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 22: New Awakenings
Nanoha sat on the couch in Fate's apartment. After the lunch at Ren's house, she followed Fate, Lindy, Chrono, and Amy back to their home. Today was the day, and she couldn't have been any more excited. It was just too bad that Ren had something he had to do at the moment, but they could always tell him later.
"Nanoha-chan!" Her ears perked up as she heard a voice she hadn't heard in a while. She jumped up from out of her seat as a few figures walked into the room.
"Yuuno-kun!" she cried his name in excitement as she ran up to the boy who was flanked by Fate and Lindy. She had difficulty containing herself but did her best to keep from being overbearing. "I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"
"I'm doing well. Seems everything's been set up properly." He looked about the apartment. It had been cleaned up nicely and looked like a normal upper middle Japanese apartment, no signs of anything that could point to involvement with the TSAB. It looked nice actually and seemed lived in, which helped the camouflage. "Where's Ren-kun by the way?" He asked, looking for him once he noticed the young man and his feline friend were nowhere to be seen.
"He's off on a personal errand of some sort," Fate explained. "He told us to just tell him what happened later." The blonde girl exchanged looks and a small nod with the brunette. They needed to make sure they acted as normally as possible so that Ren could do what he needed, and that included covering for him. The two had spoken immediately after Fate returned home from dinner with Ren. Nanoha was about as unsatisfied as Fate was about the arrangement, but the promise for greater involvement in the future was enough to placate her for now. Besides, if he reneged on his promise, she and Fate had other ideas they could always try, very pink and yellow ones in fact.
"Well that's fine since today's focus belongs to you two. It took a bit more time than we thought, but better late than never. Here, fresh from maintenance!" Yuuno handed over something to the two girls. Once his hand was gone, the two's faces lit up with excitement and nostalgia.
"Raising Heart!"
"Bardiche!" The called one after the other.
"We've finally got their repairs finished. Again, sorry about the wait. It's just that something came up during the repair process that caused things to take longer than expected," Yuuno continued as they put their devices away.
"What happened?" Nanoha asked as she placed Raising Heart around her neck, the weight feeling instantly comfortable and familiar.
"Well you see, your devices-" An alarm rang throughout the home, a red flash at even rhythm blaring through the room.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we've got incoming nearby!" Amy's voice resonated through comms.
"What's the situation?" Fate asked, already putting herself to work mentally.
"We've got two of the suspects surrounded by TSAB Agents. Chrono is already making his way to the scene and will intercept shortly. Get ready to sortie!" Amy commanded, soft clicking noises making their way over the comms.
"Roger!" They all said at once before they all scattered to make their preparations to engage.
However, as she was getting ready, at the back of Nanoha's mind, she wondered where Ren was. His cell phone wasn't picking up, and he wouldn't answer her comms. It would just give her static like he didn't exist… just like with Precia.
-0-0-22-0-0-
"Woah… what kind of place is this?" Mona said as he and Joker walked out of the lift that lead to the entrance. He wasn't the only one to wonder that as Joker was also looking around the facility.
Stark white, perfectly clean structures that seemed to reach up to the sky. From the floor, to the walls, to the ceiling, it all seemed immaculate and futuristic. However its purity did nothing but spark unease in Joker as he looked about… Feathers? Feathers were falling from above. He didn't have to look far to find the source. Doves white as the world around them sat not just on the rafters above, but also hopped about on the floor without so much as a tick of nervousness. They were the only other creatures there as the entire rest of the Palace appeared to be empty.
"Aaah!" They heard a shriek echo from somewhere, but the acoustics made it impossible to really tell from where exactly since it seemed to come from every which way.
"Was that Yoshizawa-san? We've got to hurry!" Mona said, Joker replying with nothing but a nod before they both ran up the nearby stairs onto a floor that had a number of presentations a of a sort strewn about.
"There!" Joker let out as he noticed a door nearby. Rushing over, he ran into it shoulder first to try and force it open. He was met with just as much force as the door refused to budge when he tackled it. He took a second to recover from the jolt before looking down at Mona with a shake of his head.
"We'll have to find some other way… Hmmm… there!" Mona pointed to a set of rafters among the presentations on the floor that they could climb. "We should probably avoid using that for now since it could attract unwanted attention. It's not exactly stealthy, and we haven't had a chance to really make it so either." Joker nodded in agreement. It was a pretty conspicuous thing and getting spotted was the last thing they wanted at the moment.
"Instead… here!" Mona quickly jumped up at Joker, attaching something to his wrist. Joker immediate brought it up to his face to what Mona had done. "That's a little piece I've been working on. A grappling hook will be far more silent and discreet. Not only that, but it might have some battle applications as well."
"I see you've been busy…" Joker looked over the new attachment. It was pretty small, but he could tell the craftsmanship was solid by the weight distribution and how naturally it felt on his arm.
"I'm just doing what I can. I actually used some parts I nicked from the TSAB so it'll also work outside the metaverse, but don't just use it willy-nilly," Mona said with a mix of pride and for some reason shame, but the amount was miniscule compared to the level pride his friend exuded. "Come on, let's test it out!" Mona exclaimed as he jumped onto Joker's back, catching the young man a bit by surprise as he flailed his arms to get his balance back. "I only had enough of those parts to make just this one, so we're going to have to share like this. I'll make more down the line if the others need them."
"Alright." Joker ran over to the weird piece of low architecture and climbed on top of it.
"There, that spot!" Mona pointed out as Joker's wrist began to glow. "It'll do that when it detects a spot you can grapple, so go for it!" Without a second's delay, Joker fired the grapple at the hook point. Right away, his arm, and then his body, were pulled upwards at increasing speeds as they approached the hook point. Only a second or two later, Joker was about to reach the point they grabbed onto. Right before collision, he twisted his body about, flipping upwards and onto the platform above the point, the hook detaching once he landed.
"Not bad… Mona?" He looked on his shoulder to find Mona to be a bit… disquieted. He prepped a hand in case it needed to perform an emergency feline ejection protocol.
"Urp… yeah… not bad… just… oof…" Mona resisted the urge to vomit as much as possible. After taking a couple of deep breaths he managed to get back on his feet. "Come on… let's keep going. We've still got a bit more to go." He pointed at Joker's wrist which continued to glow. Looking up, he could see a path to get over the wall from before.
"Right. No more delays." As per his word, the two made their way up quickly thanks to the grappling hook, ascending at a rapid pace until they were finally able to see over the wall. Before them was a stretch of ceiling that they could slide down to the other side, at the end of which…
"There she is!" Mona called to where he could see a mop of red hair further down, as well as a figure in a white coat of some sort. "And is that a… we have to hurry!" The two slid down the path as fast as gravity could take them.
-0-0-22-0-0-
"Zafira are you okay?" Vita asked her comrade who'd just tanked a bombardment spell that fell from above.
"I'm fine. It'll take more than that to take me down." Zafira swung his arm to dislodge the remnants of the attack still stuck to the arm that he used to shield Vita. None of them had pierced his skin, but it still stung all the same. He growled as he looked about. The two were surrounded by TSAB Officers, and above them was the one who fired the spell from just before, a young boy in a black Barrier Jacket.
"That's good to hear," she replied back as a mixture of relief and a resurgence of confidence washed over her. Looking back up at their assailant she could see frustration clear in the black clad boy's face, his teeth clenching at how little his assault had accomplished.
