Chapter 4: The crumbling dirt and the Ocean Dopant
Louise and I ran to the tower and saw a giant golem ready to hit the tower
"WHAT IN FOUNDERS NAME IS THAT?!" Louise shouted upon laying her eyes at the giant rock golem.
"Oh… it seems witnesses spotted me before I could finish my mission" a female hooded figure sighed
"I don't have a choice now" she napped her fingers "golem!"
The giant golem changed targets and aimed it's fist directly at Louise
"Look out!" I quickly tackled Louise to the ground saving her from the impending doom
I took Louise's hand help her stand up "Louise, I want you to run and get help" I said to her
"But-" Louise tried to reason her familiar
"No buts!" I interrupted her "your life is more important than mine… now go!"
Louise was struck speechless at Peter's cry of worry to her she just nodded and ran towards to the nearest hiding place.
I smiled to see Louise get to safety, I then looked up at the golem with a disappointing look
"I only see a small obstacle in front of me" I placed the acceldriver on my waist and took my Accel memory, I pressed the button on my memory
Accel
I placed the Gaia memory in my acceldriver and made a quick twist on the throttle
Accel
My armor appeared and I took out my engine blade and prepared myself for the upcoming battle
'Interesting' the figure then snapped her fingers "attack my golem!"
The giant rock reared its fist before lunging at Peter
"I don't think so!" I jumped upward and landed on the golems arm 'I think it's time to slow this thing down'
I opened my sword and placed the Engine memory inside
Engine
I stabbed my sword on the golems arm
"Hey partner, what are you doing?" Derflinger asked me
"Just wait" I smiled and pressed the trigger
Steam
The rubble on my feet started to soften, I looked down and saw the arm turn from solid rock turn into soft mud
'Let's see if you can control water too...' I jumped off and prepared my assault
The golem moved its fist back again before delivering another attack. I dodged the muddy fist with ease
"Hey partner, did you see something different in that attack?" Derflinger asked
"I did" I answered "the golem's arm moved slower than last time"
Just as I was about to make another attack I heard a familiar voice
"Fireball!"
BOOM!
An explosion hit the tower making a giant crack on the concrete wall. I turned to see a familiar mop of pink hair
"Louise!" I shouted "I thought I told you to hide!"
"I just came out risking my life for you, and this is the thanks I get!?" Louise shouted back
While Louise and I were busy with each other, the hooded figure looked at the wall in shock
'Impossible...! How can she carry strong magic?'
"Never mind, I'll just finish this!" I pressed the trigger on my weapon
Engine Maximum Drive
I tightly held down on my sword and dashed to my target
'Hope this works...'
And made three slashes releasing energy waves hitting the golem on it's chest, a giant A on the target before an explosion came
Ka-boom!
Everything was covered in black smoke, the hooded female took the chance and entered the tower
"Louise! Are you okay?" I shouted trying to find Louise
"I'm fine Peter" she coughed in the cloud of smoke
"I'm impressed that you destroyed my golem, Gandalf"
Louise and I looked up to see the hooded figure holding a package smiling down at us
"Congratulations on staying alive, and remember this day that you almost captured Foquet, the crumbling dirt!"
After that, the thief disappeared without a trace… while the teachers, students, Henrietta and her escorts ran into the area
The guards were worried that it would mean harm to the royal figure. The teachers were inspecting the rubble for some clues to this incident
Henrietta was feeling scared until she saw her childhood friend
"Louise, are you okay?" her voice filled with worry and concern for her only friend
"I'm fine your highness" Louise bowed down to one knee showing a bit of regret "please forgive me, I could not stop the thief from escaping"
Henrietta shook her head "there is no need, the incident is not your fault from the beginning and I'm just grateful that you are safe"
The princess the set her eyes upon me and gave a caring smile "I should also give my gratitude on Mr. Lionheart for protecting Louise"
I rubbed the back of my head "heh-heh, there's no need for that your highness. I just did it to protect a friend"
"Friend?" Louise spoke somewhat surprised at my words
"Of course, I think it's time for you to get some company other than the royal class, whether it's a commoner or a familiar"
Louise felt a bit happy that someone considered her as a friend than a mere zero
"Princess" one of the knights interrupted "we really must be going"
"I understand" Henrietta sighed and turned to Louise "I'm sorry that I had to leave so soon but I need to report this to the council"
When she was nearing her carriage she looked at Louise one more time "I suppose, in a way, that it was fortunate the Exhibition was interrupted. I had a hard time deciding whether Miss Tabitha's dragon or your knight to get the prize"
She entered her carriage and the knights moved forward leaving the academy, with Louise in a speechless state and me feeling happy that I made a good impression on the princess.
