Chapter 6 The Staff of Destruction.
The next morning…
At the Tristain Academy of Magic, there was much commotion from last night's events, just as though a wasp's nest had been stirred.
Why? Because the Staff of Destruction had been stolen.
And it was brazenly stolen by using an Earth Golem to break through the wall of the vault.
The teachers of the Academy of Magic gathered inside the vault were speechless when they saw the gaping hole in the wall.
The inscription on the wall etched by Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt said it all:
[I have the Staff of Destruction. – Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt.]
At this point in time, all the teachers at the academy could do was gripe and whine
"It's that thief who had looted the nobles clean, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt! How daring of him to target the academy!"
"What were the guards doing?"
"Even if the guards are around, they're useless! They're only commoners!"
Old Osmand gently stroked his long beard while looking around
"The staff of destruction has been stolen. We have minimal clues to go on..." commented one of the teachers
"Well, that's the situation that we're in now. I think all of us, including myself, have to be held accountable for this incident. Why did we think that a thief could never infiltrate the academy? Is it because of the number of mages we have in the academy here that gives us the assurance that we won't be attacked? This type of thinking is wrong from the beginning."
Old Osmand gazed at the hole in the wall and continued, "It's our complacency that has gave Fouquet the courage to trespass, and steal the Staff of Destruction. We're all at fault."
"Lets head up to my office then. We have some students who witnessed the theft first hand."
***Break***
"Well then, who were the ones who witnessed the theft?" Osmand asked.
"It was these three." said Mr. Colbert while pointing to the three people behind him.
It was Louise, Kirche and Tabitha. Zero was also present but due to the fact that he was a familiar, he wasn't counted as a "person".
"Oh… It's you guys…" Osmand said as he looked at Zero with great interest.
Zero looked back at him. While the old man looked foolish, something about him set off alarms. He wasn't half so useless as he appeared. He didn't sense anything threatening, but he also could tell the old man was more than he let on.
"Please tell us about the event in depth."
Louise stepped forward and described what she saw. "A great clay golem appeared and broke the wall. The hooded magician standing on its shoulder went in and took something… I think it most probably was the Staff of Destruction...Zero attacked them, but they disappeared. The golem became a big mound of earth in the end."
"After that, what happened?"
"Later, all we saw was a mound of earth, with no sign of the hooded mage."
"So… that is what happened…" Osmand said while stroking his beard.
"Even though we wanted to carry on the chase, but without any leads we couldn't. So…"
At this point in time Old Osman suddenly remembered a question to ask Mr. Colbert, "Ah, Where is Miss Longueville?"
"I'm not sure, I haven't seen her since morning."
"Where could she have gone to during these trying times?"
"That's right, where could she be?"
In the midst of those mutterings, Miss Longueville finally appeared.
"Miss Longueville! Where have you been? Something terrible has happened!" said Mr. Colbert anxiously.
Miss Longueville spoke to Old Osmand in a very cool and calm manner. "I'm extremely sorry that I'm late! I was doing some investigations. So…"
"Investigations?" the older man questioned her.
"Yes. When I woke up this morning there was already a lot of commotion happening, so then I went to the vault and saw the inscription on the wall made by Fouquet. I knew that the thief infamous throughout the land had struck again. Therefore, I immediately started investigations."
"You're really very efficient, Miss Longueville." Mr. Colbert said admiringly, then asked again in an urgent manner, "But in the end, did you find out anything?"
"Yes, I have gotten hold of the whereabouts of Fouquet."
"What!" Mr. Colbert spoke with amazement. "Where did you get this information from Miss Longueville?"
"According to the commoners around the area, they saw what seemed to be like a person wearing a black hooded cloak entering an abandoned house in the nearby forest. I think that the person is most probably Fouquet and that abandoned house is most probably his hideout."
Louise upon hearing that exclaimed, "A black hooded cloak? Unmistakable, that must be Fouquet!"
Old Osmand too got psyched up and asked Miss Longueville, "How far is it from here?"
"By foot it takes half a day, by horse it should only take four hours."
"We must report this to the Imperial Court right away! We must seek reinforcements from the imperial army!" Mr. Colbert shouted yet again.
Old Osmand shook his head and stared at Colbert and with a vigor unfitting for an old man and shouted, "You fool! By the time we report this to the imperial court, Fouquet would have gotten away Scott free! Besides, if we can't even handle such a small problem on our own, we're not fit to be called nobles! Since the staff was stolen from the academy, then it's the academy's responsibility to get back the staff ourselves!"
