Current Energy: 9
Current Training: Divinity B (7/10) This Omake Bonus in thanks to: DragonGrimoire
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
The Heap, Brockton Bay
You watch carefully as your Master goes about the ritual, deep in the bowels of the castle. The room itself is still one of the more sparsely furnished remaining in the castle. While most if not all the usable rooms have been set up so that they can easily be assigned a purpose and used - either as a work room, a bedroom, or something else - the ritual room was pointedly not opened to the Dockworkers during their ongoing efforts to get the Heap habitable.
Mostly because without context, the ritual circle and it's accumulated paper talismans, stacked one over the other as your Master modified and changed the spell to be used here, have the distinct air of religion about them - something no employee wants to see associated with a magic circle in the hidden bowels of their workplace. Mostly because such things usually go hand in hand with human sacrifice.
In your experience anyway.
Under normal circumstances you would be slightly put off by several aspects of this situation. Not the least of which being the human sacrifice aspect - something your emulation has had to step into and stomp out several times in the past.
For one, your Master has been bustling about rearranging things for a goodly portion of the evening - which would be fine if she didn't have the glint in her eye that told you she was going to do something ill advised. For another, she spent at least twenty minutes of that time staring pensively at the cane your previous incarnation gave her, kept lovingly in a small cabinet in her half of the garage along with all of her other magical paraphernalia. When she finished putting together whatever thought she was holding, she started to giggle uncontrollably - which is something your Emulations late wife was best known to do before doing something, ahem, absolutely insane. Finally, when time came for your Master to actually power the ritual she had set up, the cane carefully stood at its center, you couldn't help but interject.
"Master, is this... wise?" You asked carefully, eyeing the glowing circle as she stepped into it to begin directing its energies.
"Kinda. I mean, the other times I've done this, I haven't really be responsible for the person that comes out you know? This time, I am. And that's scary but... it's a lot less scary when you have a bunch of money I guess. No matter 'who' comes out of this, I think I'm at least positioned to try to look after them right?" Your Master explains carefully, her attention mostly taken up with the mystical working before you.
You consider. You suppose that's... one way... to look at it. In your experience, most Wizards don't really care that much about their familiars. Not without long years of service and bonding anyway. Mostly, they are a tool. Sometimes a tool one is fond of, but a tool. Not to be mistaken for something that should have it's own opinions or goals. The Familiar just did what its Master wanted, and that was it. That's what they were for.
For your Master however, a modern girl with a modern grasp on morality, there certainly seems to be a slightly different connotation to the concept. Something more akin to 'giving life' to something. A gift, that she hopes will be rewarded in kind, but will not demand.
You... actually approve of this. It's rare that a user of mysteries from this emulations home world could easily lay claim to such straightforward and upright morals.
However something is still bothering you. Because the circle, and the energy flowing from it feels... much greater than any previous time you've observed your Master do this. Such that you are honestly brought to mind of a time not too long ago where she chose to apply the entirety of her strength to Jess, in order to bring her spirit back to something approaching human form and sanity.
This, of course, instantly puts you on guard.
"Taylor, I do remember you said you would never do this again, after Jess." You warn her, not sure if this is intentional or a side effect of the increasing power her dragon core provides her. You know for a fact that her control is iffy at the best of times.
This is not the best of times.
"Well, you're big and strong right now, right? And we're in my castle! Plus, I don't think Long Memory would lash out or anything. Isn't it only fair that if I give it life, that I give it my all?" She asks you, more rhetorically than anything else.
Ah. She's doing it again. She's got an idea in her head, and wants to see it to completion. You can tell from the gleam in her eye as she darts a glance at you that she's perfectly aware of what she's saying. You can't even argue the point with her, because technically speaking she's correct. What little you remember of that weapon does not paint it as one prone to bloodshed.
"Plus, this isn't that tiring." She mutters after a moment of your stunned silence, while the room begins to glow brighter and brighter, and the fleeting pressure of magical energy in the air begins to increase, wisps and whirls of prismatic light drifting about the room in expanding bursts.
You frown, and withdraw Gram, prepared to cut down anything untoward that might leap from that frightening concentration of eldritch power.
Which is naturally why you find yourself blinking in surprise when fully dressed young girl steps out of the blinding lights, synchronous with the sudden cessation of blinding magical lights.
