Lyrics of Sorrow: Assault

By Lonewolf218

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or Nanoha: A's, please do not sue.

Chapter 1: A Rising Storm

The city of Tokyo is widely considered one of the greatest cities of the modern world. A central hub of technology and culture, it is home to almost fifteen million people, and thus even in the dark of night it is a whirl of activity.

Of course, when you're trapped inside a strange barrier that seems to have erased all those millions of people from existence, you're likely to have bigger problems than trying to figure out what had happened; especially when you're being chased by a blur of red with a hammer.

Tadao Nagano panted as he dodged another explosion from the perusing blur, ducking into another empty building. "Damndamndamndamndamn!" he hissed, sprinting and slamming through a door in the back of the dark, empty café just as the window behind him shattered, announcing his relentless hunter's entrance. "Who the hell is this guy?!"

A week ago, Tadao and one of his coworkers at the Special Investigation Division had been assigned a new task: to investigate a series of attacks that had been occurring throughout Japan. When he'd started working on the job, he'd never imagined that he'd get a first-hand look at what had happened to those people, but more and more he was becoming convinced that that was what was happening.

He had just gotten off the bus and been making his way towards the apartment building he called home, minding his own business, when a wave of strange… stuff swept towards him. Being magically inclined, he'd instantly recognized its nature, but before he could even think to defend himself it had flashed past. At first, he had thought it hadn't done anything, but then he looked around he realized there were no people, all the lights were off, and the formerly bustling city of his birth was a creepy ghost town out of a horror movie.

Then, of course, the blur of red had fallen from the sky. Tadao was one of the better trained battle practitioners at the SID, so rather than being flattened outright he was able to throw himself into a sideways roll and bring up a shield to protect himself from the worst of the debris as the attacker slammed into the ground hard enough to crater it. Still, the suddenness and power of the attack placed the threat as well beyond what he was comfortable with facing alone. Therefore, he hadn't bothered asking questions and had started running.

Cursing again, he slipped through another door at the back of the cafe, slamming it closed and using his magic to yank a nearby trash bin over to block the door, at least for a moment. Then, as he started running again, he yanked out his phone. He didn't imagine that he'd be able to call for help; if the strange barrier could prevent people from seeing all this it likely could stop phone calls, he wanted to make a record… in case he didn't remember or didn't survive the attack.

"This is Tadao Nagano," he hissed as he kept running. "I am under attack by an unknown assailant, believed to be involved in the case I am working. If anyone from the Division finds this recording, be advised that..."

The rest of Tadao's desperate report was cut off as one of the attacker's homing bullets slammed into him, his suit's defenses barely enough to keep it from breaking bones. Still, he was knocked into another of the trashcans that lined the dirty alley he was running down. Before he could climb to his feet, the red blur arrived, and he finally got a good look at his pursuer.

"A… little girl?" he gasped, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. The child was short and wore a frilly red dress with a black hem, a few shades darker than her orange-red hair. She also wore a hat, the same deep red as her dress, with a disturbing motif of a rabbit with crossed out eyes sewn on one side. In one hand, she carried a futuristic-looking croquet mallet with a spike on the end, which she raised to point at him.

"Give it up," she snarled, her tone not childlike at all. "Just close your eyes and I'll make this quick."

Humans, like all other living creatures on the Earth, had a fight or flight reflex. Tadao had been following the latter part of that reflex since the moment the girl had first arrived, but now that he realized he wouldn't be able to outrun her, the first part took precedent. He may not have been as powerful as some people he knew of, but he was a trained magical combatant.

Thrusting a hand forward, he launched a ray of brilliant light at his attacker. Her blue eyes widened, clearly not expecting him to still have the strength or courage to resist, and her dodge was a half second too slow. The attack, which should have hit her in the head and knocked her out, only clipped her right temple as she jerked to the left, knocking the hat off her head and into an open bin. Tadao used the distraction to roll to his feet and prepare another shield, waiting for the inevitable counterattack.

A long, tense silence filled the air as the girl stared in stunned horror at the hat, which was smoking slightly as it lay atop a trash heap. Slowly, however, she turned towards him, and Tadao recoiled at the look of hate in her eyes.

Before, whatever reason she might have had for attacking him had been business. Now, however, it was personal.

"GRAF EISEN!" she shrieked, raising her mallet.

"Raketenform!" a mechanical voice said as the small sphere that connected the two heads of the mallet flashed. Before Tadao could come to terms with the fact that the hammer had just spoken, the portion just below the hammer's heads opened up, and a sharp explosion ejected something that looked like a bullet casing, which smoked as it clattered to the ground against a nearby wall.

Most of Tadao's attention, however, was fixed on the hammer itself. Red light flared over its head, lengthening and sharpening one end while widening the other. As the light cleared in a blinding flash, the former mallet was replaced on one side with a sharp, golden spike, and the other seemed to have some sort of engine, which lit a moment later. Stumbling back, Tadao threw everything he had into his shield as the furious girl rocketed forward, murder in her eyes.

For all the good his defense did, he might as well have held up a sheet of tissue paper.

He expected the spike to drive itself into his chest as it smashed through his shield, rending flesh and shattering bone as it killed him. However, instead all it did was launch him backwards into the wall hard enough to see stars.

After that, everything was fuzzy. He distantly noticed the girl rushing over and grabbing the hat, dusting it off and somehow repairing the bit of damage he had done before putting it carefully back on her head. After that, she returned to stand over him. Glancing down, she saw the phone he had dropped and snorted before lifting one booted foot and bringing her heel down on the device, thoroughly grinding the delicate electronics into the concrete.

