The story of Hanako Mishima, a Level Zero Child Error on the run from her past.
But not everything is ever as it seems in the most advanced city in the world. Now, a strange sound file is spreading through the city, and it is said that those who listen can gain the powers that the City was unable to give to them, wheels begin to turn, and Hanako's story begins... if she can avoid getting 'disappeared' by the dark side of the city that is.
Right, between finally getting a chance to delve deeper into the magical side of things, Index 3 getting a new season, and Accelerator getting his own anime, I'm finally spinning back around to this old idea and playing with it more.
Academy City... A shining beacon within the heart of Tokyo, standing as a reminder of all that humanity is capable of. They call it a City of the Future, a place where all your dreams can come true. Hidden behind the towering walls that separate it from the outside world, the city has become a nation into itself.
Come, they say, join the lauded Power Curriculum Program, and gain that which is held deep within yourself.
Come, and unlock your psychic potential.
Become an Esper.
It's a load of bullshit. More, it's your own personal little slice of hell.
You might wonder why such a beautiful and pristine city could be seen as such - A city that stands Decades more advanced than the world around it, a city where one can learn how to shape reality with their thoughts - To teleport themselves, summon forth winds or fire or water, even the power to generate electricity with but a thought can be within your finger tips.
That is...
Unless of course, you happen to be part of that sixty percent of the city's students, their lives and files marked with two words.
Two words that define who you are, they mark you as lesser than your peers, worth of derision and mockery, or, at the best of cases, to be ignored.
Level. Zero.
Thus is the classification of those who have no power. Despite the tests and the studying and the exams and putting everything that they have into this singular goal...
These people are not Espers. They cannot move objects with their minds, or hear the thoughts of others. They can do nothing, from their place at the edge of this so called perfect society, living on the outskirts and wanting, wishing, dreaming for a place within the glorious golden palace that is power.
You yourself are a member of the Powers Curriculum Program, you have been for the years that you have lived here. You have done the tests again and again and again, throwing everything you have into increasing your mind's power, and all you get... Again and again and again your card is marked, stamped across the front in thick black ink.
Level Zero
No one really cares about the Level Zeros, the losers, the drop outs, the weaklings unworthy to speak to the Espers. That is why some of them end up coming together to form the various Skill-Out Gangs, groups of level Zeros who come together to stand against the abuses heaped on them by those with powers...
There is a part of you that hates all of this, the jeers, the laughs, the sad looks, the way that the Skillout gangs make people think you are a brutish thug...
And most of all... The way that the title follows you all the way here into your dreams.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
With a soft groan, you blearily roll over, one hand stretching out towards the sound, only for the lumpy mattress under you to shift, just barely, then a mite more, and off your bed you go.
THUMP
Ow.... Slowly pushing yourself up off the ground, you push through the brief moment of confusion and disorientation as the world slowly starts to slip into your focus as you finish waking. You sit, leaning back against your bed as you rub an arm over your eyes, and look over to the clock by your bed.
...5:30 AM? Why would you...
Ah.
Oh.
Oh no... With a sigh completely unrelated to how exhausted you were, before slowly starting to stumble up to your feet, before glancing over to the wall to confirm what you feared...
...Yeah... July 12th... Today is the day. With an exhausted yawn, you stumble into the bathroom and turn on the shower.
You... are a Level Zero, and you have been ever since... That day. Stepping into the water, you shudder, trying to keep the dark thoughts of that day away... You fail.
[ ][backstory]
It was... what... Three and a half years ago the day after tomorrow, maybe the day after that, that you first came here to Academy City. You and your parents had 'Won' Tickets to the city, a Guideless tour of the city and the chance to see the various sites around the city. Make no mistake too, back then, the sites were amazing.
Men doing work about the city lifting stones and carrying things about without touching them, a man who ate fire for the crowds. There was technology here, things that you'd never seen before, robots that wandered the streets, picking up leaves and trash, strange drinks in vending machines unlike anything you'd ever heard of before. Towering buildings and shining sites. It was like a dream...
Then... as the lights began to dip, and the sun began to sink behind the wall... it became a nightmare. Could only afford two tickets. They brought you here, showed you a great time because they weren't planning on taking you home. Everything, from the time the sun rose to this moment was all planned out to be the greatest day ever... And it was.
'I... I'm sorry. We do- Here... Here there's a future for you. Here you have a chance to see something amazing, to become someone... We love you, But... Please... Don't forget that fact ever. We Love You. And here... Here you can do so much more than if you came home with us. There's a future for you here... so please don't hate us too much.'
A part of you wants to Hate them... A part of you wants to rage and cry and make them come back for you, even now... But... But in the time that you've been here... you have learned what they meant.
But back then... During those first three days of hiding from the cops and digging through the trash for food...
Of course, then Doctor Dredan found you. He literaly reached out and plucked you right out the trash and didn't put you down until he came here. And while at first it was a bit... difficult at times, this has become your home.
[ ][backstory]
When looking out at all the people walking about, at times it's a little hard to remember that you aren't like them... or you weren't at first at least. They all came here with Purpose. They all came here to be a part of the Power Curriculum Program... They all came here on purpose.
You on the other hand, came here by accident. And you mean that in the most literal of ways. The days before coming to the city... They even now bring a shudder and a brief moment of terror from you. You can still trace the scars from shards of glass flying from some shattered vase, the snarling rage and the bit out insults about everything that you are.
You couldn't stay there anymore... you couldn't continue to live a life where it felt that every moment you were laying atop an explosion counting down in an alien language and at any moment it might go off and you might just die.
