Weiss groaned, sitting up from the ground slightly and shook her head. She looked around and sees that she is… near the entrance to the clock tower? How did she get here? Wasn't she at her castle? Very confused, she got up and tried to remember what happened to make her come here.
"That's right… I got all 3 pieces of the Dreamcatcher Sword and they suddenly surrounded me… next thing I know... " Weiss tilted her head up and took in the Clock Tower in all its glory. From up close it looked quite intimidating. "It brought me here… Well I suppose that makes sense given that the sword is supposedly inside this place."
The white haired princess deeply inhaled and then released it. "So if I am ever going to have a chance against the Nightmares… and more importantly the perpetrator behind all of this… I need the legendary swords' help." Weiss wasn't going to lie. There would be a lot riding on her shoulders once she acquires the weapon. It wasn't going to be easy, but then again, a lot of things are the same way. A small smile made its way onto her lips and a great amount of confidence flowing within her. If it means saving her people and the world… she'll do it. She'll be that strong main female protagonist from a lot of RPG's she played for everyone!
"Well… here goes nothing."
Weiss walked up to the double doors leading into the Clock Tower. She grabbed both handles and pulled the doors open. Blinding light burst forth from within and Weiss had to shield her only eye quickly. Confused from this, but not backing down, she headed inside.
When the light faded and Weiss removed her hand from her left eye, she was met with quite a surprise. She was in a completely different area than from inside the clock tower. She was in some sort of arena… with water all around her. Bulletin boards, cameras, TV's were all over the place and on the TV's was a single still image of the words, "Peach Beach Splash!"
"Huh?! Wait, where am I? Is this… some kind of dream then?" She looked up to the sky as if waiting for somebody to answer her. Unfortunately, there was nothing of the sort. Just the sound of water and wind around her. She put a hand to her chin, thinking.
"If this is just a dream… then there must be a purpose for this. Could it be that the Dreamcatcher Sword made me dream this place?" Weiss tried to think of a reason as to why she was dreaming this if so. Is it trying to tell her something or is this…?
Weiss stopped her thinking when she heard incoming footsteps from behind her. She quickly whirled around to see who it was. What she saw had her blushing a bit and also made her envious. It was a well endowed teenage girl with brunette hair that was tied into a ponytail, and brownish eyes. She was wearing a blue bikini that was barely holding her girls up from bouncing all over the place. The girl walked up to her until there was about 3 feet of distance between them… breasts not included.
"Who… are you?" Weiss asked the busty brunette in front of her. The girl just stared at her, not answering. The princess stood there uncomfortable while they had their staring contest. She would like to get some answers but this girl wasn't saying anything. Only after a solid minute or two did the girl open her mouth.
"Weiss-chan… What do you desire to have?"
"...Huh?" Weiss only asked her for her name and yet she is asking a question herself? And how did this girl know her? Wait… given that this is probably a dream made possible by the sword itself, it was probably self explanatory. The girl didn't look like she was going to say anything else until she answered. Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and thought about the question.
What did she desire? Good question. She was the princess of Snowtramine. With royalty comes riches, which means she can buy pretty much almost anything… But as the saying goes, money can't buy you happiness. It can certainly help a bit, true, but not completely. From all these years as princess… she was incredibly lonely.
"I… desire to have some lifelong companions…" Weiss answered soundly. The girl in front of her had a small smile on her face at the answer.
"Your desire is to have lifelong companions? I see."
Weiss sees her fade her away into nothing. That was… certainly odd. Ask a question and then just disappear like nobody's business. Well it is a dream… so anything goes.
Suddenly, she felt her signature sword forcefully summoned into her hand. Weiss looked down at it in surprise. Before she could have a chance to question it, 10 living wooden puppets with red eyes surrounded her. She quickly got into battle position as she stared down these puppets.
"I suppose this is a test of some kind… Very well, I accept!"
Weiss sees all of them rush towards her and she quickly jumped high into the air. Before any of them had a chance to react, she rained down icicles onto them by pointing her sword into the air and using her ice magic. They staggered from the stabbing of the icicles and before they knew it, Weiss slammed down onto the ground, sharp ice protruding from all around her. The puppets were sent flying away from her thanks to that.
The princess watched them burrow their way underground… somehow... after recovering. She was slightly confused, but she stood on her guard anyways. A tremor. Weiss quickly backflipped out of the way as all 10 puppets launched out from the ground in a line. What she didn't expect however is that they threw ninja stars at her after the failed underground attack. Weiss groaned in pain as they some of them pierced her legs. Blood trickled down her legs as she landed on her back in the water.
"Ow… H-Hopefully I don't have those marks when I wake up…" Weiss muttered to herself. She wasn't sure if any damage she took here would be applied to the waking world. She hoped not at least. Would the Dreamcatcher Sword go that far? She plucked out the ninja stars and quickly administered a little healing spell to at least stop the bleeding. Too bad she wasn't an expert on healing spells. Mostly just ice magic.
Weiss gasped and rolled out of the way before all 10 of the puppets slammed their fists down on her. Thinking quickly she decided to use her ice magic to her advantage. She settled her sword on the water and quickly froze it. All the water that was in the area, except around Weiss, froze up, entrapping the puppets. A moment or two later, Weiss slid across the ice and slashed through all of them. Their upper bodies came crashing down onto the ice before vanishing along with their lower half. The princess took a deep breath and then exhaled before casting away her sword since the battle was done.
"That wasn't too bad."
Weiss looked around, to see if there was anything else for her to do here. She sees that an elevator appeared in the area where she was before when getting here. She shrugged, guessing that she wasn't quite done yet.
"Well, onto the next?"
She headed towards the elevator and pressed the button to go up. The door opened and she stepped inside. Upon looking at the numbered buttons, there appeared to be 5 floors… Was she really inside the clock tower? Weiss assumed she couldn't go directly to the 5th floor. So she settled with heading to the second floor and pushed 2. The elevator door closed and quickly rose up.
