Chapter 22: Expedition (Finale)

"This poses something of an irritating hurdle to our ambitions."

"What does? The workshop, the magus or the Clocktower?"

"I think Manaka means all three, Nanashi."

Nodding in agreement with Abigail as the long-haired blonde happily munched on a selection of buttered biscuits bought from a nearby cafe the magus continued with, "All three of those factors combined into one means our options and movements are highly limited and restricted."

"How so? Weren't you ready to turn a yokai into a fast expanding cloud of blood and guts just a few hours ago? Why the sudden restraint?"

Nanashi's wryly amused inquiry caused Manaka to pout, poking the homunculus in the side as she replied, "Because the yokai's death would not affect our reality, that is why. Also she was rude and trying to be sneaky!"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose Nanashi grumbled, "So why is this one guy going to be such an issue? Wouldn't the rest of the magi - judging by your family's descriptions - be more amused by this particular customer's loss than actively looking to lynch the perpetrator?"

Manaka haughtily sniffed, remarking, "Because someone with the ability to break into the Clocktower, invade a magi's personal workshop and then abscond with whatever was of worth within is a threat that may begin to move against them next, should the fancy strike. Yes, they would not care one whit about this particular magi's loss but would endeavor to find and punish the perpetrators so that they are not additional victims."

Cerulean eyes locked onto Nanashi's dull red.

"I myself would have little to fear in the way of reprisals - much like Abigail - but you and my family would be far more vulnerable should our hand in this heist be discovered...that will likely be the case until such a time as you receive your new body, Nanashi."

Grimacing at the familiar argument the homunculus grumbled, "Well it's not like we can just give up and go away, we came all the way here and leaving that yokai hanging doesn't sit right with me…"

The trio fell silent, sitting side-by-side on a bench not far away from where the workshop was located far below the ground, watching the crowds pass by as Abigail was hidden from notice by a collection of stealthy bounded fields and hypnotization wards.

"Wait. The problem is that if we tried to break through the wards, fields and whatever else someone would notice, right?"

Manaka nodded, cautiously responding, "Yes, even one of my skill and power could not hope to deactivate both the workshop's personal bounded fields, those of the Clocktower and ensure we remained undetected while doing so. There are simply too many interconnected factors to take into account, even though I may be knowledgeable of each and every one of them."

Nanashi nodded, tapping his knee with a pensive expression before turning to Abigail, who was studiously licking the last bits of biscuit from her fingers.

"Sut-Typhon is a god of space and time or something, right? Do you have access to those abilities?"

Cocking her head the girl replied, "To an extent. Why?"

"Would you be able to create a bridge directly into the middle of the magus's workshop, bypassing the bounded fields completely? Because instead of having to destroy the protections around the place maybe we can just have Manaka stop them from working for a little while. It'd be a whole lot easier than breaking through everything, right?"

The magus gave her homunculus companion a queer look, remarking, "That would be more...manageable?"

Tapping her lip in contemplation Abigail added, "I can do so...but it may be somewhat troubling for Manaka, in all honesty."

"Eh? Ridiculous, what manner of travel could prove of little consequence to Nanashi but not myself?!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Manaka…"

Both girls ignored the boy's grumble as the host of the Outer God explained, "To make use of this ability we would have to travel, however briefly, through the realm the gods call home. For a reason I have yet to be able to determine they have thus far made no effort to interact with Nanashi, if not outright avoid him."

Abigail helplessly shrugged.

"They may not have the same reservations when it comes to you, Manaka. And while I appreciate that there exist a wide variety of protections you can cast upon your mind the eye of countless otherworldly beings might be...disorienting. Especially given your connection to the Root of all Things, that will be of great interest to the powers whose domains we shall trespass."

Grudgingly admitting that her fellow blonde had a point the magus nonetheless haughtily sniffed, responding, "That may be so but it is not as if I can merely sit aside. You shall have need of my talents for this haphazard scheme to work, yes?"

Nanashi nodded, quickly adding, "If it puts you in danger, though? We can find another way."

Feeling a little flare of irritation that was eclipsed by delighted affection at her crippled and pathetic friend's concern for her wellbeing the pale-blonde gleefully announced, "Have no fear, Nanashi. I am not so weak as to fall prey to something as lowly as an Outer God. Your plan is acceptable, let us waste no more time~!"

Exchanging a brief shrug with Abigail at their companions gung ho attitude they prepared to get under way, Nanashi struggling to his feet as Abigail's body shimmered, clothing replaced with her 'priestess' attire as the homunculus quickly averted his eyes, lest they catch a tempting hint of sideboob.

