-Disclaimer-
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's anime is licensed by Geneon Entertainment; its studio is Seven Arcs. Anime is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. The manga is illustrated by Koji Hasegawa. Characters, Locations, and other intellectual property from the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha universe is to be attributed to the above as warranted.
Fan-Original content includes:
Characters Attributed to Rimshooter: Ame Yagami and Hinode Seitsu. Hark, Secele, Destiny, Eternity, the Apparition
Characters Attributed to Taeniaea: Iriai and Hiruko Seitsu. Yumeko Seitsu, Priri. Raven
Locations Attributed to Rimshooter: District III Civilian Hospital, Lonely Soul's Orphanage, Unknown Location, Temple, Seitsu Residence.
Factions Attributed to Rimshooter: Unknown Faction
Concepts, Events, and Items Attributed to Rimshooter: Red Sky Incident, Way Cranaagan is divided into Districts, Ame's 'Magic' Sight, Secele's Device
Concepts, Events, and Items to Taeniaea: Memory of Dawn and Hope for Dawn, Priri's device, Priri's spells
...And several other things that we don't really care about enough to mention, which brings us to:
Taeniaea: Hark's true name is revealed.
Rimshooter: Mwahahaha. When you have trouble reading, remove the redundant letters... we'll post a translation at the bottom.
Neyr Deus
-Story of the Four Birds-
Chapter XIV: Broken Reflection
The sky was a chaotic mix of ink-black darkness and solid white all being drawn together to a point.
Black lightning crackled about, striking anything and everything at random, incinerating all it touched without so much as a thunder-call as apology.
She was impaled upon a large, jagged stone protrusion that jutted from the ground in what was once a city-street. He was in front of her, floating in the air – silver magic extending from his back in cruel parody of an angel's wings. Laying all about were corpses, features indistinguishable; so numerous their faces were all lost. A tear fell down her cheek, stained red by blood as her eyes narrowed in a furious glare.
It was maddening.
She had failed.
He succeeded.
The world had paid the price.
May 3 077; 1400 Hours
-District III, Seitsu Residence
-Hinode Seitsu
"Hino-nee!" A voice called out, and Hinode turned sharply, placing the project she was working on beneath her desk. Ren was standing in her doorway, a bright smile on her face, "What're you working on?"
"Nothing in particular." Hinode replied, standing. It wouldn't do for the twins to find out about the surprise gift she had planned for them, after all. A sharp ache came to Hinode's forehead, prompting her to rub her temple slightly. "Did you need something?" She asked, trying to focus on the girl in front of her and not-
Blood. A deep red stain seeping outward, staining the girl's white dress as she was tossed to the side, eyes wide and-
"-ay, Hino-nee?" Ren's voice came, and Hinode blinked. The headache had passed, but she was leaning against her desk. Straightening, Hinode nodded reassuringly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. More importantly, why'd you come up here?"
The girl eyed Hinode doubtfully before replying, "It's time to go pick up Iri, remember?" Hinode nodded, how could she have forgotten; maybe Ren was right, and she did put too much effort into her projects.
"Of course, how could I have forgotten? Let's go."
The girl continued to stare at her concernedly before turning, "Alright."
As Hinode followed Ren down the stairs and to the hall, her head throbbed again. There was no vision this time, but a searing pain and tremendous ringing replaced it, voices echoing in her ear.
"Hino-nee!"
The eldest Seitsu jerked back, blinking rapidly and glancing about to assure her everything was fine. Ren was opening the door. The hall was normal. The wall were normal. There wasn't anything out of place...
So why was she so worried?
Hinode was brought from her reverie by Ren's impatient shout, "Hurry up, Hino-nee!"
"I'm coming!"
The screech of tires.
A loud thud – an explosion.
Screams.
Red on a gray surface.
A large, archaic door that lead nowhere.
A tall, ominous tower that sucked away all light.
