A/N: As always, this has not been beta-read so who knows what kind of mistakes you'll find in there.

I must also give credit to the Vetus Wordpress website for its encyclopedia of everything Negima that I used in reference to spells.

Disclaimer: I don't own Negima.

Illumine

...Chapter 10…

It was exactly midday when she got her first sight of the crow demon village. They had just passed over the bustling town of Tharsis and were zipping above the tree-covered foothills. Konoka was thankful once again for Theodora's airship. With the included navigation, they didn't have to stop in Tharsis in order to track the exact location of the crow demon's home. Time was of the essence. She couldn't decide if she was imagining it or not, but since setting off not even an hour after catching Asuna and Ayaka together, she could feel Setsuna. It was faint like a whisper, but it was there.

From the distance, there wasn't much to see but the rolling, forested hills; however, she could just make out the tops of buildings and patchy clearings of a village nestled in the landscape. She placed a hand against the window and closed her eyes. We made it. Hopefully it will be easy from here...

"So Konoka, what's the verdict?" Haruna asked as she piloted the ship closer, slowing in speed. "Your lover is right there! Do we storm in for an epic confrontation or do we make a daring sneaky raid for your lady-love?" Despite only a few hours of sleep, the resident artist was just as chipper and manic as always.

Konoka bit her lip worriedly. "Do you think they've seen us yet?"

"We're still a good distance away and maintaining fairly high altitude," Yue said thoughtfully. "Too far for them to automatically conclude this airship is coming toward their village."

"Okay...um..." Konoka turned away from the cockpit and surveyed the cabin full of her friends. Her eyes landed on their resident ninja. "Kaede-chan, would you be willing to do a little reconnaissance—you know, tracking down Setsuna's location and possible guards, escape routes, and, um, stuff?"

"It will be done de gozaru." Kaede answered with a nod.

"Great! Thanks!" Konoka said, turning her attention back to Haruna and Yue. "Paru, find a decent clearing to land in that puts us a couple of kilometers out."

"No problem oh captain, my captain," Haruna said with a smirk. "In fact, I've already got one spotted."

As Haruna piloted the ship closer, lowering altitude and slowing speed, Konoka's mind raced. Okay, okay... Okay, everything is going to be fine. Everything. I'm here. Setsuna is here and she'll be just fine. She has to be. Hopefully Kaede will be quick... Wait... Konoka narrowed her eyes, trying to make sense of the rapidly flying mass approaching from the mountains to the west. What is...? What is that!

"Holy shit! Do you see that? Look!" Haruna exclaimed, mouth hanging open. "What is that?"

Konoka tore her sight away, momentarily, casting a glance behind her at the sudden clamor that arose in cabin. At Haruna's words, her friends had quickly pressed up against the windows, peeing out into the sky.

"What in the actual hell?" Asuna said, with more curiosity then bite.

"Are those...are they demons? They're so fast! They've nearly caught up to us!" Ayaka voiced, pressed up against Asuna's side.

"Let me see!" Chamo scrambled to the top of Negi's head in order to get a view.

"No way they're part of the crow demons," Negi said with conviction.

"Are they coming for us!" Chisame demanded, an edge to her voice.

Haruna shook her head. "They're not on course to intercept us," she said loudly for the benefit of their suddenly panicking friends. She ignored the sighs of relief, casting her gaze at Yue. "Yuecchi, ever seen anything like those things before?"

"No..." Yue's eyes were wide, as she murmured, standing up to look over Haruna's head. "Where are they... They're headed right for the village."

Konoka watched, eyes back on the dark mass in the sky that had taken shape into dozens of flying monsters...demons...or something. Her gut twisted as she watched the quickest of the monsters fall onto the village. There was silence for a moment across the airship, an eerie anticipation in which Konoka found herself clenching the back of Yue's chair.

Then fire bloomed from one of the buildings in a raging cloud, and a number of small, dark shapes darted over the tops of buildings and trees, clashing with the monsters in the sky. Konoka found herself looking for white wings.

"Konoka..." Yue said.

She shook her head slightly, feeling Yue's worried eyes on her. She took a breath, refocusing. "Right... Change of plans! Paru-chan, head straight for the village!" She said loudly enough for her friends in the cabin to hear.

