Decided to take a short break from the MD4 mines.
Fortunate Encounter - 1
"The clockwork whirrs vigorously, but the rabbit appears weary.
... No, perhaps this is a duck.
The Rabbit asks."
"-PLEASE ALLOW ME TO JOIN YOUR FAMILIA!" Shouted the white-haired boy with a radiant smile, his voice seeming to drown out the forest's noises. A pair of expectant red eyes bore into the Manager. Dante was sure that another twelve sets were zeroed on his back, awaiting his decision.
It was like a scene from a bad horror flick– thirteen people and a clock, all covered in blood and viscera, casually conversing while surrounded by purple crystals and corpses. Even the trees had been painted a deep crimson, well, those that had survived at least as the vast majority of their surroundings had been absolutely decimated. Spent casings, burn marks and deep slashes marred the ground all around.
On the bright side, they had found Faust and the Manager was sure that Ryōshū was having a great time. But they had to wonder: How did we get here?
To answer that, let's change the perspective and rewind a bit….
Bell Cranel had a dream – To become an adventurer. Having grown up with his grandfather's stories of fair maidens and great heroes, it was a given that one day he'd make his way to Orario, to the Dungeon where his tale would begin. The passing of his grandfather, the final thing holding him in his village, had marked the beginning of his long journey to the famed city. Long indeed…
Sure, he could've probably hitched a ride with a caravan for a price but had decided to play it safe and use his meagre amount of Valis only when absolutely necessary. He would lose a bit of time getting to Orario, yes, but he would also have the money to fall back on in case of unexpected rainy days when he reached his destination.
And so it was that the boy found himself spending yet another night beneath the stars. He had found himself a nice spot in the roots of a great tree. It was cozy and it came with the benefit of having a great view of the dark heavens up above.
It was a beautiful night, the sea of stars out in full force and a pleasant breeze gently wafting through the air but for some reason sleep continued to evade Bell. He chalked it up to nervousness, after all the Labyrinth City was now only a few days travel away. 'I'll be a real adventurer soon…' These same thoughts echoed over and over inside his head refusing to submit him into slumber's sweet embrace. Still, the road ahead was long and a good night's sleep was required for him to be productive and so to calm his racing mind, Bell decided to use an old trick his grandfather had thought him – Counting sheep, or in this case stars.
And it just happened that he found himself in the right place, at the right time to witness a most peculiar event. "-fifty, fifty-one, fifty-t-Wait what?" The sound of a shattering mirror heralded the appearance of several dark shapes up in the sky. Dark shapes that proceeded to immediately start crumbling apart and hurtle towards the ground a fair distance away from Bell. Soon faint thuds and crashes reached his ears. Suddenly, the boy's previous plans of getting a good night's sleep were thrown out the window as the adventurer's spirit within him was roused.
Bell hurriedly packed his things and rushed off into the woods in the direction he had saw the mysterious objects fall. The sound of his beating heart, the fallen leaves cracking beneath his foot – this feeling it was - "Could this be it?! The call to adventure that grandfather spoke of?!" Such things came out of his mouth as he ran. Images of what could await him at the end filled his imagination. Perhaps it was a treasure chest brimming with gold or a magical item or-or dare he hope, a beautiful girl in need of rescue?! He didn't now for how long he ran or how much farther it was but he was sure he was getting closer.
"-Real men try to make a harem!" The words of his late grandfather burst forth in his head. Yes, this was it, the-
Whatever thought would have come next, it died on the spot, as Bell's sprint drew to a screeching halt. The previous excitement gave way to horror and disgust at the scene before him. Red… Red hung from branches… Red painted the ground… And red dripped down onto him… At that moment his brain decided that he had seen enough and nausea hit the boy like a sucker punch. The world spun as Bell collapsed and emptied his stomach.
