Crystal Energy Part 2

Chapter 6: Secrets and Lies

Mashiro looked around the courtyard of her beautiful palace. She frowned softly as she noticed so many things out of place. A voice told her "You are the true heir to the throne of Windbloom! You are Princess Mashiro! Everything in this kingdom belongs to you." Please, not this dream again...anything but this...

The flowers were all the beautiful roses that Queen Sifr de Windbloom had loved. Please...I promise I'll plant nothing but roses if the dream just stops...

Her mind wasn't inclined to listen. "I hate these flowers!" And servants cried out her name, and gardeners went to work ripping up the old gardens, and in no time sunflowers had replaced everything. Her dream-self grinned while Mashiro tried to curl up into a fetal position. It wasn't that this part of the dream was horrible. It just always ended the same way. She grinned and pointed at a palace servant. "You, you're my horsey!"

"Yes, Your Highness." He obediently got on his knees and carried her all around the palace at speed. Everything moved by in an impossible blur.

"Your Highness? It's time for your lessons!" Mashiro found herself hiding under a cupboard with Mikoto, grinning broadly. The real Mashiro just curled up tighter.

"Honestly." One of her caretakers cried out, exasperated. "It almost makes me wonder if the rumors aren't true..."

"Don't you dare!" The other scolded.

"But you have to admit, she's nothing like the old King and Queen. They were honorable people, even if Queen Sifr could be a little bit of a ditz. But the Princess is completely different."

Then, Nagi was opening the door to her cupboard. "Are you Mashiro Blanc de Windbloom?"

"...yes." Mashiro nodded.

"Ah...so you're this fake princess I've heard so much about."

Mashiro screamed in both terror and despair as she sat bolt-upright in her bed.

Dear Sir,

It's the weekend, and life at the Academy is still just as busy as always. We don't have classes, but there's always things to do. Most of the others have to study a lot. I know Fate's started doing some combat tutoring too, she says a lot of the more delicate girls need something a little less rough than our usual lessons. Others have their hobbies, and there's also room duty for the Oneesama.

What am I doing? Well, I know you promised I wouldn't have to worry about money, but I don't think that's fair. You've been nice enough to help me out, so I want to pay you back. Nanoha needs some extra money too. So we went to the Headmaster and got permission for a part-time job. Nao-Oneesama found it for us! Everybody says it's perfectly suited to us too. You want to know what it is?

Suddenly Arika, in her dusty coveralls, was interrupted by the foreman calling out. "Hey, Missy! Lunch is up in five, you ready to get back to work!" She returned her pencil and stationary to her pack and quickly slid it into the portable lockers.

"Yes Sir! Nanoha, let's go!"

Nanoha smiled a bit ruefully. "I wonder how Nao-Oneesama talked me into this."

"Girls, I need everybody out front! can you two gather them up?" The foreman called out.

"Yes, boss!" They said in unison.

Mashiro's limo pulled up, and she stepped out. A man, she guessed the foreman, called out "All right people, listen up! Queen Mashiro is here to inspect your work, so I hope you've been doing good work." She looked over the crowd. To her, it seemed like the usual riff-raff and peasantry at first, certainly nothing to write about...but then she noticed three pigtails, and two familiar pairs of eyes. One sapphire-blue, and the other the color of amethyst. She smiled to herself.

"Foreman...those two girls. How are they doing on my palace?" Yeah, get them fired. Perfect. She might not be able to do anything about their appointment to the Academy, but -

"Those two?" The Foreman blinked. "They've been great. I thought I'd have to hold them back for crawling into the small spaces and stuff, but they've both been troopers. Those Nanomachines really help too, and they'll do anything they're asked. Can't say there's been any complaints."

Mashiro fell a bit. "Oh. Well, make sure you keep on top of them!"

"Of course, Your Highness." The foreman said. "Anything else?"

Mashiro looked over at the crowd. Blue eyes met purple and she felt strangely paralyzed again. She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I'll just get on with the inspection."

Nanoha and Arika found themselves assigned to climb on the scaffolding, applying nanomachine-enhanced muscles to tightening down the bolts. They were good at it, and found it an okay job to be doing. Besides, it let them talk, and Arika had a lot to say.

"How dare she?" The girl made a face. "Just show up here and try to insinuate we're not hard workers."

Nanoha laughed a little. "Arika, don't worry about her, all right? She's just a little disappointed and annoyed is all."

The foreman picked that moment to call up. "Hey, girls! They found another one of those crawl-tunnels! Get down here, we need ya inside." Arika pulled out a rope from her belt, but Nanoha kept her eye on things for a second. A young man was walking past with a wheelbarrow. Nanoha saw the foreman hand him a letter. The kid opened it up, then jumped back strangely in surprise, before closing it and running off. Nanoha shrugged, then glanced over to see if Arika noticed.

She hadn't, because she had been tying herself to the scaffolding. She had just finished, and jumped off. Nanoha sighed, and started leaping down in a somewhat more graceful fashion while the foreman shouted.

"Jeez, you two girls are gonna give me heart attacks." He shook his head. "Get inside, I think you know the way."

The two girls nodded and grinned in a weird sync. "Okay Boss."

Mashiro stood at the entrance to the garden. Really, it was a marvel. The rest of the ground had been trashed, but here, the flowers she'd had planted so long ago were in bloom. Aoi was looking around in amazement, but unfortunately, Mashiro could only remember one thing. She was standing in the exact same spot where it happened. She looked up to the balcony, where Nagi had been standing years ago, and he'd said it to her. 'So, you're that fake princess, right?'

Aoi grinned. "I think this came through rather nicely..."

"Tear it all down!" Mashiro yelled suddenly. "I want this to be completely different! A tall metal tower!"

"EHHHHH!" Nanoha was so surprised she dropped her hard-hat.

Arika growled. "What are you saying? We worked so hard to fix it up until now!"

"I'm the queen!" Mashiro countered. "What's wrong with following my whims? I don't like this castle anymore!"

Nanoha shook her head. "Where will you get -" but she was cut off.

"That's not my job to worry about! I tell the ministers how I want the country run, and they do it!" Mashiro started turning an ugly puce color. Arika, though, didn't see the warning signs and tried one more time.

"Your whims are the problem! Are you even really a queen?"

Aoi winced. Nanoha winced as she saw it coming. Arika didn't even try to dodge. Mashiro's palm slapped into Arika's cheek with a meaty 'thump' sound.

"You...you...you..." Mashiro couldn't take any more. She ran off into the castle. Arika blinked.

"...what did I say?"

Nagi's voice interrupted from the castle's wall. "My my, I just heard my cute little Mashiro was here...but I found something much better. I'd better go after her, though. Sergei?" The blond man, who was standing next to his boss, nodded.

"I'll explain it to them." Nagi smiled and started casually strolling around the walls to enter the castle.

Nanoha grinned and jumped up to the top of the wall. "May I?" Sergei gulped and nodded. Nanoha quickly picked the much larger man up in a fireman's carry and brought him to the ground, gently setting him down. Sergei narrowed an eyebrow at Nanoha.

