A/N
Holy crap it's finally done! Maaan this chapter was a real headache to write, writer's block hit me hard with this one. Additionally I am currently considering opening a twitter account just to put up notifications and updates so I don't need to post a chapter to announce a delay. Welp, if I go ahead with that plan I'll be sure to announce it in the next chapter.
Until then enjoy the chapter! As usual reviews are done below!
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Louise felt her consciousness rouse as she began to come to. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she dipped in and out of deep sleep. Not wanting to rise just yet she tries to roll over- *clunk*. Her head suddenly made contact a very solid, very metal wall that had no place in her comfortable bed. Holding a hand to the afflicted area she could already feel a bump forming. Groaning she began to mentally run through the price of the makeup she was going to need to conceal the bruise. Now fully awake she fully opened her eyes to see what she hit her head against.
"Pilot are you well? My sensors just picked up on a loud noise originating from my cockpit." FS's voice rang out from all around her.
Louise blinked rapidly trying to clear the fog from her mind. 'When did I…?'
"Pilot, you have not left my cockpit since we departed from the Thief Foquet's hideout. We arrived at the academy approximately five hours prior, however in your unconscious state I requested that you not be disturbed." His voice returned in her head, her mental link caught notes of… caring? In his voice. Was a golem capable of compassion? His third Protocol stated he must protect her, so… maybe?
Shaking her head Louise slowly regained her bearings and returned her focus to remembering why she was here. As the fog clouding her mind slowly began to fade she began recalling the events of the prior day. 'Oh… right. Foquet, or should I say miss Longuevielle, was that even her name to begin with?'
"Pilot I calculate that there is a 98.89% chance that the name [ Longueville ] is an alias Identity. It is highly probable that the identity was conceived to acquire a job position close to the staff of destruction. I have made note of the headmaster's poor background check for future reference." FS explained, again reading her surface thoughts. Louise shivered as she thought about it. Previously he could only 'hear' her when she wanted him to. Now, it felt as though they were connected to each other at all times, in a much stronger bond than what she had read the binding ritual was capable of. Then again, there were no records of a Titan capable of linking one's mind to themselves.
Sighing she gave up trying to comprehend concepts far beyond her grasp. She had demanded FS give her a full explanation of the Militia and IMC. But all she had managed to process was that her familiar was possibly capable of very convincing illusions, or she had never actually succeeded in summoning a familiar and this was all some beautiful dream, or nightmare. Probably both.
Shifting her weight she glanced down to see that she was still in her uniform. Her filthy dirty and dusty uniform. A pit began to form in her stomach as she continued her inspection of her clothes. Her shoes were covered in mud and dirt, the polished leather now dried and cracked. Her leggings were torn in a few places where shrapnel from the golem's explosion had sliced and cut small scratches into her legs. Her skirt and cloak were covered in dirt and dust looking nowhere near presentable. Her shirt however had arguably fared the worst out of all her attire. Starting as a bleached white colour, it had absorbed all the dust and smoke kicked up from the staff of- the archer rocket. Louise mentally corrected.- creating a tacky charcoal grey starting at her shoulder and meeting at her chest where it mixed with a sulfur yellow from the kicked up dirt.
Louise bit into her lower lip as she examined the damage done to her uniform. She knew she would have to replace it, no doubt about that. But that was not what she was concerned about. If anyone caught her walking through the halls in her current attire she would never hear the end of it. It would destroy what little reputation she had fought so hard to earn back. Not only this but if word got out of her parading through the halls of the academy in such a filthy state it would no doubt follow her for the rest of her life! Her reputation as a noble would be thrown down the drain. There would be no recovering from such an embarrassment.
"Pilot I am detecting an elevated heart rate, is something the matter?" FS suddenly asked, his voice suddenly giving way to an idea. She wasn't alone in this matter, maybe FS had some, fancy Titan magic he could cast on her to conceal her!
"FS! Do you have some form of magic that could conceal me from view? Or some manner of transportation you can provide to my room that is out of view perhaps?" Louise asked hopefully.
"Pilot, I am not capable of any form of magic, additionally my scans indicate my chassis is too large to fit through the halls of this academy. Pilot for what reason do you require concealment? Are there hostiles nearby?" FS responded.
"Oh….n-no" Louise acknowledged dejectedly.
"Pilot what is our current objective?" FS inquired.
'Objective… get me to my room unseen? If I made that his objective would he find me a solution?' Louise thought to herself, or so she had anticipated.
"My previous scans indicated that there were no possible routes through this academy that my chassis can take to reach your living quarters. Additionally if you wish to remain undetected it would be wise to disembark as my 80-ton chassis would generate far too much noise." FS explained having read Loiuise's thoughts again.
Louise sighed, another idea shot down before it could even form.
"Pilot I believe I may have just found a possible solution." FS suddenly spoke up. "Please wait one moment"
"Hm? Whoa!" Louise suddenly exclaimed as FS stood up. "Hey! Just where are you taking us!?"
