PRINZ VON SOMMERHOFFNUNG

Authored by Warp Ligia Obscura

FULL SUMMARY

Sommerhoffnung Crugah Na-zhi-qi thought it a privilege to gain admittance into the famous Farquhar Institution. However, unsavoury characters roaming the school and the realisation of innate "power" complicate matters. Now she has to battle monstrous creatures and two Illuminati-wannabes while struggling with homework and trying to find back a lost early-childhood sweetheart. HiME AU, with some Otome and very minor Mega Man Battle Network elements, with a straight "Natsuki" as the main character. Contains homophobic opinions that may or may not be a reflection of the author's tastes. ShizNat fans, this is your only warning. Flames will not be tolerated.

CHAPTER ONE

Disclaimer: The My-HiME original concept does not belong to me, as do any of the characters not mine. However, those that do are mine and mine alone. How do you tell? If a Scroogle Search turns up either nothing or a link to this story (bar certain occasions... But those don't really matter, you'll know when it's me when you know it's me), then the (modified) character is mine. This is a work of fiction. Any real-world events, locations, organisations or persons cited are strictly not to be taken as a proper reflection of their actual self.

Author's Notes: Welcome to Prinz von Sommerhoffnung, my massive My Way edition of the My-HiME tale. If the summaries have not tipped you off already, there will be many changes to the original plotline and characters created by Sunrise. Although I will stick closely to the originals when possible, a lot of things will be postulated. This is because Prinz von Sommerhoffnung, unlike My-HiME, takes place over a full six-year Secondary School/Junior College Integrated Programme education. Ideas for the future are well-scattered and unconcerted, therefore completion may never be achieved for a few good years and updates will be horribly sporadic.

I split up Chinese names according to their characters with connecting hyphens in order to avoid confusion that might arise from being unable to differentiate, for example, between Jian and Ji-an. So the Chinese president's name would be rendered as Hu Jin-tao if he actually appeared. Chinese names are also rendered in original order, with family name before given name.

Some fair warning beforehand: Until a character is introduced in conversation, I will not be tagging names. Physical descriptions will keep you on the right track.

That said... This party's getting crazy. Let's rock!

ThisisjustasectionsplitterPleaseignoreit

A gleaming white ferry, its side littered with windows, could be seen cruising southward at a gentle pace in the Straits of Merliona, seemingly oblivious to the massive cargo ships nearby that went in the opposite direction towards Keppel Harbour. Several seagulls flew overhead. On the main deck, some people could be seen standing by the railings or sitting on benches or chairs. It was a picture of perfect tranquillity.

On one bench sat a blue-haired adolescent girl whose double-lidded emerald eyes gazed almost languidly out at the heavily forested islets dotting the Straits. Her chest-length hair was pulled so that the bangs slanted to the right and the long trails were secured behind her lobeless ears. She was clad in a white hooded long-sleeved blouse with a V-cut that dropped to between her E-cup breasts as well as a dark grey miniskirt. An orange-brown jacket with white trim and double breast pockets was draped loosely over her, her arms not in the sleeves.

"I hope it's a good place, the school," The girl whispered to herself in thought, her voice low yet mellow. Picking up a drink in a white waxed-paper lidded cup, she slowly sipped at it from the white straw. She sighed even as the ferry passed under the David Marshall Bridge, eliciting awe from the other passengers

"Really, I wanted South Ocean Girls' High, but Mom and Dad had to change it to Farquhar Institution Girls' Secondary School Section against my wishes. I mean, it's a better school, but I want to exercise some choice."

There it was again. That green star, twinkling away so clearly visible when all other stars were outdone by the glaring sun. Why could she see it when no one else in her family could?

Her reverie was interrupted by the shouts of random people.

"What's that?"

"Do you see that too?"

"What?"

"See, that!"

"Yo, what's that?"

"Something's floating!"

"No kidding!"

"Hey, it's a human!"

"Well, isn't that obvious, silly!" The bit of sarcasm was lost in the crowd of concerned exclamations, though.

The view was suddenly clouded out, almost as if one suddenly became a detached observer from behind a monitor. A series of images and animations of people were displayed.

The first was the bluehead. However, instead of the outfit she had been in, she was wearing a dark blue pinafore dress over a white collared short-sleeve blouse. Her face was set neutrally.

The second was a hitherto absent personality. She had neck-length orange hair with a set of strands that stuck up in a boomerang-shaped antenna of sorts and purple eyes. Her expression was one of thinly-veiled hostility. She was wearing a pinafore dress and blouse similar to the bluehead's.

