Familiar From the Stars

Trace Carter here. I decided to make another Zero no Tsukaima fanfic. This time, Louise summons a familiar that is from a Galaxy far far away…

At the Tristain Academy of Magic, the second year students had gathered for the familiar summoning ceremony. Various magical creatures had been summoned by the students, ranging from a small frog to a large blue dragon. One girl, though, was on edge by this. Her name was Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, but her classmates called her, Louise the Zero. The reason she was called that was because every spell she attempted ended the same way: an explosion. To top it off, she had proclaimed to the students that teased her that she would summon the best familiar of them all. Well, it was her turn now. Louise walked to the center of the field where the summoning would take place and raised her wand.

xXsceneXx

Within a cave that was dimly lit by the glow of a fire, a lone male figure sat, trying to warm himself. His name was Kazi Carter, but he usually went by Z. He looked about 17 years old in human years and was dressed in black light body armor and had pale skin and brown eyes along with jet black hair that was tied in a ponytail that hung down his back.

"Kriffing Empire," growled Z, "it's because of them that I'm forced to hide like this."

Suddenly he heard the sound of a young girl's voice, saying something, and felt a disturbance in the force that resembled a static tingle across his body.

My noble and powerful familiar that exists somewhere in this vast universe,

'Well I don't think I qualify as 'noble,' but I don't deny that I'm powerful,' thought the Z.

Answer my call and come to my aid. APPEAR!

As the final words were spoken, a glowing green oval appeared in the middle of the cave, surprising Z and causing him to stumble and fall into the oval. Once he was inside, the oval vanished, leaving the cave empty except for a small fire.

xXsceneXx

When Louise finished chanting, a large explosion erupted in the middle of the field. The force of the blast knocked Louise off her feet and kicked up a small dust cloud.

"Looks like Louise failed again," jeered a student.

"Wait," said another, "I see something."

As the smoke cleared, Z looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He took note of the creatures and the humans standing around him wearing odd clothing and assumed he had been somehow transported to a different planet, though he knew that kind of technology had been lost for ages.

"Where am I?" asked Z in Galactic Basic, "What planet is this?"

"What is he saying?" asked one student, "what does he mean, 'planet'?"

"Looks like the Zero summoned some commoner from off the street," jeered another, which caused the other students to laugh.

"Mr. Colbert," said Louise, "I'd like to make another attempt."

"Miss Vallière," said professor Jean Colbert sternly, "the Familiar Summoning Ceremony is a sacred rite that determines a mage's path and grants them a companion for life. There are no do overs. Please finish the ritual."

Louise slumped before walking over to Z, touching her wand to his head, "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make him my familiar."

Louise then leaned in and captured a surprised Z's lips with a kiss, surprising him greatly. When she pulled away he tried to say something, but was cut off by a burning sensation in his hand that continued to grow in strength until it felt like someone was carving symbols into his hand with a lightsaber. He gritted his teeth, not wanting to show any weakness to these people. Soon the pain faded and Z glared at Louise.

"What did you just do to me?" he growled.

"I marked you as my familiar," said Louise simply.

"What are you talking about," said Z as Colbert dismissed the other students, "explain."

"I'll explain later," said Louise as she turned to leave.

The other students then collected their familiars and began to float towards the school, surprising Z greatly.

"How are they doing that?" asked Z, "Is it the force? I don't feel it being used by these children."

"It's magic," said Louise, "and what is this 'force?'"

"I'll explain later," said Z with a smirk, earning a scowl from Louise, "and why aren't you flying back?"

"That's none of your business," snapped Louise, "come on, we're going to be left behind."

With a sigh, Z got to his feet and followed the diminutive pinkette back to the castle.

xXsceneXx

"Alright," said Louise, "I want some answers. Who are you, and what is this 'force' that you mentioned?"

"Jeez, you could at least be polite about it," sighed Z, "my name is Z."

"What about my other question?" growled Louise.

"If you're going to use that tone, then I won't say anything," said Z with a shrug, "I'm going to wander. Bye."

