I'm sorry this didn't come out sooner. I am now, as some of you may know, in Canada, which has taken what should have been a long period of free time and chopped it into pieces I can grab here and there to write in. Also, I can be a bit of a perfectionist occasionally, so typing this up and editing it took me… half a day, maybe. By which I mean twelve hours or so, spread over a couple days. And now I feel ridiculous for being concerned that it isn't up to standard… But I know there are better writers on this website and I can't help but compare myself to them.
I get the feeling that I've messed up somewhere in this chapter, but I can't think of what. If you see anything that seems odd, please let me know.
Now, this chapter has a lot less viewpoint jumping in it, and also a lot more of the chapter is written from specific viewpoints. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am still trying things out. So, like pretty much every chapter before it, I have something I am unsure about. This time I am starting the chapter partway through, then going back and showing you how things arrived at that point.
If you get confused or you think it would work better with everything in chronological order, tell me. Seriously, I could do it in two minutes, but only if you guys tell me that the way it is now isn't working. I'll be relying on you!
Without further ado:
Chapter 8: Growing Pains
June 1, 0065
Yuuno squirmed futilely against the ropes rendering him more-or-less immobile. It was hard to think – his head still felt like it was wrapped in cotton – but eventually he realized that he wouldn't be escaping any time soon. Settling for glaring at his captors, Yuuno tried to focus, but it wasn't easy. Everything was so fuzzy.
"Sorry about this," Shamal said, and to be fair she really seemed to mean it. "I'll make this as quick as I can."
Yuuno wondered how events had led to this…
"Oh boy!" exclaimed a young archeologist. "These Jewel Seeds are amazing! I can't wait to examine them!"
"Don't worry, you'll get the opportunity soon enough," chuckled a TSAB officer. "We'll take good care of them, and you'll be informed when the chance to examine them arrives. There's absolutely no chance that we'll lose them, causing a chain of events that will result in a dimensional dislocation!"
"I trust you implicitly, bumbling official!" Yuuno chirped.
Yuuno blinked. That… didn't seem right. He was pretty sure that that wasn't how it had happened. Yuuno did his best to focus, to clear away the haze that his mind floated in…
Then the world turned to agony as Shamal ripped the linker core out of his chest.
Several hours earlier:
It was a peaceful summer day. The sky was blue, the clouds a perfect fluffy white, and Nanoha longed to head out into the sweltering heat. She couldn't wait to start flying again, but she didn't know how to make a barrier to hide that from prying eyes.
"Of all the irresponsible-"
"Arisa, please, calm down!"
"I'm only going to strangle her a little! It isn't like she actually uses her head, she'll never know the difference!"
"Nanoha, at least try to defuse this," Yuuno scolded. "She does have a valid point about your risk-taking tendencies. Just explain your reasoning."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Nanoha said, as if that explained everything.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Yuuno buried his face in his hands. Weren't girls supposed to be more socially capable then boys? Even if it was true, Nanoha's response was the wrong one. Especially if it was true.
"Knock yourself out, Arisa," said Suzuka dryly.
"I can't. It would be like…" Arisa struggled to find a suitable comparison. "Like kicking an autistic puppy or something."
"Hey!"
"I suppose I could forgive you," Arisa pretended to consider, smirking the way she did when she was feeling crafty, "for leaving us out of the loop while you ran off to save the world."
"It wasn't exactly like that…" Nanoha trailed off. "Well, I would have gotten Yuuno in trouble!"
"Oh, don't worry, 'Kyubey' over there is next on my list." Arisa 'reassured' her.
"My name is Yuuno," the boy corrected, confused by the reference.
Arisa continued as if he had not spoken. "You have to show me your magic! I want to see how this works."
"That sounds like fun," Suzuka agreed, though in a much less predatory manner. "We should gather everyone up so you can show off your powers now that you are more-or-less healed." Nanoha fingered her left arm's wrappings unconsciously, but readily agreed.
Yuuno grimaced. What kind of logic did these girls run on? They could have just asked. At least Arf and Fate made sense.
The four of them swept into the kitchen (with varying degrees of enthusiasm) where Shinobu, Kyouya, Fate and Arf were. For a moment, Yuuno froze up, the realization that Shinobu might not have been told the true story hitting him. Thankfully, Fate's real history had apparently been conveyed to Suzuka's older sister, as she showed no surprise at the girls' suggestion.
