*Special thanks to my beta: Phantom puppeteer*
Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Senki Lyrical Nanoha and any of its characters.
Chapter 2: The Awakening
"Sig..num...st..op it. You d..don't know w.w..what you are doing..." Hayate choked out as her back slammed into the wall with Signum crushing her throat. Hayate's hands latched onto Signum's ones as she tried to pry Signum's unrelenting fingers off her throat.
The situation she was in is not what is scaring her the most. The thing that sent shivers down her spine, that made her insides turn cold, so much that her heart seemed to stop, was the gaze the pink-haired woman. Signum's eyes were cold and lifeless. Gone was the warmth that Hayate always saw in Signum's eyes, the cerulean blue eyes that once assured her that everything will be alright. The hands that had once carried her, helped her when she was down, is now trying to strangle her. She saw nothing even remotely similar to the reliable person who had sworn to protect her. Instead, she saw someone who is after her life. Who is this person?
"Signum! Do you have any idea of what you are doing? Let her go now, Hayate is going to suffocate!" Vita shouted as she rushed to try and free Hayate from Signum's steel grip.
She knew, Vita knew that there was something wrong with Signum. Yet she did not know the extent of it. As the scene unfolded itself before her, Vita felt a sense of dread, fear, swallow her.
"S..Signum..." Hayate managed to squeeze out the knight's name. Her conscious started to fade as her head pounded from that lack of oxygen.
Shamal and Zafira shared a look with each other. "I will inject this stabilizer into Signum. Meanwhile, you get Signum away from Hayate." Shamal sent the message via telepathy.
On the count of three, both of them launched themselves at Signum. Shamal stabbed Signum with the syringe, injecting Signum with the stabilizer. Zafira pulled a surprised Signum away from Hayate as Hayate dropped to the ground, her hand immediately massaging her aching neck. Shamal felt Signum's muscle tense before becoming slack, as the stabilizer took full effect.
Hayate coughed, as she took in deep breaths of air. "What happened to Signum?" She asked, stumbling a little as she stood up. Vita hurried to help Hayate, her arms supporting her master. Words could not express how Hayate felt. She was hoping that Signum would get well, hoping that there was just a minor fault in her system, that everything would be fine the next day. But that was not meant to be.
Signum struggled against Shamal and Zafira, her eyes narrowing on her target. She was so close, so close to fulfilling her order... Her hands reached out to Hayate, desperate to accomplish what she was assigned to do, desperate to finish her duty. Desperate to kill the girl with sad brown eye, who stood only centimeters away from her. She was so close.
Yet, desperate as she is, she could feel her strength forsaking her. She mustered every ounce of her strength, but was still unable to break away from the hold that Shamal and Zafira have on her. Her arms fell to her sides. She could no longer summon the energy to struggle anymore.
No...this can't be! I can't rest yet. I have to complete this mission! I have...yet..to...do my...duty...
Yet as Signum's eyes slowly closed, as Signum slowly sank back into darkness, she felt something within her. Something small, yet it its presence was already starting to gnaw at her heart. Regret. Regret that she was unable to complete her task, regret that she have failed as a knight. Regret, that she had not killed Hayate.
"Why didn't I realize it sooner?" Shamal cried as she slammed her fist against the wall, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to flow. Tears would do nothing to salvage the situation. It is merely a sign of weakness. Yet she could not help the feeling of guilt and sorrow that overcame her. It was all her fault. If only she had been more alert and not miss such an important detail, then everything would be...
"It wasn't your fault, Shamal. None of us would have thought that the 'Divider' would have injected a virus into her system. You are not to blame for this." Zafira said calmly, clasping a hand on Shamal's shoulder in an effort to comfort her.
"How am I not to be blamed? It was solely because I did not take notice of the virus in its early stage, that it was able to spread throughout Signum's system! And now she is..she is..." Shamal chocked out, not even trying to stop her tears from flowing anymore. "Her data is so corrupted that I might not even be able to fully restore Signum's system!"
"NO! There..there must be a way! Shamal, you have to help Signum recover. You MUST help her!" Vita said, her voice getting more frantic by the second. "She is-"
An announcement interrupted Vita, the calm and monotonous voice a stark difference from Vita's panicky ones.
