LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Please bear in mind that the story is loosely based on the multi-series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, created by Ivory and produced by Seven Arcs. I, the author, lay no claim to the series whatsoever.
For all of our lives, we are forced to make decisions. At first, they are made easily enough; but as we mature, they become more and more difficult, to the point of impossibility. And even among such decisions, there are those we feel like we don't have a choice—when none of us know what to believe. This is a story all about our attempts to make these difficult decisions.
魔法少女リリカルなのはウィングす、始ります！
This is the prologue; and this is what sounds like Donna Burke talking.
On the calendar of the Time-Space Administrative Bureau, the year is 0078 (Double-Zero Seventy-Eight). We find ourselves locked in a never-ending struggle to maintain peace throughout the many dimensions. Fortunately for us, the brave men and women of the Bureau have assigned task forces with the determined purpose of instituting justice and combating the threat of terrorism which is constantly escalating. Among the finest the Bureau has to offer are hardened investigator, Fate T-Harlaown, and the Mage dubbed the "Ace of All Aces," Commander Nanoha Takamachi. However, no one in the Bureau has ever prepared for the inevitable events about to take shape.
第一話：キッスの封印
Chapter One: Sealed with a Kiss
The white light shines down upon a pristine shrine in the outskirts of the seaside city of Uminari. And as the doors are steadily pulled open, they reveal a fine young, brown-haired woman in an elegant ivory wedding dress making her march down the red aisle. Every stride brings her closer to a short blonde in a muted robe—the presumed love of her life. She suffers a little stumble by the last few steps, but somehow the groom saves her from kissing the ground everyone walks on. Then, all of a sudden, she could hear her name whispered from her betrothed's lips. "Nanoha… Nanoha…"
Yes, fade to reality as that very vision was merely the daydream of one Nanoha Takamachi, aged 21, combat instructor and commander in Lost Property Riot Force 6. She is also the titleholder of "Ace of All Aces," the best mage the Time-Space Administrative Bureau has to offer. Unfortunately, she is given a rude awakening by a certain one-foot-tall, white-haired hologram.
REINFORCE ZWEI: (inhale) NA-NO-HAAAAAA!
Upon hearing the scream, she is snapped out of her trance-like state.
REIN-ZWEI: Did you have a nice nap? There's a briefing about to begin, and the 338th Battalion is waiting for you!
NANOHA: (yawn) Thank you, Reinforce. I'll be there as soon as possible.
Year 0078 March 19PM 08:38
En Route to Narita International Airport
An air ferry dispatched by the bureau has been sent to Narita International. Inside, Nanoha's comrades-in-arms, Privates First Class Subaru Nakajima and Teana Landstar, as well as a small army of about twenty or so, are waiting for their commanding officer. But they wouldn't be for long, for the elevator has brought our heroine up to the platform, and everyone cheered and applauded. Nanoha responded with her hands in the air.
NANOHA: At ease, cadets! We have a very dangerous assignment ahead of us tonight. I could explain everything to you, but that responsibility belongs to our commander-in-chief. Hayate, if you would.
At the command, a transmission window appears in front of the battalion. Emerging from the static, a video of Lieutenant Colonel Hayate Yagami begins.
HAYATE: Greetings, 338th. And you too, Stars Squadron.
SUBARU: Greetings, Frau Hayate.
TEANA: Hey there, Chief!
HAYATE: Your mission tonight is a very urgent matter in terms of the Bureau. As we speak, we are working on a special project at Narita International Airport, in an effort to expand our air traffic capabilities. However, construction on the Bureau runways are not proceeding as scheduled.
SUBARU: Heh, I was afraid something was wrong.
TEANA: Quiet, Su! We're in the middle of a briefing.
HAYATE: Upon further investigation, we have confirmed that a nocturnal being is wreaking havoc. It must be stopped, which is why we've assigned the Stars Squadron and the 338th Magical Forces Battalion to the matter. Judging by the Battalion's D-ranking, this may not be an easy task; but for those who succeed, an advancement to Rank C is around the corner. Understood?