Yuuno cast a glance over at Fate, who looked overwhelmed. That wasn't really surprising, given that she was surrounded by new people. Fate was able to function around small groups of known, trusted individuals to an extent, but her social skills were mediocre. If she didn't know a good way to handle something, she defaulted to politeness. And if that didn't work, she just froze up. Hurricane Arisa, with her pointed questions about Fate's intentions and past, was well on the way to reducing Fate to a stuttering wreck (and Arf a hair's breadth from intervening) when Shinobu deftly seized the reigns of the conversation and suggested that Nanoha proceed with her demonstration in the dojo.
Returned to the periphery of the conversation, Fate was calm enough to let go of Arf by the time they reached the dojo. Yuuno noted that she made no move to rejoin the conversation, which was a sensible decision. Arisa was like a shark, she could sense blood in the water from miles away.
"Do the transformation sequence!" Suzuka encouraged Nanoha, though not as loudly as Arisa. Yuuno had only a vague idea of what that meant, but apparently Nanoha was quite familiar with it, as she acted without hesitation.
Lifting Raising Heart above her head, Nanoha complied.
"Raising Heart! Set up!"
"Standby, Ready."
In accordance with Nanoha's wishes (Yuuno assumed, or at least hoped, that Raising Heart was a bit more practical usually) Raising Heart took longer than normal to form the barrier jacket piece by piece, with plenty of gratuitous ribbons of pink light. Nanoha gave her staff a twirl with her right hand as the bow on the front of her magical armor materialized, and struck a pose. Yuuno felt that it was kind of silly, but the non-mages were all rather impressed. It was just the difference in their experiences, he supposed. To him, barrier jackets were normal.
Fate followed suit, minus the device-twirling and ribbons, and received a little applause and some cheers from the girls. Her face burning, Fate scooted over to the supportive figure of her familiar, leaving Yuuno to go next. He was honestly a bit leery of using magic after the pain that his spellcasting had caused him while fighting Signum, but he'd had some time to recover. His linker core seemed fine, as best he could tell, but he would just form his barrier jacket and then beg off from further demonstrations.
With a practiced appli…
"Yuuno! Yuuno! Talk to me, what's wrong?"
Yuuno blearily blinked at Kyouya's worried face, utterly confused. Why was he on the floor? He tried to sit up, only to be made aware of an intense throbbing ache that was present throughout his body. Letting out a hiss of pain, Yuuno did his best to relax his inexplicably pained muscles.
"You collapsed, and weren't responding to me for a few seconds. Are you in pain?" Kyouya prompted, to which Yuuno gave a small, jerky nod. "What hurts?"
Time was liquid as Kyouya slowly dragged the information that he needed out of Yuuno. At Yuuno's insistence, no ambulance was called. It wouldn't help. Painkillers did, though Kyouya seemed oddly hesitant about that. As the pain receded into a curious dissociation, Yuuno regained enough lucidity to realize why Kyouya was the one taking care of him. A vague awareness of the presence of others in the room also returned, but Yuuno's focus was on his problems.
He had collapsed while, for lack of a better description, drawing mana from his linker core. So his problem lay there.
And Yuuno was the only one who had an aptitude for healing magic, which was, to the best of his admittedly limited knowledge, necessary for dealing with linker core-related problems. Not that he had the proper training, but that was rather a moot point considering that he couldn't use magic.
…Drat.
-linebreak-
Yuuno's semi-aware doze was broken by Nanoha's voice. Or more specifically, by what she said. If there was one phrase that Yuuno was beginning to associate with imminent pain and suffering, it was 'I have a plan.' And thanks to the use of the speakerphone setting, Yuuno was able to hear both sides of the ensuing conversation.
"Of course we would be happy to help!" The voice of his doom said emphatically with the chirpiness of bunnies.
Something was off about that, Yuuno puzzled. Something about painkillers glimmered in his muzzy thoughts, but it disappeared before he could grasp it.
"Thank you so much," Nanoha said. "We're really worried and our only other option was finding the right dosage of painkillers to get him lucid enough to try fixing himself."
Yuuno tried to muster the will to voice his support for Plan B, but failed.
"Under no circumstances should you try that," Shamal interjected. "If he were more awake he'd tell you the same thing. Even I wouldn't try to operate on my own linker core and healing is my best skill."
"We'll be there as soon as possible," the mistress of evil announced. Maybe he would be able to escape before they arrived?
As if she could hear his thoughts, Arf's hand landed on his shoulder. The look on her face was one of reassurance, but Yuuno was fairly sure that she was holding him in place. Traitor. Or something.
"I have the coordinates for the dojo if you can perform a teleport." Fate suggested.
"Ah, thank you." Shamal said. "Whenever you are ready."
