MASS POST WARNING: THIS IS THE FOURTH NEW CHAPTER POSTED. COUNT BACK WARDS FROM THERE, please.
One note of warning: There is a reason why Yuuko was feared and respected by many people.
The universe hated me
it made me replay
a never ending tragedy
so I wish it would be
destroyed
Chapter 32: I Will Fix Your Broken Dreams
The voice that reverberated from the girl had the undertones of a terrifying frequency. "Connecting to the Luxuria archive. I'm executing my thema…" Smokey mana was gathering around Amber and Jack, dark and thick, like gaseous tar. "Obsidere!"
Anticipating an attack of some sort, Jack released her wrist and sidestepped backwards, out of the gathering miasma.
Instead of an attack, however, something frightening was happening with Amber. In a flash of gold tinged light, her clothes had changed. Instead of the cosplay outfit from before, it was replaced by something entirely new. Heels that covered and stopped just above the knee. Shorts, ones that stopped above the middle of her thighs, a sleeveless buttoned blazer, and even black gloves, had replaced her clothes. All of it, minus the gloves, was skin-tight leather.
Most ominous of all, Amber's eyes were now smiling with a sickly-sweet manner. Likewise, her mouth had formed into a crooked, almost wicked, grin.
Knowing just what this meant, Garrett gaped at her sudden transformation. This was his fault—he could feel it. Worse yet—this fight, it was only going to get even more complicated.
"Fracture," said Amber, snapping her fingers. A sharp cracking, like a whip, echoed in the space. Within a second, a dark scepter materialized in her palm. "Now things are going to get fun, boys," she promised, swinging down the weapon. A wave of unseen power slammed into the ground, hard. It made a visible dent in the floor, and shook the ground like a miniature earthquake. Her attack didn't seem too serious, though, and Thomas and Jack evaded it all too easily.
As Thomas stared at the newly changed girl in front of him, he began to smirk. All the pieces were fitting together so neatly, now. All the rumors about the 'Immortal Sorceress Yuuko' were true. She had tapped into the forbidden archives of magic, after all. "So you show yourself at last, Yuuko."
Nodding, Amber looked ahead to their opponents. This unannounced ceasefire was quite unexpected. "Your colleagues helped to wake me up, darling."
If she was talking about Yui and Arata then it very well was true. This was probably the main reason her magic had been previously sealed.
Jack raised an eyebrow, taking in the sight of her new clothes with unbridled interest. "So Yuuko, how does it feel to be free again? An evil mage like you must surely understand our cause?"
Short bubbles of laughter flew from her lips. Wiping away an ecstatic tear, Amber sighed. "Oh, that's rich! Yeah, I guess I can understand. But you're talking like I'm as bad as the 'Dark Evangel'or something."
"Aren't you?" asked Thomas, feeling his anger blaze at her blasè attitude.
"Nope!" she stepped forward with such speed and force that it appeared as if she were teleporting. "I'm worse."
Her scepter smashed into Jack's shoulder, misasma following it in a thick trail.
Blood coated the instrument, then. His bones cracked up on impact, and muscles were pulverized.
The sight of his angish. His pain-laden shout. All of it was so thrilling! Tiny droplets of blood sprayed out, some of them gathering on her cheek, and the rest pearling off of her dark clothes. Amber licked her lips and executed a well-timed roundhouse kick to Jack's solar plexus. She had charged it with the dark magic now flowing through her body, so it impacted him more strongly. This, adding to the fact that her legs were mechanical...
Dark liquid spurted out of his mouth. It immediately ran down his chin in a thick stream.
Continuing her meelee attack, she smacked him onto the floor with her scepter.
"Gah!" groaned Jack, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
How long had it been since she unlocked this power? Over two years, it seemed. The last time it had been a situation such as this, but at least then she had Garrett to restrain her from extending herself in this way.
All that time wasted trying to keep the universe in balance. All that time believing in 'hitsuzen'. Waiting for years, decades, centuries… it had darkened and embittered her soul. There was only one person she wanted to see, and that couldn't even be fulfilled. A certain girl was waiting for her, but because of her idiocy, all the magic in the world could not fulfill Yuuko's wish. All because of that man she used to know, she would never reach Elysium. If she even saw Clow again, she would thrash him for cursing her in such a way, but he also was waiting for her. But, then again, he also wasn't.
Thomas weighed his next attack carefully. She had become more powerful in only a few moments. And there also were her friends to account for, but at the moment they were frozen in shock.
