SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in another chapter of Lyrical Familiar. Welp.. Maybe I should've announced this earlier, but due to the upcoming college year, I find that I'm not going to have nearly enough time to focus on all 3 stories. So I'm going to focus on this one until the current arc while the other two are on hiatus. After that, this one goes on hiatus and I focus on Lyrical Record and Night Sky until their arcs are done and then hiatus them too to focus on Lyrical Familiar. Reason for that is because I will need to squeeze in all of my upcoming classwork too.. Anyways.. enough chitty-chatty.. lets go!
[Minutes earlier]
[Dimensional Space]
[Time-Space Administration Inter-Dimensional Cruise Patrol Warship "Asura"]
[BGM: "Gin no Tsubasa ~Asura" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
The activation of the latest Jewel Seed registered a spark that was detected from the Asura's location. Data from the battle, including the Seed's possession and the transformation "Demon Tree", was actively broadcast from the devices involved as it happened. Tech experts were already hard at work in discerning the information, including attempted identifications of the individuals involved if they were available.
"It appears that the individuals who were part of the previous night's dimensional disturbance are undergoing another battle at their present location as we speak" One tech informatively declared as he typed away
"The core of the Lost Logia we've detected is rated A+" another tech added as he brought up live footage from the battle for his captain to view. The footage itself started from Fate's arrival at the scene. From one standpoint, it would appear that the actions of the girls and their familiars were not quite as, well, finesse, as one in their profession could be, "Their actions seem haphazard and insecure. As you can see, these individuals and their familiars are using their special attacks and spells erratically. Using everything they can; including the kitchen sink, if I have the metaphor correct."
"This is an emergency that will affect us on the dimensional level. We'll have to secure this Lost Logia as soon as possible" Lindy said as she stood up, holding a silver card in her gloved hand, "Enforcer Chrono Harlaown, how soon can we make it out there?"
"The transfer coordinates are already set. On command, I can go at any time, but if I may ask" the boy answered affirmatively, quickly taking notice of what his mother and captain had said, "What do you mean by "we"?"
"There are some cute girls involved and I can't trust you down there by yourself, Chrono-kun" The woman chuckled at the reaction her son had. The classic embarrassment blush, "At any rate, you know what our orders are when we transfer down to the combat site."
"Cease all hostilities" Chrono listed, with complete understanding and little pause, "and retrieve the Lost Logia."
"Don't forget to listen to their explanations" Lindy advised as she started to head for the gateway that would be used for dimensional warps with said boy in tow, "It's imperative that we understand their circumstances."
"Hai" the boy nodded as he and the woman stood next to one another, awaiting the transfer. He muttered something, but it was easily caught by his mother's good ears, "Hope you don't embarrass me.
"I could've embarrassed you further by staying behind and sending you off with a handkerchief" Lindy countered, "But I misplaced it in my office."
Hilarity aside, the two were whisked away in the Dimension Transfer with their target coordinates set for the scene of combat. If the crew had any reaction to the humorous mother/son scene, they didn't show it up front. One can't deny, however, the superiority of real office humor over cable.
[Opening: "Innocent Starter" Nana Mizuki]
Sonic the Hedgehog: Lyrical Familiar
Chapter 10
A Really Big Crisis
[Uminari City, Japan]
[Uminari Seaside Park
[BGM: "Ketsudan no Toki" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
Without a word between them, Nanoha and Fate rushed right for each other, ready to engage in combat. At the same time, Arf and Sonic had also rushed for each other. They were seemingly inevitable to clash against one another respectively. At least, until Chrono and Lindy intervened. They did so via appearing right between the groups; Chrono between Nanoha and Fate, Lindy between Sonic and Arf.
[No BGM]
"Stop!" Chrono commanded as he kept Nanoha and Fate's respective devices at arm's length. The blonde's was caught in his device while the brunette's device was held in his gloved hand, "Commencing combat here is too dangerous"
"I highly recommend you do what he says" Lindy added, keeping Sonic's blades in check with her own device while she held off the hedgehog's counterpart with a barrier, "As it stands now, this area is too dangerous for combat."
"I don't know who you two are….but you two just made me 100 yen richer" Sonic, seriously swearing he was going through déjà vu, quipped, "Thank you very much"
"This isn't the time for that" Chrono deadpanned while his mother had some trouble concealing a few of her giggles, "I am Chrono Harlaown, Enforcer from the Time-Space Administration Bureau"
"I'm also an official from the Time-Space Administration, Admiral Lindy Harlaown" the woman contained her composure to identify herself, "And you all have some explaining to do"
'Time-Space Administration?!' Yuuno stared at the two new intruders in confusion, and slight annoyance as they were the last people he'd want to see, 'How did they get here?!'
