The sounds of her pursuers were long gone, lost within the night, but Fate Harlaown kept running towards the only other light waiting for her. Before she knew it she had come full circle, back to the bedroom where she had woken up in the first place. Broken glass littered the grass outside the door as she hesitantly dipped her head through, not knowing if -
Fate stopped halfway through the opening, shock running through her. The bedroom had not looked like this when she had broken her way out just minutes ago. The place had been spotless, immaculately clean, with the bedsheets cleanly washed for her to bring together a very beautiful and calming atmosphere overall...
The scene inside looked nothing like that now. The tables and chairs lay in pieces, smashed apart violently as they were strewn across the length and breadth of the bedroom. Someone had ripped the curtains to shreds, torn apart the bedsheets and even cut into the wood of the wardrobe to leave several deep and twisted marks embedded into the front. The bedside table had been cracked almost completely in half, and the dainty platter of food had been shattered into pieces.
What...what in the world happened here? Who could have done this in the short time that I was out of the room?
The Enforcer's eyes strayed to the other door of the bedroom, the locked door which apparently led towards the rest of the house. Whoever had smashed the place up had been immensely powerful indeed. The door had been ripped from its hinges, and the lock had caved in from the amount of force it had endured.
Apparently, someone in this house was very angry. Fate didn't want to think about what might have happened if she'd been caught in the room just when they had arrived...
There was no question about what she had to do now. Escape was the only thing on her mind. If she had to do it unarmed, then so be it – she wasn't going to wait around to be torn apart by whoever lived in this house...
Fate stepped all the way into the room shakily, and then saw with startled surprise that Bardiche was lying in the middle of the ruined bed, glistening innocently in the clear moonlight.
Bardiche? What was Bardiche doing here? Perplexed, Fate carefully stepped over the splintered remains of the broken table and picked up the triangular yellow gem. Yes, it was definitely Bardiche as she knew him. There was no trickery here, no messing about with time travel – Fate could still feel the residue left in the device from when she and Nanoha had fought against Oguba before.
For a moment, she had feared that the person in this house might have used Bardiche's powers to wreck this room apart. But no, Fate didn't detect any major fluctuations in the energy levels of the device. Besides, the damage done to the bedroom was done in a very different fashion. Using Bardiche would probably have demolished the place completely.
Someone came into the bedroom whilst I was in the garden. They tore the place apart and...and gave me Bardiche? How does that even start to make sense?
There didn't have to be just one person in this house, Fate realised. Maybe there were two people – one who wanted to help her, and one who wanted to hurt her like she saw here. She knew one of them had to be I.C., the writer of the love letter and her questionable host. Could there be a potential ally here who had given her Bardiche back so that she could escape properly?
There was no time to dwell on it any further. Even if this really was a trap, there were no longer any more barriers to stop Fate from leaving here. She would have to make her escape as quick as possibly before her unknown visitor returned to wreck any more havoc. Yes, she would now be able to fight back if she had to, but Fate was no longer interested in waiting around for that to happen. The unknown could often be the greatest enemy of all.
With Bardiche in hand, she slipped through the twisted hole where the door had been, stepping into a darkly-lit hallway upon the first floor of the House of Testarossa.
Fate walked briskly, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible as she strained her ears for any signs of any other residents of the great house. Try as she might, the Enforcer found only silence at every turn, so that she was alone on the entire floor with only the gloomy lights up ahead illuminating her way. It felt as if the entire residence was completely devoid of life, but Fate knew that couldn't possibly be true. The wreckage of the bedroom must have created a tremendous amount of noise – why hadn't any of the other residents risen to investigate it?
Simple, plainly-made doors went past her on both sides of the corridor, leading presumably to other parts of the house. Fate ignored them, concentrating on making her way down to the ground floor and out of the house as fast as she could without being noticed. So far, nobody seemed to have noticed her, but on the other hand nobody seemed to be here at all.
It's strange, the Enforcer thought as she continued on, but even though I can't make out any sounds or noises, there's one thing that I can sense in this house. Magic. There's a lot of highly pent-up magical energy in this house. I can feel it in the walls...it's everywhere. I wonder what's causing it?
Up ahead, the area was beginning to brighten up considerably. Fate could see why: the top of a red spiral staircase loomed before her, leading her all the way down to the floor below. Cautiously, she tip-toed down the steps, aware that the rooms on the ground level were all brightly-lit. There definitely had to be people here, and it would be in her best interests to avoid them – she couldn't know if any of them might be hostile enough to try to prevent her from leaving. Maybe this I.C. person would be down there, waiting for her still...
Fate reached the end of the stairs to find herself in a huge room which curved gently outwards, extending for dozens of metres beneath hundreds of magical beacons of light hanging from the ceiling. Countless passages and hallways zigzagged on either side into other parts of the house. Just like the floor above, it seemed to be completely deserted, despite the fact that somebody had set all these lights up and was maintaining them...
The most notable feature of the great hall, however, was the grand feast prepared in the middle. Fate grew tense when she caught sight of it – all sorts of delicious food had been crammed onto a large metal table in a rather disorderly fashion, some dishes piling up upon one another in an untidy mess. Another table for the drinks had been prepared right next to it, and near to twenty chairs had been pulled up for what Fate could only assume to be other dinner guests.
She ignored the steaming food – some of it was already growing cold, surely a house of this size would have servants and maids to tend to it? - and drew closer to the head of the table. A silver-plated chair with a red and green crown set into it, the seat traditionally reserved for the host of the feast.
The Enforcer looked closer and saw that the top of the chair was engraved in chipped metal letters: FATE.
A chill ran through her as she turned to the next closest chair, the only other seat which bore any similarity in material or style. It was plated in gold, with a sinister skull-like symbol carved into the neck of the chair and criss-crossed in colours of black and green. Fate could smell blood on the frame, real human blood which dripped down slowly as it dried on the spot. Engraved in the head of the chair was one word: ALICIA.
Fate drew her hand back away from the table as if it were poison. A...Alicia? What was going on? Who was doing this? The lights were already beginning to dim from the floor above, and yet she felt the presence of the magic of the house grow ever stronger...
