Zero Blades (an original story)

[DL]

[center][font="Verdana"][size="7"]Zero Blades[/size][/font][color="#000080"][/color][/center]


So yeah, I was looking back through some old works, and I remembered this one work I took very seriously, even submitting it several times to my creative writing class. Well, it may suck compared to how far I've progressed, but I think there's also some greatness here, since I worked on and revised this so much.

Enjoy.


[spoiler=Chapter 1]
[b]Ch 1 - The Zero Project[/b]


Two girls stood at the entrance of a hotel. One had sky blue hair and the other brown hair tied into a ponytail.

The brown-haired girl looked at the blue-haired girl. “How long are you going to stare off into the distance like that? We’ve got to get moving.”

The blue-haired girl nodded. “I know, I know, I’m just… thinking about what we’re doing… are we doing the right thing?”

“You know that thinking about things in that way would make anything seem bad, but if you see this in a positive light, it’ll get us one step closer to our goal.”

“You’re right, let’s get moving.”

The girls walked inside the hotel. There was a receptionist at the desk, and a few people wandering around, some carrying bags, others pulling suitcases.

The blue-haired girl scratched her head. “Well, here we are... What should we do now Arya?”

Arya walked toward the receptionist desk. “It’s no use standing here. So let’s go see what we find.”

The receptionist saw the two girls, and greeted them. “Hello, may I help you two young ladies? For how long will you be staying?”

“We’re not here to stay. We’re just looking for someone, and we think she may have checked in here. Is a young girl about our age staying here?” Rin asked

The receptionist nodded. “Actually, a she just left a few seconds ago. You might be able to catch her.”

Arya waved at the receptionist as she and Rin walked out of the hotel. “Okay, thanks.”

When Arya and Rin exited the building, Arya began looking left and right. Cars zoomed past her, and the occasional horn was heard over the roaring of engines. There were several people standing at a bus stop across the street. There were two kids standing near a woman who was talking on a cell phone, and a girl who looked to be in her teens. There was also a man looking at his watch.

Arya pointed at a girl standing at the nearby bus stop. “That could be her, she matches the description.”

Rin nodded and they headed toward the girl. A bus passed them and stopped in front of the bus stop, blocking the girl from view. When the bus began driving again, the girl was gone.

Arya began running toward the bus. “We have to catch that thing!”

Rin grabbed her shoulder. “We can’t outrun a bus. We’ll find some other way of finding her…”

Arya held out her hand to stop an incoming taxi. Arya jumped into the car. Rin sighed and followed her.

The driver, a guy wearing a hat who looked barely out of his teens, turned around. “Where’re you going to?”

Arya pointed toward the bus. “Anywhere that bus goes!”

The driver nodded and turned to face the bus. He pushed down on the pedal and began pursuing the bus. The bus sped along the road, and the taxi followed it. Passing dozen of people along the way. The bus finally screeched to a stop at a red light.

After a few seconds, the driver chuckled. “You know, it’s really great to finally meet the famous test subjects…”

Rin’s eyes widened and a second later she pulled something out of her pocket and pointed it at the driver. “I now have a small blade in a position that could be fatal to you if I wish it to be. Now, I suggest you keep driving, without asking questions, and afterward, forget you ever saw us…”

The driver gulped and nodded. “Sure… no problem…”

When the bus reached the next stop, the taxi stopped right behind it. Arya and Rin walked out of the taxi and slammed the door shut.

The driver leaned out the window. “Hey, aren’t you gonna pay?”

Rin leaned closer to him. “Consider yourself paid in full with your life…”

Rin and Arya hurried to the bus stop and catch up with the girl. After the two girls were far enough so as not to hear him, the driver sighed. “I wish I’d gotten to introduce myself… oh well, I’ll just keep up the surveillance …”

Several people walked off the bus, and yet there was no sign of the girl getting off. Arya was the first to reach the bus stop, and sighed as she got on. Rin walked in behind her. They were about to enter when the driver stopped them and pointed to the coin machine. Arya reached into her pocket and pulled out a stick of gum, a dime, and a small pouch. She quickly put the pouch back in her pocket and looked at Rin. Rin nodded and reached into her own pocket. Her hand brushed the knife she had used to threaten the taxi driver, and she slowly moved her hand to feel for any other items. She pulled out three quarters and a dime. She pulled out the contents of her other pocket, such as a bottle cap, two other quarters, and a lace ribbon. She stuffed the lace ribbon back in her pocket and deposited the coins. Arya deposited her dime as well, and the two of them moved further into the bus. Arya first saw the girl sitting in a nearby seat, and took a seat next to her.