"You always so nice like that? Wouldn't have taken me a minute to go around." He smirked. Nanoha nyahaha'd while he dipped his handkerchief in the fountain. "Here, Antsy. An Otome's appearance is important..." Arika thanked him softly as she reached out to take the offering, but he just couldn't let it go. "You need to make sure you don't end up looking worse than you naturally do.

Arika snatched it. "Hmph!" She turned away, but then started nursing her bruised cheek

Sergei coughed. "Right, Queen Mashiro. Well, I guess it started almost fourteen years ago now. You see, one night a large number of insurgents attacked the palace." Seeing the story had begun, Nanoha and Arika stopped and listened quietly. "It was...well, it was bad. Most of the servants and ministers dead. The King and Queen too. And their former Otome had been forced to retreat."

"You seem awfully well informed, Mr. Wong." Nanoha interjected.

Sergei coughed. "I was attending school in the city at the time. Anyway, can I continue?" Nanoha nodded. "Somewhere in the middle of all the fighting, the Princess disappeared. She was only a baby, like you would have been, at the time. For weeks they searched for her. They'd almost given up hope when the last surviving minister, the Interior Minister if I recall right, produced that girl out of thin air. There was never any evidence other than the confession of a criminal.

"And that's it. Everybody tries to pretend that was the end of it, and the minister died peacefully in his bed over ten years ago." Sergei shrugged. "But it doesn't really stop the rumors."

Nanoha sighed. "I had no idea."

Arika stood up. "Excuse me!" She started running inside. Sergei blinked. "Hey, wait Antsy!"

Arika blinked. "Don't worry, I'll bring this right back when I'm done with it!" And with that she ran off. Nanoha smiled.

"I'm sorry Mr. Wong. I'd better go after her." Sergei nodded, and then Nanoha was off as well.

Arika ran, not knowing or really caring where she was headed. She only knew that she needed to find Mashiro, and quickly. Finally she stopped, out of breath, in a large, dusty room. She looked up, and saw two huge portraits hung on either side of a door. On the left was a tall man, long hair combed out. He wore a uniform that gave him a regal bearing, but no crown. His expression was stern, but Arika was surprised by how kind he seemed. Something in his dark, steely eyes. The portrait on the right was of a woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Despite the fancy dress she was wearing, Arika thought her expression looked a little bit goofy. She gasped in shock as she realized those eyes were the exact same color as...

"Arika!" Nanoha caught up and started panting. "Geez, don't just go running off like that...do you know where we are?"

"Not at all." Arika said. "But look at those."

Nanoha looked up, then blinked. "Arika...doesn't she kind of look like you?"

Arika was surprised. "Maybe a bit...but I also thought she looked like you."

"...no way." Nanoha laughed.

"Can't be." Arika agreed. "My mom was a famous Otome, not a Queen." Arika's attention span gave out again, and she glanced over at another painting on the wall. This one was of the man again, but this time seated on the throne, with an Otome in a sky-blue dress standing in the traditional position next to him. Arika blinked as she saw the Otome's gem, a brilliant blue. "That earring..."

Then the two girls heard another shout. They looked at each other, nodded, and burst through the door to the next room.

Mashiro stood in the throne room, looking up at the pictures of her parents in there. "I'm the real queen. I am. I really really am..." Suddenly, she heard the door slam behind her. "What? Who's...NAGI?"

"At your service, Your Highness." Nagi smiled and started to walk across the room towards Mashiro. She was...less than amused.

"Go away Nagi, I'm not in the mood to deal with you today." He didn't stop. She tried again. "I hate you, you know that right?"

"Why would you ever hate little old me?" Nagi's grin didn't waver in the slightest.

Mashiro growled. "That first time we met, you remember what you called me?"

"Oh, that's just because I was so shy because you were so cute!" Nagi hadn't stopped yet. Mashiro took a step back, and then another. She felt her heel impact against the dais and nearly tripped. Nagi was nearly on top of her.

"I'll scream if you try anything, I really will." Mashiro tried to warn. Nagi stepped close enough to grab her, and she reflexively closed her eyes, waiting for a few moments. When nothing happened, she opened one, and then the other to see Nagi on his knees in front of her, holding out a special jewelry box. Mashiro recognized it as an Otome Gem set.

"Mashiro Blanc de Windbloom. Will you marry me?" Mashiro stared.

"I...I hate you." She said, weakly. Nagi stood up and embraced her. She wanted to resist, she really did, but for a moment she was so stunned. Nagi took that as a sign that she was willing, and leaned in closer.

Finally, Mashiro found her voice and screamed. "HEEEEELLLLLP!"

Nagi stopped moving, but seemed more puzzled than hurt. "Is something wrong, my little Mashiro?"

The doors slammed open then, and Arika and Nanoha were standing there. Arika spoke first. "G-Grandma says you shouldn't do things like that with people who don't want to."

Nanoha stared. "Nagi, what are you doing?"

Mashiro took the pause to scramble out of Nagi's arms and backwards. Her arms flailed, and she ended up falling backwards. "Mikoto!" The cat, with an uncanny understanding of the situation, sprinted between the two royals and started to hiss, all the hair on his back raised.

Nagi shrugged. "I'm sorry everybody...it seems I misunderstood. I do hope you change your mind, Mashiro. Nanoha, Arika, good day." And with that, he walked out as if nothing had happened.

For several moments, nobody spoke. Then, finally, Nanoha gently closed the door behind them, and said "...that guy is strange. Did he hurt you Mashiro?" Mashiro turned up her nose.

"Really, are you all right?" Arika asked, holding out a hand.

Mashiro slapped it away, irritated. "Even if I wasn't all right, I wouldn't want help from you." Arika winced, looking hurt, but then when Mashiro tried to get up on her own she stumbled and all but fell into Arika's arms. By this time Nanoha had made it over and was also supporting them. "Oww...okay, maybe I'm not."

Mikoto decided that this looked like a fun game of 'dogpile on the Otome' and jumped in by leaping on Nanoha's back. Nanoha jumped forward in surprise, carrying Arika with her and pushing Mashiro against the wall. "Watch what you're doing!" Mashiro exclaimed. Then, slowly, a panel in the section of the wall they were leaning against tipped backwards into an emergency slide, sending everyone tumbling down into the darkness.

The panel sealed shut behind them, showing no sign that it was anything but a wall. Only one person saw this, and he smiled.

Sakomizu Cardinal, the Captain of the Windbloom Royal Guard, had learned great patience in the past fourteen years. He had had to. Putting up with these antics from the Princess would have given him a full head of grey hair if he hadn't. He met up with the foreman and Aoi back in the front hall. "I've had the soldiers look everywhere. She's either hidden real well this time, or she's not here."

Aoi chuckled. "There's no one better at Hide and Seek than Mashiro in these walls." This earned her a glare from everyone.

"With the Schwarz still hunting for her, how can you make jokes?" Sakomizu yelled at the poor maid.

