Endless Waltz
By: Daishi Prime
-21 – Wake the Devil-
Laura was in the Library when the hammer came down on Egypt, two days after Hippocrates woke, reviewing the last gathering of her extra-curricular class and planning for the next one. She was half expecting Al Hanthis to move the day after Cidela woke Hippocrates, but they waited another day beyond that, no doubt just to ratchet up everyone's tension levels. When they dropped their hammer, though, it came down in a big way. Chen-chi found out about it first, trolling news sites for usable information, and her shouts brought everyone running. For once even Natalia did not object to the shouting.
From her usual spot towards the back of the second floor shelves, Laura missed Chen-chi's initial reaction, but the hubbub got her attention and she trotted out to see what was wrong. By the time she got to the balcony overlooking the common area, someone had put up the news feed Chen-chi found on a large free-floating display.
Bad did not begin to describe it. The video was from a mobile news camera, apparently on a hotel roof in down-town Cairo. Someone was describing the scenes in Arabic, but Laura could not tell if it was the cameraman or someone else. There were pillars of smoke rising throughout the city, and larger columns of smoke visible all the way out to the horizon, scattered but painfully obvious. Tracers and missiles were flying up into the sky from various points, most seemingly un-aimed. Floating above it all were an indeterminate number of mages, all of them wearing some sort of uniform obviously from Al Hanthis.
Most of the students, and a couple of the Bureau volunteers, were gathered together, watching worriedly and quietly as Al Hanthis' assault on Egypt was broadcast. Laura could see looks ranging from fear to anger to resigned calm, pretty much where she expected them, with fear being the most common. That bothered her greatly. She could understand it, feel a little of it herself. Talking with Vita and Yussef after the meeting in Yellowstone had not been a happy occasion, and she understood the differences between last year and this one. But she also understood just how skilled her teachers were, she trusted them, and she had faith in herself and her classmates. Al Hanthis was a tougher challenge than the Circles, sure, but they were much better prepared for such challenges now.
The cameraman focused on one such mage as the man gestured, hand glowing white, causing a tank to lift up out of an intersection. Another gesture, and the hatches snapped off, plummeting to the street. The tank rolled over, coming to a stop a short distance above a building, and began shaking violently, reminding Laura of nothing so much as a salt shaker, complete with crew falling out of the hatches. Once four people had fallen out, the mage made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and the tank wafted up into the air on a long arc that carried it clear to the Nile, where it vanished in a massive splash.
Watching her classmates more than the video, Laura decided to lighten the mood. "Tche, amateur," she half-shouted, "no class, that one. A skilled mage would have just teleported the tank into the river and left the crew behind."
"Actually, a mage with class would have simply teleported out the fuel," Yussef countered. "No fuel, no engine. No engine, no hydraulics, which means no aiming the big nasty gun, and that's all most tanks have that can hurt a prepared mage. The machine-guns are a joke, at least against us. You notice they don't seem to be using any Seed?"
Laura rolled over the rail and floated down to sit cross-legged just above a neighboring table, "Yeah, I noticed. Just as glad, too. Can you imagine trying to fight one of those in a building?"
"Easy, collapse the building," Marcel suggested.
"Maybe, but those things are fast and smart. One of them surprises you from somewhere you didn't notice, and bam! You're on the ground with a magic-nullifying rabid grizzly on your back."
"They won't use the Seed yet," Yussef said, shaking his head slowly, "not until they've been bloodied. I don't know what Al Hanthis' military doctrine is like, but the Seed are too obviously a terror weapon, strategically no different from a gas weapon or disease, with all the morale problems those imply. They unleash those, anyone who gets a look at one may be scared, but they'll be pissed off, too, and so will everyone else. This is a first move, a test to see what they can get away with. The Seed will come once someone hammers them back. Which, judging from the look on Hayate-sensei's face, is in a couple minutes."
Laura glanced up to find Hayate coming down the stairs from her office, trailed by all four of her knights plus Reinforce. The group was fully armored, and Hayate was practically glowing, her usually restrained power shining through. "Children," she said slowly, "The volunteers, my knights, and I are going to Egypt, to Cairo. The Egyptian President has requested our assistance in protecting the city, and I cannot refuse him. Aria, Lotte and Tai-yu will be remaining here. Please behave, they are going to have enough to do as it is. We'll be back as soon as we can."
"Good luck, sensei," Yussef said.
"Be safe," Noriko added, as Cidela hugged Shamal tight.
Laura knew she probably should have said something similar, like everyone else was, but all she could think of was, "Want some company?"
