Author's Note: For anyone who's checked my profile and realized that another story has gone up just recently... fear not, loyal fans, for my New Year's resolution to write more extends to this story as well.

Although before we worry about that, I really want to thank everyone who took the time to offer encouraging reviews on the last chapter. I always get a little anxious posting new things to the site (and I mean, spend a day resolutely ignoring my email for fear that I'll see notifications related to what I just posted kind of anxious) so it really is great to see people get excited about fresh updates to the story. And that kind of thing is infectious, too, because I came away from a lot of the reviews feeling a lot more enthusiastic to write more of this. So thank you, everyone! Hopefully you will continue to take time out of your day to read my stories.

And hopefully there will be stories to read! If only because I've decided to institute a regular update schedule. Previously, I worried about committing to hard deadlines, out of the fear that I would procrastinate and then either be forced to throw something together at the last minute, or miss the deadline entirely. However, as regular readers of this story likely already could have told me, I've come to the realization that without a regular schedule, I won't post anything at all for months on end. For the sake of actually meeting my goal of "write more", then, it seems that holding myself to a schedule might help.

For now, I'm going to try and update this story once a month, on the first Wednesday of the month. If it turns out I'm writing more (or less, although hopefully not less) than what I need to post a new chapter every month, I can always reassess the situation. And if a delay does happen, although I'll try very hard to avoid that, I'll leave a note on my profile page to that effect.

Anyway, the story! As is about to be obvious, I settled down about writing a fix to the Halo story and just rolled with it. You'll see soon enough. For now, it will suffice to say that Captain Keyes is another character who I didn't want to see die. Let me know what you think!

"For the last time, Corporal," Chrono groused somewhat angrily, "I would only barely be able to carry anyone else, much less this entire squad."

The young Bureau enforcer hovered about a foot off the green, murky sludge of a seemingly endless swamp, looking down on Captain Keyes and his squads of Marines as they trudged through the muck. One of the Marines stared up at him, envy and disgust warring for dominance of his facial expression. "Surely you can do something!" he burst out angrily.

"Yeah, you could at least join the rest of us," one of the other Marines muttered under his breath.

"Stow it, Marines," Sergeant Johnson snarled. "Y'all are the best of the best; act like it!"

The grumbling quieted down after that, the Marines focusing back on their mission. Night had fallen on the ring world, and in between that and the tangled, overgrown swamp, visibility was poor. With Captain Keyes at their backs, no one wanted to miss any potential threats. And yet, despite occasional flashes on their motion sensors at maximum range, no hostile target presented itself. Only endless murky water, ankle deep, filled with roots and shrubs and the occasional tree.

In the distance, a massive stone structure loomed. Boxes and portable lights, clearly of Covenant make, were scattered in disarray around an arch-like entrance in the wall. At the same time, light spilled out from within, from strips on the walls that looked remarkably unlike anything the Covenant had ever created. Glancing at the icons on a small tablet he had brought with him, Captain Keyes nodded.

"That's our target," he confirmed. "Sergeant, take a squad and secure the entrance. We'll be right behind you."

"Aye aye, Captain," Sergeant Johnson replied instantly. Nodding to the lead group of Marines, he took off toward the building at a steady jog, leaving the Captain with Chrono and the second squad of Marines.

The momentary delay gave the Captain a moment to more closely examine their destination. It was immediately apparent that the structure ahead was one of the ring's original buildings, bearing no resemblance at all to anything the Covenant had ever built. And yet it was supposed to be the location of a Covenant cache, according to their intelligence. Were the Covenant using the native structures as well? But if they were, then why hadn't they run into any hostile force yet…?

"Something the matter, Captain?" Chrono interrupted his chain of thought.

The distraction gave Captain Keyes an excuse to examine the Bureau enforcer, instead. Normally, it would be unthinkable to confide in someone that had to be half his own age, if even. And yet, there was an undeniable intensity to his stance and bearing. Impossible as it was in someone of his age, the Bureau enforcer had the command presence of someone used to both giving orders and taking responsibility for them.

