Another chapter after Vis's story. Feel free to give you opinion (if you actually have time to spare). It has been a long time so I'm not very sure about my writing here anymore.
Record 3 : Backtracking
"Losing your place to belong
Yet someone offer you another
What lies within the new horizon
Is it a peacful life or another tragedy?"
"So did you get all of that?" The elf girl says with a smile
"..." Erille stay quite for a moment, thinking about something "There are some parts that still leave me with a few question, but that much is enough to understand what you are."
"Is that so? Ahahaha, I'm not very good at telling story so... Anyway, where do you live? If you want, I can take you back." Elvis tries to change the subject.
"..." Not a very pleasant thing to hear, the people at the place Erille used to live is no more and returning to such a place is no doubt very dangerous. There might be other groups that might have already been there to search for any survivors. With such thoughts in mind, Erille answers.
"I don't have such a place. I'm wandering alone in this world."
"Eh? So you're a wanderer? No wonder you looks so tattered, you haven't been to any village at all lately right?"
Just regain consciousness not so long ago and Erille still have to be careful of being caught by those bad guys, of course Erille won't have time to even think about finding a settlement, that would be even riskier because those guys might be resting there. But above all else, Erille doesn't even know the location of any of the nearby village. The scientists always go there by themselves and Erille wasn't allowed to go very far from their settlement, and since it wasn't much of a problem, Erille didn't think of asking for information about such thing.
"Indeed, I haven't had any thought about that..." Erille says while looking at her hand.
"Well, I can take you to the nearby village once we have explored the ruins. Okay let's not waste any more time, let's go!" Elvis says cheerfully and quickly stands up.
"You're done resting already?" Erille says with a not very pleasant eyes.
"W-What's with that look? Is it wrong that I'm all good and ready?" Elvis blushes and complains.
"Maybe her strength is actually on spar with a monster...but whatever..." Erille holds onto the trees and stand up beside the elf "Forget it, let's just go. Lead the way please."
"Ok~ Make sure not to get lost." Elvis says with a smile while walking off ahead.
"I don't think losing sight is a problem since you're emitting a pretty strong energy reading yourself..."
The two continue their strange yet fateful first adventure together, to a nostalgic place of one.
"Ealonna, Reiber Village, Anne's Shop"
"Phew... that is better. Thanks Aida." Anne throws the paper into the trash can while petting head of a small girl.
"You...sure you didn't catch a cold, mom?" the little girl look up at Anne with a worried face.
"I'm fine. I'm fine, I don't feel weird or anything. Maybe some dust got into my nose." Anne smile happily with her daughter.
"Honestly, if you're not in good health, you should just say so. Your habit of keeping your own burden to yourself is no different." Roth barge in while still putting his sword back into its sheath.
"I'm not. Stop talking bad about me already." annoyed, Anne retorts "Aren't you too always tried to act cool even when you got a flu? Couldn't even walk properly yet still trying to show off."
"Geh... That was because I was on duty... Ah forget it, I'm going out now." Roth packs his stuff and signs for the other scouts to move out.
"Oh, going already?" Surprised, Anne quickly go over their desk.
"The ED is in that bag over there. Thanks for the meal." Roth says while going to the door.
Anne grabs the bag and tells Aida to help clean up the table. The little girl quickly go over, but before starting, she looks over to Roth's back "Mister Roth, be careful."
Roth waves back as a sign and the little girl just smiles and starts helping her mother out.
"Ealonna, Elarie Forest"
"Hey! I see something! It might be over there!" Elvis runs on ahead.
"Could you please stop being so loud? What if you attract another monster again?" Erille sigh and complain about Elvis's attitude.
"Don't worry, the animal around here are usually only Phorus. They won't be much of a harm if we just keep our guard up." The elf girl just put aside the Nasod words like they were nothing. It seems that finding traces of the ruins just made her extremely excited.
"That and we were almost roasted by a monstrous being you called Ancient Phoru" Erille protests with an annoyed tone, but not like it can reach the elf's ears.
"Why am I doing this anyway?" Erille thinks to herself "I was supposed to be looking for that place where the professor found me, but why am I with this woman going on exploration?" The small Nasod couldn't help but wonder, could it be that because of the fact that she isn't human that draw the little lost one toward this strange woman? Or is it because of a longing for someone to accompany you to get away from the loneliness? The Nasod can't decipher this at all, the thing so called emotion is still to hard to understand with her current limited knowledge.
