Alison Price's Story

(And so we shall begin! But, never fear for those who have yet to submit a character! I will still accept submissions!)

As the sun rose in the distance, light radiated the sky in vibrant colors as the morning air swept across the city. The misty fog that covered it had faded away a good bit, and the visibility was excellent in this morning so that many people could enjoy the scenery. But out of all the sights, there was one that could be easily seen. A large airship, touching down at the private landing terminal located in this city of Mistviel.

This private landing pad was only a short distance away from Mistviel Academy, but was operated by a single organization. The Blacklight Corporation. It was a massive corporation, one of hte five biggest in the world, and as the airship landed before it had even finished the ramp was already opening.

"Master Zuuka!"

"Please don't do that! Be...ahh! He jumped!"

And so a boy wearing powerful and sturdy boots, easy to move in...longer then shorts but shorter then pants thing, a white shirt with a dark jacket over it, wearing glasses and with a variety of tools equipped at his waist and a strange and advanced looking cane in his hand jumped out of the airship and landed on the ground.

"Geese, they really know how to panic huh. You would think that they would be used to it after the fiftieth time or so".

Zuuka said that while he adjusted his glasses and began to walk forward. After all, his objective was the Academy. He was made to do home schooling for all his previous grades, due to the threat of kidnapping and assassination by their enemies or by those who wanted money, but now that he had passed his tests, he could finally attend school like a normal person.

"I wonder who my roommate is. I haven't even heard if there are school uniforms yet or not. Sigh...I wish my father had not kept me so isolated, he is really overprotective sometimes. Well, no matter. Now, this can be my sta....guh?!"

Zuuka was talking to himself as he turned a corner towards the Academy, only to see a kick come out of nowhere and impact him right in the stomach. He had been so distracted by thoughts of the Academy, he allowed a blind spot to be taken advantage of. As such, the impact sent him sprawling across the ground until he finally stopped. Although his body had not recieved much injuries, it hurt like hell.

"What...the hell..."

"Well looky here, another cheeky brat who thinks he is better then all of us. Why dont you go back home and cry to your pitiful mama?"

It hurt like hell, but Zuuka managed to get back on his feet. Well, he had sort of expected this sort of event too but...he was not going to let that stop him.

"You know, its not very nice to kick someone in the stomach like that".

"Well now, he can still stand and talk. Did you hold back?"

"Nah. And look, he can barely stand right now. Lets just punch him again for good measure. Scramble up the memories a little too..."

"Gravity flux".

Suddenly, the area around the two of them seemed to enter some strange, invisible field, and then everything in it started to float upwards.

Even though they got in a good hit, Zuuka was the son of someone who created military weapons, advanced technology, and...also games. Therefore, he was someone who could fight back. His appearance suggested otherwise though, and right now he looked a bit...pathetic. But he did not mind that however. Even though it hurt, he tried to act like everything was fine and walked past the two.

"That field might disappear in like, an hour or two. Maybe five. Have fun floating till then!"

And then as Zuuka walked past the gate....a fist came out from behind the corner and almost hit him in the face. He was conscious about the face due to his glasses. However, it ended up impacting the side of his cheek and he still was made to fall backwards. It looked like, this was a usual even here at this time.

It seemed that the first day of school, technically speaking since classes started tomorrow and not today, would be rather eventful.

But regardless, I wont let anything happen to stop my other reason for being here...

With thoughts like those, Zuuka had started his first day at the Academy.

Over the skies of Mistviel , a small group of four small military ships flew over heading towards the Academy. It wasn’t any act of war or show of aggression, General Morningtide wanted to make sure his daughter would make it to the Academy safely, and he was always one to show off power. “Father, one ship would have been enough to escort me here, forecast was clear.” Abigail said to the hologram of her father on the table. Her father wanted to come with her, but he was called to another continent last minute for some important stuff that he refused to tell Abigail “Yes, but you can never be too safe. Plus some of the men wanted to see the city they’ve only heard of.”Her father said. “Also, straighten up your shoulders, you are slouching again.” Abigail quickly pulled her shoulders back. She always had to be disciplined when talking to her father.

Attention on ship, attention on ship. We are approaching Mistviel City and will be landing shortly. The assistant captain called over the loud speakers on the ship. “Well Father, I should go make sure everything is all set.” Abigail said as she looked out the glass windows at Mistviel City, admiring the beauty. “Good, good. Always remember who you are, a Morningtide. If any issues come up with your cybernetics, contact me or Professor Wiretrink. Also, keep an eye out while walking to the Academy” Her father said before hanging up, no goodbye or love you. “Thanks.” Abigail said to herself as she disconnected from the holo and heading back to the quarters she used during the flight.

Abigail walked into her quarters and scanned items to make sure she had all she needed. She grabbed a couple extra enhancements off of her dresser and put them into her bag and looked in the mirror. She was wearing her white corset and grey overcoat, with her trusty rapier on the side. She quickly took her hair out of the pony-tail she had it in, and remade it into a tight bun, fixing her bangs so it covered her natural eye. Her cybernetic eye was her only enhancement hat was visible at the moment, her arm and leg covered by her outfit. “I need to ask father about an upgrade to my optical scanner next time…” She said to herself. Abigail prided herself on her cybernetics, always trying to improve them. That was one of the few things Abigail and her father always agreed on.

As the ship landed, Abigail grabbed her two bags and walked off the ship, saying bye to the crew them and wishing them luck I their battles. She knew most of the soldiers her father sent with her to the Academy, trained with a few of them as well. Abigail looked forward towards Mistviel Academy. “So this is it…” She said outloud, walking towards the school, hearing the ships take back off.

While walking down the street Abigail kept a watchful eye on her surroundings, taking note of everything. This was a new place that she wasn’t familiar with. She took note of most people she walked past, all unique. Abigail could tell people here weren’t exactly normal. There was a street performer doing table tricks with a marble and three cups, but with her optical scanner she was able to tell he was using a type of power to teleport the marble between the cups so his customers never guessed the right cup. Another lady was making fire appear in her palm to light some candles in her shop. There were even two male figures floating in what seemed to an anti-gravity bubble. “This city… wow…” Abigail was just in awe as she walked down street, her hands locked behind her back with her shoulders pushed back like she was always taught to. Plus if anything did happen, would only take one swift movement for her to pull out her rapier.

