Shadows Of The Past
Vanille yawned and rubbed her eyes. Superhuman endurance was a nice a thing to have, but going almost a week without sleep was too much even for her. But it was all for a good cause. A run of bad weather had left much of the coast flooded, and like the good citizens they were, she and Fang had decided to pitch in. More accurately, Ultragirl and Ultrawoman had decided to pitch in.
In between rescuing people trapped by the bad weather and keeping what seemed like a hundred different bridges and buildings from collapsing, Vanille had also been working on a plan to ensure it would never happen again. Unfortunately, redesigning dozens of sewer systems and levies was not something she could leave to the computers in her lab beneath the matron's house. That sort of work demanded a certain… personal touch.
Goodbye sleep.
And then there were her university classes. Ugh. Her excellent high school grades had gotten her into Eden City University on a scholarship, although it did feel a bit like cheating since she wasn't actually human. However, she wasn't about to pass up access to the university's state of the art equipment, nor was she about to ignore a chance to work with some of the finest scientist in the world, such as Professor Bartholomew Estheim.
Luckily for her, her classes weren't exactly hard. She already knew all the math and science. The only problem was the terminology and notation. She'd learn most of what she knew from the crystal that had arrived with her and Fang, and Gran Pulse didn't use anything like the same notation.
By far the hardest classes for her were the compulsory humanities and arts subjects that her scholarship required. It wasn't that she disliked things like literature or history, but she'd never put as much effort into them as science. But that's what friends were for! In exchange for tutoring in maths and science, she got help on everything else.
That was also why she was on her way to the library at what felt like an ungodly hour. It was only nine o'clock in the morning, and already the university was a hub of activity. Students wandered from building to building like schools of backpack wearing fish. The bus stopped in front of the library, and Vanille had to fight the urge to simply shove everyone out of the way. If she did, she'd probably put most of them through the library wall, and lack of sleep was no excuse for that kind of violence. Plus, the matron would probably yell at her – and Fang too.
Her superhuman senses could be quite unpleasant when she was tired. Exhaustion made it harder to filter out all of the irrelevant sensory input. She did not need to know that the young man twenty metres away had spent the night over at his girlfriend's apartment for the first time. Nor did she need to hear the argument going on at the bus stop behind her – everyone knew peanut butter was better on toast than jam, and anyone who thought otherwise was crazy.
However, the light footsteps coming from behind her were important. Grinning, she took a big step to her left.
"Vanille!"
Serah Farron leapt at Vanille only to miss completely as the red head moved to the side. For a moment, she flailed, arms akimbo, until Vanille reached out to steady her.
"How do you do that?" The pink haired woman pouted and brandished her literature textbook at Vanille. "Do you have eyes on the back of your head or something?"
"Or something." Vanille leaned back as Serah took a half-hearted swipe at her head with the textbook. She'd run into Serah during one of her literature classes. After arriving a few minutes late, Vanille had looked around for a free seat, but each attempt to sit down was met with a scowl or a glare. Apparently, people really didn't like latecomers. Only Serah had smiled at her.
It turned out that Serah was new at Eden City University as well. She was studying to be a teacher, and she shared quite a few of Vanille's humanities and arts subjects. Apart from being a pleasant person to be around, Serah also happened to be very, very good at those classes and not so good at the math and science. Their new friendship soon became quite a productive one.
"You have to help me!" Serah put her textbook back into her bag and grabbed Vanille by the shoulders. "Please!"
"Another math assignment?"
The look on Serah's face was equal parts pathetic and adorable. "It's really, really hard, and you're really, really good at this kind of stuff."
"Not that I mind helping you, but didn't you get this assignment a week ago?"
"Well, yes, but… I've been busy."
"Oh?" Vanille had a pretty good idea about what was keeping Serah busy. "Following all the latest superhero news again?"