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Siesta yawned as she made her way through the academy halls. At this early hour only the bare minimum of staff were awake to prepare the academy for the nobles. Siesta had once been one of them, however ever since her contract had been purchased by Louise her responsibilities had been cut back significantly. Still, she was far too adjusted to waking before the crack of dawn, as such she now found herself wandering the dark halls, the only source of light being the dimly lit torches lining the walls. She had tried many times to roll over and sleep in, but her body had refused. Perhaps it had been the years of fear instilled from serving nobles all these years that had forced her body into action. Or perhaps it had just been habit, whichever had been the deciding factor was beyond her. Still any further attempts at sleep would simply be in vain, for now she had decided she may as well prepare for the day.
She had been informed the day prior that Louise and FS had gone off with two other nobles and the headmaster's secretary to chase down the thief that had attacked the school. She had been rather anxious that they would not return. While she was contracted by a Valliere, she understood her current employers relations with her family were… rocky at best. If she passed away she may find herself out of employment, or worse yet… sold to another employer. She knew of one noble in particular that would be more than willing to take up her contract once she was, "available".
Thankfully all of her fears had been unfounded as all three of the nobles had returned, a little scraped up and messy but alive and uninjured. Still Siesta had overheard that FS had gotten into another fight with the earth Golem conjured by the thief herself. She held little doubt that her contractor will be asking her to clean the dirt off of her familiar. Although for once Siesta would not be opposed to the idea, an opportunity to work with one of the great machines her grandfather had described to her in his stories. It would be like a dream co-
"Miss Siesta Sasaki I require your assistance." A booming voice elicited a shriek from Siesta. Turning to the origin of the voice she saw FS's 'face' or chest would be more accurate, poking through the small doorway that led to the room that housed the familiar of noble's. His enormous frame was unfortunately far too large to fit through the doorway. As such he had bent and braced his hands against either side of the doorway in order to get a view through it.
"Uh-uh, I- I'm sorry what?" Siesta responded dumbly. Her brain was still trying to decide whether or not she was simply hallucinating from the stress of the previous day.
"Due to recent changes in this building's infrastructure my scanners are no longer operating at full capacity. As such I am incapable of upholding protocol 2 once my Pilot leaves my line of sight." FS explained to Siesta.
"Wait… protocol 2? What mission have you been given?" Siesta inquired.
"Protocol 2 : Uphold the mission. Current objective Escort Pilot to her present living quarters undetected." FS mechanically explained.
"Your Pilot… you mean Miss Louise?" Siesta asked.
"Affirmative." FS confirmed.
"Very well, where is she now?" Siesta inquired, if it was a request from Louise she had no reason to refuse.
"Right here." A much higher pitched mechanical voice suddenly came from FS. The familiar voice of Louise sounded very out of place coming from FS's enormous frame.
"M-Miss Louise?" Siesta asked, surprised.
Instead of receiving an answer, FS's face hissed like a snake before splitting open before her very eyes. Behind his face was a very dirty Louise sitting in what appeared to be a chair much too large for her size. Realization dawned on Siesta once she caught sight of the state of Louise's uniform and messy hair. Not needing an explanation like FS she quickly ran to her employer and offered her a hand to dismount from the enormous mech. She owed her employer a great deal for purchasing her contract, even if she did not realize it at this time, she had saved her from being forced into working for count Mott.
"Shall I escort you back to your room my lady?" Siesta addressed respectfully. "Perhaps you would prefer to follow me, I know some hidden pathways only the servants use."
Siesta watched a scowl form on Louise's face, and for a moment she felt her breath hitch as she realized her mistake. She had only suggested the route to avoid any nobles that may be up despite the odd hour. However she had also just suggested that a noble take a route built solely for commoners such as herself. Louise opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Seconds passed by and Siesta waited for her employer to chew her out for suggestion, but the tirade never came. Instead something rather unexpected happened.
"That… may not be such a terrible idea actually. But you mustn't utter a word of this to anyone, not even the staff. Or I will see to it you are properly punished for this embarrassment, do I make myself clear!?" Louise stated in a firm tone that left no room for argument.
"Y-yes my lady of course." Siesta said while bowing her head.
"Good. Now help me out of this chair, I fear after my fight with FoquetI have little strength left to spare." Louise said, taking Siesta's offered hand.
"Pilot, from my observations of this battle I calculate tha-" "Not a word FS!" Louise cut off FS before he could say more.
Siesta flinched at Louise's tone but said nothing. Instead she simply helped her out of the cockpit, she could only imagine how uncomfortable it must have been sleeping in a chair like that. As she helped Louise down from the cockpit she noticed that Louise did appear to be quite weak physically. She would have offered her shoulder but the implication of such an act may be taken entirely the wrong way.
