This has been sitting on my hard drive for a little while, but I never got motivated to finish this chapter up in a way I'd like for it to end. Suddenly motivated to write those last couple of lines because of that sudden challenge, I present to you another wonderful turd of mine that I'll probably never finish. Fook yeah.

The Elf Wars had come and passed. All that was left in its wake was destruction and suffering. Most of the world was a wasteland, and the majority of the world's population was decimated. This was all there was to show of it, though. Wiel and Omega disappeared along with the Dark Elf, leaving X to rule without nearly as much difficulty as he would have, and letting Neo Arcadia be the prosperous city it was meant to be. Likewise, Zero slept, never again to be disturbed like he intended.

Unfortunately, the crimson warrior wasn't quite done yet. While things seemed like they would be easier, they weren't what they're always made out to be.

-Summoning – Forgetful Awakening-

-MISSION START-

Today was the day. Today was the day of the Sacred Summoning Ritual. Today was the day the student nobles of the Tristain Academy of Magic would summon their Familiars.

Today was one of the most nerve-wracking days one particular student had ever felt.

This student in question was Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, the Third Child of the Vallière Family, and she had a nickname; Louise the Zero. Her success at magic was Zero, all of her spells exploded, no matter how simple they could be. It was only natural she'd fear of a screw-up on a day as important as this. Despite her boasts and false bravado, deep down she knew that if she failed this, she'd forever be counted as a complete and utter failure as a mage.

What she didn't know, however, nor did anyone else at the time, was that this day would mark the beginning of a significant change in everyone's lives all around the planet.

It was roughly an hour past noon, and Louise's class had nearly finished with all their summonings. With only a few left, that meant it would be her turn soon. Unfortunately, her rival, Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst, had finished her summon, and it was of a rare and powerful Familiar; a Flame Salamander. What was worse was that this marked that she was next in line for the summoning.

This made her worried, perhaps even a bit scared. However, she knew it had to be done. Walking to the middle of the field, and releasing a small nervous sigh, she began the process for the ritual. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, heed my summoning, and bring forth my Familiar!" She says this while a pentagram within a circle appears underneath her feet. Normally, this is where the Familiar would appear, signifying a successful summon.

Unfortunately, the Familiar of Zero would require some more effort than just that. In an explosive cloud of smoke, Louise the Zero was gone, and while it didn't seem so to her classmates, for her she most definitely was.

Louise felt something wet at her feet. Looking down, she noticed she was in shallow, murky green water. Scrunching up her face in disgust, she decided that unless she summoned some kind of swamp creature, something like this shouldn't be here. Looking up, her face quickly switches to that of surprise.

This was most definitely not the Tristain Academy of Magic.

Instead of a beautiful blue sky, vibrant green grass, and protective stone walls, instead she saw decrepit, rusting metal, glimpses of light barely breaking through the breaks in the damaged ceiling, and what was perhaps most odd, was that in front of her was the vague shape of a person. Venturing forward in search of answers, she discovers something somewhat horrifying.

This "person" was attached to a large construct with various… ropes? Something similar to that was attached to his back, and he was just hanging there limply, kneeled onto the ground. It also appeared he was missing his arms, or at least most of them. It was a rather grotesque sight, to say in the least. Walking closer to see if he was still alive, she got a better look at him. He was wearing a black, somewhat skin-tight suit, though it was torn in places, revealing grey mechanical parts underneath it. Similar parts were hanging off where his arms once were. His body was covered with heavily damaged red armor, some part having horribly worn gold details on them. He had a red helmet, cracked and damaged like the rest of him, and a cracked blue gem was on the part covering his forehead. His face, while dirty, was mostly unscathed, showing that he was rather handsome. Behind him, scattered amongst the ropes were long locks of blond hair. He would have been a sight to behold had it not been for the horrible condition he was in.

Getting closer, she grabs a hold of him, noticing his surprising warmth. This meant he might still be alive! Gently shaking him, she gets no response. Shaking a bit harder, she still gets nothing. She slaps his face. Nothing. She opens one of his eyes. She gets nothing but a blank blue staring at her, not even an iris.

