LOOK AT HER
The drizzly rain has stopped. The sun has gone down. And the war is about to end. All the masked girls, numbering in thousands, are gathered in the muddy field outside the Staging Dock, surrounded by the Bureau soldiers and their armored carriers. Field medics are busy tending to the wounded as best as they can. From time to time a new set of flair magic would be shot into the sky to illuminate the area.
A personnel carrier and an ambulance come to a stop at the edge of the perimeter where the three JTF division commanders are waiting.
Shamal climbs out of the ambulance with a couple of nurses. From the back of the ambulance, they unload a stasis coffin and prime it for the self-driving mode.
From the armored personnel carrier Hayate and the two Enforcers, in their clean uniforms, emerge. The generals rush to their Princess and salute, to which Hayate salutes back with a pleasant smile. Reinforce had insisted and arranged the protocol such that the girls get a clear picture of who the real boss is.
The generals are led through the clone girls to the center as the defeated invaders shuffle away to make a path. Hayate tries to ignore the girls whispering; 'She's small!' and 'That knight works for that skinny thing?' and 'I can easily beat her up!' and such. The clone girls, however, seem to like Reinforce and Agito floating behind their respective partners.
The progression comes to a halt at the center, in front of Precia Testarossa sitting on a stool with Alicia in her arms. Consideration for her age and frail state. Red Ribbon stands by her mother and nervously watches a sergeant walk up to announce the arrival of his commanding officer.
"Madam. Miss. Joint Task Force commander lieutenant general Hayate Yagami."
Hayate steps forward.
"Dr. Testarossa." She waits for Precia's response but gets none. Hayate then nods to Red Ribbon. "Miss."
The senior Alicia clone bows politely as previously instructed by Reinforce. Hayate nods again.
"On behalf of Time Space Administration Bureau, I accept your terms of surrender. Please hand over your weapons and surrender yourselves."
Reinforce, again, had insisted on the symbolic meaning of the gesture. Red Ribbon remembers what she was told by the tiny fairy beforehand; she steps forward and hands over her staff. Hayate takes it and examines its build. It's simple and crude, unlike Fate's Bardiche, but still more than capable of carrying out whatever its master demands. Hayate hands it over to the sergeant who takes the staff away. A series of loud barking orders echo around the plain and the soldiers start to go around collecting the weapons from the girls. On Reinforce's cue, Shamal and her colleagues walk up with the stasis coffin.
"Madam, allow me to have a look at the girl, please?" Shamal addresses the dead girl's mother politely. Precia looks up and runs her eyes over Shamal. She can tell a professional when she sees one. Convinced, Testarossa hugs her dead girl for the last time, whispering into the unresponsive ears.
"It's alright, Alicia. Everything is going to be alright. I will see you again very soon."
Testarossa hands over the dead girl. Carefully laying the body on top of the stasis coffin, Shamal examines the damages done to the deteriorating body.
"Madam, I am going to take her to a special facility with proper equipment. Do a full scan to check if there is also any internal damage." She raises her head from the girl. "I'll let you have a copy of the result."
"Thank you." Precia appreciates the gesture.
Shamal nods to her staff. They carefully lower the dead body into the stasis coffin and starts setting up the preservation parameters, locking the coffin up for travel.
Watching Shamal doing her work, Hayate gestures for Fate. But Chief Enforcer is frozen in space. She doesn't notice it is now her turn.
.
Fate is stunned. 'What the heck happened to Alicia?' She wonders. Why is Alicia damage- hurt, and why is this sister with the ribbon still standing when her linker core is supposed to have gone kaput? Fate is ashamed, too. Something dreadful happened to Alicia, but she was sitting in the hangar going over the invoices and reports. And the ribbon girl is glaring at her, eyes burning with rage.
"Fate-chan?" Hayate's voice pulls Fate out of her thoughts.
Fate shakes her head to focus and steps forward. She is trembling, her feet moving in jerky steps.
"M-mother."
But Precia does not pay any attention at all. She is fully occupied with watching the medical staff doing their work. Fate tries again.
"Mother, it's me."
With a beastly roar, Red Ribbon jumps at Fate, latching onto the lapels.
