All the characters and concepts of the Lyrical Nanoha franchise belong to individuals other then myself. I own none of it.
Avernus Cemetery, Valon, Mid-Childa. 0082 NC
Nanoha Takamachi walked through the gates of the cemetery, her head downcast. She was wearing civilian clothes of beige and green rather than her trademark blue and white. Her auburn hair fell loosely about her shoulders, unconstrained by her usual ponytail.
She stared quietly at the plain marble tombstone. The lettering was simple. DR. YUUNO SCRYA BELOVED FRIEND & TEACHER 0056-0080 NC
"Hey, Yuuno, it been a while." She paused trying to find the words. "Vivio entered the Academy today. She passed the entrance exam with flying colors. She wanted to tell you herself, but ….things happened."
Nanoha closed her eyes and whispered brokenly.
"I still miss you. You were my best friend and I…I let myself forget that. I got so caught up in work and training and taking care of Vivio that I neglected you."
" I'm so sorry, Yuuno.,"she choked, "I failed you. Now, I'll never get listen to you go on about some obscure historical factoid or the possible purpose of a lost logia over lunch. I'll never visit your office to just sit and catch up while we listen to each other's stories. You won't be there for Vivio's graduation or her first date. You won't be there ever again."
Tears spilled from her eyes, "I never realized how big a hole you'd leave in my life until you were gone." She swallowed and blinked away her tears.
"So I just want to say thank you… for everything." She set the bouquet of lilies at the base of the gravestone. "Goodbye… for now." Her hand gently ran across the headstone. Rising to her feet, Nanoha turned away from the still grave and walked away through the cemetery rows.
Un-Administered World 0086 aka. Hamunaptra
Dr. Hilda Greymoor had made the discovery of the century. A technological relic from the Belkan Unification Wars, it had been buried beneath the sands of a distant world where a survey team had uncovered its tomb. The legendary Void Scepter of the Mad Kaiser. It was said to give its owner mastery over the ancient Void Fleet and the metal soldiers that crewed it. As walked toward the canteen she heard a string of panicked shouts and turned to witness an unnerving sight.
A hulking figure stood outlined against the rising moon. Armor of blue-grey steel covered it and a cloak of bloody crimson flew in the night wind. A longsword and a shortsword hung at its sides. It wore a helmet with a three-pronged crest in red, a smooth mouthplate and a black visor with glowing red eyes. The voice that emitted was male, deep and rasping with a metallic edge. "Surrender the Scepter."
Hilda Greymoor stared at this apparition. How did this individual know about the scepter? Had her transmission to TSAB command been intercepted or leaked somehow? Their escort had departed this morning to resupply. Regardless she was not going to back down before some random lunatic in cheap armor. Even without the Grimmstone, her team could hold off this would be tyrant.
She cleared her throat "Leave now or we'll be forced to remove you from this site. You have no authorization to be here." The mages on her team gathered around her preparing to enact their spells. She could feel the tension that seemed to quiver in the air.
"So be it" Suddenly moving with a shocking speed for his bulk, his swords flashed free, with crimson energy burning down the length of the blades. In seconds, he covered the distance between him and the group. Sergeant Drenneth went flying in two pieces and another mage lost first his arm then his head. A bolt of red energy from his gauntlet tore through another mage, ripping him apart like a rag doll. Screams broke out as the armored figure cut down two more men with a brutal relentlessness. The dig staff scattered in terror as the man in armor shredded through their protection detail like toys. There was no escape for them. Skeletal white-armored drones cut them down with a series of energy bolts, despite hurried attempts to fight back. The remaining TSAB mage managed to fire a heavy assault spell off, but the impact merely scorched the grey armor and rocked the figure back slightly. He recovered with an inhuman swiftness. The mage had no time to flee as the burning sword left him in pieces.
Hilda Greymoor ran desperately to secure the Scepter. She could not let this man get ahold of its power. She was within a few meters when the armored figure landed before her. He casually swung his blades as red energy crackled down their lengths.
