Chapter 9 – Memories Part 3

Author's Note: This is the last part of the "Memories" flashback, so don't worry.

Jacky was teleported just outside of the fourth Hierarchical City, Naobi. Jacky looked around and observed his surroundings. "So this is the fourth city? I've never seen it before until now." Jacky headed off in a random direction, finding multiple stores closed. "What's going on?"
Jacky picked a random civilian from the crowd and asked why most of the stores were closed. "H-haven't you heard? Ragna the Bloodedge just burned down the NOL branch in this city." So Ragna has been here recently? "How long ago was that?"
"It was about a week and a half ago."
"If nothing else has happened after that, then he's probably already left the city, sir. Don't worry about a thing." Jacky offered the man a smile and pat his shoulder before attempting to track down an Inn. "He's probably all the way to Ibukido by now," Jacky thought. Finally, he found an inn and paid for one night's stay before heading to his room.
He dropped down onto the bed, ignoring the foul smell of the room. "So Ragna really is attacking the NOL. Well, whatever, I'll get the info I need and catch up with him in time." Jacky got under the sheets of his bed and went to sleep.
The next morning, he headed out onto the town and headed for the ruins of the Naobi NOL branch, finding multiple soldiers sorting out the wreckage. One of the soldiers taking on this responsibility recognized him and approached. "Hey, Jacky, what are you doing here, and where is your uniform?"
She had a hood over her head, but he could recognize her voice anywhere, not to mention the fact that her tail was hanging out.
"I thought I'd take some time off, Makoto. Anyways, what's going on?" The soldiers appeared as though they were searching for something. They were all wearing jet black uniforms, which meant that they were from the intelligence department.
"Ragna the Bloodedge came through here, so we're looking for any files that might have survived the wreckage. That's what they told us, but it feels like a lot of work for a possibility." It does seem pretty fishy for soldiers to be searching through the wreckage of a large building for files when the chances are low. There's something else going on here.
"Well, what about Tsubaki? Isn't this where she grew up?"
Makoto smiled mischievously and nudged him with her elbow. "Of course you'd want to know about her," she said teasingly. "Yes, I do, Squirrel Girl. Now is Tsubaki here or not?" Makoto shook her head sadly. "No, she's not here; she's on assignment back in Wadatsumi."
Jacky thanked her and headed off towards the next city, Ibukido.

Takama-ga-hara's Realm

"The Drakos is attempting to reach and make contact with the wielder of the Azure Grimoire."
"Their events are not meant to cross just yet."
"We should employ an event disruption before he gets too close."

