A/N: G-Gear OP: "Sora Iro Days" By Shouko Nakagawa.

I'm sure a lot of us go to the TVtropes website for fun. Over there, there's a page for fanfiction recommendations. Naturally, the honor goes to my friend James Ray Edwards for his story "Mahou Shonen Enforcer Chrono". However, I feel a slight issue has been raised in regards to the differences in copyright. I've already given him full blessing and permission to use my Espada in his fic, but a "Rex Rox" on TV Tropes has accidentally mis-attributed the contribution as James' own idea.

Of course, James, it's not you fault at all.

I would just like to say for anybody who actually fulfills the prerequisites of having read James' fic, this fic, and went to that webpage on TV tropes, let it be known that I am the originator of the AU Nanoha-Espada idea, even if I'm not as famous or as talented in writing as James.

In the end, the mages barely escaped the Espada stronghold, Catedral, as it collapsed on itself. Most of the TSAB officers outside when the collapse occurred were able to escape unscathed.

The ghosts of the Orden de la Espada Inútil got lost within the collapsing building. Several were captured by TSAB officers on site. Most remained unaccounted for, and it is unknown how many fell into the Dimensional Dislocation, and how many might have escaped. All that is know is that the Espada headquarters, Catedral is no more, due to a mole for an unknown party acting on the inside, setting off the Lost Logia in a manner that caused it to self destruct.

Of the eight Jinki and the Outrage itself, only one has been recovered, the Thunderseal.

The Lost Logia and the mysterious man, Arnage, both disappeared into the Imaginary Space. Descriptions of the man from Fate T. Harlaoun and Takamachi Nanoha matched with those of a known Operative for hire, who has been on the payroll for multiple Outer Rim organizations, such as the mafia "La Familia", and the terrorist organization "A World With No Boundaries". He had no real known name, just code names and aliases varying from one faction to another. A man stated in the bios to be of a mentally unstable nature, owing to a history of self-inflicted modification and drug abuse, even among publicized remarks from his employers.

It was decided that "Arnage"'s actions at Catedral amounted to nothing more than a delusional and self-glorified suicide. Therefore, it was deemed unnecessary to pursue any further investigation into the matter.

With this, the first official Espada Case recorded by the TSAB came to a close.

Final Duel: Aces High

In The Time That Follows After...

The ring tone of a cellphone brought Takamachi Nanoha from complete blissful slumber to annoyed half-wakefulness. Underneath the covers of her bed, she hands fumbled to try and find and shut off the alarm function of her phone. It took her two attempts, one to push the phone over the edge, and again to finally reach down shut the phone off.

Nanoha grumbled something incomprehensible in her semi-consciousness.

The phone rang again. Another shuffle of derision, before the mage's bandaged hand reached out again to pull the phone back under the covers to hear.

"Whoooo...?"

"Hello, Nanoha. It is Ky calling."

Nanoha's face scrunched under the sheets "Wha...? Why're you calling me...? We're in the same house..."

"I would not think it proper to enter the room of a under dressed, unmarried, sleeping woman, even if I have to wake you up."

"...I guess... couldn't you just knock, though...?"

"Knocking implies the desire to enter the room, which I do not, to begin with."

Nanoha wondered if that was really the truth, but decided that was a debate for another time.

"So... what do you want, Ky...?"

"I just need you to get ready. We have an appointment Miss Harlaoun soon."

"Isn't that at two...?"

"It's already twelve, Nanoha."

Nanoha practically jumped out of bed, eyes widened in disbelief as she held the phone to her ear, "EH!?"

"Yes, Good Afternoon."

Ky, at least, was polite about it, while Nanoha struggled out of bed and into whatever she could deem proper for meeting a hospital patient, while fixing her hair into that side-up she was wearing it as more and more often. Her shirt came over her sore chest, which was still bound in medical wrapping. Even with healing spells, magic still couldn't substitute the healing process that had to follow through naturally afterwards.

Nanoha rushed out into the hallway to find Ky already standing outside, sword wrapped away in disguise at his side. He gave a small nod of greeting.