May 13 077; 1100 Hours
-District III Hospital
-Hinode Seitsu
"Hino-nee!" A voice called, and Hinode smiled slightly, seeing Ren's injured, cast-ridden form still full of joy.
"Ren." Hinode replied simply, stepping into the room, one hand behind her. "I've got a present for you." She said, trying to sound cheerful and mischievous.
"What is it?" The girl asked brightly, and Hinode wondered at her implacable happiness.
Instead of speaking an answer, however, she brought her hand around and tossed something to Ren, who caught it with her single, free arm deftly, staring at it curiously.
"Devices?" She asked, and Hinode nodded, "Why two? I only need one – you should give the other to Iri."
Catching the device as Ren tossed it back, Hinode fought back some tears. "Yeah, you're right... She needs it more, after all."
Ren nodded self-affirmatively, "Great! With its help, we can probably figure out what she's having so much trouble with."
'She was 'having trouble' because she didn't want to surpass you.' Hinode thought to herself sadly, 'She didn't want to leave you behind.'
"You still need to name them." Hinode spoke, "Iri's... terrible at naming things; we both know it."
A body laying broken on the pavement.
A girl's eyes, wide with shock.
Sirens.
Something flickered in Ren's eyes for a second, but it was gone just as quickly before Hinode could identify it-
"Severe trauma. She'll survive, thanks to her sister, but..."
"-You're right." Ren agreed, interrupting Hinode's musing.
'It's like it never happened.' The eldest Seitsu noted as Ren brought her free hand up to her chin as she thought.
Suddenly, Ren's face blossomed into a smile, "I know! We'll name mine hope, and Iri's memory."
Snow falling from a red sky.
Panic.
Gunfire.
An empty hospital bed.
A broken window.
Blood.
Tears.
A girl with azure hair...
Destruction.
May 13 077; 1500 Hours
Ruins of Cranaagan
-Hinode Seitsu
"It's a shame, I must admit," The man's voice came, somehow projecting itself over the roar of their surroundings as the world was torn asunder. "Such potential this planet had. So much potential... but alas, it was the only place that would work."
Her limbs felt like they were on fire; her chest was ready to burst. The taste and smell of copper filled her senses; her head was a heavy lead weight. An immense pain festered in her gut.
"Oh don't be upset – you should be proud! You've managed to live long enough to witness this, after all. Something no one has ever had the hope of even dreaming of seeing for millennia... the death of a world, and the opening of the Gate." He rambled, staring into the tumultuous sky with a feverish sort of joy, "At last, after so long..." He whispered, before exclaiming once more, "Be amazed – you gaze upon the door to Heaven!"
Her neck was weak, just as the rest of her, but she forced her head up anyway, glaring at the man as fiercely as one could glare... fierce enough that he actually noticed, turning around – a grim smile visible through the broken lower half of his mask. "Such vigor. I wonder how you are alive right now, hm? You've exhausted your mane completely, strained your muscles to their limites, broken several bones, and you're being held up by a spire of earth protruding from your lower abdomen! Really, your endurance is commendable."
Her hand rose from its limp position, a single finger raising up in defiance.
The earth shook as a monolithic tower phased into view.
"You bastard!" A voice shouted, echoing all about, "NoTt agGaIin! I dOn't wWamT To diIe aGaiNn!"
The man turned around, smile turning into a frown as a large black mass filled the air in front of him. Before he could react, a plethora of obsidian chains shot out from the mass, several striking him and binding him down as the rest extended into the distance.
The shape solidified into the black silhouette of an armored being with large black wings, feathers drifting down constantly as its golden eyes glowered down at the man's prone form. "Y-you... abomination." The man gasped out, "how dare you s-show yourself now? G-give it back! T-that's n-not your life!"
A mirthless chuckle erupted from the being's armor, echoing hollowly about the ruined street. "NnoTt MyY liFe? HhaRp, yYou pPooRr, dDelLudedD FoOl..."
