Well hell… I'm back. ^_^ Tweaking and tweaking in preparation for continuing.
(Old) NOTES TO AUTHORS:
None. :p If you guys criticized me before on any counts, and you aren't satisfied now, shove it, hehehe

As stated before, several aspects have been altered so if you happen to be one of the earlier readers and this seems a lot different… it pretty much is different. I've redesigned it to be a bit more cohesive.

Enjoy!


Chapter 2: The Name


It was several hours after the doors had closed that the girl finally managed to fall into a less-than-peaceful sleep on the stiff mattress. She had no true concept of time, but from the meals that kept appearing by her bed, she could have roughly estimated the amount of days spent alone in the room. She only ever saw the "attendant" briefly, often when she was just waking up from another fitful sleep. That suited her fine. She hadn't thought to ask for anything. She almost preferred the solitude what was left of her mind was occupied with the nothingness left to her.

It was like she was never waking up; constantly being in some fantasy hell whether her eyes were closed or not. All she could bring herself to do was to eat and sleep. Keeping track of time was far from being a priority. As she lay in bed most of the time, she would often run her hand over the metal plate on the back of her head. Occasionally she did dream. But only of that first moment in this room. That voice… and those eyes.

It continued like this for some time. When three masked people walked into the room a and beckoned her to come with them, she went without any protest or resistance. She was lead down a long, gleaming corridor. Huge doors like the entrance to her room were spaced along it at exact intervals, identification marks flashed by her eyes in a succinct, military order that failed to register in her consciousness. At last they came to a room marked: "A-5." One of the masked persons entered a code on the keypad and the door swished open.

When they entered, it was a rather large room. It had an empty, simple setup. In the center there was a chair and table, on top of which were a pitcher, a glass, three small balls, and a notepad with pencil. One of the men prodded her along and pushed her into the chair, and the three masked people took seats in high-back chairs along the wall. Each of them took out a paper pad and pencil, preparing to take thorough notes of the proceedings.

After a moment, the one that had seated her walked around into her line of sight.

"I'd like you to pour a glass of water," the faceless person said, "without using any part of your body to lift the pitcher."

The girls concentration was suddenly back in reality and on the room. She looked puzzled at the request, and seemed not to understand at all. Without waiting for a response, one of the other masked individuals rolled over a machine of sorts. They began hooking up pads and wires to different areas of the girls body. The machine came on, and paper started rolling. Several different reading indicators scrolled by and digital readers displayed figures that were incomprehensible to her passing gaze.

"Perhaps we'll start with something more basic," said the first man dryly. "I'm going to show you a series of images. React in whatever way feels most natural to you. No holding back, now."

A flip sound was heard, and a projected screen appeared. A click sound, and an image appeared. It was a field of flowers. While the girl looked on, still puzzled, one of the masked persons removed everything but the three balls from the table. Another click, there was a war photo displaying the bloody aftermath of a battle. The girls face twitched a little, the readers were jumping. More clicking, more images, each one varying between a calm scene and images of violence, death, or desolation. A mother with child, a public hanging, a gentle lake, a public whipping. On and on it went. The girl started to scream, the readers were going FIP FIP FIP as they hit the edges of their holders. The three metal balls shot off the table and with a loud THUNK, they became embedded in the wall where the images were being projected.

"THERE!" shouted one of the masked faces.

The images abruptly stopped. The girl's screaming ceased almost immediately. Despite the fact they were masked, the observers' pleased expressions was plain enough. The girl heard a click, and felt a slight pinch in her skull as someone adjusted a wire. Someone was typing.

"Location of that particular cellular matrix has been mapped. We're ready for suppression. 3…2…1… Engage"

The girl felt a sharp pulse go down her spine all the way to her feet and went rigid, temporarily paralyzed. The initial sensation was of burning in her brain, but it took only a moment to fade into nothing. Only a few seconds later the burning was back, it stayed for a fleeting moment, and then was gone again.

There was a moment of silence. Then footsteps came over near her, and with a clink, the pitcher and glass were put back in front of her.

"Now," said the voice, "please pour a glass of water without touching the pitcher."

The girl was unsure of how to respond to this.

After a moment, the man continued, "Just let your mind play through the action. And don't let your body act it out."

The girl just stared at the pitcher a moment. She wondered in her mind how she could possibly fulfill such a request. She began picturing the act as the man said. Then her eyes widened, as the pitcher slowly lifted itself into the air, as if on its own power. She could not believe her eyes, and for a few seconds nothing more happened. Then somewhere in her mind, it clicked. She finished her thought about how to comply with the voice's request. The pitcher poured a glass of water.

