Touka allowed herself a smirk of satisfaction as she locked the Magus back up in her room. One way or another she'd get what she wanted, she always did. Even if it meant dirtying her hands a little in the process
"You dragged me out of my room so I could watch you commit senseless acts of violence?" an emotionless voice commented. At least that was what it would sound like to a stranger. Touka knew best of all that the girl talking to her was very annoyed.
That only made Touka's smirk grow wider. "Just had to teach a human her place. She was getting a bit cocky for my liking."
"You don't like anyone that talks back to you," Nemu replied.
"You're right," Touka tilted her head over and hovered it next to Nemu's face. "So you really should be careful with me."
Nemu's reply was to flick her on the forehead.
"Ouch." Touka pouted and stomped her feet. "What was that for?"
"Just start pushing me already. You said you had another surprise for me?"
Touka continued pouting- and thinking of ways to pay her friend back later- as she went behind Nemu's wheelchair and pushed them toward their next destination.
"Well. You know that group that has been causing us so much trouble?" Touka asked.
"There are a lot of them. We, and I mean you, have made a lot of enemies."
Ah yes. That white haired Magical Girl that apparently had complete mastery over her Doppel, that one Magical Girl group with ties to the mafia, and another Master/Servant pair that were going out at night to exterminate the wraiths that Touka had hoped they could also harvest for human emotion and vitality. All very annoying setbacks to deal with.
She wasn't too discouraged. With production ramping up, there was bound to be more issues that popped up. It was simply a matter of solving it quickly before it became a more permanent problem. Just like yesterday.
"Touka is that…" Nemu could only look on in shock as she stared at the cell Touka had brought her. In the cell was the body of a girl with insanely long pink hair with probably the most convoluted braid ever.
Seriously, how did that thing work?
"One of our enemies that I dealt with," Touka said smugly. "I even brought her here since you were so curious about her."
Nemu stared, her eyes uncharacteristically wide, for some time before she finally sighed. "Should I be worried about how you got her here?"
"Minimal exposure and not even a bit of damage, which really doesn't matter once Eve starts moving," Touka mused. "Still, nice to know we can run a clean operation even if most of our subordinates are incompetent."
"… Where did you keep her Soul Gem?" Nemu asked.
"Storage, a couple hallways down… You're not thinking about talking with her, are you?"
"I have a few things to ask her."
"Trust me, it's not worth it," Touka warned her friend. "Either she's delusional or someone must've implanted memories into her to mess with us. She knows way too much about us even though we've never met."
"I still want to speak with her. It isn't fair that you went out to confront her without me," Nemu replied.
"Don't say I didn't warn you then," Touka replied. It took her a few minutes to leisurely walk to the storage room, pick up a pink Soul Gem among a cluttered pile of Grief Seeds, walk back to Nemu, and then toss her the Soul Gem. "Have fun. I'll send someone to pick you up in a few minutes."
With her job done, Touka made her way back to the nearest elevator. She stepped inside, pressed the button for the highest floor, and waited as the machine made its way up. Once the doors opened she walked onto the floor where the private rooms of the founder of the Wings of the Magius were located.
She made sure to give Alina's room a wide berth. Nobody was allowed inside, not even the people Alina wanted to paint, so there could be anything in there really. Touka wasn't going to check though, The sounds that occasionally came out of that place, along with Alina being well Alina, was enough to dissuade her from ever peeking inside.
As Touka opened the door to her own room she was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Did you have fun Touka?" Nobunaga asked. Barring her hat and normal clothes, the Servant was now just wearing an oversized t-shirt while lying on the couch and watching tv. Hardly the image of a Great Uniter that one would expect.
"I did," Touka admitted as she sat at the end of the couch. "You were right Nobu. I did need to unwind, even if it was just showing that Magus her place."
"A conqueror should stand above those she wishes to conquer. And have fun. If you're going to rule the world you might as well enjoy it."
"Still obsessed with the science channel?" Touka asked. A bit of a redundant question. Ever since she had summoned her Nobunaga had a fervent hunger for acquiring knowledge, particularly that involving world politics and advances in modern technology.
"It still amazes me how much this world, and many others, have advanced since my death. Humanity truly is a species of progress."
"Progress that was built off the corpses and sacrifice of countless Magical Girls," Touka replied. How many times has humanity advanced because of a single wish? How many civilizations were preserved because of the Witches and familiars they hunted. How many years was this world given because entropy had been halted by their Contracts? "And yet they still think of themselves as the rulers of this world. The Apex Race. Soon enough we'll show them otherwise."
