My side hurt as my lungs expanded, trying to keep sufficient air in them while I skated across the sidewalk in my battle gear. How dare they do this to me? I know I was hurt, but still! My eyes narrowed as the building with the helipad on top came close enough for me to form my wing road. The trip up the several stories forced me to loop my road a few times so the angle of accent wouldn’t make me actually slide backwards back down it. When the top came to my view I felt a certain amount of relief wash over me when the people I was after were still standing outside of the helicopter. My appearance shocked everyone but Tia, who just frowned at me. My wheels touched the roof and my blue road vanished, allowing me to gently glide over to my captain and instructor. Saluting them, I spoke up. “Private second class Subaru reporting for duty, ma’am!”
TSAB: 6th Mobile Division V
By: Satashi
“Subaru, there is a reason you weren’t briefed on this mission,” Nanoha told her, stepping up to stand in front of the younger girl. “Shamal-sensei has not released you to full duty yet.”
“Ma’am, I have recovered faster than expected!” Subaru stayed in her spot, still saluting with her eyes forward. “I am ready to deploy.”
Nanoha looked at her a moment before sighing. “If I gave your left side a quick jab, would you flinch?” She watched the blue haired girl swallow thickly and cut her off before she could reply. “Thought not. I’m sorry, Subaru, you will stay here. Sometimes staying behind is important as well. If we get any distress calls while we are out, you and Vita-chan will be here to handle it.”
“But…”
“No buts,” She replied instantly. “You will stay here until you are properly healed. End of story.”
“Nanoha-san!” Subaru gasped out. “You trained me well, I can do this! I won’t make a mistake!”
“I know you won’t!” The instructor turned on her. “I’m not letting you go because I’m worried about you, not if you’ll make a mistake!” her gaze softened and a hand was placed on her student’s shoulder. “You are a great fighter, Subaru, but I won’t forgive myself if you get hurt to the point where you won’t recover. I know what that’s like, and I won’t let anyone go through it.”
“…Yes ma’am.” Subaru looked down, dejected. “I will stay here then.”
“And get back in bed, you’re not supposed to be moving around until your ribs heal!” Nanoha thumped her forehead after scolding her.
Fate walked over to her friend and nodded at her. “We need to be off, it will be twilight soon, they will probably move when it gets dark enough to cover their tracks.”
“Right.” Nanoha gave Subaru one final smile before hopping into the helicopter, followed closely by the Lightning members, her girlfriend, and the small Rein.
Tia walked over to Subaru and stood in front of her a moment before speaking. “I’ll take care of everything enough to cover your part too,” She told her softly as the blades of the aircraft started to turn. “So get some rest okay?”
“…Okay. Be safe out there all right?”
“Of course,” Tia smiled.
“Just to sum things up,” Rein spoke to the group when Tia boarded the helicopter and sat down. “We have been getting mixed signals of activated lost logia around the sector seven slums on the outskirts of Midgard, the town a few hours away from here. We suspect increased activities of black market trading but the local police force there can not give us any information since they are not equipped with enough power to launch a full scale assault. From there we will divide into two groups: Elio, Caro, Tia, you three will be group “Sky.” Nanoha and Fate will make up group “Leader.” I will give us tactical advice as we go along.”
“Roger!” The three forwards all saluted.
“Our primary goal,” Rein picked back up. “Is to find out why this area has had so many lost logia ran through it and who is behind it.”
“Um,” Elio looked up, getting Rein’s attention. “Is it that uncommon? To my knowledge there are several types of logia, why are these so important so suddenly?”
“A good question,” Nanoha finally joined in. “As you said there are many different classifications of lost logia ranging from the harmless to the severely dangerous. The name simply suggest that the item is from an advanced civilization and that at our current scientific knowledge we cannot figure it out or replicate it. The item itself can be anything from entertainment to weaponry. Although we will investigate everything that is related to illegal possession of logia, our primary focus is on ‘Relics’. The code name is for items that are crystalline in nature, but can take on the shape of almost anything.”
“Such as Jewel Seeds?” Tia pondered.
“Yes,” Nanoha smiled lightly. “They are most definitely powerful things. We may be dealing with something like that tonight so be sure to use this time to collect your thoughts and ask any questions okay?”
“Ma’am!”
Fate put a hand on the young male’s head and gave it a small ruffle of encouragement. “You’ll be fine out there; you have a home to come back to.”
“Right.”
Caro looked over at the other lightning member a little sadly. ‘That’s right, Elio’s parents were killed in a battle…He probably lived alone until Fate-san found him…’ Looking out the window she frowned at the sight of what appeared to be gang members jumping rooftops to get away from police sirens and flashing lights. ‘It must be hard living in a place like that…We’ve both been through some hard times already, huh?’ Her small hand reached out and took his, trying to give encouragement to him as much as taking it as well.
“Nervous?” He whispered at her softly.
“Yes,” She replied honestly, just as quiet. “I don’t think I’ll ever be confident enough not to be.”
“I’ll protect you.”
“That’s my line,” She turned to look at him finally, giving the male a smile. “So instead, be my sword?”
Fate’s voice broke off any more conversation that could be had between the two. “Okay its time to deploy. Tia, you will be in charge of Sky and I will guide Leader. Any questions you may have can be sent to me if we’re in range. This part of town may be a slum, but it still has M2D capabilities.”
“Yes ma’am.” Tia nodded at her as the hatch opened.
Nanoha gave her students an encouraging nod before they each leapt out, Caro deciding to grip Elio around the waist from behind since she was scared of heights. “They’ll be okay…” She spoke more to herself than Fate. “They’ll be fine.”