"Wow! It's really is here! Eri, come over here, quickly" Elvis's loud voice snap Erille out of her thought "Right...coming." Erille reluctantly fasten her footstep and go over to Elvis's side.
"So what did you find?" Erille just ask "Over there, it looks really like an ancient ruins." Elvis point to the left.
"Really like? Does this one even have any knowledge about ruins?" Erille just want to give herself some rest "Oh really? Lemme see fo-" but upon turning her sight to where the elf were, the Nasod can't help but be shocked, the place lies before her is...
"That...can it be..." it all come back from deep within the Nasod's memory, the head scientist has shown her some record and image about the place where she was activated, the entrance to the place was exactly the same as the one Saeth showed her. Erille couldn't trace back to the place because when she was first awakened, she was still not functioning properly and couldn't save the data into herself. But to find it here, the little Nasod wonder to herself if this is purely coincidental or... is it intentional?
"..." Erille looks over to the elf girl, doubting that she could be up to something. How could she lead Erille to this place? Did she know about Erille's objective? The Nasod gives out an anxious look.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Elvis steps closer "H-Huh?! Ah...I was just..." Erille couldn't find a way to respond "Hehe, I know... you didn't expect me to find one so easily, did you? Isn't it cool?"
"..." Erille give out another dumbfounded look.
"But you know, for us elf, there is something call "Natural Instinct", especially in forests, we can find stuff we are looking for even when we don't know exactly where they are~" Elvis says proudly.
"Really?" Although not knowing much about this elf race, Erille find it hard to believe, especially with that woman saying it, and with that expression even.
"Huh? What's with that look? Y-You don't believe me?" Elvis becomes embarrassed.
"No...It's just that I don't really know how to respond...But..." Erille trying to say something logical.
"Muuu...Then I will just go in there and find something really great to prove it to you!" With that said the elf dashes right into the cave without even looking back.
"H-Hey!" Erille tries to call out to her but she's gone, fast just like a wind, in a bad way that is "Agh..."
The Nasod looks up at the cave entrance, a nostalgic feeling. This was the place where Saeth and the other found Erille's body. Now the loss of them drive Erille back to the place where lies the little Nasod origin... what could be waiting for this little being inside?
"Professor... I will go back now." As the Erille mumble, the Nasod walks down into the cave.
*Crash* "Ugyahhhh" a scream echoes just as Erille walks into the cave.
"! That idiot..." Erille quickly rushes down. As the Nasod run through the path, Erille could she the bow of the elf girl earlier lies on the ground. Erille quickly draws her spear and jumps over "What happened her-"
"Owie~" Elvis sits on the ground while rubbing her head "The floor here is made out of something slippery so I tripped, it hurts~" Apparently, she tripped and hit her head.
Erille almost trip over and fell when she see the scene, an unexplainable rage well up inside her robotic mind "Maybe I should erase you right now, to avoid unnecessary event in the future." and Erille lunges the spear right at the elf.
"Yikes! Why are you pointing that at me!? I'm the one who's hurting here!" Elvis uses her hand to catch the spear right before it pierce her eyes, using all her strength to push it back.
"Then I will help you no longer feel pain." Erille's face turn to that with utmost animosity.
"Ok, ok. I'm wrong for rushing, so please put this spear away~" Elvis tells Erille to put away the dangerous weapon as she trying to stop it from going any closer to her face.
After awhile of struggling, Erille manages to calm herself down and walk ahead.
"If you want to cause anymore trouble, please do it somewhere I can't hear. You're making my system react more than it should have." Erille growls.
"I didn't mean to do that...Sorry, though." Elvis picks up her bow and quickly follows Erille "Hey, wait for me."
"Don't follow me." Erille says "B-But there is only one way in here! How can I explore it if I don't go the same way as yours?" Elvis tries to defend herself "Then go outside and wait until I finished examining this place." Erille flicks her finger pointing at the way to the exist "That's not fair!"
The argument is going nowhere, and the two just keep going. Erille didn't notice that her argument with the elf has made her to put aside her painful memory in the past. Perhaps, this is for the best, since she still have her mission ahead.