Nobunaga smirked before grabbing the remote and muting the tv. "There are a possible few dissenters working the lunch shift. Black Feathers that are beginning to doubt your cause."
"Send someone their way to educate them. We have more important things to deal with."
"Normally I'd agree but these are the people making our food. We don't want to risk anything involving that and proper meals are important for the morale of our troops."
"I'll send Mifuyu then," Touka conceded. "She's good at keeping them placated, for whatever they're worth." The young leader let out an annoyed sigh. "You'd think that at least one of them would've been able to summon a Servant at this point."
"Not everyone can be like you Master. Besides at least we have those Shades built and functioning thanks to the Kaleidoscope."
"Have you met them?" Touka asked.
"No," Nobunaga replied, surprised for once. "I thought you would've."
"No. I only ever get left a missive with that name and instructions on how to proceed with my plans," Touka put a hand to her chin. "I don't know much apart from their title, but they've been incredibly helpful so far. And unlike Oriko they don't get involved with things that aren't part of their business."
"A mysterious benefactor then. Another risk to consider," Nobunaga commented. "Be careful. Your ambition is grand and your plan certainly well crafted, but you have a tendency to overlook the smaller details. Left alone they have a tendency to come back and bite you."
"Says the woman who lost her empire because she was betrayed by her retainers?" Touka replied, though somewhat lightheartedly.
"It was a gamble to rely on their loyalty for as long as I did," Nobunaga admitted casually. "One that I lost, but I'd happily take it again."
"Then you understand why I'm doing this. You wouldn't be supporting me otherwise."
Fortune favored the bold and only the decisive could truly do something great. That was what Touka had learned from her Servant and it was the reason why she had advanced the Magius's plans as quickly as she did. Nemu, and even Alina, both complained and cautioned her about the pace she was going.
Not Nobu though. Nobu actually did something about it. Supported her and actively pointed out flaws and risks to be fixed rather than just complaining that things were going bad.
"It was good fortune that I was summoned by a Master with such ambition like you," Nobunaga admitted.
"You don't lack ambition yourself," Touka reminded her. "Should I worry about you trying to usurp my position?"
"Not as long as you entertain me. And if I do try I'll give you a warning. That's the respect I can give you as my Master."
"Heh." Touka grabbed the remote out of Nobu's hands and switched it to the Science channel. "I look forward to it."
Iroha gasped as light returned to her eyes, as cold air filled her lungs once again. She barely had time to become aware of herself, to finally remember everything that had happened, before she had noticed the person standing in front of her.
Or sitting in this case.
"Nemu?" Iroha asked as sat up and finally noticed her surroundings. They were in… some sort of black cage. Just outside the bars was the hallway of a building that she didn't recognize. Was this the Magius's base?
"Hello… Tamaki," Nemu replied in her toneless voice.
"Nemu… it's me. Iroha." She looked at her last hope with pleading and desperate eyes. "Do you… not know me too?"
Nemu rolled her own wheelchair until she was facing away, toward the open cage door. "You have a gift for annoying Touka, don't you?"
"I was just… trying to make her remember."
"Well, it's good for her to learn that not everything fits within her worldview. I swear that Servant of hers has only made her worse and she was already pretty bad."
"Servant?" Iroha asked.
"You met her already. Nobunaga."
That was a name that pretty much everyone in Japan knew. A person who had etched themselves an esteemed, if not infamous, place within this country's history. A savage conqueror, an unyielding tyrant, a uniter and innovator, everyone knew who Oda Nobunaga was. Although even Iroha had to be confused about one thing about that Servant.
"Nobunaga's a girl?" Iroha asked.
"In another timeline… or even this one," Nemu mused. "After meeting her I wouldn't be surprised if our Nobu pulled a trick like that. If only to cause even more trouble."
"She sounds…"
"Annoying," Nemu sighed. "I actually enjoy her, but she is a terrible influence on Touka. I mean really? World domination? Focus on your original goal first."
"To save all Magical Girls," Iroha replied.
Nemu nodded. "Yes."
"So. you're with her too."
"I am a founding member of the Magius. When Touka first proposed that we save all Magical Girls, I didn't see any issues with that." Nemu began staring into the distance. "Then… I realized that there was something I was missing."
"You do?"
"Touka isn't as introspective as I am. And well, being stuck in this chair most of the time leaves me a lot of chances to think…"
"Are you ok?" Iroha asked as she stood up and reached for Nemu, only for her to roll her chair away.
"Tell me. Do you know of the Eternal Sakura? It is one of my rumors, but after talking with it… it is different from the story that I wrote down."
"It wasn't one that you made," Iroha replied. This was a story that she knew intimately. Because- "It was one that I made for you, Touka, and Ui."
