Mia Riley stared at the taunting object in front of her, its long rectangular shape glaring at her from its position. Beads of sweat began to form on her brow as she let her hand drift closer towards it; she bit her lip as it came within inches of its destination. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, and when she opened them she felt like it had suddenly gotten bigger in front of her.
She shuddered and took a step back, but then stopped in disgust. What was she doing? It was just an object, an obstacle she had to pass that's all…
But it wasn't the problem; it's what was beyond it that made her stomach flutter. And not in a good way…
She stopped and drew herself up from her slouch, she was Mia Riley not some blond broad of a Mary-Sue! With that thought she took a deep breath and looked one more time at the evil object in front of her.
'That door is just asking to be opened, c'mon!' she told herself, and then quickly strode back to the door and slammed it open.
She closed her eyes against the bright light as she was teleported halfway across MSA headquarters.
'alright, you got through the door. Congratulations, now all you have to do is open your eyes and move.' And so she did, just as she once again, berated herself for talking to herself.
What she saw seemed to gather her courage back up, as there stood-fully grown and smiling, her friend Shani.
She returned the gesture, though it was a bit strained, and took another deep breath.
"Was that a breath to calm your nerves?" Shani asked, astonished, "I don't think I've ever seen the great and powerful Mia nervous. Hold still, I want to take a picture."
Mia rolled her eyes when to her 'surprise' Shani pulled out a camera from seemingly nowhere. Pushing it away with the back of her hand she quickly regained her composure and punched her shoulder lightly.
"C'mon I'm really not in the mood for this right now…" she sighed, her smile disappearing, whatever was left of it. Rubbing her temples she sighed again and turned to face Shani. Closing her eyes she groaned and walked away from her, pacing in a sudden franticness.
"I-I mean, what if I fail this? A-And they take all my privileges away? Like after dark outings? I mean I'd never be able to sneak into the kitchens and get Jerky and chocolate!" she rambled, her eyes wide as she thought of all the things that could happen.
Shani rolled her eyes.
"oh, the horror! No midnight snacks, I think I might die!" And then to Mia's surprise, she felt a hand spin her around and another come full force, crashing into her cheek. The slap resounded down the empty hallway, a shocked silence left to bounce across the metal walls and ceramic tiled floor.
Shani stood there a moment, her arms crossed against her chest as she looked expectantly at her friend.
"Better?" she finally said when Mia looked up at her.
"yeah…yeah, I needed that…thanks" she said still in a slight daze, and her hand still slightly pressed against her cheek.
"good, because if you don't hurry you'll be late. And then all those nightmares will be true. And that means no more Jerky." She uncrossed her arms, and looked at her universal clock, before looking back up. She stared at her oddly.
"What are you waiting for? Didn't you hear me; you're going to be late!"
Mia nodded and released her cheek, but then stared back at her long time friend seriously.
"I know, but, its just I have to tell you something…something really important."
Shani did a double take. What?
"What?" she said in surprise.
Mia didn't answer, just leaned forward and gave her a look. A look that said, 'you heard me.'
After another moment of confused silence, Mia gestured for her to come closer, her eyes still serious. When she had come within no more than a foot of two in front of her she curiously leaned over even more.
SLAP! (weeeeeh!…I love writing sound affects…)
Shani stepped back in surprise, a gasp at her throat. She heard laughter from Mia, and looked up with a glare.
"now were even!" she said as she ran down the hallway and then disappeared from view.
Shani shook her head.
"that bastard…I should've known…"
Mia quickly raised her hand to the hollow tin door, knocking fast and precisely before her mind could even process what happened. No more thinking. She was done with thinking…not that she thought that much anyway, but…
"Come in Soldier!" a voice said from within the room, having already looked at her face in the security camera no doubt. He wouldn't just let anyone in.
She pressed her finger into the hole that was the unusually large key hole on the knob, and waited for it to process her mark. Her Protezione or whatever, she just called the 'mark,' Protezione was to long…
When she heard the faint click of the door she pushed it open quickly, standing at attention in front of the door.