17 minutes later.
"Uwaa...I'm tired..." Elvis falls down and starts to groaning.
"Why are you here complaining with me?" Erille looks at Elvis, annoyed
"But this place is like a maze, it keeps splitting up like a wormhole, and there are nothing but rocks with weird textures engraves on it, and they're all eroded. I can't keep them as souvenirs if they just gonna turn into sand." Elvis talks out without taking a single breath.
"Didn't I tell you not to follow me? Why don't you just take another route and then complain to yourself there?" Erille leans against a wall, resting her legs for a bit.
"Eh~ But it's dangerous for us girls to go alone in a dark and scary place like this. We have to stick together!" Elvis clenches her fist.
"Don't group me with someone like you..." Erille sighs and looks away.
A bit of quiet, it seems Elvis is checking something in her bag. Well it's good that it can be quiet for a moment, Erille is fed up with Elvis loud mouth anywa- "OH NO!"
Erille covers her ears (actually they're not ears but a parts to receive sound) "What now?"
"M-My crest...I forgot to find it." Elvis says with a shaking voice.
"Crest? Ah, that thing that made she yells at me." Before launching an attack on Elvis, Erille put it in the left pocket as a memento after she died.
"Oh no no no, if it was left in the forest like that. The Phorus will snatch it away and it might take months or even worse impossible to find it." Elvis holds her head and shakes violently.
"Hey...If you're talking about th-" Erille tries to take a word.
"Uwaa... The chief gives it to me as a symbol of our tribe and here I'm losing it."
The elf is not listening at all "Hey... Listen, I have your cr-"
"What should I do? Maybe I should go back? Wait, which way is it to the exist?"
-snap- Erille takes out her spear and smash it right into Elvis head "Kya!?"
The elf falls right into the ground with a big lump "H-Hey! What did you do that fo- Bleh!" before she could finished her sentences, a round, solid object flies right into her face "Ow... What's with you...Huh? T-This is!?"
It's a metal crest craved into with a green crystal that has an image of leaf being blow by the wind. It's a gift Elvis received from her day back at her home. It's looks like she got too caught up in various thing that she totally forgot that she was going to take it back from Erille, she doesn't even remember Erille is still holding it.
"You...hold onto th- Teh... Wait!" Elvis just notices that Erille has almost gone into the shadow and hurriedly chase after.
"Why is my system feels like is gonna explode anytime now? If I don't get away from her, I might detonate myself any moment." Erille keeps stomping heavily that leaves trait on the ground while making totally pissed off face.
"Eri! Eri! Wait up!" and the annoyances has caught up.
"You hold onto this for me right? Thank you a lot!" Elvis thanks was sincere but Erille pays no heed to it "I didn't hold onto it for you."
"Eh, then why didn't you keep it? You must have know it was mine and want to return it, if not you could just have keeps it and sells it later." Elvis puts up some theories to bind Erille but still no use.
"No use talking to her. She's being more and more ridiculous." Erille walks even faster, trying to ignore the elf. But before she know it, she hit something soft and bouncy "Buh?"
"You can't get away from me~ I'm very confident about my speed." Elvis is standing right in front of Erille while she was still walking so the Nasod sinks its whole face into that chest.
"Ugh...Let-me-go!" Erille tries to push Elvis aside and continue but was hold right back into those balloon like object "Muguu!?"
"Not so fast! I'm not done thanking you yet!" Elvis holds Erille tight, not letting the little one escape.
"Id yo wad to thah meh than ged aday fond me!" (If you want to thanks me then get away from me!) Erille tries to break free but to no avail.
"Eh? You want me to treat you for a day? Ehehe, that's okay, if it's just for a day. The thing you keep for me worth way more than that after all." Elvis releases Erille, who was buried under those bountiful chest of her.
"Gah, I did not mean that. And what's with that thing you put in your shirt? If I was a human, I would have died from the lack of air!" Erille swipes her face while asking.
"Huh? Put what? I didn't put anything here, what are you talking about" Elvis looks at her own body, wondering.
"Then what are those round, bouncy thing there?" Erille points straight at the elf bosom.
"Huh? These? They're just my chest, what are you talking about?" Elvis tilt her head in wonder.