It was the day after the incident and we were in the headmaster's office with Tabitha, Prof. Colbert, Kirche and some teachers
Ms. Longueville discussed the incident by talking first "according to the townspeople, they heard that Foquet was seen going to the woods" she then took a rolled up paper in her cloak and opened it revealing a sketch "is this what she looked like?"
I have to say the drawing was close likeness to the real thing, Louise looked closer and nodded
"That's her, there's no mistake..."
"Then we should report this to the palace" Prof. Colbert suggested "they can dispatch a group of knights quickly"
"If we do that then we risk Foquet's escape" Osmond interjected "I say that we capture her ourselves, now anyone who volunteers please step forward"
Most of the people were quiet and scared at doing such a dangerous mission and I don't blame them, they were educators not fighters. They have little to no experience when it comes to fighting...
Osmond frowned a bit seeing no volunteers "come now, does anyone not wish to have the privilege of capturing Foquet...?"
Seeing that no one will take the mission I stepped forward drawing Deflinger "I'll go"
Just then Louise stepped forward raising her wand for everyone to see "I-I'll go too!"
"Me too" Kirche stepped forward surprising Louise
"Zerbst?" Louise asked in a surprised manner
"Don't be fooled Louise" Kirche spoke "I just don't want to lose against a Valliere"
Before the arguments started, Tabitha also stepped forward while raising her wand also
"T-Tabitha, you don't have to-…" Kirche's surprised state couldn't even finish her sentence
"Worried" Tabitha spoke
Osmond just looked at the four of us ready for the obviously dangerous mission. The staff was struck speechless at our brave yet stupid act, Colbert looked like he aged a bit as if he saw young people go into this kind of stuff.
"Well then, we'll leave this to you" Osmond nodded "although I must say… even though she is very young, Miss Tabitha has achieved the title of a knight chevalier for her bravery in the past"
"A-a knight...?" Louise gasped
"Tabitha, I-I had no idea…" Kirche mumbled
Tabitha just nodded as I looked at her in surprise, a girl her age bearing the title of a knight? C'mon that just can't be possible.
"And Miss Zerbst is one of the most prominent military families in Germania, and from what I heard she is good at casting her flames."
Kirche purred at the attention and benefits given to her
"Lastly…" Osmond trailed as he looked at Louise, I can guess that he was having a hard time giving benefits that aren't connected to me "well, Louise was from the Valliere family and uh… she has a… bright future" the old man is having a very hard time to Louise her benefits. And as mean that was… I can't blame him. After all, Louise only showed powerful explosions and that was it.
Osmond then looked at me as means to escape Louise's wrath "oh that's right, I forgot about you Peter" all eyes were now on me and I find that nerving. "It's renowned that you were using powerful magic created from the earth, trouncing Marshal Gramont's son Giuche and for singlehandedly defeating Foquet's golem while it was invading the academy"
Louise turned stiff when she heard my exploits, she turned to me and gave the scariest glare that would send shivers down my spine, Kirche on the other hand gazed at me a smoky look on her eyes with red cheeks on her face
Tabitha just looked at me with a neutral look but when I saw her face I could guess that she had a curious feeling on my abilities...
"Ah! That's right" Colbert noted "he's the legendary Gan-" he quickly stopped knowing that he wasn't supposed to tell that in public.
'Gan-?' I recall that Foquet called me in a different name, what is it? Gandalf… yes that was it and it seems Prof. Colbert know something about that. I'll just ask him about that some other time.
Ms. Longueville volunteered to escort the three of us by wagon she heard that Foquet was last seen inside the forest, she guessed that there was a safe house somewhere in the woods.
