The Blue Scarf

A Drakengard 3 Fanfiction

By BG-57

Chapter 1

At first there was nothing; a black formless void, darker than the deepest starless night sky. Finally after eons a light appeared. It began as no more than a tiny spark; but with it came a faint warmth. Slowly, the light began to grow, until it became someone. There was no face or voice, just a name.

Cent.

Yes, that name was dearly important but at first there was no comprehension of how or why. All that was known before was endless all-consuming sorrow. Wait, who was thinking these thoughts? With awareness of another came a gradual awareness of self. 'Who am I?' wondered the dark void. Was Cent another void or something else? No, that didn't seem right. They were both people, or they had been once.

It hadn't been a person though: it was an Intoner. The very word was tinged with bitter despair. Intoners were powerful beings with the power to warp the very fabric of reality with song magic. But they didn't understand the hideous cost of such power until it was far too late. Some of them never understood. Hundreds, no thousands of lives sacrificed like kindling to a fire. Soldiers. Children. Friends. People. All destroyed. Why?

Something had granted them power but also strange compulsions and urges. It manifested in different ways; as bloodlust or just plain lust, greed, gluttony, and desire. Yes, it had wanted food, adoration, romance, everything. Somehow Cent had been the key to that. But he was gone, lost forever. But was he? He had once promised to always be there. Was he still out there, waiting?

"Lady T-I mean Two, you're staring at me again. I know I'm easy on the eyes, but hey, there's a limit you know."

Cent's voice rang out as clear as day now, his cocky self-assurance and cool bravado all too apparent. She never could get him to stop calling her Lady Two; wait, that was her name! She had five sisters: One, Three, Four, Five, and Zero. There was something foreboding about the last name though; Zero was different than the others. But Two had adored her eldest sister all the same. She would find them and Cent. Then everything would be fine, like before.

The light was growing until it enveloped her until it became blinding. But it was a welcome change. Now she could hear the sound of waves crashing on the shore, the distant voice of people. The light solidified into sunlight streaming through an open arched window set in an undecorated white wall. To either side were similar blank walls.

Looking down Two saw a pair of thin pale arms resting on legs seated in a simple oaken chair. The wrists were decorated with bulky silver cuffs and she realized she was wearing a plain white cotton dress. She raised her hands and stared numbly at them, the cuffs had intricate gold scrollwork on them and almost seemed to be humming. Was this her body?

The room around her had no furniture except for the chair and window. She could smell salt in the air; the ocean was near. Two woozily tried to stand but her legs refused to cooperate and she slumped onto her knees on the stone floor. She reached out and managed to grasp the window ledge. With leverage she managed to painfully stand up. Looking out she saw the rolling waves of a blue ocean hitting sharp rocks along the shore. There were tall narrow buildings with steep black roofs built along the higher ground. Nets were stretched out along the beach and several small boats were moored along a stone jetty: a fishing village?

Two looked behind her and saw a sturdy wooden door in the opposite wall; it was decorated with round brass rivets. She felt along the wall to maintain her balance, the white bricks cool to the touch. Her mind was a mess, a jumble of fragmented memories; she still couldn't remember what Cent had looked like, just his calm reassuring voice.

"Oh Cent."

Her voice came out as a dry croak. She reached out to the iron ring on the door and pulled. Locked tight. Frowning a little she pulled harder. The door groaned and they suddenly gave, the splinters flying everywhere. She looked down and saw the metal ring dangling free in her grip.

"Oopsie," she said softly. Clearly she wasn't as weak as she thought. Two gingerly stepped over the broken planks and into a hallway. It was airy and light with the same white stonework. There was a similar door opposite her and more doors down to the right. At the end was the top of a staircase. Two made her way using the wall for support but she felt the strength returning to her limbs and began to walk unassisted.

That's when saw the other woman coming up the staircase. She had pale green eyes hidden behind glasses and her long raven hair ran in two braids down her back; and was dressed in a white blouse with a black cravat over a short green skirt. She wore black gloves and matching thigh high boots. The pile of blankets fell out of her grasp onto the stairs.

"Lady Two," she gasped, "You're awake!"

"Where's Cent?" demanded Two, "I have to find him!"

"Calm yourself," said the woman reassuringly, "I'm glad to see you're awake."

Two wasn't interested in being calm. She grasped the woman's shoulders and shook her.

"Help me," she cried frantically, "I need Cent; he promised!"

The woman covered one of Two's hands with her own and squeezed comfortingly.

"It's okay Lady Two; I'll take you to him soon but you need to be prepared first. You've been catatonic for a long time."

Two released the woman with a pained expression.

"I'm sorry," she said her shoulders slumping, "What is this place?"

