Be careful what you wish for [ZnT/Touhou]

[Kips McKipzerson]

The golden witch? Now that deserves some sort of medal for originality :V

But in all seriousness... That was actually pretty good. Though how did the white parasol become pink? Either way, Nice job even though it was a quick one-shot.

[Blackraptor]

...

Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re continued to dream of Danmaku and Battle.

And she did not know what to think.

She did not know what to say.

She did not know what to believe.

Everything she had experienced up until now when it came to her familiar did very little to prepare her for what she was witnessing. Her training? The piranha plants that plagued her nightmares and continually turned her to cinders? They were nothing compared to what she was seeing right now. There on the ground, her familiar, unleashing a beam of light that completely outclassed any fire or lightning spell she had ever seen before. She believed that such concentration of raw magical energy could even overwhelm one of her mother's best wind spells. In the sky, her familiar's former student, who had just unleashed a rain of icy death upon her former teacher. Yuka's death ray was able to clear the skies of the oncoming onslaught but Cirno was doing something she thought should be impossible.

Louise should have learned by now, the residents of Gensokyo actively replace the word 'Impossible' with the phrase 'Try it and see what happens'.

Yuka's attack was a massive ray of death that was released in the form of light and heat. Cirno took advantage of that by creating a curved sheet of ice that served as a mirror. Normally, Master Spark would simply vaporize such a counter, but Cirno is far from being a normal opponent. Instead of using the ice to try to reflect of redirect the beam, she chose to use her creation to skid across the beam, allowing the reflective property of the ice to keep her afloat. The ice was kept from melting away into nothing by virtue of Cirno simply creating more and more ice to replace what was being lost.

Louise couldn't understand it, how was Cirno able to do something like that without any shred of fear?

Cirno was riding the spark straight toward her master, her expression held a smile while her eyes held purpose. Simply put, she had a plan. This was obviously not the first time she had gone up against Yuka but her former teacher had the advantages of being superior to her in most aspects of combat and the fact that she taught Cirno how become the fighter she that she was. The ice fairy didn't have any delusions of being able to defeat her teacher in a straight-up Danmaku battle...but it won't stop her from trying. After all, that was the most important lesson that Yuka taught her.

Don't stop trying.

...

?Spark Slider...? I muttered as I watched my student skid across the Master Spark with a smile on her face. Very few would be brave enough to try to graze one of my Master Sparks, even fewer would be skilled enough to succeed. Cirno is the only one to try and succeed at 'riding' one of my sparks. Some call it idiocy, some call it bravery, Cirno calls it a calculated risk, I call it my student following my advice and getting results. She raised her hands in the air and created dozens of bullet-sized icicles and fired them at me in cascade like a machine gun. I raised a brow as to why she would try something so pedestrian, then I started going through every possible reason why Cirno was grinning like she already won out match...wait...

No one declared the winning conditions of the match yet!

?First Hit Wins!? Cirno triumphantly declared just as her ice bullets were about to hit me. I cursed inwardly at not being able to notice that sooner and canceled Master Spark before jumping away from the path of the bullets. I looked up when I heard Cirno laughing and I saw that the ice fairy had her hands on her hips and was looking at me with a smirk.

?What's wrong? Teach wouldn't have fallen for a trick like that?? My student taunted me with a bored look and a dismissive wave. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Normally I wouldn't let her get the jump on me like that. It seemed that my time in Tristain has made me a bit complacent since there were so few challenges in that realm. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, finding my center. Cirno's gambit was clever and managed to nearly allow her to get an easy win over me. However, it was a gamble for her to declare this match as a 'First Hit Wins' match. If she declared the condition a second later, then she would have already won. However, she didn't and I slipped free. Additionally, we were in Mugenkan and I have every advantage available in this realm. That was probably the reason why she used a gambit like that. Now that I have overcome her trap, now that I clearly know what I need to do to win, she does not have any hope of defeating me in a head-on battle. She should already know that, yet she continues to smile. This was either because she was putting up a front and trying to bluff her way out of this or she really does have a plan to be able to defeat me in my own realm while we were using this set of rules. Regardless, this was a match she made to have me prove that I was indeed Yuka Kazami, despite the overwhelming evidence that proves my identity and the fact that Cirno should know that Yukari was indeed fooling around again. Oh well...it should be fun.

?And my student should have been able to follow through with that tactic and capture victory.? I shot back with a sly smile. Cirno blinked at me a few times before she started laughing again. I prepared to begin out match in earnest when I heard my master call out my name. I turned to her and saw that she was standing alongside Yukari, who was still only half there, and had an expression of disbelief and fear.

?What in The Founder's name are you doing?!? She yelled out at me. The momentary distraction proved to be enough for Cirno to whip up another Itano Carnival, which she immediately fired at me without any reservations. I looked at the oncoming wave of projectiles and turned back to Yukari.

?Keep her safe.? I said and the border youkai simply gave me a smile and winked at me.

?Only if I get a kiss later~? She said before throwing up a Quadruple Barrier around Louise. I heard my master yelp in surprise at suddenly being enclosed in a pulsing box of pink and purple energy. I decided not to think about what Yukari just said and focus on the matter at hand. Cirno already knows that I cannot be defeated in Danmaku inside Mugenkan, that was why she used 'First Hit Wins' to give her a chance to win against me. Even so...

?You asked me what I was doing...? I addressed Louise as I pointed my parasol at the oncoming icicles, a good number of my sunflowers turning to face Cirno.

?This, Louise, is Danmaku.? I declared before starting. Each one of the thirty-two sunflowers I activated started glowing before starting to fire yellow energy bullets in a deliberate frequency. Over the years, the most difficult part of fighting Cirno in a Danmaku battle was because of her analytical mind, her ability to make well thought out decisions under pressure. The second most difficult part was because she can freeze Danmaku, both physical and energy based ones. I set my sunflowers to fire in set intervals to prevent them from clumping up and making it easier for Cirno to freeze them all in one go. Of course, that meant that there were literally entire corridors of open space for my student to weave through. Cirno did just that and navigated through the curtain fire while countering with icicles as much as she could. Her projectiles were easily intercepted by my sunflowers but I knew that Cirno was just biding her time, her mind should already be going over every possible way she could get a clean hit on me and win. I compensated by making seven sunflowers fire streams of lasers aimed deliberately in the path that Cirno was using to navigate through the field. My student's eyes went wide when I effectively boxed her in. She had one way out, and that was to burn a third spell card to do so...which she did. I just didn't expect that she'd use that particular card so soon.

Perfect Freeze~Flash Freeze

In an instant, a bright blue flash consumed the entire sky. This was Cirno's second most powerful spell, the upgraded version of her Perfect Freeze. It could instantly freeze all Danmaku up to a maximum range of nintey-nine feet, regardless if the projectiles were physical or energy based. I once even saw her freeze up Kaguya's Salamander Shield spell card during a duel, Cirno subsequently lost that duel but I think she made her point that she wasn't just some dumb fairy. The same thing was happening in the skies of Mugenkan as well. The projectiles that came from my flowers, both bullets and lasers, were frozen right above us and were giving off a soft blue hue and made them look like odd pieces of art. They were odd pieces of art that were made up of ice which were currently surrounding an ice fairy who was at the peak of her power. The result was pretty much what one would expect it to be. The impromptu ice sculptures shattered and rained down upon me like a hail of shrapnel that prevented me from evading in any direction. I had to burn a card to prevent myself from getting hit, I decided on a second Master Spark. I used the beam of light to destroy the rain of ice from the sky and I smiled when I realized something.

Cirno was nowhere in sight.

I immediately turned around and aimed my sunflowers at the empty skies and fired ruthlessly. Cirno had already burned two Itano Carnivals and a Flash Freeze, Spark Slider was not a spell card and was just a regular technique, which means that she only had one spell card left. I have only used two Master Sparks, so I still had two cards left to play. I can either hit her right now and win or simply wait for her to use her last card and survive it until it breaks. I grinned when I saw a small blue flash of light weaving through my bullets. I stopped grinning when I saw three more blue flashes flying around. I narrowed my eyes when I finally saw what they were. It was Cirno's most dangerous spell card, the spell that she learned from a certain vampire.

Fairy Storm~Four of a Kind

That was fine, as long as I kept firing at them, they won't be able to get close enough to counter. All I had to do was to wait until the spell breaks and I win. The most dangerous aspect of Cirno's version of Four of a Kind was that she can coordinate their attack patterns to entrap their target and finish them off. No matter what her opponent does, she will find a way as long as the four managed to get close enough to get started. That was the reason why I kept this match in a longer range than either of us her normally used to. I still made sure to keep a close eye on them though. Range advantage or not, this was still Cirno I was facing and there were currently four of them in the air. two of them were flying one behind the other, likely setting up for Frost Stream Attack if they got the chance to. One of the other Cirno's was trying to get closer, testing the waters as it were, as she tried to graze through the bullet screens I was making. The last one was simply hanging back and watching the events unfold, that was either the real Cirno or simply a decoy.

I was wondering what she was planning when the Cirnos finally made their move. They created three large chunks of ice and threw them at me. That was it? I felt slightly disappointed but kept my head in the game and used my sunflowers to fire at the oncoming ice. The chunks of ice were large enough to withstand sustained fire from my sunflowers but I was still able to alter their courses and they crashed around me, missing me by several feet but managing to take out a few of my sunflowers. This was her plan? I wasn't given any more time to speculate as the Cirno that was trying to get past my kill zone was able to get closer and start firing icicle bullets at me, while the others were starting to weave closer as well. I decided to end this and pointed my parasol up for another Master Spark just as the four Cirnos were lined up just right. I fired and managed to take out the first one and one of the two in the midd-what?! My eyes went wide as the Cirno that was trailing one of the others came out of my Master Spark without any damage or even registering that it was anywhere near my Master Spark...no...that Cirno...it was an after-image that had mass?!

The large chunks of ice that landed around me shattered and exploded in waves of frozen fog and shrapnel, revealing the real Cirno hiding in one of them. Well played Cirno. However, the chunks of ice her copies threw at me were too far away to tag me as soon as they exploded so I still had time to cast my last card of the match. If this didn't convince Cirno of who I was, then nothing will.

Blossom Sign~Reflowering of Gensokyo

...

"Yo buddy~! Still alive~?" I heard Yukari asked teasingly as she floated above Cirno who was lying on the ground and was completely covered by a pile of flowers. I was standing with Louise who predictably was reduced to a stammering pile of disbelief.

"What was...but that was...I mean there was...and the four...and the flowers...and the ice...and...and..." Louise muttered while looking straight at the ground like she had just witnessed a slaughter of innocents and was still in shock. I waved a hand in front of her face to check if she would respond. I sighed when she didn't and conjured up a glass of water and splashed the liquid on her face. I blinked a few times when she still did not respond, was seeing a Danmaku battle that much for her? I wondered what it would take to get her to snap out of her shock, probably something that would be even more shocking. I decided to take a page from Marisa's book and leaned in closer to Louise and whispered...

"Look, Yukari is trying to take Henrietta's chastity." I said and immediately stepped back after I felt Louise's magic spike higher than I ever felt before. Maybe I overdid it a bit by using the princess as-

"YOU OLD HAG! EXPLOSION!" Louise roared as she pointed her finger at Yukari and tried to cast a broken Explosion spell, nothing happened and Yukari simply blinked at my master a few times while pointing to herself. I was rather thankful that she didn't have her wand at the time because I personally did not want to see what a broken Explosion would look and feel like while Louise was that emotionally charged up. It was around that time that the pile of flowers that was covering Cirno started to stir before my former student sat up and spat out a few flowers.

"Yep...you're teach alright..." Cirno said with a lopsided grin before standing up and brushing off the flowers that were still caught on her hair and clothes...she suddenly made a bitter expression before spitting out one more flower.

"Blegh! I hate getting hit with 'Reflowering'..." She muttered before gazing upon Louise and adopting a neutral expression.

"She doesn't seem that special...wait, before that..." Cirno shook off her train of thought and turned back to Yukari.

"Why is teach a GUY?" She asked while scratching the back of her head and glancing back at me.

"Who cares, he's hot?" Yukari replied while trying her best to look innocent. I suddenly felt something tug on my sleeve and turned to Louise who was looking at me like I was a sexual deviant.

"What. Are. They. Talking. About?" Louise emphasized each word by pulling my sleeve harder and harder as she said them. I made a thoughtful sound before rubbing my chin with my felt hand while using my parasol like a walking stick with my other hand.

"Haven't I told you yet? I was a woman before you summoned me to Halkeginia." I stated with a tilted head. Louise promptly responded by fainting on the spot. Maybe that was too soon...

"That is the human that managed to snag you as a shikigami?" Cirno asked as she walked up before looking down on Louise's unconscious form while putting her hands on her hips.

"The technical term for what I am is apparently a familiar and not a shikigami." I corrected her before kneeling down and checking if Louise would wake up from light slaps on the face. She didn't.

"So...about you gender-flipping out of nowhere?" Cirno asked while folding her arms and leaning back. I looked up at her and shrugged before pointing at Yukari. Cirno turned to the border youkai, who promptly turned away and started whistling, before turning back to me.

"Templates like that are forbidden." She replied automatically after understanding what I was implying.

"No, seriously. It really was Yukari fooling around again." I stated while giving a pointed look at the border youkai who puffed up her cheeks while placing her hands on her hips.

"And why are you complaining? I turned you into an incredibly delicious specimen of the male gender! You should be grateful!" Yukari shot back, determined to reject our logic and replace it with her own.

?So, why haven't you changed back? You should be able to Ultimate Magic your way out of being a guy right?? Cirno asked me accusingly while kneeling down before poking Louise's cheek with her index finger, my master gave a scowl but still seemed to be unconscious. Yes, this was Cirno's response to any problems that involved me. Fairies swarming around the Garden of the Sun? Ultimate Magic! Newcomer youkai suddenly think that they can defeat the strongest youkai in Gensokyo? Ultimate Magic! Lactose Intolerance? Ultimate Magic! Constipation? Ultimate Magic! Ultimate Magic causing reality to warp into itself? Ultimate Magic!

?No, Cirno. I will not use Ultimate Magic to turn be back into a woman. If anything, I find the experience rather novel.? I stated and Cirno merely shrugged and continued to closely peer over my master's face, probably trying to gather as much information as she could about Louise while she was asleep.

?BY THE POWER OF GREY SKU-Augh!?Of course, this was the perfect moment for Louise to suddenly wake up screaming more nonsense as she suddenly sat up and hit her head against Cirno's. I internally hoped that those two weren't two of a kind when it came to these situations. The last thing I needed was having to teach another nine-ball. Then again, it might give Cirno an easier time to teach Louise if they were on the same wavelen-no...having another nine-ball wouldn't be worth it.

?Birds of a feather, aren't they~?? Yukari commented teasingly as she floated beside me.

?Don't joke like that.? I flatly responded before turning my attention back to Louise and Cirno, who were still clutching their respective foreheads in pain.

?I assume that the two of you already know each other by now?? I asked the two of them as I leaned against my parasol. They both looked at me before looking back at each other, Cirno smiled before offering her hand to my master. Louise looked at my former student's hand before she hesitantly took it.

?The name is Cirno, the strongest and smartest fairy in Gensokyo! Ice Fairy by birth, butt kicker by trade!? Cirno proudly declared after she helped my master to her feet. Louise dusted herself off before straightening up her clothes and recovering her composure. I smiled despite myself, dream or not, she was still a proud daughter of the Valli?re family and she will not be one who would embarrass her family name during an introduction. Such is the pride of my master for her family. Louise gave Cirno a near-perfect curtsy before introducing herself.

?I am Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re, third daughter of Duke Valli?re of the country of Tristain. Noble by birth, student of magic by trade. I'm the one who summoned and made Yuka Kazami as my contracted familiar.? She finished and I saw that Cirno was giving her an appraising look before nodding to herself and turning to me.

?First of all, long name is long. Seriously, and I thought that Shikieiki Yabadabadoo's name is the hardest name ever to pronounce.? Cirno said while shaking her head. Louise narrowed her eyes at the ice fairy, likely not appreciating my former student complaining about the length of her name.

?First of all, it's pronounced 'Yamaxanadu' and not 'Yabadabadoo'. If you're going to complain, do it right.? I shot at my former student who just gave me a snort before turning back to Louise.

?Secondly, I'm actually pretty impressed by you. That magic spike I sensed from you when you tried to cast a spell on Yukari was pretty awesome. Chaotic and unrefined, but it gets the point across.? Cirno commented while gesturing with her hands to emphasize her point. Louise nodded shyly as a blush crept on her cheeks from the sudden compliment from her senior.

?Third, I'm assuming that you'd want some answers from teach about her-ahem-his...circumstance in regards to gender confusion.? Cirno stated slyly before giving me a sidewards glance. Me turning into a man would be par for the course in Gensokyo which was why Cirno didn't seem too broken up about it, just another little incident for someone who came from a realm where the fantastic was commonplace. Louise on the other hand...while Halkeginia was a fantastical realm, it just wasn't as 'out of the box' as Gensokyo was.

?That's right! Familiar! What is all this talk about you being a woman before I summoned you?!? Louise suddenly yelled at me, making Cirno wince because of her proximity to my master. I turned to Yukari, the perpetrator of my gender change and found that she had already gone.

God Dammit Yukari!

?It is exactly as you heard. I was a woman up until the moment when you summoned me, my original gender was indeed female.? I admitted and Louise looked like she was trying very hard, and failing, to understand what I had just said.

?That makes no sense! The Springtime Summoning Ritual can't change a familiar's gender! Especially someone with your power!? Louise yelled at the absurdity of the circumstance surrounding my summoning. Cirno had already learned her lesson the first time and made sure to be a few steps away from Louise in case any further news about my gender would prompt her to yell.

?You are correct. While I was being pulled into the summoning portal that you seem to have created, Yukari thought it would be amusing to change me from a woman to a man.? I explained to Louise the last thing that happened to me while I was still in Gensokyo.

?Why...why would she even do something like that?? Louise asked, seemingly unable to comprehend the reasoning behind Yukari's actions. Cirno and I looked at each other, then back to Louise, before shrugging at the same time.

?Because she can.? We both said at the same time.

?Wh-wh-wh-what?!? Louise screamed while gawking at us incredulously.

?Don't think about it too hard, you'll just hurt yourself.? Cirno admonished my stuttering master while shaking her head almost ruefully.

?F-f-fine...I'll drop the reasoning for now...but...? Louise trailed off before turning back to me.

?...why didn't you ever tell me that you were a woman before?? My master asked me with accusing eyes.

?First, you never really asked.? I answered before holding up my left hand just before Louise was about to retort.

?Also, would you have believed me?? I added and Louise's counter-argument died in her throat. I walked up to the diminutive young magician and placed my hand on her shoulder.

?What is important is that I am your familiar and partner now. My gender, my origins, my circumstances, they don't matter to me and they shouldn't matter to you either.? I stated honestly while giving Louise a warm smile that she returned.

?Now that is out of the way, I want to get down to business.? I said as I turned to my former student, who gave me a knowing smirk while rubbing her chin with her hand.

?Got yourself an incident on the other side?? Cirno inferred while looking more and more interested about what would prompt my personal request for her presence.

?Nothing as simple as that, I'm afraid. Circumstances have arisen which prompted my need to have Louise trained in things beyond basic dodging discipline.? I started before giving Cirno a rundown of what we had been experiencing in Louise's realm up until Henrietta's request for Louise to infiltrate the currently war-torn Albion.

?Damn, having to handle incidents left and right one after another in such a short period of time...who the hell are you, Touma Kotiya?? Cirno snarked at me with a raised brow. She was talking about a priest of the Moriya Shrine a few generations after Sanae passed away. That man had the ungodly knack of being at the wrong place at the right time whenever an incident happened, so much so that he was most well known for vexing about his misfortune whenever something bad happens while he was around.

?I must admit, it keeps things interesting. Although, the frequency is slightly annoying.? I admitted while shaking my head. Cirno nodded to herself before turning back to Louise with a smile.

?Well then, let's get started! I want a baseline of your abilities, so we'll have a Danmaku battle right now!? She declared enthusiastically while Louise could only look at her in shock before muttering...

?What??

...

?They just don't make magicians like they used to...she can't even fly.? Cirno commented as she poked Louise's face who had a thin layer of ice coating her entire body.

?You've got the touch...? Louise muttered in a daze as she laid on the ground after her 'Danmaku Battle' against Cirno. My master had started off rather well against Cirno, managing to endure Icicle Fall~Easy with only minor grazes. Unfortunately, she was suddenly introduced to Cirno's other spell cards and Louise didn't last very long after that.

?You overdid it, Cirno. She's not Marisa nor is she Alicia.? I pointed out to the ice fairy. Louise had raw power in her grasp but she was still not ready for high-speed Danmaku at her current level of skill.

?You've got the power...? Louise continued muttering as Cirno and I continued our discussion.

?I guess. Is Explosion really the only spell she can cast?? The ice fairy asked me as she begun her analysis of Louise.

?Yes and no. Explosion is simply the result, not the intent.? I answered vaguely, a small test to see if Cirno's intellect was still as sharp as before.

?When all hell's breaking loose you are right at the eye of the storm...?

?So every spell that Louise casts...turns into an explosion? How does that work? If a spell fails, it should just fizzle out of existence or nothing should happen at all.? Cirno asked, both in curiosity and surprise.

?You've got the touch...?

?Louise is a bit different than most magicians in her realm. You see...? I then explained Louise's circumstances as a void magician. The results of all the spells she had previously tried to cast, our discussions about what we thought her power was, the subsequent revelation that I was a Gandalfr, and the fact that we didn't know how to find out more about Void Magic at the moment.

?You've got the motion...?

?Spontaneous Spell Breaking because of incompatibility of element and spell as well as casting method. Whatever this Void element is, the guy that came up with it went through a lot of trouble to bend a lot of rules. Needless to say, those spells, whatever they might be, better be worth all those restrictions.? Cirno commented. I smiled at how knowledgeable my student had become over the centuries. I remember back when I had to literally drag her to the Scarlet Devil Mansion's Library in order for her to be taught by little Patchouli on the nuances of spell casting. The magician was apprehensive about letting Cirno into her sanctum but I made sure to remind her that the family of the Scarlet Devil owed me after I helped them with a certain little something involving the little sister. Thanks to her lessons with Patchouli, Cirno started learning more about how spells work and it had resulted in many instances where her creativity shone through as well as her abuse of some technicalities of the spell card rules. Her initial gambit against me during out match in front of Louise is a prime example of that.

?You know that when things get too tough...?

?That is exactly why I needed your expertise. Because of the fact that Louise and I will be going into hostile territory soon, I wanted her to learn a few basic skills when it came to maximizing the utilization of her one spell.? I said and Cirno gave me a knowing smirk.

?You've got the touch...?

?So you want me to teach your master to completely abuse her ability to turn any spell she casts into an explosion? I'll probably end up teaching her how to deal with any situation using explosions, size, shape, proximity, intensity, wow...now that I think about it, explosions are actually pretty versatile. Alright, I'll do it!? Cirno accepted my request with a smile before turning back to my master.

?And what has she been muttering about anyway? Some kind of incantation?? The ice fairy asked as she pointed out what Louise had been muttering while the two of us were discussing things.

?It probably doesn't mean anything at all. Louise has been occasionally slipping into random non-sequiturs ever since the incident with the Love Potion. It usually manifests when she is under great stress or is unconscious.? I explained as I knelt down and sat Louise up before shaking her unceremoniously, waking her up and shaking off the layer on frost all over her.

?No! Ultra Magnus!? Louise yelled out before blinking a few times and looking at me and Cirno in turn.

?Where am I?? My master asked in a daze.

?Still in Mugenkan, Louise.? I explained as I helped her to her feet.

?Your master has issues. Then again, she has you as her familiar.? Cirno snarked before preparing for an attack from me for that comment. I let it slide for now because I needed Cirno to teach Louise as soon as possible.

?Oh right...what was that? I've never seen so many things thrown at me at once...I just panicked and I couldn't move.? Louise said as she recalled her first real Danmaku Battle.

?That's a beginner's issue. Having too many things to keep track of makes you doubt your own decision-making which is why you froze up, you couldn't decide where to go until it was too late. Don't worry, we'll work on that.? Cirno explained as she patted Louise on the shoulder.

?Work on that?? Louise repeated, unsure about what Cirno had meant by that.

?Cirno has agreed to teach you a few things that should be able to help you once your little mission for the princess is underway.? I explained and Louise started looking at me and Cirno in turn before adopting a look of horror.

?Hey, now! Don't go panicking right off the bat! Don't worry, I already have a good baseline for your abilities so we'll just start with a little lecture.? Cirno stated as she tried to steady my master, who looked like she was about to faint from fear.

?A-a-a-a-a l-l-l-le-lecture?? Louise stammered and Cirno nodded before giving Louise a big smile.

?That's right. Welcome to Cirno's Perfect Math Class~?

...

[Blackraptor]

...

?And that is why you should learn how to take in and use every surface possible. You can't fly, so you have to make due with utilizing your surroundings instead.? Cirno logically pointed out as she tried to reason and prove to Louise that learning parkour would be a good idea for her in order to improve her mobility. Their lecture started out with Cirno gathering information from me on how well Louise managed against my training regiment. The ice fairy then concluded that Louise needed a way to utilize the three dimensions that was available to her and not just relying on 'two dimensional thinking' as she put it. Hence, Cirno's insistence that Louise learn parkour as the start of her use of three dimensional maneuverability.

?I understand that much but...jumping around all over the place like how you described it...that should be impossible, right?? Louise countered. Indeed, in her realm, the very concept of free running and parkour would sound very foreign and insane since one cannot utilize such skills outside of major cities.

?Louise...magic should be impossible, flying should be impossible, the fact that we're having this conversation should be impossible, you having teach as your familiar after being genderbent should be impossible. What I'm trying to explain to you still falls well within the Laws of Physics.? Cirno countered and Louise suddenly looked at my former student with an expression that said 'you lost me'.

?The laws of what now? Is this Physics person some kind of lawmaker or king?? Louise honestly asked and I swear that I could literally hear Cirno's opinion of my master drop a few points. My former student looked at me like she had just seen so something utterly impossible that all she could do was gawk at me with that expression.

?They never taught Physics in her school?? Cirno asked me like she was trying to confirm if what she had just said was a lie or not.

?Their society seems to be built upon a system of Magocracy. However, it seems that their understanding of their own magic is limited to what they can feel and the results of their spells. The mere fact that they don't seem to have a firm grasp of how exactly their own magic works, I doubt that they would have time to think about the fundamental laws of the Universe.? I gave Cirno my assessment as to how Halkeginian society in general understood how their world works.

?Is that true? You've never been taught the fundamental laws of Physics? Your society doesn't even know the SCIENCE behind your magic?? Cirno asked Louise frantically as she shook my master's shoulders.

?N-n-n-no! I don't even know what you're talking about! Now explain what you're babbling about!? Louise yelled back while pushing away from the increasingly frantic ice fairy.

?Okay...okay...just give me a minute to gather my thoughts...? Cirno stated before she took a few deep breaths to regain her composure.

?Okay, I'm not even going to touch your magic system because I don't know anything about it and that isn't what I was called here for. Instead, I'm going to give you a quick lesson on the Laws of Physics. Specifically, the Law of Gravity and the Laws of Motion. All of which will be instrumental to how I'm going to teach you later on, so pay attention.? Cirno outlined her lesson plan for Louise before making a pair of crystal clear glasses made of ice and putting it on. Louise, being the good student that she was, nodded before preparing to listen to what her senior was about to tell her about.

?We'll start with the simplest one, something you should already know about to a degree, Gravity. Gravity works off a painfully simple concept, which is: 'What goes up, must come down'. It is one of the laws that will almost always work unless something is preventing it from acting upon something...which is tied to the other Laws I want to teach you about.? Cirno said, giving Louise a very simple version of the concept of Gravity.

?Question, what do you mean by 'what goes up, must come down'?? Louise asked with a raised hand as if she was in a classroom. Hmmm...

?Before you two continue...? I interrupted their little session, making the both of them turn to me. I closed my eyes and reached into the border of dreams until I found what I wanted to manifest.

?Ohhh...nice!? I opened my eyes at Cirno's words and saw that what I conjured up came out properly. It was a simple chair and desk for the student and a white board for the teacher.

?Thanks teach! Okay Louise, take a seat.? Cirno instructed and Louise obeyed like a good student should. My former student created a snowball in her hands and started tossing it up and catching it over and over again.

?This is what I'm talking about. Anything that leaves the ground will inevitably go back down because of the force known as Gravity. Another example of this would be if you jump up off the ground. No matter how high up you jump, you will still end up coming back down eventually.? Cirno emphasized the point by tossing the snowball so high that it disappeared in the sky. After a few moments the snowball fell back down and into her hand.

?But what about things that can fly like birds, dragons, griffins, manticores, the country of Albion...?? Louise countered as she listed the things she knows can keep themselves up in the sky.

?Good question, Louise. However, I go back to the part where I said that Gravity will always be applied on something unless a force prevents Gravity from pulling something to the ground. Everything you listed aside from that floating country requires the act of flapping wings to be able to stay off the ground. I'm not sure what Albion uses to stay afloat, but it should be some force that prevents it from coming down on the ground. Simply put, Gravity is always active as long as you don't do anything to cancel it out or use something that can overcome it.? Cirno clarified and Louise seemed to have grasped the concept just fine.

?So...did anyone make this Law of Gravity? Is there a sorcerer powerful enough to enforce such an absolute law in different realms?? Louise suddenly asked, both awed and frightened at the prospect of a magician powerful enough to create and maintain the Law of Gravity. It seemed that she didn't quite get the concept completely if she thinks that the Law of Gravity was created using magic.

?No...no, Louise. The Law of Gravity was not made by magic. It has just been that way ever since the beginning of time. It's one of the corner stones of how everything works the way they do. No one created the Law of Gravity, it is just the way it is ever since the very start.? Cirno explained, trying her best to emphasize that magic had nothing to do with the creation of one of the Laws of Physics.

?So who called it a law then? If no one made it, then how was it called a law in the first place?? Louise asked with puffed cheeks, not appreciating that her idea was shot down so quickly by her senior.

?Another good question. The guy who discovered and made this concept a law is the same guy who made the concept of the Laws of Motion into laws. He was a human that lived a really long time ago. I forget his name but he's supposed to be the deadliest something-or-other in space. He didn't make the laws, he was just the guy who educated everyone else about it.? Cirno answered and my master seemed to accept it.

?So this person must have been a really smart man to do all that...? Louise muttered, earning a laugh from Cirno.

?If you only knew Louise. In any case, you'll be very well acquainted with those particular laws during the course of our lessons since they will be the keys to your success in becoming a one-of-a-kind spell caster. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be a Physics Crunching Badass! You'll be the complete package!? Cirno declared triumphantly as she pointed skyward while giving Louise a confident smile.

?I assume that you will need a few things to get the ball rolling when it comes to teaching Louise about Inertia?? I interjected, making Cirno think about it for a few seconds before nodding.

?I'll need a lot of duct tape, a sledgehammer, and a penguin.? Cirno said with a smirk as the gears in her head started turning.

...

?So anything that moves will keep moving unless something stops them...? Louise muttered sleepily as we both stood in front of the front gates of the academy while waiting for the griffin knight that was supposed to accompany us. I had Matilda hit the books as soon as Louise and I got ready to leave, though the former thief still tried to convince me to bring her along one more time. I admired her determination to stay with her charge even in the face of the very people that were threatening her life and the lives of her sister and the children of their orphanage. Unfortunately, we can't take any further risks with this little mission any more than what we were already risking. She then settled on speaking with Louise alone for a while before we left. I saw nothing wrong with it and allowed the two of them to speak in private in Louise's room, making sure to take Derf and my parasol with me before I left. I waited for Louise at the front of the main academy gates and she joined me after several minutes with a look of determination on her face and her cowboy hat on her head. Whatever my master spoke about with Matilda, it seemed to have done wonders to her resolve. Unfortunately, she was still sleepy, hence her current grogginess.

?So, the little miss has been taking Physics lessons lately?? Derf suddenly commented as it partially came out of its scabbard which was strapped to Louise's back. I had Louise carry Derf for me both because it was practical weight training for her later parkour lessons with Cirno and because I don't want to be bothered to carry Derf and my parasol at the same time.

?You are familiar with the concepts of Physics?? I asked the sword in slight surprise that a mostly inanimate object would know more about science than most of the people in the country.

?This comes back to Sasha. I've heard her talk to Brimir about the Laws of Physics and how they can be used to their advantage in battle against numerically superior foes.? The sword answered, earning and intrigued look from me while Louise glanced back a bit to regard the sword.

?It was a bit of a rough patch in their lives.? Derf added, a bit more information as to why The Founder and the first Gandalfr needed to utilize the Laws of Physics in combat while they were outnumbered.

?To answer your question...yes, Louise is currently studying up on the Laws of Physics to help her if she ever found herself in a combat situation.? I explained. If the sword was capable of nodding, it probably would have given an understanding nod at that point.

?Just remember, little miss. Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.? Derf dispensed its words of wisdom to my master, making Louise look back to the sword.

?What the founder does that mean?? Louise inquired. Derf merely gave a sword shrug, which rattled Louise a bit since she was carrying it on her back.

?I dunno, something Brimir said one time. The context is still really hazy but I'm sure you'll understand once the time comes. Just keep it in mind just in case.? The sword answered before going back into its scabbard.

?It might be a clue about Void magic. I suggest you keep that phrase in mind as well, just in case.? I threw in my two cents and Louise nodded in response before adopting a very serious expression.

?Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out. Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out. Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out. What does it all mean?!? Louise yelled out before scratching the back of her head. Before any further conversation can be made, I suddenly heard the flapping of wings in the air along with a particular aura of magical power...one I have not encountered before.

?It would seem that our escort has arrived.? I stated before looking up. Louise followed by gaze and saw a small dot in the sky grow larger and larger until it formed into a familiar shape.

?It's a griffin...? Louise muttered in awe as the beast landed some distance in front of us.

?Yes, that would be what one would expect considering our escort is a member of the Griffin Knights.? I flatly stated while ignoring Louise's glare and Derf's snicker. Instead, I focused on the man who had just dismounted from the griffin. The way he carried himself suggested that he had confidence in his ability. From what I had sensed from him, he seemed to be a magician on par with Matilda. At least the Princess provided a competent companion for this journey. He was well dressed, his clothing in perfect condition in addition to his cloak. He had a wide brimmed hat on, complete with a long white feather stuck in it like a character in a book from the outside world. He also carried a sword at his side, an odd looking one since it was too big to be a rapier but too small to be a broadsword like Derf. Nevertheless, it was a given considering his status as a knight in the service of his country. His light blonde, nearly ashen, hair was long and well cared for. His facial features were dignified and gave a certain sense of rugged handsomeness that Rinnosuke had during the later years of his life. His features were punctuated by a neatly trimmed beard which he was stroking as he stared at Louise and I. That was when I noticed an odd spike in Louise's magical power. I turned to my master and...

?V-V-V-Vi-Vi-Vis-Visc-Viscount Wardes!? Louise stammered in recognition of who our escort was. The man smiled at Louise and tipped his hat to her, my master returned the gesture using her own hat and making me wish I had brought my straw hat along. I raised a brow at the scene. Louise and our escort, Viscount Wardes as Louise stated, knew each other personally. Was this a coincidence or something Henrietta intended if Louise was willing to accept her request? Regardless, this man seemed to be someone that Louise knew so at least it would not be an awkward first meeting.