She is of average height, and waifish build, standing a head shorter than your Master with her hands clasped politely behind herself. Her hair is a steel grey not dissimilar to the metal of the weapon she originated from tied into a loose braid that falls over one shoulder, and bares bright green eyes that are framed by slight crows feet, as though with only a few moments of existence behind her, she has already managed to lose sleep over something. Her expression is calm and placid, matching the plain grey blouse and black skirt she is wearing, and she takes a moment during your silent examination of her to adjust the green bow at her neck before peering carefully at first you, and then Taylor.
"Ozma?" She asks curiously, faltering slightly as though unsure of her own voice.
"He's in here, yeah." Taylor answers easily, breathing slightly hard but not as floored as she was with Jess, tapping her temple with one hand.
"Oh." the shikigami answers, blinking a single time before seemingly... waiting for something.
"I'm Taylor. What's your name?" Your Master asks carefully, her posture relaxing when violence does not appear to be immediately forthcoming.
"Long Memory." The shikigami answers immediately and with a certain amount of haughtiness you weren't really expecting.
"Can I just call you Memory? Or Mem?" Taylor asks. Why does this feel... familiar...
"I am Long Memory. It is my name." The shikigami insists. Yeah this is definitely something you've experienced before. It's almost exactly like when your Master named you. The nickname is also exactly as childish as your own given name.
Is... is your Master just bad at naming things? Is this your fault somehow? It's not, right?
"Yeah but that's hard to say during a conversation right? This is 'Multiversal Emulator' - but he lets me call him Emmy." Taylor explains, waving towards you. You nod in greeting and the shikigami does likewise, slowly, as though turning the question over in her mind.
"I have always been whatever Ozma needs. So you can call me Mem. If you want." She finally agrees, her expression still stock still but her face blushing slightly.
"Great! Uh, I've never had a familiar before. I don't really know-" Taylor begins with a shy smile but is cut off by another voice.
"Hey! I'm Nemesis! I'm her sword, and that guys mine, but as long as you stick to being a cool stick, we can get along okay?" Nemesis states imperiously, appearing suddenly between your Master and the newly minted Mem, arms akimbo. She is notably shorter than Mem, being closer physically to a ten year old than the early teen the shikigami presents as, and so when Mem looks her in the eye after she speaks, it is with a distinctly stiff downward tilt to her head.
"...I am not a stick. I am my masters weapon. I have been in a thousand battlefields. I have seen a scores of dead. I will remember them all. I will not remember you. Please do not talk to me." Came the succinct reply.
"...huh?" Nemesis blurted out immediately, seemingly too confused by the blunt response to formulate an answer to it, which allowed Mem to glide past her to where Taylor was watching the entire exchange with obvious amusement.
"Come, Master. We should be planning." Mem stated, her voice light and soft, as though even her normal speaking voice were a kind of whisper. She matched her words by grabbing your Masters hand and tugging slightly to pull her away from the circle and consequently - Nemesis.
"Planning what?" Your Master asked in amusement, shooting a glance towards Nemesis who was still staring into space as though unsure of how to proceed.
"To kill Salem?" Mem asks cutely, tilting her head as though unsure of why that might not be the case.
"There is no Salem here. We don't need to fight the Grimm here." Taylor explained.
"...Ah." Mem replied, suddenly looking downcast.
"B-but we can find other things to kill? We have these things called Endbringers here?" Taylor blurts out. Mem immediately perks up.
"Nu uh! No way! I wanna kill one of those!" Nemesis suddenly complains, jumping on your Masters back and sneering at Mem.
"Barbarian." The wizards cane spits out acerbically.
"Know it all!" The sword responds.
This... can't end well.
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Hebert Household, Brockton Bay
"Mem? Did you not sleep?" Your Master asks.
They are the first words you hear that morning. They are also dreadfully familiar to you for some reason, though you can't put your finger on why exactly.
"I did not." Came the succinct answer. From behind you, you can feel Nemesis push herself up in the bed to glare at the other weapon from over your shoulder, having been told by your Master that she would have to be nice, or at least, restrict herself to only minor pettiness.
"Why?" Taylor asks tiredly.
"Studying." Is the prompt reply from the Shikigami, who lifts the notebook Taylor was recently using to study Runes under you.
"Why don't you lay down for a little while while I meditate? Sleep is important." Your Master cajoles the younger girl, beckoning her to take over the place in the bed she just left.
"But I am not done?" She asks hefting the book.
"Then... why are you in the bedroom?" Your Master asks owlishly.
"You are awake." Another prompt reply.
"Gah! Your so stuffy! Go sleep in the closet or something you useless stick!" Nemesis complained, finally unable to contain herself any longer standing atop the mattress and pointing angrily at Mem.
