MGLN: Future Tense
Chapter 14: The Wages of Sin
Xx~~*~~xX
The atmosphere was somber as the small group continued their trek. While the increasing elevation brought colder temperatures, including occasional patches of snow on the ground, the real chill came from within.
For Nanoha, it was thoughts of Givo, a young boy who had lost his mother, in part because of her; Training him and taking him under her wing were both in some part to make up for that. And yet with the Bureau taking the resistance hideout, his well-being was unknown;. Nanoha simply had to believe he was okay.
Belief was no stranger to Rio, either, as her own thoughts were consumed with how the organization she had spent years building was destroyed in a single morning. A group she had created and maintained because of her faith in Vivio, hoping the Saint Kaiser would return one day to help them finish the job that was started in the war. But as the years passed, it had become harder and harder to keep faith, yet somehow she did; she had to, in order to keep the morale of her unit up.
But that was all gone.
The next biggest feeling was the sense of betrayal over what the oracle had been telling her all these years, and the information he had passed on that had allowed them to remain undetected and execute an infrequent guerrilla campaign. She had only been told that her role would be important in things to come, and her faith would be rewarded one day.
[What was it all for?] she found herself wondering, hating herself as she could sense her own faith wavering.
Corona's thoughts were similar, but more supportive as she occasionally grabbed Rio's hand and squeezed while they walked, giving the other a tender, sad smile, as if to tell her they still had each other. Right now, Rio was beginning to feel as if that was all she had left.
The silence of the trip made descending into such thoughts all too easily, as the quartet focused on maintaining a healthy pace through rugged landscapes, slowly climbing higher and higher into the mountains. Even though they had a half-day head start and hadn't seen hide nor hair of their pursuit for five hours now, they were still in danger. They had to stick to the ground, while the Bureau could send its ships, drones and troops through the air.
It was a race to reach the oracle before Signum and Vita found them; a race Rio was determined not to lose. If they lost it here, then everything they had worked towards for the past twenty-five years would have been for naught.
She wouldn't let that happen, no matter what the cost.
x~~*~~x
It was an hour later when they first noticed the signs of pursuit.
Agito detected the approach of the ship first, and the four quickly took cover in some thick undergrowth underneath a large tree, listening as the low hum approached. The transport soon loomed overhead just below the cloud cover, like a monolith representing the oppressive power that the Bureau lorded over the people.
Nanoha found herself holding her breath, as if they could somehow pick up the merest traces of her respiration. For a moment she thought they had been detected, her heart climbing into her throat as several soldiers and a pair of sentinel drones dropped out of an open ramp on the underside of the ship, but then they took off in different directions and Nanoha finally exhaled.
"That has to be the outer edge of their search radius," Rio noted aloud as the four got up and resumed their trek, more wary than before.
“Rio...” Corona suddenly announced, lifting her binoculars and pointing, as if she had noticed something down the slope through the trees.
Rio looked through her own binoculars and cursed as Nanoha borrowed Corona's, now seeing the small group of soldiers and drones stationed in a narrow ravine pass on the other side of the small forested valley. She figured the trail they were on would somehow wind down the slope and up the other side to that ravine, which meant that their path was blocked.
"We're not going to make it," Corona deduced despairingly. "At this pace we're still a couple of hours away on foot, but if we have to go around, it'll take an extra day; they'll find us by then. If we could fly, we could go right over them, but the sentinels would detect the magic use."
Rio lowered her binoculars and very audibly exhaled, then started to unhook her backpack. "Corona, Agito, you're gonna have to take Nanoha ahead to the oracle."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Agito angrily demanded to know. "Don't tell me you're thinking of playing decoy?"
The purple-haired woman turned around and nodding, smiling slightly. "I'll head off in different direction and make a big enough racket for all of us to get their attention, leading the majority of the army away on a merry chase. That should give you three space to fly and bust straight through that small group. By the time they realize what's up, you should be far enough away to speak with the oracle, and he should at least know how to hide you guys."
"That's stupid!" the little demon declared. "We have no idea how many are out there. We also know both Signum and Vita have been called back to Mid-Childa, and if they brought even half their armies with them, you'd never survive!"
