AN: I own nothing and I'm not making any money off this or any other story.
Review Response:
Nightraze: Glad you still like the story, more fights are coming up (not just with Death, he'll grab some minions as well.)
MangamanZX: Dezo's one of my favorite authors of all time, I really like his GrimGrimoire stuff.
jgkitarel: Sorry if it takes me a while to update, and I hope you keep liking the story.
Keith 'AzureGrimoire' Kurogane: Yeah, he did it right at the end of the chapter. That's the first time he met them.
AN: I want to give a big shout out to SAMAS, whoever they are, because they put this story on the TV Tropes recommendations page. You are awesome.
Chapter 4: Fate and Destiny
"Soooooo…" Arisa said as she leaned back in her chair in the back of the car, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Let me get this straight. For the past few weeks, you've been doing all this really awesome magical girl stuff with a talking, magical space ferret; running around and saving the city from monsters, and you didn't tell us about it?! I thought we were friends!"
Nanoha flinched slightly at the other girl's accusing tone, both because it hurt a bit to see her friend annoyed with her and because she could completely sympathize with that anger. Ever since she and Yuuno had started their mission to reclaim the Jewel Seeds, she had felt… disconnected from her friends. She still loved them dearly, but, somehow, things just weren't the same.
A part of her regretted telling her friends about all this, but that wouldn't be fair anymore. They had noticed something was wrong the moment they woke up and saw Soma and his friends, and they had immediately turned to Nanoha as soon as they were in the car, driving back.
"I…" she said, "I just thought that… if I told you…"
"We wouldn't accept you anymore?" Suzuka asked. "Nanoha, you and Arisa are my friends, even thought… I'm a vampire. Why would we think any less of you for being able to use magic?"
"You were born with that," Nanoha said. "For me… it was chance that I was nearby when Yuuno called."
"Nanoha," Suzuka said quietly. "If you ask me, things don't just happen by chance. I think you were meant to meet Yuuno, meant to begin this mission." She smiled as she reached over and patted the mage on her shoulder.
"Yeah," Arisa said, patting Nanoha's other shoulder. "As annoyed as I am that you didn't tell us, you are my friend, and I'll stand by you."
Nanoha smiled as she gripped both her friends' hands. "Thank you," she whispered.
The trio sat in silence for a time before Arisa spoke up again. "I'm still having trouble believing that ferret can talk."
"Well, he did always seem so well behaved and smart," Suzuka said, smiling.
"Still, there's a difference between being a smart pet and being a magical talking ferret." Arisa said. "I mean, when I think about magical creatures, ferrets aren't my first thought. Really, you'd expect something bigger."
As Arisa said this, Nanoha's thoughts drifted back to last night. A chill passed through her as Death's words reverberated in her head: "Should you choose to wear your real body, you would not warrant a second glance…" This almost immediately gave way to other memories, the scythe blade stopping a breath from her skin… the icy steel gripping her arms and legs… Fate hanging helpless in Death's grip as he laughed and laughed…
"Hey, snap out of it!" Arisa said, bopping Nanoha on the back of the head hard enough to be noticed but soft enough to not hurt. "You were spacing out on us there."
"Sorry," Nanoha said. "I was just… thinking."
She hadn't told Arisa and Suzuka everything about what had happened. She did know about Soma's… former self (she had listened at the door for a few minutes after she returned to her room,) but true to his wish, she hadn't told her friends that. She had also… downplayed the danger she had been in last night, making it seem as if she, Yuuno, Fate, and Arf had been an even match for Death, rather than merely delaying the inevitable…
'No,' she thought fiercely. 'Death's not invincible! Soma can beat him, and the rest of us can hold out against him for a time, long enough for Soma to get to us. We'll be fine.'
She then turned her attention back to the mystery of Yuuno. Now that Arisa mentioned it, a talking ferret was not something one would see arising naturally, and if Death was to be believed, then Yuuno wasn't in his true form…
'Hey, Yuuno?' Nanoha called mentally, reaching to the car at the head of the small train.
'Yes, Nanoha? What is it?' Yuuno responded.
'I need to talk to you about what Death said, about a ferret not being your true form. What did he mean?' There was a long pause before Yuuno continued.
'Didn't I ever mention that I wasn't a ferret naturally?' he asked.
'No'
'Well, I'm not. I'll show you once we reach home.'
"Nanoha, you're drifting off again," Arisa said, poking Nanoha.
"I was just talking to Yuuno," Nanoha said, opening her eyes. "I asked him about the ferret thing. Apparently, that's not his real form." Again, she didn't mention that it was Death that had given her the idea.
"Really?" Suzuka squeaked. "What is he then?"
"I don't know, he said he'd show me when we got back."
The group fell into silence, and after a moment, Nanoha turned her mind back to Yuuno. 'How are things going back there?'
'Alright, I guess,' Yuuno said. 'I'm still in shock about there being a major magical culture here on Earth. There aren't many TSAB records on this planet, mostly translated ones from the Belka era, but they agreed that it had a very… backwards… attitude towards magic. Something about burning those that were found.'
'Well,' Nanoha said. 'They did used to do that, mostly in Europe. Still, that was a long time ago, hasn't this Bureau come back?'
'I don't know, I'm not in the upper echelons of the Bureau's command structure.' There was a moment of silence before Yuuno spoke again. 'Actually, Yoko wants to talk to you herself, I'll keep the connection.'
'Okay,' Nanoha said. A few seconds later, the mental connection shifted, and Yoko's voice came over the line.
'Hey, Nanoha,' she said. 'We haven't really had that much chance to talk, how are you feeling?'
'Alright,' Nanoha said. 'Thank you all again for letting me help out.'
'Well, you and Yuuno have been doing a fairly good job, especially considering the fact that you had no form of support structure to work off of,' the older mage said. 'Still, do remember to be careful; whatever you faced before pales in comparison to Death.'
Nanoha flinched slightly as she remembered how easily the entities' weapon had slid through her shield. 'I know,' she thought back. 'Actually, I'm surprised that he didn't just, I don't know, will us to die. I mean, he is Death, right?'
'Well, it's complicated,' Yoko said. 'Death, for all his power, is still only a tiny fraction of his true strength. In his own realm, he truly is an almost godlike entity, but as soon as he manifests in the real world, he loses much of his power.'
'You mean… he's actually stronger than he was when we fought him?' Yuuno asked, his mental voice shaking.
'Yes, but as I said, he has no way to access that power here.' Yoko said. 'I think you've seen just about the worst he has to offer already. We'll likely face him again, and when we do, I want you to hang back, let Soma or I take the brunt of his attacks. Lend what assistance you can, but your survival is the most important thing.'
'Can you beat him?' Nanoha asked, wondering just how strong Yoko was.
'I can give him a good fight,' Yoko said. 'But enough about that, tell me about your magic. Soma told me what you managed to do with that tree, that was quite impressive.'
The rest of the trip passed in peace, with Nanoha explaining the magic that Raising Heart had allowed her to use in as much detail as she could. It quickly became apparent to her that Yoko, for all her bubbly attitude, was a brilliant mind who knew the rules of magic inside out and backwards. It was actually quite stimulating.