"You liar! You said no one will be hurt! You lied to me!"
Fate is surprised and confused and can't react. She lets the girl shake her up roughly. A slap on the cheek sends Fate's Office issued beret flying off. The soldiers have to rush in and pull the raging clone girl off of the esteemed Chief Enforcer. Hayate quickly gets on the comm and orders furious Nanoha to stay in the air.
"I hate you!" The red ribbon girl is frothing in her mouth. Her hands claw at Fate as she is pulled away by the soldiers "You are no longer my sister! I hate you I hope you die!"
Fate is crying, her face distorted in sadness and utter confusion. The betrayed clone girl rages and curses as she is dragged away.
Teana glances at Fate's devastated face and can't take it anymore. She jogs to the soldiers and catches up with the red ribbon girl.
"She doesn't know." Teana whispers. "It was all me. She doesn't know."
Red Ribbon looks at Teana with bewildered eyes. Teana continues.
"I lied to her. She just told you my lies. She's… innocent."
"You did this?" The red ribbon girl trembles in hatred. "You did this to Alicia? To my sisters? To onee-chan and me?"
"I'm sorry."
Red Ribbon tries to gouge Teana's eyes out, but the soldiers are too strong. The wailing girl tries to kick, punch, bite, but to no avail. She spits out white froth as she curses Teana.
"I'll kill you, you monster! I'll kill you!"
Teana watches with sorrow the girl being dragged out screaming and kicking. She returns to her boss. Fate is sobbing, her chest heaving up and down rapidly as she gasps for air.
And, to Teana's surprise, Precia Testarossa has paid no attention whatsoever to all this commotion. Her eyes are fixed on Shamal and the crew.
Shamal makes the final check on the stasis coffin. Satisfied, she nods to her colleagues. They start to roll the coffin out. Testarossa cranes her neck to watch her dead daughter go.
"Mother, look at me. Please." Fate tries again with a broken voice. She almost breaks down when her mother again doesn't acknowledge her presence. Hayate puts a hand on her friend's shoulder and shakes her head, mouthing 'Just… let's get it over with.'
Fate, tears rolling down on her cheeks, bites her lips.
"Mother- Dr. Precia Testarossa, you are under arrest for destruction of Sail Force ships, for multiple murders of-"
Fate chokes. She can't continue. Teana squeezes Fate's hand and takes over.
"I'll do it, boss."
Teana walks up to and handcuffs the old woman, who offers no resistance. The mother is seemingly unaware of what's happening to her; all her attention is on the stasis coffin wading through the clone girls. Away from her. Teana's voice doesn't register to her ears.
"-for the murder of Bureau servicemen and women. For illegal handling of Lost Logia, child abuse, armed attack on Vaizen and such… and many more."
"She will be alright, won't she?" Precia asks, craning her neck to see the far away coffin better. "You will take good care of her… And the girls." She finally turns her eyes to Teana. "Promise me you will."
Teana looks away. To her boss.
"Yes, mother. I promise." Fate makes the promise. She's shaking bad Hayate has to put an arm around to hold her standing.
Teana calls for a group of soldiers standing by. They come to escort defeated Testarossa out, led by Teana in front. As they walk through the clone invaders, the girls cry, calling their mother. Precia looks around at her girls with a sorry expression as she is escorted away in slow steps.
Then she spots someone among the soldiers ahead. Her steps slow down.
From the ranks of the soldiers, with deep sadness, Alph meets the eyes fixed on her. Precia Testarossa's mouth half opens. Her steps slow down to a full stop.
Teana notices the holdup and turns around to see what's happening. She follows Precia's eyes to lieutenant Alph. Teana's heart starts to beat faster.
'Now you've realized, haven't you?'
The soldiers urge the woman to start walking again, but Teana gestures for them to let her be.
Precia's head slowly turns but stops midway. She can side-glance behind her just by the edge of her field of view, and she does so, with jittery eyes and quivering mouth. Teana looks over the old woman's figure; Fate is crying onto Hayate's shoulder, but one can still clearly see Fate is Fate.
'Look at her. Look at her! Call her name'
Teana can't take it anymore.