"Eh? Is it?" Erille has never seen one with such a big and strange chest before. The little Nasod put her hand on her own and check, there is nothing that large. The scientist said her body structures was base on human, maybe only elf has that kind of body structure? Anyhow, it's intriguing but not very important at this point.
"Ok, whatever. If you're done with your talking then stand aside!" Erille pushes Elvis to the side and continues walking.
"Hey wait! Just what did you mean by that?" Elvis jumps before Erille but this time keeps moving backward to keep up with Erille's pace.
"I meant nothing, was just a thing I didn't know" Erille says blankly.
"Huh? You're talking weird, did you hit yourself somewhere?" Elvis tilts her head.
"I did. Into your chest that is!" Erille grinds her teeths "Just get out of my way alread-"
But because of rushing Erille legs got caught up with Elvis's "Eh? Woah!" "Ueh? Awaa!"
Both of the two falls through some debris blocking the way, making the dust in the area got blown all over the place.
"Nghh. That woman, she make things all mess up." Erille gets up and groan, there is something soft at the place Erille is sitting though.
"Uh...Um, Erille?" Elvis's voice can be heard faintly.
"Hm? H-Hey, what's wrong with you?" Erille notices that the elf is lying on the ground with a very weird expression.
"C-Can you get off me? Y-You're..."
When Erille looks back, the Nasod is sitting right on her "Ah"
"You're crushing me... You're too heavy..." That's right, that must be an expression of pain, weird one Erille must says. Being a machine, Erille weights many time heavier than an organic being, so being sit on by one is a pain. With that in mind, Erille just slowly get off the troublesome elf.
"Guhah...Good thing I didn't have any bones broken, I thought I would have to be hospitalized." Elvis hold onto her waist in tears.
"That's what you got for getting in my way." Erille says with an obvious face.
"You're cruel~ I was just trying to show my gratitude."
"I don't need it!" Erille turns away "But why are these thing blocking the way." Erille says while looking back at the debris.
"Eri, looks!" Elvis pokes Erille's shoulder "What?" Erille looks back at Elvis direction.
Before her is a mechanical door, with a very familiar textures on it. It's the same "Nasod Door" that Saeth shows her back in the day.
"This...is the El Reactor Door." Erille says in awe.
"The El Rewhater Door?" Elvis tries to repeat it but fail.
"This is... inside here must be it!" Erille quickly springes up and run over to try to open the door.
"Huh? Do you know what is inside, Eri?" Elvis stands up with a puzzled look.
Erille didn't pay her any attention and keep trying to find a way to open the door, but it seems that it won't even budge.
"Hey, don't ignore me like that." Elvis pouts at Erille.
"Kuh...It's not moving, did it runs out of energy? Erille struggling.
"Why are you so interested in getting in there? Hm? What's with this round thingy?" Elvis look to left upper corner of the door.
Elvis can feels a resonate wave coming from the round object above, it seems that it's reacting to her El energy.
"What's with that? Hm? It's coming from over there too." Elvis looks over to the middle right, it resonate the same over there "That's weird."
Elvis moves over to the middle one at the right since it is easier to reach "Hm..." She puts her hand on it "This thing is resonating with my energy...How about channeling a bit?"
Elvis channels her energy and suddenly the round object flash, then filled with a turquoise light "Huh? It lightens up?"
"What?" As Erille notices the sudden change, immediately the Nasod rushes over "What did you do?" Erille asks suddenly.
"Huh? What did I do? I just channel my energy because I think this thing was calling out for it." Elvis trying to explain what she was thinking.
"This... is wind energy...!... Vis, do you know your attributes?" Erille hurriedly change the subject.
"Attributes? Ah, you mean the El energy elements that we have naturally in our body?" Elvis caught up.
"That's right, this one react to your wind attributes. Do you have any other one?" Erille keeps the questions coming.
"Eh ah, I think we elves all have nature attributes within us." Elvis is feeling awkward due to Erille sudden rush.
"Do you feel anything else that resonate with your energy?"
"Um...That one over there." Elvis points at the round one at the upper left.
"If my theory is right, then with this... Maybe..." Erille seems to have figures something out "But if so...we're still lacking light..."
"Vis, do you have anything that contains El energy with attributes?"
