Second Sighting: A Mirage AU Short

Alternate Universe
Alpha Belt
Mortal Realm
2008

Camille Levina exhaled in disbelief as she watched her Assignment’s eyes widen in shock (and anger) at what was unfolding among the three people.

Andre Montes and Tristan de Agua were sitting next to each other on the bus, laughing and talking about whatever they wanted to talk about. It had relieved Camille when she saw that Andre was making friends easily; it made her happy to see him easily accept the initially quiet, withdrawn male. A smile came to her lips at the memory; one of the things she liked about Andre was how accepting he was when it came to other people.

It was a trait that not many people had those days, sadly. She thanked all the gods that her Assignment was decent – if she got someone bratty, then she wouldn’t know how to handle them at all.

However, that kind of accepting came at a small price.

See, there was supposed to be another person in the picture. Camille didn’t quite catch the full name of the other person, but she had heard Andre ask that morning if someone named Joseph was going to be on time. When they answered that it was unsure, Andre proceeded to take Joseph’s seat – the one next to Tristan’s.

Camille couldn’t blame her Assignment for doing that, really. In that situation, it was the most logical of them all. Andre didn’t want to leave Tristan sitting alone and besides, their teacher would most likely make him move anyway.

So there they were a few hours ago, next to each other and talking excitedly about where they would go for the day. Tristan said that they were going to some kind of museum and Andre wondered what they would see.

Never His: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

The Veil
Beta Belt
2015

Arzen felt a numb stab of pain as she opened her eyes, moaning quietly as it resonated from her chest to her arm to her legs. It felt like the kind of pain a day after dancing, a day after swimming or participating in strenuous activity – except for the looming asthma attack she’d have.

The sight that greeted her bewildered her. Managing to sit up, she saw mirrors all around her, her own figure greeting her. Arzen knotted her brows, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

She was wearing the same thing that she had worn on the bus, on the way north. Her green sweater hid away the soft white graphic shirt underneath. Her Oxfords remained clean, and so did the dark jeans. She looked perfectly okay – a little pale, a little shaken.

She remembered falling asleep after the first rest station, curling and facing away from the rest of them who were laughing and chatting. The coffee she had chugged hours before had begun to chip away. Before she woke up, she was in the bus on the way to their retreat. Now, she was in an unknown room full of mirrors.

She tried not to feel afraid. It had already happened before, twice. The first, she was in the Peace Garden and ended up in the middle of Technika’s Crossroads. The second, she was in her room, and then pulled away into nothing –

“Mathias?” she whispered. He had to be there. He was always there. “…Mathias?” No one replied. Stifling a small whimper, she tried calling his name yet again, but no reply came. Lifting her head, she looked into the mirror.

Her coffee-brown eyes widened as she saw the male in his Technikan suit, the lines and such glowing a very bright powder blue. Elated, she said his name again – Mathias – and looked behind her eagerly…yet he wasn’t there.

Irritation seeping into her, Arzen rubbed her eyes and stared at the mirror. He was there – still there – still smiling. The ice-blue eyes found hers and she stared at him, upset and angry, and he began to walk forward. His mouth opened and he said a name she strained to hear.

“Painful, isn’t it?” 

Five Minutes: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

 

Alpha Belt

Point of Convergence

2014

“I’m only here because Giselle asked me to do it.” Amy told him bluntly, her scarlet eyes piercing into his. Miles kept his gaze cool, mouth set into a flat line. “And since your assignment knows mine.”

“How long can you resist the urge to kill me, Coquelicot?” the Original asked. Amy sent him an icy look, but Miles’ expression didn’t falter at all. “I just wanted five minutes of your time. Five minutes. And then you can go back to watching Giselle. I’m taking nothing else.”

“Five minutes. Five minutes to fuck it up–”

“I didn’t do it.”

Amy stopped, her expression turning from irritated to shocked. She was so shocked that she couldn’t say anything else. Taking advantage of her silence, Miles continued.