[ Attention Hayate and Vita. An attack at North 118 West 228 have been reported. The enemy to be engaged is the Huckebein that Signum have engaged in battle previously. Fate is currently engaging the enemy forces. Your presence is required on the battlefield.]
Upon hearing the announcement, the group exchange glances. Hayate looked at Vita and nodded, squeezing her hands to reassure her. Everything is going to be okay.
Vita had a grim expression on her face. An eye for an eye. The enemy is going to pay for what they did to Signum.
After Shamal and Zafira wished both of them luck, Hayate and Vita proceeded to suit up their barrier jacket. Just as she was about to leave, Hayate stopped at the doorway, looking over her shoulder at Shamal and Zafira. A sad smile gracing her face.
"Shamal. Zafira. Please take care of Signum."
"Bardiche, assault form." Fate murmured softly to her device, her eyes never leaving her enemy.
"Assault form" The device confirmed.
It was quiet, each side watching the other, pacing around each other in a circle, sizing each other up. Then, it all happened in an instant.
"Plasma smasher!" Fate yelled as she lunged at her enemy, clashing their weapons together. The metallic grinding of the contact filled the air, sparks erupting at the point of contact, as Fate dug her feet into the ground to brace herself against the enemy's strength.
"Tch...do I have some fate with public servants or what." Cypha grumbled as she parried Fate's attack with her own weapon-divider 944.
"Graf Eisen, Kometen Fliegen!" A kid's voice rang out above the chaos. 4 red spheres crackling with deadly energy rushed towards Cypha, who was still locked in battle with Fate.
Fate leaped away with the fast reflex and speed that she posses, just in time to avoid the spheres radiating energy as the magic made full contact with the enemy. The ground beneath Cypha cracked, as the spheres exploded upon contact. Smoke mingled with dust that swirled around, making it hard to see what happened to Cypha.
"Did we get her?" Hayate questioned, as she joined Fate and Vita.
The dust and smoke slowly cleared, revealing Cypha standing in the middle looking unharmed and examining her fingernails. One might even term her expression as that of bored.
Meeting them in the eyes, Cypha grinned. "Pretty impressive for a grunt. But I believe that it's my turn to attack now!" Finishing that, Cypha rushed towards them, her weapon drawn at the ready.
Then, the battle rages on.
"The virus have done a huge damage to Signum's system. Even if I could recover it, it is going to take a very long time to fully recover her." Shamal said, as she frowned at a screen full of digits, occasionally typing something and overwriting them. Zafira was in his wolf-form beside her chair, lying on the floor.
Behind them, Signum's eyes opened, a murderous glint present in her cerulean depths.
MISSION INITIATING...
SCANNING FOR THE MASTER OF THE BOOK OF DARKNESS...
A few numbers representing the location of the target flashed within her system, causing Signum's eyes to narrow. Found her. With inhumane strength, she tore off the binds restricting her and got up from the bed mechanically.
The tearing of the binds alerted Zafira and Shamal, both of them instantly rushing to grab her.
"The sedatives I gave her should have her out for more than one week!" Shamal exclaimed, as she tried to set up more binds. "Klarer Wind!" Green ribbons came forth, wrapping themselves around Signum's arms and legs, simultaneously dragging her back.
Signum looked down at the binds restricting her. She murmured something, before a burst of energy seemed to blast forth from within her, shredding the binds and throwing both Shamal and Zafira back. Shamal took most of the force of the explosion and she was thrown back, hitting her head against the wall before sliding to the floor unconscious. Zafira managed to avoid much damage from the force itself, but was not spared from the shrapnel from the remains of the furniture in the room. Despite his injuries, Zafira changed into his human form, before grasping on to Signum's arm, trying to stop her from leaving.
Yet his efforts were for naught. Signum threw her fist into his stomach, and the close distant coupled with her unbelievable strength, it knocked Zafira out.
OBSTRUCTION CLEARED.
"Levantine!" Signum called out. A necklace with a sword charm instantly floated to her side.
"Tch, this is not bad." Vita muttered under her breath as she wiped the blood away from a newly open wound on her cheek.
"Misteltein!" Hayate shouted, her attacks raining relentlessly down on Cypha. Rushing forwards, she took the time Cypha used to block the attack to strike at her. However, Cypha had already seen that coming, and she parried the blow easily.
