Endless Waltz

By: Daishi Prime

-10 – Aftermath-

Yussef and Signum arrived back on the overlook a surprisingly short time after they had left, far sooner than they had planned, and he, for one, was very grateful to see the campus again. It was never fun, getting shot at, even if the weapons shooting could not get through his defenses, and getting shot at without his boys at his back, had been exceedingly unpleasant. Worse, The Revenants had displayed a surprising amount of flexibility in responding to his efforts and Signum's, which argued for more surprises from them down the road.

Signum matched his pace as they rounded the campus' gate, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, just a little tired," Yussef replied, "lot of spells in a short time-frame, lot of dodging. Learned some things, though, maybe even something Toushiro and Ichigo can use. Whoever was guarding that last circle was a sneaky bastard, built a mirror-shield of some sort." He grimaced in mild embarrassment, then added, "I almost got shot by my own buster."

Signum actually chuckled, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You did well, for a fight we weren't supposed to be involved in. Think over what happened, I'll want to hear your thoughts on how your Myrmidons would handle today's battle, from each of the three sides. Today would make an excellent basis for a training scenario, I think."

"Probably," Yussef nodded, thinking it over now that she had given him the idea. He would have said more, but Signum stopped abruptly. "Sensei?"

"No one is walking about," she said, nodding to the campus.

The valley's tree cover made it difficult to see more than the buildings, but Yussef could see into the courtyard in front of the dorm, a few spots in the quad. No one was in them, and he picked up on Signum's nerves. It was Sunday, however early it still was, and a nice enough day, if a little chilly. Someone should have been out and about.

Signum's flat stare twisted into a glare for a moment, then she sighed and relaxed. "They're in the Library," she said. "Seed attacked the campus."

That sent a spike of fear down his spine. Tai-yu's briefing on the Seed of Leviathan had been thorough, and very intimidating. "What? Was anyone hurt?"

"According to Hayate-sama, Rhys came close to burning herself out," Signum said, "Laura, Zafira, and Vita were knocked around a little. Noriko has a couple cuts, and Saeryn is apparently shaken. But nothing severe, nothing permanent. Let's fly, I want to make sure she's not sugar-coating anything. She has a habit of doing that, when giving me bad news."

They flew down from the trail, settling to the ground right at the main entrance to Library, to find Zafira and Marcel waiting for them. Zafira followed Signum right in, but Yussef hung back, quirking an eyebrow at Marcel. The French boy shrugged slightly, "Don't ask me, I was still eating breakfast. One minute we're talking about the twin's tantrum, the next Laura's exploding out the doors and every teacher on campus is airborne and armed to the teeth."

"You didn't see the attack at all?"

Marcel shook his head. "Juliet and Allison wanted to go lend a hand, but Luke and I got everyone else up on the dorm roof. Figured we could fly up to the road to get away if things went south, carry the new kids. By the time everyone was up there, Hayate-sensei was coming back with everyone else. She had a pair of Seed on tow, took them into the classroom building, I think to a workroom. One of the twins was carrying the other, Noriko had a couple nasty scratches, and Laura's armor got busted up some, but nothing seems permanent."

"Allah is merciful in all things," Yussef muttered. Marcel's report was enough for Yussef to relax, the tension and worry fading away. "I'm guessing there's a class going on?"

"Yeah, looking at the Seed," Marcel nodded, pulling the door open, "Hayate-sensei wants everyone in one place while Aria and Lotte check the perimeter. The Library's the easiest place to defend, so she pulled us all here. How was your little field trip?"

Yussef snorted and shook his head, but could not suppress the smirk at Marcel's jaunty tone. "Ambush, but not the one I was expecting. Got shot at, did some shooting of my own, watched Signum-sensei beat the snot out of a couple Revenants. You'll get the whole thing later, but I'd appreciate you not sharing it with the guys. You're going to help me do that in class."

Inside the Library, almost everyone was gathered in the main room, sitting at various tables in the first floor common area, staring at a cluster of floating screens. Most of the screens were displaying file information that he remembered from Tai-yu's lecture on the Seed just after the Egypt incident, a few with what he recognized as current diagnostics, but most displayed failure and error warnings. The flickering and failing readouts from the workroom's shields were particularly worrisome.

The largest and central screen, showed a pair of ugly scaled creatures prowling about one of the workrooms, and it took him a moment to recognize the Seed of Leviathan, even with Signum's warning. Uglier than I expected, he thought, and weren't they supposed to be sort of thin and wasted? The report from Egypt had described creatures a good bit ganglier than these hulking brutes. The two he was looking at were anything but thin, muscles solid beneath the scales, and their posture and attitude was, for lack of a better term, confident. One of them was sporting a visibly broken jaw, but that did not appear to be bothering it particularly. The two Seed were prowling about opposite sides of the workroom, but not pacing. Merciful Allah, they're searching, he realized with a shiver, looking for weaknesses, for a way out.

His ruminations were, predictably, interrupted by Laura. "Hey, Yu-chan! Welcome back! Like my new pet? I'm calling him Snuggles. I think Vita-sensei's calling hers Ripper. Jealous?"

"Those things are not pets," Natalia half-shouted, in a long-suffering tone of someone repeating herself.

"Whatever, Boatlights, you're just jealous that Snuggles likes me better," Laura laughed back, sticking out her tongue. Natalia blanched at that, then slammed back into her seat, spinning to put Laura behind her.

"Laura," Hayate sounded anything but amused, "that was rude. Also, she is correct, the Seed are not pets. They are contained for now, but I am going to have to reinforce those shields every day." She sighed, and the chastising tone faded to one of sadness, "If we cannot figure out how to return them to stasis, we will have to put them down. They are simply too dangerous."

