AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story.
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Chapter 2: Darkness Ascendant
Arikado steepled his fingers quietly as he leaned back in his chair, listening to Soma finish the tale of the day's events. After a few moments, he spoke.
"First, I must congratulate all of you on your successes, you are making better progress than I had dared to hope in such a short time." He raised a hand. "However, if what you say is true, then we still have a lot of work to do. One of the gems is still unaccounted for, and if there are two, then it is quite possible that there are more around. Not to mention that you say that the one you have is still dangerous."
"It is," Soma said, glancing at the dimly glowing object sitting on the desk that was pressed along the wall of the "study" of the safe house. Much of its power had faded, drained by trying to pierce Soma's Final Guard. Still, even a cursory scan of it could tell that it was a bomb merely waiting for something to light its fuse.
"Hmmmm…" Arikado said, his eyes distant as he shuffled through possibilities in his head. "I will be dispatching Yoko Belnades to your position, she should arrive sometime on Tuesday. Once she arrives, you will work together to find a method of neutralizing these objects." Everyone nodded. "And now onto the mysterious girl you believe is responsible for defeating the magical trees. I will run her through our databases, but I don't believe that there will be much there." The pale man's eyes flicked from Soma to Yuriko and Akinobu, who were sitting to one side of the computer the group was using to communicate. "Taking into account the difference in power levels, I recommend that you leave the gems themselves to Agent Cruz, and focus your efforts on searching city databases for any possible information on this girl."
"Yes, sir," Yuriko said, bowing slightly to Arikado, who nodded.
"Soma, that leaves you to concentrate on hunting any more of these gems that may exist. Find them before they cause any more damage."
"I will," Soma said. Arikado nodded, a tight smile on his face.
"I have complete confidence that the three of you can end this situation before it grows any worse. If there is anything that you need, do not hesitate to requisition it."
"Yes, sir," everyone said. Nodding, Arikado leaned forward on his end and cut the link.
A moment of silence filled the room before Akinobu stood. "Well, we should probably get some rest, we're all going to have a busy day tomorrow." With that, he slipped out of the room and headed up the stairs.
"Are you going to look after that," Yuriko asked, nodding to the gem.
"Yes. We don't know what it is or what it might do, so best to keep an eye on it, at least until Yoko can get here and do something about it." Carefully, he reactivated Final Guard and picked the gem up, once more feeling a slight drain on his energy. "Well, good night, I guess."
"I'll probably be staying up for a while," Yuriko said. Soma nodded before making his way up the stairs.
The safe house was almost exactly the same as any of the others Soma had been to over his career. The first thing notable about them was the presence of wards, which may not have been as strong as the centuries-old ones around Hakuba Shrine or the organization's headquarters, but could still handle most dark creatures with ease. Even something powerful like a demon lord would take time to break through the multi-layered wall of magical energy, giving any residents time to prepare or escape.
Once inside, the safe house had a cool, bland nature. It was clean, and had enough space for a team of agents to live in, but lacked any sense of being a permanent home. It got the job done, but Soma had never met an agent who was happy to spend more time than necessary in one of these houses.
Glancing around the upper floor, Soma noted that one of the keys that had been hanging on the doorknob was missing, meaning that Akinobu had claimed that room. Soma stepped past it and grabbed the door handle across from it, opened the door, and stepped in.
The bedroom was more of the same, a simple bed tucked into one corner, with another small desk across the room from it under a window. A door led to a private bathroom, and there was a wardrobe in the remaining space. No pictures or other decorations adorned the walls.
Soma carefully placed the gem in one of the desk drawers after checking the space for any spiders that might accidently cause it to activate again. He then leaned over to the window and opened it.
'Anything out there?' he thought as a bat flew in, looking exhausted.
'No, Master,' Witch said, her voice matching Bat's demeanor.
'Great. Come on back, you need to rest,' Soma said, holding out a hand. The three souls quickly complied, reverting to their natural form and sinking back into his chest.
'Master,' Persephone said, stepping to the fore of Soma's mind. 'You wanted me to remind you to call Mina when you had a chance. She's probably worrying about you.'
Soma's eyes widened; in the excitement of the progress the team had made in their first day, he had almost forgotten his promise. "Thanks, Persephone," he muttered, pulling his phone and pressing a few buttons.
The phone only had a chance to ring once before Mina picked up; she must have been waiting on the other end. "Soma? Are you alright?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"Yes, Mina," Soma said, smiling at the sound of his beloved's voice. "Sorry it took me so long, but we've been making progress over here."
"Really?" Mina said, her voice rising in excitement. "Does that mean you'll be home soon."
Soma felt bad for what he was about to say, but it had to be done. "I'm afraid I don't know when I'll be back, Mina. The situation's complex enough that it'll likely take a while to resolve it." Soma could almost see Mina's face falling, so he decided to give her some good news. "Still, Arikado has dispatched Yoko to help us, which will help."