"Agito is right, Rio, don't do this," Nanoha beseeched her, getting tired of everyone else somehow paying a price for her. "I can't have anyone else making these kinds of sacrifices for me! We don't even know what I'm supposed to do yet."
The little demon nodded. "Yeah, you see? What if Nanoha needs you? So, Corona, tell her how stupid this is!"
The three glanced over at the other woman, who had her head down and fists clenched at her sides, but then slowly reached up to unhook her own pack. "Agito's right. And Rio is right."
"Oh hell," Agito groused, slapping her forehead with her palm.
"Corona?" Rio questioned. "There's no need for you to..." She trailed off as the other woman stomped up to her and poked her in the chest.
"Didn't we promise way back when that we'd see everything through together?" Corona reminded her, her voice quiet and gentle, yet somehow retaining a sense of fierce conviction. "You're not getting out of this that easy. And with two of us, we'll make a bigger distraction. Agito can take Nanoha; she's been there before and knows the way."
Rio slowly grinned as she gazed into Corona's tempestuous eyes, and then chuckled. "Heh, I suppose we did. I can't think of anyone else I'd want to go down in fire with." She glanced over at Agito. "And you'll just have to trust that the oracle doesn't need us. At any rate, we only need to create a distraction for an hour or so, then we'll surrender if we can't get away. They'll want us alive if possible, so you can rescue us later."
"Both of you are nuts!" Agito nearly shouted, then crossed her arms over her chest in disdain. "Bah, this is why I've always hated that stupid faith of yours; overrules commons sense."
"Take good care of Nanoha," Rio told the little demon, hugging her.
Nanoha gazed at the two women, about to watch yet more people sacrifice themselves for her. "Rio... Corona... you can't-"
"It's okay, Nanoha," Corona said, smiling. "I won't let either of us die out there."
Rio extended her hand, and grinned. "Yeah, trust us; you'll see us again. We're all counting on you, and I know you can do it."
Nanoha glanced down at the offered palm, then firmed up and took it; she would just have to have faith. "It's a promise; I'll see two again."
She held their gazes for a moment, then Rio turned to Corona. "Alright, let's get this show on the road! Nanoha, wait for our signal."
The cloned mage nodded, watching in worry as the two women dashed off through the forest.
x~~*~~x
"Getting a faint magic reading in sector 014," a female tech said from the bridge of Vita's transport ship. "Confirmed, we have hostiles engaging our forces. They appear to be trying to break through to the east; bringing it up on screen."
Vita leaned forward to study it, watching as a white line connected the flashing red dots, indicating magic usage. "It looks like they decided to stop hiding and make a break for it. Focus on tracking and general containment, but be wary of direction confrontation. I'm going down to engage personally."
"Roger, relaying message to all units," the tech replied.
Vita hoisted Graf Eisen and headed for the bridge exit. "Signum, you getting this?"
On her own ship, the other Wolkenritter General leaned forward in her chair as the screens came up. "Ah, I am. You are closer, but I will approach from the other side to pin them between us; I should be in position in 10 minutes."
Signum steepled her fingers as she leaned back; something about this didn't feel quite right. Were they really so hard pressed to come out fighting now before they had even a third of the area searched? Or was it another delaying tactic? Signum retraced the route indicated by the white zigzagging line, then drew another line linking that with the location of the rebel base, studying the display she had created thoughtfully.
x~~*~~x
"HIYAH!" Rio cried, grinning as she darted next to another soldier in the air and lashed out with her right leg in a spin kick that shattered his armor and sent him down to the forest floor. "You'll have to do better than that to take down Rio Wesley!"
A green beam flashed from the ground, taking out another soldier who was moving into position behind the floating resistance leader, as Corona sighed from inside her golem. "[Is there really a need to be so... flashy?]"
"[I have an image to maintain!]" Rio shot back, flying between shots to take out soldiers left and right with expertly placed punches and kicks. "[And yes, I want payback.]"
