Section Thirteen

by Justin91

The ongoing story of a squad of mages as they work to keep the peace on their assigned world. This is harder than it sounds.

2. First Sortie

Planet Gardius – Prism Street Construction Site – 1235 Hours

Gardius Capital City was a booming industry as of late, with numerous businesses and independent shops all being established and constructed. So it wasn't very out of the ordinary to see heavy construction being conducted there, even on its busiest streets; for some people the constant jackhammering had become like an old friend. And as we all know, having a friend yell in your ear constantly was better than a complete stranger doing it. Somehow.

One of these sites was on Prism Street, perhaps the most trafficked area of the city. The building, an office skyscraper, was roughly in its center, and considering what was shortly about to occur there, it was fortunate that traffic control had quite skillfully vacated the space around it hours before. But for the meantime, the workers hurried around, erecting the building's skeleton with either magic or ordinary equipment, depending on their preference. This was partially the reason for the traffic diversion: a lot could go wrong with magic, even in a casual situation like this.

At least, that was the officialreasoning.

In any case, the workers' pace had decreased, and they were wiping their brows. As Otavi had pointed out, the temperature had been steadily rising over the past two weeks, in defiance of Gardius' erratic weather, and it didn't show signs of lowering any time soon. To make matters worse, their lunch hour had been pushed back quite a bit, adding hunger to their list of worries. They didn't like it, but since no-one really wanted to go tell the boss they weren't working because of heat, the only thing to do was put up with it.

Suddenly, a large truck turned the corner onto their street and drove toward them. The workers blinked in confusion - weren't the roads supposed to be closed around here? But then they saw the logo on the side of the vehicle, and hurredly snapped to attention.

It stopped as it came up close, and a young man poked his head out the driver door. "Hey, guys; boss thought you might be able to use these."

The back door slid up, revealing a pleasing sight: several cases of Angelo Corporation's patented bottled water. Refreshing to the taste buds, cooling to the skin, and it never seemed to get cold. There were rumors that magic had gone into its distillation at some point, but these were largely unconfirmed aside from hearsay. The Bureau had far better things to investigate than beverage fraud, anyway.

Smiling happily, the workers flocked to the truck, each accepting one bottle. It was as delicious as usual, and what timing - just before their lunch break!

So distracted were they by this helpful (perhaps divine) intervention, the workers didn't notice two more trucks, identical to their own, pull in and stop facing the building. They wouldn't have batted an eye in ordinary circumstances, but now it wasn't even noticed. Shortly after, the workers left for their lunch breaks, all leaving for local food joints. Unhealthy or not, they had air conditioning, and that made them a cut above eating out in this heat.

The new trucks sat there for a while, as everyone packed up and left. When they had gone, there was a moment of isolated silence.

Then both vehicles exploded.

Section Thirteen

Chapter One: First Sortie

Planet Gardius – Section Thirteen, Captain Triad's Quarters – 1250 Hours

Anton sometimes liked to imagine he'd one day sit on a woman's bed while she disrobed in front of him, but watching it done in reverse was somewhat less exciting. He could already tell from their brief interactions that Alyssa wasn't exactly the cornerstone of femininity, but that seemed to be only a technicality in the clothing department.

"Father would have a conniption if he saw all this…" the Inspector mused, looking at the room around him. He hadn't had time to notice until after the alert was called, but she'd clearly made her mark upon these tiny quarters. In addition to the clothes now scattered everywhere, there were numerous food containers lying around. Amazingly, there were no flies, although certain scorch marks in the carpet might have explained that one.

Overall, the room was slobbish and uncleanly, but…well, it seemed to fit her.

Finally, Alyssa emerged from the cavernous closet buttoning up her Bureau Uniform, a red-on-black affair. "Alright," she said cheerfully, "let's go save the city, shall we?"

She put it so nonchalantly, too. "Probably her way of reassuring me." Anton thought. He realized something was missing. "Um, what about your device, Captain?"

Alyssa's face contorted slightly. "Oh right, thanks. I guess, anyway: he's a total pain in the ass to wake up early."

The hypocrisy of that statement hung in the air as she stretched out her arm at the bedside table. Its drawer rattled for a moment, as though struggling with something, and then flew open, a small red pen snapping into her hand.

Almost instantly the jewel set in its cap glowed, and Alyssa's hand burst into flame. Ignoring the choked, panicked cry from Anton, she waved it idly, scattering the embers like a mere fly.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, glaring at the writing implement, "get it off your chest quick, because we've got work to do, Bowie."

A boyish electronic grumble came from the device. "I was having a nice nap, boss…"

Shrugging, Alyssa gave him a light flick. "Well, you better wake up then, huh? We got trouble in the city – should be interesting."

Anton raised an eyebrow. There were many things a direct attack on a Bureau-overseen city could be called, but he wouldn't have added 'interesting' to it.

Instantly the device perked up. "Why didn't you say so? Now we're talking!" It didn't have a mouth, of course, but Anton couldn't help but imagine it was grinning.

"Well, at least they suit each-other, eh, Akashic?" he said quietly to his tome.

"…he is noisy." the device replied with the assurance of someone who has been given a bad first impression, and intends to keep it firmly in mind.

Not noticing this, Alyssa nodded. "Alright, I thought that'd get your attention." She turned to Anton and waved a casual hand. "This is the Inspector and his partner; say hi."

He waved back. "Hello, Bowie."

"Sup?" He paused. "Inspector of what?"

Alyssa shrugged. "Not important. Let's go." she said, giving Anton a nod before leaving the room, not looking behind to see if he was following.

Standing up, he adjusted his own uniform and nodded. "Alright, let's go."

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Section Thirteen Helipad – 1253 Hours

By the time Alyssa and Anton got to the Helipad, all of the other Riot Force officers had gathered by the helicopter, its propellers already spinning rapidly. Fortunately, it didn't seem like they'd been waiting long, although Ace and Daniel did seem a bit impatient. The others were lounging around the vehicle, Jeanne in particular sitting down on the cockpit's doorway. She didn't look up as the two approached.

Much like its parent unit, Section Thirteen was formed up into two squads, each lead by one of the Captains. Alyssa was head of Flame Squad, made up of herself, Second Lieutenant Lackland, Sergeant 782, and Corporal Spade. Meanwhile, Captain Jeanne was in charge of Water Squad, her subordinates including Lieutenant Jacobs, Librarian Trail, and Co-Librarian/Gardener (the closest things to actual ranks she had) Otavi. Flame Squad was designed for attack, while Water was meant for support and defense.

"You're late, Triad." Jeanne said bluntly; evidently being the same rank as her nullified pleasantries. "Again. I hope you have a good reason why, huh?"

Alyssa smiled. "Yup," the captain said, slapping her new acquaintance heartily on the back, "cause of this guy. The Inspector here's graciously offered to help us out. Ain't that right, Inspector?"

Feeling all their eyes shift onto him, Anton gulped slightly, but nodded all the same. "Y-yes, I can't just stand idly by in a situation like this. As a liaison from headquarters, it's my duty to assist you all." He hoped his voice sounded half as serious as the words they said.

After a long moment (at least to him), Dwight nodded. "Okay, sounds good. C'mon guys, Inspector, let's not keep the city waiting."

With that, the officers filed into the helicopter single-file, bantering all the while.

"I wonder if either of these will be new types?" Ace pondered. "Whoever's building them certainly has an active imagination."

"Anything'd be better than that one we fought last week with the damn acid shooters. I'm never gonna outlive the shame…"

Arturia frowned at the memory. "Once again, it was not the War Armor's fault you did not decide to wear…unmentionables that day, Librarian."

Alyssa shrugged as she sat down. "Eh, I dunno, Daniel might have the right idea. Not having 'em means they can't get in a knot." She smiled pleasantly. "Right, Tin Can?"

The knight's face turned stony, her voice positively granite-like. "Did I say I was-"

Before she could say more, a clawed metal hand clapped gently across her mouth. GD offered Anton an apologetic shrug as he took his seat slowly.

"Heh heh," Alyssa snickered, "sometimes you're worth hanging around, Dr-"

Slap. This hand belonged to Otavi, a slight frown on her face directed at the captain. Somehow, it didn't look one bit weaker than GD's – not that Alyssa bothered to test this out. She and Arturia settled down, to the considerable relief of the other passengers.

Dwight chuckled at the display. "Sorry about that, Inspector; the helicopter can get pretty busy before a mission. Our way of getting out the stress, I think."

Daniel snorted. "Getting it out a bit too much, if you ask me. You could talk about the weather and those two would make it an argument. Thanks for that, by the way, Otavi." He didn't seem to notice the smile this received.

"…um, GD," Ace said cautiously, "I don't think Arturia wants to make a fuss, but her skin is turning a bit strange."

The Gadget Droid seemed to blink, then took his hand away and scooted quickly to the left. But not fast enough to avoid the reprimanding slap.

"If most of you people are done acting like children," Jeanne's voice carried in from the cockpit, "then can we take off already? I can't help but think the city might want to survive, but that's just me."

Without waiting for an answer, the noise of an engine starting up was heard, followed by several propellers beginning to spin. Up above, the roof of the hanger bay slid back with a great grinding sound, audible even above the others. Then the sensation of flight came, as the helicopter slowly lifted itself off the ground. It was really nothing new to any Bureau mage capable of flight (a group Anton was proud to be part of), but to him it weighed far more. It meant they would – he'd be in battle. He gulped again, trying to shove down the butterflies in his stomach.