Hayate actually smiled at her, but shook her head, "You three are responsible for helping Aria, Lotte, and Tai-yu protect the campus. The wards are good, but as the Circles proved, they are not perfect. Aignu is on stand-by in case the worst happens, but Aria has those instructions. We'll be fine, children, this is just a peace-keeping intervention. We will be back before dawn, at the worst."
Then they were gone, and even Laura started worrying. The last time Hayate and Sensei had gone out on a mission like this, someone had annihilated part of Egypt in an attempt to kill them, kicking off the attack on the campus. That memory made her look over at Yussef, who was looking back at her. He gave her a sardonic smirk, and said, "I'll flip you for the main workroom."
Laura grinned back, "We could spar for it, non-magic."
"Not in this lifetime, ditz."
"Here," Noriko interrupted, holding out a coin between them, then she flipped it, saying, "Chen-chi, call it."
"Edge, neither of them gets the main room," Chen-chi said, everyone watching the coin fly up. Noriko was surprised enough at Chen-chi's prediction to miss the catch, and the coin bounced off the table-top, bounced and flipped a few more times, before rolling to a stop against a book, on its edge.
Laura glared at the coin a moment, then shifted the glare to Chen-chi, who just giggled back. "Cheater," Laura growled, swiping the coin and tossing it back to Noriko.
"Prove it," Chen-chi countered.
"Magic on the coin, obvious as the grin on your face."
Chen-chi shook her head, "It's been in Noriko's pocket all day, even during you guys' practical class. Nothing but exposure traces."
"Let it go Laura," Noriko told her, pocketing the coin again, "she called it right, so neither of you gets the main workroom. The two larger secondaries are being used for device construction, which leaves the personal-sized workrooms. So, in the spirit of keeping everyone busy until dinner, allow me to suggest that the second years go back to working on their devices, and the first years come with me to the main workroom. I've had some new ideas since the Seed attack that I would like to try and show all of you.
"Cid-chan, could you please go check on Shamal-sensei's office and clinic, make sure everything is in place, just in case? Marcel, could you please inform the Kobayashis of what is going on, and ask that they prepare something for dinner that can be left out, in case everyone gets back late?"
Cidela and Marcel nodded and headed off, the other second-years already packing their materials and heading out. But Verner raised a hand, asking, "Noriko, we've all got homework we should be doing, right? Why not get it now, where we can still watch?"
"There won't be classes tomorrow," Laura told him, "not if the teachers wind up having to fight. They'll be too tired and sore, trust me. So you can do the homework then. Right now, we don't need to watch this crap, we'll all just worry more, and Riko-chan might be tempted to head off to Egypt on her own. So we go keep ourselves busy with something that'll eventually let us look after ourselves."
"The workrooms are also easier to defend," Yussef said, "so long as everyone is inside them. One entrance each, heavy shields. Admittedly, the Library's the toughest building to attack, but the workrooms are individually better protected. So, come on, everyone, let's go work on some extra credit."
Chivying the first years out of the library took some doing, though Laura sympathized with them. She wanted to stay and watch as well, see if any of the broadcasts would show the teachers arriving or in action. But, unlike the first years, she knew how to bring up displays anywhere, including in the workrooms.
What bothered her was, her Sensei was going into battle without her. She was not insulted or angered by that, she understood the logic and Hayate-sensei's responsibilities. But it made her nervous, not knowing what, precisely, Sensei was up against, what was happening to her now. Laura knew perfectly well that Signum could take care of herself and everyone around her, but knowing that and being where she belonged – at Sensei's side – were two different things. Then there was the fact that Cairo would be a perfect test for Laura, a chance to prove to herself that she wasn't the monster she remembered turning into while fighting Li.
No, Laura was not happy to be left behind, however good the reasons.
00000
Hayate arrived in Cairo to find the city in chaos. Everyone who was not armed was trying to get out of the city. Everyone who was armed was trying to fight back against the mages flying overhead. Every one of those mages was seeking out resisters, and disarming them. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the Al Hanthis mages – Szash's 'Guard', given the similarity of their uniforms to hers – were refraining from lethal actions. They were not even setting down, but flying over the city in a search pattern, maintaining a fairly rigid formation.
Hayate's teleport came out in open air, due lack of familiarity with the city, but right above the presidential palace. While the rest of the city was showing signs of combat, this was the only building which showed obvious signs of magical damage. Half the roof had been torn off and dumped in the courtyard in front of the palace as a single mass, and there were painfully neat spheres plucked out of the ground and building where hasty defenses had been summarily removed.
She and her people were met almost immediately by Guard mages. Ten of them appeared to be on aerial patrol around the palace, and were shaping spells even before the teleport had finished. Hayate did not hear what they said, no warnings or spells, but busters splashed against Fate's and Nanoha's shields, dissipating their energy almost instantly.
