Castle
The Louises, Shana and myself were currently in a meeting with Princess Henrietta. The day after our group reunited we made it our first priority to see the princess and let her know what had happened so far. When we got there, Henrietta began practically begging the Louises for forgiveness about allowing the general to order them to head off to their death. The Louises tried to console her, "Anything for the princess!" And all the other things they always say around the princess.
Henrietta apologized to Shana for putting her into a situation where she could have died, but Shana said it was okay since she didn't actually die. The only thing the princess did to acknowledge that I was there was briefly look in my direction before going back to apologizing to the rest of the group. Damn it! When did the princess become such a bitch? HEY! Princess! We nearly died because of your generals and you're busy apologizing to the people who were most likely to survive? I call big bull****!
I didn't get anything from the princess, not even another look. Until the Louises mentioned how I stopped Myoznitnirn. Henrietta gasped and turned to me.
"Is it true? You're a mage?" She asked.
In response I hold hand parallel with the floor, palm facing the ceiling, in what I call show off pose #1 and spawn a fireball. Henrietta gasps again.
"H-How? Are you using ancient magic?" She asks.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Only ancient magic users can use magic in this world without a wand. 'We probably should have thought about that.' Oh well! More respect for us!
"It's not ancient magic," I tell the princess. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to call it. Shana?"
Shana ponders for a moment. "Since it's really nothing more then a physical manifestation of someone's own internal energy we definitely can't call it magic."
"Why not call it energy attacks?" Alastor says, suggesting the obvious. If it's so obvious then why did no one think of it?
Henrietta looks like she's thinking about something for a minute. She goes to her desk, reaches into a drawer and pulls out a chevalier mantle.
"Here," She says while offering me the awesome cape. "Since you are technically a mage, there's no problem with giving you this."
I thank her and put on my awesome cape. Holy crap we are badass! We have a katana, a giant sword that launches people by making contact, an infinite ammo gun that kills things with one shot, an awesome cape that flows in the wind and we can shoot fire from our hands! We are the definition of badass! 'I think that's giving us a little too much credit.'
*Scene Break*
"I never get tired of seeing this academy," I tell the group.
It was true, no matter how many times I see it, I'm always glad when we get back to the academy after a long trip. I always felt a lot safer then usual, and I loved the feeling of security.
"Enjoy it Saito, this period of peace never lasts long," I hear Louise 1 say.
"Way to kill the mood. Can't we just enjoy the moments of peace we do have?" I ask her.
Before she can reply Siesta runs up to us.
"Louise! Louise! Saito! Shana! Her majesty has appointed me to become your personal maid!" She tells us.
"What? Really?" Louise 2 asks.
Siesta nods her head and pulls out a sheet of paper from her pocket. As expected, the paper is in the princess' handwriting and it says that Siesta has been assigned as our personal maid.
We all head up to the Louises' room when we notice a rather large problem. Um... Crap. That bed is not going to hold anymore people. My inner monologue is right. Five people, one bed, one pile of hay. The bed has proven capable of holding three people, and the hay could hold two, the problem was how to divide it up.
All five of us ponder for a minute. "Draw straws?" Siesta offers. We nod in agreement and I pick up five peaces of straw from the hay pile. Twenty bucks on the obvious winners. 'If you're thinking who I think you're think about, then I pray you're wrong.' Seriously man, you have a one in four chance of bedding her. You better get used to it.
"Okay, shortest two straws sleep on the hay, deal?" I ask the group. They all nod their heads.
They all grab a straw and we measure them to see the "winners." Subverting everyone's expectations, Shana and I weren't the ones sharing a pile of hay. No, we would be sharing a bed with Louise 1.Dammit! There goes twenty bucks. 'You don't have any money. Hell, you're a voice in my head. Who would get the money?' Louise 2 and Siesta didn't seem happy about having to sleep on the floor, but they realized there was no other option.
Similar to the first time around, when I had to share a bed with Louise and Siesta, I was currently very worried about my life expectancy. Sure, I doubt that Louise 1 and Shana would get into a situation that would threaten my life, but I'm pretty sure I have a valid reason for being scared. I wouldn't worry too much. After all, Louise 1 probably doesn't even know Shana loves you! 'And when she finds out?' A calamity of apocalyptic proportions will occur. No one will be safe from the resulting cat fight over who gets you. Enjoy these last few moments of your life. 'I thought you said I didn't have to worry about my life!' Yeeeeah, I may or may not have lied. Have fun!