Signum was right next to Hayate, now, but staring at the Seed. "Do we know where they came from, this time?"

"Not yet," Hayate replied. "It only happened a few minutes ago, Signum. Aria and Lotte are out checking the perimeter, looking for any signs. Vita," she gestured to a side table, where the red-head was bent over a terminal with Allina and Niranjana next to her, "is working with Allina and Niranjana to see if there was any sort of sightings by the public. Now that you are back, I would like you and Zafira to backtrack the Seed physically, see if you can find out where they came from. I suspect, however, that their trail will lead to the sea."

"Hayate-sensei," Yussef asked, "how likely do you think it is that this was coordinated? The attack here, the ambush in Shanghai..."

Hayate shook her head, "I do not think they are connected, not right now. Oh, the timing is suspicious, but... this feels random."

"If it was planned, the Circles would have to know that, however interested we were in Shanghai, only one or two of us would be there," Signum added. "An ambush there makes sense, an attempt to eliminate a couple of us at a time, certainly. But attacking here? Not with so few Seed. Admittedly, these two could be all that are available, but even so, there are far more efficient ways they could be used, even with as little control was we suspect the Revenants have over them. Think of how well timed the ambush in Shanghai was, Yussef. Just long enough to get Schuster's forces deep, but not long enough to risk the trap's bait being caught."

"I think this is another case of the Seed being attracted to magic, as Hayate proposed for the Egypt incident," Tai-yu suggested. "The campus is the most magically active site in Japan at present, just as the rituals are in Egypt. The Seed being attracted to magic would explain why they attacked here and in Egypt, and in such small numbers. It also makes sense that they can sense magic and hunt it down, if they truly were designed by the Atlanteans as anti-mage weapons. Plus... this just feels random. A psychological weapon, rather than strategic or tactical. We can never know if or when more Seed will appear, thus we must prepare for them to appear any time, any place.

Hayate nodded with her, asking, "Signum, are you okay to head out now? I want to get as much information as quickly as possible. I've already sent Hughes a preliminary message, but I'd like as much information as possible before I actually speak with him. He should be calling shortly."

"I think he'll be busy for a while with his own problems," Signum commented. "He lost people in Shanghai, for no real return."

Hayate blinked at her, then her eyes widened, "Oh, kami-sama. I forgot, in all the excitement."

Signum smirked, "I understand, Mistress. Your kids, and all. I'll head out now. Could I borrow Megan, do you think? Her nose should prove useful, and she can shift big or small enough to escape, if we run into something else."

Megan shoved a hand up almost instantly, "I'll go, sensei. I promise to stay out of trouble. I'd just need a couple minutes at the fight scene to get the scent."

Hayate looked doubtful, but nodded slowly. "You still have your gem?" Megan nodded, and Hayate returned the gesture. "You can go, but the first sign of trouble you take to the air and trigger the gem, understood?"

While Hayate spoke with Signum and Megan about their mission, Yussef slid over and sat down behind Laura. Annoying as she was, she was also his best source for information, being easier to get talking than Noriko or the teachers. "The twins with Shamal-sensei?"

Laura looked back at him and nodded, "Yeah. She put Ruin to sleep, and Wrack won't let go of her, so they're up in her office. Ruin put together some kind of amped-up buster on the fly, tried to burn herself out."

"Stupid of her," Yussef muttered without thinking.

Laura back-handed him for that, a light swat to the shoulder that nonetheless expressed her displeasure. "Shut up! You've got brothers, right Yu-chan? What would you do, with a Seed standing over them and no device to hand?"

"Drop a tree on it," he countered. "Rhys panicked. Understandably, a forgivable mistake, but she nonetheless panicked." He dodged the next swat, "Fine, fine, I'll leave her alone. Even you should know I wouldn't have said that where she could hear it. We've all been that stupid before. She going to be all right?"

"According to Shamal-sensei, yeah."

"What about these things," Yussef asked, gesturing to the image of the Seed.

Laura stared at them for a few seconds, and the humor she had displayed earlier faded. "Those things are scary, Yussef," she said after a minute. "Hayate-sensei said these things are tough as mage-armor, so I hit Snuggles with both feet at somewhere around thirty miles an hour, plowed him face-first into the ground hard enough to dig a two foot trench. He was up and swinging as soon as I landed, never even slowed down. It was a fun fight, once the twins were clear, but... it was smart, too. I started fly-by's, keeping it busy until Hayate-sensei could bind it, but almost as soon as I started that, it started trying to back off. They came in on an easy target, and the instant things went against them, they both started trying to fall back. They're smart."

"You sure it wasn't just pre-programmed?"

"Stop trying to put my Snuggles down," Laura said, shaking a finger at him. "They fought when it was just Vita-sensei and I, but as soon as Zafira-sensei arrived ahead of the rest, that instant, they started trying to fall back, working together. No, these boys are smart. Maybe not math and science smart, but they're not dumb animals. On top of how tough they are... it was fun, Yu-chan, but I don't think I'll do it again if I have any choice. If it wasn't for Hayate-sensei, we'd have had to kill them to stop them.

"Oh, and that magic invulnerability? Yeah, normal shields and armor can take it a little, but Ripper blew through Noriko's Cascade in a heartbeat, didn't even slow down. Her petals weren't strong enough to stand up to the magic-negation effect. She had a couple scratches Shamal-baa-chan fixed, but her armor looked like a dish-rack, more gaps than red. Scary things."

"Leave the Seed for us," Marcel offered. "We'll let you have the wolfpacks."

"Deal," Laura replied instantly. "Though... be careful of them. They're as fast as I am, reflexes and speed, strong enough to break my armor and Riko-chan's without necessarily connecting. Don't stay within arm's reach, don't let one of them hit you."

