Authors Note: I would like to, as always, thank everyone who waited patiently for the next chapter. And, I would greatly appreciate any criticism or comments. Honestly, the dialogue at the end is what has me the most worried. I would like to say I did the characters justice, but I know it's not perfect.

Love it, hate it, please let me know. And enjoy.

Chapter 6: Meeting of Fate

An iron gate stood in front of her. Behind it, she could see a large red mansion. It was certainly impressive, despite the many broken windows and cracked walls visible. The yard of brown grass and weeds made it look like the building was long abandoned.

Of course, that was all an illusion. Reaching out a hand, she could feel the presence of a magical barrier covering the building itself as well as the land behind it. Reaching further into the barrier she touched the iron gate. Unsurprisingly, she felt a metal lock and chains laid on the gate.

Nodding to her partner, who had taken his human form, beside her, she took a deep breath and stepped into the space between the barrier and the gate. The broken windows and cracked walls disappeared as she stepped forward, replaced by a clean, almost immaculate household.

Putting magic into her feet she leaped over the gate. Landing quickly, she looked around to make sure nothing had happened. It wouldn't do to attract any unwanted attention. Hearing her partner land next to her, she quickly surveyed the surrounding area.

"Nothing." Turning around, she could see her partner walk over to a nearby tree to examine it. "Do you think anyone's here?"

"Definitely." His confident answer surprised her. "There wouldn't be a barrier like this here for no reason. Like the one at the other house was most likely hiding the teleportation circle, this one is probably guarding something as well."

"Besides." The blond librarian tilted his head towards a window on the second floor. "Someone left a light on in that room."

Following his gaze, the brunette looked up to see flickers of light within the window. From a candle she guessed.

Nodding her agreement, Nanoha started towards the door.

To her immense surprise, the door was unlocked. Letting the door swing open, she tightened her grip on her staff and stepped inside.

The door swung open to reveal a clean hallway, lined with pictures and a small cabinet on one side. Further down, she could see a closed door before the hallway opened up into what she assumed was the living room.

A picture sitting on the cabinet caught her eye. Picking it up she saw a happy family of three. The father had a unique red hair color compared to his wife's and daughter's black hair.

"Only one pair."

The voice at the door told the unfortunate truth about what happened. At the step before the hallway laid a single pair of shoes. A kid's pair judging by the size. And if she still had any doubts, they were erased seconds later.

The pattering of feet drew her attention back down the hall. After a couple of seconds, a head of long black hair came into view.

"Otosan! Okasan! Are you two…back?"

The voice stopped and a pair of golden eyes stared at her. By her assumption, the girl was no more than ten years old. Wavering slightly in shock, the girl quickly turned around and disappeared from sight.

"Wait!" Nanoha called out to the retreating girl before turning back towards her partner. With a reassuring wave, she turned back down the hall and followed after the girl.

Coming to the end of the hall, she could hear the girl's footsteps retreating upstairs. Worried about what she might do in a panic, Nanoha hastened her steps and followed. She reached the top of the stairs just in time to see a door close.

Walking quietly, she couldn't help but be nervous. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and jumped to the side after opening the door. A small yelp was the only response that met her.

Peeking inside, she saw a large bed sitting against the wall in front of her. The red walls drew her eyes to the dressers and desks lining the walls, as well as a few pictures of a once happy family.

Turning her attention back to the bed, she saw a large lump huddled under a pile of blankets in the middle of the bed. Nanoha took a step forward only to stop when the lump yelped at the clink of her metal boots.

Sighing to herself, the mage mumbled to herself and was quickly bathed in a white light. An instant later, her white and blue Barrier Jacket as well as her staff disappeared, leaving only her brown captain's uniform. Satisfied with her new appearance, she stepped forward and sat on the bed.

Curious about the new weight on the bed, the girl poked her head out from under the blankets, only to pull it back in upon seeing the woman sitting on the bed. Said woman gave a small chuckle at the cute antics, which brought the girl out again.

"Good evening."

"G-Good evening." The girl's voice was still shaky, but she seemed a bit calmer now that she knew she wasn't in any danger.

"My name is Nanoha Takamachi. What's yours?"

