MGLN: Future Tense
Chapter 7: Be All My Sins Remember'd
Xx~~*~~xX
"Are you sure you're okay?" Nanoha asked out of the blue, beginning to wonder if the cloth wrapped around Uno's midsection was turning a bit more red, or if it was just her imagination. Neyra had apparently bandaged her after the cyborg had saved Givo.
They had been walking for almost two hours now, most of it in silence ever since they left Organtz. Nanoha had spent the majority of the time in contemplation and introspection as she reflected on what had happened; the words of the townsfolk and Givo's tearful cries continued to echo throughout her mind. Neyra Mellowan, the kind middle-aged woman who took them in, was dead, along with several others under the rubble of the collapsed structure.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
For the second time now, that thought had made its presence known; though in this instance it was supposed to be Wendi's fault, the people didn't see it that way. [No, I am responsible.] she told herself. [If I had just given myself up instead of trying to fight, Neyra would still be alive, and the people would have been able to get back to their normal lives.]
A life that involved fear of the authority that was supposed to protect them, came the unbidden counter-though from deeper inside her mind.
And ultimately, she realized that's what bothered her just as much. Before, with the prisoners, Livia's father, and Neyra, Nanoha had rationalized that it was only a few people who were afraid to fight back. That not everyone could be like that and when shown the chance that they could have a better life if they fought, people would rise up. But Organtz proved that assumption dead wrong, in the most literal sense of the phrase; Neyra had paid the price for Nanoha's overconfidence.
And so she hadn't even asked where Uno was taking them next as she had no clue about anything, except to just fall into step behind the cyborg's lead. However, after having her thoughts lead her around in circles, Nanoha finally noticed the improvised cloth bandage and wondered aloud about her travel companion's health.
"I am fine, but we must put distance between us and the town," Uno replied, not looking back. "It will take them awhile to recover, but we must assume Wendi will have called in reinforcements to begin searching the area for us. Do you know any transformation magic? We will need to alter our appearance now that it is known what we look like and that we are hunted. It will help us hide in crowds easier, as long as we aren't scanned too directly and closely."
“Um, not much, but I'll think about it and see what I can do,” Nanoha replied, still a bit distracted; her own physical wounds still hurt, but were healing. She couldn't say the same about her internal emotional ones.
Uno nodded. “It does not have to be too much, just enough so that people will fail to recognize who we are.”
Now Nanoha was sure of it. "You're not okay; you're bleeding."
Uno briefly glanced down at the reddening section along her left side. "The wound must have re-opened, but we don't have a choice. I have located a safe spot we can hide out and I can rest once we reach it."
Nanoha sighed and moved up, draping Uno's left arm across her shoulders and supporting the cyborg as they walked. "You got that wound by protecting Givo. Thank you for that, by the way. I was surprised you did that."
"It was," she started to say, pausing for a moment before adding, "a calculated risk. It could have been worse."
"Not a very logical move," Nanoha probed. "You could have stayed out of the battle zone, then you wouldn't have put yourself at risk for such a handicap."
Uno was silent, though Nanoha could almost see an emotion cross the cyborg's face out of the corner of her eye. "As I said, a calculated risk. The doctor ordered me to serve you, and it was your wish to protect the people of that town. I was following through on that."
Nanoha considered probing or teasing more as the cyborg did seem to be showing some changes lately; the old Uno wouldn't have done that. But she let the matter drop for now, for the most important reason.
It was ultimately my fault.
x~~*~~x
"...and one-third of my unit is out of action for at least a week," Teana reported to the holoscreen.
"I see," Hayate replied, fingers interlaced in front of her chin. "Are you sure you can handle this? Or do I have to recall Fate after all?"
Teana hardened, her visage darkening. "No. I will have the task completed within the week. The mistake that happened today will not happen again."
"For your sake, I hope so," Hayate replied casually, the subtle point being made clear before signing off.
"What now?" Nove asked, leaning back in her chair on the empty bridge of their transport ship.
Teana shrugged, as if it was obvious. "We find this Nanoha clone and take her down, hard and fast. At the very least, Wendi's scuffle with her has confirmed how dangerous she is. The real Nanoha probably would have surrendered, so it's probably Jail's programming that made her fight. Still, she took out Wendi, an entire squad of Enforcers, and severely damaged a transport ship in a single fight with just a regular Enforcer war staff for a device."
Nove said nothing, merely looking down as if fully digesting that. Fortunately, any response was forestalled by someone's entry onto the bridge.