"What's the game plan Konoka?" Negi asked. She could sense a bit of hesitance from him. He still wants me in charge, but he's willing to accede to leader if I want him too. I think, anyway. Thanks Negi, but I can't. Not now, not even after my mistakes. I'll be leader of the Kanto and Kansai one day, and things aren't going to be easy then either. Even though this means so much more... I must... I will lead and save Setsuna. For her, and for myself.

Konoka met Negi's encouraging stare, a wry thought passing through her head. So maybe I'm reading too much into one little gesture, but that's okay. My convictions are still the same. "Those monsters look nasty. Fight them if you have too; they're the aggressors. The crow demons..." She took a breath. "I might severely—very severely—dislike them right now, but if push comes to shove, a little leverage from helping them can't hurt."

"You do know that in movies and TV, the uglier ones are usually the bad guys. I think that applies to the situation at hand." Chisame said. And then softly, to herself, "Hmm, yes, very meta."

"Yo Konoka! Do you just want me to park in the village?" Haruna yelled behind her.

"Ah, no. Um, slow down as much as possible though. Some of us are going to be jumping off. Paru, in all seriousness, you think you can handle a few of these monsters with this ship?" Konoka asked.

"Totally," Haruna said with finality. Konoka could just picture the determined grin on Haruna's face under the confident tone.

"A Hellas vessel such as this one usually comes with emergency firefighting abilities," Yue said from over Konoka's shoulder. "Chisame-san, I think this is your area of expertise..."

"What?" Chisame looked startled. Her eyes wide under her glasses.

"Go Chiu-chan!" Ku Fei added with a cheer. "Like a video-game aru!"

"Except this one I could actually, you know, freaking die. Or accidentally shoot a crow demon. Or one of you." Chisame said.

"You can do this Chisame-san," Negi said encouragingly. "Use your pactio to get into the ship's computer and it should be no problem for someone as talented as you."

Chisame's cheeks colored a light pink, but a scowl was painted across her mouth. "Don't tell me stuff I already know to do. I can handle it just fine even without my pactio. Hmph." She stomped on past Konoka and Yue, and ignored Haruna's jabbering in her ear as she took out her pactio. Negi just grinned after her.

"When she acts like that, I like to think that she's still fourteen aniki," Chamo added from atop of Negi's head.

"Oh go keep them company Chamo-kun. You know you want to anyway," Negi responded.

"Score!" Chamo smirked as he scrambled off his perch and into the cockpit. "Oh ladies..."

"Shut up ermine," Chisame drawled distractedly.

"If any of you want to stay on the ship, you are more than welcome to." Konoka said. She grimaced as she spared a glance out of one of the cabin windows, glimpsing the raging fight. They were rapidly approaching the village and she could feel the hum of the airship as Haruna slowed them down. She turned back to her friends, and all were watching her expectantly. "...What?" She asked, quizzically.

"It's cute how you try to spare us," Mana said dryly. The word cute had never sounded so indifferent.

"Come on Konoka," Asuna said with exasperation beside Ayaka. "We all want to save Setsuna too."

Konoka smiled. "Okay."

"Okay?" Asuna said, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay," Konoka confirmed with a nod.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Asuna roared before marching over to the ship's hatch.

Ayaka watched her go as the others dispersed to get ready, shaking her head with a wry smile. She caught Konoka's eyes, and shrugged her shoulders, "I think you two have been living together for far too long."

Konoka sidled up next to her. "Nonsense," she said lightly. "And don't worry, I'll make sure to knock before coming into the room, and you know, not just bust the door down to demand for Negi."

Ayaka colored. Konoka wasn't sure if it was at the thought of being caught in a compromising position with Asuna or from catching her and Setsuna before the birthday party. Maybe both.

"I've spotted a good jumping point at the outskirts of the village," Haruna shouted. "You guys ready? I'll engage the hover abilities so it should be pretty smooth landing. You know, no broken bones or anything!"

"Yeah! Let's do this!" Ku Fei cheered, only to tumble over along with everyone else as Haruna veered sharply to the left.

"Sorry!" Haruna shouted. "Monsters you know! Come on Chiu-chan! Shoot it!"

