Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or MGLN
The White Devil of the Moon
By bissek
Chapter 8
Family Matters
Rei wasnÆt sure why Fate was so alarmed by the revelation that her mother was alive. If her mother suddenly turned up alive after all these years, Rei would be delighted. Of course, her mother had been the parent that had always cared for her, while her father pretty much ignored her except on occasions when he felt that being seen to be a good father would be good for his public image. Perhaps Fate hadnÆt been on very good terms with her mother upon her apparent death.
ôFate, I know that you never liked talking about your early childhood, but IÆm afraid that if your mother is among the forces arranged against us, weÆre going to need to know everything we can about her.ö Hayate said.
ôWe can start by sending a request for her file from headquarters.ö Yuuno pointed out. ôPreciaÆs criminal records were closed due to everyone believing that she had died while trying to avoid arrest. Once we report that she somehow survived, the records will be reopened.ö
ôHow serious were the charges against her?ö
ôLetÆs seeà Illegal research, unauthorized possession of restricted materials, attempted destruction of TSAB property, resisting arrest û killing several TSAB agents in the process, attempting to create a major dimensional disturbance, inciting a minor to commit felonies, and child abuse.ö
ôMother wasnÆtàö Fate began.
ôFATE!ö Aruf interrupted, ôI canÆt believe that youÆre still making excuses for that woman after all these years! She sent you out to do all her dirty work, and then had you whipped when you failed to meet her impossible standards!ö
Rei paled. And here she thought her father was a lousy parent. Even at his worst, he was merely neglectful, passing the responsibility of caring for his child onto her grandfather in favor of concentrating on his work. He had never done anything intentionally harmful to her.
Hayate gulped. ôI knew that FateÆs home life had been bad before she was adopted by Admiral Harlaown, but I didnÆt know it had been that bad.ö
ôIÆm afraid it was.ö Yuuno confirmed. ôI donÆt want to think what would have happened to Fate in the long run if it hadnÆt been for Nanoha.ö
If the Princess had rescued Fate from an abusive family, then Rei could certainly understand why Fate had been so fiercely determined to protect her friend from any perceived threats. It also meant that LunaÆs conclusion concerning Fate wasnÆt exactly wrong; it was just out of date.
ôWhat is she likely to be after?ö
ôSheÆs probably trying to achieve the same thing sheÆs been working on for the past twenty-five years: Bringing my sister back from the dead.ö Fate commented.
ôThat must be why she was draining energy from our agents. She must think that life energy can be used to achieve her goal.ö
ôThat would explain why she was fighting Zoicite.ö Rei added. ôBeryl needs life energy to revive Metallia. Precia wants life energy to achieve her own goals. I guess Beryl didnÆt want competition.ö
ôThatÆs possible.ö Fate conceded. ôNow that I think about it, the drones that attacked KyouyaÆs wedding resembled those that Mother had at the Garden of Time.ö
ôA temporary alliance or trade of knowledge?ö Yuuno suggested. ôThe life-draining spell for the drone designs? And then falling apart later when they realized their goals were incompatible.ö
ôWhich at least means that weÆre not facing a unified front.ö Hayate said, who seemed glad to find a slim silver lining in the cloud that had just arisen. ôWeÆll have to be on the lookout for her from now on. If sheÆs really as desperate as Corporal Netia described her as sounding, sheÆs going to be looking for more targets.
ôIn any case, I donÆt think either faction is going to be acting openly again tonight. You might as well go home, Hino-san.ö
Rei could agree with that. It was getting late, and she had school in the morning. She turned to leave.
ôOh, and Hino-san?ö Hayate continued. Rei paused and turned around. ôIf Dr Testarossa had killed before; itÆs likely she would have done so again if you hadnÆt kept her busy until she needed to flee. Good work.ö
Rei nodded her acknowledgement and headed home. She smiled as she made her way through the nighttime streets. She had finally begun to redeem herself after her nearly disastrous actions in that alley.
Precia opened her eyes. She could feel the weight of AliciaÆs body lying against her own, feel the warmth of her daughterÆs body and the movement as she stirred in her sleep. She wrapped an arm around AliciaÆs sleeping form, basking in the sensation of being able to hold her child for the first time in decades. She might not have much time left to live, but she still planned to do everything she could to make up for the weeks she had been forced to neglect her daughter in favor of completing her work. Even the chance to do something as simple as watch her child sleep was too precious to waste.
Alicia woke up. ôGood morning, mother.ö She said.
Precia smiled back. ôGood morning, Alicia. How are you today?ö
ôIÆm fine, mother.ö
ôThatÆs good. YouÆve been ill for so long, I was worried that you hadnÆt fully recovered. We do have a lot to do today, after all.ö
They did indeed have a great deal of things to do. All of AliciaÆs belongings had been destroyed with their old home in the reactor explosion twenty-five years before. That included her entire wardrobe. Some of FateÆs things would have fit, but even if they hadnÆt been lost with the destruction of the Garden of Time, Precia wouldnÆt have insulted her daughter with hand-me-downs from a flawed imitation. At the moment, Alicia had only one outfit, which Precia had acquired while setting up her lab. She would need to go shopping for more.
That wasnÆt the only thing she needed to get for Alicia. She also needed to get furniture, books, toys, and all sort s of other odds and ends to convert the place she had been living in from a laboratory into a home she felt comfortable raising her child in. Fortunately, with all of the money that she had stolen from the Dark Kingdom, paying for all of that was a trivial exercise.