"Where's everyone else...?" Nanoha wondered aloud.

"Your family has already left to work at the cafe. Fate and the others might already be heading towards the hospital or be there already."

"Mom and Dad left me to sleep!? But I could have helped..." Nanoha whined, as they headed towards the front door and slipped into their shoes.

"Nanoha, just a few weeks ago, you nearly died saving the world. And again, from what I've been told," Ky shrugged as they departed the house towards the bus stop, "If you deserve, anything, it is a lot of sleep. Your wounds need to properly heal, too."

"I didn't get anything that bad..."

"That slash across your chest could have very well killed you. It's only because you had enchantments on your clothes at the time..."

Ky broke off into a sigh, Nanoha turned her head to him.

"What's wrong?"

"I am sorry I could not accompany you to that last battle. The Thunderseal is my responsibility, yet I had to remain behind while you and everyone else went ahead to stop Outrage."

Nanoha tried to dissuade him, "It wasn't your fault or anything...! We needed someone to look after Lindy after all! And... and it might have been dangerous for you without your sword! I mean... er..."

"It is alright. I just wish I could have helped more... I wish I could be stronger, so I can protect people as a real knight..." Ky seemed forlorn, before shaking his head free of thoughts, to Nanoha's small giggle, "I think too much about myself. Are you sure you're alright, Nanoha?"

Nanoha raised an arm with a balled fist in a sign of health, "I'm pretty much a hundred percent! No worries!"

"How about everyone else? It has been a while since the battle."

The TSAB mage hummed, trying to recall the news last, "I heard everyone was doing fine. Hayate-chan and Vita-chan and everyone was healing well, I heard that a friend of theirs was also getting better now. Chrono-kun and Yuuno-kun seem to be alright, too. Fate-chan..."

Nanoha's voice drifted off.

"What about Fate?" Ky prodded.

"Well... I think she's alright. Physically anyways..."

The "but" was left unsaid, as Nanoha could only allow herself to remember what happened after everyone escaped onto the Claudia right as Catedral collapsed and was promptly swallowed up by the Dimensional Dislocation.

In the hanger of the ship, Fate fell to her knees at the enormous silence that followed in the wake of a seeming endlessness of escaping thundering, crumbling stone. Ky's sword fell from her hand, clattering to the ground. The noise caught Nanoha's attention, turning her around.

"Fate-chan...?" Nanoha cautiously asked.

The enormous silence. The enormity of what had just transpired minutes ago.

"Alicia..."

Something squeezed her lungs and heart together into a painful mess, wrenching tears out of her eyes.

"She's... gone... Alicia... ALICIA!"

Her bloody gloves clawed at her face, while she sobbed freely, unable to do little more than wail the name of a family member taken from her again.

"Alicia... why...!?"

Her white garbed friend was immediately upon her, falling to her knees as well to draw Fate close, letting her friend weep freely into her shoulder

"Fate-chan, I'm sorry..."

Nanoha couldn't do much other than apologize to her friend, for reasons she wasn't even quite sure of, but she wanted to, to keep holding her friend while she wailed on, her own tears falling for Fate, too.

The door to Room 695 in the hospital slid open from the outside, letting Nanoha and Ky slip into the room with cheerful or polite salutations.

"Hey guys, sorry if we're late!"

"Miss Harlaoun."

Along with Lindy, who was still confined to bed, Fate, Yuuno, and Hayate turned from what places they had in the small room. The scene was picturesque enough, everyone grinning healthily, as if they had not recently engaged in a battle for their lives. It seemed they hid their healing injuries under their clothes well enough. Lindy herself seemed to have had her cheer returned to her, with little more than a few band-aids on her head to show for what she had survived. The occupants of the room returned their greetings.

"We stopped by my cafe to get something. I'm not sure if it's allowed, but I still got a cake for everyone!" Nanoha grinned, raising a box in her hand.

"That's very sweet of you, Nanoha-chan!" Lindy gushed, "Fate, if it's not too much trouble..."

"No, no it isn't, mother..."

