In-Between Abilities
Yesterday had certainly been a surprising turn of events. It was something completely unscientific as Ringo said, an anomaly in the history of space-time. While Risukuma had pondered the existence of doppelgangers in his spare time, he was rather disconcerted with recent developments in his research.
Arle's mere existence was a blight on what should have been Satan's perfect, ageless world. She was a paradoxical being with memories of an erased universe, in which no one else from that destroyed place was allowed to remember. Only the essential deity of that world, Satan, maintained knowledge of it.
Last night, his private deductions with Ringo and Maguro as Arle rested in Ringo's bed led to a bleak conclusion. If Arle decided to go after Satan and destroy him, it would most certainly lead to the complete evisceration of the world he made. Yet, he was not entirely sure what would happen to the inhabitants. If they were off-world when their god died, would they simply vanish or would they continue living on as if nothing had happened, trapped in a new place without any fathomable idea of what could have happened to their world? For once, he was thoroughly mind-boggled.
Risukuma poured a scarlet vial into a blue test tube in the physics club room. He watched the violet concoction bubble and rise only to quickly settle. He swirled the liquid, watching it mesh into a jelly-like substance before dipping the mixture into his mouth. Gulping it down, he sighed as the tangy substance crossed his tongue into his throat.
"Ah, that's no good. A sour gelatin just isn't good," Risukuma said, and his guest continued leering at him in absolute disbelief.
"So, this is what you do in your spare time? Make textures for food? You remind me of Nohoho," Arle asked, leaning against the counter. She peered at the variety of beakers, test tubes, and blue prints lining the walls. Most of the vials were bubbling with soup-like jelly, an aroma of sweet and sour scents wafting from them. Each had numbers written on them in black marker. She scanned a selection of the math and science textbooks filling the open cabinets and shelves. Procuring one of them, she flipped through a few pages, and her eyebrows immediately shot up her forehead to nearly reach her hairline. Pointing at the complex equations in the book, she asked Risukuma for an explanation.
"Ah, you're reading about trigonometry. That's one of Ringo's specialties," he said, sparing a glance at the textbook. "Also, I'll have you know this is for my cooking class. I've been tasked with making sweet, sweet gelatin. I'm certain I can make a perfectly sweet treat using formulas and science instead of the old-fashioned way."
Arle peered out the window, not entirely interested in his explanation. Risukuma's world was built on modern eccentricities, ones that left her head aching. Complex mathematics was a subject she simply did not want to ponder ever. Not even once in her eternal prison of solitude did she consider anything extreme like the multitudes of theories surrounding trigonometry.
Risukuma briskly returned to his test tubes and kept his back to her. It was rather awkward having Arle around during his free period. With Ringo and Maguro in class, he was left as Arle's companion. No one wanted to risk leaving Arle alone under the pretense that she may seek out Satan and cause some manner of catastrophe. Keeping a close eye on her had been his conclusion, but now that he was alone without any means of distraction like a television or story to tell in Maguro's case, the silence deafened him.
Perhaps she enjoyed the peace, but if he fathomed spending hundreds of years in isolation, then maybe silence was not his best option. Risukuma cleared his throat, asking if Arle enjoyed Suzuran Junior High.
Arle walked towards the open window. The cool breeze massaged her face, and the faintest trace of drizzling rain tickled her cheeks and eyelashes. The sun mimicked the one she remembered, hot and just a little too bright for her eyes. Stretching overhead was a white, cloudy sky with threaded patches of cerulean.
Yet, the differences ended. Risukuma's school was carved out of entirely metal and cement with fluorescent lights. She scanned the campus, watching cars enter and leave the parking lot, continuing to pollute the world with their toxins. Schoolchildren went to and fro, each without a care in the world or any ability for magic. Students chatted as they walked to their next class. Their backpacks and bags made of leather and nylon left Arle with a memory of herself entering the magic school with her own knapsack filled with what she would need for the day.
When she looked beyond the school, she saw rising buildings, each filled with workers and busybodies. They kept the eyes forward, refusing to communicate with others as they passed into the shopping district. Buildings blocked the forest and natural earth, overpowering the soil with metal and wires sinking deeper into the crust. The stink of car fumes even wafted up to her head, and she gritted her molars.
