Scrya sifted through the endless piles of books on the trolley in front of him, almost losing himself in the vast expanse of the library as he worked. Having woken up earlier than the rest of the house this morning, he had been left with lots of free time in which to explore the mansion by himself before official working hours began. However, the teenage boy was still quite shaken from what he had experienced just hours ago. The blinding headache he had suffered at the breakfast table in front of Dr Kaizen, passing out on the floor from the tremendous pain which wracked through his body, seeing that strange vision of Yuuno and all those versions of himself...anybody would find it unnerving. Maybe it had been all just one vivid hallucination.
Nevertheless, Scrya was determined to try and forget about the whole thing; it wasn't the best way to start your first day at work. Dr Kaizen had even been concerned enough to give him a brief check-up to see if anything was medically wrong with him. To the doctor's puzzlement, however, she found only that the boy appeared to be in perfect health now that his unnatural headache had passed, and was forced to let him go on his way. Scrya only hoped that Dr Kaizen didn't go around telling the other staff members what had happened: he didn't want to make a bad impression on the rest of the Family.
Once he was feeling clear-headed enough to do so, however, he had taken the opportunity to go upstairs to the library on the first floor. It was still a bit early to start work, but Scrya had hoped that as long as he had something to busy himself with, something to get his mind off the earlier vision with Yuuno, he might be able to push himself back into a normal cycle again. Normality was all that he had ever wanted here.
The library was open, and Lideri was busily working at her desk when Scrya found her at last. For some reason, however, the grey-haired librarian seemed rather different than their conversation last night. She was frantically scribbling away and stamping multiple documents at the same time, unusually distracted by a thousand things at once and barely looking up at his arrival. Though the day had scarcely started, the librarian was continually muttering under her breath the whole while – something about how she would never get everything done in time.
Scrya didn't really understand it; she had seemed so open and friendly to him last night, freely answering all of his questions about Grylmark and time travel. Now, however, Lideri looked stressed and distraught. If something disrupted her attention and it wasn't a book, she became greatly annoyed and mildly cranky. The boy wondered what had happened to cause such a change in her...
It took Scrya a few minutes to decide how he was supposed to talk to her properly without causing too much offence. In the end, the librarian had eyed him with displeasure at simply being there – despite the fact that he was supposed to be working with her today – and had literally thrown a list of tasks at the boy without mentioning how to do a single one of them. It was quite an extensive list and Scrya couldn't really read her handwriting.
When he had tried asking her for help, Lideri had become even more grumpy and told him that she was far to busy to spoonfeed him for such menial tasks, telling him instead to ask her other assistant here in the library. Wisely, the boy decided to leave the old woman alone for the time being, wondering if maybe she was having just as bad a day as he was.
It took a while for Scrya to find the other assistant, what with the muffling silence in the library which fell over the room like a shroud. He eventually found her in the reference section, pouring over giant volumes of encyclopaedias.
Oh, he thought, recognising her face as she looked up towards him. It's her from before.
Scrya vaguely remembered bumping into the same girl last night and failing to get anywhere with her at all. She had to be mute, considering that she only communicated with him in sign language, and she still wore the same strange clothes as before. The assistant was wearing the same black dress and metal collar around her neck, her legs folded neatly around her chair with her pigtails extending down under the table.
I couldn't talk to her at all last time, he thought. How am I supposed to ask her for anything when I can't understand anything she says? Lideri told me that she's the one I have to ask for help, but how...?
"Um," he tried as he approached her. "Could you help me...?"
The pigtailed girl stared at him silently with her big round eyes. Without looking at the piece of paper in his hand, the assistant simply pointed towards one of the desks nearby, where stood a small trolley packed full with books, and then pointed back towards the dusty shelves again.
Does she mean I just have to file everything away in order? Scrya thought. He looked down at the long list of tasks that Lideri had given him, thinking that they surely had to involve more than just putting away books. Well, at least he had something to occupy his mind for a while, anyway.
"Thanks," he said to her discreetly, but the assistant had already turned back to the volumes in her hands, engulfing herself once more within the silence of the library. Quietly, Scrya walked over to the trolley and set to work. It wasn't the most exciting job, but it took his mind off the headache from earlier.
As the hours passed by at a tedious pace, he became aware of the sound of thousands of executors marching across Uminari City, combined with the savage sounds of war; the presence of the rebellion sweeping Mid-childa. The noise was slow and subtle at first, but then grew louder and louder until the war had reached the gates of the House of Yagami itself. Scrya heard another kind of gunfire echo out then: it was the sound of the guard towers at the gates of the mansion, retaliating in self-defense against both executors and rebels alike.