A flush spread across Serah's cheeks. "You mean you haven't? Ultragirl and Ultrawoman have been everywhere along the coast helping with the flooding. And they're not the only ones either. Lady Lightning's been helping out too. Then there was that oil tanker two days ago and –"
"Fine, fine." Vanille chuckled at the pout on Serah's lips. The other woman loved superheroes, particularly Lady Lightning. Vanille wondered how Serah would react if she knew that Vanille was a superhero. "I'll help you with your assignment, but you have to help me with that ancient Cocoon literature assignment we have. Gah! Why do I even have to do it? I'm here to be a scientist not a literature major!"
"And I'm here to be a primary school teacher, so why do I have to learn all about matrix algebra and integral calculus?"
Vanille recoiled as if struck. "Do you have any idea how useful those are? Everyone should know them and –" She sighed. Serah had got her again. "Real funny, but I get your point. We both have to learn things we don't need. Come on then, let's go inside and get these assignments over with."
They made their way into the library and settled into one of the soundproof study rooms. Earlier in the semester they'd tried using one of the normal study areas, but they'd gotten thrown out for talking too much. This way, they could talk and study to their heart's content.
Vanille wanted to get her assignment out of the way first, but in yet another mischievous display – she'd learned early on that Serah could be as mischievous as her – the pink haired woman deployed a combination of puppy dog eyes, clasped hands and pouting to ensure that her assignment got taken care of first. It made Vanille reconsider her use of similar tactics on Fang and the matron whenever she wanted something.
Serah's assignment wasn't heard – at least to Vanille – but that was good. Although Serah didn't have the aptitude for math that Vanille did, she was a quick learner and once something had been explained to her clearly, she rarely made mistakes with it. Then it was time for the literature assignment, and Vanille was left bemoaning a childhood spent building killer robots beneath the matron's house as opposed to reading ancient Cocoon poetry. She really needed to convert one of those killer robots into a robot that could read and summarise all the poetry for her.
"Have you heard about that meteorite they found?" Serah asked as they took a moment to enjoy the feeling of being assignment free – a feeling that would only last until their next class.
"What meteorite?" Vanille kept tabs on all the news channels and the InfoNet.
"It was the one that landed a few hundred miles north of here."
"Oh that? Yeah." Vanille shrugged. Meteors landed all the time.
"Well, I heard they're bringing it here for Dr Estheim to study."
Now that was interesting. No one had mentioned that little detail. "Really? I doubt they'd need Dr Estheim to look at some random meteorite."
"Actually, one of my friends is a friend of one of Dr Estheim's assistants, and she told me they're bringing it in for him to look at."
"You know a lot of people, Serah." Vanille grinned. She'd already made herself known to Dr Estheim and had managed to cajole a spot in all of his advanced classes. Maybe she could ask him to let her look at the meteorite. It would probably be boring, but then again, if they were sending it to him, it couldn't be that boring. Oh well, she'd ask him later. Her grin widened as she remembered something else she'd seen on the news. "By the way, Serah, I heard you got to ride with a certain superhero…"
"You heard about that, huh?" Serah smiled. "Lady Lighting is so cool. I was going to be hit by a bus, and then she saved me and brought me all the way here."
"Lady Lightning is pretty cool, but… I think Ultrawoman is better."
"She is not better. Lady Lightning is better!"
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
Serah brandished her textbook again. "Is too."
"Fine, fine." Vanille grinned and opened the door of the study room. It was time to get to class. Still, she couldn't resist throwing a few words over her shoulder. "Is not."
Serah chased her all the way to class.
X X X
Bartholomew Estheim was one of the dourest looking people that Vanille knew. Perhaps it was the glasses, or perhaps it was the fact that he never seemed to smile. Whatever it was, it struck fear into the hearts of most of his students. Anyone who slacked off would find themselves on the end of one of those withering, inscrutable stares.