Miss Longueville smiled, as though she was waiting for this answer all along.
Old Osman coughed for a while, and then started recruiting volunteers. "Now, we're going to organize a search team to find Fouquet. Those willing to join, please rise up your wands."
All of the nobles looked at each other awkwardly, not one raised a wand.
"No one? That's peculiar. No one wants to be known as the hero who caught Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?"
Louise was among those who lowered their heads but she decided to raise her wand.
"Miss Vallière!" Mrs. Chevreuse exclaimed in surprise. "You mustn't do this! You're still a student! Please leave this to the teachers!"
"But none of you are willing to help…" Louise muttered.
Zero looked at Louise. The rather serious look on Louise coupled with her gently biting her lips looked earnest that it had captivated Zero. Ah well, with him there she'd be in no real danger.
Seeing that Louise had raised her wand, Kirche too raised her wand.
Mr. Colbert even more surprised, exclaimed; "Miss Zerbst! Aren't you a student too?"
Kirche replied nonchalantly, "Well, I simply cannot lose to the Vallière family."
Seeing Kirche raising her wand, Tabitha did the same.
"Tabitha! You need not do this! This does not concern you at all!" Kirche said.
Tabitha just answered, "I'm worried."
Feeling touched, Kirche looked at Tabitha with gratitude.
Louise at the same time also muttered, "Thank you… Tabitha."
Seeing the three of them, Old Osmand laughed and said, "Well then, it's all up to you three now."
"Sir! Headmaster Osmand! I strongly object! We must not put the lives of our students in danger!"
"Well, would you then go in their stead, Mrs. Chevreuse?"
"Ah... Erm… Well… I'm not feeling very well recently, so…"
"They have seen Fouquet before plus, even though Miss Tabitha here is very young, I have heard that she has already been conferred the title of chevalier, am I right?"
Tabitha did not answer and just stood quietly.
All the teachers looked at Tabitha in astonishment.
"Is that true, Tabitha?" asked Kirche in similar astonishment.
Once again, there was great commotion inside the vault.
Old Osmand went on and looked on Kirche and said, "Miss Zerbst from Germania comes from a family of distinguished war heroes, and she herself has a very strong background in fire magic."
Kirche flicked her hair with confidence.
Louise, thinking that it was time for her to be praised too, cutely stood to attention.
Old Osman was now in a pinch. There was almost nothing to praise about Louise…
"Ahem!" Clearing his throat, Osman veered his sight clear of Louise and said; "That... Miss Vallière comes from the prestigious Vallière Family, a family renowned for their mages. And… She'll be a promising one in the future… and as for her familiar…"
Placing his gaze on Zero, Osmand continued saying; "Even though he's a commoner, he has defeated General Gramont's son, Guiche de Gramont in battle." Old Osmand thought to himself: and if he really is the legendary Gandálfr… "Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt should not be a match for him."
Mr. Colbert also enthusiastically added; "Yes! Yes! Because he is the legendary Gand…"
Old Osmand hastily covered Mr. Colbert's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "A.. Hahaha… He's talking nonsense! Haha!..."
Then there was silence again.
Then Headmaster Osmand in a solemn tone spoke, "If anyone thinks that they're more capable than the mentioned three, please step forward."
No one stepped forward.
Therefore Old Osmand turned to the group of four and said, "The academy awaits the capture of Fouquet then!"
Louise, Kirche and Tabitha stood to attention and said, "We swear upon our wands to capture Fouquet!"
After that they pulled the edges of their skirts and made a curtsy. Zero nodded in acceptance of the mission, and below his breath muttered,"Mission, start", with a smile. It somehow seemed traditional. That's how it was supposed to go, right?
"Well then, ready the carriage and set off right away. You must conserve your energy before you reach your destination."
"Miss Longueville, could you go with them, too?"
"Yes, Headmaster Old Osman. I had wanted to go with them as well," said Miss Longueville.
So under the lead of Miss Longueville, the four quickly set off.
Even though it was considered a carriage, in actual fact it was just a cart with wooden planks attached as a seat. The good thing about it though was that if they were attacked, they could easily jump out of the carriage right way.
Miss Longueville was in charge of driving the carriage.
Kirche asked the silent Longueville who was concentrating on the reins, "Miss Longueville, this type of job could be done by a commoner. Why do you have to do it yourself?"
Miss Longueville smiled and answered; "It's all right. I'm not a noble anyway."