"A snip, a cut, through the fabric my scissors go. Through the fabric my imagination soars...Watching as my creation is made. With a snip, a cut. Another doll is made~" A voice hummed through a small little home. It was not a well known fact where a well known dollmaker worked, however what was known was what she created and sold out to the public. Dolls and Puppets, either full of life or made with such care and love that each one is top quality. This creator was known as Alison Price.

It was just one of those days, making Dolls and Puppets each day to sell to the masses. Of course, today was a special day. She had thought of it, and she should go to the Mistviel Academy. She had a bright future ahead of herself, and of course she had special news to someone. Her parents were gone, they had not returned home in forever and as such she was living not alone but with a younger sister.

It was time to give her the good news. Placing the doll gently in her little purse, she began to clean up her little workshop space and turned off the lights before stepping outside. Morning, the bright sun was shinning brilliantly today. WIth a smile and a little spring in her step, she first went through the living room before heading to the kitchen. Turning the stove on, she placed a pan on the stove before digging into her refrigerator and pulled out a few eggs. It was sadly not the best breakfast, but she was short on time. She did not want to be late on her first day after all. After scrambling the eggs, she made a quick omlet for her sisters breakfast.

She soon went upstairs, past the living room and near the front door before opening up a door with a small placard hanging on the door. Scarlette Price, a not known fact to the public. She had a younger sister. Five years below her and a wonderful bundle of love in her eyes. Giving a gentle tap on the door, she entered the room.

The room was mostly empty, a bed, nice soft pillows and a couple dolls sat on some shelves. There a young girl lay in bed looking rather pale. She looked up and did her best to smile but ended up coughing. "Morning sis. Today I have big news for you, I'm going to go to Mistviel Acadamy to learn all I can. So, I'm sorry if I wont be around as much with my work and studying. But I promise you I'll help you through this sickness you have." Alison smiled.

The young Scarlette gave a small nod and smile, poor girl lost her voice...A very big shame really. She wanted to hear her sisters cute voice greet her, but this is why she was working extra hard these days. Leaving the plate on her bed, Alison kissed her sisters forehead to let the little ray of sunshine rest up and get a nice warm breakfast.

She soon left her room before leaving her house and locking up. Today was looking bright! And with that she began to walk through the city, it was a nice day after all. Be a shame to stay cooped up in a car or airship. It took a long while, but she finnaly came across the front gates of the Acadamy. The start to her new life, everything was going to be fine she thought. She gave a smile at the thought. Thankfully not many people know her face, she was almost like a shut-in creator. But it did help when crowds of people did not flock you because you were well known.

She gave one last check in her purse, Sewing kit check...Scissors check...Doll and puppet check...And her precious diary check...Everything she needed was on hand. She would start her first day at the acadmy with a big smile.

I suppose this will be one of my first trials...yes, the hazing of the newbies and transfer students here. If so, then I have to be strong and meet it with strength. I cant back down here.

"Well now, I got a hit, but only barely. Not many people can dodge my punch from that range as a surprise attack".

"Why are you...what the hell are you thinking?"

Zuuka nearly faltered with his wording, but he managed to recover. He didn't come all this way to start crying now. This was nowhere near the toughest battle he fought, but...he couldn't risk using his weapons here since it might be excessive force. Although, the man in front of him was twice his size, and he had taken the third preparation stance of the Zoku-Tari Martial Arts position. Zuuka knew a careless attack would get him hurt even more.

And now that he thought about it, the movements of the other two also seemed similar to those Martial Arts style. It appeared this group were some sort of martial arts experts. And Zuuka had become their target.

"Rich kids like you, crybabies and weaklings. You have not worked hard and experienced what it means to take an effort in things you do. Getting here on just your father's back..."

They started to belittle Zuuka, which seriously pissed him off because of the words he chose. In truth, Zuuka is a sweet, innocent, kind hearted boy by nature...but his father had taught him various lessons, including weapon training, combat, self defense, and how to be strong and tough. How to take pleasure in being those things, and how to terrify others. Zuuka still had that atmosphere of his original personality, but...it was not all there was too him. An intelligence, an ability to read and control the battlefield, and so much more was brought in. Both how to control his emotions, and how to harness them.

"Aegis Weapons System, Initiate..."

"Aye aye, that is enough you two. Gorda, don't you think you are going a bit far this time? As Captain of the Martial Arts Club, you should show some restraint there, using that stance against a fellow student outside of a dual. And...shall I take you you are Zuuka? Please do not use those weapons so easily, they are too dangerous. But your father must really love you to give you such powerful weapons developed by the Blacklight Organization".

He said that while he pat both of their heads. They weren't even that close to each other a moment ago, but right as the voice appeared, Zuuka felt it. In an instant he was closer, and both were totally out of combat position. This man that appeared was the principle of the school. Zuuka ended up getting embarrassed a bit from such a display, and adjusted his glasses.

"Fine. But it was because he got so serious" he said as he started to walk towards the gate.

"Hold on. Wouldn't you rather walk in with some fellow students? It looks like two are on their way right now" the principle, Verron Jerryl, mentioned as he pointed towards two others approaching. Meanwhile, Captain Gorda just glared at Zuuka with anger due to the embarrassment of what just happened, and the fact Zuuka made him feel fear in that singular moment when he was going to be serious.

Abigail pulled up the sleeve of her jacket and looked at the digital clock on her arm. Good, not late yet. Abigail wasn’t actually running late, but she grew up under rules that being on time is late, being 5 minutes early is on time, and being 15 minutes early is expected. She still had enough time to be early according to her standards, so she decided to take her time and enjoy her surroundings a little bit more. Looking inside shop windows and just staring at everything around her. Growing up with her father, everything was always the same and uniform. The only thing that changed would be the locations ever couple of months. But this city, everything was so different and every direction had different things going on.

”Hey! You going to order or what”? A voice startled Abigail, she accidentally end up in front of an order window of a food truck like restaurant. “Oh, no. My apologies sir, didn’t mean to stumble up into here.” She said politely to him before hurrying out of the way of others wanting food. As Abigail rounded the corner she bumped into a shorter girl with golden hair, knocking herself to the ground.

