A young man walked out of the bar with blood on his hand. The man was tall, and wore a long blue cloak that almost touched the floor. Winny stared at the bishop indignantly, but his black mask denied any presence of humanity. The man's ÄRM's were all rings on his left hand, scratch the two bracelets ÄRM's and the hidden necklace.
"I wish you wouldn't be so violent." Winny sighed. She had short black hair that traveled a little past her shoulders but stopped there. The absence of her pawn mask made it obvious that she was a rook, but also that she was beautiful, as her sparkling blue eyes lit up her slightly tanned face. She had a bracelet and a ring ÄRM on her left arm, and a chain that hung from the folds of her pink flowered kimono.
"When you become like I have, human life holds no value." The man snapped at her. When he talked like that, it became painfully obvious that he was at least a foot taller than Winny. "Peanut-chan."
"DAMMIT I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" Winny ran to the man and started punching the air in front of her, only to be held back by the man's gloved palm on her head.
"I apologize." The man said as he let her go. He wiped the blood stained hand on his cloak and his mask seemed to have formed a smile.
"You're really mean Nick-kun…" She said with a frown. "You should respect your elders…"
"I'm only sixteen and I'm taller than you!" Nick started dancing and his mask started to make several emotions ranging from happiness to cockiness.
"That mask is creepy." Winny sighed as she started sulking about how short she was for nineteen.
---
"I found it…" Nick said as they stopped in front of a house, it was a small, run down cabin that looked like it hadn't been used in at least a year. It had a stone chimney coming out of a stone roof that was made more presentable with some straw. It had a stone body and had a chipped and broken wooden door. "Home…"
"This is your old home Nick-kun?" Winny asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Technically it's not mine, it's a friend's house. But she died a long time ago, and this is where I lived for the most part until I joined the Chess Pieces." Nick frown showed visibly on the mask with white lines as he walked through the splintered front door. Winny walked up and kicked the door down.
"Filthy place." Winny scolded.
"Winny, if you desecrate this place," Nick looked to her with an evil look printed on the mask. "I will kill you."
Winny gulped, Nick never used her real name. EVER. He meant what he said, and he always made sure he did well on his word anyways. "Sorry Nick-sama." Winny said, trying desperately to suck up to the bishop.
"Whatever just don't do it again Peanut-chan." Nick said as he rummaged through a few drawers. He paused for a moment, until he tried another set of drawers.
"Nick-sama?"
"It's not here."
"What isn't Nick-sama?"
"It isn't here god damn it!" Nick smashed his hand into the counter and it smashed into a dozen pieces. "Catherine-chan isn't here anymore!"
"Catherine-chan?" Winny said confusingly.
"It's a guardian ÄRM I won from a Cross Guard member. I kept it here so I would never lose it. But it's gone!" Nick howled as he punched the drawers, they shattered under the strike and Nick's hand went through the stonewall.
"What's so important about it Nick-dono?" Winny asked innocently.
"We're going." Nick held up his hand. "Dimension ÄRM: Andarta!" Nick yelled, Winny and him suddenly were driven from their surroundings and found themselves in the Chess Pieces hall.
"Nick-kun?" A voice came from beyond the corridor. Nick trotted off in a light stomp that made the ground shake slightly.
"Phantom-sama! When are we starting the Wa-?" Nick was yelling questions as he stomped off. Leaving Winny to wonder about her partners past, and who Catherine really was.
---
David chugged his juice as fast as he could, chants of his fellow Cross Guard members could be heard everywhere. These were happy times, the Chess Pieces starting a game instead of actual war? It would be easier for everyone, and David truly appreciated not having to fight for days on end.
"David! Someone's here to see you!" Emily sang from the door, she was a tall woman in her late twenties, but dressed like she was still a teenager. She wore a white tank top that showed off her chest, and pants that stopped at her knees. Her long jet-black hair stopped half way down her back and covered her eyes, which gave her the impression of being sober. Even though David knew from experience that she was never sober during a party. David put on his uniform and walked out of the room. His armor suit made him feel whole for some reason, and people had told him that it showed off his brown hair and eyes, so he wore it on all occasions.
"Hello, David." The voice rang through David's head. The hateful tone being conveyed perfectly, in front of him was a teenager about two years older than him, he had bushy red hair that came down to his shoulders, and covered his eyes. He wore an undershirt and blue pants that made him look buffer than most sixteen year olds do. (Even at six feet tall.)
"Do I know you?" David asked carefully.
"I'm not supposed to do anything until the war games, but I want you to know." The boy looked down on the fourteen year old, his voice was deep and unbecoming of a teenager. "I know you stole Sam's Catherine-chan." The boy's dark brown eyes gazed at him with killer intent; his magical power skyrocketed at that moment, making him seem omnipotent. "And let Emily know that I'm coming after both of you."
"N-Nick!" David yelled, he slammed against the door and pushed it open. He closed it quickly on Nick and breathed heavily until he was sure the bishop was gone.
He wouldn't like this War Game, not one bit.
---
"Knight? Already?" Nick said as he got his robe on, Phantom smiled and nodded his head.
