24Hello everybody, welcome to the fourth chapter of MSLOS Redux!
...Welp, broke my promise, there's some Vita humiliation right off the bat.
Vita: Bastard!
That doesn't mean it's becoming a thing, alright?! Anyways, let's get on with it!
Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Alright, let's go!
Uminari City
It was close to eleven at night when the Wolkenritter finally arrived back at their master's house, having intentionally taken the long way around to stall for Vita to awaken naturally, as they didn't want to explain her why she was wearing her armor and looked like she had just been rudely awaken. She had finally gotten up near the last two or three miles from home and, after a briefing of what went down, changed into her own street clothes, grumbling darkly to herself about some crazy girl with swords. The other three wisely chose not to try and question her about it, simply telling her to put a lid on it before their mistress heard her. She complied reluctantly, though they could still make out the occasional promised death threat whispered through her teeth.
With a sigh, Signum knocked and opened the door. "We're back," she called out as they entered.
"Hey, Signum, everyone. I was getting worried about ya. What happened?" the master of the house and them asked as she wheeled herself out to meet them. She was a young girl, maybe only slightly older than Vita appeared, with brown hair and blue eyes that seemed to shine with joy. For some reason, to the Wolkenritter's eyes, the room seemed to brighten as she got closer to them, and all of them, even Vita, felt their spirits raise at the sight of her, even crippled as she was due to her wheelchair.
"Sorry, Hayate-chan, but we ran into a little problem," Shamal said before she presented the groceries she had bought earlier. "I know it's a little late, but here are the things you told me to buy."
Hayate shook her head. "No, it's fine, it's fine. Thanks for getting 'em. It's a good thing you arrived when you did though, because dinner's about ready and I was afraid I'd have to eat it all without ya."
"Thank God we made it in time, huh?" Vita said with a grin, her dark mood utterly fading at the mention of food.
Signum shook her head at the younger knight's eagerness, though she would be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to it either. "Sorry for making you wait then," she stated with a smile before moving deeper into the house. "I'll prepare the bath then."
"Thanks Signum," Hayate said with a smile as Shamal helped push her into the kitchen.
Vita took a moment to stretch her arms. "I guess I'll just go watch some TV while we wait," she said nonchalantly as she moved towards the living room.
Zafira, still in his wolf form, merely shook his head at the scene, trying his best not to smile. The candid behavior of his fellow knights was so at odds with how they used to behave serving a master, and he had to admit he loved every moment of it.
"By the way, after dinner, who's turn is it to try out the new outfits I found?" Hayate's voice singsonged from the kitchen.
"I believe it was Vita," came Signum's answer from within the bathroom.
"Traitor!"
...even if she was certainly one of the more eccentric ones they had ever had.
The guardian beast could only wish these peaceful days could last forever.
The Arthra Medical Bay
"Alright, so the long and short of it is that TSAB is an interdimensional, magical security force formed by an alliance of several different worlds, populated by humans I might add, who have banned together to safeguard the various dimensions from harm and provide relief when required," Edgar stated as Lindy finished her explanation. "This organization also investigates incidents of magical nature on various worlds, especially when they involve Lost Logia, dangerous magical items from collapsed civilizations that have the potential to destroy said worlds if misused. The agents of said organization are more often enough practitioners of magic, which is used to quell unrest and deal with disasters on various worlds."
Lindy nodded her head, satisfied with his summary of it so far.
"Every person in this room," he gestured with his free hand, glad that Lindy had removed the restraints during her original explanation, "with the exception of Ms. Takamachi is a member or somehow directly affiliated with the TSAB, and all of you were involved in a Lost Logia incident but six months earlier over a couple of such objects called Jewel Seeds. Ms. Takamachi was an instrumental part of ensuring the case was successfully closed, as was everyone else in this room, but several of the Seeds were lost to the interdimensional sea."
'And ended up in Zelretch's hands to give one to me,' he thought to himself, but didn't let that pause show as he continued, gesturing towards the current images on the video screens with his unbound arm.
"And now, another Lost Logia has apparently surfaced on Earth called the Book of Darkness and the three persons we saw, along with a fourth who was probably the one responsible for draining Nanoha's Linker Core, which is essentially the organ that allows a mage to cast magic, are its guardians. They call themselves the Wolkenritter, sentient magical programs created by the Book to protect it and its current master, which it chooses a new one every time the current is killed. They hunt down powerful opponents to collect their Linker Cores to fill the Book, which has 666 pages. Anyone who has their Linker Core drained gives the book, and by extension, the master, full access to their magical spells and capabilities."