He felt a sudden hand on his shoulder, and looked to see Alyssa flash him a smile and a thumbs-up. Anton settled down, nodding back.

The helicopter took off.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Skyscraper Penthouse – 1255 Hours

"Aaaaaah."

Tilting back the glass in his hand, the man leaned back in his chair of finest leather (lined with the finest velvet, naturally) and savored the taste of wine worth far more than any one worker in his company.

…well, the day ones, anyway.

He swiveled in his chair as one of those in the other category entered, giving him a suitably gracious bow. "Boss, the Bureau's boys' chopper just took off. Seems like they're headed toward our, uh, investments, if y'know what I mean?"

"Their wha – oh, I see. Very good. Are our…mmmm…presents prepared?"

The man nodded, the motion giving him no end of pleasure. He had always appreciated that – which, a part of him understood, was why the man showed it in his body language so plainly. Whatever else could be the reason for such sloppiness?

"Very good," he repeated, taking another sip, "is the video feed set up yet?"

"Sure is, boss." the worker replied. "One on each of the buildings, and three all around the construction site, just like you asked."

His employer clapped happily, beaming. "Splendid. Are Barnes and Katie in the building? I'd hate for them to miss this."

The worker nodded, crossing to the door. "I'll go get 'em right away, bo-"

Just before the portal, his forward movement stopped completely, and he spread eagled seemingly against thin air. His hair was standing straight up on end as he vibrated slightly.

"That won't be necessary, fortunately." said a smooth female voice from one side of the room. The lighting there flickered for a moment, revealing a short blonde-haired woman in a faded tan suit. It was bright enough, though, that you could have sworn someone would have seen her…if she were an ordinary person, of course.

"Ah, there you are." he replied pleasantly. "Good morning, Katie: did you sleep well?"

Katie bowed. "Why wouldn't it be with you here to wake up to, Mister Quattro?"

He smiled, and looked back to the man before waving a hand. "Well, isn't this nice? One less job for you to attend to. But you'd best be quick about it, hm?"

"Better get going now, hm?" the woman said with a wide smile.

The flunky nodded gratefully before retreating, the invisible zapper already gone.

Quattro propped up his head on one hand and frowned at the woman reproachfully. "Now that wasn't very nice, Katie; scaring the poor boy like that."

Shrugging, Katie walked over to the desk. As if in defiance of her childish name, her demeanor was calm and cool.

"Well, what about you, Mister Quattro?" she asked, crossing her legs. "Sending him off to find someone who's already here seems a bit useless, but that's just me."

As if on cue, the merest shadow on the far wall detached itself, in the form of a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing all black clothing, which somehow didn't look meant for formal situations. His hair of the same color and sunglasses seemed almost made for camouflage. Quattro and Katie didn't move an iota.

"Boss," he said to Quattro respectfully, pulling up a chair, "boss' squeeze," he added to Katie, somewhat less respectfully. To her credit, she didn't appear to notice.

Quattro leaned back in his chair, smiling like the Cheshire cat (or at least the Midchildan equivalent). "Well, now that we're all here, shall the proceedings begin?"

The ensuing silence seemed to speak for itself, so he leaned forward and reached underneath the desk. A small panel there, hidden perfectly save for someone who knew it was there, slid aside to reveal an equally discreet button. Once it was pressed, a tiny hum began to start in the officer, growing stronger until several windows opened in the air above the desk, displaying what was on the other end of several hidden cameras around Prism Street.

At the moment, this included a certain approaching helicopter.

Smiling, Quattro waved an airy hand at the image. "Well, here they again – our good friends from the other side of the fence, right on schedule. Well, for them, I should say."

"It's almost deplorable," noted Katie coolly, "those armors could have leveled entire neighborhoods by now. If we were interested in such destructive nonsense, of course."

Quattro smiled wryly. "Yes, we're certainly the right people to give advice on that, hm?" He looked over at the second man. "Do you have any thoughts on it, Barnes?"

The man sat stiff as a board, eyes unreadable behind his shades. "The only one of them I have an opinion on is Jacobs, boss," he said calmly, "and then only about how his neck would look with my hands around it."

"Aha," Quattro laughed, "well, we all have dreams, don't we? Has that concussion gotten better, by the way?"

"A bit." Barnes said with a shrug. "But enough about me, Boss. Let's pay attention to the battle – what do you think'll happen?

Quattro rubbed his faintly goateed chin. "Hmmmmmmm," he hummed to himself for a moment, "I'm really not sure." As I recall, young Miss Lackland dispatched the last one, with her usual 'beautiful' swordplay. The one before that was Mr. Spade's kill, utilizing his electrifyingmagic. And of course, we would be remiss in not mentioning the famous Miss Triad, destroying no less than three state-of-the-art War Armors, as well as assisting with the destruction of many others so far. I'd declare a standing ovation…" His face twisted into a brief snarl. "…if it weren't so irritating."

The Chesire Cat smile returned. "But, ah, this is no reason to get negative when things haven't even begun, hm?" He waved a hand at the windows. "So, let's pay close attention to what I'm certain will be a success thistime."

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Airspace Over Outer City – 105 Hours

Anton swallowed hard again. "It won't be long now until we're in battle…and not just a training drill, either. A real live one, with people's lives on the line.My life on the line."

No-one else seemed to be thinking about this. Ace was sitting politely, hands on his lap. Arturia was fingering Frangir's cross, looking at something distant. Daniel was tapping one foot on the metal floor, producing a slight, rhythmic clanging that seemed to be thoroughly ignored. Otavi was looking down, twiddling her fingers slightly. Dwight had one hand propping up his head, eyes closed. GD was…well, not appearing to do anything, but this seemed to be usual for him.

And Alyssa looked completely calm. She was leaned back, hands behind her head, stretching out as far as the confined space would allow. It was amazing to his eyes.

"Eh?" The captain blinked, looking to Anton. "Somethin' wrong, Inspector?"

He shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing much. I was just wondering why you're all so…calm. It's a little weird."

"Eh," Alyssa shrugged, "I'm probably not the best person to ask about being scared. I've been in battle more times than I can count." She nodded at GD. "And Mr. Droid over there was made for battle, so no surprise if he doesn't care. But some of these guys have to keep calm in their own way – just because they don't show it doesn't mean people aren't scared, you know."

"Mmmm." Dwight said quietly from nearby.

Daniel snorted. "The sniper, not being scared? What a surprise. Me and Otavi are the ones who have to grin and bear it when you go crazy, Captain, and it's not exactly a cup of tea, lemme tell ya."

Alyssa leaned forward, eyebrow raised. "Scary and crazy am I, Human Avalanche? Funny how you wait until an Inspector's around before you say so."

Sensing a coming storm (spending even a little time around Riot Squad Thirteen made you savvy about this sort of thing, apparently), Anton waved a hand. "No, no, I'm not copying anything down from this. Just treat me as one of you."

"Whatever," said Daniel with a shrug, "just some advice from one mage to another, Inspector: if you're gonna be sharing the same airspace – no, the same battlefield as her, better watch your back."

"Mmmm." murmured Dwight once more.

Sighing, Alyssa leaned back and glared at both of them. "Maybe you should get some of this down, Inspector; show 'em what jerks I have to work with."

"Yeah, you're a regular fearless leader." said Jeanne's voice from the front. "Heads up, you lot: we've got company on the rooftops ahead."

There was the tingle of magic in the air, before a window opened up in the middle of the hold. The officers all leaned forward intently, and after a moment so did Anton. What had caught the Captain's attention were the buildings directly in front of their current heading. Placed on top of each were two large, black metal boxes.

"More of those guys," Ace frowned, "they want to go another round?"

Alyssa shrugged. "If they want to charge onto the scrap heap, it's no skin off my back. Let's just deal with 'em quick and hurry to the main problem."

Again feeling an outsider, Anton cleared his throat. "Erm, what exactly are they? I thought we were just heading out to deal with War Armors."

"Yes, Inspector," said Arturia politely, "but on this world, whenever War Armors show themselves, these are usually not far behind."

Otavi moved noticeably for the first time since she had sat down, looking across to the Gadget Droid. "GD?"

He nodded. "Assessment: I estimate the units within will detect our presence in roughly three…two…one…now."

On-screen the boxes snapped open, raining what looked like thick, equally black metal spikes across both rooftops. They landed in a loose formation, quivering inside the stonework. Then, as Anton's eyes widened, they began to unfurl; arms and legs folded out while they stood up, revealing the spike to be a body. The top spike split in half and separated, revealing a face, blank save for a visor-shaped red eye.

Snatching up both halves of the discarded armor, the robots joined them together top to bottom, forming what resembled a strange type of rifle. Then, like one entity, they all looked upward – right at the helicopter. One moment later a hail of energy bolts were filling the air between them, and closing in fast.

"Better hang on," Alyssa advised, holding onto her seat tightly, "these guys are actually pretty good shots."

Indeed, the helicopter had already begun to shake, even as it swerved back and forth. "What are they?" Anton asked over the noise.

Alyssa shrugged. "Dunno, but they show up every time a War Armor does. We think they're probably made by the same guys, but there's no way of knowing."

