Chapter 10
~~ Unshakable Resolve ~~
3/9 ?:?? Unknown location ~~
Nanoha looked around her and found herself in what looked like a giant forest. Lost and confused she began to walk forward hoping that in some way she might find some sort of help or identifying mark. She saw some light that looked like it lead into a large clearing. She began to push harder through the brush and finally was enveloped in a while light. When her eyes finally adjusted, she was standing in a clearing. She looked around and then finally ahead of her. She looked as a Mauve haired woman sat there next to a giant preservation tank with a small figure inside.
"Precia Testarossa" Nanoha's eyes widened and shifted from the woman to the tank "then that means...!"
"White mage..." Precia looked up at Nanoha "I remember you"
"It really has been a while" Nanoha responded "Precia Testarossa..."
"You are the same age as that thing right?" Precia looked Nanoha over "how old are you now?"
Nanoha bit back a response to how Precia referred to Fate "...16. We're finally in our first year of High School."
"I see...so 7 years have passed." Precia looked at the tank "7 years since then"
"Are you really her mother?" Nanoha began to walk up
Precia looked down from her elevated position at Nanoha's piercing stare "I remember...I said no back then."
Nanoha's mind snapped as she rushed over the rest of the way and grabbed Precia's collar
"She...has NEVER forgotten about you!" Nanoha screamed, anger in her voice "She even DREAMS about you! EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!"
Precia sat quietly, unresponsive to what Nanoha was doing to her. The hard amethyst eyes never wavering, never breaking the lock on Nanoha's azure counterparts.
"How is she doing...?" Precia spoke up slowly "...that Fate..."
Nanoha was taken aback and released her grasp, unable to respond. Precia took her right hand and placed it on Nanoha's head as she started to read Nanoha's memories.
"Friends huh?" Precia spoke as she continued to view everything "Interesting...and you have always acted like you don't desire anything." her voice becoming a little harder "You sure are good at clearing things up aren't you...Nanoha."
"...!" Nanoha couldn't respond. Everything Precia had said was true...so true that Nanoha couldn't even begin to deny it.
Precia pushed Nanoha away lightly and stared at her. Nanoha lowered her head, almost scared to make eye contact with the person who understood her seemingly better than she understood herself.
"Precia..."
"You really are one of a kind white mage." Precia broke the silence "You hide your desires for the sake of your friendship. I can only imagine how much pain that thing must be suffering because of your indecisiveness..."
Nanoha looked up at Precia with a surprised looked in her eyes.
"Return to your world..." Precia stated her eyes softening a little bit
"Huh?" Nanoha stated confused
"Kill me..." Precia stated like it was the most natural thing in the world "and touch Fate with that hand."
Nanoha stood there, stunned, unable to process everything.
"You have that confidence don't you?" Precia continued "...that you are important to Fate."
"Why...?" Nanoha asked
"Your memory said so.." she answered "If you cant be satisfied with just that feeling..." her gaze hardened "After you have returned, with your hands stained with my blood..." a wicked grin formed on her face "Will you still be able to stay by that thing's side forever?"
Nanoha stared, a tinge of anger gathering in her eyes
"Prove it" Precia challenged
Nanoha attempted to turn her hand into a fist when she realized she was holding something. She looked down and noticed Raising Heart in Excellion mode.
"You never..." Nanoha started "loved her, even just for a little bit?"
"It is none of my concern." Precia responded "That is a hole that only you can fill." her hard amethyst eyes beginning to burn itself into Nanoha's memory. "It is good if you can carry the burden white mage. You are ready for it aren't you?"
Nanoha pointed Raising Heart Excellion to Precia's throat
"...That's good" Precia stated "You have been such an interesting entertainment to me." She looks at Nanoha's eyes and for a moment...Nanoha saw the real Precia Testarossa. The kind, gentle, proud, and caring mother that she once was. "Let me give you my first and last advice..."
