Logbook #005 - The Lady of the Beasts' Oath
A hazy dream, a complicated one. Static and incomprehensible sound. Doors knocking, windows and metal creaking. The laughter of a child and its slow maniacal change. A nightmare.
That's what it is. A flashback during the times of war. The time when I had to sit out in the cold stone room within the cold stone floor. Hiding in it, there were cans of food and bottles of water. A bunker. Outside the sound of muffled screams and shouts, flashes and gunshots. A booming of a grenade with its vibration. I wasn't alone. There were a few figures around me, silhouettes. Who were they? Were they my village people or were they just a child like me? Looking at my hands, a huge bleeding scar by the right of it. Inflicted by a piece of shrapnel that flew by me as my mother relentlessly pulled me. Where is she? Oh, she is upstairs. She is shouting through a microphone and a radio, contacting people to help. Help from what? The monster of course. What monster? It was all a dream. An illusion.
'Wake up..." A voiced called out to me.
Wake up it said. Should I? Is it friend or foe? I have many questions for the voices in my head but they never reply back. Never.
'Mary....wake...up...' An echo came down to me. A deep sleep I was in.
With a sudden shake from a sudden tight group, Mary woke up from her deep sleep. "Mary, wake up! it's late!' The voice shouted towards her. Heaving loudly from panic, she looks towards the direction of the noise. 'Who...?' She asked.
'Me? I am your sister, Aggy! No one told me you had memory loss!' A little girl don in a simple linen dress and rag coat shouted. 'Jee, because of you. Selina had to make use of her ingredients to cook us breakfast. Go make up for her after breakfast, hunt some food.'
Mary sighs. 'Sorry. I really am...I don't know what happened with me recently.' it has been a few days since the encounter of the Winosa Tribe. In those days, Mary felt different. Other than just being overall fatigued and lazy from the injury she got from the fall, she tend to have a couple of headaches and nightmares here and there. As if something calling out to her, asking for help.
'Sister Mary, you alright? You are acting strange again.' Aggy called out to get her sister's attention. She knew that her sister was feeling off from her normal self.
'Ah, ah. Yeah....' She mumbled. She slowly got herself out of bed and cleaned her bed. Excusing herself from Aggy, she entered her room's bathroom. Turning on the faucet, she washes her face a few times before putting on her robes.
'Don't forget to eat your breakfast sis. Also your ammunition and gun polisher. ' Aggy hastily shove the objects into the rucksack and gave it to her Mary. 'Oh, thanks.' Patting her sister, she headed to the kitchen, taking a few slices of bread and cheese that was left for her by Selina. Reaching out to the top of the cupboard, she pulled out a box and inputs a code on its number-pad. Its contents were her USP and a few variations of sights. Taking the one she could quickly attach, She holsters it by her waist and opens the door.
Waving to her younger sister, she heads towards the exit. A short stroll by the dusty dunes, she reached the forest by the east-side of her village. A rather dry forest. It consisted of not many animals and fruits but well, as long as there still some source of food, there is a showcase of a chance for resources.
Breathing slowly and walking slowly, she aims with her USP and locks her sight onto a simple deer, grazing by a small bare plain which consists a minimum of grass for it to chew on. 'Just stay there little guy.' Mary whispered as she shot it two times to the head and one time towards the heart between the stomach and chest. 'Done....'
She looks around left and right in-case there might be a predator nearby but no, Nada. The coast was clear. She could harvest her hunt. Pulling out a dagger from her rucksack, she slowly de- skinned the livestock and hacked the edible parts piece by piece into another bag that she always kept into her rucksack's side pocket.
Wiping off the sweat and blood that stayed onto her face, she cleans her dagger with her robe and coats the remaining blood with sand, removing the excess blood off its content. Tying up the bag, she carried it along as she continues her walk around the forest. With the smell of blood oozing off her pores of sweat, she knows now she could be sensed by smell from anyone or anything, which either made it easier or harder for her to catch an eye on something.
Plucking off a few recognizable and edible berries from a tree, she puts one into her mouth, the rest into her side pocket.
After some time of hunting, it was already starting to get slowly dark. Checking out and counting out her contents. She notices that the sound recorder was left in the rucksack deeply under everything else. Bored and curious, she turns it on. It was already fitted with sound tape 5, somehow.
Walking slowly home, knowing her direction well without sight, she presses the play button.
---Tape Start---
[Still Security Footage with Sound]
It is 4:30 am in the morning, As snores could be heard and wheezing from machinery were being sounded, the sound of the door smacking open can be heard.
Bang~
Some of the sleeping bodies jolted as they were easily awoken. Some others not too much, that's why a jingle made by a trumpet was being played.
Captain Shanina who was standing beside the trumpet player, annoyed by the sound, pulled the trumpet off the player and tossed it into the nearby rubbish bin. "Hey..." The trumpet player said.
"You think I care..." Captain Shanina said as she gave a murderous looking glint towards the trumpet player.
William, Sherrinford and Chau-Min were still soundly asleep. Being a friend and all, she kindly scratched her fingernails onto the metal railings making a screeching sound.
SCREEEEEE~~
Sherrinford woke up and screamed. "What the hell!?"
The other two knowing they are in a military base quickly got up and prepared their bed putting on their tee.