The sight before him was as if someone had tried to recreate hell. Red fleshy chunks that had once clearly been people and strange metal pieces littered both the forest floor and the crowns of the trees. Shakily getting back to his feet the boy moved over and gingerly picked up one of the small metallic objects, hoping, begging that it would give him some answers, an explanation for what he was seeing before him. Alas, the stylized "W" symbol on it did nothing of the sort.
He needed to get away from there… Yes, forget he saw anything and just go as far away from there as possible. However, just as he was about to turn tail and run back the way he had come, the slight rustle of bushes from behind betrayed the fact that Bell was not alone. Bell turned his head almost inhumanly fast, just in time to catch someone, or rather something come out of the shrubbery.
Much to Bell's horror he realized that he was staring into the large eyes of what seemed to be a goblin. Though in his youth the boy had once been attacked by one, he couldn't really be sure whether it was an actual goblin or some other similar monster. This was owed to the fact that the creature before him had these strange crystalline-like red and purple structures haphazardly growing all over its body. It was almost like the monster's blood and magic stone had been merged together to form jagged spikes and crude claws.
So here Bell was, all alone in the middle of what looked like a slaughterhouse, face to face with a monster. It couldn't get much worse, right? Well, apparently it could as two more creatures waddled out of the bushes. Three sets of glowing red eyes fixed themselves on the boy. Very hungry-looking eyes. For a good while, the boy and the monsters just stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then one of the things took a single step forward and Bell bolted in the opposite direction, deeper into the red painting.
He did not need to look back to determine whether the goblins(?) had decided to give chase or not, the sound of footfalls from behind him told him everything. The fact that the number of feet seemed to be multiplying the longer the chase was going on for made a shiver run down his spine. As he ran, his initial panic eventually gave way to an unnatural state of calmness. Soon all thoughts of the horrors pursuing him left him and instead as time seemed to slow down around him, his mind began analyzing his surrounding looking for possible escapes. It was an experience that he'd never felt before – being terrified and yet composed. Latter he would be told that the expression "adrenaline is a helluva drug" existed for a reason and he would have to agree.
Unfortunately for Bell, before he could come up with a way to get to safety, in the darkness of night he failed to notice something on the ground, something that ended up tripping him. Whether it was a stray root, another piece of metal debris or perhaps even a body's outstretched limb he would never find out. Tumbling for a good two meter or so, Bell finally came to a stop, crashing into a nearby tree's trunk. He tried to get back up but his body refused to move. Exhaustion had finally caught up to him.
Lifting his gaze up, the dazed boy's face went a ghostly shade of white. What had originally started as a trio of monsters had become a rather large group. At least two dozen of the things where rapidly closing in on him. And much to his make horror the goblin-like creatures were the minority, comprising only a handful of their numbers. The vast majority of the monsters had clearly once been human, though ones that had had several of their limbs replaced with prosthetics. 'No way, am I going to become one of those things?! Is this really how it ends, before I even get to the Dungeon?!' As the horde drew closer and closer, all Bell Cranel could do was close his eyes and wait for the end.
But it never came.
Instead, a series of loud clangs fallowed by what sound like meat being skewered and… the most bone-chilling laughter he had ever heard filled his ears. Opening his eyes, he was met with an unexpected sight.
Standing between him and the horde of creatures was a woman in white clothes and silver armor and one of the things appeared to have been pinned to the ground by a comically large nail. While she was undeniably beautiful with her slightly disheveled white and yellow hair and pale complexion, the fact that she was covered in blood and constantly cackling significantly took away from it.
"My, and here Faust thought you heretics couldn't get any more disgusting!" Damn it, even her voice could have been considered attractive if not for the manic edge to it.
"W-who…" It took him a bit too long to realize he had murmured the word. It had been barely above louder than a whisper and yet it appeared to have caught his savior's attention. The woman turned her head slightly toward him, just enough to reveal a single crazed blue eye. The aura of madness contained around her made Bell curl into himself.
"Faust is Faust. Faust is The One Who Grips." She answered in the most matter of fact tone, as if that explained everything and didn't raise even more questions in turn. However, before Bell could even fully process her words, the monsters, apparently having recovered from their initial shock, charged. Yet, the so-called Faust didn't move even a muscle. Instead something unbelievable happened.
