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 Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:15 pm
He nodded at Allen's retreating back.
"As you wish." he said, puzzling to himself. Something was amiss, maybe even two things. For a start, Allen wouldn't normally just say 'no casualties', there was always one Aria that broke down mid-combat and he was forever mentioning it like it was his own fault. Like it had a soul, even. He was a perfectionist, plain and simple. Yet today, he didn't mention the Arias. It was as if they had slipped his mind, or were no longer worth mentioning. But that was preposterous.
Sighing briefly, he turned around and walked towards the elevator. He would no doubt be thinking about this for the rest of the day, so maybe he could block it out with some intensive training.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:51 am
Allen stepped forwards through the door hesitantly (which was already open; strange) and knocked upon its hard, metallic surface with an equally hard and metallic knuckle. Anne seemed to be in. Perhaps Matar had been talking to her. At this thought, a quick rush of paranoia coursed through him, but he shook it off hurredly. No, it probably wasn't like that. Probably.
"Umm, Anne." he said, a little more quiet than his usual voice, "Can I have a word?"
It always made him nervous, coming down here. Anne had that sort of effect on him and, before her time, Evangeline had done likewise. Just, for a different reason. How that woman could be so intimidating he would never know. They had some things in common, she and Anne, though there was an underlying difference, something subtle. He couldn't quite tell what.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:24 am
Anne stared at the back door through which Matarael had just left, she’d been thinking for some time, thinking of what, if anything, could possibly happen between the two of them; he was so distant and hansom, -there’s no way he’d be interested in a geek like me- then she thought of his eyes and the way he caught her, the way he picked her up and moved so gently and surely to the table. She shivered a little, a pleasant shiver, forgetting for once in what must have been years, completely about work, completely about her office, her surroundings, even about Marcus.
She heard her name and knocked a file of loose paper onto the floor they were important flanny files she glanced at them, then at the visitor and smiled; it was Allen, it wouldn’t matter if he saw these files.
“Allen, what brings you down here?” she smiled at her boss, wondering what on earth had happened to him for those 8 months and, for the first but not for the last time, if it had anything to do with the flandamerite.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:30 am
“My Lord, Allen!” Marcus shrieked, I was just-” he didn’t know what he was just doing; he’d been thinking about Matar too. He blushed a little and moved towards the door, canIgetyouadrinksirorsomethingtoeat” he rolled the sentence into one in his nerves, scrabbling to remember what Anne wanted him to make, coffee? No. Tea, almost; Ice tea! He grabbed a handful of cold coffee cups and moved closer to the door very quickly, nearly spilling coffee on Anne’s important files, it was fortunate she’d just knocked them off herself.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:49 am
He recoiled slightly at Marcus' will to serve him.
"N-no, really, that's fine. I'm okay." he sidestepped Marcus and walked towards Anne, picking up a handful of the files and idly flicking through them. He was silent. How could he have been stupid enough to use something like the flandamerite in the first place. Now there was only one thing left he could do. But maybe... maybe it was still alright. After all, it hadn't reacted before, and the incident at Fortissimo was no clear indication that something had gone wrong. Well, whatever he thought, Anne would know what to do. She was its keeper, after all, should such a word be applicable in this context. He looked up into her beautiful eyes, concentrated quickly, and cleared his throat.
"The S-1... something seems to have taken a hold of it." he said quietly, aware that Marcus was just behind them. "It's been... acting very strange, even with an Aria in it. I mean..." he took a conspiratorial look over his shoulder at Marcus. "Marcus." he said aloud, "Would you mind leaving us alone?" The thought of the two of them alone nearly brought blood rushing into his face, but he repelled it. He was good at repressing things, after all. "This is kinda secret." he added, in case Marcus didn't understand.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:58 am
Up in the training wing, Matarael practised. Sweat dripped from his long strands of hair, and his breathing had since become ragged and short. His limbs, however, remained straight and strong, despite the great weight placed upon them by his sword. The BAX pulled his arms down, but his muscle strength kept them up. Shaking his head to remove the sweat threatening to blind him, Matarael eyes his opponent. The Aria stood before him, a standard iron sword clasped with both hands, no signs of fatigue anywhere on its features.
"Progressing to level 18." it groaned in that mechnical voice. Sometimes Matarael thought it had been chosen simply to enhance the robotic nature, as if Allen didn't want it to be human at all. But why go to such trouble? As for the remark, he didn't have to tell the Aria what to do, he never had. Whereas others had to talk to them to get them to advance fitness levels, he and Cyriel had no such trouble. It was like they were of one mind, sometimes.
