Author's Note: We've made some revisions to the last chapter to keep it more in line with franchise lore.

Super sorry about the long delay… work was demanding and it was a hard chapter to write. The next chapter will take no where near as long. Hopefully.

The Infernal Clock

A single large carriage carried by several horses rolled down the dirt road of the des Ornières domain, the Vallière family banner fluttering in the cold breeze. Inside were the two heads of the family and their youngest daughter, all considerably dressed up and the last looking the most uncomfortable of the lot.

Duke Vallière and Duchess Vallière looked out their carriage's window as it rode through the peaceful countryside. Normally, winter was not a time to be planting crops, but they could see the fields usually filled with grape vines were now growing other crops. Crops that either had an easier time growing in winter, or that Earth had created specifically for growing in winter. They would have to inquire about such crops next time they were in the Capital.

Besides that, there were a few other things that certainly looked otherworldly. The Viscount seemed to be embracing everything wholeheartedly. The Duke and Duchess wished their daughter had such enthusiasm. While she'd been taking her classes, she neither had made the effort or had the ambition to visit the lands in question more than a few times, as was appropriate for a noble. Lucky for her, her parents had already set things up like tax/tribute. No, Louise would much rather spend her time in these lands with the Viscount.

And the Duke and Duchess had very complex thoughts on that matter. They were not fools-they knew very well their daughter and that boy had some form of affection for each other. Half a year ago, they'd find such a fact abhorrent. And half a year ago, either would've cut that boy down at the slightest provocation towards them or Louise.

But things were different now. Louise was a defined Void Mage, her standing in the Kingdom (and the continent) set in stone. Cattelya was in far better health. The two greatest sources of stress in their lives were gone, and the world looked just a little sunnier. And between this business with the other world and the invasion, Saito had proven himself worthy of some respect.

SOME. He was still an unconventional character. But neither would ruin their reputation by not admitted that the Vallière family was slightly indebted to him for his deeds. Deeds focused mainly on protecting Louise, but deeds nonetheless.

But that wasn't a reason to throw common sense to the wind. While they'd constantly threatened to marry Louise off due to her perceived magical ineptness, threats that in hindsight did cause some mild guilt, it did not mean they would let their daughter go to the first man who walked by.

The last time they had done so, it almost spelled disaster for their youngest daughter. Wardes turned out to be a traitor and a dangerous husband for her… the nearly successful brainwashing that Louise almost experienced was a barely averted nightmare. While the Vallières never were able to confirm the traitor's death, they had a solid hunch that he had fallen in battle and tossed in a mass grave indiscriminately with the other invaders.

A fitting end for such a man.

While Viscount Hiraga was a seemingly better man, despite his common birth, both parents simply couldn't blindly trust him. He was still young and, like any man of his age, prone to youthful impulses. Both could secretly be happy if their daughter found someone to marry purely out of love, but in their world and their society, there was more to it than just that, unfortunate or not. He had proven himself reliable and loyal so far but like any parents, the duke and duchess had their protective streaks. They were not fully convinced.

The reason they were in these lands today with their daughter was actually related to the subject. She'd been usually insistent on travelling to see Viscount Hiraga again, and the reason eventually came out it was because Viscount Hiraga's parents were coming from the other world to see their son and Louise. It was the perfect opportunity to gauge what kind of family he hailed from, and one they might get tied by marriage.

The carriage pulled into the manor, its older occupants looking at the grounds. Éléonore had mentioned the Viscount didn't invest much in groundcare, and she'd clearly been right. The manor, by contrast, didn't look neglected. It looked clean. It looked like it had been renovated. And there were…'things' hanging on the house. They couldn't really place what they were, so they assumed it was something from Earth.

Saito had heard the carriage coming and came out the front door dressed casually with jeans and a hoodie. He seemed surprised to see a larger carriage than usual and surrounded by guards. Louise hurried out of the carriage before the driver even got down to open the doors and up to Saito, who blinked in surprise to see her more dressed up for a formal function.

"Hey Louise! Why are you-"

The Tokyo teen suddenly saw his girlfriend's parents. His eyes widened before clearing his throat.

"Greetings Lady Vallière. I welcome you and your family to Des Ornières," he greeted more formally before he walked over to the duke and duchess, "Welcome to Des Ornières, Duke Vallière and Duchess Vallière. I was not expecting your presence today."

Saito hoped that the etiquette practice he got helped him look better. Both seemed indifferent at him.

"Thank you for your welcome, Viscount," the duke replied politely, "I see that you have taken great care of your lands."

"I am doing what is needed to help my people," Saito explained.

"Have your parents arrived yet?" Duchess Vallière asked, "We wish to meet them as well."

Saito blanched as he understood. He glanced over at Louise who had an apologetic look on her face.

"They have not yet arrived but may I entertain you?" he suggested, "My maid is already busy preparing food for us."

"Please, we would appreciate it, Viscount," Louise said as they entered the manor, "What is she preparing for us?"

"Some cooking from my homeland," Saito answered, getting the curiosity of the duke and duchess.

"What kind of meal does your homeland have?" Duchess Vallière asked.

"We have a lot of different foods but most of it is based around fish and rice."

"Rice?"

"It's a kind of grain." Saito was trying to figure out how to explain as basic as rice, "It goes well with many foods so that's why we like it in Japan."

"I see." The nobles also took notice of how the interior decoration was done. It was simple in design with functional furniture. It looked like the Embassies in Tristainia. The walls were still bare but were painted in a light blue-grey that made the rooms look bigger.

"Siesta!" Saito called out. "We have more guests! Please excuse me for a moment." He excused himself to his guests then hurried to another room. "Parlor's over there!" He leaned back in the doorway to point. Louise cringed internally then followed her parents. They were still making their observations about the furniture, none of it locally made. The house wasn't very extravagant, but it was clean.

Saito had hired Siesta. Louise didn't miss that. The last time they'd seen each other had been in the Capital. By chance, Siesta was there with her father. Something about their service to Tarbes. Her and Saito had gotten to talking, and it came up that Siesta was actually kind of bored without work. That, and her family had given away most of its newfound wealth to rebuild their home. The Academy had closed, likely for the course of the war. But Saito was looking for staff and could pay a salary. Now here they were.

"Siesta will bring drinks in a moment." Saito came in and sat down in one of the armchairs. He cleared his throat. "I hope the Vallière household is doing well."

"We are doing quite well, Viscount," the duke replied, "And how is your house doing? Reunions are meant to be joyous occasions."

"They are excited to visit des Ornières as well as seeing me again," he explained, "It has been almost 2 years since we've last seen each other."

"I can understand their excitement," Duchess Vallière said.

"Yes. May I speak with Lady Vallière in private please?" he asked pleasantly. The two adults eyed each other before Louise's father nodded.

"I shall allow it," Permission granted, Louise stood up. The two left for the next room.

"You didn't tell me they'd be here!" Saito whispered.

"I didn't know they'd want to come!" Louise hissed in a low voice. "They want to meet your parents for some stupid reason!"

"Hmm." Saito held his chin thoughtfully.

"I think this is a marriage interview." Derf popped out of his sheath and spoke in its closest approximation of a whisper.

"Wah?!" Louise didn't bother to keep her voice down.

"That would make a lot of sense." Saito realized, not as phased. "Ah, damn. My parents really aren't high society types though...hmm?" He noticed his pink-in-the-face and shaking-in-awkwardness girlfriend. "Louise?"

"M-m-marriage?!" She stuttered.

"Yeah." This wasn't the opportunity Saito expected, but it was an opportunity that was present. "I guess they just assume we're heading that way." Louise was still shaking. He moved closer to her. "We have been, haven't we? If you want to make it official-" Saito didn't get to finish that sentence due a hard knee to the gut that actually kind of hurt.

"S-shut up." The pinkette stuttered. "We're not getting married!" The pain in Saito's stomach spiked. "You haven't proposed yet. A proper proposal!" She specified. "And besides." She added, her voice quieter. "We shouldn't be making plans when the war is about to start. That's more important!" Saito groaned and glanced at the calendar he had pinned up on the kitchen wall. A local one; the months were obviously different and a Halkegenia year was just a few weeks longer than an Earth year. The invasion was just a few weeks away.

"I guess you're right…" He stood up, wheezing slightly. Really must've hit a nerve; none of her blows had actually hurt him in a long time. "Guess I'll have to think of something fancy for after we win."

"You're not supposed to spoil it! Stupid mutt." She muttered.

Saito probably should've figured out ahead of time he needed to approach the topic with more grace. But he'd tested the waters, and she hadn't said no. Arguably, she'd said 'do it properly!'. Still a good sign.

In the next room, Louise's parents, who were neither stupid or deaf, looked at each other, nodded, and pretended they hadn't overheard anything.


While that happened, an SUV drove through the countryside of Des Ornières, two of its occupants looking out in curiosity despite their nervousness, and the other looking relaxed due to the fact he'd been here before.

"This is the land that Saito's in charge of?!" Nasu asked in disbelief, "It's so big! How can he run this place if he hasn't even finished school?"

"I already told you mom," Hayate replied, slightly annoyed. They'd reunited at the first public hospital in Tristania before coming here, and in spite of everything, both parents had to gush a little, seeing their oldest as a doctor. He hadn't graduated-getting extended exemptions from his University from classes and final exams while the aid projects here happened-,but he'd wracked up nearly a hundred hours of experience even if it was as a student. He wasn't a lord like his little brother, but he'd made a career. "He got a lot of help from the American and Canadian authorities. It was one of the first things he did after the worlds hooked up. They helped him finish his education."
"Well, he didn't graduate." The woman fumed.

"He still got a proper education," Ichika pointed out, "and it's pretty good from what I heard."

"Yeah, long distance courses from the local colleges in Quebec," Hayate added, "It's different but as good as the curriculum in Japan. I made sure he did his homework. He even got some books about business and land management. Mom, he finished school and then signed up for more."

Nasu sighed as she heard the facts again that day. She didn't like it even if they were right about it.

"It's a nice piece of land though," Ichika said, trying to shift the conversation as he saw a small windmill in the distance, "It's nice and quiet, I admit."

"Apparently, it used to be better before the last lord," Hayate explained as they passed over a small bridge, "After that, no one cared about the place until Saito came along. He's really trying his best to help the people here."

"Like what?" Nasu asked skeptically.

"He's paid for some of the land to be cleared up so they can grow crops and he got some people to start fixing up the roads and bridges," Hayate explained, "He's still discussing with the embassies for future plans once the winter ends."

"I'd never thought he'd be able to do something like this," Ichika said, clearly impressed.

"Me too," Hayate pointed out, "He grew up faster than I thought."

"Speaking of that… what can you tell me about his little girlfriend of his?" Nasu asked.

"Oh… Louise?"

"Yes, her." Nasu replied with a frown, "The one that kidnapped him." For all she'd probed her other son in letters and phone calls, Saito had nothing to say but nice things. He was a little too happy with her, and it set off alarm bells.

"She's a good girl. A bit of a loudmouth but she cares a lot about him even if she sometimes has trouble admitting it. She didn't kidnap him since from what everyone from the secret services said, she had no idea she'd open a portal on Earth and certainly didn't plan on having him step into it." Hayate answered while his father had a knowing smile on his face, "Despite everything, she took good care of him when he came here. She made sure he was eating right, took care of him when he got injured and gave him a warm place to sleep."

His mother's eye twitched at the last words.

"Where exactly was this 'warm place to sleep'?" she asked as she remembered their first conversation, "Is it her bedroom?"

"It was her quarters at the Academy. I think it was the only place he could stay at without causing trouble," Hayate answered dryly, "She gave him a separate bed."

"I hope that you are telling the truth," his mother said, "I hope he didn't do anything stupid with that girl. Especially if this world doesn't have birth control."

"Relax mom, he's been okay with her. I'm pretty sure he didn't do anything he didn't want to."

Like that boy ever knew what he wanted. Nasu thought.

"I think he matured a bit here," Ichika remarked as he looked outside, "From the looks of it, something in him changed."

"I think so too." Hayate agreed.

"I hope so." Nasu begrudgingly joined.

The SUV began to slow down as a manor came into view.

"Here we are," the driver said as they pulled up through the walls surrounding the manor.

"Not bad, I wish we'd have a place like this in Tokyo." Ichika whistled out, "Thank you for everything, M. Anders."