"I would say so," the Captain replied evenly. "If this is supposed to be a Covenant weapons cache, where are the Covenant?"

Chrono's brow furrowed slightly as he considered. "I suppose it's possible they're holding inside the building itself, and didn't post any guards outside," he suggested doubtfully. "Back at base, you said a Covenant prisoner informed you of this cache? It seems more likely that we've been lied to."

"I think we'll be having a word with that prisoner when we get back to Alpha Base," Captain Keyes said with a nod, concurring with the latter explanation. A wave of his hand set the Marines around him in motion, as they followed up in Sergeant Johnson's wake. "While we're here, though, we may as well confirm for ourselves what, if anything, is in this building. Even if we were lied to, it seems unlikely that our 'friend' would give us these coordinates at random."

"Very well," Chrono acknowledged as they caught up with the rest of their group.

Aside from the human force, the area was still oddly deserted, with the passages into the structure completely unguarded. Once inside, the group split up, one squad remaining behind to cover the retreat while Sergeant Johnson, Chrono, Captain Keyes, and the other squad of Marines continued deeper into the facility. And while the swamp had definitely made for somewhat unpleasant going, it lacked the almost active feel of malice that seemed to pervade the inside of the facility. It wasn't just the lack of Covenant, either. There was something else at work… but that was impossible, and so they continued deeper into the base, setting aside the concerns and doubts.

When they finally did run into a group of Covenant forces, it was almost a relief. At least until it was obvious that the entire Covenant patrol had already been killed, quite thoroughly. Chrono frowned as he surveyed the black-armored corpses. "These Elites, as you call them… most I've seen wear blue, with some red. There was the commander on the ship, when we were rescuing the Captain, in gold. Black, though…?"

Sergeant Johnson looked at the Bureau enforcer grimly. "Special forces. Their best troops."

Silence fell. The information was new only to Chrono, but hearing it said out loud reaffirmed the oddity of the situation for everyone else as well. It was clear that no one particularly wanted to follow that train of thought to its conclusion, but in the end Chrono spoke up again anyway. "Then what killed them?"

No one answered him. No one had any decent answers to that. The Elite corpses were torn and shredded in ways that went well beyond the wounds left by plasma fire or even bullet wounds; that much was apparent even to Chrono's examination. Blue-black blood covered the floor and even parts of the walls.

"We keep moving," Captain Keyes ordered. "Everyone stay alert. And Sergeant, call back to our second squad and warn them, as well. Something's definitely going on here."

Several minutes of exploration later, the group of Marines arrived at a door, securely closed, deep within the massive structure. The Marines spread out, their technical specialist moving up to examine the door while the rest of them maintained a perimeter around Captain Keyes. Chrono remained at the Captain's side, scanning the area for potential threats.

"This door's been locked by the Covenant," the young Marine examining the door reported. "Can't say why, though."

Captain Keyes glanced at the Sergeant, thinking out loud. "Perhaps there is something here after all. Why lock one of the doors?" He returned his attention to the door. "Right, well, let's get this door open."

"I'll try, sir," the Marine reported, "but it looks like these Covenant worked pretty hard to lock it down."

"If I may…?" Chrono interrupted. "I can always 'open' the door for us, as long as you don't mind not being able to close it once I'm done."

There was a quick moment of silence as the Marines digested that claim. None of them were carrying the kind of heavy weapons that would permit forcing the door open, and the ring world's architecture had proven itself to be surprisingly resilient to that kind of thing even when they tried. Captain Keyes spent that moment sizing up the young Bureau enforcer before shaking his head. "I'm sure the Corporal here can get the door open. Yes?"

"Yes, sir," he responded quickly, kneeling down in front of the door and pulling a digital lock-breaker out of his pack. Once he had it secured to the door, it took less than a minute of tapping away at the device's keyboard before the locked door slid open smoothly. Air wafted out into the corridor, carrying with it the strong smell of decay, as if the swamp above had somehow leaked into the building far below. The Marines piled into the room all the same, rifles leveled and ready for action, but the room was completely deserted. Raised area in the center, another door off to the side, what appeared to be a ledge up on the wall running around the perimeter of the room… and absolutely no signs of life. It was more than the lack of living things, though. There was no sign of anything having so much as passed through. Certainly, no Covenant cache of supplies or weapons.

