Disclaimer: First the obligatory disclaimer: I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or any of the characters or settings from the series. This is just a for-fun story that I dreamed up. No claims are made to any of the non-original characters in this story.
A/N: This is a post StrikerS fanfic. Targeted 'ships, as they stand at this moment, are NanohaxFatexYunno, TiaxSubaru, CaroxElioxLutecia (Though don't expect some of them from the start, things need to develop after all!) and OCxOC. Note: This is unbetad, as I do not currently have a beta for either of the groups I write for. This is also a re-write in progress, and posting time will be slow as I have two other stories I need to update. But yes, this does mean I'm returning to writing.
Also, please see my A/N on the bottom on my response to the review about Vivid and Force.
It has been four years since the disbanding of Division Six. Each of us has gone on with our lives, some keeping in contact with our old Division members, and some not. Little did we know that our times apart would soon come to at an end. We did not sense the change in winds that would blow us home, to the place where it all began for three of us. There we would reunited with old friends, and discover new acquaintances as well as horrifying enemies. Yet this time the danger was not just to our world but also to all worlds, and everything we hold dear.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Revelations
Chapter 1: I Want to Live in a World of Peace
Location: Unknown, Date: Unknown Time: Unknown
'They say war is hell. Well, I say they're wrong. All they have to do is look at this battlefield and they'll see just how wrong they are. War isn't hell. It's much worse than that,' the dragon-like humanoid thought to himself. It was an old piece of advice he learned from his first sensei after his first battle. And as the being looked upon an entire plain practically layered with the dead and dying, he realized that the old man was right. War isn't hell. Hell is nowhere near as bad as this. You couldn't even see the ground here. All these beings . . . what a waste.
Off in the distance a battle waged on between two epic forces. On the side closest to him were hundreds of thousands of people and . . . things. The dragon-humanoid would call them beings, and thus people, but the casual observer, not that there was any such thing here, would call them nothing less than things. Human souls joined spirits of Nature, Heaven, and even Hell in a pitched battle that would end all battles. Horrific screams of pain and suffering filled the air, echoing across this plain of death with a finality that seemed almost desperate. This male dragonoid never would have thought he would live to see the day that the forces of Evil and Darkness would willingly join the forces of Goodness and Light, but here it was. 'Oh what we could have achieved with just a little less animosity,' the dragon-being thought to himself.
The sky, which was normally pink in this place, was dark, almost black, but with a definite reddish hue. 'Even the sky is stained with blood,' he thought to himself. For the moment, he stood there, healing and trying to figure out what to do next. Their "final push" had ended badly. So many people, so much pain, so many lost. He ruthlessly pushed away the memories of the past few days as he looked toward the truly massive army. Only it wasn't so massive anymore. What was once hundreds of millions of people were now down to merely tens of thousands. It was a respectable army to normal humans, but a pale comparison to the hundreds of trillions of beings that were here at the start of this conflict. The dragon shook his head, holding back the tears. This was it then. They were finally trying to complete their mission.
"Who are They?" one would ask? With great sorrow and shame, the dragon-being looked beyond his allies to what they were fighting two eggs. Only these were not ordinary eggs. No, these eggs were as tall as the dragon being himself, and he stood at least 15 feet tall head to toe, not counting the tail. They were solid black, glossy even. They looked kind of like the pictures of alien eyes that the conspiracy theorists so loved. However, beyond that they looked very fragile. Unfortunately, that was far from the truth, and even in "death" they became even more deadly. For millennia, this war had been waged, always fought to a standstill. Generations of humans and other beings fighting these Harbingers of Oblivion, these Ultimate Destroyers, and always it would be against these very two beings. But over the generations the forces that wanted Creation to continue were whittled down, with only a select few true humans ever knowing the truth: their true enemies were not the Darkness they fought, but the force beyond the Darkness. Yet, this one being, this human dragon, was there all along, through each generation, reincarnated to fight against his eternal enemies, his greatest shame.
On the other hand, maybe the battle was not quite as eternal as many people believed. It was possible to destroy these beings, but no one really knew how, not even their eternal opponent. He didn't know exactly how, but he knew, unlike anyone else, that the way was barred from them. To get to what was needed to finally, and completely, stop these "eggs" was beyond this dimension, and into another that was locked away. Yet no one, not even him, would dare go there. Why? Because to do so would allow Them to escape. And once They escaped, all of creation would be on a doomsday clock. For escape would be the final part of the puzzle They would need to initiate Uncreation, their ultimate power. To do it here though would be suicide for Them. To survive their own plans, they needed to escape this dimension. Therefore, the entire population of this dimension was here for one thing and one thing only: to prevent them from escaping. In that way, they were the ultimate wardens.
However, the regular armies were being beat down now and being truly destroyed by the handfuls. Why were They doing this now? What did They have to gain by doing this? As far as he knew They thought that the only way out of this dimension was by Uncreating every last being, every last grain of it. Had they truly grown that desperate? Suddenly a black flash surrounded by an eerie, sickening white border appeared behind the eggs. 'This is new,' the dragon-being thought. He had been reincarnated throughout a multitude of millennia, and never had he seen this. The inky black "light" flashed again, this time solidifying into a web that made a spider's web look like a preschooler's art drawing. It was then that a deep sense of dread filled within him as he realized what exactly it was. This Web, which defied all efforts of description, was The Barrier.
[[Ancient Gods and Goddesses of Light, in thine Own Names, I evoke thee. Grant unto Thine humble servant Thine Own power to walk where no other can. Grant unto me Thine Own power to traverse that which has been locked away. Grant unto me the Key, so that I may guard Thine Holy Doors. Grant unto me Thine Strength and Knowledge, that I may walk and defend that which Thou built. I beseech Thee, grant unto me the]] "Walk of the Worlds!"
Suddenly the dragon was covered in blinding white aura but not from within, but without. He was being weighed and judged, yet he tried to keep his mind and more importantly his heart pure of everything but his true intention. They needed to be stopped! Then, as suddenly as the aura was created, it was gone. But he was filled with one word and one-half of the power he needed. Continue. Not wasting any time he immediately launched into the next, and for him much more difficult, spell.
[[Ancient Gods and Goddesses of Darkness, hear my call. I come to you as a rival, having fought with you for millennia against That Which Should Never Have Been. Now They stand on Thine doorstep, ready to destroy Thee. Only I stand between the Dark and the Unbeing. Only I can, by Thine own Binds, turn back Thine Enemy. I demand from you Thine Damned Invitation, Thine Sufferance, to turn back the threat. I demand Thine]] "Wells of the Abyss!"
A dark nimbus oozed over the dragon-being once this spell was done, once again weighing him. The being stood firm despite the pain he felt from this nimbus as it oozed itself into the very fiber of his being. He could feel the damage his body was taking from Darkness, but he knew that it would protect him from the much worse damage the Web would give him. Finally, the pain stopped, and he launched himself up in the air and past the armies. "Stop that spell!" he roared as he passed the now tens of thousands of beings. "If we don't all is lost!" The tide of existence surged forward behind him as he passed the "Eggs," finally landing on the web himself. Quickly he started to raise his strongest shields over the weakest parts, hoping to prevent Them from utilizing the Key, which they must have. How did they get it without him knowing? He was the It's Guardian! Quickly he sent out a probe to find out what had happened, only to discover in surprise it was still there. "You might as well give up. There's no way you can escape."
"That is where you are wrong, foolish Master. Thanks to you, we now possess the means to our escape!" Suddenly a bright gold and white sphere appeared in front of Them.
He instantly recognized it as the Key. It was only then he realized that they had planted a Seed in his probe. "How? That's impossible!"
"Not impossible to us, Guardian. And now, you DIE!"
