WOO! Short update! And this one is over 1,000 words! XD But it is a tad shorter than I wanted, but oh well.
I had a question asking what Gustav's powers were. You'll see in this chapter...:)
Consider this as a Holiday gift, whatever you might celebrate, cuz as far as I know, I won't be able to post for the next few days...? XD I might, though! Christmas eve and Christmas will be PACKED full with stuff, and tomorrow I'm going to the "Nutcracker", in which my best friend is the Lead Ginger in. :)
Check out my new oneshot holiday fic, "The Battle of Snowballs"!! You know where to find it. :)
Oh, but what's this? New characters at the end? Or maybe old ones? Hmm...
Enjoy!!
7
Blumiere cautiously approached Gustav with the Light Prognosticus, followed by Timpani. Nothing was happening to either of them now, let alone Gustav. Timpani and Blumiere stood gazing at Gustav to make sure he was alright, but after a long silence, Timpani nudged her husband forward. Before the count could say a word, Gustav spoke up.
"Can you believe dis?! It is suggesting dat I am dis…vatever that is supposed to help in a battle!" Gustav shut the book abruptly and offered it to Blumiere, who took it hesitantly. "I am but a timid young man who has no business in fighting battles!"
Blumiere tried to search for words to oppose this statement, but couldn't find the right ones. It would be pretty hard to convince Gustav that he went from being his simple German self to being a complicated Hero in mere minutes. Gustav sighed and sat down.
"So, vat do I have to do?" Gustav asked, looking up at the two.
"W-what?" Blumiere stammered.
"I thought you just said you didn't have any business fighting in battles..." Timpani said, confused.
"I did not say that I did not vant to," Gustav winked.
Blumiere sighed with relief, happy to know that he wouldn't have to go through convincing him to change his mind.
"So I am taking that I just received new powers, eh? Vat I vant to know is how you figured dis out so quickly, Blumiere. Tell me everyding." Gustav smiled.
"When I had the Dark Prognosticus, I was granted powers, and it reacted just like what happened. I just took it as the same thing," Blumiere said, leaning on his staff. Gustav nodded, understanding, but not completely. He still had questions to ask.
"What kind of powers do you think he has, Blumiere?" Timpani asked. There went one of Gustav's questions.
"Only one way to find out." Blumiere said, pulling Gustav up. "What was the one thing you were focused on completely when you had your hands on the Light Prognosticus?"
Gustav looked at Blumiere, unable to comprehend. "I do not know…"
"There had to be something you were thinking about, something you love or loved, something you miss, something you enjoy, anything." Blumiere said.
Gustav suddenly remembered that memory of his grandfather and his younger self. "Do memories count?"
"I wouldn't see why not."
"I started to remember a memory of my grandfather and I ven ve first came to America…from…Deutschland…vait a moment!" Gustav realized. "Deutschland! Of course! I vas dinking about Deutschland because I vas frightened by vat I was going drough!"
Timpani's eyes suddenly grew wide with fear. Gustav looked at her and cocked his head.
"Vat are you looking at?"
Timpani pointed at Gustav's hands; they were now each holding a sphere of dark purple energy. Gustav yelped.
"AIEEK!! DIS DAY CANNOT GET ANY STRANGER, CAN IT?!" Gustav cried. Blumiere watched as the power disappeared, and raised an eyebrow.
"Of course; when you were concentrating on Germany, your powers focused into your hands, but when Timpani pointed them out, your mind got distracted away from it." Blumiere nodded. Gustav scowled.
"Deutschland. It's Deutschland. I do not know vhere you English get 'Germany' from 'Deutschland', but it is starting to get on my nerves." Gustav frowned. The power started to regain into his gloved hands. Gustav groaned. "NEIN!! Is dis saying dat venever I dink about Deutschland, my powers act up?? I do not vant dat to happen!! I dink about Deutschland so many times in my life!!"
"Maybe you can learn to control your powers, even when you're not thinking about…Deutschland; I'm sure Blumiere has gone through the same thing when he was using his powers when he was Count Bleck, because he was thinking about me all the time and nothing happened…I don't think." Timpani offered.
"Are you sure?" Gustav asked.
"Sure; why not start now?" Blumiere set the Light Prognosticus down, backed away from Gustav, and held out his staff at him, who blinked and stumbled backwards.
"You are going to hit me?? Vhy are you going to do dat for?!" Gustav frowned.
"No, just agitating your powers a little, just to get them flared up," Blumiere said, lowering his staff. "If anyone is in danger, it's probably me." He forced a smile, but Gustav didn't show one back, completely serious about the situation.
"I am not hurting you, Blumiere."
"You won't, it's just that if I don't counteract it right, it'll be my fault." Blumiere said. Gustav winced. "Just think of Germany, Deutschland, rather. Hold out your hands, aim, and concentrate it on your target."
Gustav swallowed, held out his hands to Blumiere, and began to think of Germany. His short life there passed before his eyes, and he began to feel power grow…
Suddenly, a huge blast of violet erupted from Gustav's palms, and Blumiere ducked reflexively. It hit a tree, causing two of its limbs to fall to the ground. Gustav watched in amazement, and he looked at his hands, now steaming with purple.
"Voah…dat…vas actually thrilling…" Gustav smiled. He glanced over at Blumiere. "Are you okay?"
"Not the type of counteraction I planned, but I'm fine," Blumiere laughed. Timpani walked over and looked at the dead limb that fell from the tree.
"You certainly hit your target, Gustav!" Timpani smiled. "If Blumiere didn't duck, you'd probably have hit him dead on!"
Gustav swallowed, but forced a smile. "I might be a simple Deutsch, but that doesn't mean I can't hit…!" He glanced back at the Light Prognosticus, and noticed that it was not glowing. "So do you really think dat I am one of these 'ally' dings?"
"If the Light Prognosticus gave you powers…" Blumiere shrugged. Gustav nodded, but kept looking at the white book.
"And there are two, vight?" Gustav asked.
"That's what it says," Timpani said, picking the book up and dusting it off.
"Perhaps ve should be looking for de other one, den," Gustav suggested. "If I am the ally from Blumiere's past, den ve should find one from yours, Timpani."
"So, I hear they have another one," A female voice decided.
"Mmm, yes. He seems quite powerful." A male voice agreed.
"A threat, maybe?"
"Ha, no. Of course not. They still have another one left, so I'm not too concerned about it." The male figure smirked in the darkness. "The new hero seems…different. Perhaps we should raise suspicions among Timpani and Blumiere."
"Will they fall for it, though?" The second smiled grimly.
"It will certainly make them question him, that's for sure."
"And when do you plan to set that up?"
"Later along the line. When they get the fourth hero. But for now…" The figure trailed off.
"May I go and play with them for a bit?"
"Of course. Go have some fun; you've earned it. I'll hold these two back until then." He laughed quietly. "Noir and Taire, I mean. They'll be pleased to hear that they're son is finally dead because of you."
"I'd be honored to kill their son, and his wife as well. Thank you kindly," And the female disappeared.