Umbra II

Before reading, please read the post below this one.

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Lise and Treyle had luck on their side. For one, they ran fast enough to get to the station at exactly 7:35, the departure time. Also, the lady driving the tram, who had seen them, was nice enough to wait for them instead of leaving at the appointed time. After getting a short lecture from the driver, the twins chanced upon some vacant seats in the last car, after two other girls kindly made room for them. As soon as they sat down, the tram left the station.

After sitting down, they took their time admiring the campus speeding past them. However, this tranquil moment did not last long, as they realized that their fight was not yet over. Lise fired the first shot.

"See, if you had woken up a little earlier, we wouldn't have had to rush to the station like that. We would have been on time."
"Hey, at least we got on!"
"It was a lucky break. We wouldn't have needed it if you weren't so careless."
"Whatever. Besides, you could have started cooking, then gone to wake me up. If you had taken the time to think a little, then we wouldn't have had problems, either."
"Sorry for being responsible! Not everyone has the time to think like you do. Especially when you're too lazy or you're not around, I have to make choices for you. Seriously, you need to be a little more-"
"A little more what? Like a prude? Bah, no one likes you because you think everyone should be a little do-gooder like you are. You're so high-strung, it's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend."
"Hmph. At least I'm not willing to jump at the first piece of scum that says your name!"

To some degree, both of them were right. Despite them being identical twins, Lise and Treyle were almost polar opposites. Lise was indeed a prude, but for good reason. With both of their parents out of their lives, Lise (being older) was in charge of taking care of her sister. Unfortunately, Treyle's lackadaisical attitude towards just about everything turned her older sister into the busybody she was now. And due to the focus she spent on keeping them together, Lise didn't get a grasp on education like her sister did. On the other hand, since her sister was looking over her, Treyle was allowed more time to focus on school and education, and also the opportunity to grow infinitely lazy. Because of this, she was one of the best student-athletes in her grade. Nevertheless, she wasn't perfect at everything. With Lise taking care of household chores, Treyle never learned to be self-sufficient or responsible. She dated almost any guy who asked, only to break off in less than a week because of dissatisfaction.

It took some time, but the twins finally realized how much noise they were making. They were about to apologize to the others, but by this time, their car, as well as the others, had been traumatized out of the general quiet into a center of conversations. With their bickering over, Lise and Treyle turned their attentions to the latest news and gossip.

When the tram arrived at the north lot of the Academy complex, Lise and Treyle got off only to find a large crowd of schoolgirls trying to push their way towards the center of the mass. Lise noticed that there were onlookers to the scene, so she went up to one of them.

"What's going on here?"
"I'm not really sure, but some girl found something on the ground and called her friends over. Soon enough, it turned out like this."
"And do you know what she found?"
"Nope. But whatever it is, it must be interesting."
"Ah, well. It doesn't concern us. Come on, Treyle..... Treyle? Where are you?"

Lise hadn't noticed, but as soon as they saw the gathering, Treyle ventured off to see what was worth all the fuss. Not caring about the other girls, she callously flipped skirts and violated the limits of privacy to get to the center of the attention. As she blazed forward, Treyle noticed that the girls were quieter closer to the center. Straining their necks, they were trying to see or hear whatever was causing all of this.

Finally, Treyle forced herself into the innermost ring of the mob but what she was dumbfounded at what she saw, or rather, what she didn't see. There was nothing in sight. But there was sound. Clearly audible, as if the source of it was right in front of her.

---Start---

'...And I'm telling you, he's only a child! He couldn't have possibly have-'
'Oh, he has. And he will. He's a born killer.'
'But-'
'But what? Are you saying what is before your eyes isn't real? That he efficiently and effectively slaughtered fellow humans in cold blood?'
'Surely someone-'
'He has no friends. He has no guardians. He has no family. He has no heart. He's perfect.'
'He's only a child, sir.'
'A child who singlehandedly stopped an invading army with limited supplies for TWO weeks until evac. A child who's outdone all of our greatest strategists and tacticians. A child with the greatest potential to become the most powerful weapon in this world's arsenal. He's a genius. He's made for THIS.'
'Sir, I must deeply obj-'
'Quiet, Lieutenant. I'll hear no more of this subject from you or your subordinates. I may not like this, either, but I am in no position to complain. And if I'm not, neither are you. Am I clear?'
'I understand, sir. I'll speak no more of this.'
'Good. You are dismissed.'
'Thank you, sir..... Oh! And sir?'
'What is it?'
'I'm glad I'm not one of your heartless superiors.'
'I'm glad I'm not, either. I just hope they won't destroy the poor boy.'

