Occult Encounters: Porcelain Knight

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the author created characters and concepts. Thanks to Ranger Red 2.3, Mistycharming and SA June for their OC's used in this fic.

In the black of night, several miles from Numin, all was silent and eerily peaceful upon a large grassy plain. Then, a strong wind stirred, blowing the long grass back and forth as multiple thin strands of lightning struck the ground, leaving strange scorch marks behind. The marks soon burst to life, illuminating with mysterious white light. These markings themselves were particularly interesting, almost mistakable for ancient runes at first glance, though the elegant curves and flowing form to the scripture suggested it was far from the ancient markings. As the glow of the markings became more intense, streams of white light connected them in a perfect circle. Reaching a blinding level of intensity, the light burst upwards in a column of white light, extending above the clouds.

This column of immense light lasted only a few moments, once it subsided, two figures took its place. While one stood, the other was on their hands and knees. The one stood appeared to be larger and a man, though any other details in the night were completely obscured. His companion was considerably slimmer and their form gave away that they were a young woman. As she rose from the ground, she took a few deep breaths in. Her companion came to her side, supporting her as she caught her breath and stood upright.

"Are you alright miss Karin? With everything that you've had to go through… you haven't had time to rest and process it all. You must've expended much of your mana too, if you need to rest, just say the word." The male figure asked, moving away as she gave a nod.

"I'll be alright *Sniff* Landry, thanks for worrying. I can't still believe what's happened. Everything's gone now…" Karin paused, looking around to get her bearings while wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"I thought we were safe. Rothward screwed everyone over and now the other Magelords are dead because of them." Landry said, clenching his fists. "The people want to kill the rest of the nobles and I don't think we're safe yet young miss. When things started happening in the City, I should've done something to keep your family safe. I'm so sorry I failed them miss Karin."

"It's not your fault Landry. We should've tried to stop this before the uprising could happen. I don't blame you, or the dead Magelords. Rothward cut a deal with them and now their movement has everything… I'll blame them both because they're the reason I've got nothing left… They're why I'm all alone now." Karin hung her head low as Landry walked in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this miss Karin. But as long as I draw breath, you'll never be alone. I swore to always protect you and I'll never let you come to harm. So what do you want to do?" He consoled her, turning away and taking a few steps through the grass. "It looks like we came to a different realm as you said we would, the place is quiet. Not like ours is right now."

Karin nodded and joined him. "Thanks Landry but yeah, I think we're in the Arcanil's realm. My dad took me here once when I was a kid when he was doing a business deal with demons. Earth is pretty boring and the Arcanil walking around are pretty ignorant of the different powers hiding around them. But there." She pointed toward the distant city. "There's a strong presence, well multiple presences but they're all loosely bound together. I feel Celestial energy, Infernal and a strong power I can't figure. There's a couple others too but I've not encountered them before either."

Landry tilted his head, looking out at the city. "The people here, even if they're Arcanil, they've grown a lot using only their hands and their heads. Maybe not that different from Mages after all. Are you sure you're alright miss Karin? You should rest after what you've been through."

Karin shrugged. "I'm not sure Landry, I've not had time to think it over. But we got to look forward until we're really safe. I don't think they'll let us go easy. We should find some place nearby that's fortified, I've sensed something in that City that could help us."

Landry looked to her, raising an eyebrow. "What could be of help in an Arcanil City, miss Karin?"

"Well, someone. An old friend from the underworld. We better get going now. I need a safe place to start a projection, doubt it'll be long until they arrive here either. That's when we've got trouble"

[Occult Circle]

Saya sat up in her bed, rubbing her temples. It was the middle of the night and up until a few moments ago she had been sleeping peacefully, Though something had disturbed it, something supernatural and whatever it was, it was powerful enough for Saya's natural instincts as a demon to sense it. Though she would much rather return to her slumber, she couldn't ignore whatever had breached her earthly sanctuary, especially considering the potential threat she sensed from whatever now inhabited her home.

Wiping away the sleep from her eyes, the blue Demon set her eyes upon something most peculiar. In the dark it was still hard to make out her features precisely and the strange ashen aura projected around her figure obscured any tone of colour to the figure, but it appeared to be the young woman that had escaped not too long ago. Saya took note of the flowing long hair and the finery she wore. Even in a tired state, she wouldn't be careless enough to miss the important details of a potential threat, though as she examined what she could, Saya lowered her guard and rose from the bed.

"Wait, Karin? That's you?" Saya asked, getting closer to the ashen coloured figure.

The figure gave a half smile. "Sure is- well kinda. I'm doing an Astral projection right now. So I've gotta talk fast since I'm low on mana too."