The following week was the happiest that Precia had had in decades. She no longer needed to spend time away from her child, working absurdly late hours in order to meet arbitrarily chosen artificial deadlines set by foolish superiors more interested in stock prices than in getting a job done properly. She no longer needed to search out unlikely cures or potentially dangerous methods of reaching places where such cures could be found. Precia had her daughter back, she could spend all the time she wanted with her, and she couldnÆt think of how her life could be more perfect.
Unfortunately, PreciaÆs idyllic retirement didnÆt last. Roughly a week after AliciaÆs revival, Precia had taken Alicia to an amusement park. The trip had been enjoyable. Even if they didnÆt have access to the tech base of Mid-Childa, the owners of the park still knew how to put a smile on a childÆs face. And so long as Alicia was happy, the fact that the two of them were effectively exiled to a primitive planet without magic wasnÆt important.
Precia had been in the bathroom washing up when it happened. She felt pressure in her lungs, and she fell to her knees, coughing, desperately struggling to catch her breath. After what seemed to be an eternity, she was able to breathe freely again. Glancing at her hands, she saw that they were splattered with blood.
She had managed to cure the harm that had come to Alicia from the reactor accident, but she had not been able to do the same for herself. Her magic had shielded her from the immediate effects of the explosion, but the radiation she had absorbed that day had remained inside her ever since, slowly poisoning her. As Precia climbed to her feet, she was forced to face a horrible truth: she would not live to see her daughter become a grown woman. Sooner or later, she would need to find someone who could care for her child once she was no longer able to.
But who could Precia trust such a task to? She didnÆt know anyone on this planet. Most of her bridges on Mid-Childa had been burned years before. Even with the few people there that she might consider for such an important duty, she had no idea if the methods she used to contact them would still work after so many years. She certainly didnÆt have the means to travel to a planet as distant as Mid-Childa to look for them without some sort of transport, which she didnÆt have.
Precia tried to think about a solution to this problem as she washed the blood off her hands and mouth. The last thing she wanted was to worry Alicia about this. As she finished, she heard Alicia call out to her.
ôMother? ThereÆs someone here to see you.ö
Someone wanted to see her? That was odd. Precia had barely met her neighbors, and didnÆt know anyone else in the city at all as far as she knew. Had the TSAB found her? She didnÆt think that was likely. She had set up warding spells to prevent any detection spells from scrying out her location. Precia made certain that her deactivated Device was at hand while she headed to the door.
The man at the door wasnÆt with the TSAB. He appeared to be from the local police force. Precia wasnÆt sure why he was there. She hadnÆt done anything to the people of this planet û since draining the TSAB agents had provided her with all the energy she needed to save Alicia, she hadnÆt needed to.
ôTestarossa-san?ö The man asked.
ôYes?ö
ôItÆs come to the attention of the Tokyo Police Department that you have a young child under your care who is not currently attending any known school. I am here to remind you of the truancy laws. The state requires that all children receive a basic education.ö
Precia let out a mental sigh of relief. That was all this was about? After years of trying to revive her daughter, the fact that Alicia was getting to the age where sheÆd have to go to school had slipped her mind.
ôIÆm sorry, officer. My daughter and I have just to this area and I havenÆt had the opportunity to look at the local schools yet. IÆll be taking care of that shortly.ö
ôSee that you do.ö With that, the officer left.
Precia was forced to admit that the officer had a point. Alicia did need to get an education, and learn to interact with people her age. Precia might even find someone who could take care of Alicia once she was gone through the parents of AliciaÆs friends. This primitive planet wouldnÆt be able to teach Alicia how to use magic, but Precia could handle that herself. She resolved to start looking for a good school for Alicia in the morning.
Work at the Midori-ya had been hectic. Part of that had been due to the fact that with Kyouya on his honeymoon and Shiro unable to use one arm, they were short-handed. The rest of it was due to the unexpected publicity they had received due to the incident at the wedding. The Takamachi family had been the victims of the first confirmed monster attack after months of rumors of such things happening, had actually managed to hold the monsters off until the Sailor Senshi (in their first confirmed appearance) arrived, and to top it off, a member of the family was the magical girl who took out the person responsible for the attack.
The Takamachi family was now famous, and as a result of this business at their small coffee shop was booming. Far too many people were curious about the family of a real magical girl and came by in the hopes of seeing something magical or hearing stories of NanohaÆs adventures. Miyuki was finding herself glad that they had finally managed to repair the hole Nanoha had put in the fence û she had been getting worried that the especially curious would try sneak in for a look at the home of an apparent superhero.
Miyuki didnÆt care for the source of the attention. She was a skilled fighter, but she had learned the sword because of family tradition, not out of any love of combat. On the rare occasion that she did more with a sword than training exercises, it was because circumstances had forced her to do so. She would be perfectly content if she never had to draw her blade in anger ever again. She had actually been relieved when she and Kyouya managed to avoid any long-term public recognition for their role in preventing the kidnapping attempt on Fiasse during her charity concert tour seven years previously. She hadnÆt been able to escape that for fighting off a horde of monsters at the family wedding.
She wasnÆt sure which annoyed her more: the otaku or the reporters. The reporters tended to have more intelligent questions, but they were also a lot harder to get rid of. Both groups showed up often enough to make it hard for regular customers to find a table on occasion. This Dark Kingdom group that had crashed KyouyaÆs wedding was something that Miyuki wouldnÆt object to fighting at all. Not only had they ruined her brotherÆs wedding and her sisters convalescence leave, they had also ensured that she wouldnÆt have any time to spend with her sister on NanohaÆs first visit home since she left school.
