Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to Seven Arcs and all respective license holders. The Persona Series belongs to ATLUS. I only own this fic and nothing else. I also own all the mistakes too.
Chapter 5: Winged Emancipation
Nanoha didn't know how long she'd been trying to dodge the attack the monster that consumed Ren had made. It felt like an eternity, her desperately flying between each bullet, every one of them the size of her or greater, as they fell to destroy her or whatever else was there. The land had become almost unrecognizable, becoming a ruin that further degraded as each attack landed. Each one kicking up concrete, dust, glass, and metal flying every which way leaving almost no place untouched.
"Nanoha, to the left!" Yuuno commanded from within her arms as she dove in the direction he specified. A quick glance behind her displayed to her a hail of gun fire rain down upon where she just was. This was beyond anything she'd fought before. The scale and power weren't anything like the previous Jewel Seeds. This attack which had been going on for who knows how long didn't allow for even a single bit of retaliation. She couldn't find even the smallest opening to return fire. And even if she could, she remembered how Fate's attack had bounced right back at her, nearly knocking the other magical girl out. Not only could she not return fire, she probably had nothing in her arsenal she could use to even effectively damage that monster.
Fate and Arf weren't doing much better. Though the two were more experienced than Nanoha, even they were having trouble dancing between the attacks as they fell from the sky. Coupled with the damage they had received, both physically and mentally, from having their attacks bounced right back, their stamina couldn't realistically hold out for much longer. But even so, Fate kept pushing. She couldn't lose. She had a mission, had someone who she needed to make proud. She wouldn't allow herself to lose.
"Uragh!" she cried as she found a small gap in between; an infinitesimally small opening that she could use thanks to her speed.
"Scythe Form". Bardiche lit up as she flew, the fastest she ever had. She flew higher and higher until the monster's head filled her sight. As she closed in she was able to make out the down turned horns on the side of the monster's head, even through the azure inferno that surrounded it and obscured its features. She paid it no heed as she closed in, weaving in between each attack that fell until finally she swung. At that moment, the monster stopped its attack and, though she couldn't see its face, let alone its eyes, she swore that it looked right at her. She continued her attack, straight and true to finish the monster and retrieve the seed, only to be met with that same red gleam. A sharp, high pitched sound, like that of glass shattering pierced her ears as she felt the weight of her own strike slam right back into her, knocking her away.
"Fate!" Arf rushed, jumping as high as she could from building to building in order to catch her free falling master. The two met in the air, with Arf catching Fate with her mouth by the scruff of the girl's cape. Using Magic, Arf descended back on to the ground as slowly as she could afford, given the situation. "Fate! Fate!" She cried, trying to rouse her master as she cast a healing spell in order to prevent the worst from happening. It didn't take long for Fate to open her eyes.
"I'm alright Arf. Focus on the Jewel Seed." Fate pushed through her healing wounds, using Bardiche as a crutch to stand. Her stance straightened as she recovered, though her eyes began to doubt. This thing was simply a monster. She couldn't damage it, she couldn't defend against it, there wasn't anything she could do to fight it. But even so, she needed to-
She had no chance to finish that thought, as it was promptly interrupted as soon as she realized the monster still had its gaze trained upon her. But most disturbingly was that it began to move its weapon. Without any delay, she found herself and Arf the targets at the end of that massive, skyscraper size rifle. Though she expected to see something similar to the attack it displayed just earlier, her eyes widened when instead she saw darkness gather at the end of the barrel. Not just shadows, but curses and absolute blackness. Not a single speck of light could be seen in that coagulating mass of heinous magic. Both she and Arf had frozen in place, unable to move due to a welling sense of fear. Though their wounds had for the most part healed, with that attack aimed right at them, and so large, they couldn't block it, nor would they be able to evade it in time. It seemed that was to be their end, only-
"Fate-chan!" They heard as Nanoha flew into the line of fire, projecting her all into a magic shield, its pink light shimmering in the darkness of what threatened to soon engulf them all.
"What are you doing? You'll die too!" Fate couldn't understand it. Why was she here? She could have gotten away, left them to die, and she would have been fine. Why risk her life for people who were just moments before trying to kill her. Fate couldn't understand why she had come to try and save them.
"Just trust me!" Nanoha told them as she turned to look at the monster that Ren's wish had made. It didn't take long for Nanoha to make a conclusion as to what this monster was. It was probable the manifestation of Ren's wish to help. She knew that he was bothered leaving it all to her. She knew that he hurt every time he got in the way, that he desperately wanted to do more. She had hoped that if she worked harder for his sake, she could alleviate it, to let him know that he was doing enough, and that she was capable. But perhaps her hard work only served to worsen his wounds. If that was the case then she had to do something. This was her fault for not seeing this sooner. The monster before her was what she believed to be a testament to that failure. She had to save her hero.