Yuuno could only listen helplessly as Fate described her parameters to the mages on the other side of the phone.
Shamal grimaced as her spell ended, which Yuuno considered a poor sign. He was more awake now, though things were still a little off. "Well, the good news is that I can fix this quickly, fairly easily, and at next to no risk."
"So what's the bad news?" Shirou asked. When did he get here? Yuuno wondered.
"My method is… nonstandard." Shamal explained. "Think of Yuuno's problem as a malfunctioning pump in a nuclear reactor's cooling system. The reactor works fine, but without coolant it becomes increasingly dangerous and inefficient as it runs. Eventually, if it runs for too long, meltdown occurs. I can fix the pump, solving the problem."
"How is that bad?" Hayate asked.
"She will have to directly access his linker core," Signum informed them. "Which is impossible using gentle methods. It will be excruciatingly painful."
Shamal continued. "It will take maybe thirty seconds, but he has to be awake for it or his linker core will try to wake him up by force. In his current state, that is an unacceptable danger. We'll need to immobilize him, preferably with physical restraints. As convenient as magical binds are, they lack the permanence of rope or chain and can be broken with effort. If he breaks free he will hurt himself."
"So what is the other option?" Yuuno asked. Silence greeted him. "Oh, come on, there has to be something."
"We could drain your linker core using the Book of Darkness and hope that you heal properly." Vita said dryly. "But I suggest option one."
Shamal sighed. "The problem is, I'm not a civilian doctor. I'm a battlefield medic. Everything I know, every surgery, every spell, every technique, is the best option in terms of time taken, results gained, and recovery time required. Nothing else factors in. Perhaps there are other options, but this is what I know, what I can do. It will hurt. But it will work."
Shirou responded, but Yuuno's short supply of attention was drawn to Arisa, who knelt next to him. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "If I hadn't…"
"It would have happened eventually," Yuuno grumbled. "Not your fault."
He didn't get much of a chance to see if that had helped her feel less guilty, as Arf picked him up and carried him to Nanoha's bedroom for the treatment.
Present:
"Let him sleep it off," Shamal instructed Arf as she ran a diagnostic on the unconscious boy on the bed. "I don't want him to do any magic until tomorrow and I want to be there when it happens. But other than that, as best I can tell it seems he's going to be okay."
Arf grunted in acknowledgement.
"…I'm sorry." Shamal said quietly. "I should have handled our first meeting better."
"Yes. You should have." Arf's words were utterly devoid of inflection, and Shamal could not tell whether her apology had been spurned or accepted.
"Will you allow me to examine you and your friends?" Shamal asked tentatively.
"Fate is my master, not the other way around."
Another non-answer. An indication of animosity or of distrust? Both? Neither? Arf was purposefully making this difficult, Shamal concluded. But she needed to extend this olive branch sooner rather than later, so she pressed on.
"If I ask them, I imagine they will say yes without a second thought. So I am asking you if you are comfortable with that."
Arf snorted. "No. Of course I'm not comfortable with that. Do it anyway though. You, we can fight. Illness, we can't." Not waiting for Shamal to formulate a response, Arf swept out of the room to inform those waiting of Yuuno's restored health.
Shamal grimaced. "Well, I suppose that's the best I can hope for."
"I still cannot believe this!"
Megane ignored her friend's ranting, thinking her options through for the umpteenth time. She had already exhausted her supply of complaints about being taken off the Scaglietti case hours ago, and was trying her best to focus on what she could control. Quint wasn't helping.
Zest was the sort of leader who led by example rather than by micromanagement. He trusted his team implicitly, and for good reason. She wouldn't be betraying that trust if she slipped into a less risky position for much of their next assignment. She wasn't as much of a front-line combatant as she had been back when she first met Quint, anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. Of course, that essentially meant she was going to be signing herself up for the brunt of whatever paperwork they would have to deal with, but someone had to do that and why not her?
"I am going to kick those jerks where the sun doesn't shine when I get the chance!"
"Subaru will cry if you get yourself arrested." Megane pointed out absently. As long as Zest didn't consider her to be in any trouble, he would stay out of her personal life. And Quint was respectful enough of her privacy to not press for information. Yet. She should really get it over with and tell them… maybe tomorrow?
Her thoughts were derailed by the appearance of her irate friend's face inches away from her own. "No! No! You're doing it wrong!" The expressive woman scolded Megane. "You're supposed to sympathize with me and help me vent, not point out the flaws in my reasoning! That's Genya's job after he finishes helping me…" She leered. "…Calm down."
