Author's Note: I paused with the chapter updates for a while, reworking parts of the story a bit, to include additional information about the Orussian situation, and talking a little more about what happened during the first war between the TSAB and Arcadia. I also elaborated on the battle between Fate and Andrew, and added a few bits to the fight with Signum and Vita. Thanks to Phillip, btw, for pointing out some places where the story was weak. Insomuch as Andrew is an overpowered character, I agree, but it was necessary for the story to continue the way I had it planned out. As I've said before, the crux of this story is Nanoha finding a way to fight against someone who is overwhelmingly strong, and an exploration of her as Nanoha Takamachi, the gentle mother, not the White Devil we all know and fear.
severstal: Nanoha, and Signum especially, are still a bit banged up, so aren't going back out just yet. Fate is currently escorting Hayate. Vita was hurt badly, and will be in the hospital for a while. Andrew is a naïve idiot sometimes—and once the battle is over, he literally just cannot bring himself to kill someone who can no longer fight back; he traps himself in bad tactical decisions sometimes because of his idealistic and self-sacrificing nature; he's really not cut out to be a soldier, which is why he's had to basically develop an alternate persona to fight. The battle between Andrew and Tea/Subaru might not have gone on that long, but fighting had been going on for a while at that location, even before Tea and Subaru deployed there, so there's a lot of magic floating about. Why he doesn't go after Hayate is explained in this first passage. As for the TSAB moral-political front, their troops are incredibly demoralized at the moment, and several characters mention how they're near the breaking point. The public similarly so, though a lot of information about what happened is being withheld from them, though it's slowly percolating out—it's basically the close your eyes and hope no one notices strategy, which is bad, yeah, but the alternative, worse so. In addition, this is one of the reasons, besides outright morality, that Andrew doesn't want to attack civilian targets—he wants to turn opinion against the TSA and force them to back down. I did make some changes to the previous chapters, hopefully it helps a bit, though at this point, I'm not sure if I can completely solve those concerns.
Arcadian Forward Command Post…
Commander Andrew Darkstar stepped inside the building, finding General Goren and Lagan staring at him on the large wall monitors that had been set up. He straightened, noticing the grave expressions on their faces.
"What's happened?" he asked without further preamble.
"Our line's being blown apart, Commander," Goren told him darkly. "It looks like Colonel Hayate Yagami has taken to the field. Her long range bombardment spells have blasted several of our strong points already, with TSAB forces moving back in after our positions have been leveled. Our casualties have been fairly light so far, but nearly all of our defensive works have been destroyed."
Andrew didn't say anything for a moment. The generals watched quietly as he clenched his jaw, rubbed the back of his neck and sighed with frustration before slamming his fist on the table, startling the other officers around him. "Damn it!" he cursed loudly. He held his head with irritation for a moment before looking back up at his superiors. "We're running out of options, then. Our forces are near the breaking point, generals."
"We need to shoot her down immediately," Lagan declared lowly.
Andrew shook his head. "I'm not sure that's possible, sir."
The other two stared at him blankly for a moment. Was Andrew Darkstar, their strongest weapon, their ace-killer, truly telling them he couldn't do it?
"What do you mean, Commander?" asked Lagan darkly.
Andrew sighed, bringing up the theater map. "Colonel Yagami is positioned about here? Alright… I figured as much. With that much distance between us, and with forces arrayed along the entirety of the line, she'd know I was approaching before I got within 30 miles of her location. Her long range magic is far superior to my own. If it came down to a long distance duel, I don't think I could win. Remember, she's a SS mage like me," he reminded them. "Her raw power is otherworldly; even greater than my own. I'd have to somehow close in, where her bombardment spells could be negated. But I can't see how I could do that… Even a tactical teleport would leave me vulnerable for 5-10 seconds if I'm alone, and by the time we could pre-sight an area, which would take several hours, she'd have moved on. And if I could close in, I suspect she's being guarded, probably by their other aces or her personal knights, so I'd have to fight them after running the gauntlet of Colonel Yagami's spells, or they'd hit me immediately upon teleport. Even if it's only a squadron of A-rank mages, that sort of concentrated fire for several seconds on an unmoving target from a teleport could cause severe damage even to an S rank mage." He shook his head. There were very few scenarios in which this came out good for them. "It'd be suicide."
