[ ] = Device Talking
Italic = Thought, Telepathy
Bold = Spell's name
It is a week after Shu gave Nanoha and Fate his handicrafts. For the whole week, many radars show that there are anonymous spikes of magic energy throughout Midchilda. Teams are sent to investigate but they return empty handed. The Special Investigation Unit is on high alert because this might endanger Midchildan citizens. Shu is attending the tactical meeting at Midchilda HQ while Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, and Wolkenritter are standing by at the Dimensional Sea HQ. Currently, it is quite late at night.
Then… something happened…
ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT
"What is the situation?!" Leti shouted.
"The logistics sectors are under attack sir! The feed is coming live now!" One of the operators shouted.
A large screen appears, many humanoid figures are stealing unknown boxes from the TSAB Warehouses.
"Contact the nearest units now!" Leti commanded.
Nanoha and everyone deploys their device, suddenly an operator raises his hand.
"Sir! Incoming transmission from Midchildan HQ!"
"Put it through!" Leti shouted.
"Special Investigation Unit, this is Staff Sergeant Shu Shirakawa."
"Shu-kun?" Nanoha muttered. Everyone is a bit surprised that the boy is the one who is contacting them.
"Staff Sergeant, what is it?" Leti asked impatiently.
"The order comes from above, I'll be the tactical personnel for this operation. I will provide all of you with recommended strategies and approaches towards this incident." Shu said professionally.
"Understood, what do you propose us to do?" Leti asked.
"The retaliation unit is already there, but they are pinned down by heavy resistance. They are in need of more firepower." Shu said as he directed his attention to his friends and lovers.
"Roger! Yagami Hayate!" Leti shouted.
"Yes!"
"You will be leading the assault group, Staff Sergeant Shirakawa will fill you in regarding the call signs. Move out!" Leti commanded.
"Roger!" Everyone shouted as they rush off the room.
"What is going on…" Leti covers her face with two hands, clearly stressing out.
"…I ran a check over the entire area, I am sure that it is not roids that are attacking us. From the security feeds, they are stealing the goods related to magic like cartridges and energy cells." Shu explained with all seriousness.
"Mercenaries…" Leti muttered.
"According to their tattoos' symbols, it is correct. I ran some background research and found out that they work for the illegal group that research on bio technologies or you can call it, half human half robots." Shu said.
"Bio-roids…"
"I believe that this is Lord Zezernan's doing. Either he made a certain deal with that group, or he hires those mercenaries. After our little confrontation, it is only logical that he needed more resources to create more bio-roids." Shu said as he sent the information to Leti.
"I will contact others for emergency backup." Leti sighed as she quickly sent backup request to the Capital Defense branch.
"Do not send them to the target area. We cannot tell what their true motivation is, I already requested additional units in the target area, so please tell the emergency backup to standby at the capital." Shu said as he sent the additional information to Leti.
"…Understood."
"If there are any emergency situations, I will contact you immediately. Shirakawa out." The transmission ended.
Location: Northern Midchildan Skies
"I swear I'm going to crush them to pieces…" Vita said grumpily.
"Vita-chan, don't be like that!" Nanoha smiled.
"Psh, those idiots always interrupt my relax time. I will make sure that they'll pay." Vita said as Graf Eisen glowed brightly.
Suddenly, a connection is made to everyone via magic.
"Everyone, do you read me?"
"Nice and clear, Shu-kun." Hayate said as a leader of the assault squad.
"All of you will be assaulting at different points. I will give all of you the call signs now. Team 1: Vita, Signum, Zafira, Codename: Strike Zero-One. Team 2: Nanoha, Fate, Codename: Strike Zero-Two. Team 3: Hayate, Shamal, Codename: Strike Zero."
"Roger! What's the mission?" Hayate asked.
"Strike Zero-One will assault directly on the enemy. You will be meeting up with the team that is pinned down inside the warehouses. When the warehouses are clear, you will push back the frontlines back to their transportation zone." Shu said as a map screen appears in front of everyone.
"Affirmative." Signum said.
"Strike Zero-Two will chase down the enemy transportation. Some of their transports have left the area with the items. Transportations have a lot of goods, so they have low maneuverability. Capture the transports and secure the goods if possible, destroy them if necessary." Shu gave the objective to Nanoha and Fate.
"Got it!" Nanoha said.
