SMJ doesn't belong to me. This fic does. Nuff said.
This fic is an alternate timeline that begins shortly after Otaru's first trip into Gartlant.
Saber Marionette J: Abwehr
Luchs, Saber Doll of Fuhrer Faust the Tenth, kept her head bowed as her master walked away from them for the last time.
"I don't care what you do with them," he told General Goddel as he walked away. "As long as I don't see them."
"Faust sama!" she heard her "sister" cry out. Tiger rushed to his side, only to be batted away.
"Please, Faust sama!" Panta added, only to be tossed aside just as easily.
This was it. The end. Luchs contemplated what this meant. Could she exist without Faust sama's love? She felt tears well up in her robotic eyes. She could hear his bootsteps as he walked away.
Suddenly, they stopped. Her sensitive ears picked up on the sounds of whispering behind her. Someone...not Goddel...was speaking to Faust.
"Very well," she heard her master say. "Luchs..."
The marionette looked up excitedly. Another chance! He was going to give her another chance! Her and her alone! He found her still worthy to be by his side!
She turned and saw Faust standing next to a young Lieutenant. "Luchs, you will not be assigned to Goddel."
Luchs' breath caught in her throat. Certainly God was a marionette...
Tiger and Panta looked up in confusion. Why would Luchs get another chance and not them?
"Faust sama," Luchs began regally, trying to control the excitement, the relief, in her voice. "I will succeed this time in..."
"You will report to the fourth floor. Room two-oh-seven."
Luchs blinked. The blood drained from her face.
"You will be assigned to the Abwehr," Faust finished. Then, before she could even reply, he turned and walked out.
"All right, you two," Goddel said to Tiger and Panta. "Come with me. We have work to do."
Luchs stood there in utter shock as Tiger and Panta left with Goddel. She had been certain...so certain that he was going to forgive her...
The Lieutenant noticed her standing there and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Marionette," he began, a slight note of contempt in his voice. "The Reichmarshal is waiting for you."
Luchs nodded once, pitifully, and started for the lift that would take her down to the fourth floor. She entered the elevator and ordered it down. She stood there, contemplating her fate for the few minutes it took for the lift to stop, then continued on.
Walking down a long corridor, she noticed with the part of her mind that still gave a damn about such trivial things that the lights were somewhat more dim here than in other areas of headquarters. She stopped suddenly before a door marked, "207."
She paused for a moment. Suddenly, her combat sensor alerted her to movement behind her! She started to turn but stopped when she felt someone grab her from behind and something warm pulsing only an inch from her pale neck.
"Identify," she heard a female voice ask. She glanced down and saw a green energy dagger near her throat.
"Luchs," she replied quietly. "I was ordered here by Faust sama."
"Confirmed," the voice noted. The dagger moved away, and whoever it was released her. Luchs turned to see a marionette in a Gartlant Army uniform standing there. Her hair was long and blonde, and her face showed a hint of contempt. Although she would swear that she had never met her, Luchs would also swear that the marionette looked familiar to her. The door opened behind her. The marionette gestured to it. "Proceed."
Luchs turned and started inside.
The change was immediate. The dim, dank hallway was replaced by a brightly lit portion of Heaven. She almost flinched from the bright green leaves of a plant, so unused to seeing one in Gartlant. She looked overhead and saw bright ultra-violet lights glaring down at her. The room wasn't that large, but almost stuffed with every kind of plant or flower imaginable. A small pond and fountain took up one corner not far away. She listened carefully and heard something that astonished her.
Birds.
There were *birds* in this room. She could hear them singing in the branches above her. But how...
She broke off this thought as she tripped over something and landed on her knees.
"Ow!" she heard someone cry. She looked up and saw that she had tripped over someone's leg. A man in grey coveralls had been on his hands and knees, working under a thick shrub.
She darted to her feet. "Watch where you're working!" she scolded the gardener harshly.
"Watch where you're walking," the gardener replied.
"How dare you?" Luchs asked. "Do you have any idea who I am? Any more insubordination and I will report you to your supervisor! You'll spend the rest of your gardening years in one of the reeducation camps!"
The gardener fell to his knees before her. "Oh! Oh, great marionette! Please forgive my insolence, please!" he begged. His head was bowed to her as he groveled at her feet.
Luchs smiled. Finally, she was feeling like her old self again. Like a woman who could taste power again. "And why shall I show a dirty little gardener mercy?" she asked with a grin. "Perhaps a stay in the camps with your family will teach you some humility."
"Oh, no! Please, great marionette! Please! I beg!" He continued to grovel.
Luchs chuckled to herself. Behind her, she heard the door open and footsteps approach. She tossed a look over her shoulder and found that blonde marionette approaching. She was probably here to tell Luchs that the Reichmarshal was ready to see her.
The marionette stopped before her, but did not address her. Instead, she faced the gardener, still weeping on the ground, and saluted. "Reichmarshal Von Marrin," she began.
(REICHMARSHAL!?)
The blonde continued. "General Roland is requesting a few minutes to discuss the new espionage marionette designs."
The gardener suddenly stopped weeping and stood up, brushing the dirt off his coveralls. He looked up and smiled at Luchs. For the first time, she got a good look at his face. He was young, maybe no older than thirty- five, with sandy blonde hair and a short beard. Luchs blinked in confusion. There were no tears, no hint of distress at all.
"Thank you, Gretta," the gardener said, facing the marionette. "Instruct General Roland to meet me for dinner at seven. We'll discuss it then."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
The blonde turned and left. Luchs watched the gardener remove his gloves. "I don't believe we've been introduced," he told her. "Reichmarshal Erich von Marrin, Abwehr."
Luchs felt ice clutch her maiden circuit. She had just threatened the director of the Gartlant Abwehr, the most secret military intelligence organization in the world.
She looked around the comfortable office Marrin had led her to. The desk looked as if it were made of black marble.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment," he said, "I should go change. Gretta will see to your needs."
She watched him walk out. Gretta stood impassively at the door. "Would you like some tea, Ma'am?" she asked Luchs.
Luchs shook her head and circled the office, inspecting the pictures hanging on the walls. Most of them were pictures of panzers. She saw one picture that explained why. Von Marrin, sitting on top of one of the tanks next to two other soldiers. He must have been a member of the armored corps.
"Which division did the Reichmarshal serve in?" Luchs asked.
Gretta didn't move from her spot at the door. "The Fifty-Third."
Luchs paused. "Have we met before?" she asked.
"No," Gretta told her simply.
Luchs blinked as she remembered something. "The Fifty-Third?" She turned to the marionette. "Then he was at Marietta?"
"Yes," the Reichmarshal told her as he reentered the office. He was pulling on a pair of black leather gloves to complete his uniform.
Luchs didn't say anything as he sat down behind his desk. He gestured to the chair opposite of him, and she cautiously sat down.
"I trust you know why you're here," he said.
"Reichmarshal," she began, "About before..."
"The question, Luchs," he prompted. "Do you know why you're here?"
She paused, then, "No, Reichmarshal."
He tapped a few keys on his computer. An image of Luchs appeared...
With Otaru Mamiya only six inches away. He tapped another key, and their faces became closer. Another key and they were kissing.
"I'm here to be punished for that," Luchs concluded.
Marrin laughed. "My dear marionette, that is hardly the case. Things couldn't have worked out more perfectly if I had planned it myself."
"I don't understand," Luchs said.
He smiled. "You will. Before long...you will." He looked up, past her. "Gretta, could you get us some coffee?"
"Jawohl, Reichmarshal."
Luchs watched quietly as Gretta served coffee to the Abwehr director. She still couldn't remember where she had seen her before. Perhaps she had met the marionette during an Abwehr operation she had not been privy too.
"Gretta is something of an assistant," Marrin explained, noticing Luchs' interest. "I don't know what I'd do without her."
"I'm sure I've seen her somewhere before," Luchs confessed.
"She's the only one of her class in Gartlant," Marrin told her. "I'm sorry to say she's not one of our designs. She's based on a Japoness design we...recovered. The Baiko class."
It fell into place and she immediately recognized the face. She had seen it on that Saber at the Japoness palace. The green-haired one.
"Now then, my dear marionette, you should feel fortunate." Luchs blinked at him. "I doubt very much your friends will enjoy working for Goddel. You, on the other hand, by virtue of your...intimate moment...with Otaru Mamiya..." He grinned as he finished. "Are going to win this war for us."
Luchs woke up in a strange place.
She had no idea where she was, or how she got there. All she knew was that she was lying on a futon not her own in an unfamiliar room. She lay very still, to give any observers who might be watching the impression that she was still asleep, and replayed last night's events in her mind.
The Reichmarshal had gone over his rather far-fetched plan with her, and told her training for the operation would begin the next day. He then ordered Gretta to take her to "appropriate quarters."
That was all she remembered. She slowly, carefully opened one eye and began scanning the room. There was no one there. She sat up and examined her room. There were four other futons there besides her own. She stood up and stole quietly to the shoji door not far away. Quietly sliding it open, she poked her head inside.
Nothing.
She stepped into the next room. It was small, holding only a table and a few cabinets. She wondered again where she was.
She heard footsteps and stopped. The door in front of her opened.
"Oh, Luchs! Ohayoo!" Otaru Mamiya greeted her from the door with a smile and a cheerful wave.
