"What are you painting...?" A young man in black, golden threads laced within a single braid that ran along the side of their face, looked down at an older man with red hair, painting incessantly amidst a golden field of wheat. The man stopped after a moment had passed, placing the painting to the side with a sigh. "Sir?"
"I ruined it, got to start over..."
The young man scoffed, "Well, from what I saw, it had the potential to be a masterpiece."
"Yet I cannot achieve it with this piece." They take out another canvas, placing it atop their easel. "So I'll start again... until I get something right."
A second passed, the younger man smiling to himself as he looked out to the sun-kissed land before him. "Do you remember who I am?"
"No..." The older man said absentmindedly, pressing paint onto the canvas before them.
The young man nodded to himself. "I'll be back tomorrow. Actually, how has being a tutor been working out for you?"
The older man chuckled. "It pays at least... but..."
"It isn't satisfying for you, is it?"
The man stopped. "I don't hate it..." He whispered the words, looking out to the sun dipping below the horizon line.
"I'm looking forward to your next painting..." The young man paused. "Remember, you aren't alone, okay?"
Victor Flynn looked back to see that no one was there.
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"I believe that we're going to have to summon Victor's 'Perception' before he died." Dorothy said, but whatever a "Perception" was, I had no clue, and neither did anyone else in the group, for that matter, which elicited a sigh from the enigmatic girl. "Perceptions, none of you know what they are?"
I spoke first, "I've gone through the same training that we've all most likely have been through, and even before that, I would consider myself quite a learned individual due to my having a lot of free time on my hands, but... whatever that can be, it alludes me, apologies."
The others were unable to say anything, and even Alex was puzzled. "So... what is a 'Perception'?"
Dorothy pointed at me, "It's very scarce information, so it's reasonable that none of you would know it. In fact, you not knowing what it is is better than knowing it does exist."
"Wait, then why'd you ask?"
"Vetting-- But 'Perceptions' is what happens when a TULPA entity intertwines their Kismet Energies with another person's 'Perception' or will. Only Witches or high-level TULPAs can do it voluntarily."
Alex clicked her tongue, "Wait, so that's what that was? I've been through that before, so what do we do to activate it?"
"First off, let's take a step back." Dorothy quite literally took a step back, which Chris couldn't help but chuckle at. "I have to identify a few things first."
Theo screwed up his nose, scanning the party, "What the hell are you all talkin' about?"
Dorothy turned to Theo and pointed at him. "We need one important object of interest-- most likely a painting that Victor seemed especially connected to, or felt the most accomplished in making."
Theo stood there for a second, considering what he should do next, before groaning out, "Fine, I'll grab it." Proceeding to leave the room to grab what he was looking for.
"Then, we need an item from where the TULPA officially formed." Only now did I notice that she seemed to have a pair of silver slippers on that she proceeded to click together, an easel suddenly appearing right in front of us. Everyone jumped back, shocked at the sudden use of teleportation, thought to have only been something possible within Luna's Sphere.
"Holy shit..." Chris chuckled, "Are you like... rich rich?"
"No, the object just has to be something associated with the TULPA, I created this. Toto is with me for a reason."
"That doesn't explain jack and shit."
"It's my Manifest. I can create things, and with Toto's senses, accurately as well. As long as he has something memorized, I can create it... as long as it is a mundane item that is."
"Where did Valorie go?" I only noticed now that she hadn't been with us for a decent amount of time. Alex sighed, but before she could say anything, I spoke up once again. "I'll go look for her." And off I went.
I couldn't help but notice that the building was built of limestone. This is a building showing an age long before now. Architecture kept alive by the next of kin. I walked up to the second floor of this building, an assortment of decorated quilts and sewn adornments. Then I entered a room, a room filled with equipment, virtually untouched, paintings lining the walls, or cans of paint knocked to the side, long since dried. It's been this way for years, hasn't it?
In the middle of this room, I spotted Valorie, sitting down on her own in front of a canvas, pencil in hand, the light of the sun split at two ends as it painted what could not be cast in shadow with an iridescent orange glow.
"Valorie?" I think I figured it out by now... however, I don't believe it'll be so simple to get what we need done just from knowledge alone.
The tall, emerald-eyed girl turned to look at me, and as soon as her gaze met mine, she looked away as if she had done something wrong, turning back to face the canvas in front of her. I approached, stopping just behind her, looking at that very same canvas before focusing on her reference material just outside the veranda before her.
