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 24: An Offer You Can't Refuse

Signum scowled, as Joker's words repeated themselves in her head. Phantom Thief? What a ridiculous thing. How could he be so proud to be something as dishonorable as a thief? And for what reason is it designated with Phantom as an additional appellation. She couldn't understand it. Looking towards her comrades, they were also just as confused, or at least in Vita's case frustrated. She resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her knows, instead opting to speak.

"And what does a so-called Phantom Thief seek to do?" She asked him.

"What else?" He asked, swinging his arms wide open. "We have come to steal something away. That is what thieves are wont to do."

"Well if you have come for the Book of-"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Joker interrupted her with a waggle of his finger before she could finish. "We're not here to take something like that. We have no use for the Book of Darkness. No, our target is something far less… pedestrian."

"What is it then? What is it that you intend to steal?" Signum asked, only playing along because it was him. Though she had her doubts. She'd never seen him act this way before. Sure the general confidence was remotely similar, but were it not for his appearance and voice, she would swear she was speaking to someone else entirely.

"Our target," Joker started as he then pointed to the knights. "Is that which twists your world into one of sadness and strife; that clouds your hope. We, the Phantom Thieves, declare that what we shall steal from you is that very distortion, and rid you of your sorrows!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Vita yelled. "What kind of Thief is that? Steal distortion? Are you high!?"

"Trust me when I say I'm not one for drugs," Joker shot back with all sincerity and a bemused grin.

"That's just how we roll. I'd say take it or leave it, but we're going to be the ones taking something today," Mona said with a puffed-up chest.

"How is stealing something gonna help us? Sadness? Strife? Even though you've been with us for just a little bit, that doesn't mean you know everything," Vita continued to bark back. However despite the bile that was spitting out of her mouth, the edges of her lips rose.

"I never said I did Vita, but that doesn't change the fact that I want to help you; all of you." Joker stepped forward with his hand outstretched. "Just let me help. Just hear what I have to say."

"Tch…" Vita turned away, unable to stomach looking at Joker any longer. It wasn't because she thought he sounded stupid, but because she was starting to believe, even if it was just the tiniest bit. "You idiot…" she whispered with a strained voice. Why did it have to be so hard? Why was he there at all?

"It's not that simple," Zafira spoke up. "Our mission… there is nothing you can offer that can change it. There is nothing you can do to help."

"What if I could offer something that could help you though?" Joker continued undeterred.

"Fine, since you are so insistent, in deference to our past, we will at least hear what you have to say. What is your offer?" Signum relented, finally giving Joker the opening he needed.

"If what you're looking for are Linker Cores, then instead of risking your lives to take them from others, why not take it from someone willing to give theirs?" The Knights remained silent, which caused Joker a small bit of alarm, but he continued anyways. "Let me give you my Linker Core."

"Joker! What are you saying!" Nanoha cried as she, Fate, and Arf landed.

"It's too dangerous!" Fate objected right after.

"Are you crazy? No scratch that, you are crazy!" Arf yelled out in exasperation. Joker ignored them however, instead keeping his eyes on the knights.

"What do you say then? It would be much easier than having to fight these worms, and I bet it would be faster too. So how about it?" Joker waited to hear their answer. This was the solution he'd come up with.

He already knew the Knights and Hayate personally. The girl would never misuse the powers of the Book of Darkness. With enough discretion, they could take from his core out of view from the TSAB. Not only that, but as proven before, it would only require a short rest for him to be back up, and it's not like he's using it much anyways. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the plan, so why weren't the Knights saying anything?

"You're an idiot you know that?" Vita finally broke the silence, her face halfway between a frown and a smile. Zafira on his end let out a singular sigh, one that Joker couldn't parse as either fully frustrated, amused, or something else entirely. What was this response?

"You're as kind and magnanimous as ever. You truly possess a noble soul." Signum's words were positive, but the direction felt off. Joker's instinct told him something had gone wrong, but what? "However we cannot take you up on your offer for one simple reason."

"And what would that be?" Joker asked, trying to keep his cool while readying himself to respond to whatever would come.

"The book can only take a person's Linker Core once. Your core has already been taken. Because of that, you cannot offer your core any longer." Joker's eyes widened like a deer in headlights. He had prepared himself to deal with any number of responses, but that wasn't one of them. Not once had he considered the possibility that his plan wasn't even possible in the first place. He couldn't rebuke them, as of course they'd know more about the books inner working than he would.

"Why do you think we have to hunt new core's this whole time?" Vita started. "It wasn't because we wanted to. If we could, we'd have hunted the same people over and over again, and we would have been finished a lot quicker."

"I… well…" Joker struggled. He struggled to keep his cool, he struggled to find the words. It was all coming apart. The very foundation of his plan crumbled, and he couldn't see a way to save it.

"Joker, thank you for the offer. It's… comforting to know that your heart is with us. However we must obviously refuse. If you still wish to aid us, then all we will ask is for you to stay out of our way, and no longer involve yourself with our affairs," Signum spoke in a low tone, making sure that she was clear to be heard. She saw how lost Joker appeared, but she could not give him any comfort. "Joker! Behind you!" Signum yelled, to which the young man turned around to block an incoming blow from the masked man.

