Art of Love; Art of Death Chapter 3

[Pale Wolf]

New thread for announcement purposes. Previous chapters, and if you want to read the whole fic in one thread, can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4269




Disclaimer: No copyright is mine, thus no copyrighted character is.

Art of Love; Art of Death

By Pale Wolf

Chapter Three

And There Was No Taking It Back

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10:53 Tuesday, June 13, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Park Area, South Tower Fourth Block, Millenium City

Kanata probably should sleep sooner or later, but in honesty, she was just not tired. She was no longer hungry, and she had somewhere to stay for the moment.

She had left the shrine... eight hours ago? Maybe? After covering some chores and the lighter part of her new duties. She did not plan to leave permanently until she'd paid back what they had already done for her, but... she had something to do.

Those monsters that apparently only she knew about... one of them had already murdered at least two people. Possibly more that she hadn't seen personally. She didn't really know what they were. She didn't really know if they were all dangerous... but she knew that one of them was extremely violent... and if the others were like that too...

Well, she knew that they were out there. Or at least had been told in something that she'd have passed off as a fever dream if she had not woken up, alive, female, and with a talking thing implanted in her neck - credulity seemed the way to go, considering how far she already was past what she had previously believed to be fact.

She had the power to do something about it - according to that conversation, at least. She had a vague idea on how to use it, too. So dealing with this apparently fell to her.

Her search had been, to be honest, pretty random until a short while ago. But she'd just caught a scent. Literally. The scent was as she remembered from the last time, somewhat... spicy.

She was unsure how she was suddenly able to track things by smell, but... for now, she would roll with it.

The other option was that he was rapidly losing his connection to reality, and there really was little to be gained by presuming oneself insane. She would... still need to pay careful attention, though.

For tonight, though... she did not want to lose the trail. Nostrils flaring slightly, she walked down the park trail... the scent meandered somewhat, mingled with everyone else who had been here... but though it was not the freshest, nor the most direct, she did not lose it. It was clear where it was going, and she did not even need to pause to keep the scent in her nose.

Just calmly breathing, long strides carrying her between the trees. The swishing of her school uniform's skirt around her knees was... a very, very unusual sensation. Much airier than she was used to... she'd either need pants, or to just get used to this.

Given the hour, the lights were turned down, but her present body's night vision was positively spectacular - she could still see in full colour. The park was apparently a decent date spot at this time of night, given the couples she had seen along the pathway so far, but they had paid her no mind, and she had tried not to intrude as she passed.

The scent was getting stronger. Not just stronger as in closer, but as in... as if it were sweating. Getting excited.

Kanata halted, and turned to the left, peering past the bushes and into the trees with her nearly-glowing amber eyes. The trail turned here.

She turned a quick glance to either side... nobody in view.

"Reconquista, is it nearby?" she whispered.

"Si, Anunciar."

"Can you refine your tracking from what we are learning tonight? I'd like our work sped up, if possible."

"Hare eso."

She smiled faintly. "Thank you."

She took a deep breath, taking the spicy scent in, and then stepped into the bushes, pushing the branches aside and forcing her way through. Still went this way... and it had been getting more excited with every step. This was bad.

Kanata strode after it. She wanted to run, but she was uncertain how far it was, or how old the trail was - this current stride was faster over long distances, since she would not slow to a gasping crawl when she ran out of endurance. And she was not quite confident enough in her scent tracking abilities yet to task it with too much speed.

The going was a little more difficult here, since there was no wide-open paved path, but it was still a completely artificial environment, so the trees were fairly widely-spaced, and the shoes she had borrowed (from Kaede - Saiko apparently used those boots all the time) were flat and reasonably sensible, though she wasn't sure if they would stay on if she had to move very fast.

The trail had stopped meandering. Straight as an arrow now. She could hear something ahead... it sounded like a struggle.

Now, she did run. A few low-hanging branches whipped her in the face as she went, but it was no more than a few seconds before she came out into a clearing.

At which point she screeched to a halt and turned away, face heating. "I'm sorry!"

It wasn't a struggle after all... just a couple taking advantage of a clearing's privacy, and neither much clothed at this point. From the sounds behind Kanata, they hadn't even noticed her, so she started to walk away before she ruined the... moment.

That was when it wafted past her nose. Her eyes widened. She had not smelled it very often, but once you did... you never forgot the faintly metallic smell of blood.

She whirled back to face the writhing couple, and lunged towards them, grabbing the man by the shoulders and yanking him off the woman... he did not resist. And the woman's mouth was filled with blood...

Kanata gritted her teeth, and just started to haul the man away before he really caught on that his activities had been interrupted. She was not quite confident enough to be able to protect someone else while she fought, she needed distance.

She paused as she turned to look up at the man... his mouth was wide open, blood pouring from it... a strange, fuzzy scream began welling up from within his throat...

She put the pieces together at about the time that something thin and sharp slammed its way through her back and out the front. There was a faint hissing sound, and her breathing suddenly hitched... her lung?

Wait a minute... it was the woman?! Damned old-fashioned instincts... Kanata threw the screaming man as far as she could... his landing would be very uncomfortable, but getting him away from the attacker was more important right now, as she spun back to face her enemy.

Something 'cracked' behind her, as she turned... and given that she still felt that long spur of... was that bone? Given that it was still in her as she turned, she supposed that was what had given off the sound.

The woman was standing now... mostly nude save for, rather incongruously, her socks. Dark gray. Her right arm was... not an arm, at this point, but a long mass of solid bone, with the very tip broken off. It grew back even as Kanata watched, and a hinge appeared in the arm... a sort of elbow, almost like an insect's limbs. She was chewing on something...

Oh God... did she bite off his tongue?! Kanata's stomach lurched, and she clenched her jaws together... she did not have time to give in to biology.

The woman's skin bubbled, swelling out...

Kanata backed away slowly. She needed to kill it now, before it attacked... it seemed to want to change first, thankfully. "R... Reconquista..."

"Quite el arma," he interrupted.

"Eh? Remove it...? But..." Right now that spur of bone was holding her wound shut. It would have to be pulled out sooner or later, but she needed it right now or she'd faint of blood loss...

"Confieme en." 'Trust me.'

Kanata swallowed. This went against everything she knew right now, but... He knew more than she did about this kind of thing. She would never have got even this far without trusting him. She laid both hands on the spur of bone... looking down, she shifted her grip. This was really going to hurt, but... it was barbed. She'd have to pull it all the way through, instead of out the way it came.

As the woman's body... that wasn't even the word anymore. As the thing's body grew, the head... dissolved, most of it vanishing into the shoulders with a loud slurp. The face stayed... migrating down its chest until it reached a position right over where the stomach would be, if this were still a human body.

The spicy scent was overpowering, now...

Kanata gritted her teeth, braced her arms... and yanked. Her mouth opened, but she didn't quite have enough air in her to put any actual voice into her scream. A dribble of blood came up into her throat. She gagged on it, and spat it out before she swallowed it again. She glanced down at her chest... through the hole ripped in the school uniform's shirt, she could see new flesh growing, knitting itself together like some kind of grotesque tapestry... sealing the wound shut.

... Kanata had not known her body did that. Self-healing... she was not human now. She filed the matter away for later.

She looked up from her blood-soaked hands, dropping the monster's spur. Its transformation seemed to be finishing... it was tall. Almost as tall as the trees, and its width was not much less. Two legs, powerfully-built and with what seemed to be more than the normal amount of joints... it had no arms, but six spiderlike limbs arrayed around its gaping maw served that function... she could not see any eyes at this point, but the creature could definitely see her somehow. It was facing right at her.

Kanata swallowed... there was still a bit of blood in it. "Reconquista... It is time."

"Creacion." 'Setting up.'

She did not close her eyes. She did not need to concentrate a great deal. She needed to focus, imagine her weapon, her armour. But she knew her weapon by heart. She could use any... but there was one she had always favoured.

She held out her hands out in front of her, and closed them around the almost-two-meter wooden shaft as it formed. She swung down the half-meter curved blade at its top, pointing it at the monster. Close, but not quite a classic naginata - she had imagined the blade thicker, more glaive-like. She needed it tough enough to survive slamming into that thing.

She glanced at it as the weight settled into her hand... yes. Exactly according to specification. She had not been quite as imaginative with her 'armour' - she would have gone with the traditional armour she had trained with back in her martial arts lessons, but Reconquista had said cloth worked just as well, and she knew the normal armour weighed her down a little. She'd want full speed for this... and considering the last one had had strength enough to punch a hole in concrete, she suspected traditional armour would not suffice.

