MGLN: Future Tense
Chapter 22: New Ground
Xx~~*~~xX
"What the hell happened?"
30-year old Captain Rai glanced out the window of the transport ship as it ascended the atmosphere, repeating that comment upon noticing the devastation below once more. For dozens of kilometers around, the forest was torn up badly and pockmarked with large craters, as if two giants had decided to take a stroll and then engaged in an impromptu wrestling match. He shook his head, the scene reminding him of the incident on Episol, which had involved warship bombardment from orbit. The destruction here on Supool wasn't quite as large, but it was still very visible from high orbit.
Especially the largest crater of them all.
Rai had served under Commander Harlaown for many years, but he had never seen a battle between mages cause so much destruction. Of course, he hadn't been involved in the war, as that had come before his time, either.
"Hey there, are you all alone?"
He remembered he was just a young 12-year-old street orphan on Earth, and had picked Fate's pocket, just like he had done to many others. And due to knowing all the ins and outs of the area, he could always escape; his speed was also an advantage, part of the reason he had been nicknamed "Rai" by the other street kids. But Fate surprised him, managing to not only keep up, but somehow get ahead of him and block his path.
"You can keep the money if you like, but don't you want something better for your life?"
He was dismissive of her at first, but then she showed him magic, and told him he had potential, and that she could train him. He was hooked from the get-go, and he spent his next half-a-dozen years training on Mid-Childa, with the goal of becoming her subordinate. There was still much about her he didn't know, as she didn't tend to share much with her juniors, but he respected her for her magical skills, her investigative abilities, and her overall moral code. It was the main reason he could believe in the Bureau, because there were benevolent people like her at the helm.
"Captain Rai, reporting for duty. Please take care of me, Commander Harlaown; I'll be under your care from now on!"
"Likewise, Captain. I expect good things from you."
Which is why he would do anything to protect her now.
But he had to admit this latest development left him considerably confused; her last command before she disappeared was to return to the ship and await further orders. However, after a day had passed without any further word, so he had gone against her orders to begin searching. He could guess that she probably encountered Seikou, that triple S class threat that had been the Bureau's focus lately, and most likely wanted to face it alone. Given all that he had learned about Seikou's power, he was more than willing to admit that the commander was probably one of the few who could actually tangle with her; Rai personally knew just how monstrously strong Fate was.
But why remove the communicator? Why not broadcast her position in case they were needed for backup? True, they probably couldn't match the target's magical power; he had heard through the grapevine how badly Signum's unit had been hit when they engaged the suspect. Did Fate wanted to spare them? An odd sentiment, but he was used to her doing things her way, so he let it pass.
"She's unconscious, but has a steady pulse," the med tech informed him. "She seems to have gone into some sort of magical shock. We can't tell much more without a thorough checkup, however. I suggest we take her back to Mid-Childa immediately for treatment."
His commander was now laying comatose in the ship's med bay, recovered the next day after Rai had grown worried enough to order a new search. But he was shocked to see the condition his commander was in.
"She was still tightly gripping her device when we found her, but there is a problem," Lt. Janus explained, showing him the heavily cracked golden triangle that had several chunks missing. "It's inactive, and we're not sure we can restore enough functionality to tell what happened. It had to be related to that incredible magic surge we detected."
Not just detected, Rai realized, but visibly saw with the naked eye from their position hovering in the clouds over the eastern ocean. A brilliant light that exploded on the horizon, growing in size and intensity, ultimately reaching a size several kilometers across while leaving a crater about as big that could be seen from space. It was the main reason they knew where to start their search in the first place.
"Captain Rai, we've just cleared the atmosphere and are ready to enter hyperspace," came the voice over his communicator from the ship's own captain, breaking him out of his reverie.
Rai tapped his ear piece. "Acknowledged, engage engines. Get us back as soon as possible."
There was no reply, but he didn't expect one.
Instead, he turned his attention back to the planet below, hoping he did the right thing in leaving Janus and the rest of the Enforcers below, to continue their search for the target. Given the magical output they detected and Commander Harlaown's condition, whoever did this was monstrously strong indeed. Of course, he had heard the rumors of Seikou the Starlight Destroyer that beat full contingents of Enforcers and soldiers not once, not twice, but at least three times. Someone who could do that was deserving of great caution, and justified the high threat level the Bureau had assigned her. However, he had left clear instructions that Janus and her unit not engage at all, but just stick to surveillance.