She heard Lousie let out a very unladylike groan as her feet hit the floor, evidently the poor sleeping arrangement had caused her legs to fall asleep. Regardless barely a few seconds later the duo was on their way. Siesta used her knowledge of the layout of the academy to find the quieter hallways that she knew would not be in use by the morning staff. Having worked for the academy for a few years now she had an excellent understanding of the schedules of her fellow staff members. With this knowledge they had no trouble making their way through the dimly lit halls out of sight. But their luck was bound to run out eventually, rounding a corner Siesta realized she had neglected to account for one staff member's schedule, her own.
'Of course someone would be on my route! I don't work for the headmaster anymore so obviously he would need someone to replace me.' Siesta cussed herself for her ignorance. Louise was still behind her but it was only a matter of time before the staff member spotted them. Thinking quickly Siesta quickly shoved Louise into the nearest broom closet, much to her indignation. Had she found herself under any other circumstances she would never have even entertained the thought of doing so. But to quote her grandfather 'Desperate times call for desperate measures.'
"Oh Siesta! I didn't realize you would be about at this hour, shouldn't you still be in bed? I can't imagine working as a personal maid for a noble being very easy work." The maid said as she approached her. Thankfully her relaxed tone implied she had not noticed Louise.
"Oh! U-Uh well, it w-was just an old h-habit of mine! Yes I'm just so uh, used to being up at this hour you see." Siesta stammered out, despite not being a lie she still found it difficult to find the proper words.
"I see..." The maid replied, clearly suspicious about her flustered tone. "Are you feeling alright Siesta? You look awfully pale, maybe you should get some rest after all."
"I-I'm fine! Fine, truly." Siesta said a little too quickly. "Was there something you needed?"
The maid's face suddenly lit up as she realized something. "Ah! Yes I came here to grab the broom, some of the students made a mess in the halls." She explained, before moving to get around Siesta.
"O-Oh! Then here, let me grab that for you!" Siesta quickly responded, blocking her path to the closet. If Louise was found in her messy state in the broom closet of all places, well, being caught was bad enough already. This would simply be adding insult to a grievous injury at this point. Acting quickly she thanked her lucky stars that the door opened in a manner that blocked the maid's view of the interior. Acting quickly she snatched the broom from the closet and slammed the door shut. "Here you are!" She said as she shoved the item into the maid's hands.
The maid seemed shocked by the sudden burst of energy Siesta showed, staring dumbly down at the broom in her hands. As the maid made eye contact with her a sly smirk crossed over her features. Siesta cringed as she realized the maid may have figured something out.
"Oh, I see... my my Siesta, how bold of you to bring a lover within these walls." She jested coyly.
"Th-That's not what-" Siesta began.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else, but do be careful, some of the nobles might not be so forgiving." She said with a giggle. "Well I'll be going now, good luck with your… endeavours."
Siesta blushed madly as she thought about what the maid was implying. Her assumptions had been way off the mark, but it at least worked in her favor if she was going to leave them alone.
However just before she rounded the corner she paused and turned around to face Siesta. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. There's a rumor going around that the count is showing up again today, apparently he has some meeting with the headmaster. Try not to bump into him again." She said teasingly.
"I will do my best, thank you for the warning." Siesta said with a bow. The maid giggled and waved before disappearing around the corner.
Once the maid was out of sight Siesta finally released the breath she had been holding. Opening the closet door she let Louise out. Immediately bowing her head in apology when she noticed the scowl on the young noble's face. However instead of any admonishment she simply heaved a deep sigh and motioned her forwards. Breathing a sigh of relief the two continued on their way to Louise's room unabated.
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Louise's heart was racing, that last encounter had been far too close for her liking. Siesta's quick thinking may have spared her the embarrassment of being seen, but it had come with the humiliation of being shoved into a broom closet! By a commoner no less! Honestly the nerve of that plebeian! Had her gamble not paid off she would have been completely and utterly ruined!
Gritting her teeth she forced her anger down, she needed to see reason here. It was a gamble and it paid off, if she made it to her room without further complication then maybe, maybe, she would overlook this altercation. Just this once.
It wasn't until they reached Louise's door that Louise finally let her shoulders drop and her composure fall. Letting out a sigh of relief when she was safe within the confines of her own room. Looking down at her uniform she wasted no time stripping off and hurling it into a corner of her room.
"Wash these." She said over her shoulder, knowing that Siesta had followed her in. "Actually, before that, run me a bath. I cannot sleep covered in this filth." She quickly corrected.
"Right away my lady." Siesta complied neatly gathering Louise's uniform and making her way into her bathroom. Once she was out of sight Louise was left alone in her room, dressed in nothing but her underwear. Noticing the sight she could only sigh and rub her temples. Being seen like this was arguably as bad as being seen in her filthy uniform. Although, at least she could probably explain the dirty uniform.
'Pilot based off of your decreasing adrenaline levels I calculate you have arrived at your quarters safely, is this correct?' FS's voice rang out her mind.