"Ah, the Schwarz." Nagi grinned at everyone as he turned a corner. "How terrifying. With a black letter, they turn anyone from a harmless, normal person into a relentless killer. But I wouldn't worry this time." Nagi's smile hadn't wavered at all. "I just left her in the throne room."

Everyone sighed in relief, but he finished. "She might be a little mad, though. I would give her a few minutes to calm down."

The trio had landed in a large, crumbling hallway littered with the remains of all sorts of decaying machinery. Nanoha stood in awe of just how much of the junk she almost recognized. The styles were different, but it very definitely reminded her of ancient weapons she had seen in her job. Other things were medical equipment, information terminals, all the signs of a very advanced civilization that had once lived on this world.

"What a sad place..." Arika summed up Nanoha's thoughts exactly.

"If we could get any of this working..." she tried to add, but Mashiro's look of horror made her pause. "What?"

"Don't you know what this is? All the stuff down here is left over from the War of Twelve Kings!" Mashiro looked around. "It's because of technology like this that our world is in the state it's in. If the first Otome hadn't managed to stop it, no one knows what would have happened. It was all because of over-reliance on technology like this."

"Oh." Arika said simply.

"...wait, 'Oh?'" Mashiro looked flabbergasted. "You mean you didn't know something like that that any girl should learn in grade school?" Arika shook her head. Mashiro looked to Nanoha for help, but only got the same blank look. "What a couple of idiots?"

"Well, that's why we're in school now!" Arika tried to counter, but Mashiro had already turned her back and wasn't listening anymore.

They walked along in silence for awhile, then Mashiro decided to continue her lecture with a segue into her favorite subject. "The first Otome was Fumi Himeno, also called the Pure White Diamond. She started that tradition too, giving Otome titles based on their Gem." Mashiro grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "The name 'Mashiro' also means 'pure white'. My parents named me after that gemstone, because they knew I would be a perfect angel."

"Wow. I'm actually kind of jealous." Arika smiled sadly. "I mean, you didn't know your parents either, but they gave you your name. It would be kind of nice...I like the name Arika Yumemiya, but I don't know if it's what my parents picked or anything..."

Mashiro started to grin as Arika continued to prattle on. "Are you actually trying to cheer me up?" She laughed as Arika did, though the latter was nervous. "Really. I think I should just hang up my crown and head off into the desert, if I'm really so pathetic that someone like you is feeling sorry for me."

"Yeah...well..." Arika looked around for a way out of the conversation. "Uhm, Nanoha, what about your family?"

Nanoha gulped. She had really been trying to avoid the conversation. "Well, there's my mother and father, plus I have my brother and sister. There's Fate, and her brother and mother. Oh, and Hayate, and her family too." The other two girls stared at her, and she blushed. "Nyahaha...an embarrassment of riches, I guess. But it really is like that. That's something that Fate taught me. Family isn't just who's related to you, it's the people you love. Like Aoi, or your grandmother." Nanoha looked at each of the girls in turn. "So...try not to get too depressed about it."

Mashiro looked like she was debating just how to make the most sarcastic remark possible when Mikoto suddenly charged ahead. "Mikoto!" She scolded the cat instead. "Don't get too far..." Mikoto ran around the corner. "...ahead." They ran after the disruptive feline for some ways, all screaming at him to stop.

Mikoto thought this was a wonderful game and made sure they never quite caught up. The girls' fault for telling him to stop.

They were eventually led into a large chamber. It looked like a covered Roman coliseum, all marble pillars and arches, but fallen into an extreme state of disrepair. The ceiling was obviously once a painted dome, but the images had long since decayed past the point where what they were could be made out in the low light available. A giant stone dome, with a large number of simple patterns carved into it, about 15 feet across. The back of the sphere had a large number of pipes sticking straight up into the ceiling.

Mikoto bounded straight over to the steps, forcing the girls to follow him. They panted heavily. "Mikoto, you like causing trouble, don't you?" Nanoha was both amused with the cat and exasperated by him.

Mashiro was just plain unamused. "Mikoto, you stop that." And then she took one step closer to the sphere.

The lines on the object began to glow and flow along the carved patterns, until three circles on the front glowed and the sphere began to open, revealing a pipe organ. Covered in jagged metal highlights, it looked like it might try to bite anyone that tried to play it.

"...what is this thing?" Arika asked, stepping forward gingerly. Mashiro was right behind, and Nanoha carefully watched even as she stepped forward.

"I...don't know." Mashiro glanced around, then idly pressed in one of the keys.

All throughout the City of Windbloom, glass shattered. People covered their ears, and dogs howled in pain. Natsuki wound up with tea in her lap as both she and Shizuru stared out at the column of purple light shooting up into the sky from behind the old palace.

Nagi, still in front of the palace, smiled to himself even as he held onto his own head to protect his hearing.

And far out in the desert, a woman with red eyes turned her gaze towards the distant city. She turned and started traveling in that direction with only a glance at the yellow bird riding on her shoulders.

Slowly, the hideous sound faded and the three girls were left standing there with the organ. Slowly they pulled their hands back from their ears. That was when they started to realize the real extent of the damage. Arika and Nanoha's left hands were each covered in tiny flecks of coral, the only remains of the Otome Gems. Mashiro's Control Gem had also been shattered.

Arika shouted "Hey! What are you going to do about this?" pretty much to no one in particular.

"No...it is not enough," a floating shadow appeared to answer Arika's rhetorical question. The three girls predictably freaked out, but the shadow wasn't done. "To play this Harmonium, you require the Player, the Protector, and the Song," It slowly turned its' gaze on Nanoha. "Child of the Old World, this thing is not for you. You do not know of the Pact. Leave here now, before you bring ruin to all."

The Harmonium's doors began to close to the sound of Nanoha's "Ehhhh?" How did she know I'm not from this world? Nanoha didn't have much time to think, though. She had to escape before the doors slammed shut. Nanoha picked Arika up.

"WHAT ABOUT OUR GEMS, NANOHA?" Arika pounded on Nanoha's back from the fireman's carry.

Mashiro growled "It's closing on us you idiot! We've got to get out of here." They made it out just as the hinged doors slammed shut, and they all collapsed. Mikoto jumped on Nanoha's head and mrowed softly.

"...all right, Terror of Garderobe. Spill it." Mashiro said after a moment's rest. "What did the freaky shadow girl mean?"

"...nyhahahaha...how should I know?" Nanoha glanced around worriedly. She was saved from having to answer by a tall thing stepping into the only entrance. It was slow, hobbled by the tight space, but that just meant they couldn't get by it. Four-legged and centaur-like, it reminded Nanoha of the three beasts that had attacked them at the start of term. "...Mashiro, you can't do an interim contract with all our Gems shattered, right?"

Mashiro nodded with a gulp. "You're supposed to be the experts. Do something!"

Arika shouted "Like what?"

Mashrio growled. "Anything! I've still got a lot of things I want to do! I can't die here!"

Arika screamed back "We all do!" The beast picked this moment to get through the door and charge, taking a swipe at the group. "We still have to LIVE!"