A table that Miyuki had cleaned up a bare two minutes before had a new customer in it, a foreigner with red hair. He wasnÆt a regular, but his outfit looked far too expensive for him to be a reporter, much less the typical otaku. It didnÆt take him long to flip through the menu, decide on an order, and set it down.
ôCan I help you?ö She asked.
ôYes. IÆd like a medium cappuccino and a cream puff.ö He responded. Miyuki wrote his order down, and then turned back to the kitchen. It didnÆt take long for the order to be filled. As she returned with the order, Miyuki found herself accosted by yet another young girl who was under the impression that she could become a magical girl under the tutelage of an existing magical girl, and wanted Miyuki to pass on her application.
ôWhy canÆt those girls take a hint? ThatÆs the third one today.ö She grumbled under her breath as she returned to the customerÆs table.
ôA common problem?ö The customer inquired.
ôFar too common, lately. Ever since my sisterÆs job became common knowledge, admirers and would-be students have been coming out of the woodwork. And that doesnÆt include the people who check to see if any of the animals living in the vicinity are secretly talking animal companions or something similar.ö
ôWhat, you mean that you never had a talking kitten?ö The man said teasingly.
ôNo, IÆve never seen any talking cats before, and I havenÆt spoken with the talking ferret since he got that librarian job years ago.ö
The man laughed. ôI was only joking! You really had a talking ferret?ö
Miyuki nodded. ôAnd two of my sisterÆs friends have talking dogs. I doubt any of them would really care to meet any of the otaku. They take their work seriously. I donÆt know where those people are all coming from, but I wish theyÆd leave us in peace.ö
ôIÆd have thought youÆd appreciate all the extra business.ö
ôOh, the business is nice, but not the baggage that came with it. They just donÆt understand at all. They think what happened was some kind of dramatic fight scene out of an anime. What I saw was my brotherÆs wedding getting ruined by some guy weÆd never even heard of before, and my little sister ending up in the hospital when sheÆd just gotten out of it a few weeks before. IÆve seen enough battles to know that fighting isnÆt a game, and I donÆt appreciate it when people treat it like one.ö
ôI see your point.ö
The conversation might have gone on longer, but another table signaled that they were ready to order, and Miyuki had to return to work. Still, it was nice to have a sympathetic listener rather than the seemingly endless waves of otaku. By the time her work load slacked, the man had since left.
As Miyuki returned to her work, the man who was calling himself Masato Sanjouin considered how things had gone. He hadnÆt learned anything that seemed all that important, but he had managed to speak with the Moon PrincessÆs sister without inspiring the fully justified irritation that that the numerous others who were looking for information on JadeiteÆs killer for their own reasons had roused. As a result, he considered the afternoon a success.
He had laid the initial groundwork. From here he could attempt to build trust and cultivate the girl into an actual intelligence source. With enough time, he could either gain the information he needed to destroy the Moon Princess and get into a position where he could strike. He just needed to be patient.
Another group of people entered the cafÚ. By the look of them, they were more magical girl otaku, unwittingly helping NephriteÆs plans by establishing a contrast between them and the Dark General in the eyes of the Moon PrincessÆs sister. Nephrite smiled as he turned his attention to the Midori-yaÆs excellent pastry.
It was AliciaÆs first day of school. The school that her mother had chosen to enroll her into, a place called Mugen Gakuen, was larger than she expected. As she was escorted to her classroom, she was told that this was because the school covered a much wider range of grades than most schools in the area did, and as a result needed to hold more students than the typical school. Upon reaching her classroom, Alicia was asked to introduce herself to her new classmates. As she wrote her name on the blackboard, she heard someone in the room whisper.
ôWhatÆs with the fancy writing? Is the gaijin trying to show off?ö
Looking at what she had written, Alicia couldnÆt see what that person was talking about. She hadnÆt made any attempt to make her writing look fancy. She had written her name out just as she had been taught.
That part became more clear as the classes began. The area that she and Mother were living in apparently used four different alphabets, one of which was a simpler version of the alphabet she was used to, and three which were totally unfamiliar to her. Having been taught to read in only a single alphabet, Alicia found the additional ones to be highly confusing.
Mathematics was easier. In fact, it was too easy. Compared to the equations that Alicia needed to solve in order to perform even the simple spells that she had learned, the lessons the class was going through were trivial. Mother had told her that mages were extremely rare on this planet, but that she would take care of her magic lessons herself. Did not having to learn magic make them not take math seriously?
In the breaks between classes, Alicia came to find that she had no idea of how to relate to the rest of her classmates. She had never even heard of most of the things they were talking about. Everyone else in the classroom had formed into their own cliques long before she had started going to Mugen Gakuen, leaving Alicia an outsider.
When the day ended, a sad Alicia wandered out of the school. School had not been a particularly enjoyable experience. She didnÆt really fit in with any of the other kids in her class. Being alone wasnÆt so bad when her life had consisted of just her and her mother, but it was much worse when she was surrounded by people who werenÆt alone.
As she made her way towards the main gate, Alicia saw two older students standing apart from the crowds leaving the building. What the girl was doing to the boy was something that Alicia hadnÆt expected to see, given what her mother had told her about the area.
The girl was casting a magic spell.
Hotaru Tomoe had had always been different from everyone else. Ever since the lab accident that killed her mother, a sizable portion of her body had been replaced with cybernetic parts that sustained her after the grievous injuries she had suffered in the same accident. She had to wear long skirts, high-collared long-sleeved shirts and gloves to keep people from noticing that she was almost as much machine as she was human.