The girl shifted her eyes back and forth, as though she was looking for help, before answering. "Emiya. Erin Emiya."

"Erin-chan." Happy to have finally found someone, she smiled brightly. "Are you okay, Erin-chan?" The small girl nodded. "What are you doing here? And where are…where are your parents?"

She already knew the answers, but she felt she had to ask. She had to know what this little girl knew if she had any hope of figuring out what had happened.

She could see tears start to well up in Erin's eyes before she quickly wiped them away. "T-this is my home. I was told to stay here. That I would be safe here."

Tears started to return to her eyes. "I-I don't know where Otosan and Okasan are." She shook her head. "Otosan left after the sky turned black, and Okasan went after him. Okasan told Archer to stay and protect me, but he always disappears somewhere."

Erin absent-mindedly rubbed the back of her left hand, where Nanoha could see two small red circles. She decided against asking about the marks. Her unfamiliarity with Circuit magic made asking and understanding difficult. So, she does have a guardian. She was now even more worried since she hadn't sensed anyone else living in the house.

Pulling her mind back to the present, Erin had pulled her knees close to her chest, and her head kept drooping downward. A quick glance outside didn't give her much to go on, but judging by the girl's condition, it must be rather late.

"How old are you Erin-chan?" A small yawn escaped the girl's mouth as she answered 'seven'. "You must be pretty tired. Why don't you get some sleep."

To her surprise, the girl shook her head. "I have to wait for Archer. I can't go to sleep without him to protect me. Okasan said so."

Despite herself, Nanoha felt a smile make its way onto her face. "Okay then." She placed a hand on the girl's head. "Will it be okay if I take his place for a while?"

Erin looked up at the brunette with a confused look. "I'll watch over you while you sleep until he gets back."

Putting on the kindest smile she could manage at the moment, she continued. "I'll protect you."

Those three words were all it took. Erin broke down crying and grabbed on to Nanoha as though she was the only thing that mattered.

Within minutes, the young girl fell asleep in the captain's arms.


A yawn escaped the man's throat as he slowly walked up the stairs to the roof. He certainly wasn't unaccustomed to long hours and grueling work, but having to escort twenty people to meet another group of ten while keeping everyone safe from any potential threats was certainly enough to tire out anyone.

Running a hand through his short, black hair, Roland opened the door to the roof, only to be greeted by the same black sky. His team had manage to locate another group of people hiding out in a small apartment building, and had decided to hole up there for a few hours while they thought up their next course of action.

"What's up, Ro? Gettin' tired of dealing with them?"

Sighing to himself, Roland shifted his eyes to the left. Leaning up against the wall was his teammate and old friend, his black rifle-like device propped up against his shoulder. Roland wondered for a second how he could have missed him. He wanted to slap himself as he realized Tom's dark green Barrier Jacket helped him blend in a little too well.

"Maybe. Why don't you go down and try to talk some sense into them."

Tom gave a bitter laugh before responding. "Nah. I never was too good at dealing with others, remember. I usually leave all that stuff to Michael."

Roland let out a big laugh. It was an old joke between the three of them. The two of them, along with Tom's twin brother Michael, had gone through basic training together and had stayed close long afterwards. His laugh faded as memories of the past flooded his mind. Tom had gained a reputation for being tough to talk to and speaking his mind, while his brother was easier to talk to but tended to hold back his thoughts.

While his relationship with the rest of his squad wasn't as close, he hadn't had much time to get to know the other three well enough either. As a result, he was actually rather relieved when the two of them were ordered into his squad, though he would never admit it.

Adjusting his short sword, Kite, at his side he walked towards the edge of the building and looked around.

"Found anything yet?"

"Nothing but the same dirty alleyways for miles." Roland could hear him shift his device, Black Bolt, in his arms and step out into the middle of the roof. "You think the Captain was just messin' with us when she told us to watch out for zombies?"

Roland shook his head. "No. Captain Takamachi isn't one to joke around like that. Especially not in a situation like this. Besides, several of the people here have seen them as well, and that body we found was…"

He didn't need to say anything else. While moving the group of people, Alice had screamed upon finding a body lying at the side of the street. The wounds were so bad that even Johan, the self-proclaimed tough Neo-Belkan, had to look away. From what little he had been able to stomach looking at, he saw claw and bite marks.