Right before the ship jumped into hyperspace, Rai turned to glance down at the destruction below, including the several kilometer-sized crater that had been visible from space, and his earlier words echoed through his mind once more.
What the hell happened?
x~~*~~x
"With the prosecution resting it's case, we will adjourn for now," the female magistrate announced with a pound of the gavel. "We will reconvene next week, where the defense will present it's case. You're dismissed."
["Justice" moves quite rapidly,] Teana inwardly groused. Of course, she knew that with so few actual lawbreakers these days, there wasn't any sort of backlog in the court system to slow things down. [Still, I was hoping to draw this out longer; it's not looking good for Wendi.]
Nonetheless, Teana put on a smile while she hugged her red-haired sister, promising Wendi that things were well in hand before the guards took the #11 cyborg back to her cell. Teana wished she didn't have to bend the truth like that, but she needed to keep her sisters in high spirits, and so far the leads she had weren't too promising, and the prosecution's case was damning; several witnesses had come forward with testimony that Wendi had been overheard complaining about Hayate as well as suggesting that perhaps it was time to replace her. That had been accompanied by some audio and video recordings as well.
But it didn't make sense; Teana knew where Wendi was during the times she was recorded, although they couldn't prove it. And having personally gone through the recordings, Teana had determined they were legit; that was Wendi's voice and image. The Homeworld Security director knew that Quattro's IS left distinctive signals when it was used, but she detected none of that in the files; they recorded exactly what they saw, and detected no transformation magic in play.
So how did Quattro do it?
"Things don't look too good," came the almost purring voice of the cyborg devil incarnate from behind Teana. "It's a shame, too. I really liked Wendi; she was one of my sisters, too."
Teana turned around and strolled through the small gate to the audience section of the courtroom, pausing to glare at her new nemesis. "You need to put more effort into your lies. I
will find exactly how you're behind this, and once I show Hayate, you'll wish she had left you in prison."
Quattro shrugged, seemingly more amused by Teana's efforts then the actual plot being played out. "If you say so. I just wanted to come by to express my condolences, before I report to Hayate. She has been showing a renewed interest in my toys, so I'm hoping for a field test soon. I do wish you luck on your defense, though." She then grinned in a manner that suggested the complete opposite. "You'll need it. Ciao!"
Teana watched the woman turn and stroll out of the courtroom along with most of the rest of the audience, taking a few steps towards the door herself before pausing next to one aisle. "So?"
Givo stood up and nodded, speaking in a quiet voice. "I got a reading on her. I should be able to track her wherever she goes now."
"Good," Teana replied in an equally soft tone. "As promised, your records have been expunged and rewritten."
"That wasn't the full deal," Givo told her, eyes narrowing. "What about the rest?"
"I told you, it won't be easy freeing the rest," Teana reminded him. "Your comrades were captured during Vita's assault on the rebel base; they are high-class fugitives. Sneaking one of you out wasn't too hard, but it'll be very difficult to arrange freedom for the rest. However, that depends on you finding out what Quattro is up to."
She hadn't told him, but the main reason for wiping his data from the system was his unique magical skill. Once Teana had learned of Givo's ability to track anyone or anything he had been able to get a read on, she had to make sure that Quattro didn't find out about it. Right now, he was Teana's ace-in-the-hole.
"I know, but if you can't arrange what we promised, I might just let your sister be convicted," Givo countered darkly. "Fitting karma for her. Executed by the same system that she was a party to when she killed my mother."
[If I can keep him focused,] Teana sighed internally, then decided to remind him exactly where he stood. "I can put you back into the system at anytime, too."
Givo glanced up at her, then nodded; he knew his place. He didn't have to like it, but Teana didn't care, as long as she could free Wendi.
"Let's go, then," she told him, beginning to walk off as he fell into step beside her. "Officially, you're my new aide, and as long as you have your ID, you should be allowed almost anywhere I can go, and that's pretty much most everywhere on Mid-Childa. Just be quiet about your abilities."
