~ Day Five ~
Light's Elegy
If it breaks, fear not, believe me,
It will be whole again, our story,
Can't see? Afraid? Don't worry,
This is the way my life goes,
I dream for you to see me smile, someday,
Standing beneath the lightless cloudy sky,
Sometimes I cannot find the words to say,
Today, my journey can no longer fly…
Though the sun had begun to set already, leaving the streets below barely visible, Celia couldn't quite pull herself from the couch nearest to the window. In fact, she had hardly left that spot since returning home hours ago. Her work lay sprawled out on the coffee table before her, but she hadn't made any progress there, either. She hadn't been deliberately neglecting her work; she was just finding it incredibly difficult to concentrate.
In an effort to distract herself, she glanced down at her phone, which was still displaying a log of her most recent messages. As soon as she had returned home, she had texted Faith, accepting his invitation. And though she was sure that her friend wouldn't be so cruel as to lead her on, his reply had brought her immeasurable relief.
Faith's next message didn't reach her until half past eight. Ever since then, Celia had been unable to restrain herself from peeking out the window at least once a minute.
Upon reflection, Celia was quite glad that Karen was working late that night. She knew that her best friend was probably getting as little work done as she herself was; according to Karen, her boss had an annoying habit of keeping his employees around whenever he was busy, regardless of whether they had any work to do. Celia knew that Karen was probably quite annoyed with it all, but at that moment, Celia was just glad to have avoided the otherwise inevitable teasing.
Then her apartment's buzzer rang, and Celia nearly tripped over her own feet in her haste to reach the door. Mere moments later, she found herself standing just inside her apartment complex's doorway, and paused only to straighten her clothing before stepping outside.
"Hey, C. I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?" Faith asked apologetically.
Celia shook her head quickly. "It's okay," she assured him hastily.
"I parked just down the block. This way," Faith said, turning, but waiting for her so that they could walk side by side. "You must be starving. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to be so late; I got all my paperwork finished in time, but talking it over with my partner took longer than I expected."
"I'm fine. Really," Celia insisted. "Did you get everything worked out?"
"I'd like to think so," Faith said, laughing lightly. "I'll know for sure soon enough. I like your dress, by the way."
"I wasn't sure where we were going, so I thought I'd wear something nice, just in case," Celia said.
"Well, you look lovely," Faith complimented.
"Thanks," Celia said, trying and failing to hide her blush.
Suddenly, Faith turned and stepped into the street. "This one," he said, stepping up to the passenger door of an unassuming chrome sedan and politely opening it for Celia.
Celia stepped into a car. Once inside, she noticed that despite being clean and in nearly perfect condition, Faith's car seemed a bit old; instead of an audio jack, or at least a CD player, it had an old-fashioned cassette deck.
"It is a bit old, isn't it," Faith remarked, noting her expression as he sat down beside her and strapped himself in. "I'm not much of a car guy, to be honest. This one seemed cheap and reliable, and gets me from point A to point B smoothly enough. That's all I was asking for, really."
Celia thought about it, and decided that a flashy and flamboyant car would have seemed out of character for her friend, anyways. "It's nice. I think it suits you," she said. "Where are we going, by the way?"
"We've got a few choices. You mentioned sushi earlier, so I got us a reservation at this place down in Seattle. I've never been there before, but the chef there was once an apprentice to a famous Japanese sushi chef. But if you don't feel like sushi, there's this steakhouse near my office that my co-workers are always raving about," Faith offered. "Or if you have something else in mind, that's fine by me."
"They both sound great," Celia said.
"Sushi it is, then. Saves me cancelling our reservation," Faith said with a wink.
As Celia and Faith stepped into the restaurant, the aged chef at the sushi bar looked up at them and smiled. "Irrashaimase," the kindly old man greeted politely.
Faith smiled and nodded, then approached the host standing near the entrance. Before long, a waiter appeared to lead him and Celia to their seats.
Celia began poring over the menu curiously. The restaurant's selection was much wider than she was used to. She quickly found most of the sushi restaurant staples, but there were several items she couldn't quite remember seeing before. When the waiter returned a short while later, she was far from ready to order.
Then, to her surprise, Faith began conversing with their waiter in Japanese. The waiter seemed just as surprised at first, but before long, both men were laughing. Then the waiter turned to Celia expectantly. "Miss, are you ready to order?" he asked.
"Uh… not yet," Celia admitted. She glanced at her companion. "What about you, Faith?" she asked.
"Oh, I usually just trust the chef to decide," Faith replied. "Makes ordering easy."
"You can do that?" Celia asked, looking down at her menu.
"Sure. Here," Faith said, indicating one of the options on the menu. "Omakase roughly translates to 'I'll leave it to the chef,'" he explained.
"I might do that too," Celia said thoughtfully. "Yeah, let me have that too, please," she said, turning to the waiter.
"Good choice," the waiter nodded approvingly. "Would you like anything to drink with that?"
"Umm… no, I'll just have water. Thank you," Celia said. After the waiter collected their menus and left, Celia turned to Faith. "I didn't know you spoke Japanese, Faith. What were you two saying?"
"I was just making small talk, really," Faith said. "I placed my order. He commented that my Japanese sounded fluent for an American. I told him that I spent a few years living in Japan, and he joked that perhaps I should have lived there a few years longer."
"So, not that fluent, huh?" Celia smiled.
"Sadly," Faith chuckled.
"But… you used to live in Japan? You aren't Japanese, are you?" Celia asked.
The waiter returned then, bearing two glasses of water. "Doumo," Faith said, briefly acknowledging their waiter before turning back to Celia. "No, I'm not Japanese. I figured you'd pick up on that. It always surprises me how hard of a time people have telling us Asians apart, but you have a good eye for detail."
"Well, it's a bit easier for me. I'm half-Japanese myself, and the town where I grew up had a fairly large Asian population," Celia said modestly.
"Ah. I'm Chinese. Well, Chinese-American, really," Faith said. "I vacationed in Japan during my first year of college. Someone there ended up making me a job offer I couldn't refuse, so I ended up staying."
Celia laughed. "You make it sound like you got railroaded into working for the Yakuza or something," she commented.
"If I did, wouldn't I still be working for them?" Faith asked, laughing as well. "You don't just walk away from organizations like that, from what I've heard."
"Oh? So you're still working for them now?" Celia teased. "Is that why you're always wearing a suit, then? So that no one can see the tattoos on your arm?"
"Yes, exactly," Faith grinned. "I guess you found me out. I'm a Chinese man working out of the United States for a world-famous Japanese crime organization." Then, in an unnecessary attempt to prove he was only joking, he carefully rolled back his sleeves, revealing his unadorned arms. "I don't actually know which arm the Yakuza tattoos usually go on," he admitted.
"I guess that means you don't have a bunch of exciting stories from work to share," Celia said jokingly. "Well, at least I don't have to worry about you killing me afterwards to keep me quiet."
"My work gets exciting enough without needing to kill anyone," Faith replied.
Only then did it occur to Celia that she had never asked Faith about his job. "Speaking of which, you run your own company, right? What do you guys do?" she asked.
