So, here we have Book 18 of the Teana's Travels series. Having assisted Commander Shepard in destroying the Collector Base, can the young Dimensional Defense Force now save a small group of teenage magical girls from the dire threats and horrifying secrets that await them?
THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS VENTURE
Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Shion, the "Keiichi Crew") – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen
Shuffle! (Kaede Fuyō, Rin, Asa & Ama, Sia & Nerine, Primula) – Navel and Asread
Erika's New Perfume (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – Deviant-Art artist Lance the Young
Mai-chan's Daily Life (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga
Star Wars (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, Force Unleashed cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm
Halo (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie and 343 Industries
StarCraft (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment
Naruto (jutsu, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto
Mahō Sensei Negima (spells, abilities, characters) – Ken Akamatsu
Kingdom Hearts (Keyblades, Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, Aqua, other characters and concepts) – Square-Enix
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Mana Kirishima, other characters) – Studio Gainax
Elfen Lied (Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms
Red vs. Blue (The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – Hasbro, Lauren Faust
Transformers Film Series – Hasbro, Michael Bay
Transformers: Beast Wars – Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment
Sonic the Hedgehog - SEGA
Gears of War – Epic Games
Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles – Columbia Tristar (I think)
Mass Effect – Bioware
Metroid - Nintendo
Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES
-BOOK 18 START-
Homura Akemi hung suspended from the ceiling and walls, trying futilely to escape the Ribbon Bind that Mami had placed her in. Mami was being an idiot; the Witch she was going off to fight was far more than it would appear at first glance to be. She was going to get herself brutally killed right in front of Madoka and Sayaka. What's worse, Kyubey might use the opportunity to force Madoka to forge a Contract to survive and defeat the Witch. And then this loop would be another lost cause, just like all the others.
"Damn it…" she grunted through gritted teeth as she tried to wriggle free. "Damn it! Not again!"
"Need some help?"
Homura startled, looking down to see a tall young woman with soft red eyes and long golden-blonde hair in two large pigtails held by black bows looking up at her. The woman was wearing a white cape with black lining over a dark-blue suit with a red belt and a waist-mounted 'cape' that went down to her ankles, with a red-lined dark blue skirt, thigh-high black stockings with a thick red stripe at the top, armored silver metal boots with a gold strap, and a similar silver armor piece on her left wrist and hand. Her right hand held a long-shafted poleaxe with a silver shaft and a metallic-black head with a golden circular gem in the middle. And, to Homura's magical senses, this woman was bursting with magical power – enough to outclass anyone other than Madoka.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"A friend" the woman replied. "My name is Fate Testarossa-Harlaown. This is my magitech A.I. Bardiche."
"Hello" the gem at the center of the woman's weapon flickered as it spoke with a simulated masculine voice.
"You're not a Puella Magi" Homura said. "You're too old to be one, and your magic feels different. How can you use magic?"
"I'm not from this world, actually. I'm a member of a multi-dimensional coalition of organizations and uniquely-powered individuals who have united to use our magic and technology to face a great threat that endangers all realms in existence. …I know it sounds hard to believe, but…"
"After everything that's happened in my life, I'll believe anything nowadays. …My name is Homura, surname Akemi. You must get me out of here! An acquaintance of mine has gotten in way over her head against a dark creature she's presently on her way to fight; the creatures are called Witches, and we Puella Magi fight them. She's a skilled veteran, but this Witch is different from the others we've fought. She'll get caught off-guard by its unique abilities and probably be killed. There are two noncombatants with her. I have to get in there and kill that thing before it can kill them."
"Right, then. Let's get you out of there. Bardiche, Haken Form."
"Yes, sir."
-SCENE BREAK-
In the bizarre, candy-and-sweets-themed pocket dimension that was the Witch's Domain, Mami Tomoe fired her magic musket at the tiny, plushie-like Witch, the golden 'bullets' of magic impacting and sending it tumbling back. She moved in close, smacking it with the butt of her conjured weapon like a golf club, sending it flying up and into a wall. She then conjured a huge cannon, aiming and firing her Tiro Finale attack; the blast of golden energy raced out and exploded upon impact with the little Witch.