She closed her eyes, picturing the path she took as a young child where fairies imbued her with the ability to cast magic. Their smiles defeated the foreboding shadows of the immense foliage looming over her. Even her subsequent adventures in caves, ruins, and other endeavors all mingled with nature. Small towns and villages, filled with pine scents and friendly faces, warmed her chest, but sharp laughter pierced her longing.
When she glanced down, she found schoolyard bullies ganging up on another student, snatching their homework out of her hands and complaining the other girl was late in delivering it. They were girls, each dressed in Suzuran's school uniform with impractical accessories. Their cellphones, as Maguro had called those strange devices, were decorated with plastic ornaments and chains. Their faces were caked in makeup despite their young age, and Arle stiffed her lips. If they inhabited her world facing a trial, then they would certainly be defeated in nanoseconds by a mere zombie.
Arle snapped her fingers. The sound was like a striking match, and crackling fire burst onto the girls' papers. Their rich screams delighted her. The bullied girl's dumbfounded expression made her lips quirk into a smirk. As the punks scattered, Arle watched the victim glance around and scurry away, leaving the papers a scorched, black mark on the otherwise perfect sidewalk.
Rulue would have been a much better companion than any of them. Lagnus, with all of his bravado about heroism and chivalry, would have been like a close sibling that she loved to tease. She would have even taken Lala for all of her obnoxious proclamations over Camus any day. Even Schezo, despite his unfortunate word choices, was a much better friend.
She touched her shoulder, but Carbuncle was not there. The foreign weightlessness on her body made her heart seize as if an artery had suddenly been clogged. She chewed on her tongue, attempting to halt the blood draining from her complexion. Arle swallowed again and again, but as Risukuma's monotonous explanation about jelly morphed into static, her pupils constricted, and she could not breathe.
When Arle looked up, she found herself in a dark cave. The jagged walls seemed to close in with liquid beating her shoulders. Dampness consumed her as if wrapping her with a wet blanket. She gripped her brow, wiping away sweat and blinked as her world changed, meshing in a tidal pool of browns and blues.
The Creator sneered down at her, his presence overbearing and blocking out the sun. The corpses of her friends, scattered before her, bled out on the cave floor. Schezo, missing his head and clutching his sword, beckoned her to face the Creator. He reached for her, but rigor mortis stiffened him. Rulue and Minotauros were splayed out on cobblestone in front of the magic school, arms and legs bent at odd angles. Draco's wings were ripped, tears flooding her swimming vision as she cried out for Arle only to simply perish. Witch's neck was bent at a strange angle, her eyes wide and bulging. Even her teacher was there, her eternal smile present despite the blood dripping from her lips.
Satan's back faced her, and he left with part of her as the floor caved in. She fell deeper and deeper, and silent screaming burned her throat. Her mouth ripped open, but no sound emerged.
Laughter and school bells rammed into her skull, but she was not home. She was not at the magic school nor would she ever return. Rulue's bold proclamations about defeating Arle in a test would never again grace her ears. Carbuncle would never bounce her shoulders as they explored. Mandrake's shrill cries after being pulled out of the ground or Behemoth's peculiar laughing would never reach her. She would never again hear the bizarre proclamations from Hanzo, Lagnus, Suketoudara, or Schezo.
Arle glared at the vast expansive of Suzuran City. For her world to be decimated while such a place existed left her feeling as if she had tasted mold. The crawling realization that her world and all of its inhabitants were gone was a sensation she felt often, but now existing in a modern place with careless people and metal buildings forced her fingers to clench into fists.
Her eternal world died, and this moving planet of steel and modernity replaced it? Arle wanted to throw her head back and cry.
"Ah! Could this be the right solution? Arle, you must look!" Risukuma called, and when Arle turned, her lips became a straight, thin line.
Risukuma chugged a pink substance from his flask. His cheeks bulged, shooting the goo left and right, and queasiness pinched Arle's stomach. When he swallowed, Risukuma's eyes flashed in a way that reminded Arle of Archan.
"Mystery solved!" Risukuma proclaimed, and he dove towards one of the several black tables, snatching his bag from a chair. He ripped out a series of notebooks, and from his lab coat pocket, he procured a blue pen. With lightning speed, he jotted down his formulas and process on how he created the perfect sweet gelatin.
As Risukuma sighed and leaned back in his seat, Arle said, "Congratulations. You modern people really have it easy."
