SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in another chapter to Sonic the Hedgehog Lyrical Familiar. Somehow… spent the past weekend into the week hit hard by my bronchial asthma.. not a good year for allergies that's for sure. I'll get through this, I usually do.. here we go!
[Uminari City, Japan]
[Time: Unknown specifically, late-night speculated]
[No BGM]
The city at night was peaceful and quiet; the calm breeze pushed the clouds across the late-night sky. Pedestrians were rarely seen out and about on the rooftops, as they were usually found in the streets or in their cars. The quiet environment and the fact that the typical Japanese citizen would not be likely to be pattering about on the rooftops made a few of the rooftops and skyscrapers of the city as secure locations.
Taking in the luxurious view of the cityscape and the beautiful ocean alongside the coast from a high skyscraper was what looked like a 9 year old girl. Long golden-yellowish blonde hair tied into really long-twin tails, tied by black hair-ties. The girl's eyes were a blood-crimson red, but her face appeared more innocent and lonely rather than malevolent and dangerous.
The girl wore what looked like a sleeveless outfit that had a black swim-suit with an attached pink mini-skirt at her waist, opened slightly in the middle but also held by a large thick brown belt. On her feet were black pointed-toe boots with a slight rise on the back heel and long black socks that end just at her mid-thigh, making a small gap of skin visible between the socks and the miniskirt. On her hands were black full-finger gloves with yellow triangle gems on her knuckles. Maroon belt-like cords were visible on her torso part of the suit and a black cloak with a red underside topped off her outfit.
In the girl's right hand was a black pole-ax with a yellow circle where the "edge/blade" of the ax came from. There was a long, silver pole that extended out from the head of the ax that allowed for easy grip by the girl.
"This is where the Lost Logia is?" The girl asked, calmly looking over the city, "the "Jewel Seeds" as these ones are called."
The girl looked over her shoulder to a wall nearby where her apparent companion sat. The companion was a large reddish-orange furred wolf with a red jewel in the forehead being one distinguishing feature aside from her large size and imposing figure.
"Yes" The wolf answered softly, she had a tone of affirmation though if anyone would've listened hard enough, there would've been a slight hint of a sigh almost in her answer, "This is where we tracked the Jewel Seeds"
"Any possible issues we may have to deal with?" The girl asked, having detected that defeated-like sigh from her companion but put it aside to deal with later on.
"None apparently from the locals, they're all non-magic civilians from what I can sense" the wolf answered, "But, be careful, Fate. You're not the only mage here. I felt 2 mages and a familiar, and they have collected Jewel Seeds together."
"It doesn't matter" the girl shook her head, "It's only a matter of time before all of them are ours."
The wolf said nothing else. She merely shook her head, took a long look up at the moon before doing what most of the canine sort does on long nights. She let out a long howl to the moon and the night sky.
[OP: "Innocent Starter" Nana Mizuki]
Sonic the Hedgehog: Lyrical Familiar
Chapter 6
New Rivals for Nanoha and Sonic?!
[Takamachi Residence]
[Time: 0945]
[No BGM]
As usual for Sonic and Miyuki, the two looked a bit winded but felt good as they had completed another training session in the twin sword style. Sonic and the only other female sibling of the Takamachi family had finished taking their showers and found their resident ferret in the living room watching the television. Where Nanoha and Kyouya were would've been anyone's guess; but they, along with Sonic and Yuuno, had something planned and were due to leave soon.
"Catching up on your news, Yuuno-kun?" Miyuki asked the ferret
"Yeah, I wanted to gauge how bad our collateral damage was. A few of our Jewel Seeds didn't give me the chance of setting up a barrier beforehand, so there would be a fair amount of collateral damage." Yuuno noted, "And there were a few things I still don't know about before I came here as well."
"Specifically, South Island" Sonic was quick to point out, and before Yuuno could say anything in defense or rebuttal, the blue hedgehog continued, "He hasn't missed a single report on it."