“That night? That event? None of my doing. If I could take you back to that night, I’d do it in a heartbeat just to prove my innocence.” Miles looked away. “I know it’s unbelievable to you. After years of being in pain. I know. I know that–”

The brunette suddenly staggered back, clutching his cheek. Wide-eyed, he looked at Amy, whose scarlet eyes were burning with rage. Her hand was in front of her and she was almost shaking. 

 “You don’t know anything, Gabriel,” she hissed, but Miles cut her off.

“But I do.” he cringed as he touched the sore area on his cheek and set his hand down eventually, Amy spotting a reddening mark. She felt pleased – internally – at the sight. “I know. Living with pain? It eats you on the inside. It almost reduces you to nothing but an angry shell.” She sent him daggers but he ignored her and went on, “Same with guilt. It’s been eating me up. I can’t take lying anymore, Mary!” he yelled, unable to hold back.

Amy stopped at the usage of that name.

Sick Days: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

Mathias had leaned his head on her shoulder on the way home.

Arzen flushed suddenly. In front, her mother glanced at them from the mirror and frowned at the sight of Mathias.

“Touch his forehead.” And she did.

It was burning.

“He’s too warm.”

She wanted to avoid awkward sentences like “he’s too hot” because God forbid.

“Have him rest when he gets home. You can just bring up his homework tomorrow.” Arzen nodded, taking her hand away but not quite moving his head away from her shoulder.

It didn’t feel right to do that.

When they had reached home and parked the car, she nudged him softly. “Mathias? We’re here.”

He awoke with a small groan and she felt her face redden for the nth time.

“Come on, we have to get out.”

“A few minutes,” he muttered. Arzen had no choice but to move away, prompting him to wake up. 

She carried his belongings back inside the house.

Happy Encounters: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

Beta Belt
July 2014
High School Staircase

“You need to talk to Elaine,” Cianna Alrada rolled her eyes as she continued walking, “She’s been sleeping in English. And while we were having Algeb, she was writing in her notebook.”

“She was also taking down notes,” Beatrice Mora mused. “But hell. That shit was creepy.” Arzen was confused as they went up the stairs, Gabrielle Angeles following and Mathias Angelo close by her side. “I’ll tell you later.”

Mathias broke in, “Anyway. Vens, you have to give the personal data sheet to Ms. Rocha.”

“Right, right. Hold on,” she sped off to the classroom and the others already walked to the other staircase, which led them to the second years’ level. Gabrielle snickered.

“If Ms. Rocha’s absent again, Venura’s going to throw a fit.” Cianna shook her head and Arzen soon caught up to them, blue folder in her hands. “What if she’s absent?”

“Then I’ll get delayed,” the girl grumbled as she took the stairs. Mathias stayed quiet as the rest of them followed, Cianna and Gabrielle talking about other matters while Beatrice listened. “I – we have to get this done by next week. I’ll get killed if I get delayed again,” she mumbled, and the ginger nodded sympathetically.

“Hey. We’ll get it done,” he promised. Arzen sent him a small smile and nodded, pausing once they reached the floor of the Sophomores.

Once they had arrived, Beatrice choked.

And began to laugh loudly.

Cianna gave Arzen an impish grin. Gabrielle nudged her side.

Mathias could only stare as Arzen’s face reddened to the extremes.

Desperation: A No Happy Endings AU Short

Is this how it feels when you have no muse?

Adrienne Free rubbed her eyes. The effect of the coffee was starting to wear down on her – she needed another cup to get her energy back. In front of her, situated on the neat wooden table, her laptop’s screen remained blank. The word document stayed empty. And it irritated her.

“This sucks,” she whined. “I’m gonna get my ass kicked if I don’t produce anything soon.” As she leaned back on the soft, cushioned chair, she frowned and folded her arms over her chest.

It had been like that for the past few days. Pursuing a Master’s Degree had taken its toll, and she found herself relying more on coffee than ever. Funny how it reminded her of an old friend’s habits, she mused, and smiled just a bit at the memory. Now, it was the weekend and Adri had a bit of free time to herself…or so she hoped, she thought glumly. With an oncoming storm, schedules would be thrown apart.

Including hers.

“D’you need more coffee?”