?That's a lovely hat you have on Little Louise.? The Viscount complimented my master's hat, earning a blush and a nod from Louise. Well, if he likes hats, he couldn't have been that bad. I then noticed that he raised a brow before narrowing his eyes when he noticed what Louise was carrying on her back.

?Little Louise, I understand your concern for your safety during this mission for the Princess. However, don't you think that carrying a sword may be a bit much? I can assure you that no harm will befall you so long as you are with me.? The Viscount stated before giving Louise a smile and a wink.

?Th-th-th-this isn't...I-I-I mean...? Louise continued to show her loss of the ability to speak coherently while under great emotional stress, this time being embarrassment in front of an older man.

?The sword was not meant to be wielded by Louise. It is simply something that she brought along as part of a training regiment to improve herself.? I helped out my master to explain the reason why she had a sword on her back. The Viscount eyed me carefully while stroking his beard while I simply leaned on my parasol casually like a walking stick.

?And you are?? He finally asked, an edge and a tone of curiosity in his voice. I gave the man a small smile and a curt nod before introducing myself.

?I am Yuka Kazami. I am the contracted familiar of Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re whom she summoned during the springtime summoning ritual in this academy. And you are?? I asked him after introducing myself. The man eyed me carefully for a few moments, probably considering my words, before laughing out loud.

?I am Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes. Captain of the Sixty-Sixth Squadron of the Sixth order of the Tristain Royal Griffin Knights. My runic name is 'Lightning', I am a Square-Class Wind mage, and I am Little Louise's fianc?.? The Viscount introduced himself with a sweeping bow. Interesting...did he provide all those titles to intimidate me? To make me see that he was more than capable of protecting Louise on his own and-

?Fianc??? I suddenly asked while turning to my master who was now redder that she had ever been.

?Indeed, it was something that was originally arranged by our respective families but I eventually could not help but be drawn to Louise over time. You could say that it was a love that blossomed long after the seed has been planted.? Wardes eloquently elaborated as he walked up to Louise and picked her up bridal style, Derflinger and all.

?Lord Wardes! What are you doing?!? Louise panicked at the sudden action and was feebly trying to free herself from her fianc?'s grasp. Wardes merely laughed before he started walking back to his griffin. I wordlessly followed them and noticed that Wardes' griffin took a few steps back when it noticed me approaching. I took another step forward and noted that it was trying very hard not to take another step back. I see...that griffin was Wardes' familiar which was why my presence was unnerving it quite a bit. Although, I admitted that it was very disciplined since it hadn't ran away in terror yet.

?Don't worry, this is just Louise. Now come, we must make haste to La Rochelle. I will provide further details of the mission as we ride there. Shall I wait until you get your horse Sir Kazami?? Wardes asked as he mounted his griffin with Louise before pointing out that I did not have a horse. I blinked a few times and shook my head, as if I would actually ride a horse to our destination. No, I had other plans on getting there.

?Yuka is fine, Sir Wardes. Don't worry about my transportation, I will meet you at La Rochelle later.? I said with a curt nod.

?You're not riding with us?? Louise asked in surprise while Wardes simply raised a brow and nodded.

?Worry not, Louise. I promise that I will meet you at our destination. Besides, I'm sure that your beloved Viscount can keep you safe while I am not around.? I stated a bit teasingly at my master. She puffed her cheeks at me before snorting.

?Fine, just don't take too long! I want you by my side the moment that we arrive there!? She stubbornly said while glaring at me.

?I will do my best.? I replied with a warm smile.

...

I flew above the cloud line, just high enough so that no one would notice a human shaped object flying in the sky. I gazed down and saw the griffin that was currently headed for the port city of La Rochelle, the griffin that carried my master and her beloved, and Derf too I guess. While it was reassuring to have a mage knight of Wardes' standard accompanying us, less things for me to worry about, it did raise a few questions. If the Princess had someone like Wardes as an ace in the hole, why did she have to send Louise? The knight seemed more than capable of accomplishing this mission by himself, especially without the need to look after a civilian like my master. Was this all some clever gambit that the Princess or someone in her court orchestrated to ensure that this mission is accomplished? Was this just Henrietta not trusting one of the Captains of the Griffin Knights to do this alone? Was this something else, a ploy made by someone about something far more sinister than what I had previously expected?

As I flew toward my destination, I could not help but feel that something is off. I rarely have bad feelings about situations seeing as I could simply blast my way out of them. This was different though. I silently hoped that this was just me overthinking things again as I continued toward La Rochelle.

...

?What is all this?? I asked as I approached Wardes and my master as they stood in front of an inn, behind them were luggages that I was sure that we did not bring along when we left the academy. Louise turned to my voice before smiling then quickly giving me a scowl.

?These are luggages. And I thought I said that you were supposed to be by my side the moment that we arrived here!? Louise stated, completely ignoring the fact that we did not leave the academy with any bags. Instead, she chose to grill me because I had arrived late.

?Yes, but what are they doing here? Why so much stuff?? I asked, sidestepping the issue about being late and instead asking where the mystery packages are and how they got here. I was 'late' because I had to stay in the air and see where Wardes' was planning on stopping for the night. I wasn't about to walk around a city I had never been in before without knowing how to get to my destination. I made sure to take note to the location of the inn he had chosen before going to the city outskirts and landing, making my way to my master on foot afterward.

?That doesn't matter!? Louise yelled at me before stomping her way into the inn, an odd scene considering she still had her hat on her head and Derf on her back. I was wondering why she seemed so angry at me and hoping that the people within the inn did not mistake her for a hooligan when I noticed that Wardes was laughing the way see always seems to before patting my shoulder with his hand.

?Quite the master you have there!? He stated in a friendly tone.

?Quite the fianc? you have there.? I shot back, earning another round of laughter from the man.

?Indeed, we must make sure to keep her safe until this mission is over.? Wardes suddenly said in all seriousness. I raised a brow at the sudden mood whiplash when the Viscount decided to continue.

?I did not approve of the Princess' decision to send Louise to Albion, it was just too dangerous to do so with everything happening up there. Unfortunately, both the Princess and Louise seemed adamant about it so I had no choice but to go along with it and hope that I will be strong enough to protect her.? The Viscount voiced his opinion about this whole mission, it seemed that he was not happy about the arrangement either.

?Tell me, are you capable of protecting Louise?? The man suddenly asked me in all seriousness.

?If it comes down to it, I will protect Louise from any harm.? I answered simply, not letting it known just how safe Louise was if she was with me. I resisted to frown when I heard the Viscount sigh before giving me a pitying look.

?I admire your dedication, but you seem to be a commoner. As it stands, even with the sword that Louise carries, I do not think that you will be able to protect her by yourself. I do not mean any disrespect but...? Wardes trailed off before looking at the late afternoon sky. I was not sure if this was just him stating that I had no means to be able to protect my master so I should just stay out of the way or if this was genuine concern that harm may befall both to my master and to myself if I went with them the rest of the way.

?I understand your concern Viscount. However, it will not change the fact that I will do whatever I can to protect Louise. Besides, my master is not as helpless as she looks.? I stated confidently. Wardes sighed one more time before looking at me with a warm smile.

?True. She did help defeat Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt after all. I apologize if I offended you.? He said before walking into the inn after Louise. I looked at the back of the man that was going to marry my master someday and wondered. What is this uncomfortable feeling I keep getting when I see him with Louise?

...

I had arranged the luggage that mysteriously appeared in front of the inn to be sent to my master's room. She was roomed with the Viscount while I was in the next room over. She had originally protested about being roomed with a grown man but the Viscount assured her that he would be the perfect gentleman while she was with him. Louise went along with it eventually since she trusted the man to an extent and the fact that she knew what I would do to him if he tried to force her into anything she did not want. I made sure to wait until they were both asleep before making my way outside and into a nondescript alleyway. Not exactly the most ideal place to set a door to Mugenkan but I couldn't be picky about it right now. I entered my dream realm and saw that Louise was already there and was talking with Cirno.

?...and that is what shape charges are.? I heard Cirno say, seemingly at the end of her explanation while Louise nodded to her words.

?That does sound very useful.? Louise admitted before they both turned to me after noticing my footsteps.

?Sup teach? Just giving Louise an overview of tonight's lesson.? Cirno stated with a confident smile.

?You will not be teaching her parkour?? I asked with a raised brow.

?No time. Louise gave me a rundown on the current situation on your end. She has you and a badass magic knight to keep her safe so I can afford to push back that lesson to a later date. Instead I want to get her started on the practical applications of her explosive spells.? Cirno explained.

?Hence 'shape charges'.? I pointed out.

?I'm still not sure about all of this though. I didn't know that explosions can be that versatile if you use it correctly. I'm not sure that I can do half the things Cirno-nee was talking about.? She admitted sheepishly as she fidgeted in place. She suddenly gave a surprised yelp when Cirno slapped her on the back.

?Don't worry. For now we'll work on your casting time and your accuracy, we can start with the rest of the stuff if we have time before you wake up.? Cirno stated, she seemed to have thought this out well. I guess having a pseudo-apprentice got her in a good mood.

?Casting time?? Louise inquired, not sure about what Cirno was talking about.

?Yep. The best thing about your explosions is that it can activate regardless of what spell you try to cast. Do you have any idea how exploitable that is?? My former student asked rhetorically. When Louise didn't seem to catch on, I decided to do it for her.

?What Cirno is trying to tell you is that any spell you cast turns into an explosion...regardless of how long it takes to cast that particular spell.? I provided, earning a nod from the ice fairy and a tilted head from Louise.

?Look, why don't I just show you. Teach, could you set up some dummies for us?? Cirno asked and I complied by making three mannequins a short distance away that resembled Sunnymilk, Lunachild, and Star Sapphire. I also conjured up a wand for Louise to use for the duration of tonight's lesson.

?Nice...now, I want you to cast a spell with the shortest incantation that you know.? Cirno instructed while pointing at the Sunnymilk mannequin. Louise nodded and complied and the mannequin was turned to splinters five seconds later.

?Now, I want you to cast a spell with the longest incantation that you know.? My former student continued while pointing to the next target. My master obeyed her senior and blew up the second target thirty seconds later.

?Now, I want you to cast a spell with an incantation of average length.? Cirno said while pointing at the last mannequin. Louise destroyed the last target in little over twelve seconds.

?Now, what have we learned?? Cirno asked Louise, who looked at her wand and the mannequins that she destroyed before turning to her senior.

?I can make explosions faster by trying to cast a shorter spell.? She stated with a bit of surprise in her voice.

?Exactly. That will be the focus of our lessons today. Your accuracy will improve as you keep casting but what I want you to get out of this is to be able to cast explosion with just one word.? Cirno revealed her plan for Louise.

?Just one word? Is that even possible?? Louise asked at seemingly absurd concept of being able to cast magic with a single word.

?Keyword casting. It is a method of casting by which you bind a spell to a certain word and cast it as soon as you focus enough magical energy for it and say the magic word.? I provided.

?That's right. Normally, this is used to really mundane spells since trying to bind powerhouse spells into a single word is horrendously hard. Then again, teach can silent cast Master Spark...so yeah.? Cirno explained, I smiled as I finally understood what Cirno was trying to do.

?I see...since Louise can turn any spell into a explosion, she can bind a simple spell to a word and still be able to create an explosion using it.? I said, earning a smile from the ice fairy.

?You got it. Eventually, I want Louise to be able to create shape charges or rapid cast explosions but for now...this should be enough.? Cirno said with a confident smile before turning to my master who was still in an uncertain state.

?Whenever you're ready, Louise.? My former student said, snapping my master from her thoughts. She gulped before nodding as she gripped her wand tightly.

?Alright...let's do this.? She said with determination.

...

?Louise, Viscount. It is already dawn, it is time to leave.? I called out to my master and her fianc? as I knocked on their door. I raised a brow from the lack of a response. Louise's lesson was most productive and she was able to bind an explosion spell to a particular word of her choice. Cirno and I asked her why she chose such a word to bind her spell to but Louise only answered 'because it is appropriate'. We let the subject drop and I left Mugenkan a few minutes ago before making my way back to the inn.

?Louise? Louise?!? I called out to my master while practically banging on the door. She should be up by now. I sensed that uncomfortable feeling again and I decided to enter the room without their consent. I gave the door a gentle nudge and the lock broke without much resistance. I opened the door and narrowed my eyes before gritting my teeth. I immediately left the inn and went back into Mugenkan where I saw Cirno and Yukari talking.

?Where is Louise?? I quickly asked. They blinked at me for a second before looking at each other.

?She just popped out a few moments ago, why?? Cirno answered and I suddenly felt something I have not felt in a long time.

?What happened?? Yukari asked with concern when she noticed my expression. Both Yukari and Cirno knew what I was like when I was angry. You wouldn't like me if I was angry.

?Louise is missing...? I said through gnashing teeth, trying to figure out what could have happened. There was only one possibility to this, one reason why Louise is gone.

Wardes

?...and someone is going to die.?

...

[Kips McKipzerson]

The part with cirno and physics just screams this.

Also, Yuukas gunna tear Wardes a new one eh? And wasnt his name Wades, or am I using a different translationt hen you?

[Blackraptor]

...

Louise started to regain consciousness and noted that the bed she was on seemed more comfortable than she remembered it. Strange, it seemed larger than she remembered it too. The young Valli?re cracked open an eye before snapping both her eyes open and quickly sitting up and looking around.

This isn't our room at the inn. Louise quickly deducted before getting off the bed and putting on her boots. She made sure that her clothes were still in order and that her hidden wand was still secure. Matilda had insisted that she bring a spare wand with her that was cleverly concealed in her clothes in case of emergencies, Matilda noting that having a spare wand has saved her countless times in the past. She walked up to the door and tried to open it but...

“It's stuck? No, it's locked from the outside.” Louise muttered to herself, her worry increasing because of the situation she had found herself in. The fact that Yuka and the Viscount were nowhere to be found simply added to her growing panic. She pulled out her main wand and decided to blast the door open, it was a good chance to test out Keyword Casting outside of Mugenkan.

Just as soon as the room stops swaying... Louise thought before...

“Wait.” She said before walking up to the nearest window.

“This can't be happening...” Louise muttered to herself as she saw clouds fly by. She quickly realized that she was in an airship. Was she kidnapped? Was this some sort of prank? Was this all part of the plan? Louise quickly whirled around and pointed her wand at the door when she heard the sound of locks being undone. The young mage was ready to pump six explosions at whoever was responsible for this, all she needed to do it is to say a single word. Unfortunately, her confidence started to wane the more she thought about it. Whoever managed to get her on this air ship was able to get past both Yuka and the Viscount. If those two couldn't prevent this, then what chance would she have against whoever took her from the inn?

Calm down, Louise. Just remember what Cirno-nee taught you. Louise thought as she started to analyze her surroundings. Nowhere to hide but there were plenty of things she can use as distractions or as projectiles if it came to that. Louise kept the wand in her hand but decided to place both her hands behind her to conceal it.

“Ah! You're awake.” The voice of Viscount Wardes threw Louise completely off balance.

“Vi-Vi-Vi-Vi-Viscount!” And it showed. Louise relaxed at the sight of the man she would eventually marry but a voice at the back of her head said that she should keep that wand behind her just in case.

“I was wondering when you'd wake up. Are you hungry?” Wardes asked her nonchalantly. It seemed that nothing was wrong but...

“Not at the moment. Umm...what happened? Where's Yuka?” Louise asked.

“Ahhh...I knew you would wonder about that.” The Viscount said casually as he poured himself a glass of wine before sitting down on a chair that was set up in the middle of the room.

“Please, sit.” The man added, gesturing to the chair across him.

“I'm fine.” Louise quickly responded while slowly shaking her head, keeping her position near the window which gave her a good view of the entire room at all times. Wardes regarded her for a few moments before nodding and giving her a smile.

“Very well. There has been a change in the situation.” Louise gulped when Wardes suddenly adopted a serious tone of voice.

“I have received a report that a detachment of Albion soldiers have been sent out to look for Prince Wales and they are starting to get closer and closer to his safe house. It will only be a matter of time until they find him.” Wardes explained. His tone was grim and Louise could feel the gravity of his words. Prince Wales was the only known member of the Albion Royal Family who was able to escape the capital alive when Cromwell's coup took place. If he was caught or worse, killed, then not only would Louise had failed in her mission for the Princess, that would also mean that Albion would be completely under Cromwell's control.

“That is why I had to arrange a ship that would leave much earlier than the one we had originally set up. Unfortunately, this ship would only take two more passengers so only we were able to get on. Your familiar will be following us on the ship that we were originally supposed to take but it would probably take half a day for him to catch up to us.” Wardes continued, explaining the lack of a Yuka in the ship.

“I...see...” Louise replied, still a bit apprehensive of not having her familiar with her. Although, for all she knew, Yuka could already be with Prince Wales by now seeing as he could fly and all. Louise decided not to point that little fact out since she didn't want anyone else finding out what her familiar really was, even if it was the Viscount.

“Don't worry. I gave Mister Yuka directions on how to get to the Prince's safe house. I'm sure that you will be reunited with him soon enough.” Wardes assured Louise, who didn't seem convinced by the man's kind words. After all, if he was as kind and nice as he seemed...

Why did he need to lock the door from the outside?

...

I exited the inn after inquiring with the management on where Wardes and Louise took off to. It seemed that my master's fianc? had taken my master away in the middle of the night while she was having her lesson with Cirno in Mugenkan. They took a different flying ship to the floating country of Albion instead of the one that we had agreed upon before they 'slept'. I frowned when I realized that I had no way of tracking them. Getting to Albion was easy enough, it would be rather hard to miss a massive chunk of land that is floating in the sky. The problem stems from the little fact that I don't know where in Albion I'm supposed to look for Louise. I was starting to consider simply going after Cromwell and nip the problem at the bud before starting my search for Louise, even if it meant possibly nuking the site from ground zero, when I noticed the sound of a galloping horse.

“Sir Kazami!” The all too familiar voice of Guiche de Gramont called out to me from atop said horse.

“What are you doing here Guiche?” I asked the young man, not particularly in the mood for him at the moment considering that Louise is missing.

“We have a problem! It's about Viscount Wardes!” I narrowed my eyes at Guiche's words but I waited for him to dismount his horse and catch his breath.

“Explain.” I said once Guiche had stopped heaving like an asthmatic. Instead of answering, the blonde walked up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

“There's no time! We have to get Louise away from the Viscount as soon as possible!” Guiche cried in panic as he shook my shoulders. I gave a low growl as I suddenly recalled the familiar feeling of anger that I felt when I first realized that my master disappeared on my watch.

“It's too late, they are already gone. Louise and the Viscount disappeared when I went to wake them up. The proprietor of the inn said that they left for Albion in the middle of the night. I was...careless.” I admitted with a hint of a wince at my oversight.

“Oh no...” Guiche muttered in abject terror. I took the young man's wrists and got his hands off my shoulders before looking at him straight in the eye.

“I am not happy with the current developments either. However, you seem to know more about the situation than I seem to. Now, calm down and tell me what you know.” I calmly said to the young man while lowering his hands.

“How...how can you be so calm about this? Your master is gone!” Guiche yelled at me. I shook my head at his words. I understood where he was coming from, I really did, but...

“Panicking will not bring Louise back. I need information so I can find a way to get her back safely, nothing else matters right now.” I answered and Guiche seemed to understand.

“Alright...” He said before I led him into the inn. Louise's safety was my only priority at that point, damn everything else. I sat on the bed in the room that was used by my master and Wardes and patiently waited for Guiche to gather his thoughts as he paced around the room.

“Okay...here's what happened...” Guiche started as he took a nearby chair and sat on it before looking at me seriously.

...

Guiche de Gramont woke up the morning when Yuka and Louise were going to set off toward Albion and was prepared to make the Familiar of Zero see that he is more than capable of coming with them on this mission for the Princess...or, that was what he would like to believe. The son of the famed general of the Tristain military had spent the previous night trying to think about just that. Unfortunately, his attempt at forming a good enough argument kept falling short considering that he was still a dot-class mage. He still felt that he would be of some use to the pair but it was highly doubtful that Yuka would let him come with them if he did not provide a very good reason for him to go.

“There has to be a way...” Guiche muttered to himself as he sat on his bed. He felt that he owed Yuka for making him see the error of his ways when it came to how he treated Montmorency and women in general. He wanted to pay him back for it, to help him in some way when he needed it. He gazed out the window and found that the sun was already up and it was about time for Louise and Yuka to leave.

Nothing for it then! The young man thought before standing up and putting on his cloak. He was determined to give it one more go before he threw in the towel. He stepped out of his room and started thinking of one more argument for Yuka to consider before heading toward Louise's room. He rounded the corner and was suddenly surprised at the sounds of crashing wood and porcelain...and it was coming from Louise's room!

“Louise?! Mister Yuka?! Miss Matilda?!” Guiche called out as he tried to open the door to Louise's room. After confirming that it was locked, he started banging on the door to try to get someone from the inside to open it.

“Guiche? What are you doing so early in the morning?” The young man turned to the familiar voice of Kirche. Sure enough the Germanian was standing in the hallway with Tabitha at her side.

“Something is wrong! I heard some things crashing inside Louise's room but no one would answer and I can't get the door open!” The young man quickly explained in a worried voice. The effect was immediate as Tabitha lowered the book she was reading and walked over to the door before pointing her staff at the door handle.

“What are you doing?” Guiche asked the young Gallian.

“Opening the door.” Tabitha said before sending a powerful but focused wind spell at the door, effectively breaking the locks and swinging the door open.

...

“And?” I asked Guiche when he paused in the middle of his story. That seemed to snap him from his thoughts and he shook his head.

“We entered the room and found Miss Matilda sprawled on the floor unconscious and breathing heavily. The tea set that Louise had as well as the table and chairs were knocked over from when she seemed to have been trying to leave the room.” I narrowed my eyes at Guiche's answer.

“What happened to Matilda?” I inquired neutrally, barely able to contain the emotions I was feeling from showing in my voice. What is all this? Worry? Anger? I've never been the one to be provoked by such emotions before except under dire circumstances. So why now? I shook off the feeling of unease and waited for Guiche to respond. I need  a cool head for this...at least until I confirm Louise's safety.

“At the time, we didn't really know. Kirche called for help and managed to find Professor Colbert, who suggested that we bring her to the infirmary. We thankfully found a healer there and she was able to stabilize Miss Matilda's condition. And before you ask, Professor Colbert didn't recognize Miss Matilda as Miss Longueville. Her secret is still safe.” Guiche answered. I highly doubted the last point though. Colbert was a sharp man, despite his appearance as a fumbling but earnest teacher. He should have figured out who Louise's 'mysterious new private tutor' was especially since she appeared after Miss Longueville resigned as Headmaster Osmond's Secretary and set off to a different country. Seeing as he hasn't done anything about it, the good professor seems to be confident in letting Louise and I keep the former thief in check. Thankfully, only the people inside the academy knew about Matilda other than the Princess, the people in the Charming Fairy Inn and Louise's family.

“What happened afterward? When did Matilda wake up?” I asked Guiche. There was only one thing that I know of that could do that to Matilda, so I wanted to know what triggered it and why she was unable to recover like she did before.

“Well, the healer said that there was nothing physically wrong with her. Instead, she attributed the collapse to either mental fatigue or severe willpower depletion. I think that she had another attack from that spell from before. You know, the one that prevents her from thinking about the people to made her steal the Staff of Destruction.” Guiche postulated. If he was able to determine that much, then Kirche and Tabitha should have shared the same suspicion.

“I think you are correct. I had left Matilda behind because Cromwell, the man that caused most of the messes we have found ourselves in, is currently in charge of the country of Albion. If she had another attack, then I would normally assume that she was trying to investigate something about Cromwell instead of trying to look into...something else I asked her to. However, since you mentioned Viscount Wardes...” I trailed off, understanding but not liking where this was going.

“Yes. Miss Matilda woke up several hours later, long after Professor Colbert and the healer on duty have left. She immediately told us to stop Louise from going to Albion, we had to keep her from getting up from the bed for her own sake. She said that she suddenly felt her head feel like it was going to split open when she saw who it was that was going to escort you to where Prince Wales was located. She collapsed again after she said that, probably from the strain of the spell on her mind again, but it was more than enough for Tabitha...”

...

“Traitor.” Tabitha muttered in a voice a bit colder than her usual monotone. Kirche and Guiche looked at each other before looking back to their friend.

“It can't be...the escort is a member of the Griffin Knights, someone who was hand picked by the princess herself!” Guiche reasoned, completely disbelieving the possibility of someone so close to the princess to be a traitor.

“I don't know...Miss Matilda and Tabitha give a pretty convincing argument.” Kirche chimed in as she wiped some sweat from Matilda's forehead.

“Louise is in danger.” Tabitha pointed out the obvious in case her two companions did not realize it yet.

“Please, Yuka is with her. I'd feel sorry for that griffin knight if he tried anything.” Kirche casually hand waved her friend's concern. Indeed, after what the three of them have already witnessed, there should have been no doubt that Yuka would be able to deal with any enemy that would appear during the course of their mission under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, this was far from being a normal circumstance.

“Cunning. Conspiracy. Louise is still in danger.” Tabitha argued.

“Tabitha is right. If one of the people that did that to Miss Matilda was holding such a high rank and was trusted by Princess Henrietta, it was not out of the realm of possibility that he would be able to find a way to be able to separate Louise and Mister Yuka.” Guiche begrudgingly agreed with the blue-haired girl.

“Do we even know who the escort is?” Kirche asked a basic but crucial question. Guiche and Tabitha looked at each other before looking back to Kirche, Guiche's expression was grim while Tabitha's was still neutral but a hint of worry could be seen in her eyes.

“Wardes...” All three of them turned to the struggling voice of Matilda.

“Miss Matilda! Are you alright now?” Kirche asked the older woman before trying to wipe more sweat from he forehead. Matilda grunted as she caught Kirche's wrist and pulled her closer.

“His name is Wardes...a Viscount...he was the bastard that...threatened me...get Louise away from him...tell Yuka to show him...no mercy...hurry!” Matilda hissed before collapsing back onto the bed from the strain.

“This is bad...” Kirche muttered as she removed Matilda's hand from her wrist.

“Find Louise.” Tabitha stated.

“How? We don't even know where they went to.” Kirche countered and Tabitha was unable to come up with a response to that.

“I do...” Both girls turned to Guiche who had adopted an expression similar to Louise's when she was dead set on doing something.

...

“And I rode all the way out here to tell you...I wish I was able to get here earlier...” I heard Guiche say ruefully as he lowered his head, ending his explanation.

“No...what you did was enough. I thank you Sir Gramont.” I stated while standing up before I started pacing around the room.

“But...I wasn't able to make it in time!” Guiche all but yelled at me. I stopped to regard him for a moment before resuming my pacing.

“True, but you have confirmed that the Viscount is an enemy...one that Matilda wishes to be rid of. At least now, I will not have to second guess killing him because of the off chance that he was really on our side and because he is Louise's fianc?.” I clarified, making Guiche blink at me for a few moments.

“He is Louise's fianc??” The young man asked and I nodded.

“Yes, I became complacent around the man because of that and because Louise seemed to genuinely trust the man. It was my mistake.” I answered while continuing to pace around the room.

“Then we should go after them now! Why are you still even here pacing around the room?” Guiche asked before standing up and pointing at me.

“Because I don't know where they went. All I know is that they are headed to Albion, no more than that. Our 'escort' should have been the one to guide us to the actual location of the Prince's safe house. Obviously, that did not work out so well. If only there was a way to track Louise...” I explained before continuing my pacing around the room. I wasn't even sure why I started pacing around in the first place but I was too busy trying to figure out a way to find Louise to care.

“Is there anything on Louise that could help you find her?” Guiche asked me.

“She has Derf with her. She also has a letter written by Princess Henrietta along with a rare jeweled ring called the 'Water Ruby'. Unfortunately, I have no way to track Louise using any of those things.” I admitted, hence my current dilemma.

“Did you say a rare jeweled ring?” Guiche asked in an inquiring voice, one that betrayed the tone of hope.

...

Louise spent the ride on Wardes' griffin in silence. She was situated in front of the Viscount so the man's arms were around her to be able to keep the reigns of his mount. She was very glad that her hat hid her face from Wardes and that Derf was remaining silent since that feeling of something amiss has not went away yet.

Is this feeling a premonition? Or is this simply because Yuka isn't at my side? Louise thought in silence, it was true though. This was likely the longest time that she has gone without Yuka with her ever since she summoned him. Even in her dreams, her familiar was still there at her side...whether she wanted to or not. The thought made her smile despite herself. For all intents and purposes, she had summoned a monster. After what she saw in Mugenkan during his Danmaku battle against his former student, Louise had no doubt that Yuka is capable of defeating even elves if he felt like it. However, rather than being a horrible, psychotic, and bloodthirsty beast that she saw in a dream so long ago, Yuka had shown himself to be polite, reasonable, often aloof, yet caring in his own way. Put simply, she missed Yuka.

“Louise, we're here.” Her fianc?'s voice snapped her from her thoughts, much to her dismay. She remembered back during her childhood when she thought that the Viscount was her knight in shining armor, her prince who will whisk her away from her life of failures and burdens and make her the happiest girl in the world. She well and truly believed that...back when she was a child. She will admit, Wardes was still as handsome and dashing as they come but she didn't feel the same...spark...she did when she was younger. The young Valli?re simply chalked it up to outgrowing her old crush. Louise shook her head to rid herself of such unnecessary thoughts and decided to pay attention to the situation at hand for now. She noted that they were currently in front of a gated complex somewhere in the countryside, a church surrounded by stone walls. This was the prince's safe house?

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” One of the four armed guards in front of the gates called out to them. Louise looked back as Wardes dismounted his griffin before helping her dismount as well. He then turned to the guards and gave them a sweeping bow.

“I am Captain Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes of the Tristain Royal Griffin Knights. I come as the escort of a hand picked emissary of Princess Henrietta de Tristain of the country of Tristain.” Wardes introduced himself, Louise noted, using his rank as a Captain of the Griffin Knights instead of his title as Viscount. They were told to wait where they stood as one of the guards went inside the complex, possibly to get council from someone with more authority in order to confirm or deny their claim.

“Does it really take this long?” Louise whispered from behind Wardes, her natural impatience shining through the cracks. She heard Wardes chuckle before he turned back to her, adjusting her cowboy hat in a way that Louise didn't really find comfortable.

Because it wasn't the way Yuka adjusted her hat for her when she first got it. The tiny voice of a mini-Louise said at the back of her mind. Louise unconsciously scowled at the thought because, while it was true that she had adopted the adjustments Yuka made with her hat whenever she wore it, it didn't seem fair to say that she didn't feel comfortable simply because it wasn't Yuka who adjusted it. Louise blinked when she noticed her escort and fianc? give her a concerned look.

“Don't worry about it too much, Little Louise. They're just being cautious about this. After all, we managed to track down the exact place where their exiled prince is currently hiding. If I were them, I'd be jumpy too if two strangers suddenly appeared out of nowhere claiming to be a Knight Captain and an emissary.” Louise could only nod at Wardes' reasoning so she decided to wait patiently for their concern to be addressed by whoever was fit to do so. Eventually, the same guard that let them in came out and regarded them both seriously.

“You can both enter but the mount stays outside.” The guard stated as his comrades opened the gate enough for them to enter.

That's it? They're just letting us inside? Louise thought in confusion and surprise. If what Wardes was saying is true, they should have been put under more scrutiny than this. Unless the princess prepared for this beforehand or something.

“Come now, Little Louise. Can't keep the Prince of Albion waiting.” The Knight Captain stated as he directed his griffin and familiar to the side of the wall to keep it out of the way and place it in some shade. Louise nodded before following him inside the complex. The young void mage noted that, despite the seemingly adequate security measures outside, the inside of the complex was only guarded by a handful of soldiers...and none of them were mages.

This is all that's left of the ones who are loyal to the Albion Royal Family? Louise thought to herself both in surprise and worry. If she was right, then the princess has a lot more to worry about than a stray love letter being found. Princess Henrietta's beloved Prince Wales might really get himself killed if he stays in Albion. Louise's worry carried over until they were led to the front door of the church. The young void mage gulped as the doors slowly opened to reveal a handsome young man with blonde hair and sharp, determined, blue eyes speaking with an elderly man in a priest's garb. No guesses as to who the sharply dressed young man was as he turned to Louise and Wardes and gave them a smile.

“Founder be with you. I am glad that you were able to get here safely despite the current situation of my country. Captain Wardes I presume?” Prince Wales regarded them both warmly and Wardes gave the prince a respectful bow.

“Indeed I am. This is Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re, hand picked emissary of our princess and also her close friend.” Wardes answered while introducing Louise to the prince as well. Wales nodded at Wardes words before turning to Louise, who blushed but managed to keep the sense of mind to give a proper bow to the prince.

“It is a honor to meet you, your highness.” Louise greeted him with as much respect as she would Henrietta.

“Ah! I have heard much about you from Henrietta. I am glad to finally meet such a good friend of hers.” Wales said as he approached Louise and, much to her eternal surprise, took her right hand and kissed it.

“A-a-a-awa-wawa-awawawa-you-wa-shock-” Louise stammered as she slipped into another emotionally induced non-sequitur.

“It seems that the gesture was a bit too much for her. It's not every day that a girl gets her hand kissed by a real prince.” Wardes jokingly stated before chuckling.

“True. I apologize if I caught you off guard.” The prince said with an embarrassed smile. Louise quickly shook her head before taking a deep breath.

“It was just unexpected. That is all.” Louise responded before taking out the envelope that contained Henrietta's letter as well as the Water Ruby.

“The princess said to give you this letter and that this ring will prove the validity of my claim to have been sent here on her behalf.” Louise said, her determination to accomplish her mission superseding her embarrassment.

“Thank you, though the ring was not needed. I'd like you to keep it and return it to Henrietta. Please make yourselves at home while I read her letter.” The prince said as he returned the ring to Louise before walking away to read the princess' letter to him. Louise sat down on one of the pews and took a deep breath.

I wonder when Yuka will arrive? Louise idly thought as she unconsciously started to scan and take note of her surroundings.

Every Surface.

Every Corner.

Every Object.

Every Occupant.

Every Possible Variable.

Just like how Cirno-nee taught her.

...

“Are you certain that this is the place?” I asked Guiche who quickly nodded after consulting with his familiar. We were currently atop a hill in the Albion countryside overlooking a church and I was making sure that this was indeed the place where my master was.

“Yes, no doubt about it. When it comes to finding fine jewelry and gems, none can match my Verdandi. In fact, she says that there are two rings of great worth in that place.” The young Gramont stated confidently while pointing to his familiar, who was several yards away from us for obvious reasons. We managed to get here much faster than we would have if we took a ship thanks to my wings. Although, we would have gotten here earlier if Guiche hadn't spent our first half hour in Albion regurgitating because of air sickness and if his mole wasn't so adverse about flying in the first place. I narrowed my eyes when I noticed something in the distance.

“It seems that this has become a rescue mission of a different sort.” I noted as I noticed several hundred men approaching the church where Verdandi indicated Louise was located at, presumably with the traitor Wardes and Prince Wales.

“Oh no...” Guiche exclaimed when he noticed what I was looking at.

