HAPPY NEW YEAR, YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARDS!
Now that that is out of the way, let´s just get straight to the reviews.
Don Orbit: Well, Mott is far worse than you think. If you believe for even a second that I make him seem like a psycho and don´t capitalize on the possibilities, think again. This shit gets worse. Also, if my eyes aren´t lying to me, then here ya go. It´s after New Year´s, and you´re hearing from me again. So in essence, I can and will add "Fulfiller of Hopes" to my list of titles.
Without much ceremony, let´s get to the good stuff!
Kamina sighed to himself as the pink-haired mage stomped up to him, though said stomps were not exactly threatening due to her lack of body weight, and looked up to his face with a furious expression. He met her stare with a defiant look in his eyes, which only served to aggravate Louise further, and so she angrily lifted a finger and poked him in the chest, making him grunt in annoyance. "You stupid, ignorant dog! Why would you just run off like this for a stupid maid?! Are you really that insistent on h-having your way with her?! Seriously, think with your brain for once!" She yelled, poking him once more to emphasize her point.
"Oh my. Such a romantic. Ahhh, it only reinvigorates my desire for you, darling…" Came the commentary of Kirche, said in such an overdramatic way that Louise wanted nothing more than to introduce her to Monsieur Wand so she would shut up. The germanian was leaning against the door, ignoring the stares of the guards behind her, who were visibly restraining themselves to not just blatantly check her out, though you couldn´t exactly fault them for doing so, anyways. Kamina in turn ignored her and instead waved at Tabitha, who was watching the two interact with squinted eyes. Finally, she walked up to him, somewhat surprising the others, and once she stood in front of him, she whacked him on the head with her staff.
"Stupid." Was all she said, in a perfectly neutral tone, though there was a very small hint of accusation hidden in it. This triggered Louise to go on another tantrum, continuing to poke him in the chest with every sentence she said, insulting him for his lack of common sense, his recklessness, telling him how attacking the Royal Messenger was akin to treason, how this would reflect on her, and honestly, since Kamina had long since tuned out, here´s the main gist of it. Blablabla noble, blablabla powerless, blablabla triangle mage, blablabla responsibility, blablabla why is there a hole in your chest. Her incessant poking resulted in her finger plunging right into the gaping cavity on his upper body. OUCH. That really hurt. He grabbed her hand and pulled it out, hissing as he did. Yeah, that might get infected if he didn´t get it treated. Might just be higher on the priority list than he thought. The pink-haired mage began to hyperventilate as she stared at her hand, realizing just what must have transpired for such an injury to exist. And sure enough, as she took in the state of the foyer, she felt herself begin to black out, something she would be thankful for after seeing the corpse at the top of the stairs.
"Please tell me this isn´t real." She said as she held her head, slowly backing up from the man, who was now getting his wound healed by Tabitha´s water spell, and as he thanked her for it, she only stated how he still had a promise to fulfil. As he chuckled at that, something inside Louise snapped. She ran back up to him, and gave him a resounding slap to the face, twisting his head completely, making everything go silent as she took long, agitated breaths.
"You…you…! You have no idea what you have done! You murdered a noble, a man that was directly linked to the royal family! Do you want to know what that means? Huh?! DO YOU!? You, and me, can both be sentenced to death for treason! I sure hope that this was worth it!" She screamed, breathing heavily for a few more seconds, before collapsing onto her knees.
Kamina drank in everything she had said and then slowly turned his head around to look at her. He saw how tears hit the floor. Nobody dared to say a thing. It was dead silent. "…it´s not fair…everything I do ends in explosions…and the one success I ever have is the one that gets me killed…Founder…why…?"
For a while, he said nothing, just staring at his partner, the air in the room being tense enough to be cut like butter. Finally, Kamina kneeled down, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in for a hug, whilst rubbing the back of her head. Nothing was said between the two. The other people who were decided to look away, respecting their privacy. At least, most of them did. Tabitha just exited the manor, and leaned against her dragon, who was purring (?) as she picked up a book that lay next to it in the grass, and began reading. The dragon mused to itself how this was approximately the third book that day her master had begun to read, and probably was going to finish before they left. Kirche, on the other hand ground her teeth in frustration as she watched the partners (in crime), cursing Louise beneath her breath for being a "sneaky little cheater". Soon after, though, it became rather clear that that was unnecessary.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
With that, the man was shoved away, flying back several feet, and before he could even manage to figure out what just happened, an accusing finger was shoved in his face. "PERVERT! DOG! I TOLD YOU TO NEVER TOUCH ME!" After Louise's words registered in Kamina´s mind, he adopted a rather annoyed expression himself.
"Oh yeah!? Well, sorry that I care about you! Geez, whatever I do, you always find a way to nag about it!"
"EXCUSE ME?! Is that how you talk to your master?! Apologize this instant!"
"No."