"Colonel Wendi reporting as ordered," the cyborg saluted nervously. "I was told you wanted to see me as soon as my repairs were complete."
Teana turned to her, studying her sister. "Are you back to normal?"
"Yes," Wendi confirmed. "Wave Rider was repaired as well and we-"
Teana had taken two steps and backhanded the cyborg across the cheek so hard, that she stumbled back and fell onto her butt. "What the HELL did you think you were doing!? I gave you specific instructions NOT to engage alone! I told you how dangerous she was. Your reckless actions could have gotten you killed!"
"Tea!" Nove gasped, while Wendi merely stared up at her sister and commander with a reddening cheek.
In the next moment, Teana dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Wendi's neck, hugging the woman viciously. "What the hell would I have done if you got yourself killed, huh? What about Nove or Dieci; you think we can afford to lose you? Don't do anything so stupid again! We don't want you to end up like... her."
"I-I'm sorry," Wendi choked as tears appeared in her eyes, hugging back, knowing exactly who Teana was referring to. "I'm really sorry. I just wanted to make you proud of me, and bring pride to the unit...."
"We're already proud of you, silly," Tea replied, giving a squeeze.
"All of us," Nove agreed, kneeling down and hugging both of her sisters. "We made a vow that we'd always be there for each other, and that none of us would outlive the others."
"I'm sorry," Wendi repeated, hugging fiercely. "I'm so sorry."
After a moment, Teana let them go and stood up, pulling her two sister to their feet as well. "Good, then see to your unit. I want as many bodies able to search as possible; it's only been several hours and Nanoha and Uno are on foot, so they couldn't have gotten too far. We'll move out in an hour. Dismissed!"
"Yes, sir!" the two cyborgs saluted, then spinning and marching out of the bridge.
[It's been a long time, Nanoha,] Teana thought to herself, her lips slowly turning upwards. [You can run, but you can't hide.]
x~~*~~x
Nanoha wasn't exactly hiding for the moment, as she was once again gazing at her mirror image in a small lake a short distance aways from another of Uno's caves; Nanoha knew she could be spotted at the moment, but Uno assured her it was safe for a short trip to resupply. Once more, her reflection gazed impassively back at her while the flesh and blood version filled two canteens with water; and like before, the questions of who she was and who she was trying to be were very much at the forefront of her thoughts.
She shook her head and headed back to the cave that Uno was currently resting in. This one had no bear for a resident, for which she was grateful; Uno had collapsed almost as soon as they arrived and Nanoha herself didn't quite feel like killing a bear, even for meat. Fortunately, Uno had stocked up on supplies while in Organtz, so she had some fruit and dried meat strips they could munch on for dinner. Nanoha got the impression that Uno might not have paid for some of it, but at this point, she didn't really care.
And this time she insisted the cyborg eat, too, which she surprisingly did without much protest. Nanoha even went out to gather the driest wood she could find, snapping off branches and twigs from dead trees, in order to make another smokeless fire in the cave; a trick she learned from one of the prisoners awhile ago. It wasn't a large fire, just enough for some warmth as it steadily got colder outside, due to the sun going down.
And now, as Nanoha sat and stared into the flames, she found herself confronted with something she needed to say. “I'm sorry. I didn't listen to you, and as a result, you were injured and people were killed. I failed. I should have listened to you about the greater good.”
Uno didn't respond for a moment, then surprised Nanoha with her answer. “Not exactly. What you did was logical for you, a calculated risk, and we managed to get through it. I also managed to retrieve this.” Nanoha looked up as Uno pulled a small object out of her right ear. “It is a communicator from one of the Enforcers. I've disabled its location transmitter and broadcasting abilities, so it's just set to passive receiving. I can listen in on their frequencies and thus know where their patrols are at any given moment.”
“So that's how we were able to get this far without seeing anyone,” Nanoha realized, then shook her head and returned her gaze to the fire. “Still, people died because of me. Because I tried to be the idealistic Nanoha, when I have to be more realistic about where I am and what's at stake. I can't be the Nanoha I was cloned from.”
Uno returned the small bud to her ear and studying her travel companion for a moment. “Perhaps. Or perhaps not. There has to be a reason the doctor cloned you and kept your personality and free will intact. In some way, he is counting on you to be Nanoha in order to accomplish his plan.”
That thought bothered her a bit, but it was getting off-topic from the main line of reasoning that had consumed so much of her time today. “Maybe, but anyway, I've come to a decision. I can't exactly be who I was cloned from, not entirely. I won't give up on trying to do the right thing, but you are right about one thing: I have to face reality and aim for the greater good. I am Nanoha, but I am not; at least, I can't be. I have to be stronger and more realistic than Nanoha was if I'm going to save my friends and this world.”
