Still Waters 2.5: The Ace of Spades
123456
There's Someone In My Head, But It's Not Me.
123456
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Liliana sat back in her desk and tried to keep her gaze from drifting back to Negi-sensei. It seemed she was fighting a losing battle, but it could be worse. She glanced across the room at an empty desk and couldn't stop the frown that crept into place. 'Stupid Ace of Spades…'
"Liliana-san? Liliana-san!"
She snapped back to reality and found Negi-sensei standing by her desk. For someone who was supposed to be twelve or thirteen, he was awful cute. If she had just run into him on the street, she would have thought he was at least sixteen…!
"What did you need, Negi-sensei?"
He smiled at her and she felt herself melt.
"Please pay attention to the lecture, Liliana-san. There will be a test tomorrow, and you will need to know this information."
Liliana grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "Sorry, sensei…" She focused her attention on her textbook, but her gaze soon began wandering again, back and forth between Negi-sensei and the empty desk. Between 'He's so cute!' and 'Why did it have to be her?'
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When school finally let out, Liliana dropped by the dorm to drop off her bag. She was careful to avoid looking at her roommate's empty bed that had lain untouched for almost a week now, thanks almost entirely to no one but Liliana Rosario. She tucked her knives into the hidden loops under her shirt and skirt and stepped out into the hallway.
Now, this Kugimiya Madoka…Liliana had seen her fight once or twice the year before. The older girl was good. While she would much prefer someone like the infamous Ku Fei, Kugimiya Madoka was no slouch. But could she stand up to the power of the Ace of Spades…? Only time would tell.
Liliana exited the room and went downstairs, avoiding conversation wherever she could. Of course, that wasn't much of a problem, as she had few friends among her fellow dorm-dwellers.
The class rep gave her an odd look as she brushed by, and then she was finally out of the claustrophobic dorm and back into the open air. "I'll never get used to this place," she grumbled under her breath. Honestly, everything was so small here…she had been considered short back home, but here in Japan she had been upgraded to the bottom-side of average height, and it seemed the entire country was shrunken six inches from what she was used to, and—
"Hey, Lily."
Lily heaved an annoyed sigh. Great. That tomboy freak ghost girl.
"What is it, Sakai-san?" Liliana asked irritably as she slowed to a walk and glanced at the speaker. How irritating…she was already in a bad mood, the last thing she needed was to be cornered by her.
"You should be more careful with your possessions, you know? Bad things can happen if something gets into the wrong hands," Sakai-san said in a serious tone as she shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other. The girl's face betrayed her amusement at Liliana's mistake, however.
Liliana gave the other girl a good, long look. Some people said Sakai Reiko was creepy, claiming to be able to see ghosts and being into the occult and whatnot, not to mention the sword case she carried at all times…the girl also didn't know how to show respect to her elders.
"What does it matter to you? And don't call me Lily. It's Rosario-sama or Rosario-sempai to you," she stated irritably. Stupid first years.
Sakai-san shrugged condescendingly and just looked at her. Liliana had to struggle to keep from throttling the girl, standing there looking so smug.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. Just contemplating on whether I should take a walk."
With a supreme effort, Liliana forced down her urge for violence and turned away. "Whatever." She set off toward the downtown area, where the Ace of Spades often appeared.
After ten minutes or so of walking, she couldn't stand it anymore and rounded on the other girl. "Why are you following me?"
Reiko shrugged. "I just felt like taking a walk, is all."
"…right. And what's with that shit-eating grin, huh? What are you trying to pull, here?!" Liliana demanded.
"Why, nothing. Nothing at all. Why would you think otherwise?" Reiko replied, totally deadpan.
Liliana gritted her teeth together to keep a string of expletives from escaping. It seemed this girl was always intent on doing her best to drive her crazy.
After walking in silence for a good fifteen minutes, Reiko spoke up. "How bad is it? Is she still herself, or…?"
Liliana tensed, but bit back her retort. "She should still be herself. I don't know how long she can hold out, though…the only one I know of who was able to use the artifact without any bad side effects was my brother Ruben."
Reiko cocked her head to the side as if looking at something that wasn't there. "They remember that," she said after a moment. "He did a lot of good things."
Liliana nodded. Her big brother Ruben was as close to a hero as one could get; good natured, protective of the weak, willing and able to fight against those who misused their power…like a superhero or something.
"Oh…thanks, Sayo," Reiko said, looking at nothing that Liliana could see.
"Sayo? That's one of the ghosts, right?" Liliana asked as she walked.