"Strike Zero, you will provide overall pressure to the battlefield. There are multiple defense lines along the way from the warehouses. Hayate, I'm counting on you to pressure them hard enough so that Nanoha and Fate can chase after the escaped transports."
"Roger that!" Hayate said as Reinforce unison in with Hayate.
"Shamal, I need you to protect Hayate. The enemies might go after Nanoha and Fate if there is no pressure that will keep them at bay."
"Okay!" Shamal said.
"Stick to the objective, I will continue to give instructions and information to you. Mission is a go!" Shu said.
Everyone shouted the acknowledgement battle cry before separating into teams.
Location: TSAB Logistics Sectors, Northern Mid-Childa
"Move it! TSAB response team is one the way, we have to move!" One of the mercenaries shouted.
"What about those guys in the warehouses?!" The thug-look-alike person said.
"Kill them if they get in the way, we have to move!" A group of mercenaries enter the last warehouse.
"Howl! Graf Eisen!"
[Eisengeheul!]
A loud noise and eye blinding flash consumes the entire area. The mercenaries are forced to close their ears and eyes. The disturbances die down and some of them are missing.
"What the fuck?! What just happened?!" The mercs group leader said.
"You will stand down, or I will make you." A cold feminine voice said. They turn towards the voice and see two strange girls holding a weapon along with a blue wolf.
"It is you who will stand down, and we'll be nice and not kill you and your little friend there… but I think you have to pay something in return." The mercs group leader said lecherously.
"Boss, are you sure this is okay, I mean this is not in the plan! But I'm not complaining." One of the mercs said as he leers towards Signum.
"Signum, I'll deal with this. Do not interfere." Vita said coldly as Graf Eisen started to expand dramatically in size.
Some of the mercs took a small step back as the little girl is giving off a malicious aura that will only promises them one thing… very very painful death.
"Very well, I'll go help others that are pinned down inside this warehouse. Zafira, head over to the next one." Signum said as she dashes inside the warehouse. Zafira nodded as he ran through the thugs with unbelievable speed and disappeared behind them.
"…" Vita loaded two cartridges as a red aura is emitting from her body.
"Playing a hero huh? No matter, I wanted to know how a little girl's body feels like anyway." The leader said despite the fact that his body is screaming for him to run away.
"…Oh really?" Vita disappeared from the view.
"W-What?!"
SCRUNCH! Drip… Drip…
All the mercs turn around and see their friend lying on the floor. His crotch is completely pulverized as blood is dripping from Vita's hammer. Everyone's eyes are widened in fear as the little girl is slowly approaching them.
"How about I show you… what a little girl like me can do…?" Vita said coldly as her irises are turning deep blue.
"R-R-RUUNNNNNNNNNNN!" All of them scatter in different directions trying to escape from the demon incarnate.
"Do you really think you can run…." Vita said as she chases down all of them… one by one.
Signum is in the warehouse, slashing through everything that stands in her way. It seems like the mercs have decent weapons and devices, but they aren't durable enough to withstand Laevatein's flames and power.
"Retreat Retreat! This bitch is totally crazy!" One of them tried to escape but Laevatein's snake form crippled his legs.
"Now… that is not a nice thing to say." Signum said coldly.
The leader of this looting group ran out of the warehouse while screaming "Begin Phase 2."
"Shirakawa, I heard the one of the leaders said to begin phase 2 or something." Signum said.
"I am constantly scanning the area for abnormalities, currently there are none. All units be on your guard." Shu said.
"Roger!" Everyone replied.
"Now, where are those pinned down guys?" Signum muttered as she dashes through the large warehouse.
"Freeze! Or we'll be using lethal force!" One of the voices is heard behind a large shelf.
"This is Strike Zero-One, temporary assault force of the TSAB, show yourself!" Signum shouted as she prepares to slice the shelf in half.
"W-Wait, you are the assault force?" A girl stepped out while holding a staff shakily.
"Yes, my objective is to help the pinned down units inside the warehouses." Signum said as she sheaths her sword.
"Thank god… everyone, we are safe!" The girl shouted. A group of roughed up soldiers limped out from behind the shelf. They look pretty beaten up but they can still fight nonetheless.
"Where are the others?" Signum asked.
"We are separated into the groups, one group per one warehouse. We tried to contact each other but they deployed a strange device to prevent our communication. I don't really know what happened to the other groups." The girl said shakily.
"My colleagues are currently sweeping all the other warehouses right now. Is the goods still intact?" Signum asked.