The last thing Tadao saw before he finally blacked out was some sort of book appearing from the darkness over her raised hand.

Nine hours later, as the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, a peaceful stillness existed around he Hakuba Shrine that rested in the hills above the city. Most of the residents were just beginning to stir to wakefulness, and thus wouldn't be up for some time yet. However, two people were already fully awake and waiting at the gate.

The first huffed, tapping her foot on the path. "He's late again," she muttered. At first glance, she appeared to be an average young girl; visibly unique only for her relatively long, bright orange-brown hair in a country where black was the norm. However, a closer look would reveal that some of that orange was not actually hair, but a pair of wolf ears. A moment later, she shifted her weight as she put her hands on her hips, swishing a fluffy orange tail.

Laughing quietly, the other girl reached out and scratched her dear friend behind the ear. "You're so impatient, Arf," she giggled, her striking red eyes flashing with warm mirth as she used her other hand to brush a lock of blonde hair, long enough to reach to her waist, out of her face. "He'll be here."

"He'd better be." Arf snorted, though a smile crossed her face as she leaned into the other girl's scratching. "You'd think he'd be more punctual, though."

Before the blonde could answer, the air not far outside the gate shifted, a swirling pool of darkness forming. A few seconds later, a tall figure stepped out, his white coat and hair waving in the wind of his teleportation. After a moment of reorienting himself, he smiled and made his way over. "Fate, Arf," he said, "how are you doing this morning?"

Arf rolled her eyes. "You're late again, Soma," she said.

Soma laughed. "I'm so glad you're well," he said, slipping through the gate and into the shrine proper, suppressing a slight shudder as the wards once more reminded him that, while they would still let him in, they didn't like him in the slightest. "How about you, Fate?"

The girl smiled warmly. "I'm doing well, thank you," she said.

Soma smiled back. Fate had thrived over the past six months of living with the Hakubas. Gone was the constantly nervous girl, desperate to earn affection from someone who hated everything about her. She was still quiet, but she smiled now. "That's great," Soma said. "So, are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah!" the two girls said, falling into step with Soma as he made his way into the shrine's garden.

Although both Fate and Nanoha were free to live peaceful lives now, neither of them had wanted to give up their magic. For Nanoha, it was a reminder of all the good that could be done when someone followed their dreams and refused to surrender to despair. It held similar meaning for Fate, but privately Soma thought the biggest reason that she dedicated herself to it so much was because she knew how much magic meant to Nanoha, and she didn't want to be left behind by the brunette.

Arikado had agreed that, rather than attempting to stop the girls from learning or leaving them to fumble on their own, they should have a real education, and Soma and Yoko had been happy to agree. Thus, on days where the various requirements of school, work, and general life allowed, the older practitioners would meet with the girls and help them hone their natural talent. Because of the fact that she lived with the Hakubas, Soma had found himself gravitating more towards training Fate; though he would still visit Nanoha when he could.

Soma shook himself slightly as the trio arrived at the courtyard that they used for the training, and Soma reached into his bigger-on-the-inside pocket to pull out the main tools for the day's lesson: a hundred tennis balls in containers. "You remember what we were talking about last time, right?" he asked as he set the containers on the ground in the center of the courtyard.

The two girls nodded and Fate answered. "You were discussing the importance of absolute spatial awareness while casting magic," she said. "How it can not only help you during battle: to avoid hitting friends, but also pick out unexpected enemy reinforcements. Besides, in everyday life, it can avoid embarrassing collisions."

"Very good," Soma said, fishing four final objects out of his pocket: a pair of thick black strips of cloth and two sets of earmuffs. "Now, here is how this is going to work. You're going to put these on, both of you, and stand here in the center of the courtyard." The two girls quickly moved forward and took the offered items. "I'll be teleporting around the area. You'll be able to detect me by my magic, and you'll take those tennis balls and throw them at me as soon as I appear."

Arf nodded and bared her teeth. "Seems simple enough," she said. "Let's go!"

Soma, however, was not quite finished yet. "For the first few goes, I'll let you keep Bardiche, Fate," he said. "But once you've gotten some practice, you'll have to start working without his help." The blonde girl nodded as she adjusted her blindfold before putting her earmuffs on.

'Alright everyone,' Soma thought, using his telepathy to speak not only to Fate and Arf, but the various souls that lived within him. 'Let's go!' With that, he vanished in a rush.

Soma genuinely enjoyed training with Fate and Nanoha, but there was another reason he did it. Six months ago, within Castlevania, he had fully accepted his own dark powers, vowing to use them to protect humanity rather than destroy it. Therefore, this training was also giving him a chance to gain a greater control over his own new strengths. One of these was a major boost to his ability to teleport. From what Julius Belmont had told him, this had always been one of Dracula's greatest advantages, but it had been one that Soma often struggled with. Now, he could relatively easily cross the distance from downtown Tokyo up to Hakuba shrine in a single jump, though it would leave him winded and disoriented for a time. However, for the relatively short jumps around the courtyard, he could now last for ages with only minimal strain. Of course, if he had also been using his souls in battle, it would have taken a larger toll on him, but it was still an improvement.

