Again, silly.
This is meant to be self spoofing and funny, so chill.
Literally.
^_^
Oh dear.
There are many things that have happened since becoming Sailor Mercury that you haven't expected. Fighting for the sake of the planet is one, battling a living weapon capable of galaxy level destruction is another. So, for that matter, is falling in love with several women in a shameless series of lesbian lovefests.
But hey, it's kept your life interesting. Even if the depression was becoming crushing, and that you had to fight back the urge to hug a stuffed animal and hide in your room.
That's what you did last night, as a matter of fact. Such a shame...you wake early, feeling strangely light headed and dazed. Oooooh...if you had ever gotten bombed before, you'd think you were a bit tipsy.
Ami wakes up, blearily looking around, and trying to shake off the slightly odd ...buzzing in her head. swaying slightly, she pushes herself upright, and looks around, wondering why she didn't at least get to enjoy the process of getting drunk if she was tipsy now.
Your room seems unduly bright as you blink in the slight sunlight. It's like you feel disconnected somehow, a certain wooziness to your perception. Nothing looks out of place in your room from your view, though a shake ofyour head doesn't help too much with the disorientation.
Reflexively, Ami puts her hand to her foehead and neck, checking her physical symptoms...then shaking her head and attempting to climb to her feet and make it to the door of her bedroom, heading for the bathroom. She moves carefully, with delicate steps to resist the world's sudden fascination with shaking just enough to make her fall down.
Oddly, you don't feel much of anything from your neck. No heat at all from your forehead, either. Rising, you notice something is wrong right off the bat - you find yourself hovering an inch or so off the floor.
Waking up disoriented? Hey, it happens. Not feeling well? Well, unfortunate, but hardly unusual. But floating?
"W-What's going ON?" Ami blurts, looking down at herself to see if she can figure out why exactly gravity has decided to relax it's hold.
You notice the slightest transprancy to yourself, light just shining through your body.
"Hohoho..." A highly girlish, mocking laugh fills the room, from behind you. "Poor Ami-chan...." the suffix is spoken in high jest, as if the entire thing vastly amuses the speaker.
"Who's there?" Ami calls out. Okay. So I'm a ghost. No, ghosts don't exist, well, wait. They do, but...When exactly did I become so accustomed to weirdness that the fact that I can now SEE THOUGH MY BODY doesn't upset me????
"Just an old friend, Ami-chan," Zoicite laughs, appearing to sit on your bed. Turning to a lump right besides her/him, he pokes it with a snicker. "Ah...how ironic.
The first person to ever die of severe angst poisoning and it's someone I know! Hohohohoho..."
There are several things here both wrong, insulting and probably dreadfully ironic in a non Alanis Morrisette way. Should you have the leisure and interest to write them all out, you could probably fill out a tome on them.
The fact of it remains, though, that you are 1. Most likely dead. 2. Seeing a former enemy. 3. Getting mocked by the gayest enemy of them all. In you rown damn room.
Ami recoils. "D-Dead?" She whispered, feeling an icy hand clench at her heart. However, Zoicite proves to be a temporary respite from this. His voice quickly pushes her mood from gloom to, in this case, unreasonable irritation. As he continues to cackle like a deranged hen, Ami decides that there's something she's always wanted to know, and now seems a perfect time to test the hypothesis.
Still feeling quite cheated by her abrupt death and disoriented by the whole situation so she probably wasn't thinking clearly when she decided on it...but none the less she gives her full attention to attempting to punch Zoicite square on the nose.
WHAM!!!!!!
Your fist impacts Zoicite's pretty nose, sending it in a 50 degree turn and a snapping of cartildge heard! "AAAAAHHHH!" he moans, holding his nose in pain. "You widdle slamp!" Words garbled by a currently non functional nose, he falls back, over where your formerly in use legs are now. "Whaaat surt!"
Ami's eyes glint slightly. That was remarkably satisfying...IMMENSELY so. She smiles sweetly. "Good morning, Zoicite." She replies pleasantly. "I've had a poor start to my day, so I hope you won't hold this against me later."
With a slightly detached look of a girl teetering on the edge of a complete nervous breakdown, Ami makes a grab for Zoicite with the full intention of beating him...well, until her arms grow tired. No like she could kill him again, after all.
"WELL," he snorts, putting his nose back in place. You notice no blood, though, his eyes going wide as you rush in again. "Hey, you litt-AH!" Crying in pain as a rabid Ami-chan rushes him, his body is battered a dozen times over as you give into your long suppressed homicidal urges.
Perhaps Celcia was onto something. This feels rather liberating, really....and it answers the old question, "Can you literally put your foot in your mouth?"
After a deeply satisfying session of beating someone without restraint, Ami sits back...and her gaze falls squarely on the motionless lump on her bed. "This is-isn't...fair..." She whispers, curling up in the corner anf beginning to cry.
Your crying is punctuated with moans of the utmost agony, Zoicite whimpering as he slowly puts his body into place again. "Oooooh..." he grumbles, realigning his neck to a fully upright position.
"Of course it's not fair," he smirks on recovery. "The heroic Sailor Mercury dies of her own overload of teenage depression! It's why it's the best comedy this millenium!" Floating next to you in the corner, "At least, I suppose, you died young and left a pretty corpse. You'd have turned into such a old librarian hag, Ami-chan," the last part falls into a catty whisper, clearly provocative.
Ami looks balefully at Zoicite. This whole situation has rubbed her nerves raw in the span of a few seconds. "How does it feel to know you're not even as powerful as a Sailor Senshi's angst, Zoicite?" Ami snipes back, wiping her eyes.
"Or is this whole greeting this morning proof that you're utterly limp wristed and ineffectual in death, too?"
I'm not...but this...he doesn't deserve politeness!
"Oh, REALLY," he snorts, turning his head up away and distastefully. "I'll have you know that I'm still the gayest and prettiest of anyone from the Silver Millenium, even now!" Blinking a moment, he appears by your bed again. "Even if you and your Princesses became little skirt chasers," he grins.
"At least I didn't die a virgin to anything but my daydreams." Snickering, he goes to lift the blanket. "You probably haven't even popped your own cherry, little girl."
Ami moves over to Zoicite, and calmly...almost too calmly, swings on him again...
This time, sadly, he's more ready for it. With a blink, he teleports to the other side of the room. "Ah, Ami-chan, that's enough of THAT," he says carefully, still smirking despite it. "I'm here for a reason, anyway...pleasantries and gloating aside."
OOoooooh. You swear, it's so unfair that they can all teleport and you can't even blink two feet in the shower when you need to grab a razor. Bitch.