"Sometimes soldiers need to sacrifice their lives, Commander," Lagan reminded him menacingly. Andrew pretended not to notice.
Goren cut in with a sigh. "The Commander knows that, General. But his point is the attack would have him throwing away his life for nothing. That's a waste of resources. We need another option."
Andrew looked over the map. He could feel the weight of the two generals' gaze on him, like the weight of all the people of Arcadia on his shoulders. He'd never quite felt as alone as he did for those few seconds as he contemplated a course of action. Finally, he looked back up at them, looking tired and resigned. "We need to buy time, get them to pull back. There's only one thing we can do; hit a high value target and knock them off their feet."
"We can't possibly have the forces left to do that. It'd take every single person we have remaining. And if it failed, we'd be slaughtered within a day," Goren pointed out.
Andrew nodded. "You're right, General. That's why we won't be doing that."
Goren's eyes narrowed. "Commander, you can't possibly mean to…"
Andrew cut him off, voice low and lacking its usual bite. "It's all we have left. I'll attack their forward command center and try to cause as much damage as I can. The rest is up to you, sir."
Before they could respond, he cut the transmission and headed back out. The room was silent as the other officers watched their commander go, wondering if they'd ever see him again, wondering if he could save them one last time.
Outside, under a sky that was beginning to darken with clouds, Andrew stared off at the distant horizon. On a clear night, one could look up at the stars and find Arcadia, just over 100 light years distant, it's bright star visible even under the twin moons of Mid-Childa. At that distance, if you had a powerful enough telescope, you could see Arcadia as it was before the TSAB bombings. If he looked in the right spot on the northern continent, he wondered if he could see his great-grandfather Shrike Darkstar, who had died a hero to his people. He wondered what his parents would have thought if they could see him now.
Looking down at the silvery gray links on his right wrist, he took a deep breath. "Are you ready, Shooting Star?"
"Prepared to engage," came the unwavering reply.
"Let's go."
Arcadian Command Post, South Reach…
Silence filled the command post as General Goren and Lagan looked at each other. Neither of them bothered trying to reestablish contact, either through the forward post or through a direct link with Andrew. They knew the man would not be dissuaded from his path. That left only one thing—what to do now.
"I think," Goren said finally, "we need to contact the Senate, let them know the current situation. Besides which, they're the only ones who can authorize a fleet action."
Lagan frowned. "You want to run the blockade then?"
"It's the only way we'll get reinforcements in," Goren pointed out, not needing to mention that it would also drain their forces defending Arcadia.
Lagan nodded slowly. "That's true… But even with reinforcements, we need a new plan. It's true that we're on the verge of breaking, but so are they. One major push, and they'll be sent over the edge."
Goren watched Lagan carefully for a moment before responding. "You want me to agree to release our bombers for a general attack mission." It was not a question.
"We have tacit Senate approval for attacks on civilian targets, but the order can't be given unless we both agree, Goren," Lagan pointed out. "We can crush their resolve right here and now. The Commander's attack, coupled with an intense bombing campaign, and they'll break."
Goren wasn't so sure. Like Andrew, he was wary of the possibility of civilian attacks instead reinvigorating the TSAB, and possibly bringing the Navigational Forces down on Arcadia itself with another bombardment. A general attack, they may be able to deal with somewhat, but another orbital bombardment… "I think I'll need to hear from the Senate before I make that choice," he said finally, knowing he was probably damning himself by his own indecision. But he wasn't about to make this sort of choice lightly.
Lagan nodded. "That's fair… Also, we need to figure out what we'll do without the Commander."
