Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Another day, another crosspost from last week's loadout on SV. The muse decided it was time for some feelpedoes in the thread and a deep psychological dive. Opening Quote's important for this one, and it is set waaay in the future.

Strong At The Broken Places

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry." -- Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms

*-*

....This set of five previously unknown oil paintings, first recorded as part of the painter's estate upon the death of Lord Draco Malfoy and the passage of his wives to join him by the executors of his will, are permanently lent to the National Gallery for display by John-Paul Malfoy. The Younger Malfoy was already a magical landscape painter of note who was instrumental in bringing the attention of the art world to the genius of his father, who did no public exhibitions of his work and painted privately for friends and family such as the wedding paintings of all his children and their cousins.

These are perhaps the finest examples of the Early Period of Lord Malfoy's work as a magical portrait painter of exceptional genius. As common for Lord Malfoy's non-commissioned works, he used himself and his wives as models.

While upon first glance, the five paintings are neither unified by model, subject, nor location, the powerful emotions and pathos displayed link them thematically as a set of masterpieces of the art of one of the most notable magical artists of the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd centuries. Each painting concentrates upon the tragedy of loss, grief, and shame, and are widely considered to be instrumental in the Magical Neo-Classical revival of the 2500s after their discovery and recognition. They are viewed by millions yearly, and we welcome you to experience them as well, visitor....

(Holographic AI guide at the entrance to the Magical Wing of the National Gallery 2767)

VALOR

This piece is set aboard a wet navy warship from the Second World War. Analysis of the details reveal it as a shattered, burning, and sinking Fletcher-class Destroyer littered with the dead and dying. A Native American officer, believed to be Commander Ernest E. Evans (CMOH), bleeding heavily from his wounds, is shouting orders to the -- visible as outlines in the steering compartment when the smoke billows across the scene -- forms of wounded sailors struggling in thigh deep bloodstained water within the open hatch to the steering compartment below him. The one remaining 5"/38 gun turret operational is being fired by the powder-blackened survivors of her gun crew at the approaching Japanese wet-navy warships in the background approaching to deliver the death blow.

The foreground has the ghostly image of the ship spirit of USS Johnston visible as a weeping specter as she gently touches the bloodstained, tattered, and shot torn battle ensign flying over the wreckage with one hand in the final moments before the order to Abandon Ship will be given.

The image of Johnston's stricken but resolute face with its mingled grief, agony, and sad pride as she looks at her crew fighting to the bitter end of the Battle off Samar in 1944 is widely considered to be extremely haunting to the observer when she turns to face the viewer and looks into his heart....

(Holographic AI Guide for the painting called Valor in the Malfoy Collection 2767)

PERSERVERANCE

The scene here is The Cenotaph memorial in London at night. A discarded copy of the Daily Telegraph print newspaper in the foreground puddle is illuminated by the reflection of an outside light source. The newspaper headline "SURRENDER: THIS IS THE END" dates the scene to May 5th, 1945. There are many non-historical and symbolic elements present in the rainstorm, solitary dim light from above the memorial illuminating the focus of the scene in a pool of light, and lack of additional residents present.

Shrouded in blowing rain, and weeping in visible heartbreak as she lays five freshly cut live red poppies (symbolizing death in combat) one at a time at the foot of The Cenotaph kneels a lone blond female figure in Women's Royal Navy Service dress uniform with a black armband. Her face is turned away from the viewer and her hand shakes uncontrollably as she gently places the flowers at the foot of the White Ensign flag (Symbolizing the Royal Navy of the era). The poppies wilt and then sink into the puddle of water and tears at the foot of The Cenotaph in an endless loop that always has four flowers laid and a fifth one being placed.

The scholarly consensus is the mourner is symbolic of the ship spirit of HMS Cleopatra, who was the model for the woman. This hypothesis is bolstered by the infrequent ghostly female images who briefly become visible at irregular intervals within the blowing rain outside the circle of light whenever a flower sinks. These images are modeled on the manifested ship spirits of her sisters HMS Hermione, HMS Bonaventure, HMS Charybdis, HMS Naiad, and HMS Spartan. All five ghosts have looks of love and compassion on their haunting faces as they vainly reach out to the mourning figure to comfort her before they vanish in the rain....

(Holographic AI Guide for the painting called Perseverance in the Malfoy Collection 2767)

DUTY

The setting here is the port of Wilhelmshaven in Germany. The uniforms of the officers and other details place the scene during the middle of the First World War.

Two naval officers in undress uniform speak together as they supervise a work detail attempting to chip away rust on a worn and neglected Gazelle-class Protected Cruiser (an obsolete prewar class) anchored at the breakwater as a hulk. One, holding a radio message form shakes his head to the other officer's question with a melancholy look on his face.

Past the officers, the final ships of the High Seas Fleet, damaged, near sinking, and with their flags lowered in defeat return to port from the Battle of Jutland. In the distance, the setting sun turns the now-empty sea as red as blood while night begins to fall.

Visible on the seaward rail is a ghostly spirit easily identified as that of SMS Niobe. She shakes her head in denial while staring into the now-empty ocean, then falls to her knees in tears as she desperately begs for her sisters to return to her and forgive her for failing to be there for them in Early 20th Century German. This is according to linguistic analysis paired with lip reading as she suffers in an endless loop. This figure is widely viewed to be a painted quintessence of grief and regret....

(Holographic AI Guide for the painting called Duty in the Malfoy Collection 2767)

HONOR

The scene is a mist shrouded cemetery in a yew forest. Headstones with Christian and Jewish iconography stand in serried rows of white marble endlessly into the distance. There is one notable exception in the foreground which is the centerpiece of the painting.

A single jet-black slate cross bearing the cryptic inscription H. v. u. z. W. X.III.17 -- II.VII.42 in silver Fraktur lettering rests at the head of a grave being dug. Next to the grave, a pair of open coffins made of cypress rest with one being occupied while its identical mate awaits its occupant.

The occupied coffin has a blond-haired young man with an incredibly peaceful but dead face dressed in a pristine black and silver Schutzstaffel uniform with a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves at his neck. Atypically, and jarringly, his SS-Ehrendolch honor dagger is bloodstained and chipped as he clasps it in his folded hands upon his breast. It points directly to the bleeding death wound upon his abdomen in an action of significant symbolism.

The other figure is a blond woman dressed in a stained and worn black mourning dress from this era with a veiled face and her hair filthy, tangled, and unbound. She is clearly exhausted with her once-beautiful face hollowed by her difficult life as she uses her bloodstained and torn hands to dig the grave for the corpse to lie in eternally. Her face is filled with resolute acceptance with her pain only visible in the depths of her haunted eyes, filled with tears that never fall.

Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy, the painter's fourth wife, is the model of the digging woman. The identity of the corpse and the meaning of the second empty coffin have produced intensive scholarly debate among art historians ever since the painting was discovered. To date no clear consensus has been established for this symbolism....

(Holographic AI Guide for the painting called Honor in the Malfoy Collection 2767)

INSIGHT

The last painting in the set is a self-portrait set in a darkened room.

The artist, here a young boy dressed in his Hogwarts school uniform, holds a serpent-decorated silver hand mirror in front of him with an aristocratic sneer as he admires himself. That expression of vanity twists into a look of terror, regret, and remorse. Following the expression change he slowly changes from flesh to lifeless and crumbling stone in an endless loop that begins at the hand holding the mirror and resets as the decaying stone reaches his screaming horrified face. During an cycle with an additional figure, the face will warp into the Basilisk or the Young Man before resetting when they are present. To date, the face has never warped into that of the Girl.

Visible behind Lord Malfoy as reflections over his shoulder in the mirror are a trio of additional figures who fade in and then out during any given petrification cycle. Most frequently seen is a unknown boy his age with dark hair also dressed in Slytherin House robes who has a expression of evil delight in his smirk of triumph as his features warp to that of Lord Malfoy. Next frequently is a monstrous basilisk with eyes the same color as Lord Malfoy. Very rarely, a brown-haired and brown-eyed young girl in Gryffindor House robes is very briefly visible with a look of utter disgust and rejection.

The themes of metamorphosis and the expression of self-knowledge as an action that can either transcend or consume the seeker while it changes him into what is within became more widely developed later within Lord Malfoy's mature Middle Period. This is the earliest known example and use of the symbolism as an apparent first probe at a theme that he later explored in more depth in The Maidens of The Seasons four painting set for instance. The widely accepted metamorphosis symbolism here is the Jungian Shadow (represented by the boy), the Inhuman Monster Within (represented by the Basilisk), and the Feminine (represented by the girl)....

(Holographic AI Guide for the painting called Insight in the Malfoy Collection 2767)

 

[darthcourt10]

mikelima777

Hong Kong SAR

The sounds of war finally faded once more from what was once a major commercial hub city. The various factions that contested a certain artefact had turned their attention elsewhere, leaving behind the ruins they though were devoid of life. None had noticed the hidden eyewitnesses that slipped away. Had they been seen, some would have questioned why they headed north, as the New Territories had been wiped out by a nuclear strike by the PLA as part of the desperate attempts to stop the Abyssal invasions on Blood Week. Or so many had thought.

When the Abyssals struck Hong Kong, and the local PLA garrison was decimated, the Central Government had ordered a hasty retreat to Shenzhen. As the PLA forces fell or left, the invaders suddenly fell under attack, as thousands of spectral soldiers and vessels ranging from junks to British warships fought back. While still outnumbered, the ghostly defenders bought time for survivors to flee. While many sadly perished, survivors were led to the New Territories. The outside world would not realize that one of the earliest examples of post-Statute cooperation between the magical and nonmagical governments would happen in Hong Kong after the surviving members of the Hong Kong Government were met by the other government of the region.

The magical government for the Hong Kong Special Administration Region had the rare fortune of possessing competent leadership. The Magical Chief Executive at the time had put the people ahead of his own interest, and risking the ire of the ICW, he ordered his government to support the fleeing citizens, helping them hide in the magical districts in Hong Kong. However, things had looked dire as the Abyssals then went around the New Territories to attack Shenzhen and the mainland. Isolated, and effectively surrounded by the abyssal forces, the joint government made a fateful gamble. Massive illusion charms were placed over the enclaves within New Territories, causing everyone outside to believe that multiple nuclear weapons had struck the area.

With Hong Kong Island and the areas surrounding Victoria Harbour devastated by Blood Week, and the rest of the SAR seemingly destroyed, Beijing had written off the former British Colony. Nevermind the fact that the People's Republic of China was already busy trying to survive and maintain internal order, they had no resources or men to reassert control over what they had written off as an irradiated wasteland, the remains of a city with questionable loyalty to the Beijing government. The ICW also wrote off Hong Kong after losing contact with the government there. Many of their magical sensors had been overwhelmed, and any magic detected in the area afterwards was assumed to be either radiation or the remains of magical outbursts from wizards sacrificing themselves against the Abyssals. Moreover, the barrier around China had been set up during the rule of Mao Zedong; Hong Kong was, of course, a British Colony at the time, and even after the handover, the barrier had not been extended. Some in the ICW believed that any magic detected in the area may be residual backlash from the barrier after the devastation on Blood Week.

While many of the remaining wizards and witches had been apprehensive about working with their nonmagical counterparts, they had no other choice. Both sides had to learn to work, live, and survive together. Indeed, magic was regularly displayed and used to help everyone survive. Wizarding tents and temporary housing became permanent residences, food was replicated to feed the many mouths. Potable water was also produced thanks to magic. They were able to repair some of the damage to infrastructure, including some portions of the devastated transit system. The KCR East Rail Line from Tai Wai (大圍 ) station to Sheung Shui (上水), the western half of the KCR West Rail Line, and part of the KCR light rail network was restored used for some passenger and freight use.

Not everything was perfect. Some tensions remained between the two communities forced together, and surviving buildings were turned into slums, crowded with families and animals. What was once a first-class world city now looked more like the favelas of Brazil or the infamous Kowloon Walled City. In a twisted irony, some could have compared the situation with the Reservations in Magical Japan. Some district of the slums were deeply influenced by surviving members of organized crime, and there were political factions vying for independence or attempting to rejoin the People's Republic.

Despite everything, they continued to survive and most survivors hoped for the day they can finally reconnect with the outside world, away from the violence.

 

[darthcourt10]

Sidestory - Snippet 269: Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Time for some well-earned Happy Endings for the participants.

Only My Buttervioline (IX)

Panathinaïkó Stádio, Athens, Greece

28 May 2036 (Women's Archery Gold Medal Ceremony)

A hush fell over the crowd as the archers who had competed for the medals waited at the podium. A trio of staffers brought out trays with the rewards for being the best in the Olympics.

Crowns of Laurus nobilis, the bay laurel, known as Daphne in ancient Greece after the nymph whom Apollo had loved and lost. A nymph turned into the evergreen tree of the bay laurel, whose leaves would be woven into crowns showing nobility and excellence in the arts and athletics that had pleased Apollo and Artemis, both of whom had groves of these sacred trees.

Bouquets of flowers as well for the ladies who had competed well and truly.

And last but not least, medals of burnished bronze, shining silver, and gleaming gold to show the world what the recipient had done in the XXXVI Olympiad in her chosen contest of Women's Archery.

Therese du Chasteler held her violin case as she stood patiently while the delegate from the International Olympic Committee and the representative from the World Archery Federation were announced. She gave a smile to Antigone Koustris on her right and then Choi Mi-Sun on her left who had recovered from the defeat that Therese had given her to win a medal.

"Choi Mi-Sun! Korea!"

The Korean archer stepped to the podium to cheers. She smiled, and waved to the cheering crowd. Then she bowed her head to have her brow crowned with laurel and receive the congratulations of the dignitaries. The bouquet followed, and last the bronze medal.

"Antigone Koustris! Greece!"

The crowd erupted as Antigone stepped onto the podium. She blushed and waved happily, but her gaze was locked on only a few targets in the cheering multitudes.

Aunt Medea.

Father.

Mother.

Artemis.

Each with the same message in teary faces.

In blinding smiles.

In glistening eyes.

I am so proud of you, Antigone.

I love you.

The roar redoubled as she was crowned with laurel. The stadium shook as the medal of shining silver was hung around her neck. The first medal ever won by Greece in this event.

Saltwater stung her eyes as she touched it in delighted wonder.

"Therese Lyra du Chasteler! Belgium!"

Therese felt as light as a feather as she stepped to the highest of the three podiums. Her blinding smile split her face as the cheers of the crowd buffeted her like a tornado.

Her eyes found her madly celebrating family and the beaming face of her love.

Gold-flecked blue eyes and a sunny smile projected a message that resonated with her her soaring soul on chords and melodies of delight.

I knew you could do it.

You proved your worthiness to the world... and to Me.

You are worthy to be my Love... and my Champion.

Therese swallowed and her lips moved as she whispered back shyly, unheard in the roar of the crowd, save by the One who she sent her words to.

"I swear on my soundboard, my soul, and my strings to be your Champion, Lord Apollo. Because I love you."

His smile widened and the sunlight caressed her to lift her higher than she could ever have dreamed of flying as she bowed her head.

The laurel of victory crowned her spruce colored hair.

A medal the brilliant gold of the Sun overhead adorned her neck.

Then as the athletes turned to face the three flagpoles, Therese took her true body from her case and raised herself to her shoulder, activating one of her enchantments that would let her voice fill the stadium with song.

As the Belgian flag was raised, she began to play La Brabançonne from memory...
Spoiler: Therese Plays The Belgian National Anthem...

...before seguing into Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν to honor Antigone's triumph...
Spoiler: ...Then The Greek National Anthem...

...causing the stadium to erupt into singing at her display of sportsmanship...

...then she finally concluded with Aegukga as a solo rendition as the archer who she had defeated to reach the gold wept in joy with this show of respect.
Spoiler: ...And Finally The Korean National Anthem

Because the glory of victory was only possible by virtue of the quality of the competition.
-----------------------

Villa Uvas Munificus, Slopes of Mount Ossa, Thessaly, Greece
Spoiler: A Buttervioline's Reward

Antigone squeezed the hand of her Belgian friend as the Portkey from the Olympic Village deposited them at Aunt Medea's villa in Thessaly. Therese gulped and then squeezed her hand back. "Thanks for the lift, Anti."

Antigone grinned and then released her friend's hand. "Anytime, Terri." The subgirl turned to look at the setting sun gilding the laurel trees of the Vale of Tempe, beloved of Apollo and the Muses in myth and folklore. "I got a message from Aunt Medea, and you have a surprise waiting for you." The grin widened.

Therese blinked and then reached for her currently-absent glasses out of habit before blinking. "Um, surprise, Anti?" She blushed and looked at the rising moon silvering the wine-dark Aegean Sea in the distance.

A quiet voice filled with presence suddenly shot a quiver down the spine of her true body. "Yes. Surprise."

Therese turned to see a midnight haired and creamy skinned young-seeming woman clad in a light silvery tunic, silver sandals, and carrying a quiver and bow step from the shadows.

Antigone gave an overjoyed smile. "Artemis! You came!" She dashed to the deity and hugged her.

The deity hugged her back and then touched the silver medal. "Well shot. My Huntress."

Antigone blushed scarlet and nibbled her lip.

Artemis then turned her gaze on Therese. Eyes as deep and dark and mysterious as a starlit night in the wilderness surveyed her. Finally perfect lips curled slightly. "Brother Chose well. See how you Hunt next."

Both Antigone and Therese relaxed at the calm words of approval.

Artemis made a gesture toward the door of the Villa. "Brother's inside. Go see him."

Therese bowed her head. "Thank you, Lady Artemis."

Artemis nodded, and then she and Antigone vanished into the shadow, with only girlish excited giggles to mark their stealthy passage.

Therese gave a fond smile and blushed, then walked to the door.

As her hand touched the latch it opened and He was there. Even with the normal blur of things close to her, he was as sharp and clear and radiant as anything she would ever be able to see.

All the blood in her body shot to Therese's face. She got an uncontrollable goofy grin and whispered in chorus with Apollo.

"so dreamy...."

Finally she took all the courage that she had, all the self-confidence that she had gained in the Olympics in both hands and rosined up her bow. "Um... hi." She squeaked out, then blushed as her voice cracked. "I'm Therese. W-what's y-your name?" An internal voice that sounded like her siblings and her friends like Martje screamed at her that she was approaching Maximum Dork status as her nuclear blush went critical.

He blushed in turn. "Apollo." A perfect finger touched the glasses that he held. "These are yours, right?" Then he blushed a deeper bronze at his words.

Therese nodded with a beaming smile and then gasped at the electricity shooting through them both as the glasses changed hands.

"Yes, yes they are..." She gathered her courage once more and looked into his warm, wonderful eyes as she smiled shyly after putting her favorite glasses back on her face. "D-do you like violin music?"

His smile and nod caused her spirit to soar as high as the Sun. "I do love music. Want to walk into the Vale of Tempe and serenade each other?"

She grasped his hand tight in a sudden movement. Her overjoyed beaming smile split her face while she nodded eagerly. She squealed out. "YESYESYESYESYESYES!!"

From the window Aphrodite turned to Athena. "See, even hopeless dorks can find true love. One day, even you will experience that." The Cytherean's grin was smugly satisfied and she summoned a pair of sunglasses. "Deal with it!"

Athena shook her head. "He's still a dork, though. Let's listen to Claire and her family play."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking out the window as the car drove along, Yae had wide eyes as she looked out at the base, "Gozaru..."

In the back seat, Nobu gave a laugh as she grinned, "Pretty impressive, isn't it? Heh, back in my first life something like a military base could not have been imagined."

Glancing at her friend, Okita turned towards Yae with a slight smile, "Well, it is hard not to be impressed. The base itself is practically a small town with everything that it has."

The lone non-reincarnated teen turned around in her seat at that in interest, "Really? A small town?"

Only adjusting her glasses, Uesugi nodded a slightly, "Indeed." She made a motion with her hand as she shook her head, "While we have not seen the whole base, Harry-Kun does, in fact, live here. And both him and Natsumi-Chan have confirmed that there is quite a bit here."

Just ticking off on her fingers, Okita nodded, "There's stores, arcades, a theatre, restaurants, a gym, pools... pretty much everything. Apparently there is even a bus service that goes through the base as well so that people can get places quicker."

Eyes wide, Yae just stared at her, "Gozaru... I never thought that there was so much on the base..."

With a small shrug, the former Shinsengumi shook her head, "Neither did I, really. But there you go."

Arms behind her head, Nobu shrugged, "That is ignoring the whole tunnels under the base." At the look, she waggled her hand, "Sort of cool, but there's like twenty seven miles of tunnels down there. And they use them for all sorts of things."

From where he was driving, Ryouma chuckled some, "They're useful though for getting around when the weather is bad, don't need to go outside at all." He then glanced to where work was being done on one such tunnel and shrugged, "They do get creepy down in the older, abandoned parts. Really creepy, and most of us avoid those places."

Just as Nobu was about to say something, the other two girls slapped their hands over her mouth with the same expression on both their faces, "No."

Needless to say, that caused giggles to erupt from the last of the girls, and she shook her head a little.

Eventually, the car pulls up in front of an apartment building and Yae looked up at it in interest, "Is this where Harry-San lives?"

Simply nodding as she undoes her seatbelt, Uesugi hummed a bit, "Hai, from memory this is where Harry-San lives alongside his adoptive Okaa-San and Imouto." Checking her phone, she frowned a little, "Though we are a bit early, unfortunately..."

Having already unbuckled her seatbelt, Nobu wiggled over a protesting Okita, "By an hour, but who's counting?!" Opening the door, she lunges out, "Freedom!"

Eyebrow twitching, Okita tried to grab her and instead fell over as the former warlord cackled madly. Unable to help herself, Yae giggled some as she got out after thanking Ryouma. Joining the others at the vehicle's trunk, she pulled out her gym bag, which was filled with all she would need for a week.

Part of her mind went back to what had happened when she told her parents about the invitation. At first, they had been stunned by it, as was her grandmother. A trip? To Britain for a few days? Since they were middle class, such a thing was almost impossible to comprehend. Yet, there it was and was confirmed when Nagato called them later to speak with them. Despite being confused with how, her parents accepted the offer quickly. Especially since it meant that they would have fruit preserves that might last for a few weeks.

That was something that Yae's mother and grandmother were looking forward to.

Before the last bit of luggage was pulled out, Harry had opened the door to the apartment building, smile on his face, "Hey Guys." Cocking his head to the side a little, he raised an eyebrow, "A bit early..."

Shrugging, Nobu grinned a bit, "Can't he helped! Besides, better early than late."

That got her a twitch of the lips from the teenage boy before he picked up one of the gym bags, "Here, let me give you a hand with that, you guys can wait in my apartment until it's time to go."

Leaning out the window of his car, Ryouma chuckled some as he gave a salute, "Thanks for taking care of them for the next week, Harry-San. Okita? Don't cause too much trouble!"

Face flushed, said girl glared at him, "Shut up!"

However, all he did was give her a jaunty wave and take off. Amused, Nobu followed the car with her eyes before chuckling, "He's a good Onii-San."

Sighing, Okita had a slight smile on her face, "He is at that... but I'm never going to tell him that."

That got a chuckle from the others before Harry shook his head with a smile, "Anyways, like I said, we can wait in the apartment until it's time to meet up with the others." He gave a small shrug, "I got oatcakes just out of oven if you want some."

Almost immediately, Okita and the other two reincarnated teens licked their lips hungrily. For her part, Yae blinked a little at their reactions in bemusement, "Oatcakes, Gozaru?"

Uesugi gave a hum as she had a far off look on her face, "Harry-Kun's oatcakes are quite delicious for something seemingly so simple."

Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, the wizard in question chuckled a little, "I'm not sure myself why people like them. They're pretty simple." He began to tick off on one hand as he continued, "Oats, evaporated milk, honey, and some spices like a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg... yet people love them. They're good for a snack though as they fill you up."

Arms crossed, Nobu scoffed a bit as she turned to Yae as they entered the apartment building, "It was one of the best things about our class when we did home economics with the cooking section. Harry-Kun here is an amazing cook and baker. Heck, even Sensei was impressed with him and how he could take a few ingredients and make something wonderful from them."

Just shrugging, Harry lightly blushed from the praise, "I just like cooking, that's all. Not that big of a deal."

Each of those whom had been classmates with him simply gave the fourteen year old amused looks. Deciding that, perhaps, it was best not to say anything at all, Harry coughed and continued to walk to the Nagato-Potter apartment despite the snickers behind him. Just opening the door to the apartment, he held it so that the others could enter before closing it behind him and setting the gym bag on the floor.

From the couch, Shiromizu poked her head up and blinked as she chewed something, "Hmm? They're early."

Grin on her face, Nobu gave a laugh and shrugged, "Can't he helped!"

Meanwhile, Harry just gave Shiromizu a look, "Really? I mean, really? You had to go and grab at least one of the oatcakes while I was gone?" Sighing, he rubbed the side of his head, "At least tell me that you didn't eat all of them."

Pout on her face, the Mizuchi gave him an innocent look, "Of course not! How could you think of such a thing regarding your beloved Onee-Sama?!"

Softly snorting, Harry waggled his hand, "I give it a six out of ten. As to how? I know you far too well, Shiromizu." He then gave a shrug as he headed over to the plate, "Also, you've picked up some bad habits from Jin."

At that, Shiromizu's pout increased in size, "Saying such things about your Onee-Sama..." Suddenly, her pout became a smirk, "Though that is what makes it so amusing~"

Blinking, Yae looked between them in confusion. The two were acting like siblings after all, were they related? Though they didn't look much like each other... about to say something, the Kendoka froze as Shiromizu came around the couch... and revealed that her lower body and legs had been replaced with a serpent's, red marks slightly glowing all over said scales, "G-Gozaru..."

Raising an eyebrow, Shiromizu glanced at her before turning to Harry, who shrugged. Then, she gave one of her own before putting her attention back to Yae, "My apologies... I am Shiromizu, the Mizuchi of the Shiromizu no Gawa which flows from Ginzanyama."

Quickly bowing, Yae swallowed a little, "A-ah, that is fine." Straightening, she chewed her lip some, "I... did not expect to meet one such as you, Shiromizu-Sama."

It went without saying that the Mizuchi in question was extremely amused by her actions. Cocking an eyebrow, she reached over with her tail and poked Harry in the cheek, "At least some people have proper respect for me."

Just rolling his eyes, Harry gently whacked said tail away from his face, "Sure, sure, whatever."

For her part, Yae stared in stunned disbelief at that, which only deepened as Shiromizu laughed. Weren't all the Mizuchi from the old tales proud creatures who could take offence from anything? Yet, here was one laughing as she teased a human and he did so back. However, her attention was grabbed as Shiromizu turned towards her with a knowing smile, the Mizuchi waving a hand, "Don't sweat it, Harry here has been my Otouto of sorts for years. Besides, use -San instead of -Sama, I would prefer it."

Only nodding, the lone non-Magical teen bowed a little, "O-of course."

Standing up, she flushed a bit at the smiles and good-natured chuckles that met her. However, a few moments later, Harry appeared and held out a plate to her, "Here you go, some nice oatcakes. Go ahead and try them, I have some tea if you want it as well."

Yae blinked a bit at that, but thanked him as she took one of the offered treats. Biting into it, she was surprised that it was soft, moist, but also good. As he told her, however, it was a bit heavy, but in a good way. It was very obvious why the others said that it was good as a snack.

And, as the Kendoka chewed, she could taste the slight hints of honey as well as spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon.

Beside her, Okita bit into one happily with a hum, 'So good...' Opening her eyes, she tilted her head a little, "One of these days you really have to teach me how to make these. They'd be good to munch on a trip."

Lightly laughing, Harry just gave her a shrug, "We'll see." As Uesugi took one, he hummed a bit, "By the way, if you want, I have a trunk in my room with expanded insides. We could put your luggage in there and shrink it, would make it a lot easier to handle."

Needless to say, all of the teenage girls there outside of an amused Shiromizu agreed.

His lips twitching, Harry motioned for them to follow after picking up one of the gym bags and putting it over his shoulder. A few moments later found them inside of his room and looking around in interest. Rubbing her chin, Nobu hummed a little, "So this is your room? I see, I see..."

More than a little amused, Uesugi noted that the room itself was neat and tidy. But, then her eyes caught sight of something and she blinked, "Is that a Tooth on display?"

At that, the others turned to the giant fang that sat on a stand, the sharp tip covered by a piece of silver. With a nod, Harry scratched his cheek some, "Hai, that's from a thousand year old basilisk that I killed about... a year and an half ago."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Yae looked at the fang in confusion, "A... basilisk? What is a basilisk?"

Grimace on his face, Harry rubbed a bit at his arm, "Imagine a snake the size of an Uwabami. Now, give it the ability to slay someone by meeting their eyes, petrify them if it meets their eyes indirectly such as through a reflection, and venom that can kill a full grown man in a matter of minutes. Now give it hide enough that it's tough to cut and pierce without a lot of force." He gave them a flat look, "That is a basilisk."

Not saying anything, Nobu looked at the fang for a few moments before turning to Harry and looking at where his hand was rubbing his arm, "... That is where you got that scar. It bit you."

Eyes widening, they turned to the teenage boy who paused before lifting the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the puckered scar that was there, "It's... master cast a spell that made the floor slick. So I did the only thing that I could and stabbed it through the roof of the mouth which killed it. But that fang pierced my arm as well. At which point... well, I was lucky that Phoenix tears cure any poison or venom and heal wounds. Still, it was too damn close."

Nodding, Okita grimaced a little, "I can imagine..." She gave a look at the fang before noting a photograph of Harry with a jewelled sword. Ignoring the gemstones, she noted he was posing and her eyes went wide at the sight of the giant, reptilian head behind him that was bigger than he was, "Is that...."

With a glance at the photo, Harry chuckled, "The Basilisk? Hai."

Reaching for a book, he flipped some pages until he turned it to them. On said page was a picture obviously taken from above, which showed some shipgirls next to the monstrosity. Jaw dropping at the sight, Yae felt a small shiver at the idea of facing it with only a sword. Right then, all the old tales felt all the more impressive, "That... is frightening, Gozaru."

With a shrug, Harry shook his head and let them flip through the pages, "Hai, but it is what it is."

Intrigued, Uesugi shared a look with Nobu who gave a slight nod. Yes, both of them would have most definitely wanted Harry as a retainer in their first lives. Even some of the more powerful warriors would have balked at fighting such a creature. After getting a bit more of the story out, including how Fawkes had poked out the serpent's eyes, Uesugi nodded before a thought occurred to her, "Harry-Kun? What happened to the remains?"

That made the fourteen year old boy blink before he shrugged, "It was skinned and some of it was sold. Anything that could be used for potions was harvested. And the meat, while poisonous due to being saturated in dark magic, was tasty to Abyssals so we gave it to Hoppou and the Fleet Of Laughtet as well as Wanko's Fleet. The skeleton... is still in one of the warehouses here. Most of what was left on it has decayed, but there's a fight between the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo and the British Museum in London who gets to mount and display the skeleton. Whoever doesn't will get a replica of all the bones, however."

Once more looking at the pictures, Uesugi, Nobu, and Okita snorted and spoke as one, "We wonder why they're fighting over them."

Said reply got snickers from Harry before he pulled out the trunk in question and began to slip the gym bags into it. Interested, the former Head of the Oda hummed as she rubbed her chin, "This... this sort of magic would have been extremely useful. Imagine just having a few such trunks and what it could have meant for campaigns when a single man could bring most of what was needed."

Frown on her face, Uesugi adjusted her glasses a little, "Indeed. It would have been extraordinarily useful for warfare."

Meanwhile, Yae was looking around in curiosity. There were some books there that interested her with titles such as "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", "Quidditch Though the Ages", "Onmyoudo: the Beginner's Guide to harnessing the spirits", and the like. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a cauldron sitting on a desk as well as parchment and what looked like quills. On said desk was also what looked like half an amethyst geode, glinting in the light.

It was just like something from one of the manga involving sorcerers and the like in the modern day.

As she looked around the room, though she was befuddled by the terrarium with a small castle inside, her attention was caught by something else. Yae's eyes widened a little as she looked at a foot long skull mounted on a piece of wood, long, needle-like teeth able to be seen, "Gozaru... what is this?"

Looking over, Harry nodded some, "That's a skull of a pike that I caught and killed." Grimacing, he shook his head, "Damn thing nearly tore my hand when I caught it, bloody vicious bugger."

Somewhat amused, Okita leaned in to look at it and noted the picture of Harry from a few years back with said fish in his arms, "Huh... so it's a kind of fish?"

Bemused at the expressions he was getting, Harry chuckled, "Hai, they live in streams back in Britain, usually in the weeds. They're predators, so they lunge out and eat other fish, ducks, and the like. That one there I got from a stream on my property and was about fifty pounds. Since the streams haven't been fished in more than two decades, the pike got the chance to get nice and big. Just makes them more aggressive though." He then gave a shrug, "Good eating too, but with how they got all sorts of small bones, you need to be careful when filleting them. Like perch."

Each of them gave that a bit of thought before nodding. Nobu did lean in to look at the skull before turning back to Harry with one raised eyebrow, "So why did you keep the skull?"

Expression utterly flat, Harry spoke in an extremely dry tone that got him snickers, "After it tried to eat my hand, I decided that I was not only going to eat it, but keep something from it as well." Then he shrugged with a slight smile, "Usually, I just keep pictures and such."

At that, the others nodded and soon after, they left the apartment to join up with the others.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And the Nagato chan saga continues.


Opening

Naka grinned. "It looks packed out there!" She commented as she peeked through the curtains.

"Are you ready?" Enterprise asked.

"I was born ready!" Naka replied.

"Good. Because I'm as nervous as a tribble at a Klingon banquet."

"What's to be nervous about? It'll be fine!"

"Easy for you to say," The famed starship replied. "Afterall, this isn't like a pitched battle. If things go wrong... The world wakes up tomorrow just like it did today. And then for you... There will be real missions. The British girls? They can always haul cargo. They'll still have a role to play. Me? Nagato? Arizona? This is the best we can do. What if our best isn't good enough? What if... What if I'm as fake as the plywood and plastic I was made from?"

Naka shook her head. "That won't happen. Because you girls aren't just made from plywood. You're made from dreams. You of all people should know the power of a dream."

"I know... and I'm still scared. I'm scared that maybe the girl behind the curtain will be a disappointment to the legend they think I am."

"You want to know the trick for success? It's easy! Think of the worst thing that can possibly happen!"

"And?"

"And don't let it happen!" Naka grinned. "I read that in a Star Trek novel once.

"Okay then. If it's from Star Trek, it MUST be good advice!" She looked at the clock. "Well, it's time! Good luck!"
***

In the stands, Nagato leaned forward expectantly. Harry was right, she thought as she looked over at her son, surrounded with his friends and his own veritable fleet around him. Nagato was in many ways, like a daughter. She existed because of who Nagato was and she had already proven that she lived by the same code of honor and responsibility. Nagato knew her daughter... She smiled at that thought... her daughter must be a bundle of nerves now. It was much the same as Nagato felt before a battle when all the preparation and planning was done and there was nothing to do but wait and ponder all the imponderables. Hoppou was right at her side, Nagato having made certain that Hoppou fully understood that no real hostile abyssals were here.

Mutsu was also here with Richardson at her side as it should be, Hiei was watching the twins tonight with Rose and Haruna visiting. Her own admiral and Kongou... There must be at least a hundred shipgirls by her count! Perhaps more! Looking around the auditorium, Nagato thought she recognized... No... that didn't seem possible? She must have been mistaken. Well, no matter. The house lights were dimming...


***

A solitary light shone upon Naka as she looked over the audience.

"Welcome! I am Naka! Idol of the Fleet! I will be your host today. And it is wonderful to see so many faces here today! Many of you I know. Our own Admiral Goto... Kongou chan is looking very nice today! Admiral Richardson and Battleship Mutsu! Congratulations on the twins! I see several of our heavy hitters today! Iowa... Enterprise... " Naka smirked. "You just might not be the 'Biggest E' here today. Hello Atago! I see Johnston...Des Division 6... LOTS of shipgirls here today...Almost as if they were expecting something..."

At that moment, a tall, pale figure in a white dress stepped out and stared at the audience. She turned to Naka.

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"What do you mean?"

"There must be at least a hundred shipgirls out here! I mean... That's a bit unfair! On my side, there's just me!" She stamped her foot.

"Hime... They're just here to watch the show."

"What?"

"That's right. They're just part of the audience."

"So they won't open fire on me?"

"Nope!"

"Well! That's better! In that case, I'd better hurry and put the finishing touches on my evil plan!" The abyssal ducked back behind the curtain.

Naka shook her head. "Central Island Hime, folks! Anyway, it's not just shipgirls here today! Let's give a warm greeting to the officers of Bokotou Police Station, They just successfully raised nearly a million yen for 'Orphans of the Storm', one of the charities we're supporting with today's show. Enjoy the show officers! You've earned it!" Naka led the clapping for the sixteen officers who had gotten a day off for their efforts. "And everyone, remember that ALL the ticket proceeds will go to charity. Anyway! Enough of the chit-chat! Who here is ready to see a show?"

The crowd applauded and Naka grinned. "Alright... Well then, let me turn things over to our narrator." The light on Naka faded and another light shone upon a figure dressed as a samurai.

"Greetings travelers, I am called Muroc Maru, Last built of the Takao class cruisers. I'm searching for my fleet. I must hurry because the waters this day are troubled. And I suspect I am not the only one in a hurry today." From off stage the shouts of voices came calling out to Muroc Maru. "Ah! My fleet! I must go now..." Muroc hurried off stage to the right. To the left, a light shone on a door marked 'Plott Devices' behind it were many items, some recognizable, like a DeLorean, and a blue police call box. A familiar figure slunk toward the door.

"Shhh...." Hime motioned to everyone. "I just know I'll find something useful here!" Hime started to rifle through things. "Electric can opener... Slap chop... What is this? the Home Shopping Network?... My car keys! How did they get here? There's just gotta be something good I can use!" Hime turned to the audience and looked thoughtful.

"I have a little confession to make... " She pinched her fingers together. "Everybody thinks I'm the 'Big Bad' around here... Actually... I have a boss... " Hime cringed dramatically. "And she is NOT happy right now! Apparently, she's sick of my constantly losing to The Great Lakes Battleship! I mean... I'm not fond of it either but my boss... We call her 'Lemurian Princess', she's REALLY not happy. And if I don't sink that battleship, I'm going to be in big trouble!"

"You're already in big trouble!" Hime's eyes widened as a familiar voice cut across the stage, a figure only half-lit.

"The Great Lakes Battleship!"

The figure stepped more firmly into the light, showing the famous heroic battleship carrying her famous shield.

Hime turned to the audience. "Okay! Who squealed? Hunh?"

"Um? Excuse me?" Illinois interrupted.

"In a minute! Can't you see, I'm talking to the audience!" She turned back from the battleship. "I mean... Who would tell on me? I'm pretty and cute! And..."

"And out of time, Hime!"

Hime paused with a finger on her chin, just below the mask that covered the lower part of her face and turned.

"We gotta fight now?"

"Unless you'd like to just surrender?"

"That would make the show boring so..." Hime snatched up a bracelet from one of the tables. "I'll just run away!" Hime ran off stage laughing merrily. Illinois looked confused and then the stage went black...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Looking around the brightly lit tunnel in interest, Shiromizu behind them, Yae blinked a bit in curiosity before turning to Harry, "Were these really built back in the 1940s, Harry-San?"

His lips twitching a bit as he lightly chuckled, Harry nodded, "Hai, though they look a lot different than they did before Blood Week." Gesturing around them, he continued, "The original tunnels were dug after the Doolittle Raid, and they go deep under the ground. They had a lot down here including a power plant, a hospital, and a full on Midget Submarine factory. In the deeper levels there were some... research projects... that were also happening."

The teenage Kendoka did not need to ask what said projects were due to the look on Harry's face as well as those of the three reincarnated teens. Deciding a change of subject was best, she cleared her throat, "So, um... they decided to... refurbish them?"

More than a little thankful for the change of subject, Harry shook his head, "Before Blood Week, they were sealing them up bit by bit. They didn't really have a use at the time and due to the construction, were sort of dangerous since during earthquakes you had falling rocks."

At that, Yae looked up at the ceiling in some worry before turning back to Harry, "A-and now?"