"Talk about being late for the party." Sonic groaned somewhat in annoyance as he relaxed his blades and backed off with Arf following suit from the opposite side and subtly taking the sky; taking advantage of Sonic's quippage, which held Lindy's attention and continued, "We were just starting to roast marshmallows too."
"Well, unfortunately dimensional disturbances take precedence over campfires" Lindy countered, then turned her attention to her son, "Chrono; standard operating procedures if you will."
"Hai" the boy nodded and started to calmly issue orders to the girls, "First, lower your weapons"
Confusion and surprise evident, the girls backed off from their clash. Seeing as there was little choice in the matter as the intruders did have a presence of authority about them, they followed the orders and lowered their staves. Their confusion didn't last long as Chrono had to react to a sudden barrage of Photon Lancers raining down upon him. He dealt with the Lancers via a Round Shield spell.
"Fate!" Arf called out from her vantage point, having taken advantage of the lack of attention on her to ascend up to the sky, "Grab the Jewel Seed! We need to get out of here!"
Fate, despite being taken by surprise from her familiar's actions, quickly recovered and took the sky herself. She reached out with her right hand for the Jewel Seed, which appeared to float in place with a slight flicker as if to dare on to take it. The blonde was so close and had almost gotten to it. Chrono, however, had the important advantages of experience and reflexes, and he was easily able to shoot the girl down with a volley of stinger-shot spells that scored direct hits on the poor girl and the surprise attack sent her down to the ground, injured and weak.
"Fate!" Arf shouted as she was able to catch her master just as she was about to have a harsh landing with the ground.
Lindy, somewhat shocked by the sudden turn of events, had to put the fact that she allowed herself to be distracted behind her for the moment. While her son had his attention on dealing with the blonde and familiar duo, she focused her attention on observing their rivals. The mage in white and her familiar appeared quite concerned for the two despite the fact that they appeared to be on opposite sides, something that intrigued her. However, her main concern for the moment was to capture the party attempting to escape. Conscious or not, which was why she watched carefully as her son prepared another volley of stinger spells that were sure to be the deciding blow on the blonde and her familiar.
'They can't be allowed to escape that easily…' the woman thought to herself with a frown, 'We may not get their side of the story!'
Before she could aid her son and capture the two in a binding spell, she saw the white mage and her familiar, in a burst of speed that shocked even her, step right between Chrono and the injured party. The two had taken defensive stances. They were easily able to cast a shield spell should it be needed.
"Stop!" Nanoha called out to the unfamiliar boy, spreading her arms out wide as if it would've helped.
"I'm not sure what's going on now. But this girl's hurt" Sonic added, crossing his arms defensively, "And I just dare you to come closer to her. Give me a reason to put these blades to work, they've been slicing nothing but tree roots all day."
'These two parties were serious rivals if I read the situation right' Lindy, confused and somewhat intrigued, pondered in her mind, 'If that's the case, why are they going to these lengths to protect her?'
"I won't forget this" Arf sent in a brief mindspeak to Sonic and Nanoha as she took advantage of the confusion to leap up into the sky with her master on her back. The two teleported away before anyone else could do or say anything.
With a sigh, Chrono lowered his own device and slowly descended to the ground. Sonic and Nanoha were completely confused by the sudden turnaround. Understandably so, they were a little cautious when the teen male looked at them. On a positive note, Chrono didn't appear to be showing any signs of hostility to Nanoha and her familiar. That feeling was furthered when Lindy approached them with a calm expression.
"Good job, Chrono-kun" the woman said with a slight clap of her hands as she took the Jewel Seed in her hand, "It seems that the situation's calmed down now."
"Sumimasen" thy boy turned to his mother, "I let the other party get away."
"Well that's alright; we've ended their battle and secured a Lost Logia involved." Lindy calmly assured the enforcer. Her attention was then shifted to the other girl and her familiar, "We'd like to hear your side of this story; so would you mind coming with us?"
"Ano…" Nanoha, understandably nervous and confused, couldn't find much to say
"We're not going anywhere." The blue hedgehog decided to answer for her, "At least not without our Tutorial Ferret."
"Tutorial Ferret?" The answer confused the Harlaown pair and they both voiced their confusion at the same time.
Yuuno, with a sigh of some annoyance and defeat, climbed out from the bushes and revealed his presence. Still in the ferret form, the young archeologist climbed up onto Nanoha's shoulder, surprising the girl a little.
"Okay! Now we can go" Sonic declared comically to Nanoha's amusement and to lighten the mood a little.
The reactions from Lindy and Chrono couldn't get any more diverse. For Chrono, who was a more serious and task-oriented individual, he didn't quite approve of the playful humor and had the feeling he'd butt heads with the blue familiar. Lindy, on the other hand, found the jokes quite cute and humorous, then again, she had more experience and could use for some comic relief to lighten the moods. It also helped that she found the hedgehog himself quite cute. With all humor aside, the 3 mages plus snarky blue hedgehog familiar and Tutorial Ferret warped out of the area.