Closing her eyes, Weiss thought about the location she was just at. What was its purpose? And just who was that girl she saw? She certainly has never seen her before. She liked to think she has a pretty good memory of the people she meets and she certainly hadn't met a girl as busty as that. There has to be a good explanation.
The elevator dinged and opened up, blinding light once again hitting her. Weiss groaned and covered her one eye as she once again stepped into the light. She wondered if she would be in the actual Clock Tower this time… or perhaps she'd be in another unfamiliar territory.
…
Turns out it was the latter as Weiss found herself what appears to be a badly shaped shrine of sorts while it was snowing outside. Since she was an ice magic user… and rules over a pretty cold place overall, she wasn't exactly cold. It will take a lot to even make her shiver from the cold.
Weiss turned around and sees that the elevator she used to get here was gone. She assumes she has to do something here first before getting the next elevator up. Oh how she wished she was just given some explanation, but looks like she has to figure it out on her own… as part of the test probably.
"Weiss." A cute feminine voice called out.
She turned around once more to see a busty pink haired girl with blue eyes walk up to her. Weiss was getting a little annoyed by seeing all these young busty girls while she was only sporting a C cup. Envy aside, she assumed this will be like last time, but just to be sure.
"Who are you?"
The girl stared at her blankly, clearly having no intention of answering her question. Weiss muttered, "Thought so," under her breath and waited with baited breath as to what this girl might ask.
"What do you fear the most?"
Her fear? She certainly didn't have fear. All human beings have things that they fear… it is pretty much one of the emotions that makes them human. She doesn't fear monsters nor did she have any type of phobia. If anything, her fears were more… personal. Like losing her country, her home, but what she feared the most was…
Weiss clenched her fists and looked down at the ground. "I… I fear to become a useless princess." She was glad she didn't have to talk about her past, but even saying this was a bit painful for her. Weiss felt a hand on her shoulder and she quickly looked up into those eyes of the pink haired girl, she appeared to be smiling at her.
"Cheer up Weiss, you aren't useless now, and you certainly won't be useless later…"
Before she could even respond to such a sweet comment, she vanished into thin air just like the girl from before. Weiss felt something at her feet and she looked down. It appeared to be a grenade of some kind and thankfully not about to explode on her. Curious, she picked it up. This certainly wasn't there before and is clearly meant for something… but what?
ROAR!
Weiss covered her ears because of how loud that was. A monster of some kind was clearly nearby. She supposed it is time for the next part of her test. Weiss tried to summon her sword to her side but… it wasn't appearing. She grumbled to herself. So for this part she can't use her sword, which just limits her to this grenade she has and a few of her non-sword magic spells… assuming those weren't cut off too.
Well it was better than being completely defenseless… and if worse comes to worse, she has her acrobatics to use in fights if need be. She quickly ran outside in the snow. She was ready to face this thing. Whatever it is. She felt the ground shake as something was fast approaching to her position. Closer and closer it came as Weiss braced herself. Closer and closer still and then… Silence… absolute silence.
Weiss was slightly taken aback but didn't lower her guard. She looked around quickly, trying to see if there was any sign of the monster. This monster clearly has some intelligence to it. She may not see it, but it may certainly see her and is planning to strike at any given moment.
She hears a pebble drop down to the ground to her right. Alarmed, she cartwheeled to the side just as a huge red lizard thing punch the ground where she was. She was about to counter attack with a spell but the monster was too quick for her and quickly swatted at her. The white princess screamed as she was sent flying back into the shrine and slammed into the wall of it. She groaned in pain as she slumped to the floor. She rubbed the back of her head and feeling some blood. It is a good thing she wasn't a normal human being or else that would have killed her.
"Gah… this thing is strong… This is going to be quite a battle."
…
"She is bleeding on the back of her head now." Alula noted as both she and Zuzu watched Weiss stay floating in the air still 'asleep'. Zuzu really wanted to tend to those wounds Weiss was getting, but Alula didn't allow her to interfere. She can't have outside help she told her when they first noticed she was bleeding from the legs not too long ago.
"Mmggh…" Zuzu grumbled a bit worriedly.
"I know. She can take care of herself though." Alula reassured her.
It was now 5PM and the only ones in the room were both Alula and Zuzu. During the time that Weiss was dreaming, both of the girls were working on a special necklace for Weiss to wear when she comes back. Zuzu was hesitant to help this stranger at first, but it is not like she had a choice… considering that Alula knows who she really is.
"There, that about does it." Alula stated as she finished the remaining touches to the necklace. "I thank you for your help in this matter. This should make it easier for the princess on her journey to come." She gave a big smile to the purple haired woman beside her. She merely rolled her eyes in response and stood up from the ground now that the task is done and she can focus on Weiss.
Alula watched her walk up to Weiss and merely sat down next to her, waiting, like a dog waiting for her master to return. It was pretty adorable in all honesty. These two probably haven't known each other long and yet this 'woman', has grown quite attached to her. She feels a bit jealous at this, but she shook it off. Pocketing the necklace for now, she headed over to sit next to Zuzu.
The two sat in… relatively awkward silence. Zuzu not really wanting to be near this woman, but didn't have it in her to do anything about it and Alula is just smiling next to her. The masked woman decided to break the awkward silence with a conversation. After all, who knows how long Weiss would be dreaming for if it already took this long.
"Zuzu… how… how long have you been turned?"
Zuzu turned to look at her for a second but then turned back to Weiss. She frowned, knowing that was probably a sensitive topic for her, but she wanted to know what happened.
"Look, I know you don't trust me, but I really would like to know. It is sad that this happened to you and perhaps I could do something to help you if you would just talk to me about this."
Zuzu groaned in response. Alula watched her raise 5 fingers in response to the question.
"5… days I am guessing?"
A nod.
"Hmm." Alula was glad she wasn't suffering as a zombie for too long and also found someone to take care of her. And that someone was Weiss of all people. This princess was something else, wasn't she? It is of no wonder why she is the only one to wield the Dreamcatcher Sword.
"Did… did you ever… um… you know?" Alula asked hesitantly.