"I left an apple on the counter, Master. You can use her to cut it." Mem stated, directing her answer to Taylor and ignoring Nemesis entirely.
"Stop. Both of you. Mem, take a nap. Nemesis, lets go. Emmy, can you make sure she sleeps?" Taylor cuts in. You sit up and nod slightly, easily acquiescing to the request. Mem shoots you a look and furrows her brows at you when you gesture at the bed for her.
"What? No! Sleep on the floor! Or under the bed! Emmy you come with us!" Nemesis belted, stomping her foot once and leaning forward to start trying to push you bodily from the bed.
You sigh.
"I will be reading over there." You answer finally, appeasing both your Master and other sort of Master's requests at once.
Once the pair had finally gone to your Master's morning training, you find yourself alone with Mem.
Who has yet to move from the spot she is standing in, instead examining you with a complicated expression on her face.
"Yes?" You ask eventually.
"You are a semblance. A power." She eventually states, more than asks.
"...That is one interpretation yes." You reply, choosing your words carefully.
"You have been with Master longer than me. Please tell me her plans." The slight girl requests evenly, ignoring the bed and stepping over to the small table you have positioned yourself at.
"She wants you to go to sleep." You answer.
"Long term plans." Mem corrects herself.
"Master just wants the world to be a better place, so she can be with the people she loves." You tell Mem. Your Master is many things, but her goals and aspirations are simultaneously both very simple... and very complicated.
"Ozma always does." Mem says with a proud nod before continuing, "And what do we do, to support that?"
You can sense a latent sort of frustration in the question, and feel like you are uniquely suited to answer it. You can remember a time not to long ago when you yearned for the ability to simply rush out and solve your Masters problems. It was one of the main benefits of being a 'person'. You could act. You had agency. And your Master was your world. That is still true but recently you've felt as though the peaceful days are better than the ones filled with conflict. It is an uncomfortable realization. And not one you are going to fully explain to Mem, who mirrors you so much, from back when you first connected to your Mastered.
"We already are. We are the people she loves." You answer with a smile.
"...I am a weapon though?" Mem asks hesitantly.
"...We are, aren't we?" You mumble, before shaking your head.
"Humans sleep because it helps them think. It organizes your thoughts a bit, to sleep. Would you like to try it? It will help - I promise." You offer, changing the subject.
"...Truly?" Mem asks you suspiciously.
"Truly." You reply dryly, standing up and sweeping the girl up, making sure she is not wearing any shoes before depositing her in the expansive bed and pulling the covers over her. Then you drag the chair you were just sitting in across the room to sit by the bedside, and take a seat.
"...Would you like me to tell you about our adventures?" You asks when all the Shikigami does is stare at you.
"Yes." She answers immediately.
"Then you must close your eyes." You point out. The girl blinks once languidly at you, then accepts.
You smile, and tell the story of your first few steps into the world.
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Hebert Household, Brockton Bay
"...Divinity. Like... from a god." Taylor asks you incredulously.
Once Mem had fallen asleep - it hadn't taken long, evidently the girl really needed it - you had quietly gotten up and traveled down the stairs to meet your Master, awaiting the time for you to begin your own lessons with her.
"Yes... and no." You reply after giving the idea some thought. You have a... general... understanding of godhood in your homeworld. That understanding is somewhat undercut by the sheer range of things that have been described as 'gods' there though. Still, you have enough knowledge about your own divinity and it's origins to be able to cobble together a workable explanation, which you are doing so now.
"Imagine the planet, and everything on it. The stones, the oceans, the fish, the birds. Everything. Earth." You explain, making a sweeping gesture before you as you warm up and begin to pontificate, pushing your glasses further up your face and tilting your head so the glint from the light above plays off them for a moment.
"...Uhuh." Taylor answers dubiously.
"Earth is, itself, an organism. A life. We called her Gaia. The consciousness of the Earth itself." You explain.
"Like... the Greek goddess?" Taylor asks.
"No, they were robots. This is different." You quickly correct her. She stares at you, mouth half open as though to ask another question, but unsure how do so, exactly. So you move on.
"If Gaia is the will of the earth, then Gods are her organs. Divine Spirits. Beings bestowed with an authority by Gaia, or the prayers of humanity below." You expand, waving your arms before you again.
"No- stop. Go back. Robots?" Taylor squawks at you.
"More like Space Ships, but yes. Robots. Anyway-" You pause to answer before returning to your original topic.
"Space Ships?!" Your master screeches at you.
