((Collab between
@Digmata and
@Letter Bee.))
Cristina had been instructed to meet up with him and help with the rebuilding, and as Myron began distributing more supplies to his fellow Amerasians - Wasn't Amadeo an Amerasian too, or was he Eurasian? - Noel paused to wait for her; the days of their enforced break were running out, but he could sneak in a chat with her; from glimpses of her alone, she was one of the few girls he might be attracted to. Not that he still didn't hold a torch for Regil, but... Regil seemed to have gone off semi-permanently.
Or permanently, God forbid, Noel thought as he waited...
Cristina took her time making her way to the meeting place, she still could not believe her luck or the sequence of events that happened that fateful night.
When she first received that offer, she hadn't really thought much of it. The sender is probably paranoid but he wasn't the only one in her line of work, some had even made measures to keep the communications virtual through the middleman.
Who would have that the paranoid client was an officer at the New Government and he possessed the specific power to progress her three-year search? No one.
Although what she saw, had soured her joy.
Ever since that night, she had dreams of going to her prison and meeting her. What exactly would happen was up in the air.
Basillia had changed and it wasn't her white hair. She had never seen her laugh like that or be mindless during fights. It spits at her image of the kind, cheerful sister who kept her alive at that place.
For now, she pushed those thoughts away, joining the Task Force Obsidian is the clearest way for her to find and meet Basilia.
She had an obligation that entailed it, and one of those was this meeting.
Noel Alonso was 16 going on 17, although he was growing taller thanks to a growth spurt. Nevertheless, the First Lieutenant waved hi to Cristina as she approached, then said, “Freelancer Bernardino; welcome. I am First Lieutenant Noel Alonso, at your service. I trust that all was well with Mr. Malong?”
Honestly, she was pretty, just as pretty as Regil. But she probably doesn’t like him that way and there are Anti-Fraternization laws on the books. So best to put those thoughts out of his head.
He tried to divert his own feelings with a question, “So, umm… Need anything to do? I can take some time off and we can go to an eatery if you want.”
Cristina returned the wave to the lieutenant. She wasn't a social person but she knew that ignoring her seniors won't place her in good graces.
"It wasn't bad."Ever since that eventful night, she had deferred the old man as her payment to the search. He is also the one who offered her to join the task force in exchange for assistance to her formerly search and now rescue of her sister. She quickly accepted the offer.
"Don't worry about me, I have already eaten." she waved off the man's offer preferring that they go down to business.
"I'm more interested in the purpose of this meeting."
Noel nodded, realizing that as a military man (well, boy), he needed to not beat around the bush. So he decided to be honest, “We need to get acquainted if we are to fight alongside one another. Also, your sister might be imprisoned by the Chinese in the PoW camps south of Jinghong Dam, which the ASEAN Leadership has promised to liberate in a week.”
He sighed and said, “However, thanks to this Task Force recently losing a few important volunteers and a few others contemplating a transfer, it’s going to be hard to coordinate, especially when I don’t know how well you and your powerset can mix with the others’ and mine.”
There was a small pause in Cristina’s voice as she listened to Noel's words.
"It was reasonable," she answered. God knows how many problems could be solved if people decided that they don't work alone and they could use each other's help. It's not like they needed to be friends to work together, you know!
She was glad the military didn't fall to the same fallacies.
"So what do you have in mind?" She asked as she looked around the place.
Noel was up-front, “Tell me about your powers in your own words and what tactics you use with them. Also, show me a few sample uses.”
Cristina was a little disappointed but if he wants a report he will get it.
She summoned her Sinagtala, a pitch-black blade with white spots that resemble the stars.
"First the ability to make a tear." she swung her sword, making a dark stroke that nearly covered her upper body and took some nearby empty cans.
"It could absorb anything or anyone but I would need to release them after a while." She then waved the sword upwards releasing the cans before they fall down once again.
A single white orb then appeared at her back, quickly circling her while making some loops to demonstrate her control.
"This is my shooting stars, they can do two things; one is basically a grenade that no one needs here, the other…"A sudden flash of light suddenly appears from her back, potentially blinding Noel if he wasn't on guard.
"...is a flashbang. I have a third use for my Noble Arm but I don't want to cause panic so you can know it by reading my files."Her tone was a little teasing in contrast to her earlier professionalism. There was still a part of her that was a teenager after all.
"What about you? I showed mine, time to show yours."
Noel decided that he liked her, as a potential friend, of course, right then and there. Conjuring up his scythe, he spoke, “This is
La Luna; a Lunar-themed scythe that not only acts as a weapon but also increases my speed and reflexes while affecting probability to make sure I evade bullets, grenades, and most ranged attacks, but not necessarily
explosions, allowing me to get to melee range. Not only that, but I can cloak myself in magical camouflage that stops working at noontime or when confronted with a Sun-themed Noble Arm.”
He then continued, “Also, when the moon is up in the sky, including at daytime, I can copy one use of a Noble Arm power I’ve seen for how many times I saw it, but it does not work on Sun-themed NAs or various A-ranked powers. It’s debatable if it works in the New Moon, but that’s because I have a conditional A-Rank; to throw people into madness in a city-wide space on the New Moon. Note that Sun-themed Noble Arms can dispel that.”
Cristina nodded at Noel's words, those were probably the most versatile Noble Arms she ever heard. It might even match sister's
first Noble Arm.
That power would surely be a huge help for her although there is one thing we need to ask.
"That madness, does it affect everyone? including us?"Every single of Cristina's power was indiscriminate after all. One act of carelessness is all it would take for collateral damage to set in.
Noel shook his head and said, “Only those I count as my enemies, and I can exempt people from it. So no need to worry.”
Cristina let out a sigh of relief, at least she doesn't need to worry about losing her mind in a friendly fire. It felt unfair but that was life.
She looked at the empty street.
"So is that everything? I was planning to do some training after this conversation after all."
The boy’s response was, “That’s all; unless you want a training partner?”
Cristina smiled at the offer
"I do need to shake off my rust. The drones are hardly the threat after all."The smile was a little unnerving, it sounded like Cristina was excited about the prospect of training with Noel.
Or fighting him to be exact.
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