The beast's claw suddenly bounced off a translucent azure barrier. Arika blinked as the Azure Sky Sapphire expelled its' two component Gems into her hand. Nanoha watched this as well, then smiled. "You're thinking what I'm thinking? Okay, you've got four minutes." Then Nanoha reached into her shirt and pulled out a small red sphere. "Raising Heart...Limiter RELEASE!"

"All right" Raising Heart responded. Mashiro gulped and turned pale, but Nanoha didn't stop defying expectations there.

"Set Up!"

Mashiro stared in shock. Nanoha's clothing turned into pink light, and dissolved into nothing more than an indistinct glow that seemed to blur the space around her. Mashiro felt a little flushed as the light became more solid, then formed into a long white dress and blouse, with a vest and protective reinforcement bands that somehow suggested both armor and a dress uniform at the same time. The little red ball had expanded to about the size of Nanoha's head, and was suspended in a gold crescent at the end of a long staff. In some disbelief, Mashiro noted an automatic firing mechanism in the staff near the head as well.

"Whh..what the HELL are you, Nanoha Takamachi?" Mashiro felt all semblance of reality as it had ever been explained to her crumbling.

Nanoha smiled. "Don't worry about it right now, Mashiro." The beast, apparently getting over its' confusion, reached out to take a swipe at Nanoha.

"Protection!" Raising Heart's voice signaled the creation of another energy barrier, this time pink, and the claws bounced off. "Flier Fin." Energy wings shot out of Nanoha's feet, and she lifted off the ground. "Time Remaining for Limiter Release is three minutes, thirty seconds." Nanoha began flitting around the room as the beast slashed at her. Nanoha circled around, but the room was large enough that the thing's surprising agility came into play, turning with the move to land a blow. Nanoha raised her staff to block it in time, but was tossed into the wall.

"Enough of this. Shooting mode!" Raising Heart obligingly reconfigured itself, the head of the staff becoming more of a bident than a crescent shape, with one prong longer than the other but both facing outward, with the Raising Heart sphere still in the middle. "Divine..."

"Divine Buster is not recommended." Raising Heart cut in. Nanoha made an 'eh' sound, so the Device explained. "Building Structural integrity low. Divine Buster might cause failure."

Nanoha winced. A cave-in down here would be a bad thing. "All right...Divine Shooter!" Several pink spheres of energy formed around her, powering up. "SHOOT!" The spheres plowed into the large beast as one, knocking it off its' feet, but not seeming to do much damage. In the distance, she thought she heard someone scream, but ignored the feeling.

"Time Remaining for Limiter Release is two minutes." Raising Heart almost had an edgy sound in its' synthetic voice.

Meanwhile, Arika was fiddling with her ear piercing and the new gemstone. There were some remaining coral fragments she had to clear out, but then she managed to slide the Sapphire into place. It fit perfectly and she felt it click and lock into place. "I knew it!" Then she grabbed a stunned Mashiro's left hand and slid the other stone into that. "Perfect!"

Mashiro blinked a few more times. "Wait, what?" She looked down. "Oh no, you don't mean...Nanoha's handling it, right?" Then she saw the look in Arika's eyes. "Okay, okay. We need to form the contract. Arika, do you accept me as your Master?"

Arika nodded and declared in a definitive voice "I guess so."

"...that was unnecessary." Mashiro wasn't amused, but then she finished the ceremony. "Then please accept the power of the Otome." She leaned in and kissed Arika's ear as quickly as possible. Arika came forward and saw the monster starting to recover from the Divine Shooter.

"Materialize!"

The Robe that she got wasn't much like the Corals. While it still had the strange wrist-bands and ankle-bands, it was bright pink and white, with puffy sleeves and yellow highlights. A pair of stockings held up by garters, all solid and rather surprisingly well-armored, came up over the biker shorts that seemed melded into the rest of the outfit. Arika grinned and looked down. "Wow, I was right! This is so cool!"

"Arika!" Nanoha called down. "I need to go on the defensive! I'm not as strong as an Otome like this!" Arika nodded as Nanoha fell back to Earth gracefully and held up Raising Heart. Arika smirked and stepped forward. The creature swung in one of its' scythe-like arms, and Arika caught it with her bare hands. Nanoha grinned. "Dodge this! Divine Shooter!" More energy spheres impacted against the beast's hide, causing it to falter again, and Arika used the moment's weakness to toss it into the wall.

Nanoha could swear she heard screaming this time, but it wasn't anyone close and she couldn't move without leaving Mashiro unprotected.

Unfortunately for Mashiro, it suddenly looked like she might need protecting from Nanoha, as parts of the ceiling broke off where the beast had thrashed. One of these hit Arika in the head, and Mashiro screamed and fell to the ground, clutching hers. Arika looked over at Mashiro, her eyes wide, then looked back. "Mother, protect me!"

As if responding to Arika's call, a double-sword, made of blue crystal, appeared out of nowhere. She took it in her hands and leaped forward...suddenly taking off into the air. Nanoha cried out "Focus on where you want to go!" trying to match this experience with her own Flier Fin. It seemed to help, because after a wobbly start Arika was flying straight.

"Time Remaining for Limiter Release is forty-five seconds." Raising Heart managed to add a bit of urgency to the situation. Arika grinned. The crystal sword suddenly expanded, from being a practical weapon, to many times Arika's size, pointed straight at the beast. But Nanoha was really surprised when her Device said "Let's shoot it. Divine Buster!"

"But, Raising Heart, you said..." Nanoha looked uncertain.

"Trust me, my Master." Raising Heart sounded confident. "20 seconds remaining"

Arika's lance started to charge energy, and Nanoha pulled her weapon back. A little voice in Arika's ear said Bolt from the Blue countdown...3...2...1

At the same time, Nanoha shouted "Divine...BUSTER!" A single blast of energy, with a diameter greater than Nanoha's height, blasted out of Raising Heart. To Nanoha's shock, Raising Heart hadn't had her aim at the beast, but at Arika. The crystal absorbed the eldritch blast, and turned a deep purple color before Arika charged in a blur. The tell-tale signs of a very low-powered dimensional distortion appeared, and the Divine Buster reappeared, warping and twisting and canceling itself out in a maelstrom of power.

Which pretty much only left a very small part of the beast's center untouched. The rest dissolved messily.

Arika grinned and gave Nanoha a victory sign. Raising Heart decided to end the party. "Limiter Release has expired. Goodbye." The staff reverted back to its' necklace form and settled around Nanoha's neck, and her clothes returned to the working outfit she had had on before.

"Thank you, Raising Heart." Nanoha smiled, then turned to look at Mashiro.

"...okay, is someone going to answer my question?" Mashiro stared at Nanoha. "Child of the Old World? And that...that..."

"Raising Heart." Nanoha said. "She's my partner, a special Intelligent Device for channeling magic."

Arika grinned. "Oh, cool! Is that some kind of secret Otome thing?"