That was forbidden fruit if he'd ever seen one.

Now acting far more gleeful and irreverent that came with the change to her clothing Abigail chirped, "If you feel the need to vomit, Manaka, please ensure it does not splash on any of us."

"Hmph! Just who do you think I am, if I may ask?"

A flirty wink was the host's only response.

"Don't say I didn't warn you~!"

Pulling a long, metallic key of midnight material from seemingly nowhere the girl inserted it into what was empty air, the passerby still ignoring them thanks to their bounded fields-

-and a twist of her wrist tore a hole in the fabric of reality, Abigail motioning to the gap as she cheerily announced, "After the two of you~!"

Nanashi took a deep breath, far less at ease with this whole situation than Manaka seemed to be as she confidently pulled him towards the swirling rift.

He felt that he could be forgiven for his trepidation, given that what little he'd seen of the Outer Gods had left him with a rather...disgusted outlook on what they did and how they operated.

He hadn't forgotten the sight of Abigail being ravaged right before his eyes, even though he often tried to ignore such queasy memories.

Complete, utter blackness ensconced them as they crossed the arbitrary threshold, Abigail sealing the rift shut behind them-

-and the homunculus blinked as they stepped out into the interior of what he was assuming was the Magi's workshop, the room dimly lit by smoke-less flames and covered in both tomes, tables and other assorted crap.

"That...really was quick. Shit, if I didn't know better I'd say we didn't even really go anywhere, just popped out into some random space by way of teleportation."

His gaze settled on Manaka, the girl already kneeling on the ground as she interacted with some kind of runic array that glowed bright before fading away into nothing, head nodding in satisfaction...and then she violently retched out a stream of cloudy bile onto the floor, limbs violently shaking as her breath came quick and stuttery.

"Manaka?! Hey, look at me!"

Abigail was right alongside him as they crouched next to their shivering comrade, cerulean eyes wide and darting from side to side as a cold sweat broke out over her pale skin.

Completely and utterly at a loss of what to do as the towering, unshakable girl who was basically as close to invincible as he'd ever seen trembled like a frightened child Nanashi helplessly grabbed her hand, squeezing it with what pathetic strength he could manage in a desperate bid to provide some sort of physical anchor, Abigail reciprocating the action with her other limb...and after a few seconds of shuddering terror Manaka blinked rapidly, seeming to snap out of her funk.

"...You somewhat understated how unpleasant of an experience that would be, Williams."

An apologetic smile graced the long-haired blonde's features, tone gentle as she replied, "I know...after all, I have experienced no shortage of terrors much like that myself."

Nanashi grimaced, feeling oddly guilty about his inability to have undergone what Manaka did, whatever it was...but if it affected her that badly maybe it was for the best that he hadn't. His mind probably would have been turned to goo.

"Come now, we have another task to see to, yes? I am quite healthy and in possession of my wits, you may all stop worrying after me."

Frowning at the girl's indifferent and haughty tone - something at odds with the way her fingers almost painfully dug into his palm - he decided to let the matter slide, instead going about their search as Manaka stuck close to him, tracking down the residual energy with his eyes.

Finally able to take a closer look at the workshop of a magus other than Manaka's he found himself somewhat...underwhelmed? No doubt it was a place of great learning and research, sure, but there was none of the fantastical and mind-boggling achievements Manaka had created, merely books, journals and more books while a few shelves and cabinets looked like they might hold something remotely interesting.

But that wasn't what they were there for, the boy and his two companions moving deeper into the room as Nanashi frowned, the trail coming to a halt in front of what looked like a freezer, an unsettled feeling pooling in his gut as he spied a thick tome resting next to it, reaching out for the object-

-and Manaka's free hand reached out and slapped away his searching appendage, tone admonishing as she warned, "Do not so callously and senselessly reach for a magi's private belongings, foolish boy. Allow me."

A tap of her finger did away with some kind of rune array or something similar that covered the book, the homunculus offering the girl a sheepish smile as she rolled her eyes, Abigail curiously asking, "Is there something about this book in particular that catches your eye, Nanashi?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Gingerly peeling open the well-cared for and maintained pages the youth began to read, feeling his jaw set as he looked over the table of contents neatly scrawled onto the opening page, electing to skip right to the conclusion...he wasn't sure he wanted to read the rest if their titles were any descriptor.

[In summary, the bodies of the Youkai are ultimately unusable and incompatible with the Gajero family magecraft, a mystic inclination towards cryo and ice elements at odds with our fire orientation. But subsequent dissection of the woman and boy yielded plentiful materials that can potentially be used as a sort of coolant, further research will be required to determine the veracity of such a possibility.]