There was a rush of wind, and the Aria lunged forwards, giving him just enough time to parry. There was a great 'clang' as metal struck metal, and both combattants were pushed back under the weight of their prospective weapons. Yelling and swinging forwards, Matarael attacked his target, which jumped easily out of the way. It wasn't fair, he knew, but neither was war. It struck next, jumping down on him in what would have been a crushing blow, but he dodged again, turning around in a mock pirhouette to add to the force of the blow. The Aria blocked, but it was no use, and it was sent flying across the floor, sword skimming across the metal and coming to a stop just by the door.
"Level 18 complete." it murmered, "Repair required. Test completed."
Matarael breathed a sigh of relief, dropping to one knee with the BAX perpendicular to the floor. It was tiring, but at least he felt fitter. The Aria, meanwhile, limped off, leaving the sword where it was.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:02 am
The door slid open soundlessly, and Cyriel poked her head into the training ward inquisitively. Matar was there, alright, looking a little worse for wear. And lying at her feet... She would have grinned normally, but today she was in no mood. She had a question for him, and a big part of her dreaded the possible answer. Still, this was tradition. She picked up the iron sword in one hand, quite a feat for a regular person, and aimed it at Matarael, stepping towards him.
"Get up." she said, surprising herself with her frankness.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:06 am
He looked up sharply, not recognising the voice, and then groaned. However, it was tradition, so he stood to his feet and took his sword in hand, facing her in a fighter stance. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply to recharge himself, the looked at her with a fiery fighting spirit gleaming in his eyes.
"What's the score?" he asked, not really caring, "I believe I'm up by 4. Very well."
With one hand on his sword hilt, he lifted his other towards her, palm outwards. "Come." he said. There was something different about Cyriel today, he noticed. She seemed upset. Since Allen had closed himself off, she had seemed down, though she tried to gloss it over with an admirable tenacity. Still, it wasn't good for her. Perhaps a fight would get it out of her. It did for him.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:10 pm
She lunged forwards with breathtaking speed, lashing out as soon as her target was in range. That was how it was done between them: no mercy. Despite herself, she yelled out a battle-cry as she did, the sword seemingly picking up speed as she did. She didn't want to hurt him, but then again she couldn't help herself.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:14 pm
He blocked the blow with ease, though had he noticed how strong it would be he probably would have thought twice. His legs buckled under the strain and he fell onto one knee, using his off-hand to steady the blow, clasping the blade and pushing with all his might. Something really was out of place, if she was willing to go full-power against him from the word Go. He frowned, making sure she noticed. He really hated to lose, and may he be forgiven if (and when) she went back to her dorm in bandages. He snarled, adding strength to his push, and reclaimed his stance. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he unhanded the blade of the sword and swung the hilt across, pushing her iron brand out of the way. Finally, surging forwards, he aimed a blow with the hilt at her stomach.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:20 pm
Freeing one hand, he grabbed the hilt and pushed backwards, teeth gritting under the strain. Suddenly, her expression became far more stern. She, too, hated to lose. And given that she was in a bad mood, she had the upper hand. Literally, in this case. With another yell, she forced Matar back and swung her blade back behind her back.
There was a flash of blue in her vision. Like a sun.
Whirling her fingers in a complex manner, the sword spun around blinding fast, creating a breeze across her face, sending her hair in a whirlwind across her face. Then, putting the weight on her front leg, she swung it forwards and released, sending it shooting like an arrow in Matar's direction.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:24 pm
He gasped, falling backwards onto his back as the silver iron arrow sliced through the air just inches above his face. In a flash, his battle rage was thwarted. Enough was enough. He slammed the side of his own blade against the floor, creating a monstrous ring around the room. Then, with a strain he rarely felt these days, he righted himself, leaving his sword on the floor.
"Enough!" he cried out, just so she got the picture. His features were stern as he stepped towards her, looking her straight in the eyes. "What's wrong with you?! Using that..." he brushed a few strands of stray hair from his face before continuing, a little out of breath, "We can't use that... Allen said..." He trailed off, she could have figured out the rest. "So what's wrong?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:26 pm
She breathed deep, fixing him with the same ice-cold glare. Then, looking away, she took a seat on the floor. She idly brushed the dirt from her uniform, eyes slowly losing their vitality. It was a while before she spoke again.
"I found something... on the system." she said, still not looking in his direction. She could sense what was coming, and it unnerved her.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:29 pm
He looked away sharply as the words left her mouth, scratching his head irritably.
"The system?!" he said loudly, "Havn't I told you enough times not to go there?! Allen said! There are things there... that we're not meant to know about. Like the S Unit, of the Flandamerite experiments. D-don't you trust him?!" he added, looking back at her, dumbfounded suddenly. Surely she, she with her not-so-subtle feelings, would trust Allen wnough to follow his orders, especially such as these.
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