“They know what they’re getting into,” Fate told her as the team’s transparent gliders kicked on, allowing them to sail down quickly to a rooftop without too many people noticing them. “We need to be prepared as well.”
“High rank mages, huh?” Nanoha mused, allowing her barrier jacket to form. “We’ve been given triple A negative access… Why does that make me nervous?”
“I kind of wish we allowed Yuuno to come,” Fate walked to the open hatch and called forth her armor as well.
“His magic is top notch but his body isn’t in the condition to maneuver like he used to be able to. I’d be too worried to fight at full potential.”
Fate nodded at her knowingly before waving at Vice. “See you in a few hours, Vice-kun.”
“Safe flight girls!” He called back as they jumped out and flew down to the city below them.
“First things first,” Nanoha told her friend as they flew downwards quickly. “We need to find the place where the logia keep disappearing. From there we can probably perch and wait.”
“All right,” Fate nodded to herself. “The location is just south of here, let’s get to it.”
“Ma’am.” Both of them replied in kind, Elio summoning Strada to his hands. “I have a really bad feeling about this,” He voiced his worries, eyes darting around. “I can already feel eyes on us.”
“Ah, just keep walking.” Tia led them forward, occasionally looking down at her wrist where a transparent map was displayed. “Our target location is just ahead. If the information we received is correct, the person who is supposedly smuggling the loggias should be in a warehouse.”
“Tia-san, we have six people following us.” Caro whispered, eyes moving around the dark alleyways they were traveling. The only light around them came from random neon flashing signs and streetlamps that flickered with age. “I’m sorry, seven now.”
“Thanks for the good news,” Tia frowned. “Can we avoid them?”
“From their current speed it seems like they want to follow us until they’re ready to battle.”
“Smart move,” Elio muttered, gripping his spear tighter. “Tia-san, should we force combat?”
“It’s better than allowing them to move us where they want and possibly have re-enforcements…” The three stopped walking and stood their ground. “I don’t like being followed!” She called out loudly. Several moments passed by them in silence before figures started dropping around them one by one. “Nice welcoming,” She greeted them bitterly, eyes moving around to confirm that they were surrounded and outnumbered. “Do you always greet people so promptly?”
“Smart mouth for a little girl,” One of them stepped forward and into the light from a streetlamp. “What are police doing in a place like this? I thought we were clear on the ‘no fly’ zone?”
“We’re military,” Tia aimed one of her guns at him. “Put your hands up and surrender peacefully and you will have the right to a fair trial.”
“On what grounds?”
“For possession of an illegal object classified as a lost logia and attempted smuggling of said artifact,” Tia recited the line firmly, placing her bets on her instincts that these people were the ones she was after. To her disbelief the people around her started to chuckle amongst themselves, each pulling a weapon from the shadows. “Tch,” Tia pulled up her other gun and looked over her shoulder, seeing Caro and Elio go back to back behind her.
“What I desire,” Caro whispered softly into the darkness, getting a few eyes on her. “Is a means to bind my opponents…”
“The brat’s doing the same thing as ‘she’ does!” One of them gasped out. “Stop her!”
Tia’s guns fired the moment the first man made a move, signally the official start of their battle. People leapt around them quickly, none staying in place long enough for the female to properly aim. Two shadows leapt into the air, bringing her attention to them and allowing another two to sweep in from the sides. Metal staves were raised up to strike, only to be cleaved into pieces by the end of Elio’s spear. “No one touches my friends.” His eyes narrowed.
Fate gripped the staff of Bardiche tighter. “Rein, are you sure their opponents aren’t too strong? They’re a member short…”
“Yes, from the data sent by their devices they are fighting rank C mages and one B.”
“They can handle that,” Nanoha spoke confidently. “Our training simulations are harsher than that.”
“But these are real people,” Fate replied, ducking down when she thought someone would look where they were from the ground. “Will they be able to…?”
“I don’t know if I want them to or not,” Nanoha closed her eyes. “But this is the military, they knew what they were getting in when they joined. I just wish their hands didn’t have to be stained so young.”
“You girls turned out fine,” Rein supported the two. “So trust in them as well. For right now, we need to focus on what’s going on now.”
“Right.”
Nanoha looked up over the edge of the oddly shaped roof she was on. “…That’s odd.”
“What is it?”
“They’re…they’re gone!” Nanoha stood up and looked down at a better angle. “No wait, they’re on the ground…Come on, Fate-chan.” The girl leapt off the roof quickly, landing in a silent crouch. She felt her partner land behind herself and after a quick visual scan of the area, ran over to one of the people laying on the ground. “…He’s out cold.”
“Here too,” Fate spoke up, looking around. “But I don’t see any signs of a skirmish.”
“Inside,” Rein flew to the door leading into a building and looked into it. “People here are unconscious as well.”
Nanoha quickly ran into the building, eyes darting around the tavern. “Ugh, it smells.” She wrinkled her nose as she stepped over bodies. Raising Heart hummed in her hand, telling the woman that there were people nearby. “Fate-chan,” She started talking telepathically. “I’ll go downstairs, you take the upstairs.”
“Okay,” Fate instantly trotted over to the stairs on the side of the room and looked up them before quietly sneaking upwards.
“Rein-chan, let’s go down.” Nanoha quietly continued along her path until she came to a doorway. Pressing her back up against it, she nodded to Rein. The small being flew to the top of the entrance and slipped through it quickly. The instructor held her breath as she listened to the silence. Her little partner gave her the all clear, allowing her to quietly slip into the other room and trot over to the staircase leading downwards. Another body was stepped over quickly as she made her way over to another hidden door that lead her back outside. “Fate-chan, come down. There’s a stairway leading into a cellar and a door to the far right. It leads outside.”