"Shut up perv! I'm trying!" Chisame shouted back. A stream of curse words poured out of her mouth that would have made even Chamo blush.

"Be ready everyone! Things are getting a little prickly!" Speaking of Chamo, the ermine managed to get the warning out above the curses from Chisame.

Negi was already back at the hatch and putting in the manual override as Konoka picked herself up off the floor. Konoka carefully made it over to him, stopping to pick up Yuunagi and securing it over her shoulder, as the ship rocked from Haruna's evasive piloting.

"Ready." Negi said as she stopped at his side.

"Go ahead and open it please Negi-kun," she said to him. "Paru! Give us a shout when we should go!"

The cabin was filled with noise of rushing air as soon as Negi kicked the hatch door open. Konoka gasped, jumping backwards as a dark form immediately zoomed by. Hands gripped her upper arms, steadying her.

"Easy Konoka," Asuna said.

"Thanks Asuna!" She smiled back at her roommate. Recovered, she gripped the frame with one hand and peered back out of the hatch, pushing chocolate air behind her ear. The village was in chaos, and Konoka took a deep breath to calm her raging heartbeat. Negi, gripping the other frame, was halfway leaning out into open air, magic at the tips of his fingers. With careful precision, he released Sagitta Magica. A firework show of numerous arrows of lights flew through the sky as Negi picked his targets in turn.

She braced herself as the airship shuddered, their speed noticeably slowing.

"Get ready!" Haruna shouted.

"Konoka," Asuna said from over her shoulder. Konoka half-turned in order to look at her roommate, hearing an edge of somberness. Asuna placed a hand on her shoulder, and spoke, looking dead into her eyes. "I'm sticking with you. We're going to get her."

Konoka nodded, and brought her free hand up to grip Asuna's. "Okay."

Asuna smiled, squeezed her hand, and let it go. Konoka watched with barely concealed fascination as her roommate's hand then found Ayaka's. She couldn't help but overhear the words that were meant to be for Ayaka alone. "Please, stay close to me..."

Konoka's vision darted to the regal class president who shyly bit her bottom-lip with all her attention on Asuna. She couldn't hear the singular word that crossed Ayaka's lips in a whisper, but she nevertheless knew it. "...Always."

Konoka smiled, and for a moment, all was at peace.

Then... "This is it!"

Konoka gulped. The ground still looked like it was rushing by, even if their speed was noticeably slower, and it looked quite a bit of a jump to the ground... But... Setsuna... "Let's go!"

She was in space for but a blink, and then she hit the ground. She rolled at the impact, distributing her weight and momentum, thankful once again for all that training she went through with the others. Her body still jarred, but it was manageable. Letting the force of her roll carry her back to her feet, she watched as her friends quickly followed, landing one by one in front of her. Negi, Kaede, Mana, and Ku Fei landed with nary a flinch, weapons already leveled and ready for onslaught. She watched Nodoka jump out, her hand gripped in Yue's who immediately cast a gust of wind at their feet to ease their landing. Why didn't I think of that? Then finally Asuna with Ayaka firmly over her shoulder. Before Konoka could fully process that image, Asuna hit the ground teetering. Then she toppled forward. Ayaka's feet were deposited securely, leaving her standing and Asuna crumpled on the ground next to her.

Even at the distance and over the destruction, she could hear Ayaka yelling. "I don't feel any sympathy for you! You ever try to throw me over your shoulder again and I will punch you into next week!"

Good thing to know that they'll never change.

The airship was gone, the Haruna, Chisame, and Chamo team already engaging in a fight with the monsters. She eyed all of her friends in front of her, waiting, looking, ready to fight (except for Asuna who was only just now picking herself up off the ground) and her heartbeat thudded in her chest.

The world paused.

She felt her, alive and waiting. She felt her own magic respond intuitively at the presence of her minsitra, cackling and flaring under her skin. And she felt her own heart break, feeling all at once the suffering, confusion, and the determination of her ministra, her lover, her everything. She responded without a thought, sending out a pulse of magic to soothe the pain and to tell her, tell Setsuna, that she was here.

Then the world was moving again. She adjusted Yuunagi and sprinted forward. She had to see her. She passed Negi and Ku Fei, and felt their shift in attention as the hair rose on the back of her neck. Ku Fei roared and Shinchintetsu Jizaikon exploded in her hands into massive staff that battered against the creature that tried to spring its chance onto her open back.

