[x] Where d'you think she might've gotten this one from?
[x] Is there any way to track them, if she might be carrying more?
You scowl at Fate for a moment, then realize she isn't looking at you ... or even focused on the Jewel Seed she is looking at. She isn't looking at much of anything, really, and you lean in close. She blinks and finally seems to notice how close you are.
"Ah, sorry ... I was just remembering when I first encountered these." She shakes her head and stands up. "Do you mind if I take the barrier down, now?" You think for a moment before shrugging dully - there isn't anything else that really needs to be kept so secret, after all. She looks curiously at you for a moment, then makes a small movement with her axe-staff. The large yellow gem shines and the barriers fade out. You pick up the dagger and look at it.
"So, where would she have gotten this?" Fate looks a bit apprehensive at your handling of the dagger, and you spin it on your palm. She goes a bit white.
"Flan, please don't ...." You look directly at her, as if you only just heard her, and tilt your hand so the dagger starts to drop to the floor. Before she can move forward to grab the dagger, though, you catch the tip of the blade and smile at her. She looks shocked for a moment, then glares at you. "Flandre, don't play around with that! If the Jewel Seed was damaged when it was attached, it could be very unstable." You sigh.
"Fine, fine. So, where do you think she got it from?" You set the dagger down on the desk as Fate grimaces.
"Well ... twelve were being stored by the Bureau, to keep people safe from the disruptions they can cause, but ...." She looks away. "They were stolen, a long time ago. Probably by Dr. Scaglietti, or someone working with him - which would support the 'insider' idea. He's been using them to power some of his Gadget Drones, and we've recovered some of them. Whether that's one that was recovered, or was still missing, I don't know. It could even be from a different set ...." She shakes her head and mutters to herself. "Ah, why have I been so out of it? A moment, please." She picks up the dagger and holds it in the air, using a golden band to keep it aloft, then holds out her staff. "Bardiche!" A small beam of golden light shoots out and surrounds the Jewel Seed, then contracts around it. Fate takes the dagger back and puts it on the desk. "There. It should be safer to handle, now."
"Hmm ... so, you've dealt with these before?" She nods, and you smile. "Then you know how to find them! If she has more, you can track her, right?"
"Maybe. It would require searching the entire city if they're in an inactive state like that one, and if they're under any kind of barrier, I wouldn't be able to find it unless I broke through the barrier first. So even if there are more, it would take a long time to look, and wouldn't be a good way to search. If they're active, of course, they would be a lot easier to find - I wouldn't even have to search for them if they were close enough."
You glare at the dagger, and you can feel Headless's irritation as well. Now you don't have any leads! You might as well just sit in a basement until someone makes a fuss about something .... You huff. That's what you did, sometimes, after all. Remilia would convince you that some plan had to unfold, or certain conditions had to be met, and you'd get bored and go wait until someone came and got you. "Of course, there was usually a pretty good payoff ...." You nod. Especially when Remilia came to get you herself, that usually meant there was something really worth fighting. But there's barely been anything to do here ....
"Flan? Was there something else you wanted?" Fate shakes your hand gently, and you blink. "You were starting to look a bit odd, too ...." You frown, then shrug.
"I don't think there was anything else."
"Well then, would you like a ride back to your unit?" You shake your head.
"Nope! I have to go to the hospital, actually," you begin, grinning at the look on Fate's face. "Tarbin was admitted yesterday, you see, and they wouldn't let her out to see me today, so I'm going to go see her and make sure she's being treated properly."
"Well, would you like a ride to the hospital, then? Nanoha's going out in a few minutes and offered to take you." You think for a moment, then accept.
You didn't talk much on the way to the hospital - you weren't really in the mood, since none of your ideas had worked, and Nanoha seemed to have something on her mind, too. She doesn't just drop you off at the hospital, though - she follows you in! But then she goes to a different section, so you guess she had an appointment for something. You rush up to the reception desk.
"Hi! I'm here to see Tarbin!" The woman looks oddly at you for a moment, then looks at something you can't see.