[Dimensional Space]
[Time-Space Administration Inter-Dimensional Cruise Patrol Warship "Asura"]
[BGM: "Gin no Tsubasa ~Asura" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
The group of five arrived onboard the warship successfully, though for two it was their first time utilizing a dimensional warp. For their first time in using such a method, Nanoha and Sonic couldn't help but feel a little bit dizzy. Understandably so from Yuuno's standpoint, the two, who were local to a "backwater" planet and had no prior knowledge of magic; so they weren't quite used to the usual way some mages travel over long distances. The two were able to shake it off quickly enough to follow the other three down a hall.
"Yuuno-kun…" Nanoha asked the Tutorial Ferret in mindspeak. She had yet to dismiss her Barrier Jacket and was nervously holding Raising Heart close to her chest, "What is this place?"
"We seem to be inside a Time-Space Administration Bureau licensed ship" Yuuno explained quickly, "If I could venture a guess, I'd say this is a Cruise Patrol Warship"
"Wanna put that in Japanese?" Sonic added his two bits; minus the shave and a haircut, "For those of us who don't speak magic tech?"
"Sorry.." The ferret quickly apologized, realizing quickly who he was talking to, "To put it simply, we're in a ship that's travelling in a space between dimensions."
"I don't know if that's so simple" the girl noted.
"I think Tutorial Ferret is basically implying that we are in space and we're on some government starship." Sonic drew an assumption from the explanation of the ferret. Not soon after Yuuno nodded to confirm the statement. Upon the confirming nod from Yuuno, the hedgehog brought out his inner geek for a moment or two.
"Space! The final frontier!" the blue hedgehog practically narrated out loud, and just about everyone else stopped. Chrono, Lindy and Yuuno were all completely confused by the hedgehog's sudden declaration. As for Nanoha, she was trying so hard to keep from bursting out in laughs; it didn't help when the hedgehog continued in a paraphrase, "We have boldly gone where no man has gone before, Nanoha-chan!"
That was the tipping point and poor Nanoha couldn't control herself anymore. She burst out into a fit of giggles and had to lean against Raising Heart in order to keep from losing her balance and falling to the ground in giggles. Understandably so, there was evident confusion from Chrono, Lindy and the resident Tutorial Ferret.
"Uh…" the older woman, having a sinking feeling that there was a private joke in there somewhere, still couldn't help but draw concern, "Are you alright"
"H-hai.." Nanoha took a moment to compose herself again. Her face couldn't hide any part of her amused reaction as she looked at her young brother/familiar next to her, "How long have you wanted to say that?"
"Eh, since we got here" Sonic answered with a cute, cheeky grin, "I wanted to say it; it got you to laugh, so we both win"
"At any rate" Lindy cleared her throat to draw attention to another matter that she noticed, which was the fact that the two were still in Barrier Jackets, "You two can release your Barrier Jackets here if they feel uncomfortable. We're in a secure area, so you'll be safe here."
"Hai" Nanoha nodded and dismissed her Barrier Jacket. Raising Heart's Device Mode was quickly released, returning it to the small gem form. Her Barrier Jacket gave way to the lighter elementary schoolgirl uniform.
Sonic, keeping quiet as he already had his gem of a joke, sheathed his kodachi blades and dismissed his Jacket. His Samurai-themed garb gave way to a pink t-shirt and light-blue shorts while his gloves, shoes and scarf remained.
"You don't have another form?" Lindy asked of the hedgehog, she meant no ill will in doing so, she was just curious, "You are a familiar."
"I do not have any other form." The hedgehog shrugged, "This cool hedgehog self is how I met everyone, and I don't plan on changing anytime soon."
"Very well" the woman nodded.
"Also…" Chrono looked down at the ferret, "Shouldn't you return to your true form as well?"
"Yeah, that's right" Yuuno admitted in some embarrassment, "I've been in this form for so long I had almost forgotten.
"Huh?" Nanoha was quickly blind sighted; could she have been unaware of the Tutorial Ferret's other form all this time?
"Oh boy…" Sonic couldn't help but grin a bit. While he didn't know specifically what the other form for the ferret could be, he had an idea or two that was based on prior interactions. If he was correct, "This will be interesting."
A small, green magic circle appeared on the floor surrounding Yuuno and he was enveloped in a light. Unsure of what to expect from it all, Nanoha and Sonic watched as the ferret's form began to change. The end result put one of the most comically surprised and cartoonish expressions on her face; and Sonic was not that far, though he had a not-so-subtle smirk on his face.
