Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Expectations ❯ Power ( Chapter 6 )

Unexpected Expectations

Chapter 6: Power

 

 

 

"...and I was in the area and heard the request for backup in taking down a suspect with magic, so I helped capture him," Teana was saying, but Nanoha was only half-listening. "Since I'm involved now, they said they'd appreciate it if I stuck around a bit longer to help wrap up the case, and they'll need my testimony at trial. Since I also know you, I volunteered to be the one to take your statement."

 

Nanoha nodded numbly, not really feeling any kind of attachment to her body at the moment. She wasn't even really aware of the low rumble coming from conversations outside the office in the large reception area of the police station. In her mind, she just kept seeing Dr. Lorna's smiling face, listening to her fears and worries without judgment offering her friendly, gentle wisdom. Somehow, it wasn't real to think of her as being... gone.

 

"I won't ask about anything you may have talked about the counselor, but can you tell me if you ever saw these two before?" Teana asked, sliding two photos across the desk. "Ever speak to them? Did they say anything to you?"

 

Nanoha looked over them, then shook her head, not recognizing either.

 

"Did Dr. Lorna ever mention any trouble she might be having with a patient, or anyone else?" Teana questioned gently.

 

"No, she didn't, I'm sorry," Nanoha replied softly.

 

Teana reached across a laid a hand on Nanoha's arm, giving her a sympathetic look. "I don't know how close you two were, but I'm sorry for your loss. I wish this could be easier, but I also need to let you know that you may be contacted again. If so, I'll try to make it as smooth and easy as possible. I-"

 

The door to the office opened, revealing a policewoman. "Sorry to bother you, Agent Lanster, but the chief needs to have a word with you and fill out some paperwork. He also wants to thank you again for your assistance on this."

 

Teana sighed and stood up. “I'm not a full agent yet, but no problem. Nanoha, we'll have to cut this a bit short, but if you remember anything else that might help in this matter, please let me know. You're free to leave for now.”

 

Nanoha nodded again as she followed Teana out, but pausing in the reception area as the policewoman led the agent trainee to another door on the far side, the thought repeating in her mind: [What am I supposed to do now?]

 

Before she could answer that question, a bit of a ruckus was raised as a couple of male policemen emerged from a side hallway, with a rugged-looked individual between them, his hands bound behind his back.

 

"...and my only regret is that I didn't get to her sooner!" he declared angrily and with arrogance. "Bitch was turning my woman against me. Bitches like that need to be smacked down before they ruin everything!"

 

"Uh huh," of the officers replied with absolutely no enthusiasm. "And you were just the one to do it, right?"

 

"Damn straight!" he told them, then noticed Nanoha looking in his direction and promptly surged away from the officers towards her. "What are you looking at, bitch?! You're just like the rest of them, keeping us down. I should smack you up and put you in your place!"

 

Nanoha took a step back, her arms and legs trembling, as the officers got control of himagain by slamming the suspect into a wall and cranking his arms up behind his back to subdue him. But Nanoha didn't see much of that, as the next thing she knew, she was outside and several blocks away, breathing heavily and still trembling.

 

She looked down at her shaking hands in fear. [What just happened to me? I shouldn't have reacted like that. I've never been afraid of people like that before!]

 

She tightly hugged her body, willing the shakes to stop, and to her surprise, they eventually did as a thought came to her. [Shamal. I need to see her again, and see if she can help me again.]

 

Confidence and courage rebuilding, Nanoha took off towards the medical facility where the doctor worked.

 

 

 

Yuuno was beginning to lose hope. He had been searching this jungle for almost a week, with no luck, and he'd have to venture back to the last village for supplies soon. Of course, the last village had confirmed that abductions had taken place around here, so he knew he was close, but finding the source was much like a needle in a haystack endeavor. While he had attempted to stay mostly to the ground and avoid flying to conserve magic in case it was needed, the jungle was so thick in places that it might as well have been a wall.

 

Although the last town had furnished him with another clue, as there was a legend about a village of beautiful women somewhere around here, but men who set off to find it, never returned. Of the few that did, most were babbling and incoherent, or shadows of their former selves, which made Yuuno really wonder what was going on out here.

 

Fortunately, he did have one advantage in the form of search spells; in fact, the wide area search spell he was using now, he had picked up from Nanoha. It was her initial use of it that first day, so long ago, that led him to develop his own search spells for the library, but he could use most of the full version now to cover greater distances. His current heading was largely based on that spell, as one of his emerald orbs had winked out of existence a bit earlier than normal. It could be nothing, or it could be indicative of something.

 

Flying now to save some time, his eyes scanned the thick foliage both below and ahead, but nothing seemed out of place, except for the arrow that nearly took him out of the sky.