She was aware of Uno's confused eyes on her, as she reached over and picked up Randy's war staff, feeling every crack and chip along the shaft. Odds are it would break completely if she tried to use it again, at least as a magic weapon. But there was one use she could make of it now.
She leaned her head forward and closed her eyes, taking hold of the staff with her left hand near the double-bladed head, and reaching around to grab her single pony-tail with the other. Taking a breath, she placed the blade against the base of the pony-tail and pushed upwards, slicing through each strand, until it was all the way through and she held a clump of unattached hair in her hand. Opening her eyes, she studied it for awhile; she had always been proud of her hair, recalling some of her fondest memories, such as when she exchanged hair ties with Fate on that bridge so long ago.
And then she reached out and dropped it into the fire, watching the individual strands curled up and burned, still aware of Uno watching her strangely.
“I am not sure I fully understand why you did that,” the cyborg stated, her eyebrows bunching closer together in contemplation. “Was it to better disguise yourself? If so, it was rather smart; shorter hair can be done without the risk of being detectable like transformation magic.”
Nanoha smile slowly, amused. “Something like that, perhaps. When I can be the real Nanoha again, I'll grow it out.”
Uno sat up and patted the space in front of her. “But that will not do, totally. Come, sit.”
Curious, Nanoha did as instructed, turning around so that Uno was behind her as she sat down, then understanding as she felt and heard the shears clipping behind her. “I didn't know you carried around scissors.”
“They have their uses,” Uno replied mysteriously, the short, deliberate clips the only sounds for several minutes. “There, that should do. Now you look like a woman with a short hairstyle, rather than someone who just cut off a lot of hair.”
Nanoha reached up and felt behind her, getting a weird sensation as she did as she was not used to having such short hair; it barely reached the nape of her neck now. She shifted back to her spot with the staff still in her lap, while Uno laid down again to rest.
“Thank you,” Nanoha said, genuinely warmed by the haircut. “But I think this staff has done it's last duty. The smart thing to do would be to get rid of it, as it most likely won't survive another shot, but I'm not sure I can do it. At least it came in handy and seems surprisingly well-made; not as good as Raging Heart, but good nonetheless. I did more than I thought I could with it.”
"When I scanned it earlier, I learned that its self-repair circuits are active, so you should be able to use it again in a few days," Uno told her, which made Nanoha brighten; perhaps she could hang onto it after all. “But it is not entirely because of the staff that you were able to do so much.”
Nanoha's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Uno closed her eyes. "When the doctor cloned you, it was with specific instructions to do what he could to increase your magic powers. It is impossible to tell how well he succeeded, but from what I have been able to tell from both the initial data and observing you in action, my guess is that you are somewhere above SSS rank.”
Nanoha stared at Uno.
x~~*~~x
He found his contact in the corner of the smoke-filled bar easily enough, by way of the black cloak which covered her entirely and obscured all features, and sat down opposite the person.
“You weren't followed?” a female voice asked from the shadows of the hood. "It would hardly do to have you discovered now."
He shook his head. “Due to the chaos in Organtz, I was able to slip away unnoticed.”
“Quite some excitement there, Jerhyn,” she noted off-hand, sounding amused. “Or so I heard.”
Jerhyn smiled. “You could say that. Anyway, it's about that; I think I've found who you're looking for.”
“Oh?” the mysterious woman questioned, pausing and raising her head a bit, the tips of purple hair falling out of the hood that obscured her facial features. “Tell me more...”
x~~*~~x
Nanoha's gaze had dropped to her hands, clenching and unclenching them as if she discern the exact amount of magic power she had access to now. "Why go through the effort of doing something like that?"
"I do not know for certain, just that the doctor was insistent on it," Uno replied. "It might because research into increasing the strength of a linker core allowed him to hide the real purpose from Hayate. It might also be because your opponents are also stronger, and the doctor knew you would need to be able to match them. I do not know the exact strengths of mages beyond a certain military rank, so the power levels of Hayate, Fate, Teana and others like them are a mystery to me."
Nanoha's head came up. "Teana? She's with them, too? Why?"
"Yes, perhaps I should tell you a bit about her, since Wendi works for Teana and you may end up facing her in combat," Uno reasoned aloud. "I already told you that I don't know how you died, or much beyond. Most of what I do know that happened after that starts with Shamal and Zafira dying in a terrorist bombing of the hospital."