Despite her efforts to appear normal, her health problems, combined with a strange ability she possessed, made her stand out. Since becoming fitted with cybernetic parts, she had found herself blacking out at irregular intervals. When she came to, she found herself somewhere else, often with one or more injured people in her immediate vicinity. Upon seeing them, Hotaru would immediately use her healing power to help them, but the people she healed always responded to her aid with hostility. It was almost as if they thought that she was the reason they had been injured in the first place.
Other children who heard of her abilities tended to react in the same way. Hotaru found herself ostracized at best and harassed at worst by her classmates. And even if the students were smart enough to realize that picking on the principalÆs daughter could get them in a lot of trouble, which just meant that they took extra precautions to ensure that they didnÆt get caught.
The story was repeating again today. She had blacked out shortly after classes let out, and now she found herself outside, standing in front of a boy who had a rather nasty cut on his arm. She healed the boy, until to be called a freak by the person she helped before he ran off, leaving Hotaru alone in front of the school. Well, not entirely alone. As Hotaru looked around she saw a girl several years younger than her with blonde hair and red eyes staring at her. She sighed as she waited for yet another person to reject her for trying to help. The girlÆs reaction was a pleasant surprise.
ôI didnÆt know there were any other magi in the school. Mother said that most people in this area canÆt use magic.ö
Magic? Hotaru had heard the stories about the magical girls operating in the ward, especially since the incident where confirmation of their existence was posted on the news, but she had never considered the possibility that her healing powers meant that she was one of them. Wait a minute. The girl had said other magi. Was she one as well? Was sheà like her?
ôAreà you?ö Hotaru began.
In answer, a circle with a square centered in it appeared below the girlÆs feet, slowly rotating around her. As the diagram spun, an orb of blue light appeared in the girlÆs outstretched hand. The diagram faded, leaving the orb in the childÆs hand, until she closed her hand, causing the light to fade and vanish.
Hotaru smiled. For the first time in years, she had found someone who didnÆt consider her gift to be weird. Someone who might be the first real friend sheÆd ever had.
ôIÆm Hotaru Tomoe.ö She said.
ôAlicia Testarossa.ö The other girl replied.
Luna stretched as she rose from the cushion and started to walk around. So far, the princess had spent most of her time since making contact with the Senshi either training the Senshi or resting as she recovered from the wounds she suffered fighting for a nation not her own. None of the princessÆs time had been spent in council with the moon cats.
That slight was galling to the Mau. She had been the queenÆs chief advisor, and the princess was ignoring her completely. She had instead appointed a ferret to advise her in LunaÆs place, without any warning. Every time she had tried to speak with the princess, the ferret was the one she ended up talking to, in either animal or human form. And he acted like an academic gathering data for his next paper, not the member of a royal court. The Moon Kingdom was the pinnacle of civilization in this system, not a topic for academic research! There was no way the princess would be able to restore her kingdom under the guidance of a man who considered its very existence to be an intellectual curiosity.
The Senshi were not of much use in this matter. They were all busy trying to meet the princessÆs incredibly high standards as mages. Luna would have considered those standards to be impossible were it not for the fact that all of the princessÆs companions insisted that she had held herself to an even higher standard since she was nine, and would be trying to retrain herself to that level were she not under constant observation from her doctor, who refused to let her over-exert herself yet again. Between their home lives (Which had already been severely curtailed as a result of their Senshi responsibilities), schoolwork, and their duties on the military side of the Moon KingdomÆs affairs, they did not have time to help Luna with the political aspects. Mercury even appeared to be attracted to the young man who had usurped LunaÆs position.
Still, Luna had learned from her nearly disastrous mistakes. She had mistaken the undying loyalty of a victim rescued from darkness as the malicious intentions of one still in the service of evil, and it nearly cost the Senshi everything. She could not risk a direct confrontation with her rival. She had to prove her own worth before she could attempt to reclaim her position, and from there guide the princess to her destiny.
An idea occurred to her. The computers at the Command Center were linked to systems in the ruins of the royal palace on the moon. Those could be used to pinpoint the exact location of the palace sufficiently that they could travel there. The princess would be better able to remember her past life in a place that was central to that life. In the presence of things that would remind her of her life as Princess Serenity, she would recall where her true destiny lied and start acting like a princess rather than a minor agent of a foreign power.
It would be fairly easy to convince her rival to agree to this plan. Given his mindset, he would be eager to examine the ruins of the Moon KingdomÆs capital. Other members of the TSAB would be interested in learning what Metallia could do if it was unleashed again. From there, Luna would be able to fulfill her duty to the queen and begin molding the princess into the queen she needed to become.
A/N: Hayate didnÆt know about the details of FateÆs past because that case was closed before she met Fate, and the people who knew about it didnÆt want to remind Fate about it by bringing the topic up unnecessarily.
IÆm choosing to believe that there are such things as anti-scrying spells out there. If there hadnÆt been, Nanoha could have used a Wide Area Search to find VitaÆs home address in As. Precia is using one to evade TSAB notice.
Yes, Japan has four different forms of writing, kanji, katakana, hiragana, and romanji (Which is the standard Latin alphabet). The Mid-Childan alphabet looks like a stylized form of romanji.
Alicia was born in a totally different society, and only had a week to acclimate to a (to her) sudden change in locale. Fate had six months of correspondence with Nanoha to help her learn about Japanese society before she had to seriously interact with it, and had Nanoha with her when she started actually doing so. Alicia has nobody capable of helping her with the culture shock.
