Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Taylor

"...And you need to tell the woman at the desk that, and I quote," I said as I read the sheet I was given, " 'I'd like to report a crime: Bonesaw is selling counterfeit Girl Scout cookies while dressed like the Easter Bunny.' "

"...Seriously?" Dad asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, seriously," I answered, "apparently it's some kind of security thing. Passwords that won't get said by accident."

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can," he said, "and we'll be having words about what you did tonight later."

"Of course," I said with a fake grin that he couldn't even see.

He hung up first, and I gave the director her phone back. "You know," Opal said, "it's a bit odd that we're sitting here in the director's office with this Director and the Master of arms just to be signing some paperwork?"

I blinked. Wow, I must have been slipping because I walked right into a possible trap without noticing.

"It's nothing at all insidious," said the director, a portly woman who seemed to have seen better days, "it's just that we've got some questions for you and this is the best time to ask you."

"Yes," Opal answered for me, "and it's not at all suspicious that you've decided this was the best time when my Princess was within your building and unable to defend herself if need be."

"I don't like your implications," the director said as she leaned over and glared at the wand in my hand.

"And I don't like that my princess was brought into a facility under false pretenses while she's vulnerable," Opal replied with a stern glare.

The director blinked. "I am arguing with a piece of Tinker Tech. Princess," she said turning back to me, "control your device."

"I didn't make her," I explained, "and she's her own person: I can't control her any more than I can control you. I will, however, ask her to be nice and not antagonize the people in charge of heroes in this city." Opal harrumphed. "Now… I'm a bit apprehensive, but I'm willing to listen to whatever questions you have."

Director Piggot was silent for a moment. "Why did you engage with Lung this evening?"

"I saw the Undersiders fleeing a crime scene and pursued," I said in the best approximation of proper law enforcement talk. "Then Lung just sort of appeared out of an alley, saw them and attacked. I'd have gotten involved then, but Armsmaster was there soon after and saved them." I briefly thought back to Armsmaster basically kicking Lung in the face with his motorcycle. "But then Lung got a lucky shot, Armsmaster looked like he was in trouble. I was there, I had to help, so-"

"What do you mean you 'had to?' " the director asked.

"Someone was in trouble," I said. "I helped. It's what heroes do… right?" I finished, maybe a little less confidently than I started. The director didn't reply. "I mean, the Undersiders are criminals, but Lung would have killed them and Armsmaster didn't hesitate to jump in and save them." Armsmaster made some kind of grunt I couldn't make out. "I mean, I'm doing this for fun but what kind of hero would I be if I just floated there and watched a villain kill a fellow hero while he was helpless."

The director hmmed. "Alright then," she said, "I think Armsmaster should ask the next question."

I leaned back and turned to face the armored hero. From what I could see of his face, he seemed to be thinking carefully. "Have you thought about the offer to join the Wards I made on the Rig the night we collected your Caster Card?"

I tried very hard not to groan. "Yeah." I waited for a moment but neither of them responded. "And, no, I'm not interested in joining the Wards."

"That's a shame," the director said, "because you're practically the archetypical example of why the Wards were created."

"Could you explain what you mean by that?" Opal asked suspiciously.

"Well, Princess," the woman said to me and not Opal, "you fit the profile, for lack of a better term, of the ideal Ward candidate," she went on, "I'll be blunt: We know who you are, we did some research into you and your situation when you destroyed that ship. You're an isolated teenager who received a great deal of power." My stomach churned at the unexpected intrusion of my school life into my hero career. "You clearly have good intentions, but you've made some mistakes and could use guidance. In the Wards program, you can learn from more experienced heroes and avoid incidents like dropping satellites on the homes of Boston judges."

My stomach clenched at the reminder of what I'd done. "Excuse me, but the Master of Arms said that my Princess would face no consequence for that due to the corrupt nature of the judge in question and the accidental nature of the offense."

"True," the director admitted, "but it's still an incident that we'd prefer not repeated. And honestly, I'm not sure why a young heroine would turn down a steady paycheck and a support network."