"Not planning to," Yussef replied. "Like I said, drop a tree on it."

"Preferably while said tree is still rooted to a nearby mountain," Marcel added. "Thirty miles an hour? Merdre."

"Somewhere around there," Laura repeated. "You can have these things, Marcel, I'll stick to humans. At least with humans I know where the limit is, where to stop."

"Hayate-sama," Aria called from the door, "we've finished our sweep. Nothing, just a physical trail where they came over the pass and triggered the fourth line of wards. They destroyed all the Midchildan and Velka wards as well, but their natural immunities appear to have dissipated, rather than triggered, those. Other than that, nothing in the area that doesn't belong here, Mistress."

Hayate sighed, visibly relieved, before nodding. "Thank you, Aria-san. Signum, go ahead. The rest of you..."

"Ah, Hayate-sensei?" Noriko stuck a hand up, "Could we move back to the dorm? I was thinking, to get our minds off this for a bit, we could all do with a little mutual embarrassment."

Lotte audibly whined, "Not that torture device... Signum, I'm going with you!"

"That will be fine, Noriko, though not everyone has to go. As there appears to be no further threat, you're all free to resume your normal activities here on the campus, though you are still not allowed out in the woods, yet. Not until the wards are rebuilt."

00000

Almost an hour later, Laura plunked down in a chair next to Noriko, giggling madly at the continued complaints of everyone in the dining hall. "I warned you all," she called back, "but you insisted I take a turn. It's your own fault!"

"Yes, you warned us," Noriko agreed, rubbing her abused ears to try and clear the ringing feedback. "Kami-sama, Laura, that song didn't even require singing, just shouting in time to the beat, and you still made it... worse."

"It's a gift," Laura laughed, then frowned, "and don't you go insulting my man Vince. He's good, for a pretty-boy pop singer."

"Motley Crue is not a pop band," Mariachi corrected her from the stage, "despite the objections of the rest of the heavy metal community. Why did you inflict that self-absorbed garbage on us?"

"It's not garbage! This is a party, and Kick Start My Heart's a great party song! Lots of beat, lots of speed, it's all about having fun."

"Unless you're the one singing along," Mariachi countered.

"Tche, well duh! I warned you all I can't sing."

"That wasn't singing, Laura, that was shrieking," Noriko said. "Remind me never to let you try that again, unless there's someone we're trying to question."

"Wouldn't work," Marcel replied, "not legally. You're not allowed to torture prisoners, whether you're at war with them or not. Civilized behavior and all."

"Oh, shut up, Marcel-chan," Laura muttered, "I'm bad, but I'm not that bad."

"The courts won't buy that argument," he replied, to which she stuck out her tongue.

Looking at one back corner of the room, Laura grinned and asked, "Riko-chan, think you'll get Cid-chan to sing?"

"Not in a million years," Noriko answered. She caught Cidela's eye, then smiled and waved towards the 'stage'. Cidela blanched, shook her head vigorously, and resolutely returned to her book. "See? Still too shy. Poor girl would probably have a heart attack, even if it is just us."

Noriko's impromptu karaoke contest had only been partly successful. It was distracting enough, especially with Toushiro's and Laura's hammed-up attempts at singing, both horrible enough to have drawn cat-calls and insults galore. The only problem was, everyone was still quite aware of why a distraction was necessary, an awareness which was apparent in constant looks out the door and the fact that everyone was clustered in just two groups, by year, with the second years closer to the doors.

Not everyone had followed along from the library, but most of both classes were present, mostly for the sense of safety after the attack, but also for the rare opportunity to laugh at each other without fear of reprisal. Only Allina, Niranjana, Mercedes, Yussef, Verner and the twins were missing, of the students, and per Noriko's decision, everyone present except Mariachi was singing at least once. Mariachi was exempt, on the grounds that he was 'trained', and thus had an unfair advantage, though that exemption got him stuck running the machine and playing 'judge'.

So far, for a bunch of amateurs, they had not been too bad. Hesitant and embarrassed, yes, but only Toushiro's utter failure to keep to any sort of rhythm, and Laura's inability to remain within shouting distance of 'on key' had been actively bad. Most of them were relaxing enough to actually enjoy it, Chen-chi and Jun even managing enough daring to join in ribbing several second-years.

Laura let the lack of conversation roll on for a while, joining in with the crowd picking on Ichigo's efforts at the microphone. He was all over the place trying to pull off some Japanese rap song, but hamming it up so much no one cared what he was trying to sing or how well he was doing it. She saw Shamal slip in through the main doors, settling down next to Cidela, but Shamal only shook her head when Laura gave her a hopeful look.

It was not until Ichigo finished and Natalia started her turn that conversation resumed, Esmeralda settling gingerly into the chair next to Noriko distracted both of them. Laura cocked her head ninety degrees sideways and asked, "Something up, Ezzie?"

Esmeralda gave her a confused look, then nodded slowly. "I, ah, have a question for Noriko. About Friday."

"Friday?" Noriko said, then nodded, "The trip to Kyoto is making you nervous?"

Esmeralda nodded, "After today, and rumors I heard about last year..."

"Last year was nothing," Laura boasted, "not Kyoto, at least. It was over too quick, and Ta-chan was way too scary-cool. This trip'll be a breeze. More of us, less of them, and we're so wrapped up in wards we can't sneeze without Shamal-sensei popping up to ask what's wrong."

"It's still kind of scary," Esmeralda protested. "I mean... we've been attacked here, where Hayate-sensei's at her strongest. What's to stop someone from trying again in Kyoto, where we'll be vulnerable?"

