[Aaron008R]

Part 2...

Spoiler for MGLN GenerationS: Chapter 1: Part 2:

[Magic Weapons Research Facility, TSAB Naval Base] [May 24th, MC 077] [1635 hours]

Tesla is seen walking briskly towards a singular room at the end of the corridor, her long, blue hair bouncing lightly in tempo to her quick but well-measured strides. A small datapad is clutched in her right arm. As she reached the door, she raised a hand to knock, hesitated, and instead opened the door immediately and poked her head inside. “Ossan~!” she called out loudly in a lively tone.

The only person inside is Aurion, hunched over a small containment field holding the Buch der Nachthimmeis (or the Book of the Night Sky), one of Hayate’s primary devices. He didn’t show any palpable sign of being perturbed by the somewhat abrupt (more like intentionally rude) entrance of the Knight of the Sky, but his left eyebrow twitched noticeably as he paused his typing on the data screen before him.

“What are you doing?” inquired Tesla playfully, obviously paying no heed to the stalled progress.

“Oh, nothing much.” came the reply as Aurion straightened up and turned to look nonchalantly at the smaller girl. His right hand rose to poke Tesla by the forehead as he began a light scolding, “I was just on that one crucial part that might end up refragmenting all the information in the device if I screwed up.” He kept on poking Tesla’s head for every few words he stated “That would have subsequently delayed the installation by several hours. So you should be thankful that I didn’t,” He finished by raising his hand higher and patting her head rather heavily, “Tesla.”

The blue-haired girl winced first, and later giggled as she raised a hand to cover her forehead and stuck out her tongue playfully, “Sorry.”

“Ah, well. Have you got what I called for?”

“Yup. It’s right here.” Tesla answered, handing over the datapad to him.

“Thank you.” Instead of taking the datapad, Aurion turned around and began to work on the Tome again. The datapad simply got surrounded by a cobalt glow and levitated out of Tesla’s hand, floating in front of Aurion and flipping a few pages. “With this data, I should be able to do the proper recalibrations for Schwertkreuz faster…”

“You’re welcome.” Tesla replied cheerfully. “………” Clasping her hands behind her, she stepped forward and bent sideways, gazing curiously at Aurion’s face. “Hmm~,” she stared at his face for several seconds, “I guess they were right.” she mumbled thoughtfully afterwards.

Aurion ignored her first as he finished the rest of the adjustments. After finishing, he closed the several screens and willed the datapad to land on his left hand. “Nanda?” he inquired as he bent sideways himself to match the stare of the girl.

Tesla straightened up and stepped back, with Aurion following cue, “You’re eyes… They were glowing just now, huh?”

“Ah.” Aurion blinked once and smiled strangely, “It seems like they do.” he says later as his eyes begin glowing cobalt, advertently causing exactly twenty strands of hair hanging from Tesla’s shoulder the glow and float gently in front of her face. “And it also seems like it came with a certain bonus”

Tesla raised her hands to let her fingers brush with her currently ‘alive’ hair. As if reacting to the touch, the six strands braided themselves into a loose double-helix pattern. “Wow… So it seems like your control actually improved along with it…”

“Yes… That much is true.” Replies Aurion as the hair strands straighten themselves and settles back on Tesla’s shoulders. The glow in his eyes receded.

“Any drawbacks, Ossan?”

“You tell me.”

“Well for one, I think it’s too conspicuous.”

“Touché.”

“What caused it?” asked Tesla, twirling the now inactive lock of hair around her fingers.

Aurion shrugged, “Who knows?”

Tesla’s eyes sharpened, “You’re lying.”

“Am I now?” Aurion eyelids close halfway as he stared directly down at Tesla’s own.

“I know you are… No matter how you make your eyes move.” Tesla crosses her arms and continues the oddly matched staring contest, “There are already too many weird things about you, Ossan; I intent to find out about the newer ones before they get out of hand.”

The older man only chuckles and pats Tesla’s head, “What’s this…? It looks like I have someone who’s investigating my case.” Aurion chides Tesla teasingly. “Good luck in trying to figure me out, Mahou Tantei (Magic Detective) Tesla-kun.”