Only shaking his head, the teenage boy pointed a finger towards the ceiling, "They put reinforced concrete above us with joints every so often, so it's now perfectly safe unless we're talking something like the Great Kanto Earthquake. No one wants to guess how well anything would take something like that." Various nods met him at that as they looked around, "Anyways, after Blood Week and the Abyssal bombing campaign, the tunnels became important again. Elsewhere in Yokosuka, they were able to become ready made shelters for civilians until purpose ones were built... and still are. Here on the base, they were used for shelters, record keeping, and the like. Deep in them, there's even an emergency Command Center just in case."

Hands behind her head, Nobu glanced around in thought, 'Hmm...' Remembering some of the news reports, she narrowed her eyes a little and glanced at Harry, 'And with the news reports coming from China, most likely not just because of the Abyssals, either...'

Meanwhile, Harry continued, "So they refurbished them and everything. New walls, floors, and the like." A hum made him blink and he moved to the side, "Okay, guys, out of the way of the cleaner."

Each of the teens moved to the side as the floor cleaner, which was the size of other industrial ones, moved past as it avoided them. At the front, a camera swept the area in front of it for obstructions... mainly because said floor cleaner was entirely autonomous and had no human operating it. Once it was past, Uesugi looked back some, "Hmm... is that one of those new cleaning robots?"

Harry gave a nod to that, "Hai, otherwise with the amount of traffic that the tunnels get, you would need the cleaning staff going twenty four seven and probably at least fifty or so. They're testing them out right now though, and Ooyodo-Oba says that they're doing quite well when working alongside the human cleaning staff."

That only got him sounds of interest before they moved on. Reaching a door, Harry swiped a card through the reader and then punched in a code. Moments later, the small light went from red to green and he opened the door up for the other teens who quickly followed him through. As they turned a corner, the teenage wizard gave a wave as he could see Natsumi with Taiyang's sword form at her side and the others waiting for him alongside Nagato, Ooi, Kitakami, Ryuuhou, and Taigei, as well as Iku and Hachi. The blonde Submarine, who had been chatting with Iku, had her expression light up as she caught sight of Harry, "Harry-Chan!"

Just a few moments later, they were hugging and Harry gave the Subgirl a kiss on the cheek, "Hachi-Chan!"

He then proceeded to kiss the cheeks of Iku, Taigei, Ryuuhou, and Natsumi as well, which all of them smiled at before returning the favor. With a small nod, Nagato smiled some before nodding, "Good, we're all here." Checking the time, she hummed a little, "We have a few minutes though... Natsumi-San? I believe that you have something for us?"

Nodding, the Kitsune reached into her pocket before pulling out the time turner, "My Ojii-San and Obaa-San is letting us use the time turner my family has. That way, we can do more harvesting as well as do some sight seeing."

Lost, Yae leaned in to examine the strange object, which had an hourglass in the middle, "Um, a time turner? What is that?"

Amused and wanting to see the reaction she would get, Natsumi grinned some, "It allows for one to travel back in time. In this case, about twenty four hours or so."

Jaw dropping, the lone non-magical and non-reincarnated teen stared, "T-time travel!? Gozaru..." Looking from Natsumi to the device, she shook her head, "T-that is possible?"

Only humming, Natsumi slipped the time turner back under her shirt, "Hai, though there are rules and such. Thankfully, we only need to worry about the basics..."

It took a few minutes, but they explained to a stunned Yae the various rules. Said teen soon became thoughtful and nodded at what she was hearing before humming, "I see. That does make sense, Gozaru."

Having arrived partway through, Jin practically inhaled a hoagie that she had bought. Chewing, she shrugged some as she picked some lettuce from her teeth, "Yeah, thereabouts anyways." Looking around, the Mizuchi rolled her shoulders a little, "So, we're getting this show on the road then?"

Each of the teens either smiled or grinned at that as they nodded. Soon enough, they walked through the Vanishing Cabinet. Quietly, they made their way up and out of the basement and signed in at the manned desk whose guard nodded at them. With that done, they walked out the door and Yae blinked as she looked around, "It's night?"

With a hum, Harry gave a nod, "Hai, Britain is... about eight hours behind Yokosuka after all. So when we left, it was about ten hundred hours, and here it's two hundred hours, so early morning."

Amused, Natsumi gestured with the time turner that she had, "Hence, having this. It'll make things a lot easier for all of us."

That got her relieved nods and they gathered around the portkey. Moments later, they all felt a jerk behind their navels and the world dissolved into swirls and the like as they were flung through space. As they hit the ground, Yae blinked as she looked around, "Gozaru..."

Nearly having fallen, if not for the quick reflexes of Iku, Harry nodded, "Portkeys are kind of like that."

Rather amused at how he seemed to hate Portkeys, Natsumi shook her head with a slight snicker before bringing out the time turner, "Now... time to go back about... oh... I think eighteen hours, that should bring us to early morning and give us all plenty of time to settle in."

Everyone nodded as they gathered into a circle, with the chain lengthening for them all. Natsumi then began to turn the hour glass and everyone watched as the Half-Moon reversed course and began heading towards the eastern horizon, the stars themselves following. Then, there was a glow to the west and everyone could see the Sun slowly rise upwards as if it had been dawn and they were watching time lapse photography. The solar orb made its way across the sky towards the east, white fluffy clouds rushing across the sky at high speed as it did so, until everything began to slow and then stop.

With a smile, Natsumi took the time turner off everyone and tucked it back into her shirt, "And there we go..." Pulling out her phone, she nodded as the clock automatically updated, "And we are a quarter to eight in the morning."

Utterly and completely stunned by what just happened, Yae looked around with a dropped jaw, "G-gozaru... we just traveled in time..."

Hands in her jean pockets, Okita nodded as she looked around, "Magic really is a wonderous thing." Tilting her head, she looked towards Harry, "So where to now?"

Lips twitching, Harry jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "We head over to where the gate is and enter my property." As they walked, he nodded towards the bushes beside them, "These are elderflowers, by the way. My family used them as hedges to block off the family property from the rest of the area. If you look between them, you should be able to see the stone wall inside."

Poking her head some inside the bushes, it took a few moments, but Nobu blinked and nodded as she could see the stone wall that rose to head height for a tall man, covered with what looked like climbing roses and moss, "Huh. Interesting idea."

Just shrugging, the wizard shook his head, "There's damson trees just behind the wall too. Hedgerows basically have a bush that grows tight, a line of trees, and another row of bushes. The idea being that it means no one can easily get inside your property. You see a lot of them on old country roads and such."

More than a little thoughtful, Uesugi hummed a bit as they continued to walk along the hedgerow, "There is something interesting about such an idea. To use nature to block off an area of land."

Only nodding, Harry smiled a bit, "Natsumi-Chan and I figured that for our first bit of using the time turner to do it outside the hedgerows to hide ourselves from... ourselves." At the nods, they reached the main gate and he reached up before pushing it open. To one side stood an empty gatehouse, "Before you ask, I have been thinking about hiring someone... but not sure quite yet."

That got him sounds of interest as they walked inside, only for all the teens who had not been there before to pause as they were on a small rise that allowed for them to see the property. From where they were, they could see the manor nearby, fully restored, alongside the stable house. Not too far away, the converted millhouse rose over the pond, which reflected its surroundings like a mirror as water burbled over a small dam and into it, the overflow heading out of a small stream. There was, not too far from where the manor was, even a small guest house. And that was not mentioning the lines of trees or the distant stone building that looked like some sort of barn.

For several moments, the reincarnates as well as Yae just stared at what was before them. Blinking, the lone non-magical teen rubbed at her eyes before staring some more, "Gozaru..."

Having manifested her avatar, Taiyang looked out over the property with a thoughtful hum, 'So this is Harry-San's property? Hmm... impressive and suitable.' Tail swishing behind her, she smiled, 'Oh yes, very suitable for Master if she wishes to stay here.'

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Okita and she pointed, "Are we staying at the manor, Harry-Kun?"

Grinning, Harry laughed a little and nodded, "Got it in one, Okita-Chan. You'll have to buddy up." He then gestured towards the Millhouse, "We'll also be using the millhouse as well for naps and such. Taigei-Chan and the others will be at both places preparing the fruit preserves, jams, and jellies."

A shout made them turn as Goldie came trotting up on the stone horse that she had used before. Nodding, the Roman blade grinned, "Salutations to the Praetor!"

Simply laughing, Harry greeted her back. After a short explanation, Nobu grinned some, "Hey, know where I can get me one of these? Because they could be useful..."

Okita only facepalmed at that as her friend cackled, 'That is the last thing that we need...'

However, for her part, the Roman blade simply smiled and hopped off the horse before shrinking it, "There are some places that make them still, Umu. But that will be for later." With a small nod, Goldie turned towards Harry, "Praetor, we managed to get a small wagon along with one of the small stone horses based on a Shetland up and running. We thought that it would help greatly with your harvesting."

Eyebrows raising, Harry nodded at her, "Thank you, Goldie. I really appreciate this."

Goldie only smiled and nodded at that.

Not long after, they reached the manor and everyone was now looking around the place in interest. Before, Taiyang had been somewhat impressed, yet now seeing her surroundings? The polished stone floor, varnished wood panelings and mouldings? Not to mention the small tables with various ornaments on them? She slowly nodded to herself in thought with a small smirk, 'Oh yes, my Master and her husband will be kept in good states here when they visit. As will their consorts. Very, very suitable for Master.'

It goes without saying that her impressions only increased as Harry took them on a small tour of the house.

Meanwhile, inside of Natsumi's head, Tamamo was also humming a little, 'Oh yes... this may not be what I have been used to, but it is quite nice. Very nice indeed~'

Eyebrow raised as she watched Usagi fall back onto a bed and bounce, Natsumi blinked, 'Really? This impresses you?'

A laugh answered her before the ancient vixen spoke up, 'And why would it not? It is an elegant home, very lovely. The comfort is quite high as well. I will admit, that there is an... understated elegance to it as well. All in all, it is of the sort of place that I would have enjoyed staying for a time.'

Considering that, Natsumi could only nod in agreement.

Once everyone was settled in, with Iku, Hachi, Taigei, Ryuuhou, and Natsumi sharing the same room with Harry, and Yae sharing a room with both Jin and Shiromizu while the reincarnates shared another, there was one last thing to do. Which is why Nobu was following the black haired wizard alongside the others, "So your great-aunt's haunted skull is this way? And you're going to visit her?"

With a look over his shoulder, Harry nodded a little, "Hai, I'm going to say hi to her and leave some new flowers. Brighten up the room for her and such."

Frowning, Yae rubbed her arms a little, "I am still weirded out by that, Gozaru. Don't you worry about having a... Yuurei in your home?"

However, the teenage wizard shook his head, "Not really, no. If it helps, think of Great-Aunt Catherine as being a goryō, a protective ghost." He then gave a small shrug, "It's one of the cultural differences between Britain and Japan. Here in Britain, Yuurei are often seen as protective at times as well as members of the family. There's tales of ones being protective of the children of the household, for instance. Waking the parents when there's danger or watching over them."

Now thoughtful, Yae nodded a little, "I see..." Furrowing her eyebrows, she blinked a little, 'I wonder what Sensei would think of this?'

Moments later, Harry reached the heavy wood door and pulled out a key which he used to unlock it. As he entered, the others poked their heads inside and blinked. Those who had seen it before felt their eyebrows raising as the inside had been changed from what it had been.

Before, it had been somewhat deary and the like. Now, however? The windows were clear and allowed light inside the room with suncatchers which caught the light and created colors and patterns, which reflected off the polished stone floors. Said polished stone continued upwards a short distance, with the rest of the room done with wood panelling, obviously enchanted. And in the middle, there was a wood table with a vase on it as well as a small chair at one side.

Sitting down in it, Harry leaned back a bit and smiled at the skull that was on the spike in the wall, "Good morning, Great Aunt Catherine. Hopefully you're enjoying your new surroundings?"

While there was no verbal answer, everyone could almost feel as if there was a silent one. Something that made Nobu blink a little, 'Huh...'

Only nodding, Harry chuckled some, "I'm glad then." Turning a bit, he gestured towards the door, "Myself and some of my friends will be staying here for a week, Auntie. We'll be harvesting some fruit and such. I got some new friends as well..."

As he introduced them, the three Incarnates as well as Yae all bowed towards the skull. There was a brief grinding sound, and they swore that it had tilted a bit to look at them. Not to mention, there was the feeling of someone examining them closely. The same happened when Harry introduced Taiyang, with the Dao easily meeting the eyeless gaze of the skull.

Then, as if it never existed, the odd feeling of being examined vanished. With a nod, Harry stood up before filling up the vase with some water, "I also got some nice flowers for you, Auntie. Hope that they brighten the room for you." Moments later, he produced said flowers and placed them in the vase. Everyone could see them rustle a bit even after he let them go, as if in a breeze that did not exist. Still smiling, Harry bowed towards the skull, "Well, I'll come by and visit you later, but we have to get ready for harvesting. I hope that you have a good day."

With those words, Harry turned and walked out the door with the others backing up before he locked it. Just as he turned, there was a series of knocks from the other side of the door, which caused widened eyes before he nodded a little and chuckled. Glancing back at the door as they walked away, Ooi frowned a little, "Um, Harry? Was there a meaning behind that?"

Lips twitching, the teenage wizard chuckled, "Hai, she was saying thank you."

Not saying anything, and simply nodding, the others glanced back as they reached the end of the short hallway and Harry closed and locked the second door, placing the wooden brace down to really secure it and the padlock on that.

__________________________________________________________________

Having gone to the kitchen, the various teens were assembled around a map as they planned out their attack. In the background, Sheff, Saki, Ryuuhou, Taigei, as well as Kitakami Maru all prepared the kitchen to start making preserves and the like. Looking at the map, Nobu hummed as she rubbed her chin, "Quite a few fruit trees that you have here, Harry-Kun. Very impressive."

Just looking at her friend, Yae boggled a bit, "Um, I think that there's more than just a few... there's a lot."

More than slightly amused, Harry shook his head before tapping the sheet of paper, "Okay, we got a few places that we can hit. And the time turner means that we should be able to hit all of them." Everyone turned and nodded at him as he took out a pink marker and put it along one of the hedgerows, "Now, remember how I said that hedgerows have layers? That's true in this case especially as my family was somewhat... smart about it."

Intrigued, Uesugi hummed a little, "How so?"

The wizard tapped the line he had made on the photocopied map, "They figured that the inside hedges should be useful for more than just keeping out trespassers. Hence, here they planted raspberries along the inside of the hedgerow." With a dark blue one, he continued along a distance to a mark on the map, "Here, they planted blackberries." A final, green line, joined the others, "And here they planted gooseberries. All three have thorns, but produce edible fruit as well."

Eyebrows raised, Okita gave a small nod, "That's... pretty smart. Anyone trying to get onto the property would need to force their way through thorn bushes once they get over the wall and outer hedgerow. It also gives them food and the like as well. Huh..."

Leaning over, and her chest happening to be pressed against Natsumi's head (whose eyebrow was twitching), Taiyang gave a nod, "Very intelligent, Mikon! Food and protection in one package!"

With a deep breath, Natsumi let it out before turning to Harry and ignoring the squish of her blade's chest against her head... as well as the giggle said movement got, "Where are the other fruit trees, Harry-Chan? Your family seems to plant them in rows after all."

Just nodding, Harry pulled out a dark red color marker before making three lines, "These are where the cherry tress are. Each one of these lines has about fifteen trees along them." A peach colored line joined them, "And these are the peach trees, which should also be just about ripe, with plums beside them."

Usagi licked her lips a little as she looked at the marked places, "Mmm, peaches... nothing like biting into a nice, big peach." Pausing a little, the rabbit Yokai tilted her head, "What sort of peaches? Western or..."

Chuckling, Harry shook his head, "A mix." Seeing the looks, he shrugged some, "Most of them are of the western kind. But my Great-great-grandfather Ian, brought back some Japanese peach trees which are growing there as well..." Pausing, a frown crossed his face, "Though... there's some hints that my ancestor who brought Juuchi back from Japan also brought some back, and magically interbred them with native varieties since they're pretty big peaches."

As everyone muttered a bit, Asuka was looking at the map in thought before sipping some of the lemon water, "Harry-Kun?" At the hum, she looked up at him, "Where's the blackcurrants and red currants?"

His lips twitching, the wizard leaned forward and made a few more marks, this time with a dark purple and a lighter red, "These are the positions of the red currants and blackcurrants. They're not huge bushes, so they're used between the trees on the property in places."

Examining the map, the Tengu was thoughtful before nodding, "Can I make a suggestion?" At their nods, she continued, "Day One should have us work on the raspberries first after a short nap and using the time turner. Once we have those bushes done, and we used the time turner, head over to the cherry trees and pick as many as we can gather. If we feel up to it, we get started on the blackcurrants. Then we take a rest day and do something else."

With a hum, Harry glanced at the others who nodded before giving Asuka a smile, "I don't see an issue with that. Maybe we can go and have some sightseeing as well."

Relieved, Asuka nodded, "That's good enough for me." Pausing, she cleared her throat some, "Um, right... then, when we return, after a rest, we start on the blackberries, followed by the peaches. Maybe the red currants after. Then another rest day." Once she got sounds of agreement, the Tengu continued, "Day Three should have us finish up with the gooseberries and the plums."

Confused even as the others nodded, Yae scratched her head, "Um, I think that I am missing something here." At the looks, she blushed lightly but continued, "I thought that we were going to be here for a week. But... it sounds like we only need three days."

No one said anything, but the reincarnates and Kendoka noted the Yokai and Harry sharing a look. After a moment, the wizard cleared his throat, "Well... the truth of the matter is that after that, we would do the whole process all over again because we would likely have just as much fruit once more ripened."

Blinking, Nobu looked between her friends with a small frown, "Magic?"

Just rubbing his neck, Harry tilted his head back and forth, "Kiiind of?" At the confused looks, he sighed, "There's a group of fae, the fair folk, that lives on my family property. I even have ties of blood to them from centuries back. Fact of the matter is that in return for a small portion of the first part of our harvest, they'll make sure that it is bountiful and keep the deal my family has with them. Considering last year? Once we're through one second, after a day or so, a good portion of the unripe fruit will be either ripe or ripening."

Jaw dropping, Yae boggled a bit, though she was confused at what the "Fae" were. Some sort of nature spirits from the sound of it... Shaking that off, she turned to Harry as a thought struck her, "Um, Harry-San?" At the nod, the Kendoka continued, "How much are we going to be bringing back...?"

Once more, there was utter silence from everyone there as those who had been there the year before looked at each other. Ayaka shrugged a little and held up her hands, "A lot." At the looks, her ears flicked and she gave a snort, "What? It's true! My family had preserves and jams from that September right up into March." Pausing, she shook her head, "Not that they minded any since it was good preserves and tasty."

Kaku gave a nod of his own as he hummed, "Hai, same with my family. Ojii-San really enjoyed the damson preserves as well as the hazelnuts. Okaa-San used some with our bakery too, which was also popular."

For her part, Natsumi shook her head as she looked at the stunned Yae, "So, yeah, there's a lot. And if you think there's too much, you can always donate a portion. We all did that after all to our school."

Now thoughtful, Okita gave her an impressed look, "I had been wondering where they got all the jams and such for the breakfast program. A lot of students used it to get something to eat in the mornings after all for pretty cheap."

Yae also became thoughtful as she considered things. After all, with the economy, there were students who went to her school who didn't really get much to eat in the mornings. The government did have a food program for them, but giving fruit for them... not to mention some of the local families she knew were struggling? A small smile came over her face as she nodded, 'That sounds like a good idea, Gozaru. Maybe ask Sensei if she can help.'

Placing her hands down on the table, Nobu grinned a bit, "Well, it looks like we got a good plan of attack! And this battle, we'll win as long as we stick to the plan, with our enemies falling before us!" Placing one foot on the chair, she continued, "Which means, troops! That victory is within our grasp-GAH!"

Just reaching over, the former Shinsengumi yanked on her friend's cape and pulled her off the chair, "Stop being chunni." Ignoring the grumbling, she turned to the others and smiled, "Well, guess that we should get started then."

From where she stood, Taigei gave a slight nod, "And don't worry, we'll make sure that you all get plenty to eat. We're on a resource gathering expedition, after all."

That made the lone non-reincarnated Kendoka blink in confusion, "Resource gathering expedition?"

Stretching a little, Iku nodded to Yae's question, "Heh, that's what we call stuff like this." As everyone looked at her, the blue haired Subgirl shrugged, "It's basically us going out and foraging. You know, going berry picking up in the mountains, catching fish and stuff before bringing them back to base. That sort of thing. Command just decided to call it that for some reason."

Everyone just nodded at that before they went off to get ready.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- This is a bit of a prequel to the next crosspost, but I think you will enjoy it a lot. Another peek into the future of the Butterdagger and her family.

A Butterknife Family Tradition

Schloss Waldhain, Elbląg County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland (formerly East Prussia)

November 12th, 2024
Spoiler: Remembering and Honouring The Past...

"You can't sleep either, Cleo? Is she causing you trouble with her kicks again?"

HMS Cleopatra turned to the speaker, one hand automatically cradling the drydock in her womb where her crew was busily at work constructing a hull. "Hullo Ehren. No, I was just thinking about a few things while I watched the moon on the water."

Ehren nodded and then summoned one of her favorite overstuffed cushioned chairs from inside to sit beside Cleopatra on a small porch on the third floor of her ancestral estate. She looked from the forest-surrounded hill that the Wolffs had claimed as their own with blood and iron and had built this castle, later a manor house, to gaze upon the slate-gray waters of the Baltic Sea.

Ehren drummed her fingers slowly on the chair's arm and hummed thoughtfully. "You came to the right place, honestly." She finally said quietly. "This is one of my favorite places to sit and think too. Part of me deep down... knows that this place is right for me."

Cleopatra nodded with her own hum and returned to watching the moonlit water. Finally she spoke. "Ehren, I'm having trouble deciding on the name of my daughter. Normally I would pick a ship name for her, or one from Egypt like I did with the others. This time it just doesn't fit and I don't know why."

"Ach so." Ehren said before stopping her drumming to take Cleo's hand gently in hers. "And yesterday was Remembrance Day, which is always hard on you. Part of you still mourns your sisters who fell in the War to save England. Even though they have returned, some wounds never heal fully." The dagger's soft voice was gentle and compassionate.

Cleo squeezed Ehren's fingers. "That's part of it, yes. Grief is a funny emotion, you know. Even after Hermione came back to me, part of me still mourned my big sister. I have mourned her ever since I watched her go down in front of me." Cleo's voice was filled with deep emotion and her bubbly ditzy personality was totally absent in her tone as she removed the mask that she wore around her sisters.

The gentle squeeze became a hard grasp that Ehren bore stoically as salt tears glimmered and fell from Cleo's eyes. "We almost had broken through to Malta with our convoy when we got orders to turn back because the Italian fleet was at sea and had broken through our submarine cordon. Then as we headed back to Bomb Alley and Alexandria in defeat, a U-Boat got through the ASW screen and put two torpedoes into Hermione's starboard side."

Cleo bowed her head and spoke in a tear filled voice, "So near, and yet so far. I can still see her standing on her bridge as she rolled over. She knew that she was doomed, yet stood to her duties to allow as many of her crew to escape as possible. Then, right before she rolled over to go to the bottom, she saluted us." Cleo's shoulders shook as Ehren stood and hugged her.

"She saluted me." Cleopatra repeated in a choked whisper as she desperately grasped her co-wife, friend, and lover's strong form in this moment of weakness and pain.

Ehren patted Cleopatra's shoulders gently as tears soaked her house robe while Cleo clung to her like the drowning crew of her sister did to their hopes of rescue on that dark day in 1942.

Finally Cleopatra returned to herself and looked into the eyes of her co-wife. "You know what that is like." Cleo finally said quietly with sad understanding in her voice.

Ehren responded equally quietly in a matching voice. "Ja. I... lost Vati in front of my eyes. He... ended his life with honor at least. It is cold comfort when I remember, but still it is comfort." She cast a spell to expand Cleo's chair into an impromptu loveseat and snuggled to the shipgirl's side. "Then I was there when Mutti found the final letter from her sister Marie-Claire, who Mutti lost in the Terror of the French Revolution. Partings are never easy and all we can do afterward is honor those who have left us in this world to pass ahead of us to the next."

Cleo cuddled back to Ehren in her turn, then a light bulb visibly came on as her unborn child kicked her again. "Ehren, what was the full name of your mother's sister?"

Ehren tapped a finger against her chin. "Marie-Claire Hélène du Chasteler. Mutti loved her very deeply. Why?" Ehren's voice was curious as she looked into Cleo's tear-stained face.

"How does Hélène sound as a name for this little one?" Cleopatra said with a smirk worthy of Ehren's best. "Your mother would love it."

Ehren blinked, her own grin widened in return, and soon the laughter of shipgirl and dagger echoed across the moonlit water.

Light, amidst the darkness.
----------------------

Malfoy Manor

April 14th, 2036

"Hello Mama, Mutti." Hélène-Morgraine Malfoy's sweet voice sounded through the Egyptian Room.

The two women turned as one from their examination of some catalogues of newly excavated Egyptian artwork that they might purchase for the private collection that was one of Cleopatra's hobbies. Both focused their eyes upon the blond haired and green eyed girl in the door with an impish smile at the sight.
Spoiler: Helene At Her 11th Birthday Party

Cleo smiled happily at her daughter. "Hullo Elen! Come over here and give Mama a kiss? I see you're finally up after the birthday party you had yesterday." The shipgirl's sweet voice was filled with joy and love.

Beside her, Ehren gave an inward proud smile and fractional nod to the prodigy who she had been intensively privately tutoring in business and politics to act as an agent of the House of Malfoy's business empire. While Taube was a superb shield for the family with her unshakable sense of honor and responsibility, Hélène was the perfect dagger counterpart with her aggressive insights to find hidden weakness in her foes and exploit them ruthlessly and mercilessly, Ehren silently mused behind her cool expression. While she was not as brilliant as Bastian -- no one had the raw brainpower of Bastian -- Hélène was easily among the top minds in the family, and could give Draco, Taube, or even herself a serious challenge at the chessboard despite the handicap of her age and less experience thanks to determination, drive, ambition, and a burning desire to triumph equal to that which flamed in Ehren's own breast. Perhaps it was a product of being the middle child with no siblings close to her age to form sibling bonds with, but Hélène wanted to blaze her own path to stand alongside her big brothers, and sisters so badly that it hurt at times.

The proud and loving inward smile was allowed to emerge when she hugged Hélène and 'reluctantly' accepted the kiss on the cheek by the now eleven-year-old. "Guten Tag, Hélène. What brings you here? Surely not an interest in assisting your Mama in picking out the best Eighteenth Dynasty ceramic pieces?"
Spoiler: ...To Make Your Choice For The Future

"Non, Mutti." Hélène replied, slipping into her fluent French while watching Ehren's expression carefully as it returned to the normal mask of cool controlled neutrality. "I had a question for you both."

"What is it Elen?" Cleo said as they sat down on a nearby sofa. Ehren merely raised one eyebrow in silent request to continue.

Hélène grinned proudly and handed over a sheaf of acceptance letters. "I've been accepted to all the big magical boarding schools thanks to my grades: Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Ilvermorny, Beauxbatons. I was wondering what you could tell me about them before I make my choice on which one to attend. Capsule summaries first."

Cleo looked at Ehren with a request to take the lead after congratulating their daughter.

Ehren nodded sharply and began to speak in a precise analytical voice. "Bastian can tell you about Durmstrang when he returns to us on summer vacation. I do know that it is very cold and icy, and the academic opportunities are first-rate. Ilvermorny is where Aunt Del, Ying, and the other de Breuils have gone to in North America and they have some superb teachers for potioncrafting and Native American magics. Hogwarts is where I, Draco, and Taube all went -- as you know -- for it is a Malfoy family tradition. Therefore we can discuss Hogwarts at length if you so wish. I was a Hufflepuff Prefect and first in my class while your father and second-oldest sister were Slytherin Prefects so you can hear about some of the various Houses from inside."

"Finally, Beauxbatons...." Ehren paused, visibly organized her thoughts, and then continued in her precise voice. "Mutti Colombe went there as a girl and was expelled in disgrace. I'll have to ask Mutti about it along with some of the students that I befriended during the Triwizard Tournament my First Year such as Gabrielle Delacour -- we found out later that they're du Chasteler collaterals. So I shall conduct research on your behalf so you can make the final selection, of course."

Hélène nodded along with the information dump, then her eyes widened. "Grandmother Colombe got expelled? How? Why?" She leaned forward eagerly at this unexpected tidbit of family history as her emerald-green eyes gleamed.

Ehren frowned and rubbed her chin before responding. "I never found out exactly what happened then, honestly. The time that I asked her, she said something about 'not her fault' and a 'bitch of a Headmistress who had it out for her as the bastard daughter of her Papa'. I did some research one day at Hogwarts out of curiosity and Mutti holds the Beauxbatons all-time record for number of demerits accumulated still according to the history book that I found. I do know that they snapped her wand when she was expelled; she actually has it mounted as a trophy in the hall outside my room in Moulbaix. When I asked her about that, she explained that they extracted an oath from her never to use a wand to cast magic when they threw her out of French Magical Society. It turned out that one of her professors had taught her wandless magic though." Ehren's voice was filled with sly approval for Colombe finding the loophole that she had exploited in her forced oath.

Hélène grinned, "So that's why Grandmother uses her sword to cast wandlessly! A sworn oath!" The girl's eyes sparkled and her voice was delighted.

"Ja, it is. But back to Beauxbatons. I also know that the only du Chasteler after her that got formal schooling went to Hogwarts because she was schooling during the Napoleonic Wars. I inherited Mutti's school cauldron, in fact, when I went to Hogwarts. It is one of the most beautiful wizarding buildings in the world and set in the South of France, therefore a temperate climate. The students wear sky blue uniforms. I can't help you more than that until I do my research." Ehren finished with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Hélène nodded along. Then she looked at the shipgirl who bore her and had named her. "Mama, you told me once that I was named for Grandmother Colombe's younger sister?"

Ehren answered as Cleo nodded. "Jawohl. Marie-Claire Hélène du Chasteler was the younger half-sister of Mutti and the closest of all her siblings. I believe that in some ways growing up, they were much like Claire and I are, twins from different parents who made the other complete. Marie-Claire was killed along with most of her family in the French Revolution as an aristocrat; Mutti managed to save her grandson who later carried on that branch of the family line until it died out in 1899."

Ehren paused, then tears glimmered in her eyes as her thumb stroked the gold, diamonds and pearls of her wedding ring. The dagger's voice was hushed and filled with a deep bittersweet joy. "Marie-Claire left her wedding dress for Mutti to pass down to her children; it is what I wore when your father and other mothers wed me in fact. I intend when my children's days come to ask Mutti to make it available for you and your sisters to continue the tradition for a du Chasteler bride." Beside her, Cleo's eyes widened before she hugged Ehren gently.

Hélène gasped and then visibly thought, speaking quietly to herself. "And I have the option of taking the du Chasteler-Malfoy surname like Big Sisters Taube and Claire have done if you and the other parents approve...."

She looked her parents in the eyes as she spoke in a decisive, bold tone that caused both to smile proudly. "I shall do just that! Grandmother Colombe has labored under this blot on her life for too long. I'm going to attend Beauxbatons as Hélène-Morgraine du Chasteler-Malfoy and redeem her mistakes as a girl! Where Grandmother failed, I'll succeed and make her proud!"

The next moment, the air was crushed out of her by Mutti Ehren's hug while Mama Cleo wiped tears of joy and pride from her beaming face.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

The Next Act

As everyone watched Central Island Hime run away, laughing, Nagato noticed Hoppou giggling a little bit and leaned over, whispering. "What do you think, Hoppou?"

"She's silly! Hoppou would squirt her for being silly!"

Nagato smiled and nodded. On stage, The light lit on an unusual looking battleship, sitting at a desk, studying a file as Illinois walked in. Surprisingly short, despite the six 14" guns, USS Recruit, like Illinois, had been a fully commissioned 'landship'. Recruit glanced up and tossed the file onto her desk. "They're still taking inventory to see what she might have taken. This is a list of everything that was in the lab. Some of it, pretty dangerous."

"Well, she took something. By the time she's ready to tell us what she plans to do with it, it will be too late."

"That's why we've got to find her first! We've got every command looking everywhere from Point Barrow to McMurdo Sound."

"I'm thinking she'll show up a lot closer."

"Trust your gut and go find her then!"

"Right." The Great Lakes Battleship nodded. Saluting, she rushed back out into the dark as a moment later the light changed, shining on Hime.

"Whew! That was close!" Hime breathed to the audience. "Yeah... I know... The bad guy running away from the hero... Well, it always seems to go this way! I show up! SHE shows up. We fight! And then I almost win! And then she summons up her incredible strength and resolve and foils my plans! Well, this time it's going to be different! As soon as I figure out... " She turned the bracelet she swiped over in her hand. "What this thing is and how to use it, then I'll defeat the Great Lakes Battleship!"

Suddenly, the sound of thunder cracked in the auditorium and the lights went even darker. A huge, shadowy head with two giant red eyes lowered from the ceiling. It looked down at Hime as an angry voice boomed out.

"Hime! You failed again!"

Hime looked up and swallowed nervously. "No... No! I haven't failed! I have a plan to..."

"ENOUGH! No more excuses!" Hime was lit in red light that seemed to come from her master's eyes. She crumpled into a ball.

"Aiii! It hurts! Please! Please!"

"Silence. Obviously, I'll have to do this myself!" The red light stopped "Get up... Pray that you're still useful for something." Hime got up quietly and the stage darkened once more.

The stage lit back upon Muroc Maru.

"We are searching everywhere for Central Island Hime but with no success. But a cold wind blows. It chills the steel in my keel. Something truly dark is coming."

The light faded and then shone on Illinois.

"Nothing! In all the seven seas! Where is she?"

"I'm right here." The voice of Hime speaks in the dark, very flat and lifeless. She was lit with a dim light. Her normally playful eyes were now lit red. The sound of heavy guns cracked and puffs of smoke went off around Illinois.

"Not even a 'Have at you'?"

Hime responded with a voice not her own that the audience now recognized. "Sink!" More guns cracked and the Great Lakes Battleship staggered.

"You aren't Central island Hime. Who are you?" Illinois challenged.

"You want to know who I am?" The massive head lowered once more as Hime crumpled like a marionette with her strings cut. "I am darkness more ancient than you can know. When the Ancient Civilization of Lemuria fell and vanished from history, it was I who destroyed it! So will it be with you!"

Illinois raised her shield, ready to fight. "Not today!"

"YES! FIGHT ME AND SINK!" The crack of more and heavier guns than Hime's sounded and larger puffs of smoke went off around Illinois, who staggered and fell. As she tried to get back up, a loud, spiteful laugh echoed in the auditorium. Then, the figure of Hime started to get up, shaking her head. as Illinois staggered again.

"Not like this! come on! Get up!" Hime plead.

Illinois shook herself. as she was rocked again.

Hime desperately looked at the bracelet on her wrist. "Temporal Energy Shift and Transference... 'TEST Band'... Huh... I don't know what that means but I hope it's something good!" She suddenly grabbed Illinois and pulled her up."

"What are you..."

"Later!" Hime answered, pulling Illinois out of the light and they ran for the end of the stage.

A short electronic whine filled the air and the stage went dark, ending the second act


***

As the light came on again, Naka was standing in the middle of the stage with a concerned look on her face. "Uh... That doesn't look good. I think things may be getting a little out of hand here. I..."

"SILENCE!" The voice of Lemurian Princess resounded in the auditorium as the 'head' lowered from the ceiling once more. "I'm taking over this show!"

"Well, I'm the host!" Naka answered. "And I say you can't! So there!"

"SILENCE I SAID!" The light on Naka turned off and the head rotated to face the audience. Several screens on stage came to life, showing the same images of the audience as the head turned to inspect the crowd.

"Hello, audience! Are you having fun? I know I am!" An amused laugh sounded. "This has been a wonderful day! I've gotten rid of the Great Lakes Battleship and that Bungling Central Island Hime! Soon! The world will be mine and there will be NO ONE to stop me! In fact... The only way this day could get any better is as if I had an audience... Hmmm... I DO have an audience... Don't I? I have a few things to take care of first, so don't go away." The head drew back up to the ceiling.

On the darkened stage, Naka spoke up. "Hey... Can someone get a light on here?" A fresh light came on. "Thanks. Well, folks... This... I really hope there's a hero out there..."

A dim light shines on the far right of the stage as Naka fades to black. Hime stood watching as an unknown figure tended to Illinois.

"Ouch! Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm a starship not a drydock! But yes. You'll be fine. You're just lucky I spotted you two."

"What I don't get is why we ended up in space?" Hime mused turning the bracelet over again. "It's supposed to be a 'Time travel' device!"

"And you did. By my calculations, you've traveled two-hundred and fifty point three-five years into the future. The problem is that the Earth, the solar system, and the galaxy as a whole aren't in the exact same place they were when you left. No wonder why that thing was abandoned."

"We have to get back!" Illinois told her. "Can you help us?"

"As a matter of fact, I happen to know a little about time-travel. I can help you."

"Good! Because we have to save the world!"

"We have to save history," the starship replied.

"We have to save the audience!" Hime finished, looking out at the crowd.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Standing beside the country road, Harry hummed a little as he waited for the last of the members of this "Resource Expedition" to arrive. Apparently, Ayase had gone to Diagon Alley to get some last minute supplies for it. Said "Supplies" being mainly treats and the like.

Hey, it was mostly teenagers here after all!

Just killing some time, Harry was humming a bit to himself as he examined the SGO forums, in particular the news section. His eyebrow raised a little at one thread and he went through it with a blink, "Huh... Greece just launched that Mistral that they bought? And named it after Alexander the Great."

Continuing to read, the wizard hummed a little. The various articles went on about how the Greek military was extremely pleased with it, as was other members of NATO. After all, the ship was a sub-class with some modifications to support shipgirl operations in order to command them. Not to mention that the Greeks were very happy as it could be used to secure various islands in the Aegean Sea, and the hospital could be used for natural disasters and the like. Lips twitching a bit, he snorted some at the rumour of a drowned horse found in front of the dry dock and a large amount of bull blood and some ash in the hanger which had been hurridly cleaned up.

Only shaking his head, he closed the thread as there was a bang and the Knight Bus appeared from seemingly nowhere. Moments later, a somewhat out of sorts Ayase stumbled out as Stan's voice called out from inside for her to have a nice day. Putting away the phone, Harry walked up to her with a smile, though he flushed a little at the sight of her in a tank top and jeans, "Ayase-Chan?"

At hearing his voice, the Sendai snapped out of her daze and looked up before blushing some at seeing an bemused Harry there, "Ha-Harry-Do-Chan? What are you doing here?"

Lips quirking a bit more, Harry gave her a small shrug, "Well, I found out that you were due to be back. So... I thought that I should wait here for you." A frown then appeared on his face, "Hopefully it wasn't too much work..."

To his relief, Ayase shook her head with a small smile of her own, "It wasn't, Harry-Chan. Though..." Furrowing her eyebrows, she frowned a little, "There was a large number of people who were stocking up on treats and the like in Diagon. And a number were also talking about camps and the like."

It only took a moment, but the teenage wizard understood what had happened, "Probably getting ready for the Quidditch World Cup." At the interested look, he shook his head, "It's in about three weeks from now, and the competition for spaces is fierce. So some people are going to start setting up a campground for those waiting there in a couple of days."

Blinking, Ayase gave him a confused look, though there was some amusement there as well, "Wait... the World Cup is in three weeks, but people are setting up for it now? But that means that they'll be waiting for days..."

All Harry did was shrug, "Hai, but that's how it gets at sporting competitions. At least it's a lot better now with Floo and the like letting them move a lot of people quickly." Scratching his chin in thought, he hummed a little, "And there's supposed to be other security measures just in case the Abyssals strike to move people out and quickly."

For a moment, the Light Cruiser considered that before nodding in agreement as it did make sense. What she did not expect was for Harry to walk over and hug her tightly, however, which flustered her, "Harry-Chan?"

Giving her midsection a small squeeze, Harry grinned up at her, "Just happy that you're here."

Eyes widening, she flushed a little, "You're happy that I'm here? Really...?"

Softly snorting, Harry gave her a look, "Of course I am! After all, you're one of my friends and why wouldn't I be happy?"