The third was an unknown as well. She had black hair that would have reached waist level if it was not hovering in an apparent defiance of gravity, as well as an unusual bang pattern. She had a white ribbon tied on her head that was knotted under her hair, as well as blue eyes and a gentle smile. She too wore the pinafore dress and blouse.

The fourth was purple-haired jail bait, seemingly younger than the three before her, with almost clear green eyes. Her tiny smile seemed almost unconscious. A black strap of indeterminate nature was around her neck. A light blue dress and purple tie was covered by a white cloak tied intricately at the centre. She was seated on a white and blue chair and a frilly red-and-white dress could be seen behind the chair.

The fifth was the first male in the series. He had neat black hair and was grinning in a toothy manner, right index finger and thumb pinching his chin in what seemed to be a thinker’s pose, chestnut eyes shining with the good feeling channelled by his grin.

A most interesting backronym could be seen in the "background". The capitalised letters in the series were coloured red while the rest were engraved.

Knowledgeable Operative Undercover Terminating Application Issue Servitude Hyper materIaliser

In front of the words appeared the first three people, although all were smiling. The black-haired girl was at the left, the blue-haired one in the centre and the orange-haired one to the right. The raven-haired damsel was using her left arm to hold on to the blue-haired one's right arm. The blue-haired lass had her left arm around the orange-haired one's shoulders, while the orange-haired minx had her right arm around the blue-haired gal's waist.

A strange symbol that looked like an alto clef entwined with the Quake III symbol lying on its right side then appeared before them.

A panoramic shot of a school campus appeared next. In a scattering of Vanda Miss Joaquim flowers, the words "Prinz von Sommerhoffnung" were superimposed on the image.

The bluenette had her arms folded and was standing against a clear sky filled with seagulls. Behind her was the spectre of a tanned, muscular young man with dark yellow hair in a small afro, wearing a red vest with a yellow circle and "Z" on the back, as well as a peaked cap. The rest of his attire was not visible. However, he turned his head to the right, revealing a welcoming smile and big ear lobes. The rest of his facial features were obscured by the shadow the cap cast.

A grass field could be seen next. In addition to the bluehead, who was standing, and the orange-haired girl who was seated, there were other indistinct figures, although all were female and seated. One had strawberry-red hair. One had dark brown, slightly spiky hair. One had hair the colour of coffee. One had dull pink hair in four pigtails. A small yellow-haired figure dressed in regal purple was accompanied by a larger figure with sky-blue hair.

Against a backdrop of city blocks was the bluenette. Next to her was a green-bordered photo frame. The first mugshot in the frame was that of a sky-blue haired girl with sharp, almost triangular bangs and side hair, as well as red eyes. Her expression was one of savage delight and the bluehead mirrored it. The second was the back of a dark yellow mini-afro and the bluenette looked longing for whoever it was. The last was a bit peculiar, for although its yellow hair was in a Mohawk, the young features were undeniably female, with the hair which should have trailed downwards hiking up to form part of the Mohawk. This mugshot had its eyes closed in a wide smile. The bluehead now displayed concern, clutching her left hand over her right over her own neck.

The next scene was one that looked like it belonged in a porch. A female with shoulder-length red hair was leaning on a thin pillar and SMSing on a pink clamshell phone as a young girl with four-pigtailed dull pink hair attempted to ambush one with yellow eyes and double-braided black hair, only to fail.

An older female with coffee cream-coloured hair and amber eyes manifested herself before a whiteboard, grinning broadly. Another one with corn-coloured hair and purple eyes glared. A third, younger than the two before her with slightly spiked dark brown hair, avocado-shaded eyes and reverse-rimmed brown frame spectacles, looked depressed. They were joined by a young man with two-tone hair, the spiky top half corn-coloured and the bottom half brown. He was smiling calmly, the good humour present in his brown eyes even as the female with the purple eyes gesticulated wildly.

Next to a white patio was the aforementioned purple haired jail bait, who could be seen as wearing another white dress under the light blue coat. She was a paraplegic, seated in a wheelchair. Behind her was a pink-haired maid wearing a red dress with frilly white attachments. There was a collared apron-like attachment in front and at the back, secured with knots at both sides of the waist. On the part directly over the bust was a pair of "wings" with a four-pointed green star in the centre. Vanda Miss Joaquim petals floated by in a breeze.

On a grass field with a forest in the background, a sky-blue haired girl in the dark blue pinafore dress and collared white short-sleeved blouse that was looking more and more like a uniform sat. She bore a striking resemblance to the earlier one with the savagely amused grin, but her hair was in a Hime Cut rather than the sharp triangular style of the other one. On her lap, a young yellow-haired girl with a purple hair band and purple outfit was sleeping.

