Yami To Boushi to Hon no Tabibito: Ever After
Five: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: StrikerS Two
"So they're from my home world?" Hayate Yagami blinked, the brown haired woman leaning forward in her chair. The colonel of the Time Space Administration Bureau was in her office, sitting behind a desk that was neatly organized, in part from help by her partner, Reinforce Zwei.
"The energy signatures match," Shari cautioned her superior, "but it could still be some kind of alternate version. Miss Fiat is still investigating."
"What do you think of Quill's proposal?" Hayate wondered, studying the young woman. Shari had volunteered to help out with the first day of testing the two women, as well as having talked to Quill about the whole situation.
Shari frowned as she admitted, "I'm not entirely happy about it, but it could be a great opportunity to learn." She looked at Hayate, "Have you decided to approve it?"
"I don't really have a lot of choice," Hayate noted mildly, "Quill isn't a TSAB employee. If she decides to do this, the most I can do is advise her it's a bad idea."
"I see," Shari nodded slightly.
Hayate smiled faintly as she added, "And in her shoes and in her profession, I'd probably jump at the chance."
Shari smiled, "Right!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Meanwhile, in the dimensional physics lab in the sub-basement of Quill Fiat's home, a decidedly embarrassed looking Hazuki had been stripped down to bra and panties as disks of light moved up and down her body. This was the second day she had been the test subject, and she was getting rather tired of it.
"Why can't you analyze me and my clothes at the same time, Ms Fiat?" Hazuki asked, her long black hair nearly reaching her butt.
"Call me Quill," she murmured, reading. "Clothing and flesh respond differently to the sorts of energies we're scanning for," Quill answered seriously as she studied the control panel in front of her. "This is fascinating!"
"Oh?" Hazuki asked.
"Your cellular structure has been... strengthened, somehow," Quill noted excitedly. "It's completely different from how our mages to protect themselves from damage, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."
Hazuki frowned wondering how that could have happened. "Is it from the dimensional travel," she asked, "or something else?"
"No idea," Quill answered cheerfully. "But it's terrific data!" she added.
"Ugh," Hazuki rubbed her face with her hand, her legs stiff from standing nearly a half hour. "How much longer?" she asked with a sigh.
"Not too much," Quill promised, copying and archiving data, as well as bouncing a copy to the TSAB labs and her friend Shari. "I was wondering," she said as she took a small wand and ran it over Hazuki's back, "why are you and Lilith traveling across worlds?" Hazuki had answered that question earlier, but Quill was hoping for more details, now.
"I'm looking for my sister, Hatsumi," Hazuki admitted, "though Lilith claims her name is Eve. From what I've been able to tell Hatsumi spends a certain amount of time on a world, then on her sixteenth birthday disappears, starting the cycle over on another world as a babe."
"Sort of a serial reincarnation effect?" Quill sounded intrigued. She softly mused, "I wonder if she retains the experiences of her multiple lifetimes?"
"I encountered her once in a place outside normal reality," Hazuki admitted, "she seemed to have more than one lifetime's experience there."
"Interesting," Quill finished her scanning with the wand, then shut down the device. "You can step down now, but don't get dressed yet."
"Why not?" Hazuki asked plaintively.
"Because after I tested them I sent your clothes out to be cleaned," Quill winked as she added impishly, "you were starting to stink."
The door to the lab slammed open, Lilith striding in also dressed in just bra and panties. "Where are my clothes?" the busty blonde demanded.
"They're being cleaned," Hazuki answered, gulping at the... lush beauty being presented to her. It wasn't that she didn't notice Lilith was good looking, but they had been around each other long enough it didn't register as much.
Lilith noticed her reaction, of course, and hid a smile.
Quill bit her lip not to laugh, clearing her throat to get their attention again. "I suppose you won't let me test your sword, too?" she asked.
"I...," Hazuki hesitated a moment. While her instinct was to trust Quill, she had only known her for a day or so. "As long as I'm there," she offered, "and no damage is done to it."
"That'll limit the tests I can do," Quill made a face, "but I understand."
"Mistress," Cadeus said, the device hanging around her neck glowing as it spoke, "the clothing delivery has arrived. Shall I let them in?"
"Please do," Quill told it.
"Those devices must come ion handy," Lilith said a bit enviously.
Quill smiled wryly and answered, "When they aren't nagging me about getting enough rest or eating properly or that sort of thing."
"That reminds me, Mistress," Cadeus noted almost smugly, "you have not had lunch yet."
"See what I mean?" Quill sighed as they tromped upstairs to get the clothes.
The young delivery boy looked rather stunned to see two half naked women walking towards him, not to mention the lovely Quill of tanned breasts and hourglass figure. He stammered thanks for his tip then fled, to the three women's amusement.
"They're kind of cute at that age," Lilith noted with a smile.
Hazuki and Lilith got dressed even as Quill went into the kitchen, preparing a quick lunch for them all, mostly to get Cadeus off her back. They gathered around the dining table and ate, the mostly 'instant' food still quite savory and filling. The containers were all recycled, leaving only the knives and forks to be cleaned.
"Thank you," Hazuki smiled warmly as she helped clean up.