The trumpet player stomped her feet and shouted "ATTENTION~"
Sherrinford now realizing where she is, she got up as quick as she could and saluted. "Yes ma'am.." What she didn't know was she wasn't wearing her pants so you could definitely see her in her panties.
Chau-Min facepalmed when she noticed Sherrinford not wearing her pants. William curiously watching her but turned back to Captain Shanina's view as per he ain't that perverted to be staring at one's panties.
Shanina stared at Sherrinford and whispered softly, "Pants..."
Sherrinford confused. "What did you say?"
Shanina shook her head as she twirled her eyebrows. "YOUR PANTS~" She shouted as loud as possible in her monotonic tone of hers though it sounded more like she broke her voice.
Sherrinford again gaining her senses again looks down, in disbelief, she froze up. She started blushing hot red, you could definitely see her cheeks flushing.
She turned around, horse kicks Chau-min and William simultaneously before putting on her brown military trousers on immediately.
William and Chau-min got up wiping their nose which is now slightly bleeding. They just ignored what happened and sniffled off the blood with the mucus. They rubbed on it constantly though because it was rather itchy.
"Could you hurry up...." Captain Shanina said as she rallying up everyone to follow her to the training field.
As everyone walking their way to the training fields including Sherrinford who skipping the way since she is still trying to belt her trousers, General Ferdunov was resting her arm by the window pane, watching everyone.
William and the other echelons saluted to her as they passed by though General Ferdunov started walking towards William placing her arm firmly on his shoulder, stopping his walk. "Stop right there mal' chik..."
William confused look towards his left shoulder then looking up towards the shadow that was dimming his sight. "Ohh General, Good morning..." He blurted out in surprise.
Sherrinford finally keeping up to the group, passed William and the General as they watched her pass.
"You have an excuse Mr.Endicrite, you need to do a test for us, The Test." She spoke in a very sulling way as if trying to hypnotise him though William was able to break through it.
"The Test? What test, no one told me about a test...I haven't even studied anything nor revised" He started panicking.
"Cool Boy~, it isn't that kind of test. You will just have to follow me to the room to introduce you to the Guardian Elders. I already know that you have found out about the Guardians as I have watched you encounter one with the Miss Heung. Now, follow me... You ought to meet them as they are respecting you." General Ferdunov said.
"Alright..." William agreed and followed General Ferdunov to a special door, highly encased in metal plates and using a special entry security cardholder.
As General Ferdunov did some pressing of buttons and an eye scan, the door releases some steam and opens slowly to William. "Interesting isn't it, its a special technology that the Guardians created with us. It may look like a typical high-security door but it has a lot of anti-entry defences, it breaks hacks and can even counter those hacks and give those devices a fry."
"Why are you telling me all this? It is not like I am going to break into this room, ma'am." William softly spoke to her with some shyness.
"Hmmhmm~ silly boy, come on in now before the door closes you out" As she pats his head and pushes him from his back to enter.
As William wiped his clothing to brush off excess sweat and dust, he was led to a huge compartment of a room filled with blinking lights and a screen glowing white light. There lay five crystals on the table at each chair present with another 4 chairs being used by the three generals and the last one probably for William.
The chair probably for William had a piece of paper written with some questions and a pencil readily for him. General Mia nods towards William's present while General Mirabella was napping, placing her head on the table with crossed arms.
Something was different about her though. She somehow suddenly had a bushy tail similar to a cat whilst cat-ears.
"Wait, was she always like this?" William in surprise asked General Mia.
General Mia nodded. "Yes, she was like this ever since she succeeded to experiment herself with combining animal genes with human genes. Let's just say the tail and the extra pair of ears she has is just the experiment's after-effect, well other than increased agility and strength for her."
"So what is she suppose to be a lioness?" William noticed the bushy tail.
"No, unfortunately, she is a munchkin cat." An unfamiliar feminine voice was heard.
"I see, a munchkin, wait who said that?" William looked left and right of the room but not noticed anyone else other than the three generals.
"I did.." A figure suddenly could be seen on one of the empty chairs.
William noticed a flash of bright light when a woman looking in her 40's dressed in an Autumn Beige Kimono and donning long blonde hair. She also had very sharp teeth and nails as she smiled towards William, "Youkoso Akamatsu-san, It's very nice to meet you, I am Shimaya, The Elder of Animals."
"Wait, how do you know the other name that my mom's family side gave me?" William asked respectively curious.
"We Guardians know a lot about things, similar to databases that government keeps of your biodata and personal information like your different names or identities, we have it naturally geared in our brains. You could say we are smarter but that sounds like we are putting humans in a lower class, we don't want that, we want to work together, yes?"
"That makes sense..." William agreed.
"Not really.." another voice could be heard, now a bit more roughened and harsh.
A woman wearing knight armor, removing the helmet off herself, she had fiery bright hair and a very war-torn look crossed her arms and looked at William and Miss Shimaya. "There are some humans who want to make use of our energy and of our weapons.." She held a sword that looked quite familiar, holding it onto her palm standing tall pinned to the ground with just the tip. A long-sword, how very medieval-ish.
"Is that...?" William pointed at the weapon.
"This is Excalibur, yes but not the one King Arthur owned by pulling from the stone though. This is the second one that was given by the Wizard Merlin, yes. I'm the Lady of the Lake aka Avalonian Elf Avalona."