You sigh. History isn't your emulations strong suit, but still. This can't be that surprising.
Right?
You pause to consider that thought for a moment, then pale slightly. There are things from this Emulations home dimension that make your own species look tame by comparison. You find that fact highly distressing.
Maybe you... should take the time to go over all of this?
Friday, February 18th, 2011
The Heap, Brockton Bay
You end up abstaining from school that day, instead being ordered by your Master to look over Mem, so that she doesn't wake up alone while your Master is away. You pass the majority of the day going through your Masters book collection - mostly 'classics' bequeathed to her by her Mother - and otherwise just... doing nothing. It's a strange feeling, to enjoy 'nothing', but you don't dislike it.
Now you are patiently walking besides your Master, Mem, and Nemesis, as you all troop into the Heap so your Master can locate Aspirant. Evidently, now that the crisis is over, she wants to revisit the fact that he is nominally a runaway, and hasn't been in school for over a month.
"...Master. How long has that been there?" Mem asks as you pass through the Garage, ostensibly so your Master can set her up with a room of her own in the castle before she leaves today.
"A nuisance." Nemesis huffs instantly.
Your Master's head tracks the girls outstretched finger to a corner of the garage, where she pauses.
"The... ghost?" Taylor asks hesitantly. Mem shoots her a flat stare.
"...Yes." She answers eventually, ignoring Nemesis glower as she does so.
"Nemesis told me to stab it but that felt... cruel? She just stands there most of the time so I though..." She trails off with a glance to Nemesis who pointedly chooses that moment to vanish from sight, presumably returning to her sword form to avoid an awkward conversation.
"I will handle it." Mem declares finally, before glancing to you and back again.
"...If that is what you want." She adds, almost as an after thought. You smile wryly at her.
"...Can you deal with ghosts? Is that your power?" Taylor asks curiously, eyeing the tween.
"Ah. I did not explain. I have felt an unnatural sensation, since laying eyes on it. I simply feel like I can do something about it. Can I?" She asks again.
"If it's safe..." Taylor offers carefully. Mem nods at this, then develops a look of concentration on her face.
"Wait!" Taylor blurts out before anything can happen, glancing at the spot Mem is looking at. "Will it hurt?" She asks.
"I will be fine." Mem says before returning to what she was doing.
"That's not what I-" Taylor starts to say, but is cut off by the sudden sound of wailing, followed shortly by the a loud popping sound. Then, nothing. When you and your Master turn to stare at Mem in confusion, she has a satisfied look on her face - and there is a strange bird standing on one of her shoulders. Like a raven, but with a much more expressive face, such that it is almost uncanny to watch it shift it's beak around as thought trying to speak.
And then, of course, it does.
"What the fuck?!" The bird screams in a voice you recognize almost immediately as Dinah's.
"Mem?!" Taylor yells leaning away from the thing.
"...I think I ate it." She replies with a contented smile on her face.
"The hell you say!?" The bird screams again.
"...absorbed it, then." Mem corrects herself slightly, then glances at the bird on her shoulder.
"I take issue with this!" The bird cried out.
"You were a clone. You lived for... six and a half minutes. Most of it in struggle. You are remembered, Dinah Alcott." Mem offered, before blinking and turning to stare quizzically at Taylor.
"I do not know how I did that." She admits freely, after the fact.
Your Master groans.
A/N: This chapter got kind of long with just the Shikigami stuff, so I'll do the other half tomorrow. I hope you guys like Mem. She sprang from nothing and is kind of an oddball. Which.. is pretty standard fair for Touhou... and the Oathbound... hm.
If anyone is curious, Mem is a Itsumade - a type of Strange Bird Youaki that feeds on the Lament of the Dead and basically just shows up in places with lots of corpses to bully people by reminding them they exist until they clean the bodies up. I've chosen to interpret this as giving voice to the fallen, or basically, 'meet my flock of screaming birds with human voices'.
She's a necromancer. No I didn't do this on purpose. No the fact that she's mini Salem and effectively Ozpin's kid wasn't on purpose. I rolled all of this. It just happened. I have to deal with it as much as you do. We can suffer together.
Anyway, I'd like to direct you all to AcidSilver's profile page, where you should all go wish them a happy birthday! They've been really active and pleasant in both the thread and the discord, and I would do this more often for other people but I genuinely don't know most of your birthdays! Happy Birthday, Acid!
Anyway, here you go. Usual disclaimers apply. Me no sleep. Grammar and Tense are pain. *Caveman noises*