CardMaster Of Zero12
I do not own YuGiOh or Familiar Of Zero
Thank you for your reviews!
Tabitha let her hand fall back to her side as she watched over the tangled mess of Dragon, Harpie, and Human.
She glanced back at the unconscious Louise and frowned slightly. It wasn't Louise's fault, but the feeling was real back then...
••••
When Maki was currently fighting against the golem...
Tabitha had Irukuku ride her up to get a bigger view of the commotion. At first it was just armed royal guards jogging around, securing the area. Students just mingled around the court in confusion as the teachers tried to calm them down.
She scanned the crowd and picked out the source of the quakes from the guards who seemed to be fleeing from the rear courtyard.
"Tabitha-nee! Eve-nee found Maki!" Irukuku pointed her head at Eve who was flying above the rear courtyard. "I'll bring us there!"
When the three met up they had a birds-eye-view of the battle as they hovered a small way from the tip of the Academy tower.
"Look! Maki's holding up against that big moving rock!" True to Irukuku's words Maki was indeed diverting the rain of stones coming from 'that big moving rock'.
They watched on as Maki easily evaded or blocked against the earthen projectiles. There was no need for back up and Tabitha's confidence in the duelist rose as she heard Irukuku cheered Maki on. With each of Maki's dodges Irukuku happily tried to imitate the dodges with just her head, she was clearly getting into the male's point of view.
"Maki's probably gonna use his big finisher on that rock! I can feel the power, right Eve-nee?" Irukuku looked at Eve and the harpie confirmed with a confident nod.
Tabitha was also agreeing internally since she noticed the amount of power and concentration being poured into the dark sphere. It should go off as Maki had planned, the bluenette predicted.
'Though there was something missing...' Thought the petite student as she watched and tried to figure out what was missing.
She could see a pink-haired student mouth something to Maki. Then she saw Maki's head whip back in surprise and then in fear as his eyes locked back onto his now malformed attack.
'A familiar...' Tabitha had finally realized...
-...There was a reason why such spells such as the one Maki was forming were so powerful, they had a mage dedicate his/her full mental capacities toward fueling the attack with power. BUT to even launch an attack, there had to be a familiar who was also dedicated to preventing disturbances which would affect the caster's concentration, and add impurities to the magic. It was already amazing how far Maki had formed his attack whilst evading a barrage of lethal projectiles. Such concentration to allow nimble movements should be at unprecedented levels.
Tabitha had read Germanian epics about how notable mages had foregone the summoning ceremony for more magic potential, in some of her books were tales of mages who delved into battle without familiars but, in exchange, have the strength of a couple dozen of contracted mages. They were instrumental in the past wars of Germania as they served as the strike force of the recently weakened Germanian army at that time and were given the title of barbarians for their power they once held. Within its borders that hero was Siegfried of The Bloody Plains, outside...The Bloody Heretic.
But there was a reason why battle mages such as those like Maki never lived long and why their tales only consisted of a couple skirmishes or so...the lack of a familiar would always end in the caster's death...and with the power in each of their spells...just a little distraction would...-
BOOM!
Tabitha had just seen the violent end of such battle mages right before her very eyes...too shocked were the three girls to properly respond. Tabitha would have fallen off in shock is it hadn't been for Eve's quick recovery.
••••
Tabitha cut off the recollection even though she knew the ending, if she had learned one thing from reading and re-reading books it was that,
'...knowing the end doesn't protect you from the journey...'
That was to say the feelings she felt during the actual event and recollection were entirely real and unpleasant...no, disturbing. Just like whenever she thought back to her more enjoyable days before the incident.
She brought her gaze to the still tangled mess of limbs, wings, and scales. The petite bluenette walked toward the downed group and located Maki's head just above Irukuku's outstretched neck. Another pat on Maki's head was enough to garner their attention.
Maki felt a familiar sensation back atop his head and stopped his struggles to look up and see the blue-haired student give him a small smile.
The duelist looked around and saw his problem and gave an embarrassed smile to the mage.
"Uhh, you wouldn't mind helping us out of here Tabitha?" He had tried his hardest to hold back from sneezing but Eve's feathers were too much to his nose and he sneezed. "Hck!"
"Sure..." So she lifted her staff.
•••• ••••
The next morning was pretty much uneventful, save for the students' chatter on what had happened yesterday. They still had classes today, but several of the teachers were required outside of the classrooms.