The grounds around the house could use some work but the building itself was already much bigger than their home. The large yards was simply icing on the cake. This was the type of place millionaires lived in.

"It was no trouble." The government bureaucrat assured. "You fine people enjoy yourselves."

"At least he's staying safe," Nasu pointed out as she glanced at the cameras around before exiting.

As they stood on that front path, the front door opened and someone stepped out. And when the two parties saw each other, they both froze. There was no way for either to mistake the other. Saito was looking at his parents that he hadn't seen in the flesh in over a year, and his parents were looking at their son they hadn't seen in over a year.

It was easier to say words indirectly than directly. It was a tearful moment as parents and child ran into each other's arms.

"Saito!" His mother practically sobbed out his name as she squeezed him tight.

"Hi mom." Saito's voice quivered as he returned the hug.

"No hug for me?" his dad asked tearfully as he watched them. His wife and youngest son looked at him before Saito ran over to him and hugged him.

"I missed you son."

"Me too dad… me too dad," he sniffed.

"I thought I taught you better than this," his dad joked half-heartedly.

Saito laughed tearfully.

"Can we come inside, Saito?" his mother asked, "We have a lot to talk about it."

She suddenly noticed his nervousness.

"Yeah, but I gotta warn you that Louise's parents are here," he explained shakily, "They're kind of…"

His mother's eyes narrowed at him.

"Why are they there?" she asked, half-worried, half angry, "What did you do?"

"No mom!" Saito suddenly exclaimed, "Louise kinda let it slip that you were coming and her parents sorta insisted to come and she couldn't say no to them."

"Calm down Nasu. Maybe they just wanted to make sure that their daughter isn't dating some idiot."

"Sure." Saito agreed with his dad, although it knew that wasn't true. Unfortunately for him, Hayate didn't play along.

"Nah, they've known him long enough to figure that out." He smirked while Saito looked at him with a betrayed look. "They've been able to give him the time of day for a little while now. They're already treating him like a son-in-law." Saito scratched the back of his head. His mother's lips were becoming dangerously pursed. "Must be why they want to meet you guys."

"Son-in-law to a pair of Nobles huh?" his father teased, "I'm frankly impressed."

"I want to meet them." His mother said icily. "And this girlfriend of yours."


Inside, the Vallières were waiting patiently for the Viscount's other guests to come in. Both the Duke and Duchess remained inscrutable in their expressions as they waited. The maid had prepared tea. From what they understood, the Viscount was nostalgic of his old home and had certain aspects and mannerism recreated here in his manor. They were still finding odd things to scrutinize.

They had already seen both Japanese adults through the large window. They were plain, to say the least. The man was averagely built while the woman was rather short.

"Did the Viscount say anything new about his parents?" The Duchess asked. Obviously Saito had talked about his parents at length with Louise, and her parents had drilled her for the same information. They were commoners, obviously, a factor the two nobles were going to ignore for this occasion with their mannerisms.

"No." Louise said quietly. "Just what he's already told me."

"Hmm." Her father responded. The Viscount's parents were 'office workers'. Scribes and the like, people who made the massive organizations and businesses in that world function. A highly sought after and apparently very profitable but modest employment. The Viscount hadn't described them as wealthy, but they had no idea whether to accept that given the gulf of the definition between each world.

Aside from that, Louise had admitted, with some clear embarrassment and anger, that Saito said his mother was kind of like her. Both parents had needed to make a concerted effort to maintain their expression when they heard that.

"I'm still looking forward to meeting his mother," Lady Vallière remarked.

Her daughter reddened at this. The Duchess kept her neutral expression but was smirking internally.

The Viscount and his family was still outside, talking. Or maybe they were arguing. The woman was making gestures and saying something to her son. The Viscount's brother apparently said something, and the woman spun around to waggle a finger at him too. The woman and her sons apparently went back and forth for several moments before she unexpectedly gave the Viscount a light slap across the head. His brother laughed and pointed, and then the woman turned and advanced on him as well.

The two nobles watched this short woman chase around and beat her sons whenever she got within arm's reach of them. Such behavior should've been ghastly, but it was the slightest bit entertaining for some reason. When the Duke glanced to the side and saw his wife outwardly smirking like she found it amusing-and she did-, he grimaced. The Duke may have ran the estate, but his wife had a large impact on raising the family, and he knew she was probably going to steer a lot of this conversation.

Beside her parents, Louise was mortified at what she was seeing. She was going to greet them, but the prospect looked more daunting with every second.

Far behind, the outworlder stood by their carriage watching with an indiscernible expression, although he was howling internally at the whole scene.

That barrage ended when she got a hold on both of them, allowing her to hug both her sons together for the first time in a long time.

"I dare say she has missed her children." Lady Vallière turned away from the window to sip some tea. Some would think a parent's responsibility ended once the child left the house. She disagreed, and by the looks of it, so did the Viscount's mother.

Karen thought she might like the woman, despite their class differences.


After making her displeasure clear at how 'Western' (read: disrespectful) her sons had become, Saito finally relented his mom and dad inside the house. Louise and Siesta were waiting just beyond the front door, in the vestibule. Nasu glanced over both girls. One was dark haired but she was more interested in the pink haired one that stood next to her.

"Mom, Dad, this is Lady Louise-Françoise Leblanc de la Vallière," Saito introduced, "She's-"

"Your girlfriend huh." Nasu looked down at her. It was definitely the same girl as the video call over a year ago. The girl was well dressed, befitting a nobleman's daughter. She wore a light green dress while her hair was done in an elaborate bun. She was also pretty short. Ever since they'd stepped into Canada, the two adults got gotten use to seeing people taller than them. Louise was the first person Nasu recognized that was noticeably shorter than her. By only a few inches though.

"H-hello." Louise said quietly, feeling intense pressure from the way this woman's eyes bore into her. Saito, perhaps recognizing her discomfort, moved along the introductions.

"This is Siesta." Saito introduced his maid and friend, and his parents blinked in surprise at how 'normal' she looked. "You remember that Japanese Zero pilot that came here in WWII? She's his granddaughter. Or great granddaughter. I forgot." He admitted sheepishly.

"Hello." Siesta spoke up in awkward but understandable Japanese, surprisingly them further. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh! She speaks Japanese."

"A little." Siesta switched back to English. "I've been trying to learn more. It's very different from the languages we have here."

"You're a… maid?" Nasu guessed after nodding. The outfit gave it away.

"Oh, yes. Saito just hired me." Siesta confirmed.

"I hope he's been a gentlemen." The Japanese woman glanced at her son in a threatening way.

"Oh, Saito's always been nice." Siesta didn't pick up the hidden meaning. "We've been friends since he arrived here. I was a maid at the Academy where Ms. Valliere...met him. He liked to stay with the kitchen staff in his spare time. Saito was nice enough to help me with some of my duties."

A nice modest Japanese girl (mostly), but Saito had gone for the pink-haired aristocrat. Her son had 'exotic' tastes, Nasu thought.

"We took a bath together." Siesta added as an afterthought. Saito flinched as his mother froze up.

"Could you please repeat that Miss Siesta?" Nasu asked coldly.

"We bathed together once," She repeated innocently. "He said it was a custom in Japan." Saito's mother was tight lipped, while his brother and father tried their hardest not to break out in grins. Louise had to stay composed too but her cheeks were reddening; Siesta had told her Saito had been in the courtyard, but she didn't know the maid had had a bath with him before her. Not that her and Saito had been together at that point, but still!

"Uh, let me introduce you to Louise's parents!" Saito grab his mother's hand like it was the paw of an angry tiger and gently pulled her towards the parlor.

As they entered the room, Saito took the lead. He cleared his throat as he moved to introduce his parents.

"Duke Vallière, Duchess Vallière, may I introduce you to my parents, Hiraga Ichika and Hiraga Nasu."

The two nobles nodded.

"Greetings, M. and Mrs. Hiraga. I am Duke Centurion Pierre de la Vallière and this is my wife, Duchess Karen Désirée de la Vallière. We have been eager to meet you."

"The feeling is mutual, Duke Vallière," Saito's father replied politely as his youngest guided them to a couch.

"Tea, M. Hiraga?" Siesta asked as she appeared with a tray of refreshments.

"Yes please."

The maid served the four Hiragas their tea as the Vallières watched closely. After a sip of tea, Nasu cleared her throat.

"Lord Vallière, Lady Vallière, how long have you known my son?" she asked seriously. "He gave us the impression in his letters you were looking after him." Neither of the nobles refuted that, but there was a slight shift in their expression. Louise's stoicism, under constant assault by the mere presence of this short woman, crumbled a little further.

It was Duchess Vallière that answered.

"Our daughter has been hosting him." Even before Saito had been granted a nobility title, they had a hard time labeling what exactly the boy had been. Their daughter had summoned him, yes, but did that really make him a familiar? His behavior (and Louise's towards him for that matter) made it obvious he was neither that, or a servant. That time period, a different world almost in how different it had been, was confusing to look back on. Neither could definitively say why exactly they'd even let that boy stay around their daughter.

"Has his accommodations been appropriate?" Nasu pressed on.

"What do you mean?" The duchess replied, knowing where the other woman was heading. Ichika swore that the duke had a brief break in his composure, revealing some… nervosity?

"I understand things are different in this world, but surely all parents can agree two teenagers being left alone is a bad idea no matter the world?"

"Indeed," The Duchess agreed. "But I will not press any fault on your son when my own daughter has disgraced herself in almost equal measure." She glanced over at Louise, who had bowed her head nervously. "They have both been troublesome, but we kept them in line when it was necessary."

"Ehhh…" Saito thought he could say something in his defense, but his mind drew a blank as the harsh stares of both women fell on him.

"Well, thank you for that, duchess." Nasu nodded. "We are grateful." The Duke cleared with throat.

"Let me extend my family's gratitude to yours. In spite of some mishaps," He glanced at the boy, "Your son has helped my family several times."

"How exactly?" the Japanese woman asked.

"He has helped exposed a traitor that endangered our daughter," the duchess replied, "Her former fiancé in fact."

"Fiancé? Excuse me, but how did this happen?"

"It is a rather convoluted tale but the Viscount was able to save her from a forced marriage that was to be done using foul magic. His skill with the sword allowed him to defeat the traitor."

"How did you let this happen?" Nasu asked, accusation in her voice. "Where were you when this happened?"

"I'm afraid that we were not present. Our daughter foolishly decided to accept a mission from her childhood friend and our current ruler," the noble answered honestly, "We were never consulted on this. We would have refused any involvement from her part."

"But mother! Her Majesty's secrets were at risk!" Louise protested before her mother silenced her with a glare.

"That is but one of many ways the Viscount has aided us," the duchess shifted her attention to the Japanese woman. "You have raised a brave son."

"His uncle was a detective." Saito's father spoke up.

"Detective?" the duke asked curiously.

"A man who's tasked with hunting dangerous criminals and investigating crimes. My brother was quite good at it," Ichika said with a hint of nostalgic pride, one that the duke didn't miss. "I guess Saito had the same spark."

"He's good at finding trouble, by the sound of it." Nasu sniffed.

"As uncouth as he is, your son's shown some skill as a statesman as well." Duke Vallière said, something he intended to follow up on later in the conversation.

"So we've heard." Nasu had to force a pleasant smile and tone. "He kept mentioning that's why he couldn't come home to us." You best believe she would've had her son home if she could've. But he hadn't wanted to. Since he was a Japanese citizen, the Americans and Canadians hadn't been too concerned, and apparently he was so well liked by high ranking people here they didn't want to risk their business relationship over one teenager and forcibly bring him back. Even her own government had echoed similar reluctance because of Saito's insistence. Everyone around her had been telling her to let him decide for himself.

He'd been 17!

"What else exactly did he achieve?" Ichika asked curiously.

"He was the one that convinced the Queen and her Regency Council to open diplomatic ties with Canada and the United States," Louise chimed in, "He told us about how powerful and how generous they were."

She conveniently left out his exaggerations that had become so famous.

"Yeah, and he was the liaison for a lot of people from Earth early on." Hayate spoke up. "Lot of people went to him for advice and directions."

"But how? You're still young!" Nasu exclaimed

"I just knew how things were here." Saito shrugged. "I knew the language. I knew a lot of people that wanted to interact with Earth."

"Is it really true that he was talking with President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau?" Ichika asked.