The dark night engulfed her once again as she walked cautiously down the back alley littered with garbage and other miscellaneous broken objects. Ahead of her a streetlamp flickered on in a vain attempt to illuminate the area, but failing to do so properly. The brief spurt of light gave Nanoha just enough time to make out three figures ahead of her. One of them fell to the ground and the other continued along their way. ‘Bingo,’ Nanoha ran forward quietly, using her training to keep herself just slightly above the ground so her boots wouldn’t click on the cracked concrete beneath her. The pair was moving quickly, sometimes only giving the girl a brief glimpse of their cloaks as they turned down another street. Rounding the corner, Nanoha left a small magical smear along the wall that Bardiche could follow.
It took the group almost five minutes to realize they were being followed and all at once stopped their pace and waited for her patiently. “Fate-san’s in battle mode,” Rein told the girl mentally after getting an inquisitive look. “She said some of the people were waking up.”
‘Guess I’m on my own then,’ Nanoha pulled herself away from her hiding spot and walked over to the pair. “Good evening,” She greeted them. “Funny place to take a walk isn’t it?”
“It’s hard to avoid such a place when you have business that takes you here, isn’t it?” The taller figure replied in kind, eyeing her.
“Touché,” Nanoha stopped several paces from them and gripped her staff. “Would you mind if I had a moment of your time, you resemble some people I am after; just a few questions and you will be free to go.”
“Not interested,” The taller one spoke again, glaring. “I don’t guess you will just leave us in peace?”
“Sorry,” She apologized, smiling lightly.
“Then I will have to-” He took a step forward.
“-wait.” The smaller person held out its hand. “I can feel it coming from her. She has something we could use.”
“Oh?” The hood was brought back, revealing the rugged face of a middle aged man. “What is it, Lutecia?”
The smaller person removed her hood, revealing a young looking girl with flowing purple hair. “I feel it residing within her… The signal of a repressed lost logia… a Jewel Seed.” She watched the woman in front of her drop into a battle stance. “The doctor would want to investigate it.” Her voice was soft and sweet, a dark contrast to the area around her. “Zest, could you go ahead?”
“Okay. What are you going to do?”
Lutecia looked back over at Nanoha. “Same thing that the doctor asked us to… I am going to force activate it.”
The support mage nodded, already going into another spell. “What I ask for,” She began as her summoned chains from earlier finally broke and allowed more of their targets to charge them all at once. “Metal and wind, flowing away from us…” Her circle flashed to life, illuminating the area around them brightly. “Flash wall!” To her call came a thin metal wall, circling them before expanding outwards and moving with the sudden blast of wind. The simple attack forced everyone near them to fly backwards and crushed a few people against the alley walls, making them drop in pain from various broken bones.
“Cute trick,” A voice spoke up, followed by a loud crashing sound as the wall was torn through. A man stood in front of them with orange spiky hair and tattoos covering most of his bare upper body. “But I’m afraid this will be the end of things.”
“Boss!” Several members seemed to regain their confidence at the sight of the man.
“Military mages, huh?” He mused, stepping forward summoning forth a standard magical staff. “Maybe I’ll be able to get more weapons tonight than I had originally planned, and without even trading the little brat the gem I found.”
“Trading logia for weapons,” Tia whispered, eyes narrowing. “What a fool.”
“Fool am I?” The man smirked. The next moment Tia found herself against the wall, scratching desperately at the hand gripping her neck. Two punches landed on her stomach before she was tossed to the side, rolling on the ground twice before flipping up and back to her feet. “Oh? You aren’t an ordinary teenager are you?”
“ ‘Fraid not,” Tia stood up, trying to recover from the lack of air she now had. “I put you at an A- rank, something I can handle by myself.”
“I see. Then I guess I will have to tip the scales in my favor.” The man waved his hand, making several people around them watching instantly leap back into the shadows. To replace them four more people stepped into the light, each holding a staff device. “You see, my friends here could be classified as a “B+” as you would call it. A large difference from the “C and D” ranks you so thoughtlessly gave the rest of my gang.”
Caro stood next to Elio but refused to show her worry. ‘If that is true then each one would be an even match for us, but we’re outnumbered still…Granted we have intelligent devices and official training but… Somehow I don’t think they will hesitate to hurt us.’ Her hand took on a pinkish glow, preparing to boost their abilities even more.
“Take out the little girl first!” The leader of the group pointed, instantly starting the scramble. He himself leapt into the air and jumped up the random pipes coming from the walls to make it to the rooftops. Tia scoffed and leapt into the air as well, giving chase to her main target.
‘I have to keep him separate or we won’t be able to win,’ The girl grabbed a hold of a broken out section of the wall and pushed off of it after getting her bearings. She continued to scale the walls just as the man had. ‘two on four with same ranks will be a lot easier than three on five with someone who outclasses us.’ She landed on the roof and scanned the area.
Back on the ground Elio spun his spear around quickly, forcing the people to leap backwards to avoid the pulsating blade at the end. Thanks to his increased agility he managed to dash forward and engage in battle with one of the less reactive men. Their weapons clashed rapidly for a moment before Elio’s speed overmatched his opponents and managed to land in a sweeping blow, drawing blood from his opponent’s arm. The nameless man stumbled backwards and gripped his arm, but a scream from behind made Elio turn around quickly to see his partner being triple teamed. Before he could run to her he felt himself being thrown through the air after an attack from behind.