"One thing's for sure, they're not one of those Scaglietti knockoffs you see nowadays." put in Dwight. "They use some sort of magic substitute in those guns, and they don't need any AMF Barriers to be tough…uh, excusing you again, GD."

"Reassuring: did you indicate me, Lieutenant Jacobs? I did not notice." GD said replied graciously, and then cocked his head to the side. "Addition: I believe Captain Triad dubbed them 'Nailheads'. This nickname has caught on slightly."

Alyssa looked uncomfortable as Anton's gaze turned right on her. "W-what? That's what they look like to me!"

"Well, whatever we call 'em, they're sure as hell in the way now." said Jeanne from the pilot's seat once more.

Her opposite number nodded. "And no way are they just going to let us by unscratched." She looked across at two of her men. "Ace, GD, get out there."

Ace unbuckled himself and, an intent look growing over his face. "Yes sir, Captain!"

"Affirmative: yes, Captain. Will this be a mid-air deployment?" GD asked politely.

"Is there another way of doing it?" Alyssa asked. "Get your Jacket and Barrier up for the drop."

The other Riot Force members leaned back slightly. Ace raised his right hand. "Rise up, Bolt!"

Anton stared blankly. "…what does that even mean?"

"Yes!" barked the Device, before his young master was covered briefly in a flash of light. When it cleared, Ace was clad in his Barrier Jacket, a black bodysuit overlaid with golden armor over most of the chest, legs and arms. His Device had become a pair of large gauntlets of the same color fused to his hands. They gave off an electric spark every few moments.

GD's preparations were significantly less flashy: a tiny yet noticeable hum issued across the hold, and every mage shivered at the familiar sensation of an AMF Field, small as it was. His claws extended, beginning to glow with an eerie light. It might have been just Anton's imagination, but he thought the red optic grew several times more calculating.

A few moments later, Jeanne called back again. "Okay, opening the hold doors now."

With a rush of hydraulics the double doors slowly opened, releasing open air into the hold; no-one seemed to notice, so neither did Anton. Well, he attempted to, anyway.

Ace and GD unbuckled themselves and stood up. With a mighty run, they leaped out the open door and disappeared, Ace going first and coating himself in some added protection magic. GD followed shortly after, leaping out with considerably more grace than the young man.

"See ya, fellas. Try not to have too much fun out there, huh?"

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Rooftops Near Middle of City – 110 Hours

The 'Boltheads', as they were so courteously called, looked up as one body as Ace and GD landed nearby. A moment passed, before the Gadget Droid detached himself smoothly from the former's shoulders and dropped noiselessly to the ground.

"Gratitude: thank you, Corporal."

"Any time, Sir." said Ace politely.

They both looked to the other robots, currently in the process of adjusting their positions and aim so that no shot fired would be a wasted one. Ace looked to the other rooftop – the ones there were already back to firing at the helicopter. They had a much better sense of tactics than Gadget Droids, too, although this wasn't saying very much.

"I'm afraid that they're not your opponents today." Ace declared, building up magic within his right hand. "Spark Knuckle!"

A burst of electricity flared in the respective gauntlet, and he let loose with a punch, the elemental force flying out in bullet form. It slammed into one robot's chest, knocking it backward as it twitched and spasmed. Quickly, the other members of the squad trained their rifles on Ace. The one who'd been hit got back to its feet a moment later, the large hole in its chest not appearing to debilitate it much.

The young man nodded in satisfaction, smiling. "I guess that got your attention, huh?"

"Assessment: extensively, I would say, Corporal." GD said, stepping up and preparing his claws.

"Then let's give whoever's watching something entertaining to see, shall we Sergeant?"

GD bent low, like an Olympic runner. "Agreement: indeed, Corporal."

One moment later the sound of magic and steel clashing echoed across the building-tops.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Section Thirteen Helicopter – 112 Hours

"They'll be alright, won't they?" asked Anton, sounding a little worried.

"Rest assured, Inspector," Arturia said, "while they may look unreliable, Ace and 782 are our finest close-ranged combatants, after myself."

Daniel and Alyssa rolled their eyes covertly. "'sides," the latter added, "those two are probably the least built for fighting War Armors out of all of us, so if anyone gets put to work elsewhere, it's usually them. GD's weapons aren't tough enough to crack through their armor, and he's pretty fragile, and Ace isn't nearly fast enough to avoid all that fire."

"If you want people who are really good on the ground, that'd be me and Otavi's department," Daniel bragged, "we're the squad's support agents."

"Yup; they're pretty useful too, for throwing around rocks and weeds." Alyssa said. That was her typical idea of a compliment, Anton had noticed. Or at least, he hoped so.

"Mmmmmm." said Dwight a third time.

Daniel looked at both of them. "Gee, thanks; appreciate the praise, really. Right, Ota…Otavi?"

The girl was looking away, toward the front of the helicopter. She was silent and still, but her eyes slowly widened. With a quick snapping moment, she jumped to her feet, pointing straight ahead.

"LEFT! LEFT!"

The urgent words echoed through telepathy as well. Anton stared, agape, but Alyssa looked up to the cockpit. "You hear that, Jeanne?"

"Loud and clear, Triad – and don't call me Jeanne."

Without a lurch, the helicopter swung sharply to the left, so quickly that the Riot Force members were nearly shaken out of their harnesses. Not a second too soon, as one moment late a massive shockwave ripped right through the vehicle, as something bigpassed by outside. Everyone held on hard, whether through magic or physical strength.

Anton's head smacked back against the wall, and he saw stars. "What…what was that?" he asked dazedly, aware that was almost becoming a catchphrase of his lately.

Whatever it had been, it was enough to rouse Dwight from his meditative state. "You're asking the wrong guys, Inspector – War Armors always have at least one high grade weapon like that, but we're still blocks away from Prism Street. None of the ones we've fought have been nearly that precise, even up close.

"It was some kind of energy beam,"Jeanne said, "from the size and speed of it I'd say it was fired from a rail-gun, if I had to guess. Otavi probably just saved all our asses."

"Indeed." murmured Arturia distrustfully.

"Hang on, I'm running an Area Search."

A tense moment passed, during which the forefront thought in all of their minds was: 'just how fast does that weapon fire'?

Finally, with a snap of magic, another two windows opened in the center of the hold: displayed on them were the War Armors, standing amidst a slightly ruined city street. Even if their goal wasn't destruction, they tended to blunder into causing it anyway (TSAB forces didn't exactly throw that noun around lightly); whatever twisted mind had created them hadn't been interested in subtlety or grace, but had quite liked the concept of a steamroller.

War Armors had started popping up roughly two or three months after the Scaglietti Incident had been fully resolved, the 'good doctor's incarceration doing precisely nothing to deter other heavy thinkers in the field. Unlike the Gadget Drones, at least, their purpose was direct, and their weaponry didn't rely on gimmicks. They'd been a nasty surprise at first for several mage squads out on missions, who had been all but decimated before managing to bring it down. Sometimes not even that lucky.

The comparison to a construction vehicle was quite apt. Most War Armors seemed to be overhauled and mish-mashed versions of bulldozers, cranes, cement mixers; even more benign equipment like forklifts and tractors sometimes made their way onto them. These were no different. The first was painted a dull charcoal-red, its bulky body lifted off the ground by a quartet of thick hydraulic legs, each ending in a wide circle. Equipped on them were clamps, obviously designed to hold it in place through the force of any impacts. On its back was a dump truck bed equipped with guns on either side, and currently tilted to give the nasty-looking satellite dish inside the perfect angle. Energy was already beginning to build up again around the tip.

The second was nearby in the middle of a construction site (familiar territory, anyway), the various other equipment scattered away by its bulk. The building itself at least was unscathed – thank goodness for small favors. It was equipped with a mish-mash of shovels, drills, and grinders that somehow managed to be efficiently digging up the bare ground. Foremost was a large bore, similar to those used in drilling for oil. A few turrets were set up on this one here and there, but overall it didn't seem designed for combat.

Alyssa let out a whistle, her eyes fixed on the second armor. "Well, well, looks we got a live one here. And so close in the neighbourhood, too."

Something in her tone sounded a little strange to Anton, but everyone else seemed familiar with the words. Before he could ask, though, Jeanne cut in again.

"Okay, new plan, boys and girls: I'm gonna set up a barrier around us to ward that fire. It won't be perfect, and I'll try to avoid what I can, but don't expect not to get shaken up a bit."

Once more, magic exuded from the cockpit, spreading to cover the entire helicopter. Craning his neck to peer out the window, Anton saw they were covered by a bubble of water so thick it blurred everything beyond it. If anything could protect them from another of those shots, it was this; the strength of Captain Stromhold's defenses was as renowned as she herself, as many a disaster survivor had discovered in just the nick of time.

Another tense few minutes passed while the energy slowly, slowly built up around the satellite, although probably quite a bit faster outside of the squad members' eyes. Anton gulped slowly. Aside from that small gesture, a hush had fallen across the helicopter, each member of the Riot Force staring at the screen calmly. Was this what it meant to be a combat mage?

At last, the build-up appeared to reach its zenith, the glow beginning to crackle and spurt along the shaft's length. The War Armor's clamps dug in deeper.