"..." Zuzu clenched her fists, her shoulders trembling. That was all Alula needed to see to get her answer. She bit her lip. She can imagine how painful it was to just… do that when you still have your humanity intact. Most of it anyways. Now that she thought about it… She should be getting really hungry right now. Zombies are pretty much running on instinct at this point and that is to eat. If she doesn't get food in her, she is going to do something she'll regret. But what if…
"Zuzu… are you hungry?" Alula asked her, giving her a nervous smile.
The zombie turned to look at her, wondering where she was getting at.
"If you are… then…" She put a hand behind her back and snapped her fingers. Zuzu looked at her confused, wondering what she just did. Alula simply smiled sheepishly before whispering in her ear. "I disabled all the cameras for a little bit." With that, she offered up her arm. Zuzu stared at it in shock and… hunger.
"Feast upon me. Don't worry, you won't infect me. Let's just say that I am pretty much immune to all diseases. I can still be killed sure, but I don't think you'll do that."
"...I...B-bu…" Zuzu stammered, trying to get words out of her throat. Alula silenced her with a finger on her lips, smiling.
"I know I probably could have just called one of the maids to get you food if you are hungry but sooner or later you probably won't contain your hunger for flesh and snap. So, I offer myself up to you. Go ahead and eat me… and I don't mean it in a sexual way." Alula laughed at her own inappropriate joke. Zuzu just looked at her like she grew a second head.
"It is just an arm, Zuzu. It is not like you are going to eat my vital organs or something. Eat before somebody comes to see what's going on." Alula urged her.
Zuzu REALLY did not want to succumb to her Zombie urges, but there was an arm right in front of her being offered with almost no fucks given. Why was this woman being so nice to her and willing to give up her arm just to satisfy her hunger? Does her arm regenerate after a while or something? She never heard of a human having the power to do that.
…
"AAAAH!" Weiss was again swatted away by the huge red lizard thing. She crashed onto the ground and slid at least 3 feet on the snowy grounds before coming to a stop. She groaned and got up slowly. That attack left her aching in so much pain. She tried all manner of ice spells on this monster and nothing was working. It was like this monster was completely immune to her attacks.
"How can I possibly defeat this thing then?"
There was only one thing she hasn't tried and that is the grenade she picked up. That can't be the right answer. There is no way one grenade is going to kill a monster like this… can it? It seems too simple.
Weiss gasped and once again rolled out of the way as the monster stabbed the ground where she was with some sort of dark energy sword which exploded on impact. She was running out of options at this point so she might as well. Weiss pulled out the grenade, pulled the pin and threw it at the monster. It exploded upon impact, but instead of an explosion, there was a brief flash of light. It didn't hurt her eyes but it definitely hurt the monster's eyes. It seemed to be blind for a moment, confused and angry.
Weiss knew right then that she was supposed to use this grenade to hide and escape. If a monster is too strong for her, she has to flee. She spotted a cliff side not too long ago and ran towards it. She made an ice slide and slid down it all the way to the bottom. For good measure, she casted the ice slide away before she laid down and covered herself in snow so she wasn't spotted from up above.
She waited. She heard the monster come back to its senses and started stomping around, looking for her. She closed her eye, hoping, hoping the monster wasn't smart enough to jump down here to look for her.
After what seemed like hours, but in reality was 3 minutes. She heard the monster roar and run off somewhere. She waited until she could no longer hear the footsteps and got out from the snow, gasping. She shook off the snow and noticed that the elevator was now right in front of her. Weiss rolled her eyes. To think the answer was really that simple. Although it is a good lesson to be fair. Never go into a fight you can't win.
She quickly healed up any wounds she has and headed into the elevator. This time she pressed 3 and the elevator went up. Weiss wondered what awaited her in the next floor. It is definitely going to be some place she has never seen before and have some sort of requirement. There was a pattern to this.
Ding goes the elevator. Weiss covered her eye this time as the elevator opened. She walked into the bright light, ready for the next thing in this test of hers. When the light faded, she sees herself… outside a castle. Definitely wasn't hers. And some of the castle was even submerged in water not too far away from her. But why was everything… so much bigger in comparison? She tried to walk forward, only to stumble and fall on all fours. She looked at her… claws?!
"No…" Weiss muttered as she walked on all fours to the water and looked at her reflection. She was… a white dragon with a blue mane. She looked kinda comical for a dragon as she still has her eye patch on. Of all things... to be turned into a dragon for this part. What kind of sick twisted humor did this Dreamcatcher Sword have?
"Can I even wield my sword in this form? I don't have opposable thumbs…" Weiss questioned as she looked at her new claws. She looked behind her and looked at her wings. She flapped them, but she doubted she can fly with them… especially since she wasn't born a dragon so how the hell would she know how to use them?
"Can I breathe fire?"
She cleared her throat and then sucked in some air. She concentrated for a brief moment and then exhaled. She expected fire to come out, but instead she breathed ice, which froze the water. "Oops. Well I guess that makes sense. Everything I do is ice related."
She turned around and was to face to face with a small purple dragon with a yellow mane and purple eyes. She almost jumped back into the frozen water in surprise, but held her ground. This must be another one of these folks she doesn't know but they'll ask her one question anyways. She held her tongue on asking who this dragon is as she won't get an answer anyways.
"Weiss. What do you treasure the most?"
The princess looked up into the sky, pondering this question. Honestly, this was a very difficult question to answer. There was a lot of things she treasured in her life. Her memories with her father, her sword, her country… There was just so many. Well, maybe she should stop thinking with her brain and start thinking with her heart. Her heart tells her that…
"I treasure… life itself the most. Being alive is a gift and we should all be grateful to be alive."
"So you treasure life itself? What a great answer."
The dragon vanished into thin air like the others. No longer surprised at this point, she decided to see if she can summon her sword this time around. She concentrated for a moment and lo and behold it was summoned… in her mouth. "Well this is awkward…" Weiss muttered around the hilt of the sword. How is she supposed to wield it in her mouth? Maybe it was more practical to stick with ice magic or just… be a dragon and kills things like a dragon.