Suddenly he could feel the Web tearing open with a flood of energy that threatened to disintegrate his very being. His shields shattered like delicate crystal, and the spells he cast suddenly broke. His entire being felt as if it were on fire as he desperately threw every shield he had up, only to have them wink out of existence when the portal formed. With a horrific screech of victory, the "Eggs" vanished without a trace, his body disappearing immediately after.
Location: Midchilda: Takamichi apartment Date: March 26, 2009 Local Time: 1700
"Vivio, I'm home!" the brown-haired, slate blue-eyed woman called out as she entered her quarters. Her uniform jacket was placed over the chair to the left of her as she walked forward, promptly forgotten as she made her way through the quarters toward Vivio's room. Tapping on the door lightly even as she was turning the nob, she called out again, "Vivio, you in there honey?"
"Hai Nanoha-mama," the now-first-year-junior-high girl responded. "One moment . . ." Anything else the child could have said was cut off as the door opened, revealing the woman's head as it was poked through the opening. " NANOHA-MAMA!" the young teenager called out, "I was changing, can you PLEASE wait until I'm done?" The girl's cheeks turn bright tomato red from embarrassment, eliciting a soft chuckle from her mother.
"Gomen," Nanoha immediately responded, holding a hand apologetically in front of her face. "I was just wondering what you wanted for dinner. Fate-mama should be here in about another hour, and you said you wanted to pick the menu. Come into the kitchen when you're done changing." Nanoha then started to close the door but continued to peak into her daughter's room for a few moments more. Apparently, the teenager thought she had left, for she breathed a sigh of relief before picking out a rather cute dress as well as an apron. Fate had been gone for five months, and Nanoha knew the young woman missed her other mama terribly. Her daughter, Vivio, had made it very clear that she thought Nanoha-mama was great of course, but there were times when it was obvious she wished for the quieter voiced woman's advice. Not to mention Nanoha had a habit of embarrassing her daughter by showing up to watch her at school occasionally. This apparently flustered Vivio enough to enlist the aid of Fate, something Nanoha found amusing. Finally, it looked like Vivio was about ready to head to the kitchen, so Nanoha quietly walked away so she could pretend she was in the kitchen the entire time. However, she knew Vivio would not be so easily fooled. Even so, Vivio was so excited the topic was dropped as the both opted for happily discussing the special meal they would make tonight for the blond-haired enforcer.
Two hours later, same apartment
Dinner was a noisy affair, starting with a squeal of delight as the family was reunited after Fate's long assignment to a newly administered planet. The blond haired woman was happy to see both Nanoha and Vivio, returning their enthusiasm with her own. Even so, she was, as always, nervous as she walked in the door. Even though they had been a family ever since the JS incident, there was usually a feeling of something missing. Added to their jobs, which tended to pull them in opposite sides of the universe, this feeling left Fate slightly nervous about what she'd find when she got home. Not that she ever even hinted to either Nanoha or her daughter that she had any worries, but these feelings normally resulted in her inviting someone home with her for the return dinner.
This time, as it was with most of her missions, the "lucky tagalong" was Tia Lanster (Aunt Tia to Vivio). As usual, "forcing" her assistant to come home with her seemed silly after the first few minutes, but at least it gave the younger woman some company for tonight. Subaru, her "partner" was out on rescue missions for the night, so their reunion would not be until later. Therefore, she was welcomed enthusiastically and included in on sharing the discussions of the "home front" news. The rest of dinner was spent talking about what they could share about their mission and events that had happened since they were last home, which were comparatively boring compared to some of the stories about the other trips. Still, the dinner was a fun one despite the discussions of their boring tour. Vivio, as usual, never seemed to mind the shoptalk though; she thought her "mamas" were cool. Finally, the table was cleared off everything but the tea glasses and the desert plates, and it was Vivio's turn to head toward the kitchen. "No peaking!" she called as she headed through the swinging door.
"Do you know what she has planned for desert?" Fate asked of her normally over curious subordinate. "She really went all out with the dinner, all my favorites and I don't think I could eat another bite."
"This from the woman who claims she inherited her best-friend's sweet tooth . . ." Fate's aide started to tease before a holographic screen popped up above the three of them, bearing the TSAB insignia.
"Moue . . . Talk about bad timing," Nanoha complained as Chrono's face appeared on the screen. Vivio came out with a covered strawberry cheesecake and several plates, but stopped and frowned at the screen. It was evident she wasn't too happy with the interruption either.
"Chrono-nii . . . This had better be good," the returning woman groaned. "I just got home." It was obvious Nanoha was in total agreement with her family. Couldn't they have at least one night together? But from the look on the young Admiral's face, it was also clear that was not meant to be.
"I know Fate, and I'm sorry. Would it help if I said that I need Nanoha-san as well? Another instructor will pick up her classes, but this is important. I just received a call, and it does not look good . . ."
Non-administrated planet 97: Earth; small island east and south of Japan; 1 hour earlier
A small, deserted island sat in the middle of the Pacific ocean about 50 miles South and East of Tokyo, Japan. It was too small really for permanent human habitation, so it was left largely unpopulated and wooded as a sanctuary for tropical animals. Overall, it was a peaceful place, until suddenly a distinct rumble started above the center of the island. More than heard, it could laterally be "felt" as if everything, the ground, the air, the water, even the air itself seamed to shake. It was almost as if there was an earthquake in the area, but instead of confining itself to the ground, it could even be felt within living bodies. Reality itself seemed to be trying to shake itself apart. Slowly the vibrations grew in intensity until they reached the equivalent of 8.1 on the Richter's scale. At that point, a high-pitched whine/squeal could both be heard and felt for 25 miles in every direction. The very sky above this small island started to rend itself, revealing a swirling blackness punctuated with the tattered remnants of a white web-like structure of strings of light rapidly disintegrating behind.
Outside the tear in reality, a second corona of what looked like gas swirled, this one white with black spots. It seemed to surround the tear, as if keeping it from expanding further. Fortunately for everyone the island was long abandoned, and generally unknown by the human population of this world. The animals there were not so lucky though, most keeling over as the laws of reality in the region started to buckle, their bodies soon to start breaking down into component atoms. Suddenly within the whine several large explosions could be heard, with corresponding flashes of light being seen within the vortex. Little else could be heard over the squeal, the sound of the gate completely masking any source of sound that could possibly be heard.
Another couple of smaller explosions could be heard from within the vortex, followed by one large one as a flash of light broke through the event horizon. A streaked after-image stretched from the interior threshold of the tunnel to a point about 2 kilometers away from its opening. As the light flash died, anyone witnessing could easily see a very much naked man with a sword in his right hand and his left hand extended straight in front of him, palm forward in a stopping motion. The sword itself, if one could call it that, seemed to be made entirely, from pummel to tip, out of energy focused to a form that resembled a hand and a half bastard sword. The man was standing literally in the middle of the air, his feet spread apart in what could only be described as a wrestler's "sugar-foot" stance. The face was worn and tired, blood trickling down from the right side of his head just above his ear. His body looked battered and cut all over, as if he'd been fighting a long, drawn out, deadly battle. His face looked completely serious and focused, and almost devoid of emotion as he waited for something.
Interestingly enough the "reality quake" did not seem to be bothering him in the slightest, even though he did seem at least aware of it. As it picked up again, two solid-black lines rushed from the center of the vortex, causing another flash of light and another spike in the noise. When the light cleared, one could see two egg-shaped objects floating by their widest point in the air as easily as if they were balanced like that in the ground. Having ejected its contents, the vortex began to collapse on itself, the web lines seeming to dissolve as it closed, and taking the quake along with it. With a final, ear piercing "BOOM" the vortex snapped shut, exploding inwards. Whatever was on the other side of that vortex would never exist again.
The orbs, however, appeared to waste no time as they began an attack on the nude man. Several black, green, and purple beams launched against the man with the sword. A blue barrier sprang up to intercept the beams, though with each volley a new barrier had to be erected. They did not, however, appear to be stopping all of the damage from getting through. The man himself could now be heard saying something indiscernible over the cascade of explosions as each shield died. As he let go of his sword it fell, evaporating into a fountain of white sparks while he brought his now free hand to point his palm straight up.