Finally, however, the three cars pulled to a stop outside of a completely ordinary looking house and everyone clambered out. Nanoha considered asking Raising Heart to do a search to see what kind of wards were placed around it, but in the end she decided not to.
Soma arrived on foot not long after; having been flying cover through the mountain road in case Death tried anything on the way back. Judging by the fact that there had been no explosions, the answer to that was no.
"Well," Soma said as he looked around. "We should probably get inside; Death shouldn't know we're here yet, but the longer we stay out her the sooner he'll sense our souls."
"Dad, I'll drop off Shinobu and her family before heading back," Kyouya said.
"Alright, son," Nanoha's father said, patting his son on the shoulder. "Be careful."
"I will," Kyouya said.
"Hey, before we go," Arisa said, turning to Yuuno, who had bounded away from Yoko to stand with Nanoha. "Can you show us what you really look like?"
"Ummm… Sure," Yuuno said before bowing his head. Bright green light shone around him for a moment, before his body shifted upwards, rising onto two legs, arms lengthening, cloth forming across his form. A moment later, a boy, about Nanoha's age, stood before her. His hair was the same golden blond as the ferret's fur and his eyes remained green. All in all, the only thing that marked him as being any different from any other boy his age was his cloths: a white and brown tunic with green markings on the front, covered by a brown cloak.
"I… What?" Nanoha gasped, staring at Yuuno. She had not expected him to look human; he had said he didn't come from Earth, so why would he look human?
"I really should have mentioned it to you before," Yuuno said, his face turning slightly pink at the three girls' stares. "I hope you don't mind…"
"It's okay, Yuuno, I was just surprised," Nanoha said, quickly rallying. No matter what he looked like, Yuuno was still her friend.
"Yeah," Arisa said, glancing back. "I… I guess we should go." She grabbed one of Nanoha's hands for a moment. "Stay safe, alright?" Suzuka nodded, reaching out and taking Nanoha's other hand.
"I will, Arisa, Suzuka," Nanoha said, smiling bravely. "Just wait, this'll be over before you know it."
After a long moment, the other two girls made their way over to Kyouya's car and drove off, waving all the way. Slowly, Nanoha made her way over to Soma, who was watching.
"That's the hardest part," he said quietly as he led her inside. "When we're forced to leave those we care about behind. Don't work, Arikado's going to send some people over to make sure that they stay safe, and Death's unlikely to make the connection. They'll be alright."
"I know," Nanoha said.
Before long, the entire group was gathered around the central table of the safe house, where a large map of the city and surrounding area had been laid out. Several areas had been crossed off, marking spots where Soma had searched for Jewel Seeds, and Nanoha and Yuuno was in the process of pointing out the places they had searched, as well as noting where they had actually succeeded in finding a Jewel Seed.
"Well, that's cut down on our time a lot." Akinobu (who, along with everyone else, had been introduced to the newcomers.) "Still, we're running out of places to look."
"Well," Yuriko said. "We've accounted for ten of the gems now: we found two ourselves, and according to Ms. Nanoha's information, the unknown Fate has at least two, and you have six. That still leaves eleven." She looked up "What's our next move?"
Soma remained silent for a long moment, his eyes sweeping the map. "First, we have to talk about the two we have," he said, nodding to the two sheathed knives that lay to one side, out of the way. "We have a sealing system, but you're one seems more effective."
"You want me to seal them?" Nanoha asked.
"Yes, that is probably for the best. After that, Yoko, if you could lock them up in weapons again, that would provide an additional safeguard."
"Right," Yoko said, and Hammer reached back and started digging through the large bag he had.
"Um, we should probably take those outside," Yuuno said. "Sealing them in an enclosed area… will probably destroy half the room."
"And that would be bad," Soma said. "We'll do that when we have a chance, but we can seal the Jewel Seeds you've already weakened." Nanoha nodded, and Raising Heart ejected the six gems.
"I'll get started," Yoko said, gingerly picking up the six objects. Hammer immediately volunteered to go help, and the two moved into another room.
"Now, we have three problems to deal with: the remaining eleven gems, Death, and Fate," Soma said, looking at the map again. "Nanoha, Yuuno, do you have any idea who she is or what she wants the Jewel Seeds for?"
"I'm afraid not," Nanoha said sadly. "I tried to talk to her, but she doesn't seem interested in listening, and that Arf isn't helping." She looked down. "I don't think she's evil, like Death is. She just seems… sad."
"We'll do what we can to talk to her," Soma said. "But the most important thing is to ensure that Death does not get his hands on the Jewel Seeds. He's powerful and dangerous enough without those things giving him a boost." The white-haired man turned to Yuuno. "You've mentioned a Bureau several times; is there any way we can get them involved?"
"I don't think so," Yuuno said. "I came here on my own; when I heard that the Jewel Seeds I had found had gone missing, I felt I had to do something, and I still had my original track. It wasn't very good, so it could only lead me to the general area, but I thought I could grab them before they started activating." He sighed. "It seems, however, that there's enough magic on this world to speed up their activation, and before I knew it, I was faced with a serious battle. If Nanoha hadn't found me, I probably wouldn't have survived."
Soma nodded grimly. "Then I guess we'll have to do this ourselves," he said. "Reinforcements are on the way, but until Julius arrives, we're going to have to be careful." He turned to Nanoha. "As I promised your parents, you're not to go out alone, and Yuuno doesn't count. That means you'll likely be working with Yoko most of the time, and that means we have to get a better idea of what exactly you can do."
"What do you mean?" Nanoha asked.
"We know you're strong, but that's only a generality. We need to be able to judge exactly what your strengths and weaknesses are, so that if a situation arises and you need to fight, your abilities can be put to the best use." Nanoha saw her father's eyes twitch at the thought of his youngest going into danger, but her mother put a hand on his arm for a moment and they shared a short look.
"We could go right now," Nanoha said, pointing out an area of the map, on the other side of the city from the resort. "Neither of us have been there, and while we search, we can talk about magic." Soma agreed after a quick glance at Nanoha's parents,
"Would the two of you like a ride?" Shiro asked. Nanoha knew her father well enough to know that he very much wanted to remain as involved as he could. It seemed Soma recognized this as well, since he quickly agreed.
"Still, you shouldn't go out unprepared," he said, making his way over to the room that Hammer and Yoko were working in. After a minute, he returned holding a bag and a sheathed katana. "Your file says you can handle yourself in a fight if necessary, but Death is resistant to normal weapons and defenses. This is Kunitsuna, and there are two ward-charms in the bag that will keep you safe from the worst of his attacks, along with some potions in case someone does get injured. I hope you won't need it, but it's best to prepare for a crisis that doesn't happen than not prepare and have it happen."
"Very wise," Nanoha's father said, accepting the offered objects.
After a few goodbyes, Nanoha was once again sitting in the back of the car, along with Yuuno, who had returned to his ferret form after muttering something about not being dressed properly for the area.
Nanoha watched Soma, who was sitting in front of her. She wasn't absolutely sure, since she couldn't see his eyes, but he seemed to be deep in thought. Acting on a sudden whim, she reached out with her telepathy and did the mental equivalent of knocking politely on the door. She had long been curious whether Earth mages could also speak with their minds, or if it was a skill unique to Yuuno's people.