BAAAAAA!
"What the?! A sheep?!" Weiss turned to her left and sees a big angry sheep heading towards her direction. Now this was getting ridiculous. Off all things to be pitted against… it was a giant ass sheep. The sheep charged towards her, intent on headbutting her. She charged ahead as well, she has horns… so might as well use them.
They clashed in mere moments. Her horns were stabbed into the sheeps' head but it didn't seem bothered by it. They both struggled to dominate the other in this battle with their heads. Weiss groaned and huffed, trying to throw her weight so she can knock this sheep down to get some advantage.
The sheep growled and summoned its inner strength to dislodge Weiss from the headbutt, catching her off guard. Not a moment later, the sheep knocked Weiss up into the air almost knocking the wind out of her. She quickly thought of a counter move and tossed her sword down at the sheep, stabbing it in the back. A pained 'Baa!' echoed throughout the area from the move. Grinning, she dived down, horns first, onto the sheep's head, knocking it down.
"Hah! Prepare to be my next meal, sheep!"
…
Emma walked out of a costume store with Jess in tow. The blonde looked at her new purchase in awe. It was a black flowery masquerade mask with built in fake green eyes that thankfully still lets the wearer see when placed on their face. Jess shook her head, not believing the fact that her friend just bought a mask for the upcoming ball.
"I know I asked this before… but I'll ask again… why the absolute fuck are you going to the ball wearing that… when it is NOT a masquerade ball?" Jess put her hands on her hips as if to intimidate her friend. It had the opposite effect on Emma as she just sees this as really cute.
"Well… it is because of my dream." Emma explained. Jess looked mildly confused. That was the reason she decided to buy this for the ball? All because of a dream she had? Really? It honestly boggles the mind to be honest.
"What does your dream have to do with this, Emma?" Jess asked as they walked down the sidewalk in the direction of Jess' house. It was getting dark and they should quickly head home and rest for the big day tomorrow. As they continued walking, Emma debated whether or not to tell Jess everything that had transpired when she had the dream and after it. Would she even believe her?
"Let's just say I dreamed about the ball and found myself wearing this mask while attending it and I thought, why not reenact it?" Emma responded with a sheepish shrug. Jess looked at her incredulously before shaking her head and sighing.
"Whatever floats your boat, Emma, you weirdo." Jess chuckled at the pout she sees on Emma's face. She gave her cheek a teasing pinch and Emma quickly battered her away, laughing. After that they fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. Jess' house was not too far away. 5 minutes of walking and they'll get there.
"So um…" Jess started, getting Emma's attention.
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to like… have a sleepover with me?" Jess asked a bit shyly, not sure if it is really an appropriate time to ask or not. Emma's face went from confusion, to surprise, and finally to a blushing red face… as red as Jess' hair.
"Jess," Emma really couldn't help herself, she really couldn't as it was the only way for her to not burst to flames in embarrassment. If she was going to be embarrassed, might as well drag Jess down with her. "Are you saying you are interested in me?" Emma teased her. "W-What's next? Going to ask me to be your date for the ball?" She almost bursted out laughing at the expression on Jess' face. It was absolutely fucking priceless.
"N-NO! SHUT UP YOU USELESS LESBIAN!" Jess smacked the back of her head. Emma cackled in response. "Jeez, now I regret asking you. Just forget it." Jess huffed, pretending to be really angry at her.
"I'm sorry, I just love messing with you, pal." Emma sobered up as she brought an arm around Jess. "Sure, I'll be happy to sleep over. I am just surprised you brought it up now of all times."
"Well, it gets lonely at my house and well I was hoping we could have one sleepover before…" Jess paused.
"Before what?" Emma asked, wondering what is on Jess' mind.
"Before… highschool ends and then we have to work hard to make ends meet you know." Jess finished quickly. "I have to apply for college, maybe even find a part-time job to pay off some student loans and crap, leaving me no time to really… you know hang out with you."
"Ah… I see." Emma really did understood what she meant. It is going to be really busy for Jess after highschool and it can't be all fun and games. You really had to work hard if you ever want to achieve your dreams. It is honestly kinda sad thinking about it, but what can you do? She was glad and also wasn't glad she didn't have to deal with college shenanigans.
"Are you sure your wolf family won't mind if you sleep over at my house?" Jess questioned her. "I don't mind if you want to you know talk with them first before deciding."
"Nah it's ok. I'm sure they won't miss me too much and besides, they can take care of themselves." Emma responded, not really worried about it.
"Well alright." Jess smiled brightly. "Then let's have a sleepover we won't soon forget!"
They arrived at Jess' house a few minutes later. The house wasn't anything special. A simple two story house with a garage. A typical family house that almost anyone would want really. Jess pulled out her keys from her skirt pocket and unlocked the front door. Once inside, Emma sees a rather messy living room. Coats and shirts thrown haphazardly on the couch, multiple empty cup of noodles on the coffee table, books and magazines strewn about on the floor… it was quite a sight.
"Sorry about the mess… I am not exactly the cleanest person around… I am a smart girl… but I am lazy with cleaning…" Jess said sheepishly as she hung up her coat on the coat hanger by the door. Emma shrugged as she placed her coat on the coat hanger, not really caring too much. She has seen much worse.
"Want anything to eat, Emma? I can try to cook something simple." Jess closed the door and headed to the kitchen. She poked her head in the fridge, seeing what she has available. "I have Mac n' Cheese… Steak… and that's about it… Sorry I haven't gone shopping in a while."
"Mac please. I am in a cheesy mood."
"Sure. Make yourself at home while I cook it."
Emma nodded, watching her go prep the food. The blonde sat herself down on the couch and closed her eyes, relaxing. She was glad that school has finally ended for the week. So many boring classes she had to sit through and some homework that had to be done it was just… kinda stressful really.
She opened her eyes and decided to eye her surroundings while she waited. Other than the room being messy, it was a pretty average living room… except there was two things she spotted that seemed out of the ordinary. It was a long black whip over in the corner with a crossbow next to it. The crossbow was hopefully for defensive measures… but what about the whip? She hoped she wasn't some closet sadist.