“Ehehe~.”

“Heh.”

The two burst into chuckles. After a short while, the two can already be seen conversing casually at the study table; with Aurion sitting on the chair while Tesla was on the table sitting with her knees and elbows together. Her chin rested on her hands while her ankles were crossed and swinging to and fro. They were talking to each sideways.

“An invitation to command a naval ship… and you turned it down?”

“Yeah.” Tesla replied indifferently as she dislodged her arms to use them in leaning back on the table with her hands. “It was interesting, but I’d rather stay by Hayate’s side.”

“Oh?” a grin spread across Aurion’s face, “I feel glad for the people who would have been under your command…” he casually remarked.

Tesla shot a glare at him, “And oh what could you be implying by that, Ossan~?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.” Aurion replied sarcastically, dodging a playful kick to his head from Tesla soon afterwards (Well, with Tesla being a Wolkenritter, just a playful kick might actually end up being powerful enough to knock out a normal person). “Anyway,” he dodged a few more kicks, his left hand at last coming up as a blur to catch both of her ankles in his left prosthetic hand (and also his primary device; Reishiki, the expanded-function Storage Device/Prostheric arm which is currently cloaked by transformation magic to look like a normal arm) as she tried to kick him with both feet, “How’re the tutorials with Hayate going?” he asked as Tesla began squirming her legs to loosen his hold (to no avail).

“They’re going fine.” Tesla replied with virtually no change in her tone or expression despite her efforts to free herself from her current predicament, “Hayate may not be the fastest learner there is. But she picked up the rudiments rather quickly.” She tried to pull back her legs harder but failed compared to the mechanical strength of Aurion’s hand holding her ankles together. “And that’s how the way it should be. I’m the best teacher for her in that department.” She gave up her struggling after a few more moments and left her restrained legs suspended limply, prompting Aurion to finally release his hold on her ankles with the implied assurance of no more attempted kicks to his head. “Staff-fighting, as well as any other form of physical combat was never in her field of specialty. So I must say it’s a pleasant surprise that she could actually learn at that pace.”

“Hoho~…” Aurion rested his chin on his left fist, “And that’s not exactly what I expect to hear. Going by proper standards?” he asked furtively.

Tesla blinked once, twice, followed by a slightly embarrassed expression on her features, “Not… good enough.” She finally muttered with some hesitation; as well as a light blush on her cheeks.

“Hahahahahaha!” a burst of derisive laughter burst from Aurion’s mouth, “As expected, not even you can bear to be too strict with her!”

The glare that appeared on the eternal teenager’s face afterwards would have sent those who knew during the rise of the Yami no Sho Incidents running for their lives, (despite being tinged by the faint irritated blush) “But still, average is still better than doing poorly.” she replied grouchily. “Hmph! What about you?”

“What about me?” Aurion asked in turn, eyeing Tesla’s slightly fuming face with amusement, “Hayate or the other three Aces rarely ever got it off easily with me with regards to performance despite my close regards.” Several memories passed through his mind… That of the four Aces at different situations… The four looked upset, even tearful at several instances as far as he can remember those times he was rather strict with them. The memories made him smile wider, “That much is true; don’t you think so, Tesla?”

“There’s still the preferential treatment there, no matter how small.” She insisted.

“Aah, but I have the freedom to do so… since I’m not in the military.” He countered. “I’m just a harmless researcher with a lot of free time and a good grasp of several types of standards.”

Tesla smirked mischievously, “What kind of ‘harmless’ researcher actually runs around with enough equipment and tricks to actually match one or more elite mages?”

Aurion closed one eye in a casual wink, “I guess I can be considered an exception, then.” Tesla countered by sticking out her tongue.

“Anyway…” Tesla shifted subjects as she activated and browsed thru a data screen beside her on Aurion’s table, “Are these the extra plans for Keroko-chan and the other’s devices?”