Luchs screamed in fury and produced an energy stilletto. With another cry of rage, she let it fly!
The weapon imbedded itself in Otaru's head. His eyes went wide...
Then the energy dart exploded.
Pieces of Otaru's head flew all over the room.
Metal pieces.
Luchs blinked in surprise. She heard more footsteps and braced herself for a new attack. The owner of the footsteps appeared in the doorway, standing over "Otaru's" body.
Reichmarshal Von Marrin gave the decapitated android's body a quick look before looking up again at Luchs. "Guten morgen," he greeted her casually. "Sleep well?"
"Wha...What is this?!" Luchs demanded.
"This, my dear marionette," Von Marrin began, "Is part of your training." He made an expansive wave at the room around him. "You're in a simulated environment."
"Training for what?!" Luchs demanded, angry that she had been tricked.
"To train you to keep from doing that," Von Marrin said, giving Otaru's body a nudge with his foot in emphasis. "This entire operation depends on you being able to hide your true emotions from them. And I assure you, it will not be easy. Especially since you must not only hide your emotions, but often display the exact opposite of them." He nudged the body again and turned to someone outside of Luchs' view. "Have this cleaned up."
Luchs watched as Gretta entered and motioned to the body. A second later, two marionettes who looked exactly like Lime and Bloodberry entered and picked the body up off of the floor.
Von Marrin walked up to her and spoke again, his voice low. "I do understand your frustrations...and your hatred of them. I really do. But you *must* stop thinking like the Fuhrer's killing machine and start thinking like an Abwehr operative. In the Abwehr, operatives do *not* kill...until *I* tell them to. Do you understand?"
Luchs took a tired breath and replied quietly. "Yes, Reichmarshal."
He smiled. "Good, then let's try it again, shall we?!"
Luchs looked up as another Otaru android entered the room.
"Oh, Luchs! Ohayoo!" It smiled and waved to her.
Luchs swallowed down the bile in her throat and waved back. "Good morning...Otaru sama..."
Von Marrin smiled.
Goddel entered Von Marrin's office and rubbed his neck where the energy sword had been placed. One day, he was going to take great pleasure in having that marionette, Gretta, disassembled and recycled. He walked up to Von Marrin's desk and came to attention.
Von Marrin sat there, reading something from his computer. He waited. Goddel waited several seconds before sighing and giving the Reichmarshal a salute.
Von Marrin looked up and smiled dangerously. "General Goddel, thank you for coming. I need your two marionettes. The ones that have maiden circuits. Simple operation. You'll have them back within a space of a few hours."
"Hmmph!" Goddel snorted effetely. "Out of the question! The Fuhrer placed them under *my* command! I won't have them used in any of your...'operations.'"
"Goddel," Von Marrin began casually, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but one way or another, I'm using your marionettes. This isn't a request, it's a briefing."
"Don't threaten *me*, Herr Reichmarshal," Goddel told him, making Von Marrin's rank sound as a curse. "A single call to the Fuhrer, and I can have your precious Abwehr placed under *my* command!"
Von Marrin smiled again. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I could make this whole argument moot. I'm sure your replacement will be more...generous."
"What are you talking about?" Goddel demanded.
"General, I don't know how much influence you *think* you have with Faust sama. I really don't care either. There's only one fact that should be painfully clear to you right here and now..." Goddel waited for him to finish. "No one saw you come in...so no one has to see you come out."
Goddel swallowed reflexively and looked over his shoulder. Gretta was standing in the doorway, staring at him.
"Colonel Shelker is your executive officer, isn't he?" Von Marrin asked. "Delightful fellow. Perhaps I'll be asking him."
Goddel growled. "Fine. Take them," he spat. "But I need them back before the end of the week."
"The operation I have in mind for them will take them only a few hours." Von Marrin smiled. "Do relax, Goddel. It's all for the Reich."
"How's the soup, Luchs?" the Cherry double asked her with a smile.
"It's wonderful," the Saber Doll replied, hating the smile plastered on her face. "Thank...you..."
On the other side of the table, the Bloodberry clone grinned. "Better than anything you can get in Gartlant, eh?"
"Yes," Luchs bit out. "Quite..."
"Quite frankly I'm surprised," Bloodberry went on. "After tasting the kind of swill they make in Gartlant, you'd think more marionettes like you would turn traitor..."
Luchs' fingers tightened around the chopsticks in her hand, causing them to snap.
Cherry only nodded. "Yes, and that despicable Faust person is simply abhorrent. How could anyone in their right mind have any feeling at all for him?"
"You don't understand!" Luchs cried. "He's Faust sama! Our lord and master! We'd give our lives for him!"
"Stop!"
The doubles froze. Luchs sighed in frustration as Von Marrin entered. He looked at her with disappointment. "Luchs," he began in a curious tone, "Why do you give a damn about their opinions of Faust sama?"
"Because he's Faust sama!" Luchs shot back. "I won't sit here and smile while they revile him!"
Von Marrin's face turned angry. "Luchs," he began, "You don't give a damn about Faust sama anymore, remember?"
Luchs glared at him.
"He found out about your feelings for Otaru Mamiya and thought you were a security risk," Von Marrin recited. "And then he tried to have you killed. The only emotions you should display in regards to him are regret...and sadness. And if you must defend someone, you'll defend your friends who you still believe to be under his spell." Luchs opened her mouth to protest. "That is all," the Reichmarshal cut her off.
"Reichmarshal," Luchs began sadly. "I...I cannot...insult Faust sama...I cannot pretend I don't love him... My heart won't let me!"
Von Marrin looked down at her. "Your heart..."
"How can I bear to say such things?!" Luchs asked him. "How can anyone expect me to pretend I hate him! This *thing* inside me, this damned maiden circuit won't let me!"
Von Marrin said nothing. "It's that much of a hindrance?" he asked simply.
"Yes!" Luchs cried, hoping that maybe he was finally seeing the point.
"Gretta over there has never once failed me," he told her. "She's been at my side for years, serving me loyally." Luchs remained silent. "I would like nothing more than to reward her for her service, but without one of those...'damned maiden circuits'...It's impossible for her to appreciate it." Luchs said nothing. "If yours is such a burden to you," he said dangerously, "Perhaps you'd care to donate it to Gretta."
Luchs looked up fearfully and reflexively scooted away from him. "No! No, please, Reichmarshal! I apologize for my insubordination!"
Von Marrin nodded. "Luchs, I don't want you to say you hate him. They'd see through that. But you *can't* praise him to the sky and speak of your undying devotion to him! If you can't play along when they talk like that, then you sit quietly and bite your fucking tongue. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Reichmarshal," she replied pitifully.
"We'll stop for now. Get some rest." With that, he turned and left.
Luchs sat there, gritting her teeth in frustration. How she hated this.
"And the way he treats his own people makes me sick!" the Cherry clone began again.
Without thinking, Luchs growled, reached out, and took Cherry's head in her hands. With a sharp jerk, she twisted the marionette's head to the right. There was a sharp, metallic snap, and the android's eyes went wide. The robot fell to the ground, unmoving.
Luchs took a deep breath.
*Now* she felt better.
Luchs sighed as she entered Von Marrin's office. This training was harder than she thought. What could he possibly want now?
Gretta was standing next to his chair. He looked up and smiled as she entered. "Ah, Luchs, good. How goes your training?"
"Well, Reichmarshal," she answered dully. She no longer cared. In the past few days she had all but whored herself to a thing that looked like the enemy of her Faust sama. Smiled at every lame joke while inside she burned in absolute hatred. Muttered pleasantries while running scenarios in her mind on ways to kill that man.
She was up to one thousand, sixty-two ways...
Von Marrin smiled. "Good! Good," he said. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small chip. "I have something for you," he said gamely.
"What is it?" she asked uneasily.
He held the chip up to the light. "New self defense programming and protocols. Nothing special."
"No thanks," she said. "I'm more than capable of handling myself."
Von Marrin arched an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked innocently. "Gretta, be a dear and put the frauleign on her ass."
"Jawohl..."
Before Luchs could react, the Abwehr Marionette had leapt across the desk! Luchs blocked two punches and executed a snap kick to Gretta's face. Gretta ducked and spun around, hooking her foot behind Luchs' exposed ankle. Luchs was swept off her feet and hit the floor on her butt. She looked up at Gretta's unemotional face.
She was in shock. In the space of a few seconds, she had been defeated...
Gretta returned to her place by Von Marrin's side. The Reichmarshal's face showed no hint of disapproval or disappointment. He had known she was going to lose.
"Come here," he ordered.
Luchs rose to her feet and walked to Von Marrin. She turned and kneeled, reaching back and moving her hair aside. The Reichmarshal opened up a small panel there and worked silently.
Luchs almost cried. He debasement was complete. For a marionette like her, a man opening her and adjusting her chips was an intimate act. She almost felt as if she were being raped.
"Alright, done," he told her. She stood up. "We're almost ready. There's just one last test." He turned to Gretta. "Go get him."
Luchs rubbed the back of her neck. "What is it now?" she asked.
"Just one last bit of training," he said. Gretta returned a moment later with another Otaru android.
"Oh, Luchs! Ohayoo!" it greeted with a wave.
Luchs sighed.