So her clothing was pretty much a repaired and cleaned version of the school uniform she had already been wearing... though this one was significantly more comfortable, fitted properly to her.

And she was out of preparation time as the monster took its first step forward. Not as clumsy and lumbering as one would hope, given its size... smooth. Contrary to media, it did not roar. Probably didn't want to give itself away.

Time to focus.

Kanata backed up with her own smooth grace, naginata still pointing directly at the monster. She was not afraid. She probably would be if she thought about it, but she did not have time for that. No... she had backed up simply because the man on the ground needed her to protect him. He was still too close. If she stepped away, the monster could just chew him up.

He... wasn't moving, though. Fainted, most likely. If this was not resolved quickly, he would die of blood loss...

Or suffocation. She backed up a little further, and used her foot to nudge his head to face sideways, rather than straight up. He was still bleeding, and if it didn't pour out, he would drown in it. He might still die of blood loss, but this would buy him some time.

The monster was... being unusually careful. The last one had simply charged ahead even when Kanata had interfered, but now, it was advancing slowly - slowly enough that even given its longer stride, the distance did not change.

Kanata took a breath, taking in its scent. She would need to attack. Given its size and strength, if she tried to block, it would most likely just break her arms as she did so.

"Cierre del limitador," Reconquista spoke.

Kanata blinked. "Shutting down... I have a limiter?"

Reconquista didn't get an opportunity to answer, as the monster chose this opportunity to surge forward, sharp-edged limbs lancing in at her.

But Kanata was not one to put down her guard that easily. She whirled the naginata in one direction, nudging the spider-limb off course, cocked her head the other way, and slid like water between the six exoskeletal limbs, left arm pumping the naginata's butt up just below the monster's jaw - roughly the center of its mass.

She was expecting it to be jarred slightly. Sent flying back, almost rolling, knocking down four thick trees as it regained its footing... that, she had not expected. Apparently, she was even stronger than she had already observed.

She blinked for a moment, trying to take in the effect. With this strength... and a good weapon in hand... she could do this. "Let me guess. So I don't break buildings when I try to pick up a teacup."

"Si."

The monster pushed itself up with those six spurs, and turned back to face her. Then it lowered its body, bending its legs...

It was going to charge her. She did not have the stride to get away, which meant...

She whirled away from it, ducking down to the man, and picking him up by the hair - uncomfortable, but he did not have any clothes to be grabbed by, and she needed a hand on her weapon. She was as gentle as she could be when she used that grip to throw him - he went pretty far, slamming against a tree about twenty meters away and flopping down face-first to the ground - but she still had clumps of hair in her fingers.

Maybe they were bloody too, but she did not have time to check, because that was about the moment that the monster barrelled into her. She could feel two of those spurs pressing into her back... and was rather surprised when they didn't penetrate, instead sending her flying through the trees.

One tree trunk snapped in half as her head smashed through it, before she managed to get her naginata into the ground and skid to a halt... and while she was aching, in her back, and her face... she was actually intact. This armour of Reconquista's was certainly something... especially since it was not actually over her face and yet had still protected it.. And she wasn't quite sure how those slip-on shoes had stayed on as she dug divots in the ground, but right now she ascribed it to magic and returned her focus to the monster.

Current distance... thirty meters. The monster was only twenty meters from its original victim, and faster to boot. And turning towards him... he was easier prey than Kanata was. At least he had those twenty meters she'd thrown him... but it was not enough.

Kanata did not so much 'plan' as 'just do it', launching into a flat-out run as she raised her naginata and flung it straight at the monster.

It hit, and lodged into its side. The monster reared back, hissing, uprooting another tree as it rocked back. But it was still up, and Kanata was now weaponless. She had not expected a kill, though, she just needed enough time.

She framed another naginata in her mind as she ran, and it extended into place in her hand. As soon as it was solid, she spun it once to adjust to the feel, then planted the butt into the ground, coiling up her legs.

The monster was turning back towards her... perfect.

Kanata had never pole-vaulted before outside gym class, but her acrobatics training with the naginata stood her in good stead, as she arced off the ground, hair fluttering behind her. She brought her polearm up and around, shifting her grip and aiming the blade down, right at the monster's face.

Committing to a move like this was a bad idea, but the monster was too tall to get at anything vital if it didn't attack as carelessly as it had last time. And she did not have the time to wear it down, that man was going to die if he did not recieve care soon.

She had timed it right. The monster did not have enough time to set up a defence, and as she landed on its face, between its skeletal limbs, she slammed her polearm's blade down - straight into its open mouth and down its throat

She was unsure what she'd hit, but she supposed it was something important, since the monster gurgled, and toppled over. Backwards, fortunately - she had slammed into it pretty hard, so that seemed to have given it enough momentum to not fall on her.

She rode it down, twisting the naginata's blade in the wound. The hit was good, but it was the twisting that did the real damage. Her instructors had always said it, and this first time she had plunged a live blade into a living being showed it to be true.

The monster flickered silver, and suddenly... it was no longer there. Kanata's eyes widened slightly as she fell the rest of the way to the ground, the other naginata in its side clattering down beside her. There was... a chewed pinkish lump nearby, too, that had fallen out of the monster's stomach. Which she refused to focus her gaze on.

She blinked, straightening up and looking around... "Um... Reconquista..." Nothing. She took a sniff... even the smell, just a moment ago near-overpowering, was completely gone.

"Se ha derrotado." 'It has been defeated.'

Kanata considered asking more... but had something more important to take care of. She tossed the naginata aside, and ran towards the man, tearing at her skirt. She had no idea how to bandage a wound like that, but...

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06:02 Wednesday, June 14, 2017 CE
Cinigrad, Estovakia, Suvota Compact
Parliament Building

Svetlyj stepped into the office, and idly noted Alyj's presence as she saluted to the man at the desk. "I presume I am to be sent out with Admiral Alyj once more, sir?"

The man behind the desk - young-looking, with silvery hair trimmed short and the usual sharply-pointed ears... Prime Minister Zheleznyj himself... chuckled. "Correct, Colonel. At ease, please."

Svetlyj linked her hands behind her back and spread her feet to shoulder-width apart in the standard at-ease position. She did not bother looking around - Zheleznyj's office was very plain, most new interns mistook it for an unused room if he wasn't actually there, and more than one had tried to borrow his desk and chair.

He gaze flicked to Alyj, and noted that she was rather more relaxed... no surprise, Zheleznyj liked her.

Zheleznyj tapped one of his floating display screens with a finger, spinning it around for the officers' perusal. "Parliament's opposition to the Kievan-class ships has been muted to a dull roar. They're still annoyed about the cost, but since the design work was already done, and your test a few days ago proved that we need them to make effective use of Pluto, they're letting production go through. First three ships are already off the line."

Alyj blinked. "Already, sir?"

Zheleznyj nodded. "There were three Sakhalin-class reactor cores ready for use, and the rest was assembled via magic. Crews were already pretrained. Be careful with them, we rushed these three - we're running out of time, and need to step up the pace, or at least look like we're done."

"I suppose they're going to be put under my command, then?"

"For their shakedown cruise, yes, and you'll probably get to keep them." He gave the display screen a little nudge, and it floated over to Alyj, who started reading it. "The ships are Valery, Alexander, and Storozhevoy."

Svetlyj cocked her head. "Aren't those personal names, sir? Seems unusual for a ship."

Alyj nodded. "It's our contact. References to a story he likes. I suppose it's to get him feeling more charitable, which suggests we're going to be meeting again soon."

Zheleznyj grinned, brushing a bit of his silvery hair off his ears. "Quick. And yes, once you're satisfied with the crews' orientation into your squadron, I want you - both of you - to depart and pick up his next shipment. In bulk, as I said, we are very much running out of time."

Svetlyj frowned. "The TSA is pressing you, sir?"

Zheleznyj snorted. "The TSA, the Argene, even a few dozen representatives of the various Orusian successor states called us. A number of our decoy companies for dealing with the Argene are getting rooted out, so our mass-based engineering will be back to our own levels for a while, until Intelligence can get them built up again. It's no surprise, we expected this much when we unveiled it. Now we just need to make sure we can back up our subtle almost-threats, before we get called on them."

Alyj nodded. "Since they saw the test, that will slow them down... do you think that will be enough?"