"Too much information, Quint!" Megane gestured frantically, blushing hard. Somehow Quint could turn anything into innuendo if she tried, and Megane never knew when she was being serious. "I have no interest in your sex life!"
"Oh, don't be such a prude," Quint sniffed. "Well, since you obviously aren't going to cooperate, you're helping me train today to work off some steam. You've been letting yourself go a little lately, might even get a bit of a potbelly at this rate." She smirked as she prodded Megane's abdomen.
Megane sputtered. "You- I- Potbelly- What?"
"Of course, if you're still sore from your last beat down, I'll understand." Quint demurred.
"Not a chance, Nakajima," Megane growled. "I can take you on anytime."
Quint grinned. "Prove it, Alpine."
"Quite a troublemaker, aren't you, Gil?" Admiral Crowbel scolded Graham. "We've had a hard time deciding what to do with you."
Graham rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, cheered in spite of himself by his superior's presence. It was a mystery to him how she pulled it off, but Mizetto Crowbel oozed 'grandma'. She looked every inch the quintessential elderly woman, short in stature with a face grooved by laugh lines and eyes that rarely opened fully. Some small part of him expected her to go around pinching little boys' cheeks, knitting sweaters, and giving people slices of pie. She made it seem so natural that if he hadn't known her from before her hair turned gray, he would have said that she had always looked like this.
"So what's the verdict?" He asked, surprised at how nervous he felt. But he supposed that the TSAB was the single biggest constant left in his life. If he was discharged then he wasn't sure what he would do with himself.
"You'll be happy to hear that we aren't going to be using you as a scapegoat." Crowbel said seriously. "The dislocation is so serious a matter that we can't just start pointing fingers. We need to find out who did this and how and we need to do it fast. To be blunt, you are on an unofficial permanent probation, and you will be required to cooperate fully with the investigation."
"Very well. It would be my pleasure to help bring those responsible to justice." Graham said sincerely. If anything, he felt he was a little too eager, which brought the risk of obsession and tunnel vision. He would have to watch out for that.
If only his newfound self-awareness had not had such a cost…
Megane spat out a few blades of grass as she picked herself off the ground. "'A-class' my ass. I swear, that Unchain Knuckle deserves to be classified as a rare skill."
"It doesn't do much for me unless someone tries to immobilize me." Quint hopped down from her vantage point above the training area, the magical construct she had been standing on disintegrating behind her. "I haven't got anything strong enough to put me in the big leagues. My poor devices are at their limits, dealing with my antics. I'm hoping that R&D will come up with something I can use."
Megane nodded. Quint's rather unique compensation for her, at best, mediocre flight skills, Wing Road, was able to create a solid pathway out of mana. It complimented her Strike Arts well, but the calculations Quint had to perform to use it were beyond the capabilities of her twin storage devices. Needless to say, this used up a lot of Quint's concentration, and using additional spells was a strain. Which was to say, it was impossible for a lesser mage. If Quint ever got a hardware upgrade that let her put more 'oomph' into her attacks, she would go up a rank with just a little work to iron out the kinks in her fighting style.
If she got an intelligent device, she could probably make a strong try for S rank. But given the 'finders keepers' rule, the navy had a distinct advantage over the ground forces in obtaining such devices. And tearing apart an AI's code to find out what made it sapient was generally viewed the same way as dissecting a living person to find their soul. Supposedly, R&D was close to figuring it out, but they had been saying that for over a decade. Apparently they had almost succeeded, but then the head scientist at the lab had gone crazy or something like that, and the fallout had set them back years. The breakthrough could come tomorrow or it could come a decade from now.
"You need to be more offensive." Quint advised. "Your barrier jacket is strong enough to soak up a few hits, so trust it to do its job if doing so gives you a chance to launch a counterattack. Also, your shooting spells could be faster."
Accepting the criticism graciously, Megane reciprocated. "Try to make Wing Road more resistant to damage. Also, don't rely solely on your speed to make up for Wing Road's predictability, use shooting magic to help you close in on your opponents."
Not much different from last time, but they didn't have a lot of time to train amidst their busy work schedule. Megane and Quint deactivated their barrier jackets, the day's practice done. Megane was more than ready to go back to her apartment and rest at this point.
"Do you need a ride home?" She asked Quint.
"No, Genya is picking me up." Megane's boisterous friend replied. Exchanging goodbyes, the two went their separate ways. It felt somewhat awkward to just leave like that, but what else was there to say?
…Tomorrow. She'd tell Quint tomorrow.
