Authors Note:
I started writing the outline for the second chapter the day after I posted the finished first chapter. The outline took two days of work; but in that time, the first chapter received over one hundred views, along with a few favorites/follows. There was one review for the chapter, so from here on, whenever I get a review on the story, I'll respond to it if it's a question, or a comment that I feel is worth a response.
Aton455: That's basically the reason that this story even happened in the first place; Tabitha is my favorite character personally, and I feel like she was kinda let down by the end of the original series.
I feel like it's worth noting that my writing style was changed up a bit while I was writing the first chapter; At first, I tried to go for a more traditional novel style, but in the end it was a bit too stiff. I started experimenting with a more casual style, but again, this is still my first story, so I'm yet the novice. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
I will also warn you now, there are going to be elements/powers that shouldn't be here, but I can vouch that they are completely legitimate, and have a perfectly logical explanation for making their appearance.
But more on that later, let's start the story!
Annt! Annt! Annt! Annt! Annt! An-
I quickly rolled off of my hay pile, stumbling over to the other side of the room to turn off the hell spawn noise. After a quick dismissal, I looked around. Where was I again?
"What the hell was that!?" shouted a feminine voice to my left. Looking over quickly, it became apparent that a very freaked out Louise had rolled out of her bed when my alarm clock went off.
"Just my alarm clock, don't worry," I said to her, as my memories of the previous day came flooding back. Right. Magic, a medieval world, the works. I sighed, shaking off my drowsiness, and turned to leave the room.
"I imagine you'll be wanting to get dressed," I said, shrugging on my coat and pack, "so I'll just wait out here." I leave the room without waiting for a response. As I was working with Siesta last night, I had managed to get a basic scope on the flow of time. As it was, it seemed like it was the same as back on Earth, so I had adjusted the clock. Looks like it was a good idea; the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon now.
It only took a minute for Louise to open the door and step out. I fell into line beside her, and we began making our way down the hall. We didn't make it very far, because that red head from yesterday was suddenly standing in our way. She must have been rather pleased with herself, with that smirk that was plastered on her face.
"Well good morning, little Zero," she drawled. My eyes narrowed instantly at this. That's right, she was one of the twits that was making fun of Louise. Typical; for all of her physical beauty, she was just another one of the arrogant snots that had to lord it over anyone she felt was beneath her. Stereotypes do exist for a reason, I suppose.
Louise just grunted in response, her eyes also narrowed. The red head then turned her attention to me, still smirking.
"So, you're the commoner that was 'summoned' by Louise," she said. I maintained a small glare, leveled in her direction.
"Indeed," I answered simply. "What of it?" Red head's eyes narrowed, if only slightly. I almost missed it; I probably would have missed it if I hadn't been glaring at her.
"How much is she paying you for this charade?" she questioned. That was the second time I'd been asked that question. I suppose that if Louise had never been able to cast a single spell in her life, they'd wonder if the summoning was legitimate. I would think they'd remember the part where I had runes branded on to my left arm.
"Y-you saw what happened yesterday, Kirche!" shouted Louise. So that's her name. "You know full well that my spell worked!" Kirche's smirk grew marginally, and she giggled, as if the statement was some sort of joke.
"I had assumed that was just the professor trying to help you out a little," laughed Kirche, "you know, so you didn't embarrass yourself with another failure." Okay, that's enough. Louise looked like she was about to start crying; frankly, I don't blame her. I stepped between her and Kirche.
"That's enough," I said sharply. "Have you really got nothing better to do? You really have to try and undermine her first real success?"
"But she's-," Kirche started, but I wasn't having any of it.
"No buts!" I all but shouted. "You all have been tormenting her for likely as long as she's been here. Doubt her if you like, but you have no reason to throw it in her face. Why can't you just let her have a bit of confidence in herself?"
I continued glaring intensely at Kirche. Apparently, from the look of shock on her face, no one had ever told her 'no' before; first time for everything, right? I wasn't just going to sit back and let anyone hurt Louise anymore.
