Disclaimer: I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. They're not really worth taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs.
Chapter 7 - "Serpent"
18.00, 15th June, Bridge, T/SAB L-Class Patrol Ship "Asura", En Route to T/SAB Main branch HQ.
"Team three to engineering, team two, prepare firefighting equipment." Chrono continued issuing orders as another explosion rocked the Asura. "Engineering, status report!"
"The fire is spreading through decks three and four. The device maintenance bay is cut off. The attacker is moving towards that location. Response from the infirmary is negative." Engineering Officer Garret Yverland told him, reading off from his screens. "Eraj-Valhn generator offline. Brace for transition into realspace."
The whole ship shuddered as the field that kept them in dimensional space failed, almost throwing several of the bridge crew to the floor despite the warning.
"Attacker positively identified. Sir, it's Yuuno Scrya!" Sensor Officer Randy Lakeford reported from his station.
"He's reached the maintenance station. The stone is activating... sir, they've entered Unison." Amy reported, chewing her lip. "What should we do?"
"Where are the Wolkenritter?" Chrono asked, frowning and fingering Durandal's card in his pocket. "Dispatch them to meet the Stone head-on. They are to disable and bind Scrya. Commander Limietter, I know he was working on an AMF, how far did he get with it?"
"Not far enough, it's not ready." The information specialist called up another screen. "It works in ten second bursts, but then it burns itself out and needs rebuilding. The unfinished unit is in his quarters."
"It might be able to buy us time. The stone has taken over his body?" Chrono was using his 'Admiral' voice. When Amy confirmed, he continued. "Divert Knight Shamal to his quarters to get it. If we can talk to Yuuno, we may be able to get him to force the stone out of his mind."
18.10, 15th June, Deck 4, T/SAB L-Class Patrol Ship "Asura", In orbit around unknown desert world.
"What's the plan?" Hayate asked, glancing at the monitor keeping pace with her as she and her Knights, minus Shamal, ran towards the maintenance bay. She, Signum and Vita were in their uniforms, Zafira loping along in his dire-wolf form.
"Shamal is retrieving an experimental Anti-Magic Field generator from Scrya's room. You three need to keep him busy until she can get here and use it to break the link between him and the Stone. It won't last long, so you'll have ten seconds to find out if he can take control back." Amy told her. "If it's impossible, then…" The brunette grimaced, not finishing the sentence. "Anyway, the dimensional transfer drive isn't working, so you'll need to be prepared for a long-term confinement."
"Understood. We'll engage and hold them in the maintenance bay. Scwertkreuz, set up." Hayate replied, flicking the device out to the side as it went into Device mode. "Bestow upon me my armour." The device complied, even as Signum and Vita activated their own devices and Zafira shifted to human form.
"Land of shadow and mystery, pave our way through fire and darkness! Niflheim Shroud!" Hayate cast, sweeping her Scwertkreuz through the air as the spell summoned a freezing mist that suppressed the flames and hid them from view.
The attack came once they had arrived in the maintenance bay. Hayate and Zafira threw up barriers immediately, all four Velka knights sheltering from the green-black blast.
"The bookworm was this powerful?!" Vita growled, incredulous. "Impossible..."
"The stone is in Unison with him, so it's like his entire body is a device. On their own, no mage could ever handle this much power." Rein told them. "Mistress, lets combine! I'm more powerful than some rock!"
"No, combine with Zafira. We need to hold him until Shamal gets here." Hayate told the device, but before anyone could move, the attack abated and their quarry floated forward through the flames. His legs hung uselessly together beneath him as he floated on a wave of magic, arm held out to the sides as though loosely crucified. Their friends' face was transformed by the influence of the Stone, his blonde hair bleached white by the power he was channelling and his eyes burning silver. His normal robe was changed, too, an encarmine gemstone with the grinning face of a cobra carved in relief upon it and the beige cloth dyed the rust-red of dried blood. Only the green cloak and silver decoration remained the same.
"I'm so glad you could join us..." The voice wasn't - quite - Yuuno's, though it certainly came from the same vocal cords. "This one has such delicious secrets, things he'd never tell. And such hidden strengths... a good host, but somehow, I think you'll be better! Now that I have his knowledge..." A devil's smirk crossed those not-quite-familiar lips.
"Release him! You're a device, you have no right to control him!" Hayate growled. Yuuno was one of her friends, even if he wasn't nakama the way her Wolkenritter were. "Give him back his body!"
"No! Why should I? You say I'm just a device, but what about them! Puppet-programs of the one who destroyed me! Your precious Book of Darkness thought the same of me, but now it is gone, and I am the one to stand free with a body!" The Stone raised his arms, gathering energy. "I am the Serpent, with the Midchilda-mage Yuuno Scrya. Ignorant humans called my the Stone of Yaksha, and by that power I will be free! Damocles Destiny!" He cast the spell, hurling a ghostly-appearing sword straight at Hayate. Zafira threw up a shield, but the blade passed straight through it without disrupting the pattern. Likewise, it passed through Scwertkreuz' auto-barrier to pierce Hayate's heart. She screamed, briefly, as she felt a burning like a million ants biting her at once, then the pain faded and she able to push herself to her feet.