"Well either way, it's good to see you. What's wrong though? you wouldn't be projecting if it wasn't important." She asked.

She was right to assume so, just the time and focus alone to project oneself through the Astral plane was enough of a pain for most mages to deal with, the gradual drain on their mana while projecting was an added vice to the art.

"Y-Yeah well… Bad things are happening all over Arcanaeum right now… I'll tell you more soon but I need you to come find me, I'm at an abandoned fort of some kind near the City you're in. Landry's here too, Please Saya, They're hunting me."

Saya let out a slight gasp as the projection began to fade. "Wait, who's hunting you? Karin, what's happened?" But it was too late for answers, the mage could no longer sustain her projection, fading from the room, leaving the High Demon alone and with more questions than answers. "Damn it Karin Trevil, what mess have you gotten yourself into this time?"

[Occult Circle]

Having called an urgent meeting as soon as the team was able to come together, the rangers alongside Ray and Gabriel met with Saya inside the Clubroom at the end of the school day to discuss the news involving Karin's Astral projection and the danger it was likely to bring. Standing at the desk while Joe dug through the Arcane section of books contained in their miniature Supernatural library, the young Demon sighed deeply, then looking up at her teammates.

"Thanks for meeting me. I'm afraid we won't have long if we don't act soon."

From where she sat Nyssa pressed her hand to her chin for a moment, taking a good look at the blue ranger. "Even though you don't look it, you're worried, what's wrong?"

"Ha." Saya started with a small morbid chuckle. "Trust you to see right through me. You all know magic's a thing, doubt you all know about the humans that can use it though."

"So Wizards and Witches are real after all then!" Ray interrupted cheerily.

"Yeah, just calm down Ray." She dismissed him before continuing. There's a realm though that flows with magic like no other. Joe have you found it yet?" She asked as he promptly returned with one of the large tomes that had been set upon the shelf.

As he placed it down and took his seat, the others in the room looked to see the intricate seal, lined with script similar to that Karin had conjured during her plane shift to Earth. Though only one recognised it.

"Ah, Arcanaeum, now it makes sense." Gabriel said, catching everyone else's attention.

"Huh, you know about that place Mr. Cadia?" Ellie asked for the equally confused group.

"I've done a lot of research on the Supernatural, I guess the Mages have to be the most interesting thing I've read into. Magic is pretty limitless even for mortals, what they've managed to do with it is a blend of art, science and passion I guess you'd say." He elaborated as several eyes narrowed at him.

"It's strange a mortal knows more about the Supernatural than even we do." Saya said, almost accusing him of something.

"I can't see his aura." Sera stated to the group. "I don't get why but he doesn't have one. But I don't see why he'd keep anything from us. Maybe I'm still exhausted from fighting with the Huntsmaster."

"I'd hate to say it." Nyssa started. "But we should focus on whatever Saya is so worried about. If Mr. Cadia could hide something from me, I can't see it."

"Yeah, that makes sense. So Saya, what's with this place then?" Max agreed, allowing the blue ranger to get back on track.

"What he said was right though, they've taken magic and done wondrous things with it, tamed the realm of Arcanaeum and built great cities that this world could only dream of. They came from here, the Mages, they left the rest of humanity behind for their lack of gifts and transported themselves to their new home Centuries ago. Since then over a hundred Magelords have ruled the land between them peacefully and studied the Arcane arts." She explained, reading out extracts from the pages of the tome.

"So what you're saying is this place is magic paradise." Ellie summed up.

Saya chuckled at the thought. "I'd say it's more complex than that. But that brings me to why I'm telling you all this. One of the Magelords tends to do a lot of business with my father. Souls in exchange for 'research materials.'" She cringed saying those last two words. "Magelords are usually ethically challenged so he asks for some pretty gruesome things even by a Demon's standards. But he has a daughter, Karin whose a couple of years older than me. Since he does business a lot, we became friends."

"So I'm guessing this has to do with her, right?" Joe deduced as he read through the pages of the book some more, now intrigued by the subject of Arcanaeum itself.

"Yeah, it does. She contacted me last night through an Astral Projection." She paused, realising she would have to give some explanation on the concept. "How can I put it. It's like sending your spirit travelling through a metaphysical realm and projecting it somewhere in the realm you're currently in to talk with someone. That's as best as I can put it. She said she was in trouble though, there's a group hunting her but I don't know any more. She usually does get herself into some kind of mess but this time… Whatever happened sounds dire. She said she was in some kind of abandoned fort outside the city, but that's all I know. So could you all help going after her?"

Joe rose from his seat and put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to ask, we're all friends right? We help each other out when we can, it's just what we do. Now we just have to work out where she is." He reassured her as the other rangers nodded in agreement.