“Yes.” Aurion replied as he activated another screen himself and shuffled thru several windows, finally showing the specs of the Intelligent Device of Nanoha, Raising Heart. “Though they’re not entirely under my jurisdiction, I did manage to gather some important data on the three other devices from the battles during the Jail Scaglietti Incident. Due to these devices being used in their maximum capacity, I’m now able to obtain proper statistical info at extreme conditions. Oh. And not just from the Intelligent Devices.” he added as the screen scrolled to Vita’s Armed Device, “From Graf Eisen as well.”

Tesla read thru some of the plans regarding Artherion, Takamachi Georashi Keroko, Nanoha’s adopted sister’s Device, “And I see Artherion packs a bit more data compared to Bardiche or Raising Heart…”

“Naturally, with what it’s built for. For now, Artherion’s design is excellent and I can only suggest some light modifications with the fine tuning. The same goes for Bardiche. However,” he raised his right hand to comb back his hair lightly, “I’d like to give Raising Heart some more drastic changes. What with that Blaster System proving quite troublesome…” his expression turned serious.

“Oh…” Tesla’s eyes glinted slightly in realization, “I remember now… You were one of the associate designers of that particular Limit Break system.”

“Correct. Her and Fate’s Limit Break Systems in particular are the two out of the four available that I was directly involved in…” Aurion leaned back on his chair and sighed heavily, “Despite all that’s been said and done, the Blaster System’s still just a way of raising the firepower mage to that of the Elysium’s,” he said, referring to the less recent infantry-sized ‘Modouho’ (Magic Cannon) weapons, (See A’s to StrikerS manga last chapter. I just gave the huge cannon Nanoha’s holding a name.) “as well as the overall combat capability; but at the price of their life… That’s a little too hefty for a deal. And I intend to lower those risks…”

Tesla’s expression softened, “Feeling… guilty?” she inquired.

“A bit.” He admitted wistfully. “8%, or around 101,600 out of 1,270,000 magical units, gone. And that’s a big deal for me, considering I only possess around 736,000 units on my own… Imagine how much worst it would affect the person if he or she isn’t as powerful or as tough as Nanoha…” He rubbed his temples, “I understand that the situation was out of control. But it does really make a person feel a bit disappointed when he knows that he has a possible dampener to the risks involved with one of the systems he co-developed, only to have them come later when it’s already too late. And there are also the Minority Faction’s Anti-AMF development plans that never got finished in time. And even now that they’re finished, they’re still terribly inefficient.” Aurion shrugged, “While we're on the subject, Nanoha’s career WILL get derailed somehow with this. Given how reckless she can be at times… And she’s still so young…” he reached over and borrowed the data screen containing Artherion’s data from Tesla, “The same applies for Keroko, but on a slower but more tenacious way… due to you-know-what.”

“I know…” Tesla sighed. “Though there’s nothing much one can do, in both their cases.” She bent on her back and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, “Hayate-chan, Vita-chan and Fate-chan’s cases are easier, right?” she bent forward again, reading another line of data.

“That’s definitely true. Fate’s case is almost practically clean, if not for the poor defense on top of the associated strain of her Overdrive. I’ll try fixing that later when the new autonomous energy shielding technology is finished. Vita, being an extremely powerful Knight aside from being an Artificial Human renders the Limit Break technology far safer in her case when compared to others. I don’t think recalibrations are even necessary.” Aurion smirked as he dug out Schwertkreuz’s portable form from his pocket, “And the one I’m working on right now, is more of a chance for Hayate to improve her individual combat performance instead of any sort of power-enhancer… a small gift from me, more than anything else. The issues with the Takamachi’s are currently the most difficult matters to deal with. And their devices have the most involvement with my research... surpassing human limitations with as small repercussions as possible, as well as more unique dealings with exceptional types of energy, such as Neltharion’s taint.” He raised his left hand and clenched it slowly, producing mechanical sounds, “I intend to challenge those boundaries.”

“Hmm~… How thoughtful~…” Tesla remarked coyly. “You’re trying to make them seemingly even more powerful as safely as possible. A fine way to express how much you care…”

“Well,” Aurion replied, still smiling as he repocketed Schwertkreuz, “even though I won’t try denying that there’s an issue of concern for them, I also have the excuse of their devices being powerful and often-used prototypes.” He snapped his fingers, causing all the screens to scroll thru several articles of data quickly. “So they’re a reliable source of new combat data for the later implementation of better magitech elements to the TSAB military force. Plus, they give me plenty of new material that I can’t obtain for myself to work on in my own projects. It’s almost a complete win-win-win situation.”