I was in thought of this whole situation from the day I got here. I took out my Accel memory and my head was filled with questions, who gave this power to me and who is the one giving out the T2 Gaia memories? My thoughts stopped when I felt something soft pressed against me.
I turned to see Kirche getting closer to me while looking down at my Accel memory with fascination, Louise gave me angry looks for letting Kirche be so close to me, Tabitha just sat in her place reading as if nothing would bother her.
"Oh darling" Kirche purred "your power really amazed me when I first saw you use it" she pushed herself closer to my body feeling her… cough… assets against me. Louise's body rattled at the sight of Kirche getting close to me, and even though Tabitha was reading... I could've sworn her face turn slightly red
"I'm sorry for asking this, but isn't Foquet a noble? I mean she did use magic to fight Louise and I"
"She used to be" Ms. Longueville answered "most of the nobles had been taking their rank for granted, therefore was stripped of their titles and they turn to crime for survival"
That's reasonable, when it comes to noble titles… They have to keep their good looks and deeds or blasphemy befalls on whoever breaks their code of honor
Another thing crossed my mind, Osmond told me that what the thief; Foquet stole a powerful artifact called the staff of destruction. Ugh, that name gave me a very bad feeling on why a thief like Foquet would take that
The wagon stopped jolting my thoughts and Ms. Longueville turned to us "we're here"
The four of us got off the wagon and we looked around the area and at the old rundown hut
"I will go check the forest for Foquet while the rest of you stay here in case she comes by"
The three of us nodded and Ms. Longueville disappeared in the woods.
"Let's check the thief's house for clues" I walked in to the old dust filled house with Kirche and Tabitha following behind
I saw a simple bed, an average-sized table and a simple chest. I gotta say this, being a thief is downright awful. I checked the room for anything that can give me a lead on Foquet, Tabitha stepped inside looking at the trunk with some curiosity.
"There's nothing here" I sighed "Let's leave"
"Good" Kirche sighed "this place is too dirty for me to handle"
Before the two of us left, Tabitha spoke
"Found it"
Kirche and I quickly turned to Tabitha holding a box
"Staff of destruction"
Well that was easy, wait… I used to watch adventure shows and I learned that if a treasure is easy to get then it means…
Cra~ck!
A trap will activate…
The four of us looked up to see a giant golem ready to make a move
"LET'S LEAVE...!" I was in panic and quickly grabbed the girls and ran outside and that's good cause the golem delivered a heavy attack
Bam!
I turned to see the hut turn into a pile of rubble. I took out my Acceldriver and memory preparing myself for the worse.
"Tabitha, take Kirche and Louise out of here" I said to the small girl
Tabitha grabbed Kirche's hand and made her way to Louise
I strapped the Acceldriver on my waist and pressed the button on my Accel memory
Accel
"Hen…SHIN!"
Accel
My armor appeared on my body and I looked at the giant rock and took out my engine blade
"Hey partner, are you going to do the same attack like before?" my sword asked
"No" I shook my head "using that same attack twice will take too much time and Foquet will escape!"
I jumped away from the incoming fist
'Let's see, if the original Accel used Philip's cyclone memory. Then why don't I try that method'
I instantly got a plan, I took out the Ice age memory but before I could use it in my engine blade. A voice called toward me
"Familiar! Familiar!"
I turned to see Ms. Longueville holding the same box that Tabitha held. I dodged another one of the golem's fist and quickly ran to her
"What is it?" I asked her
"I need your help in using the staff!"
I looked skeptically at her first but took the box anyway...I opened it to see a large green cylinder case
'You have got to be kidding me...!'
I can't believe it… the staff of destruction is actually a rocket launcher, but since we're in a dangerous spot. I guess I should be grateful that a weapon like this is here. I started to disassemble the excessive parts, pulled the two barrels out and flipped up the scopes.
"There" I gave the launcher back to Ms. Longueville and told her "just look through the scopes and press this button to activate it"
I went back to fighting the golem feeling ready to take it down. I placed the Ice age memory inside the engine blade.
Ice age Maximum Drive
My sword emitted cold air before a mist coted the blade. I gripped it tightly and ran to my target. I struck the golem's leg, at first nothing but after a few seconds ice started to form around its limb. It continued to grow until the golem was completely encased in ice!
