"Youngling, wake up."
Dutch opened his eyes. He was floating above the vault, facing a blue orb.
"Vale?" Dutch asked as he looked at the blue ball of energy. It gave out light blue glow and had what appeared to be smaller orbs circling it.
"Hahahaha. No, I'm not the child of the vault. I'm something different from her. But you can say we are related." The orb answered, pulsating as it spoke with an amused tone.
"So who are you?" Dutch questioned.
"That will come in due course. Right now we have far important things to discuss; your future, for one." The orb said as it brushed aside his question.
"Explain." Dutch said, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
"When Eirin told you about the lunar elite being notified, she neglected to add a last part. As far as the lunar elite knows, the vault has not changed every time it gain a new owner. This time, the lunar elite knows that the vault has changed for you. They will be in an uproar because the vault is a pure-made device." The orb explained.
"In truth, the device has changed for each time it gains a new owner. Although for you, it has changed to a rather surprisingly high degree. I never seen this much comparability before. It's like you are custom made..." The orb trailed off.
"How is this important?" Dutch continued.
"Ah, sorry. The device changes every time it gets a new owner because it adopts a form that suits its owner soul. It 'links' itself with its owner's soul. Since the lunar elite does not know that it changes every time, they will believe you are a anomaly and will try to purify you. Or evaluate you. Which will kill you. Either way, your future is pretty bleak."
"Any third option?"
"No. The first has a confirmed chance of you dying. The lunar elite will destroy anything that stands between them and you. Anything and everything." The orb warned.
"The second option includes you being brought to the moon for testing. The lunar elite will set tests that can and will kill you. Your death will be used as proof of the inferiority of the impurity. You can survive the tests but that is very unlikely."
"I can take it." Dutch answered, his voice nonchalant.
The orb chuckled. "You have shown to be capable of that." It spoke, an amused tone in its voice again.
"So what happens to me now?" Dutch asked.
"Anything. The lunar elite will send their emissaries to get you soon but before that, you are free to do whatever you want. I recommend traveling across this land. Its people are of the powerful kind. There is much to gain from here. I believe your last tangle has obtained you something useful. It almost killed you by the way. I had to release some energy, otherwise you would be a blood splatter on the wall." The orb spoke.
The orb started to lighten.
"Oh, I see the child is awakening soon. You should receive her. I believe she has taken quite a liking to you. You may be surprised." The orb spoke as it started to disappear.
Dutch started to float back down to the glass platform below.
"Just who are you?" He asked again.
"Heh. Like I said Youngling, that will come in due course." The orb answered before disappearing completely.
Dutch landed on the glass platform. The interface blinked and wording rolled down. The interface read the words as it rolled down in a monotone.
...
/Magical process compiled/
...
/Type:Directed Explosive/
/Type:Missile/
/Type:Magical/
/Name:Scarlet strike/
...
"Scarlet strike?" Dutch said.
He raised his arm with the glove and aimed it at the wall.
Fire. He thought. A scarlet tendril shot out of the glove and flew quickly in a sidewinder snake-like pattern. It struck the wall and it exploded.
Boom!
When the smoke dissipated, the wall had a small crater in it.
"A magical missile." Dutch said to himself as he smiled.
...
/Name:Scarlet strike/
/Test:sucessful/
...
/Pending approval/
...
/Classification approved/
...
/Classifying to vault/
...
/Ready for use/
...
"Oh, the guys will be jealous when they hear of this." Dutch said.
Over the door to the sleeping girl, a blue light shined softly.
"Come on, time to meet her." A voice spoke, light and playful. It sounded like the orb.
Dutch walked to the door. Looking at the door, he sighed and opened it.
Inside, the girl was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Her eyes were a full-on blue and had a spark of youth in it. Her wings gave a gentle light, illuminating her crystalline feathers without blinding Dutch. Her hair flowed down as she moved sleepily in her sitting position.
"Vale, is that you?" Dutch asked, his voice hoping as the subjects of the earlier talk with the orb ran through his mind.