I.C. said in their letter that they wanted me to join them for dinner. This...is the dinner they invited me to. They're here. They could be coming to see me right now. I don't know why my and Alicia's names are on the chairs, but I'm not staying another second more in this place! I'm getting out of here!
Even the lights in the hall around her were beginning to flicker. Darkness was descending upon her, threatening to swallow up her surroundings entirely. Quickly, Fate hurried down the length of the hall at a run, feeling the magic of the house shift dangerously. She felt as if shadows were pursuing her; even the weight of Bardiche in her hand did not bring much comfort.
"Fate!"
A clear emotive cry from somewhere behind her, filled with a mixture of confused feelings. The voice spurred Fate on faster still as she sped out of the hall altogether and found herself gripping the handles of the front doors of the House of Testarossa. The exit. She had made it all the way to the end.
"Fate! Come back!"
The Enforcer pushed the voice out of her head. It was undeniably female and disturbingly familiar, but she couldn't afford to hesitate any longer. She wasn't going to stay here at this honorary "dinner" of I.C., not after being trapped in that room and finding herself vulnerable and weaponless when the only thing on her mind was Nanoha...
Fate tugged fiercely at both doors, ready to transform at a moment's notice. She could blast them open with Bardiche if they gave any resistance. Or...could she? A seed of doubt was planted in her mind, knowing of the amount of magic instilled into the house, magic that might even present a problem for her -
"Fate!"
As her hands squeezed against the handles, the doors gave way and Fate felt the cold wind of the night against her face. Frantically, she shoved her way through into the outdoors, running down a long elegant staircase that descended below her, all the way to the pair of iron gates which barred her way to the roadside -
Fate slammed the base of her wrist down the middle of the gates, forcing them open for her. They looked quite impressive from the outside, but had no such defences against someone trying to get out from the inside. Relief flooded through her as she broke through them and left the grounds, free from the House of Testarossa completely.
Even then she kept running, running until she became short of breath, running until she knew she was far away from the House of Testarossa to be safe in at least some definition of the word, away from I.C. and whoever had locked her in and subjugated her to such a nightmare, even as the world of Mid-childa raced past her in a blur...
Signum awoke to the sound of anime music. She was deep enough in sleep that she didn't pick up on it at first, but soon the sing-song melody of Japanese voices and orchestral tunes began to run around her head constantly until it threatened to drive her mad. She rolled about on the sofa sleeplessly for several more minutes before groggily opening her eyes as a certain unison device buzzed around above her.
Ugh, she grumbled, trying to remember what had happened the night before. The night before?...No, Signum realised, as her vision began to straighten out, the clock on the wall coming into view. It had really only been a few hours, with the lights still on in the other room. Scattered thoughts came back to the Velka Knight from when she had passed out last...discovering the presence of Shamal and Zafira along with the last remains of the TSAB, the threat of the executors and the Harlaown Program in a world which might as well be a new alien planet, and finding only low morale amongst her companions in a seemingly hopeless situation. Unable to leave the house due to the presence of enemies patrolling outside, and yet...
What is that sound? Signum thought irritably, pulling herself off the sofa with an effort. Why can I hear anime music?
She still didn't feel completely alert, but on the other hand she had only passed out twice in the past hour. Her sleeping pattern had definitely been messed up beyond the point of normality. Agito's flight pattern across the Guardian Knight's field of vision wasn't making matters any better, and served only to annoy her further.
As the unison device zoomed past her head for the seventh time, Signum held out the palm of her hand in mid-air, feeling the small red-haired figure screech to a stop.
"Agito?" she murmured. "What are you doing?"
The unison device tried to dart past her, but Signum snatched her out of the air, squeezing her tightly to trap her in her first.
"Let me go!" she howled, struggling in the Guardian Knight's grip. "I'm trying to find Rein!"
The pink-haired swordswoman gazed at her in silence for a few moments. Although Shamal and Zafira's story of events regarding Mid-childa and the Bureau had been clear enough to some extent, there was something else that still didn't add up. Agito had been missing for several months even before Red Scorpion had attacked the TSAB, and today was the first time in a long time that Signum had seen the face of her partner again. The unison device had seemingly disappeared without any explanation whatsoever.
"I was looking for you," Signum said, unable to keep a trace of annoyance from her voice. "Where have you been all this time, Agito? You were away from the Bureau for so long that some of us were almost starting to worry."
"I have my reasons," the red-haired unison device said stubbornly, folding her arms. "Besides, you were training by yourself, Signum, all the time. I didn't think you would miss me."
The Guardian Knight gritted her teeth in frustration. Yes, it was true that she sometimes preferred to train alone to work on her own abilities without distractions, but...
"That's not the point!" she snapped, a little more harshly than she had intended. "You're still my partner, Agito. When Vita was captured and we all mounted a rescue mission to get her back, we could really have done with your help! Instead, I ended up going through the portal without you!"
Inwardly, Signum wondered if the events of the battles against Red Scorpion would have gone any differently if Agito had been there to support her. If Agito had been at her side, Ungore would have proven easier to defeat, meaning that she would have been able to rescue Vita then and there without any further hassle. The rest of their party would have been able to regroup immediately, and maybe all the mess with Oguba and the multiple portals wouldn't even have happened. Maybe they would have been able to return home straight away, without Grylmark making everything worse and sending their remaining members to another universe completely...
Then again, she really couldn't say for sure, or even know if Agito's fighting power would have been able to change anything. No one could tell the future – no one who wasn't a Lost Logia, after all. It wasn't right to blame the unison device over something like that. Still, Signum was still highly irritated at her for not turning up at all when she needed her.
"I don't what you're talking about," Agito retorted. "If you must know, I was actually searching for other unison devices like Rein and me. I thought I could find some information on my origins." Her violet eyes flashed intensely. "Not that I got very far, because then Mid-childa started changing, and me and Rein were forced to come all the way back here..." She clawed around at Signum's fingers, trying in vain to pull herself out of the older woman's hand. "Are you going to let me out or not?"