“Elio-kun!” Caro shouted out, twirling between the attacks on her and managing to bind two of the men together with summoned chains. The last man tried to grab her but she nimbly danced around him and made it to her partner. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Elio spat on the ground. “Just bit my lip.” He held up his spear and eyed the four men as they regrouped as well. “Any suggestions?”
“I can slow them down, but it will take fifteen seconds.”
“Start chanting.” Elio ran forward, slashing his spear along the ground and sending a ripple of energy along the concrete. The blast made all four veer to his left where he engaged. He ducked the first blast of energy and slid along the ground, sweeping the feet out from under one man. Not pausing, he used his staff to trip another before flipping to his feet and grabbing a staff swung at him. The force made his hand scream in pain but he still managed to use it to hop in the air and lash out his foot and clock the man in the head. The fourth one, however, had plenty of time to aim his blast, sending Elio flying through the air once again and crashing into the wall, making cracks spread out from his impact. The male landed roughly but still darted forward again, slashing his spear rapidly. His eyes narrowed, seeing their movements begin to slow thanks to Caro’s magic. The tip of Strada was adjusted slightly, stabbing one man in the shoulder.
All at once their speeds increased again at the same moment that Caro cried out in pain. The spear user leapt backwards to gain some distance before hurrying over to his partner, who was defending herself against one of the faster opponents. Elio was once again attacked from behind, forcing his attention back on the two people who re-engaged with him. Caro’s small yelp caught his attention, giving the people he was fighting enough time to stab his dominant arm clean through with a magic bullet. His scream lasted all of two seconds before a staff was jabbed into his stomach and head kicked to the side, flooring him.
Caro gasped out, her spell being interrupted once again as she was tossed around from different attacks. ‘I can’t focus on so many at once,’ She cried, sliding across the wet hard ground. ‘I can’t… I can’t…’
Elio screamed loudly, dashing forward once more. His attack caught the group off guard, allowing him to cut into the leg of one man. Almost immediately all four danced around him, each kicking or hitting him with magical attacks. The male lasted seven seconds before weakly collapsing to the ground once more.
“He’s too green,” The injured man muttered, holding his leg. “That’s three times he could have killed one of us but didn’t.”
‘Elio-kun…Elio-kun!!!’ Caro closed her eyes tightly, screaming at her body to move. ‘I have to support him… I have to!’ The sounds of her partner screaming came to her ears once again but she couldn’t seem to make her magic come to her hands. ‘Please! I have to move! I have to help him! Elio-kun!’
Caro opened her eyes, finding herself on a grassy field in a clearing of a forest. Sitting up, she looked down at her body, seeing a few blood smears but feeling no pain. “What… What’s going on? Where am I?” Her eyes scanned the area, seeing a small pond and flowers scattering the clearing before going into a pretty forest. A rabbit hopped up next to her and sniffed at the girl before running away when she moved.
“You are awake,” A voice made Caro turn to the side and freeze in fear at the sight of a large silver dragon. “Tell me, little one, why are you here?”
“I…I…” Caro stood up, looking up at the dragon with wide eyes. He stood two stories tall with a wingspan that doubled his length with width. One horn was on his nose, complete with a golden ring through it. The dragon walked over to her and moved it’s long neck down so it was more of an eye level with her. Caro saw that its body was large and had an equally long tail with several spikes on it.
“You are here on your own will this time,” It spoke to her, mouth not moving but still getting it’s voice across. “This is the third time we have met now, but you wouldn’t remember the first two.”
“I’ve been here…before?”
“Yes, but now is not the time to discuss that. You are here on your own accord this time; tell me, what is it you desire?”
“Elio-kun!” She suddenly remembered. “I have to help Elio-kun!”
“You wish the power to protect?”
“Yes!” She looked up at the dragon with a new determination in her eyes. “I want to protect everyone! I want to help those in need, just as Fate-san helped me! I want… I want to become strong! Strong enough so none of my precious friends get hurt anymore!”
The dragon looked at her steadily. “Then you with an innocent heart and burning soul, tell me… What is your name?”
“Caro. Caro Lu Rushie!”
“Then, Princess Caro, I grant you my power. Call upon me, and I shall help you.” The area around them faded slowly, the dragon moving into the mist that enveloped them.
Caro opened her eyes quickly, seeing the hard wet ground she was laying on. Looking up, she saw Elio pushing himself upwards yet again. “I may not be as smart as Tia-san…” He began, weakly stepping forward with blood running down his right arm. “And I may not be as strong as Subaru-san…” He took another step, gripping Strada with his left hand. “I may not have as much magical energy as Caro…” He looked upwards, glaring at them with fire in his eyes. “But I’m the only male of the group,” The boy ran forward, spear posed to strike yet again. “So I will protect them!!!”
“Protect!” Caro screamed, hand extended towards him. “Freidliche!” The pink glow shot around the alley, followed closely by the deep roar of a beast. White mist flooded the area, covering the appearance of the white dragon. “What I ask for,” Caro started, eyes still locked on Elio. “Armor to protect my friends, so they will not be hurt, a barrier to block harmful spells, and the confidence to do what needs to be done!”
“Your wish will be granted.” Freidliche spoke to her, emitting a silver glow around the area.