"Tell me it… please."
And so Iroha did. She told a story of a large Sakura tree growing in the meadow and a girl standing next to it. It was a special place where the girl promised to be reunited with her three best friends and upon their fathering the Sakura tree would blossom in celebration. No one knew who named the tree, but it was called the 10,000-year-old Sakura of Promises.
By the end of the story Nemu had a wistful look on her face, as if she was there within the story at that very moment. "A good story. Even if I don't remember it myself… it seems that there are some connections that go beyond pure memories."
"Nemu… you and Touka don't have to do this," Iroha begged. "We can stop this right now. Go home and find Ui."
"If you had come to us earlier or if I had spoken to the Eternal Sakura sooner, then I might've listened to you. Now it's too late."
"Why?"
"Because creating and maintaining my Uwasa its already taken so much out of me. There is no going back for me. I might live if I stopped now but," Nemu gestured to herself. "It would be a waste of mine and Touka's efforts after all."
"The Uwasa are yours…" Iroha realized. "They're your stories. Every single one."
"Yes."
"And they're too much for you to handle."
"They're killing me," Nemu admitted.
"Then stop!" Iroha begged. "You can't- I can't let you kill yourself for this. Stop for me. For Ui. For Touka."
"I am doing it for Touka," Nemu replied sternly. "It doesn't matter what happened to you, you weren't there when we were finally released from the hospital. Touka was and there's no use in trying to change the past now. One way or another, the Magius is going to enact our plan."
Iroha closed her eyes.
Touka had always been stubborn and Nemu wasn't someone who would abandon her friends. There was no convincing them to stop at this point. If they wouldn't do it themselves then-
"I'll stop you." Iroha made her declaration as she stared into Nemu's eyes. "I'll stop the Magius and save the both of you. Then we'll find Ui and finally be reunited."
That was her responsibility, as the one who watched over those three in the hospital.
At first Nemu seemed to stare at her emotionlessly, but Iroha knew that her words had reached her, and had caused her to hesitate. Even for just a brief moment.
"Good luck," was all that Nemu would eventually say.
Iroha looked at the open doorway. She had to escape. Figure out how she was going to stop the Magius.
"You don't have your Soul Gem. I have mine," Nemu told her as she rolled her wheelchair out. "You wouldn't get past me, even if that means further extinguishing what little life I have remaining."
Iroha stood in place. Nemu had her trapped. At least for now.
"If you do manage to escape though," Nemu said as she shut the door of the cell. "Your Soul Gem will be in a storage room next door. I won't get in your way, but I won't help you either."
"Nemu…"
"That's the respect I can give you… and Ui."
Joined by the group, along with the edition of Ren and her Goddess, Archer stood at the designated position and lifted the gold pendant he had been given. Seconds later, as if out of nowhere, a door materialized and opened giving them a path in the Magius's base.
"Well, it worked," Felicia commented. "That's good right?"
"Keep your weapons ready, we don't know what's waiting for us behind that door," Yachiyo commanded.
Archer was the first to enter. As soon as he was in he realized that the chances of this being an ambush were fairly low. There was no one in the room and if you wanted to lead your enemy into a trap you wouldn't put them where you stored all your weapons and gear.
"An armory?" Yachiyo commented as she stepped inside, followed by the rest of their group. "Why would an entrance lead straight to here?"
"Does seem like a biiiig oversight," Tsuruno commented.
"This entrance was likely decommissioned and they simply lost track of it as the base was moved around," Sana informed them
"There's a lot of robes here," Madoka said before wincing at the small armory that was also kept in this room. "And weapons."
"Probably find something to fit everyone one of us," Tsuruno commented as she picked up a robe and began to put it on.
"Hey, why are you wearin that robe?" Felicia asked. "You're not thinking about joining the Magius?"
"No and she has the right idea. Everyone here should put one on," Archer answered for Tsuruno as he began to toss robes to all the girls there. "We can disguise ourselves and infiltrate without detection so long as we keep our faces hidden and avoid drawing attention."
Ereshkigal picked up a robe, brightened up a little, and quickly put it on. "I like them. They're stylish."
"Of course you would," Archer couldn't help but say with slight amusement.
"They have a lot of members," Sana replied as she put on her robes. "They won't take note of another group wandering around."
"What… about you?" Ren asked Archer as everyone there began to put the robes over their clothes.
He wouldn't even try to put one on. It would be impossible for him since they were sized for adolescent to young adult girls and he was the largest one in their group as a full grown adult male.