"That's right," observed Thomas, his eyes and voice hardening over, "Your soul is beyond even recovery, isn't it? I heard even three of the worst evil mages turned around, but not you, eh?"
His parter panted, his throat gurgling with each breath. Disdain in his glare and blood on his teeth, Jack sneered at Amber.
"You did something taboo, and you were punished for it," spat Jack, looking up at the young lady. "This 'Game' is proof of that."
"Talking like that…you really want to die, don't you?" She giggled darkly and guided her heel into Jack's injured shoulder. Her mouth opened into a seductive 'o'. "I'll be taking everyone's magic, now, okay?" announced Amber in a breathy voice.
Roaring, Thomas shot forward with his sword. The barrier that Jack had erected was still in effect, so Garrett's sword glanced off of him on the first strike.
Still, despite Garrett's failed attempt to protect her, Amber did not move. Instead, she was still and calm like a placid lake. Bringing her right arm up, she swung at the man. In anticipation of this, he brought his sword up at an angle. He guarded against her scepter, but what he had not suspected was the surprise attack on his lips.
'Mana Drain.'
The effect was almost immediate.
Clutching at his throat, Thomas fell to his knees, gasping. An overall weakness had pervaded his entire body. Almost immediately his body had warmed up to feverish temperatures.
"What did you do to him?" demanded Jack in a raspy voice.
Amber licked her lips and sighed as if savoring a delicious snack. "Oh his magic is spicy! How delicious. It could use some alcohol to go with it, though."
Looking at his partner in worry, Jack wondered if Thomas was now in worse condition than him. "Answer me…"
"Oh, him? I just ate his magic…no biggie." Savoring the sensations flowing through her, Amber hugged her sides. If one squinted hard enough, they would probably see hearts floating around her. "Mmmmm, so delicious!"
Yet. Waiting in the wings, there was another pair of devious mages looking on in disgust. It seems the butterfly had no shame, even in such a tight situation as this.
"I've seen enough failure for one day," said Angel, descending from the ceiling like a feather. Her waterfall of light blue hair trailed behind in a banner-like wave behind her. Falling beside her was Kamijou Miki, her steadfast partner.
"Yes, Mistress, I agree," said the faithful human servant, casting disapproving looks on all eight brawlers. His most death-dealing glare he saved for their failed duo of mercenaries.
Matching his glare in intensity, Garrett looked ahead and snarled. His blue eyes were glowing with unveiled hatred at the faces of these two.
"I get it now. It was you, Angel. I knew you were behind this," said Garrett, addressing her with the most impolite form of 'you' in Japanese.
Livid, Miki clenched his fists. That Persocom man was dead if he got Miki's hands on him. What utter disrespect! Why, the insolent man needed to be punished for his tone alone. "How dare you address my Master by—,"
In the middle of Kamijou's sentence, Angel placed a finger onto his lips, gently silencing the irate man. Smiling genially at Amber, the Persocom giggled from deep within her throat.
"It's alright, Kamijou…he's always been like this." Nodding towards Amber's partner, she smirked. "Rude as ever, I see."
"What do you want?" asked Amber, folding her arms. "I was just in the middle of a delicious feast, you know."
"A feast, you say?" Angel's eyes now shifted to red. "I don't think you have time for that. Besides, we've just come to rescue these useless lumps here, before you kill them."
Holding his injured shoulder, Jack tried to sit up.
"I'm sorry, Mistress, but she was just too—," sputtered Jack, his eyes fearful, "they all were—,"
"Shut it, you ingrates!" Angel brought her foot crashing onto Thomas' shoulder. He yelled out in pain as she snapped a few of his precious bones without much effort. In only seconds, her face morphed into that of a furious psychopath—crazed and vengeful. Her wide golden eyes were pulsing with an ominous light. "I sent you to injure them, and instead you get whipped?" Her stare darkening, she sneered at the man at her feet as if he were the wriggling larvae of a fly. "Pathetic." She stomped on him again. "Useless." Her heel was really grinding into him now. "Piece. Of. Trash." Each word wrought him even more pain as she punished him for the failed attempt to destroy the key and her comrades.
Amber frowned. Her toy was being ruined by someone other than her. However, at this stage she knew she didn't have enough mana to face Angel head-to-head right now. Standing there with her hands tied, the mageling began to think of possibilities.
When Angel was satisfied with the pitiable squeals that Thomas was making, she wiped her bloodstained shoe on the floor and smiled once more.
However, at that moment a melodious riff of notes rang out, and there was a sudden blast of black energy.