"I'm surprised…" Joker said through his teeth as his knife grinded against the assailant's boot. "Most people don't get up from a hit and run with a bus!" With a push, Joker knocked the opponent away, sending him into a flip before landing gracefully onto the ground. Even after getting his bearings, the masked man in white remained silent.

"Not much for talking I see. I understand the feeling," Joker taunted as he readjusted his gloves. "Here's some advice though. Your outfit and mask have no style. No standout colors, and the design is bland. The last time I saw someone in white, he at least accented it with red and gold." Even after his remarks, the masked man ignored Joker, turning to the knights instead.

"There are still three other targets here." The masked man pointed towards Nanoha, Fate, and Arf. "If you want their Linker Cores, there's not much time left," the masked man told the knights. Joker's brow furrowed even more. "I will help you get them, then you'll have even more pages."

Joker looked back up to the Knights, wanting to yell something at them, but they looked to be in their own world, looking at one another.

Signum's stomach lurched as she saw the distraught on Joker's face. Vita didn't even have the heart to look. Zafira was as stoic as ever, but even then, it was clear he was not any happier with the situation. They didn't want to fight Joker, but they didn't have time. Hayate's condition was not only getting worse but also getting worse faster. The Linker Cores from the three TSAB mages would provide a large number of pages. Signum, in her frustration, closed her eyes to think.

-0-0-24-0-0-

"Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan, Arf-san! Can any of you hear me!" Amy yelled again, as she continued to diagnose whatever had happened. The entire system was jammed. She couldn't get a signal in or out. Even the back up systems had froze up. "Ren-kun, are you there? Please say something!" She tried yelling down the hall, but she got no response. Did he perhaps follow in? But that would be insane…

"I don't have time for this!" She had to concentrate on getting the system back up and running as soon as possible, then send agents to the scene. She could only pray that she would be in time.

-0-0-24-0-0-

"Dammit…" Signum cursed to herself in order to both rid herself of her frustration, and steel herself for the decision she was about to make. "Joker! If you wish to help us, then aid us in capturing the TSAB agents so that we may take their linker cores."

"You know I can't do that Signum," Joker shook his head, trying to maintain his composure with all he had.

"Then can you at least stay out of our way?" She asked once more.

"I… I can't…"

"Enough!" Joker gathered himself just in time to jump out of the way as spells fell from above down towards where he and Mona stood. Mona tumbled the other way, his uneven body rolling at an odd rhythm until he came to a stop.

"Joker are you okay?" Mona called out once he was back on his paws. Before he could he hear an answer though-

"Kya!" Nanoha's cry rang out, forcing Mona's sight upwards as he saw the girl clashing with Vita, her hammer colliding with a barrier spell Nanoha had just managed to put up.

"Not so fast!" Looking over, he saw Arf engaged in combat with Zafira, and Fate was in a similar situation with Signum.

"Dammit, it's too late…" Mona heard Joker mutter under his breath as he dusted himself.

"Joker, I'm sorry about this, but this is our fight now," Nanoha said over the comms, causing Joker to click his tongue.

"Please Joker, you promised…" he heard Fate say right after. Joker didn't respond, not wanting to distract them any further. Instead he focused back inward. There had to be something he missed. It can't have all fallen apart just like this, could it?

-0-0-24-0-0-

Nanoha sent more magic into her flight spell, stopping her momentum from sending her back any further. If she were on the ground, it surely would have made a screeching sound. Once she had come to a complete stop, she made sure to refocus on her opponent. Vita also was in a similar position, trying to recover from their clash just then.

"Just hurry up and keel over already so we can take your Linker Core!" Vita yelled as she propped herself back up. Despite the clear threat to her, Nanoha just sighed as she lifted Raising Heart.

With a soft voice, she said, "I'm sorry that it had to end up this way. I just want you to know that I also hoped that Joker's plan would have worked; that maybe we could have avoided fighting."

"Shut up! Stop making this so hard!" Vita yelled again, her voice even more shrill than before. "Why? Why are you making me feel so bad?" Tears were now beginning to form, not that the girl was in any state to notice. Her confusion was already making her head spin, so she did her best to tuck them away somewhere, but they still bubbled up. "You call us evil, but what does that make you, for making me feel like this?" She didn't know what she was saying. It just left her sooner than she could think. Perhaps it sounded childish, but even so, it was her honest feelings. "You… you White Devil!"

Vita's heart couldn't take it anymore. She swung her hammer, slamming it into as many of her metal spheres as she could all at once. There was no finesse, no focus, only raw, unhinged, brute force as the spheres were charged with magic for the split moment they were in contact with the hammer before rocketing towards the so-called White Devil with a sound that almost couldn't be heard by human ears.

"Oh no!" was the only response Nanoha could muster as she could barely react to the attack. She brought up a barrier, only for the first of the barrage to knock it off to the side. Her balance disrupted, she opted to follow the force and fall to hopefully evade the rest. Vita's spell did not relent however, falling in tandem at curved, sharp angles. Their trajectory continued to home in on her despite the sudden shift on Nanoha's part.

