MGLN: Future Tense
Chapter 17: Bereft
Xx~~*~~xX
Cold ice ran through Nanoha's veins, leaving her numb, unable to reconcile the vibrant memories of the hesitant, yet courageous girl she had known, with the idea that her lifeless body rested below.
Caro...
She could only stare at the various bouquets of flowers in front of the grave, which meant at least one person had been visiting this site quite often. Breaking out of her stupor, Nanoha knelt down and felt the petals of one of the flowers, a purple one, noting it still felt soft, indicating it had been placed quite recently. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, remembering the unsure, nervous girl that she had met all those years ago, and her promise to her that day in the helicopter.
"Caro, it'll be okay," Nanoha told the younger girl, approaching her and taking Caro's head in her hands. "You don't need to get that nervous. Even if we're apart, we'll be connected by transmissions. You're not alone. We'll save each other when we're in trouble... and your magic can protect everyone. It's a kind and powerful magic. Okay?”
A tear traveled down Nanoha's cheek, which she quickly wiped. [I'm sorry, Caro, that I wasn't there for you, that I couldn't save you.] Somehow, of all the people that had passed away in the intervening years, Caro's passing hit her harder than any other. Or perhaps it was just the fact that it was yet another senseless death in a long line of them, that was slowly pushing her over the edge.
Her fist clenched as her eyes flew open again, and then she rose to her feet. [I'll make things up to you, somehow. But right now, there's someone I need to see.]
She took to the air, making the short hop back to the cabin, landing as “Edward” came out the front door. She studied him, now seeing the similarities in the height and hair color, although the dark red color had faded to the more rustic one he sported now. There was still a chance she could be wrong, though she doubted it.
He glanced at her once, then turned and headed to the coop to get some eggs. “Breakfast will be-”
“Your real name isn't Edward, is it?” she stated as gentle a manner as she could; if she was right, then she understood what he must be feeling.
He paused, somehow sensing things had changed, then echoed her question. “Your real name isn't Seikou, either, is it?”
She shook her head. “I deserve that. I'm Nanoha, or at least a clone of her; I have all her memories, so I feel like her. I'm sorry for lying to you. But I saw Caro's grave not far from here, at the site of the old nature preserve headquarters. I'm sorry... Erio.”
His shoulders very visibly drooped. “I didn't want you to see that. Erio died that day, too.”
“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked, her voice softening.
“She died in the war, fighting against Hayate,” he replied simply. “That is all. And now I think it's time for you to leave. You should be good enough for travel.”
“Wait, if you two fought against Hayate, then I need your help,” Nanoha stated urgently. “Yuuno sent me here to look for Vivio. In less than two months, we're going to organize an assault against Clanagan, and I could use your hel-”
“No,” he told her, shaking his head, his back still to her. “The war is over. You can do what you like, but I just want to live out the rest of my days here, alone and in peace."
"The war was 20 years ago," Nanoha stated carefully. "Do you think Caro would want you to stay sad like this forever? You can still do so much good! The Erio I remember was one who would do anything to fight for those he cared about, and there is a lot of people you can still hel-"
"NO!" he shouted, spinning to glare at her. "I told you, the war is over! even after we lost her, I continued to fight, but Hayate still won! Nothing we can do now can change that. I just want to live out my life here, near Caro. I think I've done enough to earn that!”
Nanoha felt her heart drop, realizing that any argument she made now wouldn't reach him; and she found she couldn't blame him, either. “I suppose you have, I'm sorry.”
He shrugged, then turned around and resumed his trek to the chicken coop. “I'll give you some supplies for your trip, but that's all. And I'll warn you that it isn't too safe out there; ever since the preserve lost funding and the rangers left or died off, the animals have broken out of their areas and spread across the continent.”
“Thank you,” she told him, biting her lip. “Can you at least tell me where Vivio is? I was sent here to find her, but I wasn't told exactly where she is.”
“I don't know, sorry,” Erio replied, a tinge of regret in his voice.
Nanoha's head lowered. “I see, thanks anyway.”