The only way that Bell could describe it was as if reality around his savior was smashed with a hammer, mirror-like shards flowing in every direction before disappearing. And speaking of the woman, after this unexplainable occurrence, she had completely changed. Her white and silver garb
had been replaced with an aquatic looking set of equipment. The large nail was gone, in its place a long handle connected to an enormous sac full of some red liquid had appeared. Then Faust jumped, no, soared into the sky and shortly after came crashing down on the monsters, slamming down her strange weapon. Of course, the attached sac burst, washing everything, Bell included, in its crimson contents and a thin red mist filled the air.
In the wake of the devastating attack, all that remained of the terrible horde were magic stones resting within the newly created red puddle. The power that had just been unleashed left Bell slack-jawed. There could only be one explanation for what had just happened. The boy knew of the existence of skills and magic but only those blessed by the gods could use them, in other words – the woman who had saved him... must have been, "AN ADVENTURER!" His mouth and brain provided at the same time.
All of a sudden, the horror of the past, he didn't even know how long, evaporated and was replaced by excitement. After all, he was in the presence of a real adventurer, the very dream he aspired to. Oh, he had so many question for her, what level was she, which Familia did she belong to, why was she out here and not in the Dungeon, things like that.
Speaking of the woman, she had undergone yet another wardrobe change in the blink of an eye. Now dressed in a turtleneck, beneath a black vest, with a long coat casually draped over her shoulder, mimicking a cape, she was leaning on a zweihänder. Her previous aura of madness seemed to have never existed, in its place an almost soothing feeling accompanied her. A fact that made a starry-eyed Bell much more confident in approaching her. Collecting himself, the boy walked up to his savior and attempted to start up a conversation.
However, in a strange twist of fate, Faust beat him to the punch. "Hmm, I believe proper introductions are in order…" She said in an almost disinterested tone. The complete 180 from her previous personality made Bell suddenly lose his words. In their stead, only a dumb "Uh-huh" came out.
"As Faust said earlier, Faust is Faust. An employee of Limbus Company's LCB department." Having said her piece, the woman fell silent. The two simply stared at each other for a bit, an awkward atmosphere forming between them, until, finally, Bell realized that Faust was waiting for the boy to respond. Suddenly shame flooded Bell, here he was having been rescued and yet hadn't even introduced himself, let alone thanked her.
"AHH, I'M SORRY! MY NAME IS BELL CRANEL! THANK YO-MNMH" The boy's loud apology was cut short, courtesy of Faust's hand coming up to cover his mouth.
"Faust advises caution, as it is yet unknown whether or not more hostiles are near."
Bell hadn't even thought of that. 'Is this the difference between an adventurer's mindset and that of the common folk?' Slowly, Faust removed her hand, allowing Bell to speak once more.
"So, uhhh, what do we do now?"
"Linking up with the other employees of LCB department, Faust's colleagues, should be our top priority-" "There are more adventurers here?!" The small interruption went ignored by the woman, who simply continued unfazed. " - However, as of the current moment Faust is too tired to wander through the forest in search of her comrades. Our present position seems safe enough. Having evaluated the risks, I have reached a decision – Mister Cranel, you may leave or stay, it matters not. "
"Wait wh-"Before Bell could ask for a clarification, Faust collapsed, passed out. "No, wait! Miss Faust, please don't leave me here alone!" The boy tried to shake her awake but his efforts proved futile. Realizing that Faust was out cold for the time being, Bell found himself all alone once again. Suddenly, the forest became very dark and scary once again. Still, he couldn't just leave her. What sort of a man, of a hero would he be if he did that?
Hell, she may even be impressed by his bravery if she awoke only to realize that he had stood vigil over her. All of a sudden, a newfound determination sparked to life within him. 'This isn't quite how I pictured meeting an absolute beauty Grandfather but I'll try and make you proud…'
And thus, Bell Cranel, found himself valiantly watching over the woman's resting form for the rest of the night… When he wasn't jumping at the faintest little noise or the stray shadow that is.