Kirche paused for a while, and asked again, "But aren't you Headmaster Osmand's secretary?"
"And a rather competent one at that. Managing to get this far and back to the school in such a short period of time" Zero said from behind her.
"I am his secretary, but Old Osmand isn't a person who is concerned by a person's status when looking for help. Whether if he's a noble or commoner don't seem to matter to him."
"A noble who believes in the merit of actions. How novel" Zero said, with a smile on his face.
"If it's possible, tell me in depth how you lost your status, please." Kirche asked suddenly.
But Miss Longueville just smiled at Kirche. It seemed like she did not want to speak anymore.
"Just tell me please, even if it's just a little." Kirche pestered as she began leaning closer to Miss Longueville. Just then she felt someone grabbing her shoulder. It was Louise. Kirche then turned around and said, "What is it that you want, Vallière?"
"Forget it. Stop raking up someone's past." Louise growled at her.
"Humph, I'm bored, that's why I needed some one to talk to". Kirche replied while placing her hands behind her head and laying against the side of the carriage.
"I do not know if this applies to your country, but in Tristain, it's a shameful act to force someone to reveal something that he or she does not want to say."
Kirche did not answer her. She got up and sat in a cross legged position and began saying, "It's all because of your impetuousness that got me into this mess. Capturing Fouquet…"
Louise gave an angry stare at Kirche, "What do you mean by that? Didn't you volunteer yourself in?"
"If you had came alone, wouldn't Zero be in danger, too? Am I right, Louise the Zero?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Anyways, if that large golem appeared again, you would surely run to the rear and let Zero do all the fighting, right?"
"Why would I run away? I would use my magic, you'll see!."
"You, using magic? What a joke!"
"Besides, you're the one who ran away last night, not me!" Louise stated imperiously. She knew that Kirche couldn't deny that.
The two started bickering again. Tabitha continued reading her book.
"That's enough! Would you both please stop it?" Zero interrupted. They looked at him, and noticed that he was holding his left arm tightly.
"Zero, are you ok?"Louise asked.
"I'm fine. Just... a kink in my muscle i think" Zero lied. He'd been doing a diagnostic since his arm started hurting. According to his diagnostics something was wrong. He was getting readings he hadn't gotten from his body since before Omega had usurped it. He couldn't help but wonder what the hell was happening to him or his systems. First crying, now these false readings, and this almost unbearable pain shooting the length of his arm.
Kirche did a gesture and said, "Fine, I'll stop. I'm not the one at fault anyway."
Louise bit her lips.
Louise stared at Zero. She was sure he wasn't telling the full truth, but didn't know how to press him.
Suddenly, it turned dark. The carriage had entered the forest. The darkness and the weird smell present in the forest sent shivers down the girls' spines.
"We'll have to walk from here onwards." Miss Longueville said. The group then disembarked from the carriage, and proceeded to the small path into the forest.
"I'm afraid of the dark and don't like the feeling around here…" Kirche said while wrapping her arms around Zero's.
"Could you not keep so close to me?" Zero asked. He really could do without Louise's constant complaints.
"But I'm afraid!" Kirche said with exaggerated reaction. Anyone could tell that she was lying.
Zero, worried about Louise, glanced at her.
Louise turned her head away. "Humph"
The group reached a clearing in the forest. It was roughly the size of the Vestri Court and in the middle was an abandoned house. The house was built from wood with a corroded stove. You could tell the years hadn't been kind to it.
The group hid behind the bushes and observed the house.
Miss Longueville pointed to the house and said, "From the information I've gathered, that should be the place."
"Looks like no one is inside. Is Fouquet really hiding there?"
The group started discussing, using sticks to draw their battle plan on the ground. They all agreed that ambushing him was the best way. All the better if he was sleeping. Zero looked on, amused at their simple plan.
Firstly, they would need to scout around the house and know what is going inside. After that if Fouquet was in fact inside, the scout will draw him out, because there is not enough earth inside the house for him to create an earth golem. Once outside, the rest would all cast their magic against him, without letting him have a chance to summon his golem.
"So who is going to lure him out?" Zero asked.
Tabitha replied, "The one with the best reflexes."
All stared at Zero.
"Me? Sorry, I have my own plan" Zero sighed. He drew out Lord Deflinger, and then pointed it at Miss Longueville, "Ok, Fouquet, why did you lead us out here?"
The runes on his left hand started glowing. At the same time Zero felt his body becoming light again. The pain in his arm seemed to cease.
"What are you talking about?" Longueville stared at the familiar in shock.