The White Devil of the Moon
By bissek
Chapter 8
Family Matters
Rei wasnÆt sure why Fate was so alarmed by the revelation that her mother was alive. If her mother suddenly turned up alive after all these years, Rei would be delighted. Of course, her mother had been the parent that had always cared for her, while her father pretty much ignored her except on occasions when he felt that being seen to be a good father would be good for his public image. Perhaps Fate hadnÆt been on very good terms with her mother upon her apparent death.
ôFate, I know that you never liked talking about your early childhood, but IÆm afraid that if your mother is among the forces arranged against us, weÆre going to need to know everything we can about her.ö Hayate said.
ôWe can start by sending a request for her file from headquarters.ö Yuuno pointed out. ôPreciaÆs criminal records were closed due to everyone believing that she had died while trying to avoid arrest. Once we report that she somehow survived, the records will be reopened.ö
ôHow serious were the charges against her?ö
ôLetÆs seeà Illegal research, unauthorized possession of restricted materials, attempted destruction of TSAB property, resisting arrest û killing several TSAB agents in the process, attempting to create a major dimensional disturbance, inciting a minor to commit felonies, and child abuse.ö
ôMother wasnÆtàö Fate began.
ôFATE!ö Aruf interrupted, ôI canÆt believe that youÆre still making excuses for that woman after all these years! She sent you out to do all her dirty work, and then had you whipped when you failed to meet her impossible standards!ö
Rei paled. And here she thought her father was a lousy parent. Even at his worst, he was merely neglectful, passing the responsibility of caring for his child onto her grandfather in favor of concentrating on his work. He had never done anything intentionally harmful to her.
Hayate gulped. ôI knew that FateÆs home life had been bad before she was adopted by Admiral Harlaown, but I didnÆt know it had been that bad.ö
ôIÆm afraid it was.ö Yuuno confirmed. ôI donÆt want to think what would have happened to Fate in the long run if it hadnÆt been for Nanoha.ö
If the Princess had rescued Fate from an abusive family, then Rei could certainly understand why Fate had been so fiercely determined to protect her friend from any perceived threats. It also meant that LunaÆs conclusion concerning Fate wasnÆt exactly wrong; it was just out of date.
ôWhat is she likely to be after?ö
ôSheÆs probably trying to achieve the same thing sheÆs been working on for the past twenty-five years: Bringing my sister back from the dead.ö Fate commented.
ôThat must be why she was draining energy from our agents. She must think that life energy can be used to achieve her goal.ö
ôThat would explain why she was fighting Zoicite.ö Rei added. ôBeryl needs life energy to revive Metallia. Precia wants life energy to achieve her own goals. I guess Beryl didnÆt want competition.ö
ôThatÆs possible.ö Fate conceded. ôNow that I think about it, the drones that attacked KyouyaÆs wedding resembled those that Mother had at the Garden of Time.ö
ôA temporary alliance or trade of knowledge?ö Yuuno suggested. ôThe life-draining spell for the drone designs? And then falling apart later when they realized their goals were incompatible.ö
ôWhich at least means that weÆre not facing a unified front.ö Hayate said, who seemed glad to find a slim silver lining in the cloud that had just arisen. ôWeÆll have to be on the lookout for her from now on. If sheÆs really as desperate as Corporal Netia described her as sounding, sheÆs going to be looking for more targets.
ôIn any case, I donÆt think either faction is going to be acting openly again tonight. You might as well go home, Hino-san.ö
Rei could agree with that. It was getting late, and she had school in the morning. She turned to leave.
ôOh, and Hino-san?ö Hayate continued. Rei paused and turned around. ôIf Dr Testarossa had killed before; itÆs likely she would have done so again if you hadnÆt kept her busy until she needed to flee. Good work.ö
Rei nodded her acknowledgement and headed home. She smiled as she made her way through the nighttime streets. She had finally begun to redeem herself after her nearly disastrous actions in that alley.
Precia opened her eyes. She could feel the weight of AliciaÆs body lying against her own, feel the warmth of her daughterÆs body and the movement as she stirred in her sleep. She wrapped an arm around AliciaÆs sleeping form, basking in the sensation of being able to hold her child for the first time in decades. She might not have much time left to live, but she still planned to do everything she could to make up for the weeks she had been forced to neglect her daughter in favor of completing her work. Even the chance to do something as simple as watch her child sleep was too precious to waste.
Alicia woke up. ôGood morning, mother.ö She said.
Precia smiled back. ôGood morning, Alicia. How are you today?ö
ôIÆm fine, mother.ö
ôThatÆs good. YouÆve been ill for so long, I was worried that you hadnÆt fully recovered. We do have a lot to do today, after all.ö
They did indeed have a great deal of things to do. All of AliciaÆs belongings had been destroyed with their old home in the reactor explosion twenty-five years before. That included her entire wardrobe. Some of FateÆs things would have fit, but even if they hadnÆt been lost with the destruction of the Garden of Time, Precia wouldnÆt have insulted her daughter with hand-me-downs from a flawed imitation. At the moment, Alicia had only one outfit, which Precia had acquired while setting up her lab. She would need to go shopping for more.
That wasnÆt the only thing she needed to get for Alicia. She also needed to get furniture, books, toys, and all sort s of other odds and ends to convert the place she had been living in from a laboratory into a home she felt comfortable raising her child in. Fortunately, with all of the money that she had stolen from the Dark Kingdom, paying for all of that was a trivial exercise.