Mashrio turned even more pale and sat back down. "...magic? Nanoha...magic's impossible."

"Nyahaha..." Nanoha scratched the back of her head. "Well, I used to think that too, but..."

Mashiro groaned. "Why are you going to Garderobe if you can do something like that?"

Nanoha shrugged. No point in hiding it now. "Well, I was sent here to investigate things, like how Garderobe makes Otome, by the Time-Space Administration Bureau."

Arika chimed in with "Oh, that makes sense!" Mashiro looked at the pigtailed girl like she had just agreed that a Picasso looked normal. "Well, you were saying she can't be human yourself, so I thought..."

"...oh god, I've got to tell someone about this." Mashiro said.

Nanoha coughed. "Uhm, well, that might not be a good idea. You see, you know my secret...but I know yours too. Besides, it's not like I'm here to steal anything, just...watch, really."

Mashiro groaned and held her head in her hands.

The foreman had been on the wrong end of quite a bit of frustration that day. The Royal Guard had suddenly started poking around for some reason, and wouldn't tell him what was going on. Then three of his workers had disappeared. Finally, he grabbed someone. "Listen, have you seen Brown at all this afternoon? I gave him a letter and then he looked surprised and ran off."

"Nope." The young man replied, putting down a bag of cement mix. "Listen, boss, it's getting late, you know. How about letting us lock down and pack up for the night?"

"...yeah, fine." The foreman said. "Keep an eye out for the girls too. I sent them to check out a mouse-hole and they never got there."

"Will do boss!"

Brown never did turn up again. Later, when they tried to deliver his last paycheck, his house had been empty for days.

The adults had gathered back in the throne room. The golden twilight lit the room, casting long shadows over the throne. Aoi sighed. "It's hopeless, we've looked everywhere. They could have slipped down one of those new passages the construction's opened, but we'll never fit."

Sakomizu looked around at the assembled. "...Her Highness ordered the palace demolished anyway, right? Get the construction crew back here! I know I've given this order before, but I want this palace taken apart brick-by-brick until we find them! Literally, if necessary!"

Nagi smirked. "Now now, I'm sure that won't be necessary. They'll turn back up when they're good and ready." Inwardly, he was a little worried. If those two girls managed to get themselves killed there might be no one left alive who could do what he needed. He could adjust, but the hypocrisy of that approach would be awkward. Ah well.

Just then they heard four screams, three human and one distinctly feline. Everyone spun around, looking for the source, when the girls all slid down the chimney and into the fireplace, completely covered in soot. Mikoto landed on top, apparently none the worse for wear.

Nanoha looked up and giggled weakly. "Uhm...sorry to have worried everybody."

Nanoha and Arika were leaning against Mashiro's limo, the Queen herself leaning out slightly to keep her voice down. "All right you two. We have to keep this a secret or they really will kick us all out on our butts. I don't want to end up in the desert with you two."

Nanoha chuckled. "All right, Mashiro. I'll help out too."

Arika nodded. "Right...our job is to start looking through the Garderobe library to see if we can find a way to cancel our contracts, right?"

"Right." Mashiro did her best to sound imperious. "And I won't tolerate failure on this. Nanoha Takamachi, you too. I don't know what you are, but you can't afford to have your secret out either."

"Don't you think I know that?" Arika and Nanoha said at exactly the same time.

Mashiro's eyes crossed. "That's freaky. Quit it."

They stared at each other for a few moments, then giggled.

"So, the Harmonium has sounded once again." Natsuki sighed and shook her head. "To think, that it was hidden all this time under Fuuka castle..."

Shizuru smiled. "Well, that is the most obvious place, when you think about it."

"I suppose." Natsuki shook her head. "Those girls found it so easily. Maybe one of them really is..."

"HEADMASTER!" Yohko ran into the Headmaster's office and slammed down the reports. "I have more readings on that strange energy source I found!"

"..." Natsuki stared at the scientist. "And you had to come running all the way up here to tell me about this...why?"

"...Headmaster, this wasn't a small reaction in a lab. Take a look." The scientist set down several printouts in order. "Okay, this is where it starts. That's the Materialization reaction everybody heard. But then, five minutes later, I get a smaller one under the palace, about the same place. Then there's this new energy. I had the scanner's sensitivity to it set up extremely high, so you can see that whatever happened, it was way bigger than that card could generate. It even generated enough interference hat I almost missed this."

Another chart was placed down. "Materialization reaction, another one." She sighed. "Unfortunately, the log can't exactly say who, or which Gem, or anything of the sort. I'll work on cleaning it up, but..."

Natsuki glanced at Shizuru, then asked "Yohko, could it be Aswald?"

"No." Yohko said. "This was definitely a Meister Gem, I just don't know which one."

Natsuki just sighed. "Thank you Yohko. I'll..take this under advisement. In the meantime, this doesn't leave the room, understand?" The nurse nodded, gathered up her paper, and left. She looked at Shizuru levelly. "Never, ever ask me to do you another favor."

"You think that large energy surge was Nanoha?" Shizuru asked, and Natsuki nodded. "So Arika and Mashiro formed a contract."

"Probably." Natsuki said, looking out the window. "They seem to think they're successfully hiding it from us."

"We should probably cancel the contract." Shizuru's usual smile was nowhere to be found.

Natsuki shook her head. "I'd prefer to let this play out naturally, if we can. It's possible that that power-surge was some of the other ancient machines below that castle."

"So...you think Nanoha might be..." Shizuru put a hand on Natsuki's shoulder.

Natsuki sighed. "I don't know...but she might be, and that's close enough."

"All right. I'll trust you on this." Shizuru smiled. "But just in case, I'll see if I can't get it out of them subtly."

"Please."

"Nanoha!" Fate stared at her partner, completely incredulous. "Were you not paying attention during all the briefings? The training?" She paced back and forth, while Nanoha winced at each step.

"Fate, I had to. We were all in trouble. It was another one of those monsters, and we couldn't defend against it."

Fate sighed. "Nanoha, I know you did what you thought you had to do, I can't really argue that. But you're sure you can trust that ditzy girl and the bratty queen?"

Nanoha bit her lip, but nodded. "They won't tell until we're ready to talk." She glanced at the door and bit her lip. "Fate, I don't think this is a simple undercover mission anymore. Something's going on, and this school is right in the middle of it. I know what our orders were, but..."

Fate looked out the window. "Nanoha, I don't want you to take sides in this." Nanoha looked like she might speak up. "Let me finish. As far as the mission goes, this one is mine. You're right, this has gotten way beyond an 'integrate and observe' mission. But your goal right now should be to keep up with your studies and grades. Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground. I'm going to try to figure out which side we should be supporting. If I get caught, I'll get kicked out of school, but then you can deny all knowledge and stay."

Nanoha bit her lip, then nodded. "All right...but if what I did does get out..."

Fate thought for a moment. "I have an idea. When that happens, follow my lead, okay?"

Nanoha considered for a moment, then said "Okay, Fate. I guess you're in charge."