"That's good to know," Mina said, smiling again. Soma knew that she had made her "older sister" promise to keep an eye on Soma whenever they worked together, and while Yoko may not have the raw power that Soma did, she was a talented and clever witch, more than capable of supporting him.
The two spoke for several more minutes before their mutual tiredness finally pulled them apart. Finally, Soma allowed himself to flop down on his bed and go to sleep.
Outside, a shadowy figure glided around the safe house, a pale hand hovering a few centimeters from the edge of the ward. After a few minutes, following whims beyond understanding, it drifted away and was swallowed by darkness.
Soma set out from the safe house the next day, leaving Yuriko and Akinobu behind to continue their research. He declined Yuriko's offer to take the car, instead using one of the bicycles, due to its better maneuverability and ability to off-road. Sometimes, Soma wished that magic was more widely accepted by the general public, since Black Panther would have been even better. Still, he had to make do with the tools he had available to him.
Once again, Witch, Bat, and Ghost separated from him, fluttering off into the sky to scan the edges of the city where the sight of a nocturnal animal would draw less attention. Soma, meanwhile, made his way deeper into Uminari.
The emergency crews had cleaned up the worst of the damage caused by yesterday's rampant tree growth, allowing traffic to move with some semblance of normalcy. Still, there were plenty of signs of what had transpired, and people moved with an unnatural caution, fearful that something else would happen to shatter their tranquil day.
Soma decided to focus his attention on the various parks around the city: the streets were too well traveled for something unusual like the gems to escape notice for long. However, there were plenty of places in a park that they could remain, unseen until some unfortunate creature stumbled across them and was corrupted.
As Soma peddled through the first space, not far from the bay, his thoughts drifted to the unknown girl that had interfered the day before. Were these gems her doing, or had some other power created them, only to leave her to try and retrieve them. When the team found her, would she be willing to cooperate with them? How had she gotten so powerful in the first place?
Shaking his head, Soma focused his attention back on his surroundings. Worrying about the girl wasn't his job; he was here to find the gems. Only when Yuriko and Akinobu found out who she was would he allow himself to worry about her.
The morning passed with no signs of gems, leaving a tired and slightly frustrated Soma to take a late lunch at a small, outdoor café.
'So, where should we go next?' he thought, chewing on a bite of rice as he studied a map of the city with X marks drawn through the parks he had already visited.
'From here, that one looks like it's the closest,' Persephone said, leaning over from where she was "sitting" across the table to point at a square on the map. 'However, that would mean we'd have to circle around here if we didn't find anything.'
'So if we went here first,' Soma said, tapping another spot. 'We'd be able to make a big loop, being more efficient overall.' The demon maid nodded.
'Sound's good, Master,' she chirped before giving the empty bowl of rice a pointed look. 'Still, you really should eat more than that. I know you want to keep going, but proper nutrition is good for you.'
'Yes, mother,' Soma said, smiling slightly. Persephone pouted.
'Master, it's my job to worry about you, since you don't take the time to worry about yourself!' Soma was about to console Persephone when Succubus interrupted.
'Master, there's something here,' she hissed, her normally smooth voice tinged with worry.
'One of the gems?' Soma thought, his eyes scanning the crowd. Now that the demon soul had pointed it out, he could feel the same tingle she had.
'I… don't think so, Master,' Succubus said, 'at least, not here. No, it seems more like an echo, that someone came across one and absorbed some of the ambient energy.'
Soma kept looking, trying to figure out who or what was giving off the energy. 'It's coming from her, right,' he thought, blinking in surprise. Succubus, who had appeared next to Soma, gasped.
'Yes… but she's…'
Soma and his souls were watching a young girl walk along the sidewalk, her head down. Despite the fact that her hair reached down to her legs and was the color of gold, both rare in Japan, Soma wouldn't have given her a second glance were it not for the magic coming off her. She was clearly a master at blending in.
'Well,' Soma said, rising slowly and placing a tip on the table as he left. 'How do you think we should play this?'
'We need to find out where she came into contact with a gem,' Persephone said. "But we can't just walk up to her and…"
'Master!' Witch's voice drifted through Soma's mind. 'We've found one of those gems!' Soma's eyes widened.
'I'm on my way!' he thought as he made his way to his bike. As worrisome as it was to let a potential lead walk away, securing another of those dangerous objects had to take precedent. 'Keep any and everything away from that gem!'
'Yes, Master,' Witch said.
Soma rode through the city as fast as he could, wishing he knew the city better so he could take some shortcuts. Still, Witch reported that the area around the gem was quiet, at least for the time being.
Soma rode into a parking lot at the edge of town, he quickly locked his bike up as he looked around, making sure no one was around. Once he knew the coast was clear, he dashed into the trees before jumping.