Von Marrin reached into his desk and removed a small automatic pistol and a magazine for it. He loaded the clip into the weapon and worked the action. Then he took the gun and slid it across the desk to Luchs.
"Kill him," he ordered simply.
Luchs blinked in shock. For the past two weeks, he had emphasized *not* killing Otaru Mamiya.
"Something wrong with your audio sensors?" he asked. "Kill him," he repeated.
Luchs almost gratefully picked up the weapon and pointed it at the Otaru drone. The smile on his face never wavered. She took a breath, aimed at that smiling, disgusting face, and pulled the trigger...
Or at least she *tried* to pull the trigger...
She blinked. Her finger wouldn't work. She tried again, to kill him, but her finger refused to squeeze the trigger. Her arms were shaking from the amount of will she was putting into this one, simple act.
She screamed and threw the pistol away, falling to her knees in frustration.
"I'd say it works rather well," Von Marrin noted to Gretta.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?" She screamed.
He faced her and answered seriously. "It occurred to me that your emotions might get the better of you when you're out there alone and forced to deal with him, so I took care of it for you."
Her hand flew to the back of her neck in surprise.
"We need Otaru Mamiya alive if we are to use him to get close to the Shogun. And we need you to realize that. The chip in the back of your neck is just a little something the boys downstairs cooked up." Luchs listened in horror. "It is now impossible for you to harm...or even *allow* to be harmed...Otaru Mamiya."
"What?" she whispered in shock. She was near tears now.
"Oh don't worry," he assured her. "It's not permanent. It's encoded to your auditory systems. A whisper of a magic word, and the chip shuts down. When the time comes, you'll kill Otaru Mamiya, but it won't be on a whim. It'll be when *I* tell you to."
Luchs shook. She had been wrong before...
*Now* her debasement was complete.
"Return to your room," he told her. "You have a big day tomorrow."
"Otaru sama," Cherry said with a gentle smile, "Ahhhh," she prompted, lifting a set of chopsticks to her master's mouth.
"Otaru! Say 'ah!'" Bloodberry cried, nearly knocking Cherry aside to get at Otaru.
"Bloodberry!" Cherry chastised. Before she could get any farther, Lime had leapt between Otaru and the two marionettes.
"Otaru! Open!"
Before the owner of the three androids could protest, Lime had shoved one of her culinary "masterpieces" into his mouth. Otaru's face began to turn blue...then green...
"Otaru sama!" Cherry cried. "Are you okay?!"
Otaru shook slightly as he swallowed. The color began to return to his face.
"He likes it! He likes it!" Lime cheered.
The rest of them face faulted. Getting through to Lime was like trying to argue politics to a brick wall.
It was a sunny day in the plains outside of Japoness. Cherry had suggested a picnic, and Bloodberry and Lime immediately seconded the idea...to Cherry's annoyance. Otaru agreed happily. He was still trying to make the events of the past few weeks up to them. His brief stint as a world star had hurt them, and he had resolved to never let that happen again.
"Here! Otaru! Have more!" Lime offered.
Otaru cringed away while Cherry and Bloodberry came to his rescue.
"Lime...um...Why don't you have a jelly cake?"
"YAY!!!"
Crisis averted...
Otaru sighed in relief and looked around at the scenery before him. Rolling hills and a few trees to one side just blocked a view of Japoness. To the other side, a rocky cliff could be seen less than a quarter of a mile away. He took a deep breath of fresh air while Cherry and Bloodberry argued about something.
(This is the way it should be,) he thought to himself.
"TASUKETE!!!"
Their heads snapped around. Lime blinked in confusion. Otaru shot to his feet and reached for the power-sai Hikozaemon had given him.
"It came from over there," Cherry noted, pointing at the cliffs.
"It sounded like a girl, Otaru," Lime spoke up.
"Otaru shook his head in confusion as he searched the cliff with his eyes. "Marionettes don't scream for help like that unless..."
Bloodberry's mouth curled up in angry disgust. "Saber Dolls!" she spat before leaping off after the sound of the voice.
"Bloodberry!" Otaru shouted after her. "Cherry! Lime!"
The other two marionettes needed no further invitation. They were off like a shot after Bloodberry. If the Saber Dolls were out there, they'd send them packing.
Luchs hit the ground and rolled twice before coming to a stop. She coughed, but before she could recover, her assailant was on her. She felt herself being picked up by the front of her uniform. She opened her eyes and saw the star shaped patch over the blonde's eye.
"This isn't working!" Pantha hissed to her. "How far should I go?"
Luchs was close to unconsciousness as it was. Her scream should have carried to where they were eating. They *had* heard her. She just had to hold on and hope. Her eyes narrowed at her sister. "Make it real," she hissed back.
Pantha grit her teeth...
Then gave Luchs a resounding headbutt to the nose!
Luchs' head snapped back as she cried out in pain and surprise. This cry was cut off as Pantha brought her knee up into the marionette's stomach. The next thing she knew, she was airborne again.
She landed roughly and climbed to one knee. She was on the edge of the cliff. She looked up and found her sisters approaching, Tiger's whip was firmly in her hand.
"They're coming," Tiger told her quietly.
Luchs nodded. "Make it real," she repeated, the mantra Von Marrin had drilled into her.
Tiger's face curled up into an expression of hate. She pulled the whip back and let it fly right towards Luchs, a battlecry on her lips!
"TRAITOR!!"
Luchs tried to jump out of the way, but was too weak. The end of the whip hit the ledge directly in front of her, releasing the energy built up in it. The ground exploded, and Luchs fell. She screamed. Her eyes went wide.
She was going to die...remembered only as a traitor and a failure.
She hit the ground and blacked out.
"There they are!" Bloodberry growled. She made one final leap and watched confused as the red-head cracked her whip directly in front of Luchs. The Saber Doll, her clothes in tatters, fell to the ground forty feet below.
Tiger looked up as Bloodberry landed near her.
"You again?!" Bloodberry shouted. "Time to send you on your way!"
"Reichmarshal!" Tiger called into her communicator. "Enemy located!"
"Return to base," a strange, male voice ordered.
"Understood! Pantha!" The two Saber Dolls started to run.
"Not so fast!" Bloodberry cried. She started after them, but stopped when she realized that Cherry and Lime weren't with her. "Huh?" She turned to look for them, but she couldn't see them. She turned back and found that the Saber Dolls had gained an insurmountable lead. "DAMMIT!"
She leapt back the way she had come. There was still the third one around. She jumped off the cliff and landed nimbly next Cherry and Lime.
"What happened back there?!" Bloodberry cried. "I thought..." She blinked when she saw that Cherry was cradling the injured Saber Doll's head in her lap. "Well, at least we have this one," she remarked with a grin, cracking her knuckles.
"Bloodberry, wait," Cherry pleaded. "Listen."
Bloodberry stopped and listened carefully. Luchs was whispering something over and over.
"Tasukete," she whispered weakly. She was covered in cuts and red fluid from her nutrient system. The resemblance to human blood was eerie. "Tasukete...Otaru..."
Lime pointed at her suddenly. "Hey! That's the woman Otaru kissed!"
Bloodberry grit her teeth and growled. "Thank you, Lime," she bit out. "I had *almost* forgotten that..."
They turned as Otaru came huffing and puffing up to them, finally catching up. "Are you guys okay?!" he asked in concern. "What happened?!"
"Otaru sama..." Cherry began, but Lime butted in.
"We found her like this. She's hurt."
Otaru kneeled down next to Luchs' injured form and checked her injuries. He recognized her immediately. It was the Saber Doll like Cherry, the brain trust. He forgot her name.
The Saber Doll opened her eyes and found him. Immediately, he was struck by how gentle they seemed. What happened next surprised them all.
She smiled and whispered to him.
"Otaru sama....daisuki..."
Before passing out again.
Luchs opened her eyes slowly to the sounds of arguing not far away.
"She's dangerous, Otaru! She's one of *them*!" one marionette voice cried.
"Otaru sama, please," another tried more calmly, "It must be some kind of trick."
She strained out with her senses, trying to get a feel of where she was. She knew she was lying on a soft futon, and she didn't seem to be restrained in any way...
"I told you! I haven't decided yet!" she heard *him* retort.
There was silence for a moment. Then, "It's because *she's* the one, isn't it!?" the first one asked in disbelief.
"The one what?!" he cried.
"The one...Otaru sama kissed," the second one broke in.
"That has nothing to do with it!"
Luchs sat up slowly. Three of them were in the next room. She wondered where the fourth was.
"HI!"
She nearly jumped in shock. She looked to her right and found the fourth one barely an inch from her face, grinning from ear to ear.
"Who...Wha..." Luchs sputtered.
"I'm Lime!" the dark haired marionette told her with a smile. "What's your name?"
"I'm...Luchs..."
Lime blinked. "Looks at what?" she asked, puzzled.
"What?" Luchs asked, holding her head in pain.
"I say we trash her!" the first voice came through the wall again.
"Although we don't do this often," the second voice broke in, "I agree with Bloodberry. She's too dangerous, Otaru sama."
"I guess they don't like me very much," Luchs noted.
Lime looked at her, unsure of what to think.
"We can't just kill her!" Otaru cried. "She has a maiden circuit! A heart, just like you!"
"She is *nothing* like us!" Bloodberry cried in response.
"Look, we still have no idea why she's here!" Otaru replied.
