Chapter 16: The Lady of Starlight
They had always been close as children, and Belle had always looked up to her sister. Perhaps it was just sibling rivalry, as the older woman had always been better than her at it, but her mechatronic skills, her relentless drive towards being the best computer hacker she could possibly be, everything she had worked and strived for she had done with the memory of her sister haunting her and urging her on all the while.
All her tribulations of the past eight years she could trace back to that fateful night when her sister disappeared. Her sister had been her only family. Belle had turned her back on her hometown, her school, her job, her colleagues and friends—everything she had known and was familiar with—as she embarked on a private war to get her sister back.
Duke was her childhood friend, and she had always known that he loved her. He was the only person who had the gumption to stay with her throughout her journey and self-imposed exile, knowing that she needed a companion. In his own way he bonded her to her long-forgotten childhood, to the untroubled days before she had even heard of chroma children and Aeon Industries. He was her one link to the past, and her single source of strength to face the future. It was a future that, undoubtedly for her, was intertwined with that of the biggest manufacturer of electronic devices in the Continent—a company that had a certain interest in memory circuits, psyche amplifiers and chroma children.
They said it was because her nephew was a chroma child, but she knew the truth. They took her sister because she was the best at what she did. She was the only mechatronics expert who had ever been able to integrate magick with electronic devices—the only person to create a psyche amplifier that could be used by those born without the strength of psyche.
Even those born with the gift cannot cast magic so simply. Psyche amplifiers were devices that enable the gifted to magnify their inborn psychic talents, so that they were able to manifest their psyche, or magick, into the physical world. Psyche-amps remain rare, even in their modern day and age, and the devices usually take the form of gloves or tiaras, although there have been rumors about some isolated country in the Orient where they had a famous gun that was actually a psyche-amp…
Aside from her sister's favorite gold bangles, she still had with her an actual pair of psyche amplifiers, done in the form of silver manacles. It was the special kind that could be used even by those born without the gift of magick, as Belle herself was an ordinary human. She heard that Psycho Master also had a pair of the same kind of psyche-amp, a recent model of similar design, and his produced lightning. But as for her own… hers produced the more conventional form of magical attacks.
Her psyche-amps were her sister's latest creations before the latter had been taken away, and the twin manacles were tailor-fit for Belle. Her sister had made them for her, simply because she could and she wanted to. But the maker of the bangles never imagined that Belle would be using them in the search for her when she went missing.
In spite of everything, Belle had never lost the hope that someday she would finally be able to rescue her sister from those who would only use her unique knowledge of mechatronics and psyche amplifiers for their own ends. Belle missed her sister so badly. The memory of that night she disappeared was like a scar that had never healed.
It happened over eight years ago, yet she remembered it as if it was yesterday.
"You have to understand," the raven-haired woman whispered urgently as she held tight to her younger sister's arm. "I have to go with them. I have to. My son is a chroma child, and they… they're the only ones who can save him."
"No, it's you who doesn't understand," the young blonde had whispered back. "They're just going to take him from you! Don't you know what they're going to do to him? Why won't you listen to me?!"
But the older woman shook her head as she stepped backwards, and her look was one of hopeless anxiety. "I'm sorry, Belle. I have no other choice."
A white-haired man was there as well, and he gently took the older woman by the elbow to lead her away. "It's time to go," he said, his voice solemn. "Goodbye, Belle. Don't worry—we'll be taking good care of your sister and your nephew for you."
"The hell you are!" Belle snapped back suddenly. She jumped him, both her fists aiming for the center of his chest area. "You're not taking her away from me!!"
The move caught Ruecian by surprise. Her sudden attack hit him dead in the stomach and he doubled over, coughing violently. Belle took that moment to grab her sister and make a run for it.
Unexpectedly, the older woman followed her and ran as well, grasping tightly to her younger sister's outstretched hand. They made their way out the back door of their house and into a small side alley that would lead them through their hometown's maze of city streets, never once stopping to look back.