Everyone in the battalion reply in unison, followed by the Front Liners and their commander.
338TH: Understood!
SUBARU: (pumping her unarmed fist:) Understood!
TEANA: (in unison with Subaru:) Understood!
NANOHA: Understood.
Hayate nods in agreement.
HAYATE: Then good luck to all of you. And Godspeed to you, Nanoha.
The transmission ends and the pop-up window closes as Nanoha turns back to her squadron.
NANOHA: You have heard the lady. Remember what we all have trained for…and prepare to move out!
EVERYONE ELSE: Right!
As Subaru, Teana, and the battalion prepare for what lies ahead, Nanoha's device—Raising Heart Excellion—is taken out from inside her Bureau uniform.
RAISING HEART: My Master, I have prepared your Barrier Jacket for you. Shall I activate it right away?
With a pleased look upon her face, Nanoha replies…
NANOHA: Raising Heart… Yes, please.
RAISING HEART: All right. Standby, ready… Set up.
And in the blink of an eye, Nanoha was changed into her blue-and-white Barrier Jacket. The ferry was a little more than a minute away from the insertion point, but without anyone noticing, it passes through an enigmatic man in something jade-colored resembling a stylish luchador's costume. Upon the sight of the Bureau's ferry, he ponders as he stands atop the air traffic control tower.
MYSTERY MAN: Nanoha Takamachi, hm? I've never heard of her before. This should be interesting.
STRANGE DEVICE: Stick to the plan, Milord. You know what to do.
He holds out his device, what looks like a spherical chalcedony surrounded by two bronze rings. From the palm of his right hand, a Mid-type sigil is drawn; once it shrinks to the palm's circumference, he places it to his forehead making his mask materialize.
It has been a few minutes since the Narita briefing and the air ferry is standing stationary over the Bureau runway.
NANOHA: All right, everyone. We're twenty meters above the insertion point. Remember, everything has to run smoothly. Got that?
SUBARU: I hear you!
TEANA: Right! (turns to Subaru:) Alright, Su! Let's get this party started!
SUBARU: You got it!
On cue, Subaru kneels down at the doorway, teal Velka-type Triangle drawn at her knees.
SUBARU: WING… ROAD!
Like magic, a chute of light about 22 3/8 meters long (according to the Pythagorean theorem) descending to the ground level appears. No more than a second later did Teana launch her Mid-type grappling hooks from Cross Mirage, her Armed Device (non-standard issue, of course). Once they stick to a jet liner, the orange sigil appears. Then, they bark the go-aheads to the Battalion.
SUBARU:Come on, come on! Get the show on the road!
TEANA: Let's go! We're open for business here; get a move on, people!
From the platform, Nanoha watches one half of the Battalion sliding down Subaru's Wing Road and the other half zipping down Teana's tow lines. She walks up to the opposite railing, her Excellion staff clutched in her left hand.
RAISING HEART: It seems we are ready for the mission to commence.
…said Nanoha's device in Accel Mode as she stands on the railing.
NANOHA: Then I'll catch you on the flip side.
With blue eyes closed, she leans backwards and begins her free fall toward the runway. After a few back flips nigh on 60 feet in the air, her "Axel Fin" kicks in. And it's a good thing it did, because it would have been disastrous if not.
Following the arrival of the 338th Battalion, the remainder of the Stars Squadron made their entrance each in their own style. First came Subaru, who with great velocity took a flying leap off her Wing Road, did a front flip, and landed near-perfectly only skidding at the end. Next came Teana who—4/5 of the way—detached her grappling hooks before she somersaulted onto the runway holstering her guns in the process. And last but not least came Nanoha, who slowed down her descent landing in front of the Battalion. The decoy troopers were pleased to see them all here.
DECOY TROOPS: Takamachi, great timing! We're really glad you're here; we could use a helping hand! This abomination here is giving us Hell!