Ray scratched his head, shooting up from his seat moments later. "I know the place, there's only one fort out here and it's this ruined Colonial one that's been abandoned since the Revolution."

Something clicked in the back of Max's head too. "Hey I think I know that place. When me and Maxcine were young we'd play in the forest and we used to race to it all the time." He realised with a smile, reminiscing on the past.

"Looks like we'll have no problem heading there then. Alright, let's move out and save Saya's friend from whatever mess she's in." Joe commanded the rest of his team as they stood and prepared to embark on the journey to defeat whatever force was hunting the young Mage.

[Occult Circle]

Arriving in the area as the sun rested low in the sky, the Occult Rangers made a short trek from the highway leading away from Numin and through the trees. All the while both Nyssa and Sera flew above them, watching for any suspicious activity, namely from the Cult. However, it only took a few minutes to reach the abandoned fort with Max leading the way and there seemed to be no sign of an ambush as the two rangers returned to the ground beside their comrades.

Standing at the edge of the fort's walls, they could see that there wasn't much left, even in low light. Practically nothing remained past the severely damaged stone walls and the crumbled foundations. Making their way inside, they saw two people, one rested while the other talked.

The former was a young woman, maybe a few years older than Saya. her hair was long, flowing and brown and she wore a dress made of fine materials, similar to satin and silk, the elegant design alone giving off that vibe. However as the group of six approached, they noticed something strange with her, the colour of her eyes was like nothing they had seen in a person before. It was an almost reflective silvery colour and sparkled brightly in the stray ray of light from the setting sun. Clearly even though Mages were human, there were some characteristics that split them from their ordinary cousins.

While they approached, the latter of the two rose from the makeshift seat of bricks he had been sat on. He must have been well over 6 feet tall, an absolute bear of a man by anyone's standards. Light plates of a strange red metal were strapped around his shins, wrists and chest. All layered over tough dark coloured clothing. Draped over this ensemble was a cape of vermillion, scarcely hiding the unnervingly wide blade of the broadsword hanging by leathery straps at his side. The weapon looked to need inhuman strength to wield, the fact it hung so casually at his side unnerved a few of them to say the least. His hair was short, spiky and blonde. Unlike his companion however, his eyes were a dull and lifeless green. Yet he possessed porcelain white skin. Unnaturally perfect and despite the strong facial structure and stern expression he held, there wasn't an injury in sight.

Each of the rangers stopped dead in their tracks as the man moved toward them, resting his sword arm on the hilt of the weapon as he halted and took a stance to engage them at a moments notice. He sized them up for a moment, gripping his blade. "These aren't Arcanil miss Karin, we might be in danger." He alerted his companion as he fixed his gaze on Joe who now lead the team through the fort. "State your business, if you intend to harm miss Karin, then I'll have no choice but to end you all swiftly." he warned them, clenching the grip of his hilt tightly.

Joe braced himself by taking a step back but looked to the blue ranger behind him. "Huh, Arca-what now? Wait, Karin's the name of that friend of yours right? Know how we can get to her without that guy cutting us in two?"

Saya nodded and stepped forwards, into the swordsman's point of view. "It's okay Landry, Sayakriel Leviathan of House Leviathan here to see Karin Trevil." She explained rather formally, conjuring up whatever attitude of nobility she could in her introduction.

Slowly, Landry loosened his grip and gave a firm nod. "Understood, wait a moment." He said, returning to where Karin sat and relaying the information to her.

"Thanks Landry, can you keep an eye out for anything moving around the fort?"

"If that is what you ask of me." He replied almost robotically with his words as she nodded a yes. Promptly the warrior strode off to patrol around the fort's walls as Karin rose from where she sat and moved to where the six rangers stood, five of them still quite confused as to the current situation.

"Saya!" Karin beamed as she saw the young Demon with her own eyes. She was several inches taller than Saya, made clear when she came close and wrapped her tightly in a hug. The others could see the exact moment when the air in their teammate's lungs was squeezed from her body by the other girl. They could only watch with surprise and laugh a little at the rare situation Saya found herself in. "I'm glad you're alright." She added as she let go and took a step back.

"I'm more glad that you are Karin, when you projected things sounded bad. What happened, you didn't crash one of those weird necromancy parties again did you?" She asked with a pointed tone.

Though the others were slightly curious and worried about what exactly a necromancy party might entail, it clearly wasn't the right mood to be doing so. Karin glanced away from her friend and her eyes appeared to become dejected, Saya immediately put her serious face back on as her old friend waved over to the piles of stone bricks.