“You sure know how to candy-coat your objectives.”

“Naturally.” he crossed his arms and leaned back even further on his seat, “How about it, would you like me to take in Gungnir along my upgrade projects as well?” he added as an afterthought.

“Don’t you even dare think of trying to alter Gungnir!” Tesla snapped back swiftly.

“Aw, why not?” Aurion asked in a mock disappointed tone, “The Lightning Bowgun concept has already been drawn out.”

“You even plotted out an upgrade plan without prior notice!” Tesla breathed out exasperatedly as she flicked away a strand of hair in front of her eyes, “Sorry. But unlike Vita-chan, I don’t really think that I need another mode for my device… though I must admit that’s an interesting prospect.”

“Well, should you change your mind, what about you Gungnir?” he addressed Tesla’s device, which was currently in its pendant form around her neck “It’s interesting isn’t it?”

[Ja.] replied a mechanical voice.

“Still talking to other people’s devices arbitrarily, huh, Ossan?’

“I don’t remember there being a ban on that matter.”

“…………………..”

“Ran out of things to say?” asked Aurion while closing his eyes and leaning back further to make his chair stand on its hind legs.

Tesla only sighed and closed her eyes, “No… I just recompiled and reanalyzed the recent events…” she opened her eyes and stared at him perceptively “You sure have changed a lot… Ossan…”

“Oh?” Aurion’s eyes opened slowly, revealing an unnervingly analytical expression in his eyes, lowering his chair back to four legs again. “Would you mind sharing your observations then, Tesla…?”

The shift of atmosphere between the two was so quick it was positively frightening. But it wasn’t one of hostility, but one of a match of wits, Tesla’s tone changed accordingly, losing its playful cadence and being replaced by an almost emotionless and systematic note, “I had my doubts in the past, but now I’ve confirmed it after talking with you…” she crossed her legs and leaned forward, “You’re an excellent actor, but I can’t be fooled so easily… Compared to how you were for almost a decade ago until recently…” she rested her elbow on her thigh and placed her chin on her palm, her half-lidded eyes glinting strangely. Her posture and expression radically changed how she seemed to be. A while ago, she looked just like any playful teenager. Now, she looked a few years more mature than she appears with her aloof posture, “You seem to be more… human…”

“Hmm…” Aurion’s own expression changed severely as well; his eyes losing their usual roguish glint and being replaced by bottomless dark orbs devoid of emotion, “And…?”

“I always observed you whenever I can…” Tesla continued, “In the past, I always felt something abnormal with you… You were undecipherable… I couldn’t figure you out no matter how hard I tried.” Her other hand lifted up to twirl a stray lock of her hair, her eyes gazing sidewards to it, “It was a little unnerving, to be honest… To think you were able to hide so much under that cheerful mask of yours so well… You also managed to do some crazy stuff without batting an eyelash… There was some strange pressure there…” her eyes slid back to stare against his, “Now… it all just disappeared… I’ve never seen you so completely blithe like this. Not to mention talking openly about being concerned about anyone… Nor do you seem to be planning something all the time anymore… Simply put,” she flicked back the lock of hair she was holding, “it’s no longer you.”

Aurion remained expressionless during the stoic tirade, “In the end, what are you trying to prove?” Aurion asked coldly, his voice a fear-provoking whisper. “That I’m a different person?”

“Precisely…” Tesla replied just as frostily. Her free hand extended leisurely, her finger pointed at Aurion’s face, “You… are not Aurion Dauer. Who are you and what did you do to Ossan?”

“Ha…” Aurion’s eyes closed as a crazed grin spread across his face, “Hahaha…” his body slowly began shaking, “Hahahahahaha!” he later laughed out loud. His almost demented laughter was terrifying to hear; continuing for several more seconds, with Tesla, unfazed, only observing silently.

“So I was right, after all…” Tesla whispered.