"At your command Colonel Jar, sir!"
She held her marked arm against her chest proudly, a salute to the man in front of her.
He nodded and got up from his mahogany desk, turning away from the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on the blackness of space. A view that reminded her of her first time in the simulation room, where there was nothing there but stars and darkness. She shivered at the memory.
He Walked briskly over to her, his heavy boots thumping against the wooden floor, each step heightening her nervousness.
"as you were…" he said quietly, his hands behind his back and posture straight, as he stood imposingly in front of her. Tall as she was, well medium really, he was always taller.
She lowered her arm, and almost smiled as he continued to stand there. What, was he waiting for her to introduce herself? They'd met countless times, he'd been her teacher for all of her time in the Jr. MSA Academy, and the MSA Apprentice school. (AKA-Highschool…the horror…)
"State your position." He said gruffly.
She balked slightly, but understood that an order was an order.
"Mia Riley, sir. Of House two, Section five-Assassination Section, sir." She breathed deeply and continued, "Galaxy TY2 of the third Solar System, original birth site: Planet Girth. Parents of Girth decent, no siblings, Sir."
He nodded slightly, and the familiar twinkle appeared in his brown eyes, his mustache twitching all so slightly.
She un-tensed slightly at that, as she knew by now that the twitch and twinkle was the closest thing to a smile that you'd ever get from him. And smiles were rare in the MSA.
A small smile formed on her face too as he nodded and turned back to his desk.
"Mia Riley, eh? Here for the test grade? Wondering if you passed, wondering if you'd get to participate in the second part?" he asked gruffly, putting out his cigar in a tin ash tray that sat at the corner of his crowded desk.
She barely registered the nod of her own head, as inside her mind was going on rampage. Doing what her body wouldn't allow her to do while in the sight of a standing officer.
'Second part? What second part, no one told me of a second part, damn it!'
He shuffled a few papers on his desk, which brought her mind back to this plane. She held her breath, suddenly remembering her first reason for coming here; she shouldn't even be worrying about the second part yet. She wouldn't even need to if she didn't pass the first one. But still, her mind couldn't help but wonder what the second part was…hopefully not another written test…
"Ah, here we are. Mia Riley…House two, Section five…" he looked back up to her, the twinkle and twitch there again.
"98 on MS killing and tracking, 70 on History of MS, 65 on History of MSA corps…" he looked up at her at that, just in time to see her cover up a painful flinch at the news, before continuing, "67 on MS disguise, 80 on Protezione, 87 on Weaponalogy, 96 on Hand-to-hand combat, and finally a 100 on hatred for MS's…"
She smiled…twitch and twinkle came back.
"All in all an average of 82…"
Her smile grew, but twitch and twinkle disappeared and his face became serious again. He set the papers down again and walked over to the view behind his desk.
She followed slightly, coming up to his desk then stopping. Watching the black dressed Colonel turn his back to her once again.
"Now, on to part 2 of the test." He said with a slight undertone of a sigh.
Mia gulped, clenching and unclenching her fists in nervousness, but she could wait. She could wait another few minutes not knowing anything, being in the dark, left in suspended animation. Go ahead, take your time…
"when you first came here I told you that you have a Mary-Sue that holds the other half of your soul, and I also told you that as long as your souls are separated-there's a time limit to your life." He stopped then; walking over to a small shelf stuck between rows of bookcases, and poured him a glass of scotch.
"well, in order for you to live longer than that hourglass of 25 years, you have to get your soul back." Meaning I have to find the MS that is my 'evil twin' and kill her…got it.
"but if you fail to do so, either dying while in battle or just running out of time…only you will die. And the MS will regain all of her power, even without the other half of her soul she will survive."
Her eyes widened at this, and she saw Jar's face grow solemn. No twinkle and twitch now…
His ice clinked in his glass, and he took another swig of it, draining the whole glass. He re-poured another immediately but this time walked back over to the window and stood there. His reflection showed her the Colonels grim face, as his back was to her.