Fate walked to her friend, with a typical slight smile and a quiet "Nanoha", before relieving her of the boxed treat. Nanoha returned a (nervous) smile.

Sometimes it was hard to read Fate. How long had it been since she watched her own sister jump into the void after her master's dreams? It wasn't like Nanoha was expecting her friend to be still bawling her eyes out. Fate was stronger than that. But she was still also a sensitive person.

Was she really alright like this...?

Nanoha, regardless, didn't voice her concerns yet, instead chatting it up with Lindy, "Hey, where's Chrono-kun?"

"Oh, he couldn't stay for very long. His idea of being a loving son is to go right ahead and find someone who can fix our home. It's no problem. He's probably more comfortable doing it his way."

"Oh... alright. Where's everyone else?"

"Especially Mr. Badguy..." Ky couldn't help but dryly add. Callous Tyrants and Virtuous Knights didn't mix too well.

Yuuno answered, "He got bored. He's probably in the cafeteria."

Hayate also piped in, "My family's visiting that friend we met on the mission before this. He's also been recovering since the attack."

That seemed to amuse Nanoha, "It seems they've gotten along well with him. You think I'll get a chance to say hi?"

"Probably sooner than you think. I heard he was interested in seeing Midchildia." Hayate grinned.

"Ah, I am such a lucky man... to be treated so kindly by so many beautiful women in my final hours...!"

Anji gave a sigh of elation. Like Lindy, the man from Aklumar was granted his own private room to recuperate, his chest done up in sterilized linen wrapping and gauze. The man thus was currently holed up in the TSAB Navy's massive interstellar HQ. Anji preened while two women gathered about him.

"Don't be so melodramatic. This is just a check up, and you're hardly on the verge of death. Not anymore, anyways." Shamal gave her own sigh, but continued prodding Anji's chest with the stethoscope that was attached on the other end to her ears.

"A-ah..." Anji's smile shrank slightly, before turning to the other woman in hopes of encouragement, "And you...? Did you come for my wonderful company?"

Signum didn't bother looking up from the board set up between her stool and Anji's bed.

"You're the only one around here who's any challenge at Shougi." Was her curt response, along with pushing a tile forward.

Anji gave a baleful gasp, holding his head back, while keeping one eye open to look at the game, "Oohh, the company is chilly... am I to spend the rest of my life in bitter loneliness, my companionship being mere scraps of tragic artistry and poetry and stagecraft? Despair...! The possible future of frozen isolation has left me in... Vita!"

Anji switched to a joyous (and somewhat disconcerting) squeal at the sight of the smaller girl who came into the room.

"Yo, Anji. Still holding up?"

"Ah well, the most illustrious Shamal here insists I am not in my death throes, so I can't part life changing words of wisdom to my beloved ones, alas."

Vita snorted, "That's probably a good thing. I'd hate to learn whatever messed up advice you'd ever spew. By the way, I got you some fruit."

There was something mischievous going through Anji's face when he spied the Iron Knight motioning to an apple she had in one hand.

"Oh, oh, dear one, are you going to feed me?"

"...What?"

"Oh, please, like in the stories, sweet Vita! Peel and cut it into nice little pieces with toothpicks in them, and put them in my mouth, one by one-"

Vita's eyes widened in disgust, "You want me to what!?"

Shamal gave another helpless sigh.

"Oh, come now, after all we've been through? I figured this was the least you could do..." Anji gave a might sniff, before his eyes had this helpless pleading aura to them that was directed straight at Vita. She choked.

"H-hey...! I mean... look...!"

"Viiita... haven't we gotten so close...? I mean, we were nearly married-"

The apple was hurled into Anji's stomach. The man was left wincing, groaning, and gagging at the all natural projectile that was driven into his gut.

"Da...gh..."

"Vita! You shouldn't do that... what if that accidentally reopens a wound or something!" Shamal chided, though not very seriously. Naturally the smaller girl wasn't listening.

"Anji! If I hear that ever again, I'm seriously going to hurt you more than this! Cut fruit for you!? You should be glad I even brought the thing over! You eat your own damn apple!"