"Apparently, we'll be able to understand more about Victor through something called a 'Perception'. I'm not sure what it could mean, but... apparently it'd help us figure out what happened." I couldn't know the details, but I felt like I had an idea of what might have happened. Especially when looking at the girl sitting in front of me, rolling the base of a pencil in the palm of her hand as a nervous tic.
"Could I get some time to draw something?"
"Hm?"
"I-I'm... f-feeling a bit inspired?"
"Oh, the resident girl failure is up here, huh?" Chris chuckled, making her way up the stairs.
I sighed, "Do you need something?"
"Yo, I want to ask you something."
"What?"
Chris scoffed. "Where the hell did that, Theo, guy go, huh?"
"What? Wh--" Where did he go? There's no other room up here, and I'm 100% sure that he walked up these very same stairs. Not long after, Valorie disappeared, and now she's here? "Valorie," I turned to look at her, "Where did Victor's Brother go? Did you meet him at the stairs?"
Valorie looked between Chris and me for a moment, "What? I didn't see Theo, though?"
Chris laughed, "Yo, you think this girl is a bit of an airhead?" Before Chris could even think, something pierced straight into her right shoulderblade, sending her stumbling to the ground. Theo stood above her, grimacing at the fact that it had to come to this.
Chris reflexively whipped their guard up to their face to guard themselves as they stabbed at her again, cutting straight through the muscle and into the other side of her arm, visibly poking through the cloth of her uniform.
I immediately swing my Anchorbow at the man in front of me, slinging the massive piece of metal across the room, but they manage to dodge the attack deftly. I fire out two shots with my hand anchorbow as well, which only manage to hit the wall behind him. This guy is an incredibly experienced fighter. In that instant, I hear a commotion downstairs as well, and Valorie at my side panicked before whipping a shotgun out from a bag beside her and firing at the man in front of her.
Theo is flung into the wall behind him from the blast. It seemed to us that they thought of this ahead of time as the older man got back up, though strained from the blast. While off-guard, a metal ball, heated to a melting point, dug straight into Theo's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain, watching as Chris sprinted to the other end of the room.
He bolted after her-- one stab into the leg sent her flying back into the floor. A slice upward as she fell cut open the side of her neck, but just before he could do anything else, my Anchorbow met its mark, sending the man flying into the wall beside him as it exploded open with extreme pressurized force. "Go downstairs!" I commanded.
Valorie sprinted down the stairs in a cold sweat as I was left with the destruction before me, a painting blown to smithereens, as a bit of debris lay atop the broken and unconscious man before me, his arm looking almost as if it had popped from the inside out as muscle and bone became visible from the impact.
I can't think about that now. I moved to stabilize Chris, sealing the wound with my ability before jumping off the nearby balcony and straight to the first floor.
A cry came from the first floor, and as I came cascading down, I beheld Tel's half-beaten form stabbing one of the assailants with the hook of his hammer before clocking them upside the head with the blunt end of his axe, denting the side of their skull-- but in this situation of high adrenaline, our enemies were in the same spot as they responded in kind to Tel's assault, but he was relentless.
I hadn't noticed it before, but he had a foldable shield on his wrist-- maybe a Luna Armament of some kind? He easily deflected his assailant's attacks in his worst state, bleeding viciously from his wounds, crimson splattering across the limestone walls with his violent and sudden movements.
In those momentary seconds, both Dorothy and the Hound go down; however, as one other man easily bested both of them, leaving the Hound a bloody heap, by their relentless stabbing.
The instant I land on the ground, I cushion my fall as the ground bounces like Jell-O beneath my feet, and I spat another command. "The wounded one!" I pointed for Valorie, who rushed forward, leveling her shotgun at the man before her, striking true, but barely piercing their armor as they're sent staggering away from Tel, who was readying themselves for their next strike.
The men seemed to be wearing full black uniforms, thick with padding. They were significantly more prepared than Theo was.
Loading my Anchorbow, I fire a shot at the man who brought Dorothy down, sending them staggering a few meters back as Tel doesn't let up, as one strike of his axe sent his opponent straight to their knees, as a swing with his hammer cracked their skull open, sending them twitching onto the floor, most likely dead. His eyes grew slitted as his focus snapped to the last fighter in the room.
"Let's not step on Mercury's toes more than we have to, okay?" The fight came to a sudden stop. It was also then that I had only just realized that Alex, my own sister, didn't even bother to help out the team, keeping her hands in her pockets the entire time, simply observing. Yet, even in what should have been this eerie calm of what I could only assume was an examination of what we were capable of, her eyes grew wide at who entered the doorway to this home. "I believe art in all forms should be celebrated, y'know?"