“Oops!” Abigail exclaimed as she quickly got up and helped the other girl. “My deepest apologies ma’am.” Abigail called all women ma’am, and all men sir, it was an old habit she got from her father. Abigail picked up the girl’s book that she knocked out of her handed it back to her and taking a glance of what she actually looked like. Abigail guessed she was younger than her, or maybe the same age as her, but just a little shorter. Also, she had violet eyes that really caught her attention.

After realizing she was just staring at this girl, she snapped herself back to reality. “Again, I am so sorry for running into you. I am new to town, here for the Academy actually.” She said after dusting herself off and glancing down to make sure her rapier wasn’t damage.

“Well, I am Abigail, Abigail Morningtide” Abigail as she extended her robotic hand for a handshake. As she looked around she noticed the Academy was just up the street. “Hey, there it is.”

Now...Where to head too? She has only heard of Mistival Acadamy and all its achievements creating heroes. Of course, she was not much of a hero herself. She only made Dolls and Puppets to accompany a lonely persons life, she only brought smiles to people, not fight monsters or brought criminals to justice. Its funny, if she got the skills to be a hero she probably would be making much more creations for people. And hopefully help her sister out while she was at it.

While she was looking around a notable figure...Or rather two caught her eyes. Who has not heard of them before? The son of a well known CEO that ran a tech company that made weapons and games. Zukka Blacklight. And then the daughter of a well esteemed general, Abigail Morningtide. Famous people for a famous school.

One that made weapons and games while the other probably ordered weapons for use...Quite something indeed...And here she was but a humble toymaker. But they were her fellow peers from here on out no doubt. With the time took to look at them, she du into her purse and brought out a small doll before giving it a small hug. A nice hand sized doll, it was not full of life of course...At least not yet. Most people order's her toys as regular toys...Some...Want a real life sized Doll with emotions. She could easily tell the reasons why hey wanted such a thing...But it be rude to assume things of people.

Of course, as she continued she would suddenly feel like she bumped into something...And that something was someone. Abigail to be specific. She gave a surprised gasp as her doll and diary cluttered to the ground...Along with her purse she was holding in her hand. The woman quickly apologized before handing her diary to her. She gratefully accepted it back before nodding. "I should apologize myself. I should have been more aware." She spoke as she gathered her doll and purse off the ground before looking back at Abigail.

As she noted that she was looking at her for a rather prolonged period of time, she introduced herself offering her cybernetic hand for a handshake. She returned this gesture by shaking her hand. "My name is Alison. Alison Price. Pleased to meet you Abigail." She replied.

As Zuuka looked around, he as well noticed the other two approaching. Although one he was not familiar with, he did know Abigail Morningtide by name. Although the academy allowed both commoners and nobles, rich and poor, strong and weak, he was interested in seeing a familiar face so soon. He might be mis-remembering something, but...he was pretty sure he remembered seeing Abigail two months ago at that fancy gathering his father made him attend. He himself prefered a more casual look then the suit and tie he had to wear, although right now even wearing casual clothing he actually looked quite professional.

It was probably his glasses. It kind of made him look professional even with a casual look.

He did get just a tad bit nervous, but to see a friendly, or at least familiar, face after taking attacks from what would likely be his bullies, he was full of energy.

"H-hey, Abigail! Whats up? Are you joining the Academy too this year?"

He said that while running up the stairs towards the main gate so they had a better view of him and waving to them. Even though he just got kicked in the stomach, punched in the face, and looked like he got roughed up at least a bit, he was still smiling. One could say that he was a very stubborn boy. Maybe a bit too stubborn.

"You should hurry along now! You don't want to be late for the entrance ceremony, you three!"

The principle shouted this, using magic to enhance his voice so that they could all hear it before looking around.

"Huh, Gorda went off somewhere...well, hopefully it should be fine once he cools his head. Its not like he doesn't have his reasons after all....it was a weapon made by the Blacklight Corperation that caused his parents deaths..."

Verron muttered this to himself as he also began to make his way to the ceremony so he could give the famous speech.

Hearing her name in a casual tone out here in a new city shocked Abigail and caught her off guard. She to where she heard the and looking up the stairs she saw a boy. Took her a second to recognize his face, it was the son of the CEO of Blacklight Industries, thought she couldn’t exactly remember his name. Her father would talk about meetings with him for new weaponry and such, but he wasn’t all about or keen on experimenting on people with cybernetics. Abigail only remember seeing the boy once, at a celebration ball of some sort. Most people would have enjoyed it, there was mingling, a dancing, and an all-around good time. Abigail shadowed father around, meet some politicians and other high-ranking members. General Morningtide always like talk to others about his accomplishments and future products, especially his success with cybernetic enhancements, using his daughter as an example.

Abigail walked up the stairs, assuming the new girl she might end up calling a friend, was behind her. “Hello, you’re Mr. Blacklight’s son correct? And yes, my father allowed me to spend some time here before I head back and probably follow in his patg” Abigail was glad that he was here, more people knew the name Blacklight than Morningtide, Morningtide was more known around military personnel. She looked him over and noticed he wasn’t exactly looking the nicest, like he had a scuffle of some sort.

After hearing a man who Abigail assumed was the head master or principle talk about the ceremony, and some person named Gordo. “Sir.” She tried to stop him to ask a question about what he had just said. “Weapon manufactures aren’t at fault for deaths. If I had bought a knife from a store down the street, and then used it to harm others or damage property, the authorities wouldn’t blame the man who sold me the knife through the correct channels of his official business. Am I correct?” Abigail asked rhetorically. She remembered her father talk about certain politicians cracking down on weapon corporations, which would hinder him in battles.

“Anyways, should we get going to the ceremony?” Abigail asked, turning to the two new individuals she had just met, and then walking in the direction that she saw many other students heading towards. Well, if people dislike the son of weapons CEO, I hope they don’t mind a daughter of a war general. Abigail thought to herself.