Well, that last one was a little creepy. Since for all intents and purposes that this guy is dead, Louise ponders over her situation. She's in some old ruins with a dead guy. She performed, and most likely failed her Familiar Summon. So what was there to do next? Why get out of there, of course! Except for one problem; she didn't see any exits. Looking all around the area proved fruitless, signaling that she was trapped in a musky old place with a dead guy, soon to join him in his fate.

Thinking over as to how exactly she got here, she realized that it was either the summoning's fault, or hers. After all, nobody ever said something like this didn't happen during the summoning, and for all she knew she might completely forget about this, like everyone else might have. Magic was strange like that. Looking at the dead guy again, she realized that if she was right, then either she had a corpse as a Familiar, or she was going to die. Reviewing her options, she decided that even if she was wrong, it was better she knows for sure. A useless Familiar, if she could call him that, was better than being dead, right?

Sighing to herself, she grimaced. This wasn't going to be pleasant, she knew it. Preparing to finish the Familiar Summoning Ritual, she readies her wand and begins to speak. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." After saying this several times, she prepares for the final step. She kneels down in the dirty water and grabs the sides of his helmet, making him face straight towards her. "This better work," she mutters to herself. She carefully presses her lips against his; again surprised by the warmth they held.

Nothing happens.

Sighing again, she resigns herself to her fate. She feels a lump form in her throat, and tears start to form in her eyes. However, before she can start crying, a bright flash starts coming from the corpse's body. Damaged bits start to reform, and arms begin to grow from the stubs. Looking on in amazement, Louise can only stare at the event unfolding in front of her eyes. After the body gets completely reformed and repaired, she looks at the face of the man, hoping for a reaction. Suddenly, his eyes open and stare at her with an intense blue, this time being complete eyes, iris and all. Jumping back in shock, she notices a bright, blinding glow come from beneath them. Looking down, she doesn't get a chance to understand what exactly is happening as the glow envelopes both of them.

Pink eyes, a look of surprise, and finally a blinding white glow. This is what he had first seen after waking up. But why was he asleep? Better yet, who was he? Did he have a name? Struggling to come up with answers to these questions was quickly becoming a headache. Perhaps it was better to focus on what was going on around him. Looking around him, he noticed grass at his knees, and a large cloud of smoke surrounding him. In front of him were those same pink eyes he saw just moments before. The owner of said eyes was a young girl with strawberry-blonde hair, almost pink. With the smoke clearing, he sees quite a few more people, coughing and staring at him, some of them pointing and whispering to themselves. Standing up, he reveals his full height, almost dwarfing the girl in front of him. The girl looks on in surprise, both around her and at him, though mostly him. Suddenly, a voice speaks up from the crowd. "Nice looking Familiar there, Louise," a busty redhead says. "I suppose it's befitting of 'Louise the Zero'." After saying this, she begins to laugh, with everyone else following her example.

Zero. That word sounded familiar. Was it something important to him? Thinking on it only brought up another headache, so he let it drop for now. Perhaps later when things had cleared up a bit in his mind.

A slightly bald man with glasses begins to speak with the one with pink eyes. "Louise, we need you to finish the contract, alright?"

"I think I already did, Mr. Colbert," she speaks up.

"Oh? Well, we'll just have to check his hands to see," says the one called Mr. Colbert. He walks over to the crimson-armored one and asks, "May I please see your hands? I'm not sure which one it would be on, but still, I'll check both to make sure." The crimson one looks at both of his own hand and notices strange marking on his left one. They looked foreign to him, so perhaps this is what the man is talking about. Offering his left hand to the man, Mr. Colbert looks at it with a little surprise, and then goes back to a neutral look. Saying a quick thanks, he walks back over to the pink-eyed one, who was referred to as Louise and begins to speak to her. "Well, Louise, I don't know how you already made the contract, but you did. Even with an odd Familiar, you've successfully performed the ritual. Congratulations!"