After a long moment, a gentle, female voice answered her. 'You need something, Nanoha dear?'
Nanoha's eyes widened. 'Who are you?' she squeaked.
'My name is Persephone,' the woman said, giggling, and an image flashed through Nanoha's head: a pretty woman who was wearing a blue dress that looked almost exactly the same as Noel's and Falin's. 'Master Soma's talking with some of the others right now, so he asked me to talk to you. To answer your question, I'm one of the demon souls that's sworn allegiance to Master Soma.'
'Souls…' Nanoha thought, a chill passing through her. 'You mean… Soma steals souls…'
'Steal is such a strong word for it, child,' Persephone said gently. 'Each and every one of us respected Master Soma's strength after he defeated us in battle, and we joined him willingly as our constructed bodies failed. Well… almost all of us.'
'What do you mean?' Nanoha asked.
'For a while, Master Soma held a fragment of Death's soul, but it deserted him when it felt the rest of the Dark Angel nearby. Although… I suppose Master Soma might not have found you if the soul hadn't lead him to you, so I guess everything worked out.'
'Sorry about that,' Soma's voice drifted through the link. 'You wanted something, Nanoha?'
'Well, I… I just wanted to know a bit more about you,' Nanoha eventually manage. 'I mean, you know everything about me…'
'I wouldn't say everything, Nanoha,' Soma said mildly. 'True, your family has a file with the organization I work for, but you weren't discussed much.' He paused for a moment before continuing. 'If you really want to know, I guess I could tell you a bit about myself, though you'll forgive me if I don't talk about what came… before. I don't like to think about those memories.'
The rest of the trip to the edge of the city passed calmly, with Soma mostly talking about his youth. Nanoha wanted to ask him about how he learned about his power, but decided that if he wanted to talk about it he'd get there in his own time.
Finally, Shiro pulled into a small parking lot at the edge of the city, "You've all been quiet," he said conversationally as the group clambered out. Nanoha felt a mischievous spark within her, and she answered with her mind.
'We were having a nice conversation, Dad,' she said, causing her father to jump slightly.
"I didn't know you'd become a telepath, Nanoha," he said as Nanoha giggled.
"Yuuno taught me, and I was practicing a bit," she said. "Soma was nice enough to help me out."
"I've never actually had a telepathic conversation with another person before, so it was as much of an eye opener for me as it was for her," Soma said. "Now, should we get started?"
"Yeah" Nanoha said eagerly, pulling Raising Heart out from the front of her shirt as the group made their way into the trees. After a few minutes, they reached a clearing and Soma stopped.
"We'll practice here for a while, shall we? You're an aerial fighter, right?" Soma said, getting a nod from Nanoha. He jumped lightly, before jumping on the air again, and again, finally reaching the to s of the trees.
"How do you do that?" Nanoha asked, flying up after him as her Barrier Jacket formed around her and Raising Heart expanded into its staff mode.
"It's one of the powers I get. I used to only be able to jump twice, but with… practice, I was able to keep going." Soma nodded. "Now, the best way I can think to see what your fighting style is to have a quick spar. Take it easy, we're not trying to hurt each other, just see what we can do."
"Right!" Nanoha called.
"I'll just… watch," Yuuno said, sounding nervous.
"I'll have to test you as well, Yuuno, so don't go too far," Soma said mildly, drawing his blade from his coat, though it wasn't being consumed by the same demonic fire as it usually was. Yuuno gulped slightly.
'Don't worry, this is just practice,' Nanoha thought cheerfully at Yuuno. 'It'll be fun!'
'This is the guy who scares Death,' Yuuno said. 'I reserve the right to be intimidated.'
Nanoha turned her gaze back on Soma, who was waiting quietly, still hovering in mid air.
"Ready?" he called.
"Yep!" she said back.
"Begin!" Soma called, shooting forward suddenly. Nanoha squeaked, bringing up Raising Heart.
"Protection!" the device said, forming a shield in front of Nanoha. Just as Soma reached it, his sword flared and he vanished, and a moment later Nanoha felt a blade against the side of her neck.
"Death can teleport," Soma said mildly. "Never have a shield that can only protect you from one direction unless you have someone else covering your back." He removed his weapon, and Nanoha turned back to face him. "However, when Death teleports, he can't change where he'll come out, so if you can somehow predict where he'll go, you can turn the tables on him, at least for a moment."
"Can we try again?" Nanoha asked, drifting back to the other edge of the area.
"How about you go on the attack this time," Soma said. "I want to see what kind of power you've got." Nanoha grinned, offensive magic was her specialty.
"Divine Shooter!" she called, forming six balls of pink light around her as she pointed Raising Heart at Soma.
"Shoot!" Raising Heart finished, launching the bolts. Soma immediately started moving, dashing and jumping through the air to evade the relentless orbs, occasionally slicing one out of the air if it came too close. Nanoha would immediately replace it, however, to keep up the pressure.
After a minute, however, Soma turned and started heading towards her again, though slower this time as he was still dodging the Divine Shooter bolts. Nanoha started moving herself, but her accuracy suffered for it, allowing Soma to move faster as well. Eventually, this fed back on itself until Nanoha was merely trying to keep away from the pursuing quasi-mage.
"Enough!" Soma called, coming to a halt. "You're fast, which is good, but it would be nice if you could continue directing your shots while you fly. Also, you're attacks are a bit weak, is there any way to make them stronger?"
"Well, I have Divine Buster, but I really need to stay still to cast that, and I can't guide it," Nanoha said, causing Soma to nod.
"And that would negate your advantage and put you at risk."
He turned to Yuuno, who had shifted back into his human form. "Now, let's see what you can do."
"Sure…" the boy said, swallowing. Nanoha flew down to stand with her father as Yuuno took her place.
"You did quite well," Shiro said quietly as the pair watched Soma's sword flashing, battering against Yuuno's shield, though half the strikes missed, as Yuuno would dart back and forward when he could.
"Really?" Nanoha asked.
"Yeah…" A long moment of silence passed before her father continued. "Still, Nanoha, I want you to be careful out there. Listen to what Mr. Soma and the others have to say, and keep your wits about you."
"I will," Nanoha said, grabbing her father's hand and squeezing gently.
Finally, Soma was able to get around Yuuno's guard by somehow teleporting twice within a few seconds (with both the quick blink he had used on Nanoha and, surprisingly, switching places with a doll). This multi-pronged attack allowed him to finally bypass Yuuno's defense.
"That was very, very good," Soma said as the pair landed. "I'm used to facing more aggressive foes, so you're purely defensive style made it hard." He looked between Nanoha and Yuuno. "Your skills will work well together, Nanoha is able to launch attacks well, and Yuuno can keep her safe. Stick together, and you'll be able to hold out against even Death, at least for a time."
"Great," Nanoha said. "Can Yuuno and I have a go together?"
"That sounds like a good idea, and then we'll spend some time searching the area before returning to the safe house." Once again, the group rose into the air.
'Yuuno, is there anything you can do to slow him down?' Nanoha asked.
'Well, I suppose I could try some binds,' Yuuno said. 'But he'll probably just break out…'
'If we time it right, then I can hit him before he does that,' Nanoha said.