"Not bad kid." Cypha said teasingly, a smirk on her face. "But if you want to defeat me, you've got to do better that that!"
Vita was about to aid Hayate, until she felt an incoming force. Something compelled her to turn and look to her left, just in time to see Signum with Levantine at the ready.
"Schlanger form." the device said mechanically.
"Hiryuu Issen!" Signum yelled, her eyes fixated solely on Hayate.
"Hayate! Watch out!" Vita shouted, even as she lunged forwards to stop Signum, even though she knows that she would not reach her in time.
Hayate was too involved in the battle with Cypha to note what Vita said, a huge mistake on her part. As Hayate drew on her magic to deal another blow to Cypha, Signum's attack hit Hayate in full contact, causing her to be thrown back.
Hayate crashed through several buildings, before coming to a stop at the top of a huge pile of rubble. Even as she struggled to stand up, Signum had already reached her, and started to attack again.
"Ah, is this not the public servant I destroyed in the last battle? Why is she still alive? Yet this is certainly interesting. An internal battle perhaps?" Cypha murmured to herself, as she quickly backed away, placing herself at a safe distance to watch the at unfold.
However, Fate would not have it, and she quickly, engaged Cypha in combat before the enemy could even start to rest. Knowing that it was no longer wise to remain as reinforcements may arrive any time, Cypha quickly made a quick retreat. Fate gave chase.
"Signum, wake up!" Hayate yelled desperately at the knight that was attacking her. All she could do was employ defense techniques, lest she hurt Signum. However, Signum was not a force to be trifled with, and Hayate knew that it was only a matter of time before her barrier gave in to Signum's attack. Yet it was all she could do, as she was unwilling to hurt her knight.
Oblivious to her surroundings, Signum continued to attack at a rapid rate. Vita stood by helplessly, as the fight was proceeding at too fast a pace for her. Any interference at the wrong timing might result in Hayate getting hurt instead.
All of a sudden, Signum came to a stop. Yet Vita had little time to contemplate on that, before a notification screen pop up in front of her. Back at the base, a similar screen appeared in front of the unconscious Shamal and Zafira.
VIRUS HAD SUCCESSFULLY INFILTRATE Wolken Form. ACTIVATION OF Wolken Form ALLOWED.
Vita stared in horror. "This shouldn't be happening! Shamal, Zafira and I did not give our consent for the activation of the Wolken Form!" Vita screamed on her head, as she tried fruitlessly to halt the process.
The Wolken Form. It was created specially for the leader of the Wolkenritter. The power is on equal standards, if not more, than the Master of the Book of Darkness. However, this form can only be activated when all the Guardians agree to it. So dangerous was it, that the Wolkenritter have never resorted to such a measure, even when in a desperate situation. Its power alone is enough to destroy the whole planet.
A bust of dark energy came forth, swirling around Signum, cloaking her in a shroud of black. Magical energy whirled around in the air, making the setting all the more ominous. Signum's once pink hair slowly darkened to a midnight black. Her battle armor faded and darkened at the same time, the only remaining colors being black and white. A tattoo formed, and slowly inched across the expense of the left side of her face and hands. Even Levantine's form seemed to have changed, now a thin black sword with equally dark coloured flames surrounding it. Signum's eyes seemed to have gone on a whole new level of sinister.
"Hayate, RUN!" Vita scream. Yet in the shock of the sudden transformation that she have never witnessed before, Hayate was slow to respond.
In a blink of an eye, Signum was right in front of Hayate, her black sword plunged into the stomach of her very own master. Hayate stumbled backwards, the sudden pain overwhelming, as she stared at the sword in disbelief. Then, she blacked out, a limp body hanging on the end of Signum's sword.
Ahem. After being threatened by Signum, that she will kill me if i don't post this chapter up, here is the Second chapter. My apologies for this late post. A lot of things have been happening recently. and this is the fastest i can manage.
Umm..this is NOT a threat, but if you guys do not review after reading, Signum will be standing beside your bed that night with Levantine pointing at your neck. Note: This is seriously not a threat.
PS: Chapters may be posted late most of time. Sorry.
PLEASE REVIEW!