Suffice to say, Monsieur Wand immediately showed his tiny face, though even in his persuasive presence, Kamina did not budge. Louise clenched her fist, and eventually put him back in her pocket. She would never be able convince him anyway. He was at least twice as stupid as Guiche in his worst moments, but he was thrice as stubborn as her. It was at this point that a loud gasp could be heard throughout the room, and everyone turned to look at the entrance again. A man wearing a purple robe, with round glasses and a staff in his hand, was surveying the room with widened eyes, paying a lot of attention to the Count´s corpse. "W-who is responsible for this?" He asked, hands shaking as he adjusted his glasses, and immediately, our hero raised his arm.
"That would be me! Really glad that the bastard´s dead. He-"
"You…you fool…do you realize what you have done?" Louise responded to that question before Kamina had the time to complain about being interrupted.
"I do, Mister Colbert. He has murdered the Royal Messenger. Since he is my familiar, I take full-"
"Miss Vallière, it could be the most insignificant commoner on that spike and I would care all the same. I repeat, sir, do you know what you have done?"
"Well…I killed him and saved my frien – shit, Siesta! I completely forgot!" Kamina exclaimed, picking up the book and running toward the bookshelf, eager to finally save her from whatever hellhole was beyond the furniture. Before he reached it, however, he was cut off by a trail of flames that formed a large wall right in front of him. He had barely any time to pull the brakes. Once he did, he turned around with a dangerous glint in his eyes, which was met by a look every bit as hostile as his own. "Listen Oldtimer, I have no time for this. I need to save my friend. She could be suffocating to death in there."
"There is only one thing I want you to know. You killed a man. Now, you must live with the responsibility. Whether you like it or not."
The flames died down, and without giving Colbert´s words much thought, deciding that it was just an old guy preaching, like the chief of the village, who was just too scared to do anything meaningful, he continued onward. Shoving the book into the one open spot in the shelf opened the secret passageway. It slowly slid open, and once it was wide enough for his hands to fit, he actively tried pulling it open, which, weirdly enough, worked wonderfully. He slid into the crack, leaving behind the mages and guards to discuss what would happen now that the Count was dead. Except for one, who followed him downstairs.
So, as Kamina charged down the stairs, which were very dimly lit with candles, which swayed in a weak breeze, he noticed how the air seemed to grow ever colder as he descended further and further. After a short amount of time, he could see the bottom, and doubled his legwork. The second he reached final step, he jumped off and stomped as he landed, yelling as he did. "SIESTAAAAA! WHERE ARE YOU!?"
He listened for a response. And soon after, he heard her call out for him. He turned his head around to figure out where her voice came from, and once he did, he ran off, not paying attention to the person standing right behind him, who was left to eat his dust. Coughing, she grumbled, and followed him deeper into the underground. In the time she took to find him, he had long since reached the place from which the maid was crying out for help. And once he reached the large, open area where she was being held, he stopped in his tracks. The dim lighting from earlier had been completely washed away by a bunch of bright, white flames on small chandeliers lining the ceiling, making it look like it was daytime, the walls glistening similar to the dining hall back at the Academy.
But that was not all in terms of decoration. In the middle of the room was Siesta, still encased in her coffin of ice. And behind her was a gigantic statue made of ice, resembling a naked woman with a ponytail that went down to her bottom, was easily the size of a Ganmen, and similar to Ganmen, her chest had a cavity, where a human could easily fit inside. However, the shape that very ice it was made of took was incredibly disturbing. It gave him shivers as he took it in, the shape that was reflecting the light onto the walls.
This must be the masterpiece the bastard had talked about so much, it had to be. Because this explained everything. Why he needed Siesta for it. Why he was so desperate that she and her coffin don´t come to harm. And most of all, it explained why he had been buying girls from all over the country, like so many other aristocrats, Derf´s friend only being one example, and why the manor was so devoid of any servants besides the male guards. Those girls were all here. Kamina vaguely heard Derf whisper out a name in despair, before the sword quietly began crying. The man responded by patting the hilt, and walked over to his friend. He wanted her to be away from this atrocity as quickly as possible. She had long since stopped crying for help, instead telling him to hurry up for some reason. He quickened his step. There was no way he would refuse her, not with that being right behind her.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
Angrily, he spun around, glaring as Kirche watched the "chef d´oeuvre" with visible horror, legs shaking, wide eyes, and it was apparent that she was about to vomit. And while he wouldn´t blame her for wanting to do any of that, he wanted to personally punch her for following him, knowing full well what her intentions were. He was not in the mood to be sexually harassed right now. Or ever, for that matter. And once she saw his expression, she gulped, and left the area, probably to inform the teacher of this…this abomination. He followed her with his rage-filled eyes as she left, until she vanished into the dark corridor. After that was dealt with, he turned back around, and walked toward Siesta, drawing Derf, who was still whimpering something to himself.