Entrance ceremony? After hearing the headmaster call out to them she understood what that meant. Of course where it was talking place was a little beyond her. As the others moved forward, she of coursed decided to follow behind. Two well known children, they would be like red coloring on blue coloring. Unlike her, she was only well regarded in name. Its not like she was on TV waving at cheering crowds. But it was nice, she enjoyed the silence more than full blown attention. It allowed her to focus and not worry about the little things in front of people or photographer sneaking around to take pictures of you to see what you did on your free time like you were some sort of foreign creature.

As she walked, she decided to get a bit friendly with the two. Remembering her Doll she put in her purse she pulled it out. "I'm sorry if I am following you two, but I do not know where the ceremony is. I did not take the time to read into the Academy, so I was hoping you two knew...But on another topic while he hurry. Would any of you care for a doll? You see, I make dolls and puppets for a living. I know...It seems random to ask someone if they wanted some sort of childs toy, but if you wanted to give someone a gift or feel like your room needed a little something extra then this will be the perfect thing." She smiled with glee as she held out the doll.

For such a doll, it was in high quality. Short red hair, a soft looking texture, a wonderful little dress with beautiful butterfly patterns hand sewn in. It looked like it was made with lots of care and love as seen by any person who truly cared about their craft. "Think of it as a small token of thanks, my diary is very important to me. And I could use the help around the Acadamy in the future. I hope we get along well as fellow students." She smiled. It was up to them if they wanted her gift, it would not bother her if they declined of course. They only met a minute ago after all.

"Yeah. It's nice to see you again. I think we attended quite a few of the same parties. My name is Zuuka Blacklight, but my friends just call me Zuuka or Zuu. And thanks for what you said...I really wish people would stop talking about me like that just because my father happens to create and sell weapons" he said with a bright and refreshing smile on his face, although there was a bruise there. Smiling like that should hurt a little, but Zuuka was intentionally ignoring the pain.

Though because of that, even if they looked different, people might mistake Abigail as being like his big sister in this situation.

He then looked towards the other girl, and spoke in a curious and kind voice. "Uhh, sorry, I have not heard your name yet. Who are..."

But before he could finish, the school bells started to ring, echoing across the entire city and making their signal clear. And also to make them realize that they are running out of time as well.

"Uhhh, we gotta talk later! If we dont hurry, we will be late!"

With that declaration, Zuuka ran towards the Central Hall and where the the rest of the students and teachers would be. Along the way though, he got a beautiful sigh of the architecture and care that went into the school. Even though it had been standing for over one thousand years, it still was in perfect condition. There were stone statues that dotted the landscape, with all sorts of hedges, plazas, fountains, and such around. There were also plenty of rocks, large fire pots to light up at night, and other various methods.

The buildings themselves were mostly made of stone, and had a beautiful majestic feel to them. Much of it was polished white stone, and they had a variety of long buildings, tall buildings, wide buildings, and all inbetween. There were towers, and some buildings were made spherical. Other buildings were floating, and some exuded magical energy like crazy. Others were more advanced and modern, and clearly even produced their own power. There were also streetlights that dotted the paths and such around the school, but the fire pots were a classic original design of the school and had been kept.

The warm morning breeze swept across their faces as Zuuka finally made it inside the grand hall. And indeed it was grand, a magnificent entrance hall so large it could fit multiple grades at once. And apparently, the dining hall was even bigger, to fit all the students plus all the tables plus all the food. Although....wasn't this building smaller on the outside?

There were still a few seats to take. Because Zuuka was worried about bothering people, he saw an empty seat inbetween two other empty seats, and decided to take that one...unaware of what potential situation he might invite from that.

“Well, it’s the truth.” Abigail said, not realizing until now that she had actually just suck up for Zuuka. As he went to ask about Alison, Abigail realized she hadn’t introduced her, kind of let her out of the conversation too. Zuuka was cut off by a bell ringing and took off towards the hall where everyone else was gathering. Abigail turned to Alison, “Well we better get going. I in-particular don’t want to find out the punishments of being late.” Abigail said with a straight face. She looked around and analyzed the situation, at this point with the number of people going in, running off like Zuuka would have wouldn’t have changed much of what time they would show up, maybe gaining one or two minutes. So even if they walked, they would still make it on time.

Abigail turned to Alison when she talked about the doll she had offered. Abigail just stared for a second, she didn’t really get that many gifts through her life. Her father would argue her cybernetics are a gift to their own, along with the lessons he has taught her. “Yes, thank you Alison.” Abigail said as she gently took the doll, feeling the soft hair. It may have looked like didn’t care but that moment just meant a lot to Abigail. She looked back up and nodded in the direction that Zuuka ran in and started walking, making sure Alison was still walking with her.

As the two girls made it into the hall, it felt as if it had expanded in size. The last time Abigail had seen a room this big was at an award ceremony for her father in front of a large group of other officers and soldiers. With getting distracted with the room, some people got in front of Abigail, between her and Alison, but wasn’t too worried. When they started filling in, she was heading towards where Zuuka was, seeing two empty seats. Perfect, won’t have to fuss over seats. she thought to herself, but after Alison sat on one side, another male quickly sat down where Abigail was about sit

Abigail was kind of shocked and surprised, the kid had just about come out of nowhere. “No worries, I’ll find another seat.” Abigail said outloud, giving a professional smile towards Alison and Zuuka, not wanting to start a fuss so early on. She then turned around and found an empty space and leaned against a wall alone. The spot she found gave her a nice view of most, if not all, of the central hall. ”Always know where you are and your surroundings." She remembered her father telling her during a lesson. He never liked not being to see around him, or not facing a clear exit or entrance, paranoid a little.

As the bell rang, the other two agreed to get a move on before they were late for the ceremony. Of course, they still had enough time to walk to their destination. As they walked of course, Abigail accepted her gift which made her smile. It was great, even a military daughter could accept such a simple gift. That meant that she might not be as stuck up as some stories make it out of military people. Or at the very least viewing simple things like her act of kindness as childish.

Soon enough, as they walked through the expensive looking architecture they would all arrive at the grand hall where many people were already seated. There were many occupied chairs, and thankfully one chair near Zuuka was not occupied. Sadly for Abigail however someone took her seat from right under her. A little rude to be certain, but Abigail had said that she could find a new seat somewhere else. "I guess we'll talk more later after this is over. Should be important orientation. I should be paying attention to it well since I don't know much here." Alison replied giving a nod as she left to a seat near the wall.

