3A/N: Wow. First time in over two years that I've written stories inside of someone else's continuity. Anyways, disclaimer time. I do not own WITCH, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, The SoulTaker, Cave Story, or Super Robot Wars. They are owned by Disney, Seven Arcs, Tatsunoko Productions, Studio Pixel, and Banpresto, respectively. Anyways, hope you enjoy.
Prologue: This is a decision only he can make
It was midday when the red-haired woman found the house. The address had taken her a while to get, especially after discovering her first lead had just been the summer home. But she had found them at last; another lucky break after the successive string of defeats for what had seemed like ages.
The woman was young, not even in her twenties yet, but she carried herself as if she were. A pair of pitch-black sunglasses kept her tainted eyes from attracting any additional suspicion while her dark red hair flowed freely down to just above her shoulders. She had settled on a white blouse and a pair of black slacks as well, not glamorous but undeniably serviceable.
The sputtering noise of a gas-powered automobile echoed down the street as the woman began to walk towards the front door. The noise made her scowl and she turned around to see what was little more than a jalopy practically drag itself across the road. She watched it for a few moments, seeing it grow smaller and smaller before finally letting out a weary sigh and continue to the house.
"And to think the Japanese used to make good cars," she muttered to herself. "I hate to see what the Americans are spitting out nowadays."
A moment later and she had reached the door. She then pulled out a scrap of paper to check one last time that she was not mistaken, and after confirming that this was the residence she wanted, knocked on the door.
A few moments later it opened, revealing a little girl no more than six years old standing there. She had short, silvery-blue hair. The older woman recognized her immediately from photographs and stories she had heard.
"Oh? And who might you be?"
The woman nodded. "A friend of your brother's, I guess you could say. May I come in?"
"I apologize for having you make your own tea, Miss," the little girl said as the two sat down, each with a cup of tea in their hands. "As it stands I happen to be a little too short to do it all myself."
"It's fine," the older woman said before she reached up and removed her sunglasses. It was getting too dark, anyways. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if the girl would react to her eyes.
The little girl just smiled and drank her tea.
"... Anyways it's been a while since I've done anything like this. The past year has been…" her voice drifted off before she looked down at the ground.
"Difficult?" the little girl asked, her voice almost taking on a more mature tone. It didn't surprise the woman. That little girl's appearance was a lie; she was three years older than her.
"Nevertheless," the woman continued again, not wanting to dwell on the past any more than she had, "I feel the need to bring up business, if that's okay with you, Runa."
The girl, Runa Tokisaka nodded before sipping her tea. "Now this is odd, isn't it?" she asked. "You act like you know me, which is understandable considering all the time you most likely spent with my brother. But for the life of me I can't quite seem to recall my brother every talking about someone like you. I would very much like to know the name of my guest before we continue on to this business you mentioned."
"Levi Tolar," the red-haired woman answered.
Runa looked at Levi for a moment before giving her a content little smirk. "Of course. That's your name. Or at least that's what you're calling yourself these days."
Levi's gaze narrowed before she stood up. She could have gotten dragged down into an argument but it would have been pointless. Instead she changed the subject. "So where is the rest of your family?"
"You really are just interested in my big brother, aren't you?" Runa asked before taking another sip. "And to think I thought you had a crush on Cobray." She saw Levi tense up at the mention of that boy, but continued on anyways. "He's away at work with our mother. She went back to nursing a while ago. Considering the state the entire planet's in, she couldn't sit by and do nothing."
"Kandrakar's to blame for that though," Levi muttered. "They're to blame for everything."
"And you're expecting my big brother to help in the charge against them, aren't you?"
Levi every-so-slowly began to smile a wicked smile as she looked at Runa. "Why not? After all, if not for them you would have been ordinary people, living your lives out in this hellhole of a planet without paying any mind to its degradation. Your brother might not have even had to kill your maternal grandfather and your father either…"
Runa looked up into Levi's eyes, seeing something very familiar in them. After a moment she sighed and stood up as well. "If you wish, you can stay here until my big brother comes back. If you are who I think you are, then he'll probably enjoy seeing another familiar face."
"I'd like that too," Levi responded. "But regrettably that's one thing I can't do. I have… another associate to see about recruiting. Those are the breaks, simply. The Garden of Baral's planning an operation in two weeks. This is a decision only he can make. Your brother…" Levi pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to the smaller girl, "Can either accept the orders here and make a difference in the world, being something everyone will hate but realize they need, or continue with the noble but meaningless actions he has for the past year."
Runa took the papers and promptly sat down. "Baral's like that, isn't it? You really do see yourselves as the world does, as monsters that only bring suffering."
Levi snorted. "That's a misconception. The Garden of Baral doesn't cause suffering. We just pull the wool from people's eyes so they can see the suffering that the Oracle and the Guardians have caused." She turned and began to walk away, pausing only to set her cup of tea on the counter. "I presume you won't try to convince Kyosuke to stay?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Again Runa's voice became that of a young woman. "But at the same time, you are correct. The suffering we have experienced is Kandrakar's fault... and my big brother isn't the kind of person to let them get away with it." Levi stifled a weak laugh as she continued to head towards the door.
"That's good to know," Levi called out. "After all... you and your brother… you remember the way things used to be. And they were better than this nightmare of idiocy we live in now. And all things considered who in their right mind wouldn't want to see Kandrakar destroyed?"
A/N: Well, this chapter was fun to think up, simply because it's not a conventional prologue. It probably won't completely make sense until halfway through the story. Nevertheless, I do have a plan; a very thorough plan in fact, and I'm really looking forward to this.
Anyways, if you liked it, feel free to review so I know how I'm doing. I want this story to be my absolute best, and I'd appreciate any help I can get.