"Chrono," The boy heard Amy through the comms while maintaining his concentration on the scene before him. "Back up has been deployed, please confirm."
"Hm?" Chrono looked around, taking a couple seconds of sweeping to find two girls standing on a roof top, one brunette and the other blonde. "Those two? I see."
"They're back…" Vita's eyes squinted as she took stock of the two girls. Zafira gave off only a snort whilst otherwise watching on in silence. "Do they really think things will be different? Maybe they have a trick up their sleeve…" Vita mused as she waited to see what would happen. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long.
"Raging Heart!"
"Bardiche!" The two called without any further delay.
"Command Accepted."
"Beginning set up of new system starting." Their devices said one after the other, surprising Nanoha and Fate as they became surrounded by unfamiliar ribbon like streams of magic.
"What's going?" Nanoha asked as Raging Heart and Bardiche continued their system checks, something about new parts entered her ears, but she still wasn't sure what it meant.
"Something's changed," was all Fate could say before Amy cut in.
"Don't worry, this is completely normal. Both of your devices have been fitted with new systems, and this is simply part of that process," she explained over comms.
"New Systems? But why?" Nanoha asked as this was the first time she was hearing of this.
"It was something requested by your devices. They're the ones who asked for it of their own will. Once set up is complete, you will most likely receive their new names. Please activate them using these new names," Amy instructed. As if on cue, the new names of their devices entered their minds loud and clear. "Now, go for it!"
"Raging Heart Exelion!"
"Bardiche Assault!"
"Drive Ignition!" Both devices responded as they both lit aglow with pink and yellow light.
"Those aren't the same names…" Vita murmured as she watched the two be engulfed in light. She didn't much care about such details, but in this case, her caution caused her to pay the slightest bit of extra attention to the proceedings.
Instantly, the light was snuffed out with a final flourish of their devices, revealing them to have redonned their barrier jackets and putting their new devices in plain view for the Knights. The difference was slight, but it caused her eyes to widen in shock. The brunette girl's device now sported a magazine like structure attached beneath the bottom of the head, while the blonde's had a newly attached revolver like part in a similar place, hidden beneath a sort of sliding cover.
"Are those… what I think they are?" Vita asked as she saw similarities too close for comfort.
"Assault Form, Cartridge set!" The device held by the Blonde girl said, as if to answer the Knight's question.
"Axel Mode, Stand by Ready!" The other girl's device followed, reminding Vita that now wasn't the time to be caught up like this. However if what those devices were saying were true, then this was going to be much tougher than before.
-0-0-22-0-0-
"Why… how are you here?" Joker heard Yoshizawa say as he landed on an awning just above her. Though questions started to form in his head, he ignored them as he and Mona continued to jump down until they were at floor level, before rushing up to get a better grasp of the situation.
"Who's that? Is she a cognitive being?" Mona asked once they'd gotten close enough to see who Yoshizawa was talking to.
"It's my fault…" the cognition said. She was a girl whose height was the same as Yoshizawa's. She wore a light blue leotard in a gradient, alongside glasses and a hairstyle that let her hair flow freely down her back. If Joker was told that they were related, he would believe it.
"C'mon!" Mona called as they both closed in, not wanting to drag things out any longer.
"You must… Kasumi…"
"Stop! Stop it!" Yoshizawa yelled with a crack in her voice before the cognitive being could say another word, only for a sharp pain to wrack her head. "Ngh!" She grabbed her the sides of her crown, falling to her knees as the pain and dizziness overtook her.
"Huh!?" Joker let out as he saw a shadow form behind the cognitive being. The moment it had finished manifesting, it struck the cognitive being with its tendril like arms, sending the cognition that looked like Yoshizawa onto the floor as well. Its strength faded quickly, but even so it still found some measure of it to reach its hands out towards the girl.
"You must…" was all it could say before it broke into a black mist. The shadow behind it, just continued to stare on without any other reaction.
"Hurry! Yoshizawa's in trouble!" Mona said as they finally arrived.
"Heresy," The shadow finally spoke, its voice filled with scorn and spite. "You dare spurn our lord's mercy…" As if those words were the final straw, the shadow burst open, darkness spilling out from where it stood until it had run its course, leaving a strange yellow humanoid creature with chiropteran wings on its back.
"Are you hurt?" Joker asked as he and Mona approached her.
"That voice… Senpai!?" Despite the pain that still inhibited her senses, she pushed through it once she recognized the voice that she heard. Her head began to clear once she caught a solid glimpse of the young man.
"That thing looks ready to rumble," Mona said, taking stock of the shadow before them.
"Accept yourself. Our lord laments the foolishness birthed from your pain," it stated in raspy arrogant voice.
"What are you talking about?" Yoshizawa asked, trying to get up to look at the thing that was talking to her. Right after she asked, voices from an unknown source began to echo through the large room.
"It's too bad that she wasn't able to make it but serves her right I suppose."
"Where is that voice coming from?" Mona asked before another one came out.
"Her whole, I'm not bothered routine, really pisses me off sometimes."
"Guess she doesn't get the special elite treatment now huh? Well if you don't get results…"
"That's…" Yoshizawa started but couldn't finish as another in the torrent of voices rang out.
"I understand how you feel, but that performance just doesn't cut it here."
"It's too bad about the other one, but she's-"
"Enough!" She slammed her fist into the ground, but it didn't do anything to alleviate her frustration beginning to overcome her. "I don't care what they say about me, but I will NOT tolerate anyone speaking ill of our dream!" Her head grew hot as she rose from the ground, uneasy at first, but she quickly found her balance to stand firm.
"Wait is this…" Mona whispered, but was cut off by Yoshizawa.
"I know I'm not cutting it! I've been reminded of that fact every day for a year now! As if I don't know that better than anyone! But I refuse to be called a failure anymore! Not ever again! Let me remind you who you're talking to… I am… I am Kasumi Yoshizawa!" As if in answer to her, a voice rang clear in the room.
"So adamant…"
"Nnh!" Yoshizawa fell to the ground as she felt something: Pain. A sharp pain struck her head, making her hands grasp the sides of her head as a feeble attempt to alleviate the new sensation wreaking havoc upon her mind. However the voice remained ever so gentle, unclouded by her agony.
"You'd strive towards splendor- you know the risk… Well, if those really are the shoes you've chosen…" Yoshizawa's hands moved to her eyes, covering them from the light. "Then we'll dance to the end." Something pushed her hands away, she could feel it sitting upon her face, the edges of her vision obstructed by this new thing, a mask. Without another word, she grabbed the side of her mask, throwing it into the air. In concert, azure flame erupted from her surroundings, bathing the world in a velvet light.
From within the flames, Yoshizawa emerged, clad in a black leotard and coat, a rapier sheathed at her side. Boots that reached her thighs adorned her legs, but left space for her thigh to retain freedom. The only color on her attire were the gold buttons on the coat's front, and red gloves that sat snugly upon her hands. However not long after she emerged, so too did her Persona.
"I am though, thou art I… Accept this contract… The spell cast upon you." A humanoid being floated above Yoshizawa. Black, leotard like skin hid beneath a dress that seemed to be made of glass that tipped to a point at the feet with gold. Behind it floating off the shoulders was a luxurious cape that seemed made of clean white fur. The reflected light off the body exuded a serene glow that contrasted the almost cute blonde hair like structure on top, tied by a neat blue ribbon.