"You heard me. I saw your face clear as day last night. I wondered what your act was for, so I indulged in my curiosity." Zero said simply.
"What!" Longueville drew her wand, and started to cast a spell, only to have her wand shattered with a swing she couldn't see.
"Not sure how you got away last night, but without your wand, you won't again" Zero said with a simple logic.
"Damn you" Fouquet was both angry and terrified. The familiar had somehow manged to get to the top of her golem last night, although that demonic sword it was using wasn't in its hands, she knew his capabilities weren't human.
"You can either talk or I can end this. Either way, this is boring me" Zero said simply. his fingers deftly turning the blade end over end in a seemingly relaxed fashion.
"You wouldn't dare" Fouquet answered, "You're just a child, you don't have the stomach to do anything"
"I've probably ended more lives than you can imagine. Ending one more that seems to have no problem sacrificing the lives of children won't cause me any issues" Zero stated, the sword stopped spinning as he held the blade to her throat, millimeters from ending her life.
Tabitha waved her staff at the door and muttered, "There's no trap." She then opened the door and went inside the house.
Kirche and Louise just watched Zero and Fouquet face off. "Well then, i guess this is it" Zero draw the blade back and at the end of his arc, flipped it as he he slammed it into her gut. Fouquet fell to the ground unconscious.
After a few minutes, Tabitha exited the house with a box."The Staff of Destruction." Tabitha said while waving it around.
"Isn't this too easy?" Kirche exclaimed.
Zero looked at the Staff of Destruction and said with astonishment, "Kirche, is this really the Staff of Destruction?"
Kirche nodded and said, "Unmistakably, I saw it once during my tour of the treasure vault.
Zero brought the "staff "closer and examined it closely. "If I'm not wrong this is a …" his voice faded as he recognized the insignia for the maverick hunters. This was a high powered rocket launcher given to the 'grunts' that were lead by the more experienced hunters... It was a lower generation model though. If he remembered right, it was probably from before Sigma had revolted. But how could that be?
"Recognize?" Tabitha asked quietly.
"Yeah. Its a weapon from my world. Its old though. Limited ammunition. It fires single shot high yield rounds. Could probably have destroyed that golem of hers in a single round. But this thing has to be over two hundred years old." Zero was concerned. How many more things were there from his world here. And why just weapons?
"Dangerous" Tabitha responded, with a nod from Louise and Kirche.
"Well, we should get going" Zero picked up Fouquet and slung her over his shoulders, picking up the box that held the staff in his other hand with ease.
***Break***
Inside the headmaster's office, Headmaster Osmand listened to the group's account of what happened.
"Hmm… So Miss Longueville is Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt… Because she's such a beauty I did not think twice about hiring her as my secretary."
"How did you go about hiring her?" Mr. Colbert asked.
"In a tavern. I was a customer while she was a waitress there. Where I slowly caressed her from her hands down to her buttocks…"
"Then what happened?" Mr. Colbert asked again.
Headmaster Osmand embarrassingly confessed, "Because she wasn't angry at all after what I did, I asked her whether she wanted to become my secretary or not."
"Why?" The bewildered Mr. Colbert continued asking.
"Anyways!" Headmaster Osmand cried out using vigor unfitting for an old man. Osmand started coughing. And said sedately, "She could use magic, too."
"Yeah, magic that could kill." Mr. Colbert mumbled to himself.
Headmaster Osmand coughed again then told Mr. Colbert in a prudent manner, "Come to think of it, the reason that Fouquet allowed me to touch her all over the place, served me wine happily, and praised that I was a handsome man, while I was in the tavern, was just to infiltrate the academy. All those praises were most probably just lies…"
"Yes. Beautiful women are deadly mages."
"I couldn't agree more with you, Colbert."
Zero, Louise, Kirche and Tabitha stared blankly at the two, although Zero became the center of attention a moment later when his palm hit his head rather loudly. "That's it. That's the excuse? Jeez, you guys are as bad as Axl!" Zero shouted, laughter leaking into his voice. He wasn't sure if this was hilarious, or sad. It probably was a little of both.
The embarrassed Osmand cleared his throat and regained his solemn composure."A job well done for all of you, you have returned the Staff of Destruction and captured Fouquet."
The three besides Zero acknowledged proudly. He just looked unconcerned.
"Fouquet will be handed over to the town guards, and the Staff of Destruction will be returned back to the treasure vault. Finally the case is closed."
