This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

SHIZU

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As a princess, Shizu never really expected herself to be completely in the midst of battle. She trained for it, sure, but never in her wildest of dreams did she think that she'd be sailing through the warm waters of the Shallow Deep. It was so exciting. Even now, she was struggling to keep her cool as their Rig began to grumble and groan at the prospect of being used.

Well, maybe it was just her imagination, but the thought was still there... And for some reason, she had this weird foreboding feeling that she was forgetting something.

"What is it?"

Shizu blinked at Guidance's words. Her chest bloomed with both fear and anxiety for... something... For some reason, she felt like an unavoidable catastrophe just happened, but she didn't know what...

Why?

"I-It's nothing," Shizu shook her head, wiping away the sweat off her brow as she composed herself. "I guess I was just nervous..."

"Of what? Of vomiting?" Guidance chuckled. "You already did that earlier."

She did?

Looking down, sure enough, there was indeed vomit on the floor already. It wasn't much, but it lined up with just how much she ate prior to making their way to the docks. That, and the roiling churn in her stomach confirmed that she was practically running on nothing but stomach acid right now.

"Are you hungry, my Princess?" Shade suddenly asked behind her, his patronizing tone in full swing as he offered her something to eat. "Here. Perhaps this might tide you over."

Still partly confused, Shizu smiled her feelings away as she grabbed the sandwich off of the man's hand. Taking a bite, she found herself taking a look at the situation they were currently in. It just felt right for some reason... And it just felt as if she really needed to take a look at what exactly was even happening.

"You can turn off your Code Watcher now, you know."

...

.....What?

"Code... Watcher?"

Her lips followed the God's words, her own confusion blooming as she wracked her brain for answers. The term sounded so familiar... and yet it still eluded her despite her attempts at recalling just what it was. All she knew was that it was... important to her somehow... that it was the one thing that she was useful for besides punching enemies right in the face.

"She means your Manifest, Princess!" Maruki yelled out at his usual volume. "Your eyes are still glowing black and green!"

..."Huh?"

A flurry of emotions wracked the princess's body. Her eyes were green and black? Shouldn't she be panicking right now? And yet... it felt like it was only natural for her to have such features...

Shizu blinked. And blinked.... And blinked some more... She was hoping that whatever it was that was making her eyes black and green would somehow show itself to her. What did it even give her? Was it some kind of Manifest.... [Manifest].....

[B-Bzzt....]

A faint buzzing began to make itself apparent all around her. It was as unsettling as it was high-pitched, the incessant ringing making itself heard in her ears as she turned her head to look for its source.

"Shizu?"

[BZZT...]

The princess turned her head around some more, her eyes flitting to and fro throughout the engine room as she searched for the source of the ringing. It felt all-encompassing, the very world itself seemingly screeching out to her in an attempt to make her go insane!

"Where is it coming from..." she whispered to herself. "It's... It's..."

"My Princess?"

[BZZT!]

All of a sudden, she felt two pairs of hands land on her person. She hadn't noticed when Guidance and Shade had started holding her down, but she didn't care.

Just where was this sound coming from?!

"Hold her down! Don't let her hurt herself!"

"I'm doing my best here, Lady Guidance! The Princess isn't exactly weak!"

Shizu tried her best to break free, her own mind focused solely on finding out what exactly that ringing sound was all about. Even now, her eyes didn't feel any different, even if-

[BZZT BZZT!]

Her eyes widened. Just now, the world flashed before her eyes. Numbers... Ones and zeroes... It didn't make sense... and yet it did?

"She's muttering something," the man above her told the God.

"She's speaking in Binary," the God told to him. "I don't know what it's all about though."

[BZZZZTT!!]

The world flashed black and green once more, the numbers suddenly making a lot more sense as memories both new and old flooded her mind.

"A-ARGHH!!"

"Shizu?!"

The world... it all made sense now. She had just tried stopping Guidance from changing the world, the God trying to make it so that they'd remember the loops that... that Moriya went through... She then remembered something from her vision... one that told of the very fabric of reality coming apart as they made their journey... But now...

Now it didn't look like it?

"Hah... Hah...."

Shizu panted as her world completely returned to its black and green hue. The Numbers all looked to be in order, but a part of her still felt like something was amiss.

"Shizu?" Guidance asked her once more, her face betraying the worry that exuded in her tone.

"I-I'm fine..." she panted out, placing a hand on her chest as she sat back up. "I... I just had something happen... My [Code Watcher] sputtered out there for a second..."

"What? Your [Manifest] malfunctioned?" Shade asked in alarm.

"I-I guess so," Shizu chuckled out, trying her best to diffuse the situation. As if to demonstrate, the princess blinked out her ability, her eyes returning to their usual golden hue as she smiled. "But it's fine now. See?"

A tense silence settled between them as the two debated her words. After a while, Guidance spoke out. "If you say so. Just tell us if there's something wrong, okay?"

"I concur, and I'm sure the others here do too," Shade smoothly added, a gentle smile on his face as he pulled her back up. "A [Manifest] running out of control is the last thing we need before we set out."

"Yeah," Shizu nodded. "Sorry about that."

And as such, the world seemed to go back to its rightful place. Still, a part of her still felt like something was wrong. Just what exactly happened to her earlier?

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