Chapter 28: Meet and Greet
"So, I gotta ask: What the #$% happened down there?" Vita snarled.
As seemed to be the ongoing tradition these days, those of the gathered force who weren't in the infirmary were holding their tactical debriefing in an attempt to figure out what, if anything, had just happened to screw them over this time. Vita should, in all fairness, have probably not been at the tactics meeting given her injuries, but... well, she was a bit stubborn when she was really, really angry.
Just a bit.
Unfortunately, this was the sort of situation that really didn't call for Vita's normal attitude. A major dimensional event related to misuse of Lost Logia had occurred, and this was no longer a matter for one ship to deal with. The post-mission tactical debriefing was taking place at HQ, with Admiral Mizetto overseeing and enough personnel to staff the Asura a dozen times over running about frantically, trying to figure out what the Hell as actually going on. Despite this, the only chastisement she received was from Lindy, sitting near the head of the briefing table at Admiral Mizetto's right hand, who sighed and said mildly, "Language, Miss Vita."
"You're not my Master and I'm not one of your soldiers, so do not tell me what t-" Vita began.
Lindy stared at her. Just stared.
"... sorry." Vita muttered.
"Apology accepted." Lindy said cheerfully. She turned to Admiral Mizetto and said, cheerfully, "Now, sir, if you wouldn't mind filling in the ground team on what occurred off-world during the conflict?"
"We are not, at the moment, completely certain ourselves." Mizetto admitted. "A major dimensional event has most definitely occurred, but the exact consequences are unknown other than two factors. First, the strange boost in effectiveness of your adversaries. Second... this."
With a wave of her hand, the display appeared over the table, showcasing the swirling black vortex disfiguring the blues and violets of the dimensional seas.
"And... what is this?" Signum asked.
"Nothing good." Rein muttered.
"We know that the reaction which resulted in it," Mizetto said calmly. "Was a highly accelerated version of the natural process by which new dimensions are created; the convergence of the dimensional currents into a single point, creating an explosive reaction which then creates a pocket of relative calm in which life can exist. However, in this case..."
"Something corrupted the process." Rein said softly. "It's just... it's cold and wrong and I felt it when it happened, what should have been a brilliant burst of new life just opened a door to a vast, aching nothingness..."
"The working theory at the moment," Amy said, "Is that the process was somehow manufactured to bring something out of the dimensional void. This storm is a result of the 'negative' energies of the void being pulled through and violently interacting with the energies of the dimensional sea."
"There's energy in the void? You'd think it would be empty." Vita said.
"Yes, well..."
"I mean, it's called a 'void'."
"Well, I..."
"But there's energy in it. So it's not really a void at all."
Amy sighed. "Hayate?"
"Bad children sleep on the couch, Vita." Hayate said primly.
Vita stopped talking.
"Please go on, Miss Amy."
"... yes, thank you. In any event, as far as we can tell, the point of all this was to retrieve something from the void. Some... artifact or weapon, or..."
"A world." Yuuno breathed. "They needed to bring out something so huge it took an entire stable dimension to hold it? From the very beginning they were seeking to restore a lost world... an entire ancient planet, lost in a dimensional tremor thousands of years ago... oh, it's almost too much to hope for, but what else could it be? This is the single greatest..."
"You don't have to sound so happy." Chrono said. "These people are hostile. Them getting what they wanted is a bad thing."
"Er... right. Of course. Have to... fight crime." Yuuno said, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. "But, if, say, we were to visit this world, then perhaps..."
"I'm afraid that is a bit out of the question, young man." Admiral Mizetto said. "All analysis seems to suggest this storm reaction is unfortunately on the impregnable side."
"Nothing physical is getting through there, trust me." Amy said. "The energies involved are... well, they would rip the Asura to pieces, and she's about the most durable ship we've got. Whatever is in there, we're not getting in to see it."
Yuuno considered this. "Well... that's a good thing in some ways, correct? At least this means that nothing can get out, as well?"
Lindy sighed. "Not... precisely. Someone can apparently get people in and out... permission for the field team to provide our report, sir?"