You couldn't live each day staring at him and pretending that the things that were happening weren't and that she was trying (and succeeding) to drive you away. He didn't listen when you told him. Then again.. you don't know why you thought he would. Ever since she came around he never listened to you, he never paid you any attention. It was always her. What she wanted to do, where she wanted to go. her her HER. He was always there, by her side, doing whatever she wanted and always with that twisted smile on his face, with eyes filled with stars and overflowing with love pointed at her and not at you. Never at you anymore.
So one day you had had enough. You grabbed all the food and clothes you could stick into your bag, and off you went. You knew that you had to get as far away from her as possible. The further you were away the more likely you were to not be returned. At first your plan worked as it should. You got on the train and hid whenever that guy checking for tickets came around... but then you crossed the wall. At the next stop there were cops waiting at the doors. You shouldn't have had a chance. They should have caught you, even to this day you bless your luck that you had been just that bit faster... just that bit more agile than they had been. And You ran. You ran and ran and ran. You ran until you wouldn't run anymore. Until you Couldn't run anymore.
And there, lying in the alley, barely able to breathe... Skill-out showed up. Course, you didn't know that they were called that at the time, but a gang of level zeroes, frustrated and angry found you. They thought they were going to have a bit of fun. But then she stepped in, with a glare that could freeze fire and melt ice. She saved you. Doc Kori. Took you in, cleaned you up, got you food in your belly and a nice long shower. Then she brought you here, where you've been staying ever since.
You dry off, letting the small smile slip onto your face even as you try and push back your expectations. You hate each and every time the System Scan comes around, but there is still always that tiny glimmer of hope... Maybe today will be the day. Maybe today you will finally prove the Doctor right...
Maybe, after today you will be able to mark ahead two weeks instead of six months.
After all, Level Zeros like you? You get a System Scan once every six months, one In January and one in July. Actual Espers though, Those Level One and above are given a System Scan every other week. They get the chance to push themselves, to see if they have moved further. They get the chance to show off what they have learned and just how much better they are than stupid, weak, useless little Level Zeros like you are...
But no! No! Today, today you are going to do your absolute best! You are going to give it everything you have!
You're going to use every resource that you have you got your hands on...
...You go quiet at that thought... Every resource, huh?
You glance over to where, on the other side of the wall is your study desk, and where you know there is a tiny little disposable MP3 player sitting there...
Waiting to be used.
No time for that right now though, so you shake the thought from your head before wiping the condensation off the mirror, and get a good look at yourself.
There, on the other side of the glass is a
[ ][Gender]Boy
[ ][Gender]Girl
You are
[ ][Age] 10 - 15 years old
and your name?
[ ][Name] What is your name?
Appearance:
[ ] Basic Description or even better an image
You finish drying off, before stepping back into your apartment and tossing the towel into the basket of dirty laundry. It takes only a couple of minutes for you to get dressed...
You can't even pretend that your eyes haven't been trailing back to the MP3 player, no matter how much you try and keep your thoughts off of it.
On that little machine is a single sound file. It's creator is unknown, with only a title in English to differentiate it from all the other indie music tracks of the world.
LEVEL UPPER
It's... Supposedly if an Esper listens to it, it's supposed to be able to increase your level. It's a silly idea, something that doesn't make any sense.
Something that can't be real. There is no way that there could be something out there that just magically increases your level. It's ridiculous.
But...
But...
If it works...
If it does increase your level...
Slowly, you reach out, and grab the device, looking at the title of the song...
Level Upper...
[ ][LvUP] Listen?
[ ][LvUP] Don't Listen
You only have a few moments to think over your decision - the reason that you had to wake up so early today is because the Doctors have assigned you one of the earliest scans of the day. If you aren't out the door soon, then you are going to be late.
Instead of seeing the past of an object, you see the past as it you were standing in the same spot where you are currently at that time.
Summation
10 Energy
See the whole of the objects history, all overlapping in a brief moment. Its hard to get any solid details, but will probably be enough to get a general understanding of how the basics of the objects use are
To Increase an Attribute costs the Current Level of the Attribute x 10
Bonuses from Traits count as Half a level, and so add a 5EXP cost to the Attribute per Trait Bonus.
For Instance, if you have a Stat at:
2(+3) It would cost (2x10)+(3x5) = 35 EXP to reach 3(+3)=6 Instead of
5, which would cost (5x10) = 50 EXP to reach 6
Leveling up your ability is a complex process that is very expensive, but with each level your power will advance to a startling degree.
[X][backstory] Backstory 2
[X][Gender]Girl
[X][Age] 10
[X][Name] Hanako Mishima
[X][LvUP] Listen?
[X][Appearance] Murderhobo of Nod's suggestion
No image at the moment, at work
Do we we know where are we according to Timeline Lvl-upper appeared in season 1 of Railgun not long before start of Index. Well in that case age 15 will place us in same age group as Kamijou Touma. Nanorobots Plot hooks, son.
Image is of Naoe Yamato from Majikoi, in a school full of martial artists he is one of the weakest, but make it with clever tactics using all cards in his disposal, i want our character to be somewhat similar.
P.S.: Name written in japanese order.
Do we we know where are we according to Timeline Lvl-upper appeared in season 1 of Railgun not long before start of Index. Well in that case age 15 will place us in same age group as Kamijou Touma. Nanorobots Plot hooks, son.
Image is of Naoe Yamato from Majikoi, in a school full of martial artists he is one of the weakest, but make it with clever tactics using all cards in his disposal, i want our character to be somewhat similar.
It is currently the early morning of the 12th, the Level Upper Arc technically begins on the 15th, but this is the same morning as the events of Episode 1 of the Railgun Anime.
