Endless Waltz

By: Daishi Prime

-35 – Making Connections-

The explosion rocked the Yagami Academy early one Saturday morning two weeks after the coronation. It was not terrible, as such events go, a single sharp jolt followed by lesser rumbles and a wailing fire alarm. The classroom building where the blast occurred barely even shook, though smoke began pouring out of the main staircase soon after. The response to the blast was rather more dramatic, and for all its improvisation, quite skilled.

In the dormitory, Marcel, Juliet and Luke had the Kobayashis and about half the first years in the kitchen and under two layers of shields in under thirty seconds. The Volunteers and other second years checked in there in a rush, then piled outside. They took to the air, remaining over the dorm while looking for the attack. Despite Juliet's vociferous desire to get outside and 'help' as well, she stayed with Marcel and Luke, and despite some particularly vocal protests from Mercedes, the first years were kept safely in the kitchen.

In the library, the rest of the first years soon found themselves herded into the basement, covered by Ichigo, Toushiro, Megan and a pair of Volunteers. Everyone else, as in the dorms, went outside and airborne with alacrity. Little more than two minutes after the blast occurred, almost every mage in the school was either airborne with shields and busters ready, or dug in hard.

Hayate had been in her office, talking with Vita and Fate about training devices for the first years, as insurance for most of them and because the twins had pushed ahead with their devices. Given the position of her office, the three of them were the last ones out of the Library, and just about to take to the air when Tai-yu's first report reached them.

'It was Workroom Four,' Tai-yu said, 'massive power flux, then the shields collapsed under some sort of blast. The recorders are unstable due to the blast. Nanoha and Laura were in there! They were training, pointers for Laura's class, I think.'

Hayate's headlong rush out the door slowed and she asked, verbally and mentally, "Nanoha and Laura? Working on something together? Alone together?" Fate and Vita halted just past her, turning to look at her. Fate's expression became faintly amused, while Vita's became a study in cynical expectation – aimed at Fate.

'Um, yes, ma'am,' Tai-yu replied. 'You don't sound worried?'

Hayate sighed, and fixed Fate with an almost glare. "I should have known one of you was going to do this."

"But it wasn't me," Fate replied, grinning slightly. "Those two… probably challenged each other to see who could make the bigger boom."

"No, Laura challenged Nanoha," Vita countered. "Not even Nanoha's crazy enough to do something like this right now."

Hayate shook her head, still grinning, and broadcast, 'Excellent response, everyone, but we can all relax. It appears to have been a training mishap. Signum, if you could please join me at Workroom Four to collect your apprentice, I would appreciate it.'

Signum joined them as they approached the main door to the classroom building, landing and falling into step at Hayate's shoulder. Everyone who had taken to the air was following along in a more desultory fashion, with the first years and those who had secured them coming along last, as curiosity overrode interrupted work.

Vita was just about to open the door when it opened for her, letting out a billow of smoke and two figures. It was hard to tell, at first, if they were coughing or laughing, but they were plainly leaning on each other as much as walking on their own. They were both rather disheveled, their barrier jackets scorched and beaten, and they generally looked like they had been on the wrong end of heavy fire.

"Nanoha-chan," Hayate said, pausing as she studied her friend and student. "Did something happen?"

Nanoha looked at her and gave her a guilty grin, "Ah… heh-heh, sorry about this, Hayate-chan. It was an accident?"

Vita snorted disbelievingly, but Hayate just cocked an eyebrow and asked, "What sort of 'accident', Nanoha-chan?"

"Ummmm…"

Laura interrupted, "Ah, sorry, Hayate-sensei, it was my fault. I talked her into sparring with me, then got her to show me Starlight Breaker, and figured out a way to fake it… well, kinda-sorta. Things sort of went 'boom' after that."

Hayate blanched slightly at the thought of Laura, with her utter fearlessness and sometimes-lacking sense of proportion having access to the Starlight Breaker, and Nanoha's guilty chuckle did not help. "Ah, it wasn't that bad, Hayate-chan," Nanoha said. "She doesn't really have it, not yet…"

"I will soon!"

"… but she countered a Breaker with a… whatever that was, instead of the dodge I expected, and they resonated with the shields, so…" Nanoha shrugged guiltily, "you know how it goes."

Signum, checking Laura over while dusting her off, asked, "Why are you learning the Starlight Breaker?"

"Because of Bolt From the Blue," Laura answered immediately. "It wastes most of each cartridge's energy, even the newer drones don't get much past thirty percent power on the target. That's worth it, if I can get a lot of them on-target at the same time, and it's almost worth it for the off-angle and surprise attacks it gives me, but it leaves a lot of energy loose. That much energy… after China, I don't dare use more than one or two drones within a few seconds. Too much loose energy will find things to do on its own, and that usually causes a dimensional instability. Starlight Breaker's gathering effect, which is all I'm really interested in from it, will let me put that energy to use, instead of leaving it loose, and that'll let me get more use out of the Bolt Drones. Besides, my version's an area attack, not a buster spell."

"You'll show me," Signum told her, "both of you will. After both of you help me finish replacing the shields and dimensional-warping spells you just destroyed. Hayate-sama?"

Hayate shook her head, unable to keep from grinning. The situation hardly needed such surprises, but it was so like Nanoha and Laura go overboard… "Go ahead, Signum. And you two," she tried, honestly tried, to glare at Nanoha and Laura, "are not allowed in a workroom together without some adult supervision." She pointed sideways, "You don't count, Fate-chan. I remember who is usually with Nanoha when she does something like this. Go ahead."

00000

Maunders, not even on the campus for ten minutes, was just close enough to the classroom building to listen to the conversation directly, standing behind a cluster of the kids. Remembering some of the reports regarding the 'workrooms' that had circulated the year before, and the answers to some of her question in the time since March, she stared at the two culprits with a mixture of awe and fear.

Morris, the Volunteer who had met her and the other Circle representatives at the overlook, noticed the look and grinned at her. "Impressive, for a kid, but not really surprising, given who her teachers are and who she was training with." He laughed a little, "The maintenance crews back at the Bureau had a nickname for Takamachi and Testarossa – Slayers of Workrooms. Or worse, if they thought there weren't any officers around. Those two have a bad habit of doing that."

"If you're trying to be reassuring, you're failing," Maunders muttered back, watching a teenage kid, a twenty-something girl, and Signum head back into the building. She fingered Pershing where it was hooked under her belt, and shook her head, "not reassuring at all."

"Excuse me, Sergeant Maunders?"

She turned to find one of Hayate's students – the Arab boy Yussef, and his shadow, Marcel – standing to one side, watching her. "Yes?"

Yussef stepped closer, to easy speaking distance, and said, "I realize you just got here, Sergeant, but I was wondering if I could borrow some of your free time this weekend? I wanted to ask you some questions about Circle capabilities, especially the Black Dogs."

Maunders frowned at him, wondering if he was really that stupid. "I'm not Sandoval," she replied slowly. "You want to know how to fight us, you learn it the hard way."

Yussef just smiled back at her slightly. It was a surprisingly unfriendly expression. "I already know how to fight the Circles, Sergeant. I learned in February. I'm looking information to plan how to work around and use the Circles, the Black Dogs, and even conventional military forces, all of which you," he gestured towards her, "are quite familiar with."

That made more sense, though Maunders was not about to trust him. He was a kid, but had proven himself in New Delhi to be as underhanded as he needed to be. "Your teachers would be better to ask. They're running your tactics, after all."