For Yuuno's true form, he went from a small ferret to a boy of around 9 years old with sandy blonde hair and greenish eyes. He was wearing a tunic over a shirt and shorts with a brown cloak. He took a moment to stretch before turning to Nanoha.
"It's been a while since you've seen me in this form, eh Nanoha?" The boy innocently asked; as if he thought that the girl had seen him in such a form before. Judging from the silence he got; that probably wasn't the case, "Nanoha? Nanoha?"
"Eh.. e-eh.. eh..a-ah." The poor girl just simply sputtered. She was completely stunned and had a ridged finger pointed at Yuuno. Sonic, who was beside her, could feel an influx of emotions that the girl had felt. The blue hedgehog had a confident feeling of what to expect from his mistress next. In preparation, he quickly gripped his ears with his gloved hands and plugged his index fingers inside.
"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!" the girl's scream was so long and carried so well, it might've been heard from outside of the warship.
[BGM: "Honobono" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
"N-Nanoha?" Yuuno, understandably, was a bit confused
"Y-yuuno-kun! Y-yuuno-kun! Y-you're a…" Nanoha was barely able to form coherent sentences for a moment as she pointed at the ferret-turned-boy, "Ah! What the heck's going on?!"
'Well… that explains a lot' Sonic seemed to take it more in stride. Then he gained a sinister smirk, 'This will be fun…'
"Weren't y-you just a…. No way!" Nanoha had closed the distance between herself and the boy before placing her closed fists beneath her chin and rapidly shook her head, squealing again, "Hoeeeeeeeh!"
"Ah.." Chrono stared in confusion before turning to his mother, "Did their images of each other just change?"
"Perhaps.." Lindy couldn't help but grin in amusement and watch the scene.
"N-nanoha?" the boy, in confusion asked, "When you first saw me, wasn't I in this form?"
"No, no!" the girl shook her head rapidly, "Y-you were a ferret to begin with!"
"Oh!" it took Yuuno a moment or two before he realized the fact that he hadn't shown her his true form "That's right.. I never showed either of you my true form. Sorry about that, Nanoha, Sonic"
"Y-you just surprised me.." the girl calmed down a little bit with a sigh.
"Ah.. so that's why you were freaking out so much when we were in the girls' changing room at that onsen." Sonic added, not only reminding Nanoha of that memory, but also enticing a look of complete horror from Yuuno's face, "You remember that, don't you Nanoha-chan?"
"Huh?!" the girl thought about that memory for a brief moment
'Uhoh…' both Lindy and Chrono thought to themselves, 'He's doomed..'
"S-sonic!" Yuuno, flushing crimson at some of the details from that particular memory, "D-did you have to remind her of that?!"
"What else are friends for?" the hedgehog had one of the biggest smirks on his face as he had finally found the ultimate one-up on the ferret-boy, "It would've been cruel for me to forget."
"Yuuno-kun…." Nanoha said darkly; everything clicking in her head after her familiar's innocent reminder of what she recalled that the boy had seen when she had still thought of him as a ferret. With little delay, she subjected the poor boy to a harsh slap in the face, "YUUNO-KUN-NO-ECCHI!"
"S-Sumimasen.." sympathies for Yuuno as he had to endure one of the harshest punishments some perverts would receive. He probably should've been counting his stars that she had only slapped him and not tried for a kick down south. Regardless, he looked at the hedgehog pleadingly, "S-Sonic.. you.. are cruel!"
"Who?" the blue hedgehog countered, playing the cute and innocent act, "Me?"
"Excuse us.." As much as Chrono would've like to go and grab popcorn, or at least pull Yuuno aside for a man-to-man talk of comparing notes; he was still on the job, "But we haven't gotten anywhere on your story yet."
"That's right" Lindy calmly added, "My office is just down this hall, so if you'd all follow me.
"Hai.." Nanoha agreed quickly and linked arms with her hedgehog familiar, surprising him in the process, and proceeded to drag him in the direction Lindy was headed, preferably getting as much distance from the pervy-Tutorial Ferret as she could.
As for Yuuno and Chrono, they just stood silent and awkwardly so before sighing and following the latter three. The ferret-boy really wondered how that girl could take her familiar's side so easily.
[Office of Admiral Lindy Harlaown]
[No BGM]
Nanoha and Sonic were completely taken by surprise at appearance of Lindy's office. Considering what they heard from her, they half expected an important appearing office. Instead it was full of several classic Japanese themed objects. Including, but not limited to, beautiful plants, a tea set with an umbrella overhead. It also included what is properly called a "shishi-odoshi" or a deer chaser/scare; for those who don't know of it, it is commonly called the "Thing that goes doink" in some Japanese media.
Everyone was seated on top of their knees on the soft, square mat. They were back to business again as Yuuno started off by explaining his involvement in the incident, starting with the Jewel Seeds and his discovery.