With this, the one known as Louise look at the Crimson one and speaks up. "You," she says while pointing to him, "what is your name, Familiar?"

Looking down, he closes his eyes and thinks once more. Still coming up with nothing more than a headache, he looks back to her and responds. "I can't remember." After saying this, everyone bursts out into laughter again.

"W-what kind of person can't remember their name?" Louise responds.

"All I remember is sleep. Anything before that only gives me a headache."

"Amnesia?" Mr. Colbert speaks up. "It's a possibility."

"But why would he have amnesia, Mr. Colbert?" Louise asks.

"Well," Mr. Colbert starts, "you could talk with your Familiar and try to find out. Working together, you might help him remember something. On that note…" Mr. Colbert turns and addresses everyone else, saying, "Class is dismissed. You have the day off tomorrow to allow you to get used to your Familiars. Now go and resume your regular schedules." With that, most of the students begin to either walk off, or fly away.

A few chose to stay behind, however, and one in particular was the redhead who made the comment earlier. She walked up to Louise, with a few men following behind her. "Good job Louise," she speaks up. "Not only did you summon a human Familiar, but one who doesn't remember anything at all. For all you know, he could be nothing more than a commoner in a fancy dress. Well, good luck teaching him all the wonderful things about this world all over again." With that, she and the others with her fly off.

"Stupid Zerbst, if only she knew the things I went through to get you," Louise mutters to herself under her breath. Turning to the man, she says, "You! Until I get your name, I'll just have to call you Familiar, got it! Now, let's go!" With that, she begins to walk off. Shrugging his shoulders, "Familiar" decides to just follow her.

As Louise enters her room, the crimson-armored man silently enters with her. Turning to face him, she speaks up, "Alright, Familiar, since it seems you have amnesia, do you remember anything about magic? Were you a mage of some sort, or were you just a commoner?"

"I don't believe I'm familiar with the terms," the man responds. "If I may suggest, we wait a bit for things to clear up in my head. I might be able to remember something later, since all I get are headaches when I try to think of something. In the meantime, do you mind telling me more about this place?"

"Fair enough," Louise says. "You are at the Tristain Academy of Magic and for some reason, I have summoned you as my Familiar. Usually it's an animal of some kind, but instead I got you. As my Familiar, you are to act as my bodyguard and servant. Understood? In exchange, you get a place to stay and food to eat. Likewise, we'll try to help you regain your memories as best as we can, alright?"

"I suppose that's acceptable," he replies, "just so long as I don't go and do something stupid."

Glaring at him a little bit she asks, "Why would I do something like that?"

Shrugging his shoulders to signify 'I don't know', he leans against the wall and crosses his arms. Louise then speaks up, "I have my first order for you. I need you to undress me. Since you're my servant, it's only natural that you do something as simple as that. If you were once a noble of some sort, then oh well, you're a servant now."

"You can't undress yourself?"

"Of course I can! It's just that around here, servants always do that for nobles." she retaliates.

Sighing to himself, he gets off the wall and walks over to the door. "I may be nothing more than a servant to you, but I'm a person as well. I'm not doing something stupid and pointless like that. Just get dressed yourself."

"Wh-where do you're think you're going!"

"A walk. I need to clear my head anyways." With that, he walks out the door closing it.

Louise twitched her eyebrow. He was a servant, a Familiar! What, just because he had amnesia it gave him the privilege to just walk away from his duties? No, of course not! Preparing to storm off in search of him, she stopped, crinkling her nose in disgust. What was that smell? Looking around for the source, she realized it was her own clothes. How did they get that smell in the first place?

…Oh right, the ritual. The strange, somewhat disturbing one. What was the deal behind that anyways? Maybe he knew. Hopefully anyways, unless the amnesia made him forget that as well. Perhaps she'll ask him about that later, after she gets changed. Thinking that last bit made her a bit angry again.

Stupid, lazy Familiar.

I feel like I could go on, but I'll just stop it here for now. Next chapter expect more fightan and arguin than this one.