Upon hearing the strange, out of place sound, something in the back of Amber's mind warned her before the magic arced towards them, and she jumped back in time for it to miss her torso.
The explosion kicked up clouds of dust and chunks of carpet and wood.
"What the—," began Minoru, looking forward. He was about to cast a large-scale freezing spell, but paused just in time to see who had sent such a destructive attack. He had thought, from the arrival of these new fiends, that it had come from them, but when he looked at the direction it came from, this was not the case, obviously. As the dust cleared, two lone figures were poised to defend Minoru and his friends.
"Hey there, kiddo," said the silver haired man in a black tuxedo. In his hands was a violin. "Sorry we're late."
Next to him was a blue-haired woman dressed like a knight. She had two shining swords aimed at Angel and Kamijou. "Need some help?"
"Uncle Kami!?" shouted Minoru, several surprised neurons firing in his brain. "Auntie Saya?"
"One and the same," they both replied.
Much like before when remembering that once-lost magic, Amber felt a glimmer of recognition in her mind.
"Kyousuke-kun?"
"Nice to see you remember us," said the man dryly, rolling his eyes.
Having been slightly abandoned, Thomas and Jack weren't too pleased with the new arrivals busting up their party. Sure, they'd been beaten up a little, but for Angel and Kamijou to come help was a little humiliating. These other new faces, though, made both men wary, so maybe it was good that their co-conspirators arrived.
"Who might you two be?" asked Angel softly. Their faces were ringing several bells, but for some reason she had no data on the people who had just arrived. This certainly was anomalous. To look up the names of two humans using the Internet was too troublesome at this point for her to care, though.
"Section Chief Kamijou Kyousuke," said the man.
"Section Chief Sayaka Miki," announced the woman. "We're bringing you in for questioning, thanks."
Glancing behind him with a serious look, Kyousuke readied his bow. "I hereby deputize you six. Help us detain these criminals."
'This was the support that Junji had been talking about?' thought Garrett with alarm.
...
The music of the battle. It rang out in waves of sound.
Whole jumping into the air, Sayaka drew in the air with swords. Trails of blue light followed the tips of the blades. When the pattern she wanted was complete, she released the energy.
"Blue Track!" shouted the woman in French. The pattern spring to life, and a euphony of notes played out. Coupling this with Kyousuke's own attack of "Steel Harmony", the blue wave only was boosted in intensity. For a moment it jarred both Angel and her partner, but the young woman was on her feet faster than her human. He had begun to bleed from the ears, however, which severely affected his balance. This, though, did not stop him for long.
"Amber, we need to end this," warned Garrett harshly. He was running towards Angel, with his blade at his side. She was prepared for this, and cut short his attack by slicing the air with her own weapon, a dual-bladed monstrosity called 'The Queen's Scepter'. It had two curved swords facing the same direction, with a handle in the middle for her to grab.
Meanwhile, Yuzuki had continued raining down magically-charged bullets. Next to her, Minoru had used a wide-scale wind-spell to help them aim. Behind even them, Chii released a cloud of petals, which exploded in tiny bombs of light when it reached the two enemies. Angel and her blade sliced through the explosions, though.
"I'm thinking, you idiot!" said Amber, blocking Kamijou's bare-handed punches with her palms reinforced with magic. He was surprisingly quick, especially for someone so tall. He was able to fend off even Hideki's improving slashes at the same time. He only used his bare palms to do so, which was even more worrisome.
"Garrett, formation Omega!" barked Amber, her mind settling on a very dangerous spell, indeed. If executed right, it could bring down the convention center. If done wrong…they all could die. Luckily she had a good success rate with spells, or else she would have been thoroughly worried.
"Rodger!"
Minoru and the others had heard about this before, Garrett and Amber's attack patterns. The few the duo had forced them to memorize were good to know. For example, this one meant 'get the hell out of the way!', so it wasn't hard to imagine what was happening next. Yuzuki pocketed her artefact as fast as…well, not humanly, but as fast as a frantic Persocom could move. She used the freeness of her arms to scoop up Minoru and run away in this moment.
He didn't object to this, but his worry was placed on his aunt and uncle, who were still fighting.
Hideki also took the opportunity to take up Chii and leave in a manner not dissimilar to Yuzuki's.
Thankfully, the two 30-year olds understood that they were retreating. They didn't seem happy about doing, so, but if everyone else was hauling themselves away, they might as well follow suit.
Mustering as much mana as she could find, Amber prepared for the attack. Even the trace amounts found in her surroundings she took in. Even the amount she had stolen from Thomas was being used.
