S3E3: Ryuusenshi / Disappearances / Kagakusha
1843 Words
The Yu-Ri Sisterhood Bar, Villa Villa.
An establishment that is sandwiched between Restaurant Beloved and Daig'digaia News Network.
It was formerly the headquarters of a sorority that carried the same name.
The sorority had a fierce rivalry with a fraternity going by the name of Grupo de los Yaois – whose headquarters was located in Sant-Diegol, Shurilesia – until the two groups amicably settled and decided to disband.
The legacy of the Sisterhood is still prominent in this bar, as various memorabilia decorate the bar's interior.
And despite the bar's name, everyone is welcome here, whether they are straight or are part of the LGBT community.
In this very bar, a dragoon named Paulette Janis Cartwright is silently deciding on her next move, while sipping on some non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri.
This female warrior, who uses a spear in combat and utilizes aerial strikes as well as dragon-themed attacks, is currently on a quest for an elusive artifact.
She whispers to herself, “This Emperial Transuranium Elemental is really hard to find, huh? But I just can't give up that easily. I need it... not to gain much power... but to get out of this fantasy world. But then... there's this voice in my head that says I must unite with 49 other classmates of mine who are in the same predicament as I am... Oh well. I'll just use the artifact for something else... namely, to help me seek my former buddies.”
She then keeps a close eye on the bar's other patrons – specifically, every 15 minutes or so.
And she discovers something unsettling.
The female patrons just simply vanish, one woman per hour at most, leaving behind their drinks and their bags and other possessions.
“Oh no.”
Even though she's a seasoned warrior, she just can't allow herself to become a victim.
Finishing her daiquiri and clutching her spear tight, she finds the bar's owner and tells him regarding the matter.
“I've observed that the women here vanish without rhyme or reason, one per hour at most. Their things are just left behind.”
“Ah yes, the bartender also took notice of it. It really sent so many chills to his spine, because he knew the ones behind the disappearances must be that good in their devious craft.”
“Any clue where they went?”
“Nada.”
“Thank you, anyway. I'll get to the bottom of this.”
“Make sure to come back here again when all this is over, eh?”
Leaving the bar, Paulette searches every nook and cranny of Villa Villa to see if the disappearances also happen outside the bar.
And to her horror, she is proven right.
Handbags, high heels, loafers, and hats are scattered on the roads, sidewalks, and alleys of the middle-class village.
And she can smell faint hints of invisibility magic in the air, which she surmises plays a huge part in the disappearances.
Still on the lookout for herself, she decides to stay in this town for the next five days to see if the disappearances continue.
And to her even bigger horror, she is proven horribly right.
Using her head, she calculates that per day, an average of ten girls, whether residents or travelers, just simply vanish, leaving their possessions behind.
This is indeed a cause for concern.
“This is bad... REAL bad! I'm out of here for sure!”
Fearing that she will be the next target of the disappearances, she flees the town.
Using her patented dragoon jumping skills, she heads eastward, along the Malandalay Connective Highway, towards L'Remerville.
She plans to report that string of incidents to the police.
Once she gets to the police headquarters, she requests an audience with the chief, Dir. Gen. Ardrelm Rojas, which the latter readily accepts.
In the chief's office...
“Miss Cartwright, we also heard of this grim news... but our investigators are still scratching their heads about who exactly the abductors are... or even the ones behind them. We even doubt that those disappearances are abductions at all.”
“Maybe this can help you. I smelled a faint whiff of invisibility magic on the spots where the women disappeared.”
“Alright. We will look up on this. Just give us... ten days.”
“Ten days?! You know many more women will disappear at this rate!”
“That's just how we roll, sorry. If you're gonna conduct your own investigation, that's fine with us. But please don't get in our way.”
She just sighs before she finalizes with “Fine.”
The dragoon just leaves the office, realizing the police can be a bit of a pain to work with.
As a last resort, Paulette consults instead a person she can fully trust.
Because he's a long-term friend of hers, even back in their days at Dillington High.
He is a brilliant scientist named Giuseppe Parisi, who has a super-secret lab inside his two-storey residence right here in L'Remerville, at the very end of Palanca Road.
Giuseppe himself wears the stereotypical lab coat worn by doctors and scientists alike, which goes over his usual buttoned-down cyan shirt and faux leather pants.
The two meet like old friends do.
“Paulette! Nice to see you again!”
“The same goes with you, Giuseppe.”
“Thank heavens you're safe. I also know the news wherein women in Villa Villa just disappeared for no reason at all.”