"Now, if there's nothing else," I growled at Kirche, "It's time for us to move on. Shall we?" I directed the last part at Louise in a more gentle tone. Taking her hand, I led her away from the stunned Kirche.
After a few minutes of hallways and stairs, we stopped, slightly out of breath from our fast pace.
"Thank you..." Louise almost whispered. I'm fairly certain that was the first time anyone ever really stood up for her; how fucked up is that? I'd had points in my life where I was bullied before, but I always had at least one friend who was there for me. Near as I can tell, Louise hadn't had anyone, like ever. I let go of her hand and let it rest on her shoulder, looking her in the eye.
"I'm not gonna let anyone look down on you anymore," I told her seriously. "Regardless of whatever your streak was before, you summoned me. I know I'm not exactly the greatest thing you could have ever gotten, but the important thing to remember is that you summoned something, even as disappointing as me. But that's not something that any failure could ever manage. You're not a zero anymore, Louise." Louise just smiled at that, in that cute, innocent smile. It really made her look like a child.
[Scene Break]
As we were about to arrive at the dining hall, Louise stopped us, looking rather uncertain.
"What's wrong?" I asked her. Louise hesitated for a brief moment before speaking.
"Well, it's just..." she started, "I'm very sorry, but since you're not a noble, then it's against the rules for you to eat in the dining hall..." She trailed off, looking away meekly.
Well, shit. If I'm not allowed in the dining hall, then I probably can't eat. No food equals starving, and that's a bit bad.
"Hmm..." I pondered for a moment "I can respect the rules as they are. I've never been one to go against rules, but I do need to eat at some point." My stomach chose that moment to audibly growl at me. "Soon, preferably; it's been well over a full day since the last time I ate." Louise and I both humphed at that.
"I can help!" chirped a happy voice behind us. We turned to see Siesta standing there, looking rather chipper. "It's the least that I can do after all your hard work last night!" The sight of Louise narrowing her eyes at the maid completely escaped my notice.
"You'd do that? I asked Siesta incredulously. "Wait, how would you be able to help?" I didn't want to do more unnecessary bullshit; I was freaking hungry, and would likely be more counterproductive than anything else.
"I just have to take you to the kitchens," Siesta said, smiling. This apparently annoyed Louise for some reason.
"Fine!" she nearly shouted. "Do whatever you want!" Siesta and I looked at her, dumbfounded, as she stalked off into the dining hall.
"What's up with her?" I asked no one in particular. Siesta just shook her head in response, before attempting to drag me off to the kitchens. I just let her pull me off; I was still focusing on what Louise's random attitude reversal might mean. Either way, Siesta and I headed off to the kitchen; I hoped that didn't put me at the center of attention.
[Scene Break]
Everyone was staring at me. Siesta and I had arrived at the kitchens, and the one thing I didn't want to happen, actually happened. I always hated being the center of attention, and made a point to try and avoid it. I laughed nervously, trying to ignore the group of people all staring at me. Instead, I focused on the large man who appeared to be the head chef, Marteau. He was a bit of a burly guy, just a bit taller than me.
"So, yer that Dras- somethin' or other," Marteau said to me. "Siesta has had some good things to say about you, so I guess that means yer an okay guy!" He chuckled at me. I could tell that he was a nice guy; it practically radiated from him.
"It's Draskir," I corrected him, chuckling nervously.
"Right, that's the name," Marteau said, chuckling again. He then switched over to a more serious look. "I gotta ask you somethin' real quick. D'you mind?" A quick look at Siesta revealed an apprehensive look, as if she was afraid of both his question, and my response. I gulped minutely, attempting to swallow the nervousness, and then nodded.
"What's yer opinion of nobility?"
I just stared at him for a moment. Was this guy serious? Somehow, I got the feeling that my response to this would determine the future of our aquaintancy. I contemplated my response, considering that I hadn't had a lot of experience personally dealing with nobility. With that kind of question, it was easy to assume that he had plenty of experience with them, probably not all that good.