'But I thought we weren't going all out, just practicing,' Yuuno said.
'We're training, and that means we have to push ourselves a bit, doesn't it?' Nanoha though just as Soma called for them to begin.
The pair darted immediately upwards, trying to gain a height advantage over Soma. Nanoha launched a volley of Divine Shooter bolts and Yuuno started trying to grab him with a bind. 'He's too fast! I need you to keep him still!'
'On it!' Nanoha said, arching the bullets around to block Soma's path as he moved towards them. The pause only lasted a second, but it was enough for Yuuno to snag one of his legs.
"Interesting," Soma said as he summoned another doll and tossed it while cutting more of the Divine Shooter bolts out of the air with his katana, but nothing happened and the doll simply faded as it fell to the ground. "It can block teleports? That will be very useful against Death!" His entire body glowed for a second, and the bind shattered, along with the three bolts that hit it.
"Master. SS ranked defense detected," Raising Heart said. "Probability of penetration, minimal."
"He'll have to stay put for that one," Yuuno said. "It's too strong to be mobile."
True to Yuuno's words, Soma only started jumping again when the glow faded, but that didn't help Nanoha and Yuuno much, as he was approaching fast.
'It's two on one,' Nanoha thought. 'There's got to be some way to beat him…'
The pair started flying, and once again Nanoha's bolts started tapering off. Soma was right; she really needed to work on her multi-tasking.
The running battle lasted almost fifteen minutes, and neither side was able to so much as scratch the other. Finally, Soma called a halt.
"Alright, that's enough for now," he said, putting his sword away. "As I suspected, together you two can keep Death at bay, at least for a time."
"Soma," Nanoha said. "How much were you trying during the fight?"
Soma studied her for a moment before answering. "It's not that I wasn't trying, but I didn't use my more lethal abilities. Still, if you and Yuuno keep your wits about you and work together, you'll be able to survive." His eyes narrowed. "You're not going to beat Death on your own, leave that to either Yoko, myself, or Julius Belmont, who will be arriving soon. Your survival is the most important thing for you to focus on, is that clear?" Nanoha and Yuuno both nodded. "Now, we still have some time, so lets search for the Jewel Seeds."
Soma stood alone, his eyes distant as he used his telepathy to speak with the others. The light of the moon causing his white cloths and hair to glow slightly, giving him a mysterious aura.
It had been several days since he and Nanoha had gone out looking for Jewel Seeds, and despite the group's best efforts, they still had not found any more. Soma was beginning to believe that the remaining objects had fallen well away from Uminari, and had said as much to Arikado in their last correspondence the night before. Arikado had said that he had other agents scouring other cities in Japan, but he reminded Soma that, if ten of the jewels had fallen in the area, it was likely that the others were in the area.
The time had not been completely wasted, of course. Nanoha and Yoko had split their time between practicing magic and searching, and the former had been going very well. Nanoha had already managed to work on her cast while moving block to the point that she only suffered a minor dip in efficiency while moving at high speeds. Soma had been forced to revise his opinion of her: if she continued advancing at the rate she was, she'd be better than Yoko by the end of the year, and depending on how high her ceiling was, she might truly rival him within a decade. Once again, he was glad he'd brought her on board; it would have been a terrible shame to let that kind of potential go unrealized, and even worse to see such a bright soul snuffed out by Death.
'There are some small islands not far from here,' he thought to Yuuno, who was with Nanoha and Yoko on the other side of the city. 'It's possible that some of them landed over there, so I suggest we try that tomorrow, since we're almost out of places to search on the mainland.'
'Yeah,' Yuuno said. 'I guess we should head back, it sure got dark fast.'
'Yeah,' Soma said, looking up. 'And it looks like a storm is rolling in, look at those… clouds…'
'Wasn't the forecast supposed to be a clear night?' Nanoha asked.
Before Soma could answer, a flash of lightning fell from the cloud into the city, causing thunder to crash.
'Master!' Rycuda the Lightning Bird cawed in Soma's mind. "This lightning is not natural! It is being summoned!"
'Death?' Soma asked grimly.
'No, Master! Human!'
'It must be Fate!' Nanoha cried. 'What's she up to?'
During this conversation, lightning had continued to fall. Suddenly, a bright light rose from the sight of the last strike.
'A Jewel Seed!' Yuuno cried. 'But how… we searched the city…'
'We'll figure out what went wrong later!' Soma said, jumping and calling upon Hippogriff to propel himself higher into the air. 'For now, we have to get that Jewel Seed! She'll have attracted Death's attention with that stunt!' Once he reached the proper height, he used Black Panther to dash through the air.
'Right!' everyone said.
Meanwhile, Fate and Arf had left their position atop a skyscraper and dashed down to the shattered remains of a portion of street, where the jewel rose as it was powered up by Fate's lightning. She glanced around, watching civilians running for their lives with a shake of her head. She had no interest in harming them, they did not need to run so fast.
"We must hurry, Arf," Fate said, switching Bardiche into Sealing Mode. "They will be coming." With that, she pointed the Device at the humming gem. "Bardiche, seal it."
"SEALING!" Bardiche said triumphantly, though only those who knew his voice well could distinguish it from a monotone. A mighty bolt of lightning speared from the black shape, impaling the Jewel Seed and forcing it into submission. Finally, after a long moment, it was done. Fate lowered her Device and started forward, intent on claiming the Lost Logia.
She was interrupted, however, by a shout from behind her. Turning, she saw that girl hovering a short distance away, along with a boy who wore TSAB style clothing and an older blonde mage sitting on a broom.
"Fate!" the brunette called. "Are you alright?"
Fate blinked; she and this girl were enemies, why did she sound concerned. True, they had fought that creature together, but that had been a fluke. "Leave," she said, using a flicker of magic to guide her voice across the distance. It wouldn't do to shout; it would likely be seen as a sign of weakness, and she couldn't afford to be weak. "I must claim these Jewel Seeds, and I will not let anyone stand in my way."
"Fate, be reasonable!" the blonde woman hovering near the brunette shouted. "We can talk about this…"
"The time for talk has passed," Fate said simply, remembering her mother's orders. "Stand aside, or I will defeat you. Bardiche."
"Yes, Sir," the faithful Device said, bringing the ax head back to ninety degrees. "Scythe Form. Set up."
"Yeah!" Arf called, baring her teeth in a growl. "This time, there's no skeleton to convince us to spare you!"
"Death's coming!" the brunette shouted. "He'll be here any minute, and we have to stand together against him! Please, Fate, don't do this!" Fate sighed, she had been hoping that these people wouldn't make her do this, but it seemed they would insist on being bothersome.
"Then I'll have to defeat you before he arrives, won't I?" she said before dashing forward at high speed, raising Bardiche. 'Arf, get the Jewel Seed I sealed. I'll keep them busy.'
It seemed that the blonde had the same idea, as she darted down towards the ground while the Bureau mage and brunette moved to meet Fate.
"Blitz Action!" Bardiche said, and the world blurred around Fate as she moved behind the girl, raising her scythe.
'Don't worry, I'll make this quick. I'm sorry,' she thought gently.
As her scythe fell, however, a plain of green light was already in position to intercept it, and several balls of pink light were flying towards her. Fate was barely able to block them before dashing back a distance, staring at the mage in shock.