"No, actually, they're not," Yussef shook his head. "My Myrmidons are just that, Maunders – mine. Zafira-sensei keeps an eye on us, but our tactics and skills are our own. I realize you will probably be uncomfortable with helping 'the enemy', but at the moment Al Hanthis is a bigger threat, and any information you can give me can only make our efforts more effective. Believe me, I'm not exactly happy to be asking a Circle mage for help – I'm not even sure I trust Tai-yu-sensei, to be honest – but you're a damn sight more trustworthy than Takashi."

"Besides," Marcel added, "you have to realize that, even without Al Hanthis, the only way you were ever going to stand up to Hayate-sensei and us was by becoming us. You proved it yourself at Hong Kong, after all."

Maunders snapped her eyes to him, glaring at him, but did not find the gloating superiority she expected. He was just watching her, face flat save for one slightly raised eyebrow. "I proved at Hong Kong that these devices of yours are just as dangerous as we've always feared." She turned back to Yussef, considering him for a few moments. He was remarkably steady under that gaze, far more confident than most lieutenants she could remember. "You realize how ridiculous the idea of a fifteen year old force commander is?"

Yussef shrugged, "Alexander the Great. Gustavus Adolphus. One King Louis of France, though I forget which of the many. There have been other successful commanders my age throughout history, though I'm not particularly interested in conquest," his smile shifted to a grin he shared with Marcel, "it's not worth the extra attention from the ditz."

When he turned back, his face was serious once more, "I have no delusions of genius, Maunders. I know I'm young, I know I'm not fully trained, and I fully intend to get that training – when we have time. My father and I have been talking over military schools for years – he wants me to go to your own West Point, I prefer Sandhurst. Unfortunately, either one is several years away, and we have a war on us now. A war that, thanks to my device, I am one of the primary soldiers in. As Laura is so obsessed over, I have this power, I can't stand back and not use it. Of all the students here, I'm the best equipped to lead in battle, and that requires that I lead well, which includes asking people I don't quite trust for any information they can give me that will let me do my job better. So, can I borrow some of your time this weekend?"

Maunders did not care for his arguments – they were entirely too reasonable and mature for someone that young. But he was also right, she had to admit, at least in general terms. "Yeah, sure, kid," she said, "probably tomorrow. Where'll I find you when I'm free?"

"The Library or workroom five," he answered, "thank you, Sergeant, I really do appreciate it."

He turned and marched off, following most of the other first years into the workroom building – no doubt all of them were equally curious as to what, precisely, their classmate had done to cause the morning's excitement. His shadow followed him just as faithfully, and Maunders frowned again. "Those kids are way too old for their age."

Morris snorted, "With Hayate-san as their teacher? She picked them for that, as much as for anything, and trained them for it. I seriously doubt any of her kids would ever have been 'normal', Maunders-san. At least here they've got a chance to shine."

He paused, rubbing his chin, "I'll tell you this, though. Al Khan's not a genius, by most measures. He's smart, sure, but not 'genius'. But he's got that touch, the charisma and intuition, a good combat leader needs. Whatever he does, people are going to follow him. Good instincts. For now, though, Hayate-san asked me to bring you to her once you arrive. Shall we?"

00000

As Hidan expected, given the recent traumas and precarious situation, being away from the Yagami Academy made him uncomfortable, nervous. The distance involved required him to trust Noriko's protection to others, and he was all too aware of how weak those protections potentially were. The magical protections at the Academy were strong, certainly, but there were other threats, other responsibilities, and Noriko would not always be behind those protections. Hidan had a severe shortage of people he trusted to handle those responsibilities who were also willing to shoulder them, and he was very worried that they would not be enough.

But his current mission was critical, not to Noriko's immediate security, but to her long-term protection, to the protection of the entire Family line, now. He had to either trust others to watch over her for a day, or trust others with this, and he decided, based on his personal history with the candidate, to present the offer himself. He would just have to trust that Hayate could keep Noriko on campus until he got back, where she was as safe as humanly possible.

The shop had an antique bell suspended over the door, instead of one of the newer motion-sensor tones. Between the sound, the gentle dark woods of the interior, and the scents, it made him feel surprisingly welcome and comfortable, tranquil. Very privately, silently, he apologized to those he was here to speak to, for disturbing that tranquility.

A middle-aged woman stood behind the counter working a cash register, while a teenager was packaging pastries for a customer. The woman at the register smiled and welcomed him politely enough, but Hidan could see a shadow in her eyes, distrust and fear, though not much of either. She plainly recognized his 'type', if not him personally. Hidan nodded in response to the greeting, then waited for the customer to depart.

Stepping up to the counter, Hidan said, "My apologies, ma'am, but I was given to understand your husband is here? I need to speak with him."

The fear and distrust returned, but she covered it well. "May I tell him who is here?"

Another voice interrupted him, from the door to the kitchen. "Hidan?"

Looking up, Hidan found the man he was here for, looking rather incongruous in a flour-spattered apron. He could not help grinning slightly, "Hello, Takamachi-sempai. I see you finally learned to relax." It had become an old joke between the two of them – he had always found Takamachi Shiro's relaxed attitude aggravating, and Shiro had always told him that if he did not relax, he would be too tense to be properly aware of his surroundings.

Shiro's face clouded over. "Hidan," he repeated, then shook his head, "I'm retired, Hidan. I know what you're here for, but I already declined when your people called."

"I know that, sempai," Hidan replied, "but I can't afford to take no for an answer. Not on this, not right now. At least hear me out? For old times' sake?"

Shiro started to object, then looked to his wife. She gave him a sad smile, and made a resigned little 'shoo' gesture towards one of the tables. He matched her smile, then gestured for Hidan to precede him. "For old times' sake, Hidan. Have a seat."

They settled in, and a moment later Momoko set a cup in front of each of them, silently pouring the tea herself. Before Hidan could begin, Shiro asked, "How bad is it, really?"

Hidan grimaced. "That depends on who you ask. The Household Ministry thinks the world has already ended, but that is simply because Noriko is completely ignoring them. She unofficially informed the Prime Minister that the current Household Ministry's staff is 'unacceptable', and he's looking for replacements. She was never happy with their treatment of her aunt, and will not subject herself to the same.

"For Noriko, this has been terrible, but she has not had time to fully come to terms with that, yet. Her only living relative now is basically her uncle's wife, who is… not handling it as well. Noriko has effectively lost her entire family, and while Hayate and her teachers are stepping into the gap, they are not the same. Not yet, not this soon.

"For myself… I believe it is bad, very bad, but not lost. She has the will, she has the strength. What she needs is time, support, and safety. She'll never have enough of the first, she's got the second in spades, and I'm responsible for getting her the third. For which I need you."

Shiro shook his head, "I understand that you want the best people you can find protecting her, but I am retired, Hidan. I promised my family. Though… you could ask Kyoya and Miyuki, they're on a contract in Germany at the moment."

"Which ends in three to four weeks, at which time they have already agreed to return to Japan and join the Emperor's detail," Hidan replied with a small smile. "I even asked your youngest, though she declined. Understandably, she'll be more useful to the war effort as a direct combatant, but I am looking for the best, and all your children qualify for that.

"You seem be misunderstanding something, though, sempai. While I will admit I would prefer for you to actively protect Noriko, I knew before I had anyone call you that you would not accept such a position. No, sempai, I'm asking you to do for Noriko's guard what you did for me and for your own children – teach, train, make them the best they possibly can be. I can find people I can trust, and I can find people who have the skills for the job, but the number of people with both?" Hidan shook his head, "the number is vanishingly small. There are not enough, not now, when the entire Family resides in Noriko alone. Even fewer of that rare number are willing to shoulder the burdens and risks.