"I've never really dealt with nobles before," I began honestly, "but near as I can tell, there aren't a whole lot of them that actually deserve to be called noble. To be 'noble' is to have high morals and good virtue, but I haven't seen anything of the sort here. They look down on people, and lord their power over the 'lesser beings' that they feel are beneath them. The issue, I feel, is that they just don't know better. If they can be taught, if they can learn that their behavior is wrong, then maybe they have a chance at becoming better. Maybe then, they'd have a chance at actually deserving the title of noble. Or maybe I'm just naive, and just expect too much from people."
I looked away, somewhat distantly. Marteau gave me a surprised look, as if he wasn't expecting that kind of response; I'll be honest, I had always hoped that people could become better if they were shown just how stupid their behavior actually was; whether they were noble or not, doesn't make a difference in my eyes.
"Y'got a good heart, kid," said Marteau, laughing heartily, clapping me on the back. I nearly fell forward at that, and Siesta just laughed. "Y'hungry? We got plenty o' left overs, so feel free to dig in!" The thought of food made my mouth water, and my stomach growled out it's agreement. I grinned, ready to finally get some food.
[Scene Break]
After the rather generous meal, I had agreed to help Siesta pass out tea and cakes to some of the students. It was a good way to pass the time, and I felt like hammering home the fact despite my likely naive outlook on the nobles, I was still someone that even the little people could come to for help. Siesta and I chatted about mundane things as we set about our task. Nearly an hour passed before anything noteworthy happened; we were approached by that girl from last night, Katie.
"Excuse me, but have you seen lord Guiche?" She asked me, meekly. I arched an eyebrow at that; for what purpose would she think that I would know?
"I don't know," I told her flatly. "I'm not sure why you think I would." Katie pouted at my response.
"If you see him, could you let me know?" requested Katie. "He's supposed to try my souffle..." I sighed and nodded, looking around. That blonde fop, Guiche, really struck me as a womanizing skirt chaser. Honestly, I had no idea why I was willing to help this girl out; she'd probably get her heart broken if she stuck with Guiche. Noble or not, I don't like seeing that happen.
I spotted Guiche rather quickly, and noticed that he wasn't alone; he was in the company of that blonde girl from the summoning yesterday. Montmer-something-or-other, I think. I pointed this out to Katie.
"He's over there," I said to Katie, pointing towards Guiche's general location. "It doesn't look like he's alone though." Katie looked to where I was pointing, and became visibly distraught.
"Oh, what could this mean?" she wailed. "Am I not good enough for him anymore!?" I sighed again, and decided against my better judgement to get involved. I motioned for Katie to follow me; I wanted her to be close enough to hear the conversation, but far enough away that she wouldn't be noticed by Guiche.
Guiche instantly recognized me as I approached the table.
"Well, if it isn't the rude commoner from before," drawled Guiche in a tone that mixed amusement and annoyance. Once again going against my better judgement, I decided on a more flippant response that mimicked his initial statement.
"And you, the uppity fop from before," I muttered, matching his tone. Guiche's face muscles began twitching slightly. Did I strike a nerve? I decided against taunting him further; I was here, after all, to get answers for Katie. I shifted my focus away from Guiche, and onto his blonde companion. "And who's this? Friend of yours?" Before Guiche can respond, the girl beats him to it.
"I'm his girlfriend," she states hotly. Katie visibly flinched behind them, and I sighed deeply. Here goes nothing; I started this little venture, I may as well try and direct Guiche into his waiting retribution.
"I see," I said softly, turning my gaze back at Guiche. "I suppose then, that Miss Katie's souffle wasn't all that tasteful?" I could probably have picked a better line than that, but it was good enough to get the blonde's attention.
"What is he talking about?" she questioned, leaning intently towards Guiche.