Just like that, the world shifted for Konoka again, but this time it was like a punch in the gut at the realization that they were in the middle of a battlefield. It was horrible and terrifying. And ten times worse on the ground then it was in the airship.

Homes torn apart, fires raged in pockets, mangled bodies, and desperate crow demons assaulted her vision while screams of pain mixed with curses of triumph and anguish filled her ears.

Ku Fei had been drawn into a fight with the monster that she had just struck, and the resounding impact of Shinchintetsu Jizaikon had drawn more attention. Monsters that had been circling the village looking for prey or anything to destroy were zeroing in upon Ku Fei's explosion of Ki.

"Go on ojou-sama..." Mana said, brushing by Konoka. "That stupid ninja and I well help Ku Fei. Let's go Nagase."

"Already gone de gozaru," Kaede said as she zoomed past, giant shuriken in hand and Caerulum Tonus streaming from her shoulders.

Mana scoffed, watching Kaede bound upwards, meeting a large, scarred bear-like creature before leveling an assault rifle. Then Konoka was moving again, sprinting to where she knew Setsuna was waiting. Her remaining friends, Asuna, Ayaka, Yue, Nodoka, and Negi, followed without question.

Once again, Konoka was thankful for all of their training the past few years. She could run without worrying about being winded. This was a bit more than running though. It was a sprint through a war zone, and Konoka's stomach clenched in pain with every injured or dead crow demon that she saw out of the corner of her eyes. As much as she wanted to see Setsuna, and even with the knowledge that the crows had taken her ministra in the first place, she still felt the urge to heal. They were victims here, and she steeled herself to ignore the sounds of a crying child and the moans of pain.

She sprinted on, dodging around burning buildings, debris, and avoiding fights as best as possible. She felt Setsuna growing closer and closer. Her heart burned with need for her ministra more than anything. She pushed her legs to move faster, moving along the edge of an open space in the middle of the village toward the biggest building she had seen yet in the community.

She turned its corner, quickly skidding to a halt and gagged. A monster, a rather large one, was clenching a crow demon in a gnarled fist. The crow demon was more blood and broken bones than an actual body, but worst of all was the demon's head. It tilted grotesquely sideways, halfway severed. Yellow slitted-eyes turned toward her and the monster huffed, steam billowing out from under its nostrils. It casually tossed the mangled body of the crow demon against the building where it impacted and slid to the ground, leaving a bloody smear.

Konoka took a shuddering breath and readied herself for an attack, only for Negi to blaze by her, his entire form glowing.

He's angry... Konoka thought as Negi plowed into the monster with the type of righteous power that only he could possess.

"Go on Konoka-san!" Negi yelled as the monster struck back and he dodged the blast of fire that issued from the creature's mouth. "I'll handle this and catch up with you soon!"

"Let's go Konoka!" Asuna said, grabbing Konoka by the elbow and pulling her along. "You know Negi can handle it!"

And they were moving again. Konoka allowed herself to glance over her shoulder as they pulled away. Negi was already fully sucked into his own private battle, having immediately drawn the attention of a number of other monsters that were unengaged in fights in the area. He'll be fine... He's Negi. He'll be fine.

She pushed onward, ignoring the sounds of battle all around and only vaguely aware of Asuna and Ayaka at her side and Yue and Nodoka just behind. Setsuna was so close. And then, just like that, she was there.

White wings and lean form were hidden behind wooden bars, but she was there. Konoka gave a cry of excitement and relief. Set-chan, Set-chan! It'll all be fine now! Her heart raced in her chest and tears pooled in her eyes. She dashed forward, out of the cover of the village buildings and into the open space leading to the cells, only barely hearing the call of warning from Yue. But that didn't matter now. Not when the pull to Setsuna felt so tangible. Not when she was moments away from being able to touch her again. Not when she was so close.

And closer still, so that Konoka could see her ministra's eyes, dark and longing and the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She was nearly at the grove of trees now. Just a moment longer and I can touch her again and everything will be alright. "Setsuna!" She couldn't help the joyous cry.