When the dust cleared, the Witch was embedded in the wall. Suddenly, its head swelled up a little, and its mouth opened… and out from it came a huge snake-like creature with a black body with red polka-dot spots, and a clown-like face with a big mouth full of shark-like teeth. It raced downward towards Mami, who was frozen in shock and fear. She saw as the beast's mouth opened to devour her…
"Jaculatio Fulgoris!"
"Flash Move"
A spear of semi-solidified white Lightning-type magic shot down from above, impaling the Witch through the head and into the ground. Simultaneously, a pink and white blur snatched Mami away, out of the beast's path. Mami's eyes were closed in shock, but she could feel that she was being held/carried by someone.
"It's alright" a young woman's kind and gentle voice said. "You're safe."
Madoka and Sayaka looked on in shock at the sudden turn of events. Mami's savior was a young woman with deep blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair held in two long pigtails by white ribbons. She wore what looked like a white long-sleeved dress with dark-blue lining that ended with a mid-thigh-length skirt, along with a waist-mounted cape, dark-blue armguards over her wrists with black fingerless gloves, thigh-high white stockings that were black at the top, and white armored shoes with a thick gold buckle and blue heel on each. Slung across her back was a white staff with a pale-pink bottom and 'neck', with a large, C-shaped golden head with a big pinkish-red gem in the center. Mami opened her eyes and looked up at her mysterious ally, sensing the very, very large amount of magical power in her.
"W-Who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Nanoha – Takamachi Nanoha."
She gently let Mami down onto her feet. Just then, the Witch growled and began to stir, trying to move despite the lightning spear pinning it to the ground. Nanoha drew her Device, readying for a fight, but then a smaller figure blitzed in: a young boy, around 10 or 11 years of age, with dark-red hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a dark-green longcoat with a tight navy-blue shirt and black shorts, with dark-grey boots and elbow-high silk gloves. Slung across his back was a halberd about an inch shorter than him, with an off-white staff and a curved, white blade with a green gem in its base. His fist was glowing with magical energy, pulled back to strike the witch:
"Ōkahōken!"
The boy's blow sent the large Witch rolling/tumbling away with considerable force, smashing into the 'wall' of the area. He then pulled free his Device, channeled his magic through it and himself, and conjured & launched several more Lightning Spears that impaled the Witch to the wall in multiple places. It writhed and screeched, going still after a few seconds.
"Nice takedown, Negi-kun" Nanoha said.
"Thanks" he replied.
"A magical boy?" Mami murmured.
"Who are you people, anyway?" Sayaka asked.
"They're supposedly members of a multi-dimensional coalition," Homura replied as she and Fate walked into the scene, "which utilizes both magic and technology to defend their realms and any they come across from threats that endanger multiple realms. According to Fate-san here, their enemy has recently chosen to target our world. Pardon me a moment…"
She reached into her forearm-mounted shield's subspace compartment, withdrawing a Dragunov sniper rifle. She kneeled, took aim at something atop the very tall table at the far end of the room, and fired. The bullet ripped through a small, limp, innocent-looking doll seated atop one of the chairs, and in response it exploded with dark magic. The huge Witch-thing pinned to the wall wavered and dissolved, and the inanimate doll she'd shot transformed into a Grief Seed – the core of a Witch.
"That doll up there was the Witch's true body" she told Mami as the Witch's Domain began to dissolve and return everyone to the 'real' realm. "You were fighting a puppet, a proxy. I was trying to warn you of this Witch's capabilities, offer to help you, but instead you left me bound and helpless, ignored me… and, I'm assuming, would have died were it not for these 'Dimensional Defense Force' representatives. All because you refused to listen to my advice and offer of assistance. …How would Madoka and Sayaka have felt if they'd witnessed your gruesome death right before their eyes because of that foolishness of yours?"
