Nicolas Notes:

After that, um interesting mishap at the forums, it made me think about a lot of things. Personally I was having second thoughts on whether I should continue this thing or not... * maniacal laughter* Hahahaha, as if, I'll mope around like that, eh? That's not really me at all.
So now, I'd like to introduce you all to the first ever memory chapters, we'll be seeing a lot of these babies as they give as a brief insight on Rook's actual past is.

The only catch here though is it's all from Rook's point of view, so we don't really know what the other *cough* people here are thinking or motives. I did that so I can leave you guys to speculate some events that took place. Laevateinn will have an onslaught of these memory chapters in the future.

For all of you who are still in doubt, I have one thing to say: You ain't seen nothing yet.

Now to bring this notes to an end, again I didn't wait for my editor to check this since she's in Japan so i apologize for the grammar nightmare you're going to have.

Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou or any other Touhou materials. The savvy badass looking captain and Rook is mine, get yours with every review you leave.

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MEMORY CHAPTER 1: Vague Roots

Year 1221

March 15

7:49 Post-Meridian

Somewhere in an island of the far east, Marina Crew

Did I black out? I feel lighter… I must be in a dream…. I can hear it, the sound of the waves. Just where the hell am I? Gah, I hope it's not that memory…

"Mr. Mason!" called a man.

Hm..?

"Mr. Mason, we require your assistance!" he called again.

Shut up, can't a sick person get some sleep…?

"If this lazy pansy will not awaken, then hit him again, idiot Englishman!" this one was new. Somehow it had a thick Spanish accent.

I received a heavy blow on my cheek, leaving the taste of blood within my mouth. My mind rattled at the impact, causing the hazy feeling I had to slightly disappear. Pain… With my left cheek throbbing and some other parts of my body aching, having my own eyes open was a struggle. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of the grass below me. There were two burly looking men at either side of me lifting me by my arms, as if I was some kind of prisoner. Maybe I was….Maybe not… Unfortunately, both of the men dropped me roughly on the soil, and since I felt weak and didn't have enough strength in my arms to catch myself, let's say I took in a large amount of dirt as I crashed.

I heard the men laughed rowdily over the calm sea breeze. Sea breeze? I must be near the sea then, and how did I identify it to be a wind from the sea? Probably because of the salt. Yeah it's the salt.

"Rise and shine boy! We have some work for you!" laughed an old dirty sailor.

I placed my right arm in front of me and pushed myself off the soft ground. At first I staggered as I stood, but reclaimed my sense of balance after few moments. My legs felt weak and fragile, as if I just ran ten miles without breaks. I found it hard to breathe like I there was the possibility that I did run ten miles without breaks for my throat was dry and my lungs hurt. I kept my head low, focusing only at the lush green grass below me. After a few moments of reclaiming the air I lost, I looked up.

Behind the three sailors before me was a twenty foot tall spear like structure standing near the edge of a cliff. My eyes grew wide at the sight for I have never seen something so…. Strange… The men in front me were still busy laughing so I took the chance of glancing to my back. A congregate of at least forty men had set camp below the summit of the cliff, either sleeping or drinking the night away. Sleeping felt like a good idea now, the wind feels nice too… I turned my gaze back to the men who managed to capture me for stowing away. Curse my bad luck, it's been seven days since they caught me and all they have for me was nothing but work. I find myself wondering what it is they need this time. Granted that stowing away was a crime, I am being forced to do manual labor, without pay! I fancy staying down the prison with only one meal a day than work my bloody arms off. At the least of the matter I think I should be glad that the captain was being lenient, giving me four meals in exchange for my service, however the work that they have put me through proves it all for naught! Hold on a sec, I know that this is my memories but was I really that much of complainer?

"Does it involve in being the bait again?" I asked with sarcasm in my voice. Then out of nowhere a massive boot stomped the area where my hand used to be, and upon reflex, caused me to stand up. I grasped my narrowly flattened hand and eyed the man who was about to charge me.

"You imbecile!" he roared. He looked like he was the captain's first mate, and had the air of being second in command about him. He had a French accent, eh?
"Remember that we are the reason you are still alive, stow away. Show some well deserved respect for us!"

He was about to hit me, however the captain stopped him. "Enough! You will let the boy do his task and need not interfere!"

With that he shooed away the first mate.

Then I heard the man who requested to hit me earlier chortle.
"You must do your task well boy, or you will be left on this island to starve for the gulls to feed on you flesh! gahahahaha!" he laughed loudly, and identified him as the man with the Spanish accent.

"Enough!" barked the captain. He has a clean hat, so he must be the captain. "Return to your duties!"

As the first mate, the Spanish man and the two men who carried me went off grumbling and planning on drinking some sake when they reached the camp. I watched them go till they were small dots on the ground below. Good riddance, they stank horribly.