Arya tapped the girl’s shoulder and smiled. “Hello, my name’s Arya. Are you, by chance, Eve?”

The girl nodded slowly. “Yeah… I’m Eve. Who exactly are you?”

Rin caught up to Arya and sat down in the seat behind Eve and Arya. “We were hoping to find you. Let’s just say we’re friends.”

Eve shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve ever met you in my life.”

Arya sighed. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t remember us…”

The rest of the trip was silent. Rin was watching the scenery pass by as Arya glanced at Eve every so often. Eve kept staring at her lap.

Eve finally looked up at Arya. “Hey, why do you keep staring at me?”

Arya chuckled uncomfortably. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just, we haven’t seen each other in so long…”

The bus finally came to the next stop, and Eve was about to open her mouth to reply, but she suddenly gripped her head and bent over. She groaned and fell to the ground. Rin stood up to help her up while Arya’s eyes were wide.


************



A young girl with long blue hair opened her eyes. “What… is this place?”

A man walked up and looked at her. “So this one has dark blue eyes… she’ll probably be easier to control than the other one… but just in case…”

The man placed a small metal cube on the girl’s stomach. It grew and engulfed her entire body, except her head, with a blue-colored material. A substance resembling metal spread throughout the girl’s body next, and the edges became sharp and the metal surrounding her hands became claw-like. The metal that engulfed her shoulder began to look like an elbow pad. In the matter of seconds, the girl went from being completely naked to having a blue jumpsuit and full-body armor.

The girl looked at her armor “What… is this?”

The girl tried to get up, but the armor around her wouldn’t budge. “This is… heavy.”

“It’s not heavy, you’re just not anywhere near full strength right now, due to the fact you just awakened. As for that armor, it grants you additional strength.”

The girl looked around with a blank stare on her face. “Who are you? In fact, who am I?”

“You were supposed to have died in an explosion, but I saved you. I’d give you the details, but it’d probably be too much for your adapting mind to handle, as I have worked my entire life to understand it myself.”

The girl had lost interest and was looking at a small potted plant on a desk. “This… armor, you said it gives me strength. Why do I need strength?”

The man grinned. “An excellent question, follow me, test subject, and I will show you.”

The girl sat there with a blank look in her eyes.

The man frowned. “What’s the matter? I told you to follow me.”

“Oh, so test subject is what I am referred to as? I did not know…”

The girl got up slowly and followed Doctor Magnus out of the room, and down a hallway. They opened a door, and on the other side of it was a large room, filled with machinery.

The girl passed her hand through a robot’s head plate. “What is this room?”

The man chuckled. “This room is meant to test your abilities and your usefulness to me. “

The doctor handed her a sword and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. A robotic sphere rose up and flew toward the girl. The girl raised her blade to cover herself, and the sphere smashed into it. The sphere was knocked back, and the girl’s sword flew out of her hand. It landed on the ground, and after spinning around a couple of times while skidding, it came to a halt, a few yards from the girl. The robot dashed toward the girl again. The girl tried to dodge, but the robot hit her arm, making a gash in her armor, but the girl was unharmed. The sphere was turning around for a second blow, but the girl caught it mid-flight, her dark blue eyes glowing. She lifted up her arm, and stabbed the sphere right through its center with her hand. Small pieces of the sphere’s insides dropped to the ground, and with it, the sphere itself. Another sphere dashed toward the girl from behind her. The sphere was about to make contact, when the girl spun around, and in a few movements, stabbed the sphere through its underside. As her claws pierced through the top of the sphere’s head plate, she grabbed one side of the sphere with her other hand and crushed it. It dropped to the ground like the last one.