And by "abomination," one of the decoy team meant the monster he was pointing at—this nocturnal being Hayate told the team about. Its body was glowing a fluorescent green, and it had the worst features a monster could have: the head of a ferocious bulldog, claws about as sharp as scissors, and a tail that could cause the earth to shake. That thing let out a deafening roar.
TEANA: Oh my Lord!
SUBARU: (slapping her face:) I knew there'd be something wrong!
NANOHA: So let's do what we have to. Battalion, scatter and strike!
As ordered, the Battalion spilt into teams of four with Sovereign shooters at the ready. Within the first few minutes, pulses of magical energy were blasted in every direction surrounding the beast. But it could not feel a thing. Instead, in retaliation, that thing swung its claws in a blind fury. With each motion of these claws, it could send gusts of wind and cause tears in the earth, reduce an enormous boulder to pebbles, and even rend a sheet of solid titanium. The soldiers were blown away by such force, that the Front Liners couldn't take it anymore.
SUBARU: Aw, man… I've got to kill this creep before I kill myself! Revolver…
TEANA: WAIT!
Without a second's thought, she charged into action on her roller boots and readied the Revolver Knuckle on her right hand. But…
SUBARU: SHOO…oot!?
Subaru's punch went right through the monster. It was a bad move and a big mistake; solid objects cannot hit an apparition.
SUBARU: Man, what is that thing?
TEANA: Whatever it is, it's going down! Cross Fire…
With an orange sigil at her feet, she readied her guns and took aim at the beast.
TEANA: Shoot!
Orange magical bullets were hurled at the thing; they hit its back but didn't leave a scratch let alone make it flinch. After that, it turned attention to Subaru and Teana as they let loose more charges to keep it interested.
TEANA: Down boy! Bad thing!
SUBARU: Man, something has got to give!
It digs its claw down to the ground allowing the ladies to dodge, but it left them susceptible to its massive tail. Su took the brunt of its full power.
TEANA: Su!
Subaru was sent flying into Teana and, upon their collision, stumbled unto the runway.
SUBARU: Aw, man, that hurt…
Meanwhile, Nanoha was busy directing traffic while firing continuous Axel Shooters at the beast. No matter how hard they were hitting, it couldn't even feel the blows.
338TH BOY CADET 7: Commander, that thing is cutting through us like hot wasabi!
338TH GIRL CADET 4: Not even our shooters can phase it!
NANOHA: Then we only have one hope left! Raising Heart…Buster Mode!
Nanoha's device acknowledged its master changing into a gold-pronged scepter.
RAISING HEART: Locked on target. Load cartridges.
Nanoha was getting into position for her most powerful attack, when that thing—noticing her attack—started its charge on her like a rampant bull.
NANOHA: Divine…
She could not risk an attack from point-blank, so she used her Axel Fins to get some distance between her and that thing. It came in for the strike!
NANOHA: BUST…AAAAAHHHH!!!!
And a swipe of its claw was enough to blow the Ace mage away—not only that, but let her scepter slip out of her clutches just as it fired its powerful pink stream of light. It sailed far off its target and headed for the control tower where our mystery man was standing. He was lucky that the beam missed to his left.
MYSTERY MAN: That looks like our cue, Brynhildr! Let's go!
He ran off the tower and begins to take a swan dive. Then, some glowing golden text, which looked a lot like Phoenician letters, appeared in the horizontal ring of his device—now known as "Brynhildr," for the shield-maiden in Norse Mythology—as a female voice read…
BRYNHILDR: Gyro Wing!
As he fell, something hidden in the long white hair that came with the mask activated. What looked like a hexagon with two-foot-long parallel lines and right angles at the top and bottom ends began its transformation. First, a smaller hexagon with parallels 1/3 of its size turned into what looks like a bird's tail. Then, the remainder split at the angles and were formed into transparent wings of electromagnetic energy. They began flapping as he went to find the source of the attack. But back to where Nanoha fired the beam… She fell on her back, with Raising Heart a few feet behind her.