Setsuna responded with what could only be the most agonized, relieved smile. Konoka's soul wrenched, and she struggled to breathe. She was close enough to see the glittery reflection in her ministra's eyes to know Setsuna had her own tears to shed. Konoka reached out, intent on taking the final two steps to meet Setsuna, when her ministra's eyes widened in panic.

The facial cue was enough. Konoka was already dodging to the side as Setsuna opened her mouth to give a warning. "Konoka!"

The monster crashed into the ground, digging dirty clawed hands into the soil where she had just been. Part of Konoka just wanted to scream in frustration. Thankfully, most of her was concentrated on the sudden, very pressing threat to her life.

She whirled, jumping backwards for a bit of distance as the monster's dragonfly wings buzzed. The monster was large. She wasn't sure how those flimsy wings managed to pick up its body mass. Nevertheless, the creature was soon grotesquely hovering in midair, eyeing her, its prey. I'm not the prey here. No longer and never again. Evangeline, Claw, whatever may stand in my way... Konoka could nearly feel a snarl forming on her lips. It felt foreign and unusual, but right for her current sentiments. I'll fight every single one of them for her.

"Konoka! Run! Please!" Setsuna's voice hit her ears. The note of desperation was sobering to her savage thoughts—thoughts that were the product of the days of worry, desperation, and fear.

I hate violence. I do. I'd rather heal than hurt any day... But I'll fight for her. I'll always fight for her. She said her activation words with as much calm as she could muster. "Lux Ala Lumen Ensis." Her magic churned within, ready for use.

The monster roared, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. It buzzed forward, taking the offensive, jaws opened wide to display uneven, rotting teeth. A thought flitted across her mind—ground it! Take out it's wings! She quickly dipped into her magic, shaping it for Flagrantia Rubicans. A spark of flame flickered around her as her magic responded. She wanted something bigger than Sagitta Magica to be sure. She only hoped it wasn't immune to fire. The monster was quickly approaching, but she was ready.

Until she noticed smokey darkness pooling in the creature's open mouth. Before she could think on it any further, the dark energy exploded forward, for her. Panicked, she stifled Flagrantia Rubicans—Later—And let her magic instinctively guide her to calling on Vente. Wind exploded at her feet, pushing her back and out of the way of the energy that left a small crater in the ground on impact.

The creature unleashed another blast, and again, she let Vente carry her a short distance away. She reached for the Flagrantia Rubicans as soon as she cast Vente, shouting the key word for the release of a delayed spell. "Emittan!"

Fire raged forward. She could feel the heat reflecting back, but for her it was just a warm lick against her skin. The flames consumed, eating the air and the monster in turn. It flickered harmlessly off the exoskeleton of the creature, but her true target, the thin membrane of the wings were caught by the fire. The creature howled as he landed roughly on the ground, but looked ready to attack again. Konoka was ready though, seizing the power for the high ancient spell. The Greek words were difficult to pronounce, even more so than the typical Latin spells that she had more practice with, but she managed. She was much more practiced in capture spells than blank destruction ones. "Melan Kai Sphairikon Desmoterion!"

The creature buckled under the sudden weight of the earth spell. It thrashed violently, trying to escape, but the shrinking sphere closed in on the monster before it could free itself. Konoka breathed a sigh of relief, only just now realizing that she was trembling.

She turned toward Setsuna, heart-thudding in her chest. Their eyes connected and she gave a shaky breath, taking one, two, three steps toward her ministra.

A familiar battle-cry rang in her ears. She whirled back around just in time to see Asuna plunge downward with Ensis Exorcizans, carving into the neck of the bound monster. Konoka turned her eyes away from the gruesome sight, her stomach clenching unappreciatively at the carnage. She caught Ayaka, Yue, and Nodoka skid through the grove of trees, catching up.

"Sorry Konoka! There were monsters everywhere when you ran and..." Asuna began explaining, but the pounding in Konoka's ears quickly became the only thing she could hear. She didn't realize she was moving until she was in front Setsuna's cell.

She gripped Setsuna's hand through the bars, feeling the old scars and the fresh cuts. But it was warm and alive, and Konoka fell to her knees and cried. She kept Setsuna's hand gripped between her two and pressed against her forehead.