“But I suspect something behind all this.”
“Alright, let's continue our talk in the living room, OK?”
“OK.”
He then accompanies her to the living room, which is quite big and airy for someone who lives alone.
On the northern portion, there are two aluminum and glass windows that provide so much fresh air to this room and beyond.
A sofa leans on the wall where the two windows reside; and on its left-hand side, there is a round side table that contains an already-assembled robot model kit, which Giuseppe bought from the hobby shop in Villa Villa roughly two weeks ago.
In the room's center lies a large and round mid-century modern table made out of solid walnut, and a vase sits on top of it.
On the opposite sides of the coffee table are two faux leather seats that are paired with the sofa.
And on the southern portion of the room, there are two stand lamps fashioned out of discarded factory spotlights.
There is also a minimalist crucifix that decorates the eastern portion of the room.
The dragoon and the scientist continue their talk.
“Giuseppe, I smelled some invisibility magic on the spots where the women disappeared, and so I believe their presumed abductors used some kind of invisibility magic to do their devious deed.”
“Yes, I can corroborate your observations. Even this town is not safe from those abductions, either. One of my machines even detected an abnormal rise in magical power in recent days, which can explain the disappearances.”
“So the question is... who abducted them? And where are the women being kept at?”
“Those... I don't have a clue. But I can assure you... those perpetrators are not connected with The Movement at all.”
“Please elaborate.”
“It's common knowledge that there is no known dancespore factory here in Sarbacutta, and there's no overlord overseeing its operations. In short, we might be dealing with an outside-context problem.”
“And one more thing.”
“About the Emperial Transuranium Elemental, perhaps?”
“Right on the money.”
“I have this gut feeling... that it doesn't exist at all. It's all just fantasy... well, in this fantasy realm, that is.”
“But I still have to seek it myself. It may not be a matter of life and death, but seeking it is important if I want to locate our other classmates who are stuck in this game.”
“Alright. I won't stop you. But please restrain yourself, regardless.”
Satisfied with the scientist's take on the current goings-on, the dragoon is ready to leave, with her friend seeing her off.
But something else is brewing outside.
Once the two head towards the front porch, they see, from what their 20/20 visions can clearly perceive, only males and elderly women getting all dazed, confused, sad, frustrated, or any mixture of those four emotions.
This can only mean one thing.
“All the young and mature women are gone! Without a trace this time!”
Paulette, possibly for the first time in her life, can feel so much fear gripping her, as she knows she'll definitely be targeted next.
But it's a good thing there's Giuseppe to protect her.
He's a scientist, alright, but he's also quite a capable fighter.
He reaches for his pocket magic sensing device.
Soon enough, he can detect a human figure cloaked by invisibility magic about to accost her from behind.
“Behind you!”
With her quick reaction time, Paulette jumps into the air; and five seconds later, she dives into the ground, her spear piercing through her would-be abductor.
The abductor just collapses to the ground unconscious, his way of stealth no more.
The pair then inspect the abductor's body.
Besides light clothing that allows for swift actions, they can also see an armlet with a ruptured jewel.
They deduce that the armlet is the source of the invisibility magic, which they hypothesize can be activated and deactivated at will by the user.
“Alright, Paulette. Please hang on while I call my other friends.”
He then reaches for his phone and summons all of his scientist friends, who are in Pateropolis surveying the pollution levels there, to come back to him without being harmed or abducted.
“They should be here any second now...”
And then they're all here, all instantly transported via Teleportation Feathers.
Renton Germinal. He never goes anywhere without his trusty backpack.
Roxette Abellanosa. She tries her best to keep her B. O. in check.
Maristelle Valles. She's proud to be a lesbian, and she's in love with one of her fellow scientists.
Kei Gotanda. Due to her surname, which includes the number 5 in Japanese, she fervently believes in the power of the number itself.
Nicole Apostolos. She's also a proud lesbian, and she's in love with Maristelle.
Charles Saint Etienne. He's not just a scientist, but is also a professional wrestler. His finisher: The Saint Etienne Death Drop.
Maria Joie Balthazar. Taking a page from MacGyver himself, she uses chicken drumsticks either as normal tools or as weapons.
“This is an urgent matter, everyone! We must inform the Ishi-shiro about this, and we must consolidate forces with them! After all... I have a gut feeling they also are our old high school friends.”
Paulette and the others nod in agreement.
And thus, they all head towards Villa Villa, where the Ishi-shiro's Supreme Leader is still confined, on foot.
- Writer