“It would appear that Cromwell has found the prince.” I stated plainly as I thought about how to deal with this situation.

...

“Report! The guards outside have spotted several hundred soldiers heading this way!” A guard practically screamed after he burst through the church doors. Louise suddenly stood up at the news in panic while Prince Wales and the priest with him looked absolutely shocked. The only one to keep their composure throughout the announcement was none other than Viscount Wardes.

“We have to get the prince to saf-!” Louise quickly yelled as she turned to her fianc?, but her words died in her throat when she noticed something...something that made the whole world seem to slow down around her. There was the Prince, who was telling the priest with him to get to a safe place within the church. There was the priest, who was insisting that the prince be the one to get to safety. There were the guards who were hurriedly getting ready to make their last stand in the name of their prince. And there was Viscount Wardes. The man she looked up to as a child. The man who was her first love. The man who was supposed to become her husband, the father of her children. The man who had just taken out a gleaming throwing knife from within his robes. Judging from the way he had drawn it out and where he was looking, there was only one conclusion Louise could make. Her fianc? was about to throw a knife at Prince Wales. Without a second thought...Louise moved.

“Augh! Aaaahhh! Haaaahhh! Haaaaaaaaaaaahh!” Pain...the knife dug deep into Louise's left arm after she scrambled to get between Prince Wales and Wardes' knife. Her pained breathing was the only thing that could be heard inside the church as everyone else was either outside or inside but too shocked to do anything. The young void mage, a petite girl of seventeen, slowly used her right hand to grip the handle of the knife that was embedded in her left arm before looking right at Wardes.

“This...is...nothing...compared...to...CHOMPING FLOWERS!!!” Louise screamed in agony as she pulled out the knife before throwing it to the ground, her blood and her tears staining the floor of the church.

“Milady Valli?re!” Prince Wales yelled out as he quickly went to Louise's side. She didn't notice because her gaze was still locked onto her fianc?'s.

“Why?” Louise ground out through the pain. Wardes sighed before shaking his head.

“We needed him dead.” The Viscount simply stated as he drew is sword-wand and beginning to chant a spell.

“Guards!” The priest cried out but none of the guards came as all of them were already outside the complex preparing for their final battle against their brothers.

“No...I won't be able to cast fast enough to counter his spell.” Wales said with grit teeth when he saw that Wardes was nearly done with casting a powerful wind spell.

“Pull me out and use me to block the spell!” Derflinger suddenly called out while popping up from the scabbard strapped on Louise's back. Wales looked at the sword in shock for obvious reasons until the talking sword started to rattle.

“Hurry!” The sword's panicked voice was enough to spur the prince into action. Wales cleanly pulled out the ancient blade with the skill of a practiced swordsman before stepping in front of the injured Louise just in time to meet a razor sharp whirlwind made by Wardes. Wales held his ground in the face of certain death and was rewarded when the edge of the talking sword suddenly started to shine. The wind warped around the edge before getting drawn into it, devouring the spell until the very last drop of magic was gone. This was the reasoning behind its name. This was what the 'Devourer of Magi' is truly capable of.

“Amazing...” Wales could only mutter at what Derflinger had just done. Louise, despite the pain and the blood loss, pushed Wales aside and aimed her wand at Wardes. The tears flowing free from her eyes were the only indication of her pain, both physically and emotionally. Without hesitation, she screamed her magic word.

“ZERO!”

...

ZERO!

My eyes widened when I thought I heard Louise invoking her Keyword. When I sensed the magic spike coming from the church and the subsequent explosion that came from within the structure, I knew that it really was Louise.

“What was that?!” Guiche cried out when he heard the explosion. I was about to fly right into the church when I heard Louise invocation and the effect of her spell.

“Louise is fighting Wardes.” I stated as I watched the handful of guards who were still loyal to the prince get quickly slaughtered by a few hundred Albion soldiers and a few dozen magicians in the field near the church. I'll need to do something about them first.

“We have to do something!” Guiche stated the obvious while stepping right in front of me. I gazed at the young man, then at the church, then at the oncoming soldiers. I knew what I had to do, but there was something inside me, a feeling that kept saying that what I was about to do was wrong and that Louise should be my only priority. I squashed that feeling quickly because I knew that if I didn't do this, my master's safety would still be compromised. Besides, I have faith that Louise's training will pull her through.

“Go to the church and help Louise and the prince. I'll take care of the soldiers.” I stated as I walked past the young man.

“What?! You mean to fight an entire detachment of soldiers by yourself?! Are you mad?!” Guiche said in panic, obviously not realizing who it was he was talking two. I turned around and gave him one of 'those' smiles.

“Now, whoever said that I would be alone?” I said and Guiche stepped back a few feet when he saw what it was that I just did while his familiar was already running for the hills, smart move.

“You once told me that you would do anything to pay me back for helping you see the wrong in what you did with Monmon. Now is your chance, Sir Gramont. Help my master against Viscount Wardes and consider your debt repaid in full.” I stated before I turned toward the oncoming wave of soldiers, spreading my wings, and flying right at them...my other half following close behind, complete with her own parasol. We landed several yards in front of the Albions soldiers, all of whom suddenly froze when they saw two people with wings suddenly land right in front of them. To my side stood my other half, the means of which I was able to use Dual Spark. I was amused that she was still a woman instead of becoming a man like I did, I guess what Yukari did only affected me exclusively. She looked exactly like I did back when I was a woman, except that her green hair was longer that mine was and part of it was covering her right eye. She also permanently had an expression that Flandre Scarlet would have if you gave her enough coffee.

“Hold it right there, little humans!” My other half suddenly yelled out while pointing her parasol at the soldiers. The sudden declaration caught them off guard and they all took a step back at the same time.

“I! Yuka Kazami! Have personally come here to make you regret the misfortune of your birth!” She continued with a sadistic smile before her parasol opened up and started to glow.

“SO BE GRATEFUL!!!” She roared before unleashing a Master Spark that blew through the middle of the Albion formation, effectively cutting the force in two. She then turned to me and gave me an excited smile.

“Betcha I can kill my side faster that you can~!” She playfully challenged me as she pointed to the soldiers to the left side.

“You're on.” I replied with my own smile and the battle is joined.

...

“Zero!” Louise yelled out again as she aimed an explosion underneath a church pew, sending it flying right at Wardes to countered it with a slicing wind that bisected the wooden object in half and away from him. The Viscount was able to survive Louise's initial attack because of a well timed magic shield made of wind that Wardes cast as soon as Louise pointed her wand at him. He wasn't given a chance to counter attack because Prince Wales, still wielding Derflinger, quickly closed on him from the side and forced him to use the 'sword' part of his sword wand. The two men were locked in a match of strength as both of them were vying from positioning and the upper hand in the fight.

“Why?! You are a Griffin Knight! A Captain! A man sworn to the Crown of Tristain! Why are you doing this?!” Wales yelled at the man who nearly killed him and showed no remorse when he hit Louise instead.

“Because someone else made a better offer!” Wardes said confidently before pushing Wales away and pointing his sword-wand at him and casting a quick tornado spell.

“That won't work!” The Prince of Albion said as he once again used Derflinger to absorb the magic. Wardes anticipated this and cut the spell short and darted to the prince's left side, intending to do a diagonal slash with his sword-wand while Wales was still occupied with getting Derflinger to devour his spell.

“Zero!” Louise yelled out, aiming at the space between Wales and Wardes before an explosion detonated. The force of the blast made Wales fly back a couple of feet but it saved him from being slashed by Wardes. The Viscount was thrown outside the church because of the blast where he struggled to get back up. Louise fell to her knees as the constant quick casting of spells in addition to her would and blood loss were really starting to get to her.

I have to get up. She thought as she stared blankly at Wardes who was starting to recover his footing. Prince Wales was also up but Louise wouldn't even think about letting him face Wardes by himself even with Derflinger. And so, Louise stood back up. She's been through worse. She's been roasted alive so many times that her pain threshold should be better than even her big sister Eleanor. She's witnessed magic and power the likes of which Halkeginia has never even dreamed of before. She's a Void Mage! She's the daughter of The Heavy Wind dammit!

“Haaaahhh! Haaah! Haaaaahh! Louise...smash...” The young void mage said through the pain and fatigue as she slowly walked out of the church where Viscount Wardes and Prince Wales were already engaged in combat.

“Not bad for a royal!” Wardes taunted Wales as he blocked and parried each strike that the prince made. The Prince was smart enough to make sure to keep the fight in close quarters since giving the Viscount any kind of range longer than the length of his sword would guarantee another wind spell sent right into his face.

“Guh!” Wales grunted in pain as Wardes managed to get a lucky stab in and nick his left shoulder. He quickly adjusted his footing posture to get his shoulder out of range before doing a series of stabs of his own. Derflinger was longer than Wardes' sword-wand but it was also thicker and heavier. Wales lamented the fact that even he was noticing his movements start to slow down. He was getting tired.

No! For my country! For Henrietta! For Milady Valli?re! I must not fall here! Prince Wales thought and his body responded. The Crown Prince of Albion started to fight with much greater fervor, as if this was supposed to be his final stand.

“Dammit!” Wardes cursed when Wales managed to score a shallow diagonal slash across his chest.

“Don't get too cocky!” The Viscount showed his years of experience by blocking the next strike cleanly before grabbing Wales' wrist with his left hand, pulling him closer, before delivering a head butt.

“Gaaah!” Wales yelled out as his head recoiled from the strike. Wardes smiled at his work and readied his sword-wand for one final stab.

That was when three of Guiche's bronze golems tackled him.

“Keep him down!” Guiche commanded as his golems kept Wardes on the ground before he ran to the Wales' side.

“Are you alright?” The young blonde asked the prince who looked up to him in surprise.

“Who are you?” He asked his apparent savior.

“Guiche de Gramont. Son of General Gramont of the Tristain Military and a friend of Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re. Where is Louise anyway?” Guiche managed to say before his golems suddenly found themselves up in the air. His bronze valkyries crashed onto the ground, completely trashed, and both he and Wales turned to see Wardes standing back up. His sword-wand in his right hand and a regular wand on his left. He also looked very angry.

...

“You may not understand it...” My other half seductively said to a soldier who was trying to run away from her.

“...but you're already dead~” She ended her sentence, and the soldier's life, by using her parasol like a javelin and impaling itself in the middle of the man's chest.

We were almost done cleaning up. The four-hundred and fifty soldiers that were sent to find and kill Wales were a bit of an overkill considering what they were originally up against. However, it felt almost like a chore for me an my other half as we started slaughtering the soldiers like we were in one of those video games that Kaguya liked...Regime Warriors? Or was it Dynasty Fighters?

“Now!” I turned to the source of the voice and saw that a group of magicians that were with the soldiers were gathered together and seemed to have just finished casting a spell. A second later, a massive torrent of flame headed right for us, intending to engulf us in an inferno along with the corpses of their fallen allies. My other half walked up to me and gave me a knowing smile. I nodded to her and we both raised our parasols in unison and pointed them at the oncoming blaze. We both gave a demented smile before unleashing a Dual Spark that wiped out the flames and the magicians that created it. That felt good, I admit. We then turned when we saw that there were still a few more soldiers around, so we continued cleaning up.

...

“How can he be this good?!” Guiche cried out as he watched Wardes tear through the last of his seventeen Bronze Valkyries. The Viscount used a combination of swordplay and magic to dispose of the golems. It was as to be expected of a Captain of the Griffin Knights and a former student of The Heavy Wind.

“Playtime is over. You both die.” Wardes stated in a very serious voice before he pointed his sword wand at them and...watched as it was consumed in an explosion. The Viscount cursed and dropped what was left of his weapon before turning to the entrance of the church. There, with an exhausted but determined expression, her clothes stained with her own blood, a shaking right hand holding her wand and pointing it at Wardes, however...she still had her hat and it was back on the way it was before Wardes adjusted it for her.

“By the founder...what happened to you?” Guiche asked in horror at the current state of his friend. Even the prince, after he finally got a good look at Louise post-knife-stabbing, could not contain the feeling of regret and worry for the young woman.

“Milady! Please stay back! You are not fit to face this man!” Wales, will all this chivalry, tried to make Louise back down in fear of her getting any more hurt for his sake. Louise didn't hear any of it. The only thing in her mind right now was the man she was currently looking at. Wardes saw her lips move, not a sound reached his ears but his years of training and combat experience bade him to move. Move he did, just in time to avoid an explosion that detonated on the spot where he once stood.

Dammit! I can't even tell if she's casting a spell or not anymore! Wardes complained as he pointed his wand at Louise and prepared to launch a spell at her.

“Too bad, I'd hoped to have gotten a child out of you before I killed you.” The Viscount coldly stated before-

“No!” Guiche suddenly cried out as he created a bronze sword before charging at Wardes.

“Stop!” Wales called out before joining Guiche to intercept Wardes before he could attack Louise.

“Gotcha!” The man suddenly said as he revealed a hidden wand in his right hand that was aimed at the two young men. Wales froze when he realized that he was too close to get Derflinger up into a defensive position to devour the spell. Guiche stopped and adjusted his stance in a futile gesture to try to block the attack using his bronze sword.

“...zero...” Louise muttered after using what was left of her energy to carefully aim at the hidden wand. The explosion that resulted was a small one because of Louise's fading consciousness and depleted willpower, but it was enough to knock the wand out of Wardes' hand.

“Meddling kids!” Wardes screamed as he tried to whip his left hand to use his other wand to strike at the young men. It was too late though, as Prince Wales managed to get close enough to Wardes to slice of his left hand just as the Viscount was about to point the wand at them.

“Ghaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Wardes screamed as he stumbled back while holding the stump that once had his left hand using his right.

“Give it up...” Wales said grimly as he raised Derflinger and readied himself to finish the fight.

“No...” Wardes replied before whistling. A bronze blur confused and disoriented Guiche and Wales, it was enough to give Wardes the chance to throw himself atop his griffin and setting off into the skies.

“Traitor! Come back here!” Guiche all but screamed at the flying griffin that managed to snatch away Wardes.

The...prince...is...safe... Louise managed to think before darkness finally consumed her vision.

“Milady!” Wales yelled out when he saw Louise collapse on the ground.

“No...she is bleeding badly! Father Benedict! The healing agents! Hurry!” The Prince called out to the priest who was still inside the church. For the first time since the coup started, Wales Tudor doubted if staying in Albion was the right thing to do if it meant that good people like Louise would end up this way.

...

“Ah! We've got a runner~!” My other half said as she pointed at the griffin that was flying away from the church. It was likely Wardes trying to get away after getting his ass handed to him.

“Take care of it.” I stated as I threw the last dead soldier on the pile we made after we finished killing everyone. I didn't wait for her reply as I immediately started walking to the church. I entered the complex and noted the telltale signs of battle in front of the church itself. I saw Guiche sitting on the steps that led to the church, his expression grim.

“Guiche.” I called out to him. He slowly looked up to me and his face twisted in horror and disgust when he saw the blood that covered me. I'll need a bath after this...

“Where is Louise?” I asked him.

“How can you be so calm? You and that...other you...just killed so many people...” Guiche grit out without meeting my gaze.

“I've lived a long time Guiche de Gramont, that's why. Now, where is Louise?” I answered and repeated my initial question while folding my arms and leaning back.

“She is inside, being treated by the Prince and Father Benedict. She has a stab wound on her left arm and she bled out pretty badly...” The young man answered, his voice void of emotion and full of exhaustion.

“...we let him get away...” He added as I stepped forward to get inside the church.

“No, I have someone taking care of it. Your debt to me is now repaid.” I stated before passing Guiche and entering the church to check on my master.

...

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! I'm going to kill that little bitch! Wardes thought as he struggled to closed the wound that was formerly his wrist as his griffin flew him away from Albion.

“I'll be sure to come back for you, Louise...” He said with dark determination. That was until he felt someone watching him. He quickly turned around and his shocked expression met a dementedly happy one.

“Heeee~eeey~!”

...

Louise opened her eyes and once again found herself inside Mugenkan. She sat up and touched her left arm. It was fine. Of course it was fine, this is a dream. She stood up and looked around. Yuka wasn't there yet. Was he going after Wardes? Was he looking after Prince Wales? Was he fighting the Albion Army?

“He's actually watching over you.” Louise turned around and saw Yukari smiling at her.

“You can read minds now too?” The young void mage asked the border youkai sarcastically.

“I can do a lot of things my dear~” Yukari teasingly answered.

“But really, he stopped by here earlier and told me what happened. He asked me to watch over you for a while in case you managed to pop up here while you were unconscious in your own realm. And don't worry, he managed to take down that traitor for you too.” Yukari explained.

“So the Viscount is dead...” Louise said in relief and not in sadness.

“Now then, looks like you'll be stuck here for a while so...how about you tell me about your realm~” Yukari changed gears and approached Louise like a child. The young woman blinked at her a few times before shrugging.

“Only if you tell me some of yours.” She said with an awkward smile.

“Deal~” The border youkai responded before gapping in a table, a chair, and a tea set.

And so, Louise dreamed of tea and stories about the Eastern Wonderland.

...

[Kips McKipzerson]

I think your post glitched out a bit, and its kinda unreadable. Use the preview function next time though.

[Blackraptor]

...

?So...? I said when I saw Louise open her eyes to a brand new day.

?...so...? She replied weakly. She was lying on one of the church pews that weren?t destroyed during their fight with Wardes while I sat next to her and let her use my lap like a pillow. She blinked at me a few times before scowling.

?You stink of death...? She complained. I was able to get myself cleaned up in Mugenkan before I started my vigil over Louise, but it seemed that my master could still tell what I did yesterday.

?Speak for yourself.? I shot back with a sly smile. Louise grumbled unintelligibly before struggling to sit up, I helped her up and we sat side by side in the now quiet church.

?Where is everyone?? Louise asked as she looked around for the others.

?Guiche is outside with Prince Wales and Father Benedict. They are working on making a mass grave for the guards that died and soldiers that attacked. I had offered to simply burn or vaporize the corpses, but they didn't seem to like that idea too well.? I answered and Louise nodded weakly, she still looked very tired and very...sad.

?Viscount Wardes tried to kill me...? Louise muttered while looking up at the massive stained glass window in front of us. I nodded in response but remained silent, allowing Louise to continue with what she wanted to say.

?He tried to use the confusion during the attack from the Albion army...he tried to kill Prince Wales with a throwing knife. I managed to get in between the prince and the knife because of all that training I did in Mugenkan. It hit my arm...it hurt a lot...? Louise continued, her words betrayed her exhaustion and just how scared she really was at the time. She then turned to me and gave me a tired smile.

?I did it, you know. I managed to perform my Keyword Casting on my first try. I even managed to do it over and over and over again. I'm not a failure...I'm not a Zero...? She told me with as much pride as she could muster. She told me those things as if she still needed to seek approval from me of all people.

?You were never a failure, Louise.? I simply said while picking up her hat from my side and putting it on her head, making sure to adjust it just right.

?Is the Viscount dead?? Louise asked me without any fear or hesitation in her voice.

?Yes. Wardes was the one who originally threatened Matilda, seemingly on behalf of Cromwell. She gave explicit instructions for me not to show any mercy towards him. I simply complied with her request.? I answered. Louise expression hardened when she heard that Wardes was part of Cromwell's conspiracy and was the one who made Matilda go after the Rawket Lawnchair.

?I can't believe that I was supposed to marry that man. I can't believe that I actually wanted to marry him for the longest time. By the founder...I have awful tastes in men.? Louise said ruefully before burying her face in her hands.

?I think that you are worrying about the wrong things...? I commented offhandedly at Louise's words. She suddenly glared at me before puffing her cheeks, folding her arms, and leaning back.

?I don't want to hear that from someone who has lived for over a thousand years without even falling in love once.? She chastised me, or so she thinks. I simply shrugged and stood up. Louise tried to stand up as well but she yelped when her legs didn't support her and nearly made her fall over.

?Easy.? I said as I caught her by the shoulders and helped her sit back on the pew.

?Thank you...? She muttered while looking away from me, her face was flushed and her shoulders were still shaking.

?You did well, Louise. You overcame much even without my help. I'm proud of you.? I told Louise with a warm smile. I wasn't sure why I said those words at that moment, they just seemingly came out of my mouth on their own. I didn't have any time to further speculate on the matter as Louise suddenly wrapped her arms around me, buried her face on my shoulder, and started crying. I was not really sure how to deal with this situation so I simply decided to let her cry until she was done.

...

?Milady Valli?re! Are you well enough to be up?? Prince Wales exclaimed when he noticed Louise and I emerge from within the church. My master was still weak from all the sudden exertion that she went through the previous day, only managing to stand and walk by holding on to my arm for support.

?Hey there, little miss!? Derf partially popped out of its scabbard, which was strapped on Wales' back, and greeted Louise.

?I'm fine, your highness...just tired.? Louise replied with a smile.

?Where are Guiche and Father Benedict?? I asked the lone prince.

?They're currently looking for appropriate clothes and other things we can use for your plan of extraction.? Wales explained and I nodded in approval.

?Plan of extraction?? Louise inquired, obviously not privy to our meeting last night since she was asleep.

?It was actually originally Father's Benedict's idea. After much deliberation along with logical and deductive thinking, we came to the conclusion that Wales staying in Albion any longer would be a very bad idea.? I explained and Louise simply gave me a flat stare.

?I could have told you that.? She stated with equal flatness. We both turned back to Wales when he suddenly gave an awkward cough.

?Well, I had been intending to stay in my country and organize those who are still loyal to the crown to rise up against the usurper but...? Wales trailed off and I decided to pick up the line of thought for him.

?...you would have been found and killed within days, especially now that Cromwell has an idea of the general area where you are. Staying here would not only risk your own life but the lives of anyone who would give you sanctuary. Additionally, if you die, Cromwell officially gets Albion...I, for one, would be personally insulted if someone like that would gain a country to rule.? I stated, voicing my dislike for Cromwell, earning solemn nods from my master and a resigned sigh from the prince.

?They got you there, bro!? Derf piped up. Louise didn't seem to approve of the way Derf addressed Prince Wales as I noticed her magical power spike up again, nowhere near the usual amount for obvious reasons but it was still noticeable.

?Derflinger! Don't speak that way to Prince Wales!? Louise yelled at the sword, showing that she can still snap at you even in her relatively weakened state. Wales looked startled at Louise's sudden outburst but managed to recover quickly and give a lighthearted chuckle.

?Worry not about it, Milady. Derflinger has saved my life as much as you did and has proven to be quite the sword. I do not mind him calling me that.? Wales assured Louise but my master didn't seem to approve of Wales' actions either and she showed it with a small scowl.

?Now I understand why Henrietta admires you so. You wear your heart on your sleeve and you are not afraid to voice your opinion. Those are very rare virtues for a noble, Milady.? Wales added with a friendly smile. Louise flushed at the sudden compliment and stammered something about 'affection values' or whatnot.

?It has been bothering me for a while now but...why do you address Louise as 'Milady'? Technically, she's already a Chevalier...a knight...so shouldn't you call her by Dame or Lady or simply Chevalier Louise?? I piped up, turning everyone's attention toward me.

?She is? I apologize, Dame. You did not have the mantle of a Chevalier so I did not know.? Wales suddenly said, embarrassed that he's been addressing my master incorrectly all this time.

?It's fine, your highness! I am but a mere servant to my princess. I do not care for my rank so long as I can serve her.? Louise immediately responded, once again showing just how loyal she was to Henrietta. I shook my head at her words. I still think that her devotion was blind without reason but she probably won't listen to me even if I pointed out every flaw in her undying loyalty to her princess. Instead, I decided to ask about something else.

?Mantle of a Chevalier?? I asked, curious about such a thing. Wales looked at me like I just grew a second head, which I've already done once by the way. Louise eyed me like I was an idiot before facepalming and turning to the prince.

?My familiar isn't from around here, your highness...? She said to Wales who nodded in understanding.

?A mantle essentially shows the status of a noble. It can be shown in a number of ways, from the symbols and standards of a country or a family to the sheer quality of the cape or cloak that the noble is wearing.? Louise explained to me. I nodded before glancing at Wales and remembering something.

?But what of the prince here, he does not have a mantle? I don't think I've seen Princess Henrietta wear one either.? I pointed out. Louise rubbed her eyes in obvious frustration before looking at me like I was an idiot.

?They're royalty, Yuka. They have crowns. They don't need mantles.? Louise ground out.

?Ah...I see. I apologize for overlooking that.? I said to both of them.

?Don't worry about it Mister Yuka.? Wales said with a shrug while Louise still looked like she thought I was an idiot. The sounds of footsteps and something dragging across the ground caught our attention. We all turned to the source of the disturbance and saw Guiche and Father Benedict dragging a large blue suitcase along with a few bags of cloth.

?What is all that?? Louise asked as Wales ran over to help the two men.

?Our ticket off this rock.? I replied with a smile.

...

?This is not going to work...? Louise muttered as she adjusted her hat to make the front brim cover more of her face. Currently, Father Benedict, Guiche, Louise, myself, and the large blue suitcase were waiting in line to get in the port city of Manchester and hopefully to one of the commercial ships that were headed for Tristain. Apparently, the sudden coup, the elimination of all but one of the members of the Albion Royal Family, and the minor civil war that happened didn't sit well with several locals and a steady trickle of emigrants who wanted out of the country...at least until it stabilized again.

?Just relax and let me and Father Benedict do all the talking. Guiche, make sure to always stay with Louise and Father Benedict, the last think we need is getting separated from each other.? I stated as I carried the suitcase with my right hand while my left held my parasol. Guiche currently had Derf equipped and had traded in his usual clothing with a rather bland green tunic with matching pants, his shoes were also done away with and were replaced with worn worker boots. Louise got changed from her bloodied clothes into a quaint brown one piece dress, though she still wore her hat which made to look a bit out of place. The good Father and I didn?t need to change since the man was a priest while I looked like a commoner anyway. The suitcase was fine as well, in case you are wondering.

We managed to get into the city without incident. Unfortunately, getting a ship to Tristain was harder that I had expected. In fact, getting into any ship headed anywhere outside the country was a challenge. Apparently, Cromwell?or someone smarter than him?anticipated something like this would happen and instigated massive emigration taxes up any and all who would try to leave Albion. Sadly, no one really had anything resembling a traveling budget in our little group. This was when Father Benedict had the idea of trying to use his status as a priest to try to get us on a ship. I accompanied the priest to the registry station of a particular ship that was headed for La Rochelle, Louise and Guiche stayed outside the building we went into along with the suitcase. The priest started to explain the current situation without embellishing the fact that we had a rather important luggage that we needed to deliver to Tristain.

?Denied. This ship will only accept supply cargo for merchants. No additional people can be allowed to board.? The stressed out middle-aged man in front of us stated in a drawl as if he?s had to say that string of words several times already through the course of the day. The priest turned to me apologetically before sighing.

?I?m sorry, maybe we will have a better chance with a different ship?? Benedict said optimistically. Unfortunately, I didn?t want to stay here any longer so I decided to use a little trick I had already used in this realm. I walked up in front of the man before giving him a smile. He sighed in response and gave me a dismissive wave.

?Look, I don?t care what you say. We won?t allow any-? I cut him off by waving my right hand in front of his face, allowing a Body Snatcher to sneak into his ear and into his brain.

?You will make an exception for our traveling party.? I stated in a calm soothing voice.

?I will make an exception for your traveling party.? The man repeated without blinking. Father Benedict on the other hand seemed to be utterly gobsmacked at what I had just seeming done.

?You will add to the ship manifest that our party will be provided full accommodations due to our friendly relation to the clients of this vessel.? I added with the same voice.

?I will add to the ship manifest that your party will be provided full accommodations due to your friendly relation to the clients of this vessel.? The body snatcher repeated perfectly before starting to write down something on the parchment in front of it.

?Please show this to the guards in front of the ship, it will allow you access to the vessel and explain why you are there.? The body snatcher stated as it handed our voucher to me.

?Thank you, have a nice day.? I said before turning back to the still shocked priest.

?I?m very convincing in arguments.? I said to the priest before walking out to where Louise and Guiche were.

?

?We?re finally headed back to Tristain.? Guiche stated tiredly as he sat down on a chair in the quarters that was provided to us by the Captain of the ?Trojan Horse?. The ship was rather large but its size was due to the fact that it was a transport ship for goods instead of people, it was not meant to ferry passengers around regularly. Because of this, we found ourselves inside a spacious three bedded room with a couch and some extra chairs. I put the suitcase down in the middle of the room and heard a banging noise coming from within.

?I think it?s about time you let them out, it should be safe now.? Louise said in a concerned voice. I nodded and laid the suitcase on its side and opened it.

?Guaaaaaaaah!? A very grateful Prince Wales immediately sat up and took a few deep breaths of air. The reason being was not because he was stuck inside a suitcase all day, it was because of what he was stuck with during that time.

?Ah! Verdandi! You didn?t make the Prince uncomfortable, did you?? Guiche asked his familiar which emerged from within the confines of the suitcase.

?It?s a giant mole. Anyone would be uncomfortable being stuck with it inside a suitcase for hours.? Louise deadpanned. Said mole quickly hobbled towards it master before cowering behind him.

?Do not worry about such things. I certainly know that I would be much worse off had I not come with you all. Although, I do wonder why your familiar seemed so?afraid?like it was too scared to move at all.? Wales pointed out. Louise and Guiche looked at the prince, then to the mole, then to me, then ot each other, then back to the prince.

?Don?t think about it too hard.? They both said in unison.

?Very well?? Wales said, deciding to drop the topic.

?I will see if I can find the kitchen and get us some food.? The priest chimed in before moving to the door.

?I?ll accompany you there, father.? Guiche offered before following the priest outside. That left only me, Louise, and Prince Wales in the room, Derf was still with Guiche.

?I never got the chance to say it with all this happening so suddenly but?? Wales suddenly said before walking up to Louise and going down to one knee in front of her and looking her in the eye.

?Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wha-atatatatatatata-? Louise stammered as the prince gave her a gentle smile before taking her hand and kissing it.

?The courage you showed before was breathtaking, Lady Louise. I can honestly say that I would not be here, alive, if not for your efforts. You are one of a kind, Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.? The prince said with so much sincerity that I?m rather certain that it would have been misunderstood by someone who did not know the situation.

?Bu-bu-bu-but your highness already has Princess Henrietta. I-I-I-I-? Though it would seem that Louis misunderstood the gesture regardless. The prince suddenly adopted a look of concern before putting his hand on Louise?s forehead and leaning closer, making my master blush even harder.

?Is something the matter, Lady Louise? Are you ill?? And it would seem that, for all the skill that he displayed while speaking with Louise, the prince was rather dense when it came to the feelings of women.

I suddenly had the feeling that, if she were here, Yukari would taunt me about ?hypocrisy? as soon as I made that thought.

?I-I-I-I-I-I?m fine!? Louise stammered, her quaking frame and intense blush indicated otherwise though. I sighed at the scene. Only Louise could probably do such a thing even during a situation as tense as this one.

...

?Louise! You're safe!? Matilda exclaimed as we entered Princess Henrietta's personal audience chamber. It was me, Louise, Father Benedict, Guiche, and the large blue suitcase on one side and Princess Henrietta, Tabitha, Kirche and Matilda on the other, I left Derf and my parasol back at the academy because I had to carry the suitcase. We wondered where Matilda was when we came back to the academy and Professor Colbert was nice enough to tell us that she, Kirche, and Tabitha were summoned by the princess. Obviously, this meant that the castle was the last leg of our journey and thus how we found ourselves in our current situation.

?I'm so glad you are alright Louise Fran?oise!? Henrietta exclaimed a second after Matilda before both women proceeded to smother my master with affection. I glanced at Guiche and noted that the young man regarded the scene being played out with keen interest and a hint of jealousy considering that Louise's head was long lost within the ample bosoms of the two women. A soft bumping noise coming from the suitcase reminded me of something.

?As much as I'm sure you two are enjoying yourselves doing that to Louise, I need to show you a little souvenir we picked up in Albion.? I stated as I set the suitcase down on its side before opening it. The expressions on both the princess and Matilda were nearly priceless.

?Well...that was certainly an experience...? Prince Wales Tudor muttered as he sat up from within the confines of the suitcase, we left Guiche?s mole at the academy as well. The reactions of the two women were understandable when you think about it though. It's not every day that you see the crown prince of another country suddenly come out of a suitcase, especially one that was being hunted down by his own country because of a man that staged a coup that disposed of his family and thus leaving him as the only survivor and the true heir to the crown. Vicious, if clich?, geopolitical upheavals aside, Louise took advantage of the sudden shock that took over Matilda and Henrietta and pulled herself free from their grasps. She then turned to Wales who had just finished climbing out of his suitcase.

?I apologize if the trip was uncomfortable...? Louise said sheepishly and Wales merely chuckled before stepped out of the suitcase and patting Louise on the shoulder.

?Worry not about that, Lady Louise.? He assured Louise, who just blushed before looking away.

?Prince Wales!? Henrietta finally exclaimed before embracing her lover. Kirche suddenly walked up to me and pulled at my sleeve.

?Hey, where can I get one of those?? Kiche asked me as she pointed at the blue suitcase we used to transport Wales with. She didn?t honestly think that there was a place where she could get princes in suitcases, did she?

?You brought him here?? Matilda whispered, pulling at my other sleeve.

?Yes we did. It was either that or leave him there to die and let Cromwell have Albion.? I pointed out to the woman. She looked very conflicted about the matter. I wondered why for a moment before I realized something. Matilda was originally supposed to have been married off to the son of the Kind of Albion. That meant that?

?Milady Mathilda?? Wales confirmed my line of thinking as he called out to Matilda, who twitched. She slowly turned to Wales with an uncertain look. The prince on the other hand practically radiated with joy at the confirmation of his query.

?You are alive! This is wonderful!? He exclaimed as he left Henrietta go and walked over to Matilda before taking both of her hands.

?You have no idea how relieved I am! When I heard what my father did after you rejected his proposal, I immediately sent out a detachment of knights to look for and aid survivors. I was devastated when I heard that your manor was burned to the ground with everyone inside. I?I am sorry for your loss...had I known beforehand?? Prince Wales trailed off before looking away from Matilda with a pained expression. I looked at the woman in question and she looked like she didn?t know what to think of the man in front of her. Matilda gained her hate for nobles because of what Wales? father did to her family. To find that Wales himself did everything in his power to try to help her family, well it must have been an unexpected turnabout.

?Miss Matilda knows the Prince of Albion?? Guiche suddenly piped up with the question.

?Arranged Marriage.? The ever sharp Tabitha provided, having already connected the dots and deciding to read a book instead of watching the rest of the proceedings.

?Ah! Of course! Matilda was supposed to have been married to Prince Wales!? Louise suddenly exclaimed, only realizing it at that moment.

?Umm?arranged marriage?? Everyone turned to the voice of Princess Henrietta de Tristain. She was currently staring flatly at Wales like any young woman would after seeing her loves release her from an embrace to greet a woman who was apparently supposed to have been promised to him in marriage before. Irony can be rather amusing to watch once you piece everything together.

?Uhhh?yes?I will explain everything in detail later on?? Wales said uncomfortably like any young man would while trying to buy time to explain the awkward situation to his lover.

?

?This has been the worst tenday ever?? Louise summarized the events of the past few days in a few concise words. It had been three days since we got back to the academy and classes were about going to start in the following week, which was why a few students have started to come back. We were all sitting at our usual spot for an afternoon tea party, except for Monmon who has yet to return.