"Granted."
"Saved the day. Got the Logia. Things went crazy. Got stepped on. I'm pretty pissed off." Vita said succinctly.
"Vita!"
"Sorry."
"The problem is, she is not entirely incorrect." Signum said. "While her description lacks a touch of... elegance... it is technically true. We successfully intercepted the Lost Logia we were assigned to, and had the hostiles contained. But... and I assume the timing to coincide with this reaction which has your scientists so confused?... Quite suddenly, the three major enemy combatants experienced a sudden, sharp increase in all measurable combat statistics. Exhausted as we were, we simply couldn't keep up."
Chrono nodded. "We already know that our 'friends' are not human. We can safely assume that whatever weapon..."
"Or planet!"
"Yes, Yuuno, or planet, that they liberated by the dimensional void, it serves the purposes of amplifying their abilities."
"By a lot." Vita grumbled, rubbing her stiff neck.
Hayate leaned forward, bringing one hand to her chin thoughtfully. "This... really, really worries me. Three exceptional magi does not make an army, so why have they been so hostile? They have to know they can't deal with the whole TSAB, they've barely kept up with a single unit, and only by making unusual alliances and exploiting unorthodox tactics. They've never once tried to negotiate... which makes me think they believe that whatever they've unearthed here will let them defeat the whole of the Bureau at once, or at least give them enough leverage to let them negotiate from a position of power."
The room fell deathly silent as all eyes turned to Hayate.
"Wh-what? Did I say something wrong?" She asked, looking at the incredulous gazes around the table.
Mizetto chucked softly. "Officer material, this one. Sees the big picture."
"... It was just what I thought..." Hayate said. Her face was very red indeed, but she didn't look unhappy at all.
From his position at Mizetto's left hand, Commodore Bentz cleared his throat. "Still, coulda been much worse. We did get the Logia, and we caught one of our... special friends."
"Ah, yes. Them." Chrono said darkly. "What have we learned from that?"
"The thing has a recall feature built in to allow the owner to teleport it directly to them from almost anywhere, so we've not learned a great deal since we need to keep the thing wrapped so tight in wards and stasis locks that getting close is next-to-impossible." Bentz admitted. "But the tech boys have informed me they'll be having nightmares for weeks. We couldn't confirm or deny much of anything, detail-wise, so they... were not expecting the scans to turn up living tissue in the circuitry."
"And the Lost Logia?"
"It's green." Bentz said.
"... ... Seriously, now."
"Honestly? It's not much different in form or function from those Jewel Seeds that popped up in the Testarossa Case. Obviously more stable, easier to program, but not significantly different. We haven't cracked the AI yet, but even if we could it's just a power source."
Admiral Mizetto shrugged. "Well, better to have it and not need it, I suppose. And truly, at the moment, I think we really could use as many trump cards in our hand as we can get." She cast a solemn gaze once more at the display screen, the dark vortex on it glimmering with a sickly gray inner light. "I simply do not like the looks of this..."
Enlil smiled softly as she sipped her water. "Well, it did not go perfectly, but we seem to have pulled off the phase one swimmingly."
Susanoo sighed in annoyance, leaning forward to fluff her pillow. "Yes, well, I wouldn't call it 'swimmingly'," He said with a scathing glance at his sisters. "There were some issues with excess amounts of crazy."
"Hey!" Amaterasu said. "Only Tsuku was acting crazy! I was just being like I always am!"
"Which is...?"
"Charming."
"... ... ... ... ... I hate you." Susanoo said. "In any event, the whole thing was a huge mess and I need to have a long, long chat about certain people concerning them being stupid. Beyond that, I'm also getting a little sick of coming home to find you lying on the floor half-unconscious, Lil."
"A-hem!"
"Your Majesty."
"Yes, well, hopefully this will be the last time." Enlil said. "I had my doubts concerning the use of only three Gates, but it seems the reaction is stable for the moment. Although... we couldn't get as much energy as I'd have hoped into the initial fusion."