"Black Panther!" he hissed, and the air around him shattered. Soma shot forward, darting through the trees and trailing a shockwave, causing leaves and dirt to fly as he moved. It took him a tense minute to arrive at the spot where the gem lay.
As soon as Black Panther's shockwave dissipated, the bat familiar fluttered down to hover next to him. 'It's over there,' Witch said. Soma nodded, turning his attention to the buried object. Carefully summoning Final Guard, Soma fished the gem out and studied it. It looked identical to the other, except for the fact that it might have been glowing a bit more, and it was draining his energy slightly faster. Still, he was more than able to handle it.
"I'll get this back to base," he muttered. "Could you three keep looking?"
'Of course, Master,' Witch said as Bat bobbed in the air. 'We'll contact you as soon as we find anything.'
'Thank you,' Soma thought, turning and jogging back through the forest, following the path he had carved on his way here. Soon, he was back on his bike and making his way to the safe house. Neither Akinobu nor Yuriko were there, having made their way to the city hall to look through the records and try to find the mysterious girl.
Thinking about this, Soma remembered the other girl he had seen, the blonde one. He needed to get that information to them as soon as possible, so they could expand their search. It took him a few minutes to properly secure the new gem, and after that he made his way to the city hall.
"Agent Cruz?" Yuriko asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Just Soma, please." Soma said, sitting down across the table from the pair "I found another person of interest." He held out his hand and summoned up the Doppelganger soul, bidding it to show the image of the girl he'd seen.
"Who's this?" Akinobu asked, peering at the girl. "She doesn't seem that special to me."
"Unfortunately, I don't know," Soma said. "I saw her briefly while searching the city, and she had the sense of one of the gems around her. I had to leave to secure another gem I had located, and thus was unable to determine anything more about her, not even where she was going." He sighed. "I don't know if she's actually important, but she could be. We're already looking for one child, what's one more?"
"Best to be certain," Yuriko agreed, nodding. "We'll look into her." She quickly took a picture of the Doppelganger. "We're doing fine here, Soma. You should probably get going."
"Yeah," Soma said. "See you later." With that, he made his way back outside, hoping to find another gem or two.
However, the rest of the day passed in frustration. As darkness fell, Soma had finished scanning the city parks, but hadn't found anything. Witch, Bat, and Ghost had also come up short, and made their way back to Soma. The others hadn't had much success either, but no one had really expected any different, not on the first day.
"Still," Akinobu said. "Mr. Arikado's reinforcements should arrive sometime tomorrow. That'll make things easier."
At that moment, Soma's phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, Soma wasn't surprised to see it was Yoko.
"Hello, Yoko," he said, causing the older woman to laugh.
"Glad to hear you're doing well, Soma," she said. "Though I thought you were going to be spending some time with Mina."
"I was, but duty called." Soma said, quickly switching on the speakerphone and setting it on the table so the others could hear, now that the personal greetings were out of the way.
"Too true, too true," Yoko said, dropping her bubbly voice. "Arikado filled me in on the situation, and I think I know how to neutralize these… gems, at least for a while."
"That's good to hear," Soma said.
"Mind you, until I see them, I can't be one hundred percent certain, but I'm hopeful."
"When do you think you'll be arriving, Ms. Belnades," Yuriko said.
"Probably sometime around noon tomorrow," Yoko said. "I'll be bringing Hammer with me; if I'm right he'll be able to help me. Don't worry, I've already cleared it with Arikado." Soma chuckled, thinking about how happy Hammer must be right now.
"Anyways, see you all whenever I do," Yoko said, the smile clear in her voice.
"Right, Yoko. Stay safe."
After Yoko had hung up, the other two agents turned to Soma. "Do you and Ms. Belnades know each other?" Yuriko asked.
"Yeah, we've worked together a lot, she's helped me out of a fair few scrapes." Soma said. "We've known each other for years."
"And who is this… Hammer?" Akinobu asked. "I've never heard of him."
Soma laughed. "He's another old friend of mine, but he's not actually part of the organization. No, he's a former US Army Ranger, current antiques merchant. Still, he can handle himself." Soma's face became thoughtful. "Though I do wonder why Yoko would need him."
"I guess we'll find out when they arrive, won't we." Akinobu said.
"Soma!" Hammer boomed, grabbing the younger man in a bear hug. "Good to see you, man! Good to see you!"
Soma had gone alone to meet Yoko and Hammer at the train station, which was thankfully almost empty at the moment. Yuriko and Akinobu had gone back to the city hall to continue their search for the two girls who might hold the answers to the problems facing the city. Meanwhile, Bat, Witch, and Ghost were out scanning the forests around the city for any sign of the gems.
"Hammer, please don't crush Soma," Yoko said, covering her mouth to hide a giggle. "I'm the one who would have to explain to Mina, and I really don't want to have that conversation."
