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 7: Those in Authority

"What the hell is wrong with that woman…" Arf said to herself. She sat huddled at the side of the wall as Fate's screams echoed from beyond the shut door that lead to Precia's throne. She covered her ears as best she could, trying to dampen out her master's cries of pain mixed with the sound of lashings as the whip could be clearly heard to meet skin. "This is too much… That woman…"

"Ahhhhh!" Arf heard her master scream louder than any scream before. Arf grit her teeth as she forced herself up, rushing towards the door as her face scrunched up in anger. Though Fate seemed to refuse to acknowledge it, Arf knew that Precia was abnormal. She'd always been cruel to her master. For as long as Arf was aware, all she could remember was Precia treating Fate more like a doll than a person. However, for some reason now, it was more than the usual. She slammed her hands against the door where Fate and Precia were behind.

"Are the Jewel Seeds that precious her!?" She screamed softly so as not to be heard. She couldn't understand it. Were those things, those objects, more precious to her than another living human being who she claimed was her daughter? However as much as she wished she could, she couldn't let the ever-growing bile in her stomach flow. She was afraid that it would only make things worse.

-0-0-7-0-0-

"The Lost Logia are necessary to realize your mother's dream." Fate, barely holding on to consciousness, could only vaguely hear the sound of Precia's voice as she stayed her whip. Even so, she wanted to be a good daughter. She had to answer.

"Yes, mother." Her voice burned as she eked out a reply, her voice only coming out as a small, weak whisper.

"The Jewel Seed's purity is unmatched. You are a kind girl, so there may be time you might hesitate. However, if someone stands in the way, destroy them. Do not listen to them. Do whatever it takes. You have the power to do so after all." Precia undid her magic, returning her whip to its staff form. Not a moment after, the magic shackles holding Fate also disappeared. Without anything to support her, and she herself too weak to stand. She fell onto the floor with a thud. She almost screamed as the pain from her wounds exploded once they made impact with the floor, but she bit down so as to not make any more noise for her mother. "You'll do it for me, won't you? Fate, my daughter? My adorable Fate?" Her heart became elated to her those words. Even through all of the pain, she couldn't help but be happy to hear her mother call her daughter. Mother only hurt her, because she still loved her. Though small, Fate's lips pursed upwards.

"Yes, I'll go, mother." Fate struggled to get up, to meet her mother's gaze, but all she could manage was to get on her knees and elbows. It was a struggle to rise any higher. She couldn't even raise her head.

"I'll sleep for a time. When I awake, be sure to please Mother."

"Yes, mother…" Precia then turned around and left into the darkness at the edge of the throne room. It wasn't until a few minutes after her mother left, that Fate was able to stand. Her knees wobbled as they tried to support her. Her entire body ached from the fresh wounds. Fate simply stared into the darkness where she last saw her mother, before turning towards the door out. As she limped out the door-

"Fate-chan!" She heard as Arf ran to her side. The moment her body felt even the slightest semblance of purchase within Arf's embrace, it gave out, pushed beyond its limits. "Fate, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Arf cried as she cradled her master in her arms. She could see the lashes that littered Fate's body, black and red appeared beneath torn cloth and leather.

"What are you apologizing for, Arf? I'm fine… Really…" Arf didn't buy it for a second. She could tell that Fate was trying her best to force even the smallest ounce of energy to reply, but even said ounce was in short supply.

"But… I never thought she would… Even though you brought was she asked for, why is it this bad?" Arf's eyes raced up and down Fate's body. Though she had seen them just earlier, it was quickly dawning on her the damage that had been inflicted. There was almost not a single place untouched. "If I'd known it was going to be this bad then I would have-"

"Arf," Fate interrupted, catching her off-guard. "It's not that bad. Mother did it for my sake."

"How!? This isn't for your sake, this is just her taking her anger out on you!" Arf fired back, but Fate was undeterred. Mother loved her.

"You're wrong. We're family. The Jewel Seeds must be very important to her. Mother has been sad for so long. I want to do something to make her happy." Then when Mother smiled again, they could all be happy.

"But, even so-"

"Arf… Please. It will be fine, I'm sure of it," she gently whispered as she placed a hand on Arf's head. All Arf could concentrate on however, was how the arms was just filled with cuts and bruises. Even so, her master still found the will to be gentle in her touch. "If I obtain the Jewel Seeds and bring them home, mother will surely smile." Fate tried to smile as she continued. "She will return to the kind mother she used to be, and she'll surely be kind to you too, Arf. So, let's go."

"But-"

"I will not fail." Arf's protest died in her throat as Fate's gaze hardened, not at her, but at what was to come. Arf wanted to argue, that anyone would have been better family than Precia. That guy was a better family in every way to Precia. He'd taken care of Fate, fed her, listened to her, consoled her. They weren't blood, but he was every bit the family that Fate deserved. However, seeing Fate so determined, so driven, made her will to do so fade. "Come, Bardiche's detected a Jewel Seed." Just like that, the moment to perhaps change her with words had gone.

-0-0-7-0-0-

"Huh? Phantom Thieves?" Was all Nanoha let out, not sure why Ren and company suddenly started posing like out of an old anime, or was it new?

"Huh? Is this true!?" Yuuno seemed to understand who they were. Nanoha's eyes scrunched in frustration. She knew she'd heard the name before, and to see Yuuno figure it out before she did was quite vexing. Rather than make it more awkward than it already was, she bit the bullet and simply asked.

"Um… who?" As testament to their professionalism, the Thieves did not immediately break character upon finding out their introduction missed its mark. As a testament to their youth however-

"For real?" Ryuji asked, the first to break character as his face, even while behind a mask, clearly displayed his incredulity for their audience's lack of knowledge. "You never heard of us?" Nanoha could only meekly shake her head, all the while racking her brain to try and see if she could remember who they were. It was on the tip of her tongue. She felt like a few more seconds and she could recall, but it just wasn't working.

"Uh… then…" The rest of them stopped posing soon after Makoto began to speak, given that holding those poses any longer was going to embarrass them quite a bit. "I suppose it shouldn't be surprising for people to not have heard of us, particularly those who are very young."

