Endless Waltz

By: Daishi Prime

-04 – Harbinger-

Yussef saw Mercedes waiting in the hall when Lotte finally released them from class, and gestured towards the workroom across the hall. Everyone else walked past her with little more than friendly nods, but Laura gave Mercedes quite the cheerful greeting. Mercedes returned most of the greetings, but the Italian girl met Laura's with a flat glare that Laura laughed off, as usual.

"Don't let her see she's getting to you," Yussef advised as he crossed the hall. "The more she sees she's succeeding, the more fun she has."

"Easier said than done," Mercedes muttered as he unlocked the workroom.

"But worth the effort." Yussef said as he unlocked the door and held it open for Mercedes, simultaneously verifying that the monitoring systems were on. Japan or not, habit and upbringing made him very glad that no one was ever really alone in a workroom, especially when it was just him and any of the girls. "As my father pointed out to me over the summer, I learned quite a lot from her about self control and maintaining calm. Not that she was aiming for that, but any lesson's a good one."

"Maybe," Mercedes said with a shrug, "but frankly, I'm thinking of trying something else."

Yussef studied her for a second, debating how to reply to that, before telling her, "Revenge would be chancy, depending on how you went about getting it. For all her antics, Laura has never gone too far. She delights in pushing that limit, but she's never broken it, not even final day last year."

Mercedes shook her head, "I'm not going to do anything too bad, just give her a taste of her own medicine. Want to help?"

Yussef thought it over for all of half a second, before deciding it would be better to 'help', and thereby moderate whatever Mercedes thought to try. "Sure. But we'll have to be very careful. She's ridiculously observant."

"All the easier to get her then. Should be easy enough to focus her on one thing, and hit her with something else. I've got some ideas, we can talk them over later. For now, though... how did you even detect her magic? Lotte-sensei showed us some sensory magic Friday, but nothing I remember from that class can make heads or tails of all the energies around here."

Yussef chuckled at her aggrieved tone, "If it was the same thing Lotte-sensei showed us the first couple of weeks, it's the equivalent of learning in class what end of a gun the bullet comes out of. You need to know it, so that you know what to do next, but it isn't really useful in and of itself."

"I don't know," Mercedes commented, giving him a strange look, "knowing which end of a gun not to be in front of seems like pretty vital info to me. But I get you're point. Like knowing bow from stern, port from starboard. Learn how to get around the ship before you learn how to get around with it."

That statement gave him an opening to ask about something that had been mildly bothering him. "Where do you keep coming up with ship references?"

She blinked at him in surprise, then chuckled, "Yeah, you wouldn't know, would you? We don't have much to do with Mideast shipping. My great grandfather and grandfather built a shipping company out of Taranto. Mostly just the Mediterranean, but some Atlantic shipping as well, to Europe and North Africa. They both insisted, and Daddy's just as bad, that everyone in the family know how to work a boat, so we go out a couple times a year."

"Makes sense," Yussef nodded, "thanks. Our family's traditions vary, depending on if you're talking to my father or mother. Mother's a real fanatic on education, Father is proud of it, but also big on political stability and military prowess. Traditional Arabian values."

"Pretty much traditional wherever, actually," Mercedes argued. "But not helping me pick up on Laura's traps."

"No, it isn't," Yussef agreed. "What we'll do today is work on that base Lotte-sensei showed you. Mostly, I'll just show you how to filter out the 'background noise'. Anything more complicated than that, it's better to wait until she goes over it. The workrooms are great for practicing scans, their shields are very carefully built to both keep out magical interference, and to minimize their own interference. So I'll show you how to refine the spell, and then create a few interferences for you to deal with."

They worked on it for almost an hour, and he felt Mercedes was making good progress. She could separate out the distinct effects he generated, though that was all she managed – telling them apart. She could not identify them with any specificity, nor could she tell range or power to any precise degree, but she could at least tell they were 'different' from each other. She was more than pleased with the progress, and remarkably un-hesitant about expressing that emotion.

Yussef found the situation a little odd. Last year the only solo sessions he had with anyone were with the guys, which experience had two differences from working with Mercedes. Most glaringly, for all his better skills, the guys were still his classmates and knew almost as much as he did, even if they didn't always believe that. The second difference that took some getting used to was that a certain amount of ribbing and horseplay was expected with the guys – if joking insults weren't sneaking into the conversation, it usually meant someone was in a bad mood. Working with Noriko and Laura, there had always been the constant struggle to keep up with Noriko and the somewhat less friendly bickering with Laura. Helping Mercedes required an entirely different set of rules and behaviors, which he had to figure out as he went along.

They were interrupted nearly an hour later by Signum releasing the locks. She stepped in without sealing the door again, and merely smirked at the annoyed look Mercedes sent her when the sudden wash of magical signatures disrupted the girl's latest attempt at a spell. "You two have been in here long enough," Signum said. "Much longer, and you will dull the lessons learned today."

"I was going to call it after this attempt, Signum-sensei," Yussef replied. "I need to meet Marcel and Luke anyhow."

"Before you do, I understand you've got something to talk to me about," she said, crossing her arms and leaning back against the door.

Glancing at Mercedes, uncertain if he wanted an audience for this, he debated only a second. Then he pulled out his PDA, and while digging through it for the document, he explained, "It was about this ridiculous 'Myrmidon' game Marcel cooked up. If you're..."

"It is not a game," Signum interrupted. "You say you want to lead troops, that you are a soldier, Yussef. What is the most important thing in the world to a soldier?"

"His weapons."

"A common misconception. A solider is a soldier, regardless of whether or not she has weapons to hand. Whether armed with a sword, bow, gun, tank, warship, or mage device, all soldiers value their comrades above all. That brotherhood, that shared identity and mutual discipline, is what separates a soldier from a warrior, a trooper from a thug, gives them the strength to carry through when mere weapons would fail. They are your Myrmidons, and that spirit carried all of you through last year, and will serve you well in the years to come, however peaceful or violent they may be. I admit, they are being a little theatrical about it, but most children – and most soldiers – are overly melodramatic, for understandable reasons. So stop trying to convince me to shut them down, and get to the point."

Yussef stared at her for a second, surprised by the almost-vehement response, but it was one he was too familiar with, even if he had not applied it to his classmates. Wonder if that was willful blindness, he thought very privately. Regardless, she's made up her mind and won't listen to argument A, which leaves topic B. "Well, in that case," he said aloud, switching documents on his PDA, "I've got a rough list of requirements for membership you wanted."

"Myrmidons?" Mercedes leaned sideways to try and see the screen as Yussef handed it to Signum. "I think I've heard you guys mention them, but what are they?"

"They're us," Yussef said as Signum read, then gave Mercedes a brief explanation. She seemed torn between incredulity and curiosity, but did not indulge in either before Signum spoke.

Signum passed the PDA back, "The list is simple enough, but I'd like your explanations for each requirement."

Yussef glanced at the screen, making sure she had read the right document, because he had put his reasons with each requirement. They were still there, but Signum was waiting. "The first requirement is the most basic, they have to demonstrate proficiency at working together, and the best way to do that is through the Tactics One-Oh-One course. If a candidate can manage to do well there, they'll be able to work together with any of the Myrmidons. It will also give them a solid foundation of common tactics and habits that all Myrmidons share. I'll probably up that requirement to follow the whole course, as Zafira-sensei and I plan out each year. The guys passed the course last year, and are all keeping up with the new course we worked out over the summer.