Corona didn't respond to that; she didn't need to. Instead, she focused on moving her golem along at a good clip, covering Rio from the ground and leaving a trail of bent and broken trees behind her. They were at least attracting attention, but she inwardly wondered if it was enough to cover for Nanoha and Agito, who should have made their own move by now. They only needed to hold out for an hour so that Nanoha could learn what she needed to know at the oracle, and Corona was confident he'd have some way of getting them all out of this.
She launched a spinning knuckle that exploded in the midst of a trio of flying soldiers, then jabbed her golem's wrist into the ground to replace it while rotating her screen to survey the situation. Most of the soldiers weren't really engaging, just sniping from range and seemingly trying to herd them. She realized that fact awhile ago, but didn't consider it important; in the end, she realized they'd end up being captured.
But then she noticed who they were being herded to.
"[Rio, look out!]" she called to the other woman telepathically. "[It's Vita!]"
The flying resistance leader just barely got up a barrier to block as the pointed rocket hammer slammed into it. For a brief moment, the two women locked gazes, then Vita grinned and a split second later the shield shattered and exploded, sending Rio careening through the sky to the forest below.
"Rio!" Corona called, increasing the speed of her golem's lumbering gait and firing her green head beam as Vita dove after her opponent; it glanced off Vita's hastily-formed triangular shield, but it succeeded in distracting her from her target.
The general cursed and changed direction, shouting, "So, are you hiding that Nanoha clone in there!? I'll crack it open like an egg!"
Corona barely had time to get her left arm up to block the attack, but the impact shattered the limb at the forearm, sending the golem stumbling back. But Vita made a second rotation allowing her rocketing hammer to twirl her around and slam into the golem's left side. Corona managed to partially twist out of the way as she continued to stumble back, but Vita's attack left a large diagonal gash on the golem's chest, exposing the girl within.
For a second, Corona's shocked and worried face met Vita's angry glower, the former realized she was exposed and vulnerable. Then Rio was suddenly there with a lightning punch that Vita was forced to dodge away from, giving Corona a moment to breathe and reform her arm and chest.
"I'm going to give you one chance to answer!" Vita shouted, darting between the trees as she clashed with the resistance leader. "Where is the clone?"
"She left to the south a long time ago!" Rio yelled back.
Vita growled, then hit her communicator. "Signum, Nanoha isn't here! They must have her stashed somewhere else!"
x~~*~~x
"I am aware of that," Signum answered calmly, her sword raised.
Nanoha and Agito stared back at her from several meters away, the former raising her staff while the latter gazed grimly back at her former master. Several soldiers arrived in the area as the trio watched each other, surrounding them, and causing Nanoha to wonder how they'd get out of this one.
"Signum," Agito finally uttered, her tiny fists clenching. "You did survive."
"Ah," the Belkan knight replied. "And now I must ask you both to surrender yourselves to my authority. I would not recommend any attempt at fighting or escape."
"Like hell!" the little demon cursed loudly. "We still haven't settled things, and you're still breaking Zest's promise! Unless you've reconsidered? This is Nanoha here, and she can put an end to this corruption. She can turn Hayate and the Bureau back to the way it was supposed to be!"
For several moments, Signum gazed steadily at the pair, then shook her head slightly. "Regrettably, I cannot. Surrender, or you leave me no choice."
Agito's angry grimace deepened, as she sent a telepathic message. "[Nanoha, I need your help; I can't stop her alone. If we unison, we can beat her!]"
The cloned woman was wondering whether Agito would choose to fight or run, and sent back her own reply. "[I'm up to it, but are you sure you're okay with fighting her?]” She still remembered fighting Signum before and despite lacking Raging Heart, she felt confident enough about her own skills and knowledge of her opponent's style; with Agito's help, it should be possible. The only issue is whether Agito could fight her former master.
“[Yes, I am,]” the little demon replied, slowly and casually floating in front of Nanoha.. "Then you leave me no choice, either. Unison, IN!"
The next instant, Agito merged with Nanoha as the latter put up a Protection barrier, the blue sections of her barrier jacket turning crimson to match her now flaming-red hair, while the soldiers fired. The spherical shield held for a short moment, before it exploded and Nanoha used the smoke screen cover to shoot straight up.
"[Let my magic merge with yours,]" Agito told her from within, gathering her fire energy.