?I?m sure that your luck will get better soon, Milady.? Siesta said, trying her best to cheer up Louise despite my master?s gloomy mood.

?She?s right though. You?ve already hit rock bottom so the only way left would be up!? Kirche chimed in teasingly as Siesta poured her another cup of tea. Louise grumbled something about ?dropping Axis on Kirche? before taking a bite out of the strawberry cake she had.

?You have to admit though, even with everything that happened, Louise did incredibly well.? Guiche stated with a smile.

?Best outcome from a disadvantageous situation.? Tabitha added while reading another one of her books. Louise blushed and shrank from the sudden compliments from her friends.

?Exactly! You even scored some points with the prince! I?m looking forward to seeing how long it would take for you to snatch him away from Princess Henrietta~? Kirche pointed out, making my master and Matilda twitch, but for completely different reasons. That reminded me?

?Did you find any more leads about Void Magic while we were gone?? I whispered to Matilda. The woman blinked at me a few times before scowling at me and looking away.

?A few?? She said a bit irritably. I will never understand women.

?Oh! Before I forget?? Kirche suddenly said before reaching into her cleavage and pulling out a parchment.

?A friend of the family clued me into a lead about something very interesting.? The Germanian said slyly before opening up the parchment and showing it to us.

?What is it?? I asked and I heard Matilda draw in a sharp breath before slowly reaching out to the parchment.

?Is that?a treasure map??? Matilda hesitantly asked with a sense of hunger in her voice.

?I know that place!? Siesta suddenly said from behind Matilda. We all turned to the maid, who suddenly looked flustered at becoming the center of attention.

?Th-th-that is the mountainside near my home town?? She timidly said. I was startled when I heard Matilda slam both her palms on the table, making the porcelain rattle. She turned to me and to Louise in turn, a dangerous looking sparkle in her eyes.

?We?re going!? She exclaimed.

?We are?? I asked with a raised brow.

?We are!? She repeated.

?Going where?? Louise asked, sounding slightly nervous at the sudden change in her tutor?s demeanor.

?Treasure hunting~? Matilda stated with a disturbing amount of enthusiasm.

?

[Blackraptor]

...

"Louise, at some point, you must realize that jumping in front of a throwing knife without any means to neutralize its stabbing and slicing properties is a very bad idea." Cirno flatly stated after Louise recounted what happened in Albion. Obviously we were all back in Mugenkan, except for Yukari who left as soon as she brought Cirno into the border of dreams. She was likely up to something again in Gensokyo...but that wasn't my problem. This was Louise's first return to Mugenkan after she had tea and exchanged stories with Yukari back when we were still in Albion. Her fatigue got to her more than we had anticipated and she was more like being out cold than sleeping and dreaming whenever she turned in for the night after we returned to the academy.

"I didn't even think about it at the time, all I saw was the knife and it was headed straight for the prince. I knew that if I just called out to him, he wouldn't be fast enough to evade it. I'm nowhere nearly good enough with my aim to blast the knife out of the air. The only way I was going to save Prince Wales back there was to take the hit for him." Louise admitted, giving the rationale of her actions after deliberating that it was the best option at the time. Cirno considered her words for a few moments before giving a nod of understanding.

"Just don't make a habit of it. You can't respawn in your realm if you die like you can in here." Cirno pointed out, earning a confused look from Louise.

"Respawn?" Louise asked quizzically.

"It means, getting brought back to life after a certain period of time after you die." I explained before turning to Cirno.

"Just because she can slip into non-sequiturs does not mean that she understands what she is talking about. She certainly wouldn't know about jargons like that, so keep that in mind while teaching her." I pointed out to the ice fairy, who pouted at me before shrugging.

“Got it. Well, aside from getting stabbed in the arm, you did pretty well. You managed to use Keyword Casting smoothly multiple times even while suffering from blood loss. Your accuracy is significantly improving as well, so I believe that it will continue to improve as long as you keep casting. I have to admit, you're pretty talented aren't you?” Cirno said with a smile. The sudden praise and the assumption that she was a talented magician caught Louise off guard and she started stuttering again.

“Wh-wh-wh-what are you talking about?! I'm not a talented! I can't even cast any magic that doesn't turn into an explosion!” Louise yelled out, earning sighs from both me and my former student.

“Didn’t you already say that you weren't a Zero?” I asked my master with a raised brow. She frowned and me and snorted.

“Of course I'm not a Zero! But that doesn't mean that I'm talented! Every spell I cast explodes! That's not talent! That's controlled chaos!” Louise responded, exhibiting surprising finesse at twisting words.

“Louise, you're looking at this the wrong way.” Cirno cut in while looking a bit upset. Louise noticed this and gulped but she still stood her ground. The ice fairy rubbed her chin with her hand for a few moments, likely gathering her thoughts before nodding to herself.

“Teach already told me about that element that you have, Void was it?” Cirno said before asking me for verification, I nodded in response and she turned back to Louise to continue.

“The short version is that you're not actually doing anything wrong when you cast your spells. The problem is that none of the spells available to you are compatible with the element that your body is set to use. It'll either be a Void spell or explosions, those are your only options.” Cirno laid out the apparent ground rules when it came to Louise's element. Void, for one reason or another, is the magical element with the most restrictions for use. Any magician who can use that element is forever bound to only use spells tuned to that particular element or else the spell will fail and turn into an explosion. Louise has already started to use that limitation to her advantage but the fact remains that she's not actually casting any real spells, she was only shaping failed spells to suit her needs.

“But I don't know any Void spells.” Louise said with a sigh.

“Yeah, that does suck...how are things going on that end anyway?” Cirno asked me. She already knew that I was looking into the Void element and, in fact...

“We actually recently received something that would help in that regard significantly...or so we hope.” I answered just vaguely enough to earn a raised brow from my former student. I was talking about an artifact called 'The Founder's Prayer Book'. Henrietta sent the book to us after she had a clear enough head to remember that she had the object. The letter that came with the book stated that the artifact was supposed to be Brimir's personal Grimoire, a book that detailed every Void spell that the man ever developed six-thousand years ago. Louise was ecstatic when she found out and wanted to start trying out Void spells but...

“The book is a lie!” Louise yelled out, turning Cirno's attention back to her.

“We can't be sure of that yet. Derf said that the book will reveal what it knows when the time is right. Possibly the book has some form of system that will allow it to determine if the user is ready for it.” I argued but my master simply scoffed at my words.

“It'd be nice if I was in the loop you know...just saying...” Cirno muttered, clearly not understanding what it was Louise and I were arguing about.

“The Founder's Prayer Book is the item that we recently received. It is a book that is supposed to contain every Void spell ever made. The problem is...it seems to be encrypted.” I provided and thus explaining Louise's obvious disappointment.

“Define 'Encrypted'.” Cirno said, intrigued at the prospect of a Grimoire that would have an enchantment on it that would encrypt the contents.

“The book is blank. Completely and utterly blank.” Louise answered bitterly while folding her arms and leaning back. Cirno blinked at Louise for a few moments before turning to me.

“Seriously?” My former student asked me with a look of surprise.

“Yes. The sword of the first Gandalfr, as well as Professor Colbert and Headmaster Osmond, vouched that the book is genuine.” I answered. It turned out that the 'Founder's Prayer Book' was the reason for Colbert and Osmond's trip to the country of Romalia. Apparently, they were summoned by the pope and were given the book to be placed under the care of the country of Tristain. The two men immediately gave the book to Princess Henrietta because they both felt that it was the safest place in the country to store it in after the Fouquet incident proved that the academy was less than impenetrable. It was a stray comment from Louise back at the Royal Castle that revealed her status as a void magician. The awkward silence that followed was deafening. Of course, I made sure that everyone there swore secrecy to the matter on the grounds that they will have me to deal with if Louise's secret was ever revealed. I understood that her status as a Void magician will eventually be revealed but I wanted to make sure that she was ready when that time came. Thus it came to pass that the Founder's Prayer Book found its way into Louise's possession.

“And I take it that you guys haven't cracked it yet?” Cirno asked rhetorically.

“Derflinger was able to clue us in that the book will show its contents once the user is ready. I suspect that the book will only start revealing its secrets once Louise is skilled enough to handle the spells stored therein.” I answered. Cirno eyed me for a few moments before saying...

“Can't you just use Ult-”

“I will not use Ultimate Magic to remove the encryption enchantment through brute force.” I flatly said, interrupting Cirno's catch-all when it came to problems I couldn't deal with normally. My former student started grumbling about something I couldn't quite make out but it was Louise's reaction that bothered me.

“U-U-U-U-U-Ultimate Magic?!” She all but screamed. Whoops. I was very glad that we were in Mugenkan when she yelled that out and not inside the academy. Cirno tilted her head to the side in apparent confusion at my master's reaction. She blinked a few times and mouthed an 'Ah!' when she finally realized the reason for Louise's sudden outburst.

“She was unconscious when we talked about it before...wait, you haven't told Louise about Ultimate Magic yet?” The ice fairy asked me with an accusatory glare.

“She never asked.” I simply stated with a noncommittal shrug. I suddenly felt Louise tug on my sleeve roughly. Turning my attention to my master, I saw that she had a very irritated expression that was bordering on fury.

“Well, I'm asking now! What is all this talk about Ultimate Magic?!” She asked me while still pulling on my sleeve as if she was trying to rip it off. I sighed and conjured up some chairs, a table, and a tea set.

“Take a seat. This will take a while...it happened centuries ago.” I said before pulling up one of the chairs I conjured and sitting on it. Louise sat across from me while Cirno sat between us. I poured myself a cup of tea while trying to think of a good starting point for this story.

“Did you know that there are fundamentally three kinds of magic? Those that destroy, those that create, and those that can change how everything works...and that...that magic was all three.” I started before sipping my cup of tea. Cirno already knew this story so she was just helping herself to tea and was simply relaxing. Louise, on the other hand, was intently listening to every word I said.

“Around five-hundred years ago, there was an incident that engulfed all of Gensokyo. One day, a portal that lead to Makai, the Demon Realm, suddenly opened and out came a flood of demons from that place. Since you've already spoken to Yukari about Gensokyo, you should already know about Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, yes?” I asked Louise and she nodded in response.

“They were supposed to have been very powerful mages that solved a lot of incidents a long time ago, right?” Louise answered before turning to Cirno, who started chuckling at my master's response.

“Yeah...it has been a long time since those two were around, huh?” The ice fairy said nostalgically before downing all the tea in her cup in one swig.

“Indeed it has...” I concurred with a smile before turning back to Louise and continuing.

“During the course of that incident it became apparent that simply eliminating the demons as they arrive wasn't going to work because they just keep flowing out of the portal like a river. That was when Reimu decided that enough was enough. She gathered those who were willing and she personally led a team into Makai to stop the flow of demons. Among them were the Ordinary Witch, Marisa, the Evil Spirit, Mima, and the Sleeping Terror...me.” I said with a proud smile but I raised a brow when I noticed that Louise looked like she had just realized something.

“It's just like the dream I had before...” Louise muttered before looking down at her tea.

“Dream? What dream?” Cirno inquired, immediately getting interested in Louise's dream. I chose to remain quiet and hear what my master had to say.

“The night after you duel with Guiche...I had a dream about you. In that dream you were still a woman and you were fighting countless demons. One of them had a feeling of malevolence that I've never felt before. It looked like a woman with white hair and was wearing a red dress...with six purple wings. I just brushed it off as some weird dream since it was too surreal to be anything else.” Louise recounted her dream, Cirno and I looked at each other before turning back to her. For whatever reason, Louise seemed to have been able to access my memories on the Mystic Square incident. Wait...

“The night after my little match with Guiche was also the night when you first slipped into Mugenkan. The transition from when your subconscious mind drifted from your body to Mugenkan may have cause that little dream of yours.” I postulated, earning a hum from Cirno.

“Wait...if she was already in Mugenkan at that point, wasn't she already dreaming by then?” Cirno asked me while scratching the back of her head.

“Well yes, why?” I asked back.

“If Louise was already dreaming when she slipped into Mugenkan, why was she having another dream inside the dream?” Cirno asked with a genuinely confused expression. Ah, I see.

“That sometimes happens. Not often, but it possible to have a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream. I'm not sure about the specifics but it only affects certain individuals. Anything more than that and you'll need to ask the dreamwalker sisters about that phenomenon...wherever they may be.” I explained. Cinro seemed to have accepted my explanation with a few nods. We suddenly turned back to Louise when we heard her groan.

“We need to go deeper...” She mumbled to herself while clutching her head.

“Right...so about Ultimate Magic?” Cirno said to me, catching Louise's attention and steering the conversation back to the main topic.

“Right, back on topic. The woman with the white hair that you saw in your dream within the dream was the creator and 'goddess' of the demon realm, Shinki.” I stated. Louise started choking on her tea after I said that though.

“Y-Y-Y-You fought a goddess?! The creator of a demon realm?!” Louise asked me with a yell. Because of her proximity to my master, Cirno winced and leaned away from Louise during her outburst.

“Yes, but I certainly wasn't alone. Along with Reimu, Marisa, and Mima, we started...” I continued to tell the tale of the incident that earned me the right to wield Ultimate Magic. The incident where we first met Alice Margatroid. The incident where we lost contact with the Evil Spirit, Mima. The incident that changed both Reimu and Marisa in surprising ways. And at the end of the journey...

“...a vacation...” Louise flatly muttered.

“That's what I said. Apparently, the reason why Shinki opened up a portal to Gensokyo was because she was intrigued at the realm's unusual abundance of magic. It seemed that she thought that it would be an ideal vacation spot for her denizens.” I explained, recalling the conversation that Shinki and I had before I fought her. At the time, Reimu was busy dealing with the Doll of Misery, Yumeko, while Marisa and Mima were still fighting Alice and her sisters.

“It was at that point that Shinki asked me why I was in Makai. She asked me why I was there, fighting all her denizens and even challenging her personally...” I continued before trailing off and letting the question of the Infinite Being sink in.

“And...what was your answer?” Louise asked hesitantly, anxious to find out what I said to a being as powerful as Shinki. I smiled as Louise never even noticed my other half sneak up on her and lean in from behind her. I was thankful that Cirno was able to hold in her laughter until my other half managed to say her piece.

“Genocide is nothing more than a game for me. Whether it is humans, demons, youkai, even gods. The only thing I really need to worry about is keeping score~” My other half said in an eerily haunting voice. It was at that point that Cirno started laughing after she saw Louise's face go pale and contort into a nearly indescribable expression of terror. Mission accomplished, my other half walked up to me and I raised my left hand as she was about to pass by, just in time for us to share a high-five before she continued to walk away before disappearing into the sunflowers.

“Ahahahaha~! L-L-Louise! Louise! You should see your face! Here! Look!” Cirno exclaimed before creating a mirror made out of ice and pointing it at Louise. She stopped laughing after Louise still refused to move even after three solid minutes.

“Uhhh...I think you overdid it with you stealth hi-bye.” Cirno muttered as she lowered her ice mirror while giving me an awkward smile.

...

“I...hate...you...both...” Louise muttered vehemently as she fought to catch her breath. After she finally recovered from her initial shock, Louise made it a point to show her displeasure toward my little prank by making full utilization of her Keyword Casting. What followed was an impromptu assessment of Louise's proficiency at finding, chasing, and hitting moving targets. Louise managed to score rather competently at the first and third aspects, in fact, she was rather above average at her awareness and accuracy than a regular human would be. It was possibly because of natural talent or because of her blood, something she inherited from her parents. However, as Louise's panting points out, her endurance needed some work.

“Are you okay, Louise? It'd be pretty embarrassing if you collapsed from hyperventilation after doing so well.” Cirno pointed out. Louise gave her response by pointing her wand, one that I conjured up for her for this little exercise, at Cirno.

“Zero!” Louise declared and my former student casually leaned away and floated a bit to her left. The explosion detonated but Cirno was able to avoid it by mere inches.

“Give it up, Louise! I taught you how to use Keyword Casting. You can't beat me using a technique I taught you.” Cirno confidently said while placing her hands on her hips and giving Louise a smug smile. In contrast, my master just gave Cirno a dry look before aiming her wand at her senior again.

"...zero..." She muttered in a nearly inaudible voice. Cirno started laughing before floating backwards.

"Ha! It doesn't matter how softly you declare your spell! As long as I can see where you're aiming at, you won't be able to hit-Augh!" Further taunting by Cirno was halted when an explosion detonated behind her. The aim was off, high and left, and it detonated several feet behind the ice fairy so it didn't do any real damage...but it proved a point.

"Wait, what?! Where'd that come from?" Cirno complained as she looked behind her to the spot where Louise's explosion detonated.

"Ah, yes. Louise's explosions can bypass solid objects. It does not behave like something moving in a straight line or in a ballistic trajectory. Put simply, Louise points and things explode. Of course, her aim still needs some fine tuning." I provided, earning a glare from Cirno while Louise folded her arms and leaned back, an expression of satisfaction on her face.

"And you didn't tell me about that because..." My former student trailed off.

"...you never asked. Also, I had expected that you would have been smart enough to figure it out on your own. It seems that I've overestimated your intellect." I said with a smug smile. Cirno glared at me for another moment before giving a resigned sigh and landing back on the ground.

"Well, nothing for it I guess. Good job, Louise! Your aim still kinda sucks when you don't have adrenaline pumping in your blood but, as a proof of concept, you did pretty well." Once again, Louise suddenly blushed from the sudden compliment given by her senior.

"Now that is out of the way...time for some real training!" Cirno declared with renewed vigor, which was the complete opposite of Louise's expression of dread.

"There's more?!" My master asked with fear thick in her voice.

"Aww...don't say it like I'm out to kill you, I'm not teach you know. Speaking of..." The ice fairy turned to me after trailing off, likely going to ask me to conjure up something to help with Louise's real training tonight. 

"...can you set up a bunch of balancing poles, teach?" Cirno asked and I raised a brow at her request. If I remember correctly, China uses balancing poles for training purposes to keep her sense of balance razor sharp even when moving at high speeds...

"Three-dimensional movement..." I muttered while eyeing my former student.

"Yep. We put off her parkour lessons in exchange on getting her geared up for Keyword Casting. I wanted to start on that tonight but Wriggle said that I should make sure that her balance is sound before I throw her into parkour." Cirno explained.

"Wriggle? You consulted Wriggle for this?" I asked her. Nightbug's input was valid but I didn't expect Cirno to bring anyone else from her team in on this.

"Yeah, I kind of asked the whole team about this." Cirno admitted without batting an eye.

"Team?" Louise inquired, curious as to what Cirno was talking about.

"Ah, I guess Yukari hasn't told you about that huh?" The ice fairy mused while rubbing her chin with her hand.

"Cirno has an unofficial 'team' back in Gensokyo, they are collectively known as Seventh Heaven. They used to call themselves One Night Stand but Shikieiki had a few things to say about that name. The members of the group are Mystia Lorelei, Wriggle Nightbug, Rumia, Letty Whiterock, Hong Meiling, Reisen Udongein Inaba, and Cirno of course. They've gained a reputation for being the second line of defense when it came to incidents, regularly providing assistance to the Hakurei and Moriya shrines when needed." I told Louise and she seemed fascinated at the thought of having a team that goes around and solves incidents and the like.

"Of course...they've started their fair share of incidents themselves. Remember the Advent Cirno incident~?" I added with a teasing tone.

"Advent Cirno?" Louise asked while looking at her senior who was grimacing.

"Okay, it wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. But it seemed like a good idea at the time!" Cirno exclaimed with a slightly panicked and embarrassed expression.

"What happened?" Louise asked, her interest completely piqued.

"Something absolutely hilarious. Cirno and Letty are still not allowed inside Hakugyokurou because of what they did." I said while smirking at Cirno who was blushing very hard.

"Just...just drop it, okay. Now about those balancing poles?" Cirno desperately tried to change the subject while trying to force down her blush. Louise still looked like she wanted to know what that incident was but I guess I can tell her about it when Cirno is not around. I conjured up thirty balancing poles equidistant from each other but were of varying heights, all of which I made sure Louise could traverse on so long as kept her balance.

"Wh-wh-what are those things?" Louise asked as she gawked at the sudden emergence of the wooden pillars. In hindsight, I guess I should have crafted them to look like Kanako's beloved 'Onbashira'...oh well.

"Tonight's lesson." Cirno stated simply, earning a gulp from Louise.

...

"See, it says 'Dispell' right here." Matilda said as she pointed at the jumble of symbols that were currently written on a seemingly random page of the Founder's Prayer Book. It was the day of our little outing and Louise had the sudden urge to flip through the Prayer Book before we left. As it turned out, a previously blank page was suddenly filled up with strange writing. Unfortunately, Louise and I couldn't make heads or tails of the writings...that was until Matilda got her hands on it.

"You can understand that gibberish?" I asked Matilda, who just blinked at me a few times before shrugging.

"When you've been hunting ancient treasures as much as I have, you kind of pick up linguistics as you go. This in particular is really old Halkeginian, which makes sense since this was supposed to have been made by Brimir himself. I once uncovered a round mirror inside a deep ruin a few years ago, that ruin was literally slathered with these symbols." Matilda explained as she scanned the pages that had the newly revealed writings on them.

"What happened to the mirror?" Louise inquired, interested in her tutor's old exploits.

"I sold it off to someone in Romalia. I have no idea where it is now." Matilda answered before focusing back on the book and humming thoughtfully.

"Still, this is a Void spell huh?" She muttered after a few moments.

"Anything useful?" I asked her as I secured our bags for this little treasure hunt.

"I can't say for certain. The incantation is horribly long...and I mean, long. Even my incantations for advanced golem creation aren't this long. I guess this is why Brimir needed a Gandalfr to guard him while he casts his spells. The good news is that, if what this book is saying is true and provided Louise can actually finish the incantation, this particular spell can potentially neutralize any other spell it hits." Matilda said with a focused expression as she continued to scan through the pages.

"Interesting...Louise, can you read it?" I asked in the off chance that being a Void magician can give her the clarity needed to read those symbols. Louise peered at the book and squinted, as if the action will allow her a better understanding of what it was she was looking at. She then gave an audible sigh before shaking her head and looking at me.

"No...they look like Halkeginian letters but they're different enough from what we have now that I can't understand what they're supposed to mean." Louise said dejectedly. She then blinked when she felt a hand on her head. She turned and saw Matilda giving her a soft smile...one that Louise couldn't help blushing at.

"If you want, I can give you a translated version of the incantation and you can see if you can cast the spell with that." Matilda offered and Louise literally lit up with glee before embracing her tutor.

"Have I told you that I love you, Matilda~?" Louise happily asked as she continued to cuddle the older woman.

"Yes, you have. Several times. Extremely enthusiastically in fact." I pointed out and both of them froze while blushing bright red before they glared at me.

"That doesn't count!" Both tutor and student stated at the same time. It was then that I heard the familiar sound of rattling steel as Derf decided to pop out of its scabbard.

"As much as I love seeing the little miss express her love toward other women, I'd have to say nay to her using a translated incantation that comes from that book." The sword stated with a surprising amount of seriousness.

"Explain." I said while folding my arms and leaning back on the wall.

"I can't explain it very well...but from what I remember, that book was made by Brimir for the exclusive use of Void mages. That means that a Void mage needs to take the spells from that book exactly as they are written there. Translating the spells, no matter how well you do it, will still change some of the meaning hidden beneath each incantation. At best, the spells will just fizzle out...at worst, something really bad will happen if you try to cast a translated Void spell. Like it or not, the little miss will need to take the spells straight from the book and nowhere else." Derf stated its case, I suppose it was correct. Changing anything in a spell as potent as one that was designed to neutralize every other spell would likely have...interesting results if Louise cast it wrong.

"Then how is she supposed to cast this 'Dispell' if she can't understand what is written in the book?" I pointed out and I was rewarded with one of Derf's sword shrugs.

"Maybe she'll just 'know' what to do and how to cast it when the need for the spell arises? I don't know..." Derf said with an obvious sense of uncertainty.

"Great...now we're back to square one." Louise muttered before hanging her head low.

"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say 'square zero'~?" Kirche's teasing voice said from the other side of the door. Said door slowly opened to reveal the Germainian dressed in her uniform and was sporting a smirk that would do Yukari proud. I felt a familiar spike of magic coming from Louise before she took her wand out from within her clothing and pointed it at the redhead.

"I'll show you-" Louise's attempt at vengeance was cut off when placed my hand on her wand and slowly lowered it. Louise glared at me when I did that but I simply shrugged and nodded toward the door.

"I don't think Tabitha, Guiche, and Siesta would appreciate getting a face full of explosion right before we all leave." I stated and Louise paled when she saw her other friends standing behind Kirche. She quickly hid away her wand as she face started to flush, realizing what she nearly did.

"You all were taking too long to get ready so we decided to check to see what you were up to." Kirche said as she strode into the room like she owned the place before giving me one of 'those' winks and tracing her finger across my chest. I ignored her gesture and looked back toward the door where Tabitha and the others were waiting.

"Kirche's idea." The young Gallian provided before turning back to her book. I wondered how she would she be able to turn the page since her other hand was holding her wooden staff. I suddenly heard a loud and deliberate cough. I turned to the source and saw that both Matilda and Louise were looking at me rather crossly while Siesta, who was now standing next to them, was looking at me with disappointment. I raised a brow as I wondered why when I noticed something soft pressing against my right arm. I turned and nearly groaned.

"Hu~Hu~" Kirche cooed at me with hungry eyes. It seemed that during the very short span of time when I turned my attention toward Tabitha and the others, Kirche managed to maneuver herself to my side and latch onto my arm like a leech. I heard disapproving grumbles from Louise, Matilda, and Siesta as Kirche started grinding her body against my arm. I noticed Guiche was glancing away from the spectacle with an uncomfortable expression while Tabitha took time to glance up from her book to make sure that, yes, we were all still there.

What a wonderful way to start this trip.

...

"Zero!" Louise yelled out before another one of those miserable little creatures received an explosion right in the face.

"This makes no factual sense..." I commented as I watched Tabitha encase two of those creatures in ice before Guiche's golems shattered them to pieces with bronze war hammers.

"They're goblins...what sense would you want them to make?" Derf pointed out and asked after it emerged from its scabbard which was strapped on my back.

"Exactly as I said. This mountainside should not have enough resources to maintain a stable goblin population, especially one that has these numbers." I stated as I watched Matilda's earth golem slap away a dozen goblins who were trying to go after Siesta.

"I mean...what do they eat?" I asked as a bright red stream caught my eye. Kirche was roasting the goblins that Matilda took down to make sure that they were really dead.

"I dunno...I've never really thought about it. Now that you mention it...even back then, Sasha was always complaining about where these things keep coming from while Brimir only pondered as to why they sometimes drop gold or items when you kill them." Derf mused as we continued to observe the rest of our party plow through a rather large number of goblins that were came across during our hike along the mountains near Tarbes. I was amazed at how well everyone was working together considering none of them, aside from Kirche and Tabitha, has had any real experience in fighting alongside one another. I guess they all just had good chemistry with each other just like Cirno's little ragtag team.

"Yuka! Don't just stand there staring at us like an idiot! Help us!" Louise yelled at me as she nimbly dodged utterly uninspired charging attacks by the goblins. Louise's impressive ability to take in and implement the things she learns in Mugenkan were showing once again as she managed to use the rocks and boulders scattered around the place they were fighting in to evade pursuit. After she managed to make her way to the top of the largest boulder in the area with nothing more than her legs and her sense of balance, I decided that she was almost ready for Cirno's parkour lessons.

"Zero! Yuka!" Louise shouted at me after dealing with the goblins that were after her before making her way back down on the ground and continuing the battle.

"Stop shouting. You have Tabitha and Matilda with you, you've already won by default." I stated in an uninterested tone. I have been attacked by a couple of goblins when this encounter started but the rest of them steered away from me and simply targeted the others after what I did to the two that did attack me. They were both still being consumed by the piranha plants that I made when Louise yelled at me. I tipped my straw hat, which I thankfully remembered to bring along, toward Siesta who was running toward me. The maid stopped in front of me and fought to catch her breath before looking at me with a somewhat distressed expression.

"Can I stay here with you?" She asked almost pleadingly.

"Of course you can." I said with a smile before adjusting her straw hat to make sure that it was on properly.

"Why are there so many of them?" Siesta asked as she joined me to watch the rest of our party continue the battle.

"I was pondering the same thing. Is there any history of major goblin attacks on Tarbes?" I asked the maid, who pondered it for a few moments before shaking her head.

"No, there hasn't. As far as I can remember, the goblins mostly keep to themselves in the mountains even during winter. They've never actually gone and attacked villages before. However, if you go into the mountains unprepared, they will attack you without hesitation." She said and I nodded in understanding...but it only raised another question.

"Why hasn't there been any effort to wipe them out? I would imagine that the local government would be rather uncomfortable to have such things so close to their town." I asked and the answer strangely came from Matilda who had wandered closer to where we were.

"Goblins like to hide and they are very, very, very good at it." Matilda started her explanation while guiding her golem to fight in tandem with Guiche's Bronze Valkyries...which pretty much meant that Guiche was just trying to make sure that his bronze golems stayed out of the very large earth golem's way. Bronze may be harder than bog standard earth but Matilda's golem had mass, volume, and density on its side. It also helped that Matilda is skilled enough to be able to change the consistency of the earth that made up her golem from regular dirt to hardened granite within seconds.

"They also breed faster than rabbits which explains the numbers they sometimes have. It simply isn't practical to try to wipe them all out since, unless you can be certain that you've wiped them all out, they'd just start to breed while in hiding and start the whole thing all over again." Matilda added as she adjusted her fedora before continuing to prove that a hundred-foot tall earth golem was overkill in this situation. So these goblins were more akin to a pestilence than an actual threat to a civilized culture. I briefly entertained the idea of a possible way to release a specialized virus strain that could render ninety-percent of the female goblin population sterile, hence providing a clamp on their numbers while making sure that they don't go extinct, when I noticed that the sounds of battle have ended.

"Well, that took longer than I expected." I mused as I watched the rest of our party approach.

"It would have taken less if you helped us!" Louise yelled at me with a very displeased expression. I shrugged and pointed at the two goblins, or the remains that the piranha plants didn't like, that I took down when the battle started.

"Inadequate." Tabitha stated in a tone that almost sounded irritated.

"Don't be like that~! My darling Yuka only wanted to watch me in action, didn't you~? Did my heated performace please you, darling~?" Kirche asked me, while latching herself on my arm once again, with a voice that was dripping with sensuality...sensuality that I simply didn't care for. I turned when I heard another round of displeased grumbling from Louise, Matilda and Siesta and saw them looking at me with seemingly disinterested expressions...odd.

"Can we just...move on already? The dead goblins are starting to smell already." Guiche suggested tiredly, a few sniffs later and we all agreed to move on.

We eventually came across a nondescript cave that matched the point on the map that was marked as the entrance to the cavern that held what we were looking for. It was a treasure known as the 'Steel Goddess'. From the name, both Guiche and Matilda postulated that the treasure is some kind of ancient golem...possibly a massive steel monster that may have vaguely resembled a woman. Kirche and Louise on the other hand both agreed, which was an amazing turnabout in itself, that the 'Steel Goddess' was some sort of statue. Siesta said that it was supposed to be a guardian goddess that has protected Tarbes since the days of her great grandfather and was currently sleeping to regain her power from the world. I have personally known goddesses and I have never heard of one that was attributed to something like 'Steel'. Kanako was a goddess of the Winds, Mountains, and Lakes in addition to technically being a War Goddess. Suwako was an ancient native goddess of the Suwa river and the avatar of frogs and other amphibians. It was strange that this was the very first time I have heard of a 'Steel Goddess'. Provided that the rumors were true, this might prove to be a very interesting experience.

“It's dark...” Louise muttered as we entered the rather dank hole in the wall.

“It's a cave, of course it’s dark.” Kirche shot back and once again earning a glare from my master.

“Watch your step instead of arguing. The last thing we need is someone getting injured.” Matilda said sternly from the front. We were walking in a line as we braved the depths of this cave as per Matilda's instructions to minimize the risk of injury. Our resident Treasure Hunter was leading us through the cave. I was walking close behind her while Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, Siesta and Guiche made up the rest of out little marching line.

“Yes, ma'am.” Both of them obediently said at the same time.

“Can't Kirche light a torch or something? It's pretty hard to watch my step when I can barely see anything at all.” Guiche asked the Germanian, making all of us halt.

“Well?” I asked Matilda, who was already considering the suggestion. I, for one, didn't particularly need a torch since I can see just fine in the dark. I'm also certain that Matilda can do just fine in a completely dark cave since she is a very skilled earth mage so she should have some tricks to navigate through a place like this. Unfortunately, the rest of our party was less than prepared to walk into a pitch black cave.

“Okay, just don't make it too bright.” Matilda said while halting our progress to allow the others to light up a torch.

“Why not?” Siesta asked curiously as she put down her massive backpack before fishing out a fresh torch that they could use.

“Because you might scare the bats that live in these caves or you might alert any anti-theft system that could be set up here...or you might just alert other treasure hunters of our location. I don't particularly want to deal with any other treasure hunters right now, especially since I don't have my whip anymore.” The former thief answered with a shrug.

“You used to have a whip?” Louise asked her tutor in surprise and I could see that Matilda smiled at the memory.

“Yes, it was a long time ago when I was about your age. You'd be amazed at how useful a whip can be when it comes to spelunking.” Matilda stated fondly. I could hear Louise mumble something about a 'Lost Ark' before the familiar red glow of a flame caught our attention. We turned to see Guiche carrying the torch after it was lit by a little fire magic by Kirche.

“Much better.” Guiche said with a smile. Judging from the expressions of Kirche, Siesta, and Louise, they seemed to agree...though, as usual, Tabitha didn't seem to care for it. We continued our way through the caves with nothing but Matilda's expertise to guide us. Sadly, the map that Kirche provided for this little trip only led us to the location of the cave's entrance and she did not have a map that detailed the interior of the caves.

“Are you sure this is the right way? We've been walking for ages.” Kirche complained before being glared at by Louise.

“Are you doubting Matilda? If you are, then you should have brought a map that showed the inside of the cave!” My master hissed at the Germanian, both in defense of her tutor as well as pointing out Kirche's oversight.

“Sshhh! Quiet!” Matilda suddenly said while gesturing for us to stop. I wondered why she made us stop when I narrowed my eyes after picking up the sound of footsteps.

“We're not alone.” She added as she crept closer and closer to the source of the footsteps while very carefully pulling out her wand. I gestured the others to stay back as I readied my parasol for any ambush. The source of the footsteps were getting closer and closer and I could already see the telltale glow of a torch from around the corner. Matilda looked back to me and nodded, gesturing that she will take down whomever it was that was approaching. I raised my left hand to stop her when I noticed something very familiar about the one approaching us. The magic power that I can sense from it was familiar...very familiar indeed. I relaxed and smiled when I finally remembered where I felt that magic before. Matilda looked at me with a confused expression before I went ahead and greeted our mystery man.

“Professor Colbert! Can you hear me?” I called out prompting everyone to look at me in shock before registering what I had just said.

“Mister Kazami? Is that you?” The familiar, but obviously echoing, voice of the professor called out in response in order to verify who just called him.