"Ren! I know you're still in there! Please! Listen to me! I-" Though she wanted to continue, she realized something. The monster had stopped charging its attack. "Huh?" She didn't know what to make of what was going on. One moment the monster seemed to be readying itself to destroy the, but now it was as still and unmoving as it was at the start. Was she getting through? Before she could start again, the whips of fire at the base of the monster where Ren had stood shot up, stretching far and flying upwards. In the midst of their ascension, the fire finally broke to reveal chains whose movement could be heard as they reached higher and higher until they rose above the monster. As soon as they reached their dizzying height which threatened to pierce the clouds, they bent in direction, flying towards the monster. Every which way, they began to wrap themselves around the angelic being wreathed in fire. The monster didn't even seem to exert any effort as they soon completely shackled it.
Then almost just as fast as they rose, they began to constrict, dragging the monster into the ground, as if sealing it back from whence it came. It shrunk as it was dragged lower and lower until finally it had been returned to the human sized fire from where it started. They all watched in awe as what remained of the blue fire completely absorbed what it had let loose just moment before. After returning to its original size, the blaze continued to burn but began to fade. Little by little the fire disappeared into the ether, quieting down from its deafening roar, until finally, it revealed the young man they thought had been consumed. There in the middle stood Ren, none the worse for wear.
"Ren!" Nanoha cried in relief, tears falling from her eyes as she cast away her shield and began to fly frantically towards him with Yuuno in tow who, recognizing her intentions, moved to her shoulder. She flew towards him, her arms outstretched to embrace him, however she stopped herself when she finally noticed it. When was he wearing a mask? "Ren?" On his face was a simple bird mask that was colored black and white, and only covering the place around his eyes and nose. He was still wearing the clothes he had on before, but the mask wasn't anything she recognized. He also still had his eyes closed. Before she could move in for a closer look, she saw Fate and Arf rush past, weapons at the ready to strike at him, seeing this as their opportunity to strike before that monster returned.
"Scythe Form!" The two flew in order to capitalize on the moment. This was their only chance. Or so they had thought. The two found themselves frozen once more when suddenly, Ren opened his eyes and gazed at the two of them. They found themselves cowed underneath his gaze. It felt the same as the one given to them by that monster.
"What? Scared?" Ren taunted, a cocky smile plastered on his face.
"Pretty much. I mean after that display anyone would be. But did you really have to show off that much?" Morgana walked right up from behind, not even the least bit anxious and having avoided all attacks up until that point. All of them were confused as to why the cat was so calm. Ren was still in possession of a Jewel Seed, he could go off again at any moment, and next time, they might not survive. What did this cat know that they didn't?
"Well I'll admit, I kind of did overdo it there. It's embarrassing to admit, but I wasn't exactly in full control," Ren explained, completely calm and unperturbed, much to the worry of all other save for Morgana. "Honestly, it was a bit overkill having that one out."
"Are you alright now?" Morgana asked, though he felt that he already knew the answer. A simple nod was all that was returned, but that was all Morgana needed. "Then why don't you show them just who exactly they're messing with, Joker!"
"Gladly!" And like that Joker turned back to face the rest of them. In his view he could see Fate and Arf, as well as Nanoha and Yuuno looking at him. He had a full audience. They all flinched as he moved his arm up to his mask. Fate and Arf readying themselves, cautious from before, with Nanoha and Yuuno watching on, hoping that things would be alright; to make sure that he was still okay. What happened next they couldn't have predicted.
A sickening squelching noise emanated from beneath his mask, as if it were directly attached to the skin of his face as he began to remove the mask from his face; his eyes currently closed. He was practically peeling the mask off his face, turning their stomachs as they not only saw but heard it rip the skin beneath it. They saw blood begin to drip right underneath the eyes as if tears. And then, without a cry of pain, without even a hint of hesitation, he swiftly ripped the rest of the mask off, the blood flying and splattering across the ground, painting it a crimson red. When he turned back to look at him, his face was completely bloodied around where the mask had laid. And then as he opened their eyes, they saw two golden orbs staring at them all, and manic glee painted itself upon his lips.
That was when they then saw the azure fire rise again, blowing the blood away as the fire flared upwards. Only this time it slowly consumed him from the head downwards. Unlike the raging wild fire from before, this time the blaze hugged his body as it made its way down, the inferno shaping itself around him. Then a crimson face appeared at the head, its grin twisted and mad, looking upon them like toys to be played with. And then, then fire began to rise, keeping its human shape as it left Ren's body behind. Their eyes widened as his clothes revealed to have changed like they did. He was now wearing what looked to be a stylish black ensemble of a black, high necked trench coat with a tailcoat that flowed like a cape, double buttoned waistcoat, black pants, and dark winkle-picker shoes. Starkly contrasting the whole outfit were a pair of bright crimson gloves. Though their eyes soon trained above him as the fire continued to maintain its humanoid shape until finally the blaze evaporated to reveal what was beneath.