"Is this a problem?" Tsukuyomi asked, a slight quaver in her voice. Susanoo sighed softly, his anger forgotten. She lost the drive unit, and she lost control of her emotions... Please, please say that it's not a problem, Lil, she'll blame herself if it is...
"Affirmative." Yggdrasil's omnipresent voice stated. "The beginning reactions were sufficient for our purposes, but only barely. The newborn dimension has been created, but not stabilized. A void-infused dimensional formation is a never-before-seen phenomenon, so I am unable to provide a truly accurate time frame, but based on my analysis of the reaction thus far and charting the degradation of the energy involved, I hypothesize that it will be between 20-25 standard days before the storm dissipates enough to allow travel through it by any means save the Master Gate. Our plans have been unavoidably delayed."
"... ... ... screw you, Yggy." Susanoo said, watching Tsukuyomi's face fall in shame.
"This is not physically possible."
"Must we bicker so, children?" Enlil asked dryly. "The delay is an irritation, but it hardly matters. Actually, if I'm careful we can most likely play it to our advantage in dragging out negotiations to paint ourselves as the reasonable party. The same with Susanoo's implacable softheartedness; perhaps it made the process itself more difficult, but we're in a better negotiation position now that we've projected an image into the public consciousness showing us as merciful. I'm not disappointed with any of the results we've attained here."
"Well... for a certain degree of merciful, yes..." Amaterasu said.
"... ... ... Yggdrasil, I believe I'm going to need headache medication as soon as possible." Enlil said.
"No, no, it's just... well. Um. Out in the field, I've kind of been... myself..."
"A double dose, please." Enlil said.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't kill anyone! I never went outside the boundaries of our orders to only engage in the necessary taking of lives ... Except that one guy, maybe, but he was just a little guy..."
Enlil rubbed her temples. "... in all honesty? This is a conflict, there were bound to be casualties; and frankly, only immolating a single person unnecessarily is better than I expected from you."
"Now you see, majesty, when you put it like that it makes me sound really bad..."
"There is a reason for that." Susanoo growled.
Enlil raised a hand again to call for silence. "I expect a certain level of viciousness from you all, Susanoo. Your job is intercept with extreme prejudice anything which poses a threat to me, and a willingness to hack said thing into small pieces mercilessly and on pure reflex is a good thing. It's hardly Amaterasu's fault she's been placed into a situation where those tendencies are a disadvantage. And realistically... the negotiations are more for appearance than anything else. We want to avoid pointless conflict as much as possible, but it's not as though the ultimate progression of the plan will be greatly hampered if they want to resist."
Amaterasu's slightly embarrassed expression shifted to a coolly analytical one. "And... you think they'll actually agree?"
"I think they won't have a choice." Enlil said, with a soft smile. "Now, it might just be a formality, but we should probably set up negotiations. I realize it's a bit premature, but now that you're operating back at something approaching your true potential, I have a message to send and nobody I trust to send it except you.
"Extend our olive branch to the TSAB. Inform them that we are, as of this moment, ready to begin negotiations to bring this entire situation to a peaceful conclusion, and that if they are interested in a cessation of hostilities than an ambassadorial team should be put together to meet us."
Her smile grew.
"Oh, I've had an amusing thought as to who the ambassadors should be..."
The music was like a living thing.
Like a physical force, Rialto's Fourth Symphony tore through the facility, the sheer power of the piece permeating every molecule of the building, overpowering even the machinery that hummed its constant electric whine.
He didn't often listen to music when he was working. Only when he was inspired, when the time had come to work on his masterpieces. When the lab was empty, and all lines of communication closed, and it was time to perfect his daughters. Alone, free, able to push the boundaries of science and technology to unimagined, unforeseen heights, and...
The comm screen blinked on, to indicate an incoming transmission.