[The woman and boy were laughably easy to dupe and capture, foolishly buying into a fabricated sense of attraction and longing on my part. The woman no doubt regarded our passionate night far less favorably once she realized she was slipping into a magically induced coma, a fate similar to her spawn. Subsequent surgery and partitioning of body parts was completed with little difficulty and termination of the pair was completed forty hours after the artificially induced coma.]

[The fact that my seed properly gestated in the womb of a creature living in the Reverse Side of the World is an interesting conclusion, contemplation was given to the thought of keeping the woman on hand for continued breeding but the possible risk of keeping a Youkai captive-]

Nanashi slammed the book shut with every ounce of less-than considerable force he possessed, breathing heavily in barely contained fury, glaring hatefully towards the collection of paper, ink and sadistic knowledge.

"Nanashi? Are you alright?"

Gritting his teeth as he stared at the freezer where both mother and son were stored the homunculus tried to get a handle on his raging emotions, well aware that this little quest he and the other two had been sent on was rigged from the start.

"Do you now see, Nanashi? Why even I prefer not to draw the eyes of the Clocktower even though I may be able to destroy them almost to the last man and woman?"

The pale-blonde emotionlessly turned her gaze towards the innocently sitting tome, continuing with, "I do not desire a scenario such as this one to be suffered by you."

The homunculus made no reply, glaring around at the room and wishing for nothing more than the whole place to burn to ashes, to make the person who'd done this actually hurt.

Heaving a quiet sigh Manaka released his hand, walking around the workshop and idly tapping random objects here and there, eventually returning to her companions while drolly stating, "In ten minutes this workshop shall be turned to ash and cinder. I suggest we do not dally and be here to experience the detonation firsthand."

Stiffly nodding Nanashi gave the book one last stare...and was seized by a sudden burst of inspiration, hand picking up the heavy collection of paper as Abigail and Manaka gazed at him in mild confusion.

Acting on instinct he gazed at the tome with his eyes, delving as deep as possible into the very fabric of what the book meant to this world and his perception-

-and with a twist of intent it was...gone?

"Wait, what's gone? I was staring and angry at something but what was...huh?"

Manaka and Abigail stared in confusion just as complete as the boy's, blinking at his awkwardly placed hand that looked as if it had once been grasping something, the magus wracking her brains in a bid to understand what had just happened-

-and winced, feeling the same onset of headache and pushback from the Akashic Records as she had whenever she tried to peer too deeply into the things Nanashi did.

"Nanashi, did you perchance make use of whatever strange ability that is related to your eyes again?"

"I...think I did?"

Shaking his head the youth grunted out a sigh, glaring at the workshop one final time before mumbling, "C'mon, let's get out of here before it goes up in flames...we're done here. And I've got a number of questions for that damn kitsune."

Abigail didn't need to be told twice, giving the boy a sympathetic look as she tore open a hole in reality once more, Manaka looking less than enthused at the prospect of going back through but straightening her spine regardless, the trio departing with a far more somber mood than they had started with.

"What the fuck are you playing at?"

The false image of the yuki-onna tilted her head, snowy hair shifting in the wind as a soft voice replied, "What do you mean by-"

"Oh save it, would you? Whoever it is you're impersonating is dead along with her son, what's your game, Tomoka?"

The frozen yokai continued to stare down at the trio of expectant youths, form unwavering...and with a shudder of reality and gust of wind the woman dissipated into drifting snow, revealing the sitting form of the towering kitsune, tails lightly swaying amidst the frozen breeze.

"SO YOU DISCOVERED THE TRUE NATURE OF WHAT OCCURED TO MY FRIEND AND HER SPAWN."

"Yeah, I did. I'm wondering why the hell you even tried to make me think it was a rescue mission instead of an autopsy in the first damn place."

Nanashi's gruff and highly annoyed tone seemed to flow across the woman without real purchase, merely staring down at him for a moment before a rush of steam escaped the great fox's jaws, words distant as she explained, "IT WAS A NECESSARY TEST OF YOUR CHARACTER. WORD HAD SPREAD OF A DUO - NOW EVIDENTLY A TRIO - OF HUMANS TRAVELING AMONGST THE REVERSE."

Eyes narrowed into mere slits as the fox observed them carefully, continuing with, "TO MANY, THAT SPOKE OF IMMINENT DISASTER. OF A REPEAT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BROUGHT US TO THIS PLANE IN THE FIRST PLACE. STRANGE ENOUGH THAT YOU MAY WALK FREELY FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME, EVEN STRANGER THE NATURE OF YOUR QUEST AND THE FAE'S TACIT APPROVAL OF IT."