"Stay close," Hayate ordered, "initiating a phase barrier." The others built a layered shield around her for a moment, one that would easily stand up to more than ten mages. Gathering reality around herself, convincing it to fold off a little pinch of itself, was finicky, but not difficult. Maintaining it against determined resistance would, however, require most of her attention. When it was ready, she held up one glowing-white hand and whispered, "Jericho." The pulse of white swept out over the city in the blink of an eye, wrapping every active user of magic and wrenching them out of phase with the rest of reality, into a temporary pocket world.
Drawing the Sword of Light, Hayate dropped Reinforce into the hologram's waiting hand, and passed out orders. "Reian, take the other volunteers and round up the Circle mages, Modern or Revenant. Get them organized, quick as you can. Wolfpacks would be nice, but all I need is coherency. Gather them along the Nile, they're our anvil. Keep me apprised."
He nodded, "Ma'am," and plummeted out of the sky, the seven other Bureau volunteers following him a little more slowly, pulling their shields with them.
Hayate turned to her friends, "Fate, Arf, Wolkenritter, you're with me, north to south line, let's start pushing back the Guard. Try to concentrate them all in one area, over the river preferably. Don't get caught up in duels, hammer one back then move on to the next. Nanoha, Yuuno... bring me Szash."
"My Lady," Signum answered, then gestured. As the other shields faded, Signum's exploded outwards. Little more than a wash of heat and light, it was enough to distract the Guard mages, long enough to for the Wolkenritter, Fate, and Arf to break wide and engage the gathered Guard.
Hayate held back, focusing on the barrier. New as it was, she could already feel mages – Circle and Guard – trying to break it, which spoke well for everyone's reactions. She had to stabilize the barrier if she was going to do anything more than give orders, she had to strengthen it against those it contained. She was so focused on that she did not notice a Guard mage slipping past Reinforce and Vita until the Sword of Light, held gently in her off hand, wrenched her arm around. The flash of light as it caught and dissipated a buster spell broke Hayate's focus, not enough to drop the barrier, but enough to get her attention.
"So," the man said in heavily accented Japanese, "You would be the redoubtable Yagami Hayate. I am Colonel Esar, Master Rank." Like all Guard mages he was dressed in a practical version of Szash' uniform, and surrounded by a cloud of torso-sized free-floating energy shields.
Hayate nodded, "Colonel. While I commend your troops' restraint, I offer you a chance to withdraw your forces. You have no cause or right to attack a sovereign nation in this manner."
Esar smiled widely, "Ah, the traditional mid-battle posturing. You have to realize you cannot stand against us? You have what, twenty mages with you, thirty? I have fifty, trained soldiers more than capable of seeing you off."
Hayate shook her head, "Do not underestimate us. Look behind you, Colonel, your soldiers are being driven back by my Knights."
"But who is here to protect you, Yagami?" His smile shifted to sadness, "I am afraid that, impressive as your ability to single-handedly hold that barrier is, that is all you can do. You are defenseless before a Master Mage. At present, Miss Yagami, you are an uninformed but well-meaning interloper in our response to an unjustifiable assault upon our people. Yield, and I will permit you and yours to withdraw from the field unharmed and unbound. Refuse," he held up one hand, a glow forming above his palm, "and I am afraid I will have to consider you in league with the rebels who so manifestly rule the city below."
Shifting her stance slightly, Hayate shook her head. "I cannot do that. This world is under my protection. They have the right to their own fates, their own views, their own rule. You have no right to take those from them."
"A pity," Esar replied, "I had hopes for your intelligence, given your manifest power. Destroyer."
The packet of energy formed into a lance and launched at Hayate, only to meet the Sword of Light once again, the mage-blade disassembling the attack and absorbing its energy. "I am afraid you are incorrect, Colonel," Hayate told him. "It is true that my personal energies and focus are consumed by the barrier at present. However, my Sword and Staff retain their own energies. Your shields appear quite solid. Allow me to show you one of Takashi's old spells for bypassing shields. Sunspike."
The spell was unfamiliar to her, but part of the Sword's memories. She needed only give the blade permission in response to its suggestion, and energy swirled about the weapon. It coalesced at the tip, and she was vaguely aware of wind pulling in towards that point for a second, feeding a pocket of true plasma. Then a bolt of energy shot down the blade, intersected the red-glowing sphere, and the entirety launched towards Esar.
The Guard Colonel watched the spell form, and almost negligently held up a hand between them. The small shields that had clustered around him shifted out from in front of him, covering his back, as a new shield formed, a circle wider than Esar was tall, laced in a seemingly random pattern with Al Hanthis runes. He patently expected that shield to stop her attack cold, and for a second it seemed to as the yellow-white bolt detonated against it. But the white bolt destabilized part of the shield, and the red sphere within the bolt pierced the instability, collapsing instantly and unleashing a terrible wash of heat and light over Esar.