As he began the training, he was once again impressed by just how good Fate was at what she put her mind too. Even though she and Arf missed the first few throws, it was clear they knew exactly where he was, and by the tenth attempt Soma actually caught one of the tennis balls without having to reach. With that, he called a halt and had Fate stop using Bardiche. There was some decrease in accuracy, but the girl never lost track of him even as he picked up speed. At this rate, Soma would be able to move on to the second part of the exercise today, something he thought would have to wait until next time.

An hour or so into the practice, someone else entered the courtyard: Mina Hakuba, the daughter of the shrine owners, Fate's adopted older sister, and Soma's beloved. She smiled warmly as she leaned against the archway into the courtyard, silently watching her sisters twirl gracefully, lobbing tennis balls at Soma.

After the last of the hundred balls was thrown, Soma called for a halt after making sure he was on the opposite side of the courtyard from Mina. "Alright, great job," he said. "You both did really well." Catching his hint, Mina stifled a giggle before silently making her way forward. "Although…"

"Although what?" Fate asked, a hint of her old nervousness breaking through.

Soma smiled as Arf's eyes widened just before Mina wrapped her arms around the pair from behind. "Even after the test itself is finished," she said sweetly. "You still have to be careful, to make sure your sister isn't sneaking up on you."

Fate's cheeks reddened. "Oh… good morning, Sister," she squeaked.

The white-haired man couldn't help but laugh a bit. All of the Hakubas loved Fate and Arf, but Mina especially went out of her way to shower the girls with affection. She had confided in him that she had always wanted younger siblings, and it showed. Watching Mina, Soma couldn't help but think she'd make a wonderful mother some day. Of course, that line of thought led to several other lines of thought that he had been considering recently… His eyes moved towards the shrine building proper, wondering if…

Suddenly, a buzz came from Soma's pocket, interrupting his thoughts. He pulled the phone out, thinking that it was probably Yoko or Nanoha; today was one of the days where all four were practicing at the same time. His shoulders tensed, however, when he saw Arikado's name: the head of the SI Division knew that he was with Fate today. The dhampire was generally far to busy to get personally involved in the training… but he also wouldn't call unless it was important.

"Soma?" Mina asked, and as he looked up he realized that all three of the girls were staring at him. "Is it bad?"

The phone rang again. "I'm not sure," he said warily, pressing the button to answer the call. "Arikado?"

"I'm sorry, Soma," the dhampir said, his voice grim. "I know today's an important day for you, but your help is needed. I'm going to have to ask you to return immediately."

A flash of annoyance filled Soma, but he forced it down: Arikado knew what he was doing. "I'll be right there," he said.

Arikado's voice softened a bit. "I truly am sorry, Soma. I'll see you there." With that, he hung up.

Soma slowly put the phone away, wryly remembering a very similar conversation he'd had with his boss six months ago. "Do you have to go?" Fate asked sadly.

"Yeah," Soma said.

Arf huffed before shrugging. "Well, you'd better get going; I doubt he'll wait forever." Everyone glanced at her, causing the wolf-girl to roll her eyes. "What? You think I don't get it that sometimes you'll have to be somewhere else? Please, as long as you're better to Fate than her, I'll be perfectly happy, no matter how much I needle you for being late all the time."

"I'm not late all the time," Soma said, grinning despite himself. Both Arf and Fate had grown so much these past six months. "But you're right, I'll see you all later."

Mina nodded before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Soma. "Just be careful, alright?" she whispered in his ear before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I will, Mina," Soma said, returning the embrace for a long moment and pressing his forehead to hers before nodding again to the younger girls and making his way out of the shrine. Once outside the wards that sealed much of his power, Soma closed his eyes and marked a specific point, far away in downtown Tokyo, in his minds eye. 'Alright, everyone,' he thought to the souls. 'Brace yourselves, we're on our way.' A moment later, Soma's coat flapped in an invisible wind before his body turned to shadows and vanished.

He arrived a second later in a small gated alleyway just across the street from the Special Investigation Division's building, since the building itself was warded and fortified to prevent direct teleportation. Blinking the disorientation out of his eyes, Soma quickly left the alley and made his way over to the building. His steps slowed, however, as he realized that Arikado was already standing outside the building along with another man. 'This must be truly urgent if he's in this much of a hurry,' Soma thought grimly as he made his way over.

"Thank you for coming so promptly, Soma," Arikado said. "This is Kumamoto Ryota, and you'll be working with him on a case. I'll leave the two of you to discuss the details." With that, the leader of the Division spun around and walked back inside, leaving Soma with Ryota.

The man, an average looking Japanese male in his mid forties, held out a hand. "It's an honor to meet you in person, Agent Cruz," he said. "Although I wish it could have been under better circumstances."

Soma's eyes narrowed as he took the offered hand. "Is someone hurt?" he asked warily.

Ryota sighed, jerking his head towards the building's parking lot. "We should get going." Soma nodded and fell into step next to the man. A moment later, he continued. "To answer your question, yes: my partner, Nagano Tadao." Soma's hand twitched: he never dealt well with agents getting hurt. "You've heard about the recent rash of muggings, the ones the press has been debating for weeks?" Soma nodded immediately; there was little else the media talked about these days. "Well, after the eighth, we at the SI decided to make a brief check, and we realized the connection that the police had missed: that all of those involved had some magical potential. It generally wasn't much, but it was there. That put it under our purview, and Tadao and I were tasked with finding out what was going on."

"And someone tried to bump him off?" Soma asked as the pair got into a car and made their way out.