He glanced back up at the screens, his attention on two images in particular. "If the pages are filled completely, apparently the world on which the Book arrives gets completely destroyed and it disappears to start the process all over again...and the Bureau has been personally touched by these events, as the events of the year 0054 of your calendar can attest."
The images he was focusing on were that of a TSAB ship in the process of exploding in a burst of flame and magical energy. He noticed how both Lindy and Chrono occasionally looked at it with pained, though well-masked expressions, and it was more than just acknowledging a tragedy. It was the look he often saw whenever a person remembered someone important to them...and how they died.
A look he knew well, but he didn't pry. It wasn't his place, not in front of others.
"And now, in the year 0065, with the Book's reappearance, you guys have to find it and defeat the Wolkenritter before it does the same thing to Earth," he finished at last, looking over at the assembled group with a new eye. "And no doubt, you all, the very same ones who put an end to the Jewel Seed Incident, will be the ones to handle the case."
Lindy nodded. "That's the basic situation in a nutshell. Any questions?"
Edgar was silent for the longest moment, thinking about what this meant. He and Sayaka were sent here by Zelretch, just as a world-destroying threat decided to rear its head. He didn't dare pass it off as a coincidence: This 'Book of Darkness' was somehow connected to the enemy that the Wizard Marshal had sent them here to deal with, or would at least serve as the first real step for them to reach it. They couldn't let this opportunity pass them up.
More importantly than that though, innocent lives were at sake, and he refused to let anymore die while he had a chance to do something about it. It was one of the very principles he had established OSG upon after all. Not to mention, this thing no doubt had access to his powers thanks to absorbing his magic, and he knew what sort of chaos could happen if that sort of power was misused. He couldn't allow it.
"Where do I sign up to join the fight?" he asked plainly at last, ignoring the varying expressions of surprise on everyone's faces (with the exception of Sayaka's resigned shake of the head). "Sounds like the kind of thing I would enjoy doing, and I want to take another crack at that pink one, Signum."
Lindy was the first to recover, and a small smirk crossed her face. "...Let me see what I can do about that."
TSAB Maintenance Dock
"I don't trust them."
Chrono's words were straight and to the point. It was one of her son's best traits, Lindy had to admit, but it could occasionally result in some rather awkward conversations, like the one they were having right now.
The two of them were sitting in a small room by themselves, a window to the outside showing the Arthra currently undergoing its refit and repairs. They, along with Fate, had left the others after the medical ward visit to discuss future living quarters on Earth for all of them, as the Arthra wouldn't be ready for several more days, if not a week. After that, Fate had left to apparently get the paperwork necessary for the official upgrading of Bardiche alongside Nanoha's Raising Heart, leaving the two of them by themselves to discuss other matters.
Specifically, that of their two new passengers and her growing decision to let them join the Book of Darkness investigation.
"And why is that, Chrono?" Lindy asked her son, genuinely curious to hear his reasoning. "They did help Fate and the others save Nanoha and risked their lives to fight the Wolkenritter after all. What's more, they accepted our demands to come with us and have answered our questions with a surprising amount of patience and willingness before finally offering their services to help us find the Book of Darkness. So what is there to not trust?"
"I'm not denying any of that," Chrono replied, his face a stone, but his eyes conflicted. "I'm grateful to both Mr. Silverstein and Ms. Miki for helping us, no doubt about that, and we could use the extra hands for something like this. It's just that...I don't feel like they're telling us everything."
"You think they're lying."
"I'm thinking their story is very suspect," Chrono clarified. "We have on record stating that Earth is a planet filled with people with very little to no magical talent, with very rare exceptions like Nanoha and Admiral Graham. I find it hard to swallow that two such exceptions would appear on the very night the Wolkenritter appear, with such developed magic the likes of which we've never seen or recorded before."
Lindy nodded, pleased with her son's deductions. "And what do you suggest is the answer?"
"Either Bureau investigations to Earth need to step up their game at finding traces of magic," Chrono answered with just the slightest smile, "or they're not telling us something."
Lindy gave her son another nod along with her own smile. Jokes aside, he had a point. She had her own doubts about both of the two mages, especially Silverstein. Their abilities were unknown aside from what they had gleaned from the battle against the Wolkenritter, and their stories were suspect as well. Lindy had no doubt they had embellished some of the details of their story, specifically about where they had come from and their personal histories. Their was something more about both of them, of that much she was certain, and it was something neither of them wanted to reveal.