She knew she didn't have to tell him as they had gone over this before, but did so anyway. He didn't reply, but slipped off sometime before they reached the elevator, probably to begin trailing Quattro. For a moment, Teana entertained the notion of making him a full time agent someday; his skill would enable him to find anyone he had met before, making him the perfect tracker provided they were on the planet. But she dismissed that thought almost immediately; she knew he wouldn't go for it.
And Teana had to finish preparing a defense for Wendi's next court date.
x~~*~~x
Verossa crept into the darkened room, collapsing his umbrella and shaking the water from it. While the rain continued to relentlessly assault the building, Verossa let his eyes grow accustomed to the change in visibility, trying to make out the contents of the chamber, but the owners had done a very good job eliminating any light sources. He dearly hoped this wasn't another dead end, like the eight previous places he had checked, but there was only one way to be sure.
He reached into his coat and absently brushed his fingers against the disc, held within it's protective casing. The only evidence of something that suggested there was far more in play than he realized, which had been a keepsake of an old security guard; one that had manned the stations that day of the JS incident when the cradle attacked. The cameras had recorded something that day that the guard was the only witness to. He was on Regius's payroll, though, and thus disappeared with the only security camera recording shortly thereafter, fearing that he'd be held somewhat to account for all that Regius had been doing.
And now it was in Verossa's possession.
His thoughts drifted back to the present, and just as he was wondering if he got the wrong place once again, he suddenly felt a presence behind him and a sword at his neck; he cursed, not having felt her presence at all.
"Don't move, or I'll remove your head," the quiet command from the woman who had gotten the drop on him.
He let out a breath. "That would be a shame; I'm quite attached to my head, Deed."
"Verossa!?" the woman gasped, the sword lowering slightly. "Lights."
The room was suddenly flooded with illumination, temporarily blinding Verossa, but when his eyes finally adjusted, he noted the familiar cyborg standing in front of him with twin swords lowered. Another familiar cyborg, Otto, was standing against the wall several meters behind her, studying the new arrival. Inwardly, Verossa felt a sigh of relief, having managed to track the two down; both Otto and Deed had joined the Saint Church upon their release from rehabilitation, and had been serving Carim personally until recently. This was one of the safe houses that Carim and her inner circle had set up far in advance, should anything happen. Verossa just counted himself lucky that these houses were still in existence.
"What are you doing here?" Deed questioned, eyeing him. "We hadn't heard from you in so long, we thought you might have been dead."
"I had to go deep undercover," he explained with a sigh, taking off his coat and hanging it on a nearby chair. "Carim had sent me off many years ago to find out some things; information even she didn't know, that she knew she didn't know, but that she felt was vitally important. However, I didn't expect to find a destroyed mansion when I returned. What happened?"
When Deed's face lowered, Otto closed her eyes and explained, "We're not sure, since Carim sent us away to hide here. I returned later to check, but I saw what you did; the place was a mess. We can only assume the Bureau found her, but if so, we're in trouble."
"More than you know," Verossa answered, reaching into the inner breast pocket and pulling out the disc.
"What do you mean?" Deed questioned, curiously studying the object in his hand. "What's that?"
Verossa eyed both of them as he held up the disc. "If you have a suitable player, we should really watch this first, and then I'll explain all I know."
x~~*~~x
Hayate opened her eyes, many thoughts going through her head as she glanced down at the unconscious golden-haired woman in the bed. Rein had just merged with Fate to scan her memories, then unisoned with Hayate once more to share them, and the conclusions that had been drawn left her disturbed. Fate herself hadn't yet regained consciousness since she was brought in two days ago, and while Hayate wanted to allow her friend to wake up on her own to share what she knew, in the end the Supreme Commander decided she couldn't wait; she needed that information now.
"[I know what you're thinking,]" Rein told her, reading her mistress's thoughts. "[Because I see the same thing. Her actions, her mannerisms, her fighting style... she may be a clone, but she's Nanoha.]"
Hayate sighed while sitting back in her chair next to the hospital bed, and ran a hand through her bleached hair that was evidence of her current unison. "[I know what you're going to say. That before, I could pretend that she was just a clone created by Jail; a tool, and nothing more. That's why I could justify having 'it' killed before Jail's tool could do some harm.]"
"[But she's not,]" Rein stated solemnly. "[Not just a tool. Not just a clone. That determination and battle fierceness; she's as much Nanoha as the original.]"
