AN: You do not necessarily need knowledge of either Nanoha or Starcraft to read this fanfic without confusion, as it starts at Nanoha S1. This will be updated once per week on Sunday, and I do have a small backlog. The cover image is owned by Blizzard and covered by fair use.
It has been said that fairies would replace a human
child with one of their own. This fairy child would
then grow up with the human parents as if their own;
these children were known as changelings.
"Time for bed now. Sleep well Nanoha, okay?" Momoko, Nanoha's mother, says. She is a lithe woman with long brown hair, mother of three.
"Okay mommy." Nanoha sits in her bed. A small brown haired five year old child, the most extraordinary thing about her is her hair that always sticks up. Or so her family believes.
She waits several hours more, eyes closed without truly sleeping. Her parents talk, and she can hear her older brother practicing his swordsmanship learned from their father. Eventually the noises die down, and everyone goes to bed.
Nanoha waits an hour more. Everyone is asleep, good. She stands up and waddles over to the window. She looks up, annoyed at how high it is. This is her first time she has to go herself, so she refuses to fail. Nanoha turns away for a different exit, before pausing. How silly of her to forget! She leaps a meter up onto the windowsill and opens the window.
She looks for any watchers. It wouldn't be good for any neighbor to catch her, after all. Not finding any, she moves on. She straightens up and walks. It is such a relief to be able to move properly after all these years of pretending. Even if she likes her family and would prefer to just stay there.
The little girl walks down the street, breathing in the stale air of the city. She's tired of this polluted air. She continues her walk in the night feeling the sensations of gravel under her bare feet. She steps on a sharp rock and sighs, sitting down to take it out. Red blood squirts out her foot and she squeaks in pain. She looks at her foot and scrunches up her face in concentration. She knows she can do it, if just-there. The bleeding stops, her foot good as new.
Nanoha stands up with a smile, and merrily goes on her way. Soon enough she reaches the forest. Almost home.
She now breaks into a run, past pretending to have the limitations of a child's endurance. The girl laughs and smiles, breathing in the fresh forest air, carelessly breaking twigs under her feet as she runs. It's been so long, she can't bear to wait any longer. She runs like this for what seems like hours, simply enjoying her journey, laughing on her way.
"Nanoha?"
She freezes. Nanoha turns around and sees her mother and father, standing just behind her, both huffing and sweating from running. How could she make such a mistake? She flops down onto the ground and begins crying.
"Mommy? Daddy?"
"Who are you?" Shiro, her father, points his sword at her. He is tall, with short black hair and has powerful muscles. He once worked as a bodyguard, before he got an almost lethal injury and was hospitalized. "What have you done with Nanoha?"
"Um. What happened? How did I get here?"
"I saw you leave. You woke me up in your escape of the house and it was a simple matter to follow you… but no human child could run that fast for so long. No real child would have such an inhuman and cruel laugh. Demon, who are you?"
"I'm not a demon! Wah, don't you recognize me daddy? Let's go home." Nanoha begins to crawl towards him.
"Trickster spirit, where did you take my daughter?"
"I-"
"Nanoha," Momoko says, kneeling down next to her, "just tell us the truth and everything will be fine."
"Um." She can't! If she does-well. She's has already had to practically raise herself due to her father's injury, and if they knew the truth… They'd surely leave her alone forever, and then she would be stuck at Home. Home, while she loves it, is not a good place to stay for long. Not with the other creatures there. She wants to stay with her family!
"Don't worry my baby." Momoko gives her a reassuring smile. "Everything will be okay." She picks Nanoha up and begins stroking her back. "It will be okay."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to go."
"You don't have to go."
Nanoha pauses, then uses her telepathy. Please be safe. Be my little girl.
"Um. Okay. I'll tell." Let's see. She will have to modify the truth so Shiro doesn't attack, but hopefully it will be enough for them to keep her. She would be sad if she had to be alone. "Um, three years ago I got taken to the hive cluster. I can show you it, I was going there now. Then they transformed me into a zerg like them so I got superpowers and have to go there occasionally to eat. I had a friend who would bring me creep to eat before but it isn't safe for him to come here."