He couldn't pretend that it didn't affect him in any way, that it didn't make him fear for his life. As the chaos grew to a deafening level, Scrya found himself cowering within the confines of the library, half-thinking that the mansion was going to be bombed any minute. After some time, however, the horrendous noise began to drift away; the attackers had either been driven off or had moved on to occupy the rest of Uminari City.
Even then, Scrya held his breath for a long time, not fully believing that he was completely safe. But then he remembered what Arisa had said to him when she had accepted him into the Family, when she had given him the Yagami Bracelet – she had promised him that he would no longer have reason to fear any more. Gradually, the boy found himself calming down again.
The shooting from the gates of the house had died down completely by now. The war was still going on out there, but it was no longer troubling the residents of the house. As long as he remained here in the House of Yagami...he would be completely safe from the rebellion.
Imagine if I hadn't been shortlisted for the interview when I applied here, Scrya thought achingly. Imagine if Arisa hadn't decided to hire me, and that I had been left back outside again to fend for myself. In the midst of this civil war, the House of Yagami is the one place where I'll be completely safe from harm. If I hadn't been hired to work here...I would probably already be dead. Even the detention facility where the unfortunates of the Harlaown Program are taken for execution would surely not remain standing in such a brutal rebellion...
Chrono was gone, too. Deep down, Scrya realised that he must have known this from the start. The commander had greatly approved of Scrya on the few occasions that the two of them had met, forming a strong acquaintance with the boy, which was no small gesture considering the scale of his high status within Mid-childa. He had even given his personal recommendation of Scrya to the House of Yagami, thus virtually guaranteeing him a position in the Family. The man who had saved him from the rebellion was now dead along with so many others out in the streets, though ironically his passing was the same reason why the war had fired up in the first place...
I'm alive because of what Chrono did for me, Scrya thought bitterly. I'm not going to put that to waste. So as long as I can...I'm going to keep going. That means staying in the House of Yagami and keeping my head down, for the rest of my life if needs be. The world will never be the same again...
The trolley was empty of books now, and he gently pushed it away from him, surprised at how much time had passed already. For a moment, Scrya stood very still and listened out for the sounds of the rebellion, but could hear almost nothing. It was so peaceful in the library, so much so that the atmosphere had become quite eerie. Too peaceful, in fact...he hadn't heard anything from Lideri or her strange assistant for more than an hour now. Something could have happened to either of them and he wouldn't even know...
"Lideri?" he called out huskily, wondering if the librarian might be in a better mood to talk to him now. Maybe she could give some better instructions on what else she wanted him to do.
The only answer he received was the unexpected sound of the library doors slamming shut.
Quickly, Scrya rushed back to the main desk where he had seen the old woman earlier. The piles of papers he had seen her working on were now arranged in nice neat piles and stamped succinctly. There was no sign of Lideri anywhere. Had she really just left?
Scrya, said a man's voice in his head suddenly.
The boy reacted to the sound as if an electric shock had run through his body, eyes widening at the familiar tone. He knew this voice. It wasn't a voice he had wanted to hear again...he just wanted to forget all about the events earlier...
Scrya...can you hear me? The patient tone was a buzz in his ears. It's me. Yuuno. I need to talk to you again, Scrya. I'm sorry about this.
Simultaneous with the researcher's voice came the harsh pain of the unwanted headache pounding in his temples. Not again, Scrya thought helplessly. He didn't want this, not any of this, not for a single second. Why was this happening to him? If the pain escalated too much like last time and he ended up passing out on the library floor...Dr Kaizen wouldn't be here to bring him back this time. Lideri had already left the room for unknown reasons of her own. Nobody would notice the suffering he was in until it was too late...
Do you remember me, Scrya? the quiet voice in his head continued. I asked you to try and find a woman named Nanoha for me. I know I said it was important before, Scrya...but now it's essential. The rebellion has already started and I'm running out of time. We are all running out of time...
The headache was getting worse and worse, stabbing outwards from the inside of his head as if something was trying to crack his skull open. Scrya dropped to his knees, gasping as waves of agony washed over him. Unconsciously, he grasped out with one hand towards the Yagami Bracelet strapped round his other wrist, touching its shiny surface for just a second...and miraculously, the pain began to fade. Scrya stared at the device in amazement, releasing his grip, and then the terrible ache shot back into his body again with an intensity that made him cry out.
Scrya! Yuuno's voice in his ears was urgent, a plea for help, but the boy was too lost in his ordeal to hear it. Can you hear me?
