Collision

Prologue

Written By: Kimchi_Taco

I do not own anything from Dawn of the Arcana/Reimei no Arcana. I am just your average manga reader that wishes I could have been a part of the adventure but with a little imagination and a stroke of the keys… I can be. I hope you guys enjoy!

It was just any other normal summer day in the desert of Iraq: hot, sweaty, and miserable. Sitting in a small cramped seat in the HMMWV (Humvee), Rainy was leaning her Kevlar (special material and model for her helmet) against the back of the vehicle. She was trying very hard not to concentrate on the only thing that was screaming in her face… heat. With sweat trickling down her forehead and tickling her spine, she had her one ear-bud in her right ear on full blast. She knew, as a medic, it was crucial to be paying attention to her surroundings but after staring: one ghetto building, rocks, sand, some more sand in a small cramped hot vehicle it became apparent to her that this was not an easy task. It doesn't help that she has an attention of a goldfish and quickly floats to the "shinies" unless she has something to distract her and keep her in one spot. She was mumbling a song a friend back home had recommended for her, My Song Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy.

"Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark… Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark… And besides in the mean, mean time…I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart…"she was singing very softly to herself when she heard on the on her comms, "Hey! How about you sing to the rest of us, Doc?"

Rainy laughed and said, "If I sang out loud I think the bad guys would try and shoot me."

A scoff could be heard on the comm and a response, "Hey, maybe you can scare them away?"

Rainy shook her head and leaned back in her seat again, sighing with disappointment. Rainy never wishes anyone would get in harm's way but being the "backup when things fuck up" isn't always a reassuring thing. A nerd on the inside she started to remember a manga that her family has been sending her, on request, Dawn of the Arcana: a tale of two kingdoms with a history of war and currently on shaky terms of truce from a marriage including a sort of racism.

Rainy thought, "Hairism?" And smiled to herself a little. In the story having pure black hair was a sign of royalty. Prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army, Rainy Lee was trying to obtain her Bachelor Degrees in Biology of the Sciences so at this point she slightly understood how genetics and traits are passed from one generation to the next (or from two prior generations because traits have a tendency to skip generations).

"So light 'em up, up, up… Light 'em up, up, up… Light 'em up, up, up. I'm on fire!"

Then… something… happened…

There was a whoosh…

And… chaos.

Rainy felt like a blink just slowed down… and she saw everything in slow motion… the metal bending like folding paper. Shrapnel flying everywhere, and she was sure some had made its way quickly at her but… everything went just fast enough and her body was just slow enough… and the heat… the heat was unbearable.

Is this… real? Am I… going to die?

The next thing she saw was a bright light… it was in a shape of a… small child with some odd ears. Looking down at her hands she felt the absolutely softest and smoothest touch against her forehead. She closed her eyes for a second and relaxed and then… she heard, "This is your second chance at life… What you do in this life will determine your reality."

She then slowly started floating… down. It wasn't scary or petrifying at all… it was like being rocked back and forth by a feather. Slowly she began to control her fingers again, her toes, and legs… but it felt so heavy from the transition from floating on a feather to a solid ground. All she wanted to do… was keep her eyes closed and go to sleep hoping when she wakes up that it was all a dream.