Nanoha braced herself as she stabbed Precia with the Raising Heart
"Alicia and Fate aren't the same as me" Precia said as blood started to flow from her "However you and I are alike" her gaze never breaking from Nanoha's "That's why...if you hate me..." she smiled gently "...Take care of yourself..."
Nanoha opened her mouth and said something that only Precia could hear as a blinding white light began to illuminate everything...
1:22 PM Time-Space Administration Bureau Warship "Asura" infirmary ~~
"Fate-chan..." Nanoha mumbled as a tear strolled down her face. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the white ceiling. Her vision taking a little longer than normal to adjust. She tried to raise her hand to help shield from the light, but for some reason her body wouldn't follow her commands.
"Nanoha!!" Vita shouted as she, Shamal, and Zafira entered the room "You're awake!!!"
"You're being too loud Vita-chan" Shamal stated patting Vita's head "How are you Nanoha-chan?"
"If you were any louder you'd kill her with your voice" Signum joked as she walked into the room, followed by Chrono, Hayate, Yuuno, and Amy.
Nanoha chuckled weakly to herself and opened her mouth to say something, but only a soft raspy mutter escaped her lips
"Its alright you don't have to talk yet" The doctor said as he entered the room "Would you all please stand outside real fast while I check on her condition?"
After about 10 mins they were allowed back in to hear his diagnosis
"Your body is fine" he said looking at the paperwork on his hands "the doctors were very nice to you. You should also thank your friends here" He looks over at the crew "they have spent countless hours using whatever recovery magic they knew in order to enhance your body's healing." He looks back at Nanoha "I had to admit...I thought you weren't going to make it. You were bleeding everywhere, your linker core was on the verge of permanent damage, your intelligent device was almost unrepairable, and..." he looks at his report again "it seems like this isn't the first time you've been through something like this."
The others look around with mixed expression on their faces, as if wanting to forget the incident as quickly as possible.
"Had you not received the support and care of your friends here..." he continued "I would have told you that your life as a mage was over--that is if you ever regained consciousness. You would have been sitting in a wheelchair the rest of your life with barely even enough energy to feed yourself. Your body will feel heavy for the next couple of days as you relearn how to use it, other than that you should be ok."
"T...thank....you..." Nanoha said as she looked over at the rest of the crew
They all gathered around her and smiled then started talking and asking questions. Chrono stepped outside with the doctor to get some final details on Nanoha's situation.
"How long till she recovers completely?" Chrono asked
"If she doesn't use her magic at all, and if she doesn't strain herself..." the doctor looked inside "she should start acting normal in a couple days with a full recovery in about 2 weeks. All the healing you guys have been giving her has sped up her recovery, but that doesn't mean shes by any means ready to go on assignment."
"Thank you, Doctor" Chrono bowed as he re-entered the room.
Vita had given Nanoha a sip of water which allowed the brunette to speak more clearly.
"I'm sorry to have...worried you everyone" Nanoha said
"Nanoha-chan" Hayate and the Wolkenritter all knelt and bowed their heads before her bedside "We, as knights, would all like to thank you...for saving our lives."
"Hayate-chan..." Nanoha said as she tried to sit up "Arrrrgghhh.." she groaned as she forced her body to rise.
"Dont strain yourself Nanoha-chan" Yuuno rushed over to help support her
"Yuuno-kun its been a while" She smiled "what are you doing here?"
"I wonder if now would be a good time to tell everyone what I have found..." he looked at Chrono
Chrono nodded
"Alright" Yuuno started. "As you all know" he punched up a monitor "this talisman is called the 'Thunderbird'." he pointed at the image "It is an ancient Al Hazardian artifact. After much research and countless hours trying to interpret the language I managed to decipher at least a little what it might have been used for." He turned to the others who were all paying attention. "It seems that this was originally used as some kind of weapon. It is completely harmless by itself so it needs some kind of trigger to activate it. However, just like the Book of Darkness, its original programming has been altered, causing the program to run rampant. I don't think this one has a regeneration process but we can never be too sure."
"How come it looks different?" Amy spoke up, pointing to the picture
"What do you mean?"