"I see.." Lindy calmly took in the information, "You're the one who excavated the Lost Logia… the Jewel Seeds as these ones are called."
"Hai." Yuuno confirmed "and I went there to retrieve them.."
"How noble" the woman complimented
"Even so" Chrono said strictly, "It was also reckless."
"I know.." The ferret-boy stared at the ground.
"Ano.." Nanoha, her confusion quickly replacing any contempt feelings had, voiced such confusion, "What are Lost Logia?"
"Ah…" Lindy thought for a moment to figure out the right words to say, "If I said they were relics of a lost world, you two probably wouldn't understand…"
"That goes for you" Sonic side-commented to Nanoha in mindspeak, "But I've heard the Chaos Emeralds have been called something similar to that as well."
"Let's let her explain first please" the girl kindly requested, "Before you jump at conclusions again."
[BGM Insert: "Prologue" Final Fantasy (crystal themes. Pick a game)]
"Let's see.." The woman, oblivious to the brief side-bar of hedgehog and girl, thought for a moment before she started, "Within dimensional space, there exists a countless amount of worlds. Countless worlds that are all born and grow on their own; and among them, there existed a world that was just too evolved. Because their technology and science was too advanced, they ended up destroying their own world. All that remained were dangerous technological relics of the lost world."
"The general term given to one of those relics is a "Lost Logia"." Chrono added, "How they're supposed to be used is unknown, but depending on the user…it can harness a power high enough to not only destroy a single world, but all of dimensional space. An incredibly dangerous technology."
"We must handle those items properly, and they must be stored in a proper place for safekeeping" Lindy added, gone was her motherly attitude and it was replaced by a serious demeanor, "The Lost Logia that you three are searching for… the Jewel Seeds…are the crystalized forms of energy for dimensional interference.
"If several seeds were to be activated together, a dimensional distortion would occur and, worst case scenario…" the woman paused for a moment, "A dimensional dislocation could be created because they're so dangerous."
"Okay, not so similar to the Chaos Emeralds" Sonic noted to Nanoha in mindspeak, "Supposedly they grant unlimited power to the individual who collects them all…But when I found them, that didn't happen and they scattered themselves across the islands and back into their Special Stages again."
"Any idea, why?" Nanoha asked her familiar, curious because some of the information wasn't adding up.
"I can only guess it's because of that rumored 7th emerald" the hedgehog mentally shrugged, "Because, on hindsight, I could've sworn something was missing."
"When you two fought that black-clad mage and her familiar, that flash of light was an explosion which had a huge impact on space" Chrono added, "That was a dimensional distortion, albeit on a small scale."
"A small scale?!" The blue hedgehog, obviously annoyed, asked in snarking fashion to the black-clad enforcer, "An explosion that covers half of a city can hardly be considered a small-scale."
"Maybe from your perspective " Lindy noted, timely defusing her son's growing annoyance at the interruption before he could've said anything, "But from a historical standpoint from where we're from. It can be considered such."
"Even so.. using a mere fraction of their power is dangerous on its own" Chrono noted, "However, the effect of gathering and activating several of them at once is unfathomable."
"I've heard of that happening once before…" Yuuno added in reflection, "In the year 462, following our lunar calendar, a dimensional dislocation occurred."
"We've heard of that one.." Lindy added, "Many of the adjacent worlds to that one were completely annihilated. It was a horrible tragedy that will always stain our history.
"We can't let it happen again…" the woman ended the briefing. Before she went on to her next topic she took a cube of sugar from a bowl and added it to her tea, an action that surprised Nanoha for a moment, "At any rate, I'd like to inform you that the Time-Space Administration Bureau…will take over all authority regarding the Lost Logia, the Jewel Seeds."
"It'd be best if you just forgot about what happened…" Chrono added, "Returned to your separate worlds, and continued to live your lives."
Yuuno nodded in confirmation. He was not about to disregard the orders from the TSAB so quickly just yet. The same could not be said for Sonic and Nanoha. The former looked like he was about ready to go off on some rant, but he was urged against it by Nanoha.
"But…" the girl tried to argue it herself first, "That's…"
"This incident involves dimensional interference!" the enforcer cut the girl short over what she was about to say, his interruption tested the blue hedgehog's patience further, but he didn't care, "This is not a simple matter that we could allow civilians to get involved with."
"But..!" Nanoha argued again, trying to calm her familiar down at the same time
"I don't think so.." Sonic had just about enough of the undermining and nonsense, and he voiced it by glaring at Chrono.
"Pardon?" the enforcer glared back, seeing how the hedgehog was about to react, "Did you say something?"
"Yeah, I did" Sonic countered back with his expression devoid of the comic-relief joking persona he had earlier, "And I'm wondering who in the world you think you are to tell us that we can't get involved in this?"