“Professor Colbert?!” Louise, Kirche, and Guiche all said at the same time. A few moments later, Colbert emerged from the corner where the footsteps came from and looked at all of us in surprise.

“Oh my, this is unexpected. What are you all doing here?” He asked with his trademark smile. Matilda subtly took a few steps back to make sure that she wasn't too close to the professor but all she did was bump into me.

“Hya!” She yelped as I put my hands on her shoulders to steady her.

“Easy. No one is going to hurt you, Matilda.” I said assuringly. Matilda looked down, making sure to use her fedora to cover as much of her face as possible.

“Miss Matilda? Are you well enough to be walking about?” Professor Colbert asked as he approached us. Oh yes, he helped Guiche get Matilda to the infirmary when whole Wardes debacle was in full swing.

“I-I-I'm fine!” Matilda stammered as I felt her shoulders tremble in my grasp. I blinked a few times at the strange reaction before letting her go to greet the professor.

“It is good to see you, though I must wonder what you are doing here?” I greeted and sent the professor's question back at him. I thought I heard Matilda give out a disappointed sigh but I ignored it in favor of hearing Colbert out.

“Ah yes! I'm here because I finally had some free time to investigate a certain local legend I got wind of.” Colbert explained with a smile, ever glad to dispense knowledge as usual.

“Let me guess, the 'Steel Goddess' right?” I asked him before folding my arms and leaning back. The professor blinked at me a few times before smiling and nodding.

“Why yes I am! Do you know of it?” He asked and was rewarded with a shrug.

“Likely only as much as you do. Kirche provided us a map detailing the way to the entrance to this cave. She suggested that we see if there was anything worthwhile here as a way to unwind and cap off the summer break.” I supplied as Colbert looked at the rest of our party with a thoughtful hum, Louise and the rest simply gave awkward smiles and waved at their professor...Tabitha simply glanced up from her book and nodded before continuing to read. How she was still able to read that book in a dark cave...I didn't really care.

“Normally, I would be against student going out adventuring on their own. However, you are accompanied by two capable adults so I guess it's not so bad. Now then, do you all mind terribly if I tag along?” The professor offered. Having him in the party would be very useful, as it would mean that I would have fewer things to worry about.

“I don't know...splitting the treasure with so many people would be troublesome.” Kirche mused, seemingly convinced that there would be substantial amounts of wealth waiting for us at the other end of this cave. Her question was met with a good natured laugh from the professor.

“Don't worry Miss Zerbst. I am only here to see if the legends were true. The legend of the 'Steel Goddess' is relatively new compared to most other legends, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Confirming the existence, or lack thereof, of the goddess will be enough to sate my curiosity.” The man shamelessly admitted, an intellectual through and though.

“Well in that case, onwards!” Kirche enthusiastically declared while pointing deeper inside the caves.

...

“Amazing...it's like an entirely different part of the forest that is isolated from the rest of the mountainside.” Colbert stated in awe after we finally exited the caverns. The other end led to a patch of forest that was cut off from the rest because it was surrounded by mountains, hence the professor's comment.

“So? Where is it?” Kirche asked impatiently.

“We may need to look for a shrine or some sort of structure...something that could have been used to pay homage to the Steel Goddess.” Matilda said, her previous shakiness replaced by her veteran treasure hunting instincts. It didn't take long for us to find a structure that fit Matilda's criteria...especially since it was the only structure in the whole area. We all gazed at the front doors of what looked like an old aircraft hangar, if I remembered the books I used to read correctly. Odd, an aircraft hangar was extremely out of place in Tristain. No, a better question was what it was doing here in the first place.

“What is it?” Siesta asked in awe of the strange structure before her. The structure itself didn't look too bad, though there was overgrowth crawling all over the place which was a testament to how long this thing has been here.

“This structure is called an Aircraft Hangar.” I stated, pulling everyone's attention to me.

“You know what this is?” Professor Colbert asked in excitement. I nodded in response, noting that Matilda was also looking at me with sharp interest.

“I know of it. I read books that featured this structure in my home realm. These things were used to house aircraft...flying machines...as well as the parts and tools needed to maintain them. I suppose this means that the Steel Goddess is some sort of aircraft.” I explained. I noticed a familiar head of pink hair from the corner of my vision and saw Louise and Tabitha looking at some sort of stone monument.

“What is it?” Louise asked the young Gallian but Tabitha merely shook her head in response. I walked up to them and raised a brow at what was written there. It was severely eroded to the point of being unreadable but the engravings on the stone were undoubtedly Japanese characters. I noted the remains of a clay incense holder as well as the dried up remnants of flower stems.

“It's a grave...” I muttered. I noticed Siesta walk to my side before touching the face of the stone.

“It's...my great grandfather's grave...isn't it?” Siesta said in a distant voice.

“Great grandfather?” Louise asked and the maid nodded. She was so close to it that the action nearly made the brim of her hat touch the grave marker.

“I was always told stories when I was a child. Stories that great grandfather came from a different world, a fantastic one where humans and magical beings lived together in harmony. It was a place like Halkeginia but different. According to my grandfather, my great grandfather came here along with the Steel Goddess from a hole in the sky. The goddess protected Tarbes with my great grandfather until his death. They said that he was buried near where the goddess slept, waiting to be awakened again when she was needed once more.” Siesta told her story with a voice tinted with melancholy. She smiled sadly at the grave maker and added...

“Hello, great grandfather...my name is Siesta. It's very nice to finally meet you.” The young woman said with a polite bow. Louise and Tabitha allowed her a few moments of peace for her first meeting with her great grandfather while I stayed quiet and thought about her story. Her great grandfather fell from the sky along with the Steel Goddess. It would either be a gate portal or a gap that sent them here. He seemed to have been Japanese or of Japanese descent considering the written language used on his grave marker. However, she also said that he came from a realm where humans and fantastic creatures lived together. Aside from Gensokyo, I didn't know of any other realm like that...especially a Japanese one. Could it be a completely different realm altogether? Or could it be possible that Siesta was a descendant of someone from Gensokyo? If her great grandfather really was a human from Gensokyo...then who did he bring with him? Even if it was a little more than a century ago, there wasn't any incident where someone that could be mistaken as a Steel Goddess disappeared. In fact...everyone who was a non-human resident of Gensokyo for the past three hundred years should still be in Gensokyo...except for me of course. Very strange indeed...

“How do you open this thing?!” Kirche complained, breaking the solemn silence that we were having until that point. We all turned to the hangar and saw Kirche, Guiche and a few of Guiche's golems trying to pry open the door. I sighed when I noticed that they were trying to swing them open, even though the hangar doors were made to slide to the side instead.

“You're doing it wrong.” I said as I walked up to them and gestured for them to move aside. Once Kirche and Guiche were out of the way, I gripped the point of connection between the two sliding doors and tried to open them...it didn't budge. There was an enchantment on it that was preventing any entry, likely to make sure that whatever was inside was safe from bandits as well as making sure that whatever was inside was not subject to natural corrosion. An enchantment that protects the structure...hmm...

“I can't open it. It's protected by a powerful enchantment that prevents anything from entering.” I stated while looking straight at Louise.

“Is there any way to bypass it?” Colbert asked me as he placed at hand on the left door.

“Maybe...if we had something that could 'dispell' the enchantment.” I answered, making sure to maintain eye contact with Louise and making sure that I emphasized the word 'dispell'. My master blinked at me for a few moments before giving me a very uncomfortable expression.

“I can't do it...” She muttered.

“Then we came here for nothing.” I responded while folding my arms and leaning back, earning a glare from her.

“I can't even read it!” She countered while mirroring my stance. It seemed that Matilda caught wind of what we were arguing about since she walked up to Louise and asked her to open up the Founder's Prayer Book.

“But...” Louise muttered while using both her hands to hold the brim of her hat, indicating her uncertainty.

“I have an idea, trust me.” Matilda sweetly said. Louise still looked unsure but she eventually lifted up her hat and fished out the book from the top of her head. That was where she was hiding it? I was wondering where she put that book but I was amazed that she was able to fit that thing in her hat without making it fall out or making it uncomfortable for her.

“Is that?” Colbert asked tentatively as he eyed the Founder's Prayer Book.

“Ironic isn't it?” I asked back, answering his question. The man gave a soft chuckle before shaking his head.

“Indeed it is...” He replied. The next few minutes was spent in silence as Louise and Matilda whispered to each other while pointing at or gesturing to the symbols that were written in the book for the 'dispell' spell. Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche took this time to relax while Siesta offered a few prayers to her great grandfather. Colbert and I watched the two of them intently until the professor gave a thoughtful hum.

“Miss Longueville really does look different after a makeover, doesn't she?” Colbert asked me, not even bothering to hide his suspicion but making sure to keep his comment out of earshot.

“She no longer goes by that name nor does she go by any of her previous names. She is simply Matilda now.” I provided. Colbert eyed me curiously before turning back to Louise and her tutor.

“Do you care for her? Miss Matilda, I mean.” He asked me.

Did I?

“She is Louise's tutor now. It was her decision to allow her to survive. It was the right call considering how much she has helped my master since.” I answered. Colbert gave another chuckle at the rather unsubtle way I evaded his question.

“So you are not sure yet then. I guess even beings as powerful as you can still be uncertain when it comes to matters of the heart.” He mused with a knowing smile.

“I have no romantic feelings towards her.” I clearly stated.

“Yet you don't say it loud enough for her to hear.” He shot back before chuckling. I narrowed by eyes at him and he cleared his throat after realizing that he had gone too far.

“I apologize if I offended you. I am merely commenting of what I see. And what I see is that you two seem to suit each other.” He stated with a shrug.

“I am a sixteen-hundred year old monster.” Not to mention that I was a woman until recently. Instead of arguing any further, Colbert merely shrugged and gave me another knowing smile before walking toward Siesta. I simply sighed and shook my head at the absurdity of the man's insinuation.

“Well, I'm a six-thousand year old sword and I still think the two of you look good together.” I ignored Derf's whispered comment and simply waited for Louise and Matilda to finish whatever it was they were doing.

“Alright! I got this!” Louise suddenly yelled out as she took several deep breaths before pulling out her wand and closing her eyes. Did Matilda find a way for her to be able to cast the spell? Did she translate it for Louise? I made sure to observe the proceeding spell casting by Louise to see how she would be able to manage it...or be there to make sure to protect her and Matilda if the spell backfired. What followed was a fifteen minute incantation in a language I couldn't hope to understand. An unfamiliar magic circle appeared at Louise's feet while the pages of the Founder's Prayer Book began to glow.

“And that's what I meant when I said that book will show the little miss what to do when the right time came.” Derf commented at the display being shown by Louise. Matilda was right though, the incantation for this spell was cumbersomely long and impractical to use in battle unless Louise was thoroughly protected. Louise finally ended her incantation and opened her eyes, a massive spike of magic came from her and focused on her wand before she finally declared the spell.

“Dispell!” My master roared and a strange steady wave of rainbow colored energy fanned out from her wand and slowly made its way to the hangar. Now that was impracticality incarnate...

However, the wait was rewarded when the spell made contact with the enchantment placed on the hangar. A sharp sound could be heard at the moment of contact, like the breaking of fine glass or porcelain, and the hangar glowed for a moment before it dissipated and vanished. I walked up to the hangar doors and placed at hand on it. The enchantment I felt from the hangar was...gone. I decided to act on my discovery and pried open the hangar doors, enough for us to get inside. I turned back when I heard a squeal of delight coming from Louise.

“I did it! I cast Dispell!” She yelled out triumphantly as she hugged Matilda in joy. Her tutor returned the hugged and laughed along with Louise. I smiled at the scene. This was the very first time, aside from her summoning of me, that Louise was able to successfully cast a spell like it was designed to. The Keyword Casting she learned from Cirno was merely making a broken spell work to her advantage. No matter how effective it was, it was still a failed spell. I couldn't help but feel proud of Louise for what she did, it reminded me of the very first time that Cirno was able to defeat Remilia Scarlet at a Danmaku Battle thanks to her training with me. I walked up to them, unable to hide the smile on my face.

“So, how'd you manage it?” I asked Louise while folding my arms and leaning back.

“I felt it instead of reading it!” Louise immediately answered with glee. Felt it? I looked up to Matilda and raised a brow to indicate the unvoiced question. The woman merely gave me a radiant smile before answering.

“It was actually thanks to your conversation with Derflinger back at the academy. It said that the Founder's Prayer Book will only reveal its contents once the mage was ready to cast that spell. Since the incantation for Dispell was already out in the open, it shows that Louise was ready for that spell. The only issue was interpretation...” Matilda explained while patting Louise on the head, or hat as the case was.

“And? How did she interpret it?” I asked, interested in how Louise was able to decipher the contents of the book. Matilda suddenly looked embarrassed and glanced away from me with a tinge of red on her cheeks.

“I don't actually know...Louise, how did you feel the magic?” Matilda redirected the question to the caster herself.

“I felt the magic in the words! I'm not sure how I was able to but when Matilda asked me to try to concentrate on the symbols, I suddenly felt them talking to me.” Louise explained recounting her experience. I see…the book interpreted itself for her. Instead of making a translation spell built into the book, it was designed to simply provide the purest interpretation of the spell to the caster in case he or she couldn't read the native text. Not bad Brimir.

“So that was why the book glowed...it was transmitting the core meaning of the spell to you as you were performing the incantation.” I concluded. I was suddenly made aware that we weren't the only ones there. I glanced around and, predictably enough, everyone was looking at us in shock...except for Tabitha who simply put her book away.

“What was that?” Guiche muttered after seeing the spell that Louise just cast.

“Louise called it Dispell. I've never heard of a spell like that...” Kirche muttered as she rubbed her chin with her hand, probably trying to recall a spell that would be similar to what Louise just cast.

“That was a very pretty spell.” Siesta chimed in, and indeed, a slow moving rainbow wave would look pretty when you look at it the right way.

“That...that was...” Colbert trailed off, unable to finish his sentence in disbelief.

“Void.” As usual, Tabitha was able to hit the nail on the head perfectly.

“No way...” Kirche muttered.

“Yes, that was the first and only Void spell Louise has ever been able to cast so far.” I supplied, not even bothering to hide it at this point since they all should already know that Louise was a Void Magician…except for Siesta but I trusted her enough not to tattle.

“What?!

[CrowCakes]

Let's play "Spot the References"! Lemme see... uhhhh.... Oh I'm not going to even bother.

Am I reading the end right? Was it cut off?

[Zelinko]

Yea Raptor's post cut off. He'll have to fix it later.

[Blackraptor]

Aaahhh, character limits...my old nemesis...
...

?I don't know about all of you, but I'm very interested to see what the Steel Goddess looks like.? I stated before walking back toward the entrance of the hangar. Everyone else seemed to have snapped out of their surprise and followed me. I stopped in front of the threshold and remembered something I needed to confirm with everyone.

?I would like to remind you all that Louise's status as a Void Magician remains secret for her safety. Anyone who betrays our trust will die by my hand.? I let the reminder hang in the air before walking inside.

...

It was pristine. So much so that someone like Nitori would likely drool over all the tech inside. The inside of the hangar looked brand new but instead of having airplane parts and various tools, there were computers and various other electronic devices littered everywhere and were all interconnected to the thing at the very center of the hangar. It was a metal capsule, large enough for someone to fit inside. I glanced back to where everyone was and saw that they were looking around in awe at all the various devices and blinking lights and strange sounds coming from everywhere.

?Don't touch anything.? I warned them. I still wasn't sure what was powering all of these things so I wanted to make sure that no one touches anything that might turn out to the power supply...or a self-destruct button. I know that I've had it with those things thanks to the kappa.

?What is all this?? Colbert asked, completely out of his element in this place.

?I don't know yet...but it seems that this Steel Goddess is of a rather advance race.? I answered as I continued to walk toward the white coffin-like capsule. This is the kind of technology I'd expect from the Lunarians or one of the more extreme experiments by the Kappa. I don't know what all these devices did so I didn't touch any of them just to be sure. I reached my destination and looked down upon the sealed metal capsule. Strange...

?It has frost on it...? I muttered as I wiped away a thin layer on ice that was encasing part of the object. I noticed an engraving on it and wiped away enough frost to make it readable.

RKT-001-V4

Military designation? Or was it simply a model number or a serial number. The familiar sound of a 'Big Red Button' being pressed snapped me from my thoughts. That sound was never a good thing. When I heard that sound, things explode. I whipped around and saw that Louise was looking at me in panic while her hand was on a 'Big Red Button'.

?I'm sorry!? Louise cried out, only realizing what she had done. I once again cursed the allure of the 'Big Red Button' before I heard a hissing sound coming from the capsule.

?Stay back! All of you!? I roared as I stood between the opening capsule and the others. White frost burst from the seams of the opening device as the capsule slowly opened up like a clam shell, revealing the contents inside. I did a double-take at what was inside...or rather, who was inside.

A pristine blue maid uniform with a short skirt and a white apron. Black shoes with white stockings. Black laces gloves that extended to most of her arms with silver bracers that looked more like thin gauntlets. Flawless long green hair that had a certain sheen to it. A silver visor that looked more like a circlet wrapped around her forehead. The front part of the visor was circular and held the same model number that was on the capsule, I postulated that the visor could easily cover her eyes and most of her face if it was pulled down. The sides of the visor had what looked to be heat sinks but looked more like fins or silver wings. The eyes open to reveal cold, doll-like, red eyes. I knew this thing. It looks slightly different from the last time I saw it but there can be no mistake. Streams of light ran across its eyes before it blinked a few times as it focused it gaze upon me.

?Fuga?? It asked me and I immediately knew that I was right. Somehow, someway, against all odds, I was looking at something that dropped off Gensokyo so very long ago.

Ruukoto

...

[Kips McKipzerson]

Okay blackraptor, I'm going to have to say that was the most OUT OF THERE plot twist I could ever have seen in my life. And I loved it. You wanna know what makes this crossover great? It sticks heavily to the plot of ZnT, Yet at the same time incorporates just the right about of Touhou into it, Without one being the shadow to the other. I must say, That's quite the accomplishment for any writer.

[MoeIncubatorShea]

Wow Raptor, this is the first time I've seen Ruukoto mentioned in a loooooong time.

You have earned a brownie. ;3

[Blackraptor]

I admit...it was a VERY close race between Ruukoto and VIVIT to see who will replace the Zero Fighter, especially since Yuka knew both of them. But in the end...Ruukoto's sudden inexplicable disappearance from Gensokyo won out.

[CrowCakes]

I never thought it would be someone who previously been in Gensokyo. :getdown: is pretty much what I'm feeling right now.

[The Unlimited RR]

My respect.  You have infinitely won it.

I swear, this story, while already a really clever one, has gone up four points on the ZUN-o-meter by referencing the Robomaid nobody remembers.  It's all incredible.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Am I the only one who remembers Blackraptor mentioning that he intended to use Ruukoto as this 'Steel Goddess' thing?

I should mention that I've been enjoying this story even though I know essentially nothing about ZnT (actually, I think that's one reason I do enjoy it; I normally hate crossovers, but knowing pretty much nothing about one of the series being crossed makes it feel less like one to me. There's also the fact that both series seem well-suited to crossovers, and, of course, the quality of the writing is also a factor). And yes, I've been able to follow what's going on without difficulty. So good job there, BR.

[Frostyhatlo]

I havent read any of your other works since im new to motk.
So where do you get all the ideas for the incidents and such that happened after Reimu's time?
Is it a reference to other work youve done or did you manage to pull that all out of the blue?

And seeing how well you made Touhou mesh with ZnT (which im vaguely familiar with) makes me wonder if Touhou's huge varied cast make it suitable for crossovers with just about anything.
Maybe you should try making more Touhou/whatever crossovers, your characters have very well developed personalities and such.
And damn I love Yuka's internal monologueing, a lot of fanfic writers cant do monologues right.

[Blackraptor]

The various incidents in Gensokyo that I've shown or hinted in this story were either references to other works by other people or stuff I just pulled out of my ass...except the Lunarian Invasion. That is something I always wanted to write but I can never get the groundwork for it finished.

[Kips McKipzerson]

The various incidents in Gensokyo that I've shown or hinted in this story were either references to other works by other people or stuff I just pulled out of my ass...except the Lunarian Invasion. That is something I always wanted to write but I can never get the groundwork for it finished.

I'm now expecting a list of all these things at the stories conclusion, you know.

[Blackraptor]

The good news is that I managed to find a good cut off point between Ruukoto?s character defining chapter and the start of the Tarbes invasion so?UPDATE! The bad news is that I got my hands on a copy of Yakuza 4 and I?ve been playing like a madman. This may or may not affect the release of the next chapter?who am I kidding?there?s so much shit to do in that game I?m not even sure when I?ll be able to seriously start on the next chapter.
...

"Fuga. Fuga Fuga?" The gynoid asked me from within its capsule. Ruukoto hadn't budged an inch from her capsule and was only observing me with her red eyes, likely scanning me to try to confirm the situation. Considering the question she posed to me, I was able to conclude that this was indeed the original Ruukoto...or a unit that had her memories or information at least.

"No, your assessment is accurate. Many things have happened since we last met, my current state is simply one of those things. In fact, you yourself look rather different from what I remember back when you were still under Reimu's employ." I replied, making Ruukoto blink at me a few times. Thin streams of light ran across her eyes for a few moments before she replied.

"Fuga. Fuga Fuga, Fuga." Ruukoto explained what happened to her in a prompt and logical manner. I nodded along with her explanation and was intrigued as who this Uzuki woman was and why she felt the need to make 'upgrades' on Ruukoto.

"Uzuki?" A voice from behind me said in confusion. I raised a brow and turned to see the others huddled behind me, obviously curious as to whom Ruukoto was. What intrigued me though was what Siesta had just said.

"You understood what Ruukoto said?" I asked Siesta to confirm if it was a fluke or not, turning everyone's attention toward her. The maid blushed as she shuffled uncomfortably from the sudden scrutiny. Nevertheless, she nodded meekly in reply.

"Interesting..." I muttered as I considered the ramifications of Siesta understanding what Ruukoto can say.

"Fuga?" The gynoid asked me while looking right at Siesta.

"Ah, yes. She's the great grand daughter of the man who you apparently arrived here with." I supplied and Ruukoto nodded at Siesta in acknowledgement.

"What the founder is happening?!" Louise suddenly shouted. Ah, right...

"I assume that none of you, other that Siesta, can understand what Ruukoto is saying?" I posed the question.

"Is that what that woman's name is?" Guiche asked, suddenly interested that the Steel Goddess turned out to be a beautiful woman...or so he thought.

"Yes. So I can assume that Siesta is the only one who can understand it?" I asked again. Everyone looked at each other and were looking uncertain.

"Is 'Fuga' the only thing you can hear from it?" I changed the question and everyone, except Siesta, nodded.

"Very interesting..." I muttered with a bemused smile at the revelation.

"It would help if you shared what it is that you find interesting, Yuka. Why do you keep calling her 'it' anyway?" My master asked, her previous panic at pressing the 'Big Red Button' was replaced with growing irritation at being left out of the loop.

"Ah, of course. Let me introduce something that I haven't seen in over five-hundred years. This is Ruukoto, an artificially created android that was once in the service of one Reimu Hakurei. It suddenly disappeared after the Strawberry Crisis incident and Reimu didn't really put any real effort in finding it. She said that she thought that Ruukoto just fell in a hole and couldn't get out so she just shrugged off her loss and moved on with her life." I explained and everyone seemed to be torn between wondering what exactly Ruukoto is and feeling sorry for her by being abandoned by its master.

"Question!" Kirche suddenly spoke up like a student, complete with a raised hand.

"Kirche." I acknowledged her and bade her to continue.

"What's an 'Android'?" She asked the obvious question. I thought about it for a moment as I tried to figure out the best analogy for them to be able to understand what Ruukoto was.

"I'm not particularly certain about the absolute specifics but...the simple explanation for it is that Ruukoto is a very, very, very complex human-shaped golem. Also, 'Android' is only the general term for them. A more specific term for Ruukoto is 'Gynoid', a designation for Androids with particularly feminine attributes. Imagine a sentient, self-reliant, self-sufficient golem that can process information much faster and more accurately than any human. And in case you are wondering, yes, her physical prowess far outstrips regular humans as well...if I remember you are also armed, yes?"  I explained and threw the question at the gynoid, ignoring the particularly flabbergasted expressions of Matilda and Guiche, our two golem users. I heard the familiar sounds that a computer could make while processing information coming from Ruukoto as more streams of light ran across her unblinking eyes.

"Fuga. Fuga Fuga Fuga...Fuga." Ruukoto replied after a few moments. I guess it can't be helped considering how long she had been in storage. I turned back to the others, Siesta specifically, before speaking.

"Can you convey what Ruukoto just said to the others, Siesta?" I asked her and she looked unsure as to what to do.

"Umm...I didn't really understand what she was talking about..." She reasoned as she looked between me and the Steel Goddess.

"Don't worry about that. I just want to know how much of her words did you understand...in the sense of not just hearing 'Fuga' over and over again." I clarified. The maid...well, the human one...remained silent for a few moments before nodding.

"Running diagnostics on all systems. Assessment: Current physical state is still below nominal operating temperatures. Unable to move until defrosting protocols are complete. Estimated time of completion...twelve-minutes and seventeen-seconds. Information processing and memory are operating within optimal parameters. No major problems found aside from minor memory fragmentation. Defrag already in process. Power systems working at one-hundred percent efficiency. No issues found on Erde-Kaiser Sigma Type Seven engine. No hazardous emissions or radiation detected." Siesta started before taking a moment to catch her breath.

"Most available weapon systems are offline. R-Teneritas, Blood Dragon Tooth, D-Shot, D-Scythe, F-Slayer, X-Buster, and Emulation: Fantasy Heaven are under level five security lock-down. Priority password release from Professor S. Uzuki required for lock-down release. G-Revolver, R-Cannon, R-Blade, and Anti-Material Sword 'Arondight' are available for immediate use. Status of special equipment 'Riser' is unknown. Status of special equipment 'G-Wing: Type-Zero' is confirmed and is ready for immediate deployment. Status of special equipment 'Artemis' is unknown. Status of special equipment 'Fantasy Seal' is confirmed but is under level five lock-down protocols as per restrictions against the use of Emulation: Fantasy Heaven." Siesta continued without any hint of hesitation in her words.

"Status of Overdrive System 'NT-D' is unknown. Status of Overdrive System 'Trans-AM' is unknown. Status of Overdrive System 'Level Six Shift' is under level five lock-down protocols. Status of Overdrive System 'White Noise' is confirmed and operable. Addendum: Ruukoto Unit One Version Four is operable but is under heavy restrictive use. Whew! That's all I heard." Siesta said, concluding her recitation of Ruukoto's earlier words...and she did it perfectly. I nodded in approval and glanced at everyone else who were looking at Siesta like she had just grown a second head, was made of gold, and was revealing national secrets.

"What was all that?!" Louise finally yelled out after several moments of stunned silence.

"A perfectly translated version of what Ruukoto just said in Halkeginian. I must say, I am impressed that you memorized all of that after hearing it only once." I commended Siesta's skill at retaining information so well. The maid...yes, the human one...blushed at the compliment.

"Th-thank you, Mister Yuka. I got used to remembering things that were said to me because of all my responsibilites back at the academy." Siesta, as humble as ever, tried to play off her talent as simply something she developed for the sake of her job.

"Do you mean that all that information came from those few words from the gol-gynoid?" Professor Colbert asked in obvious surprise at how much information Ruukoto can convey with just a few 'Fugas'.

"Wait...how come the maid can understand what that Ruukoto says?" Kirche pointed out yet another obvious question.

"Well, for reasons that I've yet to understand myself, Ruukoto can only be completely understood by those from Gensokyo. Reimu confirmed this back during the Strawberry Crisis incident when she commented that Yumemi Okazaki and her assistant couldn't understand a word that Ruukoto said. Yumemi and her assistant, Chiyuri Kitashirakawa came from the outside world." I provided, earning even more confused looks from everyone aside from Louise, who was privy to information about Gensokyo.

"Don't think about it too hard, you'll just get a headache. The point is that only those from my home realm can understand the meaning behind Ruukoto's words." I stated. I left the question on how this Professor S. Uzuki managed to understand Ruukoto enough to be able to perform so many modifications on it for a later date.

"Does that mean that Siesta came from Gensokyo?" Guiche asked after following the logic in the conversation.

"Not exactly..." I vaguely stated, waiting for a certain someone to provide the answer.

"Descendant." And as expected, Tabitha provided the final piece of the puzzle.

"I see...Siesta has the blood of someone from your home realm which is why she can understand what that golem...gynoid...can say." Matilda reasoned out correctly.

"Amazing. So this being is also from your realm?" Professor Colbert asked, not even bothering to mask his interest with Ruukoto. Surprisingly, it was the gynoid itself that answered the question.

"Fuga. Fuga Fuga. Fuga." Ruukoto answered immediately while forgetting one important thing.

"You know that they cannot understand a word you're saying, right?" I pointed out to the maid...the robot one...and it blinked a few times before nodding.

"Fuga." It said before turning its attention to lifting its right arm up. It flexed its hand and arm a few times, making flakes of ice fall off.

"Siesta, explain." I gestured for Siesta to interpret what Ruukoto said into Halkeginian. After all, since I now know that she can understand the gynoid perfectly and relay that information word for word, I saw no reason why I should do such a menial task myself.

"Umm...well..." Siesta hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Yes and no. Explanation: This Ruukoto unit is no longer using the version one frame that was used during the Strawberry Crisis incident. Current frame and components therein is the fourth version designed and built by Professor S. Uzuki. Only memory and core personality components and software remain. In conclusion: I am not the Ruukoto that once served Shrine Maiden of Paradise, Hakurei Reimu, not in the literal sense. However, my memories, personality, and line of thinking are still from my first frame. Physically, I am different. Mentally, I am the same." Siesta finished translating what Ruukoto said and gave a slight bow.

"Amazing...the concept of a sentient golem is completely unheard of, especially one that is as self-aware as this. To think that such a thing exists and is speaking to us right now...I'm speechless." Colbert muttered. I chose not to comment on the fact that he had a lot to say despite claiming to be speechless. Everyone seemed to share the sentiment of the good professor though. It was understandable, I may not have been the most technologically savvy being around but even I could understand that being faced with technology that should be impossible for the current level of your civilization can be a bit daunting. I guess that was why Ruukoto was referred to a 'Steel Goddess'. I suppressed a smirk at the thought of the 'Hisoutensoku' or a 'Lunarian Destroyer' wandering into this realm.

"So...what do we do with it?" Kirche suddenly asked. What indeed...

"That's a very good question. Obviously, selling Ruukoto off is out of the question and is non-negotiable." I pointed out, eliciting a groan from the Germanian.

"Why not?" The redhead drawled out. Obviously not happy with being unable to cash in the only thing that we found that was worthwhile...especially one as seemingly valuable as a maid-slash-combat gynoid.

"Too dangerous." Tabitha immediately answered with a serious expression.

"Correct. Regardless of the changes made on her physical appearance, Ruukoto is still something that originally came from my realm. The same realm where the Rawket Lawnchair...the 'Staff of Destruction' came from. The 'Staff of Destruction' is but a mere weapon. Ruukoto is a sentient golem that can hold its own against several denizens of my realm. Think about that for a second and think of what would happen if some warmonger got it...what if someone like you-know-who got it?" I explained, making sure not to say Cromwell's name to prevent further suspicions being voiced by Professor Colbert and to prevent Matilda from having another one of her fits. Of course, I was exaggerating on Ruukoto's destructive potential. As far as I remember, the only real danger about it was if it blew up because of it being Nuclear powered. However, considering the various weapon systems and special equipment that it has -available or otherwise-, I concluded that this 'Fourth' incarnation of the gynoid was much more combat oriented than it originally was.

"So now what?" Louise muttered the question and was met with silence.

"Well the obvious option would be to bring it with us. It's already...awake...so leaving it here won't do any good either."  Matilda pointed out another important factor to consider. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have experienced any discomfort any my passing comment about Cromwell.

"Fuga." Ruukoto chimed in as it finally climbed out of its capsule before straightening out her maid outfit and brushing off some leftover frost on her hair.

"A proposal?" I echoed her words in question form. The gynoid nodded before looking at all of us assembled there and giving a polite and professional bow.

"Fuga Fuga. Fuga?" Ruukoto voiced its proposition before standing back straight and causing Siesta to gasp in surprise. I see, so that's what it was getting at...

"Siesta?" I called out to the maid...the human one...and nodded toward Ruukoto. Siesta blinked at me a few times before adopting a look of realization and nodding.

"Proposition for a compromise that would be mutually beneficial. Ruukoto version four's creator, developer, and previous employer are no longer available. This unit was designed for both servitude as a maid as well as a capable combat unit with many talents. In short: If I gain a new master, I will serve and protect him or her until their death. Is there anyone here that could use a unit such as this?" Siesta relayed Ruukoto's suggestion to the rest of our party.

"Me! Over here! I'll take her!" Kirche immediately exclaimed while raising her right hand high. I ignored Kirche and answered Ruukoto myself.

"You may serve my master, Ruukoto." I told the gynoid while gesturing toward Louise. I watched it turn her gaze from me to Louise, a raised brow was the only thing that indicated its wonder as to why I suggested that it serve Louise instead of me.

"Her name is Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re and I am her familiar, so it would be prudent that you serve her instead of me." I provided, earning a tilted head from the gynoid.

"Fuga? Fuga. Fuga?" It asked me as if it was a challenge to comprehend what I just told it.

"Yes. She summoned me through one of her realm's summoning rituals. No, I am not her servant. I am her partner and protector as well as providing assistance on improving herself in various aspects of combat." I explained. Ruukoto considered my words for a few moments before nodding and stepping in front of Louise. The gynoid was slightly taller than Matilda, likely because its shoes had high heels for whatever reason, which obviously meant that it was much taller than my master.

"Wh-wh-what do you want?!" Louise suddenly said out in panic. Despite all her previous experience in both her training and at live combat, it seems that my master was still a bit jumpy when it comes to meeting someone new. It also helped that Ruukoto was staring down at her with its emotionless blood-red eyes, a few streams of light running across its eyes every now and then added to the effect. Ruukoto was scanning her...probably trying to figure out how such a small human girl managed to bind me of all things into a real summoning contract. She turned her gaze toward me before commenting on something.

"Fuga..." It said almost disinterestedly. I shook my head and gave it a flat stare.

"Of course it's not over nine-thousand. She's not Reimu nor is she Marisa." I stated with a shrug. It nodded one more time before setting her gaze back to my master.

"Fuga. Fuga?" Ruukoto said before bowing to Louise. My master looked at me in confusion and panic. I decided to translate the gynoid's words this time instead of asking Siesta to do so.

"This Ruukoto version four is ready to imprint itself for lifetime service under a new employer. I ask of you, are you my master?" I relayed Ruukoto's question to Louise. My master looked between my and Ruukoto in turn, which was already standing up straight, before scratching her head through her hat.

"Is it safe?" Louise asked me with a hint of uncertainty. I smiled at her and nodded.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if it wasn't. Despite what Ruukoto looks like, what it sounds like to you, and what it is capable of, it is a loyal servant and will add an extra line of protection for you as well as work as a personal maid." I replied. Indeed, the real reason why I wanted Ruukoto to serve Louise is because I wanted to make sure that she still has some form of protection if ever Matilda or I would be unavailable. Additionally, if Ruukoto's memory is still completely intact, it would allow me access to more Gensokyo-esque tea and snacks outside of Mugenkan...which is always nice.