Despite my worrying, I eventually manage to fall asleep.
*Scene Break*
Well, it had been about a week since we got back, and I had managed to survive each night. Sure, more then once I woke up to find Louise, Shana, or both sleeping with their heads on my shoulder or my chest, almost like they were competing for my body's real estate. Everyone look out! Saito, the harem master, is at work! 'What? Harem master? It's two girls, one of which I married, and the other only likes me because I'm similar to someone she used to love. How does that make me a harem master?' Good point. Trying getting Louise 2 and Siesta to love you! If we try hard enough, I'm sure this bed can hold five people! '... I can't come up with a response to that.'
Still, things could be worse. Eventually it was the day of that Masquerade ball, and our little group was indifferent on the event. Louise 1 and I knew what was going to happen, and Louise 2 and Shana had gained enough experience by this point to know that something was going to happen.
Still, we decided to at least attempt to have fun at the ball. Like every time, since Shana and I were familiars we didn't have to use that magic mirror to become anyone. Me and Shana were just standing on the balcony outside the main room, waiting for the Louises to show up, or for something to happen. Eventually Shana turns to me.
"So what happens here?" She says.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask.
"I think we all know by now that none of these events ever go very well, so what happens during this ball?"
"Well... Normally Myoznitnirn, that other void familiar that attacked the Louises and I back in Albion, kidnaps Louise and things go on from there. It doesn't look like that's happening this time though," I say.
"And why's that?" Alastor asks.
"Because here they come right now," I say as I point out the two people coming towards us.
Shana looks and see the two people walking towards us. The two being Cattleya and... Shana? YES! Two Shanas! Now we get of them at the same time! Epic Success! 'Sorry, it's probably just one of the Louises having taken on her appearance using that fancy mirror.' Ah, damn it. And here I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world. Oh well, the existence of more then one Shana at a time would probably result in your demise anyway, so this is probably a plus.
The other Shana, clad in that leather outfit she was wearing before the battle at Saxe-Gotha runs up to us, smiling. I realize that this is the first time I've ever seen Shana smile, even if it isn't the real Shana, and I feel a shiver go down my spine. Why? 'I don't like the sight of Shana smiling. It's way too cute and seems almost unnatural.' You admit it! Shana is cute! 'No, I said the smile as cute.' Irrelevant! I now have all the evidence I need to get Louise to dump your sorry ass so you can hook up with Shana and all my dreams come true! Muahahaha! 'I don't think I'll ever understand the way your mind works, and quite frankly I'm pretty content with that fact.'
"Hey! How are you enjoying the ball?" The other Shana asks us.
"Well, balls aren't really my thing, especially this one, but it's going well so far," I reply.
Shana doesn't say anything. She's too busy looking at the other Shana, with a stunned look on her face.
"Did no one mention to her how this ball works?" I ask.
The faux Cattleya gets a look similar to "oh crap," on her face.
"Oops, sorry Shana. When entering this ball, attendees use a magical mirror to change into either the person they hold dearest in their heart, or whoever they choose. I'm Louise 1, by the way," Cattleya/Louise 1 tells us.
Shana looks like she's regained her composure and looks at the other Shana. "Louise 2, I presume?"
Shana/Louise 2 nods her head.
"Question," I say. "Why'd you pick Shana? It couldn't have been an automatic thing."
Louise 2/Shana blushes and says nothing for a second. No. No no no. I refuse to have a rival for Shana's affections. Saito, take her out! 'Rival? One: I don't like Shana that way. Two: Neither does Louise 2.'Then why didn't she answer when you said she couldn't have possibly turned into Louise 2 automatically? Remember: That mirror only turns you into whoever you love the most automatically. Anyone else has to be specifically chosen. She didn't respond, which means it was automatic. Ergo- 'No. Just, no.'
"Well, Shana's strong and reliable," Louise 2 begins. "She's capable of handling these kind of things easily. Also she's a really powerful mage and cute and-" Louise 2 clamps a hand over her mouth and the four of us set the record for fastest group speed blush.
'... You were right.' Told you. Quick, do it now! Only we can have Shana's love! 'I never wanted Shana's love, Louise 2 can have her! ... That is not something I thought I would say.' That happens to you a lot, doesn't it?
Thankfully, we hear what sounded like a branch breaking in the woods just behind us. Our heads turn and we see a flash of purple light.
"You guys stay here, I'll handle this," I say as I jump over the railing and rush towards the forest, thankful that I have an excuse to get out of the current situation.