"Are you going to try to hurt us?" Lime asked Luchs.
Luchs looked up at her worried eyes. She wanted so much to reach up and twist that head right off her mechanical body. But she couldn't. Not yet.
"No," she said. "I'm not."
The change was immediate. Lime resumed grinning. "Great!" She held her hand out, palm outward to Luchs. "Hao!"
"Um..."
"Come on!" Lime said, still grinning. "Hao!!"
Luchs blinked.
"Like this!" Lime reached out and took Luchs hand, then slapped the palm with the palm of her own hand. "Hao!"
"I guess she's up," they both heard someone announce from the door. They looked up and found Otaru standing there, Cherry and Bloodberry standing just behind him, scowling slightly at Luchs.
Luchs looked up at his serious face and began the performance of her life. "Otaru sama!" she cried. "I found you!" She jumped to her feet and started towards him.
Bloodberry and Cherry were between them in seconds, ready for combat. "Don't even think it," Bloodberry growled.
"I didn't come to fight," Luchs told them. "I...I came for Otaru sama..."
Bloodberry and Cherry growled.
"What do you mean?" Otaru asked.
Luchs fell to her knees before him, her head bowed. "Otaru sama...Since our...encounter...in Gartlant...I have changed...At first, I thought it was a malfunction brought on by the explosion at the computer core...But then I realized it wasn't a malfunction...I couldn't sleep without seeing your face, Otaru sama." She stopped and took a breath. "I...I could no longer serve Faust sama...Not when...Not when..."
They waited for her to finish.
Luchs looked up at him. "Not when I have fallen in love with you!"
Bloodberry and Cherry looked like they were about to have coronaries. Lime laughed and clapped. "You mean you love Otaru too?!"
Luchs nodded. "I tried to ignore the feelings in my maiden circuit, but I couldn't any longer. I...I decided to leave Faust sama. I tried to...to explain to Faust sama...but when I did, he flew into a rage...He ordered that I be...dismantled..." On cue, a tear started down her cheek. She absently wiped it away.
"That's awful," Cherry found herself whispering.
"I managed to escape that night, but Faust sama sent my sisters after me... I knew I had to find you, Otaru sama! You were my only hope!"
Otaru only blinked in surprise.
"Tiger and Pantha caught up with me...just short of you. I was sure that...that I'd die within sight of you, Otaru sama..."
"How awful!" Lime sniffled, tears in her eyes.
"Nice script," Bloodberry remarked. "But it's still just a scheme to get close to Otaru."
Luchs' breath caught in her throat. Could she be found out so soon? Could Von Marrin's plan be so ill conceived that it would fail so quickly?
"Wait!" Lime cried, suddenly. "She's just like me!"
"Lime," Cherry whispered.
"She loves Otaru! Just like me! Can't you see it!? Wouldn't *we* be hurt if it meant we could be near Otaru!?"
None of them said anything.
"How would you feel if you said you loved Otaru, and I said you were lying?!" Lime asked Bloodberry pointblank.
"It's not the same thing!" Bloodberry shot back.
"It might be!" Lime cried. "Shouldn't she have a chance?"
"Otaru sama," Luchs interjected, "I hereby swear myself to you. If you order me to leave...I'll...I'll leave, but please give me a chance! Please, Otaru sama! Please!" She bowed her head low and allowed a tear to fall to the floor.
"Please, Otaru?" Lime begged quietly.
Otaru sighed. "Okay."
"WHAT?!" Bloodberry and Cherry cried.
"Otaru!?" Bloodberry began.
"Otaru sama!"
"YAY!" Lime cried. She hugged Luchs.
"Look," Otaru whispered to Bloodberry and Cherry while the other two marionettes hugged, "If she's telling the truth, then Lime's right, she deserves a second chance..."
"But Otaru sama..."
"And if she's *lying,*" Otaru said, "Isn't it better to keep her where we can keep an eye on her?"
They sighed.
"If you say so, Otaru," Bloodberry whispered.
"Hai, Otaru sama," Cherry said, equally dejected.
"Good," Otaru said. He turned back to Lime and the newest addition to his 'family.'
"Hao!" Lime cried, holding her palm out.
Luchs seemed to sigh and gently slapped Lime's palm. "Hao..."
Von Marrin stood up and wiped his forehead with the back of his palm. The new roses had to be planted today. His schedule was about to turn hectic again, and he wouldn't get another chance. He unscrewed the cap on a bottle of water and took a healthy gulp. He loved his garden. There was no place like it anywhere in Gartlant. That saddened him.
He toyed with the idea of asking Faust to grant him a governorship of one of the captured nations once the war was over. Japoness, he knew was beautiful. Xian as well.
He tossed the idea aside for now. It was best not to count the spoils until after the battle.
He heard the door open and turned. Gretta walked into the garden and saluted. Von Marrin only nodded. "Report."
"Insertion went exactly as planned. The agent is in and establishing herself with the targets."
Von Marrin smiled. "Excellent."
"There has been a development, however," Gretta told him.
"Go on," Von Marrin instructed as he preened one of his new rose bushes.
"General Goddel has planned an insertion of his own."
Von Marrin smiled but didn't turn to her. "Is that so? And how did you come by this information?"
"The blonde Saber Doll is surprisingly loose with her speech for one so close to the Fuhrer."
Von Marrin only hmm'd. "Keep tabs on Goddels."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
"Also," he began as an afterthought, "Contact Reubens. Feel him out. If we can, I want to incorporate him into this...*without* Goddels knowing."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
He paused and stepped back, admiring his work on the rose. "What do you think, Gretta?"
Gretta's reply was, as always, emotionless and accurate. "The stem exceeds the length normally considered aesthetically pleasing by two point three centimeters."
Von Marrin sighed quietly. "Gretta, one day you're going to look at a rose and see something entirely different. I promise you that."
Gretta said nothing in response.
"You have work. On your way."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
Luchs woke up on the futon and sat up. The others had let her sleep while Cherry repaired her. The pink-haired marionette seemed reluctant at first, but did the job, working silently on the Saber Doll's injuries. Afterwards, she slept. She wasn't sure how long, but when she woke up she found the redhead, Bloodberry, leaning against the door not far away.
"We're watching you," was all she would say. She turned and walked out.
Luchs sighed and got up. That's when she realized something.
She was naked.
She looked around for her clothes, but couldn't find them. That's when Lime entered.
"Luchs! Ohayoo!" She was carrying Luchs' uniform, folded and clean, in her arms. "Cherry washed your clothes for you."
"Thank you," Luchs said quietly. She took them and began to dress. The repairs Cherry had made were the best she could do under difficult conditions and crude tools, but even so, Luchs could feel the pain in her shoulder and midsection.
Luchs stayed with her as she pulled her clothes on. She buttoned up her shirt and looked at herself in the mirror. She reached for her coat, but paused. According to Von Marrin, the objective was to look less dangerous, less militaristic, less like a Saber Doll.
She tossed her dress jacket aside and went with the shirt and skirt. She turned to Lime, who was smiling at her in that eerie, chipper way Luchs hated.
"Luchs! You look pretty!"
"Thank you, Lime," Luchs said dully.
"Cherry's making breakfast!"
"Wonderful."
Lime's face began to fall slightly at Luchs' tone. "Well...It'll be outside when you're hungry." With that, she left the room.
Luchs looked at herself in the mirror and silently chastised herself for her behavior. "Make it real," she whispered the mantra to herself. She had to make it real. She straightened her shirt and started for the kitchen. Opening the door, she looked out to find the four of them staring at her.
Lime smiled and waved. "Ohayoo, Luchs!"
Luchs put on a soft smile and waved back. "Ohayoo, Lime." Cherry and Bloodberry refused to look at her as she sat down at the table. Cherry stiffly offered her a bowl of rice, which Luchs took with thanks.
"So, Luchs..." Otaru began uncertainly. "What do you have planned today?"
Luchs was aware of four pairs of eyes on her, waiting for her to answer. "I...Whatever you wish of me, Otaru sama," she answered slowly. "I am yours now. What would you have me do?"
Otaru blinked and paused for a moment. "Well...um....You can do pretty much whatever you want..."
Luchs was silent.
Lime looked from one to the other and back again. She grinned brightly. "Luchs! You can come with me! We'll go play!"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Lime," Cherry pointed out, throwing a sideways glance at Luchs. "We still don't know what she's up to."
"Oh," Lime said dejectedly. She brightened a moment later. "I know! She can stay here and help you, Cherry!"
Cherry looked at her in astonishment. "What?! Her?!"
"Yeah!" Lime cried enthusiastically. "Didn't you tell me yesterday how sick you were of being the only one who got off her fat, marionette ass and..."
"LIME!"
Before the conversation could go further, there was shouting from the door. A crowd of their neighbors, including old Gennai, stormed inside.
"Hey! Otaru! Look at this!" one of them cried, showing him a flyer. "We think you should enter your marionettes!"
"Yeah, Bloodberry's a sure win!" one of the called out.
"Nah, Cherry's got them all beat!"
"Ha! My bet's on Lime!"
Otaru read the flyer. "A marionette competition?"
Author's Notes:
Another fic in "The Lost Stories," as I affectionately call them. If I get good responses, I might finish it. If not, well at least it's out there and I didn't waste a bunch of time on a fic that will never be read. Let me know what you think, okay?