"My name's Accord," replied the woman, "This is my hospital; you've been ill."

"My head hurts," said Two rubbing her forehead, "What happened to me?"

"You've experienced a great deal of trauma due to your Intoner powers," explained Accord, "And your mind could not handle the strain. I've been trying to reconstitute your psyche for years. I was starting to worry that you would never recover."

"Years?" mused Two, "How many years?"

Accord touched her chin thoughtfully and tilted her head.

"Time means something a little different to me, but let's just say a lot." Two began to sniffle.

"Is Cent even alive anymore?"

"That depends on where you are," she replied with an enigmatic twinkle, "But we can go to a place where you can see him."

"Please!" said Two grabbing her hands, "I'll do anything!"

"I'll hold you to that my Lady," said Accord cheerfully, "Now we have a lot to do."

With that Accord led Two down the staircase. They entered a large living space with a simple table and chairs. Above an unlit fireplace hung a wood framed mirror.

"First, I want you to look in the mirror and see yourself," she stated, "When you're ready."

Two nodded and looked. Staring back at her was a pale thin young woman with bright blue eyes and matching hair that was cut short into waves of curly spikes. Except for the dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheekbones, she could be considered cute. She brushed aside some stray locks of hair and exposed the number II on her forehead.

"Why do all my sisters and I have numbers like this?" It had never occurred her to ask One, who knew everything. She had just taken it for granted, like breathing.

"You are the second copy of Zero," replied Accord evenly, "Well, more like a fragment of her."

"What?" gasped Two stunned. "That's impossible! We grew up together!"

"The Flower implanted you with those memories," explained Accord patiently, "You were only a few years old when you last fought Zero." Two looked at her blankly.

"That was the last time I saw her," she mused, "Wait, what Flower? You're not making any sense."

Accord sighed deeply and scratched the side of her head; it was almost like talking to a child. Quite a contrast to the brash profane Zero. But that made sense, this Intoner really was a child of sorts. She was so guileless that it felt like kicking a puppy to explain everything to her.

"Don't worry about it for now," she said waving a hand, "Just don't try to use you Intoner powers." Two seemed to crumple in on herself like she was only a foot tall.

"I'll never use my powers ever again," she said meekly as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, "I'm cursed to destroy everything I love." Accord touched her cheek gently with a hand.

"Don't worry: those cuffs block song magic."

Two tried to speak but began sobbing and buried her head into Accord's shoulder. The crushing weight of all those destroyed by her song was too much to bear. The only thing that gave her any hope was the thought that she might see Cent again. Even if he was now an old man with grandchildren she didn't care.

"You poor child," murmured Accord, "How you've suffered."

"Can you take me to Cent now?" asked Two pulling away and trying to regain her composure. Accord nodded.

"We need to get you dressed first."

Later Two was staring down at herself in confusion. She preferred revealing dresses and long scarves but this was far too baggy; it looked like something a diver would wear, dark gray with rivets and built in gloves and boots. Accord handed her a helmet with a clear faceplate.

"What is this for?"

"You'll need it for the rescue," she explained, "It will protect you."

"We're rescuing Cent?" wondered Two.

"You are Lady Two. And yes, we need to extract him right before he dies; that way the timeline won't be affected."

"Timeline?" asked Two, her head hurting anew, "We're traveling through time?"

Accord picked up a ridiculously large metal suitcase that was almost as big as she was.

"I'm a Recorder," she said, "We observe different branches and record the permutations when we alter specific events."

"Why?" she wondered.

"To create a future without the Flower," said Accord, "In one branch Zero managed to do that with her dragon and her Disciples."

"You said something about a Flower before," stated Two, "What is it exactly?"

"It's a parasitic life form that infected you and your sisters; it's what made you magic so powerful but it also consumed you." Two shuddered.

"Can we get rid of it?" she wondered with fascinated revulsion.

"There may be a way, but for now let's worry about the mission. Follow me."

Accord led Two through a door and into an empty room. She flipped open a small metal device and began tapping rapidly into it. The stone floor began to fade away, exposing a long descending shaft that they could hear wind whistling through. It had bone gray walls with squares cut out from the sides. Accord placed Two's helmet on and sealed it.

"You'll have five minutes. Your suit has an accelerator system that will activate sixty seconds after you jump. It'll be a strain, but an Intoner like you can handle it. It will look like the world is slowed down but in reality you'll be moving twenty times as fast. You will see familiar faces, ignore them and focus on getting to Cent."

"How can I save him?" she wondered.

"Follow your instincts. Hold out your arms rigidly when you get close to the ground."