"H-Hai... dear..."

"...Are you really alright with this?"

Anji stopped his over acted quivering, and turned to look at Vita again, "What is?"

"I mean, losing the Zessen. We couldn't get them back. Are you really okay with it? How many years did you spend protecting it? Pretending to be someone else, living on a place like Aklumar... and those years are going to be wasted..."

Anji gave a slight smile, "I appreciate your concern. But honestly speaking, I did really hate that responsibility."

"You... you did?"

For some reason, even coming from Anji's mouth, the idea of shirking responsibility to that degree seemed rather alien.

"Of course, I knew what I had to do was important. It's been something my family was keeping safe for years, after all, like that funny knight-friend of your friend I've heard about. But I don't think lying would be prudent here. I'm really glad the Zessen and the dangerous things like it are gone now. I have a lot of life left in me, after all. And I'll be able to see the universe properly, now! The fun! The adventure! No more being trapped up in Aklumar for me!"

Vita seemed smug, "Heh, and I thought you said you stayed there because you were afraid the universe was going to explode from how glorious or whatever you are. Or are you really not that pretty, after all?"

That caught Anji off guard, leaving his mouth momentarily slack.

"Oh... oh, that wit, my dear..."

Vita openly laughed at that, cheerfully. Anji and the others in the room couldn't help but join in with their own grins.

"Yeah, you idiot, it would have been a shame if we had you stick you back there in that nowhere place." Vita smirked, "If you ever need me as a tour guide for Midchildia, don't hesitate to ask."

"Ah, I'm touched...!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now go eat that apple before I think I wasted it on you. See you later."

Anji laughed to himself as he wiped the red fruit against one sleeve, "I'll be eating, then..."

Signum moved another tile, "Check."

Sunset poured through the hallways of the hospital, and visiting hours were soon coming to a close. The others had broken up, their homes a bit further away, but Fate opted to hang around a bit longer, speaking a bit longer with her mother, as well as search for a particular person.

Fate hoped he at least had the manners to stay in the hospital. But that was probably wishful thinking. Regardless, she continued calling out.

"Sol? Sol?"

"Polo, Girl scout."

Fate turned into a small waiting room to her left, and found within her missing tyrant seated idly in a small waiting room, thumbing through another magazine boredly. Fate blinked.

"Pardon?"

"Polo." Sol repeated, looking up. Apparently the word didn't catch any recognition.

"Marco Polo? As in the game?"

"Sorry... I never heard of it."

"Hmph? You never heard of Marco Polo? Jesus, no wonder it took you forever to try and find me. I'm almost afraid to ask what kinda fucked up childhood you ever had that you don't know shit like Marco Polo."

Fate had to stop herself from frowning. Her childhood was very "fucked up", after all, in the brusque man's vocabulary.

"I didn't think you would be here. I heard you went to the Cafeteria."

"Food was trash down there. I'd probably be fuller eating smoke from cigs."

"Oh. Well... it's time to head home now, Sol."

"Sure, sure..." Sol muttered to himself, before slapping the magazine back onto the stack and following his hostess back to the house he had continued to shack up in, despite most of the living room being immolated.

As they walked back towards the bus stop in silence, Sol snorted.

"Something on your mind?"

Fate looked up, somewhat surprised at the query from Sol of all people, before her gaze became somewhat downcast.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I couldn't retrieve your sword."

"Hmph. Still hung up on that? You already told your mom and me the whole story already. I don't get why you have to apologize for getting your ass whipped trying saving the world like that."

"I... I just feel bad. I'm sure the Fireseal was important to you."

"Eh, no matter. Won't change the Himalayas that much."

"So you'll be going back there?"

"Hmph, I don't think I could stand this city for too long, anyways. Too goddamn pastel and happy."

"...Oh."

The conversation stumbled away into nothing for another while, until the two were standing at the bus stop, under the orange sky. That was when Sol suddenly asked:

"By the way..."

Fate looked up to her larger companion, "Yes?"

"You still remember that psychic guy you fought?"

