Harry returned with Daphne to Hogwarts and found Isabel waiting for him in the Server Room. "What's up," he asked her.
"You and Whispers are coming with me to meet some old friends."
"Iscariot, right?"
"Yes. We need to show them the vision."
"We've never shown No-Maj's the vision before. We don't know how they'll react."
"We need to show them what's coming. With Alex on our side, we can ensure that the Church fanatics don't start attacking mages because of our magic."
"I know. But they don't have any mental defenses."
"Like it'll matter in the long run. Remember, Dumbledore was affected by that thing in the vision. He's probably the most experienced person with Occlumency, and he felt that thing trying to control him."
"I still think showing them the vision is a bad idea. We don't know what it will do to them."
"We don't have much of a choice. We need to make sure Lift The Veil goes as smoothly as possible. We don't need a war between Magicals and Mundanes."
"We should try and find a way to protect their minds, first."
"Short of somehow giving them Technomancy, I don't see that happening any time soon." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me on this, Kid. Alex is stronger than anyone I've ever met. He won't let something control him."
"Like the Crown of Thorns?"
"That was different. Blood affects the soul, not the mind. If you are just but malicious, the Crown will be the same way."
"You're saying your friend Alex is malicious," asked Daphne.
"To a degree. He's taken a liking to killing vampires. And on occasion… Protestants."
"What," asked Harry.
"Alex's group is kind of fanatical."
"And we're supposed to trust them?"
"They're good people, despite that."
"They're murderers. Fanatical murderers. How can we trust them?"
"Because I trust them." Harry sighed and adjusted his cufflinks.
"…Fine. I'll give them a chance. But if he threatens me in any way…" Harry sparked up his hands to give a clue.
"You don't want to fight Alex, trust me."
"It wouldn't be a fight. It would be… a disagreement."
"Which usually means a fight, Harry. Just… leave your temper at the door."
"As long as he doesn't try killing me."
"He won't. Not while I'm there. We're supposed to meet him at the Iscariot headquarters in Vatican City."
"Is it on the grid?"
"Self-sustaining."
"Because of course it is… Let's go…" Isabel pulled a radio from her bag.
"Alright, Whispers. Time to go." Harry watched as Lily Charged into the room and shook her head as she stumbled.
"Dizzy," he asked her. She nodded. "You'll get used to it." She typed on her pad.
"Thank you."
"Alright, Harry," said Isabel. "Do your thing." Harry took their hands and Charged through a computer to Vatican City. A they traveled, Isabel looked around and made mental note of the digital code they were flying through. As they landed, she turned to Harry. "Remind me to give you a camera to record while you're traveling like that through the Internet. I want to study that some more."
"Fine. Just remember it might not work. We've been finding it hard to use any type of technology while Charging."
"Why not study the memories," suggested Lily.
"I've tried. Somehow, it doesn't register in my Memory Reader. I haven't been able to figure out why."
"We could try and figure it out."
"I've offered," said Harry. "She's too prideful and wishes to do this on her own."
"I've worked too hard to in my field to let this stop me. I may not be a Technomancer like you two, but I'm the smartest woman in the world, dammit. I can figure this out without the help of magic."
"Well," said a voice with a German accent behind them. "You're certainly the humblest woman in the world." They turned around and Lily smiled before running up to and hugging the woman behind them. She had short blonde hair, her eyes were hidden behind glasses with transition lenses and she had a cigarette in her mouth. She grinned as she hugged Lily before turning to Isabel. "Hello, Harlot."
"Dyke-y! It's been too long!"
"You…" She reached for something in her sleeves but found them empty. Harry cleared his throat and held up a couple of guns in his hand.
"Felt them when I did a random Pulse out of instinct," said the First Technomancer. He removed the magazine and examined the bullets. "Silver bullets? No, sure. Waste money on buying silver for killing things. Never mind all of the people who could benefit from that money for food and medicine."
"Behave," said Isabel as she took the weapons and bullets from him. She handed them back to the woman. "Sorry about him, Heinkel. He's been fighting terrorists and tends to do things like that."
"Sorry for being the right amount of paranoid with the amount of people I've pissed off in four years."
"I don't blame him," said Heinkel as she hid her guns back in their specialized holsters in her sleeves. "We actually were debating recruiting him."
"Protestant," said Harry. "Sorry, but you're entirely too hypocritical for me." Heinkel turned to Isabel.
"Don't look at me. He wanted to be more like his birth mother, including her religion."
"I see…"
"Shall we get going," asked Harry.
"Come on," said Isabel. "I know the way." Harry and Lily followed her as Heinkel growled softly and caught up to them. It didn't take them long to reach the Iscariot headquarters. Once they arrived, Harry could feel the technology of the place and was equally impressed and annoyed.
"I thought Papists were supposed to be generous, not stingy."
"Quiet," said Isabel. "There are more people here who would kill you for questioning their 'holy' work."
"I'd like to see them try. Pretty sure they don't have anything I can't…" Harry stopped when he noticed something as the ladies kept walking.
"You can't what?" Isabel turned around. "Harry?"