Suddenly a ritual circle of white power formed above the dark egg-like beings, glowing brilliantly for just a moment before the man finished his spell with one word, swinging his arm down to point at the other creatures. They did not appear to move as the spell activated, send a great deal of powerful shafts of white light rained down on them and everything in their immediate vicinity. The resulting explosions shook the very earth below, rendering anything within them invisible. The man watched as the area enveloped in the rain of light, but was caught completely by surprise as a shaft of black light burst from within the area directly toward him. It shattered the man's shield and pierced the body through a lung, abruptly ending his spell. A maniacal laughter could be heard from the eggs as the man's seemingly dead body fell and they disappeared.
About 10 miles away toward Tokyo, a blond woman stood up in the air, a double-bladed poleaxe held before her. After the orbs disappeared, she flew toward the island, checking for the man or any other survivors. Finding none, but obviously concerned about what she saw she sighed and willed for another window to appear. Looking up she spoke, "Suzuka-chan... I'm sending you Bishamonten's recording of this dimensional dislocation. It's like nothing I've ever heard of before. Perhaps we should contact Lindy-san about this. I have to ease the minds of some naval ships nearby, and they're going to want some answers. I'll try to stall them as much as possible..." Upon receiving a confirmation, she cut off her signal and headed off toward the ships nearby. She had a bad feeling about what she just witnessed, and knew there was no way of covering it up.
The next morning 10:00 am Midchildan time, TSAB headquarters
'It's not fair,' Nanoha thought to herself as she walked along the hallway with Fate and Tea. 'Fate was supposed to be here for at least a week this time, but no... Chrono has to call and demand to see us this morning. So much for some family time. Well, at least Subaru doesn't seem too happy about it either.' The blue-haired girl in question seemed to be as unwilling to talk at the moment as she was hanging back slightly from Fate and Tea. It was rather obvious to anyone that looked that Tea and Fate seemed to be getting along very well together, perhaps a little too well by the standards of both the instructor and her former student. Still, both women tried to put their best smiles on when their friends looked back at them in the hope that they would not guess either one was unhappy.
Tea wasn't buying it. Subaru was normally loud and outgoing, if sometimes a little over-the-top and embarrassing. They saw precious little of each-other anymore, with Tea's work schedule amongst the Enforcers and Subaru's work schedule amongst the Search and Rescue Corp. Tea knew full well that Subaru cared for her very much after having had to endure several attempts to "get closer" on the part of the normally rambunctious woman. And Nanoha... As long as Tea has known her former instructor, the woman had been a gentle, loving, engaging woman whose presence you simply could not ignore. For her to be walking behind them and silent like this spoke volumes to the young Enforcer's Aide. There were times that she wished that her superior and her former instructor would finally realize what exactly they meant to each other, for they had been dancing around each other for years. It was time, Tea thought, that they finalized what everyone else knew, though she knew that nowadays their jobs conspired against it. And as for her and Subaru? Well... even though she did not like to admit it aloud to anyone, she dearly missed Subaru's antics.
Upon reaching their destination, Fate pressed her hand against a plate beside the door, causing it to open up to Amy Harlaown's office. Amy was filling in as Chrono's secretary for the past couple of weeks as his current secretary was away on leave. When Fate cleared her throat Chrono's wife smiled broadly as she stood up and came around the desk. "Come in, come in," she cheerfully beckoned. "Chrono's on a long-distance call, so he'll be out in a moment. Would any of you like some coffee?" A chorus of "No's" was returned, the quietest coming from the two women who were normally the most outspoken. Chuckling under her breath at something or another, she apparently decided to refill her own cup while they waited. Just then, a screen came up in front of Amy as a rather harried admiral called for them to enter his office. Amy didn't even need to wave anyone through, however, as the group was already headed in.
At least they were, until Fate stopped at the threshold for some reason not readily known to the others who were following behind her. Before anyone could say anything, however a rather familiar and decidedly feminine voice called out from inside the room. "Fate-chan, you know you're not being fair to the others, don't you? Why don't you move and let them in before you get bowled over by Subaru or Nanoha-chan?" Hearing this voice had a similar effect on the other three women, who all stopped trying to press forward from the shock. Numbly all four women entered the door to find Yagami Hayate and her Velka Knights, along with Agito and Rein, standing inside. If Chrono thought he was going to get anything done immediately, he was wrong as the group started to greet each other. However, it was noticed by Hayate and her Velka Knights that both Subaru and Nanoha seemed subdued. A quick pout from Nanoha toward Chrono soon gave Hayate most of the information she needed. The rest was given when she noticed Nanoha watching Tea like a hawk. Hayate sighed and shook her head, mentally noting she would have to talk to Fate later.
Chrono finally managed to call everyone's attention back to him, and offered the assembled group seats. But with the exception of the Mistress of the Night's Sky and Admiral Harlaown, everyone had chosen a wall to prop up. But before Chrono could get another word out, Elio, Caro, and Lutecia were ushered in by Amy. This started a new din of greetings as long friends reunited. The addition of Lutecia, however, brought with it a couple of interesting twists. Elio and Caro were both swept up in hugs by Fate, and were universally welcomed. The same could not be said about the purple-haired young woman accompanying them though. Nearly all of the room remembered the JS incident and her role in it, resulting in slightly muted greetings toward the girl. None of them was outright cold, but all of them, save Agito (who flew right up to her and hugged the insect summoner around the neck) seemed cautious and somewhat confused as to why she was here. Finally, Vita, the ever gruff-but-caring perpetually young teenager voiced her thoughts. "I thought you had much of your magic sealed and was living with your mom. What are you doing here?"
Before the young woman could answer, Chrono interjected the answer to that question. "She's enlisted into the TSAB, had her seals removed, and is now working with Elio and Caro. They come as a set now, so when I called for them, we got Lutecia as well. Now, if I can have your attention please?"
He paused long enough to make sure all eyes were on him before he continued, "Good. Last night, before I started to hurry and pull all of you back together, something... extremely troubling occurred on Non-administrated world 97." This of course got the attention of Fate, Hayate, and Nanoha, seeing as how that was their home planet, or the closest thing to in Fate's case. "Due to the nature of this emergency, and upon request of the nominal world government, the TSAB has decided to reach out to the planet and offer aid. In return, the global government has already taken a vote to become an Administrated Planet. They will accept both a military force and an ambassadorial delegation. That's where you come in. As of now, Mobile Division 6 is hereby re-formed under Admiral Yagami Hayate. Fate T Harlaown will once again command Lightning Squad while Takamichi Nanoha will command Stars Squad. The squads will be staffed as before, with the addition of Lutecia Alphino as a third forward for Lightning squad. The primary duties of the Division are investigations into and settlement of Lost Logia cases, as well as high-level catastrophic events. The later involves dealing with events that could possibly destroy not just a world, but also several other dimensions on either side of said world. Your secondary function will be support for ambassadorial endeavors to newly administered planets."
Indeed, for several seconds no one said a word as they blinked at the Admiral in wonderment. "Are you serious?" came Nanoha's disbelieving question. After a very happy smile and nod from the questioned Admiral, Nanoha smiled widely and glanced over at Fate, who was looking quite pleased as well. Subaru let out a joyous whoop, much to the laughter of everyone else. Becoming embarrassed, she lowered her head and smiled over toward Tea, whose face seemed just shy of unreadable, with only a little happiness shining through. The reactions of everyone else were all positive, with the Knights enjoying the moment in the smug, quiet way they seemed to have gotten down pat over the years. The youngest members of the Division were all smiles as Elio and Caro both reached out for Lutecia's hand to squeeze lightly.