"Yeah, we are kinda beaten up, but we successfully defended the goods."
"Nice job, all of you can leave this place now. We will push the frontlines back to their main defense points." Signum said.
"Roger!" All of them shouted.
"Shirakawa, the first warehouse is secured." Signum relayed the information to Shu.
"Affirmative, I just got incoming transmission from other units in the area. The mercenaries are pulling back while looting as much goods as they can. Strike Zero-One be advise, link up with other units at the defense tower near the Logistic Sectors' main office. If we can break through their first defense, they will surely become disorientated."
"Roger!" Signum, Vita, and Zafira replied.
Meanwhile, with Nanoha and Fate….
The two is currently hijacking another transport truck. They successfully stopped six large trucks by blowing off their tires, but it is not easy since they have a unique barrier surrounding the truck. It is also troublesome because all the trucks are heading into different directions and it would be impossible to stop it alone.
"This is getting too troublesome!" Nanoha shouted as she is trying to halt the truck's movement with a bind.
"Hold on Nanoha, I'm getting through the barrier in a sec!" Fate said as Bardiche's energy blade is piercing though the barrier and hit the back tire. The truck loses its balance, Nanoha and Fate quickly flew up while the truck rolls over and crash upside down on the road.
"Come out with your hands up!" Fate shouted as she threatens to slash the front of the truck in half.
Two mercs step out of the truck with minor injuries. Nanoha tied them up with her binds before locking them to the nearby tree.
"Strike Zero-Two, you copy?" Shu's voice is heard.
"Shu-kun, what is it?" Nanoha said while panting lightly.
"You need to go and help Strike Zero, Shamal and Hayate cannot handle the high amount of enemies at once in close range." Shu directed.
"But what about the other escaping transports?" Fate asked.
"Don't worry, I have the tracker signatures on those transports. There are some reinforcement units waiting for them, right now you need to link up with Strike Zero, go!" Shu said.
"Okay! Strike Zero-One, on the way!" The two shouted as they dashed towards Hayate's position.
About 10 Kilometers from Nanoha's position, Shamal is having a hard time defending against all the concentrated attacks. Even Hayate has to stop her assault and go on a defensive. The Mercenaries are mounting the magic turrets and anti-personnel magic guns, also they have surrounded Hayate's position with those guns so she has no choice but to wait for backup.
"Signum, what is your status? Can you push through the frontlines? Hayate is in some deep trouble right now." Shu said with some worry in his tone.
"What?! We are trying to push them back the best we can! We can't get passed the choke point because they deployed smokescreens and fortified their frontlines with turrets. Can you contact Mistress?!" Signum shouted.
"I am sending Strike Zero-Two as a reinforcement, the leftover transports are taken care of by the reinforcement units." Shu explained.
"Is Hayate alright?! I will smash through all of them!" Vita shouted as she gripped her mallet tightly.
"Vita! Calm down! If you rush through the smoke at this time, you might be trapped inside the crossfire! Maintain your position, if something goes out of hand… then I will go down there myself." Shu said.
"…Understood!" Vita shouted as she let out a fierce warcry.
[Raketenform!] (Rocket Form!)
"Signum! I'll try to get rid of the smoke! Prepare to go in!" Vita shouted.
"Do it!" Signum said as Laevatein glows.
"Rakentenhammer!" Vita shouted as she spins around furiously. Her momentum causes air suction which causes the smoke to rise upwards. The turrets can now be seen faintly through the smoke.
Vita rushes towards the first one and pierces through its cannon barrel with the Graf Eisen's sharp point before the entire turrets are literally destroyed by the pure strength of the red knight.
"SHIT! FIRE AT HER!" One of the mercs shouted as other turrets turn towards Vita.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Fuck!" The mercs dodge Signum's Flying Dragon Flash. But the mercs aren't the main target of Signum's attack.
Loud howls of steel collapsing is heard as the two other turrets are cleanly sliced in half while the barrel is completely obliterated.
Zafira let out a mighty roar before numerous white spears completely penetrated the leftover turrets from down below.
"Fall back! Fall back to the secondary defense point!"
"Shirakawa, they are falling back from the frontlines towards their secondary defense point! What is the situation of Strike Zero?!" Signum said as Vita and she hastily follows the mercs. The other TSAB units are having a hard time keeping up with the two knights, but they didn't complain.