The being who emerged was vaguely humanoid being who wore a similarly stylish set of clothes. Its heels bladed and it fingers clawed, what stood out most to those who saw it were the black winds that seemed almost like a cape, the tall top hat that certainly suited a gentleman and the red horns that seemed attached to plate that served as a face, oh which the features were that same glowing crimson color. In the midst of it all, chains flew around, between both the creature and Ren. With a flourish of his arms, Ren emitted a powerful force that dispelled what remained of the flames once and for all. Leaving only him and the creature. That same force was almost as strong as the attack from before, threatening to blow them all away if they gave even a bit of ground.
"I am Arsene," the creature began. "The Pillager of Twilight. I am thou, thou art I… The time has come once again for thou to release thy rage! Though thou be chained to Hell itself, show them, thine own Justice!" And then it faded away from view, but the power they felt hadn't waned in the slightest. A mask then reformed upon his face, same as the one he had before.
"Welcome back Joker," Morgana said, breaking the tension as he walked right up next to him. Joker only gave his cocky smirk in response, though that was all Morgana needed to see. Joker then turned back to Fate and Arf surveying the two of them, before turning to Nanoha.
"I'll take the baton from here, Princess," he casually remarked, giving her a smile that she recognized despite the strange change in attitude he was showing. Though when she thought about it she remembered him acting like this before. Before she could respond, he was already slowly walking up to Fate and Arf. "Shall we dance?" He gave a showman's bow, his arm stretched and flared, playing it up for every bit of ham it was worth. It felt so good to be back, he thought. His ears perked as he heard the Fate move her staff into firing position.
"Give the Jewel Seed up," she told him. While she was confused in regards to his strange actions and change in demeanor, she still had a job to do. If she could reason with him, then that was easier than dealing with the monster. "If you don't, I'll be forced to take it from you with magic." Like that, Bardiche lit up, Fate preparing to fire a Thunder Smasher right at him. And then suddenly he was gone, along with- "Bardiche!" she cried as she realized her device was no longer in her hands.
"My, oh my," She heard from behind her, the vague sound of something twirling in the air accompanying the voice. "Didn't anyone teach you to respect your elders, Goldilocks?" She whipped her head behind her to see the man deftly twirling Bardiche around in one hand, standing on a lamp post between her and Nanoha. As if a master, he then began to swing it about, switching it from hand to hand as it kept spinning like a baton at a show. He spun around as he did so, and even putting it behind, above and even sometimes below him. Then with a final toss into the air, he grabbed it and pointed Bardiche back at her, holding it like a gentleman's cane, his other hand in his pocket. "If not, then allow me to teach you some manners." He flashed his cocky grin. Fate's eyes narrowed at her device being swung about like some prop. "Woah! You can have this back." Joker threw Bardiche back as it started to spark up, not that the electricity would have hurt, but he had to put on a show. Fate promptly retrieved Bardiche, commanding it to return to her. Once in hand, she gripped it tightly. She wouldn't let it be taken a second time.
"You don't seem like the best person to learn manners from. Besides, what could we learn from a petty thief?" Arf kept his eyes on him, despite his playing around, he got behind the two of them as they were staring right at him. He could have attacked them right then and there, but instead chose to show off. He was faster than Fate somehow, and if what he was wearing was a Barrier Jacket, then he might know magic too.
"That hurts! I'm not some petty thief." He said, playing up his mock pain, as he seemed to suddenly appear on ground level behind them. They quickly whipped around again. Enough was enough.
"Won't hurt as much as this will!" Arf was the first to strike. Now was the time, while he was close and vulnerable, or so he had appeared. She lunged, baring her lupine teeth as she moved to gnaw on him. As soon as she was in range, she bit as hard as she could. Though she expected flesh, instead she was met with the sound and taste of metal. Looking down she saw that he had not only moved from his original spot, but had also put some kind of weapon between him and her.
"Now that wasn't nice. Have you had all your shots?" For a moment his mask flashed blue, then as if by magic, he seemed to effortlessly lift Arf, still biting on his weapon. He then, somehow put enough force into his swing to then not only loosen her grip on his weapon but throw her a few good feet into the air and into the side of a building. A small crater forming in the wall where Arf was knocked into it. "Awooo…" she let out as her consciousness began to fade. With his weapon free, Fate was able to see it in full. In his had he held what looked to be a massive knife that could easily classify as short sword. Completely monochrome in color, its handle was decorated with what looked to be a vile and twisting aesthetic, as if pulled from old paintings of the mad. "Like it?" Joker asked her, noticing her staring. "It's not a device, but it does have a name: Paradise Lost." Like he did with her device, he twirled it around, though not as dramatically, until it ended up in an underhand position. Though it appeared to be a Mass Weapon, a non-magic weapon, it still looked incredibly sharp, and something about it seemed, demonic. She just had to be careful.