"Sorry," Hammer said, immediately letting go. Soma shook his head, smiling. Even if Hammer's arms had the strength to harm Soma, the white trench coat's defenses would have been more than enough to protect him. Still, Hammer always did whatever Yoko asked of him.
"It's great to see both of you," Soma said as he accepted a much gentler hug from Yoko. "How was England after I left?"
"Not to bad," Yoko said, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of her face. "Once the cult's summoner was eliminated, the rest were easy to round up. It was more tedious than anything, really." She looked around. "It's been years since I came to Uminari."
"You've been here before?" Soma asked.
"Just once, and only for a few days. There were reports of a small vampire infestation, but they turned out to be harmless," Yoko said.
"Harmless vampires?" Hammer asked, blinking. "Never really think of those two words going together."
"Well, there are several different kinds of vampires," Yoko responded. "Some, what we call 'light vampires,' are children of the day, as closely related to humans as they are to other vampires. They're rare, but generally willing to cooperate. Really, all I had to do was sit down and have a talk with the matriarch of the clan. Both of us laid out our concerns, and came to an agreement that everyone could live with." Yoko smiled.
The trip back to the safe house was pleasant, allowing Soma to catch up with Hammer, whom he hadn't had a chance to visit in a few months. The man's business was still running smoothly, and he was considering expanding. Meanwhile, Yoko was looking through one of her books, her brow furrowed.
Finally, Soma pulled into the drive of the safe house and led the others into the study before fetching the carefully stored gems.
"Hmm," Yoko said, touching the first jewel with the tip of her wand, causing a small hum. Finally, she let out a triumphant cry.
"I can make this work," she said happily. "Though, I think we're going to need the kukris, these things are big."
"Right, two kukris, coming up," Hammer said, grabbing the bag he had been carrying and pulling out two large, vicious looking knives. Yoko took them and laid them on either side of the gems.
Something in Soma's head clicked. "Of course! You're going to seal them like you sealed the souls to make stronger weapons!" he cried.
"Correct," Yoko said, grinning. "They'll still be very dangerous, but at least they'll be predictable. Besides, with the special sheaths I can prepare, they'll be as safe to handle as any enchanted weapon. Now, if you could both be quiet for a bit, I need to concentrate."
Soma and Hammer stepped back, leaving the witch alone at the table. She carefully pushed one dagger/gem pair aside, turning her full attention to the other. Placing the tip of her wand between them, she started chanting in a language that sounded like Latin. Slowly, the two objects rose into the air, the gem spinning around the kukri.
Yoko's hair started flapping in the magical wind, and Soma knew that if she was facing them, her eyes would be shining a bit. After a long moment, the blade of the kukri split from the hilt and started glowing white hot.
Slowly, the gem came to a halt, hovering in the space between blade and hilt. Once it was in place, Yoko lowered the blade back over the jewel, causing the whole weapon to flare.
Once Soma's eyes had cleared the spots from the fusing, he saw Yoko holding a new knife. The kukri's curve was gone, and the whole thing was a fair bit thicker, as well as having an outline of the gem just above the hilt. There was also a faint glow around the weapon, much like the demonic fire that licked Muramasa's length when it was called into service. Just looking at the weapon, it was clear that this was not something to mess around with, much like the powerful object it had come from.
"That should do it," Yoko said, reaching into her own bag to pull out a length of white leather, carefully wrapping the new knife up and setting it aside. "Just one more, and we'll be done until we find another of these gems."
"So, how much stronger are these things than the souls you fused with weapons?" Soma asked.
"They're not even on the same scale, Soma," Yoko said, taking a drink of water that Hammer had quickly brought her. She flashed a smile at the former soldier before she continued. "You never let me use any of the souls from the higher level monsters, the ones you needed a Magic Seal to get rid of, but I'm guessing that they're the only ones that could even compete."
A few minutes later, Yoko had successfully sealed the second gem and wrapped it up, prepared to make a proper sheath when she had regained her strength.
"So, Soma" Hammer said. "You need any help in finding any more of these gems?"
Soma hesitated. True, Hammer was a former Army Ranger, and had survived Castlevania in 2035. Still, the fact remained that he was only human, and if all the gems were able to create something as powerful as that mouse, he could be more of a burden than a help.
Thankfully, Yoko came to his rescue. "Hammer," she said. "Someone has to stay here and help me look after the key to the safe. I'm sure Soma's keeping it on him, but I think it'd be better if we were to hold onto it, so that it didn't fall out of his pocket at an inopportune time." She glanced at Soma. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
'The safe...' Soma thought. He'd forgotten all about the safe that was in the basement of every Special Investigations base, the one that was designed from the ground up to hold sensitive objects like these gems... Instead, he'd gone and stuffed them in a drawer.
