Valkyrie Smash

"You… what are you, really?"

Nino was furious, to say the least. Following the command of her beloved fiance, she went to check the Tapestry of Fate once more. Her goal was to confirm that they were still on the same Path they had decided on before, or at least one that closely followed it.

She expected to see slight changes since capturing the boy wasn't supposed to happen, but to her utter shock, the Tapestry looked nothing like the state she left it in, almost as if a large part of it was burned then replaced.

"I… I…"

understandably, Rollo was frightened. The Valkyrie's doll-like beauty did little to diminish the intensity of her glare, and the boy was too innocent to enjoy being under it. As he struggled to form a reply, Ichigo intervened, having felt bad for him.

"N-Nino! Please calm down!" She still couldn't prevent her timidness from showing.

The Japanese doll turned her gaze to the pink-haired Valkyrie, causing her to shrink back in fright. That helped the former realize how intense she came through and forced her to dial it back a little. Heaving a sigh, she shifted back to the boy.

"You were born on the fifth of May, correct?" She asked. "That makes a few months past fifteen."

The boy twitched, remaining frozen for a few seconds. He then answered in a barely audible voice.

"... Yes…"

"Have you heard any strange voices in your head?"

Rollo looked completely baffled. His expression alone answered the question.

"You think he's up to something?" CS grinned. "Maybe we should kill him just in case."

"I already thought of that." Nino shook her head. "It won't work."

"Seriously?"

in an instant, the boy lost all color, becoming an outline on a white piece of paper.

Nino crossed her arms and held the ghastly pale boy with her eyes.

'We already killed him in a different path...' She thought to herself. 'Well, Madness got him in that one... and it led to a disaster anyway...'

When she looked into the future after their return from the Nephilim World, the boy's name always came up no matter what Path she studied. Nevertheless, his early capture created more divergence points, each one leading to its own bleak future. Why was this seemingly normal kid causing such anomalies? It was a question she couldn't find the answer to.

'If only I had all my memories…'

"Um… can I… can I ask s-something?"

Still pale with fear, Rollo looked at the Japanese doll with pleading eyes.

"What is it?"

"W-well, I… I didn't do anything so…"

It was clear he intended to inquire about the reason for his arrest, but in the presence of the mighty aliens, the words decided to betray him.

"You didn't?" CS's question sounded more genuine than it should. She raised an eyebrow at Nino, prompting her to sigh in exasperation. She was trying not to say anything about her future sight in front of the boy so her silence dragged on indefinitely.

'Was that skunk right after all?' She wondered. 'Is it the work of someone from a Higher Realm?"

As if responding to her thought, the door opened and a certain female scientist came in.

"What is going on here?" Elina asked, sensing the heavy atmosphere.

"Nothing." Nino replied. "Just wanted to ask him a few questions."

"What good would that do us? You're just scaring him to death!"

Seeing a human enter the room, Rollo's face regained some color, though all of it went away when he saw the tray she was holding.

"Rollo Romanoff, right?" She asked with a smile. "My name is Elina Brians, nice to meet you."

"Um… uh…" He wanted to return the greeting but found himself unable to. For him, it didn't exactly feel nice to meet any of them.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Nino glanced at the contents of the tray and asked.

"Sam's orders," Elina replied. "You should go back already. He probably wants you to check the Path again."

The female scientist placed the tray on the coffee table and asked Ichigo to change seats. Rollo watched in silence as she grabbed the tool, inserted a small capsule into the slot on top then closed it with a click. When she turned to him with a smile, holding what can only be described as a laser gun, the boy swayed a little then passed out.

"Whoa…" CS quickly caught him before he fell. They all turned to the female scientist with accusatory eyes.

"Who's scaring him to death again?" Nino smirked.

"H-hey! I didn't mean to…"

Deflating a little, Elina pressed the sci-fi gun －which was in fact an injection gun－ to the boy's neck and pulled the trigger. A distinct beep came from the tool a few seconds later announcing that it had emptied its contents.

"What did you pump him with?"

Elina sighed and placed the tool aside. A complicated expression surfaced on her face as she glanced at the boy.

"MindLink." She said. "It's made from the same ASC Sam used, though it doesn't replace any organs."

"... What?" Nino's eyes slowly widened.

Sighing, the female scientist turned to the raven-haired Valkyrie, her gaze more serious than before.

"After reading your report, he believed it to be the most optimal solution."

CS and Ichigo sensed the tension rising, though it only served to confuse them. A subtle pressure began emanating from the Japanese doll, weighing down on the human female, gradually suppressing her ability to breathe.

"This isn't it…" She muttered. "He said it won't get to this…"

A deafening silence permeated in the hotel room. A while later, the Japanese doll stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Elina gasped sharply then went into a coughing fit.

"What was that about?" CS asked, frowning slightly.

Ichigo on the other hand quickly brought a glass of water to the female scientist and gently rubbed her back as she recovered.

"The ASC…" she muttered. "Isn't that the very small machines Doctor invented?"

"Yeah… you could call it that..." Elina took the glass presented to her and downed the contents.

"And you put it inside the kid?" CS's frown deepened. "No wonder she got angry."

"We… we don't have much choice," Elina replied. "He's too much of a wild card. We… we have to control him somehow."

"Yeah, good luck with that."