"I'm not sure, but it's possible, I suppose," Ryota said. "But I think they happened to see him and went for him. It's the same MO, same injury structure, same everything, well except the fact that they weren't targeting someone who didn't know what they were doing, but one of our best-trained combat practitioners. Well, not counting you." He glanced at Soma out of the corner of his eye. "I guess that's why Mr. Arikado asked you to step in: if half the rumors are true you're on a level all your own." Soma nodded: aside from Arikado and Julius that was true.

"So, is Agent Nagano alright?" he asked after a moment of silence.

Ryota nodded. "Yeah. He's still unconscious, and if the attacker was able to follow the rest of their procedure he might not remember much, but he'll live."

Another silence passed before Soma spoke up again "So what do we know?"

"At the moment, not much," Ryota said. "We know that whoever this is has some way of detecting magically apt people in a crowd, and then he, she, or they lure these people to a private place to attack. In more than a dozen cases, there has never once been a report of noises; so once our perpetrator moves in for the attack, they are fast and silent." He sighed. "But… I just can't see Tadao going down quietly, especially not with his injuries. He had to have fought them… but no one heard a thing. It's driving me nuts!"

Soma's thoughts raced. There were several creatures that he could think of that would be able to quickly and quietly subdue even a talented practitioner if they were able to take them by surprise, but the problem was that none of these creatures would leave the victim alive afterwards. 'Any thoughts?' he said to his souls. Even though he had gained much more knowledge about the forces of darkness over the past six months; he was still more than happy to let the souls under his command pitch in when they recognized something that he didn't.

'Nothing, Master,' Stolas, one of the more knowledgeable souls, said after a long moment of thought. 'Thus, it is likely that a human did this: Without knowing their motives; it will be nearly impossible to predict their movements.' Soma nodded; he'd figured much the same, but it was nice to have another opinion.

"We're here," Ryota said, shaking Soma out of his thoughts. "I was rather hoping that there wouldn't be too much of a crowd, but I guess that would be too much to expect." Soma nodded as his fellow parked the car near several police vehicles and the pair got out.

"Look, if you don't have business here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," a harried looking police officer said, hurrying over. Soma simply pulled out his badge and showed it to the man, who nodded after a long moment. "Oh, we were told to expect you," he said, his tone more hopeful. "I wish you luck, we haven't had any." With that, the man helped Soma and Ryota through the worried crowd of onlookers and into the alley that had been cordoned off, where they were met by the sergeant in charge.

"Glad to see you again, Kumamoto," the man grunted. "Wish it could have been under better circumstances."

"The same to you," Ryota said. "Agent Cruz, if you want to look around, I'll talk to the good sergeant and see what they've found."

Soma nodded absentmindedly, his attention elsewhere as he wandered over to stand near the chalk outline near the wall. 'Anything?' he thought.

'There's certainly magical signatures in the area,' the soul of a Student Witch said quietly. The reincarnation of Dracula couldn't help but smile: Witch had recently been making a push to get her apprentice to gain confidence. The mental image of the girl turned, clutching her broom to her chest as she scanned the alley. 'It's faint, though, very faint.'

'And what does that mean?' Soma asked as he crouched down to study some scuff marks on the ground, even though he had some ideas of his own.

The soul took a second to answer. "Well, wouldn't it mean that either there wasn't much magic being used… or whoever was doing it was just really good at controlling bleed-off?"

'That's exactly what I think it means,' Soma thought. 'And that's what worries me.' He rose to his feet and scanned the area with his eyes, looking for any concentrations of magical energy. After a moment of searching, he found one against the opposite wall a ways away, right above a police marker. Making his way quickly over, he snagged the nearest officer. "What was here?" he asked, nodding to the marker.

"Oh, that?" the officer said. "It's an old bullet casing... or at least something that looks like one, it's a bit strange. We don't think it's connected: the victim wasn't shot, and there's no way no one would have reported gunfire. I'm guessing it's pretty old, but it was in the area of investigation, so it got bagged and tagged with everything else."

Soma's eyes narrowed; something didn't feel right. "May I see it?" he asked quietly.

The officer glanced at his sergeant, who nodded. "Sure," he said, turning away. "I'll just go get it for you." Soma nodded himself, his attention still on the faint magical signatures. There was something about them that… that almost seemed familiar, as if he'd felt it before. As he waited, he began scanning through the memories of Dracula, but he didn't get far before the man returned with a plastic bag holding the casing along with a pair of white gloves. Soma accepted them and, after putting them on, carefully took the casing out and observed it.

He immediately realized what the officer had meant by it being something "like" a casing. While it certainly looked like one, it was solid, with no room for gunpowder or other types of propellant. This didn't particularly surprise Soma; he figured it was something magical. What did surprise him, however, was that, so far as he could tell; the object was pure metal, likely brass. He'd expected there to simply be a shell for some sort of crystal: but no matter how he looked he couldn't find any sign of openings. The only physical sign that this was more than an oddly-shaped paperweight was the strange carvings, invisible to the naked eye and difficult to see even when he enhanced his own, that spiraled around, looking like someone had carved countless shell shapes into the brass. Once again, he had the strangest feeling that he'd seen this before.

"Any luck?" Ryota asked as he and the sergeant made their way over.

"This is defiantly connected to the case," Soma said quietly, holding up the strange object. "But I've never seen or heard of anything like this."