Tia pushed herself up slowly, seeing a silver mist hang around her body. ‘This is…Caro’s magic…but how can it reach up here?’ Her eyes turned to the man in front of her, gasping out when his summoned staff took an energy blade onto it. The blow landed soundly, but only glanced off her body. ‘I see…Protection magic!’ Bringing up her guns, she aimed them at the man’s chest. “Cross mirage! Stun magic, full power!” Pulling the trigger she injected two yellow orbs into the man’s body, shocking him to the point of unconsciousness. Panting, the girl stood up and looked down at her body, seeing a faint trace of silver mist clinging to her, forming the barrier. “Caro…”
“Kill him!” The order came out in the thinning mist. Elio narrowed his eyes, quickly slashing his spear out and flooring the first man. His second attack was a simple slash, but the end of his spear shot out a large blast of pink energy, hitting the second man and sending him flying backwards and through a wall. Finally his third attack was an upward motion, sending another man soaring into the air, even though he was several yards away from the boy. “What…what is this!?” The only man left gasped out as the mist finally began to dissipate to the point where he could see.
Elio held onto his spear soundly, eyes glaring over at him while glowing a deep red. The sound of metal clicking against metal came when he started calmly walking forward. Silver armor graced his body, much like a knight from the medieval times. The joints of his knees and elbows were accented by a point, graced with a golden loop in the tip. The lack of proper lighting did nothing from keeping the polished armor from shining, giving accent to the helmet which displayed proudly the type of knight he was. The helm had dragon fins on the side, as well as one small horn above the forehead cover, also bearing the small golden loop in it. His face wasn’t covered, but his cheeks were blessed with a small silver signals that appeared to be quarter moons with a line bisecting them horizontally the mark of a dragoon knight.
“I have granted you the power you seek,” Elio heard the voice inside his head as he calmly moved forward towards his last opponent. “In return, you will serve and protect my master, Princess Caro Lu Rushie.”
“Understood,” He answered mentally before the presence of the dragon faded from him. “You,” He pointed with his staff. “Surrender.”
“Never!” The man darted forward quickly. “I will kill the one giving you power!”
“You will not harm her!” Elio blurred to the side. “Sonic Move!” His spear impaled the man from behind before he could get close to Caro. With a slash, he sent the man flying from the end of his spear and crashing into the wall leaving a blood smear as he slid down it.
“Is everything okay?” Tia asked as she dropped from the roof. “How are- what the hell is that!?” She pointed up at the Dragon behind Caro when the streetlights decided to flash again.
The dragon looked down at the three people before glowing and shrinking down in size, finally reaching the point of a large dog. The dragon stood on all four legs, allowing its tail to sway out behind himself casually. “Freidliche,” Caro stated, pushing herself up slowly with Elio’s help. “Thank you…” She reached out and hugged the dragon, getting a small purr.
“Elio…? Is that you?” Tia knelt down as well, looking at the armor clad boy. “What…?” She looked at her own body, still seeing the silver mist. “Is this the dragon’s power or Caro’s?”
“Both,” The young girl replied, still hugging her new friend. “I’m tired… Can I rest?”
“Yes,” Tia answered softly. “Good job you two.”
Caro nodded lightly before finally falling over onto the ground. All at once the glow around Tia vanished and Elio’s armor shattered into a mist that floated away. “Caro-hime!” Elio shouted out, reaching over and making sure the girl was all right.
Tia looked at the dragon, who was giving an approving look to the male. “I’m so confused…”
“The doctor wants me to test their power, and bring back the strong ones to him.” She replied easily.
“Doctor?”
“I answered one of your questions, it’s rude to ask another,” She told Nanoha, voice still calm and sweet.
“I’m sorry,” The flying Ace apologized, shocking herself to realize that she actually kind of meant it since the girl didn’t have any malice in her voice at all. “I am here to stop you, will you surrender peacefully?”
“I can not,” Lutecia looked at her, a magical circle spreading beneath her feet. Instantly Nanoha formed several balls of energy around herself and fired more than half of them all at once. The magic streaked towards the young girl but stopped mere inches from her body. “What I ask for,” Her spell began. “Is the release of power within…”
Nanoha’s throat went dry, hearing the familiar thundering of her heartbeat in her ears. “What…?” Again the sound repeated in her ears, making her hands shake. “Not this… not this again!”
“Nanoha-san!” Rein flew over to the girl as she clutched her chest.
“Rein…run! Get Fate!” Nanoha looked up at her scared. The Iris in her eyes were already being flecked with yellow, covering the slate blue orbs. “HURRY!” The cry made the small girl nod and fly off in the direction they had come. “What…are you doing?” She managed out, glaring at the purple haired girl.
“Disregard your limits and come back into the world,” Lutecia kept on, eyes closed.
Gasping out, Nanoha had to take a few steps backwards to prevent herself from collapsing. ‘I don’t have a sealing round,’ She thought frantically, trying to repress the feelings inside her body. ‘My only chance is to hope Fate gets here soon with hers…’ Her legs gave out all at once, making her fall to her knees. Panting, she looked down at her body in fear. A yellow and black ooze like substance was already consuming her, reforming her barrier jacket to something that it desired instead. “Fate-chan… Fate-chan… Fate… Fate… Fate.Fate. Fate!Fate!Fate-Fate-FateFateFateFaaaaate!”