"Look at HER! Call her name!" Teana is shouting, her feet stomping. "Look! At! Your! Daughter!"
Precia Testarossa does not do that. After taking a deep breath she faces forward and starts walking again. Teana, disgusted, leads the progression out of the scene.
#
.
It's nearly midnight, but the HQ is buzzing with excitement. The Joint Task Force HQ erupts in cheers as Hayate walks into the hangar with glee on her face. The staff joyfully chants "Princess! Princess! Princess!" while the hangar's PA system plays the Imperial March. The soldiers surround their commander, clapping, patting on her back and small bottom, congratulating her on the job well done.
The flight mages sneak in, dead tired. They zombie-walk to their assigned corner in the hangar and collapse, instantly falling asleep.
Nanoha also lies down on a tiny bunk bed, mumbling "What happened to the windows?" and closes her eyes. But the eyes don't remain shut for long. They open wide.
"Vivio! What are you still doing here?"
Vivio, hunched over her mother, just smiles. Nanoha jumps up from the bed and grabs Vivio's wrist. She drags her daughter across the hangar to confront Hayate.
"Hayate!"
"Oh, erm…" Hayate tries to run away.
Nanoha jumps at Hayate, latching onto the lapels, frothing in the mouth, face red with rage.
"You made Vivio skip her classes? Are you mad?!"
Vivio tries to pull Nanoha off auntie Hayate.
"Mom, relax! Let her go." But her mother is strong, "Let. Her. Go!"
Nanoha reluctantly takes her hands off of Hayate, who runs away to a group of soldiers celebrating with beers and liquors. They grab the Princess and toss her into the air "Hooray! Hooray!"
"No! Hands off my ass!" Hayate squeaks.
Vivio tries to calm her mother down.
"Mom, I just wanted to see you come back."
Nanoha relaxes a bit, calming down. She looks at her daughter's face and her rage disappears. She smiles. They hug tight.
"It's over, mom. The war is over."
"Yes. It's over." Nanoha lets out a sigh of relief and closes her eyes. It's finally over. She and Fate can go home. Nanoha hugs Vivio tighter.
"Mom…"
"Yeah?"
"You stink."
#
.
A group of armed Executive Office agents is standing by in front of the dimensional gate located on the grassland middle of nowhere. Several armored vehicles are parked nearby, their windows and armor plates reflecting the late morning's bright sunlight. A high-profile convict is scheduled to arrive soon; an overnight trip all the way from Vaizen.
Right on time, the gate pulsates and Enforcer Teana Lanster stumbles out. As she does whenever she comes over to this godforsaken uninhabited world, or rather as she does whenever she makes a long-distance jump, Teana falls on all her fours and throws up. The agents don't pay much attention to this as it's nothing new to them. One agent rummages inside a small container sitting next to the gate. He pulls out a half-full bottle of mouthwash and tosses it to Teana.
As Teana swishes the liquid around in her mouth, a group of soldiers emerges from the gate, escorting handcuffed Precia Testarossa.
After exchanging formalities and documents, the soldiers hand over the prisoner to the agents.
"I thought the jail was in the orbit?" A soldier asks an agent, signing off a document.
"It is." The agent answers. "We take the orbital launchpad half an hour drive from here."
"Wait a second. Does this mean she has to make this trip every time she goes to the court?" The soldier asks.
"Exactly."
"Oh boy."
The soldiers wave goodbye and walk back into the portal, grumbling about the long journey back to their unit in Vaizen.
Teana waves to the agents and gets inside the first vehicle, riding shotgun.
.
The convoy is driving alongside a large blue lake. Teana looks out the window with a distant expression. Deep in thoughts, she squints her eyes as the lake water sparkles with reflected sun rays. A few more minutes in and Teana has made her mind up. Fair trial be damned.
"Do you carry any weapons in the car?" She asks.
"Yes, madam." The agent driving the leading vehicle answers. "Standard issue Strike Rifles. Rear compartment."
Teana looks out the window for some more minutes, her eyes dashing across the landscape.
"Pull over. Let's take a break." She gets on the comm and orders the convoy to halt. "Let's take a break."