Gently caressing each of the trio's heads, Osman said, "I have requested the imperial court to confer upon you the title of Chevalier, I believe that we should have news of it soon. And since Tabitha already has the title of chevalier, I have requested that she be given the Elven Medallion."
The trio's faces brightened up upon hearing the news.
"Really?" Kirche said astoundingly.
"Yes. You have done more than enough to deserve this title. Haven't you?"
Louise gazed at Zero who was listless since they entered the office. She could tell something was bothering him.
"Headmaster Osmand, Zero… won't get anything?"
"I'm afraid not. Because he's not a noble…"
Zero replied with a rather amused tone, "I don't need anything. I'm just a tool after all. Standard noble operating procedure. Us common tools are to be used so that the powerful nobles can chase skirts, right?" Zero laughed at the now embarrassed Osmand and Colbert. He knew he hit close to home on that.
Headmaster Osmand gently clapped his hands together, and said, "I almost forgot, Tonight's Ball of Frigg will resume as planned since we have gotten back the Staff of Destruction."
Kirche's face brightened up. "That's right. Let's forget about Fouquet and dance all night long!"
"The main attraction of the ball will be you three. So go get ready and dress up!"
The three bowed, and left through the door.
Louise stopped and looked at Zero.
"You go first." Zero told Louise.
Even though Louise was still worried, she nodded and left the room.
Osman turned to Zero and said, "You have something to ask me?"
Zero nodded.
"Please ask. I'll try to answer your question to the best of my abilities. Even though I couldn't confer you a title, this is the least I can do to show my appreciation."
Immediately after that, he asked Mr. Colbert to leave the room. Mr. Colbert, who was waiting for Zero to speak, looked quite disappointed as he left.
After Mr. Colbert left, Zero looked at seriously and stated, "The Staff of Destruction was originally from my world."
Osmand's eyes gleamed. "Originally from your world?"
"I'm not from this world."
"Is this true?"
"It is. I was transported to this world due to Louise's summoning."
"I see. If that's the case…" Osmand squinted his eyes.
"The Staff of Destruction was a weapon from my world. From an organization I was a part of. Who was the person who brought it to this world?"
Osmand sighed and said, "The one who gave the Staff of Destruction was my savior."
"Where is the person now? That person is definitely from the same world as me."
"He died. That was over thirty years ago…"
"What did you say?" Zero couldn't understand it. The weapon was over two hundred years old. This didn't make any sense.
"Thirty years ago, while I was strolling inside the forest, I was attacked by a two headed dragon. The one who saved me was the owner of the Staff of Destruction. He used another Staff of Destruction to kill the two headed dragon and then collapsed. He was already injured at that time. I transported him to the academy and treated his wounds. But to no avail…We haven't told anyone about it, but the man... Wasn't a man"
"He wasn't human was he?" Zero asked simply
"He had skin like you or I, but I suppose you could say he wasn't human. I have no idea exactly what he was. He was almost like a golem, but was closer to biological though. Our healing magics had no effect on him though.
"And he died?" Well, knowing he couldn't be healed by magic was a pretty good thing to know Zero thought.
Headmaster Osmand nodded.
"I buried the Staff of Destruction that he had used to save me along with him in his grave, the other one I named the Staff of Destruction and kept it inside the vault in order to commemorate my savior…"
Osman gazed far away and said, "While he was resting on the bed till the day he died, he kept saying repeatedly 'Where is this place? I need to get back, the out break!' It sounded dreadful. I do not know what it was he needed to get back to... But I guess that he must be from the same world as yours."
"Yes... without a doubt. Who was the one who brought him to this world then?"
"I don't know. Right till the end, I still had no idea how he ended up here."
"Damn it! Just when I thought that I had a clue." Zero swore. The clue had led him into a dead end. Osmand's savior was most probably a soldier of the early maverick hunters, probably before Sigma himself had gone maverick. But how did he end up in this world? Even though Zero wanted to know badly, there was nothing he could do.
Osmand held Zero's left hand, "The runes on your hand…"
"Oh yes. I wanted to ask about that, too. Once the runes glow, I feel exceptionally light, and strong…"
Osmand pondered for a moment and said, "…That I know. That is the runes of "Gandálfr", the legendary familiar."
"The runes of the legendary familiar?"
"Yes. Gandálfr was a legendary familiar who could use any weapon at will."
Zero was confused. "…Then, why am I the legendary familiar?"
"I don't know." Osman quickly replied.