"Last I heard the police still haven't come up with a clue as to what happened over there" Miyuki noted and sent Sonic a curious glance; though if she was going to ask him about it, she didn't get the chance to as Kyouya entered the room, looking like he was waiting for Nanoha to come in right behind him.
"Nanoha-chan, are you ready yet?" the older brother asked
"Sorry!" the girl called out in response, "I just need another minute or two"
"Oh? You two going somewhere today?" Miyuki asked
"Yeah, to the Tsukimura house" Kyouya answered, "Apparently Suzuka-chan invited Nanoha-chan over; Yuuno-kun and Sonic-kun are going with us as well."
"I see…" The meganeko suddenly had a look on her face that one could almost consider one of jealousy? "I suppose you're going to see Shinobu-san, ne?"
Yuuno and Sonic, feeling understandably confused, rapidly made multiple double-takes between the two. There was something between the two siblings and they had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"Well.." Kyouya looked down a bit, he probably had the feeling she would bring up Shinobu, "I figured I could at least escort them over."
[BGM insert: "Tanoshii Kyuujitsu" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
Thankfully, the older brother was saved by Nanoha, who only just walked in the room with her pigtails almost bouncing like they were animated.
"Thank you for waiting" the girl grinned cheerfully, dressed in her usual sweater and orange skirt outfit and donning a small backpack, "Yuuno-kun! Sonic-kun! Let's go!"
"Have a nice time you guys" Miyuki said as she watched them leave the house with a small wave.
[Uminari City]
With Kyouya escorting them along the way; Nanoha, Sonic and Yuuno boarded the bus that was set for the district in which the Tsukimura residence was located at. The bus route took them past a breathtaking view of the bright blue ocean alongside the coast. Nanoha took a moment to go into the mind-speak with Sonic and Yuuno about the purpose of their little trip.
"Today we made plans to have a tea party at Suzuka-chan's house" the girl explained to them, "We'll be there all day."
"I figured as much" the hedgehog shrugged, then discretely gestured in Kyouya's direction, "There a reason we're bringing him along?"
"He's going to see Shinobu-san, Suzuka-chan's older sister" Nanoha nodded then paused when she felt the questioning glance from her brother, "Eh? Um…Oh it's nothing."
The rest of the trip was spent in silence as they continued onward. Nanoha and Kyouya both looked excited in their own way while Sonic and Yuuno felt like the odd ones out, but they shrugged and figured that feeling would go away as they got used to the family and their friends.
[Tsukimura Residence]
[No BGM]
Nanoha had previously mentioned to Sonic and Yuuno that between the trio that she, Suzuka and Alisa made; she was the only girl who didn't hail from a multi-millionaire family. That fact made her somewhat self-conscious and sometimes felt like a third wheel to them, but it also easily explained the presence of the towering 3 story mansion that they found themselves at. Yuuno was surprised by the size and, albeit a milder sense, Sonic was as well.
Politely to announce their greeting and presence without making it too much of an inconvenience, Nanoha rang the front door. It didn't take long for it to be answered by the head maid of the Tsukimura household, Noel.
"Kyouya-sama, Nanoha-ojou-sama, Sonic-san" the older maid addressed them all aside from the ferret, who she gave a slight nod to, "Welcome"
"Thanks for the invitation" Nanoha's older brother thanked the young woman
"Konnichiwa" Nanoha beamed brightly with Sonic on her right nodding politely and Yuuno, who was on her shoulder, sitting there under his cover of the innocent ferret.
The head maid guided the three plus ferret in the house and through a hall or two before arriving at the room where the Alisa, Suzuka and Shinobu, Suzuka's sister were seated at a small table. All three were in casual clothes: the casual dresses for Suzuka and Alisa and a white t-shirt and light-blue short shorts for Shinobu. The three of them were calmly and elegantly sipping tea poured by Farin, the younger of the maid, when Nanoha with Yuuno on her shoulder, Kyouya and Sonic entered led by the older maid.