She soon took a seat near Zuuka naturally, even if he was a famous figure people deserved to be treated like an equal instead of a person that was different from them despite their class and status. He was just another fellow student, no need to freak out or fidget because he was the son of a super well known person. "Abigail is rather kind, don't you agree Zuuka? Oh, my apologies. I have yet to introduce myself. My names Alison. Alison Price, I hope we get along in the future as well." She spoke to him as they were getting ready to start the announcements. A few extra minutes to get to know her fellow peer.

"Hurry up, Mom, I'm gonna be late on my first day." Luke spoke to his mother as she did her best to maneuver through traffic. She was still groggy and barely able to focus on driving.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just taken the limo like I told you too." She said with a bit of smugness to her voice.

"I love you Mom, but I don't want everyone to know that my mother is the famous Jena Sonique, I want to have a normal school experience."

"And the students seeing me drop you off isn't going to give away who your mother is?"

"Did you look in the mirror this morning? You have no make-up on, I barely recognize you." Luke laughed.

She pulled up to the school just as the bell rang to go to the entrance ceremony. He gave his mom a kiss and ran out to follow the other students. He didn't know anyone here, but he had looked over his schedule and a map of the school before he got here so he knew roughly where he was going. He got to the ceremony seating area and saw a few empty seats. He went to go sit down just as boy with unique looking hair sat down in the center. Luke sat next to him and another girl sat on the other side. He heard someone else say something about getting another seat and he hoped that there wassn't assigned seating that he didn't know about. He looked up to see a blonde girl with cybernetic implants walking away.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were going to sit here." He said, but she didn't seem to hear him over the ambient commotion from everyone else in the room. She didn't seem to be mad, though, so he didn't think much about it. He waited for the ceremony to start, and let his emerald eyes scan the room to get an idea of the kind of people who went here. It looked like the kind of place where he could go unnoticed for his mother and that was exactly what he wanted.

As the seats next to him also got quickly occupied, and not only that, but the only person he knew fairly well ended up going elsewhere because another boy with red hair ended up taking the seat first, he couldn't help but notice that with all the other people, it was quite crowded. No, that was not the real issue. He had been to parties before, he had stood beside his father as he spoke to crowds.

However, although he wanted to be his own person, prove himself, and be seen as Zuuka and not just his father's son, he was now facing his first challenge. And a rather cute one as far as others would be concerned. Well, as he waved goodbye to Abigail for now, he turned to respond to Alison.

"Nice to meet you, Allison. And yeah...she is really nice" he managed to say. However, he looked a bit nervous and flustered, no it was more then a bit...after all, he was raised away from other people. His interactions with people were limited in number to those of his father, and the people his father trusted, or at formal gatherings. Otherwise, because there was a fear of him being targeted, he had not interacted much with people. Even though in fighting, he was extremely well trained, and he had been taught to be able to put on a mask for business and hide his expressions and feelings, in this natural setting it was pretty clear...

He really was someone who had no experience in dealing with people naturally, and was a bit awkward and therefore shy. He ended up looking down, because it was pretty clear he wasn't good.

"S...sorry. It's just, because of my situation, I don't have much experience with people. Being the son of my father, the CEO of the Blacklight does have its disadvantages....anyways, nice to meet you. Errr....what is that saying my father taught me...right, if we see each other or have the same classes, please take care of me".

After that, the principle got up onto a balcony that overlooked the hall and began to speak. As one might expect, it was an extremely long and fairly boring opening speech for the new year. However, there was something that was added that seemed abnormal and attention absorbing.

"Also, again please be careful. There are still the strange and unusual incidents that have yet to be resolved. Although I am sure a number of our students are quite careful, there are plenty of strange incidents and abnormalities aside from the unsolved crimes that have yet to be explained. Please do be careful, and please please do not go looking for trouble!"

Well, that was a flag raiser right there...wait...isnt this line of thinking usually a flag for a protagonist that ends up getting into a lot of trouble? Well, no...this is real life, it should be fine. Hopefully....I probably already will have trouble dealing with people anyways...right! This experience will help me get over that though!

After that, it was announced that food would be served for lunch in the dining hall. After looking over to Abigail and asking/pleading with his eyes, he turned to Alison. "Want to get some lunch?"

And then, he also remembered the boy sitting on his other side and panicked a bit.

"O-oh! I didn't mean it like we were excluding you or angry at you though! If you want, you can join us for lunch too! Uhh, my name is Zuuka. Zuuka Blacklight. Nice to make your acquaintance..."

His inexpererience, innocence, and awkwardness could practically be heard in his voice. He sort of wished he could show off his combat skills, or his tech skills, right now. At least those he had confidence in, unlike dealing with people.

Abigail was able to listen and pay attention to whole speech. Use to following her father around and listening to many people give many speeches. Unusual events? Is that what father was talking about Abigail thought to herself as the speech ended. She looked around for an exit, but then realized Zuuka was looking at her. He probably wants us to stay together Abigail wasn’t good at reading faces or looks, being so use to military bearing being all around her.

After weaving around people effortlessly like water through rocks, Abigail caught up with Zuuka and Alison. “Really good speech he gave. I think that it is great there is a dueling concept between people. Reminds me of what my father’s soldiers were do.” Abigail commented, then noticing the boy from before was still with them. “Hello sir, I don’t think I caught your name.” She said to him reaching her hand out for a handshake.

Turning back to the other two. “May I suggest getting some food?” Abigail asked, she wasn’t in earshot when Zuuka had asked before. As the group decided where to go, Abigail stayed in the back of the group this time, messaging on her holo to her father. The son of Mr. Blacklight is here father. I know you were talking about him before I left and thought you should know. she sent to her father and then readjusting some settings in her cybernetics. Looking back up occasionally to make sure she was still with the group and not walking into anyone or anything.