"Strike Zero-Two has already arrived at the area, but I am seeing a lot of mana saturation in the area. Keep going! I'll keep you posted! Shirakawa out."
"Hayate…" Vita muttered.
"…" Signum keeps her eyes forward as she grips on Laevatein tightly.
Meanwhile at Hayate's location…
"What should we do…" Nanoha muttered. The barrier is being reinforced by Hayate, Fate, and herself. Shamal already collapsed from mana exhaustion.
"I can't establish any connection… they must be jamming our communication…" Hayate panted.
"Tch! They are constantly firing at us… but… all the transports should be stopped by now… so why didn't they retreat? Aren't their objective is to steal the goods?" Fate said as she is maintaining Defenser Plus.
"I… don't know… anymore…" Hayate panted as she collapses on her knees.
"Hayate-chan!" Nanoha is holding Hayate firmly.
"Mistress needs to rest! She is fine, but we need to get out of here fast!" Reinforce said to the two.
Right now they are surrounded by the mercs, but they can't escape because if they can't risk getting hit.
"Fate-chan…"
"Nanoha?"
"You take Hayate-chan and Shamal-san out of here… I'll stay and buy you some time." Nanoha muttered.
"Nanoha! Are you crazy?!" Fate shouted in defiance.
"You are faster than I am Fate-chan, you can take the two out from here. I'll be fine!" Nanoha smiled.
Fate shook her head furiously as she refuses to leave her best friend behind.
"No… Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan… just take Shamal and leave me." Hayate muttered.
"No! I am perfectly fine see?! I will stay!" Nanoha replied.
"Sir! Phase 2 is complete! We are ready to pull out!" One of the mercs saluted his leader.
"Good, but if we can capture those in the barrier then we will be even richer! Fire everything we have at them, but do not kill them understand?!" The vice-leader commanded.
"Yes sir!" All of them fired the magic bullets at Nanoha's and Fate's barrier.
"Listen… Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan… they will not do anything to me… they need me alive see?" Hayate smiled weakly.
"Hayate! We will not leave you here! Signum and others, I will not forgive myself if we let anything happen to you!" Fate said as she gently lifts Hayate up.
"They will capture me… and I know that you two will save me… so don't worry okay?" Hayate coughed a little.
"Hayate-chan…" Nanoha muttered as tears threaten to escape her eyes.
"Reinforce will also be with me, see? I will be fine… But I have one request…" Hayate said meekly.
"Hayate… please…" Fate muttered as she refuses to let go of Hayate. The barrier around them is crumbling apart. Multiple cracks are seen on the defense field.
"There! Focus at the cracks! Capture team, prepare to intercept!" The vice-leader shouted.
"Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan, I know… that Shu-kun loves both of you very much… but please tell him… that I…" Hayate coughed violently before is able to finish her plead.
"We know… Hayate-chan…" Nanoha looked at her exhausted friend.
"Y-You.. You two did…?" Hayate muttered weakly but with a surprise tone.
"Mistress…" Reinforce muttered to herself.
"Do you really think we cannot see through your smile? Hayate? Or your reactions when Shu is hurt." Fate said as she leans Hayate on herself in a human crutch position.
"…I'm sorry." Hayate said with guilt.
"Sorry?"
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Nanoha and Fate smiled.
"No… it is wrong… I… It is selfish of me to-"
"Then, how about we share him?" Nanoha smiled. Fate nodded in agreement.
Hayate's eyes widened in surprise, she already knows about their little agreement but she didn't expect to be invited.
"W-What?!" Hayate semi-shouted.
"I feel happy for you mistress, but I don't think this is the place to have that conversation!" Reinforce said warily as the barrier is about to collapse.
"We'll talk about this later Hayate-chan." Nanoha said as she pulls up Shamal in a human crutch position.
"For now, we have to escape." Fate muttered.
Hayate nodded weakly as they prepare to rush out when the barrier collapse.
"Sir! We have a problem!" One of the technical mercs shouted.
"What?!" The vice-leader shouted back with irritation in his tone.
A large amount of body fly passed the operation leader's face and crash violently to the ground. All of them turned around and froze in fear.
"No wonder why there is a saturation of mana in this area… communication jammer device." Shu said in distaste before ripping the device apart with his claws.
"KILL HIM! KILL THAT BOY NOW!" The second-in-command shouted. All weapons and turrets aim toward the purple-haired boy and they unload everything they got on him.