The princess and her escort had left after they talked with Old Osmond about any possible injuries her people have suffered. Thankfully the only injured persons were a certain pinkette and duelist. They were treated for a minor case of concussion and for a set of mana burns, respectively.
The teachers were given roles to help the students keep on track. Some had to help clear the rear courts of rock and excess dirt, several had been tasked with repairing the tower's vault room, and the rest were to keep and maintain order in the academy while the headmaster dealt with the investigation.
"So who do you think was behind the theft and quake yesterday?" Maki's elbows were propped up on one of the classroom's desks. The classroom was filled to regular capacity with students casually milling about at or near their desks.
"Well darling, if I had to guess then it was probably 'Fouquet of the crumbling dirt' who caused the whole thing." Kirche said casually as she sat on her chair in front of Maki. Currently, the class was on standby since the teacher, Ms. Chevruse, was out helping to clear the rear courtyard because of her specialization in earthen magic.
"At least no one got seriously hurt." Maki leaned back but bumped his head on the desk behind him. These average-sized classrooms were centered around the teacher's podium at the lower levels while the student's desks were arranged on staggered levels for clear viewing of magic practices, or for full exposure to explosions.
"Wrong Maki..." Maki turned to see Tabitha who was seated behind him. She had lowered her book enough to see her normal passive expression directed toward him.
"Ah, err...well Louise did get a concussion..." Maki glanced to his side to see Louise give a small huff before turning to look out the window. Looking outside she could see Eve and Sylpheed still sleeping out in one of the unoccupied courtyards, no doubt the events yesterday was quite taxing to the two.
"Burns..." Tabitha whispered faintly enough that only Maki could hear.
"Oh...that..." He trailed off and zoned out slightly.
"I feel bad for Tristain's princess though." Commented Kirche.
This got Louise's attention, "What do you mean Zerbest?"
"I mean, the robbery happened yesterday of all days because most of the guards were removed to provide for your princess' safety, right?"
"..." Louise clenched her fists as she took in the information.
Kirche continued on, "There was some disagreement on the princess' decision to come to our exhibition. Some of the other nobles might dare say that it was because of her that the nation's artifact vault was robbed."
"Those nobles can't put all the blame on her for this mess..." Maki added.
"True, but she will still have to take a measure of the responsibility-" Kirche's reasoning was interrupted when Mr. Colbert entered the class.
"Miss Valliere? Miss Tabitha?" Jean looked around to find the aforementioned students, "I need you two to come to the headmaster's office."
The two students probably had a good guess on what this call was about. Tabitha closed her current reading before taking along her staff before she left, Louise gave a small sigh before walking out with Tabitha, but not without throwing a look at Maki.
He sighed, "Sorry Kirche, but i'm apparently needed since I personally fought with this 'fouquet' guy."
"Oh, that's no problem to me darling~" Kirche waved off Maki with her free hand, "Just don't make me wait too long..."
She looked around the class and decided to follow her friends. It would be much more interesting than milling about on this free day.
••••
Maki, along with Tabitha, Louise, and surprisingly Kirche were lined up in front of the Headmaster's desk, teachers on each side facing the elder mage.
"I think you all know what we are all here for." Osmond gave a stern look at all the attendees present. "I'm here to recruit the most brave persons to hunt down this thief for the distinguished title of Chevalier, a title that is only given to those who have performed great deeds.
As the headmaster continued on his speech, Maki felt a niggling feeling at the mention of Chevalier.
"Chevalier?" The duelist whispered to himself.
"Shush Maki!" Louise quietly reprimanded him.
"But what does Chevalier mean?"
"It means Knight!" She grumbled about the lack of restraint Maki had.
At the mere mention about the chance to earn the title of knight, Maki's eyes shined brightly in anticipation. He could be what he dreamed about!
Tabitha lifted her head up and noted the joy Maki silently exuded at the possibility of attaining knighthood.
"Ahem, as I was saying, I would like to present the opportunity of a lifetime to capture Fouquet The Crumbling Dirt and retrieve the priceless artifact he stole yesterday."
Mumblings broke out through the professors present, and Miss Longueville took a step forward to clarify which artifact was stolen,
"After checking the vaults we figured what was stolen; The staff of destruction." At the mention of what the thief had stolen the hushed tones died quickly.