However, she had long considered herself a good judge of character, and her gut feeling had told her that both of them could be trusted, at least with the proper monitoring. And again, they had shown nothing but goodwill and cooperation so far, which further supported her feelings on the subject.
"Perhaps so, but as you have stated, they've only cooperated with us since we've met them. I believe that necessitates some measure of trust."
"Trust is a two-way street."
"And both sides must be willing to give it," Lindy remarked. "It's not like we told them every secret the TSAB has locked away after all. If they choose to come clean in the future, then they will. Unless it's something that could have dire consequences for all of us, that doesn't make it worth the effort of forcing it out right now."
Chrono looked away for a moment, then sighed. "Fine...I'll work with them if need be. I'll make my own opinions of them along the way though."
"What do you think of them now?"
"Two extremely powerful unknowns who have a knack for getting involved in very big, dangerous things," he replied as he got up and started to leave.
"Sounds a lot like Nanoha and Fate, and look how they ended up," Lindy answered. "Maybe we'll get just as lucky again."
Chrono stopped in front of the door and looked back, just a hint of a smile on his face. "Yeah, I hope so, mom. I really do."
With that, the young Enforcer left, leaving her alone. Lindy sighed to herself. Sometimes, as proud as she was of how mature her son was for his age, she just wished he could be a little less serious. As if on cue, she felt something contact her via telepathy.
"Yes?"
"Admiral Lindy," came Amy's voice over the connection, "I've been ordered to inform you that Admiral Graham and Enforcer Valentine want to see you in the former's room. It's urgent."
Ah yes. She had been wondering when this meeting was going to happen. "Thank you, Amy. I'm on my way."
"So, uh...this sort of thing standard for you guys? Ancient threats coming out of nowhere to blow up planets, I mean?"
Yuuno looked over at Sayaka as they made their way through the halls of one of the maintenance docks, accompanied by Nanoha. After they had left the medical ward and Mr. Silverstein behind, as he stated he'd get up in time, the blunette had asked to come with them, as she had no clue how to navigate this place on her own. They had agreed and were currently making their way to a lab, Arf having split off at some point to get a drink.
All while they had walked, Yuuno couldn't help but hold back a laugh as Sayaka's eyes constantly looked over every available space and out every window they passed, as if the sights were a feast for her vision. It kind of reminded him of how Nanoha had acted when she first arrived on the Arthra, but even she hadn't stared with such a dumbstruck and eager expression at everything.
"Well, I admit this is definitely one of our busier times," he replied. "But I guess you could say that it's becoming a thing with us."
"Yeah," Nanoha added with a smile. "You should have been when we-"
Suddenly, she stumbled and would have hit the floor if Yuuno and Sayaka hadn't reached out and grabbed her.
"Hey, Nanoha, are you alright?" Yuuno asked her with concern. After all, just a few hours before she had been screaming in pain as her magic was drained.
"I-I'm fine," she replied after a moment, though they still held her for a moment more before letting her free.
"You sure you should be walking around after getting a hand through your chest?" Sayaka asked, a part of her impressed by the redhead's will to push on despite having just been in a life-or-death situation.
Nanoha gave another smile at the blunette. "Don't worry about me, Miki-san. There's nothing wrong with me except for my low magical reserves right now, and the nurse said I'll just need a few days of rest to recover."
Sayaka whistled. "Well, aren't you a tough girl, huh?"
The three shared a chuckle. Despite themselves, neither Nanoha nor Yuuno could bring themselves to distrust Sayaka; she had helped saved their lives after all, Yuuno's personally, and in their eyes that made her and her partner Edgar allies. Sayaka in turn liked both of them; they were friendly and didn't act like they had sticks up their asses, so she took a shine to both of them.
After they finished, Sayaka looked back at them. "And uh, it's alright if you two just call me Sayaka, alright? I'm not that big on honorifics; kinda lost my touch with them after so many years in America."
"Oh alright...Sayaka," Nanoha replied, as if testing the name on her tongue and liking it. "That's a very nice name, by the way. And you can do the same, if you want."
"Me too," Yuuno added.
Sayaka nodded. "Thanks. So, uh, where are we going?"
"The lab where Nanoha and Fate's Devices were put for repairs, as well as their new upgrades," Yuuno replied. "They're gonna need 'em if we want to be able to go up against the Wolkenritter."
"Upgrades, huh?" Sayaka repeated, glancing down at her ring. "Must be nice to have the customization option."
Nanoha noticed her gaze and the sudden drop of her tone. "What's wrong? Can't your Device do that?"
"It's not exactly a Device," Sayaka replied. "Basically, any upgrades I get are the ones I come up with for myself. No tampering with this baby for me."