Zheleznyj shook his head. "One's just a test. We need two to prove we have it in production, and could very well have a few on all our ships. Someone will make pushes, we fire, and then they'll back off for at least a few years while they try to figure out countermeasures. The best thing is, this weapon serves us far better than them, so even if they find out what it is..."

"And as long as we can keep everyone else on a defensive footing..."

"The Compact will remain secure."

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07:14 Wednesday, June 14, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Police Station, South Tower Seventh Block, Millenium City

The room was... quiet. Empty. Completely bare, but for the table, two chairs, and 'mirror' laid against one wall. Kanata herself sat quietly in one of the chairs, her body looking... very small, in a large men's shirt that looked, on her, more like a short and very unstylish dress.

Her eyes did not really wander... she had looked at the mirror for a bit, wondering if anyone was meeting her gaze behind the one-way glass, but mostly she had just kept them closed, lightly napping in the chair. She still had not grown tired, but there was nothing else to do.

She probably could have shortened the wait by telling just what she had seen, but she strongly suspected she would be thrown into a completely new - and padded - room if she tried that. There was no evidence... there wasn't even a body. She was borderline on convincing herself that she was still sane, convincing the police was another matter entirely...

Though she was not quite sure what would happen to her at this point. She knew she was the prime suspect right now. She would suspect herself, in these circumstances - even if she had burst out and got one of the nearby couples to call the ambulance, and then stayed to wait for them and the police, praying for the man... well. She had come out of the clearing where a man had just had an organ bit off, with blood on her mouth. She was the only person in the area, as far as could be proven - the monster had completely disappeared.

Still... that was in the hands of other people. Adults. She did not have a choice in the matter. And there were other things she could do.

'Reconquista... I need you to teach me more.' This kind of communication, at least, was fairly easy. She really would be thrown into an asylum if she started talking to herself.

'Le no satisfacen?'

'Satisfied... are you joking? That man was injured - possibly killed - because I paused and did not fully trust my senses. That blood was fresh... he was uninjured until after I arrived. I failed... if he survives, it will not have been my success, but the doctor's.'

'Es eso porque usted permitio su detencion, Anunciar?'

'Why I let myself get detain- no. There is no point in punishing myself for failure. Assuming I deserve to be arrested just makes me unable to help anyone else. I would have left, but... I wanted to make sure, whatever happened to him...' She shook her head. 'No... I just had to see, and at that point things probably would have gone worse if I had not let them take me. I am fairly recognizeable, and that would just bring trouble for Kaede-san and Saiko-san.'

'Entonces usted es insatisfecho con la batalla?'

'The battle... could have gone better, but I am not really dissatisfied with it. I need to improve some more, but... I am not asking so much because I am unsatisfied as because... there is nothing to suggest the next one will be any easier, or even that simple. And... I just want to learn. Super strength and that armour and healing are great starts, but... you can do more, can't you? I can do more.'

'Si.' His tone was... proud, this time. 'Le dare el acceso a los archivos en teoria magica basica. Ese sera el comienzo.'

'Files on magic theory...? ... At this point, I think I am actually ready to believe in magic, if only to have a word for... all this.'

His response was not verbal - rather, something was projected into her field of view, a page that... honestly, looked like it was out of a science textbook.

Kanata winced. Math and science were her worst subjects... Wait a minute. The summoning of armour and weapon... that was a transformation sequence. 'I'm a magical girl?!' She just buried her face in her hands.

"Headache?"

Kanata blinked, and looked up at the voice. It was the detective who had been questioning her earlier... his short brown hair was looking a little more messy than it had before... she hoped he had slept. Given his five-o'clock shadow and the rumpled state of his dress shirt, she did not really think he got enough time to take care of himself as it was, and then her case had sprung up right around when he would probably go home... "Arisato-san, how is he...?"

The detective raised an eyebrow, and pulled out a seat across the table from her. "Fine... well, as well as can be expected. He's conscious, and recovering fairly well. Little anemic, but he'll recover once he's got some more blood in him. You did a decent job on the first aid." He sat down.

Kanata held up her hands, shaking her head. "No... I really had no idea, I just knew I had to stop the bleeding..."

"Still. You remembered to keep him breathing, and managed to stop the bleeding in his main air passage at the same time - that's not bad for someone with first aid training, let alone without. And more importantly, he survived."

Kanata blushed. "I... still do not think I did anything that well, but... I am glad he is oka... as okay as he is likely to ever get..."

Arisato leaned back in his chair, scratching at the stubble on his cheek. "Your clothes are a loss, though. What you didn't rip and press against the wound is soaked in blood, and let me tell you, those stains never come out. You can keep the shirt, for what it's worth. Sorry we don't have any clothes appropriate to a sixteen-year-old girl around here."

Kanata nodded quietly.

Arisato exhaled heavily, and leaned forward. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me any more?"

Kanata shook her head. "Arisato-san... I told you all I know. I was taking a walk and came across him bleeding... I did what I could, then ran to get help."

Arisato frowned, shaking his head. "Well... your story checks out. About an hour ago, Adachi-san came down here from the hospital, popped into there." He pointed at the one-way mirror. "He can't really talk now, obviously, but he wrote that it wasn't you - said he recognized you as the one who saved him."

Kanata blinked. How much had he seen...? Enough to know...? "Um..."

"So you're cleared, congratulations."

"Um... please forgive me if I don't feel much like celebrating..."

Arisato nodded. "Fair enough. Though, I'll say the docs are a little hopeful about reattaching his tongue. It's not in great shape, but it's all there, so he may just make a full recovery." He stood. "As far as you're concerned, someone's here to pick you up."

Kanata blinked. "How did they... you... know...?" She hadn't given them any contact information! Just her name, and there should have been no way to trace that any further than his dead body...

He shrugged. "They reported you missing, we explained where you were." He walked back to the room's door, and opened it.

A tall, powerfully-built man of about twenty-two - black-haired, blue-eyed, wearing a white jacket - stepped in, holding up a hand in a short wave.

Kanata blinked. "Uh... I don't-"

The man nodded. "Luka Mesic. I'm one of your other housemates, you didn't meet me yet."

Arisato raised an eyebrow, glancing between them.

"She just moved into the shrine yesterday," Luka explained. "Though... I've got to admit, she does an even better job at getting started on disciplinary action than Sara did. The cops, in one day?"

Kanata flushed, averting her eyes.

"Just teasing, sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Kanata shook her head, looking back up. "No... it is okay..."

Arisato leaned against the wall next to the door, folding his arms. "Is this something I should know about?" His gaze drifted towards Kanata's neck, and the bandages wrapped around it - she had refused to let anyone take them off.

Luka paused, and turned to him. "Not yet, at least. If it is, you'll be the first we tell."

Arisato gnawed on his lip. "... Right. I'm trusting Kaede-san on this. If there's anything that needs to be brought to justice, I don't want the trail to go cold."

"The feelings involved are just as-"

"I know, Mesic-san. That's why I'm trusting you guys on this right now."

Kanata had a fairly good idea what they were talking about and suspecting... she considered denying it... but then, she might have to show them the mass on her neck.

Arisato waved a hand. "Feel free to take her out. Bathrooms are on the way if you've got clothes for her."

Luka snorted. "Sara's nearby, of course I do."

Arisato winced.

Kanata stood - a little unsteady at first since she had been sitting still for almost eight hours, but she gained her balance quickly. She was starting to get a little worried about this 'Sara'...

-----------------------------

"You sure this's a good idea, Arisato-san?"

Arisato Minato just gave his juniour partner - Inui Shinji - a half-lidded look, and lit the cigarette dangling in his mouth. He puffed once, and inhaled the sweet, sweet scent of narcotics. Once he was done, he lowered the cigarette, and looked forward, from the station's wall. "Best option at the moment, Inui."

"Arisato-san... she hasn't told us everything. She was lying."

Minato chuckled. "Yeah, she sucks at that, doesn't she? Fact remains, she's not guilty - the victim explicitly identified her as his saviour, not his attacker."

"Sir, the victim... I'm not sure that testimony is viable... And everything we have points to her. There was no one else there."

"Have? We have nothing. We don't even have the assault weapon."

Shinji stared for a moment, and sputtered. "There are two naginata with her fingerprints on them!"

"And if he had one injury from a blade, I'd have her behind bars so fast your head would spin. He doesn't. Only one injury, and you just can't do that with a polearm."

