Meanwhile, back on the Blue Staff...
"What do you mean you can't help us?!" Nanoha slammed the palms of her hands on the desk of the small being in front of her angrily. It had taken them almost two whole days to get back to Earth and locate the miniature version of Zelas Metallium in Hong Kong.
"Well, for one, you blew my doors in. I liked those doors. Two, you took out all my men." She sighed dramatically. "I should have had Xellos make a miniature version of himself, it would be so easy right now. I could make him do my work and I could just drink. Three, I have no reason to help you. Four, I'm a Mazoku. Five, even if I wanted to, traveling across the Dimensional Sea isn't possible right now." Zelas sighed, waiting for the inevitable demands. Really, what did they want from her? She wasn't some god of reality, she was a Mazoku, and even though she could make it rain oil in the middle of Nevada, she couldn't do everything.
Fate stepped forward and put a hand on Nanoha's shoulder. "What do you mean by that?" She knew how upset Nanoha was, a mixture of fear for Vivio and Arashi, plus her own natural hatred for Mazoku and tremendous power made for a very bad combination.
It was just too bad the being in front of them could probably wipe the floor with both of them if she was serious. Even with Yuuno and Lina just behind them, Zelas, even a miniature form of her, was a lot stronger than any human could ever hope to be.
Of course, that depended on her ego, most Mazoku had such huge egos that they never took a fight with a human seriously or they wanted something out of the fight, which was why even Mazoku such as a Lord could be defeated, even if just barely.
Zelas let out a long-suffering sigh. "I keep forgetting that you're still so young. Alright, listen up. Every few centuries, for some reason or another, travel between the different pillars becomes impossible for a short period of time. The last time this happened, about four hundred or so years ago, well, it wasn't majorly important, but it lasted upwards of a month. The time before that lasted almost a week. Any Mazoku or Shinzoku that's strong enough can feel it, considering what's between the dimensions, as for why?" Zelas shrugged and pointed to Nanoha. "Why don't you ask the Golden Lord yourself? You're the one touched with her power."
"I... I never..."
"Nanoha, Fate, you two go outside with Yuuno," Lina interrupted and stepped forward, "let me talk with her." She didn't even acknowledge as they nodded and left the room. "Zelas," Lina narrowed her eyes as she leaned forward, "my son, granddaughter and their friends are in real danger. How the hell can this just happen?"
Zelas merely shrugged at her. "I have no clue why it happens, I only know that it does. You're a human and have no real idea..."
"What it means to channel the power of Shabranigdo or some other demon?" Lina raised an eyebrow as Zelas nodded. "I know. Our souls are protected from feeling the same things you do, which is why we can cast stuff like the Dragon Slave, but you, for all your power, can't." Zelas nodded at Lina. "Though, one thing that bothers me... Could a Mazoku from another staff cast the Dragon Slave if they were on your world?"
Zelas blinked, a rather stunned look crossing her face. "...I have no idea, actually. Though, they probably wouldn't risk it."
"Anyway..." Lina waved her hand to dismiss that topic. "There's nothing you can do?"
"Not directly, no."
Lina nodded and gave Zelas a tight little grin. "I suppose so, though, if anything happens to them..."
Zelas merely raised an eyebrow at Lina. "Even if something did happen, what would I be able to do about it? It's not like my granddaughters decided to play a prank on them and sent them to our home staff."
"Fine." Lina turned and left the room.
Zelas narrowed her eyes as she thought about what she was told. She wasn't lying about traveling between dimensions at that moment. How long it would last... That was another matter entirely.
(---)
A couple of thugs outside looked at Nanoha, only to stumble away at the glare she leveled at them. Normally they weren't afraid of a short girl glaring at them, they had seen worse from their superiors after all.
No, it was the fact that her eyes suddenly seemed to glow gold and her body was covered in a pink glow that had them terrified. If one had more sympathy for them, they might feel sorry that the thugs would never be able to look at pink things ever again in the future.
Nanoha had to take deep breaths to get herself to calm down. It wouldn't be right to blow this city apart with her magic, even if it would make her feel better.
"Nanoha..." She turned to see Yuuno and Fate look at her in worry. "Come on," Yuuno held his hand out for her. "I know a few planets that are mostly desert, you can vent there."
"Yuuno..." Nanoha bit her lower lip almost painfully. "I'm scared. My daughter, my brother, their friends, Nove... They're somewhere out there and they have no way for us to contact or help them. I... This is my fault... I thought that even if a Mazoku would cause problems..." She trailed off and walked up to Yuuno and Fate, sighing as they both hugged her without preamble. "I thought that, unlike mom, we'd have more time to teach them. I thought that because I'm younger than mom was when I got my magic, that I'd be able to be there when Vivio needed help. I... I'm so stupid."
"Nanoha," Fate hugged her tightly, "listen, you can't see the future. You made a mistake, but think, Nanoha, when you and mom saved me and helped Yuuno, it was just six of us, you, me, Yuuno, Arf, mom and Chrono that could do anything. Mom had to push our training hard." She sighed as Nanoha hugged her tightly.
"Vivio and her friends have us, Hayate and her family, all of the Riot Force, and new weapons and technology being developed," Yuuno continued as he squeezed Nanoha tightly. "There was never any reason to think that we would get separated for too long, plus, if they were sent to one of the other dimensions, we could trace them and follow if they went to the White one somehow..."
"I know, but..." Nanoha was grateful for their support, but it didn't mean anything, it was her fault and... "Are you two trembling?"
"I guess I'm scared too." Yuuno admitted with a chuckle. "I just wish we could send Arisa or Vita after them if we're stuck here." The three of them broke off the hug and stepped back, smiling nervously at each other. "So, now what?"
"Get Hayate to get people on standby in case the way opens soon?"
Yuuno, Fate and Nanoha all stared at Thoth Driver in shock. "Thoth, are you okay?" Fate had to ask slowly, hoping that the device was permanently like this now.
"Sure I am. By the way, boss, Fate's breasts have been growing again."
"Knock it off!" Yuuno yelled at his device, twitching. "Thanks for ruining the moment!"
"I'm glad it did." Lina spoke up as she walked out, the look on her face had the three of them hold back whatever comments they had. "Zelas wasn't lying. I didn't think much of it at the time, but my left eye's been throbbing pretty badly now." She grimaced and shook her head. "I'm not sure what's going on, but for now, the best we can do is hope they can survive until it clears up."
Nanoha frowned as she looked at her mother. "How did you warp to me when I called you? Don't you need to go through the Sea of Chaos?" Lina nodded. "But, if it's impossible to go between the different pillars, how could you..?"
"Because it's like saying that a cruise ship can't cross the ocean because of a bad storm, but people are skimming the beaches on speed boats. Dangerous, but doable." Lina scratched the back of her head before looking up into the sky. "As much as we like to think that we're in charge of stuff, we have to remember that the Lady decides everything. Thankfully she doesn't do much directly, but..."
"Sometimes I forget that you were consumed by her." Nanoha muttered as Lina looked at her. "Tell me, mom, you can communicate with her, why don't you talk to her and ask her about this?"
Lina grimaced at the thought of doing that again. "It's not as simple as you think..." She trailed off as something came to her. "Nanoha, I think it's time I actually taught you some Chaos magic." Nanoha's eyes widened as she took a step back. "I'm not going to ask you to cast the Giga Slave, but, if you want to talk to the Lady, you're going to need to learn how to control it..." She pointed at the gem that floated near her shoulder. "Without Raising Heart's help."
Nanoha sighed, slightly irritated. 'Well,' she grimaced, 'at least it'll take my mind off of what's happening for awhile.'
It didn't make her feel much better.