Angel and Kyousuke were trying to follow the retreating heroes, but they were too late. Amber had already filled in the rest of the equation, and was pouring in all of her energy…
Her eyes were looking into the past and watching the future all at once. A sense of saddening nostalgia washed over her soul.
"By the grace of Yggdrasil, come forth, Impaler..." With the weight of her feelings behind it, Amber swung down her scepter. "GUNGIR!"
A light from the ceiling, more blinding than the sun, and even wider than a truck, shot down from heaven, from Elysium itself. It impacted the ground with an intensity that could only be described as 'divine punishment'.
Lowering her bow, a pink-haired goddess cried. Her tears crystalline and pure, they were filled with relief. Her friend had called upon her strength once more.
It was the last time she was allowed to do so freely.
...
It seemed Kokubunji's house really was becoming their base of operations. More specifically, his office was the largest hub of activity.
"So you're his uncle?" asked Amber cautiously.
"You sound surprised," said Kyousuke, cracking a flirtatious smile.
Ignoring his cheesy grin, Amber sighed dispassionately and rubbed her temples. "I am, honestly."
"Kyousuke. You talk like you know her." Shock and confusion poured into Sayaka's tone then, as her eyes flit between Kamijou and the bored-looking heiress sitting across from them.
"I do," he said, furrowing his brow. "Don't you recognize her?"
Feeling jealousy rise within her chest, Sayaka pouted. "Come on, you don't really believe the lore behind this ridiculous contest, right?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because it's crazy. She couldn't possibly be Yuuko. Not ever. I think I would recognize her when I see it."
Sayaka was always the skeptic, wasn't she?
Amber sighed and closed her eyes. Thinking back, before this life, wasn't as hard as it used to be. After the seal on her magic had been removed, everything seemed to flow into one another. New memories, old memories, they were there. She simply had to sort through them.
Frowning at what she saw, Amber opened her eyes. She looked right through Sayaka with an intense glare that could cleave diamonds asunder. Now she could remember why she disliked this woman so much. Even now, Sayaka was still naïve and optimistic. How foolish. Somehow, the blue-haired woman was still surviving as a Puella Magi despite being so old, now.
"Really, Sayaka? Would you truly recognize me?" While glancing harshly at the woman with aqua eyes, Amber sneered. "Did becoming a Puella Magi make all your dreams come true? Did it solve your insecurity-complex?"
"How did you—,"
Amber smiled, though she knew she ought not to. "Are you happy? Does he love you, now?"
Her eyes had scanned Kyousuke for a brief moment before returning to Sayaka's shocked face.
Stirring within Amber's eyes was that same, weary look: a look of despair so deep that it could consume the universe. A memory, one from a confrontation in a hallway came to mind. It was only now Sayaka that knew that the insult she had been given had held no real malice—just frustration and sadness.
Even though that girl had been so mean to her, even though that girl had stolen her best friend away, even so… Sayaka felt her heart move. Pity swirled within her soul like a winding whirlpool. Staring into that girl's eyes, Sayaka opened her mouth to speak. For a few moments she couldn't make a sound, but after a short silence she found her voice.
"Akemi?" asked the blue-haired woman who felt like a child once again.
Now that was a name she hadn't used in forever.
"In the flesh," said Amber, not too happy about it. The bitter frown was evidence enough of her discomfort. A lifetime of memories were crammed into her soul, so it wasn't always easy to pick through the events. However, these two were almost written in indelible ink—they couldn't be ignored once they presented themselves. Unlike Amber's thema, they had not been temporarily lost—she was just trying not to remember. "But please, don't call me that anymore. That girl died alongside her best friend. Yuuko is fine. I prefer my current name, though."
On the other side of the door to the office, six curious ears were pressed to the door. Chii, Hideki, Garrett, Minoru, Kojima, and Kotoko were all eavesdropping on the conversation. For the past hour, Minoru had been resting in his room from the strain of the earlier battle. He still had trouble processing that his aunt uncle were mages. Now, though, at this juncture he had decided to join these troublemakers in their shenanigans.
"What kind of conversation is this?" asked Kojima. Past lives? Old names? Dark magics? He knew this girl was strange. He knew she was dangerous. But now, Kojima realized this girl was more than tnat; she was downright terrifying. Yuzuki had shared with Kotoko the footage of what transpired. By his cakuculations, due to his research, the mana generated and used to accomplish what she did was extremely dense. It was on the level of a Paladin class mage.
Yet all this time she had not been able to use it? Just suspicious.