"How much?" Opal asked while I sank into my chair.

"Standard pay is a minimum wage for the first year," the director explained, "double that afterward, potentially adjusted to take care of housing costs or unique special skills, as well as a fifty thousand per year trust fund that she'll receive when she graduates from the program."

"...How much does the Master of Arms make?" Opal questioned next.

"There's no trust fund," the Armsmaster interjected, "but starting pay for the Protectorate is currently $78,780 USD for the first year and $112,810 USD per year for every year afterward, again modified based on special skills or housing costs."

Opal hmmed. "I noticed a gift shop downstairs," she began inquisitively. "I spotted a poster of a young girl in tights and armor on one of the walls, and take her to be one of these Wards. Would my Princess receive her fair share of the profit made from the exploitation of her image?"

Director Piggot grimaced. "No. The PRT owns the image and merchandise rights of all Wards. She'd be able to establish a new image, but-"

"Yeah, no," Opal interrupted. "I did not design my Princess's costume and we did not collect the Class Cards so that you could make a profit on photos and action figures and leave my Princess with not even the identity we've crafted together to her name, only less than half of what the so-called more-experienced heroes are getting despite facing the same dangers and clearly outclassing them based on tonight's example."

"Look, we-"

"I said we're done discussing this," Opal interrupted again. "My Princess said no and nothing you've said seems like an incentive for her to change her mind."

The Director smiled. "I'd like to hear Princess's opinion on that."

I sank into my chair and mumbled my answer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I said no," I said aloud. "I'm still not interested."

"If Opal's concerns are the problem," Armsmaster began, "well, you're basically built for marketing. Multiple interchangeable themes and costumes-Fairy Princess, Knight in Shining Armor, Mythological Hero, Old West Sharpshooter-taken from all over the world and tied together by a shared legend, literature and magic theme." I wasn't looking at him so I couldn't see what he was doing, but he sighed and hesitated for a moment. "And I have to imagine that your popularity will explode when people catch word that you've almost single-handedly defeated Lung without suffering a scratch. With the sheer amount of revenue your merchandise is likely to generate, it would be more than reasonable if you wished to retain ownership of your image and receive a fair portion of that revenue."

Opal harrumphed. "The same pay as one of the full-fledged adult heroes, divided between salary and trust fund, full ownership of our image, identity, and all attached properties, and at least 50% of her merchandise revenue split up between her salary and trust proportionate to her base salary, then her pay is adjusted based on her considerable skill and power." She cleared her non-existent throat. "And you have to address her as 'Majesty,' because she deserves to be treated like a real Princess."

I blushed at Opal's compliment, but muttered that "I still don't want to be a Ward."

"That's the bare minimum before I'll even consider talking with my Princess in private about maybe joining these Wards," Opal finished.

"That's hardly reasonable," the director said with gritted teeth.

"I don't care," I mumbled again, "because I don't want to be a Ward."

"It seems plenty reasonable to me," Opal replied to the director, "and can you really fault me for acting in the best interests of my Princess? Now, why are you so insistent that my Princess join?"

"It's not that we're insistent," Armsmaster corrected, "as much as we want her to know that she's welcome here and that we can be flexible to accommodate her needs."

"And it would be a shame to see her squander her potential," the Director added, "which she might without the resources we can offer her."

Armsmaster grunted. "I'll put it as simply as I can, in terms of the threat ratings, a scale that classifies powers and gives a rough estimate of how dangerous they are to a squad of trained anti-parahuman fighters, Princess is categorized as Trump 10 as of tonight." I went wide-eyed for a second. Barring absurd cases like Eidolon or the Endbringers, 10 was as high as ratings could go, and Trump was one of the stronger and more versatile power types. "And if her default form, what I've seen of Caster, and Saber are typical of all of her forms, each individual form would have high ratings in at least two other categories. Simply, Princess has the potential to be on the same level as the Triumvirate or Hero, rest his soul," the Tinker said in total seriousness. "The world is growing darker every day. We need more heroes on their level." I saw him from the corner of my eye. He was kneeling next to me now. "It's ultimately your choice, Princess, but maybe consider that Wards Program can help you on your way to being the hero you were meant to be."

