SonicANIME2010 here with another chapter of Lyrical Step.. The plot thickens as Jail begins his plans with the Cradle and Emerl, what will happen now that Cinque, formerly on the side of Jail and his cyborgs, has revolted and defected to save the younger ones. The story goes on, I'd like to thank again everyone who has followed this story and I noticed this story is gaining more attention as it builds up. And I also noticed that on the opening day of my new crossover "Sonic: Knight of the Night Sky" has already gotten some favorites and alerts, I'd like a moment to seriously thank everyone, it means a lot to know that I'm getting support and a lot of advice despite being so new. So without delay, I bring the next chapter!
-Opening: "Massive Wonders" Mizuki Nana-
Sonic Adventure: Lyrical Step
Chapter 26
Cradle's rise; Jail's plan is unleashed!
-Mid-Childa: Saint Church Hospital-
-Insert: "A Brief Respite" Dissidia: Final Fantasy-
Following his injuries sustained protecting the backyard staff at Riot Force 6, Master Sergeant Vice Granscenic was hospitalized and given surgery, it was a success and he was going to be recovering. At the moment, Alto visited him as he laid on a bed with a breathing mask.
"Master Sergeant Vice, congratulations on your surgery. Riot Force 6 and our 704 Helicopter was destroyed, but we saved your Stormraider was saved." she held the dog-tag that had Stormraider's AI in it in her hand, "Vice-Captain Signum brought it to us. Don't worry about anything else. Just stay here and rest"
-Helicopter landing pad-
Alto stood in front of a helicopter, dressed in her own uniform for piloting, a detachment of mages entered in her mind as she sat in that pilot's seat, she thought about her responsibility 'As Vice's kohai (junior), and as a member of Riot Force 6, I inherit the job of taking everyone to the places they need to be.' determination strong in her resolve, she gripped the controls and took flight in the copter.
-Asura (Officially it's also Arthra)-
-Insert: "Gin no Tsubasa" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST-
The large silver "L-class" TSAB Investigative Cruiser flew high in the skies over Mid-Childa. While the ship itself has over 10 years in service and the Bureau had plans to scrap her, Admiral Chrono and Hayate managed to arrange for it to be reinstated and used as the new Mobile HQ for Riot Force 6.
-Helmsman room-
Maintaining the controls as the helmsman of this mighty experienced vessel was Lucino, who originally was from the communications at Long Arch, Fate called in to check up on her.
"Lucino, is the control okay?"
"Hai, Fate-san. I know everything about her.. the Asura (Arthra.. whatever). And Tails-kun is running routine checks on the ship to make sure everything's okay." Lucino replied as she maintained the cruiser's speed at a slow cruise.
-Meeting Room-
Gathered in this large room and sitting in the long table was Sonic, Vivio, Shadow, Nanoha, Fate, Cinque, Caro, Teana and Ginga temporarily taking Subaru's position as Stars-6. Vivio seemed to be bright and cheery, an attitude that she kept that managed to spread around.
"Alto-san and Lucino-san are taking over? (context meaning out of the communications)" Teana asked.
"Yeah.. Alto's going to be our helicopter pilot while Vice is still recovering" Nanoha started
"And Lucino's going to be the Helmsman for the Asura (Arthra too)" Fate added
"Well this ship brings back some memories, it was used to make round trips to our world." Sonic noted and then chuckled "Tails must be having a lot of fun here, he was always interested in these ships."
Vivio almost broke into song "Flying ships.. Flying ships.. So fun! Wee!" which got a few smiles and chuckles, even Shadow couldn't resist.
Sonic let out a few chuckles and patted Vivio on the head "Vivio, sometimes you're too cute... Well at least she's not singing "Bicycle Race""
Hayate chose that moment to enter "Very appropriate Sonic because I was thinking sometime we make our own Music Video of tha-"
"No!" Hayate was interrupted by Nanoha, Fate and Sonic on that one.
"Okay.. how about "We will Rock you?"