The blond cursed under her breath, "How could I ever forget him...?"

"What was he like?"

"Like?"

"You know."

Fate sighed, "I don't know what to say... except he's the worst kind of person. He knows what to do exactly to make everyone hate him, and somehow he'll laugh, because it's his victory. He's not afraid of anyone or anything, because he wasn't afraid of dying, either."

"Heh, son of a bitch..."

Fate turned to Sol in surprise, "Did you know him...!?"

Sol shrugged, "Naw. He just sounds like douche bag version of someone I knew long ago."

"Really..."

"Yeah. Actually, you kinda remind me of someone else, too."

That surprised the enforcer, "Really?"

"Yeah... You kinda got the same face. Same eyes, too. She had a really soft heart, too. She liked playing nice, so it wasn't hard for her to get along with everyone, even that other guy."

"A man like Arnage...!?"

"Eh, well. He wasn't as much of a dick as the guy you know. Heh, those stupid days..."

"What happened to them?"

"...They're not around anymore."

"...Oh... I'm sorry."

Sol shrugged again, "Eh, stuff in the past. I wouldn't really worry about losing the Fireseal, girl scout. What's done is done. Besides, I've got a feeling..."

"A feeling?"

"Eh, just a hunch."

The conversation died again.

It was night. Fate laid on her back atop the roof of the apartment, and stared high up into the sky pocked with light. It was long after everyone else in her home had already fallen asleep, but she had opted to stay out so she could look up at the stars, and lose track of time.

"Alicia..."

And at night, when there was nothing left to think about, a part of her would start thinking back to the recent past.

Fate spied a pink glowing feather drop from the sky. She sighed.

"Nanoha."

There was a sound of a Barrier Jacket dissipating before Fate found Nanoha crouching by her in normal clothing.

"Hey, Fate-chan. I couldn't sleep much, again."

"That makes two."

So they watched the stars.

"Fate-chan...?"

"Yes?"

"...I don't know if it's alright if I should ask, now..."

"It's alright."

"You sure?"

"...Yes, I know you only ask because you care."

"...Are you really alright? About Alicia-chan, I mean."

Fate sat up, at that. Nanoha sat as well, so she could support her back against Fate's, leaving them only hearing their voices.

"I don't know... Alicia promised she would come back. I shouldn't feel sad... and I don't think I really do anymore, but..."

Nanoha kept listening with a hum.

"...Did she really have to do it? Throw herself in after Aaroniero... was he more important to her? I just wish... I just wanted her to stay."

"I don't know if it's the same. But before I met you, Fate-chan, I used to be left by myself a lot when I was younger. I understood that they were working hard to support the cafe while my dad was in the hospital, but still, they seemed spend more time there than they did with me. I mean, I understood, but it still hurt."

"It does sound similar."

The back of their heads touched, and they remained that way for a bit longer. Nanoha's hand accidentally found itself resting atop one of Fate's, but neither really bothered apologizing or moving it.

"I suppose all I can really do is wait, and hope she comes back."

"If she's anything like you Fate-chan, she'll definitely come back."

Fate didn't respond immediately, though Nanoha heard a discontent sniffle.

"...I still miss her."

"...Being alone sucks, doesn't it?"

"I'm glad I still have you, Nanoha."

"Me too."

Some weeks later, the big day had finally arrived. Ky Kiske the Thirteenth had finally contacted his family, reporting both his personal safety as well as that of the Thunderseal. His family replied about how the family mansion was already in the middle of being rebuilt, but it would be best if he returned as soon as possible.

And so, Ky Kiske, with Nanoha and Fate, stood in the airport, nary but feet away from the entrance to Departures.

The Frenchman stood in a fresh set of clothes, who his overcoat was the same aged thing that he had worn when he made his way into Uminari City in the first place. The Thunderseal remained hanging off his shoulder in a sealed case, covered in permits and permissions.

"I guess this is farewell, then." Was all Ky could admit.

"It's too bad about the kind of circumstances we met under, though." Fate couldn't help but muse. Ky waved the misfortune away.