"Ask me if I care." Ami grumbles, and sits back down in her bed, miffed by the teleport, but having accomplished her primary goal in any case.
"Stupid Teleporting." She mutters.
"Most likely not...you'd rather mourn over your kitty cat," he snipes, snickering. "But regardless, since I'm stuck in this job to make up for all that evil and chaos fun I got to have in life..." A bit of disdain for his service there, but he goes on.
"Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury, Eternal Virgin," he adds in, snickering and breaking his serious tone. "I'm supposed to guide you around the world until you are ready in body, spirit and mind to move on."
"No." Ami replies simply, curling up on her bed. "Go away, Zoicite."
He shrugs, "If you want...I'm stuck watching you until you're ready for help or ready period, so..." Vanishing with a snicker and a flip of his ponytail, "If you're going to angst, at least be quick about it. I have a vacation coming up after this."
"Be prepared for a long wait." Ami replies spitefully. "If I get cheated out of my life, there's no way I'm going to make things easy for you." So saying, she simply lies down and waits. "Why can't death be less...ludicrious?" she grumbles.
AS you sit and ponder the meanings of this on science, religion, philsophy/mope, a familiar voice is followed by a knock on your door. "Ami-chan," Artemis calls, "Time to get up for school!"
"Can you hear me?" Ami calls to him experimentally. She doesn't have high hopes for being heard, but if she's really dead, she's not sure she wants to be here when Artemis and her mother discover her body...
No response, as you hear Artemis walking away. Must be in human form today.
Figures. He's finally in a body where you can make love with him without being called a pervert and you're too dead to take advantage. Life is really fucking unfair some days, isn't it?
Ami gets up and pushes off of her bed, heading for the door, still trying to work out what to do. Best not to see the crying when she IS found in bed...or worse, the lack of it.
Hesitating at the door, she attempts to push through it. "Ghosts can do this, right?" she wonders.
Yep, the movies were telling the truth. You push through your door like it's nothing at all, passing into the hallway with ease.
No wonder Rei-chan likes her astral form. It's kind of cool to do, and will certainly make spying on cute girl a breeze should you head down that path.
Ami blinks and sighs. "I could have really enjoyed this if I were actually living." she sighs, and meanders down the hall aimlessly.
Heading towards the kitchen, you hear Mom. "She's not up yet, Artemis," she asks, yawning. "She was asleep when I got home last night."
Smiling, "Guess she's just tired," Artemis agrees. "So...how was your date last night?" he asks a moment later, amused. "
How DARE she? Your own mother going on a date before you have a steady girl/boyfriend? That little slut! Meanie.
Ami sighs. "Figures...Life keeps taunting me for my failures." she laments. Moving into the kitchen and catching sight of them, she Reaches out, she idly pokes Artemis. "Lost chances...wasted life..."
Nada to that. Figures...you could probably jerk Artemis by his 5th appendage and not get him to realise you're around. Men are SUCH dense idiots. There is a bit more chatter, but you don't register it in your angsty state.
Oh, woe! Life is lost, hope is gone! For Ami is just a shade now, unable to even touch those she loves. Woe unto her! Wooooooooeeeee~!
"Could be worse," a calm, relaxed voice says, the shade of one aqua haired, Senshi suit wearing, girl appears. She smiles warmly to you, "Been a long time, Ami...never even got a chance to loan you that dress and give you that makeover I planned," she says.
Ami turns to the newcomer with a vaguely startled expression. "...Michiru?" she guesses with a vague sense of unease. "I really don't see how it could be worse, actually."
"That's right,"s he smiles. "You could still have Zoicite...someone has a sick sense of humor," Michiru comments with a certain unamusement. Floating over to you, "It's not so bad, dying. It's not forever, and there's a lot of fun you can have now once you get used to it."
"He won't be coming back?" Ami asks, the first Ray of hope shining down on her since she woke up this morning. "Dying...isn't forever?" she asks in mild disbelief.
"Not if you don't want it to be," she shrugs. "You can wait for your family and friends to pass on as well and spend eternity with them, or reincarnate and lose all your memories for good, living again."
Smiling, though, "Regardless of that, you won't see Zoicite again. I chased him off...and someone will have a harsh word with the fool who sent him to you in the first place.
But regardless of that, first things first..."
Well, that's something. Even though someone upstairs hates you, most likely, from that sending of Zoicite, it does explain a few things.
Ami just nods, taking that in and waiting for Michiru to continue, sighing a breath of relief at one pain gone. "Thank you." she murmurs to Michiru in a hearfelt whisper. "First things?"
She nods. "You're dead, Ami. Quite so. We have to go see if any spiritual place, realm or agency has a claim on you, or wishes to inlist your service." Smiling, "You might be lucky and be a spirit fighter or detective, or a ghostbuster.
Once you resolve that, you can choose what to do with your afterlife."
Ami just boggles. "A-A What?" she manages.
"There's a lot to do in the afterlife - with trillions on trillions on trillions of souls, it's busy." Smiling reassuringly and taking your hand, "Incoming souls are often put to work for a period of time, either to purify their past sins or to simply relieve the work load from spirit keepers.
For example, ghostbusters retrieve any ghosts that get into the living world unauthorized and that the living can't banish."
EDITED IN 2006. FEAR LURKING AND REREADING ANAS
Ami follows along, wishing she'd just wake up. She knows it's probably not a dream, but she can wish, can't she? "O-Okay..." A sudden thought strikes her. "Like guiding newly dead people?"
I wonder If I have enough sins for a job like that...none of the alternatives sound pleasant or interesting...[/i]
She nods. "There are a lot of things to do," she agrees, even as the kitchen of your former house fades away. "They'll choose something you're suited for, I'm sure.
Heck, maybe you'll get to be a cupid spirit to make up for your follies in the romance department," she comments, smiling at that image.
Ami sighs. "I don't think I could stand to die of an irony overload." she comments wryly.
"It would match your first death," Michiru remarks, as you seem to sail through a black void. "Or...oh, I'm sure you'll get something you like. It tends to work out that way unless you've really messed up.
Or unless whomever sent Zoicite can influence that as well. Hm..." Michiru hums thoughtfully. "Oh well, at worst, if you get sentenced as a line stander for a few millienium, I'll be sure to visit," she says brightly.
Ami ponders the merits of finding Rei and getting her to kill her soul, too. "Your concern is touching." she comments dryly.
"Sorry," she smiles, "But it's funny on this end. Anyway...you'll see what I mean ina moment." AS she speaks, white replaces black - a cloudly place, a long road snaking below you to a giant palace. Dozens of glowing lights wait in line to enter, one at a time in agonizing slowness.