"If you really wanted to go with him, then why aren't you resisting me?" In spite of the immediate predicament, Belle couldn't help but smile inwardly. Best mechatronic wizard in the galaxy, my foot… you're still so indecisive, Sis! Whatever would you do without me?
She led them through the dimly lighted, one-lane streets towards the edge of town, where she hoped they would be able to hitch a train ride to the next city and, hopefully, to freedom. After several sharp turns around dank corners, they reached the end of another alley to find their way blocked by a huge metal gate. The train station was just on the other side.
No way to break through, unless… She squinted slightly as she rapidly surveyed the scene, searching for something—anything!—that could possibly help them in their getaway. There. She caught sight of a computer terminal. With luck, she could hack into it and use it to open the doors… she walked over to the console, quickly letting go of her sister's hand as she began to type. Her sister stood beside her, unspeaking, tapping her foot impatiently as she looked nervously from side to side. Seeing no one, she flipped her long hair absently before she folded her arms over her chest and cast her eyes down.
It took her a full five minutes of furious hacking before Belle heard an audible click of what (she hoped) was some sort of switch, and the console in front of her started to blink green. Gradually, but definitely, the heavy gates began to open. "Let's go!" She grabbed her sister's arm and they walked briskly towards the slowly moving doors.
They were about halfway towards reaching it, when all of a sudden she heard a metallic clang! and the doors began moving shut again.
No! She had already broken through the door's security codes—it shouldn't be closing now! There was a sudden clammy feeling in the pit of her stomach as she realized what it meant. Ruecian. He could control electronic devices by mere thought… Ruecian had found them… They ran, Belle leading, but the gates were closing, it was too late and they were not going to make it in time…
A shadow passed in front of her, and Ruecian was there. He hit her hard across the face, forcibly knocking her aside and she bodily hit the wall with a sickening thump. Badly dazed, she slid down onto the dirty floor of the alley.
She felt a drop of cold sweat or blood trickle down the back of her neck. Ruecian spat disdainfully at her, "Idiot. You should have known better." Helpless and too weak to move, Belle could do no more than look up at him, her expression contorted in barely-restrained fury and her fists clenched feebly at her sides.
"George, you didn't…!!" The woman started forward, but Ruecian pulled her back.
"Don't worry," he waved a hand vaguely to dismiss the older woman's concerns. "I didn't hurt her too much. She'll have a headache when she wakes up, but she'll be fine."
The woman bit her lower lip, and Ruecian sighed. He let her arm go. "Make it quick." She nodded. She went over to the fallen girl and hugged her tightly about the shoulders.
"I'm sorry," the woman whispered one last time as she pulled away. She smiled weakly, sadly, and a single, glassy tear fell down her left cheek. At the last, carefully wiping at her eyes, she turned away to leave with the white-haired man. The smile and those words were Belle's last memory of her sister as everything had then gone black.
Of course I remember. "What kind of a stupid question is that, Valen?" Her voice was barely audible as she whispered the words, and she gripped the receiver so tightly as she hung up the phone that her hand was shaking. "Yeah, I'll get those circuits for you. And I'll continue to keep an eye on your precious chroma child."
Her vision turned blurry with frustrated tears, but strangely she found herself laughing. She had heard all about it, naturally—how enraged Doll Master had been when he found out that his band of 'specialists' had tried to kidnap Rue Kincaid in his absence, and that they even lost Prima Doll in the process.
But aside from Ruecian himself, none of them knew that Belle was working directly for the big boss of Aeon Industries. It was so ironic, considering that it was Aeon Industries who ruined her life by taking her sister away in the first place. But no—they paid her well—and her loyalties now belonged to Valen and Ruecian whether she liked it or not.
She was the trump card, and she understood what that meant.
"Duke," she called his name as she heard the soft knock, and the door to her room creaked open. "You're still awake?"