With that, Z walked out the door, leaving a stunned and angry Louise behind.

xXsceneXx

As Z walked through the courtyard, he noted that the school looked kind of primitive. There wasn't even any durasteel used in the construction. There was also a lot of vegetation and the air was untainted by the exhaust of engines.

"I wonder what planet I've ended up on?" Z said to himself.

Suddenly he jumped when he felt a large presence behind him and spun around, coming face to face with a large blue reptile. Z was about to pull out a weapon when a petite girl with blue hair and glasses, carrying a gnarled staff and a book hopped off the creature's back.

"Is this creature yours?" Z asked the girl.

"Dragon," said the girl.

"Excuse me?" said Z.

"She's a dragon," the girl said in a monotone.

"I see," said Z, "I wonder if she's related to the Arkanian Dragon species?"

"Don't know," said the girl.

"My name is Z," said Z.

"Tabitha," said the girl, "Sylphid," she added, motioning to her dragon."

"Those aren't your real names," noted Z, causing the girl to stiffen, "don't worry, I mean you no harm and will keep your secret."

"Thank you," said Tabitha.

Z almost didn't notice, but Tabitha gave a small smile.

"You should smile more often," said Z, "it looks nice."

Z turned to leave, and because of that, he didn't see the faint blush on Tabitha's cheeks. Z decided to continue exploring the campus and wandered the halls. He was so caught up in his wandering that he almost ran into a girl wearing a maid's uniform.

"I'm so sorry," said the girl as she tried to pick up the basket of cloths that she had dropped.

"It was my fault," said Z as he picked up the basket for her, "where are you taking this?"

"I was taking it to the kitchens to be used for tomorrow's meal," said the girl.

"Then I'll take it there," said Z, "it's the least I can do to apologize for running into you."

"Thank you," said the maid, "you are too kind."

"May I ask your name miss?" asked Z.

"Oh, my name is Siesta," said the maid with a kind smile.

"You can call me Z," said Z.

"That's an interesting name," said Siesta.

"Where I come from," said Z, "Siesta would be considered an unusual name."

"Where exactly do you come from?" asked Siesta.

"Hmm," said Z as he tried to think of how to explain where he was from to a species that obviously hasn't achieved space flight, "I'm from a place far away. Farther than any of your ships could sail."

"My grandfather often told stories about another land that he claimed to come from," said Siesta, "he also said that he was from a place to far to travel to."

"He sounds like a man I'd like to meet," said Z.

"He'd probably like to have met you too," said Siesta, "unfortunately he's passed on."

"My condolences," said Z, "I believe we've reached the kitchen."

Indeed they had reached the kitchen. The workers were busy cleaning plates from the last meal so Siesta had Z put the basket of cloths on an empty table. As he was turning to leave, his stomach made a sound similar to an angry beast and he blushed a bit.

"Sounds like you're hungry, kid," said the head chef, "how about we fix you a meal?"

"I don't want to be any trouble, sir chef," said Z.

"No trouble at all," said the chef, "and please call me Marteau."

"Well then," said Z, "I thank you for your hospitality, sir Marteau."

"Please just call me Marteau," said Marteau as the kitchen staff brought Z a bowl of stew, "this was made from the leftovers of the noble's meals, so I apologize if it isn't that good."

Z sat down and used a spoon to try a bit of the stew and his eyes widened at the taste. The stew was full of savory flavor. It wasn't too watery, the vegetables weren't cut too big or overcooked, and the meat melted in his mouth.

"This is amazing," said Z, "I don't think I've ever tasted food this good."

"Glad you think so," said Marteau, "eat up."

Z eagerly devoured the stew and accepted seconds when it was offered. When he finished he decided to help the staff clean up before heading up to Louise's room to see if she had calmed down.

xXsceneXx

Louise had not calmed down. To be quite honest, she was livid! Not only did her familiar speak to her in an insolent tone and not show her the respect she deserved, but he had the gall to walk out when she was questioning him. Louise looked at out her window at the rising moons and sighed. Suddenly her door opened causing her to sit upright as Z walked in.

"Have you calmed down?" he asked.

"I guess," said Louise. She was still angry, but she was controlling it better, "now tell me about this 'Force'."

To be continued...