Chrono himself smiled as the group celebrated. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and said, "With the good news comes the bad. As I said, the emergency is extremely troubling, bordering on utter catastrophe. Approximately 14 hours ago, a dimensional rift formed on a small island to the east of Japan. We do not have too many details here, but the TSAB operative stationed there asked for back up from people who know that world. As this operative is rather highly ranked, and informed us that the situation is very dire, the TSAB decided to take this very seriously and took a closer look at the world's situation. Until recently there's only been a very loose global government there, and that government has been severely shaken and could fall apart at any time. The local governments on that world have had to deal with a general panic amongst the general populace. At first, they attempted to suppress the incident, but that has turned out to fail drastically. This had temporarily thrown the planet into global instability until the global government stepped in and looked for any assistance they could find. Thankfully, there was a mage academy already there. They had more information than the governments could access, primarily because they use Midchildan magic. The governments have, as of early this morning, managed to calm the populace, but the situation can change in a matter of minutes, as no one, not even us, knows what happened."
After allowing a few minutes of stunned silence, Chrono cleared his throat for the group so he could have their attention again. "In addition to the forces you had before, Yuuno Scrya will be joining in an advisory capacity, answerable to Admiral Yagami. Your first mission has already been decided obviously. You are all to be stationed at Non-administrated planet 97, now referred to as Terra by the TSAB. You will work with the TSAB Admiral who is resident there and more importantly with the representatives of the newly forming Mage group from that planet." This earned another look of shock from the group, especially Hayate, Fate, and Nanoha. Earth was no longer labeled as "Non-Administrated Planet 97," but it didn't mean that they were used to the strange and unusual events magic could cause. However, Chrono didn't stop this time and continued. "This is to be an accompanied trip, as it will not only be relief and assistance, but you will be the first contact ambassadors to this newly administrated world. As such," he says, looking toward Nanoha and Fate, "Vivio has been offered a place at the Mage Academy that has opened there about 3 years ago. This way her schooling can continue and she has a reason to be with you as you get there. Living arrangements, credentials, and histories for those originally from Terra will be arranged by the resident Admiral. You are to proceed tomorrow morning at 0900 to the teleportation point so you can meet up with your contact on that world. I would suggest you pack heavy, for you'll be there for quite some time, if current projections of the situation are in any way accurate. Please save mission specific questions for your contact, as she and the mage representatives of the planet have more information than I do. Are there any other questions that I can answer?"
After a short question and answer session primarily between Nanoha and Chrono about their ambassadorial status, the meeting ended with the entire group filing out. The consensus was happy they were going to be together again, but deeply concerned about the situation. None of them believed that they knew anywhere near enough, but the joy of working together again seemed to push any sense of dread to the back of their minds. The idea was brought up for a group lunch, which was happily accepted by all. Afterwards the group went their separate ways to get ready for the next morning's departure; leaving Nanoha and Fate walking hand in hand back toward their apartment. "It's good to be working with you again Fate-chan," Nanoha prompted at the smiling but quiet woman.
"Eh? Oh... Yes, it will be great to be working with you again. It's been far too long since we had more than a week together," the blond-haired woman replied in her normal quiet manner. "I've missed you terribly."
This caused a wide smile to form over Nanoha's lips, as well as a gentle squeeze around the waist to reward Fate. "The only thing I'm worried about is how Vivio is going to take this... What do you think Fate-chan?"
"She'll be sad to have to leave her friends, but I think she'd love to see the place where we grew up, though the later part will only come after a few protests about us ruining her life." Fate chuckled softly at that, shaking her head as she did in ironic mirth.
"I know, and it's that first few hours I'm afraid of," came the reply from the pony-tailed woman before she too chuckled ironically. With this the two started to go back home to pack, and to prepare a young teenager for the trip.
Location: Terra Date: March 27, 2009 Time: unknown
The island was normally deserted, save for animals and vegetation, but recent events left it utterly barren as well. What was once sand and dirt was now nothing more than a silvery, sparkling, sand-like substance. Despite not being sand, it still had many of the same properties, so it would not be any surprise that a small crater near the center of the island was slowly beginning to fill in as gentle winds swept through the area seemingly from all directions. If anyone or anything had been anywhere close enough to watch this hole fill in, they would have noticed it did not simply shift evenly. Instead, an outline of what would be a human shape began to make itself visible, though there appeared to be nothing there.
After a short time, when half a human form could be made in the imprint in the sand, a patch of color flickered in the impression. A minute later, and another flicker of color appeared. Soon the flickers started to increase in both frequency and area, eventually covering not only the imprint in the silver substance, but through the substance as well. Finally a light flashed, revealing a wounded, overweight, and obviously very much naked human male form. Red blood stained the ground around it, turning the silvery substance a bright silvery crimson. The man could only be said to be laboriously breathing at best. Indeed, any onlooker would say the man was near the brink of death, if that is, there was anyone with a physical body around. As there was not, only the spirits could see the man as he labored to hold onto life and regain some form of consciousness.
Sometime later the man's eyes flickered open, followed by the first sound (save for the sound of rushing water and blowing wind) since the reality quake died, a low, pain-filled moan. 'What... where am...' came fragmented thoughts from the man. All the shields he held on his psychic powers were down enabling anyone, spirit or otherwise, to hear his thoughts as if they were their own. Fortunately, there was nothing unfriendly, or even human, around that could pick them up so there were very few beings that could intrude on his consciousness. Never had he felt so raw, so alone. He normally could feel the spiritual energy around him at least, his consciousness reasoned in fragments, but for some reason the area seemed almost completely lacking in these energies. Moreover, the presences he was sensing, and the energy flows converging on his location, seemed completely alien to him. Slowly he became aware of his body healing at a seemingly impossible rate; for he knew he was not healing himself. As his mind became clearer and more lucid, he realized that he felt impossibly weak from his injuries.
After what seemed like forever, though it was only an hour, he sat up and started to take stock of himself. Most of the minor and more moderate injuries the stranger accrued were already completely healed, and the major ones, including the sucking chest wound, were well on their way to full healing. He gave himself a thorough examination, noticing that his body was also slimming down pretty fast, the fat and excess skin on his body were probably being used to heal it. This shocked the injured man, as he did not remember casting any spell to cause this. After weighing the pros and cons of his situation against his most recent memories, he set small, very low power probes to the island boundaries. These probe could not normally be detected unless someone were actively scanning the area, which was good since he was just about out of energy, and without dipping further into his actual body mass it was about the limit of what he could actually do at this point. If he had to defend himself, he would be done for. The probes started to send reports back to him in short order, verifying the surrounding area showed was as lifeless as he thought. Not so much as an insect was to be found anywhere on the island. Furthermore, this area did not feel like the spirit realms he was in before. Everything had a touch of... "physicalness," should such a word even exist about it. Yet at the same time, there was a preponderance of spiritual energy around. His own empathy could not notice anything dangerous, however, so for the moment he just filed it away as something to consider after he finished assessing himself. Looking down his body yet again, the realization that he was completely nude finally began to sink in. "What happened? Where am I?" he said absently aloud, the voice echoing strangely through the area.
/Not in your world anymore, / a "voice" responded. The voice was strangely soft and seemed to echo from both nowhere and everywhere around the man. It reminded him of telepathy, a power he knew to be blocked from his use since early childhood. /We do not know how to describe this world compared to yours, but all that you knew about your own world is not necessarily true here./
To say the warrior was shocked would be an understatement along the lines of proclaiming Tokyo Tower "tall." Grasping his head as the new pain from using a previously unused power hit him; he has to start putting up shields just to lessen the volume. Finally, the headache started to die, enabling him to ask his next question both in voice and in telepathy. Since this power was apparently active, it would be a good idea to stretch the mental muscles required for their use. "Okay... Last, I knew I was fighting... "Them" in the spirit world of my world in order to keep them there, and was trapped in a vortex. Now I appear to be, at least according to whoever you are out there, physically in another world. Just how is that possible?" the stranger asked, disbelief in his voice combining with shock to produce a raspy, slow, but yet leery voice.
