(Im)Perfect Symphony

Over countless universes in countless realities following countless timelines, heroes of all shapes, sizes, genders, backgrounds, and ways of life stand up and fight for what they believe is right. Selflessly placing their lives on the line, they stop at nothing to ensure evil and corruption does not rule the land. Some travel the land, while others need not leave their home to do so. This tale, too, consists of such a person. Her actions and deeds would truly become that of legends. This is her story.

In the wee hours of the morning, in a large city known as Bridgeshore, a break in was occurring in the manor of a rich nobleman. A figure shrouded from head to toe in robes dashed to and from rooms, grabbing anything and everything of value and stashing it all in a giant burlap sack they carried over their shoulder. As they moved, it seemed as if they made not a single sound even if it seemed like they should have been making a racket loud enough to be heard for miles. However, despite their silence, a group of manor guards had caught onto them and began pursuit all over the estate grounds.

“There they are!” One guardsman pointed to the hooded being down the hall. The cloaked person looked up for a moment and took off running as fast as they could down the maze like hallways. “After them!” Another guard yelled, motioning for the other guards to make haste. While fleeing, the being noticed a fork in the hallway ahead. That was the first time the intruder had made a sound during the entire encounter. A slight jingle was heard from that of a small bell.

The guards were in confusion when the being seems to split into two beings, but what was strange is only one of the beings was actually making sounds as they ran. They arrived at the fork, with both figures parting ways with one another, each in the opposite direction. “That one, there, on the right! That must be the real one! Come on!” Another guard yelled as they motioned towards the figure making sound and followed it down the hall. The real one, however, had traveled left and ducked into a room before the guards took note of them. The first thing they did upon entering however was barricading the door with the nightstand. It wouldn’t be too hard to force open, but it would take them long enough that the figure could escape. Then they looked around the room.

This appeared to be the room of a little girl, at least the hooded person figured. With their eyes scanning the room, their eyes saw lots of pink, lots of dolls, a doll house and lots of other things girls would play with. The figure did raise a brow underneath their hood as they saw a grown man in a pink dress with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing around 6′ 2”. He was sitting at the little girl’s tea table, looking to be enjoying a tiny cup of tea. Upon noticing the hooded figure looking in his direction, he appeared nervous. “Unnh...I can explain!” He spoke, embarrassed.

The figure just shook their head, not concerning their self with this as it was rather pointless to the story. They ran over to a window and opened it up. Outside, they could tell they probably were on the 3rd floor of the estate which was quite a jump indeed. The being took the sack they were carrying and flung it out, hoping it would at least hit the grass. Sure, it might mean some of the more fragile stuff might break, but they had to take the chance. It did in fact hit grass and they were relived. Next, after backing up for a bit of room, they ran and jumped out as well, landing next to the bag on the lawn on her feet. Jumping out windows like this was just another day on the job.

The guards busted into the room, but by that point, the figure had already made off into the night. Naturally, they were angry and confused, but even more so, when their eyes moved towards the strange man who had been wearing the dress and sipping tea from the little tea cup while sitting at the little tea table. “Unnh...I can explain!” He exclaimed like before.

A few hours after sunrise, the figure was approaching a church again with the sack in tow they had been using before to carry the stuff in. They entered the church and sat the bag down in front of an older gentleman that was standing there. He was 5′ 4”, easily appearing in his 70s, with white hair on the sides of his head and balding on the top. He wore yellow overalls, had a white shirt underneath, and used a cane to keep himself from falling. “Heh, well then, Note, you brought us quite a haul this time, didn’t you?” The old man chuckled.

The hooded figure who had stood at 5′ 6” finally removed the hood from their cloak to reveal a girl in her early 20s. She had black hair and purple eyes. Nothing below her eyes could be seen as she typically wore a muffler over her face. She only nodded to the man who was looking through the bag now. “I know you wish you didn’t have to do this, but the homeless and the poor need us now more than ever. Those damn nobles are always stealing the little man’s gold and buying--” He spoke, stopping himself when he pulled out a toilet paper holder made of pure gold. Looking at Note, she shrugged.

“Well, this isn’t the most ridiculous thing you’ve brought back, I suppose. It still has value with all that gold it’s made of.” He continued, sitting it down on the church floor as he continued to inspect the contents of the bag. “Seems you actually didn’t break anything this time! Lucky. We need everything we can get to help these poor souls out.” Note once again nodded, never speaking a single word. The old man chuckled. “Oh, I wish you could talk to us, but things are the way they are. It’s just good to know you came back safe again.”