"But we were everywhere! I mean even people in the U.S. had heard of us!" Futaba complained. "Come on! Haven't you at least heard of our slogan? Take your heart? O-or how about our 'Phansite' where you can post stuff all you want? Ringing any bells?" Something dropped into the pit of Nanoha's stomach, but she still couldn't place why. A part of her felt that pursuing that line of thought any further was a grave mistake, but still, she soldiered on. And like a line of dominoes, the pieces fell one by one. The gears turned. Then suddenly, the lights flickered on, and Nanoha's face lit up in crimson.

"Ah…"

"Ah?" Ren repeated, all of them worried by the fact that their youngest member suddenly turned a color resembling a ripened tomato.

"Th-then… you a-all…" Each of them looked between themselves, wondering if they should do something about her sudden nervousness, before it also dawned on them as to why she probably felt that way. Makoto placed a finger to her temple in frustration. Futaba snickered. Haru giggled slightly, but tried to hold it in. Ryuji was simply at a loss for words on how to proceed. Yusuke still hadn't cottoned on. Morgana just watched it all play out as Ren mentally went through the choices as to how he would respond. Ann stepped in first however.

"It's okay Nanoha-chan. We underst-"

"I-it wasn't me! It was my friend Alisa-chan! She's the one who posted the request!" Nanoha cried desperately, tears budding from her eyes. "I swear, she sent it as a joke! I-I don't actually- I mean, it's not- there's a-" Her words kept getting caught in her throat as she tried over and over again to force an explanation of some kind, until at some point it became a garbled mess. Giving each other a silent nod, the Thieves decided to wait it out, and let her run out of steam. She wasn't going to be listening to any of them in her panicked state. Once Nanoha had finally run out of breath, Ann spoke up again.

"It's okay Nanoha-chan," she repeated. "We know it was a joke. We get requests like that all the time." Ann hoped the deflection would do wonders to allay Nanoha's embarrassment. After all, misery loves company.

"R-right! It happens all the time! It was just a joke!" She emphatically latched onto the fact that hers was only one many jokes. Of course, it was a joke! It wasn't serious. So what if she did want- She stopped herself right there and didn't look back. Shaking her head clear, she realized that now was the perfect time for an information exchange. "So, let's just forget about all that stuff! Instead, how about you tell me more about what you guys do?" The thieves gave each other quick aside glance before giving a simultaneous nod.

"Well, we were, or I guess are, thieves. However, the targets of our activities aren't exactly what one would consider typical," Makoto began to explain.

"How so?" Yuuno asked, his head tilting in confusion.

"Well to be specific, we don't target what people would consider their possessions," Haru added.

"Right, what we target are the source of their desires!" Futaba clarified with a proud huff.

"Desires? You mean like what they want right?" Nanoha was confused. "How do you do that?"

"Uh… well…" Futaba found herself flat footed when she realized that even though they had their powers back, they still didn't have the Metaverse Navigator App to go along with it.

"We used to have something called the Metaverse Navigator on our phones. It's what allowed us to enter the Metaverse we mentioned prior. From there, we were able to enter people's hearts. Specifically, those of the corrupt and twisted," Yusuke answered bluntly.

"Yeah! And once we were inside, we would ransack the place and take the source of their corruption, their desire." Ryuji beamed as he reminisced on their past activities.

"Ransack might be too strong a word, but yeah that was basically it. Once we took the source of their desires, or Treasure as we called it, it would cause the person we stole from to change," Ann explained. "They'd become remorseful for their misdeeds and come clean."

"Did you ever target the innocent then?" Yuuno asked, a bit stern in his questioning.

"We couldn't. Only those with strong negative or corrupt thoughts could ever get a palace. As a result, our targets tended to only be people who were the worst of society," Morgana quickly said to abate any concern, the ferret might have had as to the perceived lack of scruples the thieves may have had.

"I see," Yuuno let out as he became relieved to hear of such. Though he still rose an eyebrow to the way Morgana emphasized the 'tended'. Alongside that, they left out pretty much any particular details for their so-called heists, though we was willing to let that slide since they most likely did that given Nanoha's age.

"So, you guys targeted bad people and turned them good?" Nanoha asked, trying to put in a way she could understand more easily.

"Basically, yeah," Ren answered her.

"So, you were the good guys?" Nanoha asked for clarification.

"We tried to be," Ren told her.

"I see…" Nanoha mused as she began to understand just what the Thieves were. "I always wondered how you could be so cool and brave. But after hearing this, it all makes sense now. You've been a hero for a long time now." Ren blushed at having been called a hero.

"Heroes huh? Man, when a little kid says it, makes me kind of embarrassed," Ryuji said, scratching the back of his head.

"Ryuji, she only called Ren a hero, don't let it get to your head," Ann chided.

"Aww come on, let a guy dream would ya!" Ryuji fired back.

"Any who, why don't you tell us about yourself and what's been going on here then?" Haru asked Nanoha. She along with Ren, Yuuno, and Morgana, went on to explain what they'd been doing so far. They were quite shocked to hear about the existence of magic in general, outside the ones used by their Personas anyways. It didn't take them long to adjust to the situation though, given their history. Though some took longer than others, they all grasped the situation in short order regarding the Jewel Seeds.

"And so that's the gist of it guys," Ren concluded after they had finished explaining the whole thing from the beginning.

"Doesn't sound hard at all," Ryuji proudly stated.

"Hmph, though the challenges now take place in the real world, their difficulty certainly does not appear any greater. We've fought our share of monsters before. We'd be most happy to help," Yusuke said with a confident smirk.

"I don't know guys, I'm a bit worried about this Fate-chan they mentioned. I don't have a problem kicking monsters to the curb if we need to, but a little girl? Not only that, but one that sounds like she's getting abused? That doesn't sound easy to me at all," Ann reminded them.

"I mean, yeah we're not gonna beat up on a little girl! I was just talking about the monsters. Not her!" Ryuji said in his defense.

"Well, as much as it makes us look like bullies, with this much force at our disposal we might be able to come to a peaceful resolution with her if we convince her to stand down. We just have to show her that fighting us isn't worth it. That's probably our best bet," Makoto stated as she offered her own solution to the problem.

