Planet fall is always an interesting experience. Sometimes the ride is smooth and swift, yet more often it bumpy as hell. You're body is thrown around even with the harnesses and gravity dampeners. By the time you land your more that happy to get off the ship even if it's into enemy fire.

My dropship was no expectation. In five thousand years little advance had been made to make the drop any easier or comfortable. My pilot made some announcement, most likely a sarcastic gab if I knew the man at all, but I missed it. I was too focused on more important matters.

My battle armor was akin to the Daemonguard style of armor, but much higher quality. The suit was laced with the very latest in nanomachines and reinforced spells. My Lady always made sure her guard had the best of everything. Weapons, armor, men, ships, supplies, she always provided for us with the best, the most powerful and advanced.

She was the mother I never knew and for many others in the Inquisitorial department she was our mother. Our goddess. My goddess. The men and women that made up my retinue were of similar thought. Pulled from every branch of the Devil's legions they made up the best of the best.

I was studying a map of the landing sight when the dropship touched down. Normally we would jump out of the ship and fly or levitate the rest of the way, but every ship was needs to carry the wounded back to the fleet. My ship would aid in that matter. The soldiers must see its commanders as human too and show them that all of us, not matter rank were bound together in service to my Lady.

That was the initiative my Lady had used to crave out her empire. It was old, but she would never abandon it and so long as she lived that would be my initiative as well. When she fell I would fall, until then I would carry her will and words into the bleakest corners of the dimensions.

Harry's apathetic gaze bore down on the crowds. The bakery he had found provided a good vantage point. He could see the train station a little ways up the hill and the street the dropped down to were it ran along the sea. The early winter chill was nothing even without his Barrier Jacket on. The warmth of the bakery ovens heated the room to a comfortable degree.

He watched the ignorant masses pass up and down the hill. There were many more people in this one city than he had first thought. It was far more than he was use to seeing back home. Even London wasn't as densely packed as this land and he had spent little time in the big cities.

Voldemort had focused on the smaller towns and cities. The battles had been fought in the countryside, in rolling hills and misty moors. There the Dark Lord had used his dragons and trolls to their greatest advantage. No one would wonder about a little village in the middle of nowhere being brunt and the people vanishing without a trace.

"That's rather cynical, master." Azriel said suddenly having picked up his thoughts. "What is it about these people to don't like?"

"…there's no magic."

"What? I do not understand. We have worked at least two Japanese born mages."

"It's a wizard…thing I guess."

"That explains nothing." Azriel sounded vaguely annoyed, but he passed it off as nothing.

"Call it a sixth sense if you will. Wizards…feel magic for lack of a better term. You could say we're attuned to it more than these mages."

"And this land has no flow of magic?"

"Yeah, the earth here is void of magic. It's like a dead spot in a forest after a fire. I can see the remains, the traces of it, but the magic is gone. I never noticed when I first came. Hogwarts and all those places in Britain have a constant flow of it no matter where you are. Being here is…" he trailed off as several familiar figures peeled off the crowd.

"Discontenting perhaps," Azriel offered.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Interesting, looks like our three little mage girls are heading this way." Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate seemed to be heading for the very bakery he was sitting on top of. He walked to the edge of store and dropped into the alleyway. His stomach growled and he shrugged. "It'll be warmer inside and I'll get a bite to eat."

"Master of Death, if your theory is correct and you can get close to the mage Nanoha then perhaps I perform a deep scan for demonic energies."

"Do it," he said as he walked around the corner to the bakery door. He pulled the glass door open and was greeted by the smell of fresh bread.

The bakery was homely place painted a shade of light green with wood tables. It was well lit and by the number of customers even in the early afternoon, was quiet busy. He joined the line and waited.

At length he reached the counter and had to school his face. The woman behind the counter had to be related to Nanoha, it too much a coincidence that the girl looked like this woman. "Hello sir, how may I help you?" she asked brightly.

"Are you perhaps related to Nanoha Takamachi?" he asked. ~Azriel, do a passive scan of this woman.~

~Scanning…~

"Ah, you know my daughter! I'm her mother, Momoko Takamachi. You must the boy she spoke of. You two have a similar…job I suppose."

"Similar job, yes. I would like a sweet bean bread please," he ordered.

"For here or to go?" she asked ringing up the cash register.

"Here. So the girl has been talking…" He wondered how much she had spilled about him. The Dark Lord may be dead, but he still had followers that would hunt any trace of Harry Potter. He slid the appropriate amount of yen over the counter as the woman started to talk.