The cloned mage nodded. "Right, that's what you said before; you told me about how Hayate increased the size of the army and pacified Orussia in response, and people viewed her as a hero. No one seemed to oppose her new measures. How was Teana involved?"
"Hayate wasn't completely unopposed," Uno corrected her. "Carim and the Saint Church spoke out against Hayate's new militarism, but they were a minority. The disagreements were peaceful enough at first, but Hayate had risen through the ranks during this time becoming one of the top Generals. She brought peace, and so the people supported her."
"I get the feeling something changed," Nanoha stated via gut instinct. "Something to do with Teana?"
Uno nodded. "In the year 0082, the Huckbein incident happened. A small group of powerful individuals caused havoc and death across multiple worlds before Hayate stopped them, but there were casualties. Among them were various Saint Church nuns, and the woman you once knew as Subaru Nakajima."
x~~*~~x
Teana Lanster Nakajima gazed out her room's window in the transport ship, searching the starry sky, clasping a blue jewel in her right hand.
"She what!?" Teana questioned in disbelief.
"As soon as she learned that Thoma was taken by the Huckbein, Subaru went after them," Vita was explaining from the holoscreen. "We're trying to track her down, but she's got a fairly large lead on us."
"That idiot!" the gun Enforcer exclaimed, taking immediate flight to the teleportation center. "One of them nearly killed Signum!"
"Teana!" Fate called, flying after her. "Wait!"
She was alone with her thoughts at the moment, but not for long, as she heard the door swish open and closed, then footsteps softly coming up on either side of her.
"That's hers, isn't it?" Wendi asked the question that needed no answer.
"Which means you're thinking about her again, and beating yourself up over it," Nove pointed out. "There was nothing you could have done. Nothing any of us could have done."
Teana shook her head. "Maybe."
They eventually tracked down Subaru's trail, but they were too late. While their new devices gave them the edge they needed against the anti-magic divider swords the Huckbein used, Subaru wasn't so lucky. She had been captured, but under the chaos of Hayate's attack, she managed to break free and assault their leader.
However, her adopted brother, Thoma, had been mentally manipulated and turned against them, critically injuring Subaru before she brought him back to himself. The young man screamed in horror at what he had done and took out their leader, but at the cost of his own life as well.
A variant of the Eclipse poison was consuming Subaru, and there was nothing Teana could do about it.
"It's because of me, because I made the same mistake she did," Wendi acknowledged aloud. "Running off and trying to do it on my own."
Teana opened her palm again, the blue crystal reflecting the single light in the ceiling. Mach Calibur had long been repaired, but currently lay dormant and refused to reactivate, and no one knew why; but Teana did. It's heart had been broken, just like hers had.
"Sorry..." Subaru apologized, coughing as her body spasmed.
"You big dummy, you have to be alright," Teana ordered her, tears forming in her eyes as she took the bedridden woman's gloved hand; it was a precaution to prevent the poison from spreading to others. Teana couldn't hug Subaru, or even....
"I messed up, I know," Subaru admitted sheepishly, pausing to cough again, her body barely holding together as the poison rotted it from the inside out. "And this is my punishment. But before I go-"
"Don't say that!" Teana argued, interrupting her. "They'll find a way to save you! The doctors are working on a cure and-"
"It's powerful anti-magic," Subaru reminded her. "The doctors are up against something that is outside their normal expertise. Perhaps if Shamal were still with us... so I need to tell you now, that I-"
"I know," Teana replied, lifting Subaru's gloved hand to her cheek, shutting her eyes against the pain. "I love you, too."
"We set the Enforcers up with their search patterns," Nove informed her, reaching up to rub Teana's back lightly, hoping to change the subject. "You two should get some sleep, I'll take the first shift. I'll wake you if anything happens." She shot Wendi a look behind Teana's back, who nodded in response, then headed for the door.
"I suppose," Teana replied absently, then looked down as Wendi had clasped both of her hands over the gun mage's right hand, the one that held Mach Calibur.
They had been together for a long time, so Teana understood exactly what her sister was feeling, that they shared the same pain, but yet they still had each other. And that was all that mattered.
x~~*~~x
Nanoha's gaze dropped into her lap, feeling a chill as she remembered the cheery and eternally energetic Subaru. Somehow, she expected everyone else to still be alive, even 50 years into the future, despite how illogical that was. And she definitely didn't expect to outlive her students, but she supposed in hindsight she really didn't. Nanoha had died, and she was just a clone.