"I believe there really was no other way we could have met. I'm not really sure I would have come all the way here, under my own volition." The young knight admitted.

"Yeah... but it was good we got to be friends, right?" Nanoha chirruped

Ky smiled, "Yes. Yes, a lot of good things came out of this. Well... I think I must go now. I must return home and pursue my training."

Nanoha's face scrunched slightly at that, "Hey, Ky?"

"Yes?"

"Just don't forget you're not alone, alright? I can understand the need to be stronger, but don't let things in the past keep you down, alright? It's not healthy to never look forward, after all."

"Don't worry. A knight betters himself not only to overcome old mistakes, but also to protect those who are important to him."

"Right!"

Fate raised her hand, "I hope we'll see each other again..."

Ky looked at the proffered limb, but rather than shake, he held it so that the back of the hand was visible to him, while reaching to hold Nanoha's as well in the same fashion.

"K-Ky...?"

Like a proper gentlemen from a faraway land, he brought his lips chastely onto the knuckles of each lady's hand. Fate and Nanoha's faces widened in shock and their faces rapidly heated up

"Pouvons nous réunissons encore, mes dames."

"What... What's that supposed to mean...!?" Fate managed to splutter. Nanoha would have asked, were she not too busy blushing furiously.

"If you remember to ask that question the next time we meet, I will most certainly remember to answer as well." A knight challenged, a slight twinkle in his eye.

There was a momentary look of confusion, before understanding passed through both the Instructor and the Enforcer's faces in a bright smile.

"It's a promise!"

"I'll remember, too."

With that, the young man stepped behind the gates towards awaiting aircraft to take people all over the world.

A teenage girl with a side-up ponytail grabbed her blonde friend by the hand.

"Come on! Maybe there's a window where we can see him take off!"

The two thus rushed off, and an hour later, the two cheerfully waved farewell in their imagination as they watched an Air France jet soar into the deep blue sky.

The sun continued to shine brightly that day.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: "Guilty Gear" - END

...

...

...

And, Afterwards...

"You are now arriving at... Devil's Living Place... You are now arriving at... Devil's Living Place... the next stop is... Britannia Eleven..."

Arnage stepped off the empty train, a wrapped bundle hanging over his shoulder from one hand. The psychic took a breath from his inhaler and walked off the small train platform into the forest in front of him. The plant life before him formed a seemingly unbreakable wall of trees and shrub, of which there seemed no path into.

In spite of this, the psychic marched confidently across the short dirt path that terminated in front the dense growth. Instead of Arnage pitching head over heels on roots and branches, though, the thick foliage of all kind parted way for him, from the smallest weed to the largest tree, revealing a rustic stone path to lead the way. All plants bent away from the apparent welcome guest into this forest, letting the man walk unhindered under peaceful shade.

Someway into the journey, the dense wood finally broke into a small grove. Arnage looked up to the sky, giving a wane smile.

The same sky, all day, every day, never changing. Perfectly formed white clouds, cheerful baby blue atmosphere, and patches of sky missing in groups of squares, like an malformed computer simulation, leaving the black void of space to pour through in beams of nightlight instead of sunlight. The miracle atmosphere created in lieu of the original one that had been burned away a long time ago.

Regardless, the grove and garden grew to be perfectly picturesque: dewy grass, trees perfectly shaped to provide shade when required, a cool stream nearby, babbling over smooth stones. Everything one could have dreamed off, if you could ignore the complete lack of any living woodland creature, and the complete silence. Not even the buzz of a single gnat's wing.

Before Arnage was the back of a woman. She was quietly seated at a small outdoor table that came with a pair of chairs, all done in beautiful white steel that gnarled over itself in the design of ivy and vine. A small tea set had been set out, a combination design of white porcelain bound in wrought steel.

The woman herself was undoubtedly beautiful. She wore a black dress that clung to her frame, showing youth and health, while her exposed shoulders and collar upwards was all perfect cream skin. Her long hair stood out, a blue hue that was actually natural, the locks pulled together into two loops and tied with yellow ribbons.