"Bardiche!" She called as she readied herself.
"Yes sir! Scythe Form!" Just as she expected, as soon as Bardiche finished projecting its blade, Joker had disappeared.
"Not going to work!" She said as she swung herself around to slash behind her. Though instead of hitting her target, she found herself slashing at air. Her actual target, had somehow jumped on top of Bardiche, riding along her horizontal swing. As her swing nearly completed, he jumped up, spinning around in mid-air like a gymnast before landing gracefully on the ground below. As he got up, he began to clap.
"Bravo! Nicely done! I admit I was caught off guard for a moment." Fate's eyes narrowed. She was being toyed with. He hasn't once made even a single attacked, just playing with her. She noticed that she was gripping Bardiche a bit too tightly. She had to steady herself. She couldn't let herself get riled up. Swallowing those emotions down, she readied Bardiche again. "Oh?" He let out as he saw Fate fly straight for him. As soon as she was in range, she swung, to which he dodged with but a simple sidestep, only for her to follow up with another swing, and for him to dodge again. And she swung again, and he dodged again, and again, and again, and again. Fate unleashed a flurry of strikes, hoping to tire him out, lock him down, anything, but he danced around every slash with the grace of a figure skater. Just barely missing him each time, she became irritated again when she noticed that not once did he lose his cocky smile. Seeing this, she kept on and on. She had to get him at some point, she had to beat him down. She couldn't lose, not to him!
"Wow…" Nanoha watched on as she saw Ren fly around Fate, weaving in between each attack as if it were choreographed. She stood mesmerized by his graceful movements, swift and sure. Sometimes she couldn't tell who was who as Ren's coat and her cape flew around, obscuring the two of them like a stage curtain. She could fly well to be sure, but she couldn't perform at such a level of agility like the one he was displaying, at least not for long.
"Something's strange. I'm still detecting the Jewel Seed, but the signature is so small…" Yuuno noted. That's right, he had a Jewel Seed, Nanoha remembered.
"But Ren's become so powerful. How could the Jewel Seed signature be so small if he's gotten that much power?" Nanoha was confused. He was a just a normal person right? Was the Jewel Seed acting like a device? What was that power anyway, it wasn't anything like magic.
"It's just a guess," The two turned to see Morgana walking up to them, the last they saw of him was when he showed up next to Ren after the monster became chained and disappeared. "But I'm going to go on a limb here and say that Joker's wish wasn't for power."
"Joker?" Nanoha was confused. Who was that?
"Joker." Morgana pointed over to where Ren was, still just toying with Fate, dodging attack after attack as if he were just talking a little stroll. Nanoha wanted to ask why Morgana called Ren, Joker.
"Then what was his wish?" Yuuno asked, curious as to what wish could even allow for such power, if it wasn't actually power.
"I think that what he wished for, was for a way to use his own strength," Morgana revealed, smiling as he watched his friend back to his old self.
"So wait, this is all his own power? The seed's only acting as a means to access it?" Yuuno asked to clarify.
"I don't know. I'm only guessing. However I do know is that this power is all his own. Just watch." Nanoha did just that as she saw Fate having completely exhausted while Ren looked just fine.
"Already tired?" Ren asked, not even breathing the least bit heavily as Fate struggled to keep standing, Bardiche barely being held just above the ground. "Geez, I still haven't even done anything else…" Joker just rubbed the back of his head, nervous that perhaps he over did it. Fate was too tired to respond. She just didn't have any energy to even speak. She tried to lift Bardiche up, but couldn't raise it any higher.
"I… can't… lose… here…" She said between her gasps for breath. It was the only words she could get out after resting for just a little bit. He sighed inwardly. This wasn't any fun, toying with a kid. Not only that, in that exchange he noticed something that put an even more sour taste in his mouth. This fight wasn't doing anything for him, and if he continued on, it would have just made him feel worse.
"Geez… this hasn't been a good warm up for me either… Tell you what-" He put his knife away and placed his hand upon his face. His mask flashed blue again, before he quickly ripped it off. Unlike before, he didn't have any ceremony or blood about it, but azure flame did rise again. This time however, instead of the red gentleman demon from before, it was a scantily clad woman with horns. "Ishtar! Salvation!"
She found herself suddenly surrounded by a bright light. Unsure of what it was, she could only close her eyes for whatever magic he was about to attack her with. Only, instead of pain, she felt healed. She felt strength return to her, her breathing became easier, and her arms were able lift Bardiche an appreciable amount again. When the light faded, she felt as if she hadn't fought at all.