With a thunderous bang (or at least it probably would have been, if the bubble didn't shield sound too), the laser surged forth from the satellite, pushing the armor back a foot or two as it closed the distance unsettlingly fast.

"Like I said," Jeanne called from the front, "better hang on. I'm turning now!"

True to her words, the carrier swerved sharply to the left just before the beam reached them. Even so, though, it still hit a glancing blow, steam rising from the gathered water instantly. Anton tilted his head away from the window, before the brilliant light reflected off his glasses and blinded him.

Sure enough, the barrier held…mostly. The 'mostly' turned out to be pretty important in this case, as before the energy dissipated, it managed to pierce through and clip the copter slightly – sending it into a tailspin.

Alyssa let another long whistle. "Man, that's sure impressive Jeanne: breaking through your magic like that."

Dwight shrugged. "Probably just a fluke, if you ask me. It happens." He'd taken the words right out of Anton's mouth.

"Shut it, both of you!" The helicopter began to twist and turn, trying to regain its previous course. This seemed to be a rather futile goal however, as the outside surroundings spun wildly. "Dammit. I'm gonna try for a safe landing, so anyone with wings, get your butts out there. Everyone else, you'd better hang on."

Alyssa and Arturia caught each-other's eyes and nodded, albeit reluctantly in the knight's case. Unbuckling from the harnesses, they brandished their devices aloft.

"Let's Set Up, Bowie!"

"Bestow upon me my armor, Frangir!"

"A-okay, boss!"

"Sic."

Twin flashes of light covered the two women, and when they cleared both officers were clad in their Barrier Jackets. Alyssa's was a long coat the same color as her uniform, open at the front near the thighs to expose quite a bit of leg. Displayed prominently over the left side was the same symbol as on her earrings. Bowie had folded out to become a double-bladed spear, parts of it resembling a furnace.

Arturia's, meanwhile, was about as old-school as you could possibly get: an entire set of silver plate armor covered her almost completely from the neck down.. Presumably there was some cloth underneath, but seeing it would require more examination than she'd likely appreciate. Frangir, meanwhile, had transformed into a claymore sword, roughly half the length of the young knight holding it. In comparison to Alyssa's device, he looked much less flashy – House Verum's weapons of choice were created by people who knew exactly what they were meant for.

A moment passed before Anton realized they were looking right at him expectantly. "Oh – oh, right! Sorry."

Grasping his own device, he flipped her open awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Um, prepare my Barrier Jacket please, Akashic."

"…what, that's all?" Alyssa blurted out, before Arturia elbowed her in the ribs.

A momentary flash covered Anton too, before he emerged to reveal his own jacket. It was…well, practical: a simple green outfit, barely flashier than his regular uniform. Akashic's appearance remained the same, but the pages her owner had flipped to now glowed with arcane light. Reaching down, Anton grasped something near the spine – a short tug retrieved what looked like a small, metal baton.

Alyssa whistled. "Nice, Inspector: it suits you."

"W-well," Anton began lamely, "it helps me focus my spells, and it's pretty easy to hold…"

For a moment the Captain's face contorted in pure delight (although he didn't have the foggiest idea why), before Jeanne's voice cut in.

"Um, hello? Helicopter, damaged, CRASHING? Get the hell out there, now!"

"Sure, sure," Alyssa said, rolling her eyes, "we're going already."

Reaching over, she slid open the metal doors, letting wind slip in once more. In one magical movement, all three activated their respective flight spells and leapt off, into battle.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Skies Above Prism Street – 115 Hours

This was Anton's first time fighting a War Armor (even encountering one outside of a book), and he was forced to admit immediately that, yes, they certainly were efficient creations. Back at the Academy, he remembered there had been several drills where a team of a half-dozen artillery mages used the class for target practice – with limiters, of course, after some complaints by parents last year when their children came home slightly charred – with the goal being to simply survive: a useful lesson for any aspiring combat mage.

The barrage this machine was putting up simulated the experience nearly to a T.

Almost instantaneously after he'd slipped through the bubble shield, Anton felt the wind buoying him up build and burst, sending him flying to the side just before a hail of bullets violated the airspace he had just been occupying.

"T-thanks, Akashic." he breathed. It wasn't needless praise: his Barrier Jacket was built for speed rather than defense, and he wouldn't have put that much faith in his reflexive shields.

"Pay attention, young master." she replied, as usual. Not that he minded much, of course, since as usual, it was good advice. There was no point to scolding someone unless they learned something at the same time, after all.

Stabilizing his flight spell as much as he could, Anton followed after Alyssa and Arturia, the former weaving through the fire with easy grace, and the latter – his breath caught in his throat momentarily as a missile slammed right into her…only for the young knight to emerge from the smoke cloud without slowing down, her shields not wavering in the slightest.

It would go very differently in his case. Gulping, he tried to keep up as best he could, following Alyssa's path inelegantly. Arturia seemed to be about as good at dodging as he was about getting hit – or she simply didn't care.

As he did so, he took in the situation. The first War Armor was below them diagonally, although it was a little difficult to tell with all that ammunition in the way. It was splitting its fire into thirds to keep the mages at bay, while thankfully ignoring the helicopter, which had landed on a rooftop nearby. The second seemed completely oblivious to everything else, continuing to dig aimlessly. What on earth could be underneath the site?

Glancing behind her, Alyssa caught his eyes and grinned. "Let's go, Bowie!" Brandishing the spear, she thrust it down toward the War Armor. "Crimson Arrow!" the Captain yelled.

"Fire!" cried her Device gleefully. A quartet of fiery, arrow-headed projectiles burst into life around the woman, each firing itself at an outer turret on the machine.

A few feet before they hit home, however, a glowing barrier came into existence, pushing against the magic like a bug-zapper against flies. Ultimately the arrows broke through, but collided against the turrets without much impact.

Alyssa clicked her tongue. "An AMF Barrier: what a surprise." she broadcasted to Anton (and presumably Arturia)'s mind. "Tin Can, this is your department. I'll hang back and get something ready in the meantime."

"Yes, Captain," replied Arturia, evidently content to bend to superior rank in this sort of situation, "but what will the Inspector be doing?"

Anton watched as she blinked, then pulled back until they were side by side. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention: what can you do, Inspector?"

"Um," he thought for a moment, "well, I use wind magic primarily, er, exclusively, and I'm pretty good at projectile magic and binds…"

He trailed off as Alyssa waved her hand in a 'go ahead' gesture. "Okay, then. Go ahead and give our knight in sour armor some cover then, will ya?"

A moment passed before he nodded firmly. "O-of course!" Flying out ahead of Alyssa, he waved his baton with a flourish, or at least what he thought was one. "Breeze Cutter!"

The air around him swirled up into the shape of a spinning discus of wind, balanced easily on the baton's end. With a wave of the stick, it flew off, curving neatly toward the War Armor. When it reached the AMF Barrier, it surged, struggled…and bounced off like a bug on a windshield, breaking a window nearby.

"…" Anton stared for a moment.

Alyssa coughed gently. "Uh, not a bad try, Inspector, but the point is sort of to make it go through-"

"Yes, yes, I know. Thank you." said the young man, massaging his nose as they both dodged an anti-air guns' fire.

She smiled. "No worries, though: you distracted it good enough."

Looking down at the War Armor, Anton saw Arturia flying toward it, right in one of its few blindspots.

Gripping her blade tightly, the Verum Knight twisted her weapon's pommel, causing the entire hilt to ratchet backward and expel a spent cartridge. The claymore's blade began to glow with a radiant, white light.

"Laedo!" uttered Frangir.

"Lucidus Gladi-

Before the final consonant could leave her mouth, Arturia whirled around in midair, slashing apart a car-sized boulder seconds before it could hit her. The second War Armor had sprouted a large cannon extending from its backside, even as it continued to drill obliviously. Arturia drew back a bit, then moved sharply aside as a missile streaked past her. The cannon tracked her movements shockingly fast for such a crude weapon and fired again, expelling a smaller yet sharpened boulder toward her. At the same time, the sound of another missile shrieking toward her came from behind.

Gritting her teeth, Arturia bolstered her shields to weather impacts from both sides – which turned out not to be necessary. A rush of wind also came from over her shoulder, and the missile detonated prematurely, washing her with heat but not much else. Letting the rock collide against her barrier, she smashed it brutally away with Frangir before turning to see Alyssa twirl her spear, one end glowing

"You owe me one, Tin Can." she said cheerfully. "How many is that now? Five?"

"Zero." Arturia replied coldly. "What do you suggest we do now, Captain?"

Alyssa grinned. "Two of us, two of them: seems pretty fair to me."

"Perhaps," the knight murmured, "but that weapon worries me." She nodded at the satellite, which was already beginning to glow ominously once more. "Can you destroy it before it fires again?"

Captain Triad's grin grew, if that were possible. "No worries."

The point of Bowie's shaft hadn't cooled down since intercepting the attack. Now Alyssa flew forward, twisting and weaving among the enemy fire before driving him forward, the blade's temperature growing two-fold as she did. "Heat Lancer!"

The spear sent out a wave of flame from its impact, spreading across the AMF Barrier that shimmered into view beneath it. This destroyed or deflected the salvo the armor had fired when she drew near, but it was quick to fire again. By that point, however, she had drawn back, avoiding the attacks as her movements blurred with further heat.

"Lancer Mirage!"