"C'mon! Shu-kun already bought us some time!" Nanoha said as Fate and she dispelled the barrier before dashing away into the skies.
"Strike Zero-Two, rendezvous with Strike Zero-One east of here. They should be pushing back the last of the mercenaries' frontline to my location. Medics should be standing by at the location as well." Shu said as his force field nullifies every bullets that is about to come in contact with him.
"Roger that!" Fate replied.
Finally, the hail of bullets, missiles, projectiles, etc. stopped. After the smoke clears from the area… the boy is still standing there, unharmed.
"Shit! I should've listened to boss' advice!" The vice-leader gritted his teeth.
"B-B-Boss, what should we do?!" One of them speaks shakily.
"We already got what we need! Fall back!" The vice-leader shouted as he prepares a dimensional jump spell. All the technicians follow the suit and prepare the mass dimensional transfer.
"…Do you really think I will let you get away...? After everything that all of you have done…?" Shu said coldly as the overall gravity around the area is getting stronger.
[Jamming Field, Activated.] Granzon blinked as all of the transportation/communication spells are forcefully cancelled.
"I swear that I will skin you alive boy…" The vice-leader said as he took out a large trench knife.
"How about you… taste something called… despair…" Shu muttered.
[Graviton Wave]
"Argh! What trickery is this?!" All the mercs fall face-first on the ground. They tried to resist, but there is nothing they can do… they are at the mercy of the gravitational force.
Shu slowly approaches towards the operation leader, he stares into the eye of the man, and there are many expressions in his eyes. Anger, Pain, Hatred, but the most satisfying thing he sees... is Fear.
"The eye is truly the window to the soul… don't you agree..?"
"Hmph, you are just a child… the thing that we came here for is already on its way… so go ahead and kill me, because I will tell you nothing." The operation leader spat.
"Oh? It is not me who will kill you… hopefully I will be the one who will drain all the information from that skull of yours, then you will meet a person…" Shu said as his cold expression almost turns into a sadistic one.
"I will assure you… that you will regret… of being born in this world." Everyone's heart is pounding loudly, their body and instinct is screaming for them to escape the inevitable death.
"P-P-P-Please! D-D-Don't k-kill m-me!" One of the mercs muttered.
"Like I said… I have no right to kill you… that right belongs to someone far scarier than I am." Shu looked at the man with almost psychopathic eyes.
"Staff Sergeant, what is the situation?!" Leti established the communication.
"Admiral Leti… the situation is under control now. The leader of the mercenary group is successfully captured. Please send in the cleanup crew." Shu replied.
"Roger." Admiral Leti let out a relief sigh.
Shu is standing still, trying to comprehend about what is it the item that is so valuable that they sacrificed so many resources to steal it. The items cannot be large in size or numbers because all of the truck transports are successfully captured. Shu lessen the gravity hold a bit, before it crushes all the mercs to death.
"Staff Sergeant Shirakawa, sir!" The newly arrived units saluted.
Shu returns the gesture as he deactivates the Graviton Wave.
"We'll take care of them, please rendezvous with all units at the Logistics Sectors' Building for debrief."
"Understood, thank you Private." Shu saluted. It looks quite strange that a 7 years old boy has a higher rank than a fully grown man.
"Sir!"
Shu arrived at the rendezvous location, Hayate and Shamal is awake but they are lying down at the medical tents while Vita and Signum is sitting next to them. Zafira is on guard in case the battle is not over. Nanoha and Fate is reporting to the field officer.
"Regroup on me!" The Field Officer shouted.
All other scattering units hastily assemble horizontal formations for debrief.
"The High Command sent their deepest regards to all of you, all the mercenaries' attacks are successfully repelled off. The Logistic Units will be re-counting the goods and the Special Investigation Sector will take a hold of the surviving mercenaries for the interrogation."
"All units except the Assault Teams, you are dismissed." The Field Officer said. Other units saluted as they left the area.
"Now… I just want to say… nicely done all of you." The Field Officer clapped lightly. Everyone smiled happily from the praise.
"But… there is one concern… Staff Sergeant Shirakawa." Everyone looked at Shu as he stares back at the Field Officer.
"…."
"You disobeyed a direct order…" Everyone widens their eyes.
"What?!" Vita shouted.
"We cannot afford to lose our tactician in the middle of the battle… yet you disobeyed the direct order, and engaged the enemy forces."