Shinji snorted. "Sure, but you can do it with teeth, remember the blood in her mouth?"

Minato nodded. "You haven't caught the news from forensics, huh? The blood was her own. And the tongue, while it does bear marks similar to being chewed on, did not take them from teeth anything like human ones - they compared it to a hyena. Or have any saliva on it - it's like it was never in a mouth. Not even his."

"So... some kind of jaw-shaped machine?" Shinji didn't sound like he really believed that theory, but it did fit the facts they had.

Minato shrugged. "Possible. Either way... this is definite wierd shit."

"I thought you being spook squad at your last posting was a rumour."

"Of course it is. Ghosts don't exist."

"Sir, a guy's tongue got bit out by something that apparently never put it in a mouth, and the only witness is a girl with positively freaky eyes who won't talk, and who bled from a wound that she doesn't have. The scene of the crime has a bunch of trees that look like they got knocked over by sheer blunt force, and huge dents in the ground that I'm a little creeped to think about. At this point, I'd at least consider the possibility. I seriously won't laugh at whatever you tell me right now."

Minato snickered. "Like I told you, ghosts don't exist. There are plenty of other phenomena, some pretty damn freaky, that can be mistaken for ghosts, but ghosts themselves? Nah. And she might have the wound." He tapped his neck.

Shinji's eyes widened. "Wait... those bandages. Are you saying she-?"

"No, I don't think it's related. They were clean. Old wound. Possibly child abuse, but not from last night."

"Child a- ... Huh?"

Minato glanced at Shinji. "She's staying at the shrine up on the top block. And her records had a 'missing' tag on them a lot longer than a day. She's probably a runaway."

"Sir... everything you say makes it seem more important that we get her to talk."

Minato nodded. "And it is. Problem is," he took another drag of his cigarette, "that she has no reason to talk to us. Everything on the file indicated a severe distrust of authority figures - dealt with lots of bad ones. We just hammer away at this, and she'll close up even tighter."

Shinji clenched his jaw, and nodded. "... Right, sir."

"Don't worry, she's not totally off the hook yet. But we know where she lives, and we can sneak some observation in without a warrant - I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty religious with a case like this." He glanced at Shinji.

Who, to his credit, got it pretty quickly. He didn't look that happy about it, though. "Sir, that is ille-"

"Borderline. We won't intrude. This really is just an occassional checkup. I could probably get more by having her followed, but that really would require a warrant. Either way, we are supposed to get to know the people in our jurisdiction. I'm just picking one in particular."

Shinji sighed, letting his head fall back against the station wall with a thunk. "Fine. Seems a pretty troubled kid anyway. Just as long as I don't have to meet her eyes... that stare is creepy."

Minato snorted. "Just as long as you don't tell her that, clear?"

"Please. I'm not a complete social reject, and the kid's skittish enough as is."

"One other thing."

Shinji blinked, glancing over at Minato. "Yes sir?"

"What was that crack about the victim's testimony not being viable? He seems pretty coherent, all told. More coherent than some people who haven't had their tongues bit out."

"Probably because he has to slow down to write. Actually has to think about what he's saying."

"Inui."

Shinji pursed his lips. "Okay... you saw the message he wrote out in the viewing room, right? Identifying her as the girl who'd saved him, saying she wasn't the attacker?"

"Of course."

"Right, well I was the one waiting for him at the hospital... that wasn't his first story. He changed it when he saw the look on my face."

Minato lowered his cigarette, turning to his partner. "... What was the first story?"

Shinji sighed, looking at the ground. "It seemed insane at the time... I hadn't heard the freakier stuff yet."

Minato just raised an eyebrow.

Shinji took a deep breath. "Okay... I don't honestly know, but it was something about his date turning into a monster, and getting saved by a magical girl..."

Minato tsked, and took another drag from his cigarette. "Inui, we have just entered Wierdshitville. This is the stuff all those spook squad rumours came from."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"From here, you follow my lead, and don't ask questions until we're in private."

Shinji closed his eyes, and nodded. "Right... here's hoping this isn't a sign for my future career."

"For now, go get some coffee. I've got a call to make."

Shinji nodded, pushing himself off the wall, and brushed the dirt off his hands as he walked away.

Minato put out his cigarette against the station wall, and pulled his cellphone from his pocket... yup, still on speed dial. He started the call, and pressed it to his ear.

Familiar male voice. "Hello, Takamachi residence."

"Yo, Shirou."

"Minato? Wow... it's been two years, hasn't it? How's Tokyo treating you?"

Minato winced. "Unfortunately, this isn't a social call... do you know if I can get in contact with your daughter?"

-----------------------------

Kanata stepped out of the bathroom, face red. She tried to tug the short skirt down a bit further, but it was as fruitless as before.

Luka restrained his wolf whistle to a short one. Kanata might have held it against him, but given that the girl at his side managed to get hers to last a full three seconds... he looked pretty good by comparison.

The girl was small, and thin. Maybe fifteen? Pale, too - an albino, with outright red eyes and white hair, tied back into a bun other than two long bangs left free. Dressed in a school uniform - short black skirt, short-sleeved black shirt, sailor-style collar, deep red bow. While modified a bit (that skirt probably wasn't regulation) and the short-sleeved summer version, it was the same uniform as she had borrowed from Saiko... she supposed school was going to start soon.

The girl clapped her hands together as she finished her whistle. "Perfect! It fits, right? Right?"

"Um... yes..." Kanata looked down. While she definitely would not dress like this given the choice, it fit, and she supposed it was trendy, though she was horrendous with fashion. To be honest... she looked good. She had checked herself out in the mirror until she realized she was checking herself out, and that was precisely the problem. She was nowhere near comfortable enough with... all this... to be at all prepared to have peoples' eyes on her, considering her as a potential...

She stumbled, catching herself on the corridor wall until it stopped wavering around her.

The girl frowned, stepping up to Kanata. "You okay with the shoes?"

They actually were fairly reasonable... the heel was lowish, and while she hadn't ever walked in any kind of heeled shoe before, the adjustment was easy enough for her. "Yes, they're fine..." A little too... well, good-looking for her tastes, but... "Isn't this all... a bit much?"

The girl planted her hands on her hips. "Hey now. There is nothing that's too much for our new housemate, clear?"

Luka raised a hand. "Speaking as a mostly-neutral party, Sara's tastes in fashion are actually reasonably restrained. She just likes to play dressup."

Sara turned to him. "Well, I don't hear you complaining."

"... Why would I? Three - well, four now - attractive girls, women, and assorted in-betweens are sharing living space with me, and you make 'em look good."

Kanata rubbed her eyes. This was exactly the problem... he seemed nice enough, but...

Luka pursed his lips. "You know, if I make you uncomfortable, just tell me, okay? I mean... I'll look. I can't really not look unless you want me to close my eyes."

"And what a sight that was," Sara added, snickering.

"... Yeah, Saiko actually did ask. Blundered around for a week before she let me open my eyes..." He mumbled to himself. "But as I was saying! I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, so if I do, tell me so I can tone it down. I'll even pull the close-eyes trick if you ask."

Kanata swallowed. "Um... it is okay..."

Sara peered up at Kanata. "You know, you can tone down the formality, neither of us is royalty. Unless Luka's been holding out on me." He just shook his head with a chuckle.

Kanata swallowed. "This is... just how I speak... I am not taking special care or anything of the sort..."

Sara just sighed. "If you say so... Anyway, morning and suchlike. I'm Sara Lucchini." She proceeded to perform a strange hybrid maneuver that looked like a simultaneous bow and curtsy.

Rather than try to imitate her, Kanata just bowed in return - remembering to keep her hands folded in her lap, this time. She was still rather unsure what to make of, well, being a girl, but she should at least pass as one, and that included bowing in the correct way. "Shirahime Kanata."

Luka coughed into a hand. "And unless we hurry this a bit, Miss Lucchini is going to be late for school."

"Awww, come on, I wanna talk more!"

"Then come home on time."

She held up a finger. "You... I... damn your infernal logics. I'll beat them one of these days."

Luka bowed - not a Japanese-style bow, but a courtly exaggerated European one. "As always, the challenge remains open, my princess." He nodded to Kanata. "Come on."

-----------------------------

08:03 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Amur Oblast, Russian Federation, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Vostochny Cosmodrome

"Sir, radar's picking up something in the upper atmosphere... could you take a look? I don't know if it's..."