The following week was the happiest that Precia had had in decades. She no longer needed to spend time away from her child, working absurdly late hours in order to meet arbitrarily chosen artificial deadlines set by foolish superiors more interested in stock prices than in getting a job done properly. She no longer needed to search out unlikely cures or potentially dangerous methods of reaching places where such cures could be found. Precia had her daughter back, she could spend all the time she wanted with her, and she couldnÆt think of how her life could be more perfect.
Unfortunately, PreciaÆs idyllic retirement didnÆt last. Roughly a week after AliciaÆs revival, Precia had taken Alicia to an amusement park. The trip had been enjoyable. Even if they didnÆt have access to the tech base of Mid-Childa, the owners of the park still knew how to put a smile on a childÆs face. And so long as Alicia was happy, the fact that the two of them were effectively exiled to a primitive planet without magic wasnÆt important.
Precia had been in the bathroom washing up when it happened. She felt pressure in her lungs, and she fell to her knees, coughing, desperately struggling to catch her breath. After what seemed to be an eternity, she was able to breathe freely again. Glancing at her hands, she saw that they were splattered with blood.
She had managed to cure the harm that had come to Alicia from the reactor accident, but she had not been able to do the same for herself. Her magic had shielded her from the immediate effects of the explosion, but the radiation she had absorbed that day had remained inside her ever since, slowly poisoning her. As Precia climbed to her feet, she was forced to face a horrible truth: she would not live to see her daughter become a grown woman. Sooner or later, she would need to find someone who could care for her child once she was no longer able to.
But who could Precia trust such a task to? She didnÆt know anyone on this planet. Most of her bridges on Mid-Childa had been burned years before. Even with the few people there that she might consider for such an important duty, she had no idea if the methods she used to contact them would still work after so many years. She certainly didnÆt have the means to travel to a planet as distant as Mid-Childa to look for them without some sort of transport, which she didnÆt have.
Precia tried to think about a solution to this problem as she washed the blood off her hands and mouth. The last thing she wanted was to worry Alicia about this. As she finished, she heard Alicia call out to her.
ôMother? ThereÆs someone here to see you.ö
Someone wanted to see her? That was odd. Precia had barely met her neighbors, and didnÆt know anyone else in the city at all as far as she knew. Had the TSAB found her? She didnÆt think that was likely. She had set up warding spells to prevent any detection spells from scrying out her location. Precia made certain that her deactivated Device was at hand while she headed to the door.
The man at the door wasnÆt with the TSAB. He appeared to be from the local police force. Precia wasnÆt sure why he was there. She hadnÆt done anything to the people of this planet û since draining the TSAB agents had provided her with all the energy she needed to save Alicia, she hadnÆt needed to.
ôTestarossa-san?ö The man asked.
ôYes?ö
ôItÆs come to the attention of the Tokyo Police Department that you have a young child under your care who is not currently attending any known school. I am here to remind you of the truancy laws. The state requires that all children receive a basic education.ö
Precia let out a mental sigh of relief. That was all this was about? After years of trying to revive her daughter, the fact that Alicia was getting to the age where sheÆd have to go to school had slipped her mind.
ôIÆm sorry, officer. My daughter and I have just to this area and I havenÆt had the opportunity to look at the local schools yet. IÆll be taking care of that shortly.ö
ôSee that you do.ö With that, the officer left.
Precia was forced to admit that the officer had a point. Alicia did need to get an education, and learn to interact with people her age. Precia might even find someone who could take care of Alicia once she was gone through the parents of AliciaÆs friends. This primitive planet wouldnÆt be able to teach Alicia how to use magic, but Precia could handle that herself. She resolved to start looking for a good school for Alicia in the morning.
Work at the Midori-ya had been hectic. Part of that had been due to the fact that with Kyouya on his honeymoon and Shiro unable to use one arm, they were short-handed. The rest of it was due to the unexpected publicity they had received due to the incident at the wedding. The Takamachi family had been the victims of the first confirmed monster attack after months of rumors of such things happening, had actually managed to hold the monsters off until the Sailor Senshi (in their first confirmed appearance) arrived, and to top it off, a member of the family was the magical girl who took out the person responsible for the attack.
The Takamachi family was now famous, and as a result of this business at their small coffee shop was booming. Far too many people were curious about the family of a real magical girl and came by in the hopes of seeing something magical or hearing stories of NanohaÆs adventures. Miyuki was finding herself glad that they had finally managed to repair the hole Nanoha had put in the fence û she had been getting worried that the especially curious would try sneak in for a look at the home of an apparent superhero.
Miyuki didnÆt care for the source of the attention. She was a skilled fighter, but she had learned the sword because of family tradition, not out of any love of combat. On the rare occasion that she did more with a sword than training exercises, it was because circumstances had forced her to do so. She would be perfectly content if she never had to draw her blade in anger ever again. She had actually been relieved when she and Kyouya managed to avoid any long-term public recognition for their role in preventing the kidnapping attempt on Fiasse during her charity concert tour seven years previously. She hadnÆt been able to escape that for fighting off a horde of monsters at the family wedding.
She wasnÆt sure which annoyed her more: the otaku or the reporters. The reporters tended to have more intelligent questions, but they were also a lot harder to get rid of. Both groups showed up often enough to make it hard for regular customers to find a table on occasion. This Dark Kingdom group that had crashed KyouyaÆs wedding was something that Miyuki wouldnÆt object to fighting at all. Not only had they ruined her brotherÆs wedding and her sisters convalescence leave, they had also ensured that she wouldnÆt have any time to spend with her sister on NanohaÆs first visit home since she left school.