As seats were getting filled up and the start of the ceremony at hand, Zuuka replied to her previous response to which she smiled warmly. "No need to apologize. I can't quite understand how it is to have certain expectations on your shoulder. But some people say manners make the person. Of course a nice balance of professionalism and casual meetings help balance things out. I don't mind that your the son of a famous owner of a famous corporation, however treating you like some sort of god because your famous seems counter productive. We are all flesh and blood in the end, status does not make us any different. So as such Ill treat you with respect like a normal person as long as you do the same for me." She replied holding her hands together as the principal got on stage.

Alison had one last thing to say to Zuuka before it started. "I'll be glad to help you out when you need it." She smiled before turning her attention to the principal. It was a long speech for the new year at the academy, of course she listened quietly with full attention. However as he went on with something unexpected this really got her attention, it was about a warning to be careful. It was about some unnatural and unsolved incidents that happened and that they should stay safe and not go looking for trouble.

Now this was certainly catching, there was a danger going on. She hoped it was not as bad as it sounded, it could either be people got hurt or even worse...But one thing was for certain, she was no trouble seeker. She had something that only she could do, and she rather not risk herself out of curiosity. She just hoped trouble did not find her however.

Once that was done, they announced lunch would be served meaning that they were possibly at the end of his speech. Zuuka turned to face her and asked her is she wanted to have some lunch together. Of course she gave a nod. "Sure, I would love to join for lunch. And I'm certain you will be asking Abigail if she wants to join us as well. All of us can chat together and have a nice time so of course I'll join." She smiled as his attention changed from her to the boy sitting next to him. From what she heard, he also invited him to lunch as well. A bigger crowd. Things may be looking up for now.

Luke barely listened to the speech, it was boring until the headmaster said something about unsolved crimes that were yet to be explained. It almost sounded like the he was begging for the students to go looking into it. He took note of it, then pushed it to the back of his mind. After the ceremony was out of the way he was about to go check out the campus when the boy next to him had mentioned food and then suddenly invited him to come along.

"It's okay, I didn't really think you were angry at me. You just didn't know me, so I didn't expect you to even talk to me let alone invite me to lunch. I'm a bit socially awkward too, so no need to worry about it. My name's Luke, nice to meet you Zuuka." He smiled and shook the boy's hand.

He didn't give his last name as he didn't want to come off as one of those famous kids that got by on fame.

"Lunch sounds like a great idea." He said as they met the other girl who had gone to stand by the wall. "Sorry about earlier, I didn't know you wanted that seat." He said once more now that she could hear him. As they walked to where ever it was that they were going, (he wasn't even sure if any of them was leading or if they all were just wondering together) Luke noticed the cyborg girl tapping something on a holo but he wasn't able to see what was being written. He figured she was just letting her parents know how school was going so far.

"So where exactly are we going? I know there's a food court here somewhere with a ton of different places to eat." He suggested as he took out his school map to double check where they were and how close the food court was.

"Well, everything should be okay now. So lets just all be friendly....ahh, by the way, feel free to call me Zuu. Thats what most of the people that are close to me call me" he said as he led them towards the direction of the food. At least, he was pretty sure it was the right direction. Food was announced, and other people were heading there. He also then responded to something Alison said.

"Well, its true there is that. But there will also be people who come after me because of that too. Because I have money and they dont, because I grew up with what they call everything and they didn't. Because of the name Blacklight, people whether they have a just reason or not will blame me for things...some of it...well, lets just stay positive for now! Although, I have heard that new students, regardless of who or what they are, tend to be the victims of "Freshmen pranks". I hear they can be quite bad. Anything from putting hair dye in shampoo, to altering soap to make it change skin color, to stealing someone's clothes while they are in the showers and baths and making them walk back to their room butt naked, to annoucning someone's crush publicly across the school, to all sorts of things. We should probably be careful, being new here we will almost certainly be targeted.

Zuuka seemed fairly nervous and shy though, leading a group of people he just met around a building he had no idea how to get around. The building half felt like a maze, and the further they went in the more people disappeared. Zuuka began to panic a little if he was heading the right way.

Eventually, he made his way into a courtyard. It seemed that there were some food places that sold food along the walls, and the courtyard while completely walled off had no roof and so sun was able to flow in. There was a large fountain in the center, and trees and grass with pathways and paved areas put in the middle. There were also benches and tables to sit and eat on.

Zuuka himself got amazed and wandered a bit ahead....but then suddenly a larger, older student then him pushed him right into the fountain. As he got all wet, he felt his shoes and socks yanked off as the older student and a few others looked at them.

"Well well, so this is what the super rich can buy with the money they hoard for themselves huh? What are these, five hundred dollar shoes? One thousand dollar socks? They sure dont seem normal. Amazing how much money the rich will waste on themselves. The Blacklight Organization sure does make a lot of money huh, enough to spend things pointlessly like this. I wonder, how much money are you wearing right now".

Unlike the students before, who were probably people who got hurt by weapons made and sold by the Blacklight Organization, these people were those who apparently were jealous of the money they made and invited by greed. Well, in truth there were a lot of people who thought the people who made guns and sold them were the source of many problems for producing such dangerous weapons, and there were also a lot of people who not only wanted the money of the rich, but wanted to seriously take down the people who were rich through embarrassment and such to make themselves feel equal to such people, or just because they liked the idea.

Zuuka tried to get out of the fountain himself, and would accept any help offered if someone wanted to. But before Zuuka could try to get his shoes and socks back, a strange atmosphere engulfed the area which made all of the bullies stop and drop Zuuka's belongings as they began to back away. Another boy that seemed to be eminating the atmosphere approached out from a different direction, and Zuuka felt like compared to the others, he was far more dangerous.

"You are Zuuka Blacklight right? Son of the Blacklight Corporation".

"Y..yeah? Listen, could we please do this later? I really want to eat with my new friends, and I dont feel like fighting..."

"Too bad. I wont let you escape my grudge so easily".

At this point, Zuuka was fairly upset. Not to mention he was now soaking wet

"Listen! I am really tired of being held responsible for my fathers Corporation! So please..."