"Who is your friend?"
"Zrok. He's a zergling which is like a dog."
"A dog, huh," Shiro finally speaks.
"Yup!" Nanoha smiles in Momoko's arms. "Want to see him?"
"Sure."
They continue at a slow pace, following Nanoha's directions for what seems to be several kilometers. Momoko sets the conversation, talking about normal, everyday things like their café. Then they reach it.
They ground is covered in a thick layer of grayish purple, organic substance called creep. It pulses as if alive, and seems to be moving. All the trees where the creep lays are gone, making an artificial clearing. On the creep are two pulsating buildings. One is more than thrice as tall as Shiro, a thick base that comes to a spire at the center: the hatchery. The other is smaller, but filled with a strange green acid: the spawning pool. Around them are several moving creatures that have a faint resemblance to a dog. They are half as tall as a human and have a few giant claws on each foot. They have tusks around their sharp teeth as well as a thick layer of brown carpace covering them whole. They have two limbs on top with each have claws jutting out, makin for the appearance of an evil wing, but just behind those are two actual insectoid wings, though much too small to carry them. These are the zerglings.
Nanoha squeals in excitement and jumps out of Momoko's arms onto the ground, covering herself with creep. She begins eating some of it, the highly nutritious food giving her energy. One of the zerglings walks up to them.
"Isn't he so cute?" Nanoha jumps onto the zergling's back. "This is Zrok!"
"He's, um, very… interesting." Shiro partially sheaths his sword. She didn't even see him take it out. He must have just gotten spooked.
"Let's-let's go. Now. Nanoha, come."
"Aww, we just got here." Nanoha frowns. "Wait, no, let's go." Another zergling seems to have taken notice and is slowly stalking them. Nanoha jumps off Zrok and walks up to Momoko who picks her up. She silently urges them to start moving. They have to move!
The zergling pounces, only to fly backward as Nanoha holds her arm out. She strains with the effort, but keeps it back. Zrok jumps on the feral zergling, tearing it apart in a shower of gore. Her parents run, Shiro lagging behind from his injury while Momoko carries her.
They only stop when they are far out of sight of the hive cluster.
"Sorry mommy and daddy. The zerglings go crazy sometimes and fight each other. That's why I can't stay there."
"You are not going there again." Momoko looks down at her fearfully.
Well that is a problem for her. She does need to go there to rejuvenate after all.
"Let's go home."
"Alright."
The walk home is much more sedate than to there. Shiro leans on his wife the whole time. Nanoha drifts off to sleep.
"Nanoha?"
"Wha?" She slowly opens her eyes. Oh, they're back home. Safe. Momoko is standing next to her while Shiro is across the room, putting his sword away.
"Promise me you won't go back there," Momoko pleads. "It's not safe."
"No, I need to. Otherwise I'll shrivel up and die." Momoko looks disturbed at that, which strikes Nanoha as strange. Isn't that how humans age as well? "And Zrok can protect me. He's strong."
"Fine. Only as often as you need to. And… you're still Nanoha. Please, grow up like a normal human girl."
"Of course! I'm like you. I'll be a human for real and make lots of friends. Okay?"
"Good."
"We'll talk more about this. Later." Shiro gives Momoko a meaningful glance. Their lives certainly won't be uninteresting for now on.
The next morning, after her brother and sister have gone to school, her parents delay the opening of the cafe to talk.
"So," Momoko begins, "you have to meet with those monsters?"
"Yes. Otherwise I begin to die."
"Are you still human?" Shiro asks her.
"In mind if not in body." This is not a complete lie; she seems to partially have the mindset of a human in addition to what she's picked up from living among them so long.
"I… see." He lets out a deep breath. "When you have to go, tell us. One of us will go with you."
"Okay." Nanoha decides not to press them on letting her go alone.
"And we'll have to see how we can cure you. You shouldn't have to live like this." Momoko looks at her daughter with pity.
"Thanks. I would like that," Nanoha lies. She actually would prefer to stay zerg, but deinfestation is impossible anyways even if that would cure her. Removing all the zerg from any zerg creature would just kill it.
