Nanoha StrikerS: Pursuit of Perfection 14

A large white stone stake was slammed on the head by a giant red and gold hammer. "Five." Vita backed away as she looked at the five stools, put together in a circle around a central table.

Soran observed it and lowered his head. "You got your wish, Dad. You're reunited with your friends again. You five were the points that made up the Star, and now you can stay together, in this formation, where you worked the best, regretting nothing, enjoying everything." A tear ran down his cheek. "With this you can finally have your peace, all of you."

Hayate put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly, as he looked up from his wheelchair with a sad smile on his face. She turned around to the filed ranks. "Company, attention!" They stood straighter in unison. "Present arms!" They all saluted. An image was projected above the memorial of Chrono's ship as the three bodies were shot into the sun, followed by those that did not survive the rescue operation. "We are gathered here today to pay our final respects to our honored dead, and vow that they have not died in vain. We return them to the stars, from whence they came. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, amen." She lowered her hand as the transmission cut. "Company, dismissed!"

The ranks broke apart, and the forwards grouped around Soran, offering words of support. Soran sighed and looked up. "Heh. 'and vow that they have not died in vain.' No offense, Daicho, but you should have left that part out."

"Unh." Hayate looked guiltily away. "I had to because of procedure though. Soran-kun, you know I meant no insult by it."

"I know. I'm sorry." Soran sighed, shaking his unhappiness out of his head. "It still is a beautiful memorial. Thank you for helping me with it, everyone."

"Soran-kun, it's the least we could do." Nanoha gave her signature smile. "We know how much your parents mean to you. I'm just sorry your adoptive father couldn't make it."

"Well with that rock in slipstream, dimensional travel is going to take longer. Really that can't be helped." Soran shrugged. "On to the next order of business. Where's my ship? I want to take Subaru there, and fill in Gillium about what happened today."

"Eh? Your ship?" Hayate blinked.

"You know, the Star? The ship that Rein and I escaped slipstream on? The one that my father commanded?"

Hayate desperately turned to someone to help her. Fate lowered her head, and Zaphila covered his face with his paws. "Oh boy…" Vita shook her head. "Hate to break it to you, brat, but TSAB has claimed possession of it for study."

"WHAT?!" Soran yelled.

"And they seized its cargo too." Fate winced. "Also for research purposes."

"You're saying that just because they've never seen it before, TSAB has seized a personal item without consultation to the owner? And the cargo… you know how much time and energy I spent on mining those Casters?! And I don't… wait… they're not going to dismantle her, are they?!"

"Well, the research institute wants to inspect every piece of the technology, since it's a different make than any universe we've seen." Fate answered again.

"LIKE HELL THEY'RE TAKING APART MY SHIP!" Soran stood up suddenly, tossing his wheelchair away.

"Soran!" Subaru gasped, quickly rushing to his side to give him a shoulder to lean on.

He snubbed it as he slowly tromped over to Hayate on his unsteady legs. "You get the brass on the horn right now! That is my ship they're taking apart, and I won't stand for it! Seizing personal effects without a warrant or permission from the party has to be an illegal act!"

"That's true… t-that's true!" Hayate's eyes brightened. "If I say if the Star was a part of your father's estate which you received, then it can be considered a personal effect! Soran-kun, hang on, and I'll try to work some magic." She rushed back to her office.

"Soran!" Ginga rushed up to him and Subaru at the lunch table and gave him a hug. "I'm glad you're okay! I'm sorry I couldn't make it until today, but I've been so swamped!"

"Thanks." He said quickly, before returning to tapping his finger on the table rapidly.

"Uh?" She blinked.

"It's about the ship." Subaru put the topic in alignment.

"Oh, I heard about that from Fate-sempai." Ginga shook her head. "It's really not fair. Just because you were on the mend, they decided not to wait for you to claim possession of it."

"It's bureaucratic bullshit is what." Soran snarled.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Soran-kun." The doors opened to admit Fate. "Although I would put it in kinder terms."