"As expected of someone aiming to be a police commissioner. Trying to diffuse it with a display of force, but not a show of it," Futaba teased. "But that doesn't answer what to do about her mother…" None of the thieves could miss how Futaba's expression changed. Though Nanoha and Yuuno might have missed it, the thrives certainly didn't, and they had a suspicion as to why. "What kind of Mom could make their kid look like they were about to be killed?"

"I dunno, you ever see my mom pissed at me for my grades?" Ryuji got a glare for his remark. "I was joking! Look I know what it is, and it was the same shiii- I mean stuff, my Dad pulled on my Mom and me."

"It really is the only conclusion that could be made of the situation regarding Fate-chan…" Haru solemnly added.

"If only we had the app back…" Ann commented.

"Regardless, this is what I want to ask you guys," Ren stated, bringing everyone's attention to himself. "Right now, we have to stop not only the Jewel Seeds but this Precia Testarossa. Nanoha, along with Morgana and Yuuno, as well as myself have done alright so far, but I think we'll be able to get through this no problem if we all work together. So-"

"Dude, you don't have to make so much of show out of it. Hell, you didn't even have to ask," Ryuji interrupted him.

"He's right, have a little more faith in us. I thought it was already clear we're on board with helping out," Ann followed.

"We do appreciate the formal request though," Yusuke was next to say.

"Like we'd settle for being useless on the sidelines," Makoto cracked knuckles as she said as such.

"Heh, just feed me the Jewel Seed Signature, and we'll find those puppies in no time," Futaba asked Yuuno, afterwards, the two of them proceeded to seclude themselves so that Futaba could get a read on the items in question.

"I mean, did you expect any other outcome?" Haru asked. Ren was beside himself from having been caught off guard by the gumption on display by his friends. Internally he scolded himself from having doubts to begin with.

"Not at all. Just wanted to make it formal I suppose," He said with a happy resignation. "So, I guess we're going to help out if you don't mind," he told Nanoha.

"I don't mind at all! Thank you much very much!" Nanoha said with a thankful bow. "With this, we shou-"

"Guys! We got a hit!" Futaba screamed as she and Yuuno ran back to the group. "We got a signature a few blocks from here!"

"Already!? I mean we've only just got here!" Ryuji said in surprise.

"That's just how it is," Ren said, trying to get everyone's attention. "Alright, Nanoha, Yuuno, and I will head out first as part of the advance group, everyone else, follow up and hide in the shadows in case Fate shows up. If she does, try to catch her off guard and surround her. From there we'll go with Makoto's earlier suggestion and try to convince to her to stop. Everyone got it?" All of them gave a resounding nod. Nanoha herself was a bit bedazzled to see Ren so confident and in charge. "Then let's go. Nanoha?"

"Uh, Yes?" She practically yelped since she had been distracted.

"Come on, let's see if we can help Fate-chan out," Ren said with a confident smirk on his face.

"Yeah!" She said with a nod. She'd be ready this time.

-0-0-7-0-0-

"Sealing Barrier! Deploy!" Yuuno activated the barrier once they had gotten into range of the Jewel Seed.

"Is that it?" Ryuji asked as he and the other thieves tried to scatter themselves amongst the trees.

"Seems like it," Ann answered as she was the only one next to him, with the others having hid in other places surrounding the monster. Futaba had taken to the skies above instead, inside Prometheus. She was currently hiding amongst the clouds. The Jewel Seed had taken hold of another tree. This time however, the tree began to sprout arms and a face. Nanoha, flew right in front of it, readying Raising Heart towards the monster. Not long after, Ren landed next her.

"Ready to go?" He asked, to which she replied with a simple, resolute nod. Before they could act however, a barrage of yellow bolts streaked past them, striking at the monster. Before they could hit their mark however, it seemed that the Monstrous Tree erected a kind of barrier to block the bolts of magic. "Seems like she's here." In response to the assault, the Monster roared as it's roots raged from beneath the ground, surfacing and destroying the surrounding park.

"Yuuno, run!" Nanoha commanded, to which Yuuno complied, running to where he sensed Morgana's presence within the thicket.

"Flier Fin," Raising Heart cast, applying the spell in order to avoid the incoming onslaught of roots. Ren simply dodged in between as if it were a simple matter.

"Nanoha, I'll leave Fate to you. I'll try to entertain this guy in the meantime," He said as he dodged another set of roots on his way. Then on a separate internal channel thanks to Futaba, "Feel free to jump in if something goes wrong guys."

"You got it Joker, we'll still keep an eye out for an opportunity to surround Fate as well," Makoto was the one to affirm what the rest were thinking.

"I'll leave it to you Ren! Raising Heart, we've got to fly higher!"

"Alright!" Like that, the two rose higher into the sky. "Shooting Mode!" Nanoha took aim at Fate, deciding to leave the neutralizing to Ren.

"Arc Saber!" Fate commanded as Bardiche produced its signature yellow energy blade. As she was about to fire it at the tree however-

"Not so fast!" Fate heard from above before having to fly out of the way of a pink beam of light.

"What are you doing? The Jew-"

"Ren's got it handled. I… I want to talk to you about something!" Nanoha cried as she readied Raising Heart again. "If I win this, I just want to talk again… Will you listen to me then?" The two stared at one another as Fate rose into the air to meet Nanoha. Then without words the two clashed.

On the ground however…

"So, how's it looking Oracle?" Ren asked as he dodged another set of Roots flinging themselves about.

"The barrier's not that strong, just one good attack and it should go down," Oracle explained after analyzing the Tree a bit. "I don't think there's any tree huggers around so go ahead and do your worst."

"How about a bit of a trimming then," Ren said as his mask flared just a bit to indicate his having switched Personas. "Yoshitsune! Hasou Tobi!" A samurai with two blades appeared above him, and with a single swipe of its blade, a series of cuts one after the other assaulted the poor monster. Each slice, one after the other, seemed to travel the entire length of the park, cutting up the roots and battering its barrier to no end. By the time the fifth slice hit its mark, the barrier had broken and the final three strikes cut the tree to ribbons. Upon receiving fatal damage, the tree began to shine as the Jewel Seed rose from what was left. "It's all up to them now. It's Nanoha's turn. She has to seal the seed before we call it case closed," Ren explained to the group as he stood vigilant to the battle raging in the sky.