A hand reached out, grasped the pitcher, and put it back on the table.

"That will do for today, I think," the voice said, sounding very pleased.

This was not the last time things like this happened. Several, repeated sessions occurred. Every time she would come to that same room, and she would work as directed by the masked people. Soon she could complete the task of pouring water without spilling, overfilling, or needing someone to put the pitcher back down. Then the "curriculum" seemed to shift, as the metal balls were brought back into play.

They would have her constantly trying to control the balls. She soon realized their constant goads were designed to cause her to repeat the same action that had happened on her first day in the room. The dig marks from the impact were still quite visible. It took about five days, and she could cause the metallic balls to circle the room, perform acrobatic patterns, and return to her without a problem. On the seventh day, she managed to carry out the request. She spent an hour slamming the balls into the wall, retrieving them, and slamming them again.

"That will do for today," said the voice.

And just like all the other days, she was escorted back down that long, lonely corridor to her room. She spent only a few minutes eating the meal set out for her, and then fell back on the bed and spent the next hour or so wondering what all this could possibly mean. Her mind was still drawing blanks. She felt as if the dream state was still hanging over her—making it all but impossible for her to even think straight. She was reduced back to shedding silent tears more than once. The sobs of grief she felt on the first day had faded though. Slowly, she felt those feelings of loss and sorrow fading into the cold embrace of numbness. Despite lacking anything in the way of memory or experience, she was finally facing up to the realization that she would never know anything prior to her life at that moment. The girl could only move on to whatever these people had planned for her.

She felt like it must be the morning when the door opened this time. Unlike all the other times, only one person came into the room. But like all the other times, she received a gesture to come, and so she came.

She was immediately struck by unfamiliarity, for while she had always gone down the left corridor to room "A-5", the escort pointed her in the opposite direction. They walked for several minutes, and then stopped outside a door marked "Amphitheater B-3". The door opened, and she was marched towards a chair some distance away. Once she sat down, she finally looked around and was awestruck by the room's size. She had never seen a room as large as this. Along the face of its distant walls were more doors, unmarked. The ceiling expanded up what must have been thirty feet or more.

Beside her, the masked figure stuck a key into a lock in the floor, and opened up a panel. Several cords and wires were reeled out, and within a minute or so she was once again receiving the uncomfortable hook-ups of some sort of machine.

Having finished, the escort turned and walked to one of the doors of the far wall. Punching in something on a key-pad, it opened for him. He exited the room, the door closing after him. She heard someone clear their throat, and it echoed off the metal walls. Turning, she saw, high up, a kind of observation box in which sat four people, also masked, watching her. She turned away, trying to ignore their presence.

A horn sounded a note of warning. A hiss, and then came the slow rising of doors at the wall facing her. Out of the doors leaped the large, furry figures of a Bengalis. There was only one of them, but the half-starved animal was big enough to eat her for a snack. Sniffing at the air, it quickly focused on her. It crouched, its hunter eyes locked-in on a vulnerable prey.

The girl felt extreme fear creeping surging through her. She shot a glance towards the observation box. The observers weren't looking at her, but had their faces down towards something in the box, out of her line of vision. She realized at once that this test of theirs required them to be out of direct harms way, and so the machines she had been hooked up before were positioned up there. They only had interest in the readings she was giving them.

This realization suddenly caused a change in her demeanor. Not only was she extremely afraid of the beasts in the room with her, but this began to mix with a huge explosion of anger at what those people in the box were doing to her. Her head began to hurt. She closed her eyes and winced at the pain. She began telling herself that the creatures weren't there. They were back in their doors, with the doors closed. She thought this with all the power she could muster, as her head began pounding, splitting, burning with a pain she had never experienced before.

Just when she thought her head would split itself in two, she heard loud growls of the Bengalis in a state of confusion and rage. The screech of metal upon metal. The THUNK of doors slamming home. The pain disappeared from her head, and she fell from the chair to the floor, where she lay trembling for a long time. The door the man had disappeared through earlier opened again, and out came the people from the observation box. One of them placed her back in the chair. They had with them another machine on wheels, and from this more wires came and were attached. She again felt the scrape and pinch as something seemed to penetrate her head.

"Coordinates set…" said one, "ready to engage."

"Engage," replied another voice.

The burning feeling from many days ago was back. It hung onto her for a moment, and then once again she was paralyzed by a pulse that seemed to stream down her. A moment later, the burning returned briefly, and was gone again.

"A few more tests and she'll be ready to advance, I think."

"Shall we call it a day then?"