The Hall of the Shinso was a huge monument. Shaped like a fan, the building itself served as the central landmark of life at Garderobe Academy. It was tall enough to be seen from anywhere in the school, so it could be used to figure out where one was going. Many important ceremonies, including the welcoming of the new students each year, was held in front of it.

And right now, Arika and Nanoha had been tasked with cleaning the ground floor.

A cavernous room, the Hall had only two major features. Posted on one of the walls, in very dim lighting, was a portrait, at least two stories tall, of a pink-haired woman dressed in a formal Otome uniform. The other was a golden portal on the floor with no hints as to how it might be opened, a locked gateway that a simple inscription said was the Tomb of the Shinso.

Arika and Nanoha had gotten heartily sick of the dreary place, being forced to clean it for the second time in a month, with nothing more than push-brooms.

"Geez, just because we skipped out on a couple of Mai-Battle practices..." Arika moaned, not for the first time.

Nanoha laughed a bit more. "We can't help it, Arika. As long as you've got that gem stuck in your earring we can't get them replaced..."

Arika grinned. "Well, we've just gotta get done with this, right? Let's GO!" Before Nanoha could stop her, Arika was off like a rocket, running up and down the Hall with her push-broom ahead of her. Nanoha had to jump out of the way as Arika screamed past several times, doing about an hour's work in five minutes. Unfortunately, afterwards, just as Nanoha predicted, Arika fell over.

"Arika." Nanoha knelt down next to her after gently sweeping up the remains. "You can't do that, if you push it too hard you'll just end up like this."

"...right." Arika finally got her breath back.

"Arika Yumemiya! Nanoha Takamachi. Who said you could take a break?" A voice called from the Hall's entrance. The two girls froze and slowly turned their heads towards a figure silhouetted by sunlight. Arika gulped nervously before their eyes adjusted...revealing it was just Irina. Standing a little ways out was Erstin, carrying a picnic basket, Fate setting up a blanket on the stairs behind them, and Nina with her head turned away like she really didn't want to be there.

"Hi guys." Nanoha smiled. "I was getting a little hungry, and I think Arika's tired out."

Fate smiled. "They're just sandwiches. Erstin and I made them..."

"Oh, sandwiches are fine. We can't rest for too long, this is a big job." Nanoha's grin was still threatening to split her face. They all sat down to eat, and went into idle chit-chat for awhile. As soon as the conversation turned to Queen Mashiro, though, Nina became lost in thought.

Nanoha Takamachi...Arika Yumemiya. One of you made a contract with Queen Mashiro using the Azure Sky Saphire. The other is hiding it. I know that much, because Father told me to. I just have to find out what's going on.

"...Nanoha." She said quietly. Nanoha blinked and made a little 'eh' sound. "...no, nevermind." ...what the? Why didn't I just say it? An image came to her mind of her father's photographs, of the original Azure Sky Saphire.

"Oh well." Nanoha smiled. "We have to get back to work. Come on Arika."

Arika and Nanoha turned to go into the Hall again when Irina grinned. "Hold it right there you two! I brought you a present!

"Oh, wow! Is it dessert!" Arika grinned and bounced.

Irina tched and waggled a finger at the hyper girl. "Even better! It's just around the wall...come on." She led the crew to where a giant contraption had been set up. It reminded Nanoha of a combination between a giant vacuum cleaner and street sweeper machine, all bright pink with a giant hose connecting the two sections.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Arika grinned and bounced some more. "Did you make it?"

"Oh, this is nothing!" Irina bragged. "I just had to scour all the city junk shops, plus swipe - I mean borrow a few things from Nurse Yohko's lab, plus that book Irina loaned me, to make this Mister Cleaner Mark 1!" Fate edged away, wondering when the Mad Scientist Cackle was going to start up. "Switch ON!" Irina pulled a dead-man switch from nowhere and held down the button.

The contraption came to life with an awful racket. The brushes started spinning, and the girls could feel the vacuum tugging at the edges of their skirts. The device began to roll gently forward, but that was when the whole thing fell apart, literally collapsing into a pile of spare parts. A little trail of smoke came out the top. Arika grinned excitedly and grabbed onto Irina to hug and shake her. "Wow! It moves and even billows out smoke! What happens next huhuhuh?"

Irina fell to the ground. "...it looks like the design needs some work..."

Nanoha winced and tried to pick her up. "You didn't have to put all that work just into helping us."

"Well, it wasn't just you..." Irina recovered, but she still looked despondent. "I was really hoping to show that off for the technology presentation exam."

"Oh, that's right." Erstin bit her lip. "Exams are coming up soon."

"Arika. Nanoha. You'll need to get studying." Nina sniffed, trying to affect a lack of concern. "You especially Arika, still being at 51 after a whole semester."

Arika gulped. "I'll...I'll get by somehow."

Arika and Nanoha sat across from each other, with mountains of books on either side. It was slow going through the incredibly dense texts for the pair, with 'scientific' terms that had both frequently reaching for the dictionary. Finally, Arika couldn't take any more.

"There's nothing here on cancelling a contract!"

Nanoha's jaw dropped and she leaned across the table. "Arika, don't say that out loud. We have to keep this quiet!" she hissed.

"Keep what quiet?" Shizuru appeared right over Nanoha's shoulder.

"Nyahahaha..." Nanoha thought fast. "Uhm, we're working together on our exam project...don't want the others to overhear."

Shizuru smiled and sat down. "That's good to hear. Do you need some help?"

The next three hours were sheer torture as Nanoha realized just how far behind their latest hijinx had gotten her. Shizuru quickly steered them away from their main line of research and into all sorts of topics. The only solace offered was that Arika seemed even worse off, but that was to be expected.

"So, did you two hear that awful racket from the palace?" Shizuru suddenly interrupted Nanoha's thoughts. And then Arika did what Arika can be expected to do.

"No oneesama. I didn't hear that organ sound or anythi-MPHLE!" Arika's eyes went wide as Nanoha reached across the table to clamp her hands over the other girl's mouth.

Shizuru smiled. "Is...that so." She paused. "Nanoha, your dress..."

Nanoha blushed and realized that the Garderobe uniforms were really too short for this kind of thing as she shot back down into her chair.

None of them noticed a pair of lavender eyes watering as they watched the trio.

"Oh, it's no problem at all." Erstin accepted the book from Irina. "The book belongs to my father, I'm sure he'd be happy to know it's being put to good use."

"Still." Irina practically beamed. "To be allowed to read such a rare book on artificial intelligences and mechanics..." She paused. "Hey, where's Arika? It's getting really close to lights-out. If she's not back soon."

"Yeah. She said she had something to do, that's really weird." Erstin bit her lip.

Nina glanced idly at the window.

Nanoha glanced over her shoulder. "Arika, are you sure that the call said to meet you here, now?" Arika nodded. "And you're sure you should be doing this?" Another nod. "...all right." Then she heard a noise. "Arika, down!" She tried a round-house kick as a shadow came up from nowhere. She was flat out surprised when the shadow grabbed her ankle and lifted her up to toss her at the Hall of the Shinso.