"Hmm… it's a bit hard to describe," Faith said thoughtfully. "Our business is all about helping people who've fallen upon hard times. Sometimes it's just bad luck that they ended up where they are. Other times, it's their own doing. I've worked with alcoholics, people with drug habits, and compulsive gamblers, for example. Either way, we reach out to them and help the ones who can show us that they want our help and will make the most of it."
"So your business does rehab counseling," Celia translated.
"Among other things," Faith nodded. "We're always trying out new ideas, though. I'm sure anyone looking at our paper trail would be utterly baffled. One day we're getting regular office supplies. The next, the FedEx guy shows up with a pile of imported skateboards."
"Skateboards? For what?" Celia asked.
"I didn't ask, so your guess would be as good as mine," Faith shrugged. "I just passed them along to my partner. The way I see it is, if it gets the job done, it's good enough for me."
"That sound very… hands-offish," Celia remarked.
"That's the idea, anyways," Faith agreed. "The less time I need to spend verifying other people's work, the more time I have to take care of my own projects. My partner and I work pretty well together. Not perfectly, but well enough, I think. There're a few moments of doubt every now and then – from both sides, naturally – but someday, we'll be on the same page."
"You really think two people can agree on absolutely everything?" Celia asked.
"Not at all," Faith said, smiling. "It's not about never disagreeing, it's about believing in your partner even when you disagree. Trust your partner, as an old friend of mine would say."
"Trust your partner…" Celia echoed wistfully. "When you put it that way, it sounds pretty nice. It's a shame most of my work has to be done on my own."
"You never know," Faith said thoughtfully. "The seamstress you're designing that dress pattern for has a partner, doesn't she? Even if art really is just an expression of self, I'm sure you can find someone likeminded to help, or at least bounce ideas off of."
"I guess you're right," Celia agreed, her expression brightening. "I do have someone to share my work with these days, after all. That counts, right?"
At first, Faith seemed to have been caught off guard by her sudden enthusiasm. Then he understood, and smiled warmly. "If you say so," he said serenely.
"Hey, Celia. Are you up, yet? You need to see this."
Celia stirred at the sound of her partner's voice. "What is it, Blake?" she murmured sleepily. "Is the mission here already?"
"Yeah, but that's not… just come take a look at this," Blake said.
Feeling rather embarrassed for missing their mission's arrival, Celia missed the second half of Blake's request entirely. She reached for her phone, and saw her mission staring back at her.
Free Capitol Hill of the Noise that should not be. No time limit. Beware the Lion.
- The Reapers
"Of the Noise that should not be?" Celia murmured. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Over here, Celia. Quickly," Blake urged impatiently.
Celia glanced down at her palm, confirming that there was no timer. Then she moved to Blake's side, unsure as to why he was in such a hurry. "What is it?" she asked.
"Look," Blake said, pointing towards a nearby newspaper vending machine.
"The Seattle Times?" Celia frowned. "What about…" Her sentence ended in a soft gasp as she saw the picture on the newspaper's front page. "Blake! That's…"
"Michael. I know," Blake said grimly. "Here."
Blake handed a copy of the newspaper to Celia, who began reading it aloud. "31-year-old Michael Ariel, a successful local businessman specializing in international exports, was shot and killed this morning in Capitol Hill in what Seattle police believe to be a drug-related crime. Witnesses claim that Ariel was sprinting down 12th Avenue, desperately fleeing from an armed pursuer. Ariel was shot twice, first in the leg, and then again, fatally, in the head. The shooter fled afterwards, escaping before the police and medics arrived on the scene, where Ariel was pronounced dead. Two witnesses were able to provide the police with pictures of the shooter, who currently remains unidentified."
"They included the pictures. You should take a look," Blake interrupted grimly.
Celia looked further down the page, and she locked eyes with a picture of a slender Japanese man with tanned skin and an eerily maniacal expression. She let out another gasp. "The Conductor?" she exclaimed.
"This isn't good," Blake said. "Reaper or not, Michael was one of the ones helping us. Now he's dead, and the guy who killed him is the same guy that supposedly wants you erased. This can't be a coincidence."
"No, it can't be," Celia agreed. "If this article is right, Michael was killed in Capitol Hill. That's where our mission is, too."
Blake looked down at his phone again, only just now noticing that the locations were the same. He shook his head in disbelief. "Okay. That cinches it. We'd better get going."
"Going where?" Celia asked, not following at first.
"To Capitol Hill," Blake said. "Dealing with the Reapers is one thing; I think we can take Bradley or Trevor if we have to. I'm not sure we can take both of them at once, though, and they're not even our biggest problem. The Conductor took down Michael somehow. If he's coming after us personally, we're in big trouble. We have to get to Capitol Hill and join up with the other Players."
"You want to team up with the other Players?" Celia asked, genuinely surprised.
"Not just the other Players, but the other Reapers, too, and anyone else who'd help us," Blake amended. "We're outmatched here. We need all the help we can get."
"What about the mission?" Celia asked. "The mission said something about Noise that should not be."
"No 'fail and face erasure', either," Blake noted. "Just a warning about a lion. It's a bit odd, but Dennis was right yesterday. The Game Master has been fair so far, both when he faced us personally on the second day and with all his missions. I like our chances against this lion of his and the Noise more than I like our chances against someone strong enough to kill off Michael."
"Good point. Okay, let's get going," Celia agreed.
"You'll have to lead the way. I have no idea where Capitol Hill is," Blake admitted.
Celia nodded, and took a good look around her to get her bearings. "This way," she determined, heading eastward.
"How much further is this hill?" Blake asked nervously, constantly looking all around for any sign of danger. He and Celia had yet to encounter anyone who could see them, or even any Noise, and it was beginning to make him nervous.
"We're here," Celia replied. "Capitol Hill isn't actually a hill. It's mostly a residential district, known for having a lot of clubs and bars and stuff. They have a bunch of bookstores, too."
"So if this is Capitol Hill… where is everyone?" Blake asked. "I don't even see any…"
"Blake, look over there," Celia said, pointing towards a nearby night club. "Isn't that Selena and Dennis? Come on, let's go say hi."
As Celia and Blake approached the two Reapers, they saw that there was a heated discussion going on. Rather, Selena had certainly worked herself up, while Dennis was shying away, as if he wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Oh come on. We don't have time for this right now," Selena said impatiently.
"We don't?" Dennis asked nervously. "Can't we wait for some backup?"
"What kind of backup are you waiting for?" Celia asked curiously.
Dennis turned. "Celia! Perfect!" he said, relieved.
"Oh no you don't," Selena said dangerously. "You are not pushing this off onto them."
"Why not? It's their mission, too," Dennis protested.
"Our mission? You mean the Noise?" Blake asked. "Wait, you Reapers are working with us on this mission?"
Selena nodded. "Game Master's orders. First we were to help him take down those ridiculous junk heaps the Conductor left all over the place. Now we're supposed to team up with you Players and get rid of the Noise," she explained.
"The Conductor was the one creating all those junk heaps?" Celia asked, startled.