Tears came to his eyes as the pain rose into near-blinding agony, and the boy ran out through the main doors of the library, heedless of whether the other assistant in there had seen him or not. Squeezing the Yagami Bracelet as tight as he could, Scrya stumbled out onto the first floor landing, barely noticing how the corridors were surprisingly deserted for this hour. He could feel his vision blurring and was having trouble breathing; if he didn't find some way to stop the pain, he was going to lose consciousness again, just like before...
The pain was spreading out to his chest and tightening around his body restrictively like a python. Desperately, Scrya knew he needed air, more room to breathe. The tight walls of the mansion seemed incredibly claustrophobic all of a sudden, starving him of oxygen. No. Outside. He had to get outside...where the rebellion was. It was a crazy thought, but he didn't know what else to do...
The pain was still rising, crippling his movements and reflexes, and Scrya followed the source of the pain as best as he could, following his way towards the nearest exit of the House of Yagami...
The massive shockwave created by I.C.'s finishing attack didn't just catch the attention of the executors on the ground. A great deal of the thick smoke rising from Uminari City was partially dispersed by the fierce tide of winds which ensued, blowing it into the faces of the Wolkenritter as they sought to fly away from the rebellion. Within moments, every Bureau mage in their party was choking blindly on the fumes which entangled them, forced to cover their faces until the wave of toxicity had passed them by. Rein and Agito were both unfortunate in that the smoke had engulfed them completely, due to their small size, resulting in them being virtually unable to breathe at all. The two unison devices dropped in altitude to take cover from the fumes, hacking and coughing away until their eyes streamed.
"Ugh," Agito croaked, holding onto Signum's shoulder for dear life as she finally managed to breathe normally again. Rein was in a similar position with Shamal, as the medical mage used her magic to heal the damage done to the unison device's throat. "I am never, ever flying through that again...
"What on earth just happened?" Zafira said angrily, his arms tight around Erio as he maintained altitude with the rest of their group in the darkened sky. The Guardian Beast had managed to use his body to shield the red-haired forward from the worst of the fumes. "We should have been high enough to be safe from the smoke!"
Signum was scanning the horizon intently, impulsively knowing that this was a sign of both good and bad news. "We already were high enough," she said grimly. "Uminari City must have been hit by an extremely powerful attack – that's why the smoke reached us so suddenly. Even the executors aren't capable of this kind of power."
"Nanoha," Erio breathed in quiet awe, watching through the gap in the smoke towards where massive clouds of dust rolled across the ground below, carried by the wind. "Was that...Nanoha?"
Shamal exchanged worried glances with the others as she finished treating Rein, her brow furrowed in mild concentration. Even if such a devastating attack truly was the work of the Ace of Aces, it was a bit over the top even for her. There wasn't any reason why Nanoha would unleash such force upon the city she had grown up and lived in for so many years of her life. But...what if Fate had been in danger...?
"There's no need to go to Cranagan anymore," the medical mage said softly. "Nanoha is already here in Uminari City. I can feel the tell-tale traces of her energy from here – we all can. " She caught the brief nod from Signum; though the pink-haired mage's face was a mask of emotion, Shamal could tell that her friend was as troubled as she was. Nobody wanted to believe that Nanoha really was behind this attack, but if it hadn't been her, a very dangerous foe was out there in the city. Their problems would only exacerbate further.
"We should concentrate on finding the source of this attack and proceed from there," she said. "Signum, Zafira...please fly with me and lend assistance. I need to conserve my strength."
"Of course, Shamal," the Guardian Beast replied, angling his head towards her as Signum gave a similar response. "You don't need to ask such favours of us. Let's hurry before all of this gets any worse."
The three mages shot forward through the sky with all due speed, each individually carrying Erio and the two winded unison devices along with them. Tracking the spell which had done such violence and destruction to the bulk of Uminari City was like following a crowd of blazing torches in the dead of night; regardless of where they went, the path to their destination was as clear as day from any location. The scale of the attack had been so tremendous, in fact, that it had actually temporarily halted the rebellion in its tracks. With the passing of the vicious impact upon the earth, vast numbers of executors had deserted their squadrons out of fear for their lives, leaving their comrades disorientated with a lack of any formation.
As the Wolkenritter drew closer and closer to the source, however, noting the increased degree of damage done to the earth and its surroundings with every few metres of ground that they covered...somebody else zoomed past them in the other direction. Somebody who was travelling at such a ridiculously high speed that they had become a blurred outline against the sky.
Signum reacted to the presence at once, twisting around in surprise. All she was able to make out in that split second was the face of a veiled woman with a complete lack of magic surrounding her. In the blink of an eye, the woman had already disappeared and become a faint dot on the horizon.