Davner
This fic is an alternate timeline that begins shortly after Otaru's first trip into Gartlant.
Saber Marionette J: Abwehr
Luchs, Saber Doll of Fuhrer Faust the Tenth, kept her head bowed as her master walked away from them for the last time.
"I don't care what you do with them," he told General Goddel as he walked away. "As long as I don't see them."
"Faust sama!" she heard her "sister" cry out. Tiger rushed to his side, only to be batted away.
"Please, Faust sama!" Panta added, only to be tossed aside just as easily.
This was it. The end. Luchs contemplated what this meant. Could she exist without Faust sama's love? She felt tears well up in her robotic eyes. She could hear his bootsteps as he walked away.
Suddenly, they stopped. Her sensitive ears picked up on the sounds of whispering behind her. Someone...not Goddel...was speaking to Faust.
"Very well," she heard her master say. "Luchs..."
The marionette looked up excitedly. Another chance! He was going to give her another chance! Her and her alone! He found her still worthy to be by his side!
She turned and saw Faust standing next to a young Lieutenant. "Luchs, you will not be assigned to Goddel."
Luchs' breath caught in her throat. Certainly God was a marionette...
Tiger and Panta looked up in confusion. Why would Luchs get another chance and not them?
"Faust sama," Luchs began regally, trying to control the excitement, the relief, in her voice. "I will succeed this time in..."
"You will report to the fourth floor. Room two-oh-seven."
Luchs blinked. The blood drained from her face.
"You will be assigned to the Abwehr," Faust finished. Then, before she could even reply, he turned and walked out.
"All right, you two," Goddel said to Tiger and Panta. "Come with me. We have work to do."
Luchs stood there in utter shock as Tiger and Panta left with Goddel. She had been certain...so certain that he was going to forgive her...
The Lieutenant noticed her standing there and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Marionette," he began, a slight note of contempt in his voice. "The Reichmarshal is waiting for you."
Luchs nodded once, pitifully, and started for the lift that would take her down to the fourth floor. She entered the elevator and ordered it down. She stood there, contemplating her fate for the few minutes it took for the lift to stop, then continued on.
Walking down a long corridor, she noticed with the part of her mind that still gave a damn about such trivial things that the lights were somewhat more dim here than in other areas of headquarters. She stopped suddenly before a door marked, "207."
She paused for a moment. Suddenly, her combat sensor alerted her to movement behind her! She started to turn but stopped when she felt someone grab her from behind and something warm pulsing only an inch from her pale neck.
"Identify," she heard a female voice ask. She glanced down and saw a green energy dagger near her throat.
"Luchs," she replied quietly. "I was ordered here by Faust sama."
"Confirmed," the voice noted. The dagger moved away, and whoever it was released her. Luchs turned to see a marionette in a Gartlant Army uniform standing there. Her hair was long and blonde, and her face showed a hint of contempt. Although she would swear that she had never met her, Luchs would also swear that the marionette looked familiar to her. The door opened behind her. The marionette gestured to it. "Proceed."
Luchs turned and started inside.
The change was immediate. The dim, dank hallway was replaced by a brightly lit portion of Heaven. She almost flinched from the bright green leaves of a plant, so unused to seeing one in Gartlant. She looked overhead and saw bright ultra-violet lights glaring down at her. The room wasn't that large, but almost stuffed with every kind of plant or flower imaginable. A small pond and fountain took up one corner not far away. She listened carefully and heard something that astonished her.
Birds.
There were *birds* in this room. She could hear them singing in the branches above her. But how...
She broke off this thought as she tripped over something and landed on her knees.
"Ow!" she heard someone cry. She looked up and saw that she had tripped over someone's leg. A man in grey coveralls had been on his hands and knees, working under a thick shrub.
She darted to her feet. "Watch where you're working!" she scolded the gardener harshly.
"Watch where you're walking," the gardener replied.
"How dare you?" Luchs asked. "Do you have any idea who I am? Any more insubordination and I will report you to your supervisor! You'll spend the rest of your gardening years in one of the reeducation camps!"
The gardener fell to his knees before her. "Oh! Oh, great marionette! Please forgive my insolence, please!" he begged. His head was bowed to her as he groveled at her feet.
Luchs smiled. Finally, she was feeling like her old self again. Like a woman who could taste power again. "And why shall I show a dirty little gardener mercy?" she asked with a grin. "Perhaps a stay in the camps with your family will teach you some humility."
"Oh, no! Please, great marionette! Please! I beg!" He continued to grovel.
Luchs chuckled to herself. Behind her, she heard the door open and footsteps approach. She tossed a look over her shoulder and found that blonde marionette approaching. She was probably here to tell Luchs that the Reichmarshal was ready to see her.
The marionette stopped before her, but did not address her. Instead, she faced the gardener, still weeping on the ground, and saluted. "Reichmarshal Von Marrin," she began.
(REICHMARSHAL!?)
The blonde continued. "General Roland is requesting a few minutes to discuss the new espionage marionette designs."
The gardener suddenly stopped weeping and stood up, brushing the dirt off his coveralls. He looked up and smiled at Luchs. For the first time, she got a good look at his face. He was young, maybe no older than thirty- five, with sandy blonde hair and a short beard. Luchs blinked in confusion. There were no tears, no hint of distress at all.
"Thank you, Gretta," the gardener said, facing the marionette. "Instruct General Roland to meet me for dinner at seven. We'll discuss it then."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
The blonde turned and left. Luchs watched the gardener remove his gloves. "I don't believe we've been introduced," he told her. "Reichmarshal Erich von Marrin, Abwehr."
Luchs felt ice clutch her maiden circuit. She had just threatened the director of the Gartlant Abwehr, the most secret military intelligence organization in the world.
She looked around the comfortable office Marrin had led her to. The desk looked as if it were made of black marble.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment," he said, "I should go change. Gretta will see to your needs."
She watched him walk out. Gretta stood impassively at the door. "Would you like some tea, Ma'am?" she asked Luchs.
Luchs shook her head and circled the office, inspecting the pictures hanging on the walls. Most of them were pictures of panzers. She saw one picture that explained why. Von Marrin, sitting on top of one of the tanks next to two other soldiers. He must have been a member of the armored corps.
"Which division did the Reichmarshal serve in?" Luchs asked.
Gretta didn't move from her spot at the door. "The Fifty-Third."
Luchs paused. "Have we met before?" she asked.
"No," Gretta told her simply.
Luchs blinked as she remembered something. "The Fifty-Third?" She turned to the marionette. "Then he was at Marietta?"
"Yes," the Reichmarshal told her as he reentered the office. He was pulling on a pair of black leather gloves to complete his uniform.
Luchs didn't say anything as he sat down behind his desk. He gestured to the chair opposite of him, and she cautiously sat down.
"I trust you know why you're here," he said.
"Reichmarshal," she began, "About before..."
"The question, Luchs," he prompted. "Do you know why you're here?"
She paused, then, "No, Reichmarshal."
He tapped a few keys on his computer. An image of Luchs appeared...
With Otaru Mamiya only six inches away. He tapped another key, and their faces became closer. Another key and they were kissing.
"I'm here to be punished for that," Luchs concluded.
Marrin laughed. "My dear marionette, that is hardly the case. Things couldn't have worked out more perfectly if I had planned it myself."
"I don't understand," Luchs said.
He smiled. "You will. Before long...you will." He looked up, past her. "Gretta, could you get us some coffee?"
"Jawohl, Reichmarshal."
Luchs watched quietly as Gretta served coffee to the Abwehr director. She still couldn't remember where she had seen her before. Perhaps she had met the marionette during an Abwehr operation she had not been privy too.
"Gretta is something of an assistant," Marrin explained, noticing Luchs' interest. "I don't know what I'd do without her."
"I'm sure I've seen her somewhere before," Luchs confessed.
"She's the only one of her class in Gartlant," Marrin told her. "I'm sorry to say she's not one of our designs. She's based on a Japoness design we...recovered. The Baiko class."
It fell into place and she immediately recognized the face. She had seen it on that Saber at the Japoness palace. The green-haired one.
"Now then, my dear marionette, you should feel fortunate." Luchs blinked at him. "I doubt very much your friends will enjoy working for Goddel. You, on the other hand, by virtue of your...intimate moment...with Otaru Mamiya..." He grinned as he finished. "Are going to win this war for us."
Luchs woke up in a strange place.
She had no idea where she was, or how she got there. All she knew was that she was lying on a futon not her own in an unfamiliar room. She lay very still, to give any observers who might be watching the impression that she was still asleep, and replayed last night's events in her mind.
The Reichmarshal had gone over his rather far-fetched plan with her, and told her training for the operation would begin the next day. He then ordered Gretta to take her to "appropriate quarters."
That was all she remembered. She slowly, carefully opened one eye and began scanning the room. There was no one there. She sat up and examined her room. There were four other futons there besides her own. She stood up and stole quietly to the shoji door not far away. Quietly sliding it open, she poked her head inside.
Nothing.
She stepped into the next room. It was small, holding only a table and a few cabinets. She wondered again where she was.
She heard footsteps and stopped. The door in front of her opened.
"Oh, Luchs! Ohayoo!" Otaru Mamiya greeted her from the door with a smile and a cheerful wave.
Luchs screamed in fury and produced an energy stilletto. With another cry of rage, she let it fly!
