Sonata to Memento Mori

Chapter 2: Burn Princess

Arzenal/VR Training Hanger

Blaze was atop one of the many Para-mail simulators, playing the ever familiar tune he always did on a new leaf, the gentle tune wafting through the air as he did, and not really much of anything at the moment occurring as he was more or less the only person in the room at the moment.

"They're supposed to be assigning the newbie to the First Troop today… Jill said to just wait here for a while… guess they're chucking her right into the frying pan along with the two who just came of age… well, not like I can judge since I started piloting Barbatos when I was ten."

Blaze ceased playing when he heard the door open, glancing over his shoulder spying the mentioned First Toop, which consisted of Zola, to Blaze's everlasting spite, along with her three girls, and five more: A young woman who appeared about the same age as Blaze with long pink hair, a seventeen year old girl with blue twintails and a dead serious look on her face, and the last three all looked about twelve, though the red headed one was actually around fifteen as Blaze knew, while the remaining two were new to the whole ordeal the Arzenal soldiers faced. Each of them were decked out in the, at least in Blaze's own opinion, somewhat impractical piloting suits all Norma wore, though individually colored, each visor they wore a bit larger than the one Blaze himself wore, while the two newbies had full on helmets on.

Of course, what with Blaze being the sole male on the island, his uniform was custom made and he never wore a pilots suit, while his visor was also customized itself.

"Well well, nice to see you again Blaze. How have you been?" Zola smirked, Blaze simply flipping the bird at Zola without a second thought, much to the objection of the twin tailed girl.

"Blaze! Don't do things like that in front of the younger kids!"

"Don't get your panties in a wad Salia." Blaze jumped down from his perch, tossing the leaf aside and putting his hands behind his head, "Besides, not like it's that big of a deal… they'll learn that one soon enough."

"I swear you are have no restraint…" Salia sighed while Blaze just shrugged.

"Hey! Big Bro Blaze! How are you doing?" The younger red headed girl shot up to Blaze, the young man chuckling.

"I'm doing just fine Vivian. Nice of you to ask." Blaze nodded, and Vivian chuckled.

"Quiz time! Why you here with us now?" Vivian threw up a finger (as was a trademark of hers), Blaze answering in turn.

"Because I'm supposed to watch the newest member of your team for a bit, orders from the Commander herself." Blaze's reply was met with Vivian making a ding sound.

"Yep! Good job!" Vivian gave a thumbs up, Blaze nodding.

"So, since you are here to help, what do you plan to do, as a fellow captain asking another." Zola stepped forward, Blaze leaning on one of the machines.

"Simply do as I was ordered… observe and make my own judgment. You can use whatever methods you feel like, it's not my job to pass judgment on that. Just get her whipped into shape, I don't care… though I might have my own input on helping with that." Blaze gave a small hand wave as he spoke, and Zola chuckled.

"Ah I see. Well then, having fun watching." Zola turned away, Blaze getting sour looks as per the usual, and then the pink haired girl approached him.

"Blaze do you try to antagonize people?"

"Ersha, come on, not like I have much choice when her. I lost count of how many times I've threatened Zola."

Blaze put his arms behind his had again, Ersha sighing. The two Para-mail riders had more or less grown up together, so Blaze was rather comfortable around Ersha and tended to lack his usual hostility.

"Yes I noticed… you do tend to do that a lot." Ersha noted, Blaze scoffing and now he was fiddling around with a butterfly knife, flipping it around with ease and seemingly subconsciously.

"You do remember why my door has five locks on it right?" Blaze had an eye closhed, and he blinked when Ersha caught his arm.

"You need to doing that without looking. If not you're just going to end hacking your fingers apart like you did when we were kids." Ersha plucked the knife from Blaze's fingers and closed it, Blaze swiping it back and pocketing it.

"Yeah, I still have some of the scars from back then as proof! And trust me, that won't be happening again any time soon. Seriously I'm not the wimpy crybaby I was ten years ago."

Salia sighed with a hint of annoyance as she watched the Blaze and Ersha chat so easily with one another, the two going back and forth with all the ease of two people who knew each other for as long as they had, just like siblings.

"Hehehe… those two are just like siblings, wouldn't you say?" Vivian popped up, and Salia looked to the side. "Quiz time! What is Salia jealous of?"

"I-I'm not jealous! Why would I be?!" Salia snapped.

"Come on! Enough nagging me! You're not my mother Ersha… AND QUIT PATTING ME DOWN AND SWIPING MY STUFF!" Blaze was busy swiping away his butterfly knife (again), and a few other personal items, keeping them in one hand while pushing Ersha by her back with the other.

"Why is it you have so many weapons on you? Is that really necessary?" Ersha asked, stopping, Blaze putting a hand on his hip.