"Hey Jess!"
"Yeah?"
"What's with the whip and the crossbow?" Emma hears Jess pause in her cooking for a bit.
"Oh those? Well you know how some of us magic users have signature weapons? Yeah, the whip is my signature weapon. The crossbow is something I am experimenting with actually."
"A whip? Kinky." Emma commented. She hoped to never have Jess use it on her. She really wasn't into that, though she doesn't mind people that do. Whatever floats their boat. Choosing not to think about that anymore, she grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV. Immediately she was greeted with the local news channel.
"Police are still looking for the reported Zombie that was seen spotted around town. So far, there are no deaths related to this zombie. They state that they'd hope to find this Zombie before it gets out of hand."
"They still haven't found her yet?" Emma thought to herself. Part of her is wishing that the zombie is safe somewhere. She seemed pretty intelligent for a zombie… perhaps there is still some humanity in her if there have been no reported deaths or heck more zombies.
"In other news, the famous detective of Snowtramine, Fille Beau, has been reported to be missing."
"Wait what?" Emma exclaimed. This was the first time she heard of this. What happened? She just saw him the other day. Jess came into the living room with two plates of Mac n' Cheese, handing one to her before sitting down next to her with hers. The red head looked at the TV as she took a bite.
"I hope he is alright… wherever he is." Jess said as she took another bite. "The world needs good detectives and he's the best one in our country." Emma didn't comment as she continued to watch, not touching her food just yet.
"The last time anyone has seen him was yesterday afternoon in his office. If you have any information of his whereabouts, please contact the police."
"Wait, so that was a little after I spoke with him…" Emma stated, she put down her plate and began thinking.
"Huh? … Oh is that why you suddenly skipped morning classes yesterday?" Jess was about reprimand her, but then realized it was pointless at this time. What's done is done. She sighed and placed down her plate as well. "What did you talk with him about?"
"O-Oh uh… Just talking with him about a case that he is working on…" Emma lied as she tried to think real hard about where Fille might go and then just suddenly disappear for a whole day. She didn't believe he was suddenly kidnapped. That detective knows how to take care of himself in regards to that… at least that's what she learned about him through other means. So that only means he went somewhere really dangerous. If she can just figure out what clues Fille had found, perhaps it will explain where he went.
Emma's eyes widened when she thought about what she looked up a few days ago. The blonde looked out the window and there in the distance was the Clock Tower. That had to be it. That is the only place possibly linked to the shenanigans happening around here.
Jess looked at Emma strangely and then to where she was looking at. "Hm? What about the Clock Tower?"
The blonde just stared at it for a few seconds longer before slumping back into the couch, sighing. "Nothing. Forget about it. Let's just enjoy our sleepover." She said, forcing a smile as she picked up her Mac n' Cheese and began eating. Jess didn't really believe her, but didn't push it. She'll probably talk to her about it later, but for now, she agreed that they should enjoy their time together.
…
"HAAAAAA!" Weiss screamed as she came at the sheep with the sword in her mouth, revving up for an attack. The sheep quickly rolled to the side as just missed the attack… or did she? Weiss smirked and then quickly casted an ice spell from her sword. It shot out a beam of ice and froze the sheep in a block of ice. All according to keikaku. She tossed the sword up into the air. Jumped up to grab it back into her mouth and then slammed down. Weiss watched as the block of ice split in two, essentially also cutting the sheep in half… killing it. Few seconds later it disappeared into thin air.
Giving herself a pat on her shoulder, she casted her sword away. "I guess the lesson here was adaptation. To see how quickly I adapt to situations." Weiss can only assume at this point as there was no one here to tell her if she was right or not. "Still, was pretty cool to be a dragon."
The elevator appeared in front of her a few seconds later, ready to take her to the next floor. She got on her hind legs and hit the up button with her paw. It opened for her and she went inside. When inside, a bright light flashed over her and she returned back into a human. Weiss looked overself, glad to be back in her own body. "Whew. Hope I don't turn into anything else." She pressed the button to the 4th floor and the elevator began to ascend.
Once the elevator stopped and opened up, Weiss quickly headed outside, wondering what could possibly be waiting for her. What she saw amazed her more than anything. As far as she could see, there was lots of gaming consoles, handhelds, accessories, game cartridges, and other gaming related items piled up from all around her. It was like she was in some kind of gaming junkyard. Her inner geek was screaming in glee.
"Wow… I would so like to explore this place…" She was rather disappointed she couldn't as she was only here for a test.
"Shine for me! Star of hopes and dreams!" A feminine voice sang out from not too far away.
"Wow… what a beautiful singing voice…" Weiss wasn't expecting that as she walked closer to figure out where the voice was coming from.
"I swear to you that you can always count on me! And I'll always rise above! Because I won't lose to anyone!" The voice continued to sing, captivating Weiss further. She always admired people who can sing so beautifully. The white haired princess eventually came to a stop when she spotted a blue haired girl from behind. She was wearing headphones and a black, almost sexy, idol outfit. From the looks of things, she was practicing her singing.
Weiss sat down and began to close her eyes, just listening to her singing. This was a nice break from all the fighting she has done up till now. The blue haired girl continued her singing, unaware she now had an audience. It continued on and on for about 2 minutes before the song seemed to come to an end.
"Destiny! Written in the skies! I swear to you that I'll make them realize! That I'll always rise above! Because I won't lose to anyone!"
The princess softly clapped, impressed with her singing abilities. The blue haired girl turned around in surprise. She almost squeaked at the fact that somebody was watching her sing. She turned bright red and hid her face with her hands. "Oh Goddess! Somebody was watching me sing!"
Weiss tilted her head in confusion. Why was she suddenly so shy? She is an idol right? At least judging by the clothes. She quickly got up to hopefully calm down this girl. "Hey nothing to be shy about. You are a great singer! You should be proud of yourself for being able to entertain others with your singing abilities!" Weiss praised her.