"Feeling better?" She jolted at the sudden question. She turned to see him kneeling down, looking right at her. She froze this time, only her eyes moving to scan the person in front of her. She noted that his facial expression had changed. Unlike the cocky smile he showed just earlier or even when they first met, this time his smile was kind and warm. His question, she remembered, also sounded genuine, like he was really worried about her. "That spell also got rid of the scars on your back too." Her eyes lit up in surprise. Disregarding her enemy kneeling right next to her, she threw her cape off, to look at her back. Her mouth opened ajar when she saw that indeed what he said was true. All her scars were gone.
"But… how?" Fate whispered. She'd already applied healing spells to those wounds. How powerful was that spell that it completely got rid of the scars? That shouldn't have been possible.
"Now where did those scars come from? Because from the looks of it, those don't look like the kind you get from fighting with magic blasts. Who did that to you?" She noticed his expression as he asked her. He was solemn and worried. Why was he worried about her? Why was it that this person, who she's hurt so much, now trying to help her? She remembered that she compared him to a knight in shining armor. What she looked at wasn't anything like that, in fact it was almost like he was the exact opposite. But the way he acted, it was like…
"Fate!" She heard Arf rush towards them. Unlike last time, she was in her human form and prepping a magic spell. As she closed in, she fired it, causing him to cartwheel out of the way. "Did he hurt you?" She asked Fate as she landed between the two of them, trying to keep him in view as she occasionally stole glances of her master behind her. She held her hand up and ready to fire another bolt of magic.
"No…" she answered. In fact he did the opposite. The only thing he's done this whole time, was dodge and then heal her. "Arf, stand down. I want to ask him something."
"Fate, we shou-"
"I said, stand down…" Fate asked Arf once more. Arf relented, lowering her fists. "Thank you," she said, giving her familiar a warm smile before turning to Joker a few feet away, standing leisurely with his hands in his pockets. "Why did you heal me? You could have defeated me and taken my Jewel Seeds for yourself. What did you stand to gain from doing that?" She asked as she walked in front of her familiar.
"Heal?" Arf wondered, as she looked at her master for wounds. "You're scars…" Arf blinked a few times in disbelief. The scars were gone. Not a single one remained.
"What can I say. I don't like fighting little girls," Joker simply put, placing his hands out to display to shrug at his own lack of satisfying answer. "My opponents tend to be the more heinous type of characters. Come on Goldilocks. We don't have to do this." He put his knife away, stowing it somewhere behind his back as he then held his hand out. "Let's just talk." Him too, he's asking to just talk as well. Words welled up within her, wanting to escape to answer, but then she thought of her. Who she was doing all of this for.
"I can't… I'm sorry…" she told him, her voice quivering as she said as such. She didn't know why she apologized, why she felt the need to even answer him. She remained silent as she raised Bardiche again. She had a mission she had to fulfill, so why was there a part of her that didn't want to fight? Why did a part of her want to talk?
"Making a girl cry also isn't my style," Joke said to no one in particular. Fate, hearing the words, stopped to touch her own cheek. To her surprise, it was wet. Why was she crying? She ran her arm across her eyes, wiping her tears away as she readied Bardiche again. This time without stopping, she summoned forth a pair of magical circles, one below and one in front of her.
"Pierce, Thun-"
"Ongyoki! Lullaby!" With another flash of blue upon his mask, Joker swiftly cast a spell. Fate, readied herself to take it, only for her eyelids to suddenly become heavy.
"Wha-what?" She said drowsily as she began to fall to the floor. Her last vision before being entirely taken by sleep was a strange black robed figure with horns and an odd bladed weapon.
"Fa-fate…" Arf also began to lose consciousness. Soon the two of them simply fell to the floor without any resistance. Bardiche also began to glow, transforming into a jewel that flew into an indentation on Fate's gauntlet.
"Fate-chan!" Nanoha cried as she saw her lying on the floor. She flew right to the blonde girl, placing Raising Heart down as she got on the floor and picked Fate up. "Ren, what happened? What did you do?" she desperately asked him as she continued to look over Fate in her arms, trying to see to any wounds on her body.
"Relax Miss Nanoha. All Joker did was cast a sleeping spell. See? Still breathing." Upon hearing Morgana's explanation as he walked up to them, Nanoha calmed down as she looked back at Fate to see her chest steadily rising and falling in a relaxed rhythm. "Thank goodness…" she let out a sigh of relief when she realized that Fate was alright… and was probably in better shape than she was.
"Ishtar, Salvation!" She looked up to see that beautiful lady again being summoned by Ren, before she was surrounded by the same light as Fate was just moments ago. "Feeling better, Princess?" Upon being asked, she realized that she felt… fine. She felt as if she hadn't fought at all.
"What a powerful healing spell," Yuuno remarked as he closed in. "I don't think I've ever seen one so potent before, able to heal wounds, fatigue, and it seems even able to heal most ailments and scars as well. Ren, Morgana, just who exactly are you two?"
"We can save that for another time," Morgana told them. "We should first think about what we're going to do with the two of them." He pointed at the pair of mages that lay asleep before them.