"Master?" The girl answered in Vale's voice. She focused her sleepy eyes on Dutch and brightened.
"Master. You're okay." She said, joy and relief in her voice.
"I think I should be saying that. You gave me quite a bit of worry. But you're okay, so that's fine." Dutch answered.
Vale floated up. "My apologies for worrying you Master." Vale said, her apology written all over her face.
Dutch raised his hands. "It's fine, it's fine. But can I ask; how did you get this form? The last time I saw you, you were a floating ball." Dutch asked.
"I'm not so sure as well Master. After I steered in front to protect you, everything turned black. When I woke up, I was looking at you. I'm sorry I can't provide you with any more information." Vale answered apologetically.
"It's okay. You're fine and that's what really matters. By the way, the Vault has changed quite a bit during your sleep and I think you will like it." Dutch said, just plain relieved that Vale is okay. He turned around and opened the door.
"M-Master?" Vale stuttered, nervousness laced through her voice.
"Yes?" Dutch asked as he turned around
Vale floated just centimeters right behind him, her face a deep blushing red and her wings fluttering. She reached out, grabbed Dutch's head, closed her eyes, and kissed him.
Dutch's eyes widened as their lips pressed together. Vale's wings flapped repeatedly as she pressed herself against her Master, her heart beating rapidly.
As Dutch tried to move, the glove let out a spark that channeled through his nerves and froze him in place. So he was stuck in his stunned pose as the vault entity continued her gentle assault on his mouth. She molded her soft lips to his shocked ones, gentle caressing them.
Finally, Vale released Dutch's head, still blushing madly. The glove sparked again and Dutch could move. He refreshed his highly confused and slightly giddy brain.
"And what was that for?" He asked the very red vault entity, trying to stop his blood from overloading his cheek veins.
"W-w-well, t-that was how my past owners showed their interest to people they l-l-l-liked. I t-thought it would be okay." Vale answered, her fingers touching each other and her wings flapping in embarrassment as she tried not to face her master.
"You need to rethink how you show your affection to other people. In this reality, that is the way to show Love, not like." Dutch answered as he tried to get her taste off his lips. She tasted really nice.
Vale blushed deeper.
He could imagine soooo many ways of proceeding from here. And her face was providing some useful material.
No! Bad mind! He thought as he tried to clear the imagination part of his mind of Vale+physical related stuff. He mentally sprayed his head with bullets until everything was fine.
In the peaceful world of Dutch's mind...
Throught process NO#1 ran as floating guns sprayed its fellow thought processes. Screams and pleas filled the air, all ended by a gunshot.
"Why?" Thought process NO#1 screamed as it watched mental being after mental being get cut down.
And then a bullet cracked across the air into its skull. Thought process NO#1 died, it's blood joining thousand of other mental beings into a great big river.
The river flowed.
The killing continued.
Reality...
Ah, better. Dutch thought as his mind cleared.
"I'm sorry Master. I-I just thought it would be okay to show my l-like for you this way." Vale answered, her face redder that a tomato.
Dutch smiled. "Well, you know now that it's inappropriate. Anyway, I don't think I really deserve that. It was you after all that flew in front of me to protect me. Like a brave princess saving a hapless knight." He laughed at his own words.
"Well, it's the job of the assistance entity to protect the soul linked to the vault so I did what I had to do." Vale answered, her blush slowly fading.
"Doesn't make you any less brave. Come on, the vault has changed quite a bit since you were awake." Dutch as he guided Vale to the door.
*******
SDM
Voile Library
Noon
"Good. Your ability was as effective as you described it." Patchouli said as she recorded down her thoughts into a book.
Maribel looked away from the table she was concentrating at, it's small top occupied by three vials of colorless liquid. Patchouli waved her arms and the colorless liquids all transform to various substances. One green, the other blue and the last a strange red that moved in its vial.
"Well, I have tried it ever since I was born so I have experience in using it." She said as she watched the red liquid move in its vial. It formed a really rude finger sign.