“She’d probably say “I’m a dirty thief and I should turn myself into the Enforcers.”.” A voice called out from behind them. They saw what looked like a young boy around the age of 10, though a bit on the short side at 4′ 5”. He had green hair, green eyes, and wore a yellow tanktop that for whatever reason read BEEF in red letters, with blue shorts. The kid spoke again, but didn’t sound like that of a kid’s voice, but maybe that of a teenager. “I mean, that’s what you are, right?”

Note glared at the kid, who just chuckled. “Note, right?” He continued. She was then shocked. Noone outside the church knew her name, so how could this random kid know it? The old man was equally confused as he approached the boy. “Son, what are you talking about? There’s no thief here. Now go on home to your momma, lad. She’s probably worried about--” The boy placed his hands in front of his face in annoyance before removing them. “Okay, have any of you humans not ever heard of a sprite? You know...we’re small, cute, adorable, strange girls with an obsession to take small, cute, adorable things home with them try to take us home with them?” He pointed to his forehead. “It’s not ancient Vexian knowledge here.”

Upon hearing the sprite’s declaration, Note immediately jumped up, and grabbed the small creature, pinning him to a wall with one hand. He just grinned. “Now, now, Note. You don’t wanna tear up this nice church, do ya? I’m only here for you anyway.” She glared at him for a moment before releasing him. He slid to the ground, and chuckled. “You know, for a mute girl, you sure got a razor tongue and...if I may say...quite the potty mouth.”

While the old man was vexed by this statement, Note just stared. Once again, the sprite put his face in his palms, then moved them again. “I-am-a-sprite. I-can-read-your-mind, dipstick.” Note blinked and shook her head, thinking, ~”Well...that’s...awkward. Okay, so you can read my mind. While I am happy to finally be able to communicate with SOMEONE, the thought of it being you is...anyway, who are you and what do you want?”~

“Gil, short for Gilliam. I hunt thieves and other scum like that.” He grinned. “I could go on and on and on about my life story, but this isn’t why we’re here. Come with me, nice and quiet, and I won’t have to hurt you.” He then thought about that statement for a moment. “Well, nice anyway...you’re already pretty quiet.” He stood to his feet, which Note crossed her arms, answering him in thought, ~”I’ve got more important things to work about than a mind reading kid, so if you’ll be on your way...”~ Note was then interrupted, “SPRITE! And, see...” Gil cracked his knuckles, then his neck. “You don’t HAVE a choice here. We can go to the Enforcers’ Headquarters with you conscious or unconscious. I’m not picky.”

As Note got in her fighting pose, the old man spoke from behind them. “Gilliam, was it? I know your goal is catching Note, but could I ask both of you to not fight in here? If you must, you can duel on the roof or outside.” Gil was annoyed. “Yo, pops, call me Gil.” Then he looked at Note. “You can pick where you wanna taste the ground at. I don’t really care, honestly. I mean it IS between us, so no need for innocent folks to get involved.” With that, Note shook her head. ~”This whole thing is pointless, but seeing as I don’t want to be seen publicly, let’s head to the roof.”~ The sprite motioned to her. “Well, lead the way then, princess.”

Note led Gil through the church’s backrooms to a stairway that led to the roof. Once they got to the roof, they then stood opposite one another, staring each other down. “Just so you know, Note...” Gil smirked as he spoke, “I’ve yet to fail to capture a bounty, so if you’re having second thoughts, we don’t have to do this. I can’t guarantee I won’t cause a serious injury. Not gonna lie, I’ve broken quite a few of my foe’s limbs before. I do get quite rough.”

Note moved the long sleeves of the room from her hands to reveal giant red boxing gloves with tiny cat bells on the wrist. ~”You don’t scare me and you’re completely mistaken. I don’t steal for personal gain.”~ Gil yawned, stretching. “Are we fighting or just talking about our day? ’Cause I’m getting bored and you wouldn’t like me when I’m bored. I get...eh...pretty scary I’ve been told.”

With that, Note rushed at him to deliver a right hook, only for Gil to move out of the way at the last second and leap up to karate chop the back of her head. The force that the sprite asserted into the attack was strong enough to actually send the taller girl flying across the roof, landing on her face. She winced as she climbed to her feet while rubbing her head. ~”Guess I underestimated you, didn’t I...fine, then let’s get serious.”~ She then flicked her wrists which caused the cat bells on her glove to jingle. At once, Gil saw Note split into several versions of herself. All of which ran at him, ready to throw another hook.