Two sighed and took a deep breath; she had no idea what she was getting into and was terrified of all that Accord had told her. But she couldn't back down now; she held out a foot and stepped into the void. She fell down rapidly accelerating and she saw light at the bottom of the shaft. She emerged in the air high above the ground. From this high up the landscape looked like a rolling blanket. She tried to keep her breathing steady but she was on the verge of panic again. How would she survive a fall from this high up?

"Lady Two, can you hear me?" Accords voice was right in her ear but also sounded far away.

"Y-yes Accord," she stammered, "I'm falling!"

"That's fine the accelerator is about to kick in." She went through a cloud layer. She could hear the rumble of thunder and great flashes of light below. A storm? As she emerged below the clouds she saw it was actually a battle. She could make out an ebon dragon with glowing orange wings covered in chains circling around a mountainside covering it with volleys of fireballs; even from this far up she could easily recognize Gabriel, One's demonic dragon. As she got closer she could make out a figure astride the dragon's back dressed in white robes. It was One! She repressed her instinct to call out to them, normally she would be happy to see them. As she got closer Gabriel suddenly froze in midflight, the latest fireball spewing from its jaws slowing down to a crawl.

Two fell past them and saw One's shoulder length pale blond hair, her crimson eyes showing a look of steely determination and a ruthless will to do what needed to be done. She didn't seem to notice her at all. Two followed her gaze downward. Along the mountain were tiny figures trapped in a tableau of panic and disarray. She picked out a tall muscular man ducking for cover as a fire blast melted the rocks around him to glass. Further down the winding path she spied a lanky man wielding two swords.

It was Cent! She couldn't make out his features yet but his posture was unmistakable. Two glanced behind her; the latest fireball was headed straight towards him! She had precious seconds to figure out what to do. She spread out her arms and felt the fabric stretch and extend; her decent began to rapidly slow. Between her wrists and ankles taut material formed crude glider wings. She tilted slightly and began to steer in to a wide part of the mountain path. Two held out her feet and began to run along the ground as it got close. But she was still going too fast, she stumbled and tumbled down the rocky pathway until she smashed into a boulder was flung over the edge of a cliff. With a last desperate effort she caught hold of a rock ledge sticking out of the side of the cliff.

Panting heavily she looked up at the sky. The fireball was falling slowly, about a hundred feet above her. She pulled herself up and began to run down the trail ignoring the searing pain in her left leg. At the bend in the road she could see Cent looking up. He had just noticed his doom careening down from above.

Two could now see him clearly; a tall and thin with wavy dark hair that swept over his pale blue eyes. He wore white pants with black leg guards, a black jacket with brass buttons over a bare chest covered with perpendicular scars extending from his hips to his throat and another across his chest. A bird-shaped pendant decorated his collarbone and had a blue scarf wrapped around his belt; a favor she had given him. He was wielding identical white swords with black trim and curved hilts.

He was twisting his body to dodge the flames but she could see that he wasn't going to make it. The fire was casting Cent in silhouette when she reached him. Two leaned in with her shoulder and caught him square in the chest. He went flying like a rag doll in her arms as she skidded around a corner. Suddenly the world caught up with her and the fireball hit the ground behind them, a wave of heat slamming into her back, knocking her into the air. They tumbled off the path down a steep ravine. She managed to hold on to Cent and break his fall but they still landed hard. Debris rained down and ricocheted off her cracked visor as a plume of dust settled down over them; more explosions rocked the mountainside around them.

Two looked down and saw Cent's left arm was twisted in an unnatural direction and he was unconscious. She shook he shoulders in a panic.

"Cent! Cent! Please wake up!"

After a moment his eyes opened and stared at her in open confusion.

"What happened?" he wondered breathlessly, "Who the hell are you?"

"It's me, Two!"

"No, that can't be," he said looking spooked, "I saw Lady Two die."

"I came back for you," she said tears welling up, "Didn't you promise to stay with me always?"

Cent's face paled with shock.

"It is you! I must have bought it back there and you're here to take me to the afterl-wait, why are you dressed like that my Lady? Were you sponge diving or something?"

Two's tears splashed on the inside of her faceplate as she giggled hysterically.

"It's a long story Cent," she said caressing his face with a gloved hand, "Maybe we are dead; I don't care anymore."

"Hey, did you know why sponges have all those little holes in them?" he inquired with a casual smirk that always made her weak at the knees. She shook her head wordlessly, she never knew the answers to his ridiculous trivia questions.

"They use them to suck in water and talk to other sponges of course." He tried to laugh but gasped in pain and lapsed back into unconsciousness again.

"It's okay Cent, everything will be fine now," she said firmly, "Accord, I have him."

"Great, head west. You'll find a passageway open."

Two gingerly picked him up and slung him across her shoulders; even though she looked small and frail she was the strongest of her sisters. To her Cent was as light as a dove.