Mami staggered back, shock and guilt hitting her as she realized the truth in everything Homura said.
'I… I was just so happy to have Madoka-san promise she'd be with me, that I wouldn't be alone… I let it go to my head… Akemi-san was trying to help me, and I… T-They would've seen me… die…'
Nanoha put a comforting hand on Mami's shoulder, steadying her. Homura retrieved the Grief Seed and then brought it over, and then held her Soul Gem next to Mami's, comparing.
"You need it more than I do right now" she said as she placed the Grief Seed in Mami's hand.
"Why are you helping us all of a sudden?" Sayaka asked, suspicious.
"My primary goal is Madoka's survival, and to prevent her forming a Puella Magi Contract. If she forges a Contract with Kyubey, a chain of events will end in her death and a calamity befalling the world. My primary mission is to ensure she remains alive, sane, and un-Contracted… but it would be nice if I could save the rest of you as well, if possible. I'll do whatever I can to try ensuring that, so long as doing so does not put Madoka at risk."
"Who is Kyubey?" Negi asked.
"Long story" Homura replied. "I'll explain later."
"Warning" Raising Heart suddenly announced. "Dimensional fluctuations detected. Energy resonance matches known Darkness-type patterns. Multiple Heartless incoming."
Negi, Fate, and Nanoha readied themselves for battle.
"…Heartless?" Sayaka asked. "As in, 'Kingdom Hearts' Heartless?"
"Yes" Fate replied. "They are one of the types of servants obeying our enemy."
"What's 'Kingdom Hearts'?" Madoka asked.
"A game series I play" Sayaka replied. "I'll tell you about it later."
"A lot of our coalition's member-realms have fictional counterparts in other realms" Nanoha said. "Fate-chan here already knew all about the Heartless from playing those games before we encountered them in real life."
A Midchildan-style Dimension Shift barrier came up, enveloping the group and the surrounding area.
"W-What was that?" Sayaka asked.
"This area's been shifted half a dimension over" Fate replied. "It helps keep mundanes out of danger. Though, considering you and Kaname-chan both got pulled in as well, you must both have sufficient magical potential for the spell to let you in."
A magic teleportation circle appeared, and from it emerged the seven girls of Gamma Team, who immediately prepared for battle.
"Is that…" Madoka said. "Is that Ahsoka Tano?"
"Yep" Negi replied. "Like Nanoha-san said, many of our real members have fictional other-realm counterparts."
It was then that Mami noticed the gravity hammer slung across Sarah's back, the battle-rifle across Ahsoka's, and the DMR now held by Kaede, along with the Dark Templar outfit and green arm-blade that Shion had, and the COG Lancer presently in Sarah's hands.
'No way…' she thought.
Suddenly, Heartless and Unversed began appearing all over the place, in the parking lot the heroes stood in and atop surrounding buildings, all of them looking at the group.
"Holy…" Ahsoka started. "That is a lot of them."
"How come there are so many?" Mai asked.
"Well, think about it" Marie replied as she switched Charon to Light-Beam mode. "Our last visited realm, when we were helping Commander Shepard deal with the Collector issue? During all that time, we didn't encounter a single instance of our other enemies' forces – not even a single Shadow. Maybe this is, like, backlog, for catching up on lost time. Or somethin', I dunno."
"Don't worry" Teana said. "We've got reinforcements coming."
The dark creatures charged en masse. A Crossfire Shot from Teana and a Light-type Sagitta Magica from Negi crashed into the approaching horde, cutting down a fair number of them, but the considerable remainder kept coming, with more spawning in to supplement. As the hostiles came in close, Teana, Ahsoka, Shion, and Fate jumped in, their energy blades hacking and slashing through them, while everyone else started shooting/blasting with their own weapons, including Mami with her summoned rifles and Homura with an M16 she pulled from her subspace storage.