Adri looked up to see a pair of brown eyes staring at her. Nodding quickly, she let the barista take away her cup and watched as she walked off, then looking at the bar next. Her eye caught a figure.

“Ah –Elaine Rivers!” she called. The braided head barista looked at her curiously, “Are you on break?”

“There’s no break,” the other deadpanned.

“You’re not even doing anything,” the girl sang. Elaine merely looked at Adri, shrugged, and went out of her station, going directly to Adri’s usual place.

Elaine knew that Adri was a frequent customer – she was there weekly, and would always take the spot by the windows. She couldn’t blame her. If she was a customer, she’d take the same spot, too.

And it was a nice spot. The right amount of light would pour in and she’d be able to see everything outside – the nearby park, the people who passed…it was a writer’s dream. 

“What do you want, Adri?”

“I’m trying to get a muse,” she insisted. Elaine took a seat across Adri, “I’m here – I’m free from college work and I’m trying to get my muse back but I can’t and it sucks. You know that feeling, right?”

Assurance: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

I’ll do a trade with Demon!Dean just so that we can be classmates again.

Arzen knew that the chances of being classmates with the people she wanted were slim. Ridiculously slim. Ever since Elaine and Beatrice had told her that the sections had be reshuffled instead of blocked or semi-blocked, she had a bad feeling that she couldn’t exactly shake off.

For one point, she was upset. There was a large chance that Sharmaine, Isabel, Francine, and Danielle would be separated from her. And besides – she liked III-2. It was the first time that she had felt comfortable with a section in ages. She and Sharmaine had even planned their retreat bus plan in case they’d get stuck together once more; the thought made her smile sadly.

On another hand, it was exciting. She could be classmates with Felicita (who she had been friends with since first grade but never had been classmates with) or Beatrice or even Cianna and Gabrielle. Their TIC could be freakishly hellish or happily free-spirited…and that was all left to fate.

Then again, there was him.

Mathias Gregory looked at Arzen, who was biting her lip and holding hands with Sharmaine as Ms. Chelle, the Fourth Year Class Adviser, read off the list of students.

Alando, Megan.

“There’s Megan,” he heard Sharmaine whisper.

Ayade, Janica.

“And she has Janica,” Arzen agreed. Mathias felt an odd relief when his name wasn’t mentioned, then Sharmaine’s, and then Arzen’s. The two girls high fived and Sharmaine turned to Mathias to give him an impish grin.

“You have thirty-three point three percent chance, Mathias,” she teased. He smiled good-naturedly and Arzen hissed for them to be quiet as the names were read. “Damn it all – Sir Tino’s their TIC,” Sharmaine said, disappointed.

“ACET falls on their retreat, though,” he replied. “That wouldn’t be as nice.” Sharmaine pursed her lips and nodded, and he felt more relief when his name wasn’t mentioned in the Gs.

But Felicita Bello’s was, earlier in the Bs.

“Shit,” Arzen cursed. “There goes my chance…”

“Wait – was Liam mentioned?”

“I think he was,” Arzen said, seeing a blonde head just leave the classroom. “I hope he gets Ride back, he’ll get to ‘torment’ her for the whole year.” Sharmaine laughed and he let himself smirk, unconsciously moving beside her. Arzen failed to notice and held her breath once more.

Ride, Maxine.

Arzen turned around to see Liam grinning widely as he poked his head back into the classroom, Maxine’s eyes widening in disbelief, yet she was laughing to herself, admittedly. Felicita smirked and high-fived Liam, and then *another* surprise happened.

Tunes, Ryel.

Achievement (Un)locked: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

“I don’t get it.”

“You don't get a lot of things.”

The ginger glared at the other, and exhaled in exasperation. “Vens likes that British guy.”

Daniel furrowed his brows together, “And what about that British guy?”

“Ever since she started watching that Rooster Teeth channel last year, she’s been obsessed.” Mathias gave a small huff of irritation, and Daniel nodded to hide the smirk on his face. “I don’t get how a twenty-six Brit gets her attention. He’s a gamer–”

So are you, Daniel thought.

“–A Slow Motion specialist–”

Said the Maths whiz.