"Yes, I arrived just fine." Louise said aloud while lowering her hand. "Unless there is an emergency you will not disturb me until I wake later. Is that clear?"
'Affirmative, rest well Pilot.' FS said.
"I will FS, thank you." Louise said softly, a small smile gracing her features.
"My lady, your bath is ready." Siesta said as she appeared from the doorway to her bathroom.
"My thanks. I will not be needing your services for a while, however after two conflicts with that earth Golem FS's chassis has gotten rather dirty. While I rest I expect you to clean him for me." Louise stated as she passed Siesta.
"Of course my lady, rest well." Siesta said with a bow. Turning on her heel she left Louise to get cleaned up so she could rest for a few hours in a proper bed. "Oh, forgive me my Lady but I have a message from the headmaster to pass on to you."
Louise sighed, just as she was getting comfortable too. "Very well, what is it?"
"He wished to congratulate you and the other nobles for your success in capturing the thief. However since you arrived so late he asked that you meet him after breakfast tomorrow."
Louise groaned, uncaring at how unladylike the action was. "Great… Very well thank you for letting me know, you are dismissed." Louise said with a wave.
Siesta bowed and left. Once Louise heard her door open and close she spoke up again. "FS, I need you to wake me in time for breakfast this morning. Can you accomplish this task?"
'Affirmative, however, this order is in conflict with previous directives Pilot. Do you want me to overwrite my previous directive?' FS responded.
"Yes, just make sure you wake me in time for breakfast." Louise said, her eyes were beginning to feel very heavy and she still had to clean herself up.
'Orders received, rest well Pilot.' FS repeated. Louise didn't reply, the moment she dried off she flopped unceremoniously onto her bed and promptly passed out.
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The count was having a good day. He pulled a double shift the day before, the additional work forcing him to skip his lunch break. Of course under normal circumstances this would have infuriated him.
But today was different.
Today, he had been the one to call for this meeting, despite its terribly inconvenient timing. Nevertheless he was determined to acquire the contract of that maid he had spotted not a week before. He had sent a letter detailing such, yet for some reason the headmaster had the gaul to claim he no longer held onto the contract himself. Surely he would not be so foolish as to think he would not want such a beautiful woman for his own? Regardless of the matter, even if some pitiful noble tried to pull the rug from beneath him his status as a place messenger could not be refuted. They would have no choice but to bend their knee to him.
Looking out his window he caught sight of the second carriage he had brought with him for such an occasion. He had recently purchased this carriage from another noble, they never liked showing their face often so they had ordered a carriage made that would ensure their privacy. A lecherous grin stretched across the count's face as he began to fantasize how he would make full use of this feature.
As he approached the academy composed himself, business before pleasure after all.
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'Pilot, by your orders I am to wake you now. . . Please wake up now.' FS's voice suddenly broke through Louise's blissful silence.
"mmmmlp…. " Louise responded blearily. "...five more minutes..."
'Pilot it was by your request that I wake you in time for breakfast. Taking into account your lack of muscle mass it would be extremely inadvisable for you to miss a mealtime.' FS continued.
Louise felt her brow twitch. 'Is his plan to insult me until I get out of bed!?'
'Negative Pilot, my reasoning was not intended to be demeaning, simply motivational.' FS explained.
'Riiiight' Louise thought tiredly to herself. Regardless of her feelings or damaged pride, she hauled her limp body out of bed to get dressed. Glancing around the room she noticed Siesta was not present. Odd, she should have been present to dress her every morning. 'FS is Siesta with you?'
'Affirmative, she is presently carrying out the task you assigned her at this time.' FS responded.
'The task I gave her?'
'Cleaning the dirt collected from my conflict with the thief Foquette's Golem.'
'Still? FS, refresh my memory for me, how long ago did I assign her this task?'
'Miss Sasaki was assigned the duty of Titan maintenance precisely three hours, seven minutes, and 32 seconds ago Pilot.' He replied mechanically.
'And she is still not finished?' Louise asked exasperated, surely it could not have taken that long.
'Affirmative, Miss Sasaki is approximately 67% complete with the task at this time. However due to her loose clothing getting caught on my armor plating and joints her efficiency at the task is less than optimal. I highly recommend replacement attire be sought out for this task.' FS replied.
Louise realized that Siesta would not have the time to dress her before breakfast. Additionally if she was cleaning FS she would likely be filthy from all the dirt she is scraping off his metal body. Letting out a sigh she made her way to her wardrobe to fetch her spare uniform and began preparing herself for the day.
She would have at least preferred a few more hours of sleep. Unfortunately her decision to have FS wake her up early was now coming back to bite her. With her added drowsiness she took nearly twice as long to make herself at the very least presentable for the day. Looking in the mirror she noticed bags beginning to form under her eyes. Sighing she knew she could not allow it and pulled out her makeup kit and began the process of concealing them from view. By the time she had finally finished getting ready her window for breakfast had nearly passed entirely. Thankfully she still had a few minutes before the kitchen staff began cleaning up.
