Maggie kept me waiting just long enough that I wished I had the GoSato with me, but not so long that I was seriously worried that something had happened to her. My imagination was going wild, though, with scenarios like Tachibana getting himself loose and fighting back. Just as I was ready to go check, I got the buzz on Maggie’s commlink. “Alright, Mockingbird, hit it and hurry down here! You’re going to be famous!”

Now weren’t those words to make a spy’s blood run cold. “Yes, ma’am!”

Magical energy doesn’t work quite like electricity, though the circuitry can look rather similar. They had always assured us that you can’t be electrocuted by raw magical energy, so there are no worries about grounding or wearing proper protective gear.

And yet, with so much of Rose’s captured magical energy flowing through the wires as I joined them together, my hands went numb. That should have been impossible; magic wasn’t supposed to have a physical effect like that unless shaped by a wizard. Some magical researchers would have been ebullient to have made such a discovery. I had a slightly… different reaction. I think my string of profanity would have even offended Our Father Below.

“At least the bloody thing seems to be working,” I muttered.

I stepped back, rubbing the feeling back into my hands as I ran for the stairway. The pins and needles had mostly stopped by the time I had arrived in the AV Club’s room. I had expected a hero’s welcome, but they seemed a tad distracted.

Paul stood rooted in place, his body surrounded by a red glow. I had thought that Tachibana would have eliminated the color for the War Games, so as not to interfere with our vision, until I realized that I had reverted back to the flawed production version. I might have asked the man himself, if he wasn’t bound and gagged in the corner of the room. A redenning bandage on his stump told me he had reopened his wound, and Maggie hadn’t felt like wasting the magic to heal him again.

“Brother B-”

“You don’t have to say my whole name every stinking time!” snapped Paul. “Shorten it up.”

Rei recoiled like she had been struck. “Fine. Brother Jerk, why didn’t you disable the fabricata?” asked Rei.

“Because nobody told me to,” he said, straining against his skintight bodysuit. The suits were supposed to simulate wounds by restricting your movements, and eventually stop you from moving and casting at all once you were considered “dead.”

“At least we know the trap worked,” said Maggie, checking herself in a compact mirror.

“Get me outta here!” shouted Paul.

I winced out of sympathy. I’d been good and trapped during my first war games. I gave him a clap on the arm, my hand stopped a few centimeters away from him by the dully glowing red barrier. “Sister Shoebill wouldn’t understand, Eagle. Those things really bind downstairs.”

“I don’t want your sympathy, I want to move again.”

I scratched my chin, deep in thought. “That’s a bit of a conundrum. If we use a spell strong enough to pierce the barrier, we risk wounding you.”

“It’s the whole point of the plan,” said Mrs. Perera. “Sorry, boy, you may be out of commission.”

“Wait, what?” asked Paul, his voice tinged with panic.

“Not so fast,” I said. “Sister Macaw, do you remember when you used your time manipulation on the kitchen at the Serving Wizard’s House, and it cut off electricity from the power grid?”

“Sure do,” she said. “That Yamada girl makes a good cake.”

“Well, my understanding is that the bodysuits respond to signals from the Peace Bond, telling them that they’re in a ‘death’ state. Svalinn’s Wrath!” I created a fine dagger of energy shaped like a letter opener, sliding in behind Paul. “Cut us off from the time stream, and I’ll have him fixed in a jiffy.”

Mrs. Perera groaned. “You kids are running me ragged. What would you do without me?”

“Hopefully we’ll never find out,” said Maggie. “Make it snappy. We want to present a strong front for the cameras.”

I felt the all-too-familiar sensation of Mrs. Perera copping a feel, but before I could comment, the world outside took on a golden hue. “How is it, Mr. Wilson? Feeling a bit more mobile?’

“No, I… oh, wait.” He flexed his arms. “It’s stiff, but I can sorta move. There’s no way I’m going to be able to reach back there, though.”

“That’s why I’m here.” With some effort, we extricated him from his white uniform, revealing the checkered camo bodysuit beneath. I was almost jealous at the way his muscles bulged beneath. Oh, hang it all, I was jealous.

I told myself the rippling physique didn’t do him any good just then. “Hold still.”

“That part’s easy,” he said.