"I saw that magical power, and with your ÄRM's, there is no doubt the queen will make you a knight."
"Thank you very much Phantom-san." Nick smiled as he put his mask on. "But even though I'm a knight, I'm still wearing this."
"Your own personal source of hiding from shame?" Phantom smiled wickedly. He raised his hand and an ÄRM on it glowed. "Regardless, I should like to 'baptize' you as Rolan calls it."
"No." Nick stated firmly. Phantom tilted his head. "I don't want to live continuously."
"Really? You prefer to be able to die?" Phantom's eyes widened.
"No disrespect Phantom-san. But you aren't well-cultured in the true nature of pain." Nick's eyes were shown through the mask, they held a sort of hurt in them that confused Phantom. "When you are, you will appreciate the fact that you can… and will die."
---
Phantom nodded his head. "Very well Nick-kun." He raised the ÄRM to eye level. "I will send you and Winny to train for a period of 30 days, approximately 12 hours in the real world."
"Do I have to fight him?" Winny pleaded.
"Hush Peanut-chan. If you still wish to serve under me then you have to be strong enough to hold your own against at least bishop level Cross Guard members." Nick stated without looking at the diminutive black haired girl.
"Dimension ÄRM: Gate of Training!" The ÄRM Glowed and Winny looked down to see a door open below them.
'Thirty days of fighting him? I'll die for sure.'
---
"Damn it Peanut-chan." Nick said as he pulled out a small winged locket from under his robe. "Holy ÄRM: Healing Angel." The wounds on Winny healed immediately and Nick stood up with a scowl on his mask. "Ok new rules, since you suck at hand to hand in every way shape and form. We're going back to ÄRM's" Nick took off his mask and frowned.
"Oh my god." Winny gasped. Nick smirked. "YOU'RE BUTT UGLY!"
"DON'T JUDGE ME BY MY FRECKLES AND HAIR YOU LITTLE!" Nick started cussing and hitting Winny on the head.
"I WAS KIDDING OW OW OW!" She yelled, Nick sighed and took his robe off, leaving him in his undershirt and pants. Winny blushed a little and took a defensive step back.
"Ok, if you can land anything more than a flesh wound on me. I'll… um…" Nick thought for a second.
"Buy me a new ÄRM?" Winny jumped up and down excitedly.
"Well, sure I could get you a nature ÄRM to increase your strength, make you better with hand to hand." Nick smiled.
"HELL NO!" Winny yelled. "I want an awesome ÄRM! Nicky-kun! Won't you buy me an awesome ÄRM?" She rubbed up against the sixteen year old flirtatiously.
"Aren't you a little old to be hitting on minors?"
"No one will know since you're a half a foot taller than me." Winny mumbled ruefully.
"Fine, if you can hurt me, I will scare some poor store owner into giving you a good ÄRM, one of your choice of course." Nick rolled his eyes. Winny smiled and jumped up and down in elation.
"Thank you Nicky-kun!" She hugged him and then jumped back a few feet. "Weapon ÄRM: Rose Rapier!" The chain on the folds of her kimono materialized into a sword in her hand, the handle was leather with a small circle at the bottom, the hilt had a rose in the middle with two circles at the end of the hilt; and the blade was straight and had several thorns coming out of it from all directions.
"Yeah whatever." Nick frowned and touched the bracelet on his left wrist. "Weapon ÄRM: Dream Staff!" The bracelet straightened and turned into a small baton in Nick's right hand. Winny sweat dropped and her jaw went slack.
"Uh…" The staff extended until it was at five foot nine. "Oh I see now, it extends." Winny smiled and charged with her sword, Nick blocked the strike easily and shook his head.
"You expect too little of me." Nick spun around Winny, keeping his staff in place. Suddenly, Winny felt a sharp pang in her side, and she went careening into a stone pillar. Winny opened her eyes after she got situated to see Nick with two sword-sized staffs in his hand.
"It multiplies too." She moaned as she leaned on her sword. She raised her right hand. "Nature ÄRM: Overgrown Meadow!" She yelled as the bracelet on her arm started to glow. Suddenly, trees and flowers shot up from the ground violently. Nick jumped high into the air to see a newly formed jungle in front of him.
"You don't know who your dealing with do you?" Nick smiled, the ring on his pinky started to glow and he raised it. "Nature ÄRM: Battle Crater!" Immediately, the entire jungle disappeared into a newly formed ditch, it collapsed over itself and several giant flowers tried to eat their way through.
"Damn it no biting!" Winny yelled as the forest disappeared back to her arm. She frowned and raised her hand, the ring on her index finger glowed. "Dimension ÄRM: Spectral Sphere!" She yelled, her body seemed to ripple for a moment, then disappear suddenly in a ball of light. Nick turned around to see the ball of light turn back into Winny in time enough to block the attack with her sword.
"You have thirty more days to do this, then we have to siege another town for the War Games arena." Nick smirked as they floated to the ground slowly. "Do you think you'll be of any use by then?"
"Shut up Nick." Winny's eyes lost their light and became cold. "I'll make sure you leave you in the dust when we get there."