Chrono followed Captain Keyes as he made his way into the room behind the protective squad of Marines, every instinct screaming at him to turn and run. Something was very seriously off about this place. A light rustling sound, something slithering across the stone floor…? But nothing moved within his field of vision. Why, then, was he feeling like they had just somehow stepped into a trap?

"I got a bad feeling about this…" one of the other Marines muttered, as if reading the Bureau enforcer's mind.

That drew the attention of Sergeant Johnson, but before he could rebuke the Marine, Chrono interrupted. "He's not the only one," he said with a glance at the Sergeant and the Captain. "Something is wrong…"

"Captain, Sarge, can you hear me?"

Everyone froze in place. The voice wasn't really coming out of nowhere; it was a communication from the other squad of Marines, but all the same Chrono felt his blood turn to ice. The tone of the man's voice…

"What's going on, soldier?" Keyes demanded insistently.

"We've got contacts! Lots of 'em! But… they're not Covenant!"

Instantly, Chrono connected the dots. Ignoring the continued screaming from the comm, the naked terror in the trained soldier's voice as he reported something that should not be, he began barking orders of his own. "Back toward the door! Weapons hot and be ready for anything!"

No one moved, Captain Keyes and Sergeant Johnson fixing the Bureau enforcer with varying degrees of surprise and irritation. It was the Sergeant who responded to the sudden imposition of authority. "Boy, I was under the impression that the Captain and I were in command here…"

"We found what the Covenant were interested in here, and in the process, we broke a seal," Chrono responded with iron control in his voice. "That door was locked not to keep us out, but to keep something else in! Now, do you want to find out what it is that they feared enough to seal away, in a situation when we have no information and no backup?! Move!"

With only the briefest hint of hesitation, the Marines moved. Even if the voice barking orders wasn't the one they were familiar with, they were well-trained enough to respond to the authority in Chrono's voice. Nor did the Sergeant or the Captain offer any further objections. Rather, they began moving back as well. Sergeant Johnson snarled, "Listen up, men, we're falling back to Second Squad's location-"

Now, the rustling noise was much louder and more obvious. Coming from all around them, to boot. A sharp clatter echoed through the cavernous room as a door off on the side gave way, and… things began pouring through.

Some analytical corner of Chrono's mind acknowledged that that was not the best way to describe the creatures that were now swarming into the room through the side door. They were bulbous and looked vaguely slimy, skittering across the floor on a mass of tentacles that propelled them at a surprisingly high rate of speed. Individually, any one looked to be no larger than a human torso, but there was a veritable carpet of them coming into the room, making individual size a bit less relevant.

That analytical corner of his mind fell completely silent as a slow, creeping fear began to take hold. Leveling his staff-like Device, Chrono stared down the oncoming horde as he and the Marines around him retreated.

"Stinger Shot!"

A bolt of blue light shot out, twisting and curving as it tore into the mass of enemies. Directing it with a bit of mental effort, Chrono swept the magical attack through the enemies entirely, which exploded into puffs of gas and bits of flesh as the energy tore them apart. Emboldened by Chrono's success, the Marines opened fire with their assault rifles, adding to the devastation.

Then, something hit Chrono in the back, hard. Any semblance of organization or coordination among the Marines died in that single instant, as they acknowledged the bulbous, shapeless thing that had apparently dropped right out of nowhere into the middle of their defensive formation. And it was hardly alone. More of the creatures began swarming in from seemingly every direction, skittering down the walls and dropping from the ceiling to get at the Marines that had invaded their sanctuary.