"This has nothing to do with your father's corporation! This has to do with you, and your selfish desire! About what happened at Celstus, about how everyone, including my uncle, died because you wanted a weapon made for you so you could convince your father to let you go out on your own, even though you were told that dangerous thing would be used as a base! Because of you, countless people died! If it was only that though, I might leave it alone as your mistake but...I saw it! This morning, before the speech...when you faced off against Gorda, even after what happened you still have it! You still are using the Aegis System! YOu don't feel any guilt at all! So, I challenge you do a duel!"

The surroundings echoed with his voice. Zuuka himself could clearly be seen in a state of shock and fear, and had a strong reaction to what was said. Celstus. It was said to be a small town that had been flourishing thanks to the Blacklight Corporation. It was also said that about a year ago, some horrible incident happened and countless people wound up dead. Blacklight apparently came in, helped rebuild, and also donated huge money to the families of the victims but...this Aegis System was never mentioned in them.

But it was mentioned once, by Zuuka, this morning. He nearly activated it when he got upset against Gorda...

It seemed that this cute, innocent, kindhearted Zuuka also had secrets. He was the youngest out of all of them, but inside his fear...there was a determination building.

A need to prove himself even more now.

That was also true, as they walked Zuuka explained that because he was from a higher class there would be people jealous of the money he had. It was one thing to be envious around people, but to anger the wrath of people because you had money was another thing. Still, they should indeed move onto brighter topics...

At least...That's what they were going to do until she witnessed the boy get shoved from behind by a larger student. When he said that some people get 'freshman pranked'...He was not probably mentioning getting attacked out of nowhere. From what the older student said, it looked like he was just bullying him because he was rich...Speak of the devil as they say. He talked about that not even a minute ago and after taking a nice walk through the campus to head to the lunch hall here they were with a small gang of bullies. Their first day and already some major trouble...

Of course most of the bullies stopped with a change in atmosphere...All except one. One who seemed to hold a personal grudge against him. From a supposed incident that happened involving Zuuka and some others. His uncle seemed to be part of it. It was a tragic fate indeed, and it seemed that he wanted a fight.

Of course, she was not going to stand idly by. Who knows how out of control this could get. She had no doubt Abigail could handle this, but right now they should solve this without the need for anyone resorting to violence. Probaly no time to run and find a staff member either...So with that she decided to put herself at risk and got between the two.

"I'm terribly sorry, but may I recommend both of you backing away please?...It would be bad to already start trouble on our first day. You both have your own goals, and starting a fight here would benefit you none at all sir. Losing family is hard, however if you just fight here and now all that will happen would tarnish your own name. Or worse, you could go to prison for assault. Don't ruin your future yet, we can solve this without violence." She asked calmly putting her hands together...

She was in a dangerous situation and she knew, she hoped it could be resolved easily. Else she would end up getting hurt...This was a gamble she was taking of course.

By the time Abigail was done optimizing her arm, she noticed some guys bullying Zuuka around. At first, she dismissed it, she was use to the whole hazing thing. It would happen to every new recruit under her father’s command; from head shaving to throwing their entire bed with them sleeping in into a like to wake them up. But she quickly realized it was turning more into bullying, the leader of the group had said something about how he was responsible for something in a village, something she remember her father talking about. Aegis? He has it? Bu- Her thoughts were broken when the bully continued and challenge to a duel. “Oh, a duel.” Abigail said out loud. Soldiers would spar against each other to blow off steam, so this didn’t seem that abnormal to Abigail, she wasn’t that much against it, but she knew with anger it could get out of hand, she would have to keep an eye on it.

Before anything could get started, Alison stepped between them trying to defuse the situation. “Alison…” Abigail said under her breath. She applauded her courage; this male was even taller than Abigail. But if there was as scuffle, unless Alison had some sort super strength, Abigail was pretty sure she would get roughed up. Plus Zuuka had just been challenge to a duel. She walked up beside Alison and put a hand on her shoulder. “Alison, Zuuka was challenged to a duel. You heard the head master talk about this, it’s not assault, its normal here.” She said in quiet almost whisper voice. Abigail obviously didn’t want anyone to hurt and would step in if things got too out of control, but dueling was part of the school, tradition, rules; much like the military was.

Abigail stepped back, hoping Alison would follow. She knew Zuuka could defend himself, but wanted to see what all he could do, take notes. Same with this fellow who challenged Zuuka. But before anything else could happen Luke walked up to the commotion, Abigail was curious about what he was about to do. She heard his soft voice telling the male that he didn’t want to do this, and to walk away, and he actually did, walking away a little dazed. She was shocked, So this is what he could do… Noted. Need to make sure I have some sort of sound protection. she thought to herself. Always know the strengths of those around you, including friends. Because you never know when friends become enemies Abigail remembered very clearly a lesson from her father, very similar to keep your friends close but enemies closer.

After watching the bully and his group walk away, things started going back to normal around the courtyard. Abigail looked back at Zuuka seeing him still shock, but knew he would snap out of it, and looked at Luka. “So… I’ve read about that before. The voice of banshees and sirens. Prominent in mostly females. You’re lucky to have such a power.” She said to said to him. Abigail felt a little disappointed in them, stepping into Zuuka’s fight, not really giving him a chance. Also different thoughts flooded her mind. Aegis system, she only knows snippets of information from her father, she took a quick glance at Zuuka. Would Mr. Blacklight allow his son that much power? She asked herself internally.

(Out of order, before last post)


Luke followed along with the others until they went through the courtyard. He saw that Zuuka was distracted and by the fountain before being pushed in. The scene played out like something out of a high school drama on TV. He knew how these things usually played out and he knew that right now was not the time nor place for a duel. On top of all that he was still really hungry and preferred not to waste anymore time dealing with bullies than he needed to.

Luke watched as Alison stepped between the two. She was putting herself in danger, but she had the right idea, they shouldn't be fighting. Now was the time for Luke to shine. He walked up next to Alison between the two who wanted to duel.

"You don't want to do this." He spoke. It was all he needed to say as he was using his Siren powers. He was able to convince the bully that he didn't want to duel by merely speaking the words. It was a simple demonstration of his power, but an effective one, unless the bully were to have some sort of protection against such power. However, it wasn't likely.