/You came through a vortex gate, a largely destructive one at that. That is all we know,/ the alien "voice" replied in a calming tone. A gentle wash of comfort swept through the area in an obvious attempt to calm the psychic down.
The man considered their answer as the calm feelings washed over him, which gave him some time to take stock of his body as it reverted to what it was in his physical prime. "Other than mounting physical evidence to suggest you're telling the truth, why should I believe you, especially since you won't tell me what happened?" His body seemed mostly healed now, save for the chest wound, which was still smaller than it was even a few moments before.
The answer came in the form of shimmering patches of light off to the leery man's right side. As the beings appeared before him, they moved closer to a more comfortable talking distance. They did not look to be more than indistinct shapes of near translucent color to anyone's physical eyes, but to those used to looking into the spirit world they appeared to be several spirit dragons that were hovering before him, with one larger dragon taking the fore. /Because Dragons do not lie to each other, my friend, even to one such as you. While contact with us has been... sparse and inconsistent for you, you should still remember this. Yes, indeed you were fighting Them all the way through the vortex. The rest we are at a loss at, thus we were hoping you could tell us what happened, though that takes second wing to getting you healed and looked after./
As these words fell into the man's mind, the memories and images of all that had happened to this point came rushing into his memories, fully restored. The man's face went from confusion to horror in a breath of a second. "Wait... We're not in my world anymore. How...?" He paused, and then shook his head to focuses on the real question at hand, "How strong is Magic in this world?" The human-seeming being seemed to dread the answer to this question, though it was obvious he was steeling himself for the worst.
The spirit dragons started to become very agitated, apparently very nervous about the situation at hand. /Very high overall. Though this specific occurrence of the world was somewhat low for a long time, Magic as it is designated here is making a great resurgence./
This news sent the man into an emotion beyond shock, and even beyond panic as he let loose a torrent of swear words that would make a sailor blush. "I don't have time to wait for this," he snapped finally, indicating the sucking chest wound, which was slowly healing. Struggling to stand up, he started to focus on the magic around him, even though his body did not want to cooperate. Frustrated at his body's inability to move, he trusted the dragons to know what they were talking about and decided to pour his energies into a rather desperate spell, hoping it would overcome his current problems with not only his physical body, but his power as well. [[Lord and Lady of the Light, hear my plea. Send unto me the power of healing, the ways to knit bone and rejoin flesh, and the ways to heal the soul. I beg for thine power to strengthen my arms, my heart, and my spirit. I plead for . . .]] A chorus of /NO!'s/ came up as soon as he started to speak to try to keep him from casting the spell. A white pentagram had sprung up at the man's feet, astrological and draconic runes forming around the border of the surrounding circle. The language the man was speaking was not the English he had been speaking, but a thick, guttural language that would leave most peoples' throat raw. "Lady's Blessing." The man finished these last words in English. The spell circle flashed bright white once; he realized that there was a price to pay. As nearly all the man's energies start to siphon off, he realized that he was more drained than he thought, so much so he was concerned he wouldn't have enough to complete the spell, though somehow he managed to hold on through it. Once it was done, however, it didn't take long for him to understand he could in no way fight off an attack. Silently he started to curse himself even as the dragons around him become agitated.
/Damn it! We were hoping to have more time before They found out you were still alive. They'll sense that, that's for certain./ The lead dragon shook his impressive head frustratingly and then pined the human's eyes with his own in its ire. An obvious look of fear came over the human's face as the spell completed, taking the last of the man's energies save those to keep him alive. /You are in no shape to fight Them now. You're drained and in a new world that operates differently than the one you came from. We WERE hoping to give you a little bit of introduction into this world, and then integrate you into human society, but that plan just went out with the winds. You DO understand that you can't stop them finally yet, don't you?/ At the human's resigned head nodded the dragon paused as if trying to figure a way out of this situation. Finally, it looked off into the distance and huffed, obviously making his mind up on something. A wash of power flowed over the man in the next instant, giving him some, but by no means all, of his personal power back. Finally the flow of power ended, it ordered, /Turn to the half dragon form and stand by, we may have a solution, but They're on Their way./
The man sighed as he was forced to admit his new friends were right. The choice of hiding was now gone, thanks to his impulsive nature. Still, there was nothing to do but to start to prepare himself for the transformation. After silently asking at his comrades for help with the energies needed, the man started to intone a long string of words in that grating language, causing another white spell circle to spring into life around him.
Location: Unimari City, Terra
A rather plain looking house sat on a rather unobtrusive piece of land on the outskirts of the city, unremarked upon and mostly ignored. Though there were no advertisements for the property being on sale, it was rather obvious to anyone who looked that the house was not lived in for most of the year. Despite a nearly drastic need for living space throughout Japan, the house never seemed to fall under scrutiny for abandonment. It was just too well maintained. Only gardeners and house cleaners were seen entering or leaving the house on a regular basis, so most people thought it belonged to some recluse, so the house went pretty much ignored.
A car pulled up into the driveway in the morning. Soon after the engine died, a tall looking woman with blue-green hair stepped out of the driver's side. She smoothed out her clothing which seemed to consist of a strangely cut dark blue suit with a black tie and white shirt. On each shoulder a rather large disk seemed suspended, probably an insignia of some kind. Her forehead bore a cross-shaped mark, probably a birthmark. She seemed friendly enough, and could easily pass for some kind of cosplay fanatic due to the alieness of the outfit she was wearing. Little did the locals know that it /was/ actually a uniform, and that the woman was greeting somebody today.
Suddenly a bright light shown through the windows of the house, it's golden color easily illuminating the yard around it and lighting up the walls surrounding the property. The woman smiled as she watched this and took one final chance to smooth out her uniform before looking back down the drive where a rather large bus and a limo were pulling up on either side. The glow died, and voices could be heard inside the house. Before long, the door opened, revealing first Hayate, followed closely by Signum and Vita. They seemed to be amused by something, which soon manifested itself as a slightly whiny and putout feminine voice behind them. "I still don't understand why I couldn't at least stay until the end of the school year!"
"Because this is a long duty, accompanied assignment. This planet will most likely be our home for quite a few years," Fate's soft voice explained patiently. "I know you will miss everyone Vivio, but we'd rather you be here with us. Wouldn't you like to be a family with Nanoha-mama and me again?"
Nanoha came out of the door next, a rather cute frown on her lips. Truth is, Vivio had not been exactly thrilled with the prospect of moving at first, and it was taking longer to bring the teenager around than either mother originally thought. "Mou Vivio` chan... I already said I was sorry many times. I know it's hard, but please can you be at least a little happy to be here? You said you liked this place." Signum, who had been watching the exchange with her usual stoic expression, seemed to crook a corner of her mouth up at this as if she were rather amused. Her eyes turned to scan the area, shortly falling on the woman who had apparently been waiting for them. The quiet warrior's eyebrow rose upward as she recognized who was there to greet them, followed by a slight raise of the other corner of her mouth. Family reunions were so much fun for spectators, especially in cases like this.
"Mou..." came the teenager's reply in what could only be called a very close imitation of Nanoha. Hayate had to hug Vita at this point to try to hide the laughter she was so desperately trying to hold back. The diminutive young-looking woman had to back up a step or two to avoid falling over as she held in her own laughter. "I know Nanoha-mama... I do like it here, with the family and all, just..."
Unable to resist the opening, the woman who had been waiting finally decided to step up. "Don't worry Vivio-chan. The school you're going to has many kids with the same abilities. You'll make plenty of new friends." Taking a few steps forward, she passed Nanoha so she could walk right up to the preteen. "Besides, if it's boys you're worried about, there's plenty at the school you'll be going to. And you don't even have to hide your abilities from them," she adds the last in a conspiratorial tone.