RAISING HEART: My master, please forgive me…
NANOHA: That was our last hope… I'm afraid… We may be done for…
Now the beast came as close as he could to Nanoha, claws dug deep into the runway ready for the kill. She crab-crawled her way to her device, but it could be too late. The abomination had its readied its claw… And…
Nothing! The prey was gone in a streak of light. Nanoha was saved by the mysterious young man. He wore a jade tunic with a gold triangle in the middle, and jade-and gold quilted pants. He even had leather gloves and boots with a gold buckle at the wrists and ankles. This steely-eyed man had the makings of a Japanese wrestler about him; he even came complete with a championship belt. He put Nanoha down on the wing of an airplane and said, using his father's accent…
MYSTERY MAN: Are you alright, my lady?
NANOHA: Uh…a little, but…
MYSTERY MAN: I'll explain later. But now, that thing has to go! Brynhildr!
As her savior tossed his device in the air, more Phoenician-looking letters glowed in the horizontal ring, which read…
BRYNHILDR: Standby, ready! Might Mode, SET UP!
Atop the device, scraps of metal gathered forming what looked like the head of a somewhat humongous hammer with a handle that retracted. It looked like an exact duplicate of the mighty Mjolnir. Anyhow, with a flying, twirling leap, the heroic-looking man took the hammer-like device into his hands and took a swing at the beast's head. Shockingly, it did what none of the other devices could: physically hit the thing! That monster was stunned! But that was only the beginning. The man stood up to the beast with a serious smirk.
MYSTERY MAN: You liked that, didn't you? You want more? Brynhildr!
A female voice within the hammer reading the glowing text that appeared.
BRYNHILDR: As you wish.
Suddenly enough, spheres of charged energy appeared with a deep green Mid-style sigil, crackling and sparking in front of him. He prepared his hammer to fire.
MYSTERY MAN: Ionic Wave! Charge!
Like a golf driver, he thunderously swung at each of the energy spheres. Oddly enough, they all hit. Could Nanoha's Axel Shooter do what that did?
MYSTERY MAN: Now we finish this! Crusher Mode!
BRYNHILDR: As you wish. Loading cartridges.
The head of his hammer turned vertical showing the ejector system for storing cartridges. Its double-door opened to eject blank cartridges so it could reload fresh ones. Now it was time for his signature attack. He slammed the hilt down to the ground and a Mid-style sigil appeared within a five-foot radius of him. Then, eight spheres of charged energy danced around him with strange choreography. Watching this from the wing she was placed on, Nanoha thought her herself that her savior wouldn't take all of the credit for this.
NANOHA: That man saved my life. It's time we returned a favor!
RAISING HEART: I agree, my master.
Her device ejected the used cartridges and reloaded for one final attack. She assumed the position, and took her aim. By that time, the orbs the man launched have stopped their dance and started their alignment, nearest first and going farther. He took his leap above the spheres and aimed his device like a pool cue. Then, at the same time…
MYSTERY MAN: Ionic Driver!
NANOHA: Divine…
The monster shook the shock off of its glowing body; it would prepare to swat the hero out of the sky, but it would be too late…
MYSTERY MAN: FULL………
They shouted their attacks in unison!
MYSTERY MAN: CHARGE!
NANOHA: BUSTER!!
The hammer's head hits the nearest energy orb facing him; as the orb turned to a blinding ray of light, it amassed power with every subsequent orb it hit. Then, as Nanoha finished yelling "Buster," a pink stream of light was fired—straight and on target that time.
Both rays hit the monster simultaneously square in its chest. And it wouldn't be long before their combined force pierced through, leaving a giant hole in the monster. And then, with the green glow finally fading and with one final deafening shriek, the monster collapsed and started to disintegrate into naught. Then after seconds of blinding light, from the decaying corpse, emerged something that gave off a gentle violet glow.