"This was not a directed attack," Noriko reassured her, "it was an accident, random chance." Esmeralda gave her a doubtful look, but Noriko continued one, "Even if it was deliberate, think of how we are going to be organized the trip. Three groups, mingled first and second years. Hayate and Lotte with one, Signum and Zafira with the second, Vita and Aria with the third, Shamal at the palace for backup and coordination."

"Plus Riko-chan, Yu-chan and I each taking a group," Laura added. "I think I'm with Vita-sensei, right?"

"Last Hayate-sensei told us, yes," Noriko answered. "You see, Esmeralda? I admit, there is some chance for trouble, but the chance is small, and the response to it will be overwhelming. If it will help, though... if you are not doing anything this afternoon, I could work with you on your shields, after Yussef's class, if he holds it today. Or some afternoon this week."

"Thank you, Noriko," Esmeralda agreed, "that would help."

"This afternoon, then? Bring anyone else in your class who's feeling nervous, I'll see if I can't reassure them, too."

"Last singer," Mariachi called, drawing their attention. He was standing at the microphone, grinning across the room, "Come on, Cid-chan. Everyone else had taken a turn, it's only fair."

Cidela started, staring at him for a second, then started to shake her head, but Shamal leaned over to whisper in her ear. Cidela gave her a doubtful look, then nodded slowly. She started making her way up to the stage, but it was painfully obvious she was already embarrassed. She was trying so hard not to actually look at anyone, stroking Rafiq's head where he peeked out of her collar.

"Cid-chan, don't worry about it," Laura called, feeling guilty for Cidela's embarrassment, "just 'cause we made fools of ourselves doesn't mean you have to."

"I... I'll sing," Cidela managed, "just... please don't laugh? I haven't done this before."

"We won't," Noriko promised, "but Laura's right, you don't have to do this."

Cidela gave her small smile, "Okaa-san asked, and… so, well..." She ducked away to take the control panel from Mariachi and pick her song, but was visibly shivering with nervousness.

That communicated itself to everyone else, each in their own way feeling guilty and embarrassed because of how uncomfortable they were making Cidela. Laura looked back to Shamal, and found the quietest of their sensei projecting a very serene, almost expectant, air – except for the first two fingers on her left hand, just visible under the table from Laura's position, twitching at her skirt. 'Oh, lordy,' Laura sent to Noriko, 'Shamal-baa-chan thinks this'll be good for her or something, but isn't sure. For what I'm about to do to you, Riko-chan, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to help me distract everyone.'

'Not yet,' Noriko replied, also giving Shamal a glance, 'I don't know if Cid-chan can actually do this, but she should try. In the event that it goes poorly, it would be better to cover her escape, than keep her from ever finding out if she can, ne?'

'You say so,' Laura replied. She disagreed, but this was Noriko's area of expertise, so she went along for now. Very privately, however, she started planning the best way to distract everyone, I think stage one of Mercedes' embarrassment, the trick's going to be getting anyone to notice. Maybe I can launch Riko-chan out the front doors? We're far enough away from them, everyone would notice her sailing by overhead. But her reflexes are good enough, she'd probably catch me. Her and the chair? Or maybe just pick her up physically and toss her in Marcel's lap screaming 'lover's quarrel'. They'd both pitch a fit at that...

Cidela never quite turned around to face them again, just stood a little straighter, facing mostly towards them, both hands wrapped around the microphone in a death-grip with her eyes screwed shut. She visibly sucked in a breath, just as the music started, then began singing. For the first few lines, her voice was thin and whispered, even through the microphone, but with the third line, picked up strength and steadied down.

'Listen,' Noriko told Laura, 'just at the edge of reach, Shamal-sensei's helping her, singing with her telepathically.' Laura reached, but could not find what Noriko was describing. 'A pity,' Noriko replied to her complaint, 'it's beautiful.'

By the end of the first chorus, Cidela's knuckles were no longer white, and by the end of the second, she was no longer standing quite so stiffly. She never opened her eyes, or moved from her position, and her voice retained an indefinable discomfort, but given the gentle flow of the song, and it's twisted but romantic lyrics, that actually helped. By the time the song faded, everyone in the room was staring silently at her, and utter silence greeted her final lines as they faded out with the music.

That silence reigned for a good twenty seconds, before – for the first time in living memory – someone beat Laura to the punch. Lunging half out of her chair, Chen-chi pointed an accusing finger at Mariachi. "Damn it, Mariachi! You knew! You knew she was that good! You rigged it!" She threw up both hands, falling back in her chair with a thud, "Aarrgh, my odds! You just blew all my odds out of existence!"

"I knew no such thing," Mariachi replied with a grin, "but I guessed. Listen to her talk, she's got a good voice, so I figured she'd be good at singing, if she wasn't scared off. Odd song choice, though, I expected something in Arabic."

"Okaa-san likes it," Cidela muttered, apparently not noticing the microphone still in her hands.

"Vita-chan introduced me to it," Shamal said as she walked up to the stage, "the band generally does not appeal to me, but I liked that song. It describes Cid-chan and I rather well, if in an odd sort of way." She wrapped Cidela up in a hug, finally getting the microphone away from her, and whispered something into the girl's hair.

As the two started to leave the stage, Laura called out, "I suppose there's no chance of an encore?"

Cidela froze in place and blanched again, staring at Laura like a rabbit facing a semi, until Shamal gave her a little push. Shamal gave Laura a repressive glare, "That was unnecessary, Laura."

"Sorry, Cid-chan, just a joke," Laura apologized, before turning to Shamal again. "Can I see my minions yet?"

Shamal shook her head, "Not yet, Laura. They have had a stressful enough day without more of your antics."