Mr. Colbert felt something was off and politely asked for the inventory sheet that Miss Longueville had on her. He had more experience categorizing the vaults and he would have noticed the unique holding case of the Staff missing, it was unique in that there was only another copy of the case in the room with it. He felt a need to clarify,
"Miss longueville, just where exactly was the missing Artifact stolen from? Was it the one placed on the Desk of Ancestors, or the one that hovers in isolation on the far wall?" He had to know, if it was the one on the desk then it had to be the staff.
"I believe that the hovering case is not there then. Did I make a mistake-" Her report was cut off when the Headmaster seemed to choke and have a brief heart attack at the same time. He recovered quickly after to confirm,
"Wait! Are you sure it was the case suspended in isolation?" He was on the edge of his seat for the next few moments.
"Yes, yes i do believe so." Osmond slipped back into his chair in defeat and Mr. Colbert rushed to steady him.
"What exactly is in that case Old Osmond? I do not believe you ever gave us the name of that particular object before."
"No I haven't, it held terrible powers when I witnessed it in my years as a student here." It became deathly quiet, even the chirping of birds and the occasional gust of wind died down into utter silence.
"It was a dark day several decades ago when this very academy was besieged by a demonic castle. It terrorized each country it floated through, its spires shot into the dark clouds which accompanied it, and the ramparts thoroughly reflected siege spells with double the initial strength." He shuddered in recollection, "It spewed forth an army of its own to attack the academy. We were saved one day when a Mage clad in silver summoned three mighty dragons with that very artifact." Calmly stroking his beard he continued, "They towered well above the walls and with a wave of his hand he performed a merging ritual, creating a three-headed dragon that left no trace of demonic presence in the land nor skys." The headmaster's recollection unintentionally did more harm than good as it further scared any potential volunteers.
"When the Silver mage departed, all he left behind was that artifact...If it wasn't for him then this academy wouldn't be here and this would be a massive forest instead." Gesturing to the land surrounding the academy he continued, "These plains stretching out behind and to the sides of the academy was once a forest, now cleared by the beams of light the three-headed dragon breathed out to cleanse the demonic taint. May the founder bless the Silver Mage." His story left the listeners awestruck, surprised, and fearful once they connected the artifact to the one stolen. And, by some unknown force, the elders present looked at each other and shamefully took a step back.
"Do you men and women not know an opportunit-" The headmaster stopped when he saw a volunteer step up.
"I-i-i w-w-will!" Louise steeled herself as she took a step forward. 'A Valiere must not falter!' She lifted her wand in response to her determination.
'My dream within reach...' Maki proudly took a step forward and promptly lost himself in his thoughts.
"Worried." Tabitha took a small step forward and lifted her staff.
"This should be exciting, would it not?" Kirche, much to the displeasure of Louise and surprise of Maki, took a confident huff and lifted her wand up and out of her hiding place.
Colbert looked alarmed at the lack of participants. These were his own students! "Old Osmond please let me accompany them!"
"We cannot, You have already took on the responsibility of escorting the Princess to the capital." He shook his head.
Mr. Colbert nodded in acceptance then turned to face the brave volunteers. Old Osmond gave a slight cough to garner the attention of the murmuring staff.
"Miss Zerbest is most adept in her signature element as are most Germanians, her fires burn brightly and should serve her well on this mission."
Said Germanian redhead puffed herself proudly at the recognition.
"Miss Tabitha here has earned the distinguished title of Chevalier for her deeds even before she became a student. I have the utmost confidence in her abilities, for those who earned the title have done exceptionally in all Countries."
The mostly silent mage gripped her staff. Maki kept quiet but was wide-eyed when he heard Tabitha's title. To think of it! A real knight!
"Miss Valiere has -erhm- comes from a line of proud mages and -erhk-" The headmaster was struggling to find the right words until his eyes saw her proud familiar standing at attention, "AND! Her familiar is quite strong! He has defeated Guiche de Gramont and Count Mott in duels!" He nodded to himself thinking that this was a good description.
Louise's eye twitched at her familiar's mention, and Maki was off in his own world.
"I'll have miss Longueville take you all on carriage to the suspected location of Fouquet. It shouldn't take too long to get there. Please be wary though, it may be within Tristain's forests but there is always danger accompanying you on missions such as these." Osmond nodded to his secretary and she guided the group out to prepare and meet outside.