"You and Rein?" the Velka Knight repeated, picking up on this part. She vaguely remembered how Hayate's unison device had also disappeared discreetly soon after the very first attack on the Bureau. "You're saying Rein was with you too?"
"Yes, but...only more recently," the unison device muttered, her ears reddening slightly. "We weren't doing anything important or anything."
Signum narrowed her eyes suspiciously. There was something in Agito's behaviour that sparked her interest, namely how she was reacting to whenever Rein's name was mentioned.
"What were you doing?" she asked curiously.
"It...it doesn't matter," Agito mumbled, avoiding her gaze. "We were just...spending time together. Yeah." She drew herself up a bit more confidently. "Quality time together."
"I see," Signum said placidly. "So does this mean that the two of you are - "
"No," the unison device said adamantly.
"Or even that you're prepared to be - "
"Definitely not."
Gradually, Signum released the unison device from her hand, and Agito floated upwards a little distance. She no longer seemed to show any inclination to fly around at dizzying speeds, however, but looked troubled and deep in thought.
"Agito," the Guardian Knight said quietly, "you're telling me that the reason you were away from the Bureau wasn't because you were in trouble, or because you'd been captured by some other powerful foe...but because you were on a date with Rein?"
"It wasn't a date!" Agito spluttered, waving her hands up and down. "And that wasn't until recently!"
"Good," Signum replied, "because if so, that's the longest date I've ever heard of." She tried locking her gaze with the unison device, but the other was deliberately looking in every other direction. The colour of her face was beginning to match her hair. "So am I to understand that the two of you are having a little honeymoon togethe - "
"We are not together!" the red-haired unison device yelled, flying right up towards her face. "We're just being a little affectionate!"
"You have also been chasing each other around the entire house every since I got here," the Velka Knight observed. "It's also mostly been you doing the chasing."
"We can chase each other if we want!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Signum waved her aside, the sound of anime music coming back to her again from the next room. Curiously, she brushed past Agito, wondering just what was going on in the rest of the house. Shamal and Zafira had seemed quite convinced that their current situation was hopeless. What exactly were they doing in there?
She walked into the next room to find the the other members of the Wolkenritter crowded around the monitors eagerly. Most surprisingly, they all appeared to be watching a TV show of some kind. An anime, in fact, containing purple mecha and a lot of action and explosions. The genre was sci-fi and seemed very familiar...
Signum frowned: unless she was very much mistaken, the surviving members of the TSAB were all clustered around a screen watching one of the later episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion. She rubbed her eyes and blinked, not sure if she was imagining this or not. Agito had started zooming around her head again in a seemingly infinite circle, and the Velka Knight swatted her away from one hand to fling her in the other direction.
"What," she said testily, marching right inside where the image of a giant robot was going on a destructive rampage in all of its two-dimensional glory, "do you think you are doing?"
Shamal and Zafira looked up at her for a moment, but at the wrong time. The show chose that moment to animate a giant dramatic explosion which pinned everyone's eyes back to the TV again. Nobody gave Signum much of a response as a result, although Rein decided to fly up and give her a cheery little wave.
"Are any of you listening to me?" the pink-haired swordswoman demanded, feeling her patient wear thin. "Why are you all just sitting there watching anime?"
The other two mages exchanged an awkward, almost embarrassed look between the two of them. They seemed to be caught up about whether they should answer Signum's question or go back to watching Evangelion.
Eventually, Shamal turned around to her. "I can explainthis," she said carefully.
"I'm listening."
"It's...after curfew, Signum," the medical mage tried. "We can't go out because of the executors prowling around. And if our options are so limited, then..."
"Then you might as well do nothing but watch endless anime into the night?" Signum said sarcastically.
"That's one way to put it - "
The pink-haired mage had had quite enough of this. She reached forward to grab the remote off the top of the sofa and switched the TV off completely in the middle of an intensive battle scene.
A combined cry of frustration and dissatisfaction immediately went up around her companions as the screen went blank.
"Is this what you've been doing ever since you got here?" she said angrily. "You've decided that since there's nothing you can do, you might as well just sit here and waste the rest of your time like this? Nanoha and the others are still out there. They could need our help! You could be working on combining your abilities to find a way past the executors, or working on a way to locate the rest of the Bureau at the very least, but instead, here you are, watching nothing but mecha and - "
"The rest of the Bureau are dead," Zafira said flatly in a tone of hopelessness. "The executors prevent any of our movements at night..."
Signum felt like shaking him. "Then you go out in the day! And if you think the TSAB is done for, then think again. Subaru, Tiana and Erio are surely still alive. Have all of you really forgotten who you are? Have you all forgotten what it means to be Guardian Knights of the Wolkenritter? If you are going to forget yourselves as members of the Bureau, then go ahead, but you will not discredit Hayate with such behaviour like this. She could be depending on us."
She couldn't be sure, but it seemed that the impact of her words had ignited a faint spark in the other mages around her. It wasn't very strong, and it seemed as if it would die out in the next second, but it was better than being devoid of all hope entirely. They had to be strong once more. It was the only way forward.
Rein, however, was shaking her head sadly. "The readouts on-screen from the central database tell us that there were no survivors after the destruction of the TSAB," she said. "Hayate's name was on there too. If even Hayate isn't here to guide us, then..."
"Forget the readings," Signum replied tersely. She was beginning to work it out now. "The members of the Bureau in this world are dead. The same won't apply to those of us who came through the portal. From what you're saying, those reading also say that even Erio is dead, and I was with him before you rescued me. For some reason, all of you were brought here from our world. Our friends aren't gone – they're just waiting for us in a different universe. All we have to do is return to them."
She briefly wondered why Shamal and the others had been brought here to this alternate Mid-childa. Vita, Erio and herself had been brought here through the portal – but why the rest of the Wolkenritter? Was it because they shared such a strong link with each other that they were forcibly transported across space and time in this fashion? If that was true...then Hayate, their Hayate, would also be in this universe. It would also account for the presence of the unison devices, too.
"You say you've been stuck here a month," she said to the rest of the unmotivated mages nestled up on the sofa in front of her. "If you've been doing this for a month, then you're just going to get stuck in a vicious circle. Nothing will happen if you don't take action now."