Lieutenant-General Viktor Sakharov looked up, and strode over to the man's console, leaning over to take a look at the display. He nodded, brushing his hair back out of his eyes. "Yes, it's a TSA ship. XV-class. Probably investigators about that matter they called our liason on."

The juniour officer - Lieutenant Mikhalkov - looked back at him. "Should I contact Mister Valensk-"

"Don't bother." Sakharov continued watching the sensor display. "The TSA won't be dropping their team down here. Japan. Japan's more receptive to them than most of the Far East, so they'll be using that as their base of investigation." He tapped the screen with a slim finger. "Those two are the ones you should be watching."

Mikhalkov blinked. "Sir...? Those are micrometeorites. They'll burn in the upper atmosphere before they hit anything."

Sakharov shook his head, smirking. "Take a closer look. They're moving exactly parallel. Formation flight."

The officer's eyes widened as he looked again. "Okay... that's strange, sir, but are you sure it's not just a coincidence...?"

Sakharov chuckled, tapping one of the signatures. "If it were just this one, I wouldn't be. He's good. Completely indistinguishable from a meteor. However, this one..." He pointed to the other. "Changed course a bit."

Mikhalkov peered down at the screen. "... Are you sure, sir? They seem to be moving exactly parallel."

"That, my young friend, is because he then corrected his course. Meteorites don't do that." He patted the Lieutenant on the shoulder, and walked away. Kid was new to the job, but he already knew the important bit - namely, hassle him whenever he didn't get it.

Sakharov pursed his lips. And Strigon was going to be in in a matter of days... maybe even today. This would be a problem. He'd have to make the meeting just so they didn't drop in directly...

He sighed as he made his rounds of the command center, starting up his music player and slipping the earbuds in, quietly repeating after the singer: "Soyuz nerushimy respublik svobodnyk, splotila naveki velikaya Rus..."

It was a dream that hadn't died yet. Not as long as he was around. And he planned on staying around until it was fulfilled.

He'd have to accellerate the rest of his plans, too... this was going to get ugly.

-----------------------------

08:30 Friday, June 16, New Calendar Year 0076 (2017 CE)
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Suzuka Tsukimura's Apartment

Teana looked down, and laid her hands on her hips. It seemed she was pinned. Something had walked over her feet and proceeded to sit on them.

Some kind of strange furry creature about the size of her thigh - presumably a local species, since she'd never seen it before. The fur was blueish-gray... slightly rounded head, triangular ears sticking up. It looked up at her with rather large blue eyes, and opened its mouth, exposing some rather long canines. Clearly a meat-eater. "Nyaaaaauuuu."

Teana raised a hand. "Um... Fate, Captain... is it welcoming me or threatening me?" She looked around at the rest - Fate and Nanoha were checking over Vivio (who was looking wide-eyed around the room, though it was a little featureless - someone had taken care to make it a good teleport-dropoff, after all), and Shari was covering a snicker at her situation. Vice and everyone else had gone to an alternate teleport point.

Nanoha smiled, ducking down and stroking another one of the creatures as it wound between her feet. Hers was... a lot less plump than the one that had parked itself on Teana. "It's a cat. Don't worry, she likes you."

"Nyau." The... cat, she supposed... rubbed its head against her leg.

Teana hesitantly bent down and patted its head. Having known Subaru this long, she could pretty easily read that desire for attention. A rolling, rumbling sound built up around its throat, and Teana paused, pulling her hand back... was it growling at her?

It slammed its head into her leg, surprisingly hard for such a small creature. "Nyauuuu."

Fate covered her mouth with a hand as she giggled. "That means she likes it."

Teana rubbed her shin slightly, and then resumed patting the creature's head. "So now I'm being bossed around by an alien the size of my arm. Interesting new, yet familiar, experience. Also, my legs are going to go numb if it sits here much longer."

Shari didn't bother covering this snicker. "Well... just say hello to your friend for now, I don't think we're in much rush at the moment. I still have to hear back on our long-term lodgings."

Fate nodded. "They should be ready by the end of the day, and Albion is leaving now. So for now... I suppose free time. Rest and recover from the transit lag. Set up tonight, and get started on the investigation tomorrow morning. Everyone has my signal - be at my position by 1900 local time - that's in ten and a half hours. Call if you have any questions."

Teana nodded. She supposed she'd look around and play tourist, since the last time she'd been to this world she hadn't really had much free time... as soon as she could get this thing off of her.

It closed its eyes, rumbling some more at her patting.

Which might take a while.

-----------------------------

08:45 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Sentoshi Mori, South Tower Fourteenth Block, Millennium City

Kanata rubbed her eyes. She would need to stop in at the cathedral soon... She wanted to confess for the past week... which she might have to rephrase to keep from getting locked in an asylum, which of course added more to confess to...

Still... right now she had chores to take care of... though sweeping the shrine did not exactly take up all her brainpower.

"Yo."

Kanata did not jump as Kaede's voice sounded behind her - she had caught the woman's scent before she was anywhere near. She turned slightly - Kaede was dressed in regular clothes. "Going out, Kaede-san?"

Kaede nodded. "Yup. You okay to take care of the place?"

Kanata's eyes widened as she stopped sweeping. "Um... are you sure...? I mean, I have only been here for a few days..." Saiko and Sara had already left for school, and Luka for... something. They already trusted her to be alone here...?

Kaede shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know where everything is, and I won't be off too long. Need to get a few more things arranged for you."

Kanata blinked, cocking her head. "For me...? Um... what do you mean, Kaede-san?"

"Ah... you haven't heard yet?"

"I do not believe so."

Kaede fiddled with the twist her red hair was tied into. "Well, Detective Arisato noticed you haven't been going to school for a while... he kind of insisted that unless there was a real problem, you should go. Offered to help if there was one, too. I was just heading down to Millenium South High School to make sure your records were transferred, though, well, attending's up to you."

Kanata frowned. "I see... Um, wait... my records?"

Kaede nodded. "Yeah, though I promise I didn't peek. Anyway... think about it, it's your choice." She waved, and walked off.

Leaving Kanata to stand there, knuckles white as she gripped her broom. "I... have a legal identity. ... Why do I have a legal identity?" It didn't make sense... she had been born male, and he had died, there should be no paper trail whatsoever...

There was a laugh. A familiar one.

Kanata froze.

"What? You thought just because you lost your old life, you wouldn't get a new one?"

Kanata slowly turned... yes. It was the woman from the Sunday night dream... dressed in her motley-coloured patches as before. "... Exactly how much power do you have?"

The woman covered her mouth as she giggled, leaning back... reclining in midair. "Oh, I just know the right people."

"What happened to...?"

She laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Nothing, don't worry, total fabrication. Shirahime Kanata's a pretty rare name anyway, would've been way more effort to find a real one and doctor things up."

Kanata frowned, nodding. "And... those monsters..."

"I'm honestly surprised, I thought you'd be asking about the girling first." She flipped upside-down.

Kanata shook her head. "That is... distracting, but... not as important."

"Ah, well, the answer to that one is that I only have so many bodies available. What about the monsters?"

"That is... exactly it. What are they? Where are they coming from? Why did they disappear?"

The woman tsked, straightening up and waving her finger. "Nononono. Most of this is way too far ahead for you. Still, I can tell you a little. Want it?"

Kanata clenched her jaw, and nodded, wrapping a hand around her cross. "Please." She needed something. This was all going too fast...

"All right, the basis is, they're beings who are not permitted to exist in this world." She waved a hand to make her point. "There's a... seal, I guess, though really they slammed a universe on top of it... anyway. The seal's been weakening in the past eleven years. Though even now, only the strongest-willed of them can slip out. Inconveniently, that makes them too independent for their masters to call them off, and they go wild." She held up a finger. "Break the will, and the seal catches up with them. Every piece of them vanishes from this world - which as you recall, produced a few problems for you a couple days ago."

Kanata nodded shortly. "But... what are they?"

The woman shrugged, brushing a bright blue patch on her shoulder clear of imaginary dust. "You lack the frame of reference to understand the actual case, so I guess I'll go with metaphor... Think of them as the creators of the Tower of Babel - they rose too close to God, and their hubris caught up with them."

Kanata paused. "That is completely-"

The woman cut her off with an upraised finger. "I said metaphor. It's not actually Babel or anything like that, you wouldn't have heard the actual story. But this gives you a few parallels that're reasonably appropriate." She tapped the ground with her foot. "Anyway... gotta go."