The vehicles come to a stop. Teana gets out and stretches. The sunshine and the breeze feel good.
"Let her out, too, please."
The agents are puzzled but comply nonetheless. Precia Testarossa is led out of the extra-thick armored carrier. She silently takes in the peaceful scenery. A family of some duck-like birds has caught her eyes and she studies them with a curious expression.
The agents are milling around, wondering what this is about.
"Open up the compartment, please." Teana tells her driver.
"Madam?"
"Rear compartment. Please." Teana demands again, this time more firmly.
There is a look of realization on the agent's face. He opens the compartment at the rear of his vehicle where half a dozen Strike Rifles are neatly stowed.
"I believe this is where me and the boys go for a smoke or something?" The agent suggests.
"That'd be grand. Thank you." Teana nods with appreciation.
The agent calls his colleagues. At first, they throw a disapproving look at Teana, but the Enforcer in charge stands firm with head held high. The agents shrug and silently walk off to a far distance. They find a nice big boulder and disappear behind it, out of sight.
.
Teana patiently waits for the last of the agents to go out of sight. She then approaches the lone prisoner and releases the handcuff. Teana pulls the old woman to the leading vehicle, coming to a stop a few steps from the open rear compartment. She then takes a dozen steps away from confused Precia.
The two women remain silent for some minutes, gazing across the lake. It's Teana who breaks the silence.
"Alicia is in good hands. There is nothing for you to worry about. Boss will personally see to that." She glances at Precia. "You do know who my boss is, right?"
The old mother doesn't answer. Teana scoffs and continues.
"There are movies and books about her and her adventures. They call her the guardian of justice."
Precia remains silent. Teana goes on, getting excited as she boasts how awesome her boss is.
"Kids look up to her. They say 'Mommy, mommy, when I grow up, I'm going to be just like her'" Ha! Teana gloats. Yes, Fate is that cool. The very girl this heartless mother had abused and abandoned. And now look! Look what she has become. Teana's mood crashes down hearing the sound of Precia's slow voice.
"Her parents must be very proud. Your boss."
Teana glances at the woman. 'She knows what I'm talking about, yet…'
"Her name is Fate. Fate Testarossa. But she was adopted by the Harlaowns when she was a kid. Does the name ring any bells?"
She turns and looks hard into Precia's face, trying to find the signs of remorse. Regrets. Motherly pride, maybe. Anything. The woman is avoiding Teana's eyes.
"Sorry. No."
Teana opens her mouth but shuts up. 'You stubborn-'
"Maybe-" Precia glances sideways to Teana. "Maybe, someday, Alicia grows up to be like your boss. I hope she does."
Now Teana is baffled by this woman's stubbornness.
"Do you really believe she will wake up?"
"It's not a matter of belief, miss." Precia says firmly. "It is a given fact Alicia will come back. I just need to-"
"I won't allow it!" Teana snaps.
Precia finally turns and faces the Enforcer, her inquisitive eyes study the young woman spitting out her rage.
"Maybe someday Alicia really really does wake up. Maybe by some miracle. But I won't allow you to look forward to that day." Teana's voice breaks as she speaks. "You've caused too much pain to too many people… I can't allow you…" Teana trails off.
What she's about to do is a serious breach of her oath as an Enforcer, but she cannot allow this Testarossa woman to cast any more shadows on Fate. Because to Teana Fate is her inspiring boss, her guiding senpai, her dear friend, and her kind sister. Just by simply existing, Precia Testarossa will hurt Fate again and again as she did last night. Teana cannot allow this to continue, so she has decided to take the matters into her own hands.
"It's a punishment I'm giving you."
Precia Testarossa turns to look into the opened rear compartment of the vehicle.
"I see… you think I don't deserve it. Perhaps you are right…" She sighs. "Indeed, you are right, miss Enforcer."
"After what you've done…" Teana shakes her head. "But Alicia will be properly taken care of. That I promise."
"Thank you. I am grateful." Precia heads towards the vehicle's rear. "Let us get it over with."
But Teana stops her.
"Either this or-"
Precia stops and turns around. Teana takes a deep breath.