The professor had no time for people who didn't want to be in his classes. Not only was he one of the university's more esteemed researchers. He was also one of the government's key education and science advisors. It was thanks to him that the university received all the funding it needed to buy lots of shiny new equipment – equipment that Vanille hoped to use sooner rather than later.
Few students would have had the guts to outright ask the professor to let them see the meteorite, but Vanille knew something they didn't. The professor wasn't nearly as tough as he wanted everyone to think.
"Please let me see the meteorite, please, please… please!" Vanille brought her hands together and bowed her head. "I'll even buy you an ice cream."
Bartholomew Estheim – Bart to his friends – stared. Vanille was one of those students that all the other academics had warned him about. Her high school science grades were phenomenal, as were the rumours of all the crazy things she'd gotten up to. He'd almost been disappointed when she'd acted so normally after his first lecture. Then the craziness had started, and he was kicking himself for counting his chocobos before they'd hatched.
The red head had bulldozed her way through departmental policy to get a spot in all of his classes – even the post graduate ones – and had rapidly put almost all of his other students to shame. She might have been a first year student, but he had a sneaking suspicion she was already good enough to earn her doctorate. If it wasn't for her loudness and those inexplicable absences she had, she would have been the ideal student. As it was, he was trying very hard not to bang his head on his desk. He'd have to keep this whole thing to himself – Nora would laugh at him for days if she found out.
"I don't even want to know how you found out about that since we never said anything to the media." Bart sighed. "Why do you even want to see the meteorite?"
What followed was a long, winding explanation that touched on astronomy, quantum mechanics and space exploration. However, what it essentially boiled down to was: because Vanille wanted to. Bart sighed. He'd already made the decision to invite Vanille to be a part of his research group – he just hadn't told her yet – so there probably wasn't any harm in giving in. Giving in would also spare him from another meandering lecture.
"Fine. I'll be going to the lab after class. You can come with me then."
"Thanks –"
"But you are to be on your best behaviour. You do not touch anything or do anything without asking me first. Understood?"
Vanille put one hand over her heart. "I promise."
"Good grief," Bart muttered as Vanille all but skipped out of his office. "What have I gotten myself into this time?"
Two hours later, Vanille trailed after Bart as the professor led her to his lab. The lab itself was in one of the most secure parts of the university with multiple security checkpoints, keypad operated doors and at least a dozen armed guards. Of course, none of that would have stopped her from getting in if she really wanted to get in. However, it did make her wonder what they kept in here. Professor Estheim wasn't supposed to be involved in anything that dangerous unlike some other scientists like Professor Gast.
As they walked past all the different labs, Vanille used her x-ray vision to look into each one. Oh… there was so much good equipment here. She had to get onto Professor Estheim's research team. All the things she could do… all the things she could build… it was almost enough to make a girl blush. Sure, she had her own lab beneath the matron's house, but there were things she couldn't do there and some equipment that was too delicate for her to make on her own.
Near the end of the corridor, they turned into another laboratory, its right wall lined with specimen boxes.
"Here it is." Bart reached for a large box. Vanille frowned. She couldn't see through it, which meant that it was probably lined with lead or something similar.
"What kind of box is that?"
"This? It's lead lined." Dr Estheim shrugged. "The first people we got out there weren't sure if it was dangerous or not, so they put it in this. We've run a whole battery of tests on it, but whatever radiation it emits seems to be of the harmless variety. Just to be sure though, we're keeping it in here for the time being, and no one is allowed to handle it for more than a few minutes without proper shielding."
He opened the box, and Vanille felt every muscle in her body clench. A wave of nausea swept over her, and she struggled to stay on her feet. What was going on? Mouth suddenly dry, she leaned back against the wall and did her best to look calm. Even so, a thin sheen of sweat broke out across her brow.
"Are you all right?"
Vanille nodded. "I'm fine, it's just my lunch disagreeing with me." She forced herself to look at the meteor. Most of it was dull, brown rock, but a few shards of gleaming crystal poked out of one side. "Where did you say this meteorite was from?"