"I request we have a rematch," Yoshizawa said, wearing a confident, proud smile. "This time, I'm going all in with Cendrillon!"
"We'll back you up!" Mona said as he and Joker rushed to her side. "We'll show you how it's done so follow our lead!"
"Please do!" Yoshizawa replied, as she readied herself while at the same time Joker and Mona looked at one another with a nod.
"Arsène! Brave Blade!" At his call, Arsène appeared with a kick, sending a powerful strike at the unknown enemy.
"Rargh!" It reeled at the strike, but still hovered in the air, its wings stabilizing its position.
"I see. Then if you'll excuse me. Dance Cendrillon!" Yoshizawa followed before the enemy could fully gather itself. At her call, light gathered into two points before those points resembled spears of light which then crashed right into the enemy. This time it seemed to hit a weak spot as it fell right onto the ground.
"Now's our chance!" Mona said, prompting them to close in. Without another moment to lose, they rushed the enemy while it was down, striking from all directions in an all-out assault that almost made them look like a blur. Without letting up, the enemy was bombarded again and again but their blades that cut it apart bit by bit. It wasn't long before the enemy breathed its last, dissipating into a puff of black smoke once it became too much to bear. When the dust settled, they were all that remained.
Joker and Mona breathed a sigh of relief to see the danger pass, stowing away their weapons. It wasn't much of a fight, but new elements could always surprise. Still they heard heavy breathing, and it wasn't coming from either of them.
"Ngh…" The two turned immediately to see Yoshizawa on her knees. She was still standing, but she was shaky.
"Hey are you okay?" Mona asked, but he was ignored as Yoshizawa seemed to speak to herself.
"I can't… be weak anymore," she whispered out between deep gasps before letting out a groan and forcing herself upright, using her knee to push herself up.
"Woah… that's pretty impressive considering you just awakened and all," Mona noted as Yoshizawa turned towards Joker.
"Senpai, that is you right?" She asked, her voice still sounding a bit tired.
"Yeah, it's me," he affirmed, resting his hands in his pockets after putting his weapons away.
"I thought so. I could tell by your voice and posture. I just wanted to be sure. Also, do you know why we're dressed like this?" She asked as she shifted about to try and get a better look at her new attire.
"Uh how about we get out of here first. We can talk about it after we're safe." Right on cue to Mona's words, a distant sound could be heard, which probably were reinforcements. "Come on, let's go! Follow our lead!"
"Right!" Yoshizawa said before she followed the two out.
-0-0-22-0-0-
"We haven't come here to fight," was the first thing Vita heard Fate say once she and the Nanoha had gotten their bearings. "We've just come to talk, to at least hear what you might have to say."
"We just want to know why you want to complete the Book of Darkness," Nanoha said right after. Despite their attempt at amiability though, all it earned was a scowl from Vita, who crossed her arms as she looked down upon them.
"You know there's an old Belkan proverb goes: A spear waits not for the messenger of peace." Vita's statement seemed to fly over the two girl's heads as they looked at one another, hoping the other understood what Vita had meant, but to no avail as neither of them understood what Vita meant. In the end they could only shrug as they shared a look of confusion between them. Annoyed by that, Vita swung her weapon back down at them.
"It means no idiot would bring a weapon with them if all they wanted to do was talk," Vita explained to them. "What are you? A bunch of morons?"
"What!?" Nanoha let out, becoming just as annoyed as Vita. "The girl who attacked us out of nowhere is the one who's saying that!?" She fired back.
"Vita, that wasn't a proverb. It was a punch line to a short story," Zafira tried to discreetly explain to his cohort.
"Shut up! So maybe I got a detail or two wrong. It doesn't matter." Before Zafira could fire back, a flash of purple lightning dropped from the sky, kicking up dust on a rooftop below them. It didn't take long for the dust to settle to reveal a certain ponytailed swordswoman.
"Signum!" Fate was first to call the name of the new addition to the battlefield. Hearing her name, Signum turned back towards the blonde mage, matching the intense stare that she was being given.
"Chrono-kun, Yuuno-kun, please stay out of our way! I'm going to fight that girl by myself!" Nanoha pointed her staff towards Vita, who reciprocated the action with growl.
"Is she serious about this?" Chrono asked, Yuuno as they watched from a nearby rooftop.
"Seems like it. Once she's set her mind to something, it's not easy to change it," Yuuno answered in as much understanding as exasperation. "And it seems she isn't the only one that's like that…" Yuuno added while turning to where Fate stood.
"Same thing with me Arf…" the wolf familiar heard over comms from her master. "I want you to stay out of my fight with Signum; just me against her."
"Yeah, sure," she answered back with a shrug. "Besides, I have a bit of talking to do with a certain someone as well." Zafira's scowl harshened at Arf's gaze. It seems they would all have opponents today. Seeing this, Chrono made a decision.
"Yuuno," Chrono spoke over comms while the others continued their standoff. "This is our chance. While they're engaged in combat, we should split up and search for wherever the master of the Book of Darkness is. They can't be too far away I imagine."
"I don't see it on any of them…" Yuuno mused as he scanned the enemy. "I recall there being one more person in the fight last time. That means either the missing combatant has it, or the master does."
"Exactly. I'll search outside the barrier, while you search inside." Yuuno nodded in affirmation and left right away to begin his search. Chrono leapt off the roof top as well but opened another comms channel. "Amy, have you been able to contact Ren?"
"I've been trying, but all I've gotten is static. It's like he doesn't exist. I can't find his signature anywhere," Amy reported back. "Do you think something might have happened to him?"
"Maybe, but something like this happened before… besides, it's not much of a loss, I hate to say. Without the Jewel Seed to back him up, and his lack of conventional training, he's a liability in battle. His tactical insight is useful, but it's not necessary. Still, report back if you manage to find his signal. It could be something more. However, prioritize finding where the book is"
"Got it!" Amy then went radio silent as Chrono exited the barrier and began his own search.
-0-0-22-0-0-
Yoshizawa's eyes flickered open, almost as if waking from a dream. It took her a moment to even register that the scenery before her had even changed.
"Oh, we're back." she finally realized. "My clothes changed back to normal, too." She turned back and forth, making fully sure that she was back in her original attire. Once she was satisfied she made sure to orient herself back towards Ren.
"Yup. We were just in the Metaverse and have just returned to the real world," Morgana tried to explain.
"Metaverse?" Ren tilted his head a bit. It seems she still was in a bit of a daze. A quick shake of her head dispelled the lingering fogginess in her mind. "Please, if you know what that was, tell me anything you might know. I need to understand what just happened to me."
"Well… what should we do?" Morgana turned to Ren with drooping ears.
"Let's just tell her." Ren replied. He didn't really see any alternative, so he figured they might as well go with gusto.
"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Morgana then turned to Yoshizawa who seemed eager to hear their explanation.
"Thank you. So what was that then?" It was a quick recap, mostly the broad strokes regarding only the aspects pertaining solely to the Metaverse. They didn't really mention anything else such as stuff about the Phantom thieves, Akechi, or Yaldabaoth as it wouldn't really answer her questions. Lastly, they decided it was best to not yet mention anything regarding the TSAB. That would probably have been too much to handle, so they opted to leave that for next time.