"Nanoha-chan!" Suzuka stood up upon the sight of her best friend
"Suzuka-chan!" Nanoha returned the small greeting with a smile
"Nanoha-chan, Welcome!" Farin greeted the guest politely though with a little bit of a non-formal honorific.
"Kyouya!" in almost record time, though without losing any of her feminine elegance and flair, Shinobu vacated her seat and approached her longtime friend and probable love-interest, "Hi!"
"Yeah.." Kyouya just stared at her face and she stared back; both rather taken in by their gazes to focus on much else at the moment.
[BGM Insert: "Honobono" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
Noel and Farin left the room to make tea up for the expected guests. Shinobu and Kyouya also left the room to head upstairs to Shinobu's room and have their tea there. Nanoha and Sonic took to the seats on opposite ends of the table. Nanoha had to move one of the many house cats off the cushion to do so, but other than giving Sonic a rather humorous show of Yuuno getting a little unnerved by the way that cat stared at him, there was little issue.
"Thanks for inviting us, Suzuka-chan" Nanoha thanked the girl
"It's no problem. You both looked down lately and Alisa-chan and I got a little bit worried." The girl smiled cheerfully, helping Nanoha get the feeling that she was with friends who supported her, "Did something happen recently? Like with your magic?"
"Yeah…" Nanoha did look down and quickly explained what happened after they left the café with the latest Jewel Seed sealing, "Since then, I've been trying a lot harder"
[BGM: "Hashire" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
"KYUN!" all conversation was silenced by Yuuno's ferret-like cry. The trio of girls plus hedgehog took a curious glance down to see what the ruckus was about. They were all greeted with the rather humorous, at least to the blue hedgehog, sight of the poor ferret getting chased by that same cat.
"Yuuno-kun!" Nanoha stood up and watched the chase in some concern of the ferret
"Ai! Stop that!" Suzuka tried to get her cat to stop chasing the ferret
The only two who didn't move from their spots on the table were Sonic and Alisa. The dirty-blonde haired girl just sat there as she didn't have much business in trying to stop the chase; she was more of a dog person anyway. As for Sonic, the hedgehog familiar was in an internal battle with himself to keep from bursting out into laughs over the Tutorial Ferret's misfortune. Although, if things weren't interesting enough already, they were just about to get more so as Farin, the not-so-graceful of maids, had just entered holding a tray.
"Here I am! Sorry to keep you waiting!" The girl cheerfully announced, "I've brought all of you some strawberry milk tea and cream cheese cookies."
There are several things that do not mix well there. For one, the cat and ferret chase led through the maid's legs; for two, the maid herself was, as previously stated, quite the dojikko. A cute and kind girl, but has a penchant for the clumsiness. The poor maid had to spin around so much to avoid the cat and ferret and very quickly she felt a rush of dizziness from the quick spin.
"Watch out!" Nanoha and Suzuka quickly rushed to help her out. The two girls caught on to the maid just as she was about to fall; saving not only Farin from a mess, but also saving the cookies and milk tea from getting messed up and ruined in the fall.
"Safe.." Nanoha sighed in relief and, with Suzuka's help, helped Farin keep her balance.
[Outside]
[No BGM]
After listening to a rapid-burst of apologies from Farin, who was easily forgiven for her cute clumsy moment; the girls and hedgehog moved their tea party outback so they can all watch the numerous amount of cats that Suzuka was taking care of.
"Your house is like a cat heaven" Alisa complimented her heiress friend as she watched the cats walk around peacefully.
"That's okay" Nanoha cheerfully said, "Cats are cute. Don't you think so too, Sonic-kun?"
"Eh.. They're okay" the hedgehog shrugged.
"Thanks, though a few of them have been promised homes already, so I won't be seeing some for a while" Suzuka regretfully admitted, "But I'm sure they'll grow up to be healthy and big"
As the tea party continued in peace, Ai, the same cat that had chased Yuuno earlier, wandered around and into the forest outlying the backyard of the large mansion. As the curious cat walked through the trees, it caught sight of a blue gem that was cut like a diamond. As the cat approached it, the Jewel Seed flickered to life.