"Ah, do you mean Lieutenant Tarbin from the -"
"Yup! Astra was here to see her earlier, too." You grin at her, making her shiver unconsciously, and she looks at something else.
"Oh, yes, Sergeant Astra. He said something about a Miss ... Flandre Scarlet?" She looks up and you nod. "Alright, if you will just sign this -" She hands you a sheet of paper. Most of the lines have already been marked somehow, but one line at the bottom is circled, and you sign your name - in Japanese. The receptionist stares at the paper for a moment before shaking her head and handing you a small card. "This will get you through the doors; just swipe it at the elevator and it'll take you to the floor your friend is on."
"Thank you!" You know how it works and dash to the doors. In a few minutes you reach Tarbin's room and peek in. She's resting, but awake; you don't see Astra, though. When she sees you she tries to improve her posture, and you giggle. "That's fine, Tarbin."
"If you say so, Mistress." A shiver runs along your spine. 'Mistress' - not 'the Young Mistress,' or 'the Little Sister,' just the word alone. It feels ... good. You hurry to the bed and hop in next to Tarbin. "I hope I haven't worried you, Mistress ...." You giggle again.
"No, it's okay." There's a pad of paper on the table, and you glance at it. Tarbin sees you and smiles.
"Oh, I ... I failed you, before, so I wanted to make it up to you, Mistress." She reaches for the pad and a pen, and opens it up. "I'm not much of a teacher, but ...."
Tarbin spent the afternoon teaching you one of the written languages used on Mid-Childa. It's the most common one, and the simplest ... but you're still making lots of mistakes by the time night falls and visiting hours end. Astra came back for a bit with food and a tea set, and you did have a tea break with both of them. But then Astra went back to the unit. The hospital staff tried to make you go with him. You slightly ruined the hallway, and they let you stay the night after they called Balfour. The hospital is quiet now ... and then you notice the bugs. They fly up to you and form an arrow pointing up. You blink and look at the ceiling, then back at the bugs.
"You want me to go to the roof?" You point up as well, and after a moment the bugs tilt forward. You suppose that's a 'yes.' "Okay, I'll be up in a minute!" Then you squash the bugs. You try to leave a brief note for Tarbin, telling her you'll be back ... then you write a longer one in Japanese, with a small sketch of Nanoha next to it, saying that you think you found a lead. Lutecia does know them, after all .... You take a drink from the flask Tarbin gave you and grin at the rush of energy.
Finally, you check the room one more time. Tarbin's asleep, there are no bugs ... you become invisible and open the window, then fly up to the roof. There's a barrier of some kind around it - you're still invisible on one side of it, and on the other, but where you actually touch it you can be seen. You slip through, wondering why it's necessary. Then you hear fighting and rush toward it.
In a clear space, Zest is fighting a woman with blonde hair. He looks like he's on the losing side, too - he has several injuries, his breathing is ragged, and his spear is clean. The woman has a long white cape that's been cut several times, but she doesn't have any injuries, and the claws strapped to her hand are bloody ... though she also has an unbloodied dagger with a blue stone on the pommel. She's grinning fiercely, and looks to be enjoying herself. By the door leading onto the roof, you see Lutecia, tears streaming down her face, and Agito, floating in front of her protectively. Your eyes widen as you look past them - held to two wheeled chairs by dark purple bands are Vita and Verossa! Both are unconscious.
You frown as the woman leaps at Zest. You were obviously called here because of her, and it seems that she's the one you're after ... but if she's doing so well against Zest, she should be capable of breaking free of the barrier. And Lutecia isn't happy about what's happening, but she isn't interfering ...?
What do you do?
[ ] Announce yourself, demand to know what's going on, and continue from there.
[ ] Rush the woman from invisibility.
[ ] You're pretty sure no one saw you; leave and get help.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: While simply Breaking the completely unknown woman is an option, right now Zest is close enough that the side effects of Breaking a human being would kill him as well.