---End---

The audio then repeated again. Still puzzled by this mystery, Treyle went ahead and tried searching for the source of the sounds. Like the others around her, she first tried feeling the airspace where it was coming from for some sort of transparent device, but there was none. Then, she felt the ground for some sort of hole or perforation where sound could come through, but it was uncontestably solid concrete. Frustrated, Treyle did not give in and continued searching.

Lise finally managed to politely make her way towards where Treyle was. Seeing her sister on the ground, she became worried, so she had to ask.

"Treyle?"
"Yeah?" she responded while not abandoning her search.
"What are you doing on the ground?"
"Searching, obviously."
"For what?" Lise was not paying attention to the sound coming from the center.
"Hidden mikes or something."
"Hidden what? Nevermind that, we gotta go."
"Go where? The opening ceremonies don't start for another fifteen minutes."
"There was an announcement just now. Before the ceremonies, there's a special event happening."

Disappointed that she could not continue her search, Treyle joined Lise and the other girls as they reluctantly headed towards the Academy. Treyle was still not satisfied with what she had discovered, for it had only brought up questions she could not answer. However, she was happy that something like this happened. 'This year's going to be interesting, I know it,' Treyle thought giddily. Lise noticed her sister's glee.

"What's wrong?"
"Hehehe... nothing."
"Seriously, you've never been this silently happy about anything."
"It's nothing, really.""Come on, spit it out."
"Nope!"

They and the other girls headed towards the indoor auditorium for the announcement of their lives.

Umbra, Part I

- You've contacted Siren Command using the emergency line. What's the situation? Over.
- Sir! ....... reinforcements ha- ... rushed ... -llied lines! All un- ....... heavy dam- ........ completely destroyed. W- ............ back! Ov-..
- There's interference on your line. What is going on there? Over.
- ....... -my has depl- ... eral jammers. Th- prevent all comm- ......... -ing through. T-
[An explosion]
- Report, soldier!
- They'v- ............. artillery strik-.............. -osition! Ever-........ -all back! Fa-...........
[Another explosion, this one louder than the last]
- Status report! Can you retreat? How large is the enemy force?
- We wer-.......-ily outnumbered, at l-.....-en to one. W-........ lost seventy perce-.............. can't hold the area. Over.
- Sound the retreat! Salvage as many forces as you can and fall back to our position! Do you copy?
- ........-re breaking throu- ....
- I said retreat! Do you copy?
- ................
- Answer!
- It's no use, sir. We've lost the signal.
- Dammit!
- We're going to have to report this to the Commander. Your orders?
- ...Fine. He should be arriving any moment anyways.
- Understood. How should we.... sir, where are you going?
- What do you think? I'm going to tell him personally. I'm alright, but he'd eat you alive.
- But what are you going to say?
- The truth. Derych has fallen back into enemy control.


At seven in the morning, Lise Lemoize's radio alarm went off, playing her favorite song by Epoch-1006. After flailing about in her covers for a good minute in an attempt to shout off the all-girl rock 'n roll, she quickly dressed into a T-shirt and jogging pants and went downstairs to start her daily ten-minute jog in a garden nearby.


Before she set off, Lise turned back and admired the dorm she and her sister Treyle had been living in for the past seven years. The red-brick building had been their home ever since their father disappeared and their mother went abroad to work. Siren Academy's administrator at the time had decided to put the two girls, as well as several others who were in similar situations, into a "scholarship" program that allowed them to stay enrolled as long as they passed each school year with at least an 80. But that was a long time ago, and other things had happened since then...

As Lise jogged along, she looked around and took in all of the beautiful scenery. The sparkling light dew... the smell of the grass and flowers and trees... the faint breeze caressing the delicate blooms, it was a breathtaking sight. It's all so beautiful. I'm so lucky to attend this school. Aahhh... Siren Academy really is a wonderful place, Lise thought to herself. She also began to wonder about its past. Surely there must be someone or something that built this. Who founded it? Why is there so much space? Why is everything so big? And why here, away from all the bustling towns and sprawling cities?


When she finished her jog, Lise realized that she actually took twenty minutes. She hurried back up the stairs and into their flat only to find that Treyle had still not yet awoken. Silently, Lise crept up to her sister's bed and looked down. Treyle was an absolute mess, with her blanket and clothes half-off and her long brown hair fanning out in all directions. She was wrapped around her pillow and snoring very loudly. After some thought, Lise took the right side of the bed and lifted it up, letting Treyle slide onto the cold floor.

Waking up was a slow process for Treyle, even as she was right then. First, she noted that she felt as though she had been hit on her left side. After three seconds, Treyle noticed that the surface she was on was not the bed but something colder. As more time passed by, she faintly began to hear Lise scolding her for not waking up.