Hayate's fist slammed down on the edge of the chair, cracking the frame under the pressure. "Damn it, I know that! And damn Jail for setting one my oldest friends against me! I ought to drag his brain back out of confinement for some more torture." She sighed again and rubbed her temples. "But I can't just change the laws on a personal whim; I have to apply them fairly and evenly. That's why, as much as it pained me, I had to arrest Wendi for treason. Even if I capture Nanoha now, she has to stand trial; justice has to be served. Somehow, I almost think that's what Jail intended; use her as a way to torture me."
"[You know that can't be true,]" Rein countered. "[Jail can be vindictive, but his goals aren't that simplistic. She's up to something, and believes it in strongly enough to fight Fate that hard.]"
The Supreme Commander didn't respond, feeling the weight of her office upon her. Sometimes, she dreamed of just giving it all up, but there was no one to replace her. Without her, the Bureau could collapse. She couldn't show weakness nor favoritism, nor bend the rules for anyone. Under her leadership, crime had fallen dramatically, lost logia cases had shown a marked drop in severity, and worlds under the Bureau's flag had come to know peace; billions in the dimensional sea counted on her.
Taking another glance at the patient in the hospital bed, Hayate reached out and placed a hand on top of Fate's, feeling the warmth within. Now having Fate's memories of her fight with Nanoha, Hayate realized what must have happened. Normally, they wove stunning effects into their spells, to knock out their opponent with magical damage rather than inflict real harm, but Nanoha's Moonlight Breaker and Fate's Rail Gun Extension mixed unpredictably into one large explosion of wild magic that intensified the effect. In short, there was no telling when Fate would wake up.
Hayate finally stood, sparing one more glance down at her longtime friend and subordinate. [But I know Nanoha is going to come sooner or later, so I have to start preparing.]
She turned and strode from the room, pausing as the door swished closed behind her. "Captain Rai, I see you plan to continue standing guard."
"Yes sir," he replied dutifully, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "I left the rest of the unit on Supool to continue searching, and I'll return once the Enforcer Commander awakens."
Hayate tilted her head slightly. "You're one of Fate's kids, aren't you?"
"Sir?" the man questioned.
The Supreme Commander chuckled. "Long story. You probably don't know too much of her history. Keep up the good work, Captain. We need more strong people we can depend on like you in the Bureau."
Captain Rai was quick with the salute. "Yes sir!"
Hayate left the area, then. She had difficult and uncomfortable plans to make.
x~~*~~x
"Umin, stop picking on Celi!" the Saint Church nun called, causing the young boy to temporarily stop chasing and poking the young girl with a stick. "Or do you want me to tell Sister D-"
"Waaa, I'll stop!" Umin cried, dropping his stick and running away.
Celi paused, took one look at the stick, then picked it up and chased after the young boy, laughing merrily.
Sister Sein sighed and resumed her trek through the saint Church orphanage. "Geez. That's the fourth time this week. I'm really going to have to ask my sisters how they keep these kids in line." She paused after turning a corner, seeing the door down the hall slightly ajar. [That's strange; she couldn't have....]
Carefully, the cyborg nun tiptoed the rest of the way, and then gently pushed the door open to peek inside, smiling in relief to see the room's occupant still residing in bed. The relief turned into curiosity when she noticed the patient had a visitor, in the form of a young girl on crutches. A whimper sounded from the bed, causing the nun to quickly enter the room to check on the woman in the bed.
The girl-on-crutches finally noticed she was no longer alone. "Is she going to be alright? She's been asleep for three days now."
The nun felt the unconscious woman's forehead, brushing the bangs out of the way to the sound of more whimpers and moans. "She should be. She just needs rest." She turned to give the young girl a smile. "I appreciate you looking after her, Kela, but we should let her be for now."
"Okay," was Kela's subdued response, as she balanced on her crutches and began making her way out.
The nun watched her go, then turned back and inhaled sharply; deep blue eyes were open and staring at her, and a voice croaked, "Sein?"
The cyborg nun smiled warmly and poured some water from the pitcher into a crude metal cup. "Welcome back, Nanoha. How are you feeling?"
"A little better," Nanoha answered, after curing the dryness in her throat with the proffered water. "Mostly just bad dreams. What happened with that girl who was just here?"