"I trust that you have read the documents that you were given six years ago?" he asked, referring to the documentaries of Earths' past given to her when she had just begun MSA Apprentice Academy.
She nodded, a little hesitantly, remembering the individual quizzes and exams given to all of the students (in all of the sections). The long nights of studying came to her mind first, the memory of sitting in the Library and pouring over notes of 'The Simerillian' and 'the Lost Tales' along with the original three books in the trilogy 'the Lord of the Rings'(and many others) made her cringe. Sleep had been few, and by now she was used to sleeping on barely 6 hours of sleep.
Jar turned around then, enough to see her nod, and then turned back to the window.
"Good, for the information that you have memorized will be your main source of knowledge where your going."
She looked at him quizzically, before understanding what he meant. Her eyes widened.
"Sir…" she gasped, suddenly hopping that he was joking. Which she knew he wasn't, since Colonel Jar never joked…
"We usually find a MS twin when a student enters the MSA Apprentice Academy at age 12, and the student receives the documents a year or so later. But I tweaked some things with the higher ups, after finding out you were to go to Middle-earth, and had them give you the documents at the age of 12 instead…" he mumbled finally turning around to look at her completely.
Mia's eyes widened even more, if that were possible, when she saw the twinge of pain in those eyes. She knew why he did that, to give her more time and be more prepared. She just wouldn't have expected that from Jar, no matter how close they were, she just hadn't thought he was that type of person…
"Middle-earth is a dangerous place, and is one of the main recipients for Mary-Sues…chances are your target will be accompanied by another. As you already know, MS's usually travel in pairs…" he stopped at that, and gave an almost unheard sigh.
Mia didn't say anything as he looked her in the eye, she was speechless. All of this information wasn't much of a surprise to her but…
"Do you understand how serious this is? Especially for you?"
She looked down, and swallowed a lump in her throat, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She'd done that today more than she had her entire life…
"MS's in Middle-earth are exceptionally strong, and will get rid of everything in there path to get what they want. Most MSA's who get a MS in Middle-earth don't return…"
A silence followed his last sentence, so thick and heavy was the air that it seemed to almost double gravity, making her legs tremble with the effort to keep herself up.
Finally, willing herself to raise her head, she steeled her shoulders and clenched her jaw. She looked directly in the blank eyes of her commanding Officer.
"I understand, Sir" she croaked out with a great deal of effort, she congratulated herself when she heard the almost steady sound of her own voice.
He nodded after a moment, still holding her gaze till she finally looked away.
"Good" he said simply, watching the ice in his glass clink as his own hand shook slightly. He clenched it quickly, he didn't have time for insecurities.
"when…do I leave, Sir?" she said in a quiet voice.
"In a Month."
She looked up suddenly, her eyes wide.
"s-so soon?"
He nodded.
"I suggest that you pack light, and perhaps go to the simulation room and kill a few Mary-Sue's for a quick fresh up."
She nodded, fully intending too do what he said. She needed all the training she could get, its not like you can just go up to a MS in her sleep and quickly kill them. Contrary to popular belief, Mary-Sues weren't just strikingly beautiful, but also held A LOT of power. And with that power they sought to control all of Middle-earth, gorgeous men (or woman) at there feet, and everything from the Shire to Mordor in the palm of there hands. She would have to gain there trust, and then stab them in the back, honor be damned.
"oh, and one last thing." He said.
She looked up warily.
"you'll need to die your hair blond."
Her eyes widened, almost comically, and her mouth dropped open.
"w-what?" she gaped.
He looked back at her and a gloomy imitation of the 'twitch and twinkle' came over his face at her odd expression.
"the MS disguiser in your Mark can only work with what it has, and brown doesn't make for a very convincing Sue."
She stared at him in shock for a moment. His words made sense but…still she didn't want to be some blond bimbo!
"I'm not going to die my hair blond!" she cried, voicing her own thoughts.
"fine, fine…how about black?" he mumbled.