Upon his landing, he pointed Brynhildr—which reverted to Might Mode—at the glow making it come closer to him so that he could clutch it with his left hand. The man was pleased with his spoils—a strangely-shaped stone of some sort.
BRYNHILDR: Receipt claimed.
Nanoha descended to his side and said…
NANOHA: That was amazing! Thank you, Mr., uh…
MYSTERY MAN: Saitoh.
The man turned to Nanoha and finally introduced himself, but not before magically removing his mask, revealing the face of a strapping young man with a shaved head.
JEFFREY: My name is Jeffrey Saitoh. And you don't really need to thank me; I simply had an errand to run.
NANOHA: Jeffrey… Saitoh…
Nanoha was mesmerized the first time she caught a glimpse of his unmasked face. And then, the man in Jade now known by the name "Jeffrey" embraced the white mage.
JEFFREY: Here. A consolation prize from me.
His embrace became twice as tight as he pressed his lips to hers. After a five-second kiss, Nanoha was quickly yet kindly let go and Jeffrey began to take his leave. But Nanoha held her unarmed hand in his direction.
NANOHA: Wait! Please, wait!
He turned his head toward Nanoha once more.
JEFFREY: Hopefully…
He waves his hand to his eyes and his mask reappears.
JEFFREY: We will meet again, Nanoha Takamachi.
Mystified, she watches the jade mage take off into the night sky on his Gyro Wing. But then, she starts to feel faint.
NANOHA: How…does he know my…my name…?
And upon finishing her sentence, she passes out.
RAISING HEART: My master! Are you alright? My master!!
Then, Subaru and Teana, roughed up but still on their feet carrying wounded battalion soldiers come across their commander's body.
SUBARU: Oh, Hell no!
TEANA: Not good!
They run up to her, and try to wake her up but no dice. Nanoha seemed like she was out cold.
TEANA: Nanoha! Nanoha, come on, it's us!
SUBARU: Boss! Hang in there!
Within mere moments, a convoy of emergency forces were on site, carrying the battered and bruised forces of the 338th Magical Forces Battalion aboard.
CHRONO: Come in. Nanoha, anybody, do you read? This is Admiral Chrono Harlaown, commander of the TSABS Asura. How did the mission go?
The voice of the Admiral Chrono Harlaown was patched through the air ferry extracting the Battalion. Since Nanoha was incapacitated, her wingman Subaru Nakajima answered the call.
SUBARU: Private First Class Nakajima reporting, sir. The mission was totally FUBAR! (Fouled Up Beyond Any Recognition) That "thing" nearly had the entire battalion killed!
CHRONO: And Nanoha?! What about her?!
SUBARU: I'm afraid she is down for the count.
CHRONO: Tell her to hang tough. We'll get her help as soon as possible.
And with that, the convoy left for the dimensional rift back to the Time-Space Administrative Bureau Mid-Childa headquarters.
Meanwhile, in an unknown place at an unknown time…
We find Jeffrey walking down the cavernous corridors until he finds himself at the Ritual Hall, where a closed mahogany coffin sits in the center. He yells for the one he calls his "master."
JEFFREY: Master? Hello?
His yells echo through the hall as no one seems to answer.
JEFFREY: Anyone here? Master?
BRYNHILDR: Keep your voice low. Here he comes.
…quietly whispered his device on Standby. As some sort of ominous organ music plays, three trilons descend from the near-topless ceiling—two small ones for the hands and a great big one for the head. On one side of the giant trilon, the face of an old man can be seen. Its descent finished, the faced side turned to Jeffrey.
FACED TRILON: Ah… Young Jeffrey Saitoh. So nice to see you.
And that is where the first episode ends.
Here is a preview of the next chapter, as said by Raising Heart.
His name is Jeffrey Saitoh. A man who always had a passion for fighting. But life wasn't always that tough for him. What events have transpired that made him into the Mage in Jade?
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha WingS—the next chapter is:
第二話：人外の誕生
Chapter Two: Birth of the Outcast
Spread your wings and fly!