"Now that one we can do, we should so play that when we go after Scaglietti." Sonic said, getting Nanoha and Fate to agree on that
Just about everyone in the room who wasn't from earth (Vivio included) was just confused to what they were talking about, Cinque broke the silence with a clear of her throat, "Not to be rude, but you're confusing everyone else.. mind explaining?"
"Music from our world." Hayate summarized.
"Ah music.. Well Sonic seems to be a big success in that area." the silver-haired cyborg mentioned, then took notice of the surprised stares in her direction "Er.. so I heard." she couldn't hide that slight blush on her face that seemed to point that she was a fan.
The blue hedgehog chuckled at Cinque's attempt of back pedaling, he knew he caught her as a fan, pushing the thought aside he turned his attention to Hayate, "So.. what's up?"
The commander took her seat with Griffith standing behind her, "Riot Force 6's next actions have been decided."
"The Ground Force HQ's response is as lackluster as usual. They say they are going to investigate it themselves and reject any outside help" Griffith informed
"Which is just a fancy way of saying they are going to cover it up" Sonic deadpanned
"But, what we're investigating isn't the terrorist attack or its perpetrator, Jail Scaglietti." Hayate said as a display of a Relic in an open case floating, "It's the Lost Logia, the Relics.. which is what Scaglietti just happens to be involved in"
"Your recovery of the Relic on the train was what caught the Doctor's attention about the remaining Project Fs and Type-0s." Cinque pointed out
"We also know from Eggman that his grandfather was double-crossed by Scaglietti" Fate added.
"Yes.. he did.." the door opened and none other than Eggman himself walked in, "That blasted scoundrel disgraced my family's legacy."
"Eggman! What are you doing here? Better yet, How did you get here?" Sonic sat up more so he wasn't slouching.
"I arranged for his custody and sentence be served here because of his grandfather's association with Scaglietti. Moreover, you aren't supposed to be here, you were to wait until I talked to you about the journal." Fate informed with a trained glare at the seemingly reformed scientist.
"I only have one question, then I'll go back to my cell.. it's for that cyborg that used to work for Scaglietti.." Eggman argued back.
"You can ask but I'm not sure if I'll have the answers. I don't know much about my creator's workings with your grandfather." Cinque offered.
"Hear the question first.. according to my grandfather's journal, Scaglietti stole something from the ARK before GUN attacked, I ask you, what did he steal?"
Cinque let out a small sigh with her left eye closed and her head shaking in a negative way, "I'm sorry.. I don't have the answer.. he's kept that secret even from me."
The seemingly reformed scientist sighed "Very well.. I will return to my cell.", he left the room.
Hayate just blinked, then shrugged it off, "Back to what I was talking about. We will continue our investigation, and in the process, we will find and recover the kidnapped Subaru Nakajima and the Gizoid known as Emerl. Any thoughts? Captains? Sub-Commanders?" she asked
"It's an ideal situation... but you're not overdoing it again, are you?" Nanoha gave her thoughts
"Are you okay?" Fate asked.
"Damn.. you both took my question" Sonic snapped his fingers.
"Getting serious now?" Shadow added.
"I reinforced backing from the admirals and Chrono, so it's okay. More than anything, this is why I created Riot Force 6. If we can't act here then I've wasted my time creating it."
"Ryokai (or something like that, it means "Roger" in japenese like "roger that")" Nanoha agreed
"Then I'm with you too." Fate added
"I'm in too.. For Emerl.." Sonic added.
"He knows something about my creation, so I'm in too" Shadow finished
"Okay, so with Cinque's assistance, we'll be able to start within the day. Get ready and wait for further orders" Hayate dismissed herself with Griffith in tow.
"Hai" came the rather unanimous reply; soon after Hayate left did Fate and Shadow leave to check up on Eggman. Leaving only Sonic, Nanoha, Teana, Ginga, Vivio and Cinque left.
"Speaking of the assistance, how far did you plan your rebellion?" Sonic turned his attention to the mentioned cyborg.