This image of tranquillity was contrasted with a bustling city environment where the earlier of the two sky-blue haired girls was leaning against a streetlamp. Her waist-length hair could be seen knotted at chest level, the bundle lying over her right shoulder. Dressed in an elegant gown with crystalline patterns, she had her compactly muscled arms protectively around the girl with the yellow Mohawk. The younger one had now-open blue eyes and was dressed in a punk-like manner, with long-sleeved dark blue leather coat, black turtleneck and denim jeans with holes over the knee areas. The light blue-haired girl had an expression of neutrality, while the "punkess" was grinning and had her left hand in a thumb-up position, almost as if she was posing for a photograph.

A white feather obscured the view, replacing it with that of a brown-haired, brown-eyed girl in a small ponytail wearing an off-white blouse and a male teen with grey hair and eyes, wearing an off-white shirt and red waistcoat. Both had solemn countenances ruined by the mild blushes on their cheeks and were standing against some sort of divider with patterned glass. They were caught unawares when a rust-haired woman with olive green eyes arose and caught both of them in a fierce embrace.

Two young women, one with blue eyes and brown hair, the other with black and brown, linked hands and went into a brief waltz routine. As they moved "off-screen", the sky blue-haired girl with the Hime Cut and the girl with the reverse-rimmed glasses could be seen standing against the whiteboard along with a bunch of insignificant others.

A large "image" of the bluehead shot out from the girl, who had her eyes closed against a blue background. A sword of inhumanly large size emerged from the image.

The orange-haired young lady spun once anti-clockwise, an orange aura around her body.

The black-haired girl with braids, wielding a white-plated sword too big for herself, dragged the edge of her weapon along a floor, creating sparks.

The bluenette was riding on a bluish-grey machine shaped like a wolf that was equipped with two long-barrelled cannons. In her hands she wielded two massive revolvers, one red and the other blue.

An unknown figure was riding a motorbike on a coastal road, while a predominantly white beast that looked something like a mix of a dragon and a phoenix, with smokeless fire trailing from its wings, flew overhead. A video of the orange-haired girl was superimposed over the biking figure and its companion creature. Around her wrists were large golden rings, one for each arm, with green comma-shapes on them.

In front of a building, the girl with the braids was devouring the contents of a lunchbox. Leaning against a pillar in the background was the blue-eyed, black-haired girl with the white hair ribbon. A video of the braided girl was abruptly superimposed, showing her waving around her large white sword.

Against a full moon night sky, the bluehead ran towards "stage right", another spectre of the capped muscleman with the small afro appearing in the background.

A sinister-looking boy with light blue hair in a ducktail appeared next, the innards of a clock tower showing up in the background.

The braided girl plunged her sword into the ground, creating a hole of light from which darkness exited.

The orange-haired girl pointed at an unseen target and the mythic beast that had been following the biker belched a fireball almost too big for its mouth.

From a brown hillside, a stream of hailstones hurtled forth, creating a flash of consuming darkness as the first few hit the foreground.

Before a set of school buildings, the collection of motley characters that had previously appeared in the "vision" gathered in a row, with the bluenette, the orange-haired lass and the black-haired, blue-eyed gal in the centre.

The first five images played in reverse order.

The final image was of the first three people together in the same pose as before, but instead of the backronym, the background had a counter-clockwise orange spiral that went from the left side down before curling inwards.

The "clouds" suddenly dispersed to reveal the scene at the ferry once more. An orange launch was being lifted back onto deck and a crowd had gathered at the railings to watch.

"Hurry up, she has inhaled water," one of the sailors in the launch, a brown-haired dude, said.

"Yo, what the hell is that?" one of the sailors receiving the launch asked, pointing at a long sword. The way the five-foot white blade curved in at the middle only to curve out again before tapering at the tip suggested that it was based on the principles of a Thanish claymore. A plain white cuboid served as a crossguard, while there was also a gold-plated tsuba and a zweihander-length segmented dark red hilt.

"Who knows. She had it when we pulled her up," answered the other sailor in the launch.

The rescued figure was a young girl dressed in a blue sailor fuku that belonged more in an old Electopian anime than in real life. She had black hair with two braids trailing.

"She won't let go of it," the first sailor lamented. "Help us out here."

The grey-haired, fat receiving sailor scanned the situation, trying to make up his mind. A young man with neat black hair and chestnut eyes, clad in a long-sleeved black Nehru Jacket with red trim and matching dark long pants, stood next to the sailor. A young girl with dull pink hair in four pigtails, dressed in a pink dress, held onto his right hand almost possessively.