"Hmm… Nanoha?" Joker called.
"Huh? What is it?" Nanoha asked, tilting her head to the side, wondering what it was that Re- Joker, wanted.
"Think you can lift one of them up?"
"EH?"
-0-0-5-0-0-
"Just around this corner," Joker told them as he began to turn the crossing, carrying the unconscious body of Arf on his back. Seeing him disappear for a brief moment, Nanoha jerked forward to try and catch up, dragging Fate with her as she carried the other girl on her own back. Once she saw him in sight again, she slowed down back to her previous pace, though she noted she was close to him than before. Morgana and Yuuno followed close by, looking out for anyone in the vicinity.
Apparently, Re-, Joker's parents weren't home, so he thought that he could let them stay at his place. Nanoha knew it was a nice gesture, and she was more than happy to help, but she still couldn't figure out what changed his attitude to want to help her. He seemed almost obsessed to help Fate right now, but she couldn't fathom why. She wasn't going to question his intent however.
"Um, J-Joker?" Nanoha called, wishing to finally have her questions answered.
"Yes Princess?" Nanoha couldn't help but puff her cheeks at that. She couldn't remember when, but he'd been calling her Princess for the last few hours or so. She didn't like the feeling like her heart was going jump out of her chest every time he called her that. It felt like something was squeezing her tightly, choking her, but choking her warmly and kindly if that made sense. If she let it get to her now though, she'd miss her chance.
"I wanted ask you earlier, but are you okay? You still have the Jewel Seed inside you right?" A good question, he realized. He tried to check around his person as best he could while still holding onto the sleeping wolf girl. For the life of him he couldn't find it.
"It's probably integrated itself inside of you, just like it's done with the other beings that have come in contact with a Jewel Seed." Yuuno's explanation made a degree of sense. Though he was unsure about having something like that in his body. However given the results, he was remiss to complain. "But that raises a different question. We've already heard what your wish was, so what exactly was that power you showed anyways? It took a second for Joker to realize Morgana probably spilled the beans on what his wish most likely was. He didn't remember explicitly making a wish, though perhaps the seed fed on his inner thoughts and fulfilled his wish that way.
"Hmm... How can I explain this," He let out, trailing his thoughts as he did so.
"The allow me to do the honors," Morgana offered.
"Sure, I've got my hands full at the moment." To emphasize his point, he readjusted Arf on his back as she was beginning to slip.
"So then, I think it's time we explain ourselves, Joker and I, given the fact that the proverbial cat's out of the bag." Making sure he had the attention of their other half of the team, he then continued, "Joker and I are Persona users: Those who are able to call upon the strength born from one's heart."
"Peru-so-na?" Nanoha asked, her head subconsciously tilting as she asked it. She'd never heard the term before. Was it English?
"Is that what that magic is called? It seems similar to summoning magic," Yuuno remarked as he tried to take in what he was being told.
"I suppose it looks similar to that, but rather than summoning something outside of yourself, I assume, rather you're bringing out your true self. Personas are basically one's true self made manifest to put it another way," Morgana made sure to clarify.
"True self? Y-You mean that demon thing is Ren's true self?" Nanoha asked being frightened by the memory of that incident. "But that can't be! Ren's too nice for something like that to be his true self," she denied. How could the one she looked up to have something like that inside him? Wouldn't some kind of cool, super awesome, super hero thing be more fitting?
"Unfortunately, it being the true self, you aren't always going to see something nice, Miss Nanoha. People aren't always the kind, shining knight in armor they seem to be. That being said though, Joker's Persona is actually based on a fairly Heroic Figure, The Gentleman Thief Arsène." Morgana's answer, though it helped her to understand the concept of Personas just a bit more, left her more confused as she'd never heard of this Arsène.
"Is that some kind of hero of legend on Earth?" Yuuno asked. Curious as to the culture of the planet.
"A literary thief, master of disguises who only ever stole from criminals worse than him while helping the law-abiding citizenry. He always did things in audacious style, but never crossed the line, refusing to commit murder or other heinous crimes," Joker was the one to explain. "An Anti-Hero."
"Anti-Hero? But what I still want to know is why that's your Persona, your true self? I mean for as long as I've known you, you've always been such a kind and brave person. You're more like a normal hero." Joker was starting to see that perhaps she was beginning to develop a strange mental image of him.
"Do you want to explain?" Morgana asked Joker, raising the curiosity of their audience. "Or should we just leave it be?"
"Yeah, I don't mind. In fact here's the perfect spot." He slowly came to a stop as he seemed to look around. Nanoha noticed his breathing quickened before relaxing, taking in the site. It was just a normal street, so why did he look so nostalgic?
"You know it was more than a year ago I was standing here," He began to explain to Nanoha and Yuuno.
"What's so significant about here?" Yuuno asked, trying to see if there was something out of the ordinary about this place.