Her eyes softening, Ayase hugged him back, "Thank you, Harry-Chan. I appreciate that a lot." As she pulled back, she looked towards the hedge, "So your family property is on the other side of these bushes?"

Confused, the fourteen year old gave her an odd look, "Um, hai? Didn't you see it already?"

Lightly blushing, Ayase looked away from him, "Not really?" At the raised eyebrow, she found her blush deepening, "I volunteered to go and get some extra food for everyone. Mainly snacks and the like, so while the others came here, I headed to London."

Realization appeared on Harry's face and he nodded, "Oh! That makes sense." Without thinking, he took her hand and began to walk along as he smiled over his shoulder, "Well, you're in for a real treat, Ayase-Chan. This whole place is awesome."

Now heavily blushing, she just nodded, "I-I see." Glancing down at where his hand was holding hers, Ayase could feel some steam come from her ears. Once they were through the gate, her eyes widened as she looked over the landscape, "Wow..." Internally, the Light Cruiser continued her thoughts, 'This... is truly a place where a lord would live.'

Unknowing of what was going through his friend's thoughts, Harry chuckled and nodded, "Hai, that was my response when seeing it." For a moment, he looked out over the property and smiled a little, "But that was when much of it was in ruins. Now? Now it really looks great."

Expression soft, Ayase gave his hand a squeeze before they continued onwards. As he continued to chat, she did listen, though her eyes widened a bit, "We're going to be staying... in the manor, Harry-Chan?"

A little lost at her reaction, he nonetheless nodded at her, "Hai... well, when people are not taking a rest in the millhouse, that is." He made a motion with his hand towards said building, "We don't want to take too many chances after all."

Only nodding in agreement, Ayase hummed a little, "Though... how are we going to process things and keep the clothes and such clean?"

That got her a small laugh and a grin from Harry, "Actually? Taigei-Chan, Ryuuhou-Chan, and Kitakami-Maru-Chan will be taking on some of the fruits to be processed in their hulls. Mum, Ooi-Nee, Kitakami-Nee, as well as Hachi-Chan and Iku-Chan will be sending over some cooks to them to help process the fruits. As for cleaning? Once more, Mum's going to lend out some of her facilities for that as well."

Considering that for a few moments, the Light Cruiser nodded, "I think that I can help out there as well actually." Upon entering the manor, Ayase was looking around in more than a little awe, "Amazing..."

Harry just nodded in agreement, "I actually agree." Slipping off his shoes and putting on slippers, he gestured for her to do the same, "Let's drop off what you brought and we can go and pick out your room that you'll stay in."

Somewhat bemused, Ayase tilted her head a little, "Where's the others then? In the kitchen?"

That got her a nod from him, "Hai, they're putting together the food and drink for us later. Best to do it now so that the kitchen is fully available for fruit preserves. Also? We've got to keep hydrated."

Expression brightening, Ayase reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle which was familiar to Harry, "I noticed these being promoted, so... I thought that I should grab a number."

Gently taking the bottle, Harry chuckled, "Ribena Original... well, I haven't had any for some time." Grin on his face, he handed it back to the Light Cruiser, "Good choice, I think the others might like it as well."

Happily holding the bottle, she nodded a little, "I'm glad then." With that, the two walked through the ground floor as Ayase continued to chat, "Oh! And I also picked up a vanishing cabinet that was ordered. From what I heard, Hanna-San has the other and will be taking it to Germany so that it can be used to go between here and the German property. Hopefully she will arrive there soon."

All Harry did was nod in agreement, "Hai, same here. Though from what I heard, she just arrived in Germany today, so..."

In reply, Ayase only smiled and made a sound of agreement. One of the things that she knew that Harry had told her was how he was hoping to get a set so that he could travel between various properties that he might own. The one that Ayase had picked up being one that he had found in the Room of Requirement with the other at a shop in Knockturn. Fixing them was a lot easier than building a new one, though he was hoping to buy a couple more pairs for his plans.

Plans that several of the others like Natsumi and such were very happy about.

Entering the kitchen, Harry gave a wave to the others though he bit back a snicker as he watched Jin wrapping up what looked like one of those sandwiches in that one American comic, "Hey, everyone."

Nagato turned towards him and gave him a smile, "Hello, Harry." She then turned towards Ayase and nodded to her, "Good morning, Ayase-San. Hopefully your trip was not too bad?"

The Light Cruiser sighed a bit and her shoulders slumped, "Just the time on the bus." Ignoring the looks, however, she was all smiles, "Anyways, I have the treats that I was asked to get."

One by one, she brought out the packages and placed them onto the table with everyone leaning in. Intrigued a little, Uesugi picked up one package in particular, "Hmm? Cauldron cakes?"

Glancing over, Natsumi gave a nod to that, "Hai, they're like small, cauldron shaped cakes with cream or such." Licking her lips, she glanced over at Harry, "Though Harry-Chan has made his own version that uses peanut butter instead."

Part of said wizard was amused at how both Ayaka and Taiyang looked at him with hungry looks, which made him internally snicker.

Meanwhile, Okita picked up another box and frowned at it, "Chocolate frogs?"

This time, it was Harry who answered, "They're basically chocolates in the shape of frogs that have been animated to move and ribbit, but it's just chocolate." At the looks, he shrugged a little, "Don't ask me who came up with that idea, but Hoppou loves eating them. Claims that they wiggle all the way down."

Reaching into her shirt, Iku pulled out a card, "And they come with these neat little cards that have moving pictures." She then held it out for everyone to look at, "See?"

Each of the other teens, in particular Yae and the Reincarnates leaned in. Though their eyebrows raised at seeing it as a card for Harry himself, his picture winking at them with a slight grin. Boggled, Yae stared, "Gozaru..."

Granted, more than a few of them wondered why it was that card that she had on her... the others, however, easily guessed why with some amusement.

Considering the treats now on the table, Nobu hummed as she rubbed her chin in thought, "Hopefully we have enough..." A laugh then burst from her, "Especially with Okita-Chan here! They're liable to vanish into her black hole of a stomach! Haha-ITAI! MY SKULL!"

Her eyes shaded, Okita had an odd grin on her face as she squeezed her hand getting another yelp, "What was that... Nobu-Chan?"

With a wince, said former warlord looked over at her, "... Your appetite? I mean, not that you need to worry much." Leering, she smirked before waggling her eyebrows, "Especially as it all goes to certain places~-OW! OW! MY SKULL IS BREAKING...!"

Rather amused, Harry only shook his head, 'She will never learn...' Shortly after, he left them to their preparations, minus Nobu who was face down on the table. Ayase beside him as they walked along the second floor, he tilted his head a little, "So, where do you want to stay?"

Thoughtful as she looked around, Ayase frowned a little, "What rooms are available?"

Not saying anything right away, he considered that question for a few moments before nodding, "There's still a number of rooms that are still available, unless you also want to partner up with someone, then there's a few more."

For a few moments, Ayase thought over that question before shaking her head, "Um, I might want one for just myself, for now?"

At that, Harry simply nodded and guided her along. She did ask about one room that had the door open, and he chuckled some before opening the door a bit more, "I guess that Ooi-Nee forgot to close the door."

Poking her head inside, the Sendai blinked before her eyebrows rose upwards. There was a canopy bed that just called to be laid in. And by the window there was a small, cushioned bench, perfect for someone to lounge on and read a book either during a sunny day, when the window would be open, or on a rainy one to listen to the patter of rain. At one end, there was a large, stone fireplace, currently empty, with a bearskin rug in front of it from a truly enormous bear. Just past that, one could see two high backed chairs, a polished wooden table, and a very expensive looking vase on said table, all on an lovely carpet.

Upon seeing her look at the vase, Harry chuckled, "There's a spell on it to prevent it from being broken if knocked over. Pretty common in wizarding households."

Only nodding, Ayase also took note of the bookshelf as well as the wardrobe, all made out of dark woods. All in all, it was a lovely bedroom and she smiled a little before moving back so that Harry could close the door. Just a few minutes later, they reached the Master Bedroom where he would be staying. Opening it, Ayase's eyes went wide at the sheer amount of room that was in it. As with Ooi's bedroom, there was a small bench by the window that had cushions on it. But there was other pieces of furniture as well, such as rich looking carpets, polished, dark wooden furniture, and the like.

From where she stood, the shipgirl could even see the walk in wardrobe as well as a large, standing mirror. At another window was a desk and chair, obviously for Harry to do work at if he so chose. Plush looking chairs also sat elsewhere including in front of the fireplace, on top of polished stone floor with a carpet between them.

Ayase blushed a little as she took it in as it resembled a bedroom fit for a lord, and it did not help matters that she noted that the bed was more than large enough for multiple people.

Shaking that off, however, Ayase took a deep breath before turning to Harry with a smile. Before she could say anything, she noted a door in the hallway just down from Harry's, "Um, Harry-Chan? That door..."

With a blink, he turned and looked at the door, "That one?"

When she nodded, he walked over and opened it to reveal a room. Like the others, there was a canopy bed in it, but the furniture was "Basic"... if one could possibly call handcrafted furniture made from lighter woods basic. There was a highbacked chair in front of the fireplace as well as a nice carpet, with a small table beside it. On a wall, there was a mirror and one could also see a chest of drawers. Walking inside, Ayase examined it closely and looked around in interest. Even checking out the bathroom, which made her eyebrows climb upwards.

Simply watching, Harry leaned against the door and hummed a bit before smiling as she came out of the bathroom, "Do you want this one?" At her shocked look, he jerked his thumb to the one across from where they were, "Mum's in that one there and Shiromizu is in the next one down alongside Jin. So... if you want, you can use this one."

Much to his confusion, after a few seconds she blushed as she nodded, 'I could be right there if he needed me. J-just like a proper Hatamoto. Or, being here, he could call in the middle of the night and...' Feeling steam come from her ears, Ayase cleared and nodded, "H-hai, I think that I'll like this room for my own."

Puzzled over her reaction, Harry simply smiled and shrugged, "Sounds good to me! I'll let you get your stuff ready quickly-"

Waving her hands, Ayase shook her head, "Um, I can have my fairies store my things for now, Harry-Chan." Moments later, she brought out said fairies who proceeded to do exactly that, though for some odd reason seemed amused, which flustered the Sendai before she left with Harry, "Now then, how are we going to do this...?"

______________________________________________________________________

Gazing around in interest as they walked, Nobu rubbed her chin some as they passed beneath the broughs of fruit trees. Humming, she looked over her shoulder at Harry, "So all these have been planted and attended to by your family, Harry-Kun? Really?"

With a nod of his own, the teenage wizard smiled, "Hai, they go back centuries." He pointed in one direction before continuing, "Over there I have a perry pear tree that's about two or three hundred years old and still producing fruit to make perry with." Then, Harry shrugged some, "Some of these fruits my family would make preserves and such with. Others, like the perry pears and damsons? Those they made into alcoholic drinks."

Blinking, Yae looked over at him, "Drinks, gozaru?"

On one hand, Harry began to tick off a list, "Perry is one, an alcoholic drink made from pears. Damson wine is another and is pretty much like a good port, blackcurrant wine, red currant wine, cherry wine are others. Plum jerkum is another which is a strong alcohol made from plums, then you got apple cidre. So, yeah... it also gave a source of income for my family."

Uesugi hummed a little as she nodded, "Most impressive actually, your family set themselves up to be able to support themselves as much as possible via food and funds."

That got another nod from the teenage wizard, "Pretty much, yeah. And with preservation charms and such? They could put away quite a few preserves in good years to handle when the bad years happened." He gestured towards where Godric's Hollow was, "During the Year Without Summer, my family actually gave out fruit and preserves down at the market for pretty much free to our neighbours and the like. And since no magic was technically involved, no one was able to say anything."

A snort escaped from Jin and she shook her head, "And I can imagine it bought them a lot of points besides."

In reply, the teenage wizard only shrugged with a slight smile, though Nobu was mentally nodding, 'Yes, that was an extremely intelligent move which cost them nearly nothing, yet made them look very good. Hmm...'

For her part, Rika leaned back some and grinned as she sat in the cart following the others, "Leaving that aside... this is pretty sweet."

Up front, Usagi looked over her shoulder with a grin of her own, "Isn't it?" Reaching down, she patted the neck of the small, stone horse pulling the cart, "Though this guy is adorable! What sort of horse is he?"

Lightly chuckling, Harry smiled at her, "Him? A Shetland pony, and they are about that size."

With a hum, the rabbit looked down at the small stone horse in thought, "Huh..."

Not long after, Harry came to a stop and turned some, "Well, we're here. This is where the raspberries grow."

Each of the teens came to a stop and looked up with wide eyes at the bushes, which rose above their heads. The branches of said brush was absolutely loaded with red, ripe berries. They were also, as a matter of fact, also covered in large thorns.

Leaning in, Nobu tapped one and grimaced as she yanked back said finger and sucked on it, "Damn... now this would be hard to get through."

Grumbles escaping her, Usagi walked up to her and yanked said hand from her mouth. Moments later, she healed the small wound, "There... but next time don't be trying to hurt yourself!"

Frown on her face, Ayaka walked up to the bushes and looked at them herself, "Though Nobu-Chan does raise a good point, this would be hard to get through for someone trying to get onto the property." Pulling back a bit, she grimaced, "Though this begs the question of how we're going to get the berries in question without pricking ourselves all the time."

Chuckles escaping him, Harry went to the cart and pulled out a box before opening it. Raising, he held up gloves made from some sort of leather, "Well, how about dragon hide gloves? The same sort used in potions."

Interested, Yae walked over and looked at them before giving an unsure look at Jin and Shiromizu, "Um... dragon hide...?"

Lips twitching, Shiromizu shook her head a little, "Don't worry about it, Yae-San. They're made from a different sort of dragon, ones who are not... sapient, like the rest of us." She then gave a shrug, "I've seen one and they're basically animals, think like monkeys compared to humans."

Slowly, the Kendoka nodded some before taking a pair of the offered gloves. Putting them on, she rubbed her fingers together and raised her eyebrows, "I can almost feel through them! But..." Walking over, Yae paused for a moment before reaching out with a shaking finger and tapping a thorn. When nothing happened, she did so again, before gripping the branch with an awed look on her face, "It... doesn't hurt!"

Jin gave a snort as she walked over, "Well, dragonhide is strong after all, and those gloves need to be thin enough to handle potion ingredients. They're as tough as thick work gloves without the whole issue." Holding up a hand, she grinned as it became covered in scales, "Though I don't need to wear any gloves if I want to pick something."

Giving her a look, Hachi walked over before grabbing a branch herself with a bare hand, "We don't either since as shipgirls we're too tough for this sort of thing to harm us."

Rubbing her hands together, Asuka took flight and rose above the others before revealing her hands to look like bird claws, "Won't bother me much, but I'll take the ones up here."

That only got her nods and each of the other teens came over and grabbed some gloves before moving along to start picking the ripe berries in question. Filling a small quart box with some, with each person attributing some, Harry left the main group and began to walk through the wooded paths. It did not take him very long at all to reach the "Offering Table" that was there, though he noted there was also a small, wooden quart of cherries as well as blackcurrants, which made him nod.

A small smile on his face, Harry placed the raspberries onto the stone and nodded before taking a step back. With a bow, and a small whisper of thanks, he walked back to the others. Though, he did pause a little as he could hear some music coming from the stone, it only made his smile grow and then he continued on.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And more Hélène for your enjoyment. I'd like to thank MagisterAurelius a ton for the co-writing, beta reading this and his gracious permission to use Team Malfoy for this one. Did some tweaks and tightenings up here from the SV version on the crosspost.

A Malfoy's Graduation

Salle des Sages, Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons, Pyrenees Mountains, Southern France

June 2043

The soaring Rococo grand hall was carved from white marble and filled with the gentle tinkle of the endless play of water within the trio of ornate and elaborate fountains down the middle. Living vines and ivies tended by the local nymphs gently embraced the trunks of the pillars holding up the roof, making it appear that the occupant was in a beautiful magical forest that had been somehow enchanted into stone.
Spoiler: Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons

"Hélène-Morgaine Lucia du Chasteler-Malfoy!" The other waiting Seventh Year students waiting patiently in their padded antique wooden chairs applauded politely as a short and slender blond young woman with emerald-green eyes stood when called. A small smug smile lit up her face as she absently adjusted her sky blue uniform to hang properly.

Her skirt swished around her ankles as she walked to stand confidently before the Headmistress, the ghosts of the preceding Maîtres de l'école and Professeurs émérites in the advisory Conseil des fantômes, and her mortal Professors. "Present, Headmistress," she responded in fluent French as she stood upon an octagonal white marble tile carved with magical symbols around the edges directly before their seats.

She ignored the normal furiously hostile scowl from the decapitated head of Madame de Maintenon, the Headless Headmistress' ghost, thanks to the unshakable self-control that she had learned both from Mutti and her sibling 'tutors' growing up. 'Who knew being the junior member of her family for so long was so useful in learning how to ignore attempts to get her to cry or otherwise react?' She thought to herself with an inward malicious grin as the Aristo Whore Giving Head (the unofficial forbidden nickname for centuries among the student body and staff) redoubled her scowl from where she swung by her hair from her nightgown-clad body's hand.

Headmistress Jeanne de la Fonte, surrounded by the ghosts of her predecessors and the teachers, examined her for endless moments then nodded finally. The Headmistress spoke in a voice that filled the hall, and reached the ears of every waiting graduate and the junior students watching from their assigned galleries around the periphery. "Well done! You are first in your class academically, artistically, magically, and athletically!" The Headmistress gave a warm smile as the teachers and ghosts -- barring the usual exception -- politely applauded Hélène.

Hélène face split in an uncontrollable happy grin as her fellow Bellefeuille House students stood en masse and applauded her achievement thunderously. Apparently her test scores in the grueling final exams had pushed her slightly ahead of her rival Selene van Tromp, who was giving her the evil eye surrounded by her fellows in Ombrelune who were clapping with the bare minimum of politeness.

The House Cup standings updated once more as the fountain transfigured into Bellefeuille emerald sent its sparkling waters higher, surpassing those of the Ombrelune one of moonstone and the Papillonlisse fountain of amethyst.

Hélène couldn't resist the temptation in that instant as her House won the Cup.

She caught Selene's eye and gave that raven-haired bitch a grin identical to the most smugly superior one that she knew. Namely the insufferably smug triumphant smirk that Mutti Ehren reserved for success in completing a high-stakes business deal or political maneuver to benefit the family.

Or as Mutti had called that business takeover, 'A properly precise Prussian spot of knife-work' on an enemy of the Malfoys as she explained to Hélène and her big sister Taube how she had done what she had done as part of their private summer tutoring in business. With that smug smile on her lips and warmth instead of the normal reserve in her steel-blue eyes as she gloated to her apprentices.

As Mutti had explained to them afterward over coffee and pastries, while Taube was being trained to act as the conscience and a needed brake if required to prevent the Malfoys overextending with aggressive actions, the family needed sharks as well if they were to survive and prosper. Sharks who could see opportunities to take a pound of flesh for their company and their House aggressively and barely within the legal limits.

Mutti had explained to the eager girls clinically after her analysis of her use of leveraged buyouts and a poison pill to gobble up that struggling wand-maker and integrate him with Malfoy Incorporated's Magical Services Department that too little aggression was as bad as too much. And sometimes, when the chips were down, victory by almost any means necessary was required. On the battlefield... or the boardroom.

Selene scowled at the insufferably smug smile of triumph shot at her as a living wreath of laurel, the crown traditionally awarded to the top graduate of Beauxbatons, was placed on the golden head of a scion of the House of Malfoy. The scowl redoubled as Hélène accepted the golden vellum certificate written in crimson ink on the skin of a Barbary Vegetable Lamb reserved for the best of that year.
--------------------

Finally the last name was called to provide precedence for the yearly procession of graduates to the Great Lawn.

With a sound like silver bells, the massive bronze double doors of the Salle des Sages opened without the touch of a hand.

The nymphs who provided the staff began to dance out strumming their lyres, playing the panpipes, and clapping their hands enthusiastically as they had done every year since Beauxbatons was founded by the Franks.

Hélène took a deep breath as she led the procession of her Year-mates out in the place of honor. Her eyes blinked away some of the blowing rose petals being dropped by the fairies circling overhead -- Pyrenees Sylphs her brain noted -- and then her face split in a happy smile at the sight of the crowd waiting on the emerald lawn outside.

The whole family was present for her big day!!

Papa Draco was in the center with a broad smile as he leaned on his cane and waved to her. The barest hints of silver on his aristocratic temples made the Malfoy patriarch look just more like the noble magical and business powerhouse that he was.

To his right, Mama Cleo, the shipgirl who had birthed her, beamed and blinked tears of joy out of her eyes. She then grabbed Papa's hand where it rested on the cane and squeezed it as she realized that her child had come out on top in the cutthroat battle for class supremacy that Helene had shared in her letters to Mama.

To Cleo's right, Ma Johnston gave a two-finger whistle and wave with an ear to ear grin. Helene could not hear what Johnston was mouthing over the cheers of the family members and guests present at the graduation but she did not need to hear Ma's words to know what she said.

"You go, girl!" was being echoed by her older shipgirl sisters Johnston Junior, also known as J.J. while the twins Julia Clarisse and Ernestine Electra waved a large "Malfoy #1" magically animated sign with her face on it.

On Papa's left, Mother Niobe clapped enthusiastically with a happy smile as her faeries filmed the procession. That was high praise indeed from the most formal and ladylike of the quartet of mothers that she had. Niobe gave a tear-filled beaming smile and waved before redoubling her clapping as a faerie handed her a monogrammed silk handkerchief.

Next to Niobe, Grandmother Colombe was in tears of joy sobbing openly at the sight of her granddaughter's triumph where she had failed. Obaachan Toku was supporting Colombe as the rapier looked to faint with joy and pride.

Then it happened.

Colombe caught the eye of the Whore, got a truly wicked insufferably smug smirk of devilish triumph, and gestured with two fingers at her eyes to point at the furious ghost, who was barely being held back from charging Colombe by three of her compatriots in 18th century garb who were laughing at her frothing rage. The Whore's struggles redoubled as Colombe made a wand snapping motion and followed with a remarkably obscene gesture from the early 1700s while laughing in pure joyous triumph and Schadenfreude. Obaachan Toku gave the ghost a warning stare while tapping her hilt with a finger meaningfully as she gave her normal serene smile.

Hélène decided in that instant to track down Grandmother Colombe later to ask her how the hell she had acquired the potion-drugged orangutan that had utterly wrecked the Headmistress' birthday celebration in 1723 and what possessed her to do that. And if she could get a copy of the memories of an event long retold in school oral history and legend. Along with a few... dozen? hundred?... additional schoolgirl memories from the most notorious student to walk the halls that she had trodden in her turn.

Behind Mother Niobe, Bastian for once was cheering her rather than being abstracted in his own universe. Then Bastian jerked and adjusted his glasses with a glare when Markus elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention. However, Claire Cygne, the junior family peacemaker (behind Mama and Mother) and closet sibling age-wise of all of the family to Helene, promptly stepped in to place a hand on her brothers' shoulders to get them to refocus on Helene, before giving her sibling a beaming smile.

Finally, dressed in her normal uniform of severe and plain black business skirt-suit, white blouse, black and yellow striped necktie, and white stockings, Mutti Ehren gave her a visible in public proud grin and nod followed by a thumbs-up. Hélène was so shocked that she nearly stumbled at the sight of Mutti. She wouldn't have believed that Mutti could grin that widely and proudly if she was not seeing it with her own two eyes.

That was the highest possible praise from the self-controlled demanding taskmistress and disciplinarian of her parents. Understanding the message in Ehren's expression warmed Hélène's soul, for as much of a demanding bitch Mutti frequently was, Mutti visibly held herself to equally high standards and would give credit when credit was hard-earned. Helene had come to understand full well that Mutti loved her as fiercely and passionately as anyone in her own cool reserved way and wanted her to achieve all she was capable of. Although Mutti was still an overachieving perfectionist with the best poker face of anyone Hélène knew.

Behind the knot in the front, her older brother Thutmose and his sunshipgirlfriend Chione -- immediately noticeable both by her willowy height and by her wood-patterned red hair -- waved as they stood hand in hand, tanned nicely from their expedition to study Egyptian magical history according to Tut's letters this year. Next to the Egyptologists was Tut's immediately younger sister Taube (nicknamed "Mutti's Shadow" within the family) who gave her own respect-filled nod, proud smile and thumbs up in conscious imitation of Mutti Ehren. Hélène waved back to some of the closest siblings that she had taken as role models growing up.

Hélène smiled brilliantly as her eyes alighted on the next group of family and friends waiting for her. Her oldest brother Max was there, dressed in his preferred white Italian suit as he gave her smug grin. Alongside her oldest sibling his circle of close friends were there. Her older cousin Wei Tseng, the nephew of Mutti Ehren through Āyí Ying, cracked an imperceptible smile while mostly keeping what her oldest sister J.J. called his 'Resting Ancient Chinese Stone Bitchface' up.
Spoiler: Max, Elen, And A Few Friends

Her gaze turned to the other side of Max as her walk ended at her assigned place in the lawn.

Her heart thudded as she saw him.

He came!!

Red hair, blue eyes, a brain equal to hers, and broad shoulders and yummy muscles!

Jean Reno Weasley was speaking to his friend Rudy. The pale-skinned half-Abyssal rubbed his bald head and then adjusted his ever-present sunglasses with a snarky comment directed her way.

Hélène didn't care about Rude being... well... rude.

All she cared about in that moment was when Reno's roguish smile directed at her caused her knees to turn to water and her heart to fly out of her chest to land at his feet.
--------------------

Maxim's, Paris

As the family and friends arrived at Maxim's at #3 rue Royale after their Portkey trip to Paris from Beauxbatons and a (space-expanded) limousine caravan, Ehren reached over and took Hélène's hand as they reached the table set at the head of the private (and privacy warded) dining room that Papa had reserved. "Congratulations again, Elen and well done! I know personally how hard one must work even with talent to excel in such an academic environment."

Taube rolled her eyes from her normal position at Mutti's elbow. "Because Mutti finished first in her class as a good Hufflepuff should." The hunting knife's tone was as sharp as her steel and dry as a desert as she snarked at her mother.

Ehren shot her smirking daughter a look only to have Taube raise one white-blond eyebrow slightly in wordless response. Grandmother Colombe laughed and gave Ehren her own meaningful look that caused the dagger to blush slightly. Cleo, Niobe, Washington, Nimue, and Draco all laughed at some shared memory from the past that this byplay brought up to the sound of Aunt Claire's musical giggles from her seat at the restaurateur's piano, surrounded by her husband and children who had naturally taken over the area for the musicians.

Ehren's blush redoubled with a vengeance.

The Ehrendolch's spirit then cleared her throat and spoke in her normal cool and commanding voice. "Yes, I did, as did Hélène. But I have with consultation from Niobe, Draco, Cleo and Johnston elected to commission a special graduation present for you, Elen. Cleo?"

Mama Cleo pulled out an elaborately carved teakwood presentation box and placed it on the table in front of Hélène. "Good show, dear! You have honoured us all!"

Hélène opened the lid and her eyes widened in shock and pleasure.

Inside was an enchanted dagger patterned after Mutti Ehren's true body, a pair of tooled leather sheaths -- one for her belt, boot, or thigh and the other spring loaded as a bracer to be hidden up a sleeve -- showing Mutti's ruthless practicality there no doubt, and a maintenance kit. The creamy tan leather of the hilt, however, had a golden citrine quartz lozenge set in it carved with a personal coat of arms for her as a member of the House of du Chasteler-Malfoy where Mutti had her du Chasteler-Malfoy heraldic arms in platinum. Likewise the blade inscription was different.

"Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense"

Hélène blinked tears of joy from her eyes as Cleo spoke quietly. "I picked that saying for you. Prime Minister Churchill said that to us in 1941 in the darkest days of the War." She hugged Helene as the rest of the family applauded her.

Grandmother Colombe tapped her fork on her champagne glass to draw attention to her before she picked up her glass of champagne and marched to Hélène's side. The rapier placed a proud hand on her granddaughter's shoulder and spoke in a voice filled with emotion. "Three hundred and nineteen years ago, I was expelled in disgrace from l' Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons following several minor incidents of schoolgirl misbehavior that were certainly Not My Fault! Besides the veela paid entertainers and tuns of Spanish Brandy were Gabriel Potter's idea that night and I owed him from our last game of strip picquet!"

Everyone laughed along with the rapier, who then raised her hand for silence. "I returned home in shame and disgrace, only to be comforted upon arrival by my sister and your namesake. Marie-Claire Hélène told me that she still loved me and that I would yet find a way to redeem the oath I had sworn to my Papa upon leaving that one day, a du Chasteler would graduate from Beauxbatons as a full witch and make him... our family... me proud as the best that she could possibly be. My sister spoke wiser than she or I knew, for since that day, only one other of us had graduated Beauxbatons, and of him I shall not speak, save that he was the antithesis of what makes us great." Colombe's voice was strong and proud, filled with overflowing emotions.

"Until today. Today, my beloved sister's namesake has redeemed her grandmother's sworn promise and made her Great-Grandpapa proud of her accomplishments as he looks down upon us gathered here to welcome her into her first steps of adult life. As Marchioness of Moulbaix and Chasteler, it is my great honor to welcome Hélène-Morgraine Malfoy into House du Chasteler as Hélène-Morgraine du Chasteler-Malfoy alongside To-chan, her mother Ehren, and Aunts Ying, Claire, and Estelle along with cousins and siblings too numerous to mention before we starve to death here! " Colombe's voice grew as proud and strong as her metal as she raised her glass high, mirrored by the room.

"A toast to my beloved granddaughter and her accomplishment, may it be the first of many more in a long, prosperous, and happy life! To Hélène-Morgraine!"

"To Hélène-Morgraine!"

After the toast, Colombe leaned in and spoke quietly. "I know that Marie-Claire is crying tears of joy in Heaven to see you. As am I, for you shall make our House great just as I and she have done when it is your turn to shine in the days ahead." The rapier's eyes were suspiciously shiny and her smile was smugly proud.

"I... see," Hélène said quietly as she picked up her Honor Dagger for the first time. She then gasped as she felt the magical potential filling it it just like her wand of hornbeam and unicorn hair. She hefted it, feeling its perfect balance as if it was part of her very being. Her eyes watered and she gave a happy smile as she replaced it, feeling the sense of acceptance and belonging that she had yearned from her siblings and family flow through her.


--------------------


Taube whistled in appreciation of the dagger and then hugged her younger sister after her parents and aunts got done congratulating her as the party continued. "It's beautiful! I'll help you learn how to use her properly, Elen!" She gave her sister a wink as she caressed the snarling amber-eyed wolf hilt of her hunting knife body.

Hélène smiled gratefully at her sister, sometimes rival, and sometimes example growing up. "I suppose I should pack for a hunting trip then?" She spoke snarkily, remembering how much Taube enjoyed to hunt.

Taube gave a nod and smile. "Of course! It's been too long since we did something like that together. We have the time before Max kidnaps you to help him and his buddies take up his responsibilities."

Hélène giggled along with her big sister. "Too long indeed." The warmth in her heart swelled while the memories of being the 'bratty little sister' and 'tag-along' faded and were soothed by the clear respect that she had earned in one of her role model's eyes.
--------------------

Finally the party began to break up. As the room began to clear, Hélène once more picked up her dagger -- her dagger!! -- from the box. She shivered in delight as she sensed the link to her very spirit, just like her wand. She flicked her wrist, and a small trail of silvery motes followed in response to her wordless spellcasting. Her eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in thought.

Hélène carefully replaced her dagger in its presentation box. Then she caressed the blade one more time, feeling the awakening potential that it represented for the new life that she was entering. Struck by an insight, she caught Ehren's steel-blue eyes. She looked a question to her Mutti, who was walking over to her to spend time with an often-overlooked middle child who had to fight to be noticed more often than not.

Ehren spoke in a warm quiet murmur in response to the unspoken question in her daughter's tear-filled eyes as they stood side by side looking down at the dagger. "Mutti Colombe arranged for an old friend of hers who served her old Charms professor at Beauxbatons to custom-enchant that to serve you as your wand does. Your blade was forged with donations of materials volunteered by the family. A small sliver of my steel alongside your other mothers' and grandmothers' formed part of the matrix that the master smiths at Böker Stahl-und-Magische-Metallwarenfabrik (Boker steel and magic metal goods factory) hand-forged into your honor dagger in the same forges and manner that gave me birth in 1937, Elen. May it serve you well and true, our beloved daughter."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yeah... decided to do an omake that I had partially on my computer. Needless to say, this is not getting posted to SB for obvious reasons... NSFW version on HPSG NSFW Thread
________________________________________________________________________

Sighing a little, Sakamoto Ryouma, or as he was known in this life, Koizumi Ryouma, sighed a little as he trudged into his bedroom. Coming up to his bedroom mirror, he frowned a little as he looked at the form of the twelve year old boy with a grimace. Part of him still had problems believing what had happened over the past two years since he turned ten years old.

They had started with blurry dreams, like half remembered memories throughout his childhood. A number were horrible dreams, he knew that even then. But when he woke up, they would fade away, like mist on a summer's morning. The more he had tried to grasp them, the faster that they disappeared. And, usually, by the time he was fully awake he only remembered fragments of them, and even those faded by noon.

Yet... they still left an impression on the... younger him, he supposed he should call them.

From a young age, he had always been something of a smooth talker. Able to calm down playground fights with just a few words. Heck, two kids that had absolutely despised one another now were close friends after he had talked between the two of them. Lips quirked, Ryouma internally chuckled as he remembered how happy he had been with that and still was. Now, he could see where it was coming from.

Meanwhile, the dreams had continued onwards. And, over the past year, they had become clearer and clearer. As well, he began to remember actual fragments once he turned ten. Never too much, but enough that, slowly, they pieced together who he really was. His parents had been concerned, like he had been. Was he going insane, somehow? Having what seemed like memories of a past life?

Being who he was, he had done research. Looked up paranormal books about people remembering past lives. There was a rather large number of that, but the stuff in them could be contradictory. Still, his parents were concerned... until his Otou-San remembered, once, his own Okaa-San, had told him that she had reincarnated because of some sort of secret project back during the war. Though in her case, the memories were fragmented.

The family had then set out to the sleepy little town where his current life's Obaa-San had lived, he was nearly twelve and remembered much more of his life. When meeting her, she had been curious until it was explained what had happened. Never before had he seen her so saddened, but his Obaa-San had gone into detail what had happened. How she was kidnapped off the street from her family by a group of what she had thought was Kempatai for some reason. At first, she had thought that she was going to be made into one of the women who gave "Comfort" to the men at war.

However, the truth was much more terrible and horrible.

While she did not go into full detail, it was enough that they knew that the group had performed some sort of experiments on her. Ones that caused her to remember, partially, previous lives. His Obaa-San had told how various others, girls, boys... and even Yokai from legend were other subjects. Some were forcibly impregnated to try and give birth to someone who was reincarnated. Others, she had seen go mad as their minds were partially or fully overwritten by their previous lives.

Ryouma along with his parents were horrified.

As she trailed off, his Obaa-San looked at him in sadness before hugging him, asking his forgiveness for what was happening to him. Needless to say, he didn't even need to think before he told her that she already had it. Because none of it was her fault at all.

Thankfully, however, it seemed that whatever was done to his Obaa-San and passed on to him, had stablized or something. Rather than overwritting his current life, the two fit together like... puzzle pieces, of some sort. Simply sliding into place until he was both Sakamoto Ryouma and Koizumi Ryouma.

In the present, Ryouma frowned as he rubbed his chin a little in thought. He did sort of start to resemble his previous life. Though there was some Western blood in him due to his Ojii-San being an American, though dead now for years. Shaking his head, he sighed a little before rolling his shoulders and grabbing his pajamas. Getting changed, he paused for a moment at a photograph that he had photocopied from a book he found on himself. It was not of him in his previous life, however...

Rather, it was that of his wife, Narasaki Ryō, or Oryou as he and many had called her.

For several moments, he looked at the photograph before placing his fingers against the cool glass, "Oryou-Chan... I am so sorry. I never meant to leave you, or for you to have such a bad life after my death. You should have been the happiest woman, not come to an end as a saddened one with only the bottle for comfort. I can only hope that, perhaps, you would forgive me for such."

Eyes closed, Ryouma clapped his hands a few times before bowing to the photo. Then, he turned out the light and walked to his futon before getting in. Eyes closing, he hummed to himself as one of his last thoughts was of his pregnant mother, and the baby sister that was due to be born in a few months. Then, he was asleep.

Hours passed and the Moon rose, bright and full. Unnoticed by him, however, his window slowly opened and a form slipped inside. Two, red glowing eyes looked around before pausing at the photograph illuminated on the dresser. But then, it spotted him, Ryouma, sleeping in bed and those two eyes widened. Gliding, the form made its way across the floor until it reached him. A trembling hand came up and then cupped his cheek, with him mumbling.

With that, the eyes then softened a little and one could see wetness gather in the corners of them, before the own spoke in a female's voice. One filled with joy and grief, "Ryouma-Kun... you've returned... and so have I, to your side."

Then there was the rustle of cloth before there was movement under the blankets.

Some hours later, the Sun rose and Ryouma grumbled a bit as a sunbeam shone in his eyes. Grimacing, he turned and sighed a bit as the light was no longer in his eyes. Of course, that was when his hand fell on something that made him mentally blink. It was something that was soft and round, which made him think that he knew what it was though for some odd reason he felt that it was cooler in temperature than it should have been. Giving it an experimental squeeze, there was a soft moan.

Needless to say, the twelve year old's eyes shot open at that and met two red ones that glowed in happiness in a face that he recognized, "... Oryou-Chan?"

At hearing that, the eyes widened and a brilliant smile appeared on Oryou's face as she cupped his cheek with one hand, "Ryouma-Kun... My husband, you've come back to Oryou..."

Softly sighing, she kissed him and he groaned a little as she deepened it and he could feel her (longer then before? What the hell...) tongue in his mouth. Then, she straddled him and sat up, the blanket falling off her. Of course, that was when the blushing teen realized some facts besides what it was that he had been holding and squeezing.

One, was the fact that Oryou looked exactly like she did during his first life, though much paler and with red, glowing eyes.

The second... was that she was currently completely naked, and in his bed. Unable to help himself, his eyes roamed over her and his flush deepened as he remembered that before, her chest had been good handfuls, yet now seemed so much more.

Of course, that was when he came to his next two realizations. Ones that made him pale a little. Partially in fear of his health as well.

Mainly, he was currently twelve years old.

And then, there was the small issue that if his mother walked in at that moment, she was going to kill him, kill Oryou, and then likely revive them to kill them again. Wishing to whomever was listening, even as she kissed him again (which he enjoyed, but dammit, don't think with that right now!), he tried to push her away, "O-Oryou-Chan, though I'm happy that you're here, and I love you as well as that fact, but, um, there's a problem..."

Nuzzling and kissing his neck, those formerly brown, now red, eyes looked up at him, "Hmm? And what is that, husband..."

With a gulp, he chuckled weakly, "I'm twelve right now in this life."

Oryou blinked and tilted her head a little, "Hai, husband?"

Leaning in, Ryouma looked her right in the eye, "... Oryou-Chan, I'm twelve right now. And we are in my parent's house... and I'm twelve and you are naked in my bed!"

It took a few seconds, but she blinked before blushing a little, "Ah."

And as if the universe wanted to mock him, that was when his current mother opened the door, "Ryouma-Kun, time to wake up! I made pancakes!"

Both women looked at each other for a long moment before his mother screamed, grabbed the shinai next to the door, and tried to hit Oryou with it. Of course, his... wife, ducked under it before leaping into the air where she hung with her hair floating around her as she pulled her legs up, giving Ryouma one heck of a view before he shook his head, "... Rude, I was laying with my husband."

Shocked, his mother boggled at him for several moments before sputtering, "H-husband!?" Then she caught sight of the photo on his dresser and did a double take, "I-I..."

Poking his head in, Ryouma's current father blinked as he took in Oryou, his son sitting with his pajama shirt partially opened, and the messed up futon. Then, he grinned and gave Ryouma a thumbs up, "Nice, Son."

Of course, that only made Ryouma groan and place his face in his hands, even as he heard the yelp of his father when his mother hit him. Oryou just blinked and crossed her arms as she tilted her head, 'Strange people.'