"How do you know that wasn't just some vicious animal?"

"Too many claw marks across the arm." Tom must have accepted the answer as he fell silent. He may have had the better vision between the two of them, but he had learned to admit that the swordsman was better at finding small details like that.

Staring out over the remains of the once thriving city, he couldn't help but wonder how many more people were out there. And how many they had been too late to save.

Ah. That's right. I still have to call in. It had been a long time since he had made a report to the captain, and she would definitely want to know what they had found. He brought a hand up to his ear to start the mental communication between his squad and captain when a loud voice startled him back to the present.

"Ro! Something's here!" Opening his eyes, Roland quickly scanned the ground for any possible threats, only to see the same deserted streets below. "Above."

With a start, Roland jumped back to cover his friend, his head snapping upward as his hand went to his sword.

He had always admired Tom's sight, and in these conditions he held even more respect for finding something flying through a completely black sky. Following his friend's gaze, he immediately spotted a small speck of green and blue flying lazily through the sky.

"It looks human." From the corner of his eye, Roland could see the sniper taking careful aim, his finger ready to pull the trigger if the figure made any wrong moves.

"It is. A human girl from the looks of it." Possibly the mobile Youkai signature we were warned about. Remembering the last communication he had had regarding her, Roland released his grip on his sword. "She's covered in blood."

He barely had time to register what Tom had said before the figure suddenly dropped towards them. Drawing his sword, Roland took a step back as the girl quickly reached the top of the roof. A powerful gust of wind blew over the rooftop as she came to a sudden stop. The girl faltered in the air for a second before finally hitting the ground with a thud. Blank eyes stared at the two men in front of her, before she smiled in relief.

"Thank goodness." The girl mumbled to herself. "I found someone. Thank goodness."

Roland quickly brought his hand up to block his partner. Looking at the girl he could see the bottom half of her long skirt, the arms of her jacket, and even the tips of her hair were soaked in blood. It definitely wasn't her own, but she wasn't the cause of it either. Judging by her dimmed eyes, she had most likely come across a pretty gruesome scene. Her current actions of wobbling towards him cemented the theory in his mind.

"Stop!" Point his sword at the girl, he motioned for Tom to step out of range incase he had to start swinging. "Who are you? Explain yourself."

The green-haired girl blinked as light began returning to her eyes. "A-are you… Are you with the TSAB?" Before Roland could answer she continued, "Then you're part of Miss Nanoha's unit."

Lowering the point of his sword slightly, he confirmed her identity. "So you must be the priestess of the Moriya Shrine." The bright smile that lit up the girl's face faltered at the mention of the shrine.

"Y-yes." Bowing slightly, she tried to replace her previous smile. "My name is Sanae Kochiya. I-I'm so glad I found someone…anyone." The last word was said at no more than a whisper.

Given her present condition, I doubt she would be a threat. Even if she wanted to be. Sheathing his sword, Roland extended his hand to the girl. "Roland North. I'm a Lieutenant in the TSAB." He could hear Tom shoulder his rifle behind him.

"Names Tom. That's all you need." Seeing Sanae jerk slightly, he figured that she hadn't even noticed him since she landed.

Sanae looked between the two men in front of her. "I see. Thank you, I'm honored to meet you." Bowing again, she took the hand offered to her.

"What are you doing here? And why are you…?" He trailed off as he wasn't sure how to tactfully ask his next question.

"Why are you covered in blood?" Thankfully he didn't have to.

The girl's eyes widened in shock before dropping to stare at an interesting stone on the ground. "I-I couldn't… I was too l-late to save them."

Roland sighed in understanding. "So you've been searching for anyone else you could find, huh?" A small nod. "Well, you're in luck then."

Sanae looked up at the man, her face painted in confusion. "We've got a couple of groups of people here. But, they're not really listening to us when we try to help them. If you are the Moriya Shrine priestess, we could use your help."

The girl was speechless.

