Chapter One : Remembrance
"Can I say something?"
It echoed down the halls and around the corners of the old abandon home, memories of childhood long lost. The darkness of the old decrepit place pulling one into his dead embrace and sharing what it had experienced within its walls. Yet they were hallow memories, as al those it held were dead or gone now. A lonely building in great disrepair, haunted by nothing but shadows of what once was. Both good and bad.
Laughter and arguments of children from the many little rooms, siblings or friends, darting around in her mind as she passed each, looking in the sullen shells of what was once a home for many vibrant young souls. Some she knew personally, most she didn't, but she could still feel them lurking, still see the flecks of paint and marks left by furniture that once adorned these now hollowed out little rooms. Her soft footsteps totally ignored as she dreamed, passing through the skeleton of wood and metal.
"Remember when we went fishing for minnows, Bro?" She heard a young child giggle and prance in a dance about the porch, a small child welcoming home a brother from vacation or some other event. She couldn't remember that too well. It was these memories, pieced together in this house that held her together. She saw these shadows everywhere, schizophrenia of memories keeping what little of her mind she had left together. Drops of gold within the darkness that kept her from just ending it all. She did have promises to keep after all.
Deeper into the sanctum she once called home. First hers, then another families when she'd grown up and moved away. Sold after a few years of living to another family. Eventually it was a poor house and an orphanage. It had seen a lot of use, a lot of time, wear and tear. It all pulled on her soul, dragging her back into its dark womb, to that once place within the largest room of the house. It remembered how small she'd been and how hard she'd worked to ignore herself for others. But that had been then. Before her real life actually happened. And before the problems came up.
A soft sigh slipped her wordless lips as the memories faded from this room. Even the shadows seemed to be holding their breaths, afraid to lurk here. She knew this room better than the rest, having spent more time here than she'd ever wanted to. Kneeling, brushing her fingers out along the dusty floor until she found the edges, soon outlined the handle. A trap door. Pulling it up, she slipped beneath the creaky old surface, into the world of little bugs, lightless living and spider webs. The air was stale and chilled, un-welcoming to her presence. "Can I say Something?"
This time the memory was far more fresh, the voice older and filled with panic instead of the amusement or curiosity of a child. A voice desperate to put up even a moment's delay on the inevitable. It was much later, an memory that was closer to her current life than any of the hidden shadows before. As she shuffled down the stairs and hunched low it the crawl space like area, she dared to let the memories flicker their fingers across her mind. When the house was one of purpose rather than idle dreamers lodging spaces.
She pulled the flower from behind her ear. A small purple thing she didn't remember what it was called if she knew at all. This and a handful of small white glittering stones were her gifts for the darkness. Life and rock form the surface world that someone would never see again. Moving down to her knees by the wall, she lay the stones down in the pile with the rest that she'd been building since 'it happened' and replaced the old dead flower with the new one. She came here on just barely a regular enough basis that she had no need for light anymore. She knew where it all was. Light seemed a sacrilege to this place now anyway.
Reaching out, she touched the wall of an irregular foundation. It hadn't been here when the house was built, but was added within the last few years to support the old floors. Or at least, that's what they had called it. She knew otherwise.
"Hey Kid." Her adult voice, almost alien to her now, shattered the silence as her hands slipped down the slightly irregularly poured cement, until it smoothed over the round cusp of bone. Around the soft grit of concrete first, outlining the familiar forms that hadn't quite been covered by the cement. Tracing the holes, the lies, the cracks and dents. They were all here. All the bones, and the skull. He was in there.
"I thought I told you these guys were serious. Ahh, but you never listened to me anyway. Youth." She looked down a moment, to where the stones lay after giving him the standard short pep talk, despite the darkness. "Still have the suit. It hasn't degraded all, just like you said. The batteries are still running the same as when you dragged it up to my front porch and insisted I put the damn thing on. It'll probably be around longer than me..."
Her hand dropped down to the pile of stones, finger tips dancing over the surfaces, feeling out the little symbols she'd carefully carved into each surface. What they meant was only for her to know, and since no one knew about this place, no one had to know about it either. "Always did hate to linger." She admitted after a moment, raising her hand again to pat the skull. "Try not to get stomped on by the big guys wherever your spirit is now, Hm?" Finally pulling back and away, returning the way she came.
"It stopped...." The soft voice of the house called from behind her, lurking shadows and dreams as she padded out onto the porch and looked out across the night skies and tall weed grasses tousling lightly in the breeze. It was a tough trip to get out here. She did it whenever she felt the need to, but usually waited as log as she could manage since it guzzled up so much power. She didn't get in her suit right away, eyes straining a little to look up at the stars in the dark ocean of sky far above. Full of things she'd never reach. Then down and out over the landscape, to the not-so-distant twinkling lights of the newest form of Tokyo. "Will wonders never cease?"
