The Secret

Three girls, each from a different time (and each with her own distinct morals) are brought together to fight for the secrets of the Order that has existed throughout the ages--the Order to which they all belong. But as they fight, they realise that the Order is not quite what they think it is...

Chapter 1:

Adel twirled her hair pensively. Never before had work for the Order puzzled her so greatly.

She worked with machines. That was her gift, her specialty. But the blueprints they had sent her made no sense at all. They called for parts being bent in ways that metal shouldn't bend, gears turning gears that did not touch.

Heaving a sigh, she laid her head on her desk. Her shaggy brown hair fell into her eyes, but she didn't care. Her eyes were closed, anyway--it wasn't like it mattered.

She went over the blueprints in her head again. There was something that she was missing. Perhaps the misellaneous lines that seemed to have nothing to do with the drawing were somehow related to the empty spaces between the gears...

That was it, she realised. The empty spaces were not empty spaces at al! They were turning mechanisms, somehow. Sitting up, she held the blueprint close to her face, willing the shapes to pop out at her, as they often did. Soon, she saw it.

The turning mechanism had much in common with a key--it was long and thin with teeth that fit into the gears. When it was pulled out, boom! The gears would start turning.

Adel heaved another sigh and stared at the blueprint in front of her. She had the instructions all worked out, now all she needed was...

A sudden thud from behind startled her. She whipped around in her chair to see a large box sitting on her bedroom floor.

The parts.

She rubbed her hand together, eager to get going and prove her skill with her tools. The Order would not be sorry the had chosen her for the job.

...

"You want me," Gray pointed at herself, "to be a part of your club?"

"It's not a club," the well-dressd man sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration. "It's a top-secret society."

Gray laughed. "Even better! You want me, the untrusted scum-of-the-earth, to work for you in a 'top-secret-society'? Are you mad?"

The adult rolled his eyes. "You do realise that this is a priviledge, not a right?"

"Well, it is sort of like right," Gray smirked, "because I've obviously got something you want. I hold all the cards. Why are you still trying to control our deal?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it very quickly. "We don't need you. We don't need you at all."

"Then why should I go? I don't want to attend some foolish meeting just to be some sort of accessory--no thank you, sir, and a good day to you--"

"Ugh," groaned the man. "Fine. So we need you. So what? We need help. There, I said it. Now will you please come with me?"

Gray's pale blue eyes bored into the man's cold, gree ones. Finally, she leaned back in her seat and set her boots on the table.

"What's in it for me?"

...

Riis struck out with her laser lance yet again. Her antagonizer, a man in his late thirties, fell to the ground, an expression of agony frozen on his face.

She looked around once again, making sure none of her attackers still remained. There was not a (conscious) soul in sight.

She smiled grimly. Another job well done.

A noise behind her--just a subtle tap, but a noise, nonetheless--caused her to spin on her heels, her laser lance extended in the direction of the noise.

A man in a long black coat over a shirt with a strangely lacy collar stood there, staring at her defiantly.

"Riis, I believe, is your name," tone of his voice made the statement sound more like a question than a stated fact. "I would have expected a more... conformist apperance. As one of the best hitmen in the world, one would think that you wouldn't want to call attention to yourself," he gestured to her bright purple hair.

Riis's eye narrowed. "What I look like doesn't matter. My target never sees me unless I see them first, and by then it's too late--they're dead. And I don't have to worry about getting caught because, technically, I'm not suppose to exist."

She had not yet lowered her lance. Yet, to her surprise, her words had no affect on the strange, black-coat-wearing man. He just stood there nonchalantly, his hands in his pockets, a he stared death in the face.

"I know you're the best, Riis. That's why we want you."

"Humph," Riis grunted. "I work for no man."

"Then how on earth do you ever find work?" the man sounded genuinely interested.

"Shut it, smart-alec," she poked the lance out a little further. Yet there wa still no reaction from her opponent.

"I know you don't like to work for people, and know you don't like working for the government."

"How did you--"

"We have an opportunity for you. If you work for us, we'll talk with the governent and have your record cleared. I unerstand that they are the only things standing between you and a life behind bars--or extermnation--but if we give you a clean slate, you won't owe anyone anything. Have we a deal?"

Riis pursed he lips, then stuck out her hand for the handshake. "Deal."