"Yep. Don't bother asking why. No one knows what's going on in that maniac's head. Well, the Game Master might, but if so, he's not sharing," Dennis said glumly. "The ones in the Realground were cleared away long ago, of course, but we couldn't be bothered tidying up after the Grim Heaper here in the Underground. Then, last night, he turned them all into these strange Noise sigils."
"Strange? How?" Blake asked.
"The Game Master calls them Taboo Noise refinery sigils," Selena said. "The Noise they spawn take completely different shapes from the Noise we get around here. They're tougher and more aggressive, too. They attack anyone they see, Player or Reaper alike, and it's almost impossible to hurt them without coordinating attacks against them across two different zones."
"Two different zones?" Celia echoed, guessing that the Reaper must have been referring to how she and Blake were always separated as soon as they encountered Noise.
"Yep. That's why we Reapers have partnered up for today, too," she said. She scowled at Dennis. "Of course, now I'm stuck with this slacker."
"Hey!" Dennis protested. "I'm not slacking! I just think maybe we should leave these to Celia and her partner and start somewhere else instead."
"Why don't I just buy you a night light? Or would you prefer a spine?" Selena asked, rolling her eyes.
"A night light?" Celia asked curiously. She looked into the club, which seemed closed for business. The door was open, though, revealing the building's pitch-black interior.
"Yeah. Seriously. Who's ever heard of a grown man afraid of the dark?" Selena grumbled.
Dennis shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
"Oh! Dennis, do you have nyctophobia?" Celia asked.
"Um… yeah," Dennis admitted abashedly. "How did you… I mean, people don't usually know what it's called," he said.
"My friend mentioned a co-worker who's the same way," Celia explained sympathetically. "Well, Blake and I still owe you one for yesterday. Right, Blake?" she asked, nudging her partner lightly on the shoulder.
"Yeah, sure," Blake agreed, though he seemed amused by Dennis's plight.
"Selena, Dennis. You two go on ahead. We'll clear out the Noise in here," Celia promised.
Selena groaned. "I can't believe you two really want to indulge his stupidity. Whatever. Take care in there, you hear? We saw at least two Noise wander inside." With that, she marched away, making no effort to hide her annoyance.
"Thanks, Celia," Dennis murmured.
"Don't sweat it," Celia said reassuringly. "I've heard how bad it can get. Faith's co-worker supposedly passed out because of it once. You can't risk fighting Noise like that."
"Faith? Is she that friend you mentioned earlier?" Dennis asked curiously.
"He, actually," Celia corrected. "And yeah, he is."
"I see," Dennis said, wearing a thoughtful expression. "Well, thanks again. Be careful, alright? These Taboo Noise don't mess around."
Celia nodded, then she and Blake stepped through the club's open doorway.
"Where's the damned light switch?" Blake complained, not long after they were inside and lost in the darkness.
"No idea," Celia said. "You know, for all the flak Selena gave Dennis about it, this is actually kind of scary. Wandering in the darkness after some particularly deadly type of Noise?" She shuddered, though of course, her partner could not see her.
"Then quit talking about it and help me get the lights on," Blake ordered. "Or… never mind, I think I got it."
The lights flickered on a second later, and Celia and Blake's eyes were immediately drawn to a pair of black frog-like Noise in the middle of the room. The two looked identical, with the same glowing, beady red eyes and hind legs that appeared to be drawn from white tattoos.
"That's the Noise the Reapers are freaking out about!?" Blake exclaimed. "They're only frogs!"
"Don't let your guard down," Celia warned, focusing on her Player pin. For a brief moment, she wondered if it would even work with Michael gone.
But Michael's soothing voice played out exactly as she had hoped. "Choirfrog. The Taboo frog. Its foamy spray hides a single, differently-colored lethal bubble."
"Foamy spray?" Celia wondered aloud. "What do you think that means, Blake?" She turned, only to find that her partner was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, right."
Celia turned back to face the Noise, just in time to see one of them pouncing towards her. She tried to move aside, but was a moment too slow. The Noise slammed heavily into her side. She staggered backward, trying her best to stay on her feet.
Out of the corner of her eye, Celia spotted the second Noise moving. For the time being, though, she was more concerned with the Noise directly in front of her. Her stylus darted forward, quickly summoning a meteor which blasted straight into the closer frog.
The frog croaked loudly, looking unbothered by the attack. Then it pounced again, taking Celia by surprise once more and sending her sprawling across the floor. The second Noise joined the fray a moment later, landing atop of Celia and pressing down on her painfully.
Desperately, Celia willed her stylus to move towards her, drawing her form into lightning as she had done against the killer whale Noise the day before. Suddenly free, she rushed forward through both of the frogs, putting as much distance between her and them as she could before her transformation reverted. She pivoted quickly, drawing Lightning Rook and firing off a quick bolt. To her horror, she saw that neither of her attacks had fazed the Noise. Both Noise pounced again, but this time, she was just able to dodge away in time.
Celia began to run, her stylus trailing her easily. Needing just a bit more time, she imagined a wall of ice behind her, and her stylus went to work. The frozen sheet shattered as the two Noise slammed into it, but it had served its purpose, buying Celia several precious seconds. A loaded handgun fell into her waiting hands, and she promptly pointed at the nearer of the two Noise, pulling the trigger.
The recoil was far greater than Celia had expected, and her pistol nearly fell from her grasp. Her shot was several inches off the mark, too, barely clipping her target's webbed foot. It didn't seem to matter. Like her meteor and lightning, the bullet had no visible effect on the Noise.
"How do I hurt these things?" Celia cried out in frustration.
Both of the Noise frogs opened their mouths, as if to answer. But instead of words, streams of bubbles gurgled forth, drifting outwards slowly and clouding the air. Amidst them were two violet bubbles, glowing hauntingly. "Lethal," Celia whispered, remembering her Player pin's warning.
Her stylus darted forward several feet, leaving a thin, silvery trail. A needle formed and began shooting back and forth the cloud, popping the bubbles left and right as Celia readied another meteor. She fired again, and like the first time, she seemed entirely incapable of injuring the two Taboo Noise.
Finally giving up on attacking the Noise directly, Celia thought back to her battle against the ice Noise during the third mission. Her stylus dipped to the ground, sketching a jagged line beneath the Noise and opening a deadly crevasse. One of the frogs plummeted downward and disappeared, and though the other managed to leap aside, a second crevasse opened perpendicular to the first, sending the second frog to its doom as well.
Blake reappeared by Celia's side in a crouching stance. When he saw her, he relaxed, lying down backward. "God damn it, those things were tough," he groaned. "I wasn't even sure if I was hurting them."
"You might not have been. I don't think I was able to, anyways," Celia admitted.
"Wait, then what happened to them?" Blake asked.
"I drew a hole beneath them and dropped them… somewhere else," Celia said, suddenly realizing that she wasn't sure where she had sent the Noise. "It's the same thing I did against that ice Noise two days ago."
"I hope it's somewhere far enough to count as us getting rid of them," Blake said, climbing back to his feet. "How the fuck are we supposed to hurt those things?"
"I don't know. We were lucky they couldn't fly," Celia said worriedly. "I think Selena said something about coordinating our attacks, but I'm not exactly sure what she meant. I can't see you after the battle starts; how can we possibly coordinate our attacks that way?"
