Summary, I guess: The most cliche Wormfic premise (an alt-power Taylor with everything else...
Weaponry Dominion (Worm x Familiar of Zero/ZnT)
- Thread starter Twei
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Index/Table of Contents/What the heck ever
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Summary, I guess: The most cliche Wormfic premise (an alt-power Taylor with everything else unchanged) and the most cliche Familiarfic premise (Louise summoning someone other than Saito Hiraga) aggressively mash themselves together to form... something. Taylor literally falls out of the filthy locker and into Halkeginia, and voidhax and shardnanigans interact in weird ways. Also, not as much escalation as one might expect. You might like it, I dunno.
Updates every one or two weeks, sometimeTM on the weekend.
Indexy stuff goes here eventually. EVENTUALLY.
Updates every one or two weeks, sometimeTM on the weekend.
Indexy stuff goes here eventually. EVENTUALLY.
Last edited:
Broken Glass 1.1
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Thanks to @Chartic , @ensou , @Rhydeble , @Kyakan , @Aklyon , @Kittius , and Golden_ (aka Lunatic Blue) for beta-reading and/or idea bouncing and/or other various assistance.
Louise Vallière had been... well, to say she had been 'prepared' for anything wouldn't be quite right. 'Could have reasonably expected', perhaps. Louise Vallière and the rest of the students (and the teachers) at Tristain's Academy of Magic could have reasonably expected one of about three things from her latest attempt to complete the Familiar Summoning Ritual.
One, yet another explosion from the pink-haired girl.
Two, nothing at all.
Three, perhaps least likely, a success, actually summoning a familiar.
No one could have expected, much less prepared for, what actually happened upon her completion of the spell.
The shimmering green portal appeared and vomited forth a pile of rancid waste.
They didn't have any other words for it. Vermin buzzed around the rotten food and dried blood. Every single person there stepped back involuntarily as the horrific stench washed over them.
The shouting started before the portal had closed. At least from those who weren't too occupied with gagging to speak.
"W-what the hell? L-louise summoned a-"
"Is this what a sewer smells like?!"
"This has to be a joke. There's no way she actually-"
"I knew she was pathetic, but this-!"
"Now, e-everyone, just wait one mome-"
"Hey! I think someone's in there!"
That last shout startled the summoner herself into action. Louise might have been disgusted, but that didn't matter. If anything, it made the imperative that no one should be left in that refuse all the stronger. Especially if that someone was supposed to be her familiar.
Not that any of that (or much of anything) consciously crossed her mind. She just leaped forwards, practically tumbling into the trash heap spread out upon the ground, tripping right over the largest solid thing there. A person, tall and thin, coughing and retching and twitching within the slowly dispersing swarm and the strange, bloody rags. Incoherent, alien sounds bubbled from their – from her mouth as Louise grabbed onto her shoulders and dragged the girl away from the rot, away from the stench. She caught a glimpse of wild, terrified eyes beneath broken glasses and once-beautiful dark hair, heard a gasp, an exclamation she couldn't understand.
Then the person – the girl fell still.
"Are they... dead?"
"No," Louise found herself correcting, even though her eyes watered from the scent that clung to the girl's filthy clothing. "I can... I can hear her breathing. She might need a healer, but right now she's alive."
"Right now," someone pointed out, "isn't she what you summoned to be your Familiar?" Well, that 'someone' wasn't just anyone. Her hated enemy, not that Louise had attention to spare to glare at Kirche von Zerbst right now. Her eyes were completely reserved for the filthy girl half-laid down, half-held in her arms.
This... person was supposed to be her Familiar?
"Um, Professor Colbert?"
Her professor stepped forward at her questioning, clearing his throat before speaking.
"It's certainly irregular to summon a human, much less one in... this condition." He was probably gesturing towards her, not that Louise was looking. "However, the summoning ritual is a sacred rite, and one is meant to accept whatever it summons, regardless of any personal feelings on the matter. I'll send for a healer, but in the meantime, there's no reason not to contract your familiar, Miss Vallière. It's painful, but not harmful."
Louise stared a bit harder. Grimaced. The usual murmuring was starting again. Best to get this over with.
"...Can I at least get a wet cloth to clean her off with?"
Someone threw her a towel. She'd thank them later. Right now, she picked up the damp rag and wiped it across that face, brushed off the worst of the filth from the unconscious... person. Girl. Familiar to be? Whatever.
Okay. She closed her eyes, held her breath to keep out any traces of the putrid aroma.
The words came easily enough. She'd recited them a million times.
"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; grant your blessings upon this humble being, and make her my familiar."