In a dazzling array lightning-quick thrusts, the spear clashed against the AMF Barrier - try as the machine might, it simply couldn't manage to ward them off. Before long a few holes had been made in the barrier, and she began to push forward...

A pair of holes opened in the War Armor's frame, from which extended two large, lengthy coils, similar to the ones on a Type I Gadget Droid. Quick ones, too, snaking up toward the Captain quickly. Flipping to one side, she twisted her spear across in a wide, encompassing sweep, but the coils slithered aside and curled around the shaft of the weapon, outside the range of her shields.

Alyssa grinned, showing off her front teeth. "It might have worked on someone else; sorry." She gripped Bowie's shaft tighter. "Flame Counter!"

The heat on the spear's blade grew further, evolving from a formless sensation to pure, raging fire, burning away the tentacles before the electricity within them (also cribbed from the desk of Scaglietti – the man could probably sue if he weren't in jail) could reach her.

Useless though the attack might have been, its distraction allowed the machine to redouble its shields, as well as lay down another barrage of covering fire. She was forced to retreat, sending a few more arrow flames to prevent it from pressing the initiative.

Arturia hadn't fared much better with her opponent. Although they were not expressly built for combat, a scooper as big as you are at the very least doesn't have to intend to hurt when it swings at you. And they did so quickly, with flailing, graceless attacks that should not have been a match for any trained Verum Knight's swordplay…making it all the more irritating that they did, with sheer weight and numbers.

Angling her sword into a defensive position, the girl held her ground against a drill that shot at her from the left, the spinning edge clashing against Frangir's stable one. Then she frowned, taking one hand off the claymore to project a shield against an errantly swinging shovel. And, sure enough, another came down toward her moments later.

"Eruptus." spoke Frangir calmly, and the shield burst, obscuring the mechanisms in light while Arturia was carried backward. With their target out of harm's way, the digging implements had nothing left to hit but thin air…and, naturally, themselves. They smashed together in a mighty crash, mechanical whines quickly echoing down the street as they tried to untangle themselves.

The Second Lieutenant nodded. "Thank, you Frangir." Gripping her sword's pommel, she twisted it again, this time in the other direction. "Arbalest Form, please."

"Sic." the Device agreed once more – not that Arturia had expected anything else. The claymore's tip split apart smoothly at the middle, while the hilt moved downward slightly to become handles. Hidden underneath the blade was a wide lens, already beginning to glow with her light magic. The energy spread up to the blade, leaping between both halves like an isolated electrical current. Compared to Alyssa's shooting magic her own was quite slow, but there was no need to rush at this range: the War Armor was riveted to the spot by its bore, still drilling into now-bare rock.

The magical power reached a peak, barely contained by the Device regulating it.

"Laus…" began Frangir.

"CALAMUS!" Arturia allowed her voice a moment of brief fury as the bolt of light roared out of the split blade. Its preparation may have been lengthy, but its speed more than made up for that (although naturally, being at near point-blank range also helped), reaching the machine within a moment and exploding into a mighty flare.

Arturia clicked her tongue as it faded, revealing the digging tools were still mostly intact, or at least enough to serve their new bludgeoning purpose. She watched the bore spin as she drew back to dodge a shot from its rock cannon. The Lieutenant and Captain nearly backed into each-other as a result.

"This one's AMF Barrier appears to be stronger than its bodyguard's." the former reported. "At least two times the output, I think."

Alyssa nodded. "Whatever's down in that hole must be pretty damn important," she looked back at the first armor, "but we sure can't ignore ethat thing, either."

She paused for the briefest of moments. "Yo, Jeanne: not that we really need it, but how's about that time barrier?"

"Oh, so sorry to keep you delicate flowers waiting," the rescue worker's voice dripped with sarcasm, "I was just a bit busy making sure we didn't crash, and setting our formation up while you two were keeping them occupied – thanks, by the way – that's all. But yeah, I did just get one of those ready. Here you go."

The skies above them darkened as the time barrier went to work, a very common yet powerful (and to many, crucial) spell. Within the few moments it took for the dome to cover the neighbourhood anything non-sentient, and if otherwise, non-magical was analyzed, copied, and very, very gently, moved into a separate pocket dimension. Anything in the former category that was destroyed could simply be replaced, and the latter removed entirely. However, nearly anyone with an awakened Linker Core wouldn't be affected by these spells unless they took them specifically into account – but they would almost certainly have had the sense to vacate the area by now. Almost. It was their job to keep that variable from coming into play.

"Alright," Alyssa spoke aloud, brandishing her spear, "now that that's set up, I can really-"

She stopped. The bullet barrage had halted abruptly as the War Armor seemed to shift its massive bulk to regard the barrier encircling it.

Then, a small portion of its armor flipped up, unveiling a small missile launcher with exactly one barrel. The missile it fired off was equally tiny, racing high up into the sky before either woman could attempt to intercept it. Once it seemed to reach appropriate height, it exploded – and the sky flickered a few times before returning to normal.

"Uh…" Alyssa's eyes shrunk a bit as she lowered Bowie slowly, "uh-oh?"

"I would not say it along those lines, but yes, indeed." Arturia whispered.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Skies Above Prism Street – 123 Hours

Roughly on the other side of the War Armor, forgotten by the two women mages, Anton was reacting to the new weapon in a slightly less understated way.

"Those things have a weapon like that! How…how..there are no records of them having anything like that!"

Most of the War Armor's guns weren't firing on him after the first salvo, attacking the two greater threats toward it. Anton had kept moving, though, occasionally firing off a projectile spell to confirm that, yes, he was completely useless in this situation. What a wonderful thing to know for sure.

He gulped miserably as the massive laser on the thing's front swivelled around, aiming west toward the skyscraper front. The buildings had to have been evacuated by now, but-

"Uh, Jeanne, I'm a little spotty with my geography today: what's it aiming for?"Alyssa broadcasted. "If it's you, I'd probably move."

"Oh, funny, Triad. From the way that thing's pointed, I think it'll hit, oh, about the center of the residential district. You thinktheyshould move?"

The sound of Alyssa cursing was heard clearly by every member of the team. "Damn, I was afraid of that. Okay then, new plan: blow it up before it can fire?"

Jeanne snorted. "You're a regular tactical genius, Triad. But yeah, seems like that's the only plan it wants us to have. Shame the Sergeant'd be useless here, he could tell us-"

Speak of the devil. "Assessment: I estimate that a weapon of that type has roughly a five minute charging time, everyone. Taking that and the time since the last discharging into account, I would say you have roughly two minutes left, owing for some margin of error."

"…" You wouldn't think someone's silence could be heard telepathically, but Captain Triad pulled it off then. "You've been crunching those numbers since I sent you two out there, haven't you?"

"Casual: multi-tasking against these opponents is not very difficult. I also served for a time under someone who used a very similar weapon, albeit of course on a much smaller scale."

"Keeps slipping our minds, I guess." she sighed. "Thanks for the heads-up, but get back to the fight before-"

The sound of a thunderclap carried across the clear skies as lightning carried up from the distant rooftops.

"Done."declared Ace calmly, even coldly.

"Oh, okay then,"said Alyssa cheerfully, "now let's junk this thing, shall we, Tin Can? You two can stay there; no way either of you can get over here in time."

"Yes." Arturia agreed. It wasn't 'roger', but probably the closest compromise she'd make toward it.

"Roger."

"Acknowledgement: roger."

"Alright, then," Jeanne chimed in, "Lieutenant Jacobs, Librarian Trail, Co-librarian Otavi, get the strongest, quickest spells you have ready and wait for my signal. The same goes for you fliers, too, if that's not a problem."

Somewhat wisely, Alyssa kept her mouth shut.

"At least the other one stopped attacking." put in Dwight. "Guess it wants to play 'fair'.

After that observation, silence reigned again, the only noise the whine of the first armor's laser charging and the second digging obliviously with no-one violating its space. Anton licked his dry lips, wondering where the members of Water Squad were and how they would attack. He had the files he'd pulled up on them, but that didn't seem to matter much in an actual battle; certainly not for someone like Captain Triad, anyway.

Case in point…

"ATTACK!" Alyssa yelled suddenly, brandishing her appear and flying forward. After a momentary pause (presumably to sigh heavily), Arturia followed close behind.

"Dammit, Triad…" Jeanne muttered resignedly. "You know the drill, people."

The Inspector felt the tingle of several sources of magic grow around and over the street. Nearly every member of a Riot Force attacking a single opponent…it was the stuff a poet could write magnificent passages about, if one were available and willing.

Good thing, eh?

Alyssa flew low near the War Armor's body; using the same grace as since the battle began, she almost seemed to weave in-between the bullets. Grinning excitedly, she raised Bowie with a wide twirl.

"Heat Slicer!" Two curved blades of flame grew from the spear's points, forming a naginata shape. Swinging it into a rapid turn, Alyssa slashed away at the machine's AMF Barrier with quick slashes. The barrier's output seemed to increase around its protectorate's primary weapon, however, not to mention shifting the general focus toward that point. The red-head frowned as the rapid attack ultimately proved ineffective.

Anton gave a start when the Captain pulled up from her dive right next to him.

"Yo, Inspector," she said cheerfully. "haven't seen you since we started. You doing okay?"

"Uh," he stammered, adjusting his glasses, "pretty well, I think."