"I'm not stupid, sensei," Laura interrupted, letting her smile drop. "I'm not going to go off all hyper on them, not right now. But my girls got jumped by something that gave me a hard time. I need to see them to be sure they're all right, figure out how to get them moving again."

Shamal stared at her for a second, then sighed slightly and ruffled her hair. "They'll be fine, Laura-chan. Rhys is sleeping off the strain, and I put Saeryn to sleep as well, since she was so stressed over her sister. They won't wake up for a while yet, not until after lunch. I'll let you know when you can see them."

"Thanks, Shamal-baa-chan," Laura grinned again, then ducked out of Shamal's reach before the healer could recover from her surprise, and bolted for the door, "Oi, K-chan! You're putting on too much weight, let's go work out! If I beat you to the ring you have to run laps!"

Yussef barely dodged Laura's exit, looked around questioningly, then shook his head. "Not going to ask. First years, it's ten in the morning on a Sunday, and you all know what that means. I'd like you all to join me in the main workroom, I've got a little exercise in mutual defense I want you to try. Ten minutes."

00000

"Hello Akira," Hayate said as she walked out onto the deck that evening, "I had expected Takashi."

"Good morning, My Lady," Akira answered with a bow. "I'm afraid My Lord is unable to leave his current project at this time. It is unstable, at present, and he must monitor it."

Hayate cocked an eyebrow at that, curious what could Takashi could be working on that was so delicate, "Current project?" Akira just stared at her for a few seconds. "You aren't going to tell me, are you, Akira?"

"My Lord requested that I do not," he confirmed. "He sent me with information on the morning's events in Shanghai, and to inquire as to events here. His wards were triggered and disrupted."

Hayate almost decided not to tell him anything, given how annoyed she was that Takashi had not come personally, especially with such a thin excuse. But Akira was just as capable of refusing to tell her anything, however respectful he was being towards her. Briefly, she related what had occurred that morning, though she glossed over the twins' roll. Akira offered no comment or question, merely listened politely until she finished.

"You were fortunate," he commented, "that Noriko was out there. Without her delaying them, the Seed may well have reached the campus proper. Your evaluation of their cunning is also unpleasant, though not entirely unexpected. I will inform My Lord, though I doubt he will be encountering Seed any time soon. I assume Signum has provided you with a review of the Shanghai mission?"

"Yes," Hayate nodded, then waved for him to continue, "but I would like more information, if you have it."

"Some, mostly regarding the immediate aftermath. Hughes gained a total of eight prisoners from this raid, all security personnel from the facility, all Ops mages, journeyman rank. The Revenants' casualties aside from the prisoners are unknown, but presumed to be fewer than ten, as only wolfpacks engaged Hughes' people. In exchange, the Moderns lost six dead and thirteen to seventeen wounded, all from the supporting forces. The Black Dogs themselves managed to escape unharmed, with nothing more than bruises and scrapes, and from the sound of them when I left, they are overly eager to try again. My Lord and I expect the team will do something rash, probably in Central America, which they can reach easily from their own resources.

"There is some evidence that the Revenants placed this facility solely as bait for a trap, mostly in the speed and efficiency of their ambush. There is also, however, evidence that someone warned them the Dogs were coming. According to Thorngrave, the access routes had all been sealed recently, and the entire facility felt 'in use'. It was not set up to be an ambush target, and became such very recently. Also, late reports from Hughes' Ghosts indicate that a number of the facility's more powerful mages were evacuated from Shanghai that very morning. Hughes will, no doubt, investigate that possibility rigorously.

"The Dogs' equipment appears to have functioned mostly as advertised. Two of the wolfpacks were felled by concentrated fire, a third by a combination of fire and magic. Beyond that, after Signum and the boy engaged, the Revenants appeared to restrict themselves to seeing off Hughes' forces. The pull back to the airfield and subsequent take off were harassed, but not seriously opposed.

"I am comfortably disappointed by most of Hughes' people. They reacted as we have come to expect when Circle mages have their plans disrupted. But the Dogs... they were admirably fluid and flexible in their responses, steady. Determined, as well. Schuster attempted to evacuate them first, but they remained on-scene and provided rear guard all the way out. The Frenchman was still shooting when the last plane lifted off. They are what Yussef wishes his followers to be, and all the more dangerous for it. I would recommend eliminating them now, save I know you disapprove of such practicalities, thus I will only suggest monitoring. Close monitoring, especially if Hughes creates another, similar, team. Until My Lord is free, however, that is all I have for you. I can provide some observational statistics on the Dogs' weapons, but I was not actually present for the raid."

"Thank you, Akira," Hayate said slowly, walking to the rail to lean on it. "You said you think the Dogs will strike again soon. Why?"

"They are a proud group, an elite force," he answered with a shrug. "Such people think in terms of reputation and face. They have had two missions to date, one aborted to watch your people clean up after an attack of mythical creatures, and the second a raid on a vulnerable enemy that turned out to be a trap. While neither failure is their fault, technically, both missions were nonetheless failures. Pride will force the Dogs to redeem those failures as soon as possible."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Hayate muttered, thinking back on how heavily Takashi and his servant relied on their own reputations.

"Hence my certainty," Akira agreed.

That was, in a way, reassuring. The fact that the Shanghai mission had failed was vexing, and the losses painful and depressing. But she had been in the Bureau for too long, seen too many missions reversed in similar ways, been on both sides of such reversals. The fact that Hughes' people, his foremost people, were still that ready to fight was a good sign. An even better sign was that they were evincing so many traits that Takashi and Akira were familiar with, that she was familiar with. A familiar foe, after all, was a predictable one.