She leaned in, and kissed the girl. Not quite on the lips, judging by the feeling. It was pretty pitiful, as first kisses went. She'd wiped the girl's face, but it still tasted bad.
Something must have slipped her mind. There was a break. A gap.
The next thing Louise knew, she was on her back. Had her spell exploded? She didn't know. All she knew was that she'd somehow ended up several feet away, terrified and awed at something she couldn't remember, wand held out in front of her to ward away... something? What?
In front of her, the girl was staggering to her feet. Louise could hear the fading echoes of shrieks of pain.
Her wand tore itself out of her hand, like someone had yanked it away. What?!
"W-who are you?! Where a-am I!?" the girl yelled, disheveled and wild, turning madly in place as she stared at the assembled students. Louise's wand flew to her side- almost stumbled, as if held by an invisible wielder who was just as panicked as her familiar. It joined a motley assortment of wands, swords, staves and knives that circled around the towering, lanky girl, shuddering and twitching and pointed towards the crowd. Not unlike she'd been pointing her wand a moment ago.
A moment of hushed silence fell over the students. Not over the girl, whose panic was only increasing while Louise finally pulled herself to her feet.
"I don't... s-something's wrong with my voice! What's wrong with my voice?!"
"Familiar!"
The girl whirled on Louise.
"What?! I'm not your... ser...vant..."
The familiar trailed off as she caught sight of... her own left hand? Already wide eyes grew even wider, as if trying to explode out of her skull.
There was a pause. Silence.
Then those eyes rolled up, and the familiar collapsed again in an undignified heap, along with the circle of sticks and blades protecting her.
Once again, Louise rushed over, held her hand to the girl's body. Still breathing. Still not dead. The young noble breathed a sigh of relief... that is, before she picked up the familiar's left hand.
And saw, through the coating of filth, the outline of runes traced upon the body, strange runes formed of black, twisting crystal that undulated and shivered like something organic, like something alive, something that Louise couldn't look at, that she had to look at, that hurt to look at, that part of her insisted didn't exist even as her churning stomach bore witness to its grotesque reality, something massive lurking beyond the surface though she knew there was nothing there, some monster that shouldn't have fit into the girl's body at all yet here it was peeking through a set of runes that didn't exist and yet they did and-
Louise screwed her eyes shut, and breathed out the gasp she'd not noticed inhaling.
Okay. Okay.
She lifted her head, opened her eyes once she was sure she wasn't looking at the mind-melting runes.
"... I... did it?"
"It does look that way, Miss Vallière."
"...thank you, Professor Colbert. Now where is that healer?! And... and a bath or two!"
Taylor Hebert could have reasonably expected to wake up in a hospital, after... after everything that had happened.
The distinctly uncomfortable bed she awoke in seemed to support that idea, but there were no sounds of equipment, no beeps or whirrs. Not many noises at all, in fact. Distant footsteps, and the gentle sound of someone breathing nearby. Light streamed in from a window over her head.
"Glasses," she croaked.
A weathered, matronly voice answered her. "Broken. Professor Colbert is trying to piece it back together, but even if he manages it, I doubt the result would be anything you'd want to wear."
It was at that moment that her mind went from 'something is off' to 'something is very wrong'.
Taylor bolted upright.
"The good news is that you're fine otherwise," the woman in front of Taylor continued. Her eyes took a moment to properly focus, but she was close enough that Taylor didn't need her glasses to see her once her eyes adjusted. The woman was… something. A bit heavyset, she could tell even under the voluminous and ornate robes, the largely white fabric making her think 'nurse'. Or healer, maybe? The blondeish woman's lack of a mask made it unlikely that her clothes were a cape costume, but they were rather ornate for a nurse's outfit all the same. On the other hand, Taylor had been graced with less than friendly doctors all her life. The mix of fatigue and disinterest on the woman's face would fit right in.
"I gave you a good wash, cleaned you off of all that filth. Once that was done, the rest was simple enough. You had a few infections, but nothing I couldn't handle. Even healed some old bruises while I was at it."
She glanced around. At the chair the healer sat on. At the heavy-looking walls of stone brick.
"…where am I?" she mumbled through her dry throat, even as the memories slowly filtered into her mind. Memories that only made her more confused.
The nurse rolled her eyes as she stood, pushing the chair aside and stepping over towards a table in the corner with… a pitcher of ice water? And a glass.
"The infirmary."
A beat. The sound of tinkling ice and pouring water.