 

[Arrow?] Yuuno wondered, putting up a round shield to deflect the swarm of arrows that burst from the jungle. He didn't sense anything magical about them, so his sense of danger lowered, which made him more curious than anything.

 

He dove through the forest top, catching glimpses of figures leaping from branch to branch, hiding behind trunks or disappearing into the thicker bushes on the ground. He prepared a bind spell as he flew through the tree limbs, hoping to catch one of his attackers for questioning when an opportunity presented itself.

 

Then a thick and extremely heavy net fell upon him, dragging him down to the forest floor. He could have teleported out of it, or put up a barrier to lift the weight off, but he ultimately decided on a different course of action. These seemed to be relatively simple natives, and getting captured could lead to a better discovery; he could always use his magic to escape later.

 

Yuuno made a show of struggling as he hit the ground, pausing slightly as women, barely clothed with animal fur, slowly surrounded him. Colorful, yet threatening wood masks to hid their facial features, and they each wielding a spear that was pointed at him. A faint sense of fear began to tingle at the edge of his senses, growing as they approached closer, and he wondered if somehow he might have miscalculated; something didn't seem quite right. A small part of him began to scream in terror, but he couldn't figure out why.

 

One of the women poked him through the net with her spear, and as he turned to her in anger, something struck the back of his head and his world went dark.

 

 

 

“I'm here to see Dr. Shamal,” Nanoha told the receptionist, having finally got her emotions under control.

 

“Do you have an appointment?” the woman sitting behind asked, looking up.

 

Nanoha shook her head. “No, but I really need to see her, Shamal will know why.”

 

“One moment,” the receptionist told her, tapping into her terminal. “I'm sorry, it looks like Shamal is out at the moment, and won't be back for a few days. She's redirecting any patients to Dr. Phe in the meantime, whose office is just down the hall, just past Shamal's.”

 

Nanoha thanked her, wondering where Shamal was; she had said awhile back that she was going to try and keep her schedule a bit more open so Nanoha could more easily get in to see her, so where was she? Nanoha sighed, and hoped this other doctor was just as good, or could at least recommend a new counselor to see. She also wanted to get a checkup on her baby, to make sure everything was still okay. She had been trying to eat a bit more, which helped with the lightheadedness, which also included some saltine crackers to abate the morning sickness somewhat.

 

She approached Shamal's office, noting the door just down the hall which must be this Dr. Phe's,t hen froze as the door opened, and an older male in a white doctor's coat stepped out, talking to another man.

 

[Calm down, Nanoha, he's just a doctor, and Shamal reccomended him, so he has to be okay,] she told herself as she took another step, but then her imagination fired up, seeing a scene of him examining her to check on her child.

 

She willed herself to move, but her body wouldn't respond, and he was beginning to turn around in her direction.

 

 

 

Yuuno awoke with a splitting headache, but figured that was the price he was going to have to pay when he decided to allow himself to get captured. He promptly found himself in a small cylindrical metal cage, that was hanging from a chain that stretched far up to the rock ceiling. There was just barely enough light to see anything, but he heard the roar of rushing water below.

 

“Good morning, friend, and welcome to hell,” a male voice greeted him, causing Yuuno to turn around, seeing a man with a scruffy, dark beard in another cage.

 

“Hell?” Yuuno questioned, trying to get a better view of his surroundings, but only noticing a small ledge farther down with a pair of torches providing light on either side of a cave entrance.

 

“If you're wondering why you're here, well, you were captured by a bunch of beautiful women who will keep you around in order to help conceive children,” he told his prison mate.

 

“That shouldn't really seem like hell to most men,” Yuuno noted.

 

The other man chuckled. “No, I suppose it wouldn't on the face of it, but it's not that simple. Ah, here they come, and you'll see for yourself.”

 

Yuuno looked down at the far ledge, making out a group of women emerging from the cave and into the cavern, a pair of them supporting a limp form between them. The seemingly unconscious individual was thrown into another cage, which proceeded to raise upward at a 45 degree angle to join the other two. Yuuno realized the man wasn't unconscious, as his head lolled from side to side occasionally, and he babbled incoherently a little.

 

“Looks like Treg won't last much longer,” Yuuno's talkative cellmate noted sadly. “I'm surprised they bothered returning him.”

 

“What happened to him?” Yuuno asked, studying the incoherent person; the lights were on, but there didn't seem to be anyone home.

 

“The process is rather... unsettling,” the other man replied. “You'll eventually find out about it yourself, if they deem you 'worthy,' heh. Though you appear good-looking at least, so maybe they'll let you have slave-status, and actually be allowed to mate normally with them. Oh, by the way, my name is Mallory.”

 

Yuuno's head instantly locked onto Mallory's face in surprise. “You... you're Quinn's brother?”

