Chapter 10 - Part II

(Caelum)

#

My session was a closed doors affair in a meeting room adjoining the observation deck. The place was amazing, equipped with a plethora of holovid and holo-window projectors, and varnished wood meeting table that must have cost more than the average Pharos citizen earned in a year. Like the observation room, one wall faced out into the cavern with floor-to-ceiling windows. However, the windows turned opaque and doubled as a projection screen.

It was on that screen that I watched myself knock Maya Khayman afil Sora some twenty odd meters through the air, then promptly rescue her a few seconds later.

Kaleb Deneve afil Sora, Principal Mason, and the blonde babe, Nicola Weinberg afil Lorian, occupied the room with me.

Weinberg who operated a holo console with a very stylish photon glove on her left hand, while Kaleb provided the commentary.

“That’s not the full Kaiser Kämpfer,” he said to me. “You unlocked part of it, but not all of it.”

“How can you tell?” I asked, genuinely curious though his words dampened my sense of achievement.

“It’s missing the Vector Core and the two Vector Wings that comprise the Kämpfer configuration, or Kämpfer mode.”

“Oh…great….”

He gave me a flat look. “On the plus side, you succeeded in summoning the Kaiser’s Blessing’s Skin-Regalia.”

“You mean that new skinsuit?”

Weinberg cut in smoothly. “The Kaiser-skin is more than a skinsuit. You won’t find anything on the market that can come close to its abilities.”

“Such as?”

“The amplification of your strength, and the warping of space through an inertial canceller system. It’s also self-repairing, and can heal your wounds to a significant degree. You’ll find that it’s all environment.”

“Oh. So it won’t shrink if I toss it in the washing machine and use cold water?”

“…no…it won’t shrink….”

Kaleb planted a hand on his hip. “Desanto, it may not sound like much, but this is a significant step forward for you. You’ve already experienced how much stronger you are. An opponent wearing a skinsuit won’t be difficult for you to handle. In addition, you’ll be able to manifest stronger barrier-fields.”

I looked back at the image of myself moving about clad in the Kaiser-skin. “If I’d used this back then against Celica, I still would have lost.”

“Yes,” Kaleb concurred without hesitation. “Celica isn’t someone you can face as you are now.”

I folded my arms slowly and leaned my backside against the edge of the meeting table. “I guess my sister is one tough crazy bitch, isn’t she.”

“Unfortunately…yes….”

It was difficult to miss Kaleb’s disappointment, so I turned my head toward him. “Did you know my sister well?”

He blinked and straightened a fraction taller, then looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I rocked my head. “Arisa told me you served with her.”

“She told you?”

“Yep. She said you and the others with Celica paid the price for serving on her last mission. The Sanctum considered you all suspect, and tossed you out.”

Mason and Weinberg glanced at Kaleb. The Principal gave him a subtle nod. “We are aware of your situation, Mister Deneve. There’s no need to be concerned.”

Kaleb relaxed visibly, then eyed me squarely. “Desanto, you and I need to talk. You really need to be mindful of your surroundings.”

I cocked my head at him. “You adults have way too many secrets. You’re all so sensitive. Don’t say that. Don’t mention this. Don’t tell anybody. You’re always hiding behind the curtains.” I realized I was irritated and pushed away from the table. “If there’s nothing else, then I’d like to shower and get out of here.”

“Desanto,” Kaleb said, “after you’ve changed, meet me in the lobby upstairs.”

I looked at him over my shoulder. “I’m really too tired to be lectured tonight, Kaleb.”

“You need a good lecture,” he countered and crossed his arms. “And I’m buying dinner.”

“Huh?” I frowned, and wondered what he was up to.

His stern face cracked a grin. “I’ll take you to Celica’s favorite place.”

#

Celica’s favorite place turned out to be a noodle shop in the entertainment district of Island One, Habitat One.

As such, it took us close to an hour to arrive there since walking out of Galatea Academy and into early night, and thus into the late commuter crush to get home.

A glance at an overhead billboard clock revealed it was nine p.m. by the time we arrived at the massive Island One habitat. That only gave me an hour before dorm curfew, but Mason had said she would allow me special dispensation this one night.