"Yeah. Yue-san found something about the mask," Reiko said.
Liliana stopped walking and faced the girl. She recognized the name; 'Yue-san' was a person Reiko often talked about in matters of ghostly or paranormal research. "What did she find out?"
"Sayo says it's too much to explain here, let's go to the library and talk to her in person," Reiko said.
Liliana was already walking.
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"Madoka!" Misa complained. "How long are you going to hang around here?"
Madoka looked up from the computer display in the library and gave Misa a blank look. "Something wrong?"
"I'm just tired of waiting. Why don't you ask the librarians? I'm sure they could help you find something about this guy a lot more quickly than what you're doing now."
Madoka leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Misa's suggestions made sense, true…but she didn't know much of anything beyond a nickname that only ever brought up unrelated things in computer searches. It was likely, if she happened upon the 'normal' sort of librarian, that it would just be a colossal waste of time. She pushed the chair up on its back legs and balanced it there, with one shoe resting against the desktop in front of her in a most unladylike manner as she thought. She leaned her head back and looked blankly up at the ceiling, several floors up. It didn't even cross her mind to suggest that Misa go on without her, if she was so bored.
"Or you could go to the fighting clubs and ask…" Misa trailed off as the sheer absurdity of that statement struck her. Madoka couldn't go anywhere near the fighting club any more than Ku Fei or Iincho or Asuna could; everyone wanted to fight her and prove themselves against one of the toughest fighters in town.
Madoka just smirked as her chair wobbled back and forth on its back legs.
"Well, let's go to the front desk then; we might as well try asking up there," Misa finished lamely.
"Yeah…" Madoka thumped the chair back down to the floor and stood up. "Let's go."
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Liliana opened the door and entered the library, Reiko right behind her. The first person to meet her eyes was a beautiful, glowing young woman with an honest smile. She wore the St. Ursula uniform.
"Hello, Reiko-san. Who is your friend?"
Reiko smirked at Liliana before she answered. "Liliana Rosario. She's the one with the problem I told you about."
"I see…" She turned to Liliana and bowed politely. "I am Miyazaki Nodoka, it is nice to make your acquaintance."
Liliana bowed awkwardly and muttered something that seemed suitably polite. People like this Nodoka-san tended to put her off balance.
Nodoka turned back to Reiko. "Yue's waiting near the front desk; she's excited about something she found last night on one of the lower levels."
"Thank you, Nodoka-senpai," Reiko said with honest respect. Liliana was taken aback at that. Sakai Reiko? Being polite? Calling someone by their proper honorific? It was practically unheard of!
Nodoka just smiled and led the way.
"So, Liliana-san, how long have you known Reiko-san?"
Liliana was pulled out of her introspection by the sudden question. "What? Oh, a year or two. I met her when I transferred here."
"She's trying to follow in her older brothers' footsteps," Reiko added. "They attended Mahora about ten years ago."
"Hmm…what are their names?" Nodoka asked.
"Ruben and Serge," Liliana said, looking around. This was the first time she been in the building on Library Island. Normally, she just used the much smaller library in the school building. She was looking at a row of glass display cases as they walked when the wall turned a corner suddenly, prompting her to stop and look where she was going..
Liliana looked around in wonder; this room took her breath away! Maybe ten stories tall, it was the biggest open space she had ever seen inside a building, ever. And the sheer level of decoration and fancy trim that covered everything, even the chairs and computer tables…! The decoration alone must have cost millions!
"Eh…?! What are you doing here?!" a familiar voiced exclaimed, drawing Liliana away from her inspection of the Library's Main Lobby.
"Oh, hello Madoka-san, Misa-san," Nodoka said
"Hello, Honya-chan," Misa said. "Can we ask you a question, or are you busy right now?"
"Well, I was escorting Reiko-san and Liliana-san to—"
"Wha-what are you doing here, Madoka-san?!" Liliana asked frantically when she realized who she was looking at. She hadn't expected to run into the older girl here. She realized she was still wearing her middle school uniform and her face turned white, then red. Her reputation…her tough first impression with this woman would be ruined! How could she get Madoka-san to do what she wanted if the older woman didn't respect her?!
"Doing research," Madoka said warily as she eyed Liliana. 'So, she's a middle schooler. I thought so, she seemed too immature for anything else,' Madoka thought.
Liliana just looked at her, unsure of what to say, when Nodoka started walking again, chatting with Misa. Reiko nudged Liliana and followed the other two. Madoka and Liliana just looked at each other.