After seeing them off, I turned my attention back to the captain, who was gazing at the strange structure for awhile now. I reluctantly went to his side, and he immediate asked me in a firm voice. "Are you alright my boy?"

His royal blue coat was weather beaten and uncared for, so that the color was slowly fading. Under the coat was white long sleeved undershirt with buttons and a bronze medallion. There was a rather interesting trinket pinned on his coat, which had the emblem of a hammer and a pouncing lion.

I can guess that the white hair that had a little braid on the back of his neck was false, since I've seen my fair share of the things.
His kind blue eyes met my unsettling gray ones, and I nodded.

Out of all the men on that ship of his, he was the only one I deemed respectable. The others were just for decorations, or were just drunkards with no real use.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around, the wind howling past my ears as I spoke. "Did we hit a reef?"

"No" replied the captain, "We are in the south east of Asia, unfortunately after our mishap in the country they call the Land of The Indian, where you passed out from excessive work, we landed here for some strange reason in the form of that structure, that has sparked my interest"

The salty sea air seemed to revitalize me and the call of the ocean sounded similar to that of a great slumbering creature. To my left I saw powerful white waves crash against the face of the jagged cliff. The sky was patched with thick clouds, yet a small part of the glowing moonlight can be seen and the stars kept on sparkling. Over at the horizon was covered in what seemed like a thick dark curtain, which I identified as rain clouds. It was going to be a stormy night. My vision became dimmer and dimmer till I can see no more. I can still hear the sea though for some strange reason.

Hm? Eh? Wha-wha-what happened! Why can't I see anything? Have I gone blind? Wait a second… Calm down…. It's just a memory, it's normal that I can't recall some parts, but…. I know that this isn't a normal dream, but a memory, yet how can I be conscious at the same time? I've been noticing it now, but I wasn't in control of my movements…As if someone was controlling me instead… Maybe if I dream my memories, I see the world through my eyes yet I can't control my actions? No, no, that doesn't make any sense at all… How is this even possible again?

"Why did we stop here?" asked my voice.

"It's because of that" answered the captain.

"The structure? It seems to be a monument to me"

"Do you know what it is? You seem to be a professional in strange things and objects of mystery"

"No, you must be mistaken. All that I can make of it is that nothing is out of the ordinary. Supposedly the natives may have built this as part of their strange religions; you do know that their practices differ from our own, captain"

"Indeed, however the natives could not have built this for this is first class architecture to rival that of all in Europe. They may not be capable of building such a structure such as this"

"If there's a word to describe it, it would be: otherworldly. It doesn't look like it belongs to this world. If the natives indeed built this… They had some help…"

"The question is my boy, from whom…?"

Silence…

"I don't even want to know"

*Rustle, rustle. *

"Oi, boy! What are you doing?

"Glyphs…. There are engravings here of the moon"

"Get away from there boy, it might be dangerous! You have no clue what that is!"

"That's why I'm the one your men picked to investigate, right? Just so they can sate their curiosity and be gone from this island… Now let's see what we have here so you can go on with your expediton, cap'n… Moon phases. These glyphs are moon phases"

*Rustle, rustle*

"I say, young people"

"Ready to join me, cap'n?"

"Never mind that! It seems to be a puzzle"

"How are you so sure about that?"

"How are you sure that these are moon phases, boy?"

"I steal books from nobles"

"I see, well then, I am an explorer! It is common knowledge for me to know these! As you can see here the phases are all jumbled and there are some glyphs that I cannot identify. It is probable that they were placed there to confuse us"

"Seems like an easy puzzle to solve, so why bother creating it? One wonders what will happen if we solve it"

"Pray that we do not release a demon for that would prove nothing but a nuisance"

"Alright. Step back, tell me which glyph to touch and see what happens"

"Very well"

*Rustle, rustle, tap*

"You ready cap'n?"

"Yes"

"Good, let's start"

"New moon" *Clank*

"Waxing Crescent" *Clank*

"First Quarter" *Clank*

"Waxing Gibbous" *Clank*

"Full Moon" …"Sorry, this thing is hard to push *Clank*! There we go!"

"Waning Gibbous" *Clank*

"Third Quarter" *Clank*

"One more! The last is the Waning Crescent!" *Clank,ksssssss*

"Um, was that supposed to happened? Why is the tip rising?"

I can't hear the laughter if the men at camp… The wind kept howling…. Just what the heck was happening? Stupid memory…

"Boy, I think it is best to stay away from it!" called the captain's voice.

The air was humming with energy. It felt strangely warm all of a sudden…

"Something is strange… The winds have died and there appears to be a metallic scent in the air… Boy you must get out of there!" shouted the captain.