[BGM insert: "Inflexible Determination" Final Fantasy X OST]
That sudden flickering drew the attention of Sonic, Nanoha and Yuuno instantly and the three started to look around as if taking note of what they suddenly sensed. Alisa and Suzuka were not so oblivious and drawn in to their drinks, so they were quickly able to tell that something was up.
"Nanoha-chan?" Suzuka asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"
"Um…" Nanoha looked at Yuuno and the hedgehog, upon their nods she turned to face her friends, "We just sensed a Jewel Seed."
One more flicker elsewhere drew more attention from the magically sensitive trio. From all signs, it appears that another Jewel Seed has just been activated.
"And it just turned on.." Sonic added, "Looks like we'll have to pause the tea party."
"Can we come with you?" Alisa asked; well at least she actually asked this time around, still she and Suzuka both did not appear like they would take no for an answer, "We may not be able to help much, but in case something goes wrong we'd be able to make sure you get medical attention"
"We won't be able to stop you anyways" Yuuno sighed as he hopped off Nanoha's lap and into the direction where he picked up the Jewel Seed activation, "But please stay out of the way."
The trio of girls plus ferret and hedgehog went into the forest, anxious as to what troubles the Jewel Seed could cause this time. Because of the chance of outsiders; Yuuno had dropped the idea of possibly setting up a barrier to prevent that, but was rejected by Sonic and Nanoha. While the both of them would appreciate less interference, they both felt that setting up the barrier would put unnecessary strain to the ferret, and they were in the backyard of Suzuka's house, so the only attention they could have drawn might have been from the maids and Shinobu. Kyouya knew of their activities anyways and Nanoha trusted him to do the right thing.
A blue flash of light drew the gaze of the girls, Sonic and Yuuno. What they saw next when the flash dissipated gave a completely diverse reaction from them all. Ai, the very same cat that had a chase with Yuuno earlier, was there, only there was one thing rather different about her. She was a good 10+ times her original size. Needless to say, the three girls just stared at the cat in shock and had a few anime-style sweat drops falling from their faces in exasperation. Sonic was no different in that regard either, but Yuuno, poor ferret could only stare. He probably just saw the thing that scared him the most as a ferret.
[BGM: "Eeto Desu Ne" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
Ai, for all it just grew in size, acted like really any other cat would. It just let out a soft "meow" that was much louder with its increased size and merely just walked on peacefully, minding its own business. If anything, the only real trouble was the fact that each step the giant cat took made a shockwave with the impact on the ground.
"Uh…" Sonic was almost legitimately speechless, "You'll have to come back to me for a quip there."
"T-that's…." Alisa just stared in shock equally
"Ai.." Suzuka, for legitimate reasons, was a little bit concerned for the safety of her cat.
"That kitten had feelings of wishing to become big" Yuuno tried, albeit weakly, to explain, "And that wish was literally granted?"
"I see.." Nanoha pressed her hand to her forehead in exasperation.
"But, at any rate. It's still dangerous" Yuuno noted, "If we don't return it to its normal size soon.."
"Y-yeah." The girl nodded
"Ai wouldn't be able to fit in our house" Suzuka gave her best friend and resident newbie mage a pleading look, "please help Ai"
"Well at least it doesn't look like she'll come after us anytime soon" Sonic noted the one positive to all of this, "Unless she fancies another game of "tag" with the Tutorial Ferret"
"That didn't turn out well the first time" Nanoha shook her head and held out her device, "Raising Heart.."
Before Nanoha could give her device the order to set up, a yellow bolt of magic flew over everyone's head and hit the cat. The large cat flinched as it was hit by the bolt, but otherwise didn't appear hurt all that much, it might've been more-or-less surprised by the sudden attack.
Everyone turned to face the source of the bolt and found that it was the ax-wielding girl that was up on the rooftops the previous night; although no one there would've been able to take note of that as they hadn't seen her before. Today the girl had perked herself on a nearby telephone wire pole and had a perfect vantage point to shoot from.