"Fate, the seed!" Arf yelled from below, having stayed out of Ren's way when he was confronting the tree monster. Pausing their mid-air battle, Fate and Nanoha both turned to find the Jewel Seed Rising from the monster's body.

"Jewel Seed, Seal!" They both cried, this time making sure their spells didn't interfere with each other, instead causing the seed to be sealed even faster this time. With this, the seed became inert, floating in the air as it awaited someone to take it away. Without a second's delay though, they then pointed their devices at each other once again.

"Yaaahh!"

"Haaah!" The two screamed as they flew at one another, their devices ready to strike.

"Should we make ourselves known now?" Haru asked over the channel as the two closed in on one another.

"No wait I'm sensing some else approaching! They're coming in fa-" Futaba wasn't able to finish her sentence in time as a bolt of lightning crashed in between Fate and Nanoha before a pair of loud clangs rang out between the two girls. Once everyone had caught up, they found that floating in between the two of them was a boy around Nanoha's age, holding Raising Heart in one hand, and keeping Bardiche at bay with a weapon in the other.

"Stop!" They all heard him command. "I am Chrono Harlaown. Executive Official of the Time-Space Administrative Bureau, and you will tell me what is going on here!" The boy who commanded them to stop wore a black cloak and dark pants which matched his dark navy eyes and hair. The only odd thing about it were the spikes at his shoulders. His hands were covered in plated gloves and in his right arm was an oddly shaped staff which had an odd shaped gun barrel like structure with a metal wing on attached, followed by a disk like ornament at the end.

"The Time-Space Administrative Bureau?" Yuuno intoned.

"Who're they?" Morgana asked.

"I'll explain later," Yuuno answered as they continued to watch the proceedings.

"First, put away your weapons," He told the two as they began to float down to ground level. Once there, he continued with procedure. "If you continue to fight, then I wi-" He was interrupted as volley of orange bolts were fired his way, letting his grip on Fate and Nanoha's weapons slip, he erected a magic barrier to deflect the attack.

"Fate! We're withdrawing! Get out of there!" Arf called as she began to muster a second attack from above in her wolf form. Fate didn't have time to argue as Arf fired once more. Swallowing down her frustration, Fate, in the confusion of the resulting explosion from Arf's attack, flew up to grab the Jewel Seed. This was her chance. She had to do this. This would make mother happy. However just as it was in reach, she felt pain surge through her as she realized that she had been assaulted by the boy's magic. Bolts of blue colored magic rammed into her, knocking her down as a result. She didn't have the strength to scream as the bolts knocked the wind out of her.

"Fate!" Arf cried as she dove, but at her distance, she wouldn't make it! She pushed. She couldn't let Fate fall. She couldn't let her master get hurt like that, but try as she might, she couldn't close the gap. "Fate!" She yelled once more in despair, only to have a black shadow rush past her, faster than she could ever fly, and snatch Fate right out of the air. After colliding with Fate, the shadow then flipped and tumbled before landing right onto the ground, revealing Ren, with a surprised Fate in his arms being carried like a princess.

"We've got to stop meeting like this Goldilocks. I suggest a nice little shopping trip to the mall next time. What do you say?" He said with a smile, causing Fate to blush madly. Though they both returned to reality as the dust cleared, revealing the boy to be pointing his staff at the two of them. "You know it's not very gentlemanly to assault a lady. Didn't anyone teach you any manners?" Ren taunted Chrono.

"Ren stop, that's the TSAB!" Yuuno cried as he ran up to him.

"Who?" But before he could inquire any further-

"Fate!" Arf cried as she flew towards them. "Thank you for saving her Ren," Arf knew better than to distrust the young man after all this time. After all, if you're hedging your bets on someone, it would behoove of you to make nice with them.

"Not a problem," Ren replied.

"Stand aside, civilian," Chrono commanded as he charged a spell at the tip of his staff.

"How about you stand aside?" Ren said as he snapped his fingers. The foliage began to rustle as his friends surrounded the boy. Each of them readied and pointed their guns, and slingshot, at Chrono, ready to fire.

"Huh?" Fate let out as she was surprised to see more people dressed like Ren pop out from out of the woods to surround the TSAB member. Why were they doing this?

"Hey Arf, now's a good chance to run," Ren told them as he put Fate on the wolf's back.

"Heh, I'll take it then! We're running away, hold on tight!" Without another moment's hesitation, the two disappeared into the park as the thieves held Chrono up.

"They're out of range. Seems like teleportation," Futaba chimed in to let them know they were safe.

"Alright then," Ren said in relief before pulling his own gun out towards the TSAB member. "Tell you what, you put away your weapon, we'll put away ours. Seems like a reasonable deal to me."

"You let a potential suspect get away, why should I believe anything you say?" Ren was genuinely impressed by the kid's gusto. Normally most people would be pretty nervous to be surrounded by so many guns, but here this kid was, not even batting an eye. Maybe it was ignorance to the effectiveness of their weapons, but even so, it was impressive all the same.

"Meh, I guess not, but the offer still stands," Ren said as he continued to eye Chrono, making sure to take stock of any sudden movements.

"Ren, stop! I told you this is the TSAB! They're an interdimensional security force, basically like police," Yuuno tried to explain now that he had the opportunity, at least in short given the situation.

"Ren, I don't think he's a bad person. Don't you think we can be the ones to put down our weapons?" Nanoha pleaded. In response, Ren began to swivel his sight around his friends. Each of them wore differing expressions regarding this. It seems they were a house divided on the matter. However, despite that, for some reason the idea that they were police just rubbed him the wrong way. He just couldn't trust them. Something deep down prevented him from wanting to put his gun down, even though he knew it wasn't the worst thing in the world to try diplomacy. Why couldn't he bring himself to put the gun down?

"Chrono stand down, I believe we can trust them at their word." A voice suddenly rang out before a green magic array popped up and expanded. Once it reached a certain size, a green haired woman appeared in an image within the array, wearing what looked to be an officer's uniform.