Jail Scaglietti looked up from the mass of circuitry and armor plating that would eventually be the combat frame of Unit #9 (The mechanical aspects of the combat cyborg were progressing beautifully; they would eventually provide the basis for a truly exceptional close combat model. Unfortunately he was having a devil of a time locating a proper base gene structure capable of properly bonding to the heavy equipment...) and blinked several times, not exactly sure that he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. He knew that, for the moment, he was essentially a slave, but he had made it abundantly clear that in order for him to attain the results his handlers expected of him, he needed room to create. Nove was not going to assemble herself after all, and she was a vexing one, it was possible he'd need an entirely new, specialized gene sample to produce a body capable of withstanding the stresses of the combat subsystems he'd devised for...
The screen beeped again. He couldn't hear it over the symphony, but he knew it was beeping and the beeping was disturbing to his demeanor.
Reluctantly he gestured, bringing the sound of the orchestra to a sudden stop. "Uno?" He said. "Inform whomever is ignoring my request to be left alone that I am too busy with my research to take on any new assignments, and if these people ever want anything done properly they had best actually listen when their experts talk?"
"It's Section Black, sir. The Director, in person." Uno said dutifully from her position in Command and Control, overseeing the lab's database and functions.
"... oh. Oh-ho! This might actually be good news then." Jail said, cheering considerably. "I'll admit his projects tend to be more amusing than the norm, if nothing else. Very well, put him through to my monitor."
The monitor went live, though as always when the Director called, there was no face; just a blank screen. It was all rather silly... it wasn't as though Scaglietti had never met the man in person. Ah, well, some people just got wrapped up in that sort of thing. "Ah, my old friend." Jail said warmly. "It's been ages si-"
"When I call you, Doctor, you answer. Immediately." The Director said, the familiar altered tones striking just the wrong notes for a human voice.
Jail chuckled. "Ah, you haven't changed, I see. Still all business. You hide your face, you hide your voice, you insist only on titles even across the most secure of lines... why, I think I knew you for a year before I ever found out that your name was-"
"If you utter one more syllable I will have you killed." The Director said, without a hint of emotion in his tone. "The fact that you even KNOW that name is reason enough for that, if I had my way, but unfortunately I do not at the moment have the authority to lay a finger on you unless you step a bit further out-of-line."
"HA! Ah, my friend, someday I shall perhaps have to discover why exactly you dislike me so much when we have so very much in common." Jail said, his smirk not diminishing in the slightest.
"Because you're insane, mostly."
"Glass houses, my friend."
"... Because you can call me insane, but at least I believe in a cause. You, on the other hand, are insane without a purpose. You're a wild animal barely kept caged because you rely on us for your supply of Lost Logia to experiment on, and as soon as you've learned as much as you can in our care, you'll begin to seek more and you won't care what you have to do to get it. You cannot be trusted and I'm fairly certain that keeping someone as blatantly unconcerned with the future of the Bureau as you in our employ is going to result in a disaster."
"Flattery, my friend, will get you nowhere." Jail said, not bothering to deny the obvious. Really, he liked this man in strange way. Sometimes it seemed like he was the only one of 'higher-ups' who actually paid attention to him.
"In any event, I'm forced to occasionally acknowledge that even the most rabid of animals can serve a purpose." The Director said. "How aware are you of..."
"The unusual energy formation currently swirling about mindlessly in dimensional space?" Scaglietti finished. "Do you even have to ask? Within ten minutes of its emergence I knew more about it than any other person alive, and five minutes after that I determined that it was not a threat to my research nor particularly interesting."
"Well then, it is my great pleasure to inform you that you are WRONG, Doctor." The Director said, and indeed the satisfaction in his tone leaked through despite the voice modification.
Jail rolled his eyes at the tone, but listened to the explanation anyway whilst continuing to make some adjustments to the circuitry that would one day be Nove's right arm.
Then he began listening more intently, the adjustments coming less and less frequently.
Then he just pushed the machine away.
When the Director had finished his outline of the general situation, the Doctor had only one thing to say.
"I want it all. Every record, every machine, every scrap of knowledge they have to offer. Everything."
"Finally, we agree on something." The Director said. "But the problem of dealing with the current owners has become prohibitively difficult, I fear, and the more... legitimate branches of the Bureau are quite active in this case. We cannot afford to involve ourselves more directly than we already have."
"Active?"
"They took a Black Cat. It is not likely they can learn anything significant from it, but..."