The weapon imbedded itself in Otaru's head. His eyes went wide...
Then the energy dart exploded.
Pieces of Otaru's head flew all over the room.
Metal pieces.
Luchs blinked in surprise. She heard more footsteps and braced herself for a new attack. The owner of the footsteps appeared in the doorway, standing over "Otaru's" body.
Reichmarshal Von Marrin gave the decapitated android's body a quick look before looking up again at Luchs. "Guten morgen," he greeted her casually. "Sleep well?"
"Wha...What is this?!" Luchs demanded.
"This, my dear marionette," Von Marrin began, "Is part of your training." He made an expansive wave at the room around him. "You're in a simulated environment."
"Training for what?!" Luchs demanded, angry that she had been tricked.
"To train you to keep from doing that," Von Marrin said, giving Otaru's body a nudge with his foot in emphasis. "This entire operation depends on you being able to hide your true emotions from them. And I assure you, it will not be easy. Especially since you must not only hide your emotions, but often display the exact opposite of them." He nudged the body again and turned to someone outside of Luchs' view. "Have this cleaned up."
Luchs watched as Gretta entered and motioned to the body. A second later, two marionettes who looked exactly like Lime and Bloodberry entered and picked the body up off of the floor.
Von Marrin walked up to her and spoke again, his voice low. "I do understand your frustrations...and your hatred of them. I really do. But you *must* stop thinking like the Fuhrer's killing machine and start thinking like an Abwehr operative. In the Abwehr, operatives do *not* kill...until *I* tell them to. Do you understand?"
Luchs took a tired breath and replied quietly. "Yes, Reichmarshal."
He smiled. "Good, then let's try it again, shall we?!"
Luchs looked up as another Otaru android entered the room.
"Oh, Luchs! Ohayoo!" It smiled and waved to her.
Luchs swallowed down the bile in her throat and waved back. "Good morning...Otaru sama..."
Von Marrin smiled.
Goddel entered Von Marrin's office and rubbed his neck where the energy sword had been placed. One day, he was going to take great pleasure in having that marionette, Gretta, disassembled and recycled. He walked up to Von Marrin's desk and came to attention.
Von Marrin sat there, reading something from his computer. He waited. Goddel waited several seconds before sighing and giving the Reichmarshal a salute.
Von Marrin looked up and smiled dangerously. "General Goddel, thank you for coming. I need your two marionettes. The ones that have maiden circuits. Simple operation. You'll have them back within a space of a few hours."
"Hmmph!" Goddel snorted effetely. "Out of the question! The Fuhrer placed them under *my* command! I won't have them used in any of your...'operations.'"
"Goddel," Von Marrin began casually, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but one way or another, I'm using your marionettes. This isn't a request, it's a briefing."
"Don't threaten *me*, Herr Reichmarshal," Goddel told him, making Von Marrin's rank sound as a curse. "A single call to the Fuhrer, and I can have your precious Abwehr placed under *my* command!"
Von Marrin smiled again. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I could make this whole argument moot. I'm sure your replacement will be more...generous."
"What are you talking about?" Goddel demanded.
"General, I don't know how much influence you *think* you have with Faust sama. I really don't care either. There's only one fact that should be painfully clear to you right here and now..." Goddel waited for him to finish. "No one saw you come in...so no one has to see you come out."
Goddel swallowed reflexively and looked over his shoulder. Gretta was standing in the doorway, staring at him.
"Colonel Shelker is your executive officer, isn't he?" Von Marrin asked. "Delightful fellow. Perhaps I'll be asking him."
Goddel growled. "Fine. Take them," he spat. "But I need them back before the end of the week."
"The operation I have in mind for them will take them only a few hours." Von Marrin smiled. "Do relax, Goddel. It's all for the Reich."
"How's the soup, Luchs?" the Cherry double asked her with a smile.
"It's wonderful," the Saber Doll replied, hating the smile plastered on her face. "Thank...you..."
On the other side of the table, the Bloodberry clone grinned. "Better than anything you can get in Gartlant, eh?"
"Yes," Luchs bit out. "Quite..."
"Quite frankly I'm surprised," Bloodberry went on. "After tasting the kind of swill they make in Gartlant, you'd think more marionettes like you would turn traitor..."
Luchs' fingers tightened around the chopsticks in her hand, causing them to snap.
Cherry only nodded. "Yes, and that despicable Faust person is simply abhorrent. How could anyone in their right mind have any feeling at all for him?"
"You don't understand!" Luchs cried. "He's Faust sama! Our lord and master! We'd give our lives for him!"
"Stop!"
The doubles froze. Luchs sighed in frustration as Von Marrin entered. He looked at her with disappointment. "Luchs," he began in a curious tone, "Why do you give a damn about their opinions of Faust sama?"
"Because he's Faust sama!" Luchs shot back. "I won't sit here and smile while they revile him!"
Von Marrin's face turned angry. "Luchs," he began, "You don't give a damn about Faust sama anymore, remember?"
Luchs glared at him.
"He found out about your feelings for Otaru Mamiya and thought you were a security risk," Von Marrin recited. "And then he tried to have you killed. The only emotions you should display in regards to him are regret...and sadness. And if you must defend someone, you'll defend your friends who you still believe to be under his spell." Luchs opened her mouth to protest. "That is all," the Reichmarshal cut her off.
"Reichmarshal," Luchs began sadly. "I...I cannot...insult Faust sama...I cannot pretend I don't love him... My heart won't let me!"
Von Marrin looked down at her. "Your heart..."
"How can I bear to say such things?!" Luchs asked him. "How can anyone expect me to pretend I hate him! This *thing* inside me, this damned maiden circuit won't let me!"
Von Marrin said nothing. "It's that much of a hindrance?" he asked simply.
"Yes!" Luchs cried, hoping that maybe he was finally seeing the point.
"Gretta over there has never once failed me," he told her. "She's been at my side for years, serving me loyally." Luchs remained silent. "I would like nothing more than to reward her for her service, but without one of those...'damned maiden circuits'...It's impossible for her to appreciate it." Luchs said nothing. "If yours is such a burden to you," he said dangerously, "Perhaps you'd care to donate it to Gretta."
Luchs looked up fearfully and reflexively scooted away from him. "No! No, please, Reichmarshal! I apologize for my insubordination!"
Von Marrin nodded. "Luchs, I don't want you to say you hate him. They'd see through that. But you *can't* praise him to the sky and speak of your undying devotion to him! If you can't play along when they talk like that, then you sit quietly and bite your fucking tongue. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Reichmarshal," she replied pitifully.
"We'll stop for now. Get some rest." With that, he turned and left.
Luchs sat there, gritting her teeth in frustration. How she hated this.
"And the way he treats his own people makes me sick!" the Cherry clone began again.
Without thinking, Luchs growled, reached out, and took Cherry's head in her hands. With a sharp jerk, she twisted the marionette's head to the right. There was a sharp, metallic snap, and the android's eyes went wide. The robot fell to the ground, unmoving.
Luchs took a deep breath.
*Now* she felt better.
Luchs sighed as she entered Von Marrin's office. This training was harder than she thought. What could he possibly want now?
Gretta was standing next to his chair. He looked up and smiled as she entered. "Ah, Luchs, good. How goes your training?"
"Well, Reichmarshal," she answered dully. She no longer cared. In the past few days she had all but whored herself to a thing that looked like the enemy of her Faust sama. Smiled at every lame joke while inside she burned in absolute hatred. Muttered pleasantries while running scenarios in her mind on ways to kill that man.
She was up to one thousand, sixty-two ways...
Von Marrin smiled. "Good! Good," he said. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small chip. "I have something for you," he said gamely.
"What is it?" she asked uneasily.
He held the chip up to the light. "New self defense programming and protocols. Nothing special."
"No thanks," she said. "I'm more than capable of handling myself."
Von Marrin arched an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked innocently. "Gretta, be a dear and put the frauleign on her ass."
"Jawohl..."
Before Luchs could react, the Abwehr Marionette had leapt across the desk! Luchs blocked two punches and executed a snap kick to Gretta's face. Gretta ducked and spun around, hooking her foot behind Luchs' exposed ankle. Luchs was swept off her feet and hit the floor on her butt. She looked up at Gretta's unemotional face.
She was in shock. In the space of a few seconds, she had been defeated...
Gretta returned to her place by Von Marrin's side. The Reichmarshal's face showed no hint of disapproval or disappointment. He had known she was going to lose.
"Come here," he ordered.
Luchs rose to her feet and walked to Von Marrin. She turned and kneeled, reaching back and moving her hair aside. The Reichmarshal opened up a small panel there and worked silently.
Luchs almost cried. He debasement was complete. For a marionette like her, a man opening her and adjusting her chips was an intimate act. She almost felt as if she were being raped.
"Alright, done," he told her. She stood up. "We're almost ready. There's just one last test." He turned to Gretta. "Go get him."
Luchs rubbed the back of her neck. "What is it now?" she asked.
"Just one last bit of training," he said. Gretta returned a moment later with another Otaru android.
"Oh, Luchs! Ohayoo!" it greeted with a wave.
Luchs sighed.
Von Marrin reached into his desk and removed a small automatic pistol and a magazine for it. He loaded the clip into the weapon and worked the action. Then he took the gun and slid it across the desk to Luchs.