"Don't mind that, Ami," Michiru notes as you fly above. "That's just for show for when a living soul finds a way to view or visit here. It's also where those that got on someone's bad side or really screwed up below are." Peering, she points. "You could probably find Metalla in back there somewhere.
But anyway, the real station is a bit beyond this."
Ami nods, following Michiru diligently. "Okay...How often do living souls make it here?"
"It's rare, but it happens...one or two are allowed to visit because it's a part of their powers, but most are beings that somehow get past the outer barrier." Michiru explains, half of it going over your head. "Sailor Pluto is one, but she's only here when she really has to be. She'll probably drop in to visit you at some point, eventually."
Again, someone must be laughing at you for this.
As you fly past the first palace, you see another one past it - smaller, more business like and open, without a line. "That's where we're going," Michiru points, as the two of you zoom down to it.
Ami winces a little at the sound of Sailor Pluto's name. Deciding to simply roll with this for now, she begins to wonder exactly when she was branded with the job description of plaything of the gods as she follows along...
For some reason, the image of you discarding a ninja outfit and a sack of diamonds flirts through your mind. Must be because you skipped breakfast.
Moving on down, you find yourself passing through the open doors. Inside, you find yourself sitting in a soft chair, Michiru next to you. Standing is a rather old man, looking nothing more like Santa Klaus in a suit. "Ah, Ami Mizuno," he murmurs, going over to a desk and a computer there. "Hold on...let me see what you have on file."
He knows me? Ami wonders briefly, before getting to the urgent business of shutting up and letting things happen. No sense playing with a sucessful formula so far.
He types a moment, before raising one snow white eyebrow. "Died of...angst causing organ shutdown? That's new," he says, looking up. "You don't look like the suicidal type, and it was...involuntary?
No wonder the computer is having a fit with your file. It's the first time in the history of existance such a thing has happened!" He rises again, smiling warmly and fatherly. Really, he's rather reassuring. "Want to talk about it while the system processes it?"
Ami smiles nervously. "It's not...a pleasant subject." she demurs, blushing in embarrassment. "Less so since I died of it, rather than something less humiliating, like being crushed under a garbage truck."
Just a wee bit of bitterness, there.
"Or auto erotic aphixiation," he notes with a chuckle, despite the bitterness wave that nearly drowns him from you. "That's probably the most embarrassing way to go, for my money. Though, you have enough laurels in your life where you shouldn't be too embarrassed over it. Sailor Mercury had a good career fighting evil."
"Given the choice, I would have rather have died doing that. At least I did that well." Ami hesitates. "Sort of...I think." Am I really a failure at everything?
"I reckon you did a good job with that," he says, eyes twinkling. "Shame that masturbation isn't a viable way to earn a living in your world. Ah well," he shrugs, going back to the computer. "Be all that as it may, cheer up. I've seen far, far, far worse come through. My child, you're simply terribly depressed more than anything else, not a failure."
Ami's head sags. "A little louder, please...the lines over in that other place didn't hear." she grumbles. "And yes, I was...AM. WOuldn't you be?"
"Probably," he agrees, smiling as he types away, before hmmming. "Ami," he says, "The system is probably going to be a little while - new entries take a wee bit of time to work their way through all the protocols.
And regardless, I'll have to personally choose what to do with you now," he comments, moving aside from his computer. Still cheerful, "Anything you want to say or complain about while we wait? Most people daydream about getting to yell at the person up high."
Ami shrugs, a bit listlessly. "Not really...Unless you actually -were- having fun at my expense, and it wasn't just co-incidence."
"Not at all...well..." he pauses. "I admit, I didn't stop Zoicite from being sent, though I did let Michiru know to bail you out. Beyond that?
Free will in life breeds a lot of funny things," he says simply, shrugging with a warm smile. "It's a shame that you passed on when you did, though...I was enjoying watching your thread and the threads of all your friends."
"I was hoping to get a chance to fix things." Ami admitted with a sigh, relaxing a little. God was pretty mellow, even for a fat guy.
"True...you still want to go back, don't you," he asks curiously, eyeing you with another smile. "Fix up your life, find someone to love, have a happy life, and all those things you've dreamed about? I must admit, I'm tempted...
It is a shame you died early..." he muses, letting the point hang.
Ami winces. She can sense a trap coming, but...
"-Can- I go back?" She asks nervously, a little flicker of hope. "I'm well aware that I may die someday...but...yes, I would like the chance to make something positive of my life...my personal life."
"You -could- go back if I so willed it," he says agreeably enough.
"But!" Smiling despite the slightly ominous tone of voice, "If you do...there will be a price after death.
No, not Hell or anything like that. The closest to that is that line you saw there," he waves his hand dismissively. "I do need, however, servants to keep things running here. You have the intelligence for it."
Ami's eyes widen, and she bites her lip...she thinks she does. This Ghosty business is hard on the physicality of things.
"If I can manage what you'd like me to do, I'll certainly accept." Ami ventures. "But may I at least have more details, before I have to choose?"
He nods, "We have time to kill, regardless, as you might say. You see, Ami...
In short, I could run the universe by sheer force of will. I could; it is far easier to create a system to manage the day to day workings instead and only deal with the more remarkable events. This computer system is the backbone of the universe - Yggdrasil." Smiling, "What you may call fate, destiny or a guiding force, perhaps.
However, like any system, it requires those to maintain it, debug it and even correct it at points. That's where selected mortal souls come in. In exchange for the job, they gain powers - some call them angels, or even goddesses or gods.
In essense, you're a system programmer for Reality.
Oh, and if it matters, I must say that the benefits are the best you'll get in the universe. Eternal life and heaven doesn't get topped."
Ami blinks, taken slightly aback at the description of the job. "I..." She notes that her mouth feels dry. "Are you sure I'm adequate to the task?" she asks, nervously.
"What will be required of me beyond the job? Will it...conflict with my other loyalties?"
"Ami," he smiles, almost chuckling in amusement. "If anyone in this universe can accurately gauge your ability, wouldn't I be the one? You are quite capable for this."
With a shake of his bearded head, "No. Once you die again, your loyalties to your past life won't be relevant. You won't be attacking your friends or sabotaging then, if that's what you fear." Tugging on his beard, "When you are not in your job, you'll be free to rest here, or elseware if your position has you stationed in another part of reality for a time."
Ami nods slowly. "If that's really all there is to it..." Ami ventures, "I accept." she nods. "If there's more, I'd like to know about it, first."
He nods, "There are a few...notes about what effects this ressurection will have. If I may?"