"Wait, there were a second one and elf? you don't have those...ears though" William was scratching his hair near his earlobes.
"I see you are talking about my ears, mine is not pointed, I sliced them off to a curve because they disturbed my hair and sword practice." She snickered and hits her Chest plate making a noisy crashing bang.
"Did it hurt?" He asked.
"Yes, it did .. for a few seconds, then minutes then hours, then a few days... Yes, it hurts!" She shouted the last sentence out.
"There there Avalona-san, don't be rude towards the new guy, he might not have the looks or strength but I am pretty sure his aura can fit in well with at least one wavelength balance of a guardian. or two, who knows." Shimaya said nicely towards Avalona who was now falling on deaf ears.
"Anyway, are there more elders? I see another two empty chairs with crystals on it." William asked everyone in the room.
"Why yes there are two more Elders, Lady of the Steel and Lady of the Diseased but they are busy today with the Guardian's base, there is a fifth Elder but we do not talk about her anymore." SHimaya's suddenly grew a pair of fox-like ears though not furred or skinned, it was more light, like a flame from a lighter. it twirled down as if she was sad.
(Diseased? That sounds like she is going to spread some sort of bio-weapon.) William spoked to himself. "Why not the fifth?" He asked Shimaya kindly.
"Well Akamatsu-San, if a Guardian was made use in a wrong way or over excessively separated from her aura weapon, she can lose her sanity, turning Corrupted which is a more dark and dangerous version of herself. She was the Lady of Weapons, Her name was Beo and she was my sister before Axis took her away."
"Axis..?" William asked himself.
A tape being rolled could be heard from across the room as the white screen was shown slides of graphic imagery and science notes.
General Ferdunov walked towards the screen and pointed to the images. " Axis was a company that formerly supplied both state and private military contractors such as Military Hardware and weaponry.
Soon after The Happening, Axis went on to fulfill military contracts to critical acclaim during The Crisis, a war between proxies and faltered machinery which was corrupted by an unknown substance now hidden during The Happening.
After an operation has gone wrong with a few scientists and soldiers in a small town near Hallsands of Devon, they started getting corrupted and was being controlled by the unknown substance causing them to look pale and rotten. They attacked that town's last few civilians and made use of the Guardians which were working together with them. Out of their will, those Guardians too turned corrupted both by the Negative Aura they released and the corrupted pressure of being mind broken.
My sister, who was substituted General for Axis was also turned corrupted and is also still a General but not for Continuum but post-Axis" General Ferdunov touched her scarred eyepatch hidden eye-wound.
This was the last thing she did to me before separating for her own ways, out of love, she gouged my eye off and left this wound. What a lovely sister."
"I am so sorry Ma'am." William gave his condolence to the beautiful eye she once had.
"It is alright, the past is the past." General Ferdunov said.
"So basically your sister the General of this terrorist group, with the help of Miss Shimaya's sister are doing attacks among bases, you said they were pale and rotten, how are they still alive 4 years after The Happening" William asked.
"With the use of some of the machines, we made with them, Cloning machines." General Mia placed her feet atop the table as she fiddled with her robotic hand.
"I see.. so the only way we are keeping the balance of our population is also keeping them alive then." William figured out the answer.
"Correct! Nice one recruit" General Mia was now more ecstatic and probably more trustworthy on William.
"So, how do we fight with them? since they technically have dangerous relics as weapons." William asked.
"Simple, fight fire with fire or in this case guardian and guardian." General Ferdunov told William.
"Wait, so you're saying if I'm going against a corrupted guardian with a blade and I have a plain old human handgun, I am going to die?" William asked.
"You could say that way Akamatsu-san but since technology is more advanced now, I think that's 50% impossible." Miss Shimaya told William/Sho.
"50% of death, 50% of staying alive technically a normal life...So how do I acquire a Guardian and her weapon that she wields? Does it depend on my fighting style r what weapon I prefer, do I have a choice?" William asked everyone.
General Mirabella woke up and yawned, she smiled towards William while rubbing her eyes, "Morning already..?"
William nodded.
"Well you don't just choose a weapon, the weapon comes to you... think of it like the green lantern's ring, it chooses the user or the user of the ring chooses its next user." General Mia explained to William.
"So that's why I am going to do this Test. This test technically check what my aura is compatible with and what weapon she/he wields?"
"Yes...That is correct Sir William, wait that sounds wrong. When I say Sire William it reminds me of King William the IV" The lady of the lake said or should I just call her Avalona.
Shimaya giggled in a very foxy way, it sounded more like a dog crying. " excuse me..." Shimaya inhaled and calmed.
General Mirabella then suddenly decided to join in. "Well, if Mr.William wants to get a Guardian registered to him now, it would be a great time to take him to the Testing room."
General Mia smiled and shaken her head in agreement. "That's a great idea!"
"Wait, then what about this piece of paper with questions on it, it looks important." William points towards it.
General Ferdunov walked to William's seat and looks at him. "That's just a typical medical questionnaire, you don't need it. We just like putting it there to scare the not confident ones." She scrunched up the paper and tosses it into the rubbish bin.
William then got up and straighten his uniform. "What if I don't know how to use the registered guardian's weapon? I only went clay pigeoning and archery with my father and a little bit of air-soft from time to time."