"Try make yourselves comfy, this'll take some explaining." She told them as the group made their way over, ready for whatever grave news Karin had to tell them. Once everyone was seated, the young Mage took a deep breath and began. "For a long time now the people of Arcanaeum have been unhappy with the ruling noble faction, the Magelords. They banded together as a new faction for the people, trying to reform society. Even adopted a dumb acronym, ARM. Guess it's our fault for thinking it was stupid though. A few days ago, ARM started riots everywhere, the Magelords weren't aware of how many supporters they had, or that one of our best had betrayed us." She explained, balling her hands into fists as she recounted the events and tried to hold back her own grief and tears.

"ARM? Never heard of them, I guess they're new, but who betrayed you? You said one of your best, you don't mean-"

"One of the thirteen greats? Yeah. I'm not surprised you've not heard of ARM though, they're serious nationalists, think magic, science and their own hands can solve everything and they don't like anyone that isn't from Arcanaeum. It was Rothward, one of Dad's old friends. Damn it… They gave those bastards access to the entire Rothwood Silhouette Division. That and the riots, none of the Magelords stood a chance. I bet they're all dead now… and their families… and my family too. DAMN IT!" She Screamed out in a sudden burst of emotion as she finally broke and let loose the tears she had been holding back for a while now.

Rushing to her side, her companion Landry was extraordinarily quick to react to her outburst and began to try and console her. Saya exchanged a worried glance with her friends before standing. "Come on, we should give her a few minutes to calm down. When she's ready we can find out why she came to me for help."

Joe nodded. "That sounds like the best thing. Maybe you can fill us in on the blanks while we wait."

Making their way to one of the rear walls of the fort, the other five rangers looked to Saya. "Are you sure she'll be alright? Her heart feels sad, broken, angry." Sera listed off the grieving girl's emotions, regardless of however obvious they were to the others.

"She'll be fine, Karin's probably tougher than me with these things. She'll just need time."

"I understand, but I'm still sad to see her in all that pain, like how Joe was before he found me again." Sera added as Saya nodded a thanks.

"Alright, could you explain what she was going on about. I get the whole thing with the Magelords and this ARM but who's Rothward?" Joe set the conversation back on course as they began to find answers to the questions pressing them.

"Arcanaeum is run by the Magelords like we've gone over, they're like the Underworld's ruling houses in how they operate but they don't really have anyone ruling over them as a whole. It's like they all keep to their own territory and do their own thing and don't really bother each other. Rothward along with Trevil. Each rules their own slice of land, usually a city and a good chunk of territory around it. Rothward rules Rothwood and Trevil rules Trevillia. It's pretty much like that everywhere in Arcanaeum."

"Guess that explains that. Didn't Karin say something about those Rothwood guys being one of the 'thirteen greats' or something?" Max asked.

"That's right, I won't get into the number, they're very enthusiastic about the number thirteen over there as it is but the 'greats' are the strongest Magelords and practically hold all the power in Arcanaeum between them. Rothward's always been in the top tier among them. Trevil less so."

"So." Ellie started. "What's this about crashing necromancer parties?"

Saya flinched at the crimson ranger's question, blushing slightly with embarrassment. "U-Uh. Damn I knew I shouldn't have mentioned that." She muttered before regaining her composure. "If you wish to keep breathing, I suggest none of you ever ask that question again."

"What? I'm just saying what's on everyone's minds." Ellie replied as the others looked away and acted uninterested. "Judases." She muttered and folded her arms, knowing Saya's reaction just increased their curiosity on the matter, even if they did value their lives more than the answer.

Nyssa finally cleared her throat after a few moments of silence. "Regardless of what we might be more interested in finding out, she mentioned that this 'Silhouette Division' was involved and it played a key part in this 'revolution' of theirs. What is it?" She inquired, the blue ranger however, looked away from the others and gave a deep sigh.

"You don't want to know."

"Saya, if these guys are the same people as the ones you said were hunting her, then we need to know what we're up against." Joe reasoned.

Saya gave a sigh and turned to face them once more and sighed deeply and gave a reluctant nod. "Alright. In short, they're monsters. Think of Landry, Karin's protector, and picture something five times his size, fully mechanical, powered by magic and about as strong as him. Then picture a Mage piloting him from within, able to control it and cast the same spells as usual and use something called anti-magic. Silhouette's are built for one thing, Mage killing. They're the worst form of Manatek ever designed. If one shows up, we can't fight it. We'd just all die." She gave a very pessimistic detailing on these mechanical monstrosities, though given their specs, it wasn't hard to see why.

"No kidding. You're probably right, but still…" Joe started, getting their attention. "We can't just give up if one shows up. We'll at least try to stop it. But you said it was as strong as Landry right? Thought he wasn't normal, so what is he? He looks pretty human."