"Keep an eye on Schuster's force, please," Hayate ordered, "let me know when and where they strike next, also how well they do. Also, I wish to see Takashi here again, physically present, within the next few weeks, after the Kyoto trip. The first years need to meet him, and I have questions about the magic, things I can't puzzle out in Sara's notes."

"I will so inform him, My Lady," Akira answered, bowing again, before lifting off the deck to fly up the valley.

Zafira stepped up next to her a moment later, "Not going to press him on Takashi's 'project'?"

Hayate shook her head, "Not Akira, no. He is respectful enough towards me, but his loyalty is to Takashi. He will be very polite about it, but he will not tell me anything. Takashi, however, I will question until I have answers. I do not like him being 'unavailable' like this, and I especially do not like the fact that, despite his wards triggering, he still has not put in an appearance himself. Given his usual reaction to any danger towards me, even the hint of it, he should have sensed the Seed and arrived to destroy them before they ever reached Noriko and the twins. What is he working on that is so critical he would ignore such an incident?"

"Something more dangerous," Zafira mused, "either a weapon against the Circles, or a weapon of the Circles. Perhaps he has run into Bureau entanglements while searching for Kriegsen, or is co-opting Revenants into spying for him. I have no doubt that, whatever he is doing, he considers it more important to your safety than the Seed were dangerous."

Hayate glanced at him in surprise, "I thought you disliked him."

Zafira snorted, half laugh half insult, "I do dislike him. He is rude, arrogant, amoral, and honorless. That does not mean I do not understand him. He is almost as dedicated to you as we are, and has suffered greatly for no reason. It is his methods and scruples I take issue with. You will find that Signum shares my view. Vita actively despises him for her own reasons, while Shamal finds him extremely distasteful. None of us care for Akira in the least."

"What do you think of Akira?"

Zafira shrugged, "He is as we were, a program bound to a single device and purpose. He fulfills that purpose as he was created to, and I can respect that. But, again, methods and morals. Akira reflects his master's faults."

"Not quite," Hayate argued. "Oh, in type, yes, but Akira lacks Takashi's restraint. Understandably, he as created for just that reason."

Zafira shrugged, "It makes no difference, both are dangerous. Were they as dangerous to you as to everyone else, I would have argued long ago for killing them. As it is, I just wish he was not involved as frequently as he is. But, speaking of restraint, Yussef's boys are ready to begin construction. Nothing fancy in their devices, not like most of the girls' designs."

"Even Luke, Toushiro and Ichigo?"

Zafira nodded, "They're actually a little further along. Were they not insisting on progressing together, those three probably would have finished earlier this week, instead of on Saturday. Part of it is that the boys have mostly been working to a common design, based on Yussef's. Most of it is because Laura and Yussef make a formidable pair, even when they're not directly working together. If they would stop being so childish towards one another, they would be truly impressive."

Hayate smiled at that, nodding agreement, "Let's not go hoping for miracles. I am impressed they finished their designs so quickly. Are the designs in the files?"

"Yes, you can review them whenever you like," Zafira told her. "Basic intelligent devices, aside from the three Velka modifications."

"I'll look them over tonight and tomorrow," Hayate told him. "Juliet and Allison are almost done, Cid-chan's design has been done for weeks, if Shamal will ever admit that. They're moving along quickly. November, you think, before they start activating the devices?"

"For most, maybe late October for a couple of them," Zafira agreed, then shook his head, "things will be very busy, once they do."

Hayate's smile widened at his aggrieved tone, "It won't be that bad, Zafira. They'll be too busy figuring out how to control the devices to get into much mischief. None of them are Laura, after all."

00000

Saeryn woke well before her sister, still sitting on the couch in Shamal's office, Rhys' head in her lap. Shamal herself was sitting in a chair pulled over in front of the couch, resting a green-glowing hand on Rhys' forehead. "It's mid afternoon," Shamal told her without opening her eyes, "Rhys will wake once I have finished scanning her. She strained her magic a great deal this morning, very nearly burned herself out. I put a limiter on her, to prevent her using magic, until I can verify that she has recovered.

"I understand how restrictive it will feel, but if her linker core is stressed before it heals, she could permanently cripple herself. I will check on her twice a day, until she has healed, and once she is healed, I will remove the limiter and let her get back to her magic. I would appreciate it if you could keep her calm about it. She needs the time to heal, and the more she worries at the limiter, the longer it will take her to recover. Can you do that?"

"She is my sister," Saeryn answered softly.

Shamal opened her eyes, giving Saeryn a questioning look, then smiled slightly and nodded. "I understand. I feel the same about my siblings. Are you feeling better? You were rather distraught this morning."

Saeryn flushed, remembering some of what she had said, especially when they tried to separate her from Rhys. "My apologies," she said, somewhat stiffly.

Shamal waved that aside, "All is forgiven, it was reasonable. But you are feeling better?"

Saeryn nodded, "Yes, sensei. You are certain she will be all right?"

A long-suffering smile and tone, "Yes, Saeryn, she will be fine. So long as you keep an eye on her."

Once Rhys woke, Shamal asked both of them a few more questions, looking for any sign that her scans had missed something her patients noticed, but they both protested they were fine. "I'll leave you two here, then. When you're ready, go ahead back to the dorms, though..." she trailed off, and sent a troubled glance at the door, "Laura has asked to see you when you wake. Do you want me to tell her to wait? If she's not outside the door, she'll be down stairs. She has been very worried about you all day."

Saeryn tensed at that, glaring at the door herself, and started to shake her head. Then Rhys spoke up, "We'll see her." Saeryn looked down at Rhys in surprise, but Rhys was staring at the door.