"Stop!" Arika cried out. "Miyu, Stop! Geez, you scared me."

"...Arika. I'm glad to see you." The white-haired, red-eyed woman peered out from beneath her wide-brimmed hat. She gently set Nanoha down without another word. "A friend of yours?"

"Yep!" Arika chirped as Nanoha dusted herself off.

"Nanoha Takamachi," the other girl introduced herself. "Wow, you're fast."

"It's only to be expected." Miyu's soft smile only barely flickered, apparently having decided that an explicit friend of Arika's could be tolerated. "How have you been, Arika?"

"Great!" Arika was still her usual, excited self. "But how did you know I was here?"

"If it's about you," Miyu tilted her head. "I know. How is your grandmother?"

"...she died, about six months after you last visited." Arika sat down on a nearby bench with a small frown.

"Oh...I'm sorry." Miyu put a hand on Arika's shoulder.

Nanoha coughed, deciding to change the subject. "Uhm...Arika, who's your friend?"

"I am Miyu," She introduced herself. "Are you both doing well at school?"

"Well, yeah, it's fun...but there's this problem." Arika pulled the tape off her ear, revealing the bright blue gem mounted within.

"ARIKA! NANOHA! What are you two doing?" Mashiro stormed up to the others, coming seemingly from out of nowhere until everyone shushed her. "Geez, we're trying to keep this a secret, and you go spilling this to some vagabond. What a pair of idi-" Mashiro slowly trailed off, as she realized someone had dared put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Do not insult Arika any further." Miyu's statement was short and to the point, and her soft smile had once again hardened into an emotionless mask.

So of course Mashiro ignored it. "But she's..." Nanoha put another hand on the other shoulder and shook her head.

"Mashiro, I don't think you should provoke her." Nanoha said worriedly. Mashiro gulped and nodded.

"...those Gems are the problem, yes?" Miyu was suddenly smiling again. Arika nodded. "Let me try." She leaned in and fiddled with the piercing. Nanoha blinked as she detected the faint workings of a spell herself, and then the Gem popped out.

"Whew...thank you...WOAH! We tried everything to get them out, soap and pliers and Nanoha wanted to bash my head with a hammer but I'm pretty sure she was kidding..." Arika babbled.

"Hey, try me!" Mashiro pulled the tape off her ring finger to reveal the control Gem mounted in it.

"Go ahead, Miyu!" Arika grinned, saving Nanoha from a grisly fate without realizing.

Miyu leaned in. "Of course, Arika." Within moments, the second Gem had popped out.

"...wow...hey, Arika, you know what this means!" Mashiro grinned sadistically at Nanoha, who was looking distinctly nervous.

Arika was oblivious to the impending doom. "We're free from this contract."

"I'm sorry." Miyu said. "I'm afraid that's incorrect."

"...whew." Nanoha looked relieved while the other two stared at Miyu.

"...I've been told that, even if the Gem is removed, the contract remains etched into it. If the contract is also an issue, why don't you formally ask the school?"

"We would if we could." Arika was despondent, but Miyu just smiled again.

"If that is the case, there is one other thing I can think of. Beneath the Hall of the Shinso is supposed to be a library of lost lore. The answer you seek might be there."

Arika grinned. "Wow, I knew you'd think of something. Thanks Miyu!"

Miyu's smile never wavered. "Now, I believe you three have a curfew...Nanoha, I would speak to you for a moment longer."

"...me?" Nanoha pointed at herself. The others blinked. "Uhm...yeah, you two should get going. I'll be fine." Arika and Mashiro looked uncertain, but quickly departed in different directions.

Once both had gotten a good distance away, Miyu's expression became blank. "Child of the Old World, I would know what brings you here after all this time. What are your intentions for this world, and for Arika?"

"..." Nanoha stared for a minute. "You're the second person to call me that, Miyu. What does it mean?"

Miyu contemplated this information for a moment. "On the Old World that the people of Earl are descended from, there were many with your power. This world was once meant to be a haven from the great wars that threatened to rip all of creation apart, but one day the Magic that was used to create a paradise became a tool for war again. For almost a thousand years, however, the sanctity of the world has been respected. So I ask again, Nanoha Takamachi, why are you here now?"

"...Miyu, you've made a mistake. I'm certainly not from this 'Old World' and even if I were, I haven't heard anything about this. I'm with someone else, and we don't know anything about this place. I'm just here to investigate, that's all."

"...and Arika?" Miyu asked again.

"She's a good friend. I hated having to lie about her, but she knows about most of it." Nanoha sighed.

Miyu paused again, then finally said "Very well. I warn you, Nanoha, to ensure that your mission remains to 'observe.' Many things exist on this world that are better forgotten. Do not awaken them."

In the meantime, another clandestine meeting was going on in the Rorschach Bar. Nagi dai Artai wasn't in his usual attire, but a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, with mirror-shades. He looked like a tourist kid trying to pick up locals. He glanced back over his shoulder, then walked right up the bar and flicked a letter across it.

"I take it you're the man who sent me this little love letter?" He smiled a bit and peered over the top of his glasses. The man nodded. "I have to admit I was really surprised to hear from you after all these years...Mr. John Smith. I thought it would tell me to pick up a Slave and fight."

"You're right. For most people, that's exactly what it says. In a way, though, is yours really that different, Archduke?" The blond man grinned. "The time just wasn't right in your father's time to pursue our...partnership, but the various gifts we've made over the years should prove our sincerity."

"I suppose that's true." Nagi grinned at Smith. "I'm guessing now you want me to return the favor? I can't exactly be caught with the illegal technology you people deal in."

Smith leaned forward. "Well, yes, that's exactly what we want, but we just want your help, you don't have to touch it yourself."

Nagi smirked. "I see...if we're going to do this, though, I'm going to want to account for two new variables."

"Of course." Smith nodded. "Don't worry, I'm already working on a little something that'll fit the bill."

In the background, only one person took notice of this. He swallowed his drink, left a tip on his table, and left.

"You want to do WHAT?" Nina stared at the pair.

"Why are you two so eager to break the rules again?" Irina stared at Arika and Nanoha as well, jaw dropped on the ground. They were standing in front of the Hall of the Shinso again, and the sun was shining down on them. "I mean, geez..."

"Well...I haven't really forgotten about why I came to this school originally." Arika said. "My mother was a famous Otome, but I don't know which one, and there's supposed to be a lot of information about her in the library, so I thought."

"...and you, Nanoha?" Nina stared at her, hard.

"...really, I just want to help Arika out." Nanoha said.

Fate glanced at her, then said. "I'll go too. We promise not to touch anything." Nina blinked, but seemed mollified by that.

Irina grinned. "Well then, I'd better go along too. It's not as if I haven't wanted to get into the Forbidden Library before!"

Erstin spoke up softly "I guess I'll go too."

"Great." Arika bounced. "But how do we get in."

Nina frowned. "I hate to do this, but I have a way. It'll cost us, but I can manage."