What looked to be a young man, decently tall with void black eyes and black hair intertwined with gold, entered the room, wearing what looked to be a noticeably gaudy fur coat which matched his hair color.
"I believe that there is a misunderstanding, and if there isn't, I believe that my fellow fans here have made a very... grave mistake."
Alex formed a shield similar to Tel's on her right arm. "What's the Nerve doing here? What purpose is it that you've shown your faces in front of us!?"
"Papa?" Valorie spoke up, causing everyone still conscious to snap to attention to look at her as she stood there perplexed at this man's appearance, but not out of fear, but out of awe and admiration. A familial warmth.
I couldn't help but repeat what I heard in shock, "Papa?"
"What the fuck is going on!?" Tel screamed out in rage, the adrenaline wearing off as his body finally gave out on him.
Preaching to the choir, Tel. The man continued, "Why don't we get your friends treated, and we can talk?"
"P-Papa, what are you doing here?" I caught a bit of Valorie's question as I rushed back upstairs, crossing over to Chris fading in and out of consciousness, instinctively holding her injured neck.
Her eyes flickered for a moment as I kneeled right next to her, checking if there were any other injuries I needed to seal. "Hey, Glasses..." She wheezed out the words, "You're really reliable, y'know?"
"Not my name." With a sigh, my hand slid across the various other stab wounds scattered across Chris's body, sealing the wounds, for now. It isn't an infallible method; the wounds can still reopen with excessive movement, as any stitched wound would, but it's often our most effective method, and it heals faster than actual stitches or surgery would.
"You know, now that I get a look at ya... you're very pretty up close, Glasses." Chris chuckled.
I clicked my tongue, "Shut up, this isn't the time for comments like that." I smacked her across the shoulder before turning toward the injured Theo. "Head downstairs with the others."
Chris pushed herself from the floor, standing beside me. "You embarrassed?"
"No, I'm not embarrassed," I crouched next to Theo, checking his wounds. "It seems the bleeding stopped on its own." And, after checking his pulse, his heart was still beating even though his arm was blown open and appeared to have fractured their ribs.
"Your face is red, though."
I kicked her in the leg, causing her to stagger towards the staircase, "Get downstairs!"
"Asshole! I have freshly sealed wounds there-- you go--"
"Don't fuckin' test me, Chris!"
Having nothing else to say, she finally listened to me, limping down the steps and to the first floor of the home. In exchange for Chris's presence, the young man from before greeted my gaze, starting with a sigh. "Look at what happened to old Theo... whose work was this?"
"Mine."
"Oh? Impressive work... We'll have to amputate the arm at this rate..."
"Awfully casual seeing your subordinate like this, huh?" After my comment, the man looked at one of the destroyed paintings caused by Theo's unconscious body being propelled into the limestone wall.
"That... is also punishable... Theo should know better."
"What?"
The man kneeled low, picking up pieces of the destroyed painting scattered about the room, "It was reckless of him to start this shitshow here of all places with such precious pieces scattered about..."
Sheepishly entering the room now, Valorie stepped in, hugging her shotgun like some sort of emotional support doll. "One of the paintings..."
The man sighed, "It's alright, they've been immortalized in a way, it's just unfortunate that its physical value has been reduced to naught."
I stood up, distancing myself from the Nerve Member, "I'm surprised you aren't mad with me."
"You aren't responsible for what happened here. You were simply defending yourself..." A beat, "Theo, however, is a member of the Nerve, and should know better." The man stood up. "He had attempted something before as well. If it weren't for my men, the paintings here would've been ashes a decade ago. A greedy monopolizer, that's what they've always been. You should tend to the rest of your friends, girl."
This man was most definitely stronger than me, and it would simply be a death sentence to press further, so I left, going back to the building's first floor, sealing the wounds of whoever was left to be tended to.
After some time had passed and we all settled down, the man and Valorie stood next to the door, Valorie herself gesturing to the man before speaking, "Um... I-I apologize for what happened, but..." She took a moment to breathe before continuing, "T-This is my father... he... uh... raised me."
"Daughter of a Nerve member. I have a sneaking suspicion that this won't be the last time I'm surprised by such a phenomenon." Alex commented, arms crossed, clearly frustrated, but from where I was sitting, the team had more of a right to be frustrated with her, here.
The man chuckled, placing a gloved hand over his mouth. "A member?"
"I assume you're high ranking?"
"No... I'm the Head of the Nerve." The man curtsied. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am Rumpelstiltskin."
"Shit..." The room suddenly grew tense, and Tel became pale.