"Too dangerous?" Yuuno asked.
"You could say that," Sayaka answered cryptically, then changed the subject. "So Nanoha, your Device, Raising Heart right?"
"Yeah?" she asked, a little off-put by the sudden change but eager to hear what the blunette wanted to ask.
"How long do you think it'll take to repair? I mean, I saw the state of it back on the battlefield, and it looked kind of totaled."
"She's tough. The damage wasn't as bad as it looked, thankfully. I believed she'll be fixed in no time."
Sayaka took note of how she said 'she' while describing her Device. Then again, she remembered how that hammer girl Vita's Device occasionally talked when she called out attacks, so maybe it was just a mage's way of personifying their own Devices?
"Bardiche is the same."
Everyone turned their heads to see that blond girl, Fate walking towards them with a small smile. "Signum did quite a lot of damage to him, but my Recovery spell helped fix him up and just like Raising Heart, the damage is mostly superficial."
Nanoha and Fate embraced each other briefly when the latter made it over to them, while Sayaka and Yuuno just watched off to the side.
"Well, those two are definitely besties," the former commented. "Hard to believe they were apparently enemies just six months ago."
"She was never really our real enemy," Yuuno replied with a smile. "She just put her faith in the wrong person. Even if she was though, Nanoha would have found a way to befriend her, whether with words or with lasers. It's just her way."
Sayaka grunted in acknowledgement. She could get the former just from their interactions, and if that giant laser at the end of the fight tonight was any indication, she could see where the latter came from.
Fate let go of Nanoha and gave Yuuno a smile, which was returned, and a polite nod to Sayaka, who gave her a peace sign in return. Fate blinked in confusion, causing Sayaka to give her a brief explanation of what it meant. After that, Fate hesitantly tried it out herself, and the other nodded as she got it right. Sayaka found it kind of funny.
Soon afterwards, the four made it to their destination, the door sliding open to reveal the two Devices floating in a pink field in their standby modes. In front of it was a young woman with green hair fiddling with a control board, with several screens on showing various images and graphs that frankly hurt Sayaka's eyes to look at all in front of her. Her eyes seemed to flirt between them like a hummingbird, her fingers dancing along the digital keyboard in front of her.
It took her a moment to realize that she had company, as she visibly started when she turned around to see them in the doorway. "Ah, Nanoha, Fate, Yuuno, it's good to see you all again," she greeted warmly as she stopped typing to look at all of them, pausing when she saw Sayaka. "And who is this?"
"This is Sayaka Miki," Fate replied before the blunette could answer. "She's one of the ones who helped us back on Earth. Sayaka, this is Mariel Atenza, a Device engineer and one of our best."
The green-haired woman blinked and then smiled, holding out her hand in greeting. "I see. A pleasure, Ms. Miki. You may call me Mary."
"Hello, Ms. Atenza, and thank you," Sayaka replied, accepting the handshake with a smile of her own.
Mary then looked at Fate and Nanoha. "Here to see how your Devices are doing?" she asked as she returned to analyzing the two objects floating in front of them. One of them was a red orb and the other was a yellow triangle, both small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand and covered in cracks or chips.
Considering her own Soul Gem, Sayaka found it surprisingly easy to see how such tiny things could turn into such powerful weapons and armor. She just wished hers didn't involve ripping her soul out to get.
"Yes," Fate answered. "How long do you believe it'll take to install the Belkan cartridge system?"
Sayaka leaned over towards Yuuno. "Cartridge system?" she whispered.
"That thing that made the chibi's hammer get real big," Yuuno whispered back. "It provides quick and powerful boosts of energy in the heat of fighting to perform extremely powerful magical attacks that could take some time to charge almost instantly or would be impossible otherwise."
"...So steroids for Devices."
"...Basically, I guess."
"A few days at most I believe, though I'm thinking of giving them a little extra upgrade as well," Mary replied to Fate's question, giving them an amused look. "Your Devices were quite insistent to get it installed when I accidentally said what I had in mind out loud."
"What?" Nanoha asked, but Mary shook her finger.
"That's a secret...but let me assure you that it's gonna make a world of difference to your battles if it works. However, I need your consent if you two want to proceed with this."
The two girls turned to their respective Devices. "What do you think, Raising Heart? Do you want to go through with this test?"
[I believe it will a good addition, Master.]
"And what about you, Bardiche?"
[I agree with Raising Heart, Sir.]