"Since it is harder to come to trust people than it is to train them, I have been selecting on that basis. That still leaves the requirement for getting those people the skills they need, which requires a teacher I can trust. I know any number of teachers in the various skills, and have approached several already. But you, sempai, are the only person I trust who can teach the complete package. People I can find, even unquestionably loyal people. But I need someone to teach them to be guards, and you are the best person I know for that role. That is the job I am offering you sempai. Not bodyguard, but instructor."

Shiro stared at him for a few seconds, cup halfway back to the table. Then he blinked, set the cup gently down, and smiled slightly. "You've grown up Hidan. I'm impressed. Back then, you would have gone on and on about duty and responsibility and honor."

Hidan shrugged, "Back then I was a twenty-year-old kid who thought one semi-useful immunity made him unbeatable. These days I have a fourteen year old girl to protect, one who is trying to carry the entire world on her shoulders. She is handling it incredibly well, but needs all the help she can get. The Emperor gave me charge of her safety, and…" he shrugged. He always had trouble explaining his loyalty to the Imperial Family to others, it always felt uncomfortably presumptuous of him, as well as boastful.

Shiro smiled at that, "Oh, I understand that part very well, Hidan. I'm glad she has someone like you to watch over her. But even just a teaching position… I will have to speak with Momoko about it, think it over. I will need a few days."

"Days I can give you, sempai. For the moment, Noriko is safely ensconced at the Yagami Academy. I pity anyone foolish enough to try and harm her there. Even the gods would not prevail against those people."

"Hmm, I know all of Nanoha's friends at the school, so that is not surprising," Shiro agreed. "But, since you're here, tell me what you've been up to, Hidan. When we parted company, you had just accepted a position protecting a college kid, as I recall. The Emperor's nephew?"

00000

Turo looked up and grinned as someone slumped into the chair across the small table from him. The woman sighed heavily as she slumped across the back of the chair, dramatically draped an arm over her forehead. "Slay me now," she sang out, "I'm too tired to care."

That drew a chuckle from Turo, and he replied, "I would Kirie, but I'm swamped with paperwork as it is. The forms required to execute a Protector would bury me, and then who would get the Lord Protector his tea?"

Journeywoman Protector Kirie snorted once, then gave up the pose and rolled herself upright, shifting to a more comfortable and traditional position in the seat. "You don't get him tea, you run other errands for him, Turo. How's that working out for you? Being that close to power… gotta be heady. And all because of a lucky bit of timing on a boring shift on perimeter watch."

Kirie was a long time friend – they had finished their education in the same year, gone right into the Protectors together, and she had beaten him to Journeyman by about a week, a happenstance of scheduling that they still argued seniority over, in a friendly fashion. She was also an inveterate gossip and loved rumors, mostly those about her friends, since it gave her ammunition to tease them with, which she was patently fishing for.

Turo shrugged, "It's actually scary, sometimes. Some of the things he has to deal with, for the Conclave and the war, are downright terrifying. That first meeting with Yagami, for instance – the woman's impressive, but she's so cavalier about warping and ripping the fabric of reality. Then there's the take-over of the local territory, co-opting and replacing the local governments, so on and so on." He carefully did not mention the Blood Penance, he was too conflicted about it. On the one hand, he thought Willan might have been able to get the information the ritual needed from local sources, similar to how Kriegsen had delivered it to the Lord Protector. But that was such a small possibility, almost too small to calculate, that Turo was unhappily certain where the information had come from. Given how her people were closing ranks and practically assaulting people in their search for the perpetrators, there was no way Szash had given Willan the information – she would have hated even the suggestion of going after civilians.

"Speaking of the war," Kirie said, "you got any info you're not sharing about the locals' ability to force access to our computer systems? We had a subtle knife the other day that's being really, really cagey."

Turo blinked, "A subtle knife? A military hack? On who?"

Kirie shook her head, "Not a who, so much as a 'what'. Someone cracked the external comms, took control of the custom relays we set up to break into the locals' satellite networks. We traced where they called – some school in the islands out east… Yapen, or something? – but couldn't back-trace them. Ingenious set-up, they used a banking kiosk on a platform off Rulio Tower as input, reprogrammed it somehow from inside to function as a relay, then hit its optical receptor with a modulated laser. That was all their incoming commands and data, everything they ran on the system. All the output was routed to the nav beacons on Scyra Tower, altering the blink patterns to code the data stream."

Turo frowned, confused, "those towers are on opposite ends of the city, opposites sides, too. How were they coordinating?"

Kirie shrugged, "An optical receiver to pick up the signals from Scyra Tower could collate the data back into a digital stream, which could then be quietly routed wherever the intruder was working from. Same for the input to Rulio Tower, even easier, just send the data stream to one of the communications relay lasers and re-aim it from its receivers to the banking kiosk. Like I said, really cagey. So, anything?"

Turo shook his head, thinking it over. "Nothing from our end, but… there's a Guard Master, Haen. He's in the Five-Oh-First, was at Hong Kong, and I think he got hit by a subtle knife. I don't have full details, though. You know how the Guard gets when one of their own is injured. But that's the kind of thing you're talking about. Anyone who could get far enough into a Guard mage's implants, in the middle of a fully monitored assault, has to be 'really cagey'. Contact… Adept Galli, I think, formally, and request information from the Guard regarding the subtle knife at Hong Kong. Don't play any games with him, not like normal. If we've got an intruder inside the city, and they're good enough to access external comms like this…" he trailed off with a shudder.

"Yeah, don't have to tell me twice," Kirie grimaced. "First thing Master Uria thought of when this happened was some loony local getting access to one of the near-terminal power plants. The power plants are touchy enough when they're new, when they're winding down and the fracture's starting to collapse?" She shuddered as well, "Boom. Big time boom."

"That, at least, I wouldn't worry about," Turo said. Kirie gave him a questioning look, and he shook his head, "Can't tell you how, but we've got some info on the locals – the important ones, at least. They're the ones most like to both get an intruder in the city and force access like you're talking about, or like what happened over Hong Kong. They won't go after the generators, or any of the fixed weapons or the lifting engines. They're too worried about uncontrolled fractures to do that. No, they'll go for the shields, Kirie. Bring the city's shields down, and Al Hanthis is just a target. Even if we got all the civilians into the shelters – and you know how likely that is to happen – the city itself would still be utterly vulnerable.

"Contact Galli. Give him whatever he wants to get what the Guard has on the subtle knife. I'll talk to the Lord Protector about authorizing it, and about increasing security around the shields and their controls. Maybe we can isolate the shield controls from the city grid somehow, or something."

Kirie grinned at him, "Wow, listen to you, junior, giving orders like you're my boss or something." Turo started, but she waved it aside, grin shifting oddly, "Relax, Turo. I'm just surprised is all. You didn't used to be this confident. I like it. I'll be back in a minute, once I get some food, but won't have much time. I've apparently got a dastardly spy to catch, and you've got me worried, now."

Turo watched her go, trying to figure out what that speech had been about. He was not especially confident, he knew that, it was just obvious what needed to be done. The smile she had given him was equally strange, not a look he had ever seen on her face before. After a few seconds, he shook the concerns off. There were more important things to do than figuring out how his crazy friend's mind worked. He already knew he was going to have nightmares about some local intruder getting access to the shields' controls.

He called up a comm. screen keyed to the Lord Protector's office. Adept Alinz's face appeared after a moment, initially blank, but breaking into a friendly smile. "Ah, Journeyman Turo. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I might speak with the Lord Protector at some point today, Adept," Turo replied. Normally, such a request from anyone below Master rank would take days just to get to Alinz's desk, let alone generate a response. But Turo was fully aware of his increasingly unique position in the Protectors, and willing to take advantage of it. "Journeywoman Kirie just brought something to my attention with some troubling implications – we may have an intruder or traitor in the city."