“–and some kind of idiot,” the Frenchman finished.

“Calling the kettle black,” Daniel muttered (to himself), and then cleared his throat. “So what if she does? Let her like the guy. It’s not as if she’s going to the States just to meet him.”

“She wants to work at the company.”

Daniel blinked.

“No offense to Vens, but I think dream’s a little off.”

“So do I. Don’t tell her I say that.” Daniel opened his mouth to speak, but Mathias cut him off. “She got Rivers obsessed, too. She likes the other guy.”

The other stared long and hard at Mathias, Mathias looking back with a puzzled expression before putting the dots together.

“You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?!”

“For fuck’s sake,” the ginger grumbled, taking out his phone and immediately doing a search. “If Arzen likes that British prick – Gavino or something – then Elaine likes him.”

King Righteous: An Achievement Hunter AU Short

The Mad King fell to his knees, staring wide-eyed at the decapitated beast. “Edgar,” he whispered, taking the head of the monster, cradling it in his arms before looking up and hissing. “How dare you,” he spat at the man standing in front, “My best man – my siege – you dare kill a guard of the king–”

“Quite frankly, your Highness, you were the one who offered the challenge to the rest of us.”

“And they all died!” King Ryan’s eyes glinted at the thought, but the twisted smile on his lips disappeared. “Of all the men, you survived. The fool. The idiot decked in green who uses a bow and arrow to get what he wants and fails every single time.” King Ryan cackled momentarily before standing, looking at the man with a loathing look in his eyes. “I never believed that the Gods would grant you the power to overcome Edgar the Mountain.”

“Perhaps they did,” the man replied, looking at the severed head that King Ryan held in his hands. “Perhaps this time, they decided that your reign should end.”

“My reign will never end.”

“It just did, my poor man. It just did.”

King Ryan dropped the head of his beast and went for his sword, but stopped upon seeing this winner, this King raise his bow and aim the arrow right at his head.

“Don’t make me do this,” he said softly. “I am a fair and just man. A fool I may be, but a fool with a kind heart, even towards the most hateful and those with ice wrapping their heart and cruelty plaguing their mind.”

“That will be your downfall,” Ryan smirked and dropped his sword, letting it hit the stone ground with a loud crash, the fair iron striking the surface below. “Geoffrey the First was arrogant. Ray the Red was simple-minded. Mogar the Valiant? He was nothing but a war-waging psychopath–”

Ryan failed to finish his sentence and looked down, spluttering blood from his mouth. An arrow had lodged into his stomach, and he looked back at the new King, who merely looked back with a slight of sadness etched onto his face.

“Geoffrey was a father to all of us. Ray, no matter how child-like, was wise and kind to all of us. And Mogar – Michael,” he felt his throat close up and he nearly choked on his next words, “Michael was my friend. I was his Knight until his death. And you...”

Sparks Ignited: A Shoujo Parallels Acting AU

“So this is what’s happening right now,” Chace said as he recorded himself, “Zac and Imogen are currently doing running a scene for a special prequel episode we’re going to release in about two months.”

“Spoilers!” Julia chirped, suddenly appearing next to him. Chace laughed and extended his iPhone a bit more so both of them could be seen by the device’s camera. “We won’t be revealing much aside from this, but it’s got to do with an upcoming thing with this guy,” she bumped Chace’s shoulder, “And a future arc-slash-story.”

“You’re telling too much,” he teased, and looked back at the camera. “So what we’re going to do is snap some behind the scenes pictures and post them on Instagram for all of you to figure out. Hopefully, Imogen won’t kill us when she sees the pictures posted.”

“Knowing her, she might,” Julia mused. Chace shook his head and both of them gave a wave at the camera before he pressed the ‘stop’ button, Julia immediately bursting into a wide grin. “Imogen and Zac are doing the argument scene.”

“Really?” she gave a nod and skipped right to the venue, where they hung back and watched as they filmed the scene. Imogen, who was dressed in a long light-green nightgown, had her hair down as she turned away from Zac.