She fell silent then, as Erio assembled a variety of fruits and dried meats in a leather pouch. What else could she say? His spirit had been broken. Still, she smiled and thanked him for taking care of her as he handed her the food-filled leather pouch and a canteen. He merely nodded slightly in response.
She watched him turn around and re-enter his home, then Nanoha took one last look at the humble cabin, smoke drifting out of the chimney, before turning around and leaving, a tear in her eye.
x~~*~~x
Givo sat against the wall with the rest of the prisoners, only taking notice of the hum and slight vibration of the ship while trying to ignore everyone else. He wasn't technically one of them, having just gotten caught up with the rebels when Nanoha/Seikou (he still wondered which to call her) went along with them, but it didn't change the fact of what had happened.
He did notice that the other dozen prisoners were sitting apart from Rubella, who had stayed in her corner ever since they were put in here. The most seriously injured had finally been healed enough to rejoin their brethren, the Saint Church nun had managed to buy them some more time to recover before transport, and now the rebel base operation was finally winding down and the prisoners were being transported to holding areas, their fates to be determined by the Bureau.
But none of the healing and care bought Rubella any sympathy once word had spread that she had betrayed them by leaking the location of the base, her personal motives for doing so notwithstanding. Despite the speech she had given him, Givo found himself agreeing more with the rebels; he had faced loss himself due to what he perceived as betrayal and the Bureau. While he didn't feel you could really fight the Bureau, he thought her desire to stop the fighting altogether until her precious saint returned, to pretty stupid.
[You can only rely on yourself.] The lesson had been hard drilled into him, and reinforced when he took a chance to help those he hated; it only served to get him buried, injured, and captured. His head was still bandaged, and his body reduced to sore muscles, but his greater injuries had been healed.
"So, I hear you're the kid that came in with Seikou?"
Givo looked over at the woman with short red hair that had suddenly slid next to him, realizing that she looked a bit younger than his mom. "I guess I am."
"Do you think she'll save us?" she asked, quite interested in his opinion. "There's a rumor going around that the Bureau killed her, but I'm not so sure. At least, that's what the guards told us, and that she wouldn't be coming to rescue us."
Memories flashed through Givo's mind, and despite his confused feelings about the woman, he did feel something slightly uncomfortably in his gut. "Maybe, but I doubt it. I think we're on our own, anyway."
The woman leaned her head back against the bulkhead and sighed. "And the guards said that the ship carrying Corona went down and exploded several days ago, with all hands lost, so that just leaves Rio, although the soldiers say she was caught in a large explosion to the north. Maybe you're right; maybe we are all that's left. Even if some escaped, the resistance is dead."
Givo had heard the same things from the Bureau personnel, but he also recognized that the soldiers could have been lying. Either way, it didn't make much difference to him.
"Some want to give up, but I'm not going to," she said firmly. "The shuttle escaped, and without proof, I'm going to believe Seikou, and our leaders got away, which means they'll come to rescue us. The oracle has never been wrong before, so I know she'll save us. After all, I heard she destroyed an entire Bureau regiment by herself! By the way, I'm Layla."
"Givo," the young teen responded, eyeing her strangely. "And it wasn't exactly a reg-"
"The Sarge told me she was really strong, too," Layla continued, almost oblivious. "Anyway, I talked with the others, and we plan to stick together and try to escape when we can. We're not gonna give up. And we'd like you to join us. We can get you back to your parents."
He turned away from her. "My parents are dead."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she told him, alarmed, laying a hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I don't know who my parents are, either. Well, I was raised by Uncle Owen as a war orphan, like a lot of kids." She paused, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Still, we'll get out of this somehow, alright?"
"I suppose," he replied, then glanced over into the corner again. "What about her?"
"The sister?" Layla questioned, following his gaze, then bit her lip. "The others don't want to include her, for obvious reasons. I think you can understand."