"Let me ask you Princess. If you saw someone being assaulted, someone in trouble, what would you do? Before you had Raising Heart." Joker asked her.
"Before? Well, I guess I'd either try to help or I'd call the police." Nanoha wasn't sure why he asked this question. Isn't natural to want to help someone in trouble.
"Yeah, that's the normal response. That's why I thought to do that too, right here in fact." He tapped his foot on the ground, given that he couldn't point. "I still remember it quite well. Walking home then suddenly hearing what sounded like a man and a woman arguing. As I got closer I could hear that the man was apparently assaulting the woman." He tried to leave out details that weren't exactly kosher to tell a nine year old.
"That's terrible…" Yuuno commented, somewhat aware as to what Ren was alluding to.
"Yeah, so I decided to try and stop him after the woman asked me to. It was just a light pull to get him off of her, but he was drunk. He lost his balance and fell on the ground, cutting his forehead on the pavement." Joker wouldn't ever forget that face. He was changed now, he was in jail now, but he'd still never forget him.
"But the woman was okay right? You stopped him so it went well right?" Nanoha asked. Joker took a deep breath, not liking to have to explain it to a kid.
"Apparently the man was a high ranking government official. When the cops came, they didn't come for him." He could taste the bile welling up within just remembering it, even after it was resolved and should have been behind him.
"I don't get it. Why did they come then?" Nanoha truly was just an innocent little girl caught up in events too big for her, but he wanted to come clean to someone who looked up to him like she did.
"They came to arrest me." He then began to start walking, hoping the cycle would dull the anger he was beginning to feel. The rest of them followed right after.
"What? But you helped that woman!" Nanoha cried, almost in disbelief that something like that could happen, in her hometown no less.
"Yeah, but the guy who I pulled off her was some bigshot who controlled the police. Afterwards he sued me for assault, and well, I got booted to Tokyo for a year."
"How horrible…" Yuuno couldn't believe something like that could happen to a good guy like Ren. "That's… I'm sorry something like that happened. Though do you mind telling us what happened next?"
"That's when he met me," Morgana said, butting into the story, though Ren didn't mind. "There he learned to unlock the power of Persona. I'll spare you details, but it wasn't pretty. Eventually we were able to finally get at that guy using this power. Don't worry it was done in secret." Ren and Morgana exchanged a look. Mentally they both agreed they wouldn't share more without the rest of the team.
"But what happened exactly?"
"Who was it that did that to you?" Yuuno and Nanoha bombarded. Nanoha particularly wanted to learn who it was that got Ren in trouble for trying to do the right thing.
"Princess," Ren called, wanting to steer the conversation to the point he wanted to make. Nanoha perked up at hearing her pet name. "I'm not some kind of spotless hero. I'm not someone who should be looked up to honestly. I've done some pretty shady things, and I'm not ashamed of any of it. I won't stand by if someone needs help, but I'm not going to shy away from unconventional methods to help them. Not anymore." Nanoha's became downcast. She was becoming angry. Angry at whoever was the guy who did this to Ren. However, like he said, that was in the past. She steeled herself to speak.
"Then, I want to be a part of that!" Nanoha spoke up, her sudden volume catching Ren off guard. "You're right. Perhaps I've been looking up to you too much. But how can I not when you're so much of what I want to be? Don't look down on yourself so much Ren! "
"I'm-"
"Why are you helping Fate-chan right now?" She asked him, interrupting him.
"What?"
"Why are you helping Fate-chan right now?" She repeated. Seeing that she wasn't going to budge on the subject. He relented and decided to answer.
"Well, as I was dodging around her, I noticed something under her cape," He started.
"And it was?" Nanoha didn't know where this was going, but her instincts told her this was the right path.
"She had scars on her back. Not combat scars. The kind you see from something like a whip." Nanoha's eyes widened as she looked over at Fate who's sleeping face so was close to hers. She then recounted something that Yuuno had said.
"But you then healed those scars, right?" Yuuno had said that the healing spell he used could even heal scars.
"Right…" He said, still a bit off balance from Nanoha's assertiveness.
"And now you're taking her to your home to…?" She trailed, hoping he would finish. She was just trying to make him realize his own kindness.
"I'm taking her to my place because I don't want her to go back to wherever it was she got those scars. Honestly, it's just a guess, but it's from a reliable source I have." After seeing those, it clicked in his head when he remembered a message he got the other day. Though in the end it was still just a hunch, coupled with some of the things Arf said.
"See, you are a good person!" Nanoha declared, her smile beaming as she made him lay bare his reasons for doing what he was doing. Ren could only stare blankly as he realized that Nanoha kind of played him for a fool, in a good way granted. He chuckled to himself. Seems he was still being knocked around by little girls, guiding him about. "And if you need it, I'll always be there by your side to remind you." Even though she was so young, the affection and resolve he felt from her were as genuine and real as any other bond he had. Perhaps she really did understand him and the world around them.