"Yes, she filled us in just after the…well you now what went down better than I. Anyway she was raving about you, about how strong, cool, and suave you are. She said you were rather cute, and I'm inclined to agree with her now that I see the goods." Momoko laughed Harry's slightly red face. "That reminds me, if you're in town the soon to be mother of one of Nanoha's friend wants to meet you. You might know her, Lindy Harlaown. She has a soon named Chrono. Here's your bread!"

"I know them. I'll stop by when I time." He picked up the wrapped bread. "Thank you."

"Your welcome, come again! Next please!"

He walked away and headed for an open table near the back wall of the bakery. ~There's no way I'm meeting with Chrono or his mother. They work for the TSAB.~

~We need them,~ Azriel reminded him. ~We need a ship and they have ships. This may be the toe in we need.~

~Never mind that.~ He sat down and unwrapped the fresh bread. The fresh baked fragrance remained him of the Great Hall in the winter time. Back before the war at least, when the House Elves had opened their bakeries and let the smell fill the castle. ~What about the scan?~

~Nothing of magical origin or any markers pointing to a supernatural energy. She is for all purposes a normal human with zero magic.~

He took a bite of the bread and sighed in pleasure. Sweet bean bread was his newest vice that he had discovered when he first came to Japan. ~That's odd, but without a scan of the father we can't rule anything out. Something about that Nanoha is off.~

He looked to the door and saw the three girls enter. Nanoha vanished behind the counter and the other two began to move towards the tables. It would be seconds before they spotted him. Sure enough Hayate saw him and waved.

He put down his bread and gave a quick wave back. Hayate quickly claimed the table beside his. Fate trailed behind her friend, her body language screamed wariness. "None of your Knights today?" he asked Hayate.

"They're meeting us here in a few minutes. I'm surprised to find you here. I'd thought you'd be gone by know." Hayate looked behind her at the trailing Fate. "Fate get over here! He doesn't bite."

"Oh? For all you know I could be a blood sucking fiend from the west with a taste for the blood of little girls," he suggested with an evil smile.

Fate yipped as she sat down. "Geez Fate! You can't take this guy seriously," Hayate reassured her friend. "Believing less then half he says and taking the other half with a grain of salt is too much." She finished with sharp, warning look towards Harry.

Harry sighed. People always underestimated what he could do. If he needed their blood…it wouldn't be for him. Azriel would need to feed soon and he had no idea what her tastes were. "Anyway, have you had success on that game?"

"Oh yeah, the nerdy kid from yesterday. No, nothing yet. I'll look into it later today or tomorrow," Hayate said with a dismissive wave.

"What? Did something happen yesterday?" Fate asked confused.

"You could say," Harry said, waving it off.

"We think someone is using our images for an online game…" Hayate went on to explain the nerdy kid in the arcade to Fate as Harry savored another bite of his food.

"Potter-san! Er, Harrison!" Nanoha called out, and then remember their words the day of the battle. In he arms she carried a number of baked goods in a basket that she sat on Hayate's table. "I didn't expect to meet you here!"

"Yeah, by the way your place has great bread." He was rewarded by the honest, bright smile that seemed to be hereditary trait. "So alike…" he muttered. There was some truth to the daughter like mother saying after all, but he had only to look at his old flame for evidence of that. Ginny had taken after her mother more and more in the last days of the war, but y then they had long since grown apart.

"Thank you! My father does most of the baking. I'll pass on your compliments to him later." She sat down beside Fate and touched the blonde's shoulder for some reason. Fate looked at her a smiled a bit. Conversation died between them.

Harry dismissed it as nothing and returned to his bread. His stomach could be denied no longer. The sound of the door opening caused him to glance upwards. ~Azriel, can you scan their Devices?~

~No~

He watched as the four Knights walked inside. They stripped off jackets and coats as they headed towards Hayate. Shamal had a devilish smirk on her face as she turned and whispered something to Signum before they reached the tables. The pink haired Knight shook her head and gently pushed the blonde so she could slide by.

"Yo!" Vita greeted the group. "Look at wandered in! Harry, I didn't expect to see you at this little gathering."

"Coincidence, I assure you," he said lazily. His stomach was stated and he was content. "Hello Zafira, Shamal, Signum. Broken any arcades today?" he noted that only Zafira and Shamal sat once their removed their jackets. Signum was still standing and her jacket was only slightly unzipped.

"Huh?" Nanoha asked bewildered by the strange topic.