“I’m not sick,” she whispered. Zac kept his face neutral, and Julia noted that he wasn’t wearing the crown that he usually wore as Nikolai. “How many times do I have to tell you that, Nikolai?”

“You’re worrying your step-sister–” He tried, looking at her with a pleading expression, "She cares for you day and night, busying herself with your condition."

“So let her worry about me! She has a right,” Imogen shot back, “…why do you care all of a sudden, Nikolai?”

At that, Zac’s eyes softened and he moved closer to Imogen, just as the script had instructed. “I’m always worried about you, Eri. Just tell me what’s wrong.” His hand touched her wrist and she jerked away from his touch, a hurt look coming to his blue eyes. “Eri–”

“Please.” She said this slowly and took a deep breath before continuing, “Don’t.”

This Is Not Goodbye: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

“So,” Arzen struggled. “One month.”

“One month,” Mathias agreed. Both of them were sitting in the Venura’s living room, both of them playing on the game console. Mathias had paused the game to talk to her on much more serious matters. “Just to France. I have to visit the family,” he told her, and she nodded, hiding her expression. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“Don’t be so conceited,” she snapped back, but it lacked the venom. Her eyes softened when she looked at him once more. “I’ll miss you.”

This time, he looked away to hide his red cheeks. “I’ll miss you too. But it’s just one month, after all.”

“Thirty-one days.”

“I’ll get you something,” he promised. “Food or merchandise. But France isn’t that great. Paris is just a bunch of people doing things and shops closing early.”

But that isn’t what I want, Arzen thought. “Let’s just continue playing,” she told him, picking up her controller. Mathias merely nodded and did the same, unpausing the game and proceeding to play. He got through the levels easier than usual, but she did hers with less heart.

She wondered if he noticed at all.

“Red vs. Blue season twelve’s out,” he started, but stopped upon seeing the look on her face. “Vens?”

And at that, it changed quickly.

“I haven’t seen it yet. How was it?”

“It was great, a nice start to the season. I won’t spoil, but…”

Somehow, Mathias knew that her heart wasn’t into it.

Welcome to Pixel City: A TSP/Minecraft Crossover

“Are we all here?” Mathias asked, readjusting his headphones and mic. Arzen grinned from beside him, her own shiny green headphones in place. “Vens is right next to me. How about you guys?”

“I’m here,” Daniel replied smoothly. He glanced at the screen, “I see a Queen Elsa skin. Is that Arzen?”

“Right here!”

“Alright, so it is. Prat, which one are you?”

“Goddamn Link, Watchman.”

“You had to install a ton of things just for that skin,” Arzen noted. Mathias chuckled. “You should have seen him. He was cursing and let out a big cheer when the game let him turn into Link.”

“Legend of Zelda, right?”

“Yeah. Hold on, where’s Elaine and Liam?”

“Liam’s getting online. I think Elaine’s internet connection sucks at the moment,” Daniel grumbled, checking his phone. The three of them were all connected through Skype, video chatting as a group while playing Minecraft. Mathias had been able to set up the layout so that he could see the faces of the others while keeping the Minecraft screen at large. “There he is.”

A Blue Knight appeared, running next to the Watchman. Almost immediately, Liam’s face popped up on the screen as well.

“Yo there!” he greeted, fiddling with his mic. They noted the completely silver headphones and the little-Liam figure stopped moving. “Who else are we waiting for?”

“Elaine,” Arzen replied. “She’ll be here soon.”

As soon as she said that, Elaine’s character (a Queen) appeared. “I’m here,” Elaine’s voice came, her face appearing on the screen. “Will we start?”

“Let’s go ahead,” Liam agreed.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

 ~ >w< ~

Ailurophile: A Shoujo Parallels OTP Short

A familiar knock resounded on the glass window.

“Arzen? Arzen, are you here?”

The man peeked inside and blinked, seeing an empty bed with wrinkled sheets and strewn pillows. Perhaps she had just gone to the bathroom to wash up for sleep. Shaking his head lightly, Mathias opened the window and slid in, tsking at how she always forgot to lock the damned thing.