"I'm sorry! I am just… really really shy when I am not singing up on stage." The girl exclaimed, still hiding behind her hands. Weiss was confused at that comment. How did that make sense? A supposed idol is not shy when on stage, but is when she is not and has just one person watching her? How does that work? Does she have some kind of switch she flicks on when on stage?
"Oh. Well I assure you that I am a friendly girl. I was just passing through and then I heard you singing so I decided to check it out. And well here I am, just enjoying your singing." Weiss explained, smiling. The girl peeked through her hands and studied Weiss' face, trying to see if there was any deceit planned. But there was none. She let out a deep breath and uncovered her face, still beet red.
"T-Thank you for listening to my song. It has always been a dream of mine to have people enjoy my songs that I sing while on the big stage."
"No, thank you for giving me a show." Weiss smiled brightly, "Can you give me your name?"
"W-Well my stage name is 5pb. But my real name is Lyrica." The idol introduced herself.
"Lyrica… that name does suit you…" Weiss was glad that she was able to actually talk to someone for more than just a line or two. Although she does wonder what the point of this was. Or is this just a calm before the storm that is the last floor?
"W-What's your name?" Lyrica shyly asked.
"Weiss. Weiss Shinrai." She introduced, holding out her hand for a shake. The girl hesitantly took it and they both shook hands. Now that they are acquainted with each other, Weiss wasn't sure what to say next. She is not one to carry on conversations unless it is business related, but since that isn't here nor there, she is pretty much clueless. Sure she had conversations with Zuzu, but it was easy because it was almost one-sided with how little she speaks.
"So, Weiss, if you don't mind me asking…" Lyrica started, but waited until Weiss responded before she continued.
"Go on."
"The eyepatch… is your right eye like… gone?"
Weiss rubbed at her eyepatch in question. She is not surprised to be asked this if she were perfectly honest. She is willing to share some information about it, but she is just not comfortable sharing the full story… at least not yet.
"Yeah. It's gone. I have only one functional eye." Weiss sighed, "I lost it 3 years ago due to… a mistake I made." She shook her head as she saw the pitiful look in Lyrica's eyes. "Although I can do without the eyepatch, it is just there as a constant reminder of my mistake… That's all I can say about it."
"I… I'm sor-"
Again Weiss shook her head, "No, don't apologize. Not something you should apologize about anyways. I…" She stopped as she felt a tremor. Lyrica appeared to have felt it too. Looks like the next battle was about to start. A real shame. She really wanted to talk to this girl more. Weiss looked around, her guard up. Another tremor. Whatever it was, it was certainly big.
Both of them quickly dodged out of the way when they felt something was about to come out from underneath them. Weiss turned around to see what it was and it was giant red dragon. Oh good, a dragon… At least it was the enemy's turn to be a dragon. She quickly summoned out her sword. Lyrica looked scared and she wondered if she had to protect her. However that thought was thrown away a few seconds later when she summoned out a guitar of some kind and looked ready to battle with it… somehow. In all her years, she never thought she'd see a guitar used as a weapon for a battle such as this.
The dragon roared and all of a sudden Weiss felt something wrap around her left wrist. Before she could even look at it, she was yanked forward towards Lyrica. The blue haired girl screamed as Weiss collided into her. They both groaned in pain, Lyrica more so than Weiss as she under her. Weiss tried to get up quick, but only got up half way. Her one eye widened when she noticed that she was basically handcuffed to her by some sort of green energy. Her left wrist to Lyrica's right wrist. This was a serious handicap.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Weiss muttered as she helped Lyrica up to her feet. She didn't know how she was supposed to fight like this, but she has to try. This is one test she must not fail.
"This is bad…" Lyrica bit her lip as she looked at the dragon that was currently staring them down like they were its next meal. "Can we even win when we're like this?"
"Lyrica, you can't go thinking like that!" Weiss told her. Lyrica yelped as she turned to look at Weiss. "Thinking you are going to lose is going to make you lose. It is one of those self-fulfilling prophecies. You have to put your best foot forward and be confident in yourself. Sure, often times that isn't enough, but at the very least, if you lose, then you can at least take solace that you tried your best." Weiss gave Lyrica's hand a squeeze, causing her to blush heavily. She gave her a reassuring smile before saying, "And besides, what about your song? Aren't you going to make me realize that you'll always rise above?"
"...You're right!" Lyrica smiled before looking back at the dragon and preparing her guitar. "I… We can do this!" Weiss nodded, glad she was able to motivate the idol.
The dragon spat a fireball at them. Weiss fired an iceball in response. They collided with each other and exploded. Weiss fired another iceball at the dragon quickly after, catching the dragon off guard as it hit it in the face. Lyrica took this chance to play her guitar and conjure up a spell of some kind.
"Resonate with these brave power chords!" She yelled as she played one last powerful note. Weiss looked up and saw that metals balls with the face of… perhaps a bear, fall out of the sky and slam into the dragon. And then one more giant metal ball came crashing down on the dragon.
"Um… nice." Weiss wasn't sure what to say about that… but whatever works! The dragon got up with a growl, really angry at the beating it has gotten. It quickly swiped its tail at one of the metal balls on the ground and hit it towards them. Weiss quickled summoned up an ice wall but it was all for naught as it just broke through it and hit them both square in the chest. They were both sent flying into the pile of gaming junk. The landing hurt them quite a bit.
"Ow…" Lyrica groaned as she crawled out of the junk with Weiss in tow, both of them covered with cuts. The dragon rushed towards them with great speed, intending to punch them into oblivion. Weiss dived out of the pile with as much strength as she can to pull Lyrica away with her as the dragon crashed into the junk pile.
"Here, I'll heal us up a bit." Lyrica played a few notes on her guitar and a small green aura enveloped them, healing their wounds.
"Thanks… Oh shit!" Weiss tackled Lyrica to the ground to dodge an incoming fireball. Quickly apologizing to the blushing idol beneath her, she stabbed her sword into the ground. A moment or two later, a large iceberg protruded from the ground and knocking the dragon high up into the air.