"Metaverse… Palaces… Personas…" Yoshizawa murmured to herself, trying to remember the gist of the conversation so far.
"I'm sure it's not easy to wrap your head around all of this in one go," Morgana tried to assuage her of her confusion.
"Normally, I wouldn't believe any of that, but after seeing it all for myself… But wow! You're so good at explaining things ," Yoshizawa said, a smile finally breaking through after who knows how long.
"I'll let that last part slide…" Morgana whispered to himself before continuing. "Though isn't there something else that should be a bit more… surprising to you?" Morgana swung his tail about to make extra sure she caught on.
"Huh? A talking cat!" Yoshizawa yelled as the strangeness of the creature before finally set it.
"Took you long enough…" Morgana said with as wry a smile a cat face could muster. He wanted to rebut the cat part again, but just didn't have the energy for it. "My name is Morgana by the way."
"Oh should I call you Morgana-senpai then since you seem to know a lot more than I do?"
"It's fine, do as you please. Though if you don't mind, what were you doing here exactly?" Morgana asked, remembering how it was a coincidence that they were in the same place.
"Oh shoot!" Her eyes shot wide open as her hand rushed into her pocket, taking her cellphone out. "Aw, the batteries out… but it's probably too late already." Remembering that she wasn't alone, Yoshizawa looked up to see her company a bit confused.
"Oh uh… I had an appointment with today. Do you remember him?" A quick nod from Ren was all she needed before she continued. "Right so as you might have guessed, I didn't exactly make it for that appointment. I'm going to have reschedule it once I get home. is really nice, but even then I don't want to take advantage of his kindness too much."
"Yeah, he almost seems like a pushover," Ren said.
"So I'm not the only one who thinks that, but he can have a spine when he wants to… I think," she said before breaking into a small giggle. Before long however, her expression leveled out. "Still though, I'm almost kind of glad all of this happened."
"How so?" Ren and Morgana looked at each other with shared confusion.
"Well, this kind of has been better therapy for me than what I think I would have gotten with . I haven't felt like this in a long time… Senpai?"
"Yes?" Ren answered on reflex upon hearing her address him in a questioning tone.
"I didn't tell you exactly why I wasn't able to get into Shujin, right?" Ren mentally rifled through his conversations with his kouhai and came up short when it came to reasons. She told him how she didn't go, but not why. Once he was sure of that, he shook his head in response.
"I thought so… Well the reason was because… was because when I was to show off what I could do, I failed to perform. I tripped in the middle of my routine face first into the mat. I tried to keep going, but it still ended in disaster. And that was that no Shujin for me. My parents were only going to allow me to transfer if I was able to become an honor student through gymnastics. It's not like that was unfair, but that's why I ultimately never went," She told them, her expression wistful and distant.
"Was it alright for you to tell us that?" Ren asked, a bit concerned over why she suddenly shared something probably would hide from most other people. At his question, her expression changed. Her eyes became far more focused, and her smile seemed to lose the gloss and stiff porcelain that it was caked in before.
"Yes. I believe telling you was something I needed to do. That back there, in the Metaverse, I think whatever happened in there has helped me a bit in overcoming something inside me. It's like a spark of some sort is beginning to awaken in my heart. I think if I hold on to this feeling, I might be able to finally face whatever is that is holding me back," she told them, her voice becoming stronger with each passing word, her fists pumped at her sides.
"That's good to hear…" Ren felt a tug at his pants. Though he already knew it was Morgana, he still faced down to see him.
"How did Yoshizawa end up in there in the first place?" Morgana asked him while also trying to find an answer on his own. Though it took Ren a moment, an idea arrived.
"The Nav… except your phone is dead," Ren lamented, remembering how Yoshizawa's phone had run out of charge.
"Huh? My Phone?" Yoshizawa brought her phone back out for them to see.
"If it were still charged, we'd have been able to see if you had the Nav app and check its history. Of course that's not exactly on the table right now," Morgana shrugged.
"I see… so I have just one more thing I have to ask," Yoshizawa said as she put her phone back in her skirt pocket. She took their attentiveness to be a confirmation to go ahead. "Are you two part of the Phantom Thieves of Heart?"
"Um… well… that's…"
"Used to be. The Phantom Thieves aren't exactly doing much nowadays," Ren tried to save his stuttering furry friend by pointing out that they were basically retired.
"But you're not denying that you were a part of them. If that's the case…" Hearing her voice trail, Ren and Morgana braced themselves for whatever was to follow, but Yoshizawa's sudden bow caught them off guard. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Ren blinked. Then he blinked again.
"I… didn't exactly hold the most positive opinion regarding the Phantom Thieves. I mean, I respected your… well… um… intent, but I didn't agree with the methods." A tilt of the head by Ren relayed his confusion well enough to Yoshizawa to prompt her to clarify. "To be more specific, I did think that wanting to help others is a truly great thing to do, but I believed that people needed to overcome their problems by themselves. I thought it was fine to get help from others, but it had to come from within to make lasting change."
"I think I can see that, yeah." Ren nodded, understanding her point. It was already shown to them by what happened during that day nearly year ago now.
"You do?" Yoshizawa said, a bit surprised by how well Ren was taking her criticisms of his group.
"Yeah, anything else?" Yoshizawa's eyes widened at Ren's insistence for her to keep going.
"Oh, well if you're fine with that… The only other thing I thought was that people shouldn't rely on the Phantom Thieves like a safety net for their troubles. If they did, they might stop trying themselves. That's what I was worried about."
"I agree. The Phantom Thieves shouldn't ever be a replacement for one's own efforts. If that's all, then there's no reason you should apologize," Ren tried to assuage her, only to be met by a shake of the head of her long red hair.
"It's not just that. It's also the fact that I said that change should come from within, but here I am getting help from a person who I criticized for helping others with their inner demons. I can't help but feel a little embarrassed and ashamed. Especially so since you're help has been…" Yoshizawa's voice trailed when she noticed Ren holding a hand up to stop her.
"It's alright. You aren't wrong, long term change needs to come from within, even if we all can use a little help every now and then. All I did was give you a push. The rest is up to you. So come on, no more apologies. You've got a lot of work left to do, and you can't waste your time saying sorry to me over and over. We're all going to be a bit too busy for that." Ren watched as Yoshizawa slowly came around to his words, before it all seemed to pop with a tired laugh from the girl.
"You're right. Thank you senpai. I'm really glad that I met you. Though I do have one more question."
"Fire away," Morgana replied in a more relaxed tone.
"Am I part of the Phantom Thieves now?" It took a second, but Ren looked at Morgana who looked back at him. The two just… shrugged.
"Well if you want… maybe… kind of… or…" Morgana tried to answer but struggled to really answer the situation. There was the stuff going on with those the Yagami family, but that wasn't really Phantom Thief stuff, sort of, and they didn't really explain all that to her given how much more that would have been.
"As I said earlier, we haven't been active lately, as you were probably aware. We decided to scale back what we do in a sense," Ren jumped in to say. "If you want to join, we'd be happy to have you on board, but it's not like we're doing anything as the Thieves as of late."
"I see… well that makes sense. You guys did fall out of the news, so I guess that's because nothing was happening. If that's the case, then I guess I'll just focus on my own thing if that's alright."
"Yeah, go ahead. Don't feel obligated to join us or anything."
"You just worry about your own thing," Morgana added.
"Yes though, if something does come up, I wouldn't mind helping out, if that's okay."