Valorie, hands out, scrambled in an attempt to think of the right words necessary to calm the team down, but failed to do so before the Head spoke up for her, "Do not worry, if I were an enemy, I would've killed you all before you could even blink. Which I haven't done, because I'm a passive soul, and passive souls do their best to avoid conflict, especially one as unnecessary as this one."
"S-So..." I couldn't help but stutter knowing who this man was now. "Are you willing to take responsibility for your subordinates' actions? They could've been a real threat to..." I hesitantly pointed to Valorie, "Daughter."
"Of course, I will be dishing out punishments according to their crimes after all, they're on contract. And contracts must be maintained, or else greater consequences will occur. In fact, they'd beg for what I'd provide for them." He spoke coldly on his last sentence, placing both hands behind his back as his eyes flashed with gold. "I will handle that shortly and will return with any questions you may have for me."
"D-Do you have to...?" Valorie questioned, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly as sweat beaded across her brow.
"Yes, I do, or something much worse than I can inflict will be coming for them."
Valorie winced as if in pain for what was to come, almost acutely aware of what Rumpelstiltskin had planned for them. And then, he left, dragging the Nerve members behind him, seemingly planning to return eventually. All we could do was trust their word; it would be better not to test a man comparable to a high-level Trapper.
But other issues were afoot. Just as I was about to speak, Tel spoke for me, "Yo, Alex!" He growled, crossing over to her, brow knitted. "What the hell was that earlier?"
Dorothy held a hand up, "Tel, stop."
"No! She fuckin' didn't even try to help us! Unless you know something about it, huh? Why didn't Alex help us then, Dorothy?"
"I can make an educated guess... at most." Dorothy winced, holding her aching wounds.
"And what the hell could it be?" Tel threw open his arms, causing him to wince inadvertently in sympathy to Dorothy's own pain as he spun to look back at Alex, who stood there, stoic. "So what is it? Why didn't you intervene when we could've died?"
"I am not allowed to intervene in most cases," Alex responded, shaking her head in disapproval at the entire situation. "Same with Norayr, in most cases, we are unable to intervene and assist Lower Rank team members unless under specific conditions."
"What? And you're following it by the book, why!?"
"Cause it's a contract, but instead, it's a contract with a TULPA, and an inhibitor that grants us greater powers if those conditions are met. If we break the contract, it can't be renewed until a week later, which could be the difference between life and death in most cases."
Tel seemed to calm down after Alex's elaboration. "And what are the conditions?"
"1. If all Low Ranking Team Members are reduced to unconsciousness, or are dead, or are too injured to participate in a fight, you can intervene. And 2. If whatever it is that a team member happens to be fighting at that time is comparable to that of a TULPA that is High Scaling Lethe or higher, and the team cannot handle such a creature or person, intervene then as well. We're notified on our watches whenever we're able to intervene," And she flashes the wristshield she has on her wrist.
"I... guess they're reasonable in some way. So... the contract determines whether or not we can handle something?"
"Or if I must step in before you either kick the bucket, or are incapacitated, yes. I assure you, of course, the instant it happens, I will not hesitate to fight."
"And this finicky device," I gestured to her watch, "Is reliable in those cases? Has this been tested?"
"I have to rely on it. Norayr does not. If you're ever with him, most likely he'll never use that watch in particular. Me however, am not as strong as he is."
"What rank is he? I noticed he didn't have the badges we get."
"I believe he's the top of the line, a Seventh Rank employee. Most Captains are Five or above, and I believe he's at the top like the Director of Mercury or even her Husband."
"I'm sorry if I appear to be sceptical here, but how reliable can that watch be if one of the requirements to even use it requires us to be unable to fight, or straight up dead. I can't exactly find myself feeling enthusiastic about these terms."
Cutting through the tension like a knife through celery, Chris stood up, groaning obnoxiously loud, "Is there a shower here?" She questioned, walking past us and below the staircase of the house. "Ah! Yep!" Nonchalantly throwing her clothes off in the corner, she stepped behind.
"A-A shower does sound nice..." Valorie chuckled, attempting to bring the mood up, noticing my displeasure with Chris's devil-may-care attitude.
All I could do was sigh, "Yeah, a shower does sound nice..." I say, attempting to rub the exhaustion away from my eyes. We took a multi-hour trip getting to this Sphere after all, and we ended the day defending ourselves against our assailants... I can't help but feel the length of today weighing on me.
"A-Also..." Valorie spoke up again, the team turning to look at her now. "I feel... as we wait. I think I should... elaborate on things. I want us... I want us all to be friends with one another."