The Velka Knight stared after the strange woman suspiciously, wondering if she had been imagining things. In all of her considerable years of life, Signum had never seen anyone fly that fast – not anyone human, anyway – but on the other hand, she had never personally witnessed Fate's maximum speed. Dubiously, Signum glanced round towards the rest of her group to see if anyone else had reacted as she had, but no one but her appeared to have noticed the veiled woman at all. Everyone's eyes were fixed forward towards their destination, too busy concentrating on finding Nanoha...
And then they saw it – they all saw it. A giant crater in the ground, right here at the northern edge of Uminari City, big enough that it had consumed three entire streets on its own along with the lives of everyone who had lived there. A huge ripple of magic was charged through the entire area, causing additional fires in its vicinity and destroying anything which got too close. It was the source of the massive shockwave where the original spell must have erupted.
What kind of spell could do this amount of damage? Signum thought, her mind reeling at the sight. Her companions had stopped in their tracks on either side of her, similarly stunned by the size of the crater. This wasn't the work of any mage of the TSAB. It's as if somebody dropped a small nuclear bomb onto the earth and then tidied up after themselves...
In the centre of the crater, Nanoha was levering herself out of the ground shakily, covered by dust and an unhealthy dose of blood about her person. Her Barrier Jacket was barely hanging on at all, and she needed to lean on Raging Heart just to stand up, let alone fly. From here, the intense pain in her eyes was all too clear.
"Nanoha!" Rein cried out, standing up on Shamal's shoulder with great distress in her eyes. "She...she didn't do this after all. She was the target?"
"Someone tried to kill her," Zafira growled, the muscles of his arms tightening in anger. "They almost succeeded, too. We've got our work cut out for ourselves now."
Who could be strong enough to do this to Nanoha? Signum thought. It was a very troubling situation indeed, to know that there was somebody in Uminari City powerful enough to take down the Ace of Aces herself. It was no easy feat to do. In fact, a person like that would be more than capable of destroying the TSAB on their own...
The magic surrounding the crater was also quite puzzling. As the Velka Knight approached cautiously, she found herself unable to analyze any of the residue at all. She was stumped by such findings, having never encountered anything like this before. And what about that veiled woman who had shot past them just seconds ago...?
"Nanoha!" Shamal cried out in wide-eyed alarm, her instincts kicking in at seeing the combat mage so direly wounded. In a shot, the medical mage was flying forward towards the crater at fast as she could, nearly throwing Rein off her shoulder. "Don't move! I'm coming!"
"Shamal, no!" Signum said sharply in warning. There was still a fierce magical energy racing across the surface of the crater, a sure death-trap for anyone who came too close. "Wait just a second. It's not safe to go down there yet - "
There was a sudden roar from the Guardian Beast hovering just above her, holding Erio in one arm whilst he expended a rush of mana with the other. Zafira's eyes narrowed in concentration for targeting such a vast area.
"Steel Yoke!"
A series of thin magical blades shot out against the edge of the crater, locking into place and clashing against the crackling magical field in fierce resistance. The barrier above Nanoha shuddered violently for just a moment, then dispersed as Zafira's spell nullified it completely. Shamal looked up towards him gratefully, then continued her trajectory towards the ground at high speed. Rein was still wrapped around the medical mage's shoulder, her face white as a sheet from their close shave.
"Thanks, Zafira," Signum said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was going to do that."
The Guardian Beast grunted non-committally in response. Together, they flew down to join the rest of their group down at the centre of the giant crater where a wounded Nanoha was dragging herself towards them. The mages of the Wolkenritter could scarcely believe it – after all this time, they had finally been re-united with the Ace of Aces. Incredibly, if it hadn't been for the massive attack which had crippled her so much, they might have missed her completely and continued on flying towards Cranagan...
Even as her friends rushed forward to support her, Nanoha was looking at their group with nothing short of utmost disbelief. It must have been quite a sight for her to see Zafira carrying Erio in mid-air, followed by Signum with Agito perched on her shoulder, and finally Shamal racing down to the ground with Rein following her. The Ace of Aces had been trying so hard to find Fate and the rest of the Bureau, and after all this time had only ended up being separated from her fianceé – again. And now the Wolkenritter had come to her rescue?
Am I seeing things? Nanoha wondered. The pain must have really gone to my head if I'm dreaming up the Wolkenritter. Wait, why are Shamal and Zafira here? And Rein and Agito? They didn't even come through the portal with me. How could any of them be here?
She blinked several times, but the faces of her friends stubbornly refused to disappear. If it was an illusion, it was a really good one. Groggily, Nanoha managed to come forward a step and then half-collapsed into Shamal's arms. The other mages of the Wolkenritter quickly reached out to stop her from falling, faces lined with worry.
