Birth of a Spirit

[Kazumaru]

~It had a fox on it... and some red and blue orbs...~ Neutrino thoughtspoke, trying to remember in the hopes that this strange thing really would release her. ~It looked like... some kind of twisted branch... Who are you, anyway?~

[3kul]

~A fox-shaped staff with blue and red orbs, you say? And it looked like a twisted branch? Hold on, I need to enter this into my master computer.~

HollowEyes thought, feigning a deep interest in this mystery man. He didn't have a clue how to use a computer, other than that they're quite easily broken, it was yet another red herring in the massive pile of deliberate misleads that he was feeding Neutrino.

~It's definitely the man that I'm looking for. Thanks for your help Neutrino, now to pick you a new body.~

He'd deliberately ignored answering her question about his name, having not yet thought of a proper alias. He figured that discussing her body might be a more favourable topic for her, and he began to look around the room for something that might be suitable.

There was a garbage bin, standard EC office supplies, a few trinkets and treasures from HollowEyes' collection... Nothing that seemed to scream 'put a soul into me' though.

Feeling that he needed to keep her thinking about this rather than who he was, he gave her a quick question to keep her mind focused. ~Any preferences for a body? Like, anything you wanted to do that you couldn't do in your old body?~

((Seriously, anybody got any ideas? ))

[Kazumaru]

Neutrino entirely forgot her previous line of inquiry, and she responded immediately. ~I want to be free... I want to fly!~

((Might I suggest an RC plane?))

[3kul]

Like all creatures gifted with the ability to think, this Neutrino possessed an impossible dream. Brilliant, thought HollowEyes, as she had indeed forgotten all about trying to figure out his identity.

~Ah, the gift of flight, now that is a difficult request...~

Certainly, there was nothing here that he'd be able to use for something like that. Being the low-tech Second-in-Command that he was, HollowEyes did not possess what most intelligent people would consider easily obtained items, such as an RC plane.

However, this did not mean that creating a vessel capable of flight was impossible for him, in fact he already knew what to make. A kite, for example, would have been incredibly easy for him to make, but horribly flimsy and not guaranteed to carry Neutrino very far from here (which to HollowEyes, was of the utmost importance).

No, for a more sturdy body he'd just have to make something... Or rely on something that he'd already made once before. He 'left' his office to check through a few storage charms, searching about for failed experiments. There had been a few flying weapons that he'd invented, but found little use for, whether it was because they were too simple-minded or simply impossible to maneuvre properly.

"Ah, found it."

He removed from the charm a long staff that began to wriggle and squirm to get loose. It spread it's huge translucent wings and began to buzz about his office frantically, though HollowEyes was quick to shut the door to prevent it from escaping.

This particular item had been created with the spirit of a dragonfly, which had been forced into the wooden stick in an attempt to create a staff able to fly. Interesting idea in theory, but in practice it hadn't worked out so well - the spirit was simply too dumb to do what it was told, and any attempts to force the staff to do one's bidding simply resulted in it freaking out. If he combined this with the much more powerful spirit of Neutrino, it should still have the same abilities, the dragonfly spirit would simply become dormant (as the less dominant of the two).

Or at least, this was what HollowEyes hypothesized. Truth be told he'd never tried something like this before, so he had no idea if it'd work or not.

After a few minor adjustments, HollowEyes had modified the staff so that it was now a spear, with the dagger as the pointy bit at the head. Satisfied with his work, he then made his way to the entrance of the Cave, the spear still buzzing wildly in his hands, and looked out over the Black Forest. At the moment the two souls were still imprisoned within the two items, and would be until HollowEyes removed the hilt of the dagger that still acted as an imprisoning device on Neutrino.

~I need a bit more time to finish up your body. You don't have eyes at the moment, which would make it very hard for you to fly.~

He was lying, as Neutrino wouldn't need eyes. As soon as the inhibitor was removed, her spirit would be able to act in many more ways than it could right now, including re-developing her ability to see. What he needed the time for was travelling - when he released Neutrino he needed her to think that she'd been held captive somewhere else. If he let her go in the Black Forest, everybody would instantly realize that somebody in the Council was involved.

So, to cover up his role in this mess of an attempt to steal Coolpikaaa's soul, HollowEyes began the long trek back to Kazumaru's lab. It seemed only fitting that this should end there.

[Kazumaru]

((... Awww... Poor Kaz ))

~Thank you!~ Neutrino thoughtspoke, completly oblivious to what HollowEyes was actually doing. ~I get to fly!~

[3kul]

((Poor Kaz?! HollowEyes was almost defeaned by your stupid defense system, you deserve whatever's coming to you ))

~Don't mention it.~ HollowEyes thought back to her.

After a long and uneventful trek, they'd reached the same spot that HollowEyes had come to not so long ago to steal Coolpikaaa's soul. Who knew where it was now...