"The second requirement, the duel with me monitored by Zafira-sensei or you, is to demonstrate individual skill and resilience. A soldier without the skills to defend his comrades is worse than useless, and any member of the Myrmidons has to be able to take care of themselves before they'll be able to watch a comrade's back. The duel will prove that they have the skills, and have not just been riding on their partners' skills. Again, the guys have already been evaluated on that basis last year, in February, and passed with flying colors.

"The last, the oath, is a little complicated. Just having the skills is not enough, any candidate has to be willing to give something up, give up a part of themselves for the group, thus the oath. 'To lay down my life for my fellows, to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to serve justice at all times.' Enough room for individual conscience, enough sacrifice to make anyone think twice about taking it."

"Have the other boys agreed to take that oath?"

Yussef nodded, "Yes, and believe me, it took a while to work out something we would all agree to. Marcel wanted something more specific to the Myrmidons, Luke just wanted a 'promise of aid' or something loose. What we ended up with is as much of a compromise as I am willing to allow. Anything looser than that, and I won't feel comfortable that whoever swears it will give as much of themselves to the Myrmidons as they should. If we're going to do this, we have to do it for real."

Signum nodded along as he spoke, "All right, I'll accept your reasons. But I want to talk to each of them alone before you follow through on that oath, make sure they all understand what it will mean."

"Thank you, Signum-sensei, that's what I was hoping for."

"I didn't hear anything about a boy's only club," Mercedes commented, "I'm guessing there's room for girls, too? This sounds like something I might be interested in."

"Yeah, like I said in your first tactics class, I learned that lesson last year. Laura would never have taken on Li solo if I'd included the girls from the start. I'll take anyone who can meet the standards, regardless of gender."

"Actually, Yussef, Laura's predicament last year is not something you have to feel guilty for," Signum countered. "She is not and never will be a soldier, Yussef, not a team player. Oh, she can and will work with people, but she never relies on anyone else. She would have faced Li alone with or without your teamwork training, and she probably would have hobbled your class, even without your mutual dislike. Couple of your classmates are the same way, so is Allison, and probably Juliet, as are certain of the current first-years. None of them are as bad as Laura, but still. Better to leave them to me than risk rendering your class ineffective. I'll talk with the other Myrmidons this week, make sure they understand the oath, and let you know my final decision Sunday."

Yussef held the door for Signum, and for Mercedes, falling into step next to his fellow student, strolling at a slower pace than their teacher. As soon as Signum was out of earshot he asked, "So, what are some of these great ideas you have for taking Laura down a peg or two?"

00000

Yuuno was not really certain why he was still hanging about in Egypt a week after speaking to Sauvageau, save that it was one of the more intriguing experiences he could remember from the past few years. The fact that he was once again witnessing and studying world-altering new magic while – for a change – not in fear for his life, was part of it, of course, as was the continued grudgingly friendly hospitality of the Circles. While they were patently uncomfortable with him, he found it was very easy to get the Containment mages to relax simply by asking questions and starting a debate. They were almost as bad about arguing abstruse points as academics from Midchilda.

After a few days, the working teams reluctantly agreed to allow him to participate briefly, giving him a further chance to study the ritual they were so painstakingly fulfilling. It was, as he had suspected, based upon theories long 'discredited' in Bureau space. The Circles had, apparently, followed up on ideas Yuuno's predecessors had dismissed as unworkable, simply because no one had told them the ideas were impossible and they were, as a group, too stubborn to give up on what they thought was a good idea. Their entire approach to magic, with its subtle and not-so-subtle differences from what he was used to, made an intriguing puzzle, even if he should have gone back to Headquarters and his official responsibilities.

Sauvageau had listened politely, and the two of them had hashed out a rough agreement, but then the man had simply disappeared, without initialing anything. One of his aides had remained long enough to tell Yuuno that a decision was 'pending', but had not given any time frame or even an idea of how likely any given outcome was. That departure should have sent him home, but Yuuno had not been able to resist sticking around to try and wheedle a few more secrets out of the Circle mages.

He had just finished one shift assisting with the ritual, and was stretching the kinks out while he made sure his replacement was settling smoothly into place, when motion caught his eye. It was a rapid motion, and all he caught, but he focused on where he had seen it, and sure enough, it appeared again, a distant figure popping up above a dune. That's odd, he thought when a third appearance still showed the lone figure, a little closer, no one should be wandering around out here alone. Frowning at the intruder, more curious than anything else, he started walking towards the Bureau Enforcer watching over the sight.

The Bureau officially controlled the site, at Hayate's request, and provided security. Originally to keep non-mages from falling into the null, the staff had been increased when the Circles were allowed to begin their attempt to cleanse it, then decreased as the Circles demonstrated their expertise. Now, there was only a single squad watching the area, with assistance from the Circles, two mages at each work-site with two more floating between them to assist with watch schedules. At present, an ensign was standing watch at this site, and Yuuno made his way over.

Pointing off towards were he had seen the motion, he asked, "Ensign Reian, do you see that?"

The young man looked at him curiously, then pulled the goggles down off his forehead, tapping the small controls on the rim as he scanned the indicated direction. A moment later, he grunted, "I see it. Good eyes, sir. Single figure, coming this way... doesn't look human." Another few tapes, "Ugh, definitely not human. Can't tell how big, but it's humanoid, looks scaled, moving at a steady lope." The ensign switched to the local Arabic, "Excuse me, Hamad? Take a look off north-north-west. I'm not familiar with that thing, and wonder if you've seen it before?"

The swarthy young Circle mage stepped closer, and lifted a more primitive pair of binoculars to his eyes. It took him a little longer to find the approaching creature. "I don't recognize it," he said at first, slowly focusing the binoculars, "big bastard, scaled, claws on the hands, eyes are set wide, it's jumping as much as running..." He trailed off and visibly paled before whispering in a surprisingly frightened tone, "Allah be merciful." Then he was scrabbling at his harness, hauling out a radio, snapping the frequency selector over, and practically screaming, "All guards, this is North Guard Four! I have visual on a Seed of Leviathan inbound, repeat visual on a Seed, inbound on North Post! All guards to alert, get me backup and get the civilians moving!"

Yuuno blinked at him in surprise, then shifted that gaze to the radio as it exploded in a cacophony of yelling voices that he could not begin to comprehend. Hamad's grabbing him broke his surprise, as the Circle mage spun him around and shoved him back towards the ritual, "Get out of here! Get them out of here! Go!"

"But... but what's going on!"

"Get out of here!" Hamad was quite stuck on that point, pushing Yuuno again towards the ritual circle while staring wide-eyed over his shoulder. "That thing's dangerous, a monster from Atlantis! I don't know what it's doing loose now, but you have to get yourself and them out of here, quickly! No one's fought one of these things... ever! They're a myth, but all the myths are bad, now run!"

Hamad stopped pushing, turning back and bringing the radio back to his mouth. His free hand was un-slinging the submachinegun on his shoulder. "Yes, Central, confirm visual of a Seed inbound."

"Takamichi-san, sir," Reian said slowly, "I think he's got the right idea. There's another one out there now, a little further away. First one'll be here in a minute or two. It's at least two meters tall, sir, and I'm getting no magical readings off it at all, not even basic life signs. I think we need to be somewhere else."

Yuuno wanted to argue – no single creature, not even a pair of creatures, could be that bad – but Hamad's obvious fear, and the matching reactions from Hamad's fellow who came running over convinced him. "We'll teleport everyone out," Yuuno decided, "we can pull an emergency lift through the relays, from the nearest ship, the Shiva, isn't it?"