Its eyes narrowed as an enormous black scythe materialized behind it and rotating to hover over Harp like a guillotine waiting to drop. "ItT was AlWaYs My Life. AnD nNow YOU wwant to take it?"
The scythe fell.
The man closed his eyes in preparation for his death...
...only for it not to come.
The man opened his eyes to see a flickering barrier above him, crackling wildly with violet and black energy.
"T-that's... m-my kill." Hinode muttered weakly from the other side of the clearing, her vision darkening as the being withdrew the scythe, crossing its arms. "M-m... my f-fam-ly... my r-re-ven-ge..."
The barrier vanished, and the being dispelled the scythe completely.
"Fine, then. This world is doomed, anyway, and me with it... I'll give you... one chance. Win... this time." The scythe reappeared, "...oOR yOu as WeLl."
The man scoffed, "A-as if... this... could ever win..."
"I HhOpe She dDoesn't." The being replied mockingly, "I'I'd sSimply LoOVeE to ShAre My EtTernal ToOrRmmEnT."
"You... do not... frighten me... abomination."
"Hmph." It grunted, the shadows melting away as its armor began to glow with silver energy, the wings becoming a vibrant white, "You've... never feared anything, have you, Harp? Maybe... you should have."
As the man's expression turned to one of shock, the being raised its hand and spoke a single world.
"Restoration."
Before Hinode's eyes, buildings reconstructed themselves, the dead came back to life. The sky returned to normal, and the sun began rising and setting west to east in fast forward. As Hinode's wounds healed and her vision darkened, the being's voice echoed in her ear.
"I hope you succeed... but I also hope... no, that would be asking too much of you. There's not enough left... to do this again, so make this chance count."
May 29 077; 0600 Hours
-Infirmary of the Earl
Gold eyes opened to the blurry, indistinct sight of a bland, white ceiling.
"So sleeping beauty finally wakes up." A voice commented, and Hinode tried to turn her head to face it, but she couldn't move. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't feel anything below her chin.
'Why am I alive? Did that... thing... keep me alive so I could make one last ditch effort at killing him? But I didn't... does that mean' Her eyes widened, and in a furious burst she managed to flip one arm over to lay across her chest. '...I can't move!'
"Yare yare, what's with mages lately?' The voice came again as a man in a doctor's coat walked over, picking Hinode's arm up and placing it back at her side. "I'm not even going to bother asking how it was even physically possible for you to do what you just did, let alone whatever it was that led you to be in this predicament. That's not my job. Instead, I'll ask this; how're you feeling?"
Hinode's eye twitched. "I come into your infirmary severely injured and you have the gall to ask how I'm feeling? Where's Yumeko?"
The man didn't respond, averting his gaze.
Hinode exploded, magic coming unbidden from her core and sheathing her in a brilliant gold and violet aura... before receding in a series of small electric bursts as Hinode's form quivered in pain. 'Gah! That bastard!'
"Woah now..." The man spoke, "Watch it – your Linker Core is almost nonexistant. That's how much you exhausted it. I'm honestly surprised you're alive right now, let alone awake."
The eldest Seitsu took his words to heart, calming herself. 'I guess I should be grateful to whatever allowed me to live... but that BASTARD!' She ranted internally, 'How dare he kill Yumeko! How darei he get out of this with just losing an arm when I threw out enough o crack a planet in half and almost killed myself in the process!'
She continued to rant for a while after that, the doctor knowing better than to interrupt her (or, rather, completely misinterpreting her silence).
"How far from Mid-Childa are we?" She asked sudddenly, catching the man off-guard.
"...about an hour, why?"
"Has anything happened recently that you've been informed of?"
"No... not that I know of, why? Do you know something?"
Hinode silenced herself after that. Desperate as she was for information, she'd rather not reveal everything she knew.
She knew how to take an interrogation. There was no reason to give anything out for free.
"Where's Agent Lanster?"