"Kela?" Sein questioned. "She was born that way, with a crippled foot, and we don't have the money to get treatment for it. We found her on the doorstep to the orphanage when she was just a baby, and we only know her name because of the card attached to the basket."
"An orphanage?" Nanoha inquired, sitting up to glance around the room, and through the open window to the sea beyond. "Is that where I am?"
"Easy, you've been out of it for a few days," Sein cautioned, helping by placing extra pillows behind the woman. "The children actually found you washed up on the beach not too far from here, and I came by to check on things out. But yes, this is officially a Saint Church orphanage, although if we didn't receive a monthly stipend from the Bureau, we wouldn't be able to take care of the children."
Nanoha's gaze dropped into her lap. "I see. Did you find anyone else near me?"
Sein shook her head. "No, just you. Would you mind telling me what happened? Last I knew, you were supposed to be dead! And here you are, not having aged a day!"
A half-smile formed on Nanoha's lips. It was a familiar question that she had come to expect, and thus launched into her explanation.
x~~*~~x
"Dammit, how could we miss this?" Deed cursed, punctuating her remarked by slamming her fist into the arm of her chair.
"It certainly puts things into perspective," Otto agreed. "But who was the cloaked figure?"
Verossa backed up the tape to the scene in question, which was focused clearly on Regius's office, past the point after Signum and Agito had left it. Auris was still unconscious, with the bodies of Regius, Zest, and Due still visible. He paused it just as a new figure materialized into the room, body fully covered by a black cloak, complete with hood.
"Whoever it is, they never turned their face towards the camera," Verossa replied. "It's one of the big mysteries I have yet to figure out, but somehow, I suspect that this person is behind much of what has gone in the past 50 years. Maybe even before that. Although, they aren't the only one."
The trio watched again, as Due struggled to rise, clearly injured, but not as dead as they had previously believed, stuttering, "Wh-who are you!?"
The cloaked figure didn't answer right away, but waved his or her hands and the body of a duplicate Due landed on the floor. Then, he/she held out a hand and spoke in a low, gravely and husky voice, "Come with me if you want to live. I require you."
It was unclear to Verossa as to whether it was a male or female voice, although he was leaning towards male. Whoever it was, the figure didn't wait for a response, but grabbed the real Due's hand and pulled her over his/her shoulder, positioning the fake Due body in her place. Then, with a magical flash, the two teleported out. Several minutes later, the security detail arrived in the room to secure the area, and the image dissolved into static.
"You've learned nothing about this person?" Deed questioned again.
Verossa shook his head. "No. And it was almost luck that I found the security guard that had fled with this recording. But as you can clearly see, we have a major problem."
The two sisters met his gaze, their solemn expressions relaying the fact that they clearly understood the full implications of what they had just seen.
x~~*~~x
"Hello Fate, how are you feeling?"
The woman in the hospital bed turned her head. "I'm doing better. The doctors tell me I should be able to get up tomorrow, and be back to normal in a few more."
Mariel smiled and sat down beside the bed, patting the other girl's hand tenderly. "That's good. I heard you had a run-in with your old friend, Nanoha. How is she?"
At the mention of the name, Fate's emotions took a downward trend.. "Physically, emotionally, and magically, she's a near-perfect clone. For better or worse, she's Nanoha." Almost unconsciously, Fate's hands clenched. "But I was unable to persuade her. She's going to fight us."
"Even if it is Nanoha, how would that even be possible?" Marial wondered aloud. "She's just one person. I have heard of a few scattered terrorist groups, but even if she teamed up with them, there wouldn't be any way she could-"
"Nanoha will find a way," Fate interrupted the other woman, then half-smiled. "She's always been like that; powering on through no matter what was in front of her. She won't give up."
[And I'm not entirely sure I can or will stop her,] Fate didn't say out loud. She had been on the wrong side once before, and it was almost too terrifying to consider that she might be there again. [Is she right?]
In order to change the slightly uncomfortable topic, she asked, "How is Bardiche?"
Mariel bit her lip, then opened a holographic screen showing the heavily cracked device along with a running technical display. "I'll be honest that it doesn't look too good. From what I have learned, Bardiche was bathed with an incredible amount of wild magic, which overloaded practically all it's systems. We might have to rebuild the entire thing. But it's partly why you're mostly undamaged; the device filtered much of the wild magic out of your body."