"So you picked up on that. He's what mages call a Doll. He looks human enough but he isn't. His body is artificial, they make them of all sorts for different reasons but for some reason Landry is made of something with a similar tone to Porcelain, I bet it's enchanted too so his body can take as many hits as possible. But Dolls are like servants made with a popular magic among Magelords, they call it programming magic. Works more or less like ordering a mindless soldier around, or a making a computer AI, those things humans are fond of. But they're limited in that they can't think for themselves and always ask for orders or confirmation of action based on running programs. They can be basic but Landry's probably as complex as they come. I suppose it should go without saying they can be that strong under the right conditions that they're as strong as a Silhouette, hence why I compared one to Landry, since he is likely one of the strongest Dolls made and enchanted."

"Huh, never knew those kinds of things existed." Nyssa chimed in, pressing her thumb to her chin.

"I've heard of things like that." Sera interjected. "They're pretty taboo in every other Realm I know, must be Arcanauem's an exception. I know the practice of making similar things is banned among the Celestials but some of my kind disagree with the ban, making the excuse that it's difficult and requires a lot of effort and 'sacrifice' to pull off."

"Looks like you Celestials aren't as united as you like to think. Maybe you could take some hints from the Mages on how to make them safely." Nyssa took the opportunity to get in a jab at the Angelic factions.

"So." Joe quickly stopped a dispute from brewing, seeing it in the eyes of both white and black rangers. "There's one thing Landry said that I still don't get. What's an Arcanil?"

"Oh. That's just what mages say when they're referring to humans without Magic, basically most of the humans on Earth. They don't consider Mages from Earth as one of them either, calling them Wizards and Witches respectively." Saya summed up.

"Huh, that's the only thing that wasn't overly complex to explain, you know a lot about Arcanaeum though. I guess I should expect it since you're a-" Joe said, cutting short as a large shard of crystallized ice zipped through the air and pierced his heart, knocking the wind out of him and dropping him to one knee.

The five remaining rangers remained alert, directing their attention to the source of the ice shard that had injured their red ranger. What they found was surprising, Landry had returned and now wielded his greatsword effortlessly with one hand while raising his guard to protect Karin from the attacker. Opposite him stood three soldiers, or at least that's what they appeared to be. The uniforms were akin in style to the dress uniforms most modern armed forces on Earth still wore, the colour was primarily green but also sported a black trimming. Similarly they all carried what looked like on first glance, modern firearms. Pistols all trained on the magic Doll opposing them. Though further inspection would reveal the lack of a nozzle for bullets and instead sported more metallic parts than any ordinary handgun would.

Though the rangers remained on edge as Joe began to recover and rise, they took note in the weapons and how familiar it seemed. "Hey, doesn't that remind you of…" Max spoke up.

"Lilyanna's weapon. That rifle that fired out bolts of magic. I didn't think people other than Magia had one." Ellie confirmed.

"It's not hard to believe though. They are much farther ahead than humans technology-wise. Adding magic to what they can already create just makes them much more dangerous." Saya added.

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news but look." Joe said, pointing out a few key points.

Surrounding the breaches in the forts walls were several squadrons of the strange military forces, they were boxed in, the only way out would be to fight. They took no time to think about it and morphed in a burst of Supernatural energies before running to where Karin and Landry stood.

"We've got more company all over the place. Karin, do you have enough mana to help us fight?" Saya asked as the other rangers assessed the situation.

"Yeah, but I doubt I could handle much more than what's here. Hopefully the situation doesn't get any worse." She nodded.

Though at that moment, the eyes of the eight present widened with shock as a large object fell from the sky, slamming into the ground with quaking force and kicking up a cloud of dust. Landry and Karin coughed as the dust entered their lungs and blinded them momentarily. At first, when the dust began to clear, all the rangers could see was the silhouette of a large humanoid figure. As it cleared entirely, their eyes widened with shock.

Before them was a hulking figure, built like a metallic human clad in Knightly armour, wielding a giant sword quite similar to the one Landry wielded. It's armour was a silvery black, the joints and frame underneath seemed to be made of a black metal too. A spherical core buzzed with a light green energy as it stood motionless. The numerous scratches on the metallic monster's hull and the worn texture to the metal indicated it had been through a lot of use, which didn't inspire confidence in the rangers as they looked at it.

In an instant the V shaped visor of the machine lit up with the same green light it's core emitted and a voice spoke out from what was likely a speaker embedded into the Knightly figure. "This is Knight Captain Vander Black on behalf of the Arcanaeum Reformist Ministry. As a member of the ARM's newly formed Armoured Division, I've come with forces from our wider military to find Karin Trevil."