The walk to her car was quiet, which left Megane little to do but think. Being moved from a case before it was closed was something she loathed. The knowledge that the criminal responsible was still out there was like an itch in the back of her mind. And it was always worse with the bad ones, like Scaglietti. The man, and she used the word in the loosest sense possible, was a nightmare. He had been a criminal for longer than she had been in law enforcement, and yet he had never seen the inside of a jail cell. No one had ever come nearly as close as her team, and yet they were reassigned just like that. She hadn't really believed that it was going to happen until it was finalized today…
It felt like giving up. Megane hated that more than anything else about their reassignment.
However, while she wasn't happy to be off the Scaglietti case, there was a silver lining: eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. No being woken up at midnight to hear that Scaglietti had kidnapped some new test subjects or stolen a Lost Logia or used illegal experimental weaponry to carve his initials into a mountain… Scaglietti seemed to go out of his way to rub their noses in their impotence, always staying three steps ahead of the TSAB in spite of his lack of subtlety.
Forcefully setting aside thoughts of the criminal, Megane glanced at the lights turning on to drive back the evening shadows from several rooms in the building where she and her compatriots worked. Most would leave before nightfall, but some would not be leaving tonight. She felt especially sympathetic for the team working on the Shroud of the Saint King case. There was a lot of pressure being applied to speed up the process of retrieving the holy artifact from whoever had stolen it, but scuttlebutt was that they weren't having much luck. They wouldn't be getting much sleep.
Tomorrow evening, it would probably be her, Zest, and Quint burning the midnight oil. Best to rest while she could.
June 2, 0065
Out of all the things that Megane would have liked to do with her morning, going to see the doctor didn't even make the list. But some things were more important than her personal desires. And it wasn't as if she could blame anyone but herself for the necessity of an appointment with this particular specialist. Well, she wasn't the only one responsible, but it was ultimately her own fault for not stopping things before they got this far. She had had plenty of chances to do that if she so chose.
"Everything seems to be fine," announced the doctor as she examined the information provided by the technomagical tools at her disposal. "But I have to caution you, the sort of strenuous physical and magical activities you continue to do will only carry more and more risk as time passes. I strongly recommend that you request leave, or at least transfer to a noncombat post for the next six months or so."
Megane shook her head. "I can't leave my team in the lurch like that. I'll stick to deskwork as much as possible, but my work is too important for me to just leave."
The doctor sighed. "I can't force you to follow my advice. But please, just take it easy."
"I'll do my best," Megane promised.
"That's all I ask," said the doctor genially. "No new symptoms?"
"No, thankfully." Megane said with a little grin. "I can't even begin to describe how relieved I am not to have to suffer through morning sickness."
"Well, with luck it will stay that way." Giving Megane a scrutinizing look, the older woman continued. "Have you made any decisions about how you intend to handle the last month or so?"
Megane fidgeted guiltily. "I… want to involve my coworkers in this… but there just never seems to be a good opportunity to tell them."
"It's your decision how you handle it," the doctor said supportively. "You are only just starting to show, so you still have some time before your mobility is impaired, and it is definitely possible, though not preferable, to manage alone. But regardless, it doesn't hurt to start planning ahead. Try to rearrange your home and your workspace to minimize the amount of bending over, twisting, and stretching you need to do. If you have trouble doing something with a pillow under your shirt, then you should think of alternative solutions."
"I'll get started on that when I get the chance." Megane agreed, then sighed. "I'm sorry I'm making this so hard for you. I really don't intend to ignore your advice, but the work I do is too important for me to just step aside for the next six months."
"I've dealt with worse patients in the past." The older woman smiled. "The goal is to make this as safe, easy, and comfortable for you and your child as possible. I can give advice, but you have to live through this yourself. My job is to make sure that you have all of the information you need to make informed decisions, and help you through any complications that arise. Every patient has different needs, and I work with that, not against it."
Megane would have preferred to be scolded, as the supportive response left her to poke holes in her own reasoning. Or lack thereof. Realistically, her teammates were on her side, no matter what. Zest and Quint would be nothing but supportive, they were dependable that way. She would be forbidden from fighting until after she gave birth, but that wasn't really a problem. After all, she wanted her child to be safe. It was just… never the right time. There had never been a good chance. …In the last three months.
Yeah, nice work, Megane, she mocked herself. But don't worry! I'm sure your investigator friends won't notice any time soon!
"Thank you for all of your help," Megane said.
"Oh, no need to thank me yet. We still have a while to go." The doctor smiled at her. "Shall we wrap things up for today? I know you have a busy schedule."