"I'll send her up in a minute," Shamal told them, standing and moving to the door. "Please, try to stay calm. If she starts to bother you, just call for me, I'll make sure she leaves you alone."

Once Shamal was out, Saeryn ran a hand through Rhys' hair, "Why did you agree to see her?"

"She saved you," Rhys replied. "I couldn't, but she did. I remember that much."

"She was just there for the fight," Saeryn protested, "for the fun of it."

Rhys shook her head slightly, "No, she saved you. Why she did it doesn't matter. She did it."

"Sister..."

"She saved you," Rhys insisted. "We owe her."

Laura opened the door and glanced inside before entering. When she did come in, she closed it gently and leaned against it for a moment. "You two all right?"

Saeryn glared, "Why do you all keep asking that?"

Laura shrugged, "Because Shamal-baa-chan never says anything beyond 'she's all right'. Woman takes doctor patient confidentiality way too far. So, you two okay? Nothing broken, no cuts, no burn-out?"

"We're fine," Rhys answered her, "I'm just a little unsteady."

Laura grimaced, "Yeah, been there." She walked across the room, settling into the chair Shamal had left, resting her elbows on her knees. "Sleep a lot. You'll miss some stuff, but that'll include the nasty parts of getting better. Also, ask for ice cream as often as you can. You won't always get it, and it'll only help you feel a little better, but ice cream's always good."

Saeryn could not help giving her an incredulous look. "Ice cream? You intruded on us to talk about ice cream?"

"Nope, just thought I'd throw it out there," Laura replied with a grin. "I came up to see if you two are okay. Those Seed scared me, and I had Paradox and Sensei's training to back me up. You two are new to this, so..."

"We are fine," Rhys told her, "so long as we are together, we are fine."

Laura nodded, shrugging acceptance of that, "Cool. Then on to the fun stuff. Riko-chan told you about Hayate-sensei's permission, right?"

"We can begin our devices," Saeryn said.

"Yup," Laura's smile became huge, "and I have high hopes for you. Between us, we should have your devices designed in a couple weeks, and I'm counting on you getting them built before any of my classmates. I have my reputation to maintain, after all."

Rhys sat up slowly, demanding in an annoyed tone, "Why are you helping us?"

Laura blinked at Rhys, apparently very surprised by that. "Huh?"

"Why are you helping us? This morning we yelled at you, we've always resisted your interference, we've never given any sign of enjoying your presence. Why did you save us, why are you helping us, why are you still pushing?"

Laura cocked her head to the side. "I saved you because it's what we do. We're the good guys, saving people's in the job description, didn't you read it? Besides, you're classmates, kohai. More importantly, you're my minions. I'd be a pretty terrible Knight if I couldn't get my minions up to snuff, don't you think? As for you two getting pissed at me... what, you think you're the first people to yell at me? Please. My best friend back home's a girl named Heather. She decked me year before last, right in the middle of lunch at school. Wouldn't talk to me for days. Still my best friend, short of Riko-chan or my brother. I'm used to getting yelled at, doesn't mean much unless it never stops."

"We never stopped."

"You never meant it, not really," Laura countered. "You're scared of people, I get it. You'll get used to it, in a while. Besides, it's either my way, which is fun, or Riko-chan's way, which is all touchy-feely and sentimental. I doubt you two handle 'sentimental' very well, do you?"

"How do you know we do not mean it," Saeryn asked?

Laura shrugged, "You don't spend as much time causing trouble as I do without learning how to tell when people are annoyed in the moment, or seriously pissed. You've never done anything to make it personal, you've just been scared. You like the way you were, you're scared of change." She paused, straightening in her chair and raising her right hand, "As a duly authorized agent of chaos, it's my bounden duty to make you change," she giggled, and dropped back to resting her elbows on her knees, "but I figured you'd yell eventually. Doesn't mean much, just means I have to let you cool down. The Seed kinda got in the way of that, though. So, devices?"

Saeryn looked down, to find Rhys looking at her. Rhys shrugged silently, causing Saeryn to sigh. Her sister was, as usual, leaving it up to her to explain the decision they had already made. "Devices," Saeryn said after a moment. "We have some ideas, but lack the proper resources to begin planning."

"Ideas like what?"

"Power," Rhys stated.

"Durability," Saeryn added.

"Flexibility."

"Strength."

"Velka," Laura interrupted the litany with a grin eerily similar to that she had shown the Seed.

00000

Author's Note: Were it not for FFN's ridiculous rule about 'no lyrics whatsoever', I would have included the chorus to the song that Cidela sang, worked into the description of her efforts, which would have made for an all-around more powerful scene. As it stands, if you want the full impact, the piece is The Ship Song, written by Nick Cave. The specific version referenced is a cover by Concrete Blonde, done as a duet between Concrete Blonde front-woman Johnette Napolitano and guest singer Steve Wynn. It's a very good piece, and a bit twisted, but the chorus beautifully describes Cidela's and Shamal's relationship.

Akira used the term 'Ghosts' above. The Ghosts have been mentioned before, in AB, but I don't remember if the explanation was clear. The term is used by the Circles as a nickname for their Intelligence Division, because they are supposed to be invisible, able to go anywhere, and impossible to find.

Also, a semi-serious question. In Academy Blues, I devoted an entire chapter to the activation of each of the three new devices (Zulfiquar, Senbonzakura, and Paradox). Should I do that again, or simplify? It would give the other kids a moment to shine, but would also take a long time to slog through. I have ideas for how to do both, but I am curious as to audience preferences.