"Ma'am, I-"

"Can I have your word that you will stand down?" She went on despite Chrono's protests. Ren took a moment to size the woman up from beyond the magic communication spell. She looked to be quite youthful but he reminded himself that there had to be a reason why she was giving out the commands. The image didn't reveal much of her surroundings or others for him to gleam an information from. She herself remained calm and composed with a professionalism that impressed him. Without anything else giving him a tell of some sort, he was left no choice but to pay attention to her eyes. She twitched, probably because she noticed him focusing on her when making eye contact. However her gaze remained steadfast, yet trusting. He needed more info, but given the time crunch, he had to make a decision based on what he had now. Ren reluctantly gave the order for the rest of the thieves to stand down. Each of them, at their own pace, began to lower their weapons in silence. He, however, continued to keep his own gun trained on Chrono.

"There, the rest of them have put their weapons down. If Spikes stops keeping his glow stick lit up, then I'll stand down too," Ren couldn't let all the leverage disappear, not when the danger still hadn't completely passed. Even if this officer seemed fine, there was no telling what she might actually be like. This might simply be a mask for all he knew. With other's lives on the line, he couldn't afford to place his trust so easily in others, especially authority.

"Chrono!" She commanded.

"… Yes ma'am." Chrono lowered his staff, letting the spell he had readied disperse. Seeing this, Ren also forced himself to lower his gun before putting it away. He had to uphold his end of the bargain.

"See not so bad?" He said half in jest, and half trying to convince himself, he realized.

"I suppose so," the officer woman agreed quite heartily. Her friendly demeanor however garnered the opposite effect from Ren, putting him further on edge. This didn't go unnoticed. "There's no need to be frightened. I'm Lindy Harlaown, Captain of the Administrative Bureau vessel Arthra."

"Joker, and that's all the information that's on offer right now," Ren replied. He noticed immediately that this woman was dangerously perceptive. The way her demeanor shifted as their conversation, as short as it was, went on told him this wasn't someone he could easily hide things from.

"I see. Am I to assume that's not your real name, Ren?" Dammit, whoever they were, they were probably observing them before making contact.

"I'll let you believe what you want to believe," Ren answered without missing a beat.

"Then I will go ahead and do just that," she said before turning to the young officer on the ground. "By the way, good work, Chrono."

"I'm sorry. I let one get away," he apologized.

"That's alright," Lindy told him. "If possible I'd like to talk to these people for a bit. Would you mind bringing them aboard the Arthra? Ah! Not to arrest you or anything, just to talk! You're free to leave whenever you wish!" She immediately clarified upon noticing how stiffly the teenagers reacted upon hearing her well meaning invitation.

"Are you sure about that ma'am?" Chrono asked, understandably wary about people who, just moments ago, were pointing firearms at him.

"Hmm… I believe they can be trusted," was all Lindy said as explanation. Chrono could only shake his head in resignation.

"Understood. I will return immediately." The magical array cut off as soon as he Chrono finished speaking.

"Guys, I tried tracing the signature of that talking magic array thingy, but I'm getting uber weird coordinates," The Thieves heard over the comms from Futaba. It seemed Chrono couldn't hear them, so he probably didn't have any kind of magic to listen in on their conversation.

"Think we can trust them?" Ryuji was the first to ask.

"I mean she didn't seem so bad," Haru noted. "After all, we've met less reasonable authority figures in the past."

"Yeah but the way they handled fighting Fate-chan… It was kind of harsh don't you think?" Ann said as she recalled watching the blond girl getting shot out of the sky without remorse.

"Perhaps, but it wasn't a lethal strike, nor was it unprovoked. Still we should keep our wits about us," Yusuke noted, trying to remind the others of the full picture.

"I think we should hear them out. That woman didn't seem like she was trying to hide anything from us. If anything, she seems to have given us quite the level of trust considering that she made an offer but didn't hear our answer," Makoto pointed out.

"Well Ren, what do you think? Safe to say the rest of us will probably follow your lead," Morgana said as he continued to keep an eye on the boy who seemed to be fiddling around with something.

"Futaba, get down here. We're going to see what they're about," Ren told the group.

"Ren?" Nanoha's voice gave everyone a small bit of fright as they realized that the young mage had been left out of their conversation. "Everyone's been quiet the whole time. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just telling Futaba to meet us on the ground," Ren told the young girl.

"I'm here!" Futaba said as she landed from Prometheus. Due to his lack of knowledge however, Chrono immediately assumed a battle-ready stance. "Woah there, little man! I'm friendly!" Futaba practically sneered.

"She's with us," Ren clarified, coming in between the two.

"If you say so," Chrono said matter-of-factly. "Anyhow, we'll be transferring soon. Is this everyone?" He said, while keeping an extra eye on Morgana. It seemed he was a bit weirded out by him.

"Yup, and if you have something to say to me go ahead and say it," Morgana replied.

"Nothing." Chrono then went back "Prepare to transfer." Before they were able to ask what exactly that would entail, the thieves were suddenly engulfed in light and the world around them seemed to disappear.

-0-0-7-0-0-

"Where… Where are we?" Nanoha asked as she nervously looked around. The group appeared in what looked to be a hall of sorts straight out of a science fiction novel. The interior looked to be almost like that of a space ship's. Were it not for the giant magic circle behind them, none of them would have been able to guess that this was magic related in the slightest.

"Reminds of my father's palace…" Haru noted as she looked around. The others were still trying to take in their surroundings.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, but we're inside a TSAB cruise ship. Simply put, it's a ship that can move freely between worlds," Yuuno was the one to answer.

"Please keep moving," Chrono interrupted, prompting them all to follow him. Silently, they each stepped off of the platform they were on and proceeded to follow the boy through the ship.

"Um… I'm not sure that was simple…" Nanoha answered after trying to digest what Yuuno had said just earlier.

"I think he means like a space ship," Futaba tried to put in another way.

"Sort of, but… well… In addition to the world you all live in, there are multiple other worlds. This ship crosses the space between them. The TSAB is a monitor for anything that affects these worlds."

"So, wait you guys are aliens!?" Ann asked a bit surprised to here things about other worlds and immediately assuming what everyone else, save for Nanoha, was thinking.