"Sonic-kun…" Nanoha looked at her familiar, but decided against arguing as she could feel the blue hedgehog's frustration and, in a way, understand why.
"You're walking on thin ice, familiar" Chrono, not one to take lip from someone who arguably could've been considered lower on the proverbial food chain of authority and status, cautioned the blue hedgehog, "And you best understand your place here before you stir up any more trouble."
"My place? Oh that's classic." Sonic countered, not one to back down, "And let me tell you something. This whole incident is centered on OUR home world, and if you think we're just going to sit on our tails and watch some intruding, otherworldly government come down and start calling the shots. Then you have another thing coming."
"That's enough from you both! " Lindy said sternly, easily defusing the tempers of both her own son and the rebellious blue hedgehog with her commanding presence. "I understand the frustrations here, and that we've brought this up so suddenly, so it's probably expected that you can't think so clearly. So why don't you think it over this evening and discuss it between yourselves? We'll talk about it in the morning."
"I can take you back to where we just came from" Chrono offered as he stood up, "Would that be alright?"
"H-hai.." Nanoha nodded quickly, nudging the blue hedgehog to her side, "Sonic-kun… Onegai.."
"Alright.." Sonic agreed reluctantly with a defeated sigh, "But only because you asked."
With probably a few grumbles from the hedgehog to respond, Chrono calmly escorted the group back to the warp gates to transfer them back down to the planet.
[Earth]
[Uminari City, Japan]
[BGM : "Yasuragi" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
Yuuno, still in human form, overlooked the ocean view with Sonic and Nanoha beside him after they were transferred back from the Asura. He still felt quite regretful about keeping his human form secret from them.
"You're not mad at me about all of this.. are you?" the boy asked the two, "It didn't turn out the way I had thought.. and from one viewpoint, I could've been considered to have kept this form a secret from you both"
"I'm not mad, you only surprised me, that's all. If I had known, in hindsight, things could've gone differently" Nanoha shook her head, "We were both caught up in a misunderstanding."
"Sorry…" the boy said, "and thank you for your forgiveness.."
"You're not quite off the hook yet, Tutorial Ferret… boya… damn that's going to take some getting used to" Sonic grumbled a bit, but still not before raising a valid point to Yuuno, "Nanoha-chan is probably the most forgiving of the girls that you'll need to apologize to."
"Hai.." Nanoha added flinching a little bit in nerves, "I don't think Alisa-chan will take this too well.."
"She doesn't have to know yet…" Yuuno noted in hope, "And if it'll be more convenient, I could stay in the ferret form."
"You have a point there" Sonic noted, and even he wasn't that cruel to subject Yuuno to that torment; he had his fill of amusement when Nanoha had slapped the boy, "But you're going to have to tell them all at some point"
"At any rate" Nanoha noted as she saw Yuuno shift back into his ferret form, "We best go home and have dinner. We'll need to talk to my family about what we're going to do from here on."
With that said the trio left the ocean-view park and headed home for the evening. They had a lot of thinking ahead of them and a big decision to make.
[Dimensional Space above Earth]
[Time-Space Administration Inter-Dimensional Cruise Patrol Warship "Asura"]
[No BGM]
After he had escorted the trio and saw them off to their home world, Chrono met up with Amy, one of the assistants who was already looking over the battle data collected from the recent incident.
"Sugoi! Look at these two! Their rankings have to be at least AAA" Amy admitted in awe as she reviewed their data, "And look at their familiars, I haven't seen anything like them before"
"And take a look at that girl in white. Oh~ she's so adorable!" The girl nodded, grinning a little as she decided to have a little bit of fun with the enforcer, "I think she'd be a cute date for you, while I can take that adorable blue boy."
"Amy…" The boy deadpanned, "I'm not interested in that sort of thing.."
'That stash under his bed says differently' Amy grinned to herself in contradictory thought, 'He's into older girls. I wonder if I still fit that bill'
"At any rate, to put their power in terms of numbers, both girls are easily in the 1 million range" the brunette, 16 years of age versus Chrono's 14 to put in perspective, "Almost tripling when they go all out. They easily outdo you in terms of power alone."
"You know that's not the only thing that matters with our magic" Chrono countered, "They both lack experience"
Lindy soon joined the two in the same room before Amy could embarrass the young enforcer even more. The woman, noticeably, had changed from her work uniform to a casual long-sleeved shirt and skirt outfit with a yellow scarf-like shawl-thing wrapped around her elbows.
"Captain!" Chrono addressed his mother informatively as a force of habit.
"ah" the woman observed, "You're looking at their data."
"Hai.." Chrono confirmed
"They're amazing.." Lindy noted as she tightly gripped the back of Amy's chair
"If that much magical power flowed into a Lost Logia…" the lone boy said with little pause, "There's no doubt it'll cause a dimensional distortion."