That brought a start from the others in the room. Goren clenched his jaw before nodding. "I understand…"
"But, sir!" protested one officer. "Surely you don't think…"
"The man is going to his death, Lieutenant," cut in Lagan sharply. "He knew that, so did we when we let him go. But this is the strike we need, and he knew that. He did his duty, now we have to do ours." His eyes burned as he turned back to the monitor. "We must free Arcadia, no matter the cost."
Goren turned back to the monitor as well, watching as the flickering light of Commander Andrew Darkstar sped towards the TSAB lines. Despite himself, despite everything, he whispered softly so no one else could hear, "Don't die, Andrew."
Hayate Yagami breathed deeply. Her second volley was finished, and another several Arcadian positions had been leveled. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about the Arcadians around Port Brenner and South Reach; there was too much of a risk of civilians being caught in the blasts. Even with Rein handling fire control, Hayate's Hræsvelgr was only accurate to within 100 meters. With a blast radius large enough to wipe out a couple city blocks in one blow, she couldn't afford to fire into populated areas.
Unfortunately, now that the Arcadians were getting wind of Hayate's intentions, they were able to hunker down and pull back after seeing the TSAB troops evacuate a region in preparation for Hayate's strike, so the casualties were dropping even further. Still, the infrastructure was still being taken out and that was her real goal. As she floated down to meet up with the rest of the force to move out, Fate approached her directly.
"Hayate, we're getting reports in. Andrew Darkstar flew over the line several minutes ago," the blonde woman told her.
Hayate frowned, and contacted Nanoha at the command center. "Nanoha-chan…"
Nanoha nodded on the small holographic screen. "We see it. He's not heading towards you, though… We're not sure what his target is quite yet; he's weaving around a bit, but it's definitely a deep strike of some kind. The best thing…" There was a pause and a flicker of static. "Hang on…"
On the screen, Nanoha turned to talk with another officer for a moment before turning back. "We think he just blew up a repeater tower. It's disrupted our communications and monitoring a bit. For now, Hayate-chan, I think the best thing is for you to continue on; it'd take you and Fate-chan a half hour to reach the area, and we're having trouble fixing his precise location. I'll let you know if anything changes."
Hayate nodded as the screen flickered off. She turned back to Fate, whose face looked a bit concerned. Fate clearly wanted to abandon their mission and go after Andrew Darkstar directly; a tactic that Hayate couldn't really disagree with, inasmuch as it'd be their best chance to shoot him down, but they had other concerns. If they pressed on, it wouldn't matter what Andrew Darkstar was up to. "Well, I guess we should head for the next target point. We'll have to trust Nanoha-chan to take care of things."
Fate lowered her eyes before finally nodding. "Alright. Let's go."
Andrew Darkstar was flying as low as he dared, the late afternoon sky dark with ominous clouds. Here, miles beyond the front lines with no possibility of reinforcement, he knew he had to do his best to avoid detection, or at least interception until he was in range of his target. The downed repeater towers in his wake were part of his efforts to disrupt communications and control in this area, and his only real chance of making it through without them getting an exact fix on him, though it'd give them a trail to follow him in with. Still, with so much of their infrastructure destroyed and with his low level flight at subsonic speeds, it'd be hard for them to pick him up... At least harder than if he had flown in directly against Colonel Yagami. As a consequence, however, his flight time was far longer than usual for this sort of distance.
Coming to a hover, he spotted the facility a few kilometers away. Beside it was a sprawling TSAB base which was mostly empty, its forces being detailed to the front. Still, the hospital wing was probably full, and there'd be numerous support staff around. He'd have to be careful; the command center was his only target.
He lined up his attack. He had to take out their communications with his first hit from long range, or they'd be all over him. At best, it'd only give him another five or ten minutes beyond the transit time for forces to get here, but it was better than nothing at all.
"Shooting Star, lock-on," he ordered as a light drizzle began to fall around him.
"Coordinates set. Prepared to engaged," confirmed his device.