00000

The edge of Al Hanthis' core platform was ringed, on its upper level, by a narrow ribbon of park. None of the wide-growing shade trees used elsewhere, but plenty of low bushes and flowers in artfully arranged beds amidst the grass, with benches placed to look out past the safety barriers. It had, in the weeks since the city returned to Homeworld, become one of the most popular places in the city, at all hours. Even the tan sameness of Egypt's desert had been a popular sight to people who had spent so long in the deadly darkness of the Void. Now that the city was floating over Cairo, it was even more popular.

Natalia hated it. She hated the view of drab and dreary Cairo. She hated the heat of the desert sun, the stench of the city she could smell even at altitude, the never-ending wind. Mostly, she hated having to walk through the endless crowds with her eye-patch in her pocket.

Ahmu insisted, however. He claimed the patch was disturbing, a sign of deception and mistrust. Natalia just thought he despised her and wanted her to suffer, a sentiment she sometimes agreed with, though not usually when he made her take the eye-patch off.

On the good side, she had found that her vision did have a range limit, of sorts. The further away from her someone (and, increasingly, something) was, the less distinct her vision of its ending. On these twice-a-week walking lessons Ahmu insisted on, she could look out and, at the edges of Cairo, see just normal people, not walking dead. On the down side, she could look down on the local areas, just under the city, and still see clearly enough, if she focused. She did not even need to focus to see the fates of those walking the park with her, with a few exceptions she carefully noted.

At the least, Ahmu's interest in her device meant she could carry Koschei openly. It did mark her out as strange, she was the only one carrying any sort of implement, and she thought most of Al Hanthis' citizens could tell it was a mage-engine, as Ahmu called it. But it was comforting, familiar, hers. Koschei had surrendered to her will, he would never betray her.

"Have you figured it out yet?"

Ahmu's question jolted Natalia out of her staring contest with the horizon. "I'm sorry?" That was one of the inconsistencies she had noticed. Yosho was fairly formal, the few Guard mages she had encountered were coldly precise in their formalities, but Ahmu… wasn't. The old man never used titles, only used her given name, when he used any pronouns, and half the time seemed to be laughing at something.

Like he was now – a huge smile blossomed on his face at her confused half-question. "Have you figured out why I keep dragging you out here when it is so manifestly unpleasant for you? By some standards, I could be justifiably accused of torturing you."

Natalia had not even thought there was a purpose. Most of their walks were spent discussing the Void, how one went about scrying through it into the past or the future. She had little trouble with the latter, but for some reason had great difficulty scrying into the past, and Ahmu seemed intensely amused by that difficulty. Those discussions had been engaging enough that she had not thought beyond them. She thought about trying to guess, but covering up her own ignorance was one of the few things that seemed to annoy her new teacher. "I have not thought on it."

Ahmu nodded, "Unfortunate, but typical for those your age. You should have years more of apprenticeship before you tested for even first rank journeyman, yet Yosho has given you Adept rank, based solely on raw power. There is more to the rank than power, though. Come, to the rail, you will be less distracted trying not to see people." He walked over to the edge, leaning on the physical safety-rail a half-meter inside the transparent safety-shield, and Natalia joined him.

"I have three purposes in conducting our walks here. The first is simply to get you used to us, and us used to you. You are a strange looking child even without your eye, and you make people nervous by your mere appearance, let alone what little they have heard of you. These walks allow them to see you in a calm setting, relatively controlled, and quite obviously being watched. It also gives you a chance to see that we are not all power-mad manipulators like Yosho, or violence-junkies like young Szash." He paused, chuckling slightly, "I still remember her as a little girl. She was an absolute terror of a child, always into everything. None of the applicable pasts show her as anything else, which is quite a rarity.

"The second and third purposes are more personal, and interrelated. Walking amongst so many people, forced to look upon them with your blessed eye, forces you to use it. You have been trying to escape and avoid it since you acquired it, and that has stunted your development of the relevant skills. These walks both strengthen your gift, and are beginning to force you to control it. I could lecture you until I was blue in the face and you had passed on from boredom, and not teach you as much about controlling your eye as these walks do. Something so intimately bound to you, so personal, cannot be truly explained by another. So, the lessons on Forecasting, which are related to controlling your eye, combined with the practical lessons on controlling that eye. Thus they continue, until you learn to control the eye at an instinctive level."

Natalia grimaced at that and shook her head. "It's made my eye stronger," she admitted, "but I'm not getting any sort of control. It's still there, all the time."

Ahmu laughed, "Ah, but that is not the failure of the lesson, child. That is the failure of the student. You are still too afraid of it, of what it means, what it could mean. So, when we continue our walk, you will cease paying attention to those who are shielded against your sight, and focus on those who are not. You must learn to see through them, without loosing sight of them. Know they are present, but see past them. You say your eye has strengthened. How?"

Natalia shrugged, "Distance, mostly. I can see death further away, across the city now. I can also…" she sighed and shrugged, waving at the buildings below her, "I can see when they are going to crumble to dust."

"Not anytime soon, I hope?"

She shook her head, "A couple are going to be destroyed in the next couple months, a lot more in the next few years, but… the later ones are… demolition, I think, not combat, taken down to make way for new buildings. The more recent ones, I can't tell. Some are violent, but… explosions are explosions." She turned her head, scanning the city below, trying not to see the people, looking for anything else, any sort of pattern. Seeing non-living objects was more difficult, required deliberate focus, but she could manage it.

Her gaze drifted west, off towards where the city, which drifted about over Cairo in an apparently random pattern, was overhanging the desert slightly. A series of thick cables, or tubes, had been strung towards the ground, and she noticed motion at the ends, people moving about. She focused harder, calling on Koschei mentally to layer magnifying lenses over her eyes, and grimaced. "Seed," she hissed. The things made her skin crawl, for all sorts of reasons. Then something caught her eye, and she forced herself to study them. They were harder to see than people, but only slightly.

"Yes, Seed," Ahmu said, "a controversial weapon, but too useful to dispose of or ignore. Personally, I am just as happy to see them put to a reasonable use. Leaving them in stasis is a waste of resources, and if we don't use them, someone else will use something worse."

"They're all going to die," Natalia said, scanning the creatures that were slowly streaming northwest. It was hard, the vision kept fading in and out, and it made her eye throb, but…

"Everything dies," Ahmu said with a grin. "Even me, and I'm reputed to be immortal. Of course, that could be because I've outlived almost everyone I've ever met. Longevity – a frequently missed advantage of being both paranoid and able to read the pasts and futures."

"They're all going to die in a week and a half," Natalia clarified, "by violence. One brief moment of indescribable force, then nothing. Good riddance."

That made Ahmu frown, and he turned to study the Seed for a few minutes, then turned back to Natalia. "You are certain?"

She nodded. "A week and a half – ten, maybe eleven days. They're all going to die in the same moment… no, not all. Some of the ones coming out of the tubes will survive a day or two more, but…" she frowned, aching eye becoming a full-on headache as she tried to draw more information from the visions, "… I think… they'll just be dying slowly."

Ahmu considered that for a few moments, then nodded slowly. "I'll pass the information along to the Guard through channels. For now, though… put your eye-patch back on. We're done for the day, and I don't want you to risk straining whatever your anchor is. You're far too intriguing a puzzle to let you fade away on me now."

Natalia summoned her eye-patch with a relieved thought, relaxing the instant it covered her eye. "If we are finished, Ahmu, I'll be off to see my brother. Healer Faiss may have new information for me." That was the one bright spot of her suffering. The Healers were convinced it was a matter of time, weeks at most, before they could draw Sasha out of his coma. They were already working on his long-dormant body, conducting rehab while his mind would be least-discomfited by it. It was worth it, she reminded herself, it's all worth it, if it brings him back.