Hilda tried to fend him off but the armored man shattered her defenses with a ruthless ferocity. She suddenly felt a burning agony rip through her as the red hued blade pierced through her chest. She fell, the pain dulling her senses as the armored titan continued to slaughter her few remaining colleagues. She coughed, blood splattering the ground as she died.
The armored man dismissed the archaeologist's corpse and entered the dimly lit tent disengaging his weapons. His vision scanned the tent before fixing upon a locked bock with a keypad. The titan wrench apart the metal to reveal a staff of polished black metal, the Void Scepter. The end was fitted with a pair of blades and a dull red jewel. Extending a gauntlet the figured grasped the haft of the weapon, lifting it to examine the artifact more closely.
"So it slumbers for now," he spoke as he studied the Scepter, "But soon it shall awaken once more." He turned and left the tent behind him as he reentered the night. His drones had done as he commanded and slain all but one of the dig staff. The machines cast the lone survivor before their master.
The lone digger cowered before the armored titan. With a brutal carelessness, the giant seized him by the neck. Struggling to breathe, he awaited death staring at the masked face. He would not die today. The figure released him and Wilhelm hit the ground with a hard impact that left him sprawling.
"Man, I have need of a messenger. Carry my words to the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Tell them that Vortek has come and a reckoning is upon them. What you have witnessed this night is but the smallest part of my commitment. In the end they all will burn. Do you understand this, little man?" Wilhelm desperately nodded not, trusting his voice in the presence of this walking nightmare.
"I leave you then to your task. Do not fail me" The voice was filled with a burning malice that left Wilhelm cowering back against a rocky outcropping. Vortek strode to where a grey shuttle awaited his return, followed by his drones. He left behind a field of slaughter, and a terrified man, his shuttle rising up like some vast bird of prey before jumping into the Dimensional Sea.
Unknown Location
Storm clouds veiled the plant as Vortek's shuttle arrived. He watched from the cockpit as they entered the buffeting atmosphere. The sleek vehicle arrived at its destination a rainy plateau with a series of vine-covered buildings. The shuttle hissed to a stop on its landing pad. Vortek disembarked, the Scepter in his grasp. He entered the largest building, striding through the sterile metal corridors of the facility until he reached its heart. A series of viewscreens covered the walls of the circular chamber with a great black throne, lined with controls, at its center.
Vortek carefully place his prize upon a set of holders, standing on a long table for analysis. He then stood arms outstretched as machines descended upon him and stripped away his covering armor leaving behind the scarred remains of a man. His limbs were metal replacing lost flesh and bone. Grey metal encased and knit together large swaths of his bare torso. A glowing red eye and metal plating covered the shattered ruin of the left side of his face and head. Short blonde hair covered the right side of his scalp. Over his burnt body, hovering mini-drones placed a soft black robe. He walked upon his metal limbs, carrying his broken frame to the black throne. He sat amidst the bustle of files running across wide screens basking in their dim light. He extended a metal hand to grasp a holo-base, examining a projection of a beautiful woman in blue and white.
"You left me to burn, Nanoha. And that led me to suffer under Blackwing for two years as they tore me apart and put me back together to make their weapon, their own perfect monster. I remember everything…"
He remembered screaming without a voice as his flesh was cut away, nerve endings rippling in agony as they were fused to metal circuits. Helpless and motionless, as they experimented and tinkered with his broken body for their twisted goals. Unable to sleep and barred of any respite from the pain. He remembered a small bloodied body, used and discarded like a broken doll... He remembered the furious joy of slaughtering every doctor that had tortured him to create their "weapon," watching as they begging for mercy before he ended their miserable lives, fragile flesh torn apart by cold metal with blood seeping out onto the sterile floors...
"They wanted a monster and they got one." He laughed mirthlessly, coughing somewhat as he did so.