It bought her enough time though to bring up another barrier as she reinjected magic into her flight spell to hopefully cushion the fall. Nanoha braced herself as she watched it close in at frightening speed that she could only barely keep up with.

Vita tried to catch her breath as she watched the explosion of her spell making contact with both Nanoha and the ground below. All that Vita could see was smoke and flame, even upon the sand. Her emotions were in disarray, and she placed far too much into that last attack than she should have, overextending herself both physically and magically. She needed to recover fast and to check for if she actually neutralized the threat. That thought was cut short however as a white blur walked out of the flames, her expression ever solemn.

"A White Devil huh? If that's what I have to be then so be it. I'll be whatever it takes, as long as it means being able to reach you, and make you and Joker talk again. Vita! Here I come!"

-0-0-24-0-0-

Signum parried each strike. Though the force behind them was unremarkable, the speed and number were to be praised, whittling her defenses down bit by bit at a rapid pace. If she weren't careful, one could slip past, and would then be followed by ten more. Needless to say, she could not afford for that to happen. That didn't mean she was completely consumed by the onslaught. After parrying a particularly extended strike, she immediately reoriented the force she received, trying to send her opponent off balance. It was a success. She followed up with a strike of her own, hoping to catch the young girl before it was too late.

Fate for her part though, regained her taken balance before the strike could land, twisting her body to avoid Signum's blade. It was a close shave though. She caught a glimpse of the blade catching just a nip of the end of her hair. Even a tenth of a second later and that could have been something not as replaceable. A second strike came in however, forcing Fate into an even more awkward position as she then twisted the other way, and again, before flipping out of the way of another. Her scythe was too unwieldy for such a close range for her to use it to guard. She could only continue to dodge out of the way until she found an opening to fly back and regain space.

Signum huffed. She was sloppy, letting Fate get away. It would have been best to pursue the blonde girl, but Signum hesitated, and the moment was lost. Her strikes were similarly poor. The speed, angle, and power behind them were not her best. Her exhaustion from fighting the worms from earlier was not sufficient excuse. The knights regenerated quickly, both in stamina and magic. No, what ailed her was something that did not heal so neatly. Though it wasn't broken yet, her heart felt like it was just about to.

The reason of course was just that she did not want to fight Ren, or Joker as he was called. Even though she wasn't fighting him directly, they were still in opposition, and that was a difficult thing to swallow. But accept she would have to as time was running out. Hayate's condition was all she needed as reminder. She caught a glance down towards where Joker was. He was only standing there with the strange creature at his side, watching the masked man. She hoped that was all he would do.

"Signum, I'm… I'm here," she heard over the comms, a tremble in Shamal's voice betraying her emotional state.

"Shamal, just… just ignore him," Signum commanded, not just to her comrade but to herself as well.

"But-"

"Shamal!" Signum cut her comrade off, in part to get her to focus but also partially to avoid the subject at all. "We don't have time. Prepare the spell. I'll distract my opponent and push her into range. Just let me know when and where."

"…"

"Shamal?" Signum asked as she saw Fate preparing to resume combat.

"Understood… Just keep pushing her back," Shamal finally acquiesced, going silent as she focused on setting the spell up. Signum had no more time to think on it as Fate disappeared in a flash, only to reappear when her scythe clashed with her sword. No more distractions. She had a job to do, no matter how much it would hurt.

-0-0-24-0-0-

Joker's eyes kept focus on the masked man, making sure that he made no movements that would interfere with his friends. So far nothing had happened, but he couldn't tell if it was because the masked man had no opportunity, or for some other reason.

"So who are you anyway?" Mona asked, whilst also keeping an eye on the mystery figure.

"My identity is of no importance. All that matters is that I fulfill my mission," The masked man said in a low, but audible tone.

Mona huffed at the response, holding back the urge to laugh. "Really? How cliché. A typical response of a two-bit lacky. Probably has a shadowy boss holding the leash then. So who is it? Who's the one who gave you this oh so important mission?"

"That is none of your concern," The masked man responded without anything else.

"Figures. Should've known all we'd get would be worn out tired tropes. Joker, let's just put him on ice already. Joker?" Mona looked up to find his partner, though looking at the ready, seeming to hesitate to do any real action. "Hey, snap out of it, we've got a battle going on."

"Huh? I know…" He did know, and he was paying attention, but what he didn't know was what to do. He was still focused on trying to find a way to salvage his idea, but he was coming up blank. The battlefield was no time to try and make a plan like that, but he didn't have a choice. If he didn't figure something out now, then he might not get the chance again. There had to be a way to keep going.

The man made a dash for the pair while Joker was distracted. Joker's reflexes moved first, blocking the oncoming kick with his knife, but the masked man expected as such. He pivoted his foot on the knife and instead made for a second kick towards Mona. The cat jumped away, but the suddenness had caused him to fumble on the sand for the landing.

Seeing that, Joker came in for his own attack, swinging his knife at the man, only to be blocked by a barrier. He was right where Joker wanted him.

