Chapter VI: Reverb and Echo
"Space Prism Artes Activate! I am the pretty soldier of Love and Fortune, Magical Girl Alisa! In the name of the light, I shall banish you from this plane of existence!"
"My memories may remain blank but my spirit lives on! In this dark world, my heart burns forever with passion! With… Love!"
"Come, Dark Prince! In this full night of moon our Love shall burn brightest in our eternal waltz! For there could be no better expression of Love, than through Battle!"
"MAKE IT STOOOP!" a plea of despair rang out in the small flat of the Lei family. A blonde woman in her twenties was sprawled on the floor spasming uncontrollably. She was clutching her ears as she tried to drown out the utter shame coming off from the monitor.
"Daddy, Mommy, that's magical girl Arisa riggghtt? Why is she saying she's Alisa? And why does she look like miss lady here?" asked the puzzled little Cecilia as she had her eyes glued to the screen.
"Dearie, that's just a costume play~" Joanne explained, clearly amused by the scene. "That little girl's name is Alisa and she's a fan of 'The Dark Prince' too."
"Could sorta figure that out. Old Gwyn and Franz used to talk and talk about it lots with us. Can't say I knew little Ms. Chairman here loved it too." Old Man Stan said. "Used to, I guess." he added as said chairwoman of the Reinford Group continued to wail in agony.
The little dolled up Alisa on the screen continued to flourish her staff, spinning around cutely. She spouted more nonsensical yet adorable phrases as she tried to imitate her favourite heroine.
"All right! Next, go tell your mommy and daddy you love them, okay sweetie~?" voiced Gwyn Reinford from the screen. He seemed to be the one holding the camera as a young looking Irina and Franz Reinford entered the scene.
Fie sat down closer to the orbal projector as she raised the audio setting to its max volume, a manic grin creeping up her face. The beet-red Alisa lurched violently and tried to kick the mischievous girl, no doubt knowing full well what came next.
"Mommy! Daddy! Granpa Gwyn! I, Magical girl Alisa, hereby grant you my protection! In the name of the light, I will defeat all those baddies that fight you! I really, really, really LOVE YOU!"
"Awwwwwwwwwwww~ That's so cute!" chimed the adult audience members. The silver haired one took it another step further and had both her hands on her cheeks as she eyed her adorable classmate.
"IwannadieIwannadieIwannadie-" the woman of the hour repeated, her face completely hidden in shame.
Alisa did remember filming the video one time but that was a temp thing. It was her grandfather that introduced the family to 'The Dark Prince of Helmdrr', and soon enough, little Alisa was starstruck by the heroine, Magical Girl Arisa. She did admit to liking the Prince though, with all his amazing gadgets and technical knowledge. Anyone that had an interest in machines and orbal tech probably would.
Arisa however, was different. Not only was she also a blonde and beautiful girl, throughout her battles she displayed both a clever, tactical mind and immensely creative strategies using orbal weaponry and space artes to outsmart her rival. Not only that, she was the only person who truly understood the Prince on a psychological level, and had displayed an extremely heroic spirit in the times when the two had to work together to fight a common foe. She was, without a doubt, a true idol. An idol that made young Alisa style her hair the same way. And the idol whose costume Gwyn had made an outfit for.
But that was then and this is now. Little Alisa moved on from superheroes soon after her grandfather first left the company. It was simply a happy memory now, to be reminisced on her own. And, for the love of Aidios, NOT to be showcased to a friend. Especially not to someone like Fie Claussell.
The dignified chairwoman had been reduced to a rolling mess on the carpet by the time the video finally ended. Picking herself off the floor and trying to rein in her ruined hair, Alisa pointed indignantly at the silver haired bracer. "Not one word." she warned, a mad blush still suffusing her cheeks.
Fie only continued to gaze at her classmate with a noticeable glint in her eye and a fond smile plastered on her face. The quirk of her eyebrows however, indicated that the mischievous woman was willing to challenge that statement.