"This is the Tristain Academy of Magic, girl," the healer intoned, stepping over to Taylor's bedside and pressing the fresh drink into her hands. Cold, wet glass touched her fingertips. Before she knew it, she was gulping down the water of life, feeling the icy chill slide down her throat. She spilled a little on the bed, over her chin. She didn't really care.
She let out something between a gasp and a shudder of relief as she swallowed the last drops, letting the glass slip down and eventually tumble into the nurse's waiting hands.
"I…" Taylor began. She blinked. Thought.
Was she dreaming? It didn't feel like a dream, but that didn't mean much, or so she'd heard. Maybe she was hallucinating? No, that didn't feel right either. Maybe the last thing she remembered, maybe that was a hallucination, but this didn't feel like that. She felt… normal, despite the very un-normal thing she just heard.
(Well, mostly normal. It was easy to ignore the odd feelings at the edge of her consciousness. The tendrils of subtle awareness that this thing was there. The understanding of what this thing was, almost as if narrated by a quiet, mechanical mind. The not-sensation of polished wood and cold steel under her fingertips.)
"I've never heard of it."
"Is that so? Where are you from, girl? Somewhere in the countryside?"
"A city called Brockton Bay."
"Never heard of it," the nurse echoed with a tinge of irony. "Where is that? Sounds vaguely Albionese."
"Albionese? No, it's in America. The United States of America."
"I have no idea what you're-"
The nurse stopped herself. Sighed out a long, tortured breath. "Look, it's my job to heal you, not to try to figure out where in the Founder's name you came from and how you got here. Your Master is waiting outside, and she was not happy the last five times I told her you weren't awake yet. You're awake now, so it's about time you get out of here. Why don't you see if you can stand up on your own?"
Her 'Master'? That didn't sound good… but she should still probably stand up. One step at a time.
Taylor pushed herself to the side, feeling her feet touch the hardwood floor through… she glanced down at her legs. Socks. Socks and a thin white robe that felt suspiciously like a hospital gown. At least she had underthings, too. And they were clean. That was nice.
There was a single glove on her left hand. As much as she didn't want to, Taylor remembered what was underneath it. Something that hurt to look at, to even think about too hard.
The healer watched Taylor as she dug her hands into the sheets and ever so slowly pushed herself to her feet.
Her mind wandered.
Where was she? Where was this? She didn't think she was dreaming, or hallucinating. ...even if she was, assuming this wasn't real didn't give her an idea of what to do. Assuming this was real... Had she somehow ended up on an alternate Earth, like Earth Aleph? It seemed like a reasonable place to start, she supposed. Though this place was much stranger than Earth Aleph. An 'academy of magic?' Did the nurse really say that?
No, Taylor realized, she hadn't. Not in English.
Neither of them had been speaking English. It'd been so natural, so simple to understand, that she hadn't even noticed until she thought about the words themselves, rather than what they meant.
She didn't feel like she'd learned a new language. Was… was this some kind of power? (The feelings in the edge of her mind and on the tips of imaginary fingers, were those a power, too?)
"What language are we speaking?" Taylor mumbled, even as her feet took her weight, as she started to straighten.
The nurse gave her an odd look. "Tristainian…?" she replied, in the tone of someone who had no idea what the heck Taylor was talking about but didn't really want to ask.
"…must be part of my power, I guess." Assuming it was her power. It wasn't like she saw anyone else around, but she didn't know how much that mattered.
She saw the nurse raise a brow at 'power'. Well, it was more like 'talent' or 'ability', thinking about it. This language didn't have a word for 'power' in the cape sense, or at least if it did, her translation abilities didn't give her it.
The word it did have was 'magic'.
'Magic,' huh. Taylor could definitely see a medieval society calling superpowers 'magic'. But that didn't sit right with her. 'Academy of magic' implied a place where 'magic' was studied, taught, or both. From what she knew, capes all had individual powers with individual quirks. You couldn't teach people superpowers, that wasn't how it worked, and they were too inconsistent to build a whole school to study. Or… did it work differently here? Could it work differently?
Taylor didn't know. And as she finally rose to her full height, she realized that she didn't know if she cared. Not compared to simpler things. Like how she got here. Or whether she could get back.
Whether she'd ever see her father again.
"Well, at least you can stand. Took you long enough."
Taylor gave the nurse a dirty look (she'd been thinking!), but the healer was already turning away, towards the door (made of ornate wood, though Taylor couldn't make out the finer details from where she stood).
"MISS VALLIERE! Your familiar is awake!"
…now her ears were ringing. Wonderful.
No sooner did Taylor think that than the door burst open with startling force. It was even more startling once the source of it became clear.
"Familiar!"