"Come on, Treyle! I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes already! Do you know what time it is? You know we have school again starting today. And we're gonna be late at this rate! Come on, get up!"
"...uunnn......"
"Hey, we're gonna miss the tram at this rate! Hurry up or I'm not making breakfast for you."
".....alright... I'll get out, Lise. Just make me something and I'll....."

Lise walked out of the room, knowing that her sister wouldn't skip out on breakfast for her life. She headed into the small kitchen area and began to make some toast and warm up the stove. Treyle, on the other hand, got out of her bed and straightened herself up a little. Her hair was still a mess, though. Drawn out by the smells drifting out from the kitchen, Treyle stumbled towards a dining table and sat herself down. Lise then brought their light breakfast to the table: a piece of toast, a fried egg, and some milk.

"What's with this breakfast? I can barely see it!"
"Oh don't be so greedy. It's your fault, anyways. If you had woken up earlier, I would have had more time to cook."
"Well, you could have started when I was asleep and then have gotten me."
"Hey, shut it! At least I'm actually making breakfast for you! You know, if you were a bit more responsible, I wouldn't have to look over you so much..."

As they continued to argue, their breakfast continued to not be eaten. Only after a good ten minutes or so did they realize how much time they didn't have left to make the tram. Abandoning their little squabble and stuffing the food down their throats, Lise and Treyle hurried themselves to their rooms to get dressed. Treyle put on a blue shirt with spagetti straps and khaki shorts, while Lise donned a green V-neck and jeans. They then rushed to the bathroom. After a little make-up time, Lise took her hair and tied it into a loose bun. Treyle brushed her hair only a little and let it retain most of its bedhead curliness. Wasting no time to admire themselves in the mirror, the pair ran outside to the stairs, then came back for their bookbags, and left again, leaving the door unlocked for the janitors. All this, excluding breakfast, took fifteen minutes and left only five minutes for them to get to the 7:35 tram's last call.

Global Communications Facility

---Start---

Dear Mrs. Tannen,

The team and the local dispatch have failed to deliver your package. The circumstances were out of control, and the appearance of a rather annoying distraction added to the eventual failure of the delivery. The company does admit to two errors on our part, but it is my job to inform you that this disaster befell us not by our actions. Hopefully, you will continue to remain in our service. Once again, the company sincerely apologizes for our failure and requests further correspondence for more details on the current situation. We look forward to hosting you again, Mrs. Tannen. By the way, please don't spoil our delivery boys so much, they are only doing their job.


We offer ourselves in service.
March Game, FLTR Services

PS Viitechiitachii is real.


---End---


"That's what it said?" exclaimed Lise. "What's with that crazy word at the end? What was the package? Who's Mrs. Tannen? And what kind of company is FLTR Services?"
"All great and obvious questions, but it's not like we're gonna get any answers by just saying them out loud," responded Treyle. "Anyways, let's take a look at the next one."

"Agreed." They took out the second envelope, this one as blank and white as the last, including the FLTR relief on the top-right corner. Lise got the letter knife and cut the envelope on the right again. This time, two items fell out onto the floor: one was another letter, the other was a receipt. Lise took the receipt first and read it out loud.


---Start---


Highwire Services, All-Area Sales Division


Congratulations on your purchase, Mot! This new O-20a Operaboard will suit all of your needs. Now with multi-network connectibility, inter-structure setup, virtual manipulation capabilities, a customized pseudo-electromagnetic battery and much more, your new board will become your number one tool for the rest of your life, guaranteed! If, for any reason, you have any questions, comments, or problems, feel free to contact us using the emergency function on the back of the board. We will be notified immediately and will send someone.


Good luck in your future battles,
Travis Lyman, Assistant Director of Sector Seven Sales


---End---


Treyle was shocked. Highwire produced the most expensive and top-notch technology out of Sector Seven, the haven of all things electronic! How could a lowly, reclusive student even afford any of it, much less be personally commended by one of the richest men in ZION? What did he mean by 'future battles'? she thought. "Lise, get that letter that just fell out."


---Start---


Mot Eredar, I'm impressed! So much progress in so little time! You really are my apprentice. I have some startling news for you, so I'll feed it to you in bits. First, this Operaboard should be able to replace your old one (it's still mine, you hear? You're not getting it back!), so I hope you like it. Second, First, since our boss has pushed up the schedule according to the calculations, we'll be advancing towards your AO. Don't be startled, I'll handle the papers accordingly. Lastly, I'll be assigning you a crew, handpicked by me from your most avid followers. You are more popular than you think.

With these new rules, and a few more at the next briefing, go.
Cyr

PS This will be our last correspondence by papmail. From now on, use the instruction manual that came with my little gift. And also, use the GCF for best reception, at least for now.


---End---


That settled it. There was definitely something going on with Mot, and it looked like something big. After Lise had gotten a good look at the letter, they put everything back where they found it and ran outside of the dorms to the GCF.