"Or… you spend the rest of your life in prison. You will be fed, clothed, and cared for. And from time to time, your daughter will come to visit you. And you will look forward to the day she comes." Teana starts to pace around, almost rambling to herself.
"She will talk about how her day went. You will say 'Oh, really?' and 'Wow, that's nice' and 'Glad you came to tell me'…"
Precia silently watches the Enforcer painting a warm pink alternative available for the old mother to take. Teana is making an offer for one last time. But what will be the price?
"Maybe someday she brings her kid, too. And you will say 'How is your school?' and 'Oh my you've grown so much' and stuff." Teana then pauses and thinks about what she's said for a second. Vivio isn't exactly a kid… well, who cares? She continues. Teana's face brightens up as if she is the one in the prison cell gloating about her daughter.
"And in your prison cell, you will watch her on the news and read in the newspapers. You will tell the guards and fellow inmates 'That's my girl' and-"
"Miss, my daughter is Alicia and she is dead!"
"Why are you so-" Teana's bright rambling stops and she sharply turns to face the old woman, only to find Precia in tears.
"Otherwise… otherwise, after all these years-" Testarossa is crying. "Alicia and all these years, and the girls. And the girls!" She is on the verge of breaking down. "I can't turn them into nothing now!"
Teana rages. She stomps on the ground, kicking dust.
"All you have to do is tell me your girl's name! Say it! Say it, goddamn it!"
It is impossible for Precia Testarossa. She understands what this Enforcer is trying to do for the sake of her boss. To Precia, however, acknowledging that girl would mean admitting all her years in Al Hazard, her struggle, and her girls… it would mean they have been in vain. All that would turn to nothing, meaningless, abandoned. Reduced to the level of unnecessary redundancy. Yes, she's chosen Alicia over them and burned them down herself, but she has finally found a place for them in her heart and holds them dear in her soul, next to Alicia. Alicia and the girls. Irreplaceable until her very last moment. Not even for Fate.
Precia Testarossa has calmed herself down. She takes a deep breath and smiles faintly.
"Alicia is my one and only girl. Sorry, miss, I do not know whom you are talking about."
Teana gasps. Her anger and rage die down. 'This poor woman's mad stubbornness is just so…' Teana, too, takes a deep breath. If Testarossa, even after all that rosy prospects Teana has offered, chooses this over reconciliation with Fate, then Teana has no other choice but to respect and appreciate the decision. Precia has opted to give Fate a closure herself by exiting the stage. Teana turns her back on the old mother.
"Is that so?" Teana asks one last time.
"It is so."
The older woman takes a few more steps towards the open compartment and stops right at it. She eyes the rifles stowed within. She doesn't actually know how to use them, but that won't matter. All she has to do now is- 'Ah, wait. I have to let her know.'
"But about your boss-" Says Precia her last words. "I'm sure her mother would be really proud and happy. Of what she's become."
She reaches for a rifle.
.
The agents have silently sat in the boulder's shadow. They all know what Teana is up to but aren't going to interfere. As far as they are concerned, if none other than Lanster herself is going so far as to do this… well, maybe it's for the best.
They are startled by the sound of Teana's dual pistols going off. They sit around for a minute or so more, then one by one stand up.
When the agents reach the scene, they find Teana on the ground, sitting next to dead Precia Testarossa; head buried in knees, sobbing.
#
.
A funeral is in progress in the public cemetery park in Midchilda. The sky has decided it will rain hard for the occasion, making the afternoon appropriately dark and gray.
The service is attended by only a handful of attendees, mostly the close associates of Fate T. Harlaown, but the area is packed with the media people. The cameras are mainly focused on weeping Red Ribbon standing next to vacant faced Fate, who in turn is leaning onto solemn Nanoha. Vivio in a simple black dress stands there glaring at the media people, disgusted.
.
Wet from the rain, Teana gets under a tree not far from the service. Hayate is leaning onto the trunk, chain-smoking. Teana removes her beret and shakes the water off.
"I don't believe you of all people fucked it up." Hayate comments with a loaded tone.
"It's all in the report, Hayate. I messed it up."