"Those kids… we can confirm why Nanoha-san, Sonic-kun and Yuuno-kun were gathering these Jewel Seeds, but…" the woman's attention focused on Fate from the battle data, "I wonder why this girl in black was gathering them as well…"
"She looked pretty desperate to me" Chrono noted from reflection, "She probably has a strong reason for doing what she's doing now.."
"And then there's the matter of Nanoha-san's familiar." Lindy noted as she gestured to the data that showcased Sonic's part against the Jewel Seed possessed tree, "The fact that he doesn't appear to have a secondary form is rare enough. But for him to utilize weapons different from his master?"
"And his attitude" Chrono noted with a frown, "I may have acted out of turn with him, but he gives me that rebellious vibe."
"And he doesn't appear to be any older than Nanoha-san" the woman nodded, "For him to have developed such an attitude at a young age. I have to wonder if there was something that happened to him in his recent past."
"That could be the case" Amy nodded, "But, if we're right, what else can we do? This world isn't part of our jurisdiction."
"We'll have to find out.." the woman sighed, "It's preferable that he comes forward before it becomes something we can't ignore."
[Earth]
[Uminari City, Japan]
[Urban District, Apartment of Fate Testarossa]
[No BGM]
The near-full moon graced the city with its calm light. In the familiar apartment of Fate Testarossa, the aforementioned girl laid down tiredly on the couch. Her left arm was half covered in bandages as a result of the Time-Space Administration's intervention and Enforcer Chrono's stinger spell.
"Don't move please, Fate!" Arf pleaded with the girl, "Now that the Time-Space Administration's involved, we won't be able to continue. Let's run away.. we can go somewhere.. where we can be alone"
"I can't do that…" Fate softly declined.
"But even though we managed to escape, that boy was a top class mage! We were lucky to get out of there" Arf argued back, "And if that boy decides to come after us, there may be no mistake. And that woman.. your own mother keeps saying all of that nonsense. She's been so cruel to you too!"
[BGM: "Daijoubu da yo" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]
"Don't speak badly of kaa-san…" the blonde softly requested.
"I will speak badly of her; because I'm so worried about you!" Arf refused, finally letting her feelings of sadness show as she covered her face and bawled, "Whenever you're sad, my heart hurts so much it feels like it's being ripped to pieces. Whenever you're crying, my eyes and nose get all watery and blurry, so much that I lose myself!
"I don't want you to be in pain or to cry anymore!" Arf locked gazes with her mistress, "Fate!"
"I guess that's because you and I are linked in mind and spirit" Fate said softly as she sat up on the couch, "Gomen, ne… If you're ever hurting, I'll be sure to stop myself from being sad, to stop crying."
"I…" The wolf woman kneel down to her knees, pressing her face against her arms on the ground, "I just want you to smile.. I just want you to be happy, Fate! Why?! Why can't you understand?!"
"Arigatou, Arf…" Fate softly replied, "But you see… I want to grant kaa-san's wish. And it's not just for her… I'm sure it's for myself as well…
"So… just a little more.." the girl softly laid her non-bandaged, right hand on top of Arf's head and patted a little, "There's only a little more until we reach the end, so will you give me your best until then?"
"Promise me" Arf requested as she locked gazes with Fate again, "… that you're not doing this just because that woman is telling you to… but you're doing your best because it's for you… and you alone… Then I'll always protect you"
"Yeah" the blonde girl nodded without missing a beat, sure of herself and her motives.
[Residential District, Takamachi Residence]
[No BGM]
While the family ate dinner, they talked about the recent involvement of the Time-Space Administration. While Nanoha's mother and father couldn't say he felt comfortable with his daughter helping out this new party without at least hearing it from them first; they saw the determination that she and Sonic had. Too much has happened on Earth already and they were involved too much to just sit on their tails and back off this late in the game.
Nanoha and Sonic were driven to help in their own ways. For Nanoha, she had already been an inconvenience once and that as when her inaction almost caused half of the city to be destroyed, she did not want to go through that again. For Sonic, not only was it because of his debt to Nanoha, which probably was arguably long paid off by now, but he too didn't want to see any more destruction. South Island had taken enough damage from Eggman; and he'll be damned if he let his new home suffer any further if he could protect it.
While the two were talking over with the rest of the family, Yuuno went up to Nanoha's room to inform the Bureau party of their choice of action.
"We would like to help you" the ferret requested in communication with the Asura with Amy, Chrono and Lindy on the other end.
"Help us?" Chrono asked skeptically, "ne?"
"Even without me, I'm sure Nanoha's magical power will increase your strength. Her familiar also appears to have some experience as well" Yuuno explained, "They are both driven help collect the Jewel Seeds and fight against that girl.. whichever way you choose, I'm sure they'll be of a help to you."