"Nothing, Takamachi," Signum answered quickly. Her role in their escape from the arcade not something she wished to become public knowledge. Her idea to overload a few machines to add to the chaos was a wasteful maneuver in her mind. "Harrison I would speak with you if you have some time."

Harry nodded, "I'm free. When and where?"

"Now. Outside." Signum looked at Hayate, "I shall return shortly."

The Mistress of the Tome of the Night Sky waved her off. "Go have fun. Forget about us." The smile on her suggested she knew more than she let on.

Harry was already near to the door when Signum caught up. He graciously offered to hold the door and pink haired knight accepted. He might not be a hero, but he knew that he was gentleman at times. Things engraved into him by his aunt and uncle, were only tempered by the fires of war. In retrospective he was thankful for them. They had engraved the traits he would need to survive and fight on.

"So what do you want to talk aobut?" he asked.

"Not here," Signum said and pointed towards the docks. "Too many ears."

Harry nodded, he didn't mind and he needed to stretch his legs. After a quick walk, the sidewalks were emptying rapidly as the sun began to fall, they reach the docks. He was taken back the battle with the book, the confrontation with Chrono, and the strange dream. Azriel knew nothing or at least claimed she knew nothing about the dream. He was no closer to an answer days after the dream.

They walked slowly up and down the pier. At length Signum began to speak. "I knew a wizard once. He was powerful as the sea and as wise as the greatest of the Belka scholars. Unlike the rest of the Wolkenritter I've kept some of the memories, shards of my past lives, yet he is clear. An old man with a white beard, clear blue eyes and a gnarled staff."

"The traditional image of a wizard or least it is in the modern world," Harry offered.

"In my memories he helps us, the Wolkenritter, when we come to this planet. Our master was a powerful man in a time of great upheaval. He was a Belkan scholar that fled to Earth after learning dark secrets of the Empire. We were on the run and the wizard offered hi shelter in the middle of storm. The next day my master was hocked to find that the wizard already knew magic and was skilled in it.

These men, knights of Earth, came to him the morning after the storm. We didn't know that the local king had already been turned against us. The wizard tried to reason with them, it seemed like he knew them personally, but it was to no avail. There was a fight and the knights died. The wizard told us the knights were the sons of his friends from his days in the castle.

The wizard offered to hide my master in a secret location. At the time my master was unwilling and hesitant to accept any help, but I was able to…persuade him." A hint of a color stole over her cheeks, but Harry passed it off as having to do with the weather. "I won't relay the rest of the tale, but in the end the wizard fell defending my master. My question is if you willing to do the same for Hayate? Is the selflessness a trait you have like that wizard did?"

Harry rasied an eyebrow; this was interesting and unexpected development, the Guardian Knight was asking for his aid. "Why?"

"I know the power of wizards. I've seen it. And…" Signum looked away towards the horizon.

"You're dying," Harry stated dryly.

"…yes. The power that once bound us to the Book is fading. We are slowly becoming fully human again."

"Do you realize what you're asking of me? Do you know what I am?" Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and gently forced her to look at him.

Signum met his eyes, but was silent. "You are a wizard with the power of the Azriel behind you. I know of her and her power. I know about her…effect on the person that masters her. The moment we crossed blades I knew what you are," she leaned close and whispered, "and what you are not."

He was hard pressed to control his shock. No one had realized what Azriel did for him, not even his closet friends and comrades in arms. During the war they had passed his seemingly unageing face as a result of his childhood and the war. "How? How do you know about that?"

Signum's face was unreadable as she spoke. "The woman that hacked us down that day…the woman that killed the wizard and my master…and us Knights…was a woman you wizards know well. The sorceress Morgan le Fay."

Harry reeled back as if physical struck. "No way…no…not possible…" he muttered. "Azriel…" he dreaded to ask the question. Morgan le Fay was among the most hated figures in wizard lore. In her time she ruled the magical world as a tyrant and the scars never healed. Magical beasts still hated wizards and witches for the atrocious hunts they had committed a thousand years before. "Is that true?"

"Yes, Morgan le Fay was once the mistress of the Deathly Hollows."

In his hands he had unknowingly held one of the darkest and most feared tools of wizard kind. He had used it to kill and maim just like she had. He had all the time been unknowingly following in the footsteps of a monster.

He was a dark wizard, but not a monster…not like Morgan le Fay was. He refused to be the villain as much as he refused to be the hero. The world was not black and white like that. He knew the stories from her age; he had spoken with goblins that remember those times. Morgan le Fay was the greatest monster ever birthed from magic and the specter that haunted the magical world even a thousand years after her death.