"He accompanied us when we went to Ottawa and New York City," Louise explained proudly, "Saito helped convince them to help us."

"Is that so?" his mother remarked, incredulously.

"She speaks the truth," the duke said, "The Viscount's words were what convinced her Majesty to visit Earth and open talks with the Americans and Canadians in the first place."

"But has he done anything else dangerous?" Nasu pressed. That was what she was concerned about. "Like-" She sighed. "That crowning ceremony." The Duke lowered his eyes and the Duchess' lips pursed. That was still a bitter memory to all Tristainians no matter their class.

"I've asked the Queen personally on this matter. Both have, at the neglect of their duties and studies," That scorn bothered Louise more than it did Saito, "Have done a number of tasks for Her Majesty on top of the one regarding our daughter's former fiancéé. None have ended up as dangerous though."

"Yeah, our government mentioned that." Saito's father recalled.

"You are right M. Hiraga." the duchess answered, "My daughter and your son went on numerous escapades together at the Queen's behest."

"Escapades?" Nasu's eyes narrowed icily.

"Nothing inappropriate but they seem to be able to get themselves into predicaments. Always at the wrong place, at the wrong time," the Duchess explained, understanding the other woman's cold tone. "But nothing as dangerous as that incident."

"How is it that the Queen is sending such young people on such dangerous tasks? Doesn't she care about her subjects?" Nasu continued as the temperature suddenly dropped.

"Queen Henrietta is a compassionate ruler!"

"Then why did she ask my son and her childhood friend to do the job that an adult should have done?!" the Japanese argued, "Does she not have other people that could help her?"

The Duchess' face briefly hardened as she tried to find a retort to this strong willed woman. Afterall, the Archduchess had also done the same with Karen when they were young. And her anger had been at her daughter for these happenings instead of the Queen.

Not that she'd say that aloud!

"Her Majesty is still young and has yet cultivated many reliable and trustworthy friendships," she finally replied calmly, "My daughter and her have been friends since they were infants."

"Her Majesty only wanted us to get a letter from Prince Wales. She didn't imagine that we would be betrayed!" Louise argued, causing Nasu to glare at her.

"Adults are speaking, Louise!" her mother scolded sternly, before returning to what she'd been saying. "Her Majesty seems fond of the Viscount as well." Perhaps because of their ages. The Duchess figured to herself. "They were the only people she trusted with such a personal task."

Saito seemed capable of making friends quickly here. His parents had to wonder where that talent had been back in Japan.

"Fond of the viscount?" Nasu asked, an eyebrow raised, the previous matter put aside for the moment.

"Yes, he seems to be an unofficial advisor despite his humble origins and young age." Rumors had run rampant in Tristain high circles about that. But they'd played out for the best in the long run.

"Well...that makes sense." Nasu reasoned. These people knew nothing about Earth. Her son may have been a goof, but he wasn't a complete idiot.

Just an advisor was fine. She'd been worried there for a second her son had a chance of becoming a king. That would've aged her by 20 years.

"It's the reason he ultimately obtained his title," the duchess finished.

"Yes, we still have trouble believing that our Saito is a hero in another world," his mother replied. "They've been behaving since then?"

"To our knowledge, the Queen hasn't requested their assistance again." The adults focused on Saito and Louise for confirmation.

"She hasn't." Saito said quickly. "American and Canada have been helping her now. The Coronation was the first time I had to fight anyone in a long time." He wondered if he should've mentioned that Julio guy, but then decided against it. Letting them know he might be getting into a fight with a Church representative was probably unwise right now. "Hopefully, she'll never have to ask us again."

"Saito, you know that's not true!" Louise hissed. "What about-" Saito slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Let's not mention the Void stuff right now, okay?" He hissed so no one else would hear them, even though they could see the two acting like fools.

"Do they always fight like this?" Nasu asked Hayate.

"Usually." The older brother seemed non-pulsed. The Hiraga patriarch was resisting the urge to make a certain comparison.

The Duke and Duchess, meanwhile, saw their daughter interrupting this conversation and arguing with the Viscount. They decided that enough pleasantries had been exchanged for them to get to the reason they'd come here.

"That's enough Louise!" the Duke scolded, "Your manners are inappropriate right now!"

"Forgive us." The Duchess nodded as she turned to the Hiragas. "We understand our appearance here was sudden. Your family must want to catch up in private. We only came because there is a very important matter to discuss, and if we can discuss it now, we can leave."

"If it's important." Nasu nodded, slightly cautious.

"Yes, well," The Duke looked at his daughter and the Viscount. They might as well be present here too; they needed to hear some of what was to be said too. "As we've previously discussed, our daughter and your son are very close."

"Very." The Duchess affirmed, to her reddening daughter's embarrassment.

"And understandably, we've been concerned about where it is heading." The Duke continued. Saito and Louise could sense where this conversation might be going. Louise was horrified. Saito was nervous even as Hayate flashed him a thumbs up everyone else couldn't see.

"My son seems to think he's ready to get married." Nasu's hawk eyes bored into her youngest. Saito shrugged nervously.

Louise's parents hid their surprise well. If they could even call it surprise.

"They are already acting like it." The Duchess was blunt.

"Well, our son is old enough in our world to get married." Saito's father jumped to their aid. "Your daughter is…" He trailed off when he realized just how small Louise was. Not that his wife was much bigger. "I'm sorry, I don't think we caught her age?" Now Louise was nervous and humiliated.

"17." Duchess Valliere answered, "Old enough to marry."

"Ah." Ichika nodded while his wife stared at the two teenagers with a piercing stare.

"Young man, how serious are you about this?" she asked pointedly. She had a thin hope that had been some momentary fancy he'd gotten over.

"We haven't actually talked about it all that much." Saito explained.

"Y-yeah." Louise found her voice, wanting to dismiss the subject quickly. "We agreed to only worry about it after the war!"

That did not de-escalate things.

"War?!" Nasu exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She rounded on Saito. "What war?!"

"It was in the journals." Her husband reminded her. "That floating count-"

"I know that!" She snapped at her husband before turning back to her son. "But you're not involved in that, are you?" She demanded. "You said you were a lord. Not a soldier."

"Those are kind of the same thing here…" Saito mumbled.

"It's our duty to serve our kingdom both in peace and in war!" Louise exclaimed.

"OUR kingdom?!" Nasu retorted loudly, "Saito is from Japan and a Japanese citizen! He is not Tristainian!"

"I never said I was gonna fight in a war or anything!" Saito interjected.

"Wha?! Saito! Did you think that you could laze around with a title from her Majesty?! You're supposed to protect me!" Louise grabbed his arm.

"Did you know about this?" Nasu hissed, grabbing Hayate's arm while her other son still argued with his girlfriend. He shook his head quickly. Saito hadn't said anything to him about being in this war.

"What about you?" Ichika asked, looking at the Vallières, "Are you going to participate in this war?" In spite of the sudden escalation in emotion, they remained stoic.

The duke shook his head.

"I have chosen not to. My holdings currently require much of my attention right now and my army is being reformed after the last war."

"And you, Duchess Vallière?"

"I will go to make sure that my daughter does not do anything foolish and endanger herself," she answered as she sipped some tea. "The Queen has requested her personally to take part and we are in no position to refuse."

"You can't leave me alone!" Louise was shaking Saito's arm with a desperate look on her face.

"I didn't say that! I just don't want to fight in a war!"

"Then how are you supposed to protect me!?" his girlfriend argued as she kept tugging on his sleeve, "You have the Gandalfr runes and have to protect me!"

"Is that a tattoo?" Nasu asked through gritted teeth.

"Tattoo?" Saito mouthed before realizing that his sleeve had moved, revealing the runes on his forearm.

"Yes. That." his mother pointed with her hand, a mix of disgust and anger.

"It's not a tattoo mom-"

"Then what is it?"

Saito scratched the back of his head, trying to explain it without angering his mother even more. He even glanced at Louise who seemed to be cowed as well. His mother was still looking at him sternly.

"They're… magical runes," Saito answered hesitantly. His father looked curious.

"Where did you get them?" Ichika asked as he studied them.

"It's what binds me to him," Louise quietly explained causing Nasu to sharply turn her head towards her.

"What do you mean?" she asked coldly.

"It's not like that mom!" Saito waved his arms, "The runes just proved that she summoned me. They were kind of like a gift."

"So that he can protect me!" Louise interjected.

"Protect you? How? Saito's not a soldier or bodyguard!" his father exclaimed suddenly. Duke Vallière cleared his throat.

"The Viscount is surprisingly proficient with actual weapons," the noble explained, "Because of those runes."

"What do you mean?" Nasu asked.

"Eum well, they're magic. They make me really good with weapons. Like action hero good." Saito admitted when his dad's mind clicked.

"That that's why you were able to fight during the Coronation attack," he said half in awe.

"Yeah and that's why I'm pretty good with my sword."

"Your sword?" His father asked.

"Your sword?" His mother asked with much more dread.

"Wait, did we really forget to show them Derflinger?" Hayate suddenly realized.

"Derflinger? That's how you called your sword?" his dad said with a raised eyebrow.

"That was his name before I got him," Saito said before standing up, "I'll show you."

He left the room for a moment, leaving his parents with many questions. He quickly returned, carrying a sheathed sword.

"Oh so I finally get to meet your parents, partner!" a tinny voice exclaimed.

"Did-did that sword just talk?!" Nasu exclaimed as she looked at Derflinger.

"I did! I'm Derflinger. Pleased to meet you."

The woman was simply too flabbergasted to understand what was happening. Her son, wielder of a talking sword was simply too much.

"Hello Derflinger. I'm Ichika, Saito's father."

His father seemed to take it better than his mother.

"Pleased to meet you. So you two are the ones that sired this idiot that's my partner," the sword joked.

His mother's eyebrow twitched at the sword's comment.

"Alright, Derf, that's enough for now. We're kind of in the middle of something. I just wanted you to meet them. We can talk later."

"Ah, alright then. Pleasure!" The sword exclaimed as Saito left the room with him. He returned moments later, the room heavy with tension. The duke and duchess looked at each other before nodding. After that derailment, clearly there was so much for the other family to discuss, any attempt to discuss the matter they wanted would just keep getting derailed.

"On second thought, we shall take our leave. Come Louise, I believe that the Viscount would wish to be with his family after such a long separation and we have intruded enough up their hospitality," Duke Vallière declared as he stood up, "It was wrong of us to insert ourselves here. We can discuss this matter another time. But our meeting today has been rather… clarifying on many things."

"Clarifying?" Ichika asked.

"We've wanted to see what kind of family the Viscount hailed from," the Duchess replied before looking at Nasu, "May I request something of you Mrs. Hiraga?"

"Yes?"

"We would still like to converse with you through other means. Perhaps letters. I have many things I would like to discuss with you in the upcoming times. A wedding is not a simple affair in this world." The word made Saito and Louise cower.

"I understand," Nasu replied knowingly, "We'll talk to some people from Canada and see if they can arrange it."

"I believe they could." That Vallieres agreed on that approach.

Both Saito and Louise gulped as dread filled them, but Louise stood to follow her parents.

"And Viscount Hiraga." The Duke stopped in front of Saito, towering over him. "You and I will have to have a conversation on this subject soon too." He warned.

"O-of course, Duke Valliere." Saito tried to stand tall. It wasn't that he hadn't imagined asking Louise's parents for approval, it was just now he realized that aside from a noble, the Duke was also a very large man. One that could handle a sword and powerful magic.

"Come, Louise." Her mother bid as they exited the house.

"See you soon." Saito whispered, sad but not at all mad even after those heated back and forths. Louise looked regretfully at him, but the knowledge she'd be back soon enough.

"It was nice to meet you." She said politely to Saito's parents before hurrying off after hers.

Now that just left the Hiraga family to sort things out for themselves.


After that whole exchange, the attempt to have a family dinner was understandably awkward. There was more food than all four could possibly eat, and even Siesta had decided to give the family space. Saito had his head down in obvious regret. Hayate was the one to comfort him with a few pats of the back.

"Couples fight all the time bro, you'll both get over it."

"At least you won't be forced to sleep on the couch in your own house." His father said jokingly, glancing at his wife while she ate her rice silently and angrily. She glared at him with a pout.

"Yes, it could have been better," Nasu muttered between bites, "But at least I'll be able to talk with her mother."