Yoko must have read his face, because she started laughing. "That is so like you, Soma," she said. "Always thinking so many steps ahead that you forget the ones you're taking! I thought you'd just moved the safe to your room, not forgotten all about it!"
"Sorry..." Soma muttered.
Yoko smiled. "That's alright, Soma," she said. "Sometimes, things like that happen. Just… try to be more careful. I doubt Arikado would be happy if he had to build a new safe house in this city."
'Um, Master?' Witch's voice drifted through Soma's mind.
'Yes?' Soma responded, holding up a hand quickly. Both Yoko and Hammer quickly realized what was happening and went silent, watching Soma with interest.
'There's… something out here,' Witch said. 'Not a gem… but some kind of animal, a very magically powerful one.'
'I think it's a ferret,' Bat squeaked, causing Soma's eyes to widen.
'What is it doing?' Soma asked as he moved towards the door.
Yuuno sighed as he stopped on top of a log, looking around the forest. Ever since he had regained some of his strength, he had been slipping out of the house during the school week and looking for more Jewel Seeds. Now, it was more important than ever.
That girl with the dark cloak… who was she? Her Device, her training, everything pointed towards some sort of professional training, but she clearly wasn't part of the Bureau. Unfortunately, Yuuno was an archeologist and didn't know about any rouge mage groups, so he couldn't say where she might have come from or why she wanted the Jewel Seeds. Still, she didn't seem to be all bad. She hadn't tried to hurt Nanoha after the fight, just taken the Jewel Seed and left.
And then there was the matter of the unknown third party, the one that had killed the mouse that had been infected by a Jewel Seed. For a while, Yunno had considered the possibility that it was the blonde girl, but then he remembered that there had been no sign of Mid Childa magic in the area, and what Bureau records he had seen agreed that there were no creatures native to Earth that could handle a Jewel Seed's defensive form. No, there was something else going on, and it scared Yuuno that he didn't know what.
"I never should have gotten Nanoha involved in all this," he muttered. This was his mess to clean up; she shouldn't have had to put herself at risk for his sake. He had tried to convince her to just give him shelter for a few days, but she had insisted that he let her help. At the time it had seemed great; she was a much better match for Raising Heart than he was. But now… Yuuno sighed again. Now it was too late; if he insisted that Nanoha let him go on alone, she would think he didn't consider her competent anymore. Thanks to his hasty decision, she was stuck, and if something happened to her it would be all his fault.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice a dark shape flitting through the trees on his left. Turning, he was surprised to see a bat hanging from a nearby tree branch.
'I thought bats were nocturnal,' he thought before shrugging and moving on, leaving the creature to sleep. He heard the soft sound of wings behind him and spun around. Again, he saw the bat, hanging from a different branch. He could see its beady eyes fixed on him.
'Is it… following me?' he wondered, warily reaching out with his magic, only to recoil when he felt a pushback from the creature's own power.
Squeaking in surprise, Yuuno turned and sprinted into the undergrowth, listening as the bat took wing and pursued him. What was going on?! Shapeshifting was a very rare talent; it was only really through luck that he knew how to do it. But this was clearly no ordinary bat.
Darting around a tree, he dove into a hole at the base, trying to shield his magic from detection. He listened breathlessly as the bat fluttered around outside before stopping.
'Is it gone?' he thought, slowly poking his head out. For a long, wonderful moment, he thought it was, until he looked straight up and saw it hanging above him, it's fangs bared slightly.
He tried to run, only for a bolt of magic to slam into the ground in front of him. Spinning, he saw the bat preparing a second attack, clearly warning him not to move.
Yuuno's eyes narrowed. He may not be a powerful offensive mage like Nanoha, but he was more than capable of handling something like this. Baring his own teeth in challenge, he formed a Mid Childa circle under his feet before rising around him to create a shield. The bat dropped from its perch, studying him with interest. Then, it cocked its head, almost as if it was… communicating…
Yuuno's blood chilled. If it were calling for reinforcements, who knew how many would answer its call. He had to get out of here now!
The shield flickered as Yuuno switched tracks, rapidly calculating a short range Transfer. It would drain much of the strength he had regained under Nanoha's care, but it was better than dying and leaving her alone to face… whatever was coming. Focusing, he marked the path where he had first met Nanoha as his exit point, reasoning that it was close enough for him to walk back while being far enough away that any attempt to track the spell wouldn't give anything away.
The bat, thankfully, didn't seem to recognize what he was doing. Rather than make any attempt to interrupt his rather delicate spell, it simply kept hovering, probably keeping him pinned down for when its friends showed up to finish him off. After about ten seconds of concentration, Yuuno was able to cast his Transfer and vanished in a flash of green light.
He flopped down in the middle of the path, to tired to care if anyone saw him. Finally, after a minute of panting, he was able to drag himself to his feet and make his way back to Nanoha's house, praying that he hadn't just made things more difficult for the pair of them.