She thought for a moment, then sighed. Black was better than blond but…she liked her brown hair…
"alright…if I have to…"
They both nodded to each other, and soon the silence set in again. Twitch and twinkle disappeared, and Mia's thoughts drifted back to the second part of the test.
She would leave, to her most certain doom, and maybe not even come back. The truth seemed to finally sink into her brain, and she thought of all the people she would miss. Shani…Jar…all of her House, and some of her Section…except that idiot Bre, god what a bit-
"That is all, you are dismissed." he said and, as if he'd read her thoughts, gave her a sharp look.
Half listening Mia saluted back to him and walked out the door, too busy thinking of the long journey ahead of her. And as she walked down the long hall, her heady footsteps echoing in the high ceiling room, she felt like crying. (over lost hair…no, just kidding.)
Shani stood in the hallway for quite some time, just sitting on the tiled floor and humming to herself to pass the time. But when she saw the slouching figure at the edge of her vision she scrambled up as quickly as her short legs would let her.
As the echoes of her slow steps grew closer, Shani sprang forward and ran towards her friend. She already knew what she would see on her face, having gone through the same thing only a year ago, being older than Mia. (which she always rubbed in her face…) But she knew that Mia's journey would take much longer than hers, having seen the books Mia had read. Unfortunately, besides that, the fact that Mia was also in the Assassin section also changed things. As it meant that her journey would likely never end, she would always be going to other universes, tracking MS's and killing them. Unlike the other sections, who only had to complete the second part of the test before they resumed there other duties on Headquarters. Such as Shani who was in Section four, meaning as soon as she finished the test she began work in the kitchens. Hence the apron she always wore…and sometimes shower cap…
She came to a halt in front of her friend, seeing the blank look on her face as she kept of walking, her head down. She grabbed her shoulders when she walked directly into her, she looked on with a worried expression.
Mia blinked, seeming to have just realized where she was, and looked at Shani with half dazed eyes.
"Shani…" she said, before a look of realization came to her face. She bit her lip, and let her head fall awkwardly down onto the shorter girls shoulder. She did not cry, only close her eyes, and let her body go limp.
Shani stumbled under the unexpected weight, and gripped her shoulders tighter.
"whoa!" she said, with a small laugh. "careful, or we'll both topple over."
Mia didn't reply, and Shani sighed.
"C'mon, lets get you back to the room."
Sometime later, after stumbling back to the door somewhat down the hall, her mind still off somewhere in La La land, Mia found herself sitting down in the Fifth Quarter of the House Shani and her both lived in.
Sitting down on the floor next to Shani she stared out into nothing. Finally Shani broke the uncomfortable silence.
"so…what's with the sudden Gloom." She asked, even though she already knew the answer. But Mia knew that she was just trying to lighten the atmosphere.
So, slowly turning her head towards her she put on her best 'wide eyed, pout.'
"Well, its just that I…" she sniffed, letting the silence go on for a moment, "I just going to miss my brown hair so much!"
Shani laughed at that, while Mia just pouted and eyed a lock of hair sadly. "c'mon, I'll dye it for you. That way no one will know."
The next month would go by quick, with Mia spending as much time as possible with her loved ones…especially since she didn't know if she'd ever see them again after this.
***
The morning of departure, Shani was still asleep and Mia was in her Quarters also 'asleep.' Just lying there she found herself thinking of her home planet, Girth. The place that she was allowed to visit every summer, the place of her birth.
She thought of the great sand dunes that covered the only continent-Hars, and of the great underground tunnels that were their cities. Girth was 70 percent land and so what little water that was drinkable was deep underground, and the 10 percent undrinkable water being the Black Sea-filled with poison. The 20 percent that was drinkable was gathered in various spots and the tunnels around it used it around the city. Above ground the constant sand storms would have easily eroded any buildings, as her ancestors found long ago.
At that she made up her mind.
Once she knew the coast was clear she quietly crept out of her futon, and crept over to the yet to be packed suit cases.
She kneeled by them, deciding to pack them now and them store them in her mark later, before going to the simulation room.