"Oh great." The sailor pointed at the young man. "You, sorry, but help them out."

"Y-yes sir," the young man affirmed.

"Seriously, why is she holding that thing like that?" A random person asked. No one had an answer.

The sailors attempted to prise the minx's fingers from the hilt of the massive blade. "Hold her tight," the brown-haired one advised. "Hurry up."

"There," said the fat one as he succeeded. "Go ahead."

Green patterns unexpectedly occurred on the blunt surface on the claymore and one of the pulleys cut itself in half. The sailors took a tumble into the sea, the young man barely managing to make it back onto the deck with the rescued damsel in hand. The claymore sunk into the sea, while the heads of the three sailors bobbed to the surface thanks to the life jackets they were wearing. "Don't mind us," one of the sailors called out. "It's her that needs to be taken care of. She's not breathing."

"Yes, sir!" The young man acknowledged. "Umm, CPR, yes. Does anyone know how to do it?"

All eyes suddenly turned on the bluehead, who raised her eyebrows quizzically. "Why is everyone staring at me? Does having an unusual hair colour mean that I am supposed to be special in more ways than just aesthetic? Am I a protagonist in a narrative or something?" Curiosity satiated, the observers turned back to the more important matter of the rescued damsel.

"We're not getting anywhere," A voice announced, seemingly the same person as the one who had voiced his sarcasm earlier on. No one paid him any attention.

"I guess it's up to me, then," The young man resolved softly and bent to handle the vital task. Before he could do anything, though, the little lady with the four pigtails pushed him away with a loud "NO", inviting muttered commentary from the crowd.

"What's the matter?" The young man queried, surprise in his eyes.

"Your eyes look indecent." There were at least two exclamations of "bullshit" to that.

"It's no time to be saying that."

"Noooo." The girl tried to hold him back. "I don't want you doing indecent things."

"It's perfectly good and noble."

"It is indecent too."

"Come on."

"Stop it."

Frustrated by the useless exchange, the bluenette decided to intervene. "Enough of this! Might I advise a little less envy, friend?" She asked the girl with the four pigtails. "Envy is a nasty little bunch of things. Can't be launched without Real Impact and the usage of Swordsmaster takes away from your evasive ability."

"Huh?"

"Just let your friend do what his ability has enabled him to. You, you CAN perform CPR right?"

The young man nodded, slowly and uncertainly at first, but then with greater conviction.

"Get to it."

The four-pigtailed girl was about to protest further, but the crowd joined in with insistent agreement and she was shut up.

The young man went to the task and after three cycles, the rescued lass coughed up water and started twitching in a sign of life. Applause broke out.

The sailors were finally retrieved and two of them carried the rescued girl away in a stretcher, giving their thanks to the young man.

"Don't thank me, thank the young lady over here," He said, gesturing at the bluehead. "You're incredible," he added. "Really, thanks."

"It's nothing, really, just acting on what is right."

"I never thought that emergency rescue class I took would come handy like this," The young man spoke, clearly contemplative. "Anyway, I need to show my gratitude. Drinks in the Lounge in Deck B on me?"

"You really don't need to," the bluenette answered.

"No, no, I insist."

A good distance away, a lone grey cruiser was anchored. At its back, staring out into the distance, was a teenage female with neck-length orange hair standing fully straight, almost at attention, with arms and legs locked. She was wearing a black tank top and white ankle-length pants. A closer look would have revealed thick green stripes on the sides of the pants, which appeared to have been rolled down at the top.

The sound of steps made her turn to the left to observe the newcomer out of the corner of her left eye. "That girl got picked up by the ferry." The speaker was of strong Caucasian voice which was accurate to his skin tone. He wore a dark yellow long-sleeved business shirt and dark red pants, over which came a black cravat and a red coat with an excessive number of pockets. He wore a red hat and polarised shades with rounded lenses.

"Cheebai."

In the Sick Bay, the rescued one raised her right hand. A orange counter-clockwise spiral marked on her upper arm, starting from the left and going down before curling in, lit up with a green light. Moments later, a puddle of water showed itself at the door, along with the claymore she had been in possession of but had been thought gone forever to Davy Jones' Locker.

"So, what school?" The young man asked.

"It's a private one situated on the next stop of this ferry."

"So you're headed for our school?"

"Our school?"

"Yeah, we're students of Farquhar Institution too," said the young man. The younger girl nodded in confirmation.

"Somehow I was expecting that answer," The bluehead noted, poker-facedly repressing a laugh.