"Kono-chan," Setsuna said soothingly. "Kono-chan, it's okay. I'm okay."

"No!" she choked. "No you're not..." Setsuna was covered in bruises and angry red cuts. And her beautiful wings... They were in terrible condition. One hung limply, completely useless, and the feathers for both were all bent and twisted out of shape. The physical injuries weren't the worst of it though. It was the mental torment of her ministra that stuck Konoka the hardest.

"Kono-chan, please... it'll all be okay now."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I"m sorry it took me so long!"

"No! You're here now, Konoka. I can't imagine what you had to go through to get here."

At that, Konoka sobbed ever harder. Setsuna, whatever I've gone through can't be anything compared to you.

Setsuna's hand squeezed hers, "Konoka, look at me."

In another time or place, Setsuna would have not known what to do with her crying partner. But Setsuna's emotional maturity toward her relationship with Konoka had grown, and it had been many months since her ministra had failed to comfort her when she was upset. So with Setsuna's soothing voice echoing in her ears, she looked up.

"Look at you," Setsuna said with small smile and warm eyes, "you were amazing defeating that monster."

Konoka half-laughed, half-sobbed at the sudden realization of the absurdity of what she's done since Setsuna had been taken. A self-effacing smile graced her features, and she choked back the remainder of her tears. "That was nothing. You should have seen me take on Evangeline."

Setsuna's smile immediately dropped, her eyes narrowed. "Evangeline made you fight her?" she demanded. Her wings fluttered opened wide in what Konoka could only classify as a display of natural aggression, and a grimace crossed her face.

The grimace jumped Konoka into action and she stood up, magic at her fingertips. "Oh! Hold still Set-chan..." The healing spell quickly fled forward as natural as breathing, renewing life and vigor into her ministra.

Setsuna sighed in pleasure and extended her wings their full span. Konoka still held her hand, afraid to let go, afraid Setsuna would vanish if she did. Her ministra took advantage of that, gently pulling one of Konoka's hands through the cell bars. She only just then noticed how narrow the bars were, the skin of her arm skimming against the thankfully smooth wood. She felt a soft warmth as Setsuna placed a kiss against her palm. "Thank you..." Setsuna whispered, her gaze downwards. Her ministra lifted her eyes meeting her stare, and Konoka felt "Thank you," she said again, then meeting Konoka's eyes.

That "thank you" was meant for more than just the healing. That "thank you" meant so much more than mere words could convey. Konoka could only nod her head and swallow her tears. "I love you Setsuna...so much."

"I love you too." Setsuna whispered in reply.

"Let's get you out of here." Konoka said, pulling on the strength that got her to the village in the first place.

"It won't be so easy..." Setsuna said.

"That's why I brought help," Konoka answered. She turned to look at Asuna, Ayaka, Yue, and Nodoka. All four were caught somewhere between trying to look like they weren't paying attention to her reunion with Setsuna and actually trying to keep some sort of look out.

"Everyone, thank—" Setsuna began, bowing her head.

"Ah be quiet Setsuna. We sure don't need your thanks," Asuna said grinning broadly. She strode over, Ensis Exorcizans propped casually against her shoulder, and took stance next to Konoka. "You've done enough favors for me that I think I can do this little one for you."

Setsuna lifted her eyes and allowed a smirk to grace her lips. "Deal."

Asuna's grin dropped into a watery smile and she reached forward. Setsuna met her halfway, and they clasped hands tightly through the cell bars. "I'm glad you're okay you lug." Asuna said heavily as she obviously tried to hold back tears.

"We've all been so worried," Nodoka added, appearing on the other side of Konoka. She didn't bother trying to hide her emotion. Ayaka nodded her head in agreement, her eyes wide and shining with emotion. Konoka had no doubt that their class president was happy to see Setsuna safe, but she also figured some of that emotion resulted from the show of Asuna's palatable relief at seeing one of her closest friends safe. After all, I'm happy when Setsuna is happy even if it has nothing to do with me.

"We'll get you out of here." Ayaka announced. Whatever authority her voice and stance conveyed was minimized by her discreetly wiping at one of her eyes.