"So what did you think of them?" Hayate asked cautiously.

"Well, they're what I expected from a bunch of old European aristocrats," his father replied casually, "Proud to a fault. Very protective of their daughter as well."

His wife nodded silently.

"Really dad? I expected them to be well… snobbier. They've always been like that with me. Even after I got my title, they weren't really that friendly." Now that he thought about it, Saito was surprised at how this afternoon had unfolded.

"They like you little bro." Hayate told him, "They called with your title all the time. I think that they kind of respect you now."

His mother was listening intently.

"You think so?" Saito asked.

"That's my hunch man. At least they didn't kill you for wanting to marry their daughter." Saito cringed. That whole business could've been brought up easier. But water under the bridge. He decided to not bring it up again.

"What about you mom?" the youngest Hiraga looked at his mother.

"Your father already said what needed to be said about them. We'll be talking to them more in the future.."

"And what about Louise?" he hesitantly asked his parents.

"She seemed like a nice girl," his dad said, "Might want to work on that temper of hers though."

"Yes, she's rather temperamental for someone like her," his mother added, "Not a good trait."

Ichika suddenly snickered, causing his wife to turn his attention to him.

"What's so funny dear?"

"She reminds of someone else," he said with a smile on his lips.

"Who exactly?" Nasu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh you already know that person," he teased, causing her to pout.

Saito uneasily cleared his throat..

"Dad, I don't know how to ask this… but are you proud of what I did so far?"

"Of course I'm proud." His father nodded. "You're here trying to help a lot of people. In some weird ways." He added after a minute.

"Mom?" Saito asked. Nasu's face twisted in displeasure at being prodded to answer the same question.

"I don't like a lot of this." She said. "You're getting into gunfights. There aren't even guns in this world!" There technically were, but no Hiraga male was going to correct her. "You're fighting spies...you're fighting in wars…"

"I'm doing something though." Saito refuted. "I wasn't doing anything in Japan."

"You weren't doing anything dangerous either!"

Saito scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out what to say.

"Yeah, it's really dangerous mom," he admitted before his voice steeled itself, "But I'm happy with what I'm doing here and I did a lot to help. I won't be fighting anymore if I can help it. I want to build up Des Ornières so that the people here can have better lives instead and I'm taking classes for that!"

"And I like Louise." He went on. "I know it looks like a cheesy manga or something, but this is a real place. It isn't that bad."

"He's not a boy anymore." Saito's father came into the conversation. "Look at him, honey. I don't he would have been able to say that with that much seriousness before."

"Saito grew up mom." Hayate added seriously, "He's a lot more responsible than I remembered. He's more mature too." Saito nodded. "I mean, he's still a LITTLE hopeless in some areas." His little brother looked fake hurt. "But he's made it all on his own."

"What about that war they were talking about?" Nasu insisted, "That little girl said that he had to fight alongside her or something."

"Sounds like a real man to me-keeping the love of his life safe." Hayate piped up.

"Love of his life." Nasu tried to mutter dismissively, but couldn't quite manage it.

"I'll try and stay safe alright mom? I'm not going into battle unless if everything goes wrong." Saito argued. "I'm not going in alone. I got friends here who care about me. They'll try and keep me safe while I try to keep Louise safe. I'm not fighting a war alone."

He didn't need to mention that the CIA and CSIS had their eyes on him as well…

"These people did a lot for me. I have to pay them back."

"Don't you think you've done enough?"

Saito shook his head.

"No, mom."

The woman sniffed a bit.

"Don't you miss anything about Japan? At all?" His mother asked him. His head jerked back a bit before he looked down.

"I do."

"What?"

"I missed you guys a lot," he answered truthfully, "That's why I'm so happy to see you here. That's why I made this place look as much like home as I could." It wasn't a whole lot he could do, but it was something.

"Will you ever visit us?" she asked tearfully, "The house is a bit empty without you or Hayate."

"Of course mom, of course," Saito answered heartfully, "As soon as I can and if they let me come back."

"I will make them let you!" She insisted, then shook her head. She was quiet for a few moments, the rest of her family watching her cautiously. "I still can't understand it." She said it more to herself than them. "You don't look different from that day you disappeared, but you act so different." Saito glanced down at himself.

"He's not that different, mom." Hayate tried to insist. "He's still an idiot."

"Gee, thanks." Saito rolled his eyes.

"You've grown up in many ways I couldn't imagine," his mother whispered sadly, "I can't-can't believe this. I thought that you would have been unhappy in some way, that you were trying to put on a brave face."

She looked at him in the eyes.

"B-but when I saw you looking at Louise… I never saw you have a look like that back home."

"I love her." Saito said simply, "And she loves me."

Resignation appeared on his mother's face.

"I could never take you home like that. There's no way you can be happy back home."

"Mom…"

"So… please be careful. I don't want to lose you for good."

Both mother and son hugged each other, a tearful smile on their faces.

And so, on the first day of the visit, they managed to reach an understanding. That left the rest of it to genuine enjoyment and catching up. They got a full tour of Saito's lands, beautiful as they were, although his parents had to get used to being so well treated by the locals. They even got to meet Louise again a few days later without her parents around. The small girl was rather pleasant once her guard had dropped. It only took till midway for Hayate and Ichika's jokes about certain similarities to cause imminent danger to all involved. But Nasu went away from those interactions fully convinced the girl wasn't all that bad.

Saito spoiled them further by showing them more of Tristain, like it was a vacation rather than a reunion. Tristain was a beautiful country where the war hadn't touched it. When the day came for them to leave, he even went with his parents to the portal and insisted on buying them gifts to take home. Maybe they should've spent time here lecturing him on spending habits instead of marriage.

Now the Hiragas stood before the portal, their transport waiting for them as the sun was setting. They were saying goodbye to both their sons instead of just one; it seemed both of their destinies were entwined in this strange new world for the time being. But everyone parted that day feeling like they all understood each other better.


Despite her isolation, Charlotte had kept good track of the days in her mind. By her own count, the invasion of Albion was soon to begin. There wasn't much else to do in the home she'd grown up in than count the days. That, and talk to the family butler. But she had exhausted any possible conservation topics with that man years ago. Sit, count the days, and occasionally overhear her mother's ramblings echoing through the quiet, empty house.

And after a month of that, she'd gotten summons back to her uncle. She'd left the same day, bidding goodbye to her mother even though the woman didn't recognize her like always. Saying goodbye hurt, but not saying it would've hurt even more. Joseph must've finally decided how he wanted to try and get her killed this time. Probably more monsters from the Black Forest-the dense woods on the border between their Kingdom and Germania was full of mysterious and dangerous life.

But she was wrong.

"You're going to Tristain tomorrow, little girl." Sheffield had told her. "There is a place there called Des Ornières. You're going to kill the lord of those lands." Charlotte inhaled a little. She'd never been told to kill an innocent person. "He has a mistress with pink hair." Pink...hair? "You will kill her too." Pink hair...Tabitha had only ever seen one person with pink hair, and now that she was thinking about it, that domain name sounded familiar too. "She has a ring and book Joseph wants. You are going to get it for him." Des Ornières...Des Ornières...Charlotte knew she'd heard it before, only in passing probably, but she had.

Then it hit her, and the temperature of her core drained quickly.

"What are their names?" She whispered.

"Hmm?" Sheffield glared, annoyed Charlotte had thought to talk. "Speak up."

"Their names. What are their names?"

"How would I know?" Sheffield sounded annoyed "You should only be concerned…" The woman's expression shifted. "Oh?" And suddenly she smirked. "Yes, I remember now-they're about your age. Friends you made at school, little Charlotte?" She mocked. Charlotte let out a shuddering breath. She had to be referring to Saito and Louise, it all just matched up. But why them? Sheffield started cackling.

"This is perfect!" She grabbed the teen's arms and pulled her after her. "Your uncle will have to hear this!" Didn't he know? Or was this just cruel fate?

Charlotte was dragged to her uncle's study. He was looking over a chessboard with various pieces already on the side.

"Joseph, your dear niece told me something interesting," Sheffield said with glee. The Gallian king looked up, uninterested.

"Yes?"

"It seems that she might know the people who have the book and ring."

"Really?"

"They were friends at the Academy you sent her to," Sheffield explained, still smiling.

Joseph closed his eyes for a second.

"Than it will make it easier for you to get close and kill them, little Charlotte," he said emotionlessly, "No need for a complicated scheme. Simply a friendly visit as a cover."

Charlotte stayed silent as her uncle continued to talk.

"I dare say killing friends is easier than killing an enemy. A friend does not expect a dagger to plunge into their back."

An icy shudder went down Charlotte's spine.

"You will leave tomorrow with your familiar as previously discussed. Do not return without the book or ring."


Thick clouds hid the winter sun while a soft breeze blew through snow covered trees. The peaceful lands of the Tristainian-Gallian border were covered in light snow. The only thing that disturbed this peacefulness was the sound of rotor blades. American and Canadian choppers flew over the land, a regular sight for the border guards and the local inhabitants of both realms. It was nothing more than a routine by now. Extra eyes to help Tristain's border lords keep control of things, especially now when there was no Royal Army that could be summoned in the event of an invasion.

Charlotte had sat in the woods and watched them for half a day now, discerning a pattern. The occasional cavalry patrol trotted along the border too. It was a precious time that was being used as she looked at the sun. Each moment that passed was an ever growing chance of failure… something that the Gallian mage couldn't afford in large amounts. Illococo stood next to her, in human form. Both were dressed for the weather with thick cloaks and coats. Charlotte couldn't risk flying. If the outworlders could fly, no doubt they could an eye on the skies around them. Both girls kept quiet. Charlotte looked at the notes she'd taken on the border patrols. The horses weren't consistent, but the helicopters were. She could move around those if she was quick. She waited a few more moments before waving to Illococo.

Now was their chance. Both dashed through the light snow over the border. After a few moments, they were in Tristain. Still hidden in the woods, Charlotte pulled out a map and glanced at it. An hour of walking or so would be enough to put them at a safe distance from the border patrols. Once there, Illococo could simply carry her to Des Ornières with little hassle if all things went well.

It was winter and a lot of focus was on the coasts. She didn't expect to find many people on the roads that could spot her. Each step she took was a blur as her sole wish kept her mind focused.

To save her mother from her uncle. Brimir damn what he asked of her.

She wasn't going to kill Saito and Louise like he asked; she was certain at this point it was them. A young lord consorting with a pink haired lady with powerful magic that went to the Academy with her? The description fit so well that it was impossible to be coincidence.

No doubt something Joseph had chosen them specifically to torment her… and break her once and for all. The book and ring were probably just pretenses.

Her thoughts drifted to Saito and Louise. Her relationship with Louise wasn't much to think about. At best, they were merely academic rivals. Even there… Charlotte was always the better mage.

As for Saito, he was a different matter. Far less boisterous than Louise and far more approachable, the Japanese boy was a friend in her mind despite his proximity to the pink haired girl. He was always willing to tell stories about how amazing his world was, stories that Charlotte could barely believe until that portal appeared. Once it opened and trade began to happen, things changed. She saw how amazing Earth was. She enjoyed the tales that their writers had woven and how they had given her hope. Saito had helped a lot of students out of their shells to try it once the market at the portal opened.

Maybe Earth held the secret to healing her mother? Maybe Saito could do something amazing to save her from her uncle's clutches. The same way he'd saved Siesta from Count Mott.

It was with these thoughts that she flew Illococo to des Ornières. Luckily, it seemed that Brimir was on her side. The flight went without a hitch and she was on the doorstep of a slowly renovated manor. Charlotte knocked on the door.

"Greetings and welcome to Des Ornières-"

She recognized the black haired girl in front of her. It was Siesta. The very same maid she'd be thinking about when she recalled Saito's own heroic deeds.

"Weren't you in Gallia, Tabitha?!" Siesta exclaimed as she recognized the girl in front of her.

"Yes. Why are you here?" Charlotte asked calmly.

"Saito and Louise hired me to work as a maid but why are you here?!"

"I need to see Saito now," the Gallian said softly, "It is very urgent and he can help me."

Siesta's eyes narrowed.

"I heard what you did as spy. Why should I let you in?"

"Because my uncle forced my hand. He has my mother as a hostage," Charlotte pleaded, "I need Saito's help. If he could save you… then maybe… then maybe."

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Siesta's expression was sympathetic now.