Nanoha began her first spell as they flew, and the duo spoke together: "Pyro Shooter." Several crimson orbs winked into existence, forming a ring around her body.
Signum and the soldiers were hot on their trail, although at the speeds they were traveling the latter were beginning to fall behind. Nanoha decided the thin the herd a bit first and thus twisted to face backwards, letting off her first shots.
"Shoot!" she cried, sending the dozen crimson spheres streaking back towards her pursuers.
Signum powered on through, twirling in mid-air to slice the shots as they approached. However, the orbs exploded upon contact instead of simply dissolving, catching the Belkan knight off-guard and temporarily knocking her off course. The rest continued right on by, though, heading for their true target: the soldiers behind her. The spheres that didn't find a target simply exploded, producing a fiery flak effect that knocked several closely flying troops out of the sky. Signum recovered just in time to see Nanoha had prepared another salvo.
"SHOOT!" came the cry again as the spell was released.
Signum's eyes widened as more of the orbs came straight for her with frightening speed, faster than she could dodge, and thus she calmly raised her sword in front of her face as Levanteinn spoke. "
Panzergeist!"
The knight general was enveloped with black smoke from the explosions as several magic missiles found her, but Nanoha was forced to slow down in response to dozens of troops appearing in front of her. She took off at an angle preparing to dodge their attacks, but strangely the soldiers didn't attack.
"[It looks like they're just trying to keep us from escaping,]" Agito told her, confirming Nanoah's suspicion. "[Signum probably wants us for herself, and I think we should oblige her.]"
"[I agree,]" Nanoha replied, turning to face the fading cloud of black smoke, although a bit uncomfortable with limited space available due to the soldiers ringing the area; she would have appreciated more than a couple hundred meters of flight room. "[If we take her out, we may intimidate the others enough to let us go.]"
"
Schlangenform!" came Levanteinn's call as the segmented sword whip shot out of the cloud on a direct course for the unionsed duo.
Nanoha poured magic into her Axel Fin wings, showcasing exactly why she was known as the aerial Ace of Aces, avoiding the homing, coiling whip with agility and precision. But dodging only went so far, and she realized she needed to regain the initiative as Signum slowly boxed her in; she also needed a stronger spell. Agito picked up on it, and Nanoha felt the fire energy surging throughout her body, merging with her own mana.
She picked her moment, turning to point Randy's staff and pausing momentarily as the two spoke their next combined spell. "BLAST FIRE!"
The crimson-colored Divine Buster beam erupted from the tip of the staff towards the stationary Signum, giving the knight general a choice; stay and be hit, or dodge it and lose the forming coiled cage. Signum apparently chose the latter, retracting Levantein and barely twisting out of the way as the shot grazed her, shredding the barrier jacket on her right arm.
Signum's gaze was near expressionless as the two eyed each other, but Nanoha read a little of something else there. It wasn't hesitancy, as her opponent wasn't giving any quarter, and nor was it totally sadness; Signum was, above all else, a warrior born and wouldn't back down in any fight.
However, before she could contemplate it further, the fight resumed, her erstwhile adversary charging in with surprising speed; Signum recognized it as well, that Nanoha held the advantage if she could keep combat at a distance, and thus was trying to take it to melee range.
Nanoha flew backwards, firing off another spread of Pyro Shooter missiles to give her a distraction, but Signum set her sword ablaze and powered on through with increasing velocity, the explosions only causing light damage to her armor due to her speed. The cloned mage was forced to throw up a round shield with her right hand as the fiery sword came in and both poured their magic into the conflict, tension in the air as to whether Nanoha's barrier would hold up.
Then Nanoha brought up the staff in her left hand, as their next combined spell was completed. "Rubellite!"
Binds encircled Signum's wrists and body, but the Belkan knight only grinned. "I knew you'd do that. Levanteinn!"
To the unisoned duo's surprise, Levanteinn popped another cartridge and engaged it's snake-form again, shooting out to coil over the shield and lash Nanoha's backside as the latter attempted to get away. Then she was clear, grimacing in pain due to the cold wind biting the magical burns on her now-exposed back; it was a price that had to be paid, since now she could work up a Starlight Breaker on the bound Signum and end the fight.