 

His eyes widened. “You know Quinn!? How is she? Is she alright?”

 

“Last I saw, she was well enough,” Yuuno replied, deciding to not relate exactly how he left her. “She told me you disappeared here, and asked me to find you; she wanted to come herself, but there were.. a found things she was tied up with.” It was close enough to the truth, anyway.

 

“I'm glad she hasn't tried,” Mallory said, with some relief. “She'd never make it here. Getting out of here and back to her, is about the only thing that's kept me going.”

 

“I'll get us both out of here, don't worry,” Yuuno told him. “I have a plan, but there's a few things I need to do first.”

 

“Really?” Mallory asked, cautiously hopeful. “Well, if you need help with something, let me know. Not that I can be of much help; what little magic I have is sealed, thanks to this damn collar.”

 

Yuuno suddenly noticed he had one on, too, and a test quickly proved that he couldn't focus his magic, either. He definitely got the feeling he was pulling mana in, but his spells diffused as he tried to cast them.

 

[Yeah,] Yuuno realized despairingly. [I definitely miscalculated.]

 

 

 

Nanoha cursed herself for being a coward. She knew, logically, there should have been nothing to fear, but for some reason, her body just wouldn't move forward. In the end, she retreated back to her house, the one place she felt safe.

 

[The great Ace of Aces, who has faced down numerous threats and enemies, reduced to quivering at the sight of a man,] she berated herself darkly. [I don't want to feel this way! I want things back how they used to be.]

 

“Oh, Miss Nanoha,” Aina noted, surprised as she came into the living room. “I didn't hear you come in! I've just finished changing the sheets in the bedrooms upstairs and was planning to start cleaning the carpet down here, then go pick Vivio up from school.”

 

“Yeah, things... came up,” Nanoha replied, smiling. The woman did do a lot to help, and she was actually glad Fate had made her get the housemaid back; she was also pretty good with Vivio, which made her wonder.

 

“Aina, did you ever have children of your own?” Nanoha inquired curiously. “I don't mean to pry if it's too personal.”

 

The housemaid smiled, wiping her hands on her apron and sitting down. “I don't mind at all. As a matter of fact, I do have a daughter. She's grown now and has gone off her own, though she still contacts me from time to time.”

 

Nanoha took note of the far-off gaze and fond smile Aina was displaying. “So, you're on good terms with her? You feel you did a good job raising her?”

 

She nodded. “It was a bit difficult due to circumstances, but despite everything, I am glad I had her.”

 

“Due to circumstances?” Nanoha probed.

 

“She was conceived in a night of passion when I was younger,” Aina replied, wearing a smile that was both happy and sad. “I had always liked him, but we were a bit intoxicated at a party. However, he was real good about it, promising to be a good father. We started dating, and it was good for a time.” She chuckled softly. “People said we were perfect for each other, and cheered when we married.”

 

Nanoha leaned forward a bit. “What happened?”

 

“We just weren't meant to be,” Aina replied a bit sadly. “We tried to make it work, but there were too many differences. We remained cordial to raise our daughter, but shortly after she turned 14, we decided we had to split up. We still remained friends, just recognizing that a romantic relationship wasn't working. I know it was a bit tough on our daughter, but we worked things out so she could live with either of us at any time.” Her gaze shifted, studying her client. “Are you worried about being a good mother? From what I see of Vivio, you're doing a fine job!”

 

Nanoha shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Did Fate... tell you anything in the past few weeks? It's okay if she did; I won't be upset.”

 

Aina bit her lip, then lowered her head a bit. “I'm sorry, but all she said was that you were pregnant, and not to bring it up or anything other details. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone else. There seems to be some other difficult issues surrounding it, which I suppose is why I felt like telling you about my daughter.”

 

“I... guess I'm a bit nervous, not just about the baby,” Nanoha replied, then hesitantly added, “but about the father, too. I've known him a long time, and I care about him, but I just don't know how things are going to be handled when he returns.”

 

Aina stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. “If you care about each other, then everything should be fine. And with good friends to support you, like I have seen from Miss Fate, I don't think you have anything to worry about.”

 

“Thank you,” Nanoha told her standing up, honestly grateful. “I think I'm going to lay down for a bit and think.”

 

“Alright, let me know if I can be of further help!” Aina informed her.

 

Nanoha nodded, heading out of the room. She did have a lot to think about, and somehow she didn't feel as fearful as before, but wasn't quite sure why. The one thing she did know, was that she felt ready to face Yuuno, and indeed, knew that she needed to in order to resolve things.

 

But she had faith in both him and Fate, that they would return soon; she had to believe that at least.

 

 

 

It actually wasn't too long before his cage was lowered and Yuuno was roughly grabbed and pulled by two of the warrior women. They were wearing more normal clothes now, so his archaeologist mind wondered if the animal skins were just some sort of warrior garb or something to throw off their prey, like it did with him.