"Beautiful…" I hear myself say.

"Boy, have you gone mad? Leave there at once!"

"My life has no value…" I said as if I were in a trance, "However I value the life of others… Isn't that strange?"

The humming grew louder.

"I understand…" I whispered.

"Mr. Mason, Lightning!"

At that, it was as if someone pulled a curtain before my eyes. I was nearly blinded by the light which the white structure was radiating, causing me to step back a few paces. The structure somehow was glowing green, white, and blue. At the sound of my name I had enough time to look up like an idiot and say, "Dammit…" before an energy charged lightning bolt struck me…..

All I thought was that I was the most unlucky person in the world, yet by some miracle I was still alive.
Pain was all over my body, making my vision blurry.
My ears were ringing so I can barely hear anything.

All I knew was I was laying within a large crater with small fires all around. I struggled to lift my hand and look at it, but what I saw made my stomach lurch. My left hand was looked as though it were overcooked. It was charcoal black and there were small patches of red revealing my bloody muscles. I dared look at my other hand which proved to sustain the same amount of damage; however both had one thing in common. Both bore the signs of electrocution and were almost burned to a crisp.

I groaned at what was going to happen next. With these injuries I will not be able to survive for long. The luck angel or whatever has given me everything just by being alive now.
I was going to die and there was nothing I can do about it…
I hope the captain and his pig like crew are safe…. They probably left me for dead; I wasn't much use to them anyway.

Good riddance….

I have no one, so nobody will probably have to shed their tears for me, which is good.
I didn't want to be grieved for anyway….

Hmm?

Footsteps... Must be the cannibal natives…
The lightning saved them the effort of cooking me, how convenient, for them that is…
There are two of them…

"Teacher is he still alive?" asked the quiet voice of a girl. And in English too….

"I doubt it" answered another voice, this one was older, much more mature," His vital signs are weak. He will die within a few minutes…"

Good to know…

"Aww, what a shame. He does look handsome and he acquired that ability stored in that capsule. It would be a waste if he died now" said the girl's voice in a businesslike manner.

"Why would it be a waste, princess?" asked the woman.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe if you gave him a sip of that medicine you will be able to observe if he can adapt with its effects along with his new abilities. In short a test subject! And a surprise for her if she shows up" proposed the girl's voice all too innocently.

The woman seemed to sigh at the girl's reckless decision. Whatever that medicine is, it's going to be trouble. "Princess, this is my prized creation we are discussing here, I will not allow giving it away leisurely to an unknown, dying boy whose origins we barely know of. After what happened with the disaster that the last one stirred I must be careful on handling the last flask of the elixir. We need not trouble ourselves further with this"

"Aww, come now sensei, just two drops. We can save the best for last and I assure you that this experiment will be fun!" said the girls' voice. "It'll be a unique experience, having a walking time bomb thread this land. Think of it as an investment that we'll benefit from in the future, tools like him could come in quite handy given the time~"

"It is rare for you to actually meddle in my experiments, but it seems like this will be a risky investment." The woman was silent for a few seconds before replying," I do not approve of this, having another undying after us won't do us any good. If this boy will serve as a 'tool', the question to that is, will he be a tool for what purpose, and why? I don't see how wasting my precious drug on a hopeless cause would do us any good at all. I say it is better to save the drug for an important occasion, for example when the time we really need it"

"Oh teacher, can't you see that this is an important occasion? Do you not see that this boy here is… special?" mused the girl, "This pathetic being here is a one of a kind, grade A, specimen of a monstrosity with that ability latched on him. Right now, without outside intervention he will die, and you can kiss goodbye to all of your future projects since this young man is an origin. The possible roots of an entire new field for you study and to experiment on. For what reason did you plant the capsule here in the first place? It was for a human, yes a human with enough intelligence to solve that oh so simple puzzle that was placed within, and unlock that ability within so as to see if it would be compatible with the human in question. Now, this human has proven to merge perfectly with the ability, but was seen with unfortunate complications. The lightning was out of your calculations was it not? You never expected the specimen to be this gravely injured and dying to boot. The important thing is you can still save him, but not with conventional methods of healing, why not add a bit of spice while you can? As I have said it will be fun! This boy is neither human nor lunarian, but something much, much more. Like I said earlier he is a possible root to a whole new area, he is also the first specimen for this project not including her to the list. He is a prototype with the possibility to be mass produced. If you will give him a few years on his own, and then come back to study him, gathering an army will be a cinch. It may even be possible that we can take over the moon with said army"

"Please do not get ahead of yourself princess, chances of a prototype to be successful is very slim, and even if we do give him that drug, what of his sanity? It is highly possible for him to go mad with that unstable power within him and the effects of the elixir. Prototypes are meant to be failures and it takes a lot of tries to get one right. Who knows what this boy will do. If he wrecks insurmountable havoc it may even gather the attention of those on the moon and lead his capture so they may study him for themselves. Having someone as powerful as him running around poses as a great risk, especially to us, for surely once he is captured, those on the moon would be able to recognize our doing and trace us for our arrest. As tempting a new field for me as it is, I cannot allow harm to befall you because of this pointless shenanigan, I simply cannot risk it" argued the woman, though there was doubt in her tone.