Nodding, he goes on. "First and foremost....the angst levels in your body are still high. Regressing into angst may very well cause a repeat of today's lameted fatality. Cheering up may very well be needed to maintain good health."
Giving you a moment to let that sink in, "Secondly?
Death is a strange creature at times. It has a natural tendency to home in on those who have lost to it and come back. Now, relax - this does not mean you'll be dodging bullets or dropping steel girders every day. You may find, however, that danger may seek you out in the strangest ways."
Ami sweatdropped. "Oh....Okay...If worst comes to worst, I can look into antidepressants..." she murmured, trying to calculate her odds for survival. "But...could you clarify, or give me an example on the second?" She asks nervously.
He nods. "Observe!"
Appearing from nowhere is a small TV, right in front of you! It comes right to life, a scene pictured!
Ami walks down the street, lost in thought while eating a meat bun. Yet she trips on the sidewalk ever so slightly, causing her to choke on the bun! She flails a little while cutely in a tiny version of herself before keeling over, a small little Ami-angel floating out of her body a moment later and heavenward.
"In other words, you'll have a bit of a handicap in life - death will try and get you every so often some way or another. Do be careful."
Ami winces, not terribly reassured by that. "So...I'll need to be cheerful and paranoid?" she wonders.
"Well...That's not too bad...I think." She mumbles. "Is that all I need to keep in mind?"
"Yep," he smiles warmly. "That's it in a nutshell.
He begins to motion, as if to dismiss you, but then pauses. "Oh, and one other thing. I may have one of my servants drop by once in awhile, to both check in on you and begin your pretraining.
In fact, I have just the girl in mind..." Shrugging, "You'll meet her soon enough. Any last questions?"
Ami shakes her head, smiling a bit nervously, but more grateful than anything. "No, I think I'm fine...Thank you, sir." she replies, not really wanting to rock the boat. Any arrangements that don't include Zoicite are fine with her, at this point.
"Then....WAKE UP!"
----
GAH!
Sitting upright in bed with those last words and images echoing in your mind, "Ami-chan," Artemis shakes you, a bit annoyed. "I though you'd never wake up! I was about to go get a bucket of water!"
"..." Ami stares at Artemis. "...But Zoicite, Michiru...Dead? depressed...Kami-sama?" She takes a moment to touch herself to make sure she's solid...(NOT THERE. God, you're a perv.)
"I'm alive!" She exclaims with no small amount of pleasure, glomping Artemis...was she actually kissing him, too?
Oh well, even if it's only once, this is far less expensive than prozac.
It should be noted that for a cat/human/Mau or whatever the fuck Artemis is, he's a fairly adaptable and hardy fellow at the core. Loyal, brave and an all around decent being. That said...
Perhaps him falling over under the force of elated Ami-chan isn't particularly condemnable. Pity.
He does just that, plopping down right on his butt under youre assault. "A-Ami-chan," he manages as you hug, kiss and just generally take advantage of him.
Ami decides to let him off easy, and breaks the kiss and climbs off of Artemis with a slight smile.
"Good morning." She tells him simply, smiling warmly, then climbs out of his lap and walks to the closet, looking for clothing for the day, resisting the urge to touch her lips and smile. It really is a good morning! I'm alive, and Artemis is...well, wow!
"Uh...morning," he finally manages, staring at your backside - by default - as you head into the closet. "Er...have a good dream," he ventures, clearly a bit rattled.
Ami looks over her shoulder and smiles as she roots around in her closet, finally coming up with her school uniform. "Not particularly." she replies. "And you're really good at that, by the way." she adds breezily, headed to the bathroom to shower.
Blushing as Ami races off to the showers, ARtemis just stares. "Woah...
Luna wasn't kidding about those teenage hormones," Artemis notes.
---
Ah, the shower! Stepping in without a care in the world, you prepare to bathe! Turning on the water tap and stepping forward into the stream of hot water cascading down...woah! You find yourself slipping on a bar of soap, half falling to the wall to brace yourself.
No danger, but man...that could have been painful or worse if you'd slipped on that soap in earnest. A broken leg, hip or worse!
Ami nervously eyes the floor of the tub...and remembering her tip to...heaven? decides it's time for some new habits. Ever so carefully, she climba back out of the shower, and grabs a beach towel, and brings it into the shower with her, draping it across the floor.
"That ought to prevent slipping..." Ami muses. "If I have to start showering with a helmet, I'm going to cry,"
It does, even if it bunches badly and is a pain in the ass by the time you finish your shower. Yet you are squeaky clean and quite alive, which is a step up from your past performance this morning.
Hungry, too, and you notice that the clock you passes said it was nearly 10.
Ami winces. "Well, I'm late enough that I can enjoy breakfast, at least." Ami muses with a sigh. "I hope mother's not too upset."
So saying she heads to the kitchen, deciding to have a balanced breakfast, and worry about how she's going to explain this later.
Your mother is already gone, it seems, so you have a nice breakfast with out her. Tramp.
As you put away a surprising amount of food(Guess Death makes you hungry), Artemis finally comes to join you. Notably, he's in cat form this time and mostly calmed down from your morning glory. "Morning, Ami-chan," he says cheerfully enough, if still a bit cautious.
"Morning." Ami replies warmly, a little less frenetic now, and satsified. (Her stomach, at least.) "You don't have to tiptoe, Artemis." she smiles. "I won't bite."
Hesitating a beat, with a thoughtful, deadpan expression (If the pun can be pardoned) "Unless you ask, but I'm not sure that's likely..." This...is not proper. It's liberating, though.
"Ack!" Flinching back like you are the devil in the incarnation of a self touching pro teenager, Artemis sweatdrops. Literally, which is pretty impressive for a cat.
"Um....I'll pass," Artemis finally says. "Ami, um, is something the matter? Do you feel ill at all?"
Ami smiles, shaking her head. "No." She pauses, looking thoughtful. "Which is a good thing. Something happened to me this morning, though..." She trails off and eyes Artemis. "Well, It's a bit over the top, even for me." she replies vaguely.
"Nothing permanent, but just a bit of an eye opener."
As if he can sense something going waaaaaaay off course, Artemis hesitates. But as if he is a doomed ship in the Bermuda Triangle, he forges on anyway. "What happened," he asks simply.
Ami smiles ruefully. "Artemis...can you trust me when I say that knowing the answer to that will upset you, whether you believe me or not?"
After a moment of thought, he nods. "I can trust you with that," he agrees.
Oh man...Ami didn't dream about us having....and....GAHHH! She's just a teenager and my ward! No way! I mean...It's Ami-chan! Gah! Luna would kill me! GAHAAAHAHHAHAH!