"I see…" Lindy understood, "They've thought things over, haven't they. Very well then.. They can help us."
"K-kaa-san!" Chrono just stared at his mother in surprise before quickly realizing his slip, "Er.. Captain!"
"Let's have them help us.." the woman explained her reasoning, "I'd rather we save our trump card until we really need to use it, if possible."
"Hai" the boy sighed, knowing full well than to argue at this point.
"We have two conditions, however" Lindy stated in the communication, "For one, the girl and her familiar must place themselves in the hands of the Time-Space Administration, metaphorically speaking; and to follow our orders to the letter. Is that alright?"
"I understand" Yuuno confirmed.
Meanwhile, Nanoha and Momoko were washing the dishes from dinner in the kitchen. Yuuno had just informed Nanoha of the agreement with the TSAB, to which she thanked him for. Sonic, Shiro and Kyouya were present by the fridge and, were all dressed in a manner appropriate for training.
"Momoko; we'll be heading out now" Shiro noted, "And Nanoha-chan, would it be alright if we borrowed Sonic-kun?"
"You're going to be training him" Nanoha assumed, judging from their looks, "right?"
"Hai" Kyouya nodded, "We won't take too long.
"Very well" Momoko nodded, "Be careful"
"Yeah, as if these two will be with me" Sonic quipped, "I'm screwed."
"You'll be fine" Nanoha smiled, trusting her familiar to lighten the mood a bit and keep everyone loose, "Be careful."
"Hai" Kyouya and Shiro nodded and took off with the blue hedgehog in tow.
Miyuki, who was hustling to get out and join the training group, had slipped a little bit on her way out, drawing amused reactions to her sometimes clumsy habits. Soon it was just Nanoha and her mother in the kitchen. Well, two girls plus a Tutorial Ferret, as Yuuno had returned from his debriefing with the Bureau.
"Kaa-san.. are you sure you're okay with all of this?" Nanoha asked her mother as they were seated on the couch, "I mean, this will probably be getting dangerous; and I know I'll probably worry you."
"Nanoha-chan; I'm your mother, I'm always going to worry about you" Momoko softly assured her, "I knew from the first day that this all started that you were going to be getting involved in dangerous things; so this isn't anything new."
"Yeah…" the girl nodded
"The same goes for Sonic-kun as well; I worry about him because he's in our family now too" the woman added, "Whether he realizes this or not, he'll soon have to depend on your help more. You two started down this same path together, however long it goes or how dangerous it gets, it matters little.
"But know this" Momoko stood up and softly patted her daughter on the shoulder, "You have my strongest support. So go do what you want to do. Help this other girl that you've told us about. Do whatever you want, so long as it's nothing you'll regret."
"Hai!" Nanoha smiled instantly, "Arigatou gozaimasu!"
[Less than an hour later]
Nanoha, with her casual clothes on and a backpack of stuff she'll need on her back, ran down a long, winding road with Sonic and Yuuno at her side. Determination strongly present in their expressions, the trio had no clue how long their road would be; but they were going to travel down and give it everything they had.
Little did they know that Fate and Arf were soon to follow down a similar road. Not only that, but this incident was nowhere near the dramatic climax. Instead it was only the beginning; the beginning of a chain of events that would change everyone's lives forever; for better or worst.
[Dimensional Space]
[Garden of Time]
For the great mage Precia Testarossa, she seated herself at the throne of her realm. Her patience and time running out as she gazed that the four Jewel Seeds that Fate had left her earlier; her gaze then went down to a central circle that appeared to be something for magical scrying.
"Hurry Fate…" Precia half-demanded/half-pleaded out loud, "The promised land… Al Hazard awaits us. My.. no our.. Utopia"
The wheels and chains that powered the great machinations of destiny were spun to work. To what end, should one ask? What is this Al Hazard that Precia speaks of? Can Nanoha and Sonic truly trust the Time-Space Administration? Will Arf be able to save Fate from what could be the inevitable pain and sorrow that she may suffer in the future? To what lengths will she go for it? So many questions… and yet, the answers are unclear. Only time will tell; as so the story goes.
[To be continued!]
[Ending: "Little Wish ~Lyrical Step" Yukari Tamura]
[End of Chapter 10]
Author's notes: Yeah… a lot will happen now.. I'm going to solely focus on this story for now.. At any rate; I once again have to alter how I go about the story as I ran into another scene at the end there that goes completely different because I already had Nanoha's family in the know of the magic business… on a humorous ending note, who knew Nanoha and Sonic were such covert geeks?! I COULD NOT RESIST THAT REFERENCE! It may be obvious, but that reference must be identified! College starts up for me on Monday.. so I'll be busy again!