"Fate-san, is there…." Subaru looked hopeful.

She shook her head, her long blonde hair following a few seconds later. "They're dodging her. Not answering the line, not returning calls, and saying the party is missing. They know exactly what she's trying to do."

"So they're stalling until they can finish everything they set out to do." Ginga pursed her lips. "It looks like you were right to send me on that hunt after all."

"Huh? Hunt? What hunt?" Soran looked up.

"Soran, none of the TSAB bases has your ship. Fate-san predicted this might happen, and had me investigate it independently. They've concealed its location."

"Then how are we supposed to find it?!" Soran stood up again, but this time his legs didn't hold.

"Gotcha!" Subaru caught him and held him tight.

"TSAB bases might not have it, but there's a loophole in the rules that says that subcontractors aren't considered bases of operations."

"Sub…contractors…." Soran slapped his forehead. "I know just where it is then. Damn!"

"Any luck there?" A man stood at the base of the upturned red armor, spotlights on certain parts of the ship.

"None! There doesn't seem to be any welds on this armor at all. I don't think we'll be able to take her apart from the outside!" A workman in a hard hat called down.

"Egh! And the locks are sealed tight with a vacuum atmosphere. If we rupture it, the entire ship will collapse in on itself." The foreman grunted. "Okay, I'm granting the use of the first level cutters. Just get the armor off. I don't want this thing breached, understand?!"

"Yes sir!"

A man turned to the supply room, and was instantly thrown on his back. "BWAH!" Before anyone could react, the entire hangar went dark.

In the blackness, two figures raced for the ship, jumping and landing on the forward hatch. "Gillium, it's me. Confirm voiceprint and let us in, hurry!" The male figure whispered.

A little light blinked on the airlock panel, and the entire ship sighed as it sucked in air, relieving the stress. The figures dove in and shut the airlock again. "Thank goodness you're here, Soran. They've been trying to find a way to dismantle the Star for weeks!" Gillium bobbed up and down on his track.

"Sorry about that, Gillium." Soran removed the black mask from his face. "It took me a while to track you down." He opened up his bag. "Rein, you know the plan."

"Hai desu!" She flew out, also dressed in black, and grabbed onto Gillium's back. "Bridge, Gillium."

"Understood."

"Soran, what about us?" Subaru tore off her mask too and tied her headband back on her head.

"Follow me, Su." Soran took her hand and raced through the halls. A light shone through one of them. He pushed her to the wall and pinned her, their noses rubbing against each other as they hid.

"S-Soran-kun." Subaru blushed.

The light moved away, and he sighed in relief, giving her a short kiss on the lips before moving on. They stopped in front of his parents' personal quarters and tossed her in, closing and locking the door behind him. "Okay." He sighed.

"Where are we, Soran-kun?"

"My parents' room." He said as he brought her to the bed and gently placed her in it.

"S-Soran! This… this your folks… I mean… I'm not ready for this! We're too young!"

"Shhh. Just relax and everything will be fine." He joined her, curling up next to her.

"We shouldn't do this! I mean look at the situation we're in! I mean if… oh, I'm not ready Soran!"

"Well it's a bit too late now."

She gasped. "Soran… okay… do it. As long as it's you." The entire bed started tilting towards the wall. "Eh? EEHH?!"

Soran silenced her with a kiss as they tumbled into another chamber. Soran stood up and turned a single solitary light on. In the chamber was a few small crates, a workbench, and a food cabinet. "Sorry Su, I couldn't tell you about this place until now."

"Eh? Eh?" Subaru looked around. "Wait, the whole bed thing was just to get me into this room?"

"Yep. This is a ship foxhole. I was surprised to find it."

Subaru pouted. "You got me all worried and excited for this?!"

"Your reaction was priceless, what can I say? Itte!" Soran winced as a lump appeared on his head. "Don't use your metal fist!"