Hayate was impressed with the spell for a fraction of a second, surprised Sunspike had manged to penetrate his defenses so easily. Then Esar wrenched away from the plasma cloud with a terrible shriek, his floating shields slashing into the dissipating cloud in a vain final attempt to protect him even as he plummeted towards the ground. Hayate reacted without thinking, dropping in pursuit, using the Sword's power to catch Esar short, holding him in the air without touching him.
His left hand, the one that had been extended, was hideously burned, uniform charred away. The burns continued up his arm to his chest, neck, and face, steadily lessening the further from his hand they had been. His uniform was similarly scorched actually burning slightly as she caught him, until she extinguished the flames.
"H-heh... under... esti... mated... you," Esar commented as he faded into unconsciousness. "Good... work... Yagami."
"Kami-sama," Hayate breathed, studying his injuries, "he didn't have a barrier jacket up, just mage-shields." 'Everyone, be very careful. The Guard does not appear to use barrier jackets, and may not be prepared for physical attacks. Attempt to use that, but please don't hurt or kill anyone. Remember, we want this to end here.'
'I don't think that will be possible, ma'am,' Reian replied, 'I've got a Guard prisoner here, one the Circles captured and were... starting to question. He says this is just an advance force, scouts. The real strike force is on its way, and Szash is leading it.'
00000
The crowd of students was just getting through the doors to the class building when Tai-yu's telpathic warning reached them, 'There's a breach in the wards! Someone just teleported in to the overlook... it's Szash. Aria, Lotte...'
'We'll handle it,' the twins replied, then Lotte continued, 'Kids, stay loose. Tai-yu, watch for other intruders. Release the wards to limited combat status. You're clear to engage intruders, try not to shoot Takashi or Akira if they show up. You might annoy him.'
Noriko caught Laura's grin and sighed slightly in exasperation as her friend shouted, "Dibs on first response!"
Noriko tried to catch her, but just missed Laura's ankle. She shouted after Laura, "Stay here! Laura! Do not go to the overlook or I'll... I'll tell Signum you abandoned your post!"
Laura hesitated, already ten meters up, and glared at her briefly. 'That's cheating Riko-chan.'
'What was it you told me the other day in your class, 'cheat to win'? Stay here, Laura, let Aria and Lotte handle it.'
Noriko was fairly certain Laura would obey that order, right up until a stranger's voice sounded in her mind. 'Hello, Noriko, I am Szash, General of the Al Hanthis Guard. Despite your teacher's paranoia, I am not here for violence. Rather, I am here to make you an offer. Your teachers are dragging you into a hopeless battle, child, and I thought to offer you a way out, before you commit yourself. This offer has no strings attached, and will remain open until you choose to close it. Leave Hayate, do not support the rebels as she is now, and I will promise you Japan. The Masters will leave your nation to you and your family, so long as you do not actively oppose us. If you do, I will not be able to protect you or your country from the ravages of war. I understand your people have suffered such defeat once, would it not be better to spare them a repetition? Think on it, young lady, and think carefully.'
Noriko prayed, for just a second, that Szash had only spoken to her, not to anyone else. But the look of mounting anger on Laura's face would only have come from a similar offer. Both of their reactions were cut off, however, but Natalia's shriek of rage, as the Russian girl took off running for the over look. She was not jogging either, but full-on running, as fast as magic could push her, faster than she could fly.
"Laura, cut her off, I'll catch up to her. Yussef..."
"We're going," he interrupted. "Szash can't handle all of three us, four if Cid-chan comes along, however good she is. Myrmidons, get everyone else into the main workroom."
Noriko started to object, it was a very bad idea to confront Szash, even here, but... even she could feel the insulted anger welling up inside her. It was not overwhelming, as it obviously had been for Natalia, but passing that on to Szash would be nice. "Carefully," she insisted, "we go slowly, watch everywhere, and certainly do not go running up there full tilt and out of control. Catch up."
While flying after Natalia, she reached for the Lieze twins. 'Aria-sensei, Lotte-sensei, we just had a message from Szash. Apparently it went to all the students. She tried to offer me Japan, if I just stayed out of their war. It was rather insulting, and Laura, Yussef and I are on our way up to the lookout. I've got an idea to get rid of her.'
'That's not a good idea, Noriko,' Aria countered.
'I'm sorry sensei, but it's the three of us, or all of us. Szash just badly miscalculated. I'm trying to catch up to Natalia now, she's borderline berserk.' She caught up to Natalia then, and wrapped the other girl in a cloud of petals, tightening it down to a dome to force her to stop. 'We won't start anything, sensei, but even someone as skilled as Szash should be is going to have to back down from all five of us up there. Excuse me a moment, I need to talk Natalia down.'