00000

Cidela sighed in frustration as the tugging faded again, then resumed from yet another direction. She had identified it as some aspect of her bond to Hippocrates, but it was very slippery, very hard to hold on to. Every time she thought she had it, it faded out again, then reappeared pulling her in a new direction.

She had no idea how long she had been wandering in this darkness, wherever it was. She had several theories, thoughts from references others had made, but she could not tell. There was none of the draining effect she would have expected from being in the Void, as Kessenra had said she was, but none of the cold or the gates Natalia had described of the edge of death. She did not have any odd aches or memory gaps that she was aware of, other than Hong Kong, so this was not likely to be a head-injury-induced coma, and she had seen too clearly too many people she did not know for this to be a hallucination or dream.

The people were one of the most intriguing parts. They always appeared through more openings such as she had seen Kessenra through. Usually, all Cidela could do was watch for a few seconds, observing, before the pinprick of light faded or retreated. Sometimes, though, she had managed to push her way through. That always resulted in the same situation – her suspended over some highly reflective surface, hazy and see-through and unable to move away from whatever she was standing on. No one she had talked to had known much – most of them had panicked at seeing her. She had found that touching anything living above a microbial level somehow disrupted her presence, and dumped her right back in the blackness.

Another light appeared, and Cidela decided to see where it led. Hopefully, eventually, one such light would take her to someone who could help, or at least explain. So she drifted towards the light, expanding it until she could see through it. This one revealed what looked like a fairly high tech but small mage-lab, a cross between a workroom and Allina's room when she was on one of her on-line rampages. It was occupied by a single woman, not particularly tall, with long brown hair pulled back in a braid, wide round glasses on her face, wearing a long flowing skirt and long light coat in what looked like Bureau colors.

Touching a hand to the image, Cidela tried to will herself through, and abruptly found herself standing atop a tub of water. The woman, chewing on a stylus and utterly focused on a trio of screens, did not even twitch.

"Um, excuse me," Cidela said, trying Japanese first from habit.

The woman grunted, then waved a hand and said in distracted English, "Not now. Conundrum."

Cidela blinked, then frowned. She could understand the focus, but she did not like being ignored any more than the next person, and she was in dire enough straights to be pushy. Switching to English herself, she said, "I am sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but I am in need of some help?"

The woman growled, shot her a glance and said, "I'm busy, come back la… terrr…" The glance was repeated, then turned into a full-on stair, bright blue eyes focusing completely on Cidela. It was an odd experience for the girl, no one had ever stared at her so intensely before. "Well, I suppose I can put aside the mysteries of Al Hazred for a bit in favor of the mysteries of you. Talk about your conundrums. How did you get in here, miss, and why are you standing on a containment pool?"

Cidela blinked, then looked down. Sure enough, whatever the liquid she was standing on was, it was too thick and murky to be water, had an oily reflectivity to it, and deep within she could see… "Are those jewel seeds?"

"Yes, but too pedestrian to be interesting unless I can get the power coupling working to harness them," the woman said, rolling out of her chair and pacing around Cidela. "You aren't actually here, are you? A projection of sorts, which is very interesting, since I haven't bothered figuring out how to do that yet, but you have all the traces of my magic."

Cidela blinked again, frowning in confusion, "Your magic, ma'am?"

The woman wrinkled her nose, "Please don't call me 'ma'am'. I'm not even twenty yet! My mother is 'ma'am'. You can call me Sara."

That name brought recognition, and Cidela gasped in surprise. "Sara Shimazu? The creator of Deva magic? But… you're…" She trailed off, realizing what she had been seeing, where she presently was.

"Shimazu?" Sara started, then glared, "Shimazu? Why would you think I'm related to that muscle-brained cretin? Sara Nelson, thank you very much. But that still doesn't explain how you have my magic."

Nelson? But she's… she matches… oh no, this is the past. I've been looking at the past! But… how? And what did she mean, 'her magic'? "I… I am sorry, ma… Sara-san. I was confused. I'm not really sure how I got here. But, if you are who I think… I do not use your style of magic. Hayate-sensei is too worried about converting anyone else to a Deva mage, since she has never done it before."

"I should think not," Sara muttered, leaning in close to peer at Cidela's arm, "I haven't 'converted' anyone else, either. Who's this 'Hayate-sensei'? I figured someone else had to have figured out the dimensional shaping as well, I just couldn't find any records, and the head of the Infinity Library doesn't like me." She frowned, turning aside in thought for a moment. "The poor man burst into tears the moment he saw me, last time I tried to do some research there. I honestly think he needs to see a psychologist, eh can't be all there."

Cidela tried to figure out how to both be believable and not reveal too much, and finally just admitted, "Um, I… I know this is going to sound… strange… but… I think I am from your future." Briefly, using as few details as she could, she explained what she knew of her predicament and where she came from – just the blackness, the lights, the tugging, and the existence of a school in Japan.

Sara listened politely, then shrugged, "Well, that's easy enough. You're crossing the null-space. Which is impossible, by the way, you can't do that, especially not with my shaping magic. No one can do what you're doing and live, so you're quite the interesting conundrum. I like conundrums, they keep life interesting. Like the word to, it confuses people." She frowned, "but, I can see you're fading, and we can't have that. I'm not bored yet. Can I run some tests? I won't touch you, and I don't think anything I do will break your connection. If we're lucky, I may even be able to help you figure out how to get home again."

Relief flooded Cidela. She knew almost as well as Noriko just how intelligent Sara was, and the idea of having her help was incredibly reassuring. So she just nodded her head and stood there as Sara began very carefully casting spells. None of them were the diagnostics Okaa-chan used on her, but Cidela could recognize some of them. Hayate had used them occasionally in class. Even stranger, the magic felt odd, not at all like Deva magic normally felt to Cidela, but more… comfortable, background, normal. Then Sara brought out the Sword, and Cidela recognized the feel of Mid-childan magic, normal magic, and realized that Sara was right – somehow, someway, Cidela had become a Deva mage.

It took half an hour for Sara to conduct all the tests and scans she wanted, the longest Cidela had yet spent 'outside' one of those pinpricks of light. For the most part, that was uninterrupted, save for an occasional attention chime from the computer systems. Watching Sara work was an interesting, but being the subject of that work was actually somewhat unpleasant. Sara was utterly focused on her work, not speaking beyond muttering to herself, and totally ignoring any of Cidela's attempts to ask what was going on. On the other hand, Sara had a number of interface screens up, initially one but rapidly increasing to five or six at a time, and she seemed to build a data-base on the fly to collate all the data her scans gathered. Cidela thought that Niranjana and Allina together could manage the database and computer sensors, and Hayate-sensei or Okaa-chan could manage the scans, but she did not know anyone she thought could do all of it at once.

Finally, though, Sara finished her scans and relaxed out of her focused state. "Well, that's very interesting. Did you know your original linker core is both unstable and damaged?"

Cidela flinched a little, "Um, no, not really. Damaged, though?" Okaa-chan had told her about the repeated changes her linker core had gone through, but they had all been increases in strength, none of the fluctuations. None of the teachers had been able to explain it, but no one had said anything about instability.