"OK. Meteor Snipe." The long range variant of his Meteor Strike, this attack sacrificed most of its power and area effect for precision and distance. The low tone chimed as Shooting Star locked in the coordinates and adjustments. At this distance, the sophisticated systems within his device would have to make slight adjustments to an ordinary shot to account for curvature and the planet's rotation. "Execute."
With a small flash, the shot took off, homing in on its destination.
Hayate started, looking down at Fate. "Fate-chan, something's gone wrong. Rein says she just lost the telemetry from the command center."
Fate's eyes widened slightly, looking off into the distance towards the command center, hundreds of miles away. "Oh no… He went there."
"Even at top speed… It'd take over half an hour to get back," Hayate murmured, dismayed. Fate could probably get back a little quicker than that, but Hayate wasn't as fast in the air. If it was Andrew Darkstar, then they shouldn't allow themselves to be separated.
Fate bit her lip as the two headed for the command post, desperate to reach their friend. "Nanoha… Please hold on."
Andrew watched as the communications array on the roof exploded in a fireball. Impassively, he tucked away his device before heading back in, blazing forwards at full speed. There was no need for subtlety now; they'd know he was here. His only chance to get out of this then would be to go in full bore and take out the building as fast as he could.
When he closed to within a kilometer, he lined up a shot. From this distance, he could hear the alarm klaxons blaring across the base, mingled with the constant staccato of the ever increasing rainfall. This was it.
"Solar Wind! Execute!"
The cerulean beam lanced forward to envelope the gray building. At the last instant before impact, a large pink sigil sprung to life in the path of his attack. Gritting his teeth, he poured on the power, but the barrier crackled mightily and held fast. As the smoke from the impact cleared, he spotted her—the woman with long auburn hair dressed in white.
"Nanoha Takamachi," he breathed.
Nanoha breathed heavily. Taking that blow had required a lot of energy. She knew now what he hadn't before; in terms of raw magical power there was no way for her to match this guy. As a SS mage, he probably had at least a quarter more energy than she did, probably more, especially in her weakened state. This wasn't a battle she could settle with power alone. But could she really outmaneuver him after last time?
Silently, she tightened her grip on her staff, clear blue eyes seeing nothing now except for the man in black opposing her one more time. She'd hold nothing at all back; win or lose, she'd go at him with maximum power.
"Excellion Buster!"
"Solar Wind!"
With a titanic boom, the two beams intersected and detonated. Both combatants maneuvered away rapidly, firing various bolts as they went, twisting through the air in a deadly ballet. Nanoha grit her teeth as one of Andrew's shots deflected off her barriers. His power was so overwhelming. Even in that first exchange of blows, it had been all she could do just to hold him off.
Looping around quickly, Nanoha fired off another Axel Shooter, trying to force him to the defensive. Andrew skidded to a halt, putting up a dual barrier, while summoning a wall of swirling bolts. Nanoha's eyes narrowed; this was his Hurricane Burst. He'd try to surround her and collapse them in his Storm Burst like last time. Leveling her device, she fired another attack straight in.
"Divine Buster!"
Her pink shot blasted through, knocking away most of his bolts and shattering his first barrier to crash against the first. Andrew clenched his jaw, sending his remaining bolts to attack and using his Barrier Purge to escape. As he lined up his next shot, he found Nanoha staring straight at him, determination written on every line on her face.
"Blaster System. Limit 1, release!" she cried firmly.
"Blaster Set," confirmed Raising Heart.
"Let's go, Raising Heart," the White Devil implored, voice steadfast. "Excellion Buster! Boost Shoot!"
Andrew's eyes widened slightly at the monumental power increase from her shot. So this was the power of the Blaster System. "Starfire Break!"
The clash of their blows was fiercer this time, the concussive blast scattering dust and debris across the field below them. Both combatants wasted no time firing more bolts, angling for an advantage.
