Base 0X0
Base 0X0 was an underground complex, and a curious multinational effort from various countries. It was an organised safety net, on protecting the Earth from the strange forces of the M-dimension as it was termed. It was called this due to it being a very important solution to M-Theory, but some understood it to also mean -magical dimension-. Things went in it, things came out.. and reality changed. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways... it was hard to tell. Except by those studying the events.
"So where are we exactly," demanded Lucas. Steel walls, lots of military sorts... she could be anywhere.
"A few miles from Lakeside... that's all I can tell you," said General Makepeace. "Given the strange phenomenons all happened at Lakeside... we built it all here."
"So you know about the keystones, why didn't you just take it from Jen?"
The General looked flustered for a moment then sighed. "Girl... there's an object the likes of which alters our fundamental reality... who is supposed to have it?"
"Jen," said Lucas automatically. "It was given to her. It's hers. Don't even bother to suggest otherwise."
"... well we tried," admitted the general.
The angel girl's halo flared. "...explain. Quickly."
"People were sent... different specialists, to steal, or hell... even just knock Jen out and get the stone from her. Something as powerful as that had to be removed from the civilian population. You must understand that? She had a nuke... and it nearly brought Earth to its knees, had we not adapted to the situation."
"...would you have killed her or any of the other key-bearers?"
General Makepeace looked a little saddened. "I'm a soldier Lucas... fortunately, given what happened to the others... nobody dared to issue that order."
At this point Lucas was intrigued. "What happened to them?"
"Accidents... harmless... usually. They never got close to Jen. Except for the one that tried to get Jen at night and was ordered to use force. That agent... somehow got exposed to Iridescent sunlight. At night. A sudden solar flare bouncing off the moon and he... was turned into a.. little girl...skunk... thing. Bizarrely the same thing happened to the one who signed the order. Identical to their stripes... it left everyone quite... shocked."
Lucas whistled at that. "Make's sense... protective magics right?"
The general nodded. "Yeah... turns out its been that way throughout history according to our research. Somone obviously didn't want the stone to ever fall under the hands of a government official. We don't know who worded the wish or what its limitations are... However... it turned out we are allowed to protect Jen. So that's how we based our operations, as covert protectors. It turns out we can't even inform the president... the magics don't allow it to be reported. All this was done... quietly. Discreetly."
Lucas continued to be briefed on the various operations. She didn't like all these uniformed people. So much... 'Order' and... urgh! Guns... yeah, she was really starting to loath the aspects of war these people had. Her angelic senses were able to tell how much 'empathy' a person had for another, and it was disturbing to see that some of these soldiers lacked empathy... a necessary component when your job was to kill someone else. A fellow human being- or at the very least, a sentient one at this point. Still she was encouraged to see, that there was always a seed of empathy in many of them. Something... important to them, that kept them from going into the dark.
... is that part of the wording of the wish? Maybe only a responsible soul could do any of this... still this was the military. Even if they had good hearts... this was a militia!
The angel looked over the artificial portal. It had quite a lot of curious designs and runes on it... but something about it was familiar. Something.. achingly so.
"...What's the power source," she demanded.
One of the technicians looked tensely. "Ah- well-"
Lucas felt her sword vibrate towards a panel... and she opened it. She frowned seeing a crystal, that was partly silicon circuitry. It had various runes that she recognised from the Moon itself... these people were trying to harness the power of Selene... within integrated circuits. "You idiots," she whispered.
The general shrugged. Well, Lucas had seen a lot of their activities so far... they might as well come completely clean. Given the file on her, it seemed appropriate. "We have had some trouble... stabilising the power source," explained Makepeace.
Lucas laughed. "You idiots! You have no idea what you are trying to do. This is a divine force! The very essence of chaos and the motions of the moon itself. It is not stable... it moves waxes, and wanes depending on time. You're channelling Divine energy into machines. Where did you ever get that idea!"
One of the technicians put down a note book.
Lucas quickly went it over. "...Lilly's project. To create an artificial magic girl," sighed Lucas. "You took her research into that... and turned it into a battery for your machine."
"Yes. The subject er- Lilly Gordon... solved many of the issues we had, but she does not have access to the technology at our disposal," explained the technician. "Using her research, we... augmented our machines to use the energy in her theories. They seem to work. She doesn't have any magical protection like the keyholders or magic girls, so we've been able to get everything needed from her. Heck as soon as she graduates, she'll get a job here."
"What's your name?" Asked Lucas.
"Oh- Yeah. I'm Perry, Perry Devinter. Technical assistant. I punch the numbers in to make the portal work," he said with a faint grin.
"Right. That girl in particular is under my personal protection... give me one reason right now why I shouldn't tear this whole place apart!"
Perry turned as white as a sheet.
Makepeace groaned. "We can debate the ethics of it another time. You're here, and we do need your help. Look... something's happened to Earth. Time itself has.. skewed itself. There are areas of the Earth running in diffident time zones! We got dinosaurs in Antarctica and... what I think are alien starports in Japan. There is no causality any more. Can you fix it?"
"Lets.. see what those numbers say," sighed Lucas.
The phone rang. "Makepeace..." Answered the general. "..it's for you." he said surprised to pass it on to Lucas.
The videophone flickered into life and there.. was Cass. "So... how long can you guess it's been?"
Lucas gulped. "H-How.. long?"
"Five years," sighed Cass.
"Oh Sh- Cass I'm sorry!"
The anime girl grinned. "Don't worry Lucas honey... I had company."
"What?!" Cass couldn't- she wouldn't- I mean... she but it had been five years to her now. Lucas felt a lump in her throat... who... who would it be? The video changed to show...
"Hey there. Question for you, How many angels fit on a pin head? As many as one wants" said a very familiar voice.
Lucas blinked. It was... her? Another Lucas... from the future?
Future Lucas winked, grinning. Don't worry about it, and guess what? She wasn't alone for that year either. Immortality and time travel has its perks."
Lucas- present Lucas stared. Time travel... but it shouldn't be possible. But... well.. Lucas was a real angel now. Could she now exist.. in more then one place? "Can... can you tell me what I need to do? Or will this cause some weird paradox?"
The future Lucas shook her head. "Just do what you did before and it'll be fine! I think... well see ya."