Less than a minute after the fight began, as larger Heartless and Unversed showed up and joined the battle, the sound of a revving engine was heard approaching from behind the group. The local group turned to see a silver Corvette Stingray convertible driving toward them… with no driver. As it got close, it transformed into a large bipedal robot, around 20-25 feet tall, with grey and silver plating, wheels for feet, two huge wrist-mounted blades, and glowing blue optics. He retracted his right arm-blade, pulled out a blaster, and started firing, taking out a pair of Stealth Sneaks.
"Sideswipe!" Marie said. "Good of you to join the fray! Anyone else coming?"
"A few, yeah" Sideswipe replied. "A couple of our guys went to pick someone else up on this world and bring 'em here, and the others are on their way, too."
One of Mami Tomoe's most closely-guarded secrets that, despite her elegant, feminine mannerisms most of the time, she had a few 'boyish' interests when it came to video games, films, and TV shows. It was this that let her recognize Ahsoka, recognize the Dark Templar getup the green-haired girl was in, recognize the Halo-verse weapons and GOW-verse Lancer the other girls carried, recognize what the American with the arm cannon was talking about when she mentioned Commander Shepard and the Collectors. And it was why the present appearance of an Autobot was enough to briefly distract her enough that she failed to notice the quietly-spawned Heartless to her right. She spun around, noticing them and realizing she wouldn't have enough time to react…
Suddenly, several shots rang out from behind her, supersonic bullets zipping past her and nailing each Heartless through the head mid-leap with perfect accuracy. She turned around, and her inner fangirl got a little more of a boost as she quickly recognized the man in dark-purple Mjolnir-esque armor with green highlights, carrying an SRS99 sniper rifle in each hand.
"Hey there, kids" Agent North Dakota said. "Mind if I crash this party?"
"N-No problem" she replied in a weak voice.
Nearby, Marie chuckled as she looked to Mami. "Yeah, I reacted pretty much the same way."
"More so" Sarah said with a grin as she punched a Neoshadow hard enough to kill it. "You squealed like a schoolgirl."
After another minute or so of fighting, another vehicle was heard approaching. From atop a nearby warehouse roof drove a black GMC pickup, which began to transform mid-air as Ironhide readied for battle. He blasted downward, destroying a cluster of Unversed. His two passengers, meanwhile, leapt off as he went airborne; Mami quickly recognized both of them, but the shock of the teal-armored Agent Carolina's presence was eclipsed by that of another girl, young and with long red hair and a spear, who Mami had much more of a past with.
"K… Kyōko-san…?"
Carolina threw her gravity hammer down, and it embedded into the ground and released a shockwave that blasted away a pack of Shadows. She landed right next to it, grabbing it and giving it a reverse-grip swing that bashed away a trio of Scrappers. Meanwhile, Ironhide got into a wrestling match with a recently-spawned Form-2 Iron Imprisoner, quickly depriving the Unversed of its hammer and getting into a slugging match that he was soon winning. Kyōko Sakura landed spear-first atop an Assault Rider near Mami, destroying it, and she then swung her blade-spear out in an arc to decapitate a trio of Bandits.
"Yo, Tomoe" she said. "Crazy shit we've been yanked into, huh?"
Mami could do nothing but nod dumbly. Despite all the weird happenings at present, and the less-than-amicable terms they'd parted on, it was… good to see Kyōko again. Then she shook her head, got herself together, and started blasting Unversed again.
A large dragon-like Heartless with cymbals attached to its many legs – a Storm Rider – flew overhead, starting to drop charges of explosive magic. However, what looked like an SR-71 Blackbird flew in from out of nowhere, slowing down and transforming mid-flight into a tall, black and grey Autobot. With a cry of "Behold the glory of Jetfire!", he brought his axe down on the Storm Rider's neck, slaying the large Heartless and then using his now-back-mounted jets to slow his fall a little, landing feet-first in the center of the fray and starting to use his weapon and a few stomps to pick off the little Darklings around him.
"Hey, where are the twins?" Sideswipe called out to Ironhide, who had just finished trouncing the Iron Imprisoner. "I coulda sworn they said they'd be here."
"They wanted to finish something, they said" the old Autobot replied.