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Isabel walked over to him and saw a man forming an armor out of spare technology, much like the First Sons. Harry growled and pulled out his Tesla Staff before blasting away at the armor's weak points and aiming at Heinkel. "That's a First Son technique! What the hell is going on here?!" Isabel turned to Heinkel.
"Wolfe, I have to ask the same thing."
"You might want to talk to Father Anderson about this. I can't give you the answers you want."
"Harry…" cautioned Isabel as she rounded on him. "Don't start blasting around here." She glanced at the broken tech armor. "Anymore, at least."
"That's First Son Artificial Technomancy. How the fuck am I supposed to act?!"
"Like a guest," said a man behind him. Harry turned around and found himself looking up at a giant of a man with greying hair and piercing green eyes. He wore the robes of an archbishop and Harry felt silver hidden in his sleeves. "Welcome to Iscariot."
"Alexander Anderson, I presume?"
"Aye." The archbishop turned to Isabel. "Your lad here has more of a temper than you, I see."
"Anyone would be pissed if the very thing that makes me what I am was being perverted by…" Harry pointed to the man who was currently recovering from Harry's Bolt barrage. "A method used by people I've been fighting for FOUR FUCKING YEARS!" Harry pulled Anderson's blades to his hand and growled as he arced lightning through them. "I want to know what the fuck is going on here!"
"Harry," shouted Isabel. "Temper. Door."
"I'll explain everything," said Anderson. "Just put down my blades, calm down, and follow me." Lily looked at Harry before taking the blades from him. She typed at her tablet.
"Harry. We should listen to my dad. People are starting to get… antsy." Harry looked around and stared down each Paladin who was reaching for their preferred weapons.
"Try it…" Harry pulled energy from all around him and started an Ionic Shift on instinct. Isabel slapped Harry, forcing him to stop.
"That's enough. I understand this is a difficult subject for you. But we need to get the whole story. Alex is good man, Harry. Please let him speak."
Harry growled softly and adjusted his tie before nodding and glaring at someone who had a revolver aimed at him. Harry shocked silver bullet loaded gun, igniting the gunpowder and making the gun explode in their hand. Harry followed after the group as the Paladin tended to his hand. They walked into an office and Heinkel closed the door behind Harry who leaned against the wall by the door. "It's good to see you again, Isabel," said Anderson.
"I feel the same, Alex. I just wish our reunion came with less stressful circumstances."
"Yes, that. Allow me to explain. Shortly after we injected our nanobots into Adder, and she displayed her proficiency with Technomancy, my superiors wanted me to try and recreate it. I was given the order three years ago."
"And let me guess. You thought modified nanobots from Lily would help replicate it."
"Not initially, no," said Heinkel. "I helped develop this version of the nanobots. I wanted to help my niece. We didn't know what to do until about a year after the order was issued. Then we decided to take some of Lily's nanobots to see if there was a difference in them. We replicated the design and software, but nothing happened. About a year ago, we started capturing First Sons."
"I'm sorry," said Harry. "You captured First Sons? How? Anytime the NSA tried capturing them they either killed themselves or were trained enough to resist interrogation. Which isn't surprising because pretty much every First Son has been a Military Veteran."
"They have," asked Heinkel.
"You should pay attention to how they fight, how they follow orders, how they think. Lucy Kuo, my uncle's NSA contact, was able to figure out each First Son we encountered was former military, mainly from the Army and Marine Corps. We did background checks on the few we'd managed to capture. All of them had no listed address. Couldn't get a job, couldn't do anything. They flocked to the first place they felt they could belong."
"And then they turned on the people they once swore to protect and defend," asked Lily.
"The same people who turned away when they asked for help. Who turned a blind eye as they were beaten by random thugs. Who would rather go about their lives without a care in the world than help out a person who they only see as someone who lost their home and not a man in uniform who fought for them for who knows how long only to lose everything after being discharged. They feel betrayed. They're angry. And this Commander seems like the kind of man who would be able to twist their minds to use that feeling of betrayal to make them terrorists with the promise of a better future either for themselves, or for their families."
"Especially with what we found out a few months ago," said Isabel. "He's a mage. Like us."
"More like Kessler. He was able to use Technomancy and normal magic simultaneously. Which means he's a Prime Technomancer."
"Prime Technomancer," asked Lily.
"Right, I only covered the main types. Alpha and Beta. A Prime Technomancer is someone who can do both branches of Technomancy with ease. They also have unique abilities we don't have. At first, we just thought they knew how to use the right amount of magic to use with Technology, but recently, hidden knowledge Kessler planted in my brain has revealed more. It was more than just knowing how to incorporate magic without the need to use runes or quartz batteries. He could communicate with machines. He even had lightning that could hurt Cole when they fought. Prime Technomancers can do everything each branch can do and more. And from what I saw from the Commander in Singapore, they can use both types of magic at once. We have to swap between the two from what we've noticed at school." Lily typed at her tablet.
"I've noticed the same thing in my private practice." Harry nodded.
"The Commander is a man who can inspire people to action and has the power to back them up. By all accounts, he's probably on the same level as Riddle."