00000

Kell Shock: thank you, and corrected (unless I forgot to upload the corrections again…:). Only thing is the, question mark after 'he mentally complained' is correct. I should have structured that a little differently, but when a quote (or thought, in this case) ends in a question, but the non-quote descriptor follows, the punctuation goes at the end of the descriptor. There's another example above. I usually avoid it, because it's confusing, but once in a while it just flows better with the descriptor following. Sorry for the huge number of errors, when I was editing I got too caught up in my own story to pay attention. Shanghaied means exactly what you found, and I admit my reasoning's a little convoluted – mostly, the chapter's titled as such due to where the events take place ('Kyotoed' would've sounded funny). The term could also be applied to the twins, though, at least from their perspective. Hughes has had some bad luck operationally, Shanghai worse than Egypt, but it is possible to loose battles and win the war, though you usually try to avoid that. The Dogs probably could have escaped the Revenants' trap, but it would have been much closer without Signum and Yussef, with a lot more casualties. The Seed are quite definitely 'smart', as detailed above, but a question does remain as to specifically how smart. A supercomputer, for contrast, is capable of surprising 'intelligence', but simultaneously being profoundly stupid. Hayate could learn a great deal about the Seed, if she can find a way to keep them contained.

pfeil: The Revenants would probably be surprised that Laura even fought the Seed. They would more likely believe she simply commanded it and it obeyed. Noriko did sense the Deva wards triggering, but sensing Deva magic is not necessarily difficult – identifying and countering it are more difficult. Remember, a lot of the wards Hayate placed are to warn not just her, but her Knights. Also, all the 'normal' wards were dissipated, and Noriko would have sensed that as well as the Deva wards. In all honesty, had she gotten full info from the wards, Noriko probably would have fled with the twins instead of going on the defensive. You are correct about the typo, and it's all fixed. Thanks.

CrimsonDX: Glad you're still reading. The twins are definitely an interesting challenge, trying to balance how they used to be, how they are, and what they are becoming. I can see the justifications for changes made and upcoming, but have to be careful to fit those in (I've already missed a couple, I think, that I'm going to have to work in soon). The Seed were definitely out-gunned, but there is a reason for that, one that should be fully clear within the next ten or twelve chapters or so. Remember, it's not 'chickening out' if it's a tactical retreat in the face of superior forces! The kids' new devices should start showing up in a couple chapters, depending on how some of the other incidents flow out.

Seaotter: I know I should have a Beta, but I've never really been comfortable with the idea of a Beta. I know all the logical arguments and agree with them, but there's the whole emotional issue of hating relying on anyone else. Thank you for the note, though, it's fixed. As far as names, I tend to pick names I've been exposed to – the twins were named after a pair of twins in a war game I play, who also provided some of the basis for their personalities. If I don't have a name on memory, I'll go online, there are 'baby name' websites that will give ethnic lists, a few other sites that will offer name meanings, again usually by ethnicity. That's how I found 'Niranjana', 'Noriko', 'Kaemon', 'Chen-chi', and a few others. As I told CrimsonDX, the kids' devices will be showing up in a few chapters, though the twins' will be the last I unveil.

TheWhiteMonk: The incident in Shanghai, and the (latest) attack on the campus are bad signs, and there will be repercussions, but there are still some fluctuations to go before things really heat up. In all honest, I've thought about breaking this story up into two, one of the set-up, and one of the actual 'Mage Wars', just because of how long both would be.

Baughn: I understand your points, in both reviews, and agree with them, to be honest. Endless Waltz is not as solidly grounded in the school as Academy Blues was. But I'm afraid there's a limit to how much I can accommodate more 'school scenes' without making the entire story unbearably long. As it is, I won't be surprised to hit sixty chapters, or even more, just because of all the set-up I've already got to do to bring about the ending I want. There will be more school scenes, as part of the ebb and flow of the story, but I'm afraid they will fade out eventually. Even from current perspective, regardless of future events, the students and teachers all have a front-row seat for a civil war which is being fought, essentially, over who gets to kill them when. That's a bit more brutal and depressing than they like to talk, but that is the practical situation they have to consider. As for number of warriors, I can think of seven who are not fighters, and two or three more who are borderline. Non-fighters include Cidela, Niranjana, Allina, Natalia, Didier, Esmeralda, and Chen-chi. Borderline include Noriko (she can fight, and her flashiest spell is the Cascade, but her forte is 'people skills'), Mariachi (music, which has application in battle but also outside of it), Megan (she's a shapeshifter because she enjoys it, not because it makes her more dangerous, though the liger form was chosen specifically for that reason), and potentially Werner, once more about him is revealed and determined (I'm still figuring out how his phlegmatic personality works). As for more varied devices, not likely among the Myrmidons (except Mariachi, his is going to be all sorts of fun), but Cidela's, Megan's, and Natalia's will all be built around different focuses. Allina and Niranjana, despite their focus on hacking devices, aren't building combat devices. Think about it – the number of computers and networks more difficult to access and heavily protected than a device can probably be counted on one hand. If they can hack a device, hey can hack anything, which is their goal. Anyhow, I'm sorry to hear you aren't enjoying EW as much as AB, but hope you can still enjoy it some.

Taeniaea: Glad you're enjoying the story. Laura's comment popped into my head while I was reviewing the battle, actually, just as something I could not imagine her not saying.

nolrai: Thank you for the compliment, and the review!

Advent000: Laura had fun, but balanced fun (per her testimony above). The twins have now been given a fairly powerful reason to open up, if they follow Rhys' interpretations, though Laura, being herself, probably won't make that easy. As for the Revenants… well, how much did they predict, and how much were they told? Or were they told anything, and Takashi's just spreading rumors to make Hughes' life more difficult? Or is Hughes spreading rumors to mislead Hayate, or even his own people? Can you tell I'm having fun with the Moderns/Revenants plot-line?:) Thanks for the review!