Back in the forest, Witch's eyes would have widened if she had still had any.
'Witch!' Master Soma called over the mental link, sensing her sudden distress. 'What happened?'
Slowly, she returned her attention to the link as Bat sadly fluttered back to a tree branch. The greatest fear of any soul that had accepted Master Soma's dominance was to fail him, no matter the circumstances. Even if she hadn't been combined with Bat and Ghost, Witch would have known that all three of them were feeling that pain right now. 'Master… I regret to inform you that the ferret escaped. It cast some kind of teleportation spell. I should have recognized what it was trying to do… I'm sorry.'
'Witch, I'm sure you all did the very best you could,' Master Soma said gently. 'Teleportation is a high-level skill, you had no reason to suspect that a ferret would be able to do that.' His thoughts became musing as he continued. 'On that note, I'm not sure how it managed to teleport. Assuming this is the same ferret that was with the girl…' He turned his attention back to her. 'Do you have a sense of the magic that ferret used?'
'Yes, Master,' Witch said, happy that she could help fix her mistake.
'Good. Return to me, we'll try and figure out what the ferret did and if there's any way to stop him in the future.'
'We're on our way,' she said. Bat immediately let go of the branch and turned back towards the city, flying with all speed.
The rest of the week passed slowly, much to the frustration of Soma and the others. Soma himself was searching the forest along with the combined Witch, Bat, and Ghost, looking not only for the gems, but also for any sign of the ferret that might be able to give them some answers. Yoko and Hammer would occasionally search themselves, but they didn't have any more luck.
Finally, on Friday, Yuriko and Akinobu called Soma with good news.
"We found her!" Akinobu said. "Hurry back to the safe house and we'll tell you more."
Once everyone was gathered, Yuriko placed a small pile of printouts in the center of the table with a picture of the brown-haired girl on top.
"Takamachi Nanoha," she said. "Age nine, currently attends Seishou Elementary School." She glanced at her phone. "I also sent the name back to headquarters, and they were able to get some information on the rest of the family."
Akinobu continued. "It turns out that Special Investigations tried to hire Mr. Shiro Takamachi several years ago due to his… special skill set. He turned us down, and a few years later he received grievous injuries while on a job and was forced to retire. His son, Kyouya Takamachi, seems to be following in his footsteps, however, as he and several associates were involved in an… incident."
Soma raised his eyebrow at the description on the paper he was reading. "Ninjas?"
"Yes, some of the few real ones left," Yuriko said. "They also have had contact with the Tsukimura clan, forming a close friendship. That's part of the reason we're keeping an eye on them." Yoko gasped.
"Those were the light vampires I talked to!" she said. Soma nodded slowly, still reading the file.
"It seems we don't know much about the youngest, thought," he mused.
"I'm afraid not, we assumed that she wouldn't become a factor for a few more years at least." Akinobu said. "And no member of the Takamachi family has shown anything even remotely close to the power needed shut down the gem that caused those trees to grow." He glanced at his paper. "No, something's changed, something we didn't anticipate."
"Well," Hammer said, leaning back. "Are we going to go talk to these… ninjas?"
"Yes," Soma said. "We need to get some answers."
"Just out of curiosity, is there any news on the other girl?" Yoko asked.
Yuriko shook her head. "No, she still hasn't shown up on any city records. No name, not photos, nothing."
"Let's focus on the Takamachi lead for now," Soma said. "We'll worry about the other one later. Who knows, maybe Ms. Nanoha will have something to say about that."
Yuriko agreed to stay behind and go over the information with a fine-toothed comb, just in case there was any more information to be found. The rest of the team piled into the car and made their way to the Takamachi residence.
Once they arrived, Soma carefully led the way up the path, reaching out with his magic for any sense of the gems, the ferret's magic, or Nanoha's own. There was nothing. He knocked on the door as soon as he arrived. After a minute, he knocked again, his brow furrowed.
'I don't think they're here,' Witch said, as she had arrived a few minutes before alongside Bat and Ghost. 'There haven't been any signs of movement.'
"They're not home," a voice called, confirming the soul's theory. Turning, Soma saw a middle aged man standing on the sidewalk, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you know where they are?" Soma asked, making his way back.
"You friends of theirs?" the man challenged. "Because I don't recognize any of you."
Soma pulled out his badge. "We're with the Special Investigations division," he said. "It's very important that we talk to…"
"You know, I worked with Shiro, back before he was injured," the man interrupted. "I distinctly remember him telling you lot that he wasn't interested. And if he wasn't then, he certainly isn't now."
"We're not recruiting," Soma said. "We're here about the incident that happened last week, and we thing certain members of the Takamachi family have information we need."
"You're barking up the wrong tree," Mr. Takamachi's friend said. "I can assure you that not a single one of them would have done something like that, even if they could."
