FRAGMENTS: Arcadia of my Youth
Tonight is when the hometown of my childhood finally fell.
I have never thought that I would see the day before, but I find myself proved wrong. The town in front of me is not the one I remember growing up in. Parts of buildings crumbling into the streets, broken furniture revealed through open gaps. Cars and streetlamps are pooled together in a broken mess. The fountain where I ofen bathed as a child stands shattered, the statue of a goddess broken into numerous pieces. And then...
There are people.
By the gods, I've never seen so much blood before. The blood, the twisted flesh and empty eyes and...
. . .
My thoughts suddenly go blank. My stomach warps in pain and sends me falling to my knees. My throat feels parched and dry. My eyes are watering. For a torturously long minute, I feel like I'm going to join all the citizens of hometown on this street.
It takes another minute, but I finally calm down enough to raise myself from the ground and step forward. I must focus and keep going. I must escape this nightmare and survive.
I am Rosaline Leconte. I am the daughter of the late prime minister of the citystate of Paris and the one who inherited his will. What is an official like me doing on a battlefield like this?
I'm struggling to unify Europe under my rule.
A loud screech of torn metal attracts my attention. An enemy. A large monster of twisted metal emerges from around the corner and turns as it surveys the area. The giant claw on its left arm looks rusted from all the blood cooked onto it, while the camera on its main body makes a disgusting whirling sound.
One by one, more machines appear on the street. My eyes pass them over in frantic search of weaponry, only to dismiss them in favor of the bloody claw on the biggest one. Even if I don't truly know, I understand. He was the one who...
. . .
Before my stomach manages to warp again, another movement catches my eye. An arm rises in front of me, as if to shield me from gunfire, and a large blue cloak outlines a black-haired figure with a sword hanging by his side.
Francis.
"Francis, what are you doing here?"
He shoots me a disapproving look, the kind that bugs me to death.
"Our unit has been evacuating survivors out of the area." From the cold look in his eyes and the street around us, I can already tell they could only find a handful. "And you? Why is anyone of your status wandering here alone?"
"I just wanted to see for myself..."
"You wanted to see that 'ace', right?" He shakes his head. A moment later, I find guilt rising up in the back of my stomach. "Do you not realize that she has been laughing at you? Remember her words."
I'm going to send you a single ace. He's going to be more than enough.
"How can one soldier be enough in this hell?"
"Even if you say it like that..."
Our argument is interrupted by a loud sound of moving metal. Francis freezes for a moment and then focuses his attention on the enemies in front of us. It looks like we have finally been noticed as the only living thing amidst the ruins.
"Hey, look! There is something in this place we didn't kill yet."
I do not recognize their accents. Foreigners?
"Capitol's peacemaker unit." Francis identifies them for him. The hatred in his voice is more than apparent. I roll in my head all the rumors I have heard of the peacemaker unit from Capitol, the citystate from the other side of the world, and realize that I cannot blame him. "What are you doing here?"
"Just doing our job, kid." The merciless arrogance of the voice coming from inside that machine grates on my nerves. "Germany asked us for support."
"So it was only a matter of finding the right excuse." The disdain in my comrade's voice doesn't feel much better. He shifts his position to cover even more of me and reaches for the sword on his hip. What are you doing, Francis? You know full well that you can't use that sword. "You will not bow the legacy of Europe to your whims."
"Don't act like you can stop us, kid," the mechanical monstrosity answers with amusement. "You might end up like... this!"
His final word is neither a warning nor a threat. It's an order for execution. As Francis unsheathes his blade in preparation, the bloody claw from before rises and points itself toward us. There is a blinding sound of a working engine, followed by a vicious thud of the claw being ejected in our direction.
Dear father in heaven, I...
"What the hell..?"
I'm alive. Francis' shocked voice pours this realization into me as it slams into my mind and resounds through the street. I slowly open my eyes and realize the source of his shock.
"What in heaven's name is..?"
The crimson light of the dusk dances on shining armor as if it's trying to paint the world entirely in gold. The enormous energy wings hiss softly like your favorite cat when it crawls into your lap in evening. They flood the area with strands of gorgeous blue that redefines the battlefield into something beautiful, and slowly fade away, leaving behind nothing but red and gold.
"Angel..?
I find myself whispering as the figure rises from the wreckage of the destroyed claw and reveals itself in its full armored glory. As the sharp lines of humanoid armor and the runes carved into the black scythe flood my vision, I realize that I was wrong.
It's a knight.