"It's a long story," said Garrett.
"Well, you know some of it at least," said Hideki.
"Motosuwa is right, if you know something about these two, you need to inform us."
"You do realize how close you all came to death, right? More information about Miss Lee-Young could have helped." Yuzuki chided them gently.
"Chii!"
"Why don't you six just go in? Lord Minoru, this is your own home, after all," added the blue-haired maid, sighing.
Minoru blinked in realization. "Right."
...
"Home are the hunters back from the hills!" announced Kojima, barging into the room like he owned the place.
"Hello, everyone," said Sayaka. She looked askance with a slightly guilty pair of eyes. Behind him filed the rest of the crew, looking a bit guilty themselves.
"Sup?" said Kyousuke casually, saluting them with two fingers.
"Hey," intoned Amber unhappily.
Getting straight to the point, a little blondie blurted out her most burning desire. Pointing at her friend, the Persocom said, "Chii wants to know why Amber went all berserk earlier!"
"B-berzerk?" Amber said, looking confused. She knew she had gone overboard, but … 'berzerk' felt a little too crazy for her liking.
"You know, the super-scary but fully awesome display of magical ability that Yuzuki sent us?" asked Kojima. "I can't believe we missed it!"
"Oh, that." After releasing the spell, she had passed out and reverted to her old clothes as the stadium collapsed around her, but Garrett had been there in time to fish her out of the rubble. Well, if going all out like that was 'berzerk', then it had been a necessary thing.
"It's happened before, but you refused to explain at the time," said a certain perverted Chobit.
"Shut it, Garrett," muttered Amber, looking into her lap with a warm face.
Irritated, he wagged a finger at her. "Don't tell me to shut it! You nearly killed someone the first time, and if I hadn't stopped you again, what would have happened?"
Glaring at him in defiance, she snorted.
"Really, you think I'd go that far?"
"I know you'd go that far!" shouted the young man, gesturing wildly.
Brushing it off as easily as one would a ladybug, Amber simulated amusement. "Ha! What do you know? You're a bucket of bolts now! Your brains must have gotten scrambled in the transfer!"
Offended that she would say something so hurtful, he raised his voice even more. "My brains are just fine, thank you. You're the sack of meat with brain damage!"
Her eye widening, Amber felt herself getting angry as well. "Oh, touché! You really know how to cut to the bone, you rude, vulgar, man!"
Leaning closer to her, he practically growled, "At least I don't prance around pretending I don't have a problem, you passive aggressive twit!"
"Careful, dear, your accents showing," said Amber sardonically, denoting the tinge of Australian left over from his early years of living down-under.
Scoffing, he pointed at her. "You're one to talk. At least I don't talk like a valley-girl."
"This coming from the guy who hid his accent at school? Rich I tell you, richer than me, and that's pretty. Darn. Rich!"
It was then someone began laughing. They had tried to stifle it, but it eventually burst out of them like a balloon popping. Loud and raucous, it echoed in the living room.
"..."
Everyone else looked at the person in astonished silence. They really were laughing it up, weren't they?
Clearing his throat, Minoru shot the hysterical young man a Look of contempt. "Motosuwa, I hardly think that what they're saying is funny."
Stopping his laughter abruptly, Hideki reddened slightly.
"Ah! Sorry it's just..." he scratched the back of his head, "you two are acting like you're married."
Next thing Hideki knew, Amber and Garrett were ranting at him, their faces colored like a pair of red delicious apples.
...
Just to overcome the shock of the whole accident, Shawn had to trick himself into thinking this was a game. He and Dr. Ravensdale leaned over the cryogenic tube, peering down at the young man inside. Shawn knew his daughter was okay, so worrying over her was futile. However, he still worried. Not for her physical state, but her mental state. He had to use a BMI chip implanted in her brain in order to allow her legs to follow her commands. The technology had come such a far ways from when he was a child. Back then, they were still putting chips in the motor-sensory cortex, where commands were carried out, and not the region for planning movement. The difference was clearer than night and day. Still, her brain had been damaged slightly.
That wasn't the only thing on his mind, though.
If this procedure didn't work out, and the boy died, how would Ravensdale and his wife feel?
Worse, how would Amber feel?
His daughter was, if anything, passionate, and if Garrett didn't make it, she would no doubt blame herself. Losing her legs and her boyfriend would probably kill her. She might probably kill herself.
Shawn swallowed his thoughts and said evenly, "Handel, get ready the MRI and the lasers."
Dr. Ravensdale nodded curtly and scuffled off to gather the items.