I pinched some of the thick fabric around a mass of circuits, slicing right down the middle of them. The taut fabric loosened, the artificial muscle fibers relaxing all at once.

Mrs. Perera must have been paying close attention, since I didn’t have to signal her. Her skin looked positively ashen, forcing me to lunge forward to catch her.

“Don’t suppose any of you brought a snack,” she murmured.

“There’s snacks in the Sewing Club room,” I said.

“That can wait,” said Rei, shooting to her feet, turning the camera towards what looked like desk from a news show. An image of the Holy Brotherhood’s emblem, a demonic skull being split by a sword, was projected onto the green screen behind it. “The feed’s ready to go when you are, ma’am.”

The Holy Sister didn’t look up from touching up her blush. “And you tapped into the emergency frequencies?”

“Yes, ma’am. Those codes you gave me worked perfectly.”

“Then we should be piped into every video site worth appearing on.” Maggie’s compact snapped shut, the effect of her elegant makeup spoiled by her feral smirk. “It’s showtime. Brother Eagle, by a dear and haul the Headmaster into frame.”

“At least we’ve got wheels this time,” he said.

Headmaster Tachibana’s angry glare drilled into me, but that was the most resistance he could muster. Thank Our Father Below he didn’t have an affinity like the heat vision from Hiro’s Superman comics, or I’d have been a pile of ash.

“I’ll do the talking,” Maggie said, giving me her own intense look.

“I wouldn’t think of stealing your big moment,” I replied.

Mrs. Perera stayed off to the side, declaring herself too exhausted to join in, which was just as well. The diminutive teacher would have barely been in frame. The three of us students flanked Maggie on either side as she stood behind the restrained Tachibana, her hands resting on his shoulders almost gently.

I’m told Holy Sister Shrike surrounded by her followers is one of the most iconic images of the twenty-first century. I’m not sure I would agree, but then, I didn’t get to watch it live. All of our faces appeared completely nondescript, scattered by the fabricata masks. Seeing one person in that state was disconcerting enough, but a small troop of us made us look like a united front. When I look at the footage, even I have a hard time telling myself from Paul.

I could just imagine the shocked staff down on the field, perhaps trying to free the students from the Peace Bond, as every loudspeaker echoed with Maggie’s voice, and our image filled every screen on campus at once.

“People of the world, rejoice! The hour of your salvation is at hand. For too long have the petty tyrants and bureaucrats of the Anti-Demonic League have sat idly by while humanity stands at the edge of destruction. Your true champions, the Holy Brotherhood of Mankind, come again to rescue you and guide you into a new, devil-free age.”

I thought she was laying it on awfully thick, but I supposed she had a hard argument to sell.

“You will have noticed that every student in the school is caught in the Peace Bond. Do not waste your time trying to free them. You may be tempted to rush back to the Tower and free them. That would be a poor choice, if you value the health of Yosuke Tachibana.” She patted his cheek, earning her an angry grunt from Tachibana. “If you don’t, then perhaps you would care more about the Nagoya Tower? An explosive device is ready to topple the whole edifice if our agents at the ground floor give the word.”

Technically, it was still strapped to my back. I’d have to do something about that once we were done.

“Unfortunately, this was the only way we could get your attention. The Anti-Demonic League and the media have seen fit to print lie after lie about us, so we have been driven to extremes. We are an ordinary group of patriots united by a simple goal: the preservation of mankind at all costs. Unfortunately, we have become the failed government’s favorite scapegoat. One of our members perpetrated an awful crime in Taiwan, but our entire organization has been punished. Rogue members of the Wizard Corps attempted to blame us for an internal plot to assassinate the Divine Blade, and nobody questioned it. I’m sure that if they could find a way, they would blame us for the high price of wheat! Yet every day, the Horde takes a little more land, and the powers that be do nothing.”

My, she certainly was bold with her lies! I had to admire the moxie of blaming the Wizard Corps for her own attempt on Maki’s life.

Maggie straightened back up, sighing thoughtfully. “If this is the first time you have heard these truths, that is because we have not been allowed to make our own case. The excommunicated Brother Gyrfalcon’s egregious crimes in Taiwan were used as a pretense to drive us underground. They tell you we are terrorists, and that our beliefs are beyond the pale. That could not be further from the truth. We do not make these threats because we want to. We have been pushed to the brink and threatened with annihilation. Headmaster Tachibana and the Nagoya Tower are both valuable resources in the war against the Grim Horde. This was simply the only way to get your attention.”