"Baka." Subaru huffed. "So why are we here anyway?"

"Make sure to keep this a secret, but I put away a collection of Casters in here, just in case someone stole the ship. I know that even if I get the Star back, TSAB will still want the cargo, and I can't stop them from taking it." Soran picked up a cartridge clip from a crate and sliced open his mechanical arm, placing it inside. It made Subaru wince. Red bonding fluid began to ooze from the cut, and Soran wrapped it tight so it would seal. "There's also something here for you."

"Huh?" She turned to him, and he placed something in her hands. She opened it to see nine golden cylinders arranged in a pattern on a string. "These are…."

"A collection of used casters." Soran smiled. "I remembered how the attractive properties of the used shells work, and I made a necklace out of them for you. This way, if ever we're apart, we'll always be able to come back together again." He kissed her before putting the necklace over her head.

"Thank you Soran. So you have the tenth shell for yourself?" She hugged him tightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"No. I just couldn't find a used number 9 shell, or else I would have made you a complete set. Come on. We still have to finish this."

"Someone report! Why aren't those backup generators online! Get more flashlights! We need more flashlights!"

"Sir! The power cables have been completely cut, and someone bled the fuel out of the backups!"

"What?! Who did that?! Who's the guilty party?!"

"Criminals shouldn't talk about guilty parties so lightly!" A voice called from above the Star. "What do you think you're doing to a person's private property?"

"Bastard! Show yourself, you coward!"

"With pleasure."

"Sonnenergie Funke." Kiryu and Garyu spoke. Four bright balls of light lit up from hidden magical generators in the corners of the room.

Soran, standing on the nose of the Star, pointed Barrage at the crowd of workers below him. "I am TSAB Lieutenant Soran Berkt. I am hereby placing you all under arrest for illegal possession and defacement of private property!"

"As if that means shit to us!" The foreman yelled as he and the other workers raised guns at him.

"Gillium." A single shot from the anti-air gun by the airlock punctured the ground.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Subaru had her arm clamped around the foreman's neck. "Do the smart thing and tell them to lower their weapons."

"Kgh!" The man growled. "This is how the TSAB treats subcontractors?!"

"Not all. Just the ones who decide they are above the rules. Now get them to drop them!"

"Rrrhh!" The foreman snarled as he elbowed Subaru in the stomach. She lost her grip as he made his break. "Everyone run for it!" The workers dashed for the exits on either side.

"Pathetic." Soran sighed. "REINFORCE ZWEI!" The Star's Salvage Arms broke free of the ship's armor and slammed into the exits, covering them with debris, trapping them all in. "Now, as I was saying, you're all under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will…."

Soran sat with his legs crossed atop the leather sofa as the doors to the Mustang Magitech's President's office opened. The burly Mustang Belt stomped forward into the room without saying anything. The doors closed behind him. "Well you look ragged." Soran spoke jokingly. "How many dimensions did you have to jump through on your way back?"

"Twelve." He grumbled. "I need a bottle of plum wine badly. And from what Ms. Gild tells me, I should probably make it two."

"Let's just start you off with a glass." Soran went to the wine cabinet and poured him a drink. "Did you read the report yet?" He put it down next to the man.

"Seeing that your name was on the cover was enough to know you'd be coming here anyway."

"I'll spare you the details then. In the Slipstream Rescue I got stuck and found a ship that helped me to escape. Turns out it was my Father's ship. The sub-contracted employees from Mustang Magitech stole the ship and refused to give it back, so I had to take it by force. A few people resisted arrest and got injured, but not seriously. However you'll be out of 50 workers until their trial is over."

"TRIAL?!" Mustang crushed his glass. "What the hell were you thinking, Soran? Those were people you've known for years! And this is how you repay their kindness?!"

"Kind people don't raise guns against you! You should be the grateful one, considering I managed to talk my superiors into not bringing charges against you as well! I fought with them long and hard, saying that you had no knowledge of their actions and were out of contact, and thus not responsible!"