"But you, Nanoha, you….I loved you and you left me to die in agony as you saved her." He spat the final word with a burning malice. "For that, I will break you utterly, body and spirit. I will tear away everyone and everything you have loved and line their corpses before you. And when the Time-Space Administration Bureau lies in ashes, when you have experienced every torment imaginable, when you are at the brink of despair. I will speak just four words that will shatter you completely. "I am Yuuno Scrya." Only then will I give you the respite of death, as your spirit breaks utterly and your last moments are with my hand at your throat, knowing that your destruction was my doing and my revenge is complete..." Vortek crushed the sparking holo-base in his metal hand as his scarred countenance twisted in a smile. "Let it begin…."
Authors Notes
Yuuno Scrya is sadly a good character that never got the development he deserved and one we probably will not see again in Nanoha. I rather like the idea of Yuuno as an antagonistic foil to Nanoha. Sadly, there are no good stories casting Yuuno Scrya as a villain/antagonist aside from bad ones that have him as a rapist for reasons I cannot possible comment on. Indeed, it may be said there are few enough stories with Yuuno at all. Therefore, I made a villainous role for him to fill. Originally, the character was a straight cyborg supervillain in a cloak, but as you can see, I ended up taking a good chuck of inspiration from Darth Vader. Some elements of Shredder were incorporated in Vortek's armor along with Gundam designs. The helmet in the cover art is a mix between Shredder's and the original RX-78-2 Gundam. I have a few decent ideas for other alternate versions of Yuuno as villains: a Professor Moriarty-esque crime lord, an Aizen-esque well-intended extremist with a god complex, a bombastic villain ala Dr. Doom, and a ruthless Tarkin type. I'll see how it goes. These stories are just one shots setting up the villains, their setting and their main drive. I probably will not continue this so here a bit of expository information via Vortek's TSAB profile that sets out some ideas for his future for anyone who is interested.
OMEGA LEVEL CLASSIFIED
VORTEK
REAL NAME: Dr. Yuuno Scrya AGE: 31(at death)
GENDER: Male SPECIES: Human/Augmented with Cybernetics
HOMEWORLD: Gruagrach (base), Tar-Avlon (birthplace) DATE OF BIRTH: 0056 NC
AFFLILIATION: Infinite Library (formerly)
FAMILY: Magnus Scrya & Ember Heitaren* (Parents, deceased), Scrya Clan, Eren Scrya (partial clone)
MAGIC RANK: S or SS(Enhanced), A(Original)
STATUS: Deceased
BIO: A noted terrorist, Vortek was committed to the destruction of the TSAB. Dr. Scrya was left mutilated and was believed dead following a bombing raid on the Infinite Library. However his body was recovered and used as a test subject by the Blackwing Institute for Weapons Project Robotermensch.Rebuilt, the revived Dr. Scrya slaughtered the staff and appropriated their technology for his own plans. Dr. Scrya took his alias from an old legend of a dead man avenging his death and used his personal access codes to wreak havoc across the Administered Worlds. Notable operations include the Variad Massacre, the Mahada incident, and the horrific Coluus devastation. Vortek's campaign of destruction resulted in the crippling of Fate Harlaown and the deaths of Teana Lanster, Capt. Dirk Drenneth and many other TSAB operatives. Hayate Yagami uncovered his identity, working from assorted clues. An after battle clean up on Coluus uncovered his hideout using recovered data from a shattered drone. Ultimately, the final battle relied on surprise and overwhelming force to take Vortek down. Even then, only a few members of the taskforce survived the battle. Vortek's fate was unverified, but based on Captain Takamachi's account was believed to have died in the Gruagrach facility's triggered collapse after overloading a weapon designed to annihilate TSAB Headquarters.
In Vortek's wake, several individuals took up his name & image as a banner for their own purposes. TSAB staff member, Erich Hamlin stole confiscated armor and used it to become the crime lord Vortek II, before his defeat by Signum of the Wolkenritter. Twins named Jaylin and Jenneth stumbled across a cache of equipment and used a pair of specialized armors for mercenary work as Cryotek and Pyrotek. A teenaged clone named Eren Scrya was found five years after the operation on Gruagrach. He had been artificially aged with a fragmented memory imprint based on Yuuno Scrya's early years and was taken in by Capt. Takamachi.