"Bardiche" the girl softly spoke in command to the pole-ax in her right hand, "Photon Lancer"
"Yes, sir" the device, apparently named Bardiche, spoke in a deep male mechanical voice, "Photon Lancer, full-auto fire"
A yellow light gathered at the tip of Bardiche's head as the girl fired rapid-fire bolts of magical light. The bolts themselves appeared to have a lightning element to them as they were fired in multiple rounds at once. All of them hit the cat and caused it to cry out again. The last set of rounds may not have hurt it as much, but these ones did.
"Ai!" Suzuka had to be held back by Alisa otherwise she might've pulled a not-so-wise move of trying to go help out her cat.
"That's magic!" Yuuno stared in shock.
"Sonic-kun.." Nanoha glanced at Sonic and they both shared a nod. In a matter of seconds the girl held out her standby form device again, "Raising Heart! Onegai!"
"Standby ready" Raising Heart chimed in confirmation and engulfed the girl and her familiar in a light that quickly generated their respective Barrier Jackets and Sonic's twin kodachi before going to its own active form.
[No BGM]
Quickly, the two approached the cat, hoping they could get to it and protect it before the girl decided to let another round of her spell fire off.
"Flier Fin" Raising Heart declared as small pink wings materialized at her master's feet. The wings allowed Nanoha to fly up onto the back of the cat with ease and haste. Sonic, quickly able to copy the spell, did so and joined his mage on Ai's back. Quickly Sonic took a defensive stance while Nanoha held Raising Heart in front of her. The device chimed out in declaration of another spell, "Wide Area Protection!"
Sure enough, another round of Photon Lancers was rapid-fired. Instead of hitting the cat, though, they were all met by a wide pink shield that covered the back of the cat. The combined magic power of Sonic and Nanoha fueling the barrier protected the giant cat from any further harm.
"A mage and familiar…" the girl softly observed, but didn't let the interference affect her emotions. Instead, she tilted the head of her own device downward and fired off another set of rounds, this time they were aimed at the cat's legs and hit their mark easily.
With the cat's legs struck, she lost her balance and fell down onto her side with her back hitting the tree next to her. Thankfully, Sonic and Nanoha were able to easily glide down to the ground and take a defensive stance in front of the large cat with Yuuno hiding in the bushes close by so he could watch. Alisa and Suzuka also took refuge behind the bushes with the ferret, despite the latter purple-haired girl's wishes to make sure Ai was okay.
'Every day I'm surprised more by what these two can do.' Yuuno thought to himself in observation as he watched the girl and hedgehog's actions, 'There may not be much else that I can teach them'
[BGM Insert: "Ketsudan no toki" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
The girl who fired the shots glided slowly and landed on the branch of the closest tree in front of Nanoha and Sonic. It was then that the two could have a much better look at the mystery girl herself. Both of them were in for quite a shock when they discovered that this girl looked no older than they were. She levelled them both with a calculating glance and glare, but had a more-or-less neutral frown on her face.
"Another mage like myself.." the girl softly, but clearly and easily understood, thought out loud, "Another person searching for the Lost Logia, or Jewel Seeds as these ones are called."
"There's no doubt about it now" Yuuno thought out loud, easily heard by Sonic, Nanoha as well as Suzuka and Alisa, "This girl is probably from my world. Not only that, but she knows the true identity of the Jewel Seeds."
"Another Intelligent Device, like Bardiche." The girl's crimson eyes glanced at Raising Heart. Then her glance was levelled once again at Sonic, locking eye contact with his green eyes, "And another Familiar as well… Like Arf.."
"Bardiche?" Nanoha stared at the girl's mentioned device, quickly comparing it to that of her own Raising Heart.
"Arf?" Sonic blinked in confusion. He looked all around him and where the girl was, but couldn't find who the girl was referring to there.
"I came by myself." The blonde explained, "As for the Lost Logia, or Jewel Seeds.."
"Scythe Form" Bardiche declared and instantly opened up the ax-head and ran a blade of energy through it, transforming the device into a scythe that looked pretty dangerous with the mana-generated blade.
