Hollow Reverie - Arakune Stories Beginning.

Several days had passed since the incident. The being known as Arakune had been deposited in the depths of the NOL headquarters like some kind of...some kind of garbage.
And he couldn't get free.
Oh, he had tried valiently, but trying and succeeding are two very different things - Arakune had figured out that the 'glass' container was sealed by some powerful Ars Magus, bound by hundreds of equations even he couldn't process properly without a clear mind.
That was another thing, too: Arakune's mind felt...surpressed, as if poisoned by alcohol or drugs.
It was the perfect prison, but the faint cyan glow of his laboratory prison and the growing hunger within him... No-one could stop that force when it became at its most powerful - he knew that he would escape, soon.

The desolated laboratory in which Arakune was prisoned by the infamous Relius Clover was dark and quiet. There was not a living soul, but the black remnants of Lotte Carmine, isolated in his flask, which was the only light radiating thing besides some lone monitors of complicated looking devices. That is until a sudden black void started to manifest inside the deserted room, swallowing the lightrays for a short moment as if a black hole has opened itself.
"My, my. I do not like how this turns out to be a regular action of me. I would have never imagined how easy it was to get into these highly secured sections. The NOL is nothing of a better place than the laboratory of that stray cat."
It was the appearance of Rachel Alucard who suddenly popped out of the dark void, landing in the most elegant way possible on her toes taking some steps into the room.
"Not even that venomous alchemist is to be seen. Well, this turns out to be a quite unecessary trip."
Continuing her monologue, it appeared as if she didn't even notice the trapped Arakune.

The black mass shifts a little more erratically when the vampire girl appeared, bubbling at the sides as crimson faces and sharp mandibles click away at the figure's base.
Arakune's mask watched the vampire quietly, observantly - not that anything else was possible in this situation.
You. I have memories of you in my memory. What is it of here that you came to observe? Arakune spoke slowly in his nonsense mannerisms, essentially asking the newcomer why she was here.

Rachel's glance moved around the room for a little bit longer, before letting the other living being in this whole complex know that she heared him very well. Her eyelashes waved once, twice. Then her pupils focused the trapped creature inside the vessel. Her red eyes looked bored, yet analyzing. The blonde vampire sighed before she flicked with her fingers to let the glas get a small crack.
"Regardless of how good your recognition ability is, I did not come to merely observe. I just felt like walking right into this gloomy surrounding since I have a fable for desolated places. Yet I am dissappointed. This security system surpasses Kokonoe's by far, but..."
Rachel flicked again and the flask shattered entirely, releasing the bluish liquid together with it's oozing content.
"The only thing that breaks easier as the human heart is glas. How foolish of Relius to trap you inside a mere glas Ars Magus?"
The vampire sighed again.
"As much as I like to hold this chit-chat up, there is no time. I freed you, because I am short on underlings. Knowing that you won't have any objections tagging along, I just did what was necessary. Thank me by obeying my orders and everything will be fine."
The speech was less motivated then it was at times she went to free the stubborn Hakumen from Kokonoe's fangs. There was simply no time in her plans for long explanations or revolting thoughts. Rachel' glance pierced Arakunes empty mask with an expression that told him better not to disagree with the small mistress.

Arakune's body escaped with the enthusiasm of pressurised water, expanding and contracting a little to get used to the wider surroundings. His mind felt clearer already, too. Enough to consider the vampire's deal before even saying anything.
...You want an assistant to assist you? I have suffered Terumi Yuuki's torture and his partner Relius Clover's too. Your final goal is them? Even as he said this, Arakune was preparing to leave - after all, even he didn't think himself capable of escaping the NOL by himself.

"The ultimate goal is preventing Imperator Librarius from succeeding with her plan. Which unavoidably results in a confrontation with Terumi, Relius and Phantom. Normally I am self-conscious enough to deal with them, but it would consume too much time. I am afraid it is something even I am not able to do alone. There might be more to your past as well that could give us a hand."
Rachel already turned away from Arakune to observe the rest of the room. Indeed, there was little time.
"A stubborn attire will bring us nowhere, so I have one ultimate argument ready in case you will become an escapee the moment we set foot out of this building. The NOL is in possession of Litchi Faye Ling. Terumi brainwashed her, turning her into a mindless pawn at the hand of Imperator Librarius. I am very well aware of your relationship, so if you help us in achieving our goal, there might be a way to safe her. And it better be quick. Everything else is self-explanatory."
Just as Rachel finished her description of their momentary situation another void opened, enabling the only safe escape route.
"They already know we are here. If we do not hurry, things will turn complicated. I am not in the mood to hack myself through 89,471 algorithms per second."
Things said the vampire marched towards the black nothingness, jumping gracefully inside of it. To where she disappeared to.... Arakune would only find out by following.

Arakune listened to Rachel's spiel but stopped listening at the sound of Litchi's name. Of course, he couldn't quite remember at this time who Litchi Faye-Ling was, but it rang a bell...painfully.
Without another sound - apart from the bubbling of his 'flesh' as he got used to the freer atmosphere again - Arakune darted, mask first, into the Portal.
As he did this, he found himself being optimistic - he was out of the NOL's prison, he was still alive, and he had a goal.