"I'm sorry. But there is a possibility that the runes of Gandálfr are related to you being transported to this world." he said apologetically. After a short pause he looked at Zero, "Hmm... would you mind if I examined them? Something has felt off every time you've entered this room."
"Sure. At this point I just want what information i can get" Zero said, offering his left hand to the old man after removing his gauntlet.
"Odd. Its not glowing, as it was in your fight with Guiche... But oddly enough i still sense its power working. Its weak, but still there. Why would it do that, its only supposed to do such a thing when you are wielding a weapon" The old man looked positively confused.
"Hmm" Zero could only think of one possibility, "Hey, Osmand. What if I were to tell you that I was created to be a weapon?"
"What?" The old man looked at the youngster in front of him. A boy of his age? As he looked at Zero he saw the seriousness etched into his face. This was cruel beyond words. "Who would do such a thing to so young a child?" the old man shouted with more vigor than Zero expected. After a few moments the old man got a hold of himself, his face slightly flush with anger, "You bring up an interesting point. The runes would probably always be active, but there is so little information to go by. It does seem to explain why your runes didn't glow when you destroyed the first Golem when you fought Guiche..."
"You were at the fight? I didn't see you there" Zero was sure he hadn't been in the crowd.
"Well, I do tend to scry the larger happenings that go on in this school, especially to ones I find interesting. And a commoner giving an important lesson to a noble is one never to miss. But that's besides the point. It seemed that your runes didn't glow until you had gotten truly angry. When you talked about not bowing, your runes started to glow. Perhaps for the full effect of the runes to work you must have the resolve to use them"
"What?" Zero was beginning to understand. Was he always at least somewhat empowered by the runes, since they were always active? What could having a constant flow of magic into him do to what was essentially a construct of science. Zero waited for the headmaster to put his thoughts into words.
"Magic isn't unlimited. And neither are your powers as a familiar one would reason. If you were always using your powers at full, it would probably burn you, or the power out eventually. While magic isn't perfect, you're part of a great legacy. It was probably made with these fail safes in mind." He pulled on his beard slightly as he pondered the ramifications. He also wondered who did this to the boy. At least Colbert hadn't heard that. He was the type to get upset at these things.
"Thanks. At least its good to know a little more about this" Zero said, putting his gauntlet back on his hand.
"I'm sorry that I could not be of much help. I'll always be on your side, Gandálfr!" Osmand hugged Zero, much to his surprise. "I must thank you once again for bringing back the possession of my benefactor."
"It's all right…"Zero said "Not hugging me again would be the first thank you I'll accept." Zero couldn't help but wonder what was up with these people and hugging him all the time. He could almost hear Alia making a joke about him being too Androgynous.
***Break***
On top of Alvíss Dining Hall, there is a great hall. That is where the ball was being held. Zero leaned on the railings of the balcony and looked at the grand reception. He felt the fool dressed up as he was. Few people had even recognized him without his signature armor and helmet. He'd rarely had to use his civilian guise, seeing as X was the one who always made it to the political functions. While not appropriate for combat, the sleek black suit he wore was a lot less threatening than a fully loaded maverick hunter among a group of politicians. For some reason Zero never understood, they always got so antsy around compact doomsday weapons walking among them fully armed and armored. What was the worst that could happen? While not quite as grand as many of the things worn here, his sleek, simple style combined with the higher quality fabric simply seemed to highlight the fact that he was built to be better than others without all the excessive adornments. The crimson cloak that Louise had given him made it seem a good combination, keeping his normal color scheme going. The only real concern Zero had, was the effort it took to change his armor. Normally his other armors were stored as data and energy within him. When he had switched, converting it had been much harder than usual. Zero wondered what could have caused the problem, but shrugged it off. He'd just avoid using that system more than was required.
The students and teachers who were dressed grandly gathered around tables filled with exquisite food and chatted amongst themselves. Zero arrived through a flight of stairs leading up to the balcony. Seeing them, Zero felt that he would not fit in at all and therefore, decided not to enter.
Next to Zero was some food and a bottle of wine that Siesta had brought for him earlier. He poured himself a glass of wine and drank it.
"This is a party partner. Aren't ya gonna join in?" asked Derflinger which was leaning on the balcony. "I mean, you polished up nice for this, so why not have some fun?"
"We don't need to party. We're just weapons, remember?" Zero said, somewhat bitterly.
Just before the ball started Kirche, who was beautifully dressed in an evening gown was accompanying Zero. But as soon as the ball started she was nowhere to be seen.