She opened her mouth to ask something, but was cut off from a cry from behind. "Hold on Ro! How do you know we can trust her? She's one of the magical signatures we came here to find. We should just…"

"Tom., calm down. The captain trusts her, so I will as well." For now at least. It's true we could use her help anyways. He turned back in time to hear her repeat the word 'captain' to herself, before shaking her head.

"Yes! Please, let me help you! I want to help." Her head drooped downward, letting several strands of hair fall in front of her face. "Please."

"Sure."

That one word was all it took to make the girl seemingly light up. Taking in her appearance again, he noted a white braid in her hair he had missed before, along with a green and white pendant.

"Frog." Sanae stiffened at the word. "Sorry. I just noticed your pendant. Most of the people we found had a little wood statue of a frog with them. Um, is that your patron god then."

"S-sort of." With shaky hands, Sanae removed the pendant from the side of her head, pulling a few hairs with it, and held it in front of her. "One of the Gods of our shrine likes frogs, so we use that image to gather faith." Small pops could be heard as she gripped the pendant tightly. "I… don't like frogs that much."

Her eyes were downcast so Roland was unable to get a good look at her face, but her voice alone was enough to tell him to drop the conversation. There was one emotion that was plainly stated: fear.

"Sorry about that." With a slow shake of her head, Sanae hesitantly replaces the pendant before looking forward. "Shall we be going. Anything you need me to do, just say it."

Nodding to the young priestess, Roland turned towards the door leading back inside.

"Then you may want to hurry up." The two quickly turned towards the side of the building. Tom was leaning over the wall, Black Bolt trained on a target in front of him. "They're coming out of their nests."

Sudden terror gripped the Lieutenant as he ran to the wall and looked over. The sight below shocked him. The dirty streets below were now filled with bodies. A rough estimate of twenty in just one city block, and an unknown amount filing in from seemingly empty alleyways.

"T-that's too many." Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the priestess' eyes wide in shock and terror. "Why is she…?"

He had no time to wait for an answer. With a quick yell, he ordered everyone downstairs. It looked like Johan would get his wish to fight. He just hoped they would be able to survive.


Footsteps echoed throughout the desolate house. Suppressing a sigh, the brunette dragged a hand across the wall as she walked. Taking in the various pictures on the wall, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to young Erin's parents. From what little she had been able to glean from their daughter they were most likely mages of some power. The zombies, while strong, wouldn't be enough to take them down if that was the case.

An image of the red goddess popped into her mind. While she still didn't trust the woman, she also didn't seem the type to just go around slaughtering people. That only left Sanae, however she quickly brushed off the thought.

Turning the corner, she saw the door that had been closed earlier was now open, a small lock resting on one of the shelves. Looking inside she could see stairs leading down into a basement, as well as the strong feeling of loose mana.

Making her way downstairs, she wasn't surprised to find her long-time friend sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of books.

"Those books don't belong to you, you know." She scolded the blonde. Said blonde simply continued reading, completely engrossed in whatever new discoveries he had made.

"How's the girl? You find out anything from her?" Yunno didn't look up form the book and simply turned another page. Seemingly half listening for an answer, he turned to another book he had opened and flipped through it before turning to a small holo-screen he had set up and writing something on that.

She had to admire his work ethic when it came to learning new information, but silently wished he would show a little restraint at the moment. This was somebody else's house after all. "She's sleeping for the moment. The poor girl lost just about everything in the past few days. It's a miracle she isn't in worse shape than she is."

Looking around the room, Nanoha could see various bookcases lining the walls, a good portion of the contents of said bookcases now lying next to her friend. What caught her attention, however, was a large table sitting against one of the walls. "Have you found anything yet?" Walking over to the table she picked up a small piece of wood that was lying on it.

"Quite a bit actually." She heard him close the book in front of him. "As we guessed, the owners of this house were mages. I've gone through the books you found at the other house, and one of them looks to be a diary of some sort. The girl's mother was the original owner of the house and was apparently listed as one of the top mages in the area. Her husband was no slouch either. He's probably closer to our magic knights than a normal mage if I'm reading this right."

Nodding to herself, Nanoha examined the piece of wood, turning it over before seeing a familiar detail. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the wooden figure Sanae had given her before. They were the same thing, and she could see other pieces of wood scattered across the table. Someone, probably Erin's mother, had cut apart one of the figures to see what secrets it held. None from the look of it.