"Didn't you just say you wanted to focus on your own stuff?" Morgana asked, a head tilt following.
"Well that's just because nothing's going on, right? So that means I'm free of any Phantom Thief obligations right now. However I wouldn't mind down the line," Yoshizawa clarified.
"Alright. If anything happens, we'll let you know," Ren answered. Nothing seemed wrong with that. Just needed to find time to tell the other thieves know.
"Great! It's getting late now, so we should probably get going." Ren's brow furrowed before he remembered Yoshizawa's phone was dead. Taking the opportunity, he looked down, and it indeed it was getting quite late.
"Huh?" Missed messages… from Nanoha… Amy? He had to go now!
-0-0-22-0-0-
"Damn it…" Vita muttered under her breath. "How the hell did they get so much stronger?" It took all of Vita's concentration to maintain her barrier from Nanoha's assault. Nanoha bombarded the crystal-like shield that surrounded the knight with magic blasts one after the other that orbited around their target before honing in. They'd then bounce off but return to orbit for another go.
Prior to this, Vita had tried to end it in one shot with a single cartridge powered hammer strike but was repelled by a Nanoha's new barrier that launched her back. Without any time to breathe, Nanoha then pursued Vita while she was on the back foot, which led to her current situation. Vita was looking for an opening to restart her offense, but she had limited time. She looked down to see how the others were faring. Signum and Fate bounced to and fro between the buildings, either against each other, or the walls that surrounded them. Zafira looked similarly preoccupied with his opponent. No help was coming.
"When this is all over we're all going to sit down together and I'm going to make you tell us everything about your situation!" All Vita could do was grit her teeth and continue defending as Nanoha continued her assault. She had to concentrate…
Down on the rooftops, a yellow and purple streak clashed once more, sending themselves and the other in a downward arc towards the nearest roof they could find purchase on. Both breathed in heavily, trying to ready themselves for the next engagement, all the while nursing wounds the two of them had sustained. Still, even in that tense atmosphere, Signum couldn't help but smile.
"You're very strong Fate Testarossa; you and your Bardiche."
"You as well Signum. You and Laevatein are also quite powerful," Fate replied, also infected by Signum's own smirk.
"Had I no prior obligations, I'd have liked nothing more than to dedicate my all to this battle. However for my friends and my master, I cannot indulge in such." Signum dispersed the magical energy surrounding her blade, conjuring her sheathe and placing Laevatein within. Even with this, Fate watched carefully, reminded of Ren's friend Yusuke, who held a stance similar to the one Signum was in now. "I cannot guarantee you'll live after this," Signum said as magic sigil appeared at her feet. "Please forgive my immaturity."
"There's no need, because I'll be the one who stands victorious," Fate said with full confidence as she readied Bardiche as well. Despite the combative nature of their responses, the two still held their smiles towards one another, ready to receive whatever may come.
At the same time on the ground, Arf struck Zafira away with a single straight punch filled aglow with magic power. Zafira caught the strike with a cross of his hands to defend, however he struggled to prevent himself from being blown away.
"Hey so who's familiar are you anyway?" Arf taunted as she continued to apply a crackling magic power to her fist.
"In Belka, beasts that serve knights aren't so low as to be called familiars. I am my master's fang! I am their shield, their guardian beast!" He yelled back through the torrent of magic energy as he started to push back on Arf's strike, sending his own magic to match Arf's.
"Those are the same thing you stupid mutt!" Arf sent another surge of power through her fist when she felt her attack falter. The clash of magic erupted, sending both parties away as smoke and ash filled the scene. Zafira landed on his feet outside the epicenter, in the process catching a glimpse of Vita above being chased by Nanoha.
The situation was beginning to falter against them. Their opposition's new cartridge devices were giving them an edge. Not only that, but they'd also gotten stronger on their own. Zafira believed that if things continued, it would surely end in their defeat.
"The situation isn't looking good. I don't believe Signum would lose, but I'm thinking it would be best if I pull back. How about you Shamal? Is there anything you can do from you side of things?" Zafira asked over comms.
"I'd like to," Shamal replied, watching the battle from outside the barrier. "However the barrier the TSAB agents have set up is too powerful for me to breakthrough. Signum or Vita would have enough power to destroy it, however."
"Unfortunately, neither of them is free at the moment. If that's the case then I'll just have to use that."
"I know the situation appears dire bu-" Her thought was cut off as she heard something behind her.
"Shamal! Shamal what happened!? Shamal!" Zafira yelled over comms but received no reply.
"You are hereby under arrest for suspicion of possessing and using a registered lost logia. If you refrain from resistance, you will have the right to defend yourself. If you comply with these terms of surrender, then disarm." Shamal remained silent, her mind racing over her options, but nothing came to mind. Was this really it?
"Based on your clothing, I can assume then that you are the one that attacked Ren Amamiya." Shamal perked at hearing that name. The action confused Chrono for a moment, but he wrote it off as her just being jumpy. "At the very least he'll be able to see who it was that attacked him now."
Even though he couldn't see her face, she did her best to hide the growing shame that threatened to creep upon her expression. A bit of solace entered her heart though. If she really was to be taken in, then at the very least it would be a chance to apologize to him. She believed it wouldn't be enough, but it was something she felt she had to do if given the opportunity. Steeling herself she opened her mouth to speak. Only to hear something like a kick happen behind her.
Shamal turned around fast enough to see a young boy clad in black be launched away, crashing into a fence of a different rooftop and slide down onto the floor below, leaving the fence dented and bent from the impact. In his place was a masked man in a white barrier jacket, his foot still raised and steaming with magic power.
"A-another one?" Chrono groaned out as he tried to get up, but the pain in his abdominals prevented a swift recovery.
"I don't know! Nothing's coming up on whoever this is!" Amy said as she scrambled through their database to find anything remotely similar to this new element. "What's going on? Who is this?"
"Who are you?" Shamal asked, as she looked over her apparent savior. Despite his assistance however, she maintained her caution.
"The barrier's the issue right? Then the answer is simple. Use the power of the book to destroy the barrier," the stranger said, ignoring Shamal's question.
"But that will use up pages in the book!" She argued back, but the man wouldn't budge.
"They can be filled again, as long as you and your comrades are still around." Shamal couldn't talk back. The man was right. That was probably their best course of action. She looked down at the tome in her hands. She didn't want to make Ren's sacrifice mean nothing… but it would be worth even less if it ended there… She prepared herself, only to hear a voice ring out over her comms.
"Is that all? Then tell the others to stand back. I'll give them a couple of minutes"
"Huh?"
"Who was that?" It seemed the man heard that voice too. Though the masked man didn't know who that was, to Shamal, it sounded familiar. But she was unable to think exactly why. She could detect the presence of a spell placed over the voice. She couldn't ruminate on it any further, as she heard something like chains breaking somewhere in the distance. Right after the sound echoed its last, Shamal felt it.
Nanoha felt it. Fate felt it. Signum, Vita, Chrono; all of them felt… something above the clouds. Even Amy and Lindy, who were far away from the battlefield felt it.
"This is Lindy, Arthra can you hear me? What is that?" Lindy said as she resisted the pressure she felt even from her command in the apartment far from the battlefield.
"We don't know! The scanners are going haywire. We've never seen anything like this before!" The crew on the ship replied as they tried to trouble shoot their equipment. "We're reading something, but we aren't getting anything solid. Whatever it is, it's massive."