A table that Miyuki had cleaned up a bare two minutes before had a new customer in it, a foreigner with red hair. He wasnÆt a regular, but his outfit looked far too expensive for him to be a reporter, much less the typical otaku. It didnÆt take him long to flip through the menu, decide on an order, and set it down.
ôCan I help you?ö She asked.
ôYes. IÆd like a medium cappuccino and a cream puff.ö He responded. Miyuki wrote his order down, and then turned back to the kitchen. It didnÆt take long for the order to be filled. As she returned with the order, Miyuki found herself accosted by yet another young girl who was under the impression that she could become a magical girl under the tutelage of an existing magical girl, and wanted Miyuki to pass on her application.
ôWhy canÆt those girls take a hint? ThatÆs the third one today.ö She grumbled under her breath as she returned to the customerÆs table.
ôA common problem?ö The customer inquired.
ôFar too common, lately. Ever since my sisterÆs job became common knowledge, admirers and would-be students have been coming out of the woodwork. And that doesnÆt include the people who check to see if any of the animals living in the vicinity are secretly talking animal companions or something similar.ö
ôWhat, you mean that you never had a talking kitten?ö The man said teasingly.
ôNo, IÆve never seen any talking cats before, and I havenÆt spoken with the talking ferret since he got that librarian job years ago.ö
The man laughed. ôI was only joking! You really had a talking ferret?ö
Miyuki nodded. ôAnd two of my sisterÆs friends have talking dogs. I doubt any of them would really care to meet any of the otaku. They take their work seriously. I donÆt know where those people are all coming from, but I wish theyÆd leave us in peace.ö
ôIÆd have thought youÆd appreciate all the extra business.ö
ôOh, the business is nice, but not the baggage that came with it. They just donÆt understand at all. They think what happened was some kind of dramatic fight scene out of an anime. What I saw was my brotherÆs wedding getting ruined by some guy weÆd never even heard of before, and my little sister ending up in the hospital when sheÆd just gotten out of it a few weeks before. IÆve seen enough battles to know that fighting isnÆt a game, and I donÆt appreciate it when people treat it like one.ö
ôI see your point.ö
The conversation might have gone on longer, but another table signaled that they were ready to order, and Miyuki had to return to work. Still, it was nice to have a sympathetic listener rather than the seemingly endless waves of otaku. By the time her work load slacked, the man had since left.
As Miyuki returned to her work, the man who was calling himself Masato Sanjouin considered how things had gone. He hadnÆt learned anything that seemed all that important, but he had managed to speak with the Moon PrincessÆs sister without inspiring the fully justified irritation that that the numerous others who were looking for information on JadeiteÆs killer for their own reasons had roused. As a result, he considered the afternoon a success.
He had laid the initial groundwork. From here he could attempt to build trust and cultivate the girl into an actual intelligence source. With enough time, he could either gain the information he needed to destroy the Moon Princess and get into a position where he could strike. He just needed to be patient.
Another group of people entered the cafÚ. By the look of them, they were more magical girl otaku, unwittingly helping NephriteÆs plans by establishing a contrast between them and the Dark General in the eyes of the Moon PrincessÆs sister. Nephrite smiled as he turned his attention to the Midori-yaÆs excellent pastry.
It was AliciaÆs first day of school. The school that her mother had chosen to enroll her into, a place called Mugen Gakuen, was larger than she expected. As she was escorted to her classroom, she was told that this was because the school covered a much wider range of grades than most schools in the area did, and as a result needed to hold more students than the typical school. Upon reaching her classroom, Alicia was asked to introduce herself to her new classmates. As she wrote her name on the blackboard, she heard someone in the room whisper.
ôWhatÆs with the fancy writing? Is the gaijin trying to show off?ö
Looking at what she had written, Alicia couldnÆt see what that person was talking about. She hadnÆt made any attempt to make her writing look fancy. She had written her name out just as she had been taught.
That part became more clear as the classes began. The area that she and Mother were living in apparently used four different alphabets, one of which was a simpler version of the alphabet she was used to, and three which were totally unfamiliar to her. Having been taught to read in only a single alphabet, Alicia found the additional ones to be highly confusing.
Mathematics was easier. In fact, it was too easy. Compared to the equations that Alicia needed to solve in order to perform even the simple spells that she had learned, the lessons the class was going through were trivial. Mother had told her that mages were extremely rare on this planet, but that she would take care of her magic lessons herself. Did not having to learn magic make them not take math seriously?
In the breaks between classes, Alicia came to find that she had no idea of how to relate to the rest of her classmates. She had never even heard of most of the things they were talking about. Everyone else in the classroom had formed into their own cliques long before she had started going to Mugen Gakuen, leaving Alicia an outsider.
When the day ended, a sad Alicia wandered out of the school. School had not been a particularly enjoyable experience. She didnÆt really fit in with any of the other kids in her class. Being alone wasnÆt so bad when her life had consisted of just her and her mother, but it was much worse when she was surrounded by people who werenÆt alone.
As she made her way towards the main gate, Alicia saw two older students standing apart from the crowds leaving the building. What the girl was doing to the boy was something that Alicia hadnÆt expected to see, given what her mother had told her about the area.
The girl was casting a magic spell.
Hotaru Tomoe had had always been different from everyone else. Ever since the lab accident that killed her mother, a sizable portion of her body had been replaced with cybernetic parts that sustained her after the grievous injuries she had suffered in the same accident. She had to wear long skirts, high-collared long-sleeved shirts and gloves to keep people from noticing that she was almost as much machine as she was human.