He did, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He could only look at the older woman woman sitting in the corner, knees up to her chest, gaze staring straight ahead at nothing, and conclude that she looked much like he felt.
x~~*~~x
Nanoha followed a narrow trail, finding her heart heavy; she wasn't sure where it led, but she didn't know exactly where she should be heading, either. She couldn't help but feel Erio's pain; he had apparently been married to Caro, and so would have loved her very much. Thus it was easy to see how the loss of the summoner had made him retreat into himself, which explained why he was living like a hermit.
And she still didn't know where Vivio was. Yuuno had told Nanoha to find her daughter, but how was she supposed to do that? If Vivio was even on Supool, how was Nanoha to find her? And how long would the foodstuffs inside the large pouch last her? Where was the nearest town? She realized she hadn't asked him, which made her briefly debate going back, but in the end she decided against it.
Frustrated, Nanoha scanned the horizon, noticing for the first time she hadn't seen anyone else in the area, no signs of life other than animals, nor any drones. She wondered if perhaps no one lived in this area at all, due to the way the creatures from the preserve had overrun the continent. If that was the case, then she'd have to cross an ocean to find civilization in order to replenish food as well as gather information.
Then she paused as a thought struck her. “Raging Heart, do you know where Vivio is located?”
“I am sorry but that information is not in my databanks,” her device replied with a tinge of regret.
Nanoha sighed. “Yuuno was probably planning to teleport me straight to Vivio, so he wouldn't have needed to uploaded that information. Can you display a map of the planet? Is that in your databanks?”
“Yes, my master,” Raging Heart answered, opening up a holographic screen.
Nanoha studied the display as it zoomed in from the picture of the entire planet, to a map of just the continent she was on. She absently swatted a bug buzzing near her ear, trying to decide on a course of action. She recalled Erio mentioning once before that there was a harbor trading post for hunters a day's journey from his cabin, so she highlighted the stretches of coast on the east where it could be. She figured her best bet was to head straight east, then work her way south once she hit the beach; that way, she'd be sure to find it. After that, she could try to catch a ride across the ocean.
But what if Vivio was on this continent? If she took a boat, she might be heading the wrong way.
Nanoha sighed in frustration and swatted at the bug that had returned to her ear, deciding that at least she would need supplies and information, so either way, heading to the trading post would be the best thing she could do right now.
She close the map, then angrily swatted at the insect a third time, twirling and preparing a small spell to kill it, but froze as it floated there, almost unmoving. [Something about it... like I've seen pictures of it before....] “Raging Heart, is that...?”
“There is a 98.7% probability match with records on file,” her device informed her, reading her mind as the twin-legged gray bug floated up higher, then stopped again and did a series of figure-eights.
Nanoha bit her lip. “I'll take those odds, if this means what I think it means.”
“Axel Fin!” Raging Heart announced, helping to activate her flight spell.
Nanoha reached eye level with the bug again, and was rewarded when it moved farther away before pausing once more. She smiled, taking off after it, and as it flew away this time, it didn't stop but kept moving in a straight line, moving at a speed that the cloned mage could easily keep up with.
Nanoha felt her spirits began to lift, even moreso when a second identical bug joined it, and then a third after that. Soon, there was a swarm flying around her moving at the exact same speeds, and some even began to seemingly dance a bit as they flew. A part of Nanoha's mind told her that maybe she should be a bit more cautious, but strangely she wasn't. Instead, unable to help herself, she let loose a small laugh and did a few mid-air twirls, wind in her hair, the insects continuing their dance as they guided her along.
She wasn't sure how long they flew, although it seemed like at least thirty minutes before the bugs ceased their dance and slowed, angling back down into the forest below. She took note of where they were heading, a small open meadow that appeared to be a bit too unnaturally circular. She landed in the middle as the bugs lined up on either side, creating a path to the shade of the trees beyond. Nanoha took one step in that direction, before a figure emerged from the shadows and smiled at her.
The woman had certainly grown up over the years, but Nanoha had no doubt who it was.
“Lutecia!”
x~~*~~x
Fate tried her best to wipe the growl from her face as she approached the door, and almost succeeded; she didn't want to be here.