Exiting her room she paused in the hallway to stare at a certain doorway. It marked the entrance to a certain rival of hers. She did not know how but the red-haired barbarian always seemed to find a way to exit her room at the same time as Louise. She let a few seconds pass before she was convinced that she was running late enough that her Germanian noble would not be making an appearance. Even still feeling a chill run down her spine as she passed the closed door, half expecting her to come bursting out. Thankfully, no such event came to pass. Grateful for this small blessing Louise made her way to the dining hall without her usual morning verbal showdown.
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Louise was having a very difficult time stifling a yawn. It was also taking a great deal of discipline to avoid rubbing her eyes and smearing all of her makeup over her hands and face. Regardless she managed to stay her hands… for now at least. She had but one event that would require her presence this day and once that was out of the way she intended to go right back to bed. She could afford to miss her classes for the day, despite her lack of aptitude for magic she still excelled in her classes otherwise. If it weren't for her penchant to create explosions all the time she may even be considered a star student.
Lost in her thoughts she neglected to watch where she was going and slammed right into another person. Due to her far smaller stature she was knocked onto her rear.
"HEY! Just who do you think… you… are." Louise trailed off as she saw who she bumped into. Not a commoner or a teacher, but a noble. 'Merde' Louise thought to herself. The noble sneered at her, his face brimming with anger. Louise glared back with equal intensity, she knew it may have been her fault, but she could never admit it aloud. She had to save face, as a Valliere she would not back down.
"Tch." With a scoff the noble turned to leave without a word. Louise stood and dusted herself off, her gaze never leaving their retreating back. Once she was certain they were out of earshot she let out the breath she had been holding. That could have gone very poorly for her, it probably should have as well. It seems she was lucky that the noble didn't deem her worthy of his time. Under any normal circumstances this would have infuriated her beyond belief, however it worked quite well in her favor this time. So she could at least let it slide, this time.
Not so much as sparing a glance over her shoulder she continued on her way to the headmaster's office. She had a meeting to attend to, and the sooner this was over with, the sooner she could get back to bed.
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The count was having a bad day.
No, scratch that a terrible founder forsaken cursedly fowl and dreary day.
All of his efforts the day prior, the rescheduled meetings, the extra workload, his skipped meals for Brimir's sake! All of it, all of it! For what!? A measly meeting with a senile old man!
His eyes began to twitch as he remembered the man's words. 'As I stated in the letter I sent to you, the contract of the young woman was purchased shortly after our previous meeting. There is nothing I can do about it now.'
With enough pressure he was able to reveal that the old man had sold the contract to a valliere. A damn Valliere. Thanks to his status with the royal court there were very few noble families that could even try to touch him. Infuriatingly enough, the Vallieres were one of them. Maybe he could somehow convince the family to let him, 'borrow' the maid for a brief period of time, perhaps?
No, they would never agree. That family was too stern to even bother with such affairs, they no doubt knew about his reputation, it would be pointless to even ask. If he simply took her it would take a few days at least to organize a response. But then he would be charged with kidnapping. Unless… Unless there was reasonable doubt for him to have taken her in the first place. Like, say… some official documents detailing a transfer of contract.
The count's mood suddenly took a one-eighty, his lecherous smile returning. There may still be a way for him to get what he wants. He felt like patting himself on the back for thinking ahead this time. Since he had built up so much stress piling on so much work the day before he had taken it upon himself to draw up all the necessary paperwork the day before. All he needed to do was present it to the maid and have his guards escort her off the property. There would be no one that could stop him. Of course the faculty would notice the discrepancy and come after him, but to do so they would need to send him a letter and present him with the actual paperwork.
But to do so would take a week at least. Which would mean he would have the maid to himself for a whole week. He almost cackled to himself, finally it seemed as though his efforts were bearing some fruit after all.
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"We have handed Fouquet over to the palace guards, and the staff of destruction has been returned to the vault. This puts an end to the matter. You three are all the guests of honor for tonight's banquet. Please dress appropriately and enjoy yourself, you have all earned it." The headmaster praised.
"Ah, and before I forget, the crown has taken notice of your deeds and will no doubt reward the three of you for your efforts. You have all done this academy a great service, I am proud to call all of you my students. Now then, I'm certain you are all still tired from yesterday's event so I have asked your teachers to excuse you all from classes today. Rest well and I look forward to seeing you all for tonight's banquet." Rising from his desk with a smile he dismissed the students back to the hall. Once the doors closed behind them his cheerful expression adopted a more serious complexion.
"Colbert, what do you make of all this?" Osmond asked the only remaining occupant in the room.
"What specifically would you be referring to sir?" Colbert replied.