Ibukido – Two days later

Jacky made it to Ibukido, groaning. "Damn it, I can't believe I got caught up. Ragna's probably already two cities across by now; given his week-long head start. Whatever, I'll just keep moving."
Jacky turned a corner and bumped into someone. She appeared to be irritated, but when she looked at Jacky, her irritation seemed to increase. "Watch where you're going, Beastkin!" Beastkin? Did his Armagus seal come undone unnoticed? "Sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to bump into you, it was an accident."
The woman scoffed and moved on, muttering to herself. Jacky managed to catch what she was muttering. "Now where the hell is that damned Kokonoe?" She's searching for the infamous Kokonoe of Sector Seven then? Well, whatever, it's not like he cared.
"So rude," Jacky muttered before looking down at his hands, finding that they were indeed scaled. "Guess I'll have to fix my Armagus seal."
Jacky headed to another Inn and ordered a room before setting up his Armagus seal. It took a few hours, but he finally reactivated the seal, his appearance shifting to that of a human. "That's better."
Once again, he had to spend an extra night getting held up. The next morning, Jacky had decided that with all the things keeping him from his objective, he concluded that Ragna was probably too far away by now and it would take far too long to catch up to him.
(By now, Ragna reaches Kagutsuchi for the first time and the events of Calamity Trigger begin)
Deciding to head to the market to buy more food and supplies for his trips, Jacky conjured an extra seal to make sure that he would not accidentally revert back to his true Beastkin appearance. As he stepped out of the Inn, he noticed someone staring at him.
"C-can I help you, ma'am?" She took his hand and led him away towards the edge of town. Finding a row of buildings on fire, Jacky summoned Drakos and absorbed the flames, saving around ten civilians. "Thanks for saving the day," she said, giving Jacky an enthusiastic pat on the shoulder. He looked at her suspiciously. "Why did you ask for MY help? How'd you know I'd be able to handle it?"
"Maaaagic," she said with a grin. That had to be impossible. No one has ever been able to use magic for years, that's why the humans developed Ars Magus.
"How is that possible? No human can perform magic nowadays." The girl gave Jacky a sour expression and pointed her index finger at him.
Gravity Seed
Next thing he knew, Jacky was down on his knees. He felt as though a heavy weight were placed on top of him. "W-what the hell?"
"See, I told you it was Magic! Next time you should take a lady's word for it."
She released the spell and helped him up on his feet. "Who are you?"
"My name's Violet Trove, it's nice to meet you."
"Uh, I'm Jacky Ray, pleasure to meet you too."
Despite the simple fact that this girl was capable of using magic was beyond him; whenever the subject was spoken of, the first and only thing that came to mind was Nine and the other Ten Sages. Jacky had once read that Nine had attempted to teach humans how to use magic, but the skill was beyond them. Yet this girl is somehow capable of using it. Why is that?
But more importantly…
"If you can use magic, why'd you go looking for someone else's help? Couldn't you have used your magic to put out the fires?" Violet shook her head, saying, "Unfortunately, I don't know many spells and I'm not in full control of my own magic yet. So if I had tried to save them myself, I could just as easily make it worse."
So that's what the issue was. "So who'd you learn it from? Magic, I mean."
"I started training in the ways of magic with Professor Kokonoe when I was twelve years old. It was really hard getting her to teach me magic, too. She's so stubborn and she's got a short fuse. It took a lot of begging and promises before she finally agreed."
"Kokonoe of Sector Seven? You're kidding me, right?" Jacky had heard of Kokonoe a great deal, hearing of her temper. He's also heard of her capabilities with both magic and science, but her temper by a thousand times more infamous and was more often spoken of.
"You've heard of the professor, Jacky?"
"Who in the NOL hasn't heard of Kokonoe? Seriously, her temper is like an atomic bomb if you don't handle your conversations with care. Or, at least, that's what I've been told." Violet looked at him curiously with a suspicious look on her face. "You're an NOL soldier then?"
"Well, I used to be, but then I found a few things and I'm pretty much deserting them. Have you ever heard of a man called Yuki Terumi, Violet?" She stepped back, shocked by Jacky's casual use of the name. "I've heard of him, yeah. Why are you asking?"
"I want to pay that son of a bitch a visit and pound his face into the dirt!" Violet relaxed a little after hearing this and laughed. "You and Kokonoe both, though if he's really as powerful as Professor Kokonoe has told me, I don't think either you or her would be able to kill him. No offense to either of you, though, I just find it really unlikely."
"I catch your drift, Vi-!"