"Nanoha!" the medical mage said concernedly. Her hands glowed with the green light of restorative magic as she laid the Ace of Aces upon the ground gently. "Nanoha, you need to rest. Just relax and I'll do the rest. I don't know who did this to you, but they're not going to - "
"They took Fate," the combat mage whispered. She stirred slightly, feeling her wounds began to ease up a little. The Bureau mages around her – the Wolkenritter, ever – they had to be real after all. She didn't know how they could possibly be here, but they were no illusion. No one could fake the sensation of healing magic upon their body. "The woman I was fighting," she said in a hollow voice. "She took Fate away from me. I can't relax. I have to get Fate back..."
"No, Nanoha," Shamal said crossly. "You're in no shape to go anywhere. You're going to stay right here. I can't do anything to repair your Barrier Jacket, but I can do something about your wounds. Just calm down and let me heal you properly."
"Nanoha, what happened?" Rein said urgently. "Do you know who did this to you? Is Fate still in the area? We have to find her!"
Signum was watching the combat mage's face carefully, remembering the veiled woman who had shot past her earlier at an inhuman speed. It had to have been her – the one who had wounded Nanoha so badly and left her for dead...
"We have to be realistic here," Zafira said in a low voice. "We're struggling to survive in the middle of a brutal war and we still haven't found all of our companions. We've found Nanoha, but she's been struck down by a mage of monstrous power. That's not an enemy that any of us can stand against. If we're going to even think about getting back to our own world in one piece, then..."
The other members of the Wolkenritter avoided his gaze, not liking where this was going. Each of them had thought that upon finding Nanoha, their path forward would become clear again. Instead, it was unsure whether the combat mage would even be conscious enough to provide any guidance as to what they should do next...
The Ace of Aces blinked suddenly as the blood rushed back to her head again. With the wave of restorative magic pulsating through her body, she felt the tide of pain slowly begin to ebb away. Long moments passed, and Nanoha found that she was able to think a bit more coherently. Though she was still feeling shattered from her experience, she took in deep breaths from the clean air around her and focused on her surroundings achingly.
"Shamal," she said breathlessly, recognising the touch on her shoulders. "It is you. And Zafira, Rein, Agito..." Her gaze slid over to each of her friends around her in turn. "How can any of you even be here? You shouldn't be in a place like this. You should all be back with Hayate at the Bureau..."
The medical mage shot a glance towards the others of their group, motioning them closer. Though Nanoha was in no position to be fighting or doing anything at all right now, it was true that she was gradually recovering under the restorative treatment. Softly, Shamal laid one hand over the combat mage's forehead, murmuring under her breath. Nanoha's eyes began to close, her entire body relaxing and effectively speeding up the healing process.
"I need some more time with her," Shamal said in a low voice to Signum and the others. She caught the glimpse of relief on their faces that it wasn't all bad news, and the medical mage pushed herself to explain further. "If I can keep Nanoha like this for long enough, I should be able to help her progress into a stable condition. Her Barrier Jacket has protected her from most of the impact, which is why her body is still in a recoverable state. However...I can't repair the damage done to Raging Heart. If Nanoha gets hit again by anything anywhere near as powerful as that spell, she's gone for." She shook her head sadly. "Right now, she's in no position to be chasing after Fate or - "
"Fate," Nanoha said suddenly, her eyes flickering upwards. "I can still hear you, Shamal. Actually, I'm completely fine. And now I'm going to find out where Fate's gone." The Ace of Aces started to sit up suddenly, wincing as pain shot back across her body again. "And you're not...going to...stop me..."
Crossly, the medical mage pushed her back down again.
"You are not fine," Shamal said. "Nanoha...please, just relax. Don't worry about Fate. We'll find her for you."
The Ace of Aces glanced round at the others. The memory of I.C. teleporting her lover away from her and then blasting her back into the earth was still fresh in her mind. "Are you sure?" she said worriedly.
Signum leaned forward towards her. "Of course," the Velka Knight said seriously. "With all of us searching together, we should able to find her without any problem. Vita, too. Leave it to us, Nanoha."
"That's right," Rein joined in. "We help each other out here in the Bureau, just like we always have."
"I don't even know why you're here, Rein," the combat mage said weakly. "You're supposed to be with Hayate. And Signum?" The face of the Velka Knight swam before her. "How did you even get here? How did any of you get here? You're all real, right?"
"I had some run-ins with a lot of executors," the pink-haired swordswoman replied. "In my search for Vita, events proceeded to re-unite me with the other members of the Wolkenritter. I would never desert you or any member of the TSAB, Nanoha." She cleared her throat for a moment. "And yes, we are all quite real."