“I haven't had a report from you in a few days,” Hayate intoned from the screen. “Thus, I thought it might be a good idea to check up on you.”
“Everything is fine,” Fate replied, keeping her face carefully neutral. “I should have a full report for you soon.”
“I hear you managed to find Carim,” Hayate probed. “I know you will want to interrogate her, but I would like you to bring her, and your other prisoners, back to Mid-Childa, as I have more effective interrogation methods. And I'll want a personal report. I'll give you two more days, but that's it.”
Fate's jaw tightened, but she knew she couldn't disobey. “Yes, Hayate.”
Unfortunately, two more days hadn't been enough time to find out anything; Carim could only babble incoherently about darkness and a destroyer against the backdrop of thunder and lightning, whatever that meant. Even Yuuno and Shari seemed to be resisting, or crazy, as vague references to time travel were all they offered. Fate scoffed; it was a ridiculous concept, but even if they believed it, they may be trying to get the clone Nanoha to do something stupid.
As a clone herself, Fate wouldn't let that happen. [I'll protect you, Nanoha, even from yourself if I have to.]
Steeling herself, she entered Hayate's command room, finding it blissfully empty of any other individuals besides Hayate and the three technicians that manned the forward stations. “Fate Harleown, reporting as
ordered.”
Hayate turned her chair, lips tugging upwards slightly, perhaps in amusement to the emphasis Fate put on the last word. “I know you wanted to continue your search, but you can resume it later. I've read your report, and your leads are at a dead end.”
“But Nanoha is most likely still on Supool!” Fate protested. “And given that's where I found Schach, Carim, Yuuno and Shari, I believe Vivio is there, too. I was hoping to head back and resume the search.”
Hayate steepled her fingers in front of her face as she leaned back, studying her Enforcer Commander. "I don't think you'll need to worry too much on that point. While it initially surprised me that Nanoha was suddenly on Supool, we found the busted teleportation device she must have used. That it took her to Yuuno, who disappeared even before the war, means that this is something that has been planned for a long time. And it means Yuuno is working with Jail, who still wants to defeat us. By your own report, Carim was also in contact with Yuuno, and now Nanoha is being told to find Vivio. Connect the dots, Fate-chan."
“Yuuno did mention that they planned to attack the Bureau again,” the Enforcer Commander thought aloud, mentioning the one item she had gotten off Yuuno so far that she had shared in her earlier report to Hayate. “But even with Nanoha, that would be impossible.”
“They must have a plan, and I need to find out what that is; that's why I wanted you to bring your prisoners back,” the Supreme Commander explained. “Once I have you take care of something for me, I'll put you back out as bait to catch Nanoha and Vivio, putting an end to this.”
Fate raised an eyebrow. “Bait?”
Hayate closed her eyes and paused to take a breath. “Ever since the Nakajima sisters' report, I've been thinking. If this is all a big plan as I suspect then there was a very deliberate reason to clone Nanoha, so she is the key."
Fate's thoughts drifted back to Yuuno's interrogation again. He had talked about time travel, about sending Nanoha back in time to undo all this; but these were things Fate hadn't yet shared with Hayate, mostly because she thought them fairly crazy at the time. Yuuno had offered it up rather easily, so it could have been to mislead her, although he had offered to say all he knew if Fate promised not to torture Shari. Although initial questioning of her ex-aide revealed Shari to share the same thoughts as Yuuno, Fate still found it rather crazy; time travel was impossible. And it reminded her of her mother; a good person gone bad trying to bring back a lost loved one.
But Fate picked up something else in Hayate's words. "So you're rescinding the order to have Nanoha killed then? I can take her alive?"
"From all I've learned, she has the original Nanoha's personality, so yes," Hayate continued, her eyes still closed while answering Fate's question. "I believe that if you put yourself out there, she'll eventually come to you, possibly hoping to win you over. And I think it's time we used this psychological warfare to our advantage; she's becoming known as Seikou, and there is a feeling spreading through the people that she is invincible and can defeat the Bureau easily. Already, I've had to divert some of Signum's troops to areas of Mid-Childa that are showing greater dissent. But if you can get her to stand with us....”