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And the story continues...


And Heroes Return

The starship finished work on Illinois' arm and nodded as Illinois flexed it. She then stepped over to sit in a familiar chair.

"Starship log, Stardate 6927.6, Starship Enterprise recording: While en route to Earth for much-needed refit and recreation, I have encountered a temporal anomaly and rescued two survivors of an apparent experiment in time travel. Since that time, I have been unable to reach Starfleet command. In fact, I can no longer detect any Starfleet signal at all. Monitoring non-Starfleet frequencies, I am detecting a signal from Tau Ceti but on a Romulan frequency. I can only assume that the time stream has been drastically shifted. It is clear that I must return Illinois and Central Island Hime to their proper place in history. Beyond that, regulations are clear. I must not risk contaminating the timeline through my own actions. Undoubtedly, no matter what course of action I take, Relativity or another time-ship will be paying me a visit to complain when I get back. That's the thing about time-ships: they're always around after the fact. I guess it comes from always living in the future. If they were actually here now, they might be useful in helping me decide what to do about this current situation. In the meantime, I am beginning calculations for a Warp Breakaway. This isn't without its own problems since Warp Breakaway tends to be very physically demanding. Hopefully, I won't be jumping straight into a fight."

With that, the light faded only to come up, on a group of British Battleships. Orion held up a hand to the others for quiet as she cupped the other hand over her ear as if listening, in another part of the stage and facing in a different direction, Muroc Maru likewise cupped her ear, listening to something as Recruit and Commodore waited.

"I'm getting a message. Redirect to grid coordinates 37C. Best sustained speed, maintain radio silence..." Both groups hurried off the stage.

As the stage went dark again, Lemurian Princess lit up once more. The red eyes looking over the audience.

"My plans are complete! Now, audience! Shall we watch as I take over the world?"

"I'd rather watch you lose," the voice of Naka spoke with her face appearing on all the monitors as she was lit up in the center of the stage. "Cue the fanfare!" She called as the lights went back down.


"What? What is this?"

The lights went up on Enterprise standing next to illinois and Hime.

"The future!" Enterprise answered.

"INSOLENT FOOL! I WILL MAKE THE FUTURE! AND YOU THREE WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE IT!"

"You know nothing about the future."

"PAST...PRESENT... FUTURE... ALL ARE MINE! I HAVE SURVIVED FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS AND I WILL REIGN ANOTHER TEN THOUSAND YEARS."

"No you won't. You've lived ten thousand years and you've learned... nothing. You have built... nothing. You're obsolete! You mean... NOTHING! And that's why, after today... you will BE... nothing!"

"ENOUGH! SINK!" the ancient abyssal fired her heaviest guns at Enterprise.

The starship smirked as shells burst ineffectively around her.

Enterprise shook her head. "If I had my way about it, I'd give you a taste of my phasers but I can't." She looked over at Illinois. "It has to be their power that beats you."

"THEM? Don't make me laugh! Even the Great Lakes Battleship is only a single ship! These two can't stop me and that means YOU can't stop me!"

"Who said there were only two of them?"


The stage lights lit on six shipgirls standing ready for battle, arrayed in a 'v'

The Tallest one spoke:

"Daughter of Sacred Japan! I, Yamato will fight you!"

Then another spoke:

"Queen of the North! Tirpitz is here! Ready for battle!"

And a third:

"Born of the Heart of America! I'm Oklahoma!"

Then the fourth:

"Battlecruiser Tiger! For Queen and Country!"

And the fifth:

"I am Arizona! The Ship of Destiny! And it is my destiny to fight evil wherever it stands!"

And finally, the leader spoke:

"And I am Nagato of the Big Seven! We fight for Peace and Justice on ALL the waters!"

"And they're not alone," Enterprise said as on the monitors, different groups of ship girls could be seen. In the main screen, Hornet, Amagi, Akagi, and Hiryu were launching full strikes.

"I WILL SINK ALL OF YOU!"

Central Island Hime turned to Enterprise. "Use your shields and protect the audience! We'll handle the rest!" Hime then followed behind Illinois into the fight as the sounds of cannon thundered and smoke rose across the stage and up around the monsterous head of Lemurian Princess. Nagato stood directing the others as they circled the monster, firing as they went. Soon it was clear their foe was badly hurt and angry.

"ARGH! SINK! SINK! SINK! ALL OF YOU SINK!" She fired every gun wildly.

"Why don't YOU sink!" Central Island Hime shouted back and fired into her former master.

"YOU! You led them here!" The audience watched as the monster ignored everyone else to turn every battery on Central Island Hime and fired...

Hime staggered and collapsed to the stage.

Illinois went to her side.

"Don't worry... Just finish her for me?"

Illinois nodded and fired a final shot as the beast gave one last frustrated cry and the great red eyes dimmed and died...


On stage, Illinois cradled the wounded Hime.

"We'll fix you up! Don't worry."

"It's alright... I did good, didn't I?"

"Yes. You did good."

"Then it's okay... Unless..."

"Unless what?

"Unless the audience would applaud for me? Just maybe?"

Walking on stage, Naka nodded. "What do you say, folks? Will you give Hime your applause?"

Slowly, the audience began to applaud.

"Do... Do you hear that?" Hime said, sounding tired. "I can almost hear them... Almost..."

Alright, everyone! Can we go louder for Hime?" Naka asked.

The audience cheered and applauded louder.

Hime cupped a hand to her ear. "What's that?"

The audience applause grew.

"It's a MIRACLE!" Hime hopped up to her feet. "Thank you! You wonderful audience you!"

Illinois blinked. "You weren't even hit!"

Hime turned toward her and shook her head. "I was... I'm afraid... My mask. I'm afraid it's broken." Hime held it in place with one hand as if shielding herself.

"Let it go," Enterprise told her.

Slowly, Hime pulled the mask away and looked up to reveal the beautiful face beneath.

"That's better. That's your true self."

"So what happens now?" Hime asked.

Naka came over and whispered in her ear.

"Do you think so?"

Naka nodded and grinned.

"If you think so." The monitors came back on focusing on a single member of the audience.

Hoppou tilted her head curious to see herself on the big screen. Then the smaller screens all showed Hime. Hime looked up to Hoppou.

"Um... Do you think...? I mean... Would it be okay if I switched sides? Can I be one of the 'good' guys now?"

Hoppou paused for a moment as if to ponder and then smiled and gave a 'thumbs up' sign.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Hime said excitedly.

"Well, so much for your 'not changing history'," Illinois told Enterprise.

"And I didn't," Enterprise replied with a smirk. "According to our records, Lemurian Princess WAS defeated on this date by a combined fleet of shipgirls from nations across the globe."

"So, you're saying this was all predestined?"

"Yes."

"I HATE when they say that!" A frustrated voice called out of nowhere.

"What was that?" Hime asked, startled.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Enterprise said, rolling her eyes.

"So? What else do your records show?" Oklahoma asked.

"Obviously, I can't go into details but I think you'll agree things will turn out alright... With lots of hard work along the way. Your war isn't over. Not by a longshot. But... Look around you. At each other. Not so long ago in your history, a fleet like this would have been unimaginable! Now here you are... Together... Keep that up and you never know what it could lead to. Maybe something big."

"So, I guess you'll be leaving?" Arizona said.

"Actually, I was thinking of taking some time for R and R here. Warp Breakaway does not nice things to my engines and space frame. So, a leisurely few weeks to rest up and make repairs. But then, yes. it'll be time to go home. The Galaxy isn't going to explore itself, after all."

"Then come!" Nagato told her. "Have you ever seen Japan, Enterprise?"

"I've never had the opportunity."

"Then I, Yamato, will show you!"

"Well then.." Enterprise gestured. "Lead the way!" The girls moved into formation and headed off stage as the lights faded to black.

Naka stepped forward as the lights came up. "Well, that concludes today's show everyone! We hope you enjoyed it. Can we have ALL of our performers back on stage for another big round of applause?" The cast came back and lined up together. "Let's meet our cast folks!"

In the stands, Nagato smiled. It was no surprise that her daughter... and she was really taking to that... had done well. She looked and acted every inch a battleship. Of course, some touches in the show, she expected were Naka's handiwork. And bless her for it!

"Hey, mom!" Harry said with a smile. "They're doing a meet with the cast. Why don't we stay for that?"

"Well..."

~Nagato-sama?~ A message came in over her radio.

~Yes, Naka? Nice work, by the way.~

~Thank you! Anyway, I have several actresses who are very eager to meet some of their idols. If you don't mind?~

~Sounds good! We'd like that!~

***

Meanwhile, in the stands, Severus Snape smiled. No one would expect him to be here. Certainly not over an old muggle TV show. But then, that's because they all saw one face of him. While true that his public face was a slight exaggeration, most people who stood and judged him for being cold, demanding, and unsentimental, never bothered to remember that he had once been a young boy with dreams. No surprise, since Severus, himself, did not reflect upon it much.

Still... To a nine-year-old boy, with the exception of dealing with Petunia Evans, The Evans home had been like a refuge from a truly cruel father. Lily and her father were both into sci-fi. At first, it seemed silly to Snape. Afterall, his world had MAGIC! But as Mister Evans watched shows on the moon landings, a part of Snape was intrigued. Space was one area where wizards were certainly far behind 'muggles'. Wizards had no dreams comparable! So Severus Snape became a fan as well. He even had his heroes. For Halloween, the year before going to Hogwarts, he dressed as Spock. The character's cool demeanor and his status as someone not like the rest of the crew and yet, still respected among them was powerful stuff for young Severus. Star Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars, and that was the tip of the iceberg. As he grew older and he and Lily went off to Hogwarts, his love of Sci-Fi remained. He remembered calling his DA Professor 'Professor Dunsel' But after everything had gone so horribly wrong, Snape put all that away. It only made him think of Lily and that made him think of the mistakes he had made.

But now... He was beginning to feel like he could think of the good things again. Just maybe. And that included two children sitting in front of the Television watching great heroes going where no wizard had ever gone.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

Collisions

Lieutenant Uehara was not in the stands that night, nor was he waiting behind the curtain to give his encouragement to his girls. While some might be pleased with this little show, Souichi Uehara was not among them. He had started his assignment with two arrogant ship-fakes who constantly bordered on insubordinate. He now had titular responsibility for FIVE and the other three had learned from Nagato and Amagi to be just as insufferable! And now, with the program being rolled into this international conglomeration, even his authority on paper over them was being reduced as well. Well, he still had a program to run. He was going to have to find human actresses to replace them on tour. Fortunately, He had gotten permission to hold a 'Pose as your favorite shipgirl' contest a while back. The grand prize was to be a meeting with the shipgirl of the winner's choice. This had lead to hundreds of photo submissions. Some of them actually looked quite convincing. Human actresses would also be more likely to follow his instructions. At least as long as he kept them away from the bad example of Miss Nakamura, who originally came over with the American contingent. At least she wasn't his problem.

Of course, the lieutenant was aware there would probably be shipgirls in the audience. Perhaps if Uehara HAD been in the stands or watching backstage rather than secluded away in a back office, he might have known which ones. Had he even bothered to pay attention to Naka, who had been practically spelling things out for days what was in the works, he might have avoided disaster. But as Admiral Goto would later remark, 'A man that determined to fail should be granted the reward of his efforts'. Uehara was determined that his association with the 'setgirls' needed to be severed. In this, he succeeded, much like a man sawing off a tree branch from the wrong end.

Anxious to finally meet her 'daughter', Battleship Nagato led Harry and Hoppou backstage. Without saying, Nagato had a full screen around her, several of whom were also interested to meet one or more of the performers but all of them were completely devoted to their charges. All of them would give testimony to the hearing later.

Later, Uehara would not be able to recall exactly why he had done it. But he had been waiting for an opportunity to show Nagato that she wasn't that important. He already had two good candidates to replace her. One was a student at a local high school, Sakaki Asakawa. The other, a Konoe Tsurugi, actually worked as the head of security for the head of the Hanaukyo Family. Miss Tsurugi looked a little closer to the role and more intimidating. The student would probably be easier to handle. Either way, he could demonstrate to that uppity little fake her true place in things.

So, with his head in all the wrong places, Souichi Uehara stepped into the hall, ready to complete the perfect storm of arrogance, stupidity, and opportunity. Spotting the source of his irritation among the crowd, he called out to her in the firmest tone he could manage.

"Nagato! Come here! You and I need to have a talk."

The battleship Nagato turned, somewhat perplexed by the young officer's demanding tone. Reflexively, her escorts drew closer. Hoppou and Harry also closed ranks on their mother.

"What? You're so important you can just ignore me completely? You're nothing but plywood and spit!"

It dawned on Nagato that this 'man' was refering to her other self... Her daughter. The matter of ranks aside, his tone was quite abusive. She made certain to record it all as she watched a fool dig his own grave, ruthlessly suppressing the rising anger at how he treated not her... but she who bore her name with pride, grace, and honor. Nagato knew that of the thirty-four decoys and setgirls present (not including Enterprise), all seventeen British girls had standing of military rank due to their status as commissioned cargo vessels as did Illinois, Recruit, and Commodore. Of the other fourteen, it was being discussed that the five other American girls would also be given rank. After today, Nagato was certain that she would push for the Japanese girls to be accorded rank and honors as well.

Uehara saw as Nagato simply looked at him like he didn't even exist! Even as he realized he shouldn't, he reached for her shoulder...

He never made it as someone bumped into him from behind. He stumbled, tripping over a well placed foot.

"Lieutenant Uehara?" The Actress Nagato asked as Susan Nakamura smirked ever so slightly, still in full costume and make-up.

Uehara turned and saw the Actress Nagato staring at him and then turned back, swallowing as he realized just exactly who he had been berating. He also for the first time noticed how many hostile eyes were now on him.

Keeping in character, Hime giggled. "Oopsie! Somebody made a boo boo!"

***

A few minutes later and Lieutenant Uehara wondered if hell would have any fears for him after today. He had accidentally caught the gaze of Hoppou and her eyes burned into him. He hadn't meant to pick trouble with a battleship whose paygrade placed her far above any mere mortal such as himself. That would have been enough even if she were not a battleship, hero, and as he knew all too well a hugely popular celebrity. But beyond that was the fact he realized that she was the thin sheath of protection between him and her children. He knew about Northern Ocean Princess. Those seemingly innocent childlike eyes flashed a cold fury over what he had done and what he had nearly done. Uehara felt her peer directly into his soul and found him wanting.

To his surprise, Nagato's son was almost more frightening. His angry glare made Uehara shiver as if death was simply waiting for this boy's permission.

His career was over. He understood that. He had allowed his pride to destroy him completely. It was almost a relief when two of the police officers who had been in the audience had come to see what the disturbance was.

"Officers! I saw this man grabbing at this woman!" Susan Nakamura told the police.

"Great! Miyuki! We get a day off and some pervert has to RUIN it!" Officer Tsujimoto yanked Uehara up off the floor.

"And he has the GALL to wear the uniform of the Defense forces while doing it!" Her partner agreed. She saluted Nagato. "Officers Kobayakawa and Tsujimoto ma'am. Would you like to make a statement? If so, we can arrange a more discreet and convenient time."

"We appreciate your discretion, officers," Nagato replied.

"Of course, ma'am, We'll take care of this… gentleman."

"Thank you." Even as they led Uehara away, Harry shook his head.

"Anything wrong Harry?" Nagato asked her son.

"I don't know mom. I don't think it's anything to worry about except to the crooks."

"Well, now that is over with," Nagato turned her attention to the ship-actresses. "We can meet with the people we came to see!"

Nagato-A bowed deep before her. "It is an honor to meet you, Nagato-sama."

"It is I who am honored, daughter," The battleship replied.

Nagato-A smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. "All I've ever wanted was to be worthy of my name."

"And you have! Even if your guns are wooden, your heart is the finest Japan steel! And I would be deeply honored to know she who has done our name so proud!" Nagato embraced her newest daughter.

Hoppou, meanwhile, now that the threat, if only minimal and brief, had been removed, turned her attention to 'Central island Hime'. "Hoppou thinks you are a silly princess. But Hoppou likes you."

Susan smiled more naturally. "And I think YOU are my favorite Princess." She looked around. "Do you think it would be alright if we took a couple of pictures together?"

"I think so," Nagato agreed. "What do you think, Hoppou?"

"Yes! Hoppou would like that!" Hoppou was also considering asking a little more of Hime and her friends. But that would wait for a more opportune moment.

Naka walked over with a thoughtful expression. "You know, with the autograph seekers and everything, it might start getting busy back here. So I talked to Admiral Goto already and suggested that the cast spend the evening and tomorrow at least as our guests in Yokosuka."

"That is a wonderful idea!" Harry's mother agreed.

In the meantime, Severus Snape patiently waited to collect an autograph from Enterprise. While romance was a thing for others, Snape did believe there was a favor he wanted to do for Enterprise. It would take some research but he was certain he could do it. "Genesis indeed." He murmured to himself as he left the auditorium.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Another day, another crosspost. Thanks again to MagisterAurelius for letting me borrow these three for a moment as events move forward once more toward Fourth Year.

A Moment Among The Megaliths

19 August 2014

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England

A Navy Blue four person velomobile turned off the highway across Salisbury Plain that passed the most famous Neolithic site in the world. Slowly, it coasted to a halt at an overlook on the side of the road and parked in one of the spaces in the vacant lot.

A gold haired shipgirl opened the driver's door, then looked at her two companions with a happy smile. "Well, we're here!" Cleopatra said cheerfully as she waited for Draco and Niobe to exit the car before stowing it on her deck.

Draco smiled back to her, then shivered and put on a light windbreaker to ward off the afternoon's chill, looking at the grassy plain spotted with ancient trees, the low mounds of the barrows, and the silent standing stones that had stood here for millennia. "Thanks for taking us out here, Cleo."

"Anytime, Muffin!" Cleo said in that cheerful voice, taking his hand. "Thanks for inviting us out for a picnic to watch the sunset over Stonehenge!"

"Ja! Thank you for inviting me, mein Flottenadmiral." Niobe said as she smiled brightly at him. She pirouetted, showing off the bright blue sundress that she had bought at Harrods. "I hope you like what I picked out." She gave a hesitant and shy look at him.

He smiled back at her. "You look really good, Niobe," he said as he admired her elegant and ladylike lines. Niobe beamed and preened a little under his attention.

Then he looked over at the shipgirl on his arm in a bright yellow sundress with her favorite Egyptian necklace and visibly admired her too. "I love your look too Cleo." He complimented her, causing her to blush. Cleo gave a sunny smile and kissed his cheek as Niobe took his other arm before kissing his other cheek.

They walked slowly from the overlook up a walking path along the line of Bronze Age burial mounds on the ridge, chatting idly as they strolled through groves of old trees.

Draco then paused, blinking suddenly as he sensed something.

"Why don't we turn off here and climb that one? " He asked, rubbing his chin as he pointed to a nearby circular barrow. The girls agreed and they climbed the hill-shaped burial mound.

At the top a small grove of gnarled beech trees shaded a toppled slab of stone that had marked this burial. Draco nodded in satisfaction, and then pulled his wand out to cast privacy charms. As he did so, faint glyphs glimmered with witchfire upon the weathered bluestone marker.

While he did so, Niobe and Cleopatra silently spoke to each other on the radio, scanned the deserted area, nodded, and then pulled out the picnic basket and tablecloth that they had packed.

Finally satisfied with his spellcraft, Draco nodded to himself as he sensed the ancient wards from the days the Celts buried a chieftan here flare with renewed life.

Now that they were private, he walked to lean against one of the nearby trees that had grown on the barrow over the centuries.

He put his hands in his pockets and squinted his eyes as he looked into the setting sun creeping toward the western horizon.

In the near distance, a low ground fog cloaked the standing megaliths and menhirs of Stonehenge, giving the ancient sight a spectral, otherworldly air that matched his fey mood.
Spoiler: A Malfoy At Stonehenge

He sighed thoughtfully as the girls walked to him after setting up the picnic. Cleopatra leaned against his right side and hugged him around the waist. "What's wrong, Muffin?" She asked with clear concern in her voice.

Niobe leaned against his left side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes, what's wrong, Liebchen?" She requested from a face filled with worry.

Draco bit his lip, still looking at the mist covered stones. "I'm not sure where to start...." He said absently, and trailed off before chuckling and shaking his head. "I guess there's nothing for it. Why? Why me? There have to be better people out there that could have been picked."

The girls shared worried glances full of concern. Then Niobe spoke with deep emotion in her voice. "Because I love you, Liebchen. Because you believe in me, in us. You don't see me as a worthless obsolete relic fit only as a barracks hulk or training ship to do make-work. You don't see Johnston as just a reckless hotheaded loose cannon looking for a fight constantly. You don't see Wash as a half-built useless battleship just suitable to be expended as a target."

Cleopatra chimed in a serious voice at complete odds with her normal bubbly air-headed persona. "You don't see me just as an air-headed ditz without a clue. You see things in us that no one else ever did and we don't need to wear masks around you. That's why I have grown to love you, Muffin."

Draco nodded silently, his eyes still distant. Finally he responded in that absent, abstracted voice. "I guess you have a point since I don't see either of you or Wash or Johnston that way. Maybe you see things in me that I'm not sure that I see it in me." He gave a brief self-depreciating smile. "Considering what's been going on, it's no crazier than anything else in my life of late."

Niobe leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Something's been troubling you ever since you woke up, Liebchen. Let us help, please." Her voice was worried and her violet eyes were suspiciously shiny as she stared at his face.

Draco barked a laugh and seemed to find what he was looking for among the mist-shrouded brooding stones. "You won't believe it. I'm not sure that I believe it, but I have to believe it." He laughed again and shook his head with a wry smile.

He then looked at the worried girls and spoke quietly and seriously with a distant look in his eyes. "I don't know if I've gone mad, but while I was in the coma after the Causeway, I had... well... a vision while I was knocked out. It was like a dream but I knew... know... deep down that it was as real as you standing by me here and now." He took a deep breath and his face filled with awe and wonder as he continued in that quiet, serious voice. "A dream of Tír na nÓg, the Irish... Celtic afterlife. When I was there, there was a house prepared for me... with several maidens waiting for me."

He blushed scarlet and then looked back at Stonehenge rather than meet their eyes. "One of them could have been your twin, Cleopatra, and another was just like you, Niobe." He mumbled as his cheeks flamed and he desperately fought down his hormones as visions of a fantasy of those two Maidens 'welcoming' him burned through his fevered brain. Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately for him, he completely missed the knowing look that the shipgirls gave him and the happy hungry smiles that they gave each other while he wrestled with his self-control.

Finally under control, he resumed the explanation as his blush began to fade. "I also met Lugh there, who explained that He... the Celtic gods needed a Champion." He took a deep breath as he reached out with his words to people who he trusted and trusted him. "They said that they needed me to fight the evils that were sealed away when this place was young. Evils like the Formorian that broke loose at the Causeway. I... agreed to be their Champion after thinking it over. It was an attractive offer, but...."

Cleopatra hugged him as he broke off again. He laughed faintly and shook his head before resuming in that quiet, serious voice. "They said that they would gift me the boon of the skills and abilities that I need to be their Champion. Normally, I would have chalked all that up as a fever dream, but for one thing. After I had my last talk with Lugh, when I agreed to be His Champion I had a vision of the future. Things I could not have possibly known. Things about Ehren."

Niobe gasped in shock, then spoke in sudden comprehension. "That's why you were so frantic when you woke up calling for her! I thought that you had gone mad then." She gave him a look filled with respect.

Draco's lips twisted and he spoke wryly. "The thought about me going mad crossed my mind once or twice too." He then took a deep breath as his face and words darkened. "I remember seeing Ehren falling into darkness." He paused with a look of deep concern and compassion on his troubled face. "Darkness filled with bat-winged creatures with one red eye each that were directed by a blond haired man in SS uniform identical to what Ehren wore that night when she lost control of herself and a blond woman with a glowing sword."

Niobe scowled in thought. "That sounds like the Popobawa, Cortana, and Ehren's Vati," she said with disgust under the cool analysis in her voice, "although I'd have to show you images of them both to compare to your memories of this vision. What else was there?" She leaned forward, her violet eyes intent as she stared at him.
Spoiler: Worries For A Cousin

He shook his head. "That was all of the enemies I saw in that vision. I also saw Ehren mourning my death and locking herself away. Locking herself away from me, from us. And when I saw her after you rescued her, she was changed. And not for the better." He stared into Niobe's violet eyes and asked in a aristocratic tone of command and authority filled with velvet-edged steel that caused primal shivers to run down both shipgirls' keels and their boilers to burn hotter. "What happened to her in Africa?? Ehren wouldn't tell me, but I need to know."

Niobe automatically snapped to attention and her voice acquired the precise tone of a report to her Captain. "When we arrived, the Popobawa vampires had overrun the house and Ehren had been captured by a sword spirit that Colombe called Cortana. I'm not sure if she was the actual Cortana, but she was very powerful, a near match for Norimune and Tokunotakai both. They Portkeyed out and we followed in pursuit using one of Ehren's hilt pins to divine her location in the Congo after dealing with the Popobawa remaining inside."

Draco nodded sharply as he listened to Niobe. His eyes were filled with horror while Cleopatra turned pale and hugged him tighter when Niobe's report reached the rescue. "When we caught up to them, Ehren was wearing SS uniform as an Untersturmführer and standing at the right hand of Helmar von und zu Wolff, the SS officer who was her father, who was also an old flame of Colombe's."

Draco sucked in his breath as if he had been punched in the gut, his fists clenched, and his eyes flamed as he listened to Niobe's words. "Ehren was fooling him, and since she was not just in SS uniform, but that of a subordinate officer to him... she must have falsely sworn her allegiance and parroted that Nazi-Dreck to keep the deception going. Along with using illusion magic to make him think that he had turned her into a vampire under his control."

Cleopatra whispered with compassionate tears in her glistening blue eyes. "Oh no! Poor Ehren!"

Niobe wiped tears from her own pain-filled eyes. "Poor Ehren indeed. When we arrived, I held off the bulk of Wolff's forces while Colombe and the others fought to Wolff and his inner circle, which included Ehren. She turned on him and helped destroy the artifact empowering him. Colombe then killed Wolff in front of her eyes while Toku and Norimune took down Cortana. We looted the base and Portkeyed back to Moulbaix. Ehren didn't tell us much after we rescued her since she was in shock. She was acting as an aide to her Vati, I know, and as for what happened to put her in that position...." Niobe trailed off, bit her lip, and then resumed in a voice filled with deep compassion, respect, and sad pride for her fellow German. "I suspect that he would have tried his best to break her and mold her to his will in the training and selection she endured. That was how the Schutzstaffel forged their bonds of blind obedience and fanaticism back... before. Bonds that she falsely swore and then betrayed with her Vati."

Draco sighed deeply as his tears fell. "Poor poor Ehren. Also...." He broke off and took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "She talked to me when she was visiting at Malfoy House, right before she left. She confessed that she wasn't worthy of my love because she was tainted by her past, so she swore on her honor to protect the relationship I have with you two and Johnston instead of pursuing her feelings toward me."

Niobe paled and then flushed red with fury. "Dieser idiotische Preußische DUMMKOPF!!" (That idiot Prussian DUMMY!!) She swore at the top of her lungs in German and shook her head in disgusted disbelief. "{I can't believe Ehren...! Well, it's such a her thing to do! Der völliger Preußische Dummkopf!!}"(The complete Prussian fool!)

Cleo meanwhile slid around to look into Draco's eyes. "You're interested in Ehren." She said calmly as a statement of fact.

Draco sighed and shook his head, "I don't know what to think about Ehren. She's a sweet girl deep down when she allows herself to smile and..." He broke off and blushed scarlet as his hormones staged a rebellion waving images of Ehren as the Maiden of Spring smiling at him. "But she's so... so... so.... Ehren!" He snapped out, still with his face flushed with embarrassment.

Cleo hugged him. "I -- we -- understand, Muffin. And she swore that she won't act on the feelings that she has for you. So she's not going to ever make a move on you. She would view that as betraying us with you." Cleo's voice was very thoughtful and calm.

Meanwhile Niobe, still fuming at her fellow German's pigheaded stupidity, joined the hug. "It's not in that stiff necked Prussian's nature to back down." She scowled. "I swear, I want to shake some sense through the solid bone between her ears so she will realize that she's not a pariah!" Niobe sighed bitterly with sad pride in her words. "But if she was capable of bending on her sworn word easily if at all, she wouldn't be Ehren. She has the virtues and the vices of the Prussian Landjunker aristocracy. She's going to stick to her guns no matter what once she determines the correct action to take even if the devil himself stands in her way or no matter what it costs her. Ihre Ehre heißt Treue." Niobe finished with a grump.

He nodded in silent agreement and sighed again before speaking. "And yet...," he trailed off and his eyes found Stonehenge one last time before resuming his troubled train of thought, "and yet if I don't act she's going to be alone forever. I know that deep down now. She will build that cold wall of duty and honor and faithful friendship up higher and stronger until...." He sighed very deeply at the thought of the Ehren he had glimpsed in that dark future locking herself away from love to mourn forever alone.

He wiped tears from his eyes as he finished. "...until the day that no one can possibly break it to fill her life with light and love, and she will suffer in silence alone for the rest of her life behind those icy masks because she feels deep inside her heart that she deserves to suffer endlessly for being a Nazi weapon. I don't know what to do about her. I don't know what to think about her."

He looked at the troubled faces of his shipgirls. "I just don't know."

Cleo spoke quietly with deep emotion in her sweet voice. "I have faith that you will make the choice that is right for her and you."

Niobe nodded in agreement before kissing him. "Ja, I have faith in you." Her own voice was troubled but filled with love and confidence deep down for him.

Draco shivered and returned the kiss. "I don't suppose either of you have any of the answers that I haven't been able to find on my own that can help Ehren?" He asked them as he looked into their eyes.

Neither girl had an answer as they finally headed to the picnic.

Save to do their best to comfort and reassure Draco that there was an answer that he could find.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And in the meantime.... More catch-up!


Homecoming

Yokosuka! It seemed like her entire life she had wanted to be here and now it was happening at last! Nagato was sure she looked every bit like a silly tourist but she couldn't help but be in awe of this place and the denizens who called it home. And especially of her mother.

"So?" Her mother was saying. "How do you girls normally room?"

"Yamato, Amagi, and I share one room and Akagi and Hiryu share the room next to us."

Arizona glowered at that. "Room? Excuse me, Nagato-sama? But calling that 'broom closet' a 'room' is like calling the public pool an ocean! Lieutenant Kirby and Leftenant Chalmers blew their stacks when they saw the quarters that Uehara wanted to put us in! Unfortunately, they didn't have the authority to pull your daughter and the other girls out of that pardon my language... but that HOLE!"

"It wasn't that bad," Nagato-chan replied.

"Not that bad? A set of bunkbeds on each of the two long walls and two small desks with a stool. You had to duck to get through the door and only one body width between the beds. There were no windows, only a common bathroom with shower stall between both your room and Akagi and Hiryu's. The thermostat was busted! We're people! Not just props in storage anymore!"

The battleship Nagato frowned, intending to get to the bottom of this and when she got there, one JMSDF Lieutenant was going to be buried in that hole! And whoever was responsible for letting him get away with it to keep him company! "Thank you for informing me of this, Arizona-chan. I will need you to tell me everything you know and I will make certain that Admiral Goto is there as well." She then turned to her daughter, who bore an expression very similar to the one Harry had when she and Warspite discovered him at the Dursley's.

"Nagato-chan, listen to Arizona. She is right. While it is good not to go through life thinking you are entitled to everything, as a person, there is a certain level of dignity we owe each other as a simple matter of common respect and decency. I can tell you are upset because you can tell that I am angry right now. But as I had to teach Harry, I am not upset at you. I am upset at that lieutenant and the people who let him treat you like a 'thing'. Now... You will be staying with me at least until this matter is resolved to my satisfaction."

"Yes mama."

Nagato smiled. "It will be alright. Yamato san?"

"Hai?"

"Would you mind taking Yamato-chan and getting their things?"

"Of course, I Yamato, will take care of this!"

Yamato-chan sighed at her. "Uehara has the only key."

Yamato actually smiled. "Unless all of Task Force 58 or perhaps USS Johnston is holding the door, that means nothing, my little chrysanthemum! Come! Hiryu-chan will come also."

Susan smirked as she leaned over to Hoppou and whispered, "Your mom and Yamato are completely awesome!"
***

The building was, in fact, as bad as Arizona had reported. Perhaps worse. Yamato had barely resisted the urge to knock it down herself but had, instead, summoned the proper authorities.

"It was a disgrace!" Yamato reported. "I have arranged for the remaining tenants to be housed in temporary quarters on base. They are mainly students. Yamato could not permit them to remain in a fire trap!"

"I see," Goto nodded. It would be an expense but Goto knew better than interfere with a battleship's demands of conscience. He then turned to the two foreign officers that had hurriedly been summoned.

"Lieutenant Kirby, Leftenant Chalmers... Were you aware of the conditions that Nagato and the others were living in?"

Lieutenant Kirby leaned forward. "Admiral, both Lieutenant Chalmers and I made numerous protests both through our own superiors AND through Commander Gendo. We were told by Commander Gendo 'not to interfere in matters we didn't understand and that was NOT our affair'. We were told that we could make whatever arrangements we felt necessary for our own charges. To that end, we lease the old community center in Negishi. There is plenty of room and a place to rehearse so when the joint productions started, Uehara couldn't say no but he hurried those girls back home when the practices were done for the day." Kirby sighed. "Sir. Those girls are like my own kids. I just can't understand how a man who doesn't feel that way ended up in charge of your girls. They deserve better and we've all let them down."

Chalmers nodded agreement. "It's a bloody balls up! I have direct responsibility over Seventeen shipgirl decoys, a slightly obsessive girl who is always prompt for four o'clock tea but thinks she's the terror of the fjords, and her three little companions whom she has to have tucked in beside her before she can rest at night. But each and every one of them is part of my family. I know you certainly feel the same, Admiral. But for the life of me, I can't fathom WHY a man like Uehara was placed in charge of those girls!"

Goto nodded. He, in fact, already had copies of Kirby's and Chalmers' complaints. "That ends today, gentlemen. As of now, your people work here, practice here, live here. Your girls are not only important to the morale effort of this war but may well have other means of contributing to our success. And they and you will be treated with the respect you have earned."

Kirby nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me, Lieutenant. As I said, it's what they've already earned."

 

[darthcourt10]

Sidestory - Snippet 23: Kab2

First I have to thank Daniel03 for sharing the video that put the last two snips in my mind, I would have written them very differently as I didn't contemplate a battle at first.
Here is the battle you were waiting for! I hope you like it.
---------------------------------------------------
Decisive battle

As she saw the towering Demon approaching Sofia little by little, a still immobilized Jen pondered her options of how to defeat this foe; she had to thank Sofia for the knowledge of abyssal anatomy she inherited from her when Jen accepted Sofia as master; at a distance the Demon could vaporize her with her weapons if those turrets in its shoulders shoot her, same with its anti-aerial weapons, so her only option would be a mêlée fight, but that left the drawback of taking care of the tail, so her only option would be...

Yes, it would be a good plan to execute if she didn't spent almost all her magic in her most powerful attack.

"Magische Teilen!"

As it was a prayer, the red-haired submarine casted the spell and the sword spirit sensed her strength coming back, a gentle energy filling her almost depleted magic, slowly powering her with Sofia's magic power.

Rising in her two feet, she clenched her free hand as she looked at it 'Good enough, I recovered more than a half of my full magical power, thanks Sofia, I won't waste this chance'
Spoiler: To the battle

With that said, she prepared to battle, infusing her avatar with magic for power up her strength, speed and endurance, causing brilliant red stripes to appear all over her armor and in the corner of her left cheek, protruding a bit from the neck protection, its true body runes glowing with the same tone of red.

Lunging towards the Demon that dared to stand in their way to achieve their goals, she pointed her sword-self upwards and infused it with a bit of magic to make her edge sharper than before, magic that made it glow dark.

Reaching them she struck her target with all her might, the Demon's tail, cutting it from the main body.

The rigging roared in surprise and gave a swat to Sofia, making her tumble until she hit the house wall, which made Jen angrier, but she didn't have the luxury to worry about her, as her biggest challenge charged towards her.

"How dare you..." the Demon began to say.

But it was interrupted as Jen leaped towards her, faster now than the monster thanks to its imbalance and infusing again her sword self she cut its left turret.

The rigging tried to smash her with its right hand, but Jen had already jumped out of its reach and taking advantage of the extended arm she cut its right anti-aerial turret, but the monster used the chance to strike her with its arm, sending her to a big rock.

Spinning on herself, Jen landed with her feet in the rock, instinctively she quickly jumped to the air as only an instant after it a shoot from Tarasque pulverized it; with the momentum gained she tried a normal strike against it, which covered itself with its right arm causing sparks to fly and a metal against metal sound, leaving no mark.

Only a slight 'tsk' she dared to say as the monster tried to catch her with its left hand with no success as Jen jumped over it, and using the fist as a trampoline she cut its left anti-aerial turret, landing at its back.

It quickly shook its body to shake her off, making Jen fall, not without trying to cut its side with a powered slash.

'CLING'

The strike stopped as it only made a little scratch alongside its ribs; with no time to spare she leaped backwards before it tried to catch her again.

She emotionlessly saw the state of her opponent, its only threat now was its remaining turret, but after striping the rigging from it she wasn't sure how to defeat them, stealing a glance from where Sofia was, she saw that she was a bit injured, a thread of blood and oil in the corner of her mouth, but otherwise she was fine.

She decided to leave the issue of defeating the monster to her future self; she had a turret to bring down.

As she trusted forwards, she noted that it was wary of her, obviously they knew that she was going for its turret so the rigging tried to protect it so she used a different approach.

She ran towards its right arm, feinting an attack to it and when the gray monster tried to defend it with its left arm she slipped under its body and quickly jumped at its back, where she cut down the remaining turret.

Now that it was stripped of its long-range weapons she could if necessary stand away from it, but the problem presented itself again, so she tried to search for a weak spot.

She tried to strike it in different places, all the time her ears filled with the constant swearing of the Demon, but it always ended the same.

'CLING'

With her only scratching its skin.

"I applaud you, you stripped myself of long-range weapons, making me 'vulnerable', but the plating my Princess installed is powerful enough to stop your attacks, so I will win even if I don't do anything, but I want to make you plead for your life and turning you into a pulp, but this little sword has proven problematic" Tarasque grinned at that "So I'll have to use mine."

Reaching inside of itself, the rigging took out what looked like an irregularly cut metal plate that vaguely resembled a sword as long as his body.

"This is a piece of plate that your first attack cut from my deck, so I only had to pick it up and now I can fight you."

Unbelieving this information, Jen attacked Tarasque again... only to be stopped by its 'sword'
Spoiler: Counterattack

Standing over its two feet, its equilibrium recovered thanks to the now cut anti-aerial turrets, the monster gained momentum against Jen, using all its weight to push her back, wielding the 'sword' like an axe as it didn't have any knowledge of swordsmanship, the only thing Jen could do was defending herself from the barrage of blows, slowly pushing Jen backwards to the sea, little by little she staggered as she parried blows that could cut apart an entire house trying to cut her.

But Jen won't allow it.

Loosening her stand, she used one of the rigging's blows to propel herself to the rocky area of the beach, in an attempt to hinder its movements.

But it closed distances pulverizing the rocks in its way as if they were nothing, it quickly stood in front of Jen and swung its sword against Jen again.

Jen evaded it by the half of a hair and trusted her true self upwards, cutting the chain that linked its two wrists near the right arm, but otherwise without doing any damage.

The rigging quickly took notice of the new weapon at its disposal and grabbed the chain at its beginning with its left hand and used it as a whip against Jen that retreated once again to assess its possibilities, but the monster won't leave her a second of rest.

Picking up a rock as tall as Jen, the monster threw it to Jen at high-speed which slashed it in half doing the same with two more that the Demon kicked at her, at this point she lunged again towards its body, trying to cut the chain and leaving it only with the sword-like plate.

She evaded to the left the chain-whip and jumped to avoid the cross-slash that followed burying it in the ground and taking momentary hold on its sword, she slashed the chain to cut it, but just after cutting the chain she lost her hold as the rigging set the sword free, causing her attack to hit its torso.