"Alright, I'll be your master. What do I need to do, perform some kind of contract spell?" Louise gave her answer to Ruukoto before asking how to seal the deal. Ruukoto nodded before closing its eyes. I suddenly sensed a powerful energy spike coming from it. Its entire body gave off a soft white glow before subsiding, but the jump in energy remained. It wasn't magic...it was something completely different. Was it its power source? The gynoid's eyes opened and we all noticed that its lifeless red eyes were replaced with gentle blue eyes.

"Wh-what's going on?!" My master suddenly asked. To her everyone's surprise, including my own, Ruukoto answered Louise question...in Halkeginian.

"Overdrive System 'White Noise' is in effect. Voice print recorded and archived. Greetings Mistress Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re..." Ruukoto said in a warm motherly voice that reminded me of Reimu's mother as it greeted Louise. It gave a perfect curtsy before continuing.

"I am Combat Maid Gynoid designation Ruukoto Unit-One Version-Four. To complete imprint of new master, please hold out both of your hands." Ruukoto stated with a warm smile that was completely out of character from the usually stoic gynoid...it was like a completely different sentience was speaking right now. It said that one of its Overdrive System was active. I decided that I needed to know more about this 'White Noise'...no...I needed to know more about this new and improved Ruukoto in general. As I pondered on how exactly I was going to do that, Louise dumbly nodded at the gynoid...probably too shocked with the display to resist...before holding out both her hands toward Ruukoto. The gynoid continued to smile warmly at Louise as it took both her hands and...

"Ooooww!" Louise suddenly screamed out as her face twisted in pain. On the other hand, Ruukoto simply maintained its warm smile as several streams of light ran across its eyes. It finally released Louise's hands and my master used this moment to walk back a few steps away from the gynoid. She looked at her hands before I felt a familiar spike of magic coming from her. Louise showed the palms of her hands to us, a small red dot at the center of each hand were visible.

"You hurt me!" My master roared at Ruukoto. The maid...the robot one...tilted its head to the side and placed a finger on its chin to indicate its confusion.

"I did not harm you Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re. I simply needed a blood sample for blood and DNA archiving as well as being able to introduce necessary nano-machines into your system." Ruukoto innocently said in the face of my master's accusations. A blood sample didn't seem too serious but...

"What do you mean by introducing nano-machines into Louise's body?" I asked it. Obviously, I wasn't particularly happy about Ruukoto suddenly injecting foreign substances into Louise's blood stream...especially machines...and my tone of voice made this clear.

"The nano-machines introduced into Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re's blood stream are non-harmful. They relay the mistress' vital signs and current location to me using an information transmission system developed by Professor S. Shirakawa which takes advantage of the fourth and tenth dimensions. Additionally, they are designed to perform micro-surgery and are able to repair any damaged or ruptured blood vessels to a degree to prevent internal bleeding. Do keep in mind that the scope of the nano-machines' ability to repair blood vessels are limited to small holes and cuts. Massive internal bleeding will be impossible to prevent if a major artery or too many blood vessels are compromised." It explained with a prim and proper smile. I nodded in understanding at all the benefits that those nano-machines just gave Louise. However...

"Understood. No need to call my master by her full name...Louise or Mistress should be enough. Also, do make it a point to consult us first before doing anything like altering my master's physiology...regardless of how minor or how beneficial it is." I informed it seriously, earning a nod from the gynoid.

"Acknowledged." It immediately responded with a warm smile.

"Yuka! What did that thing do to Louise?!" Matilda cut into our conversation. I turned to her and saw that she had her wand in her hand and was standing between Louise and Ruukoto.

"It wasn't anything harmful. Ruukoto simply needed a blood sample from Louise to register her as its new master. The nano-machines that were introduced into her body will provide up to date information about Louise's vital signs such as her heart rate, her blood pressure, her breathing, among other things. Those things will also constantly transmit Louise's location directly to Ruukoto, which will make it impossible for Louise to disappear without a trace. No matter where she is or where she's taken, we'll be able to find her. And lastly, those things will help close up any wounds that draw blood, making Louise harder to kill." I explained. Hopefully it was enough to satisfy both Louise and Matilda. Thankfully, the former thief lowered her wand and put it away after giving one last glare at Ruukoto.

"So, I'm not going to die, right?" Louise asked both me and the maid...the robot one...as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"You will not die by my hand, Mistress. I am your loyal servant from now on and will do everything in my power to ensure your safety and comfort." It said in parting before it closed its eyes one more time. The same while glow wrapped itself around its body, its energy signature lowering to its previous levels, before it opened its eyes again to reveal  Ruukoto's standard blood-red doll-like eyes.

"Fuga." Ruukoto said, once again adopting its previous speech pattern.

"Ugh! And here I thought we can understand it now..." Louise muttered after once again hearing nothing but 'Fuga' from the gynoid. I tapped Ruukoto on the shoulder, turning her attention to me, before leaning in close enough for me to whisper in its ear.

"I want detailed reports in all of your systems that can be disclosed without the need for any security confirmations. Power systems. Mechanics. Computer systems. Weapon systems. Special equipment and abilities. Everything." I stated before pulling back. The gynoid looked at me for a few moments as streams of light once again ran across its eyes.

"Fuga. Fuga?" I replied with a nod as it posed the question.

"I don't care how long it would take for you to write everything down. Make it happen." I insisted, earning another nod of acknowledgement from the gynoid.

...

[Blackraptor]

...

"I assume that I had missed a few things while I was back home?" Monmon asked as she greeted our treasure hunting party near the academy's entrance.

"Monmon~! I am so happy to finally see you again my love~!" Guiche immediately exclaimed as soon as he heard Monmon's voice and saw her after he got off the carriage he was in. The young man ran toward his lover, only to be completely ignored by her. Monmon didn't even acknowledge his presence and simply walked past him.

"Quite the ensemble you have here." Monmon commented as we got off from our respective carriages. Because of the added members of our little group, we had to hire two carriages instead of one in order to accommodate everyone. Louise, Matilda, Siesta, Ruukoto, and I were in the lead carriage while Tabitha, Kirche, Guiche, and Professor Colbert rode in the second carriage.

"It's good to see you again, Monmon. I missed you." Louise happily greeted her friend with a hug. Monmon returned the hug and told my master that she had missed her as well.

"Hey there, Montmorency! Did you bring us back anything nice?" Kirche suddenly cut in as she and Tabitha walked up to the blonde.

"Nothing for you, certainly." Monmon flatly declared, earning a shrug from the Germanian.

"Welcome back." Tabitha greeted with a nod before turning her attention back to her book.

"It's nice to see you too, Tabitha." Monmon regarded the Gallian.

"Ah, Miss Montmorency! Welcome back." Professor Colbert greeted his student.

"Professor." Monmon returned the greeting with a polite nod.

"Hello there, Miss Montmorency." It was Matilda's turn to greet Monmon and the young woman gave her a meek smile.

"Hello again, Miss Matilda. I'm really sorry about what happened before and..." Monmon said, once again apologizing for the whole Love Potion incident.

"Don't worry about it. I don't hold anything against you." Matilda assured Monmon, who gave out a sigh of relief. I looked around and noticed that Siesta had already left, likely gone back to the servants' wing to report in.

"Fuga?" Ruukoto's question snapped me from my thoughts. The maid...the robot one...stood beside me and was looking at the interaction between Louise, Matilda, and Monmon with about as much visible interest as it could.

"She's one of Louise's friends. You can put her on the 'do not kill' list." I stated, earning a nod from the gynoid. I made it a point to instruct the maid...the robot one...to make sure that it would never go hostile to any of Louise's friends or the people she trusted...the ones that got the okay from me anyway. The list would likely be updated once we meet Louise's family but that would be something to take care of some other time.

"Fuga." Ruukoto acknowledged the order with a nod. The girl in question glanced at me before smiling and walking up to me and the gynoid.

"Hello Mister Yuka." She greeted with a polite bow.

"Montmorency." I returned the greeting with a curt nod while foregoing the use of her nickname. She blushed at bit at the sudden change in the way I referred to her but she quickly recovered before turning her attention to the gynoid beside me.

"And this is?" She asked while nodding toward Ruukoto. Considering the gynoid's physical appearance, Monmon seemed to have come to the conclusion that this was no ordinary maid.

"Fuga." The gynoid in question greeted the blonde with a polite bow.

"Fuga? What does that mean? Is that her name?" Monmon asked me in confusion at both the strange word and the strange way Ruukoto conveyed it.

"This is Ruukoto. It was once a resident of my home realm. Due to various circumstances, it managed to find its way here. It is currently serving under Louise as a personal maid and assistant. The reason why it says 'Fuga' is because it is how it is heard by anyone who either did not come from my home realm or does not have the blood of anyone who came from my realm." I introduced the gynoid to Monmon. The blonde eyed Ruukoto carefully before turning back to me.

"So she's as strong as you are?" Monmon asked, earning a soft chuckle from me.

"I don't think so. Most of its combat capabilities have been locked down for safety purposes but it can still outclass any ordinary human as far as physical and mental prowess goes." I explained, earning a thoughtful hum from Monmon.

"Just as long as she doesn't cause harm Louise or anyone else..." Monmon muttered before nodding toward Ruukoto.

"It's nice to meet you, I am Montmorency Margarita la F?re de Montmorency." Monmon formally introduced herself to Ruukoto.

"Montmorency is fine by the way..." I told gynoid, who nodded in response. Monmon raised at brow at me for the addition that I made.

"It tends to regard anyone with their full name every time it talks to them of referrs to them unless you specify it to do otherwise." I provided, earning a tilted head from Monmon in addition to her raised brow.

"Why do you keep calling her 'it'? I understand that she's a commoner but there's no reason not to treat her as a human being. Don't make it look like she's some form of furniture." Monmon asked me the most common question about Ruukoto so far. I raised my own brow at the way Monmon quickly went to the defense of Ruukoto's human rights...misplaced as it was.

"Obviously, I don't treat it like a human because it isn't one. Ruukoto, R-Blade please." I instructed the gynoid with a knowing smile. It was easier to simply show her what Ruukoto was instead of once again delving into another detailed explanation.

"Fuga." The maid...the robot one...answered before raising her right hand and holding it out to the side.

R-Blade

A robotic but feminine voice declared, I was still unsure if it was Ruukoto's voice or something else since it was destorted enough to not be distinct, before the gynoid's right arm glowed white up to its elbow. Ruukoto's right arm reshaped itself into a double-edged blade that gave of a blue hue around the edges and the tip. It really looked like someone took out the gynoid's forearm and replaced it with a sword...minus the handle.

"What the founder is that?!" Monmon exclaimed while pointing at Ruukoto's R-Blade.

"It's Ruukoto's R-Blade, weren't you listening?" I flatly asked her. Monmon suddenly gave me one of those 'you know what I mean' looks before cautiously looking back to Ruukoto. It was at that moment that I noticed Guiche walking up to us after hearing Monmon's yell.

"Worry not, my love~! Ruukoto is completely loyal to Louise and would never harm any of her friends." Guiche declared while stepping in between Ruukoto and Monmon, showing just how safe it was by showing his back to the gynoid.

"Well?" Monmon asked me, completely ignoring Guiche once again.

"Ruukoto, Yuka, stop scaring Monmon." Louise suddenly cut in as she and Matilda approached us. Kirche, Tabitha, and Professor Colbert were already heading back inside the academy while the carriages we hired were already on their way back, leaving only us there. Louise eyed Ruukoto and I before settling her gaze on the R-Blade.

"Put that glowing arm blade thing away before you stab someone in the face." Louise growled at Ruukoto. The gynoid tilted her head to the side before lowering her right arm.

"Fuga Fuga." It said in response to my master's statement, earning a chuckle from me.

"And what seems to be so funny?" Louise asked me. I simply gave a shrug before responding.

"Ruukoto said that the probability of it accidentally stabbing someone in the face with R-Blade while it has full control over its body is astronomical. So much so that it would be far more likely for someone to die by getting stabbed to death with a wooden spoon." I provided, earning confused looks from everyone there...aside from Ruukoto of course.

"A spoon?" Matilda asked with a raised brow, possibly considering how such a thing would have been possible.

"Fuga." Ruukoto responded. Everyone looked at me expectantly as they waited for the translated version of the gynoid's reasoning.

"It's blunt. It would hurt more." I translated. Dead silence followed for a few more moments before Louise shook her head.

"Anyway, put that away. We're going back to my room." Louise said before walking back toward the academy with Matilda in tow.

"I'll come with you. I want to hear what happened while I was gone." Monmon said as she followed my master and her tutor.

"Go." I said to Ruukoto and it gave me a bow before following the three women.

"She's ignoring me...she's utterly ignoring me..." Guiche muttered in shock as he watched his lover walk away from him without even a single word. I was wondering if I should say something or simply walk away when Guiche decided for me.

"What do I do, Mister Yuka?!" Guiche suddenly yelled out in despair.

"I am really the very last one you should ask advice from when it comes to love..." I stated flatly.

"But...but...but...how can I patch things up with her if she won't even listen to me?!" Guiche asked me, completely ignoring my previous statement.

"Honestly, I don't really see why that is my problem. Figure it out for yourself, Guiche. Monmon should be at least worth that much to you." I said, reminding Guiche of our little talk before Louise and I left for Albion. It was then that I suddenly felt Derf stirring from its scabbard on my back. The sword emerged partially, just enough for it to be able to start talking.

"You should give her some space first. Going after her as soon as you two reunite will only remind her of the reason why she got mad at you in the first place." I raised a brow at the sudden input by Derf while Guiche simply gawked at it while blinking dumbly.

"Let her get settled in first. Let her get back into her usual routines. Approach her as a friend first and show her that you're more than just the damn playboy that was cheating on her for months on end. It will take a while, but if you really love her that much, it shouldn't be too hard." Derf continued its lecture with Guiche now listening intently. The young man suddenly furrowed his eyebrows before adopting a horrified look.

"I'm taking love advice from a talking sword..." He muttered at the realization on what was happening as he held his head in despair.

"Yes...how the mighty have fallen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll need to check on my master." I said disinterestedly before walking off, leaving the young man to his thoughts.

...

I climbed up the dormitory tower as I made my way back to Louise's room. I thought over what happened during our little treasure hunting trip while using my parasol as a walking stick. We didn't find any treasures during the trip per say. In fact, the only valuables we were able to get were those gold pieces and items that keep dropping off of those goblins whenever we killed them...most of which were simply junk. What we did find though...was Ruukoto. The gynoid's discovery was about as surprising as finding out that Siesta was a descendant of someone from Gensokyo. It didn't seem like her great grandfather had any youkai blood in him since her family's life spans seem to be those of regular humans. Regardless, I planed to have Ruukoto jot down as many things about it as it can possibly provide and give the information to Nitori for analysis. I wanted to know how much the gynoid has changed since the last I saw it and I want to know how to take advantage of any upgrades it had received while in the hands of that Uzuki woman. I was standing in front of Louise's door and was about to open it when...

"He did what?!" Monmon's outraged roar came from within Louise's room. I raised a brow at the sudden outburst and heard a few more things from Louise's friend.

"That bastard! You were entrusted to him by your families! He was supposed to be your husband-to-be! Your rock! Your absolute constant throughout everything that life will throw at you! And he...he...he...I'LL KILL THAT BASTARD!" Monmon continued to rant as she started to sound more and more like Louise when she was angry. I shook my head at the odd thought before opening the door. Louise, Monmon, and Matilda were seated at the table in Louise's room while enjoying one tea. Ruukoto was standing behind Louise like any capable maid would just in case that my master would need anything.

"I'm afraid that you're already too late in that regard." I suddenly cut in, turning everyone's attention to me...except for Ruukoto which continued its vigil behind Louise, which was understandable since it should have been able to sense my presence the moment I stepped in front of the door to Louise's room.

"I've already made sure that the late Viscount Wardes regretted what he did to Louise in the few precious seconds he had left before his life was extinguished in a rather creative way." I said while placing my parasol on Louise's desk and propping Derf up against the wall before taking my hat off.

"Are you sure?" Monmon asked with narrowed eyes. I chuckled before giving her a warm smile.

"Matilda requested that no quarter be given to that man. After what he did to both Matilda and Louise...I saw no reason to do so either. Believe me when I say that his final moments were moments no living human should ever experience." I stated with the same smile. Monmon nodded in approval since she already knows how fierce I can be. None of them have ever actually seen me truly lash out in anger...hopefully, none of them ever had to. I then noticed that Ruukoto was now looking at me intently as if it wanted to say something.

"Yes?" I asked it, prompting the gynoid to bow before speaking.

"Fuga. Fuga?" It asked me with a tilted head. Ah, right...I suppose that those things would be needed.

"Valid concerns indeed..." I muttered as I rubbed my chin with my right hand.

"Do you mind letting us in on your little conversation?" Louise drawled out while looking between us with a raised brow.

"I asked Ruukoto to compile as much information about it as possible. I wanted it to write it all out so I can give it to an acquaintance of mine who is well versed when it comes to advanced machinery like Ruukoto." I explained. I am, of course, talking about Nitori and the kappa. They did make the Hisoutensoku after all.

"And why would you want to do something like that?" Monmon asked me before sipping some tea.

"I want Ruukoto's specifications analyzed to know everything I can about it. The reason why is so we can take advantage of all of Ruukoto's capabilities and make absolutely certain that it will not pose any threat to Louise or anyone else she holds dear." I replied with a smile, making my master blush and fidget in her seat.

"Fuga." Ruukoto argued with a tone that sounded almost like it was offended.

"I understand that you already said that you wouldn't to anything to harm Louise. However, I don't want to take any chances. Besides, if there isn't anything to be afraid of, then you have nothing to worry about, right?" I posed the question and Ruukoto immediately nodded in agreement to the logic.

"So what is this whole thing about concerns?" Matilda asked, managing to pick out a critical point that I only muttered out loud.

"As I previously stated, I wanted Ruukoto to jot down detailed reports about all its functions, equipment, and abilities. That would mean that it would need something to write on and something to write with and...if what it says is true...it will need to lot of things to write on and to write with." I explained. Louise made a thoughtful sound while taking small sips from her tea.

"Maybe you can ask Professor Colbert about it. The two of you seem to get along well enough and he should be more than happy to help if it?s for the sake of learning more about Ruukoto." Louise suggested. 

"Yes, that could work." I agreed with a nod.

...

"How can it write that fast?" Colbert asked in complete disbelief as Ruukoto meticulously jotted down its specifications on the parchment that was provided for it, it even drew detailed diagrams and schematics for its more delicate or advanced systems. The good professor jumped at the chance to learn more about Ruukoto when I asked if he can provide writing material for the gynoid to take down its specifications. We were led to the academy library where Ruukoto requested to see the kind of material it will write on and write with. After being provided a page of parchment and a bottle of ink with a fine feather pen, the gynoid specifically requested five-hundred sleeves of parchment and one-hundred and twently-two bottles of ink and five spare feather pens. I believe that the professor's brain actually stopped for a few seconds when the gynoid made its extremely specific request. Colbert even had to ask permission from Headmaster Osmond to acquire the necessary materials and thankfully, the old man was more than willing to help out especially after he saw Ruukoto personally...even going so far as referring to the gynoid as a 'Gift of the Universe'. And so, it came to pass that Ruukoto was provided the materials it needed to take down its information. Matilda dropped by and voiced her interest in knowing more about the gynoid as well. As a golem user, I supposed that it was only natural for her to be curious as to how Ruukoto worked as it might give her ideas on how to improve her own golemcraft. I asked her where Louise was and Matilda said that she was still with Monmon and they were sharing stories about the various happenings while they were apart. It seemed that the two of them had become the best of friends without me even realizing it.

"Ruukoto already compiled all the information it wanted to take down, the only thing it needed is a way to do so. If you recall, I already told explained that it is superior to ordinary humans when it comes to physical prowess as well as information processing. This is simply that superiority being displayed." I answered. Colbert nodded in understanding before walking up behind the gynoid to observe just how it was accomplishing what it was doing. Matilda took this time to pick up one one of the leaves of parchment that had been completely packed with detailed information about the gynoid's power source, the Erde-Kaiser Sigma Type Seven engine...it even had a drawing of the engine itself on the upper left part of the parchment along with several equations that seem to have been put there to prove the validity of the use of that power source. The former thief stared at the parchment intently before grimacing, I raised a brow as to why. I leaned in closer and that was when I noticed something about what words written on it.

They were in English, not Halkeginian.

"I see that even you have yet to decipher the English written language." I quipped with a smirk. Matilda turned to me and nearly yelped in surprise at our apparent proximity. Thankfully, she refrained from voicing out her surprise. Instead, she simply took a half-step away from me before pouting...yes, pouting...at me while blushing. I ignored the little voice at the back of my head...which, oddly enough, sounded like Marisa's voice complete with a '~ze' at the end of its sentence...that commented on how cute Matilda looked at the time. There was silence between us for a few moments before Matilda looked back to the parchment in her hand and then back to me.

"What do you mean by the 'English' language? I've never heard of such a language before." Matilda inquired, foregoing her previous embarrassment to know more about what was written on the parchment in her hand.

"English is a language from the outside world of my home realm. It originated from an island country of England which is not unlike your Albion...of course, England isn't floating in the sky. The reason why Ruukoto is writing in English is likely because it is the most commonly accepted language in the outside world. Gensokyo used to use it a long time ago, but it was abolished by Yukari in favor on the now used 'Common Language' because too many beings were coming into the realm using too many different languages. No one could understand what each other was saying. In the end, Yukari simply shifted the border of Languages so that anyone who came into Gensokyo could understand anyone else regardless of their native language." I explained. Matilda nodded in understanding before her expression darkened a bit.

"That Yukari seems to be quite powerful to be able to do something like that..." Matilda muttered to herself while staring at the specifications for the Erde-Kaiser Sigma Type Seven engine with a frown. I sighed before looking at the many bookshelves that lined the library. It wasn't as extensive as the libraries of the Scarlet Devil Mansion or the Yama's Archives but it seemed...adequate for the needs of school children.

"Yes, she is. Yukari is one of the handful of beings that can fight me to a standstill when I go full tilt. Although, it has been a very long time since I have been able to unleash that much power." I admitted with a chuckle as I reminisced about the days when the spell card rules weren't established yet.

"Do you miss it? Your home realm, I mean." The former thief asked me in a subdued voice. I gave a shrug before answering.

"Not really. I've lived in Gensokyo ever since I was born a youkai sixteen-hundred years ago. I've seen everything there is to see in that realm. The Hakurei Shrine, The Scarlet Devil Mansion, my own Garden of the Sun, the various human villages that have spread out over the centuries, the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, the eternal mansion Eientei, Youkai Mountain, the Forest of Magic, the Netherworld, the Temple of the Earth Spirits, the youkai village Mayohiga, the Hell of Blazing Fires, the heavenly realm of Bhava-Agra, the demon realm of Makai, the Lunarian capital on the dark side of the moon. If its in Gensokyo or connected to it, chances are I've already been there. Besides, it would be rather embarrassing for me to suddenly get homesick after I wished for a significant change in my life." I answered with a wry smile. Matilda stared at me for a few moments before tilting her head to the side.

"A significant change?" Matilda asked.

"Yes. As it stood, my life was rather boring before Louise summoned me. Nothing new was happening and I wished for something radically different to happen in my life. Interestingly enough, three changes did happen to me. Location, responsibility, and gender. Unexpected changes all around but I find the current experience quite novel." I replied. I then noticed that both Matilda and Professor Colbert were looking at me with expressions that gave off varying degrees of 'what did you just say?'

"Umm...I may have heard wrong but...did you say gender?" Colbert asked me with apprehension. I blinked at them a few times and the only sounds that can be heard in the library were Ruukoto's writing.

"Oh yes, you still don't know. I used to be a woman before Louise summoned me." I admitted and Professor Colbert suddenly looked at me with renewed shock and confusion. I tilted my head to the side in wonder when I suddenly heard a loud thumping sound to my side. I turned and saw Matilda on the floor, unconscious.

"...Matilda?"

...

?You?re kidding me?? Yukari voiced her disbelief after I explained to her and to Cirno what we found near Tarbes. I took Matilda back to Louise?s room after she fainted, she didn?t seem to have taken the news of my genderbending nearly as well as Louise previously had. When I arrived, Louise was already by herself and was talking to Derf about the Founder?s Prayer Book and how to pry out more spells from it. When Louise asked what happened, I simply told her the truth and was rewarded with Louise calling me an idiot for not understanding a woman?s heart even though I was previously a woman myself. In the end, I set Matilda down on Louise?s bed and headed back to the library to check up on Ruukoto. By the time the sun had set, Professor Colbert has offered to provide us reading lamps to allow the gynoid to continue its work without interruption from the lack of light. It was at that time that Ruukoto pointed to one of the leaves of parchment that it had already finished writing. I picked it up and scanned through it to find that the gynoid apparently had five different vision modes that allowed it to see through nearly every spectrum of light. Naturally, night vision came as standard so it didn?t really need a lamp to continue its work. I explained that tidbit to Colbert and he became even more amazed with Ruukoto than he already was. Although, judging from the sheer amount of material Ruukoto was taking down, it looked like the little robot maid that everyone forgot about had a lot of new things to amaze others with. Ruukoto managed to finish everything just as the clock turned midnight. We organized the reports and I guided it to the academy garden and into the door I made to be able to access Mugenkan. I still have my policy about not letting humans into my dream realm, aside from Louise of course, but Ruukoto was far from being a human so I allowed it inside if only to prove a point to anyone who wouldn?t believe my story?like now, for instance.

?So you?re telling us that Reimu used to own a Nuclear-Powered Robot Maid but she lost it and never bothered to look for it ever again. Five-hundred years later, you find it in a hidden Aircraft Hangar that had a protection enchantment that you couldn?t muscle through. You find the Robot Maid and it turns out that it had all sorts of awesome upgrades and is now sworn to service under Louise, right?? Cirno asked for verification after she plotted out most of the important points on the subject.

?A rather abridged assessment, but yes.? I responded. Yukari and Cirno looked at each other for a few moments before turning back to me.

?Pics or it didn?t happen.? Cirno challenged before folding her arms and leaning back. I responded with a smile that Cirno should have recognized as the smile I use when I have successfully suckered someone into a situation that completely favors me.

?Oh, I?ll do you one better. Ruukoto.? I called out to the maid and it walked out from the sea of sunflowers behind me with her reports in hand.

?Lily White on a stick! It?s true!? Cirno exclaimed as she quickly walked up to the gynoid before looking studying its features.

?I don?t believe it. It?s really her?? Yukari muttered. I walked up to Yukari and gave her a knowing smile.

?You were the one who caused her disappearance from Gensokyo in the first place, weren?t you?? I asked her, even though I already knew the answer.

?What ever makes you say that?? Yukari asked coyly as she opened her fan to cover the lower part of her face with.

?The only one in Gensokyo at the time that could do anything like making someone or something drop off the realm completely without a trace is you. What I want to know is why you wanted to get rid of it in the first place? From what I remember, it was quite helpful to Reimu back when it was still in her employ.? I said as we watched Ruukoto and Cirno introduce themselves to each other.

?Ruukoto was too dangerous to keep. When I found out what its power source could do if it went nuts?I couldn?t take that chance.? Yukari answered. I guess that was fair. If Ruukoto?s original Nuclear Reactor blew up, most of Gensokyo might have been completely destroyed and rendered uninhabitable for centuries.

?Well, I have good news for you. It does not use the same power source anymore.? I provided to the border youkai while giving her a measured glance.

?And how is it powered now? Magic?? Yukari asked me and all I could do was shrug.

?I don?t believe so. It says that it has something called an Erde-Kaiser Sigma Type Seven engine. I have no idea what that is and that?s the reason for that large bundle of parchment in its hands.? I answered while pointing at the gynoid and what it was carrying.

?You made it write down all its specifications. You want someone who actually knows something about that kind of thing to give it a once over. What brought on such a move from you?? Yukari asked me after correctly deducing the reason for all the parchment.

?Like you, I don?t want to take any chances. If it?s completely safe, I want to know what Ruukoto can do which would benefit Louise. Regardless, could you pass the reports on to Nitori? And make sure she doesn?t get any ideas about making her own robot maids. The last thing you need is another Maid Revolt.? I said with a chuckle when I remembered that particular incident. Thanks to that, Remilia has been giving more respect toward her maids without having to go through bouts of charisma breaking tantrums.

?I?ll have Chen pass it along.? She said with a smile before looking around.

?But Louise is taking her sweet time to get here. Is she still awake?? Yukari asked me.

?I?m not sure, I never went back to her room. I immediately came here with Ruukoto after it finished writing its reports.? I said while rubbing my chin with my hand.

?Hey, don?t tell me Louise is missing again.? Cirno said with annoyance as she and Ruukoto approached us. My former student had actually originally requested for me to bring her to Halkeginia after Louise was kidnapped by Wardes so she could dispense, quote, ?Cold Justice? on Louise?s then fianc?. I turned her down after stating that it was my fault that Wardes managed to take Louise without my knowledge so it was my responsibility to get her back. Cirno backed off but she still seemed to be sensitive about the safety of her junior.

?I don?t think so. Ruukoto, can you tell me Louise?s current location?? I asked the gynoid and it nodded once before several streams of light ran across its eyes.

?What?s it doing?? Cirno asked with a tilted head in curiosity.

?Ruukoto had injected Louise with a package of nano-machines that monitor her vital signs as well as provide minor first aid and relay my master?s location directly to it. I want to know if it can still track Louise even though we are currently not in Halkeginia anymore.? I explained while nodding toward Ruukoto.

?You let it inject thrice-be-damned nano-machines into Louise?? Cirno asked me with a bit on an edge in her voice. I raised a brow at the sudden shift in her demeanor but I shrugged it off and answered her question.

?It was sudden and it was part of the ritual for Ruukoto to recognize Louise as its new master. Why? Do you have something against nano-machines?? I asked Cirno, who looked at me with a startled expression before grimacing and shaking her head.

?It?s a long story?? The ice fairy said without any indication that she would tell that long story. I turned to Yukari for an answer but the border youkai shut her mouth and made a gesture with her hand that looked like she was locking her mouth with a key before throwing said key away. My lips are sealed, eh? I decided not to press the matter if Cirno really didn?t want to talk about it. After a few moments, the gynoid?s eyes lost the streaming lights and it nodded to me one more time before delivering its report.

?Fuga.? Ruukoto stated. So Louise was still in her room at the academy dorms and her vitals suggested that she was sound asleep, that?s good to know. I guess that this was just one of those nights when she simply did not show up.

?Are you sure about that? Technically, you?re not even in that realm anymore. How can we trust your words?? Cirno asked skeptically as she folded her arms before leaning back. It was a natural question from my former student. Ruukoto normally should not be able to send or receive information to and from Halkeginia and Mugenkan. If it did manage that, it would mean that it had a system that could bypass the dimensional border between realms.

?Fuga Fuga.? Ahh?I get it now.

The nano-machines introduced into Louise Fran?oise le Blanc de la Valli?re's blood stream are non-harmful. They relay the mistress' vital signs and current location to me using an information transmission system developed by Professor S. Shirakawa which takes advantage of the fourth and tenth dimensions.

Ruukoto?s words from when I first asked about the nano-machines echoed in my mind. So it seems that the transmission of information between Ruukoto and its nano-machines can bypass dimensional barriers because they use a completely different set of dimensional values to exchange information. Quite an innovation?S. Uzuki and S. Shirakawa?quite the minds those two had.

?I didn?t understand half of all that science-y mumbo-jumbo that it said. Can we have Nitori have a look at it and give us a more layman?s version of the explanation?? Cirno asked me with a pained expression. It seemed that my former student did not have advanced robotics or interdimensional quantum physics as her strengths.

?That?s what the paperwork is for, Cirno. I?ve asked Ruukoto to take down as much information about itself so Nitori can analyze it in Gensokyo.? I explained. Cirno eyed the bundle of parchment in Ruukoto?s hands and nodded in understanding.

?Got it. I?m assuming that you want me to keep an eye on Nitori while she goes through all that information?? Cirno asked me with a smirk?one that I returned.

?Always fast on the uptake. Yes, I want you to make sure that the kappa won?t start building their own versions of Ruukoto using its specifications.? I instructed, earning a laugh from the ice fairy.

?I swear?if Nitori does make one, I have a sneaking suspicion that she?s gonna name it Skynet or something.? Cirno said while shaking her head. Good, this means that both Chen and Cirno will be making sure that Nitori doesn?t do anything silly in the name of SCIENCE.

As we continued to converse about Ruukoto and the various happenings back in Gensokyo, I kept having a nagging feeling at the back of my head. It was as if I was forgetting something very important that I needed to check on soon.

Oh well?I?m sure it isn?t anything pressing.

?

Agn?s Chevalier de Milan, Captain of the Musketeer Squadron under the personal use of Princess Henrietta de Tristain was currently hurrying to her direct superior?s personal chambers. Normally, such a thing would be an act of treason, especially for a commoner like herself. However, the young woman?s strode across the halls of the castle with determination and purpose. She was personally chosen by her Princess to lead the new squadron of knights that consisted entirely of commoners and had no magic potential to speak of. The decision was largely frowned upon by the nobility, thus giving her squadron a stigma among knights as nothing more than a ?pet project? by the upstart princess. To be tested, used, and discarded when the time came. Agn?s didn?t give a damn about what the rest of the nobility thought about her and her subordinates. All she cares about was that the princess pulled her out of a pit of absolute despair and gave her life new meaning. She still had her own business to deal with eventually but that will not stop her from serving her country as best as she could.

The people must do everything for their country. The country must to everything for its people.

?Your Highness, it?s me.? Agn?s called out after knocking on the door six times as she always did. She waited for several tense moments for her liege to answer, the report under her left arm felt heavier and heavier as the seconds passed.

?Agn?s? Yes, you may enter.? Henrietta stated in her usual tone of voice.

?Please excuse me.? The young woman stated before entering. She had short blonde hair with trimmed bangs to prevent it from getting in the way of her aim. She had sharp green eyes that bore years of pain and hatred but also bore determination and loyalty. Her thin frame gave her a distinct feminine feel but it was usually overshadowed by her standard lightweight armor that she and her squadron utilized for quick, precision movements during battle. Her white cloak bore the unique standard of the musketeer squadron. It bore the weight of responsibility as well as the honor and the privilege of serving directly under her princess. Her no-nonsense demeanor didn?t even flinch as she saw her princess casually drinking tea with Prince Wales Tudor. Only she and a handful of others in the palace actually knew that the exiled Albion prince was hiding in Tristain. Unfortunately, it seemed that they weren?t the only ones who knew about it.

?Is something wrong?? Henrietta asked with worry. The Chevalier reprimanded herself for letting her emotion slip through her mask of professionalism. Agn?s took a breath before offering the sealed envelope that contained most dire news.

?The Albion Fleet was spotted leaving nearly every military port they had and are currently on course for the village of Tarbes. Your Highness?I think?Albion just declared war.? The young captain said with a grim tone. She wasn?t sure if it was the news itself or the tone of voice she used but?her usually flawless princess suddenly dropped her cup of tea on her royal dress and she didn?t even seem to notice it.

?

[Kips McKipzerson]

Double update? Fuck year.