Fate was silent, not needing to answer that as Hayate trailed off; they had been friends for a long time, and Nanoha appeared honestly apologetic while Shari teleported her away. That meant it might not have been fully what she wanted, so Yuuno and Shari were to blame. Thus, Fate realized she still might be able to convince Nanoha to stop whatever crazy plan the others were forcing her through, and get her back on the right side.
So decided, her head came up, her course set. "Don't worry, I'll convince Nanoha to do the right thing, by force if I have to." [Just like she did for me,] Fate added silently.
Hayate smiled and nodded. "Good. She's my friend, too, so we both have to do what we can to save her." The smiled disappeared. "But keep your head. She's still a clone of Jail, and if you feel at any time that her personality is just a ruse and that she is Jail's creature, you have to be prepared to do what you must."
"I understand," Fate replied, having already considered that prospect; but deep down, she held no doubt as to which it was.
And she wouldn't let the one she cared for most in the world to continue to be a patsy for Jail.
x~~*~~x
“It's good to see you again, Nanoha,” Lutecia Alphine answered, smiling as the two women walked through the trees.
“How did you know who I was and where I was?” Nanoha asked, incredulous as the pair arrived at a small, white house hidden amongst the trees; it appeared far nicer than Erio's cabin.
The summoner held up a finger, letting one of the small gray bugs alight atop it. “I've actually been watching you for awhile through my insects. I keep an eye on that old gruff, and I was surprised to see he took you in last week. I didn't show myself because I don't intrude, and I wanted to see how he'd respond to you.”
“You just keep an eye on Erio, but don't actually talk to him?” Nanoha questioned as the two entered the front door.
Lutecia lead her to the kitchen, and gestured towards one of the chairs on the patio. “Have a seat outside in the sun, and I'll make some tea.” Nanoha head out through the kitchen's back door, and took a seat at the table outside as Lutecia continued to speak through the screened window separating them. “Anyway, you've seen how he is; gruff and antisocial. He's been in a bad way since we lost Caro, and I promised her I'd look out for him.”
Nanoha's mood lowered a bit at the mention of the girl's name. “I saw the tombstone. What happened?”
Her host was silent, until she came back out with a teapot tray and two cups, placing it on the table and filling them. “It was early in the war, back when the sides were more even, before Hayate's superior manufacturing capacity slowly overwhelmed us. Rio had come up with a plan to strike at Clanagan directly, a swift stroke to bring down the Bureau directly. It didn't go too well.”
“Thank you,” Nanoah replied, receiving her tea, letting it cool a bit as she held in her hands.
“We went all out, and at first we were succeeding,” Lutecia continued. “With Vivio's help, we were really pushing them back. Then Hayate unveiled the giants.”
Nanoha raised an eyebrow. “Giants?”
“A pair of huge, metal, humanoid machines that outputted some sort of horrendously strong AMF that practically nullified our magic,” she explained. “Even Vivio was almost powerless trying to fight them; they seemed to nullify everything for hundreds of meters around, while her army, which outnumbered us, switched to pure melee and mass-based weapons. That's when Caro summoned Voltaire and I brought out Hakutenou, figuring our best bet was to pit giant against giant for pure strength.
Her head lowered, a sad smile on her face. “But in the end, something distracted Voltaire and he was mortally wounded. Caro went into shock as our army went into full retreat, and I pulled back Hakutenou before the giants could double team him." Her head came up. "Do you know why a creature allows themselves to be bound to a summoner?”
Nanoha had some idea, but she never was quite sure, not being a summoner herself. “No. What does it mean? I had assumed it was like some form of familiar.”