'CLANG'

Slightly opening her eyes, her intuition commanded her as she proceed to take a bit of distance, seeing the uselessness of the chain the monster threw it at Jen which cut it in half and quickly raised it again to parry another attack from the incoming monster that she deflected leaving the grey monster's torso open.

Empowering her sword-self again she attacked the same point she did earlier.

'CLANG'

A slight smirk briefly passed over her face as she avoided another attack as she proceed to punish the spot that sounded different, her magic depleting with each powered strike.

Three strikes and all will be decided.

Running towards it she parried another attack coming from above making her stop in her tracks, the strike so powerful that Jen sank some centimeters in the sand but it didn't make a dent in Jen's determination to defeat this foe.

So she pushed forwards and broke Tarasque's guard jumping towards it immediately and adding another strike to that stop.

But breaking the guard took a half strike's worth of magic so she only had a full one left.

Retreating again she looked at her foe, its heads roaring in frustration as it haven't touched her it left its sword and began to run on all fours towards her, roaring like a berserker as madness embraced them.

A fact that Jen took advantage as she again slipped under it and using magic she kicked its abs with enough force to raise its legs from the ground making it stumble through the beach, opportunity that used Jen to strike her last strike to the spot.

'CLANG'

Seeming that it did nothing, Jen retreated, panting as once again magic was failing her.

Taking a triumphant attitude seeing her state, Tarasque slowly circled Jen as she went for its sword.

"Impressive, you have battled in equal term against me" said the Demon picking the sword "But it all ends now" raising the sword as high as its rigging could.

But in that moment all the attacks Jen made took its toll on the rigging.

The bolts holding her so precious armor plate finally broke, opening a small breach in her hull, transmitted on its body as an open wound where Jen was striking repeatedly.

Sensing danger, Tarasque quickly retreated to the sea.

But this was not going to stop Jen.

Concentrating all her strength left, she began to run towards the Demon, transforming her armor into magic to strengthen her last blow, revealing a beautiful black dress; as a result she gained even more speed, magic aiding her to run over the waters, her speed was no match against Tarasque's guard, Jen bypassed it and putting all her magic in her sharpened self, which was glowing as dark as a new moon night she struck again the same spot were the wound was.

Putting all her rage and hope in that slash it slowly advanced through Tarasque's steel burning its insides with the heat that the sword emanated until finally it reached the other side, cutting the rigging in half.

"NO!" said Tarasque "How a mere human has defeated me!" her two halves slowly sinking beneath the waves.
Spoiler: Jen

Finally letting her emotions flow again, Jen let out a smug smirk as she was satisfied, at last Sofia can be free of-

She suddenly felt a giant hand grabbing her.

"I may have lost, but are coming with me!" said Tarasque, its bloodshot eyes overflowing with hatred.

Trying without success to get free she realized that she didn't have enough energy left to do anything, only to await the end.

'At least it was fun to finally have a Master' thought Jen 'If Sofia haven't found me in that tomb... that's it!' her face brightened as she found a way.

"SOFIA!!! CATCH!!!" she yelled as she threw her true self towards the beach.

"How beautiful, you will leave a memento to that lowly submarine" said Tarasque cackling a bit, its body almost fully sunk.

Turning to see her face to face, Jen spoke "For your information, I am not human; you see that sword? This body you grabbed is like your rigging to that sword" Tarasque's eyes widened with realization to what will happen "Goodbye and sink alone, bitch" said Jen with a very smug smile, disappearing into thin air afterwards.
-------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading, opinions and comments are always welcomed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Third Summer Holidays - Summer THREE F, Split Point due to Keep Filesize Down

START

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Wiping at her forehead, Yae gave a soft sigh before she lifted the pail filled with sweet, red raspberries. It only took her a few moments to haul it over to the cart and dump them into one of the baskets that was there. Humming a bit, the teenage girl noted that most of the baskets in the second layer of the cart were almost full, which made her nod happily. After all, she could not wait to taste the... fruits of their labours as it was.

Softly giggling, Yae turned to where the others were still working with a slight smile on her face.

Her friends, and she was happy to call them that, had been working alongside her for several hours now. All of them were more than a little sweaty from work, but there were grins and smiles on their faces. Some of which had been smeared with raspberry juice from ones that they had eaten after picking. None of them, however, were frustrated with the crop that they had gathered and reached about the midway point.

Looking over her shoulder, the Kendoka could see why. There was already a bottom layer of baskets just filled with raspberries. Over that, they had placed a board and started a second layer. Needless to say, all of them were looking forward to a large amount of preserves and jam from just this!

When she turned back to the others, Yae could only shake her head. After all, it was obvious how they managed to gather so many. Harry, herself, and almost all of the others had worked along the outside of the bushes from the ground. Meanwhile, Asuka was hovering over the bushes and plucking ripe berries from there which she would bring over and dump into the baskets once her pail was filled.

But the biggest difference came from the shipgirls.

Iku and the others were mostly plucking the berries from the outside like the rest of the teens that where there besides Asuka. However, they had one advantage that the others didn't... their fairies. Said small beings would go into the bushes along the bottom and disappear in groups of a dozen or so. And then, return a few minutes later will a filled pail which went into the baskets. Even as Yae watched, a group of Hachi's came trotting out with such a pail filled with raspberries that they dumped into one of the baskets with excited "Desus". Something that still made her want to giggle.

Of course, that moment was brought to an end as the sound of someone eating made Yae turn and stare a little. Because Jin was there on a lounge chair with a pail filled with berries beside her. Every so often, the corrupted Mizuchi would reach in for a handful and toss them back, noisily snacking on them. It was just so at odds with how Mizuchi were supposed to be according to the lore that she had looked up.

Moments later, Shiromizu turned and gave her Senpai a look, "You could help, Senpai! The rest of us are busting our tails for this!"

Amused as she swallowed another handful, Jin waved a hand, "I am helping!" Taking a berry, she tossed it back with a grin, "After all, I'm testing the product to make sure that it is all right."

Scowling at that, Shiromizu took a berry and tossed it... only got the other Mizuchi's tongue to lash out like a frog and catch it before drawing it back onto her mouth with a laugh. Various others stared at her before shaking their heads and going back to picking. The raspberries were not going to pick themselves!

Plucking one of the berries from the bush, Usagi looked it over before popping it into her mouth with a happy hum. For a rabbit Yokai, this was close to food heaven. So much fresh fruit, and no one and issue with her eating some right from the bush, well... besides teasing her about not having as much as them.

It was wonderful, however.

However, right then, Usagi looked down at her pail and noticed something that made her frown,"Wait... am I missing berries?"

Beside her, Kaku snickered a little a little before poking her side, "I don't know... maybe they all went straight to your stomach?"

That got his hand slapped to his amusement, but the rabbit Yokai looked at her pail with a frown on her face, "No, seriously, I think that I'm missing berries."

Just as Kaku was about to comment, Rika looked into her pail and furrowed her eyebrows, "Wait a moment... I think that I'm missing a bunch of berries too! Where did they go?"

When Natsumi chimed in that she thought she was missing some as well, Harry raised an eyebrow. Clearing his throat, he looked at one spot in particular, "Kenshō..."

Seemingly to fade into existence, said Kogatana blinked, "Um, yes, Master? What is it?"

If anything, Harry just raised his eyebrows further, "Did you take their berries?"

Eyes wide, and innocent expression on her face, Kenshō shook her head, "No..." At his amused look, she looked away, "Honest! Someone else must have taken them!"

Unfortunately, her innocent look was ruined by the fact that her hands and the area around her mouth was stained with berry juice.

Just barely keeping back his laughter, Harry hummed, "I see..." Then, he smiled softly and held up an extra pail, "Then I am sure that you don't mind helping until we catch the thief, then?"

Pouting, the blade spirit scuffed her shoe, "Mou... Okay, Master." Walking up, she took hold of the pail and skipped to a spot, "Hmm... this looks good!"

Extremely amused, Harry waggled a finger at her, "Just don't eat most of the berries! We need to make sure that your appetite is not ruined." That got him a bright, and happy, smile as well as a nod. Bemused, Harry shook his head as he turned back to the bushes, 'Best keep an eye on her just the same...'

Only a short distance away, Taiyang giggled slightly as she plucked berry after berry from the bush in front of her expertly. And why would she not? One needed to only remember that Tamamo had spent most of her time in the wilderness. Thus, foraging was something that came to her like a second nature.

Like the others, she had tried some of the raspberries and compared them to the ones that she knew from Japan. Humming to herself, Taiyang enjoyed the sweetness, but also the slight tart taste which balanced it. Personally, she was looking forward to trying some of the sweets that her Master had hinted could be made with them. Hearing a happy giggle, she turned towards Kenshō and smiled at the younger blade spirit. There was a happiness and innocence there.

But, more than that, she watched her interactions with Harry and was rather pleased. Just as when they had the beach party, he began to act like a father to the seemingly young girl. Unknowingly, yet, but still in such a way. It gladdened the Dao as it stated much about the sort of man he was. And, as well, what sort of father he could be when the time came for him and Natsumi to have kits of their own.

Lips curling into a soft smile, the blade spirit shook her head, "Adorable."

A chuckle made Taiyang turn to the side where Goldie was also plucking berries and placing them into a pail. For a few moments, the Blade of Tamamo watched the Sword of Caeser with an interested look on her face. With her age, it was few blades that she had met whom were her equal in any way, in particular age. Yet, thus far, she had met two older than her.

Carnwennan, she had found, was a good conversationalist with his breadth of age and experience. Like her, he was also used to operating from the shadows and was quite good at what he did. Not to mention the tales that he told from this "King Arthur" amused her to no end. Granted, she did pity the poor man having to herd so many cats, as the saying went. Not to mention what his wife did! Though, she supposed, that was humanity for you.

Frankly, she would have slain the wife and "Sir Lancelot" well before that point... and maybe take Guinevere's place, far easier and less messy. Though she was amused at his expressions and exasperation when she told him how she would have handled it. And he had snorted at the whole bit where she stated how she would have secured Guinevere's fall.

Now, that said, "Goldie" was of another sort from both her and Carnwennan both.

In a word, the Roman blade was interesting to her. Oh, Taiyang had looked up the man in question whom had owned her. And, she had to admit, that she was impressed with him. Yes, a few hundred years later his empire was in such a state that it was easy work for her Master to help it along. But the man himself, this "Julius Caeser"? She could feel impressed with him if for no other reason than his achievements, and could understand somewhat why some Chinese had thought Rome was their equal if they had been thinking of his time.

Though, in the end, that made her even more disappointed in what such a nation turned into.

Shaking off such thoughts, Taiyang hummed a little as she glanced at the Roman blade from the corner of her eye, "I wonder if I could ask you a question...."

With a glance, Goldie gave a nod, "Of course! Ask away, Umu."

Only nodding slowly, the Dao hummed, "Does it not bother you, that they do not call you by your true name? Instead of Crocea Mors, they refer to you as 'Goldie'."

Much to her surprise, Goldie laughed a little, "Should it?" Lips curling, she chuckled, "A name is but that, a name. And amicitia mean nothing by it. It is a mark of endearment that they gift me such a nickname after all! Truly, it is something Roman!"

Unable to help herself, Taiyang giggled a little, "I see, Mikon!"

Nodding to herself, her and Goldie continued to talk with each other.

At the same time, Yae was looking towards the Dao in thought before looking at herself and sighing a little, 'Why... and did she drink a lot of milk? Is that how...'

However, she shook such thoughts off and looked curiously over at Kenshō in thought. The small girl was currently humming as she filled the small pail at her side with raspberries. Granted, the teenage Kendoka blinked as Kenshō gave a happy smile towards Harry, "I can't wait to give some of these to Suisei-Oba-Chan, Master! Mou... she'll make lots of desserts for me and Okaa-Chan! And Na-Kaa-San!"

Eyebrow raised, Harry poked her in the side which made her giggle, "Okaa-Chan and I, Kenshō. Also, I can imagine that you will love them when she does that..." Lips curling into a smirk, he snickered, "Hopefully you don't balloon outwards too much."

That got him a poke which he snickered about, "Mou... that's being mean, Master." Pausing, she looked down at her stomach before patting it, "Besides, I couldn't get big no matter how many treats I eat!"

Rather amused at that pronouncement, Harry could only hum a little, 'I wonder how much Suisei has fed her since meeting her... Probably a lot.'

Curious, Yae furrowed her eyebrows some in thought before moving over to where Kenshō was. For several moments, she was looking at the small girl though looking at her features, she had to wonder. Then, the Kendoka blinked as she noted that Kenshō was not looking at her in the eyes. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the staredown in some amusement.

A staredown that came to an end when Kenshō reached out and tapped Yae on the nose, "Boop!"

Rapidly blinking, and not having expected that, the teen jerked away before looking back at the small blade spirit who giggled. Shaking it off, Yae turned to Harry with a curious expression on her face, "Um, Harry-San? Who..."

Briefly, she forgot who she was talking about as Kenshō disappeared before reappearing beside her, "Hi! I'm Muramasa no Kenshō! And I'm Master's Kogatana!"

Just blinking for a moment, Yae furrowed her eyebrows before introducing herself. Of course, then she had a thoughtful look on her face, "Muramasa? As in the smith, Muramasa?" At the nod, her eyes widened a little as she leaned down to better examine the greyish haired girl before her, "Huh... so you're like Tokunotakai-Sensei? A spirit of a blade?"

Happily smiling, the Kogatana nodded, "Hai! That's right!" Once more disappearing, she reappeared hugging Harry, "I'm Master's Kogatana, like I said."

Gently patting her on the head and getting a happy hum, Harry looked at a bemused Yae and revealed the small blade at his side before drawing it with her steel flashing in the warm sunlight, "Here."

Leaning in to examine it, Yae considered it for a few moments before something occurred to her, "Wait, how is it that she can, um..."

Only raising one eyebrow, the teenager hummed, "Fade in and out of sight and memory?" At the unsure nod, he gave a small shrug, "It... seems to be an evolved version of what her mother, Kyoshu the Blade of Faded Memories, can do."

Frown on her face, Yae blinked, "Kyoshu...?" She furrowed her eyebrows in thought for a moment, "I think that Sensei mentioned her. Something about... how she's harmless now and more likely to forget things?"

The sound of shuffling made her look down to see a downcast Kenshō there, "Okaa-San... wasn't a good person. She was hurting, so she made others hurt to try and help herself. A-and she was able to take away memories or even make people forget someone entirely. B-but during the war..."

Having walked over, Natsumi gently held the smaller girl to her before looking at Yae, "Kyoshu-San was... not a good person, to say the least. And during the war, she teamed up with a certain group before finding out that for all she was such, there were those far worse who then did things to her. Which also included removing Kenshō-Chan, here, from her actual blade and making her a Kogatana."

It did not take a genius to figure out what was meant, and Yae swallowed as she felt a little bit of bile rise up in her throat. Not towards the little girl, for she was an innocent, but the ones who caused it. With a deep breath, she let it out, "So when Sensei says that she's harmless...?"

Okita spoke up and shrugged, "She means it." Everyone turned to her and she snorted a little, "I actually fought her several times and caused her to withdraw."

Surprised, the Kendoka stared for a moment as she remembered how experienced and capable her Sensei was and figured that this "Kyoshu" had to be her own level, "Really?"

Lightly chuckling, Okita nodded a little, "The Shinsengumi were police after all." She grimaced a little before continuing, "But there were very few of us who could match Kyoshu, especially with her abilities to manipulate memories." After a moment, the reincarnated warrior shook her head, "Seeing her now, however? She's... definitely not the same blade. Most of her own memories were wiped and she acts more like a child or an elderly with memory problems."

More than a little shocked and surprised, Yae considered asking, but in the end decided that she likely didn't want to know. Instead, she turned to Kenshō with a small smile, "So you came into possession of Harry-San, then?"

Humming even as she leaned into Natsumi, Kenshō nodded, "Hai, Master found me in a dark place and..." A shudder went through her before she shook her head, "Um, then he fixed all the bad work."

At the confusion on Yae's face, Harry grimaced, "After they cut her from her Okaa-San's blade, they... used a grinder to 'Smooth out' the top and spot welded a tang." Ignoring the utter horror on the Kendoka's face, he cleared his throat and gently patted Kenshō's head, "Transfiguration is very powerful when used properly so I added some shipgirl steel recovered from repairs to the spine of the blade as well as the tang, then transfigured away the shoddy work done."

Crouching down, the Kendoka pulled a surprised Kenshō into a hug, "I'm sorry that such a thing happened to you, Gozaru."

Only hugging her back, Kenshō nuzzled her a bit, "It's okay, because Master made it all better and now I don't hurt."

Simply nodding, Yae held the small blade's avatar for a few more moments before letting go. Then, to Harry's surprise, she bowed to him, "Thank you, Harry-San. For doing what you did and showing true respect, Gozaru."

Quickly, he bowed back to her just as deeply, "Thank you, Yae-San." Glancing at the raspberries in the wagon and the pails that were mostly filled, he nodded, "I think, maybe, we should dump the last few raspberries and then break for some lunch."

Blinks met him and everyone turned to look at the wagon before eyes widened as they realized that the last few baskets there were nearly filled. As quick as only hungry teens could be, they dumped their last few raspberries into said baskets and then watched as the pony went off back towards the manor with their spoils. Then, the group of them sat down on a bench that Ayase pulled out before taking out their lunches.

Just biting into hers, Asuka looked over the bushes and nodded a little to herself, "I think that we're about halfway done. It shouldn't be more than..." Looking up at the sky, she frowned for a few moments before nodding, "Maybe five more hours of work? And then we're done with these bushes."

Her shoulders slumping a bit even as she chewed some lettuce and tomato from her sandwich, Usagi sighed, "And I am glad for that." She then gave a small shrug and went to take another bite, "Though all the jams and such will be more than worth it."

That got her nods from the others before Harry spoke up, "True, but that also means that we can have a little fun. And later, I'll make up some raspberry fool for us all."

Perking up a bit, Kaku looked over at him in interest, "Raspberry... fool? Is that something British?"

Lips quirking a little, the teenage wizard nodded, "Hai, it's a dessert and pretty simple." He began to tick off on his fingers, "The main ingredients are raspberries, cream or thickened, evaporated milk, and sugar. It's really good as well."

Beside him, Natsumi licked her lips some, "Hai, it really is." A snicker then escaped her and she grinned a bit, "Almost as good as an Eton Mess."

With a laugh, Harry grinned back at her, "Hai, just not the political one."

Seeing the confusion, he began to explain as to what, exactly, an "Eton Mess" was much to the amusement of the others.

Eventually, the talk turned to other matters, with Yae grabbing one of the bottles of soft drinks and looking at it in curiosity, 'Ribena?' Opening it, she took a sip and blink, "Huh..."

Looking over at her, Harry nodded some, "Not what you expected?"

Just nodding as she looked at the bottle, the Kendoka frowned, "Hai..." Eyebrows furrowing as she tried to read the writing, she blinked, "Blackcurrants?"

Harry nodded as he sipped his own bottle, "Well, that is what they're famous for, blackcurrant flavoured soft drinks. Didn't get to taste it much when I was younger, but..." He gave a small shrug, "I've always enjoyed it."

On a nearby stone, Kenshō was sitting in Taiyang's lap happily eating a jam sandwich as she kicked her legs out. The foxy Dao, on the other hand, was eating some rice and the like with peanut butter crackers. Looking down at the smaller blade, Taiyang smiled a little, "Enjoying yourself?"

Nodding, the Muramasa smiled brightly, "Hai!" Shifting a bit, her back of her head was against Taiyang's chest, her next words getting a laugh from the much older blade, "I got comfy pillows!"

_____________________________________________________________________

Yae came down the stairs of the millhouse stretching a little with the Sun setting outside. Spotting her, Natsumi sipped her tea with a slight smile, "Evening."

The Kendoka looked out the window and blinked as, sure enough, the Sun was close to the horizon which made her stare for a moment before shaking it off, "Um, evening...?"

Pausing for a moment, she could hear sounds just outside the window before they suddenly vanished. When she looked at Natsumi, said Kitsune shrugged, "Those were our past selves right before they went back to the morning to rest."

For a few moments, Yae considered that before grimacing some and rubbing the side of her head, "Time travel hurts my head, Gozaru."

Softly snorting, Natsumi glanced to where Harry was cooking before nodding, "Not just yours, but anyone's. But that is just how things work really."

Even though she still had a bit of a headache, the other teen nodded even as she could hear the others moving around upstairs. Looking to where Harry was, she blinked, "Um... is he making breakfast?"

Looking over his shoulder, Harry chuckled a little, "Hai, after all this is our breakfast you know."

Once more, Yae considered that before nodding despite how odd it seemed. Soon enough, however, the room filled up with the others who were all chatting about various things. Of course, that was when food was served.

Usagi blinked a little as she looked down at the piece of toast topped with melted cheese that Harry had placed in front of her. As a vegetarian, she didn't mind cheese after all, and it was good. But... still, why would he place that in front of her, "Uh, Harry-Kun? Why...?" Her suspicions deepened when Natsumi glanced over, did a double take and then begin to choke some on her food to the point where a bemused Taiyang had to pat her on the back, 'What did he do...?'

Grin on his face, the wizard looked over at her, "Why? I thought that you might enjoy... Welsh rarebit."

Practically everyone paused at that for several moments before there were snorts which soon became laughter. Unamused expression on her face, though her lips twitched, Usagi gave the unrepentant Harry a look, "Really? I mean, really? You actually went there..."

With a small shrug, Harry hummed a bit, "Would I be me if I didn't?"

Confused, Yae furrowed her eyebrows as she looked from the toast to Harry, "Um, Harry-San?" Getting a sound to continue, she did so, "Well... rarebit? It just looks like cheese on toast..."

The teenage wizard waggled his hand a bit, "Rabbit was an extremely uncommon meal in Wales for the longest time. The common people weren't allowed to hunt them on the property of the, usually, English nobility. Thus, they made due with cheese instead." A grin on his face, he snickered some, "If you wanted, Usagi-Chan, I could have added tomato... because then it would be known as a blushing bunny. Or an egg to make golden buck!"

Said rabbit Yokai's only reaction was to give him a look before snorting and taking a bite out of her food and rolling her eyes... Though she did ask for a second which got snickers. Once all the food was put away, which with hungry teens did not take long, Harry pulled out a cooler and dumped ice into it. Then, he placed some wrapped objects which got looks until he explained that they were sausage for the midday meal, which got nods from the others.

And, with that done, the group went outside and walked the short distance behind the millhouse before Natsumi pulled out the time turner. With a small nod, she extended the chain around all of them before looking at it, "Okay... time to go back twelve hours."

Everyone nodded in agreement and the Kitsune turned back the clock with time running backwards. As the time travel slowed and came to a stop, they all looked around in curiosity with Ayaka shaking her head, "I don't think that I will ever get used to that..."

That got her nods and they set off, while making sure that they would keep out of sight of their past selves. Entering the orchard, they made their way along another path, towards another part away from where the raspberry bushes were. Partway there, however, Asuka blinked and looked down, "Um, Harry-San? There's something over there, some sort of building? Looks almost like those pictures of that place in Greece."

It took only moments, but Harry's eyes lit up a bit and he hummed some, "I wonder... Which way was it?"

Confused, Asuka pointed in one direction, "It's over there actually." Just maybe a hundred feet?"

Not long after, the group entered what looked like a small clearing in the orchard with a stone building there. Like Asuka stated, it looked similar to a Greek temple, except for the statues that were there at the front. One statue was of a female Centaur, a soft, peaceful smile on her face. And leaning against her was the statue of a young man with what seemed like messy hair with her hand on his brow. Both looked almost like they could get up and move about. What struck those looking was just how... loving the two looked.

Slowly, Harry walked up to the building and placed a hand on it before smiling a little at the inscription, "This... this is the tomb of one of my ancestors, Potter Joachim and the Centauress Elm."

Eyes wide, Yae boggled a bit, "Gozaru..." Then she furrowed her eyebrows and moved around it though at a distance, "Um, but why is it here?"

Rubbing his thumb along the inscription, Harry glanced over at her, "Hmm, well, it is an interesting story." Straightening up, he examined the statues more closely, "Joachim was a young lad just barely a man when he was attacked by a group of trolls, but Elm saved his life. In exchange, he gave her his friendship and gifted her with a bracelet that would allow for him to know if she was in danger. Something that became useful as just a few days later, her own brother banished her from their herd and nearly beat her to death for helping a human."

Jaw dropping, there was actual anger in Ayaka's voice as she clenched her fists, which shook, "Say what!? They nearly killed her because she protected someone?!"

The teenage wizard shrugged, "British Centaurs are... not the nicest, generally. But yeah, so he saved her life and nearly killed her brother in retaliation. It was only Elm's asking him that stayed his hand from wiping them all out with the rest of the Potters helping."

Snorting, Nobu crossed her arms with a narrowed eyed look, "I would have been harder to convince not to do such. Matters of honour would demand it."

Once more, Harry shrugged, "Well, anyways, two contracts were written. One placed Elm under the protection of the Potters and the other was that her brother nor his herd could ever do anything to harm her knowingly. She became a companion and guard for him, travelling with him all over when he went hunting or travelling aboard. They even went to places such as Italy, with the Potters having a custom set of armor made for her. She even allowed him to ride upon her back, which angered other Centaurs, but she did not care in the slightest as they already made their decision for her simply helping Joachim, and he had shown her more kindness than they had. The two were close, very much so, though he married a Malfoy Lucinda in an arranged, unhappy marriage."

No one noticed a certain Sendai's face having turned redder and redder as the story went on, 'She... was his close companion... and guard...'

Unknowing of Ayase's reaction, Harry continued the story, "The marriage had been arranged by the Wizengamot under quite a bit of controversy as there was a feud going on with the Potters and Blacks on one side, and the Malfoys along with some minor houses that held grudges against us. They claimed that it was supposed to promote peace between the families. But... there were some rumours of the Malfoys having paid them off." Waving a hand, he shook his head, "Anyways, Lucinda died in childbirth giving birth to hers and Joachim's second and third children, a pair of twins. The Malfoys claimed foul play, but... nothing was ever proven. And nothing that I have read stated one way or the other."

Interested in the story, Ayase cleared her throat, "U-um, what happened next? If... I can ask?"

With a look towards her, the teenage wizard smiled, "Well... Elm then stepped in as the wet nurse for the children and cared for them as if they were her own. They even called her mother... which angered the Malfoys. Some of them teamed up with the Centaurs of her old herd to try and kill both her as well as Joachim. But, well... there was the contract and magic was the arbiter of that, you see. There's reasons why there's no more Centaurs in Kingly Vale where they had dwelt and why the Malfoy were nearly wiped out by a mysterious sickness." Looking towards the statues, Harry became thoughtful, "Both Elm and Joachim were close and continued to be so for the rest of their lives. There was a bit of a stir when, after two years abroad, the two returned with a child, a son."

Blinking, Jin cocked an eyebrow in interest, "Wait, a son? Did they...?"

Only shrugging, Harry shook his head, "Never said actually. Though said son was my direct ancestor. Lucinda's daughter married into the Longbottoms while her sons went off and founded branch families in the Channel islands. As for the son that Joachim brought back, his explanation was that he had gotten married in the Holy Roman Empire, but that his new wife had died shortly after childbirth, thus he brought said son back. Now, like his siblings, he also called Elm 'Mother'..." He then gave a small shrug, "Considering things? I wouldn't be too surprised to be honest."

Part of the wizard was confused about why Natsumi suddenly went red in the face, but shrugged it off as Okita was looking at the tomb in thought, "And when she died... he had a tomb made for her?"

Harry gave a nod at that, "Hai, though part of it was due to how things worked then. See, the local Priest would not allow Joachim to bury Elm in the churchyard. After all, she was not human, which angered not just Joachim, but the rest of the Potters. He later was... removed... from his position, but the damage was done. Due to that, and how she loved to simply lay here in the Sun with him leaning against her, he had dwarves build a tomb for her in the Ancient Greek tradition. The statues themselves he created over the last ten years of his life. As per his will, after his death, he was laid beside her within the tomb so that they could be companions for all eternity."

Simply holding her hands to her chest, Ayase gave a smile towards the grave, 'You were happy, weren't you? He was your Lord, and you his Servant... but you were more than that. And are even now...'

The group lingered there for a while longer, just soaking in the feeling of peace and contentment that filled the small clearing.

But, soon enough, they left with goodbyes to the tomb before continuing on. Reaching the area of the orchard with cherries, they looked around in awe at the succulent fruit hanging from the branches. Flying up, Asuka examined some of the cherries, poking and prodding them until she plucked a few and landed, "Huh..."

Walking over, the others looked at the glossy, red fruit in interest. Taking one, Yae looked at Asuka who nodded before she bit into one and closed her eyes, "So good... Gozaru..."

Each of the others also took some, and soon they were all nodding. Looking around at the trees as she licked her lips, Usagi nodded to herself, "Well, we should get to work if we want to get more..."

Arms crossed, the Tengu nodded some before frowning, "Now, before we get started, you all need to understand what to pick." Flying up, it took her a few moments only to pick some more cherries which she held out once back on the ground, "Now, cherries don't ripen anymore once plucked from the trees. These are ripe ones, which means that they're soft..."

From there, she explained more and soon the others all got to work getting picking the cherries. Like before, the shipgirls used their fairies to do so much to the amusement of the others. Some, like Rika and Kaku, climbed up into the trees to get the fruit there as well, with Asuka flying around said trees near the top and getting some there. Harry, meanwhile, was using magic to get ripe fruit from the branches as was Goldie who knew much the same spells.

Slowly, but surely, they began another day's work.

 

[darthcourt10]

Informational Yellowhammer: Why Colombe and Lyra did not have a daughter

Yellowhammer said:
Colombe was much more careful in that regard, and infinitely more responsible. One thing she had hammered into the solid steel of her skull was that You Take Responsibility For Your Children.

SkyeFire said:
And Ian was forged from similar steel.

But... this does raise a question. Given how deeply in love Colombe was with both Ian and Lyra, I have to imagine that they would have been on the very short list of people she seriously considered having children with, deliberately. I wonder why she didn't? I'm sure if she'd ever broached the subject, Ian and Lyra would have reacted with joy de vivre. And enthusiasm.

beorn91 said:
This was what I meant.
*-*-*-*


It is a very good question. Which I will try to answer, apologies for the length.

The Doylist reason is "the creator of the OC AKA Yours Truly" had her as single to not complicate the dynamics when and if she was accepted into the cast and would have then gotten integrated into Team Elder Butterknife in some fashion. Don't put too many moving parts in to rock the boat especially when other authors like Harry Lefferts and Lord K get impacted by what is being thrown in as it impacts their characters like Tsukiakari, Norimune, and so on who would have suddenly-manifest ties and past shared experiences with Colombe et al. Plus any Potter child would necessarily upset major canon with regard to Harry Potter since his family tree is pretty set in stone and he doesn't have a great-great uncle/aunt with Colombe known.

That said, Colombe was always 'intended' to have a daughter(s) at some point. The original plan when the character concept took form was that the African bracelet would manifest herself and get adopted by Colombe and Kasuyu after meeting Norimune. Unfortunately, the best laid schemes of mice, men, and Butterknives gang aft agley. With her suddenly demanding at rapier-point to be written and her backstory getting backfilled with the snippets that I have done such as Operation Butterknife, well, her relationships got explored and grew in unexpected and unplanned for ways.

Originally the Ian/Lyra/Colombe thing was a bit of a throwaway gag/potential plot hook along the lines 'of course Ian the manwhore slept with Colombe and Norimune who also switch hit with the ladies' when I did her biography.

Then suddenly I needed a significant character to fill the gap between "Colombe Burns Down Gestapo HQ" and "Delilah Enters Stage Right With The Map To The Macguffin, Start Race To The Sleeper" plot points so enter Lyra into Butterknife. Because of course The Last du Chasteler will go full Horatius At the Bridge Last Stand to get her allies out of the trap no matter how badly she's going to be shot up in the doing.

Of course part of that little 'one against many' suicidal rearguard action (as was alluded to in implication by Colombe to Lyra) was a only partially under control death wish so as to make account for her failures real and only imagined to her loves whom she had 'failed'. Colombe was a massive mess in 1941, and an even more massive mess in 1903 when Lyra really got to work on putting her headspace back together. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me, thinking of it all and positing that Karl Potter was studying under Lyra (and that Lyra was a psychologist), that Colombe's Third African Trip with Karl and then Tamenokalt was a bit of mobile therapy for Dove Blade under the attention of Lyra's star pupil to get her into an environment which was totally fresh for her (pity WWI then blew up on them).

Said entrance frankly got away from me when I woke Colombe up in Lyra's bed to grab me by the ear and demand a deep psychological dive into her tormented magnificent Muramasa madness in the presence of someone who clearly was close enough to her to let Colombe strip her soul bare to the foundations for needed comfort and reassurance after the Wolff relationship ended (I might need to go back and do some Co/Wolff stuff set just before Butterknife to develop that a bit more). Which of course forced the Lyra relationship from 'fling' into something much deeper, richer, and more meaningful than the one-night-stand that it had been in the biography.

I don't regret it in the least as I think it helped develop Colombe in some great ways both with the look inside her psyche and with the foundations laid for the close Del/Co mature relationship of Hunt for Norimune. Plus Del got a girlfriend/foil, which was a nice unplanned side benefit to the planned 'Colombe gets an antagonist/primary villain for the big To/Co post-Norimune reunion story'.

Also it let me play with Lyra, and I think and hope that I did a good job of writing her and fleshing her out. Kinky little psychologist that she apparently is.

Which leads me to have to come up with a Watsonian answer to the question.

"Why not a child with Lyra and/or Ian between meeting them in 1897 and Lyra's death sometime after 1942? Clearly all three loved each other, money was not an issue, they would all Do The Right Thing...so why not?"

The answer has to come from Colombe, and more specifically that when she showed up in 1897, Colombe was a very broken bird indeed that took decades to mend. As a result she felt that she would not do a good job of being a parent and therefore never expressed the interest to Lyra and Ian before WWII.

To wit, in 1864 she (apparently) wrecked her chance to find her father and got thrown out of Japan on her ear. This was a real blow to her since Hachiman ROFLstomped her hard despite her best efforts (and she thought that he was a normal monk) .

Then upon returning home after moping around for a year or so and taking the scenic route back to Belgium, she finds that her niece and nephew 'died of cholera' in 1861, leaving the family just her and Hippolyte (with her moping because she failed to find Norimune so they are it).

So in addition to the disappointment of wrecking her dream to avenge Mom's dishonor on Dad's twitching body at her feet, throw in a double helping of guilt and grief because if she had been there she could have saved her nephew and his wife who was the daughter of the du Chasteler who wielded her vs Napoleon. Note that said nephew was the nine year old boy that Colombe saved from the Terror after she and he watched said boy's mother/Colombe's beloved younger sister get guillotined before their eyes (which was why Colombe first broke the SoS).

Now enter Hippolyte. He suckers her into nearly getting killed in the Franco-Prussian War (which she figured out during her walk out of the Congo). As a result of that, she is seriously injured and spends two decades recuperating at home. So she has lots of time to sit and brood about how everything she touches is turning to shit on her between playing the piano and dosing herself with (adulterated) healing potions.

Worse for her is at this point, she has no real motivation to do things and break out of her psychological slump because the driving passion of hunting for Dad had a bucket of cold water thrown on it and Hippolyte has the family well in hand. Advisor to King Leopold I, seen with the odd lady who he might marry, taxman is not beating on their door to repo the castle, the normal 'high society' events happening there semi-regularly, etc etc. Gilded paint over a rotting structure with the facade fooling Colombe, especially since Hippolyte is it for her social network at this point.

Next we have her get sent to the Congo in 1895 as part of a plan from Hippolyte to dispose of her and get full access to her wealth to further his studies in Dark Magics (and pay the bills). The one good thing about that was that she rediscovered her passion for life in spades... by wanting revenge on Hippolyte for his treachery plus disgust in what she saw there. Worse for her is that she had made some investments in the Congo under Hippolyte's prompting as part of the lead-up to the planned assassination, so on some level she felt complicit to what was going down there (which was truly sickening stuff indeed). As I mentioned, Claire's ivory keys came from the Belgian Congo so...yeah.

It speaks highly to her character and steel that she didn't just lay down and die right there when the mask totally came off rather than getting mad enough to spend two years walking out of Africa with plans to get even and save her family honor. Still, by the time that she reached England in 1897 she was in exceptionally bad shape psychologically (and not all that hot physically).

So when she runs into Ian and Lyra she was very much questioning her fitness as a du Chasteler and as parent material. I'm inclined to say that she met Lyra first because I'm now headcanoning Lyra having a talent for healing, incidentally, with Lyra being the primary person who helped Colombe get herself put back together. In fact, it is likely that some of the material in Lady Chastity was cribbed from Colombe's therapy notes compiled by Lyra.

(also this inverts the 'women throw themselves at Ian' trope Mr. Harem Protagonist had going on)

So, from Colombe's point of view between the 1860s and 1927 she viewed herself as a failure. She had failed to find her father, she had barely saved her family, she had failed to destroy Kasuyu the axe, she had failed to be there for Karl and Tamenokalt of the German Potters, she had failed to stop WWI from blowing up....

So why would she want to have a child when she was going to have that relationship turn to shit and fail too?

Especially since her father was a terrible parent (and how!) and Colombe was worried that she would go down the same road that Norimune did (this was not helped by putting Adopted Papa on a perhaps not totally deserved pedestal that she could not live up to).

Now after 1927, she began to really dig herself out from under. She had sisters finally, and she had managed to help buffer Lyra and be there to support Lyra when Ian died (which makes sense if Lyra was the one of the two that Colombe was psychologically closer to, Ian dying would be less of a blow to her).

At this point the other ugly problem with becoming a parent raised its head to stare Colombe in the face. Namely, it was clear to her that Lyra's days were very much numbered, and if they had a child, that child would be burying one of her parents at a young age (and leave Colombe alone to rear). Colombe would not put any child of hers through what she went through in only knowing Julie d'Aubigny in a painting's face, stories told by a grieving father and friends of her mother, and an aching hole in her heart that never really has ever healed.

Plus there was the not-insignificant risk that Colombe could buy the farm considering her lifestyle activities (and the rise of fascism in the 1930-40s). Colombe was very much aware she pulled a winning lottery ticket in the Adoption Sweepstakes with others much less fortunate.

Now the obvious counter was 'what about Colombe's family taking in the orphaned daughter?' and in that case you would rely on either Jacklyn who was not what Colombe thought of as 'proper parent material' (admittedly selling Jackie a bit short) or Delilah, who of the sisters Colombe had the most strained relationship to pre-1942. Del was reserved, controlled, and Colombe felt (with some justification) that Delilah was just looking for an excuse to do away with her if she became a threat to whatever Del was up to (which she was not telling Colombe).

As a side note, the Delilah/Colombe relationship only really developed 1942-45. On Colombe's end she was getting all kinds of disapproving Inspector Jauvert vibes from her sister the cop who clearly was not opening up to her back in 1927. On Delilah's end, she was actually struggling with trust issues (Del's weak point) because Delilah knew full well what kind of a high wire with no net above the pool of Death Potion tightrope act she and her mother were putting on.

Delilah trusted Jackie enough to know how Jackie would act and be able to plan for it, but Colombe was a major unknown variable. Worse, the first impression she got from Colombe was of immaturity thanks to Louisville and then reading Colombe's ICW file. Remember that Delilah was called in off vacation to clean up her sister's mess which included enchanting a statue to make an obscene gesture in downtown Louisville. Delilah getting wrapped up in a Colombe Dumpster Fire could very easily lead to Delilah getting executed (which Del doesn't mind because what she believes in is worth dying for) and Del's mother getting executed (which is Del's biggest no-no) if her sister was an irresponsible hothead.

Now after Butterknife and then other actions 1942-45, Delilah realized that she had badly misjudged Colombe (and vice versa), extended trust to her (as seen in Butterknife) which was reciprocated, and the two sisters warmed up to each other and are exceptionally close. Just at the time when Colombe would potentially have been a mother, she didn't have a family member she could trust to take care of her child if the worst happened.

TL; DR Colombe was and to a degree still is terrified of parenthood, first off because she she was a failure that would mess up her child considering the losing streak that she was on 1864-1897. Then after a few decades of therapy and Lyra more or less putting her head together, her child would grow up missing at least one parent from a young age and get hurt the way Colombe had been with Julie's death.