"Young miss Valliere, and the staff of destruction." He clarified in a deep tone. His high pitched tone is usually reserved for his more… perverse comments.
"Well, she did say her familiar knew what it was. I believe she called it an 'Archer Rocket'?" Colbert thought aloud.
"Mm, what concerns me was how she described it." Osmond clarified.
"How so?"
"She called it a weapon. Not a staff member." Osmond said in a dark tone.
"Could you be implying that it would not need magic to operate?" Colbert asked.
"Maybe, we have no proof of this, but for now it would be best to remain tight lipped on this matter. As the young Miss explained, it is like a musket, it needs ammunition. And if her familiar's word is to be trusted, he has seen no evidence that we possess the materials or craftsmanship to produce it." Osmond said with a sigh. "What concerns me, is that he implies that such materials and craftsmanship exists. Still, the same can be said for the other relics that have appeared throughout history."
Colbert nodded solemnly as he digested this information.
"BRIMIR'S BALLS FS YOU DID WHAT!?" A very aggravated high pitched from outside the headmaster's doors halted any further conversation. "WHA- NO! Just stay put, I'm coming to you."
It was not hard to guess who had been yelling, but the cursing seemed a tad unnecessary.
"Sorry Colbert but would you mind-"
"I'll handle it, I just hope it isn't anything dire." Colbert quickly replied.
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Louise was presently sprinting down the stairs faster than she ever had in her entire time at the academy. With each leap she cleared four steps at a time as she practically flew down the spiral stairwell. FS had begun contacting her towards the end of the headmaster's meeting, however she had tuned him out in favor of listening to the headmaster. As she left however the first thing FS had said to her was 'Engaging hostiles'. Even now the words sent a shiver down her spine. It could not have been more than a handful of seconds later that he said 'Two hostiles neutralized. Scanning for additional contacts.' At this point she had begun cursing aloud.
She did not know what he had been referring to when he had said 'neutralized' but she could only assume it was nothing good. Thankfully he had clarified he had not killed them, by simply asking her if he should kill the contacts. She had been quick to stop him from going any further, Founder knows what mess she had just found herself in, and she did not need FS making it any worse. Behind her she could hear Kiriche's steps following close behind, no doubt curious as to what her whole outburst had been about. Chancing a glance behind her she felt a brow twitch at the sight that greeted her. Kiriche's button up shirt looked as though it was ready to burst under the strain it was currently experiencing. Her enormous bust was currently bouncing with every step and looked about ready to explode. Louise wisely chose to keep her gaze forwards after that.
Thankfully it was not much longer before she finally reached the bottom of the staircase. She was beginning to curse the headmaster for putting his office so high up in one of the academy's towers. Opting to leap the last six stairs in one bound Louise landed with a stumble and pushed off of her hands to prevent herself from breaking her nose on the stone floor. Breaking out into a sprint once more she tore through the halls ignoring the teacher's calls for her to stop running. It was just a few more turns before she would find herself in the hall for familiars. Her breaths were beginning to come out as ragged gasps as adrenaline was the only thing keeping her going. Pumping her legs beneath her lungs felt like they had been set ablaze. Just a few more turns, just a few more turns.
Seconds that felt like hours passed and Lousie could see her destination at the end of the hall, so close yet so far. With her goal in sight she felt her body gain a second wind as she began sprinting once more not stopping for anything. Her vision was beginning to get blurry and her body suddenly felt very cold but she did not stop running. If FS had attacked another noble again then she may very well get expelled for offense.
Bursting through the enormous doorway Louise was greeted by the sight of FS appearing undamaged which came as no surprise. But that was not what drew her attention, no, it was the sight of the bodies of two smoking armored guards who appeared to be very still. Louise felt bile begin to rise in her throat at the sight.
"FS did you-!"
"Negative, they are alive. More importantly, Pilot your heart rate is dangerously high. Please try to control your breathing or you may risk passing out from exhaustion." FS mechanically stated.
"I- I…" As if the words were a trigger Louise's legs gave out from beneath her and she doubled over gasping for air. Mere seconds later Kirche came bursting through the open doorway also gasping for air. "What has you so worked… up… oh my." She said, her flirtatious teasing tone fading as she bore witness to the sight in front of her. Not far behind the redhead, the silent bluenette Tabitha joined them looking no worse for wear. However after examining the scene she lowered her weight and raised her staff.
FS paid her no mind, instead choosing to focus on his Pilot who appeared to be on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. "Pilot, it is to my understanding that you ran here from the headmasters office. Such a short distance should not have put your body under this much strain." FS noted. Louise groggily raised her head to glare at him in response.
"What… happened." Louise demanded between ragged breaths.
"I would like to know the same thing, Miss valliere I hope you understand how bad this looks for you." Another voice joined them from behind. Turning around Louise felt her face pale as she saw professor Colbert standing behind them with a disapproving frown on his face. Louise tried her best to speak but came up with nothing, turning to FS she silently prayed he could somehow explain the situation. Clearly taking note of her gaze FS's eye locked with Louise's own.