That night, six girls snuck across campus, well after lights-out. They quietly entered the Hall of the Shinso, none of them saying a word until the door was closed behind them.

"My source should be here any minute...but first." She glanced at Arika. "Will you take that thing off?"

"But Grandma always said this is how people who sneak into places they don't belong should dress." She had on a T-shirt she had tied over her head and around her nose.

"Knock it off, you look like a moron." Nina countered. Arika pouted, but complied.

"Well, as amusing as this is..." Nao stepped out of the shadows. "Let's get started." She led the Corals over to the door into the cellar and slotted an oddly-shaped key into the latch mechanism. "Now remember, you all promised to help me out with my job if I did this for you." Nina blushed, but everybody else nodded. "Now...there was an extra step last time I was down here..."

Arika grinned and put a finger on the door. "Open...sardine!" Everyone stared at the poor girl, who giggled nervously, when suddenly it started to open.

"...with 'sardine'?" Nao shrugged. "Okay..."

Everyone decided it was probably better to ignore this little event and instead walk down the stairs. The next room, while dark and foreboding, was still quite obviously an extension of the Garderobe library. Books upon books lined the walls, and Irina nearly had to be restrained from simply stealing them all. Nobody said a word as they crept through the room, looking for some kind of way to organize it, until Arika stepped into the center.

Suddenly, the floor lit up from underneath them and symbols started running across the floor. Nanoha and Fate felt their devices suddenly grow warm as they tried to process all the data. "Wh..what is this!" Nina shouted.

"It's a databank!" Irina answered. "It's how they stored knowledge in the Immigration Era. You need a password or something to access it."

Arika stared, but apparently having not received the password it wanted, it abruptly shut down. Everyone looked to Nao.

"You're expecting far too much from me. I don't know how to bring it back or what the password is."

"What's in there?" Irina pointed at a doorway. Looking at each other, they shrugged and went to find out. The next room was dominated by identical crystal monoliths in a circle. Fate paused, then quietly bowed formally and started backing away. Nanoha blinked and recognized the gesture, and followed suit. Arika stared at the both of them. "What, you know what these are?"

Fate swallowed. "I know why we're not supposed to be down here. We shouldn't disturb them."

"Indeed." A new voice called out. "You girls have really done it this time." Miss Maria swept in and over to one particular crystal. "Monica-oneesama. I'm dreadfully sorry that these girls have disturbed your sleep."

"I'm sorry, Miss Maria." Fate gulped. "We didn't know."

"The ignorance of some of you is forgivable. The others...this was my beloved upperclassman. She was graceful, noble, and pure. Thirty years ago..."

"...the war of the Dragon King." Nina said, in awe.

"Indeed. At that time the world was not as peaceful as it is today." Miss Maria stood up. "There wasn't time for school. One by one, Otome were plucked from classes, and made Meisters. Then they...performed their duty for their Master."

Irina gulped. "You mean they fought each other. Not Mai-Battles, for real."

"Indeed." Miss Maria glanced over at them. "I want you all to learn this lesson well, girls. Sometimes, the world does not give us the luxury of friendship. When battle comes, even the best of friends may become bitter enemies at the order of their Master!"

Arika frowned. "Why didn't they just refuse the order?"

Miss Maria stared at her. "Don't be silly. That's not even possible."

At that moment, Fate Testarosa Harlaown felt something deep inside of her snap. Some of the things she had seen since coming to this insane school have given her hope that maybe, just maybe, things weren't as bad as she had thought. That some shred of decency and sanity might remain in this beautiful place.

Fate had known anger, sadness, and disappointment in her life. She had known of the desperate joy of pleasing the one person that mattered, and the pain that came from disappointing them. She had seen how twisted these things could become, too. But until that moment, she had never truly known how to loathe another person.

At another time, in another place, she would likely have called her Barrier Jacket and buried the old woman, the Columns who ran the school, and continued her rampage until nothing was left but smoking rubble. But, unfortunately for the school, she kept her loathing in check. The only one who sensed anything was wrong was Nanoha, who gently put a hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed. That's right...Nanoha needs this school, for now.

Oblivious to the doom she had just created, Miss Maria continued. "I want you all to know this, because one day, it may be your turn. Are you prepared to fight your best friends, if necessary?"

"I don't want that." Arika announced.

"..then leave this school tonight." Miss Maria said simply.

"...when I become an Otome, all I have to do is make sure there are no wars." Arika grinned. "Then there won't be any need to fight."

Miss Maria shook her head. "It would be nice if you could make it happen. Now come...we've lingered far too long. Apologize to your predecessors and we'll make our exit...Arika! Nanoha!" She spotted something. "You are being very disrespectful! Remove those at once!" She reached out and ripped the tape off the two girls' ears revealing the empty ear studs.

"...Nyahahahaha." Nanoha laughed nervously.

In their Robes, every girl who had been caught in the tomb save for Nao (who had somehow vanished in the confusion) was strung up with mops and brooms to clean the sides.

Erstin shook her head. "I hear it's been four years since anyone was assigned this punishment."

Arika smiled. "Well, it's kinda fun. And at least I got a new Coral Gem."

"ARIKA! NANOHA!" Mashiro screamed up at them suddenly from the ground. "I really got in trouble over your telling them!"

"Yeah, well, your fault too! We had to do something about the smashed gems!" Arika stuck her tongue out, then said "If I was stuck with her for a Master, my friends would be more important to me!"

"Please, keep believing that Arika." Nanoha smiled. "Nothing is more important than friends."

Fate kept oddly quiet.

That night, in the lobby, Fate put two coins into the phone and called up a certain hotel. As the phone rang, she carefully schooled her thoughts. I can't just act openly about this...Fate, don't kid yourself. They've been relying on this school to keep a bunch of large egos in check for three centuries. There's nothing you can do quickly to fix this.

But I know what the real problem is. Their 'ancient technology' has been sealed and most people leave it alone out of superstition, but I know it's perfectly safe if used responsibly. The real goal isn't to get rid of Otome, they're just a symptom. I have to open the technology. But with their attitudes towards it, there's only one person I've met so far who even has a plan. I don't like this, but. . .

Just then, the phone was picked up. "Operator, Windbloom Hotel."

Fate sighed. "Please put me through to the penthouse suite." A few moments, then she heard a click. "Nagi...I can't tell you everything, and I know you won't trust me fully...but I've made my decision. Tell me what you needed done, and I'll consider it."

End of Chapter 6

Author's Notes: Well, another week, another two episodes or so. I end up writers blocked on the strangest things. This time it was the little picnic out in front of the Hall.

Anyway, next up should be the wilderness hike. Life's a beach...and then SOMEONE DIES. Okay, probably not, it's a little too early to kill people for no good reason. Reviews, comments, and gifts are welcome. Flames...take it somewhere else.

Incidentally, I haven't fully decided on pairings for the wilderness hike yet. If anyone has any requests, you have until midnight EST on 7/15/2009 to drop a PM or review with your requests. The only thing I won't be doing is putting Nanoha and Fate in a tent together.