The two girls looked back at Mary. "Well, I think they made their decision pretty clear," Nanoha stated. "We'll do it, both upgrades." Fate nodded in agreement alongside the pigtailed girl.
"Well, since we have your consent, there's only one thing left to do," the engineer stated as she reached underneath a table near the back of the room, Nanoha and Sayaka watching in confusion and Fate and Yuuno in resignation, before she pulled up two thick stacks of paper, easily reaching the two girls' knees. "Paperwork. I wish you two luck," she said with a grin as Nanoha and Fate looked on in horror and Sayaka and Yuuno just stared in awe.
'On second thought, maybe it's a good thing I don't need upgrades.'
"You're positive about this."
"I am."
Admiral Graham leaned back in his chair and sighed, Lindy watching him with concern as he did so. Sometimes, it was easy for her to forget that the man was in his sixties despite the graying of his hair, given the level of energy that he usually went about his business. Seeing him like this now was a brutal reminder of the dangers of the mission she and her crew were going to be taking up.
"To think, the Book of Darkness would show itself on Earth of all places," he muttered, more to himself than anything. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear it had decided to take up a personal vendetta against me, to come to my own blissfully ignorant homeworld."
Lindy shook her head, well aware of what the old Admiral spoke of. "What happened to Clyde wasn't your fault, Gil. It wasn't something any of us could control; we couldn't have suspected the Book would activate in midst of transportation." It took some effort for her to keep the emotion out of her voice, even after all these years. "Clyde did what he had to do, and he wouldn't want you or me blaming ourselves for it."
A pregnant pause, then Graham nodded, his face still tired. "Forgive me, Lindy. I spoke out of line there." He seemed to draw strength then, forcing himself to move past unpleasant thoughts. "On to the important matters though, you're certain you wish for your crew to take this case?"
Despite the two of them technically sharing the same rank, Gil Graham was several decades her superior, and it was well within his rights to scrub this mission if he so chose to, especially if he got the order from TSAB command. Still, Lindy nodded.
"Yes, I do. Our recent efforts to deal with the Jewel Seeds six months prior has given myself and my crew prior experience for dealing with Earth, and it was my crew who made original contact with the Wolkenritter. I feel that's it's only right that we should be the ones to handle it."
"Assuming we ignore any personal reasonings out of professionalism..."
"We may."
"Can you say with certainty they're up for the task? The Wolkenritter easily classify as A rank mages at minimum."
"My best can compete, as our battle with them can attest," she replied with conviction. "Once Nanoha recovers and she and Fate receive their Device repairs and upgrades, they'll be a worthy match for them, and with Arf, Yuuno and my own son supporting them I'm certain they'll succeed."
"And what of the two new mages who appeared tonight, Admiral?"
Both turned their heads towards the third occupant of the room, who was standing at attention with one arm clasped behind her back, the other holding a data pad. She was clad in the standard black Enforcer uniform, with various silver lines throughout, but also had the addition of a golden armband around her right sleeve. She was a young woman in her twenties or so, with blond hair that framed her face and fell freely down her back to about mid-waist, and amethyst eyes that seemed to pierce whatever she was looking at.
Lindy held back a grimace. She had almost forgotten that she was even there, so silent she had been. This was Enforcer Valentine, her 'babysitter' for lack of a better term. She just appeared upon the Arthra's bridge nearly two months before, with official papers stating that she was to serve as a 'temporary watcher' over the ship's, and more specifically her, activities.
In other words, someone high up on the command ladder really didn't like how she handled the end result of the Jewel Seed Incident for some reason, though she supposed losing both a criminal that was an SS-rank mage and nine Lost Logia to the interdimensional sea without a trace would make anyone slightly angry. The two of them had had a professional relationship so far, with the Enforcer only serving as a sort of shadow over her shoulder and genuinely staying out of the spotlight or anyone's way. Even so, there was something about her that set Lindy off, a gut feeling that refused to leave her alone and thus left her always wary whenever the blonde showed herself.
The Enforcer pressed several buttons on her data pad before two images and several lines of text appeared on it, which she showed to both Admirals. They were that of both Edgar Silverstein and Sayaka Miki, along with a small playback button. She pressed the latter, and suddenly a recording started to play.
"Where do I sign up to join the fight? Sounds like the kind of thing I would enjoy doing, and I want to take another crack at that pink one, Signum."
"I see that they've expressed interest in aiding in the hunt for the Book of Darkness," she stated as it finished. "And yet I also see that you didn't bother to mention them while discussing your chances of defeating the Wolkenritter."