"It stopped." The house whispered behind her. To what means it meant was only for those who could here it to decide on.
"Right you are. It stopped a long time ago, didn't it." She closed her eyes as she slipped into her suit and pulled it up against and around her. Just setting back as the automatic locks and sealants went about their business, tightening all over her body, everything from securing the helmet and the almost absentminded hum of everything getting online again, to the clutch and tight grasp on her feet, pushing them into the high heeled frames that had bee favored by its creator. The light support settling with a soft his, she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Breathing naturally as the familiar patterns of her second skin welcomed her into the warm embrace. She wore the suit so much now that nothing mattered as much as the suit did. Molding to her face and snuggling up all over, she felt once more as though she was merely nothing more than the brain within the suit, the real body. The thing out there, fleshy and weak, was just a puppet.
Only when the suit had settle down and done all its work in immersing her into its system once more, did she open her eyes and view the world the way the suit did. Details all refined and statistics of all kinds right where they needed to be. A short look around, slight twist and turn of her blue opalescent head and visor to make sure the place was clear of anything that might try and harm her and she sprang from the ground and up onto the room with incredible ease. Dancing along the spine of the roof gave her a bit of height and a running head start to take a greater leap, boosters in her back flaring sharply with the takeoff and flinging her high into the air. Like a turbo-jetting flea over a dogs back,the countryside moving by in blurs of speed, rising and falling beneath her with an oceans grace until she had thrown herself back into Tokyo's industrial zones.
Far down amongst the tangled streets below, Inspector Leon McNicholl didn't seem to be having a very good day. There'd been rumors of a rouge Knight Saber running around on the streets lately. It had him thrown for a loop. After all, some of the attitude and behavior reported could've had it aligned with another of the Sabers, whom he suspected to be Priss. This new suit and pilot certainly had the loner attitude, but it was suspicious. Not that he really had much else in the way of solid proof to go on though.
Not that it really mattered who this person was. All that mattered was that she was wanted for questioning in some very nasty incidents that left a lot of people hurt. If they were lucky. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he was driving towards the most recent scene, and spoke aloud to himself as his partner was currently absent. "Funny thing, If she's a Knight Saber, Why doesn't se credit the rest of the team?"
On arrival, the scene was a ugly one. 'A real mess' in the simplest terms. Walking up to the location, his shoes crunching sullenly on the glittering, rocky white pathway, he entered the building, and soon ended up on the third floor of the establishment, going over details that were given to him until he needed some air. It had been hard to tell exactly how many bodies she'd left because not many of them were entirely intact. They'd cataloged as much as they could and scraped some things off the wall as evidence. Everything followed procedure, even as he left to consider options and start doing a little gumshoe work of his own with the new information he had.
Shame this all had to happen now. The Knight Sabers were already being attacked enough as it was, this was all just going to make it worse. He was probably one of the few people that realized they were doing some semblance of good for this city. He paused a moment to look up at the stars, brows furrowed. "I just wish I could find some clue as to what she'd done it for. That'd help track her down faster."
A moment of thought and he decided to check up on the Boomer production facilities, seeing as that seemed to be their strong suit, after all. He headed back inside to wrap up the final details before he'd head out to the Industrial Quarter in his car. "Really shouldn't do this on Daily's vacation, but..."
Back within the industrial complexes, She'd only had one or two things on her mind. Avoiding security personnel, and getting a refill for her dangerously low battery pack. The trip out to the house and back had her almost completely drained. She had to bounce on a few streets before she cold find buildings low enough for her to use as stepping stones to the Boomer factories, where a little energy sluicing likely wouldn't be noticed. She'd done it for enough years to have a pretty good sense on who to hit up for a little juice and the perfect hiding places from both security boomers as well as the personnel. However, she kept her eyes open for security shifts and even random people passing by, as getting sighted would probably do her more harm tan good.
Landing atop a boomer factory, she paused a moment, watching the usual automated security measures make their pass. She'd been using this building just frequently enough that she knew all the shift changes. It was only another minute or two before she was in her hidey hole, suit cracked so she could breathe normally, and cables lined into her back, between her shoulders and just below her neck.
Just what had she been doing out there, tonight. She had a moment to think when she was up here, above everything and everyone else. Idly watching the soft glow of her battery pack recharging off the power flow from the box she was leaning against, turning over the day's events in her mind. Shaky and unsure as it was. She was pretty sure it was all involved with the boy in the concrete wall. It was hard to tell these days though, as her mind seemed to be so much stitched material now. A few names, a few faces. Urges and emotions she couldn't let go of more than clear memory.