"Um… not quite… But I suppose that's one way to understand it," Yuuno answered as they reached an elevator. The each filed in one by one until they all had filled the rather spacious elevator. Once the doors closed, Chrono turned to them, though specifically he only looked at Nanoha.

"It must be quite stuffy staying in that outfit. You can deactivate your barrier jacket and device if you like." Before Nanoha could answer in turn-

"What so you could leer at her? What a little pervert," Futaba said with a jeer.

"It's not like that," Chrono said, and to his credit he remained calm… or appeared to at least, given the rosiness of his cheeks just then.

"Really? Don't listen to this guy Nanoha. He just wants to see you without your clothes on," Futaba continued.

"Is that so?" Nanoha asked, unsure of what to make of the situation unfolding around her.

"I do not! I'm just telling her that she doesn't have to continue activating her Barrier Jacket if she doesn't want to! That's all!" Chrono finally snapped. "Besides, the transformations are instantaneous so there wouldn't be anything to see in the first place!"

"No need to get worked up about it. It's perfectly healthy for a young boy to want to see those sorts of-"

"Futaba let it go," Ren intervened. Futaba gave a simple shrug, having had her fill of messing with the young officer. "Nanoha, you can disengage if you want, don't let it bother you."

"Um… you're no-"

"As Chrono said, there's nothing to see, but if you want your privacy, us guys can close our eyes," Ren said, trying to diffuse another bomb before it could start.

"Alright then…" With but a snap, her clothes immediately morphed back into the casual set that it was before. Raising heart also returned to being but a simple necklace. Like they had said, nothing to see. Chrono then eyed the Phantom Thieves.

"We'll stay like this," Ren said. It wasn't like what they were wearing was uncomfortable or anything… well for him at least. He couldn't necessarily vouch the same for the others, though given how none of his friends seemed to disagree with him on the matter, it would appear they were going to stay in their costumes as well.

"Suit yourself. What about you? Don't you want to return to your normal form too?" The group was surprised to see Chrono's question being directed towards Yuuno of all people.

"Ah, now that you've mentioned it, I've been in this form for so long I'd completely forgotten about it," Yuuno answered as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Huh?" Nanoha let out wondering what Yuuno was talking about right as Yuuno's body began to shine. "Eh!?" Just as her face turned into one of utter shock. The rest of the thieves also found themselves quite surprised, but not as much as their youngest acquaintance. They'd already seen so much prior that this wasn't anything by comparison. Now if Yuuno could turn into a vehicle, that would have been shocking to at least one other member, and a blow to their pride. Under the light, they could clearly see the form of the ferret transform until it took on a humanoid shape not dissimilar in age and size to the other young kids in the group. Once the form seemed to stabilize, the light died down and a young blonde boy with simple clothes had appeared.

"It's the first time in a while I've shown this form to you guys, huh Nanoha, Ren, Morgana?" The boy said. However instead of familiarity, the new kid was met with something entirely different instead.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha- AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nanoha screamed in complete shock.

"Nanoha?"

"Yuuno… Yuuno… Um… But… You're… EEEEEHHHHH!" Nanoha seemed completely unable to gather her thoughts as she continued to stammer about with what appeared to be no end.

"So, you had a human form…" Ren was the first to vocalize.

"That's not fair!" Morgana cried.

"I mean that's not surprising. Lots of kids shows have that sort of thing happen," Ann mused as she tried to pat down a pouting Morgana. Morgana immediately calmed down. Ren decided not to point out the odd face Morgana was making as Ann stroked Mona's head.

"Hmmm… transformation… I might be able to use this idea in a piece…" Yusuke said to himself as he studied Yuuno up and down.

"Um… so you all weren't aware?" Chrono asked, confused about the group's confusion.

"Nanoha, wasn't I like this the first time we met?" Yuuno asked.

"No! No you weren't! You were a ferret right from the beginning all the way up till now!" She said, waving her hands about in a panic. In response, Yuuno then attempted to recall their first meeting. It was a few moments of thought but eventually he the remembered that Nanoha was right.

"Ah! You're right! I'm sorry! I hadn't shown you all this form at all until now," Yuuno apologized, realizing that he'd made quite the blunder.

"Right! You surprised me!" Nanoha said, practically crying in embarrassment and nervousness.

"Well at least you guys know now. Seriously that's a serious screw up," Ryuji commented as he let out an exasperated sigh.

"If even Skull's saying that then…"

"Hey what's that supposed to mean!?" Ryuji interrupted before Makoto could finish.

"If I can interrupt," Chrono said with a cough to catch their attention. "The captain is waiting, and we'd like to hear your story as soon as possible. This way please," he said as the elevator door opened. Without another word, the group followed the officer as they made their way through the ship's dark looking halls, their steps clanking against the metal with each step.

"By the way Joker…" Makoto began with a whisper as the group continued to walk forward.

"What is it?" Ren answered.

"Are you okay? You've been crossing your arms the whole time, and your gaze keeps shifting about," Makoto noted to him.

"Has it?" He hadn't noticed at all. Was he really that tense?

"You mean you didn't notice?" Ryuji chimed in.

"You've been like that the whole time," Ann said, corroborating what everyone else had apparently seen. Joker looked to the rest of the team to see Haru, Yusuke, and Futaba also nodding in agreement. When he turned to Morgana…

"I mean it's not like we had a better moment to mention it," the cat admitted. How long had this gone on?

"If you don't want to meet with the captain, we'd understand. We can do so in your place," Makoto offered.

"No, that's alright. Better I face the issue head on, rather than let it fester. Besides it would be bad form for the leader to not show up after a display like that," Ren told them. It didn't need to be said what the issue was. Not because it wasn't a problem, but because they didn't need to put it into words.

"Of course," Makoto replied with a knowing smile. "But don't forget, we're here for you. You won't face authority alone this time."

"She's right. This time, all of us will be there in the interrogation room," Yusuke stated. "Speaking of which…" Speak of the devil and he will come. Apparently, they had just reached the meeting room.

"Captain, I've brought them," Chrono declared as the room opened.

"Huh?" Nanoha vocalized her confusion, as she peeked into the room where the discussion was to unfold.