Noriko landed outside the edge of the dome, and had the rear quarter peel away. Natalia was scratching symbols into the ground, charging them, in a patent attempt to break Noriko's barrier. "Natalia," she said, causing the other girl to look up, glaring. "Let it go, Natalia."
"She threatened my brother," Natalia snarled. "I'll gut her for that."
Noriko flinched at the raw hatred in Natalia's voice, but she understood her friend too well to question it. Noriko thought Natalia took it a little far, but also understood that she had not lost her family as Natalia had. But Natalia's rage could very easily get her hurt or worse, going up against Szash. "No, you're not going to touch her," Natalia countered, "not today, not like this. Your emotions are too strong, Natalia, you won't have the control to face her. Aria and Lotte will do that, with Yussef, Laura, and I as backup. Let us handle her now, Natalia. You can help us bring her down later, when your device is done, when your control is better, when you've had time to plan, instead of just reacting. How much good are you going to do your brother if, in your haste, Szash puts you into a coma right alongside him?"
"I'm not letting her go!"
"Yes, you are," Natalia repeated. Distracting Natalia with the argument, she used a handful of petals to sweep away most of the symbol Natalia had scratched, but the girl was too stubborn to stop. She had progressed to arguing while trying to continue her spell, when she suddenly twitched once and keeled over. Blinking in surprise, Noriko hurried to her side, to find her breathing softly, her pulse steady.
'She'll be fine, Noriko,' Cid-chan told her, 'I just put her to sleep. Laura needs you, up on the overlook. Szash is reminding her of Li.'
Noriko debated for a second longer, but she could see Rafiq trotting down the path, so she nodded to him and took off, arcing up out of the woods. Szash was standing in open air above the overlook, Aria and Lotte between her and the campus. Laura was higher and to one side, Yussef standing right next to her. Noriko was halfway there before she realized Yussef was actually lightly restraining Laura, a hand on her shoulder.
'Noriko,' Aria said, 'help Laura and Yussef keep her distracted. Lotte and I may be able to capture her, if she's not paying attention to us.'
"Calmly, Laura," Noriko told her, falling into place next to her friends, "this one is not worth your temper."
Szash gave her a sardonic look, "I suppose you're going to misconstrue my offer as well?"
Noriko gave her a flat look, "General Szash, of the city of Al Hanthis, on the authority of the Emperor of Japan, I hereby place you under arrest for espionage, incitement to treason, attempted coercion of a minor, and trespassing on Imperial lands. About twenty counts of each, by my last count."
Szash just grinned, "Really, Noriko, do you think you can hold me from all the way over there? I admit I back-traced your teachers' teleport, but I am hardly so amateur as to physically visit hostile territory. I came here to extend you all an offer, in good faith, to avoid unpleasantness."
Laura shrugged off Yussef's hand, growling, "You tried to get us to turn traitor! You hurt Natalia, and you insulted all of us!"
"An attempt to maintain peaceful relations is never an insult," Szash countered.
"But attempts to insight treason are," Noriko replied. "Your attempt here has failed, rather badly, Szash. And you are under arrest. It may take me a while to catch you, but you will face trial here in Japan. My word on that."
"We're not interested, bitch," Laura snarled. "You may be some psycho warmonger who'd betray your people for power, but we know what loyalty is. You offered me my family's safety. I say, my family's perfectly safe, because I protect them! I say my teachers are better leaders than you, my country's a better one than yours, and I will never betray them."
Szash nodded slowly, "Good to hear. I respect loyalty, honesty. You sound like a Knight of old, loyal to her lord to the last."
"I'm not a Knight," Laura said, drifting forward slightly, a white glow starting to form around her, "I'm more than that. A Knight serves their lord above themselves, above anything. Me? I serve a cause. You almost destroyed the world once, now you're trying to conquer it so you can try again. I'm going to stop you, we're going to stop you, because you're wrong. You're a monster, no different from the Revenants who thought killing kids was a good idea, who think blowing up a market to kill one man is reasonable. I learned how to fight monsters last year, Mister Morden, and I'm looking forward to showing you how good at it I am. I'll stand against you wherever you go, whatever it takes, between you and your victims. I'm not a Knight, I don't serve a lord, I serve righteousness and justice. I am a Paladin, and I swear I'm going to bring you down."
Noriko could only watch her friend through that speech, as the streamers of white power flowed off her. Hearing the rage in Laura's voice, she was surprised the other girl was refraining from violence, even with Szash's claim of projection. Still, she could not let Laura run wild for very long, so she reached out a hand and rested it on her friend's shoulder. "That's enough, Laura. You don't need to prove anything to her."