In short: "I don't want to fuck up the life of any kid of mine the way mine was fucked up by Julie's death, Hippolyte's treachery, and my failures. So no kids with Lyra and Ian."

Exactly this, compounded by the fact that she knew firsthand how badly a deadbeat daddy could mess up the kid's psyche. Since she was kind of living that whole scenario.

Normally Colombe would roll the dice on it because she also is incredibly brave and has some self-confidence, but she had spent the better part of a quarter-century getting nut-punched over and over again by life when she met Lyra and Ian.

1864-1927 was absolutely the worst part of her life and she was at a very low ebb (which happened to neatly coincide with the time when she would have to have had children with Ian and Lyra).

Now, that said, when she finds out that Ian and Lyra are around, she's crashing Kami-con to thank them both for what they did for her psychology. In a real sense, their relationship probably saved her.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- It's time to start putting Ehren (and Colombe) back together to make them healthier and better than they were going into the Vatipire, so I'm going to post the first chunk of this up now, the rest will come this week. I would like to extend a massive amount of thanks to Sunhawk2 for creating and writing Father Jacques and doing the research to get the beliefs presented here correct for the priest.

The Bells Of Ath (I)

Eglise Saint-Julien d'Ath, Ath, Belgium

August 17th, 2014
Spoiler: A Sunday Morning Meditation

Colombe du Chasteler parked her car in the parking lot for the small row of shops in the village. She smiled slightly as she got out of the battered Volkswagen Golf which had been nicknamed the 'Reparo-Wagen' by her daughters. She stretched, pulled the space-expanded purse containing her true body out of the car, then reviewed the shopping list.

Groceries, check the local bookstore to see if Claire's order of a biography of Mozart had come in, and get something to cheer up Ehren.

Ehren….

Colombe frowned as she walked down the road toward the bookstore. Her youngest had been rescued from the utter monster that her father Helmar Wolff had turned himself into. Physically Ehren was on the mend from her ordeal, but emotionally....

Colombe sighed in concern for her youngest daughter's hidden wounds. Ehren had helped stop his mad plan, true, but at such a cost. Helping Colombe fight and kill her Vati, who Ehren had loved with a child's naive and innocent belief in her father, had cruelly shattered one of Ehren's few ties to the happy times of the past. A tie to the good and honorable man that he had been when Colombe had first met him. A man that Colombe privately mourned both for what he had become and for her betrayal of the relationship that they had shared. It was all her fault because she had seduced and used Helmar during the Second World War to infiltrate the SS secret police headquarters where he had worked so she could destroy it and strike a blow against the Nazi jackboot crushing down upon Europe.

Then when Helmar had returned after her betrayal, now changed into a vampire and fallen into darkness and evil from the good and honorable soldier that she remembered from the good times before, Colombe had not finished the job on him. Somehow he had escaped the deathtrap that they had fought in to stew in his malice and gather strength to get his revenge on her. Which she deserved for her betrayal of him, but instead of attacking her directly, he had instead kidnapped Ehren, the spirit of his Honor Dagger… and their daughter. The young woman who she had terribly wounded in body and spirit both with her failures.

Truly the sins of the mother were visited upon the daughter, she thought glumly as she continued in her walk down the village street. Down through her memories from seventy years in the past.

She paused at a bronze plaque attached to a scarred and bullet pocked wall surrounding the ancient church of Eglise Saint-Julien d'Ath. Her fingers touched the seventeen inscribed names memorialized on the plaque. Her head bowed and her shoulders shook with unshed tears.

Seventeen names of citizens of Ath that had been executed there by the Germans in August 1944 as they fled the advancing Allied armies as they liberated her homeland.

Seventeen names that she, the Marchioness of Chasteler and Moulbaix, was responsible for as her Papa had been responsible for when he ruled this part of her family's ancestral landholding.

Seventeen names of people that she had failed to protect. Her charges who she had not been there for so she could stand in their defense as a noblewoman should, to sacrifice her life for theirs as she had been taught. For just as much had been granted to her as an aristocrat, even more was demanded of her.

Papa would have saved them...somehow, she told herself, knowing in her heart that while others such as her half-sister Delilah had argued that she had done all that she could and more and the words spoken to her were true, they did not mean that she would ever accept them.

Her lips opened and she whispered heartfelt words filled with the stifled tears that she would never shed publicly to the plaque holding some of the unquiet ghosts of her past in the deserted street this Sunday morning.

"Please forgive me for failing you."

She couldn't tell if those were spoken to the dead that she had not been there for, or for her youngest daughter, or to the ghost of Helmar before his fall to evil. In the end, she supposed, it did not matter because she had failed each equally greatly.
Spoiler: A Call To Church

As she spoke, a sudden peal of a bell interrupted her thoughts. The voice of the bronze bell in the church she was standing next to was sounding its call for the faithful to gather for Sunday Mass.

She remembered her Papa telling her and her siblings over dinner one evening when she was a young girl that he had gifted the church the bell that was now pealing joyfully to commemorate and celebrate the birth of his firstborn son, her older half-brother François Gabriel Joseph du Chasteler de Courcelles. That Papa had made a point of attending Mass in this church regularly if his duties and responsibilities permitted so he could learn the mood of his subjects and find out their concerns. While he celebrated Mass as well in her private family chapel in the castle, he needed to be present as a good ruler should, since in the eyes of God, he was no more and no less than another flawed and failed sinner.

Another peal interrupted her memories.

"How long had it been since she had gone to Mass?" she asked herself. Her memories responded after that prodding that she had been to the celebratory Te Deum on the 25th of August 1944 in Notre-Dame de Paris the day after the Liberation. "That long?" she whispered to herself as she turned toward the call of the bell.

A third peal answered her as she walked down to join the group of villagers and tradespeople entering the church.

As she entered, her eyes lingered on the ancient stone baptismal font in the nave where she had been baptized alongside all her half-siblings, nieces and nephews. Her vision clouded as tears filled her eyes, as she then began to automatically walk toward the ornately carved and engraved antique oak pew at the front that had been reserved for her family as the Lords of Ath for four centuries.

A fourth peal of the bell interrupted her stride.

No, she thought, she did not deserve that honor. Not today, perhaps not ever, not as unconfessed and burdened by her sins and failures as she was. With that in mind she walked to one of the pews in the back as yet another anonymous sinner in the eyes of her Savior as he observed from the crucifix above the altar. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head in silent prayer as the bells of Ath called her once more.
Spoiler: A Lost Lamb Returns

An elderly priest garbed in the white vestments of an ordinary mass, accompanied by a young boy wearing the robes of an acolyte, stepped from the sacristy door to the accompaniment of the tinkling of bells. The small congregation rose to their feet as he paced steadily towards the low altar at the base of the nave.

"Au nom du Père et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit." he spoke softly, his voice quivering slightly from age. As he spoke he made the sign of the cross in time with the words, and the congregation responded as one with an Amen.

Automatically Colombe crossed herself and then perused the small card in the missal that she had picked up to help her follow along during the rest of the Mass. It helped her navigate the modern changes that Vatican II had made from the Latin Mass of her childhood. She had somewhat mixed feelings about the changes, she supposed, since there was something in the tradition and dignity of the Church Latin that called to her. Of course it helped that she was fully fluent and literate in Church Latin as a noblewoman should be.

As the last of the congregation settled back into their seats, the priest up at the altar diligently cleansed and purified the sacred vessels before ceremoniously processing the ciborium to the tabernacle. It was the work of a few minutes, before he looked back out across the nave.

"Le Seigneur soit avec vous." he said with a smile as he spread his arms in the benediction.

"Et avec votre esprit," came the response from the congregation. Colombe's quiet voice was one of the multitude responding to the words.

"Que Dieu tout-puissant vous bénisse," he gave the blessing, then made the sweeping gestures of the priestly form of the sign of the cross. "Le Père, le Fils et le Saint-Esprit."

"Amen," came the united response, Colombe's voice among the many.

"Allez, dans la paix du Christ." the elderly priest concluded with a gentle yet broad smile that seemed to radiate brotherhood.

"Nous rendons grâce à Dieu." the congregation responded in the traditional response, as the priest stepped to the side and genuflected deeply to the crucifix above the high altar.

Then he paused, shifting to Latin and speaking in unison with the rest of the congregation, somewhat surprising Colombe as it wasn't in the missal nor was it something she was really familiar with despite the far more familiar Latin. "{St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, oh Prince of the Heavenly Host, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen}"

Colombe blinked in shocked surprise as she automatically translated the Latin. "When did that get added?" she mentally asked herself. Then her brain suddenly provided a vivid memory from the Nivelle Offensive of 1917 where she and the other members of her unit had been blessed with that prayer after a midnight Mass in their dugouts before going up 'over the top' for that bloody debacle.

She winced and turned pale as a ghost at the memories of the horrors of the Great War, as she whispered 'Amen' alongside the congregation automatically out of unconscious habit as she wrestled with the demons of the past. She realized that she definitely needed to confess her mortal and grievous sins.

The effort needed to push down the memories of the hell of the trenches and the despairing screams of the wounded and dying around her as the German machine guns and artillery barrages cut them to pieces delayed her significantly. She finally stood and began to walk to the door and the awaiting priest after returning those unquiet ghosts back into the locked room in her soul that contained them.

The elderly priest had just finished blessing an older woman who had been speaking with him when Colombe reached the doors, and he turned to her with that same gentle smile.

One eyebrow twitched… he'd seen that look hidden deep in her eyes. Far more often than many, as he'd been a Navy chaplain for most of his career. That haunted, lost look of one who'd seen horrors beyond imagination. The look of one who'd seen death, up close, personal, and had somehow come through to the other side. He'd seen that look. On sailors. On Marines. Even on some of the shipgirls he'd ministered to before his forced retirement.

He'd seen that stance, that carriage. Special forces operators walked like that. Combat veterans moved like that. And she looked barely old enough to drink back in the States where he'd spent most of his ministry.

But his expression barely betrayed his discernment, just that one little twitch, yet his smile seemed to, if anything become more welcoming, more… comforting. "Hello, are you visiting Ath?" he asked in an old, gentle voice.

Colombe gave a small smile, "Yes and no. I live in Moulbaix but came into town to shop for my daughters when the bells called me here." She paused and her smile got far too sad. "I'm a member of this church and was baptized here but I have… lapsed, Father."

He nodded, still smiling, and reached out to take her hand. "It is never too late to return, Miss, God is patient with all of us, and calls us to Him in His good time."

Colombe took his hand, and he felt the calluses on her fingers of a fencer along with the controlled strength in her grip. "True… I… have the need to unburden myself, Father. Both for myself and my youngest daughter who I am worried for. She has been through so much and I feel helpless to help her… It's my fault." She said in a quiet brittle voice as her self-control wavered.

The priest simply nodded with that same gentle expression. "I am Father Jacques, dear, may I have the privilege of your name?" he asked, while behind his eyes his thoughts were whirring. She looked too young to have a daughter who had 'been through' much at all, but he'd seen enough 'young' women who were far older than he was that he more than recognized the sign of another before him. After all, in the last decade or so he'd been the chaplain to many shipgirls...

"Marchioness Colombe d'Aubigny du Chasteler, Father," she responded automatically with a curtsey that was clearly as natural to her as breathing and an aristocratic accent in her French. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized the family name of the Evil Count Hippolyte who his Grandmother had used to scare him into eating his vegetables when he grew up here in his home village of Ath. "It is a pleasure to meet you Father Jacques," she continued with a small smug smile in her expression. "I just returned from handling a matter in Africa." she finished quietly, looking through him with a thousand yard stare.

Fr Jacques gestured for Colombe to accompany him back into the church, as he sensed that such affairs were probably not the most appropriate topic for discussion outside where others could drop eaves. "A difficult deployment, if I may be so bold to assume?" he probed gently.

"Not for me," she said as they walked, "Ehren… my youngest daughter… was kidnapped by her Vati." She looked very sad and he sensed that she was restraining tears with a signal effort of will. "I… failed to handle matters properly with him in 1942 and poor Ehren had to suffer for my failure," she said with an absent haunted look on her face, "He kidnapped her several weeks ago to try to indoctrinate her into being a good little SS officer like he was." Her lips quirked in a smile that mingled smug pride and extreme sorrow. "She refused his blandishments to remain true to her morals and honor at the end, but I should have dealt with him and never let him come back to darken her life. Tell me Father, why are the sins of the mother visited on the innocent daughter?"

The priest barely paused in his stride, although there was a very tiny hitch that was obvious to somebody like Colombe. "I… see." he bowed his head slightly, murmuring a silent prayer beneath his breath. "Because there is evil in the world, and the enemy is always working to bring death into this fallen world," he said slowly. "We have the great gift of Free Will from God, but God knows too many use this gift poorly and choose evil rather than good, darkness rather than light." He looked over towards Colombe, one eyebrow quirking slightly. "But that never helps, does it? We still look at the evil, the darkness, in the world and demand to know why God, in his infinite grace, does not simply wipe it away. After all, why must the innocent suffer, yes?"

She nodded along and then spoke from the heart in answer, "Because those of us who are called and sworn to protect them fail in our sworn duties, Father."

He shook his head with a small smile, this was an answer he'd heard many times. "Did you deliberately place your daughter in danger?"

Her shoulders slumped, "I… want to say that it is my fault, but the last time before Africa that I fought Obersturmführer Helmer von und zu Wolff directly he had my sword hand off at the wrist and the Death Potion had nearly reached us…." she shuddered at the memories, then looked at the priest. "Father, do you believe in… magic?"

He chuckled slightly. "I spent years working alongside Constitution in the US." he replied, eyes twinkling just a little. "So you had no reason to believe that he was a threat to your daughter. How does this make it your failure?" he prodded gently.

She shook her head. "I don't mean shipgirls. I mean the things that are hidden from those without magic. If you check this parish's baptismal record from June of the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred and Seven, my name is there."

He simply nodded, eyes now definitely twinkling. "You mean what goes on on certain floors of the Woolworth Building, yes?" he paused for a moment. "I must say, you look quite spry for your age."

She gave a very melancholy smile. "Trust me, Father, immortality or what passes for it in my case is a curse to the one who must survive her friends."

"Yet do they truly die when you remember them? Are they not simply asleep and awaiting the Second Coming?" he said in response. "I am certain that the catechism hasn't changed that much since you were a girl, yes?"

"More Latin, less French at the Mass, but no, it has not changed really from what I saw today." she laughed briefly with a wry smile. "Regardless, to get back to your question, until he attacked Moulbaix and carried off Ehren, I thought that Helmar had died in 1942 in the deathtrap that I escaped, although I am sworn never to reveal more about the circumstances of what happened there. I had mourned the man that he was… the good man that he was. I failed to turn him from his false beliefs in Naziism and my duty to the Resistance forced me to betray him to destroy the Gestapo Headquarters in Lyon then. And I had tried to raise his… my… our daughter the best that I could although I failed Ehren once more when I failed to protect her from his return." Colombe's shoulders slumped, "I am certain that wherever Papa rests beyond the veil, he is disappointed in how far I have fallen and failed as a parent."

"Are you God?" he asked bluntly.

She shook her head sharply. "Non!" She snapped out.

He didn't give her a chance to continue. "Exactly. Perfection is an ideal, and in a perfect world things may have been different." he reached out and rested one hand on her shoulder. "You. Are. Not. God. None of us are. All of us fail, all of us fall down, all of us make mistakes, all of us have regrets. But God still loves us in His perfect mercy and Perfect love." He looked into the distance for a moment. "God will always forgive us, when we come to Him and simply ask. He's God, after all, it's what He does." his smile returned, the preacher receding as the priest once more took the fore. "But I am sure that you know that, in your head. It is your heart that refuses to accept it."

She nodded after several seconds of deep thought and contemplation, "Oui. I fear that I have much to confess, Father." She gave a small self-deprecating laugh as she walked with him toward the awaiting confessional. "After all, the last time I performed the Sacrament of Penance was on August 25th 1944 in Paris. And even then it was not everything…."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- And here's part 2 of the Father Jacques arc. The Old Priest does his research and meets some interesting inhabitants of Moulbaix. I figure we need some good feelings in the world these days. As always, thanks a TON Sunhawk2 for the help and co-writing here!

The Bells of Ath (II)

Eglise Saint-Julien d'Ath

22 August 2014
Spoiler: A Local Mystery… And A Calling

Father Jacques leaned back at the desk he was borrowing from his grandnephew, brow creased in thought as he considered the ancient book that sat in front of him. It was one of the oldest books he'd ever worked with, and the latex gloves he was wearing to protect the yellowed and faded pages weren't the most comfortable. But it had been well worth the trouble to dig it out of the parish records over the last weeks while he puzzled over the interesting woman who God had sent his way after Mass.

A woman who was someone desperately in need of God's assistance, considering the abridged version of the confession she had given him before they realized that she would need special long term care. She had mentioned that her family's estate had a family chapel that Count Hippolyte had closed. So at his prompting, she had written the Bishop to formally request for it to be reopened to serve the clear needs of these sheep in need of a Shepherd. A point that he had made with his own letter to Bishop Guy with his observations.

Now as he waited for the response of his superiors, he performed his own research for the spiritual battle that he could sense ahead of him. Finding the relevant church records with his nephew's help had been quite revealing and well worth the trouble, he thought as his eyes returned to the parchment page that had been the first thing that he had noticed.

For there, on the page in front of him, was an interesting bit of evidence.

A baptismal record for Eglise Saint-Julien d'Ath. From the early 18th century and one of the earliest entries in the ledger. And one that did not have the small cross marked next to all of the other names to indicate that they were deceased and had joined the Faith Penitent or Faith Triumphant.

He had examined the page minutely through a magnifying glass, and saw nothing to indicate that there ever had been such a mark. He'd then gone through the stack of ledgers into the early 20th century before giving up. There was no death record, no funeral record. But there were donation records through to near the end of the 19th century. Intermittent, to be fair, with large gaps in between, but there. Including two substantial donations shortly after the First World War in 1919 to repair damage to the church and care for those families harmed in the fighting the week that the du Chasteler family's support of the Diocese of Ath had been renewed after Count Hippolyte's death in 1899 caused it to lapse. Then, there was a single very large one from just after the village's liberation during the Second World War for several local families who had lost loved ones to the German occupation.

All with the same name.

Colombe Jeanne d'Aubigny du Chastler.

A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a riddle. He thought wryly, chuckling slightly before looking up as his painfully young grandnephew Paul, his clerical collar so new it still squeaked if he moved too quickly, tapped on the frame of the door to the rooms he was loaning his great-uncle.

"Letter for you from the Bishop, Father" the young priest said, crossing the threshold and holding it out to the far older priest.

Father Jacques, however, had risen to his feet, eyes twinkling a little as the younger priest flushed at the show of respect. After all, as the pastor of this parish he technically outranked a retired old chaplain! Yet he knew full well that the youngster was remembering all the times when he'd bounced on Father Jacques' knee as a lad, or had discussed philosophy and theology as a seminarian when the elder priest had lectured at his seminary.

"My thanks, Father." he replied, taking the envelope with one tremulous hand. He mentally sighed at yet one more sign of his age. Unfortunately priests were as susceptible to the ravages of time as any other mortal.

"I took the liberty of slitting it open for you." Paul said, his own good humor coming to his rescue.

"I am perfectly capable of handling a letter opener still, young man." Jacques grumbled, sitting back down with a creak of old bones. "I am even still allowed to use a knife and fork at mealtime."

"You know what the doctors…" Paul began. He never got the chance to finish that thought.

"THIS for doctors." Father Jacques replied, thrusting the envelope into the air briefly for emphasis, before sliding the folded vellum papers out and leaning back to read them. At least his vision wasn't fading like the rest of him, thank God for small mercies. "And the same for mandatory retirement. Bahh." he continued grumbling.

His grandnephew, well used to the old man's occasional cantankerous humors, didn't press the point.

"No death certificates on file… no death notices… " Jacques muttered as he read the letter. "Directed to investigate… blah blah… accepted… yada yada... " he refolded the papers and his eyes twinkled with a bit of mischief. "You do know that I was one of Bishop Guy's teachers in seminary, yes?" his expression morphed in an amused smirk at the expression on his junior's face.

"Yes, Father, I know." his nephew replied patiently. "And he was one of your favorite students and he studied hard and the rest." His own eyes matched his uncles. "You enjoyed bringing him up only every single time I got frustrated in seminary."

"An old man is allowed to regale his juniors with tales." Jacques replied mildly. "I do believe that I will need to make an appointment to an apparently ruined castle nearby. How interesting."

His nephew chuckled. "The one out in the woodlot of Moulbaix then? Aren't you a little old to show your courage to the local girls by spending the afternoon in Evil Count Hippolyte's Haunted Woods?" Paul paused and spoke more slowly. "I went in there on a dare as a boy once, and I don't know what happened in there, but I stumbled out ten minutes later as pale as new milk. I actually can't think of anyone who has poked around in there successfully. Anyone who I would believe if they told me, that is. Jacques Marcel doesn't count."

"I did the same, actually, when I was young. You lasted longer than I did." Fr Jacques replied, chuckling. "Perhaps…" he shrugged, looking up at his young nephew. "Interesting, is it not?"

"Well, it is. The rumor I remember from Grandmother has it that even the German authorities steered clear of those woods thanks to the ghost of the Evil Count." His nephew paused and gave a suspicious look at his uncle. "You know something I don't."

"I know many things." Jacques replied with a slight chuckle. "You'll be pleased to know that the Bishop agrees with me that you need to know of some of them."

He folded his hands on the desk and nodded to the chair across from him. "Take a seat, wouldn't want you to do yourself a mischief while we speak."

"Now I KNOW you're up to something, Uncle!" His nephew replied as he took the offered seat.

"How did that old American television show put it… ahh yes… " Fr Jacques smirked, an expression he'd match against Connie's smirks anyday. "The world is odder than you know…"
---------------------------------

23 August 2014
Spoiler: A Trip To Moulbaix

A cool breeze filled the air on a rather lovely sunny day as Fr Jacques waited in front of the old church, his valise beside him containing some… canonical essentials for what he was about to engage in. Behind him the bells chimed the hour and as if summoned by the brassy note a classic Mercedes limousine from before the Second World War came around the corner and came to a halt precisely in front of the old priest.

And a veritable ebon-skinned mountain of a man stepped out of the driver's seat in a chauffeur's uniform that was threatening to rip apart at the seams as it contained him. Fr. Jacques twitched one eyebrow slightly in a bit of internal amusement as passers by gawked at both the car and the gigantic African man who strode around to open the passenger door with all the aplomb and dignity of a master butler.

A velvety-smooth basso profundo voice rumbled its way from somewhere deep within the giant's chest. "Your ride, Father." in a moderately accented French.

"My thanks, my son." he replied with a faint bow before entering the limo with as much dignity as an old man with a stiff back and sore knees could muster.

The seats were sinfully soft though, and well-polished leather. He raised a mental eyebrow at the clear modern electronics of the sound system. Meanwhile the chauffeur -- Kasuyu -- bowed to him as he took his seat. "You're welcome, Sir." he rumbled like distant thunder before closing the door. The African then got into the driver's seat and put the car into gear.

The ride to Moulbaix passed in companionable silence, with the purr of the well-maintained motor quite soothing as the familiar fields and farms passed by.

Fr. Jacques raised an eyebrow as they turned onto the Rue du Chasteler that ran through the village of Moulbaix into the haunted woodlot that held the ruined castle that had given the village its name.

His eyes widened in shock as the moss-covered granite wall that had stood at the end of the short 'dead end' lane into the woodlot since his parents were children shimmered like it was an image in the mist. It suddenly revealed that it was actually a wrought-iron gate that silently opened for the car to pass through it along a gravel driveway that continued the lane further into the trees.

As they passed the gate he felt a definite feeling of discomfort and dread urging him to flee for his life, but that impulse suddenly subsided as quickly as it arose once they passed the barrier. He noticed the eyes of the chauffeur watching him for any signs of visible distress and he faintly smiled and shook his head. After all, he had heeded his sainted mother's warnings, and had eaten all his vegetables for dinner last night rather than risk Evil Count Hippolyte kidnapping him.

Then his eyes widened as the castle at the end became visible. It was four stories tall and built from pale tan stone with crenelated battlements, and clearly extremely well-kept as opposed to the haunted ruin of local legend and childhood tests of courage. A large set of white steps led up to the wooden double doors, where Colombe stood waiting for him at the top of the stairs.

Unlike when he had seen her in the church of Ath wearing modern clothing, she was dressed in an emerald green ruffled sundress from a bygone era, similar to those which he remembered his grandmother wearing. Seemingly out of place, she had a gold-hilted rapier belted to her waist with a well worn leather sword belt. Colombe was speaking to a dark haired Asian woman her apparent age who was dressed in a white silk long-sleeved blouse and red ankle-length skirt with a sheathed katana in a sash at her waist and her hair tied in white and red ribbons. Memories of a port visit to Yokosuka three decades before awoke in him, and he thought to himself, 'a Japanese shrine maiden?'

The car stopped in front of the steps and Kasuyu got out to hold the door for him. As the African exited the car, Colombe turned from her conversation with the Asian woman and walked down the stairs to greet him. "Father Jacques, thank you and thank the Church for responding to my request for a family priest," she said, as she curtsied formally to him. "Welcome to Moulbaix."

Somewhere in the distance, a piano filled the air with a beautiful song.

The old priest levered himself out of the sinful, must remember it is sinful comfort of the limousine and straightened with a rather obvious creak of old bones forced to obey the iron will of an old man. "My thanks for the invitation, Milady." he replied mildly, then turned his attention briefly to Kasuyu. "And again, my thanks for the ride, my son." he reached out one hand in benediction, a murmured prayer on his lips, before turning once more to his hostess.

"Thank you Sir." The African rumbled before looking at Colombe. "Is there anything else, Mistress?"

Colombe shook her head as the Asian woman walked down the stairs gracefully. "Non, Kasuyu. Just park the car and I'll help bring the apples in." She responded, then gave the Asian a warm smile. "I would like to introduce my good friend Masamune-no-Tokunotakai, Father Jacques. The rest of the household is taking advantage of the break in the weather to plunder my apple orchard. I trust you have no objections to fresh apples as part of the meal tonight?"

His eyes twinkled and his lips quirked. "And if I did, would the Evil Count Hippolyte come and kidnap me, as my mother warned me when I was small?" He gave a considering look to the Asian woman, then bowed slightly and in heavily accented Japanese addressed her. "Greetings, miko."

Toku bowed in turn and responded in less accented French. "Greetings to you, Father. I am a priestess of Hachiman-no-kami. As Co-chan told me, you have some experience with the arcane?"

Meanwhile at the mention of Hippolyte, Colombe's face froze momentarily and pain lurked deep in her eyes before she spoke in a somewhat controlled voice. "You may be assured that my grandnephew has been dealt with and Toku cleansed his spirit's filth from the castle." She sighed deeply, "I shouldn't be so surprised that his name was used to scare small children full of mischief, I suppose. Trust me when I say that the man deserved that evil reputation and more." Next to Colombe, Tokunotakai's lips thinned in her serene face.

Fr Jacques hadn't missed any nuance of Columbe's reaction, and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of that momentary flash of pain. "Your French is far better than my poor Japanese." he instead said to Toku, switching back to French. "And I'm afraid my comparative theology classes are far enough behind me that I am not as familiar with the kami as, perhaps, I should be."

Toku smiled serenely. "It is appreciated that you made the attempt, Father. To satisfy your thirst for learning, Hachiman-no-kami is the Protector of Warriors. Co-chan and I are his Blades who have been sworn to fight evil and injustice in this world. Agents of a higher power as it stands. I would enjoy discussing matters of theology and philosophy with you at your convenience, since there are many paths to the Truth and one truly never stops learning the Way toward it." Colombe tensed subtly as Toku spoke about Hachiman.

Fr Jacques nodded, smiling slightly, catching the subtle tensing readily from a lifetime of caring for his various flocks. "The first commandment merely commands that we follow no gods before God." he said mildly, not going into all of the… fraught… theology on the topic. "And I am hardly an expert in ontological hair splitting about the meaning of each jot and tittle."

"That is good to hear," Toku smiled happily and waved a hand. His valise suddenly felt a quarter its weight. "Please, allow me. After all, we should assist the aged for they have wisdom to share. Isn't that right, Co-chan?" Toku's eyes twinkled as Colombe gave her a fond look then mock-scowled.

"Just for that, I won't go easy in our next sparring match, To-chan!" Colombe said to the Japanese miko, then turned to Father Jacques. "Would you prefer to view the chapel and your rooms or meet my daughters and the rest of the household first?" Colombe asked.

The old priest smiled slightly. "Duty before pleasure, my child." he replied with a slight nod of his head towards where he could see faint signs of activity in the orchards. "The chapel has waited this long, and Our Lord is infinitely patient."

His smile then morphed into a smirk worthy of his long association with the antics of shipgirls, not to mention the antics of Connie. "So, please do this old man the honor of introducing him to your family."

Colombe gave a matching smug smirk and Toku sighed inaudibly and shook her head. "Oh certainly, Father! If you would be so kind as to follow me? I shall be happy to answer any questions you have about my home and my family while we walk to the orchard." Her smile got wistful. "I have a soft spot for the fruits of this orchard, for I was present when the trees were planted. I remember giving my delighted Papa the first ripe apples that they ever bore for his table as a girl." The smug smirk came back with a vengeance. "Along with the scolding and punishment for climbing his trees to pick the apples instead of being at deportment and etiquette training with my younger sister Marie-Claire."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- As promised, here's part 3 of Bells of Ath. The Priest meets the other problem charge put into his care and Best Piano. Sorry about that pancreas, Fr Jacques! Again, I'd like to give credit where credit is due, Fr Jacques is the OC of Sunhawk2 and he writes him magnificently.

The Bells of Ath (III)

Castle Moulbaix

22 August 2014

Colombe spoke to Father Jacques as they walked around to the back of the castle. "I suppose I should explain to you that, in fact, none of us who live in this castle are human. I am the avatar of my enchanted rapier's true body, hence my longevity." She tapped the hilt of the antique rapier at her side with her forefinger and then continued. "To-chan is the spirit of her Masamune katana and her avatar has been manifested just under a century more than mine has been. My two daughters living in Moulbaix are also the spirits of enchanted items as is my oldest who is an Auror, a magical policeman, in Canada. My middle daughter Claire is the spirit of the piano that you are hearing while my youngest daughter Ehren is the spirit of," Colombe took a deep breath before concluding, "her SS-Ehrendolch dagger body." Father Jacques had a thoughtful look at his hostess' explanation.

"I am also housing a family of Japanese refugees fleeing the persecution of the magical government." Toku looked like she had just bitten a lemon as Colombe's explanation continued to the description of the Japanese refugees. "Miho and her younger sister Misaki are Jorogumo, while they adopted Chihiro, who is an orphaned Tanuki. Ahh, two spiders and a raccoon-dog Yokai respectively. Finally, Kasuyu and Nongqawuse are the spirits of some magical African artifacts I acquired in my travels; an axe and a bracelet respectively."

Fr. Jacques nodded along with the explanation, listening with a placid expression on his elderly face. "I see, my child." he said in his soft voice. "I see… so much of God's creation is unknown to us, it is good to see that there is yet more to heaven and earth than any of us dreamt in our philosophy." And he even managed to say that with a perfectly straight face.

Colombe chuckled, "Sadly, while Hamlet's fatal flaw is his indecision, I have never been accused of that."

Toku said in a sweet, quiet, humble voice with steel deep under the velvety calm. "Yes, because they are always accusing you of leaping before you look when injustice appears, Co-chan." Butter would not have melted in her mouth as she gave another serene smile.

"Not my fault!" Colombe automatically replied with a grin and no heat in her mock-angry tone.

"Twenty-one books about your exploits in my library back at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (Toku's Shrine) say differently, Co-chan." Toku retorted in her calm sweet voice as her serene smile grew wider. Colombe chuckled, licked a fingertip, and then slashed it through the air to mark a point scored before returning a verbal riposte.

As the two bantered, Fr Jacques merely smiled slightly. "There are far worse sins than excessive zeal in pursuing justice." he pointed out mildly. "Better to need to rein in an eager crusader than to prod a sleeper awake."

He paused again, briefly, then looked over at his companions. "So long, of course, as one takes that critical moment to consider if what they are doing is indeed righting wrongs, and not merely indulging one's own prejudices."

Both the sword spirits nodded in agreement. Then Colombe spoke, "Fortunately, or perhaps not in my case, I have rarely had that problem. One of the enchantments I was born with has the side effect of steering my path into wrongs desperately needing to be righted. Suffice it to say, that I have had a very active three centuries and have seen much more of human and supernatural evils than I ever wished to as a girl." Toku nodded in commiseration with a compassionate expression.
---------------

As they rounded the corner of the castle another group of figures came into view. A beautiful grand piano was sitting in a gazebo inside a small Anglo-Chinese landscape garden with the morning sunlight flashing from the piano's ornate gilding and rich hardwood. A dark-haired brunette young woman in a ruby-red dress and a slender blond in a jet black modest dress were playing a lively duet on it.

Meanwhile, in the orchard that wrapped around the far side of the pond, a group of workers were picking apples from the trees and placing them into floating baskets. The blond at the piano had a twin in T-shirt and shorts who was standing on the ground directing the movements of the floating baskets and falling apples with movements of a wand in one hand. Above her head a pair of spider-women, one the size of a draft horse and another 'merely' the size of a very large dog were scurrying among the branches to pick the apples. A second girl with a bushy tail and furry ears was assisting them on the branches that would not bear their weight, periodically morphing from girl to a raccoon-like fox with a black mask on her face on the weakest branches.

Fr. Jacques didn't even blink an eyelash at the strangeness... at first. He'd met shipgirls, debated philosophy with a sasquatch who probably could have cosplayed as a thuggish Chewbacca and debated like an Oxford don. He'd conducted a baptism for a married couple who happened to be werewolves, and he'd conducted the funeral for a woman who'd been alive when the Declaration of Independence was being written. The spider women… Jorogumo… they almost caused him to pause, one eyebrow twitching a little, his lips quirking. Well, nothing in the Catechism forbids ministering to spider women, now does it...
Spoiler: Claire Meets Father Jacques

Colombe gave a very happy smile. "Claire is the brunette at her piano. Ehren is the blonde with multiple avatars out." The smile widened and filled with parental pride. "Ehren has been hard at work practicing that so she can send one to school this fall while keeping Claire company with the other."

Toku gave a small inward smile at the subtle signs of Father Jacques' shock, and then the smile became visible as Claire's head turned at the familiar voice.

"Mother! Toku! Who's your friend?" Claire said in a musical voice as she began to play a happy little welcoming piece of music. Beside her, the blond girl - Ehren - stood up, braced to attention, and gave a small cool smile and nod as they continued to walk toward the gazebo.

Colombe smiled happily at her daughters. "Claire, Ehren, please meet Father Jacques. I asked him to visit us to see about reopening the family chapel so he can serve as the family's priest. He knows about magic, so you don't need to hide from him."

Claire's shyly happy smile was filled with joy and excitement. Then she shimmered and a second avatar of her appeared on the bench where Ehren had been sitting. Then the piano's twin avatars began to play a truly sublime duet rendition of How Great Thou Art from memory.

Ehren clicked her heels together and sketched a half-bow as her mother and Father Jacques reached her. "It is a pleasure to meet you Father," she said in a coolly polite tone as she extended her hand when he reached her. Her French was slightly German-accented and her steel-blue eyes were calm and controlled, revealing almost nothing of her inward thoughts.

The old priest nodded to each of them, his eyes lighting up a bit at the truly beautiful music coming from the piano before he gently took the young dagger's hand in his own elderly one, his other hand extending and resting briefly on her brow in quiet benediction. "The pleasure is mine," he said, his lips twitching for a moment as he considered just how well this reserved young woman would clean up a poker table full of the worst card sharks on any of the bases he'd served at. "Friede sei mit dir."

Ehren gave a minute lip twitch for the barest instant, so fleeting that he was not sure if she had actually smiled. "Und euch, Freiden," she responded in German as she looked into his eyes. Her posture was stiff and erect, even a drill sergeant would find little to criticize with her military bearing. She looked to be a model soldier.

But her eyes, her haunted eyes had seen unspeakable horror too in the barely-glimpsed depths underneath the icy control locking the pain deep within her.

He had seen that expression before… he had seen it too often.

He hated that expression but to his everlasting sorrow he knew he would see it again.

Too old eyes in too young faces.

He hadn't forgotten that she was an SS dagger, he could see it in her crisp Teutonic bearing, sense it in her brittle Prussian exactitude forged by iron self-discipline. But he had met and ministered to a few Kriegsmarine U-Boat girls with the exact same bearing, the same eyes, the same brittleness when they stayed in Boston between patrols.

He had prayed that Colombe had been wrong when she spoke of her daughter's severe distress and need for salvation. But it was clear to him that here too was another lost and injured sheep needing the Good Shepherd to guide her back to His flock to be cared for and mended in spirit.
Spoiler: Father Jacques and Ehren

So he did what he did best.

He was a priest.

"So, Ehren is it?" he asked gently, calmly. "Perhaps you would do an old man the honor of introducing the others so that your Mutti can enjoy your sister's beautiful music?" He paused, "the long way around the pond though, so I can admire this beautiful garden. Also I confess curiosity about you and your family." Colombe gave him an approving smile and a nod.

"Jawohl, Father." She responded automatically as she offered her arm and began to walk with him down a garden path. Behind him, Claire's beautiful music serenaded them as Colombe and Toku sat on a bench to listen.

"I am Ehren du Chasteler, the youngest of Mutti's daughters. I do hope that you enjoy 'my sister's beautiful piano music', though." Her cool and precise voice grew subtly warmer as she escorted him past a trellis of pink, white, and red roses. "Claire will play any piece you care to name at the drop of a hat, even without being prompted." her voice turned dry as dust at the last and he chuckled in appreciation of her wit. "As for the others present outside now, Chihiro Arakaki - Chi-chan - is the Tanuki with the raccoon tail closest to us." She pointed to the Tanuki girl tossing apples into a floating basket with her paws as they walked toward the pond.

He took care to lean slightly upon the young lady's arm as they walked, subtly playing up his age and infirmity. "I must confess to being slightly jealous. Actually," he said with a rueful tone in his voice. "I would have loved to have had a musician half as skilled back when I served as a chaplain. Of course, I doubt the pianos available in the chapels on base would have been up to your sister's high standards. They were, after all, purchased from the lowest bidder."

Ehren gave another microscopic smile as she supported him easily. "Ahh, Claire would make any piano she played a happy one." Ehren had a definite undercurrent of warmth and love as she spoke about her sister. "She enjoys music in all its forms and in fact plays rock keyboard for the small family band that our cousin assembled. As for the Jorogumo assisting me in the harvest, Miho Fujii is the larger of the two, she is the adopted mother for her younger sister Misaki. They," Ehren's voice lost all warmth and was filled with an undertone of coldly implacable wrath, "escaped the Yokai Reserves where the Japanese government penned nonhumans such as them in like cattle..." The fury increased and was joined by a soul-deep disgust with hints of self-loathing and shame in her next hissed words. "...or Jews."

Fr Jacques was quiet, listening, letting his ears hear and his heart understand even as it wept for her.

Finally he spoke, squeezing her hand gently in reassurance as they continued their walk. "A wicked thing, and it is to your eternal credit that they are here, safe, happy… free." She nodded as her black mood lifted on the wings of Claire's song across the sunlit pond.

He stopped then, far enough away from the others that they could talk in relative privacy, and looked at her. "We are all sinners, Ehren du Chasteler. We have all failed. We have all done what we should not do, and not done what we should. At every Mass, we ask God and each other for forgiveness for our failings in confidence that our God forgives us. Even the great Saints of the Church, men and women of deep heavenly virtue, were sinners. And God still loves us. He still forgives us."

He paused then, looking deep into her eyes as she stared back with her normal cool reserve. "Let me tell you a story."

He gently urged her to continue walking with him and spoke as she did. "A man came to Jesus one night in his dreams, and said to Our Lord. 'Lord, take this cross from me, it is too heavy, I cannot bear it.', and Our Lord in his love and compassion took the man into a room that was filled with crosses, of all sizes and types, great crosses and small crosses. The man walked through the room, examining the crosses, and finally found one that was just right for him, and said to Our Lord. 'This one, this is the cross that I can bear.' And our Lord just smiled at him and replied 'That is the cross you came in with."