“There are several different types of summoner contracts, of which a familiar is one,” Lutecia stated, looking up, her gaze far away. “With lower lifeforms and unintelligent creatures like my smaller grey bugs and the jiraiyo,they simply use my mana when I don't need it in order to help their colonies to thrive. In return, I can summon them for various tasks; overall, it's a form of symbiosis." She paused and shifted in her seat. "But for more intelligent creatures like Garyuu and Hakutenou, a different contract is used. In return for allowing us to summon them, we agree to let them draw on our mana so that they can essentially live forever. And if they are mortally wounded, the summoner's life is taken instead.”
“So Caro gave up her life to restore Voltaire's?” Nanoha deduced, feeling oddly chilled by the true burden of a summoner's life.
Lutecia nodded. “Voltaire had desummoned himself the moment the fatal blow was struck, but it was too late. By the time Erio reached us, Caro's body was dissolving, her magic and very life force being taken by Voltaire to heal himself. Erio was naturally extremely distraught, but later grew angry. He managed to track down Voltaire in his lair on Algus after the war, demanding Caro be returned, but the great dragon didn't even acknowledge his presence. The priest caretakers of Voltaire's shrine had warned us that not even the great dragon could return life to the dead, and that Caro knew this from the beginning."
Nanoha glanced down into her tea, barely able to determine how she felt about all of this. Caro had never said a word about the burden she carried all these years, and Nanoha herself didn't know how she'd feel about taking on such a summoner contract.
Her head came back up. "What about Friedrich?"
"He became unbound from his contract with Caro when she passed away," Lutecia answered. "Like Erio and I, he lives somewhere in the forest. I know he's nearby, as my bugs have spotted him flying around occasionally and it seems he keeps an eye on us both, Erio in particular. Despite not being in contract, the two were fairly close. And since Caro made me promise to look after Erio, I retired here to watch over him. He's probably aware I peek in from time-to-time with my insects, but he doesn't seem to care as long as I don't bother him."
"It still saddens me that he's let his grief over Caro consume him," Nanoha remarked aloud, then noticed Lutecia's facial features shift. "What?"
"It wasn't just Caro," the other woman stated slowly. "They had a daughter named Eris that we lost track of during the war. We don't think she was killed, as we never found her body, but she went missing just the same. We spent years searching, however the trail eventually ran cold, and Erio was finally forced to give up after several years.”
Nanoha was silent, taking an occasional sip of tea as she digested everything Lutecia had told her, but it still saddened that it was yet another sad loss that happened in years she had been gone. Unconsciously, her thoughts drifted back to Yuuno's time travel plan; If he was right, then she could undo all of this, and Erio and Caro could have another chance at living out their lives. The weight of that choice, that mission, was heavy on her shoulders.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and then decided she needed to lighten the mood with a change in conversation topics.
"I'm sorry, I haven't even asked how you're doing," Nanoha stated, setting down her teacup, somewhat embarrassed. "How have you been holding up all these years? You aren't lonely at all?"
"Not at all," Lutecia replied with a genuinely warm smile. "I have my insects, and my mother lived with me up until she passed away ten years ago; don't worry, she died from natural causes and led a full life. I knew it was coming for awhile, so I had a chance to prepare. I miss her, but I know she wouldn't want me to give in to despair the way Erio has. And life has been peaceful since we retired here after the war."
Nanoha raised an eyebrow. "Peaceful? Doesn't the Bureau come after you?"
The summoner grinned wryly after taking a sip her tea. "This continent is seen mostly as a no man's land, due to the wide variety of magical animals running loose around here." She gestured towards the forest with her arm, smiling mischievously. "Besides a few game hunters, no one else comes here due to the danger. There are still sentinel drones that make random flyovers, but my little insects take care of it, interfacing with the drone and feeding it false information until they get out of range. As far as the Bureau knows, there's nobody here."
Nanoha finally realized that, for the first time, she hadn't remembered seeing any drones since arriving at Erio's place; now she knew why. Since Lutecia's house wasn't that far from his cabin, odds are she was protecting him from discovery, too.
"I noticed you haven't asked about me," Nanoha noted, absently stirring her tea with the spoon. "I know we didn't have much contact before, so I'm partly surprised you recognized me at all. But aren't you curious how I am here now? And how could you know I wasn't part of the Bureau?"