Nanoha felt her insides shatter, pain flaring all around her as the jewel seed’s last seal broke. Everything went silent as her eyes went blind. The girl looked around, realizing she could see herself but nothing else around her. The sound of a tuning fork echoed around the girl, making her look behind herself and finally seeing someone else. The female in front of her wore a tight outfit of yellow and black leather. Black boots with yellow highlights, complete with two spikes on the heel jutting out behind them. Her legs held the same black leather armor with criss-crossing strips of yellow running up them. The chest piece was pitch black with only a yellow slash running from her left shoulder down across her chest and to the right side of her waist. The shoulders were covered with three yellow spikes coming out from them. Along her arms the black leather clung to the skin tightly, accented by several yellow curved spikes. Gloves were on her hands, each finger section being separated by smaller yellow curved blades, as well as sharp pointed nails. Finally Nanoha looked at the face, shocked to find her own looking back at her. Ever so slowly the ooze slid up her neck and covered her mouth and nose with a type of ninja mask, going back and also covering her ears. The hair was let down from the ponytails and the white ribbons vanished slowly, allowing the brown strands to fly out behind her. Yellow eyes glared at her before her own voice spoke to her. “I’m free.” With those two words, Nanoha’s eyes rolled up in her head, finally losing consciousness.
The woman stood slowly, looking around to take in her surroundings. The circle on the ground vanished, drawing her attention to the purple haired girl a few paces from her. “Who are you?” She asked after a moment.
“Lutecia,” She replied simply. “I set you free. What is your name?”
The woman looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. “Hehehehe…. Ah hahahahaha…. Hahahahahahaha!” She threw back her head and bent backwards, laughing loudly. “I’m free, I’m free, I’m free, I’m FREE!”
“Nanoha!?”
The word made the woman look to the side, smiling under her mask. “She’s dead, only I remain.”
Fate felt herself suddenly start to feel sick to her stomach. “The seal…”
“Is broken,” She replied angrily, throwing out one hand and revealing something like bat wings on her back. Gripping her fist, she laughed again. “Now…finally! I can get my revenge!”
“I need you to come with me,” Lutecia spoke again.
“I will follow no one,” She spoke, glaring.
“Bardiche!” Fate flipped her staff, knocking the shells in the revolver onto the ground and slamming a single bullet into it. “Sealing mode!”
“I think not!” The black and yellow woman blurred, clearing the distance between them so fast her punch left a small shockwave around them that scattered the dirt on the ground. Fate’s auto shield shattered instantly, making the woman bounce and skid several times before crashing into a wall. “I have something I need to do, so I refuse to be locked away again!”
“Nanoha…” Fate pushed herself up slowly, coughing a little blood from the blow.
“The name is Skeith,” She corrected her, quickly moving in front of the blond and hefting her into the air from her neck. “Listen, Fate, if you so much as attempt to try and seal me again I will not only kill you, but I will kill Elio, I will kill Caro, I will kill Hayate, and everyone else will die as well. Am I clear?” Three punches landed onto the blonde’s stomach before another clipped across her head, knocking her out.
“Skeith-san, I request that you come with me,” Lutecia said again, walking over to her.
“I refuse. I need to find someone first.” Skeith flared out her wings, rising into the air. “Do not think I am indebted to you, Lutecia.”
The girl looked a little saddened by the turn of events. “I see. Well, I shall be on my way then. We will cross paths later.” With that she turned and continued along her intended path, leaving the unconscious blond and the small Rein by themselves.
“Easy there,” A male voice told her, gently moving her so she was on her back again. “Hang in there Fate.”
“…Vice,” Her eyes opened slowly, seeing the pilot above her. “...Where…”
“You’re on the helicopter,” he told her as Rein flew above the girl. “We are waiting on Sky to get here before we take off.”
“…Nanoha?”
“…We don’t know where she is,” Rein told her sadly. “Hayate is scanning for her right now.
Fate’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I couldn’t save her…”
“Just rest,” Vice commanded, looking out the hatch to see some people coming up to him. “You’re lucky you don’t have a concussion. Rein said the person who hit you ranked at least double S+.”
“That was her…” Fate whispered sadly. “That was her…Oh god, I couldn’t help her… I couldn’t…I…” Her words broke off as she dissolved into sobs. “Nanohaaaa…..”
Rein looked over at the hatch, gasping out at the silver dragon who boarded the helicopter with the others. Elio looked like he had been through hell but still managed to carry Caro piggyback style. Tia looked a little worse for wear but otherwise seemed to be all right. “Long story,” Tia told her, nodding at the dragon. “But we recovered a handful of logia from the group of people who were going to trade them. We don’t know who they were trading with but the leader is being arrested and- what the hell happened to Fate-san!?”
“Long story,” Rein sighed. “Vice-kun, get us back to base, I have a feeling our debriefing session is going to be long and complicated…”
“Yes ma’am.” Elio nodded. “She seemed exhausted.”
“I knew her abilities would awaken soon but I didn’t think it would be this early…” She looked down at the dragon. “And he is her summon?”
“Freidliche,” Elio confirmed. “He was the one who gave me my armor… Although I can’t summon it back on my own.”
“Her linker core is dangerously low,” Shamal informed them as she looked over her charts. “I was given the information from the scientist where Caro was at before, and they match almost precisely. Given the history, she should be weak for a few days but she will be fine shortly.”
“Will the dragon not sap all her energy?” Subaru pondered, looking over them and down at the dragon sleeping at the foot of the bed.
“Freidliche is a summon, not a familiar,” Shamal mused, looking at the small dragon. “I’m assuming he won’t leave her, otherwise he wouldn’t have adapted to a smaller size…Elio-kun, later I would like to run some scenarios with you and Caro to try and figure out why you are so much more prone to advanced support magic if that’s okay?”
“I’d really rather not be studied…” He gave Shamal an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I’m not comfortable with being a test subject.”
“…I see; I’m sorry I offended you.” Shamal smiled at him.
“Hey, where is Nanoha-san?” Subaru pondered, looking around. “I would have figured she’d be next to Fate-san by now?”