It was then his vision darkened. A familiar sound of chains resonated in his mind as all of time seemed to stop entirely. In his mind the image of a card suddenly appeared, wrapped in chains. The card wasn't one he had seen before. Some kind of strange humanoid with a staff alongside wings of some sort was center in the image. The name that appeared in his mind was also one he wasn't familiar with, 'Aeon'. The bond also felt strong already, but only half, as if some other part was missing. Then just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished as time resumed.
"Wa-wait! I mean. I'll always be with you. I mean always around you. I mean… mou!" Nanoha squirmed in place as the realization dawned on her that she said something that perhaps she didn't want to say out loud. He chuckled, as he stood there watching her as she completely lost it.
"You might want to put Goldilocks down," he suggested.
"Huh? Bu-"
"It's cause we're already here." He nodded towards the house they were in front of. A simple two story house that was smaller than the one she lived in, but it still looked cozy.
"Yup! Home sweet home… I guess." Nanoha wasn't sure what Morgana meant by that as she followed Ren into his home. It was dark without anyone else around.
"The living room's in here, set her down on the couch." She did as instructed, though she couldn't help but swivel her eyes about, trying to take in the place that Ren lived in. It wasn't like there was anything special, but for some reason she wanted to just see everything. Once she placed Fate on the couch. She saw Ren suddenly flash blue, his outfit and mask disappearing as he did so. A quick glance told her that he had placed Arf on the nearby armchair. "Thanks, I'll take it from here. I've got a spare bedroom I can put them in." He said as he gave her a reassuring smile that things would be okay.
"You should go home. Your family must be worried, Miss Nanoha," Morgana told her as he began to nestle on top of a different chair.
"Right, if you need anything let us know!" Yuuno said as he climbed onto Nanoha's shoulder.
"Yeah…" Nanoha then began to walk back to the entrance of the house with Ren seeing her out, slowly making her way there as she took in the sights once more. "Ren!" She called, turning around to meet him.
"What is it?" What could she have wanted at this point? She seemed to point downwards, prompting him to kneel down. She then put Yuuno down before getting back up to face him once more.
"Um… Here!" She threw her arms around his neck as she squeezed tight. "I was so worried when you caught fire like that. I'm so glad you're safe Ren." He realized that she was probably holding back her worry this whole time. Her friend got caught in a situation that could have ended horribly. She seemed to be sobbing slightly though he could only hear it thanks to her face being so close to his.
"I'm okay now," he told her as he pat her head, trying to reassure her that he was alright. After a few seconds though, he followed it with, "Though you're not going to be if you don't go to bed." After hearing that, she let go, giggling a bit at his little remark.
"I'll see you later then?" She asked, her face still tearful, but smiling. This time when she looked in his eyes, it was completely sincere. He was okay. How long has she been staring?
"Of course. See you later, Nanoha."
"B-Bye Ren!" The two waved good bye as Nanoha first walked out the door before going into a full sprint. He worried about the reason why she ran so quickly, and why she covered her face. It was probably what he thought it was, wasn't it?
Oh well, he had guests to see to, and counter measures to think of.
Author's Notes:
Rereading that scene again in editing, I'm reminded of Celica's Astral in Blazblue where she heals the opponent to full, then Minerva rockets them away from the battlefield. Anyways, like some of the previous chapters, I had more planned to write, but I felt that this was a good partition to end the chapter on, since the next chapter is going to shift focus a bit. Here is where I go completely off script from the Show for a chapter and make something completely original.
Overall though, for this chapter specifically, what I wanted to emphasis was the effortlessness of the battle for Ren, that this isn't a challenge, almost literal child's play. But it was also supposed to show that he still pays attention to things, and that ultimately, like Lupin, he has a code that wants to follow. What I did was have him just toy with the opponent but also show how above them he is that he can afford to heal them and just ailment them. I hope that was conveyed well
Another thing I wanted to do was begin shifting things to the Persona side from here, starting with a basic explanation that will be extrapolated to the Nanoha side of things in a little bit. How I plan to do that, well perhaps you can take a guess. Next chapter is going to be a non combat one, or minimal combat one anyways.
So as always, tell me what you think. Good? Bad? Needs more Wookies? Leave a review and tell me. I'm always looking to improve and consider advice, like if things are too cliched or not. It always helps when I get a review, not only for my drive to write, but also to improve, and learn how to take criticism.
Regardless though, I hope you enjoyed what you read. I look forward to seeing you all again, and I hope you all have a wonderful day.
PS. I originally wanted to name this Fic, Magical Thieves, Lyrical Phantoms. I still name my files something like that.
PSS. Yes I changed my profile pic. I am not upset. Also I still love the Dadaists, Eisai Harumasukoi.