Despite her efforts to appear normal, her health problems, combined with a strange ability she possessed, made her stand out. Since becoming fitted with cybernetic parts, she had found herself blacking out at irregular intervals. When she came to, she found herself somewhere else, often with one or more injured people in her immediate vicinity. Upon seeing them, Hotaru would immediately use her healing power to help them, but the people she healed always responded to her aid with hostility. It was almost as if they thought that she was the reason they had been injured in the first place.
Other children who heard of her abilities tended to react in the same way. Hotaru found herself ostracized at best and harassed at worst by her classmates. And even if the students were smart enough to realize that picking on the principalÆs daughter could get them in a lot of trouble, which just meant that they took extra precautions to ensure that they didnÆt get caught.
The story was repeating again today. She had blacked out shortly after classes let out, and now she found herself outside, standing in front of a boy who had a rather nasty cut on his arm. She healed the boy, until to be called a freak by the person she helped before he ran off, leaving Hotaru alone in front of the school. Well, not entirely alone. As Hotaru looked around she saw a girl several years younger than her with blonde hair and red eyes staring at her. She sighed as she waited for yet another person to reject her for trying to help. The girlÆs reaction was a pleasant surprise.
ôI didnÆt know there were any other magi in the school. Mother said that most people in this area canÆt use magic.ö
Magic? Hotaru had heard the stories about the magical girls operating in the ward, especially since the incident where confirmation of their existence was posted on the news, but she had never considered the possibility that her healing powers meant that she was one of them. Wait a minute. The girl had said other magi. Was she one as well? Was sheà like her?
ôAreà you?ö Hotaru began.
In answer, a circle with a square centered in it appeared below the girlÆs feet, slowly rotating around her. As the diagram spun, an orb of blue light appeared in the girlÆs outstretched hand. The diagram faded, leaving the orb in the childÆs hand, until she closed her hand, causing the light to fade and vanish.
Hotaru smiled. For the first time in years, she had found someone who didnÆt consider her gift to be weird. Someone who might be the first real friend sheÆd ever had.
ôIÆm Hotaru Tomoe.ö She said.
ôAlicia Testarossa.ö The other girl replied.
Luna stretched as she rose from the cushion and started to walk around. So far, the princess had spent most of her time since making contact with the Senshi either training the Senshi or resting as she recovered from the wounds she suffered fighting for a nation not her own. None of the princessÆs time had been spent in council with the moon cats.
That slight was galling to the Mau. She had been the queenÆs chief advisor, and the princess was ignoring her completely. She had instead appointed a ferret to advise her in LunaÆs place, without any warning. Every time she had tried to speak with the princess, the ferret was the one she ended up talking to, in either animal or human form. And he acted like an academic gathering data for his next paper, not the member of a royal court. The Moon Kingdom was the pinnacle of civilization in this system, not a topic for academic research! There was no way the princess would be able to restore her kingdom under the guidance of a man who considered its very existence to be an intellectual curiosity.
The Senshi were not of much use in this matter. They were all busy trying to meet the princessÆs incredibly high standards as mages. Luna would have considered those standards to be impossible were it not for the fact that all of the princessÆs companions insisted that she had held herself to an even higher standard since she was nine, and would be trying to retrain herself to that level were she not under constant observation from her doctor, who refused to let her over-exert herself yet again. Between their home lives (Which had already been severely curtailed as a result of their Senshi responsibilities), schoolwork, and their duties on the military side of the Moon KingdomÆs affairs, they did not have time to help Luna with the political aspects. Mercury even appeared to be attracted to the young man who had usurped LunaÆs position.
Still, Luna had learned from her nearly disastrous mistakes. She had mistaken the undying loyalty of a victim rescued from darkness as the malicious intentions of one still in the service of evil, and it nearly cost the Senshi everything. She could not risk a direct confrontation with her rival. She had to prove her own worth before she could attempt to reclaim her position, and from there guide the princess to her destiny.
An idea occurred to her. The computers at the Command Center were linked to systems in the ruins of the royal palace on the moon. Those could be used to pinpoint the exact location of the palace sufficiently that they could travel there. The princess would be better able to remember her past life in a place that was central to that life. In the presence of things that would remind her of her life as Princess Serenity, she would recall where her true destiny lied and start acting like a princess rather than a minor agent of a foreign power.
It would be fairly easy to convince her rival to agree to this plan. Given his mindset, he would be eager to examine the ruins of the Moon KingdomÆs capital. Other members of the TSAB would be interested in learning what Metallia could do if it was unleashed again. From there, Luna would be able to fulfill her duty to the queen and begin molding the princess into the queen she needed to become.
A/N: Hayate didnÆt know about the details of FateÆs past because that case was closed before she met Fate, and the people who knew about it didnÆt want to remind Fate about it by bringing the topic up unnecessarily.
IÆm choosing to believe that there are such things as anti-scrying spells out there. If there hadnÆt been, Nanoha could have used a Wide Area Search to find VitaÆs home address in As. Precia is using one to evade TSAB notice.
Yes, Japan has four different forms of writing, kanji, katakana, hiragana, and romanji (Which is the standard Latin alphabet). The Mid-Childan alphabet looks like a stylized form of romanji.
Alicia was born in a totally different society, and only had a week to acclimate to a (to her) sudden change in locale. Fate had six months of correspondence with Nanoha to help her learn about Japanese society before she had to seriously interact with it, and had Nanoha with her when she started actually doing so. Alicia has nobody capable of helping her with the culture shock.