The dark-haired man raised his eyebrows questioningly at her as he let himself into the dimly-lit bedroom. The moonlight filtered faintly through the window blinds through which Belle gazed to the outside, but even in the dark it didn't escape him that his lady had been crying. "I thought I heard the phone ring."
Belle wiped at her eyes somewhat self-consciously, but it was alright—she never hid anything from Duke anyway. "He called. We're running out of time."
"What does he want now?"
"Just the usual." She turned towards him then, leaning backwards against the windowsill. "Klaus is sending Rue to find Cosmos Corp's missing sollerets, although I doubt that the boy knows what he's looking for. He'll be leaving for the Ghost Temple tomorrow afternoon—I want you to get there before he does."
Duke nodded somberly. They had gone through this before, and he knew what he had to do.
The sun had yet to rise the next day, but Klaus was already up. He was down in the basement, casually clicking his laptop's keys as he surfed for more information on Cosmos Corporation's electronics.
Psyche amplifiers… The concept behind psyche amplifiers was actually an old technology, and Klaus had known about their existence even before the first journals regarding their theory had been published over twenty years ago. His work on the Carona Ruins had led him to research on magick a long time ago, while he was still taking up his college degree in Ephlesia University.
He found it rather curious that he was researching on them again. He thought he had known about all the manufacturing of psyche-amps when he had once worked as a junior researcher for Cosmos Corporation, but apparently there were still some things he had missed.
He remembered a time when his fellow researchers had suddenly quit their project for no apparent reason, and later he found that they had been coaxed to switch their loyalties to a rival company. The president of Aeon Industries could be a very persuasive person when he set his mind on it. Dr. Terry Prometheus Valen had a reputation that the people who would work for him could never anymore leave his service. And there were the rumors Klaus had heard from his old acquaintances—that Aeon Industries had no qualms about working on the wrong side of the law, especially since certain aspects of the technology behind psyche amplifiers had been declared illegal because of the irreversible damage they could inflict upon the human mind.
The rumors were just that, rumors… and his colleagues had all kept quiet, of course. But Klaus had his connections. It was because of those connections that he got his limp, in fact…
"Umm, Papa?" He was startled out of his reverie when a small voice called from the top of the basement stairs. After some time Klaus heard the voice again, and its source was a lot nearer him now. "Papa?"
He looked over his glasses at the young boy. "What is it, Prima?"
Prima stood on tiptoe to whisper something into his adopted father's ear.
"She did, huh?" Klaus thoughtfully scratched his chin. For some reason, he wasn't really surprised at this particular turn of events. "When was this?" Last night, Prima told him.
"Should I tell mom, too?" He looked up expectantly, his wide-set eyes fraught with concern.
Klaus shook his head. "I'll tell her. You can go back to what you were doing, son." Prima nodded, and then went back up to the living room. Sighing, Klaus closed his laptop and cleared his desk a little before making his way upstairs as well.
He found Mira preparing their breakfast on the kitchen table. Gently, he placed his arm about her shoulders.
"What is it?" Mira snapped, although there was no hint of anger or irritation in her tone. They had been married for twenty years, and she knew her husband's mannerisms well. Whenever Klaus approached her like this, it usually meant bad news.
"I'm afraid that our Elena has run away. She'll be back—" he added quickly on seeing the change in Mira's expression. "She went after Rue. But she's a big girl now… she'll be fine." He was concerned for his daughter of course, but there was no point in both of them worrying.
He felt rather than heard his wife sigh in relief. "Oh, I'm not worried about that… I was worried before that she only inherited your bookishness." She was frowning sternly at her husband, but they both knew the frown was only for show. On the other side of her face that he couldn't see, her mouth was curved in an amused half-smile.
Another Friday afternoon, a long weekend was coming up, and students as usual were eager to leave school early. But the gymnastics team would leave for Gamul in a couple of days, and Team Captain Mint wasn't feeling generous. Actually, she was… which was why everyone had to stay a couple of hours extra since she had cancelled their regular Saturday practices.