Teana points at the cigarette in Hayate's hand then to herself. Hayate checks her pouch; there is only one left.
"Sorry, it's the last one." Hayate pockets the pouch and stares into the distance, thinking.
"Yeah? So?"
"Huh?" Hayate pays attention again. She realizes Teana is still waiting for a cigarette. "Hell, no. I'm not giving you my last one."
Teana just sighs and leans on to the trunk opposite side of Hayate. They stand there in silence for some minutes, counting the rain droplets.
"Does she believe you?" Asks Hayate, breaking the silence.
"Nah~. But for some reason, she's not mad at me. I don't really understand-"
"Maybe she knows you did it for her sake. Sad. But not mad." Hayate postulates and finishes her smoke.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Teana insists.
.
The service ends. Fate drags the red-eyed clone sister to the two women under the tree. Hayate gives a sincere hug to her dear friend.
Teana can feel the menace in Red Ribbon's demeanor. Fate, for some reason, has dressed the clone girl in a black suit, not a dress. The short blond hair is combed nicely, with a black ribbon for the occasion, and pale face washed clean; overall whole lot presentable than before, except for the healing scars on cheekbones where the bolts had been drilled. The girl is ready to jump and Teana tenses up in response, readying for a fight. But Fate bonks the girl's head and the tension evaporates.
"Enforcer Lanster, I have an assignment for you." Says Chief Enforcer.
Teana snaps to attention.
"Here's your trainee." Fate points at her young sister. "Consider it as your punishment."
"What?!"
The clone sister is equally shocked.
"No! Please, onee-chan. Anyone but her!"
Fate waves off the protests. She signed the paperwork last evening and it is already settled.
"She's all yours as of today, Teana."
"But, boss! I can't-"
Fate ignores Teana's protest and turns to face her recently acquired sister. She holds the girl by shoulders and looks straight into the eyes.
"Teana's my best Enforcer I can't afford to lose. So, behave, OK? No biting her head off, OK? Promise?"
"OK, onee-chan." The ribbon girl reluctantly agrees.
Hayate has been watching the event unfold with amusement. She takes out her last cigarette and lights it. 'Welp, this is going to be interesting.'
#
.
Inspector Acous is sweating, clearly uncomfortable. It's been weeks since the Management has launched a fact-finding mission and put him in charge, but there was so little for him to work with.
All he had was a few-second long footage of Al Hazard burning and less than ideal testimonies from the few people who were involved.
The investigation task force went over the footage taken by Lighthouse frame by frame and has concluded the obvious; Al Hazard is an inferno. The mission was to find out why.
Chief Enforcer blames herself. She insists she's responsible because she gave the order to neutralize the linker cores in Al Hazard en masse, which led to the disaster. Verossa, of course, has written Fate off as innocent. She can't be guilty for having an idea.
Dr. Scaglietti, the one responsible for so-called Malware, has written a lengthy statement with scientific back data; essentially blaming it on the accuracy of the data provided by Executive Office. According to him, Chief Enforcer's idea should have worked, but there must have been a big discrepancy between the actual Al Hazard magic and the estimation extracted by the Office's lab. Unfortunately for Verossa Acous, Scaglietti had handed over all his work to Enforcer Lanster, who in her haste didn't have the thought to make a backup copy before packaging everything and shipping to Al Hazard.
Inspector Acous did manage to secure copies of the auxiliary documents the Enforcers and the Agents forged, but they were more to make the actual Malware look a legitimate Caledfwlch research document and weren't very useful in determining the actual nature of the core paper. The only copy of Malware had been shipped to Al Hazard and was most likely destroyed during the disaster.
.
"-and Dr. Scaglietti admitted he had indeed not foreseen the disastrous event that unfolded in Al Hazard." Says Verossa to the audience in the Sail Force HQ's conference room. He is presenting his findings to a special committee. He wonders why they are doing this in the Sail Force HQ, though.
"So, basically… it was a freak accident due to some errors in our data?"
The Bureau Security Adviser comments, sighing. The room murmurs in amusement.
"Al Hazard is indeed an unknown, sir. Even our best estimation is not as accurate as we hope." Verossa answers.