"I'll Astralize. Scout ahead and keep an eye on things. Unless I run into a Servant, they shouldn't be able to notice me and barring an Assassin I'll be able to notice them before they can get near me." He glanced at the armory. "Make sure to gear up too, grab whatever seems useful, especially you Ren. Best if you don't go into this unarmed."
"But… I don't…"
Ereshkigal put a hand on Ren's shoulder, the Goddess's form already concealed by the black feathered robes. "Please for me. These are living people we're dealing with, not the dead. You need to be able to protect yourself."
Ren hesitated for a moment before nodding and walking toward the stack of weapons. "Never used… a weapon before…" she said as she began sorting through them all.
Ren took out a sword and made a few pensive swings of it only to drop it. It would've stabbed her foot had Archer not reached out and caught it.
"Maybe something else?" he suggested
She then tried thrusting with a spear only to accidently fling it out of her hand. Felicia had barely ducked in time to avoid being skewered.
"Hey!"
"Sorry," Ren apologized before reaching and grabbing on the first thing she made contact with. She ended up pulling out a large black handle and continued pulling until a black curved blade at the very end revealed. A wicked looking scythe. A tool of death.
Archer was almost ready to tear the weapon out of her hand and suggest one that was easier to handle when Ren took a pensive step forward. She grabbed the handle with both hands and swung it downwards, the blade making a nice whistle as it flew through the air and stopped just inches away from the ground.
Her footwork was clumsy and slow but the swing itself was actually fairly clean. This blade seemed to suit her. Fitting, considering the company she kept and what she did at night.
"Are you sure about that?" Kyoko asked. "Scythes aren't exactly easy weapons to use. Not going to have many people out there to teach you either unless you joined the Magius."
"I'm fine… and I don't think… I could use those," Ren replied as she gestured to the sickle attached to long chains, the most commonplace weapon among the Magius.
"Can't be too hard to use if most of those brats can," Kyoko muttered to herself and grabbed a chain. Once she tried swinging it though it went completely limp in her hands. "What the."
Kyoko quickly stepped back, wide-eyed, as a black chain flew through the air in front of her.
"Seems to only work with our magic," Tsuruno said as she gave the chain a few more swings. "Responsive too."
"So just Magical Girls then," Kyoko concluded only for Madoka to pick one up and have it swing effortlessly in her unmoving hands.
Kyoko could only stare at her in disbelief. "How?"
"I really don't know," Madoka replied as she set the chains aside.
"Do your powers come from the Incubator or another Magical Girl?" Yachiyo asked. "We assumed that you were a Magus like Kyoko."
"It's from something else," Madoka replied. "It's just… hard to explain. I'll tell you guys later. After we've saved Yuma and Iroha."
"I agree. We can talk more after we complete our mission," Archer said as he considered their options. "Traveling together might be an issue. We might be seen as suspicious with a group this large."
"We should split up into smaller groups then. Cover more ground that way while hopefully avoiding notice," Yachiyo commented.
Kyoko took out her phone and looked at the screen. "Looks like I still got a signal, so phones still work down here at least. Will be able to stay in contact even if I'm not paired up with a Magical Girl."
Sana stepped forward in an uncharacteristic show of confidence. "Ai and I can hide ourselves with our magic. We can move ahead by ourselves too."
Archer nodded in agreement. The Uwasa's fused girl's magic was quite potent. Even ignoring their offensive and defensive capabilities, their ability to conceal her presence from nearly everyone, and not just people without magic, could easily compete with higher ranks of Presence Concealment. "The two of us move forward then while the rest of you split into two groups."
Ren clasped her hands. "Ereshkigal and I… should be together… I'd like her… to be with me."
"Kyoko can go with you then," Yachiyo said. "I'll take the rest with me. Madoka can use her phone so we can stay in contact."
"What do we do once the fighting starts?" Madoka asked.
"We simply have two tasks. Save Yuma and Iroha," Archer addressed the group. This was a high stakes mission that required a high subtlety, skill, and experience to even have a fraction of a chance to pull off. At the very least this group had shown that they were capable, more or less. "For now focus on gathering information subtly and exploring. We'll communicate with each other on a regular basis about the information we acquired. On detection we'll quickly converge on a designated location, hopefully where either prisoner is kept once we learn their location."
Everyone nodded and finished the last of their preparations. Just before the groups parted though, Madoka brought herself to the front to address them.
"I know I haven't known a lot of you guys for that long, and… maybe that makes me a bit of an outsider," the pink haired girl said sheepishly. "But I want you guys to know that you're my friends and I care about you… that's why. We all have to come back. All of us." She looked at Archer. "Even when things seem bad. We should always hope and go for the best, shouldn't we?"
Archer looked at her pensively before nodding. "That we should."