Kanata blinked, and she was gone. "Wait!"

"By the way," her voice sounded from behind Kanata.

Kanata whirled, but there was nothing there.

"Stop thinking of me as 'the woman'." Behind her again... Kanata did not turn this time. "Come up with an amusing nickname, seriously. Patches? Chuckles?" She laughed once more.

Kanata exhaled deeply. That woman could apparently read minds... which was not much of a stretch given how easy mind-to-mind transmission had been. "Is Calaritana all right?"

There was another laugh. "After the Saint of Cagliari, Mister Calaritanus? You do know your history."

Kanata closed her eyes. "It was one of my best subjects. You are not offended?"

"It's kinda funny, actually. Saint Lucifer, eh? Not a bad nickname. Buh-bye."

The air suddenly felt... lighter. Easier to breathe... there was no longer a presence nearby.

Kanata took another heavy breath, stroking the cross in her hand. What kind of deal had she made? And... with who? Or what?

The worst part was... she was going to go ahead. She had to. These monsters were most definitely attacking people... and she had no idea if anyone else could even find them.

"Que usted esta pensando?" 'What are you thinking?'

Kanata shook her head, dropping her cross. "It is not important... That train of thought did not lead anywhere." Actually... she wanted to be doing something. Working off her worries a little bit. "Reconquista... could you please activate simulation mode?"

"Usted desea practicar? Panorama?" 'You wish to practice? Scenario?'

"Mm... surprise me."

In the back of her head, a forest appeared... She could see both that world, and the shrine that she was sweeping.

-----------------------------

09:04 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Police Station, South Tower Seventh Block, Millenium City

Fate paused as she saw Detective Arisato waiting at the front of the station, holding a suit jacket over his shoulder.

He raised his free hand in a wave, and strolled towards her. "Morning, Fate-chan. I hear you just got in? How was the flight?"

Fate smiled, and bowed. "Uneventful, Arisato-sensei. I'm still adjusting to the time zone again."

He waved a hand, walking away from the station. Fate followed.

"Well, you know me. For what, eight years now? Damn that makes me feel old."

Fate covered a giggle. "Yes... you never do remember to call unless it's work-related."

"Please, my daughter's already told me that a thousand times... don't need to hear it from everyone. How's investigating in the great void between dimensions working out?"

Fate paused, but decided not to correct him on it. "Well enough. I just resolved a long-running case a few months ago, so..." She shrugged.

"And you're almost as workaholic as me. And Nanoha-chan's even worse. Another case brought you back home, I presume."

Fate nodded. "I can't give you the details of course..."

"Yeah, please don't, unless I can help you out, like we did back in Uminari. This is my turn to call in support." He slipped a cigarette in his mouth... glanced at her, and put it away again.

"What's wrong?"

He led her down the pathway, frowning deeply, and looked around furtively - there was nobody within earshot. "Three blocks down. There was an assault case in the park. It looked open-shut at first, but forensics proved our suspect hadn't done it, and the victim woke up and spun a story about a monster and a magical girl - our suspect - protecting him."

Fate frowned. "A monster...? There are a few ways to do that, what kind?"

"Couldn't say. Vic got his tongue bit off, fainted from blood loss and didn't get a real good view. Frankly if the forensics didn't back it up a bit, I'd write him off as delirious."

Fate winced at the description. "Will he recover?"

"Dunno. The docs sewed it back on, and they're hopeful, but that's as far as I know. Like I said... the forensics backed up his story. Trees were knocked over, there were dents in the ground... Suspect had blood in her mouth, but it was her own. And the supposed monster? Nada. Didn't even leave saliva."

Fate nodded. "That sounds like a creature from another world, or maybe a golem, and an unknown mage who fought it... what was the suspect's story?" She brushed a branch away from her head.

"Stonewall. Claimed she arrived after the action, we do know she performed first aid and called the hospital for him. We couldn't press her - file indicated a distrust of authority figures, and we kept her around for eight hours without her story changing one bit. Can't keep her face straight, but damn she can keep the story straight. Kinda like that time I locked you up."

Fate blushed. "What was I supposed to say? You didn't know anything about the case, or even the background of the case."

"Or the universe, at the time. So I'm thinking she may be like you, thinking I won't believe her story anyway. I'll give the kid a bit more nudging from my end, but I wanted to see if any of my facts rang bells for you."

"Mm... well, it's at least possible from my end, but I don't think I can give you any good answers just yet."

"Didn't think so." He pulled a small flash drive out of his pocket, and flicked it in her direction - she caught it on reflex. Pink casing...? He really had no idea how to deal with girls, did he? "That's got most of my case details. Names excluded, of course, along with most identifiers, as usual. Picture of the girl, though, in case you recognize her. Get back to me as soon as you can."

Fate pursed her lips. "I've actually got an apprentice here at the moment... mind if I attach her to your investigation? She knows most of what I do about the parts you need - more, actually, her education and retention rate are rather spectacular - and could learn a lot from you, as well."

Arisato looked at her, gnawing on his lower lip. "... What the hell. You just make sure she follows my orders if necessary - I don't want your Space-Time Administrative laws mixing up with local ones, I'll catch a lot of heat if something goes wrong."

Fate nodded, bowing to him. "She is very professional, but I will be certain to pass that on."

Arisato mumbled something about double-nuggets, and waved, heading back to the station.

Fate returned the wave. Conversations with Arisato-sensei tended to go like that. She never could tell if his slang was too old for her, or if he just made it up on the spot, either. "I'll have her meet you tomorrow."

He grunted an acknowledgement, waving again.

-----------------------------

09:15 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Thirteenth Block, Heliport, Millenium City

In the end, Teana had won her freedom by just shoving the 'cat' off - it had flopped around a bit, then 'nyauuu'-ed at her a bit more, seeming more bothered by her leaving than by getting shoved around. And her legs had gone numb temporarily... the thing was heavy.

She'd considered the 'tourism' thing a bit more, and honestly... when she looked out the apartment's window, she sort of changed her mind. The whole city was far too large to really wander around with any hope of getting in on time.

Thus why she had flown (invisible) towards the huge mass of three towers, and landed on the platform that linked them all, decloaking once she was somewhere that wouldn't attract attention. They were supposedly going to be staying here, so she may as well wander around their lodgings and get a decent idea of the lay of the land.

Of course, if Subaru had been here, she'd be getting dragged from one sight to another. Especially given that the cyborg girl's adopted father was descended from this planet.

Teana smirked, pulling out Cross Mirage - in card form, obviously. "Get a few pictures, would you? Subaru'll love 'em."

"Yes."

"Might not want to talk to your Device too much, they don't have that level of AI over here."

Teana glanced back over her shoulder. "Good morning, Sergeant."

Vice laughed, scratching the back of his head. "You know, I think you outrank me at this point. Or are at least in a separate chain of command. I don't mind if you call me Vice."

Teana looked around the platform - she hadn't thought she'd seen Vice's helicopter, but...

"Looking for Storm Raider?"

Teana blinked, meeting his gaze again, and nodded.

Vice pointed at a... rather different-looking helicopter. It definitely didn't look like the JF-704's normal appearance - much more rounded, and maybe a little smaller, everything was sloped... to be honest, it looked a lot nicer. Though Storm Raider's normally-unattractive edges and angles could look rather damned pretty when he was coming in for support. "She's under disguise right now, since any connoisseur of aircraft would be able to tell her normal appearance isn't really a local design."

Teana nodded, turning her attention back to Vice... he looked unnatural out of uniform, somehow. He wore those fatigues way too much when a simple civilian shirt and pants looked so strange on him. "... Connoisseur of aircraft?"

Vice shrugged. "Sure you wouldn't find many in a random population sample, but this is a heliport - I'd bet you a week's salary that in a collection of pilots and mechanics, you'd have more trouble finding someone who doesn't like 'em."

"That was more about your word choice than the concept. Isn't a connoisseur an expert in... art, or food?"

Vice clapped a hand over his heart, looking pained. "Come on, what's more artistic than a well-made helicopter?"

Teana looked back at the heliport... and shook her head. "I don't see it. A lot of glass bulbs." Storm Raider's new form was honestly the best-looking of the lot.

"Well, okay, this is a civilian heliport, but this planet has some sweet designs - this was just a bad sample selection."

Teana raised an eyebrow, leaning back against a wall. "When'd you become an expert on this planet's technology, anyway?"