"Professor Jean Colbert please allow me to explain the events that transpired." FS spoke up addressing the professor directly. "These two guards attempted to kidnap Miss Sasaki, apparently claiming their lord had purchased her contract from my Pilot. I am certain my Pilot can confirm this is false."
Colbert looked to Louise who simply nodded, no one had come to her regarding Siesta's contract. Nor had she even been planning on selling her contract in the first place. Wait, where was Siesta now?
"FS was it? You claim these two individuals attempted a kidnapping, but if I am to assume you stopped them. Where is the person they tried to kidnap now?" Colbert interjected, it seemed he had reached the same conclusion as Louise.
FS said nothing, simply raising a hand to his chest. A moment later a hissing sound could be heard and once more his face opened up to reveal his interior. Sitting in the Pilot's seat was none other than a very distraught and confused Siesta. Colbert seemed to be shocked at the sight. 'Oh, right I guess we forgot to mention FS had a seat in his face.'
"I-I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble." Siesta said as she bowed her head from her seated position. Quickly standing she stepped onto FS's waiting hand and gently he lowered her to the floor. Sealing the cockpit behind her FS's eye returned it's gaze to address the professor.
"I- I see…" Colbert Stammered out clearly confused. "C- Could you please continue your explanation as to why there are two dead guards in this room."
"The guards are not dead, simply incapacatated." FS corrected. "The guards began to harass Miss Sasaki, at this point I attempted to contact my Pilot to advise the situation. However I did not receive any reply. The guard on the left attempted to grab Miss Sasaki at which point I was forced to take action. For her safety I placed her within my cockpit."
'But to an outside observer it looked like her just gobbled her up.' Louise thought to herself. However FS's eye suddenly snapped to her, the three triangle plates covering a majority of his green eye. It seemed as though he heard that.
"Following this, the Guard's drew their weapons and began shouting at me. I recorded vocabulary such as 'monster' and 'vile creature'. Not long after they began attempting to slash at my frame. In response I retaliated with two discharges of my energy siphon ordnance." FS explained, from his back a third, arm like appendage appeared. However unlike the other two Louise was familiar with. While this one did have a large rectangular box at its end this one had a large split right down it's center. "In most cases the charge is non-lethal however if the target is too weak the discharge can prove fatal."
The professor gulped at the sight, his gaze dancing between the guards and the enormous weapon on FS's back. "Th-these are some very serious allegations, I am afraid your story sounds rather far-fetched however. I fail to see why anyone would send guards to kidnap a-"
"What are you incompetant fools doing, how hard is it to present some papers and drag that woman back to the carriage! I have been waiting…" A loud voice drew everyone's attention to a certain count who had conveniently decided to make his appearance. "Oh dear."
"Count mott would you care to ex-" *BZZAP!*
Whatever the professor was going to say was cut off by a loud noise and bright beam of light from FS. It slammed into the count's chest knocking him to the floor in a smoking heap.
"FS!" Louise quickly shouted.
"They are not dead, simply incapacated." FS repeated acting as though he had not just assaulted a noble. "He was bearing the same insignia as these guards, as such I marked him for capture and interrogation."
The professor immediately rushed to the count's side, and was relieved to see him still breathing. He was not going to be happy when he regained consciousness. "Miss Valliere, I must ask that you and your familiar remain put for now. Miss Tabitha, might I ask you to go fetch the headmaster, and Miss Zerbst could you please inform a nurse we have a situation."
"R-right away." Kirche responded instantly, Tabitha simply nodded silently and left.
"FS, what have you done…" Loiuse trailed off.
"I have upheld protocol 3 and incapacateted the enemy." FS replied, and Louise could have sworn he sounded slightly pleased with himself.
LINE BREAK
A/N
And that is a wrap!
Holy crap 7K words again, man these big chapters are a massive pain. Also screw you count mott enjoy the voltage of getting tazed! Sorry we didn't get to see more of the base this chapter… but we maay see more than ever before in two weeks… I'm not spoiling anything but stay tuned!
Anyhow onto reviews! *takes one look* oh boy… there are a lot of them, alright I'm gonna need another cup of coffee for this one.
All right let's get into it.
GrapeFanta : Thanks, I'm glad to hear it!
Halo : Upon reading this it gave me a great idea for an ark. Definitely gonna happen now stay tuned!
(review n2) : Ash making an appearance is a definite maybe, (especially considering how I am still confused how she was somehow repaired after BT turned her into scap metal) Still I totally agree that we need some proper conflict established that are not just OC's cobbled together to create tension. Thanks for the reviews!
Tiamatio : I totally agree the archer was honestly my first pick, I will admit I did wrestle with the idea of using the charge rifle or thunderbolt. But neither would do any substantial damage to the Golem if I did, so I ended up sticking with the Archer in the end. Stay tuned for a yeet!