"So even Precia's scanners can't figure out whatever this is… Everyone, I want you to pull back immediately, do you copy?" Lindy ordered over comms.
"We- a- t- can-" Static filled her ears.
"It's no good commander. The magic density in the area is interfering with the comms," Amy explained. "I'm trying to pierce through, but I don't know how long it'll take."
"Do whatever you can, just make sure everyone receives the order to evacuate!" Lindy said as she returned to watch the proceedings on her screen that were now as garbled as their comms. On it, she was at least able to see Nanoha and the others disengaging with their opponents.
"Nanoha, this feeling…" Fate whispered to the brunette once they'd regrouped around Yuuno, who was trying to maintain the barrier.
"I know…" was all the girl replied with as she was unsure if she should say anymore. "Yuuno-kun, don't try too hard to maintain the barrier," she sent to Yuuno in private.
"Huh? But Nanoha-chan…"
"Please Yuuno-kun. Don't strain yourself," was all she added before going silent. Yuuno took a second more, but finally realized what she might have been implying. Still though, he at least had to look like he was trying. Once Nanoha felt her intent was conveyed properly she turned her attention towards the Knights who were beginning their retreat. Given the circumstances, now was not the time to give chase. Still though, Nanoha couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied, and she believed Vita probably felt the same…
"Damn it, what's going on?" Vita complained as she, Signum, and Zafira were making way to the edge of the Barrier.
"That energy above us is getting denser by the second," Zafira noted as he saw flashes in the sky of different colors: light blue, green, purple, and orange. He shook his head. The colors probably had no meaning. "Before the comms got too bad, Shamal said to evacuate from the center."
"This isn't her doing. I've never felt anything like this before. This power… it might even rival the Book of Darkness," Signum said. "However it's strange. Why is it taking so long? An attack of this nature is best used as a surprise, or at the very least hidden until needed. It's too obvious, as if the user wants people to be out of the way…" She couldn't ruminate on that conjecture any further as she and the others heard it: a gunshot. At the very least it sounded like a gun shot.
Right after, the black head of a snake fell from the heavens, it's jaw wide open as it approached the top of the barrier. Even as the head descended, its body seemed infinitely long, more and more stretching out from above the clouds without end. Despite its strange form however, the sheer force from its existence sent even greater pressure through those that bore it witness.
"What the hell kind of spell is that!?" Vita yelled, not entirely sure if what she was seeing wasn't just an illusion. She'd never seen a spell that ever looked like that before. She couldn't sense a linker core from it, so it wasn't something that was alive, meaning it had to be purely a spell. And that spell was dense with power, enough to punch right through their barrier jackets and then some. Their only solace was the fact that they didn't seem to be the target for such a fearsome strike.
The knights watched as the snake finally fell upon the barrier. Its jaws snapped shut with a sickening crack that was equal parts dry and wet. The sound echoed above all other noise that tried to plant itself at the same time, only to be drowned out. Following that, the barrier didn't last a moment more. Just another second after the snake bit it, it popped as if it was nothing but soap bubble. The barrier was gone completely. Right after, the snake began to dissipate into the ether, swiftly breaking into particles now that its job was done. However, they could still feel the presence of the thing in the clouds.
"Be careful. The thing that cast that spell is still up there," Signum warned them. That was all she could do as she was unsure whether to stay or retreat. The spell it used did nothing to dent the magic presence above, meaning it probably could launch more spells of the same power with ease. With the size of such spells, there might not be an escape.
However her vigilance was wasted, as all that power, all that pressure, just disappeared. Signum and the other knights couldn't help but do a double take. That doesn't normally happen. Power like that doesn't just up and vanish instantly… but just now it did. Like it was never there to begin with, not a trace of its existence remained. Signum was at a loss for words over what had just transpired. Her diminutive cohort however, not so much.
"What? What the hell! What the hell was that!?" Vita yelled, both as a means of relieving her pent-up stress from before, and also in sheer exasperation. "What the hell just happened!?" She yelled once more, still trying to process whatever was going on. None of it made sense to her. Her brain was a whirlwind of conflicted feelings, equal parts relieved and frustrated. All she knew for certain was that she needed to do something. However, before she could continue her tirade, they heard a voice over comms.
"Now's your chance! Make a break for it now!" The knights heard Shamal tell them over a now cleared up comms, particularly knocking Vita back to reality.
"You heard her Vita, let's go!" Zafira barked at the girl who was still riled up from the strange turn of events. With a final huff, Vita swallowed her dissatisfaction and followed her fellow knights out of the battlefield. Now was not the time to look a gift horse in the mouth.
-0-0-22-0-0-
"Sorry, I was at the hospital, so I turned off my phone," Ren explained to Lindy. They, as well as Chrono, were sitting in the living room of the Harlaown apartment.
"Y-you know how it is. Hospitals need to be quiet places so in respect to that, we had to," Morgana added, thanking that he was furry enough to hide any sweat that might develop on his brow.
"It's alright. We understand, but if this is to be a regular thing, you have to let us know so that we may find an alternative means of contacting you," Lindy dismissed. "To be fair on our end, we neglected to contact you through comms and the situation distracted us from thinking of such."
"Thank you for your understanding. By the way, what are they doing in there?" Ren asked, turning around to catch of glimpse of Amy talking to Nanoha and Fate about something while Yuuno rested of Nanoha's shoulder.
"Amy's giving those two a rundown over their new devices. At the request of their devices, we've added a new Cartridge system similar to the ones used by the Belkan Knights. Normally it's not used for intelligent devices like Raising Heart and Bardiche due to the strain it can cause, but they two insisted," Chrono explained. "Though we did take the time to modify it so that what you exploited in the Knight's Cartridge system won't happen to them. You won't be able to blow up the bullets that easily."
"That's good," Ren noted.
"By the way Ren… you're something of a people person, right?" Lindy asked him. Ren raised a brow but nodded in affirmation. It wouldn't be wrong to say he was somewhat sociable. "Then what is your assessment of those Knights?"
"What do you mean?" Ren didn't understand what Lindy meant, thinking the question too vague.
"Well… personality, perhaps? What would you say about that?"
"They're…" Ren hesitated, scratching out the things in his head that he shouldn't say. "They're driven. It's clear that whatever they're wanting to accomplish, they're giving it their all, just like anyone else would when they have a goal they need to see through to the end."
"That makes sense to me." Ren looked up, finally remembering that Arf was also in the room, standing with her arms crossed near the large window. "The book's like a Jewel seed right? For that much power, it's not surprising that they'd be willing to do anything to get it." Ren swallowed down his instinct to reply. She didn't know any better, he reminded himself.
"Well, it's sort of different," Chrono was the first to reply back. "The power of the Book of Darkness can't be easily controlled. For as chaotic as their power is, there is a way to channel the energy of the Jewel Seeds into some usable form. But the same can't be said about the Book."
"According to our records, before and after completion, the only thing it was ever used for was destruction. If it's been used for any other purpose in history, it certainly wasn't recorded," Lindy followed. "Finished?" Lindy's tone jumped as she saw Nanoha, Yuuno, Fate, and Amy approach.
"Yup, all done. Gave them all they needed to know, so now they're all set!" Amy affirmed with a thumbs up.