"I'm terribly sorry for this, but I will be the one to claim it" Fate backing up the apologetic tone with her soft voice easily, took a stance and in a sudden display of tremendous speed, she rushed forward to take a swipe at Nanoha and Sonic.
"Evasion!" Raising Heart quickly declared, following up with a spell declaration as well, "Flier Fin!"
It was only thanks to that Flier Fin spell that Sonic and Nanoha were able to avoid the swipe of Fate's scythe slash. Nanoha's momentum took her to the skies while Sonic's took him toward the trees bordering the forest path. Again, unfazed by the evasion of her foes, Fate brought the still open scythe device of hers behind her and bent her left front knee but fully extended her rear right in a stance.
"Arc Saber" Bardiche confirmed its master's silent spell command and readied itself for Fate to take a big swipe and detach the blade of the scythe. The blade was sent spinning at Nanoha much like a boomerang would've been thrown.
"Protection" Through Raising Heart's declaration, Nanoha took to the defensive again and made the blade hit her barrier in a small explosion. Nanoha had no intention of trapping herself with the barrier and she used the explosion to ascend higher up in the sky. Unfortunately for her, Fate had an advantage in speed and used that to rapidly take to the skies and clash.
"Why?" Nanoha asked as she struggled in the clash of Raising Heart and Bardiche, "Why are you doing this?"
"Even if I told you" Fate softly spoke, "It would probably mean nothing to you.."
"Oy!" Sonic's voice alerted Nanoha and Fate to the presence of the hedgehog, who had also taken to the skies. Twin kodachi blades wielded, the blue hedgehog used his own amazing speed and hoped to catch the blonde off her guard while she was busy with his own mage, "I think you forgot someone!"
Nanoha gritted her teeth, but not for Sonic's sudden appearance and she broke off her clash with Fate to give him the chance of taking an attack on the girl. Sonic had the advantage of his own speed with him and just as his surprise attack could've been a sure success, he found it blocked by Bardiche. Fate, not about to take another chance with the familiar, used the clash to break off downward back into the forest. Sonic let out a soft grunt before he went down to join with Nanoha again.
Fate, again bearing little change in her expression, touched down on a branch of another tree above the position of Nanoha and Sonic, who were once again side-by-side. She held up Bardiche as it changed forms back to its original device form.
"Cannon Mode" Raising Heart shifted to the declared form as Nanoha held the device out and pointed it right at Fate as if ready to get a spell fired off. Sonic, taking a quick non-verbal hint from the girl and device; sheathed his twin-kodachi and also brought his palms forward to pinch in to the spell preparation, "Divine Buster! Standby ready"
"Photon Lancer, get set!" Bardiche retorted as Fate returned the gesture and pointed the head of Bardiche right at Nanoha.
'I'm sure she's the same age as us..' Nanoha observed about the girl above her and on the opposite end of her crosshairs, 'She has such beautiful eyes and hair.. But… this girl..'
Before Nanoha could finish her thought, her attention, as was Sonic's, were suddenly shifted off of the girl as the gigantic cat woke up with a loud meow. Unfortunately for the two, their sudden distraction was a big mistake and it was one that Fate was not about to pass up so freely as a bolt of magic suddenly was generated at the tip of Bardiche.
"Oh…" Sonic was the first to realize the mistake and in addition, realize just how much it will cost, "Crap.."
"I'm sorry…" the girl spoke softly and apologetically.
"Fire" Bardiche declared and fired off said spell at almost point-blank range. Nanoha and Sonic didn't even have a second before they were engulfed and hit hard by the Photon Lancer. The lancer not only hit the two, it also made contact with the ground beneath them and sent their limp, probably unconscious bodies up into the air and falling down.
"Nanoha!/-chan! Sonic!/-kun!" Yuuno, Alisa and Suzuka called out to the two in the air as they quickly rushed to their aid. Before the unconscious two could suffer any further harm from a bad landing with the ground, Yuuno caught them with a set of magic-generated fields that sprouted up from the ground. Alisa hoisted the unconscious Nanoha over her shoulder while Suzuka did the same with Sonic. The civilians and ferret were then forced to watch a different mage go to work with sealing of a Jewel Seed.