Risukuma shook his head. "Oh, no, not at all. That took me days to figure out. In fact..." He shot up from his seat, his chair clattering behind him. "...I consider that to be my own magic."
Arle's eyes widened, and she crossed her arms. "Magic? But isn't that just science?"
"Not at all. When I play Puyo, my spells are based around love and my potions." Risukuma gestured at a series of beakers. "When I create enough chains, my magic enhances my mixtures into a powerful exploding substance. That way, I can throw them to cause various effects such as smokescreens or blasts."
Arle hummed, tilting her head. She knew Puyo battles could grant anyone the fleeting usage of magic. Sacrificing Puyo to the Goddess of Time in exchange for power was a great gift to those who were helpless. She remembered Rulue praying to the Goddess before setting off to enhance her magical skills through popping Puyo. It seemed the same effect happened for those in other worlds.
"Wait a minute," Arle interjected, cutting the air with her hand, "you said Ringo had specialties in this 'trigonometry.' Is that related to magic?"
"Ah, I'm glad you asked!" Risukuma beamed. "Ringo, Maguro, and myself are all proficient Puyo players. Ringo's specialties lies in mathematics, which create lightning-based attacks. As for Maguro, he channels his magic into his kendama, allowing him to use his kendama techniques as attacks."
Arle's eyes sparkled. Magic had at least grazed Suzuran. If they practiced Puyo, she wondered if there was the chance more people could use spells.
"Unfortunately, only the three of us play Puyo. If word spread that there really could be magical duels, well, the world might fall into chaos." Risukuma chuckled.
Her smile faltered, but she understood his meaning. Having immense magical power, she knew it was a gift and a curse. Allowing the wrong people to be gifted with magic could have created atrocities. Even a simple game of Puyo had consequences. For her, losing that Puyo match to her other self only cursed her to a void where no one heard her screams.
"Would you like to play Puyo?" Risukuma asked, pushing in his chair. "With my experiment complete, I'd like to show you my abilities. Perhaps I could even get a few pointers from a magical master?"
Arle straightened, her lips parting ever so slightly. It had been what felt like eons since her humiliating defeat, but he was a presumed novice. If she could not best Risukuma with all of her godly abilities, then she certainly had no point in existing.
She smirked. Stepping away, she created the playing field and raised her hand. As they swiftly curled into a fist, she uttered, "Let's Puyo battle."
All at once, Puyos poured from a rift above their heads. The swirling, deep violet vortex dropped down Puyos. Blue, red, yellow, and green blobs blinked and were quickly stacked. Arle merely had to point, rotating her finger to turn the Puyos as she needed them to be positioned.
She glanced over at Risukuma, finding his expression collected compared to many of her past opponents. He maintained a cool elegance, setting his Puyos into a standard chain as if to test her abilities. She watched Risukuma raise a beaker, and it bubbled with a deep blue liquid. His arm shook as he set off his chain, launching his beaker above Arle's head.
"Infatuation!" Risukuma bellowed, the beaker exploding and sending a smokescreen around her head.
It was an interesting idea, she supposed. Twisting magic and science together was something she had never pondered. Sighing, she raised her arms as the nuisance Puyo collected overhead. Even if he was testing her, his spell was insulting to a being with godly powers.
"Void Hole," she purred, and before the nuisance Puyos could fall, she collected them in a black hole.
Risukuma's eyes bulged, misplacing a Puyo and ruining his chain. He had never seen someone simply block nuisance Puyos with an interjecting spell, especially without sacrificing any Puyos to do so. Only by countering the magic with an equally powerful chain protected him from what he had seen in battles. The gawp on his face must have been thoroughly amusing to Arle, and he withheld his grimace, attempting to come back from his error.
"If your magic is this weak, then you really need to train. Even Skeleton-T could use a special move," she dryly said, flicking her fingers about and then snapping them. "My apologies, Risukuma, but this is game over."
Her Puyos popped. Each pair of eyes bulged and then, the Puyos burst. Magic swelled against her palms, causing the air to pop and Risukuma to panic. The magical sphere forming in Arle's hands burned, then froze, and then electrified, fizzling and whirring all the way as a cosmic amount of nuisance Puyos threatened to smash onto Risukuma.
His paws trembled, and he could only vacantly stare at the Puyos. More and more formed, appearing out of thin air awaiting to crush him. Risukuma's thumb twitched as he set off his chain, but the pooling anxiety overshadowed his spell. With his potion bubbling, Risukuma sighed and tossed it, exploding his most powerful spell in a chaotic series of bursts, but it was not enough.