Vice coughed.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."

He cleared his throat. "Colonel Yagami tossed me a few pictures to drum up my interest in the mission... I spent a few days doing research." He tapped the blued-steel tag fastened at his neck, and Teana blinked as Storm Raider transferred the images to Cross Mirage.

Large... but pretty thin, stubby wings at either side, five rotors at the top, with two glass bubbles over the cockpit at the front giving it a vaguely insectile appearance... "... Vice, that is possibly the ugliest thing I have ever seen crafted by the hands of man."

Vice tsked, slipping the tag back under his shirt. "You lack a pilot's aesthetics. But I guess I'll spare you the rant on it."

Teana smiled. "That's appreciated."

"Don't appreciate it too much, I could change my mind any time. So, drifted in this early?"

Teana nodded. "I considered tourism, but..." She waved at the positively sprawling view of the city from the towers they were presently on. "I have no idea where to go or what to look at, and I'm not familiar with the mass transit system. It'd just devolve into wandering around the city, so I thought I may as well do it around where we were going to stay."

Vice chuckled, nodding. "Mind if I tag along?"

Teana just gave him a half-lidded stare. "You never learned the language, did you?"

He grinned. "Caught me. I need a translator to really sightsee."

Teana just shook her head, smiling. "Fine, may as well have some company. Where'd you want to go first?"

-----------------------------

09:26 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
South Tower Seventh Block, Millenium City

Nanoha looked up from the store's display as Bardiche 'pinged' Raging Heart. "Fate-chan, there you are."

Fate smiled a little weakly.

Vivio turned, and blinked, before tugging at Nanoha's skirt. "Mama... what's wrong with Fate-mama?"

Nanoha patted Vivio's hair, just looking at Fate, eyebrow raised.

Fate sighed. "Arisato-sensei needed some help... I looked through the files, and it's a bit of an unpleasant case. It's not really directly a problem... I'm just a little queasy."

Nanoha planted her hands on her hips. "He's not dragging you in on another case, is he?"

Fate brought up her hands. "No, no, I'm just checking some facts he's not familiar with. Actually, I'm assigning Teana to help him with it... she'll learn a lot from him. So I'm completely severed." Her face went a bit green at that.

Nanoha frowned. Must have reminded herself of one of the details. "I hope so, you're short enough on free time as it is. Now that we're actually on the same planet, I'd like to spend some time together."

Fate nodded. "Of course, absolutely nothing more than fact-checking, maybe tossing some files out for reference. To be honest, with Teana taking care of it, I probably don't even need to do that much."

"So then... back to our ten-hour vacation. I don't think you're feeling hungry, so we'll skip the snack for now... is that all right, Vivio-chan?"

Vivio nodded solemnly.

Fate smiled. "Thank you... So what do you think of this place so far?"

Nanoha chuckled, taking Vivio's hand and starting down the path - right now they were just walking past storefronts and window-shopping. "It's pretty cool." It had been lucky they could pass it by the head office, too - but it really was one of the more convenient places to base their operations out of, with easy access to pretty much everything, a heliport within less than a hundred meters of their lodgings, and local government buildings and records either in the nearby tower, or a short flight into the city. The fact that it had also been one of Japan's more famous landmarks recently, and one Nanoha and Fate had never seen before, was just extra.

Vivio pointed to the right, a little further in, where a rail track circled around the block. "There's a train. Indoors."

Fate chuckled, patting Vivio's head and taking her other hand. "Yes, construction like this isn't really common on Midchilda. There are less people there, so they don't really need buildings that comfortably fit so many... though in Argene space, they have a lot of these."

Nanoha nodded. The TSA Ground Headquarters was similar in size, but it had been built less because it needed to be that tall, and more because they could make it that big. Midchilda had a lot of unused space, so there wasn't any crunch forcing people to build up, it was just to impress people. "Anything in particular you wanted to see, Fate-chan?"

Fate waved her free hand. "Nothing specific, I just thought I'd wander with you. Vivio?"

Vivio cocked her head. "Um... the library?"

Fate and Nanoha traded looks. Neither of them had any real distaste for studying, but... it wasn't really their idea of fun. Well... it contributes to a healthy growing mind, I guess.

-----------------------------

11:45 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97
Sentoshi Mori, South Tower Fourteenth Block, Millennium City

Vice shaded his eyes with a hand - since they were now on the top block of the tower, the sun was visible again, and bright as ever. He took in the place before him for a moment - there was a thin ring of parkland around it, but most of this uppermost block's central area was dedicated to a collection of buildings that served... some purpose, he supposed. Surrounded by a fence, with an opening nearby - it seemed someone would have to pass through a red-painted archway to get into the complex.

He glanced at Teana, who was holding up her Cross Mirage card to take a picture. "What do you think this place is?"

Teana shrugged, slipping Cross Mirage away again. "I couldn't say. The architecture looks a bit different from the rest of the city... maybe it's a foreign style? Could be an embassy." She looked around a bit more, starting to walk again. "I'm kind of curious now, everything else was pretty plainly commercial or residential."

Vice nodded, and followed. Of course, he'd need to have her tell him whatever it was she found out... he had, thus far, had no luck figuring out what exactly all the strange scribbles and lines meant. Bit embarrassing since he'd known people from this country for nine years now...

Teana stepped under the archway, and paused.

Vice frowned and stepped up beside her. He was about to ask 'What's up?', when he felt it himself - they'd just stepped into a zone spell of some kind. Vice stepped back, just to see if they were locked in - they weren't, so he stepped forward again. He brought a finger up to his neck to tap Storm Raider, get her recording and find out what it was.

Teana frowned, looking around. 'Do you feel that? There's something strong here... there's so much magic in the air I can't pick anything out.'

Vice closed his eyes, and then nodded. 'Yeah... doesn't seem to be doing anything, though. Maybe a local mage lives here?'

'Mm... well, they said there aren't many, but considering Captain Takamachi and Colonel Yagami came from this planet, I guess the few there are have a lot of mana.' Teana gestured a bit forward, where a girl, dressed in a sort of long red folded skirt, and white folded top, seemed to be sweeping the stone pathway ahead of them - she hadn't seemed to notice their presence yet. 'She might know something... though I guess we can't ask directly. Why exactly is magic a secret on this planet?'

Vice moved to keep up with her as she went down the path. 'Not totally sure... I know the local governments requested full secrecy, but I couldn't say why.'

Teana nodded, and looked a little put out as they stepped closer to the girl - she was still looking down at the path, sweeping carefully and precisely. "Excuse me?"

The girl jolted, swinging her broom up, grip shifting as if she were holding a weapon...

Had it actually been a spear, Vice would probably be seriously injured right now. As it was, he was just spitting pieces of straw out of his mouth. "Always wondered what brooms tasted like. Now I know."

The girl blushed heavily, lowering the broom. She shouted something in a somewhat exciteable tone of voice, before bending at the waist, bowing to him repeatedly.

Vice glanced at Teana. "Um..."

Teana covered a chuckle... and had a bit more trouble doing so when she saw his face. He had pieces of the broom stuck on, didn't he? "She's apologizing... I think."

The girl straightened up. "Ah... you do not speak Japanese?"

Vice blinked, scratching the back of his head. "Never quite got around to learning."

The girl clutched her broom in front of herself, almost protectively, and bowed again. "Then... I am so sorry! I was not paying sufficient attention!"

When she straightened up again, Vice blinked. Her eyes were... very, very bright amber, he looked there pretty much on instinct... something looked a little off about them. Long straight black hair, pale skin that seemed almost lit up by her blush. Rather pretty - he'd eyeball her at about Teana's age, maybe a little younger. And she had a white bandage wrapped around her neck, for some reason.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I've been whacked by things much less soft than that before." Like Lutecia Alpine putting him in a cast... Vita's hammer on rare occassions when he'd irritated her... Signum when he needed some sense whacked into him... had he ever been smacked around by a man, or was it always women?

"Still... um... please allow me to get a cloth so you can wash your face." She bowed again, and strode away.

Vice paused as she left. "So... how messed up do I look?"

Teana suppressed a smile. "Very. She must have hit you pretty hard, the broom nearly exploded." She stood up on tiptoe, pulling a long piece of straw off his eyebrows, before flushing a bit and slipping back down.

Vice spat a bit more to get the taste out of his mouth. It still wasn't gone. "Yup. Yup, she did. Good thing it was just a broom, even a blunt edge would've broken bone if she hit like that, since I didn't have any defences up."