Ryota nodded. "Well, it's something new, we never found anything like that at the other scenes." He sighed as he looked around. "Still, I just can't figure out why Tadao would come here; this isn't on the way to his apartment, and there's no way he'd just wander off…" Soma didn't have an answer for that, but thankfully before he had to give one Ryota's phone buzzed. He immediately pulled it out and put it to his ear. "Yes?" Soma heard the faint buzz of conversation, but he didn't enhance his hearing to listen it: if it were important Ryota would tell him. A moment later, the man's eyes widened. "That's great, we'll be right there!" he said before hanging up and turning back to Soma. "Tadao just woke up."

"Excellent, we should go see him," Soma said before glancing at the sergeant and holding up the strange magical casing. "Sir, do you mind if I hold onto this? I feel like I'm close to something."

The officer clearly wasn't happy, but he nodded sharply. "If you believe it will help," he said. "I will ask, however, that your people forward any information to our lab."

Soma nodded. "By your leave?" he said. The sergeant nodded, and with that Soma and Ryota turned and left the alley.

As they made their way back to headquarters, Soma's thoughts lingered on what he knew about the case. He knew that there was some sort of magical artifact; one he knew very little about, that somehow used a power source that should have been highly inefficient, but some instinct told him was equal to anything he'd ever seen before. And there was the fact that no one had ever seen anything… he was missing something, something obvious.

'If it helps, Master,' Stolas said. 'I have determined why the shapes carved into the item seem familiar.'

'Excellent,' Soma though, turning his full attention to the owl-demon.

'Humans call it a Fibonacci Spiral,' the soul continued. 'I did some calculations, and I believe that this method is actually quite efficient as storing magical energy, perhaps as much as a proper crystal matrix, especially with this level of detail.'

Soma's eyes widened: there was a reason why crystals had long been associated with magic. 'What's the catch?' he asked.

'The 'catch,' Master, is that to get this level of detail is very difficult, even with magic. Even today, when human technology can do it, it is still easier to keep use crystals.' Soma nodded, that made sense, even if it did raise a lot of questions of its own as to who would use something like this.

'There is something else as well,' Witch said. 'My student and I were looking at the structure of the artifact… and we realized that there's another problem. Crystals are excellent at storing energy in part because it can release it as easily as they store it. This method, however, only unleashes energy out of one spot, near the back. It's possible for humans to draw energy from it, but the focused nature of the release will put a lot of strain on their body, more than most human bodies are capable of withstanding. You could of course, as could Sir Belmont, but even Ms. Yoko would have trouble.'

As Soma's thoughts continued to race, Ryota glanced at him. "We're back," he said. "Are you… well?"

Soma blinked. "Yeah," he said as the two began making their way towards the medical area of HQ. "I was just trying to figure out how this thing works.

A few minutes later, the pair had been admitted to Tadao's room, where the man was propped up against the wall behind his bed with his face in his hands. "Hey, there," Ryota said gently. "How are you?"

"Perfectly fine, save for the fact that everything that happened after I left you last night is a blur," Tadao said sardonically before he noticed Soma. "So Mr. Arikado called in the big guns, huh? Nice to meet you, Agent Cruz,"

"Same to you, Agent Nagano," Soma said.

The man sighed. "I suppose you're hoping that I can tell you something about what happened last night," he said. "I've been trying to remember, but its like everyone else: there's nothing solid to remember anymore. My magic was drained, and it seems that that messed with my memories. I'm sorry."

Soma nodded, that made sense. Unfortunately, there were countless reasons someone would drain someone's magical energy; nothing to narrow down a specific motive. Still, he had some ways that he might be able to jog the other agent's memory. He held out the magical cartridge. "Does this ring any bells?"

Slowly, the man took the offered metal and stared at it, his eyes narrowed. "A little," he whispered. "There was… a weapon… a hammer…" Ryota began to open his mouth, but Soma waved him down; Tadao was on the verge of a breakthrough. "But… there was something strange about the hammer… what was it."

Acting on a sudden, terrible hunch, Soma spoke. "Did it speak?"

Tadao's eyes widened. "It did!" he said. "Just after it spat this out, it said something." He glanced at Soma. "But how did you know that?"

Soma, however, was to busy trying to figure out how this was possible. The advanced method of energy storage, the talking weapons… even the fact that no one had witnessed the battles... everything was now perfectly explainable… and that fact worried him. "Thank you for your time," he said. "I have to go talk to Arikado right away."

The pair glanced at each other. "Are you saying you've figured it out?" Ryota asked warily. Soma simply nodded, already headed for the door. "Is it so bad that you can't tell us?"

"I'm afraid so," Soma said. "If I'm right… then we've got problems, big problems." With that, he left the room, all but dashing through the base towards the elevator to Arikado's office. 'Is there anything else that explains all this?' he wondered.

'Not that I can think of, Master,' Persephone said warily from the back of his mind. 'But… there's no way they'd do this, right?'

'Not the Bureau itself, of course,' Succubus said. 'But where there is human authority, there are those resisting it. If any of them got wind of Earth, they may be tempted to come here to escape the Bureau's reach.' She turned her full attention to Soma. 'Another thing, Master; I figured out why the magical signature in the alley seemed similar: we were so focused on Lord Dracula's memories that we forgot that you have seen some magics that even he never did. This particular system is very similar to the magic of Bureau technology. There are some key differences, but its too close to be coincidence.'

A hiss left Soma's mouth. 'I was afraid of that,' he thought. 'I just hope that Arikado has some idea of how to deal with this. I know I can defeat anything we've seen Mid-Childan magic use, but finding them will be a problem.' A moment later, the elevator doors hissed open, revealing the outer areas of Arikado's office.