"Well, your guardian will teach you or perhaps if you are really useless, she could just possess you and enhance your body," Avalona said as she tried her best to get up from the low arm-chair with her heavy armor.
"Alright, that seems fair. Also Miss Shimaya."
"Yes, Akamatsu-san?" MIss Shimaya's light for ears turned towards him.
"You said something of being able to have multiple guardians, is that humanly possible?" William asked in curiosity.
"Yes, that is possible, your friend the short girl Heung Shau-Min is able to wield her sister's Guardian and her own which you have met, Ni-au," Shimaya told him.
"Interesting... A sisterly bond has a sisterly guardian sharing system" William was surprised as he nodded his head.
"You can actually share your Guardian weapons with other people but only if you're in a close perimeter to your own and if you gave permission or else, the other person will get hurt." General Mia said.
"Like my guardian, she is able to clone herself and her crystal. It can be used as a light source or as a fuel for generators or weapons, no petroleum nor gas canisters needed whatsoever." General mia said as she pulled out her crystal which she was able to snap into two, which then grew back its other half.
"Here, keep one of mine! also, be nice to her and always ask permission if you want to snap her into a clone. I can do it freely because she knows it's me but if it is someone else, she would shock you literally" General Mia explained to him as he caught it with his palm, slipping it into his breast pocket.
"Shall we get going?" Miss Shimaya asked as she unlocked a second door which wasn't there a few seconds ago.
Everyone said Yes.
...
"My eldest daughter...how? That's surprising." Shimaya looked at the machine which was revealing her daughter who was registered onto The Database Archives as William placed his hand onto an orb of a funny looking machine.
"Promise me, boy, please take care of her, she may be mature and "older" than you but she is really sensitive. Ok?" Shimaya asked William truthfully.
"I would do my best madame, I will perform an oath that I would take good care of her..." William nods to her and bows as he removed his hands from the orb.
"Thank you Akamatsu-san, Sniff~ Sniff~ she has grown up" Shimaya covered her face. "I am so very sorry to see me like this everyone..." she was crying softly, wiping her tears away.
"Hey hey now, everyone's got to grow one day right?" Avalona placed her gauntlet-like hand onto Shimaya's feeble shoulder.
"But wow, what kind of a weapon is that its strange-looking, like some sort of wrist blade, it glows purple too just like her." He was surprised by how the weapon looks like.
General Mia smirks. "Its Psionic energy, you know what type of weapon mostly used in those spaceman fighting games, yeah, technically like that."
William nods. "It definitely is [REDACTED]-ish...looks more like Arbiter's blade but it's straight and long like a normal blade." William takes a closer inspection.
As Avalona is trying to calm down Shimaya's sobbing and William is inspecting and asking the Generals questions, A portal came out of nowhere and Shimaya's eldest daughter came out.
"Morning Everyone, Hey ... Why is everyone...Crazy." She asked the room. "Why is mother crying?" The young adult asked.
"She is happy for you! For finally coming of age." Avalona chuckled.
"Seriously mom, I have turned 120018 years ago." The young adult said towards Shimaya, her mother.
"But I am so happy for you..." She sniffs, finally calming.
"120018 YEARS OLD!?" William shouted in shock.
"Hell Yeah~ Well in human years that is, in Guardian Age, I am just 17." The young adult said.
"Oh cool!~. I am 17 years old too. The Names William, William Endicrite, Last man on earth." He handed his hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you too William aka Akamatsu Sho, yes I know your other name. Sae-Yong, Shimaya Sae-Yong. First and probably Last Psionic Blade User. Its a rare material you know." She said.
"Is it funny that your name Sae-Yong sounds exactly the same ss Psion for Psionic Energy?" William chuckled.
"Hai, it quite is hahaha~, I was teased by Ms Hundenberg and Carniva for having a weapon that fits my name," Sae-Yong said.
"Damn~... who is Hund (Dog in german) Enberg or Carniva (Festival in Latin)?" William asked.
"Ohh, yeah you wouldn't know them yet. Miss Hundenberg is my neighbour she is a dog-woman while Carniva is Shin-ae's friend, she owns a funfair all by herself for her young age."Sae-Yong explained.
"Damn~ That's cool! Tell me more of the Guardian Realm or dimension, whatever it is." William was excited.
"Sure!~ Well you could say its a dimension... blahblahblah~" Sae-Yong explained to him about the Guardians and how they lived.
As the two were talking, they walked together out off the Testing and Private Meeting room.
"Well, they have a lot in common, hahaa~ hee." General Mia Exclaimed out from the quietness that filled the room.
"True.. make sense the machine doesn't lie about similar Wavelengths and Aura Pressure," Avalona told Mia.
"Machines never lie... that is quite true, well sometimes," Mia smirked.
General Mirabella: "I guess our work is done for today, we just ought to do paperwork and watch the radar right? to call in the Platoons and Squadrons if help is needed or Operations need to be done." she yawned and purred.
"Yes, let's move on." General Mia said as she excused herself out of the room.
...
Walking to the training fields, Sae-Yong summoned out her Guardian Weapon.
"So how do you use that? like a stabbing blade?" William asked.
"The blade can grow to a certain amount, it could be turned to a dagger, then to a normal sword shape and probably could turn to a cutting tool. I was able to turn it into a normal sword with an additional input of a gun form but I do not like using guns, it's so difficult for me to handle the recoil and reload, cocking the slide is so hard."