He just grinned. “Oh no, six Notes. Whatever shall I do? Oh wait!” He dodged at the last moment and delivered the same chop to the back of the real Note’s head once more, sending her flying again to land on the other side of the roof. “I’ll just do that. ’Cause, you know, I TOTALLY can’t read your mind and figure out which is the real you or anything like that, no...That’s just silly, don’t you think?” The sprite mocked her. “Don’t get me wrong. Were I unable to read your mind, I definitely would be fooled. It’s actually a nice trick, very nice in fact.”

Note stumbled to her feet once more as Gil continued, “Your Ability is always interesting to hear about, but to see it in person is something else. The ability to bend any sound into any illusion you want your enemy to believe is there is...well, not gonna lie. I tried assuming that they were just illusions, but I still saw them all the same, so your Ability is definitely powerful. Honestly, I am impressed. If you actually applied your mind to it, you might actually be a challenge for me to take down!” He smirked, watching Note.

~”I’m going to give you more than a challenge. These people need me. I’m not going to lose to a little twerp like you. I don’t know what you’ve heard from the Enforcers, but it’s not the whole truth.”~ She thought as she flicked her wrist to jingle the bells on her gloves. At once, the roof was covered in a thick fog, almost too thick to see anything. Gil blinked and looked around. ~”You might can read my mind, but I doubt you can pinpoint me when you can’t even see in front of you.”~ With that, Gil felt a very strong force collide with the back of his head and like he had done to Note before, he was now the one flying across the roof, smacking facefirst onto the roof’s surface.

“Heh, you know, that’s a dirty trick, but I don’t blame you. You’re fighting for your freedom and in a fight like that, anything goes. I don’t care what anyone says.” He replied, jumping to his feet. “I didn’t think you were capable of this honestly. But, don’t think you’ve won, Note. You only caught me off guard. Even if I can’t physically see you, I can still hear you.” He crossed his arms. “Now that I know where you are, you aren’t going to be able to hit me again.”

He tilted his head to the side avoided a punch from behind with a satisfied look on his face even when he realized another fist was in front of his face about to hit him which he chose not to avoid. “Oh how cute, you’re going to punch me with--” That was all he could say before the punch impacted and sent him to the ground.

Gil lay there for a moment in disbelief and confusion, before blinking and wiping the blood that had starting coming out of his nose. “So they’re not just illusions then or if they are then they are able to use sound to trick one’s mind into thinking they have been hurt, but the injuries are quite real at the same time...”

He slowly stood again and rubbed his cheek, “In all honesty, I can’t say I have a counter for you. I’m not really sure how to approach you in all reality. It’s no wonder the Enforces hired me to catch you, Note. But, don’t get me wrong. I’m not even close to finished with you yet.”

Just before either could go for another attack, the door to the roof opened. A little girl with brown hair walked out. She had to be no more than 5 years old with her hair done in two braids. She had on a little nightgown that was a bit ragged indicating that she had probably just woken up. Her little brown eyes noticed both the older girl and the younger looking sprite, both of which were hurt and she gasped. “Notey! Are you bullwing dis kid? I was coming to fank you fow da stuff so we can have money to eat, but dat’s so mean!”

Note just blinked and gave a look suggesting that she might have been saying he started it. Gil looked annoyed. “Ugh, who are you callin’ kid, kid? I’m a sprite! A-sprite! Do they teach you kids nothing in school these days?!” Note rolled her eyes. ~”Well, if SOMEONE didn’t make it so only kids with a silver spoon in their mouth could go, MAYBE she would know better. But NO! Taxes on even food are so high, they can’t even afford to eat.”~

The girl looked confused and upset as Note continued her thought aimed at Gil. ~”You barge into my home, believing the stretched truths the Enforcers fill the general populace with, threaten me AND accuse me of being the worst #$%^#@#$ scum on the planet, and THEN you want to insult us with THAT line?!”~ She stood and walked over to the girl, hugging her tightly. ~”You want to know the reason I steal? This. This is why.”~

Gil stood there for a minute and rolled his eyes. “Okay, come on, you stole over 125 million Ziro to feed one kid? Overkill much?” As he said that, more kids came from the door onto the roof where Note, Gil and the other little girl were. All of them were asking about why Note and Gil were hurt. All of the childrens’ clothes were in about the same condition as the little girl’s. There were also a couple of adults who peeked their head outside to see what was going on.