"I'm sure you have a lot to say to me," Madoka said, looking down at the panicking girl with her intimidation factor pumped up to eleven, "but we really should follow them."
Liliana squeaked out a startled "Yes!" and followed Madoka. Yeah…her bold first impression was utterly ruined.
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Nelle looked at the body lying in the alley and then, oh so reluctantly, down at her gloved and blood covered fist. She let out a sharp breath that blew out through the top of the mask and tried to calm herself down. First, make sure he was still alive.
She knelt down beside the man and touched his neck. She started to panic when she couldn't find his pulse, but she moved her hand a little further and found it. The man was still alive. That was good. That was so unbelievably good that she almost collapsed in relief. Tears started flowing and she sat back on the ground, sobbing in silence.
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Yue led everyone to one of the private rooms in the library and sealed it with a spell. She turned and eyed everyone, and a sprinkling of jealousy colored her thoughts for a moment. Even at eighteen years old, she was the shortest one in the room. Not as short as she used to be, but still… She pushed those thoughts aside and got to the task at hand.
Yue gestured to a small pile of ancient and dusty books and scrolls arrayed on the table in the center of the room. "I have found some information on the mask."
Madoka saw Liliana tense up at that.
Yue continued. "It is very, very old, maybe as much as five thousand years old, maybe more. The first mention of it is in an alternate version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which it is claimed that the reason for Enkidu's wildness was not in fact his upbringing, but the mask he wore at all times. In this version, it is said that the mask was ancient even then."
This statement drew a startled gasp from Liliana and a calculating look from Reiko. "I can't believe it's that old! So how did they get the mask off of him?" Liliana asked.
Yue gave her a look and continued. "Unfortunately…the only way to get the mask off of him was through…a woman having…ah…continuous intercourse with him, Enkidu, that is, for…ah…seven days. Straight. Without any stops." Yue said, thoroughly red faced. She coughed and cleared her throat.
Madoka, Misa, Nodoka, and Reiko looked at Liliana, who had gone pale. "I…I can't do that!"
Yue cleared her throat again and tried to reassume her professional demeanor. "In any case, it shows up again in certain legends from ancient Egypt, during the reign of King Djoser, who kept it in a temple as an offering to the gods. From there, it made its way to Rome, where a slave reputedly stole it. He went insane, attacked his master, and had to be killed."
Liliana slumped down into a chair and stared at the floor. It wasn't looking good for...
"It is mentioned several more times in Roman stories with similar results every time but one, where the victim, a wife of a senator, was beaten severely and the mask torn away. She died several days later, though it is unknown if this was due to the beating or the loss of the mask. In any case, it went into a locked chest in the royal treasury and apparently remained there for several hundred years before it was mentioned again. It was given by Valentinian's sister Honoria to Atilla the Hun in the spring of 450 A.D. as part of what some say was an engagement gift, and then was passed on to one of his generals. Now this is where things get interesting," Yue said, eyeing the group before her.
Nodoka was, of course, listening with rapt interest. The others…not so much, though Reiko looked intrigued and Liliana had a hopeless expression.
Yue took a sip of tomato milk and continued. "One of Atilla's generals is reputed to have worn the mask and survived."
Liliana looked up hopefully at that.
"It is said that he first put the mask on as a joke, but was suddenly consumed by a raging spirit that used his body to draw his sword, after which it attempted to kill anyone nearby. The soldiers nearby knocked him to the ground and pinned him in place with spears while Atilla himself pried the mask from the general's face. And, unlike the roman woman, the general survived, and is mentioned as still living in other accounts as much as twenty years later. So there is hope."
"Th-thank you," Liliana said quietly, sniffling.
"So that's it, right? We just have to beat this guy and take the mask off of him," Madoka interrupted.
"Well, yes, I suppose, but—"
"It's my roommate," Liliana said suddenly. She flinched when everyone except Reiko looked at her cautiously. "It's my roommate Nelle. She…she found it when I left it sitting in a box of stuff on my bed one day, and I guess she put it on for some reason, but…"
"How long ago was that?" Yue asked. She put aside her disapproval of treating dangerous artifacts so lightly for now; she could lecture the girl when this was all over.
"A little over a week, now," Reiko answered quietly, crossing her arms. "But there is something else I don't understand. How is it that her older brother used it without any problems?"
Yue looked at her, unable to hide her startled expression. "What? When was this?"
Reiko looked to Liliana, who explained. "My big brother Ruben…he wore the mask for a few years when he attended this school about ten years ago. He never wanted to talk about it, but he did say it made him stronger and gave him more stamina. He used it to fight motorcycle gangs and punks."