"The talisman Fate-san was wearing had this little jade orb clutched under the bird's claws, yet this one doesn't"
"It might have been the alteration to it. I am not sure I will figure that out when I continue to do more research. I'm sorry. Any other questions so far?"
"What do you mean by 'trigger'?" Shamal asked
"Yeah" Nanoha jumped in "how come it didn't activate when I had it? It wasn't very long, yes, but it should have done something to me right?"
"Not necessarily" Yuuno adjusted his glasses "If my translations are correct, its trigger is strong emotion--like hate, love, jealousy, fear, or..."
"Domination." Crono finished "It seems that Fate wanted something...and it seems that something is Nanoha."
"There is also one other note..." Yuuno's face turned grim.
"What is that?" Vita spoke up
"Everything I could find on the Thunderbird says that it has the ability to enhance its master's powers be it latent or active power...at a price."
"A price?" Zafira asked
"The life of its wielder."
Nanoha's eyes widened half in fear, half in surprise
"Eh?!" Chrono interrupted "You mean that thing is killing her?!"
"From what I understand" Yuuno continued "maximizing the user's powers takes a toll on their body--more specifically their linker core. As you all know, the linker core is a life-blood of a mage. Without it, magic can't be used, it is also linked to how our bodies naturally act physically. Basically, what I am trying to say is, the more she uses its power the more she'll waste away. So if she uses enough power at any one given time..." he trailed off
"No!" Nanoha spoke up, on the verge of tears "It's all my fault!" she began to cry "I never should have given it to her...it's all my fault...how could I have done something so horrible...Fate-chan..."
"Nanoha-chan" Shamal gently held Nanoha "It's not your fault...its ours for keeping this from you."
"I'm sorry Nanoha" Chrono spoke up "It is my fault, I asked the Wolkenritter to keep this all from you. I thought we could handle everything on our own. Dont worry, we are still able to finish this-"
"And Fate-chan is all alone somewhere, suffering, not knowing whats going on with her, not knowing she could die at any moment!!!!!" Nanoha screamed
". . ."
"Yuuno-san" Amy spoke up "Why did we hear the voice of Precia Testarossa?"
Nanoha gasped slightly at the sound of the name, memories of the dream flooding into her.
"That's true" Signum joined in "why would Testarossa's mother be involved with that thing?"
"Another piece of information that I found suggests that it has the ability to use the wielder's memories as a catalyst in order to activate its power, by force if necessary." Yuuno answered "I am not completely sure on any of this. My interpretations of the text might be wrong on some parts and there may still be yet other pieces of information that I have yet to discover. Since this is Al Hazard we are talking about, I wouldn't be surprised if all the documents were lost. We should be glad we have discovered this much. I'm sorry that I couldn't bring up anymore useful information." Yuuno looked down
"That's alright Yuuno" Chrono stated "you gave us a lot. I'm sorry I pressed this much on you already."
"Yuuno-kun..." Nanoha finally spoke up again "is there any way at all to save Fate-chan?"
"If my theory is correct..." he began "she should start recovering once the talisman is removed or destroyed. However..." his face turned serious "this is a special Lost Logia, I could be completely wrong and she could die the moment its forcefully removed from her or when it gets destroyed. I am sorry but I will need to do more research."
"That will be difficult" Amy spoke up "I mean the energy level of her last attack registered as SS+. Everyone here individually are on or around AAA rank with only Nanoha-chan and Hayate-chan being about S rank. How are we possibly going to get close enough to take it from her when she has that much potential?"
"There's only one person here that Fate-chan might lower her guard to" Hayate answered "But I personally don't like the idea." she looked at Nanoha "Shes in no condition to be fighting for a while, and Fate-chan is running out of time. We cant afford to wait, yet we cant rush in half prepared either."
"I hate to admit it, but we have 3 options." Chrono stated "And I am in no favor for any of them"
Everyone turned to Chrono and waited for him to continue.
"First: We can ask Nanoha to get close enough to Fate and see if she can remove the talisman."
