"Ah, so that's where you are!"
"What is it that you want?" asked Material-D who didn't even remove her eyes from her tome.
"I was wondering if you wanted to play a game." A quick glance from the Hayate replica allowed her to see that Lutecia had entered the library and was carrying a chessboard and a small box on top of it. "Do you know chess?"
The replica raised an eyebrow. "You… want to play me at chess?"
"Sure… I mean, dinner's still not quite ready yet and I wouldn't mind matching wits with you!"
"Hmph… you're either brave or foolish if you think you could match wits with me." After some brief thought, she set her book aside. "Very well. Try and entertain me."
Lutecia merely smiled as she put the board down and set up the pieces. "You prefer white or black?"
"You can have the first turn."
"Ah, okay… I read a lot of chess books and I don't get a chance to put what I read into action often so I was hoping for a good opponent." While Lutecia pondered her first move, a part of her hoped that the other woman didn't realize her true purpose behind setting up this game.
By keeping Yami's mind occupied, the chances that she would pick up on the battle unfolding far away from the compound would be lower. And as long as she remained in the dark about that, she wouldn't be able to head out and help her friends. That was definitely a plus in Lutecia's books. After all, a fight this close would absolutely ruin her precious resort, and she just couldn't have that.
"So tell me… who are these companions with you in that picture?" A light flex of her fingers allowed Yami to use telekinesis and summon a picture that had sat on top of the shelf behind Lutecia. The photo had Lutecia sitting with a fairly tall teenaged boy and a far shorter pink-haired girl. "What is your relationship with them?"
"Huh?" Lutecia was caught off guard by that question. Did Material-D just ask about her relationship with Erio and Caro? "We're just…"
Honestly, considering the lengths they went to help her when she still worked with the Doctor, the term friends probably wasn't enough to define what they meant to her. So where would they be?
"Just… what? Friends? Lovers? Or do you have some other bizarre relationship like that young man being some sort of pimp?"
"BWAH! P-pimp…?" Lutecia started twitching at the thought of Erio pimping her out. Although if he were to wear a fedora hat and some fine jewelry while she wore her new barrier jacket...
*Flash*
"Now then! Did you do a good job today?" asked Erio who was wearing a purple suit and a fedora hat. And of course, lots of fabulous looking jewelry that made Raising Heart look like an old busted stone.
"Yep yep-OOH!" Lutecia felt that slap on her rear hard as she was in her new barrier jacket, which, for some odd reason was looking a bit more brazen than usual. She grinned at him as she reached into her bosom to flash him the earnings for the day. "Got you lots of cash."
"Good girl! What about you…?" He looked at Caro, who was pouting. And he already knew the outcome of her efforts.
"I'm sorry! I'm just so short and flat and no one seems to see me as anything more than jailbait."
"Come on!" Lutecia got behind Caro and hugged the midget. "It's not her fault. I'll just work extra hard and pick up the slack."
"Good, now, you better show your appreciation for her hard work," said the redhead as he poked Caro in the belly with Strada in pimp cane mode.
Caro nodded and turned around to try and kiss Lutecia on the lips. She ended up kissing the girl's neck.
"And you better make it a good show!"
*Flash*
Wait a second… that's not right. If anything, she should be the one doing the teasing and being in control. Hm, that would make for an amusing birthday present. She activates her new barrier jacket while forcing him in that getup. Then Garyu can get some pictures and everyone would have a laugh…
That would be fun. And seeing him all flustered would be so hot… hehehehehe…
"I would appreciate it if you could stop thinking of whatever perverted fantasy you're having and answer the question. Otherwise, I'm going to blow a wall apart."
"Don't you dare!" Lutecia snapped back to reality as she stood straight up, her eyes wide.
"If you are to be a good servant, you should learn to answer me more promptly," replied Material-D in a simple tone.
The younger Alpine rubbed her head for a moment while trying to get her thoughts together. "So, what did you want to know again? Something about my relationship with…?"
"These two. You were in this picture, so I was wondering how you know them."
Lutecia took a breath and sat down across from Yami. "Sorry, I heard you wrong. Anyway," she touched the white Pawn in front of her king, "I believe white goes first." She moved it forward two spaces.
The Hayate replica nodded and moved her own pawn forward one spot. "Now, about these two?"
Lutecia moved the King's Bishop three spots. "Well, they're my best friends."
"Best friends, huh?" She paused for a moment before moving the Queen's Rook's Pawn forward one spot.
"Yes." Lutecia nodded as she moved her King's Knight up two spaces and left one. "They saved me while their adopted mother saved mine."
Material-D moved the Queen's Pawn up one spot. "I see. It sounds like you're close to them."
Another move with the Knight. "Yes."
"So, would it be safe to say that you would do anything for them?"
"Yeah, I guess I would do anything for them," said the young lady with a small smile.
"Even if it took you away from your mother? And caused you harm?"
"It would not be the first time." She looked up and felt a chill go through her body as those eerie green eyes were fixed directly at her.
"Even if it meant putting yourself in danger by angering me?"
Hold on a second… what was with this change in atmosphere? "Ah... I..."
"Your friends are here on this planet and based on what has been reported to me, they are directly involved in the kidnapping of one of my subjects." Those green eyes narrowed dangerously. "But you already knew all of that, didn't you?"
Well, Lutecia did suspect that the two were on planet when she felt her device react to a Summon spell but kidnapping Yuuno? That was new to her although at least he's been relocated to somewhere that's safer. But that didn't help now since at the moment, she had to deal with a rather upset Material-D. "Now hold on a sec…"
"Lähmung."
The quick spell from the Lord of Darkness went off without a hitch as the Insect Summoner found that most of her lower body no longer responded to her. "W-what the…?"
"Now then… you're going to tell me everything from the beginning. Otherwise, I'll introduce you to some of my own summons." Yami held up a hand and brought forth some sort of… slug for lack of a better term but with tendrils and two antennae at its head. "And I assure you that being bonded to a Stinging Licid is very uncomfortable."
Lutecia winced and only had one thought go through her head.
'This is the worst!'
"Are you done already? Come on, your character design was inspired from over thirty years of Kamen Rider! Show me something awesome!"
Things have obviously not been going well for Garyu. He was painfully aware of the difference in ability between himself and his opponent. No matter how fast he moved, Material-L's sheer speed allowed her to stay away from the sharp blades on his arms.
And speaking of that blue haired nut case, she merely put away her device, which attached itself automatically to her cloaked back, allowing her to have both hands free. "How about this? We'll take the Odin approach. We'll set a time limit of say… five minutes. During that time, I won't attack, block or even move from here. Cut me anywhere you want and don't hold back."
"… …" Was she serious?
"Maybe you'll roll some natural twenties and land a critical blow that'll break my barrier jacket and deplete all of my hit points in one shot!" chirped Rai cheerfully. "And of course, if you fail to complete the challenge that means you'll be eating my hidden max non life-threatening super technique!"
"No instant death move? How generous of you," muttered Vulnificus in a flat tone.
"Hehehehe! I just ooze generosity, don't I?" She brought up her hand and gestured at the insect warrior. "Don't be shy! Give it all you got! Just like Pinkie and the Appetizer over there against Kero-chan!"
And speaking of the three headed dog, it was up against Friedrich several metres away. Now one would think that because the Dragon had air superiority, it would have a supreme advantage but there was just one problem with that. Localized tornadoes kept appearing out of nowhere and kept Fried from getting too far away out of the dog's reach. And also there was the fact that once in a while, she would hear a whisper in the wind and something would cause the enhancement spells she cast on Fried to vanish.
She knew the weather patterns of Carnaaji didn't create the conditions for tornadoes to form naturally so that meant there was someone actively using magic to create them while also blowing away the status buffs. The weird thing is that Caro could clearly see the Fate-san copy not doing anything that indicated any sort of spell casting. And Erio was keeping the Nanoha copy's attention on him. 'So how are they doing this? Is there something I'm missing? Are they using invisible magic circles?'
No time to think about that now. She needed to focus on the enemy who was moving aggressively. "Fried, prepare to use Blast Rain!"
But just as she cast the boost spell on her Dragon, she heard that whisper again. This time, she traced the spell back to its possible source and was shocked to find that it most likely came from the three headed dog itself. "It was you?"
At once, all three heads of Cerberus smiled nastily, showing rows of sharp teeth as if confirming her suspicions.
"You're the one who cast…?" It was unbelievable. How could a summon be able to use such advanced magic?
"DISPEL? YES, IT REALLY IS A HANDY SPELL JUST LIKE TORNADO. AND HERE'S ANOTHER NIFTY ONE THAT I HAVE FOR THAT DRAGON OF YOURS." She barely had time to register the animalistic sounding telepathic voice in her head when it spoke again, this time to cast a new spell. "BLIND."
"KUUUUUUUU!" Fried started flailing wildly as he lost his sense of sight, forcing his mistress to hang on tight for dear life.
"Fried, get a grip!" She needed to concentrate and cast her own Dispel to blow away the negative status effect on her dragon but Cerberus wasn't having any of that as it pounced, moving much faster than before. "Wheel Protection!"
While the whirlpool of mana started forming, Caro thought of her next move. Should she try an Alchemic Chain to bind the hound? Or perhaps use Wing Shooter to lay down cover fire?
"GATES OF HADES!"
Or perhaps she should just pray that her defensive spell would be able to repel the shots of flame that were just fired by each head at such a close distance.
Erio's eyes widened as he heard the explosion coming from his partner's last known location with her dragon. "Caro!"
"You should worry more about yourself, young man," said Material-S.
"Che…!" Erio figured that going against Nanoha solo was suicide normally. As much as he hated to admit it, both Subaru and Vivio were stronger than he was and neither of them could beat his teacher four years ago. Hell, Signum was at least two ranks higher than he was magically and the best she could do was draw against Nanoha.
This version of Nanoha had never seen him fight so that meant she wouldn't know his style inside and out. However, the opposite was more or less true. Even if she had the same appearance and equipment set as the regular Nanoha, he had experienced this woman's combat style first hand and it was rather different from his teacher's to a degree.
He was going to have to take more chances if he wanted to get victory. Earlier, he and Caro were able to get some close hand knowledge about her style and this was helping him to form a plan. Since she used a Mid-Childan circle that meant that his opponent would prefer to fight at a distance and would not be as skilled in close-range combat. All he would have to do is get a good shot in before she could react. "Strada!"
"Sonic Move."
He felt the world around him shrink and compress as movements around him slowed down. One shot, that's all he would need. A clean blow with Strada and she would be down for the count. Then he could help Garyu deal with Material-L and...
Erio's eyes widened as he saw his spear slam into a barrier. "What?" True, he should have expected her to be able to create one, but to do it with such little warning? Her reaction time was higher than anticipated.
Seikou narrowed her eyes and grabbed Strada by its blade. "A sneak attack, huh?" She squeezed the blade until her hand started to bleed and started to slowly pull it down and to the side. "Despite your preference for the Belkan style, you are no knight."
Swinging her device in a wide arc, she let out a chain of Pyro Shooters that floated in mid air for a moment before shooting up, spinning around each other and rushing down towards the red head.
"Shinden Issen!" Seikou's eyes widened as the tip of the spear started to crackle with power. Quickly letting go, she frowned as Erio back flipped away from her Pyro Shooters at the last moment, causing them to crash into the ground harmlessly and kick up dust which concealed him from view. Without hesitation, she snapped her arm forward and summoned a wave of air to clear the dust which revealed that he was nowhere in sight.
"Where…?" Her senses felt a magical presence coming from above and she looked up to see Erio descending down, his blade crackling with lightning. "That move..."
"Thunder... Rage!" Erio cried out, slamming Strada down at Seikou, who grunted as the attack struck her barrier.
Grunting, Seikou grit her teeth as she slid back from Erio's attack. She snapped an open palm out at her opponent before calling out "Flame Smash". The result was a quick burst of flame which erupted from her hands that sailed towards the enemy and slammed into a barrier that he created.
'Damn.' He knew she was strong, likely stronger than himself, but she was taking his best attacks so easily and returning them with interest. Gripping Strada, his whole body started to glow as he prepared to try a new move out. It wasn't one that he had worked out fully, but he knew that if he failed to land it, he was going to not only be in a world of hurt, but likely dead.
As for Material-S, she wasn't about to let him try anything new. Without wasting time, she started summoning a new barrage of projectiles. "Pyro…"
"Divine..." It was all he said as he suddenly disappeared in a flash of yellow light, causing the Nanoha replica to stop preparing her attack spell and shift into a defensive position.
'What? Where did he go? Would he try an overhead strike again? Or come from below?' No, the last option wasn't likely as she couldn't feel any vibrations with her feet. The Starlight Destroyer floated up as she expanded her field of vision, scanning the battlefield carefully with those odd blue eyes of hers. 'Did he run away?'
"… Smasher!" Her only warning came from Erio's voice calling out the name of the attack behind her in order to complete his unique spell. Turning, she only caught a glimpse of a yellow flash before a form slammed into her barrier, shattering it and smashing her into the ground so fast that she created a crater ten meters wide and three meters deep.
Erio stopped glowing and landed on the edge of the crater, panting hard and grimacing. His hands were hurting, his arms were raw and the rest of his body felt like that one time he had just hit a stone, a tree and a park bench after Nove kicked him in the gut as hard as she could in sparring. The tip of Strada's staff was in the ground to support his weight. "Note to self, remember to thank Nove for helping me with this move."
Even if his body felt like crap for accelerating far beyond his limits, at least he managed to beat the Material copy of Nanoha. After all, he was certain that even the original Nanoha wouldn't be able to get back up for a while after a Divine Smasher. But much to his shock, he saw Material-S not only rise up from the ground but she strolled over to him without so much as a limp or even an expression of pain on her face. 'How is this possible? What-'
"What kind of monster am I facing? That's what's going on in your head, isn't it?"
'She can read minds too?' He did notice something that caught him off guard and that was a hint of melancholy on Seikou's face.
"I've seen and heard it many times before. You fear me, because of how strong I am." Luciferion shifted forms before Material-S pointed the tip of her transformed device at the young man. "Blast... Fire."
Erio grit his teeth and summoned whatever energy reserves he had to create a barrier but in his weakened state, his barrier wouldn't be as strong. As expected, it shattered and the blast consumed him, sending him flying backwards before he landed hard on the ground painfully.
"I'm... alive?" His skin felt like he had just been dipped into a bath that had been heated by Signum.
"You'll live," said the Nanoha replica as she walked up to him and stood above him, placing one foot on his chest to ensure that he wouldn't be doing anything foolish. "I have no reason to kill you, not yet."
"You..."
"Monster? Yes, I know. I am nothing more than a cruel monster that kills those in her way. Or, perhaps I am nothing more than a mere clone of someone you know?"
Erio winced at his own words being thrown back at him. "Listen, about..." He groaned in pain as she put pressure on his chest.
"I suppose that to you, I am nothing more than a worthless copy of the original. Is that right?"
"That... I shouldn't have said that!"
"No, you shouldn't have," replied Material-S in a frosty tone. "Then again, what else should I expect from you as a Bureau agent? You kidnapped my precious companion, lied right in my face and insulted me just before coming at me with killing intent. Tell me; is this the standard modus operandi employed by all members of your organization?"
"We do what must be done to bring people to justice," answered the young man.
"Most likely a flawed and corrupt justice, no doubt." The Starlight Destroyer paused for a moment as she felt a sense of discomfort come from the area where he had attacked before with that Divine Smasher. "You managed to injure me."
"And you let me recover," muttered Erio.
"Sonic Move."
Seikou blinked as Erio disappeared from under her foot only to reappear just a few feet away from her. He seemed to have recovered some of his energy back as his breathing wasn't as hard as before. "Do you wish for me to harm you some more? What about that pink haired girl? Or the young girl that lives here? Do you not care how they would feel if you were hurt? Are you not friends?"
Erio twitched and gripped Strada tightly. "My relationship with Caro and Lutecia is none of your business!"
"How would you feel if I took one of them away from you?" Material-S glanced at Fried, who was now being pinned down by the flames coming from Cerberus in order to protect his summoner. "What if something unfortunate happened to her?"
"You…!" There was a flash of anger on Erio's face which was the reaction that she had expected.
"Perhaps I will take her from you like you took Yuuno-san from me."
"Don't you dare!" Erio yelled as he rushed forward, swinging Strada as his Sonic Move had activated unconsciously. He gasped as his spear struck nothing but air. "What?"
"You aren't the only one who can move fast," whispered Seikou into his ear from behind. The moment he turned around, all he could see was a large red orb, glowing pink with magical power that rapidly approached his skull. He reacted by raising his device to deflect the blow but that gave his opponent another opening. Thanks to her quick movements, she thrust the tip of her device into his solar plexus and had it charge up one last spell.
"Yuuno-san, Material-L, Material-D and even Sette... the four of them are not for you to take from me," muttered the Starlight Destroyer as Luciferion did the rest.
"Blast Fire."