"Ah, thank you. My schedule is a bit in flux at the moment, but I'll call you in a few days to set up our next appointment."
She would tell them tomorrow. It wouldn't be good to put additional stress on the team today. Everyone needed to be at their best. Tomorrow. She would tell Quint tomorrow.
Consciousness came slowly and painlessly to Yuuno as he woke up. He took a few seconds to put his jumbled memories into something that made sense. Evidently whatever painkillers Kyouya had dosed him with were rather strong. He had thought he had been out of it, but a clear mind revealed that he had actually been really, really out of it. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have had any prolonged side effects.
"Are you feeling better?"
The tentative question came from Fate, who was the room's only other occupant. Since the world wasn't hurting anymore, Yuuno turned to face her and gave her a smile and a nod, earning a visible exhalation of relief from his friend.
"Arf, Nanoha and her father, Signum, and Shamal are out in the dojo right now. Shamal is examining us to make sure that we don't have any medical problems related to magic." Fate spoke tentatively, but continued at Yuuno's silent encouragement. "I was first, now it is Nanoha's turn. Whenever you feel ready we can go and join them."
Fate looked unusually tired and stressed, Yuuno noted as she spoke. It didn't feel right, and it took Yuuno a few seconds to realize what was bothering him. It was the first time Yuuno had ever seen Fate look troubled. It was understandable that she felt that way, but she had never looked like that before, even during the intensely emotional events on the Garden of Time.
Was this his fault?
Yuuno didn't let his worry show as he gingerly climbed out of bed, half-expecting for pain to surge with each motion. Gaining confidence when that did not occur, he headed out towards the dojo with Fate silently following him. As Fate had warned him, Signum was there, locked in a 'not-glaring-at-each-other' contest with Arf. Nanoha's father stood to one side, and smiled as he noticed Yuuno's approach.
Shamal was frowning as she cast a spell on Nanoha. "This makes no sense. What is this?"
"Is there something wrong?" Nanoha's father asked.
"Not as far as I can tell. Her linker core is just… shaped funny. It works normally though, so I don't think it is a problem." Shamal shrugged helplessly. "Do you have any rare skills?" She asked Nanoha.
Nanoha scrunched up her face in confusion, and Yuuno answered her question before she asked. "A rare skill is an ability that can't be taught to another mage easily, if at all, unlike most spells which can be taught to anyone who uses the same magical system as the teacher. They can be unique or simply very uncommon, but it is a valuable special ability regardless. To the best of my knowledge, you don't have one."
"Yuuno!" Nanoha cried delightedly. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm not hurting anymore." He turned to Shamal. "Thank you for helping me."
"It was nothing." Shamal shook her head. "Besides, until you put your linker core to the test I can't say for certain that you are healed completely."
"Do you feel up to trying to use magic again?" Shirou asked, and Yuuno was pleased by the honest concern in his voice. Yuuno nodded decisively in response, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.
To Yuuno's relief, it was an easy, painless process to perform what he mentally dubbed 'the world's most useless attack spell.' He shoot the small ball of green light forward and watched it dissipate to nothing a foot or so away. It seemed he was back to normal.
"It seemed to work perfectly up until you shot it," Shamal said concernedly. "I'm not sure why it didn't work."
Yuuno felt his face flush. "It did work." He snapped. "I just don't have a talent for shooting magic. That was normal."
Shamal had the good sense to leave it at that, and Yuuno ignored the inquisitive look Nanoha gave him. Quickly running some kind of advanced diagnostic spell, Shamal gave him a clean bill of health. (He wanted to learn that spell, it was awesome. A full check-up in under a minute using only one spell? Amazing.) Yuuno vaguely noted Shamal moving towards Arf, probably for her check-up, but gave his attention to Nanoha and Fate.
Nanoha looked red-eyed and tired, but she also looked buoyantly happy that everyone was okay. Fate looked to be in a similar state, but there was a twitchiness and a weariness to her form that made him worry. Yuuno didn't know how to help her, but he could show his appreciation for how the two of them had helped him by bringing Shamal to heal him. So that was what he did.
"Thank you. Both of you." He managed a small smile. "Sorry to worry you like that."
And Fate broke into tears. Yuuno felt panic setting in as Fate sniffled quietly, droplets rolling down her cheeks in spite of her best efforts to wipe them away. She fell to her knees and began to sob as he and Nanoha rushed up to her.