"Come in, I will get Saito."


It was 4 days until D-Day and you could really feel the tension throughout the entirety of Tristain. So many houses, of the commoner and noble kind, had tearful goodbyes. Wills had been written, houses and titles passed on to other, often younger, members of the family in case the one leaving didn't come back. Boys and girls too young to even marry were being given control over acres of land and thousands of commoners to manage. There was anxiety of responsibilities for everyone.

Everyone except the nobles that had pushed Henrietta to invade were now kicking themselves for wanting to launch an invasion in the middle of winter. It was making logistics hard, although at least most of the Tristainian Army had the benefit of warm houses their allies had gifted to them.

An advance force of 12,000 Germanians was causing a different kind of tension throughout Tristain's coast. Thousands of men, larger and better equipped than most of their allies, were camped out along the coast, making the local towns and lords very nervous. Tarbes was hosting a force twice its population. There were Canadian troops keeping watch, but that offered only so much reassurance.

At Clément, the base was brimming with Tristainian troops readying for the invasion. They were being inspected by Marshal du Poitier and Admiral de Boeck in preparation for the invasion. They were the first wave of troops, the most well-trained forces of the Royal Tristainian Army

There was a notable oddity in its officer corps, split between older nobles and many fresh new faces requested from the noble families by the Queen. One could tell simply at a glance by looking at the uniforms.

Most of the older and a very small number of the younger wore fancier, more traditional uniforms. While not abhorrent for the most part, a lot were clearly in worse physical shape than many of the troops they were leading. They'd brought their own lodgings and servants that couldn't have looked more out of place.

In contrast, nearly all of the young officers had uniforms that had an uncanny resemblance to the dress uniforms they'd seen the Earth soldiers wear at special events. Still flashy, but not as much. It also made them look very similar to the Musketeers that made up nearly a fourth of the new Tristain Royal Army.

Actually, the way Henrietta had rebuilt the whole Army seemed clearly inspired by their allies. They still had swordsman, pikemen, and cavalry. Even though most went to the new Navy, they'd furnished new cannons too. The things any Halkegenian army worth its salt needed. But the Musketeers had been reorganized in a way that distinctly mirrored America and Canada's soldiers. Terms like platoons, squads, and even the way they were trained to fight without the same strict formation as other units types. Changes that even necessitated giving commoner soldiers more power and authority in the units. It remained to be seen if these tactics and organizations would work with firearms that were less advanced, but it was an experiment they all seemed very invested in.

And all of this was due to the training Earth had provided. When word had spread the Earth was training the Undine Knights, a lot of young nobles showed interest. Way more than either the Queen or Earth had anticipated.

But Earth had tried to take them all in anyway. Not all had made it. More than a few had dropped out for inability reasons or conflicts of ideas. And you couldn't change centuries of norms in only a few short months.

But Earth had made something out of those that had stayed. They may not have been that potent magically compared to the old, but they had something else, something within. A spirit. Du Poitier couldn't describe what it was exactly, but he recognized it for what it was: power.

This invasion was going to succeed. Their soldiers were more skilled than ever. He was certain.


Earth was getting ready too. All that supplies they'd gotten ready was being prepped to ship out. UN personnel, a small coalition of British, French, and Belgian troops were camped out at the airbase waiting for their own chance to move. Colonel Roberts had secured a position as the overall mission commander without any struggle; he knew the area and the languages. He certainly wasn't going to complain-he'd been sure he was on the edge of getting sent home. His role as the commander for the detachment of Canadian troops in Tristain had gotten redundant after the 2nd Division had moved in on a more permanent basis. This would be the Division's new role and legacy for the rest of time, everyone was thinking.

But a military offensive was nothing without intelligence and deception, and while military intelligence were working their butts off, so were the civilian intelligence agencies. Reports of all kinds flooded into the intelligence offices. Troop movement, civilian morale, weather conditions, political shifts, economic state were filling pages of reports and were doubled checked for inconsistencies. They got it all, and they made sure the relevant info got to the correct military authorities.

And goddamn was it busy right now. Everyone, in all professions, departments and branches, were working overtime. Clerks and secretaries made sure that reports from scouts and spies got to the hands of analysts while these made sure that they were true. Planners, advisers and officers eagerly read everything scrap of information that got to them as plans were drawn up, altered and finalized. A supply convoy carrying nothing but coffee and cigarettes had arrived in advance.

But not all eyes were turned on Albion. Others kept watch over the other realms, making sure that none were taking advantage of the invasion to attack Tristain or Germania. They were making sure Germania stayed in line too, as did Julio and the order of knights he'd arrived with a few days ago.

No one could ever be too sure.

And on their own, there were putting together a little deception act with Mathilda. Speaking of that whole debacle, every one of those kids and the half-elf had been secretly moved off base to avoid questions from the locals as well as certain radical ultranationalists in Québec. They were enjoying some time at an isolated government owned cottage in Québec's Laurentides region, just north of Montréal. The well-preserved nature, beautiful landscapes and clean lakes were a nice experience for them, more reminiscent of the orphanage they grew up in. They were hiking whenever it wasn't raining and over all enjoying themselves with the indoor swimming pool and other things, taking plenty of pictures to show Mathilda when they saw her again. The modern conveniences and bountiful food were simply an added cherry to an already pleasant sundae.

Less for the agents to consider, which was good for them.

Devers took a fortifying sip of coffee as he read a report on the Romalian soldiers. These guys were religiously insane under a cool exterior. Out for blood like the Inquisitor, except they actually carried swords and were powerful mages. From what his and Harper's people gathered, the Romalian knights were skilled battlemages with a well feared reputation from their zeal fighting heretics across the continent. Something they considered Albion to be filled with. They were few in number but could shift battles if left unchecked. A threat to everyone.

You got dirty in this job sometimes. And at the moment, they were getting especially dirty, wondering what kind of repercussions would happen if the order 'accidentally' walked into a massive Albion ambush. He glanced at the clock in his office, ticking away the seconds till the invasion.

Suddenly, urgent knocking interrupted his reading.

"Come in!" Devers ordered quickly. A younger agent came in with something photocopied on a sheet of paper. There were a lot of younger agents in Tristain, these days. It was a low risk but work heavy environment. A good way to build experience and reputation for the much more dangerous and complex work back on Earth.

"Sir, we just got this from the border with Gallia!" he reported while catching his breath. "It's a bounty they shared with the Tristainian border guards. This is the first time they've ever done this since we got here. But look at it."

Devers' eyes narrowed as he recognized the face on the wanted poster.

"What the hell?! This isn't a joke right?!"

"No sir. The Gallian noble who gave it to the border guards sounded really serious." Devers glanced down at the sheet again. A rough sketch of that Charlotte girl from a month back stared back at him with more emotion than the real one ever did. Apparently, she'd escaped house arrest and tried to rob some ancient relics and killed a few guards before fleeing. The Gallian Royal Family was offering a sum of 2000 gold pieces for her capture. "They said she might have friends up North."

Oh yeah, she did. The Germanian girl, who'd they'd promptly sent home to Germania after questioning, confirmed that. It wasn't just her, either. Apparently, Tabitha had been friends with Saito Hiraga. People she'd probably seek shelter with, and one was closer...

Assuming this was real. You'd be amazed how many 'rogue' or 'disavowed' agents suddenly went home with their charges dropped after an intense manhunt from their own nation's forces back on Earth. This reeked of a cover story to deny involvement.

"This bounty is all over Lutèce too." The agent confirmed. Huh, so they were committed to the ruse.

Devers heard more footsteps as Harper appeared in his doorway.

"We got a problem with Hiraga and that Void Mage," the man said.

"Let me guess: it involves a blue haired spy and her dragon?" Devers quickly got up and handed to other man the poster.

"Yeah. How the hell did you guess?" He looked down at the paper, "Shit."

"Yep. Goddamnit." The men hurried to another part of the building. The security package they'd so graciously 'gifted' Saito included exterior cameras that were constantly recording or being watched. A junior agent already had eyes on the screen, looking at two girls.

"She's still talking to the maid. Dragon's hidden nearby." He said. Both leaned over to look at the screen. There was the Gallian spy, standing on the doorway and seemingly sharing pleasant conversation with Siesta.

"They know she's a spy." Obviously, Saito and Louise had been informed and questioned the same as Kirche. To say they'd been stunned was an understatement. But Louise had at least been quick to swear off any connections with the blue haired girl. Saito...there'd been doubt in the boy's eyes. "But that idiot Hiraga might still take her in." Kid had heart, but that could always lead you to trouble. "Go get some guys together and get us clearance to act." Devers told Harper. "I'm going to go talk to the Colonels, get us some backup." He started walking, then turned back. "And warn them about that magic mirror!"

Devers already decided he be going with the team. He wanted to be sure this problem wasn't going to pop up again. He also needed to have a word with Saito. Ten minutes later, he was in the intelligence agencies' own separate armory gearing up with some other guys. Harper was going to keep things running here.

"Yes, we're absolutely sure. It has to be her." He was on the phone with a servant. He had to get them clearance to operate and give out the warning.

After a few moments of silence, he heard a familiar voice.

"This is Captain Agnes? What is happening Agent Harper?"

"It's concerning that Gallian spy we've apprehended last month," he explained, "She's gone rogue in Gallia and attacked guards there. There's a bounty on her head."

"Yes, a messenger from the border arrived at the Palace to speak to us about that," Agnes reported. She paused briefly. "You have found her already?"

"By a lucky fluke," Harper admitted, "She's at Des Ornières right now. Do we have authorization to go after her?" As the Queen's #1 consultant and actor in internal security in the Kingdom, Agnes could give them that permission.

"You may." She didn't dwell on it long. "And this time, it might be preferable if she doesn't make it."

"Whatever happens will happen. One last thing."

"Go on."

"There's that mirror there that connects to the Queen's bedroom. Can you secure your end in case if that spy gets to it before we can?" Harper briefed.

"Yes. Does her Majesty need to be informed immediately?" Agnes asked. "She is very busy at the moment. If you capture her, we can inform her when she reaches the coast."

"That's your discretion. We're about to head out ourselves, but if you think you can act too, do it now. Even if you can flush her out, we'll pick up the pursuit."

"Understood." On her end, Agnes hung up. She didn't intend to tell the Queen right now; the other woman was headstrong when it came to her friends. Agnes had no intention of letting her possibly go intervene and face an enemy spy. Henrietta's safety came above her own whims. Saito and Louise could handle themselves, Agnes was convinced of that much. Failing that, their allies had proved themselves time and time again. The Queen was about to leave anyway-Agnes would simply get her out the door faster.

As she exited her room, she ran into Archduchess Marianne.

"Captain de Milan, you appear worried," the older women said. She'd known the Musketeer long enough to pick that up.

"The Queen may be in imminent danger, Archduchess." Agnes leaned forward and said lowly. The Archduchess gasped in alarm and put a hand up to her mouth.

"What is happening?" she asked in a low voice.

Agnes quickly explained what had happened with that Charlotte girl in Gallia and how she reappeared in Tristain at Des Ornières. The Archduchess' eyes narrowed.

"My father was already a careless man. I hope he knows that he's endangered his granddaughter as well." she sighed in irritation. Agnes blinked.

"I'll get people watching it. We just have to keep the Queen away for the time being. Hopefully get her out of the Palace."

"She was to leave for Clément-sur-Mer today. Are the preparation for her departure done?"

Agnes nodded.

"Yes, the Royal Carriage and Musketeers are ready to leave."

"Perhaps we can hasten her departure?" the Archduchess proposed quickly.

"That will work." Agnes nodded.


The familiar sound of helicopter blades could heard across Des Ornières as the local peasants looked up from their fields and animals at the approaching green airship. They had already begun seeing the carriages from the other world, but not the airships. Their friendly new lord certainly had a lot of wealthy friends, so they didn't think too much of it.

At the lord's manor, Tabitha was waiting silently in the living room, trying not too hard to listen to Louise and Saito arguing a few rooms over while Siesta had gone to fetch some drinks. The pink haired girl was certainly not happy when she found out that a Gallian spy was in her lover's home.

"What are you thinking, you dumb mutt?!" Louise shouted at Saito, "T-that's an enemy spy and assassin! She could be planning to slit our throats!" The mage guessed uncomfortably close to what Tabitha had actually been sent to do.