At first, the thought of standing there amongst the greatest heroes in the world… Part of me longed for it. Being able to save whole cities at once or maybe even drive off an Endbringer before Scion arrived, being a figure of inspiration nationally or even worldwide… But… They'd never stop trying to recruit me if I was actually that valuable. My blood started to boil. "No," I said as clearly as I could. "I don't want to be a Ward."

"Are you-"

"I said no!" I stood and shouted. "The absolute last thing I need in my life is to be stuck with more teenage drama, more cliques, and in general just more bullshit! I'd rather keep my freedom and do things my way instead of following rules made by people who say they'll do one thing but never follow through! I'm sick of being the isolated loner, I'm sick of people making decisions without consulting me"

"Princess..." Opal began.

"Don't you start!" I said, breathing heavily, "the, that stuff earlier. Negotiations about payment… That's exactly what I'm talking about! I said no. I said it more than once, but you all just kept talking like I wasn't even there! You should know better, Opal."

Opal deflated. "...Princess," she said in a heartbroken tone.

"I just wish that people would-gah!" I collapsed to the floor. Suddenly, it was like all of my nerves were on fire. For a second everything went white, but then it passed and I was just as sore as I'd been immediately after beating Lung. Opal was curled tightly around my upper arm. "What," I huffed, "what happened?"

"Your mana spiked in response to your emotions," Opal explained in the tone of an overly concerned mother. "It happens from time to time in mages, particularly those with prodigiously large reserves of power. Normally it's harmless but with your circuits so inflamed..."

"...Alright," the director said after a moment, "we'll drop the subject, as it is quite apparently very touchy for you. However," she continued, "you seem to have a… preconception about the program and are judging it based on this without having experienced it yourself. Maybe, just maybe, you should talk to a few of the Wards and get an informed opinion?"

"Maybe," I said, the blood rushing to my face. After my little outburst, I was suddenly very aware of the two pairs of eyes on me. Knowing my luck, I'd just lost every scrap of respect I'd earned from the PRT because I couldn't keep things bottled up where they'd belonged and dumped years worth of bad feelings on people who had nothing to do with it. I hadn't even realized I was sizing up the door until I'd stood up.

"Perhaps you'd like to do so now," she said. Not a suggestion or order but an option. "Vista often sleeps on base, Aegis prefers to stay here on weekends, and I think that Kid Win is here Tinkering. Shadow Stalker has been known to come in in the middle of the night on occasion, as well. You could talk to them, and we can call you back here when your father arrives."

"Yeah," I said lamely. I didn't really want to, but I needed to regain my composure and for that, I needed to be anywhere but here.

Armsmaster escorted me down to Wards HQ in awkward silence. The director was making a call but I wasn't sure if I should be concerned about that. The elevator ride seemed slower than it had going up to the Director's office.

"...Princess," Opal said hesitantly, "I'm sorry. About earlier."

"It's fine," I said, "just, just don't..."

Opal gave my arm a squeeze. "There's something we need to talk about later when we get home. Not something bad, but… Just something I've realized that I should tell you."

"Tell me now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Opal leaned up and whispered in my ear. "I've been recording your interactions with those cretins. If and when you decide to do anything about them, you have all the evidence you'll need."

I nodded but said nothing. Opal seemed to wilt a little.

When we got to Wards HQ, he pushed a button by the door and an alarm went off. I startled for a second, but he raised a hand. "It's just to let the people inside know that they need to have masks on."

I grunted my acknowledgment. After a moment, the door opened and we entered.

I found three people to greet us: Aegis, decked head to toe in almost solid red with a shield upon his chest, standing at attention, Vista, with her visor, sculpted breastplate, and green squiggled skirt… which honestly looked like she'd changed into it hastily, supported by her tired slouch, and Kid Win in red and gold powered armor, with an annoyed frown on his exposed mouth.