Nanoha sighed. "I'll take your word for it, Signum. I'm still feeling a bit woozy." She rubbed her temples and gathered up her thoughts once more. "Everyone. If you find Fate...be careful, okay? The person who took her possesses a tremendous amount of power. If you run into her, don't attack her, or she'll wipe you all out for sure. She's a tall woman with a veil around her face." There was a change in Signum's face upon hearing this piece of information. "The two of them could be anywhere, but I'm pretty sure they're still here in Uminari City."
"Got it," Zafira said with a swift nod, crouching down next to Signum. "I can track them down, no problem."
"We're all with you, Nanoha," Erio said excitedly.
Agito pulled a face as Rein elbowed her in the side, but then threw in her vote as well. "Same here," she grumbled. "We've all got your back."
Shamal smiled as she looked towards the rest of the group. "Okay, so everything's settled," she said. "I'm going to stay here to make sure Nanoha recovers as quickly as possible. The rest of you head out to look for Fate. If anybody finds anything, anything at all, please return here at once to report anything to Nanoha. Remember that the rebellion is still here in the city, and that we can't afford to be separated."
The Ace of Aces nodded, satisfied with that. She swallowed hard, a wave of happiness welling up inside her now that she knew that she was no longer acting completely on her own. Thought she had lost Fate a second time, she had also become re-united with the members of the Wolkenritter. In fact, it seemed that the only members of the Bureau missing from their group were Subaru, Fate and Vita – or those who had travelled through the portal with her, at least.
I knew this wasn't all for nothing, she thought, her cheeks flushed from emotion and the anticipation of being able to fight alongside her friends again. Despite having Tiana with me for most of my journey here, I've also been acting alone at almost every turn. But no longer: now I'm determined to put all that to an end. Now I've found almost all of the Bureau in one go, meaning that we could be so much closer to returning to our own world again. We can do this. We can really do this!
"I'm counting on you, everyone," Nanoha called out to the rest of the Wolkenritter as they took to the skies once more. She took a deep breath, no longer feeling so alone in this chaotic world. "Please...be careful out there. And whatever you do, come back alive."
A cold wind blew across Fate's face, piercing through the bubble of magic that I.C. had drawn up around her. Her cries of anguish at being taken away from Nanoha echoed soundlessly against the impenetrable barrier. Separated from the one she loved after only just making contact with her again, spirited away from the combat mage against her will...The Enforcer battled furiously against the spell which held her, only to find that to her frustration that her body had locked up completely. Regardless of what she did, the process would be over within a matter of seconds.
The next thing she knew, Fate was encased in acute darkness as her body experienced the strange sensation of partial dematerialisation present within all transportation spells. The feeling was only temporary, however, and she soon felt hard cold ground beneath her feet with a suddenness that made her inhale sharply. The spell had brought her to its destination. As the bubble of magic melted away into the air around her, the Enforcer found herself able to move a little more easily now. She squeezed her eyes tightly as the world swam around her and then solidified into new surroundings.
High-level transport spell, Fate though bitterly. I must have been taken to another location, somewhere far, far away from Nanoha. I didn't take I.C. seriously enough...I didn't think she was capable of this. Whoever she is, she's really determined not to let me see Nanoha ever again...but why? Why would she care?
In the distance, she could hear the sounds of helicopters moving overhead to fire on the rebels of the city below. The constant gunfire and continual explosions that had become synonymous with the presence of the Mid-childan civil war were now quite familiar to her by now. The sounds of battle meant only that the rebellion was truly out of control on a global scale.
Fate opened her eyes and froze in astonishment when she saw that the buildings around her were all ablaze, just like the situation in Uminari City. A familiar mass of thick smoke was pouring out of every house she could make out, choking the sky with its toxic fumes. In fact, it didn't really look too different than the place she had just left, as if she hadn't really left the city at all...but that was absurd. I.C. would have made sure she was far away from there. There were probably thousands of cities burning just like Uminari City was, the Enforcer told herself.
She took a few more steps forward, feeling energy running through her body but feeling strangely weak nonetheless. Was it the effects of the smoke, perhaps? Feeling a little uneasy, Fate shook her head and tried to pull herself together. All she had to do was find out exactly where she was, and then return to Uminari City as quickly as possible. As far as she was aware, Nanoha was still there.
With a shock, Fate realised she wasn't standing at street level after all, but significantly higher. Much higher, in fact...because it appeared that she was on the roof of a building. With the fumes obscuring her vision, it would only take a few unlucky steps in the wrong direction to fall to her death.
Why did I.C. teleport me onto somebody's roof? Fate wondered. I don't see her here anywhere, nor anybody else. My magic's at full power and I'm in the open air. There's nothing to stop me flying away from here and returning to Uminari City.