The girl looked a little younger than Taylor, and tiny. Pale skin, paler than the nurse. Reddish eyes. Pink hair- Taylor did a double take at that, but the brilliant locks continued shining that impossible shade of almost fluorescent pink. Black cloak, white blouse, gray skirt. A school uniform?
Taylor didn't say anything, even as the girl darted to her side, fussing carelessly over her body.
"You're awake! Professor Laverre told me you were healed, but I was worried you wouldn't- I mean, it's about time you woke up, Familiar!" the girl (her master? Miss Valliere?) babbled, her face moving through too many expressions for Taylor to keep track of even as their gazes met.
"…I didn't realize you were so tall… A-anyways! Anyways, we need to get you into some proper clothes, so come along and-"
"My name is Taylor."
That stopped her dead in her tracks. "What?"
"…I thought you should know. My name is Taylor."
She'd been called things much worse than something that seemed to translate somewhere between 'slave' and 'servant' and 'pet', but even so.
Her 'master' gathered her breath. "Okay, Familiar, but-"
"And I want to go home."
A/N: I may like my cliffhangers a bit too much, you'll find. Sorry.
Yeah, for those who have read the idea threads, this is the same snippet, and for those who read my snip thread, a version of the first half was posted as 'Overused Crossover Fanfic'. As for future updates, I'll try to keep a steady clip of about one chapter a week? Probably won't go any faster, though it's very possible I'll end up going slower eventually.
* * *
(Broken Glass 1.1)
(Broken Glass 1.1)
Louise Vallière had been... well, to say she had been 'prepared' for anything wouldn't be quite right. 'Could have reasonably expected', perhaps. Louise Vallière and the rest of the students (and the teachers) at Tristain's Academy of Magic could have reasonably expected one of about three things from her latest attempt to complete the Familiar Summoning Ritual.
One, yet another explosion from the pink-haired girl.
Two, nothing at all.
Three, perhaps least likely, a success, actually summoning a familiar.
No one could have expected, much less prepared for, what actually happened upon her completion of the spell.
The shimmering green portal appeared and vomited forth a pile of rancid waste.
They didn't have any other words for it. Vermin buzzed around the rotten food and dried blood. Every single person there stepped back involuntarily as the horrific stench washed over them.
The shouting started before the portal had closed. At least from those who weren't too occupied with gagging to speak.
"W-what the hell? L-louise summoned a-"
"Is this what a sewer smells like?!"
"This has to be a joke. There's no way she actually-"
"I knew she was pathetic, but this-!"
"Now, e-everyone, just wait one mome-"
"Hey! I think someone's in there!"
That last shout startled the summoner herself into action. Louise might have been disgusted, but that didn't matter. If anything, it made the imperative that no one should be left in that refuse all the stronger. Especially if that someone was supposed to be her familiar.
Not that any of that (or much of anything) consciously crossed her mind. She just leaped forwards, practically tumbling into the trash heap spread out upon the ground, tripping right over the largest solid thing there. A person, tall and thin, coughing and retching and twitching within the slowly dispersing swarm and the strange, bloody rags. Incoherent, alien sounds bubbled from their – from her mouth as Louise grabbed onto her shoulders and dragged the girl away from the rot, away from the stench. She caught a glimpse of wild, terrified eyes beneath broken glasses and once-beautiful dark hair, heard a gasp, an exclamation she couldn't understand.
Then the person – the girl fell still.
"Are they... dead?"
"No," Louise found herself correcting, even though her eyes watered from the scent that clung to the girl's filthy clothing. "I can... I can hear her breathing. She might need a healer, but right now she's alive."
"Right now," someone pointed out, "isn't she what you summoned to be your Familiar?" Well, that 'someone' wasn't just anyone. Her hated enemy, not that Louise had attention to spare to glare at Kirche von Zerbst right now. Her eyes were completely reserved for the filthy girl half-laid down, half-held in her arms.
This... person was supposed to be her Familiar?
"Um, Professor Colbert?"
Her professor stepped forward at her questioning, clearing his throat before speaking.
"It's certainly irregular to summon a human, much less one in... this condition." He was probably gesturing towards her, not that Louise was looking. "However, the summoning ritual is a sacred rite, and one is meant to accept whatever it summons, regardless of any personal feelings on the matter. I'll send for a healer, but in the meantime, there's no reason not to contract your familiar, Miss Vallière. It's painful, but not harmful."
Louise stared a bit harder. Grimaced. The usual murmuring was starting again. Best to get this over with.
"...Can I at least get a wet cloth to clean her off with?"