"Fie, I'm serious! Don't tell anyone and don't laugh!" Alisa pleaded.
The smaller girl was not laughing though. She was too busy imagining the fallout of 'Magical Girl Alisa' meeting a certain raven haired Dark Prince. 'Those two will find out. Eventually. And I'll be damned if I'm not there for THAT disaster.' she thought.
"Why does this have to happen to me? Why…" the depressed blonde contemplated as she fetched the memory quartz from the projector. The ruby red haze perfectly mirrored Alisa's eyes as a melancholic smile danced on her lips. She pocketed the quartz, intending to keep it safe. And hidden. Forever.
"Where does this leave us then?" Fie asked. Her question brought Alisa back to the reason why she had to suffer the humiliation in the first place.
"Oh… he did say that this held the 'key' to where he was at. But I don't know anymore." she said dejectedly.
A few moments of silence passed as the two tried to make sense of the weird and thoroughly embarrassing clue they were given. It was broken when Fie reached into her side pouch and pulled out a small leather bound book. She flipped the pages until she stopped midway through the article.
"What if it is a clue then? Or what if she is the clue." the silver haired girl opined.
Curious now, Alisa peeked at the contents of the book. On one side of the page was an illustration of her favourite heroine alongside a black haired Prince. "You mean Magical girl Arisa?" the chairwoman asked.
Fie explained how she found the two volumes of 'The Dark Prince of Helmdrr' in Gwyn's old study. She also explained to Alisa and the other residents of the room how she figured out that the 'Old Man' referred to in the note was Old Man Stan. She believed it was more than a mere coincidence and it was indeed possible for the manic Gwyn Reinford to use an obscure novel in some hair-brained mystery. But the more Alisa thought of it, the less it made sense.
"If that's so, that still leaves us with nothing." she stated. "How exactly will it lead us to a location here in Zemuria? It's just a work of fiction."
"Heimdallr seems obvious. Or, it might refer to the book's author or even the real life people the characters were based on." the not-so-studious Fie said. She remembered Emma telling her about how works of fiction often use real life scenarios, settings and actual persons as inspirations. It was a long shot, but the book had been appearing so many times recently that the bracer's interest for it peaked.
"It might but still…" Alisa rebutted. "Come to think of it, I never actually knew the author's name." Indeed, further inspection of the two volumes on hand revealed neither an initial nor a pen name for the book's creator.
"Huh, I don't think Rean ever told me about the author either." Fie said carelessly.
"Rean?"
'Oops.' the lime green-eyed woman winced. "Sara. I meant Sara." she tried to defuse.
"Instructor Sara's a fan too?" Alisa asked curiously. "Then again, this sort of thing right up her alley. She's older too so she probably knows more about it than us." she deduced, accepting her former instructor's eccentric hobby of researching illegal books as normal. "But it is strange how there's not even an initial for the author on the books."
"Actually, no person in Erebonia knows the writer of 'The Dark Prince'." the only man in the room spoke up. Old Man Stan's frowned face stared back at the puzzled two. "The reason for that is… the books were not penned in Erebonia at all."
"The author wasn't Erebonian?" the two women asked at the same time.
"It's what most experts believe anyway. That would somehow explain why the Erebonian government banned the series in the first place." said Stan. "I'll also assume that's what ol' Gwyn meant by 'key'. He's probably out there trying to solve this very same mystery."
"That's great." Alisa deadpanned, she narrowed her eyes at the frustration pooling on the back of her mind. "You're telling me that my grandfather could not only be NOT in Erebonia, but also that he could be literally ANYWHERE on this damn continent?"
Fie shrugged in response. "Seems like it, yeah."
"Not necessarily. I could have a lead." the elderly writer declared excitedly. "I told you how there are six volumes, correct?" Fie nodded immediately. Alisa took a few moments to rack her brain of the details of her once favourite novel series before nodding in approval. "What if I told you there was a seventh volume?"