"I am well aware of that," Soma said soothingly. "And I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I just need some information."
"Surely it can wait for a while, they'll be back tomorrow."
Acting on a whisper from Persephone, Soma continued. "If we do not get this information, people could get seriously hurt, even killed, and the longer we wait, the more likely something bad could happen."
The man studied Soma intently. "You seem like an honest kid," he said finally. "They went up with some friends to the Uminari Onsen, they left this morning." His eyes narrowed. "You can expect them to know you're coming, though."
"Of course," Soma said, nodding. The man nodded back before making his way to a nearby house.
"I know the place," Akinobu said. "It'll take us several hours to get there, and it will probably be dark by the time we arrive."
"That's alright," Soma said. "We have a direction now, we just need to get there and get some questions answered." With that, they drove off, left town, and headed into the mountains where the resort was located. As Akinobu had predicted, night started to fall about the time they were halfway to their destination, causing the older agent to slow.
The trip mostly passed in silence, with everyone preparing themselves. The man who they had met was clearly cautions, so they couldn't be certain of the reception they would receive.
As time ticked by, Soma started feeling a headache build, clouding his mind. Gritting his teeth, he rubbed his head, wondering what was happening. Every minute that passed seemed to make the ache worse.
'Something's wrong,' Persephone said. 'I don't know what, but something's wrong…' Soma realized that it wasn't just Persephone, just about every soul was shifting nervously. He was about to reach out and try to determine the cause of their discomfort before he was interrupted.
'IIIIIIIII...' a voice croaked at the back of Soma's mind, causing him to jump. He knew every soul in his mind, including this one, but…
A sudden flash of pain caused Soma to cry out.
"What is it?" Yoko asked, glancing worriedly at him. He tried to answer, only for another jolt to pass through him. It was almost as if something was trying to tear itself from him. No soul had ever tried to do that before.
Akinobu pulled over, glancing over his shoulder at Soma. "What's going on?" he asked. After a moment of fumbling with the door handle, Soma stumbled out of the car, in too much pain to answer.
'Llleeeeettt… mmmeeeeee… oooouuuuuttttt…' the soul groaned. Soma felt as if a hot brand had just been pressed against his chest, causing him to let out another hiss of pain.
Finally, a blue ball shoved its way out of Soma, hovering for a moment before flashing off into the distance. Acting on pure instinct, Soma leapt into the air after it, summoning Black Panther to fly after the rebelling soul. If what he thought was happening was actually happening, he needed to head the problem off right away.
"SOMA!" Yoko cried. When it was clear he wouldn't turn around, the witch turned to the others. "Continue on, I'm going after him." Not waiting for a response, she summoned her broom and soared off after the rapidly diminishing speck of light and the white-clad shape that followed it.
Nanoha's eyes jerked open, the tingle of a Jewel Seed drawing her from her sleep.
'Here? Now?' Yuuno asked, rising onto his hind legs and looking around worriedly. 'We were supposed to be taking a break!'
'We don't have a choice, Yuuno,' Nanoha said telepathically, rolling out of her bed and grabbing her cloths, careful not to make too much noise and wake Susuka or Arisa. 'We have to go now, before that woman or the blonde girl get to the Jewel Seed.'
As she got dressed, Yunno ran over to the door and peeked out. 'Nanoha, you're dad's still up. He… seems to be waiting for something.'
'Really?' Nanoha asked. True, her father had seemed distracted much of the day, but she thought he would have been able to get to bed. A part of her wanted to go to him and try to figure out what was wrong, but she shook her head: she still a job to do. 'I guess we'll have to go out the window.'
'Yeah,' Yunno said, running back over to his friend. 'Quiet, now, we can't afford to be held up.' A quick bit of magic later, Nanoha was sprinting as fast as her short legs could take her along the path that lead to a nearby river.
Suddenly, the sound of thunder split the sky, and a moment later a flash of blue light shone through the trees in front of them.
'No…' Yuuno thought, his green eyes wide. 'That other girl must be here!'
'Good,' Nanoha said as she continued forward. 'Now we have a chance to talk to her and get this all sorted out.' Yunno was silent, but Nanoha could tell he was worried about her.
A few moments later, Nanoha burst out of the tree line near a bridge. As expected, the blonde girl was already there, along with that large woman from the resort. As the pair turned to look at her, Nanoha was surprised to see a pair of furry ears sticking from the older woman's head, where human ears should have been.
'So that's why she kept her head covered,' she though, but was interrupted by the dog woman's mocking laughter.
"My oh my. My, my, my," she chortled. "Didn't I tell you earlier that you should be a good little kid?"
Yuuno spoke up, a hint of anger in his voice. "That Jewel Seed! What are you going to do with it! It's dangerous!"