The ritual team proved surprisingly easy to wake, a matter of getting their leader's attention, then draining the ritual of power until they could safely relax their concentration. They were confused by the abrupt loss of focus, but the hurry with which their Ops guards were moving to form a battle-line to the north, and the less organized motion of their off-duty Containment fellows headed for vehicles, convinced them not to waste time with questions. They began moving for the vehicles, but the Seed got there first.

It disappeared from its leap-frogging progress when the first guard opened fire with a short, testing burst at a hundred yards. Two minutes later, it exploded out of the sand at the man's feet, his terrified shout and the patter of sand the only sounds. It grabbed him, savaging him brutally before throwing him aside, and Yuuno got his first good look at the thing.

It was easily two meters, despite a crouched posture, hunched over with a macabre head hanging between hulking shoulders. Its arms were long and powerfully muscled, its legs and torso even more so, all its limbs ending in digits as flexible as Yuuno's hands, which were in turn tipped with thick heavy claws. The entire thing was covered in gray scales without a trace of hair or skin, and slits on its shoulders shivered to reveal gill-like openings as it breathed. Worse than that was its face, a narrow protruding bullet-like shape, with huge black eyes set high and wide on its head, no nose, and a gaping lipless mouth lined with jagged teeth.

Despite its size and horrific appearance, Yuuno had a strange impression of emaciation, as if it was smaller than it should have been, wasted somehow. He was also rather calmer than the Circle mages, or even Ensign Reian. As the thing tossed its first victim aside, and the Circle guards opened fire, bullets ricocheting violently off its scaled hide, Yuuno kept his head, and carefully shaped a binding spell, a simple physical restraint to tie the thing up for capture. As soon as the green lines of energy touched the creature, though, they vanished, and the drain of the spell cut off with staggering abruptness. Yuuno blinked in surprise, then felt his breath freeze as the dark black gaze snapped towards him.

It lunged at him with frightening speed, but someone else tackled him, sending both of them tumbling to one side as the beast landed on empty sand, twisting about. A shield flicked into existence, and Yuuno recognized Ensign Reian's voice as he shouted, "Keep shooting!" The beast staggered this time as someone hit it with a heavier machine-gun as it rose from its landing crouch, and Yuuno finally saw its armored hide failing. The beast staggered, then dove into the sand sending up a spray of particles as it rapidly burrowed out of the line of fire.

Reian lifted him with a grip beneath his arms, and took to the air, which gave Yuuno a wider view. There were two more of the things in the camp, attacking the guard force seemingly at random. They were completely ignoring most of the guards' weapons, and no one was throwing any magic at them at all. The only thing the beasts seemed to fear was heavy machine-gun mounted on one of the jeeps, but it apparently lacked the power to actually kill one. It was obvious to Yuuno how this battle would turn out, and he made up his mind in mere moments.

"Reian, hold us down low," Yuuno ordered, shaping a tracking spell. "Low enough to get everyone within a hundred meters of me.

"Sir, that'll put us back in jump range."

"Not for long," Yuuno replied.

Reian grumbled unintelligibly, but complied, and by the time Yuuno finished his spell, everyone was in range, even the truck laden with passengers trying to swing wide and pick up the other survivors. The tracers of green energy washed out over the area, settling around each circle mage, giving them a slight greenish hue. Where the pulse touched one of the beasts, it faded and shifted, like water flowing around a rock, not touching but not dissipating. As soon as the pulse settled, Yuuno sent a telepathic message. Shiva transport control, this is Head Librarian Takamichi Yuuno. I require emergency teleport for all personnel at my location, by beacon! Alert med-bay, we have casualties!'

The beautiful thing about standing protocols was, people tended to follow them. Requests from known officers for emergency teleport, especially with casualties involved, were almost completely automatic. It was just a matter of the person on communications duty triggering the teleport. Almost before he finished sending the order, he could see the blue-white energy of a Bureau ship's teleporter appearing around the perimeter, and he sighed in relief as the teleport pulled those he had marked, and left the beasts behind.

00000

"Are you all right, Yuuno-kun?"

"I'm fine, Hayate-chan," he answered from the wall-screen with a small grin, "just got a little shook up. No one was killed, though there are seven injured, most severely. One was friendly fire, I'm afraid, but it's understandable given the situation. Those things were terrifying. I still don't understand how they were able to move through the sand so quickly, or how they dissipated my spells."

Hayate relaxed slightly as his tone and focus confirmed his words. When she first learned of the attack, minutes after it occurred, she had been terrified she would have to explain to Nanoha how he had been injured. Now, she was just worried about the implications of the attack. "You say the Circle mages recognized them?"

"Sort of," Yuuno replied hesitantly. "I talked with Hamad afterwards, he had the first and best view of the creatures, and Fahad, the commander of the guard force. He says they are a mythical creation of Atlantis, their local equivalent to Al Hazred, called the Seed of Leviathan. Apparently it's one word in the original language. The creatures are one of the Circles' more common boogey-men, showing up in a lot of their legends. They are bigger and tougher than men, nearly immune to all forms of physical attack, and completely immune to magic. They apparently ground it out around themselves, much as Shamal designed Rafiq to, if I understand correctly. The Circles used to resort to some sort of siege weapons to kill them. The Lords of Light would keep them sealed in stasis containers of some sort, until unleashing the creatures on their enemies. Nothing on what it takes to make one, what they need to survive, or even how some could have survived so long, just what fighting them was supposed to be like. Apparently the Circles thought they destroyed the last of them thousands of years ago, so they don't teach their people beyond the legends.

"Most of what Hammad and Fahad told me came from that, with obvious mythical embellishment. Given what I saw today, though, I'm inclined to believe the worst. Those things took sub-machinegun bursts, without any magical shields, and barely even noticed. Even worse, the one I tried to bind not only dissipated my spell without doing anything, it noticed the spell, knew who cast it, and focused on me until Reiad got me out of reach. These things are killing machines, and I think they were specifically designed to kill mages."

"Which makes them an excellent weapon to use against Hughes' people, and against us," Zafira commented. "I wonder why they waited so long to unleash these things, and why they attacked Egypt instead of here, or Hughes."

"This may have been a test run," Hayate said, "or because Egypt is where cooperation between Hughes faction and ours is the most obvious."

"It might also have been a matter of transport," Yuuno said. "Given these things' immunity to magic, they can't be teleported, so the Revenants may have simply activated them and turned them loose. Or maybe it was because of the scale of the magic being performed. If the first one really did sense my spell, they may have simply been attracted to the most obvious source of active magic. We won't know until we find out where they came from and who sent them."

Hayate was going to reply, but Signum interrupted, 'Mistress? We have finished our initial check.' Hayate had dispatched Signum, Vita, Shamal, Laura and Yussef to the incident immediately after being informed. 'The other three workings are on alert, but report no attack, only the initial call. The attack site is a shambles, of course, but I can detect no trace of the creatures. Plenty of blood and bullets, tracks coming in from the north, but the creatures are gone.'

'Yuuno reported they burrowed underground before closing, make sure you watch for that.'

'We have not touched down,' Signum replied, 'Laura and Yussef remain at fifty meters, Vita and I at five. None of us can detect anything in the area, beyond traces of the ritual and, according to Laura, traces of two weaker spells, probably Yuuno's. As a side note, the shielding we have taught her against major dislocation effects is not sufficient. She is becoming physically ill, and I am having Tai-yu retrieve her with the school's teleporter.'