...

Adel stood back to admire her work. The machine matched the one in the blueprint (proportionally) down to the very last millimeter.

She stepped forward and grabbed ahold of the key-like component. Sucking in a large breath, she yanked on it. The gears turned and the machine came to life.

There was a bright flash of pale, blue light. It began when the key first started to move, but stopped as soon as the very end was no longer in contact with the machine.

The brightness temporariy blinded Adel. She staggered backwards and landed on her bed. She blinked and opened her eyes.

At first, she thought that she had gone bonkers for sure. Three figures--a tan girl with white-blonde hair, a girl with skin like porceline and unusal, vibrant purple hair, and a man in a long black coat with a frilled, white shirt beneath it.

"Ah, Adel," he smiled. "Thank you for making this time machine. I knew you'd understand it. All of our other mechanics were busy, so we wanted to see if you could build one. We want to be able to disperse these around all of the Order's headquarters throughout the world."

"Time machine?" Adel and the two girls asked at once.

"Oh, yes, where are my manners?" the man scoffed. "Adel, this is Gray," he pointed to the tanned girl, "and this is Riis," he pointed at the purple-haired girl. "They're the newest members of the Order."

Chapter 2:

Riis turned angrily to face the man.

“Listen,” she said threateningly, “I didn’t agree to come with you just so you could mess with my head. What’s all this talk of time travel?”

The man looked at Adel expectantly. “You have the date?”

Adel nodded, “June 5th, 2010.”

“2010!” Riis exclaimed indignantly. “Hah! What? No! The year is 2107!”

“I can’t imagine it could be my time,” Gray was captivated by the machine. “I have seen nothing like this before!”

“So you actually believe this madman?” Riis scowled.

Gray shrugged. “I don’t know of any other explanation!”

“Gullible little brat,” Riis muttered under her breath. Adel glanced at Gray, but the blonde girl did not seem to have noticed.

“So, even if time travel brought us all here,” Adel was sure not to step on any toes with her statement, “what’s the point of our gathering? Something Order-related?”

“No way,” Riis rolled her eyes. “It’s definitely NOT Order-related. That’s why we all happen to belong to the Order.”

“There’s no need to be so negative about it!” scoffed the man.

“It is order-related, though, isn’t it?” Adel insisted.

“Yes,” the man sighed. He had forgotten now much trouble it could be to deal with multiple teenage girls.

He had grown used to only working with Adel. Of course, Adel was one of the calmest and laid-back teenagers he had ever met, through all his years of time travel and scouting out new members for the Order.

“So… how about informing us so we can actually do something,” Gray hinted. “That would be fantastic.”

“Maybe it’s like a puzzle!” Adel suggested hopefully.

Riis snorted. “Why stop to solve a puzzle when you can just toss it into the fire? Why stop to solve a riddle when you can just shoot the riddle’s teller?”

“For the fun of it, of course!” Adel sounded hurt.

“Fun!” Laughed Gray. “That’s what you call fun? I dread the future! Fun is riding across the sea on the back of a dragon. Fun is sailing around the world and seeing new places, finding new adventures wherever you turn. What is all this nonsense about puzzles?”

Adel frowned and crossed her arms. “Never mind about the puzzles! Can’t we just start our mission?”

“Please, let’s just get it over with,” Riis snorted. “And everyone knows dragons aren’t real.”

Adel and Gray raised their eyebrows.

“I think you’ll find they are, Riis,” the man said calmly. “But we can argue this out later. Adel is right. We must get down to business.

“The first thing that you,” He looked intently at Gray and Riis, “should know is that everything you have been taught is a lie.”

Riis opened her mouth to protest, but the man silenced her with a wave of his hand. He turned his gaze to Gray alone.

“Gray, you are at the greater advantage. In your time, creatures such as mermaids and dragons and sea serpents were recognized as real, and feared as they should be. By Adel’s time, they had turned into cute caricatures with no more meaning than a false promise. And, even worse, by Riis’s time they were all but forgotten—things of stories and fables and fiction.”

“And even in those places, they are fading,” Riis said harshly. “We were destroying the books.”

“Destroying the books!” exclaimed Adel.

“And the maps,” Riis confirmed.

“The maps!” cried Gray.