The sound of a door opening echoed across the room. A new voice spoke. "Move right into Stage 3, please."

The girl was looking at the ground, but she could feel everyone turn towards the source of the voice.

"S… sir! B-b-but we just completed this procedure, and…"

"I'm quite aware of that."

"O-o-of course you are, sir, I didn't mean to suggest…"

"That will do."

There was a pause.

"Yes, sir."

They quickly started to unhook the machines and wires.

"Sir, if I may be so bold as to ask…"

"Yes?"

"What brings you down here today?" the man sounded almost frightened.

There was a pause, "I haven't been directly involved with the orientation procedures in quite some time. I decided to look in on one of the new bloods."

"Ah, I see, I see…" he muttered, though it was apparent from his tone he didn't quite grasp any meaning from this.

The panel door was locked, and the machine wheeled away back into the observation door. Footsteps started to walk away, and then stopped.

"Sir, won't you be observing with us?"

"Of course I will."

"Then why…"

"I'll do just fine right here," the unseen voice said.

"B-b-but sir!" the man began to protest.

"That will do. You may go and begin the procedure."

Another pause.

"Yes… yes, sir," he said with a neutral resignation.

More footsteps could be heard, and then the sound of a door closing. The girl heard the remaining person walk up directly behind her. She didn't look up. Maybe it was fear, maybe exhaustion, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. But she was aware of him leaning down beside her, and felt his breath on her cheek when he spoke to her.

"What you did last time won't work," he said. Though I'd doubt you'd try it in any case. Keep in mind what comes out of those doors is trying to hurt you. They have worse plans than anything we might have for you. That is the way the world is. The only way to survive is to neutralize any threat."

She stared straight ahead. She felt him stand back straight. He must have signaled the observers, because the warning horn sounded again. She continued to looked towards the doors on the far wall. They were fully open now, and this time there were eight of them. The girl understood what he meant then. She wasn't sure what power she had gained, but there was no way she could reliably control eight of those things. The only way to save herself would be to…

She felt a slight rustle of air, the man gesturing again. The doors from which the beasts had entered closed, leaving the Bengalis' no way of returning. They had spotted the two humans in the center of the room, and had begun assuming a pride attack formation. The flankers began to circle, and four came straight on in wary, but undeterred crouches.

The girl was suddenly aware that she was not afraid. She felt nothing at all for that matter. All she could do was stare at the creatures as they continued to draw close too her. The words of the man suddenly filled her head '…what comes out of those doors is trying to hurt you… The only way to survive is to neutralize any threat.'

She continued to focus on the animals. At last, when the circle of beasts closed within twenty feet, one of the Bengalis' sprang. It tore towards the seated girl, and then leaped into the air in a terrifying arc. Time seemed to slow as the animal flew towards her. Five feet, four, three, two… She blinked. A moment passed, and nothing happened. She had expected to feel the weight of the Bengalis slam into her, and opened her eyes in wonderment. There was no longer a Bengalis soaring towards her.

The observers heard and saw what occurred next. One of them gave a sort of yell in surprise; audible enough to be heard over the terrified yowls of the animals. While the people up in the box gaped in horror, the girl neither saw nor heard anything, so great was her attention locked inward.

What could only be a second later in real time, the girl became aware of the feeling of a warm something moving along her skin. She looked down. Every part of her was covered in blood. As far as her eyes could see, there was blood. Blood, meat, bits of bone spread out over the floor before her. She had no concept from which to either react or think about what was happening. She simply looked back up to see more of the Bengalis' coming towards her. She had no idea what she was doing, but felt her mind pulsing instinctively. No distinct thought crossed her mind, but she felt her thoughts moving through motions she had never felt before.

The only sounds were the Bengalis' roar, followed by a sudden cut off, and an occasional slap as something hit the walls or floor. Thirty seconds after the first Bengalis had attacked, it was all over. The room was now covered with what could barely qualify as the remains of the Bengalis. Even the observation booth had not gone unsullied. The girl stood in front of her chair, breathing slowly, blood trickling from her arms and face. She wondered when she had stood up.

The far door opened, and two men rushed up towards them.

"My God, sir… are you alright!?"

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you gentlemen."

There was silence. The girl could feel his glance. She couldn't help it anymore. She looked up at him. A mask obscured most of his features, and that was spattered with blood. But it wasn't his face she was looking for. It was his eyes. Powerful, deep, and penetrating. The deep green orbs that locked with hers made her feel what she had been incapable of feeling when she faced the powerful hunters in the arena: fear. And despite it all, she was unable to look away. Finally, thankfully, he looked away, his interest temporarily drawn to the other men in the room.