We travelled by mag-lev between the two asteroid Islands. During the trip, I messaged the Countess, asking if she was fine. I also messaged Caprice, asking if matters were okay on her end. However, neither party deigned to respond, so I angrily shoved the palm-slate into my trouser pocket.

Serves me right for caring about those two. I feel stupid for messaging them.

From the mag-lev station, Kaleb and I walked for fifteen minutes before arriving at the noodle shop. Standing outside the establishment, with the sounds of dining and the smell of food wafting out through the storefront windows, I saw that the name was written in some language I couldn’t recognize. It was a collection of strange characters with lots of strokes to them.

“What does that mean?” I asked Kaleb.

“Apparently it translates into that,” he replied, and pointed at a sign written in Standard.

“The Noodle Shrine?” I read aloud.

“Let’s go inside,” he suggested, and led the way through the curtained entrance.

The curtain looked like a piece of shredded cloth, that is, it was cut into vertical strips. I pushed through it and then stepped into the shop. Enhanced by the Kaiser’s Awareness-field, my senses assaulted by the smell of food, and my stomach turned and rumbled in response.

A young girl, a Regular, wearing a tight purple sleeveless dress with a high leg slit – I believe it was called a cheongsam – greeted us and led Kaden and I to a table. However, Kaden asked to be seated at the long bench instead. Pulling back a stool, I dropped my tired body onto it, while Kaden sat down on his stool to my left.

I read through the menu, but didn’t know what to choose, so Kaden ordered for the both of us. When our bowls arrived, I noticed two things: one they were hot, and two they came with a pair of long thin sticks, and no fork and knife.

I looked into the bowl. “What is this?”

“A blend of stir fry and pork noodles.”

I picked up the two thin sticks. “Okay. How the heck do I use these?”

Kaden demonstrated how to use the sticks – the so-called chopsticks – and after practicing for a half minute I started cautiously digging into the food. Unfortunately, picking up the food with the narrow sticks was easier said than done. It took three attempts to get one morsel of food into my mouth, and that was an average count. In addition, my hand was starting to cramp up from the unfamiliar movement.

In the end, I gave up and asked for a fork from a passing waitress.

“Quitting already?” Kaden asked between mouthfuls.

“Yep.”

“Celica didn’t give up.”

“Well, I’m not Celica.”

“That much is obvious.”

“Did you bring me here to pick a fight?” I asked him bluntly.

“I brought you here because you wanted to know about your sister. This is as good a place to start as any. And mastering those chopsticks was something Celica persevered at.”

The waitress returned with my requested fork. I thanked her, and stared at the utensil for a long while before placing it beside the bowl and picking up the chopsticks again. Settling the annoying sticks into my right hand, I carefully began to eat again. It was still took three attempts for every morsel of food I succeeded in tossing into my mouth.

Washing it down with water, I asked, “Okay. We’re here. Tell me about my sister.”

“To start with, that was her favorite dish.”

“This?” I glanced at Kaleb in surprise. “She never mentioned that.” I looked around me at the shop interior. “And she never mentioned this place.” An empty sensation began to grow within my chest. “I guess there was a lot she didn’t mention.”

As I gazed around me, I began to wonder why she’d kept this a secret from me. I’d believed Celica and I were close, though I had suspected she had secrets. It didn’t really trouble me since everyone possessed a side they didn’t want to show, but this shop wasn’t something worth hiding, and neither was this noodle dish. So why not tell me about it? Not for the first time, I thought of how little I actually knew about my sister. To be more accurate, I knew my sister fairly well up until three years ago, when she began to grow distant from me. Perhaps that was the time when she became a fully-fledged Valkyrie Maiden in the employ of the Sanctum.

Kaleb broke into my reverie. “It was Celica’s way of keeping her work life separate from her personal life.”

“Meaning what?” I asked him.

“Meaning that she was introduced to this place by her fellow Valkyrie Maidens.” He glanced at me. “That made it a work related experience, and something she chose not to share with her family—namely you.”

“So it was her protecting her secret life as a Familiar working for the Sanctum.”

“Exactly. She knew how much you hated the Aventis, but she wasn’t sure how you felt about Familiars. She kept that side of her life a secret so that she wouldn’t be alienated by you.”

I mulled that over. Would I have alienated her? I certainly wouldn’t have agreed with her decision to serve the Prides.