In the instant Chrono felt the impact, he redirected his magical attack to sweep back around. He could feel the thing digging into his barrier jacket, but for the moment it seemed to be stymied by the unusual strength of the reinforced magical armor… and then the Stinger Shot that Chrono had fired swept back around and neatly cored the creature that had attacked him.

The explosion wasn't all that powerful, in the grand scheme of things. And yet at point-blank range, it managed to knock Chrono flat on the ground anyway. The smell of decay became briefly overpowering as the gas washed over him before dissipating, and his barrier jacket was scorched and torn, but he was still alive.

For now. Stumbling to his feet, he took in the tactical situation at a glance. It really was a wonder that the Marines weren't hitting each other, firing their rifles in every direction to deal with the swarm of foes. Even Captain Keyes had pulled out his pistol and was plugging its single shots into the horde. Nearby, one of the Marines struggled to drag one of the creatures off of a fallen friend. He apparently hadn't taken the creature's attack as well as Chrono had, but there was no time to spare for such thoughts now. More bolts of magic energy cut across the battlefield as Chrono opened up, doing his level best to keep as many people alive as he possibly could.

Meanwhile, he had a call to make. Nanoha! They had never truly tested the range on telepathic communication, but they had also never had trouble communicating even over extreme distances. Surely she would be able to…

In the next moment, he heard a familiar voice in response. Oh good, Chrono, I was just about to call you-

No time for the pleasantries! He was aware that his voice was probably coming off as more than a bit panic-stricken, but given that he was being attacked by what could only be some kind of biological Lost Logia of all things, a little terror was probably understandable. We're under attack and probably cut off from normal communications! Can you call in some support for us?!

There was a long and highly unpleasant moment of silence. Chrono could practically hear Nanoha's helpless sigh. I was going to ask that of you. We found the control room, but we're cut off ourselves.

Chrono spent one second of mental concentration on a sharp curse. Wonderful. Get back in touch if anything changes. I'll call you back if we survive. Before Nanoha could say anything in reply to that, he let his attention lapse, refocusing on the fight in front of him.

And the senior officer that was staring at him very strangely. Captain Keyes had long since holstered the pistol that he had been firing, ever since it had run out of ammo. Now forced to rely on the Marines and Chrono for his protection, there was very little else for him to accomplish. "Did you just say something?" he said quietly to Chrono.

The swarm showed no signs of letting up, and while Chrono's valiant efforts to keep the worst of it away seemed to be inspiring the Marines to hold their ground a bit longer, whatever was attacking them was seemingly countless and absolutely relentless. The sheer futility of the situation had left Chrono more than a bit on edge. Without even thinking, he snapped back, What, you mean something like this?

In the next moment, his brain caught up with him. Telepathic communication was one of the most basic expressions of magical ability, a simple means of speaking over long distances, or even over short distances if there was some reason why shouting wasn't advisable. Normally such communication was directed at a specific person or group of people, but in emergency situations it could be used to send a distress call to everyone within range. Did I accidentally broadcast any of my call to Nanoha…? Chrono wondered for a moment.

Well. At least it wouldn't reach everyone, not precisely. Everyone with the magical potential to understand it, perhaps. It took minimal training to be able to use telepathic communication, and none at all to hear it… if you had the potential at all. If.

Even in the middle of a desperate fight for their lives, Chrono felt himself freeze for a second, jaw dropping open, staring at Captain Keyes as the senior officer said, "Yes-"

An explosion off to the side, very close, shocked Chrono out of his reverie and cut off whatever Captain Keyes was going to say in response. Chrono cast a quick glance off to the side, to where Sergeant Johnson was still firing his assault rifle. "Get the lead out, kid!" Dissipating scraps of gas made the reason for his cover fire all too clear, but he had already shifted his attention to the rest of the fight. "Jenkins! Fire your weapon!"

Reaching into a pocket of his barrier jacket, Chrono pulled out what looked like a playing card, silver and white with a glittering blue diamond embedded in its center. And who would have thought I'd end up needing two Devices for this reason…? Thank God Mother let me hold onto Durandal at least for the moment! Holding it tightly, he called out audibly, "Admin access, new user setup function online!" Without any further hesitation, he tossed the card smoothly over to Captain Keyes, who barely caught the flying object, surprise on his face.