The woman did not turn to greet Arnage, but simply called out.

"You've been gone a long time."

"Yo, Mother Justice." Arnage grinned, while he circled around the table to the spare seat.

The woman sighed and put down her book, "I wish you wouldn't call me that. I am not my mother."

"You didn't complain when we were deciding code names." Arnage chuckled, as he placed his parcel to one side of the table.

"I didn't know you were going to calling me that even here."

"Hey, I don't trust any place I'm in. There's always a chance someone is listening."

Another sigh.

"I guess there's no changing your mind. And I assume you wish for me to call you Fake Angel here, too?"

"Well, it matches, right? I am the emissary for us all." Arnage said, leaning back into his chair and crossing his legs in relaxation.

"You keep insisting you are the weakest of all of us, worthy only as a so-called emissary for the gods..." She muttered to herself, before smiling, "Still, I'm glad you're safe."

"I appreciate it. What's that you're reading?"

The woman looked at the large bound book in her hands, the cover of which was marked by a large gold cross, "Oh, this? Nosferatu lent it to me. She was surprised she found it in her library. It's a multi-volume epic. Quite long."

"Like the Mahabharata?"

"Like that, yes."

"What's it called?"

"The Tome of the Night Sky."

Arnage seemed to recall something about the familiar title, which left him tapping one cheek in contemplation, "Night Sky... Night Sky... Oh, yeah. You know you'll never get the full story out of that?"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, Volume Seven was destroyed. Some piss-ass mages a while back went and screwed with it because it was a Lost Logia, used all the memory and character data in it to store... whatever shit they wanted. It's a real shame. A perfectly good story lost."

She shrugged, "Shame. Well, Nosferatu has the remaining Volumes, I believe. As long as I can read the ending, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

She shut the book, and laid it on her lap, turning her red eyes to the wrapped object Arnage had put on the table, "Is that...?"

"Yeah, it's the Fireseal. Freddie didn't get a chance to get his sword back. I'll have arrange some channels through which he can find it again. Maybe Fifty Two can help... or Save Our Soul..."

"That's good to hear, though handle it carefully meanwhile, I don't want Uncle's sword accidentally burning down someplace here, because of something foolish like you bickering with Fire Shadow or Save Our Soul again... " The woman lectured while reaching forward to hold to teapot, pouring the dark contents out into two cups, while sliding the cream and sugar towards Arnage, who obliged himself to large amounts of both.

"Yes, Mooother Justice..."

The woman gave an indignant harrumph under her breath as she drank her own tea black, "So, are you going to report to me?"

Arnage cracked his neck, mumbling to himself as he tried to recall, "Well... mission was a complete success for the most part. We've got the Outrage now. I left it with Gray Witch and Doll House to dismantle. So there's one ancient thorn finally out of our asses."

"And the Espada?"

"Most of them were wiped out in a Dimensional Dislocation, along with their headquarters. Even if there are survivors, they're demoralized, decentralized, and far too few now. Give it a few years, and they'll probably all be gone, either of quitting of their own volition or they'll be finished off by the TSAB. Their kind won't bother us for a while."

"And what was not a success for the most part?"

"My plan didn't go off as precisely as I wanted. Two mages saw my face and still survived. So there's a possibility they'll come to know we really exist. Luckily it was only the two of them. Plus, there's all those profiles they built up of all my other aliases in the past. So it'll probably be a while before they convince themselves or others that we really exist. I could probably off them in the mean time-"

"Jeremiah."

That name caught Arnage's attention, and he found Mother Justice staring disparagingly at him, indeed like a parent frowning upon her delinquent child.

"I only asked for your report to hear your side of things. But I already know what happened."

"Asked help from Fifty Two again, huh..."

"There's one thing I'm disappointed in you with. You were really going to use over a thousand TSAB officers just for distraction, then kill them all without a second thought."

"That's what I was using them for, after all. You know our rules. The worst Lost Logia can't be known by anybody. I couldn't leave a thousand people going back home wondering what they were chasing. Some of them would have genuinely looked for answers." Arnage retorted, somewhat insulted.