The professor described a position in space that Vanille knew very well – it was the former location of Gran Pulse. Dear Maker, this meteorite was a fragment of her home world. That "harmless" radiation he'd mentioned must be residual radiation from whatever had destroyed Gran Pulse – from Ragnarok. And it was doing something to her, something bad. She pushed away from the wall and gasped as she hit the small of her back on the corner of the table.
That hurt.
That actually hurt.
Impossible. The table was made of wood. Nothing made of wood should be hard enough to hurt her. The radiation must be doing more than making her feel sick. It must be weakening her. Her eyes narrowed. She needed to get the meteorite away from here so she could study it, but to do that she needed a plan.
Bart put the meteorite away, and Vanille immediately felt better. "You know, it's interesting. We've only ever seen a similar kind of radiation once before. Some researchers found it at an impact site in the Vestige, but we were never able to find the main body of the meteor."
"Is that so?" Vanille winced. Of course they hadn't. "Professor, what are you going to do with the meteorite? Are you going to keep it here for research or ship it to a museum?"
"Well –"
Bart stopped short as the lab began to shake.
"Is that an earthquake?"
Vanille looked up through the roof, and her eyes widened. "No. That's –"
She grabbed Bart and dragged him out of the way as the entire ceiling of the lab caved in. Chunks of mangled concrete tumbled to the ground, and amidst the devastation, a massive humanoid robot grabbed hold of the box containing the meteorite. Then it began to tear through the other labs and grab other pieces of equipment.
"We have to stop it!" Bart shouted. "That's valuable equipment."
"Stop it?" Vanille pulled Bart away from the lab. "It's a giant robot, professor. I don't think we can stop it ourselves."
Vanille got him outside as quickly as she could, and he ran to the nearest campus security station to sound the alarm. Not that it mattered much – the robot was so big, and it was making so much noise that nobody could miss it. But this wasn't something campus security or even the police could handle. This was a job for Ultragirl.
In a blur of movement, Vanille found a secluded spot and changed into her uniform. It was time for Ultragirl to get to work.
X X X
"You're a long way from home!" Ultragirl growled as she floated in the air in front of the robot's head. The robot was twenty solid feet of weapons and armour so dense she couldn't see through it. Emblazoned across the chest was a logo that she knew from Ultrawoman's work in Nautilus: Nabaat Industries. "Put that equipment down or –"
A compartment on the robot's chest opened, and a sizzling ray of heat raced forward. It was hot enough to melt through several feet of steel plating in the span of a heartbeat, and it struck her full in the stomach. The resulting explosion knocked her through the air and blew out every window on the building behind her.
"That was not nice." Ultragirl steadied herself and clenched her fists. "Let's see how you like this!"
She dodged around another blast and lifted her arms to ward off a salvo of missiles from launchers built into the robot's shoulders. Then she drove one fist right into the robot's chest. The impact gave rise to a thunderous roar, and the robot skidded back a good thirty yards, but apart from denting, its chest plate held firm. Well, that wasn't good. She might not be as strong as Fang, but no normal material could stand up to one of her punches. Closing the gap again, she lashed out harder.
This time, she knocked the robot clean off its feet. It crashed through the battered remains of one of the labs, skidded through a clump of trees and then rolled to a stop in one of the university's parks. Ultragirl was after on it before it could recover. She rained down punch after punch until the armour finally began to crack. In response, the robot unleashed another volley of missiles as dozens of guns appeared from compartments built into its body.
Rather than try and dodge the onslaught, Ultragirl shouted a warning to all the gawkers that had begun to gather then threw herself in front of the barrage. The missiles stung a little, but she barely even felt the bullets. With a scowl, she redoubled her assault. A sharp tug was enough to rip one of the robot's arms off, but it was the arm holding the meteorite box. The box hit the ground, and the lid flipped open. Dizziness rushed through her, and she bobbed and weaved through the air.