Vivio's mothers looked rather surprised as Lindy Harlaown walked up to their daughter. Nanoha for one didn't know whether she should thank her, or to become fiercely protective of Vivio over the "boy" issue. The Admiral had been so instrumental in her acceptance into the TSAB after all, not to mention she thought of the woman as kind of a second mother. From the looks of things, Fate was not doing much better, though she at least was keeping her mouth from hanging open like a fish. However, she could not seem to come back with anything either.
Vivio's reaction, on the other hand, was the most interesting. She of course knew her "grandmother's" sense of humor, but the boy topic made her profoundly embarrassed. "No Lindy-obaasan," she started as her face turned red as a ripe tomato, "I don't... I mean... I... " Finally giving up with a "Mou," she stuck her lower lip out and hid behind her hair.
"It's okay Vivio-chan," Fate interjected after she hand finally found her soft voice again. "I'm sure you'll be just as popular here as you were back on Midchilda. In fact, I'm sure the boys will . . ."
Fate did not get to complete that sentence thanks in part to Subaru's laughter from behind them which gave Hayate a chance to not only get everyone back on track but to save herself and Vita from collapsing in similar hysterics. "While this is highly amusing, I think we should be reporting in to our contact, don't you?" Hayate's gaze went to each in turn, and then landed on Nanoha's rather embarrassed form. As Yuuno came up behind Nanoha, the commander of Division 6 chuckled and shook her head. "Vivio-chan, please remember we are here on business and we're meeting one of our contacts. Nanoha, I'm sure you're thankful that it's Lindy-san and not someone else, aren't you?" After receiving a nod from the red-faced instructor and her daughter, she turned toward Lindy and came to attention to salute. "Mobile Division 6 reporting, Admiral Lindy. Am I to assume you're our liaison?"
Lindy quietly chuckled for a few moments as Hayate did her usual honey-tongued-mild suggestion-slash-order for which she was so famous. After returning the salute and waving for Hayate to be at ease, she let her laughter be heard by everyone else. "Don't worry about it, we're practically family, and I just love watching my granddaughter sometimes. It's amazing how like both Nanoha-san and Fate she actually is." Another chuckle followed this, much to the amusement of almost everyone present, save the aforementioned parents and Lutecia. The last was looking very confused and was about to say something when Carol, realizing that she was about to ask what could be an embarrassing question, got her attention. Carol, along with Elio, staved off this embarrassment by assuring her that her questions would be answered later.
This allowed Lindy to become serious enough to answer Hayate's question without interruption. "No, I'm not your liaison. I'm an advisor to you concerning what has been going on here on Terra. Your liaison is a part of the indigenous mage population, and is looking forward to meeting all of you. In fact, she is the Headmistress of this planet's mage school. However, in a way, I'm their advisor and teacher, so consider me an observer and aid. I'll help where I can, but you'll need to decide who will be Midchilda's ambassador to this planet. I'd suggest it be someone raised on this planet, Hayate. Only you, Nanoha, and Fate will know enough about this planet's politics and idiosyncrasies to fill the ambassadorial seat. Everyone else will probably wind up being aides and military arms. But that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves, don't you think? Instead, I'd like the three Aces in the car with me, and the rest of you on the bus. I'll take you to the school where the Headmistress and her Deputy can fill you in on the rest."
Signum nodded an affirmative to Lindy before turning to the rest of the forwards. "Everyone on the bus," she says plainly, as she picks up her bags. With further encouragements from Vita, Shamal, and Zafira the rest of the forwards started to make their way toward the bus, bags in hand.
"How do the squad leaders and Hayate-san get away with talking to the Admiral like that?" asked Lutecia as she sat across the aisle of Elio from Carol. "Is what she said about being Vivio-san's grandmother true?"
Carol nodded, her pink bangs moving slightly, as she reached around Elio's back to rub Lutecia's. "Yes, it's true. Lindy-sama adopted Fate-san shortly after the Book of Darkness incident, and Fate-san and Nanoha-san both adopted Vivio-chan. So in effect, both sets of Vivio's grandparents live here on Non... Terra. That will be a good thing for Vivio," she said, smiling at the girl who had looked their way when she heard her name, "She's been here before enough to know her way around the area, and know the language for this country." At the confused looks the others were giving her, Carol sighed. "I'm afraid that's going to be the hard part. There are over 50 known languages in this world. Maybe she can tutor us on Japanese." The girl in question smiles and gives Carol a "thumbs up" sign, obviously happy to help.
Meanwhile, in the limo that the Aces are traveling in, business seemed to be the order of the day. "So Lindy-san, what can you tell us about this Headmistress?" Nanoha asks as she leans back. "And why do we need the Division re-formed for a diplomatic mission?"
Lindy leaned back for a moment and smiled at Nanoha's questions. "Regarding this world's Mage Leaders, all I'll say is that I'm leaving it to you to get your own impressions about them. As far as the request for assistance is concerned," she said as she relished the slightly frustrated looks on the faces of the three others, "The non-mage leaders were so worried about the recent events they were practically beating down the Headmistress's doors to demand aid. Two of the American destroyers got capsized and flooded by the shockwaves alone." She allowed the three women with her to absorb that information before continuing, "Here's what we know so far, based upon satellite and personal device recordings." With this, she hit a button, allowing a television panel to drop to display the video. "Around noon local time an extremely strong dimensional tear formed over a previously uninhabited island in the South Pacific. The rift was strong enough to completely disintegrate all life, both plant and animal, in a half-mile radius. Out of this rift three . . . beings emerged."
Continuing through the rest of the incident recording, she finally ended with, "The mage monitoring this from afar moved in just as the egg-things disappeared. No sign of life, not even the body of the strange man, could be found. There were strange and unfamiliar patterns in the readings of the rift, both while it was opened and as it closed. With the way it closed, whatever was on the other side likely did not survive the blast. We have, as of yet, been unable to figure out where these things came from, or what the anomalies in the readings we are taking means. We're also unable to find the body of the man that came out of the rift. He seemed to vanish. Furthermore, the very earth of the island has changed into some new kind of substance we've never seen before. Unfortunately the mage population of this planet is not yet skilled enough to investigate such an area safely, and the non-magical governments have quarantined the area to mages only, so we can't get any good readings yet. What really concerns us were the power levels involved here, as well as the whirlpool in the middle of the pacific from the man's attack on the eggs."
The three younger women all look between each other for a moment with raised eyebrows before turning back to Lindy. "Bodies don't just disappear," Fate started, "But there's no way anyone could have survived that man's wounds for this long without immediate medical attention. There should have been least be a body there. Perhaps when the initial meeting between this world's mage representatives and us is over, we should send someone to do a thorough combing of the area, complete with magical scans. Though finding any trace of magic in that kind of environment will be difficult." Looking at Lindy's expression for a moment, she asked, "Obviously we got some kind of indication about the powers here, what are they like?"
"High enough to rip this world apart effortlessly," Lindy's response was as she thumbed up some schematics. "The type of magic these three beings employed is, as of yet, unknown. Though many of the markings on the man's area effect spell match with this world's astrology markings, the others are completely unrecognizable. The man's blast was registered at 250,000 rads, while the counterattack from the "Eggs" was ranked at 400,000 rads. We also know there is a hole about half of a kilometer deep and equally as wide on the ocean floor, where the man's attack hit. And the "Eggs" were barely even scratched from the Man's spell."
"What?" Nanoha exclaimed in disbelief. "But those are Lost Logia levels. No human should be able to pull Lost Logia level three magics. Not to mention anything rated at Lost Logia 2 or higher, such as these "Eggs," should be easily able to be detected via the satellites!"