"Nothing b-but nonsense, I'm sure," stammered Guiche, who threw me a dirty look. "After all, my dear Montmeroncy, I could-"
"Never lie in front of your eyes?" I interrupted, earning another dirty look from Guiche, and a look of a alarm from the blonde, Montmeroncy. "A rather cheesy line if you ask me, and it gets worn down from excessive use; maybe it would have worked if you hadn't used it on Miss Katie last night."
Montmeroncy rose slowly, a look of anger slowly spreading across her face.
"I'd love to hear more details about this... encounter... from last night," Montmeroncy ground out, turning to face me. I smiled, and motioned for Katie to move closer.
"Why don't we ask Miss Katie herself?" I asked, causing Guiche to turn a pale white. "After all, she's been listening to this conversation since it started; I'm sure she'd love to get a few words in." Katie arrived, looking rather hurt. Upon seeing her, Montmeroncy's eye's flared, her rage pouring out, no longer in check. I turned and walked away, not wanting to be involved further. I had opened the flood gates, and now it was time for Guiche to face the consequences of his idiocy. Better to leave it in the hands of those he had wronged.
I nearly ran straight into my little partner, Louise. "Just what have you been up to?" she grilled, her voice slightly shaking, as if she was anxious. I decided to simply fill her in on what had happened; withholding anything might have been detrimental to our ability to react to the situation if necessary.
"Not a whole lot," I answered seriously. "Simply exposing a cheating skirt-chaser for what he is." I shrugged off her petulant glare, before turning back to the scene unfolding for the two-timer. Just as I turned to observe, Montmeroncy slapped Guiche across the face, and stormed off. Katie wailed something that I couldn't catch, and also ran off. Guiche simply stared, dumbfounded, before coming to his senses. He turned towards me, his anger very apparent as he began to walk towards me.
"You!" Guiche shouted angrily.
"Me," I responded sarcastically. Guiche's eyes twitched at my attempt at sarcasm.
"You dare to make two innocent girls cry!" He cried. Oh boy, just what I wanted! Another prig trying to blame his problems on me.
"Your arrogance already did that," I stated calmly. "All I did was show them your deception." Guiche's eyes flared at that.
"You further dare to step upon my pride!" shouted Guiche petulantly. "There is only one course of action; I challenge you to a duel!"
"Denied," I dropped flatly, causing Guiche to step back, shocked.
"Coward!" growled Guiche. "Have you no honor? You must-"
"Only I can decide what I must do. I have nothing to prove by fighting you. The events that have taken place here were caused by your actions; why not man up and accept the consequences? That would be far more honorable than fighting me out of petty anger." Guiche simply stared, his angered shock lingering, unchanging, as he stared at me. His face practically screamed 'are you for real?' as I glared at him.
I turned and began walking away; all I wanted was to be gone from here. As I stalked off, I heard Guiche begin shouting in a strange language. The approaching danger was the only thing that kept me from face palming in that moment. I turned just as Guiche released the spell, creating a rock the size of my fist, and launching it at me. Just as I was about to dodge the attack, Louise jumped in and took the hit.
She began falling over, and I caught her. I lowered Louise gently to the ground as her blood began pouring from the fresh wound on her forehead. I looked down at her, distraught, as Guiche looked on from my right, contemplating the turn of events.
"What the fuck were you thinking!?" I practically screeched at her. Louise just looked up at me, smiling.
"As the one who s-summoned you, it's my job to protect you..." whispered Louise softly.
"Are you a moron!?" I asked her angrily. "If anything, I should be the one protecting you! I got myself into this mess! I should be the one taking the hits for it, not you!"
"It seems that the Zero stepped in for you..." stated Guiche flippantly. I flinched at that, my eyes becoming dark as Guiche continued. "It's just as much as she deserves."
I lowered Louise the rest of the way down to the ground, gently laying her down. As she looked at me curiously, I rose slowly to my feet, turning toward Guiche.
"You know..." I started darkly, my runes beginning to emanate a bright energy, "there are some lines that should really be left alone."