"We were going to do something, actually," Shamal offered, brushing her light blonde hair back slightly. "Now that you're here, Signum, I thought we might have more options available to us. But...I thought I'd let you sleep first..."
"And watch anime in the meantime," the Velka Knight replied critically. "That's still not a very constructive use of your time. None of you would even be able to do any training in a place like this. If nothing else, your skills will start to get rusty, and you wouldn't be able to jump into action if it was needed."
"Then what do you suggest that we do, Signum?" Zafira said in a low growl, his tone implying he was more fed-up than anything. "We're completely stranded here. None of us here specialise in magic which can effectively track down another person. There is only a tiny amount of technology left here by the TSAB, just enough to tell us that all of our friends are apparently dead – even if that may only true in this world, Signum - and the rest of it is of no use to us." He turned his face away, curling up on the couch almost defensively. "In addition, the executors are authorised to stop people in the daytime as well. I've seen it happen. The difference is that they won't immediately arrest you. If you have any ideas of your own, Signum, you're welcome to tell them to us. But don't tell us that we've deserted Hayate and the Bureau for good when practically everything is out of our reach."
The medical mage next to him sighed. "We really did try everything, Signum. Our powers are very limited in this situation. The only thing we can do is wait for some kind of miracle to happen – something which can change everything. We need someone to bring us together again, someone like Nanoha, Fate or Hayate..."
Signum felt herself calming down a little, but still retained her disappointment at how the rest of the Wolkenritter had handled things around here. They had been thrust into another universe, another Mid-childa, and had completely failed in making any progress at all. Maybe the panic with discovering the fate of the TSAB in this world had addled their skills of self-sufficiency. Maybe they were too accustomed to having people like Nanoha and Hayate to rely on, so that finding themselves alone in the world had knocked them down hard.
After all, the Wolkenritter had been alone to begin with, existing only for the wishes of the Mistress of the Night Sky - nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps the Wolkenritter felt that with Hayate gone, they were reduced to this once again...
I am not the leader of the Wolkenritter, Signum thought. No, our leader is Hayate. But somebody has to help them get back to where they used to be. I don't believe that our situation is completely hopeless. Who have we got? There's me, Shamal, Zafira, Agito and Rein. I've got the attack power, Shamal has healing covered, Zafira can deal with binding spells, and Agito and Rein have some minor spells of their own. I can combine with Agito, but all that gives us is an upgrade in fighting power.
"What about reconnaissance?" she said, the idea springing to mind. "We're all capable of flying. Is there no reason why one of us couldn't scout out the area, or even check out the site where the Bureau was destroyed?"
"We did think about that," Zafira answered shortly, sprawled out across the length of one sofa as he gazed off towards the blank TV screen. "But in this world, the people of Mid-childa are very closely monitored indeed. This Harlaown Program of theirs seems to keep everyone in check, and even local airspace is under heavy surveillance. Going out there would risk being seen, and we would probably find ourselves having to escape again. Since this house seems to be the only safe haven for anyone in the Bureau, we would also risk leading the executors here, leaving us nowhere else to go. It's possible we could still make it...but we don't have a back-up plan to fall back on. It's a good idea, Signum, but it is not in our nature to be unnecessarily reckless."
Signum glanced towards the two unison devices in their small group. "You may be right about that, but...What about you two, Agito, Rein? You're both small enough to get through undetected, surely."
Rein hovered above the TV monitor, calm and complacent as always. "Agito and I saw the ruins of the Bureau on our way over here. It's not something I want to see again, and there's nothing there to go back for. Uminari City itself doesn't look too different to how we know it...except for the executors and the detention facilities. We could try investigating one or the other, but like Zafira said there is still a risk in being caught."
If Uminari City was under so much surveillance, then why had she been able to escape the executors? Signum thought. She really thought everyone else was overreacting. Agito and Rein should be able to go out to scout the area, and find out more about these detention facilities and what connection they had to the Harlaown Program. At the same time, however, she understood why they were so overly cautious. The loss of so many friends, along with a great amount of stability, had led them to keep close to one another as much as they possibly could. No wonder nobody wanted to go out alone.
There had to be something else they could do. All that was needed was a step in the right direction. The real problem was that with the Bureau destroyed, there was no clear path of finding the rest of their friends. What would Nanoha do in this situation?...Where would she go?
"There is a small thing we're able to do," Shamal said. "Even though we're stuck here, we are still able to keep up with events in Mid-childa." The medical mage got up from her seat and took the remote away from Signum, switching the TV back on at a different channel. The face of a newscaster came on screen, talking rapidly into her headset as images from all over Mid-childa appeared around her. "If anything about Nanoha or the others had reached the media, then it would appear here on the news. We haven't been very successful in finding out very much so far, but..."
The national news for Mid-childa? Signum thought, watching with interest. The reporter on screen was chattering on mindlessly about politics, sports, the weather...It didn't seem anything too different from watching the news back in their own world. Yes, keeping track of the media like this would be a good way to get some kind of information, even if it might be biased to some degree. It was better than having no access to anything at all. The Velka Knight leaned forwardly keenly, listening out for anything of interest.
"And the news just in – there is talk that Chrono Harlaown's Blood Oath may not be at an end quite yet!" the newscaster said, speaking excitedly into her mic. She was standing before an impressive palace, the likes of which Signum had never seen before. "Rumours are abreast that the Commander may have found an heir to continue the bloodline of the Harlaown name. Two young women were seen accompanying him into his palace, but he has not been available for comment. The Mid-childa Government is still discussing alternative solutions if the Harlaown Program does come to an end. A spokeswoman for the council affirms that there is no reason for the public to worry – the Harlaown Program has had a very noticeable effect on the population over the past two hundred years, and its nullification will not harm Mid-childa for at least another generation. Her words, however, have not been able to smother further rumours that the end of the Harlaown bloodline could lead to internal rebellion within Mid-childa."
The pink-haired swordswoman could not believe her ears. Chrono was here? What was he doing in a...palace?