Lindy nodded at Nanoha's comments. "Yes, and there was obviously nothing on the man that could be considered to be an artifact, or Lost Logia, or clothes for that matter. And as far as the others? Well, I suspect they have some kind of advanced cloaking technique... " She stopped as the screen in front of them blinked before being replaced by a face very familiar to all four women in the car. The woman on the screen appeared to be in an office, though the lighting there was flashing between normal sunlight and florescent lamps and red. "Lindy-sensei, I'm sorry to interrupt you and spoil the surprise, but we have a serious problem. The "Eggs" are making another appearance."
The fact that Sazuka's face is on the screen is not lost on the three women from this planet, as they looked at her in shock. However, before anyone could say anything, ask another question, or register a vocal surprise, Admiral Lindy nodded as she takes out a PDA. "Go on."
"Currently they're East of Tokyo, heading toward the island they entered our world over at a high rate of speed. One of the American Destroyers tried to fire upon them, and was destroyed. The Americans are attempting to pursue them so they can keep up the attack, but are unable to even keep up, much less do anything that actually damages them," Sazuka reported. "We're trying to get them to back off on the promise we'll try to stop them. I'm sorry Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan, and Hayate-chan, but we need you all to deploy now. Please?"
"Driver, pull over and tell the bus to do the same," Lindy ordered. Turning toward Hayate she added, "You're the Admiral in charge of the Midchildan military forces deployed here. How you want to handle this is your call. I'll coordinate between you and Sazuka. No one has limiters activated, nor will they be. The power levels of our targets are just too high for them."
Hayate gave Lindy an affirmation to the information and then called Rein. "Rein, tell the forwards to form up into squads. Nanoha, you, Vita, and the rest of Stars will run point. Lightening and Signum will be Star's back up and support. Zafira will be with Stars. I suggest Agito and Signum unison for this one. All stages are clear. Rein, you and I will unison and command from above, so we can monitor and help as need be. Don't start with the lower level powers first, these things seem to be able to resist all but more powerful attacks. Everyone, scramble."
It took very little time for the Division to Set Up and scramble, so it was not long before everyone was on their way to the site. As they approached within 10 miles the site, they see for the first time the "Eggs," which for some reason seem to be flanked by two bipedal dragons. The Dragons appeared to be gunmetal grey in color, and carried what looked to be pole-axes. The four aliens seemed to ignore the newcomers however, seemingly intent upon making speed toward the island. Before anyone could say anything another voice called out from just ahead of the targets. "Alien beings, I am Arisa Bannings of the Earth mage forces. Stop where you are and explain yourselves." Indeed, up ahead is Arisa, hovering some 4 miles from the island with a poleaxe of her own in hand.
The intruders seemed to have other ideas however, as they didn't even begin to slow. Instead, one of the dragons fired off a beam of black energy at the lone woman. \\Wall of Stone\\, was announced in Velkan from Arisa's device as a shield came up to intercept the beam. Then Arisa disappeared with an afterimage.
\\Firing mode,\\ was the next words heard, this time from Raising Heart. "Divine Buster, Shoot!" Nanoha yelled just after. An intense beam of pink light shot from Nanoha's staff, aimed at the Eggs themselves. Just then Arisa reappeared over the first dragon, yelling, "Bishamonten, Cleave strike!" \\Great chop,\\ echoed Arisa's device as blue blades of pure energy extended the blades on the axe to double their size. \\Swallow Flier\\ called out Graf Eisen as four balls of energy-covered metal fly toward their target.
Each of the strikes hit true, causing three explosions to occur in very rapid succession. Arisa, already moving from her strike, was carried beyond her target though she turned around to bring herself to a halt. The smoke cleared from the targets, revealing them completely unscathed from the attacks. Neither one of the "Eggs" even appeared to want to slow, though the dragons then peeled off and attack their attackers. \\These appear to be nonliving constructs my master. Only powerful attacks will penetrate,\\ Raising heart called out to Nanoha even as she prepared for the next attack. Nanoha relayed this to everyone even as she prepared for an up-close battle. One dragon, deciding that Nanoha is the most dangerous of the enemies, flew toward Nanoha a breakneck speed, raising his axe to strike. \\Protection powered,\\ Raising Heart intoned as a strong shield was raised in front of Nanoha.
"Sword Flame Slash, Fire Dragon, Strike!" echoes a dual call from Signum and Agito. Levantine, already in Snake Form, lashed out at the Dragon bearing down on Nanoha just as its strike hit the shield. Enormous amounts of power were unleashed against the Dragon, damaging it greatly. Nanoha called forth, "Barrier Strike!" to which Raising Heart echoed \\Barrier Burst,\\ sending an enormous attack through the barrier right into the Dragon's face. The resulting explosion from both attacks completely obscured Nanoha and her opponent, rendering it all but impossible to tell what happened.
At the same time, the other dragon attempted to strike home at Arisa, who quickly dodged backward. \\Double Speed\\ Bishamonten rang out, increasing Arisa's speed to the point she looked like a blur. "Grand Cleave!" was Arisa's next command, in answer to which her device loaded two cartridges and called out, \\Armor Buster\\. The effect on the axe could be said to be amazing, as it doubled physically in size, with its energy blades crackling with flames. Arisa swung her ax down on her opponent aimed for center mass. The dragon was blown away from Arisa, right into the path of both Subaru and Tea, who have been preparing for this.
"Variable shot, Multi Bullet, Shoot," Teanna called out as Crossfire acknowledged her command. Several balls of energy, which had been gathering around her during this time, were coated in bright yellow spheres before they shot out at the Dragon. Just after they struck home, Subaru closed her distance with Gear Excellion fully active. The wing road shot up right next to the Dragon allowing for a close quarters shot. "Divine Buster!" A blue ball as big as the dragon formed just before Subaru struck it with her fist. Blue energy shoots forward into her target at point-blank range, resulting in an explosion that filled the air around them. The result of which made it impossible to see the outcome.
During this time the "Eggs" continued forward and left the battle to the Dragons to fight the intruders. Fate and Lightening slowed as they happen upon the fight just a few seconds later as the smoke cleared from Nanoha first. "Go on Fate, stop them. We'll take this here. Vita, go with them," the Stars commander called out. Nodding once Fate led most of her group forwards. Vita nodded once to Nanoha and followed Fate toward the "Eggs"
As the smoke cleared both dragons appeared to be seriously hurt, but not even close to out of commission yet. "Just what does it take to stop these guys?" Subaru complained as she looped her wing road around for another strike. "Mach Caliber, Knuckle Breaker!" Mach Caliber's gears span so fast they blurred as blue light gathers in front of Subaru's fist as it is driven at their target.
Tea, still on a piece of wing road Subaru left for her, threw in a spell of her own, calling out, "Armor Piercing, level 3, Shoot!" \\Tank round,\\ confirmed Shooter as both pistols were drawn close together. A large ball of maroon-colored light grew in front of the barrels. Suddenly the ball was propelled forward as if shot from a tank's main gun, racing toward their opponent.
"One more time, Agito," Signum told the Unison device inside of her. "Let's go!" Agito returned with a sound of angry determination. Once again, they both call forth, "Fire Dragon, Strike!" Levantine's snake form, purple from the sheer heat and energy being poured into it, struck home on the Dragon just as Nanoha's Divine buster did. Two more explosions could be seen in the sky as attacks hit home repeatedly and fast. The very air around the battlefield shook from the attacks sheer power and force. It became very hard to see into it from the outside for a few moments as waves of power and dust filled the air.
During this time, Fate changed Bardiche to Zanber form, preparing to strike hard at the Eggs. Elio changed Strada into Jet form, and launched off Friedlich's back to fly through the air, targeting the Egg that Fate does not target. Carol then calls out, "Friedlich, strike the one Elio's going after. Dragon Knight Boost. Slash and Strike!" Carol's device glowed bright pink as it sent magic to boost Elio's power. Lutecia also summoned forth Garyuu and directed him toward Elio's "Egg" as well. Vita, calling forth her ultimate form of Graf Eisen, aligned herself on Fate's "Egg."