"Damn it…"
The robot grabbed her by the ankles and slammed her face first into the ground with enough force to gouge a crater fifteen feet wide. Blood filled Ultragirl's mouth, and then the world turned upside down as the robot hurled her into a nearby lecture theatre. She smashed right through the wall and cursed wildly as she tumbled through a mix of seating, concrete and wood.
Dizzy and with blood trickling from dozens of cuts and scrapes, Ultragirl got to her feet. Students were running for the doors, and although she didn't know most of them, there was one she did know – Serah. This must be one of the pink haired woman's education classes. Damn it, she couldn't afford to get into a fight here. She had to get back outside –
The far wall of the lecture theatre came apart as the robot's hulking form crashed through. The arm she'd ripped off was attached again and holding the open meteorite box – it must have some kind of repair function. Another beam of heat shot toward her, and Ultragirl put her hands out to block it. The skin on her palms burnt, and she staggered away. Before she could get far, the robot struck out with one enormous fist.
Ultragirl destroyed an entire row of seating as the blow knocked her across the lecture theatre and into one of the walls. She tugged herself out of the concrete in time to walk into a hail of bullets and other projectiles. This time, she felt every hit. If only that meteorite wasn't there. It made it hard to think, and it was slowing her down and weakening her.
Through the haze of pain, she realised that the roof of the lecture theatre had begun to collapse. With a growl, she hurled a nearby piece of the concrete at the robot and tried to come up with a plan. She couldn't remember the last time she'd hurt this badly. At the very least, she had a few broken ribs along with quite a few bruises, cuts and burns.
"Help!"
The familiar voice cut through the fog over her mind. Serah was in trouble. In an instant, she saw why. Rubble had blocked the doors out of the lecture theatre, and with the roof starting to come down there was nowhere for Serah or the others still trapped inside to go. They certainly weren't about to try running past the robot.
"Run!" Ultragirl lobbed another slab of concrete at the robot and then knocked aside the debris blocking the doors. "Get out of here and don't look back!"
Serah took two steps then turned, eyes wide. "You're hurt!"
"I'll be fine." Ultragirl gasped as the robot opened fire again. There was no time to get Serah out of the way, so instead, she threw herself over the other woman and braced for the impact.
It hurt. A lot.
Ultragirl held Serah tightly as they skidded along the pavement. Her back felt like it was one fire, but at least Serah was all right.
"Sorry about that." Ultragirl staggered to her feet and turned back to face the robot. "I got blood on your shirt. Now, be a good girl, and get as far away as you can."
Hoping that Serah had the good sense to listen to her, Ultragirl hurled herself at the robot again. Every second she spent near the meteorite weakened her further, so she needed to get rid of it while she still could. The robot swatted her out of the air, and she grit her teeth against the pain as she pushed herself to try again, faster this time. More bullets and that damn heat ray. The way this thing was fighting, it must have been configured to take on someone like Fang.
Suddenly, there was a peal of thunder and a flash of red. Lady Lightning shot through a hole in the roof, one foot extended in a picture perfect kick. Lightning flashed through the lecture theatre, and an electromagnetic pulse surged outward with enough force to short circuit every piece of non-shielded electronics within three hundred yards. The lights blew out, and the robot went flying through the wall of the lecture theatre. Whatever effect the meteorite might have on Ultragirl, it clearly didn't have on Lady Lightning.
"Are you all right?"
Ultragirl got to her feet. Lady Lightning was every bit as impressive up close as she was on television. With those long legs, pink hair and piercing blue eyes, it was no wonder she had so many fans. But now was not the time to be staring even if she wanted an autograph to go with all the others she'd collected from different superheroes over the years.
"I'm fine."
"Aren't you supposed to be invulnerable?" Lady Lightning scowled. "How did it injure you?"