"That's pretty cool an interchangeable blade..." He agreed.
"Unlike me, my younger sister can use guns. She is very creative with her gun creations. She made it into some sort of double-barreled intertwined on top of one another by its butt, you can literally hold on one and just use two fingers to pull two triggers and it can shoot automatically or in bursts. I also saw her change it into many different weapons too like an AR, a Sniper Rifle and even a Heavy Handgun similar to a Desert eagle" She explained as she swung around her blade.
"Holy hell~ Damn... Even my RPG weapon creation is quite similarly creative." He was impressed.
"HEY! DONT JUST GO SWINGING AROUND YOUR BLADE, ITS DANGEROUS!" A shout nearby could be heard.
William and Sae-Yong stopped to turn towards the location of the voice.
A woman in a teacher's office uniform walked towards them, she had a black ponytail and a red scarf wrapped around her. Well, It is winter now so it's rather chilly.
"S~Sorry..." Sae-Yong exclaimed as she shook her wrist causing the blade to disappear and twist the holder which looks like a bracelet of some sorts to turn around.
"It's alright if you want to show off your weapon, you might as well do it in the training field, the door is right in front of you." She pointed towards the door.
"That's where we are heading," William said to the woman who is probably a teacher.
"Good, now scram and go enjoy yourself!" She pushed both of them out to the training field where a couple of similar faces were busy trying to beat each other up roughly with or without weapons. or Guardian Weapons for that matter.
"Oi William, You are finally here! Oh, You got a Guardian... Great! Come over here, you can meet my sister and everyone else's Guardians!" Chau-Min screamed from afar.
William and Sae-Yong looked at each other and nodded. "Welp, Good luck, have fun," William told her.
"Same same!" Sae-Yong replied turning her yukata into a military uniform magically for easier running. They both ran towards them as fast as they could towards the two last empty seats that were readily prepared for them.
...
"On your feet!" Team 0's echelon teacher said towards one of the downed comrade.
"Come on, This is not even the real battlefield and you're already down. Jeez... and you scored the highest in resistance, Haha!" The teacher was laughing while trying to motivate the poor soldier.
The teacher of our echelon is a fair maiden, she had brunette hair and was quite tall for her physic. She always wore her red scarf even if its super muddy. Eventhough she may look slim ad struts around, it is best not to mess with her, she is quite good and can even fight equally strength with the generals. Her age however is unknown, some of the comrades speculated she was in her late 30's but she acts rather older as if in her 50s or even 60s.Whatever her age, she will always leave a mystery among our heads. Oh yeah one thing, her name is Salia, family name unknown.
"Come on, Get the F@#% Up!" She shouted towards the girl who was slowly trying to raise up, defending herself from her sparring partners attack.
Wiliiam was watching the fight as he looked at Chau-Min. "She is literally just sitting down with a shield as a weapon while she is trying to use her P10 which is obviously empty magged."
"Yeah, I am surprised. She is quite good at defending though, to be honest earlier she had a good start but now since she is low in ammo, she is literally stuck in a corner like a mouse." Chau-Min noticed as she explained.
"Dont mess with a cornered mouse..." Shanina said softly which could barely be heard by the others due to the sound of clanging metal.
"Come on, Give up already. You are already cornered! HNNGH~" The sparring partner shouted as she did a last strike hard onto the shield, pushing it down. Her guardian summoned out too, simultaneously following her moves and striking down.
"Damn..two on one" William told to himself.
"Even with two on one, she is still giving a good defense. I wonder what is she up to." Sae-Yong asked William and herself.
Out of the blues, a beam of white light hits on the ground, striking the opponent of the shield user. "Stand down, Bitch!"
As the opponent was strook, she was suddenly flown to the either side of the fields, being mud everywhere from the wet winter cold, she survived but with some injuries for sure. That was a hard hit. Hope there's no burns.
"Well, there you go!" William points to Sae-Yong what happened.
The teacher looked at what happened to the opponent and noticed she got uncouncious. "Well, Miss Saryn won."
"YES!~ I WON BRGLLHF~ "She vomited on the ground some blood and probably her breakfast.
"Don't get your hopes so high, you still ought to carry real guns and also wear heavy armor during operations." Miss Salia told Saryn as she was wiping her mouth clean from the dirt she vomited out.
Saryn's Guardian came out and helped her out towards the infirmary, entering the building. The opponent however was carried with a stretcher by the support table who were watching by the training program.
After some time, the two soldiers came back and sat down, somehow fully recovered.
William and Sae-Yong surprised shouted together. "THAT WAS FAST!"
Sherrinford and few other comrades giggled softly.
Miss Salia shakes her head and then takes a look onto her phone, where it had a chart of attendance and training participation ticks.
Miss Salia scratched her head. "Well, Next is Mr.Endicrite and ... damn, what's her name. Oh,yeha...Shanina."
"What..." William squinted in surprise.
Sae-Yong stretched her arms and dissapeared in a flash, turning into the bracelet she usually wore and attaching itself onto William's right wrist.
Shanina nods and got up, taking her place, not giving any comment. As she is a German, it's no wonder why is she so serious, she takes things understandably serious.
Chaumin and Sherrinford thumbs up to William and said "Good Luck!"