However, as soon as Friedlich was orientated on one of the "Eggs," something strange happened. Friedlich roared loudly, clearly angered by what he was seeing. Without waiting to coordinate with anyone else, Friedlich summoned forth his greatest fireball possible and launched it directly at the "Egg." "Friedlich! What's...? EVERYONE MOVE!" The scream caught the attention of those attacking the Orb only just in time to allow them to break off their attacks. This caused Elio to temporarily lose control of Strada as he overcompensated the wrenching motion to dodge the fireball. As the jets died on Strada, Elio started to plummet toward the ground fast.
"Garyuu! Catch him!" Lutecia called out desperately, unable to do much but hang onto Friedlich's back for dear life as the Dragon started to savagely attack the "Egg." Carol kept trying as hard as she could to get Friedlich under control, but he seemed beyond any reasoning. Indeed, he was bound and determined to get at the "Egg" and was blocking everything else out. Garyuu, following his mistress's orders, changed course and flew down toward the falling Elio. With a bit of luck the bipedal insect-man managed to catch him before the young man hit the water. Aware of Elio's need for his device, he then turned to catch Strada.
The "Eggs" both stopped their attack, seemingly floating in midair. Next thing anyone knew an intense hatred could be felt in the air as the alien objects started to fire at Friedlich, returning savagery against the brutal iron determination of the dragon. Multiple beams of different colored light lashed out toward Friedlich, causing him to use some rather impressive Arial acrobatics even as he returned fire with his fireballs.
"Vita! We've got to pull them out of there!" Fate called out to Stars-2. "I'll try to distract them while you get a hold of them!"
"What a time for that Dragon to act on his own!" Vita called out in anger of her own as she turned Graf Eisen to rocket mode. Spinning around a few times, she then flew toward Friedlich at high speeds in an attempt to catch up with the dragon. "Garyuu, help!" Garyuu, having retrieved Elio's device, now had time to see what was happening. The insect man then adjusted Elio's position so the boy was on his lower back before he too sped toward Friedlich.
Fate, in the meantime, made an effort to distract the "Egg" by striking at one of them as Bardiche called out \\Plasma Lancer.\\ The double effect of the heavy sword strike combined with the lightening arrows would normally have been enough to knock back the toughest of opponents, but this time it just seemed to kick up a large cloud of dust. As the dust cleared, Fate for the first time could see detail on both "Eggs." To her dismay she noticed that neither one appeared more than even slightly scratched by the blasts. The "Eggs" finally managed to strike Friedlich just as Vita caught up to him, knocking the dragon back and severely damaging his wing.
[[Now Dragon, you die,]] a "voice" called from one of the "Eggs." A blast of pure black energy, so black it practically glowed, lashed out toward Friedlich. Carol didn't even seem to have the time to call Voltaire, so she instead reached out in a reaching gesture and screamed at Friedlich to move. At the very last moment, Friedlich attempted to evade the attack, but unfortunately, it was not far enough to avoid the blast completely. Instead, it clipped his wing, causing it to disintegrate. The blood from the stub where the wing was squirted all over the place as Friedlich fell toward the silver sands of the scoured island.
The other "Egg," in the meantime, fired off several multicolored beams of light toward the island, though not toward Friedlich. Silver sand sprayed everywhere from the force of the blasts, save for one area that was covered by a thick grey-scaled shield. From behind this shield rang the sound of another voice, this one sounding weak and raspy. [[Lord and Lady of the Light, strike at my enemies with Light, which pierces the darkness. I call upon them the]] "Holy Strike." Several blasts of intense white beams of light leapt from the shield and struck at the Eggs hard. None of them seemed to do much lasting damage, but they at least had done the same amount as Fate with her attack.
About this time the Stars team, along with Signum arrived and joined in the battle having vanquished the constructs. Teanna, upon seeing a badly wounded Friedlich, flew down to join the younger Lightening members. Once there, she started to provide them cover and some first aid. Nanoha flew forward to intercept the Egg after the younger team members, charging a Starlight Breaker while Signum fired flame arrows. Subaru decided then to join Fate in attacking her Egg.
"Why are you doing this? Who are you?" Nanoha asked the "Eggs" as Raising Heart started the countdown on the insanely powered attack.
Unexpectedly, the "Egg" that Nanoha was targeting answered her in Japanese, "Death. My brother is Destruction. You are meaningless."
As the Starlight breaker reached the climax of its power, a voice speaking in English desperately called out from the ground, echoed in telepathy. "NO! DON'T!" Several more jets of brilliant white light leapt into the air, striking the same "Egg" that Nanoha was about to attack, in effort to divert its attention toward the barrier.
However, it is too late as Nanoha called out her spell, "ACS Breaker, SHOOT!" A violent river of pink light lashed out from Raising heart, striking the "Egg" at the same time the white flashes do. The result is nothing short of spectacular as the "Egg" exploded sending chunks of goo and eggshell everywhere. Friedlich, still weak from his injuries, roared in approval, which unfortunately died a split second later as the smoke cleared to reveal a "see through" version of the "Egg."
[[Foolish. It is not so easy to be rid of me.]] A green, yellow, and black whirlpool of power started to swirl above the "echo" of the egg steadily growing larger as each second passed. Another shout of denial sounded from the island as a tricolor beam of light lashed out to strike at Nanoha before anyone else can react. The immense power struck at her shields hard, causing them to fall after a second and then striking Nanoha just as hard.
[[Ancient Dragons of old, hear my call. Construct for me a maze of walls. I call upon the ancient time of Zeus, and enshrine my enemies within. I call for]] "The Maze of the Manticore." Suddenly both the echo of the first "Egg," and the other "Egg" itself, was ensconced in a white box, which disappeared shortly afterward, seeming to take the "Eggs" with it. The barrier on the island fell to reveal a bipedal draconic form who motioned toward the falling form of Nanoha. Several pentagrams sprung forward, catching the falling woman to cushion the impact of her unconscious body to the island. "That won't hold them for long," he explained in English as a pinkish pentagram of summoning formed beneath him. "Tend to your wounded, as I need to tend to my own situation. Get out of here as low powered as you can. Trust me when I say you don't want to be here when they escape that." With this, the dragon sank through the summoning circle and disappeared before anyone could attempt to stop him.
Location: Outskirts of Unimari City, Shinto Shrine
A Miko sat out in an open court area in front of an altar decorated in imperial dragons. A large bonfire had been lit before the shrine, and the Miko seemed to be in the midst of some kind of prayer or spell. Finally, after some time of sitting in a most uncomfortable position her prayer ended as she bowed down deeply to the altar in wait. She appeared to have all the time in the world to wait as the court was enclosed on four sides with buildings in what appeared to be the heart of the shrine grounds. This of course meant that no one would be interrupting her during the ceremony.
Suddenly a pink summon circle appeared on the altar, blowing out the bonfire in the process. A bipedal dragon rose up from the circle, watching the Miko closely. When it is fully there, it spoke with a rough voice, breathing ruggedly through a rapidly healing chest injury. "I have been called, Hime. What do you wish of me and what do you offer in return?"
A/N: I'm sorry if this has generated any false update notices, but there was one anonymous review I could not, in good conscience, rightly ignore.
First, to get the important part out of the way: I have never read Vivid or Force. This story, which is a rewrite, was written before those two manga ever came out. Thus it is pretty safe to assume that this takes over from the anime, not the manga, and goes AU from there. I'm sorry I did not make that known previously, but in truth I didn't really know those two existed, as I never read the manga for this series. I enjoyed the anime entirely too much and forgot to see if I could find the manga for it.
As far as me reporting that review for abuse violations is concerned, let me say this. I will accept a lot, but getting personally insulting is something I will not abide in reviews. If you have a problem with the ship, that's great. You're entitled to your opinions, and you're entitled to express them. But keep the personal insults out. Same goes for PM's, though I reserve the right to actually respond to the insults there.