Jail blinked a few times. "Ah... well, I suppose I should mention a small detail concerning the implant I place into the primary motor cortex, just behind the second subneural web..."
"We found your initials and filed them off shortly after the units were delivered."
"Oh, that's good. It would have been rather awkward for them to learn the Cats were my prototypes..."
"I probably shouldn't ask, but why do you even put those in there, anyway?"
"An artist has to sign his work, of course."
"... I hate you so much."
"And yet I am needed, or you wouldn't be here."
"Believe me, I am painfully aware of this fact. We have a plan for dealing with this situation efficiently, once access to the interior of that storm becomes possible and the world is exposed, but our own techs have been having a difficult time assembling the needed equipment. Tell me, Doctor... what can you do with this?"
The blueprints for the bizarre device filled the screen, and instantly caught Jail's full attention. He couldn't help it. The machine was fairly simplistic; a gray concave disc with a trio of prongs extending from one flat surface, a small, spherical green gem clasped firmly within them. A simple, almost ugly device, yet looking at the plain mechanism and the woefully inaccurate research notes set his mind ablaze; theorems and equations and design options that were painfully obvious to him but which had somehow been missed by whatever dolt did the initial assembly all running through his brain without pause.
Doctor Jail Scaglietti smiled.
This was never a good sign.
"I think I can work with this, yes."
"Tsuku... I think we need to talk." Susanoo said. The three siblings had left Enlil's bedside to prepare for upcoming duties; Amaterasu was off doing something (do you really want to know what she does in private?), and Tsukuyomi had gone to the Royal Library. She wasn't reading any of the thousands of text documents or millions of electronic records... she was merely sitting. Alone.
And when she was alone, her big brother reasoned, that was when he shouldn't let her be by herself. Being alone by yourself just sucked.
"It will have to wait, I'm afraid." Tsukuyomi said softly. "We ship out again in less than an hour. You are still damaged, even if you don't feel it, and..."
"That's not important. None of it is." Susanoo said. "We need to talk. You've been acting strangely, lately. Even Ammy noticed a little bit, but she's too self-centered to really pick up how bad it is. But me... do you really think there's any way you could possibly hide something like this from me, Tsukuyomi?"
"... ... I had hoped to." She said. She had always been a small girl, physically, but to Susanoo's eyes his baby sister had never been tinier. "I... I don't know what to say about it. I'm confused, and frightened, and angry, and I don't understand why I'm feeling this way."
Susanoo considered the situation. ""Hee hee. I didn't think that Nanako girl was saying anything all that world-shaking, honestly, but it's sure got you stirred up! Still, it's nice that you're bonding with her... so much you're starting to screw up a little, even!"
He didn't even try to dodge when she punched him; he'd been expecting as much. "You... you..." she growled. "How could you... how dare you...!"
He smiled down at her, showing no visible pain despite taking a blow to the jaw that could have crumpled plate steel. "Heh... this is why I've always told you not to be so cold, y'know? The only way to know how to deal with things like feelings is to deal with them. You're not a little girl, Tsuku, but in a lot of ways you're not exactly a grown-up either. You've always been... distant. And not a lot of people bothered to try to close the distance, I know that much. And some of the ones who did... well. Disappointments happen."
"It's not a problem. Really, none of that bothers me anym-"
"Honestly, I think it's my fault. You're the baby, and I've always been there for you, so it's like... you let that bond take the place of everything else and never made any real friends. And since I love you and I liked being someone you could rely on, I didn't try to push you to anything. But shutting yourself off from the possibilities isn't really healthy, Tsuku. Building up that armor and never letting anyone but a few select people get too close... it's just sad. I should have said something long before now." Susanoo said, smiling gently. "Life is... people. You have to reach out, let people get close, live and make friends and make enemies and fall in love and fall out of it and get angry and get sad and get hurt. It's okay that you like this girl, you know? And it's okay that you're angry at her. And it's even okay that you're confused by the fact that you like her even though you're angry. That's all... normal."