"Mr.Endicrite, it seems it's your first time sparring, am I right? Miss Salia asked William.
"Yes, it is my first time." He nods.
"Well, let me tell you the rules before we start." She clears her throat. "Uh-Hmm, There is no rules, the one who wins stands up while the one who loses falls if you know what I mean. Also, where the fuck are your guns or knives? You didn't come prepared?" She asked William.
"Uhhh...Guns, Knives, oh yeah.. it is " He was trying to make an excuse.
"Hey! Catch!" A voice from afar shouted towards William's direction.
William towards the sound and bowled his hands as an AR with a strap wrapped onto his palms, a knife sheathed that looks similar to a Tanto was strapped to the AR too.
"Where is my handgun?" William asked the figure who threw it to him, noticing it is actually General Mia. He held the AR properly and cocked it. The knife was attached to his back pocket in-case he was in a pickle and if it was really needed.
There was no answer.
(This looks like a HK33 but in its custom body similar to plastic) "Thank you!" William waved to General Mia who was then walking away.
"You ready now? Mr.Endicrite or are you going to run away." Miss Salia was tapping her feet and index finger as she puts on her sunglasses.
William stood still and got himself ready. He nodded to Captain Shanina and Miss Salia.
"Alright, when I say go, go !" ....She inhales... "Go!"
Shanina stood still, pointing her gun towards William. She made that familiar murderous glint she always make when she is serious.
William holstered the AR as quick as possible and shook his arms a couple of times to activate his Guardian Weapon, The Psionic Blade.
They just stood there face to face staring at each other, perhaps reading each other's body language. William for his first time fighting in an actual spar was doing quite well, he didn't panic nor was he nervous. It was probably the discipline and Aikido training that his mother used to teach him in their free time.
"What are they having, a staring contest?" Sherrinford commented.
"Shhh~" Miss Salia replied back to Sherrinford."Let them concentrate..."
Captain Shanina's hair pin started to glow. It then summoned out a whip onto Shanina's right hand. She was still watching William's body reaction.
William however was talking to Sae-Yong in his head. "You tell me what to do if I make the wrong move alright...?"
"Sure, sure... best move now is to probably block her shot that she would do. You dont need to move left and right, just slightly raise the sword like a shield, my blade would melt the bullet and she would probably then throw her whip... in right now!"
In a milisecond, a gun shot and a sound of whiplash could be heard.
William raised his blade, causing the rubber bullet to actually melt whilst jumping over the whip as if a jump-rope.
Shanina smirked, somehow surprised with his good prediction skills.
The two then went full-on serious. Shanina dived to a nearby barricade debris probably originally used to copy cover for people to shoot or lob grenades over.
William ran towards the barricade, prepared he covered his chest and face with the blade to avoid gunshots.
Bang, Bang, Bang~ Sounds of gunshots were heard.
William melted those bullets as if it was nothing, he then vaulted over the barricade ready to stab Shanina headfirst, however, she wasn't there anymore.
She had gone invisible, like a ghost she walked silently behind him and threw her whip once more, snaring him in the neck with the process.
"Ugh..Damn..." He held his breath not wanting to suddenly panic for the lost of breathe. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before he managed to grab the whip, puling it towards him and slicing it with the blade, causing it to dissapear.
He then got up and ran straight to Shanina, she shot her bullets till she ran out but it was obvious she lost. Her role is meant for interrogating and infiltrating, however William's role is rather a hybrid. He could do quite many.
William pounced onto Shanina, holding the psionic blade near her neck. He warmly smiled towards her as she was now laying on the mud staring back at his face with a blank look.
Chau-Min's sister Rikae Heungson was drawing a picture of a wolf onto her doodle pad. "Rampage.." she spoke to herself, dwindling in her own world as she is special.
The two were stuck in that position for a few seconds.
Miss Salia already decided who the winner has stopped the fight by turning off her stopwatch on the phone. "Alright, Ludwig and Therese get up now. The fight is over. We already know who the winner is."
William disabled the blade and hand his hand to Captain Shanina. She grabbed his hand as he pulled her up. "You were good..." she said softly towards him.
"Thank you!" He gave a smile.
"You are fit for ambushing and hostage saving operations..." She whispered to his ear as she sat back at her sit, crossing her legs and arms.
William nod in surprise loosening his neck.
"Mr.Endicrite for your first time sparring, I am kind of surprised of how you fought. First, you used a knife in a gunfight. Two, you manage to overpower her and ended up in "that" position. Three, you were the second one to ever beat Captain Shanina in a spare. I am quite surprised she was never beaten by anyone in this echelon other than you." Miss Salia explained.
"Who was the other person who beat her the first time?" William asked.
"It was Miss Demonia of The Phantom, Elite Squadron." She said.
"Elite Squadron? Never heard of it or her. " William asked himself. He then took a seat as the next fight was already being rostered and prepared.
As the other fights happened, William asked Chau-Min. "Who is this Elite Squadron?"
"Ohh, *Phantom* is an elite squadron that General Ferdunov made to do confidential operations such as interrupting sleeper cells or higher-threat terrorist bases. For now, there are four members, each with their own traits and roles. The Demolition, The Marksman, The Engineer (Like her sister but she is part of the Support Table) and The Navigator" Chau-Min Explained.