Violet, what the hell are you doing? I thought I told you to head to Akitsu-ko! And just what the hell do you mean I wouldn't be able to kill him?
"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean any offense. I'll head out right now; I just had a bit of a problem on the way."
Yeah, I saw the whole thing, Violet. Stop going out of your way for these guys if they can save themselves!
"Your boss is a real pain in the neck, Violet," Jacky said passively. He could hear Kokonoe growl in anger towards his comment.
What the hell did you say to me, kid? Violet, why are you letting him listen in?
"He can hear you, ma'am? I had no idea," she replied sarcastically.
You want me to upgrade you, Violet?
Violet shuddered at the word 'upgrade'. Kokonoe was a woman of science and magic and she had turned someone like Tager into the cyborg that he is now. Even the big lug known as the Red Devil shuddered when he heard her say that one word. Violet was aware of this and would rather stay as human as possible. "No, thank you, ma'am."
That's better. Now get going already. You're running out of time.
"Yes ma'am."
"Hey, Violet, hold up! I was heading to that city as well. Do you mind if I tag along?" Violet frowned and turned away for a moment. "Professor, is it okay with you if he comes with me? He could be of great use."
Only because I know you'd beg if I didn't allow it. Seriously, you cry like a baby.
"Thank you, Professor!"
Yeah, yeah, what- the-hell ever. Just get going already.
Jacky and Violet started walking off together. "So, I hope you've got a mode of transportation somewhere, because I came here all the way from Naobi. Between there and here, I've only had momentary breaks and my feet are killing me."
Violet smiled and pulled out what looked like a tiny remote. She pressed the button in the middle and a motorcycle came riding in. "Does that answer your question, pyro boy?" She climbed on and gripped the handles. "Get on, already, I can't wait any longer or Kokonoe is going to get on to me for wasting time."
Jacky climbed in back and held on tightly as Violet started it up and drove off. "On this thing, it should take around three to five days to get to Akitsu-ko," he thought to himself, "We should be able to catch up to Ragna in no time flat."
Unfortunately, by the time they had finally reached the city of Akitsu-ko, the city was in shambles with snow piling over the roofs of every home and business. "What happened?"
"Ragna the Bloodedge is what happened. He must have destroyed the weather control system while he was here." Jacky scratched his head, groaning. "Ragna, when I find you, the first thing I'm going to do is bash you in the head for this," he thought.
Violet and Jacky ran through the snow, searching the town. "Just what are we looking for exactly?"
"We're looking for anything that might be useful to Kokonoe. Whenever an opportunity like this presents itself, when the cities are suffering a weak state, she takes the chance to send out one of her agents to pick up any and all info and materials that will prove useful in the instance that the NOL cannot fight back against us. Kokonoe is undercover though, so don't tell anyone. She needs to stick to the shadows about this until the right moment."
They continued to search through the city and finally moved onto the completely wrecked Akitsu-ko NOL branch building. No NOL soldiers were around yet, so they rummaged through the ruins, looking for anything of interest. Jacky happened upon a bunch of untouched files, though a little dirty. He looked through them and found a few things about Prime Fields.
"What the hell is this? Kusanagi? Murakumo Units? What is all this?"
Violet took a look at the files and documents and snatched them from his hands, taking a peak at it herself. "Kokonoe, we found a bunch of files on something called a Boundary Interface Prime Field Device."
Copy that. Send it on over, Violet; I'll take a look at the files myself.
Violet's hand began to glow and in the next instant, the files were gone. She must have used her magic to get them to Kokonoe. "Did you get them, Professor?"
Your magic needs work. I got the files, but they're everywhere. On the computer, the floor, on top of my coffee mug.
"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry."
Whatever, it's no big deal, just keep searching the city. If you don't find anything within two hours, then go ahead and take a break.
"Roger that, Professor!"
The two continued searching the ruins of the NOL branch before finding what looked like an old elevator, untouched by the destruction. "Do you think it still works?"
"I don't know, but we might as well see." They approached the elevator and pressed a button and the elevator descended underground. When they finally reached a stopping point they found a large room that was nearly collapsed. An unknown structure lay before them with the body of what appeared to be a girl wearing a metal mask lying unconscious on the ground. Jacky and Violet rushed to her side in an instant. "Hey, are you alright?"
Her body seemed to shift a bit before she sat up, looking at the two with a blank stare.