Anyways what scares me is that I got every reference in these last two updates, Keep up the good work. Also Agnes is amazing.

[beaver1231]

Is S. Shirakawa the man I think he is?

[CrowCakes]

S. Uzuki... along with the other references I'm picking up, this is getting... funny? :V

[Blackraptor]

Author?s Notes: The good news is that I?ve finished Yakuza 4. Awesome game by the way, Akiyama is awesome. The other side of the coin is that the chapter itself is still in the works. This update is another interlude that I thought up while I was playing Pokemon Black. The point of this omake is to give a prologue to the Tarbes invasion as well as to do a test run on how well I could write a multi-perspective battle with several characters at once. Please give your opinions on how well I did and if you have any criticisms or suggestions on how to improve a sequence like that, please voice them as they will go a long way to improving the battle in the next chapter.

Anyway, I?d tell you more about how I structured the battle on the next chapter but I?d be giving too much away, just wait and see. For now, I provide this little omake starring the remaining members of Wardes? old squadron. I always wondered what became of the squad that he led back in the Griffin Knights Corps after he betrayed his country. I decided to write about them and this is the result.

...

The Sixty-Sixth Griffin Knight Squadron of the Sixth Fleet of the Kingdom of Tristain fell into question and ridicule after what happened to their former Captain Wardes. The official report was that he died in the line of duty fulfilling a secret mission for Princess Henrietta. Of course, the rumor mill had other things to say about that.

Wardes defected to Albion!

The Captain of the Sixty-Sixth tried to secretly assassinate the Prince of Albion in order to curry favor to the current King of Albion!

Wardes was a traitor to our Kingdom!

The entire Sixty-Sixth are all probably traitors as well!

They should all be discharged and exiled before they bring any more shame to the Griffin Knights!

Obviously, their superiors and other high-ranking nobles got wind of this and decided to go along with the rumors as a way to 'pacify' the rest of the enlisted men. Because of this, the Sixty-Sixth was very nearly disbanded. The loyal knights that were once known as the 'Winds of Tristain', the promising young men who were said to have been the successors to the legendary 'Manticore Knights of the Heavy Wind', were either discharged or reassigned to different posts...usually far less grander than what they used to have. And now...now there were only six of them left. Six out of the once fifteen strong Sixty-Sixth Squadron. Those who remained wore their newfound stigma grimly but they refused to let all their hard work and sacrifice to be washed away because of the actions of one man, even if he was their Captain.

After pulling a few favors with families that they had good ties with, the former Second-in-Command and current Captain of the Sixty-Sixth managed to prevent the complete liquidation of the squadron in exchange for them being relegated to border patrol duty. The newly minted Captain Hans Solan Millennius de Falcone personally took the lead in their daily patrols across the northern border of Tristain...the part nearest to Albion. What's more is that they were the only squadron assigned to that little patch of border, so there weren't any other ships or squadrons for miles.

All of them knew that this was a test from their superiors. If they really were the traitors that they were accused of being, then they would use that chance to run to Albion and thusly be charged with treason and become fugitives for the rest of their days. If they were still loyal to Tristain then they would do their jobs well. In the event of an Albion invasion, they would have to face off against everything the enemy threw at them without any immediate reinforcements. If they stood their ground and fought...and died...then they will be considered as heroes and the honor of the Sixty-Sixth would be restored.

"For all the good that'll do if there isn't a Sixty-Sixth anymore..." Griffin Knight Charles Casval la Fontaine drawled out as he maintained formation to the left of their Captain. Charles or 'Char' was a very promising young knight in his early twenties who graduated second in his class back in the prestigious Tristain Magic Academy before enlisting along with his familiar, Quattro, the very Griffin he was riding on. Char was a legend in the Tristain Magic Academy for being the second best in the entire class even though he was only a Line-Class Wind Mage, with the rest of the top-ten graduates being all Triangle-Class Mages or higher.

His Griffin also became famous amongst the knights for the reddish sheen of its feathers and the fact that it was approximately three times faster than standard Griffins when flying at high-speeds. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes, typical traits in his family. He was wearing standard Griffin Knight equipment like the rest of his squadron, their emblem -The Growling Hell Hound- emblazoned on his cape. It was more stylish than practical as the most protection their clothing provided was the leather vest that their former Captain Wardes insisted that they all wear. 'Some protection is better than no protection' was his exact words.

Char was originally arranged to be wed to the beautiful Cattleya Yvette La Baume Le Blanc de La Valliere in three years. Of course, after what his Captain allegedly did, that will likely be annulled considering Captain Wardes was the fiance of Cattleya's younger sister. Char was neither for nor against to the arranged marriage. He had only met Cattleya once of twice in their whole lives and he fond her very likable but he was on the fence on his feelings toward the woman.

"We either die as heroes or live the rest of our lives as villains. Captain Wardes really gave us one hell of a going away present." Griffin Knight Stephan Alexander de Morris or simply 'Stephan' added with a shake of his head. Like Char, Stephan attended the Tristain Magic Academy before enlisting and was of the same age as his squadmate. He and Char attended school together and he managed to earn top-of-class honors with his friend taking second...if only barely.

He insisted on becoming a Griffin Knight even though he was a Triangle-Class Water Mage who was more talented at healing and misdirection rather than straight combat. He was a few inches taller than Char was and had cropped chestnut colored hair and green eyes. His face and body structure had a certain sense of ruggedness that one would not normally attribute to a Water Mage. Like Char, he was wearing a standard Griffin Knight uniform, the leather vest that they all had made him look even more rugged than he already was.

"Stow it guys. Complaining about it won't make the problem go away. As it stands, we just have to continue doing our job until the generals give us the green light to return to regular service. Invasion or not, I don't really plan on dying any time soon." Griffin Knight and current Second-in-Command James Terrance la Raynore or 'Trombe' laid out the reality for the rest of them. Trombe was an adopted son of the la Raynore clan and was the third oldest sibling in his family.

Due to various circumstances, he had to be put up for adoption after his real family -Germanian- disowned him for reasons known only by his biological father. He was home schooled by a private instructor in both academics and magic because his parents didn't want anyone finding out his true heritage at the time. His teacher was strict, inhumanly so. He heard that she originally didn't want to teach him because she would simply be wasting her time when she could be raising her daughters instead. For better or for worse, his step-mother was able to convince his instructor to continue teaching him until he was able to graduate after he turned twenty around six years ago. The first and last graduate of the private Karin Desiree la Valliere school of hard knocks and a proud Square-Class Wind Mage.

His nickname stemmed from the fact that he was a powerful wind mage that matched their former Captain in raw power, it also helped that they were both trained by the same person. The word 'Trombe' was Germanian for 'Tornado', Trombe's favorite kind of wind magic. It had originally been a joke but somehow the nickname stuck and he carried it ever since. He had long black hair that reached to his back and black eyes. His brownish skin betrayed his Germanian descent but no one in the unit ever gave him a hard time about it.

"No one ever plans on dying on the day they do." Griffin Knight Lawrence Masters de Foulke or 'Larry' shot back, earning a glare from his squadmate. Larry was originally a famed mercenary that went by the nickname of 'Solo-Wing' because he was a Triangle-Class Wind Mage that always worked alone. He became famous during the border skirmishes between Tristain and Germania, having even fought Wardes and their current Captain on multiple occasions.

He was already in his early thirties but was still as sharp and as deadly as he was back then. He was defeated by Wardes during a failed ambush attempt and was slated to be executed until the man who defeated him asked if he wanted to join a squadron he was forming instead. He, his current Captain, and Wardes were the founding members of the Sixty-Sixth.

He had wavy chestnut hair that was parted in the middle and he had amber eyes that spoke of many years of combat experience. Wardes' choice of bringing him into the Griffin Knights was met with much disapproval from his superiors and peers but all the man said was that 'this guy would work better as an ally than as a potential enemy'. Larry had to go through a rigorous screening process as well as training to become a Griffin Knight. It wasn't an easy thing to do since he was already much older than the other cadets were when he started his training. In the end though, he passed and the rest was history.

"....." Griffin Knight Lyner Alec la Pyrean or 'Red' simply remained quiet and chose to study the surrounding airspace. Red was the newest addition to the squadron before Wardes suddenly dropped off the map and was thought to have betrayed the whole country. The young man looked up to Wardes as a hero back when he was still at the military academy. The final student of 'The Heavy Wind' was thought to have been the best of the legendary Manticore Knight's apprentices and Red wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps and become a legendary flame mage amongst the Griffin Knights.

It wasn't easy for him though. He was still fresh from graduating from the Tristain Magic Academy two years ago and was barely out of military training before he was assigned to the Sixty-Sixth. He had mediocre grades and was only a Line-Class Fire Mage but he was so frighteningly skilled at riding his mount that rumors state that Captain Wardes himself requested that he was to be transferred to the squadron. Unlike the others that either summoned their mounts as familiars or was provided them by the military, Red actually captured and tamed his mount...or so the story went.

The young man wanted to be the very best, like no one ever was. Capturing his Griffin was his true test, to train it was his cause.

Because of the training he did with his Griffin, his control of it was second to none. Red had dark red hair that reached his shoulders, with his eyes matching his hair color, his nickname was a no-brainer to come up with.

"Stay focused and do your jobs. We're in deep enough as it is and we can't afford to screw up. Everything we say and do will be used against us and the only way for us to survive with our squadron and our honor intact is to make sure that they don't have anything to use against us. Buckle down and ride out the storm, gentlemen. The Sixty-Sixth will rise again!" Captain Hans Solan Millennius de Falcone or 'Scarface' yelled out from the front of the formation. The current Captain of the Sixty-Sixth was a close friend of Wardes back during their school days. They were rivals of sorts that always tried to one up one another but it was all friendly competition to motivate each other to strive harder to succeed.

Larry was the one responsible for Scarface's nickname after he took a razor wind spell in the face during an ambush by the then 'Solo-Wing'. Scarface was able to survive thanks to his comrades as Wardes expertly defeated the mercenary in single combat but he still came away with a large scar that ran from his right eyebrow to his left cheek. He short brown hair, blue eyes, and was clean shaven...basically the opposite of Wardes' image. The sudden disappearance and alleged betrayal of his long-time friend hit Scarface the hardest. Even though Wardes was always the better man when it came to many things, including magic since Scarface was only a Triangle-Class Wind Mage compared to Wardes being a Square-Class Wind Mage, he never felt that he was inferior to his former Captain.

He always had a way of bringing his squadron together and getting the best results out of all of them, he was the best and his squadron was the best as well.

So why? Scarface thought before taking a deep breath and discarding the thought. It didn't matter anymore. Whether or not Wardes really betrayed the crown will not change the fact that the Sixty-Sixth was in dire straights and it fell to him to do something about it.

"Hey boss, you should see this." Stephan called out to his Captain, getting the attention of the rest of the squadron. Scarface turned back to his squadmate and found that he was pointing at something to the right of their formation in the distance. The Knight Captain strained his vision and saw a single small shape breaking through the cloud cover. It was flying fast...and it was headed right at them.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Char voiced out from behind Stephan. Everyone else felt the same way. Whoever it was that was headed for them, he or she was coming from the direction of Albion. Scarface clenched his jaw as he entertained the thought that it could be Wardes heading back to Tristain after accomplishing whatever secret mission was assigned to him. That thought was quickly silenced as he noted that it wasn't a Griffin headed their way. It was a Dragon...a Wind Dragon.

"Heads up and stay alert! Hold your ground and prepare for intercept protocols! If that guy so much as twitches the wrong way, I want him grounded through any means necessary!" Scarface barked out as he led the formation to intercept the oncoming Wind Dragon and its rider. Red suddenly widened his eyes as he realized something.

"The rider and the mount are injured!" He yelled out from behind. If the rider and the mount were wounded and were still flying at that speed, it could either mean that they were escaping or being pursued. The answer to that made itself apparent when a very large military ship broke out from the cloud cover that the mystery rider came from.

"Shit! It's an Albion ship!" Larry yelled out after seeing the emblem on the sails. A few seconds later, about a dozen Fire Dragon Knights flew in formation around the ship...escorts.

"I think that the Wind Dragon is the least of our worries." Trombe mused casually. As if facing off against a squadron of Dragon Knights and an Albion Battleship wasn't something to panic about.

"Char! Secure the Wind Dragon and get its rider to safer skies! The rest of you, we're flying cover! Let's go!" Scarface gave the order and the entire squadron suddenly kicked into motion. Char and his Griffin displayed their speed as Quattro pulled ahead of everyone else and headed right to the pursued Wind Dragon. The Albion Fire Dragon Knights noticed the sudden advance and quickly broke from their formation with their ship to intercept the speedy Griffin.

"Cover Char!" Scarface barked out as he pulled out his wand, Trombe and Larry following his example, while Red and Stephan hung back. The three Wind Mages did their incantations and let loose three tornadoes that screamed past Char and the Wind Dragon and straight into the Fire Dragon Knight formation. The Fire Dragons were nowhere near as maneuverable as a Griffin or as a Wind Dragon, but the tornado spells were sent out far enough for them to avoid getting hit. That was the point though as Scarface wanted Char to secure the pursued rider and get him into Tristain hands. Whoever it was, he was important enough for Albion to send out a ship and a squadron of Fire Dragon Knights over the pond just to take him down.

"Break and run interference! Char and the Wind Dragon are the top priorities!" Scarface barked before the entire squadron broke off from each other to begin their mission. Buy time.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Char asked the rider as he pulled up next to the injured Wind Dragon. The poor thing didn't look like it will be able to make it to a Tristain base before falling out of the sky. The blue dragon had scorch marks all over its body and its wings even had some arrows stuck to it. Char shook his head and shook the rider's shoulders. The rider looked up at him and he gasped in surprise. It was a woman, middle aged and definitely not the type to ride on a Wind Dragon. She had brown hair that was fixed up into a fine updo. Her eyes, complexion, and clothing outside the brown cloak she was using as a cover from the wind indicated that she was at least a noble.

"Your Highness...?" The woman asked him with tired eyes.

Your Highness? Char asked himself in confusion. Further inquiry was put on hold as the Wind Dragon suddenly convulsed before its left wing went completely limp. The creature cried out in pain, its death wails made obvious to anyone who could hear.

"This is bad!" Char declared as he maneuvered Quattro to match the descent of the injured dragon. Hopefully, the others could keep the enemy off of him long enough to transfer this woman to his Griffin without making her fall off.

...

"I'm assuming this means Albion isn't going to play nice anymore?" Larry asked the two Fire Dragon Knights who were hot on his tail.

The former mercenary banked left and right to avoid getting hit by the flames of the two dragons. The fact that the knights themselves weren't belting out spells either meant that they didn't have any spells that would work in high speed aerial battles or they were holding back.

"Either way, I'm a lot more pragmatic about fights." Larry muttered to himself as he took out his wand again. He pointed hit over his shoulder and cast a razor wind spell blind. He didn't expect to hit anyone but it should be enough to get some distance between him and his pursuers.

He looked back and found that the knights split off and one of them was above his plane of flight while the other was to his right. Both knights seemed to be unharmed but were still a comfortable distance away from him.

Larry decided that it was time to use an old trick he learned from his old Captain. He gestured his Griffin to ease right before climbing steep. The Fire Dragons followed him but they simply didn't have the speed to keep up. Once a good enough distance was established, Larry pointed his wand to behind him as he chanted another spell. Instead of letting loose another attack spell, he maneuvered his Griffin into a summersault before barrel-rolling to get their bearings straight.

Larry let loose his spell, which was still pointed behind him. A powerful gust spell propelled him and his Griffin forwards at a speed that would normally be reserved for Quattro, with the Griffin tucked its wings to gain more speed for the attack. Larry went right at one of the knights, who was trying to take evasive action against the sudden turn of events, before putting away his wand in exchange for his sword-wand. Larry never liked using a sword-wand, too heavy for his tastes to use as a foci for spells.

He did appreciate the 'sword' part of it though. Larry showed just how much by slicing the Fire Dragon across its right wing, clipping the beast and rendering much slower that it once was. This was the fighting style of the Sixty-Sixth, the style that Wardes pounded into their heads. Pure Pragmatism.

Dead men's words hold no meaning on the battlefield.

The Sixty-Sixth did not fight to win. They fight to survive and fight again. That way of thinking was the reason why their squadron had the lowest casualty rate of any squadron in any branch of the Tristain military. Their way is to fight to survive. Incidentally, they needed to make sure that their enemies were rendered helpless for them to do just that. Their main way of doing so in tactical combat against other airborne units like themselves was to disable the mounts. The rider is secondary, take out the thing being ridden on first.

They used that style to much success, though some view it as being cowardly and not honorable enough for the battlefield. That was fine with them. It didn?ft matter if their methods were cowardly. They live, the enemy dies, Tristain remains safe. That was all that mattered. However, something didn't sit well with Larry. These knights were surprisingly good. Even with slower Fire Dragons, they were still the ones doing the pursuing instead of the other way around. The fact that they were up against such skilled knights meant one thing.

This wasn't a mere pursuit mission.

"Hey! Do you mind?! I'm contemplating here!" Larry yelled out after a jet of flame rushed past him. He looked back and saw that the Fire Dragon that he managed to clip was trailing back so that meant that the fight was now one on one.

"Time to see how good you really are." The former mercenary muttered with a smile before sending his Griffin into a steep rolling dive. Larry tucked his body as close to his mount's back as he could.

After five more seconds of this, he broke left. The Griffin's wings spreading out to catch as much air as it could to facilitate the turn. Larry glanced back and noted that the knight that was still on him was barely keeping up. The greater weight and bulk of the Fire Dragon made it much harder to perform acrobatics at this speed. Larry kept this up for one reason, to get behind the Fire Dragon.

Larry led his mount into a rolling turn to the left before climbing up and breaking right. The distance between him and the pursuing knight was getting wider and wider. The difference was that he was starting to get closer and closer to chasing the tail of the Fire Dragon instead of the other way around.

That was when he saw a jet of flame coming right at him from the upper left corner of his vision.

"Oh right...I forgot about the other one." Larry remarked before rolling away from the sneak attack.

...

"Guh!" Red grunted as he forced his Griffin into a tight turn to avoid another jet of flame coming from one of the dragons that was chasing him.

He was originally only being pursued by one of the knights when he noticed that another two of them were headed straight toward Char. He threw out a fireball from above the two knights, hoping to catch one of them off guard. Unfortunately, they were a lot more alert than he thought. He drove his Griffin past them but it only served to make him their target instead.

So now, he was being pursued by not one but three Albion Fire Dragon Knights. Several gouts of flame kept missing him and his Griffin by only a couple of feet. Red could literally feel the heat as the flames flew by. It was only thanks to his skill at maneuvering his Griffin that he was able to last this long. However, it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake or one of the dragons gets a lucky hit in. He had to somehow get behind them or take one of them out.

"Dammit!" The young Griffin Knight cursed as he twisted his body around and pointed his wand at his pursuers. The knights quickly broke away from his line of fire just as he let out another fireball from his wand.

Red cursed under his breath once again before turning back and putting his wand away. He won't be able to take them out with his magic because he would need to turn around and aim first, more than enough time for his pursuers to get out of the way. He couldn't use his sword-wand because of the same reason. He had to find a way to shake them off!

He looked around his immediate airspace for anything he could use. He saw the rest of his squadron holding off their own pursuers but he couldn't think much about it as another jet of flame flew past him. Red clenched his jaw and focused on making precision movements instead of buzzing around like a fly. It would slow him down but it would lower the chance of him overshooting his movement and flying right into enemy fire.

He once again looked around for anything he could use and have a silent prayer of thanks when he saw something that he could use. A large cloud rolled in a few hundred yards above him to his left. He maneuvered his Griffin to get inside the cloud cover as fast as it could. The flame attacks became more frequent as the Albion knights realized what he was trying to do.

Red was able to get into the cloud though and he quickly moved within it before diving down and moving back to the point where he originally entered the cloud from. As expected, his pursuers got into the cloud and started firing all over the place to flush him out. Red drew out his sword-wand and prepared to rush at the first knight that comes out of the cloud.

He hit pay dirt as one of the knights flew out of the cloud before stopping mid-air to get his bearings back. Blaze used this chance to rush forward to attack the knight at close range. He saw the knight turn to him in surprise as he was about to swing his sword-wand to take out the dragon's wing.

That was when two jets of flame came out from within the cloud.

"Shiiiit!" Red cursed as he abruptly abandoned his attack and focused on evading. He barrel rolled away from the jets of flame and also narrowly avoided the sword of the knight he originally intended to attack. It was a trap.

"These guys are good..." The young Griffin Knight muttered as the chase resumed once again. Red knew that he'd get another chance at it. He just needed to stay alive.

Just stay alive!

Red made his mount bob and weave its way though the constant assault by the Fire Dragons. The young knight was so focused on making sure not to get hit by the flames that he didn't notice that he was slowing down too much in the process. Red's eyes went wide when to glanced back to the knights and saw that they were only a couple of hundred yards away from him.

"Dammit! Why the hell did I make such a rookie mistake?!" Red screamed as he willed his mount to speed up. The knight at the front of the pursuit formation managed to squeeze out a sudden burst of speed from his mount. The Fire Dragon managed to pull up beside Red and reared its head back to finish of the young knight with a breath of flame.

"Dive!" Red commanded and his mount complied. The Griffin tucked its wings, rolled once to point itself downward, and dove just as a streak of flame tore through the spot where they were a moment ago.

Red's Griffin opened up its wings to stop its descent but it quickly rolled left and right to avoid the jets of flame that were now coming from above. He noticed something in the distance and smiled. It was Trombe and he was also being pursued by three Fire Dragons.

The two knights made eye contact and they both smiled. Red adjusted his mount's flight pattern and sent it into a collision course right at his senior before pulling out his sword-wand.

The young knight did his best not to panic as he carefully avoided getting hit by the jets of flame coming from the front and behind. Trombe was doing the same and Red wondered just how the man was able to stay so calm despite getting attacked from both sides.

"I guess that's the difference between a rookie and a regular." Red said with a bitter smile as he prepared a fireball spell. The two knights came closer and closer to crashing into one another.

One hundred yards and Red's spell was ready.

Seventy yards and he made his Griffin fly as fast as it could.

Thirty yards and his Griffin's left wing almost got fried by a shot that came too close for comfort.

Twenty.

Ten.

Five.

Both knights rolled left and missed each other by a manner of inches. Red pointed his sword-wand in front of him and saw that he was lined up perfectly with a Fire Dragon Knight. The enemy knight flinched long enough for Red to get his spell off.

"Fireball!" Red declared as a ball of flame launched from his sword-wand and screamed toward one of the knights that were after him. He also heard Trombe declare his trademark 'Tornado' spell from behind him. The knight he aimed for frantically tried to get his mount out of the way, probably too panicked at the sudden stunt by the two knights to consider countering the spell with a jet of flame from his mount, but was too close to avoid the spell.

Red quickly bid his mount to climb after letting his spell off and heard the sound of his fireball hitting something and detonating. The roar of the Fire Dragon was more due to surprise at the sudden attack than actually being hurt...it was a Fire Dragon after all. Too bad the rider wasn't as flame retardant as its mount. Red didn't bother to check on the condition of the knight he hit and instead looked back to see how Trombe's attack went.

"Wha..." Was the only thing Red could get out of his mouth as he watched two of the three Fire Dragons that were after him drop out of the sky. The three knights pulled their dragons closer to each other in a bid to concentrate their attacks at Red. That left them as sitting ducks when Trombe aimed his wand right at them and let loose a spell.

The remaining knight broke right hard to avoid getting caught in the attack and was trying to get back on course to go after Red. The young knight noticed that the two remaining knights that were after Trombe were resuming their pursuit as well.

"Thank you!" Red yelled out after looking up to the skies in thanks for whatever force of luck that gave him that break. Now that it was one-on-one, Red concentrated on getting the jump on the knight who was once again hot on his tail.

...

"Tornado!" Trombe declared after lining up his sword-wand at the three Fire Dragon Knights that were running down his junior. His favorite spell tore through the skies and right in between two of the three dragons. The mounts roared in pain as their wings got torn to shreds from the force of the attack before they both fell from the sky.

"Woo!" The Griffin Knight let out before breaking right and climbing. The spared a glance at the damage that Red caused and was happy to see that their rookie managed to take out one of the knights that were after him. Trombe thanked Lady Luck for letting him and Red cross paths in the first place. He didn't even notice his fellow knight until he was already deliberately heading right at him. Confident that Red could take care of that one remaining knight on his ass, Trombe turned his attention to the two who were still after him.

He had to hand it to those Albion Fire Dragon Knights. Even after watching three of their comrades drop out of the sky because of a near-suicidal counterattack, they still got their act together and resumed their pursuit.

"I really want to meet the guy to trained these guys and punch him in the face, repeatedly." Trombe mused as he savored the lull in combat because he was out of range of the knights that were pursuing him.

"That reminds me..." The former student of Karin added before he turned back and aimed his sword-wand in the general direction of his foes. He did his incantation and let loose razor wind spell after razor wind spell.

'Razor Wind' was a lot easier to cast and didn't drain as much willpower as 'Tornado' so Trombe was able to rapid-cast it pretty easily. The spell also had the advantage of being hard to detect with human vision as it was literally a really, really, really, strong gust of wind that was focused on a very small area. Lastly, a windspell going downwind will be faster and will have better range than a jet of flame from a Fire Dragon going upwind.

Because of the range and speed advantage, aside from the morale advantage, the tables have suddenly turned even though Trombe was still the one being chased around.

"Hold still you buggers!" Trombe complained as he continued to take pot shots at the two Albion Fire Dragon Knights. They were starting to break their two-person formation after they noticed the razor wind spells coming at them. You can't really see it but you can definitely tell that the spell was there once it gets close enough.

"To hell with this!" The Griffin Knight yelled when he suddenly ordered his mount to stop and turn around to face the Fire Dragons head on. He was still out of their range so he was able to get his Griffin up to speed before letting loose another batch of razor wind spells.

"Oh no you don't!" Trombe declared as he let loose a tornado spell when the two Fire Dragons started breathing fire at him again. The two knight broke to either side of the tornado spell, making them pass each other without anyone getting a clean shot.

Both parties turned around and prepared for another joust when one of his squadmates suddenly dove about a few dozen yards in front of him, a cold fog of water appearing in his wake before it was blown away by jets of flame.

"Hey! Watch it!" Trombe complained after Stephan, and the two Fire Dragons who were after him, passed. He heard a faint 'Sorry' from his squadmate and Trombe could only shake his head before turning back to the oncoming knights and resuming hostilities.

...

"Sorry!" Stephan yelled out after hearing the complaint of his squadmate, whether or not Trombe heard him was up in the air.

The good news was that Stephan was well versed at neutralizing threats caused by fire attacks, being a Water-Mage helps with that significantly.

The bad news was that he was pursued from behind by two Albion Fire Dragon Knights and that he was more used to dealing with threats when they didn't know where he was.

Stephan was the ambush specialist.

He could go out alone on raids by going high, quiet, and slow, creating mists of cold water to confuse and misdirect before he went in for the kill.

It went without saying that he was currently out his element with this being an open pursuit instead of his usual hit and runs. He went ahead and tried to confuse them by throwing a cloud of mist right in their faces but it was met with failure when the dragons just blew the cloud away with jets of flame.

"Just keep dodging. Stay alive. We have to buy time for Char. Just stay calm and keep dodging until Scarface calls the retreat." Stephan muttered to himself as he cringed against the heat of another jet of flame flew across his side. The game plan they had was fine but the fact remained that he needed get the heat off his back.

He pulled out his wand and cast another cloud of mist before climbing up to a higher altitude, he needed more water to be able to mount a good offense against the knights who were after him. Predictably, the two knights just burned through the mist and continued their chase after him.

Stephan flew straight up and cast a large bubble of water directly behind him, right in the path of the knights. They tried to maneuver around the bubble as they were about to pass it but it suddenly burst into a spray of water right at them. The well disciplined knights barely even flinched at the diversion and maintained their speed, even their Fire Dragons didn't seem to be bothered by the sudden shower.

Stephan clicked his tongue as he leveled out his mount and broke left. Normally, a sudden surprise like that would have at least warranted pause from a rider, especially being as high up in the sky as they currently were.

"I hate situations like this." The Griffin Knight muttered before he eyed some clouds in the distance. He smiled as he put away his wand and exchanged it for his sword-wand. He drove his Griffin right into the cloud before he started his incantation. He waited until he could sense the two pursuing knights enter the cloud before releasing his spell.

The entire cloud suddenly glowed and shimmered blue. Stephan drove his Griffin hard to get out of the cloud before the spell kicked in, the speed difference between his Griffin and the Fire Dragons was his saving grace as he broke into the open skies just before he heard the familiar sound of ice forming behind him.

Stephan didn't have the raw magical power to flash freeze so much water that quickly by himself. He had to conjure up enough water to freeze before freezing it altogether, that would have taken too much time. Instead, he used the water in the clouds to act as the base of his spell. All he needed to do was concentrate it enough to freeze the whole cloud in one go.

Stephan looked back to inspect his handy work, he saw the massive chunk of frozen cloud plummet to the ground but he grimaced when he saw that one of the knights managed to escape in time to avoid getting encased in ice.

"What the hell..." Stephan muttered to himself as he once again tried to out maneuver his remaining pursuer. Hopefully, it will be easier to do now that it was one-on-one.

That was when he noticed a very tempting target.

There was a Fire Dragon that was going after one of his squadmates, he couldn't tell who because of the distance. There were two knights in pursuit but that one knight was flying a lot slower than everyone else. That means that the dragon was injured and the idiot didn't pull back. Stephan smiled and checked back to make sure that his own pursuer was far enough away so he could do this properly.

Stephan quietly maneuvered his Griffin behind the limping Fire Dragon and exchanged his sword-wand for his regular want. He incanted his spell just as his mount got up right behind the Fire Dragon. His target's mount sensed them when they were so close, jerking its head to check what it was that sneaked up behind it, but it was too late.

In one well practiced motion, Stephan rolled his Griffin upside down and above the hapless knight before pointing his wand a few inches above the knight's head.

"Water Bubble." Stephan cast his spell and the knight suddenly found himself drowning as his head was encased in a magical bubble of water. The knight tried to shake off the bubble by making his mount do erratic maneuvers but the bubble stuck and the knight eventually ceased all movement and fell off his mount. This was how Stephan fought.

Really, who would expect that one could drown in mid-air?

"That's more like it." The Griffin Knight said to himself before wincing as a jet of flame from his pursuer passed close. The stealth attack he did slowed him down enough for the other knight to catch up but it was worth it. The ambush knight clenched his jaw as he once again focused on avoiding getting shot out of the sky by his foe.

...

"Not bad!" Scarface yelled out as he and one of the two pursuers that were after him crossed blades before breaking off. The Captain didn't even bother trying to outrun the knights that were after him and simply opted to face them head on.

It was a risky move since a Griffin would not fare well in a scrap with a Fire Dragon, but Scarface already knew that. Instead of employing the method of attack that Wardes taught them, disable the mount no matter what, he chose to go after the rider instead.

Fire Dragons have two blind spots when being used as a mount. The space directly above them and the space directly behind them. The dragons cannot simply crane their head up or behind them to fire a jet of flame because there was a chance that they could injure their rider accidentally in the process. There was also the fact that the dragon wouldn't be looking at direction where it was flying at so there was a risk of getting blindsided as well.

Scarface tried to get behind the knights by either slowing down to make them overshoot or by simply trying to get behind them through sheer acrobatics. However, the Dragon Knights wouldn't allow him to get behind them using either method.

Scarface was honestly impressed.

To be able to keep up with him so well, the Griffin Knight could easily tell that these guys were extremely well trained. Since getting behind the dragons wasn't going to work, he decided to work on the other way to take out the rider.

He suddenly pulled his Griffin to a stop, the beast's wings flapping frantically to comply with its rider's orders. The two knights did their best to keep in pace with him but they were too close for them to prevent him to at least get alongside one of the dragons. The two beasts started trying to bite, peck, and claw at each other when they were close enough. They were going at it so hard that Scarface was a bit worried that they might just tangle each other up and bring them both down. The Albion knight pulled out his sword and swung it at Scarface where it met the Captain's sword-wand. Scarface noted that the knight was using a regular sword and not a sword-wand.

They're not nobles? The Captain wondered as he and the knight clashed steel. It was a bit strange for him to think that such skilled riders were commoners. Scarface smiled despite himself. They were all either naturally skilled or whoever trained them was a monster.

He then noticed that the other knight was making his way to his other side in an attempt to get him in a pincer. Scarface clicking his tongue as he parried a sword swing aimed at his neck. Before pointing his sword-wand at the Fire Dragon and let out a quick gust spell.

The force of the wind made the dragon and the rider grunt out as the spell hit them like a sledgehammer. Nowhere near enough force to knock them out of the sky, but it was enough to get some distance so Scarface can deal with the other knight. He swung his sword-wand at his left side, just in time to block a strike from the other knight's sword.

 Scarface pulled his Griffin back and somehow managed to get behind the other knight quick enough before the knight could react. The Captain said a silent prayer of thanks at the sudden stroke of luck. He didn't hesitate as he unleashed razor wind spells one after another at the Fire Dragon behind him. It only took seconds for the wings of the Fire Dragon to be shredded into strips of membrane. The knight and his mount screamed their death wails as they both plummeted to their doom.

"One down..." Scarface muttered as he turned his attention to the other knight who was already trying to retreat. He let him go and looked around for his squadmates. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed Trombe engaged in a bout of air jousting with two Albion Fire Dragon Knights. The Captain quickly moved his Griffin into an intercept trajectory to give aid to his second-in-command.

...

"Damn..." Char cursed as he watched helplessly as the brave Wind Dragon that managed to get this far plummeted to the ground as soon as the Griffin Knight managed to secure the rider onto his own mount. He checked the woman one more time and noted that she was unconscious, either from shock or from exhaustion or both. He placed the woman in front of him to make sure that she was secure between his arms before he took out his wand and pointed it skyward. He cast a minor fire spell that was taught to every Tristain Griffin Knight in the academy.

A small ball of fire streaked upwards before it exploded into a large flare of light. It was the retreat signal. He turned to check where his squadmates were and noticed a Fire Dragon dropping out of the sky. He smiled when he saw that it was Trombe that made the kill with help from Scarface. The others were holding on pretty well, with Red and Larry flying together while holding off two Fire Dragon Knights. Stephan was already headed toward him and he saw that the knight that was on his tail was already headed to retreat. In fact...the remaining Fire Dragon Knights were all pulling back as well. Char wondered why for a moment before he got his answer...he really wished he hadn't asked himself why.

"Oh shit..." Char muttered in fear when he saw the clouds in the distance separate to reveal something he didn't really want to see.

Albion ships...a lot of Albion ships.

The young knight could do nothing but gape at the imposing wall of ships that was the mighty Albion Armada. The ship that they initially encountered was just an advance unit that went after the rider of the Wind Dragon. He motioned for his familiar to move when he noticed the rest his squadmates start to make their way toward him. He saw Scarface who was screaming something at him while gesturing him to get moving. So he flew. He didn't push Quattro to his top speed in fear of his passenger suddenly getting sick from the speed. It was slow enough for the rest of his squadron to catch up to him and that meant that it was slow enough for a pursuit squadron to catch up as well.

"What the hell are you doing?! Get going already!" Scarface barked at him when he pulled up to Char's side.