I looked down at where the Kaiser’s bracelet rested around my right wrist under my shirtsleeve.

And now I’m the one serving the Prides.

I pushed the bowl away.

Did I have a choice? After awakening to life as a Familiar, could I have walked away from it and rejected the Lanfear Pride’s attempts to bond me to a Fragment?

I couldn’t feel the bracelet on my wrist. My body had grown completely accustomed to it. Part of me believed that it belonged there. Part of me felt I deserved it, while another part of me felt I was betraying my long years of hatred toward the Aventis.

Kaleb’s voice intruded into my thoughts. “Do you hate the Aventis?”

After a while, I shook my head slowly. “I don’t hate them the way I used to. I don’t appreciate their arrogance and discrimination of Familiars and Regulars. There are times I really want to slam their faces into the mud, and drag them through it. But when I look at my classmates and the students of Galatea, I realize they’re no different from the Regulars at my old school. When they are surrounded by their own kind, they act normal. It’s only when they’re in the presence of Regulars and Familiars that they tend to behave like racist jerks.”

Then I felt my feelings sour and grow dark.

“Even if I don’t hate them like I once did, I hold them responsible for the deaths of my parents. I won’t forgive them for that.”

“Even though it was Crimson Crescent that caused the explosion?”

“The Prides gave Crimson Crescent a reason to exist.”

“Then you feel the explosion was justified?”

“Not at all. I simply said that Crimson Crescent exists because of the Prides. I’m certain the Prides created their own worst enemy.” I faced him. “If I felt it was justified, I would have accepted my sister’s offer.”

Kaleb continued to eat in silence for a while.

I started picking at the food in my bowl. “I don’t understand the Lanfears. Didn’t they know the risk they were taking when they gifted me with the Kaiser’s Blessing? If I had chosen to leave with Celica, they would have lost a powerful Artifact. Or is there something inside my body that will go ‘boom’ if I betray them?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

“Okay. Then do they trust me not to join Crimson Crescent? It’s not like they didn’t know how I felt towards the Aventis and Prides. Why take such a big risk when I was bottling up all that anger toward their kind?”

“Because they’re hoping you’re different.”

“Different from what?”

“Different from the others.”

I frowned at him. “What others…?”

“Those that were chosen by the Kaiser’s Blessing before you.”

I lowered the chopsticks down into the bowl. “Okay…I had a feeling I wasn’t the first.”

Kaleb shot me a quick look. “What makes you say that?”

“Because, it feels that way. The Kaiser’s Blessing doesn’t feel ‘brand new’. It feels like something handed down to me—which is pretty obvious I guess.” I shrugged in frustration. “I can’t describe it any better. Though I can say, that it seems like the Kaiser’s Blessing has a mind of its own, like an Artificial Awareness.”

“That’s the Core Awareness you’re talking about.”

I grew pensive. “But that doesn’t explain the feeling of someone else occupying it with me.”

Kaleb lowered his chopsticks. “What do you mean?”

I sighed and pushed the bowl away again. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m not alone with the Kaiser’s Blessing. Maybe…maybe it’s haunted or something. It’s just a feeling I get—an impression—that someone is there with me, watching over my shoulder, guiding me, and…getting annoyed with me when I screw up.”

Kaleb turned away and stared into his nearly empty bowl. “I see….”

“You believe me?”

“I don’t have a reason to doubt you.”

“But the idea of a haunted Fragment is farfetched, right?”

Kaleb was quiet for a long while, then gave me a sidelong look. “Perhaps.”

I frowned then quickly pushed it off my face. “Kaleb, what happened to the others who used it before me? Did they unlock it? Did they draw out its full power? What’s the Kaiser’s Blessing really like?”

“We don’t know.”

I couldn’t keep the next frown off my face. “Huh? You don’t know?”

Kaleb replied without looking at me. “Nobody knows.”

There was something in his tone that unsettled me yet I pressed on. “How can you not know? What about the Familiars that unlocked it before me—?”

“They didn’t.”

“Huh?”

Kaleb faced me, and I saw the somber, troubled look on his face. “They couldn’t unlock the final seal. They all failed.”

“Failed? All of them?”