Eventually I reach a clearing and I see Tabitha standing at the other side. Brilliant. Even when we've barely done anything, they still force Tabitha to try and kill us.
"Are you here to kill me or Shana?" I ask Tabitha.
She nods, not really answering the question.
"And why's that? We've shared a total of, what, two sentences? I don't want to fight you, I barely know you!" I say to Tabitha.
Before Tabitha can reply, Myoz swoops in on her giant, flying, stone manta ray.
"Only you showed up? Shame. I was hoping we'd be able to kill both of you at the same time," Myoz says while laughing.
Tired of her constant evil rambling, I reach into my pocket, pull out Trigger Happy and point it at her. Yes! You used the name I came up with! 'What else am I supposed to call it, the Super Shooter?'
Myoz laughs another evil laugh. "Fool! You think I didn't expect this? A smart user always has a backup!" She says while pulling a revolver similar to Trigger Happy out of nowhere and pointing it at me.
A quick glance shows that Tabitha also has her staff pointed at me. Let's break things down: You have a gun on Myoz, Myoz has her gun pointed at you, and Tabitha has her staff pointed at you. If you shoot Myoz, Tabitha hits you with a spell, and by the time you manage to aim at and fire at Tabitha, Myoz will have shot you. How do you want to play this?
Myoz starts laughing again. "Have you realized how hopeless your situation is? Even with your little fire trick, you can't possibly hit two opponents at the same time! You have no-"
Before she can go on, her gun explodes. While she was busy talking I pulled the trigger. I don't know if it was my Gandalfar powers or the fact that I shot the thing, but I could see the bullet when I fired it into the barrel of Myoz's revolver. Holy Crap! That was awesome! You're like a god of guns! 'Actually that was more luck then anything.' Even so, it was- Crap! Watch out!
I turn just in time to see Tabitha finishing up her spell. I spear made of ice appears behind her and she launches it towards me. I focus my energy into my hand and make a fireball bigger then few I've gotten used to and chuck it at the icicle. They connect and the ice spear explodes into about a hundred mini ice spears that go flying in any direction but mine. My fireball keeps going and almost hits Tabitha. Luckily she's quick and uses a wind spell to change the fireball's trajectory. It swerves a bit and lands behind her, exploding upon impact. Apparently I put more power then I thought into that thing, because that was a pretty large explosion. Despite landing maybe 20 feet behind her, Tabitha was still knocked forward by the force of the explosion. I walk up to where she's lying, and offer a hand.
"You alright?" I ask her.
She looks at me, nods, and takes my hand. I pull her up and we both turn to Myoznitnirn, who looks really upset.
"She's been told to kill you and you ignore your opportunity to strike her down and instead help her? Are you an idiot!" She yells at me.
In response I point Trigger Happy at her again and spawn a fireball for good measure in my free hand.
"Like I said, I barely know her. You expect me to kill someone without a reason?" I reply. "You on the other hand, have given me plenty of reasons. Would you care to test your luck?"
A look of fear and outrage crosses Myoznitnirn's face, but apparently she doesn't like the odds, because she snaps her fingers and the manta ray flies off.
"This stuff just keeps getting easier," I say. "You gonna be okay Tab-" I turn to where Tabitha was standing, only to see that she's gone. Holy crap, Tabitha can teleport. I'm quite scared now. 'She probably just got Slyphid to pick her up.' That's one stealthy dragon. Oh look, here comes the cavalry.
I notice that Shana and the Louises, now back in their normal bodies, running up to where I was.
"Saito, we heard a gunshot so we came to see what was happening," Louise 1 says.
"What happened? Is anyone in any danger?" Louise 2 asks.
"Myoznitnirn came back, but I was able to get rid of her. Tabitha was ordered to kill me and Shana, but I don't know where she is now."
Louise 2 looks at me shocked, and Louise 1 just nods. I notice Shana's gaze is focused solely on Trigger Happy, and she looks shocked.
"Where did you get that?" she asks, pointing at Trigger Happy.
"This thing? Myoznitnirn had it with her the first time she tried to kill us. She dropped it when she retreated, so I figured I'd hold onto it. I thought it could be useful," I tell her.
"That shouldn't be here," Alastor says. "That is not something that should be in this world."
The Louises and I all have a giant question mark hanging over our heads. "What do you mean by that?" Louise 2 asks.
"That's something from our world," Shana says.
"Yeah, I'm sure you've noticed that quite a few artifacts from back home seem to pop up here," I reply.