Lyrica quickly got to her feet and played another set of notes. "Heavenly Sound!" Weiss watched as the dragon was repeatedly electrocuted by guitar beats before it slammed into the ground, shaking the area.
"Weiss, I got an idea. This is going to take a lot out of me, but it might be able to finish the dragon off." Lyrica said as she closed her eyes, ready to really rock.
"Got it. I will protect us as best as I can while you concentrate on that." Weiss was ready for anything as the blue haired idol began to rock out. She was sad that she wasn't able to fully enjoy what she was hearing, but another time perhaps.
The dragon growled as it got up from the ground. It summoned multiple fireballs from above its head and sent them their way. Weiss quickly stabbed her sword once again into the ground and summoned a big ice dome around them. The fireballs slammed into ice dome as Weiss raised her right hand up to the dome to try and keep it together. She winced in pain as this defensive skill takes a lot of energy out of her… not to mention painful. The barrage of fireballs seem to keep coming.
Lyrica continued to play guitar, every few seconds that passed has her upping the ante of the beats. Weiss wondered how long she was to keep this up for, but she must not distract her. The dragon, not amused by this, roared angrily and was diving toward them quickly.
"Oh no you… don't!" Weiss barely had it in her for a big spell, so she had to settle with a small one. She muttered a few words under her breath and then stomped her foot onto the ground hard. A small iceberg popped out of the ground from underneath one of those metal balls and it was sent flying into the back of the dragon's head. With a groan, the dragon collapsed on the ground, almost an inch away from the ice dome. With hardly any strength in her, Weiss casted away the ice dome and collapsed to her knees, beyond tired.
Lyrica opened her eyes, they were burning with fury. "Alright, I got this!" She strummed her guitar one more time and out of nowhere, a giant microwave with a strange device on top of it appeared. Weiss gave up on trying to question things. The princess was dragged a bit as the idol somehow smashed the dragon into the microwave and then closed it shut. She pulled what looked to be an old fashioned cell phone and inputted a few numbers. The microwave turned on and began to… electrocute itself and the dragon.
A minute later, the microwave opened and green goo came out in place of the dragon. Weiss guessed the battle was over. Lyrica, with a tired smile, collapsed with Weiss on the ground. The green energy thing that binded them has now disappeared. This battle has really drained their energy and they were both in need of a break.
"We… we make a good team… don't we?" Weiss asked her. Lyrica can only nod in response, just happy that it was over. The princess now understood what was the purpose of this test. To see how well she fights with a partner in mind.
"We won, Weiss… we won… thank you…" Lyrica muttered out weakly before shutting her eyes and falling asleep. The princess was about to say her thanks as well, but she couldn't… she slowly disappeared into thin air like the previous 3. The test was over. Weiss didn't bother getting up, she was too tired. She assumed the elevator to the 5th floor was waiting for her behind her, but first… maybe 10 minutes of rest.
"Aaaahh… I sure hope there isn't another battle waiting for me…" Weiss prayed that was the case as she closed her eyes.
...
It was actually 20 minutes later that Weiss finally got up. She was still tired, but she shouldn't spend too much time out here. She quickly headed into the elevator and pressed the button to the fifth floor. The final floor. Now if this was like any of the RPG's she's played, there would be one tough boss waiting for her there. A few seconds passed and ding goes the elevator. Weiss sucked in a breath, before releasing it as the elevator doors opened.
To her pleasant surprise, she seemed to be back in the Clock Tower. Right in front of her was the face of the Clock itself. Both the minute and hour hands were on the 12. It was midnight, but she doubted that was the actual time. None of the mechanisms that operates the Clock seems to be working, so…
"Alright… so what am I supposed to do here… Huh?" Her pocket seemed to be glowing now. She reached into it and pulled out the 3 strings of the Dreamcatcher Sword. "These weren't there before… But this must mean the legendary weapon is close. But where? Wait, but if this is a dream… can I even acquire it from here? Agh! I wish someone would just talk to me about this!"
She was frustrated, but she didn't let it get to her. Weiss quickly pocketed the strings and started to look around. To her right just leads to a dead end. As established before, only the clock face and the mechanisms that were used to make the clock work were in front of her. Behind her was just the elevator used to get up here… so that leaves her left side. 4 paintings were over on that side and so she decided to investigate over there.
Weiss looked at each of them. One was a painting of a nearly ruined city that had a monorail. The sky was red and ominous. Nothing much else to do with that painting. Moving on to the next, this one had a futuristic city with flying cars of some such. The only thing odd about this painting was this weird dark goo strewn about everywhere. The third one had a top view of some city and below it was what looked to be a dark abyss. Almost black hole-ish. The last one is a painting of a small island with some palm trees. In the palm trees were star-shaped fruit. This one gave off a more friendlier vibe than the other paintings.
"Hmm." Weiss tried to lift one of the paintings up from the wall, but it didn't budge. "Odd. Surely these paintings are here for a reason, so what am I supposed to do with them?" Weiss looked around the paintings but there doesn't appear to be anything of note. Yuna and Fille must have solved this puzzle if they were able to get near the legendary weapon but was punished for it. There must be something she's missing here. But what exactly?
Weiss felt around the paintings, wondering if there was a secret switch of some kind. No cigar there. She placed a hand on her chin in thought. Is there something in the paintings she is supposed to be looking for? And if so, what? She turned around to see if she can find anything else that will help her. She nearly jumped back in surprise when she sees bloody words written on the floor. THAT certainly wasn't there before. Did she accidentally trigger something?
It read:
You turn your back on Despair for you wish to face Hope.
Hope shines bright like a Star. You embrace it.
There may be Darkness everywhere, but you laugh at its face.
Because even though it might pull you in, you will stand tall and not give up hope.
Weiss was in deep thought, going over the words one more time in her head. 4 lines. 4 pictures. Each line mentions You, in this case, herself. And each line has her doing a specific thing. So that means…
"Ah! I see!"