Sara waved it aside, "Eh, it's healing from that, don't worry about it. As for the instability, it's not actually that uncommon. In most cases, it's a stress-thing. It just means that your linker core will adapt much more rapidly to repeated stress or lack of stress. Linker cores strengthen and weaken with use or neglect, yours just does it faster." Sara blinked, "Well, unless you repeatedly over-stressed it in a very short span of time, in which case it could theoretically deteriorate into a full-blown dislocation, instead of collapsing like most peoples cores would. But! That's not relevant right now and we have far more interesting things to discuss. What is relevant is, the dimensional shaping magic relies on a mirrored linker core, one which reflects your original core, and in your case, that's how you're still alive."

"Wh… what do you mean, still alive?"

Sara shrugged, "Null-space drains mage-energy, although not quite so badly in your case, given how you're stretched across it. Because your linker core – your original one, I should say – is unstable, it's responding to the stresses on it by becoming stronger, which is then reflecting in your shaping core. I've seen a few other people like that – Ta-chan and myself, for instance. But there's an upper bound, and…" Sara paused a moment as the hatch behind her hissed open, then rolled her eyes and said, "I'm busy, Ta-chan, come back later."

Cidela looked past Sara, and for a moment was confused. The very young, somewhat soft-looking young man in an oddly-cut Bureau uniform was vaguely familiar, but there was no way he was Takashi. He was not in black, save for a pair of gloves, he was too soft-looking, and there was no air of menace or threat, no Hellblade slung over his shoulder. He certainly was not Akira, as there was no sense of wrong from him. But the closer she looked, the clearer it became that this was Takashi, however strange he looked.

"If you had answered the Admiral's signal and explained the anomaly we detected, I might consider it, Aoi," Takashi said, striding into the room. He looked Cidela over briefly, then returned to glaring at Sara.

Sara grimaced at the name, but also flushed slightly, then shrugged and continued pouring over her data, "Uncle Wilhelm knows I'm working."

"Which is why he asked me to come down to check before sending in a strike and containment team," Takashi replied. "What's this? You conjure something out of the Jewel Seeds?"

Sara shook her head, "Not really. The Jewels Seeds combined presence just provided a weak-spot in the dimensional wall for her to look through. Do me a favor and try a spell, dear. Just a little one, a light or something."

Cidela needed a second to realize Sara had addressed the last to her, then hesitated. Between the realization that her magic was somehow new, and the strange normalcy of Takashi's presence, she was feeling rather nervous. "Um, Sara-san, I've never tried with… well… Hayate-sensei must have done the conversion after Hong Kong. I'm not sure what happened there."

Sara frowned at her a moment, then relaxed, "Ah, you weren't trained for it. Hmm, I'll have to think of a way to get around that if I ever convert someone myself… since apparently I'm going to. Hmm, well, here, try this…"

The explanation took all of thirty seconds, and then Cidela tried it, bringing light from elsewhere, concentrating it into her hands, and creating a sphere of soft white brightness. Sara watched and studied every motion she made, every trace of magic, nodding along slowly.

Takashi's pensive look became a full-on frown. "You're using Sara's magic," he said after a few seconds. "Damn it, Nelson, you swore you wouldn't…"

"And I didn't, Ta-chan," she interrupted. "She's a traveler from else-when, and I'm trying to figure out how to send her home without tearing her to shreds or draining her dry. Now be a good boy and go oppress some innocents somewhere else or something, I'm busy."

Takashi snarled at her, but she did not notice, then turned to Cidela. The look in his eyes was somewhat intimidating, but nowhere near what she as used to from him, even if he was angry at her this time. This version of Takashi was just too cute, compared with the one she was used to, to frighten her, though he was beginning to make her nervous. "You claim to be from the future? How far in the future?"

That question brought a worry to the fore that Cidela had been hoping to ignore. She was in the past, but was what she had done and said already what was supposed to happen, or was she changing things, making them better or worse? What if there was no relationship between Sara and Takashi, because of what Cidela said, or had already said? What if Sara didn't die and Takashi was not bound, who would make Hayate-sensei a Deva mage? Without that, would she create her school, or be strong enough to defend it when the Circles attacked? What if Cidela said something now, that doomed her to never escape her old family and find a new one? "Um… I just… just think it's the future," She tried to temporize.

Takashi's glare became suspicious. "How far, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to get home," Cidela replied, shrinking away from him. If he tried to touch her, or bind her magically, she would end up back in the Void, and probably loose her best chance to ever get home.

"You still haven't answered how long," Takashi insisted.

"I'm lost," Cidela said, "I just want to go home. I don't know what happened to me, or when this is, I just… I want to go home."

"You don't know when you are? So tell me something, give me a clue," Takashi said. "How did Nelson figure out you're from the future? What did you tell her?"

"Takashi," Sara said, "let it go. She's not dangerous, just a kid."

"She accessed the ship through a group of half-contained lost logia, according to the ship's sensors she is a standing dimensional instability, and she won't answer questions," Takashi replied. "You're too trusting, Aoi, and she's too suspicious."

"I-I just…" Cidela shrank away from him, his pressure and her own worries bringing the whole weight of her predicament down on her at once. She was trapped, and the person she had begun to hope would help her was being taken away from her. "I just want to go home," she said, hugging herself. She slipped back into Japanese, making Takashi start, "I'm lost and I don't know how or why. I want to go home! I want my mother! I'm lost and I think I'm dying and I don't know why!" She was crying, curling up in a ball, staring at the water that was her prison and her window to hope, but managed not to sob, even as she whispered again, "I want my mother."

"Congratulations Shimazu," Sara hissed. "You've traumatized a lost little girl. Get out of my lab, before I do it for you."

Takashi stood there a moment longer, then sighed and said, "I'm sorry for your situation, miss. Best of luck. Nelson, I'll have a team outside, just in case."

Cidela heard his footsteps retreating, then the hatch hissed closed, but she was thinking of her Okaa-chan, her friends, and her fear. She thought she heard, just barely, "well, he does have a cute butt," but it was very soft. Then Sara spoke louder, "I am sorry, dear. I wish I could give you a hug, hold you, and promise it would all come out all right. But I was never very good at lying. I promise, I'll do everything I can to get you home, but I'm only human."

Cidela nodded, but could not stop crying, could not stop shivering. She had no idea what had happened to her, if she was ever going to be able to get back, if anything would turn out her way again. Then Sara started singing, a song Cidela did not know in a language she did not understand. But the words were soft and comforting, almost a lullaby, though Sara was patently trying to sing out of her own vocal range. For a while, the two of them sat there, Sara singing, Cidela crying. But the song helped, the sense that someone did care for her, was there to help, let Cidela recover and put her fear and sorrow away. They were still there, and Cidela figured they would return, but for the moment she could turn away from them.

"Th-thank you, Sara-san," Cidela whispered when she finally managed to relax her muscles and stop shivering.

"Anytime, little one," Sara said.

"I… I did not recognize the song."

"It's a lullaby my parents used to sing me, especially after those fanatics found us back home. It was better than what you're going through, Uncle Wilhelm managed to get my whole family off Earth, so I wasn't alone, but it was still scary. Suo Gan, it's called, from my father's mother. Do you sing?"

Cidela flushed, remembering Mariachi's lessons and that one terrifying afternoon in the cafeteria. "O-only a little," she admitted, "U-usually with Okaa-chan."

Sara smiled at her, "I'll teach it to you, then, and you can sing it with her when you get home. I have a few more tests, then I have some ideas, a way to take the strain off your linker core. Also, a suggestion – you have a familiar, yes? I can sense some resonance in your magic that seems like it."

"His name is Rafiq," Cidela said, smiling sadly, "I miss him, too. I miss everyone, even Mercedes aggravating Laura."

"When you go back into the null-space," Sara said, "try to find him, Rafiq. From what you've described, I think you were following your device, which won't work. It's too close to you, now, too much a part of you. Rafiq is separate enough that, if you try to find him, he should be a steady point. Oh, and don't pull your device to you, that would be bad."