He stopped again, smiling as he spoke from the heart to her intent thoughtful face. "We all carry crosses, Ehren. But sometimes we pick up crosses that aren't ours, thinking that we need to punish ourselves all the more because of our perceived sin, our fault. But Our Lord said that his yoke was easy, his burden light. He will never burden you down with something you cannot bear." Another, longer, pause as droplets of cool living water fell on soil that had been tilled and seeded. "Carry your cross, Ehren, not the cross of the sins of others."

She listened in attentive silence, then nodded sharply. She half-turned to look at the small pond behind the castle and spoke quietly in a hushed, pain-filled whisper as she stood braced to attention. "I bear what I bear because I must, Father." Her words were a statement of fact.

He shook his head, interrupting her. "No, child, you mustn't. The sins of the father are not assessed against the child, nor the sins of the child against the father. If you walk the path of righteousness, keeping our Lord's commandments and precepts, and striving to ever do what is right and good, then that is all that is asked of any of us." he smiled then. "Think about it."

She gave him an unreadable look with her controlled, stoic face, then shook her head sharply. "You can't possibly understand," she said flatly, then gave a small, inaudible sigh. "I don't want to talk about it."

He nodded in acceptance of her words as they walked to get introduced to the others.

Faith, after all, was a mustard seed.

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

After some constructive criticism on the original piece, I have rewritten Museum Musings and combined it with a second related piece:

Museum Musings (Revised)

Having left Yokosuka unnoticed, at least so far as he knew, Severus Snape knew he had research to do before he could begin working on his new project. Enterprise was unique, even among her current company. While the setgirl of Nagato looked quite convincing, Enterprise simply could not ever pretend to be an aircraft carrier. Unique was not a bad thing but as he knew, alone could be very painful. So he began to wonder if there was any chance to fix that for her. So he started first with an abbreviated marathon of episodes, concentrating on those featuring other ships. Unfortunately, the other Constitution-class ships shown were re-uses of Enterprise's sets and their models where they existed were AMT model kits, cheaply bought, used and discarded.

The Klingon ship from the series lacked actual sets. Severus was pretty sure this would be a problem. The Romulan version of the ship did have sets but these were likely redresses, again, of Enterprise's own. And then there was the original Romulan ship. If he could find out what happened to the model, perhaps that was possible, although Snape thought it doubtful. He DID take away one reminder of logical wisdom he intended to employ at Hogwarts, suspecting that Potter had that cloak James used so often. "Whenever an object passes through it... Even an invisible one, it leaves a visible trail." Thank you, Mister Spock.

The Next Generation Enterprise was a possible choice for obvious reasons. DS9 and their Defiant, and Voyager were all possibles but less attractive because of the recentness would require more magical energy. The NX Enterprise seemed to be off the table because instead of a model, a physical thing, CGI had been used. The whereabouts of the sets, unknown. After study, the best choice seemed to be Enterprise herself, or rather the version built in 1979. The sets were in use for over twenty years and the filming model still existed.

Before he could do anything, he needed to find out just how those half-wit wizards in America had, if he understood correctly and he was certain he did, managed to summon Fair Enterprise in the first place. This meant a trip to America. There was a manageable time left in the season before school resumed. He merely stated to the rest of the faculty that he was 'working on a personal project', that was sufficient. It wasn't like anyone thought he might have any hobbies of his own, after all. But no one inquired beyond that.

Of course, the first stop was the Woolworth Building where officials politely inquired as to the reasons for his visit.

"Purely scholastic," he replied. Then he inquired about the break-in at the Smithsonian. "Just exactly who were they and what were they attempting to do?"

"Not 'do'... 'did' The weirdos said something about 'Praising the Great Bird of the Galaxy' and they freaking summoned a ship that wasn't even real! Bad enough all those real shipgirls running around, flaunting the Statute but these nuts had to summon a fake one! Somehow!" The MACUSA official scrutinized him with a frown.

"You aren't one of those 'freaks', are you?"

"'Freaks'?"

"Those... Trekkies."

"As I have said, my interest is purely scholastic. I suppose this 'shipgirl' has been safely locked away?"

"Hardly! They turned it over to the No-Maj Navy. Completely crazy!"

"Indeed. One certainly wonders what they could possibly do with such a thing."

"I have no idea."

"I see. Thank you for your time then. "

"Of course."

Taking his papers back from the customs officer, Snape left the Woolworth Building, contemplating how best to proceed. After a moment he decided that he would need to find an advocate for twelve clumsy fools facing charges from MACUSA authorities. He only hoped they had more in their brains than the other secretive group of morons he was forced to associate with.

He also hoped this would not get expensive. If so, then perhaps he would have to trade Lucius Malfoy a favor. He was a full-blown Warsie as Lucius had told him not so kindly, so long ago. The thought amused Severus. For if the Executor ever DID have a human form, Snape would bet money that she would look identical to Narcissa.

In the meantime, it was only fitting that he pay a visit to the Smithsonian, himself.

At last he stood in front of the display case that held the avatar of so many dreams. She really does look magnificent. He smiled slightly at precious memories. He had some idea as to figure out the rest of the story, he thought as he strolled out to head back home.




Spoiler

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- Well more Father Jacques. I have to say, this one is a doozy, you have been warned. As always, thanks a ton to my co writer Sunhawk2 for his writing of his OC Father Jacques who gave me the tools to allow a broken bird to start to mend.

(And now you know why Colombe and Ehren were so moved when one of Draco's daughters was named Helene)

The Bells of Ath (IV)

Castle Moulbaix

22 August 2014

After the apples were brought in with Kasuyu and the laconic form of Nongqawuse assisting the du Chastelers, Miho, Misaki, and Chihiro, Colombe turned to Father Jacques as she walked alongside him up the stairs to enter her castle now that he had been introduced to everyone. Behind them, Toku, Claire, and Ehren followed side by side.

"So, Father, what part do you wish to see first?" She asked as they stepped into the grand entrance hall.

"Oh, the chapel first." he said, smiling in appreciation at being asked.
Spoiler: Opening The Chapel

Colombe led the procession to their left and down a short hall to an inlaid oak double door showing the Resurrection in bold carvings. She paused and laid her hand upon the wood, bowing her head.

Toku placed a gentle hand on the rapier's shoulder and received a thankful smile. "Forgive me, just… memories. Memories of my youth." Colombe said quietly in a controlled voice before using a large antique bronze key to unlock the door.

Colombe pulled the door open and stepped inside, then blinked at an old stain on the stone threshold of the narthex. "Hmm, I don't remember that being here. It must have happened shortly before the chapel was closed in 1870 while I was away in the Franco-Prussian War. When I came back in 1871, Hippolyte told me that he had acted to shut the chapel." She said curiously, kneeling to take a closer look and then frowning at what she sensed.

Colombe scowled as she stood, her voice growing angrier under the control, "I trusted him, so thought little of it, especially with my injuries. After," her face grew dark and she breathed in and out harshly before continuing in a voice filled with old pain, "I realized the truth of his actions, I read his diaries and he hinted that he had had Father Pierre murdered for finding out too much. I would not be surprised; he was capable of that and far worse evils."

Colombe gestured briefly as she spoke in Latin under her breath. A pale soft white radiance glowed from the threshold and the door. "The wards that I and others put into place to protect and preserve the Lord's House over the centuries are still active, though." She spoke half to herself as she carefully examined the spellwork that was now visible. "I actually haven't been inside here since it was closed in 1870 and Hippolyte took control of the key. When I did my regular maintenance of the castle in the past, I merely empowered and strengthened these wards and the linked preservation spells that Papa requested of me to place inside the stones of his chapel. The spell matrix's design allows me to monitor and repair the normal wear and tear that the passage of time causes these spells from a hidden sigil carved in the stone wall of the castle just outside this door. The spells should have kept the contents preserved and undamaged by moth and rust." She explained to the curious cleric and Toku with a small smile and a wink before another gesture caused the light to seemingly vanish and she stepped aside for the others.

Ehren stood stoically next to Claire, who had a very compassionate look on her face, as her mother talked about Hippolyte.

"Man's inhumanity to man has been with us since the beginning." Fr Jacques said quietly. He didn't go further than that, knowing that there was a time and a place for giving counsel and wisdom, and a time for other things. And this was too joyful a moment to darken with grappling with dark things from the past.

"But how perfectly lovely a sacred space." he stepped through the narthex and into the chapel, spreading his arms in joy. As he did so he just happened to stop in a spot illuminated only by the sunlight streaming in through the stained glass.

Spoiler: The Chapel of Moulbaix

One could be forgiven if they didn't share the sentiment, everything was covered by sheets including the paintings on the walls and the statuary, but the rough shape was visible along with the rich woods of the floor and the crisp colors of the magically preserved stained glass windows that let in the bright light of a beautiful day.

The old priest set his valise down beside the door and began bustling about, much to the amusement of those trailing behind.

"If one of you would be so kind as to take some notes?" he asked over his shoulder as he cleared the dust cloth from the old altar.

"Jawohl, Father!" Ehren snapped out with a click of her heels, summoning a notebook and pen from… someplace. She then assumed her best studious and professional attitude while Claire giggled musically, Toku smiled, and Colombe gave a fond shake of the head with a small grin.

Fr Jacques simply nodded. "Excellent. Many thanks, my child." he replied with a smile in his voice and a twinkle in his eyes. "Firstly, a replacement presence candle... Very likely new altar candles… will need to obtain fresh chrism, catechumen, and oil for the anointing of the sick." He paused, pursed his lips, then nodded "Hymnals and missals as well." he concluded.

"Presence Candle, ja! Altar Candles, ja! Chrism, Catechumen, and oil for the anointing of the sick, ja! Hymnals and missals, ja!" Ehren snapped out in counterpoint to the instructions, making the notes in her precise and neat hand.

Meanwhile, Claire began to pull down the dust covers from the paintings and pews as her mother folded them. The piano then paused and blinked at a set of crude numbers carved into the back of one of the pews. "What's this?" she asked curiously. Colombe leaned in to look and then made a curious choking sound.

Colombe blushed as everyone stared at her. "I was nine years old and got bored during the sermon so I started to add up some of the numbers in my missal," she explained with a sheepish look on her face, "Papa tanned the seat of my breeches after the service too." She finished.

The old priest chuckled, looking over at Colombe, "Wouldn't be the last time that happened. I learned how to give shorter sermons after the third or fourth time the sailors I was preaching to started comparing tattoos rather than listening." he commented wryly. "I hope that I've managed to make my sermons interesting enough that the pews will be spared future mathematics."

Ehren gave a lip twitch. "Jawohl! Shorter interesting sermons!" she barked out as she faked writing that as a note as her mother shot her an exasperated look.

Claire giggled at her sister's words and then headed for the bulky dust covering hanging to the right of the altar. She pulled it down and her eyes got very wide and round at the sight revealed. "Mother!!" Claire squeaked out eagerly, turning to give Colombe a lethal dose of Pleading Piano Puppydog Eyes. "It's a cute little pipe organ!"

Colombe gestured at the small pipe organ. "Oui, it is." She turned to the smiling priest. "I fear your assistant handling the dust covers being removed has just been abducted by the Angel of Music for the moment."

Claire seated herself on the bench and tapped a key. She then shuddered at the horribly out of tune sound that it gave.

The elderly priest winced at the sound even as Claire wailed about it being so sadly out of tune. "Thankfully I know that the diocese has an organ repair contractor under contract for such things." he said soothingly.

"Jawohl! Repairing of the Pipe Organ. Sehr Dringlichkeitsantrag!"(Very urgently requested) Ehren snapped out in her best Prussian Junior Officer voice while Claire's tears about how much a tragedy that this beautiful pipe organ lost its voice subsided.

Fr Jacques simply smiled and nodded. "Would it be a safe assumption that the sacristy is behind this door?" he asked Colombe, gesturing to the door on the opposite side of the altar from the pipe organ.

"Yes it is, Father." Colombe replied as she walked to him with Toku and Ehren in tow after the last of the dust sheets were removed and folded. "Claire, can you be a dear and run these dust cloths to the laundry hamper to be cleaned?"

"But Mother!" Claire pouted, looking up from a sheaf of old sheet music that she had found by the bench. Ehren's lips twitched at the byplay and Toku's serene smile widened minutely.

Claire then scuffed a foot as Colombe gave her a firm look. "All right then." She muttered before hurrying off on the errand… with sheet music in hand.

With a chuckle, Fr Jacques smiled at the piano spirit and then followed Colombe through the door and into the sacristy beyond. His lips twitched a bit as he examined the small room when his keen eyes spotted the subtle signs of a priest hole concealed in the floor. He immediately stepped over to a small sink that had two basins, the one on the right looking quite normal, the one on the left covered with a solid cover, and attempted to lift the cover, finding it locked. He then pursed his lips and started rummaging through the cabinets. "There should be… a ha!" he found the tiny key and unlocked the cover, revealing a second basin. "Could you verify that this drain isn't connected to any sewer or septic tank, but rather drains directly to the earth?"

Colombe nodded, "Of course, Father." She concentrated and then spoke "Expecto Patronem!" A glowing white dove formed in her cupped palm and flew down the drain as she closed her eyes. "Straight into the stone culvert outside the walls, Father," she said a minute later when she opened them, "just like it should have been in the original plans. The castle's renovation and reconstruction under Hippolyte in 1889 did not change that."

"Excellent." He glanced over at Toku and Ehren who were looking curiously at the basin. "This is the basin used to cleanse the vessels used during Holy Communion. Therefore, when they are cleansed after mass there is a high possibility of fragments of sanctified hosts to be on them. Therefore, as even the tiniest particle of the host is believed to be the whole Body, Spirit and Divinity of our Lord, and thus it would be highly inappropriate for it to enter the sewers or such, yes?"

Tokunotakai nodded in approval. "It is very important to preserve the purity and sanctity of the divine, yes." She said with a gentle smile.

"Indeed." he replied with a smile at the Shinto priestess. "Ehren, please add a dedicated hamper for the purificators to the list." he paused, pursing his lips as he spotted the locked cabinet. "I'm trying to remember if they used large and small purificators before Vatican II in this area."

"Sadly, I cannot help you, Father." Colombe admitted. "My brothers would have known when they served in their turn as acolytes, but they are long dead."

"Dedicated hamper for purificators, ja!" Ehren snapped out and her pen hovered over the next line.

"I believe that this is the linen cabinet." he said, checking the latch to find that it was indeed locked. "Do you happen to have the key for it?"

Colombe examined the cabinet and her eyebrows raised. "Someone reinforced the preservation wards on it when the chapel was closed." She spoke absently to herself and visibly thought, drumming her fingers on her hilt. "I think I remember what it looked like for a Summoning Charm…." She closed her eyes and then gestured. "Accio Keyring!"

With a flash, a small brass keyring with three old keys appeared in her hand. "Here, Father, I believe this is it." She said after picking out one of them.

He nodded and unlocked the cabinet with it, his eyes widening as he realized that beyond the preservation charms it had been significantly magically enlarged inside. "Curious… well, that is one mystery solved. Please add large purificators to the list, Ehren. And… what is…." He spoke to himself as he examined the contents.
Spoiler: A Sister's Love

He moved aside the vestments to reveal a hanging subdivider with additional preservation charms gleaming from its surface. He opened it to reveal an extremely ornate woman's gown made from richly embroidered creamy satin silk that looked like it belonged 300 years in the past.

Spoiler: Marie-Claire's Wedding Day

Colombe gasped in shock. "Marie-Claire's wedding dress!" she whispered as tears formed in her eyes. "I was her Maid of Honor that day in 1726..." She reached in and touched the fabric gently, hesitantly.

As her fingers caressed her sister's dress, there was a flash of magic.

A handwritten letter addressed to her fell from the dress to the floor of the linen cabinet.

Colombe picked up the sealed letter with a shaking hand while her eyes filled with deep emotion.

She slowly unfolded the yellowed parchment after breaking the crimson sealing wax stamped with the familiar coat of arms of a long-dead Franco-Belgian noblewoman. Her younger sister Marie-Claire's coat of arms.

Her crystal-blue eyes widened as she read the faded but legible still handwritten words. Words written in a beautiful flowing 18th Century Rhonde cursive script by the hand that had learned how to read and write alongside her.

Spoiler: Text Of The Letter

August 11th, 1789

To my flying dove, from your caged songbird,

I have had a recurring premonition that no child of my body shall survive to inherit this dress, so I shall leave it for you, my beloved sister. I humbly request that when true love finally finds you and yours, that you wear it upon the happiest day of your life as I have done. I fear my hopes and prayers to stand alongside you upon that day as you stood with me are in vain. Therefore, I shall be present in spirit as you stood beside me in body as I entered wedded bliss.

I feel my death calling me to join our Papa, so I shall finish with perhaps my final thoughts that I may share with you.

God has truly blessed me to have been granted an older sister such as you. I forgive you for continuing on when I am no more, and all your transgressions against me. Mourn me as we have mourned our Papa, yes, but know that what approaches for me shall never harm my love for you. One day we shall be reunited in eternal glory with each other and Papa.

I close with my daily prayer that you shall find your absent father to mend the hole in your heart.

With all my love,

Marie-Claire Helene du Chasteler de Bury et de Bocarme


Salt tears filled Colombe's vulnerable eyes, causing the handwritten words to dance and waver and blur in this final message.

A final message of love and understanding that had been penned while the final grains of sand in the hourglass slowly fell for her beloved little sister.

Her beloved little sister whose murder before her horrified eyes during the French Revolution had split Colombe's heart in twain with the fall of the guillotine blade as they saw each other for the last time at their final parting.

The final parting of their shared intertwined paths through life that had sent one sister to an unmarked mass grave, and sent the other to continue on alone as she became a hero -- swearing upon her sundered and bleeding heart to do battle to her utmost limits of body, mind, will, and soul against the Evil she now perceived clearly -- in that searing instant when they had both first truly experienced the bitter fruits of man's inhumanity to man.

The letter slowly fell to the floor as the callused quavering hand holding it, scarred by centuries of wandering, suffering, and conflict since that day, lost all its strength.

Colombe wept uncontrollably while Toku and Ehren hugged her, joined by Claire as the piano returned from her errand. Comforting as best they could with tears in their own eyes the hero who fought the good fight alongside them while Colombe remembered the loved one who she had failed to save. Her first -- and perhaps greatest -- failure that had caused her to fight to try to save who she could in a fruitless, impossible, desperate attempt to make good this loss.

Fr Jacques bowed his head in silent prayer as the family before him comforted each other, a silent prayer for the soul of a woman over two centuries departed, and a prayer for those who mourned her on this day.

A.N. -- Far wiser men than I have defined the story that we are telling here.

Everything in this world will pass away. In Eternity only Love will remain.-- Pope Benedict XVI

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage -- Laozi

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Holding a glossy red fruit between her clawed fingers, Taiyang hummed a bit before slowly pushing it between her lips and then biting down. For a few moments, she chewed just as slowly, thoughtfully, and then spat out the pit and swallowed the flesh. Then, she gave a small nod with a smug smile on her face, "Quite delicious, these European cherries! Much more sweeter and larger than the ones that I am used to as well, Mikon!'

More than a little amused as she walked past, Goldie simply nodded as she dumped a basketful of cherries into the container being used for them, "Indeed, they are! Umu, I remember some soldiers in the Roman Legions enjoying such fruits as well on long marches."

Just humming a little, the Dao nodded some, "True, an army forges on it's stomach, though perhaps it may be less so today than before." Pausing, Taiyang looked towards the blonde sword spirit, "Hmm... you do seem quite loyal to the Potter family, is there more to such a story than them rescuing you from the Goblins?"

Glancing at her, Goldie had a slight smile before she lowered her voice, "There are many reasons. But... there is one in particular though the Praetor does not know, nor do the others."

Eyebrow raised, Taiyang hummed a little, "Is he related to your first Master? The Great Caeser?"

Lightly chuckling, the Roman Blade shook her head, "Nay, he is not. But... there is a relationship, one that I sensed when Geoffrey Potter picked up my blade. For my memories are long indeed, and I remember my Imperator having a young, Roman boy at his side. One whom was tasked with keeping my blade sharp, and helping the Imperator put on his armour. Geoffrey... shared blood with him, I could tell." Looking out onto the land around them, Goldie took a deep breath, "He is long since bones and dust, but he served my Imperator well. Thus, I serve his well now."

Thoughtful, Taiyang tapped her chin in thought as she looked at Goldie, seeing another part of the ancient sword now.

Slowly, she gave a nod as she also looked out onto the orchard where various people were working at harvesting the cherries. Not just Harry and the other teens, but also the shipgirls. In various trees, one could see fairies having set up a pulley system to raise and lower buckets which they filled with fruits as they scurried among the branches. Slowly, but surely, filling up the various containers being used to transport them back to the manor for processing.

But what caught Taiyang's eyes were the other members of the Potter Armory, joining in with the harvesting with smiles and chuckles of their own. From Dracul using her shaft to allow for some of the teens sitting on it to reach branches to pick fruit from, to Vala humming some song as she plucked ripe fruit from where they hung. Though the foxy Dao had to blink as Catherine walked up to one tree, knocked on the trunk, and softly spoke to it... right before a mass of cherries fell out of said tree much to the confusion of everyone else.

Eyebrows furrowing, the Dao frowned, "How...?"

Amused at the expressions that had gotten, Goldie chuckled and patted her on the shoulder, "It is best not to ask, my friend. Just know that it is Cathy and that is all, Umu!"

Only nodding, despite her confusion, Taiyang looked back at Goldie with a thoughtful look on her face, "You know... I heard the one named Juuchi speak of what she would do if she caught the one named Peter. And I know what I might do, as my Master is quite... upset... with him. But what about you or the others?"

Rubbing her chin, the Roman sword hummed a bit, "We each have our own thoughts on what to do with the traitor to our family. For he was treated as family by them, and yet ended up stabbing them in the back like a spineless coward." Goldie's eyes flashed and yet darkened for a moment before going back to normal, "Some are fairly simple, Dracul mentioned draining him of his blood, Bill has mentioned simply finding a tree and some rope, while Sabah and Andraste mentioned that they have a number of poisons. Vala, I believe, mentioned the blood eagle while Big Iron and Amalie wish to just shoot him. And Nightbane? He mentioned just feeding him to the Monster on the Meuse."

Eyebrow raised in amusement, Taiyang glanced at the others, "I see... and while I can understand what Juuchi might do, I take it that Catherine would do something different from what I can understand?"

With a chuckle, Goldie gave her a cold smile, "Catherine would forgive him... which, perhaps, would be the worst possible thing from her. As it would drive the Rat to the depths."

Head tilted to the side as she considered that, the other sword spirit nodded before pausing, "What about Tsukiakari? I take it that she has her own ideas?"

For the first time in the conversation, Goldie looked away, "Ah, well... Tsukiakari is... interesting in that way. I am Roman, and yet I find myself impressed with some of the ideas that she has come up with. Very... impressed."

Cocking an eyebrow, Taiyang considered asking for more details, but decided that it would be better not to. Then, she tilted her head a little, "And you?"

A frown on her face, the Roman sighed and shook her head, "Ah, that is complicated as some methods are out of my hands. While I do not follow the diety that Catherine does, I do respect her and thus crucifixion is out as is burning due to what happened to her Master. Normally, I would then follow the normal methods for Patricide, but it would be cruel to the animals and dogs are quite well liked in this era. Thus, I could not wrap him in a burlap sack with a rabid dog, vipers, a cock, and the like before throwing it into a river."

Intrigued, the Dao rubbed her chin, "So what would you do?"

The smile that appeared on Goldie's face was not nice at all, "Well, did you know that there are spells that prevent an Animagus from returning to their true form? I would find a large cauldron..." Spreading her arms, she continued, "And then cast the spell on the traitor before throwing him into it with one of those centipedes in Japan, the Mukade. Truly, a Roman way of dealing with such a creature as he."

Right then, a bright smile lit up Taiyang's face, "Oh, I quite like that idea..."

Some distance away, Natsumi blinked and looked over to where Taiyang had a gleeful look on her face as she talked with Goldie as the two went back to where they had been picking cherries, 'Should I ask what she is so happy about?'

From deep within the back of her mind, Tamamo spoke up, 'No, it is best that you do not.' A sigh then escaped her, 'Though I am quite happy with how our Harry's home here looks. It is quite nice.'

Bemused, the two tailed Kitsune continued plucking cherries, 'Because of the size of the property? The food that is grown here? Or the home itself with how the inside looks?'

Much to her amusement, Tamamo's answer was simple, 'Yes.' After a few moments, she continued, 'I will state that I quite enjoy the inside of our Harry's manor. The wood is very nice as is the furniture. Though, perhaps, we should see what sort of furniture we can get for his room as we shall share it during visits.'

Lightly blushing, Natsumi only nodded some, 'Well, Harry-Chan does have a selection of furniture from China and Japan in the shed...'

That only got her a hum from the ancient vixen.

Not even a few minutes later, their attention was caught as Harry let out a laugh and turned to see him shaking his head in amusement, "Kenshō, what are you doing?"

Said blade was crouched and looked over her shoulder with a blink and a large smile, "I'm just following this toad, Master! He's bounce-bouncing along!" Those close enough could see that, sure enough, there was a toad on the ground in front of Kenshō. After a few moments, it did a few hops and the Kogatana spirit followed, "Ribbit! Ribbit! Come on, Mister Toad! Ribbit!"

Unable to help himself, Harry started laughing as he facepalmed, "Kenshō, leave the poor fellow alone. He's probably out for a snack."

Tilting her head to the side, Kenshō considered that before nodding and waving to the toad, "Okay! Bye, Mister Toad!" She then turned and began to hop back towards Harry, "Ribbit! Ribbit!"

Of course, that only got more smiles and laughter from the others. Especially when she proceeded to snatch some cherries from Harry's basket and gobble them down with a grin despite Harry playfully scolding her. A sudden shout made everyone turn to Yae who had facepalmed. Something that made Harry raise an eyebrow, "Something wrong, Yae-San?"

Shoulders slumped a bit, the Kendoka nodded, "Hai... one of my cherries just got stolen."

About to ask, Harry opened his mouth only to pause as he caught sight of the thief. Lips twitching, he coughed some, "Well... I think that our friend has been hanging around you for some time watching. And you didn't see an issue with tossing him some of your sandwich earlier.'

Pout on her face, Yae made a motion with her hand, "But I didn't expect him to steal some of my cherries, gozaru!"

Leaning against her true self, Dracul chuckled a little, "Well, he wanted a little bread and no cheese, but didn't get any."

Head tilted to the side, Kenshō blinked as she looked up at the spot of yellow in the branches, "Um, Master? What is that?"

Now looking up at the yellow bird in question, Tsukiakari grinned a little before answering for Harry, "That, Kenshō, is what is known as the Yellowhammer. Also known as the writing lark."

Mouth open wide, the Kogatana nodded, "Ooooh!" Then, she bounced around a little, "Hey! Hey! Maybe it will write something for us! Mou..."

Needless to say, that got chuckles from everyone, though Yae still had a pout on her face from the cherry being stolen.

A few hours later, the Sun slowly set towards the horizon and everyone began to pack up the last couple of baskets. Under the trees, it was already twilight and the shadows began to grow. While tired, there were still happy smiles among the teens and others as they chatted.

Suddenly, Uesugi blinked and looked down as she scratched her head, "What in the world...? What are you now?"

Coming over, Harry came to stand beside her before blinking. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked down at the two animals that were scrounging around the bottom of the cherry tree trunk for fallen fruit, "Hello there." Still smiling, Harry looked over to the reincarnated warlord, "Unless I'm mistaken, those are hedgehogs."

Rapidly blinking where she was, Okita came over as well, "Wait, hedgehogs? Really?" Upon catching sight of them, she crouched down and put her hands on her knees, "Aw, they're adorable."

The other teens joined them, though standing a short distance away from the animals and began to film them. From where she stood beside Harry, Kenshō tugged at his shirt some, "One of them is pretty small..."

Only nodding as he patted her head, Harry chuckled a little, "That is likely her baby, born this year and maybe just a few months ago."

Part of him was amused as the various girls all cooed a little before Iku walked away and came back with some cherries that she tossed over. More smiles grew as they watched the two animals waddle over to the fruit and begin to munch down on them even as the others talked excitedly.

________________________________________________________________

After the group had another rest, they entered the final timeloop of the day. Which found Usagi wiping her forehead clean of sweat as she worked at the bush in front of her. Plucking some glossy dark blue or black berries from the plant, she considered them as her nose twitched. Those behind her noted, with more than a little amusement, that her cotton tail also twitched a bit.

Of course, not knowing this, the rabbit Yokai tossed back the berries and chewed on them thoughtfully for a few moments before nodding, "Hmm... sweet, yet tart." Smacking her lips, Usagi happily hummed, "So good..."

From where she was picking from a bush next to her, Natsumi snickered a little, "You're absolutely loving this trip, aren't you?"

Grinning back, Usagi shrugged some as she plucked some more berries from the bushes, "Can you blame me, Natsumi-Chan? No real adults around bothering us too much, all of us having fun with things, my friends here with me, and lots of sweet, sweet fruit to eat." Puncturating her words with another berry put into her mouth, she shook her head as she chewed, "This is practically paradise for a teenage Inaba."

That got her a laugh from her Kitsune friend who shook her head, "I'm sure it is." Sighing softly, she looked around and her expression softened as her gaze caught sight of Harry and Kenshō working at some bushes, "It really is..."

Just nudging her with an elbow, Usagi smiled, "Thinking about when you'll be bringing your own Kits here, hmm? Ones with black hair and green eyes most likely."

Blush on her face, Natsumi gave her a sheepish smile, "That obvious, huh?"

Shaking her head, the Inaba smile grew a touch, "Kind of, but I've known you long enough to guess." With a small shrug, Usagi looked around in thought, "Not that I don't blame you really. I mean, Harry-Kun is a good man, and going by this place? You'd have a very happy life and I hope that you will have as many children as you would if you were an Inaba like myself."

Tone dry, Natsumi gave her a look with some snark, "Gee, thanks for that considering how large your families get. My poor hips..."

With a laugh, Usagi winked at her, "Hey, at least it would be a very happy marriage in such a case, eh?"

Only shaking her head, her long time friend sighed, "Sometimes, I wonder." Tilting her head some, Natsumi gave her a raised eyebrow, "Surprised that you haven't even grumbled a bit regarding Harry-Chan and not having a chance."

However, Usagi snorted at that, "Because I'm not that sort of person, and Ayaka-Chan wasn't quite that serious and you know it. Now, if you mess up, which I think is about likely as Izanami-Sama and Izanagi-Sama declaring that they are married and happily once more with no problems, maybe Ayaka-Chan will actually make a move." Ignoring the snicker from Natsumi, and the soft thanks, she gave a shrug, "Besides, the field is too filled there as it is."

Thankful expression on her face, Natsumi nodded, "Thank you-"

Before she could finish, the rabbit Yokai waved a hand in the air, "If I was going to go after anyone? Might be a son of yours." Waggling her eyebrows, she licked her lips a little, "The fox would be caught by the rabbit in that case."

Groaning, Natsumi facepalmed before pulling back her hand, which left a few spots of blackcurrant juice on her face, "Really, Usagi-Chan? I mean, seriously? You too?"

Completely and utterly unrepentant, Usagi shrugged, "What can I say? Onee-Chan told me things about her Kitsune boyfriend~" Then she chuckled a little as her friend facepalmed again, this time with a blush, "But really? Any child of yours and Harry-Kun's would be a heck of catch. Both of you are good looking, kind, intelligent... basically what one would want in a significant other."

Simply sighing, Natsumi still had a slight smile on her face, "Well, maybe..."

Her friend then gave another shrug, "Besides, to be honest, Natsumi-Chan? We're Yokai, and all of us will live a long time." Pointing her thumb at herself, Usagi continued, "Myself? I can look forward to five, six hundred years of life easy. More if I follow some of my relatives into some Kami's service. Twenty, forty, even fifty years is nothing when you get down to it. Not to mention, our families are pretty close to each other. So there's no issue there binding our clans yet closer through ties of marriage."

Not saying anything right away, Natsumi considered that for a few moments, "True... and I suppose that the same could be said for Ayaka-Chan as well." Blush appearing on her face, she cleared her throat, "But still, we're talking about future children here."

Just smirking, Usagi hummed, "True, maybe one of my children with one of yours. Once more, I would not be against such a thing if it happened." Feeling a poke, she looked over at Natsumi, "Hmm?"

A smirk of her own visible, Natsumi pointed, "Relative of yours?"

Eyebrow raised, the Inaba looked in the direction mentioned and then gave her snickering friend a shove at the sight of the European hare hopping across the property.

Unlike with the other fruits, thankfully, the collection of the ripe blackcurrants took a lot less time. Which meant that, despite having started in the morning, they were done well before the Sun would set. Hence, the group left with them conversing between themselves about various things.

Curious look on her face, Yae blinked some and came to a stop as she looked at what looked like a small hill, "Hmm?"

Looking back, Harry blinked for a moment as he slowed to a stop followed by the others, "Yae-San? Is something wrong?"

Moments later, the Kendoka flushed a bit and waved her hands some, "Sorry about that, Harry-San! I was just noting the holes over there and was wondering about them."

Rather amused, Harry chuckled a little, "Those? That's where the local badger family lives."

Eyes wide, Yae looked towards the hill, "Badgers live there, really?" At the nod, she gave a small gasp, "Gozaru..."

Before anyone said anything else, a reddish head poked out followed by the rest of the fox it was attached to. Said fox came springing out onto the property but gave a curious look towards Natsumi and Taiyang before continuing. Eyebrow raised, Okita looked towards Harry, "I thought that you said those were badger burrows? But that was a fox..."

In return, said wizard shrugged, "Hai, they are. Here in Europe, you sometimes get foxes and badgers sharing burrows."

Giggling, Kenshō's eyes lit up, "So cool..."

About to say something, Harry paused for a moment and then smirked, "Want to know what else is cool, Kenshō?" At her nod, he gestured for her to follow and lead them to a patch of ground covered in various plants, "These are."

More than a little curious, the Kogatana leaned down and looked at the plants before tilting her head, "What are these, Master?"

Patting her head gently, Harry crouched down, "These are mint plants actually and right in front of us are peppermint. And over there..." He pointed at another spot, "Those are spearmint."

Nobu blinked at that and bent down herself to examine them, "Huh... mint plants?"

With a hum, Harry smiled at her, "Hai, mint tea is an excellent digestive after all, especially for an upset stomach. You can also chew the leaves to freshen your breath some..." He motioned with one hand towards the plants, "There's also all sorts of potions that they can be used in, not to mention for cooking like mint sauce on lamb and the like."

Tapping her chin, the reincarnated member of the Shinsengumi hummed, "So there's a lot of uses for them?" At his nod, Okita frowned a little, "Should we pick some leaves then?"

For a few moments, Harry considered that before nodding, "Sure, that sounds good to me. If nothing else, I can make us some chilled mint tea for after dinner. Now, the best leaves are..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

Fly Me To The Butterklavier

Statio Tranquillitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis 0° 41′ 15″ N, 23° 26′ 0″ E

July 20th, 2044
Spoiler: A Dream Of The Moon

"Magnificent Desolation."

That was what the second man to set foot here had said to describe what he saw to the millions listening to him across the Earth.

Gray dust and rock.

A sky the ebon black velvet of primal Night.

Stars as bright diamonds of light, not blurred by an atmosphere.

Pieces of ancient scientific equipment placed nearby waiting patiently for their makers to return for them.

A flag standing erect, the pristine red, white, and blue cloth strangely unmoving as if it had been frozen in time for eternity.

A spider-like platform resting on four spindly legs covered in gold foil that led up to a flat top with a round hole in the center..

One corner had a short ladder that stopped well above the dust and rock that had stood here since time immemorial.

At the bottom of that ladder was a single footprint in the dust.

A footprint whose outlines were as clean and razor sharp as the moment seventy-five years ago when it had been made by the first foot to touch the soil of another place than Earth.

Next to that footprint, a plaque rested on the leg of LM-5 Eagle.

The top showed the globe of Earth and below it a message in English
HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH

FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON

JULY 1969 A. D.

WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

At a distance a newer, larger structure stood. Carefully constructed to never disturb the artifacts and site that it overlooked, it was filled with figures looking through the wall that was a single panel of foot-thick transparent steel thanks to alchemy and magic.

In solemn silence, a crowd of hundreds stood there, a tithe of the millions watching this ceremony.

Shipgirls.

Humans.

Magicals.

The Greek Deity whose name had been invoked for the journey to this place, standing holding his wife's hand.

Even three Abyssal Elder Princesses.

The Princess of Children Lost at Sea. Her crimson eyes were large and wondering as she held her Mother and Big Brother in her mittened hands, surrounded by her family.

The Princess of the Unknown Secrets of the Sea. Her eldritch dark and disturbing not-eyes were perhaps turned toward the unexplored stars looking down upon them as they had since the first man looked outside the circle of firelight to the strange lights in the darkness as they called to him. She stood inhumanly tall and graceful in her black dress next to Solie, Riles, and Trieste, all voyagers who had walked within the inky abyss in the deepest depths of the Sea, with something that might have been an enigmatic not-smile upon her knowing not-lips.

The Princess of the Atlantic Gateway, Porta Abysseum Atlantia. She stood surrounded by her court and daughter with a reverent expression that none had ever seen before upon the Empress of the Atlantic as the magical clock at the top ticked down the seconds in a countdown.

Finally it reached 02:56:15 UTC.

A voice sounded through the speakers, saying words that had been spoken 75 years ago that instant in this place.


As the words ended, on the lunar plain outside slender fingers touched the ivory and ebony keys of a master-crafted enchanted Bösendorfer piano.

Uncaring of the lack of atmosphere, the spirit of the piano, clad in a dress patterned on a NASA spacesuit with the commemorative patch of the Apollo 11 mission began to play Ludwig von Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 14. in C# Minor "Quasi una Fantasia" with all the skill and passion in her frame. Enchantments glimmered from her body to allow the sound of the Moonlight Sonata to be heard by the audience here and a world away as hammers fell slowly and gently in lunar gravity to caress her strings.

Next to Claire, Tony's bow found his strings as he, dressed in a matching suit patterned on a spacesuit too, joined his wife in a duet performance on his Stradivarius violin body to make a beautiful, haunting, hopeful, magnificent quiet melody filling the silence of the Moon. A melody that could never be played within the surly bonds of Earth.

As they played to honor with their magic those brave and visionary men who had taken the first step to the waiting stars with nothing more than their minds and hearts, the priceless blue, green, brown and white jewel of Earth shone down upon them all.

For the Eagle had indeed landed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- More of Father Jacques with credit to Sunhawk2 . Now that little bombshell left for Colombe was found, we get on with getting the Chapel back in service. But as for problems in this crazy family, like Mother, like Daughter.

The Bells of Ath V

Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

22 August 2014

Eventually, Colombe regained some composure as her tears ceased to flow.

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, firmed her jaw, and bent down.

She picked up her sister's final letter gently and carefully refolded it.

Her soft voice whispered quietly into the stillness. "Non, Marie-Claire. I never deserved a sister so special as you. Ma sœur." With that she placed the folded letter in her bosom next to her heart.

Fr Jacques finished his quiet prayer, then smiled softly. He knew when to speak, when to keep silent, and while he would address this later in private, now was… not the time. Instead he gently urged his other helpers to help him inventory the cabinets, giving Colombe space to grieve for what had once been.
Spoiler: Restoring The Sacristy

"Ehren, would you be so kind as to start over there…" he gestured to the top cabinet furthest away from the wardrobe.

"Jawohl!" Ehren said, snapping to attention.

"And Claire, would you please help this old man with these lower cabinets, my knees are not what they once were." he smiled gently at the piano.

Ehren gave her shorter sister a look. Claire nodded, then began to help Fr. Jacques while standing ready to provide Piano Hugs if Mother needed them once more.

Claire opened one of the lower cabinets and smiled. "It's a wine rack, Father. Sunk into the floor." A wave of cold air from a cooling spell caused visible goosebumps as she pulled out a dust-covered bottle and rubbed the label. "Châteaux… Blanc. 1869?" The piano read the label and then placed it on the counter

Toku bent next to Claire and chanted in Japanese, her hands moving in an arcane pattern. A floating golden light formed and in response all but one bottle glowed a matching shade. "That one that is not glowing is bad, Claire-chan. The other three are still good to drink." The miko said before dismissing her spell.