Dorothy looked as if she was going to say something, maybe something that both she and I were thinking, but she abstained, "I think it would be good to explain to us why you refer to the Head of the Nerve of all places as your 'Papa'."
Valorie nodded, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Yes... it's... to explain... There is a reason why I was a bit uncomfortable being here, y'know?" A beat, "The only memory I had was being in that wheat field, all on my lonesome. I wandered into town, and people ignored me-- I think they thought I was an orphan of the Inferno... some superstition about a curse... I don't remember."
She stopped talking, pausing for an extended period of time before scanning the floor's interior.
"I've seen this house before... that's when I met Papa. He took me in, raised me." She smiled, reminiscing on her own past, "I got into painting because of him, and he'd tell me various tales of all of the amazing artists he had met, but... he'd..." Valorie propped herself up against a wall with a knitted brow, "He talked a lot about Victor. I dunno... it always made me uncomfortable... and... it's making me uneasy even now."
Chris left the shower, wearing only a towel, as she made her way up the stairs. The team paused momentarily at her half-nude state, seemingly not caring to appear exposed in front of others before, with a sigh, Tel went in next.
I flexed my fingers, sore after using the Anchorbow for actual combat for the first time. It was one thing using them during training, but I never could've thought how exhausting it could be being in an actual stress-filled environment where your actual life is on the line. After a few minutes had passed, I stood up, finally moving to confront that belated sister of mine, but was interrupted as Tel slammed open the restroom door, "Dorothy! You should go next!"
Unlike Chris, he came out fully clothed, wearing oversized black clothes, carrying his uniform in a bag. "Yeah, I'll go next. Come on, Toto." With a click of her fingers and a shrill whistle, her hound followed.
By now, Chris had finally come back downstairs. Why the hell was she up there so long if she was just gonna put on a white shirt and black sweats? A general summarization of my thoughts at the time.
"What's up, Glasses, you like what you see?" Chris smirked.
All I could do was sigh in response, ignoring her comment, sitting right back down as my motivation to finally confront my sister vanished like the wind.
Chris took this as an opportunity to sit beside me, plopping herself down with a thin, wry smile on her face. "What? You hate my guts?"
"Why would I hate you?"
"You don't exactly seem to like me."
I scanned the woman in front of me. "You seem reckless, too reckless. I don't like it, but I don't hate it. There are very few things I actually hate."
"What do you hate?"
I thought for a moment, eyes focused on the floor below me. "Those who take advantage of others and are unremorseful in doing so, unwilling to change, and arrogant in their ways. I've made my point, I believe."
"Hm~?" Chris put a cigarette between her lips, "Do you mind?"
"Do it outside."
Chris clicked her tongue, standing up, crossing to the door to do what she was asked. "You're no fun."
"I'd rather not be fun..." I mumbled.
Rumpelstiltskin re-entered the home, hands behind his back. Those who were there immediately turned to him, hoping to get more answers. "Alright, I'll help you all out. I just want to speak with my daughter momentarily if you don't mind."
Valorie rushed to him, nobody bothering to oppose.
"That shotgun..." Tel spoke up, scraping blood and flesh off his weapons.
I looked over to him. "What about it?"
"Notice the design?"
"Uh..." Actually, I hadn't bothered thinking about it. It was long and had scratchy white paint all over it. I could sense it was special, but I was too distracted to even bother thinking about it. "I suppose. It's certainly unique."
"It's like those bows you have."
Shit, yeah. I used them last fight. I nodded in response.
"I think she's got something similar."
"The White Death," Dorothy answered our question as she exited the restroom, Toto at her side. "Typically, it's a sniper, however. I guess it can be switched between modes?"
I nodded again, "She used it like a shotgun while fighting the Nerve Members."
"It's a very good weapon, I'd love to have something like that." Dorothy sat across the room from me, Toto lying by her side.
That's four members of our group now that have TULPA Instruments, I believe. I'm pretty sure Alex has or had one-- it seems that Tel has two, Valorie has one, and not counting me, Dorothy seems to have TULPA Gear with those slippers of hers.
I hoist the weapons up and strap them against my back like before, exiting the house to see Chris smoking just outside. "Oh? You come to visit me?"
"No," I look down the road, seeing Valorie and the Nerve Head speaking with one another just below a nearby lamp.
"Man~! You're so cold." Chris snickered before returning to a dead, neutral expression.
I'll admit, I was tempted to eavesdrop, but it was a pointless endeavor. I'll wait for not inside-- at least the smell of smoke wouldn't be poignant in the air.