 

What he was most struck by, however, was that their short dirty hair, the scars on their faces as well as body, and the smell that told him they hadn't really bathed in awhile; this wasn't exactly the dream version of a village of warrior women that the local men may have been fantasizing over. But he was used to things like this, as he had come across numerous more primitive tribes in his archeology travels who usually didn't have the best hygienic practices.

 

"I need to speak to whoever your leader is," he told the woman, but they ignored him. "I have something of value that you may want."

 

"Silence, male!" a forceful female voice ordered as he left the cave and was brought into the evening light. "You are knew here, so it's understandable. But from now on, you will speak only when we allow you to. Do so, and you may get out of this with your life. Defy us, and only pain and death await you. You will refer to me Mistress from now on."

 

Yuuno got a good look at the person addressing him, noting that she was a bit less attractive than the two who were carrying him; not only did she have the random scars over her arms and legs, but she was nearly bald, only have a very short lock of black hair in the middle of the scalp, and an patch over her left eye. When combined with the whip she carried, it gave him a feeling that she wasn't someone he would have much success arguing with.

 

But he had to try, as the two women holding him followed Mistress. "I think it would be in your best interests to let me speak with your leader. I have something valuable that would probably be worth more to you then what you can get out of me."

 

She turned nodded, and the two women holding his arms, tossed him to the ground, causing his glasses to fall off, and before he could get up, something wrapped around his ankle and pulled him back through the dirt. As he flipped over on his back, he found a boot placed over his neck, Mistress glaring down at him.

 

"I could crush you like a bug right now," she told him calmly. "Understand that you are worthless to us; we could destroy you at any time. You only have value when we say you do. Anything you have, we will take. Is that understood? You may speak."

 

Clearly, reason wouldn't work on these women. "Yes." [For now.]

 

"Glad that we understand each other," she told him, then removed her boot.

 

The two women picked him up again and they resumed carrying him, leaving Yuuno wondering how he was going to get out of this as he glanced around the village. It wasn't quite what he was expecting, as there were numerous wood houses of various sized intermixed among the trees and greenery, even some built into the base of the huge, thick trees. He was being taken into one of the houses, and was promptly strapped and chained vertically to table. Across the room, was an interesting piece of machinery, but what was it for?

 

As the two women who dragged him here began working with it, Mistress addressed him again. "As you may have noticed, we are a village of mostly women, although we keep a few men as slaves. Thus, in order to get new children and fresh blood, we partake of male travelers who venture near. However, being with a man detests us, so we have developed a few different methods to get what we need."

 

She pulled his pants down, as one of the women brought a small hose over to him, and the machine was started up. All at once, he knew what was going to happen.

 

"Yes, this is a suction pump of a special design," she informed him. "We'll extract what we need from you first, and after we run through it a few times, we might grace you with a more direct mating. Males don't last too long until the third or fourth round, and thus don't work as well. We had someone look at you earlier while you were out; you're a fairly powerful mage, so we'll take our time with you, boy. Once we have a few successful pregnancies and can confirm them to females, we might consider your release."

 

Yuuno thought quickly as they began to attach the hose. "Ten years ago, someone stole a device from you, that transport two people into a special dimensional pocket and forces one of them to have sex with the other. I know where it is, and I can retrieve it for you!"

 

"I told you, being with a man detests us," Mistress told him simply.

 

"Not all of us, Gikan," came a new voice from the doorway. "The Procreat was a sacred artifact, and highly useful when used right. The success rate was-"

 

"I know what the rate was, Leethe!" Mistress, now known as Gikan, shot back. "We still have methods, and they've been working decently!"

 

Leethe shook her head. "Not well enough. Not enough men come by anymore and you know our issues with pregnancy; our numbers are dwindling. At the least, Arla should be made aware of this offer so we can decide on its merits. I will take responsibility for this prisoner."

 

Gikan glared at the other woman for awhile, and Yuuno could detect quite a bit of tension there; it was obvious they didn't see eye-to-eye and had clashed in the past. But after awhile, it seemed Gikan relented.

 

"Very well, he's yours, as you do outrank me for now," Gikan admitted, then smiled. "I look forward to your screw-up in this regard, so you lose your high position!"

 

The hose was detached, much to Yuuno's relief, as Gikan and her two followers left. Leethe came over to him, not physically looking too much better than the other women.

 

"Now," she told him in a tone that let him know she wasn't going to be much softer. "Tell me everything you know about our device, but remember, you are at our mercy here..."

 

 

Author's notes:

 

Still not too sure about this chapter, but my Reverend Beta reader thinks it looks decent, so tossing it up (and thanks!).