of course I will!" Emperor Wolfram declared. "I've already wasted so much time neglecting my daughter! And I won't go back to doing so if I can help it!"
"I better as well, seeing how troublesome things are going to get," Kal replied.
Teito looked at them both in the eye before sighing, grabbing hold of his mother's hand with both of his once more. "What about you, mom? Will you come with us?"
"I...will...trust your...judgment...Tiashe..." Millea said, smiling weakly.
Teito smiled back, softly, not noticing how it mirror that of the woman lying in front of him. Steeling his eyes with determination, he turned to look at Raphael. "Alright, we're ready. Can you and Mikhail send every person who is currently in this room back to two months ago, around the time I deserted the military? Somewhere around the time I escaped the Military Academy?"
"Of course / Of course." Mikhail and Raphael replied as one.
"Alright then, what do we have to do, Raphael?"
"All you need to do is hold my hand. I'll try to connect myself to Mikhail's deep psych. You and Ouka-sama are willing to go through with it? Then it should only take a few seconds..."
*Bang! Bang! Bang*
Teito could just see Ayanami appear at the door. Ayanami's eyes widened, as if he knew what they were planning to do. Quickly, Ayanami sent a hurl of dark red zaiphon- right at Ouka, who had't noticed Ayanami's attack. Without thinking, Teito pulled Ouka to the ground. Unfortunately, Teito wasn't fast enough and soon felt a deep searing pain on his back. Ouka and Millea looked on in fear and shock as she watched the zaiphon rip apart the skin on Teito's back.
"Operation Tempore Peregrinationes is ready, standby for launch," Raphael intoned. Before Ouka could check Teito and before Ayanami could step into the room, a blinding light appeared around the five inhabitants and swept them away though the ghosts of time.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN 07-GHOST IN ANY SUCH MANNER OR WAY
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