Yue, who had otherwise been silent, offered Setsuna a rare smile. "Let's get to work on it. Adeat!" The book from Orbis Sensualium Pictus appeared in her hands. She opened the book to the middle and began to finger through material. "From what I can tell, the charms are keeping each of the cells standing and strong. I'm sure there is something in here on crow demon magic..." She murmured softly, already lost in thought.

"Yes," Setsuna confirmed slowly. "Take one of the charms off of my cell and I should be able to get out. But," she grimaced, "it won't do much good for me to just physically get out of here." She gestured with her arms open, indicating her prison.

"Set-chan," Konoka frowned, her heart skipping, "what do you mean?"

"It's..." Setsuna started, but her words seemed caught in her throat. She gripped a prison bar in each hand and hung her head. Battle raged on in the village, but in the little grove of trees at the prison cell all was quiet.

"Setsuna..." Konoka said gently.

"God, it's just all a mess!" Her ministra exclaimed, tearing herself away from the front of her prison cell so that all she could see was the back of her beautiful white wings. "Konoka, I don't know what to believe."

Konoka's heart broke all over again—raw and open for the whole word to see. She took a steadying breath. "Believe in me, believe in our friends, believe in us. Tell me Setsuna. Tell me what you know."

"It's both nothing and an awful lot at the same time," Setsuna replied, her wings drooping.

"Setsuna-san, if I may...?" Yue prompted, tucking her artifact under her arm. She spoke Setsuna's name, but her eyes cut directly to Konoka, questioning—seeking permission. Konoka nodded her head and Yue continued, "Negi, Kaede-san, Mana-san, and Ku Fei are currently fighting the monsters as are Paru-chan and Chisame-san in the airship we used to get here. They are representing us in this fight. If you could brief the five of us on everything you know currently, it'll allow us to act as needed as soon as possible. I imagine you being in this cell is not something that is going to last forever."

Yue's words rang true. Konoka knew it and Setsuna did too, judging by the deep breath she took.

"Set-chan, it's your turn to look at me," Konoka said softly. "I know it may hurt and it's probably difficult, but I need you to be honest and tell us what's going on."

"Right," Setsuna said, turning around. She brought a hand up to her face, brushing her hair back. "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid right now. It's just... it's been a difficult couple of days."

"Damn right you're being stupid!" Asuna growled.

"Asuna!" Ayaka scolded.

Asuna put a hand up toward Ayaka's general direction. Konoka watched, amused, as Ayaka's facial expression changed from furious to near swooning as Asuna continued talking. "We've had quite the time getting here. You've made Konoka near worry herself sick and work her butt off to get to you. We're going to bust you out of here. And I can't imagine what you've been through these past few days. I know you Setsuna, you're one of my best friends, and I can't imagine what these crows have done to you up here." She pointed toward her temple. "Just stay strong for a little longer and we'll fix everything and you can go back to being the badass you are."

Konoka wanted to burst into tears again. She and Setsuna were so lucky to have Asuna as their friend.

Setsuna chuckled slightly, smiling, "I can always trust you to tell me like it is Asuna."

"What can I say, I'm here to keep you and your girlfriend honest," Asuna said.

"Thanks for that," Setsuna said, turning her gaze to look at Konoka. Her eyes immediately widened in panic and she jumped to the front bars of her cell. A hand reached forward, snaking past the bars to touch Konoka's cheek. "Konoka, you're crying!"

"I'm sorry," Konoka hiccup. She took a couple of deep breaths, regaining enough control to speak coherently. She leant into Setsuna's hand. "It's been an emotional few days. And you and Asuna and Ayaka—" She vaguely heard Ayaka mutter an incredulous "me?" behind her. "—have been so silly."

Silly was a very small and probably inaccurate term for the complicated actions and behavior of the three mentioned girls, but it was the only one that immediately come to mind.

"I know," Setsuna said comforting. She pulled back, taking in all five of them gathered outside her cell. "I don't think the immediate thing to do is to bust me out of this cell. Let me get through everything, and we can figure out what to do together. Nodoka?"

"Yes?" Nodoka answered politely, but looking curious.

"Feel free to read along in your artifact. I'm afraid I won't be able to properly convey everything. Some of it is a bit of a haze."

A/N: And that's it for this chapter! I've been waiting to write the reunion scene forever. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it.

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon. Thanks for reading!

-Yavapai