She shakes her head. "No, I'm talking about the crimson world. That's a treasure tool, it's a device used by the denizens."
"What's it do?" Louise 1 asks.
"It severs the contract between a flame haze and their contractor. It releases the crimson lord from the flame haze, and act that consumes so much existence that the flame haze is usually killed in the process," Alastor says. "The fact that it's here, in this world, has... unfortunate implications, to say the very least."
Our group is silent for a minute. "Um... Anyway, it's fine if I keep it, right?" I ask.
Shana nods her head, but she still doesn't seem to like the fact that Trigger Happy exists. I wouldn't either. If I knew that a gun designed specifically for killing me existed in a world where it shouldn't I'd be a little freaked out too. Still, that explains why I thought it was so familiar. 'You knew?' I had some suspicions. Ah well, that's not important right now.
*Scene Break*
It had been about a week since the ball, and things seemed pretty normal, which is how our group knew something was wrong. I'll try not to bore you with the details, but things went the same way they always did. Slyphid showed up as Irukuukuu, told us Tabitha was kidnapped, and things snowballed from there.
There was, however, one key difference from the last few times this had happened. The group was just me, Shana, the Louises and Slyphid for transportation. When we found out that Tabitha had been kidnapped, the following conversation went a little something like this:
"Oh no! She's been taken to Gallia!" Cried Kirche.
"We must save her!" Said one of the Louises.
"Nooooo! Gallia is dangerous and she was kidnapped by an elf!" Guiche said pathetically.
"Then don't help, we'll go save her," Said Shana while giving all in attendance the most frightening glare ever conceived.
All but me and the Louises cower in fear. Their hearts give out, and they're taken to the closest medical station, leaving our small group of four to go talk to the princess. That conversation went like this:
"Princess! We have to save Tabitha!" Cried either one of the Louises.
"Nooooo! If things go wrong they'll call a war on us!" Henrietta replied.
Shana death glare, princess faints from fear. When she wakes up, she gives us permission to go to Gallia. We even got to keep our awesome capes.
"You know Shana, I'm not sure if you're power to absolutely terrify everyone we meet is a good thing or not," I tell her as we rode on Slyphid towards Gallia. Her response is to punch me in the arm.
"So what's the plan for rescuing Tabitha?" Louise 1 asked the group.
"Plan?" Louise 2 asks back. "Don't you two already have one?"
"Well, we did. However, since Montmorency isn't on hand to make a sleeping potion to put the guards to sleep, we're a little short on options," I say while throwing a quick glance at Shana. She punches me in the arm again. Keep it up! Maybe next time she'l break your arm. 'I'd make a sarcastic crack about how hilarious you are, but the sad thing is you're probably right.'
"Well, we've got the two most powerful familiars and mages in existence. I say we just bust down the door and force them to set Tabitha free!" Louise 2 says while raising a fist for added effect.
The rest of the group is silent for a minute. "Um... Anyone got a better idea?" I ask.
The group shakes their heads. I like this plan. It's nice and simple, which is how I know it'll work. 'That makes one of us, but I'm glad at least someone has confidence in the plan.
*Scene Break*
Our group was standing just outside the gate to Alhambra castle. We all had our weapons drawn, and we were ready for a fight. We silently counted off, ran in the gate, and froze in our tracks. Every single guard was lying on the ground, asleep.
We lowered our swords and wands and just looked at the scene in front of us.
"... Did that happen last time?" Louise 2 asks.
Louise 1 and I shake our heads. "No, definitely not," Louise 1 tells the group.
"Then what happened?" I ask. "I kind of doubt that all the people who are supposed to be keeping Tabitha here just all decided it was nap time."
"Not all the people," Shana says while pointing at something.
We look to see where she's pointing and notice a man with a nice hat. So of course the elf stays awake. Why can't things ever be simple?
"Who are you supposed to be?" Shana asks Mr. Hat.
"Considering he's still awake, I'd venture to say he's the elf that's kidnapped Tabitha in the first place," I tell her.
"Ah, so you already know what I am," Mr. Hat says to us. "In that case, I would appreciate it if you would turn around and leave. I don't like fights."
"In that case give us Tabitha!" Louise 2 says. "If not, we'll force you too!"
Mr. Hat smiles. "So you choose your demise? Very well."
Saito, something's wrong. 'What might that be?' He seems a little too eager to fight us. Isn't he opposed to fighting? 'Good point, but it could just be a side effect of the timeline being altered.' I guess. I still don't like it.