It was already past five, but Belle wasn't in a hurry that night. Now that Aeon Industries seems to have finally begun its campaign, she wasn't sure anymore for how long she could afford to keep slacking off. Her quarrel against Mint Vanguard was a private matter, and she didn't want to leave Carona without first settling things with the young girl.
She almost bumped into Kirielle as she made her way up the gymnasium's flight of stairs. Kirielle glanced briefly at her, recognizing the older woman as a faculty member, but she remained ignorant of the fact that Ms. Brie, chemistry teacher, had any connections at all with her boss. Belle kept her face impassive, not betraying that she knew about the strawberry blonde's role as one of Ruecian's 'Masters'.
The training hall was bereft of coach and students when she got there. Belle cursed under her breath. She should have known that Mint, irresponsible and impulsive as she was, wasn't going to stay any longer in school than she had to. She was probably on her way to the BladeStar Arcade by now, and Belle shouldn't have waited too long.
With brisk, angry steps she made her way out the gym, past the schoolyards and into the vacant lot where her rented car was parked. She stopped short when she realized she wasn't alone.
Burgundy eyes were narrowed lividly at her, and the redhead was stomping her foot impatiently. "Tonia told me you visited the gym yesterday. I figured there's only one reason you'd do that."
Belle frowned. She had just lost whatever initiative she would have in the fight, and there was no doubt that they would come to blows that night. First point goes to the little brat, she admitted grudgingly. "You know what I want," she said. "It's time we settle our differences, Vanguard."
"Fine by me. Right here, right now."
The girl didn't even wait. Too late, Belle noticed that she already had her rings in her hands. She jumped backwards, barely avoiding Mint's first strike.
She was right, she had lost the initiative. For the next few moments she found herself dodging and blocking the younger girl's attacks, unable to find an opening in the other's defense.
Then again, Belle had always meant their fight to be a test. It's true that she wanted the beat the crap out of the other for making fun of her clothes, but that wasn't why she instigated this particular confrontation. Mint could think whatever she wanted.
But Belle was running out of options. And they were running out of time.
Belle dodged another blow. "Why aren't you using your magic?"
The next breath suddenly caught in Mint's throat. How did she know about my magic?!!
"Don't look so surprised," the taller woman was suddenly smirking. "Eyes like that are a dead giveaway, but not everyone can recognize its meaning."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Belle sighed heavily. "Fine, if you insist on playing innocent…" she circled so that she was suddenly behind the girl. "I'll go first."
Mint twirled, turning as fast as she could to come face to face again with her opponent. Too late. The sudden flare forcibly threw her backwards several meters. "The [EXPLETIVE]?!!"
"It's not real magic, of course. But enough." Belle shot another fireball at her., and Mint had to jump away to keep from being hit.
"Alright, if that's your game…!!" Mint whispered through clenched teeth. Deliberately, she lowered her hands at her sides. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.
Another fireball came her way, but this time it ricocheted when it came several centimeters from Mint's face, as if it suddenly struck against an invisible barrier. It flew back towards Belle, who dodged it, and it burst into a thousand harmless sparks upon hitting the ground several meters behind her.
Mint opened her eyes. "YOU ASKED FOR IT!!"
Belle reflexively raised her hands in front of her body to protect herself. She felt intense heat envelop her, and everything disappeared in a bright gust of red wind.
When the flames finally dissipated, Mint was the only one still standing. Belle was slumped down on the floor, defeated but awake. Her clothing were intact but slightly frayed, and she was clutching her arm.
Clutching her arm painfully. The exposed skin was very red, and Mint could recognize the beginning of some bad burns. She bit her lip anxiously.
It was the first time she had hurt anyone with her magic.
[Expletive], but this is Belle we're talking about… she knew it was no excuse, and she was sorry… but she just couldn't say it aloud. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she took several steps towards the fallen woman. "Hmph, you forced me to doing it, you know."