Shortly after, a stewardess came by with a can of A&W Root Beer, leaving it on the table with a "Please enjoy". She made a shallow bow and walked away. The bluehead rested her left Achilles' Tendon on her right knee and she snapped open the can in one deft flick of her left thumb. Taking one swig of the contents, she set it down on the table and asked, "You are?"

"I'm Lei-tuo Kan-za-ji," the black-haired young man declared with a scoutlike raising of his left hand. "High School Section Year One."

"Shi-he Mu-na-ka-ta!" The younger girl exclaimed enthusiastically while grabbing Kan-za-ji's left arm and hugging it tightly as the boy looked away nonchalantly. "Primary School Section Year Five! I'm sorry for my Big Brother's weird behaviour."

"Weird behaviour?" Kan-za-ji asked innocently.

"Oh, so your parents..."

The bluenette's line was interrupted by Kan-za-ji. "No, milady, I'm afraid you misunderstand. We're just childhood friends."

A fleeting image of a young boy with dark yellow hair in an afro flitted by the bluehead's sight, but it was gone when she blinked. "You're not siblings and you're travelling alone with him." It was a question, not a statement.

"Yiiip," Mu-na-ka-ta declared in a horribly saccharine fashion.

"So... Nationalities?" The bluenette quizzed.

"Pureblood Merlionans both. She just tagged along, by the way," Kan-za-ji clarified. "And your name is, might I ask?"

The bluehead nodded and smiled warmly. "Crugah. Sommerhoffnung Crugah. Ku-ru-jia-ha Na-zhi-qi. Nice to meet you."

"That's a long name, a bit strange at that. It sounds foreign," Kan-za-ji pointed out.

"Netopian and Yumlandian blood flows through my veins, weaving together in interesting ways," Sommerhoffnung explained. "My father is half Gothofurtoan and half Merlionan. My mother is half Gothofurtoan and half Electopian. I have, for better or worse, to be quadrilingual." For kicks, she repeated the lines in Gothofurtoan, Electopian and Choinese.

"I see. Most intriguing," Kan-za-ji verbalised.

Before Sommerhoffnung could request details, someone said, "There they are. Hey, you three over there." She turned to see a sailor.

The cruiser with the orange-haired lass and the Netopian man was surging forward at flank speed towards the ferry, the Netopian at the controls.

The lass had donned a jumpsuit that looked like it was meant for motorbiking. It was predominantly white, but had thick dark green stripes on the sides of the leg sections. On the section immediately under the neck and above the breasts was a symbol made from three concentric ovals, the innermost one dark green and the outer ones dark grey. Her bust was a plainly visible F cup. On the shoulders were patches featuring a dark green diamond inside a bigger light grey one. She was wearing a white and dark green helmet with reflective visor. Incongruously enough was the long red scarf she wore, in light of the sweltering tropical climate. She was seated next to a pair of light grey gloves.

"I see it, it's over there," The Netopian announced, drawing the lass' attention.

"But you know," said Sommerhoffnung, Kan-za-ji and her now walking down a corridor, "If the captain wants to thank us for saving someone, can't he come to us?"

"The answer's around us, milady," Kan-za-ji replied. "With the strong currents, it would be unwise for him to leave the bridge."

"Uh-huh."

The cruiser sped on, getting dangerously close.

A crewman picked up the phone and his face immediately reflected surprise and fear. "Incoming cruiser from rear port side?"

"Blast! Captain," The first mate said. It was a question, not a statement.

"Starboard!" The captain said while gesticulating with his left hand. "Powerful emergency evasion!" A crew member cut his line of sight briefly.

The ferry yawed sharply to starboard, leaving Sommerhoffnung and Kan-za-ji scrambling for purchase but not getting it.

The cruiser spun slightly to port and a dark shape shot out from it.

They tumbled to the side, Kan-za-ji first meeting the wall and Sommerhoffnung's impact was softened by knocking into him. The young man regained his bearings and saw a strange shadow pass by in a distance away.

"What was that?" Sommerhoffnung asked. She then realised she was sprawled back-up on Kan-za-ji's lap and quickly got up. "Whoa! I'm sorry, so sorry for that!"

"Never mind," Kan-za-ji dismissed as he stood. He was a gentleman, not a voyeur. Taking that easy downblouse would have been against his moral principles.