"I lost the communication with the assault teams, it is a fact that the enemy is using communication jammer and they are surrounded by enemies. It is only logical, that they are in need of immediate reinforcements." Shu replied.
"But, you disregard the chain of command in the process…"
Everyone feels the tension rising. They wanted to say something, but it would bring more trouble if they back-talked the Field Officer.
"Discipline is one of our most important codes, luckily no one knows about this so your punishment will not be severe since the defense mission is successful. But I have to report this to the High Command." The Field Officer said.
Everyone gritted their teeth slightly. Without Shu's interference, the worse may happen to Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, and Shamal.
"You do what you need to do. I will gladly face the consequences, but for the record..." Shu said as he returns Granzon to its standby form.
"Soldiers follow orders… but good soldiers know… when not to." Shu muttered as he keeps staring at the FO, daring him to say something back.
"…All of you are dismissed." The FO said as he teleported away.
"Shu-kun, you okay?" Nanoha muttered.
"Don't worry about me, all of you are safe, that is what important." Shu said as he received certain message from Admiral Leti.
"I see…"
"Shirakawa, what is it?" Signum asked curiously.
"The prisoners are transported to the Special Investigation Sector's Cell, Reinforce, Shamal, and I will be interrogating them tomorrow." Shu said with a little bit of eagerness in his tone.
"What about after that…?" Vita asked coldly.
"…They will be imprisoned at the high security prison… although, she doesn't say that before they got transferred, you cannot pay them a certain visit." Shu smile faintly.
"Good… I have some necessary conversation to talk with them…" Vita said with a monotone while her grip on Graf Eisen tightens.
"Be my guest... c'mon everyone, let's head back… all of you did a fantastic job today, so get yourself a goodnight rest." Shu said as he opens the portal back to the HQ for everyone.
Everyone nodded slightly before entering the portal. Everyone, especially Hayate and Shamal need to rest.
Location: Unknown
"Here, I got it." The leader of the mercenary group said.
"Good…"
Two of the lackeys bring a crate full of circular-like objects, the middle of them have a blue rich color to it.
"Hmph, at least you manage to bring back my cargos…"
"And I lost a lot of men in the process… now I think it is time I receive my payment. Ex-Chief Director Zezernan." The leader said.
"Of course, follow me…" Zezernan said as he leads the Mercenary group deep inside his underground HQ.
"I'm curious, why do you choose Alzas as your base of operation. This world is administered by the TSAB so it is crawled with their agents." The leader asked roughly.
"Hmph, they won't bother searching for me here, they will expect me to reside at one of those uninhabited worlds." Zezernan replied nonchalantly. "Although, I would have to make sure… that no one knows of this place…"
"The most dangerous place is the safest place huh?" One of the leader's lackeys muttered.
"Stop the chatter, we're here." Zezernan said as they reach a vast room.
"So…? Where is my payment?" The Leader asked suspiciously.
"Don't worry… here is your payment!" Zezernan said as the right arm-armor piece flew to him and locked itself on his arm. The unbelievably extensive energy razor blade manifests from his hand, and he mercilessly cut the two lackeys in half.
"What is the meaning of this?!" The leader shouted as he pointed his gun at Zezernan.
"Tying up loose ends of course…" Zezernan smiled cruelly.
The leader fires his gun at Zezernan several times, but the bullet cannot go through an invisible barrier.
"SHIT!" The leader said as his guns ran out of ammo. He tried to run back through the way he came but there is a force field blocking his way.
"WHY?!" The leader shouted.
"Hmph, although there is no point on telling anything to a dead man… but I will humor you…" Zezernan smirked.
"First, why pay anything if you can take everything… Second, killing you will cause a uproar in your little pesky mercenary group, and since they have no idea who I am… they will kindly blame the group that mainly hired you." Zezernan smiled cruelly.
"So you will gain all the resources from the aftermath… you piece of shit!" The leader shouted.
"Hah, looks like you have a bit of intelligence left in your rotting brain. After your little lackeys destroyed those scientists', I will swoop in, kill all of them, and take all the materials for my future researches and experiments... it's all about the profit." Zezernan sneered.
"FUCK!" The leader shouted as he tried to punch through the force field.
"And the last thing…" Zezernan said.
Glish!
"Mguhg?!" The leader inhaled sharply.