“The ideal human won’t have to read to know the important things kept in books,” Riis’s stare burned into the others. “Not that many important things are kept there, anyway.”

“Anything in a book is important,” the man said gravely. “The words in a story are someone’s thoughts. Someone cared enough about the reader to write down their knowledge, their opinions, and their stories just to benefit them. A book is like a man’s voice. If you burn the books written long ago, you will silence the great men who no longer live.”

“What’s the point of hearing their words if they are dead?” Riis retorted.

“So you may learn from them,” the man in the long coat said sternly. “As any wise person would do.”

To this, Riis had no reply.

“As I was saying,” the man cleared his throat. “You have each been chosen for your singular skills. Adel for her talent in mechanics and her ability to retain information,” Adel hung her head and blushed, “Gray for her expertise in navigation, cartography, and quick, smart reactions to unexpected problems,” Gray smiled from ear to ear, her tan face positively radiating light, “and Riis for her athleticism, endurance, and superior experience in combat,” Riis scowled. She obviously didn’t like to be flattered.

“Your first mission was just to meet here. From now on, Gray, Riis, you will stay in this century and train with Adel.”

“What?” Adel cried, springing to her feet. “That’s crazy! They are nowhere near my level! I have been a member of the Order since I was eight years old! Now you want me to train alongside two members that have only been a part of the Order for—what, a few hours—even minutes!—at least? You’re mad, sir—stark raving mad! I won’t do it, I won’t!”

“Then you forfeit your title,” the man’s voice was grave, “along with your memory.”

“My memory!” Adel sounded surprised. “I thought that was only for rookies! I’ll lose everything—even my memories of my social life? Things outside of the order?”

“There is no other way,” he shook his head sadly.

“I’ll be committed to a mad house,” Adel whispered.

“You know what I think?” Riis placed her hands on her hips. “I think you’re both overreacting. I think your BOTH mad. I think that we are just as good as you are, Adel. I am an expert hitman.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” Gray grimaced, “but, whatever it is, I can see that Riis’s got a bit of that spark in her. As a seasoned adventurer, I should know.”

“These girls are the best, Adel,” the long-coated man said gently. “You should consider it a compliment that you get to train with them.”

Adel looked from the assassin to the adventurer. Suddenly her eyes widened. “Are they—!”

“Hush,” the man put a finger to his lips. Then he mouth the words, No girl should know her own future.

Adel’s mouth opened in astonishment, then closed. “Fine. I will train with them.”

Chapter 3:

Gray easily parried the blow dealt by Riis’s sword. She smiled as the weapon was wrenched from the assassin’s hands.

“You’ve an unfair advantage!” groaned Riis. “If I was using my laser lance—”

“You’d’ve fried me before the fighting even began,” Gray laughed. “Come, we all know you could roast whoever you came upon with that laser lance of yours. But say there comes a day when you don’t have it, eh? What’ll you do then?”

Riis grimaced. “I never said I didn’t want to train. I’m just telling you that there is no need for you to get all uppity just because you beat me.”

Gray laughed. “Trust me, friend—I had no intention to.”

Meanwhile, Adel was building a weapon that would be able to defeat even a laser lance. The hilt would have a laser on it, just like the laser lance’s tip, so that both ends of the sword were deadly.

The man walked up to Adel. He was still wearing a coat over a ruffle-necked blouse. Adel hoped it wasn’t the same one he had worn when he, two years ago, brought two strange girls into her room. Two strange girls she had grown to love and treat as her sisters.

“This,” he picked up the sword, “is not craftsmanship.” He looked at Adel severely.

Adel’s heart sank. “What do you mean by that?” if meant her work was shabby, she was unsure of what else she could do. Mechanics were--and always had been--her life.

“This is something else.” He picked up the weapon. “This is brilliant. Expertly crafted. Flawless. This… is not craftsmanship.” He repeated his words, as if he had to make sure he had said them.

He laid the sword back down on the work-table. “Adel, have you ever thought you felt something guiding your hands as you worked?”

Adel couldn’t help but tremble. For, once before, she had.

She had been sitting at her desk when it happened, sketching out what she believed the innards of a clock would look like. Keep in mind, this was before she actually took the watch apart—she wanted to see if she could figure it out just by making sense of what had to be turning to make the hands move and to enable the watch to be wound.