Someone threw her a towel. She'd thank them later. Right now, she picked up the damp rag and wiped it across that face, brushed off the worst of the filth from the unconscious... person. Girl. Familiar to be? Whatever.
Okay. She closed her eyes, held her breath to keep out any traces of the putrid aroma.
The words came easily enough. She'd recited them a million times.
"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; grant your blessings upon this humble being, and make her my familiar."
She leaned in, and kissed the girl. Not quite on the lips, judging by the feeling. It was pretty pitiful, as first kisses went. She'd wiped the girl's face, but it still tasted bad.
Something must have slipped her mind. There was a break. A gap.
The next thing Louise knew, she was on her back. Had her spell exploded? She didn't know. All she knew was that she'd somehow ended up several feet away, terrified and awed at something she couldn't remember, wand held out in front of her to ward away... something? What?
In front of her, the girl was staggering to her feet. Louise could hear the fading echoes of shrieks of pain.
Her wand tore itself out of her hand, like someone had yanked it away. What?!
"W-who are you?! Where a-am I!?" the girl yelled, disheveled and wild, turning madly in place as she stared at the assembled students. Louise's wand flew to her side- almost stumbled, as if held by an invisible wielder who was just as panicked as her familiar. It joined a motley assortment of wands, swords, staves and knives that circled around the towering, lanky girl, shuddering and twitching and pointed towards the crowd. Not unlike she'd been pointing her wand a moment ago.
A moment of hushed silence fell over the students. Not over the girl, whose panic was only increasing while Louise finally pulled herself to her feet.
"I don't... s-something's wrong with my voice! What's wrong with my voice?!"
"Familiar!"
The girl whirled on Louise.
"What?! I'm not your... ser...vant..."
The familiar trailed off as she caught sight of... her own left hand? Already wide eyes grew even wider, as if trying to explode out of her skull.
There was a pause. Silence.
Then those eyes rolled up, and the familiar collapsed again in an undignified heap, along with the circle of sticks and blades protecting her.
Once again, Louise rushed over, held her hand to the girl's body. Still breathing. Still not dead. The young noble breathed a sigh of relief... that is, before she picked up the familiar's left hand.
And saw, through the coating of filth, the outline of runes traced upon the body, strange runes formed of black, twisting crystal that undulated and shivered like something organic, like something alive, something that Louise couldn't look at, that she had to look at, that hurt to look at, that part of her insisted didn't exist even as her churning stomach bore witness to its grotesque reality, something massive lurking beyond the surface though she knew there was nothing there, some monster that shouldn't have fit into the girl's body at all yet here it was peeking through a set of runes that didn't exist and yet they did and-
Louise screwed her eyes shut, and breathed out the gasp she'd not noticed inhaling.
Okay. Okay.
She lifted her head, opened her eyes once she was sure she wasn't looking at the mind-melting runes.
"... I... did it?"
"It does look that way, Miss Vallière."
"...thank you, Professor Colbert. Now where is that healer?! And... and a bath or two!"
* * *
Taylor Hebert could have reasonably expected to wake up in a hospital, after... after everything that had happened.
The distinctly uncomfortable bed she awoke in seemed to support that idea, but there were no sounds of equipment, no beeps or whirrs. Not many noises at all, in fact. Distant footsteps, and the gentle sound of someone breathing nearby. Light streamed in from a window over her head.
"Glasses," she croaked.
A weathered, matronly voice answered her. "Broken. Professor Colbert is trying to piece it back together, but even if he manages it, I doubt the result would be anything you'd want to wear."
It was at that moment that her mind went from 'something is off' to 'something is very wrong'.
Taylor bolted upright.
"The good news is that you're fine otherwise," the woman in front of Taylor continued. Her eyes took a moment to properly focus, but she was close enough that Taylor didn't need her glasses to see her once her eyes adjusted. The woman was… something. A bit heavyset, she could tell even under the voluminous and ornate robes, the largely white fabric making her think 'nurse'. Or healer, maybe? The blondeish woman's lack of a mask made it unlikely that her clothes were a cape costume, but they were rather ornate for a nurse's outfit all the same. On the other hand, Taylor had been graced with less than friendly doctors all her life. The mix of fatigue and disinterest on the woman's face would fit right in.
"I gave you a good wash, cleaned you off of all that filth. Once that was done, the rest was simple enough. You had a few infections, but nothing I couldn't handle. Even healed some old bruises while I was at it."
She glanced around. At the chair the healer sat on. At the heavy-looking walls of stone brick.
"…where am I?" she mumbled through her dry throat, even as the memories slowly filtered into her mind. Memories that only made her more confused.