Risukuma's eyes slammed shut, but only a couple of nuisance Puyos clocked him. He rubbed his ears, daring to look up at the black hole above his head. The swirling darkness captivated him only to suddenly vanish.
When he stared at Arle, he found her waving her hand above her head. The hundreds of nuisance Puyos she summoned gathered like a miniature tornado readying to strike him down and completely obliterate him. As Risukuma raised his arms as a makeshift shield, Arle summoned her Void Hole once more and flicked her wrist, sealing the nuisance Puyos inside.
"It wouldn't be right to just crush a beginner like that," Arle said, snickering as the black hole disappeared.
Risukuma heaved a sigh and wiped his brow. "Well, that was unexpected! I learned a lot from that match. How did you use your spell in the middle of our match?"
Arle tutted, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I guess the Arle you know never bothered to teach you about special moves."
"She sure didn't!"
Ringo's voice broke through their conversation, and she raced between the desks. Maguro stood near the door, visibly sweaty with his lips stretched into an awkward smile. She skidded to a stop in front of Arle, her eyes wide and full of stars. Snatching Arle's hands, she dragged the taller girl closer.
"That was amazing! To~ta~lly in~cred~i~ble! A Pu~yo pop~ping phe~no~me~non!" Ringo sang, and Arle shot a thoroughly bewildered glance at Risukuma.
"She sings sometimes," he said, and Arle shrugged, accepting it like she did with all of her old problems.
"I gotta say, that was wicked ✮!" Maguro exclaimed, inching closer and taking off his jacket. Patting his scarlet face with it, he added, "I guess that's a goddess for ya! Powerful beyond all compare ✮."
"Well, even I can make mistakes, but thank you," Arle said, smirking.
"Can you teach me that? I wanna learn how to use a special move, too!" Ringo gushed, her face filling all of Arle's vision. She leaned into her, nearly knocking Arle into a set of Risukuma's vials on another table.
Arle hummed, the prospect making her feel something. It was a bubbly emotion, one she hadn't felt in centuries. Her heart pounded, and blood rushed through her veins far faster than before.
Ringo's infectious excitement contaminated Maguro, who also requested Arle's help. Risukuma nodded, saying he would be honored if she taught them all. With the three students grinning at her, Arle's cheeks flushed hot pink, and she felt like she was floating. Her body raised up with their cajoling compliments, all of them so mesmerized with magic and Puyo battles.
It felt like she was surrounded by her friends at the magic school. At any moment, her teacher would arrive with a persistent smile and urge everyone to become wonderful mages. In that short moment, Arle felt like she had come home.
"I haven't taught anyone in so long..." Arle murmured as translucent cobalt hair and fiery emerald eyes burned in her mind, her memory of offering Rulue entrance to the magic school flashing before her. Yet, she shook her head, filling her sight with Ringo, Maguro, and Risukuma. Wrapping her hands around Ringo's palms, she broke into a grin, one she hadn't worn in ages. "...but I'll be darned if I don't! I'll gladly teach you three how to really use magic."
As Arle acquired new students, Ecolo was left facing a rather bizarre scene after infiltrating Satan's castle. They tilted their head, a loud thrum of amused confusion slipping out of their mouth. They floated forward, immersing themself in Carbuncle dolls, posters, and even a Carbuncle bedspread. Approaching the bed, they chuckled at the strange sight of Satan, wrapped in a Carbuncle onesie, sleeping next to a life-sized Carbuncle doll.
"Well, this is one way to discover someone's super creepy obsession!" they barked, and Satan's eyes tore open, a shriek ripping from the back of his throat.
Satan snapped his glare at Ecolo, roaring, "What in Puyo Hell do you think you're doing here? How did you get past my guards?"
"Why, real easily!" Ecolo exclaimed, and they raised their arms, a puff of black smoke covering them, and they reappeared at the other end of Satan's bed as the smog cleared.
Satan sighed, leaping off his bed and throwing off his hood. "You better have a good reason for barging in like this completely unannounced and ruining my slumber. A prince needs to have good shuteye to keep up his magnificence."
"Yeah, yeah, fancy pants or should I say, Carbuncle pants?" Ecolo guffawed at their terrible joke. Wrapping their hands behind their head, they asked, "By the way, how's Arle?"