The biker lass appeared behind Kan-za-ji, grabbing hold by the window top and swinging in, her scarf billowing out behind her. The boy, reading the surprise in Sommerhoffnung's eyes, immediately spun around and lashed out with a low right kick, followed by a brutal finger jab. Unfortunately for her, the biker girl slid to her right, dodging the attacks. With a fearsome sucker punch directed to the solar plexus, she struck Kan-za-ji unconscious, the black-haired boy flopping upwards briefly from the sheer force and then slumping back down to the ground.

Sommerhoffnung turned to cut and run, but the biker girl reached out and caught Sommerhoffnung by her right hand. Limited martial arts training kicking in, Sommerhoffnung reflexively bent in response to the stimuli, using her momentum to hurl the biker over. What she was not expecting was for the biker to spin around in a display of aerial recovery and whip out a roundhouse kick, followed in seamless zero-lag fashion by two turning kicks, one from each leg, a burst of rapid side kicks from the left leg, a slamdown axe kick from the right leg and finally a lifting back kick from the left before the biker spun and slammed Sommerhoffnung against the wall with her left hand pressing on Sommerhoffnung's neck.

"Kick13?! Impossible!" Sommerhoffnung gasped.

"You should have picked up a bitch with a massive edge," The biker lass said in a growl, furious at Sommerhoffnung's attempted resistance. "Where is she?"

The cruiser made another pass around the bow and by the side of the ferry.

"Damn it, what do they want?" The captain asked himself. "How about that message to the Coast Guard?"

"No signal, sir," The radio operator replied, looking up from his console and lifting one side of his headset free. "It seems to be jammed. Whoever they are, sir, they're good."

"That ship..." The captain rapped his knuckles on the window in frustration.

"To all those on board, the current is rough," blared the PA system. Mu-na-ka-ta pressed her left index finger to her chin in worry.

The biker girl threw Sommerhoffnung against a door, the bluenette slumping to the floor. The sign revealed it to be the Sick Bay. Sommerhoffnung looked up at the biker, face shifting constantly between rage and fear.

"What do you want?" Sommerhoffnung demanded. In response, the biker kicked her in the left side with her right foot, then held out her hands, palms open. Her wrists and ankles glowed with light, then golden rings with green comma-shapes on them appeared around the lit-up areas, a phenomenon that astonished Sommerhoffnung. With a great left side kick, the biker kicked in the locked door and leapt over the crouching Sommerhoffnung into the room.

It was empty.

"It's a Bridget," she declared. Famous last words?

Sommerhoffnung looked up in time to see the rescued girl dive down on the biker with her Massive Edge in hand. The slash wiffed, but there was an area of effect to it as the floor shattered underneath, dropping all three females through. The shock on the rescued girl's face evidently showed that she had had no intention of inflicting Massive Damage.

Kan-za-ji got to his feet, slowly rubbing his gut where he had been punched and grimacing. "Ow. Shit, I need to improve my micro."

"What was that sound?"

He looked up to see two sailors converging at the junction ahead. "It came from this way," one said, pointing as he did so. "Around room ten." They ran off.

Kan-za-ji took in the information, then shuddered in realisation. "Where is she?!" He exclaimed as he stood up, ready to pursue.

The Sick Bay floor collapsed onto the carpark and the rescued minx tumbled out, Massive Edge and all. She attempted to get up, but the biker dame stepped on it and painfully seized the rescued damsel's forehead with her left hand. "Seriously," she snarled as she forced the rescued one's head back, "what a positive dick you are." The biker's helmet split in half vertically, revealing that the rescued girl's slash had not been all in vain. The face was that of the orange-haired, purple-eyed lass with the distinctive "antenna" strands who had been seen in the "vision", but the hostility on her face was much clearer here.

Sommerhoffnung shook as she picked herself up off the ground, then ran to behind a car and peeked out through its windows, not willing to be near the confrontation.

"Why do you refuse to gain understanding? To understand that you're going to be taken advantage of?" The biker questioned.

The rescued gal glared back, but remained silent.

"We can't allow them to gather us up. KOUTAISHIs to the land of Farquhar's."

The rescued girl kicked out and the biker backflipped out of the way. It was what the rescued one wanted and she picked up her Massive Edge once more. Disregarding the biker's demand to "quit it", she spun around three times, the blade's tip tracing out a circle, then struck.

A green X suddenly appeared over the rescued damsel in Sommerhoffnung's vision. A Reaction Command? No way, she could not have been playing too much Empire Minds before starting this school year, had she? In that instant, Sommerhoffnung hit the deck, the X flashing and then disappearing as she did so.

The biker leapt over the rescued lass as the latter posed, a diagonal cut manifesting itself in a truck, the upper part of which slid off and spilled the contents onto the floor.