When she looked at the paper, her lines got confused, squiggly, mixed all around. She saw it all in her head, but she couldn’t put it down on the paper.

Why, then, whispered a voice within her skull, don’t you just close your eyes and draw? If it’s straight in your head and your eyes are ruining it, why not just remove them from the picture?

“Well,” she had remembered speaking aloud, not recognizing how very strange her situation was, “if I close my eyes, how will I know where the pencil is going? Won’t it just make the drawing more befuddled?”

Naïve child, the voice laughed. You think that not being able to see will prevent you from accomplishing your work? Give it a try.

Adel had closed her eyes and began to move the pencil on the page. There was something odd about the way it moved—there were some points where she felt an immense pressure against her hand, gently nudging it the opposite direction. At first she tried to fight it, but when she opened her eyes to see what was happening it dissipated and she saw that her drawing was just a bunch of scribbles. With a sigh, she flipped the paper over and tried again.

This time, something kept her from fighting the eerie pressure. She just let her hand flow from one line to the next. When she opened her eyes, she saw the interior of a clock. Later, when she had actually taken one apart, he saw that her sketch matched the inside (of that particular watch) exactly.

Adel looked at the man. “Yes, actually,” she said matter-of-factly, “I have.”

The man smiled. “Tell me, Adel. Do you believe in magic?”

Adel laughed. “Of course I do! Wait… what are you hinting at?”

“I think you have some magic in you, Adel,” the man said. Adel expected him to burst out laughing at her gullibility, but no such thing happened.

“You’ve got to be joking,” she stuttered. “If you want magic, look in Gray! She’s the magic-lover. I just deal with machines!”

“Well, if you have no magic, you have someone contacting you—someone helping you, guiding you. Someone not from this world.”

“You mean like a ghost?”

“Well… Not exactly. More like an interested spectator who wants to help the team he or she bet on win.”

“Wonderful,” groaned Adel. “Now I’m a race horse.”

“Not at all,” the man shook his head. “Listen, this person can channel their energy through you. They can guide you to do things. And, if I’m not mistaken, it’s some form of being higher than our own. Thus, it produces more energy. With that energy, you can perform magic.”

“You’re not kidding?” Adel asked. The man said nothing, but the look on his face said everything. This was the honest to goodness truth—or, at least, he was firmly convinced it was. “Okay, so what does this mean?”

“It means,” the man said slowly, “that we’ll have to get you a wand.

CHAPTER 4:

Riis had to duck to avoid the fireball that shot from Adel’s wand. It was small, but it left a decent burn mark on the wall behind the purple-haired assassin.

“Watch where you point that thing, Adel!” Gray exclaimed. “I’d like to keep my hair, thank you very much!”

“You shouldn’t even be talking,” Riis growled. “It didn’t come close to touching you. I should be the one complaining here!”

“Sorry,” Adel blushed, “but I’ve got to learn how to use it somehow.”

“I’d prefer you learned to use it when we aren’t in the line of fire,” Gray replied, staring shakily at the want. Riis sighed grouchily.

“So… what made you believe in your magic powers?” Riis asked skeptically, changing the subject. “I would have expected this nonsense from Gray, but from you? Never!”

“I’m not sure I understand it myself,” Adel stared at the small but powerful twig in her hands. “Coat (as they had taken to calling their cloaked acquaintance) said that there was something guiding me from some other world, and that I could take their energy and use it to perform magic.”

Gray and Riis stared blankly.

“It kind of makes sense, if you think about it for a while…” Adel said slowly. “I mean, the taking energy and using it to make magic part, not the whole being-beyond-our-existence thing. That… confuses me.”

There was an awkward silence. Gray and Riis knew Adel was lying to them—she was a terrible liar. Some part of it clearly made sense to her. Riis resented the pity that the inferior girl felt for her—pity felt for an elite assassin! The very idea made her shudder. Gray really didn’t care—Adel was smarter than her when it came to such things, and so what? She would always be better at cartography, navigation, and exploring. It was in her blood, as mechanics were in Adel’s. It was just the way things worked.

"Go back to your spell-casting, useless," Riis muttered.

Adel bit her lip, holding back a sharp retort. Gray just watched, amused.