"Arsène!" If the man's eyes were visible, Joker bet he would have seen them widen as the masked man turned towards the new threat, trying to raise another barrier, but was too late. "Brave Blade!" The attack landed with a clean cut, knocking the man on to the floor, his jacket sporting a massive gash in the middle, though no blood was shed. The majority of the attack only scuffed his barrier jacket.

"Eigaon!" Before the man could even muster the strength to just get on his arms, he was launched into the air by vile dark curses. Even while disoriented, the masked man formed a barrier, blocking the bullets that came his way. Despite the ineffective attack, Joker still gave chase, only to see more circles form behind the man.

"Not so fast!" The man spouted at Joker, his momentum too big to stop, so instead Joker opted to dive full on ahead. A salvo of magic launched his way from one of the circles. Joker tucked and twisted his body as one of the shots almost singed the tail of his coat, but he managed to slip through unscathed and still on course to collide.

"Don't forget me!"

"What!?" The masked man turned to see a bus falling towards him again at frightening speed.

"Where are you looking?" The masked man realized just then that he was being subjected to a pincer attack, was about to close in, his best foot forward towards his barrier. The man dispelled his flight magic, opting to fall back down to the ground and out of the way of the attack. "Wrong move!"

Though Joker's foot missed the masked man, they instead met Mona's hood. And from there, Joker summoned Arsène, and the two kicked their feet down onto the bus, sending it careening faster than the masked man could fall.

"Dammit!" Was all Joker heard the masked man say as Mona fell on top of him. Joker landed soon after, a gymnast's tumble into the sand to mitigate the fall. While the dust was still high in the air, Mona emerged from the cloud full throttle before changing back into a cat to stand at Joker's side.

"He kicked me off after we landed, so he's not down for the count just yet," Mona reported once they were side by side again.

"Well while he's like that…" Joker's mask flickered blue. "Metatron! Debilitate!" A mechanical angel appeared above his head. With a robotic movement, 3 orbs descended upon the dust cloud that was just about to fully dissipate. Just in time, he was able to see the masked man attempt to block the orbs, only to show confusion when they fell right through on to him without any damage done. He didn't stay confused for long as he then tired to jump back, only for him to stumble a bit when he felt his limbs feel weaker than before. Still he caught himself and was able to make it back.

"What's your next move…" Joker mumbled as he watched with bated breath. The man had grace and skill; Joker noted. His only failing was that he was two vs. one when the two were just as, if not more skilled. Though the man appeared cornered, Joker knew better than to overextend. This was when they could get most dangerous. Instead he aimed his gun, trying to see where their next opening was.

"You're better than I thought you'd be…" The masked man muttered as he got up, nursing an arm that seemed limp.

"Again with the clichéd lines. How about you break the mold for once and just give up," Mona exasperatedly said, his eyes rolling.

"Perhaps you're right, but only because this is my win." Joker and Mona's guard raised at the man's odd phrase. What did that mean his win? Joker thought of it: their opponent's win condition.

"The hell? Did we hit your head to hard?" Mona asked while Joker started looking around.

"Mona, quiet…"

"Huh? Joker?" Joker ignored Mona, putting his all into focusing. The world seemed to darken as he concentrated to find what was wrong. It didn't take him much longer to be met with déjà vu; a light in the distance with a familiar sheen.

"Dammit! He disappeared with a spell!" Mona yelled. Joker snapped back to find that indeed the man was gone.

"We don't have time for that. Look up!" Joker pointed at the sky as Mona followed as told. It took a moment, but he finally saw what Joker wanted him to see: a portal had formed a distance behind Fate. Signum was pushing the girl with strikes. Though no hit fully landed, if it kept up…

"Mona! I'm throwing you!"

"Huh? I… fine! Do it!" Joker picked Mona up by the scruff before spinning in place.

"Go!" Joker then released the cat who flew into the sky.

"Joker! Now!" Mona said as he oriented himself back towards his partner, who already was aiming the grappling hook.

"Firing!" The grapple hook shot out towards Mona, who readjusted himself to catch the hook.

"I got it! Hurrah!" Mona turned into the bus once the line had gone taut, the hook now attached to one of the mirrors. Before he could start falling, he spun as hard as he could Causing Joker to be flung into the air by the momentum. Before long he flew past the bus, straight towards where Fate and Signum were about to be. "Go Joker!"

"Fate! Look out!"

"Huh? Joker!?" Fate curled up as she saw Joker approach so suddenly. Without a firm way to stop, Joker tackled her out of the way, but while the impact caused Fate to fly off, it instead forced Joker stall in the air, and stay in Signum's line of attack which she had already started and couldn't stop.

"Dammit!" Signum yelled as she tried to divert her strike as best she could, but Joker already raised his hellish knife to block it early into the swing. The collision redirected his momentum back, and unfortunately, into Shamal's hands. "No!" Signum's yell did nothing as Joker felt a familiar, sharp feeling pierce right through him.

"Arrrgh!" Joker tried his best to keep calm, but pain seared and paralyzed him. It took everything to even keep conscious, and even that was fading. His yell stopped the other fights in their tracks.