"Why don't we catch up to her and ask her?" Blake suggested.
"Sure. Let's try that," Celia agreed. With one last glance back to make sure all the Noise inside the building were gone, she switched off the lights and exited alongside Blake.
Once outside, Celia started after Selena and Dennis, heading towards the heart of Capitol Hill. Truthfully, she wasn't sure where the other two Reapers had gone after disappearing from sight, but she didn't really have any other course to follow.
Instead of the Reapers, Celia and Blake soon came across a pair of Players battling more monochrome Noise: Graham and Jason. The Noise they battled hovered several feet off the ground and were serpentine in shape, but were wingless and furry. Each was armed with a pair of razor sharp claws.
"Death Metal Mink. The Taboo mink. Like an obsidian gale, it demolishes everything in its path," Michael's voice explained.
"That's supposed to be a mink?" Celia asked uncertainly. Upon closer inspection, she could see a certain resemblance, but it still seemed a bit of a stretch.
"A mink?" Blake echoed. Reluctantly, he activated his own Player pin. "Um… okay, then."
Celia watched the ongoing battle with a mixture of trepidation and interest. Graham and Jason seemed to be having trouble injuring the Noise, too. At the same time, they seemed to be faring better than Celia and Blake had; a few of their attacks left their Noise targets visibly shaken.
"They seem to be able to hurt the Noise, at least," Blake murmured, noticing the same thing.
"Yeah, but… there's no coordination, as far as I can see," Celia noted. "They're both just attacking at random. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen them both hurt one of the Noise at the same time."
The battle came to an end soon after, leaving both Graham and Jason looking thoroughly exhausted. "Hello, Celia," Graham called, when he saw her and Blake standing nearby.
"Hey," Celia said. "How're you doing?"
"We've been better," Graham said in a somber tone. "This mission seemed pretty simple at first, but Jason and I are barely hurting these Taboo Noise."
"You two should probably keep your distance from them," Jason told Celia and Blake, panting. "I doubt you'd be able to do anything to them."
Blake stiffened. "Why, you arrogant little…" he began angrily.
"You're right," Celia said, stepping in quickly. "Blake and I tried fighting some of these Noise earlier. Our attacks just weren't strong enough to hurt them."
"It's not about how strong you are," Jason corrected. "Well, it's not just about how strong you are, anyways."
"What do you know about these Taboo Noise?" Celia asked.
"Just what that Reaper, Trevor, told us this morning," Graham said glumly.
"Trevor?" Blake asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "He's helping us now, too?"
"Yeah. Game Master's orders, he said. All the Reapers, even the Game Master himself, are supposed to be out here helping us clear out the Taboo Noise. Well, all the Reapers except for the Conductor. Did you hear about what happened to Michael?" Graham asked.
"Then it's true? Michael's dead?" Celia asked unhappily.
"Yeah. Or maybe erased. We're not too sure what happens to Reapers that get dusted," Jason admitted.
"So what did Trevor tell you about these Noise?" Celia asked.
"The Taboo Noise have some sort of innate protection against psychs," Graham explained. "It completely nullifies most psychs, which makes them nearly invulnerable."
"But you and Jason were able to hurt them just now," Celia said.
"Sometimes, yes," Graham said. "You can't remove their protection, but you can potentially circumvent it. When Players battle Noise, they're separated from their partners and sent into what the Reapers call 'zones.' That's because the Noise exist simultaneously in two zones at once."
"One of the Reapers told us to coordinate our attacks across multiple zones," Celia said.
"Yes, exactly," Graham nodded. "Even when you and your partner have been sent to different zones, you're still together and your pact still connects you. Against normal Noise, that's enough to let you manifest your psychs and attack them in either zone. Taboo Noise are different, though. To hurt them in one zone, you have to use your pact to borrow some of your partner's strength from the other zone."
"How?" Blake asked.
"It happens automatically," Jason explained. "It's hard to put into words, but you should be able to sense your partner's presence whenever she's with you. Once in a while, you may feel her power flowing through you, too. When that happens, your psychs grow stronger, and you'll be able to overcome the Taboo Noise."
"I don't think I've ever noticed that," Celia admitted.
"Me neither," Blake said.
"I figured as much," Jason said knowingly. "See, there's another part to it. You and your partner have to be in sync. A stronger pact allows your power to flow more easily between the two of you. Partners who truly trust one another can find their rhythm more easily, and their power peaks more frequently. I've watched you two fight before, though. As far as I could tell, you were both just doing your own thing. You can't battle the Taboo Noise that way."
"But Blake and I have been trying to work together… haven't we?" Celia said, looking towards her partner uncertainly.
"I don't think it's something you can control," Graham said comfortingly. "It's all instinctive, so it's not like either of you are consciously mistrusting the other. You need to truly understand and empathize with how your partner feels. Jason and I have been friends for years, and our pact still feels shaky from time to time. You and Blake, on the other hand, only just started trusting one another."
"So just stay clear of the Taboo Noise, alright?" Jason said. "You two can't really fight them, so there's no reason to put yourselves in danger. Stick with Graham and I, and let us handle any Taboo Noise we come across."
"Alright. Thank you," Celia agreed, trying not to feel too discouraged.
High up on the balcony of a nearby apartment building, two Reapers watched interestedly as a large mob of Taboo Noise slowly crept along the street below.
"See? I told you there'd be more Noise here," Dennis crowed triumphantly. "Let's get them."
Selena shook her head immediately. "No. Stay where you are," she ordered firmly.
Dennis shot her an odd look. "Is something wrong? You seemed eager for a fight earlier. Don't tell me the Noise have spooked you out, too," he said.
"We spent a solid four minutes erasing one stupid crab," Selena reminded him. "I am a little bit hesitant to attack thirty more Taboo Noise at once, yes. But that's beside the point. Look." She pointed towards the center of the teeming throng.
Dennis obediently peered into the approaching swarm, squinting. Then his eyes shot wide open as he saw what Selena was referring to. "Shit! That's the Conductor!"
"Maybe," Selena said, sounding unconvinced. "But something's different about him."
"We've got to call this in," Dennis said urgently, growing panicked.
"This isn't right, though. The Conductor returned to the Hall of Adjudication this morning," Selena murmured. "Dolphus was supposed to keep an eye on him. If the Conductor's here… has Dolphus been erased, then? Or has he turned against us, too?"
"Come on, Selena! Let's not worry about that right now," Dennis insisted. "We need to tell the Game Master. Then we need to get the hell out of here."
"Alright," Selena agreed reluctantly, reaching for her phone.
The Game Master answered almost immediately. "Anderson? What is it?"
"We've spotted the Conductor, sir," Selena reported succinctly.
"You've found Minamimoto? Where?" the Game Master asked tensely.
"He's on 12th Avenue, just south of the reservoir," Selena reported. "But I don't understand, sir. Dolphus's last communication indicated that the Conductor remains in the Hall of Adjudication. Has something happened to Dolphus?" She couldn't help but sound hopeful as she asked of their comrade's fate.