She was pretty sure she'd only attacked two or three rooms. Or maybe it was four. Or five. Sometimes when she went after a target, she'd lose all her control and take out an entire flat, or remember a slaughter when nothing at all happened. Or remember absolutely nothing after a massacre. Either way, she was positive she had got who she wanted this time, and they were dead. That was all that really mattered.
She pushed the suit open further and pulled her arms out of their protective casings so she could rub her face tiredly. She couldn't remember how long she'd been in the suit today either, days just sort of blended into one another now. Weeks, months, years. She had trouble keeping it straight now. There were holes in her memory as well as her personality. And unlike some people, she preferred it that way. She didn't see the need for therapy or getting fixed at all. Armadillo armor without the 'dillo.
"Might as well be a damn Boomer myself." She muttered to the breeze. She glanced at the battery readouts and frowned at them, tapping the interface with a fingernail. "Damnit, you should've been able to take more than that. A sigh and she began de-coupling from the energy tap located next to the air ventilation systems and housing, unaware of the car pulling into the nearby lot down below, and the Inspector stepping out with a pair of night binoculars in hand. Scanning the skyline.
"I really should've brought at least a K-12 with me. Too late for that I suppose." Leon lowered his binoculars after the quick s can and frowned as nothing looked unusual. No shadows or flares in the sky or the destruction of anything nearby. His gut feeling wouldn't let him leave just like that however. "If I could even make first contact tonight, maybe I could talk her out of any more damage."
Getting back in his vehicle, he flicked on the car's radar and scanners, looking up the signals of the local area, and was just in time to catch the blip and jumps of her movement. She was heading for another building, both due to draining as much as she could from the source as well as getting out of the area before the known security patrols came back. It was all routine by now and her head partially fogged by a jumble of memories as well as trying to get to her next usual junction point.
"Hmm... Well, there's something." Leon got out of his car once more and quickly proceeded to the last location he 'spotted' movement from. The ADP badge on his jacket seemed to dare the rent-a-cops to say something to him about his presence. None did however, letting him into the locations he inquired on. Boomers could generally take care of themselves, but there were always a few men posted here and there to keep an eye out for unusual behavior and rouges before they got out into the populace. Everyone who weren't these people loved Boomers. They treated them like crap most the time, but as long as someone else was doing the work, it didn't really matter to most the population. It wasn't until he was on the roof that his search was finally rewarded.
Soft sounds of clicks and clanks, and a low female voice grumbling softly, "Damn, I could go for a smoke."
"Ahh, there you are." He'd moved closer, cautiously, to the source of the sound though he had as of yet to make any real eye contact. "Listen, I don't know if you're Priss in there, or what. I strongly recommend you reel in the new member of your team. The homicides last night? Not good. We've left you a free because you've been a big help to us in the past. My superiors will forget about all of that if you keep killing people."
She stopped within her suit at the voice, blinking a moment as she'd been caught with no forewarning, then turned to regard him as he made his little speech, mistaking her for one of those sniveling little brats. Yeah, she was familiar with the Knight Sabers. Very familiar. The one time she'd actually gone to them and groveled for help in the muck, begging for their aide, they'd all found reasons to simply not be around. It was around then she came to a full realization that whoever said life was like a movie and everyone had a happy ending needed to be killed. Ah, wait, she already had killed them.
Her blue opalescent chrome suit tilted its head at him slightly, before triggering scans to check through the nearby areas for life signs or standbys. And yet there was nothing. Only him. No backup or anything. Pushing her head out of the shadow and into the dim lighting up here, just as though to signal him that she'd heard him if nothing more. Now, she'd figured she'd pissed off a lot of people in her lifetime, but frankly, the ADP badge so clearly marked on his chest had her a little surprised. They were the last people she expected to have on her tail. Within her suit, she just smirked, and had a good hearty laugh at his expense, before settling back into the shadow again, resuming with her power storing.
"Yeah, think it's funny if you want. But I'm serious. Confine your attacks to Boomers in the future. I'll do what I can to keep some heat off the Sabers, but another human death, and it's not going to be possible. And I may decide I don't want to help you."
"Don't waste your time." Her emotionless voice replied, crossing her arms as she remained within the shadows. The sword partitions that arched off her forearms coming up in a slightly defensive position if he chose to try and blast her away at any point from here. Her suit had been mostly a custom job, blue-chrome with opal like under features and black interior. Some schematic parts were borrowed from Sylia's armor and a few notes from Priss's suit, but the rest had been a complete custom job. Built for missions of a different time for the most part. "The Knight Sabers can eat my dust for all I care."
"So your not a member of Knight Sabers, then? Who are you, then?" He switched on a small tape recorder. This information could prove useful to him later. "And why did you kill those people last night?"