"Joker!" Nanoha cried as she saw that scene again, a hand jutting out of his chest, and a ball light in its palm… but for as much horror that ran through her mind, she was knocked out of it when she heard Vita speak.

"That can't be right…" Vita said in disbelief and shock. "That's… the spell should have failed because it's the second time! What's going on!?" Vita fell into a panic as she saw Joker's core getting taken a second time.

"It's working. The spell is somehow taking his core a second time…" Zafira noted as he too looked on with eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Hey, I thought you said you can't take the same Linker Core twice!? If that's supposed to be true, then what the hell is that!?" Arf yelled, her anger only being kept in check by her need for answers. If it weren't for that, she would have decked her opponent right there.

"I don't know. I think this may be the first time in history this has ever happened. None of us have any idea how this is possible," Zafira explained. "Shamal! Can you hear me?"

-0-0-24-0-0-

Shamal felt that someone was calling her name, but she couldn't really focus on it. The entirety of her attention had been taken as she tried to annul her spell. However despite every bit of her will placed behind her intention, her spell stubbornly refused to go away, made from old ancient magic as it was.

"This can't be happening again. This is impossible. It can't be happening again." But no matter how many times she repeated it to herself, it was happening, and if she didn't do something, it could end even worse than before. She redoubled her efforts, putting even more of herself into extinguishing the spell.

She was impeded, however. Just like before, a vision of something appeared before her. Rather than the hellish, dapper demon from before, what instead filled her eyes was the sight of an angel. She was too panicked to understand why it was different this time. Had she been more lucid, she would have connected it to be similar to the one Ren had summoned.

"Just hold on, I can do this…" she seemed to be talking to the angel. "Hrah!" With that final push, she ripped her hand back out, stopping the spell even faster than she did last time. If it were thanks to experience, or even greater fear of the aftereffects, she could not place. Relief that she had ended it even a moment sooner washed over her. The vision of the angel faded as she fell onto her knees. She wasn't physically exhausted, but she was mentally strained. Despite the small respite thanks to success, her heart began to ache. She did it again. She hurt him again. How? Just how?

She forced herself up. She wouldn't run this time. She had somewhere she had to be, something she had to do. Without a moment to lose, even as her body fought against her, she flew towards the battlefield.

-0-0-24-0-0-

"Hurry in. There's not much time, so we'll just have to skip the pleasantries and small talk," Precia said as Ren closed the door behind him. Based on how secretive Precia was being, no one was supposed to know he was here instead of his hospital bed. He would probably have to be coy about it in the morning to the girls.

His eyes wandered around the room that Precia had called him to. It was some combination of cell, lab, and medical room if that was even possible. The door he just entered looked fairly secure, and there were bars on the window looking out. A security camera was placed in the corner, with only a small area blocked where he guessed a toilet and changing area was. The rest however was clearly for work of some sort. Tools that he couldn't describe were strewn about, and terminals displayed data that was incomprehensible to him, but that he could tell was neatly organized. Lastly, the bed was like his own, only with more instruments to read vitals set up next to it.

"How is your Linker Core holding up? I read the reports about the attack, but I'd like to hear from you directly," Precia asked as she continued to tinker on a different terminal that seemed attached to glass box that most likely held whatever she was working on.

"I'm doing fine. Or at least I feel fine," Ren answered, unsure of if he should continue to stand there.

"That's good to hear. It also means we can proceed with the tests. Hm? What is it?" Precia asked, noting him looking around the room. "The TSAB, though still monitoring me, has decided to make use of my talents for their own gain. They've put me to work as part of my rehabilitation. I've already made equipment that will be used soon enough."

"Good to hear it's going well then."

"That lawyer you got for me and Fate has done wonders. She's as talented with law as I am with my own field of study. Hmph! The fools on the prosecution wouldn't have been able to stop her, even if they hadn't so grossly underestimated her. Come here," Precia commanded, to which Ren complied, seeing no reason not to. With a final button press, the glass box next to Precia opened up. Before he could get a good look, Precia picked it up, and tossed it over to him.

With a swipe, Ren caught it without missing a beat. "What's this?" He asked as he opened his palm to find a black jewel in the shape of a wing attached to string. A pulse ran through him though, making him raise his guard as he tried to see if anything had happened.

"Relax. The device is just registering you as its master," Precia explained as she took out a handheld terminal of some sort and began to tap away at that instead.

"Device? Huh…" No wonder it reminded him of Raising Heart then.

"It's not as robust as Fate's or Nanoha's. Under my current circumstances, I was unable to procure and AI to place inside it. Right now, it's just a storage device with some spells I thought would be useful to you of which include flight, comms, jamming, stealth, and so on."

"That sounds useful," Ren remarked as he continued to listen to Precia's explanation.

"I hoped it would be. However there is one spell I wanted you to test here specifically," Precia continued.

"Is it safe for me to test it here?" Ren said as he looked at the camera in the room.

"The room is sound proofed, and the camera feed is on a loop. However it will not trick them for too long," Precia told him with a wave of her hand.