She went back to the paintings and looked them over one more time. The first one definitely depicts a feeling of despair. A nearly ruined city with such an ominous sky? That's gotta be it. So she stood in front of the painting and then turned her back on it. She hears a soft click in response. Satisfied that she got it right, she moved to the next painting which was the one with the island as that is the only one with a star in it. She moved to embrace the painting even if she feels awkward about it. Another soft click was heard.
Next was the painting of the futuristic city. The dark goo being an indicator of the darkness everywhere. Weiss forced out a laugh. Click. And lastly was the painting with the city that had the dark abyss below it. She sucked in a breath and stood tall like she was a soldier in the military being ordered around by her commander. Click.
The whole room started to shake as the supposed wall lifted up into the air, revealing a red door. That door must lead to where the Dreamcatcher Sword was.
"Well that wasn't too hard…" Weiss commented, "But to be fair, anyone that solved that but doesn't have the potential gets punished anyways."
With that, she pushed the door open. She gasped. There it was. At the very end of the room was the sword. It appeared to be stabbed into a stone. Classic. She pulled out the 3 strings from her pocket, noticing that they seem to be glowing brighter now. Feeling confident, she marched on over to the sword. Now that she had the opportunity, she wanted to look at it closely before taking it out. She looked at the hilt of the weapon. It was blue and looked pretty well made. She was not sure what kind of material was used for it, but it looked like it can endure a ton of battles and won't get too damaged. She looked closer still and noticed 3 small metal circles, small enough circles for perhaps the strings. 2 for the handguard; one on each side, and one at the end of the pommel.
Weiss quickly got to work and inserted the strings into the tiny circles. Took a bit of time to get them through since she was not used to doing this. It's been a long time since she last sewed. Once all of them were in, the strings secured themselves very tightly to the sword. It began to glow brightly as if complete. This is it, the moment she takes the sword out of its entrapment, it is hers to use at her leisure till probably the day she dies. She was going to miss using her signature weapon, but this is for the sake of everyone's life.
Weiss grabbed the Dreamcatcher Sword and began pulling. She pulled and pulled, putting every ounce of strength she had to getting it out. Little by little it slowly made its way out.
"Goddamn, you are really deep in there!" Weiss was glad no one was around to make a joke about her wording.
After what felt like hours, but really only 3 minutes, did the sword finally get pulled out all the way. A bright flashing light enveloped her and she quickly shielded her eye. In the light, she felt really warm… she can feel… lighter somehow. All the fatigue from the battles she fought was wiped away in a blink of an eye.
The light faded and Weiss unshielded her eye to take a look at her newly required sword. She noticed that the blade turned slightly blue… perhaps to accommodate the fact that its new master is an ice magic user. The blade was a good 3 feet in length and about two inches wide. At the very tip of the blade was the Dreamcatcher Circle where she guessed will capture any Nightmares she defeats. It was on both sides of the blade too. She smiled. As silly as an idea that there is a sword that also works as a Dreamcatcher, it truly is a marvel of weapon.
Suddenly, she felt the whole clock tower shake, and without any warning, a beam of light rained down on her. She didn't even have a chance to scream as she was taken away by the light.
You have done well… Master…
…
Weiss woke up with a gasp. She looked around, wondering what happened. She sees both Zuzu and Alula looking at her. The former looked relieved while the latter was smiling knowingly. The white haired princess raised an eyebrow at the bandaged arm on Alula's left arm. That wasn't there before.
"How are you feeling, your highness?" Alula asked politely.
"Huh? Well now that you mention it, I feel great… but what happened?" Weiss asked, very confused. "You have just given me the strings and then… I… fell asleep?"
Zuzu looked at Alula as if waiting for an explanation as she was confused herself. Weiss does not remember her dream at all?
"You don't remember anything from your dream, your highness?" Alula asked for Zuzu's sake.
Weiss wracked her brain, trying to remember anything that happened while she was sleeping. Blank. Just blank. She shook her head. "No. I can't remember. How long was I out for?"
"Pretty much the whole day, your highness. It is a quarter past Midnight." Alula responded.
"I was asleep that LONG?!" Weiss clutched her head, flabbergasted at how much time went by. All the work she planned for the day down the drain. "Gah I am behind on my work! And the ball is tomorrow… wait no, TODAY!"
If this was an anime, there would be sweat drops on the back of Alula's and Zuzu's head. "Calm down, your highness. Instead of worrying about your workload, why don't you worry about getting the Dreamcatcher Sword in your hands. You do still have the 3 strings."
"Huh? Oh, good point." Weiss brought up the 3 strings and looked at them again. For some reason, she felt like a part of their power was used up already somewhere. Shaking that thought away for now, she summoned out her trust sword to her side. "You are absolutely right. Saving my country by getting that weapon is more important than improving my country right now."
"I wish you the best of luck." Alula bowed. "Now then, I have to go. I've been here long enough just watching over you while you were sleeping." She turned around and started walking out of the throne room.
"Now hold on." Weiss commanded, making Alula stop in her tracks. "You seem to know more than you let on. Could you please explain why I was asleep for so long and what was the purpose of it?"
"You will know in due time... There are… reasons… but for now, worry about getting the Dreamcatcher Sword, hmm?" With that, the mysterious woman walked out of the throne room. Weiss grumbled, getting increasingly suspicious of that woman.
"Well, no matter." Weiss turned to face Zuzu. "So, mind coming with me to the Clock Tower? Just walk me there. Don't come in there with me, I don't want you in danger."
Zuzu nodded. She'll gladly walk her there. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the necklace she and Alula made. Weiss eyed the piece of jewelry. It was a golden necklace with a little Dreamcatcher emblem.
"What a beautiful necklace... Did you and Alula make this by chance?" Weiss asked as she took the piece of jewelry. Another nod from Zuzu. She was quite impressed by the look of it. She can practically feel the magic coursing through it. Without thinking about it too much, she slipped it on her neck. A perfect fit.
"I am not sure what this if for… but thank you." She gave Zuzu a beautiful smile. The zombie would have blushed if she wasn't well… undead.
"Now then, let us go… We are not heading back to my castle until I have that sword in my hands."