I am Boundary Interface Prime Field No. 9,
Iota.
Identify yourselves.

Her voice and tone were almost mechanical. "I'm Jacky and that's Violet."

Scanning,
Scanning,
Subjects in possession of a Nox Nyctores,
Drakos,
As well as an affinity for magic.
What is your intention?

"We weren't doing anything, really," Violet replied, a little weirded out by the girl.

Your heart rate says otherwise.
Relinquish your true intentions or I will be forced to eliminate you.

The girl stood up on her feet and multiple blades appeared from thin air. Jacky and Violet stepped back, drawing their weapons. Violet, it turns out, wields a pair of twin daggers.

Intentions deemed hostile.
Preparing to engage in combat.

The blades surrounding Iota flew towards them quickly. Jacky and Violet managed to deflect all of them and Jacky charged forth. Swinging Drakos down towards Iota, she blocked his strike with a wrist-mounted blade and held her ground. However, she wouldn't be able to for long.
Iota began to slip and it didn't go unnoticed. Jacky put all his strength into his attack and managed to send her flying. When she hit the ground, she began to speak, her robotic tone ringing out in the cavern.

Damage received from previous battle,
Scanning,
Processed.
Body structure received 46% damage,
Recovered 23%.
Damage received from current battle,
Scanning,
Processed.
Body Structure received 30% damage.
Structural weak points located.
Danger level,
Medium.
Recovering.