"I was getting to that, Ms. Valentine," Lindy remarked while inwardly wondering how she got that recording (probably bugged the room somehow). "Forgive me if the subject had yet to be broached, but since you've brought it up now, I will state my opinion on this matter: I wish to have both of them under my custody for the duration of this mission for the purpose of combating the Wolkenritter."
"You speak as if they're under arrest," Valentine noted.
"Not technically," Lindy countered. "But all three of us know that it's perfectly possible they'll be transferred to Mid-Childa for questioning. I want them under my command before that happens."
"I see," Graham interrupted, taking the data pad and looking over the images and information with a practiced eye. "And you feel that they can be trusted?"
"They both risked their lives to help total strangers, despite seeming having nothing to gain from it, and have cooperated with us swimmingly so far," Lindy answered. "I feel that's proof enough we can trust them, and we could use the extra firepower."
"And do you have the 'firepower' to face them if they should somehow turn?" the Enforcer asked her.
Lindy cocked an eyebrow. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any sarcasm in that question and say 'yes', yes I do."
"What do we know about them, magic-wise?" Graham asked as he handed the pad back to Valentine, cutting off any retort that might have been made. "From what I understand, one of them was placed in the medical ward for injuries sustained during the battle. If their magic was somehow absorbed by the Book during combat, we need to know what they're capable of.
"The girl, Sayaka Miki, uses a gem very similar to a Device to summon a Barrier Jacket, though it doesn't seem to create any sort of Device," Lindy replied. "She seemingly relies on her own magical ability to fight, which consists of creating and using swords that can be controlled mentally."
"The man, Edgar Silverstein, on the other hand, doesn't seem to truly use magic in the same way. He's an accomplished swordsman who can use magic yes, but any of his offensive spells seem to originate from his weapon, which consist of pure mana attacks," Valentine added, pressing another button on her pad to reveal a projected image of the sword in question. "The crystal part of the blade seems to be the source of magical power at his disposal or at least the main focus, functioning similarly to what could be equated to an archaic Device. It also seemingly has the ability to absorb mana, as several of our tests showed it absorbing the spells in question. We even managed to get a reaction out of the blade to fire a burst of crimson mana...even though it fried most of our sensors upon discharge."
Lindy decided not to mention that she had not been privy to any such test results and had in fact not seen the sword in question since it was brought aboard, having been confiscated 'under orders'. She suddenly had a very good idea exactly who had ordered it. "We also have reports of him, according to Ms. Takamachi and Ms. Testarossa, turning into a 'shadow demon' during the battle," she added on with the explanation, ignoring those thoughts (as well as her ire) for now, "but neither could confirm it, due to either being too far away or currently attempting to fire a powerful spell while getting her Linker Core drained."
She resisted the urge to smile as Valentine seemed to get a little quieter at that, as if she was annoyed that she had information she didn't.
Admiral Graham nodded, then folded his hands in thought. "Admiral, if I help you with this, do you promise me you'll make sure that these two will not attempt to betray us in any way to side with the enemy?"
Lindy nodded. "I do. Plus, if they serve without problems, it could very well lead us to getting two new recruits. Stopping Lost Logia is a very useful thing to have on the resume after all."
Graham chuckled, then turned to Valentine. "Enforcer Valentine, what are your thoughts? After all, you are an official liaison to the TSAB high command."
The Enforcer was silent for a moment or two, then sighed in what sounded like defeat. "As long as Admiral Harlaown can keep an eye on them and agrees to take personal responsibility for both of them, so be it. I won't attempt to fight the decision either way. This mission is far too important to risk failure; if they can help us, then let them join."
Lindy actually found herself surprised by the Enforcer's willingness, condition aside, but before she could say anything, Graham stood up.
"Well, Admiral Harlaown? Do you accept responsibility?"
Lindy sighed, but nodded. She had come too far by this point. "Yes sir."
Graham nodded and held out his hand.
"Well, Admiral Harlaown, congratulations. This mission is yours, and the two of them are yours to command. I'll see to the paperwork personally."
"Thank you, Admiral Graham," she replied, shaking his hand, then, slowly offered Valentine the same. "And you too, Enforcer Valentine."
The blond stared at the hand in surprise for a moment, then slowly took it. "Thank you."
With that, the two of them prepared to leave the room. However, Graham suddenly spoke up, stopping them.
"Actually, Ms. Valentine, could you stay here for a moment? There's something I need to speak to you about."
Valentine hesitated only for a moment before nodding, and Lindy gave a brief farewell to both of them as she exited, slightly curious as to what they were going to talk about but mostly just relieved her requests had been granted.