As Adel marched from the room, a collossal frown on her face, Gray couldnt help but laugh. Riis shot her a dirty look and left, as well.

Gray leaned back in her seat, a crooked smile on her face. She knew how Riis felt--at least, she knew what Riis was thinking. So many others had reacted in the same way. She shrugged it off, as she always did. She had sort of been asking for it.

For as long as she could remember, she had been able to isolate herself from people. She felt most comfortable as an observer, for that was exactly what she was--an adventurer, a person who observed and surveyed the world.

She was well aware of the fact that Riis despised her. In fact, it seemed to make more sense to her than anything had in the past two years of training.

Meanwhile, Riis followed angrily in Adel's footsteps. Storming down the hall, she arrived in the cafeteria.

Adel was sitting at a table, deep in thought.

Quite often, Adel wondered why they had bothered to build a cafeteria in their training facility. There were only three of them training there, and they weren't allowed to meet with other members. According to Coat, they were the Order's secret weapon.

Gray honestly didn't care about the cafeteria. She just speculated sometimes on how fancy it was--on how high the ceilings were, on how the marble pillars on the side were so well made, and on other insignificant things like that.

Riis didn't think at all. Thinking was discouraged in her time.

Giving Adel the cold shoulder (not that she would have noticed), Riis stomped out of the cafeteria an into the alley way behind the building. She stared up at the sky with a frown. She had not yet grown used to it being so blue. She was accustomed to a sky that was grey during the day and black at night.

With a shudder, her thoughts were jerked from the past. Well, her past, the earth's future. There was something about the blue sky that she liked better than he grey, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it...

"Don't think," her master's words banished all thought from her head. "Don't think, just do."

So she sat there, her mind blank, staring up at the open sky beyond the rooftops, trying her best not to wonder what she could possibly be missing.

...

Adel walked back into their special training room and saw Gray gazing blankly at the ceiling. Her eyes were glassy and, for a moment, Adel feared that she was dead. Of course, as Adel cleared her throat and Gray's eyes re-focused, she realised how silly that thought was.

"Sorry about what's goign on between you and Riis," Adel said shyly.

"Sorry that she's being so rude to you," Gray grimaced.

Adel smiled. "Hey, but what else is new--wait, how did you--"

"No offense, Adel," Gray said sofly, "but you are not exactly the most observant person. It would take a shift in Riis's behavior to make you notice. Of course, she is usually rude, so she would have to amp it up quite a bit for you to percieve it."

Adel wasn't quite sure what to say, and Gray couldn't help but laugh at the bemused expression on her face.

"Come now, Adel," she chuckled. "You musn't take my words to harshly. Remember that I am best at observing things--much better at observing them than interacting with them. I hope I did not upset you too badly."

Adel twisted her mouth, unsure of what to say.

The awkward silence was broken by an announcement over the loudspeaker:

"Adel, Riis, Gray, report to th meeting room at once. The training portion of your service to the Order is thus completed. Your first mission awaits."

Chapter 5 Coming soon!

it so good so far after you read this comment im gonna delete it so your story wont be spamed up

Thanks! And don't worry about spam. Your comment isn't spam at all!

Invisolet wrote:Thanks! And don't worry about spam. Your comment isn't spam at all!

kk i thought it might be easier for people to read the story without other comments

-Nikkii♥ wrote: kk i thought it might be easier for people to read the story without other comments

Aha, I see what you're playing at! Don't worry about the comments, I'll probably just keep updating the original topic.

cant wait for chapter 2

-Nikkii wrote:cant wait for chapter 2

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

Invisolet wrote: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

your welcome its really good

luv ur story it is as interesting as thee sisters Grimm
Cant wait for the second chapter
oh and also can you read my book!!

-Nikkii wrote:cant wait for chapter 2

I updated the topic. Chapter 2 has been posted!

omg this is so awesome x_o

☆Eva◕‿◕☆ wrote:omg this is so awesome x_o

Aww, you're too kind Thanks!

Invisolet wrote:

☆Eva◕‿◕☆ wrote:omg this is so awesome x_o

Aww, you're too kind Thanks!

haha np

Chapter 3 has been posted!

cant wait for chapter 4 :DDDDDDDDD

wow it is so long

its nice iluv adel

Chapter 4 has been posted!