Note then turned her head to gaze at Gil, still clutching the little girl. ~”The nobles are bribing the Enforcers to only protect them, raising taxes to line their own pockets, and a list of countless other things that I could spend all day listing off. Did it ever occur to you to actually...gee...I don’t know...read the minds of the people who employeed you to see if they were honest?!”~ Note shot that thought towards the sprite. He stood there with a blank look on his face for a moment, then smashed his head into the roof surface, shouting, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”

~”Are you that stupid?!”~ Note just had to stare in disbelief. The children and adults had a puzzled look on their face as to why the sprite randomly shouted what he did, which Gil then took notice of. ~”The people you see here are either homeless or their homes are in no condition to be deemed livable. The stuff I steal gets sold to someone I know and that money is used to feed these people and clothe them.”~

Gil closed his eyes and grunted. It was hard for him to admit he was wrong, but he knew in his heart that he was, and now he needed to correct it. “Alright, people, so here’s the deal. I am Gil, short for Gilliam, call me Gil or else...I am a bounty hunting sprite which if you don’t know I can read minds and blah blah blah. Anyway, I was hired by the Enforcers to hunt..Note here.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “So in case I seem to be talking to myself, I’m actually hearing Note’s thoughts and talking to her.”

Everyone then turned shocked to Note, the strange mute girl who while she never spoke a word, she won over the hearts of all these people. One man spoke out, “You can...talk to her? Please, can you ask her why she can’t speak?” Note looked annoyed. ~”First of all, I’m not deaf. Secondly, I don’t talk because if I do, the sheer sound and volume of my voice would deafen anyone within a mile of me.”~

“She said if she speaks, the world as we know it will end.” Gil responded to the man’s inquiry. Note just stared at Gil. ~”Really? You know there’s no way in hell they’ll--”~ She was interrupted by the questioning man. “Oh, okay. That’s understandable then.” The crowd around them agreed that this made sense with Note staring at them with the most dumbfounded look. ~”A...am I having a nightmare right now or are all of my friends like this?”~

Another woman butted in, “You’re here to take our Note from us? You’ll have to go through all of us to do that!” Hearing that drove the dagger even further into Gil’s heart.

“No...I no longer have the will to fight her.” Gil grinned weakly, “Your Note is tough. I hate to say it, but I can’t beat her, even if I wanted to.” He then looked to the man who asked him the first question. “If it’s alright with Note, I don’t mind relaying messages to questions you may have for her that she can’t answer. I’m sure you must have plenty, right?” Though uneasy with the sprite as it was, the man was eager to jump at the offer. “Yes, please! I’d love to know more about Note!” The other adults unanimously agreed as well that they would like to know what Note was thinking.

After a bit more conversing with Gil about Note’s thoughts and feelings, the adults turned to the kids. “Okay, well, we’ve been on this roof long enough. Let’s go in the kitchen and make some breakfast.” One of the women said. All the kids nodded and did as instructed, following the adults downstairs, leaving Note and Gil still on the rooftop.

Gil looked around, sulking a bit. “Yea...well...sorry I didn’t stop to ask questions. You don’t seem like bad people and I can see where you’re coming from. Things are a bit on the expensive side nowadays, aren’t they?” Note sighed, resuming her thoughts. ~”It’s fine. Look...I still don’t intend to go with you, but--”

Gil held up his hand. “I’m done with that. I can’t turn in someone who is trying to help the homeless and poor like you are. “ Gil laughed. “I have trouble saying this too, but when I told them I couldn’t beat you...well, that wasn’t a lie. I was bluffing before. I had no moves left. I was just hoping to get lucky, but somehow, I don’t think it would have gone that way.”

Note smiled from underneath her muffler. ~”You’re still pretty tough for a little twerp.”~

Gil chuckled a bit. “Thanks, um...hey, let me make it up to you? I mean after coming into your home and calling you scum, well...I kinda owe you, don’t I?”

Note shrugged. ~“Hang around if you want. I got chores to do. Yes, I might steal things at night to make ends meet, but everyone still needs to chip in around the church.”~ “Sounds good.” Gil nodded his head. “I’ll lend you a helping hand then.”