"Their names are Demonia Friedrich, Brigadier aka one star, Rosa Remisens, Major, Silvenna De Aguado, also Major and Faltina but I do not know her family name who is also a Major. Yes, they are all higher ranks. Though, you don't need a high rank to join *Phantom*. You just need a role that befits their group and has a high kill count as far as I know. You just need to be experienced in killing a big amount of enemies without hurting yourself." Chau-Min Explained more in-depth.
Sae-Yong summoned herself out and rested on her chair, stretching her arms once again. "Aghhh~ That was a nice fight. Quick and deadly."
"Wait, wait so you are saying if we have a high kill count we could actually join them?." He asked in curiosity.
"Yes, but YOU don't have a single kill count. YOU did not kill a single Axis Clone nor did any operations, whatsoever. so dream on, lover boy." She was being sarcastic towards William who was now squinting confusedly.
"There is really no bother in joining Phantom, William. They barely get operations so they usually join our echelon together. Though General Ferdunov instructed them rules to stop rushing into attacks as per the others behind us, the other soldiers are not quite good in taking care of themselves." Sherrinford interrupted them and explained.
"So when we are going to for an operation, I could meet up with them?" William asked.
"Yes, I am sure. Demonia, Silvenna and the Falt girl are quite friendly. Rose, however, is a total Bitch, she is the opposite of a good sniper, she shows off her kills and lazes when our Captain asks her to take a shot, sometimes possibly hurting a hostage." Sherrinford explains pointing to Shanina.
Shanina grabbed Sherrinford's arm and squeeze it tightly. "Stop blocking my view~."
"Oww oww oww, Ok ok, oww." She pulled back her arm and massaged it.
...
Break Time
"So, what are we having today?" Looking at today's special menu.
"Fish and chips and jacket potato..." The mess hall lady said.
"Fair share, gimme some," William asked, he still had some money remaining in his pocket that Sherrinford shared to him yesterday.
"Alright, here you go.." She gave a tray containing a plate of bland-looking fish and chips and a soggy jacket potato split open with presumably old spring onions and tartar sauce which looked like it was kept in a fridge for days.
"Thank you." He handed in the money and walks to the table the others were sitting.
William noticed Rikae drawing something on her doodle pad. "What are you drawing Rikae?"
Rikae surprised by the question, jolted. "I, I, I am drawing animal... friends!"
"I see... It looks nice, you are a good drawer Rikae" He pitied the special girl and commented on her pretty good drawings of animals. She was currently drawing a Wolf biting onto a snake. (Reference to William beating Shanina in the sparring program)
"T~T~Thank... you..." She thanked William softly before getting back into her own world.
"You seem to be getting well with Rikae." Chau-Min complimented William.
"Well yeah, she is 21 and it is rather sad to see her in her current state, I wonder how she is able to take care of her Mental Stress and challenges she has to face," William replied to Chau-Min.
"Ohh, you no need to worry about her. She is fine, anyway when we go to operations, even though she follows, she always manages to stay alive. I guess it's her turrets that do most of her killing." Chau-Min explained.
"Oh yeah! I have forgotten she is an engineer and has quite a few amounts of PDAs. But turrets damn, are they like sentries?" William asked.
"Yep, Sentry Guns. Things that mostly only appear in games now exist at 20XX, after so many years!" Chau-Min joked about sentries now only existing in the late 21st century.
William ate on the food regardless of how terrible looking it was.
After some time, everyone was called to take a rest as it is now 8 pm.
In the barrack dorms, everyone was doing their own things. Most of the others were grouping chairs together and chatting or played cards while others were just relaxed and read a book or listened to music from the radio supplied. It usually was used to listen on private military stations though.
William's stomach felt strange, t churned and ached. "Ahhh Shit, I swear I shouldn't have eaten the fish and chips." He rubbed his stomach. "I think I am going to the restroom!"
Unfortunately, since males don't exist anymore, both bathrooms are considered females. So it is kinda pitiful for him to always go in and out and sometimes notice a female entering with him at the same time. Rather awkward.
"I don't know, I feel fine." Sherrinford also ate the fish and chips and obviously, she has a better immunity system making her less vulnerable to bacteria attacks. "Don't get yourself hurt! We got an operation tomorrow"
"I think I will just go!" William rushed out of the room and ran in search of the nearby bathroom.
While doing so, he bumped himself onto a female. Both him and the female dropped onto the ground. "Owch~, I am so sorry, are you alright?" He got up and pulled the female up who accepted his hand without noticing him.
Once she got up, she looked at him. "It's alright." She gave a smile. She looked very pretty. Her eyes were a dark shade of blue similar to purple (Like Sae-Yong's) and also had semi-long black hair. (Damn, that's a lot of black-haired and blond females around eye).
"Sorry, I got to go now! (Bathroom~)" He opened the door immediately and closed the door, immediately entering into a stall to take a dump.
Once he was done, he came out of the bathroom. The same girl was sitting by a chair watching the panes. Noticing him come out from the bathroom with the reflection, she turned towards him. "Don't tell me you ate today's cafeteria food." She made a soft snicker.
"Yes, yes I did." He was surprised to hear what she said.
"Their fish and chips here are terrible. Come, follow me. I got some medicine to reduce the sore." She got up and gestured him to follow.