Some called her the spawn of demons, but he had seen the truth during the war. Man was capable of great brutality towards another man. In the heat of the moment, in the thick of battle he had seen and committed atrocities for no reason other than he could.

~You are not like her~ Azriel interjected. ~When I came into her possession she had already gone mad.~

Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Azriel has tasted your blood before. And the Book…"

"Yes, the weapon you carry was used to slice cleave my body in two. It was used to hack Vita and Zafira into bits while they lay bound. It took Shamal's limbs and allowed her to raped before she was beheaded. Yes, that weapon is stained with my blood and the blood of a million more," Signum said stiffly, memories were horrible things for her recall. "Yet…perhaps now you can redeem it."

Harry looked to the scythe necklace. "Harry Potter is not Morgan le Fay. He is not a monster yet and never will be…" he said softly. "You would still have me watch over Hayate even with this…tool?"

"Yes, I can think of no better weapon for you to have to do such a task. Once it ended lives, now it will preserve. You that will be ageless will carry the burden and clean the stain. Make the Deathly Hollows into a weapon that history will remember fondly," she finished tightly and turned towards the bakery. Signum began to walk away without his answer.

The answer didn't matter. He was bound by the past, by the debt of blood to honor the unspoken promise. The weight of the necklace suddenly felt much heavier. The legacy of the Hollows had always seemed so distant, so far removed from him. He knew of the murder and death that had Hollow's masters. His own mentor had fallen to that legacy, yet it hurt so much more.

Perhaps it was because Dumbledore wasn't murdered by the Hollows, Harry couldn't tell. Yet here he stood before, spoke to, and fought alongside some of those that his weapon had claimed. The legacy of the Hollows was his as was the bond he had with the swordswoman that had forged in battle. He had inherited the legacy of blood, murder and death that was the Hollows, yet to see and speak to one of the past victims…

"It hurts more because I honestly want to like her. Bloody hell Harry, what have you done?" His quiet words were carried away by the winds.

The faces of those that fell before the Hollows flashed in his mind. Their names resounded in his skull. He had furthered stained the legacy. "What do I have to show for it? Power? Yes, power and more power…"

He wandered up and down the peer aimlessly. His thoughts of the past of the present melded into one. He honestly liked the pink haired Knight, but what she asked… It was almost too much for him to promise. He would live forever, or at least until the Hollows were pried from his cold, dead hands. Could he be forever bound to one girl? Could he live his life with such an oath?

'Of course it would only be till she died…" he mumbled thoughtfully. "She's not that bad made really, could be worse I suppose. But it would be a biding agreement…that doesn't fit the plan at all. Signum has a point though, not that she said it… The Book could easily break free again and go on a rampage. If that happens I don't think we'd be able to stop it the same way. It would learn and evolve to counter us…" He felt the headache coming on and threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Damn it all to hell! Bloody books! Bloody knights! Bloody mages! Bloody Hollows! Bloody promises! Bloody MAGIC!" he screamed to the winds. Their answer was to blow harder. "All I ever wanted was a vacation. One simple vacation to get away from it all. A chance to see the world and recover. I fight a war and I want to some time off instead this is what I get!

Come to Japan they say! Well I bloody well came to bloody Japan! What the hell do I get for it? Pubescent magical girls running round fighting monsters? Sure, that's totally normal! Happens every day here! A police force from another time and space that wants to control me and my weapon? That happens ever bloody day! I think I'll just wait for them to come down and abduct me then haul me off to some strange dimension and have to work for them for the rest of my days or be jailed for all time! Nothing big! Eldritch horrors straight out gothic horror? Sure, Japan has a bloody abundance of them! Who did I bloody well piss off that decided to stick me in this wacked out, totally messed world where fourteen year olds are acting as interdimensional police! What the hell! Has the TSAB never heard of child labor laws? What happen to me time? I want Harry time," he paused suddenly. "That sounded wrong. Anyway, this is the sort of plot twist I'd expect out of a movie or something. It's like my life has suddenly been transplanted into one those Japanese cartoon things! What'd they call them? Anime, yeah, I got transported into some anime by a sadistic god from some strange dimension that seems intent on giving me the short end of the stick! In short, I hate my life at the moment and I want get on with my bloody vacation!"

The cry of a lone seagull surprisingly broke out of his tirade. He looked up as the bird circled over head and flew towards the horizon. "At least you're free. Me…I'll be the immortal stuck to girl until she dies just in case her world ending book of evil decides to go all world ending horror that will cast us into the eternal void. Nothing big or anything like that!"