Andrew focused in on the woman opposing him, forgetting about time constraints, destroying the building, all of it. If he didn't put all his concentration on this, she'd flame him out of the skies. His Starfire Break, which had beaten off her Excellion Buster before, even without his Nova Strike, had been equaled by her Blaster System, even at the first level. She wasn't the sort of combatant who'd back down, and if she continued to use her Blaster to boost her power, their attacks would be on equal footing. He clenched his jaw tightly, evading another set of attacks. He wasn't sure if he could win if it came down to pure skill and tactics. Would he have to use Eclipse Mode?
Another pinpoint strike by her Axel Shooter forced Andrew back on the defensive, but this time, it was her Blaster Bits, the satellite attacking elements, which launched the next attack.
"Flash Move!"
In an instant, Nanoha was behind him while he defended from the attacks from her device. Orange spear of her Strike Flame protruding, she slashed at his exposed flank. Just pulling back in time, Andrew felt her pierce his barrier and to his own amazement, saw a trail of his own blood follow her blow.
She locked eyes with her opponent, seeing surprise flicker on his face for an instant, before those dark hazel pupils narrowed and he extended a finger at her even as they brought their devices about for another clash.
"Parallel Lock."
She gasped shortly with recognition, leaping backwards. He had established a lock on Vita during their fight, using a binding spell to allow his bolts to track her automatically. Had he gotten her? No, the binding hadn't taken hold.
"Master!"
With a start at Raising Heart's warning, she put up a barrier just in time to catch the bolts he had summoned behind her. He's going to attack with his short range charge shot! Wheeling about, she formed another barrier just in time as his Comet Pierce struck.
"Restrict Lock."
Growling with surprise, Andrew found himself held fast by her bind. The woman drifted a short distance away, magic sigil appearing, along with a large volume of magic. Face tightening, he recognized this. She was collecting residual magic from the surrounding area, preparing to ignite it with her own into a devastating tidal wave of power. This was Nanoha Takamachi's ultimate attack, Starlight Breaker.
With a few of her Axel Shots whirling about, it was too dangerous to use a Barrier Purge to escape. He had to interrupt her spell. Her Starlight Breaker would take a few seconds to charge. Pointing a single finger straight at her, he charged his own small sphere of energy.
"Meteor Snipe."
The shot whizzed past her. Not having had time to aim, not to mention the difficulty of firing without device assistance, he hadn't hit her straight on. Still, she jerked to the side as a small bloody line appeared on her cheek. When she looked back, Andrew Darkstar had escaped.
Canceling her spell left her breathing heavily. She spotted him then, above her, hovering a distance away but not making any aggressive moves. They watched each other for a long moment, neither noticing the rain stinging at their wounds, nor worrying about the fatigue each felt.
It was Nanoha who broke the silence. "Why… Why can't you end this?" she pleaded quietly. "Isn't this enough? Hasn't there been enough death?"
Andrew didn't answer for a moment, while the quiet roar of falling water surrounded them. "It's not a question that can be answered so simply, Captain Takamachi," he told her solemnly. "This war? Is all this destruction enough? What about my people? Aren't the years they've spent under the thumb of the TSAB enough?" He shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry, Captain Takamachi… But this isn't something that can be so easily decided. I can't back down… Not when we're so close now."
He sounds so sad when he says that, thought Nanoha. And it makes me sad, too, she realized, hearing that there's no way to talk our problems out, hearing that violence is the only solution here. Steadying herself and gripping her staff tightly, she lifted her chin, staring hard, matching his determination with her own. "And I can't back down, either, Commander… So, let's finish this, you and I."
As they tensed themselves for the continuation, Nanoha noticed the two small shapes now detaching from Andrew's spear. Those would be his Satellite Stars, which operated like her Blaster Bits. This was going to get really tough now.
Andrew leveled his device, wiping away all doubts and fears. "Let's go, Captain Takamachi. Starfire Break!"
"Excellion Buster!"
Nanoha grimaced as their beams collided again. She'd been using Blaster 1 for several minutes now. While it gave her enough power to match Andrew Darkstar, she was still at a disadvantage. While the Blaster System drained her significantly with every shot she made, he was operating under his normal parameters. She'd tire before he did.