"Yes, I find it very necessary! You remember what happened when I was sixteen! That was the reason I even installed the thumb scanner in the first place!" Blaze was replacing everything that could be considered a weapon back into the various holsters built into his jacket.

"Yes but things haven't been as bad since then now have they." Ersha spoke in the way she always, did, and Blaze just scoffed again.

"Tch… only because nobody has the guts to try and bust the thumb scanner. Least I don't wake up with a surprise bedmate anymore." Blaze then earned a headlock from Ersha, the young man yelping at the others grip, "ACCCK! Ersha do you have to?!"

"Hahahahaha! That is awesome!" Vivian laughed aloud while Ersha simply giggled.

"Yes, I do Blaze. You need to learn to lighten up a bit. Besides, it's not like every girl on Arzenal is trying to do that."

"WHY BUT IT'S STILL A PRETTY BIG NUMBER! NOW LET ME GO FOR CRYING OUT LOUD BEFORE MY FACE TURNS BLUE!" Blaze started smacking Ersha's arm until she released him, falling back and landing on his rear, yelping a bit.

"Ow ow ow ow ow…." Blaze stood up and rubbed the sore spot a bit, "I swear… one of these days you're gonna accidently break on of my bones…"

"No I won't, because I did promise as a kid to never hurt you too much." Ersha stated, Blaze giving her a flat stare.

"You're definition of not too much is very different from mine…" Blaze rubbed his neck and sighed again, and from the corner of his eye he spotted Salia simply staring at him and Ersha… a usual sight truth be told.

The blue haired girl then looked away, Blaze sighing as he put a hand behind his head.

"What is with her?" Blaze lurched a bit when he felt a hand slap him on the back, glancing at Ersha yet again.

"Really Blaze? You've known Salia ever since she came here and you cannot see how she feels?" Ersha hummed, Blaze crossing his arms.

"To be frank… I have no idea what you're talking about." Blaze got a sigh from that, and then cue the doors slamming open, Jill entering with Ange in tow, the former princess looking nothing short of miserable, the First Troop lining up, Blaze hopping up onto the nearest VR trainer and watching.

"Salute the commander!"

"And cue the ensuing chaos." Blaze reached into his back pocket, pulling out a newer leaf and softly playing on it so as not to make too much noise and also stave off his boredom, laying back on the VR trainer while also listening in.

"You handle the rest, Zola." Jill ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Zola replied, and once Jill left, she approached the rookie, "Welcome to the First Troop of death. I'm Captain Zola. Deputy Chief, introduce her."

Ange yelped as Zola pushed her forward (via putting a hand on her rear), Salia nodding.

"Yes, ma'am."

Blaze more or less tuned out the introductions of everyone in the team to Ange… at least until the newbie spoke up.

"Are these… all Norma?" Ange murmured, Blaze sitting up and ceasing his music.

"'These?'" Salia repeated in some surprise.

"Ha! We Norma are treated as things." Hilda scoffed with a smug grin, Blaze rolling his eyes.

"You bitch!" Rosalie growled, though Vivian speaking up stopped her.

"Yep, we're all Norma, just like you. We'll be good frends, okay?" Vivian was cheery as always, and Ange replied in obvious denial.

"I am not! I am the Empire of Misurugi's First Princess, Angelis Ikaruga Misurugi. I am in no way a Norma!" Ange objected.

"But you can't use Mana right?" Vivian asked, straight and up front about it.

"Oh this is just gonna be a crazy fest with her…" Blaze adjusted to a more comfortable position as he watched, Ange looking down in the mean time.

"Th-The Light of Mana just doesn't reach this far." Ange stated, and cue Blaze actually laughing at that notion.

"HA! Listen rookie, the Light of Mana isn't something that doesn't just not reach somewhere. We do have a human officer here after all, and she is perfectly capable of using Mana." Blaze jumped down with a small flip, Ange blinking at seeing that he was, well, male.

"A male Norma?!" Ange gasped, Blaze shaking his head.

"Nope, not a Norma… and before you ask anything else, no I can't use Mana, so don't even try." Blaze crossed his arms as usual, Salia sighing.

"And this is Captain Blaze, the leader of the Scout Troop. He'll be an advisor while you're training here as well." Salia introduced, Blaze nodding.

"What she said… and… Welcome to Arzenal… aka the place where Norma are sent to die." A moment of silenced shock followed Blaze's statement to Ange… which was then followed by a sharp crack as Salia slapped him upside the head. "OW! What the hell Salia?!"

"Don't try freaking her out! Now isn't the time to be cryptic or be a jerk!" Salia snapped.