After that, he almost blanches entirely, quite a feat considering his fur is white. "No...I think I most definitly trust you on that," he amends a moment later.
Ami nods absently. "Okay." she agrees, smiling and standing up from the table. "And Artemis? I won't pressure you, or even kiss you again, if you don't want it." she smiles and scratches the panicky Mau's ears. "You're my best friend, first and foremost, and I won't do anything to make you uncomfortable around me. But...you're also a kind, generous, and attractive man. If you're ever interested, I'd like to try dating you, at least."
Again without waiting for an answer, Ami gets up and leaves the table, blushing badly. It needed to be said but...dear kami, that was embarrassing.
Still, she feels...oddly unburdened for having gotten it off her chest. Smiling for no particular reason, she heads to her room to work out what to take, and how to plan for untoward...'accidents.'
Artemis blushes and stares, mouth moving but no sound coming out at your proposal. As you leave, he falls flat, all four legs failing on him.
"Wow...Ami-chan..." he murmurs. "Oh man...Even if this doesn't go anywhere, how am I going to explain it to Luna?" Shuddering as he pictures the Luna PMS claw coming down, Artemis sighs. "At least it's a pretty girl. The way things work around here, I'm happy it wasn't a pretty guy saying that."
As you enter your room, smiling and enjoying the afterglow of THAT relevation:
A blur of blue, white and black zooms at you, right for your chest!
OOC - DCV+1
Unable to react to the bullet of a little girl rushing into you, you are knocked onto your fanny by a flying hug! "Hey, Ami-chan!" Hugging you, you see....
(http://home.austin.rr.com/tmaus/skuld.gif)
"Dad said he recruited someone new to the family today," she smiles peppily, youthful energy radiating from her.
Ami winces, rubbing her abused butt, then takes a good look at the girl. "Um...Hi?" Ami smiles and nods, a bit tentatively. "I take it you're my teacher, then?"
"I miiiight be," she says, detaching to rise. "But I just wanted to see who Daddy got. Better than the last jerk..." her voice drops at that, as if an old grudge is being picked up.
"I'm Skuld. Good to meet you, Ami!"
Ami smiles a bit shyly, falling back on old habits, the exuberant little girl giving of a likable, if slightly hyperactive air. "Nice to meet you, Skuld." she replies, standing herself, to bow.
"Likewise," she nods, before almost crumpling up. "oooooh...I forgot...I didn't have any before I left...." Moaning, Skuld looks up to you from her crumple point in front of you. "Do you have any ice cream?"
Ami blink blinks. "Just a moment, I'll check." Ami replies. It seems an odd request, but given the nature of where her guest is from, asking too many questions at the wrong times seems like the wrong thing to do. Ami hurries into the kitchen, and checks the fridge and freezer for and frozen treats of the cream variety...
You pass by Artemis, who is still frozen and shellshocked, muttering to himself about how, at least, Ami's a girl.
In the freezer, you find a half gallon tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream, unopened. Guess the resident grocery shopper had a sweet tooth recently?
Ami blinks at Artemis. He thought otherwise? I just kissed him, for heaven's sake!
Shaking THAT off, she pulls out a bowl and quickly scoops a healthy amount of ice cream into it, and replaces the tub in the freezer. Grabbing a spoon on the way, she simply sighs. Maybe I can make it to my afternoon classes? she thinks randomly.
Pushing that out of the way, she returns with the bowl of ice cream to the little girl in the hall. "Is this all right?"
"YEs," she says as you return, tearing into it quickly. She seems to recover with each bite, as if she's slurping down pure green energy instead of ice cream.
"Mmmm..." she says, finishing within twenty seconds. "Do you have any more, Ami?"
Ami looks slightly taken aback. "Y-Yes..." she admits. "We do. Not much, though." she observes. "If you really want more, perhaps we can go out for some? I'd rather not have to explain to my mother why our entire supply of ice cream is missing..."
Skuld smiles even more, "Ooooh, is there a good ice cream shop around here," she asks hopefully. "I haven't been to one since my sister took me there for my last birthday,"
"I....Don't know." Ami admits, giggling a bit. "If you're going to want it on a regular basis, it might be a good idea to go looking for one, though?" she suggests.
OOC - As Ami is currently about to get back into the main game, this is paused until she gets ahead or to a break point again.
A pert nod, as she glances around. "I'll go find one, Ami," she smiles. "Just don't die, okay? You're supposed to be careful, after all"
Ami winces a bit, nodding. "I'll do my best." she agrees, slightly nervously, paranoia beginning to creep into her mind again. "This is going to make being a senshi VERY hard..."
A nod, as, "Coming," she asks, getting ready to go. "I really want to find a good parlor around here...mmm...."
Ami nods, hesitating. "Uhm...Let me grab an umbrella." she decides, moves over to the closet. "Artemis? I'll be gone for awhile..." she calls.
"I hope I didn't scare him..." she murmurs softly. Retrieving a long, curved handled umbrella, Ami rejoins her prepubescent teacher. "Ready now. I hope."
A happy smile as you head out, Skuld seemingly enjoying the sights and sounds. "It's so noisy on Earth," she nots as you hit the streets. "Everyone's dashing around on the ground and not flying or teleporting. Woooow..." she stares, soaking it in. "Whenever I'm away for awhile, it makes me all excited to see it again..." With a giggle, "I should have Banpai help make more noise..."
Ami blinks and looks around. "This is noisy?" she asks curiously, smiling curiously. "This is actually fairly sedate, for an urban area." Keeping a close eye on her surroundings, she glances at Skuld. "What's a 'Banpei'?"
She nods, "I'll show you...but..." she thinks a moment, bowing her head. "I heard you have some friends good with machines," she asks. "I'll show you and them soon, okay? After we have more ice cream?"
Ami giggles and nods. "Sounds fair." she agrees, her curiousity piqued. "Hmm..."
Ami looks around, scanning the streets for an ice cream parlor, or something similar.
It takes a few blocks to find one, but you come across something passable. Jijeru's Ice Cream, which has Skuld dash in. "Ooooh," she says as she dashes to the counter. From there, the counterman is bombarded with her order, one that is both massive and quite impressive.
Ami follows Skuld in, and boggles. "Ano...." She sweatdrops, quickly checking to make sure she can cover the order before interrupting. After all, if she can, it can't hurt to let the tiny goddess go wild -once-...
Right? RIGHT??
You have enough, but that means nothing special for your bedroom life for the next few weeks, as you have JUST enough for that and a scoop for yourself. "And add chocolate sauce," Skuld chirps, as that scoop flies off on wings of sugar.
