This is FanFiction, of course I don't own anything! What did you expect? Also, this intro is a bit of a legacy written before Nanoha Magica's recent updates, and then the author went and endorsed this via PM. I'll put in my thoughts on that, along with the entire experience of writing this, when it's finished~

This is very much inspired by Sergio Turbo's excellent IrregularS fic, which is almost certainly better than this one. Honestly, you should read it before reading this one. That fic led me to realize how similar Homura and Nanoha's battle philosophies really were, which led to the start of this.

And then I found Nanoha Magica: First Contact. And I was like god damn it this premise is too good. It didn't help that the fic really ought to be finished, holding other things constant. As it stands, it's just a cliffhanger, one that doesn't look like it'll be resolved anytime soon.

So, with much shame, if you want things done right you have to do them yourself...

Of course, I'm not just going to copy someone else's fic without permission. Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but it's also an insult to yourself, and that's not even getting into legal issues.

...but yeah, this is basically a fanfic of a fanfic (possibly two at once!). I'm not sure what that says about me. I considered having this be a simpler thing just about Mami in the Nanohaverse. After all, her magic style fits rather well with the Mid style, and like Nanoha, she has a penchant for dramatic finishers (and drama in general). Her under Nanoha's tutelage is an interesting thought in and of itself.

...But in the end, I figured I'd go the whole nine yards. It's 5 AM when I'm writing this. I might wake up and realize this is a terrible idea. I'm writing it anyways. After all, lots of things seemed like bad ideas at the time. One of my favorite series was apparently founded on a couple of bad ideas.

In short, I regret nothing, so let's do this before I come to my senses.

Chapter 1: Tremor

On board the dimensional cruiser Arthra, registered to the Time-Space Administration Bureau, everyone's eyes were glued to the screens that showed the crew why they and the ship had come here.

Beneath them lay a practically apocalyptic scene. Above the wreckage of a small city, a massive monster of shadow appeared to be holding a concert. The... thing twirled endlessly, reaping more destruction as it went. Its top half had more gears than a self-winding watch, while the bottom half seemed a tad like an upside-down figure. Around them, four girls were desperately trying to fight the beast, along with the smaller models of it that appeared to be its mooks. While this crew knew well what a few little girls could do, these unfortunate souls were not as overpowered as Nanoha Takamachi.

Speaking of the soon-to-be-christened White Devil, the little girl was in attendance. "So... Is this the cause?" she asked, watching worriedly as the people darted around like stick figures. A girl in red, fighting with a spear that broke into a chain. A black-haired girl who seemed to pull an endless arsenal out of her shield. A pink-haired girl with a matching bow and arrow, desperately holding off the demon's minions. A blonde whose fancy clothes were frighteningly damaged by the battle, keeping her distance with volleys of what looked like musket fire.

"... It's definitely causing a distortion. However, it might not be the cause of the tremors... though it certainly could be." Admiral Lindy Harlaown answered the auburn-haired girl's question. Beside her, a certain golden-haired part-time mage shared in her friend's concern.

"It doesn't look good for those ones, does it?" Fate murmured, shaking her head. "They're clearly not used to fighting as a team, and their magic seems...inefficient, to an extent."

Lindy nodded slowly. The inhabitants of this world seemed to be far behind the TSAB technologically, about on par with Nanoha's home of Earth, and they didn't appear to have magical industry to speak of. Despite that, these girls were there and giving what seemed like a good account of themselves, if what the sensors indicated about the power of the massive spinning construct were to be believed. Lindy wanted to intervene on their behalf, but...

They were simply investigating and hardly had the authority to get involved. The TSAB had no presence here and hadn't even explored this world before. Only the recent series of regular dimensional quakes had brought the Arthra here to find out what was going on. They had basically gotten here five minutes ago. The two girls should have been asleep, but they had clearly messed with their sleep schedules to be bright and bushy-tailed when they arrived.

Lindy knew that wouldn't stop the two impetuous girls before her from getting involved.

"I know what you're about to say. You want to go down there, right?"

They nodded.

"You know I'm not technically allowed to let you do that, right? We just don't know enough about the situation."

They nodded again, and Fate wrapped her arms tightly around Lindy.

"...Mother, you remember when Nanoha went and helped me against your orders, right? Well..."

Lindy smiled faintly, cutting Fate off. "I see where you're going with this. You should go back to bed, but I'm not ordering you. Don't get into trouble, and if you do, come back immediately. Is that clear?"

"Clear as crystal."

The golden-haired magical girl seemed to have trouble lifting and aiming the massive cannon she had summoned. The battle against Walpurgisnacht had gone on far too long, and the Witch appeared to be little more than annoyed. She couldn't see anyone else anymore...The occasional rocket told her Homura was still fighting. Kyoko had been under that building when it fell, and Madoka had taken a direct hit from a Familiar... she could only hope the two of them were all right.