"Heh" I smiled at the golems new look "now that's an ice sculpture"
I pulled Defrlinger and walked away making the giant ice-covered golem shatter into pieces
"Phew… that had to be the closest battle I fought" I muttered
All of a sudden I felt myself lose footing and a bit heavy on my right side, I turned to see Kirche hugging my arm tightly in between her cleavage.
"Oh darling were so brave fighting against that monster!" she smiled at me "I was right that you are my real darling...!"
"Zerbst!" Louise shouted "what are you doing with my familiar!?"
While Louise was arguing with Kirche, Tabitha walked was in front of me with a neutral look
"Amazing"
That one word said it all. Tabitha may be a knight, but even she admitted that her magic can't freeze a monster that big...
"I'm impressed once again on what you did to my golem, Gandalf"
The three of us turned to see Ms. Longueville in Foquet's clothing
"What's going on?" I asked
The secretary untied her hair letting it all down looking different and it finally hit me
"No!" I shook my head in disbelief "you're Foquet, aren't you?"
"That's right" Foquet chuckled "and since you show such powerful magic, I'll have to kill you first"
She aimed the weapon at me, but before the big finish came. Someone interfered
"Wonderful, simply wonderful"
All of us turned to see a man walking out of the woods
"Your reputation as the thief amazes me Foquet" he smiled
"Who are you?" The thief asked
"Me? Why I'm just a man, acting upon a request..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Gaia memory
'It can't be' I thought in shock
Ocean
The man pressed the memory against his hand and a pool of water swirled around him and merged into his body and changing his appearance. His body is now a mix of blue and green, his head is like a dome helmet covering most of his face and only showed bright yellow eyes, and long wet arms touching the ground.
The girls with me stepped back in fear while Foquet shivered in fright
"So that is the staff of destruction this country has"
When the Dopant made a step forward, Foquet reacted and fired at the monster
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the earth a bit and Foquet saw that the Dopant is gone and she felt relieved
"I'm glad that… the thing is gone"
"Or so you think"
Globs of water started moving into the place where the Dopant was blown and soon the Ocean Dopant is back.
"But…how?" Foquet was dumbfounded
"If you're forgetting, he's Ocean… meaning he is water. He can use any kind liquid within his reach" I spoke
"Very clever" The Ocean Dopant spoke "but that won't help you"
He lashed his arms forward grabbing Foquet's head and covered it in a sphere of water. The thief struggled to get free but her time is running short.
Immediately I used my blade and slashed through the Dopant's long arms freeing the thief from her death. Kirche used her fire magic and launched a stream of fire at the Dopant, but it only left a huge hole on his left shoulder before it healed.
"You call that an attack? I've seen better skills in war." The Dopant walked toward us
Tabitha stepped in and used an ice spell on her target and she encased the Dopant in ice.
"Phew, well that settles that" Kirche sighed "now let's get Foquet and leave"
Crack!
We turned to see the Ocean Dopant breaking free from his prison, and then…
Smash!
He was free
"You think that ice can stop me?" He laughed "it's just hard water"
Louise waved her wand and made the same exploding spell on the Dopant
Boom!
"Impressive, very impressive" the Dopant stepped out of the black smoke unharmed "you three have given so much effort to stop me but it just wasn't enough..."
I was the only one left to stop him now
'This is my only chance, what have I got to lose...?'
I removed the Accel memory from my belt and placed it in my Engine Blade
Accel Maximum Drive
My sword glowed intense red with a bit of steam, I dashed to the Ocean Dopant
"Eat This!"
I slashed the Dopant directly in two pieces with the bright red glow on where he was struck before an explosion came.
Ka-boom!
The Dopant changed back to his normal although with some scratches on his midsection, I looked at the girls.
"You three take care of Foquet and the staff, while I handle that guy over there"
The girls took some rope from the wagon and went to work while walked to the man.
"Tell me, who is the one that gave you this?" I showed him the Ocean memory
"It was from a man who… came from a group called NE…VER"
With that the man's body turned into water leaving a small puddle in front of me. I now have a clue on who are giving these T2 Gaia memories to people, the question now is… who are they?
I walked back to the wagon and took the driver seat "everyone ready...?"