"I've planned it up to this point, it wasn't easy to hide from the others, so I wouldn't be surprised if some had caught on. I planned to assist them in the attack of the Ground Forces HQ to keep my cover, but it ended there as afterward I went around looking for one of you to force a battle in, the intention was to throw the fight, but also to put up some resistance so that it would appear that I was captured by force." Cinque explained.
"Did you take into account what would happen if you failed?"
"A little, but hearing Nove and Wendi losing your group got me to try and find you."
"Well, we'll be counting on you to tell us what you know." Sonic warned the cyborg
"I won't misplace that trust." Cinque confirmed.
"Ano.. Caro, where's Erio?" Nanoha asked the pink haired girl.
"Amy Rose-san is with him, she's making sure he'll be ready for the orders Commander Hayate has." Caro answered.
"I'm going down to the engineering department and check on Blitz Caliber" Ginga dismissed herself.
Sonic dismissed himself as well as Vivio, soon enough Nanoha and Teana followed suit with Cinque.
-Engineering Division-
Ginga met up with Mary to update her device, she was determined to save her young sister Subaru from Scaglietti's clutches at all cost.
-Hallway w/ Sonic and Nanoha-
After dropping Vivio off in their living quarters on the ship, Sonic met up with Nanoha in the hallway to discuss a few things.
"Did you move the training data over okay?" Nanoha asked her device
"It was completed without trouble" Raising Heart chimed in reply.
"Good." Nanoha noted.
Rein floated into the view of the duo, she was happy to see them "Ah! Sonic-san, Nanoha-san, Raising Heart"
"Ah! Rein! How are you doing?" Sonic asked the mini unison device.
"I'm totally okay ~desu!" Rein replied energetically.
"Shari-san asked me to handle Cross Mirage and the other devices' limiter removals"
"Yeah.. we asked her to." Sonic noted
"I wanted to proceed a little more carefully, but the situation won't allow for that.." Nanoha added as she let Rein sit on her shoulder.
"I'm sure everyone will be able to master them." The small girl was confident
"I take it you've been also aware of our new ally?" Sonic questioned.
"Hai.. Shari-san asked me to help her on working on the cyborg's "IS" as I heard it was called.. Are we sure we can trust her?"
"She took a pretty big risk seeking us out, and her emotions were sincere." Sonic noted.
"Anyways, Nanoha-san, for you and Raising Heart, Exceed Mode is okay, but the Blaster Mode is dangerous..."
"I won't use it. Blaster is Raising Heart's and my true, final trump card."
"It is" Raising Heart confirmed.
"Exceed alone has more than enough power. We'll take care of it until the very end"
"And I've got my Unison with Shahra, even without the Chaos Emeralds, it should be also able to handle anything that comes our way." Sonic noted.
"Don't strain yourself." Shahra cautioned from her ring
-Training Room-
-Music-less-
Well, Caro did say that Amy was helping Erio... she didn't say how though, and she also didn't mention that Erio was being double-teamed by said pink hedgehog and Signum for training, both instructors were relentless in their offensive. Amy had her device in Gigant form and used it skillfully against Erio's Strada. While Signum backed her up with her device in Schwert form.
The duo charged simultaneously against the red-head ready for their attack. The boy's response was using the jets on his own to blast off and clash head on with the two. Their impact created a smokey blast, when the smoke cleared. Erio was breathing heavily, holding Strada for support.
A loud buzzing noise filled the room, Signum understood that it meant the spar was done"It's time"
"Hai..." Erio panted
"As usual there's nothing I can teach you, is that okay?"
"That's okay, I'm stealing a lot of your techniques."
Signum chuckled "Silly kid", the woman released the mode on Laevatein, returning it to its sword pendant form "You can't be worrying Fate, so don't overdo it too much" she spoke as she left
The pink hedgehog returned Rosa Blutenblatt to its standby mode soon after Signum did, "You've been improving.. It's okay to be stealing techniques from your instructors, but try to think of your own variations to them and be creative." she advised and left to follow Signum.