Belt slammed his fist into the table and stood. "That still doesn't excuse your actions! You're a traitor to this company!"

"How dare you say that to me?! I know full well everything you've done and are doing with this company, and I have not said a word about it! I have made sure that this company has been off of their radar screen for everything until now! Even if I've despised it, I never said a word! Even through the knowledge that that bastard Scaglietti created my original arm, I kept quiet!" Soran looked at his cybernetic arm and made a fist. "And the one time, ONE TIME, when I come to defend the legacy of my biological father, you call me a traitor?! Take your plum wine and shove it!" He panted, his voice hoarse from yelling.

Belt stood there, staring at him. His look softened and he sighed, moving to get himself another glass. "You're right of course. You have kept us under the TSAB radar until now, and you even have kept me out of trouble with this one. Even now you still bodyguard me." He turned around and took a sip. "But it still means you have brought unwanted attention towards us. That and your commanders already know about the Casters. This will make it very difficult for us from now on."

"What are you saying?"

"Ever since you joined TSAB, your loyalties have been split. I know it's been tough on you, but now, I think it's time you decide where your true loyalties lie. If it's with TSAB, I'll cut you loose. If it's me, then you'll have to resign your commission. Think hard, Soran. You'll have to pick one or the other, lest you become a liability to both."

Soran looked into his watch. "Sorry it took so long, Commander. Turns out his flight hadn't returned. I'm going to head back to HQ right now."

"Oh don't worry about that, Soran-kun." Hayate waved him off. "I've given the team the day off. A big thanks for a job well done. I'm sending you the team's locations if you want to meet up with them." A map appeared with different colored blinking dots. "Have fun, Soran-kun!"

"Thank you Commander. You should really take some time off yourself too someti…." The transmission blipped out. "Well how do you like that? She actually hung up on me." Soran sighed. "Loyalties split. Choose a side. There's nothing wrong with the way I'm doing things!" He turned around and shook his fist at the skyscraper. "But I guess I should get caught up."

Caro was happily window shopping with an ice cream in her hand. Fried decided not to go with her, the little male dragon more interested in Erio's trip to the video arcade than shopping. As she was about to pass to the next store, a reflection caught her eye. It was one of someone that looked like Soran, ducking low and motioning to her, mouthing "Over here!"

'Soran-san?' She sent him a telepathic connection.

He waved his hands and shook his head desperately. He put his finger to his mouth and did a shushing motion, pointing to his head and then waving his fingers under his neck. "You come here!" He mouthed. Soran pressed his back against the brick again, looking up at the roofs wildly.

"What are you doing, Soran-san? And in full jacket too." Caro appeared right next to him.

He leapt back two steps and then rushed forward, clamping his hand over her mouth. "Shh! He's back!" He whispered in her ear. "The person that tried to get me with that Type Four… he's after me again."

Caro's eyes went wide. 'How do you know?'

"No! Nononono! I don't know how, but he can track telepathy magic! I tried to put out a call, and it brought him straight to me." Something caught Soran's eye. "Get down!" He pushed off the wall and covered her. A bullet hole appeared right where his hand was before. "Tch!" He rolled off of her and looked at the damage. "Let's go!"

"Unh!" Caro took his hand and started running through the alleys. She raised her wrist to her face. "This is Lightning 4 of TSAB Section 6, under enemy sniper fire. Anyone in range, please respond!"

"Don't bother! Egh!" He kicked off a wall, grabbing her in the process, diving into another alley as another bullet hole appeared. "He's using some sort of wide area dampening field. You were the closest to my position, so I came for backup."

"Can we make it to the others, or at least into telepathic range?" Caro panted. "Over here!" She pushed him behind a dumpster and hid as well.

"I've been trying ever since we joined up, but if you look at his bullet placing, he keeps cutting us off. It's almost as if… ah!" Soran's eyes went wide.