Crouching down at Fate's side, Yuuno followed Nanoha's mouthed instructions and pulled Fate close, letting her bury her face in his shoulder, which soon became wet with tears. The three of them huddled together in an awkward group hug which soon put a painful pressure on Yuuno's poorly positioned legs, but he ignored it. This was the first time, to the best of his knowledge, that Fate had cried since the Garden of Time. In fact, she hadn't cried then either. She had just been holding in all of those feelings, acting as though they didn't affect her.
He couldn't even imagine what she felt right now. Her family was gone, his was still alive. In fact, he imagined he was the one who was going to be given a funeral at some point. He wasn't going to see them again for years.
An odd sensation of wetness occurred on his cheeks, and when Yuuno blinked his eyelashes clung together strangely. Looking over Fate's shoulder at Nanoha, he saw that she was crying.
And then he was crying too.
Arf smiled, her link to Fate allowing her to sense her charge's rampant emotions. Fate considered herself to be safe, so Arf decided to let it play out. Fate needed to strengthen her bonds with those around her more than she needed Arf's presence.
"I don't recall saying anything funny or pleasing." Shamal said sharply. Throwing her arms up, the knight scowled. "I suppose there's nothing to be done." She shook her head. "You know, when I first saw you I compared you to Zafira, but there really is a difference between guardian beasts and familiars. The MidChildan method is so… temporary. To create a living being under a contract that terminates their existence once the terms are completed is repugnant to me."
"For most familiars it only retracts their sapience and boosted magical abilities," Arf pointed out. "My creation was in no way normal. My original body was…" She tapped her finger against her chin, considering how to put it. "Very, very close to death. And my contract was formed after the fact, since Fate hardly knew what she was doing. I helped craft the terms of it. I'll survive until I die, or Fate dies. I could shut my link with Fate down to almost nothing and leave, and suffer no negative consequences. I choose not to."
"It is the idea itself that is so wrong." Shamal argued. "In Belka, the creation of a guardian beast was an event of great importance. Years of effort would be spent crafting the consciousness, bestowing strength and prowess, teaching the fledgling intelligence of the purpose for their creation, instructing them in all manner of subjects. A guardian beast was practically the child of their creator, and treated with the utmost respect." Shamal shook her head. "In comparison, creating a familiar seems to involve picking up an animal and shoving enough mana into it, then removing the mana when the familiar's work is done."
"Well, I suppose it depends on the purpose and on the master." Arf gave Shamal a sly look. "I imagine it is the same for you and your friends, whatever you are. I would never have noticed in combat, but sitting here I get the feeling that you aren't quite as… real as a human being. I can enhance my senses, and my hearing is telling me that your heartbeat is at exactly 60 beats per minute and never deviates in the slightest. That isn't natural."
Shamal met her eyes impassively, not offering any details. Which was as good as a confirmation, really.
"Of course, the way you just showed up, fanatically serving a random little girl in a wheelchair holding a rather nice book, was a rather big clue as well." Arf smiled. "Ah, but it really is sad. See, I could die happily today, knowing that Fate would be okay. Every moment I am alive is a gift, nothing more. And I'm not bound to Fate's will, otherwise I would be drying her tears rather than letting her new friends do it."
Now's the test, Arf thought. What will you do, I wonder?
"Of the two of us, you are the one to be pitied."
"Really." Shamal said coolly. "I don't quite see that."
"Then I suppose you could tell me why you are here playing doctor?" Arf said as sweetly as she could. "Is it because you want to help us… or is it because Hayate wants you to help us?"
"…There is no reason it can't be both." Shamal responded. "I don't see any point to this discussion."
Aaaand there it is, Arf sighed inwardly. You really don't know, do you? You've never even stopped for an instant to wonder if you have free will. And the moment someone questions it, you stop being philosophical and start feeling uncomfortable. Of course, that isn't proof, but still…
"Considering the ridiculous amount of power you and your friends have, I'd say that your motives are very much relevant to me." Arf said as if she were discussing the weather. "From what I've seen, Hayate is a sweet little girl, so I wouldn't be too worried if she held your leash. So you are right, it doesn't really matter, does it? If you want to leave, go ahead. Go tell Hayate the good news about Yuuno's recovery."
Arf purposefully looked away from the knight and waited until Shamal stood up. She hoped that Shamal wasn't going to rip her in two for this…
"But just one quick question before you go: Are you serving Hayate because she's a sweet little girl who deserves to be protected, or because she's holding that book?"
Arf winced as the door slammed shut on her final words. Shamal hadn't even waited for her to finish her question, though Arf was certain Shamal had heard it. When she could no longer hear Shamal's footsteps, she turned around slowly, and released the breath she was holding in. Arf leaned back against the wall, feeling exhausted.