The Bureau Security Adviser scoffs. He can't help but laugh at the absurdity that has come his way.
"Rather a convenient excuse for a genocide that 'I' unknowingly convinced the Management to sign and authorize, don't you think?"
.
Lindy Harlaown sits next to the Security Adviser. She's been silent, but her eyes are sharp, fixed on her son across the conference table. Chrono has taken notice of his mother's intense stare and is trying his best to ignore it.
.
"Sir, All the evidence suggests a genocide definitely was not our intention." Verossa tries to set the record straight. With hindsight, it's always easy to point fingers at some people and blame them for things that didn't go as planned, but that never is a healthy thing. But, of course, he doesn't know he and his team have in fact failed to find the actual facts.
Leaning back on his seat, Chrono internally sighs in relief, trying to appear as innocent as possible. He and Teana wanted Alicia destroyed. Scaglietti foresaw Testarossa would try to stop Alicia's destruction, and thus added his own little touch. As long as the three keep their mouths shut, no one will learn the truth.
"It doesn't help we have a conflicting testimony from the sole survivor and witness." Verossa informs the room. The girl has been adamant with her version of what happened in Al Hazard. Inspector Acous continues. "She claims Precia Testarossa did, and admitted, setting the world ablaze."
"And how does that fit into the big picture?" The Security Adviser asks.
"We are working on it, sir. Will submit a comprehensive report in the coming days."
"You do that." The Adviser looks around the room. He leans onto the table from his seat. "Alright, people. What's important is the fact that we have a humanitarian disaster on the other side of the gate."
Although debatable, the Bureau has maintained its stance that the Alicia clones are to be deemed citizens. That makes the situation in Al Hazard a catastrophe that needs immediate action. The problem is the public isn't very fond of the idea of spending money and resources on the people who just recently caused havoc in Vaizen. Besides, the matter of hostility still remains.
"I'm ready to ship Disaster Recovery-" Lindy chimes in. "-But I can't send them without knowing whether the surviving inhabitants are hostile or not."
"Let's hear from the lady. I want to hear what happened. I want to hear what she thinks." The Bureau Security Adviser suggests.
.
A soldier leads an Alicia clone into the room. She is wearing the gray-black Executive Office uniform spotting the trainee rank. The girl removes her beret to reveal a red polka dot ribbon neatly clipped onto her bob cut blond hair. She is further led to the front of the room.
The Security Adviser welcomes the clone girl.
"Miss, first of all, let me assure you we have no desire to further hostile actions into your homeworld. We are trying to help."
Red Ribbon nods in appreciation. She tries to hide it but is obviously nervous. Within days after the surrender, she learned Fate onee-chan is an extremely important person within the Bureau, so important she can just pull the girl out of the prisoner camp with simple grunts and gestures. And then she learned that Hayate-something woman is way up there in the ranks, too. So, when she learned she was called in to give her version of the story to the Bureau Security Adviser and such people she asked Teana who these people are. When Teana explained these people are higher ranked than even Fate and Hayate-something, the girl panicked.
"Focus on the bald head, and you will be fine." Red Ribbon recalls Teana's advise and intensely stares at the brightly shining scalp. It calms her down somewhat.
"Young miss, excuse me for asking, but how old are you? Could you tell us your name?" The Adviser inquires.
"The doctors told me I am nineteen, mister. I haven't picked a name yet…"
"OK. Excellent. Not a minor." The old man smiles. Had this girl been a minor her legal guardian would have to be brought in to be present. And that would mean yanking Chief Enforcer Harlaown out from her busy schedule. This made things simpler.
"I understand you have recently enrolled in the Enforcer academy program?"
"Yes, mister." The girl fidgets with her uniform. She had initially hoped to join the Ground Armament Service and eventually work for the knight general Signum, but Fate onee-chan up and went and planted her into the Enforcer program. Turns out, once she mastered reading and writing, she started to actually like being in the Office… except for that Teana bitch breathing down on her neck every day.
The Bureau Security Adviser is impressed. People generally start from the Agent training. Chief Enforcer handpicking this young lady and putting her in the Enforcer program is telling a lot. Something has convinced the head of the law enforcement that this girl has a bright future in the Office.