Iota's body began to glow and Jacky could barely make out her closing wounds as she stood back up on her feet. The blades that he and Violet deflected returned to her side and she continued the assault. They deflected the blades that were flying at them. Violet concentrated for a moment and activated a spell.
Wind!
All the blades were redirected before they could reach them, digging into the ground as the hit the floor. Jacky charged again, shooting a fireball at Iota. She managed to defend herself from the fire, but Jacky ran straight through the flames as the fireball exploded. He thrust Drakos through Iota while her vision was obstructed and then finished her off by cutting her in half. Not an easy feat, trust me.
Iota was probably dead by now. After Jacky dismissed Drakos, Violet got a call. There was a lot of static, but they knew what Kokonoe was saying.
Hey, what happened over there? My transmission got jammed, where did you go?
"We went underground, Kokonoe and we found some large room and a girl," Violet explained.
A girl?
"She called herself a Prime Field."
I just finished reading the files that you sent me and I've learned a few things. Where is the girl now?
"She attacked us and we had to defend ourselves. In the end, Jacky killed her by decapitating her."
God, you sure are brutal, kid. Anyways, she's broken now. Too much structural damage was caused, so she can't be repaired. I would've liked to examine her up close, but it's too late now. There's still a chance for me to examine a Prime Field though. The files you sent me say that there's an unrecovered Prime Field back in Ibukido. I've already sent Tager to retrieve her, so don't worry about it. Anyways, I need you here, Violet. There are a few things I'd like to brief you on. Oh, and bring your little friend with you. He might be able to assist us.
"Roger that, Kokonoe, I'll bring Jacky with me. Jacky, I need you to take my hand." Jacky's face turned red for a moment before he grasped her open hand. She smiled and snickered at his initial shyness and prepared to transport them.
Jacky felt dizzy upon instantly transporting from one place to another within a split second. After Violet released his hand, he fell to the floor as he attempted to process what happened. "Hey, get off your ass already," he heard Kokonoe say.
After finally getting his bearings, Jacky was able to stand on his feet without falling back down on his butt. He took a good look at Kokonoe and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you in person, Kokonoe, I hope we can work efficiently together."
Kokonoe was unimpressed and just shook hands with him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, kid. Anyways, I wanted to show you two a few things."
Kokonoe directed their attention to the computer in the room and they watched Ragna duking it out with a girl who looked just like Iota.
"According to the files you sent me, there are around thirteen to fourteen Prime Fields. Each one was experimented in separate towns. That Prime Field that Ragna the Bloodedge is fighting is the thirteenth Prime Field. They call her Nu. I was only barely able to get this footage, but I still managed to do the job."
Jacky and Violet watched Ragna fight Nu, their blades clashing over and over again. Soon enough, Nu managed to stab Ragna through the torso with one of her blades and they almost fell into a strange structure that Kokonoe referred to as a Cauldron. That's when the footage began to receive static. A few minutes later and the footage returned to normal with Ragna sitting near the edge, exhausted. Did someone save him? They finally heard a disturbing cackle ring out and the footage showed Captain Hazama of the Information Department looking down on Ragna and a girl who had her back turned. "Noel Vermillion, observe me, recognize my existence!"
Another round of static put the footage on the fritz, but the audio was perfectly fine. Hazama laughed maniacally and screamed, "I can't believe it! You saw me! You actually saw me!" After that, the footage ended.
After that the footage ended. Kokonoe was gritting her teeth, pure rage was the only emotion expressed. "What was that?" Jacky asked.
"Footage of a battle and the roots of a few theories of mine," she said as she grabbed at a lollipop and stuck it in her mouth, "That man that was laughing and screaming all that crazy shit was Terumi."
Yuki Terumi, the reason Jacky was searching for Ragna, was just there on that screen. The reason he was left all alone again. His only family was taken by him in one form or another by him. Jacky slammed his fists into the wall, his appearance shifting to what he truly appears.
His tail sprouted forth and his scales came back. Kokonoe turned her attention to him as his true form was revealed to her. Even Violet appeared surprised.
"Which city did that fight take place in, Kokonoe?"
"Kagutsuchi, the thirteenth city," she replied.
"That man is going to pay for what he's done! I will kill Terumi if it's the last thing I do!" It was easy to tell that Terumi had caused him pain. She pulled out blue lollipop and handed it to him. "Here, have a bit of that. It's got a few things mixed in that help calm the nerves. I always have one when I'm irritable." Jacky accepted it and placed the candy in his mouth, feeling the effects immediately. His shoulders loosened up and he began to feel his tension fade away. As his mood improved, his appearance shifted back to that of a human.
"How come you change your appearance?" Kokonoe asked him. He looked down and recalled for a moment. "I do it to avoid prejudice. Humans are always treating us like animals when we're on the exact same level as they are. I don't want to feel judged for what I am. I was subjected to harsh comments and rude remarks when I was a kid, so I taught myself how to utilize Ars Magus and manipulate Seither in order to shield my real appearance. Anyways, have you made any other observations, Kokonoe? Anything else to share?"
She nodded her head and her fingers flew across the keyboard as she pulled up a few more recent events. "Ragna the Bloodedge has parted ways with the twelfth Prime Field, the one who saved him from being smelted in the Cauldron. She calls herself Noel Vermillion. Obviously, she doesn't know about what she really is."
"And the parade of surprises continues to do its dirty work," Jacky said. "So Noel is a Prime Field? She's too human, don't you think?"
"She was found and adopted by the Vermillion family and from that she grew up with memories of an actual childhood, making her think she's human. That's where her emotions and other human patterns of behavior come from. If she were retrieved by Terumi or the NOL, she would've ended up just like all the other Prime Fields. Of course, as far as my knowledge goes on the subject, it's only a theory. Anyways, it's time I finally tell you two why you're really here. I don't want either of you going out, doing whatever you want. Now's not the time for action, although I hate to admit it. We need take some observations and test out whatever we come up with."
"And by 'whatever we come up with', you mean you and no one else, right?"
"Pretty much," she replied simply. Jacky groaned and thought about it for a moment before finally agreeing to lie in wait for a while. "Violet, show the lizard boy to his room."
"Yes, ma'am." Violet led Jacky out of the room and down the halls. The two communicated very little when they reached a small room with a bed and a bookcase in the corner. "If you ever feel like reading, I have a few recommendations for you," Violet said as she pulled out a few books. Jacky stopped her for a moment, saying, "Sorry, I'm not too big on reading."
She looked disappointed, but nodded and left the room.