"Dolphus is fine. He and the Conductor remain in the Hall still," the Game Master assured her.
"The Conductor, too?" Selena asked, confused. "But he's right here, sir."
"Never mind that for now," the Game Master ordered. "Just stick with Williams. Keep an eye on Minamimoto if you can, but do not engage. Do you understand?"
"Understood, sir," Selena confirmed.
Celia, Blake, Graham, and Jason soon arrived at the verdant lawns of Volunteer Park, where they found a massive brawl awaiting them. Ten Players were already battling the Taboo Noise in the north. Laura and Vivian were among them, and seemed to be faring better than most of the others.
"Interesting. Laura and Vivian fight well together," Graham observed, sounding impressed.
"That's what you consider fighting well?" Blake asked skeptically. "Out of every five attacks they make, four are failing entirely."
"That's just the nature of Taboo Noise," Graham grimaced. "I think I was hurting them maybe once out of every ten attacks, if even."
"Yeah. I wonder how those two bonded so quickly," Jason agreed.
"There's more Players fighting in the south," Celia interrupted, pointing towards where another six Players were fighting an even larger group of Noise. She recognized Tom and Paul among the second group of Players. Three Reapers were there, too – Rex Cantus and the two Japanese Reapers in hoodies. The Reapers seemed to be battling the Taboo Noise, too, with several ordinary Noise fighting beside them.
"I think we should try to end the battle in the north, first," Graham said. "Then we can all go help the others together."
"Got it," Jason agreed.
"Celia, you and Blake stay here, alright?" Graham instructed.
"Sure," Celia agreed.
"Keep her safe, Blake," Jason added.
"I will," Blake promised.
With that, Graham and Jason set off. They approached the northern battle, and some of the Noise broke away from the other Players to face them. At the same time, more Noise arrived. Some joined the fray immediately, while others prowled around the perimeter menacingly.
Celia and Blake watched the battle silently for several minutes. Then Celia turned and began surveying the southern battle, too, while Blake remained focused on Graham and Jason.
"I don't think they'll last," Blake said, sounding uncharacteristically concerned. "Two of the Players just went down, and the others are tiring. Laura looks like she's about to keel over."
"More Noise just showed up down there, too," Celia added, pointing towards the southern edge of the park. "I think Tom and Paul are trying to run."
Blake turned, and the two of them watched intently as the two Players tried to escape their swarming enemies. Even as they managed to loop around the Noise standing in their path, more Noise rushed to greet them.
Then the Taboo Noise surrounding Tom and Paul backed off inexplicably. The two Players seemed too relieved to question the sudden reprieve.
"Did the Noise just… stop?" Blake asked, stunned. "Why?"
Then a solitary humanoid figure, dressed in black and wearing a matching baseball cap over a red bandana, stepped through the swarm of Noise.
Celia gasped. "Blake, it's him! The Conductor!"
"I see him," Blake said grimly. "That's it. Time for us to leave."
Celia shook her head urgently. "We can't leave the other Players to be erased," she said.
"We don't have a choice. Even the Reapers are leaving, and the Conductor's not after them personally," Blake said, indicating the two Japanese Reapers as they soared away from the battle, carried through the sky by their spiky black wings. Rex Cantus had backed away from the Conductor cautiously, summoning a pair of Classical Rooks to cover his retreat.
Celia watched them go, then turned back to Paul. The older man wore a fearful expression as he backed away from the Reaper.
"Die, radian!" the Conductor suddenly cried out. He thrust one tattooed arm forward, and small spinning blades spun outward, glowing red. Paul reacted by conjuring a barrier of some sort, but the crimson discs sawed straight through the barrier, shattering it. One after another, the blades ripped into Paul, shredding him apart.
A moment later, Tom stopped struggling, and a look of despair came over him. With his partner gone, his fate was sealed, and he stood there motionlessly, accepting of that simple truth.
But the Conductor wasn't finished. "Infinity!" he shouted, throwing out another wave of lethal projectiles. Tom stiffened, then crumpled to the ground before fading away.
The victorious Reaper's grin grew even wider, and he began searching for his next victim, his gaze settling upon Celia and Blake.
"Time for us to leave," Blake said again, and this time, Celia was in complete agreement. The two of them turned and fled, hoping to outrun the Reaper.
"YEAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Neither Celia nor her partner looked back when they heard the agonized roar. They only ran faster, at least until a black blur surged past them. Then they found themselves face to face with a large, bipedal Noise creature, fully ten feet in height with the head of a lion, powerfully muscled arms, and legs drawn in a tattooed pattern, similar to the Noise.
This time, both Celia and her partner went for their Player pins, wondering what sort of abomination had found them.
"Leo Cantus. Minamimoto's Noise form. Infused with Taboo Noise, he has become nearly impervious to harm. When he enrages, back away and wait for an opening."
"The lion," Celia whispered, remembering their mission's warning.
Leo Cantus then reverted to the form of Sho Minamimoto, the Conductor. His figure bore a dark gray tinge, as if he was constantly standing in a shadow despite his lit surroundings, but otherwise, he looked exactly as Celia remembered him. "Prepare to be iterated," he taunted threateningly.
In the distance, the other Players and the Taboo Noise they were fighting vanished. A second later, Blake disappeared from Celia's side, too. Celia met the Conductor's gaze firmly, trying to fight off a growing sensation of dread when she realized there would be no escape for her or her partner.
"Damn it!" Selena cried, as she touched down in the midst of the battle, Dennis at her side.
"Too late," Dennis muttered, shaking his head as he watched the Conductor draw Celia and Blake into a battle. "Think we can pull them out?"
"Only if he's willing to break away from them and attack us instead," Selena said, shaking her head. "And Celia and Blake said that the Conductor has a grudge against them for some reason. If that's true, there's no way we're pulling him off of them."
"Um… I think we have a bigger problem on our hands," Dennis said nervously.
Focused on the Conductor as they had been, neither of the Reapers had noticed the last of the Players around them falling prey to the Taboo Noise. Up north, the battle raged on, but the skirmish at the southern end of the park had come to a bleak end, leaving the two Reapers surrounded by Taboo Noise. Rex Cantus remained nearby, but even his horde of summoned Noise were keeping less than half of their Taboo counterparts occupied.
"Well, this ought to be interesting," Selena sighed, as fifteen Taboo Noise of different strains surrounded her and Dennis. "Fight or flight?"
Before Dennis could answer, a scintillating pillar of white light, swirling with frozen droplets, plunged downwards from the sky, drilling into a Choirfrog. The column expanded outwards, quickly encompassing and freezing four Noise. More columns then began raining down, until nearly all of the Taboo Noise had been frozen solid.
"Where is Minamimoto?" the Game Master demanded tersely, dropping down between Selena and Dennis.
Selena gestured wordlessly towards where the Conductor had begun his battle against Celia and Blake.
"Sir, you don't mean to fight him on your own, do you?" Dennis asked, flabbergasted.
"I'd rather not, but Michael got himself erased this morning. That limits my options a little, doesn't it?" the Game Master replied calmly, though there was a hint of anger in his tone.
"Game Master, allow me to fight at your side," Selena volunteered.