"[Nanoha!]" Agito cried in warning, although she didn't need to since her partner saw it.
The fiery coil of Levanteinn's snake form wasn't pursuing her, but arcing back around straight towards Signum, slashing against the binds on her right arm and breaking them. Nanoha instantly realized that since Signum was using her sword to break the crimson binds, she wouldn't have time to work up a Starlight Breaker and instead needed to attack with something now.
Agito responded to her thought patterns as she aimed her staff again while Signum's second wrist bind was broken. "Blast FIRE!"
Rather than cut her remaining binds, Signum quickly shielded against the onslaught, bringing her scabbard around with her other hand and joining it to her sword. "Sturm Falken!"
Nanoha's eyes widened as the arrow beam of light pierced her beam while it traveled straight for her. Due to the speed of the attack, she could only barely to dodge it by leaning back so it grazed the front of her barrier jacket instead of making full contact. But as she came back up to find Signum, she found the Belkan Knight gone. Frantically scanning the area, she turned just in time to see her opponent speeding in and this time Nanoha knew she wouldn't even get a shield up in time, instead barely managing to reflexively raise her staff to block.
Time seemed to slow down as she stared in horror while Levanteinn easily cleaved straight through Randy's staff, continuing on to slice along her left side and opening a long gash in her barrier jacket.
Then time seemed to resumed as normal, and Nanoha went tumbling to the forest below.
x~~*~~x
"Go go go!" came the call over the tacnet from her second as Fate destroyed the barrier and charged in, her Enforcers pouring in through all entrances immediately after.
They moved swiftly and professionally, as Fate herself had hand-picked and trained each of them, covering all avenues so that none could escape. The only problem was that there seemed to be no one to do any escaping at all. It was a fairly large house, almost as big as a medium church, but so far all of her squad commanders had reported no contacts.
Where was everyone?
Fate was growing concerned that Schach had lied to her, or that the occupants had been warned and made their escape long ago, but those fears were soon negated. As she threw open a wooden door on the top level at the end of a staircase, she found her target sitting there at a table, seemingly waiting and unsurprised.
“Well, so this is where you were,” Fate intoned, striding in as her Enforcers spilled into the large bedroom and flanked both sides. “And I get the impression you aren't surprised to see me."
Carim managed a sad half-smile. "You could say that."
"One of your prophecies tell you I would come for you?" Fate asked, curious as she walked up to the table opposite her quarry. "Or, deep down, did you realize I'd come for you one day because of what you did to my daughter?"
"A little of both, maybe, but... even you must know it was... what Vivio wanted," Carim replied, seemingly with a bit of difficulty, almost like she was having trouble focusing. She'd space out for a half-second in between phrases. "And it tore her apart... to know she'd end up fighting you."
"Commander, her chair," Fate's second-in-command pointed out.
Blinking, Fate shoved the table out of the way, now noticing Carim in an advanced wheelchair that appeared to be interfaced with her body somehow. "What have you done to yourself?"
Carim's eyes seemed to go unfocused for a moment, before returning to the present. "What would you do... if you knew the exact day and hour... of your death?"
The question caught the Enforcer commander off guard. "I'm not sure... but I suppose it wouldn't matter as long I continued to fight until the last to make it count. But right now, I just want to know where Vivio is; she's obviously not here."
"She never was," the wheelchair-bound woman confirmed, then her body shivered for a brief moment as if she had just had a short seizure. "Tell me, Fate... do you believe in fate?"
"No, the future is what we make of it," Fate replied, growing tired of these vague questions and responses.
"Yes, that is... what he thought, too, but... due to my skill, I cannot believe the same," Carim said cryptically, then her eyes rolled up into her head as she had another short seizure.
"Commander," came the voice in her communicator. "We've fully secured the premises, but haven't found anyone. All magic enchantments were dispelled, but there are no signs of any escape tunnels or secret rooms. The place is empty. We're in the process of hacking the encrypted computer system now."
"Thank you, Captain, keep me apprised of your progress," she answered, then turned back to Carim. "So, not only is Vivio
not here, but no one else is, either."