'Is this truly the same girl I defeated so easily in our first meeting?' she thought, watching the brunette turn to her.
"Fate, if you won't listen to reason, I guess I'll just have to make you listen!" she said, pointing her own Device at Fate. "Yuuno, watch out for Death, this is my fight."
"But Soma said…" the Bureau mage started before shaking his head and drifting back a meter or two. "If you insist, Nanoha. Be careful."
"I will," the girl, Nanoha, said. "Raising Heart, are you ready?"
"Yes, my Master," the white and pink staff said, its red gem-core flashing.
'Arf?' Fate asked, shifting Bardiche in her hands.
'This lady's tough,' Arf said, sounding slightly stressed. 'If you can hurry up and beat the tar out of your "friend", I'd really appreciate it.' Fate nodded.
Their eyes locked, and Fate waited until the girl blinked before dashing forward again. Nanoha dodged back, more pink balls of magic forming around her.
"Fate, what are you trying to accomplish?" she asked as Fate battered her way through the attack, only to be blocked by a shield. "What's the point of this?"
"You could never understand my purpose," Fate said grimly, commanding Bardiche to unleash and Arc Saber before flipping back into shooting mode. It was clear that the other mage had figured out multi-tasking since they had last fought, so she would actually have to try to beat her this time.
"You don't know that!" the brunette said, evading a volley of Photon Lancer shots and retaliating with her own strike. "Please, Fate, I don't want to fight you. Why can't we talk our differences out, it'll save so much time and pain." Her blue eyes met Fate's red ones over crossed Devices. "I don't like seeing you so sad."
"I'm not sad," Fate said, shoving the other girl back and using Blitz Action again, this time to move a meter or so above her opponent's head. Again, however, Nanoha had darted away as soon as Fate started moving, though she had clearly thought Fate would show up behind her again, since that's where the pink bullets were waiting. Fate destroyed most of them with a sweep of Bardiche before they could reverse.
"You are," the infuriating girl said, and what's worse she sounded as if she pitied Fate. "Please, let me help you…"
"I don't need your help!" Fate snarled, a flash of anger filling her before she forced it down. Emotions were a weakness; she couldn't let the enemy rile her up. That would make her lose focus.
'Fate! Hurry!' Arf growled. 'They're right about one thing, that search spell will certainly attract that Death guy, and we don't want to fight him right now!'
"Fate, this is pointless!" the brunette called at the same time over the flash of scythe meeting shield. "Death's the enemy here, not each other. You understood that! Let's get out of here before he shows up!"
"Too late."
Both battles stopped as everyone turned to look at the Jewel Seed. Floating there, holding the gem, was Death, who would have probably been wearing a triumphant grin if he had skin. He vanished suddenly, as the white-clad mage Arf had described arrived in a blur, his black blade slicing through the spot Death had been.
"Give it up, Death!" the new arrival shouted as he shot into the air to the same level as Death had reappeared at. "You're even more outnumbered than you were last time!"
"I remind you, young Master, that I don't need to defeat you," Death said, his voice almost sounding pitying. "I already have what I came for, and it's all thanks to your mortal need to fight among yourselves." The skeleton laughed coldly. "Truly, you are your own worst enemy. Now, I'll be…"
"Not this time!" Arf shouted as an orange circle formed under her feet. "BARRIER!"
The colors of the city around the group shifted as a dome of light rose around them, and the few people who had dared to stay and watch the light show vanished, displaced as the battle moved a half-dimension over.
"Leave now, sucker!" Arf crowed.
Death looked around. "Impressive, I didn't think a pathetic creature like yourself had a skill like this." He chuckled darkly. "Ultimately futile, of course, since I can break it easily enough."
"Not before we rip you apart!" the blonde mage called, spinning the want she was carrying and forming several balls of lightning around herself.
"That might be true, Belnades, if I planned on fighting you myself," Death said. "Fortunately for me, that's what I have minions for." His scythe appeared in a pool of darkness and he slashed it through the air five times, cutting the fabric of reality with each slice. "Come, denizens of Hell, answer my call!"
Four of the slashes expelled tall, thin red demons with long tails and wicked looking spears. The last, which was much larger, unleashed two monsters, a massive blue beast with wings for arms and a wide, gaping maw. It carried a second creature in its talons: an almost skeletal being with a long neck, bloodstained beak, and a spear of its own. The whole group looked thoroughly unpleasant.
The mage in white simply laughed. "Malacodas, Slogra and Gaibon?" he asked. "I can handle these guys by myself, leaving Yoko and the others to reduce you to a paste."
"Really, young Master, you think I'm done?" Death chided. "I still have a… oh, what is that mortal phrase… ah yes, an 'ace in the hole'."
With an unholy shriek, the seal Fate had put on the Jewel Seed shattered, causing it to flare in Death's hand. A moment later, the two creatures the mage had called Gaibon and Slogra were engulfed in a beam of chaotic energy, causing them both to roar in agony as their bodies melded and warped.
"No… he wouldn't…" the brunette muttered, her eyes wide. Death smirked before speaking in a voice that dripped power.
"Kill them. All of them." With that, Death formed a barrier of his own and turned to Arf's barrier.
"We'll deal with the big one!" the white-clad mage shouted to the brunette. "Stay safe, Malacodas are nasty buggers!"
Fate glanced at the other mage, thinking. 'Arf, come back and support me,' she said.
"Fate, are we going to keep fighting?" Nanoha asked. Fate slowly shook her head.
"We'll finish later. For now, these things seem to be the greatest threat."
"That's great, Fate!" the other girl said, smiling. Fate felt a slight flutter in her chest at the sight, but she pushed it back, there was business to attend to.
The first of the demons dashed at her, its tail whipping and spear gleaming. Fate dashed around it, slashing with Bardiche and giving it a nasty burn. Meanwhile, Nanoha was easily evading her opponent, peppering it with bolts of magic as it tried to whip her with its tail.
Arf had grabbed the third enemy's spear and was trying to yank it away. She succeeded and twirled to ram it through the demon's chest, causing it to squeal in pain. Just as it started to burn, however, its tail lashed around, scoring a deep wound across Arf's chest. Fate winced as her familiar's pain flashed across their bond, and her heart wrenched at the terrible scream Arf let out.
"Yuuno! Help her!" Nanoha wailed, finally finishing of her enemy with a blast to the head.
"On it!" the mage called, leaving his opponent in a bind as he darted to catch the falling familiar. Fate glanced at Nanoha, who was charging up a heavy blast of some sort to take out the bound demon before it escaped.
"Why are you helping?" she asked, ducking under a stab from the spear before smashing Bardiche's blade through it, causing it to disintegrate.
"She was hurt," Nanoha said.
"Divine Buster!" Her device said, blasting the demon with a heavy bombardment class attack. Clearly, she was stronger than Fate had anticipated.
"Besides," Nanoha said, smiling as if she hadn't just incinerated an enemy. "I like it better when we're working together. I'm Nanoha, by the way, though you probably heard that."
Fate nodded, blinking. She wondered again why was this girl being so friendly? They were enemies, only working together temporarily to defeat a different enemy. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. She glanced back to see how the others were doing in their battle.