"Alright… what's the spell?" Ren knew spells had to be cast, and that even Nanoha's flight spell had a name, not that he could remember it.

"It's a barrier type spell. Just call its name: Meta Barrier." Ren's brow shot up upon hearing the name of the spell. He looked down at the jewel and focused.

"Meta Barrier…" he said as instructed. The jewel flashed for a second before a strange, familiar feeling pervaded the room. However the feeling was not one to one with the metaverse, it was more akin to the feeling the Jewel Seed in his body gave off when it was part of him.

"I'm glad to see that the spell is working," Precia's voice brought Joker back to the present. "It seems to have also called that barrier jacket of yours as well." Joker looked down. His hospital gown had been replaced by his Phantom Thief attire.

"How did you…" Joker's voice trailed as he looked about himself in wonder.

"While I was imprisoned on the Arthra, I took the time to hack into their servers and take the data they had on your Jewel Seed and the magic waves it gave off during it's time with you. It took me months, but I was able to create a spell that replicated that signature. The study of magical energy is my forte, so it was only a matter of time.

"This is incredible…" Joker muttered as he then took stock of his Personas. They were all still there. Just a test though… his mask flashed blue as he switched from Arsène to Pixie.

"Hmm? That's odd." Precia's eyes widened as she rechecked her readings.

"What is it?"

"Your… your Linker Core signature shifted. It's… it's like it's a completely different core. I've restarted the application, and rechecked, but it's still giving me the same results." Changed? Could it have been… Joker switched from Pixie to Yoshitsune. "There it is again, and it's different from the previous two readings. Are you doing that on purpose?"

"I think I might be…"

"That's strange. A Linker Core shouldn't be able to shift like that… Do it one more time." Joker did as he was asked, switching this time from Yoshitsune to Ongyoki. "I see. Whatever you're doing with that mask of yours, it's causing your Linker Core's signature to shift as well… I'm beginning to see a pattern, but it's very minute, almost imperceptibly small."

"So what does this mean?" Joker asked, unsure of what implications a shifting Linker Core would have.

"Practically speaking? Nothing I could think of at the top of my head. It's a more useful masking than any spell could cause, but outside of using it to trick Linker Core sensors, I don't believe there's a use. Perhaps it would make it easier for you to use some spells more than others, but without spells to test, that's a theory at best. I'd like to study it a bit more, but we're running out of time today. The other spells work for sure, so I'm glad that the Meta Barrier spell is working properly."

Joker looked down at the device in his hand, recalling another difference between this device and Nanoha's. "Does this device have a name?" Joker asked.

"I did not name it. I decided that since there was no AI going to be placed inside, and that it was going to be your device in the end, I'll let you name it," Precia told him. However Joker was coming up with a blank. It wasn't like a codename he and his friends would come up with. "You don't have to do it now, and since there is no AI, it's not imperative for it to have a name in the first place."

"I see…"

"If that is all, then allow me to put the finishing touches on the device before I let you go."

"Alright, go ahead." Joker waited without another word as he watched Precia work. The only sound in the room remaining was her fingers tapping away.

-0-0-24-0-0-

Joker's eyes snaped open, and the moment right after, his body jerked up. He rubbed his head. He was apparently completely out, even going so far as to dream about his meeting with Precia at the TSAB HQ. Before he could take stock of what was going on-

"Thank goodness you're alright." Before he could though, he heard an exasperated sigh of relief from his side, but it wasn't a voice from Fate or Nanoha. Looking to his left, he saw Shamal on her knees next to him, tears in her eyes and bags right under. "Do you feel anything strange? If there's anything at all, you have to let me know right away."

"I'm fine, Shamal," Joker answered as he rotated his shoulders and stretched a bit. "Did you heal me? Seems to have worked as well as it could have."

"That's great… that's really…" Shamal said between gasps of air.

"Good work Shamal. Get some rest. You've done enough," Signum ordered as she walked up to the young man. Joker took the time to finally take stock of his surroundings. It seemed that a temporary truce of some sort had formed. The knights were on one side, while the others were on the opposite.

"Thank you for healing him…" Nanoha said slowly, unsure of what to do, but still did not want to be rude. Even if they were the cause, this Shamal person did do her best to heal him, even when she was so tired.

"We didn't do it for you…" Vita said in a low tone, but it gave some comfort to Nanoha for being so familiar a response, even if it did frustrate her still.

"As nice as ever, aren't you Lady Vita," Mona shrugged the best he could. Vita gave the cat the stink eye, but didn't do anything more.

"Are at all able to explain what just happened?" Signum asked Joker who still sat on the sand.

"You mean my Linker Core?" Signum nodded but remained silent. Joker took a second to realize it was because she was waiting for him to explain. "An acquaintance did an analysis of my Linker Core a little while back. Apparently it fluctuated enough to trick most of her sensors into thinking it was a different person's core."

"Do you mean to imply then, that this fluctuation was enough to trick even the Book of Darkness into taking your core twice? Had it not happened just now, I would not have believed it," Signum said, crossing her arms as she processed the information she just heard.

Joker shrugged. "Apparently it was."