"Kill him," he ordered simply.
Luchs blinked in shock. For the past two weeks, he had emphasized *not* killing Otaru Mamiya.
"Something wrong with your audio sensors?" he asked. "Kill him," he repeated.
Luchs almost gratefully picked up the weapon and pointed it at the Otaru drone. The smile on his face never wavered. She took a breath, aimed at that smiling, disgusting face, and pulled the trigger...
Or at least she *tried* to pull the trigger...
She blinked. Her finger wouldn't work. She tried again, to kill him, but her finger refused to squeeze the trigger. Her arms were shaking from the amount of will she was putting into this one, simple act.
She screamed and threw the pistol away, falling to her knees in frustration.
"I'd say it works rather well," Von Marrin noted to Gretta.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?" She screamed.
He faced her and answered seriously. "It occurred to me that your emotions might get the better of you when you're out there alone and forced to deal with him, so I took care of it for you."
Her hand flew to the back of her neck in surprise.
"We need Otaru Mamiya alive if we are to use him to get close to the Shogun. And we need you to realize that. The chip in the back of your neck is just a little something the boys downstairs cooked up." Luchs listened in horror. "It is now impossible for you to harm...or even *allow* to be harmed...Otaru Mamiya."
"What?" she whispered in shock. She was near tears now.
"Oh don't worry," he assured her. "It's not permanent. It's encoded to your auditory systems. A whisper of a magic word, and the chip shuts down. When the time comes, you'll kill Otaru Mamiya, but it won't be on a whim. It'll be when *I* tell you to."
Luchs shook. She had been wrong before...
*Now* her debasement was complete.
"Return to your room," he told her. "You have a big day tomorrow."
"Otaru sama," Cherry said with a gentle smile, "Ahhhh," she prompted, lifting a set of chopsticks to her master's mouth.
"Otaru! Say 'ah!'" Bloodberry cried, nearly knocking Cherry aside to get at Otaru.
"Bloodberry!" Cherry chastised. Before she could get any farther, Lime had leapt between Otaru and the two marionettes.
"Otaru! Open!"
Before the owner of the three androids could protest, Lime had shoved one of her culinary "masterpieces" into his mouth. Otaru's face began to turn blue...then green...
"Otaru sama!" Cherry cried. "Are you okay?!"
Otaru shook slightly as he swallowed. The color began to return to his face.
"He likes it! He likes it!" Lime cheered.
The rest of them face faulted. Getting through to Lime was like trying to argue politics to a brick wall.
It was a sunny day in the plains outside of Japoness. Cherry had suggested a picnic, and Bloodberry and Lime immediately seconded the idea...to Cherry's annoyance. Otaru agreed happily. He was still trying to make the events of the past few weeks up to them. His brief stint as a world star had hurt them, and he had resolved to never let that happen again.
"Here! Otaru! Have more!" Lime offered.
Otaru cringed away while Cherry and Bloodberry came to his rescue.
"Lime...um...Why don't you have a jelly cake?"
"YAY!!!"
Crisis averted...
Otaru sighed in relief and looked around at the scenery before him. Rolling hills and a few trees to one side just blocked a view of Japoness. To the other side, a rocky cliff could be seen less than a quarter of a mile away. He took a deep breath of fresh air while Cherry and Bloodberry argued about something.
(This is the way it should be,) he thought to himself.
"TASUKETE!!!"
Their heads snapped around. Lime blinked in confusion. Otaru shot to his feet and reached for the power-sai Hikozaemon had given him.
"It came from over there," Cherry noted, pointing at the cliffs.
"It sounded like a girl, Otaru," Lime spoke up.
"Otaru shook his head in confusion as he searched the cliff with his eyes. "Marionettes don't scream for help like that unless..."
Bloodberry's mouth curled up in angry disgust. "Saber Dolls!" she spat before leaping off after the sound of the voice.
"Bloodberry!" Otaru shouted after her. "Cherry! Lime!"
The other two marionettes needed no further invitation. They were off like a shot after Bloodberry. If the Saber Dolls were out there, they'd send them packing.
Luchs hit the ground and rolled twice before coming to a stop. She coughed, but before she could recover, her assailant was on her. She felt herself being picked up by the front of her uniform. She opened her eyes and saw the star shaped patch over the blonde's eye.
"This isn't working!" Pantha hissed to her. "How far should I go?"
Luchs was close to unconsciousness as it was. Her scream should have carried to where they were eating. They *had* heard her. She just had to hold on and hope. Her eyes narrowed at her sister. "Make it real," she hissed back.
Pantha grit her teeth...
Then gave Luchs a resounding headbutt to the nose!
Luchs' head snapped back as she cried out in pain and surprise. This cry was cut off as Pantha brought her knee up into the marionette's stomach. The next thing she knew, she was airborne again.
She landed roughly and climbed to one knee. She was on the edge of the cliff. She looked up and found her sisters approaching, Tiger's whip was firmly in her hand.
"They're coming," Tiger told her quietly.
Luchs nodded. "Make it real," she repeated, the mantra Von Marrin had drilled into her.
Tiger's face curled up into an expression of hate. She pulled the whip back and let it fly right towards Luchs, a battlecry on her lips!
"TRAITOR!!"
Luchs tried to jump out of the way, but was too weak. The end of the whip hit the ledge directly in front of her, releasing the energy built up in it. The ground exploded, and Luchs fell. She screamed. Her eyes went wide.
She was going to die...remembered only as a traitor and a failure.
She hit the ground and blacked out.
"There they are!" Bloodberry growled. She made one final leap and watched confused as the red-head cracked her whip directly in front of Luchs. The Saber Doll, her clothes in tatters, fell to the ground forty feet below.
Tiger looked up as Bloodberry landed near her.
"You again?!" Bloodberry shouted. "Time to send you on your way!"
"Reichmarshal!" Tiger called into her communicator. "Enemy located!"
"Return to base," a strange, male voice ordered.
"Understood! Pantha!" The two Saber Dolls started to run.
"Not so fast!" Bloodberry cried. She started after them, but stopped when she realized that Cherry and Lime weren't with her. "Huh?" She turned to look for them, but she couldn't see them. She turned back and found that the Saber Dolls had gained an insurmountable lead. "DAMMIT!"
She leapt back the way she had come. There was still the third one around. She jumped off the cliff and landed nimbly next Cherry and Lime.
"What happened back there?!" Bloodberry cried. "I thought..." She blinked when she saw that Cherry was cradling the injured Saber Doll's head in her lap. "Well, at least we have this one," she remarked with a grin, cracking her knuckles.
"Bloodberry, wait," Cherry pleaded. "Listen."
Bloodberry stopped and listened carefully. Luchs was whispering something over and over.
"Tasukete," she whispered weakly. She was covered in cuts and red fluid from her nutrient system. The resemblance to human blood was eerie. "Tasukete...Otaru..."
Lime pointed at her suddenly. "Hey! That's the woman Otaru kissed!"
Bloodberry grit her teeth and growled. "Thank you, Lime," she bit out. "I had *almost* forgotten that..."
They turned as Otaru came huffing and puffing up to them, finally catching up. "Are you guys okay?!" he asked in concern. "What happened?!"
"Otaru sama..." Cherry began, but Lime butted in.
"We found her like this. She's hurt."
Otaru kneeled down next to Luchs' injured form and checked her injuries. He recognized her immediately. It was the Saber Doll like Cherry, the brain trust. He forgot her name.
The Saber Doll opened her eyes and found him. Immediately, he was struck by how gentle they seemed. What happened next surprised them all.
She smiled and whispered to him.
"Otaru sama....daisuki..."
Before passing out again.
Luchs opened her eyes slowly to the sounds of arguing not far away.
"She's dangerous, Otaru! She's one of *them*!" one marionette voice cried.
"Otaru sama, please," another tried more calmly, "It must be some kind of trick."
She strained out with her senses, trying to get a feel of where she was. She knew she was lying on a soft futon, and she didn't seem to be restrained in any way...
"I told you! I haven't decided yet!" she heard *him* retort.
There was silence for a moment. Then, "It's because *she's* the one, isn't it!?" the first one asked in disbelief.
"The one what?!" he cried.
"The one...Otaru sama kissed," the second one broke in.
"That has nothing to do with it!"
Luchs sat up slowly. Three of them were in the next room. She wondered where the fourth was.
"HI!"
She nearly jumped in shock. She looked to her right and found the fourth one barely an inch from her face, grinning from ear to ear.
"Who...Wha..." Luchs sputtered.
"I'm Lime!" the dark haired marionette told her with a smile. "What's your name?"
"I'm...Luchs..."
Lime blinked. "Looks at what?" she asked, puzzled.
"What?" Luchs asked, holding her head in pain.
"I say we trash her!" the first voice came through the wall again.
"Although we don't do this often," the second voice broke in, "I agree with Bloodberry. She's too dangerous, Otaru sama."
"I guess they don't like me very much," Luchs noted.
Lime looked at her, unsure of what to think.
"We can't just kill her!" Otaru cried. "She has a maiden circuit! A heart, just like you!"
"She is *nothing* like us!" Bloodberry cried in response.
"Look, we still have no idea why she's here!" Otaru replied.
"Are you going to try to hurt us?" Lime asked Luchs.