She smiled. "At all like you thought it would be?"

He thought for a moment. "Oh, it's a bit different from what I expected."

"But then, I expected it to matter whether I was here or not."

Alyssa didn't appear to notice his discomfort, letting out a sigh. The air before the edge of Bowie's point sprouted a scarlet flame. "Man, sorry you had to see that display. I'm more about speed than brute force, so you'll have to wait a bit before you can witness some real fireworks." She smiled. "Speaking of brute force…"

Taking a higher route than her superior had, Arturia looked down at her Device. "Frangir, we must execute a pin-point attack." she murmured.

"Sic."

This time, two cartridges were expelled from the hilt of the holy sword; the gathering light began to leap off the blade in slight pulses. Flying higher and raising her weapon, Arturia roared out.

"Sanctus Pluvia!"

From the tip of the weapon leaped five arrows of light, each identical in shape and size. In similar unison, they hit the War Armor's barrier at once and stuck there. They didn't appear offensive in nature, but were too dense for the AM Field to even begin dispelling them. Not that Arturia was willing to give it the chance. The arrows had formed an odd pattern when they collided, and the knight now lunged downward, plunging Frangir into the center.

"Lucidus ASTRUM!"

Strands of light exuded from the blade as it pierced the barrier, touching the four arrows and forming the shape of a star. The arrows forming the points began to glow – but only for a moment.

Flying through the synchronized explosion, Arturia pulled her claymore back. "You're mine!"

In fact the main gun was notto be hers, as with an ominous crackling noise, a secondbarrier leapt up around the laser. The dame knight grit her teeth, pressing down with her sword, but was ultimately thrown away by the force of it shoving right back. As she regained balance, her shields were hit by another round of fire, this time cracking them.

Through the resuming bullet hell, she watched its crackling green aura deflect a large triangular bullet shot from a nearby rooftop. Before Arturia could move, the top of the building was showered with bullets.

"Lieutenant!"

"I'm fine," he said calmly as a second bullet slammed into the shield from the opposite direction and with much more force, "had a doppelganger set up there. Not like it did any good, though."

Indeed, the new shield showed no signs of cracking, and by now a shimmering in the air signaled that the AMF Barrier had reestablished itself. The War Armor paused a bit, reloading and recalibrating its guns to get a better angle on the aerial enemies. Then, all of a sudden, its legs jacked downward with a hydraulic pump, shooting back upward a moment later to send it airborne – dodging a jagged stalagmite that shot up from out of the pavement its body had been over a moment ago. From the same hole slithered a plethora of vines, wrapping around the War Armor's legs. The machine's armor crackled with a brief flare of electricity, and they fell to the ground, dead. Everyone nearby heard the slight psychic whimper from Otavi at the sight.

The pillar of rock exploded as surging water gushed forth from the same hole, slamming into the mechanical monster with force equalling Alyssa and Arturia's attacks – perhaps even moreso. The AMF Barrier crumbled after a moment, but the laser's shield proved a tough nut to crack again, dispelling the water after a moment's resistance. In response, the War Armor raised one foot and stamped the ground hard. Already softened by its weight, the pavement there collapsed, spreading to several areas besides.

Daniel, who had been largely silent since the battle began, gave a quite uncharacteristic yelp. "D-dammit, it nearly got me with that cave-in! How'd it know I was down here?"

Someone had an answer. "If I had to guess, I'd say the same way it knew how to avoid that spell of yours," murmured Dwight slowly, "and a way to deal with Otavi's plants. Remember, Jeanne? The three of you used that same combination a while ago. Only difference is, it worked then." He fired off another shot. "It's standing up to my shots a lot better than the last one, too."

"I might recall." the rescue worker said dryly. "'Lookie what we can do now!', huh?"

"Makes sense to me." put in Ace. "Anyone will get used to attacks you use constantly. It's probably not much different."

His partner made a contemplative noise. "Analyze: the droids did not appear any stronger than usual. It would appear likely that the War Armors have been gathering data from the mages who usually combat them."

Jeanne cursed. "So if I have that right, that's me, Triad and the Second Lieutenant tied for number one, you at number two, and the Librarians a distant third, huh?"

"Hey, it's not my fault if I'm good at junking these things!"

"Statement: that is correct, Captain. This would therefore leave Corporal Spade and my own attacks relatively unaffected, but I am afraid we are too far away to be of any assistance. Incidentally, there is roughly one minute left before that laser fires."

"That's NOT incidental!" Anton heard himself blurt.

"Admonishment: there is no need to shout, Inspector." GD said calmly.

The young man's eyebrow twitched. "O-of course there is!" He waved his baton at the War Armor, still charging its weapon methodically. "If that thing fires, there's no telling how many people will be hurt! We have to do something, and quick!"

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Skyscraper Penthouse – 130 Hours

Quattro tapped his index finger on the desk a few times. He checked his watch. Then, he sighed. "Well, I suppose it had to happen someday – the law of averages is a harsh mistress. Still, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. Not nearly as sorry as whoever is in that block will be, though, I'm sure." A smile creased his features. "Or the insurance company once I come calling tomorrow."

"Your genius pays for itself, Mister Quattro." Katie put in, smiling.

"Merely a matter of course, my dear," the young man said, giving in return, "the real masterpiece to be thanked here is our gracious benefactors. I dare say they've outdone themselves with this model. Note to self, Barnes, have a gift basket made up."

The large man nodded wordlessly, his eyes not leaving the screen. "Boss?" He said finally. "We know everybody who's in Section Thirteen, right?"

"Hm?" One of Quattro's eyebrows twitched a bit. "We do indeed, naturally. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Barnes said, pointing at one of the screens, "who the hell is that, then?"

His boss leaned forward and squinted. Barnes had indicated Anton.

Katie folded her legs. "Well well," she murmured, "I suppose our little games have finally deserved reinforcements. Oh well – seeing new blood is always amusing. Not to mention teaching them failure. Whoever he is, he's welcome to try."

Quattro's smile faded as he watched. "He's certainly trying now."

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Planet Gardius – Skies Above Prism Street – 130 Hours

A moment passed, where the young inspector found time to be surprised at himself for his outburst. Then Alyssa took one hand off her weapon to rub her chin in a musing fashion. "Hey, hey, GD? Would that thing have any data on the Inspector, y'think?"

"Contemplation: …now that you have mentioned it, Captain, I do not believe so. The Inspector only arrived here today, after all, and I doubt it would be able to adapt to his magic so quickly."

Anton gulped inwardly slightly as Alyssa turned to him expectantly. "W-well, I 'm not sure if I have quite-"

He stopped as the sound of paper rustling reached his ears. Looking down, he saw Akashic had flipped to another page – a paragraph of which was now glowing an emerald green. It took him a moment to remember what spell it was, but shook his head once he did.

"It could work in theory, Akashic, but I've never even tried casting that spell before. I don't know why you bothered keeping it there."He hadn't even looked at the page since that meeting with his counsellor.

"My pages contain no useless knowledge, young master."

Her master's eyes widened. "Akashic…"

Raising his head, he looked over the battlefield, rising absent-mindedly as he began to take it all in. The machine wasn't firing much at him anymore. Several aspects of the street and the enemy within it were noted, analyzed, and taken into account for what he was about to do. He felt far calmer than he had throughout the battle, now that he wasn't letting himself distract him.

"Captain, please cover me."

"'kay." Alyssa said without pause as he dove toward the machine. Thrusting out her free hand, she summoned another quartet of fire arrows, the magic energy drawing the armor's attention (and bullets) toward her. Once they were close enough, she clenched the hand while spinning aside from a missile. "Ember Rain!"

The fiery projectiles burst all at once, splitting into a cloud of smaller fireballs that showered down upon the War Armor. It was a spell designed for surprising enemies one-on-one or separating a large group of them, but at the moment it served its purpose by attracting the robot's attention. As the embers pattered uselessly against its barrier, it launched forth a pair of rockets. They never reached their target; one was sniped down from below by an expertly aimed shot, whilst the other was suddenly intercepted by Arturia's blade.

"Are you sure the Inspector can handle this, Captain?"

Alyssa just smiled. "No worries: if he wants to try, of course he can do it."

"If the boss says he can do it, he can do it!" Bowie parroted cheerfully.

His master glared down at her. "Don't steal my lines, Bowie!"

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Planet Gardius – Skies Above Prism Street – 130 Hours

Anton wasn't an especially fast flier, at least in comparison to mages nearly capable of breaking the sound barrier all on their own, but like all his other skills, he was very neat at it. Barrel Rolls, somersaults, cut-back turns, and countless other tricks designed to evade the numerous people who would find perforating him a simple task.

He needed them now. Even if the Section Officers were diverting its attention partially, there was no way for him to conceal his presence from the War Armor completely. It had no idea what he was about to do, but that didn't stop it firing at him on general principle. Of course, when it came right down to that, he wasn't one hundred percent sure he knew what he was doing either.

As he passed by the War Armor's right flank, dodging bullets all the while, Anton flung out the baton and concentrated. An emerald-green rune faded into view in the air there, pointed at the machine. It appeared to regard it for a moment, but when nothing happened, it turned its attention back to the mage – a mistake.