"She's our friend!" he retorted, "And she said she needed help. She saved us against the Earth Golem, remember?!"

"Friend?! She never did anything for me when Kirche and the others called me Zero! She just had her nose in her books and silently made fun of me! For all we know, she could have worked with Fouquet and covered her tracks!"

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Saito sounded frustrated.

"You know Pinky," A metallic voice interjected. "If she wanted to kill you, she could've knocked down the house with us in here."

"Shut up you rusty piece of junk!"

"Calm down, Louise!"

"Don't you understand you've put us in?! She's probably has another plan against us! She's done jobs like this for Gallia before!"

"Derf's right. Tabitha's pretty powerful and could have called down her magic on us before. She didn't have to come knock on the door."

"Why are you being so stupid recently?!" Louise groaned.

"Stupid?! What are you talking about?!"

"That's exactly what I mean!"

Saito groaned. Why did women have to be so complicated? "Just let me talk to her for a minute, okay?"

"Ugh. Fine!"

Saito massaged his temples as he left the room and made his way to the living room. Tabitha was sitting with a glass of tea in her hands while Siesta had returned with some fruits.

"Hey Tabitha."

"I-I'm sorry Saito." she blurted, "I didn't want this to happen."

"Listen, I'll do what I can to help you, alright? What's wrong?"

"Thank you. My uncle wants me to kill you and Louise and steal her ring and a book she's supposed to have."

"I knew it!" Louise shouted, standing up and brandishing her wand.

"Calm down Louise!" Saito stopped her. "Why are you here then? You escaped from him?" Saito urgently asked but Tabitha shook her head.

"No. I don't want to do what he wants. I came here to ask for help."

"What for?" The teen raised an eyebrow. "Do you need a place to hide?"

"Not that simple. My mother-He still has her and she can't defend herself."

"What do you mean?"

"She was poisoned by my uncle's friends after my father died and she's lost her mind," Tabitha explained sadly, "She has no one to protect her except me. As long as she's in Gallia, he has a hold over me."

Saito was shocked but not surprised. He had heard from Henrietta and Louise that Joseph was a psycho that had supposedly killed his brother for fun. At least, that's how he saw it.

"I can't do it myself. The Queen and Earth wouldn't help me…"

"You want me to help you save your mother?" Saito guessed, pointing to himself. Tabitha nodded.

"Saito…" Louise hissed in his ear, but he held up a hand to shut her up. What Tabitha had just told him was awful. He had to do something to help her… she had helped them against Fouquet the first time they ran into her. She was a victim now, not an enemy.

"So where's your mother?" Saito asked.

"In my family's home near Lake Lagdorian. My uncle left guards there when I left but they are few. Our family's old servant is still there to guard over her but there is not much he can do."

So far, it didn't sound like it would be difficult to save Tabitha's mother.

"Maybe I can ask a few favors and see what I can do," Saito suggested but Louise glared at him.

"Saving her mother is a foolish idea. It could start a war if we anger King Joseph!" the pinkette pointed out, annoyed.

"I'm sure we can think of something." Saito reasoned.

"So you'll fight for Tabitha, but now for me?!"

"I didn't say that!" He shot back. "This is different, Louise! It's not-"

The sound of whirring blades drowned out Saito's raised voice. A helicopter. He wondered why one would be near his home, then the answer clicked.

"The cameras… shit!"


A Chinook touched down right in Saito's front yard, the ramp already down. Devers was standing at the top when it did. "Circle around the back." He addressed the Canadian Lieutenant leading the two squads they'd rounded up for this. "The target has blue hair. If they try to escape, apprehend them. If they fight back, neutralize them. Don't engage anyone with black or pink hair. Go!" The soldiers pounded down the ramp before splitting into two groups and circling around the manor.

A second later, he and his own agents stepped off and moved with a purpose towards the front door, weapons aimed.

"M. Hiraga! I know you're in there with a Gallian spy!" he shouted angrily, "Don't fuck things up for you and your girlfriend any more than you already have! Send her out! We have this place surrounded!"

The door opened revealing a panicked Saito who was carrying a staff.

"Listen, M. Devers, Tabitha's inside and she doesn't want to hurt anyone. She surrendered her staff to me!" He pleaded, holding it up for proof.

But an angry Louise suddenly barged out beside him. "She came to steal my Ring and the Founder's Prayer Book! Please arrest her!" The Void items? Now it was this shit?

Wordlessly, Devers shoved Saito to the side and went in with his team behind him. They stomped into one of the parlors, frightening the maid. The spy was sitting on the couch, hands in her lap, a glass of tea in front, looking very sad and resigned. She showed no visible reaction as men surrounded and pointed their guns at her.

"Well, Miss d'Orléans, I didn't expect to meet you again."

"Hey!" Saito tried to come in, but was blocked in the doorway by one of the agents. Devers turned and glared at him.

"Stand back, M. Hiraga. We are doing you a very big favor here. You don't want to be a part of this."

Saito was taken aback by the agent's bluntness.

"What are you talking about M. Devers? She's being forced to do this against her will!"

"Doesn't matter. She's still an enemy. Cuff her." He ordered one of his men. One of them stepped forward and grabbed Tabitha's shoulder before throwing her from the couch onto the floor, tea spilling on the carpet. Saito protested but he fell on deaf ears.

Tabitha was stoic as she was being cuffed, even though the true hurt showed in her eyes. Maybe it was the fact she'd accepted her life and this existence before a shred of hope ever appeared that allowed her to deal with the fact that nothing was going to save her.

"B-but you can't just arrest her! Joseph is going to kill her mother! He's using her to attack us! Can't you use her to fight back against him?!"

"It isn't that simple. It's either this girl, or war with Gallia. Lesser evils, kid. I've told you before not everything can go how you want, M. Hiraga," Devers replied. "This is how life goes sometimes." He motioned to the agent to pick her up. "We arrested the target without incident. Meet us out front." He radioed the lieutenant. "For the benefit of your standings in this Kingdom and North America, it's best you pretend this never happened." Devers addressed a protesting Saito and Louise, the latter looking smug. The kid had just done something really stupid, there was no denying that. He was caught cooperating with a foreign spy afterall… personal friend or not, it looked really bad for him. But no one else needed to know.

The agents escorted Tabitha out of the house to the waiting helicopter while Devers send a quick sitrep to Clément. The troops were getting back as well, ready to leave…

Then the trees behind the manor started breaking up. They started to tilt, and then they started to collapse onto the manor house, all in quick succession. The wood and stone structure partially caved under the weight, throwing dust and smoke into the air in an unholy racket.

"Jesus!" Devers stopped. Tabitha paled as she realized what was happening. She'd thought her uncle had just come up with something to kill her. But if this was something he seriously wanted, of course he'd have someone else if she failed.

"It's my uncle, he's sent more assassins!" Devers rounded on her, glaring. He grabbed her and shoved her roughly, causing her to fall onto the metal floor of the helicopter.

"Watch her!" He ordered two of his people. "Lieutenant, we're going to need a hand! Secure this LZ!" If there were assassins, they'd have to be dealt with and they didn't need their bird getting destroyed. And they had to get those kids out of there.

The seasoned agent ran into the building with some of his men, their weapons drawn, shouldering the door open with brute force.

"M. Hiraga! Lady Vallière!" Devers shouted, making his way back to the parlor. He was stopped almost immediately by the end of a tree. A scream behind him got his attention. "Go check that room!" He ordered, turning on his heels.

One of his agents quickly ran into the room ahead of him, his MP5 ready for anything. A woman was huddled on the floor of a dining, surrounded by debris from the roof. A tree had come right down and crushed the table.

"It's the maid!" he shouted as he carried Siesta out, "Ceiling almost fell on her!"

"Any sign of M. Hiraga and Lady Vallière!?"

The agent shook his head but Siesta managed to croak out an answer.

"T-they were arguing in the main bedroom on the second floor."

Devers cursed inwardly and hoped that the stairs were still intact as they dashed through the collapsing manor. The stairs to the second floor were fortunately still standing, although a collapsed tree was sitting at the top of them.

And someone was on that tree.

The figure was heavily cloaked and holding a sword in one hand and wand in the other. As soon as he raised the second, Devers put a tightly controlled burst of 5.56 in his chest, sending him tumbling off the tree somewhere behind.

"We got hostiles inside the house!" He called to the two people behind him. "M. Hiraga! Are you up here?!" He didn't get a human response, but he suddenly realized he could hear heavy metal clanking. "Shit, I think those are constructs!" 'Constructs' was the military term Earth had come up with for the human sized combatants Earth Mages could summon, made out of stone, bronze, or other metals. There'd only been a few engagements with them during the Albion invasion. Either there was more than one Earth Mage, or the fucker on the tree Devers had shot wasn't the one who'd toppled the trees and was now sending them in.

And three agents were about to take on an indeterminable amount of them in the open on a staircase.

The first came running up the trunk of the fallen tree, revealing it to be of a stoney composition and armed with a spear. Devers downed it same as he had the human. One came lumbering down the hallway towards the agent at the bottom of the stairs, and he down it with more fire. Another came from the other end, and it passed the banister, allowing the agents on the stairs to aim down and kill it.

"Lieutenant, there's an Earth Mage outside assaulting us with constructs! Find them and kill them!" Devers ordered over comms. "Down into the hallway!" He ordered his own people. Fighting on flat ground was better than a fucking staircase. They got on more level ground and stood back to back, gunning down a few more constructs that came down either end of the hall or from above.

More rifle fire from outside. "We're engaged with something!" The Lieutenant reported. A few more constructs came in, then the flow stopped, their master presumably busy with other things.

It was more important to secure the area first, so the trio moved to the back of the house where the rifle fire was still going strong. Through the trees and bushes, spellfire and gunshots could be seen flying in a deadly exchange. Occasionally, explosions echoed as well as 40mm shells were lobbed into the woods, the Canadians trying to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible.

Devers and his team laid down fire at the passing constructs, thinning the lines further and causing the enemy mage, already burdened by attacks on two sides, to spread his attention even thinner.

In the woods, one of the Canadian platoons finally got close enough to see their target, at a moment he was focused in the opposite direction. His body flew into the air as a 40mm grenade went off just a few feet from him, and over three dozen bullets entered his body right after it landed. A large number constructs suddenly dematerialized. He was as dead as could be.

"Target neutralized!"

"Good stuff, lieutenant! Get those woods secure and send a squad back to the helicopter!" There might've been other mages out there, or even that damn dragon.

That threat dealt with, the agents returned to the same center staircase to resume their search for Saito and Louise. And as they approached, they heard metal clashing against metal. The source revealed itself to be Saito, very much alive and clashing swords with another cloaked asshole on top of the tree. The kid was holding his own, but he wasn't winning either.

"M. Hiraga, get out of the way!" Devers ordered, and without missing a beat Saito suddenly dived off the side of the tree. The assassin did too, onto the stairs. It was nowhere near fast enough to outrun their tracking, and several shots hit his center mass. He crumpled to the bottom of the stairs in a heap.

"Saito?!" Louise's voice sounded, and she appeared amidst the branches at the top of the landing.

"I'm fine!" Saito climbed back up and helped her get onto the trunk.

"Get down here!" Devers shouted. Saito grabbed Louise's hand and together they hopped off the tree trunk and started running down the stairs to the agents, hopping over the corpse of the attack. Louise had the Founder's Prayer Book held tightly to her chest. "Stay behind me!" Devers ordered. "Cedric, watch behind us." He started moving. gun up, Saito and Louise behind him and the other two agents watching and sides and back.

"Where are we going?" The Japanese boy asked as they all weaved through the corridors and under a tree that fortunately hadn't come down completely on the 1st floor.

"You two are going through that mirror of yours while we deal with this."

"Wait, we have to find Siesta!" Saito protested.

"We already got her. She's safe." The agent assured. They escorted them all the way to the basement, which fortunately hadn't been compromised at all by the trees. Devers punched in the code for the door to the secret room. "There you go." He pushed the door open. "Tell the Queen what's happening and stay. There." He punctuated the command. He motioned them through.

Alright. Prisoner arrested, critical assets evacuated. Things were just about sorted out here.


Things were already chaotic at the Royal Palace before the spy Charlotte had arrived. Henrietta had made plans to stay at Clement-Sur-Mer for the opening days of the invasion, with the intention to actually step foot in her home by birthright after her forces had a beachhead. So she'd been packing for a long stay away from the Palace, and that meant a lot of busy work. But it was nearly done.