~Well, this is where we part ways. You'll need a few minutes to adjust, but after that you should be able to fly about as you please.~ He thought for a few moments, trying to think what else he needed to tell her. There was a long list of things that he could think of off the top of his head, but odds were she'd never remember them all, so he instead just focused on the important stuff. ~Your new body is a flying spear, so don't go forgetting that or you'll wind up hurting somebody. Incidentally though, if you do happen to skewer something, you'll be able to possess it for as long as you're touching it. It's tricky to explain, but you'll know what I mean when it happens.~

~Last of all, you'll probably want to come up with an impressive name for yourself, now that you're a weapon. 'Neutrino Spear' sounds okay to me, but it may be a little plain for you.~ That was all he really cared to divulge to Neutrino for now, so he decided it was time to say goodbye. ~You probably won't ever see me again, Neutrino Spear, but if we do meet again you'd better remember the favour that I've done you. Most in my situation would have just left you in a closet somewhere for all of eternity.~

With that, he removed the dagger hilt that was still in place, and simply ran off. He had more than enough time to get away from her before she'd be able to move or even see him, though just to play it safe he decided that he'd run for a bit (that, and he figured that the defense mechanisms were probably about ready to rock).

((That just about finishes my role in the story, unless anybody wants me to stick around?))

[Kazumaru]

Neutrino the Spear lifted off the ground ~I... I'm free!~ she cried, lifting up into the air... Before nose diving into the ground and getting stuck.

~PIKA!~

[Coolpikaaa]

As soon as the man got the chance, he yelled out and pounced.Lucky that the maniac hadn't killed him with his first attack, the new spirit wormed his way out of the grasp, being sure to clamp down with his jaw at least once or twice.Sprinting back toward the forest, he felt a pang of guilt.The memories he had recived seemed so happy.Maybe he would check in later...

He rushed into a small bush to catch his breath when he heard a small "whhooss" and a "thunk".A spear lay dug into the ground not to far from his current hiding place.

Could they be throwing weapons at him?

He brushed away that nasty thought.


Suddenly his ears perked up.Something was moving ahead of him, away from him.He bolted upward, firmly grasping onto the bark of a nearby tree.Bounding from branch to branch, he attempted to close in on the creature.It was after all quite possible it might leave some food behind...

-coolpikaaa

[Kazumaru]

~OHGODSI'MIMPALEDINTHEGROUNDSOMEBODYHELPME!~ Neutrino thoughtspoke.

Kazumaru winced as his hand was bitten into, but he quickly got up and made off to persue his friend. He grabbed a conveniently placed javelin.

~OH MY GOD HE'S GRABBING ME THIS FEELS SO--~ Neutrino paused. ~You.~

Kazumaru dropped the javilin in shock. "Holy cra... a talking javelin!" he said.

"... Why does that voice sound so familiar?"

The javelin lifted off the ground and immediately began attempting to make Kazumaru into some form of swiss cheese.

[Shaon]

The spear was immediately stopped by the same fox as always, now clutching it in her mouth.

Sitting down, the spear still in her mouth, she spoke simply. ~I see you two have met.~

[Kazumaru]

Kazumaru blinked, and shifted to thought-speech. ~Th- thank you, Goddess... Do you know this spear?~

~LET GO OF ME LET GO OF ME LET GO OF ME YOU'RE TOUCHING MY NO-NO ZONE~

[3kul]

((Well, that was certainly quick.

I hope I haven't interpretted this wrong, but CP seems to be following me. If that's not the case, let me know and I'll delete this post.))

HollowEyes looked back, sensing that somebody or something was following him. Back when he still had his third eye it would've taken him a couple of seconds to figure out why he was being followed and take a reasonable guess as to who his pursuer was, but nowadays all he got were vague sensations - remnants of an ability that he'd given to his sister.

Quickly weighing up his options, he decided his best choice was to simply keep running. Odds were pretty good that this was some kind of defensive security measure, considering that he'd set one off the last time he'd come here, and he didn't particularily like the possibility of being deafened once more.

[Coolpikaaa]

He waited silently in the leaves as the creature below continued to run.Not knowing that Holloweyes had already sensed him, he relaxed a bit.This creature seemed rather harmless....

The next branch was quite a bit farther than the others along the way.Overly confident with himself, the new spirit attempted to jump the gap.

WHAP!

The branch hit him squarely in the chest, making a loud sound.He rapidly attempted to scramble upward, digging deep into the thick bark with both paws.After a short period of scratching the limb to no success, he finally gave up, rocking back and forth in the breeze.

-coolpikaaa

[3kul]

((Been a while since I posted, and though it doesn't seem to necessary I think it's best that I wrap my end of this up.))

HollowEyes heard a loud whap-ing sound, and then gradually felt his pursuer disappear. Either his ability was simply not effective enough or he wasn't being followed...

Just to play it ssfe, HollowEyes decided to keep on running. It could be a trap, he thought to himself, or it could just be general clumsiness. Not that it really made much of a difference mind you, as either way, running seemed to be the best choice to make.