Chrono had already returned his attention to the fight, firing another pattern of energy bolts that cleared out the room for a brief moment. "Captain, the device's name is Durandal! Call its name!"

The fight seemed to pause. With Chrono's help, the Marines had done a heroic job of clearing out the room, and the scattered creatures still left seemed to be almost hesitating. It gave Captain Keyes his moment to examine what it was that the Bureau enforcer had tossed to him. In size and shape it resembled a playing card, but instead of paper it was hard metal; the glowing blue diamond at its center pulsed softly, as if responding to the Captain's examination.

"Durandal…?" he said softly, almost at a whisper.

"System online. Beginning set up."

Captain Keyes started in surprise, staring at the Device he held in shock. Blue light filled the room, surrounding him with an aura of released power, as the card lifted gently out of his grasp to hover in front of him. And after a brief pause, it spoke again. "New user acknowledged. Defaulting to standard configuration for the barrier jacket and Device main form." The blue light shimmered ever more brightly, forming an opaque barrier, before the Captain could offer any response to that.

In the same moment, another wave of creatures poured through the far door, as if reacting to the beginning of his transformation. And with this latest wave…

"Are those Elites…?" one of the Marines asked. The hulking, lumbering forms that were entering the room with the swarm of smaller creatures certainly looked similar to the Covenant's elite troops. It was all too obvious, though, that something had changed them significantly. Their armor was broken and shattered, poorly fit over lumps and growths that didn't exist on a normal Elite. And while they moved awkwardly, as if motion didn't come naturally to them, they moved with surprising speed as they charged the small knot of humans huddling in front of the door they had come in through.

Infection hazard, the analytical corner of Chrono's brain reported dispassionately, noting the similarities in coloration and consistency between the 'Elites' and the smaller creatures still swarming into the room. Natural evolution or bioweapon? Either way, it's clear that those smaller creatures can infect and subvert other organisms… like, oh, any of us, I imagine?

He wasn't the only one to notice, either. "Take a good look, Marines!" Sergeant Johnson snarled loudly. "That's your fate if you don't hold the line!"

Most of the Marines responded to him with grim determination. Of the squad they had brought with them this far, two had already been taken down by the creatures attacking them, not that any of those things had been left alive to enjoy their kills. However, two or three had already been wavering, pushed to the brink by the desperate situation. The arrival of the infected Elites was the last straw.

"This is loco, man!" one of them yelled, breaking for the door behind them.

"Get back here, Marine! That's an order!"

The fleeing Marine froze in place as the shimmering barrier protecting Captain Keyes exploded outward, throwing sparks of light in every direction. The Captain was no longer wearing his uniform, although it was difficult to tell as much at first glance. The barrier jacket he was wearing in its place bore distinct similarities to a UNSC dress uniform, although this one was navy blue with gold highlights on the shoulders and down the seams. In addition to those highlights, four gold bands wrapped around each cuff of the long-sleeved jacket. Beyond that, there was only one point of decoration: a silver emblem over the Captain's left breast, that of an eagle spreading its wings.

On top of that, Captain Keyes held a staff in his right hand. It was about as long as his arm and shining silver, coming to a spear-like point at one end. Two swept-back points gave that end of the staff a vaguely triangular shape, with the blue crystal from the card now in the very center of the staff's head.

Before anyone had more than a moment to gawk at the results of the transformation, the battle began anew. The infected Elites leaped forward, crushing through the thin line of Marines with bone-shattering force. Any Marine that they hit went down and stayed down, unmoving. Growling with rage, Sergeant Johnson deflected a blow with his assault rifle before pouring bullets into the enemy at point-blank range, dropping the infected Elite that had attempted to attack him. Blue light flashed all around as Chrono fired repeatedly, destroying the smaller creatures and the infected Elites with a hail of sword-like magical energy bolts.