"Good, Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan, about those Knights you fought," Chrono immediately spoke to them.
"Yes?"
"What is it?" Nanoha and Fate asked one right after the other. With their attention confirmed, Chrono continued.
"Those Knights are the Guardians of the Book of Darkness. They are not human nor are they familiars. They are quasi-humans created to match the needs of the Book of Darkness. They act only as an extension of the will of the master of the book. They're not much more than simple programs, and do not do anything unless told."
"Are you sure about that?" Ren's voice resounded through the room in a low tone, catching everyone off guard. His arms and legs crossed over one another and his head angled low relayed a sort of pressure in the room.
"That's… that's what the records say at the very least," Chrono forced himself through Ren's sudden shift.
"I see…" He had to calm down. The records were at fault here. Ignorance isn't a sin. "If that's the case, then the records might be faulty to a degree. Mere 'programs' wouldn't be able to convey such emotion and conviction. I didn't see anything about them that's different from any other person. The origin doesn't matter. Human or not, as long as they think, therefore they are." A smile formed as he looked down at his furry little buddy, giving him a head rub.
"Hey, what are you doing that for?" Morgana snarled as he bat away Ren's hand, only to receive a chortle from the man when he pulled away. Silence fell upon the room as almost no one knew how to follow up on Ren's statement. Almost no one that is.
"Um… I think Ren's right. Something created that is neither familiar nor a human? In some ways I think that can also describe me," Fate said, her voice shaky and unsure, but she felt enough conviction to need to speak it aloud.
"Fate, that's not the case at all," Lindy spoke up before Fate was able to continue. "All that happened was that you were born in a slightly different way. You're definitively human, and there's absolutely nothing unusual about you."
"The test results also said the same thing," Chrono followed, his tone matching the passion his mother held. "Don't go saying things like you're not human."
"No, I agree… I don't feel like any less of a person because of those things. All of you make me feel normal, and I really appreciate that. It's just, if that's the case for me, why not for them?" Fate asked. When no one answered back, she took another breath and continued. "When I fought Signum, like Ren said, I didn't see anything about her that was different from a normal person."
"I felt the same thing with that girl with the hat. I think her name was Vita. She was clearly angry at me a lot of the time when we fought," Nanoha added. "I couldn't tell the difference at all, if there was one anyway." Fate nodded in agreement before continuing.
"I heard you both asking Ren something about their personalities. You feel it too don't you? That they're more than just programs. Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked him about it."
"That's…" Chrono trailed, still unable to provide an answer. "Well…"
"You're right… we did feel that something is different," Lindy spoke up when Chrono failed to follow through. "Our records indicate the guardians are supposed to act as simple programs. However their recent behavior stands in direct opposition to what information we have on hand. However even if that's the case, that doesn't change our end objective, to stop the Book of Darkness from completion."
"You're… right," Fate acquiesced. It didn't change their objective. They still needed to stop them.
"However, given that they might be more than programs, we will have to alter our approach. If Ren of all people thinks so, then it's something that should be taken into consideration. At the very least, they might be able to be reasoned with or spoken to. I will admit I do not see the possibility as being very high, but we will not rule it out. Is that alright." Ren uncrossed his arms at Lindy's suggestion. That was the most he could hope for with the given circumstances.
"Fine," was his only response as relaxed back into his seat, only to get up from the couch. "It's especially late right now anyways, so Morgana and I should probably get going."
"Yes you should go home and get some rest. All of us should," Lindy agreed, her smile returning to the forefront.
"Though it would be useful to try and track the Knights down, that aberration of magic power from before is something we have to look out for," Chrono added, not noticing the knowing look that was shared by a select few in the room. "They're teleporting around indicates their master can't be far from our location, but again, it's too dangerous when we don't know what that thing was that appeared during today's battle. We'll also have to look into who that mysterious man was as well."
"I'll try to see what I can find on in the TSAB's general database. As for the aberration…yeah that was weird, even the new sensors provided to us by Precia weren't able to pick up on it." Amy said right after, a finger at her chin as she remembered how everything went foggy and haywire.
"Mother?" Fate perked up hearing her mother's name.
"That's right, Fate-chan. We're actually using some new equipment made by your mother, chief of which are our new sensors and detection equipment. I insisted on having them installed when I learned that they were being developed, as a means of both testing them and helping your mother's reputation amongst the TSAB personnel," Lindy explained. "However, while they've been excellent so far, it failed today for some reason. I'll have to let her know after this."
"While that's getting looked into, I'd like to see if we could find some more info on the Book of Darkness to help our search efforts in the meantime while we look into that unclassified phenomenon..." Chrono mused to himself, only for his eyes to jump wide open and walked over to where Nanoha was… though not necessarily to speak to her.
"What is it?" Yuuno asked when the other boy's face came really close to his own.
"Come with me for a second okay?" Chrono grabbed the ferret without ceremony from Nanoha's shoulder and took him somewhere else in the apartment with great haste, leaving Nanoha in a bit of confusion.
"Hold on, just hold on!" was all they could hear from Yuuno before he and Chrono were completely out of sight.
"Hey, Ren, Nanoha…" Fate whispered to the two of them while everyone else seemed preoccupied. When she had their attention, she motioned her hand to have them follow her into the hall, to which they complied in silence. Morgana saw them off, content to rest on the couch. From there they continued through the apartment into Fate's room. Once there, and with the door closed, she spoke again. "Ren that was you earlier wasn't it?"
"Yeah, Fate and I recognized that feeling. That was the same Persona from when you first grabbed the Jewel Seed wasn't it?" Nanoha followed. "Why did you use that? Actually how did you use that?" She asked once she remembered he shouldn't have been able to do that at all to begin with.
"You can tell us Ren. We're on your side after all," Fate said as she and Nanoha waited for answers. Ren looked at the two of them, his eyes switching back and forth between them.
"I've just gotten a bit of help is all. I still need to hide my cards for a bit longer if that's alright." Ren explained to them, without actually explaining anything, much to Nanoha's and Fate's annoyance.
"For how much longer?"
"Hm?" Ren almost didn't catch Nanoha's question. Though they were already trying to be quiet, Nanoha's voice was far quieter than before.
"How much longer are you going to keep things from us?" Nanoha asked one more time, her frustration clear on her face.
"Just… just for a little bit more…" Ren eked out as an answer. The room fell cold as Nanoha and Fate just stared at him, their expressions falling bit by bit as the seconds passed. Ren braced himself when he saw Nanoha sigh.
"Okay Ren…" Nanoha said with resignation.
"Is something the matter?" The young man asked, concerned over her unusual behavior. He couldn't recall any other moment Nanoha seemed so defeated.
"I'm just… I guess I was hoping you were going to… never mind…" Nanoha looked down at her feet, angry and hurt. Ren panicked, but before he could say anything-
"You still don't trust us…" Fate was far more upfront about his mistake.
"No that's not…"
"Then what is it Ren?" Nanoha looked back up, a harsh look in her gaze, the harshest she ever shot at him. Ren froze up, unsure of how to move in the situation. He'd never been the target of Nanoha's anger before, at least real anger. He swallowed trying to clear his throat, but the girl acted swifter than he could.
"I'm tired of this. I'm tired of being left out, and so is Fate. I know we promised to help you by just doing what we usually do, but I just can't. I'm sorry, but it's just impossible. How can I go about acting like I know nothing? That's just something I can't do."