The bathroom door was closed. He sat on the corner of the bed, stretching out and setting his pistol down on the soft mattress, taking the time to lay back himself. It had been rough in Technika – morning until afternoon had his usual shift, and his evening was cleared – Eri was busy working in Barrier, so he decided to pay his favorite Mortal Monika Arzen another visit.

“The hell?” he muttered, rolling around. There was something under the covers –

Something undeniably soft.

And squishy.

And there was something long extending to the end.

Bewildered, Mathias hesitantly stretched out his hand to the long, slim shape which made an obvious form from under the sheets. Unwillingly, he grabbed it.

At that came the most unhuman screech from under her oversized TARDIS blanket. Mathias jerked for his pistol and stumbled back, nearly falling as he jolted away from the bed. He had already lifted the silver weapon, raising it slightly and using his other hand to harshly yank the blanket off, expecting a rogue Setomion that had made its way into her room for some reason –

“Mee-uf-oww!”

Flying High: A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

“That’s not fair. I got my picture of OTP number one,” Elaine Rivers’ finger pointed at Maxine Ride and Liam Edevane, “I need OTP number two.”

At that, the rest of the group turned to Arzen Venura and Mathias Angelo. The ginger just gave them all a stare and took Elaine’s camera, making the smaller girl protest.

“Okay,” he said slowly, “Blondie and Rivers, move closer so I can take a picture of both of you.”

“Hell no, Ginger.” Elaine swiped back her camera, “I meant you and Venura. Now move.”

“E-Elaine–” the rest of the group began laughing as Arzen tried to ‘escape’, “I don’t think–”

Cianna gave a smirk and lifted her own SLR. “Rivers is right, Venura. Get closer to the ginger before any of us does it for you. And by that, I mean push you two together.” Liam began chortling in the background, Maxine just rolling her eyes – and grinning.

“Yeah, before the crowds get in the way,” Gabrielle gestured behind them, where crowds of students were getting hugs and whatnot from the teachers. “Get your asses together! The bus might leave the majority of us bus riders, freaking basic private riders.”

“I won’t–”

Mathias grabbed her from the waist and pulled her closer, making them laugh even harder, some of them (Liam and Daniel) catcalling from the side. “Just hold still for five seconds,” he muttered to her, turning to smile (or smirk) at the cameras. Arzen could only make what seemed to be a pained or embarrassed smile, and once they flashed, he let her go and she smacked him with her thick notebook.

“That was uncalled for!”

“It got them off our backs–”

While the two ‘argued’, Elaine took out the film and squinted at it as the image developed. “How’s your shot, Alrada?”

“Very nice,” she commented, the rest of them peeking at the screen. “I’ll be posting these later. If I’m not that lazy,” and Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

“Knowing her, she’ll do it maybe tomorrow or next week.”

“Hell yeah.”

Noctuary (Part I): A Shoujo Parallels AU Short

“I can’t believe you had this catered,” Isabel remarked as she looked at the long table, “We could have just brought pizza and soda, and we’d be okay.” Beside her, Francine rolled her eyes and smirked, nudging the long-haired girl in the ribs.

“Come on, Bel. It’s free food.”

“Food’s all you care about.”

“Come on, you guys. This is Arzen.” Matia smirked and slung an arm around Arzen’s, who was merely laughing. “She could ask for fireworks later tonight and it would happen.”

Isabel’s eyes widened, “You’re having fireworks?”

“No,” Arzen replied innocently, “You’ll see.” Francine and Isabel exchanged a quick glance before dissolving into speculations, Matia whisking Arzen away from the dessert table. “Christ, dude, you didn’t have to give them clues.”

“Meh – they’ll only figure it out when they get up there.” Matia winked and ate the éclair, “Oh damn it. Are the guys here?”

“Mathias is just with Daniel and Liam.”

“Aha. And I thought that he’d be clinging to you the entire time.”

“What gave you that idea-?”

“Eh…how should I know?”

Giving Matia a weird look, Arzen turned and walked away to chat with Acacia and Pamela. Chuckling, Matia went straight to the trio, who were arguing amongst themselves.

“Okay, break it up. Mathias, when the hell are you going to do it?”