“Less than a handful managed to attain the Kaiser’s Koenig form, but that was as far as they got. The Kaiser’s final Kaiser configuration was out of their reach.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know. They faced the final trial, but have no memory of it. Some of them didn’t wake up from the trial.”

“Didn’t wake up? You mean they’re in a coma?”

“No. They died.”

I forgot to breathe, and my thoughts thinned to nothing like smoke in the wind. After an interminable length of time, my thoughts began to recover. “All of them? All of them died?”

He shook his weakly. “Those that didn’t were left traumatized. Call it a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some of them moved onto other Fragments, but I can’t say they were ever the same Familiars. Some of them found themselves unable to continue as Specials.”

I swallowed heavily, and asked, “What is the final trial?”

Kaleb turned away. “We don’t know. Those that survived have no memory if, yet their bodies continue to experience a traumatic event. However, we have a suspicion of what it could be.”

I swallowed again, and realized I was faintly frightened. “Tell me.”

For a long while he said nothing, and simply stared into the distance. I didn’t know if he was being dramatic, but it damn well worked.

My mouth felt dry as I said, “Kaleb, tell me.”

He faced me. “Let me ask you, how important is the Kaiser’s Blessing to you?”

My eyes widened. “Are you asking if it’s worth risking my life?”

“Maybe.”

For a long while, I stared at him, but in truth was giving his question due consideration. Eventually, I glanced away, then inhaled long and deep. “I need the Kaiser’s Blessing in order to move forward.”

“Move forward?”

“You asked me about how I felt about the Aventis. I don’t hate them the way I used to because of the Kaiser’s Blessing. It’s changed who I am. It’s changed the person that I am.”

“I’m not quite following you.”

I exhaled heavily, feeling flustered with my inability to express myself. “I feel that I’m worth something with the Kaiser’s Blessing. I feel that I’m more than just a Familiar.”

“Worth something to the Prides?”

“No. To the people that matter to me, and to myself. The Kaiser’s Blessing gives me the confidence to push past my complexes, and override my resentment toward the Aventis. With the Kaiser’s Blessing, I can become a better person…someone my parents would be proud of.”

“Couldn’t you do that with any other Fragment?”

I gave his question some thought. “I don’t know. I just know that I need it. I feel that I need it. It’s important to me, and it’s also a part of me.” I shook my head in frustration. “It’s hard to explain, but I also believe the Kaiser’s Blessing needs me too.”

“It needs you?”

I looked down at the bowl on the bench top. “I think it wants me to unlock it. The Kaiser’s Blessing wants me to remove the final seal.” I touched chest. “It’s something I feel in here, and I believe it will wait for me.”

When I glanced over at Kaleb, I saw him studying me with a complicated look on his face. Eventually, he nodded shallowly, turned away, and pushed his bowl aside.

“Maybe they were right about you….”

“Who was right about me?”

“The Lanfear Seers.”

I stared at him blankly. “Who are they?”

He shook his head faintly. “We’ll save that for another time.”

“What? Kaleb, tell me.”

“No. Another time. In fact, I’ll leave that to Arisa.”

I leaned away from him. “Thanks.”

“You didn’t finish your noodles.”

“I lost my appetite.”

I was sulking and I knew it. Morosely looking around me at the shop interior and the other patrons, I noticed a wall with photos. Curious, I got up and walked over to it.

They were printed photos of past patrons, so I searched them carefully, wondering if I might find a photo of my sister. However, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find any.

“You can’t take them.”

I blinked in surprise and looked to my right, where a young waitress in a white sexy cheongsam stared at me hard.

“Please don’t take them,” she stated firmly.

“I wasn’t planning to. I was looking to see if I could find one with my sister in it.”

“What does your sister look like?”

“Ah—” I realized I didn’t have any photos of her on palm-slate. “She has long black hair, is taller than me. She’d always wear her hair in a ponytail. I would need to show you a photo. This was her favorite place and her favorite dish was the stir fry with pork noodles.”

The girl studied me intently for a long while, making me feel uncomfortable, then she shook her head slowly. “She took it.”

“Huh? I’m sorry. Took it? What do you mean, took it?”