'Agreed,' Hayate said, feeling more than a little disappointed. They had trained her well, and believed that training to be sufficient, but it appeared that even with the Paradox's support, Laura was simply too sensitive to remain near dimensional dislocations. 'You have nothing else?'

'Just an extra enigma. Vita has found tracks from the beasts – too large to be human – and they lead directly into the null. It would appear that the creatures jumped into it. I would posit that was an effort on the part of whoever unleashed them to cut the trail. By preventing us from capturing and studying one, we are deprived of any information they may have contained.' Signum paused, then continued, 'I am touching down for a detailed analysis. Have you contacted Hughes yet?'

'Yes, I have. He has a team on its way, but has, as usual, declined our assistance,' Hayate replied, letting her annoyance with the Colonel through. 'He is sending a first team by road from Cairo, but they are only going to secure the site. Another team is coming to study it and respond, traveling by air from somewhere in America, but they will not be there for hours yet.'

'We will be long finished before them. Should we wait for them, or leave the site once we are finished?'

'Return as soon as possible, please,' Hayate decided after a moment, 'I am concerned about the possibility of more of these things being directed here.'

'We will return in an hour or so, then, Mistress.'

'Thank you, Signum.' She let the connection fade, and returned her attention to Yuuno. "Signum reports the constructs may have jumped into the null, but they are not present now. She will check the site over thoroughly, then return here. I will share her report, of course, but do you want a Bureau team on-site as well?"

"Admiral Aignu is putting together her enforcers now," Yuuno answered, "but we had to stabilize the wounded and calm the other Circle mages. They'll be going down once the Admiral is certain of her new guests."

"I'll warn Signum," Zafira said.

"I should go," Yuuno said, "I need to talk to Admiral Aignu, and to Headquarters."

"And to Nanoha," Hayate reminded him with a grin, able to joke a little now that she was certain he was all right, "don't forget to call your wife, or you might not have one anymore."

Yuuno smiled back, "yes, and to Nanoha. She's going to be annoyed with me, I think. I was supposed to be home a week ago, and now I've gone and gotten into a fight without her."

"She'll just be happy you're all right," Hayate reassured, then signed off the communications link. Leaning back in her chair, she glanced over the three other people gathered with her, considering them. Shamal looked worried, Noriko more curious, and Zafira was his usual inscrutable self leaning against the wall. "I'm worried, of course," she said after a moment, "these things could be unleashed against us. Thoughts on how to stop one?"

Noriko raised a hand, apparently out of habit, "Do we know if they can dissipate a shield? Rafiq can get through one, given time and a weakness to exploit, but he cannot break through a properly built shield in any reasonable time."

"No, we don't know," Hayate said, "and that is a good point. There is a difference between a well made shield and an attack or binding spell."

"I would not read too much into a comparison of Rafiq and these 'Seed of Leviathan'," Shamal said slowly. "His abilities are based on grounding out unstable and uncontrolled energies. He could dissipate Laura's Bolt From the Blue, most likely, but a binding?" Shamal shook her head, "Rafiq could not dissipate a binding, especially not one of Yuuno's."

"A better comparison would be Takashi's dragon form," Hayate said, tapping her fingers together as she thought, "perhaps this will convince him to finally let me study it. I wonder if Deva magic will affect these creatures?"

"Possibly," Noriko said, "Deva magic is different enough that defenses which dissipate normal magic may not dissipate your spells. We could perhaps test that with Rafiq, if Cid-chan is willing."

"Only very carefully," Shamal snapped, frowning slightly at Noriko, "we do not want to risk Rafiq, or Cid-chan." Noriko met her frown with a smile.

"We will be careful in all ways," Hayate reassured her, "especially with our students. Shamal, would you mind checking on Laura, to make sure she won't suffer any long-term effects from the null? Zafira, could you please take the Lieze twins and check the perimeter, especially the new wards? Check again for anyplace where we might have an opening, especially given the capabilities of these constructs."

"Yes, Mistress," the two Wolkenritter replied, Zafira holding the door for Shamal as she rose.

Noriko waited until they had left before asking, "What about me, Sensei?"

"You, Noriko, I want to get with Yussef and Laura, once both of them are back. I know you have all been training in how to protect yourselves and the campus, I want you to discuss ways to combat a foe you cannot use magic against. Work out a defense, for yourselves and for the campus. Any of us will be happy to help, but I would like to hear your ideas, instead of just what we already know. For the moment, you should probably go help Shamal with Laura. She is likely to be in poor spirits."

00000

Kaemon finally managed to get the sparring ring to himself early Wednesday morning, and was quite content progressing through the katas he already knew. Without another kendoist around, he could not do much more than maintain the basics, but he had too much pride in himself to let his skills go slack. So while he was still debating Signum's offer – despite a second session with Laura under Signum's supervision – he was quite happy to take the opportunity.

Naturally, he was just getting good and warmed up when Laura and Noriko came trotting down the Forbidden Road. Just as naturally, Laura spotted him, and picked up her pace, trotting over and jumping up to sit atop one of the columns. She swayed unsteadily when she landed, which made him pause. "You okay?"

She grimaced, "Yeah, I'll be fine in a bit. Just got too close to some wrongness, my shields didn't hold up like they're supposed to. I'd speak sharply to Sensei, 'cept she's got that big sword she likes to wave around when I make her mad."

"You probably shouldn't make her mad so often, then," Noriko advised, arriving a little behind her friend. "How are you doing, Kaemon?"

"I am fine," he said, rapidly debating the proper form of address, "hime-sama." It had been impossible for him not to recognize her, but he had so far managed to avoid the uncomfortable situation of having to talk to her directly. One did not, despite her classmates' easy familiarity, approach a member of the Imperial Family without clear invitation.

Noriko, however, actually glared at him for that. "My name is Noriko."

Kaemon flinched, but rules were rules. "It would not be proper, hime-sama."

Laura laughed, "Ah, give it up, Riko-chan. He's a samurai wanna-be, you know how stuck up on the rules and traditions they were."

"They were never that bad," Noriko muttered, then relaxed her glare to give Kaemon an almost pleading look. "Please, Kaemon, we are fellow students here. My family is nothing to worry about, and we would all be far more comfortable without the formalities, ne?"

Kaemon was really uncomfortable with that request. It simply went against the grain to be so casual with such an exalted personage. But, at the same time, she was directly requesting that informality, which was no different from an order, which – given her identity and position – he was equally obliged to follow. So he compromised, "All right, Noriko-hime."

She sighed and fixed him with a long-suffering look, then shook her head. "You're worse than Hidan."

"I don't know who Hidan is," Kaemon said, "but there are limits to how disrespectful I can be, Noriko-hime, even at your request."

"Hidan's fun," Laura said, "bit stiff, and he said some mean things when I tried to prank him back in February, but he's fun. Just a bit of a stiff. You'd like him, K-chan."

"Please don't call me that," Kaemon said, then flushed when he realized how much he sounded like Noriko addressing him.

Sure enough, the princess jumped on that like a cat on a mouse, "Ha! You see what it's like? People calling you whatever they like, ignoring your heartfelt friendly requests? I'll make you a deal, Kaemon. You call me Noriko, just plain Noriko, and I won't call you K-chan."

"Convince Laura to stop calling me that, and I might agree," he muttered.

Noriko's face fell slightly. "Kuso, that's impossible. She still calls Takashi 'Ta-chan' to his face, sometimes."