"And..." Tsukuyomi whispered. "And why is it so confusing? I was... I was losing my mind, it felt like. I was supposed to kill her, but I didn't want to. I didn't even want to do things that made her sad, because when she was smiling, and kind, it made me feel warm. But then she lied to me, and I hated her so much... I wanted to kill her, when before it hurt to even think of it. But now I don't even know why I wanted that. I'm angry, but I think I would be sad if she'd died... but..."
Susanoo smiled, knelt down, and took her into his arms. "It's called 'forgiveness', sweetie. She got close. She hurt you. You got mad. And now, because you like her, you're starting to forgive."
"... I don't know if I want to. When I hated her, it was simpler." Tsukuyomi said. The tears didn't fall, but Susanoo could hear them in her voice. "When we meet again... and I can't bring myself to kill her...?"
"Then don't." Susanoo said.
"But... our mission..."
"Hey, I didn't say you couldn't kick the crap out of her." Susanoo said dryly. "Stomp her! Then be friends afterward. There's nothing weird about getting along with someone you get along with, no matter if they're on the opposite side or not; just means you have to be careful not to knock their teeth out too hard. And if you have no choice but to... y'know... then all you can do is mourn her, and wish things could have been different. That's how battle... no, that's how life works. Taking risks and getting hurt is a part of how we grow. And the losses just make it more worthwhile when it finally turns out right."
Tsukuyomi nuzzled her head into her brother's chest, relaxing into his arms just a little. "I... I'm not sure. I... perhaps I can try, but I don't know if I can be like you, Susa."
"Well, I am pretty awesome. It's hard to match."
"Haaaaaalllllllloooooo!" Screamed an unwelcome voice. Amaterasu poked her head into the library. "Are you two around h- eeeeeeeehhhhh! What do you two think you're doing having cuddle times without me?"
Susanoo winced. "We were having a moment. And since you ruin those... case in point... I thought it was better to have it without you."
"Grrrrr... well fine. Don't include me in adorable cuddle moments. See if I care! But for now, you two need to drop your ambiguous sexual tension-"
"OUR WHAT?"
"- and get ready. We're heading out, and we've got to be diplomatic, so no hormones or teary confessions all over the place." Amaterasu finished.
Susanoo was silent for a long moment.
He then smiled brilliantly, and released Tsukuyomi. "Actually, sis, there is something I want to give you. I've been thinking about your a lot recently, and we really don't connect enough. And it's not fair to only be close to Tsuku!"
"... true..." Amaterasu said, suspicious but hopeful.
"So..." he said, stepping forward and placing one hand on her cheek. "How about something special for my beloved big sister?"
"... ... eep." She said, barely able to keep from licking her lips. "I like this thought."
"Close your eyes." He whispered, leaning in close enough that she could feel his breath on her ear.
Amaterasu slipped one hand around her brother's waist, placed the other on top of his own hand atop her cheek, closed her eyes, and pursed her lips. She was fairly shivering in anticipation.
Susanoo smiled.
He then took a rapid step back, balled his right hand into a fist, and punched her in the face as hard as he could.
The walls of the royal library were, as with everything else in the palace, lavish, a sturdy and gorgeous striped gray marble-granite. Amaterasu did not even leave a scratch as she slammed into them and fell to the floor like a puppet with her strings cut.
"There." Susa growled. "We've connected."
"... why?" Amaterasu groaned.
"Shooting Vi in the back, among other things." Susanoo said.
"... ... ... all right, I admit I should've seen this coming." Amaterasu grumbled, her face still pressed into the floor.
"You really should have." Susanoo agreed. "All right! Mission time. Let's rock!"
"I-it's a diplomatic mission..." Tsukuyomi said. She was trembling slightly, apparently resisting the urge to release one of her impossibly rare laughs. She doubted Amaterasu would appreciate it.
"... ... Let's rock diplomacy!" Susanoo said, undaunted.
Fate opened her eyes, blinking softly. She looked around herself slowly, confirming what she had been afraid of when she opened her eyes without remembering going to sleep: she was in the infirmary. Again.