I moved, faster than I knew I could. Guiche had no time to react to the movement; my fist was already in his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. I reared back, and gave him an uppercut that sent him staggering back a few feet, before dropping to one knee. Guiche gets out an incantation as I rush him again, and as he points his rose at me, I'm sent back by a blast of wind, forcing me onto my back. Taking advantage of the momentum, I propel myself further backwards, rolling onto my feet. Was he seriously using a rose for a wand?
"To think you would lay your hands on a noble... your arrogance knows no bounds! As punishment, you shall face my bronze Valkyrie!"
With a wave of his rose wand, Guiche summoned a rather feminine looking golem wield an axe. A golemancer, huh? Could be tough to beat, but at least his golems dropped weapons that I could use to my own advantage... provided the fop wasn't able to simply magic the weapons away. The golem raised it's axe and rushed me, attempting to bring the axe down on my skull. I sidestepped, taking a hold of the golem's arm, and kicking one of it's legs out to roll it forward. It dropped the axe, and I caught it before it hit the ground. Bringing the axe down, I split the golem's head open.
Guiche made a 'tch' sound, and summoned two more golems. They each moved different directions around me. That could be bad... the first one, wielding a sword moved to my left. I moved to parry the sword. As soon as I did, the second golem brought it's weapon, a mace, into my back. I grunted in pain, and the two golems began hailing a storm of blows on me.
God... just what did I get myself into? Was I going to die here? I was force back, step by step, taking a hail of cuts and bruises, attempting to block as much as I could with this shitty axe. I hit the wall, and fell down on my ass, barely able to watch as the golems closed in for the finishing blow.
Guess this is what I get for getting involved with matters that don't concern me, huh? Too bad... I had really hoped I'd be able to help Louise become stronger... that I'd be able to sit down and chat with Tabitha some more... but it looks like this is the end. I struggled to move, to try and dodge, but my body wouldn't react to my orders.
I wished that I had something, anything, that could help me win this fight, to make it out alive.
The sword golem closed in, directing it's sword to stab at my chest.
Suddenly, something deep inside me, in the wellspring of my core, began rushing out. My vision returned, and the pain faded. Somehow, I found the energy to push myself away from the wall, and send my palms out to meet the golem, planting into it's chest area. A bright light accompanied the move, and the golem flew back, torn completely apart at what I assume was the waistline.
I dropped to my hands and knees, my mind racing to try and process the spectacle that I had just given off.
That was alchemy. Like, from Fullmetal Alchemist. How the hell did I just use alchemy of all things? It's not even supposed to be real! A make believe science that acted as a plot point in a story! How am I able to use it!?
I looked up at Guiche, who appeared just as dumbfounded as I did. Shaking off my confusion, I decided on a small trial to test my new found alchemical power. I had just discovered that I could de-construct, but could I re-construct? I pressed my palms together, shaping the image of a sword's hilt in my mind, and shoved my palms into one of the broken pieces of golem at my feet. Another light shone from the alchemical reaction, and the hilt that I imagined was formed from a part of the golem.
With a grin that was almost feral, I pressed my palms together again, and grabbed a hold of the hilt. Raising it into the air, the rest of the fractured piece of golem reshaped into the blade that I saw in my mind; the great sword wielded by Knight Artorias, the Abyss-walker from the Dark Souls series. Or rather, a replica. I had changed the bronze to steel, but I knew that for all it's visual charm, it wasn't the real thing, just a steel copy.
I hefted my new weapon onto my shoulder, and gave a serious gaze in Guiche's direction. Coming to his senses, though still coming off as rather confused, he opened his mouth to speak again.
"What kind of power is that!?" roared Guiche confusedly. "It can't be magic... you don't have a wand or a staff, so how were you able to do those things!?" He immediately followed the statement up by creating three more golems to fight for him. I was really getting tired of fighting these 'Valkyries' or whatever. Or maybe I was just tired of fighting, period.