"Wards," Armsmaster began, "this is Princess." Vista snickered. "She's here to collect a reward but needs to wait for her guardian to fill out the paperwork. We think it might be best for her to wait here and get to know some of you." Yes, yes, don't mention my little outburst.

"Who'd she beat?" Vista asked.

"Lung," I answered. She wasn't asking me, but I wasn't about to go back to people talking for me. My answer brought all attention to me.

"...By yourself?" She asked after a moment.

"Mostly," Armsmaster answered.

"Princess, if I may?" Opal interrupted. I nodded for her, "I possess audio-video recording capability. I'd originally recorded tonight's events so that I could illustrate some of my Princess's mistakes, but I can easily show you. If no one minds?"

"Don't point out my so-called mistakes while other people are watching," I said. Honestly, there were worse things I could think of doing than reliving the totally awesome thing I'd done earlier this night for a little bit.

No one objected, so Opal went into her compact form and then produced a projector beneath her and displaying everything between my declaration of having a dragon-slaying sword to Lung getting tranquilized onto a blank bit of wall.

The Wards were completely silent as the battle replayed and… Wow. That was less than ten minutes. It'd felt much longer while I was actually doing it.

I blinked and startled when Vista was suddenly in front of me with a big smile. "Soo," began, "you're joining the Wards, right?"

"Uhh," I looked to Opal to find that she was talking to Kid Win.

"...think of me like I'm a self-aware, multi-functional, and highly modular supercomputer," I caught her saying, "all the 'software' is in my core being and the 'hardware' for my other applications are stored in a personal pocket reality. When I need to access a function or application that isn't equipped into my standard form, I simply swap out the relevant pieces with the use of Second Magic." Kid Win's lips were pursed in thought and he nodded.

I looked back to Vista, "how does the program treat you? I mean, what's it like to be a Ward?"

"It's okay," she said with a shrug, "We're out there almost everyday learning first hand what it's like to be heroes, helping people, but..." She looked past me. I leaned back to see that Kid Win had finished his conversation with Opal and gone to the far end of the room to talk to Armsmaster, and I couldn't make out what they were saying. "But I don't think they give us the respect we're due," she said a bit quieter than before.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, we don't get paid as much as the Protectorate does, even though we're doing basically the same work," yeah, the thing Opal had complained about, "and between you and me: I've been a Ward for a couple of years now. I've been here the longest, now that Triumph has graduated out, but I still get treated like I'm fresh out of Elementary School without a single patrol to my name. I'm the seniormost Ward here, but Aegis is the oldest so he gets made the new leader. How is that fair?"

Well, now I knew that my gut feeling about the program was rational.

"What the Wards need are people like you," Vista said, "you've got video proof that you're just as good, that people in our age group are just as good as the adult Heroes… If you sign up and then that gets leaked..."

"I'll think it over," I said. I could sympathize with her, but honestly, I doubted I could do anything to help her.

"Also, the only girls here are me and Shadow Stalker and she-"

"Doesn't count?" I questioned.

"Oh no, she counts," Vista said in a tone that betrayed that this wasn't the first time someone had made that assumption, "she's just a bitch. And judging from that video, you're everything she wants to be without being a bitch, so you signing up would really piss her off and I'd give my salary for a year to see that."

"Look, I've thought about it," I said, "if I sign up I'll make sure you're the first to know."

Okay.

Thing's got awkwardly silent after that. I kind of gravitated back towards where Opal was and was approached by Aegis.

"Good evening, Princess," he greeted.

"It is," I said with a nod.

"And you were quite impressive tonight," the fit teen said awkwardly… Was he trying to make small talk or pick me up? "And I've kept up on your sightings since as Team Leader it's my job to make sure that the team is ready in case of conflicts involving other capes in the same city-We could be after the same villain or something along those lines." 'I kinda sorta have a boyfriend maybe' on standby. "And there's something I've been meaning to ask you, but it's a bit awkward..." Five, four, three, two… "Why don't you wear a mask?"

"Oh," I said, "that's not what I was expecting. Mostly because she," I gestured to Opal, "won't let me wear one."