Aurion’s laughter slowly abated, “My, my… You’re too smart for your own good, little blue lady…” he replied as his eyes opened slowly, revealing his irises currently glowing with a bright azure glow, “Indeed, I am not the Aurion Dauer that you knew…” his eyes narrowed, “And now that you know…” the glow grew brighter as he stood up.

“Ugh.” Tesla tensed as a cobalt glow began surrounding the area around her body, she tried shifting only to find out she was held in place by the blue field. “Kisama…” she directed a glare at him.

He stood up, “Hmm… What to do now that my cover’s blown…?” he continued as his right hand slowly reached towards her head… “A reckless, reckless move, Tesla…” When his hand finally hovered over her head, he sighed and patted her head warmly, “Cut!” he declared jovially, as if the past few seconds never happened. The blue field broke away as well. Then, the two burst into an infectious round of laughter.

The stifling pressure that was building up vanished as if it was never there. Tesla’s serious expression reverted back to her bright and cheery smiling appearance. She raised her head to look at Aurion’s face, winked and asked, “Well? Am I correct?”

“Yes, you are.” Aurion replied as he ruffled Tesla’s hair rather roughly, earning an indignant squeal from the blue-haired girl. “Since when did you notice?”

“Since a few months ago…” Tesla grabbed Aurion’s wrist with both her hands and lifted his hand off her head. She then began fixing her hair with her fingers, “But really, what caused the sudden change? Ossan acting and feeling like a normal person is NOT normal.”

“Well…” Aurion sat back on his chair, “Let’s just say there’s a heavy weight that been lifted from my shoulders… So I can relax completely now.”

“Won’t you dive into specifics?” Tesla asked as she uncrossed her legs and began swinging them alternately.

“Not now. I’m still not in the mood to tell.” Aurion replied mildly. He smirked, “Disappointed?”

“I see…” Tesla acknowledged and jumped off the table, landing on the ground with her arms outstretched, she turned to face him, clasping her hands behind her back, “And no, I’m not disappointed. I like Ossan better this way.” She then smiled vibrantly.

“Heh.” Aurion smiled back, “Reasons?”

“Several.” Tesla raised her hands and ticked off her fingers on her right, “First, you’re now definitely easier to annoy.”

Aurion’s left eyebrow twitched once, “So that’s a good thing, now?!”

Ignoring him, Tesla continued, “Second, you’re easier to figure out. With this, I can follow the kind of game you’re playing easier and beat you more in our strategy games.”

“I see…” he stroked his chin, “Rather selfish reasons so far, though.”

“Of course.” Tesla winked and stuck out her tongue before continuing, “Third, Signum and the others also noticed, though at varying degrees. They’ve become noticeably more relaxed around you as well since you don’t seem to be always plotting something evil anymore.”

“That’s good.”

“Fourth, Hayate-chan and the other Aces would also surely notice or may have already noticed. And they’ll like you better with this.” She suddenly paused and tapped her chin in a thoughtful expression, “Oh, wait… That can’t be very good.”

“Is it now?” Aurion’s right eyebrow twitched this time.

“Fifth,” Tesla’s smile brightened, “I can trust you better even if you’re still a near constant liar.”

Aurion blinked once, and then a wide smile appeared on his face, “Glad to be of service.”

“And that wraps it up.” Tesla cheerfully concluded, spinning on her heel, “Thank you for letting me confirm my suspicions, Ossan.” She said as she walked towards the door. “I had fun.”

“Sure. By the way, do tell me if you’d want the upgrades to Gungnir later.” Aurion raised a hand for farewell.

Tesla stopped just as she was about to exit the door, looked back sideways and raised her left hand, smiling, “I'll think about it. Ja ne~, Ossan.” The sliding door closed.

“More human… ka?” Aurion whispered to himself. He then started chuckling, “Exactly how it turned out to be, don’t you think, Almaria?”

[Hai.] replied Almaria, his second device inserted at one of the holding fields. She is a one-of-a-kind Synchronization Device that he developed himself as a multi-function performance enhancer A.I. when attached to Reishiki. She takes the appearance of a cellphone [Finally, you have achieved your goal.]