“Incredible. She didn’t even use her sword for offense. This is the power I’ve been looking for…”

The girl’s eyes stopped glowing and she slouched down to the floor. “What just… happened? Did I do that to those spheres?”

“Indeed, my dear. Keep this performance up, and you’ll serve my purposes just fine. Not to mention that there’s no way for you to betray me, and it’s all thanks to the armor.”

Doctor Magnus walked out of the room, and the girl followed him. “I will show you to your sleeping quarters. This way.”

The doctor approached a door and turned the knob. He then gestured for the girl to go inside. He closed the door, leaving the girl in near darkness. She managed to find the light switch after fidgeting through the room wall near the door. The lights shone vaguely. She could see a small row of beds to her left and a couch to her right. The girl walked a few steps, and then stopped.

“I guess I’ll go to sleep…” the girl muttered to no one in particular

. She was about to curl up in the ground, when the door opened again.

“Ah, I forgot to mention. Since you did so well in your first test, you’ll be sent out on a mission in an hour, so get as much rest as you can before then.” said Doctor Magnus from the open door.

The door closed again, leaving the girl alone with a puzzled expression.

“A… mission? I wonder what a mission is.” The girl muttered to herself. She then curled up in the ground and closed her eyes. About an hour later, the door opened again.

The man poked his head through the crack. “It’s time to go do your mission, test subject number four.”

“Sixty two minutes...” The girl answered.

The man frowned. “What?”

The girl looked up at him. “Sixty two minutes since you came in here…”

The man threw a thin folder to the ground. “Ah, I see… maybe I should test your brain capacity after the mission… well, in any case, these are the mission requirements”

The girl picked up the folder and opened it. Inside, on the first of several papers, she saw a picture of a girl with brown hair tied into a ponytail. Under the picture were the words Name: Sara Gardner. Alias: Arya. Age ten. First experiment. Experimentation: Failure. Permission to eliminate: Granted.

The girl stared for a moment, and then flipped to the next page. A girl with long yellow hair and blue eyes in one picture. Then the same girl, but with light blue hair in another picture right next to it, but there was no name. Alias: Rin. Age thirteen. Second experiment. Experimentation: Failure. Permission to eliminate: Granted.

The girl turned to the third page. She froze as she saw a girl with long dark blue hair and crimson eyes stared back at her.

The girl’s eyes widened. “Who is this…?”

Riko Miazaki. Age sixteen. Second Experiment. Experimentation: Failure. Permission to eliminate: Granted.

The girl dropped the folder she was holding, and it flipped open to a page that had a girl with shoulder length blond hair. She crouched down to look, but all that was there was Fifth experiment.

The girl raised her head.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked.

The man chuckled. “Find the ones who are marked for elimination and eliminate them, No matter the cost.”

“Alright… I will…” The girl said with a blank expression.

The man left the room, followed by the girl. He escorted her to the opening of the laboratory.

The man motioned toward the door. “Now go. Go and fulfill your mission. Don’t come back until you’ve succeeded.”

The girl went through the door, saying nothing. With the information on her targets in her pocket, she walked to fulfill her mission.

***********

Eve opened her eyes and sat up quickly. She was panting as she looked around frantically. There were three pairs of shoes at the entrance. There was a small desk next to her, and a cup of tea on top of it. There was steam coming from the cup. It was still hot. Eve stared at the tea, and then shifted her attention to the girl whose eyes were closed, and whose head was on her bed. The girl was oddly sitting on the floor. After a few seconds, Eve noticed the girl’s head beginning to slip, and she reached out her hand vaguely. The girl hit the ground with a thud, and sat up slowly.

The girl rubbed her brown hair out of her eyes. “Eve, are you okay?”

Eve nodded. “You’re Arya, right?”

Arya nodded. “I’m glad you remember me from yesterday. Rin and I were really worried when you fainted.”
Eve smiled faintly. “So you’ve been taking care of me? Thank you, but it’s odd that a stranger would help me, I can give you some money for helping me, but…”

Arya shook her head. “There’s no need to do that. We’re friends, right? You may not remember, but we sure do.”