Carefully she picked out some clothes that were the least modern: some plain black trousers, a few dark red tunics, and a black cloak she'd used for a Halloween costume last year. Halloween was an odd custom, one of the most pointless and fun of all of the Earth customs she'd come across.
She picked up her weapons next, which consisted of a gauntlet, 10 finger length hilt-les blades, and her last and favorite weapon.
She picked up the last one, running her fingers over the opposite curving blades on either end. Then, placing her hands in-between the two blades, she squeezed. The blades sprang apart, stopping only when they were at least a meter apart.
She pushed them back together. This one she used the most, as it was good for close combat and longer ranged attacks, it reached were her arms couldn't.
Setting it in the cloak, she picked up the gauntlet and latched it onto her marked arm. Sliding her fingers into the slots, she flexed her hand, hearing the shining red metal clink. The gauntlet consisted of three parts…the hand, which had detachable metal blades at the end of each finger…the forearm, made of at least 400 tiny metal plates (surrounding the three circles that made up her Mark), a spike that sprang out of a compartment in the elbow-and the upper arm, which was just a tight plate of armor and a strap around the shoulder to hold it in place.
This one was a lot harder to use, and took a lot of concentration, which she really didn't have. So there for wasn't very good with, and didn't use often. Besides, it was heavy and definitely better for quick assassinations, not the heavy battle she was going to be forced into upon her arrival in Middle-earth. So really she just kept it on to hide her Mark.
Next she packed some soap, handmade soap-as everything she had was, a burlap canteen that she'd fill up later, and a roll out wool blanket. Lastly, she pulled out a loose floor board and picked up a whole suitcase of jerky and chocolate, also handmade. You'd crap yourself if you knew how long it took to make all that jerky.
She thought for a moment, checking if she had everything she needed. She didn't bother bringing pots, as she already knew that Sam had plenty…
She nodded, zipped up the suit case and walked over to the door.
Sliding in a card labeled 'Simulation Room' in between the door; she slowly opened it to look into the endless room in space. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, stepping into the room and picturing her home.
The next thing she knew her shoeless feet touched sand, her toes curling at the familiar sensation. She opened her eyes when she felt grains flutter against her face.
The sun beat down heavily on her, warming her skin, even through the loose shirt and black shorts. She could see in the distance the great wall that showed the beginning of the greatest city in all of Hars: Min Dis, and beyond that the Living Mountain-what made Min Dis so famous. The only Mountain in all of Girth that was above ground and still held living plants.
Sighing she imagined the tunnels of Min Dis, the city of her birth, and soon she felt the cool damp air surround her. For the next two hours she found herself walking down the tiled halls she had lived in when younger, running her fingers through the fountain in the plaza, and then relaxing in the green house that gave the underground city oxygen.
She breathed in the pure air, gently splaying her fingers across the soft, rich, grass beneath her. The artificial light beat down on her, feeling just as real and warm as the much to close sun on the surface. But then a shadow seemed to come across the blue painted sky above her, blocking the 'sun' from her face. She sighed.
"Go away, whoever you are…you're blocking my Sun." she grumbled, her brow furrowing, who would have the authority to interrupt someone else's simulation? It was against the rules to interrupt it without the permission of a higher officer…
"Keeping your tan is the least of your worries right now, don't you think?"
She started at the sound of the gruff voice she knew so well, and her eyes shot open quickly.
"Colonel Jar!"
She jumped to her feet, and looked down at her feet in shame and embarrassment.
"I-I'm so sorry, Sir. Please forgive my insubordina-"she stuttered.
"Yes, yes. I'll forgive you once you get to the transport room and get the hell out of here…" and with that he was gone, flashing out of the simulation room.
Mia swore and pictured the door, then quickly slid her key through the side and ran into her quarters.
"hmph, I knew you'd lose track of time. You're always late." Shani's voice came from behind her.
She didn't answer, just pulled on her cloak over a red tunic and black trousers, sliding her double bladed weapon onto her belt. She slid the gauntlet off for a moment.