"I've never heard of such a thing. A fluctuating Linker Core…" Zafira muttered.

"Well now you have."

"Is it something you could always do, or…" Shamal's voice trailed off as she started to imagine the worst.

Joker headed her off before it could truly spiral out of control. "I've been able to do this for a while now. Are you okay Shamal? You really should take it easy. Maybe I can make some curry for you later."

"That would be-" Shamal caught herself before agreeing. "I mean-" Even after catching herself though, she was unsure of what to say. Joker decided to let her go, seeing her struggling with what to say. Instead, he turned towards where Signum was, Vita and Zafira at her sides.

"The offer is still on the table by the way," Joker said.

"Offer?" Signum was confused. What offer? Though while she was confused, Vita wasn't.

"Are you stupid!?" Vita yelled at Joker, causing everyone but the young man to jump. "Did getting your Linker Core drained twice break your head!? It's not like getting a shot at the hospital. It's dangerous to have your Linker Core drained."

"And yet here I am, fit as a fiddle." Joker jumped up with a backflip onto his feet to demonstrate his point. "As you can see, even when I've been drained, I'm fine."

"Thanks to Shamal's healing spell. How long did it take you to recover the last time?" Vita pointed accusingly.

"Actually, not that long," Fate jumped in to say. "He was good to go within the day at the TSAB headquarters, and even then, they didn't do much other than get him a bed to rest in."

"That's… that's not the…" Vita stammered as her point was dulled to uselessness.

"Are you sure you're able to trick the Book again?" Shamal asked as Vita's voice trailed off.

"I can probably do it about more than a hundred times at least." Once for each Persona, and of that list, it was so far Arsène and Metatron.

"…" Signum looked to be contemplating the information. Everyone remained silent, even the knights, as Signum's mind wrestled with the decision. Only the rolling wind upon the sand filled the air.

Despite the tense atmosphere, Joker remained confident. He knew Signum. He knew all of them, and he knew how important Hayate was to them. He knew they wouldn't say no. He only had to wait for them to say yes. When Signum opened her eyes, he already knew the answer.

"Meet us later. You know where. However, only you and Mona are allowed to come. The TSAB agents are not welcome," Signum finally answered. "This is fine with the rest of you?" She pointed her question at her comrades.

"If that is your command," Zafira replied. "I have no objections."

"Alright…" was all Vita said.

"Shamal?" Signum called her name when she wouldn't answer.

"Um… I… I will follow your commands," Shamal finally deferred to Signum.

"Now hold on!" Nanoha called out before the knights could continue. "Why can't we come?"

"We may be part of the TSAB, but we're Joker's friends before that," Fate followed right after.

"Smells like a trap to me," Arf said, her claws flashing, causing the knights to reach for their weapons.

However, before either side could say anymore though, "Enough." Joker's voice stopped anything more from happening. "It's alright guys."

"Yeah, Joker and I can handle ourselves. Not that we'll need to, right?" Mona looked knowingly at the Knights.

"You have my word that no harm will come to Joker," Signum promised. "However, we will only accept Joker's offer, if only he and Mona come. We'll be leaving now. You can think about it amongst yourselves. We'll be waiting tonight."

"Now hold on!" Arf called out to the knights, but her words were ignored as the Knights opened up a portal that formed behind themselves that Shamal had been preparing for a while. Without another word, they entered one by one before they all had disappeared. Once they had all gone in, the portal evaporated into nothing, leaving them to the desert.

"…very on… Ca… you... hear me? I repeat, everyone can you hear me?" Nanoha's eyes shot open as she heard a familiar voice pierce through static over comms.

"Amy is that you?"

"Finally I got through!" Amy's voice rang clear. A sigh could be heard soon after. "What's the situation?"

"Well… where to start…" Arf said, scratching the back of her head as she wondered how they were even going to explain what was happening.

-0-0-24-0-0-

"And that's about what happened," Nanoha finished her report to Amy, who sat in her chair with her arms crossed. Fate, Arf, and Ren (with Morgana bag bound as usual), had returned from the desert and were in the middle of a meeting with Amy. Ren watched as the girl's expression changed while she processed the information.

"I see…" Amy finally said. "Well I suppose that's better than what happened on our end. I guess whatever hacked out systems also sent Ren and Morgana out into the field as well. It jammed our comms and prevented any observation of the situation."

"Any idea on what it could have been?" Morgana asked, though he already knew the answer.

"No clue. I'd never seen anything like it before. I don't know even know how I fixed it. It was also such a thorough job, like they knew our system inside and out. I'll have to send it over to Precia after this so she patch up whatever happened," Amy explained as she mulled over the events in her head. "One thing's for sure though, I think everyone here is in need of some well-earned rest. It must have been hard on all of you, especially Ren and Morgana."

"Uh… yeah. Totally! We're really bushed," Morgana tried to smile, though a cat could only do so much.

"Yup, just so tired," Ren added as best he could.

"Thought so." Ren mentally fist pumped. "I'll just write up the report by myself. You all should go ahead and rest up."

"Roger that!" Arf said with a salute.

"Don't work too hard Amy," Fate advised.