"Why not?" She said with heavy sarcasm, raising the pitch of her voice, mocking those she had been mistaken as. "The girls have been trying to steal my boyfriend, so I just made sure he'd only be mine." Cheerleader type giggle and she waved one of her arms slightly. "I'm just making the world a better place by killing all the cheating back stabbers! Oh sure, it leaves some widows but they can come over and spend all their money on me! Tee-hee!" End sarcasm.
He scowled darkly at her for that. "Yeah. It's becoming more and more obvious that you're telling the truth. The Knight Sabers may be 'glory hounds and vigilantes' as some people put it, but at least they're professional. Next time we meet, I'll be better equipped. And I'll see you in jail."
She glared back at him through her suit though he couldn't see it. A flick of a glance to her power levels told her she had half an energy tank. She'd have to hit somewhere else further from here for another rush to fill up, but it was enough for the time being. Returning her gaze to him as he finished his supposedly scathing words, she figured him more as just an every day cop rather than the Investigator branded on his badge. Don't they tend to ask more questions and push for more information?
"Have fun dancing with the ghosts then." She spat after him, a little something to give him nightmares about later. If he'd even see the connection anyway. Doubtful, but she wasn't telling him anything else, so why not lead him off on another false trail. She could see it in his eyes that he was rather ticked off that he hadn't pushed her harder, but enough intelligence to realize she had the upper hand with her suit. He wouldn't be able to physically force anything from her as long as she was in it. Not this time anyway. Much as the temptation to stay there and torment him was, she moved across the roof, preparing to jump off again.
She took a smaller jump, landing on a parking structure next to the building, pausing tot urn around and cross her arms again. Standing there and just mocking his existence. There he was, he'd found her and gotten further than anyone else had. There were more pebbles at that little shrine than she ever remembered, a lot more deaths than she remembered really dealing out. She'd been playing this game for a long time now, and only just recently stopped being discreet about it. Coming to the end of her chain maybe as her sanity continued to deteriorate.
He tilted his head at her stance, then shook his head. Nothing more he could do here today. "At least tell me what I should call you if you're not a Knight Saber. And... What happened? Did they kick you out or something?"
"Segway, Rookie!" She shouted back to him, actually giving the name of the suit rather than her real name. In truth, she believed there was very little of the person in the suit left behind to even be named. Maybe just a homeless straggler without a mind of her own, or maybe she was already dead. An obituary in a newspaper somewhere, burned ashes and dental records in a timeless grave just to be forgotten.
"Rookie?" He rose his brows at her as he pulled his glasses down to look at her. A name he hadn't been called in years, apparently. A good look on him, she decided.
She smirked wider to herself. Like a cat playing with a mouse. She turned and moved to a conjunctioning building, another location where she could jack in. Frankly, she didn't really have anywhere else to go, or pressing matters to attend to and seeing as he was so easy to mess around with. Well, she just settled down at another junction point, keeping aware of the security other than him. Let him holler across buildings or come join her on hers. She didn't have any priorities here.
A frustrated sound and he called after her in annoyance, face in an almost permanent scowl now. "Well, are you going to do something or are you going to just stand there? My shift is just about over, so if something's going to happen here, I'd like to know."
"I've finished my rounds for the night." She responded with a slight shrug. "Maybe someone else will die tonight. It really depends on where They show up." It could be easily mistaken that she was referring to the Sabers. After all, that's all this officer seemed to be paying attention to, that she was supposed to have some relation to them and couldn't possibly be from a completely different section or unit. Of course, it wasn't much of a unit anymore. Almost all of her unit was dead, killed by the shadows that stalked the streets. Maybe that's what she was now. A ghost like the rest of them. Living a shell of a former life, haunting the world as her unfinished business never seemed to end. Now that's a twist of mind. Could one disbelieve themselves out of existence?
"You'd better not be responsible." He turned to exit the rooftop and go back to his car, calling back over his shoulder. "I'd say it's been a pleasure, but I'd be lying."
As she watched him leave from her jack in point, there was a slight tug somewhere within her. It almost felt like being violated to be walked away from. Then again she didn't have much reason to cut him down, finding no real meaning in his threats, completely without worry for all his attempts to instill a sense of right and wrong within her shell. Ofcourse, it may have just been due to not really being approached or having conversation with people normally to have it all ripped back just as suddenly as it had st-
Beep.
Her thoughts were canceled as another display was triggered within her sights, informing her of a tag and a memory in the fog. She remembered one of the bastards she'd gone out to end the life of had gotten away and all she'd been able to do was tag his car before he'd peeled off into the night. She had to get rid of the others before him, but now he was on the move again. Three fourths of a battery was good enough. Her target was half way across town and her suit dealt with power better than any Sabers machine did. Leon completely dropped from her thoughts as she took off from the building, heading deeper into the city.