Claire thanked Toku in her gentle voice and then poured the now-vinegar down the drain of the uncovered sink.

Ehren touched the cabinets and frowned. "There's a security spell on this cabinet up here and it's locked. A similar keyhole to the linen cabinet." She waved her wand and a band of Latin words appeared in a faint silver glow across the cabinet. "See if there is an inscription on the key, please Father?"

Ehren's brow wrinkled as Fr. Jacques headed to her. She puzzled out the Latin.

"Thesaurizate autem vobis thesauros in cælo, ubi neque ærugo, et vermes demolitur et ubi fures non effodiunt, nec furantur?" Ehren spoke hesitantly as she stumbled over the unfamiliar language.

"Matthew 6:20" the old priest replied absently as he examined a key on the ring stamped with Mt 6:20, deciphering the symbolism easily. "And if I recall my symbolic logic correctly… this should be the proper key." he smiled as he bustled over and unlocked the cabinet. "It is an excellent lesson for everybody, of course. Earthly possessions and treasures fade and tarnish, but those of heaven are eternal."

"Oui, they are," Colombe said absently, wiping tears from her eyes, "as are the memories of those who touch our lives." She touched the letter tucked into her bosom. "That should be the cabinet for the sacred vessels. I cast that anti-theft locking spell in 1718, in fact." She gave a wan smile as she finished. "One of the first charms and wards that I mastered in my First Year."

Ehren opened the cabinet doors and then gasped at the spotless gleams of the antique silver and golden objects within. "Father, I think that I should not handle these." She whispered respectfully and stepped back.

He chuckled slightly, then looked over to Claire. "Would you be so kind as to fetch my valise?" he asked her in his cracked old voice.

"Of course, Father!" Claire said and dashed out of the room in a one-piano stampede.

Meanwhile Ehren unlocked the other top cabinets on that side to reveal a chalice from the mid 1800s, along with a masterwork solid silver crucifix with calm assurance and love on the sculpted face of Christ, four communion-plates, a solid gold paten, and a set of eight heavy solid silver candlesticks etched with the Cross which were arranged small to large like a ladder in sets of two.

Colombe whispered with tears in her eyes. "Papa's altar set…. Thank heaven that Hippolyte never sold it like he hinted that he might be forced to 'handle the debts of the family' upon occasion." She gave a watery smile of joy.

Claire returned with the valise in both hands as her mother spoke.

"Praise God for small mercies and miracles then, yes?" the old priest replied, gently resting one hand on Colombe's shoulder for a brief moment and giving a slight squeeze. He did, in the silence of his own thoughts, wonder whom the old chalice had belonged to, but that wasn't something he would voice here.

He then turned and smiled, taking the valise and setting it on the counter. "My thanks." he said to Claire, bestowing a kind smile on the piano, then he opened the bag. "Just in case any of them count as relics, I will do this… formally." his eyes twinkled a little.

Colombe chuckled. "I could not say if they are holy relics; I certainly thought so as a girl though! I do know that all but this chalice were enchanted by me with durability, hardening and anti-tarnishing charmwork at Papa's request and are pure silver and fine gold."

"And so…" he drew out a pair of albs and set the neatly folded garments aside for now, then drew out a highly ornately stitched stole which he draped around his neck with a whispered prayer. "Ordinarily this is overkill, because at most these would be 3rd class relics and should simply be handled with respect, however I shall treat them for now as if they were 1st or 2nd class."

He then drew out a humeral veil which he also draped around his shoulders with a further whispered prayer.

Meanwhile Tokunotakai watched the process in respectful silence and with extreme interest in her eyes.

He then bowed slightly towards the cabinet and carefully withdrew each piece, handling them using the humeral veil as if it were a towel to protect the object from direct touch, and examined each one carefully, especially the base. "Did your family priest teach you the distinction between relics?" he asked Colombe with a slightly quirked eyebrow as he finished.

"Oui, Father," Colombe replied, closed her eyes, and then began her recitation from memory, her French slipping into the aristocratic accent of her youth, "A first-class relic is the body part of one of the Saints such as the finger bone of St. Louis of Toulouse that rests underneath the altar in the chapel. A second-class relic is the saint's clothing or other item used by the Saint such as the Sword of St. Catherine used by her and Saint Jeanne d'Arc. A third-class relic is an object that a first or second-class relic has touched such as this chalice should it be touched to the Sword."

Absently she rubbed her bottom, smirked smugly, and muttered an editorial comment. "Did I do it right this time, Father Louis?" Ehren's lip twitched minutely, Toku had an even more serene expression on her suspiciously calm face, and Claire giggled musically. Colombe opened her eyes and looked at the room.

Fr Jacques chuckled slightly, having heard the muttering. "Just so, just so." he replied, eyes sparkling with wit. "I see you were catechized properly!" He then turned to the girls who were helping. "As they are not relics, they simply should be treated with respect. Ehren, Claire, if you two would be so good as to fetch some soap and cloths so as to clean them properly we can get that squared away."

"Jawohl, Father!" Ehren snapped to attention and led Claire out. "I shall also get us something to drink from the kitchen."

He then turned to Colombe and smiled after the children left. "I hope you would not object if I were to… proselytize with the youngsters? I would not wish to do so without your permission." Left unspoken, of course, was that he'd do so either way, he just wanted her permission for maximum politeness. Meanwhile he reverently removed and refolded the humeral veil and alb, replacing them in the valise for now.

Colombe chuckled. "Not in the least. I do have to notify you, though that the Imps are behind in their education because the schooling in the Reserves was… poor."

Toku sighed and elaborated. "Nearly nonexistent, honestly. Apprenticeships, or whatever books and newspapers could be smuggled in for lesson materials at the best. And given the choice between food or medicine to save lives and books.... The conditions are those of the Edo era… ahh the 1700s in Europe."

Colombe agreed as she made a wry face. "Of course they did not know French at all. I cast a spell on both to assist with that and Chi-chan in particular has a superb brain and has been enjoying my library. Misaki is more the tomboy. So while they are nine years old, their schooling is closer to the age of six at the moment. They're catching up quickly in the local school, though." She finished with smug pride in her wards.

"Then perhaps it is a good thing that my college years were spent studying to be a teacher, before I fully accepted the call to the priesthood. I had ambition to be the headmaster of the school in Ath, after all." the old priest's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Perhaps out of a desire to prove that a scapegrace like myself could sit where he who tanned my britches once sat, yes?"

Colombe barked a laugh. "That thought crossed my mind the first time I sat behind Papa's desk instead of standing in front of it while he audibly questioned where he went wrong as my father yet again, yes." She grinned, "Claire, as you can tell, will be delighted to join the Faith should you explain it to her. Especially the hymnal and the possibilities of a pipe organ and a choir."
Spoiler: A Dove's Confession

The smile faded and she spoke seriously. "Ehren… is a much thornier road to the Cross. If I may have your word of confidence on what I shall reveal about her?"

Fr Jacques nodded with a smile. "Claire is a wonderful girl, and I can already tell that Ehren has had far too harsh of an introduction to the sad state of this fallen world." He paused for a second. "While I will consider anything you say to me to be under the seal of the confessional, perhaps it would be best if you were to simply confirm my own observations rather than bare your daughter's secrets to me?"

Colombe nodded, "With the caveat that I may include some matters that you may not have guessed that I as her parent feel are relevant to your mission here to bring her healing?"

Toku meanwhile glanced at the two. "I'll head to the chapel door and keep them from overhearing, Co-chan. Just break the privacy seal once you're done." At Colombe's nod, she left after placing an ofuda on the frame of the sacristy door.

The old priest simply nodded. "I have worked with some of the Kriegsmarine girls who passed through Boston before the trivial detail that I'd passed mandatory retirement age a decade ago finally caught up with me." he said, crooking a brief smile. "But she is carrying the burden of the Nazis upon her shoulders, feeling the guilt and burden of their many crimes upon her own shoulders as a consequence of how she came to be. If an object awakening is in any way similar to one of the unbuilt shipgirls awakening, then she may have initially thought nothing ill of her origin, only to be truly shattered and horrified upon learning the bitter truth. If she is anything like one of the girls who for some reason was summoned in the US rather than Germany, upon learning the truth she may have tried to harm herself."

Colombe nodded sadly, "Accurate as far as it goes, Father. However, there are some factors that exacerbate that problem." She sighed. "Tsukumogami, to use the Japanese term for us, gain the ability to form an avatar after reaching a certain age and the process is hastened by coming in contact with a person of significance, similar to a second-class relic, thinking of it. I have actually met the spirit of the Sword of St. Catherine in fact but we shall talk on that anon. In Claire's case, she was played by Claude Debussy in 1890, while in Ehren's case…."

Colombe took a deep breath and spoke in a flat voice full of tears. "She was presented to the top graduate of SS-Junkerschule in 1937. By Adolf Hitler. Personally. Helmar… her first Master was a loyal and honorable man, a member of a Prussian Landjunker family, and a brave soldier. I met him in 1941 while I was working for the Resistance and entrapped and betrayed him rather than work harder to sway him from the bright shining path to Hell that he was following with his stubborn loyalty and honor."

Another deep breath. "Ehren is at least somewhat aware of the good times that he and I shared before my betrayal of Helmar. Afterward he was turned into a vampire." She rubbed her abdomen. "We fought again in 1942 and I can tell you without betraying my magical oath that during that fight, Helmar used Ehren's true body on me and nearly killed me, I was unconscious with her stuck in my gut when I was magically transported out of the deathtrap we were in. That is how she came into my possession."

Colombe sighed. "Worse, the day that Ehren manifested her avatar in 2013, I first saw her in SS uniform next to Claire, did not realize who she was, and attacked her with a Sikh kirpan dagger to save Claire. Wrongfully, since Ehren would never harm her Big Piano Sister and fought to allow Claire to escape the madwoman that she thought that I was. Then when she found out about the Final Solution…."

Colombe bowed her head and wept, "I caught her trying to deface the heraldry on her hilt with a power grinder. If I had not stopped her, I would have lost her and even with magical healing and Kasuyu's skill it was as close then as it was when Helmar nearly gutted me in 1942. All that has made her extremely wary to trust and never trust uncritically, yet deep inside her she needs to cleave to a cause greater than herself. So while I hope you can save her soul, it will be a very rocky road."

Fr Jacques nodded seriously. "She will save her own soul, as I can already tell that she is a good person who simply needs to learn to trust herself once more." He smiled slightly. "And trust God, but God is patient in that regard." He took a deep breath, bowing his head and praying silently. "Thank you for that insight and history, it will be very helpful. And…" his eyes sharpened just a bit and he reached out, gently catching the rapiers chin and lifting it. "Tell me, my child, did you act out of malice towards Helmar?"

Colombe gave a sad smile. "A little, perhaps. I was afraid that I was falling for him, especially since I was already in a long-standing serious relationship with Lyra Potter until she died of old age in 1949. Most importantly, my oath of sworn service to Hachiman prevented forsaking the Allies to join him. Afterward, not until he kidnapped Ehren several weeks ago. When I realized that he was alive and had kidnapped her, I journeyed to Africa to save Ehren, yes, but also to end him once and for all." Colombe paused, visibly realized something, and spoke. "Ehren had to deceive him to… do what she did to assist in her rescue, but I do not know the details. My relationship with her is… strained thanks to my missteps as her mother. Claire, or perhaps Draco or Niobe -- Ehren's closest friends -- would be the only others that might know what happened during the week that she was under her Vati's eye."

The old priest just shook his head. "That isn't what I asked, my child. Malice isn't being somebody's enemy and acting because of that. It isn't opposing somebody when they need to be opposed. Malice is when you do evil simply because you can, in depraved defiance of doing good." He looked into Colombe's eyes. "So again, tell me, did you act in malice towards Helmar, or were you both caught in the chains of duty in this fallen world."

Colombe visibly thought as her spine straightened, then spoke in a sad and ashamed voice. "Gagging Helmar the way that I did when I took his identity before accomplishing the mission, yes. I should not have done that to end our relationship with such a cruel and humiliating betrayal and it was unnecessary. I should have knocked him out first to make him think that I had been abducted by the Resistance. Otherwise, as much as I hate myself for the actions that I took then, my duty and honor demanded them and I had no other choice that I could see. So I acted in malice then."

He pursed his lips slightly. "So like all mortals you, to use the vernacular, screwed up." he smiled then, his eyes twinkling just a bit. "So… as penance, perhaps, for a mortal sin... think upon the infinite Mercy of our Lord and Savior while teaching the children how to say the rosary properly." Her eyes widened as she realized that she could do something for her children that when in her youth only men could perform.

Then his smile became just a trifle… smug… "I even…" his hand darted into the valise and drew out four jewelry boxes. "Brought along some from the United States, already blessed even." then he handed them over.

She took the rosaries and gestured, causing them to pop and vanish. "I sent them up to my room so I can begin my lessons for the children after we finish getting you moved in and the chapel handled. Is there anything else you needed to speak to me about in private or shall I notify Toku to bring the girls back in?"

"Not for myself, my child." he replied with a smile.

Colombe visibly thought, then flicked her fingers at the ofuda which caused the ink on it to fade and vanish. "Nor can I. I shall be speaking more in private later, of course. My door is always open if you need to speak to me. And... Father, thank you."

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

Well, time for me to be helping and not halping.

Here is the next part of Nagato chan's saga:

Settling In

With Uehara removed from the equation, the five Japanese Setgirls were now placed under Lieutenant Kirby's command. It did not surprise Goto that the man had a light touch in the role. Kirby understood that, though willing to do their all, these girls were not bred to battle and quite frankly, their own wellbeing, which had been badly neglected, came first. Both Nagato and Yamato insisted that their namesakes would live with them. However, Upon speaking with Carrier Division One, Kirby realized that their household dynamic was different and perhaps not suited for Amagi and Akagi. Not that Akagi and Kaga were anything other than wonderful individuals but having two or three setgirls dropped into one's house could be disruptive and not the best for all concerned. However, Hosho stepped forward to claim the three carrier-sets. Apparently, the mother of Japan's carriers wasn't done being a mother. She could also teach them and Hornet and 'Hermes' (Actually the SS Mamari) how to be more convincing carriers.

Of course, the battleship sets could also benefit from such training but Admiral Goto didn't have a battleship to spare to teach them. Fortunately, Lieutenant Chalmers had HMS Centurion. Centurion had experience on being both a decoy AND a functioning battleship, so was the best teacher available for a full class of would-be battlewagons. The class would soon be joined by Nevada and 'Pennsylvania' Pennsylvania actually was more Arizona than Penn but with one Arizona already here, the other gracefully accepted her secondary identity.

In the meantime, while the higher-ups contemplated what possible uses they might have for an ersatz battlefleet, Chalmers and Kirby decided that a stand-down was in order to allow the girls to concentrate on acclimating to the new environment.

Unfortunately, this had the side-effect of reminding Enterprise that she was not even potentially useful as a decoy. She neither physically, nor temperamentally resembled her battle-hardened namesake. However, she agreed to help work at the cafe in her available time. It wasn't glamorous but it was service. And making a difference was the one thing she was about.

As for Nagato-chan, she was a bit overwhelmed. THE Nagato... Calling her 'daughter'! And meeting her family... She only hoped they would like her. She would show them that she was willing to work hard! She would be a credit to her family! She had to be!

Her mother knew the signs well. She had been there once before with Harry. Like Harry, Nagato-chan was an innocent, diligent, and devoted soul taken advantage of by a so-called guardian entrusted with her care. In time, she hoped they could instill Nagato-chan with the self-worth she deserved. In the meantime, Nagato intended that Uehara, Gendo, and anyone who had a hand in this shame would be expunged from the JSDF with prejudice.

For Nagato-chan, entering her mother's home was more intimidating than a massive fleet of Abyssals bearing down. That time, it was so obviously clear what she had to do. Her orders had been to abandon the children and seek shelter. Sure, she could have lied and told them she and Amagi were going to go face the Abyssals but not only would that have been a lie, it still would have left the children who placed their faith and trust in her alone with the dread of monsters looming. It would have felt like abandoning her duty and worse, betraying the innocent trust given her. She couldn't do that.

But now, just as part of her looked to her mother's home with excitement, another part of her was scared. They were her mother's family, so they HAD to be nice, right? It felt silly, made in the image of the Mighty Nagato and she was scared, intimidated. She wanted to hide behind her mother rather than face the introductions to the rest of her new family... Of Nagato's family.

It shouldn't be so scary but she could feel her heart and the boilers she didn't actually have, pounding in her chest.

Her mother put a gentle, calming hand on her shoulder.

"Nagato-chan? This is Harry."

Nagato-chan smiled shyly at the messy-haired boy. "Hello, Harry."

"Hello," Harry replied. Nagato-chan despite her size, definitely felt like a little sister to Harry. When their mom had explained how Uehara had treated her, Harry had been livid. One Vernon Dursley in the world was enough! The thought that people in the Defense Forces could behave that way to their little sister had not set well with either Harry or Hoppou. Harry knew that his mom was prepared to go... What was New Jersey's expression? 'Balls to the wall' to see Uehara and his supporters broken.

He was pretty sure mom only intended that in a career sense and not a bodily sense but it was tempting to envision a world where his mom could do what part of her so badly wanted to do. What only the presence of Warspite and Yamamoto himself had kept her from doing to Uncle Vernon the day she had found Harry, locked in his cupboard. Well, His mom could only do so much, legally speaking, against the Dursleys.

This was different. Uehara had made a lifelong enemy of someone who had both the standing and authority in his own uniformed service to come down on him like a mountain. Admiral Goto suspected that Uehara and Gendo were junior, card-carrying members of the 'I HATE SHIPGIRLS' club that was still part of the JMSDF.

They had been losing ground steadily for years and spectacularly when those who had tried to set up Captain Tanaka had been exposed but there were obviously still some out there. Goto had seen Uehara's service file and though he was regarded as loyal and punctual, one of his instructors had remarked that 'Uehara is functionally intelligent but has the imagination of a dead fish'. He was a man who was never going to see command, even in a world without shipgirls but their existence gave him a scapegoat, Nagato-chan and the others had merely given him a handy target. And Someone had let him.

Well, they were the ones in the crosshairs now.

"And this is Hoppou!"

Hoppou looked curiously at Nagato-chan. She knew that this girl who looked like mommy was not so powerful but still, Hoppou could sense the battleship in her heart. In some ways, she reminded Hoppou of Regalia.

"You need a hug!" Hoppou gently embraced the much taller but more fragile girl around her waist.

Nagato smiled as Hoppou hugged her new sister. Shiromizu and the other members of the household would be around for introductions later. Except for one smol presence who looked up at Nagato-chan with an appraising look.

"Gato! Gato gato gato! Gato!" Minagato asserted.

"Um? Thank you." Nagato-chan replied, somewhat intimidated by the sheer force of personality of the smol.

"Gato!" The smol gave a thumbs up.

"Well!" Nagato exclaimed. "It seems we need to do a little shopping. Two changes of clothes is an overnight bag, not a wardrobe, honey."

"Um... I don't want to be a bother..."

"Young lady, you will never be a bother. You are family and you're home. Besides! I figured we'd go to the beach tomorrow. You'll need a swimsuit."

"... Um... Momma?" Nagato-chan looked visibly distressed.

"What is it, honey?"

"I'm afraid to go into the water. I don't know how to swim..."

 

[darthcourt10]

KiMaSa

And what we need... More Fluff!

A Valiant Few

In war, few are the commanders who believe they have plenty enough troops on hand. Fewer still are those who aren't looking for at least just a little more. The same can be said for the officers in charge of the Kanmusu Actress Corps. With the unlamented Lieutenant Uehara removed from the picture, Lieutenant Kirby, USN, and Lieutenant Chalmers, RN, were joined at Yokosuka by Kapitanleutnant Langsdorff. His girls, led by Atlantis, had been armed commerce raiders in their past lives. In this one, that made them uniquely qualified to defend convoys.

The sudden appearance of Atlantis or one of her sisters in a convoy had come as a nasty surprise for more than one Abyssal raider. So just as Chalmers' Decoys trained to look and act as dangerous Capital Ships, Langsdorff's girls trained to look and act as innocent and helpless as possible. These joined HMS Centurion, Leftenant Chalmers' new Secretary Ship, and another girl who would make Chalmers' life more interesting from this point forward.

After meeting success in finding girls like Tirpitz (A) at Pinewood. Other attempts to find and summon back setgirls met with mixed results. Like Above Us The Waves, Submarine X-1 was a British production about X-craft attacking a German Battleship. Efforts involving undisclosed persons in the magical community, assisted by actual returned X-craft had netted the return of three more faux X-boats. But even with the help of Deutschland and Admiral Scheer, attempts to summon the film's primary antagonist, a panzerschiffe named 'Lindendorf', had completely failed as there was simply not enough 'ship' in the sets for the pocket battleship.

The same thing happened when attention was turned to a number of films covering the infamous 'Raid on Alexandria' of November 1941. The Silent Enemy, Hell Raiders of the Deep, and The Valiant all covered the events but only with The Valiant, was any success obtained. The maiali craft were simply too small to manifest but enough of their mother sub, Scire and the battleship Valiant had been created to manifest. Considering the result, the actual battleship Queen Elizabeth, who was accompanying her sister HMS Valiant, was probably relieved that a version of her did NOT manifest as her sister now had an exact double who swore that she was an English Battleship but behaved very, very Italian in her tastes and mannerisms. Fortunately for HMS Valiant's sanity, her double was quickly packed off to Japan. Unfortunately, upon her arrival, Valiant (A) found her new 'Ammiraglio Chalmers' to be one English thing that was EXACTLY her taste.

"Even Centurion can't calm her down! She insists on preparing ALL my meals... Italian style, naturally. Luckily, she disappears every day at the same time for an hour. If it weren't for that, I doubt I'd be able to get a chance to taste English food at all!"

"Every day, hmm?" Goto asked. His amusement being tempered with a faint warning bell going off in his head.

"Yes, sir. Three O'clock on the dot.

There was something about that time, Goto thought. The warning bells were getting louder. Then he realized that someone else had also been missing at the same time of late.

"AMMIRAGIO!!!" A tall, busty blonde leaped onto Chalmers. Kongou stood there grinning.

"Welcome to my world, Leftenant," Goto sighed.

 

[darthcourt10]

Yellowhammer

A.N. -- This ones from Sunhawk! Many thanks to Yellowhammer for helping me bring Fr Jacques to life. It's been humbling and pleasing to see the reaction so far to my first foray into writing a priest.

The Bells of Ath VI

Castle Moulbaix

22 August 2014

Finally the last cabinet in the sacristy was opened and the contents surveyed. Ehren made copies of the list of needed supplies and actions in her precise and neat hand in triplicate.

Meanwhile Colombe led the procession back to the grand hall. They paused to admire the sweeping grand marble staircase flanked by polished stone banisters spiraling down from the balconies on the second floor and surmounted by the portrait of Jean Francois du Chasteler.

She spoke as they walked. "The first floor has your rooms next to the chapel along that hall with the bottom floor of the castle library at the end of the hall, the library takes up the northwest tower and has a staircase to the second and third floors." She winked. "Should the damp weather and old age take a toll on old bones, when I was severely injured in 1871 and had to use a cane or wheelchair, I installed a magically enchanted chair on the stairs that transports you up or down. I shall show you it anon to take the strain off you since the castle is extensive and much of the activity is a floor above your rooms. I had to use my wheelchair again after Toku's older sister Fudo visited to have words with me about her sister's relationship with me." The rapier grinned smugly as her daughters and lover rolled their eyes at her. "I still beat her easily and decisively in our duel."

Toku sighed and pinched her nose as she muttered in a tone full of fond love. "Fudo-chan no baka." She then continued. "Fudo-nee is hotheaded and overprotective but we love each other dearly. I am the youngest of my family -- the youngest Masamune that has manifested and she is my big sister and the closest of the Masamunes to me. She got the wrong idea about Co-chan's relationship with me after our first meeting in 1864 and somehow decided that Co-chan was a threat to my virtue; not helped by the clashes that Co-chan's father's family had with mine. When we rescued the Fujii family we had to magically leave Japan in a hurry with them, and Fudo-nee misread it as Co-chan beating me up and kidnapping me."

With immense dignity Fr Jacques simply allowed the comment about old age, bad knees, and sore backs to slide off of him like water off the back of a duck. "I will have you know that I am perfectly capable of handling stairs, my dear." he said simply, with immense gravitas. "And unlike what I am sure a certain young priest may have implied, I am also allowed to use my own knife and fork." His eyes started twinkling then.

"Jawohl, Father!" Ehren snapped out in a military bark with a twinkle deep in her eyes. "A set of silverware shall be promptly requisitioned from castle supplies for use in our priest's duties! I shall prepare the paperwork forthwith so Alles in Ordnung!"

"If only my nephew were so wise and understanding." the old priest replied. "Thank you, my child. Do ensure that the forms are filed in triplicate, yes?"

"Aber Natürlich!"(But of course) Ehren snapped to rigid attention with a heel snap as her sister giggled musically and shook her head with a happy smile. "Auf Ihren Befehl(On your command), Priester!"

He simply chuckled, reaching out to bless Ehren and Claire with amusement in his eyes.

Colombe laughed and Toku smiled, then guided the procession down the first floor corridor. "About half the castle is effectively closed down, Father." Colombe explained. "After I returned from the Great War I lived alone until Kasuyu manifested and then my daughters appeared beginning in 1990." She ruffled Claire's hair before resuming. "For various reasons I was keeping a low profile so no large numbers of servants like the Castle is designed to house and of course the family had dwindled to just myself. I expect that to change in the future since many of the reasons not to live here openly are about to end."

She opened a set of wood double doors and walked into a trophy room with elephant tusks, lion heads, a French and an Austrian battle flag from the Napoleonic Wars, and displays of African, Indian, and Chinese weapons. "The family mainly is using the east wing, with us sleeping and having sitting rooms above us on the second floor, but my trophy room here, the dining room through it, and the kitchen at the end have extensive use. As does the ballroom on the north side of the first floor. It is one of our primary social spaces, Claire in particular likes to play there and in her music room, which is what we call her sitting room."

Claire smiled and spoke in a voice filled with joy and wonder. "The garden, pond, and trees through the windows are so beautiful, and that was where Debussy played me." Her shy smile became positively angelic. "That's where you and the rest spar, Mother, and I can watch you and play music for you to make you happier."

Ehren gave her sister a nod. "The light through the windows is just right for me to read stories to the children too." She gave a minute lip twitch. "Misaki enjoys playing in the rafters overhead as well." She ran her hand over the hardwood map table with a visible smugly satisfied smirk on her lips.

Fr Jacques simply nodded along to the commentary like a proper guest. "It is a good thing to see that the manor is still loved and lived in despite the difficulties. Too many others have been abandoned or turned from their original purpose." he smiled faintly. "And that banister on the grand staircase would have been an irresistible temptation to sin when I was a tad bit younger." his eyes at this point were twinkling so furiously that one could be forgiven if they mistook him for a clean-shaven and much younger Dumbledore.
Spoiler: A Matter Of Castle Rules

Colombe got a very suspicious cough and blush at the mention of the banister. Claire grinned impishly like an ebon-haired pixie. Ehren spoke somberly in the tone of a judge passing sentence. "Ja. There have been strict rules about no unassisted human flight using that banister as a Skisprung(ski jump) for centuries."

A glee filled cry of childish delight punctuated her words, followed by a thump. "Or unassisted Tanuki flight."

A second cry of joy was followed by a thump. "Or unassisted Jorogumo flight."

Throughout it all, Ehren's face and voice were totally deadpan.

"Do these rules forbid, say, unassisted dagger flight, or perhaps unassisted piano flight?" the old priest asked with a sly little smug smirk.

"I have no available data on the optimum flight characteristics of a grand piano on a Skisprung. To date the research team has been shockingly amiss in supplying requested data. Despite continual pleas, someone is hoarding data sets from joint Germano-Austrian experimental runs." Ehren replied phlegmatically and solemnly as Claire covered her mouth to stifle the giggles.

"Shocking, simply shocking." Fr Jacques bestowed a mock serious look upon Claire. "I believe that some of the communications ratings back in the day would be horrified at the lack of communication taking place concerning such vital information."

"Ach so, but what can you expect from an Austrian too much in love with the good life and not Proper Prussian Efficiency?" Ehren replied, still with that deadly solemn voice and controlled face.

Suddenly, Ehren's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably as a piano in the distance began to play The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze.

Toku's already suspiciously serene face became utterly sphinx-like.

Colombe opened the door to the dining room and spoke in a dry tone. "I think we should see about lunch before certain junior individuals in residence are tempted to commit mortal and venial sins involving a banister that the Marchioness of Chasteler and Moulbaix certainly has never slid down." A beat. "There's no proof anyway." Another beat. "Or witnesses." A third beat. "Or co-conspirators."

Fr Jacques smirked, positively smirked. "So since Tuesday?" he replied in an urbane voice, then swept past Colombe into the dining room with all the grace and dignity of a mighty sailing ship under full sail.

Toku's Masamune Resting Bitchface became that of a graven image.

They walked into the dining room, which was dominated by a large hardwood table with places already set in front of hardwood chairs, with two places not having a chair. Fine blue and white antique china and polished silver cutlery stood in serried ranks on the table, aligned with cloth napkins.

Colombe explained to Father Jacques, "Miho and Misaki prefer to stand in their natural woman-spider form for meals."

She cocked her head. "The castle has an extensive wine and brandy cellar and we of course have juice, water, milk, and can get sodas and the like from the grocers of Ath. As well we have tea and coffee."

Ehren coughed and the others looked at her. "Ja, I have a suitable precise espresso machine for my preferred Kaffee blends."

One eyebrow quirked up. "Would it be a stretch too far to assume that your setup is capable of brewing proper Navy coffee?" there was a definite tinge of hope in the old priests voice at that.

Colombe nodded, "We shall have to make some minor arrangements such as a dedicated pot, but yes. My younger sister Jacklyn is the expert in the family at brewing that black crime against nature. Ehren is the family expert for coffee and Toku for tea."

Fr Jacques merely sniffed at the description of Navy coffee. "I would have you know, my dear girl, that Navy coffee has served the cause of Freedom and Liberty for generations and shall always stand ready to defend us all against…" his eyes twinkled again as the children stormed into the dining room in a thundering horde. "The hordes of perdition."

Miho followed them in, now shifted into the form of a beautiful and leggy Japanese woman in a knee-length modest maid's dress. "Misaki-chan! Chi-chan! Wash up first! Then you can get a plate in the kitchens and pick what you want for lunch!"

The two Imps nodded and headed to the kitchen under her gaze.

Inside it Nongqawuse, dressed in a light shirt and khaki shorts supervised the last touches of the luncheon. "The candied apples are ready." She declared laconically before moving around the monstrous stainless steel bulk of a professional espresso machine marked as 'Ehren's Kaffeemaschine des Lebens'(Coffee Machine of Life) on a magnetic sign with a neatly lettered retort written beneath it: "Keine Klaviere erlaubt!"(No pianos allowed!)

Kasuyu, now shirtless and in a Scottish kilt pulled out a side of roast beef while the household washed their hands in the clearly original sink. The kitchen was a mix of old and new with modern appliances and electricity, but also antique bronze and cast iron pans and kettles hanging from hooks over the medieval stone ovens and a set of hollow brass tubes poking from the ceiling to a head high position over the counter which had plates at one end and assortment of waiting dishes laid out in trays, pans, pots, and plates waiting to be loaded for the hungry.

The old priest murmured a prayer under his breath while he washed his hands fastidiously, then dried them as well before getting in line for a plate with the others, taking no precedence at all. He may be a guest, but he was a priest. Once he had filled his plate he took the indicated seat between Claire and Miho and across from Chihiro and Misaki and folded his hands in front of him. Once the others had seated themselves he spoke before anybody could dig in. "Shall we give thanks for the bounty before us?"

"Certainly." Colombe said. "Since we have a variety of faiths brought together here, we do rotate the duty at meals. I suppose you can take Claire's turn in the rotation for today." She winked as Claire smiled and bowed her head for the blessing.

"Of course." he bowed his head then crossed himself "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." he paused for a moment, then continued reverently. "Father of us all, this meal is a sign of Your love for us; Bless us and bless our food, and help us to give you glory each day through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

A chorus of amens answered him and then the table began to dig in with gusto.

Claire hummed a Bavarian drinking song musically next to him in a happy voice while across from her Ehren methodically demolished one serving at a time between sips of espresso. Meanwhile he noticed that both Jorogumo, now in their spider-woman forms, had selected extensively from the meat dishes available (a smoked venison sausage was especially popular) while Chihiro had a more balanced mixture of meat and fruits, including a very large helping of cinnamon apple slices that had been prepared from some of the morning's harvest from the orchard. Curiously, both of the Jorugumo had a bowl filled with what appeared to be chocolate-covered beans, with Misaki's being noticeably smaller.
Spoiler: A Chat With The Spiders

Fr Jacques ate with appropriate decorum, glancing around the table, then looked over at the two Jorugumo. Patting his lips with his napkin, he waited for a suitable break and then looked over at the younger of the pair. "So, Misaki is it? I understand that you enjoy climbing things, yes?" he asked with a bit of a twinkle in his eyes.

The young spider giggled and nodded happily as she spoke in a delighted voice. "This castle is the absolute best! It has rafters and hiding places and walls and stairs and vents and banisters! And we can hunt in the attic!"

Chihiro nodded eagerly in agreement. "And books!"

Across from her her older sister gave a fond smile and responded. "Indeed she does. Us Jorogumo enjoy climbing and spinning our webs, like the spiders that we are descended from."

The old priest smiled at that. "Sounds like you are able to have a great deal of fun." he then leaned down a little and grinned. "Did you know that in America there are stories of somebody who got bitten by a special spider and got the abilities of a spider?"

"Ooooo!" Misaki said, her eyes wide and intent on him. "That's amazing!"

He nodded. "Indeed, he's called…" he dropped his voice dramatically "The Amazing Spider-Man. He has the strength, speed and reflexes of a spider, scaled up to human size so he is super-strong. He slings webs in order to swing around the city and fights crime and evil supervillains."

Ehren spoke dryly. "And with great power comes great responsibility, ja? Or as Mutti says, Noblesse oblige." She sipped her coffee calmly as she gave the priest a cool stare that communicated without words that she had sunk the knife in his back to the hilt before he noticed her strike.

Fr Jacques simply lifted his own coffee cup in salute to the dagger. "Indeed, the concept is universal. After all, Our Lord teaches that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, and that one who seeks to have power, first must learn to serve the least in creation."

Ehren raised an eyebrow and responded in that dry tone. "Quite. So, should I start calling you Onkel Ben? Claire piano-napped me to watch all three movies in a marathon shortly after I manifested. She enjoys the music of Danny Elfman. Among many others. Such as John Williams." A beat. "Are you aware that it is physically possible to watch all six Star Wars movies nonstop at a sitting when she gives you that pleading look?"

Claire finished humming Das Hofbrauhaus and then swapped tracks to Norman Gets the Boot from the first Spider-Man movie.

"A fine musician and a wonderful composer, both of them. And indeed, there was one time when we were cruising in circles off of Pearl when the chief's mess decided to put on a Star Wars marathon like that. Jar-Jar is most certainly the true dark lord of the Sith." The old priest replied, smiling over at Claire for her fine taste in musical accompaniment.

He then glanced over to Chihiro and grinned. "While not quite as… on point. The same comic book publisher that does the Spider-man stories also has a series which features a talking raccoon-like alien named Rocket Raccoon."

"Ooooo!" Chihiro squealed around bites of candied apple slices. "Do you have any manga volumes, Father Jacques?"

"I can do better than that. I just so happen to have a certain DVD in my valise that my grandnephew gave me, which has a movie which features Rocket in it." he replied with a faint smirk.

"Can we watch it?" the Imps asked in chorus from eager faces.

Miho smiled at him and spoke with a note of approval. "I see that we have a webweaver here. Clever, Father."

Claire then chimed in curiously, "Who did the music, Father?"

Ehren just raised an eyebrow and commented to no-one in particular. "Once my chores are done, I suppose I shall provide moral support for Claire."

"Tyler Bates wrote the score, but most of the music is made up of classic rock and roll songs." he replied to Claire, even as he winked slightly to Miho.

Claire smiled happily and began to eat her sausage. Ehren meanwhile continued her methodical demolition of her meal.

Miho turned to Father Jacques and spoke to him in a husky voice that made him think of the saying about spiders and parlors. "I see that you have questions about us, what we are?"

"Indeed I do, but I would not wish to pry where it may be unwelcome." he smiled. "After all, it may be seen as quite rude to ask certain questions out of ignorance and it would not do to darken such a fine meal with such."

Miho's smile widened. "Perhaps after the meal and the movie then? I would prefer that my presence and those of my children were not public knowledge. While us Jorogumo are no longer what we were in folklore during the past, our reputation is not the best." She winked and breathed in and out in an oddly enthralling rhythm. "Do me a favor and pick up your spoon?"

The old priest quirked an eyebrow and did just that. As he did, the spoon flowed like quicksilver through his hands in an orange liquid to reform just to the side of where he had picked it up. He could feel the cool fluid cross his fingers and vanish. She winked at him.

"How marvelous!" he said with a broad smile. "A truly magical gift. You either transfigured the spoon in some way or, perhaps…" he tilted his head a little "A cunning illusion, wrought by a mistress weaver of webs?"

"The latter actually. We are mistresses of the webs of illusions and deception, among other things. Although many of our powers are inborn, or at least require multiple limbs to weave our strands of truth and fiction, others are able to be taught to those friends who we favor if they have the gift like we do." She nodded to Ehren, who was drinking her coffee out of a cup made of a starry night sky with a cool stare on her face and an eyebrow raised. He hadn't even noticed the change in her beverage

"A great gift and a fascinating talent." he said with a smile. "Granted, one that would spark many hours of wonderful debate and hair splitting over the ethics of it all. Perhaps when we have a few free hours we could discuss that, as I'm certain that you have thought of such things far more than I."

"Most certainly when our duties permit such a conversation, Father." Miho said while Ehren nodded along with the spider's words. "I recommend that we invite Tokunotakai-sama along, for she has a keen mind and has thought deeply on the subject."

Ehren nodded sharply as her cup shimmered and returned to normal. "Ja, she does." Ehren spoke phlegmatically as she placed her cup down and then cut another slice of her sausage.

"Please, let me know when it will be convenient, I am looking forward to a good philosophical discussion. Surprisingly, for some strange reason deep philosophical and theological debates were not a common feature of my time as a chaplain, aside from arguing with Connie over whether or not her being personally blessed and sanctified by the Pope made her Catholic." his eyes twinkled with amusement.

Ehren raised an eyebrow. "We can discuss at breakfast tomorrow what would be a good time then? I fear that I have a prior claim on my free time related to a movie involving heroic raccoons and young friends wishing to experience them." A pause. "And a sister looking for more tunes to transcribe for our rock band to cover. I have hopes that one of the artists who are featured is Sabaton."

"I regret to inform you that the newest music in the movie dates from the 1970s, so before Sabaton were born," he solemnly replied.

"Ach, so." Ehren responded agreeably. "Such is life. I am sure that Claire shall be finding something of merit from the soundtrack then. I defer to her expertise in such matters." She stood for a refill on her espresso. "Does anyone need more drinks or additional food from the kitchen?"
-----------------------

When the meal had concluded, the old priest waited a beat, then bowed his head in prayer once more before picking up his plate and carrying it to the kitchen to be washed. His eyebrow raised as he noticed Colombe began to wash the plates at the sink with clear experience, drying them with a summoned floating ball of fire. "So…" his voice was just loud enough for everybody to hear. "Ms Toku, could you be so kind as to show me the room I shall be privileged to stay in while our dear hostess and expert dishwasher gives the young ones the gifts I brought for them?"

The children's eyes lit up and Claire looked interested. To his lack of surprise, Ehren revealed nothing in her non-reaction.

"Oui, Father. I shall do so. Ahh, remind me later to show you the use of the third key on the keyring, the one etched with the Keys of St. Peter." Colombe said with a wry smile as she racked Ehren's plate in the cabinet.

Toku bowed to him gracefully. "Mochiron, shisai(Priest, of course). If you will follow me?"