••••
At first both Louise and Kirche were arguing and fuming at each other since they sat together on one side of the wooden cart. The Valliere and Zerbest distanced themselves for a reason, albeit a reason that should've been forgotten in time if it wasn't for their tenacity in holding grudges.
Ms. Longueville glanced back at the four and gave a stifled giggle which was caught by the feuding girls.
The pinkette and redhead flushed in embarrassment and ducked their heads at their presumed rude actions.
The truth was, Ms. Longueville giggled at the sight of the utter lack of reaction from the other party across from the fussing girls. Louise and Kirche raised their eyes to see the Headmaster's assistant glance back at the two across from themselves and followed her gaze.
Maki was busy taking in the beauty of the forest, such greenery was not common where he once lived so it was a good reason for him to have a look of wonder as he shifted his gaze from tree to tree. His arms were propped atop the edge of the cart with his back against the wall in a relaxed manner. An occasional glance toward the back to see Irukuku and Eve tail them at a leisurely pace in the sky.
Tabitha was doing her usual routine, book out and eyes keen on taking in the literature.
But Kirche noticed some key differences in Tabitha's posture. Being such a 'romantic' individual of the Zerbest line, Kirche had an eye for 'passionate' gestures and saw that Tabitha was leaning with the back of her shoulders against Maki's outstretched arm, the bluenette held a softer gaze as she read on instead of her usual look of indifference, and that her friend was sitting a little too close to the unaware red-headed male.
Kirche was in a difficult situation indeed. It was the first time that she ever saw Tabitha go through such motions. The redhead was having a serious debate between Passion, Romance, and Friendship in her internal court of emotions,
"I say that Maki is still ours! We claimed him first!" Romance explained.
"Isn't there some way we could share him with Tabitha?" Passion reasoned.
"No! As Tabitha's friend we should support her on her first!" Friendship emphasized.
"I disagree! We should have Maki since we have more experience!" Romance countered.
"Then shouldn't we share and teach Tabitha as we go along?" Passion added.
"No! You still don't get how important this situation is for Tabitha!" Friendship grit her teeth. They all took a look at the pair in front of them.
••••
The cart struck a particular bump in the dirt road, dislodging Maki's arm on the cart. Maki took no notice of the shift as he was still engrossed in the scenery and chance at being knighted.
Tabitha, on the other hand, looked at Maki's arm now resting on her shoulder and there emerged a slight smile of sorts. She closed her eyes and calmed herself before turning back to her book, unaware of the slight rosy color tinting her cheeks.
••••
"Good luck Tabitha" They said happily.
For the rest of the ride Kirche was completely out of it, her attention fully immersed in her thoughts.
"-irche!"
"-aydreaming."
"Flame wakes her up right?"
"I think so"
"-lpheed! Can you wake up Kirche like how flame does?"
The young Zerbest was still muddling over how did she think of such a realistic image when she felt something wet drag up her cheek. It wasn't Flame, he was back at the academy since he couldn't fit in the cart with the group. So something was licking her and it wasn't Flame!
"Eeeyaaah!" She snapped back into reality and nearly fell off the stopped cart.
"Well, that was certainly graceful for a Zerbest~" Louise teased.
"Louise! I would have landed on the dirt!"
"So? It wouldn't be the first time you got dirty."
"W-we're here!" Maki quickly broke off the argument to stave off the weird feelings prodding his chest ever since that particular bump on the ride here.
"Oh, seems like we're here." Kirche said nonchalantly.
"What do you think!" Louise was getting angrier at how easily she brushed off the verbal war.
Everyone was brought to attention when Tabitha pointed her crooked staff at the small shed in the forest clearing, "There."
"I'll take a look around the clearing while you investigate the cabin, ok?" Longueville went off to scout the nearby trees to the front of the cabin.
"I'll go first in case there's a trap." Maki edged closer to the cabin and made his way around, once he finished he motioned for the mages to come. He stood nearby the door in preparation, hand on Delf.
"Detect Magic" Tabitha walked up and raised her staff to effectively channel her willpower into the structure.
Maki caught some movement in the bushes and deployed his card and readied Delf.
He slackened his grip thinking that Miss Longueville had returned.
Then the building promptly exploded.
Author's Notes: Hmm here it is...your thoughts?
P.S. Geez i get paranoid when i write things not in canon...
P.P.S. Nevermind, anyway. Maki's childhood dream appears to be within reach eh?
P.P.P.S. Guess which cards were used during Osmond's time as a student many years ago.