"Yes, I... sent them away," Carim confirmed, then coughed a few times, Fate noticing that she didn't raise her hand to cover her mouth at all. "I am the only one... you were after."
Fate raised an eyebrow. "So you turned yourself into a sacrifice?"
The sad half-smile returned. "Yes, I suppose.... you could say I am."
"Well, you're wrong about one thing; it's not just you I'm after," Fate told her, shaking her head, realizing it was pointless to continue this conversation here. "But if you won't tell me where Vivio is now, I'll have to take you to my ship, and I don't think you'll find it pleasant. Schach didn't. Captain, secure the prisoner and escort her to her holding cell. I'll deal with her there."
As her Enforcers wheeled Carim out, Fate glanced around at the sparse bedroom, wondering if there were any secrets here for her to find and what Carim was hiding; whatever it was, Fate was confident she would find out eventually.
One thing she did know for sure: it wasn't just Vivio's location that Carim was concealing.
x~~*~~x
Vita twirled and slammed her hammer into Rio as the latter charged at her, impacting a barrier but eventually pushing through and knocking the resistance leader out of the air. Continuing to turn and adjusting her angle of attack, she activated Graf Eisen's Gigantform and rammed Corona's golem, sending it tumbling along the ground. She paused for a moment to catch her breath, studying her two adversaries; Rio was nursing her right arm, while Corona repaired her golem once more, but slower this time.
"It's over," Vita told them solemnly, panting, knowing she held the edge in sheer endurance and was going to outlast both of them. "You both put up a good fight, but we have Nanoha now. Signum is about to take her into custody."
"You're lying!" Rio growled while ascending back into the air.
"[Corona, I have to-]" Rio started to say telepathically.
"[I know,]" the other woman replied soberly. "[Go. I'll cover for you. If they get Nanoha, everything is over.]"
"Surrender, and your lives will be spared," Vita told them. "There's no reason to fight anymore, and you can't win."
"Like hell!" Rio shouted back, floating into position while gathering her magic; she needed to make this just right. "Meteor Rush!"
Her extended fist burst into flames as she took off like a flaming comment comet, straight at Vita. The Hammer Knight barely got out of the way, and then realized she wasn't the target as Rio sped off into the distance, her feet ablaze like twin rockets. The soldiers who had encircled the area attempted to stop her, but they were easily batted aside when Rio barreled straight on through their shields.
Growling, Vita turned to pursue, preparing a barrage of steel orbs. "You won't get away!"
"Oh no you don't!" Corona yelled, bringing her golem's hands together and slamming them into the ground. "Megalith Yoke!"
Spikes of stone shot up from the ground that Vita danced out of the way from, but impalement wasn't their goal; dozens more shot up until she engulfed in a rocky teepee cage. The confinement didn't last long, however, as Vita activated Graf Eisen's rocket form; the top of the pyramid promptly exploded , but Vita continued to twirl, bashing the the two spinning fists that were flying straight at her and reducing them to gravel.
"I thought you would have learned-" Vita started to say as she glanced down at the stone golem, but it was unmoving and she instantly she realized something was wrong.
The broken top of the stone spikes exploded behind her, and as the hammer knight turned back, Corona emerged with her stone-covered right fist extended, striking her opponent square on the jaw. Vita spun in mid-air as she fell to the forest floor below, but managed to recover and stabilize her flight before she hit, turning to stare up at the other woman who had assumed a fighting stance atop her stone pedestal.
"You and I have unfinished business," Corona told her in a near-casual voice, but with a hint of challenge. "From twenty years ago. Let's go."
Vita grit her teeth as she glared, gripping Graf Eisen tighter. "So be it."
x~~*~~x
Nanoha managed to pull herself to her feet while holding her left side, gritting her teeth against the pain as her opponent descended from the sky. Not only was she injured, but she had lost both parts of Randy's staff in the fall.
"It's over," Signum told her. "Without your weapon, we both know you can't stand against me."