Eve opened her mouth to speak, but Rin burst into the room, panting.

Rin slammed the door shut and turned to face Arya and Eve. “They’re here…”[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 2]
Chapter 2 - TUC



I wonder who that girl was… the one with hair like mine… she seemed familiar. Have we met before? I don’t think so... but it’s my mission to eliminate her, so I will. If I can find them. I’ve been traveling for days and so far no luck… then I heard some people talking.

“Hey, did you see them? Those girls?” one of them said.

“Yeah, they’ve been in the coliseum for days, I hear.” another responded.

“They must really need the money, huh?”

“Or they like to fight.”

The two people began laughing and walked off.

The coliseum? What is that? Maybe the ones in the coliseum are the ones I have to eliminate... I began to look for someone to ask. I saw a man who looked young and decided to ask him.

“Excuse me, do you know where is this…coliseum?” I asked.

The man began to laugh.

“You don’t know about the coliseum? It’s right over there” the man said while pointing at a metal structure with a round top that stood tall in the sky.

I decided to go and see what a coliseum was for. When I got there, I was startled by the number of people that were moving around the building. There was plenty of activity. I guessed the coliseum was a busy place. I went inside and saw even more people. I saw a woman dressed in a shiny blue jumpsuit with a name tag on her chest. I decided to ask her what a coliseum was.

“Excuse me, what is a coliseum, exactly?” I asked the woman.

“Ah, you must be new around these parts. The coliseum is modeled after the Roman Coliseums that existed 3000 years ago. It is a place where you can fight for money. People who fight here are called gladiators. Anyone can participate in the battles as a gladiator, or watch from here, through the monitors. Would you like to try?”

“Um… I would like to know if these people passed through here…” I said, holding out the pictures I took out from the folder.

“Why, yes, I believe they have. They’ve been fighting for the past few days. They’ve had an incredible winning streak. Do you know them?”

“I was looking for them… if I join this as a… gladiator… will I be able to fight them?”

“If you choose to yes, but I must warn you, they’ve proven to be strong. Judging by the armor you’re wearing, I can guess you’re somewhat of a warrior too. If you’re ready, follow me through this door.”

I followed the lady, and she directed me to a room full of weapons.

“Lucky for you, one of the girls is free to fight right now. Choose the weapon you want to use. You may select any of these.”

”Any of them? Then I’ll choose that one.” I said, pointing to a blade weapon like the one I saw during the test.

“Hmm… that’s interesting…” the lady said.

“What’s interesting?” I asked.

“The girls you’re looking for all picked blades, too…” she answered as she turned to leave. “Those doors will open soon, and when they do, you will be directed to a computer. You’ll get further directions from there.”

The doors opened, and I saw a room that was dark, except for the streaming green that was veined throughout the room. Then a voice came from seemingly nowhere.

“Enter the transport grid.” the voice said.

I saw a large square in the middle and assumed that it was the transport grid, so I stepped onto it. As soon as my foot touched the grid, I felt a sensation that curled around me and wrapped tightly around my body, almost touching my very being. I opened my eyes to find I was in a room much like the previous one, with the green veins digging through the black background. There was someone else there. A girl, like the one in the picture. The one with light blue hair. She raised her head, and I saw she, like me, held a blade weapon. A voice rung out.

“Begin!” the voice said

The girl dashed at me and slashed at my side. I managed to bring my blade to block just in time. Steel clanged against steel and she was knocked back a few steps. I grabbed the hilt of the blade with both hands and stabbed at her. She grabbed my blade with both of her hands, stopping its path, letting her sword fall to the ground. She then used one of her hands to push my sword away, then quickly picked up her sword with her other hand and slashed at me. I dodged just in time to avoid a fatal injury, but was still left with a long but shallow scratch in my armor. I raised my blade and jumped at her. I brought the blade down with all my strength. The girl blocked it with her blade. I jumped away and noticed her blade was cracked. The girl tossed her blade aside and I saw that her eyes were glowing.

“I will be the winner.” the girl said.