The receptionist looked up. "Agent Cruz?" she asked warily. "Mr. Arikado wasn't expecting you."

Before Soma could answer, the intercom buzzed to life. "If Agent Cruz is here, it's important," Arikado said. "Please, send him in." The woman nodded and quickly gestured towards the door. Soma quickly thanked her as he made his way into the office.

Once the door was closed, Arikado spoke up. "I'm assuming you discovered something. I admit you were faster than expected."

"I believe that the events you asked me to investigate have something to do with the TSAB, or at least people from that neighborhood." The dhampire's eyes narrowed as Soma quickly summarized what he'd learned, along with the explanations he had come up with. After a minute, he sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

"I find myself agreeing with your instincts," he said. "Now, we must decide what to do about it." He gestured for Soma to sit down. "Now, I believe it is safe to assume that the Bureau itself is in no way involved. Their last visit had mentioned that they might observe Earth, but this doesn't seem to be something they'd do." Soma nodded, that stood to reason. "In that case, our best option seems to be to send the information on this object to them. If it is something from their end, they will be able to assist us..."

"And if it's not, we'll be able to focus our attention on Earth-based groups," Soma continued. "So, I guess we'll send a message to Nanoha, who will forward it to Yuuno." The two children had kept their promise to stay in touch: exchanging electronic letters every few weeks.

Arikado nodded. "I agree," he said, leaning forward and pressing a few buttons on one of his phones. "Yoko should still be with her." Soma picked up the cartridge again and began mentally composing the information he needed the Bureau to see as the phone began to ring.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Uminari, four people were gathered in a small clearing: three young girls and a middle-aged woman. One of the girls, a short-haired brunette with twin-tails, was standing in the center of the clearing beneath a spinning pink ball of light, one that was keeping an empty can aloft.

"You're doing great, Nanoha!" the woman, Yoko, said. "Just keep focusing."

"One hundred twenty two, one hundred twenty three…" the red gem Nanoha Takamachi was clutching to her chest said; it's voice proud despite its mechanical nature. The other two girls; Arisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura, didn't speak, but their eyes remained fixed on the can.

A bead of sweat began to trickle down Nanoha's forehead, but she blocked it out. This particular exercise wasn't physically taxing, but it did require absolute focus and precision. She wasn't certain, but she believes that the reason Yoko kept speaking out loud was to help her learn to maintain that focus even with distractions. As her thoughts wandered, the can almost got away, but she clenched her teeth and brought it back under control.

Just then, Yoko's phone began to ring. Nanoha did her best to ignore it, but a part of her was naturally curious as to who was calling at this time.

"I'm sorry, but… Arikado, is that you?" the witch said, her eyes still on Nanoha before they widened. "And Soma!? What's going on?" Finally, Nanoha's focus broke, and she gave the can a few more quick whacks to send it towards the bag that marked her goal. The can flew and landed just short, but the fact that both Arikado and Soma were calling Yoko now was more than enough to distract Nanoha.

"What's going on?" she asked, making her way over along with her friends. Yoko quickly switched her phone to speaker so that everyone could hear.

"…still with Ms. Takamachi?" Arikado was saying, his voice as tense as Nanoha remembered it.

"Yes," Yoko said, glancing at Nanoha. "What's going on?"

Arikado didn't answer her directly, his next statement was directed at Nanoha herself. "Ms. Takamachi, you remain in contact with Yuuno Scrya, don't you?"

"Of course," Nanoha said, reaching into her pocked and pulling out a small card. "I actually just got a letter from him this morning, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it. Why?"

Soma spoke up at this point. "We just came across something that we think the Bureau might be interest in." Another beep came from Yoko's phone, and when Nanoha looked she saw Soma had sent a picture of a strange object that looked like a bullet casing. "This object was used in the latest of the muggings that you've likely heard about. Its highly magical, and certain parts of the design, as well as some of the events surrounding the case, remind us strongly of Bureau magical technology."

Nanoha gasped. "They'd never hurt anyone like that!" she said. "They…"

"We're not saying the Bureau itself did anything wrong," Soma said soothingly. "But we do think that someone from their culture; likely outlaws of some kind, are involved. If that is the case, then they deserve to know."

The girl took a breath. "Alright," she said. "I'll send Yuuno a message,"

"Thank you, Nanoha," Soma said. "It'll just take me a little while to properly send all the information to you, then you can send it off." Nanoha nodded as she and everyone else quickly said goodbye before the people in Tokyo hung up.

After a moment, Yoko looked over. "So, there should be time for you to listen to Yuuno's letter before Soma's ready for the reply, in case you want to respond to anything he said."

Nanoha nodded happily. "That's right." With that, she held up Raising Heart in one hand and Yuuno's message card in the other. "Raising Heart, play letter."

"Of course, My Master," the Intelligent Device said. A moment later, a beam of pink light glowed from the depths of the red gem and ran up and down the card before the device formed a transparent screen, showing the message Nanoha's friend had recorded for her. Suzuka and Arisa quickly hurried around to stand behind Nanoha, and even Yoko perked her ear in interest.

Nanoha's eyes widened, however, when she took in the Yuuno Scrya on the screen. Normally when he made these letters, he looked his normal neat and tidy self. Occasionally, he would have a few smudges of dirt on his face if he had just gotten back from an archeological dig, but he normally got rid of those. This time, however, the shapeshifter was clearly disheveled; his hair all over the place and his favorite brown cloak on inside out. Even his voice sounded tired as he spoke… tired and a bit worried.