She saw the large, winged creature, somehow both skeletal and muscular, and carrying a flaming spear. It tried to smash the white clothed mage, only to be smashed back by a large fireball that he threw from his fist. Then, he vanished, only to reappear behind it and deliver three massive strikes with his blade. There was also a gigantic blade flying under its own power, following the man and attacking the monster. The female mage, meanwhile, was launching trios of large, crackling balls of lightning that burned through the creature and causing it to drop its spear, though the Jewel Seeds power allowed it to regenerate quickly.
Suddenly, it dashed forward with unnatural speed. Both of the older mages dodged it, but it continued on… heading right for Nanoha, who didn't notice it because she was trying to break through Death's barrier.
In that moment, everything her mother told her meant nothing. Every dissenting instinct was silenced. Fate didn't think. She acted.
"Back!" she called, using Blitz Action to move to Nanoha's side and shove her away.
The creature slammed into her, and everything went black.
Soma's eyes widened as Fate was smashed against the barrier by the twisted combination of Slogra and Gaibon. He and Yoko had wounded it badly, and it was beginning to simply thrash around. Thankfully, since it didn't have its spear any more, it had simply hit Fate with a lot of blunt force trauma, which according to Nanoha Barrier Jackets were good at taking. Still, she looked to be in bad shape as she fell. Nanoha, meanwhile, was still reeling from the shove when one of Slogra/Gaibon's fists slammed into her, sending her spinning out of control, though it seemed she would be able to recover.
"Get her!" he called to Yoko, pointing at Fate. The witch nodded and darted after the falling mage. Soma's eyes narrowed as he dashed towards the monster, summoning his powers even as he buried Muramasa up to the hilt in the creature's spine.
'Gergoth. Destroy this abomination.'
"By thy will, Master!" the tormented beast called, and as Soma extended both hands, leaving Muramasa in place. From his outstretched arms came a massive laser, burning through the demonic defenses. After a moment, it fades, leaving a weakened but still living demon behind.
"Let's finish this! GREAT AXE ARMOR!"
'It will not live, my Lord!' the mighty knight called as an impressive axe appeared over Soma's head and swung down, sundering the dark creature down the middle.
After a long moment, the two halves warped, leaving the mutilated corpses of Slogra and Gaibon, which soon burned away and revealed two souls. Soma stretched out one hand to claim them as he caught Muramasa with the other, only to watch as they turned grey and shattered.
'What…' Persephone whispered. 'They're gone… He killed them… forever…'
"Interesting," Death said. "It seems that they could not withstand the pure chaos of this magnificent object. This is working better than I had anticipated."
Soma's eyes flicked up to the grinning skeleton, who swung his scythe one last time to shatter the barrier Arf had put up even as his own fell to Nanoha's blast.
"You destroyed two souls that could have lived forever… and that's going well!?" Soma asked.
"Gaibon and Slogra would be proud, knowing that their sacrifice brought me one step closer to resurrecting our master… that is, you." Death said. "I regret that it came to that, but ultimately, they are expendable."
"If you're so determined to have a new master, why not find a new one? Why continue to try and ruin my life and the lives of everyone around me!?" Soma shouted. Death shook his head.
"Master, surely you remember what happened to that fool Dmitrii. It's quite simple, there is no one else! You are the only one who can be the Dark Lord. It is unavoidable. It is your destiny."
"If that's so, then why did you serve him? I faced you in the Abyss."
Death started laughing again. "I never served that pathetic fake! I foresaw what would become of him, and saw an opportunity. Though he would never be able to withstand the power of Dominance, he would give rise to the creature you called Menace, a creature that might have been able to kill you. However, you were approaching too fast, and if you were allowed to interfere, that creature would never come to be, so I stepped in to slow you down." He shook his head, drifting away from Soma. "But enough talk, I shall be taking my leave." He raised his hand in a snapping position.
Suddenly, a brown blur rose behind the skeleton and an almighty CRACK filled the air. Death was driven forward a meter or so by the sudden blow, but the newcomer wasn't done yet. A glowing cross flew from his hand, smashing into the dark creature and causing him to let out a hiss of pain, and then another after a second CRACK echoed. Death tried to turn and face his attacker, but the brown-clad man was already hovering beneath him.
"GRAND…" a mighty roar shook the glass in the surrounding buildings. Death immediately teleported, and Soma felt the dark aura fade: Death had truly fled the field. "CROSS!"
A massive pillar of light rose from the hovering figure, whose brown coat blew in the mighty wind his attack was causing. About two thirds of the way up the light, two prongs stabbed out, forming the shape of a sacred mark that would have caused Death much pain if he had still been present, perhaps even defeated him outright. After a long moment, the power ended, and the holy warrior jumped on the air again before shooting towards a nearby roof, where Yuuno was trying to treat Arf and Yoko had carried the unconscious Fate. Soma laughed quietly as he saw Nanoha's eyes: they were as wide as dinner plates. Nodding, he led the way over to the roof.
"Quite the dynamic entry, Julius. Very dramatic," Soma said, sheathing Muramasa.
Julius Belmont, the world's most powerful vampire hunter, hung his family's whip on his belt with a huff. "Not dynamic enough," he said grimly. "Death escaped."
"Still, you shook his confidence," Soma said. "Rather than leaving on his own terms, you drove him off. That'll be a blow to his pride if nothing else."
"Who…" Nanoha whispered, staring at Julius.
"Nanoha Takamachi, I presume," Julius said without preamble, shifting his cool eyes to her. She nodded weakly. "I am Julius Belmont." He studied her for a moment longer before turning back to Soma. "Arikado told me that she was young, but I did not believe it. Are you certain that involving her is a good idea?"
Despite her awe, Soma could see Nanoha bristle at Julius' dismissal. Julius was a mighty warrior and was completely dedicated to eradicating the forces of darkness. However, this single-minded mission left him little time to be social, and thus he often took the path of brutal honesty: he called them as he saw them, no matter what people might think.
"Don't let her age fool you, Julius. Give her a year or so of training, and she'll probably be Yoko's equal, maybe even better."
Julius' eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch, which could mean anything from him being impressed to him not believing a word Soma had just said. He chose not to comment, however, as he turned to the others.
'Soma?' Nanoha asked mentally after a moment. 'Does he… not like me?'
'Don't worry about it,' Soma thought gently. 'Julius might not have much in the way of tact, but he's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him. He doesn't want to see anyone get hurt.' Soma nodded forward. 'Let's see how our mysterious friends are doing.' Nanoha's eyes widened again and she dashed forward, breezing past Julius to get to Fate. Soma, meanwhile, made his way to Arf's side.
"Fate…" Arf moaned, her eyes slightly glazed. "Where's Fate…"
"The healing isn't holding!" Yuuno said desperately, his hands glowing green as he ran them over the nasty rent in Arf's belly. "It's like… whenever I start making progress… it just opens itself again…"
"The wound's cursed!" Yoko gasped, looking up from the young, blonde mage she had been treating. "Just a moment, I'll prepare a ritual…"
"No time, she'll bleed out before you finish," Julius said grimly, pulling a bottle of glowing liquid out of his coat pocket. "I have the solution right here."