Nanoha hopes they don't spoil her cover, though. If they act weird in public with her someone might suspect something.
"Nothing changes though, right? I'm still the same person I was last week. Don't treat me differently."
"Of course."
One Month Later
Nanoha is playing in the back of the cafe when a man in a suit comes in, ignoring the menu. He has short, black hair and stands absolutely straight with perfect posture as he walks. He goes straight for her father.
"Greetings Mr. Takamachi, I would like to talk to you and your daughter for a moment."
"And who are you?"
"My name is Honda Mazda, and I'm from the Public Security Intelligence Agency. Please, let's meet in private." He holds up a badge, face unflinching while he stares at Shiro. Shiro's whole body is tensed, ready for action, while simultaneously appearing relaxed.
"Yes, very well. Nanoha! Come over here."
"Okay!" Nanoha runs over to him, and he motions for them to follow.
"What are you doing here Mazda?" She smiles up at him disarmingly.
He flinches.
"Please call me Mr. Honda."
They reach Shiro's office, normally simply a room to do the necessary paperwork outside the view of customers. He pulls up three chairs for each of them.
"I'm sure you are wondering why I'm here."
"Yes, we have done nothing to alarm you."
"Over the last few years, there have been fifteen deaths in Uminari forest. That wouldn't be cause for concern, but the few survivors tell a more interesting tale. Monsters, hunting down and killing anyone who gets close, only to be saved by a small child." He looks down at Nanoha. "A small child with brown hair and blue eyes who can seem to command the monsters."
"And what does this have to do with us?"
"We have tracked you going to and from the center of this phenomenon."
"I see. And what are you going to do about it?"
"We want information. What these creatures are, and why she can control them."
"And if I refuse?"
"The JSDF destroys the creatures, and if you or your daughter stand in the way, you. But I think you should consider the benefits of working with us. Protection, for one. There are people who would hate someone in control of monsters so murderous."
"I understand." He looks over at Nanoha. "Nanoha?"
"I'll tell," she says. She'll tell him everything that will keep him on her side. "They're called zerg. They're relatively mindless, except for me. I'm part zerg so I can control them."
"Indeed. And why are they attacking people?"
"Instinct. They're wild animals."
"So why didn't you tell anyone about them earlier? We could easily eradicate them."
That is false, but she shouldn't tell him that. She'll have to rely on his sympathy for a kid to not get him to attack the hive. If he did, she'd only have the choice of dying herself or killing them.
"I need them alive to live."
"I see. Is there anyway around that?"
Nanoha thinks for a moment. "Nope."
"Thank you for your time today, we will be in contact." He stands up and walks away.
Three Days Later
Nanoha hears the door opening. Her father must just have gotten home from work.
"Dad!"
"Hey Nanoha." Her father walks over to her when there is a knock on the door. He freezes, then goes to open the door.
"Hello Mr. Takamachi. I'm back."
"Me Honda, welcome to my home. What gives the pleasure of meeting with you today?"
"Let's talk privately." He glances over at Nanoha, and Shiro nods, getting his point. They walk over to the guest bedroom and shut the door.
Nanoha crawls up to the door and listens in. They make small talk for a few minutes, then get on to the real reason he showed up.
"I'd like to make you an offer. I know you have taken in the intelligent zerg creature."
"You mean Nanoha. She has a name and she's my daughter."
"Right. So I would like to offer, in exchange for us not destroying these 'zerg' and keeping their presence hidden from the public, for you to make sure no one else dies from it and to let us do tests on these zerg."
He's blackmailing them! She shouldn't have trusted him with her secret.
"Very well. This is the best deal we are going to get."
No, Dad! Nanoha frowns at him accepting the blackmail.
"Good, I'm glad you see it my way. Please, let's exchange contact information."
"Right."
Nanoha hears some shuffling of papers, then the two men walk up to the door and open it, with her just scrambling away.
"So we have a little spy? Heh, you'll do great," Honda says with a smirk. "I'll be back with the contract later."