The man smiled nervously. That expression didn't bode well.
"She's in her quarters, as far as I know..."
"Tell her I'm not talking to anyone but her." Hinode spoke, and the man nodded hesitantly, walking over to a nearby terminal.
"I mean that, by the way." Hinode continuied, eyes glowing eerily, "Until then... how about some cards?"
"But you wouldn't be able to hold your hand..."
"Don't worry about that."
-Hark's Facility, Training Area
-Secele
Destiny flickered out of view, appearing a few feet away as she dodged yet another blast of white energy.
Secele materialized behind her, already releasing her next arrow.
The gynoid teleported behind her, arm blade reaching down, only to be deflected as Secele turned to parry it, her bow transforming into a simple broadsword.
Destiny dodged, appearing behind Secele, and the archer reversed the grip of her sword, stabbing behind her and prompting Destiny to step out of range, teleporting a few feet away as Secele turned, fluidly initiating another attack even as Destiny escaped.
"What's wrong doll-chan, can't hit the puppet?" A familiar voice taunted, and Secele launched the sword from her grip, turning it into an impromptu projectile.
Her opponent dodged, of course, appearing in front of her with weapon swinging down, only to be bound by a series of white chains as Secele vanished, appearing elsewhere.
The chains detonated – an explosion of magical energy obscured Destiny from view.
When the explosion cleared, there was nothing there.
Eyes widening slighly, Secele threw herself forward. A blade swept through the air where her neck was a few moments ago, the own appearing moments afterward as Destiny continued after Secele. Rolling away from another attack, Secele teleported above the gynoid, bow in hand, and let loose another arrow.
...that Destiny dodged, again.
"Are you getting frustrated yet? Want me to help you along?" The voice jeered again.
'Shut up already! You're not even here!' Secele thought, well and truly irritated by the incessant voice.
Destiny used the opportunity to strike Secele across the back of the head with the flat of her blade, sending the archer flying across the arena.
When Secele opened her eyes after momentarily being stunned, it was to see a familiar face with purple eyes and irritating smirk.
The apparition disappeared as Secele flew through it, revealing the upcoming wall of the arena.
Eyes wide, the archer teleported away from the wall to the opposite corner of the room, where she continued to fall until she corrected herself. Destiny appeared across from her, impassive mask staring at her.
"You know, your past isn't all you are. You should stop chasing it already; it's not getting you anywhere."
Secele sent a random blast of white energy off to the side, dispelling the apparition as it appeared again.
Dispelling her bow, the archer turned abruptly and left the training area."I know." She muttered, "I know damn it."
'You're gone! You already got what you wanted; you're no longer part of this set up! Why can't you leave me alone already!' She thought, agitated.
The apparition had no reply, simply hovering over her shoulder with its ever-present smirk in place.
0700 Hours
-District IV Hospital
-Nanoha Takamachi
'This has to be one of the top ten quietest rooms I've ever been in.' Nanoha thought, perturbed.
Fate and Vivio were both present, along with Signum and Shamal, who was currently glued to the terminal off to the side.
In the beds across from them were Iri, Ame, Raven, and the girl that looked so much like Iri (the name of which they still didn't know).
No one was saying anything. Not even Vivio.
It was maddening.
But at the same time, it didn't feel appropriate to say anything.
Of course, just when Nanoha couldn't take it anymore, the girl that had apparently caused all these problems opened her eyes.
The entire room tensed as the girl sat up, looking about the room with an unnerving sort of as her eyes settled on Iri. Turning from the prone girl she resembled so much to look at the various individuals nearby, she seemed to make some sort of internal calculation before promptly allowing herself to fall back down on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
Somehow, Nanoha was expecting more.
'Then again' The ace of aces thought, glancing at Fate's unnaturally stiff form, 'perhaps that's for the best.'
Another uneasy silence settled upon the room... until Vivio broke it.
"What's your name?" The girl asked brightly, prompting Priri's gaze to shift from the ceiling to her.