"We've been over this, Princess," Opal interrupted when she caught what I said. "Magical Girls don't wear masks."

"Sailor V wore a mask," Vista shouted across the room at us. Everyone turned to look at her. "What?" she asked, "Agent Smith let me borrow his collection of classics."

"...Sailor V," Opal began, "isn't… REAL!" The room got quiet. "Phantasmoon doesn't wear a mask. Magical Amber doesn't wear a mask. Prisma Illya, Prisma Miyu, and Dark Illya don't wear masks," those must have been her sisters' masters. "Kaleido Ruby and Kaleido Sapphire didn't wear masks-"

"Wait," I interrupted, "you're a Kaleidostick, and your sisters are named Ruby and Sapphire. Now you're telling me that there are Magical Girls..."

"Kaleido Ruby and Kaleido Sapphire were my sisters' masters before they contracted with Prisma Illya and Prisma Miyu," Opal admitted sheepishly and turned away.

"...Opal," I asked in dead seriousness, "did you have a master before me?"

"...No," she admitted, "I was created shortly before I was given my mission in this world." A few ears perked at that, but I paid them no mind.

"So, what you're telling me is that instead of some silly name like Prisma Princess, I could have been Kaleido Opal?" Opal nodded. "Okay then." Then I lept for her, grabbed her from the air, landed on the floor and started throttling her.

A minute of rolling on the floor wrestling a magic wand went by before Opal reminded me: "Princess, you are aware that I don't breathe, right? All you're doing is making us look ridiculous." I paused, blushing, and stood up to find that I was being stared at again by a room full of people who had looks about them like they weren't sure whether they should laugh or call the police. "Also I don't know if you heard, but the alarm went off a little bit ago and someone is about to come in."

I made myself as presentable as possible, but I probably needn't have bothered. The person who came in was a girl dressed head to toe in black, complete with a dark city camo cloak and a mask of a woman's face painted black… that was slightly askew, as though she'd thrown it on in a hurry, though not enough to see anything beneath it. She looked across the room, seemingly confused at Armsmaster's presence and that the room was so full until she saw me and startled. "Hebert!?"

Opal cocked to the side, my heart briefly stopped, but beyond that, the only sound was the metaphorical record scratch.

"You know Princess, Shadow Stalker?" Armsmaster asked.

"Kinda," she said, "uh, we're both at Winslow. I see her in the halls a lot. She's got a bit of a reputation there." My blood started to boil again.

"Opal," I said slowly, "this is exactly why I need a mask!"

"Unfortunately," Armsmaster said turning to me, "since you're not a Ward there's not much in the way of actual discipline measures we can do for Stalker revealing your identity in these circumstances. However, if she wanted to do the right thing and unmask to you of her own accord-"

"Save it," I said, "I don't care. If she's from Winslow, then she's either an abuser or a spineless bystander. Either way, she's not worth it."

"...Look, sorry," Shadow Stalker started, sounding a little angry, "but you're pretty recognizable and you're literally the last person I expected to be here… Are you signing on or something?"

"No," I said solemnly, "not right now," and not ever. I'd had no intention of it, but this was the last straw.

"Then why are you here?"

"She beat Lung," Kid Win interrupted.

"She kicked his ass up the street," Vista added. "That huge pillar of light a while ago? That was her kicking his ass while he was full-dragon."

"Yeah," I finished, not being able to work up the will to be annoyed at the interruption, "apparently there's a reward and I can't collect until my father gets here to help deal with the paperwork, so they sent me here."

"Speaking of which, the Director just called," Armsmaster interjected, "your father just came in through the lobby so we need to get you back to the Director's office."

Shadow Stalker vacated the entryway and Armsmaster escorted me back to the office to meet my Dad.

"You know Princess," Opal said, "this probably isn't the best time, but if The Master of Arms was telling the truth about how marketable your image is, we could probably license it ourselves if money ever becomes an issue. Or now, so that you and your father can afford food that isn't trash."

I heard Armsmaster say "damn it" under his breath and smiled.