"It's for the future, sensei, I assure you that you will not regret this choosing to let him live," proposed the girl silkily, "If he turns out to be a failure, we can always perform an extraction of his abilities. And judging by his looks alone he has a strong mind, though I could be wrong. I'm sure he will be able to cope with the effects"

"Do not blame me if this experiment will come and bite us later" said the woman coldly.

"Thank you, Eirin~!" giggled the girl.

I felt confused as their strange conversation ended, barely understanding any of it.

Someone supported my head to face upward. I can make out the features of a woman, but it was too blurry to identify. Why did I feel afraid? Why did fear have to spread throughout me now? Why do I get the feeling that something bad was about to happen… It's probably because there was…

"I am only doing this because the princess asked me to" she said, and then I felt the sting of a needle piercing my skin.

"Gah, who... are… you…?" I managed to croak.

The woman seemed to consider before answering. "I am the Brain of the moon"

"The moon..?" I asked before I felt the rim of a cup was tipped over my lips. Whatever they gave me tasted sweet. As sweet as the sweetest bread I have ever tasted. The strangest thing was that I didn't resist the drink or spit it as soon as it entered my mouth. The second time I drank was bitter, as if I just drank a fairly bad tea or something, though I didn't gag, it still tasted horrible. Just what are they making me drink? Are they witches who were willing to turn me into their unholy minion? Stories such as those spread like wild fire the past century in Europe.

I felt the hand behind my head let go and soon my scalp touched the rock beneath it.

Pain flushed within my gut, causing me to cringe in agony.

Just what the hell have I done to experience nothing but stupid stomach aches for the last twenty four hours! Seriously it has to stop! Guh, It seems like whatever I feel in this place I feel as though I felt it in real life. Too realistic….

I glanced at my left hand and almost passed out at what I saw, somehow it was worst than looking similar to charred wood. My hand was now between solid and mist form.

"What the hell?" I growled.

Electricity began to course throughout my body, and the sand began to swirl around me. The wind howled louder than before, buffeting me with the dirt it carried.

"Take it once and one will not age" said the woman.

"Take it twice and the sickness will no longer burn" giggle the girl.

"Take it three times and immortal you will turn" they both laugh in unison. It sounded eerie with the sound of the sand and the crackle of electricity. It was as if they were one of those demonic sirens sailors have been telling. The moon? Medicine? Experiment? What are they planning? And…. Why?

The woman was the first to hold her laughter. "Only problem is you only took it two times! My, this will be an interesting fruit to harvest… I am not expecting perfect results, but I would love to see how a human like you will fare with the curse of eternity…"

"I wonder what will happen! No one has drunk the elixir with only two doses, who has ever heard has ever heard of a half immortal?" chortled the girl.

Bunch of lunatics….

"Why do you do this?" I asked, groaning at the pain of my stomach which was now creeping up to my heart. My lungs felt like they were being crushed, making my breathing shallow. The air felt cold and beads of sweat formed upon my fore head. There was this piercing pain behind my eyes that kept me from identifying my tormentors.

"For fun!" replied the girl. "Be honored to be given a second chance in life mortal" she giggled loudly. Oh she's enjoying this….

"We will meet again experiment number two… Farewell for now..." said the woman.

Wait! What the hell did you just do to me?

It hurts…

I can't control it… Why can't I control it?

Damn it…

It would've been better if they were cannibals…

My eyes felt heavy amidst the chaos around… Sleeping sounded like really good idea now… Yep…
Last thing I saw was my hand was fully healed and no longer burned…

Just who were those people?

Nicolas Notes:

Okay... I think I should change the 'Memory Chapter' to 'WTF Chapter', due to the unexpected appearance of those who were the most to unlikely to appear. Then again the chapter title was Vague Roots making the whole thing unclear. Those people still had unclear intentions and... bah, what am I saying, I'll leave to you people to speculate. This chapter had more dialogue than actions, didn't it? I'll say this again, this is an un edited chapter, and I'll be changing it in the future if my editor points it out for me, though you guys are always free to do so too. Just a couple more chapter, don't worry, the real thing will start by then.

Now the big questions to this chapter is, What were those two doing there of all places? Why were they there?

Hmm, it's too much of coincidence isn't it?

I wish more people would come by... See ya the next chapter!