"It's a Silhouette…" Saya gasped, taken aback by the sheer size and imposing appearance it gave off, needless to say, the other rangers felt the same.

"Not just any Silhouette Saya." Karin started. "That there is the Void Knight. It's a custom Silhouette for the Knight Captain of Rothwood's Armoured Division. Looks like he chose to side with ARM then."

Landry gritted his teeth as he faced the Silhouette and readied his weapon with two hands. "I've seen what the Void Knight can do in demonstrations I escorted Lord Trevil to in Rothwood. None of you would survive fighting it head on. Needless to say, Captain Vander is a powerful adversary. Even for an Arcanil."

"Weird they'd let an Arcanil lead an AD. He wouldn't be as powerful as letting even a weak Mage pilot it." Karin noted.

"Maybe not, but having seen his swordsmanship, I'd see why they might." Landry replied as he focused on the mighty Silhouette before them. "This is Landry, Servant of Trevillia's Magelord and guardian of his family! I'm afraid I can't allow you to harm and put and end to miss Karin's life like you have done to the remaining Magelords and their families across the realm! If you want her, you'll have to go through me first!" He called over to Vander as the Silhouette nodded.

"I understand you'd be upset, our Revolution took a nasty turn and the riots broke out of control. I regret that we couldn't contain it and lost the lives of innocent nobles as a result." Vander surprisingly began to apologise, his tone sounding genuine even over a speaker. "We have saved who we could and we of ARM's military are working to ensure that no others suffer because of our actions. We wanted reform not chaos, and we'll bear that failure going forward. So please, come quietly, so we can change Arcanaeum together not divided."

"I cannot allow anyone to take miss Karin anywhere, As the last order from Lord Trevil, anyone associated with ARM has to be eliminated if they try. I'm sure you understand my running programs can't be disobeyed, even if miss Karin wants to leave since the one who cast it is no more and therefore can't end."

Karin's eyes went wide as the Occult rangers watched, they all wanted to help but if Landry predicted they could easily die from fighting something equal, perhaps even greater than his own strength with this particular unit. Not to mention the soldiers that had silently encircled them and left them nowhere to run. "Landry no! Stand down, I'll go with them just don't fight him! I don't want to lose you too…" She pleaded but to no avail as Landry shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I can't disobey a running program, even if the running program to follow your orders conflicts with it. But don't cry for me miss Karin, it's my duty to live and die for you. And that's what I must do. It's been an honour."

"I'm sorry too for what it's worth. I admit it will be fulfilling to fight the infamous Porcelain Knight. But I'll find no joy in it." He offered his condolences. "But we have no choice in the case of a Doll, not without enacting a Master Shutdown spell, but then what's the difference between that and killing him? Come then, I'll give you a proper send off as a warrior and on my honour, Karin Trevil will be safe from harm when she comes with us. It's the least I can do." Vander promised as he took control of the Silhouette.

The Void Knight gripped it's sword and pointed it at Landry as the warrior on the ground charged with incredible speed, leaping from the ground as he came in close and driving his large weapon forward as he came near the chest of the Silhouette. Driving it in with all his might, Landry pierced the chest deep and drew the weapon back out as he repulsed from the chest with his feet before landing down on the ground a fair ways from the Void Knight.

Knight Captain Vander chuckled through the speaker. "So looks like all I heard was true, the Porcelain Knight would have no problem taking down the average Silhouette and pilot. You even managed to strike into the cockpit and leave a sizeable gash on my face. You're commendable and I regret everything I have to do today other than ensuring Karin's safety. I'm sorry but it has to be this way, activating ward neutralisation core." He spoke as a strange black aura, that appeared to absorb the light around it, grew around the Void Knight's blade.

In a swift effortless swing, the blade struck Landry, shocking everyone as the wards reinforcing his body shattered and the blade split through him cleanly. Collapsing sideways, his body splitting in two and some of it even shattering around where the blade had impacted. Karin's heart sank as she watched from where she stood.

All she could do was run toward his shattered body all the while crying out his name. "LANDRY!"

From where they stood, the rangers could only watch themselves. Despite their initial impression on things, this was something they couldn't involve themselves in. Vander Black seemed noble and remorseful for even having to kill an inhuman Doll like Landry. He seemed regretful for the actions that lead to the uncontrollable death and destruction that occurred in ARM's Revolution. But he seemed genuine in his want to keep Karin safe from harm, even if it meant Landry would be no more. It seemed like a mess now they thought about it, the whole thing a coup gone slightly wrong and good men left to clean up and try make things right. Even if they had been itching for a fight at first, they were glad that they wouldn't have to come to that. Though what was worrying was the power of a Silhouette, even a standard one, if it could destroy magical wards like they were paper, it worried them that such power alone existed, let alone all the other potential they might hold. If the Abyssal Cult managed to get their hands on one, it could prove disaster. The rangers only hoped their foes weren't watching and had no plans to do so.