Lutecia smiled as lowered her own cup. "It was a bit of a risk, I'll admit, but as I've been studying you for awhile, it didn't seem like you were. You would have turned in Erio the moment you figured out who he was. I also wanted to see if you'd have an effect on him; what happened was to be expected, though, I suppose. I'm still a bit disappointed in him. I'll also admit that I am curious about how you're alive, but I have a few guesses. I'm assuming you're a clone." Her smile turned into a bit of a smirk. "And Garyu has had you targeted ever since you arrived; he's a bit overprotective, but dependable."
Nanoha blinked and glanced around. "I don't see him..."
The summoner laughed. "You wouldn't. It's okay, Garyu, you can stop now. I think she's safe enough."
Out of the corner of her eye, Nanoha finally saw the humanoid bug fade into existence as he retracted the blade that he had pointed at her back. She was forced to admit that she hadn't felt his presence at all, so if Lutecia had wanted her dead, the summoner could have easily had it done. Garyu continued to watch her as he jumped to a perch on the roof, but he did nod in her direction. Nanoha nodded back, then returned to gaze to her host.
"Well, you're right, I am a clone, although I don't feel any different," Nanoha stated with a sigh. "Yuuno had Jail clone me, and I've been traveling all this time, trying to figure out the reason for that, and when I finally found Yuuno and he told me... what?"
Lutecia giggled. "I'm sorry, it's just your expression and attitude as you talked. As if it was a 'here we go again, having to explain all this yet again' thing. Although, I imagine it hasn't been easy on you, so perhaps I'm being a bit rude."
"No, truthfully I'm a bit numb to it all now," Nanoha opined, gazing into her teacup. "Or perhaps I've just accepted everything for what it is, and nothing surprises me much anymore, sad as it is. I've gotten a bit used to not knowing what's going on, or where I'm supposed to be going."
Lutecia nodded sympathetically, then smiled. "Well, since you have had contact with Yuuno, then it appears one of my guesses was correct and you are part of the plan."
That got Nanoha's attention. "You know about Yuuno and the plan?"
"I know about Yuuno and Carim, and that they were up to something, but no one knows all the details," she answered. "It's safer that way, in case one of us is caught. But I did receive the agreed-upon coded signal not too long ago that things were finally going to be set in motion; and then you appeared at Erio's place with Raging Heart."
"Do you know where Vivio is, then?" Nanoha asked eagerly, leaning forward.
The bug summoner grinned. "Sort of. I exchange letters with her occasionally by insect, but I don't know where she is. That information is solely contained within Asclepius here, and he has orders to delete it if it's ever in danger of being discovered." She raised her hand, showcasing the small bracelet on her wrist, from which a pair of purple jewels hung. "Asclepius, transfer protected data to Raging Heart, codeword: Dawn."
"Data transfer complete," the red jewel hanging from Nanoha's neck declared.
"It's up to you to safely protect that information," Lutecia instructed, her voice taking on a very serious tone. "No one else must learn of where Vivio is. I'm not sure why, only that it's important."
Nanoha nodded, taking her jewel in hand and commanding Raging Heart to install safeguards, as the reality hit her that she finally had the key to finding her daughter after all this time. "Thank you again, Lutecia. I owe you much; not just for this, but for looking out for Vivio."
The older woman smiled warmly. "It was my pleasure, really. Vivio, Caro, Erio, Rio and Corona and I were all pretty much inseparable after you passed away, due to our close age ranges. But as thanks, stay awhile, as I haven't had company in many years. It'll give me a chance to fix up a meal, and you can resume your journey tomorrow morning, alright?"
Nanoha readily agreed, accepting the other woman's hospitality. A warm bath in Lutecia's custom-made furo was also quite welcome after the cold water rinses in Erio's stream, and the summoner even fixed up some food in a medium-sized backpack for her to take. She explained that she'd love to teleport Nanoha straight there, but such a large spell would alert the drones, and she could only control a few in a certain radius. Still, she could give Nanoha a head start with a shorter-range teleport, along with some parting words.