The revelation hit the already emotional Fate even harder, but she swallowed and tried to hide it. "Is he going to be alright?"
"I assume you mean the AI, and it's difficult to tell," the Bureau's head scientist answered. "It's scrambled with a lot of sectors unreadable. Since you'll be up and about in a day or two, I'll have a new device you can use in the meantime. It's similar enough to Bardiche that you should be able to adapt to it, and I've even tweaked it in order to enhance most of your standard spells."
Fate raised an eyebrow, unsure how she felt about that. "New device? I'd really prefer using Bardiche...."
"To be honest, technology has progressed quite far since your device was first made," Marial explained. "The upgrades we've performed over the years has allow it to keep pace, but it might be time to go for something new. I'll transfer what I can of the AI into the new shell and keep as much of the old functionality as I can."
Fate lapsed into silence, remembering a time long ago, when Linith had constructed Bardiche for her. In a lot of ways, whenever Fate wielded the weapon, it felt like her old instructor and friend was somehow still with her; if she lost Bardiche, she would have lost her last link to that time, as well as another familiar presence she had come to count on. That wasn't something she wanted to contemplate.
Marial reached out to pat Fate's shoulder. "Don't worry too much. There's still a chance we can rebuild Bardiche, but we'll know for sure in a week or two. At the least, we'll salvage as much as we can and incorporate it. See, look."
The Enforcer commander looked up as the head tech opened another holographic screen, displaying a blue triangle device that was nearly identical to Bardiche, except for the color. As Fate glanced back and forth between the two, she couldn't help but feel a similar duality inside that mirrored the twin devices. She had come to embrace her current path, no matter where that had taken her or even despite the hardships it meant. However, ever since her encounter with Nanoha, she had been feeling something new inside; a sensation both old and new, which somehow excited and disturbed her at the same time.
The confused woman turned over on her side, away from Mariel, and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. "Thank you. I know you'll do your best. If you don't mind, though, I'd like to get some rest."
Mariel switched the screens off and stood up, the edges of her lips slowly curving upwards. "I'll do what I can for you, just as I always have. Get some rest; you'll need it for the trials yet to come."
Fate puzzled over those words for a moment, but when she turned around to ask, Mariel was gone.
x~~*~~x
"Wow," Sein finally commented, trying to take everything in. "Carim always told us to have faith, but never told us much. That explains the damage your device took."
"It's a lot to take in, I know," Nanoha agreed, looking back on her life thus far and finding it almost unbelievable herself. She glanced at the cracked red jewel that had been mostly silent from where it rested on the nightstand next to her bed; as best as she could determine, it was in self-repair mode and she had no idea when it would be fully repaired again. "And so I need to go find Lutecia again. She might be able to teleport me back to Mid-Childa."
She had shared most everything that had happened since she woke up, but leaving out anything relating to Vivio or time travel. [I especially can't tell anyone else about the latter just yet, until I figure out what I'm going to do myself.] Still, the prophecy was enough to cover any gaps.
"Well, that's going to be a problem," Sein answered with a sigh. "You're no longer on the Jalacia continent; I guess your fight with Fate tossed you across the Aghes ocean to end up here on the Gojan continent, and the Bureau has forbidden all travel to and from Jalacia."
Nanoha laid back down and sighed, hoping Vivio, Einhart and Ix we're still okay. "They are probably still looking for me. I need to get back to Mid-Childa and announce my presence so they stop looking for me there. Lutecia and Erio are in danger."
[And Vivio,] she added silently.
Sein leaned back in her chair and bit her lip. "There still might be a way. When you're well enough to travel, I'll take you to some people I know. But I can't promise anything, and it's not going to be easy."
x~~*~~x
"Okay, now," Yuuno whispered to his wife as they lay under the sheets in the small bed.
She nodded in the darkness and threw off the covers, having expected this moment; it had been at least 10 minutes since Runessa had left on her rounds, so they had a short window of opportunity. "Are you sure about this?"
Yuuno nodded as they quickly got dressed. "I've kept track of how long she's gone each time and when she comes back. We should have enough time now, and as I said before, certain things aren't adding up. The sooner we get out of here, the better. I want to find out what's going on above, and be in a position to help Nanoha if I can. After all, it's my fault she's in this position now."