The four of us ready our weapons of choice once again and get ready for battle.
"He has a magical counter on, so attacks are useless," Louise 1 tells the group. "Dispel is the only spell that could that can get rid of it."
"Focus on the spell, Shana and I will defend the two of you while you cast," I say.
The Louises start chanting, and Shana and I rush the elf. Sure, it was a useless endeavor considering the counter, but we still needed to do something to buy the Louises time. Mr. Hat seems a lot more into this fight then previous times. Usually he just stands there and lets the attacks bounce off his counter, but now he seems like he's toying with us. He casually dodges each of out strikes, almost like this whole thing is a game to him. Shana seems to be really getting frustrated, and I don't blame her. Fighting elves always frustrated me, considering my usual strategy is a complete failure under the circumstances.
Shana jumps back about 10 feet and shoot out a small, focused jet of flames at the elf.
"Shana, no!" I try to warn her, but to no avail.
The flames head towards the elf and connect with the barrier. I was prepared to see the flames bounce back and hit Shana, but they don't. The flames swirl around a bit before just disappearing. Shana seems even more frustrated, and jumps at the elf again, I simply stand there confused for a minute. Do something, you're just standing there being useless! 'Did you see that?" See what? The flames disappearing? That's normal. Counter, remember? 'No, remember Kirche? She used her flames and they bounced back and burned her to a crisp. Why did Shana's just disappear?' ... Wait. There, on his finger.
I look to see what he's talking about, and I notice a decorated ring on the elf's right hand. That ring... If that ring's what I think it is... 'What? What is it?' Bad. Very, very bad. Um... G-give me a moment. I need to check some things. 'What the hell are you talking about?' For once, my inner monologue doesn't respond.
I turn my attention to the battle and see Shana's still trying to fight the Elf. I ready Derflinger and get ready to jump in, but the Louises finish their spell, and cast. The air around the elf glows for a second, then shatters like a window. Shana hits the elf across the face with the hilt of her sword and points it at where he's lying on the ground.
The elf laughs. "You're slipping Shana, You're nowhere near as good as last time," He says.
Shana glares at him. "What are you talking about? We've never fought before today."
The elf stands back up, Shana keeps her sword at his throat the entire time. "Well, I guess I'm slipping a little too, if I could be beaten that easily. Anyway, I believe it's time I take my leave. Goodbye, my Shana," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm and bitterness.
He jumps into the air and disappears, and it might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw black sparks floating around where he disappeared. D-did you say bl-black sparks? As in a black fire? 'Yeah, why do you ask?' He doesn't respond. Eventually the group turns to Shana.
"My Shana?" I ask.
"I'm more concerned with how he said it," Louise 1 says.
"What do you mean?" Louise 2 asks.
"You didn't hear it?" Louise 1 asks us. We all shake our heads.
"Then maybe it was my imagination but, just for a second, when he said that, he sounded almost exactly like Saito."
A look of shock crosses all our faces and we all remain silent. Shit. Shit! The ring, the flames, the voice... Th-this isn't good. 'Good, you're back. What the hell's up with you?' It's him. I'm certain of it. He's back. 'Who the hell are you talking about? What's up with you?' No. No, it's just a coincidence. Anyone could have that ring and you and Louise 1 were imagining things. 'Start making sense!' Saito, if it really is him, then there's nothing I can tell you that would properly describe how screwed we are. 'Would you just answer my questions?' I can't. Not until I'm certain. Even then, it's probably better you not know. Let's all pray that I'm wrong. Eventually I give up. My inner monologue doesn't seem to be in any mood to tell me anything, which really upsets me. When I want him to shut up, he never stops talking, and now that I want him to say anything I could understand, he clams up. That's just my luck.
*Elsewhere*
"... Well that was unexpected," the girl with the mismatched eyes muses to herself, as she sat on top of Alhambra tower. "He showed up early. He really shouldn't even exist yet. This doesn't bode well. Should I break a few rules and warn them? No. No. Ariana's got that covered." The girl sighed to herself. "What am I doing here. For all my talk, I really haven't accomplished much. Oh well. This timeline's pretty much good. Jus gotta accomplish one more thing and I think I can afford to check out the next one on the list. Maybe I can take a more active role there. This job is both incredibly boring at times, and far too important to give up."
The girl gets up, dusts herself off and gets ready to leave. "Sorry I couldn't have been more help then I was. The fun begins now. Good luck everyone."
Then she disappeared, her destination unknown.