The woman looked away, closing her eyes with a smirk. "Who knows," she said arrogantly. "I don't see any reason to tell you!"
'Why are these two together?' Nanoha wondered. The blonde mage hadn't said a word throughout the entire encounter, simply watching calmly. Even when it had been only her, she had seemed… so sad. This other woman, however, was just a jerk! "…and I was being pretty nice when we spoke before, wasn't I?" the dog woman continued. If that was her being nice, Nanoha didn't particularly want to see her being mean.
The woman bared her teeth in a feral smile, and a burst of magic overwhelmed the area. Before Nanoha's eyes, the woman's orange hair extended, covering the rest of her body even as its shape warped. After a few tense seconds, a massive wolf, with fangs that jutted out of its mouth and claws that scratched the wood of the bridge.
'As I thought,' Yuuno said grimly. 'That woman is a familiar.'
"Familiar?" Nanoha asked. The wolf's ears twitched, and she let out a bark of laughter.
"That's right!" she called. "I'm a magical beast created by her." Nanoha's eyes widened. How was that even possible! How could someone do that… just create life like it was nothing? "In return for being allowed to live through her magical power, I give all my life and strength to protect her!"
"Go ahead, I'll be right behind you," the black clad mage whispered, though her voice still drifted on the wind. "Just don't be too reckless."
"Don't worry! I've…"
Suddenly, the wolf raised herself from her battle crouch, her eyes flicking around the area in confusion. On Nanoha's shoulder, Yuuno did the same.
"What is it, Yuuno?" Nanoha asked, shivering slightly as a cold wind blew through the clearing.
"There's something here, something… unnatural," Yuuno breathed, his voice shaking. "Can't you sense it?"
Nanoha looked around, trying to pinpoint whatever had spooked Yunno and that familiar. True, the temperature of the clearing seemed to be dropping rapidly… Nanoha's eyes widened, it was close to summer, it shouldn't be this cold!
"Show yourself!" the wolf shouted, rearing for a moment in anger.
Suddenly, a dry chuckle filled the area, seeming to come from every shadow. It was a chuckle that held no warmth, it sounded like a frozen wind blowing through brown, dead leaves. It was a chuckle that chilled Nanoha to her very soul.
"It seems that even false animals can sense my presence," a voice said, dripping the same darkness as the laugh. "To watch the fearless cower in terror at the mere thought of me… it fills my empty existence, at least a little."
"What are you?" the blonde girl called, raising her Device into a two handed grip as she moved to stand beside her familiar.
"Yeah! Get out here and talk to our faces, you coward!" the wolf continued, causing the presence to laugh again.
"If that is your desire, then who am I to deny it."
Tendrils of darkness started flowing from the trees, gathering over the river. Nanoha tightened her grip on Raising Heart, ready to try and defend herself, no matter how futile it might be.
'Wait, where did that come from?' she thought, blinking. 'I'm not that pessimistic,'
Meanwhile, the darkness had finished gathering, and a moment later, it shaped itself into what looked like a flapping cloak, a cloak that at first seemed to have no wearer. It was pitch black, and seemed to be made from a dark cotton. Various rips and tears marred the hem of the cloak, giving the whole thing a battered appearance that only seemed to enhance it. The hood was thrown up, covering anything that might have lay under it, and the sleeves were held together.
Nanoha recoiled at the sight, as something deep within her screamed at her to run, to fly, to get away from this… thing.
"Here I am," the voice said.
"Yeah, but you haven't answered my master's question!" the wolf shouted, glaring daggers at the cloak. "What are you?"
"I am many things, animal," the presence said, its hood turning slightly to take in the two pairs on the bridge. "But if you want to know specifically…" It turned back to Nanoha, and the nameless dread in her heart doubled, "…Perhaps Takamachi Nanoha could shed some light on the issue."
Everyone turned to look at Nanoha, who was shaking. She tried to speak, to tell the cloak that she had no idea what it was, but something stopped her.
"Perhaps a little hint is in order," the shape breathed. "I am the final darkness, to which all mortals must go one day. I am the hunter that will never be denied. No matter how fast or how far you run, I will catch you one day." Nanoha got the sense that the figure would be smirking if it had a face. "Now, throw out your best guess, Takamachi Nanoha."
"S…Shin… Shinigami," Nanoha stuttered, trying to break eye contact with eyes that weren't there.
"That is one name for me," the figure said, finally taking its gaze of Nanoha to look around at the others. "I have also been called the Grim Reaper, the Angel of Dark and Light, the Champion of the Night, Cutter of the Final String, and many other such titles by those who fear me." It slowly raised it's hands, revealing long, boney fingers as it pulled back its hood, revealing a bleached, grinning human skull.
"Myself. I prefer to simply be called Death."
One of the two main villains makes his debut. Hope you read, like, and review or I'll send Death over to your house.