Patchouli tsked and shook the vial with the red liquid. In answer, it transformed into hand with a certain finger raised. She lifted up the bottle and lit a fire under it. It answered her thermal attack with a laughing face. Patchouli gave up trying to discipline the rogue sentient liquid and left it on the table. The liquid finished off with a nicely done troll face.
Maribel sweat dropped at the sight of the magician defeated by her creation.
"Ignore that. Even including your experience, the extent of your ability is impressive. Even minuscule changes in the substances were picked up. That indicates that your ability has developed to a high extent. That's both good and bad." Patchouli explained.
"Why?" Maribel asked. Having a well developed ability would appear to be all good.
"Well, magic abilities are very random. Never one the same as the other. But they at least have something similar. Abilities that are less developed before training tend to be more...malleable, if I say so myself. Abilities that are highly developed are, of course, less malleable to training. But that's where the similarities end. The amount of which your ability can develop is different per person. You could have reached the peak of your development or it may be just be the middle or even the start. There is no way to measure your development potential." Patchouli explained.
"The good is that since your development is high, your training on your core ability will be easier. The bad is that any new magic, such as spell cards, will be harder and longer for your reserves to adopt." The one week magician summarized.
Maribel nodded. Patchouli took a sip from the elaborately designed cup on the table. "Let's check on Renko, shall we?" She asked with a smile.
Maribel nodded. The two got up and left the library. Patchouli flew up while Maribel walked up the stairs. Looking with envy at the flying magician, Maribel wished, "I wish I could do that."
"Oh you can. With proper training, you will be flying like its natural." Patchouli said.
The duo walked and flew along the long corridors until they were at the dinner room. At the other end, Renko stood at the balcony, looking at the sky. With her was Koakuma, who was flying in the air, moving to different positions.
"Where am I now?" Koakuma asked.
"You are 256 degrees from my position, you changed your altitude by a matter of 5 feet and you moved a distance of 3 feet from your last location which was 196 degrees from my current position." Renko recited, her eyes affixed to the sky.
"Wow! You're really useful. If you can, can you help at the library? Your ability is really helpful. It can help me locate some books I just can't seem to find." Koakuma said.
"Koa, please don't give the guest job offers. It's just rude." Patchouli scolded as the library duo walked into the balcony.
"But Patchouli-sama, I really need help finding the tomes of anti-magic. They always cancel out my seeking spell." The devil wailed as she landed back onto the balcony.
"No, just no." The devil's master deadpanned.
Renko walked to her friend. "Mary! I'm a walking GPS. As in I always knew that I could pinpoint my position but now I can pinpoint where other stuff is as well!" Renko said as her face lit up with serious excitement.
Maribel could not help but be affected by her best friend's excitement. She returned Renko's smile. "That's so great!" She answered.
After a few minutes of excited conversation between our human duo and some Master-Familiar argument...
"So how did you managed to advance Renko's ability?" Patchouli asked her familiar as they sat at the table, elaborately bat motif designed cups filled with exquisite black tea set in front of them.
"Well, it wasn't that difficult. I used my seeking spell as a basic for Renko-san's advancement. The seeking spell was something I created to improve my efficiency after I was contracted by Patchouli-sama. I taught Renko-san the basics for the spell and she used it to improve her ability from there." Koakuma explained. She spotted a new set of bruises, the result of trying to use her succubus abilities on her Master.
"But when I used my ability, it was different from what you did. Your spell was a trail that showed where I could find it. Mine told me where I could it. Why are they different?" Renko asked.
"Because each person is different. They utilize their magic in different ways. With training you may use the same spell as Koa but since you were using only the basic components of the spell, your magic adapted and changed the spell in the one that fits you most." Patchouli explained.
"Wow. That's just awesome." Renko answered.
"Marisa Kirisame, you will put that guest down right now!"
What?
The four turned their head to the open lounge door where the shout as well as sounds of an approaching battle was channeled through. As one, they got up and walked out into the corridor, to see a rather funny scene.