"Eh? I have a light spear, a few nature orbs and a can of el extracted juices..." Elvis flustering trying to list what she has.
"Let me borrow that light spear! And you go over to that core and channels energy into it!" Erille gives out order.
"Y-Yes!" Elvis quickly take out wrapped light spear and hands it over to Erille then quickly dashes over the other side. Erille also follows.
"What's wrong with Eri? She is more agitated that usual." Elvis looks at the Nasod with a worry look, but immediately got swipe away.
"Hmph!" Erille unwraps the spear and stab it into the bottom core on the left, the spear immediately lose it color, and the core shine with a yellow glow.
"W-Wow, did it absorb the spear's energy?" Elvis says, fascinated.
"Indeed, this door need a certain amounts of el energy from all attributes to be activated." Erille explains as she works through. "Get on my shoulder!"
"Huh?" Elvis didn't quite catch that
"I said get on my shoulder so you can reach that one up there easier. I will try to figure out what the middle one requires" Erille explains.
"O-Okay, here I go" Elvis takes a step back and jump onto Erille shoulder and balancing herself "Phew, this is not too hard. Don't shake, ok?"
Then the elf slowly reach out to the door core, and channel her nature energy. Of course that one also light up, with a greenish glow. The elf immediately get off the Nasod shoulder, worrying.
"Umm... Are you ok?" Elvis says, her face looks a bit embarrassed.
"? Nothing wrong at all? Why did you ask?" Erille doesn't quite get it.
"Eh...No! Don't worry about it! Keep doing what you're doing! Ahahaha~" Elvis laughs weirdly, elf is hard to understand.
"? Let's see, looks like this one need water attributes. I have absorbed some already so let's sort it out." Erille closes eyes to focus, a glow of purple ligh appears on Erille's palm then another light blue got mixed in.
It was slower than Elvis's, but the core slowly light up with a blue light.
"Now to the other side" Erille rushes over to the right side.
The bottom core got light up instantly with a purple light when Erille just touch it "Now to the last."
Erille summons a spear and stab it into the ground then jump onto it to reach the upper core.
"The energy from that Phoru is actually useful now..." Erille do the same as the water one, after awhile the core light up with a red light.
With all of the core light up, the El energy flow onto the top core, mixing with each other. And the door slowly open itself.
"It's opened! Eri it actually opened!" Elvis shouts.
"Good" Erille jumps down and take her spear "Let's get inside." and the Nasod walks in first.
"O-Okay. This is getting more interesting than I thought!" Elvis quickly follows.
And the two step into another secret, the same place, but now a different secret unfold.
Ealonna, Elarie Forest, West of Aolan Plains.
"Hahhhhh!" Roth smashes his sword rapidly into the ground, throwing everything around him off balance "Eat this!" and with his last circular swing, all the monster around him got knocked out of sense.
"Captain! We cleared the area. All the monsters are down!" another scout reports.
"Good work... But how did these creatures become so hostile? And they are many times stronger than they should be too..." Roth says while looking at the fallen creatures he just defeated.
"It not just in this area, we heard that the assaults is occuring all over Elarie, but this place seems to have the most cases,sir."
"Damn it... What could be going on?" Roth tightens his grip.
"Captain Roth!" another scouts come.
"What is it?"
"Sir, we just spotted a suspicious group. They seems to be carrying a weird item and is acting very strange."
"Weird item? Can you explain it clearer?" Roth asks
"It looks like a glowing gem and we can feels a large source of power within it. And those people seems to keep a high guard over it."
"...Wait a minute. Where did you find them!?"
"Near the El tree in the middle of Elarie Forest,sir."
"It... That is not possible, that place is full of guardian... Damn it!" Roth seems to have figured out the situation "Recall all troops! We are to head to the El tree and engage with that group immediately"
"Yes, sir!" all the scouts respond.
"Those who know the exact location, lead the way! You two, one go find another group and lead them toward the outskirt, do not let without a license through! One go back to the village and let the chief know of the situation! All those who are left, follow me!" Roth gives out details order to all the scouts, before all of them move out.
"Damn it. If what was said is true...and that gem is that... then those freaks don't know what they are toying with." Roth grinds his teeth whiles running after the leading scouts.
Ok, that make another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. Feels free to criticize.