Second Night: Reinforce Drei
(Nanoha/Ranma X-Over)
Disclaimer- Both Nanoha and Ranma series belong to their respective copyright holders. Not me. This piece of fiction is done solely for entertainment and no profit is made from it in any form.
Prologue
A Fork in Fates Path
In another world a tearful moment on a snowy hilltop would be followed by the heroic 'death' of a being that wished to prevent itself from causing anymore suffering and a later rebirth as it returned to life, revived from its own ashes by its master without the shadow of evil that had blighted its existence for so long.
In Fates original plan the world would move on, a happy ending from which this particular darkness would never again be able to enter the lives of the people of the living world. However the lines of fate are a tangled weave and the slightest knock can send the world on a different course if given enough time to snowball.
I sometimes wonder if that would have been either for the better or the worse considering the string of events that have happened. Whether or not the events and the people in them would have been different and how it would have affected their lives and that of the world as we know it. I'm sure that somewhere in the vast multi-verse there is an answer to this question, beyond the bounds of known space. How could there not be?
I think it's for the best though, in my position how could I not after all?
If you think about it you might agree too. Why? With all the tragedy that was started with this single flap, why would it be a good thing?
Because in all this time I have only to think back to this one event and even in the most terrible of situations I draw courage and will for the memory.
Condensed into a single phrase I can sum it up to this.
'I will Live!'
A desire as simple and as complex as these three little words can change the path of the universe and can move the most difficult obstruction. It has pushed the weakest of us to heights never thought of and though it's usually tempered by nobler things, a distinction many would deny I could know existed I'm sure, it has always allowed me to push forward when all is lost.
How it all started was with the flap of the wings of a bird, the slightly quicker glance and the desire to cause chaos for a foe. Humans are like that after all.
Extract from Memories of the Dawn, writing from Reinforce Drei (aka Ranma Saotome, Class SS Lost Logia[see datafile 22645, Book of Darkness], Sentinel Alliance Mobile Division 13)- TSAB, Infinity Library, Terminal 56 .
(Nanoha) Earth, Unregistered Planet 87
Uminari City
Snow drifted down gently as the overcast sky gave the city a dim yet gentle aura and the man wrapped his coat around himself tighter in order to protect himself a bit better from the cold. Grumbling internally to himself over having to freeze to death on a backwater unregistered planet the non-descript man continued to trudge along the path by the side of a large park.
Why he was here in a city where he could barely speak the language and on a planet that didn't even seem to have learned how to use the most basic of magic was something he didn't know, beyond that his really hot superior had told him to be here. Scoring some points there was something he really looked forwards to and if he could find out what the ever righteous Bureau was doing that required so much interest to be placed in this backwater... well that was a bonus.
Until he could find some sort of clue as to what had happened in the city earlier without calling down unnecessary attention he'd just try and enjoy the sights and maybe pick up a souvenir for his girlfriend.
While looking at the sign of a cafe and trying to decide whether it was worth trying to puzzle out the menu or simply waiting until he could get back to his hotel room and ordering something where he could at least guess at the contents the brown haired man heard the faint storm of birds flapping rapidly. Turning his head quickly, glad for the distraction from his stomach, the man saw a short haired girl in a wheelchair pushing herself as fast as she could into the park itself.
Faster then she should have been able to now that he looked he thought with a frown that turned to slightly widening eyes as he switched to his magical senses and noticed the slight jolt of magic from her hands every time that she touched the wheels of her chair, pushing then harder then she was actually doing so physically.
As the girl disappeared into the park he turned away from the cafe completely and casually began to follow the girl from a careful distance.
'Magic, even magic of such a tiny amount, so close to a magical battle with the Bureau in the area?' The man thought.
Either the girl was with the Bureau or she had something sufficiently important to do that it warranted the risk, whichever it was it was sure to be interesting and give him something to report to his superior when he returned. Even if the girl wasn't connected to the recent events the discovery of a new magic user was always of interest to the recruiters. He knew just the blond to talk to as well, maybe over dinner.