"What the?" Ryuji stated with a blank face.

"I did not expect that…" Yusuke let out as he looked to and fro. "Fascinating."

"This doesn't look like a normal interrogation room…" Makoto noted.

"Oh… so many bonsai!" Haru finally was the one to say. Contrary to expectation, the room that opened was a strange looking room. It shared the metal walls and pattern of the rest of the ship, but it was brightly lit. Bonsai decorated the shelves on the left wall. On the other, a shishi-odoshi and mini pond with bamboo stalks proudly rising out of the ground. The shishi-odoshi let out a steady sound each time the bamboo tube hit the rock. At the far end of the relatively small room, was a raised platform made of tatami with a tea set and traditional Japanese umbrella. Needless to say, this left the earthlings quite puzzled as sitting in seiza on that raised platform was the green haired captain they had seen not so long ago.

"Good work, Chrono. Come in, all of you. I apologize for the small size but please, make yourselves at home." Lindy tried to appear as welcoming as possible, as invited them in. Nanoha, and the Thieves all looked at one another. Not all of them were going to be able to fit onto the platform. The room would be able to have them without issue, it's just the tatami platform was the problem.

"Joker, Nanoha, Yuuno, and I will take a seat on the platform. The rest of you will probably be too many…" Morgana declared.

"I'd like to argue, but you're probably right. At least it feels something like home…" Ryuji commented as he began to walk in, taking the time to admire the pond that was set up.

"Again, this room was the only one I could think of to help you all relax on such short notice. I'm sorry. Next time we'll have a much bigger reception to house all of you," Lindy apologized once more as they all walked in. Yusuke decided to join Ryuji near the pond, Haru and Ann remained close to the bonsai, while Makoto stood near the tatami platform as Ren, Yuuno, Nanoha, and Morgana all took of their shoes and took seats on top. Chrono followed suit once the others had gotten themselves comfortable.

"Now then," Lindy began as she started to pour tea for them all. "Let's hear it."

-0-0-7-0-0-

"I see, so then you decided to recover the Jewel Seeds after they had disappeared thanks to a transport accident," Lindy concluded.

"Yes, that's correct," Yuuno affirmed. "I felt that it was my responsibility due in part that it was my fault that the Lost Logia were uncovered in the first place."

"Um… what are the Lost Logia?" Nanoha asked. Had she not done so, Ren was about to ask himself. It wasn't the first time they'd heard the term, as he was sure that Fate had said it at some point. However, they hadn't received a proper explanation on what a Lost Logia was.

"Ah, well, they are relics from another world. Um, do you understand what that means?" Lindy specifically asked Nanoha. The young girl could only shake her head to say that she didn't. "Ah well there are multiple worlds in Time-Space." She began to explain "Each of these worlds are like yours. They grow and mature over time, progressing at different rates. Among these worlds are ones that grow perhaps a little too quickly. Sometimes they end up creating technology or magic that end up destroying their world and what's left over are dangerous relics of those worlds that are lost."

"Those relics are commonly known as Lost Logia," Chrono added. "We're not always sure how they were used in their respective civilizations, but they regardless have the power to disrupt, not just worlds, but Time-Space itself. Simply put, they are dangerous."

"That is why they must be kept safe in an appropriate place, following proper procedure," Lindy stated, following what Chrono had mentioned. "The Jewel Seeds specifically, are crystallized Time-Space energy. Should they be improperly handled, or perhaps simply used at all, they could cause a dimensional disturbance, dimensional dislocation, or perhaps even worse things we might not be able to imagine. They are that dangerous."

"Some time before, we'd detected some kind of dimensional disturbance. You probably witnessed that scene no?" Chrono mentioned. As he did so, the memories of when Ren had grabbed the Jewel Seed began to seep into her mind. Was that what they were talking about? "It was unusual in nature, containing strange signals we'd not encountered before, but the base phenomenon was within prediction. Even just that localized phenomenon, just a thousandth of the power of a single Jewel Seed has such a large effect. The effect of activating several of them at once would be catastrophic."

"It would most likely be similar to the dimensional dislocation that occurred in the year 462," Yuuno said, recalling what he read from history.

"It was terrible, so many neighboring worlds were lost. A tragedy we'll never forget." Lindy's solemn expression told them that this wasn't something to take lightly. "Regardless," she began once more, clearly wiping her previous expression away as best she could, "The TSAB now has full authority of the retrieval of the Lost Logia – Jewel Seeds."

"You should all forget about this incident and go back to living in your own worlds," Chrono said to all of them, particularly looking at Yuuno as he said as such.

"But that's -" Nanoha was first to yell before Ryuji had a chance to.

"This incident is involved with Time-Space itself. It's not something civilians can, let alone should, get involved with," Chrono bluntly stated. Ren wanted to retort, and he could see how much the others wanted to as well, but he made sure to signal to them to not say a word. The time to speak hadn't arrived yet.

"But-" Nanoha tried again, only to be interrupted by Lindy this time.

"Well I'm sure this is sudden for all of you. There's so much information to parse, and in such little time. Take the time to think it over tonight, and talk amongst yourselves. We can discuss this further after you all have talked it over." Though she was being as nice about as she possibly could, there was something in her and Chrono's voice that the only the thieves felt… condescension. They were being looked down on. They knew that feeling well. It wasn't malicious in this case, not in the slightest. However, it was clear that they were seen as nothing more than a side show.

"I'll take you back to where we first picked you up," Chrono said as he began to stand up. Ren noticed that he was tense with annoyance as he watched the boy get up from seiza. He also noted that all his friends also were watching the scene carefully. Whether they were watching to make sure he didn't explode or because they themselves were about to, he didn't know. "However, he'll have to come with us first to extract the Jewel Seed embedded in his body before we can let you go." And there it was. He wondered at what point they were going to bring it up.

"It must be hard on you having such a dangerous thing inside yourself, but do not worry. We'll be able to safely remove it and contain the item without any harm done to your body," Lindy told Ren.

"You knew?" Nanoha asked in disbelief.

"So, when did you notice," he asked as calmly as he could.