She held up three fingers. “Our demands are simple. The Holy Brotherhood of Mankind wishes to guide the world, not rule it with an iron fist. We firmly believe that once the people are allowed to hear us, and have had the lies of the past debunked, people will turn to our truth. First, we demand a complete pardon for all members of the Holy Brotherhood held in prison, regardless of their crimes. To show that we believe in justice, the war criminal ex-Brother Gyrfalcon and his immediate accomplices will be the exception. They are no true Holy Brothers.” She lowered one finger, counting down. “Second, we demand to be permitted to run for office again, like in the old days.” One finger left. “Finally, I, Holy Sister Shrike, will be appointed to the Anti-Demonic League Council to represent the Holy Brotherhood’s will.”

If you watch the footage, you can watch me nodding along. It was as we discussed. It was a Hell of an ask, but my plans didn’t hinge on anybody taking Maggie seriously.

“We have complete control over the Peace Bond,” she continued. “If you push us, the students in the grip of the Peace Bond will find their outfits will begin to tighten, eventually strangling them. Then we’ll kill Yosuke Tachibana while you watch and topple the Nagoya Tower with explosives. We would not want that; the world needs these young wizards. However, the world needs the firm hand of the Holy Brotherhood more. You have two hours to comply. Humanity first!”

“Humanity first,” we all repeated, Paul and I with a bit less enthusiasm than Rei.

Rei hit a remote, cutting off the feed. “That was very stirring, Sister Shrike.”

Maggie deflated as the tension left her body. “Thank you, Shoebill.”

Tachibana grunted, trying to speak through his gag.

Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Maggie nodded towards the headmaster. Paul caught on first, removing his gag.

“They’ll never give in to your demands! As if they would ever follow somebody who does not have the guts to show her face!”

“Oh, that?” She waved him off, flashing him a condescending smirk that even made me want to smack her. “That’s my insurance policy, silly. If they do anything untoward, we can tie each other up and pretend that we were captured by those awful, awful Holy Brothers.” As if flipping a switch, Maggie stuck out her lower lip and a few tears flowed down her cheeks. “It was terrible! They ambushed us all and said they’d kill us if we resisted! I had to think of my students.”

She was convincing, I’ll give her that.

“So you see? That’s why I’ve lived long enough to carry on the Holy Brotherhood’s legacy.”

“That explains it,” said Tachibana. “I imagine you were with those Holy Brothers who tried to kill Asahi. Or should I say, you weren’t with them. You were happy to stay safely behind, while they took all the-”

The meaty smack echoed through the small space. “Brother Eagle, gag him. He’s said quite enough.”

“You can silence me, but mrph!”

“Absolutely right,” she replied. “I can silence you, and you’re the only one here who knows the truth. So you had better hope the League sees fit to trade for you, or you and your life’s work end today.” She turned to Rey. “How is your affinity doing?”

“Just fine!”

“Wonderful,” she said. “Keep track of the news and social media. We want to see if they try to stifle us again.”

“I don’t think they can ignore us this time, ma’am.”

I was excited, despite myself. It almost seemed like a shame I wouldn’t be there to see the standoff to its end. It was time for this little devil to make his exit. However, much like my dear Ms. Edwards, I had no interest in exposing myself to needless danger.

“Speaking of which, ma’am,” I said, jerking a thumb towards my back. “I think it’s time to go deliver our real insurance policy.”

“What’s in the backpack?” asked Paul.

“Magical explosive, I’d guess,” said Rei. “Is that what we’re using to down the Tower? Unless you have a nuke in there, I cannot see how a charge that small would do the trick.”

“It isn’t how big it is, it’s how you use it,” I said. I turned to bow to Tachibana. “Thank you for everything, Headmaster. I can say that none of this would have been possible without you.”

I didn’t wait for his response; there was no point. I’d heard plenty of enraged mumbling for one day. Besides, I didn’t want to give Maggie a chance to…

“Brother Bald Eagle, go keep him company.”

… assign me a babysitter.

Hellfire and damnation!