Belle looked up at the girl's face. Mint's words might have been half-proud, but the expression in younger girl's eyes said something totally different. At this point, Mint was probably feeling the pain more than she did. Mint had actually been fair during their bout—Belle had seen that she was intentionally holding back, not wishing to use her magic as an advantage although Belle kept inducing her to do it. Perhaps she had misjudged the girl… or perhaps it was just her past prejudices that kept her from acknowledging it long ago.
It was just a few burns anyway, and she had suffered worse. Belle actually smiled. "I forgive you. I know what your magic is capable of, and I'm surprised you didn't hurt me more."
Mint blinked. Her expression softened, as if she was suddenly relieved of a heavy load. Belle thought, She probably didn't even realize it. But the look in the girl's wine-red eyes was one that Belle had seen many times before on someone else, and she knew what it had meant.
"Belle, I… uh… How could you know what my magic does?"
The older woman shook her head. "Old acquaintance." Her tone warned Mint not to push the topic. With her good hand, she slid something out of her back pocket and threw it at the girl. "Here, these belonged to her once."
It was a pair of gold bracelets. Just the type that would go well with her costume for the Gamul games. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"Don't get ideas," Belle huffed. "Mira asked me to give it to you. Make bloody sure you wear it for the competition."
Just as it wasn't in Mint's nature to apologize, Belle wasn't the type to wish this particular student of hers good luck either. But no words were needed for them to understand it anyway. Belle didn't even say goodbye as she stood up, still clutching her burned arm, and marched off towards her car. She wasn't halfway there when Mint already turned her back on the older woman, and with similar brusque steps stomped off back towards the gymnasium.
After a quick shower and changing out of her school uniform, Mint practically ran all the way to the kendo training hall in her excitement.
"Rue! Rue, I did it! I finally defeated Be—" she stopped short when she saw that only Marco remained in the room. "Where's everybody?"
The boy looked up from his cleaning of the practice swords. "Captain Davis dismissed us early—it's our last practice and the club leaves for Junon in two days. Neil had to run some errands, but he's coming back later though. As for Rue… I think Rue left town immediately after classes."
That came as a surprise. Mint blinked twice. "Rue's gone?"
"Professor Klaus sent him to some …thingy… (I think it's an old amusement park, but I forgot what he called it…)."
"Did he say why?"
Marco just shrugged. "I think he said that it has something do with Claire."
"Oh, I see..." she bit her lower lip. "Well, I guess I'll be going now."
The freshman stood up then. "Um, Mint… if it's something I can help you with…"
She shook her head. "Nah, it's alright. I'll be seeing you, Marco."
"Um, bye!" he waved. His cheeks colored slightly as Mint smiled and waved back at him, but she didn't notice it. Something else was nagging at her mind, and it kept her too preoccupied to notice much.
I thought we had an agreement, that I was his partner in finding Claire. Why didn't he tell me anything?
Author's Notes
21 December 2002. Ooh, longest chapter I've written to date… and the focus is on the supporting personas… and the plot thickens a bit more! Rating kicked up for violence and semi-dark content (will be kicked up again when we get to the ending chapters, but it's still PG for now)!
ERRATTA: I forgot to mention about Klaus's permanent limp before! He limps!! (Added a couple of sentences in the prologue and ch06 about this, but nothing important.)
What are some of the things we know so far?
1. Belle's sister disappeared over eight years ago. Her sister's son is a chroma child, age unknown.
2. Claire found Rue, unconscious, bruised and bleeding in the middle of a street, a little less than eight years ago. Hmm…
3. Rod Bladestar began searching for Lucine six years ago. He arrived in Carona after a couple of years (four years ago).
4. Claire disappeared five years ago. She was last seen with a white-haired man.
5. Claire's diary had schematics of electronic devices that she couldn't possibly have worked on or acquired on her own… and these devices seem to be linked with the deceased Elroy (and before you even think it, No, Claire is NOT Elroy's daughter nor are they related in any way).