"Erin-chan said she had a guardian. Someone by the name of Archer. But I didn't sense anyone else around here." She turned to look at her friend, who now had a hand to his chin. "Do you think he might be…?"

Shaking his head, Yunno reached for another book in the pile and started flipping through it. "No. He's still alive. Besides, these creatures wouldn't be able to kill him that easily if he is what I think he is." Nanoha raised an eyebrow.

"Nanoha, what do you know about spirit summoning?"

"Elemental spirits? Like fire and water spirits?"

He shook his head. "Heroic spirits."

Nanoha let out a confused gasp before Yunno continued. "Apparently the mages of this world have figured out how to summon the spirits of past heroes, bind them like familiars, and have them fight for them. According to the diary, the writer was preparing for some kind of battle that involved several mages summoning several spirits and having them all fight." He found the page he was looking for and brought up an image on the holo-screen. Nanoha recognized it as one of the pictures he had shown her back on the Augustine.

"The infinity library has one book in particular that I remember reading. It suggested that every planet with a recorded history has some sort of unseen pantheon that holds the spirits of all of its recorded heroes." He closed the book with a snap. "The mages of this world must be extremely powerful if they can not only manage to summon these ancient spirits, but give them corporal bodies as well."

She had to agree. She knew from past experience and experimentation that even just calling elemental spirits for magic was difficult. But, to not only summon but bind human souls, these mages were definitely something to be respected.

"So then this Archer is most likely…?"

"A heroic spirit, yes." He turned to look up at the brunette. "The name 'Archer' probably refers to the body he was given."

She nodded in understanding. It didn't seem like that was the full story, but it was helpful for now. She was sure that if Yunno found out anything else, he would tell her.

In the meantime, there was something else that had caught her eye. A small camcorder lay on the table, a piece of technology among the rustic materials and pens. Sighing to herself, she muttered a soft apology to the owners and turned it on. Any information she could gain would be beneficial right now.

A black-haired woman wearing a red overcoat appeared on the screen. Erin's mother most likely, which left her father holding the camcorder. From the looks of it, the woman was trying to cast some spell she was working on. Nanoha almost gasped once she saw the faint outline of a Belkan circle appear in front of her.

The video ended shortly after words, with the circle breaking apart when Erin entered the scene and interrupted her mother. Hitting the button to stop the next video from playing, Nanoha lightly tapped the small gem at her chest. "Raising Heart. Could you please?"

[Understood, my master.] At her master's command, the red gem began downloading what it could from the camcorder's digital memory to her own for later viewing. While it may turn out to not be helpful in gathering information, the videos now contained within Raising Heart would at least count as precious memories for Erin.

"Nanoha-san?" A small voice came from upstairs. She could hear the librarian sigh as he closed the books in front of him and stand up.

"Down here Erin-chan." Nanoha called up to the girl. "What's wrong?"

She could see a head of messy hair poke through the doorway with a curious, and slightly fearful, look. "Sorry. We… we needed to see if there was anything that could help us." A small 'un' was her response. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine." The girl insisted, but the look on her face said different. "It's just… Archer isn't back yet, and I'm worried."

"I see." The brunette started up the stairs. "Why don't we go and wait for him together?" At the girl's nod she took another step.

At that instant, the air seemed to thicken. The candles that were lit along the wall were quickly snuffed out, and everything seemed to simply stop. Her mind kicked into overdrive as she raced to process what had just happened.

"The barrier!" Her partner's voice briefly registered in her mind as he rushed up the stairs and put himself in a defensive position between the girl and the door outside. "Those things are here. A lot of them."

Secrecy be damned. Her staff was in her hand and she was by the girl's side in seconds. "How many?"

As if in answer to her question, something slammed into the door. The clinking of metal signaled more at the gate, either trying to climb over it or break it down. She didn't even have to look to see that more were probably coming through the courtyard.

"The roof. We can take off from there." The blonde nodded and raised his hand, a ring of green light circling his arm. "Erin-chan. Come with me."