Finding herself caught in one of his area binds, she sent a Divine Shooter through the energy ball, before finding another one of his dancing walls of bolts facing her. She intercepted and dodged most before putting up a barrier, only to have Andrew crash into it with another strong blow. Before he could hit her again, though, he was forced to leap back from her own shots crashing into the space between them. As he recovered, she fired her Divine Buster again, this time catching his barrier.
"I've got no choice," she murmured quietly. The longer this battle lasted, the greater advantage he'd have. She needed to overpower him now. Vivio, Fate-chan… Forgive me. "Blaster Two!"
"Blaster Second ," affirmed Raising Heart.
That's not good. Andrew shut down his barrier, lining up another shot. If her Blaster One was already that strong, then the second level would be… "Solar Wind!"
Nanoha blocked his attack, grimacing as her Blaster System siphoned energy into her barrier. But because of that, her shield held firm even against Andrew's attack. "Blaster Bit, Crystal Cage!"
At once, the two satellites formed their translucent field about Andrew. Instead of detonating his barrier jacket, however, his two Satellite Stars simply fired outward, shattering the bind field. As the debris cleared, he caught a single glimpse of Nanoha before she attacked.
"ACS Driver!" Her Strike Flame once again forming a bright orange spear tip, Nanoha's device sprouted distinct pink wings while a blast of energy jolted her forward.
Andrew barely had time to erect a barrier before she crashed into him. Each of them strained, their bodies tense as the one tried to pierce through that shining shield and the other tried to hold her off. Hard hazel eyes met steel blue. "I won't," stated Nanoha firmly, "let you hurt anyone else."
"Standby, ready," announced Raising Heart.
"Break Shoot!"
Andrew just caught a glimpse of the tip of her spear edging through his field, urged on by the iron will of this woman, backed up by the unflagging strength of her device, when the intense light washed over him.
Nanoha hovered, grimacing heavily and gripping her ribs gingerly. That last attack had taken a lot out of her. In her current condition, Blaster Two was about all she could manage. Even so, it had been just barely enough to break through that man's defenses. She watched his smoking body slowly spiral down and softly land amidst the now muddy field beyond the base. "It looks like… We did it, Raising Heart."
"Yes, my master."
Blinking her eyes a few times, Nanoha suddenly recalled how Andrew had apparently used a binding spell to prevent Signum from crashing into the ground after their duel. Lowering her gaze, she figured she owed the man to at least check on his vitals. As she drifted down, however, she caught herself and stared incredulously.
Impossibly, he had staggered to his feet. Barrier jacket ruined in several places, body bruised here and there, and yet still he straightened and stared up at her, eyes like granite. "It was my mistake this time, Captain Takamachi, for underestimating you… Underestimating how far you'd go. I apologize for doubting your resolution," he told her, voice unwavering despite his dilapidated appearance at the moment.
"Master…" Shooting Star's voice hesitated for a moment. Even if he didn't show it, his body had taken tremendous shock damage in that last attack, to say nothing of the wound on his side, which still trickled blood.
Andrew shook his head. "We've got to go all the way, Shooting Star. Are you ready?"
After just an instant, the device, its cool tones returned, "Yes. Prepared to engage."
Andrew gripped his device tightly, staring hard up at the woman who opposed him so strongly. "Overdrive."
"Eclipse Mode," confirmed Shooting Star. Eclipse Mode could keep him fighting, even if only a moment before he was at his limit. But to use it now, the strain on his body would be immense. And if he couldn't finish it quickly… it'd all be over.
At once, ragged black threads began appearing, surrounding Andrew in their unearthly pall. Even from her distance, Nanoha could feel energy leaking through. "This is… what he used against Subaru and Tea," she murmured. She couldn't afford to hesitate.
"Standby, ready."
"Excellion Buster!"
"Starfire Break!"