"You don't want to do this, you want to walk away and forget you saw Zuuka." He repeated. The hypnotic tone in his voice was like the sound of an angel singing, but it only seemed to effect the bully. To anyone else it would only sound like an almost synthesized voice, but smoother and clearer sounding.

It seemed that the others did not want him to duel, well at least two of them didn't. Abigail seemed to want to see him fight, but that made sense. To be honest, part of Zuuka wanted to fight, he wanted to do something he was confident in and show off. He wanted to prove himself. Of course, with friends you dont need to prove yourself, but Zuuka lacked the ability to have that common sense. He was bad at socializing, after all.

"Umm. Thanks Abigail. I probably could have taken that guy" he said as he watched the man be manipulated away by the male siren. "But, I don't think now was a good time for that duel anyways. In that situation, if I had fought him and won, then it would have only been used against me. At least, I don't really know people that well, but I think that if I had fought him it would have been bad".

As Zuuka said that, he did feel bad for everyone sticking up for him...especially given what this was about...and that they didn't even know what this was about. He also though Abigail might be interested in it, and she was the one he knew best and was basically his best friend. Or at least, she was the one he knew best.

"Well, I feel bad now...you all stuck up for me, but you don't even know what it is....I suppose I should show you at least..." he said, as he also finally got out of the fountain. He had taken so long because while they stuck up for him, not a single person bothered to help him get out of the water, so he was extremely soaked. He did put his shoes and socks back on though, since his feet never got wet, but otherwise he was still soaking wet. "Aegis, activate. Low power mode".

Suddenly, several strange cubes appeared around him, floating and rotating around him. They seemed to move when he moved, and when he extended his hands towards them, and swiped the air, the cube spun around him. He then extended his other arm when a specific cube came in front of him, and moved them in opposite directions which caused the cube to increase in size. After that, it seemed to give off a small, peaceful hum, and he then reached inside of it! Wasn't this supposed to be a weapon?!

He took out a warm towel after that, and put it on his head. "Its true....this is something that I asked for, that I...helped design...and what happened with it...sorry, I am not very good...at this....can we, get some food?"

Of course, this was coming from the person who was still entirely soaked in water. Likely, someone should probably help with that....

Meanwhile, there was a balcony overlooking the courtyard they were in. There were two twins, with reddish brown hair and blue eyes. They were watching the scene unfold below, Yuna was particularly interested as he leaned against the balcony with his arm and pulled his brother in closer to him.

"These people seem weird but....it looks like there are quite a few interesting people among them".

Yuna said those words as he observed everything that happened. The man, who were surrounded by spirits of rage, and the four others. Two boys, and two girls. Spirits were everywhere, and sometimes spirits collected around certain people. The twins had the ability to see and communicate with spirits, being Wood Elves. With that, he could not help but get interested in something.

"That boy...Zuuka is it. Its almost like the spirits are ignoring him...and the other three. Spirits of sound float around the other boy. And the spirits seem....afraid of that girl. Could she be military? Spirits usually hate rigid military people. Maybe she was just around those people...and, the last one...the spirits seem to love her. Huh, I wonder why?"

Yuna spoke of his observations and then looked back to his twin brother, Yuma, and went to poke his nose playfully.

"I gotta say, I think we can have a bunch of fun with this group. This is way better then the time we snuck all those spiders into the tents of those campers! Hee hee".

As the situation calmed down with everyone sticking up with Zuuka. Abigail also shared with her something that she did not quite know. People usually had duels around these parts, what a thought...It was considered normal to have duels. For her she never had to duel anyone in the first place...Of course she was not into golems, or homunculi. She simply crafted Puppets and created Dolls. She was in a separate field of her own that did not really collide with anyone else's work. Possibly the reason why no one really challenged her to any duels. That...Or she was kind enough to ever get on anyone's bad side.

Of course, she noted Luke being able to sway the man simply using his voice. How peculiar, he must have magic sewn into his voice. As such everything was resolved peacefully and with that she could let out a deep relaxed sigh. "Phew...I normally never do that sort of thing. Sticking up for someone I don't quite know...But bullies do irk me a bit...And I guess I wanted to step up. But thank you everyone, I was worried I would be sent to the nurse's office within the first day..." She smiled gently.

Of course, Zuuka decided to use his Aegis to summon some floating cubes, and with that he used them to get a warm towel. For the son of a corporation that dealt with military weapons...They sure did have benefits for regular life. Of course, she did some self studying herself. History delved with war, and advancements were made thanks to means that was once used for taking lives. Now they were used to better lives. It was quite ironic in a sense.

But, better to have a flying cube hand you a towel to help dry yourself then shooting magical weapons at other people instead. Still...At least they could continue to the lunch hall and hopefully have a bite to eat. "So, now that that's out of the way. How about a nice change in topic like what we planned to do before that interruption? This is...Not the best question but do you all like Dolls or Puppets? I just find that there is a great creativity and ease of mind when you create such delicate items. You know, Dolls are like a nice friend on cold nights. Even when you feel lonely just having a doll makes you feel much more safe. Like a friend that normally does not talk. Even if you have no one nearby to confine your thoughts to, a doll will listen. And puppets? Putting on a show and getting smiles from an audience feels wonderful. Like you two are partners working together for entertainment." She spoke whimsically as she held her hands together.

Yuma stood and went to the railing of the balcony to look down at the others as well. Yuma was drawn to something different than the prospect of mischief.

"Those cubes floating around the boy with the pretty hair, those look like the things we found in the crates at the truck that time. You know, before..." He didn't need to finish his sentence for Yuna to know what he meant.

"Maybe that's why the spirits don't like him. I think we should mess with all of them. They look like fun." Yuma grinned devilishly.

Luke was impressed by the floating cubes and he wondered what else they could do. Luke smiled at Alison explanation about performing with her dolls on stage.

"Like performing a duet." He stated. "I'm a bit old for dolls and such, but I'm sure the younger kids like it." He looked around the courtyard and spotted a pizza place. "Oh sweet, pizza, I didn't get much of that back home. Well they made it but it never tasted right." He smiled. He then went to the stand and ordered his lunch. He sat down at a table and held it for all of them while they went to get their own lunches.

He noticed how the others took note of his abilities and he wondered how long it would be before someone figured out who he was.