He swore the seagull gave another cry, but it was lost to him. Soon the bird itself had passed beyond his sight. He sighed, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. The benches looked very inviting, but he ignored the siren call for him to collapse on them and let his worries slip away.

"It's not as if I'll run out of time to do all the things I want to do…" He started for the bakery then stopped. "No, not yet. I can't quite face them yet. I'll take to Signum alone, the rest don't need to know…yet at least. Meanwhile…" He lifted Azriel to eye level. "We need to have a long chat about the past Azriel, an honest talk."

~As you wish Master of Death.~

Arf let out a content sigh as she adjusted the tangled sheets. The sun poked its face through the cheap hotel blinds. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to the other side of the bed. It was empty her partner had vacated the scene some time ago, she judged by the warmth left in the sheets.

Slowly she sat up and stretched. Looking around she sighed at the mess. Broken glass at the bar, the wooden chair was in splinters, the sheets she was tangled in were ripped and the rest of the room was in similar states of disarray. In vain she tried to recall the night before, but only flashes came back.

Everything after she left the meeting and joined the dance floor was a blur. She recalled a face that she had seen before at the Kabal's place. Irwin Erye was his name, a handsome young man that she had sank her claws into once before. He had been a wellspring of information the first time and wasn't too bad of guy.

Arf untangled herself and started to seek out her clothes only to realize that they laid folded and cleaned on the dresser. Quickly she changed and at the bottom of the pile of clothes she found a note, hastily scribbled on a napkin.

Irwin claimed he had some early morning meetings before he had to leave the country on a trip to Europe. He said he was sorry for leaving her so early and Arf snickered. She knew the man better than that. Irwin Eyre was obsessed with two things, money and sex. His note told her to tell the hotel to charge it to his tab as it was owned by the Kabal, a fact she tucked away for later.

As she passed the bathroom she briefly considered taking a shower, but another odor came from that shower; one that her sensitive nose did not like. With a final glance around the room she left and made her way to the lobby. Fate was probably wondering where she was, but Arf stopped herself. Fate would have to tough it out.

The receptionist smiled as she passed and Arf swore the woman was snickering. She tried to recall what she had done after she'd left the warehouse, but failed. The doorman opened the door for her, not even bothering to hide his leer. She sighed and took a moment to adjust to the sunlight, even though it was cloudy day it was much brighter than the room.

Collecting her thoughts, she headed for home. Home was were the heart is, was a saying she had heard the Earthlings use. Her home was wherever Fate would go, even she wasn't needed. Fate's magic bound them and sustained her existence. Once the link was broken she would disintegrate as magic ripped her body part piece by piece. "The saying would be 'Home is where Fate's Core is',' she muttered. "Ompfff!" Suddenly she found herself on the ground and wondering what had happened.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to walk into you!"

Her vision cleared and she saw it was Yunno offering her a hand and wearing a pensive look. "Yo, Ferret boy!" she greeted the blond. She took the hand and rose.

Yunno looked confused for a moment then it cleared. "Arf! I didn't expect to run into you here. Please don't calls me ferret boy too!" he whined. The nickname was getting old and he hated more than ever before. So what if his magic allowed him to transform into a ferret? That didn't make him a ferret boy, despite what Chrono thought.

"Let me think about that…" Arf said, pretending to think hard. "…No. Fits you too well, so you're stuck with it."

The boy scratched the back of his head. "Um….are you doing anything right now?" he asked hesitantly.

Arf briefly thought about the files on the wizard and then looked to her fellow familiar's face. He looked downright depressed and sad. Only a callous and cruel person would leave him in his current state. In her mind only three people could look at him and walk away; one was the wizard, the other two were Fate before she met Nanoha and the woman who happened to give Fate life. Arf wouldn't give that madwoman the luxury of a name even if she was dead. "I'm not busy," she answered.

Yunno instantly looked relived. "Let's go to the park. We can talk there in private."

Arf was glad the park was nearly empty as Yunno began to talk. The early fall chill had driven most of the smart people to seek other ventures for the day. As they sat on one of the many benches, Arf suddenly felt dirty. She had skipped the shower, but was starting to wish she had taken it.

"I realized something the other day. In the battle with the defense program… You see Raging Heart I…and then…" he trialed off in nonsensical mutters.

Af looked at the boy and flashed him an encouraging smile. "Start from the beginning and tell your big sis what's bothering you." She added the sister part to get rid of the old couple that was slowing shambling up the path and glaring at her for some reason. She looked down and smirked, she was still in he provocative clothes that might be considered slutty by the fashion of Earth.