“About three weeks ago, a tall young woman with long black hair came in late at night before closing time. She ordered two bowls of stir fry with pork noodles, chatted to the boss for a long while like they were talking about old times, then walked up to the photo wall and took it. I tried stopping her but I hit an invisible wall and couldn’t approach her. I realized she wasn’t a Regular or an Aventis.” The girl dipped her head slightly. “I realized she was a Familiar with one of those Fragment things, and she scared me.”

I glanced at the wall, then turned back to the girl. “Do you have a copy? I mean, does the boss have another copy?”

“No.”

I swallowed a little anxiously. “Could you describe the photo for me?”

She pressed her lips tightly for a long moment, her eyes distant as she searched her memory. “She was in the photo with four other young women. They were smiling and enjoying themselves. That’s all I remember.”

I considered talking to the ‘boss’ she mentioned, but then changed my mind.

Maybe another time.

However, if the ‘boss’ knew my sister, I wondered what they could tell me about her.

The waitress bowed slightly. “Excuse me.”

I gave her a deep nod in return. “Thank you for telling me. I appreciate it.”

I watched her walk away, deciding the dress really did suit her as she had a slender, sexy figure, then sighed inwardly and returned to my stool at the bench beside Kaleb.

“I should have told you,” he said, “that she took the photo.”

I gave him a surprised look. "You knew she'd come here?"

Kaleb was quiet for a short while. "Yes. I paid this place a visit after Celica's dramatic escape from Galatea Academy. That's when I noticed the photo was gone, and I realized she'd come here sometime before then."

“Was it a photo of her and her Valkyrie Maiden friends?”

“Yeah. It was.” Kaleb looked somber for a while, then abruptly clapped my shoulder. “Well, this is a school night for you. Let’s get you back to the Academy.”

Subconsciously, I pressed my lips tightly as I regarded him carefully.

“So what was this then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Bringing me here. Having this chat. Feels like it was more than just about my sister.” I tilted my head to a side and stared at him. “This wasn’t a big brother little brother bonding moment, was it?”

“Consider it more of a senpai-kohai moment.”

“A what moment?”

“A master and an apprentice moment.”

“Master? What master?”

He shot me a sour look. “Show your elders some respect.”

I held up a finger. “Celica always used to say, respect is something you earn.”

“No. You show respect when you know the other party can kick your ass.” He climbed off his stool. “Starting tomorrow, you spar with me.”

“Huh?”

“Playtime with little girls is over, Desanto. Now it’s time to play with the big boys.”

I bowed to him politely. “Please be gentle. It’s my first time playing with boys.”

“Gah! Please don’t say it like that.” Kaleb shuddered visibly in discomfort. “Now I need a drink.” He shuddered again as he walked past me.

After a moment, I followed him. “I’m underage.”

“Exactly, so go home.”

“Aren’t you going to make sure I get back to the dorms safely?”

“Desanto, you’re giving me the creeps.”

“Big brother, wait for me.”

“Don’t call me that!”

Kaleb paid for the meal. As I walked out of the shop with him, my palm-slate vibrated in my back trouser pocket. I pulled it out, and read the message from the Countess.

WE NEED TO TALK. IT’S IMPORTANT.

I frowned at it, then sent back a reply.

CAN IT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW? I’M HEADING BACK TO THE DORMS NOW.

Her reply came through a short while later.

LUNCHTIME. I’LL COME TO YOUR CLASSROOM. DON’T TRY RUNNING AWAY.

I stared at my palm-slate’s screen for a while. The longer I did, the more annoyed I grew. Before I could retort, a second message came through.

IF YOU TELL FAINT-SMILE I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! SIGNED, THE COUNTESS.

An unpleasant realization crossed my mind.

Simone and Caprice had faced off, and it looked like the Countess had come off second best.

No wonder she’s in a bad mood.

My palm-slate vibrated again as it received another message.

AND I DON’T WANT YOU SITTING NEXT TO HER ANYMORE IN CLASS!

I grit my teeth together and switched the device to silent mode. Now it wouldn’t vibrate or chime any more. I just wasn’t in the mood to read more of her messages.

When I looked up I saw that Kaleb had vanished into the night crowd.

“Thanks,” I muttered and shook my head in annoyance. “I hope you get drunk and suffer a hangover.”

Keeping my irritation with Kaleb down, I made my way to the mag-lev station to start the journey back to Island Three, and Galatea Academy’s male dorms.