"[Nanoha,]" came Agito's voice, something in the tone that cloned mage couldn't quite detect. "[There's only one thing left, a spell I've been holding in reserve, but we'll need to separate and I'll need you to provide a moment's distraction, then get clear. I'll leave a fireball spell in your left hand, and a bind in your right. I'm also leaving you a mental map to the oracle's cave; promise me you'll head straight there as soon as you can.]"
Nanoha gazed warily at Signum as the Belkan knight landed, then slowly approached. "[Alright, I promise. You're sure this spell of yours will work?]"
Agito smiled grimly. "[It will. Ready?]"
Nanoha's left hand caught fire as she lifted it. "Crossfire Blaze!"
Signum easily shielded against it as the burning flamethrower spell reached her. "Give it up; without your device you cannot channel enough mana to defeat me now."
"Maybe," Nanoha replied, then executed a flash move to end up behind her opponent, releasing the bind spell. "But I can do this!"
Signum had already begun to turn when she was ensnared, but almost immediately she began to break the low-magic spell. "As I said, without your device it's-"
She paused, eyes widening as she realized Nanoha had returned to normal; the unison had been canceled. Then she felt something attach to her backside while Nanoha began to fly away.
"Agito, what are you-"
"It's over, Signum," the little demon informed her as her body began to glow a brilliant orange. "This is where we end things, like we promised so long ago."
Signum's eyes widened. "No, Agito, don't! You don't und-"
In the next instant, Agito exploded.
x~~*~~x
“[Hayate!]” Rein exclaimed, but her shout was unnecessary, as her mistress felt it at the same time.
The pain shot through them both, momentarily making Hayate clench her hands on the armrests of her command chair while gritting her teeth. Then it was over, and she made a fist, slamming it against her chair, anger surging through her, before leaping to her feet.
“For the next four hours, I am not to be disturbed,” she called over her shoulder to the three technicians who manned the consoles.
They didn't respond; the ones chosen this duty were very selectively chosen and cultivated to take every command without argument or emotion, so Hayate knew she didn't have to repeat herself with them.
A section of wall slid open behind her chair, and she entered the darkness beyond while bringing out her book, flipping pages as the unisoned duo summoned their magic. The wall slid shut behind them, locking, as a larger magic circle already present on the floor reacted, glowing brightly.
“Initialize Lazarus program,” Hayate intoned as she felt Rein respond. “Begin linker core reconstitution....”
x~~*~~x
Nanoha landed in front of the cave, following the mental map Agito had left her, then stumbled into the side of the mountain and steadied herself as she clutched her injured left side. She had mostly sealed the wound, but it still hurt and she had lost some blood and burned up a lot of her stamina and magic; but that wasn't what hurt her the most.
Despite her best efforts tears were continuing to leak out, the memory of of what had happened was still fresh in her mind. She could still see the brilliant orangeish-red explosion that started as a small dome and grew to a great column of fire that spread to encompass hundreds of meters worth of forest. Agito had blown herself up, another sacrifice, in order to defeat Signum and give her the chance to escape.
[Dammit,] Nanoha swore to herself. [I should have seen it coming!]
The explosion had the nice side effect of making the soldiers scramble for cover, the shock, confusion, and bright flash providing enough cover for Nanoha to speedily slip through their net. She might have been tailed, but at this point, she didn't care; she was tired of people sacrificing themselves for her, as if she was some sort of messiah. Sick of being somehow prophesied to save the world.
[That's right, the oracle,] she remembered, straightening up and steeling herself while walking into the cave. Her life since awakening had been nothing but questions, and someone here could finally explain what the hell was going on.
It was time to get some answers.
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
As you can probably guess, there will be many answers forthcoming next chapter. Not everything, of course, but enough to fill in pieces of the puzzle so you can start getting an idea.
2010-08-05, 01:10
Author
And the end part with the picture is ... does heartwarming fit? (me listening to Kimi ga iru kara by mikuni shimokawa may have enhanced the experience). Nice job 
....I've been pretty slack in fic writing lately.
I have some plans for this weekend that involve an update for "Shadowfire" and possibly the next chapter of LDG, so you might get your wish yet!
For those that belittle their favorite characters, complain about pairings, complain about oversexed images. Stop, thank you.