"Arigatou gosaimasu. (Thank you very much)" Erio said.
-With Signum and Amy-
The duo ran into Fate on their way out.
"Testarossa." Signum noted
"Thank you for taking care of my child, Instructor Rose and Instructor Signum" Fate thanked them.
"It was no problem.. we're sorry we didn't ask you first though." Amy apologized as they walked through the hall.
"Erio asked the both of you, and you accepted, so it's fine with me" Fate assured them, "I'm just a bit lonely." she sent them a wink with that last line.
"Erio just didn't want to worry his mother (Fate in this case). Try to understand that." Signum said stoically.
"Yes, I'm fine... How is Erio doing?"
"He's not bad... We both were in for a shock at how well he's improved." Amy answered
"For a kid who only knows the basics, his learning rate and judgment are incredible. He has the ability to make judgments and take action on the fly." the swordswoman added.
"Nanoha trains them that way, and Sonic helps with the quick thinking. They're firmly grounded in the basics, and their ability to adapt and take action in an instant is thanks to their mock battles." Fate informed.
"One of Sonic's best qualities is that his calmness despite any dire situation, and he's able to think and act quickly to get the best outcome. And with him helping Nanoha in instructing he's taught them to do the same." the pink hedgehog added.
"The practice they've done this far is preparation for them to get even stronger from here on out... So they can be as strong as they want to be.. stronger than yesterday.. far stronger than today." Fate said.
"I just hope that even with Ginga, they can still be as strong.. I hope Subaru's okay too" Amy was worried.
"Daijobu (Don't worry in this context), Ginga will save her imouto." Fate assured.
-With Shamal and Vita-
Vita laid on a bed with Shamal examining her; the patience of the red knight was slowly running thin.
"Shamal, are you done yet?"
"Just a little bit more"
"I've got work to do. I need to hurry up and get back"
"Just a bit more; stay still"
"We've known for years that my wounds are healing slower and my accumulated damage isn't going away as easily."
"It's not just your recovery abilities... the Guardian Knight system itself is acting strange and that bothers me. The link between us is getting weaker and we're gradually losing the ability for Hayate-chan to restore the system in an emergency or give us any additional power"
The eternal child sat up "It doesn't matter; if we do our best every day, it's not an issue." she stood up and went to put her coat on "That's enough, I'm leaving."
"Vita-chan..."
-Insert: "Keeping the Peace" Dissidia Final Fantasy-
"I don't think the problem with our bodies is due to the damage to the Guardian Knight system or anything like that. What we wanted since we were a part of the Book of Darkness, we've started to get. We've lived so long, unable to even die, and we wanted to live out our limited lives with our final master. What the first Rein gave to us... it's just a continuation of that And what's wrong with it? Not being able to heal as easily if we're wounded, or complete redo something.. It's kind of like being normal humans"
"Signum and Zafira said the same things. Our first and last lives. We need to treasure them, but use them as best as we can, they said."
"And you?"
"I'm the same. I'm not scared of the danger, and I've got no interest in eternity." The blonde medic knelt down to Vita's eye level and put a hand on her shoulder, "But I worry about you and Signum and Zafira as much as our gentle master, Hayate-chan" She turned the pat into a hug, "I want to support Hayate-chan and Rein-chan for as long as we can, without losing anybody.
Vita closed her eyes "Then don't worry. The second Blessed Wind, Rein, will help us. Signum and I won't fall. And Zafira will wake up soon. For the last ten years, the number of things we gotta protect has really gone up. I'll protect them all and come back fine. So I don't make a certain worrywart Knight of Lakes who's terrible at cooking and driving cry."
Shamal wiped a tear from her face, "Silly..."
