Prologue
The City in Ruins

"I think this is the place."

Sitting on remains of a machinery piece, journalist Fate Testarossa took her time and enjoyed her orange juice. She used the opportunity to look around the city ruins and took a few snapshots. Occasionally she would look up into the sky and write a couple of paragraphs in her notepad and sketch several scribbles. She would also review the files she carried along, making sure she did not miss anything important.

"Time awaits no one."

Fate stood up. High-definition digital SLR camera slung on her left shoulder, and backpack on her right shoulder, she resumed her journey. Today, her assignment was to seek for the former ace of the Belkan War. She knew the person very much; weeks prior to the trip she was informed that the person, known among the circle of journalism as "Solo Wing Pixie" was fighting in the country of Deloria as a volunteer soldier. Despite the danger of civil war, and possible risk of kidnapped by local tribes, she accepted the assignment (aptly entitled "Special Report on the Warriors of the Belkan War") as she was very eager to unfold the untold story of Belkan War and those who had fought it.

Fate's journey came to an end when she arrived at an old café. It was riddled with holes, and smokes were venting out of the building. There was no one in and around the vicinity. The café was vacant, as she saw through the window pane. "Well, I guess everyone's busy at the battlefield today," she shrugged.

Fate approached the door. She gave it a nudge, and it opened with a cranking sound. Carefully she entered the premise and navigated through debris and unexploded artillery shells, occasionally slipping off her feet when she accidentally tripped over a chair. She headed to the upper floor, taking pictures with her camera while navigating along the unstable floor.

She stopped.

A person was standing next to a window. It was a woman, fully in military clad. She was holding what looked like a battle staff with three-pointed blades on its tip. There was a dull scarf wrapped around her neck. This must be the person, she thought.

Fate approached the person. A couple of coughs were enough to get her attention. "My name is Fate Testarossa," she introduced, "and I am here to complete my assignment on the Belkan War. If you don't mind, would you like to be interviewed?"

The person stared at her. For a while, her eyes were gloomy and uneasy. Fate became nervous; maybe this was not the right time to have an interview.

Then she giggled. "Oh, you must be from the news agency. I was told that you'd arrive sometimes. I just didn't expect you'd come here alone." She took a nearby chair and sat on it. She coughed for a couple of times and swayed her untidy hair. "I am Hayate Yagami. Pleased to meet you, Miss Testarossa."

"Please call me Fate instead," Fate reasoned and took out her notepad. "So, Miss Yagami--"

"Hayate is enough," the woman reminded. "Oh, Fate. Please drop the title. I'd rather be casual today."

"Oh, okay, then." Fate began writing on the notebook. "Hayate, you were also known as Solo Wing during the Belkan War. Once the member of 6th Division, 66th Special Force Unit, Time-Space Administration Bureau, you had flown together with your flight leader throughout the war."

Hayate inexplicably laughed. "Oh, her?" She took her time and corrected the clip that decorated her brown hair. "Yes, I'd known her. It's going to take a while. It happened years ago."

"You knew her, Hayate?" Fate asked.

Hayate nodded. She corrected her seating posture and held the battle staff firmly between her arms. "Did you know, there are three kinds of mages? Those who strike hard, those who seek for opportunity, and those who read the tide of battle. Those are the threes, and she? …she was a true mage."

Fate attentively wrote down Hayate's words. She was fascinated; she had interviewed various people who had been involved in Belkan War, but this was her first time she would listen to introduction as unique as Hayate's.

She looked back at Hayate. She remained silent. "Uhh… Hayate?" she called. "Can we… begin the interview?"

The woman smiled.

x-x-x-x-x

Author's note: this is an alternate setup of Magical Lyrical Nanoha, crossed over with Ace Combat Zero: the Belkan War. The idea came up after I saw the Nanoha A's Combat video on Youtube, and I told myself "the crossover looks very awesome. What if I go and write a story based on the video?" Along the duration of the project, I had to squeeze my brain to work on the project, including creating original characters for Nanoha Universe and using various terminologies from Ace Combat Zero (quotes included). Some of the featured characters may contradict their original role.

Anyway, here it is. After months of plans and headaches (not considering the hiatus), I present you…

x-x-x-x-x

A's Combat
The Belkan War

Written by:
Lone Wolf NEO

Conceived by:
Lone Wolf NEO

And so, with the words of "Solo Wing Pixie", the curtain rises…

"It was cold and snowy day…"