"Glaive Form" Bardiche declared and its axe head flipped up by 180 degrees and extended away from the handle. Three wings of mana were released below the base, making the device look more like a glaive. With little emotion to her expression, Fate twirled her device in a show of skill and pointed the tip of the glaive form device at the gigantic cat. Lightning rushed from the tip of the device and impacted the body of the cat, making it cry out in pain.
"Ai.." Suzuka could barely watch, but she did, anxiously hoping that her cat would be alright when the sealing was done.
As the giant cat cried in pain, the Jewel Seed it had come into contact with emerged from its body and reveal itself. In red lettering, the Roman Numerals "XIV" that marked the Seed's serial number were revealed as well.
"Command, sir?" Bardiche asked
"Lost Logia… Jewel Seed Serial XIV" Fate calmly declared the Jewel Seed's serial number and made her order clear, "Seal.."
"Yes sir" Bardiche confirmed as Fate held it upward to face the sky. A yellow stream of mana was sent upward into the sky. The stream opened up a hole in that cloudy blue sky and from that hole came countless bolt-like streams. Falling down like rain as they impacted the Jewel Seed, and its previous host through extension hard.
"Sealing" Bardiche declared as a powerful and wide wave of yellow energy fell straight down from the hole and equally made a huge impact on the cat. A huge flash of light blocked all sight for a few moments before it dissipated, leaving behind the Jewel Seed and Ai, who was now back to her normal size. The cat groaned a little bit but otherwise, it only appeared to be unconscious.
Fate calmly walked over to the Jewel Seed and touched the tip or Bardiche, which was back to its device form, to the Jewel Seed. The Seed was quickly captured and stored inside the black device.
"Captured" Bardiche declared as it released a burst of steam
[No BGM]
"Ai!" Suzuka's concerned voice calling out for her cat reminded Fate that she wasn't alone. With little emotion she turned to face the ferret and the two young civilians that had their unconscious friends over their respective shoulders. No doubt they were going to get them both to a hospital, but Suzuka wanted to make sure her cat was safe and sound.
"Civilians.." Fate regarded the two softly
"W-why did you have to hurt Ai so much?!" Suzuka asked, tears falling from her face in grave concern, "S-she was only a small kitten."
"If what you did to seal that seed thing causes any really painful hurt to Ai" Alisa, royally and rightfully ticked off, glared at the other girl, "I swear you'll answer to me for making Suzuka-chan sad. As if you haven't already done enough by hurting Nanoha-chan and Sonic-kun"
"I apologize for my brash actions" Fate, softly, sympathetically apologized with a deep bow, "Your cat will be fine after some rest, it wasn't hurt that badly by my sealing."
Even with Sonic's weight on her shoulder, Suzuka easily managed to breeze past Fate and grab her kitten before going back to Alisa and Yuuno's side. The nine year old purple-haired heiress calmly sighed in relief before.
"You two are only civilians; if you do not wish to be hurt; I suggest you refrain from getting involved in this anymore." Fate warned the two sternly after allowing Suzuka to get her cat, "The same for your friends. If they do not wish for a repeat of today, they should stay out of my way and give up their own Jewel Seeds."
"Why are you doing this?" Alisa asked, "You look like you could be our age"
"Even if I told you both, it probably wouldn't matter." Fate turned her back on the group and slowly started away, "Your friends will be fine after they receive medical attention, but when they wake up; please give them my warning."
With Yuuno watching with a glare on his ferret face to make sure she didn't try anything further, Alisa and Suzuka watched as Fate made her exit in a not-so-dramatic fashion and walk away. Once the girl was no longer in sight, the two heiresses and Tutorial Ferret left the area as well and went on back to the Tsukimura residence.