With the kind gesture, William decided to follow her. "I haven't caught your name yet, mine is William."
The girl looks at him, raising her head and smiled. "Mine is Demonia, it is nice to meet you, Herr William."
William squinted. "Wait for Demonia, as in part of the Phantom team?" He asked.
The girl nodded. "Yes, that team. How do you know about our squadron?"
"My Echelon's teacher told me about you beating a certain Captain Shanina in a sparring fight." He explained to her.
"Ahh~ Miss Shanina. Yeah, I beat her because she was too easy to predict, haha... only amateurs like untrained soldiers will fall for her tricks. I am not saying she is bad but she is quite good." Miss Demonia explained.
"Alright, here is my room. The elite squadrons get to have their own rooms. Come on in." She guided William into her room, she allowed him to sit on a stool as she got into the back of her room probably a back kitchen.
Sae-Yong went into her spirit mode and talks to William. "Damn, she is looking fine. I thought for a demolition, she would look fat and muscled but damn she looks kinda plump and fit. I wonder how old she is, ask her age and cup size."
"I am not going to do that.." he replied softly to Sae-yong.
"Aww~ you are a pussy," Sae-Yong said as she floated nearby Demonia and checked out her figure.
"Ooh she's hot stuff," Sae-Yong said to herself.
"Mr.William, did you say something?" She turned towards him.
"No, no, I am fine, I didn't say anything." He smiled.
"I see, sorry, I am just trying to reach for the cabinet here but it is a little too high for me, hehe." She tried stretching her arms high towards the cabinet.
"Hold on, let me help you..." He shooed away Sae-Yong and opened up the cabinet for Demonia.
"It's alright, you didn't have to do that but ... Thank you." She nods and blushed slightly as she finally was able to take down a medicine box.
("Woah, Sae-Yong is right, she is beautiful...") he shakes his head to avert his gaze away.
"What is the matter, Mr.William, you are red hot, are you having a fever?" She asked him slightly worried.
"No, no I am fine, I think it is just my slight nut allergies that probably the fish and chips had laced on"." He was lying, he had no nut allergies nor was he having a fever.
"Nut allergy? Ohh, I will give you some allergy pills too just in case. We don't want our comrades getting into trouble during a time of war."
She found a packet of Allergy and Pain Killer pills. Handing it to him, she then made a cup of tea and served it to him.
"Wait, wait, you didn't have to make tea for me." he was surprised. "Well, Thank you."
"My pleasure, hihi~" Demonia chuckled.
After finishing the tea, he took a painkiller. It felt that both the tea and the painkiller calmed his tummy a little bit.
"All better now?" Demonia asked William.
"Yes, I feel better now. Thank you, Miss Demonia. " He looks at the clock that Demonia had on her wall. "It is late, I think I ought to go to bed. I got my first operation tomorrow and I don't want to lag behind or feel knackered."
"I see, it is alright. Thank you for stopping by Mr.William, it was a great company. I also feel sleepy Yawns~." She immediately fell asleep onto her sofa.
"Good night, I guess heh, fast sleeper I guess..." He raised his shoulders in surprise. He placed her blanket on her bed onto her and left the room, locking it from the inside and pulling the door to a shut.
He then walked to the barrack dorms, it was dark and most of the soldiers were already asleep. He closed the door slowly and also tugged himself under the bed.
Reaching for his sound recorder, he whispered 'Good night' to it before cutting it out.
---Tape End---
By the time the tape ended, Mary realized she already reached the entrance of her village. Heading for her home, she noticed a bag by its staircase, holding onto a piece of paper. Reading it, she noticed it was a message for her.
Dear Mary,
I had found out that you have stolen the contents of my possession. In exchange for being a clumsy person, you can have the whole bag. Use it, the recorder and the tapes. It can help you understand the future of your past.
Thank you for reading this, cute gal.
Yours sincerely,
NZ.
"Ohh, he found out eventually. Silly man. Alright then, I will keep it. Better to give to someone who is actually interested in it anyways. Thanks mister." Mary whispered into her head. Picking up the bag, she opens her hut's door and reached herself to the kitchen. Preparing the table with the ingredients and the hunt she found. She matches up a flame with some matches and a blowing pipe against some dry wood and grass. Heading to a cupboard, she opens it and pulls out a pot, filling it slightly with water, she lets it boil for some time.
With this time, she heads to her room and removes her clothes, putting it to wash. Hiding the bag consisting of tapes, perhaps, she places it together with her other collection of old war items.
In the nude, she grabs her towel and heads to the bathroom. Taking a shower.
After some time, she got out of it, clean and smooth. Donning on some casual clothing of just a blouse and a pair of shorts. She shuffles er way to the kitchen and cooks up a dish for her siblings, her mother who is probably still in her room laying and a little extra to compensate Miss Selina's sacrifice of resources.
Making a simple stew, she puts out the fire and continues stirring the pot a few more times before putting on a pair of old mittens. Carrying it with much strength she has, she places it onto the kitchen table. Calling her siblings for dinner, they prepared themselves and took their own contents. Filling up a bowl, Mary heads to her mother's room. The chief of her village and a very sick one at that. Feeding her slowly while telling her a story of what happened today, the two had a short conversation before Mary heads to her room.
Putting in sound-tape six in per-preparation, she hides the sound recorder under pillow and heads to sleep.