"Hey, Nanoha," he said, his eyes flicking to one side for a moment. "Sorry, this letter's going to be really short, but something's come up." He took a breath before continuing in a more calm voice. "I was just finishing up here on Uninhabited World 232 when a shuttle from the Bureau came asking for me."

Nanoha blinked. "What?" she couldn't help but ask, even though she knew her friend wouldn't be able to answer her.

However, it was clear he'd predicted her confusion as the recorded boy waited a moment before continuing. "They didn't tell me what it was about, just asked me very nicely to come with them." He chuckled weakly. "Well, when the Time Space Administration Bureau sends a shuttle all the way out to Uninhabited World 232 to pick you up, it's generally a good career option to say yes. I'm pretty sure I'm not in trouble, since the nice people they sent were willing to let me throw this letter together for you. So don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Contrary to what Yuuno wanted; these words only made Nanoha worry more. She may not know a whole lot about the Bureau's structure, but it seemed odd that they would want Yuuno no, and from the glance Arisa and Suzuka shared they weren't mollified either. However, none of them spoke as Yuuno continued on. "I'm just sending this to let you know that I won't be able to receive any letters from you for a while. Once whatever the Bureau wants is done, I'll tell you all about it." He glanced off-screen again before nodding. "Well, I hope this letter finds you well, Nanoha. Until later." With that, he leaned forward and turned off the camera he was using to record.

A long moment of silence filled the clearing before Yoko spoke. "I don't like this," she said quietly. "I suppose it could be a coincidence…"

"Or Yuuno could have been kidnapped!" Nanoha squeaked. "The people Soma's after could be the ones who did it!"

"That's a possibility," Yoko said, pressing a few buttons on her phone. "Whatever the reason, Arikado and Soma need to know that we won't be able to contact the Bureau." Nanoha listened as the phone rang twice before Arikado picked up.

"What is it, Yoko?" he asked, his voice grim.

"Yuuno's out of contact," Yoko said. "His letter was telling Nanoha that some people had just come for him and that he wouldn't be able to receive letters for a while. He said they were from the Bureau, but…"

Arikado drew in a sharp breath. "Yes, the timing is suspicious," he said. "Yoko, escort Ms. Takamachi home immediately. Soma, go and collect Ms. Hakuba and make your way to Uminari."

Nanoha gasped. "Fate's coming here!?" she squeaked happily, almost forgetting her fears about Yuuno.

"Until we have a better grip on the situation, its best that you, Ms. Hakuba, and Arf remain together. Soma likely won't stay long; he'll be needed to lead the investigation into the attacks, but Yoko will likely stay in the area, at least for a while."

"Um, what about Julius?" Nanoha asked. "I haven't heard anything from him for ages?"

A moment of silence filled the line before Soma spoke. "I think he's taking a vacation; he's not as young as he used to be. I haven't heard much from him either. Don't worry, though, I'm sure he's fine. Well, I'll see you when Fate and I get there."

"Alright," Nanoha said. "Bye, then."

"Stay safe." With that, the call ended.

After a moment, Yoko nodded. "Well, you heard Arikado," she said before turning to Arisa and Suzuka. "Do you want me to walk you home too?"

The two girls glanced at each other before Arisa shook her head. "Well, actually, we were planning on going to the library after spending some time with Nanoha," she said. "Don't worry, we'll be careful."

Yoko studied them for a long moment before speaking. "Very well, but if something happens, call Nanoha or I immediately, and we'll come get you." With that, she turned to Nanoha. "Well, we should head back."

As the pair walked, Nanoha pulled her own phone out and pressed a few buttons, trying to estimate when Soma and Fate would arrive. After a few minutes, she finally decided that it would be in about five hours.

She was still worried about Yuuno, of course, but it was great to know that Fate would be with her soon.

Ironically, a train from Tokyo happened to be pulling into Uminari Station at almost exactly that moment. As usual, the majority of the passengers were ordinary people, unaware of the events that were about to begin. However, there was an unusual tension at the back of the rear car of the train, all due to a single passenger that didn't fit the mold.

She was a stunningly beautiful woman who looked to be in her early twenties. Her white-blonde hair, long enough to reach to the small of her back, was done up in a ponytail in the back, and her bangs hung to just above her crystal-green eyes. Her manner of dress also set her apart: rather than the suit and ties of the many of the riders and the casual daywear of the rest, she wore an elegant light-green blouse with yellow-gold trimming and a darker-green skirt that reached past her knees, along with a piece of cloth at her back that was too short to be a cape and too long to be anything else. Her feet and lower legs were covered by light brown boots that reached just below the end of her skirt, showing the barest hint of leg. She also wore a pair of white gloves that reached her elbows, though they had no fingertips so as to leave her nails free. Around her neck was a thin golden chain, though whatever hung at the end was not visible as it was tucked securely away.

Many of the other passengers on the train, especially the male ones, couldn't help but stare at her. She didn't appear to notice, too preoccupied with gazing out the window, one finger gently tracing patterns on the glass. At various points during the ride, several of the bolder observers had begun making moves to try and join her, only to come up short when they realized that she was not, in fact, alone. Beside her sat a tall man that somehow only seemed to be noticeable when he wished to be. Unlike his companion, he was dressed in a more normal suit and tie, but he also wore a pair of dark sunglasses, large enough to completely obscure his eyes. When he was noticed, however, it was when he was glaring at whoever dared to approach his charge, driving them back by sheer force of will.