"Oh, okay… As you know I came here for the Seeds, met Nanoha and she saved me. I lent her Raging Heart with all intentions of taking it back later. I would let her live a normal Earth life once the Seeds were taken care of. Then you and Fate showed up. By the end that incident I couldn't bring myself to take Raging Heart back."

"Because Fate had magic and you say the friendship between them growing," Arf interjected and Yunno nodded.

"Exactly. So I decided to let her keep Raging Heart and unlocked it completely. I let Nanoha discover the full power of that Device with the Starlight Breaker and resigned myself to watching her. Then came the Wolkenritter and I started to wonder if I should take Raging Heart back. I didn't want her…"

"Ah!" Arf cooed. "That's sweet! You didn't want your girlfriend to get hurt!" She snickered when Yunno began to blush and stammer.

"I-I…a…It's…It's not like that!" he protested loudly. The old couple gave them a curious look and Arf flippantly waved them away, not before the old woman huffed in disdain. "I didn't want her to get hurt anymore! After what Vita did to her…" His blush deepened. "When we were abroad the Asura that time Chrono confronted me. He offered to replace Raging Heart with new Device. I guess he saw straight through me then. I told him I would think about it, but I never worked up the nerve to ask him to do the switch. I couldn't just rip something she was familiar with away so suddenly. So I let it pass and removed the final seal and had Chrono transfer ownership to Nanoha, not that I told her."

"I see," Arf nodded sagely. "Let me guess at the rest, okay?" Yunno nodded and Arf began to fill in the rest of the story. "Having given up his rights the Prince resolved himself to watch over the Princess as she sets on her quest to master her magical powers."

"Please stop with the theatrics…" Yunno begged.

"No. So the prince turned himself in a ferret and followed the Princess as she went forth. The Princess met the Dark Knight, but the Prince couldn't bring himself to take back the Princesses wand that was first his to spare her the pain. Then came the great Beast from the Sea and the Wind borne Knights. He watched as his Princess and the Dark knight fell to the evil Knights, but he watched them grow in strength and joined them in the final battle. But he was horrified to learn that she had no need of his support from the shadows. She had mastered the magical tool and her magic was truly her own. The Prince loved her even more, but saw her move down a different trail in life. She had great power, while he had limited power so he sought the advice of wise old Beastwoman of the Concrete Forest. He came to her looking for words of comfort and wisdom only to find the Beastwoman herself was in the same damnable boat. In mattes of love the Beastwoman couldn't help him and together they mourned the loss of their station. That done they travelled to the highest mountain, to the highest cliff and threw themselves off. They would have had to leave their respective friend's lives soon enough so death was preferable to being slowly forgotten. The Princess and the Dark Knight found their bodies, broken and smashed, and they wept over their friend's death. The Princess screamed her love for the Prince as she too cast herself off the cliff to join true love in death's cold embrace. Moments later the Dark Knight joined them, for she had no purpose beyond her Princess, and death was less painful than life," she finished with a dramatic sigh. She had left her bitterness flow and actually felt a bit better. Perhaps there was something to this therapy thing the Earthlings used.

"Arf…" Yunno started to speak, heedless of the blush on his face from her implications. It had been a downright depressing end.

"Bah! Youngster these days, I'd tell you! One right hook and they want to die," the old woman barked.

Arf gave the old woman an incredulous look. Yunno, was looking at the ground and the old man was sighed at his wife.

"You youngsters want everything to be easy. Well its not. Sometimes life gives you lemons with the apples so what does your generation do? Kneels over, pitiful really. When you get that lemon you're suppose to make lemonade out of it! Not lemon flavored apple juice. That just nasty! Separate the good from the bad I say and move on. With you chose to drink the lemonade then you get the bitterness. Drink the apple for the sweetness. Geez, this is an elementary concept!" The old woman finished her rant and began to walk away. Her husband gave Arf and Yunno a smile and offered a quiet apology for his wife's behavior before he too moved off.

Arf stared after the woman. She had a point surprisingly enough. "What the hell WAS that?" Arf asked no one in particular. Meeting the woman was random, it was statistically improbable, and it was beyond any scenario she could have predicted. It was a random event in the infinite cosmos or at least that was what she chalked it up to be.

Hot blood ran down my body as I heaved the broken body of the traitor and tossed it away. My black robes were slashed and torn, dyed red with blood and gray with dust. I savored the heat of blood on my cold flesh. Tollack Minor was cold world, nearly an ice world, after warmth was welcome.