The first thing Faust felt upon awakening from her impromptu incapacitation and opening her eyes was the sensation of being blinded by the blazing noon sun, the searing light forcing her to shut them again. 'This is troubling…' She had estimated that she should've been up before first light.
Yet another miscalculation on her part. The Sinner was really feeling Gesellschaft's absence.
Said continued absence, even after having clearly exited W. Corp's dimension, also arose some uncomfortable questions. Chiefly, where exactly had she ended up? Faust had a vague idea but she hoped that wasn't the case. 'Hmm no point dwelling on that now, I've burned enough daylight.' Slowly, her blue eyes cracked open to take in her surroundings as she pushed herself off the ground (this time she made sure to shield her vision from the sun with her hand).
Daylight gave Faust a better view of her E.G.O.'s aftermath. Her strike had flattened a good chunk of the forest floor, creating a vaguely round-shaped flat area amidst the trees. For the most part the red liquid that had covered the ground had long since either dried or been evaporated, although here and there small crimson puddles lingered. All in all, everything was either as it had been before or had changed within expectation that is except for one thing.
Faust clearly remembered collapsing where she had stood, namely approximately in the middle of the flat area, yet now she found herself a short distance away from it. The Sinner had been leaned upon a hallowed out log, which had been rolled from somewhere else next to her. Clearly the boy she had met last night had decided to move her, probably in an attempt to make her more comfortable. A pointless gesture given that she had been out cold and the fact that dying and then coming back via Dante's clock was a far more unpleasant experience than resting on the ground.
'It is appreciated though.' Faust was certainly grateful that she wouldn't have to be searching for the LCB with back pain. 'Back on track.'
Speaking of Faust's benefactor – 'Bell Cranel' her mind helpfully provided – the boy was crouched down, doing something upon the flattened ground. Last time she had saw him he had been covered in Fluid Sac's, well, fluid but it seemed that he had cleaned himself up at some point. 'If he had the time to do that then the night must have been uneventful.' The fact he had stuck around was, well, not-entirely unexpected but improbable. Faust had estimated a 67% probability that he would have simply ran away or robbed her of her valuables before disappearing. Had this been a Nest or the Backstreets she never would have risked such a gamble but this clearly wasn't the City.
By the look of things, Mister Cranel was far too preoccupied with whatever it was he was doing to notice that Faust had woken up. The polite and reasonable thing for Faust to do would've been to call out to him and normally she would have done just that. The Sinner instead chose to quietly get up and stealthily approach Bell. Why she did it? Perhaps it was the desire to do the opposite of what one would consider rational or the fact that Faust's curious nature was piqued by the mystery of what the boy was doing.
She moved fast but carefully, avoiding small bushes and the odd branch on the ground as to not spook the boy. Eventually only a couple of feet separated the two at best, yet this Bell Cranel remained as oblivious as before. Pressing forward, the Sinner was finally in a position to peer over his shoulder and see what he was so preoccupied with.
Bell was crouched down next to one of the lingering red puddles and was rummaging inside it for something. This continued for some time until, finally, he pulled his hand out of the red liquid. Although it was hard for Faust to make it out, there was something in the boy's palm. She couldn't make out quite what the object was except for that it was a bluish-purple color. The Sinner only caught a brief glimpse of it before the boys shoved it into a poach on his belt.
Sensing that nothing more could be gleamed by simply observing, Faust chose to finally make her presence known.
"What is it that you are doing?"
What fallowed next was – Bell, previously having had his feet planted firmly on the ground, jumping into the air and doing a 180 turn to face the woman, standing right behind him, before landing. It was a rather impressive display of agility – for a Grade 9 that is, in Faust's eyes it was simply okay, perhaps even a bit sluggish. Still, it was far better than what a civilian or a Rat would be capable of and it showed that the boy could have some potential for fixer life. Come to think of it, he had managed to evade the Dregs for a good while as well.