The nurse rolled her eyes as she stood, pushing the chair aside and stepping over towards a table in the corner with… a pitcher of ice water? And a glass.
"The infirmary."
A beat. The sound of tinkling ice and pouring water.
"This is the Tristain Academy of Magic, girl," the healer intoned, stepping over to Taylor's bedside and pressing the fresh drink into her hands. Cold, wet glass touched her fingertips. Before she knew it, she was gulping down the water of life, feeling the icy chill slide down her throat. She spilled a little on the bed, over her chin. She didn't really care.
She let out something between a gasp and a shudder of relief as she swallowed the last drops, letting the glass slip down and eventually tumble into the nurse's waiting hands.
"I…" Taylor began. She blinked. Thought.
Was she dreaming? It didn't feel like a dream, but that didn't mean much, or so she'd heard. Maybe she was hallucinating? No, that didn't feel right either. Maybe the last thing she remembered, maybe that was a hallucination, but this didn't feel like that. She felt… normal, despite the very un-normal thing she just heard.
(Well, mostly normal. It was easy to ignore the odd feelings at the edge of her consciousness. The tendrils of subtle awareness that this thing was there. The understanding of what this thing was, almost as if narrated by a quiet, mechanical mind. The not-sensation of polished wood and cold steel under her fingertips.)
"I've never heard of it."
"Is that so? Where are you from, girl? Somewhere in the countryside?"
"A city called Brockton Bay."
"Never heard of it," the nurse echoed with a tinge of irony. "Where is that? Sounds vaguely Albionese."
"Albionese? No, it's in America. The United States of America."
"I have no idea what you're-"
The nurse stopped herself. Sighed out a long, tortured breath. "Look, it's my job to heal you, not to try to figure out where in the Founder's name you came from and how you got here. Your Master is waiting outside, and she was not happy the last five times I told her you weren't awake yet. You're awake now, so it's about time you get out of here. Why don't you see if you can stand up on your own?"
Her 'Master'? That didn't sound good… but she should still probably stand up. One step at a time.
Taylor pushed herself to the side, feeling her feet touch the hardwood floor through… she glanced down at her legs. Socks. Socks and a thin white robe that felt suspiciously like a hospital gown. At least she had underthings, too. And they were clean. That was nice.
There was a single glove on her left hand. As much as she didn't want to, Taylor remembered what was underneath it. Something that hurt to look at, to even think about too hard.
The healer watched Taylor as she dug her hands into the sheets and ever so slowly pushed herself to her feet.
Her mind wandered.
Where was she? Where was this? She didn't think she was dreaming, or hallucinating. ...even if she was, assuming this wasn't real didn't give her an idea of what to do. Assuming this was real... Had she somehow ended up on an alternate Earth, like Earth Aleph? It seemed like a reasonable place to start, she supposed. Though this place was much stranger than Earth Aleph. An 'academy of magic?' Did the nurse really say that?
No, Taylor realized, she hadn't. Not in English.
Neither of them had been speaking English. It'd been so natural, so simple to understand, that she hadn't even noticed until she thought about the words themselves, rather than what they meant.
She didn't feel like she'd learned a new language. Was… was this some kind of power? (The feelings in the edge of her mind and on the tips of imaginary fingers, were those a power, too?)
"What language are we speaking?" Taylor mumbled, even as her feet took her weight, as she started to straighten.
The nurse gave her an odd look. "Tristainian…?" she replied, in the tone of someone who had no idea what the heck Taylor was talking about but didn't really want to ask.
"…must be part of my power, I guess." Assuming it was her power. It wasn't like she saw anyone else around, but she didn't know how much that mattered.
She saw the nurse raise a brow at 'power'. Well, it was more like 'talent' or 'ability', thinking about it. This language didn't have a word for 'power' in the cape sense, or at least if it did, her translation abilities didn't give her it.
The word it did have was 'magic'.
'Magic,' huh. Taylor could definitely see a medieval society calling superpowers 'magic'. But that didn't sit right with her. 'Academy of magic' implied a place where 'magic' was studied, taught, or both. From what she knew, capes all had individual powers with individual quirks. You couldn't teach people superpowers, that wasn't how it worked, and they were too inconsistent to build a whole school to study. Or… did it work differently here? Could it work differently?
Taylor didn't know. And as she finally rose to her full height, she realized that she didn't know if she cared. Not compared to simpler things. Like how she got here. Or whether she could get back.
Whether she'd ever see her father again.
"Well, at least you can stand. Took you long enough."