They fired at the same instant, Nanoha's overflowing pink beam crashing against Andrew's azure one. The impact of Andrew's attack hit her like a freight train. Even in Blaster Two, she felt herself being pushed back. "No way…"
Gritting her teeth, Nanoha forced more power into her shot, and this time, the detonation washed over the both of them, buffeting the air about the two combats like an enormous pair of wings. Despite that, Andrew rose like a bullet from the ground, unleashing a massive storm of projectiles at Nanoha.
Firing back and dodging, she felt suddenly like a small thread had wrapped about her ankle. Glancing down, she saw his bind field and quickly put a shot through it.
"Warp Move."
In a flash, he was next to her, foot driving into her side before she could defend. Gasping, she managed to right herself just as he leveled his device. "Protection EX!"
"Comet Breaker."
His charging attack crashed into her barrier, sending crackling energy across its surface. Once again, their bodies strained, eyes locking onto one another. Without wavering an inch, he launched his next attack. "Cosmic Blast, Hurricane Burst."
The wave of projectiles hurled themselves at her, and she was forced to detonate her own barrier, using a Flash Move to escape above. Even as she righted herself, the blue bolts danced, turning to pursue. As she sent her own Axel Shooter to intercept them, a spark of movement caught her attention as he used his own movement magic to take her flank again.
"Solar Cross Break."
His triple beamed attack coursed through the skies and she had to defend again. This time, though, her barrier crackled and shattered, and pain flashed through her shoulder as she caught a glancing hit. Sliding to the side, she fired her own attack.
"Divine Buster!"
Even as he caught her beam on his barrier, he sent another wave of bolts at her and she danced through the skies, trying to find another opening to attack. His attacks were coming so strong, so fast now. She couldn't believe he had this much power. Even with her Blaster Two, she was being overwhelmed.
Both of them held fast for a moment, their breath ragged. Andrew had clearly taken a lot of damage from Nanoha's earlier attack, but she was being chipped away at, both by his attacks and the use of her Blaster. Neither had too much strength left. In that one instant, hanging in the air before each other, staring across the field, both of them soaking wet, their barriers no longer able to keep out the weather, they understood that.
"I guess this is about it, Captain Takamachi," murmured Andrew raggedly. He had the advantage at the moment with his Eclipse Mode, but no system this strong came without risks. In his current state, he didn't have much left.
"It looks that way," she affirmed, her body feeling about as bad as he sounded. Maybe she could win if she went to Blaster Three, but… Could she really risk it? Could she really do that to Vivio?
"Why don't you use the last level of your Blaster System?" he asked lowly, voicing her thoughts.
Nanoha's fingers tightened about her device. Even as they talked, neither showed any openings at all, bodies still tense despite their injuries. "I… I have a responsibility. Not just to win, but to go home safely. That's what it means to be a mother, and to fight for the people you care about."
Andrew's eyes flickered for a moment, but if anything else passed on his face, Nanoha couldn't see. "Is that so," he murmured, having to fight to keep his focus. "Alright." He leveled his device at Nanoha, black aura whipping about him like a storm. "This is going to be the last blow. I'll match my resolve against yours, Captain Takamachi."
She leveled her own weapon, every part of her body aching. "I'll accept that, Commander Darkstar," she responded evenly.
For an instant, neither moved. Then…
As Andrew's Satellite Stars locked in, charging their attack, putting everything into this last shot, Nanoha's own buster built up energy, taking in every scrap of magic surrounding them. Neither broke their eyes away from the stare that linked them across the expanse. Neither was going to hold anything back at all.
"One last time, Shooting Star," Andrew whispered.
"I'm counting on you, Raising Heart," entreated Nanoha softly.
"Prepared to engage."
"Standby, ready."
For the last time, they steadied themselves, and fired.
"Let's go," Andrew breathed. His Satellite Stars erupted simultaneously with his main device. "Starfire Link Break!" The three Starfire Break attacks coalesced and combined into one colossal beam, stretching towards the woman in white.
"Maximum power!" cried Nanoha. "Starlight Breaker!" The massive, roiling storm of magic burst, ignited by her magic, and the titanic tongue of power rolled across the sky, reaching for the man in black.