"I didn't design the Bureau to be a convenient waste of human lives whenever you wished. We are hands off, Fake Angel. That's why the Bureau can support itself and make its own decision. They are our children, not our pawns." She coldly explained.

"Well, I always hated children, anyways." Arnage snorted, "Besides, say what you want about how you want to run the Bureau, but remember who asked me for help in this situation? You already had your chance to try and intervene in this situation by sending mages to Aklumar to capture the Zessen and then use channels to bring it all the way here, so that the Espada would never be able to complete Outrage. Then Paris happened. I remember the words you said to me exactly when you saw the Kiske estate burn to the ground:

"Fake Angel, I won't stand those white wretches anymore. Go and destroy them with all the strength available to you. I will not suffer anybody who threatens my descendants. My children."

" You're the one who told me to use whatever I had to make those fuckers pay for messing with your kids. And I used every trick I had to humiliate them completely. So, don't go acting like you love everybody. You may, but I know in the end, you're a mother. You love your kids more. So don't try and play at being a moralistic faggot now over a thousand numbers and faces we've never even met. The Bureau was made so we could be hands off and so they could look after themselves, yes, but we definitely do not care about those... humans..."

The woman returned with an even stare, "And what would you do? Kill thousands to save millions? Kill millions to save billions? In the end, your efficient measures to protect the universe will leave it a hollow, gaunt shell of your vision. Like an animal, it will end up gnawing on itself to survive, eventually dying, rather than feed from the hand that prefers to injure it."

Arnage snorted. The woman continued.

"And that is why we must look after the children of Far-The-Earth. Let it think it is its own being, meanwhile we stuff it so full of happiness that it will lie bloated, unmoving, and content. Let it never think of marching adventurously into the unknown where it may be destroyed, or be thin enough to look at itself and wonder what it is."

"So full of ambition." The psychic snorted, "I guess that's why I leave all the hard thinking and bureaucratic machination to the rest of you guys."

Mother Justice brought a cup of tea to her lips, and Arnage kept talking.

"Still, like you say, the children of Far-The-Earth thinks it's its own being. It doesn't matter what you or I do. Abuse it or stuff it like a thanksgiving turkey, it won't even recognize there's a hand doing any of it."

"But the one the hand belongs to, would. And what would we say when the miracles of our world finally escapes fully into the rest of the universe? By our own hands no less. At this rate, Arnage, you might as well have kept all of Outrage to yourself."

He groaned, leaning on the table with an elbow while he massaged on side of his head with two fingers, "You... you... You know what? Fuck. Never mind. We shouldn't argue like this, what's done is done."

"It seems like enough time has passed to change even you." Mother Justice murmured.

"Yeah, well, it seems like the only person who doesn't change is Nosferatu." Arnage snorted, while reaching to breath from his inhaler again.

"And Gray Witch."

"Eh, I just think she has a good poker face."

"...More tea?"

Arnage waved negative, picking up the bound Fireseal as well "Eh, I think I should head back to my place, anyways."

As Arnage moved to leave, the woman's voice stopped him again, "Fake Angel. There's one thing you haven't accounted for yet."

He turned back, "What?"

"You said only two people knew you. But I believe you forgot that Espada girl."

"What, Phoenix?"

"She fell in once before. She surely will escape again, and she knows you. You know what kinds of ambitions and monsters are spawned from hatred and revenge."

Arnage grinned to himself, "I'm hardly afraid of her. She, or Takamachi, or Testarossa-Harlaoun, they can try and oppose us all they want. In fact, I can't wait to see what stupid plots they can come up with. In the end, though, we're always the ones who out last them. We are the very fundamental law of this universe, after all."

"I hope you won't end up regretting that claim. You have a tendency to bite more than you can chew, even if you somehow manage to swallow it in the end."

Arnage walked off, waving behind his back, "Don't worry about it. We've got this in the bag."

We are the gods of the universe. We are the ceiling that shields man from the sky... we determine the limit of mankind...

See You Next Time, "S-Saint".

KEEP ON ROCKING!