Szash merely nodded, "I understand your position, Paladin, and respect it. You have given your answer, and I look forward to facing you on the field of battle. But for the rest, my offers – and I made offers, not threats, despite what Natalia and Laura think – will remain open until your actions force me to close them. For now, I bid you good day." Her politely interested expression shifted to an anticipatory grin, "I have a city full of rebels to conquer. I'll see all of you in Hong Kong." A cloud of runes appeared, flowing independently about her, then she flashed and vanished.
"Lying bitch," Laura swore.
Aria heard that one, "Laura! Language! However rude she was, there is no call for such language."
"Sorry, Aria-sensei," Laura said, calming down and looking a little sheepish. "But she was lying. That was a teleport, not a projection shutting down."
"Yeah, and we almost had her," Lotte complained, drifting up to study where Szash had been. "Another couple seconds, and the binding would have been ready and in place, we could have given her to Hayate-sama as a present. Gah, why can't we have incompetent enemies? Either way, good job distracting her all of you, thanks."
"She was not here for a fight," Yussef said. "She had defenses up, but nothing that could have retaliated, she was not holding any spells ready. Even the teleport was sudden, rushed."
"An attempt to undermine us, create dissension in our ranks and hobble Hayate-sama when she can least afford any distractions." Aria shook her head, "Wherever Szash got her information on us, she did not get enough of it, or does not understand it well enough."
"She just guaranteed we will all fight her now," Noriko agreed. "She should not have been this clumsy. Unless politics in Al Hanthis is far more uniform than is the norm. Possible, with such an isolated culture, but not really normal. We'll have to ask Vita-sensei when they get back."
"A good idea, there may be something there we can use," Aria said. "For now, though, you three should head back to the campus. Make sure Cid-chan has Natalia in hand, and let the others know they should stay in the workrooms for now. Lotte and I need to check the perimeter, just to be sure."
As they flew back to the campus, Noriko asked, "Laura, Cid-chan said Szash was reminding you of Li. What was she doing?"
Laura glared at nothing for a second, "She threatened my family. Said if I fought Al Hanthis, my family would end up paying the price."
"She promised me the Middle East," Yussef said, shaking his head, "like it was hers to offer. Caliph, she called me. If I wasn't so busy keeping Laura from doing something stupid, I'd've been liable to hit her myself."
"She offered me Japan," Noriko said, "safe and untouched."
Laura looked at her for a second, then smiled and nodded. "Her mistake. Can't believe she thinks we're that weak."
"She will regret that mistake," Yussef promised, "many times over."
00000
Nanoha knew why Hayate had assigned her and Yuuno to find Szash. It had nothing to do with protecting either of them, and everything to do with skill. Short of Hayate herself, Nanoha was the strongest mage in the area. Yuuno, using one of Aignu's 'test' devices, was not as strong as she was, but just as quick and skilled, and in areas she was weak. She had been forced to break out the tears to get him to agree to take a device, but Nanoha was far happier now that he had – the automatics alone were worth his grumbling. The two of them had always been formidable, and they had never lost a quarry, to escape or injury. The two of them had, as a pair, an enviable track-record of success stretching all the way back to when they first met.
The only problem was, there was absolutely no trace of her target, and the closest approximation had quite willingly gone to Hayate, and then proven himself stupidly over-confident. Not the lack of a proper barrier jacket – none of the Guard mages they had encountered were using the basic defensive spell – but in his expectation that a single-layer shield sufficed against Hayate, of all people.
Nanoha was, in general, less than impressed with the Guard mages. Even after Hayate's warning of their lack of barrier jackets, and Reian's warning of follow-on forces, she found them less impressive than she would have expected. They were technically skilled, roughly where she expected Bureau A-rank mages to be, but painfully rigid. Hit one with a Divine Buster, and he defended with a deflection shield and followed up with something like Fate's Plasma Lancer, as would the next mage, and the next, and the next. She felt like she was fighting a poorly-programmed simulator, more than real enemies. Even the most rigid Bureau mages were more flexible than this, more creative.
She could see advantages in the Guard' methods. Training had to be simpler, more efficient, command and control would be easier with larger numbers of mages, and they were certainly fast with their spells. But it was childishly simple for Nanoha to find the patterns in their actions and exploit them. Blocking Fate's Plasma Lancer was old hat to Nanoha, the Guard' counter-attack similar enough, that she was almost bored. As she worked her way down Esar's chain of subordinates, she and Yuuno were almost playing with their opponents, which she felt rather guilty about. the Guard had obviously not been properly prepared, were not properly led, and despite their attack, did not deserve to be toyed with like Nanoha would her Bureau students.