Only for a moment did those two beams cross, fighting against each other, raging like angry volcanoes before a thunderclap split the sky, and the two combatants were lost in a shockwave that surely had been felt across the world.
Nanoha groaned heavily. Everything hurt; her legs, her chest, her arms, her head, she even felt it in her very bones. Bracing herself and clenching her teeth, she tried to stand, but her legs didn't seem to be working quite right. She coughed, and the pain in her side intensified. She hoped she hadn't broken her ribs. She couldn't see anything through the smoke as her eyes scanned about. There didn't seem to be anything to do but lay here in the mud.
"At least… it looks like we won, huh?" she murmured. She felt about as bad as she had after the battle on the Cradle, and she hadn't even gone to Blaster Three. That Andrew Darkstar…
Clomp…
Eyes flickering, she turned her head. What had that been?
Clomp…
An unsteady beat, growing stronger with each passing second. When she saw it, she couldn't believe her eyes. Staggering through the cloud of debris and the driving rain, barrier jacket torn apart, face and limbs bloody, limping precariously, was Andrew Darkstar.
Even through the rain, she could hear his ragged breath, coming in hard gulps. He looked even worse than she felt. But still he lurched on. Once more, she struggled to stand, but once more, her body failed her. And he stepped on, drawing closer with each second.
He stopped a few steps short of Nanoha, the only sound his shallow rasps and the constant beat of the rain, interspersed with her own heartbeat.
""Looks like… I win…" he coughed out. His hand trembled as he tried to raise his device which had been dragging behind him. All that rushed through his head right now was the fact that, even if he was standing and she was not, he had failed. He could barely fight, the command center was still standing, and everything he had worked for was slipping away. And it was this woman's fault.
This… could be it, Nanoha realized. After everything… she was going to die here. "Vivio…" she whispered, and she couldn't tell if the water on her face was rain or tears.
Andrew froze. Could he really do it? Really kill this woman laying helplessly, while her daughter, her smiling daughter with the beautiful eyes, waited anxiously at home? Slowly, he lowered his device. No, he finally decided. Maybe he could justify killing soldiers on a battlefield, but not this, no matter what else it meant. Not if he couldn't even kill her the first time. Now, after looking into her eyes like this, after seeing Vivio locked in that cell, and seeing how Nanoha had looked at her daughter, he couldn't. The moment passed. He was himself again.
As his breath slowed, he glanced at his still trembling hand, and realized it didn't seem like he could have done it even if he wanted to—the tip of his device was still pointed at the ground even now despite his efforts to raise his arm. Suddenly, his strength left him, and he toppled to one knee in front of Nanoha, coughing. I guess it's more like a draw, he thought bitterly. Neither of us can fight right now.
A loud hum overhead startled him out of his thoughts. Nanoha likewise tilted her head as best she could. Dark shapes passed over them, screaming now like birds of prey. There was a distant roar, and the edge of her vision became tinged with orange.
"What the…" Andrew stared as the base beside them erupted into flame. Suddenly, he became aware of the whistling noise of bombs falling about them. It would be difficult enough to evade in his condition—he wasn't sure he could even fly, let alone stand, but this woman… With a glance back at Nanoha, lying helplessly on the ground, he grit his teeth and activated his barriers, placing a shimmering dome of blue between the two of them and the falling munitions.
An instant later, the world around them turned to fire, then to utter blackness.
Author's Note: Aaaand… well, honestly, I see it more as a draw. Andrew defeated Nanoha just baaaaarely, but can't bring himself to finish her off (the only reason he even though about it was that he was so pissed off about everything he was still in his Black Reaper mentality), nor does it seem like he has enough strength left to do it anyway, and is so beat up in the process only God knows what's keeping him standing. As for what happened to them… Well, no, they aren't dead. This fic is about them, remember? I'll admit to a lot of trepidation about this particular duel, given its importance in the story. I think it worked out well. I hope whoever is still reading agrees.