Terrified, the young girl grabbed the brunette's hand and followed her. She paused briefly to look outside, only to break into a run when she saw a head peek over the hedges.

They reached the top floor only to hear the door break behind them. An instant later, the sound of chains drowned out Erin's scream.

Nanoha grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her into the room she was using before. Quickly looking out the window, she could see tens of creatures milling about the yard below. By her guess, one or two were now trying to climb up the walls. A flash of green told her she didn't have much time to sit around. They had already made it inside.

Turning to the side she could see Erin huddled around a small box, various jewels strewn about. She was clutching one gem in particular, a large red gem with a chain, close to her chest and shaking. The sound of footsteps and metal chains brought their attention back to the door as the green clothed man entered and shut the door.

"Thirty inside. Thirty more out. What next?"

Nanoha pointed her staff towards the window as a ring of pink surrounded the end. "We fly." However, before she could cast her spell, a small voice interrupted her.

"Archer?" The girl's voice was soft and confused. "What do you mean? How will you destroy it?"

She didn't have to ask for clarification. At that instant, a powerful killing intent fell upon her. Something was going to happen in the next few seconds. All she knew was that she wanted to be as far away as possible.

At a speed that surprised her, she grabbed the young girl and ran towards the window, a stream of pink bullet preceding her. The instant she hit the remains of the window she flew, the girl clinging desperately to her arm and her green shield flying behind her.

Continuous bursts of magic wasn't her style when it came to flying or dodging, but it was certainly effective. She made a small mental note to ask Fate for lessons on sonic-speed flight the next time she was able.

Feeling the immense power hadn't faded yet, she turned her head to look back at the illusion-covered house. One second, she saw a small arrow hit the ground. A massive explosion covered the area the next second. The shockwave alone was enough to send her reeling through the air. Landing on a rooftop close to a mile away, she watched as houses evaporated from the heat.

Scanning the area for anymore creatures that might have escaped the blast, a flash of red was her only warning. Twisting her body to the right, a large arrow pierced through her shield, cut through her Barrier Jacket, and sent her and Erin sprawling on the top of another house. Her spell was already set as soon as she hit the ground. Her device had instantly changed into its two-pronged Buster Mode, and the calculations were already made to track her assailant.

Holding her device with her bleeding arm, she shielded Erin with her other arm, and looked into her opponent's eyes. Grey eyes met purple as the two stared each other down from miles of rooftop. The red clad arms twitched slightly as another strangely shaped arrow was notched into a large black bow. The white-haired archer had apparently not expected to be spotted so quickly. With movements honed from a lifetime on the battlefield, the red clad archer drew back his bow, his arrow ready to cut through the mass of magic being aimed at him and kill the white mage.

"St-stop!" Both combatants froze as a mess of black hair entered their views.

With her enhanced vision, Nanoha could still see the red and black archer taking aim, but found her aim wavering as the young girl latched onto her. With a heavy sigh she lowered her device and nodded for her partner to dispel the barrier he had erected in front of her. The sigh became one of relief when she saw the archer lower his bow with a grimace.

"That was too dangerous, Erin-chan."

"B-but, you protected me. And Archer has to protect me too. So, you two shouldn't fight." The girl spoke between sobs, and was nursing a bruise on her arm from when she fell. Although a happy smile graced her face when a hand fell on her head.

She turned to see a figure moving across rooftops, silhouetted against the still burning inferno he had created, his large bow still ready incase he needed it. She had to admit it was quite a sight.

With a final great leap, he landed on the same rooftop as them. Now that he was up close she could get a better look at him. His white hair and tan skin certainly made him look intimidating, and him being taller than her certainly added to it. She could sense her partner tense up behind her.

"You must be Erin-chan's guardian."

A small, gruff laugh escaped his lips as he sized up the mage in front of him. His eyes lingered on the wound he had caused on Nanoha's arm and smiled slightly, seemingly satisfied with something.

"That depends. If you're asking if I'm her Servant, than yes. It it's anything other than that, then no."

It's what they call summoned heroic spirits. Yunno's voice popped into her head, answering her question before she could ask it.