Kaemon was surprised at the curse from the normally composed Noriko, but before he could respond to her, Laura jumped down off the pillar. "Oi, K-chan, since you're working out, how about another round? My bare hands against your big stick. Should be fun, ne?"

"Laura, you can barely stand up straight," Noriko reminded her.

"Ah, I'll just go all 'drunken master' on him."

"No," Noriko told her, "you will do no such thing. Shamal-baa-san said to do nothing strenuous the rest of the day, and she meant it."

Laura just laughed, "Oh, come one, Riko-chan! Sparring isn't 'strenuous', it's fun!"

"It is physically strenuous, and you were just throwing up in Hayate-sensei's bathroom not ten minutes ago. No sparring, not today." Laura gave her a pitiable pleading look, but Noriko shook her head and repeated, "No. I would, however, be willing to spar with you myself, Kaemon, if you were looking for a partner."

For a moment he could only blink at her in surprise, not having had the least clue that she was any sort of martial artist. "Is everyone here a fighter?"

"Depends on what you mean," Laura answered unhelpfully.

"Laura, be nice," Noriko told her. "Only Laura and I are actual martial artists, though Yussef is learning some swordsmanship to better utilize his device, and Zafira-sensei includes some in his class. I do it for fun and exercise, where Laura is painfully obsessed with it. If you mean 'fighter' in terms of people who will defend themselves, and people who will stand up for themselves, then I'm afraid that, yes, everyone here is a fighter. You are, too, Kaemon, else you would still be back in Osaka."

"Don't mind her philosophizing," Laura commented, "she's got this crazy theory that, in order to be any good at magic, you have to be a nutcase fanatic or something."

"Not a nutcase fanatic," Noriko protested, "just strong-willed and self-motivated, more so than is normal."

"That makes sense," Kaemon agreed, shrugging when Laura frowned at him. "We're manipulating energies with nothing more than our will, Laura-san. Got to have a strong will to pull that off, right? And I've noticed that none of us are... what was it Lotte-sensei said? 'Shrinking violets'?"

"The twins possibly," Noriko said.

"Nah, not Wrack and Ruin," Laura countered, waving one hand dismissively. "Those two are stubborn as all get out. Still pushing for me to give them Paradox's design specs, or some design specs. Thought about using the partial ones 'Na-chan put together over the summer, but neither of them's willing to share anymore."

"'Na-chan'?"

"More of her nicknames," Noriko explained. "Allina and Niranjana. They spend almost as much time together these days as the twins, so Laura thinks it is funny to refer to them as a single person."

"They are a single person," Laura muttered, "worse than my minions. I asked Allina for some notes in math that I missed, and half an hour later 'Jana gave 'em to me! Those two are just plain weird."

"Says the girl who likes to eat dinner upside down," Kaemon said slowly.

"Meh, whatever, that's just practice," Laura rambled, then returned to pouting at Noriko. "Come ooonnn, Riko-chan, can't I play just a little?"

"No."

Laura snarled something unintelligible and stalked off a little ways kicking at the ground. Kaemon watched her go and asked, "What happened to her, anyhow?"

"Went to help Sensei," Laura answered, "over-watch and high guard. Some nitwit attacked one of the teams cleaning up the Circles' mess in Egypt. Getting that close to the rift made me sick."

"Laura is especially sensitive to dimensional effects," Noriko added.

"Yup, that's me," Laura said, spinning in place to give him a wide-eyed innocent stare, hands clasped under her chin, "the sensitive, delicate, little flower. Aren't I cute?"

"Sickening, more like," Kaemon muttered without thinking. "They take you along on attacks, though?"

"Baka, we didn't attack Egypt," Laura muttered, reverting to her more normal appearance.

"Hayate-sensei allows Yussef, Laura and I to assist," Noriko explained, "with our parents' permission, when they respond to certain events. They will not take us into live combat, but post-battle analysis and investigation, certainly. Usually we simply provide cover from on high, we don't get directly involved ourselves."

"Mom only agreed 'cause I threatened to go all Batman on the Circles if she didn't," Laura chuckled. "That would've been fun, but I think Sensei might've gotten a little miffed."

It took Kaemon a moment to recognize what she meant, after which realization he decided to get a little of his own back for how easily she tossed him around in sparring. "Batman? What's a batman?"

Laura twitched, then looked at him absolute disbelief. "You... you don't know who Batman is?"

"Never heard of him," Kaemon shrugged. "Is he famous in America?"

Laura's mouth worked silently for a few seconds then she pitched a fit. "Gah! What sorta barbarian backwoods country is this? How can you not know who Batman is?! He's only the greatest superhero, ever! He's smarter, faster, tougher, got cooler gadgets than anyone else, he beats everybody! How can you not know Batman?! That's too much! You and me, K-chan – common room, ten minutes! You're gettin' an education, boy, if I have to beat it into you!" She stormed off, muttering imprecations about 'backwards uncultured barbarians', and Kaemon could not make up his mind if he should be insulted or laughing.

"Please forgive her," Noriko asked, "she is still unsteady from the anomaly in Egypt, and angry at herself for what she perceives as failing her favorite teacher."

Kaemon shrugged and, deciding to be amused, chuckled, "It's fine, Noriko-hime. She's cool, just a little loud."'

"You realize if you aren't in the girls' common room in ten minutes, she'll hunt you down and drag you there, ne?"

"Yeah, I figured she's like Signum-sensei that way." Noriko gave him a questioning look, so he continued, "she offered me the 'option' of extra lessons, like Laura's. Of course, every time I come near here when she's on campus, I get dragooned into a lesson, so the 'option' part appears to be an option between giving in gracefully or being sullen about it."

"You can just refuse, you know," Noriko said with a small smile, "it is permitted."

"How do you say 'no' to Signum-sensei?

"Politely. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am supposed to make sure she does nothing strenuous or magical until tomorrow. I'll see you in eight minutes."

Kaemon watched Noriko stroll along in Laura's wake, then dropped down to start packing away his gear. Thinking over the conversation, he found the contrast in the two girls' personalities striking, but interesting rather than offensive. Even Laura, about whom he had already heard many cautionary tales in the Boys' Wing, was more funny than scary. They were both good people, though, and quite plainly his superiors in position and experience. That train of thought crystallized in his mind as he began walking back towards the dorm himself. They are what I want to be like, he realized. They have what I came here to learn. Not that the sensei don't have it, but... senpai are infinitely easier to handle than sensei. He gave a resigned sigh, "I guess I am stuck with Signum's training."

00000

Chen-chi claimed the chair between Luke and Jun, ignoring the former's distracted greeting and the latter's wave in favor of grinning at Esmeralda sitting across from them and twitching her head at Luke. The Spanish girl had made a comment in the showers about 'how cute that big Aussi is', and Chen-chi was having fun reminding her of it ever chance she got. Not that she had any intention of telling Luke, or anyone else, but it was fun to tease. Five to one she asks him out by Christmas, Chen-chi thought, carefully filing the odds away for future use.

Settling into her chair and flipping open the old-fashioned paper notebook she had brought from home, she fished out a few bills from the front pocket, counting carefully, then divided them into two piles. A few pen-scratches noted the payout in the book, and then she reached out to tap both piles in front of her neighbors. "Luke, China-boy, your winnings, minus my ten percent. Laura was the first back, by over an hour."

That got Luke to finally look up, and got Jun's attention, though her year-mate was quite a bit less pleased. "Can you please not call me that, rebel? It's insulting."