"Um… why?"

"The way the shaping core is anchored, it mingles you and your device on a very deep level. Where you are, it is, wherever it is, you are. So at the moment, your device is possibly all that is holding you anchored to the time and place you left. If you call it, you'll lose that connection, that anchor, and I don't know what will happen to you. So don't call it. You don't need it on you, anyhow, not for the shaping magic, so it's more useful where it is. Now, the song's in Welsh, so I'm not going to bother telling you how to spell it – even the Welsh don't know how to spell their language. But, it starts like this…"

Cidela did not know how long it took Sara to finish her scans, or to carefully construct spells to provide her a separate anchor and source of power to support her in the Void, and a third to turn her healing gift back on itself to handle the strains she was putting on her physical body. It took long enough for her to learn Sara's lullaby, and practice it a few times, even try a duet. Cidela almost asked questions several times, but always came the worry of changing something, of altering her own present by changing her past.

It was not until Sara finished, and they were trying to avoid sending Cidela back, when she finally asked, "Um… Sara-san… if you don't like him… why do you call him Ta-chan?"

Sara blinked at her a moment, then grinned sheepishly and flushed a little. "Because it annoys him. He had to learn Japanese for an investigation on Terra a year or so ago, so he's the only one aboard who gets it, which makes him look like a petulant bully when he yells at me for it. Someone has to prick a hole in his ego, or the muscle-brained cretin might begin to think he really is as good as everyone claims."

"A-and Aoi?"

That made Sara grimace. "His people have their own prejudices. According to them, blue eyes, like mine, are a sign of madness." She pouted, "I keep telling him, I am not a mad scientist, I'm an evil genius."

Cidela giggled at her mock-affronted tone, seeing flashes of Laura's sarcasm in Sara. "Thank you, Sara-san. Even if it doesn't work, thank you for trying, for everything."

"Just promise me you'll only use your powers for good," Sara replied with a wider grin.

Cidela knew she was mostly joking, but decided to reassure her anyhow. "My device's activation phrase ended 'they will know my name by the numbers I have saved.' I'm a healer, Sara-san. I'll be a doctor, eventually."

Sara's grin turned into a true smile, "Good. I never liked combat, it's too messy and unpredictable. Too many people get hurt. Speaking of unpredictable, it's time for you to go, dear. Good luck."

"Cidela," she said, realizing at the last moment she had never introduced herself, and reached out to touch Sara's extended hand for the first time. "Cidela nii Shamal." She saw Sara's smile vanish into shock just before contact was made, and then she was back in the Void, the pinprick of light gone.

"Why… did she recognize Okaa-chan's name?" Cidela worried at it for a minute, then shook her head. "I can ask Hayate-sensei when I get home. For now… where are you, Rafiq? I need your help," she sighed a little, "as usual."

00000

Author's note: long, long chapter, mostly because the last scene ballooned from 'isn't that a cool idea for a meeting' to 'good God this is plot-relevant.' Before any of you ask, NO, Laura does not have Nanoha's Starlight Breaker. She has the first stage of it, which she applies in her own fashion. For the curious, no, Sara and Takashi did not get 'love at first sight' – theirs was not quite a Slap-Slap-Kiss relationship, but close. The song Sara taught Cidela exists, it's a traditional Welsh lullaby, lyrics and translation available on Wikipedia, and is most famous for being sung by that annoying kid from the movie Empire of the Sun.

00000

Baughn: I hereby disclaim any responsibility for lost sleep on the part of readers:). The last few chapters have been very focused on Noriko mostly because that was the major event, with a ridiculous amount of immediate fall-out. I could probably have info-dumped a lot of it, but I don't like doing that with major events – capabilities and peripherals, yeah, sure, but not something as critical to the story as Noriko becoming Emperor of Japan. Things will move a little faster now, until the next attack by Al Hanthis. Regarding the gravity issue, they can get around it using some of the flight magics, but the real question is, will anyone think of it? Gravity is one of those fundamental things that, outside of physicists, people tend to not think about. The problem with building a truly comprehensive scanning system – or any scanning system, actually – is one of data-overload. You have to filter out contacts – false signals, local terrain, routine movements, things like that – or all you get back is cluttered garbage. Enough computing power would let you process that, sure, but you'd need a lot of computing power to handle all the sensors Al Hanthis would have to emplace to get the sort of coverage you're talking about. So, like low-level radar programmers, Al Hanthis has to compromise. Their sensors (and the computers and people monitoring them) are good, but not perfect, and there are ways through and around them. As for HAL assuming Allina is the imposter – are you sure it thinks it's HAL? The imposter charge is a sign of just how screwy the entity in Al Hanthis is – it truly believes (and may very well be) Allina. Precisely what it is will be worked out later on in the story, though. You are right that no one is truly incorruptible, but remember what Szash said – they are very few in number. Also remember, the entire Nanoha setting, even with my tweaks, is much more idealistic than the real world. There'll be more on the Paladins – both what they can do, and what controls exist on them – in much later chapters.

Kell Shock: You are correct once again, it should be 'Megan', not Meghan. That one I keep getting wrong and have to correct, for some reason. The cyber-Allina is very much a reflection of Allina, and remember, the first thing Allina tried to do when the Circles captured her in February was to get in touch with Niranjana, make sure she was okay. Attracting Al Hanthis' attention is the last thing she's going to want to do. You are right that Laura can get very close to the edge of killing someone, so long as she doesn't go over it – but that would probably violate her sense of justice, thus breaking her second oath. The Paladin's definition of 'justice' will be individual and flexible, but built on a common foundation as the Empire is formed. Laura's oath to Noriko was supposed to be a surprise, but it's one of the controls on the Paladins, and very important to both girls – remember, Laura's not one to be a 'servant', whatever her oath says – she'll serve, but it'll be in her own way, as always. I was not really trying to 'separate' Yussef, but more thinking of it from Laura's perspective – her best friend in the world just lost almost everyone in her life, and almost immediately got shoved into a life-long job that is going to distance her from everyone who remains. That distance goes doubly so for Laura, who is a foreigner (remember the miko at Kiyomizudera?). The oath is a way for her to get around that distance and help her friend. As for Yussef being 'just left' with the Myrmidons…:) They're the Myrmidons, and fully intend to live up to their namesakes. Noriko and her Paladins, Yussef and his Myrmidons…

PokemonJoe1: Thank you for the compliments, I appreciate it. The story is going to go on for quite a while – I originally aimed for sixty chapters, but it's grown slightly (Events of the last couple chapters were supposed to be the early twenties, not the early thirties). Regarding your guesses, as I've stated previously you are right about the Dark Witch, although there's some more wrinkles to Natalia's situation. You may be right about Cidela being the Goddess of Light, she's certainly powerful enough, but the Goddess' awakening won't be for a while, whoever she is. Thanks for the review!

Hignum: There'll be some action next chapter, but not the mages. Some other players in the war have a point to make, though I assure you there will be a satisfyingly large explosion or two.

Moczo: I'm not sure if I'll ever detail Laura's (and Allison's, don't forget!) assault on Willan's Olympus Mons facility. Suffice to say, it was messy but not fatal. It is entirely possible that they took the facility, evacuated it, and then destroyed it in a spectacularly overblown manner in order to make a point. I do have a rather convoluted ending planned, and I'm fairly sure some of you are going to howl at me for elements of it. As for how it'll all work out… 'messy' comes to mind. There is, quite deliberately, some confusion in how terms are used and who is where, which I'm deliberately leaving in place because of my own experiences studying history. We know a lot of things that happened, but we have a much harder time figuring out why they happened, and political/governmental structures and arrangements are often utterly illogical to those on the outside while making perfect sense to those on the inside.