"It might be immature of us, but we can't keep our promise for what you asked for. At least we can't when we feel there's more we need to know," Fate jumped in. "It hurts Ren. It hurts when you want to help someone you care about with everything you have, only to be told not to."
"So please Ren… just tell us. Just tell us what's going on. We want to help you, but you're just making excuses to keep us away. So what is it? Is it our age, or that we're not Thieves? What can we say or do to make you trust us?" Nanoha pleaded, while never breaking her gaze towards him. "Please. Just tell us something, anything…"
"Ren…" Fate called his name with just as much, if not the same emotion as Nanoha. Ren looked at the two girls. His poker face held strong, leaving the girls in the dark as to the contents of his thoughts. A moment passed. Then another passed. Then another. Nanoha let out what she felt was to be a final exasperated sigh. She opened her mouth to say something, only to at least hear Ren's reply.
"I know the master of the Book of Darkness."
-0-0-22-0-0-
"Once again, I'm so sorry Hayate-chan… Yes… yes… alright. Take care. We'll see you tomorrow then. Bye." Shamal hung up the phone, a sigh escaping her lips once it was firmly placed back down. "Are you sure you didn't want to say anything Vita?"
"It's fine… I'll just talk to her tomorrow," Vita grumbled out through a pout.
"It's nice to know she's at a friend's house for dinner. At the very least it gives her some measure of safety to be away from us right now," Signum noted as she took a drink of her tea. "Besides, there's something you wanted to tell us Shamal?"
"A couple things actually," Shamal said as she sat down next to the rest of the knights, with Zafira resting on the ground in wolf form. "Today we encountered two new individuals, the first of which was that masked man in white."
"From what you described he seemed quite powerful, since he was capable of instantly downing that TSAB Enforcer in a single blow," Signum recalled. "He also appeared to know much about the book if I remember correctly."
"Yes, in fact he also was the one who suggested for me to use the pages of the book in order to break the barrier," Shamal added, recounting the events.
"But you didn't… we still have all the pages we've gathered so far," Vita noted, but her pout turned into a grimace when she remembered what pages they did have and from where. She still couldn't get over it.
"Yes that's right. What happened was that I received a communication from someone other than that masked man in white," Shamal continued her story.
"That's other person is the one who told you to stand back, which you then relayed to us," Signum said, a scowl now forming on her brow. "He's the one who broke the barrier, and most likely was the source of that massive source of magic power."
"Not only that, but it didn't seem like the he was working with the first intruder. He also received the communication due to our close proximity and fled the moment we heard it. The second person seemed to not be all that precise with comms magic, but it was advanced enough to mask his voice and I could detect identity recognition inhibitor magic in it."
"So we have two mysterious benefactors on our hands, and we do not know if we want either of them," Signum crossed her arms. An enemy was one thing, but the relationship was simple. Something in between that you couldn't definitively name ally or enemy, however? That made things far more complicated. "Did either of them tell you what it is they wanted."
"No. The masked man didn't say anything of the sort, only that he seemed invested in our success. The other though… all they said was to get out of the way, and how trivial it'd be to break that barrier. Though I would have to say, of the two, even as laced with magic as it was, the one who spoke over the comms seemed more… friendly I want to say," Shamal said, still not feeling like that was the right word, but it was the closest she could think of at the moment.
"And what about the other guy?" Vita asked.
"The masked man was… colder. He said things that seemed like he wanted us to survive, but the tone he spoke with didn't seem to match his intent. There was a sort of disconnect I feel… also…" Shamal's voice trailed, unsure if she should continue.
"What is it Shamal?" Signum asked, wondering why she had stopped.
"Perhaps I'm just stressed about the situation, but… that voice, the one that contacted me over the comms… There was something, comforting about it. It felt familiar. I know that sounds strange, since, again, it was laced with several layers of magic to prevent any recognition at all, but that's what it felt like. Maybe it was the tone, or the cadence, I don't know," Shamal spouted off, trying to rack her head regarding that odd feeling about the second intruder. "If I heard it again, maybe I'd have a better grasp of that person, but they didn't say anything again after that. Tracing was also no good, so it was like they disappeared completely."
"I see. While I don't want to dismiss such feelings, without further interaction with either of these individuals, it's impossible to tell what their motives might be. For now it's best to assume they've only given us aid in order use us to get to the book. For the masked man, we'll make use of him if we can, and discard him if he tries anything," Signum said as she crossed her arms.
"What about the voice only guy? I don't think we can take him on if he ever gets serious…" Vita admitted, much to her own frustration. As much as she'd just like free reign to punch both of them with impunity, she knew when she couldn't just do so given the circumstances.
"Let's see if we can find out more about him next time. That kind of magic takes time to set up, so maybe we can try to find him before he can use anything like that again. Mages like that usually specialize in bombardment type spells, and so are weak up close. He has to be somewhere in the vicinity I imagine," Shamal suggested to the group.
"That's a good idea," Signum replied quickly after. "If he appears next time, we are to prioritize in neutralizing him, either through force or negotiation."
"Why negotiate? Can't we just stick to smacking him around if we find him? Like Shamal said, he's probably a wuss up close, which is why he's being so secretive," Vita complained, turning around on the sofa onto her back now.
"Shamal also said his tone was more amicable and I trust Shamal's assessment. I don't expect anything to come of it, but perhaps we can at least come to some agreement that doesn't negatively impact us. We can't afford to make him an enemy, at least not one we can't eliminate at a moment's notice," Signum explained. "Is everyone clear?"
"Yeah yeah…" Vita said as she laid her head back down, letting her exhaustion wash over her.
"Of course!" Shamal replied after, still diligent, though she made sure to quash her lingering doubts regarding the second of their mysterious helpers.
"Rowf!" Was all Zafira growled out, but it was all the affirmation the other knights needed. With everyone in agreement, Signum moved on.
"Regarding our activities directly, for now remain cautious for the next few days. Lay low, and don't take risks when you're out there. The TSAB probably will also be on guard now that we've clashed with them a second time. They're also might be rattled from the second stranger's attack as well. While we're now on track to completion soon, we shouldn't rush it. The last thing we want is for everything we've done to be for nothing. For now… let's wait for Hayate to return home, and make sure it's a warm home," Shamal said, tiny smile forming on her lips.
Author's Note:
Welp we're about halfway through the season for Nanoha A's. Expect more action the next chapter as it will be a doozy from what I have planned for it. I don't really have much to say here, as I'm just kind of coming up blank. Well I guess I could say that I'm trying to accelerate through the P5R stuff a bit because the time frame is small, but that's about it. So because of that I'll just get on with the end as usual.
Merry Christmas, and I hope you're all enjoying yourselves safely. Thank you for spending time with me today, and I hope to see you all next time as well, which will hopefully be sooner than last time. I hope you guys have a great day.
PS. I looked up some of the voice actors for Nanoha, and it turns out that the voice of Raising Heart also happens to voice a character from a really popular horror game that goes by the name of Silent Hill 2. The character in question being a certain Angela Orosco, at least in the original dub. As a result I had errant imaginings of Nanoha talking to Raising Heart, only to be bombarded by Angela's lines from SH2 like, "Thank you for saving me. But, I wish you hadn't." Or Angela saying random Raising Heart Lines like "Set up! Divine Buster" to James without warning. Man does that paint a weird picture for me.