Luchs looked up at her worried eyes. She wanted so much to reach up and twist that head right off her mechanical body. But she couldn't. Not yet.
"No," she said. "I'm not."
The change was immediate. Lime resumed grinning. "Great!" She held her hand out, palm outward to Luchs. "Hao!"
"Um..."
"Come on!" Lime said, still grinning. "Hao!!"
Luchs blinked.
"Like this!" Lime reached out and took Luchs hand, then slapped the palm with the palm of her own hand. "Hao!"
"I guess she's up," they both heard someone announce from the door. They looked up and found Otaru standing there, Cherry and Bloodberry standing just behind him, scowling slightly at Luchs.
Luchs looked up at his serious face and began the performance of her life. "Otaru sama!" she cried. "I found you!" She jumped to her feet and started towards him.
Bloodberry and Cherry were between them in seconds, ready for combat. "Don't even think it," Bloodberry growled.
"I didn't come to fight," Luchs told them. "I...I came for Otaru sama..."
Bloodberry and Cherry growled.
"What do you mean?" Otaru asked.
Luchs fell to her knees before him, her head bowed. "Otaru sama...Since our...encounter...in Gartlant...I have changed...At first, I thought it was a malfunction brought on by the explosion at the computer core...But then I realized it wasn't a malfunction...I couldn't sleep without seeing your face, Otaru sama." She stopped and took a breath. "I...I could no longer serve Faust sama...Not when...Not when..."
They waited for her to finish.
Luchs looked up at him. "Not when I have fallen in love with you!"
Bloodberry and Cherry looked like they were about to have coronaries. Lime laughed and clapped. "You mean you love Otaru too?!"
Luchs nodded. "I tried to ignore the feelings in my maiden circuit, but I couldn't any longer. I...I decided to leave Faust sama. I tried to...to explain to Faust sama...but when I did, he flew into a rage...He ordered that I be...dismantled..." On cue, a tear started down her cheek. She absently wiped it away.
"That's awful," Cherry found herself whispering.
"I managed to escape that night, but Faust sama sent my sisters after me... I knew I had to find you, Otaru sama! You were my only hope!"
Otaru only blinked in surprise.
"Tiger and Pantha caught up with me...just short of you. I was sure that...that I'd die within sight of you, Otaru sama..."
"How awful!" Lime sniffled, tears in her eyes.
"Nice script," Bloodberry remarked. "But it's still just a scheme to get close to Otaru."
Luchs' breath caught in her throat. Could she be found out so soon? Could Von Marrin's plan be so ill conceived that it would fail so quickly?
"Wait!" Lime cried, suddenly. "She's just like me!"
"Lime," Cherry whispered.
"She loves Otaru! Just like me! Can't you see it!? Wouldn't *we* be hurt if it meant we could be near Otaru!?"
None of them said anything.
"How would you feel if you said you loved Otaru, and I said you were lying?!" Lime asked Bloodberry pointblank.
"It's not the same thing!" Bloodberry shot back.
"It might be!" Lime cried. "Shouldn't she have a chance?"
"Otaru sama," Luchs interjected, "I hereby swear myself to you. If you order me to leave...I'll...I'll leave, but please give me a chance! Please, Otaru sama! Please!" She bowed her head low and allowed a tear to fall to the floor.
"Please, Otaru?" Lime begged quietly.
Otaru sighed. "Okay."
"WHAT?!" Bloodberry and Cherry cried.
"Otaru!?" Bloodberry began.
"Otaru sama!"
"YAY!" Lime cried. She hugged Luchs.
"Look," Otaru whispered to Bloodberry and Cherry while the other two marionettes hugged, "If she's telling the truth, then Lime's right, she deserves a second chance..."
"But Otaru sama..."
"And if she's *lying,*" Otaru said, "Isn't it better to keep her where we can keep an eye on her?"
They sighed.
"If you say so, Otaru," Bloodberry whispered.
"Hai, Otaru sama," Cherry said, equally dejected.
"Good," Otaru said. He turned back to Lime and the newest addition to his 'family.'
"Hao!" Lime cried, holding her palm out.
Luchs seemed to sigh and gently slapped Lime's palm. "Hao..."
Von Marrin stood up and wiped his forehead with the back of his palm. The new roses had to be planted today. His schedule was about to turn hectic again, and he wouldn't get another chance. He unscrewed the cap on a bottle of water and took a healthy gulp. He loved his garden. There was no place like it anywhere in Gartlant. That saddened him.
He toyed with the idea of asking Faust to grant him a governorship of one of the captured nations once the war was over. Japoness, he knew was beautiful. Xian as well.
He tossed the idea aside for now. It was best not to count the spoils until after the battle.
He heard the door open and turned. Gretta walked into the garden and saluted. Von Marrin only nodded. "Report."
"Insertion went exactly as planned. The agent is in and establishing herself with the targets."
Von Marrin smiled. "Excellent."
"There has been a development, however," Gretta told him.
"Go on," Von Marrin instructed as he preened one of his new rose bushes.
"General Goddel has planned an insertion of his own."
Von Marrin smiled but didn't turn to her. "Is that so? And how did you come by this information?"
"The blonde Saber Doll is surprisingly loose with her speech for one so close to the Fuhrer."
Von Marrin only hmm'd. "Keep tabs on Goddels."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
"Also," he began as an afterthought, "Contact Reubens. Feel him out. If we can, I want to incorporate him into this...*without* Goddels knowing."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
He paused and stepped back, admiring his work on the rose. "What do you think, Gretta?"
Gretta's reply was, as always, emotionless and accurate. "The stem exceeds the length normally considered aesthetically pleasing by two point three centimeters."
Von Marrin sighed quietly. "Gretta, one day you're going to look at a rose and see something entirely different. I promise you that."
Gretta said nothing in response.
"You have work. On your way."
"Jawohl, Herr Reichmarshal."
Luchs woke up on the futon and sat up. The others had let her sleep while Cherry repaired her. The pink-haired marionette seemed reluctant at first, but did the job, working silently on the Saber Doll's injuries. Afterwards, she slept. She wasn't sure how long, but when she woke up she found the redhead, Bloodberry, leaning against the door not far away.
"We're watching you," was all she would say. She turned and walked out.
Luchs sighed and got up. That's when she realized something.
She was naked.
She looked around for her clothes, but couldn't find them. That's when Lime entered.
"Luchs! Ohayoo!" She was carrying Luchs' uniform, folded and clean, in her arms. "Cherry washed your clothes for you."
"Thank you," Luchs said quietly. She took them and began to dress. The repairs Cherry had made were the best she could do under difficult conditions and crude tools, but even so, Luchs could feel the pain in her shoulder and midsection.
Luchs stayed with her as she pulled her clothes on. She buttoned up her shirt and looked at herself in the mirror. She reached for her coat, but paused. According to Von Marrin, the objective was to look less dangerous, less militaristic, less like a Saber Doll.
She tossed her dress jacket aside and went with the shirt and skirt. She turned to Lime, who was smiling at her in that eerie, chipper way Luchs hated.
"Luchs! You look pretty!"
"Thank you, Lime," Luchs said dully.
"Cherry's making breakfast!"
"Wonderful."
Lime's face began to fall slightly at Luchs' tone. "Well...It'll be outside when you're hungry." With that, she left the room.
Luchs looked at herself in the mirror and silently chastised herself for her behavior. "Make it real," she whispered the mantra to herself. She had to make it real. She straightened her shirt and started for the kitchen. Opening the door, she looked out to find the four of them staring at her.
Lime smiled and waved. "Ohayoo, Luchs!"
Luchs put on a soft smile and waved back. "Ohayoo, Lime." Cherry and Bloodberry refused to look at her as she sat down at the table. Cherry stiffly offered her a bowl of rice, which Luchs took with thanks.
"So, Luchs..." Otaru began uncertainly. "What do you have planned today?"
Luchs was aware of four pairs of eyes on her, waiting for her to answer. "I...Whatever you wish of me, Otaru sama," she answered slowly. "I am yours now. What would you have me do?"
Otaru blinked and paused for a moment. "Well...um....You can do pretty much whatever you want..."
Luchs was silent.
Lime looked from one to the other and back again. She grinned brightly. "Luchs! You can come with me! We'll go play!"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Lime," Cherry pointed out, throwing a sideways glance at Luchs. "We still don't know what she's up to."
"Oh," Lime said dejectedly. She brightened a moment later. "I know! She can stay here and help you, Cherry!"
Cherry looked at her in astonishment. "What?! Her?!"
"Yeah!" Lime cried enthusiastically. "Didn't you tell me yesterday how sick you were of being the only one who got off her fat, marionette ass and..."
"LIME!"
Before the conversation could go further, there was shouting from the door. A crowd of their neighbors, including old Gennai, stormed inside.
"Hey! Otaru! Look at this!" one of them cried, showing him a flyer. "We think you should enter your marionettes!"
"Yeah, Bloodberry's a sure win!" one of the called out.
"Nah, Cherry's got them all beat!"
"Ha! My bet's on Lime!"
Otaru read the flyer. "A marionette competition?"
Author's Notes:
Another fic in "The Lost Stories," as I affectionately call them. If I get good responses, I might finish it. If not, well at least it's out there and I didn't waste a bunch of time on a fic that will never be read. Let me know what you think, okay?
Davner