"Did she just say internal rebellion?" Zafira said, eyes wide with concern. "We're barely keeping alive with the executors around, and now there might to be a civil war too?"
Shamal shook her head. "They're just exaggerating. No one would start a rebellion with all the executors around like this." She turned to Signum, gesturing her to come closer to the TV. "Signum, you might be confused about Chrono's role in Mid-childa. We were too, at first, until we realised he's not the Chrono that we know. In this world, Chrono is a very different person, and is in fact charge of all the executors. I know it's a bit much to take in at first, but once you get used to it..."
Did nobody consider investigating this for themselves? Signum wondered sceptically. An alternate version of Chrono in this world – surely it would be worth our time scouting over at this palace of his to try and yield some better information? But then she realised what Shamal had said – the executors were all under Chrono's command, as much as the ridiculousness appalled her. Investigating him would be like walking right into the lion's den. But still, if they didn't risk anything at all, then they would never make any progress and could potentially be stuck in this world forever...
If no one's going to check it out, then I will, she vowed. I haven't been stuck here so long that I've lost track of what I should be doing. Better still, I've got a feeling that Nanoha is also headed in that direction...
"We'll update with you that story later, including an exclusive interview with a spokesman from Chrono Harlaown's palace guard," the reporter continued. "Please stay tuned for more! Now, there has been a lot of speculation on Lady Yagami's thoughts on Chrono's actions and her own personal approach to the Harlaown Program. We did promise you an interview last week, and I'm glad to be able to answer your many calls and responses so positivity. It is with great pleasure that I can announce that Arisa Bannings, Head of Security at the House of Yagami, has very kindly agreed to give us her thoughts on the matter. And here she is with us now!"
The pink-haired Velka Knight stared in astonishment as Arisa came into view, blonde hair coming down her back as she smiled for the camera. It was the same Arisa that Hayate had been friends with at school. What in the world was going on this time? Why...why was Arisa dressed like that? She was wearing some kind of formal uniform, and her face seemed to masking some other mix of emotions completely...
Arisa? And "Lady Yagami"? Are there alternate versions of everyone in this world?
Signum wasn't the only one stunned by this recent development; Shamal and Zafira, too, had evidently not expected to see Arisa like this. They were wide-eyed and tense, listening intently.
"Thank you for this," Arisa was saying pleasantly to the newscaster. "I am happy to tell you that Lady Yagami is very appreciative of any interest that the media shows in her current affairs or opinions of the Harlaown Program. I would be glad to answer most, if not all questions that you have."
"No, thank you, Miss Arisa," the reporter gushed, her grin stretching from ear to ear. She looked as if she were interviewing a celebrity. Going by the general atmosphere in the studio, she probably was. "We have many questions regarding Lady Yagami, but I'm sure we'll able to get through them all very quickly. We've also heard the news that she is personally financing a project of her own in Uminari City, and I'd like to ask you what you know about that as well. But our burning question is this: what exactly does Lady Yagami think about the Harlaown Program? What are her thoughts?"
"Oh, I'm sure that's classified information," Arisa replied coolly, holding herself perfectly still as she directed her gaze at her interviewer. She seemed to be used to answering such questions before in front of the camera. "She has often expressed a dissatisfaction with the Program, but at the same time she has great praises for Chrono's efforts. In particular, Lady Yagami wishes to express her wishes to all of Mid-childa that in time, the Program will yield excellent results for the survival of everyone. Regardless of age, gender, sexuality, disability...the Program should be something which benefits everybody."
That's not Arisa, Signum realised. She can't be – it doens't even sound like her. That means...there are alternate versions of both Arisa and Chrono in those universe. And hearing the name "Yagami"...even Hayate might have an alternate version as well. How many could there be? It was becoming ever more important to find their friends and return to their own world. If they stayed here for much longer then she wouldn't even be able to keep up.
"Well," she said, with a smile, "we know who to investigate now, don't we?"
The other mages around Signum met her blue eyes silently, nodding as mixed emotions ran through their head. There was no longer any question about it anymore.
The sound of machinery and electronics of cybernetic technology surrounded the Legion on all sides within the maintenance room of the House of Yagami. It was encased within a tightly-sealed cylindrical chamber, the front of which was covered by a transparent panel. Electrodes and wires were wrapped around the cyborg's circuits on the inside of the narrow tube, working systematically on numerous parts of its body at once. The Legion could feel modifications taking place in its mainframe, changes being made to the flow of its magic, replacement parts being fitted in where necessary...
The cyborg had never been referred for maintenance before whilst under Yagami-sama. There had never been any need for repairs, since nobody had ever been able to damage it. As the Legion waited patiently for the recovery program to continue its work, it occurred to the cyborg that despite the numerous alterations to its body structure and electronic circuits, its internal programs remained untouched. For some reason or other, the machines would not be interfering with the processes of its brain.
I attacked Yagami-sama, the Legion thought, an additional body scan passing across it from above. Three years ago, I would rather self-destruct than consider such a thing. I tried to kill her as revenge for the destruction of the superior program. Why did I do this? The concept of revenge is born from hate and sorrow, both of which are human emotions. Why would...why would I act on such feelings like that?
Such thoughts were disturbing to the cyborg. For as far it could remember, the Legion realised it had been ignorant of the true value of humanity. It had been created to be a soldier, following the orders of the superior program and of Yagami-sama herself. Now, however, the Legion saw that the ability to feel could make a person more dangerous than any machine. Such a mixture of emotions and sensations could change someone, make them turn against those it had once trusted, create a monster out of them...was all of humanity really so terrifying?
Even now, the Legion felt a great desire within its circuits, a desire to go after Yagami-sama once more and destroy her. With an effort, the cyborg quashed such emotions. That was not the way forward – revenge was evidently not the answer. If the Legion had not been blinded by such hatred and ambition, then it would have become quite clear that any attack on Lady Yagami's life would be equivalent to committing suicide.
And yet I came so close, the Legion mused in silence. I used up the last of my magic in an ability which would have sacrificed my own life, had I been able to continue the attack to the end. It is fortunate that I am still alive at all, though I cannot understand why Yagami-sama would want me to continue on living. Perhaps she really does not remember me.