The furred tails suddenly blurred in agitation, slapping the ground hard enough that Nanashi had to plant his feet.

"THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A CAPRICIOUS AND MERCURIAL PEOPLE...I WISHED TO SOLVE TWO MATTERS AT THE SAME TIME. BOTH A PERSONAL MEASURE OF YOUR WORTH AND TO DISCERN THE TRUE FATE OF AN OLD AND FOOLISH FRIEND."

There was a pause, followed shortly afterwards by, "THEY ARE DEAD, THEN?"

Feeling some of his earlier indignation fade Nanashi settled for a quiet sigh, nodding in confirmation.

"Yeah...yeah they are."

A more twisted smile peeled at Nanashi's lips, musing, "Set the asshole's workshop to explode after a while, though. All that precious 'research' is about to go up in flames."

A pause followed by a morbidly amused snort escaped the yokai's nostrils, cadence sad but darkly satisfied as she stated, "THEN IT SEEMS I OWE YOU SOME SMALL MEASURE OF GRATITUDE."

Manaka sniffed haughtily, retorting, "You may apologize by refraining from employing any more of your silly illusions, little fox. I do not appreciate being lead around like some dog with a treat on the end of a stick-"

Nanashi set a hand on her arm, shaking his head as the magus merely huffed in frustration, Abigail watching the proceedings without so much as a whisper, seemingly waiting for the rest of the conversation to play out as it would.

"BE AT PEACE...I DID NOT IMPART TO YOU THIS TASK WITH NO INTENTION OF WITHHOLDING A REWARD."

One massive paw scratched away a patch of snow, revealing a small snowglobe filled with what looked like dark blue liquid of some kind as she rolled it forward, Nanashi reaching down to grab it before quickly retracting his hand, frowning at the offered gift that had been so cold it had stung his skin.

"THE LIFEBLOOD OF MY FRIEND...USE IT WELL."

A pointed glance at his active and humming circuits was accompanied by a wry comment of, "FAR BE IT FROM ME TO TELL YOU HOW TO EMPLOY THIS PRIZE BUT I WOULD RECKON THIS NEW FORM OF YOURS WILL NEED AN EFFICIENT WAY OF MANAGING HEAT WASTE. MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WILL."

Turning around and walking off into the snowy landscape without a backwards glance the kitsune parted with, "I WILL RELAY THAT THERE IS MERIT TO YOUR QUEST, THAT YOU ARE NOT A THREAT UNLESS TURNED INTO ONE...I WISH YOU LUCK IN YOUR VENTURE, CHILDREN. AND MY GRATITUDE FOR ENSURING THAT THEY MAY REST IN PEACE, RATHER THAN IN THE HANDS OF AN UNSCRUPULOUS FOOL."

The trio was silent, Manaka reaching down to retrieve the frozen orb with no apparent difficulty as the homunculus idly stared at the snow, lost in thought.

"...Nanashi?"

Abigail gazed at the unresponsive boy, his mind far away from their current circumstances before he suddenly snapped to attention, calmly intoning, "We're not hunting any denizens of this realm, not unless we're asked to and given a proper justification."

Blinking at his abrupt proclamation Manaka sputtered, "B-but how else do you plan to earn enough materials for your body?! Merely traveling from one end of the Reverse to the other?! A slower and more tedious method I would be hard pressed to find!"

The homunculus was nothing if not stubborn, plainly stating, "I don't care. I don't care if it even ends up killing me, but...I don't want to be anything like that bastard that chopped up that mother and son."

The magus snarled, retorting, "What silly manner of moralizing has come over you, Nanashi? You would potentially doom yourself rather than merely partake in some hunting of mindless beasts?!"

"...Not nearly as mindless as I thought, Manaka."

"This is-"

"Manaka...leave it be."

Abigail's restraining hand upon her arm caused the pale-blonde to simmer and growl but nonetheless subside, Nanashi meeting her gaze-

-and suddenly pitched to the side, the pair of girls there to steady him as his skin burned with a heavy fever, his tone distant as he murmured, "I'm fine...I'm fine. I think."

"You are very far from fine, Nanashi. Manaka, I believe we should return home."

"On that we are in agreement."

Summoning a small slice of her power the magus cut open a hole in reality leading back to her house, inwardly worrying that her stubborn and troublesome friend's latest antics would lead to greater trouble than they could all handle.