Years ago, when the research was still new, scientists had found ways to copy memories. Transplanting them into other subjects was also possible. However, the clearer and more precise the memory they copied, the less the first subject would remember it.
It was like when transferring data from one AI crystal to another. For 100% of the data to transfer correctly, the other crystal had to be destroyed.
They had to work quickly before Garrett's body warmed up even one degree.
"So," said Shawn, placing the handheld MRI above the chamber, "what made you choose on that design?"
Noticing that Dr. Lee-Young was trying to distract him from going into shock, Handel shrugged and indulged the small-talk. He was talking about the Chobit's body connected to the power supply on the far end of the room. It had been an in-joke in his family, actually, proposed by his son. He had been sitting around the dining table, talking about a project at work they were working on, omitting the obvious details, of course.
When Garrett had heard they were experimenting with new personality matrices, the suggestion had suddenly popped into existence.
"Can the experimental Persocom look like me?"
Normally that was a definite no-no. But seeing as the Persocom would probably never leave the lab, it was possible.
Handel, while recounting this tale, wiped away a stray tear.
It would take half an hour to scan his brain fully. It would take the same about to transcribe his brain's architecture. Transferring the data would take less time, but as much as he dreaded it, this would definitely kill his son. If not the accident, then this would, if it didn't work.
'Please, God, make this work…'
As they encoded the memories with the portable MRI, a wireless signal was transmitting them to the etching machine that held the AI crystal. As it worked, the electrodes inside the cryogenic tube that monitored his vitals began transmitting data to the console nearby the empty body of the Chobit.
However, when reaching the parts of the brain that were damaged in the crash, there came a snag. Some of the memories were corrupted. A tiny section of the brain, from what Shawn could see, was affected by magic.
"CRAP!"
He rushed over to the console to sort out and isolate the erroneous strings. If they leeched into the main program, then he'd have some serious problems. His sense of self was already detached, due to being sedated, but he had to keep an a close eye on this.
"Handel, keep the MRI running, I have to separate this memory from the rest!"
Alarmed at this declaration, Dr. Ravensdale paled. "Wait, Shawn, what if you make another personality?"
There was the possibility of that, but there was no time to quibble.
"Never mind that now, he'll have to integrate later! He might crash if I don't fix it!"
A few frantic clacking strokes on the computer console, and he was tracking down the source of the trauma. The MRI wasn't looking good, but it would have to do. Tracing the memories was getting harder as the process went deeper into the brain.
"It's no use, Shawn, we need more power!"
"I know! I know." At this rate, they were going to lose him. No way could he keep up with all these errors! He needed a Persocom to help. Any Persocom.
As he siphoned away the damaged sectors, a light bulb went off.
"Handel, I need you to bring Elda and Freya here, right now!"
"Shawn?"
What in heaven's name was he thinking, using Mihara's daughters? Sure, they had more than enough computing power, but if something went wrong…
"Do you want him to live or not?!"
Handel opened his cellphone and dialed Chitose. When the Japanese woman picked up the phone, Handel licked his lips. At the rate they were going, the doctor was on the brink of failing. However, Shawn only had to hold on until the cavalry arrived.
"I need to speak to Ichirou…"
'Please, God, make this work!'
I trained even harder
I wanted to be better
I became much faster
I needed to be stronger
More than anyone knew
I knew the hour was drawing near
Ever so close, it crept
After me, it stalked my progress
Even though our sins were small
The universe never forgets
Every sin is never forgotten
Until your life is over
A/N: I just got to see Big Hero 6. Now I'm writing a fanfiction script for an imagined sequel, starring Amber and Garrett with different names: Arianna and Andy. It'll be PG, I THINK. I'll either post it or send it to Disney.
Oh, and of course, Angel and Kamijou are far different than the two mages who appear in this chapter. For one, Sayaka and Kyosuke are older. Second, they're not evil. Third, well, you'll have to guess.
The Persocom mangaka's name in this chapter is a shoutout to one of my favorite fanfiction writers, if you didn't catch it.
Additionally, when I described Amber's voice as having a terrifying frequency, I was thinking of a certain sound frequency, one that scientists call 'the ghost frequency' that causes unease within human listeners. When I hear it, it feels like someone is sneaking up behind me.
And if you're wondering about the science behind Garrett's rebirth, it's absolutely true. Scientists have inserted memories and recorded memories. They just need to recreate more detail in some cases. They use an MRI, too. It's all in Michio Kaku's book "The future of the mind".
Five Chapters Left! (Including the Epilogue)