"Ouch." Ami sighs. "You realize I can't afford that on a regular basis, right?" she clarfies, somewhat dryly, as she pays for it anyway.
"If you want a monster order like that on a regular basis, we'll go broke..."
"All right," she nods, "I'll do something about that," she notes, as her order is assembled on what looks to be a thirty gallon bowl, or close enough to make little difference.
"..." Ami shakes her head. "I should time you, and see if you can demolish that as fast as Usagi could..." she muses. "I suppose asking if you can really eat that is a moot point."
"I'll eat this, no problem," she agrees, as it's carried by three workers over to a table. Skuld follows, getting to work at...gah! Was that just a sonic boom as she tore into it?
Ami stares at the spectacle as she sits down. "I really thought USagi-chan would have desensitized me to this sort of thing..." she marvels.
Soon enough, the mountain of confectionary bliss is gone, leaving a sated young girl. Pushing the bowl aside and laying her head on her hands, "Mmmm, I feel better now," she murmurs. "Thanks, Ami!"
Ami giggles, shaking her head. "You're welcome." She supposed she ought to grumpier about the whole thing, but it was really hard to let anything bother her when she thought about how close she had come to dying for good this morning.
"So, what should we do now?"
"Your friends...um....Eugeal and a few others," she goes on, st umbling there. "They're good with machines, right? Take me to meet them?"
"Eudial." Ami corrects gently. "And, that's fine." she smiles. "I can take you there now, if you're ready. On the way...do you think you can give me an idea of what sort of...'training' I'll be doing?"
She nods, as you head out a few moments later. "Sure...Dad told you what exactly you'll be doing, right," she begins with. "That's kind of important, as you'll be stuck retraining if you get trained wrong."
"He did." Ami agrees, nodding and trying to keep one eye on the surroundings. "But it was only in the vaguest of terms...I was hoping you could clarify what he meant, exactly...I suspect the computer work he mentioned wasn't exactly as ordinary as ours."
"Debugging work," she nods. "Keeping the Yddrassil system going without bugs being a problem...it's a busy job," she notes, idly having what appears to be a red mallet in her hands. Turning onto the sidewalk, "Look," she says, as she swings her mallet down. You hear a high pitched crack, but nothing else. "Got one! He was just walking in the street, too...wow. This city sure generates a lot of them..."
Ami blinks. "Will I be able to see them eventually?" Ami guesses, taking the fact that something actually WAS whacked at face value. After all...It wasn't that much of a stretch after a day like today.
"Yep," she confirms brightly, as you head down the Tokyo streets and she lets the mallet vanish. You get a few looks, but not many. Seems to be about par for Tokyo lately, eh? "They're really ugly, too."
Ami smiles a little at that. Skuld's manner, while hardly reassuring, is admittedly amusing. "Something to look forward to, then." she remarks dryly. "I wonder if they're as ugly as Youma..."
"They look like cockroaches," Skuld shudders, "Those and beetles." As you head to your school, Skuld carries on about them - seems that they are some sort of manifestation of glitches in the system, though she doesn't really go in depth about them.
Ami nods along with Skuld's explanation, accepting the non technical one for the moment, assuming she'd be briefed in greated detail later. "So...I'll be hunting them and...doing what you just did?"
Somehow, 'Whacking them' sounded too...trivial.
"You will, Ami-chan," Skuld nods peppily, her head quickly bobbing up and down. "You'll even get your own hammer for it - just don't borrow mine."
"If you say so." Ami agrees good-naturedly, smiling. "Is it hard to do? From what I saw, it looks fairly simple..." she trails off, letting Skuld correct her, or not. The more information gleaned, the better. It seemed pessimistic to plan for her death, but that's really what she was doing, wasn't it?
"It's easy for one bug, but it takes more when they make a nest," she explains, making a 'yucky' face. "Big sister had to help me with the last one..that was so nasty."
"Help? The two of you used hammers?" Ami asks curiously. "Or do you have other tools, too? This is a long way from the computer technician work I'd envisioned..."
"Yes, but big sister's special," she smlies happily at that. "You can meet her soon - she's on Earth right now," Skuld notes, as you head on to Mugen. With that promise, she picks up the pace, eyeing the tall building.
Ami struggles to stay with the active little goddess, noting her reaction. "You know of Mugen?"
"There are a lot of special people there, Daddy said," is her reply on it, as you head close and to the entrace doors.
"We've caught Kami-sama's attention?" Ami mulls that over for a bit as she takes the lead, opening the doors for Skuld to enter. "That sounds intimidating..."
Ami moves inside after the smaller girl. "We'll try the office, then the lab." Ami decides. "We're usually in one or the other..."
"Daddy does see everything," Skuld points out, as you head inside. "He's soooo cool...." Stars shine in her eyes, literally, as you head to the office. Inside..luck is with you, as Eudial and Viluy are there, having a somewhat heated debate about something.
"I told you," Viluy gestures angrily, "That it will never work! Even if you get a strong enough energy source, the body weight is too much!"
Eudial twitches, before smirking back. "That's what all those lesser inventors said," she says smugly. "I have something that'll work it like a charm."
Ami stops short. "Hmm...this may not be the best time, but these arguments are always interesting to watch." Ami observes. "Just wait until they run out of steam, and I'll introduce you, okay?"
Skuld pays no heed, instead dashing forward. "Hey, are you working on something," she interjects, stopping the two cold. "I'll help! It's the car, right? I have something to work as the power generator! It's an old Banpai engine!"
The two girl stop cold, blinking as if a tsunami of oddness just washed over them. "Um.................." Eudial struggles. "Who ARE you?"
Ami sweatdrops. "Or....Not." She sighs. "That's good, too." She moves forward, joining skuld as she looks over the blueprints.
"Her name is Skuld." Ami offers, blushing a bit. "She's my...trainer?" Ami ventures, deciding that nothing would really be gained by holding back. "Or tutor, I suppose."
"Oh," Viluy murmurs, staring still. "That's right, and I'm really good at this," she nods quickly. "Come on," she tugs on Eudial's arm. "I'll show you!" With surprising energy for one so young, she does a fairly good job of dragging the redhead off with a startled eep coming from Eudial's lips.
As they go off, "Ami," Viluy asks, watching the door close behind theme, "What the hell?" is her eloquent question.
"She's a goddess." Ami replies, shrugging and laughing nervously. "It's been a long morning, but...I have reason to take her at her word."
"A goddess," Viluy asks. "It wouldn't be any stranger than normal, I suppose...." she concers, idly tapping her chin. As she begins to walk and follow, "How did you meet a goddess, anyway?"