"Umm… Julius, are you sure that's a good idea?" Yoko asked, staring at the liquid warily. Julius ignored her, making his way to the wounded wolf-girl's side.
"Get away from me, old timer!" Arf snarled over a gasp of pain.
"Brace yourself, ma'am," Julius said, ignoring Arf's furious words as he uncorked the bottle. "This might sting a bit."
This turned out to be a gross understatement, if the howled curses meant anything as Julius poured the contents of the bottle along the wound. Soma found himself wincing, he remembered when he and Julius had first fought, in Castlevania, and how much that bloody Holy Water hurt. Soma glanced at Nanoha, and chuckled when he saw Yoko covering her ears as the venomous tirade finally tapered off.
"The pain is far better than what would have happened to you if I hadn't done that," Julius said calmly, as if he hadn't just been cussed out, as he handed Arf a potion. "Besides, the cleansing flames cauterized the wound, so you won't bleed out either. Now, drink this and you'll feel better."
Arf, however, simply threw the bottle back at Julius (who caught it easily) and pulled herself to her feet before stumbling over to Fate.
"Don't touch her," Yoko said, warding the familiar back. "She's still in bad shape, she shouldn't be moved too fast. Besides, you're far from a hundred percent yourself, you both need someplace safe to rest and recuperate."
"Forget it, we're leaving," Arf snarled, trying again to push past the witch.
"And where will you go?" Yoko asked, refusing to budge. "If you leave, it's only a matter of time before Death picks you off. He's a lot stronger than either of you, and he has no grasp of mercy. If you and Fate leave, you will die, is that what you want?" Arf snarled quietly, glaring around.
"Arf…" Nanoha said, looking up from where she was crouching at Fate's side. "Please… we want to help you…"
Soma glanced at Julius, who had placed a hand on his whip, and shook his head. Violence had to be a last resort here; there were too many other factors at work.
Finally, after a minute, Arf let out a snort. "Fine," she muttered. "But know this, if any of you hurt Fate, I'll rip you apart with my bare teeth."
Soma let out the breath he had been holding, things were looking up. "Alright, we need to get Fate back to the safe house," he said, stepping forward. "We…" He was cut off by a banging on the door leading up to the roof.
"What's going on up there?!" a man shouted, trying to force it open. "What're all the lights and sounds about?!" Soma's sharp hearing picked up the sound of several people whispering behind the door.
"I'll deal with this," Soma said, making his way over to the door. At some point, someone (likely Yoko) must have blocked it off, so it took him a moment to open the door. As he had expected, there was quite the crowd behind the door.
"I'm sorry, this is a highly classified mission. I'll have to ask you all too leave. Good night." With that, Soma closed the door before the group, at least one of whom had been either filming or taking pictures with his phone, could ask any questions. "Now how do we get off the roof without dealing with a crowd?" he asked, making his way back to Fate.
"Well, I can teleport her out, she's stable enough for that." Yuuno said. "I should be able to take most of you with me as well."
"I'll make my own way back," Soma said. "See you all there." Everyone nodded, and a few moments later, everyone except Soma vanished in a flash of green light.
Soma unbarred the door again before walking to the edge of the roof. 'Bat Company?' he thought, spreading his arms.
'We obey!' dozens of voices chattered eagerly. Soma felt his body shift, and a moment later, a pure white bat was hovering where he had been. He immediately took off towards the safe house, his ears picking out the continued calls of the crowd below, though thankfully none of them seemed to notice him.
Once he was out of the way of the majority of the crowd, Soma made his way back to the ground and shifted back to his human form. He didn't want to inadvertently lead Death right back to the safe house, and he would be certain to look for Soma's bat form. Instead, Soma calmly hailed a cab and gave a destination several blocks away from where he was actually going.
Finally, he reached the safe house and let himself in to find everyone gathered in the "living room." Fate was still unconscious, and Arf was sitting protectively next to her on the couch.
"Look," Yoko was saying, sounding frustrated. "Can't you just tell us what's going on?"
"Not until Fate wakes up," the wolf familiar said stubbornly, folding her arms as she glared around.
"At least take a potion…" Yoko said, trying to hand Arf a vial of blue liquid. She simply glared.
"I'll live without it," she huffed. "Besides, I don't trust you all yet."
"Really," Soma said mildly. "If we'd wanted to hurt you or Fate, we would have done so already."
"THE OLD GUY TRIED TO BURN ME ALIVE!" Arf cried. "I'd rather not lose half my stomach to another one of your 'remedies'!"
"It worked, didn't it?" Julius said bluntly. "You would have died had I not cleansed your wound."
Before Arf could retaliate, a soft moan came from the girl beside her, causing everyone to look at Fate.
Slowly, Fate pulled her way out of the darkness that surrounded her. She was no stranger to unconsciousness,
Her first sensation was that she was laying on something soft, which meant that she must be with Arf in the apartment the pair had appropriated. She let out a small breath, if she was here, then Arf must have gotten her away.
'But how… she was wounded too…' Worried, Fate started trying to force herself back into the waking world.
"…think… coming to… Fate!" Finally, the blonde mage was able to open her eyes and was met by the sight of Arf, gazing worriedly down at her.
"Fate, you're alright!" Was that... the brunette mage… Nanoha? What was she doing here? And why was it so much brighter than normal?
"Glad to see you're still with us," another voice said, causing Fate to look around more closely. It seemed that she was not, in fact, back in the safe area, but in what looked like a living room, surrounded by a crowd of people, few of whom she'd seen before.
Panic shot through Fate, causing her to jerk up from the couch she was laying on. Unfortunately, her head started spinning at the sudden motion.
"Fate, be careful, you're still injured!" Nanoha said, kneeling on the ground next to Fate.
"I have to go…" Fate said immediately, searching for Bardiche. After a moment, she saw him leaning against the opposite wall, still in his Device Form. Fate briefly wondered if she'd be able to Blitz Action over to Bardiche and grab it before anyone was able to stop her, but the pounding in her skull quickly put an end to that line of thought.
"You can't go, Fate! You're still hurt!" Nanoha said immediately.
"Besides, we need to talk to you," the white haired man said as he made his way deeper into the room. "We need to know who you are and why you're searching for these Jewel Seeds."
Fate met his eyes coolly. So, this was to be an interrogation, was it? Well, he wasn't going to get anything from her. She wouldn't betray her mother.
It seemed the man could read the defiance on her face, as he raised a hand in a soothing gesture. "I'm not interested in a fight, Fate, we don't have to be enemies. Our ultimate goal is to get the Jewel Seeds out of Death's grasp, and you seem to know what you're doing. Any insight you could give would be very helpful."
'Fate… I think we should listen to them,' Arf said mentally.
'But Mother said…'
'You're Mother's not here! She dropped you on this planet and told you to get the job done! Fate, I say again, we don't stand a chance against Death without help, not if he can summon small armies at a whim. While I was injured, I caught a bit of that fight Soma and Yoko, the mage in white and the blonde respectively, had with the big one. It would have torn us apart. Fate, my job as your familiar is you keep you safe, and I can't do that if you insist on throwing us into situations that we have no hope of surviving.'