"It was on our sensors the whole time. We were at first confused as to why we were detecting two Jewel Seed Signatures, however it wasn't long until we realized just where the second signal was coming from," Lindy explained.

"Just follow me, and we'll have it removed post-haste," Chrono said to him.

"And what if I don't want to?" Ren asked, finally beginning to show his hand.

"Lindy-san, please understand. Though he has a Jewel Seed embedded within him, he appears to have complete control over it! I'm certain it will be fine to let him use its power until the incident is resolved," Yuuno said, jumping to Ren's defense to keep the Jewel Seed for the interim.

"Do you have any way of guaranteeing that it will not go berserk while inside his body?" Lindy bluntly asked. She had tried to convey her worry as best she could, but she needed to let them know the direness of the situation. "Can you guarantee he won't die from containing the power to rip Time-Space asunder within him?"

"That's-" Yuuno didn't.

"Then I believe that, for his safety, this is the best course of action," Lindy said with a resigned look in her eye. She didn't want to do this, antagonize these civilians. However, she had to put her foot down here.

"Who's your best fighter on the ship?" Ren asked, causing all eyes in the room to draw towards him.

"That would be officer Chrono here. Why do you ask?" Lindy had a sneaking suspicion as to what he was about to say but kept it to herself in case she was wrong.

"If you want proof that it's not any danger, that the Jewel Seed won't run amok, how about I give it to you? Me and Chrono, 1 on 1. Just a battle to prove that I can control it, what do you say?" Ren said, his hand outstretched in offer.

"Hmm…" Lindy hummed as she thought to herself. She looked back and forth between Ren and the rest of the group. "And if you are unable to show that you can control it, you will immediately forfeit over the Jewel Seed?"

"A gentleman keeps his word," Ren said as he gave as best a bow he could while still sitting in Seiza.

"Oh my, you remind me of this old anime my husband used to watch. What was it again? Lupi-"

"Captain!" Chrono interrupted, bringing Lindy back to her senses.

"Right, well we do have an available facility, and should something go wrong we will have staff and equipment close at hand to contain anything that may occur," she mused to herself. "Fine then. Chrono, please spar with Ren."

"Captain you can't-"

"I believe we can trust him. And besides, there's no place safer than here. You can go as wild as you like," Lindy said as she turned back to Ren. "Now you're an adult so, no complaining about the results, alright?" Lindy said, like a playful teasing mother.

"That's what I was going to say," Ren said with a cocky grin. "Any objections?" He asked the rest of the group.

"Show that brat who's boss, Joker!" Futaba was the first to answer. Of course nobody mentioned how Futaba didn't have too much room to talk.

"Normally I'd be against violence towards kids, but if we don't have a choice…" Haru said, her tone shifting rather ominously at the end of her sentence.

"Well, Noir aside, sometimes we do have to live up to our name as Thieves and play the villain," Ann said.

"I don't like the idea of having to go against authority again, but the idea of being sitting useless while others handle things is even worse. I trust you'll have no issues, Joker," Makoto said, with an expression of total confidence.

"It's their funeral. Anyone who underestimates us is asking for a whoopin'," Ryuji declared.

"I'd love to see other parts of the ship, and this would be the perfect opportunity to gather more ideas for my next piece. I'm particularly interested in making a dynamic battle piece right now," Yusuke said with a contemplative expression. "You'll find no complaints on my end."

"Well I think it's unanimous Joker," Morgana said, after hearing everyone else out. "Show them just how much control you have." Ren gave a single nod to his group before turning towards Nanoha.

"I… I don't want to have to fight them if we don't have to, but if in doing so, I get to keep fighting with you, then I suppose you'll just have to beat them! If words aren't enough, then perhaps action is!" Nanoha surprisingly told him. "There's no way you'll lose! I just know it!"

"Thanks, Nanoha," he said as he pat her on the head as thanks for the vote of confidence. Nanoha let out an innocent giggle as he did so, blushing a bit at the same time. "So, when do we begin?"

"Chrono show them to the training room," She commanded as she stared right back at him. "Remember, no complaining when you lose."

"It won't take long," Chrono confidently let out as he stood up and began to exit the room to lead them to where they were going to duel.

"Careful there Spikes," Ren said as he began to follow the boy. "If you're too confident it will make the fall all the harder."

"And you say I'm the one who's confident," Chrono retorted with a huff. "Sorry to say, you have no means of beating me. It isn't just about having power, but the ability to use it."

"Is that what you think?" Ren said with a chuckle.

"Ren?" Nanoha wondered what he found so funny.

"Nothing. It's just that… he'll never see it coming."


Author's Note:

Real life sucks, specifically when you have someone leave your workplace, then someone has to pick up the slack, responsibilities need to be redistributed, unfinished work needs to be handled, and so much more. Luckily it was all systematized, but still, what a hassle. Anyways that coupled with a few rewrites kept this from coming out in a timely manner like I wanted it to. I had originally planned it such that no fight would occur, at another point I had planned Ren to be way more antagonistic, at another, suddenly Vegeta (I'm kidding). That and a slew of games I bought gave me things to do other than write (BBTAG on switch has taken up the majority of my time).

Aside from that I tried to balance the idea that Ren still has a few mental scars from when he had been imprisoned. I mean getting beaten, drugged, interrogated, forced to confess, and whatever else has to leave its mark. It's not much now, but I'm planning on having it play more in the later chapters, at least to a point. I've also have a new Persona lined up for him. I mean he's getting new relationships, of course a new one is going to pop up. Now which is it? I let you all guess. It's a well-known an entity from history I'll leave it at that.

It's also becoming much more difficult to juggle so many voices at once what with there being literally 10+ characters in a single room. Making sure each get enough screen time is difficult, as well as being organic for that matter. You also have to make sure you don't forget anyone as well. I hope I'm doing a good job on that front, but I'd like to hear what you all think so far on how I'm handling it.

Alongside that, if you have any other complaints or critique you'd like to give, I'd love to hear it, as it's the only way I can improve. Thanks again for reading, and I hope that whatever's happening I was able to at least give you something worth your time and entertain you. Next time the battle between Personas and Magic will really unfold for the first time in this story.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to play Metal Gear Rising with the Pepsiman Mod.