"Oh please, she had to get it through her head at some point!" Blaze shouted in reply, rubbing the back of his head, then regaining his composure, "But yeah, as Salia said, I'm here as an advisor under the Commander's orders. And to be clear, I'm also under authorization to use any means necessary when assisting in this, so don't think I'll go easy on a rookie."

"But I'm not a Norma!" Ange snapped… and cue Zola laughing.

"Damn you, Commander. You brought us a crazy one! She's not even aware of her situation! She's defective!" Zola laughed in amusement, Blaze sighing and repressing the urge to snark at her.

"So the defect is being condescending?" Rosalie muttered, Chris chuckling.

"Oh, ouch." Chris put a hand near her mouth and snickered, "What a burn."

"You're the defects!" Ange earned a foot stamp from Hilda for that comment… and Blaze could not object since his hand had immediately flown to his knife.

"Know your place, Burn Princess!" Hilda had Ange by her shirt, and Ersha attempted to diffuse the heated situation.

"Come on, people, let's leave it there." Ersha stated, Hilda turning to her.

"What? We need to smack the delusion out of ugly bitches like her." Hilda's statement was met with agreements by Chris and Rosalie, the two captains in the room exchanging glances.

"Well looks like you're gonna get to have some fun." Blaze observed as the chatter continued, Zola chuckling.

"Quite." Zola turned to her team, then giving her orders, "Salia, you take care of her. Teach her everything."

"Yes ma'am." Salia responded.

"Be kind to the promising newcomer, everyone. We're all Norma here." Zola put a hand on Ange's head, the newcomer glaring at the captain, who stepped back, "All right, we're starting training! Ersha, Rosalie, Chris…" the mentioned three lined up, "Come with me. We'll be doing long range attack patterns!"

"Yes!" The three girls saluted as their orders were received, as per protocol.

"Salia, Hilda, Vivian, you're training the newcomer. Buckle down." Zola was again met with a confirming "Yes!" and salutes. "Go!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Blaze watched as the groups scrambled to their positions, Salia taking Ange off to most likely slap her into a pilots suit, so, in the meantime, Blaze wandered off a bit.

"Well, Ange is gonna be an issue if this attitude of hers keeps up. Peh… wonder how long it'll take to get how harsh the world we live in actually is?"

And a short time later, Blaze was sitting at the simulator Ange was in, Salia currently showing the rookie the controls. Blaze was flipping his butterfly knife again by the time Salia came out and took her own seat.

"So, why is it the Commander assigned you as an advisor?" Salia asked, Blaze shrugging as he stopped toying with the knife in his hand.

"Don't know don't care. I'm just curious to see how this girl does during her first test flight. I bet you one mil she somehow manages to do well." Blaze casually put the bet in the air, Salia yelping.

"One million?!" Salia yelped.

"Hey you don't have to take the bet. I just felt like making a wager was all. After all, I'm pretty much stuck as your partner in teaching Ange for a little while, so hey, why not make this fun?" Blaze pocketed his knife, Salia sighing.

"I don't expect her to be able to do this her first try."

"Neither do I." Blaze bluntly responded.

Blaze watched as the rookies were, one by one, launched out while Salia gave Ange the run down on what to do, and Ange, to no one's surprise once her turn came, started shrieking the minute she was launched.

"Well that was expected…" Blaze twirled a strand of hair, and Salia had what could only be described as a… somewhat disappointed scowl on her face.

"What is this?!" Ange panicked, Salia sighing.

"Don't let go of the controls. Climb!" Salia continued on, Blaze watching the run as it went, leaning back in his seat a bit.

"Jill has high hopes for her apparently… tch… we'll just have to see how well she can pilot though…" Blaze took the liberty and pressed a button, "Start nose dive training."

"HUH?! Wait, we're not getting to that yet!" Salia snapped, Blaze glancing at her.

"I'm testing her a bit. I wanna see how Ange reacts… who knows, maybe she's better than we think? After all, she was a former princess… maybe she wasn't just some pampered bimbo." Blaze sat back, Salia turning back to the view screen to see Ange was really needing to pull up.

"You're going to hit the ground! Nose up!" Salia barked, Blaze watching closely.

"Not yet…" Blaze crossed his arms, and he stopped Salia from flipping the lid on the eject button, shaking his head, "Don't force her out… I have a feeling she may actually know what she's doing now."

Salia glanced at Blaze in surprise, looking back at the screen, gasping when Ange pulled up right near the last minute and began flying around with ease afterwards.

"What's up with this kid?" Salia gasped, "Did you know she'd do this?"

"Nope." Blaze simply sat back and gave a small smirk, "I just decided to take a gambit and test out luck. Seems I was right… she does seem to be better than we thought."

XXXXX

Hanger

Blaze was sitting on the Barbatos, which was, at the moment, in it's main garage within the hanger, which was one that had been set aside specifically for the unique machine, the pilot currently filing his first report in regard to Ange's performance in training, tapping his pen on his knee.