As the man mused he strolled along behind the fast moving girl and taking the time to absorb the brunets' magical signature with growing smugness. This girl was definitely a find, no D-class like him here, she was a C-class at least, maybe even B plus rank! The man smiled slightly as he imagined the commendations he'd get if he could point out a new high class mage, he might not even have to sleep on the couch anymore.
He was snapped out of his pleasant daydream of the future when he hit the foot of the hill that the girl was rapidly climbing. An aura of magical power hit him like a physical force, nearly causing him to stumble backwards with the condensed magic he was feeling. Taking a step backwards and then another forward his mood darkened as he realised that he had just stumbled across a containment ward when the feeling disappeared and the returned as he moved over an invisible line in the snow. Someone was doing some serious magic over here and they didn't want people knowing about it which in his experience were never a good thing. Looking up the hill he could see that the girl was still climbing at the same desperate pace as before, opening his senses carefully he took in the surrounding and judged whether or not he had tripped any sort of alarm before deciding on his next course of action.
Breaking into a run he slipped into the tree and began to climb the hill as stealthily as he was able to while keeping up a reasonable pace. When he finally reached the top he hid himself among the bushes a reasonable distance away and observed the ritual going on in the clearing itself while straining his ears to catch what he could of the conversation be held by the various percipients. He watched as the white haired woman within the magical array finished talking to the girl he had been following and made her way back to the book that was hovering in the centre of the array and he pulled a small device from his coats inner pocket, pointing it at the obviously magical book as his eyes focused on the four figures standing farthest away from him.
Looking back down at the small display on the device when it buzzed in his hand to get his attention away from the tall ponytailed woman among the four he almost jumped out of his hiding spot in surprise as the scanner registered a successful match on the books magical signature. Going on instinct as he watched the red eyed woman slowly return to the centre of the glowing white triangle only to stop and turn back to reassure the girl again when she cried out, the man pointed the scanner at the four and got the expected matches a few moments later.
The Wolkenritter!
Having confirmed this there was little doubt that the book was indeed the legendary Book of Darkness, a Lost Logia that had caused chaos across Bureau space for countless ages. The question was, why was it here and why were the Wolkenritter simply standing by? Why were they letting what was obviously a destructive array be used against it? Why wasn't the Book fighting against this? To many questions and obviously no time to get them answered as he watched the array finish being powered up.
There was only one course of action here.
The destruction of the Book would help the Bureau, so the Book couldn't be allowed to be destroyed. It was as simple as that, no matter the destruction the Logia might cause in the future anything that could slow the Bureaus expansion down was to be exploited and the Book of Darkness was something that could.
Focusing his magic he reached out to the array and carefully weakened the complex containment wards within in. He had no hope of fighting either of the mages capable of building or powering something like this let alone the damn Wolkenritter! What he could do however is weaken the hold the spell had on the book, give it an opening to escape before its destruction, if a slim one.
He prayed it worked.
Inside the glowing ritual circle the Tome of the Night Skies administrative program felt its essence being torn apart by the destructive magic that she was allowing to permeate its being. She gave a soft smile of contentment at being able to protect her master one last time even as she was saddened by having to hurt her in the process.
Off in the corner of her being the program could feel the new, barely formed, defence program begin to react to the destruction of there being. She continued to smile as her physical form finished dissolving in the knowledge that the hateful program could do nothing to stop this from finishing.
Its remaining awareness jolted as it felt the defence program suddenly expand and increase in power beyond anything it should be capable of doing. What had it done?
As it focused on the dying yet expanding program it came to a chilling realisation.
'A hidden backup drive!' The administrative program thought as knowledge that should no longer exist returned to it while the defence program turned its reinforced power on the array that was holding the Tome in its funeral place.
Desperately launching itself at the renegade program it attempted to hold it in place long enough for the magic to finish its job and erase the Tome from existence. A fierce mental battle erupted between the two sections of the Tome as one tried to prevent the other from allowing them to escape.