Fate remained silent for a long time, considering. The more she considered, the more reason told her that Arf was right. She would talk to mother, hopefully she would understand.
A brief pain flared through her, but Fate ignored it.
"I seek the Jewel Seeds on my mother's orders," Fate said finally. "She… needs them for something, and she sent me out to get them."
"But how did she know they'd been found. Such information wouldn't have gotten to the public yet." The Bureau mage put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Besides, what would she need Lost Logia for? Those things are dangerous."
"My mother knows what she's doing," Fate said immediately. "Other than that… I don't know how she knew, she just told me where the Jewel Seeds were and to go get them."
"That seems very irresponsible," Yoko said, folding her arms. "Really, what kind of mother sends her own young daughter out to do something dangerous like this?"
"Mother's sick!" Fate said instantly. "She'd have done it herself if she were well."
Before anyone else could say anything, a phone started ringing. Soma pulled it out and looked at the front for a moment before opening it an pushing several buttons, allowing a smooth, cultured voice to be heard throughout the room.
"I just heard the most interesting thing on the news," the person on the other end of the line said mildly. "Apparently, there are aliens doing battle in Uminari." The voice became much more serious. "Why have I not heard about this yet?"
"We were in the process of talking to one of the aliens," Soma said. "Fate's here with us, and she was telling us her side of the story."
"Really?" the phone said, sounding happier. "Well done, all of you. Is she there right now?"
"Yes," Fate said.
"Well, my name is Genya Arikado, and I'm the director of the Special Investigations Division. I'm sure Soma has handled the introductions on your end. Now, if you don't mind, would you repeat your story for me." Slowly, Fate did.
"Well, is there any way we can get in contact with your mother?" Arikado said once she had finished.
"I… don't know," Fate said. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you as it is…"
"It's important," Arikado said. "We need to have some way to get these Jewel Seeds off of Earth before Death gets his hands on them, and since Yuuno cannot contact the Bureau at this point, your mother may be the only option."
"Sir..." Yuuno said, his eyes wide. "You can't be considering…"
"I believe I know why Death wants these objects, and if I am right, and my train of logic continues to the only conclusion I can envision, all of existence is threatened. Not just Earth, but everything, everywhere. Thus, we must find a way to get these objects off the planet, even if it means allying with someone we wouldn't wish to normally." After a long moment,, Arikado continued. "Fate, is there any way to contact your mother? I must know if her plans for the Jewel Seeds threaten existence as well."
"I'm… going to report to her tomorrow," Fate said.
"Excellent. Tell her to contact us, and we can work out a potential transfer. However, I do need to know what she plans on doing with the objects first. Can you give me any insight?"
Fate blinked. "I… really don't know. She said that she needs them to make everything better, but I don't think that's what you want."
There was a moment of silence before Arikado continued. "Well, I must speak with Soma privately for a moment. Once again, you have all done good work, and Fate, I await your mother's response." Soma nodded and made his way to a different room.
There was a long pause before Yoko spoke up. "Well, I think Fate should spend the night here rather than wander around after dark, but we are running a bit low on rooms…" Fate was about to say that she could handle herself, but Nanoha spoke first.
"Fate can stay with me!" the brunette girl said happily.
"That's not…" Fate tried to begin, only to be overcome by a wave of weariness. When had been the last time she had rested well, anyways? Her entire time on Earth, she had been on the knife's edge, constantly prepared for something to go wrong. It didn't take her long to realize that she didn't have the strength to argue, and she let the excited girl pull her up the stairs after she pulled Bardiche back and returned him to standby.
The room Nanoha showed her was spars, but functional. It might have been much smaller than the suite that she and Arf had borrowed for the duration of their mission on Earth, but it was adequate.
"You can use the bed, Fate, you need it more," Nanoha said, standing to one side. "There are some spare blankets in the closet for me to use, I'll be fine on the floor."
Fate once again looked at the brunette mage, the same question that had plagued her ever since they had met that evening once again bubbling to the top of her mind. Finally, she couldn't handle it anymore.
"Why are you treating me like this? We're enemies, only working together out of mutual convenience. If my mother refuses this Arikado's offer, I will fight you again. Why do you insist on treating me like we're friends?"
Nanoha blinked. "Fate… I never saw us as enemies," she said. "We're both searching for the same thing, but that doesn't mean we have to dislike each other, especially now." She cocked her head. "Do you really… think of me as the enemy?"
"I…" Fate started. "If Mother…."
"Please, Fate, I asked what you thought, not what your mother might or might not think," Nanoha said. "You saved me from that monster, that's not something you do for an enemy."
Fate flinched slightly, she had forgotten about that. She hadn't been thinking in that moment, but still, she had put herself at risk to save Nanoha from harm.
"Please, Fate," Nanoha said. "Why can't we be friends?"
Fate realized she didn't have an answer for that.
Fortunately, Arf must have sensed her discomfort and came to her rescue. "Look, we're all tired, and Fate and I have to leave early tomorrow," she said. "Can we have this lovey-dovey talk some other time?"
"Oh, sorry!" Nanoha said, covering her mouth. "I was so excited to talk to you that I forgot! I'll be quiet now." With that, she retreated and started digging through the closet for her bedding.
'What a strange girl,' Fate though as she finally let her Barrier Jacket dispel.
Soma, meanwhile, was sitting at the table in the kitchen, rubbing his temple. He had given Arikado a more detailed account of what had happened, along with the fact that Death had gotten a Jewel Seed.
"This is troubling, but not catastrophic," Arikado said. "If my theory is correct, he will still need several more before he is able to fulfill his plan."
"What is your theory, anyways?" Soma asked.
"Mina."
"What!" Soma hissed, his eyes widening.
"She's your anchor, your lifeline. As Celia proved two years ago, if Mina is killed, your inner darkness will be unleashed. Death wants to replicate that, but he needs to get to her, which is quite difficult because of the powerful wards around Hakuba shrine. To breach them, he needs more power."
"The Jewel Seeds…" Soma breathed.
"Yes, and if you become the Dark Lord again, he will give you the Jewel Seeds, making you more powerful than any force on Earth can stop. And now that we know there are other worlds out there, your dark self will seek to destroy them as well." Arikado said. "Fortunately, now that we have predicted his plan, we can take precautions. I've already asked Mina to remain inside and I've placed guards, but it is vital that Death does not get too many Jewel Seeds. Fortunately, if Fate and her mother agree to work with us, we will be able to overcome him, since he can no longer rely on divide and conquer tactics."
"Then I pray that Fate's mother will see reason." Soma said.
"As do I, Soma. As do I." With that, Arikado hung up.
After a minute of staring at the phone, Soma dialed again. After two rings, the person on the other end picked up. "Hey, Mina," Soma said, a sad smile on his face.
AN: Well, it seems that everyone's allied against Death… or are they? I wonder if Precia will be rational about this whole business… who am I kidding, anyone who's watched Nanoha knows exactly what she's going to do : (
If you're curious, here are the mage rankings as I see them: (Edit: I messed up earlier, thank MangamanZX and Detective Ethan Redfield for correcting me)
Soma: S
Julius: S-
Yoko: AA+
Nanoha: AA
Fate: AA
Yuuno: AAA Defensive, C- Offensive
Death: S-