Now she just had to break the news to everyone.
"Are you sure that was wise?"
Valentine looked back over at the Admiral, raising an eyebrow at his question. "Does it matter? One way or another, the Book of Darkness must be filled. If those two end up of providing their power, then so much the better as it fills the book up faster. If the Wolkenritter don't finish them, I'll do so personally if they become a problem."
Graham grimaced, sitting back down with a tired sigh as he rubbed his head. "Why did things have to come to this?"
Valentine didn't answer him, knowing there wasn't anything to say in turn. "Just make sure nothing goes wrong on your end, Admiral," she said instead, moving towards the door, "especially with the Twins."
"Trust me, both of them are dedicated to this mission...and I believe they're far more willing than I, to be honest."
Valentine sighed, stopping in front of the exit, glancing back at him with pity. "I don't wish this upon the child either, but it must be done. We have our orders: The Book must be ended by any means necessary. You were the one who originally brought the plan forward when you still didn't see the girl as anything other than a means to an end. Now that you have, at least have the decency to carry it out as quickly as possible, for all involved."
She left the old man alone then, exiting without a word. Graham watched her go, then sighed again as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a picture.
It was a little brown-headed girl in a wheelchair, with blue eyes and a bright smile that seemed to shine despite being a mere photograph. Despite the apparent cheer of the picture though, it only brought pain to the man's heart as he looked upon it.
"...It was only a small wish..." he muttered to himself, lost in memory.
Morning (Uminari City)
Edgar Silverstein was a man well-accustomed to strange situations. Being able to traverse various dimensions meant you had to learn pretty quickly how to adapt to very strange circumstances. He had been involved in private sit-downs with beings who could move celestial bodies, went on a ride with a creature who could tear a person apart with her mind, even had tea with a literal devil.
However, sitting in front of a cafe with a bandaged arm along with a group of mages who could quite possibly blow this entire city to pieces if they decided to cut loose was definitely a new one for him.
After he had been left alone in the medical ward again, albeit with two mages watching from the outside, he had taken the liberty of changing into his usual clothes, which had graciously been provided for him after the others had left, and had left under the watchful eye of both mages, whose names were Robert and George. They then showed him on a limited tour of the ship before they were called over intercom to the meeting room, where most of the crew already was.
From there, he had listened to Admiral Lindy as she more or less explained that they were taking on the case, but their ship the Arthra wouldn't be available for a few days, so they needed to make a temporary command post in the city, which he learned was named Uminari. It was also then he learned that both he and Sayaka were officially being allowed to join the investigation, albeit after a few 'tests' of their abilities. From there, they had been sent back to Earth by some sort of magic transporter on the station and a few hectic hours later he was here with a cup of tea in hand.
To be honest, it was definitely a welcome breath of fresh air compared to how he was usually treated when captured by a higher power.
"This is some nice tea," he commented politely to the owner of the establishment. "I can see why people like coming to your business, Mr. Takamachi."
The grayish brown-haired man smiled. "It's the least I can offer you after what you did to help my daughter," he replied, gesturing over to another table, where Nanoha and Fate were sitting with two other young girls, a blonde named Arisa and a purple-headed girl named Suzuka, chatting away amiably (though with visible hesitation on Fate's part) with each other. Sayaka was also with them, her face currently in something resembling equal parts embarrassment and reluctance at being part of the conversation due to being an outsider both in terms of age and circumstance, though she seemed to be slowly warming up to the process along with Fate. Also with them were two animals, an ash-blond ferret and a red puppy currently being snuggled or petted by the five to varying amounts. "After hearing about what happened from both her and Ms. Harlaown, I can't thank you enough."
"What I did is something any decent person would have done if they had the opportunity and ability," Edgar replied. "It's just what I do."
"That doesn't make myself or Shirō any less grateful," Momoko Takamachi, Nanoha's mother, replied from where she was standing with Admiral Lindy, having taken notice of the conversation between the two men. "Especially given you didn't come out off of it unscathed."
Edgar looked down at his bandaged left arm. "Oh this? This is but a flesh wound. I'll be as right as rain in a few days, tops." He chuckled at himself, though inwardly he was slightly concerned. Normally, his body was more than capable of healing itself at an accelerated rate, and he had even been treated by a healing mage while on board the Arthra. The proof of it was in the fact his injuries from fighting Signum were more or less gone, including the pain in his back where she had shot him. Yet despite that his arm was still in this cast, as according to scanners the bones and muscles were healing faster than normal, just at a slower rate than the norm for him.
In other words, whatever was causing this wasn't just physical damage.