Something didn't seem quite right here. Was it a trap? The blonde mage could sense the presence of clusters of magic in the area, but those could belong to executors. With a shrug, she kicked off the ground to fly away from this strange place.
Or at least, she tried to. Fate made it about a few feet above the roof before the flow of her condensed mana began to break down completely and she was forced to abort her attempt. She...she couldn't fly? What was going on here? There wasn't anything wrong with Bardiche's functions...
"What's going on?" the Enforcer said out loud. "Where is this place?"
"The House of Testarossa," came a sad voice from behind her.
Fate whirled around as a slender woman with short black hair emerged from the shadows. Her clothes were dark and lined in appearance, and she wore a sleeveless white gown on top along with a beret of matching colour. Her face was uncannily familiar, exactly as the Enforcer remembered her. It...it couldn't be...
"Linith?" she whispered, lowering Bardiche in her hands. "How can you be here? You're...you're not alive anymore, Linith..."
"Neither are you," the servant replied, her voice a rattle of breath and noise. "Time travel can have terrible consequences."
Fate's mind was spinning. It was Linith who had trained her in magic, both herself and Arf, many years before she had even come into contact with Nanoha or the TSAB. It was Linith who had created Bardiche and passed down the device to Fate after her services to Precia were complete. Her mother's familiar, brought into the world to become her mentor and guide in the early days of her life. Without her, Face knew that she would not be the mage she was today. But how could she possibly exist in this wor -
Time travel...
Of course, the Enforcer thought. The Linith in this world is still alive. But what about if...No. She knew she shouldn't think about the past like that. Even so, Fate couldn't help it...If Linith was alive in this world, then Precia -
No. I'm not going to ask. It almost killed her to hold herself back like this, but Fate managed to swallow back the tears. Mother's fate in this world belongs to this world alone. I moved on from that a very long time ago, and I am not about to bring it back again. I can't afford to...even the thought of Mother being alive again...
"Linith," she said. It felt a little strange for her to talk to the familiar like this, as if she were conversing with a ghost. In a way, Fate thought, she already was. "You said that this is the House of Testarossa. Is this really true?"
The black-haired familiar nodded silently.
"So I'm still in Uminari City?" the Enforcer said with great surprise. "I was only transported a small distance?"
She felt her hopes rise, realising that there had been a reason why all the smoke had seemed so familiar. It was because she hadn't left – it was all the same as was still in the same city as Nanoha! There wasn't much distance separating them at all – if only she could get past whatever force was obstructing her and fly out of here properly, she could find the Ace of Aces again within fifteen minutes at most!
At the same time, however, Fate knew that it wasn't going to be that easy. I.C. was surely strong enough to be able to teleport her by vast distances, and yet the woman had taken her here for a specific reason. Being unable to fly also meant that whatever barrier was in place here would not be so easily broken. Still, the Enforcer wasn't too worried. She had escaped the House of Testarossa before: she could do it again.
"Lady Testarossa has been waiting for an occasion like this for almost her entire life," Linith said, her eyes downcast and sorrowful. "She was devastated when Fate died. Or delighted. It's difficult to tell with the mistress sometimes..."
Fate felt herself go cold. What was Linith talking about? She wasn't dead. She was right here, living and breathing as always...
"She wanted to bring her back, you see," Linith continued, gazing out into the distance whilst the war raged on. "Lady Testarossa believed in the strength of the Family and the power of magic. She cared deeply about Fate...so deeply indeed. And then..." The familiar sighed, crouching down on the edge of the roof, seeming as fragile as a leaf in the wind. "She cared too much. Lady Testarossa just refused to accept that Fate was gone. She became obsessed with bringing her back from the dead, even though everyone told her that it would be a lost cause, that no spell can bring back the dead, that there are some things beyond any power..."
I'm not dead! the Enforcer wanted to yell. Who's Lady Testarossa? Who's I.C.? What's happened to my family in this twisted world? And yet she didn't say anything, just continued to listen to Linith's tale though she was shaking with the shock of hearing such things...
"She didn't listen," the familiar said in a harsh whisper. "The mistress didn't listen to anybody...she just didn't want to hear it. Instead, she kept trying and trying, hour after hour, day after day, month after month, until she was tearing her hair out just for Fate." Linith gazed upwards at the blonde mage in front of her, her eyes seeming hollow and soulless. "Things started changing for the worse after that. Lady Testarossa stopped seeing anybody at all; she refused all help and neglected her duties in the Family. As a result, the reputation of the Family of Testarossa plummeted rapidly, and the House of Yagami pushed forward to secure the main power in Mid-childa. Even so, Lady Testarossa didn't stop. Maybe she couldn't stop. Her own magic increased to absurd levels under constant training and the questionable methods she used, and the person she had turned into was no longer human..."