No self-sufficient mechanised soldier would attack an enemy with such a life-draining technique, not unless specifically ordered to do so. Without the superior program, the Legion had felt a great void open up. The reason for its existence had shifted from following the orders of the superior – to killing Lady Yagami. That was no way to live out a life, not even for a cyborg.
I must seek out a new reason for my existene, the Legion decided. Humans are able to justify the reason for their lives by using morals crafted out of their own emotions. Emotions, however, are dangerous. I would prefer to live my life to serve and protect another, just as I did with the superior program. But now that the superior is gone, who am I to turn to?
The door to the chamber suddenly unsealed and slid open, releasing jets of steam from the slits to the side as part of a measure to prevent the machines from overheating. The Legion remained still for a few moments longer, then hesitantly stepped out of the cylindrical structure and onto the cold floor of the maintenance room itself.
"Legion," said Wyvern, his eyes on the screen in front of him as his fingers raced over the buttons in front of him. "I've done all I can for you."
The changes to the cyborg were quite remarkable. All the damage from Grylmark's violent attack had been repaired, and the shattered mainframe from the battle with the Bureau had been replaced. The Legion felt power in its limbs as it flexed a metal arm towards its chest. Yes, arms...working arms. The service engineer had given the cyborg a full set of working limbs, and it felt good to be able to fight at full capacity again.
No, not full capacity, the Legion noted. There was something missing from its power systems, something that could be ignored. In fact, a lot of essentials were absent from its mainframe...
"Who are you?" the cyborg said quietly to the boy typing away at the computer.
Spiky blue hair, with the left side of his body covered with heavy armour, contrasting with the bareness of his right arm. A common-looking brown hoody wrapped around his body, the boy was certainly one for strange appearances.
"Wyvern," the kid replied, not looking up. "Service engineer. You won't remember me."
The Legion's eyes watched him for several seconds. Some of Yagami's words came back drifting to it from earlier on, like a distant memory.
"You are...my creator?" the cyborg said in disbelief.
Wyvern's attention was still given to the multiple screens in front of him. "You are one of mine, yes."
"You brought me life." The Legion found itself unable to look away from the boy, its anger at Yagami beginning to evaporate. Here was the reason for its existence. "Then it is you, Wyvern, who I must turn to for orders."
The blue-haired kid snorted. "I don't give out orders. The only things I care about in this world are machines and food. Don't pretend to notice me, 'cause I know who this goes. As soon as you leave this room, you won't remember me."
"Why do you say such a thing?" the Legion said, genuinely concerned. "Why would I forget the one who created me?"
"Everyone forgets me. Everyone," Wyvern said bitterly. "It's fine, I'm used to it. The machines remember me because they're not human. That's why I like them so much." His fingers tapped towards another screen. "Yagami-sama asked me to perform maintenance on you, and that's what I did. I've got to warn you, though – I can't perform a full repair on you."
The Legion turned its head, not liking the sound of that. "I am missing some very vital components."
"That's right. You can't use magic anymore, and you never will be able to as long as you live." Wyvern showed no sign of sympathy. "Your circuits were very badly damaged, and it seems that you used the Last Resort technique, which meant that your cores were drained of almost all energy. I can't replace your cores – I might as well rebuild you instead – but I had to get the energy from somewhere. That's why I had to break down your other programs and sacrifice some of your other components."
The service engineer ran one gloved hand through his spiky blue hair and made eye contact with the cyborg for the first time. "Sorry to break this to you, Legion, but you're virtually a zombie walking. You're dead on your feet and it was a real pain to get you to keep going at all. I don't know who you fought, but you'd do well to stay away from them in future." He scowled, brushing past the Legion towards the door leading out of the maintenance room and brushing dirt and ash out of his clothes. "I might be able to install additional systems into your programming to allow you to perform magic again, but...you would be using Yagami-sama's Loreskill techniques. I would have to get permission from her personally to do that, and between you and me, she isn't going to give it. Not after what you did."
No magic? The Legion usually wouldn't find that to be much of a downside, but that was before it had fought the Bureau. Physical attacks would keep it alive only against a certain level of opponents. But on the other hand, the cyborg no longer had any reason to fight the TSAB any longer, or whatever was left of it.
"Wyvern," the cyborg said sharply, seeing the service engineer about to leave the room completely. "My programming dictates that I require orders to be given to me."
The boy shrugged. "I told you already. I don't give out orders, and I'd be a lousy superior for you anyway. Find someone else to bother about it. Or better still, leave this place," he added. "There's nothing left for you in the House of Yagami, Legion. Yagami-sama has already requested that I build your replacement."
Then he was gone in the blink of an eye, rushing through the door as if he were nothing but a ghostly presence, leaving the cyborg in the maintenance room with nobody but a mass of cleaning machines and half-built appliances scattered around like pieces of junk. The Legion stood very still, contemplating its options. Wyvern was its creator, not Yagami. Logically, he should be the one to give the cyborg further orders and a reason for its existence. But now that the engineer had scoffed at such a proposal, leaving the Legion to fend for itself...
Replacement.
The word conjured up a very strong emotion within the Legion's circuits, an emotion that it had never felt before. It compelled the cyborg's hands to steel into hard fists, ramming forward in a blow which tore through the wall and left a smoking hole in its wake. The Legion found itself having trouble breathing as it whirled around, grabbed one of the computers from the wall and hurled it onto the floor to land in a twisted, broken wreck. The metal creaked and bent, the mass of circuits ruined and unusable.
I am not just a plaything for your amusement, Yagami, the Legion raged. I am not someone that can ever be replaced. You have given me no orders whatsoever, nothing to give me a reason to continue on like this. You did not even order my destruction. If this is how you want it...then I will not remain in this house of yours for any longer.
No orders to follow. No reason to exist.
The Legion lumbered through the doorway, its mind sifting through the few options that it had left. It was still imperative to find a worthy and legitimate superior to give it the orders that it required, and soon. The cyborg was wary of the human emotions surging within it, almost fearful of them – who knew what would happen if it was not able to maintain control over them? Already the lack of direction and purpose was steering such emotions towards anxiety and confusion...