Karin ran to Landry's side, his whole body was cracked and it appeared as if he had only so many moments till it would shatter and he would be no more. "Lan*Sob*dry" She started, unable to hold back her tears as the last being she cared for began to die. "I'm so *Sob* sorry. It's my fault."

"No It's alright, it had to be this way. If we had escaped, you would've been in more danger. This way you'll be safe. Don't cry though miss Karin, you'll spoil the beautiful smile you usually have that way…" He let out a groan of pain. "Don't hate them either miss. I'm sure the monsters that went too far will be brought to justice with someone strong with a sword and stronger with his heart, like Captain Vander. Go with him, make your home something to look up to. I'm sorry I failed you though. I… Said I… Wouldn't… Leave… Y-ou…" Landy finished as he became still.

Karin closed her eyes. "Landry, you didn't fail me. You've always been there and I couldn't ask for a better protector. Thanks for always being there for me… *Sob* But I'll try and carry on, by myself. For you and for everyone. Goodbye *Sob* my Porcelain Knight." She said opening her eyes, only now realising that his body had shattered, only shards, the armour he wore and the sword he wielded remained.

She rose to her feet as the ARM soldiers arrived alongside the rangers, both sides having long ceased any open hostilities to each other. As Karin turned to face to powered down rangers, two of the soldiers began to collect the effects of the fallen warrior behind her, whether by order or simply respect to a fallen combatant didn't matter, it was still a noble gesture.

"So what will you do now?" Saya asked as Karin cleaned herself up.

"I don't know, but I can't stay stuck on what happened. If Captain Vander is anything like the rest of ARM, I might have them wrong. If they're working to make Arcanaeum into something great for everyone and not just the Magelords and their families, then that's something I want to be a part of. Hopefully we can work out how if we work together, maybe we'll be wrong and screw things up, maybe we'll find our way eventually, who knows. But I want to make a difference. Just do one thing for me Saya, for yourself really, just in case I never see you again."

She requested, leaning in close to avoid anyone else overhearing. "If you ever find that you love someone, tell them you do. Before it's too late. If they're your family let them know how much you care. If they're your best friends and can't get through the day without sharing some laughs, tell them how much you care that they're there. And if there's someone special. Someone that makes it hurt here." She started, pointing to Saya's heart. "Then tell them how much your heart aches, whether you're with them or without them, it doesn't matter. Because that's when you know it's real love. You never know when you'll be able to see someone again, so don't wait, even if you're scared. You never know if the last time you saw someone will be the last time you ever see them. So don't say goodbye without saying everything you want, everything you can. Promise me Saya, for your sake. Because you're the closest thing to a sister I have now and you should know I love you just as much as if you were my sister and I don't want to see you sad either."

Saya was taken aback by her friend's words. In the end she gave a firm nod, ignoring her slightly flustered cheeks. "Alright, I promise. I love you like you're my older sister too." She finally decided.

"Just make sure you take care of whoever's making your heart beat like crazy right now. A good Mage can sense these things after all." Karin added with a cheeky wink as she moved off her best friend. "Thanks everyone, for coming to help, even if it didn't matter in the end. I hope we'll see each other again some time. Alright boys we ready to get back to Arcanaeum?" She asked addressing the soldiers beside her.

"A-Affirmative miss Karin! Knight Captain Vander has requested you aid us in that and plane shift our entire platoon and the Void Knight if you're able."

"I guess it won't be too hard. Sure, let's go." she agreed, making her way to where the slightly maimed Silhouette had moved into a kneeling position.

At its feet, the rangers saw what appeared to be a young man in his mid-twenties, with combed dark hair, a clean shaven face and a fresh cut across his face, his uniform appeared slightly different too, sporting similar additions that an officer's dress uniform would usually have compared to a soldier's but keeping to the same colour scheme generally. He had his arms folded behind his back. Though this was likely Vander, they had no time to confirm. He gave them a short nod as Karin took her time with the spell before she and the entire unit dispatched to retrieve her were consumed by the same kind of column of light she had came to Earth through, then moments later, it faded and neither the people within it or the Silhouette remained.

Though things hadn't gone as expected, the rangers had left today wiser about a realm they had knew nothing about until today. Though things looked shaky for Arcanaeum's future, if men like Vander Black were in abundant supply and Karin could make her goals a reality, they were confident that it could make it through it. But they also prayed that they would never have to face even a standard Silhouette on the battlefield. But the worry still loomed over them that their enemy had been watching and planned to do just that in the quelling chaos of the still burning fires of Arcanaeum's Revolution.