"Since the Huckbein fled to a church in their airship, and were occasionally rumored to appear near other churches and abbeys, accusations were raised that the Saint Church was holding them as a measure to use against the Bureau's mages and they got out of control," Uno continued, pausing to cough. "And on the other side, Hayate was accused of manufacturing the Huckbein threat as a way to show that her new security measures were needed, also using them to slaughter innocent church nuns in revenge. I don't think the truth was ever fully known."
Nanoha's face came back up as the cyborg shivered almost imperceptibly, and she was reminded of Uno's wound. She wanted to know more, but her friend's health was more important.
“That's enough for now, we can talk more tomorrow,” Nanoha told her as the fire slowly died, smilnig slightly. “We should get some rest so we can travel more easily. That's something you'd say, right?”
“I can keep going for now,” Uno tried to counter. “It was the doctor's plan to tell you all about what has happened in the past 50 years, as you will need to know.”
“Tomorrow, Uno,” Nanoha repeated firmly, grabbing Uno's pack and using it for a pillow as she laid down. “When you're better.”
Uno sighed. “As you wish.”
Quiet descended as Nanoha sleepily watched the fire slowly shrink in size, her thoughts a jumbled mess with what had happened today. Sleep was actually the farthest thing from her mind, but she needed stop Uno from talking and rest for now, even though Nanoha doubted she would be able to sleep herself.. Eventually, her eyes closed however, in the midst of wondering what Uno would tell her tomorrow when she was better.
x~~*~~x
But the next morning, Uno wasn't better at all; in fact, she was actually much worse. Nanoha got up immediately upon noting how pale the woman was, and how she barely focused on anything at all, instead just stared upwards. Nanoha felt the woman's forehead and arm, her rather cold and clammy.
“Hold on, I'll make another fire and we'll rest for today,” Nanoha told, starting to get back up.
“No,” Uno croaked, weakly grabbing Nanoha's hand and pulling her back down. “I am sorry, but I... will not be able to continue traveling with you. You will have to... go on without me.”
“What do you mean?” Nanoha asked in worry, squeezing the cyborg's hand. “You're going to be fine, you just need some rest.”
“I have been... bleeding internally,” Uno admitted. “From the collapse of the building. Neyra pushed me out of the way... but it did not help much. I thought my... internal systems could repair the damage... but it is too much. At best, I was able to extend my time a little.”
The cyborg had always been so strong and self-assured that it really disturbed Nanoha to see Uno so weak and frail, but she tried a reassuring smile anyway. “You're going to be okay, Uno. After all, what will I do in this world if I don't have you to guide me?”
Uno didn't respond right away, but reached up to take the communicator out of her ear and place it in Nanoha's hand, while her other hand brought the holograph amulet out of her shirt. “Take these. You can... avoid the patrols if you listen in.... Sorry that I was unable to completely fix... the amulet. It is up to you now, to find someone to fix it for you.”
Nanoha stared at the two small objects, then wiped her face on her sleeve, not sure what to say. “Uno... don't, please...”
The woman was just an enemy cyborg, that somehow became a guide, a confident... and a friend. And now Nanoha couldn't bear to see her go, not now, and not like this.
“I know I... cannot make you, but...” the cyborg started to say, then coughed. “Please promise me you'll try... to fulfill the doctor's plan.”
“I promise,” Nanoha told her quickly, not even bothering to wipe the tears now.
Uno's head barely indicated a nod. “Then I am pleased. Thank you... Nanoha. I know you cannot forgive us.. for what we did to you, but you were our only hope. I have done so many things... and they may not have been right... so perhaps it is fitting I die alone.”
There was so much she wanted to say, and yet nothing would come out, so Nanoha just leaned down and hugged the woman, burying her wet face in the woman's chest. “Uno, you're not alone....”
The body under her shuddered, and after a moment, Nanoha leaned back up to see what else she could do, but she instantly realized there was only one thing left. She raised her hand and closed the cyborg's eyelids.
Uno was gone.
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
"You killed Uno, you bastard! ..wait, what?"
Nanoha: "You really enjoy killing my support, don't you? This is the SECOND time you've done this to me! Don't you care how badly that screws me up!?"
Kaijo: "For you, this is a changing moment in your life, where the ground gets knocked out from under you, your feelings get pushed through the wringer, and you spend time angsting. But for me, it was Tuesday."
Nanoha: ... Divine Buster.
Kaijo: X_X
2010-06-28, 17:32
Author