Rathmun: I will agree that Laura is crazy, though not in the formal dysfunctional sense. She just sees the world and her place in it a little differently from most people. Allison is not really crazy, but she could easily become so if her temper ever gets the better of her, though Juliet is in more danger there.

Templar Prime: A lot of Allison's abilities and methods are drawn from a combination of sniper training documentaries, hunting documentaries, and books that cover both, though I'm trying to keep it all general enough to avoid glaring errors. Niranjana's therapy is based on similar sources and some attempt at logical extrapolation on my part, for how a clumsy emergency bio-cyber interface would function and/or fail. The 'Twilight' part of the Paladins' title actually comes from a romantic re-imagining of a Marine Corp quote: "We do the things we wish no one had to do." Laura fully intends the Paladins to do things she wishes no one had to do: fight, struggle, and even die so that others won't have to – that's the sort of romantic she is. Regarding Noriko's non-Imperial family, while they have gone unmentioned, they suffered just as grievously, and you are right that some people died who were (and possibly remain) unidentified as Blood Penance victims. I hadn't thought about it when you asked, but debated whether or not the Crown Prince's wife would have survived – but if the Blood Penance worked from that odd an angle (blood relation through a cousin who died because of being Noriko's uncle's child…) the death-toll would have gone beyond what I was willing to accept – even as small as Noriko's family is, that would have taken a significant fraction of Japan's population in one blow. So no, it's only those who were directly blood related to Noriko who died. Still, the Crown Prince's wife probably wishes she had been – in a way, her life has been destroyed even more thoroughly than Noriko's.

Mousou: Okay, calmly, breathe, take a break…:) Seriously, that was quite a compliment and thank you. When it comes to politics, I tend to draw inspiration from two reliable sources. For logical thought out things, such as Yosho's and Szash's efforts at mutual undermining in the Conclave, I tend to rely on Tom Clancy's books and style. For the more ridiculous and/or stupid things, such as Yosho's half-hearted efforts at hiding his involvement in Blood Penance, or Noriko's elevation to Emperor, I tend to rely on real life and history, sad as that commentary may be. I'll admit, I'm no fonder of traitors than you seem to be, they're right down there with people who harm kids and rapists in my book. Still, Natalia's is a complicated situation, and while your idea for who/what her 'anchor' is would be poetic, it's not what I'm going for. I'm still debating which option to use for her anchor, but it won't be her brother. You are right that, however this ends up, Natalia's life is basically ruined, though the end I've got planned for her is particularly torturous. With the foreshadowing, that's a combination of how I plan (my imagination runs away with scenes that are all set widely apart, in no particular order), and the fact that I'll slip in off-hand comments or references early, then those will trigger inspiration and I'll work them in later. The first creates fortuitous foreshadowing, the second is more deliberate if less planned. I'm actually having issues with battles in this story. In Academy Blues there were only a couple real fights to write out, and Laura's fight with Li was always planned to be the biggest. Here there are a lot more, and they all involve a lot more people. I have skimped on the personal-scale battles, and I do have some plans to do more detailed fights (the Szash vs. Nanoha battle, for instance) but I'm not sure how well they will turn out. I actually think I went overboard with the OCs in this story, and I'm definitely having to stretch to keep some of them included and relevant. As for the focus on the girls, well, this is a Nanoha-verse story – I may not be using a 'pink bishoujo ghetto', but that's the base 'verse, so… shrug. Regarding the realism, thank you – I'm not going for 'this is the real world', but 'realistic' is definitely a must, especially given all the magic that's getting thrown around. You are right that Cidela's turning into a woobie, which both was and was not my original intent for her character. I planned all the way back in Academy Blues for her to be the quiet one that puts up with a lot, but the arc I put together for her here is harsher than I originally meant it to be. The above scene was probably the worst, as far as torturing her, though she still has a ways to go to get home. Anyhow, thanks for the review!

Jack Inqu: Laura's speech, like Noriko's 'Rising Sun' speech, has been planned out for a while, though the name of her Paladins and the wording of the Creed were both in flux for a while. It's going to have some very far-reaching effects, though a lot of them are going to come up rather late, some not even until the epilogue. Szash's future-quote was based on another thirty years of events, so some of her opinion and some of her references (even beyond Olympus Mons) were to such post-Endless Waltz events. But yes, the Bureau will eventually overcome Kriegsen's monkey-wrench and get involved, which will not be pretty, for anyone.

Phily: Takashi is smart and skilled – he was a Bureau Enforcer for years, after all. Even his method of gravity-detection can be hidden from, however, if the mage who's doing the hiding is aware enough. Hayate's methods can also be hidden from, even the tracer, given preparation and thought, which is what that training scenario was about. The situation with Allina & the HAL/Allina/whatever-it-is is complicated, by design. Allina and Niranjana are closer, in some ways, to Al Hanthis' idea of mage-enhancement, with the way their devices interconnect. But Al Hanthis is prepared for that (as evinced by their response to Allina's interference in Hong Kong). Precisely what's going on there is going to take some time for everyone to figure out. The Imperial March was something that had a different point than most people (in story and out:) have noticed, though it has sort of failed in that purpose. It'll get mentioned again later, when the one who did it comes clean. Regarding Laura's oaths, she would not interpret them so loosely as 'I just incapacitated him, it's not my fault someone else shot him a second later'. She'd probably have trouble handing over a serial killer to the authorities in Texas, to be honest – yeah, sure, she may not be the one to inject the chemicals, but she handed him over knowing what would probably happen to him. Willan is the Master Adept who found the Blood Penance spell, and the Olympus Mons Szash referenced is the famous Martian volcano, the largest known in the Solar system. I have certainly been trying to get Endless Waltz up to 'epic' level, and I'm glad to hear that I'm apparently succeeding. Despite that, though, the events Szash mentioned on Mars are post-Endless Waltz – yes, I have planned out events from after the story to better help me plan events in the story, which is backfiring a little, because I'm getting the urge to write out the Olympus Mons assault.

L. Ravensky: Glad you enjoyed the story, always good to hear. I'm afraid I don't use any sort of secondary archive – I only post here. If I ever actually finish an original story, it'll go up on another site, but nothing at the moment. As for Vita's theme-song, 'Punk It Up' is from Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (apologies, the 2041 in my profile is a typo), which was released (I have the boxed DVD set, it's excellent), but I'm not sure who wrote or performed the song – the source I got it from just lists 'original soundtrack'. If you watch BGCT2040, 'Punk It Up' is the song played during the highway chase-scene when Priss first uses the Motoslave – it's essentially one long guitar riff over a driving drum line, suitable for both dancing and beat-downs.

22671991: Feel free to miss-read subtexts, you may or may not be wrong:). With Laura and Noriko, I will freely admit that I have yet to decide just how far their feelings go, or where they are going to wind up. I have equally valid arguments, based on the chapters already posted and those planned, for friendship, very close friendship, attempted romance, or true love. There are a couple more potential relationships built up in the story already, and not just Allina and Niranjana. Thanks for the compliment, and the review!

Shdwhawk: Thanks for the notes on names. I looked up Chinese, Indian, and some of the Japanese names on-line, with all the reliability that implies, though I did find multiple sources for each, for as much reliability as possible. I only found two listings for Chen-chi and for Jun meaning 'truth', and I think Chen-chi was regional, but I don't remember where. Thank you for the compliments on the series, I appreciate them. The research wasn't as hard as you think, though, it's mostly a couple decades of trivia that I've gotten curious about and looked up. Thanks for the review!