"Who's Riddle," asked Anderson.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle," said Isabel. "If you read up on wizarding history like McGonagall should've asked you to do, you'd have read about the most recent Dark Lord in history. Lord Voldemort." Anderson nodded. "That's him."
"Is this Commander a Dark Lord," asked Heinkel.
"That remains to be seen," said Harry. "All we know is that the Artificial Technomancy has to be a result of him now that Kessler is dead. And it is a perversion of what myself and Lily have as well as our friends at Hogwarts and Technomancers around the world. It's a sham, an incomplete recreation that mocks our magic. And if you're planning on using the same thing…"
"Dad," said Lily. "How have you been keeping the First Son captive? If what Harry said is true and they normally kill themselves…"
"We've been using a boggart to keep him in check and removed his cyanide capsules."
"You have a boggart," exclaimed Isabel.
"And a few magical artifacts we keep on hand."
"Typical," said Harry. "You have a history of hunting Magicals by claiming it's a gift from the devil and yet you use our artifacts without a care."
"It is the duty of the Iscariot Organization to punish the Demon, the Heretic, and the False God. Any time we've hunted down mages in the past, it has been because they colluded with the Devil."
"Bullshit," said Harry. "You hunted us down because people are petty and jealous. We can do something they can't but want to do. And because of that, they feared us. So they called for help. And we got the Witch Hunts wherever Christianity had expanded to. And as a result, innocent people, Mundane and Magical, were lynched. The Church has so much blood on their hands, Izzy's father could survive for millennia without having to feed on another human."
"Which is why," interrupted Isabel. "We need to put a stop to that. Especially with what we have planned."
"And what is that," asked Anderson.
"Revealing magic to the Mundane World."
"That is insane," said Heinkel. "You'll cause panic."
"Which is why we're doing it over an extended period of time. The Technomancers were the catalyst we needed to slowly expose the modern No-Maj public to magic. Next come the elemental mages. Cryo and Pyromancers were first. And we've been slowly using magic to help with damage control and reconstruction after First Son attacks in America and now in other countries."
"What reason could you have to do that?"
"A number of reasons," said Harry. "The second most worrisome being that No-Maj technology has been improving at an increasing rate. It won't be long before the Wizarding World is exposed to the Mundane and war breaks out."
"That sounds like it should be the most pressing matter," said Heinkel. "What could be worse?"
"We call it the Coming Darkness." Harry walked over to the archbishop and the former Paladin and placed two fingers on their temples, Downloading Kessler's vision to them. Lily watched as her normally stoic father turned pale with fear and Heinkel collapsed.
"What happened," asked Lily.
"What in the blood soaked Protestant hell was that," asked Anderson as he stared at nothing.
"We don't know," said Holly as she blinked into existence on her shoulder. "But whatever it is, what you felt just now was also felt by those with advanced training in mental protection. That pull hasn't been felt by Harry or other Technomancers."
"I've only shown four Technomancers that vision," said Harry. "My uncle, and my friends Padma, Luna and Pansy. Everyone else isn't ready to see it yet. Not until Christmas."
"Can someone tell me what just happened," asked Lily.
"It was… inhuman is the only thing I can describe it as," said Heinkel. "We've fought against the worst monsters. Faced Alucard with his full release. And this…"
"That was the Coming Darkness," said Harry. Anderson turned to Harry and saw a look in his eyes. One he's only seen in those willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate their enemy. A look he sees often when looking in the mirror. "We don't know exactly what it is. But we know that it will mean all life on Earth is in danger. Technomancy can help stop it. But we can't do it alone. We need as much help as we can get. Magical and Mundane. This is why we've been slowly exposing the Mundane World to magic. If we unify the world, we can properly prepare for it and stop it. Whatever it may be." Harry adjusted his cufflinks and tie before turning to Anderson. "I want you to stop trying to replicate Technomancy. If you don't I'll consider you an enemy and treat you the same way as the First Sons. I'd rather not have that happen. Partly because of your past with Izzy, mainly because we need the Church on our side to stop most fanatics from attacking mages when magic is revealed."
"Harry," started Isabel.
"I'll be waiting outside the facility." With that, Harry left his mentor and new friend with the archbishop and former Paladin. Isabel sighed.
"Watch him, Isabel," said Anderson. She turned to him and saw the serious look on his face. "He's at the start of a dangerous path. One I'm all too familiar with." He stood up and hugged his adopted daughter before turning back to Lily. "I'll relay this to the Pope. We'll do what we can to help ease the impact this will have."
"Thank you, Alex. We need all the support we can get for this."
"Just promise me you'll take care of Adder, and we're square."
"Will do. Say hi to Yumi for me. Which reminds me." She turned to Heinkel. "I thought you were excommunicated with her."
"I was. I'm only here as a guest and researcher on behalf of Father Anderson."
"I take it this is a regular thing?" They nodded and she sighed. "Come on, Whispers. Let's get back to the school." Lily hugged her father and aunt and followed her teacher back to Harry outside of the Iscariot headquarters.