Without another word to the girl, he began walking towards the exit, his boots making loud echoes bounce off the walls. The men stood there looking after him, bewilderment in their eyes. He had not even paused to consider cleaning off the mass amount of fluids from his clothing.

"Since it's obvious this one is ahead of schedule, move her straight on, please."

He did not wait for a reply, but walked out of the room, the door clanging shut behind hi,. There was silence for a moment, and then, "Come with us," said one of the men.

They led her out of the arena, and back down the corridor. The girl finally came back into reality, and consciously walked with them to whatever new thing they had for her. As they walked, all she could do was ask herself 'What happened? What did I do?' Disbelief and lack of understanding plagued her until they reached yet another room she had never seen before.

This one was identified as "Processing 5". The door opened automatically, and they stepped in briskly. It looked almost like a lounge, with some chairs against the wall for waiting, and a single desk with a uniformed clerk behind it.

"Yes, how can I help you?" asked the clerk.

"Here for processing subject 900003234, clearance Red-5."

"Alright, gentlemen, just put her right in there," he gestured towards one of the doors to his left.

They walked her into what looked like a similar room to where she had been staying herself for the past few days. Moving over to a medical bed, the men had her lay down on it, and they tightened two restraints onto each of her arms. Her feet were secured likewise, and they left without saying anything.

She waited what must have been half an hour or so, and then a door at the other end of the room opened. In walked three people, two men and a woman by the shape of them. They began wheeling over equipment, and within a few minutes had positioned several apparatuses about her bed.

One of the men brought up what looked like a gun with a needle at the point. A vial of green was loaded into the back. The needle punctured her skin, and the vial emptied. The girl felt her body go numb, and she could neither feel anything nor move anything. One of the men positioned a small rectangle over her eyes. She realized that she could not even blink, and her eyes were beginning to feel dry and painful. A switch was flipped, and slowly the pain and dryness went away.

"We're ready to begin."

Another machine came into view, with an extremely long needle. It was turned until the needle was facing directly at her. Slowly, very slowly, the needle was pushed closer until it was about three inches from her eye.

"Engage."

A whine was heard, and the machine seemed to move by itself. A small light at the very tip of the needle came on. The needle seemed to adjust itself ever so slightly, and came to point at the center of the left eye. Then the needle moved forward, and the girl had but a slight feeling of mental discomfort as the needle penetrated the pupil and moved deep into her brain.

"Alright, give her the second one."

Another slight hiss of the needle gun, and she started to feel drowsy. Within ten seconds, she began falling asleep.

When the girl regained consciousness, she noticed that, while her eyes must have been open when she fell asleep, they were now closed. She opened them now, and glanced around. When she tried to move, she realized whatever she had been given had only worn off slightly, and she was still immobile.

"Well, look who's awake," came one of the men in the room.

"Good, then we can finish," replied the woman. "Read off her stats please."

The girl ascertained that the woman was nearby, typing on the computer.

"Induction of A-25 has been approved. Statistics read as follows: Type-Z3; Chem-36 Level 8; Chem-5 Level 10," the man read off.

The other man in the room whistled. "Never seen one of these in all the time I've been here."

"Hush up," said the other man. "Still needs the call name, they left it blank."

There was silence for a moment. "Among many space phenomena are stars that eject some of their mass in the forms of clouds… and in the process they become more luminous," stated the woman, matter-of-factly. "When that happens, they call it a 'Nova'."

The woman got up from her seat and walked over to the bed. "Fear and anger have been ejected, so now will she become more luminous?"

There was another moment of silence. "Nova… I like it."

The woman returned to her terminal. More tapping of keys could be heard. "Processing complete, unhook her."

One of the men reached down behind the girl's neck. She heard a sort of slurp sound as something was removed from her body. He withdrew a needle from where it had been hooked in, and rolled up the cords it had been attached too.

"Nova, eh?" said the man, "Good name."

The two men soon left, and the woman was soon standing over her again. She was just starting to drift back into unconsciousness when she heard her speaking. "I hope you like your new name," she said quietly. "I can tell we can expect great things from you."


Post 2011 A/Ns: Ahah! Tweaking works! So I noticed I am NOT the only one that did a fanfic based on Nova and Stracraft Ghost. Still, FIRST! ^_^ And let's see if I can jump back in and finish this baby off. Because otherwise I'll be worse than the writer of the Evangelion manga, hehe.

2014 A/N: Same as Chapter 1. Hope you liked the changes. Still might tinker some more, but now focusing on the long-awaited Chapter 3.