The girls nodded
"Giddy-up"
The horse moved and we went back to the academy
The four of us were now in Osmond's office talking about Foquet's capture
"I'm glad that you were able to capture the thief and the staff" Osmond nodded "now you three shall receive your reward later"
"The three of us?" Louise asked the headmaster
"Yes" Osmond nodded "you see… Peter here isn't a noble so he isn't fit to be rewarded. I'm sorry" he sighed
"That's okay Osmond" I smiled "all I care is that Foquet is in jail and the staff is back in its rightful place"
I walked back to Louise's room while said girl was preparing for the ball, apparently there was a party tonight called the Ball of Frigg where nobles have fun in the night wearing formal clothes and what not. Also the girls insist that I come and Osmond didn' seem to mind since I also helped them in capturing Foquet
I was having trouble on what to wear I only have common clothes all the time, I was reaching the door but someone called me.
"Peter!"
I turned to see Siesta holding a package.
"Oh Siesta, what is it?"
"A package was sent for you"
I took the parcel from Siesta's hands and opened it, inside were the clothes that I asked Quinn to make and it was a creative kind than the plain looking clothes that the nobles always wore.
I was now wearing a black sleeveless shirt with the Accel logo at the front with an open red jacket with an upside-down yellow heart covered in blue flame over my shirt, I also wore matching black pants with red flames around the legs.
I have to say… Quinn, you sure are one heck of a tailor. That settled for me on what to wear all I need left is to have Siesta help get some proper shoes and I'm all set for the ball
Inside the room were nobles talking to each other, eating food, drinking and dancing… in short, they are having fun. I was welcomed by them by giving their greetings to me, this could be whether in the party's custom or they just don't want to lose their reputation.
Just then I saw Tabitha reading as usual, I walked to her side and asked
"Not used to having attention?"
Tabitha just nodded without looking up at me she really doesn't take her eyes off that book. I heard footsteps coming from the door. I looked there to see Kirche wearing a light-purple strapless gown with matching gloves reaching to her shoulders. The guys were dazzled by her beauty, some even asked her to dance but she just walked past them and went to me
"Hello darling" she said
"Hello Kirche" I smiled "my you look lovely tonight"
Kirche giggled "you're sweet"
I nodded "would you care for a dance?" I offered my hand to her
"I'd be delighted" Kirche placed her hand over mine and the two of us went at dance floor
While the two were dancing some of the other nobles were gossiping about me in their arrogance
"What's he doing here?"
"Shouldn't he be at the room like a good familiar?"
I sighed at their words, I guess acceptance is rarely used in the noble society…
"Don't listen to them" Kirche whispered to me and she gave glares to the people behind me "you deserve this"
"Thank you, it makes me feel much better when you praise me" I sighed but saw different color on the left side of her hair "is that...?"
"Yes it is darling" Kirche answered my question "I've always kept it
"You know darling" Kirche spoke "after this I heard that in the garden flowers glisten throughout the night, would you care to walk me there?"
I was struck speechless at Kirche's, sure she said for a walk at night but to directly say that. But before I could answer her, my ear was being pulled by Louise herself.
The girl was wearing a white gown with red ruffles around her dress, she also wore gloves that reached up to her shoulders but her hand wasn't covered, instead it was attached to a ring she wore around her middle finger.
Louise was really mad at me for being with Kirche
"I leave for a single moment and now you're in trouble"
"Let go of him Valliere! Peter and I were having a moment and he was about to take me for a walk in the gardens tonight" the Zerbst huffed
"WHAT?!" Louise shouted and she glared at me "you dog! You would just go to any woman who would look at you!"
"OW! OW!" I was trying to fight back the pain "LOUISE PLEASE LET GO OF MY EAR...!"
Yep, this was something I could be able to handle...
To be continued…
Author's note:
Hi there, yes I know that you have questions to ask but I'll answer a few of them.
First: since this story is mixed with Gaia memories... the Dopants who are beaten will have side effects like in the TV series, but only to those who have weaker minds and those who are strong willed just get's exhausted.
Secondly: the group NEVER will appear in this story but only in brief moments. As for the members, the leader will carry the name Daido, as for the rest will be some changes and that's all I can say.
Author out