Despite that, to Henrietta's confusion, suddenly everyone seemed to be rushing to get it done and get her on her way immediately. She was in the main hallway, with Agnes at her side.

"Your Majesty, we've finished the preparations for your departure ahead of time," the captain explained, "We shall leave early." As she said that, other Musketeers went by with the last of her luggage.

"I understand," Henrietta replied, "But is there any urgency?"

"No, your Majesty. I merely took the initiative. I believe that an early arrival would help bolster our troops' morale," Agnes lied.

"Is everything ready though?"

"Yes, most of the Royal Guard have left for Clément-sur-Mer in advance along with some of the staff. All another reason to leave; I don't like empty places." With Henrietta expected to be gone for several weeks, a lot of the Palace staff had been allowed to go home. Between them, the Musketeers, and the Manticore and Griffon Knights having left, the Royal Palace was nearly empty. The archduchess was still present with her smaller staff but they did not fill the hallways in the same way as when Henrietta was present.

"At least allow me a moment to make sure I've taken care of everything." Henrietta insisted, and mentally retraced her to do list. She'd already arranged with First Minister Delage to oversee the kingdom for the weeks she would be away.

While she ran over her checklist, Agnes used her radio to order the rest of the squads standing guard throughout the Palace to come to the front hall, excluding the one watching the Queen's bedroom of course. 2 of the 4 didn't respond.

"Roux, Martin. We're about to leave." Agnes said again. "Roux, Martin, respond." Nothing. Agnes did a quick check with the other squads, and their radios worked just fine. Both of those teams were on the West Wing. Were their radios just busted? Or…

Agnes' eyes narrowed. Henrietta was still going over her list in her mind. The Archduchess was approaching to wish her daughter goodbye.

"Form a perimeter!" The Captain barked, startling everyone. The 12 Musketeers in the front hall immediately formed a square around their Queen and Archduchess. Both women gasped.

"Anges?" Henrietta questioned.

"Something way be wrong." She explained. "Stay here. I will go investigate." Without giving her charge a chance to protest, she hurried away. She got on her radio again to order the squads on their way to tighten the guard on the front hall.

Assuming the worst was part of Agnes' job, but she definitely hoped not. The Musketeer Corps was still trying to rebuild. They'd accepted a few new recruits during the surge of enlistments after the invasion, but they weren't as big as they'd once been.

Palaces were a pain to guard. So many places to patrol, so many windows that could be broken to gain access. You had a lot of staff walking around to report things, but that was useless at the moment when they'd gone home. The Palace was empty, and now something might've happened right at the moment it was easiest to slip in. Funny timing.

The Queen had no shortage of enemies external or even internal. Their allies were worried about the former, but Agnes was always looking at the later. She hadn't forgotten how much opposition the Queen faced before she was coronated. It had been quieter since the economic prosperity and help with the invasion, but grudges lasted a long time. And there were still things they didn't like about the improvements in the Kingdom.

She stayed silent as she entered the West Wing, not intending to alert any intruders if there were any. The end of her pistol stayed up. Even in armor, she was capable of moving relatively silently through the hallways.

Then her nose picked something that made her stop- gunpowder. A musket or a pistol had just gone off nearby. She immediately rushed to the wall and made herself as hard to spot as she could.

"We have intruders in the Palace." Agnes quietly radioed. "Evacuate the Queen immediately and alert the city guard. I'll try and locate them."

"Agnes, please be careful!" Henrietta overheard and had to grab one of the radios.

"Just go, your Majesty!" The older woman insisted. "I have yet to fall to an assassin's blade."

Upstairs, the Musketeers standing guard in Henrietta's room grew alarmed when they heard a commotion from within. All four took a knee, muskets armed squarely at the door. The noise continued from within. Stumbling, banging...and then voices, muffled by the heavy wood. Then the door burst open, and two figures tumbled out, screaming in alarm when they saw the weapons aimed at them.

"Hold fire!" The squad leader ordered. "It's Lady Vallière and Viscount Hiraga!"

"We were just attacked by Gallian assassins!" Louise started explaining quickly. "They were after the Founder's objects. The Queen must know immediately!"

Back in the West Wing, Agnes had just come across a gruesome sight: one of her missing squads, all slain. Two lay dead next to small craters in the wall, as though they had been flung into them by an extreme force. One lay dead next to a musket that had been fired, their neck sliced open. The last body lay a few feet away from another dropped musket, sword drawn. This Musketeer had done physical combat with her attacker. Then her radio crackled to life with news from the Queen's bedchamber.

"Captain, Viscount Hiraga and Lady Valliere just arrived through the mirror. They claim to have fought off several- wait!"

Back upstairs, Louise, who had no idea that Henrietta had already left the Palace, rushed out of the room to go find her. She rushed out, and came face to face with a man. She squeaked in surprise, thinking she'd just nearly barreled into a servant. She only realized he had a sword when he raised it to bring it down on her head.

"Louise!" Right behind her, Saito tackled her out of the way. The blade missed any flesh, only slicing a belt loop on Saito's jeans. The two teens hit the floor, Saito on top of Louise. He rebounded in seconds, rising up with Derflinger already drawn. The mysterious man was already making another swing, and locked blades with Saito, runes shining, before he could even finish standing up, forcing him to parry the blow at a bad stature.

"Who the hell are you?" Saito grunted, metal pushing against metal. The man didn't answer.

The Musketeers rushed out of the room behind them.

"You there, freeze!" The Squad leader ordered, raising her musket. She had a clear shot of his upper torso, and he wasn't wearing any armor. Then he lessened his strength, allowing Saito to stand up fully while keeping their blades locked and putting an obstacle between him and the musket.

Louise was still on the ground, watching as her boyfriend did battle with the man. She twisted around to look at the Musketeers, and spotted two more behind the musketeers with wands drawn. "Behind you!"

The four turned around, saw the same obvious hostile intent, and fired. One of the mages dodged, the only harm coming to his cape when two musket balls tore through it. One of the musket balls sailed harmlessly in between both of them. But the last managed to clip the other in his left arm, causing him to stumble in pain onto the nearby wall. But the one who hadn't been hit reoriented himself and raised his wand.

"Stop him!" The Musketeers drew their swords and charged, trusting them more in this instant than the non-lethal methods they had. The men were obviously mages. And in spite of the common belief, Agnes had taught her soldiers that wasn't a reason to be afraid, especially if they didn't have the drop on you. A Mage wasn't faster than a bullet. If you got them on the defensive, they couldn't cast a spell. And she always insisted their swordsmanship was poorer than that of a commoner soldier, since mages saw it only as a fallback.

In seconds, there were eight swords clashing, Saito against one of the intruders, and two musketeers each against the other two. They were dressed in cloaks instead of armor, so ideally it would only take one blow.

Despite what Agnes had said, these particular foes weren't pushovers in the slightest. They were less armored, but they were more maneuverable, and they used that to avoid the pairs attempts to flank and overwhelm them. Saito was stuck in a more conventional duel. He found himself actually falling back on some of the techniques Louise's father had taught him without even realizing it. But any time he tried to get a blow in, his enemy would lock their swords again, staring the shorter teen down with a menacing smirk. And he was tiring out, faster than he expected.

"Careful, partner!" Derf sounded strained. "His sword's got some magic behind it!" The man broke the lock again and swung quickly. Saito blocked it, but his feet nearly slipped on the floor.

It's heavier than it looks. He thought to himself, straining to push back despite the power of the runes aiding him.

One of the other Musketeers suddenly shouted in pain and collapsed, hand held to her face as blood seeped out between her fingers. "You bastard!" The one still facing down that enemy kept up the battle. Even two to one, the other Musketeers were having a hard time. These were not opponents to be underestimated.

Saito's opponent grew bolder as he realized the boy's unrefined fighting style, taking more aggressive and constant swings. And with each one, Saito's knees ached to block the blow. It was like a car was being swung at him.

While this was going on, Louise had gotten up and ran to the side of the hall where she was feverishly flipping through the Prayer Book for something that could help. She didn't know her Dispel magic could've helped Saito in his fight, but she knew Explosion would've hurt her allies in this fight.

She found something more grounded: a large vase decorating the hallway opposite the Queen's room. She picked it up and hurled it at the man fighting her boyfriend. He saw something coming and raised his left hand to stop it. The vase broke into sharp pieces, slicing through his gloved hands and causing him to grunt in pain as blood dripped onto the carpet.

"Louise!" Saito saw the assailants hateful stare towards his girlfriend and readjusted himself to be between her and him. The man swung again and Saito blocked, muscles screaming in protest. What the hell had this guy done to make his sword this heavy?

"I'm not feeling so hot, partner!" Derflinger's voice sounded like it was gasping out.

"Derf? What's wrong?"

"I ain't invincible! Don't let me get broken."

"What?!" Saito broke the lock and used his footsteps to avoid his opponent for several seconds, only blocking when it was absolutely necessary.

"Don't get yourself killed either!" The sword barked. "Keep Pinky and you safe!" Against Saito's best efforts, he ended up in another sword lock again.

"What a fascinating sword you have there." The mysterious man spoke for the first time. "It'll make a nice addition to my trophy room."

"No thanks, dumbass!" The sword snarked. Saito broke and tried to swipe at the man's legs, but he backstepped. They stood there across from each other, eyeing the other suspiciously. Then instead of trying to find an opening in Saito's defense, the man did something else to take the teen off the offensive: he went after Louise.

"Hey!" Saito tried to head him off. But his opponent had gotten what he wanted. He let Saito get in front of him and drive him back with a flurry of angry blows, each blow against his sword, reinforced with Earth magic, weakening the talking blade. That was how he won his battles-he let the enemy disarm themselves. And this boy was just another one of many to fall into the trap.

"Partner!" The sword the sword called out worrying. The boy paused to look at his weapon, and that's when he stroke. He reared back and swung hard. The boy blocked. Their blades met…

And the talking sword broke apart into pieces. Just as planned.

Derflinger breaking caused Saito to lose his balance. He stumbled and fell, watching the shattered remains of his sword and friend clatter to the floor in front of his face.

Then the assailant approached with sword raised to deal the killing blow.

"SAITO!" Louise screamed.

Then the pop of a musket sounded, and the man stumbled, collapsing right in front of Saito on his hands and knees. Blood leaked from his mouth as he looked up at the teen, suddenly confused by the changing tide. Then Saito noticed Agnes running down the hallway towards them. The assailant heard her pounding footsteps before turning his head just in time to see her run her sword through his back. He gasped out and collapsed, dead. Agnes paid Saito no mind as she kept moving and joined the frays her other troops were involved in.

"Saito!" Louise ran up and fell beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I...yeah…" He panted, looking at the corpse, then the broken sword pieces beneath him. "But Derf…"

Agnes' sword skill helped turn the rest of the battle. She'd jumped in to help the singular musketeer first, slicing the assassins neck open when he was too busy blocking. After that, the final intruder had to team with four opponents on all sides. He was soon splayed on the Palace floor, his blood and life ebbing out out of him. The battle was over.

The Musketeer Captain rushed to her soldier that had been wounded, but not critically. The other three tried to catch their breath.

Behind all of them, in Henrietta's bed chambers, the closet door shifted and a man stepped out-Devers. Back on the other side of the mirror, everyone else was getting the hell back to Clément before anything else showed up. They had the spy, they'd grabbed the bodies for evidence. Hell, they even got the Rhyme Dragon again; it'd come running out of the forest in human form begging them not to take Charlotte again. It was enough for now. They'd come back with more people when they could manage. Devers' only came to relay a message and retrieve the two assets he'd sent through with the intention of hitching a ride back home at the embassy or something.

The man caught one glimpse of the carnage in the hall outside and swore under his breath.

"Captain!" One of the Musketeers got Agnes' attention. She turned and saw the man too.

"M. Devers, since you are here, I assume the spy is captured?" Agnes asked.

"Yeah. Came through to check on those two-" He jabbed a thumb at Saito and Louise when he spotted them, "-and brief the Queen. We got a serious problem over there. But it looks like things are bad here too. What happened?"

"Assassins. They cut down one of my squads. Another is missing, and I fear the same fate as befallen them."

"What a fucking mess." Devers shook his head. "Is the Queen alright?"