Koutaishi? One way of saying "crown prince" in Electopian, Sommerhoffnung knew. What did the biker mean, though, talking about crown princes gathering in what presumably was Farquhar Institution's campus?

"Not worth interrogating, eh dipshit?"

The rescued minx took a few breathes in rapid succession but stayed silent.

"Very well, you're gonna pay for that. I don't see any need to go that far with you, but I just need to undo that limiter there." With a feral cry, the rings around her wrists and ankles burst into flame and she began levitating.

Sommerhoffnung covered her mouth with her left hand to repress the shocked gasp that threatened to escape.

The rescued damsel was already spinning her Massive Edge in an attempt to build up power, but the biker was much faster. Air dashing forward, she briefly touched the ground and then kicked off while spinning counterclockwise. Fiery whips emerged from the flames around the wrist-rings. They flailed in response to their mistress' action and threw the rescued one into the air as the biker shot up too and shouted "Blastoff!"

A thought shot across Sommerhoffnung's head. No way... Whirlwind...

The biker crossed her arms in front of her head and then forcefully brought them down to the sides, the fire following suit and flinging the rescued girl back a good distance.

Oh shit, that was Air Cross...

"Serve us!" The biker screamed and punched towards the floor. A pair of contained conflagrations extended from the whips and formed scorching shockwaves as they darted across the ground, striking the rescued lass who was still stuck in recovery frames.

Crawler?!

The biker apparently put a bit too much into her attack, though, for the waves travelled on past the rescued gal to strike the bulkhead, setting off an explosion.

The sailors and Kan-za-ji, rushing in the direction they had been going before, were suddenly confronted by an outpouring of smoke and sparks.

They instinctively threw up their arms to shield themselves.

"Fire!" Kan-za-ji warned.

"Watch out," One of the sailors agreed.

The biker's searing antics had finally alerted the sprinklers, which had kicked in, along with the main lights turning off in favour of red emergency lighting. She wasted no time in hightailing to a higher-level exit. Before going through the doorway, she glanced at the wreckage. "I'll finish you off later," she declared loudly as she dispelled her burning rings and went back to imitating normality before running through.

The rescued one picked herself up from under some debris and ran off through the extremely shallow water to parts unknown, leaving Sommerhoffnung behind.

"What the fuck is this shit?!" Sommerhoffnung asked nobody as she got to her feet and shuffled up the ramp.

"To all those on board, we have a fire at the bottom of the ship," the PA system announced.

"You hurry too," One of the sailors advised as he and his fellow ran off.

"Got that," Kan-za-ji replied. Before he could make a move, though, he saw a dazed Sommerhoffnung through the hole in the wall. "Hey!" Sommerhoffnung turned in response to the call.

"Staff members will be guiding you, so please calm down and evacuate without panicking," the PA system broadcasted as rubber slides inflated to channel passengers to the lifeboats.

"You guys hurry too," Instructed the sailor who had also been part of the group that had rescued the girl with the Massive Edge.

"But my brother hasn't... He isn't here yet," Mu-na-ka-ta complained.

"They're probably on some boat already," another sailor said.

"Hurry," the first sailor joined in.

"But... Big Brother is..."

"Don't worry," the second sailor insisted and pushed her down the slide.

Kan-za-ji helped Sommerhoffnung up and back onto a proper floor. "There we are," he said.

Sommerhoffnung nodded. "Thank you."

"Nothing hurts too much I hope?"

Sommerhoffnung shook her head. "Let's Move Zig for Great Justice." Her vitality suddenly returned and she set off at a power-walk, Kan-za-ji having to jog the first few steps in order to get ahead. They managed to reach the Deck B hall, only to find it empty.

"Mu-na-ka-ta," Kan-za-ji said.

"Looks like they evacuated already," Sommerhoffnung pointed out.

"I just can't wait to see what happens next," Kan-za-ji commented.

There was a moment of silence, then Sommerhoffnung inquired, "What's Farquhar Institution like?"

"Beg pardon?"

"It's not a suspicious school at all, is it?"

"If it is, it has been hidden very well from the students' eyes," Kan-za-ji responded. "In my six years in the Primary School Section, it has been perfectly ordinary. The only thing is that its Thanish methods might be alien to newcomers like you."

"No matter. I trust parental judgement."

"Very well. Come on, let's go."

On the main deck, the biker backflipped with a wrathful visage, her rings alight but somehow not hurting her. She charged forth once more at the rescued minx, who brought up her Massive Edge. In response, the biker waited for the precise moment, then delivered a left palm strike. With a series of conflagrant after-images, she passed through the rescued damsel, who tumbled to the ground helpless. If Sommerhoffnung had been there, she would have recognised the technique as a Just Release.