[Tsukimura Residence]
[Time: 1720 (5:20 pm)]
[BGM: "Kono hiroi sekai ni" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
By the time Sonic and Nanoha had regained consciousness twilight had already started to descend in the afternoon sky as the sun had also begun to set. The two woke up, bandaged and a little bit sore in a bed in one of the few spare bedrooms. They were surrounded by Kyouya, Alisa, Suzuka, Farin, Noel and Shinobu.
As it turned out, during the time they were unconscious, Sonic and Nanoha were alerted to a few things. First and foremost, the fact that they were carried inside the house by Suzuka and Alisa drew understandable concern from Kyouya, Shinobu and the maids. Yuuno, making another action he would later regret further, had to bring Shinobu and the maids in on the whole magic secret as it was the only way to explain what had happened. At first the three were somewhat skeptical, after all it did come from a talking ferret, but Kyouya, Alisa and Suzuka were able to back up the ferret's story, in addition to the young girls' most recent experience. They believed the story and promised to support in any way they could. The ferret was once again reminded of how much Nanoha's friends and family cared for them, and how easily they were also able to accept Sonic and care for him as well like a friend.
The second thing they were told was that Ai, the cat that was possessed by the Jewel Seed, woke up fine and healthy. That gave some relief, especially to Suzuka, who treasured that cat like all the others she had. Fate's word held true after all. Speaking of Fate, the two were given the mentioned girl's warning, albeit she still remained unnamed to them as the girl had not given any of them her name yet. They calmly listened to the warning and no doubt will take it to heart.
"That girl" Yuuno said from the bedside in deep thought, "her clothes, device, magic.. there's no doubt in my mind that she is someone from my world."
"You think we'll meet her again as we hunt for Jewel Seeds?" Nanoha asked the ferret and hedgehog. Upon seeing them both nod the girl shook her head, "Strangely, that thought doesn't scare me.."
"There is one though that unnerves me though" Sonic said after another moment to think back on what the other girl had said before, "We saw her device, and felt her magic, but she said earlier that she was flying solo today. If that's the case, who or what is her familiar? If she was able to do this much damage to us on her own; that makes me nervous as to what her familiar could do."
The others could only nod solemnly in agreement. They were all concerned about the condition of the two, but were relieved to find that they would be much better after some rest. Still, many questions loomed over everyone's minds. Who was that girl? Why was she after the Jewel Seeds?
[Apartment]
[Later that night]
[BGM: "Kizuna shinjinte" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
Much later at night found Fate, the girl who sealed the Jewel Seed that possessed the cat earlier that afternoon in an apartment she recently took up residence in. As she sat down in her couch against the window, the girl's wolf-familiar, Arf, walked right next to her, calmly growling in satisfaction when the girl stroked her forehead.
"There was a little bit of interference" Fate said as she petted the wolf, "But everything turned out fine."
"Did they really?" Arf asked, understandably concerned after she heard about the interference.
"The Jewel Seed, Serial 14, I captured it" Fate nodded, "I had to deal with the mage. She had a device like Bardiche and a familiar like you said."
"This will be the last time I let you fly solo on me, Fate" Arf said in a tone that gave her mistress no room for argument, "What was her familiar like?"
"He was short but fast and unlike you he doesn't transform and wields swords when he fights." The girl answered, "I wonder though... how many Seeds do they have?"
"We'll have to take them at some point. It's what we have to do after all" Arf took a brief glance behind her at a portrait on a lighted nightstand. A frown formed on her animal-like muzzle.
"We'll be alright so long as we don't stray from our path" Fate calmly petted her wolf again, following her glance to that same frame. It was a picture of what looked like the same girl when she was younger smiling alongside a tall and beautiful woman with dark purple hair, "Wait for us, kaa-san.. We'll return to you soon."
[Ending: "Little Wish ~Lyrical Step" Yukari Tamura]
[End of Chapter 6]
Author's Note: Finally! After the long time coming we get the debut of FATE-CHAN! Fate finally makes her debut in Lyrical Familiar. What do ya'll think? I think I portrayed her pretty fair here.