She held out her marked arm, running her fingers up the black lines to the first of three circles on her forearm, and concentrated on it. It lit up slowly and she pulled her two fingers off the circle, and two blue transparent strings came with it. She pulled her fingers apart, and then set one finger on each of the bags, as soon as her fingers touched the two suit-cases the strings stuck. And then with a flash the strings pulled the suit-cases into the glowing circle, leaving herself and Shani alone in the room, her bags packed and stored in the Mark. She turned, smiled, and rushed over to the door, only to be stopped by two arms.
Mia groaned and pushed away from the hug.
"What are you all mushy about? You're acting like we'll never see each other again." Though her voice was a bit shaky…
Shani didn't say anything.
Mia shook her head, sighed, and rushed out the door.
The transportation room was filled with people, at least five from each of the 400 other houses. Except for Mia who was the only one in House one to go this year, being the youngest.
She looked around at the huge place, the ceilings seeming to go up forever, and the top unseen. There were at least seven floors, and all circled the room, never touching the middle. It created a hole of sorts in the center, and Mia saw why a moment later.
In the center was the transporter.
She stood in awe for at least five minutes, just staring up at the huge swirling column of blue and white matter. If she stared long enough she could even see snitches of places in them: the grand canyon of Earth, Hogwarts of the Harry Potter realm, the Death Star from the Star Wars universe…
"All Apprentices here for the final exam please sign up at the front desk and line up at the east end of the transporter. Thank you." The commanding voice resounded across the echoing room, and broke her out of her thoughts.
She jumped at that and hurried through the pushy travelers, barely glancing at the lines on either point-North, West, and South-until she got to the East section.
The front desk was to the right of the line, and she had to push through the line to get there. Luckily when she did, there wasn't a line, most likely because she was late…some times being late was a good thing…
"Last boarding in three minutes…last boarding for all apprentices in three minutes…"
Or not…
"Excuse me! Excuse me, yeah I'm here to sign up…" she said to the receptionist in a breathless voice.
"May I see your license of registration for Apprenticeship, and proof of participation in the first part of the test, please?"
She nodded quickly, fumbling for the Proof of Participation, and handing over the License of registration for Apprenticeship at the same time.
The receptionist read over the License of registration quickly, typed in a few things on the touch screen holographic computer, then handed it back to her. She did the same with the Proof of Participation, and it being a Holographic computer, Mia could see most of what she typed.
Hair: Black (now it is, Mia thought despairingly)
Eyes: Blue
House: 2
Section: 5
Age: 18
DOB (date of birth): 18/50/7900 (A/N: Girth has 20 months and 50 days for each month, and the year now is 7918-if you want more info on Girth you can just tell me in a review…hint hint)
And of course the registration number for her Proof of Participation. The receptionist pressed enter and gave her back the cards, along with a green slip to give to the transporter.
"Have a nice day." And Mia was gone before the words even left her mouth.
When she got there, there was only one other person who quickly vanished into the cylinder of blue and white matter.
"last boarding for all apprentices…last boarding…"
"No!" she cried as the transporter began to close the gate. "you have to let me in! Please, I promise to never be late again, just let me in!!"
The transporter shook his head. "I'm sorry ma'am, but as soon as the gates close we're not allowed to let anyone throu-"
Mia glared and grit her teeth, she had made it this far, she wasn't going to be stopped by something as stupid as time…
And before she even knew what she was doing she found her hand and foot on the gate, and her body soaring through the air towards the Transportation devise.
The last thing she heard was the transporter calling for help, or security-she couldn't remember, and then the hard solid ground slamming into her face.
Dazed and proud, she stared up at the canopy of trees, and vaguely wondered where she had ended up, before the edges of her vision smudged and then turned completely black.
MSAMSAMSAMSAMSAMSAMSA
A/N: so…like it or not like it? Tell me in a review! And tell me if you want to know more about Girth and the MSA HQ, cause I can put more stuff about them in there if you want, but I don't have to sooooo….yeah. I live on REVIEWS!