Sakuya chased Marisa down the hallway towards they, throwing knifes that the ordinary magician. Marisa flew on her broomstick, standing surfboard style as she returned fire with her stars.
Under the broom, attached to it, was a hammock, swinging in tandem with every movement the broom made. And occupying the hammock was Dutch, sleeping through the whole fight. Amazingly, he was unhurt, even as silver knifes and stars flew over and around him.
"I can't, Sakuya. This dude got some really awesome stuff on him ze. I'll just borrow him for a while." Marisa answered, grinning.
"You will put him down this instant! He still resting from Flandre's fight!" Sakuya shouted back.
"Don't worry, I'll give him some TLC at my place daze."
Fire sign "Agni Shine"
"Gah!" Marisa yelped as she turned back in front to face Patchouli's spell card. The volley of flame danmaku flew towards her, accompanied by Koakuma red danmaku and Maribel's rainbow ones. Renko watched, smiling away.
Marisa expertly weaved through the flame spell card as well as the danmaku shots. Grinning like the witch that she is, She pulled her Mini-Hakkero out of her hat and pointed it behind her.
"Blazing Star"
Whoosh!
Everyone in the hallway jumped away in different directions to avoid the incoming broom rocket. Well for Sakuya's case, it was to avoid the rocket's exhaust. Marisa and her cargo blasted down the hallway, the force of their passage blowing doors open left and right.
The mansion occupants and its guests ran or flew down the hallway after the runaway broom rocket and its occupants, making extra care to stay along the sides, lest they touch the back blasting master spark.
The Master Spark stopped as abruptly as it started as its owner realized the folly of using a rocket inside a building with corridors. Right before she almost plastered herself and her cargo against the wall.
Marisa blew open the nearest set of doors, which just so happens to be the dinner room doors, and flew in.
"She's going to escape!" Koakuma cried out as she flew as fast as she could to the open doors. Behind her, Maribel and Renko panted as they tried to keep up. Patchouli was far behind them, her body unable to take the rigors of the chase.
Sakuya took out her lunar dial and clicked it. Her eyes turned blood red and she disappeared. Sound of battle came through the open dinner room doors.
The remaining trio ran/flew the doors to see the chief maid fighting to stop ordinary witch from reaching the other set of double and open freedom.
"Marisa, stop this madness! He's still resting." Sakuya pleaded as she tried to knock the witch off her broom with her knifes. The fact that the broom was attached to a sleeping person was not lost to her and she threw carefully.
"No can do! He has something good daze." Marisa answered.
"What *pant* do you mean?" Patchouli panted as she came through the door.
"Haven't you wondered why he can get guns out of nowhere Patchy? He's attached to something really useful ze. I wanna study it." Marisa laid out her motives even as she sprayed stars at Sakuya.
"That does not mean you can abduct anyone anyhow!" Sakuya shot back as she grazed the stars.
Marisa aimed her Mini-Hakkero at the Closed double doors and the chief maid standing in front of it.
Love sign "Master Spark"
Sakuya flew aside as the beam of love blew past her and through the doors, opening up sweet freedom to Marisa.
She stopped her Spark and flew through the door. Stopping in midair and standing up on her broom, she turned back to face the group chasing her with a triumphant smile.
"That was a nice fight, but I won ze. Let today be known as a day when you almost stopped Marisa kirisa...
BOOM!
The 12.7 bolt blasted out of the barrel and travelled the extremely short journey from metal barrel to cloth bloomers. It exploded upwards in a blast of energy.
Marisa was launched of her broom and up into the air.
Dutch, lying on the hammock with his Black Arrow, operated the bolt action and the shell popped out. "Right in the arse, as my friend would say it." He quipped before rolling of the floating broom onto the balcony.
He phased out his sniper rifle. Patchouli watched him and said. "You have some explaining to do."
"I do believe I do." He returned as Marisa landed in the garden with a thud and her bloomers smoking.
And so end our first afternoon at the SDM.
Thanks to sweebation for being proofreader and a great help all-round.
Expecting the kiss? Neither did i when i wrote this.
RNR. Please.