Ami walks alongside Viluy as they follow her new teacher and Eudial, nervously shrugging. "It...it's a long story...But the short version is, I died this morning."
Ami wrings her hands and sighs. "Of something patently ludicrious. But, Kami-sama allowed me to bargain my way back into life...with some conditions attached. The main one is, when I die again, I'll be doing work for heaven. Skuld being here is to prepare me."
Ami takes a deep breath as she finishes her story, and looks to Viluy's reaction curiously.
Calmly as possible, which means a fair amount of wide eyed staring, "You died? How? Working for heaven?" Rattling those off,
"How odd."
"You have no idea." Ami replies dryly. "I spoke with....Yes, spoke with an old enemy of ours while I was there." Ami glances about, a little shiftily. "And I spoke with Michiru, too."
"Really," she asks, taken slightly aback, as you hustle to follow along, to the little area Eudial uses as a garage. "Did she say anything about myself or Haruka?"
"Sorry..." Ami smiles apologetically. "She spent the time consoling me...I was rather bitter. Zoicite being assigned as my initial guide into the spirit realm after dying was too much to take."
Ami smiles a little. "Though, she does seem rather content, if it helps. I'll...let you decide whether Haruka needs to know that."
Before she turns away slightly, you see her eyes are full of conflicted emotions - sorrow, happiness, confusion, enlightenment...
"I'll think about it," she nods, turning to see the other two. Skuld already has the engine to the station wagon popped open, fiddling in there. "Hold on, I'll have it set up in a moment."
* Hatbot --> "Ana-chan rolls 2d6+1 and gets 10."
Ami watches curiously, wondering what exactly Skuld is up to...and if she's more restrained than the usual modifications to Eudial's vehicle. She moves over to stand near Skuld, unable to resist the temptation to watch the work.
Eudial is working as well, the two seeming to be working on the power supply. A big, shiny, red capsule is in place of it....
* Hatbot --> "Ana-chan rolls 2d6+2 and gets 11."
It's hard to follow, but it looks like Skuld is putting in a new type of fuel/power supply. "This'll make it go REALLY FAST," Skuld nods, as she steps back to close the hood. "Come on...you can handle it, right," she asks Eudial.
Ami smothers a slight giggle at that, and remains content to watch, for the moment. 'Of course I can'...or something along those lines. Hmm...I wonder how that new power source works?
Eudial's confidence does indeed show through, as she answers much as you predicted. "There isn't a car I can't drive," she nods, shaking off her dismay and smirking. "Come on...I guess we'll see if this is any good." So saying, sh eheads into the car, Skuld hopping into the back set.
"Get in, you two," she calls to yo uand Viluy.
Ami hesitates. Mmm...My rather....delicate condition+Eudial's driving=Early return to the afterlife. No thanks. "Umm...I'm not feeling all that well, Eudial." Ami replied nervously. "I'll have to miss this one."
"Aw, come on," Skuld pokes her head out. "It'll be fun, Ami," she calls, as Eudial doesn't even get a chance to speak. Viluy hesitates, before shrugging and heading over. "Why not," she murmurs, sending a glance back at you. "See you, Ami, if you're not coming."
"Sorry, Sensei, but you remember what I was like this morning...I don't want to go back that quickly." Ami smiles to Skuld. "I'll just wait."
"Ami-CHAN," Skuld goes red faced, hopping out of the car. "My engine won't do THAT!"
Ami sweatdrops, and beckons the child goddess closer, then whispers in her ear. "It won't, I know, But Eudial's driving is...breathtaking." she whispers. "She's not a bad driver, but she ignores the laws of physics already."
"That means it'll be doubly fun," she whispers back, giggling. "Come on, please," she gives you cute, pleading eyes. "It'll be really fun. I promise - and you won't be hurt."
Ami smiles a little. "Well, I guess if you can promise that, it should be okay." she replies, laughing softly. "Though I'll still probably end up covering my eyes..."
With a smile and a nod, Skuld takes your arm and herds you into the car. "Alright, let's go," she says as you are hauled in...
Ami climbs in, and immediately begins fastening her seatbelt, wishing Eudial had racing belts for all the seats.
Skuld sits in the passenger seat, as you and Viluy strap into the back. Eudial glances back, then to Skuld. "This had better work," she advises her, before turning the key and....
*Whooosh!*
Were anyone around to see it, they might have seen a little pocket of light burst out from where the car was. If one was introspective, they may even reconize it as a similiar effect used by many sci fi shows to signify the leap to light speed.
---
It's only a few moments, yet...wow, when did starry backgrounds replace the ones of the underground? Racing stars, points of light zooming past, then:
"Guh!" Eudial hits the breaks, the car stopping hard. You are thrown forward and back hard several times, superfast. (5 points of damage) The wind is knocked from you, as you huff, puff, and glance around. Well, the Statue of Liberty towering above you is an interesting sight, you note.
"Aiieee..." Ami mutters, her eyes swirling after the rather painful impact. "Stop the world, please, I'd like to get off..."
"...We're in America?" Ami notes, somewhat dully, when she gets her breath back enough to peer out the window. "I think you overshot the mark a little, Sensei..."
"Ooooh," Viluy rubs her back gingerly as you speak, Skuld turning around and falling back, stars dancing in her eyes.
"THat's..." Eudial says, before freaking. "That was..." Turning to the still dazed girl, "How did you DO that?!" she says ,grabbing a hold of her.
Ami reaches up and takes hold of Skuld, somewhat protectively prying her from Eudial's grip. "She's a goddess, Eudial." Ami explains, taking deep breaths.
Ami looks to Skuld nervously. "Skuld? Are you all right?"
While Eudial blinks and digests that gem of information, Skuld looks up at you. "I...wow, I'm fine," she says slowly. "That was some kick..."
Ami raises an eyebrow, smiling and shaking her head. "It was fairly impressive." Ami agrees with a smile, and releasing Skuld. "I take it that this was unexpected?"
"It means that it works," she crows, grinning widely and standing atop her seat. "The Banpei Modification Engine, Warp Speed, Version 3.2, works!"
Ami twitched. "Ano...Sensei, two things to note for next time...first, mentioning the name before testing it with others would be a good thing...and secondly, inertial dampers are a must for those speeds." Ami points out.
'But it worked," she smiles, as Eudial gapes on, mouth moving but sound failing to come out. "And it'll take us home, too. Come on, take us home," she prods the redhead. "Besides, it would hae spoiled the surprise if I told you the name." Adding that with a giggle, Skuld settles back into her seat.
Ami sighs, and settles back into her seat. "On the plus side, the ride went too quickly for me to get scared, or sick." Ami concedes. "Eudial? Are you okay?"