"Did he take the mask off himself? Are you sure?"
"Yes. He claimed to go out at night with it and was able to take the mask off at will."
"It sounds like it's alive," Misa said in the silence that followed. "Or has a will of its own, anyway. I know I've seen enough of Eva's work to recognize something like that. Only…to have been around so long, it must be pretty strong by now." Misa turned to Liliana. "Your brother must be something else, I think I want to meet him. Is he around?"
Liliana shook her head. "No, he's in the magic world right now…"
Nodoka and Yue looked at each other. "What is he doing there?"
"He works at Ariadne, helping to train the students in the combat arts," Liliana explained.
"Ariadne…" Yue said. She had always wanted to go there and learn from the masters. She knew she had probably already gotten a much more useful magic education from Eva and Negi-sensei, however. But still...
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Nelle entered the abandoned warehouse she had been staying in for the past few days and plopped down in a wobbly office chair. She gathered herself and tried again to pry the mask off. She slipped her fingers under the edges and pulled hard; the mask gave a little, just enough to give her a bit of hope, but would yield no more than half an inch. She eyed the rusty crowbar in the corner for the hundredth time, but decided that wouldn't work either. Flesh and bone was most likely not as tough as whatever this mask was made of.
She spun around in the office chair, ignoring the metallic squeals it made. The mask was always there, now, like an oily sheen over her thoughts. Maybe it was a mental thing? She wondered if perhaps she could use her will to force the mask off. She had certainly been through enough and been told enough times by the nuns at the orphanage back home that she was stubborn.
She crossed her legs in the chair, rested her hands on her knees, and retreated into herself. It was a trick she had learned a long time ago. Some people didn't like it, though. In fact, the first time one of the sisters at the orphanage found her doing it, she had been switched so hard she hadn't been able to sit down for the rest of the day. And then—
Fight, I want to fight.
Nelle opened her eyes and found herself in a wide open plain that was cut off abruptly on one side in a rocky drop off to the ocean a hundred yards below. She sat down on a rock and waited.
It's you again.
"Yes, it is me," Nelle said, using the voice that was denied her in reality. "Show yourself, I won't talk to the wind."
Almost immediately, a small circle of air pulsed and thickened into a dark bluish blur that grew into the shape of a man. When the process was complete, a large man in odd, scaly black, blue, and purple armor of a type she had never seen before stood in front of her. Every bit of skin was covered, even the face and eyes, but she could tell it was looking at her, and it was wearing The Mask.
You should fight, it said, its ridiculously deep voice seemed to shake the ground itself.
"No, I don't want to fight people who don't deserve it," Nelle said. She knelt down and plucked a blade of grass. "There is no point."
You are weak, it said. The last one was much stronger, a worthy vessel! You are not worthy. I should do what I wish.
"In my own mind? This is my home ground, isn't it? That could be dangerous for you," Nelle said as the blade of grass she had been holding turned into a blade of a different sort. She plucked another and soon held two slightly curved machetes, while the big shadowy man in front of her formed a pulsating blade of some dark energy.
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"Above all else," Misa said warningly, "she must not face him in a direct contest of strength if she doesn't know his strengths or weaknesses."
"Why is that?" Madoka asked.
"He is thousands of years old," Yue said worriedly, prompting a nod from Misa. "There is no telling how strong he is now. The fact that Rosario-san's brother was able to control it only shows that he had a tremendous sense of self and an iron will at the time. If this Nelle-san doesn't have the same, and it appears thus far that she does not, any direct conflict will only end in disaster, perhaps in the worst."
Liliana looked up. "The worst?"
Yue nodded. "Destruction of her sense of self, the death of her soul, absorption of her life force by the mask's will…It is malevolent without a doubt, and ancient. You do not take such things lightly unless you want to suffer."
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Nelle faced the thing in her mind. It stood watching her, anticipating the battle to come.
You will fight me! I want to fight! it roared.
Nelle watched it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons one final time. If she messed up here...
They leaped at each other in the same instant.
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A homeless man, looking for a place to sleep for the night out of the rain, heaved a sigh of relief when he tried the small side door of the warehouse and found it to be unlocked. He entered the darkened building and shook the excess rain water off. He had been rudely awakened when his makeshift shelter developed a leak, and had only stumbled across this place by luck.