In the midst of the chaos, one of the enemies leapt at Captain Keyes. With barely a moment to respond, he reacted on instinct, raising the hand holding his new staff into a blocking position. The half-remembered block from long-ago self defense classes wouldn't have been sufficient to hold off the infected Elite, but Durandal reacted to the motion by bringing up a shimmering golden shield in front of the Captain. He staggered back a step as the Elite hit it hard, but the shield held, and the Elite bounced backward a step or two, seemingly confused.

From behind him, Chrono called out, "Durandal will react to instinctual motions, whether offensive or defensive!"

"We are going to have to have another talk after this!" Captain Keyes yelled back almost bemusedly, bringing Durandal down to point at the infected Elite that had just attacked him. Obligingly, a shimmering bullet of magic energy fired, and the shield shattered outward as the bolt of energy tore its target in half.

"Need to get out of here first!" Chrono replied as he fired another wave of attacks himself, clearing the area around the surviving Marines for a brief moment.

As if in reply, the door that they had come in through shattered, pieces of metal flying into the room and the Marines clustered in front of it. Two more of the Marines, the ones that had attempted to flee, were battered to the ground as yet another wave of foes poured into the room. With a muttered curse, Chrono turned his attention to them, firing steadily.

"Damn things are never-ending!" Sergeant Johnson yelled, pulling a spent magazine out of his assault rifle. As he went to reload, he found nothing in any of his belt pouches, and knelt for a brief moment to pull more ammo off of one of the fallen Marines. Aside from the Captain and Chrono, he was the only Marine left standing.

"Back the way we came!" Chrono yelled, for lack of anything better to suggest. "I'll clear a path if you two can cover the rear!"

Passing through the now-open doorway, the Captain paused for a brief moment. Defending the rear was made much easier by the choke point that the door offered, but surely there was a way to delay them even further…? Briefly, he spared a moment of irritation for the ruins that the creatures had left where the door had once been. If they could have closed that, re-locked it…? But no, they needed an even stronger wall than that, considering that the enemy had broken down the door.

In his hand, Durandal seemed to be glowing. He felt a chill in the air, a freezing wind that swirled around him. "It can be done," a mechanical voice reported, the Device in his hand neutrally providing information. And as if in a daze, being driven by something outside him, he slowly raised the staff. His eyes slid closed, focusing inward. The sounds around him - Sergeant Johnson firing his assault rifle to hold back the enemies charging the door, Chrono firing magic attacks into the few enemies approaching from the other direction - faded before a haze of power, called forth by his will alone.

Hold the line.

"Sergeant! Cease fire!"

It was an impossible order, an order that by all rights should have gotten them all killed. And yet, loyalty to the Captain and the chain of command was too well ingrained in Sergeant Johnson, driving the appropriate reaction before he had time to think through the consequences. The assault rifle fell silent, and the Sergeant fell back a step.

At the same time, the Captain's eyes shot open, intently focused on the doorway they had just passed through. Durandal acknowledged his will with two words of its own.

"Frozen Barricade."

A blue-white flash filled the air. A jagged, lightning-like lance of pure power flowed forth, reaching the doorway just as the lead infected Elite did. Seemingly in an instant, the air temperature dropped sharply, and ice seemed to manifest out of nowhere. Before anyone had time to so much as blink, a thick wall of solid ice filled the doorway, trapping the lead Elite and completely blocking the choke point.

Having cleared the scattered enemies in front of them, Chrono turned back, slowing his pace slightly. With a low whistle, he surveyed the Captain's work. "Impressive, Captain. Knowing Durandal, that should hold them for-"

A loud crack filled the air. Chips of ice flew outward as a hair-thin crack appeared through the center of the ice wall.

"Less time than we might like," Captain Keyes finished for him, entirely too calmly. "We can talk on the run."

Suiting action to words, the three surviving members of the team took off at a run back through the building.

Breathing heavily, the three of them emerged from the darkened hallways of the structure into the gloomy, overcast swamp surrounding it. The door they had chosen led out onto a ledge above ground level, offering them at least a momentary respite from combat.