"Capitol Peacemaker Unit, fifth division." The voice that leaks from the armor is soft like a summer breeze and stronger than an army. For a moment, my mind turns blank from attempts to understand the situation and begins to falter. "Do you want power that badly?"
"Who the hell..?" The mechanical monster seems to run out of patience. Its other hand rises and shines up, revealing an energy cannon. "Get out of here, kid. Adults are talking here."
"Talk without justice is merely violence." The mechanical knight raises his scythe in a graceful motion that leaves a trail of shimmering blue in the air. "Your worlds won't reach anyone anymore. To the world I hate..."
During the few seconds when the knight's scythe cuts through the air, I feel like I can hear a song. It is a song that is ancient and deeply familiar. I find myself focusing in an attempt to remember where I heard it first.
It's...
"Crucify."
Suddenly, the air around the enemy resounds with a gorgeous sky-blue. It shapes itself into a cross not too different from the motions of the scythe and flashes with a brilliant crimson. As if from the cut of a real blade, the mechanical monster falls apart and explodes. The song suddenly disappears, replaced by blazing ashes floating through the air.
"What in blazes..?!"
"Magic? On a machine?!"
"A Symphonia! That bastard is a Ministrel!"
"Stop him before he sings another one!"
As the screams of our enemies resound through the air, I barely notice when Francis grabs my arm and pulls me away into the alleyway. His lips move in what is probably a warning, but I can't hear a sound. I can only see the knight abandon his scythe and clench its steel fingers into fists.
"I despise you."
The sound of his voice echoes through the street and, as the trails of brilliant crimson erupt from his back, I find myself devoured by the darkness of a nearby alleyway. A moment later, sounds of gunfire and screeching metal fill the air.
"There he is," Francis comments with worry and frustration. "Your ace."
Dear father.
Today, I've seen the angel of destruction descend from the heavens. He had a kind voice and wings of blue and crimson. Even now, as Francis lifts me from the ground and shoves me into the transport vehicle, I can hear his song resound through the air. It reminds of me my distant childhood, the first warm smile on Francis' face when he found me crying in the garden and the beautiful tales of justice that you read me every evening before bed.
The doors of the vehicle close, but the song resounds as clearly as ever. It makes the rest of the battle resound in my mind and helps me realize.
That dream of yours is not unattainable.
We can win.
I have never thought that I would see the day before, but I find myself proved wrong. The town in front of me is not the one I remember growing up in. Parts of buildings crumbling into the streets, broken furniture revealed through open gaps. Cars and streetlamps are pooled together in a broken mess. The fountain where I ofen bathed as a child stands shattered, the statue of a goddess broken into numerous pieces. And then...
There are people.
By the gods, I've never seen so much blood before. The blood, the twisted flesh and empty eyes and...
. . .
My thoughts suddenly go blank. My stomach warps in pain and sends me falling to my knees. My throat feels parched and dry. My eyes are watering. For a torturously long minute, I feel like I'm going to join all the citizens of hometown on this street.
It takes another minute, but I finally calm down enough to raise myself from the ground and step forward. I must focus and keep going. I must escape this nightmare and survive.
I am Rosaline Leconte. I am the daughter of the late prime minister of the citystate of Paris and the one who inherited his will. What is an official like me doing on a battlefield like this?
I'm struggling to unify Europe under my rule.
A loud screech of torn metal attracts my attention. An enemy. A large monster of twisted metal emerges from around the corner and turns as it surveys the area. The giant claw on its left arm looks rusted from all the blood cooked onto it, while the camera on its main body makes a disgusting whirling sound.
One by one, more machines appear on the street. My eyes pass them over in frantic search of weaponry, only to dismiss them in favor of the bloody claw on the biggest one. Even if I don't truly know, I understand. He was the one who...
. . .
Before my stomach manages to warp again, another movement catches my eye. An arm rises in front of me, as if to shield me from gunfire, and a large blue cloak outlines a black-haired figure with a sword hanging by his side.
Francis.
"Francis, what are you doing here?"
He shoots me a disapproving look, the kind that bugs me to death.
"Our unit has been evacuating survivors out of the area." From the cold look in his eyes and the street around us, I can already tell they could only find a handful. "And you? Why is anyone of your status wandering here alone?"
"I just wanted to see for myself..."
"You wanted to see that 'ace', right?" He shakes his head. A moment later, I find guilt rising up in the back of my stomach. "Do you not realize that she has been laughing at you? Remember her words."
I'm going to send you a single ace. He's going to be more than enough.