"Boss! The passenger is a civilian! Female! Middle-aged! I can't just let Quattro loose with someone like this with me! She could die if we flew too fast!" Char shot back. Scarface grimaced but he understood that Char was right. Albion was after that woman for a reason, getting her killed before they knew why would be bad. They had to get her to friendly skies while holding off a squadron of Fire Dragon Knights and making sure they don't get blown out of the sky by the Albion Armada. Every last one of the Sixty-Sixth knew it. They didn't want to admit it, but they knew.

Albion was invading...and they had to stay alive to warn their country.

"Listen up!" Scarface barked as soon as the rest of his squadron formed up around Char in a defensive formation.

"Precious cargo is injured will not survive pursuit speeds! That means that we're carrying dead weight! I'm assuming you all know what that means?!" Scarface laid out the situation for all of them. Everyone glanced at the unconscious woman on Char's mount before looking back to their Captain and nodding.

"Alright! Here's what we-" Scarface's order was cut off when he heard the telltale whistling sound of a wind spell.

"Scatter!" He screamed and everyone, including Char, broke off from each other just in time to avoid getting caught in a cluster of three tornadoes that ripped to the patch of sky that they were on a moment ago.

"What the hell?! Now they use magic?!" Larry screamed in annoyance. He and the rest of the squadron looked back to the source of the tornadoes, fully expecting at least three knights to be there.

"No way..." Larry muttered, unable to say anything else.

"Oh...oh...oh..." Char could only repeat that word at what he saw.

"Aww...hell..." Stephan said as he pulled out his sword wand and got behind Char.

"Well, what do you know..." Trombe bitterly stated as he pulled out his own sword-wand.

"It can't be...why...why...why?" Red asked in shock at what was closing in on them.

"Jaaaaaques!" Scarface screamed as he moved his Griffin into an intercept vector before pulling out his sword-wand. He didn't want to believe it. He wished. He prayed. He hoped that it wasn't true. That the man in front of him was merely an impostor or a doppleganger.

"Why?!" He screamed as he unleashed a tornado spell right at the figure before him once he was in range. The rider maneuvered his mount away and Scarface could only stare in utter disbelief.

It was Wardes...but it wasn't him either...

The...thing...that had evaded his attack definitely looked like his former Captain. Hell, he was wearing the same uniform as them. But the differences were almost too much for Scarface to bear.

Wardes was still wearing the same uniform but it looked like it was haphazardly stiched back together with several tears and scorch marks everywhere. His cape was mostly shredded and it was barely even a cape anymore. His hat also looked like it was stiched back together and the trademark feather on it was gone. The long silky hair and perfect beard that he was so proud of was now grey in color, almost white even. Even his skin complexion was so pale, you'd mistake him for a corpse. And then the eyes...

His former Captain's eyes glowed red when he saw them, like he was being possessed by some sort of demon. In his gloved hands, which were also damaged and stiched together, were two large Lance-Wands or 'Boom Sticks' as they were commonly called. The dark grey, runed lances were treated like sword-wands, weapons that were forged as spell foci. The nickname for them stemmed from the fact that a Lance-Wand can amplify and cast a much larger spell than a regular wand or even a sword-wand ever could. The trade off was that it drained so much willpower in the process that it was extremely difficult to use...and Wardes have two of them.

"No...even he couldn't dual-wield tho-" Scarface couldn't finish his musing when his eyes strayed away from the Lance-Wands. He didn't have any legs...Wardes didn't have any legs. His upper torso was directly connected to the back of his Griffin with several steel latches. Now that he thought about it, Wardes' Griffin also looked different. Its plume was as grey as its rider's hair. Its eyes were glowing as red as its rider's was. In some sort of sick and twisted way...Wardes had become one with his mount.

"What the fuck did they do to you?" Scarface asked in abject horror at what happened to his close friend. Wardes did not answer him. The abomination simply pointed its lance-wands at him before casting another triple-tornado spell. The three twisters spun around each other as they made their way toward Scarface. The current Captain of the Sixty-Sixth motioned his Griffin away from the spell before pointing his sword-wand at the abomination.

"Jacques!" Scarface called out, hoping that calling Wardes by his name would provoke a human reaction from him. When the response was another triple-tornado, Scarface knew that...thing...wasn't his friend anymore.

"Hey! Traitor!" Larry's voice interrupted the duel as a combination of razor wind and tornado spells from Larry and Trombe streaked right at the abomination. Wardes expertly guided his...lower half...to avoid the sudden attack by his former squadron.

"Holy shit! What the hell happened to him?!" Trombe yelled out as he finally noticed the state of his former Captain, or what was left of him.

"Boss! What do we do?! Stephan and Red are escorting Char away from the combat zone, do we pull back too?!" Larry asked his Captain. Scarface scowled as he watched Wardes maneuver back a good distance away to take stock of the new development.

"I cannot authorize a retreat with that thing still in the sky." Scarface somberly stated as he pointed his sword-wand at his former friend.

"Intercept the hostile and blow it out of the sky." He added as he started incanting a spell.

"I knew you'd say that...hey, the Albion ships aren't moving..." Trombe pointed out in wonder.

"Probably watching the show. You know, seeing how well their new toy fares against its old squadron." Larry responded as he readied his sword-wand to face his former Captain.

"That thing doesn't get past us. Got it?" Scarface ordered as he watched Trombe and Larry form up to his sides.

"Sir!" They both responded at the same time. Wardes suddenly motioned his Griffin forward and flew at them at a speed thought only reserved to Quattro.

"Watch it! It's faster that anything we've come across!" Scarface barked out as the three of them broke formation to avoid the sudden charge. Wardes chose his target and started pursuing Scarface with Trombe and Larry on his tail.

...

"I don't believe it...Captain Wardes really is a traitor..." Red muttered bitterly as he looked back to the tiny shapes buzzing around in the sky that represented the battle being waged between his squadmates and his former Captain...his hero.

"Keep your head in the game, Red. We need to get that woman to friendlies as soon as we can." Stephan stated. He and Red were serving as the wings of the 'V' formation that Char was leading, it was the easiest way to protect their squadmate and their precious cargo from pursuits.

"Besides, with the whole damn Albion Armada behind us, the Captain is the least of our worries." Char added. He still couldn't believe that Albion would actually go ahead and invade Tristain. That country just came from a brutal civil war that killed the entire Royal Family except for the crowned prince who was still missing! How the hell did they find the time to gather this many forces to launch an invasion so soon?!

"Something is way too wrong about this whole situation..." Char muttered as he glanced down at the woman in his arms. He just hoped that, whoever she was, she could give them answers before it was too late.

...

"That's just cheap!!!" Trombe complained as his attempt at a direct strike on Wardes with his sword-wand was parried by a razor wind spell from the lance-wand in his left hand...while casting a tornado spell at Larry and Scarface using his other lance-wand in his right hand.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Trombe yelled out at his former Captain as he pulled back in time to avoid getting shredded by the same razor wind spell that blocked his sword strike. The Second-in-Command of the Sixty-Sixth couldn't understand it. Physical modifications aside, no human mage should be able to throw around spells that powerful at that frequency using two Boom Sticks! Even his former teacher, the legendary Karin 'The Heavy Wind', could only use a single Lance-Wand in combat!

"Albion turned him into a monster! That's what happened!" Scarface responded as he pulled back away from Wardes. He pointed his sword-wand to the sky before moving it in a circular motion, the signal to form up.

"We won't win if we keep trying to fight him like we would a human opponent. He'd just rip us to shreds." Scarface pointed out as soon as his two wingmen formed up beside him.

"So what do we do?" Larry asked, anxious to get this over with.

"We don't fight him like we'd fight a human opponent. We fight him like we would a monster." Trombe answered and Scarface nodded.

"No more holding back. We throw everything we have at him. He's not our old Captain anymore...Albion turned him into an abomination and the least we can do is to let him finally rest in peace." Scarface said with a tone that was partly regretful and partly determined.

"Shit..." Larry summed up the entire situation nicely as all three of them turned back to their opponent.

"Why didn't he attack while we were talking?" Larry added the question.

"Who cares." Trombe responded.

"Everybody ready?" Scarface asked one more time and got affimative nods from his wingmen.

"Let's do this!" The current Captain of the Sixty-Sixth declared as he and his wingmen charged at Wardes. The abomination pointed both his Boom Sticks at the three knights and let loose another triple-tornado spell. The knights countered with their own tornado spells and the skies rocked at the sudden turbulence caused by the clash of wind spells.

"We won't win like this! Break and pound him to the ground!" Scarface ordered and he and his knights broke off in three directions after cancelling their spells. Even if he has two Boom Sticks and cast a triple-tornado with it, he can only aim at two separate targets at once...or that was what they thought.

"Oh come on!" Trombe complained as he discovered the reason why Wardes could cast a triple-tornado with only two spell foci. The abomination let loose three separate tornado spells. The Lance-Wand in his right hand launched one aimed at Scarface. The Lance-Wand in his left hand lauched on aimed at Larry. Then the Griffin...the Griffin that was serving as Wardes' lower half opened its beak and out came the third tornado spell.

"This is insane..." Scarface said to himself as he and his wingmen started evading the tornado spells launched at him. Wardes was currently breaking a lot of rules when it comes to magic combat. The magic he was throwing around was far beyond what any single Square-Class Wind Mage could possibly do. He really was a monster. Scarface knew that the three of them won't be able to defeat him...not by themselves. The Captain of the Sixty-Sixth set his jaw as he made his decision.

"We hold him here!" Scarface roared, hoping to all heaven that his wingmen could hear him.

"This monster is not allowed to go anywhere near that precious cargo!" He added as he rolled left and right to avoid gust boosted razor wind spells. He can dual-cast now too?!

"We hold him! As long as we can! No matter the cost!" Scarface declared for all to hear. They would fight to the end to buy their squadmates enough time to warn their country.

That was when the onslaught abruptly ended.

Like a massive storm that suddenly disappeared, the attacks from the abomination ceased. Scarface looked at Wardes dumbfounded as the abomination casually lowered his Lance-Wands and turned around before flying to the direction of the Albion Armada. Scarface was livid. He was ready to fight and die against his former friend and he just up and left. The message was clear. He was sent after them to test out his combat ability against the Griffin Knights.

They were simply not worth fighting anymore.

"What the hell happened?! Why'd he pull back?!" Larry asked as he and Trombe formed up with their Captain. Scarface closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down.

"It doesn't matter. They're not sending anyone else after us. Do not pursue Jean-Jacques. We're pulling back." He stated before motioning for his mount to retreat, his wingmen in tow. For now, they had to regroup and report the invasion as soon as possible. However...

Scarface swore to himself that Wardes would regret not finishing them off that day.

...

[Kips McKipzerson]

Mindblowingly awesome, As always. Also, I laughed at the obvious reference.

[Vyrien]

^ I laughed too. This fic is epic, I can't wait for the rest.

[Blackraptor]

In case no one noticed it, the omake has been overhauled. I've had some complaints on how it was done before so I hope that this is an improvement from the first version.

[Blackraptor]

Short update right now. Just trying to shake off some rust and getting back in the groove while I try very very hard to stop playing Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 for a while.

Spoiler:

I am currently failing since I have a mission on pause right now on my PS3...>_>

...

"H-hey! How did they get-WHY THE FOUNDER DO THEY HAVE FEET NOW?!" I heard Louise scream from upon the balancing poles that she was using to further polish her balance.

After her success against the goblins during our little treasure hunt, I discussed with Cirno about upping the ante when it came to her training. I left the job of learning more about the Void spells in the Founder's Prayer Book in Matilda's capable hands. Hopefully, she'll be able to come up with a way for Louise to shorten the casting time of Dispell or at least unlock a different spell that would be more practical in combat...preferrably, something that could subdue a foe in one hit and had a good accuracy rate. Currently though, Louise was trying to stay on the balancing poles while avoiding the fireballs coming from my Walker Piranha Plants.

Walkers are Piranha Plants that...well...walk around. Instead of being stuck in the place where I made them sprout, their roots were replaced with stubby legs that gave them mobility to a degree. They use their legs as counter-weights to prevent them from falling over and that act made them look like they were bobbing their heads around while walking. It was actually fun to watch them just walk around sometimes...they always looked so silly while doing so.

Louise was not amused by them.

"This is not funny! Why did you give them feet?!" Louise yelled out as she leaned away from an oncoming fireball before making her way to another balancing pole to get out of the line of fire. I didn't understand why she was complaining. She hasn't been hit yet and she only had to deal with five Walkers. I didn't even make her carry a glass of wine this time.

Now that I think about it...

"Stop!" I declared and all five Walkers suddenly halted, their heads bobbing around like ripe fruit on swaying branches.

"It's over?" Louise asked in surprise and relief.

"No." I replied with a snap of my fingers. A glass of wine suddenly found itself in Louise's right hand.

"I. Hate. You." Louise bitterly said to me when she realized what she was holding, making sure to emphasize each word.

"You wouldn't be the first one. Begin!" I declared with a smile. Louise only screamed in frustration before she started traversing the field of balance poles while trying to avoid spilling the wine in the glass and being ignited by the Walkers.

"Are you sure it's wise to start doing this again?" Yukari asked me as she floated her gap to my side.

"Cirno is still on watch with Chen to make sure that the Kappa don't do anything stupid with Ruukoto's new specifications. That means that Louise's training falls to me until she comes back. Besides, she's doing pretty well so far." I pointed out as I watched Louise avoid a close call by hopping around between balance poles.

"I just hope that you're not pushing her too hard again." Yukari stated with seemingly genuine concern. It seemed so sincere that I couldn't help but look at her with a raised brow.

"And why would you be so concerned about her?" I asked the border youkai. She just smiled after shrugging.

"That little human grows on you. Besides, she still adorable enough to take home with me~" Yukari said with a lecherous glint in her eyes. I knew then that Louise would forever be scarred emotionally if she was left in a room with Yukari for any period of time.

"Denied. I refuse to let Louise go anywhere with you without any adult supervision." I said with a bored expression that was meant to be an insult...I had forgotten who I was talking to.

"Oh, you can be our 'adult' supervisor all night long if you want~" Yukari said in a sultry voice. Really, she's like the 'dirty old man' version of Kirche.

"You know what I mean." I drawled out, making sure to show how much I was unamused at her antics. Yukari pulled back a couple of feet before pouting at me and folding her arms.

"It's because of that human woman isn't it? That...Matilda...isn't it?" Yukari accused with a pouting glare.

This again?

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked her with a dry look.

"I heard all about it from Louise. Hmph! Just leave for a few months and you're all over a human woman, leaving little old me cold and alone in bed." Yukari said in despair, complete with a sniffle and a tear.

"I don't know what you've been eating recently to give you that sort of delusion, but I've never even considered being in the same bed as you." I clearly stated while folding my arms and leaning back.

"You can start considering it now if you want~! We can just leave Louise here for a few hours and saunter back to your mansion~! Just you, me, and a tub of honey~" Yukari offered to me and by Kanako or whatever gods were out there, she looked like she was serious.

"Yukari, drop it. I never have nor will I ever have the desire to be alone with you in a room with a tub of honey or any other quasi-liquid substance." I stated with a shake of my head. Really now, what has gotten into Yukari? Yes, she has teased around a lot in the past with practically everyone in Gensokyo, her nature demands such I guess...but now she seemed to be actively trying to seduce me.

"But you wouldn't mind it if it was with that Matilda woman, huh? Is because she has green hair?" Yukari asked me accusingly. What was this woman's malfunction? I rubbed my eyes with my left hand and gave an audible sigh before replying.

"Yukari, I don't know why you seem to think that there is something between Matilda and I...and I certainly don't know why you seem to think that there was anything between the two of us..." I said while pointing from her to me in turn before continuing.

"Let me make this perfectly clear, I have nothing going on with anyone. Not you. Not Matilda. Not anyone." I stated with my trademark tone of finality that indicated that further discussion on the matter would be met with considerable amounts of pain and anguish. Yukari frowned at me before giving a wistful sigh and turing back to Louise who has yet to be hit by any fireballs. I had to admit, despite all her complaints about her training, Louise actually seemed to be pretty good at this.

"Fine, let's change the subject. Where's Ruukoto? I expected that you'd bring it along tonight." The border youkai asked me, as if the previous stupid convesation never happened.

"Ruukoto insisted to be left behind to act as overwatch over the academy. It said that it was...unsettled about something." I responded as I recalled the conversation I had with Ruukoto before I entered Mugenkan that evening. Ruukoto had requested to remain in Halkeginia to watch over the academy. The way it worded it was strange though. It didn't say that it would simply watch over Louise's body, its new master. Ruukoto specifically said that it wanted to watch over the entire academy and consequently everyone within.

"Ruukoto...unsettled..." Yukari repeated the last part of the statement with a raised brow.

"That's what I said." I affirmed with a nod. Yukari and I went ahead and got into another rousing bout of awkward silence before she finally said something.

"Yuka, Ruukoto didn't even flinch when it was threatened to be blown up by Reimu. What could it possibly be afraid of in Louise's home realm?" Yukari asked, a sound question.

"I don't know. I'll ask Ruukoto about it later." I answered. Further conversaion was halted when I heard something which I haven't heard in a while.

"OMIGODI'MONFIRE!" Louise screamed, drawing our attention to her. A muffled thumping noise was the indication that Louise had finally fallen off the balance poles after she got hit by a fireball. I stared at Louise's burning corpse for a few moments, the Walkers stopped walking around after their target was neutralized, before I felt Yukari poking my arm with her closed fan.

"Shouldn't you like...I don't know...revive her?" The border youkai flatly asked me. I blinked at her a few times before turning back to Louise's burning remains.

"Oh yes, of course." I snapped my fingers and Louise's 'body' was suddenly consumed by light.

"SHAZAM!" My master yelled out as soon as she was restored, her left hand was on her hip while her right hand was pointing to the skies. The five Walkers that I made instantly turned their heads toward Louise after her declaration and started waddling their way toward her.

"No! Yuka, call them off!" Louise yelled at me as she made her way toward me and Yukari while pointing at the Walkers that were waddling their way to her. I sighed and waved the Walkers away, each of them vanishing from existence a few moments after I did so.

"What took you so long to call them off?! I was dodging their fireballs forever!" Louise complained. I raised a brow at her question. Did she really not notice? For someone who was seemingly talented as Louise, she's quite dense. No...Louise is very dense.

'Hypocrite'

"What did you say?" I turned to Yukari, who was looking away and was whistling to herself. She turned back to me and blinked a few times.

"Whatever do you mean~?" She innocently asked. Why was she smiling at me like that? Was she trolling me? I shook my head to get rid of such thoughts. And here I thought that I was already used to her antics. I took a breath before turning back to Louise, who had her arms folded and was leaning back while tapping the ground with her left foot. It seemed that she was still waiting for an answer.

"I did not call off the Walkers because you were doing so well at dodging their fireballs. I wanted to know how long you could last." I explained, earning a raised brow form the young Void Magician.

"Walkers?" She asked, unfamiliar with the name of her new enemies.

"Those strain of Piranha Plants are called 'Walker Piranha Plants'...for obvious reasons." I stated. Louise gave a thoughtful hum as she contemplated something.

"Jogging Chomping Flowers, huh?" Louise muttered to herself before nodding at her own statement.

"Louise, that's not what they--" My correction was cut off by Louise.

"Jogging. Chomping. Flowers." Louise stated with gritted teeth. My master once again replacing the actual name of the plants with her own designation for them. I had the strange feeling that we've been through this before.

"Right...going back on topic, the reason why I did not call them off was simply because you were handling the situation quite well." I said, pushing the topic back to a more logical one while hoping that the compliment would pacify the little spitfire somewhat. Louise pouted for a while before looking away with a blush on her face. It seemed that my words found their mark and managed to calm Louise down.

"Until she caught on fire." Until Yukari suddenly pointed that out, much to my chagrin.

"Yes...until I caught on fire." Louise deadpanned as I felt a sudden spike of magic power coming from her dream self.

"Until you caught on fire...yes." I admitted with a sigh and a shake of my head. I turned to Yukari and gave her the most unamused expression I could muster.

"You're not helping. Why are you even here?" I asked the border youkai with an equally unamused tone. Yukari simply shrugged before responding.

"There haven't been any incidents in Gensokyo lately so I was bored." She stated with a dismissive wave. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo.

"Besides, someone has to keep you on your toes. We can't have Louise's peaceful realm get you soft, now can we~?" She added with her usual teasing tone. I sneered at her claim. Me? Soft? Ha! Such words are better aimed at people like Konpaku Youmu and her ghost-half...possibly Fujiwara no Mokou after enough alcohol.

"And? Are we done here or what?" Louise suddenly asked irritably. That was a indeed good question. I could escalate her dodging training by replacing the Walkers and Piranha Plants with Sunflower Faries altogether, but that might be too much of a jump for Louise's current state. Not to mention that it could clash with whatever Cirno still has planned to teach Louise.

"Hmmm..." I hummed thoughtfully as I juggled the thoughts of keeping Louise here or letting her to back to her own dream realm for the rest of the night.

"Well, if you can't give her any more practical lessons...what about a lecture of a presentation?" Yukari suggested. I raised a brow at the good idea and the professional tone she used to say it. Ah...it had been so long that I forgot about it.

This was the being that helped Reimu Hakurei train to reach the height of her power.

"That...is actually a good idea..." I muttered before thinking of what I should use as a show and tell for Louise. I looked at my master who was staring at me with half a frown while still having her arms folded as she leaned back.

"Have you told her about the time when Reimu and Marisa first got inside Mugenkan?" I asked Yukari. I knew that she and Louise have talked about incidents that happened in Gensokyo after the whole Wardes thing, but I didn't know which incidents Yukari shared with her. There were so many of them after all.

"No, I didn't tell her about that one. I did tell her about that one time you got into an all-out slugfest with Reimu's mother though. That was a very interesting incident~" Yukari said before chuckling. Ah, yes...I remember that one. It was an incident that pitted me against Reimu's mother in her prime in a one-on-one duel that was supposedly to the death. The reason? A misunderstanding brought about by one lying Tengu Reporter, Aya Shameimaru.

"Wait, that was true!?" Louise suddenly piped up, her previous annoyance with me replaced with interest at knowing more about my past.

"Yes, but that wasn't the first time I fought Reika Hakurei nor was it the last. Although, I have to admit that it was the most intense one I had with that woman." I explained as I recalled the nine times I had faced the Hakurei Miko that preceded Reimu. All were glorious, hard fought battles, neither side backing down for a moment. All ended in standstills. Neither of us have ever won against each other. Our record forever stood at zero-to-zero-to-nine. That says a lot about Reika, to have been able to fight against me evenly nine separate times.

The epitomy of the words 'Youkai Extermination' before the Spell Cards Rules were created and enforced by her daughter.

That was Reika Hakurei.

"What happened? Why did you fight?" Louise asked and we suddenly heard Yukari snicker. We both turned to her and found that she had both her hands over her mouth after she let that one snicker out.

"Sorry..." The border youkai said through her hands as she barely contained her laughter. I sighed and turned back to Louise to explain what happened.

"It was all a misunderstanding that ended up as one of the most enjoyable battles I have ever had. To put things in perspective for a bit, that incident happened a few months after Reimu was born. For a reason I did not understand until much later, a little bird told Reika that I had gone mad from the fact that a human like her could match a youkai as powerful as I in power." I started. Of course, the little bird was that blasted Shameimaru.

"The little bird continued on to state that I was plotting my revenge for that insult by consuming her infant daughter. The bird said I planned that in hopes of gaining power from the blood of a Hakurei to finally finish off Reika." I continued. The rumor among youkai that 'slaying and consuming a prime member of the Hakurei clan would make you powerful beyond your wildest imaginings' was nothing new. It was normal for youkai to believe that since no ordinary humans would have the power to exterminate youkai as soundly as the Hakurei could. Of course, like most rumors flung around in the youkai community, it was complete and utter garbage.

Hell, most rumors that circulated amongst youkai were initiated by Yukari herself just to see what would happen...the most infamous one being the rumor that eventually led to the first attempt by youkai to invade the Lunarians. That one came back to bite her in the ass decades later.

"Normally, Reika was a very logical and very reasonable person. One who would rather talk things out instead of fighting. Of course, when push came to shove, she always brought her best to the table. Out of the nine times that we fought, that one battle was the only one that she herself initiated." I stated with a wry smile. The other eight times we fought was simply me trying my luck to see if I had grown powerful enough to finally surpass her.

"What? She picked a fight with you? Why?" Louise said in disbelief that anyone, especially a human, would actually go ahead and initiate a battle with me...and a non-Spell Card Battle at that.

"She was a mother. What would you do if someone told you that a monster was out to devour your four month old daughter?" I posed the question to my master. She thought about it for a moment before giving an 'Oh' of understanding.

"She wasn't thinking straight at the time. All she knew that a powerful youkai was threatening her child and she would do everything to make that threat go away. On the other side of the coin, I was merely enjoying the morning as I relaxed in the middle of the Garden of the Sun. I knew of the latest addition to the Hakurei Clan and thought that attacking Reika wouldn't be wise for at least a few months, lest I wished to threaten the existence of Gensokyo itself. That was when I saw two Hakurei Yin-Yang Orbs heading right at me at incredible speeds." I stated with a sigh and a shake of my head. There I was, one of the very, very, very few times back then when I didn't feel like being hostile to anyone...and it had to be the day when Reika decided to come for my head.

"As unexpected as the sudden attack was, I simply shrugged and went along with it. If the woman wanted to fight me, who was I to deny her the pleasure? Well, that was what I thought initially. Then I realized something that made the whole thing feel...off." I continued with a thoughtful hum.

"What do you mean 'off'? She attacked you out of nowhere! That in itself should be considered as 'off' don't you think?" Louise argued. Understandable point considering her only contact with Gensokyo so far had been what she had experienced in Mugenkan and the stories she heard from Yukari and I.

"Someone attacking someone else in Gensokyo back before Reimu's time, especially if it was between a human and a youkai, was commonplace. That was part of the reason why the Hakurei Clan was there in the first place, in order to make sure that the youkai don't get too confident and try to wipe out the humans in one go. It was simply that kind of place. That was the reason why Reika's daughter came up with the Spell Card System...so that battles and disputes can be settled through Danmaku Battles instead of regular battles which usually ended with someone dying." I explained. I didn't expect my master to understand so easily considering the kind of environment she grew up in. Wars and disputes were not uncommon in Halkeginia from what I understood, but it was not the kind of place where monsters were waiting for you to turn your back before they attacked and consumed you.

"There was nothing new nor was there anything wrong with Reika and I fighting...at least as far as I care. However, the 'off' feelling I had during that one fight came from when I noticed the location where we were fighting at." I went back to the story.

"Where you were fighting at...you said that you were in the Garden of the Sun when she attacked you right? Is that what bothered you?" Louise asked as he recalled the last part of the story before Reika attacked me.

"That is correct. Normally, I would challenge her to a fight and we would agree at a neutral venue where neither of us would have the advantage. It was a way to make sure that, if either of us lost, it would not be because of something silly like a field advantage. For her to openly attack me in the Garden of the Sun, I thought she had gone mad." I responded. Louise hummed thoughfully as she processed my words while looking at the sunflowers that dominated Mugenkan.

"From what I heard from Yukari, the Garden of the Sun was supposed to be a massive field with nothing but sunflowers. A sea of yellow flora. I guess I understand that you would have the advantage in a fight at that place since there were so many of your flowers surrounding you for you to weaponize." Louise reasoned. I guess she was recalling her past experienced with my flowers here in Mugenkan and what my sunflowers were capable of during my Danmaku Battle with Cirno.

"You assumption is not incorrect, but it was much more than that." I said with a wry smile, earning a raised brow from my master along with an unvoiced question: 'What the hell are you talking about?'

"The Garden of the Sun got its name not just because it is filled to the brim with Sunflowers, but because it is deliberately placed to be able to get sunlight from sunrise to sunset. As you may or may not know, plants require sunlight to survive because it provides them energy. Now, consider the following. Imagine a field of sunflowers larger much, much, much larger than the entire area of the Tristain Magic Academy. Imagine the amount of energy that all the sunflowers in that field can gather. Now...imagine if one could harness that power..." I explained, making sure to trail off at the end for Louise to have something to think about. My master rubbed her chin with her right hand as she considered my words before her expression of contemplation was replaced with one of shock.

"Wait...if by harness you mean...but then you'd...and anyone who would...WHAT THE FOUNDER?!" Louise yelled out as she finally pieced everything together.

"That's right Louise. If there is one place in Gensokyo where I can guarantee that I will never be defeated in, it would be in the Garden of the Sun. I may be able to control every aspect of Mugenkan, but I can still get tired and overwhelmed eventually back then if my foe knew what they were doing." I stated as I thought back to when Reimu and Marisa raided the border of dreams centuries ago.

"However, the Garden of the Sun provides me with unlimited energy. Like bathing in a sea of raw power, I can simply draw energy to my heart's content from my garden to fuel my magic. I have defeated nearly everyone who challenged me in my garden with only a handful of exceptions." I continued, two of those five who I was not able to defeat in my garden were of the Hakurei clan...should be obvious who they were. The other three were Letty Whiterock, Eirin Yagokoro, and Yukari Yakumo. Yes...I have never beated Letty in the Garden of the Sun. You would be surprised at how powerful the Embodiment of Winter actually was when she fought seriously.

"S-s-so...what happened?" Louise said in a meek voice, as if voicing her question louder would unleash the power that was thrown around that day.

"What happened...was a fight of such magnitude that it nearly broke the Hakurei Barrier." I answered before giving out a low chuckle at the memory.

"What?!" Louise screamed.

"Actually...the whole 'Breaking of the Hakurei Barrier' part was Reika's fault." Yukari piped up, finally joining the conversation since the start of the story.

"It was the only way for her to match Yuka in raw power while she was at the Garden of the Sun. Like how Yuka drew power from the Garden of the Sun, Reika drew power from the Hakurei Barrier. It was a technique she developed to suddenly overwhelm her foes. Normally she would only take in a small amount of power, just enough to give her spells and techniques a sudden surge of power. However, that was the one time when she was constantly tapping the border for power just to keep up with all the power that Yuka was throwing around." Yukari added. Reika never taught Reimu how to tap the border for extra power probably because of what she nearly did to it during that battle. The technique was rediscovered by Touya Hakurei but Yukari apparently made sure to make him promise never to use it unless everything else didn't work. Although, by the time he would have needed to rely on tapping the barrier to boost his power...he'd already have bigger problems to worry about.

"And I'm guessing that draining power from the Hakurei Barrier is a bad thing?" Louise asked the stupid question, though I thought that what she really wanted to ask was 'why'.

"As you may or may not already know, the Hakurei Barrier hides Gensokyo from the outside world and prevents it from becoming a magical dead zone like the rest of the world had become. Because of that, the Hakurei Barrier is strong...very strong...and it is self sustaining as well, it takes in the magic in the realm and turns it into energy it can use before expelling the remains back into Gensokyo which faries and other beings turn back into magical energy. The Hakurei Clan's role is to maintain the barrier, to make sure that it is strong enough to do its job while making sure that it does not strain the rest of the realm in the process." Yukari explained some specifics about the very Barrier that she herself helped to create.

"So if it can power itself, why was it in danger of being broken when Reika Hakurei tapped into it?" Louise asked with a tilted head.

"The system that sustains the barrier is a natural phenomenon. That means that it has a very specific cycle that it needs to rely on, much like the act of breathing or the way your heart beats. It can sustain itself so long as it is the only thing it needs to sustain. If it has an outside force draining power from it, then it will not be able to sustain itself indefinitely. Think of it as a barrel that is constanly being filled with water but has a large hole at the bottom. No matter how much water is put into the barrel, it will still drain out completely if the flow of water being drained out is greater than the flow of water going in." The border youkai answered and even gave a decent analogy on how Reika's technique put undue stress on the Barrier.

"That being said, Yukari had to step in and metaphysically pry us off each other to prevent further damage to both the Hakurei Barrier and to the Garden of the Sun. Reika was obviously furious at her intervention and nearly attacked Yukari as well until she produced the little bird that started the whole thing." I took over. To elaborate, Yukari stopped further assaults from both sides by encasing the two of us in two separate Quadruple Barriers. They weren't enough to completely stop us of course, but it managed to separate us long enough for Yukari to drop a gagged and bound Aya Shameimaru between us.

"She explained that the whole thing was just a farce initiated by the little bird so Gensokyo would have an interesting incident. It goes without saying that Reika did not find the revalation amusing." I added, an understatement if I've ever said one. Reika picked up the bound Tengu and carried her off into the deepest part of the Forest of Magic, the Hakurei Yin-Yang Balls floating behind her. Apparently, if the youkai who lived in the Forest of Magic were to be believed, Aya was 'balled, deep and hard' by Reika. The Tengu made it a point to avoid the Hakurei Shrine Maiden until she passed away.

"Wow...if I didn't know any better, I'd say that incidents in Gensokyo were more because of misunderstandings than someone really trying to harm the realm." Louise commented as she furrowed her brows after she heard more on that particular incident.

"Actually, you would be correct." I said with a chuckle, I could hear Yukari doing the same.

"You're kidding..." My master deadpanned.

"It's true though. Out of all the incidents that have happened in Gensokyo since its creation, most of them were just either misunderstandings or simply things that annoyed the representative of the Hakurei Clan at the time." Yukari responded as she floated her gap to Louise's side.

"Make no mistake, there have been quite a few incidents that were actually very serious..." Yukari added. Yes, serious...like the Lunarian Invasion and the Advent Cirno Incident.

"...but they are greatly outnumbered by incidents that were just...silly...when you look at them objectively." The border youkai concluded.

"Silly? Red mist blotting out the sun? A winter that didn't seem to end? The moon being replaced with a fake one? A super powered hell raven trying to melt the earth away? Those are what you call silly?" Louise asked us incredulously. Yukari and I looked at each other for a moment before looking back to Louise.

"You forgot the time when Suika Ibuki induced a never ending feast." Yukari said, seemingly reminding Louise about the first time Reimu and Marisa encounterd the Oni.

"And the time when the celestial, Tenshi Hinanai crashed a rock on top of the Hakurei Shrine...you did tell her about that right?" I added, asking Yukari if she told my master about that incident.

"Yeah, I did. Your little master got a kick out of imagining what the Sword of Hisou could do against her foes." Yukari stated in a teasing tone while giving a sidewards glance at the blushing girl.

"Don't tell Yuka about that!" Louise yelled at the border youkai in embarassment. I raised a brow at the thought of Louise wielding such a weapon before I had to stifle a chuckle at how absolutely silly the image was.

"Now now, Louise. You already have a magic sword, no need to be greedy." I told Louise with a shake of my head, not quite able to hide my smirk. My master looked at me rather crossly after my jab at her.

"All that aside, I'd like to go back to the story I wanted to tell you originally. An incident wherein Reimu and Marisa raided Mugenkan while I was asleep, that incident was the reason why I don't normally allow humans in my border of dreams anymore." I started, Louise dropped her unhappy expression as soon as I said that and was looking at me expectantly. I smiled and conjured a table, a pair of chairs, tea, and some cake before gesturing Louise to sit. Yukari was still there but chose to lazily float in her gap a few feet above the table.

"Now then, I'll start with telling you about a few youkai who made the Garden of the Sun and Mugenkan their home during that time..."

...