'She would ask...' Nanoha thought, bemused.
"Priri." The girl answered after several moments of deliberation. "Why am I here?"
At that Vivio shrugged, "You're hurt aren't you?"
"Is it standard policy to place suspicious individuals in the same room as their targets, then?" Priri asked dryly.
"No." Shamal answered, eyes on her terminal, "It's not, but Fate wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt rather than lock you up in the high-security ward."
"I see." Priri said, turning her attention to the ruby-eyed enforcer. "Why?"
'She's probably having flashbacks...' Nanoha mused. It was obvious Fate was hurting. And Nanoha knew she couldn't d anything about it... rather, that she shouldn't do anything about it.
It was something her friend had to do on her own – that she wanted to do on her own. That was also obvious.
It didn't make it any less frustrating, though.
The two stared at each other for a while, Fate probably trying to figure out what to say, and Priri waiting for Fate's response.
'Wonder how she could tell which one was Fate...' Nanoha wondered, '...then again, considering how well known we are...'
"...you're not on his side." The enforcer spoke, finally answering Priri's question. "Whatever your situation is, you're not with him... that much is obvious."
Priri raised a brow, "How do you know for sure? Aren't you supposed to be more cautious than this?"
"That expression in your eyes..." Fate responded, "...I've seen it before. You couldn't stand the thought of him doing whatever he planned on doing with Iri... could you? I don't know why, but... I have my suspicions..." The girl didn't respond, averting her gaze as Fate continued. "...you have a connection to her, don't you? You'd do anything for her, right? No matter what it was."
Priri snorted, eyes firmly plastered to the wall, "And how would you know?"
"...I was the same way, once." The blonde answered simply, before looking to Vivio and Nanoha and back, "I suppose I still am, in a way."
The room was silent for a while, save for the steady beat of various medical devices as they worked tirelessly at their tasks, until Priri broke the silence. "There's no connection." she said, turning, "I thought there was... but... it was a lie. I'm sure."
"Are you?" Fate asked quietly, "Truly?"
Priri didn't respond immediately, thinking deeply. "...No, but it doesn't matter."
"Why?"
The girl smiled sarcastically, "Iri and I were just a side show, after all. I don't have a use anymore... I'm a liability. He doesn't tolerate liabilities."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Fate asked, but Priri didn't respond, motioning toward Shamal and prompting the enforcer to turn to the doctor for answers.
"...She's an artificial mage." Shamal responded as her terminal finished displaying its readings, "...a flawed one, at that."
Fate's eyes widened slightly, and Nanoha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Flawed how?" The brunette asked, and Shamal's answer as simple.
"She's dying."
Any further conversation was cut off as the room was filled with azure light.
"I told you we were just a side show..." Priri's voice came, barely audible over the sudden shriek that filled the room.
Time Indeterminate
-Unknown Location
-Ame Yagami
Wherever Ame was, she didn't like it.
It was too dark. Too vague, as if nothing could decide if it was solid or intangible.
Currently, she was standing on a large circular platform, surrounded by pillars covered in eerily glowing runes.
Above, a dimly visible stained glass window provided the small light she was using to see with, as there was no magic here for some reason, and in front of her...
It was the larges door she had ever seen, covered in thick, glowing chains that were held together by a series of eight padlocks.
Two of those were already open, their accompanying chains hanging limp, and before her eyes another one was slowly inching open.
Wherever she was, she wanted to go home. She wanted to see Hayate and the others again.
She wanted to go back to sleep, and dream something better than this.
She took a step... and then the floor suddenly decided that it was made of air, and she fell...
...and then she really wanted to go home.
Translations, in order of their appearance.
"Not again! I don't want to die again!"
"Not my life? Harp, you poor deluded fool..."
"...it was always my life! Now you want to take it away?"
"...or you, as well."
"I hope she doesn't." "I'd simply love to share my eternal torment."