Zero had no choice but to use Derflinger as a companion to drive away boredom. At least he was good for conversation, minus the whole "Go join the party" spiel he got every once in a while.
In the middle of the dance floor, Kirche was surrounded by a group of young males, talking and laughing.
Tabitha dressed in a black gown feasted away on the sumptuous food on the table. It was one of the few times he saw her sans book. He had to admit, he liked her. No nonsense, good head on her shoulders. But something seemed off. He'd figure it out later.
Looks like everyone is enjoying the dance to the fullest Zero thought. Well, they earned it I suppose. They volunteered for a potentially dangerous mission when the 'responsible' adults had shown their true colors. His attention was drawn to a sudden commotion.
The doors to the great hall opened and Louise appeared.
The guards at the door notified everyone on her arrival. "The daughter of Duke Vallière, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière arrives!"
Zero held his breath. Louise was dressed in a white evening gown with her long, strawberry hair tied up into a pony tail. Her hands were covered by pure white gloves. Her petite face along with her low cut evening gown made her sparkle like a gem.
After confirming that the guest had arrived, the musicians started playing music that was extremely soothing to the ears. All around Louise were males that were captivated by Louise's beauty asking for a dance with her. Before this, no one ever realized Louise's beauty and only thought of her as "Louise the Zero." Now, that same group of males were trying to win her heart.
The nobles started dancing gracefully on the dance floor. Louise turned down everyone's invitation for a dance, saw Zero on the balcony and headed over. Louise stood in front of Zero and placed her arms on her waist, "Looks like you're not even trying to enjoy yourself" She said.
"Not really…" Zero moved his gaze away from the dazzling Louise.
Derflinger said, "Girl, don't you think the clothes really do make the man? I was surprised when I saw him without his armor"
"Maybe a little." conceded Louise, who was staring at Zero.
"Aren't you going to dance?" Zero asked while avoiding Louise's gaze.
"I have no dance partner." Louise replied.
"You had a good number of offers, it seemed." Zero noted.
"Zero, do you really think I might be something special?" Louise asked after a short pause. There was some note of desperation in it that Zero caught immediately.
"I wouldn't have said so if I didn't think so." he looked back over the balcony. The two moons were still surreal to him.
"Zero.." she said hesitantly.
"What?" He asked, looking at her.
Louise did not answer, she just extended her hand.
"Huh?"
"Even though you're just a familiar, I could make an exception." The blushing Louise said while avoiding Zero's gaze.
"Don't you mean 'Could I have this dance?'?" Zero asked while trying to avoid Louise's gaze.
After a moment of silence, Louise sighed.
"Only for today!" she said.
Louise then held the ends of her dress and made a curtsy.
"May I have a dance, sir?"
These actions made the bashful Louise look even more cute and alluring than ever before.
Zero gave her a stately bow, the first she'd ever seen him give. She was captivated how his hair seemed to flow perfectly as he took her hand mid bow, and together, they walked towards the dance floor.
"I have never danced before." Zero said conversationally.
"Just follow my rhythm," Louise said, and then gently held onto Zero's hand. Zero imitated Louise's actions and followed her rhythm. As he scanned the party, he began to move more confidently as he copied the other males who seemed more competent than the others.
"You've never danced before, hmm?" she asked laughing "I'm pretty sure I can call your bluff, good sir,"
"Oh, I might not be half as good as my old partner at copying things, but I do make use of what poor talent I have been gifted with," Zero said with false modesty, as he stepped a bit more confidently, taking the lead.
Louise laughed, a sound that made Zero smile. She looked up at him, "A weapon couldn't dance so well, I don't think" to which Zero just chuckled. "Zero..The Staff of Destruction… It's a weapon from your world isn't it?" Louise lowered her head and asked, "Do you wish to go back?"
"Yes. I want to go back, but since there's no way to go back yet, I'll have to get used to life here for a while."
"You're right…" Louise muttered to herself as they continued dancing.
Louise was still blushing and did not dare look at Zero. "Thank you." She abruptly uttered.
Zero looked at her puzzled, "For what?"
"Nobody has ever believed in me before. Not really." Louise replied. "I mean, you're strong, you've got some very unique skills. All in all, you're an amazing, if willful familiar. And the only person to believe in me. To have someone finally believe in me, even if it it is just one person..." Louise couldn't finish her sentence
"You're welcome. But that's what I'm supposed to do." he responded rather indifferently.
"Why?"
"Because I'm your familiar. Aren't I?" Zero asked simply, with a confident smirk on his face.