"Yeah, but it gets you every time, so why not?"

"You really are a Laura clone," Luke commented as he counted the handful of yen, "one wasn't bad enough, now we've got four."

"Four?"

"The twins," Esmeralda reminded her, "Laura conscripted them, though. Chen-chi's like this naturally. And speaking of whom..." She pointed over her shoulder, and when Chen-chi turned to look, the twins were standing in the Library doors, looking about for someone.

Chen-chi turned back to face Esmeralda, "Man, those two give me the wiggins."

"It's a deliberate tactic," Luke told her. "I asked Shamal-baa-san about them the first couple of days. They play up the whole 'creepy twins' routine to keep people at a distance. They're just shy, like Cid-chan was last year."

"You should have heard Aria-sensei let into them for how bad their Latin is," Jun commented. "Well, as much as she ever 'lets into' anyone. 'If you're going to speak a language, speak it properly, don't mangle it. I'll see you two every Thursday after classes for proper lessons.' The looks on their faces was priceless."

"We are certain you could put a price on our appearance if you wanted to, Jun-san."

Everyone at the table flinched at that, especially Jun, who slowly turned in his seat. "Ah... hey, Rhys, Saeryn. Didn't notice you there."

They stared at him fixedly for a moment, then blinked once in unison, and turned to Chen-chi, which made her nervous in turn. "Can we speak with you, Chen-chi-san? Privately?"

She debated for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. Business here was done, and while she had planned to take advantage of having a second-year on hand to ask questions of while she studied, given how withdrawn the twins were, she figured whatever they wanted to talk about was no doubt going to be interesting. "Sure, let's grab one of the rooms upstairs."

The twins followed her in their usual silence, until one of them closed the door to the study-room behind them. "We wished to inquire about acquiring your assistance in a personal project," one said.

Chen-chi quirked an eyebrow at that, curious, but started with, "Right, first off, you two need name-tags or something. Which are you?"

They asked in unison, "Does it matter?"

"Duh, of course it matters. If I can't tell you two apart, how'm I supposed to hold a conversation with you? You two aren't one person, and it's rude to treat you like one. So, identification. How do people tell you apart?"

They stared at her for a few seconds, before one glanced at the other. A few incomprehensible mutterings later they turned back to her. "I am Saeryn," said the one Chen-chi was looking at, "the more willing to talk. Rhys prefers to observe. We do not know how to physically differentiate us, we have never bothered to try. Only Mother, Father and Laura-san can tell us apart."

"She cheats," Rhys muttered.

Chen-chi grinned at that, "Of course she does, she cheats at everything. So do I, it makes things so much easier! But, so long as I can tell you apart, I'm fine. Won't tell anyone else, either, if you don't want me to. But what is it you two want me to do?"

"We think you are most likely to be able to assist us in acquiring certain documents Laura-san, Noriko-san, and Yussef-san used last year," Saeryn told her, "possibly also with acquiring materials later in the semester. No one else in our class has the skills, and those second-years who have the skills have already declined to utilize them for us."

Convoluted though it was, the request was easy enough to decipher, and Chen-chi groaned mentally. It was a common mistake, one that she could not possibly follow through on here. "Look, I don't know what you two think you know about me, but I'm not some super-villain fixer-type or jail-house supplier-of-naughty-things. I don't have some long list of favors and debts I can call in or anything, not here. I'm just an opportunist. I make bets, buy into money-making schemes, that sort of thing. The only people I know who could get 'documents' that you can't reach just as easily would be Allina and Niranjana, and you just said they refused. Now, if you'd asked me back in Taipei, sure. I knew everyone at school and in my neighborhood, could figure out their prices and bargain them down, but here? Not for years yet."

"What about helping us to find something to convince Allina or Niranjana?" Rhys settled into a chair before continuing, "they must want something, and your denials aside, you are better equipped than we to obtain whatever it is they want."

Chen-chi just shook her head, "Yeah, afraid not. I've barely even talked to those two, and Allina's ridiculous. I can't follow half of what she says, it's all gibberish about computers. You figure out what they want, I'll think about lending a hand getting it, if you can make it worth my while. What's got you two so fired up, though? What are you after?"

Saeryn answered, "Documents on the construction of enhancement devices such as Laura-san's Paradox."

"You're researching devices? That's cool, but have you tried asking one of the sensei? They might just let you, you know."

"We wish to build them, not study them," Rhys informed her somewhat haughtily.

That gave Chen-chi pause, since from what she understood devices were dangerously difficult to control. But then, the twins had already demonstrated that they had excellent control, though their repertoire of spells was severely limited. If anyone in the class can manage it, these two can, she thought, and shrugged. "I still say you should ask one of the sensei."

"Not yet," the twins replied in unison.

Before they could say anything further, the door clicked open, making the twins flinch and shoot guilty and frightened looks towards it. Chen-chi relaxed ever-so-slightly when she saw it was only Tai-yu, not one of the regular teachers, but noticed that the twins stiffened. Tai-yu gave all three of them a small smile as she stepped in, then closed the door and leaned back against it. "Don't worry, girls, I'm not here to get you in trouble. I just wanted to ask you a question."

"We should check on Laura-san," the twins said, reverting to speaking in unison, rising to their feet.

"She's currently debating popular culture with Kaemon," Tai-yu told them, "she'll wait. What I wanted ask you is, why are the two of you already focused on building devices? Given your Circle origins, how can you be comfortable with the concept so soon?"

Chen-chi's eyes widened a little as the twins actually glared in anger – it was not their usual annoyed expression, but one of outright anger and distaste. Saeryn was outright sneering when she replied, "Yet here you are Journeywoman, assisting us in learning the very things the Circles were most afraid of."

"Force majeure," Tai-yu replied with a shrug, seemingly unconcerned by the twins' manifest hostility. "I am serving a sentence imposed by a legally empowered court for crimes I committed under the Circles' banner. I'm not entirely comfortable with it, but I am still working on Master Adept Li's overall goals as much as I can. By working with Hayate-san, I do what I can to prevent her and you from becoming the monsters the Circles fear. But your dislike for me does not explain why a pair of Circle apprentices so vigorously pursue the most obvious sign of this school's fallen nature. Quite the opposite, in fact."

The two glared at her for a few moments, and Rhys broke first. "Laura-san, Noriko-san and Yussef-san all built their devices in their first year. We have the control and the will, we do not see any reason we should be denied the attempt."

"Because we want to know why," Tai-yu replied. "Those three never made any secret of their reasons for wanting devices, however hard they tried to conceal their construction. All we know about you two is that you have the goal, but no obvious reasons. I'm being direct and asking you, giving you a chance to explain. Hayate-sama is thinking to use Laura and Noriko to ferret out the reason, and she will stymie your attempts at design and construction until she has an explanation. I'm not going to judge you, girls, in fact I'm trying to help you accomplish your goal safely."

"You may as well tell her," Chen-chi advised. "Refuse now, it'll just make them more suspicious. If they don't like what you tell them now, you can always work on damage control. Refuse to tell them anything, and they'll assume the worst."

Saeryn and Rhys glanced at her, then turned to each other and began muttering at each other. When they finally broke apart, Rhys again spoke first, giving Chen-chi a firm look, then glaring at Tai-yu. "You tell no one but Hayate-sensei. No one. We do not want pity, and will not stand for it."

Saeryn picked up the thread immediately, "Mother said some very unpleasant things to Father about this school. Father explained it to us… she is afraid, of this school and the changes it brings. She thinks it is dangerous, that Hayate-sensei will destroy the world. We wish to prove her wrong."