[Occult Circle]

A day after the events at the old fort, another uneventful school day was over and with no further clues as to who their mystery mole is, the Club decided to adjourn for the day. As it did though, Saya asked Joe if he could stay behind for a few minutes and having agreed to her request, the two now stood alone in the Clubroom.

"Listen Joe… There's no easy way for me to say this and I can't really go back on a promise to Karin So here I go." She started, Joe completely oblivious to the train that was about to hit him. "I think I'm in love with you. Ever since what you did for my family in the Underworld against House Phoenix, I've been feeling things. In my chest whenever I look at you or think about you. I know when we met we ended up sealing a bond between us by accident and then did our best to act like it didn't exist but now. Now whenever I think about that, my heart, it feels like agony. And I always got too scared to say all of this until now, until Karin explained just what love felt like and when she did, it all made sense, what I've been feeling. I'm sorry if I'm putting all of this on you out of the blue but now I've said it all I just have to know. How do you feel?"

Joe stood perfectly still, mouth agape with surprise that she had just laid out her feelings before him, but he had to answer some time, instead of just considering it. Though it certainly help that he had been put on the spot out of the blue like this. "Wow, Saya… I-"

|Occult Circle|

Magical Construct - Doll - Created from both organic and synthetic materials to look human and act human to varying degrees, the Doll is similar to a Golem but within Arcanaeum are used for many tasks such as acting as servants and menial labour, minimising risk to the Mages of Arcanaeum. Because of this, most of Arcanaeum regards them as less than people and just tools to further society. But those few who don't have seen the more human factor of certain Dolls and been inspired by it, working to one day maybe even create a sentient Doll. However magic has its limits and they have began to turn to other theories that could prove fruitful which involve technology and Artificial Intelligence…

Realm - Arcanaeum - Otherwise known as the realm of magic, this realm is a mystical place abundant with magic and home to numerous magical beings. The most abundant of which are the Mages, descendants of the ancient Mages from Earth who originally mastered the art of plane shifting and began an exodus of magic users. But not all left with them and chose to remain on Earth, passing on their bloodline. The realm itself is a paradise in the eyes of many. Though it does have its own problems, it's unrivalled mastery over magic as a whole and its technology envied by many make it one of the most prosperous realms, surpassing even Earth, though unlike Earth it doesn't contain as many mysteries nor does it have potential conquerors constantly desiring it. After the Arcanaeum Reformist Ministry finally came to power and it began to quell the flames of it's grim Revolution, it began to draft a Tier system for all Mages, both in it's realm and beyond. Ranging from 0, the lowest and where all Arcanil are placed in the system, to 13, where only the most powerful Mages are placed. Many of History's most powerful Sorcerers and Sorceresses have been ranked as Tier 13, such as the famous Merlin and infamous Morgana Le Fey.

And that's chapter 27 and I'm just realising how long this actually is. Sorry for ending things like I did though and teasing you all a little by cutting it mid-sentence. It was fun to end it like that though. You'll get to see Joe's answer next time though. So this was supposed to go a whole lot differently, I was supposed to have this and a couple others out before Valentine's too but not everything goes to plan. But I'm happy with how it came out, even if it did focus more on the side characters and introducing Arcanaeum more than anything. As a bit of an apology for dashing anyone's hopes of seeing something happen between the two today and because I feel like it, I decided to make two lore entries, so I hope you enjoyed that little treat.

So I'd love to hear what you all thought and who knows, maybe if my focus on these guest characters and the world building for this realm are anything to go by, there's more to come with that in the future. But aside from that obvious hint I can't say any more on my intentions for doing that. I'll be making up for the lack of much action with a good fight next so just you wait, also one more chapter to go until I round off this arc and it'll be one that I know some people have been waiting for/have figured out so the excitement builds. I'll try to get these out quicker just for that at the least. Thanks for reading this almost double length chapter, discounting the AN and I hope it wasn't too much of a struggle to get through and I hope you'll keep on with it, if you've gone this far though, I probably don't need to say that though. Thanks for reading!

Next Chapter: Occult Beasts: Leviathan

Synopsis: Soon after Saya's confession, a local new report alerts the group to a new trouble for the City. With reports of a large shadow being sighted swimming down the large river toward Numin Lake, the group set out to investigate. Though Saya seems distant about the whole thing. What will come of their investigation? Will the author stop being mean and let the Saya & Joe ship sail, or will he find some way to mess with it? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Occult Circle.