"Let us know if you need anything," Nanoha was last to say as they all walked out of the room, leaving the girl to her work. The walk continued in silence as the left the operational area and into the living room. Once the door had sealed behind them, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was hard, having to lie to Amy like that," Nanoha said as she sat down on the couch.

"Sorry you had to do that for us…" Ren apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's alright. More importantly though, are you still sure about going through with it?" Nanoha asked, her face painted with just a skosh of worry. "It might still not be too late to back out."

"I know you made a promise to them, but…" Fate's voice trailed, unsure of how to continue.

"Getting your Linker Core sucked dry isn't normal, and it's even more abnormal to be volunteering for it," Arf picked up where Fate left off. "Are you sure we can trust them?"

"Hard as it is to believe, yes. Ren and I have known them for a few months already. If there was something wrong, we would have seen it by now. So far, all we've seen are good people put in a bad situation," Morgana was the one to defend the knights. "Still though, even if they are good people, that doesn't mean they are trusting. This is something we'll have to do on our own unfortunately."

"If you say so… what do you think Fate-chan?" Arf asked with a twinge of defeat.

"Hmm… if there is a way to reach them without further fighting, I think we should take it. I can't say I'm not worried, but I know Ren can handle it," Fate answered before looking towards the young man.

"Hey, what if we also offered our Linker Cores? I mean, if it helps to reduce the burden…" Nanoha offered, only to receive a shake of the head from Ren.

"It would be too suspicious if your cores were suddenly drained. Remember, I'm apparently an exception to the usual side effects of having your core drained. That means you all would most likely exhibit those effects. Besides that, I couldn't bring you with me if I wanted to. The Knights only want me and Morgana to go," Ren explained.

"Right…" Nanoha looked down, a bit disappointed, but understanding his reasoning.

"If anything goes wrong, you will make sure to let us know, right?" It was a question, but Ren felt like he didn't exactly have the leeway to say no to Fate.

"Yeah if we can't go, then you have to tell us what happens okay? You don't have to tell the others, but you have to at least let us know, you got it?" Nanoha's request was just as voluntary. Ren sighed, knowing the answer he had to give.

"I got it. Don't worry. I'll be sure to let you guys know what happens," Ren answered back.

"And you have to tell us everything," Nanoha added, still maintaining her serious expression.

"Well…"

"Everything, Ren," Fate jumped in when he wouldn't give a quick answer.

"Everything…" Ren sighed again. "Anyways, I have to get going. Can't let it get too late after all."

"Alright then. Be careful on the way there," Nanoha said as she leapt off the couch to bid them goodbye.

"Bye Ren! Bye Morgana!" Fate said as she and the others waved the two goodbye. Ren waved back without turning around as he opened the door out of the apartment.

"If anything goes wrong, let us know and we'll be right there," Arf yelled just as Ren and Morgana were making their way out. Ren hoped that wouldn't be needed.

-0-0-24-0-0-

It was the same apartment as always, but the feeling he had when he approached couldn't have been more different. It wasn't the fact that it was late at night, but more so the circumstances. Turning the corner he saw two of them already waiting for him outside.

"Just to be sure, you are alone correct?" Signum asked, her arms crossed and leaning against the wall next to their door.

"Well I don't see the two shorties…" Ren held back the temptation to reply to Vita's remark. Perhaps he could afford to do so later.

Ren shook his head. "As promised. Morgana and I are the only ones here." He raised his shoulder, a little furry head popping out at the call of his name.

"It's only us two," the feline said, receiving a nod from Signum.

"We're heading to the roof, follow us." Ren did as commanded as he walked at pace behind Signum and Vita without another word. Only their footsteps echoed in the darkness. This was it. Hopefully with this, it would all start to change for the better.


Author's Notes:

There we go. Here's where the dominoes begin to tip for things to change. Hopefully, you'll stick around to see what happens.

I originally had this idea for Ren's core a while back, though I had to write a work around when I remembered that the show established that you could only take a Core once. That caused a panic, but I think I made a good enough of a repair on that front. A heads up, the next chapter will be a bit of a filler one, because in story the events happening are around mid December, and the next event isn't until Christmas. I'm going to use that gap to do a few things.

I also hope that flashback integrated well. Flashbacks are sometimes difficult to set up, and interweave organically, but I think I did a passable job of making sure the reader doesn't get lost.

I'm currently going through Persona 5 Strikers (keep wanting to type Scramble), and I'm nearing the end. I'm not at the end yet, but I'm getting there. Was stalled a bit to due to wanting to play Pyra and Mythra in Smash Bros. because the negative reception made me want to main them out of spite. I'm petty like that. Turns out I actually really like playing as them, and it helps I liked XC2 to begin with. Back to P5S though, I'm already trying to see what I can do with it down the line, and I got some ideas brewing already. Nothing concrete, but my head's already making ideas.

That's all I've got for now. As usual, I hope you enjoyed yourself, and have a great rest of your day. Be safe!

PS. Wanted to get this out the same day I published it, but then some changes I wanted to make took longer than I thought it would, so I'll just have to settle for a belated release.