"... ... ... I really must stop waking up here..." She muttered to herself softly.
She turned to her left, and saw Nanoha, sleeping peacefully. Fate smiled at that... the girl looked good. Not really hurt so much as tired, though there were some worrisome bruises on her neck from where Tsukuyomi had attempted to strangle her.
She turned to her right, and liked less what she saw there. The large, heavy metal doors the led to the Surgery Wing were sealed shut, and through their Master/Familiar bond, Fate simply knew...
Arf was in there. She wasn't in any danger of dying, but she was in pain, and judging by the impressions very likely sedated...
"It's all right." Said a calm, warm voice from across the room.
"Miss Shamal...?"
"Your Familiar's arm was badly burned, and required rather intense treatment. But she should have full use of it again within a month or two, without permanent damage. Part of the joy of having a magically constructed body is that repairs are much simpler. A lesson we've learned many times ourselves." Shamal said soothingly. "... ... perhaps too many times, in Signum and Vita's case, they really ought to be more cautious..."
Fate sighed in relief. "As long as Arf is going to be all right. I was worried about her..."
Shamal smiled affectionately. "You're a lot like Hayate, you know that? I'm glad that she made such kind friends."
Fate blushed a little at that. "R-really, it's mostly Suzuka to thank. Without her, none of us would have ever met Hayate..."
Shamal's smile only widened. "And then where would we be? I'll have to make that girl some cookies."
"... ... ..." Fate said.
"... what?"
"I thought you wanted to thank Suzuka."
"... Miss Fate, you have been spending entirely too much time around Vita. You're starting to pick up her bad habits. Like making fun of people's cooking skills when she is in fact a very good cook who only melted one pot and it mostly wasn't even her fault." Shamal said coldly.
"Actually, it was Signum who told me you couldn't cook..." Fate said, feeling a little bit bad in spite of herself.
"Traitor." Shamal muttered. Fate wondered if she should laugh, or if that might make Shamal into a scary doctor again...
"So... about the mission..." Fate began.
"I'm afraid it didn't go as planned. We're not sure of exactly what, but at the least something has gone wrong." Shamal said.
"Did... did everyone come out okay?" Fate asked. She didn't think Susa would... but the other two were clearly much less pleasant, and...
"... ... maybe." Shamal said. "Arf isn't the only one in emergency surgery. Ensign Colclazure, one of the field team, was... well. He was very nearly burned alive, and the wounds are critical. His survival is uncertain, and even if he lives, he..."
Fate hung her head. "O-oh. I didn't..." she chuckled bitterly. "I asked if everyone was okay, and I was only thinking of my own friends. It never occurred to me that... I've been so selfish. I never even thought of the others..."
"Miss Fate." Shamal said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's all right. Thinking of your friends first is normal. It doesn't mean anything bad about you, and it doesn't show any lack of respect. Don't worry about it."
Fate took a deep breath. "Yes. You're right. And... well, beyond that, what about the mission itself?"
"I'm sorry I can't give too many details... I've been busy assisting the medical staff here, so I haven't been to the strategy meetings. But you've only been out an hour or two, so I'm sure you haven't missed much!"
"That's all right," Fate said reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll bring me up to speed eventually. Besides, if it's only been an hour or two, then we probably have plenty of time before any new events happen that demand my attenti-"
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeello, Time Space Administration Bureau! How are all you lovely kids doing today?" Said a painfully familiar female voice over the station's PA system. "Now, I'm sure you've already guessed that I'm not your regularly scheduled announcer, but bear with me for a moment because I've got some deeply exciting news for you. Now, where to begin... my name is Amaterasu. I was looking over some of your records, and I just thought you all looked SO interesting. Let's chat! We were hoping to get some fine young ladies and gentlemen to come visit our home, sit down for a nice drink, and really get to KNOW each other. Particularly the adorable... can I call you adorable?... kids that made up that charming enforcer team that gave us soooooo much trouble.
"And ESPECIALLY the daughter of Precia Testarossa."
Slowly, almost puppetlike, Shamal turned to look at Fate.
"... Eep?" Fate said.