Louise smiled.
The twin moons in the sky shone onto the dance floor, and along with the candle lights, created a romantic atmosphere on the dance floor.
Derflinger who was still leaning on the balcony looked at the both of them, "Unbelievable!" it said to itself."Partner! You amaze me! A familiar dancing with his Master? That's the first time I've seen this happening!"
***Author's notes ***
Yes, I know i write a lot here, but I'm actually getting a lot of questions in both messages and reviews, and I prefer to respond to people here because if 1 person has a question, its likely someone else will as well, so might as well use this area to clear up any misunderstandings or things that aren't understood.
About a number of concerns on weapon usages. The buster is used sparingly for two reasons. 1) Zero's buster ain't his main weapon. He prefers his saber in combat as able 2) Don't give away more than you need to. The buster might come in handy as a fairly good surprise. A few bolts of plasma in the face of someone you don't like? They won't even know what happened. The Knuckle is mainly used to disarm and steal weapons, mostly with finite usages for the useful items. Zero probably won't find many weapons worth stealing. And well, being able to climb or scale walls is kinda normal for him anyhow. On the other hand, Zero knuckled Guiche. right? All in all though, compared to either of his other weapons its at most a medium damage attack with short range. Best used for non lethal attacks. Saber/Buster are the only weapons Zero has along with his knuckle. His chips are internalized, which explains how he can switch chips mid fight/weapon without any real issue in game. I'm trying to put things as close to how Zero functioned under player control in MMZ, while still trying to reach through with logical explanations. Unfortunately the explanations can be a bit long and can break up the story so they get put here.
I've come to a decision about Zero's armor. So here is the rundown as to how is armor actually works here. Teleporting in the MM/MMX/MMZ series turned them into energy/data and redirected them. The easiest way to switch armors, would probably be a self contained system that stores them as energy/data. This would explain why all the stuff was readily accessible by Zero in the games. Unfortunately this would take some energy to use, as would changing his armors a lot. In the games he was still in a high tech world, so he didn't have to worry too much about it. In this, he has to worry about it because he's the only source of energy, aside from the far less efficient food. He'll not overuse different armors. But for long range stand off fights, he might just use the X armor, while favoring his normal armor for hand to hand combat. The X armor, since it doesn't let him use his sword as normal, would in my opinion be more than just a color change. It would have to be significantly heavier than his other armor to restrict him that much. This would also allow more of a defense, allowing him to be a shield for others in the worst of situations. His Civilian suit he has, can still be considered armor, since it would need to be similar to his other armors. I think something akin to a metal/kevlar(like substance), would allow for a fairly good looking suit, while still having the conductive properties to be stored as data/energy, compared to normal clothing which probably couldn't be broken down that way.
On the questions as to how i update so fast, i didn't post my first page till i had roughly 10 chapters close to completion. I'm holding them making changes as i find flaws/story points i want to add in, to keep myself from being rushed or burned out, so updates will continue to be pretty fast.
On to the characters,Votes are in. Not telling who won, but i can tell you who didn't. Skullman had 1. Apparently he really doesn't get enough love.
I also had about 4 messages and 1 review asking for multiple characters. Sorry, but while this story is going to differ very heavily from FoZ, I'm not likely to push it too far out. I want the story of FoZ to at least remain somewhat intact, even if things happen for different reasons. Because certain characters and events are pretty much needed, or at least give flavor. I've gotten a bunch of hate mail about Derflinger, and how I'm forcing him into the story. I don't understand why. He's intended to be the Gandalfr's left hand. I'm also getting lots of messages about how Zero should put the nobles in their place, like Guiche. They are kids. Zero isn't really a bully, nor would he harm what equates to children. Its just not in his character. Even before he got reprogrammed by , Capcom officially said that he didn't kill all the original Megaman cast because its not part of his core personality. When his core personality came out, all he wanted to do was fight X. That was it. He didn't want to destroy the world. he didn't want to kill everyone. He just wanted to see who was stronger. After he won that fight(by soul bodying against X last moment), he then saved X from Sigma. This was the bad ending which didn't happen in this story line, but its just to point towards Zero's basic underlying self.. People seem to think Zero is an easy character to write for, but he's really not. He's got so many different traits, and so many different things in his head and past tragedies that its a terrible thing. And for people to say Iris's death didn't effect him that much, go watch the scene in Japanese. The emotion behind that is actually pretty heavy.
Welp that's enough for today i hope you all enjoyed the chapter.