"It's holding a meteorite in a box. If we can get that, I'll be fine." The meteorite's effects must be highly dependent on proximity because Ultragirl was already starting to feel much better. "Can you do that?"
"Yes."
They attacked the robot together and as Lady Lightning diverted its attention, Ultragirl dove for the box. The robot swung its other arm out to crush her, but Lady Lightning was there to catch the blow. Ultragirl grabbed the box and slammed the lid shut. Good. Now, she felt more like herself. Within moments, her wounds started to heal, and she turned to the robot with a mean, mean smile on her lips.
"If you don't mind, I would very much like to kill this robot."
Ultragirl kept one arm firmly around the box as she punched and kicked the robot to pieces. Once she'd torn the armour on its chest off, she used her heat vision to melt every single piece of circuitry inside. Not satisfied, she ripped off its head and crushed that beneath her heel. Maybe it was a bit vicious, but after what she'd been through, she didn't care.
"Thanks for the help." Ultragirl tightened her hold on the box. There was no way she was letting anyone else get their hands on the meteorite.
"This is my city, you know." Lady Lightning's eyes narrowed. "Aren't you supposed to be with Ultrawoman?"
"I'm in town for a while." Ultragirl grinned. Ultrawoman still hadn't stopped complaining about losing her race against Lady Lightning. "I'd say this city is big enough for both of us, don't you think? Beside, you were late. That thing was running around for quite a while before you got here."
There was a flash of something in Lady Lighting's eyes. Guilt? Then her glare was back in place. "Why didn't you run? That thing was killing you in there."
"Maybe, but I couldn't leave it alone with all those students. I don't think it cared who it hit."
Lady Lightning sighed. "Be more careful then. And… thank you."
Ultragirl scratched the back of her head. She'd gotten a thank you from Lady Lightning – Ultrawoman would be so annoyed. "That's fine. I am a superhero and all that." She grinned. "But since I did take a bit of a beating today… I'll leave the clean up to you."
Lady Lightning's glare was something to behold, but Ultragirl paid no attention to it as she flew into the air. She'd had enough of university for one day.
X X X
Safely ensconced in her lab underneath the matron's house, Vanille stared down at her hands. They were still shaking. Intellectually, she knew she was safe here. But now that the adrenaline had faded, the realisation that she could very well have died today was impossible to ignore. However, she couldn't bring herself to regret anything. The meteorite was too dangerous to let some robot have, and getting shot at was part of her job. She was just glad that no one had been killed and that she'd kept Serah out of harm's way – if only barely.
The door behind her burst open, all but thrown off its hinges, and a split-second later, she was caught up in Fang's arms.
"Vanille!" Fang buried her face in Vanille's hair. "Thank the Maker! I saw the news. I should have been there, but there was this huge mine collapse and –"
"You pulled fifty people out of that mine, Fang, I'm not mad." Vanille grinned. "Besides, didn't you watch the rest of the news? Lady Lightning helped me out."
Fang sighed and loosened her hold on Vanille a fraction. "I guess she's not that much of a jerk. But how did that thing even hurt you?"
Vanille explained everything and then pointed at the computer screen in front of her. "I've been doing tests on the meteorite, and I was right. It is from Gran Pulse. The only thing I don't understand is where all this weird radiation comes from. I think it's from what destroyed the planet – I think it's from Ragnarok."
"Ragnarok?" Fang pursed her lips. "We don't even know what that is. Father never told us."
"Maybe not, but whatever Ragnarok was, it destroyed our planet. It's not that much of a stretch to think it might have something to do with this radiation."
"Well, at least we've got the meteorite."
"Gran Pulse blew up, Fang." Vanille frowned. "Who knows how many more pieces of it might be floating around, and they might all be like this meteorite."
"Damn…"
An alarm went off, and another screen turned on. On it was the owner of Nabaat Industries, Jihl Nabaat, delivering a press conference about the day's events.