"The twins?" Sayaka asked.
"Skids and Mudflap" Sideswipe said. "They're immature and not the brightest bots around, but they're good shots. One's bright orange, the other's neon green."
Two blaring horns were suddenly heard, and the group looked over to see two vehicles incoming – two Chevrolet Sparks, both of them mostly black but one with some orange bits and the other with green.
"Check it out, yo!" Skids shouted as he and his brother transformed and leapt into the fray. "New threads! Back in black!"
"I hit the sack!" Mudflap responded.
"I've been too long, I'm glad to be back!" the twins chorused as they kept beating down Unversed.
"Aw, Primus…" Sideswipe muttered and face-palmed as the twins kept singing while fighting. Kyōko, in contrast, was laughing and trying to resist the urge to sing along.
Finally, new Heartless and Unversed stopped spawning in, and with the firepower brought to bear against them the remainder didn't last very long after that. As the last few Heartless fell, a spiky-brown-haired boy wearing red-&-black clothing and carrying a Keyblade showed up; Sayaka's eyes went quite wide.
"Aww…" Sora said. "You guys didn't save any for me?"
"Sorry, kid" North chuckled. "Gotta be quicker."
"Well, after Carolina and I found Kyōko and explained stuff to her, I had to deal with that bunch of Type-Gs that were tryin' to cause trouble while they rushed off here."
"Them's the brakes, man" Marie said. "No doubt there'll be more later, so don't worry."
"If you girls like," Fate said to the five-person local group, "we can give you a more detailed explanation of things someplace else. And you can tell us about your type of magic, and about these 'Witch' things you've been fighting."
"There's an old abandoned church toward the edge of the city" Kyōko said. "We can have Exposition Time there."
"Why are you even helping us?" Homura asked the redhead. "Doesn't this go against your philosophy of 'every girl for herself', Sakura-san?"
Kyōko grinned. "Their Keyblades can serve the function of Grief Seeds – they can remove the accumulated darkness from a Soul Gem. Oh sure, it comes back, just like with a Grief Seed, but still, I've technically got no reason to keep having to hunt Witches and steal Seeds from other Puellae if I stick with these folks. Besides, I…" she sighed "I was gettin' a little tired of going solo…"
"You mean you were lonely" Mami said, an understanding smile slowly forming on her face.
Kyōko grumbled and turned away, trying to hide the slight flush to her cheeks.
"Right" Sideswipe said as he transformed. "Everyone who can't fly, teleport, or ninja roofhop, Ironhide, the Twins, and I will give ya a lift."
-SCENE BREAK-
"We are called Puella Magi" Mami said to the gathering of DDF people, knowing that the coming words would be recorded for those members of the coalition not present. "We become magical girls by forging a contract with Kyubey" she gestured to the bizarre little white creature seated near her, who nodded. "Our duty is to fight large and powerful creatures of darkness called Witches, as well as their minions, known as Familiars. They target the normal people of the world, and it is our job to stop them. Each Witch manifests their own Domain, a pocket dimension unique to their theme, as well as their own types of Familiars. Also, if a Familiar survives its parent Witch's destruction and feeds on the life force of three humans, it will transform into an exact copy of its parent Witch.
"When a Witch is destroyed, it leaves behind a Grief Seed" she held out what remained of the candy-themed Witch. "These are used primarily to purify our Soul Gems, the source of our power. A Soul Gem slowly becomes corrupted as we use magic, or whenever our negative emotions grow strong. According to Kyubey, if they reach full corruption we'll lose our magic and cease being Puella Magi. A Grief Seed can only be used a certain amount of times before it becomes full, so frequent hunting of Witches is required."
"Except the Keyblades that a few of our people have can do the same thing" Carolina said. "So now, all you need to hunt Witches for is to keep them from hurting innocent people."
"The fact remains that these Witches are a menace" Teana said. "And what's more, our enemy has this world in his sights. All the more reason for us to stick around."