"My Musketeers took her and her mother away as soon as I sensed trouble. They should be on their way to the coast." Agnes explained.

"That radio you got has a range of a few dozen miles. Check." The American advised her. Agnes did so, and the signal still worked.

"Is the Queen and Archduchess safe? Give her the radio."

"Agnes, are you alright?" Henrietta asked anxiously. "We just exited the city walls. We'll turn around."

"No need. I am fine, your Majesty. There are 3 dead assassins in the Palace's hallways. Unfortunately, there are some of our brave soldiers as well. We still have to verify that the entire Palace is safe. I'm here with Viscount Hiraga and Lady Vallière too, as well as Agent Devers. They helped us overpower the assassins."

"How did they get there?" Henrietta asked, confused and concerned. Devers approached Agnes and requested the radio.

"Queen Henrietta. Sorry for dropping in unannounced. There was trouble at Viscount Hiraga's estate we were involved in. We all came through the mirror."

"Are they alright?!"

"Yes, they're fine." The agent assured, glancing back. Saito was kneeled over the pieces of a sword. "Listen, you just keep heading towards that base. There's helicopters at the military headquarters here in the Capital. I'll catch a flight with them and meet you there. We have some urgent matters to discuss."

"Can I talk to her Majesty? It's important!" Louise insisted, trying to intrude.

"You'll see her in person soon enough. Save it for then." The agent refused as Agnes took her radio back.

"I'll stay and coordinate with the town guard to make sure everything is secure before I join you, your Majesty."

"I'll make sure you have a ride reserved." Devers swore. Agnes nodded in appreciation. "You need anymore hands here?"

"I have this situation under control. Take the Queen's friends and catch your flight. We are appreciative as always, M. Devers." The agent nodded.

"We'll take our leave then." He turned around. "Nice swordwork, by the way." He glanced over his shoulder.

"It's more satisfying than shooting them."

"Lady Vallière, M. Saito, we're leaving." Devers commanded. Louise was still antsy, but she recognized it was on the way to get what she wanted. But Saito didn't move. "M. Hiraga! You've gotten on everyone's nerves enough today!" Saito, still hunched over, shook his head before gathering up the fragments and following with his head still hung low.

"Saito…" Louise trailed off. After days of stress and one day of just more batshit insanity, the senior CIA agent was understandably short tempered. But he took a moment to remember and relax.

"Your talking sword?" Derflinger. It was hard to say definitely if that weapon had been sentient on the same level as a human; it had loudly rejected their interest in taking it apart. It could talk. It and Saito had both claimed it was thousands of years old, but who could really be sure. It was an anomaly of its own; they didn't know anything else like it, or at least they hadn't found one. But they knew Saito had been attached to it. "Can it be fixed?"

"I-I don't know." He sounded defeated. "No one here ever heard of a talking sword. I have no idea what made it so Derf was alive like that." There was misery in his voice. Agnes was glancing at the young man, and it wasn't hard to see some disguised sympathy. His girlfriend, too, putting a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Eh." Devers rubbed his face, coated with dried sweat after the day he'd just had. "Bring it with you." The agent relented. "There's weaponsmiths camped out near the coast. A few Germanian ones too. They're supposed to be good with metal. Maybe they can do something." But he really had no idea.

The work days were just going to get longer now, even if this didn't snowball into a larger war. Cover or no, those had all definitely been Gallian agents killed today. It was an attack on Tristain by another Kingdom, an attack Earth had got caught up in. Something that necessitated a response. That was ugly without even considering how Void factored into all of it.

Really long days lay ahead.


Two months of military build up in Tristain was opposed to two months of diplomatic building in Romalia. Though a general agreement was made over that meal, there were still many, many, many things to discuss. Deals that had to be struck. Connections to establish. With the need to communicate back home slowly through contemporary measures, it was slow. But they'd managed.

The first order of business had been securing land for embassies. Places for business to be conducted. Places of refuge for their citizens. Places each nation could be sure with 100% certainty they wouldn't be under scrutiny. The transaction had already been made, land already bought. Surveyors had come on another ship and drawn up the building plans quickly.

They'd also located a few religious scholars who'd be open to hosting their counterparts from Earth and sharing with them the much wider range of information they had on Halkegenian history, religion, and the more closer Elves. But there was always more work to do.

On the eve of the invasion of Albion, the consuls and their guards had taken a trip up North. They'd spent time in Aquileia, a coastal trading hub with canals extremely reminiscent of Venice. It also sat on the Romalia-Gallian border. Or rather, it sat under the shadow of the Fire Dragon Mountains, a mountain chain that ran along Southern Gallia and served mostly as the natural border between the two nations, with a bit of Gallia owned plains between it and Romalia in the Western half of the border.

As its name suggested, it was home to many of the fire dragons that were bred and used as mounts throughout the continent. Most of its wild population had been culled, though. Several foot paths had been carved through the mountains themselves to allow people to travel over land to Romalia from Gallia.

The consuls were there to start examining trade agreements. Their security was there to get a feel for things. This city represented the most direct route from Gallia to Romalia, or vice versa. If there was an opportunity to spy on Gallia from anywhere in Romalia, it was here.

But back in Romalia itself, the Embassies were crawling towards completion. Without trucks to carry in loads of supplies, it was a harder affair. Everything was being carried in by USAF CV-22s, the long range technological marvel that was the Osprey. Two had been originally been planned for permanent stationing in Halkegenia to facilitate travel among other things, but Trump had pushed for an extra three to be temporarily deployed until the building was done. The US Military had modified and made a variant that was practically unique on it's own, fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks and other modifications in a way that made the journey just doable with the condition it had to carry some fuel in the cargo hold to make the return journey. Without a tanker aircraft, it was the best they could do, but it was also an important step in increasing their ability to operate in Halkegenia where they were still very much constrained by logistics. And who was to say such a development wouldn't be useful on Earth?

Senior military leadership still went through each day with mild anxiety. The Osprey's reputation to crash was overstated, but it could still crash; any aircraft could crash. And if one went down in Gallia or even Romalia, it would cause a few heart attacks. In the event of the former, they'd already resolved that sovereignty was irrelevant. They'd drop the biggest bomb they had in theater and remove all traces of it from existence.

So, there were five Ospreys based at a temporary camp in Southern Tristain, painted with the frankly ugly seal Romalia had so graciously allowed them to use to get a free pass through Gallian air space, making nearly daily trips carrying men and supplies South. Gallia didn't object as far as they could tell, but that may have been because the tiltrotors were always fast enough to avoid any airships that might've flown Gallia's skies.

Marines, Canadian MPs, and Military Engineers had been first to arrive with the gear necessary to live until the permanent structure was up. Romalia had gracious offered to help transport some of the materials needed. Under the condition there were troops allowed to guard the supplies on the trip, Earth had accepted the good will with non-critical building supplies. Supposedly, a PFC on one of the very first ships had entertained Romalians the whole journey with the benefits porta-potties for a military on the move.

It'd been stop and start for both countries day after day. They'd unload the supplies, put it to use, and then twiddle their thumbs until another supply run came. There were no heavy machines-it was all manual labor. For such a backwards way of doing things, it was still proving remarkably successful. After 5 weeks of construction, they'd done all the digging and laid the concrete foundation for the wall and buildings. The shells of the buildings, wood and brick, were complete. They were already starting the wiring and self-contained plumbing. In another five weeks, it'd either be done or they'd be just about done moving in all the furniture.

Naturally, they'd set up antennas and transmitters ahead of time and brought in generators for them. They now had long range communications with their own people in Tristain and short range for their people throughout Romalia. That alone made everything a lot more secure.

It was night time in the city of Romalia. The city was at rest, the only people up the knights and watchmen that patrolled the streets. The Engineers were gladly sleeping under the roofs they'd put up. The Marines and MPs meant to be guarding them were either asleep in tents, or standing guard at the gate or by their supplies, weaponry or construction. It was quiet all around.

Both compounds were about half a mile from the Holy See, but still in a spot is was just visible from. So when an explosion shook one of the towers, even the Marines and MPs all that distance away could see the momentary orange flash before the sound reached them a moment later.

"Oh shit, fantasy rag heads." A Marine guarding the weapons tent joked while another on guard went to wake up the detachment commander. In the Canadian compound, one of the MPs, a senior enlisted who'd actually been one of the guards at the consulate in Tristain before the Embassies there were built, shook his head before getting the rest of the guard up.

Never a dull day in Halkegenia.

They radioed the development back North and everyone stood guard, waiting for news or word from the Romalian government; lines of communication were already up between them and the local authorities. They didn't find anything new out, but there sure was a development at the compounds.

Unknown to either countries at the time, one of the towers of the Holy See had been broken into. A holy relic was stolen, and several knights slain by mysterious assailants Those facts were slow to reach them with the local authorities scrambling there first instead of telling them. But they were quickly known by the cities' very religious population, and word spread quickly. But when words spread quickly, so did misinformation.

The guard details were soon made uneasy by large crowds gathering around the construction sites. Instantly, the tension went up as the mobs grew angry and were shouting.

"Blasphemers out of our city! Unholy thieves! Heretics!"

The guards looked at each other as their commanders urgently contacted their superiors, reporting the sudden escalation. The ones that knew Italian pulled out megaphones and tried to keep things calm.

"Do not crowd around the fence! Please disperse immediately in a peaceful fashion!"

Despite the demands, the large crowds refused to go away as some started hurling rocks and other projectiles at the consulates.

"Sarge, what the hell's going on?!" one of the guards shouted as his squad took cover behind some barricades.

"Hold your fire!" It was just rocks right now. That was common in the Middle East. It wasn't going to kill anyone yet.

What the hell had gotten these people so riled up though?

"Command still doesn't know what's going on!" the radioman reported. "They want us to avoid escalating at all costs." That didn't need any saying. No one there wanted to fire on civilians and start an international religious incident.

It was a standoff that lasted nearly half an hour, the angered mob not letting up in its heckling and the guards standing their ground. Not reacting, not opening fire, just staring down the mob with professionalism. And then it all suddenly changed.

The mobs jeering turned to silence, then began screaming, fainting, and honest to God crying. The Americans and Canadians weren't sure of what to make from it. But the crowd dispersed in seconds. And when it did, they finally realized what it was that had de-escalated the situation so quickly: The Pope himself. Dressed elegantly despite the late hour, he'd just walked down the street surrounded by papal guards and sent all his followers away with only a few words.

"I must apologize on behalf of the Church." He stepped up to the fence at the Canadian compound. "That must have been a difficult experience."

"It happens more often on Earth." The leader of the detail said, trying to be as polite as possible to this man far younger than him, but infinitely more influential. "Do you mind if I ask what that was all about?" The Pope nodded.

"Yes, a terrible calamity has struck Romalia. Thieves attacked one of the most sacred reliquaries of our Church and stole one of our Founder's relics." the pontiff explained wearily, "It seems that lies blaming your people spread quickly amongst our faithful before I could intervene."

The sergeant nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, your Eminence, for the information. And for helping resolve it. I'll report this to the consul and my superiors immediately. We hope you and your followers are okay."

"Your concern is appreciated. Please do so. Such news must be relayed quickly so that we can avoid any more mishaps." The Pope walked over to the American compound and had the exact same conversation with the head of the guard there.

After that was done though, the young Pope retreated back to the Holy See, now surrounded by hundreds of alert knights. He excused himself to his private study, the knights diligently standing outside. The pontiff retrieved some parchment and quill and began to write an urgent letter.

A dragon courier had already let him know of the attacks in Tristain on the Void Mage and Queen Henrietta, current owner of the Water Ring and Wind Ring respectively. Just the previous evening, he'd gotten word from Gallia of an explosion at the Palace of Versailles the Monarch was being silent about. And now the Founder's Mirror had been stolen from the Holy See.

Curiously, they had not made an attempt for the Fire Ring adorning Vittorio's finger. These thieves were bold, but had their apparent limits. But their intentions were clear: they, whoever they were, were attempting to gather the four Founder's Relics and corresponding Rings, and that was cause for concern. The ramifications were beyond what anyone, even the thieves, could comprehend.

They had to act against this threat now.

The Pope wrote a short and concise letter to Julio, summoning the young man back to Romalia. And ordering him to bring the Tristain Void Mage and her Familiar.

Author's endnote: sorry again about the turbo long delay… reality torn into my free time and energy.

So things got more complicated eh?