Taylor gave the nurse a dirty look (she'd been thinking!), but the healer was already turning away, towards the door (made of ornate wood, though Taylor couldn't make out the finer details from where she stood).
"MISS VALLIERE! Your familiar is awake!"
…now her ears were ringing. Wonderful.
No sooner did Taylor think that than the door burst open with startling force. It was even more startling once the source of it became clear.
"Familiar!"
The girl looked a little younger than Taylor, and tiny. Pale skin, paler than the nurse. Reddish eyes. Pink hair- Taylor did a double take at that, but the brilliant locks continued shining that impossible shade of almost fluorescent pink. Black cloak, white blouse, gray skirt. A school uniform?
Taylor didn't say anything, even as the girl darted to her side, fussing carelessly over her body.
"You're awake! Professor Laverre told me you were healed, but I was worried you wouldn't- I mean, it's about time you woke up, Familiar!" the girl (her master? Miss Valliere?) babbled, her face moving through too many expressions for Taylor to keep track of even as their gazes met.
"…I didn't realize you were so tall… A-anyways! Anyways, we need to get you into some proper clothes, so come along and-"
"My name is Taylor."
That stopped her dead in her tracks. "What?"
"…I thought you should know. My name is Taylor."
She'd been called things much worse than something that seemed to translate somewhere between 'slave' and 'servant' and 'pet', but even so.
Her 'master' gathered her breath. "Okay, Familiar, but-"
"And I want to go home."
* * *
A/N: I may like my cliffhangers a bit too much, you'll find. Sorry.
Yeah, for those who have read the idea threads, this is the same snippet, and for those who read my snip thread, a version of the first half was posted as 'Overused Crossover Fanfic'. As for future updates, I'll try to keep a steady clip of about one chapter a week? Probably won't go any faster, though it's very possible I'll end up going slower eventually.
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- Location
- Everett
Intriguing. Especially the thing with the hand mark, and the small taste of her power. What's he update schedule (if there is one) look like at this time?
Also, I've never seen a story like this, that was starting at the same time she triggers. Usually, it's after Golden Morning, or somewhere along that line.
Also, I've never seen a story like this, that was starting at the same time she triggers. Usually, it's after Golden Morning, or somewhere along that line.
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Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Like the first post says (
), weekly. I've got three more chapters saved up, each 2.5k to 3k words, but I'm hoping I can keep a consistent update rate beyond that. One chapter every weekend.
- Location
- Madison, AL
good start, I recommend more explosions.
- Location
- Unknown
Does anyone else find the whole glove to conceal Eldritch Rune on Left Hand thing to be unexpectedly (not to mention amusingly) Chuuni. "My left hand is throbbing again" ~ said no Taylor in any reality. I don't mean it in a bad way it's just so unintentionally (at least I think it's unintentionally) hilarious on the authors part. Anyone taking bets on if the Runes will dramatically tear off the glove the moment Taylor touches a weapon with her left hand.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
OF COURSE not.
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Altria_Pendragon
(Verified - SG-i13 Rhongomyniad)
- Location
- World's End Pillar
So: Taylor's power.
I always wanted to take the Gandalfr power and use it as some kind of alt power for Taylor. (Failing that knockoff Knight of Owner but)
One thing stuck with me: "Shame the name 'Armsmaster' is already taken..."
Well this hybrid of a certain Archer and a certain Berserker probably deserves that name a bit more.
I always wanted to take the Gandalfr power and use it as some kind of alt power for Taylor. (Failing that knockoff Knight of Owner but)
One thing stuck with me: "Shame the name 'Armsmaster' is already taken..."
Well this hybrid of a certain Archer and a certain Berserker probably deserves that name a bit more.
- Location
- Ural, Russia, Earth
Aw, I thought it will be Miss Militia.
BlackoutSampler
So Easily Forgotten
So far, so good. Louise seems written pretty well so far, being bratty without being unsympathetic or even mean. Which is nice. Taylor hasn't had enough lines to really sell me one way or another, but this is showing some serious promise.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Do you see those vermin swarming? No? There you go.
- Location
- West Michigan
No, she has Gates of Babylon instead.
TimeDiver
Herald of Dis Lev
- Location
- In-between the parallel worlds...
Think Taylor needs her own (sub-)dimensional pocket(s) for that, but eh.No, she has Gates of Babylon instead.
Regardless: Weapons fall, everything gets sliced/impaled/bashed, IF Taylor gets pushed far enough.
Yes, I am pre-emptively beating this proverbial horse to death. Not nearly enough info to assume properly.
Ahriman81
Knowledge is power
- Location
- Utah
well screw ya two.Do you see those vermin swarming? No? There you go.
