(Pre-Show) The Library

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

As he crossed the threshold into the library proper, Vincent could almost feel his pulse slow. Something about silence had always soothed the man; although he found his 'home' in combat, he always valued his 'vacations' in the calm of silence. The Prime would never admit it, but he truly enjoyed battle. For him, it was not the pulse-pounding adrenaline that most adventurers desired, but the thought that he could put his talents and skills to use for the good of another. Despite what some would say of humility or selflessness, this urge to 'protect' and his desire to do so in battle was his own form of selfishness. Many conflicts, he imagined, could be solved without bloodshed. The issue for Vincent, however, was that he was only really good at killing. It was in this way that the Prime's desire to do battle to 'prove his usefulness' and his hatred of death put him between a metaphorical rock and a hard place.

After a good deal of walking, Vincent reached what he assumed was the circulation desk of sorts for the library. At the desk sat a frazzled-looking young woman, enormous horn-rimmed glasses sliding down her nose as her eyes devoured a book. At her side stood a comically large pile of books which looked to be dangerously close to toppling onto the bookworm. She continued to read as the Prime reached the counter, completely oblivious to the newcomer.

“Hello?” The pale Prime inquired, glancing down at the attendant.

“Oh!” the young woman uttered, dropping her book onto the desk. “Sorry, I didn't notice you. That tends to happen when I'm reading. Were you waiting long?”

“Uh...no.” Vincent responded, eying the woman quizzically. “Can you tell me where I could do some research?”

The woman stood bolt-upright, a huge grin crossing her freckled face. “You're in the right place!” she chirped, throwing her arms into the air. “Take your pick!” She swung her arms wildly, her hand grazing her personal stack, now dangerously close to causing a book-alanche. “We've got information of all kinds!”

Vincent glanced around, noting that the library seemed to be sectioned off into sub-areas, each with its own variety of literature. From where he stood he could see a large section of garden variety reference books just a stone's throw from a dimly lit hall that looked to contain thousands of papyrus scrolls in various states of decay. A glass staircase just behind the circulation desk lead to a mezzanine that adjoined a brightly-lit room that looked to be the world's largest storage room of stone tablets. “Do you have anything more...accessible?”

The woman sighed, pushing her glasses to the bridge of her nose. “Well, if you want to be boring there is an electronic database that can be accessed from any of the computers. Though, I'd really suggest the SCROLLS...” Vincent could swear he saw drool fall from the girl's lip as she uttered the final word.

“Thanks,” the ex-Turk said, stepping away from the desk.

“No problem! If you need anything just holler!” The girl called, gesticulating wildly.

Vincent smiled politely at the girl, crossing the room to a nearby elevator. As the doors closed behind him, the Prime could swear he heard a surprised scream followed by the innumerable thuds of raining books.