It had not been an easy run. While this new enemy force had never concentrated against them in quite the same numbers as that first disastrous encounter, they had been scattered throughout the building in steady waves, offering little chance for them to stop and catch any kind of break. And while Captain Keyes had been able to contribute occasional bursts of magic, his power was inconsistent at best thanks to his inexperience. Sergeant Johnson was almost inhumanly tough, but he had been reduced to scavenging weapons when and where he could find them several waves ago, and the Covenant plasma rifle he was carrying at the moment was nearly dead.

That forced Chrono to be the one carrying most of the load, and it showed. His barrier jacket was torn and discolored in numerous places, evidence of the battering he had received. After a moment, when it became obvious that there was no immediate threat, he sank to the ground, laying his Device on the metal next to him. "I need a moment," he said tiredly.

Captain Keyes just nodded, keeping an eye on the door they had just come through. Next to him, Sergeant Johnson activated his communications system, calling out to the Pelican that had brought them to the site. It didn't take long for him to start cursing. "Captain, I'm not getting any response from our bird. Something must have brought it down."

"We're outside comm range with Alpha Base?" the Captain confirmed.

Sergeant Johnson nodded. "At least with only my helmet comm to work with, Captain."

"Durandal," Chrono cut in. "Is he flight capable?"

Dead silence filled the air, with Captain Keyes and Sergeant Johnson staring at the Bureau enforcer. Their attention quickly shifted to the device in Chrono's hand as it replied. "Negative, boss."

Captain Keyes sighed. "Should I be relieved that all of the laws of physics haven't been invalidated yet, or disappointed that I've apparently failed to reach some milestone without even knowing it?"

Chrono shrugged, standing up again. "Even among mages, some are better than others. The elite are the aerial mages, those that can fly under their own power. It's not a common skill, but I had to ask just to be sure." He frowned slightly. "It would have made getting back to base possible; with two people flight-capable, we could have supported a third, but I can't get both of you back with me if only I can take that option."

"That may be the option we have to take anyway," Captain Keyes said a bit sternly. "Especially if the Chief's team is also pinned down, it may be more important to get back to base and have them send relief missions as soon as possible."

A heavy silence fell as they considered their options. Undoubtedly their absence would be noticed eventually, but it would take time for it to be noticed, and more time on top of that for a rescue to be organized. And if the other group was in trouble… Chrono stiffened, remembering the brief call that Nanoha had sent earlier. It was a matter of a moment's concentration to attempt to reopen communication. Nanoha, are you there?

A long moment passed with no answer. Before Chrono could give up on the call entirely, though, a reply came back. Busy. Fighting. I'll call you. In the next instant, the communication cut off, as quickly as it had begun.

Catching the look on Chrono's face, Sergeant Johnson fixed him with an intent stare. "Trying to place a call of your own, kid?"

"I mean," Chrono said heavily, "she responded, at least."

Picking up on the "at least", Sergeant Johnson practically snarled. "So they are in trouble, then."

"Captain," Chrono asked suddenly, "would you mind trading Devices for a moment?" The battered enforcer clambered back to his feet, face hardening into an expression of angry determination. "Whatever we do, we definitely need to keep moving, and I have one more thing I'd like to do before we leave."

With a shrug, Captain Keyes passed over Durandal, receiving Chrono's staff in return. He looked at it with a curious expression, examining it carefully. "This feels… different, somehow."

"It should," Chrono informed him. "Once we get a free moment, there's a lot I need to talk to you about. For now, I'll just put it this way: that Device doesn't have an AI, and is a bit less user-friendly as a result. With the proper training, you would find it more than adequate for your needs… but since we don't have the time to spare for detailed lessons, I'm mostly going to entrust Durandal to you, since he'll be able to at least act on his own initiative to assist you where he can."

As he spoke, four floating panels materialized out of thin air to surround Chrono and Durandal. The shield-like objects bore a striking similarity to the Intelligent Device, matching its color scheme if nothing else. Acting at Chrono's will, they spread out, vanishing into the mists of the swamp. One remained close by, hovering a short distance away from the building they had just left.