Honestly I was hoping for either a miss militia
type power because who would not love to have access to pretty much all modern guns( I'm not sure but it's possible she also can make ww2 artiley guns). That or iron rain
Taylor's canon power is one of my favorite powers, and she would be terrifying in the world, but it seems like the author is trying to blend the gandalfen abilities into the trigger powers.
Abilities and Powers
Hannah's power is a green and black,[11][1] semi-sentient[8] blur of energy that can form into ordinary-looking weapons. She can re-summon the weapon at will, collapsing it back into energy.[11][12]
She can re-summon a weapon if it runs out of ammo, reloading it,[13][14] or if it jammed.[15] This made it easier to use nonlethal ammunition, such as rubber bullets.[16]
The weapons she creates vibrate slightly, as if alive.[11]
Her power influences her ability to use the weapons, enhancing her draw time and aim, and subtly adjusting their balance.[17] She was able to accurately shoot a target's head and neck.[18] She claimed that she could re-summon her weapon from someone's hands and shoot the wielder before they could react.[11]
A side benefit of her power is that she doesn't need to sleep,[10][19][1], making her a Noctis cape[19] although she could if she wanted. Even then, she didn't dream, but instead replayed past events over and over in perfect detail. She rarely did so because of her traumatic past.[1]
Known options
The weapons Miss Militia has created include:
Hannah's power is a green and black,[11][1] semi-sentient[8] blur of energy that can form into ordinary-looking weapons. She can re-summon the weapon at will, collapsing it back into energy.[11][12]
She can re-summon a weapon if it runs out of ammo, reloading it,[13][14] or if it jammed.[15] This made it easier to use nonlethal ammunition, such as rubber bullets.[16]
The weapons she creates vibrate slightly, as if alive.[11]
Her power influences her ability to use the weapons, enhancing her draw time and aim, and subtly adjusting their balance.[17] She was able to accurately shoot a target's head and neck.[18] She claimed that she could re-summon her weapon from someone's hands and shoot the wielder before they could react.[11]
A side benefit of her power is that she doesn't need to sleep,[10][19][1], making her a Noctis cape[19] although she could if she wanted. Even then, she didn't dream, but instead replayed past events over and over in perfect detail. She rarely did so because of her traumatic past.[1]
Known options
The weapons Miss Militia has created include:
- A sheathed combat knife[1]
- A Bowie knife[11]
- A cutlass.[20]
- A steel machete[12]
- A pistol[11]
- A Beretta 92 FS.[21]
- A handgun with a silencer[1]
- A rifle[18]
- A sniper rifle[9]
- An assault rifle[1]
- Two assault rifles[22][13][16]
- A machine gun[9][23]
- A pair of Uzis[9]
- A shotgun[24]
- Hollow-point bullets.[17]
- Rubber bullets[16]
- Smoke grenades[24]
- A rocket launcher[9][22][13]
- A flamethrower[13]
- A grenade launcher[16]
- A mortar[16]
- A harpoon gun[9]
- A ten-foot-long bomb, possibly nuclear.[25]
.
Iron Rain
Abilities
Iron Rain was capable of materializing ferrous metal objects in midair in the shape of spears, blades, and weights.[17] These form at higher or lower altitudes, with their flight controlled using minor ferrokinesis which she used to aim them, sometimes sacrificing accuracy for penetrating power.
Had the ability to 'charge' her power, manifesting a larger number of ferrous objects.[16]
Iron Rain
Abilities
Iron Rain was capable of materializing ferrous metal objects in midair in the shape of spears, blades, and weights.[17] These form at higher or lower altitudes, with their flight controlled using minor ferrokinesis which she used to aim them, sometimes sacrificing accuracy for penetrating power.
Had the ability to 'charge' her power, manifesting a larger number of ferrous objects.[16]
Taylor's canon power is one of my favorite powers, and she would be terrifying in the world, but it seems like the author is trying to blend the gandalfen abilities into the trigger powers.
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Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Gandalfr, and yeah pretty much. It's not quite "Canon Taylor but with weapons instead of bugs," obviously weapons can't be controlled as such. But it's somewhere in that general area? I guess?
MM would have been a neat idea, but it's too late unless someone wants to write an omake. Probably.
How much do we even know about Iron Rain?
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She believed the ideology of the empires, I've heard she can do rods from god, or essentially a kinetic kill weapon, but it's probably more like unlimited blade works.
Eh, this works better anyway. Its not really Taylor unless she's multi-tasking like crazy. MM's power is more for Blastery.