“Yes, what’s going on?” Tia asked as well. “Rein-san said she would tell us when we got here, but all we’ve done was go over Caro?”
Hayate looked down. “Well, there’s something you should know about Nanoha-chan…” The girls looked on in shock as Hayate retold the tale about the jewel seed so many years ago. “So the worst case scenario has happened…She has been taken over.”
“I… I see…” Subaru looked over at Fate as she slept peacefully. “And Fate-san…”
“Saw it all happen,” Hayate finished for her. “Shamal sedated her after she got over her shock and tried to go look for her on her own. We are scanning the surrounding area as well as expanding the field slowly. We will find her. Until then, I want all of you to rest and be prepared to battle again in a few days time. Training will be put on hold so use your time wisely and learn from the encounters you had tonight so you won’t make the same mistakes again.”
“Ma’am.” They all saluted.
The boy looked up, seeing that the sun was already starting to set. ‘I don’t feel like going back right now…’ His eyes looked around, realizing that he knew where he was for the first time. Walking a little more he found a familiar place and walked into it. He scanned the area a moment, only seeing a few people inside the building. One person caught his attention so he walked over across the empty dance floor and sat at the bar, next to Vita.
“Little boys shouldn’t come into bars un-supervised,” She greeted him without even looking. The pig tailed girl threw her head back and gulped a liquid Elio couldn’t place before slamming the shot glass onto the counter, upside down.
“I’m not really in a good mood,” he told her as Kuhn walked over to them. “I need a beer.”
Vita looked over at him sideways. “Eh? What’s that?” One arm reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, making him look at her. “We don’t come here to get drunk, brat.” Her eyes were slightly hazy, showing that despite her words, she was tipsy.
“Then why do you come here?” He asked softly, getting let go of and fixing his shirt.
“Understanding.” Vita looked up at Kuhn and was given another shot of a dark fluid. “Kuhn has seen many things in his lifetime… his drinks are a symbol for military.” She gulped it down as well, slamming the glass back onto the bar. “Don’t come in here and disgrace us with your problems by crying into something alcoholic.”
“I killed someone for the first time,” Elio told her.
“Congratulations.”
“It’s not something I want to be congratulated for,” He retorted, getting a smile.
“Good, I was going to hit you if you said ‘thanks’ after all.” The girl looked at the many different bottles behind the bar. “Elio, you are young. You will do many things you don’t want to, but you need to realize that even if you do kill someone, you do it so many more will live. We’re military… it’s what we do. As long as you keep it in your heart, a reason for your actions, then you will never become like them. It’s only when you kill for the sake of killing that you’ve become a pawn. We are not pawns, Elio. We are proud warriors, and as such, we must stand tall and walk forward.”
Elio looked down at the bar top for a while before a drink was slid in front of him. “What’s this?”
“A neon sissy-fied slushie.” Kuhn answered. “Strawberry daiquiri. The color is one that you will get used to seeing, so don’t let little things like that bother you. Keep your wits about you little boy, and don’t let reference haunt your dreams and cloud your mind.”
“Understanding…huh?” Elio took a long drink, amazed at the combination of sweetness to bitterness it held. “… I think I understand… Why are you here, sub-lieutenant Vita?”
The girl smiled to herself, looking down. “I’m trying to drink away my worry.”
“…Nanoha-san?”
“Yes.” Vita looked at Kuhn, who shook his head to signal that he wasn’t going to serve her any more hard stuff. “If you tell anyone, I’m going to beat your brains in with my hammer.” She pointed to his drink and looked at Kuhn, who thought a moment before going to make her one as well.
“Yes ma’am.” Elio took another drink and tasted it slowly. “We are going to look for her soon, aren’t we?”
“Yes. Hayate has already planned it out. She may look calm on the outside but don’t let it fool you, she’s scrambling every moment she can to do everything in the world to find Nanoha. As soon as we get a lock on her, I won’t be surprised if half the base is deployed to bring her back.”
“I see…” The boy closed his eyes in thought. “Well then, I guess I should get some good sleep tonight… I want to go looking on my own.”
“Hard to do when you can’t even fly.”
“I think I’ll manage.” Elio grinned, feeling for the first time as if he became a little more mature that night.
“Here you go, kiddo.” Kuhn spoke up, placing the drink in front of Vita. The girl blushed lightly, realizing that it had whip cream on the top, as well as a few cut strawberries on the brim of the glass. He had gone out of his way to make the drink cute and girly for her. “On the house.”
Vita took it and sipped through the swirly straw after licking some of the cream off of it. “If you tell anyone about this, I’m going to tell them you gave a ten year old alcohol.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Yes sir,” Several more screens appeared in front of the girl. “There have been two sightings of Skeith in the northern district of the capital city.”
“I told you to wake me if you found anything!” Fate screamed, getting up off her couch and calling forth her barrier jacket.
“Your body was too weak to move even if you knew, sir.” Bardiche told her as she flew out one of her windows and into the morning air. “Sir, please rest.”
“No! I have to find her!”
“Fate-chan!” Hayate’s voice came paired with a screen flying alongside her. “Return to the base this instant! I’m just as worried as you are but killing yourself by searching will only slow you down in the long run!”
“I’m going to find her!” Fate screamed. “It’s been a week, I can’t wait any longer!”
“You never waited in the first place!” Hayate told her angrily. “Don’t think I wouldn’t be out there as well if I thought it would be the best course of action to-”
“I’m sorry,” Fate’s words made Hayate stop her scolding. “Hayate, please, permission for flight?”
“….Okay.” She sighed softly. “Fate…I’ll give you constant permission for personal flight if you promise me you will rest properly okay? You can stay at my apartment if you need to.”