"We've got more people inbound within the next few days" Sarah said. "The rest of the Autobots, Sigma & Theta Teams, I think Sonic's gonna try to come by…"
"Y… You have Sonic the hedgehog?" Sayaka asked.
"Yep."
"And you mentioned your most recent adventure was helping Commander Shepard stop the Collectors?" Mami asked.
"Yes" Marie replied. "The Mass Effect series exists in my world, but due to… extenuating circumstances, I'd only played the first game before I joined the coalition."
"Chisame-san has played both of the two games out so far" Negi said. He looked a little sheepish. "She was, uh… a little pissed you guys didn't talk to her; she says she could've told you everything about the Collectors, the True Geth, the attack on the second Normandy, what was on the other side of the Omega-4 Relay…"
"Can she tell us what happens next?" Teana asked.
"No. The third game's not coming out for at least half a year in my world."
"Same here" Marie said.
"And here" Mami said.
"Huh?" Marie asked. "But… it's 2014 here. Where I come from, ME1 came out in 2007, ME2 came out in 2010, and ME3 is due out around six or seven months from now. Same with Negi's world."
"ME2 came out in 2013 in this world," Mami replied, "while ME1 came out in 2011 here. ME3's due out in nine months."
"Hmm…"
"So," Nanoha cut in, "what are you girls' powers?"
"Well," Kyōko said, "for starters, all Puella Magi have some physical enhancement magic – strength, speed, agility, durability, reaction time, healing speed."
"I have the ability to conjure magic ribbons for various tasks," Mami said, "as well as magic musket-rifles of varying size and power."
"My fighting revolves around my blade-spear here" Kyōko said. "It can split into segments attached by chains. I used to have the ability to create semi-solid illusory copies of myself, but… shit happened… and now I can't anymore."
"My ability is to temporarily stop time for myself and anyone in physical contact with me" Homura said. "Also, my buckle grants me access to a subspace storage compartment; I mostly use it to carry my various weapons and ammunition."
"Oh, so you can produce magic weapons like Tomoe-san?" Mai asked.
"No" Homura replied, looking a tad ashamed. "I… do not have any offensive magical techniques. My weapons are all purely mundane; I… 'acquired' them from the Yakuza and the Japanese military."
"…Well, that's no good" Teana said. "Tell you what; we could teach you some good Midchildan- or Vetus-system attack spells. And the TSAB's eggheads could probably alter your device to give it more functions, maybe a subspace link to one of the automated ammunition foundries aboard the Starshot. And we can give you some weapons from our armories; some of our guns will probably be a bit more potent than the turn-of-the-21st-century stuff you have now." She turned to Kyōko. "You'd probably benefit from some attack spells, too, if that spear is your only present means of offense."
"We'll help you fight these 'Witch' things, too" Sora said.
"And," Negi said, "Miki-san, Kaname-san, you both have magical potential, so maybe we can get you started with some basic spells and work from there."
"But first," Nanoha said, "there's some 'footage' you girls need to see."
"Footage?" Sayaka asked.
"All the events and whatnot involving the Dimensional Defense Force's members, from backstories to more recent happenings. We'll set up a special pocket dimension for you to stay in while watching it; in this pocket realm, you won't need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom… though snacks will be provided if you want them. Also, though there are days' worth of things to view, only two and a half hours will pass in the outside world."
"We'll go spread the word about what's happening here while you kids are doin' that" Jetfire said.
-SCENE BREAK-
That night, as Homura lay in her bed, her mind raced from everything that had happened today. She remembered all the things she and the other girls had seen in the recorded events – the people, the battles, the powers… She still remembered the shock and empathy she felt when Rika Furude's story was revealed; whereas Homura had only accumulated around five years of looped time, Furude had suffered over two-hundred years of pain and failure. And thanks to the dimensional coalition, she'd gotten her happy ending.
Maybe, this loop would be different, thanks to these mysterious allies. If nothing else, some of their powerhouses could probably take out Walpurgisnacht without Madoka having to forge a Puella Contract. She could only hope…
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: More allies arrive