Finally, as the train came to a halt, the lady looked up at her bodyguard. No words passed between them as he rose with an almost inhuman grace, allowing her to stand with equal ease. Then, he fell into step behind her as they made their way out into Uminari Station, still followed by the eyes of everyone nearby.

At first, it seemed the girl was content to wander, gently making her way through the crowd at the station, her eyes constantly moving. However, as she stepped out onto the street, her gaze suddenly locked on a seemingly random bench. A thin smile crossed her face as she turned and made her way swiftly over, still shadowed by the tall man.

As she approached the bench, the attention she was being paid by others steadily diminished until, as she gently settled down on one end, she might as well have not existed as far as the ordinary passer-by was concerned. Her guard, meanwhile, did not sit, but instead took up position just behind her, his gaze locked on the only other figure on the bench: a bald man wearing a white lab coat over a white shirt and pants. This man didn't look up, instead keeping his eyes on the thin black book in his hands.

After several long moments, the woman spoke, her voice completely calm and controlled despite her strangely accented Japanese. "You are quite good at this. I almost didn't notice you."

The man finally looked up, his grey eyes shining with mirth. "You flatter me, my Lady Sylphina," he said, slipping one of several bookmarks into place as he closed his book. "Coming from one whose people are among the greatest in the arts of glamours; I take that as a great complement."

Sylphina's smile widened, but it did not reach her eyes. "Now who flatters who?" she asked. The man simply shrugged, his own smile unmoving. Another silence charged with subtle tensions filled the air before she spoke again. "So, you have lured me out here, farther than I have ever traveled from home. I assume you have some reason for this?"

"Lured? That is a rather cruel way of putting it; it is almost as if you don't trust me." If the man was offended he kept it from his face and voice. "I simply discovered information that I heard you might be interested in, and decided to inform you of it."

The lady's eyes narrowed slightly. "If by 'inform me,' you mean somehow placing a letter upon my pillow, slipping through dozens of ancient and powerful wards, hundreds of guards and servants, and all other manners of defenses without triggering a single one of them, then yes, you informed me." She shook her head. "And the contents of your letter: nothing but alluring hints; things that few still living should have had any knowledge of. Besides, the fact that you are here means that you knew me well enough that, despite all the danger of this endeavor, despite the fact that, as my Shadow has taken great cares to inform me: coming here is foolish; I would come. I can only imagine that this means that you know even more than you are letting on."

Chuckling, the man inclined his head. "That is quite observant of you, my Lady," he said. "I do know a great deal about a great many things. However, in this case I believe that is to your benefit, or did I overestimate your interest in the Belkan Empire."

"…No…" Sylphina said slowly, her hands twitching slightly. "Although I am still extremely interested in how you know that name, as well as my involvement." The man didn't answer, simply smiling mysteriously, until she suppressed a sigh and continued. "So, your letter said that you had information on the Belkan Empire, what do you wish in exchange for it?"

"So suspicious, my Lady," the man said, laughing. Sylphina raised an eyebrow delicately.

"So you'll give me the information for free?" she asked sweetly, causing the man to laugh even more loudly. Had there not been a glamour around them, a lot of people would have been staring at them.

"I'm afraid not, though I doubt you will find the payment too burdensome." The man's smile faded slightly as his eyes turned to the sky. "A storm is coming, Lady Sylphina. Darkness peeks over the horizon… and before this year has reached its end, a terrible battle will be fought." His gaze turned back to you, and a chill passed through Sylphina at how sharp his gaze was. "There are four Belkan knights in this city; they will be at the center of the battle. They are brave and talented… but still, they will need your help. For the information, all I ask is that you promise to aid them in their mission."

Sylphina's eyes widened. "There are Belkan knights here?" she whispered. After all this time…

"There are, and if you agree to help them, I will tell you how to find them. Don't worry, unless you are against saving the life of a child, then their ultimate mission will be one you would find acceptable." The man's eyes continued to pierce the lady. "Do we have a bargain?"

Sylphina's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to need a little more reassurance than that," she said. "As I believe I've made clear; I don't entirely trust you."

The man nodded. "Sad, but likely wise," he said. "However, the true story is not mine to tell, it is theirs. Besides, I'm sure you want to help them, and you have your own reasons for reaching out." Sylphina's smile became even more brittle, but the man chose not to push his advantage as he continued. "However, I suppose that I will allow you to make your own choice: if you want to know more, go into the forest to the north-west of here: on foot would be better. It might take some time, but they'll find you. Don't' be discouraged if they're a little suspicious at first: they'll soon realize that they need you for the battle to come."

"Who are they fighting?" Sylphina asked.

"That's up to you to figure out, my Lady. I can't make this too easy for you. I will tell you that, like their mission, the knight's true enemy is not one you will have a moral crisis in combating." The man cocked his head. "Now, you should probably get going if you want to be on time for your meeting. If you need assistance; I'll be in the city." He rose to his feet, tucking the book under his arm. "Well, my Lady, I wish you the best of luck. Good day." With a nod to both Sylphina and her guard, he turned to leave.

Sylphina, mildly annoyed at being brushed off, spoke one last time. "Surely it is polite to give someone a name if you've made such a deal with them?"

"Of course, my Lady, I do apologize for my rudeness," the man said, turning and giving a sweeping bow. "I have had many names, but if it pleases you, you may call me Zobek."

AN: Sequel is go, and already things are heating up. Please read and review.