The girl opened her hand and something began to form in it. A sky colored blade. The hilt of the blade had a two dots engraved on it. The girl then ran toward me with amazing speed. She wielded her blade as easily as if she was swinging around a feather. I tried to block, but when our blades collided, mine was knocked aside with little effort. It flew out of my hand and landed on the ground, beyond my reach. She slashed at me again. I raised my hand to block, and the sword hit my armor. My arm gave way, and I was tossed aside. As I stood up, I noticed that she was pointing her blade at me.

“Guess I win this round. You put up a good fight, though.” the girl said as her sky-colored blade disappeared.

“Thanks… I guess…” I said, noticing that the girl’s eyes had stopped glowing.

I was going to ask her more questions, but as I began to speak, I was suddenly dragged out of the room and the feeling of something touching my being disappeared. I was back in the room with the large square. I then realized that I wasn’t hurt at all, but I felt somewhat tired. The lady from before came into the room and escorted me out.

“Well, was it fun?” she asked with a smile.

“What… happened? I am uninjured. Why is that?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.

“Oh, you see, in the coliseum, you do not physically fight. The program is designed to combine two minds into one, and people can fight each other there to their full potential without any interference or worrying about causing damage. It’s all very efficient. You must be feeling tired. Care to go into the break room?” she asked, gesturing to a door to her right.

“Sure… I guess…”

I entered the white room and saw several people there. Two were having a conversation. One was drinking a blue liquid from a clear bottle. The fourth person I saw was the girl from before. She was sitting by herself in the corner of the room.

“Hey, you.” I called out to the girl.

The girl looked up at me, then looked back down. I walked to her and arched forward so that our faces were at the same height.

“Hey, I’m talking to you…”

“What is it? Are you sore about losing? If you are, then too bad, but I don’t care.” She answered, her light blue eyes drilling through my mind.

“It’s nothing like that… I just want to talk…” I answered.

“Oh. Sorry about that,” she said “it’s just… some people I beat are sore losers, and they want to try and beat me in real life. It’s tough, being in the top five.”

“The… top five? What is that?” I asked.

“It’s the coliseum rankings. The more matches you win, the higher you go in the ladder. I’ve beaten so many people, I’m already within the top five scorers. So are my friends, Arya and Eve. Oh yeah, I forgot. My name’s Rin. What’s your name?” she asked.

“My name… I… do not have one… I think…” I answered, looking at the floor.

The girl stood up and stared at me with her eyebrows raised.

“You have no name? Does that mean you’re…”

“Yes,” I answered. “I am a test subject. Test subject number four…”

“You’re… a test subject too? That means we’ve found another one! Hurry, you’ve got to meet my friends, then we can talk. We need to get you a name, too.” said the girl, dragging me by the wrist. We passed many doors like the one that had led me to the large square. After walking for a minute or two, we reached the entrance.

“We’ll wait here for them to come out. Lucky for us, their matches should have been easy, so they’ll probably be out any minute.” the girl called Rin told me.”

“So what… could my name be?” I asked.

“Well, I guess it could be…” Rin was about to answer, when a girl ran up to her and hugged her.

“I won again, Rin! That was fun! Eve should be getting out soon, too. Then we can all spend our earnings on finding the others.”

“Speaking of that, I found another one of us already, Arya. We need to get her a name, though.”

Rin looked at me, then back at the one called Arya.

“You’re another test subject? Hi, I’m Arya, nice to meet you. Ah, that means the Zero Blades are now up to four members. That’s great, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but we still need to give her a name.”

“You know who she reminds me of? Eve. Besides their eye color, they’re almost identical. I’d give her a name like… Yue…”

”I… like the name Yue, but there’s something I have to discuss with you…”

Rin looked as if she was about to ask something, but she was interrupted by Arya.

“Hey, Eve, look! We found another one! She looks a lot like you.” exclaimed Arya at the girl with long midnight blue hair that was walking toward us. The one from the picture. The one that seemed so familiar...

“Well, it looks like you guys had a little adventure out here while I had a little adventure in there.” the girl called Eve said.

“What do you mean?” Rin asked.

“My opponent was tough. He sure gave me a run for my money… I might have lost if I hadn’t used Sankuko…”

“You’re not the only one. I had to use Nikumaru against her.” Rin replied, pointing to me.