Shari found his shoulder in the dark and gave it a squeeze, saying a lot without saying anything at all, and then the pair finished getting dressed and moved to the steel door that led an aquifer; however, it was still locked as expected. They had been told it was for their own protection, to keep them hidden in case a patrol came through the aquifer tunnels, but Yuuno no longer bought that rationale.
"My turn," Shari said with a grin, pulling a small device from her pocked and placing it against the lock, the magnetic grips holding it in place. "Took me awhile to make this, but thankfully, Runessa supplied me with parts, ostensibly to get your collar off, but you're right; she's deliberately not giving me the right parts, when I know she could. But I was able to make this!"
She tapped a button and there was a sizzling sound; and then the lock fell away and the door swung open.
"Have I mentioned how much I love you?" Yuuno stated, unable to suppress a grin.
"You could always stand to mention it more," she replied, amused while taking the small device off the door in case they needed to reuse it.
"Well, I'll show you how much once we get out of here," he promised, and then moved through the door and landed in the running water of the aquifer channel with a splash. "Let's go."
Shari took the offered hand as her husband helped her down into the chilling water. "Where to now?"
"Not sure, but if we keep moving upstream, we should be able to find the central pool that the water comes from," Yuuno suggested as they began to move. "There should be a maintenance hatch we can escape out of from there."
But they hadn't made it very far, just around the aquifer corner as a matter of fact, before their attempted escape ran into a dead end. The couple stared at the near blank cement wall before Yuuno stepped up against the flow and felt the upwelling of water through the grate below.
"It shouldn't be like this, if I recall the water systems correctly," Shari reasoned. "It should be a normal channel all the way, right?"
"Indeed, it should," echoed a male voice around them, a moment before the walls around them fell away, revealing a much larger room around them, filled with computer equipment and glowing capsules. "If this was actually what you thought it was." He sighed, then turned to address the darkness along the other side. "I told you that this wouldn't last too long."
Runessa walked out of the shadows. "My apologies, but I thought I could maintain the illusion a bit longer. What gave me away?"
Yuuno smiled grimly. "It wasn't quite what you did, but what you didn't do. No one else knew what we were up to, so there was no one who could have given you an order to keep us hidden. But I didn't think Runessa Magnus would turn against the church that tried to help her."
Shari gasped, then pulled on Yuuno's sleeve to direct his attention. "I don't think that's Runessa...."
The librarian turned, his eyes widening in surprise at the nude form floating in the yellow liquid-filled capsule. "Runessa? Then who is..."
They both turned back, staring as the previous Runessa's form shifted, revealing a maliciously grinning face, along with a familiar blue bodysuit. "Hi!"
Yuuno knew he'd seen the face before, but it was Shari who realized it first. "Due! But that's impossible; you were dead!"
"For someone as technically skilled as you are, Shari Fineo, I would have thought you'd remember my IS," Due chided, waving her finger.
Shari's eyes widened. "Liar's Mask... you faked being a dead body? But how? Zest killed you!"
"And he was under my predecessor's care," the disturbingly familiar male voice sounded again; Yuuno almost had forgotten he was there. "It was a simple matter to include some subconscious programming, designed to take over in the event he attempted to attack one of my children. It merely let him believe he had struck a fatal blow."
"Your predecessor?" Yuuno questioned in disbelief, his eyes narrowing. "Jail!?"
The figure finally leaned forward, exposing the youthful face of Jail Scaglietti to the light. "Indeed. And we have so much to talk about, Yuuno H. Fineo. You and your lovely wife are going to tell me all about time travel...."
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
For those curious, yes, Fate's Rail Gun in the last chapter was partially inspired by the Railgun anime (another good one that I encourage people to watch). When trying to think up new attacks for Fate, Mikoto's control over electricity and electromagnetism provided some inspiration, although Fate's is a more traditional railgun in that her Zanber sword splits down the middle to provide the two prongs for the "barrel". And as a side fact, whenever I do combat now, I tend to listen to "Only My Railgun" and "Level5 Judglight" (Both Railgun OPs) to get me into the proper mood, heh. I like the upbeat nature of the songs.
Rai in Japanese means "lightning" for those who don't know.