I will leave this house for good, the Legion decided. I do not think that Yagami cares whether or not I stay here. No one will obstruct me.
But first...the cyborg frowned, remembering Red Scorpion. The organisation which it had proudly represented for so many years. Yagami had openly admitted that she had not cared at all for its actions, but that didn't mean it was completely insignificant to the Legion. In fact, the opposite was true. With Srethis and Ungore gone, the only member left was...
Exoria. She had been taken away to the basement under Yagami's direct order, probably being tortured if the Legion were to take a good guess. And she had been taken to see Felicity, a traumatic encounter for any decent human being. The Legion had never seen the house pet face-to-face, but could only imagine what Yagami's intentions were to keep such a creature locked away. Why did the mistress force Exoria to endure such hellish pain like that? Didn't she care about her at all, her formerly most faithful servant of all?
A machine would not feel care and sympathy like the Legion did now. The danger in going down to the basement would be very great, and yet the cyborg felt a strange kinship with the Time Mage. They may have next to nothing in common, but the two of them were the last remaining members of Red Scorpion. It could benefit both of them to stick together. Even though Exoria had never shown anything but pure dislike towards the Legion, the circumstances were very different. With nobody to turn to, she was going to get hurt very badly.
Exoria needs to get out of the House of Yagami even more desperately than I do, the Legion though. All of Yagami's servants are utterly devoted to her and will show Exoria nothing but the smallest amount of sympathy. If she is to receive any help...it can only come from me.
Independence. That was the word for it, but the Legion didn't know how to describe the feeling as anything but giving yourself orders. It wasn't something that the cyborg was used to, but it was a great relief to feel a new direction in its existence. Annihilation was surely preferable to being without purpose.
Swiftly, the Legion moved out of the maintenance room and headed towards the basement, seeking out the only ally it may have left.
With Hayate hanging onto her with one arm, Vita made the last leg of the journey across Uminari City to where the Mistress of the Night Sky's residential home had once stood. The two executors who were supposed to be guiding them had disappeared some time ago, losing them in the streets within minutes. If Vita didn't know any better, she'd say that the gunmen had purposely fled out of fear of Hayate. Not that she was sorry to be rid of them: they were just another load off her mind. After all, conflict had been avoided.
They knew now that a curfew had be implemented across Uminari City – and all of Mid-childa, if Vita wasn't mistaken – so it was vital that they get themselves indoors as quickly as possible. Staying in the open for too long would soon attract more of the patrolling executors to their position, and these ones might not be so easy to get rid of...
"Hayate?" the Guardian Knight said, swallowing as she looked up at the gates of the House of Yagami. "I think we may have a problem."
The leader of Riot Force 6 eased her grip on her companion's shoulder. "You're going to tell me we're lost? Or that they took us to the wrong house?"
"Not...not exactly. It's definitely your house, Hayate." Vita pressed her face to the gates, peering through to see that the familiarity only started several more metres inside the driveway. "But I think somebody's already living there."
Hayate smiled to hide her unease, bringing up the staff of Reinforce in her other hand. "Anyone we know?"
"I wouldn't count on it. They've turned your two-floor house into a large mansion with guard towers, an electric fence and a spiked wall."
"Major redecorating in progress, then." The brown-haired mage pushed her staff into the soft ground momentarily, aware of just how vulnerable the two of them were like this. With Vita's energy completely depleted to the point that the Guardian Knight no longer had enough strength left to transform, and with herself only able to fight blindly..."Is there anything else I should know?"
"There are seven gun turrets pointing at us," Vita reported, standing her ground with great difficulty as she tensed herself forward like an uncoiled spring, ready to move at the first shot. She could see right up inside the barrels from this angle, able to detect the very faint residue of magic around them as the guns shifted around mechanically to follow the movements of the two mages. "We've been detected."
Hayate sighed and raised her staff. The turrets immediately swivelled around to aim towards her, put on edge by the sudden movement.
"How long have they been pointing at us, and why haven't they fired yet?" she asked. "I take it that there's some reason why we aren't running for our lives?"
Vita winced as the grip into her shoulder tightened. "I can't be sure, but I think they've been aimed at us ever since we got close to the wall. And...I'm ready to start running when you are."
"Thanks for the tip," the other mage grumbled. "I can't see, Vita. How am I supposed to know where to run to?"
"You're also the one with any protection magic left," the Guardian Knight added helpfully.
In honesty, however, Vita didn't feel as threatened by the mechanical weapons at the gate as she probably should have. They were designed to drive away normal people and perhaps even the executors, and were evidently part of the reason why the two executors from before had turned heel and fled before reaching the mansion.
In addition, the turrets had been trained on the two of them for some time now, and yet no burst of gunfire sounded in attack. This suggested that the guns were only triggered remotely, meaning that someone else was busily monitoring them; the lights in the guard tower confirmed as much. Even if the turrets did start firing on them, Hayate would be protected by her Barrier Jacket. I guess I could hide behind her, Vita thought in mild disapproval, if it really came to that.
But then to her great astonishment...the silver gates began to creak open before them. Though the mechanised guns continued to keep the two mages in their sights, entry was being granted to them.
"Who are you?" the voice of the North Keeper called out from the top of the guard tower. He sounded fearful and panicky, much like the executors from before, only to a much higher degree. "Ya...Yagami-sama? What are you doing outside the..." The guardsman quickly stopped himself. "Yagami-sama, please accept my sincerest apologies! Please, come in immediately!"
Hayate prodded the Guardian Knight at her side. "Is he talking to me?" she whispered.
"Looks like it." Vita's eyes widened as she saw the brown-haired mage step forward towards the open gates. "Wait, are you serious about this?" she said urgently. "We're actually going in here? Hayate, they're going to find out pretty soon that you're not the real Yagami, and then we're in trouble! Guns and motion sensors and guard towers – this place has bad news written all over it!"
"This place," Hayate replied shortly, "is still my home."