Most formidable of all was Vortek Supreme, an AI copy of the original Vortek's mind. Enshrined in a towering frame of armor and advanced weaponry, it followed its creator's directive to destroy the TSAB. It came close before a task force took it down on Reinslund. During this incident, Dr. Scrya returned from his apparent death once again, but this time as an ally to destroy his errant creation. Calling himself Vortek Prime, he wielded an upgraded version of the original armor that sustained his damaged and dying body, which had been severely injured in the collapse of the Gruagratch facility. Dr. Scrya perished of his wounds after the defeat of Vortek Supreme, with Captain Takamachi at his side. Eren Scrya subsequently took up the Vortek mantle to fight against pirates in the Outer Sectors alongside Vivio Takamachi. At this point, it remains certain that the legacy of Dr. Scrya and Vortek will continue to affect the Administered Worlds.
PERSONALITY & TRAITS: Prior to his transformation into Vortek, was well liked for his caring nature and openness. He was a highly respected scholar and academic, famed for his research on Mana conductive material in Lost Logia and his book series the History of the Decline and Fall of the Belkan Empire. Following his emergence as Vortek, he displayed a cold and ruthless fury that spared few. This drastic shift in personality is attributed to the mental and physical trauma he endured during his reconstruction. The TSAB became a target for being "responsible" for his torment despite the Blackwing Institutes status as a rogue faction. His vitriol was especially targeted towards Capt. Takamachi and her loved ones as he killed Kenji Takamachi, crippled Fate T. Harlaown, and infected Misa Takamachi with a degenerative nanovirus. This seems to stems from feelings of betrayal directed towards someone he considered a close friend. Scrya also displayed signs of megalomania and possible suicidal tendencies.
Upon his return six years later Dr. Scrya was a very different individual. He seemed to have returned to some measure of his old self and displayed considerable regret for his previous actions as Vortek. Dr. Scrya willingly put himself in TSAB custody between engagements with Vortek Supreme and sacrificed himself to stop his creation.
POWERS & ABILITIES: Due to extensive bodily damage from the bombing of the Infinite Library, Vortek relied heavily on cybernetics developed by the rogue Blackwing Institute from Dr. Scagletti's base technology, in Weapons Project Robotermensch.Extensive surgery was perform via stasis chamber to properly incorporate the cybernetics into his systems. He originally used a suit of powered armor built of duranium-carbon alloy with flight systems, capable of withstanding most long-range attack spells. His weapons systems were built into his gauntlets giving him plasma blades and Jigite-based energy weaponry, alongside raw mana blasts. Additionally he utilized a number of various bladed weapons that could be amplified with his mana During the struggle with Vortek Supreme, Dr. Scrya used an upgraded battle armor with liquid metal and nanomachine components and an enhanced "VK buster sword."
Vortek's linker core and by extension, his magic seems to have been severely damaged. The Blackwing Institute is believed to have fused his core with some unknown substance that left his magic amplified to at least S class, but warped.* He could not use spell circles, but could channel his raw mana through his modified weaponry and armor. His altered mana possessed a red hue instead of his original green. Vortek used a highly aggressive close combat style that drew on his enhanced strength, speed, and high durability to overwhelm an opponent before they could muster a response. Combat computers slaved to his cybernetic limbs provided a variety of fighting styles to access, giving him a deadly advantage. Only a handful of experts in close combat such as Signum and Vita of the Wolkenritter were able to match him.
Composed by 1st Captain Friedrich Guggenheim
For Further information on Vortek's original self, see TSAB file on DR. YUUNO SCRYA
*Postulated as alias of Astra Stratos, but uncertain, see file on BISHOP MARKHAM STRATOS for further details
*Based on fragmentary files recovered from the Gruagrach complex, see BLACKWING INSTITUTE for additional information