For the next month, Jacky had been napping, roaming the area, or looking through files that he was allowed access to. Needless to say, he was absolutely bored out of his mind, but Violet always came to his room to ask him to try reading one of the books she recommended. Finally Jacky gave in and promised he would read one of the books. She looked excited and happy. The moment he said that, she shoved one of the books into his arms. "That's the best one. It's about a man who travels through time."
Jacky looked down at the cover, finding that the man on the cover – supposedly the main character – had a blank face. No eyes, no mouth, nothing at all. "What's this for?"
"The people start to forget about him as he continues to go through time because he keeps messing up the past." Jacky looked back down at the book and dropped it next to him. "I think I'll read something else, Violet. Being forgotten isn't something I want to think about."
She nodded her head and handed him another book happily, not noticing the sad expression on his face. She left the room with a smile, but Jacky remained inside his room, a cold feeling creeping through his body.
A few hours later, Kokonoe called him in and pointed at the screen. Jacky reached for one of her suckers and placed it in his mouth as he looked up at the computer's screen. Kokonoe didn't mind it at all. The candies were made to release tension and lighten the mood, so for him to take one would mean that he was feeling a great deal of negativity.
What Jacky saw on the screen was, yet again, Ragna the Bloodedge getting into another fight. This time, however, Ragna was fighting Yuki Terumi. Kokonoe was giving orders to Lambda, who was brought in recently by Tager, who Jacky still had yet to meet in person. Kokonoe explained that she combined the empty body of Lambda with the soul of Nu and that now she obeyed her commands.
Kokonoe was currently ordering Lambda to wait for an opportunity to strike at Terumi while he was fighting Ragna. Unfortunately, Ragna was losing the fight and it wouldn't take long before he was killed. Finally, when Terumi was about to deliver the finishing blow on Ragna, Kokonoe ordered Lambda to strike, but instead, she used herself to shield Ragna from Terumi's attack. Even after getting struck by such an attack, she stood up and faced Terumi, ready to fight him and protect Ragna. Terumi struck her again and made her lose too much blood. She was beyond repair now. Ragna was panicking, calling out to Kokonoe for her to transport Lambda back and repair her, but Kokonoe told him that it was too late. Upon Lambda's death a bright cloud of shining particles appeared and Ragna absorbed them. Kokonoe told Ragna to connect to the Idea Engine. What happened next was unbelievable.

Restriction No. 666 Disengaged,
Dimensional Interference Field Deployed…

"You're doing that again, Raggy-boy? I thought I already told you it's pointless!"

Connecting to the Idea Engine,
Blazblue, Activate!

Ragna charged in and resumed his fight with Terumi, but he managed to win. Before Ragna was able to finish him off, though, a red bat, that Jacky recognized as Gii appeared, asking Ragna for help.
Ragna left the scene and the footage ended.
"Ragna was able to beat Terumi then? Good." Jacky felt relieved, but Kokonoe was angry. "Why the hell didn't he finish him off?"
"Calm down, Kokonoe, he must have had a good reason. I noticed that Gii was there asking for help. Rachel must have been in trouble."
Jacky thought for a moment before deciding on going away. "I think it's time I left, Professor."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, kid?" Jacky nodded and looked at her desk. It was a mess with files everywhere. "Mind if I take a box of those candies before I head out?"
"Eh, I've got around two hundred of them and I can just make more. Go ahead, I don't care." Jacky grabbed a box and waited to be transported. When he left the area, he found himself within the eighth city, Wadatsumi, which Jacky recalled as being a part of the Ikaruga Federation. "All right, time to get to work."

Author's Notes:

Good god, this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Microsoft Word estimated it at about nine pages long. Jeez!
First off, Yes, I used one of the old Prime Fields.
Second, No, Kokonoe is no nice lady. I'm still going to write her as being a total bitch like she normally is. This was just a thingy-thing, so don't go complaining about it, okay? Anyways, this concludes Jacky's actions during the events of Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift, all leading up to the beginning of the story. I bet all you readers are relieved that you don't have to read anymore backstory right?
Anyways, seeing how Kokonoe's got the hugest attitude imaginable and she's always seen with a sucker in her mouth I thought, "Wouldn't it be neat if those candies were made to relieve stress?"
I mean, god knows she needs to calm the hell down once in a while. I attempted to take everything from the first two games of Blazblue as well as what I've written in previous chapters in consideration. After all, I don't want to mess anything up and have nothing make sense.
Anyways, thanks for reading once again.

Reploid7,

Signing off!