There was no helping it when Hayate had her mind set like that. With extreme reluctance and feeling as if she were going to be attacked at any moment, Vita accompanied the leader of Riot Force 6 through the gates, hearing them slam shut just seconds later with an air of finality. Whatever happened from this point on, they weren't going to be leaving the grounds any time soon.
This might be your home, Hayate, she thought, but this isn't our universe. Things are different here. We've managed to get by so far, but sooner or later somebody is going to figure out the truth...
"I've disabled all of the usual security checks for you, Yagami-sama," the North Keeper said from the top of the guard tower, sweating profusely and praying very slightly. "I – I wasn't told that you would be outside the mansion – no, forget said anything! Please, go right in! I've notified Arisa and Suzuka for you!"
Hayate's face grew perplexed. Arisa and Suzuka? Here? Quickly, she kept her expression blank, unable to see who else might be watching them, and let Vita guide her on through to the inside. Even without her sight, she knew the grass of her own home as she felt it crunch beneath her feet. The smells, the atmosphere, the memories...it might not feel exactly the same, but...
She felt herself step indoors at last, warm air rising up to meet her face; the rough surface of a freshly-cleaned carpet underneath her, the voices of many people engulfing her surroundings. Hayate turned her head around, reacting to the sounds, and heard gasps of shock and surprise go up arll around her. Confused, and feeling the hardened tension in Vita's arm, she whipped her staff up in a narrow circle. Although she did not release any magical power at all, there were cries of alarm everywhere followed by the sounds of scuffling in the background...
"What's going on?" Hayate said in bewilderment.
Vita watched as the reception area around them quickly emptied of all guards. Armoured combatants of every kind, assassins, uniformed officials...seconds before, the room had been full with them. Upon seeing Hayate, however, everyone had suddenly been desperate to get out of the way. They hadn't seemed scared of the staff of Reinforce that she held – no, they were more afraid of Hayate's presence as a person. Could they still be mistaking her for whoever Yagami was?
The Guardian Knight's eyes, however, had caught upon another familiar face. The young man who stood at the reception desk, staring fearfully at them and looking just as confused as they did. For some reason, his gaze kept going to a strange bracelet on his wrist, stroking it as if it would calm him down. Short-cut sandy hair, light green eyes...
"Yuuno?" Vita could not believe her eyes. First the mention of Arisa and Suzuka, and now Yuuno too? He looked younger than she remembered, too... "Yuuno, what are you doing here? How can you be here? Where's Nanoha and the others?"
Scrya backed away from the desk, looking totally lost. "I...I don't understand, ma'am. Who might you be? Are you guests of Yagami-sama - "
"Yuuno, it's me! Vita!" The Guardian Knight didn't have time for this. "Snap out of it already!"
"Please stop calling me that, ma'am," the boy stammered nervously. "I have always been called Scrya...and I have never met you or your friend in my life..."
"Don't worry about them, Scrya," said a cool voice, as a tall blonde woman in a black and yellow security uniform stepped into the room from behind him. Her green eyes had already shot past Vita and towards the brown-haired mage behind her. "They are not your concern. I believe these people are esteemed guests of Lady Yagami."
Vita's mouth fell open slightly. What was this? First Yuuno, and now...Arisa was here? She barely recognised her – it was as if she was a completely different person. Why in the world was she dressed in such military-style clothes?
"Arisa too?" she said in utter confusion. "What's going on here? Are you involved in this too?"
The head of security of the House of Yagami flung her a look of disapproval. "I have no idea what you are talking about, girl. I know only that your attempt at deceit has not impressed me." She turned her head back to the leader of Riot Force 6. "Hayate, was it? Did you really think you could walk in here and pass off as Lady Yagami, just like that? Perhaps you could fool the lesser staff around here, but not me. Yagami-sama would never leave the house like that. On top of that, you're missing the wheelchair."
Vita felt her hands curl into fists, preparing to defend herself. Even untransformed, she could sense a very high level of magic radiating from Arisa's body, far more than she could deal with in her current state. Whoever this woman was, it was not the Arisa that she and Hayate knew in their world. A different version in this world, perhaps, one who took a different path in life and became a formidable mage? It was not impossible.
"Calm down," Arisa said rather unexpectedly, seeing Vita growing increasingly defensive. "I would never attack any of Yagami-sama's guests. Suzuka and Lideri have made me aware of your situation, and the transition through time that took you here." She took a step back, gesturing to the pair of them to follow her. "Yagami-sama has already sent word down that she would be glad to have dinner with you, Hayate. You are not to be harmed in any way for the duration of your stay. As her servant, I am bidden to follow her wishes. Now, if you would please follow me?"
Guests? We're guests of Yagami? Vita's mind was spinning. If she could just start to handle that Yuuno and Arisa were in fact alternate versions in this world, which could even paint them as potential enemies...Then Yagami could be something similar. An alternate version of Hayate. Somehow, everyone seems to be terrified of her. But after we virtually broke into her house – and it is her house, no matter what Hayate might think – she wants to treat Hayate to dinner? Why?
"I have no idea what's going on," Hayate murmured. "Vita, you were listening. Explain it to me in one sentence."
Vita struggled to find words to express herself. She wasn't sure if she understood it herself.
"The alternate version of Arisa is telling us that the alternate version of yourself has invited you to dinner," she tried. "I take it we're both invited, but she seems to be more interested in you."
"Great," Hayate said lightly. "Ask if anyone can help with my eyes, and we've got a deal." She gripped her staff tightly as she levered herself forward a step, renewing her grip on Vita's arm. "I could do with something to eat. And I know what you're going to say," she added quickly, sensing that the Guardian Knight was about to protest. "But what else can we do, Vita? If Yagami's interested in meeting me, she might want to help us. We need to know what's going on, and we won't get a better opportunity than this."
"That's extremely unlikely," Vita said weakly. "Hayate, there were soldiers all over the place. I'm practically expecting them to attack us in mid-sentence."
Hayate didn't seem too bothered, although she was not without some degree of cautiousness. "We can deal with that. We're mages of the TSAB, remember? Don't let your guard down, and let's just do what we do best." The brown-haired mage gave her shoulder a tight squeeze. "But right now, I'd like to go meet my double."