He fished around in the pocket of his worn out jacked and took out a miniature flashlight he had found falling out of someone's bag a few days before. The warehouse was dark, and he at least needed to make sure the place was safe, after all. The small office he stood in was all right, but his eyes were drawn to the door on the far side of the room, so he opened it and stepped through. The whole place was eerily silent, except for the sound of the rain drumming on the roof. It was really coming down out there…he was lucky he had found this place. He checked the offices one by one, hoping to find something he could use, but the place had been cleared out years ago. Except for the occasional table, chair or rusty filing cabinet, there was nothing. He had just given up and turned to go back when he heard the noise.
Skreeeeeeee
"Hey, is anybody there?" he asked. He waited for a response, and heard nothing but his own voice echoing back at him. He was a bit worried, but there were lots of things that could make that sort of metallic squeal. Equipment hanging from rusty chains getting blown by the wind, rusty hinges…
Skreee *clunk*
He almost jumped. Almost. There was another *clunk* sound and he heard a sharp intake of breath. A sharp intake that was not his own. And it had come from behind him.
He slowly, oh so slowly turned around, not wanting to see what might be there, but knowing he had to. Turn, turn, turn…he froze. It was a girl, sitting crosslegged in a crooked office chair.
"H-hey, are you ok?" he asked. Her eyes looked weird, and empty. And the mask she wore over the lower part of her face was even stranger. It seemed to be made of large, linked plates of some dull metal, and had a symbol over the spot where her mouth was…it looked similar to the symbol of the card suite known as the 'Spade'. "Hey, girl, are you ok? Do you need some help?"
The girl in the chair suddenly jerked and made a gurgling sound as her head was thrown back.
The homeless man watched her warily; he had seen people have violent convulsions before, and wasn't very keen on getting his nose broken or his eye blackened.
She jerked again, to the side this time, and the whole chair swayed and then overbalanced, spilling the girl to the floor, where she doubled over, clutching her stomach as if she had just received some terrible wound.
"Hey…hey, girl! Wake up! Wake up, you!" he said as he grabbed her shoulder and gave her a quick shake.
The girls stopped moving immediately, her body relaxed, and she straightened out a bit, letting out one long, wheezing breath as she did so.
The homeless man, who had seen people die here and there, was understandably freaked out.
"Oh crap oh shit oh crap…" he muttered, pacing around frantically. He looked at the girl on the floor, hesitated, then knelt down beside her and tried to feel for a pulse. He couldn't find the right spot on her wrist, so he tugged down the scarf around the girl's neck and almost jumped back again when he saw the old, horrible scars that had been hidden by the scarf. The poor girl…she must have been through a lot. He felt for a pulse on her neck and found it, but…it was incredibly weak, and her breathing was so shallow he almost didn't notice it. He heaved the girl up to a sitting position and, not knowing what else to do, put an arm around her to hold her up. She would have fallen bonelessly to the floor had he not done so.
"Listen to me, girl, you can't give up now, you've gotta come back, there's too much you haven't seen yet," he told her, but had to pause to think up a good example. "Like…like the beaches in Okinawa! Beautiful beaches, down there, you know? Come on, wake up girl," he continued, giving her an occasional shake.
He didn't notice when her eyes suddenly focused, but when she started to move, he smiled wide at her, only to meet the eyes of a bloodthirsty killer, looking very out of place on the girl's face. She couldn't have been any more than sixteen years old, she was too young for that sort of look…!
He let go of her and backed up a few feet in case she got the wrong idea. He raised his hands apologetically. "Sorry about that, girl. But I couldn't do much else, the way you were. Are you ok?"
The girl looked around as if seeing everything for the first time, looked through the homeless man—he shivered when that look passed through him—and got to her feet. The girl finally seemed to see him, actually see him, an instant later, and the sheer intensity and malice of the stare set the homeless man's heart pounding; he scrambled back until he bumped into the wall as the girl approached.
"L-look, I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do!"
The girl's mask moved as if she were trying to speak under it, but no sound came out. He thought dimly that she must be mute, what with that old damage to her throat, but…
'Where is this place?' The girl asked the question without zero movement from the mask, and the homeless man almost let out a shriek of terror. That voice had been inside his head.
'Where is this place?' she repeated in a voice so alien and…and weird that it set his skin crawling.
"It's a, a warehouse on the north end of Mahora," he answered. "H-hey look, I didn't mean anything, I was just trying to help, and—"
She looked around for a moment. 'Leave.'
He left.
The thing that was no longer Nelle cocked its head to the side as it detected its surroundings. This place was full of strong people. This was good. Blood, blood and guts! It grinned in anticipation with Nelle's face and went in the direction the homeless man had gone.
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Author's Note: I forgot to mention earlier: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE OCs and the mask!