Some of the Wolkenritter grimaced at the idea of sending Nanoha back out when she was still recovering
"Second: We can use this" he pulled out a item that looked like a white card with a small diamond in the center.
"You cant be serious!" Hayate interrupted "That's the-"
"Yes" Chrono interjected "Its the Durandal." he holds it up to show everyone "It was supposed to be used to seal the Book of Darkness long ago. I've held on to it since then in case there was ever a time where we might need it again."
"We are not using that!" Hayate almost shouted
"What's the third option?" Nanoha asked
". . ." Chrono stood silent for a moment. Everyone else in the room slowly coming to the realization of what he was about to say
"The third option is..." he said with a very serious expression "we kill her."
"WHAT?!?!!?" Nanoha screamed
"...using every means necessary we have even if..." he continued "even if we have to use the Arc-en-ciel"
A/N The Arc-en-ciel is the Asura's primary weapon. It was used it A's to completely destroy the Book of Darkness core. Its a magical cannon that distorts the air around it. It has the power to annihilate everything up to hundreds of kilometers away. For those of you who want the short version of what it does: You don't want to use it :p
"I cant believe I am hearing this!!" Nanoha shrieked "I cant believe you would even suggest that!!"
"I'm sorry..." Chrono stated "but I am looking out for the entire planet. If we cant handle this on our own, if the Administration gets word of this, they'll undoubtedly send more ships here to deal with the issue. Then even more people will get hurt, maybe even killed. And if worse comes to worse...they will fire their Arc-en-ciel's on the planet."
Everyone was at a loss for words.
"Believe me when I say I am still thinking of other methods. There has to be another way, but I just cant think right now. I am open to all suggestions..."
". . ."
"I guess this is it for now" Chrono said as he looked around the room. "Nanoha needs rest, and the rest of us could use a break. Thanks for the report Yuuno."
Everyone began to walk to the door
"I'll do it..." Nanoha said just above a whisper
The crew turned around
"I'll do it" Nanoha repeated "I'll save Fate-chan!"
"You cant do that in your condition!" Vita explained
"Shes right Nanoha-chan" Hayate added "besides we don't even know where she is"
"We'll let you save her Nanoha-chan" Shamal smiled and put Nanoha back "but first you have to rest while we find her."
"That's right!" Amy said "Dont worry about a thing! We'll find her for you and you can save her ok?" she gave a thumb's up
"So until then rest and regain your strength" Signum joined in.
"...Alright" Nanoha said laying back down "I'll leave it all to you guys"
"Rest well Nanoha-chan" Shamal said as she turned off the lights to the room and left.
~~ 2:48 PM Asura Conference Room ~~
"I don't like this plan" Chrono stated as the group traveled from Nanoha's room to the conference table
"I don't either" Hayate agreed "we might end up having to go without Nanoha"
"Yes it would be better for her if she didn't have to battle Testarossa" Signum added
"But first we'll have to find her" Amy sighed "that's no easy task either"
"You were able to record the energy signatures during that last battle right?" Chrono asked
"Yeah why?"
"You could use that as a reference to help narrow down the signature and maybe get a lock somewhere."
"That would be nice if it worked out that way, if Fate-chan is using a barrier it will take even longer to find her."
We'll just have to help out manually then" Shamal stated
"Yeah we should continue our patrols" Zafira agreed
"What are the chances she'll go to school and attack there?" Hayate asked
"It would be best if no one went to school" Signum stated "It would be horrible to turn that place into a battleground"
"You just don't want to wear that uniform again don't you" Vita kidded
Signum just responded with a swift punch to the top of Vita's head.
"In any case we should start searching in any of the places Fate-chan might go" Yuuno spoke up
"You can use area search magic as well right Yuuno?" Chrono asked
"Yes I can"
"Good then we'll split up into 3 teams then. Vita, Shamal, and Zafira should take up Fate's house and the North-eastern section of the city. Yuuno, Hayate, and Signum can start at Nanoha's house and take the western section. Amy can monitor all blank spaces from here while I try to delay HQ with small reports."