The biker floated over and pointed a sparking right index finger at the rescued lassie's forehead. "This is your last chance. Get your lanjiao out of this place now."

The rescued girl flipped her the bird and clawed for her throat. The distraction from the biker's evasive manoeuvre bought the rescued one time to retrieve her Massive Edge, which glowed green. The biker suddenly realised that bits of skin were flaking down from her throat where the rescued gal had managed to make cursory scratches.

"Wah piang, there goes my 100 points for a damageless run. You die now!" The biker bent her right hand slightly and 16 tiny comets appeared behind her. With a full extension of her arm, the comets rocketed towards the rescued minx. In response, the rescued damsel trailed the tip of her Massive Edge along the deck before plunging it into the ground. A wall of light made itself tangible and halted the comets in their tracks.

A corresponding burst of darkness scythed through the corridor that Sommerhoffnung and Kan-za-ji were running in, throwing them to opposite sides of a growing gap as the ferry parted along the wall of light energy.

"You go ahead and get yourself to safety," Sommerhoffnung instructed.

"No can do. A gentleman never leaves a lady behind," Kan-za-ji protested.

"Don't worry, I've got my own back covered," Sommerhoffnung declared as she ran back the way they had came.

Kan-za-ji shook his head before rushing forth.

Outside, the splitting of the ferry had attracted much photography.

"I will make it out of this ship!" Sommerhoffnung dragged out as she crawled through vents and climbed access ladders, finally reaching the main deck. She had not managed to be out for very long when the rescued lassie fell over a railing and into her. The biker flew over the side of the railing, launching a burst of magical napalm from her right hand. Closing her eyes in resignation, Sommerhoffnung clasped her hands together and thrust them out. Although she did not see it, a hemisphere of ice formed itself before her and the napalm deflected off harmlessly.

"That's..." The biker gritted her teeth. Shards of ice were orbiting around Sommerhoffnung, who finally came to the realisation that she was not dead. Opening her eyes, she watched as the ice shards gathered into the shape of an alto clef entwined with a Quake III symbol lying on its right. "This is my family crest!"

"Hey, test this!!" The biker snapped her right-hand fingers and a flame combusted to life spontaneously before Sommerhoffnung, who reacted with the right-arm twitch of a Command Parry. The flame snuffed out with blue "sparks" and a mysterious sound of metal on metal.

"So that's the deal. You see that star too," The biker barked.

Sommerhoffnung nodded.

The biker snorted. "That liar. So it's as they planned after all. Bitch, I'm warning your ass. Don't go to Farquhar Institution. If you do, it's Game Over for you." She turned and flew away.

"Game Over?" Sommerhoffnung questioned, not quite sure what to make of the death threat. Without warning, the deck began tilting and Sommerhoffnung started falling along with the rescued girl, unable to resist the inexorable pull of gravity and having no idea how to save herself. On the far side of the ferry, the cruiser drove off, somehow having picked up its other passenger.

"Then she's still?" Kan-za-ji enjoined, having managed to make it onto the lifeboat which Mu-na-ka-ta was on.

The little gal nodded.

"I think I'm supposed to be concerned about the ferry sinking so close to the school," Kan-za-ji pointed out almost to himself as the lifeboat sped towards Farquhar Island, the distance to be covered so short it was ridiculous.

On a high roof amongst the school buildings, a sky blue-haired young chap looked up from the coverless book he was somehow reading. "I'm tired of waiting," He declared. "Seriously. But anyway," he stood up and the roof could now be seen as a dome with a screw-shaped protrusion at the centre, "KOUTAISHI Sommerhoffnung and another person: arrival." He placed the book on his head. "Well now, preparation, prepareation." He began strutting around like a fool, eventually falling over. "... I think prepareation doesn't exist in the Kinglish language."

It was late at night when a soaked figure stirred at the edge of a forest, some dormitories visible in the not-so-distance. It got to its feet, blinking its eyes slowly and soon its identity was clear. It was Sommerhoffnung.

How interesting. Whoever had saved her had also picked up her carry bag for her. Very thoughtful of it. Sommerhoffnung checked her pocket to ensure that her identification was still there, then picked up the bag and headed for the hostel, currently unable to care that the rescued one was missing. No need to attract undue attention with a search effort after all, right?

ThisisjustasectionsplitterPleaseignoreit

Author's Notes: How was that, then? Can you identify who is who? Can you spot the many cultural references within? Don't go holding your breath waiting for an update either, it will take quite a while.