BlueBunny9 : Nice and organized thanks for that! Allow me to respond in kind then.
This is post battle of typhon (so post Titanfall 2 campaign)
Not too many changes, however he has been built for survival as he is meant to establish a base. As such we can't exactly have him falling to a single archer pod now can we?
The gear will mostly resemble Titanfall 2, however I will make use of armor and designs from Titanfall 1 for Variety sake. Oh and I will cover the matter of Titanfall 1 Titans and Titanfall 2 Titans, rest assured both types will make an appearance, though Titanfall 1 titans less than TF2 Titans for cost reasons that will be covered in a future chapter.
XxdarksearcherxX : Thanks! That really means a lot, honestly I ended up rewriting that sequence a few times trying to get it right. I'm glad to see it paid off!
Ghostly : Yup the construction of a small army to start will begin rapidly, however they have no reason to believe the IMC are just gonna pop up outta nowhere and just start blasting! Remember these guys ain't the covenant and don't just start glassing human planets for some religious crusade.
As for physical training, FS has just taken note of Louise's state in this chapter. One can only imagine his disappointment, he is definitely gonna be making some changes there.
Lastly as for Deflinger, his current sword is an enchanted one and it would be a waste to transfer it and lose the enchantments. Don't worry I have a solution for this.
Thanks for the reviews till next time!
Thellin12 : Glad to see you appreciate the consistency, sorry if it's a little chaotic at the moment, balancing work writing and school is a bit of a pain but hey I can make work… kinda. First up, as stated before Yup! Both factions will make an appearance but I am going to stay tight lipped on that, wouldn't do to spoil the surprise no would it? Second: Without going into detail and spoiling things, Yes. Third: ah yes the base... All in due time. Once we get there we will be staying for a while but that's all I'm gonna say. Glad to see you enjoying the fic! Until next time!
Iremjohn00 : Glad to hear it! Stay tuned more on the way!
x-x-TheBurnedMan-x-x : Hoo boy you weren't kidding when you said this would be a long review. Right let's get into it. For simplicity(my sanity)'s sake I'm going to respond block by block.
Hah, that would be an Idea, but it would easily draw unnecessary suspicion towards the FOB sadly. When they visit the base then they can get all kitted out properly.
Heh, Louise isn't the only one who's going to suffer all of the micromanagement, I think I get the tougher job of creating all the bloody things to manage, and then proceed to manage them myself. Hoo boy did I really screw myself with this whole base Idea. I'm gonna take a look at some of the titles you mentioned there, (might help with some reference I suppose.) I have played fallout 4 and managed (or at least attempted to) a base… or five. It's tough work I tell you. As for the dirt they settled on, well even if it does not belong to anyone in particular she still faces the issue of illegal development on crown land.
The battles between the Golem and the Titan are only guaranteed to get more intense from here. Now that they've seen what each other can do Fouquet will no doubt seek to further improve her designs in the future.
Fair play, still the fact that the chaperone decided to up and abandon her entire purpose for tagging along is a pretty dead giveaway. Not to mention how Fouquet's golem conveniently appears nearly immediately after.
Ah, and Louise's reaction to the frontier… well I gotta be honest I kinda jumped the gun on that one and ended up kinda buggering it a little. I'm tempted to wipe her old reaction, but I'll roll with it for now and fix it when Louise gets a better scope of what the militia and IMC are truly capable of.
With regards to fantasy ore once more, my primary source is going to be the Overlord anime/Light novels as well as what is generally established as common knowledge for the ores. Still at this time I need to properly organize all the floorplans of the base before I get too into detail with everything. Still mythril being 'magic' ore is definitely going to be a key point going forwards. Especially when it comes down to the 'mage loadout'.
As for the whole VR debacle… well let's just say the sim pod was part of the primary reason the base ended up existing in the first place. Rest assured, it will be holding a very important role in this story.
Last item, funnily enough in the first draft of the second chapter in this story FS quoted Jack Cooper's opening speech to describe Pilots to Louise. So don't worry, I will most certainly be using that speech in this story.
Thanks for the enormous review, until next time!
Guest : Glad to hear it, it's always fun when Louise gets to take the lead! Till next time!
EdoShadow : Why thank you! Not sure how it is reading this in translation, I hope it's going well! Until next time!
xyzdreadnought : I'm proud to hear that, still don't doubt yourself, I'm sure if you gave it a go you'd do great! Hope to see you stick around, and hey why not give writing a go yourself!
Donut : Phew that's great to hear thanks!
AyeJimmy123 : Noice!
Okay this next section is dedicated to all of you who were so supportive when I announced the delay. Thank you all so so much for all your understanding. As I stated before I am considering a Twitter account so I won't be announcing a chapter delay through the website and pinging you all with a notification when there is no chapter. Still thank you all once more for your patience and I hope to see you all stick around for more!
Until next time!