“Thank you,” Fate nodded at her. “I will come back for lunch…okay?”
“See you then, Fate-chan…”
Now alone, Fate pushed herself harder, flying quickly over the city. ‘Nanoha has been taking out people with lost logia non-stop… if I activate one maybe she will come to me.’ Her eyes turned over to Bardiche. “Pull out.” The word worked and Fate picked up the small jewel seed they had found inside one of the destroyed gadget drones. ‘These are weak but it’s all I have…’
Hours passed by slowly as the girl flew around town, searching everything with her eyes and heart. Several places were looped around, and countless people were asked if they saw the girl. After her hopes were dashed yet again by a false sighting she let out a small sigh and looked up into the air. ‘Nanoha…where are you…?’ The girl readied herself to once again leap into the sky but a sudden feeling of something jabbing her heart made her stop and slowly turn around. “Na…noha…?”
“I already warned you,” Skeith spoke, easily walking towards her, scaring the civilians nearby enough to scatter away from the scary looking girl. “Nanoha is dead.”
“Liar!” Fate glared at her. “Let Nanoha go right now!”
“No.”
Fate grit her teeth together in fury, calling forth Bardiche into Zanber form “Then I’m afraid I’ll have to force you off of her.”
“You would attack your lover?”
“The pain she is feeling is more than I could ever do to her body. She’s hurting! She’s crying! I can feel it in my heart, she’s alive! Give her back to me!” thrusting her sword upwards, she released a barrier around them, trapping Skeith within it.
“If you want to fight,” Skeith crouched down in a battle stance while flexing her clawed fingers. “Then come on; Let’s fight.” She watched Fate dash forward with her long sword raised to strike. Skeith simply caught the blade with her hand and gripped it tightly so it couldn’t be pulled away. Fate growled deep in her throat, twisting the handle of her sword and breaking it in half long ways. With the new half sword free, she turned around and slashed it to force Skeith away from her. Landing, Skeith slid across the concrete, claws digging a small trench into the grounds. “Not bad,” She mused, pushing forward.
“Nanoha!” Fate screamed in her face as the two met in a stalemate, Skeith gripping both blades of the now dual swords. “Wake up!”
“It’s too late!” Skeith kicked her stomach, doubling Fate over enough to slam both her hands into her back and forcing the blond down into the ground, shattering the area around her.
“It’s never too late!” Fate screamed, grabbing Skeith’s ankle and slinging her to the side with a fast jerking of her hand. “Nanoha, fight back!”
“Shut up!” the woman roared, running forward again and attacking. Several magic balls of energy came to life around her, each homing in on the other girl. Fate leapt back into the air and slashed her swords quickly, effectively deflecting all of them into random buildings around the two. The structures immediately gave way to the damage and collapsed around them. Not deterred by the falling debris, the two clashed again. Sparks flew around them as the magic blades clashed against the armor of Skeith’s arms and hands. “You’re faster than before,” She snarled deeply.
“No, you’re just slower.” Fate kicked Skeith’s shin hard enough to make her foot unbalanced before shoving her onto the ground. “Nanoha! I know you can hear me!”
“Shut up I said!” Skeith slammed her elbow back onto the ground, breaking a large hole into it and giving her enough room to rear back and punch the blond in the stomach. The other girl flew backwards in the air to absorb some of the shock and twisted around the still falling debris. A black streak followed her quickly and once again clashed with her in the air. The two shot away form each other and flew to the side quickly, circling before once again ramming into each other and attacking. “I’ll rip you apart!”
Fate chose to ignore the statement, instead focusing on slashing her twin swords. Two nicks flecked the black armor, making Fate inwardly wince at the blood. She pressed on still, disregarding the several cuts along her body from the sharp blades around Skeith’s arms and hands. Finally they were in another stalemate with Fate’s one sword inching toward Skeith’s neck and the other pushing back the hand that was trying to rip into her chest. “Nanoha! I believe in you, wake up!” Skeith’s body shook lightly, allowing Fate to overpower her enough to pin her against the side of a building in the air. “Nanoha!!!”
Slowly the mask covering Skeith’s face crept down, revealing her nose and mouth. “Fate…chan…”
“Nanoha! Fight back! Force it down!”
“I… can’t…” The black ooze started to creep upwards again. “Fate…don’t let me… hurt anyone else…I’ve…already… murdered… too many…”
“Nanoha! Don’t give up!”
“Save… me…” The mask reclaimed its spot and the eyes flared a bright yellow again. Fate felt several balls of energy rip into her chest and stomach, forcing her back away from the girl.
Flying back, she knocked away the remaining magic bullets and panted as the smoke cleared, neither seeing nor feeling Nanoha anywhere close to her anymore, barrier being destroyed. “Damn it… DAMN IT!” Slowly she sank to the ground and held herself as tears came to her eyes. “Again… I failed again…Nanoha…”
Fate: It has been over a month now since Skeith has taken control of Nanoha. Each day the number of people killed rises as she searches for something we can’t place.
Caro: I don’t want my mother to be like this… With my new Dragon, I want to save her along with everyone else!
Vita: The higher ups have gotten restless… Several top ranking mages have been critically injured by the corrupt seed.
Hayate: Our division has been officially asked to deal with the problem since Skeith has been collecting lost logia…Our orders are to find Skeith…and to kill her on sight.
Fate: Next time on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: 6th division… “The death of Skeith.”
M2D: Mobile Monitor Display, the screens that can be summoned and disregarded at will, showing anything form video chat to information.
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