"How can one soldier be enough in this hell?"
"Even if you say it like that..."
Our argument is interrupted by a loud sound of moving metal. Francis freezes for a moment and then focuses his attention on the enemies in front of us. It looks like we have finally been noticed as the only living thing amidst the ruins.
"Hey, look! There is something in this place we didn't kill yet."
I do not recognize their accents. Foreigners?
"Capitol's peacemaker unit." Francis identifies them for him. The hatred in his voice is more than apparent. I roll in my head all the rumors I have heard of the peacemaker unit from Capitol, the citystate from the other side of the world, and realize that I cannot blame him. "What are you doing here?"
"Just doing our job, kid." The merciless arrogance of the voice coming from inside that machine grates on my nerves. "Germany asked us for support."
"So it was only a matter of finding the right excuse." The disdain in my comrade's voice doesn't feel much better. He shifts his position to cover even more of me and reaches for the sword on his hip. What are you doing, Francis? You know full well that you can't use that sword. "You will not bow the legacy of Europe to your whims."
"Don't act like you can stop us, kid," the mechanical monstrosity answers with amusement. "You might end up like... this!"
His final word is neither a warning nor a threat. It's an order for execution. As Francis unsheathes his blade in preparation, the bloody claw from before rises and points itself toward us. There is a blinding sound of a working engine, followed by a vicious thud of the claw being ejected in our direction.
Dear father in heaven, I...
"What the hell..?"
I'm alive. Francis' shocked voice pours this realization into me as it slams into my mind and resounds through the street. I slowly open my eyes and realize the source of his shock.
"What in heaven's name is..?"
The crimson light of the dusk dances on shining armor as if it's trying to paint the world entirely in gold. The enormous energy wings hiss softly like your favorite cat when it crawls into your lap in evening. They flood the area with strands of gorgeous blue that redefines the battlefield into something beautiful, and slowly fade away, leaving behind nothing but red and gold.
"Angel..?
I find myself whispering as the figure rises from the wreckage of the destroyed claw and reveals itself in its full armored glory. As the sharp lines of humanoid armor and the runes carved into the black scythe flood my vision, I realize that I was wrong.
It's a knight.
"Capitol Peacemaker Unit, fifth division." The voice that leaks from the armor is soft like a summer breeze and stronger than an army. For a moment, my mind turns blank from attempts to understand the situation and begins to falter. "Do you want power that badly?"
"Who the hell..?" The mechanical monster seems to run out of patience. Its other hand rises and shines up, revealing an energy cannon. "Get out of here, kid. Adults are talking here."
"Talk without justice is merely violence." The mechanical knight raises his scythe in a graceful motion that leaves a trail of shimmering blue in the air. "Your worlds won't reach anyone anymore. To the world I hate..."
During the few seconds when the knight's scythe cuts through the air, I feel like I can hear a song. It is a song that is ancient and deeply familiar. I find myself focusing in an attempt to remember where I heard it first.
It's...
"Crucify."
Suddenly, the air around the enemy resounds with a gorgeous sky-blue. It shapes itself into a cross not too different from the motions of the scythe and flashes with a brilliant crimson. As if from the cut of a real blade, the mechanical monster falls apart and explodes. The song suddenly disappears, replaced by blazing ashes floating through the air.
"What in blazes..?!"
"Magic? On a machine?!"
"A Symphonia! That bastard is a Ministrel!"
"Stop him before he sings another one!"
As the screams of our enemies resound through the air, I barely notice when Francis grabs my arm and pulls me away into the alleyway. His lips move in what is probably a warning, but I can't hear a sound. I can only see the knight abandon his scythe and clench its steel fingers into fists.
"I despise you."
The sound of his voice echoes through the street and, as the trails of brilliant crimson erupt from his back, I find myself devoured by the darkness of a nearby alleyway. A moment later, sounds of gunfire and screeching metal fill the air.
"There he is," Francis comments with worry and frustration. "Your ace."
Dear father.
Today, I've seen the angel of destruction descend from the heavens. He had a kind voice and wings of blue and crimson. Even now, as Francis lifts me from the ground and shoves me into the transport vehicle, I can hear his song resound through the air. It reminds of me my distant childhood, the first warm smile on Francis' face when he found me crying in the garden and the beautiful tales of justice that you read me every evening before bed.
The doors of the vehicle close, but the song resounds as clearly as ever. It makes the rest of the battle resound in my mind and helps me realize.
That dream of yours is not unattainable.
We can win.