"Say hello to Vivio for me," Lutecia told her as she warmed up her teleport spell. "I wish I could go with you, but I have to watch over Erio due to the promise I made to Caro. Still, I'll see about pounding some sense back into the old gruff's head, so we can help you out when the time comes. I'll be damned if I let him continue to sulk when we can make a difference."
Nanoha nodded, grateful, waving goodbye and promising to meet again as the spell was activated and she disappeared in a flash of purple light.
x~~*~~x
"Are you sure you're okay?" Shari asked from the next cell over, her arm reaching through the single barred window between them.
Yuuno squeezed her hand, adjusting his body a bit, his muscles feeling strained as if he had been running a marathon. "I'll live. The important thing is that you're unharmed."
"I really wish you'd stop trying to be the brave one," she admonished him, then sighed. "And now they know our portion of the plan. I could have taken anything Fate would have done to me; we both know she wouldn't have killed either of us."
"It was a calculated risk, and a logical one, as you know," he replied, sighing. "Besides, they still don't know everything, because we don't, and I doubt she believed what we told her, anyway. At least I fed her information that she expected to hear. And whatever happens, I think events are set, and none of us can change them now."
"Because of your Nanoha vision," she replied, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.
Yuuno smiled softly. "It would validate one of your theories. I think-"
A pair of thuds sounded from outside the door to their cell room, cutting Yuuno off. Shari had heard it, too, and thus had mimicked him by going quiet as well. The door slid open and a mysterious figure backed into the brig room, dragging the non-moving pair of Enforcers that were standing guard outside. Once inside, the unknown individual shut the door, then turned to the two prisoners, face hidden due to the shadow cast by a hooded cloak.
"I'll have you two out in a second," she said, pulling out something that Yuuno thought looked like a handgun, pointing it at the lock to his cell. "I've messed with the sensors to this room to display a recorded feedback loop, but odds are they'll discover it shortly."
"Who are you?" Yuuno asked as the woman fired a surprisingly quiet shot that blasted his lock open, and then repeated it for his wife's cell.
"I recognize that device!" Shari declared, astonished as she came out of her prison. "I never forget a device I've built; Silver Dagger! Which means you're-"
The device technician trailed off as the woman pulled off her hood, baring a head of short, faded, light-brown hair, with red eyes. Yuuno didn't recognize her, but Shari obviously did. Before he could ask, though, their rescuer spoke.
"Runessa Magnus," she told them in a low even voice. "I'm here to rescue you two."
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
"What the hell? Did Kaijo just put in someone who has actually managed to survive the passage of time, and isn't completed screwed up!?" Statistically speaking, it had to be possible. ;p Anyway, title is from a poem by Robert Frost, which I felt was fitting for various reasons you can probably guess:
"Where had I heard this wind before
Change like this to a deeper roar?
What would it take my standing there for,
Holding open a restive door,
Looking down hill to a frothy shore?
Summer was past and the day was past.
Sombre clouds in the west were massed.
Out on the porch's sagging floor,
Leaves got up in a coil and hissed,
Blindly striking at my knee and missed.
Something sinister in the tone
Told me my secret may be known:
Word I was in the house alone
Somehow must have gotten abroad,
Word I was in my life alone,
Word I had no one left but God."
For those curious, I will be continuing Whipped; it's just that I am placing priority on this fic. Speaking of which, because I got over 100 reviews, you get an Omake!
Xx~~*~~xX
Hayate: "You've done well, Enforcer Harlaown. And now, I sense that you wish to continue your search for young Takamachi."
Fate: "Yes, my master."
Hayate: "Patience, my friend. In time, she will seek you out. "
Fate: "She will come to me?"
Hayate: "Her compassion for you will be her undoing. She will come to you, and then you will bring her before me. Only together, can we turn her to the Dark Side of the magic."
Fate: "As you wish."
(For the Star Wars nerds, yes, I did kinda smoosh two separate scenes together for this, heh)