"Linith, I don't - "
"And then she hit upon a solution." The familiar breathed in the air around her deeply as if savouring the feeling. "After so long in the dark, the mistress hit upon a solution. She crossed paths with an organisation who claimed that they could bring back the dead, a group of people who called themselves the Cult of Neopocalypticon. Their motives and ambitions were largely unknown, but Lady Testarossa was glad to listen to what they told her." Linith sighed, shaking her head slowly. "Nobody knows what they suggested to her, but it couldn't have made things any better. She just wanted Fate back in her life, that's all. Everything just got out of hand - "
"Linith," Fate interrupted, her voice feeling hoarse and weak. "Please...stop. Stop telling me this." She took a deep breath, supporting herself with her own memories. "I'm not dead. I'm the only member of the Testarossa family who still survives today, and I don't even go by that name anymore. I'm not from this world!"
The black-haired servant shrugged. "I know that. I know you're not really Fate."
"What?"
"You're not the Fate she's looking for. You're not the one she wants." Linith turned her face away. "I know about Oguba. I know that you're another Fate from another world, a Fate who somehow gets to live. But...Lady Testarossa has waited so long, and tried so hard, that she really must be completely convinced that you're the one she's been looking for. She wouldn't have brought you here otherwise."
Slowly, the familiar stepped closer to her, reaching almost up to her height. She turned her head this way and that, tears welling up in her eyes simply from the memories. The two of them may have been from different worlds, but their outlook on each other's lives was almost the same.
"You'll have to be her Fate, no matter what," Linith whispered hoarsely. "If she suspects for even a second that you're another fake, she'll kill you. She'll kill you just like she killed all the other girls who looked like you. They used to be everywhere, but now they're all gone. Forever."
Fate threw herself backwards as if she'd been scorched by fire, as far from the black-haired servant as possible. She didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't want to hear anything else about I.C. and her constant obsessions about life and death. Quickly, the Enforcer ran over to the other side of the roof, desperately trying to find a way out. Since she couldn't fly properly, there had to be a very powerful barrier that was preventing her from doing so, and a barrier of that scale meant that someone else was controlling it. All she had to do was -
The familiar blinked suddenly, her face filled with sudden agony as if suddenly realising what she had just said. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "You're...you're supposed to be dead. Maybe it's for the best..."
Throwing caution to the winds, Fate charged over the side of the roof. Her Barrier Jacket was strong enough to ensure that she would survive the fall, and more importantly she would be outside the barrier by then...
The air at the edge of the roof suddenly sizzled and crackled with purple magic as she made contact. A powerful blast struck the Enforcer and knocked her backwards several feet, back into the centre of the roof. Angrily, Fate got to her feet again, seeing now that the barrier was not so easily breached. The glimpse of a hooded figure darted out from the smoke beyond, controlling the shield which imprisoned her. The Enforcer turned her head round to the other side of the roof to see more of the hooded figures surrounding the place.
They're the ones controlling the barrier, she thought. How am I going to get rid of them? I can't even reach them from here...
"You can't escape," Linith said. The familiar was walking up to her in great strides from behind her, her voice empty of feeling. "The Cult of Neopocalypticon has been called here tonight. They have created a magical shield around the whole house to keep you here until Lady Testarossa arrives. The powerful Anti-Magilink Field instated will cancel out any and all magics, should you attempt to use them. Today is a good day for the mistress. She is determined that nobody will interfere with her preparations. Yes, she has been looking forward to meeting you for a long time...Fate..."
Fate threw the black-haired servant away from her and drew Bardiche to strike at the barrier. Where magic might fail, physical attacks would still prevail. Aware that I.C. could arrive any moment, she began hacking away at the edge of the barrier with the golden blade in her hands. As soon as Bardiche touched the shield, another savage blast sent her flying all the way back again. It was no use...What was she going to do?
"Here she comes, Fate," Linith said quietly, sitting down on the side of the roof subserviently. "I can hear her already. She's coming for you now..."
And as the Enforcer turned in wide-eyed horror, a tell-tale streak of blazing light shot past the House of Testarossa at blinding speed and descended towards the centre of the roof. Fate shielded her face from the light, knowing that she had run out of time. In her mind's eyes, she could hear the rebellion reach a decisive climax of its own. She could hear the executors pushing the rebels back, re-claiming Uminari City as their own.
Fate staggered to her feet as the light faded away, feeling the eyes of the veiled woman upon her, eyes which burned with an unnatural energy. There was no way out anymore.
Lady Testarossa had returned home.
A/N: I might have rushed the last bit somewhat. Hayate next chapter, plus some villaaaains