Looping around to the back of the machine, Anton tried to avoid the running countdown Akashic was broadcasting to him (purely for motivation purposes, of course) and summoned another shining sigil into existence. It too seemed to serve no purpose, but a magically-trained eye would see a thin band of light connecting it to the other.

Flying around the other side of it, Anton summoned another rune when a sound pulled him out of his concentration: almost like a very loud fly. "What's tha-"

"Young master, from behind!"

Anton looked behind him (always an important talent to learn in conjunction with flying) and his eyes widened: sailing through the air toward him was a high speed missile, curving through the air in a way that suggested 'homing' in a very large way. Another shot from Dwight came up, but the cylinder swerved sharply to one side, evading as it picked up speed.

The Inspector gulped hard, trying to do the same, but pure straight-aways weren't his territory. He swung Akashic's baton over his shoulder and sent out a burst of wind, but if anything that seemed easier for it to dodge. Slowly but surely, it gained on him.

But there was only one rune left to place before his spell was complete. "This – this is a battle," he thought to himself, trying to summon whatever resolve might lie within him, "there's no room for certainties, or even safety." He nodded to himself. This was how things were for combat mages everyday, and knowing that for certain put him at ease, strange as it sounded. If anything, it was fortunate that was all the War Armor had done.

Trailing the connecting magic strand behind him, Anton swung around near what was, for lack of a better term, the thing's face. Twisting his baton a little, Anton quickly yet carefully called up a fourth rune for it to join to, and then threw out another to link the first. Heat warming his jacket's boots, he flung himself up into a sharp upward climb.

Flipping around once he was above the still-oblivious machine, he flung his baton out and downward in a mighty swing, and cried out:

"Infinity TORNADO!"

In unison, each of the runes burst, expelling a large amount of wind which began to spin, taking the same path Anton had to prepare the spell. The winds came together as they spun, growing taller to form a tight cyclone around the machine. As he watched in satisfaction (and part surprise), the force of the wind blew his hair back.

Rudimentary programming oblivious to all this, the missile kept going – and, not an inch before the young man's face, was swept away by the gales, spun helplessly, and returned to sender by hitting the War Armor right in it's side. A considerable hole was made in the crude armor: evidently its maker hadn't accounted for the very weapons it was built to fire.

"Well, that's lucky." Anton thought, too relieved to do much else. He took a drag from his inhaler, and didn't even react when Alyssa came up next to him.

She was smiling. "Not bad, Inspector." The flame on the end of her spear had grown quite large. She hefted it up over her head. "If you don't mind me piggybackin', think I'll-"

Anton held up one finger. "Wait." His tone was so different that, for once, that was just what Alyssa Triad did. She followed his pointing finger down into the vortex, where several different types of debris were now spinning after being sucked up; rocks of various sizes, a stop sign, a traffic light…and a very thick, long beam that the construction team had been about to install.

"Okay, I get the idea," Alyssa muttered, "but what makes you so sure it's gonna-"

"I had straight As in Spell Composition at the Academy," Anton interrupted as the metal beam, the wind building up force within it through its rotation, abruptly turned and shot forward to bury itself right in the War Armor's side more than halfway up its length, "physics, too."

Obviously, that hadn't been enough to destroy it, but with the hiss of electronics shorting out, the AMF that had been outlined by Anton's spell faded away.

"NOW, hurry!" he cried to Alyssa – not that there was any need. Flashing an eager grin at Anton, she lifted the spear. "Try this one on for size, Inspector!"

"CRIMSON STORM!"

The fire leaped away from the spear's edge with all the surging tenacity such a name implied, forming into the shape of a mighty lance blade that seared down toward the funnel's open top.

Just before it reached, however, she flashed the young man a look that made him feel heat that definitely wasn't from the fire. Alyssa clenched her fist tightly and the fire split off into two streams of fire that swept down into Anton's wind, igniting it as it continued spinning. As he watched, the force of the flames seemed to increase the tunnel's rotation, whilst they fanned the fire – within a few moments, the entire conflagration swept down upon the hapless robot.

The sound of popping and sizzling circuitry was clear even from their altitude, as well as the whine of the main gun's charge failing and overloading itself. Then, finally, there was the sound of the explosion as the gun collapsed, taking the lesser turrets and launchers with it in the combustion. As the fire dissipated, the once-mighty armor gave a shudder before collapsing entirely.

Anton gave a deep exhaling of breath that quickly became a wheeze when Alyssa clapped him hard on the back. "Heheh, see Inspector, not that hard, right? Nice teamwork, heheh."

"T-thank you, I-" he began, wondering exactly what the young lady's definition of teamwork was, when she suddenly seized him by the collar. "W-wait, what are you-"

"Getting you away from that." Alyssa said smoothly. She pointed with her spear: the collapsed armor had begun to shudder, smoke pouring off it in great bursts. The crude metal making up its frame was beginning to glow red hot.

He blinked, pushing up his spectacles. "T-they-"

"Explode once you beat 'em, yeah. Try and keep up, Inspector; isn't this stuff anyone knows?"

This was certainly very true, but that didn't mean he felt like admitting he had forgotten. "Well, ah," he said, trying to change the subject, "what's the general procedure for this here?"

Alyssa shrugged. "It doesn't have anything to do with me, if that's what you're asking. Watch."

Water had seeped out of the cracks the War Armor (not to mention Daniel) made in the street, and now wrapped over the rumbling machine to form an all-encompassing bubble. Not a second too soon, at that, as the barrier shuddered against a mighty yet ultimately futile explosion as it self-destructed. Only then did Anton breath a sigh of relief.

The red-haired woman nodded. "That's Stromhold's department: dealing with those kinds of problems. I never really saw the use of learning magic like that."

"Um, Captain, you can let go of me now."

"Oh, right." Alyssa's near-chokehold was lifted as she released her grip.

The Inspector dusted himself off as he regarded the digging model; the destruction of its bodyguard hadn't appeared to phase it much. "Well," he said, "at least now we only have to worry about-"

Projectiles of light, beam, water and rock raced past his vision, quickly and skillfully pummeling the other war machine. Whatever the strange barrier on the first had been, it seemed quite absent on this model, and it was quickly pummeled into submission, the explosion contained as easily as the first by the good Captain Stromhold.

Alyssa caught his face and smiled. "I'd call that a mission accomplished, wouldn't you, Inspector?"

He pushed his glasses back up for about the fourth time since leaving the helicopter. "Well, the city's still here, no-one died, and I didn't get shot. I'd call that a victory, at least for my first time out."

Not to his great surprise, he found himself nearly flipped straight around as she slapped him heartily across the back. She seemed more energetic in battle (if that were even possible), not to mention friendlier, he realized now - and yesterday, he might have found that profoundly worrying. Now he couldn't think about anything else but one thing:

"I did it."

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Planet Gardius - Skyscraper Penthouse - 125 Hours

Quattro stared. His expression as he looked at the screen was unreadable. Barnes and Katie sat still in their chairs - you could never really be sure what the boss was going to do at times like these. He didn't usually tell people if they'd made him upset: he paid other, bigger gentlemen to impart that information, often in very dark alleys.

They relaxed visibly when he did so, leaning back in his chair and shrugging. "Oh well: you can't win them all, I suppose. Katie, find out who that young man is, hm?"

"Right away, Mister Quattro."

Inside Barnes' pocket came the sound of a ringing phone. Expression not changing an inch, he flipped it open. "Talk to me."

He nodded after a moment. "Got it." He flipped the device closed, replaced it, and nodded to his boss. "That was the guys, boss. Teleport went off without a hitch."

Quattro clapped his hands together. "Wonderful!" He flashed a smile at his female assistant. "And now that my humble idea is done, it is time for Katie's part of the plan to begin. I must say, I've been looking forward to seeing it all week."

The girl stood up and took a bow. "I assure you, Mister Quattro, you won't be disappointed."

She moved toward the door. "I'll begin at once. Come, Barnes."

The giant man's mouth twitched downward as he followed.

"Have fun, both of you." Quattro said as he watched them go. Switching off the monitors, he swivelled his chair around to the window. "Hmm...for some reason, I can't help but think things are about to become very interesting around here."Another Chesire Cat smile touched his lips.

The intercom on his desk, inactive until now, suddenly buzzed to life. Clicking it, Quattro spoke, "Yes, Janie?"

"Just wanted to remind you about your meeting at 2 O'Clock, Mr. Angelo."

"...and now for something far less entertaining."Quattro sighed. "Thank you, Janie. And I told you, call me Quattro."

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Planet Gardius...? - Location Unknown - 125 Hours?

"Destruction of Unit 1 from Model L and Unit 1 from Special Model D has been confirmed."

An officer in the TSAB who had ever been on the bridge of one of their ships, or seen the command rooms in more important bases would have been reminded quite closely of them by this location. It had the same expansiveness, almost equal to an auditorium hall in size, and filling seemingly every spare bit of that space was similar magitechnology.

There were crucial differences, however. While the TSAB's facilities were typically all lit brightly, whether through natural, fluorescent, or supernatural means, here there was only perpetual shade, the barest gray piercing it cast by small, ugly looking lanterns. That, and the monitors, spanning from wall to wall – in a Bureau facility, they would have manned by quick-thinking, intelligent people suited for the job. In here, they weren't 'people' at all – the same robots as those deployed against Section Thirteen were seated, fingers clicking the keys and eyes never leaving the monitors.

