Dark Deeds
Legal Stuffs: I don't own PSO. I mean, I own the copy but nothing else except a few characters from my stories. Don't sue me, I have nothing.
I don't own 'The Guild', PhanGarret owns that, but it's too awesome an idea for me to leave alone.
Chapter Four
I don't remember very much of what happened during the aftermath of the explosion in the Simulation Chamber. I woke up in the hospital with a sore throat and chest and a funny feeling of lightness in my body, my brother and Eodred hovering over me, and Damien standing at the back of the room.
Shirinji and I really do look a lot alike. In fact, apart from the fact that he's almost a foot taller than me and isn't as androgynous as they come, we're almost identical. He was wearing formal blue robes and his MAG hovered over his shoulder – I later found out that he'd been called away from a mission.
Damien isn't related to us, but when the Pioneer One vanished he sort of became a brother to both of us. His parents were on the ship too, and he'd been friends with Shirinji for a while, so it was only natural in a way. He's a HUmar, with a savage scar on the right side of his face which he hides with his fringe, the rest of his black hair pulled back into a ponytail. He likes black and red armour, and anyone who didn't know him would probably be rather intimidated by his huge (as in brick wall) frame. I know him, though, and I find his presence more reassuring than frightening.
"How are you feeling?" Shirinji asked me, concern writ large on his face.
I coughed a few times, but managed to force out a raspy "I'll live." He instantly grinned, a loopy lopsided grin that seems to have quite the effect on the ladies. "What… hack what happened?"
Eodred looked distinctly put out by this question. "I wanted to ask you that. Something happened inside the Simulation to completely overload the entire system. I was hoping that you would know, being at 'ground zero'."
Something inside me told me not to tell her about the strange Technique I had suddenly gained access to, or the strangely powerful feeling that still burned inside my chest. I just shrugged and coughed.
As soon as Eodred decided I wasn't going to tell her anything, she stalked out, saying something about filling in an accident report. I know she hates paperwork, but I took a vindictive pleasure in the thought that her trying to make life hard for me had backfired a little bit. Petty, I know.
Damien suggested that Shirinji find something for me to drink, and soon as my brother left the room his fixed me with that disconcerting stare of his. His right eye is a sort of pale blue that looks white, whilst his left is a strange reddish brown. Even we quail under that stare, and this time was no exception. Some things simply cannot be adapted to.
"What did you do?" he asked, getting straight to the point as he usually does. Did I mention he helped take down Dark Falz too?
Yeah. It was Damien, Shirinji, Tomiko, a HUnewearl called Noel, another HUnewearl called Herb, and a RAmarl called Shard. Tomiko wound up in hospital and Noel actually died because of that mission. That was about the time the Guild achieved full independence within the Pioneer 2.
It was also the most publicized Guild mission ever. They all insisted that the public know the truth, and they went over Tyrell's head to do it. Tyrell's never really been the same since Rico vanished.
"I did it," I said carefully, seeing as how I seriously felt like I'd inhaled several cubic metres worth of smoke – which was, incidentally, exactly what happened. "I just felt a surge of power and BAM! The entire system shut down."
"Interesting…" Damien mused, still giving me that stare. "And yet the system is designed to handle anything a Force can throw at it, even high-level Megid and Grantz Techniques."
"It… I don't… I don't think it was a normal Technique," I admitted. "It was… the power was similar but very different. It was stronger, more forceful. It almost had a life of its own."
Even as I spoke about it, I could feel the power grow inside me once more. It wanted to be used, it wanted me to unleash it. I couldn't do that, though. I didn't know what it was, or how to handle it, and I certainly didn't want to hurt anyone nearby. I forced it down, but the effort left me weakened and panting.
Damien finally turned that stare away from me, his expression shifting from irritated to deeply worried. I didn't blame him, still don't, seeing as how I was pretty terrified of the situation myself.
Unless you've felt the power pushing at you, day and night, you can't understand what it's like. It's both painful and wonderful, seductive and deadly. You constantly want to use it, but your common sense won't let you.
It's torture.
Damien fixed me with another stare, then turned away as Shirinji returned with a glass of something thick and blue. Bless him, he's so oblivious sometimes. I drank the drink quickly, making a face at the taste but instantly feeling relief. Turns out it was an experimental Monomate extract. Bloody siblings, eh?
"I need to go talk with someone," Damien said abruptly. "Shirinji, make sure she gets home in one piece, alright? I'll be home in a few hours."
Damien didn't so much knock on the elegantly painted door as he did punch it, leaving a faint dent and removing a few flecks of paint. He scowled at the FOmarl who opened it and stomped past her without a word.
"She's already manifesting," he said with a growl, giving the woman's massive RAcast friend a greeting punch in the shoulder. He didn't dent it, though. "She blew up a Simulation Chamber at the Centre."
"That's not possible," Tomiko said, sitting heavily on her plush couch. "She hasn't got the focus yet. The power shouldn't have manifested for another couple of months at least. I secretly tested her earlier today, she barely even had a spark."
"Told you we should have taken her to see Rune straight away," Bolt said, his faceplate crinkling into an expression of deep concern. "He's not going to like this, it's not as if he hasn't already taken big risks in trusting us with this."
"He didn't have much choice," Tomiko said with a sigh. "I'm the only Esper who has a real Hunter's Licence, and we can't afford to let many of the younger ones to join up. He is going to be pissed that we didn't go to him as soon as Eodred recommended her, though."
"She's in the hospital right now, but Shirinji's going to take her home as soon as they let her out." He gave the others a piercing glare. "I suggest you go to Rune before she returns to training. In fact, I'd seriously recommend having her upgraded to a full apprentice so she doesn't have to go back to the Centre. That Eodred woman might cause another outburst."
"Light forbid." Tomiko actually looked scared at the thought.
Shirinji paid for the taxi home. Somehow, even through all the chaos, the scientist's red jacket from the morning had gotten through the day with me, and I put it in my cupboard with all my casual clothes and my training robes. I guess I kind of felt like it belonged to me now, and I still have it to this day. It's proven useful more than once, as you'll see later.
My room isn't much – the apartments on the Pioneer 2 aren't that big to begin with, and when you have a teenager and two young adults in one, it gets pretty cramped – but it's mine. I don't really have many personal items, I just don't have the room, but I do have a small collection of 'books' on data device, a hologram of my parents before they left on the Pioneer 1, and a few random Technique disks and the like. And yes, there is a big pink fluffy teddy bear on my bed, and yes, I do hug him in my sleep. Go to hell.
Anyway, I was feeling pretty tired, so I sat on my bed and flicked on the holo-screen. You ever see a series called 'The Guild'? Well, that's what I stumbled across. And, well, wow.
I got to see a fairly burly HUmar in nothing but boxers. I watch that show almost religiously now.
I also can't help but wonder if I might one day find me a cute HUmar willing to repeat the performance.
Don't you dare give me that look. I'm a teenager, I have hormones! It's natural, dammit! (Besides, every woman and her dog were talking about that episode for weeks. I'm hardly the only one with that fantasy, thank you.)
Ahem. Back on track. I watched 'The Guild', I watched the news – not so much as a second on the exploding training program, you'd think they'd at least give it a passing mention, but noooo – and I fell asleep cuddling my bear.
If I'd known what the following days would bring, I'd have found a hotel.