This would be her last shot. Deep inside, Mami found herself accepting that she was doomed. She hesitated: she considered dropping the cannon and simply trying to run while she still could. Maybe it would be the better idea.

"Five."

A mechanical voice from somewhere in the heavens dissuaded her. She glanced up to see pink lights gathering at a spot she could not see.

"Four."

A countdown? Maybe Homura had something else up her sleeve, one last weapon. She was still moving, after all.

"Three."

Mami Tomoe sighed and tightened her grip on the oversized musket, lighting the slow-burning fuse and doing her best to hold her aim steady. She didn't know what she was doing anymore, but she was going to fight to the end.

"Two."

Just had to hold it steady a little longer. The pink lights danced and weaved as they sped up to a single growing point...

"One."

Her eyes were getting heavy... and she realized that she wasn't afraid of death right now. A tiny smile graced her lips.

"Starlight Breaker," the countdown announced. A similar, but deeper voice declared, "Plasma Smasher."

She put her last breath into a defiant shout.

"Tiro Finale!"

The cannon boomed as it sent the massive golden projectile racing towards Walpurgisnacht.

A few seconds passed. It seemed like an eternity as she watched her shot come closer and closer... and saw that a pair of massive lights, pink and gold, were descending upon the Witch from above.

Then they struck, and the explosion knocked Mami out instantly. She went out with a smile.

Nanoha and Fate watched from above as the remains of the gear-creature dissolved into darkness and faded away.

[...We beat it.] Nanoha let out an audible sigh of relief.

[Yeah.]

That had been a lot of cartridges for one shot... but then again, between that and the local girl's cannon blast, it had worked. Even so, the two of them were left more exhausted than they'd entered, which was impressive given the affect their mixed-up sleep schedules were having.

Fate shook her head. [We're not done yet,] she thought out to Nanoha. [Search for survivors.]

A nod, and the two dived down to find whoever was left. Nanoha quickly made her way to where the golden-haired girl had collapsed. She'd done them a lot of good, it would be bad if she'd ended up dead...

No. Though she was unconscious, Nanoha felt shallow breathing when she checked her. Good. One down, three to go.

Fate eyed the battlefield, searching for any movement, any sign of life. Near a pile of rubble blown away by the blast their attacks had caused... Wait a minute. A girl in red, crawling towards something unseen with grim determination.

She dropped down to help- holy hell is that a piece of rebar piercing through her leg?!

Fate was amazed she didn't faint at the sight. The redhead, on the other hand, stopped moving in short order.

[I need a medevac here, right now damn it.] Fate's mental voice was loud and panicked, and with good reason. Ten-year-olds were not meant to see such terrors.

It was probably just as well that neither of them got a good look at what was left of the pink-haired girl. They only saw the one with raven hair scream out her tears as she reached for the strange shield on her arm, staring at the eerily pristine face.

[Nanoha, Fate!] Lindy called. [There's another spatial distortion starting up. We're getting out of here right now.]

The two mages didn't have much to say to that, having already discovered that they needed to get to the healers, well, right now. They held their charges in a death grip as teleportation circles appeared around them...

[Ready.]

And then they were gone, leaving the black-haired girl behind.

When that skyscraper fell on her, Kyoko thought she was a goner, despite all the dodging in the world. She didn't have much time to think beyond that. Everything afterward was hazy. She remembered strange, mechanical voices. A massive explosion. Pain, oceans of pain. A stray apple that needed to be eaten.

...that last one seemed out of place. Place, place... wait. A diffuse light above her... white walls and ceiling. That was definitely a place. And she was seeing it.

She had eyes.

She was seeing.

She was...alive?

Her eyes told her she was in something like a hospital, on something like a hospital bed.

They also told her there was a chunk of metal going clean through her lower leg. Well, crap. That... wasn't that much better than dead. Even in her woozy state, she knew she must be under some sort of anesthetic, or else she would have been screaming. Right now, she hurt a little all over, but her leg burned in anger. She grit her teeth and bear it.

She did her best to dull the pain, making the world even hazier, but nonetheless hazarded a guess as to her surroundings. Near her bed was... Mami-san in a similar bed. She'd know those curls anywhere. Even so, she couldn't tell a thing past that.

Staring at her worriedly were a host of doctors and a pair of girls who looked just a tad out of place. A golden-haired, petite girl with flaming eyes like her own, and a brown-haired, blue-eyed girl who somehow reminded her of Cotton Candy even in her fuzzy vision.

"You're awake..." someone said, as if through a small ocean. She was hearing. She had ears. She had no idea who spoke, but she heard them.

"...How long until I start screaming? I...get the feeling I really shouldn't be conscious right now."

"I'd give you ten minutes. Which is when we're starting the surgery, at the very latest."

"...I need a damn pocky," she growled.

"I'll get you one if you tell us your name." Wait, seriously?

"Kyoko. Sakura...Kyoko."

She received her pocky and chomped through it in record time. Then she passed out again.