"Well, at least she didn't kill me for my insolence." She murmured, a bitter smile tugging at the sides of her mouth. If only she could ask for Linith's advice… but now, as always, that was impossible.
"I wonder if she'll thank me later…"
Somehow, she doubted it.
Megane kept her legs relaxed as the light faded, allowing her to absorb the millimeter drop to the floor without stumbling. The regulations-mandated safety clearance for teleporting had thrown off her balance the first time she experienced it, but now she easily stepped forward with Quint and Zest to clear the way for incoming travelers.
"Investigators?"
The query came from a young man in a uniform crisp enough to make Lieutenant General Gaiz's aide cry with envy. Berating herself for the thought, Megane stood at parade rest behind her commanding officer. What was that girl's name anyway? Auris, that was it. She couldn't remember if that was her first name or her last name though. Not wanting to miss anything, she turned her attention to the teenager once more.
"I am Enforcer Chrono Harlaown, assigned to the Non-Administered Planet 97 case. If you will follow me to the briefing room we can begin."
Author's Note:
Okay, so this chapter was mostly from two viewpoints, Yuuno's and Megane's.
There were reasons that I chose them. For Yuuno, it was because he was the center of the action on Earth. For Megane, it was because I wanted to give some insight into how I am treating the personality of (mostly)-pre-Lutecia, pre-JS Incident Megane Alpine. So wait, her personality was affected by those events? Yes. Character development is more than just a plot device, you know. It actually happens to people. She's one of them.
Also, because I wanted to get the revelation that she is pregnant out of the way sooner rather than later. You're welcome. I wasn't stringing it out, just so you know. The reason it isn't said outright until later in the chapter is that Megane isn't constantly thinking 'I'm pregnant'. Like many people, she has a lot going on in her life, so she is more focused on how being pregnant affects all of those things than on the fact that she is going to have a baby. Pregnancy is just one of several important things on her mind, though for obvious reasons she will be more focused on the baby (who, yes, is Lutecia, who is born in 0065 according to the official timeline) when she gets closer to giving birth.
Lutecia's origins are a bit of a mystery. Her father is unspecified, although her father figure is definitely Zest Grangeitz, which has made Zest a popular choice for her biological father. But hey, Fate's father doesn't rate a mention either, and no I don't consider Jail a viable candidate even if he did literally help make her.
…I just reread that, and I would like to state that I was comparing Lutecia's father being unspecified with Fate's father being unspecified, not comparing Zest's and Jail's roles as parental figures.
Quint Nakajima, mother of two-plus-a-few-more-sort-of-maybe, had the strange luck of being unable to have children (to her disappointment), having her DNA used in experiments (without her knowledge, though it presumably creeped her out when she found out), and getting two daughters out of the deal (Which was a pleasant surprise when she rescued them from the facility they were in. But I have to wonder, are they her clones or her daughters? If they are her daughters, who was the father? Genya or someone else? You guys just have to read and review. I have to think about stuff like this all the time. You guys so get the better end of the deal.)
She taught her elder daughter Ginga everything Ginga knows, died (leaving her husband Genya to take care of the two) and Ginga taught Subaru everything Subaru knows. But none of that has happened because I'm writing this story, not canon. We shall see what happens in the future.
Strike Arts is the MidChildan way of saying 'any of about a billion different fighting styles involving your fist and your opponent's face'. Basically, martial arts for mages. It involves the use of some magic, but not nearly as much as, say, Nanoha's method of fighting. For more details, read ViVid. Both Quint and Megane are good at it, but Quint is particularly talented. She has a special skill, 'Unchain Knuckle', which is basically Yuuno's worst nightmare, and has an explanation that wouldn't be out of place in one of those mangas about martial artists that can punch through a bank vault door.
Why did all of the kids start crying? Are they sad? Happy? Well… both, I guess. But if you are asking that question, you are on the wrong track. This has more to do with catharsis, which vaguely means emotional release in the language of English professors. I won't go further into it, but I will say that if you don't know why they have pent up emotions, you should go through the last couple of chapters and see the parts where they worked through their problems.
Yeah, you'll be looking for a while.
Now I could tell you all about what Arf was doing at the end, or about Zest's character, or how things are going with the Wolkenritter. Or I could, just, you know, write the next chapter. Which will probably have some of that stuff in it. I can't say for sure, because I haven't written it yet. (Although I have started on the first scene, so I can technically say that I haven't finished it yet, but that would be misleading.)