"We should back up a little," Chrono suggested. He held out a hand to Captain Keyes. "If you two will join hands as well, I'm sure I can drag both of you for at least a little bit."

The momentary flight was not at all comfortable, but within a minute the three were perched up in the branches of a massive tree nearby. From the higher vantage point, Captain Keyes and Sergeant Johnson realized that the four miniature flying units had spread out to mark the corners of a massive square surrounding the nearby structure.

"Dare I even ask…?" Captain Keyes said softly.

Chrono smiled wickedly. "Remember what you did to the door?" Before either of them could respond to that, Durandal came down to point directly at the building, and Chrono spoke one more word.

"Freeze!"

Once more, a searingly bright flash of blue-white energy leapt forth, in time with a triumphantly declared "Eternal Coffin" from Durandal. The jagged rays of power seemed to bounce off their target, filling the air around the building until it hit the flying units, at which point it reflected again to consume the space that had been marked off. A thick layer of ice emerged with shocking speed, covering the entire structure and sapping any hint of heat or life from the creatures within.

When the Captain had used Durandal to cast ice magic, the air temperature had noticeably dropped, momentarily producing an uncomfortably cold pocket of air. This time, with Chrono in control, ice crystals formed on his barrier jacket as the entire area for hundreds of meters around was dropped into the dead of winter in an instant. His breath emerged as a misty white cloud before breaking up and drifting away. By the time it faded, the structure and the creatures within it had been sealed away under an iceberg that could have put a sizable dent in the Pillar of Autumn.

Captain Keyes felt his jaw drop. Oh, there had been power in his hands, when the Device called Durandal had been helping him to survive the fight that they had been thrown into. But to do something like this with it…? Chrono caught the look the Captain was giving him and smiled again, offering him Durandal as he held a hand out to receive his other device in return. The four flying units, the add-on devices that had aided Chrono's magic, faded back into nothingness as the Captain took Durandal in hand again.

"Think of it as inspiration to improve," Chrono told the Captain dryly. "I promise I'll arrange for proper instruction for you when I get the chance. Now-"

"A truly novel approach to containment!"

The three of them all started in surprise as an unfamiliar voice filled the air. It took little effort to determine where it was coming from, given that its source, what seemed to be a floating sphere, was making no effort to hide itself. Whatever it was, it was a cool silver with a blue eye-like core that flashed in time with its speech… and yet despite the similarity in color scheme, its design was markedly different from the Device that Captain Keyes held in his hand.

"Greetings," the flying robot said. "I am the Monitor of Installation zero-four. I am 343 Guilty Spark."

Sergeant Johnson eyed the floating ball skeptically. "You're in charge here?"

"Oh no, no," 343 Guilty Spark replied almost earnestly. "I am merely a caretaker, set to oversee the Installation and ensure its continued functionality. I would not dare assume authority over the Installation! My primary function…" The speech came to a halt as the AI realized it had somehow gotten ahead of itself. He hovered there for a moment, turning slightly as if to survey the three people in front of him, before continuing with a speech that sounded almost pre-recorded. "Someone has released the Flood. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation, but I require your assistance."

Captain Keyes stepped in at that point, cutting off the AI. "In what way?"

"Pardon?" 343 Guilty Spark seemed confused by the interruption.

"You require our assistance," Captain Keyes confirmed. "What do you need us to do?"

"Oh!" the AI replied quickly. "We must secure the Index so that we may activate the Installation."

At that point, Chrono fixed the floating AI with a stern glare and tried to enter the conversation himself. "And what will-"

However, 343 Guilty Spark had already continued speaking, talking over Chrono's attempt to ask a question. "Time is of the essence. Your ingenious method of securing the research facility has bought us precious little time, and we must prevent the Flood from leaving this installation. Come. This way."

Before any of them could protest, shimmering rings of energy descended out of nowhere, whisking them all away.