"This one's all set," Yuuno told her, gesturing to a Guard mage so wrapped up in green binding sigils he looked like an odd Christmas present.
"Thank you, Yuuno," Nanoha replied, shifting her own latest catch next to his, and watching as he tied the two together and sent them drifting off towards where Hayate was corralling their prisoners with the Sword of Light. So for there were twelve, all but three captured by Nanoha and Yuuno. The rest were busier pushing the Guard towards the river, where the Circle mages were just starting to get their act together, forming the net to complete the trap.
'Nanoha, Yuuno,' Hayate called, 'Can you try to scry outside the containment barrier for me? I think something out there is trying to break in, but I cannot spare the attention to check.'
'Not a problem, Hayate,' Yuuno replied, 'just give me a moment to get set.'
'I think we've figured out their rank markings,' Nanoha added, 'I'll keep collecting their commanders.'
'No, guard Yuuno,' Hayate ordered, 'finding out what's going on out there is more important than getting another prisoner. It shouldn't take him long.'
Nanoha was perfectly content with that, not that any of the Guard mages they had encountered were a threat to Yuuno. There was not enough challenge here to be interesting, just enough to be sad. The Guard were completely outclassed, despite their stubborn refusal to admit it. Even with numbers on their side, they were so rigid in their thinking that the Wolkenritter were dancing rings around them. None of the Guard had time to even try to come after her and Yuuno.
Then Yuuno gasped, and Nanoha took her attention off the battle and looked to him. He had a series of screens up, scyring beyond the containment shield. 'Hayate,' He said slowly, 'we have a problem. They brought the entire city. And a ridiculously large number of mages. There are... four hundred twenty plus, Desu is still counting. They're a ways off, a couple hundred kilometers, but closing. There's some sort of disturbance from the city, something that's trying to beak the barrier.'
'Another trap,' Hayate sighed, 'one of these days I'm going to visit Egypt without someone trying to ambush me. Can you give me an estimate on how long before they get here and break through?'
'Um, they're at the edge of the barrier, should break through in the next ten, twenty minutes.'
Hayate sounded shocked, 'At the edge of the barrier? You said they were a couple hundred kilometers out!'
'They are, at the edge of the barrier.'
Hayate was silent for a second, and Nanoha could not help chuckling. On a private sending she said, 'I bet she never realized she set it that far out.'
'Sucker bet,' Yuuno replied.
'Oh,' Hayate said after a minute, 'I didn't realize... Nanoha, Signum does not think we can take that many of them. Do you agree?'
Nanoha did not even need to think about that, 'Well, the Guard mages we have faced so far are not particularly impressive, but... quantity has a quality all its own, as they say. That many mages would swamp us, even if none of them are any better than the kids they've fielded so far.'
'All right,' Hayate sighed, 'We can't hold here. I'm going to compress the barrier's area, then teleport us out, Circle mages and prisoners alike. I hate running away.'
'We'll be back,' Nanoha told her, 'better prepared and with better support. This may help Chrono shake the Bureau loose.'
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"The Battle of Cairo is generally accepted as the first battle of the Second Terran Mage War. The originating attack on Al Hanthis was too quick, too simple, and too one-sided to be termed a 'battle', that was just an act of provocation. Despite Cairo's status as 'first battle', however, it remains essentially meaningless, in the context of the Second Terran Mage War. Yes, many lost their homes and Egypt effectively ceased to exist as a nation, but the battle itself had no effect on the future conduct of the war.
"Szash's initial forces consisted of those Guard mages who had spent the time in the Void as Protectors. While they maintained reserve Guard commissions, they were nowhere near meeting the standards of the pure Guard forces, and were in all ways bait. Esar was a Colonel by pure seniority, he had spent the preceding twenty years working solely as a Protector, serving just enough days in the Guard to maintain his seniority. The 'troops' he was given were similarly Protectors first and Guard in name only, just beginning their refresher training, and were certainly not up to par. Losing them to Hayate cost Szash very little, drew out her main opposition into showing their capabilities, and relieved her of her most troublesome troops in one coldly calculated maneuver.
"In contrast, you had Hayate herself, along with her Knights and the Bureau volunteers. While the Bureau volunteers were more variable, the eight lead combatants, the Asura's Pride united once more, were completely on the ball. Hayate's entire contingent was highly trained, recently and extensively experienced, and prepared for the unexpected. Even the Circles, Modern and Revenant alike, were better trained, better experienced, and better coordinated, than Szash's initial forces.