Filing those tidbits way for now, Faust turned her attention back to said boy, who was doing a rather good impression of a fish out of water, opening and closing his mouth, seemingly trying to settle on what to say. Finally, Bell seemed to decide on a jumbled set of words and sounds.
"How long- Uh-When did-"
"Faust has been awake for a few minutes now. You were too occupied with your activity to notice-"
"I'M REALLY SORRY! I-" The slight raise of the Sinner's hand cut the now very red-faced boy off, Faust sensing that if she did nothing a lengthy tirade of excuses would ensue, something that she didn't have time for.
"It is fine. However, may I enquire what it was that you were doing?"
"U-uh well, you collapsed so suddenly last night and I didn't have the time to properly thank you, so to make up for that –" Then, Bell quickly took off the pouch she had seen him put the purple object into from his belt and offered it to her with a small smile. "I, well, gathered the magic stones from the monsters you defeated… That is not all of them but I'm sure what's in here would still be worth at least a decent amount of Valis. And-"
Faust took the offered gift from his hand and proceeded to tune out the rest of the boy's speech, instead focusing on processing the information she had just received – 'Valis – clearly some form of currency, though not one Faust is familiar with. Conversion rate from Ahn would be (?). However, magic stones (?) – Clearly the purple item/ possible connection to M. Corp's Moonlight stones – unclear/ unlikely given present information/ possible connection to the Ruins – unclear/unlikely given present information. Malfunction occurred in WARP dimension, yet this is clearly not it – most probable location: Outskirts of the City, however factoring in the continued inability to access Gesellschaft points to-'
"-ss Faust? Are you okay?" Bell's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking at the boy, his eye had a worried edge to them. 'Please don't collapse again' they seemed to say. "If you are feeling unwell then-"
"Faust is okay. I apologise for causing undue worries, I was merely deep in thought."
"Oh, what about?" At the question, Faust couldn't help but frown slightly. Usually she would have left such a question unanswered as there was so much going through her brain that a normal person would have been overwhelmed but… 'This is a perfect opportunity to test my hypothesis.'
"Uh, I'm sorry for prying!" Why was he apologi- Ah, he must've misunderstood her reason for frowning.
"No, it is quite alright. Faust was wondering where exactly she was."
"Oh! I see! Well, while I don't know exactly where we are, we are a couple of days east of the city of Orario."
'Orario(?) – Another name for the City? Must probe further. If this is the eastern Outskirts then the closest Districts would be 17 and 18 – So Q. Corp and R. Corp – not that far from our intended destination - P. Corp'
"Mister Cranel, what more can you tell me abou-"But a faint sound out in the distance cut her off. It came from a bit a ways from them but it was still loud enough to be heard somewhat clearly. A sound that Faust was quite familiar with… In the distance Magic Bullet was being fired. And it was getting closer.
"W-what is that Miss Faust?! Is it more of those things?!" A suddenly nervous looking Bell asked. 'Unfamiliar with the sound of guns?'
"Yes and no." She responded in such a deadpan voice that a confused "Wha-" couldn't help itself escaping from the boy's mouth. "A sufficient explanation would take far too long, all you need to know is that Faust's colleges have arrived…" Before he could ask for a clarification, Faust took off into a calm walk in the direction of the noise. For some reason Bell found himself fallowing after her, not unlike a lost little duckling. The sound of gunshots had gotten really close now, just beyond the trees.
"…and they bring company."
LIMBUS COMPANY – I'll see myself out…
Many thanks to everyone who wished me luck on my Walpurgis pulls.
Unfortunately, the reason this took so long to finish was the fact that after said pulls went…. unideal… I had a nice conversation with the White Woman and after that was forced to hide from the LCB for a while… Oh and I guess School started back up in the meantime but eh….
I'm grateful for all your support on this story and happy that people enjoy it.
And with that, I wish you a pleasant morning, day, evening or night.
See you next time.