-Jail's Laboratory-
-Music-less once more-
Despite his temporary setback at not being able to attain the material for the Vessel of the Saints (Vivio), with his recent collection of Relics, Chaos Emeralds and the all powerful Master Emerald, Jail Scaglietti was able to artificially create a substitute for the Vessel in Emerl, utilizing the Gizoid's ability to copy other abilities. And with the destruction of the Ground Force's supposedly secret Einherjar at the hands of his own newly improved Combat Cyborg Numbers, despite being short one with Cinque officially captured to them. They were yet unaware of her defection, although Uno and Quattro had their suspicions, they couldn't be proven and such had to assume she was taken in by force. True to Cinque's gambit. However, before Uno could finish delivering the Gizoid to the Cradle, the security system let out an alert that set her back momentarily to investigate. The defense system detected and neutralized several dark green dog-shaped creations.
-Outside Jail's Hideout-
Following up on a lead they got from Cinque, Inspector Verossa Acous and Sister Schach were outside this hideout that had the outside apperance of a cave entrance. Verossa had a green belkan triangle at his feet.
"Inside this cave?" Schach asked "It found my hunting dogs and destroyed them in once shot. It's no normal security system. This is their hideout. The cyborg's coordinates were exactly correct." Verossa dismissed the triangle.
"You're amazing, Rossa. I'm surprised we found this place with the coordinates."
"Schach, stop treating me like a kid." Verossa said as some of his spectral hunting dogs appeared at his side. He knelt down to stroke one "I'm just like Carim and Hayate, I'm an inheritor of a Rare Skill from the Ancient Belka."
"Infinite Hunting Dogs: Infinite Hunt. I'm aware of your power"
"Well, this was only possible thanks to the thorough investigation, as well as the coordinates supplied to us from the Cyborg."
Schach's twin blades flickered and Verossa felt a tug, when they got into a defensive stance they found a dozen Type-1 drones and over twenty sets of lights coming from the inside of the cave.
-Insert: "Blinded by Light" Final Fantasy XIII-
"They're coming from inside the cave too." Verossa observed.
"They're not going to let us walk away so easily" Schach added.
"I'm not too good at combat situations like these, but I think I can handle this many." Several dogs appeared at Verossa's side.
"Leave it to me." Schach loaded two cartridges into her device, "Protecting you and Carim is my job."
-Asura (Arthra too)-
-Insert: "
Alarms rang throughout the whole ship, in the cockpit was Hayate, the Long Arch staff, Signum and Vita. The Cyborgs' attacks of the Einherjar were detected but they soon left after it was destroyed, and it was shown that Zest was on his way to the ground HQ. Verossa did call in from the Hideout coordinates his group was given and asked for reinforcements to attack the hideout. Hayate approved of his request.
Signum however had a few thoughts running through her head about Zest, she knew she had to confront him, but instead of trying to intercept him while he was en route, she decided on a different tactic, "Hayate.. I'm borrowing Blaze." Signum left to go enlist Blaze's assistance in her gambit, her intentions were to already be at the place where Zest was going to be.. The Main HQ where Regius Gaiz resided.
-Hallway: POV: Sonic, Vivio, Nanoha, Ginga, Cinque and Teana-
The four were listening in on the reports, soon a visual look of the most recent signal of cyborgs heading for the Ground HQ made everyone speechless.
On the visual monitor were Deed, Wendi and Nove, however there was one more.. a familiar white headband tied in a bow was noticed... The newest cyborg, was.. Subaru! The blue-haired girl was quick in her stride as she was followed by Nove, what was different about Subaru was that she wore the same blue bodysuit that the others wore, in addition to a dark jacket over it.
Ginga was shocked speechless, "Subaru..."
However what was to come after that was to be even more shocking.
-Jail's Hideout: Exterior-
-Insert: "An Undocumented Battle" Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy-
The ground shook and quakes were felt by Verossa and Schach, the ground started to split open.
-Interior-
Jail once again took to bragging over a broadcast: "Now, it's time to revive! To my sponsors, and the TSA who made this world..."
-Saint Church: Carim's office-
Jail's feed was heard by Carim, "...and the Saint Church who lauds a hypocritical piece. Can you see it?
-Asura (Arthra): Hallway POV: Sonic, Nanoha, Vivio, Ginga, Cinque and Teana-
Jail's speech continued "...This is the absolute power that you longed for even as you avoided it."