"She's showing promise to my surprise… these past few days has been showing that she's above average in all areas… a first for most rookies… hmm…" Blaze hummed, continuing to add touches to the report due to his own opinion mattering in said report, and once it was done, he jumped off his machine and started wandering through the series of Para-mails until he reached one that looked terribly old, covered by a tarp, and shortly after, Jill entered the room as well, Blaze simply handing her the papers for his report.

"So, Blaze, what's your personal first impression of Ange, huh?" Jill asked, comparing the other paper in her hand to Blaze's own.

"She does show promise, that's for sure. But to pilot this thing? Well… we'll have to see how her first deployment goes… training and live combat are two very different things. And if she gets shot down, then that's the end of that… at least we'll have the ring." Blaze was curt and short in his reply, then adding… "Ad quorum casum cum ignauia velocior absque misericordia."

"Translation?" Jill hummed, Blaze glancing at her with that ever ice cold gaze.

"The fall of the coward is swift, and without mercy." Blaze turned to Jill, a hand on his hip, "I hope you're not getting your hopes up to high yet despite the exceptional skills Ange shows… whether or not her will is strong enough to withstand the real trial we face here is yet to be seen. I for one, am curious to see what happens."

Blaze walked off, and Jill posed a question.

"So, have you said it to her yet? That phrase of yours?" Jill asked, Blaze chuckling.

"Not yet… no… but, if someone else doesn't, then I'm sure I'll say it soon enough. Besides, everyone else on Arzenal has had it drilled into their heads." Blaze tapped his left temple before leaving, Jill letting out a breath.

"He's just like his father… but he has his mother's habits and skill as a pilot… I do wonder what you two would say if you could see how the boy turned out…"

Mall

Blaze, stepped away from the wall leading out from the entrance of Arzenal's sole shopping zone, catching Ange as she was leaving.

"You know… you shouldn't get Coco's hopes up too much Ange. I don't want to see her hopes get dashed later on."

Ange turned around when Blaze spoke, surprised to see the young man present, then she growled a bit, Blaze scoffing.

"Hmph. Still don't like me I see. Peh, not that I care, I'm simply observing any way." Blaze murmured, flipping a hand.

"Why the heck are you even doing so? And, furthermore, why are you even here?" Ange asked, Blaze lifting a brow.

"Do you mean why I'm here at the mall or here at Arzenal in general?" Blaze replied, Ange taken aback by the blunt sarcasm Blaze responded with, "And don't bother trying to get high and mighty with me. I am your superior officer, even if I'm not a Norma like you."

"I keep telling you people I am not a Norma." Ange put out the objection again, Blaze chuckling and walking past the blonde girl.

"Look, Burn Princess, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, you no longer exist. I'm sure by now almost all records involving Princess Angelis Ikaruga Misurugi have been eliminated and burned to cinders." Blaze stopped once he was past Ange, the trainee, turning and glaring at him.

"What right do you have to say that to me?!" Ange snapped, Blaze turning back to face her, his face stoic.

"The right of someone who's spent nearly half of his life fighting something you weren't even aware of until about a week ago. You know how the others, like Coco and Miranda, start training at twelve? Well, I started two years earlier at ten. I'm eighteen… I've been piloting for nearly as long as some of the older veterans here. So when you question why I say that, it's because compared to you, Ange, I'm in a completely different category. Feel offended if you want, it's not my job to care."

"I swear… I am getting out of here." Ange stated, Blaze chuckling a bit.

"We'll see… oh, and Ange, remember this… Memento mori." Blaze repeated the usual phrase he was known for, Ange's eyes widening a bit, "Remember to be ready to die. Grind that into your brain a bit. I've been told it's a good motivator… granted, some people I've told that too took it in a completely different direction."

Blaze walked off, Ange watching the sole male on this island full of females as he eventually turned the corner.

"What is with him?" Ange murmured.

"Oh, by the way, if you want to find out more about me, ask around. I don't like explaining my life story to people, so piece it together. I grew up with a lot of the girls here… so ask around… if you have the time." Blaze popped back from the corner, "And like I said, remember that phrase. Memento mori… keep it locked up tight."

Blaze vanished again, leaving Ange to mull over not only his phrase and words from earlier, but also, what she would do to try and get off of this rock she was on… one way or another, she planned to do so.

A/N

HA! Got past my writers block through some nonlinear writing! Granted it wasn't for this but whatevs… So now things shall REALLY kick up come the next chapter, as well as perhaps, some more revealing of Blaze's bit at Arzenal as well.

And, putting it to a question if there would be any… issue with me possibly adding Naomi from the game into this.