The Dark Angel's presence was strong in this sector. Her legions were dug in deep and hard on this planet and the rest of the system was no different. Taking Tollack Minor was but the first step. Our Lord demanded nothing less than absolute victory in this system. For the power the Dark Angel had been growing too great and must be checked, so my Lord had given us, the Black Legions, the holy task of bringing his scythe to these traitors.

I turned and looked across the cathedral we had taken. My brothers, many in the same state of dress as I, finished off the wounded. The black gauntlets that I and my brothers wore reached our elbows and were fitted with thousands of small crystals. When the crystal's glowed green it meant we had taken another soul. We were his Collectors; we were blessed with the task of bringing the souls that Lord used to create the weapons that made the Black Legions so feared. Nearly half of my crystals were glowing and I made a note to drop them off as soon as I could.

My boots crushed skulls as I strode to join my commander. "Javis," I heard the commander call me. "What is the status of the squad, brother?" He had long since gone blind and only magic kept his senses acute, but by all accounts he was a better Collector for it.

I looked about, counting my brothers, before I answered. "We have lost brothers Hadian, So'kar and Rimmord, Commander Mylthos." We were brothers by blood, all of the Collectors were. We had been born in the vats deep under the surface of Nocrumar from the same set of genes. The original Collector had long since died, yet by our Lord's holy will he still fought on as us, as I the Soul Collector Javis.

"I see. Gather our brothers, our Lord has commanded that we support the witches in the merchant sector. They have uncovered a large holdout in one of the compounds."

He was remarkably calmed at the thought of working with the witches. I barely suppressed my anger, I hated the witches. But our Lord had allied with the Golden Lady and her Raiders were supporting us in this sector as the Tollack sector lay near the Golden Lady's domain. Many times in the past our Lord had worked with the Golden Lady against the Dark Angel, but the atrocities of the past would never be forgotten, at least not by me. "So be it," I hissed, making my anger known. I turned and walked towards my brothers, leaving Mylthos.

One day I would spill the lighting witches blood with glee. Their souls would power our weapons and fund the war machine that would destroy them. My Lord did offer a bounty on souls of high quality, perhaps a bit of friendly fire could cut down their best and if I was nearby…A smirk crossed my face and I looked at my axe. The screaming faces engraved on the axe spoke of the souls that it had born from and their desire for more to join them in endless death.

"Brother! To me!" I cried. "The battle is not done. More of the Angel's forces have been found! Rejoice! For today we shall send our Lord a mighty feast of souls? Let your hearts be filled with righteous anger! Let you limbs know no weariness! Let your mind be renewed by his Will! Ours is a holy quest, granted to us in the days of our father! Ours is the path of the righteous servant! Kill the name of our Lord! All glory and power be his forever and ever!" I finished with a roar. My brothers gathered around me and roared with me. I saw the fervor they felt and knew the same fervor was on my face.

Mylthos led our charge out of the cathedral. I and my brothers followed our elder brother out and into the burning city. Overhead a dozen members of the aerial squads soared chanting hymns of praise for our Lord. In the central plaza we saw the last remnants of battle. Soldiers from the Order of the Blackened Scythe gathering our glorious dead and executing the prisoners, the massive Leviathan tanks brimming with deadly cannons, a squad of Blackstone engineers repairing one of the massive war walkers, but I didn't care.

Our goal lay on the other side of the courtyard and beyond. I felt the nanomachines in my bloodstream kick into high gear. They would keep me fresh during our run into battle. We charged out of the courtyard and into wide streets that lead to the merchant compounds. As I rounded the corner I was deafened by the roar of cannon before I knocked head over heels.

I lay sprawled out on the ground looking up at the cloudy skies. Around me I heard the screams and shouts of my brothers as if they were a long way off. In vain I tried to use my hand to push myself up, but felt sluggish. I watched one of my brothers be tossed in slow motion across my sight in bits.

I felt someone grab me and try to drag me, slowly it seemed. The world spun and I nearly blacked out. I heard Mylthos call my name. He had apparently lifted my head as I could see my chest and I grimaced. My left leg was mere ribbons of flesh, my arm and gauntlet with the all souls was gone, my chest was covered in gashes and was bleeding heavily. I didn't have the strength to scream in pain, darkness was closing in the corner of my vision.

Mylthos scarred face entered my vision and I tried to smile, but it hurt. Just sitting propped up hurt, everything hurt. My limbs were gone; I was useless to my Lord now. I would be shipped to the medics and they would send me somewhere to live out the last of days after they stripped my nanomachines out. That was if they didn't outright kill me. I would be a warrior condemned to never now death in the battlefield, or the glory of dying for my Lord. The blessing of the warrior's death would never be mine.