"I trust Chief Enforcer's judgment, and I, too, look forward to seeing you wearing the badge. Best of luck to you, miss." The man says in honest and moves on to the main topic.
"Now we understand it's painful to recall, but we need you to tell us what exactly happened in your homeworld. What happened? How bad is it?"
#
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Few more weeks have passed, and the fact-finding task force has released their final report. The initial reaction by the public is… confused. People are baffled, to say the least. 'A series of unfortunate events?'
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"-so… the Bureau commissioned Dr. Scaglietti to neutralize the linker cores in Al Hazard, and he 'accidentally' set Alicia on fire-" The gray-haired news anchorwoman tries to summarize. Her returning guest, the bald former Bureau Security Adviser, nods.
"That's right. Mind you though, destroying Alicia Testarossa was the objective of the backup plan which was to raid Al Hazard." The old man shrugs. "So, it kinda worked out itself."
"Or rather… it was working out itself… until Precia Testarossa, in her desperate attempt to save her DEAD daughter, sacrificed Al Hazard and the girls. Yes?"
"Well, OK, you are right. But that made it impossible for her to send reinforcement to Vaizen, which in turn relieved us from having to resort to the backup plan."
The anchorwoman is baffled.
"I'm sorry, it's so…" How does saving her dead girl lead to burning down her own homeworld?
"It's Al Hazard." The man shrugs again. "Magic is weird there… so I'm told."
The news anchor shakes her head.
"So, who do we hold responsible for this disaster?"
"Well, let's see…" The former Security Adviser thinks out aloud. Scaglietti is already in jail under a life sentence. Testarossa is dead… "But what could we hold them responsible for? Manslaughter? Negligence?" He shrugs. He does not add the disturbing question that's been lingering in his mind. 'Do people even care?'
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Teana turns off the news display and gets back to her noodle soup. Thanks to the missing incisor every meal is a challenge for Teana. Soup is a bit easier for her to handle.
"Hey, I was watching!" Red Ribbon raises her head from her noodle soup but goes back to eating without adding more complaints. The two are having a modest dinner at the small kitchen table in Teana's apartment studio. Fate not only entrusted this brat to Teana for the training, but for everything.
"Nanoha isn't very comfortable with my clone in the house." Fate said when dropping the girl off at Teana's place. Apparently, both Nanoha and Red Ribbon ended up in awkward terms after Nanoha, for multiple times, mistakenly groped the wrong bottom. During the few days Red Ribbon stayed at the Takamachi residence, she discovered the flying devil wasn't as scary as she looked, but still a bit peculiar woman to say the least. Besides, Red Ribbon felt very awkward around Vivio, who's supposed to be her niece. Vivio was kind and friendly, but the clone girl simply could not relate to the young lady who grew up in such a dream-like environment.
And so, the clone girl settled at Teana's and the two nemeses bickered and bitched living together.
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Teana puts her spoon down and silently studies the girl in front of her. The trainee Enforcer notices the gaze and looks up.
"What?"
"I'm curious." Teana leans in, setting her dish aside. "Why haven't you gone tell on me? To Fate 'onee-chan'?"
Red Ribbon throws her spoon down onto the table and leans back in her chair, sighing and glaring at Teana. Yes, she could just go and tell Fate what really happened. What the true nature of that Malware thing was. What this Teana bitch intended to do to Alicia. She could have told everything. But she hasn't. There is no point in telling Fate onee-chan. It would only upset her and hurt her even more. Besides, that would be suggesting Fate onee-chan punish this Teana bitch, and Red Ribbon cannot accept that. It has to be her who punishes Teana… at some point eventually, preferably involving a gruesome death.
"So? Why haven't you?" Teana presses on.
"So you owe me big." The ribbon girl scoffs and goes back to her noodle soup.
Smiling Teana observes the younger girl for a moment. She then pulls out her personal datapad. Now to the topic she's been meaning to address for some days.
"You know you are using my spare datapad? And it's synced to my this one?"
"Yes. So?"
"Stop downloading penis photos. You are ruining my bike gallery."