Satan sighed, the mere mention of Arle soothing his wrath. "My Arly is doing well. In fact, she bested me at Puyo yesterday and-"
"No, no! Not her!" Ecolo's grin stretched into their cheeks, a personage of wickedness usurping their whimsical nature. "I'm talking about the Arle I rescued from a dimensional void where her universe used to be after her super long brawl with her Creator. You know, the one you left behind and then banished there after she tried erasing the Arle you created?"
Silence harbored and echoed. Ecolo allowed their words to rest in the electrified room, the desire for an answer too great to ruin with jokes and jibes. Satan wore a mask of neutrality. It was as if someone had sucked the life out of him and left a husk behind.
"Don't try playing ignorant. I met her. We had a long, nice talk." Ecolo levitated around Satan, who unzipped his outfit and walked towards his closet. As Satan opened it and donned his regular attire, Ecolo chuckled and shrugged. "What? Potentially villainous original Arle got your-!"
"Cataclysm!" Satan roared, thrusting his hand out and snatching Ecolo's throat. Black energy pulsed in his hand, and it devoured Ecolo, consuming their body with lightning fast pulses striking them. The harsh scream splitting from the back of Ecolo's throat would have delighted Satan on any other occasion, but he tossed Ecolo aside, slamming them against a row of Carbuncle dolls.
Ecolo groaned, their head pounding as the dolls' blank eyes bore unto them. They clutched their chin, heaving as pain settled against their body. It had been what felt like an eternity since they had known genuine agony, crying out pitiful croons only to quiet their tongue as Satan hovered over them.
Satan narrowed his glare. All pretenses vanished. Clutching Ecolo's head, he slowly raised them to eye level and drank in the terror swarming in Ecolo's eyes.
"Tell me what you did," Satan snarled, "or I'll erase you, too."
"G-geez! You're really n-not mincing your words," Ecolo sputtered, trying to grin, but Satan tightened his grip. Yelping, Ecolo reflexively clutched Satan's wrist.
"Answer me, you hideous little gremlin." Satan's cold voice pierced Ecolo, who could only freeze against the wall. "Since you seem to know so much, you will tell me every thing that transpired."
Ecolo hesitated, their humor finally failing them. A grim smirk wormed its way onto their face, and they sighed. They had hoped Satan would freak out, flailing their arms and crying for his precious Arly to remain safe.
"I guess you're pretty interested in that girl, huh?" Ecolo asked.
"Oh, I'm incredibly perplexed that you brought her to this realm, Ecolo," Satan replied, and he dropped them, watching as the space-time voyager crumbled at his feet. "If your answer displeases me, then you can say goodbye to your worthless existence."
Without any resisting fanfare, Ecolo told the truth. Watching the crease form in Satan's brow and his pupils enlarge were Ecolo's private pleasures. They recited everything including Arle's long, arduous tale. When they mentioned her struggles, they found themself befuddled as Satan's expression warped into something of misery, and the sigh ghosting Satan's lips sent their curiosity blazing.
"I'll depart for Suzuran at once," Satan proclaimed, turning away from Ecolo.
"What'll you do? Get rid of her once and for all when all she wants to do is be remembered? Too bad a certain someone turned all her friends into his playthings," Ecolo countered, stumbling to their feet. They glanced at the floor. "Believe me, Satan. I know what she's going through."
"A thing like you will never fathom her pain," Satan hissed, and he stormed through his double doors, barking for Ecolo to leave at once and keep their hands off his Carbuncle collection.
Ecolo sighed and reclined on Satan's bed. So far, it seemed like nothing was working out in their favor. They did not want Satan and Arle to eventually smash together in an all-out brawl, one that would must certainly destroy Ringo's universe. That would have been completely unfair to Ringo.
Maybe a little brawl would have been fine. If they got rid of Maguro, then they could have considered allowing them to go a tad bit wild, but their mind was spinning with complexities and theories to worry about Pretty Boy. Sitting upright, Ecolo grinned.
"Too bad, Satan," they said, snatching one of the several Carbuncle dolls and squeezing it, "that you still think you thought everything through. Well, I guess I'll really give those gods a surprise!"
Back in a time long forgotten, one they only vaguely remembered in the present, Ecolo cackled while the world crashed down around them, and a hand stretched out for them.