"That would have been interesting to try to explain to Nanoha."

Vice laughed. "I can see it now. 'Smacked in face by distracted domestic'. She'd so add that to my medical records, wouldn't she?"

"Well... she might have been kinder. Unless she thought you needed to learn a lesson."

Vice cocked his head. "I... have no idea what kind of lesson I should take from this. React faster?"

"Don't distract people who're thinking about combat?" Teana shrugged. "I think she was, at least... either that or she's trained to the point where her first reaction on being surprised is to smack things."

Vice rubbed his face, more bristles of straw coming off with his hand. "She's trained?"

Teana shrugged. "I'm not that good at melee, and there was only the one strike, but it seemed too straight and precise to be amateur."

Vice nodded. "Makes sense."

"Um... yes, I am a martial artist," her voice - a little low-pitched, the best word he could think of was 'full' - came from the side. Vice turned to see... he hadn't actually heard her walk up, but there she was, holding a damp white cloth out in both hands.

Vice grinned, taking the cloth and starting to wipe his face. "Thanks for that, lady." He peered down at the cloth after the first wipe... the broom really had exploded, hadn't it?

She shook her head. Still red-faced. "No... it was my error in the first place. I was performing... visualization training, and did it in real life by mistake... I am sorry."

Vice was about to say 'don't worry about it, I've been hit with worse' before realizing he'd already said it. Hadn't worked the first time, probably wouldn't the second, so... subject change. "What is this place, anyway? We were looking around, and I was kind of curious."

The girl blinked, folding her hands in front of her. "This is Sentoshi Mori. It is a shrine dedicated to the goddess Izanami."

Teana snapped her fingers. "Religious. Can't believe I didn't consider that..."

Well, it didn't look much like the religious structures on Midchilda, so it was kind of understandable. Vice wiped off his chin, and, finished, handed the cloth back to the girl. "So... what does Izanami do? Are you the priestess here?"

After taking the cloth back, the girl shook her head. "No, no, I am just a new miko... um, that is a shrine assistant, sort of like a nun... I am sorry, the priestess and more experienced miko are absent at the moment."

Teana shook her head. "It's not a problem. We're just looking around, we weren't looking for services or anything."

She nodded. "All right... um, Izanami is supposedly the first woman, and she and Izanagi created the first land from the sea, in myth... I suppose that is why she was chosen as the goddess for the Millenium City's shrine."

Vice grinned. "Thanks, lady... sounds kind of fun."

"Um... my name is Shirahime Kanata," she spoke up. Didn't like being called 'lady'? "That is... Shirahime is my family name, my given name is Kanata."

"Nice to meet you, Kanata. I'm Vice Granscenic."

"Teana Lanster."

She bowed to each in turn. "Good morning, Granscenic-san, Lanster-san. Um... if you are touring, would you like me to show you around?"

Teana looked at Vice. "Seems kind of interesting." 'And I'd like to see if I can find where all that mana is coming from.'

Vice shrugged. They may as well learn a bit about the local culture. And it was a bit of fresh air to hang around someone he could actually understand when they spoke. "I'm up for it."

-----------------------------

12:01 Friday, June 16, 2017 CE
Tokyo, Japan, Earth - Non-Administrated World #97

The taller of the two women brushed off her duster, sighing. "You're sure you don't want to trade, Latoya? This one's actually reasonably fit, and the lolita look doesn't really suit you."

The shorter - seemingly a mere girl - laughed, brushing back a fringe of purple hair. "I don't mind it. It's actually kind of nice getting to skip out on the aches and pains of age." She flexed her fingers. "And it's fast. And powerful. Not to mention I need to be in here to cover that deal we made." She glanced up. "Why? You're not having any trouble, are you, Raquel?"

The taller woman shook her head. "No, no, there were some definite health issues but the initial shift seems to have taken care of them. Which is fortunate since we don't have any spares."

Latoya nodded, and stuck a bit closer to Raquel's side as they passed through a tight knot of crowd. She looked very young for a moment. "... This is a nice city. Bit crowded, but... nice." Even though they were surrounded by people, they were speaking their native language, so not one knew what they were saying.

Raquel winced, as they stopped at a traffic light. "You never get like that normally... it's bad?"

Latoya said nothing, until the light turned green, indicating they should move. "The worst." With that pronouncement, she started across the street.

Raquel closed her eyes for a moment, and then hurried after her - with her longer stride, it wasn't too difficult to catch up. "What do you sense?"

Latoya hissed through her teeth. "City's infested. Maybe the whole island... maybe the whole planet."

Raquel paled. "This isn't going to turn into another San Salvacion, is it...?"

"I hope not. We're going to have to sterilize this city and hope that slows the infestation down enough."

Raquel looked down. "Sterilization already? We can't try hunting in person?"

Latoya waved the idea off. "Impossible. If it were just the enfeksiyon, I might consider it - though even then, with just us two it might be too much a risk. If one of us or both of us got hurt or infested... that'd be the end. But I picked up at least three of them. That's... not even within the realm of possibility. I'm sorry."

"Th... three? This soon?"

Latoya nodded. "The Gatekeeper's around, though he's asleep right now. The Dancer, and the third one was... unfamiliar."

Raquel gritted her teeth. "How long is The Gatekeeper going to stay asleep?"

Latoya paused, then shook her head. "I can't say. Especially not with The Dancer mucking things up. We need to level this entire area before The Gatekeeper starts defending itself, or we are done for before we even start. And then we have to find those missing keys. We need the Silver Light!"

Raquel sighed. "Got it... I'll call in Sraionte."

Latoya held up a finger, shaking her head. "The whole fleet. We have to cut off this infestation now while the collateral damage is minor, or we'll end up needing to sterilize the whole island. At best. I don't want to leave this to chance, and if they put up any real resistance we'll need the firepower to punch through."

Raquel nodded. "What should we do while we wait, ma'am...?"

"Get Asero to start recording. Take in everything you can... we'll witness this city's last hours."

-----------------------------

Next: Chapter Four.

It got worse. Everyone is thinking this, and only a handful know why.
And sixteen ghosts from the past float calmly towards Earth. It is now the end of one thousand years.

-----------------------------

Author's Notes:
As usual, this would not be possible, or near as good, without the prereader squad: Sunshine Temple, Akuma-sama, DCG, and Belgarion213.
To the reviewers, first, a thanks. And GeshronTyler is pretty much spot-on about Earth's position. We're pretty much on the border from three of the biggest powers in the dimensional sea, and our technology is rather... behind, comparatively. (This is, actually, because those other cultures had significant contact with Alhazred - without that, their technology wouldn't have advanced quite that fast) It leaves us in the position of having to either be neutral, or side with whoever puts enough force in orbit to protect (or annihilate) us, as the situation changes.
Regarding Earth's awareness, I've taken the stance that Earth's governments have been in the know since contact was initially made - it's not really possible to hide a large spacecraft floating in orbit from radar and telescopes (since invisibility/illusion magic is rather difficult in Nanoha's universe), and the TSA has done some rather interesting things with public records that suggest they have a fairly stable connection with the government (ie, managing to stick Fate into a school, which requires a fake identity of at least reasonable security...). That said... the governments are, at this point, keeping it from the public while they all try to catch up.
And I appear to be wrong about the squirrel/Belka thing... odd, I wonder where I got that idea.
Signum may take a while before coming here, since Hayate and her knights are busy at central, researching the prophecy... but she will come sooner or later. And she'll have some rather interesting meetings, indeed.
To AluciusDawn, thanks again. You're Canadian too, eh? And yes, you are absolutely correct - there is a very large mess coming, and it is getting larger, fast. Which may have been indicated by this chapter.
Note on languages in-fic... I'm presuming that during the series, 'automatic translation for viewers' was in effect - most of the time, everyone was actually speaking Midchildan (/English, given how the Devices talk), or in the earlier seasons, sometimes Japanese for the sake of Nanoha and Hayate (since Lindy has a Japanese-style garden in her ship, she appears to be a bit interested). Teana, for her part, learned Japanese through Subaru and her father. Similarly, the honorifics have mostly been trimmed (ascribed to 'viewer translation effect') from everyone who's not actually Japanese - other than Fate who, since she spent so much time in Japan, vacillates a bit between using them and not using them.
And yes, there actually is a Saint Lucifer Calaritanus in Christianity (though his sainthood is a bit controversial).