"We'll see," was the Game Master's only reply.
"Inverse matrix!" Minamimoto announced. Black, vine-like threads erupted from the tattoos across his arms, winding outward and wrapping themselves into the shape of two monochrome crabs.
Celia looked at the two Noise questioningly.
"Carcinopunk. This resilient Taboo crab shields itself behind its unbreakable claws, ready to counter any attack," Michael's voice explained.
"The Taboo noise really do follow him," Celia whispered, fighting off her growing horror. She pointed her Lightning Rook pin at one of the two crabs experimentally. Her intended victim lifted its claws defensively, absorbing the bolt effortlessly. Then it began to spin, gliding along the floor with incredible speed as if it were a top.
Celia countered quickly, drawing a wall of ice between her and the spinning crab. The wall cracked, but held, and the deflected crab veered into its companion instead. Unfortunately, the second crab had also thrown up its blocky pincers in time. A moment later, both Noise were spinning wildly around Celia like deadly whirlwinds.
Deciding to keep herself out of their reach, Celia called her stylus back to her, drawing herself a pair of colorful, chitinous butterfly wings. When the crabs didn't float up after her, the young artist knew she was safe, at least for the moment. She studied the two Noise carefully, mentally noting their paths, then opened a chasm below.
"So zetta slow!" Minamimoto taunted, flinging another Noise at her. This time, it was one of the Death Metal Minks Celia had seen Graham and Jason battling.
Celia knew at once that her trip with the crevasse wouldn't work against the flying Noise. Still, the added mobility of her wings offered her comfort. She called her stylus back to her side, willing it to refresh the fading lines of her wings as she swooped out of the Noise's path, easily eluding the creature's deadly claws.
The Noise recovered quickly, though, and began spinning as the crabs had done, forming a deadly twister that began dancing back and forth, slicing through the sky. Celia dove into a spiral, frantically trying to stay ahead of the Noise as she repeatedly fired bolts of lightning at it.
Eventually, the Death Metal Mink came to a stop, seeming no worse for the wear. Celia began a more complicated sketch in the meantime, and an elaborate dragon's head burst from the ground, ruthlessly swallowing the Noise.
Before she could celebrate her short-lived victory, a black metallic claw tore through the top of the conjured dragon's head. The mink burst into the air, slicing Celia's summoned dragon cleanly in half, then went into another spin.
Celia began to run, her stylus retracing the thinned lines of her wings. She took to the air soon after once more, and this time, she didn't waste her time attacking with Lightning Rook. Instead, she concentrated on an image of a mountain of precariously stacked boulders, and her stylus went to work.
The mink came out of its wild spin just as the mountain materialized. The boulders promptly slipped free, and an avalanche came down upon the Noise, pummeling into the ground and entombing it beneath an immovable, stony mound.
Something flickered between the cracks of the many boulders. Not wanting to take any chances that the Noise could still be alive, Celia drew another gaping ravine below, and the boulders began to fall once more, dragging the captive Noise out of sight.
"You valueless fractal! You're but a single iteration from becoming undefined!" Minamimoto roared. He called three more Carcinopunk Noise to his side, then disappeared.
Sensing danger, Celia lunged towards where Minamimoto had been standing, her wings carrying her into a sidelong spiral so that she could look back. Her opponent reappeared a second later, right behind where she had been standing. Deadly red blades erupted from his extended palm, thankfully missing Celia by several feet. She countered with a sizzling bolt of lightning, hoping to blast her opponent apart before he could infuse himself with Taboo Noise instead.
Celia's lightning fizzled out harmlessly. Her heart sank as she realized that Minamimoto, even in his humanoid form, was protected by the Taboo Noise.
"Sine!" Minamimoto announced, sending three more red blades spinning outwards and forcing Celia into a dive. "Cosine!" A second wave of blades appeared, spiraling outward in every direction. "Tangent!"
Even as Celia shot up into the air, narrowly leaping over the second wave of blades, more of the deadly red projectiles began raining down from the sky. With a yelp, Celia began desperately weaving between the blades, but one of them sliced through her wings, shattering them. She plummeted down onto the grassy field, and a second blade clipped her ankle, leaving a wicked gash and sending waves of searing pain shooting up her leg.
Celia curled up in pain, clutching at her wounded ankle. At the same time, she knew Minamimoto would be upon her soon, and willed her stylus to begin drawing, wondering if there was any hope she could catch her dangerous opponent by surprise.
A heavy iron ball attached to a thick metal chain appeared beside Minamimoto, lashing his legs together and pinning him to the ground. Celia's stylus then began sketching another crevasse, but before she could finish her drawing, the chain shattered with a deafening snap. "You're out of your vector!" Minamimoto thundered, teleporting himself out of reach of the irksome stylus.
Celia immediately turned her stylus around, redirecting it behind her again. Her sketch completed just in time, summoning another crevasse to catch the three crab Noise as they barreled toward her and neatly disposing of them. Then she rose, spinning and punching outwards with Lightning Rook, predicting correctly that Minamimoto would use that opening to launch another attack. Forked lightning deflected the next wave of Minamimoto's blade-like projectiles and pushed through, splashing harmlessly against Minamimoto's Noise-infused form.
"Zetta slow!" Minamimoto laughed, charging straight up to Celia and throwing out a powerful punch. She started another drawing and tried to turn away in the meantime, but the Reaper's fist caught her painfully on the cheek, throwing her down to the ground once more.
Ignoring the stinging bruise, Celia forced herself to finish envisioning her next drawing, and before Minamimoto could finish her off, a tidal wave appeared. It rolled past, carrying both Celia and Minamimoto along with it and rolling them across the meadow.
The Reaper extricated himself quickly, but Celia didn't bother struggling, redrawing her wings instead as she waited for the wave to fade away on its own. Once the wave disappeared, she soared back up into the sky, raining meteors down at her foe as she did.
Minamimoto stood there, unflinching, as the meteors crashed down on and around him. Then, standing amidst the sweltering blaze, he flashed Celia a wicked, defiant smile, apparently unharmed. "Insignificant," he said, laughing dismissively. Then he let out another inhumane roar, and his figure became blurred, twisting and distorting. Massive black wings extended from his back, not a pair as most Reapers had, but a full six, three on each side. The wings folded in, shattering and melting into Minamimoto's form, completing the transformation.
Leo Cantus leered up at Celia, challenging her to make the first move.
Running out of options, Celia fished out the rest of her pins, looking them over frantically. Her stylus, which had yet to draw anything effective against the monstrous Reaper. Lightning Rook, which had proven equally ineffective. The blank pin that the man in the coffee shop had given her, which remained blank and lifeless. Her Player pin.
"So zetta slow!" Leo Cantus jeered. He still spoke in Minamimoto's voice, but now his tone seemed deeper and more feral. Celia looked up in time to see the Noise leaping through the air at her. She tried to fly aside, but one of the Noise's clawed hands slapped against her, tearing through her shirt and leaving several vicious scratches in her side. "Zetta slow!" the Noise proclaimed again, spinning and kicking Celia in the back, shattering her wings.
Celia fell limply to the ground, stunned. Before she could recover, she felt one of the Noise's deadly claws wrap around her slender waist, lifting her high into the air.