"That's a good plan" Hayate nodded. "There is just one last thing we have to take care of."
Everyone looked at her
"What's that?" Vita questioned
"We still have to tell Nanoha's mother about all this." Hayate grimaced "She must be worried sick"
"Can I leave that to you Hayate?" Chrono asked
"I'll take care of it"
~~ 4:57 PM Takamachi Residence ~~
"Ah welcome Hayate-chan!" Momoko greeted with a smile "How are things going? Have you seen Nanoha? She hasn't been home for a few days."
Momoko led Hayate to the living room and offered some refreshments
"Thank you very much Momoko-san" Hayate bowed slightly as she sipped the tea
"So what brings you here today?"
"Its about Nanoha-chan" her face became serious
"...I always knew this day would come" Momoko put her cup down and looked at Hayate with a stern yet caring look in her eyes "I knew ever since she told me she was a mage. I had no right to stop her since this was her dream...but no matter what, I am still her mother. I still worry about her all the time, but all I can do, however, is pray that she's safe"
"Momoko-san..."
"Is she...still alive?" Momoko looked sternly and held her breath. She wanted to get the hardest question out there and over with as quickly as possible.
"Yes...shes alive and well"
"That's good news" Momoko smiled sighing lightly "How is she doing?"
"Shes recovering nicely, she should be released to come back home maybe tomorrow or the next day. The doctors just want to keep her overnight to make sure there isn't anything else wrong with her."
"Are you able to tell me what happened?" Her eyes softened, not wanting to pressure Hayate
"She got into a fight with Fate-chan over some complicated issues" Hayate began "it escalated on a magical level, in which Nanoha-chan saved my life...resulting in her ending up in the infirmary."
"Is Fate-chan still ok?"
"...We don't know." Hayate sighed "We couldn't find her after the battle-and we were very concerned about Nanoha, but I am sure Fate-chan is just fine. She isn't the type to get hurt that easily." Hayate thought back to the battle in which she even used her Ragnarok Breaker.
"What about yourself? You mentioned being involved in the conflict. How are you holding up?"
"I'm doing well thank you. My injuries were nothing compared to Nanoha-chan's, but shes a lot tougher than I am too."
"That's good" Momoko sighed in relief "Ever since Valentine's day Nanoha has been energetic and been really active. It seems that its all thanks to Fate-chan. I would hate it if Nanoha lost someone that close to her..." she trailed off
"I promise I'll find her, and take care of Nanoha-chan" Hayate stood and bowed before Momoko "on my name as Mistress of the Tome of the Night Sky"
"Thank you Hayate-chan" Momoko smiled softly
"No" Hayate shook her head "Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan have done far more on my behalf. They saved my life once before, and Nanoha-chan did so once again. What I do now isn't even anywhere near what they have done for me. That's why" Hayate raised her head and looked Momoko in the eyes "I will do everything I can to protect them both. I promise you."
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A/N So, I wonder how Fate-chan is doing? I hope shes at least eating well ^.^ Chrono! I know you mean well, but wanting to kill her with the Arc-en-ciel?! Are you *nuts*?! I'll have to take him out back and beat some sense into him *grabs her magic wand*...or I can just leave that up to Amy. Now I know that this is a non-action chapter. I wanted this to be more of the "calm before the storm" And to make up for that...the next chapter will be the..."Service" chapter I promised you all back in what...chapter 4 was it? I know...I know...you guys have waited for it long enough *grins*
The "Book of Darkness" was the name given for the book after it went wild. The "Tome of the Night Sky" is its one true name. For you people who haven't seen A's yet...shame on you! Go watch it! jk jk XD But seriously...you should at least watch A's to fully understand some of the references I make ^.^
Oh right, the dream scene is my own little modified version of a scene from a doujin called "Thunderbird" (ironic ne?) which I dont own btw :p I found it fitting and I'll be noting back to it in the future that's why I placed it there. Anyway the usual ramblings ^.^ like it? hate it? please hit the green link below and tell me *bows*