A man sat at the head of the room, on a platform elevated slightly from the rest. He was flanked by four monitors, all relaying information processed by the rest. He looked up at the announcement, toward the front of the room and one of the only humans within it – and the entire facility itself.

"Failed? Strange. Data was meant to be comprehensive. Recording pass through intact?"

"Yes."

"Playback unit's final moments, please."

Without a word, the operator did so. The man watched from the defunct War Armor's perspective as Anton flew around it, setting up the spell that ultimately laid it to ruin. "Pause, please."

The recording halted on the clearest image of the Inspector the machine had been able to pick up. He watched it carefully for a moment.

Then, briskly, "Send image to Leonard; have him assign priority to next unit deployed, should he appear again."

He dispelled the video as the monitor returned to its numeric rundowns. "What of Lost Logia?"

"Artifact appears to have been transported out of the location it was buried, and sent elsewhere."

The man pursed his lips. "Another of Angelo's schemes. Where is signal originating from?"

A moment passed while the operator made keystrokes. "…it appears that the Logia's signal has been split several ways. They appear to be exactly alike: deciphering the genuine article from the rest may take some time."

"Do so, please."

The typing resumed, faster than before. Turning to the same monitor as before, the man pressed a single key. It lit up with an image, but this one was live, showing a dark-clad figure with red, piercing eyes. Behind it were crowds of trees, and a small pond. The figure saluted as soon as the connection was established. "Sir."

"Cashim, have job for you. Angelo is up to something." He paused for a moment – that is, a half-second. "Shadow Section Thirteen until have determined his intent for the Logia. Do not confront directly. Contact once acquire new information."

"Yes, sir."The figure said, and the connection cut.

Switching the monitor back to its data, the man nodded. He was not a person as inclined towards introspection as, say, Quattro, but he did have one thought on the matter: he had sent in Cashim. Cashim would accomplish the duty. There was no reason to entertain any possibility otherwise.

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Planet Gardius - Section Thirteen Headquarters, CO Office - 135 Hours

While Captain Stromhold and the rest of Water Squad handled clean-up and civilian relations (Alyssa had been banned from the former ever since an unfortunate incident involving the mayor and her fist), Team Fire headed back to base, picking up Ace and GD along the way - quite literally.

Now Alyssa raised her hand and knocked on the door to the office of Major Destin, the commanding officer of Section Thirteen.

"He probably won't mind you're late," she said airily, "not as much if you'd been early, anyway."

There was no answer, so the Captain opened the door - and her hand snaked up instantly to grab a large dart inches before it thudded straight between her eyes.

"Nice, Maj." she said dryly. "Think the Inspector nearly jumped two feet."

Anton tried to keep himself from going red, unsucessfully.

"If you have a problem with it, then don't walk in whileI'm throwing darts, geez." came a bored-sounding voice from within. "That's the guy from headquarters, right? Show him in."

"'kay." Alyssa replied. She turned to Anton and clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, see ya, Inspector. Think about what I said, alright?"

"Uh…yeah." the young man said as she walked away, not looking back. He watched her go, and sighed before heading in, looking at the black-haired man sitting at the desk. He was looking back at him, too, and smiling.

Major Mark Destin was a relative unknown in the TSAB Military, even to the Langsley Family's files, which was odd, considering how impressive his career had been until this point. The Destin family wasn't much – standard military family, really – and yet he had graduated from his academy at the top of his class, with full honors. The first notable operation concerning him, little more than a year after his graduation, was on a ship that had been assigned to map unknown dimensional territory, the Anubis.

In the middle of the voyage, disaster struck in the form of an extremely powerful dimensional storm spawned by a sudden time-space tear, wholly undetected by the ship's sensors. The vessel's defenses were quickly overwhelmed, and its captain was quickly knocked into a coma by the shockwaves. Many of the ship's personnel lost their lives as the tear threatened to rip it apart between two different dimensions.

But at seemingly the last moment, they were all saved: by the then Corporal Destin, who managed – somehow – to close the rift, albeit at the cost of putting great stress on his Linker Core and falling comatose for even longer than the vessel's commander. When he awoke, he found a medal greeting him, along with a stern warning not to try anything so stupid again.

That had been the first such incident, but it was far from the last. The Major's feats and promotions only increased from there on, rivaling a certain Lieutenant Colonel's. After many different transfers and positions, he now found himself in the leadership seat of Section Thirteen. One might wonder how such a competent individual could possibly fit in with such…unique people.

And then you saw many things: his attitude, his general posture (and, by association, table manners), the way he wore sunglasses at all times, even high noon, and, most of all, his sense of humor. The slow realization as you realized he honestly thought what he had just said was hilarious could probably be used for some kind of test.

But surely, Anton had reasoned before coming here, no-one could really be like that deep down. Why, if all the rumors about Hayate Yagami's personal life he'd heard were true, she'd probably have been arrested at least three times by now. And on the other hand, anyone capable of recruiting someone like Captain Triad as a subordinate had to have hidden depths?

Another dart whistled past his ear in a fancy trick shot, and the thought left his mind in a hurry. The sound of the door clicking closed was barely registered by him.

"So," the Major said pleasantly, "you're the Inspector, eh? How you liking our little slice of the Bureau?"

Anton nodded. "Well, I've compiled all the necessary information, I think, and I even managed to get your team in action-"

"Thanks for that, by the way; it's kinda bad publicity for me if I let the city get blown up, know what I mean?"

"…um, thank you, but-"

"Especially liked the tornado bit. Not my idea of subtlety, you understand, but pretty good coming from a desk jockey."

"Well, yes sir, I'm glad I could help, but-"

"Heh, I guess you might say you 'blew them away', heheh-"

"MAJOR!" Anton's hand came crashing down on the table, surprising Destin, his device, and, frankly, himself. "Will you please listen to me a moment!"

The Major blinked after a moment, and waved a hand. "You have my undivided attention."

"Thank you." Anton breathed, and leaned back. "As I said, I managed to see Riot Force Thirteen in action, and I've come to a decision."

Destin leaned forward, not really sure what to make of this. Was it just usual behavior for Inspectors? He'd never really paid attention before. "…and? What's that?"

Anton cleared his throat carefully. "I…"

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Planet Gardius – Section Thirteen, Captain Triad's Quarters – 535 Hours

Alyssa Triad was bored.

She'd felt that way for a while, and had tried hard to ignore it, but there was just no getting around it. Anyone would get bored fighting the same people over and over, and that was precisely all she'd been doing so far at Section Thirteen. On a good week with her old family, she'd fight opponents of all shapes, sizes and powers. These days it was same old, same old, day in, day out. Sure, the War Armors were always different, but they weren't real opponents – just sponges for magic, when you got right down to it.

The young woman let out a sigh; that Inspector had been an interesting guy. He'd almost reminded her of herself when she was younger. Maybe she'd keep an eye out, see if he took what she said to heart…maybe.

So caught up in her own thoughts was Alyssa that she didn't even notice the door to the room next to hers opening. No-one was using that one anyway, so it was probably just-

A large clatter came from inside, along with a very familiar curse.

Jumping off the bed, Alyssa quickly ran to the other room and flung open the door. Lying there, groaning next to a few boxes, was Anton.

She stopped short. "I-inspector!"

He stirred slightly, correcting his glasses. "Yes…really wish it wasn't, though. Could you-"

"No problem." she said quickly, stooping to pick up both of the crates and dropping them on the vacant table before offering Anton a hand. "You alright, Inspector? What are you doing in here?"

Anton took it and climbed to his feet. "Thank you. And, well, I'm here unpacking." He waved a hand at the boxes, stuffed with clothing, a small office's worth of writing articles, and, of course, medical supplies. "Can't you tell?"

Alyssa raised an eyebrow after a moment, folding her arms. "Uh, yeah, I don't think I went blind in the last few hours. I meant what are you still doing here? Don't you have your report to send?"

"Already did." he replied briskly, taking a few suits and moving to hang them up in the closet. "Akashic's good at doing that kind of thing. She's down at the labs, getting registered, recalibrated…I understand that's standard procedure for Devices in units like this."

The Captain slowly moved around until she could look him in the eye. A sly smile was on her face. "Does that…mean what I think it means, Anton?"

He smiled behind his glasses. "You're looking at the new secretary and Riot Force member of Section Thirteen, Fire Squad. Pleased to report for duty, Captain."

"AWESOME!" Anton let out a yelp as he was engulfed into a crushing bear hug from the woman. "I knew you were gonna be interesting right away when I saw you, just wait: I'll teach you the ropes faster than you can-"

She stopped talking as suddenly as if someone had removed her batteries. "…Secretary?"

"Don't laugh, it was the only – you're laughing, aren't you?"

To be continued…

Next time, Anton begins settling in at his new post, and getting to know his fellow members more deeply, especially those in Fire Squad. Strange plans are afoot, however, and the secretary's first assignment is an…odd one.

Settling In, coming quicker than this chapter. I promise.

GeshronTyler – Thanks, I've had them cooking up for a while, along with this story.

Moczo – Darn, I thought it was going to be something like that, if anything. Well, I intended that scene to partially show that Anton's more familiar with reading about things than actually experiencing them. I could probably rewrite that scene to put emphasis on that. Thanks for the heads up.

Until next time, see you, readers.