-Jail's Hideout: Exterior-
The shaking continued as a large purple and yellow warship rose from the ground. This very ship was known as the Cradle of the Saints, the very same that Scaglietti had been trying to activate it.. Sure enough and true to Cinque's words, he unleashed it for all to see.
Jail's speech continued throughout everyone who was able to hear "That which in the old years created a world, and then destroyed it. The demonic wisdom of Ancient Belka."
-The Saint's Cradle: Throne Room-
Sitting at the throne, with his eyes glowing red and the jewel on his forehead shown for all to see was Emerl, fully awakened as the Gizoid.
Jail's speech continuing as this feed was also showing, "Can you see it? With a suitable vessel to control it.. and the legendary gems of power acting as it's fuel.. It's true power can be witnessed!"
Emerl sat emotionless and spoke in a stoic mechanical voice "Link established with Cradle" electricity shocked the robot, but he remained still and calm.
-Asura (Arthra)-
Vivio saw the pain the robot she used to see as an older brother to her endure, tears rolled down her face as Nanoha pulled her into a comforting hug, gripping Raising Heart tight. Sonic remained calm, but his expression showed he was very much ticked off at the horrible actions Jail is committing.
-The Saint's Cradle: Engine Room-
Jail also broadcast the image of the Master Emerald in the engine room of the large warship, acting as an even greater source for the ship's tremendous firepower.
-Jail's Hideout: Interior-
Jail finished his speech with one last declaration "The dream begins now!"
-Asura (Arthra.. same thing): With Knuckles-
The red echidna snarled at the sight of the Master Emerald, a relic of his ancestors, being used in such a way that Jail was using it. He was determined to bring the emerald back from the cruel doctor's clutches
-Hallway-
Jail's hysterical laughter was heard throughout the whole ship, but the main focus was on this group. Cinque's expression was that of an angered but determined one..
"Not if I have anything to say about it." the cyborg spoke, loud enough for the others to hear and threw off her temporary uniform, revealing her new combat clothing: dark blue and gray suit outfit with gray shorts, her cloak appeared as well, "We cannot let him win.." Cinque finished with determination strong.
Jail's hysterical laughter was heard throughout the whole ship, but the main focus was on this group. Cinque's expression was that of an angered but determined one..
"Not if I have anything to say about it." the cyborg spoke, loud enough for the others to hear and threw off her temporary uniform, revealing her new combat clothing: dark blue and gray suit outfit with gray shorts, her cloak appeared as well, "We cannot let him win.." Cinque finished with determination strong.
-End of Main Chapter-
-Omake: Cinque and the clothing dilemma-
So, the combat cyborg figured that since she wasn't going to be on Jail's side she'd better ditch the bodysuit they were always wearing. However, the real dilemma was what to wear instead. First she sought Sonic's advice.
Sonic heard out her dilemma and first said "First off, don't go to Hayate."
"Why?"
"She will force you into so many cosplay outfits... Anyways, I think you should go with something that's a bit more fitting for you and conservative."
The two went to Nanoha, who suggested something along the lines of shorts and a suit because she thought it would fit to her experience... Soon enough, Hayate's attention was gathered, and she showed up with, several lolita outfits, and a pirate outfit too..
The brunette easily used her position to "encourage" Cinque to try the outfits on.. much to her embarrassment, though she had to admit she looked rather cute in them.
-Ending: "Beautiful Amulet" Tamura Yukari-
-End of Chapter 26-
Author's notes: Anyone else feeling even more ticked off at Jail? Cause I am.. And to clear up the skepticism, Cinque is officially on the TSAB's side on this one.. And also the next few chapters will have battles that happen at around the same time, so be prepared for several POV shifts as I approach the final battle on Sonic Adventure: Lyrical Step, next off, be sure to check out my new story: Sonic: Knight of the Night Sky. Lastly, if you like my stories, be sure to check out ThoughtfulTikal/HedgehogNeesah, her stories are cool