In the end the battle was decided by who lost the greatest amount of 'self' first. A few second of additional growth time, a few additional words of comfort before the end from a servant to its mistress and the balance was tipped. As the magic pulsed a final time and the Tome came apart, reverting to something far more benign the new defence program managed to rip the backup drive away from the rest of the Tome and performed a blind teleport through the sliver of weakened wards in the spells construction using nearly all of its remaining power.
Tumbling through time and space for an unknown amount of time the remains of the Book reached out across the swirling mass of inter-dimensional space for magic as the remnant traces of the spell continued to destroy it bit by bit.
Acting on as close to instinct that a device such as it could possess it flashed into existence in the nearest dimension with an above average magical signature and then proceeded to home in on the first powerful linker core it could locate. Screaming down at its target it came close to panic as it could when it felt the solidity of the signal begin to flux and fade. Slamming into the target as a bolt of brilliant white light it quickly assessed the situation while it bonded itself to the being.
The beings brain function had ceased and large amounts of damage had been suffered by its body, however the beings soul and most importantly its linker core and attendant ability to generate and control mana still resided in the body for the moment. Acting faster than any biological being could hope to the Book copied the fading traces of the beings mind as it used the last of its energy to dissolve the body and recreate a new one out of its remaining mana, causing a blinding light to radiate from the body covering the moment that it vanished only to be replaced by and identical version a moment later.
With this outburst of energy however the last of the defence programs protections fell and the magic of the ritual managed to destroy the final control element of the Belkan Tome leaving nothing but the copied mind of the bonded soul.
Groaning with the stiffness of his body a 13 year old Ranma Saotome unsteadily pulled himself upright.
"Boy! Are you alright!" The fat man that had rushed towards him cried out.
Frowning the young Saotome felt a breath of wind flow across him, causing him to look down before addressing the older that as he reached his side and crouched.
" Um, fine I think? Who are you and why the hell am I naked!?" Ranma said with a fuzzy mind.
(Ranma) Earth, Unregistered Planet 112
5 minutes previous
The younger Saotome stood in the middle of an unused warehouse holding a pair of cables which lead around the back of a pile of boxes with his father's unattractive behind sticking out from around the corner of them.
"So Pops. What exactly is this for again? Why am I holding a pair of cables?" Ranma asked suspiciously as the latest insanity unfolded before him.
"Training of course." The older Saotome scoffed as he stood up and faced his son.
"I get that, what sort of training old man and why are we doing it here?" Ranma asked as he hefted the cables he was holding lightly to highlight his point.
"An old friend pointed out a glaring weakness in your defence son. So we're going to correct it with this training, trust me." Genma smiled widely causing Ranma to look at the cables with greater levels of nervousness.
"Perhaps this isn't a good idea Po..." The pigtailed boy tried to object.
"I won't let you chicken out boy! This is for the Art, switch ON!" Genma shouted as he pressed a button he had been hiding.
Electricity sparked as it surged through the wires and into the unknowing younger Saotome killing him and causing the body to drop to the floor in a heap. As the older Saotome began to move towards his fallen son a bolt of energy blasted through the ceiling and smashed into Ranma causing a flare that force Genma to shield his eyes from the light.
When his vision return the master of Anything Goes rushed towards his partly risen student.
"Boy! Are you alright!" He shouted in concern as Ranma focused on him.
" Um, fine I think? Who are you and why the hell am I naked!?" Genma heard Ranma say before he sighed in relief and clipped him around the head.
"Get up boy we have more training to do! And you need some new clothes!" Genma exclaimed as he dragged his son to his feet and marched towards where they'd left their backpacks.
"No really, who are you? Where are we?" Ranma said in confusion as his shattered mind slowly put itself back together.
Genma ignored him as he continued to drag his son away while deciding that the boy didn't really need to know how to survive a fight with a swarm of electric eels.
Authors Note:-
A hopeful return to writing though I'm unsure if I should leave it here or move it to the Nanoha section. For any that are interested this is the other version of FateBreaker that I was considering. Updates should hopefully be faster then normal.
Comments are always welcome on the story or anything you'd like to see. See you next time.
Shad4c