"Infinity!" Leo Cantus boomed, so loudly that Celia felt as if her eardrums were about to burst. She writhed and flailed, hoping to break free, but the Noise's grip was impossibly tight. She closed her eyes, and for the briefest second, she felt the wind rushing past her as Leo Cantus flung her powerfully at the ground.
Celia's breath was stolen away a split second later when she suddenly stopped, but the expected pain did not come. Several more seconds passed before she dared to open her eyes.
The small, glassy feather Faith had given her hung suspended before her eyes, dangling in midair. A sphere of similar feathers had formed a protective shell around her. Chilling mist drifted off the feathers, filling the sphere and sending a shiver down Celia's spine.
"N factorial!" Leo Cantus cried, slamming his fists repeatedly into the sphere of glass feathers. With each savage blow, a few of the feathers fell free, disintegrating into snowflakes. Still, the barrier held, and Celia took the chance to recover her footing, doing her best to ignore her numerous stinging wounds.
The young artist called to her stylus once more, willing it to move instantaneously to her side, through the shield. The magical implement obliged her and appeared within the protective sphere, and began to draw. This time, Celia wasn't even sure what she was trying to draw. Multicolored swirls formed across the grass at her feet in a kaleidoscopic pattern, spreading and growing more elaborate with each line drawn.
The feathered shield finally expired with a tinkling noise akin to shattering glass. Leo Cantus loomed over his victim triumphantly.
Celia looked up, meeting the Noise's gaze fearlessly. The pattern on the ground rose into the air around her, then exploded outward in a shifting, psychedelic wave. Caught in the pattern, Leo Cantus thrashed wildly, but couldn't quite break through the chromatic weave as it wrapped around him and forced him back.
But even that powerful and chaotic drawing had had little effect, and when it faded, Leo Cantus seemed stung, but hardly injured. Worse still, the glass feather Faith had left for Celia had shattered along with the barrier. Celia felt a heart wrenching tug as she watched the last of the shards melt away as if they had been made of ice.
Jason had been right, Celia knew. Even the other Players probably would have faltered in the face of the Conductor's nigh-invincible Noise form. She and Blake had simply never stood a chance. "Blake, please…" she whispered, reaching out for her partner. She knew that he was trying his best to help her, and that even as she spoke, he was likely struggling against their foe as she was. She knew that without working with him, and without him working with her, they would never survive. She wanted so desperately to find the connection that Jason had spoken of, so that she could borrow her partner's strength or lend him her own.
The only answer she found was a dull throb. Nothing more.
"Drown in a sea of imaginary numbers!" Leo Cantus roared. He raised his clawed hands, and began advancing upon her once more. Celia raised her stylus pin, even as she wondered to herself what the point was. She couldn't hurt her opponent, nor could she begin to protect herself from him.
The world unexpectedly flickered. Leo Cantus backed off in surprise, a startled expression appearing upon his leonine face. In that brief moment, Celia caught a glimpse of Graham, Jason, Laura, Vivian, and a few other Players she didn't recognize, standing nearby and gaping at her.
A golden chain appeared and wrapped around her weightlessly. Then it faded away, and with it, the other Players disappeared, too, leaving Celia apparently alone with Leo Cantus once more.
But this time, Celia knew she wasn't alone. She felt her partner's presence beside her, a gloriously bright warmth that stood by her, reassuring her and promising her all the strength that she needed. With her confidence restored, she readied her stylus pin.
"Seriously, fuck you and whatever you're made out of," Blake swore, as his magical lances bounced off of Leo Cantus for about the hundredth time. Undaunted, the teen summoned silvery-blue chains to hold his foe still. Then, switching pins, he summoned a heavy axe to drop downwards and cleave the Noise in too.
Leo Cantus tore the chains apart effortlessly. "Where's your beauty?" he laughed in his rumbling, animalistic growl. Then, as if taunting Blake, he stood there and allowed the axe to connect. The mighty weapon shattered upon contact, leaving the powerful Noise unharmed.
"Zetta slow!" Leo Cantus growled, kicking Blake aside. Blake instinctively teleported away to keep his opponent away, but Leo Cantus simply teleported after him. "So zetta slow!" Another powerful kick sent Blake rolling helplessly across the meadow.
As Blake tried to recover his breath, he sensed someone calling to him. He knew it was his partner, but the voice seemed impossibly weak, and try as he might, he could not answer. "Damn it… damn it!" he cried, as he tried so desperately to reach out to her in return.
Then her presence was just gone. Shocked, Blake climbed back onto his feet, only to find Players and Reapers alike standing nearby.
Standing nearby, surrounding him, Celia, and a third person, a tall, imposing man wearing a long, black trench coat. Blake watched speechlessly as golden chains circled Celia and their newest ally. Then the two of them became translucent as their battle against Leo Cantus began.
"Minamimoto-san! Ka katekoi!" the Game Master called out challengingly.
Leo Cantus glowered at him. "Zetta osoi!" the Noise roared.
The Game Master grinned confidently and shook his head. "Oro kana," he scolded. "Watashi wa makeru wake niwa ikanai!" It was quite bold, claiming that he could not lose in the face of the powerful Noise, but the Game Master's expression showed no hint of doubt. He knew he had made the right decision, and that the risk he had taken would pay off.
Leo Cantus lunged at his impudent challenger, but the Game Master backed away swiftly, easily escaping the Noise's reach.
"Hikari to yami no tsubasa wo hiroge!" the Game Master proclaimed, readying his pins.
Almost immediately, Celia felt a sudden surge of power. She could almost imagine her partner standing beside her, channeling his own will through her to join her in manifesting her psych. Her stylus flashed through the air, drawing four red streaks. The markings became flaming arrows, which spiraled forward, biting deep into her Noise foe.
Leo Cantus flinched as the flames took hold of him, then teleported himself behind Celia. He kicked out, but Celia was faster, interposing a fence of iron bars between them. The Noise's powerful kick crushed through the fence, but it had slowed him enough for Celia to slip out of reach.
Celia thought to attack again, but realized her power was beginning to ebb, flowing to her partner instead. "Get him good," she whispered, concentrating hard on that same thought. This time, as if in answer to her hopes, she sensed a hint of her partner's surety and conviction.
Her stylus went to work, imprisoning Leo Cantus within another cage of iron bars. The Noise teleported himself away, only to reappear within a blinding cloud of fog.
"The world is garbage!" Leo Cantus roared in frustration, bursting out of the fog and slashing his claws wildly, attacking in entirely the wrong direction. By the time he found Celia, she had redrawn her wings and taken to the sky once more. The Noise's lips curled into a feral grin, and he teleported up beside her, floating in thin air. "Zetta slow!"
But at that same moment, Celia felt another exhilarating rush, and she knew it was her turn to strike. Lightning Rook came up, and a bolt of lightning intercepted Leo Cantus's punch, staggering him and dropping him back down to the ground. She managed a second bolt just before the empowering sensation wore off, leaving a wicked scorch mark on the Noise's back.
