Ghosts and Reapers

Angela

Mason was... not handling this well. After driving for several hours, having only been able to stop at a single energy station to grab fuel and snacks for his journey to Acton, he wasn't exactly in the beat of moods. His whole life that he had? Ruined. His best friend? Dead. His country? At war with the worst of its enemies. The worst part about it was that he had no clue if his city would even be there by the end of it all... Morton had been unaffected through most conflicts on its own soil. Same goes for Vestria, most wars fought on grounds that weren't either of their own. This whole situation was a mess... and then, relief hit him. Even after all that, he suddenly felt a pang of realization. He was alive. At the very least, he might be able to contribute to the business side of the war through Acton. He hoped he could... for Richie. He slumped in his car seat once more, thinking about his friend.

He and Richie worked at a place called Livenware, a place that sold both magical and conventional weaponry, electronics, and even heavy machinery. It was a big business... but, you had to work hard to get sales, especially to other countries outside of Morton. That's where Vestria comes in.

Mason, in his time at Livenware, was renowned for making sales that shouldn't have been possible. He sold to countries around the world- from the State of Contris, which specializes in mining, raw materials, and mostly manual labor. In other words, magical golems and indentured servants. Their population was big enough to provide so many people... but, they didn't have the equipment to keep building, so that's where Mason came in. On the northern half of the world, above Contris was Vestria. The country had been long time rivals with Morton, and rightfully so. While Morton was the center of technology and magical equipment, Vestria always had superior weaponry. Whenever Morton made an advancement with warfare mechanics, Vestria would follow up shortly after with tech of their own. While mason didn't sell them weapons... he did feel slightly guilty, as the machines they used to build whatever those were- the revenants- were most likely some of his. But, he didn't dwell on it. If he kept thinking about how he indirectly killed his best friend, he would probably hurl again.

He would continue to drive, making his way down the long road that led to Acton. He had checked the GPS several times at this point- between the two cities there wasn't even a single town. Most likely because the military was holding Valkyrie launch platforms, or perhaps Jugger-Knight-12s. Whatever the case, he could understand why the relatively barren desert only had fueling stations and solar panels- and of course, crystal mines.

Ah, that's right. There's one other product that Livenware sells. Crystal.

As mentioned before, crystal can be used in two ways. The first was to enhance the magic casting of those who were incapable of casting the stuff. It was a powerful focus, and gave even the most inept magic users the ability to cast. Mason didn't need it, but he knew many who did, and the product was sold in bustling amounts to other countries. On top of being a focus, though, crystal acted as sort of a power core for most Magitech vehicles. In large quantities it was a very effective conductor of power, and that's why it was used in the Valkyries. Standard engines or even normal mages couldn't power the vehicles alone. Crystal was capable of making those hunks of metal fly. Though... it did make Mason wonder; did the king build the Valkyries the way he did just to make a statement? He wondered what a Valkyrie piloted by a magically proficient pilot would be like...

Though, he was quickly shook awake as his vehicle rolled slightly to the side of the rode. He quickly swerved back onto the highway, narrowly avoiding flipping himself on the ditch to the side of the right of him. Breathing heavily as he calmed his nerves, he swallowed nervously and pulled out a bottled water, unscrewing the cap but dead focused on driving straight. 'That... was close. Too close for comfort.' He thought to himself. He decided that he had been driving for too long, and figured he would have to stop on the side of the Rode to sleep. Finding a refueling station after a fair bit of driving- an hour and a half more, actually- he would find himself at another fueling station, pulling over and raising all of his windows. His car was nice- aside from the new addition of cracks on windows and burn marks from the attack. He hoped he wouldn't be robbed. Leaning back in his chair, his eyes fluttered to a close, and he drifted off to sleep.
__________

"Hey Mason." A kind voice spoke behind the boy as he turned to face her. Her voice was as sweet as the cookies his grandma made, and her face... well...

"Hey, Angela." He responded back, pushing himself off the tree he had been leaning against. She would brush some hair out of her eyes. She was always doing that- pushing those beautiful raven black locks of hair out of her eyes.

"Waiting for Richie, I suppose? This is where you two are always hanging out." She stated, right on the mark. He didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or surprised- embarrassed that she probably knew why he was here with Richie, or surprised that she knew at all. She would probably see the red beginning to appear on his cheeks, and she would snicker slightly, mason turning away as he forced a frown onto his face.

"Yeah? And what's it to you?" He asked jokingly, a smug grin reappearing on his face. She looked like she was about to make a just as witty response back- right before Richie arrived, sliding up behind her, taking one good look at the pair and then narrowing his gaze.

"Ah, hello, Angela. Mason, are you done flirting? I was waiting for you at the school." Mason was used to Richie's sarcasm, so he laughed. Before he could respond though, he would see a curious look on Angela's face- red on her cheeks, too? He didn't dwell on it, brushing the back of his neck.

"Sorry- we usually meet over here. I figured I'd let you walk to me. To shake things up a bit." He offered, though it was a poor excuse as Richie gave him a good punch in the side- playful, but surprisingly strong for his stature- and walked away. He would chuckle a little more, and then turn back to Angela.

"... well... I'll talk to you later." He smiled. Angela nodded, brushing the hair out of her eyes again.

"Yup. See ya, hotshot."
___________

Mason would wake up again, leaning up in his chair and stretching out his arms. Man, this sleep was uncomfortable. He hadn't to sleep like this... in... a while...

He suddenly remembered that everything that happened hadn't been a nightmare. That he was sleeping in his wrecked car. That his entire world had burned with his city. That his friend was dead. The reminder of what this was still the case was just as unpleasant.

Before him on the highway, endless traffic seemed to be crawling away from Aera, metaphorically limping from the burning city. He had managed to drive out before the bulk of civilians had made their escape, and before the guard outposts would be destroyed by those naval craft. The trek had just become that much harder. Mason would slam his hands on his steering wheel as he cursed.

Looks like his next obstacle would be the goddamn highway.