"By building devices? She'll assume you are lost to her completely," Tai-yu said.

The twins shook their head in unison, but again Saeryn spoke alone. "The devices are the most obvious symbol of what Mother and her friends fear. If we demonstrate that they can be controlled and used safely, she will understand and accept that."

"And you're thinking of building your devices, then going looking for her?"

Saeryn shook her head, "she will find us, eventually. Her friends will not leave Hayate-sensei in peace for very long."

Tai-yu stared at them for a few seconds, then shrugged, "Well, if that's your goal, that's your goal. I think you're wrong, your mother will not accept any reassurances about Hayate-sama, or she would have joined Hughes from the start. But if you want to try, it's worth a shot. I'll pass this on to Hayate-sama, and she'll make the final decision. Don't start anything before then."

Once she was gone, Chen-chi stood and strolled over to the door as well. "If you two get the go-ahead, let me know," she told the twins, "I'll lend a hand if you need one."

I wonder how long it will take them, Chen-chi thought. I know it took Laura and the rest a couple months, but the twins'll have support and help all the way through. Two months? One and a half? I'll have to ask Laura, see what I should set the odds at. It never even occurred to her to tell anyone why the twins were building their devices.

00000

Arlain shifted ever so slightly as the distant figures took to the sky, watching through the spotter-scope as they spiraled higher and higher. They joined a third figure at fifty meters, and disappeared in a flash of purple. "Lead, this is One-One. Witches Two and Three and Warlock One have departed the scene. Teams Two and Three are clear to approach. Team One is moving in."

The bead in his left ear crackled slightly, then sounded in Schuster's voice, "Roger that, One-One. Two and Three are moving. Stay frosty."

"Understood," Arlain replied, before pushing himself to his feet. He did not go all the way up, but into a mid-range crouch, the compact assault rifle settling into the crook of his elbow, slowly sweeping back and forth. To his left and right, he detected the motion of two other figures rising from the sand, Jubal Early and Jake Law, his two subordinates in Team One, the Black Dogs' eyes. A gesture with his left hand sent Law forward, Early a few seconds behind him, then Arlain a few seconds after that, in a loose staggered line. Despite still being somewhat nervous about the two of them, Arlain's attention was entirely on scanning the area as they approached the site of battle.

Law was Chinese, from Asia Directorate, one of a handful of such members of the Moderns faction, and none of them were trusted. The entire Asia directorate had been deemed responsible for the Circles' current predicament by popular judgment. The fact that most of them had not only joined the Revenants, but formed some of the faction's most active and fanatical sects did little to help the common impression. While Law had not done anything to indicate any sympathy for the Revenants, and had indeed had some rather derogatory things to say about them, he was still Chinese, and still a product of Asia Directorate. The only reason Arlain trusted him at all was the fact that Law had managed to escape Asia Directorate HQ when the Black Witch – 'Warlock Three' in official Black Dog nomenclature – went critical, just before the Witch's people destroyed the area. His descriptions of the battle and obvious fear and respect for the witches were enough to convince Arlain of his sincerity.

Jubal Early was an entirely different prospect, and by far the more worrisome. Schuster had taken Arlain aside as soon as it became clear he would be leading Team One, and given him a very careful lecture on what to watch Early for, none of which had been reassuring. Arlain was quite certain that Jubal Early was insane – and not in a friendly-neighborhood-axe-murderer sort of way, either. The Frenchman was quiet as death at any time, utterly focused, and capable of some frighteningly effective head-games. He had also outright stated that the only reason he joined the Moderns was for a chance to hunt down other mages and engage in life-and-death battle against them, without being hunted himself.

Those two alone would have been enough to give any military man an itchy-trigger finger and a bad night's sleep. Working with both of them together was a recipe for ulcers. Unfortunately for Arlain's initial impulse to let someone else in some other unit (preferably in some different century) deal with them, they were both fiendishly good at their jobs. As the Black Dogs' eyes, it was their job to go in first, provide reconnaissance, and avoid being spotted in turn. Arlain was passably good at that, having only barely failed sniper school, and was good enough to keep up with Early and Law, but they were unbelievable. Back in Nevada, Early and Law had vanished into the brush, and the entirety of the Black Dogs had gone out looking for them. Four days later, the team had dragged itself back into the base, tired, dirty, and still lacking their forward scouts – who had been comfortably ensconced in the barracks lounge, freshly showered, beers in hand, having arrived two hours ahead of the main team, after shadowing the team for the entire duration of the exercise, with the log-books to prove it.

Now, today, the time for stealth was over. With the Witch's followers having returned whence they came, there was no one in the area they needed to fear or fool. In a way, Arlain was sorry about that. If the initial semi-panicked calls reported by the other three Egypt teams were true, and someone really had unleashed a Seed of Leviathan, Arlain would very much have liked to see it for himself. Only pitting himself against the Witch or her subordinates would have been better. He doubted the ancestors had anything on par with his team's modern firearms or their semi-licit magical enhancements, and he was somewhat interested to find out if his team would be able to actually take down something as tough as the Seed were supposed to be.

But there was nothing here but signs of past combat. As the three of them ghosted through the site, they found several traces of battle – blood stains, shreds of clothes and tents, a chaos of tracks in the desert – but the only signs of recent presence were recognizable as the two witches' footprints. A single truck was out of the vehicle park, bearing a couple of rents where something had clawed at the metal in an attempt to reach passengers, engine still idling with no one at the wheel.

When the other two teams arrived, Arlain met them at the edge of the fight area, leaving Early and Law to verify the tracks into the null fracture. Miguel Suarez out of the Columbian Army, Roger Taggart from the US Navy SEALS, and Ismael bin Mahmoud of the Syrian Army formed the Dogs' maneuver team, the most flexible combat element of the force. Trailing behind them came Kevin Kershaw from the US Army Rangers, Sasha Bogdanovich late of the Russian Spetznaz, and Uriel Thorngrave of the US Marines, forming the Dogs' heavy weapons team, with two machine guns and Bogdanovich's sniper rifle. Every one of them, including his own team, were Master rank, veterans of Circle Ops as well as their respective armed services. In all, despite the concerns about his own team, Arlain could only be impressed by the collection of skills and firepower, mundane and magical, and more than a little worried about living up to his own inclusion in that group.

"No contacts," He reported to Uriel, the team's ground-commander. "Traces of battle, but no one is here. Law has found traces of a large-area teleport, one he says is just like the Bureau systems he encountered in February. He thinks we'll never see them again, I think we'll get them back in a couple days once the Bureau's done asking questions."

Uriel quirked an eyebrow at him, "Any particular reason you think that?"

"We were attacked this time, not them," Arlain answered with a shrug, "they won't hold it against us just because they had people here, too."

"Probably right, but don't tell Law I said that," Uriel replied. "Any confirmation of what attacked the site?"

Arlian shook his head, "Not yet. The witches may have taken physical evidence with them, though. They were here for a while."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. They would have collected magical evidence. Anything physical would have been of secondary importance to them, especially if the Bureau teleported everyone out. The witches have easy access to the Bureau, so..."

A preliminary shiver of magic cut him off, and a moment later a massive blue ring of sigils appeared in the air. The Dogs reacted instantly, diving into cover and bringing weapons to bear as the ring doubled, the second rising into the air to leave glowing forms that resolved rapidly into human beings, all of them wearing an unfamiliar uniform and carrying short blade-tipped staves.