"I see." She stared up at the figure in front of her. "Tell me, if you're a heroic spirit tasked with protecting someone, why would you leave your ward alone and without protection?" She hated the words the instant they came out of her mouth, as well as how much steel she had added at the end. But the question needed to be asked. She just hoped she didn't wind up paying for it.

She watched him narrow his eyes at her, as though contemplating whether to kill her or not. His eyes quickly twitched to her side. By her guess he was determining how he would be able to kill her without hitting Erin. To her surprise however, he let out a light laugh and crossed his arms in front of himself. She had to suppress a gasp of surprise when she realized he was no longer holding his bow.

"It seems I was correct. You certainly are interesting." With a smirk he turned her question back on her. "Tell me, do you always jump into these kinds of situations, just to save a single person?"

She cocked an eyebrow, but decided that answering his question would be better than pursuing her own. If she had read what he said right, she may have just gotten her answer anyways.

"I don't see a problem with it. As long as I can protect someone, I will."

His eyes narrowed again. "My, my. What an idiot."

She sent a harsh glare at the man as he turned his back on her and continued talking. "So you would risk your life fighting to protect a single person, with little regard to anything else. It's thinking like that that will lead to your death."

"Then what would you do?" Her tone was harsh. "Destroy everything around. Including the one you're supposed to be protecting?" Metal clanged as she stepped between the red clad archer and the young girl, who had stepped back next to the blonde once the two had started talking.

The archer looked over his shoulder at the smaller mage, a strong determination burning in his eyes. "You would value the life of one little girl over the lives of everyone else in the city." It wasn't a question, but a statement. One filled with derision and pity.

"No." The white mage shook her head. "Her life is just as valuable as all the others." She could understand his point. When given the option of saving one or saving many, most would choose to save the larger group. She begrudgingly had to admit she would probably make the same choice if it came down to it. However, at that moment, a young girl was in front of her needing to be saved. "I will protect her and the others as well."

"Humph. Idiot." Turning his head around, he walked to the edge of the roof and sat down. Erin started to run over to him.

"Do what you like." He opened an eye to look at the girl now standing in front of him. "I was commanded to protect the girl, that's all." He let out a cynical laugh. "Heh, looks like I have to follow that order now. What a pain."

Letting out a groan of frustration, Nanoha turned to her partner. He looked a little pale from the near confrontation, and was still collecting himself.

"The rest of my unit should have found the rest of the survivors by now. We should meet up with them in the city." Nanoha turned to see what kind of reaction this news would bring to the archer's face, and was severely disappointed when he simply laughed. Instead, she turned to the girl sitting next to him. "Erin-chan, would you like to come with us?"

The black-haired girl looked up at her in surprise, before a light blush colored her cheeks. "Do you mean we'll be flying again?" Nanoha nodded her head, and Erin's face broke out into a wide smile. "Really? We'll be flying to the city?"

"Nyahaha. Well it is the fastest way we can travel right now." She ignored the muttering of 'finally' from behind her and walked to the edge of the roof, the little girl happily following behind her.

Emergency SOS! Emergency SOS! Someone please respond!

A loud scream echoed through her mind. "Michael?" Placing her hand up to her ear, she tried to listen through the large bursts of static filling the communication.

We were attacked… finding some… to hide… jamming… zombies moving… leader… third signal… I repeat… third Youkai… rank… requesting…

Static filled her mind as the connection was forcibly cut. "Raising Heart, what happened?"

[Forgive me, my Master. There is interference at long-range.]

"Nanoha-san?" She flinched at the girl's voice. She must have looked pretty angry. "Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath to collect herself, she turned to the now smirking archer. "I'm fine Erin-chan. Things just got a bit more complicated, that's all. It seems that these zombies have a leader. And," she turned to glance at her partner, "it looks like there's a third Youkai hiding out here."

"Heh, so they finally started to move." The red archer stood up in a single fluid motion before looking at the brunette, his eyes shining with mirth. "So, what are you going to do, Magus?"

With a heavy sigh she shifted Raising Heart in her hand. "I guess there's no choice." With a loud clank, Raising Heart shifted back into its basic staff mode. "We'll simply have to destroy them and blast through this barrier."

For once she wasn't surprised when she looked back over at the archer. He was smiling.

It seems they both could agree on something.