“Um, excuse me, what are you talking about? Nikumaru, Sankuko? What is that?” I asked.

“Remember the sky-blue sword I used in our match? That was Nikumaru. See, we found out each of us has the ability to make a sword out of… something. We don’t know where it comes from, but we do know it gives us amazing agility and power.” Rin answered.

“So I, too, can use a sword like that? How?”

“All you have to do is wait for the right time. That’s how we got ours. Well, at least that’s where Rin and Eve got theirs. I haven’t found mine yet.” Arya said with a small smile.

I stood up and walked a few feet from them.

If I try to eliminate them, I’ll lose. They’re too powerful. I’ll have to befriend them. Then I’ll take them out in a more… suitable setting. If I learn how to use my special sword, I’ll be able to beat them… I think…

“Hey, I want to fight against you. If you pushed Rin so far as to use her Nikumaru, I want to see what you’re made of.” said Eve with a slight grin.

“Sure… I guess…” I answered.

We walked into a room that had two large squares similar to the one on the previous room. Unlike the previous room, this one was not black with green traces, but black with blue traces.

“I though there was only one square per room... and only one person per room…”

“Oh, those are the single rooms. When someone wants to battle with someone they know, they can come to the dual battle rooms. The brain signals are clearer, and you don’t get a random opponent. I’ve been around here long enough to know what most things in the coliseum are for, so feel free to ask me something you don’t understand about this.”

“Okay.” I said, stepping into the square.

The familiar sensation wrapped around my body and I was thrust into the room again. Eve was staring right at me. I looked at my hands to see that I did not have a weapon.

“I… do not have a weapon…” I said, examining my hands.

“Well, yeah. That’s the point of teaching you how to call upon your sword.” Eve said as a purple sword appeared in her hand. It had three dots engraved on it.

I sidestepped as she slashed at me. She quickly turned her sword’s direction and I blocked with my armor’s claw. It made a dent. I could feel a powerful aura surrounding her. She grabbed her blade tightly and swung to my left side. I tried to block it, but the force was so strong, I could feel my arm breaking. As my left arm hung limply by my side, I gripped it as the shock finally reached my brain.

“You’re really going all out, huh?” I asked, gritting my teeth.

“Hurry up and unleash your sword. I’m tired of playing around.

Playing around? Was I really that weak compared to her? Did I not have enough strength? Speed? What was it I lacked? I looked down at the floor and saw that a sword lay there. A dark blue sword. With four dots engraved on the hilt… so it was my sword. I reached for the sword. As my fingers came in contact with the hilt, I felt a sudden pulse. Shikigami. I felt as if it was calling me, no, urging me, to pick it up. I wrapped my fingers around it, and I instantly felt a sense of… completion… like the sword made me complete.

“I see you’ve found your blade. What is its name?” Eve asked with a small smile.

“Shikigami… it is my blade. It is me.” I said.

I suddenly felt faint. Shikigami disappeared and I fell to the ground. I remember Eve caught me…

I woke up with Arya’s voice… she was talking to someone…

“Isn’t that amazing? She was able to use her sword so fast. It drained her strength completely, but this beats even Rin, who got her sword within three days. Yue got it in an hour. What do you think, Eve?”

”I think she deserves a good rest. She just discovered her sword. She must be tired.

“I’m… awake, guys…” I said while rubbing my eyes.

“Oh, hi Yue. We were just talking about how nice it is that you found your sword. Shikigami, was it?” Arya asked.

“Yeah… I’m not sure whether that’s its name, but it rang out to me as soon as I touched the hilt of the blade. Now I can’t seem to get it out of my head.”

”You know, what you said back then is true. We are one with our swords. That’s why we’re the only ones who can stop Doctor Magnus. We have to, because no one else will.” Eve said while looking out the window.
[/spoiler]

[Enma Kozato]

with more than a chapter?
lies. Whay of the FTK fic with its lie 200 chapters?

[DL]

More than 100

But anyway, this WAS the first.

I worked on this before FTK fic.

it's that old.

[DL]

Chapter 2 added.