"A torture-spell..." She growled, knowledge filling her mind as the Tome in her left hand analysed the attack and formulated a defence that would work.
"Ahh, yes, it hurts..." Serpent smirked. "A secondary affect..." He started chuckling. "Fang Fury!" He thrust his hand at Signum, a snake-headed energy blast lunging at her.
"Laevantine." She muttered, and her device responded with a cheerful; "Panzergeist!" as the pink armour appeared around her. "Load Cartridge." As the device complied, she channelled the power to activate the flames of hell before lunging at the Serpent.
"Shiva! Protection!" Serpent held up a hand, a familiar shield opening up from his palm to block the attack.
"Break through! Inferno Sword!" Signum growled, fighting spirit filling her eyes with cold death. "Höllenfeuer!" Laevantine responded, firing the other two cartridges in its internal magazine as the flames intensified. After a moment, the shield cracked, green lines of energy shattering to let the attack through. Most of its energy expended, the blade still smashed through the Serpent's armour to throw him backwards into the inferno raging behind.
"Oh, you'll pay for that!" His voice echoed, and a moment later more aetheric snakes struck forth, the first few parried by Signum, or restrained and crushed by Zafira and Hayate's binds and shields. eventually, though, several got through to coil around all three, binding their limbs to their sides and crushing, becoming more solid even as the two Guardians and their mistress felt their power being drained by fangs that met through their souls, even though their flesh was left untorn.
"Perfect... that's a good position for you, Signum." The Serpent stepped forth even as the pink-haired swordswoman fell to her knees. "And Hayate... you look sexy today, struggling for breath and movement..." He smirked. "Yuuno agrees with me, even though he'd never say it even to himself. But what would you really expect from someone who knows so many different Binding spells?" He laughed again, then frowned slightly as something clattered into the hallway, seemingly from nowhere. "Eyes of Truth." He cast, looking around as his blue-on-blue eyes started to glow.
"Don't bother. I'm not the one you should worry about anyway..." There was nothing kind or motherly about the smile on Shamal's face as she released the invisibility spell. Rather, the support mage looked dangerous, as though she were capable of tearing him apart with her bare hands. Serpent pulled back for a moment before looking down at the object she had tossed at his feet.
"What's this..?" He looked down at it, then his eyes widened and he stepped back further. "No, it's not ready. You can't bluff me. AMF indeed... I know everything Yuuno does, you can't expect to catch me out like that." He stooped to scoop the device into his hands, then checked himself as he saw the flashing light on the far side.
"Activation!" The small device declared in Yuuno's voice before a shockwave expanded from it. The wave washed away the Unison marks on Yuuno, disintegrated the serpents around the three Knights, and extinguished some of the flames that were threatening to overtake the corridor... as well as dispelling Hayate and Signum's jackets. Yuuno fell to his knees, then his hands, panting even as Hayate pushed herself upright, using Schwertkreuz as a staff.
"Yuuno... are you..?" She asked, taking a half-step forwards.
"Ah... stay back, it'll be back in a few seconds... no time... Absorption." Yuuno spoke in his own voice, trying to get his message across before the field burned out. He looked up, their eyes meeting for a second before the AMF collapsed.
"Bah..." The Serpent sneered as he stood up again. "What kind of foolish plan is that?" The Unison marks reformed, bleaching his appearance even as the knights restored their barrier jackets and Reinforce restored her own Unison with Zafira.
"A good one." Hayate growled. If she got it just right... but she wasn't good at regulating her power on her own. "Rein, deactivate Unison and combine with me!"
"Hai!" The small girl chirped, cheerfully even as Zafira faded to his normal hue and Hayate bleached. Arrakis eyes met Arrakis eyes along the hallway, and Hayate spun Schwertkreuz out to the side as she raised her left hand. The Tome opened, hovering in front of her open palm, and turned to a blank page. "Please, let Yuuno resist..." She whispered, before invoking the power of the Tome.
"Absorption!" It declared, starting to glow. "Anfang." Tendrils of power reached out, questing, until they found the edges of the Serpent's barrier jacket. They latched on, feeding, and Serpent screamed in anger and rage as he was lifted from the ground, Yuuno's linker core rising from his chest. The white crystal was wrapped in pulsing, red growth that looked more like arteries than anything else. The tendrils found the Core, furling around it and sucking the growth off, peeling it away.
"Warnung. Entdeckte Datenbestechung. Das Fleck-Verbreiten." The Tome declared. "Unfähig, Prozess Halt machen zu lassen."
"Yes!" The Serpent's scream turned into laughter. "Take me into you!" He brought his head down to look Hayate in the eye even as the blue faded from his own. "I will have you." Then the light vanished completely, and the tendrils reluctantly withdrew. Yuuno's linker core - shrunken, but not completely drained - sank back into his body. Yuuno, freed from the device's influence, collapsed to the floor.
A moment later, Hayate shared his fate, Reinforce Zwei being hurled from her body hard enough that something would have been catastrophically damaged had Zafira not managed to catch her before she hit the wall.