He quickly sliced the coffin, and it fell apart into two halves, kind of like a shell. The second her feet touched the ground, the maid leapt into his arms, whispering a million thank yous, though she was actively pushing him back, which he responded to by walking backwards, to make sure that the girl in his arms never had to see this crap ever again, not even as they left. As she was pushing him back where they came from, speaking of some danger, a warning he ignored as something occurred to him. "Siesta? How did you actually end up in here? There is no way that the bastard had enough time to bring you here himself – "
His question was answered when he heard ice crack. Gulping, he looked up from the maid, who was screaming at this point that they should run, and back at the statue. He hoped to have imagined it, but what he saw destroyed that notion instantly. The statue, which was constructed entirely by young girls encased in ice, with varying expressions, though none expressed the same emotion, that very delicate structure was falling apart. The girl that formed the chest fell off, landing on the ground with a loud thump, a sound Kamina did not expect. He thought to have misheard, as ice normally made a shattering noise. But seeing her stand up, and smile at him seductively, with motions as smooth as a regular human being pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.
"Mister, could you return our heart? I would offer you something wonderful in return…" She huskily spoke, making soft, graceful steps toward him, letting her hands run all over her body. Kamina gulped, and pulled Siesta behind him, drawing Derf. He would put this…whatever one could call it out of its misery.
"…Rose? Is that you?"
"Derf, is this…?"
No answer was needed, as the man realized just who stood in front of him. The girl was advancing on him, her eyes empty, the seductive smile being the only semblance of emotion she seemed to be able to show. The sword began to shake, its voice cracking.
"Your eyes…your smile…where are they?"
She paid the words no heed, instead taking to continually make advances on Kamina, who was holding Derf right up in front of himself, so it looked like it was speaking to its former friend face to face.
"Mister, I can make you feel the greatest of pleasures. All you have to do is let her stay here." She pointed at Siesta, who wanted nothing more than to run away, and communicated this to Kamina by pulling his shoulders with all her might, but to no avail.
"…partner. Rose is no longer alive. Let´s rid this world of this pathetic imitation."
"Will do, Derf."
He changed his stance, getting ready to charge the ice. Once the sculpture saw this, it stopped, its expression unchanging as it stared at him. The vibe it gave off changed. Whereas before it acted like a nymphomaniac that wanted nothing more than to fuck, now it carried herself in a far more hostile manner.
"So you would try and stop us from being complete. From being perfect. From being…beautiful."
The statue behind her continued to fall apart again, the upper parts of the body first, the head, followed by the hands, and finally, the legs. The ice that fell to the ground stood up seconds after, their expressions from when they were assembled intact. However, they all gave off the same vibe.
KILL.
Kamina, never one to back down from anything, took a step forward. Siesta was shouting at him to run away, but he didn´t. This was something he had to do. These girls were twisted into something abhorrent, something inhuman. And he would put an end to it. He charged forward, right at the ice that used to be called Rose, and prepared to swing Derf. The construct responded by stepping out of his way, dodging his weapon with quick, yet fluid movements.
Once he stopped himself to adjust himself, he noticed her hand being in a place where it shouldn´t be, making rather stimulating movements. He rapidly swung Derf to force her to back off, which worked somewhat. She jumped away from him, opening and closing her hand after gaining some space, watching it as she did, apparently pondering something. Kamina took a deep breath after what just happened, the shock being the main cause for this.
"You are quite gifted, Mister. More than our master." She spoke, before turning her attention back to him. The other constructs had all stood up at this point, and were poised to attack. And they didn´t look as if they would attack in such a harmless way. Even though that was completely subjective. He lifted up Derf, his mind still in a disarray from such an unconventional attack. Grunting, he looked at the rest of the enemies in the room.
There were easily a dozen, if not a few more, all showing different emotions. He assumed that the one that looked like Louise would try and rip his balls off, the one that looked happy would attempt to choke him to death in a hug, as for the depressed one…he had no idea. Perhaps all of the above. Though at this point, he had a very strong urge to ask for one on one battles, and fight his initial opponent.
He shook his head violently. This was literally the worst time for Little Johnny to start acting up. He focused, and glanced back at Siesta, motioning with his head for her to flee. He would need space for this. She hesitated for a second, but did comply after giving it a few seconds of thought. As her silhouette vanished in the dim corridor, he turned around, and came face to face with the construct that used to be called Rose. It seemed like she was the leader, though she certainly didn´t act like one.
"Mister. Go, and return our heart to us, and I will make sure your last moments are more heavenly than your wildest imaginations. If you don´t, my sisters will tear you apart."
"Heh. You would like that, wouldn´t you? Your heart has long since stopped beating. It is frozen solid. However, all of your cold combined is nothing against the heat in my veins! My blood is hotter than magma, my heart is hotter than the sun, and my soul is a shining beacon that pierces the frost of death! I am Kamina, the leader of the Dai-Gurren Brigade!" He yelled with all his vigor, raising Derf to point at the ceiling.
"I am older than all of you combined, yet my heart burns with a mighty flame! I dissolve the very magic that you´re made of with my body! It may be brittle, but my spirit is more than enough to slice you apart! I am the ancient blade and member of the Dai-Gurren Brigade, Derflinger!"
"JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!"
Well. This was one heck of a tough one to write. So, here we have the first mini-arc of sorts that I pulled out of my ass and officially trademark as my shit. So, review please, or else I will be forced to do absolutely nothing and continue writing because I love torturing innocent souls. They may be fictional, but still. There is a reason I have "Be prepared" on a loop in the background as I write this. Anyways, I hope to see you guys next time. Bye!