"I'm not about to tell you!" I shouted, throwing the question aside as Guiche's golems charged. I arced my blade three times in retaliation.
The first arc took one golem apart at the waist, sending it rolling off to the side.
Changing the course of the blade slightly, I took advantage of the momentum, spinning to add force and bringing the blade arcing upwards, sending the second golem flying through the air.
Stilling my blade as it pointed directly upwards, I switched to a back hand style, stabbing the blade downward, pinning the final golem to the ground. I pulled the the sword up a few inches, and plunged it straight back into the golem again to lock the golem into place. I spun again, pulling the blade with me, and letting it rest on my shoulder, the golem dangling from the middle of the blade. It was a move that I took directly from the intro scene where Artorias himself was first seen, so I felt that it was fitting; and I felt bad ass being able to pull it off as easily as I did.
I scowled fiercely at Guiche, who subconsciously took a step backwards.
"Listen well, and remember," I said, both softly and fiercely at the same time. "Don't ever hurt my friends!" At the conclusion of the statement, I launched the golem from Artorias' greatsword, flying directly at my foe. Guiche was barely able to erect a barrier, the golem smashing into it while simultaneously shattering into several pieces.
I preserved the momentum from the swing that launched the golem, using it to propel myself forward. Dancing around the barrier, I took one swipe at Guiche. I barely missed, but I did manage to cut straight through his ridiculous rose wand. Guiche fell on his ass, and cowered in fear at the end that he thought was coming; but I wasn't going to kill him. Oh no, I had something else in mind.
"I yield!" whimpered Guiche. I ignored him, grabbing his collar and pulling him to his feet. Switching the great sword to a back hand style, I slammed the pommel into his stomach, knocking his breath out. Switching back to fore hand, I brought the pommel into the bridge of his nose. Guiche grunted in pain, as both nostrils began a flow of blood. I looked at him, my fiercely angry eyes boring into his fearful ones.
"Shut up, you damn idiot!" I roared. "You don't have the right to cower like this! You brought it all on yourself! It was your decision to cheat on those girls, and it was your decision to blame me! Your actions led to this! Using your precios pride as an excuse, you tried to beat me down out of anger! But then you suddenly find yourself on the losing side, and try and yield to me, the lower class that you so despise! It's pathetic!
But that's all meaningless... You're little girl problems are nothing compared to what she's given! Look at Louise! Compare your problems to hers, and you tell me that your life is worse! You all shunned her for not being good at magic! You cast her down, bullied her, stepped all over her pride, for no real reason! When she needed all of you to help her, you abandoned her!
Fools... if you truly believe this to be acceptable behavior, then you don't deserve to call yourselves nobility!"
Silence reigned over the courtyard. Guiche stared at me, dumbfounded. His fear was gone, replaced by utter shock. I let go of his collar, letting my hand fall to my side. A quick look around told me that everyone in the courtyard, students, workers and teachers alike, all shared the dumb confusion as Guiche. I scanned the crowd, looking over the faces that were in attendance. After a moment, I found Tabitha, staff in one hand, book open in the other, though she wasn't reading.
Tabitha's emerald eyes peered into mine in a questioning gaze. I simply smiled at her briefly, before turning back to Louise, who was now on her feet again. There was a teacher with her, presumably to heal Louise's wounded forehead. I sauntered over to her, dragging my feet out of fatigue.
"How's your head?" I asked her wearily. Louise just grunted at me, apparently unable to find words. I smiled briefly, genuinely glad to see that she was fine; and with that, my fatigue fully caught up with me.
I staggered for a moment, dropping the great sword that I had been dragging behind me. A moment later, the ground decided to jump up at me, and I blacked out.
Post note:
Well, that was fun. I'll reiterate, there's a completely legitimate reason that Draskir is able to use alchemy. Powers and abilities from other anime will likely make their way into Draskir's ability list as well, but the reason that they do will be explained later on.
Act one will close with the next chapter, and we'll move into the second act, hopefully with relative ease.