Drip… Drip…
"It is to test my new weapon… and I'll say… it is quite up to the job." Zezernan smirked darkly as the energy blade goes right through the leader's stomach and out of his back. The tip of the blade almost pierced the wall behind the leader because of its unbelievably long length.
"Gughh! C-Curse Y-You!" The leader coughed out a lot of blood.
"Now… die…" Zezernan said as the left-arm armor piece comes to him. Another energy blade manifests itself on his left hand before he stabbed the leader's chest in a right angle… The energy blade goes cleanly right through the unfortunate mercenary's head from below.
Zezernan pulls both of his hand back violently and causes the leader's body to splatter into many parts.
"Hmph… clean this up." Zezernan said nonchalantly as five Bio-roids do what they have been told.
"Now… let's send the leader's unfortunate death to those stupid apes… "Your leader betrayed us, so we killed him… Do not make the same mistake." That should do it." Zezernan thought as he writes a certain anonymous message to the mercenary group.
"That blasted scientist does a very good job on the weapon, everything is close to completion… no one never crosses me and get away with it, Shu Shirakawa… you will pay dearly for your actions." Zezernan thought darkly as he is checking the cargo crate that the mercenary brought in.
"At least those stupid mercs did well, this is the pieces that are needed. Send these to him! Finally, my design will be complete!" Zezernan ordered.
"Affirmative." The Bio-Roids answered in monotone before bunch of them come in the room and lift the entire crate up.
"Now… back to designing the compatible armor system…" Zezernan muttered to himself before walking back to his lab.
Location: TSAB HQ Dimensional Sea, Infirmary
Hayate and Shamal is currently resting in the room. After the two is being taken care of by the doctors, Shu has to leave because he has to report to the command. The Wolkenritter is sleeping on the futon which is on the ground next to Shamal's bed, while Nanoha and Fate is sitting next to Hayate's bed. Reinforce is also awake, sitting in the opposite direction of the two future aces.
"Don't worry you two, mistress is just exhausted from mana depletion. She will fully recover in a few hours." Reinforce smiled.
"I feel bad that she has to push herself this much…" Nanoha muttered.
"Don't be, you stopped some of the transports and headed to aid us in time. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to you two. Both of you always stay by Mistress' side since all of the previous incidents… Thank you…" Reinforce said.
"Reinforce…." Fate muttered.
"Another thing, are you two okay with it?" Reinforce asked.
"Eh?"
"Hai?"
"About mistress being with Shirakawa along with you two… At first, I plan to push mistress a little so she will have the "conversation"with you two, but this happens." Reinforce muttered.
"Fate-chan is my best friend, and so is Hayate-chan. I'll be more than happy to share Shu-kun with them." Nanoha smiled brightly.
"Yes, we love him, he accepted our love and also loves us back. As long as all of us are together, I don't care what others think." Fate said firmly.
"Fufufu, you two resemble some couples I've known back in Belka." Reinforce smiled.
"This is not frowned upon in Ancient Belka?" Nanoha asked.
"No, in fact it is widely accepted. The groom can have multiple brides and vice versa, if all of them truly love each other. I've heard many couples say things like that, they lived a very happy life." Reinforce gives the two the idea of the past.
"But why did the Ancient Belka was destroyed? There should be understanding and acceptance in those times." Fate asked curiously.
"I cannot remember the deep details, but roughly, a large dimensional dislocation happened. The lands are separated into countless parts, along with the pollution and toxic chemicals from the mass weapons they developed, Belka became uninhabitable and lost forever." Reinforce said sadly.
"Sorry Reinforce-san…" Nanoha muttered.
"It is not a problem. But as I said, even Belka is totally destroyed, some people survive because they have each other. I believe some of them are still living near the Church of the Saint King in Northern Mid-Childa. So don't forget that you have each and one another." Reinforce smiled.
"Yes!"
"Uhm!"
Both responded brightly.
"You two should get some sleep. Mistress will probably wake up in the morning, then you can talk to her about your little business." Reinforce teased.
The two blushed but nodded nonetheless.
"Goodnight, Reinforce-san." The two muttered as they cuddle with each other on the sofa next to Hayate's bed.
"Sleep tight, two little heroines." Reinforce smiled as she also take a nap on her futon.
End of Chapter 14
Sorry, it is about 400-500 words short… but yeah, bear with me. Also, I'm thinking of doing some time skips and such before and after Zezernan incident, but I think it will make the story progress too fast. Let me know what you think! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter.