Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to Seven Arcs and all respective license holders. The Persona Series belongs to ATLUS. I only own this fic and nothing else. I also own all the mistakes too.
Chapter 8: Only a Friendly Spar
Joker had to admit he was impressed. Not that it was hard to be impressed by advanced alien technology, but he didn't expect this. After he and Chrono entered what was ostensibly the training room, the area went dark before the landscape changed around them, being replaced by sky and earth. Within a matter of seconds, he appeared to be standing in an open field with blue sky above. Instantly, He could feel wind billowing through his hair and coat, his cheeks warm at the touch of sunlight, and when he took a step forward, the familiar crinkle of grass entered his ears instead of the echoing of hard metal. Had he not known better, he would have sworn it wasn't a hologram but instead teleportation.
"Joker, can you hear me?" He heard Lindy call from over the comms.
"So how much for one of these anyways?" He plucked a blade of grass and began to run it through his fingers. The way it bent and shifted in his hand was no different to the real thing. He kept his eyes moving around though, lest his opponent get the drop on him. Only… something caught the corner of his eye as he perused his surroundings.
"More than you could probably afford; More than even I could afford," Lindy bluntly told him. "There's still time to back out you know? We don't want you getting hurt."
"I just have to prove to you guys that I can control the seed, right?" Lindy internally noted how her question had been ignored. With a sigh, she chalked it up to youthful bravado and silently took a sideways glance to make sure the medial team was ready at any moment. "If it's just that, then this'll be easy."
"You tell them, Joker!" Oracle cheered from behind. While Joker was taken to the Training room, the others were currently watching from the command deck.
"Oracle do what you were told," Joker said as he made his way over to the thing he saw just then. Lindy wondered why he suddenly just stopped in his tracks but paid no attention to it.
"Sheesh, I know, I know! Ooh what's that?" Without warning, she ran off to bother one of the officers nearby.
"Amy, keep her company," Lindy commanded the poor woman currently being assailed by the former NEET.
"Ye-yes ma'am…" Lindy ignored the clear fear in her officer's eyes. Oracle was only a teenager. What was the worst she could do? Of course, it was worrying that her fingers moved like a lecherous old man's, but certainly such excitement was expected of those who had never seen such advanced (by their standards) technology before.
"So, if Joker can prove to you that he's in control, you'll let him keep the seed for now, correct?" Makoto asked just to be sure. She still had her reservations on the whole thing. A part of her wanted to trust the, apparent, authority in charge if it was possible.
"I am a woman of my word, Queen. Rest assured that if he does not present a danger with that seed, we will not unnecessarily pursue him."
"I see. But you will have to at some point."
"Yes. Even if he can control it perfectly, once this incident has passed, we will still have to extract it from him and contain it according to TSAB procedure."
"But we just got these powers back…" Ryuji complained after overhearing Makoto and Lindy's discussion.
"I know it sucks, but we already gave 'em up once. We can do it again." Panther gently pat Skull's back, both to comfort him and herself on the idea.
"If there are no more interruptions," Lindy glanced around the room, the only notable noise remaining from Amy being assaulted by Oracle, "The I believe we should get started as soon as possible. Are you ready Chrono?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Chrono said over the comms. Given that he could only hear him through it, it meant that he was nowhere close by. Not that that mattered at the moment.
"How about you Joker?" She didn't hear anything from his end. "Joker?"
-0-0-8-0-0-
"Getting right back into the swing of things I see?" After receiving her fee, she then sent over the requested Persona right to him.
"I'd love to stay and chat Lavenza, but I'm on a tight schedule." Joker mentally went through the change in roster making sure everything was in order as he needed it to be. He'd just finished a strengthening session and readjustment of his team to meet anything Chrono could throw at him while at the same time meeting his objective. As he double checked his Persona, he looked about the room with nostalgia. It hadn't changed in the slightest since he'd seen it last, only that the door to his cell was still left completely open.
"I suppose that it cannot be helped. I hoped that our meeting once again would have been a longer affair. Alas, I will just have to wait until next time. Promise me that you won't be long?"
"Yeah, I promise," Joker said as he pat the head of the velvet room attendant. Lavenza didn't know whether to feel elated or indignant but decided to enjoy it all the same, squeezing the grimoire against herself in delight. "But before I go why am I seeing doors to the Velvet Room again?" This time he directed his question not only towards Lavenza, but also the one sitting at the center of the room, Igor. The real Igor. Yaldabaoth was really spot on when it came to mimicking the room's master. Even now Joker was nervous that at any moment, the voice that would come out of the body would pitch downwards.
"This room is open only to those who have made a contract of some kind. Do you not recall having made one not so long ago?" Igor both answered and questioned. Had he made such a contract? It was fuzzy, but he felt like he vaguely made something like a contract just recently. But with whom? It couldn't be…
"Perhaps your memory requires a bit of refreshment? The person to who you are contracted to is in the cell next to yours." There was someone else in here? He couldn't tell at all. The room was built in a similar manner as a panopticon, most pertinently meaning in his case, that the cellmates couldn't see each other because of the design. "Oh, but I suppose such a thing must be left until next time. You are being called once again." Before he could ask what Igor meant, he seemed to hear something way off into the distance. He recognized the voice that echoed from far away. The moment he began to recall who's voice it was, without any warning, the room receded far into the distance.
-0-0-8-0-0-
"Joker are you alright?" He heard Lindy ask over the comms. He did a quick glance from side to side. He'd returned to the real world; An ironic statement given where he currently was.
"I'm fine, I'm ready to begin whenever." He made a mental note to return to the Velvet Room as soon as possible. For now, he had more pressing matters to attend to, a fight to engage in.
"If you're sure… I've received confirmation from both parties. The battle will begin in t-minus 20 seconds," Lindy declared. A giant set of numbers appeared in the sky and began to count down.
"Where's Spikes?" Joker asked as he looked around to try and find the kid, but to no avail. He wasn't anywhere in sight. That probably meant only one thing…
"Where indeed, t-minus 10." Joker prepped himself, looking up into the sky as he readied his gun. "…4…3…2...1…Go!"
At the same time the buzzer went off, a column of white light illuminated the sky, dimming the rest of the world as it flew right towards Joker. He only had a moment to react. He jumped out of the way, trying to escape the predicted blast zone. As he tumbled on the ground, he heard the spell colliding with the ground, the dirt and stone crashing behind him as it fell back to the earth after having been so violently upheaved from its spot. Once the sound had died, he turned back to find a smoldering crater where he once stood not a few moments ago. As the smoke began to disperse, he could see Chrono floating just overhead.
"I'm surprised you dodged that." It was clear, thanks to the condescending tone in Chrono's voice, that Joker was being looked down on, both literally and figuratively. Alongside the attitude, Chrono's guard was down, his staff limply hanging at his side. Joker was annoyed that this kid was apparently so confident that he couldn't do anything to him, sitting right in plain sight. Regardless, he wasn't about to let his chance slip up. Take every advantage he could, that was how he fought.
"Pixie! Agi!" Joker summoned forth his Persona before all the smoke had gone away. A ball of fire exploded near to where Chrono was floating. Despite his seemingly lax attitude however, Chrono immediate put up a magic shield to block the impact. Undeterred, Joker continued. "Bufu!" This time a ball of ice formed near the flying mage before exploding into tiny shards. Chrono continued to defend as Joker's assault went on. "Garu! Zio!" Spell after spell, Joker kept throwing them one after the other, and Chrono blocked them one after the other. The loop seemed infinite as the two kept going back and forth on it. From the outside it looked like a stalemate.
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"The hell!? He's just throwing out the weak stuff!" Skull had become frustrated at what he was seeing from the command center. "Why hasn't he just busted out the big guns and called it a day? He could totally mop this kid up like 3 turns tops!" On the screen, Joker simply continued to use Pixie to fire off the most basic elemental spells as Chrono either dodged or blocked them. He wasn't even using the second tier of magic, let alone third or fourth. Hell, Joker's strongest attacks were physical based.
"Maybe he's up to something or being cautious? Joker's usually got a plan, and he might be just trying to probe Chrono and see what he's capable of. After all, we don't know anything about the battle prowess of the TSAB and its agents, so it might be a wise choice to play it safe." Noir was also confused by the display. Joker was much stronger than this, to which all of the Phantoms Thieves here could attest to. Regardless, though confused, none were worried. They all felt confident that Joker would come out on top.
"I see, so this isn't his real strength then?" Lindy muttered under her breath, having overheard their conversation. Despite her attitude from before, she was keenly paying attention to the battle. She was surprised to see him so deftly react to, and dodge, Chrono's opening strike. Granted it was something any decent battle mage could dodge. It would appear she underestimated this Joker.
"Amy can yo-"
"No stop! Don't touch that!"
"Ooh, I see. So that's what that does." Lindy couldn't help but sigh, watching her mistake unfold. Amy gave her superior officer a tearful, silent plea, but all Lindy could do was return an apologetic expression as the captain returned to watching the rest of the spar take place.
"What else are going to show us, Joker?" Lindy whispered as she carefully watched the proceedings. She eyed Joker closely, wanting to scrutinize every movement, if something happened she wanted to catch it at the exact moment it occurred.
"By the way is it just me or is that Pixie a bit stronger than usual?" Noir became nervous when the other thieves looked at her dumbfounded. Was it something she said? She just didn't remember Pixie being that strong is all.
-0-0-8-0-0-
Chrono had to do something. He'd been pinned down for far too long. His opponent decided to forgo quality in exchange for quantity, the bombardment of spell after spell left him on the defensive ever since he'd come into range. If this continued, eventually his shield would break, and he'd start receiving the full brunt of the assault. It was tactically sound, but only if Joker could keep it up.
"Got you!" Chrono's ears rang as the collective sound of a gunshot and his shield breaking echoed all at the same time. His gaze quickly shifted downwards to see Joker with a gun aimed right at him. Chrono then realized the point of the initial rain of spells, it was to condition him and keep him stationary so that he could be more easily aimed at. Regardless, he was defenseless. Though it wasn't how he wanted it, he began flying towards Joker. If he could no longer block the attacks, then he simply had to move in. He could have summoned up another shield, but what difference would it have made? He'd noticed that Joker's primary weapons were a handgun and knife. His staff would outrange him in close quarters, and if he needed that much work to aim the gun, then he would be safe if he continued to pressure the Phantom Thief. Flying in a zig-zag pattern to dodge the still ongoing magic assault, Chrono closed in on Joker.
"Stinger Ray!" Five balls of light materialized around him before becoming streaks of light that flew in front of him and towards his opponent. Joker stopped his attacks to dodge the return fire, each spell moved past him and out of sight. Though he dodged each one, this gave Chrono the chance he needed. In no time at all, Chrono got within range, swinging his staff right at Joker. Though he noticed Joker's mask flare for a moment, he paid it no mind as there didn't seem to be any attack coming his way.
"Woah there Spikes!" Joker nonchalantly danced between each swing Chrono threw at him. That wasn't to say that Chrono was simply flailing at him. To be sure the boy's strikes were certainly well trained and practiced. If he wasn't careful, Joker's head would have certainly become well acquainted with the magic implement at a fairly worrying speed. "Not bad…" A loud clang reached both combatant's ears as Joker's Knife collided with an incoming strike by Chrono. "A staff does outrange a knife, but my limbs-" Chrono could only register that he was heaving for some reason, and that somehow, he'd been knocked away. As he caught his breath he realized that Joker's foot was up and returning to the ground. It wasn't difficult to surmise that the boy had been kicked right in the stomach. "Well age does wonders…"
"You won't have that advantage forever," Chrono said, trying to maintain himself. He knew what this was. He was being taunted. He had to talk back so as not to be mentally compromised. He wanted to make sure not to fall to such petty provocations. "Not that it matters now."
"You're right, it do-" Chrono's instinct flared, pushing him to whip his staff behind himself. The encore of metal meeting metal told him he was just in time as Joker's knife pushed against his staff, this time sparks flying left and right as the two grinded against one another. Chrono felt, for lack for lack a better word, cheated. Joker was intentionally starting to speak and then interrupting himself in an attempt to catch the officer off guard. Clever, but dirty. "Huh, not bad." He meant it, the Thief expected to make a clean hit with that one. He didn't let it show on his face, instead opting to try and be as condescending as possible as retribution for the earlier tone.
"Then let me show you a good one this time!" Chrono pushed the man off, semi-launching him into the air. With a fanciful twirl, Joker reoriented himself, aiming his gun at Chrono. As Chrono thought however, Joker took some time to aim, trying to steady himself and get the best shot, time he wouldn't let slip by unchallenged. "Got you!" Chrono fired a Stinger Ray at the currently mid-air Joker. Without any footing or flight capability, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
"Tch…" Joker let out as he twisted his body around the shots as best he could. One by one, he managed to slip by each shot. Chrono was surprised but didn't let it show as he saw another shot fly towards its target. "Ugh!" Joker felt something impact his back, knocking him out of the air and sending him tumbling onto the ground. Landing with an ukemi to soften the impact, he quickly got back up to continue. Once he had his footing back, he turned around to see what hit him. He could still see the set that the kid fired earlier… except flying towards him was a different set of shots, ones that were bending around. Not long after, the set fired by the kid was also beginning to bend. "Playing the long game, I see." Homing shots, that's what Joker concluded; wide turning homing shots.
"So long as it's by the rules, I'll play almost any game necessary." Chrono prepped another round of shots, to fire at Joker. From the looks of the extra magical circle he saw as the Chrono's spell was completed, Joker deduced that perhaps there was something extra about these shots. "What, nothing to say?" Instead of replying verbally, Joker instead opted to just smugly present to Chrono a 'I got nothin'' expression, with hands upturned. Chrono's brow creased as he saw his previously fired spell still barreling towards Joker from behind him, with said man doing seemingly nothing in response.
As the spells closed in, closer and closer, at the last moment, Joker jumped. Unfortunately, due to the spell's large turning radius, it wasn't able to catch him as he ascended over the spells. Big mistake, Chrono thought. He fired started aiming at Joker while at the same time sending a command to the currently flying spell to pass by him. He would make this volley fly towards the ground far behind him to take them out of the action. He didn't need them, since after this, it was over. At least that was what he thought.
As the spells reached to Chrono's side to just barely avoid him, he heard a large bang as something caused one of the spells to explode suddenly. Then the one at the other side of him that was supposed to reach past him also exploded, then another, then another. The explosions, one after the other, caused him to lose control of his other set up shots. They too exploded around Chrono in one final spectacular display of shimmering bright light that consumed his visage.
-0-0-8-0-0-
"Chrono!" Lindy screamed as she saw the boy disappear from the feed into a pillar of light of his own doing.
"His vitals are fine ma'am. The Barrier Jacket took the brunt of it," said one of the other officers as Amy was still being assaulted by a little orange NEET Gremlin. A huge sigh of relief passed Lindy's lips upon hearing the report.
"To think he deliberately feigned weakness in his shooting prowess to trick Chrono into not taking one of his options seriously." While Chrono might not have noticed what had happened, there in the command deck, Lindy and the others had seen Joker perform a quick draw with his gun, and in rapid succession, fire at each Stinger Ray just as it was about to pass by Chrono. It was a frightening display of prowess. Not only were the shots dead on, they were also timed perfectly for when each bolt of magic was closest to Chrono. Coupled with the awkward firing position and speed that each shot was made at, to the point where sometimes it sounded like he only fired one shot when two or more bolts exploded at once, Joker was certainly proving, at least skill-wise, why he was the leader. Lindy had to admit being impressed by such a cunning tactic and good timing.
"Amazing…" Lindy heard Nanoha say. The young girl was absolutely mesmerized by the scene before her. While Joker's friends were currently, as they say, whooping it up, Nanoha was silently admiring Joker as he seemingly danced on the battlefield.
"He fired at each bolt of Stinger Ray so quickly…" Yuuno stated out loud. "Was he always that good?" So, he kept his cards close to his chest? Lindy felt that an old saying her late husband once told her fit the situation. 'A talented hawk hides its talons.'
"Can I be that strong?" Nanoha asked no one in particular as she kept her eyes trained on the screen in front. Ever since the battle started, Nanoha had kept silent. She, even more than Lindy, paid rapt attention to every moment, seemingly absorbing every captured frame. Her face practically lit up every time Joker or Chrono did something, though more so when it was the Thief. If she were that strong, she began to think, I could protect everyone.
"Perhaps one day you will be," Lindy answered Nanoha's question. "However, the battle isn't over yet," she also pointed out as the smoke from where Chrono had been started to disperse. She realized she couldn't tell what was going to happen next anymore.
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"Physical Heal!" Joker heard from within the now almost dispersed smoke. Not long after, Chrono stood in the crater with his staff raised in the air, seemingly no worse for wear. Suffice to say, the kid looked angry. "So, you aren't a poor shot, just a poor actor…"
"Hey if you think my acting's bad then you should… never mind." He was about to call out one of his teammate's poor acting abilities but stopped before fully making the comment in fear of retaliation. "Anyways, you okay Spikes? Still good to go? Most people that turn into a laser light show usually like to take a breather."
"I'll be fine, heck, if that's the worst you got, then maybe you should call it quits. I can still go all day." Chrono flourished his staff around until it was pointed squarely on Joker. A little chortle escaped Joker's mouth as his mask flashed again.
"Look at you! Maybe I should stop calling you Spikes and start calling you Big Man!"
"I don't mind that one. Call me that after I beat you."
"Well at least we know you have a big ego." Joker readied himself once more as he spoke, to match him, Chrono also placed himself into battle stance. He needed to be ready for whatever tricks the man still had up his sleeve.
"Look who's talking."
"I know I look good but try not to stare. It's rude." Before Chrono could say anything back, particularly when it came personal grooming, Joker rushed forward. "Pixie, Agi!" Just like before, Joker was pelting Chrono with spells again. This time however, he wouldn't make the same mistake.
"Round Shield!" Putting up his shield, he then rushed forward to meet Joker head on, blocking all the spells being fired his way. Joker, seeing the oncoming mage, instead of stopping, turned to run to the side while still keeping up the assault. "You're not getting away!" Chrono took to the sky. With a burst of speed, he flew in front of Joker, and collided with him with the shield still up.
"Guh!" Joker brought his hands up before impact, but it still managed to knock him quite a ways away through the air. He wasn't hurt by the impact, but certainly he could still be moved. Before he could jump back into the fray, Chrono was already flying in.
"RRAH!" Chrono, with shield still being maintained in one hand, swung his staff with the other, pushing Joker even further back. The Thief was losing ground, and if the kid's been trained by a military, it probably meant something. Bringing out his knife again, he blocked the next strike.
"Nice try!" The two weapons collided with one another, clashing once again. "Bu-"
"I'm done talking!" True to his word, Chrono said not a word more as he tried to press his staff against Joker's knife, trying to break through the man's guard. Joker's eyes widened when he realized that Chrono's staff was beginning to accumulate magic. He didn't know what it was, but He felt he had to act fast. "RRRAAAAAHHHHH- huh?" Without warning, Joker's head came in fast and straight at Chrono's. "ARRGH!" Chrono's sight filled with blinking stars, and his skull throbbed from the sudden impact.
"Listen to your elders Spikes. Granted I forgot what I was going to say, but you should really learn some manners," Joker said as he began to shake his knife hand thanks to it going slightly numb from the prior clash. Alongside that, his mask flashed again. In order gather himself, Chrono began to fly backwards at a moderate pace. He needed space until he could get his bearings back after just getting headbutted. "On another note, I feel it's time to end this little game. I've seen all I've needed to see. Alice! Concentrate!"
"What do you-" Chrono's question as interrupted as a little girl in a purple dress suddenly appeared, only to twirl around once, give the air a little poke, and disappear. Chrono then felt a sudden swell of magic spring forth from Joker. The sudden spike in energy caused him to pause. He didn't know what Joker just did but suddenly his magic power was at least twice as much, if not a bit more. "I won't let you!"
"Debilitate!" The little girl appeared again, this time 3 orbs of varying colors materialized above and began to home in on him. Though he put a shield against it, the orbs passed by without any resistance. Confused, he looked back at Joker and the girl, only to see the girl laughing at him.
"Why you!" He began to fly back towards Joker as the little girl disappeared after performing the non-attack as it were, except "Huh?" Did he always fly this slowly?
"Too slow spikes!" Joker's mask flashed again. "This is it! Pixie! Megidolaon!"
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White, that was all the command deck could see as the ship rocked from the spell. Despite the magic insulation that was supposed to smother any and all spells that would be unleashed from within, the spell Joker unleashed was somehow able to get through despite the many layers of protection that was supposed to prevent just this situation.
"WHAT THE HELL! IS HE TRYING TO KILL US!?" Panther yelled as she held on for dear life on one of the railings alongside all the others on board. The entire ship was shaking, and everyone was in panic. Joker's spell was threatening the safety of everyone on board.
"JOKER WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Mona was next to ask, cowering on the ground with his head in his stubby arms.
"HEY WHAT DOES THIS COMMAND DO!?"
"WHAT'S THE MAGICAL READING ON THE SPELL!? IS IT THE JEWEL SEED!?" Lindy yelled, trying to be heard above the other voices as well as the sound of the spell that could be heard even from within the training room.
"NEGATIVE! JEWEL SEED'S OUTPUT HAS NOT CHANGED! THIS IS SOLELY HIS POWER!" This frightening ability was his own? This was an incredible amount of energy that easily could have been explained by a Lost Logia, and it was his own power? What was he, and for that matter, what were the rest of them? Were they also just as powerful as him? She had to shelve these thoughts for now given the circumstances.
"STABILIZE THE SHIP AND DIVERT POWER TO THE MAGIC BARRIERS IN THE TRAINING ROOM! NOW! ONCE THE SPELL ENDS I WANT A FULL REPORT!"
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Only after the place started rocking did Joker kind of regret his decision. Megidolaon was so bright that it had blackened the world around him as it tore into the ground. That ground being part of the ship he was on in the middle of something that was pretty much space. He internally scolded himself for having forgotten where he was just because he was currently in a really realistic hologram. He really should have gone for a smaller spell. Maybe just a Megidola would have sufficed. Maybe he shouldn't have used Concentrate… Well it was too late for that now. He was only lucky he had not gone all the way with Pixie and to make her into a powerhouse when he was in the Velvet Room. Just as he was contemplating that he should have done literally almost any other spell, the spell he did fire started to die down.
In no time at all, the spell disappeared, leaving only a crater. He'd intended only to graze Chrono with the spell, so he was not surprised to see the boy only at the edge of the impact zone. His barrier jacket had torn in many places, his spikes were gone, and his staff was cracked in a few places. His outstretched hand indicated that he most likely did have a shield up at some point, but its absence showed just how useful that had been. Well the ship they were in was still up and running. Joker began to mentally brace himself for the big reprimanding he was most likely in store for when this was over. Speaking of which-
"Ready to call it quits kid?" Joker's brow creased when he heard no response. "Kid? Come on I only meant to graze you!" Just as he was about to move-
"Delayed Bind!" At Joker's feet, a magic circle lit up and sent chains to and fro around Joker's body. Starting with his feet, his entire body soon became ensnared. He'd let his guard down.
"What the-"
"Physical Heal!" It wasn't enough to heal all the damage, but it was going to be enough. " I was so caught off guard by your sudden power that I forgot I had set that up earlier."
"Ah, clever… so that's what that extra magic circle was…" Joker recalled as he remembered it from when Chrono set up a second volley of his magic spell. "How careless of me…"
"Yeah, as you said. I like to play the long game." Chrono was exhausted. Had that spell earlier been a direct hit, he surely would have died. Not knocked out, not unconscious, but dead. It would have pierced straight through any defense he had without mercy. Too bad Chrono was out of mercy himself. "Now it's the end." Joker felt a swell of magic emanate from Chrono's position. He had to admit that he was impressed that the kid was still going despite tanking a Concentrated Megidolaon. Granted not point blank, but still Joker wanted to give his respects. Or he would after getting out of this. Struggle as he did, he couldn't find a way out of the binding.
"Come on!" He told himself as he continued to struggle. "There's got to be a way out…" Joker continued to struggle through the binding. There was no telling what spell Chrono was trying to use, and given the long casting time, it was probably a doozy… only he realized that it was getting colder. His mask flashed again as he stopped trying to escape.
"What's wrong, giving up?" Chrono asked, as he continued to gather energy for the spell. The binding seemed to be holding. He wasn't necessarily ready to cast this, but it was the only way he could guarantee a win.
"Nah, I'm still in this, but I have to ask, are you trying to cast an ice spell?"
"Somewhat…" Chrono answered. He was suspicious as to why he was asked
"Then I have nothing to worry about." Chrono glared at Joker as he heard his reply. Nevertheless, it would appear that this battle was his. His magic was beginning to peak, the spell was just about ready.
"If you nothing else to say then… Permafrost, construct a frozen coffin and deliver eternal sleep unto this beast. ETERNAL COFFIN!" Ice formed around Joker, seemingly crawling from nothing as it grew outwards. The ice kept growing and growing and growing until it finally stopped. Then all was still. Sitting where Joker once stood was a massive outgrowth of ice. Tendrils of ice attached to a single center where Joker lay within. Then without warning, it shattered in a cold explosion of magic, the ice began to fall to the ground in droves and pieces. Chrono closed his eyes in exhaustion, falling to his arms and knees. He couldn't feel a thing in his body. He struggled for breath, wheezing with each pass of air that made its way through his lungs. He'd given everything for that final attack. He'd done it. It was over. He'd won… or so he thought.
Clapping. He heard clapping. His head snapped up. Joker stood there, not even worse for wear and give him slow applause. In fact, he looked better than ever. He looked completely rejuvenated, as if he hadn't even battled at all in the slightest. The only thing that indicated that he was battling him just earlier were the chains that were still around his body. Chrono's eyes wandered to the creature standing next to Joker. It was some sort of black creature. On closer inspection, it was made of black snow. From its feet, to its arms, its face, and even its rotund belly, were all made of a glistening black snow. It's purple two tipped hat and red eyes shook incessantly as it seemed to laugh at Chrono, as if mocking his strongest spell that he spent the better half of the past few years trying to learn. Even though his body was weak, his hands still balled into fists, shaking with anger.
"You're just full of surprises. I suppose that's to be expected of an officer of something like the TSAB." Joker stopped his applause as his Persona disappeared. His mask flashed again. "Ishtar! Amrita…" A soft, white light rose up from Joker's body. However, it seemed to do nothing. "Huh… then… Dekunda!" This time, an orange bubble appeared around Joker before popping out of existence, notable the chains also disappeared as well. "There we go. I'll keep that in mind for next time." His mask flashed once more. Only now did Chrono connect the dots that the flash of his mask indicate that he was switching familiars, or whatever those things were. "Tell you what kid, let me show you my own ice spell. Something that will really freeze your socks off," he heard Joker say as he stopped in place, only about 10-15 meters away.
"…" Chrono wanted to say something in response, but he was too tired to make even the slightest of sounds, all he could manage was an icy glare towards his opponent.
"Ready? Here it comes! Black Frost!" With a flare of blue flames, the rotund black snowman appeared again. "Diamond Dust!" In front of Chrono's eyes, a ball of cold air began to condense in front him. Spinning faster and faster, he could his skin nip from the freezing wind emanating from the spell. Once the orb had become pure white, it suddenly became replaced by what looked to be an ever-growing formation of snowflake like ice structures, growing towards him. As it closed in on him at an alarming speed, he shut his eyes right before it was supposed to him. Except, nothing had happened. He didn't feel the sting of ice rip through him face first. He didn't feel anything other than the ground beneath him and his staff in hand.
"Huh?" Opening his eyes, Chrono found that the ice had stopped just before him, that Joker held his attack back from hitting him… again.
"Shows Over," Joker said as he began to walk towards Chrono, the ice shattering and sublimating into the ether as he closed in, his mask flashing blue on the way. "Ishtar, Salvation!" Similar to the white light that had engulfed the Thief earlier, Chrono found himself in the center of an identical spell.
"I… I feel better?" Chrono felt his strength returning to him. His magic remained drained, but his physical strength and wounds were being restored. Once he was fully healed, he got off the ground to look square at Joker.
"Not bad. Not bad at all Big Man. Still got a ways to go far as I'm concerned, but for a kid, you sure can hit hard, and hit smart." Joker tried to make his satisfaction with his opponent clear. It wasn't like he underestimated Chrono due to his age or anything of the sort. Far from it as his memories fighting the twins would attest. However, he didn't expect getting thrown for even the tiniest loop like that at all. Maybe in a few more years Chrono would be able to actually put a fight against him. Maybe could withstand a Hassou Tobi without Charge… or two… or one and a half.
"You were holding back…" Chrono semi-asked, semi-stated.
"The point of this spar wasn't for me to win," Joker dismissed. "It was to prove I'm in control of the Jewel Seed. Though admittedly I still wanted to win."
"I see. So, the constant use of small spells, the display with the large area of effect attack, and then stopping a different spell altogether, and then this healing spell, it's all just to show the breadth and level of control you have over yours and the Jewel Seed's power."
"Bingo! Lindy-san tell the kid what he's won!" Joker had expected a delay in response, but not this delayed. Several seconds had passed and he had been only met with radio silence. "Lindy-san? Hello?"
"Hello? That's all you have to say?" Lindy finally appeared in an image in front of the two of them. "You two get back here this instance, right now!" The two of them stood ramrod straight. Though Joker had prepared for such an outcome, he still didn't expect it at this specific point and time.
"Yes ma'am" The both of them said simultaneously.
"I said get back here right now!"
-0-0-8-0-0-
"Do the two of you understand? What both of you did endangered the lives of everyone on board. You're lucky that were monitoring the entire thing and were able to redirect power to suppressing your spells, else it might have ended up far worse. Do you two understand me?"
"Yes ma'am," Joker couldn't help but respond. He and Chrono had been forced to sit in seiza for the entire duration of the reprimanding. Though while he answered, Chrono hadn't said a word.
"Chrono, Mommy is waiting for an answer."
"Yes… Mom."
"The Captain's your Mom? Holy crap isn't that like supemghghghghg!" Queen cupped her hand around Oracle's mouth before she could say anything more. Though she continued to struggle, a single glance by Lindy immediately pacified anything else the navigator was trying to say.
"Then please keep that mind for next time… Chrono, we'll be speaking more later however about your reckless use of that spell."
"Yes… mom…" Clear dread practically dripped as freely as the sweat on Chrono's brow.
"Well then without further ado," Lindy began, dismissing the two from her now three-hour long lecture. "Now both of you stand up so that we can get onto the matters at hand. First off, I must say Joker." His ears pricked up from hearing his name being called as he rose from the ground, steadily so in order avoid falling thanks to prickly feet. "You're very powerful, easily at least S class, and I assume that your friends are on a similar level." Joker only gave a simple nod, let her interpret whatever that meant. "I see. Well then, Officer Amy Limietta, can you deliver your report on the status of the Jewel Seed during the bout?" She asked half already knowing, half wanting everyone in the room to be privy to the results.
"Yes ma'am," Amy, who looked no older than 14 with short brunette hair, coughed into her hands as soon as she stood out of her seat. "When analyzed during the fight, the Jewel Seed showed zero fluctuations in its output, only providing a steady, but unknown, energy field. We are still determining the exact nature of this field as it does not match anything in our records. However initial analysis concludes that it currently does not appear to be hazardous and does not pose a threat to the safety of anyone within it. We theorize this field only serves as a catalyst for subject Joker's unique magic and abilities. Conclusion, the Jewel Seed is currently stable and continues to be so despite any happenings on the part of its current holder and the only function it serves at present does not require the usual vast energy Lost Logia are known for." So, nothing the Thieves hadn't already determined.
"Thank you, Amy, you may be seated." With a bow Amy returned to her seat, but remained attentive of the situation at hand, similarly to the other crew members. "So, as you can probably tell, Joker, I've decided that for the time being, you may hold onto the Jewel Seed." An audible sigh escaped from various members of his team. It seems a few of them were still worried that either she wouldn't keep her word, or that she would have determined he couldn't keep the seed regardless.
"A relief to hear as such," Fox was first to say, to which the others nodded in agreement.
"I did say I was a woman of my word after all." Lindy let off her usual smile to assure the Thieves of her decision. "However, we will still have to extract the Jewel Seed from your body once this incident has passed."
"I'm fine with that," Joker replied without much hesitation, to Lindy's surprise. After all, she'd just seen him fight so hard to not lose such power, now all of a sudden, he was fine with it being taken away. "I just don't want to be powerless to help while the problem is still ongoing. After that, I'm fine with it being taken," He clarified once he noticed Lindy's confusion. She couldn't help but giggle just a bit.
"I see. Well I wished to ask you all later when you had time to think on it more, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. Nanoha-chan, Yuuno-kun?"
"Yes?" The two of them answered simultaneously. Both of them stood ramrod straight as they were addressed.
"And you Phantom Thieves of Heart, how would you all like to work together to solve this occurrence in an official capacity with the TSAB?"
Author's Notes:
This time the chapter was mainly focused on just the fight. Next time will be slower and more contemplative. Hearing some stuff, I've decided to try and partition the groups more in order to get more cohesive and focused conversations overall. I'm also seeing if I can add more to the pacing as well as the descriptions, but at the same time, get too descriptive and it bogs the pace down too much, so I obviously don't want to go too far in either way. My writing style also currently does not fit long descriptions at this point seeing as I'm trying to take cues from good young adult novels currently. I'm trying to get a better writing schedule overall currently.
As of right now, I've literally just seen the PQ2 trailer and I'm doing everything in my power not to push the damn thing in people's faces. I'm a fan of both the Persona series and Etrian Odyssey. I kind of love 1st person dungeon crawlers a bit too much so yeah it's pretty tough right now trying not to just insert everything I've analyzed thus far from the trailer. Though I will note that Akechi does show up in the trailer at around 0:34 mark, so that means this is before the Sae heist. And the battle system appears to still be using the Sub-Persona system. That's all I'll say on that front because I'm still looking over every frame. Though I do want to add that a theme based around Cinema, related to acting, related to being something you're not, is interesting and I want to see where they go with this.
If this AN appears jumbled this time, that's because it is. I'm pretty busy right now, but still trying to make what time I can for writing, as I love the process and hearing from you guys on what you think. Speaking of which, again, thank you for reading, and those of you taking the time to give your honest critique and thoughts. It's all part of the process and while I might not necessarily love every minute of the criticism, it does help. Once more, please tell me what you thought in a review, every little bit helps.
Thank you so much for your time, I hope you enjoyed yourself, and have a wonderful day.