"As the CEO of Nabaat Industries, I must take full responsibility for today's events in Eden City. Some time last night, terrorists broke into one of our most secure research facilities. They stole the robot that attacked Eden City University. Although I cannot speak as to their motives, I can offer an unreserved apology to the people of Eden City and students of Eden City University. Nabaat Industries will fully compensate anyone who was injured in the attack. I would also like to extend my thanks to Ultragirl and Lady Lightning for minimising the damage caused by the attack."
She had scarcely stopped speaking before reporters began to fling questions at her.
"What a load of crap." Fang brought one hand down on the metal counter beside her. It cracked in half. "She says that every time one of her little pet projects goes on a rampage. There aren't any terrorists – she's the one doing it all. It's not a coincidence that every attack is either on a research facility or a superhero. I should fly over there and break her face."
"No killing anyone, Fang." Vanille was only half joking because right now, Fang looked positively murderous.
"So what then? We let her get away with it again?"
"No, we watch and we wait, and you go looking for dirt to bury her – you're a journalist, remember. As for me, I'm going to do some research. We need a countermeasure for the radiation the meteorite gives off, and I need to find out what Ragnarok was."
X X X
Lady Lightning floated over Eden City. Her eyes traced the flow of traffic on the streets below, but her mind was somewhere else. She'd almost lost Serah today. She'd been helping people off a sinking ship when the attack on Eden City University had happened. She'd monitored the broadcast on her way in, and she'd seen the footage. Ultragirl had been bleeding and battered and so very close to broken, but she'd still thrown herself in front of Serah to keep Serah safe.
Her jaw clenched. She owed Ultragirl for that. She owed her a lot.
As the traffic below her thinned out, she gave the city one last look then headed home. She hadn't been there for Serah today, but she'd be damned if she left her sister to eat dinner alone after everything she'd been through. Eden City could look after itself for one night.
X X X
Author's Notes
As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.
So… here's another chapter. This chapter introduces some more of our main players to each other. Lady Lightning has now met both Ultrawoman and Ultragirl, and of course, Serah has now met Vanille. With regards to those two, I couldn't resist making them friends. I do think they'd get along quite nicely, and there's nothing like a little friendship to complicate hero work. This chapter is also the first to be written mostly from Vanille's view, which I've been meaning to do for a while now.
The meteorite is a big nod at Superman. In particular, its effects are based on kryptonite, the famous substance that weakens Superman. Much like kryptonite, which comes from the planet Krypton (Superman's home world), the meteorite is a shard of Gran Pulse (hence the name of this chapter – it is the proverbial shadow from Fang and Vanille's past). However, the exact nature of the meteorite (and in particular Ragnarok) is something that will be explained in later chapters.
As an interesting aside, I've recently been informed that some of my older stories (some of the Sailor Moon ones) have been plagiarised over at archive of our own. The culprit has simply cut and pasted entire chapters of the stories. In some cases, they haven't even bothered to change the name of the story. As you can imagine, I am somewhat less than pleased. Fan fiction is something I do because it's fun and because I believe it can help improve my writing. I don't expect to get paid for it or anything like that (although if you've figured out how to clone a dinosaur I will totally take a T-rex), but I do expect to be acknowledged as the one who wrote my stories. If you should come across anyone who is plagiarising my stories, please let me know.
On a much happier note, in the next month or so, I will be releasing three short stories on Amazon as eBooks (the term short story is deceptive, since they are each between 15,000 and 20,000 words long). One is a high fantasy, another is a darker fantasy, and the third is a paranormal Western. If you want to follow what's going on with those, I'll keep you updated on my blog and deviant art (see my profile for links – I've started a separate blog pertaining to original fiction and writing related stuff). I've also got a post up on my blog talking about how you can learn to write better by looking more closely at what you read (i.e., reading to learn as opposed to simply reading to enjoy). Check it out!
As always, I appreciate feedback. Review and comments are welcome.