"There was?" asked the former fan as she tried to recall how the series ended.
"Mostly just rumors, but Ms. Reinford here can attest to as well." the elderly man said sagely. "To keep it short and not spoil Ms. Bracer over here, Volume Six ended on a cliffhanger." the man nodded.
"Oh yeah, it really did. That reaaally riled me up back when I first read it. I couldn't sleep for days!" Alisa chimed up as the two bonded over the nostalgia.
"In a sense, it only made it that much more poignant. Without a definite ending, it would be up to the reader's imagination to come up with one that would suit their tastes." Stan rambled on.
"Hear, hear. My favourite was that two were actually supposed to get married! I mean, wouldn't it have made that scene much more romantic?"
"I'm happy you two are becoming friends and all," Fie interrupted. She glared between the two. "but I can't shake this annoying feeling that I got locked out of the loop all of a sudden."
"Sorry Fie~ No spoilers for you." Alisa teased.
"Wouldn't want us to be ruining such a great story to a budding fan after all." Stan preached.
"Right…" It was clear the two would stay tight lipped on the matter, so Fie opted to continue the discussion. "You were saying about a Volume Seven then?"
"Oh yeah." the elderly writer remembered. "You won't find a it here in Erebonia, but I reckon if you find a copy somewhere, you'll find your author. And probably Gwyn too."
"That is an astute observation, Master Lei." a pleasant yet unexpected voice said. "That is exactly what Master Gwyn told of me before departing." the purple haired maid in the room confessed as a pair of red eyes widened.
"Sharon?! When-?!"
"Hey Sharon."
"I have already been here for some time my lady. You were simply the only one who did not notice." Sharon said with a mock frown.
"Yes she was." Joanne Lei chimed up. "I must say, I hope we get another chance to talk, Miss Kreuger. Your recipe for apricot brittle sounds simply spectacular!"
"I'll be delighted to." the maid agreed charmingly.
Fie only shrugged at the accusatory glare Alisa gave her. She knew as well.
"Daddy! You done there now? I wanna watch some tv!" Cecilia said as the child came running into her father's embrace.
"How'd you find us?! A-And how much did you hear?!" the exasperated chairwoman gasped.
"It was my heart that lead me to you, my lady." the enigmatic maid bowed, a radiant smile masking the blackness of her soul. "It burns forevermore with my passion and my love for you. For there could be no better expression of Love, than my eternal servitude for you."
There it is again. The feeling of wanting to die. Alisa covered her face with her hands as she stooped low and whimpered.
"So what's up Sharon? Why'd you speak up now?" Fie asked, trying to interpret her blonde friend's words through her mumbling.
The posture on the normally composed maid suddenly turned serious as her eyes took a sharp expression.
"I have received an urgent message for you, my lady. It is from Director Plato. She wishes to speak to you at once." Sharon spoke in a hushed tone.
The sulking chairwoman suddenly looked up to the maid as a banging thud was heard from within the residence.
"Blast this infernal thing. Bust again." Old Man Stan ranted as he slammed his fist lightly on the black orbal projector. Its normally blank glass screen was dyed a deep blue as the Imperial Family emblem flashed on the display. "Know anything about this, Ms. Chairman?"
Before Alisa could respond however, an intensely loud ringing noise came from the audio speakers. It was loud enough to deafen the residents of the room as the family and the three women covered their ears in pain. Fortunately, Stan managed to grab hold of the power plug and pulled it off its socket. Poor Cecilia started to cry from the strain of almost having her eardrums burst.
Fie glanced at the two in front of her as they glared dangerously at the screen. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists as the feeling of dread washed over the three women.
And I lied. The next chapters will contain the action. I wanted to split it here before college comes in to ruin my life again. But itll be fine.
Reviews, Views, follows and the like are always appreciated.
See ya
Cover art by me:
rikotch/art/Fie-Claussell-LoH-TCoS-III-788974638