"Check arms," Uriel ordered as the new arrivals began to bring their devices to ready. He stood from his position half under the truck, and held out one hand to signal his troops, the other raised in peaceful gesture. "Team Three, stay at guard. Everyone else, gather 'round."

The mages remained in the air, fanning out to cover a wide area, before one of them called out, "Stand down and identify yourselves!"

Uriel stepped out a little further, "We are Circle mages, North American Ops, First Response Team Alpha. We are here at the orders of Grand Master Hughes to investigate the attack. You are the Bureau response team, yes?"

One member drifted lower, relaxing from his guard position. "Commander Akagi," He identified himself, "leader of Shiva's Armed Enforcers. We responded to an attack upon Bureau and Circle personnel at this site, and have been dispatched to secure the area."

Uriel relaxed slightly, dropping his arms to his side and taking a waiting posture, "You got everyone out, then?"

Akagi nodded, "There were injuries, some of them quite severe, but they have all been stabilized. We will begin returning personnel as soon as we are certain the site is secure."

"It's as secure as it's going to be," Uriel said, gesturing to the south, "no sign of further aggressors, since the attackers appear to have jumped in there."

"How long have you been on site?"

"A few minutes. Miss Yagami had her people here before us, though, for a good hour or two. There's nothing here, unfortunately."

"One more question then. How did you get here so fast? Weren't you coming from someplace called Nevada, a day or so away?"

Arlain tensed at that, feeling the others tense, but Uriel just laughed, "You boys don't know everything about us. We're based out of Nevada. Never said we were coming from there."

Akagi stared at him for a moment, still frowning, then sighed, and shrugged. "We'll do a perimeter check of our own – nothing personal, it's procedure – and then start bringing people back. The wounded will have to wait a few days, until the Doc's sure they're safe to move. Don't argue with him, the man's got a habit of flaying people who go against his medical decisions."

Uriel shook his head, "Oh, we aren't worried about our wounded, not now we know where they are. We'll keep post here, until you're satisfied."

Arlain watched the mages spread out, and moved up with Miguel to stand next to Uriel. "You sure we shouldn't be... doing something, sir?"

"Not yet, Arlain," Uriel whispered back, "not yet. The Bureau's just that, a bureaucracy. They'll follow their rules, and we'll get our people back shortly. Once we get some survivors, we can start asking questions. We've got nothing but tracks of these things. The Egypt Ops people have found where they came up out of the Mediterranean, but the creatures avoided anyone and everyone until they got here. So, until we get our people back, we play nice. The Bureau will get what's coming to them, in due course."

00000

Seaotter: How many stories have you heard about hackers in the news? You don't hear about the ones people get away with. As to how hard it would be, you're right – devices are specifically calibrated for their users. But there is a canon way in, however difficult. The question is, can Allina and Niranjana find it & use it? Hacking a device won't be easy, if it's possible. And yes, I am having a blast writing the twins.

Baughn: The access route Allina and Niranjana will use to attempt their hacking is canon, though it is extremely questionable how useful that route will be, but more on that next chapter. Man, nobody likes that idea. Thank you for the comments on characterization, and I'm thinking I'll update the list on my author's page with the new OCs and some more information. As for what happened to the section breaks, FFN happened. Their latest 'upgrade' reformatted to replace the dashed-line section breaks with nothing. I've re-posted the chapters for this story with the new section breaks used here, and they seem to working. My apologies, I misunderstood the post about FFN's updates.

Kell Shock: As I told Baughn, I blame FFN for the missing section break. Frakking website 'upgrades'! You are entirely correct about the missing pro-noun, corrected. Chen-chi is the school bookie, yes, as further evidenced above, though the twins' mistake of thinking her a more general 'fixer' is also common. Laura's comment on the twins getting the PDA was based on Mister Burns, specifically to generate the sort of reaction you had:). Yussef is the busiest of the students, but he thrives on that, on being involved in everything and being constantly busy. Allina's blog would be interesting to read, but given her predilections, it's probably incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't think in binary. Laura's threat to the twins may not sound immediately threatening, but consider – dirt is everywhere, it's inescapable, all-pervasive, smothering – just imagine being buried alive. Yeah it's off the wall and obtuse, but that's Laura.

Derek Q.: Laura's not getting a free ride, but she's given more leeway than the other students are. Go back and re-read the first-day incident – Laura apologized immediately, and Mercedes actively rejected that apology. That was what got everyone on her case. They were rougher on Mercedes than they would have been had she run into anyone else (except, probably, Cidela and Noriko) because it was Laura, but they would have been hard on Mercedes for doing that to anyone. Besides, she's quite obviously thinking of getting her own back, isn't she? The Circles are definitely regrouping, and learning, from Li's mistakes. I haven't done much with the national reactions because, frankly, it's too general a scale for the story right now. There are some hints coming up, but nation-level reactions won't be prominent for a while yet, if ever. Hughes did go to his superiors and explain (remember the attack in the subway station? That was in Washington DC, on his way to explain), but again, there will be more on those reactions later as it becomes plot-relevant. And quite frankly, the US has a better track record than most other nations out there for responding to provocations and threats, real or imagined. The difference between us and the rest of the world is, we're perfectly comfortable airing our dirty laundry in public. As for Yuuno's name, see the epilogue to Path of Vengeance, two stories ago. While I've nothing against yuri myself, I've just always been partial to Yuuno/Nanoha. Oh, and Hughes is Army, not Air Force – he's a soldier, not a caterer (and I'm a Navy brat, myself, so I reserve the right to joke about all branches of service).

TheWhiteMonk: I remember you're an historian. My apologies for offending you, it wasn't intentional, quite the opposite – 'Machiavellian' has always been far more insulting to me, carrying as it does common connotations of back-stabbing, underhanded manipulation, and dangerously selfish. 'Byzantine', in contrast, is artfully complicated, somewhat decadent, and overly-civilized. Yes, I know those stereotypes are historically inaccurate, but that is how the terms are popularly known. I know Byzantium had its fair share of underhanded schemes and backstabbing, but the common reputation is not as bad as Machiavelli's. To me, 'Machiavellian' is an insult, at best a back-handed compliment, while 'Byzantine' is simply descriptive, and at worst a back-handed compliment. I knew which book you meant, I was just saying the closest I've come to it was Sun Tzu's. Though I think I've read excerpts of The Prince, for a college class (on literature, of all things, if I recall correctly). The interactions of the second years and first years is going well, but there's more to come (such as Mercedes' attempt at payback).

Advent00: I'm glad you're enjoying this, and that you were looking forward to it. The second years' don't all have special skills, but here's a quick list: Laura has unpredictable creativity, quantum effects and sensing. Noriko has her Cascade and related effects, as well as an unflappable calm. Cidela is, of course, a healer. Yussef is a born leader. Noah is a master of force effects, Allison of stealth and hunting. Megan is a shapeshifter, Allina and Niranjana computer experts, Toushiro is skilled at buster spells. With the twins, Saeryn (the slightly more cerebral and talkative of the two) is Wrack, and Rhys (the slightly more physical and taciturn of the pair) is Ruin. Good luck telling them apart:).

Eternal-Longing: No problem on the timing, any review is a good review, after all. Laura's prank was simple, but she has more where that came from, much more. No problem on the explanation, I'm always willing to do that, unless it'll ruin future plot points. The twins reasons for building devices are they're own, as detailed above, not the Circles' – at least, as far as they know – who knows how deep the Circles' plans go?