The blackness grew and began to grow faster and faster. Mylthos's face lost definition and soon was a blur. My sight was a blur, vague colors and shapes without definition. I felt an icy feeling crawl up my body. I lost control and felt myself falling backwards. I heard Mytlhos scream at me, but my hearing was fading as swift as my pain receptors. I knew I was one the ground, yet I couldn't feel it. Even the surface of the planet was nothing compared to the icy feeling I felt moving up my chest.

This was death.

That was my thought as Mlythos tried to save me. I tried to push him away, there was no point, my strength was gone. I would die here without a chance to see my enemy. I wouldn't die in a pile of corpses using their broken bodies as my pyre and their blood as fuel. Such an ending was not for me, that the ending of noble battlelords of old, not I the lowly soldier that wouldn't see his Lord's grace come to this universe.

My vision was consumed and blackness remained as I let the icy cold take me away. It was done, I was done. My time had come to die and die I would. My brothers would fight on and I would die. With my last thought I hoped they would live…

The command post was as I expected. Chaos ruled it. The trees had been quickly felled to make room for our camp and hastily constructed buildings were already up. Men ran back and forth, in squads or singles, scouts left and returned. The smoldering corpses of the defenders were being hauled to the edge of the camp.

I paused to watch my men drag a massive body. It was a cyclopean monster maybe four times the size of a man, clad in plates of metal painted red. Its massive falchion lay near the dead Brute. Brutes were one of the slave creatures the Iron Breakers used as their heavy weapons. They were naturally magic restraint, making them ideal for the wars between Warlords. When the Iron Warriors gave them armor and weapons the Brutes were armored behemoths that had broken fortresses across the multi-verse time and time again. I frowned towards it, it's presence on this planet meant the Iron Warriors had at least a legion here.

That would make things difficult if it came to a siege.

We would need different weapons if they were here. I looked about and swore. The bodies of the men wore the bulky red armor of the iron Warriors. Their distinctive hammers and axes lay scattered about with their large shields. In vain I prayed to my Lady that the Iron Breakers had turned against the Princess, but I knew otherwise. The two Warlords were close allies and members of Quadruple Alliance.

Overhead the roar of dropships caught my attention as they cruised into the valley heading for the front lines. I would join them soon, but first I had to speak with the infantry general. Answers were needed know more than blood.

I threw the door to the command post open. "General Kitvaous! Get you're sorry ass out here!" I roared. A weedy little man with a receding hairline and one eye scurried forward. The man was a snake that had brought down many better generals for the sake of his power within my Lady's Court. In the court of the White Devil you did everything you could to survive and make sure my Lady never saw you do it; Kitvaous had assassinated the last infantry general ten years, three months, fifteen days and forty minutes ago. Normally I wouldn't have cared, but the previous commander had been my younger adopted brother, who came into my Lady's care a year after I was.

He began to offer some excuse, but I cut him off. "I don't care. Why was I not informed about the Iron Warriors presence after you dropped in?" I asked coldly. "Better yet, why don't you tell me the truth about what we're facing here? Your report to the fleet stated it was light skirmish units belonging to the Princess, not heavy troops like Brutes and the Iron Warriors. Explain yourself, General," I hissed angrily. Watching him squirm would be fun. Perhaps I could use this as an excuse to get rid of him? I hid my bloodthirsty grin. That grin would come out when I cut him down, as he lay broken and bleeding before me that would the last sight he would see.

A:N: Not much plot development here. This chapter was expanding the Warlord's universe, some of Azreil's backstory, and the first stages of Signum's plan (remember her thoughts inside the defense program). Arf's theatrics and Harry's rant were without a doubt the best part of this chapter to write. Just in case anyone is confused; the Iron Breakers refers to an entire army, the Iron Warriors are a part of the Iron Breakers. The same holds true for Black Legion; the Order of the Blackened Scythe, Soul Collectors and Blackstone are branches of the Legion.

Towards the two anonymous reviewers:

marc & Freehawk- welcome to the world of uploading Word docs to FF and trying to edit them. FF really hates me sometimes. I'll probably end up fixing all the chapters sometime soon. As for the cooler/badass thing...maybe. We still haven't gotten to the meat and potatoes. I think you'll get your wish in the second book though either way. It's a balancing act between not making him too badass and not overshadowing the rest of the cast who are equally important.