“Aah…” Aurion smiled reflectively as he stared at the ceiling, “It was a long and painful journey… Having the very concept and understanding of human emotions taken from me…” he sighed as he raised his left arm, a picture of a group of people shown. His eyes lingered on the stunningly beautiful lavender-haired girl with kind, light-blue eyes; a girl with a stunning resemblance in appearance with Yagami Hayate. “I feel like a fool still doing this… but I’ve done it… I’m living again… Almaria… everyone…”

This time… Almaria the device didn’t reply. That is because she knew that she isn’t the one Aurion is referring to…

But really… Duraxyll 2… You sure know how to pick the proper location, Harlaown… he thought as he removed Schwertkreuz from his pocket, walking a short distance and depositing it to a holding field. The sister planet of Duraxyll… The planet that got ruined because of me… His eyes glowed again as the datapad Tesla delivered earlier flew to his hand. I guess this is for the best… I know everyone’s dead… but still… I want the chance to apologize… even if only to the planet itself… Next week…

A string of commands left his lips, “Reinitialize data recompilation and the installation of System XG-366. Ready backup system check, Z201. Set priority to rank AAA+. Notify me when recalibration is ready.”

[Acknowledged.]

In many ways, I’m stronger now. But I’m also weaker in just as many ways… I missed this feeling… He once again sat and leaned back his chair to make it stand on its two hind legs… It started ten years ago… And who would expect it to end that way? He held his head with his right hand while staring at the ceiling, smiling contentedly, Just being called-

“Otou~san!”

“GUWAH!!!”

*CRASH!**BANG!!**BLAG!!!* (Ouch…)

Hayate, who just entered, first looked a little surprised, but later succumbed into giggles at Aurion’s condition, lying on his back in a ridiculous pose with scattered paraphernalia around him. She walked quickly and kneeled beside his head, sporting the sweetest smile she can muster as she greeted him again, “Hello, Oji-chan!”

“Damn it all, Hayate!” Aurion grunted painfully as his eyes opened to glower at his niece… and recently, daughter figure during some rare occasions (I’d much rather call it dependent on Hayate’s whims), such as now. “I told you not to call me that impulsively! You’ll give people weird ideas!”

“Bleh~.” Hayate stuck out her tongue playfully, “Sorry. Need some help getting up, Oji-chan?”

“No.” Aurion replied as he levitated back upright, bringing along the rest of the stuff that fell down. “And you, little girl.” he laid his hand on Hayate’s head, hard. “You’re going to get detention.”

“E-eh?” Hayate looked intimidated, acting the part properly.

“I’ve recently finished the Bookmark System on the Tome. And you are to memorize and master all of its functions within three days!”

“EH?!” Hayate squealed in protest. “But Oto-”

Aurion quickly lowered his face directly in front of hers and gave his most intimidating frown, “Call me that again right now and I’ll force you to learn how to use the new system within the hour!”

Hayate moaned in protest, making an endearing doe-eyed expression, “But you told me I can call you that when we’re alone!”

“I never said anything of the sort.” Aurion countered tersely. “Just on some rare occasions. RARE, get it?!”

The girl only pouted childishly and looked down, “Hai.”

Heh… Oh yes, I really am weaker now… Aurion sighed inwardly as he finally smiled at her. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

While I expect some aversion to this fic due to the OC involvement, I'd appreciate what comments and criticisms I can get. Oh, and about that's last part, let's just say that Aurion really got close to Hayate after ten years.

Otou-san means 'Father'. Yes, yes. I'm crazy! XD XD XD

Originally Posted by SpaceBrotha

Nighty did say that he had the next part completed... But then, since one of the main storyboarders, An Hero in Disguise disappeared and never returned again...

But then, I guess it's maybe for the best... That story was filled to the brim with HAXX!

Well, we could use the OC timeline you guys have, and compile a single story around that timeline, perhaps using nightengales saga of saga and before saga as the official history... just by doing that we'd have a story of epic proportions, and something very worth everyones time reading

Yep! Up to now, nothing is yet to match Nighty's most EPIC!!! Saga of Saga story.