"Cairo was a case of mutual ignorance colliding. Szash dangled her initial forces as bait because she needed to know how, and how fast, Hayate and the Circles would and could respond. Then she brought up not only Al Hanthis itself, with all its hardened defenses and fixed weapons, but its entire population of mages. This allowed her to deploy the entire Guard to simultaneously defend the city and attack their enemies, an advantage she would not enjoy again during the course of the war. Hayate responded with her usual exuberance, seeking to overwhelm the Guard's initial forces and end the fighting quickly. She demonstrated just how powerful she was – not even the Emperor can seal a two kilometer sphere inside a full phase-containment barrier single-handedly, and then she teleported everyone in the barrier a couple of thousand miles to southwestern Canada, of all places – but she failed in her effort to defend Cairo because she failed to appreciate the cunning and resources at Szash's disposal.
"Despite all I have just said, all that both sides learned of one another and despite their various capabilities, between the battles of Cairo and Dies Irae, the Guard was never again concentrated in such numbers, while the Terran defenders were progressively better prepared. Throughout the war, Terran forces maintained an abysmal track-record and suffered heart-breaking losses, yet cost the Guard so dearly they very nearly destroyed it. No following battle was as bloodless or as quick as Cairo, yet Cairo was more decisive, tactically speaking, than any following battle short of Dies Irae itself. But none of the lessons learned in Cairo applied to future battles.
"No, the Battle of Cairo was unimportant to the War, save that it happened, a fate suffered by many 'first battles'. The events of real import that day occurred on the far side of the world, at Yagami Academy. Szash's rash offers to Hayate's students made the war personal for them, and for Hayate. The offers took the War from an exercise in avoiding casualties to a true war on par with the preceding century's World Wars. I respect the General a great deal, she has accomplished much to admire and be proud of, but that action there earned her a special place in Hell, for what it cost everyone involved in the Second Terran Mage War."
– the Dark Witch, personal historian to the First Emperor, as quoted in a lecture on the Terran Mage Wars at Al Hanthis Imperial University.
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Author's Note: Yes, well, I know it's been a while, but hopefully you haven't forgotten me. As usual, I'm sorry for the delay, but Cairo was not working out for me. Too many ideas for too many people, and a too-defined outcome. There are much more exciting things to come in the next battle, so I've found myself noting or writing snipets of that fight when I should be writing this. Ah, well, as an apology, here's a sneak-peak: next chapter, Na-chan finish their devices!
Sunspike: This is the same spell Takashi used on the pirate in the Side Story "Flight of the Old Dog". Hayate inherited it through the Sword of Light. Sarah snitched it from Takashi while he was developing it, in a series of events which will, hopefully, eventually see light in Starcrossed.
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Tombadgerlock: Last chapter was a lot of fun, actually. Cidela's actually one of my favorites, alongside Noriko, right behind Laura. Ekavir's issue isn't quite done yet, there's more to it plus repercussions. Should be fun, working it all out, though.
Kell Shock: The sentence when Ekavir got to the table bothered me, but that was re-write ten or twelve on one sentence. So thirteen is now up (feeling lucky?) Short version, 'volunteers beyond Reian' meant the other Bureau mages that went AWOL to help Hayate. The second years snagged the table between the volunteers & the first years, being 'protective'. I thought the anonymous review was yours, but learned long ago that acting on those guesses is embarrassing. Szash is more straight-forward than Yosho, but neither of them is really 'direct', but that'll be proven later. Their various motives will play out later, but both of them are fairly callous about 'foreigners'. Regarding Allina, Niranjana and Ekavir, I must admit, I'm actually rather enjoying dragging the poor boy through the wringer, though Niranjana shares her own part of the blame – neither of the girls is really 'pushing', yet. As for Cidela being nervous, she has a semi-rogue gift, a familiar she cares about, and no amount of 'book learning' is ever as calming as practical experience. It wasn't a matter of 'secret knowledge', more a matter of not totally trusting her sources. Also remember, she activated Hippocrates in front of her entire class, she's always been painfully shy, and she's always nervous, so those two were about half of it.
CrimsonDX: To be honest, I've been waiting to unveil Cid-chan's device since the mid-point of Academy Blues. I actually had Hippocrates fully envisioned longer than I had Paradox planned. As for Rafiq showing of, that will have to wait a little longer. Szash is well controlled, the Al Hanthean tests for Masters require it (think defending a PhD, if the reviewers were armed). Szash'll get a chance to show off her blood-thirsty side in a couple chapters. I'm sorry Ekavir's situation was unpleasant, I actually enjoyed it – mostly because I finally got to embarrass someone other than me:). Call me vicious, but I remember being in a similar situation to him, and it's nice to finally put someone else in that situation, after being put in it myself.
Lady Sekhmet Ka: Welcome to the audience, and thank you for the compliments! I'm glad you're enjoying this, and hope it lives up to your expectations.