Looking quite marvellously shaken and stirred, Eudial manages a, "Yeah, I'm fine," before shaking her head and gripping the wheel. "Right, home," she says. "Buckle in."
Ami prays for their safety, noting the Eudial seems a bit distracted, and does as she's told.
Eudial starts the car again, then...
*WHOOOOSH!*
Flashing star like lights again go as the ride goes, then....they keep going, as Eudial, "The brakes aren't working," she says in disbelief, pounding hard on them twice to no avail. "Shit!"
Ami's eyes widen, and she looks to Skuld. "Sensei, tell me you planned for a mechanical failure." she begs. "Try turning off the engine, Eudial!"
"It's no good, it's not responding!" Eudial says, cursing colorfully as the car continues to race utterly out of control.
"Well...we'lll have to go out and fix it, Ami-chan," Skuld says, after blinking a moment. "The warp speed bubble should protect us as long as we have something to stand on....I think," she finishes, looking unsure as she leans back, thinking.
Ami sweatdropped. "Uhm....Sensei, We lack exactly that...Unless you can do it hanging from the front grill..." She points out, beginning to get very nervous. "Just tell me it's not a complex repair job..."
"I can do something to let you stand out there, Ami, so you can fix it," she says to your words, nodding. "Go on, it's outside of your door," she says, as Viluy stares outside, transfixed. "It's really easy to do, and I'm sure you can do it, Ami-chan!"
Ami pushed down on a burst of panic. I knew it would come to this. I just KNEW IT. "I....Alright, fine. I'll be putting your word to the test, though." Ami points out. "Do you know what's wrong with it?" She asks, opening the door gingerly.
"Yes, I think it's just overheated. You'll need to cool it down and reattach the wiring," she explains as you open the door. As space races around you, you see a little heart shaped platform for you, to step on. "Go, Ami...if you wait too long, it'll overheat and explode," she warns.
"Wonderful." Ami mutters, gingerly stepping on the platform. "I'm on my way..." she says, sighing as she rests her weight on it and eases herself from the car...
It dips slightly, once, as you step on it, but stays solid. Once you get on it, it gently begins to float around the car, taking you to the hood...
Ami waits for the arrival, humming the theme song to 'The Jetsons' to calm her nerves. Once at the front of the car, she pops the hood to have a look at the engine compartment.
The engine has something attached to it - what looks to be a tiny engine, emitting enough heat to scald you face at this distance. (1 damage) Light comes from it, red-white and sizzling.
"Oww..." Ami winces. "Not hands on work there, to be sure." she muses, and glares momentarily at the tiny engine. Reaching into her elemental tether...(And hoping they haven't somehow managed to get somewhere where her powers wouldn't work,) Ami slowly begins to freeze the tiny, attatched engine, gradually enough not to break anything...
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6 and gets 7."
The engine begins to cool, the heat slowing from it. As the light fades to a reasonable level, you can see at least twenty wires coming from it, red, black and white. They flap around wildly for half, the other half in there and shaking as they direct power.
Frowning, Ami keeps up her work cooling the tiny engine as she picks up the wires, and begins examining them to figure out where they connect to.
* Hatbot --> "Mistress_Ami rolls 2d6+1 and gets 9."
You think you understand how they go, now. It's a pattern, and you have it down. Just to get them all in right.
Quickly, Ami reattaches all the wires, and releases her cooling grip on the engine, slamming the hood down. "Finished!"
With that, you hear Skuld shout, "Get back in, Ami! Hurry!"
Without bothering to respond, Ami quickly tries to urge the heart shaped platform back to the car door, responding to the urgency in the little girl's voice.
It does so, perhaps a small miracle to itself. With it, you are able to get back in. "Close the door, I'm going to try and stop this," Eudial says, the moment you get in.
Ami does as she's told, and slipping her seat belt back on, and braceing herself for a very, very hard stop.
SLAM!
Reality comes back, as the car stops moving. Ami is slammed back and forth a few more times in mere instants, the wind knocked out of her. (2 damage) Yet, as your vision clears...it's underground Mugen...
Thank God or his daughter?
"We're....back?" Ami wonders, her chest and head aching. "What are the odds...?" she wondered. "Definitely, Definitely, DEFINITELY need inertial dampers, Sensei..." she moans, slumping in her seat.
"You might be right, Ami-chan..." Skuld finally agrees, as every member of the nearly doomed car trip adjusts to non hyper space. "That was a bit much, wasn't it," she laughs, blushing.
Ami stares at Skuld for a moment, then just laughs. "Just a bit." she agrees, giggling.
"Just a bit..." the resident redhead says slowly. "Oh, my baby!" she gasps a moment later, dashing out to assess the condition of her car. "It's....it's..." As she stares at the side of it, "It's....burned!" she cries out in complete dismay, as if she has just been kicked in the stomach.
"Eep." Ami heads out to examine the damage. "How bad is it, Eudial? Can it be fixed?"
Getting out along with the other two, you see the sides of the car and it's paint job are scorched, black marks hissing on the metal. Wow, that'll need a few coats of paint. "It can be fixed, yeah," she murmurs, "But...my car...."
"I know." Ami murmurs softly, patting Eudial gently. "We'll help you bring it back, if you want." she offers, and glances at Skuld, raising an eyebrow.
"Um....Sis could fix it," she offers slowly. "I...don't know the spell for that yet," she admits. "I'm only third class, limited...."
Eudial sighs and nods under your touch. "I know...lots of paint....lots of paint..." she vows.
Ami raises her other eyebrow, and nods. "That's up to Eudial." Ami agrees. "But I was thinking more along the lines of us helping her fix it."
Snapping up, "No," Eudial shakes her head, turning to Skuld with a glare that could melt iron instantly. "Ami, would you take Skuld away," she asks, her eyes doing a passable imitation of her Fire Buster. "I'll repaint it myself, just keep her AWAY from my car."
Ami sighs and nods, gesturing to Skuld. "Come on. We'd better go." she says, ushering the tiny goddess out before she has a chance to protest.
Skuld nods, letting you take her away. Once out of the room, with Viluy staying behind, "I...kind of blew it, didn't I," she mutters to you, sighing. "But it's such a cool engine, too!"
Ami smiles a little. "It is." she agrees. "But that car is important to Eudial. Wouldn't you be upset if I installed something in one of your favorite projects that burned it?" Ami offers. "I'll talk to Eudial later, and see if I can smooth things over. But you should probably think about apologizing."
That gets a reluctant nod, "Okay, Ami," she sighs. "You sound like my big sister now," she adds a moment later, not unfondly.