Leo Cantus stiffened, then vanished. Minamimoto reappeared, only he looked different now. His cap had disappeared, and his medium-length gray hair scattered wildly around him. His fine coat had become a ragged mess, with both sleeves torn away messily, and the front of it shredded as well, exposing his tattooed chest.
"Foil! First outer, inner last!" Minamimoto cried, thrusting one arm forward.
Celia braced herself, waiting to dodge the spinning red blades again. Instead, the air itself seemed to explode around her, and she was battered by scorching waves of heat from all sides. She retreated hastily, shaking off the attack just as a second wave of explosions went off harmlessly around Minamimoto.
Then Minamimoto disappeared, reappearing right beneath her. "Sine!" he cried, shooting a wave of spinning red blades upward. Celia dove aside, redrawing her wings again, and Minamimoto spun away, throwing out a second wave. "Cosine!"
"Tangent?" Celia guessed wryly, neatly slipping between two blades from the second wave, and springing up to dodge the third.
"Tangent!"
Celia's prediction paid off, and a moment later, she felt her power growing once more. Another rain of meteors descended upon Minamimoto, and this time, he couldn't simply ignore it. The explosions tossed him back and forth like a ragdoll, setting him ablaze.
Minamimoto flipped himself back onto his feet, though he stumbled slightly, for the damage he had sustained was finally catching up to him. "Inverse matrix!" he declared, summoning a pair of Death Metal Minks.
"They're all yours," Celia whispered to her absent partner, imagining a pair of iron bolas. High above her, her stylus went to work, drawing and then lobbing the bolas at the two Noise. Chained together, the Noise collapsed to the ground. They tore themselves free a second later, but before either could make a move against the young artist, they were destroyed in the other zone and promptly faded away.
"Die, radian!" Minamimoto ordered, firing off yet another salvo of magical blades. This time, he followed up on the projectiles by teleporting up to Celia.
Celia was ready for him, though. Waves of electricity arced out from Lightning Rook, blasting the magical blades away, and when Minamimoto reappeared, he found himself standing in a pile of thorny vines, which promptly snaked up, binding his legs.
"Zetta slow!" Minamimoto gloated, teleporting himself away from the vines. He wasn't quite as clever as he had thought, though, for when he reappeared yet again, a meteor caught him squarely in the face.
Now falling into a comfortable rhythm with her partner, Celia readied herself to stall and for her next window again. However, she had only just finished drawing a defensive bubble around herself when she thought she heard a calling from her pocket from one of her pins. She soared away from Minamimoto and retrieved the pin.
It took her several seconds to realize what she was looking at. It was the blank pin given to her by the strange man in the coffee shop, only it was no longer blank. Instead, it now showed a halo of glowing electricity surrounding a beautiful crystalline snowflake, far more elaborate than the one displayed on her Player pin. She stared, entranced, as the snowflake pattern slowly twirled and gleamed.
Then she felt another call, this time from the other zone, and she knew her partner wanted her to use the pin. Though it made little to no sense, she began moving with absolute confidence, ignoring her opponent entirely as she concentrated on her newest weapon.
A column of pure light fell over Celia, and snowflakes rained down around her, creating an illusion of a sudden, peaceful snowfall. Minamimoto's projectiles slammed harmlessly into the column, as, without consciously thinking of it, Celia began to draw once more. Her stylus reached out far and began spinning around her in circles, leaving crackling trails of lightning. Again and again it went around her, thickening the pulsing wall of energy.
Then Celia felt her partner projecting his power to her, and she knew it was time. Complete serenity came over her as she loosed her psych, causing the lightning to erupt wildly. A powerful gale came to life around her, and the steady snowfall became a fearsome blizzard.
"Your dreams are calling to you," Celia whispered peacefully, allowing the wind to carry her words impossibly far, each melodic note resonating with perfect clarity.
"And your reality's winter has arrived."
At first, Celia thought she must have imagined the voice. Then she looked up and caught a glimpse of someone hovering above her, silhouetted against the blinding lightning and pure snow. She knew it had to be her partner, for she could sense his elation and triumph as if it were her own, and she knew he was sharing in her relief, too. Yet at the same time, his voice hadn't sounded like Blake's.
Before she could think any more about it, the storm disappeared, and her partner with it. Minamimoto stood in front of her, a shocked expression on his face. He collapsed to his knees, then, and his form dissolved into a mess of static, before slowly disintegrating into nonexistence.
When Celia saw the other Players and Reapers reappear, she let out a long sigh of relief. Then she glanced up at her partner, who was standing ahead of her, his back turned towards her. She knew at once that it wasn't Blake, and though she could not see his face, she knew immediately who he was. Her heart skipped a beat, and trembling, she began moving closer to him.
"Get away from her!" Blake suddenly cried out. His hand closed tightly around Celia's wrist, and he dragged her back.
"Blake!" Celia gasped in shock.
"Relax, Mr. Daniels. Your partner has nothing to fear from me… yet," the Game Master promised.
Celia tore herself free from Blake's grasp, and began running towards the Game Master. Halfway there, she stopped dead in her tracks, as the strangeness of the situation finally sank in. Still, she knew that voice, as clearly as she would have known her own. "Faith," she whispered.
Faith turned and smiled. "Hello, C," he greeted warmly. He looked astonishingly different from when Celia had last seen him. He had traded his formal business attire for a simple t-shirt and slacks, and his suit had been replaced with a long, black leather trench coat. His glasses were gone, and faint shadows ringed his eyes, an uncharacteristic sign of weariness. His medium-length hair was no longer neatly combed, and danced messily around him, giving him an uncanny resemblance to Minamimoto.
Still, it was him, Celia knew. There could be no mistake. "It's you. It's really you," she murmured. Assailed with every impossible detail at once, she involuntarily took a step back.
"Yes, it's really me," Faith said patiently. Now, there was a hint of sadness apparent in his smile.
"But how?" Celia asked, her voice still barely more than a whisper. "How can you be here? Why are you here?"
"I can be here because this is where I belong," Faith replied simply. "As for why I am here… well, it's customary for the Game Master to introduce himself towards the end of the week. Now's as good a time as any, don't you think?"
Faith dipped into an animated, exaggerated bow.
"Faith Hollow, Game Master of Seattle's third Reapers' Game."
The light will keep on shining on and on,
The oath we made that day will shimmer bright,
Sometimes, I want to laugh and cry at once,
Explain to me, what is justice? What is right?
Author's Note:
Lyrics taken from Someday... sort of. Actually, I never liked the translated lyrics in the localization. No other song felt appropriate for Minamimoto's chapter, though, so I replaced most lines with my own translation of the original Japanese lyrics, adjusting them to fit the song's rhythm.
"Irrashaimase" is a traditional greeting / welcome, and a customary greeting used by restaurant staff and hosts.
"Doumo" is a casual way of saying thank you.
"Ka katekoi" is somewhere between a challenge and a taunt, sort of like a Japanese "come at me!"
"Oro kana, watashi wa makeru wake niwa ikanai" roughly translates to "Fool, I cannot be defeated."
"Hikari to yami no tsubasa wo hiroge," roughly translates to "Light and darkness's wings are spread." This particular line comes from a play.