6. Rue arrived in Carona three years ago. Mint arrived in Carona a year after Rue did.
7. Belle and Ruecian had known each other from the past. Belle is working for Valen and is keeping an eye on his 'precious chroma child'.
Hmm, seemingly random facts, but trust me—it'll (hopefully) all become clear in the end. There are other hints, several other significant facts scattered all over the chapters but too many to list now… Have any of you figured out what I'm hinting at, yet? ^_^.
Thank you very very very much to everyone who still has the patience to stay with the fic. I know it has gotten long, and there have been multiple lags in updates but we're already in the second half of the series. These are the boring chapters, but they're still important so I can't skip them. Once past these hurdles however, the story picks up rather quickly. Maybe I can update the chaps faster when we get to the Tower of Maya.
Rue will get his chance to shine once more in the next chapter. It's gonna be Rue like you've never seen him before in the Carona High series… Think that Mint is the only one who can do magic? Then think again.
For updates and other ToF fanfic related issues, (plus a collection of FanArt, links and instructions on how to download the ToF Karaoke Bar songs and other miscellaneous documents) please join the Yahoo Groups:
Four chapters until the Christmas Fair, and then four more until the New Year episode! Mint is *definitely* going to get drunk, hwahaha!! How is Rue going to deal with it when the East Heaven princess finally conf—err… Adi has a big mouth… (I love spoilers, don't you?)
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!! THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN! ^_^.
Q&A and random remarks (again) (This episode, Adi is in a mushy mood from getting so many nice reviews, so be warned of major OoC-ness on the authoress' part—rest assured she doesn't normally act like this in real life—as well as popping red hearts and virtual chocolate in the next few paragraphs.)
To KawaiiDoll: Thank you thank you thank you for always reviewing me!! *hearts*…
To Animé Girl: I'm not sure what's this spell you're talking about… the one at the end, where Valen takes control of Rue (in Mint's scenario and Claire in Rue's scenario)? If that's it… then, yup yup, something like that is definitely in the final chapters. I promised two Rue-vs.-Mint chapters. ^_^. You're review really gave me a push—thankee so much!!
To Shinji-kun: Where the heck are my reviews from you?! I know you're reading this!! I have used all your suggestions so far if you haven't noticed…?!! (Hint, hint…)
To Mana Angel: Woow!! I never expected that! XD Kababayan!! *hearts*…
To Twisting Demon: I never expected a review from you! Kababayan din pala kita!! *hearts*… Adi can die happy twice over now, sigh… Just so you know, I've read the first chapters of your fics before, but I don't want to read them yet in their entirety until I'm at least certain of my own footing with Carona High. I don't want your work to influence me (I think your take on the Rue/Mint romance issue is that good. Must be Cherry Lee's influence rubbing off…) *even more hearts*… Oops… you're a guy, right? I didn't mean it like that, hehe…
To Anora: Gee, thanks! I meant it to be like that (err, this?)… and yes, I will finish this fic until the very end of the game, all the way to the third "combined" ending. Carona High's story is actually finished, but I've yet to write it.
To Mia Katt, the Crew of Light and the Guardianship of the Pokemon: Thank you for the nice reviews!
To Liol: You know I love you too, sniff. Not that way! I'm 100% female, and my heart already belongs to someone else (who is NOT Rue… but the guy I like is so [expletive] dense he won't notice it, da idyot! V.le'C, my friend, who is just my friend and will probably remain forever so, Ad Infinitum… Shniffles… *hearts break all over the place*… *Adi grabs some chocolate ice cream to console herself*.) XP
And of course, to Viccy-chan, our beloved Review Mistress: Since the hearts got broken, none of them want to pop out now… shrug… *Adi holds out a couple of extra cones* Want some virtual chocolate ice cream? How about you, Aurora? ^_^.