He couldn't help but remember back when he felt that draining effect at the end of the battle upon hitting whatever was on the other side of the portal, no doubt the Book of Darkness itself, as well as coming back with just a stump of an arm. He had little doubt it was connected.
"So, just curious, but is Sayaka related to you in any way?" Shirō suddenly asked, breaking Edgar out of his thoughts. "You two seem rather close."
"Yes, we are, but no, we're not related," he replied with a smile, glad that the conversation changed from his arm. "She'd lost almost everything, her friends and family, thanks to a horrific accident. I found her, took a shine to her and...well, kind of unofficially adopted her as my own kid or sister, I guess." He chuckled as he took another sip of tea. "I just hope I don't become a grandparent or uncle before I'm thirty-five."
Technically, he was over a hundred and he did have several children out of wedlock over that time, all of which he had sent money to support and find worthwhile lives for themselves, but no reason to mention that. That was private, especially considering he never knew any of them on a personal level due to his own...family issues.
"That reminds me, where exactly are you two staying while you're in Uminari?" Momoko asked him. "I understand you're helping Lindy-san while you're here but-"
"I took care of it," Lindy answered for him. "An apartment right next to myself, Chrono and Fate, with even the official paperwork to pass it. We're gonna be seeing a lot of each other as neighbors for the next couple of days."
"I'm surprised you managed to do all of that, plus set up a mini-command center in your apartment and enroll Fate in the very same school Nanoha's going to in less than a day," Edgar remarked, giving her a glance. "I've gotten tickets to shows that had longer waiting periods."
"A perk of being an Admiral," she answered him with a smirk as she stirred her own green tea. "You get plenty of pull when it comes to getting things done quick."
Edgar rolled his eyes but then looked at her tea in confusion. Lindy noticed and cocked her head. "Something wrong?"
"...Why are you putting sugar and milk in green tea?" he asked her. "I'm no expert on teas, but I'm pretty sure than combination doesn't work well with this type."
She looked down at her cup as if just noticing it for the first time. "Tastes fine to me," she commented as she took a sip, sighing appreciatively. "I like it this way."
Edgar was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached over to grab the sugar bowl and the carton of milk, pouring some of each into his own green tea and stirring the mixture. The Takamachi's watched with some level of trepidation as he did so.
"Umm...Edgar...are you sure you wanna do that?" Shirō asked. "That might not agree with your-"
"If she can take it, I can," he replied simply. "After all, it's not like it can kill me, so why not? I'm eager to try new things, and what have I got to lose anyways?"
The older man could think of several things, but he didn't say anything as Edgar finished stirring and raised his cup to the three of them.
"Bottom's up, as they say in America," he remarked as he took a gulp of tea.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Edgar's eyes seemed to bulge as he suddenly made a strange gagging noise with his mouth still close, raising his bandaged hand to his mouth as he seemed to undergo a strange sort of reaction to the taste, doubling over as if in pain. After a second or two of muffled gagging, in which he quickly turned away from the other adults, he seemed to steel himself and forced himself to swallow the mouthful of liquid, gagging as it passed down his throat and thumping his chest a few times as it went down. He then looked down at his cup and dumped it out on a plant that was nearby, graciously accepting a cup of water from Momoko which he used to clean out his mouth and ignoring how all of them, including the kids by their own table, were watching him.
"How was it?" Shirō asked him simply, trying and failing to hide the smirk on his face. Edgar gave him a look and shook his head, realizing he deserved that one.
"Nasty," he answered after a pause from drinking, "I'll happily pay you back if that plant dies from that stuff." Looking over at Lindy, who seemed both amused and shocked by his reaction, he shook his head in respect. "I don't see how you handle it."
She humphed. "To each their own," she replied, taking another sip of her tea.
Over by the girls and the animals (i.e. Yuuno and Arf in their transformed states), all seven of them just stared as Edgar drank down a few more cups of water while the other adults just laughed. Finally, Fate broke the silence.
"Mr. Silverstein is quite...eccentric, isn't he?"
Sayaka sighed. "You have no idea."
A bit of a filler chapter this one, but I needed to set up several important points and this seemed like the best way to do so. So, we're introduced to the one of the biggest changes to the timeline, the inclusion of our mysterious Enforcer Valentine. Exactly what role she will play, both in A's and in the future, shall be revealed in time.
Next chapter, we're gonna be seeing some actual (mock) combat as Oswald and Sayaka show off what they can do to a curious Arthra crew, as well as several other bits of varying importance.
Review, fave and follow people! Tell me what you thought!