Lilith rather comfortably lounged at the table, studying Quill thoughtfully. "So," she asked, "when am I going to get that device you promised me?"
"I have a question to ask in return," Quill said as she washed the knives swiftly, drying them and putting them away, "how long are you willing to delay moving on to learn to use one?"
"They don't come with a instruction manual?" Hazuki asked, sighing.
"To a limited extent," Quill answered, "it can teach you the basics, step by step, but unless you are a prodigy like Nanoha, your chances of developing advanced skills are much more limited."
Lilith made a mental note to ask about Nanoha later. "You don't seem the type to break a bargain, so what are you suggesting?" she asked.
Quill smiled slightly, "Instead of talking just a device, why not take it's user along as well?"
"No!" Hazuki yelped, Lilith following a little quieter, her expression thoughtful.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The next day Quill hid her self satisfied smile as she, Hazuki and Lilith prepared to go. Unlike the street clothes that the other women wore she had on trousers and a military style jacket, sort of resembling the clothes the TSAB wore. All three women were also carrying backpacks with long lasting provisions, extra clothes and other gear.
"Thank you for agreeing to bring me along," Quill smiled sweetly.
Hazuki shook her head wryly, having been out-argued by Quill from the start. It wasn't that she was stubborn and smart, though she was both, it was that she was so sweetly good natured it made it impossible to fight with her. She had decided she was going along and that was that, their arguments barely made a dent in her cheerful resolve.
Deciding she had to try one more time Hazuki said, "You need to understand this is very dangerous, Ms Fiat."
"Quill," she corrected."
"Quill," Hazuki gave in, "the last world we were in had been taken over by a army of vampires. One before that was wrecked by a war between giant robots. Another we saw was in the past with ninja-crows and monstrous overlords. I have no idea if we'll be able to keep you safe if you are determined to come along."
Lilith frowned at how concerned Hazuki was about this women, then she sighed. She supposed it was just Hazuki's nature to be like this, and she wouldn't be drawn to her if she changed.
"All you're doing is making me more curious about coming with you," Quill smiled warmly. They had left the house and were out in one of the local parks, early in the morning with few people around. She looked at Lilith, "Ready to go?"
"Do I have to carry a back pack too?" Lilith complained.
"Yes," Hazuki said firmly.
Lilith looked back at Quill, "Then I guess I'm ready."
"Just a moment, then," Quill said as she removed her device from around her neck. "Cadeus," she ordered, "release!"
Just like the first time they saw it, the small pendant seemed to flow outward, 'growing' into a staff with a dark blue jewel, held in place by what looked like a silver mechanical clamp at one end. The steel staff was lined by bolted on red metal rings about a foot apart, set all along it's six foot length and it glowed softly.
"Yes, Mistress?" Cadeus asked politely.
"We're about to attempt dimensional transit," Quill told her Device, "I want full spectrum data recording, with relays to my lab and TSAB headquarters. Understood?"
"Of course," Cadeus replied calmly.
Lilith gestured dramatically, that same shimmering green light rising up around them... then they were gone.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The wind whistled around them, making all three women's hair flow like banners. Hazuki instinctively braced herself as she grabbed at the others, making sure the surprisingly stiff breeze didn't knock them down while everyone got their bearings. They were standing on what looked like a small island or pillar of rock, the edges dropping off into the air.
Quill shook off the confusion quickly, looking down at her staff as she asked, "Cadeus, status? And where are we?"
"Status nominal," Cadeus reported, "data link was severed by transit, proximately .001 seconds into the passage. We have traveled a unknown distance along both the x and y axis of dimensional travel, attempting to determine location now."
"Wow," Lilith murmured, pointing out from the island they found themselves on, "whales!"
"I've seen whales before," Quill frowned as she talked quietly to her device.
"How about flying ones?" Hazuki asked, resting her hand on the katana she carried warily.
"Eh?" Quill looked up, blinking. Yes, there were whales off in the distance, and as best as she could tell they were flying under their own power.
Hazuki tentatively made her way to the edge of the island, peering around only to gulp. They were on a island, all right, one that was somehow hanging in the air. Below them she could see land but a long, LONG ways down. She pulled back, peering around them to see more flying... critters, as well as other floating islands.
"Incredible," Quill said, shaking her head. "According to Cadeus the magical background level here is nearly two hundred that of Mid. Almost anyone could do magic with the level of power floating around here."
"I can feel it," Lilith agreed, smiling wickedly, probably thinking of the sort of trouble she could cause using it.
More practically Hazuki asked, "Any idea how we can get down from here?"
"I could fly us down using my device," Quill said confidently. She hesitated then added, "well, assuming the excess magic doesn't overload Cadeus and cause him to explode."
"Oh, that's comforting," Lilith grumbled.
"Incoming!" Hazuki hissed as a small shape zipped up from a flying whale, reaching their island in less than a moment.
"A kid?" Quill muttered.
The brown haired boy was possibly a bit older than ten, but not much. He 'rode' on a wooden staff that he balanced on expertly, and he wore fine clothes of a expensive weave. He leaped down with a easy smile as he said in a welsh accent, "Hello, my name is Negi Springfield." Curiously he asked, "how did you get all the way up here?"
"It's... a long story," Hazuki sighed.
To be continued...