"As if he knows where the others are! Soran-san, we have to hurry and contact them before it's too late!"

A bullet embedded itself into the wall at the far end of the alley. "Tch. He's found us. Damn it, I can't tell where he's shooting from!"

"Kercleyon. Set up!" Her jacket, cape, and hat flashed onto her. She squatted down and closed her eyes. A soft "thup" reached her ears from above the rooftops. "He's using a silencer. But I can tell, just barely!" She jumped out of hiding.

"Caro!"

"Wheel Protection!" She put her right glove forward and Kercleyon spread two small wings that spun, creating a cyclone, swallowing up the enemy on the roof, blowing it away.

"Uh?!" Soran looked to the other side. "LOOK OUT!" He shoved her against the wall as a bullet punctured his cape. "Egh! Two snipers! Come on!"

"Unh!" Caro gasped and blushed. Yet again he saved her. "Soran-san…."

"Damn it, no wonder I couldn't pin him down! There were two of them!" Soran paused at a corner, looking back and forth. Then he looked to his hand and pushed off again. "Shit!" He enveloped Caro as an explosion blew them to the side. "Exploding shells now? Come on!"

"Soran-san, we're going to get hit if we just keep running like this! We have to get them to… agh!" Another explosion came in proximity to her, a rock cutting her above the eyebrow.

"Caro!" He pulled her into another alley and picked her up as she recovered.

"We… we have to get them to come to us. Snipers aren't as good inside as they are out. We have to get into one of the buildings!" She got back on her feet.

"Ah, I understand. Barrage!"

"Okay boss." His key began to glow blue.

"We'll go here!" Soran shoved the key into the lock of a back alley door.

"Hacking."

Caro looked back and forth at the rooftops. "Agh!" Her eye caught a silver twinkle on one side. "Soran… one is…."

"Hurry Barrage!"

"Now the second…." Caro trembled. "Soran-san, if they shoot, they won't miss!"

"Got it!" The door fell open and the two of them tumbled in as the ground underneath them a split second before exploded.

"Woah!" Caro screamed as she tripped. "Active Protection!" A shield appeared in the darkness as she tumbled down the steps.

"Round Shield!" Soran followed her into the blackness, slamming into and toppling down the stairwell.

"Soran-san! Soran-san!" Caro shook him lightly as he opened his eyes.

"Caro?" His vision cleared, seeing her worried face in Kercleyon's ethereal glow. "You hurt at all?" He grunted as he got up.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I was going to ask the same of you."

"I'll live, assuming we get out of here." Soran looked around into the darkness. "If we find out where 'here' is." Rainbow extended from his keychain and it lit up brightly. "A hallway…."

"Soran-san…." Caro latched onto his arm. "I have a bad feeling about this place."

"Yeah… me too. But we can't go back the way we came." Soran sighed. He mounted Rainbow on his back, shining the light ahead of him as he pulled out the glowing Kiryu and Garyu. "Be on guard."

Ahead of them, they saw blinking lights, flashing rapidly in a random pattern. As they got closer, they could see that the tiles on the floor were themselves flashing on and off. "What do you think it is?" They stopped in front of it. "It's a bit too obvious to be a trap."

"But it's a bit too ridiculous to be a decoration too." Soran pulled a coin out of his pocket and tossed it onto the field. It landed square in the middle of one of the tiles.

"See? Nothing's wrong." Caro stepped forward.

"WAIT!" He grabbed her by the cape and pulled her back. "Look at the coin. The lights aren't touching it. The panel won't light up." He pulled another one out and flipped it into the air. "Rainbow."

"Inferno." A flamethrower shot out over his shoulder, roasting the coin.

"Hep! EGH!" He hopped up and kicked the glowing coin. Once it hit the field, all the lights congregated on it and sent it jumping from electrical attacks. "Heat sensors. Those snipers were leading us here. This entire building is probably one big fucking trap." Caro stared at him with a surprised look. "Sorry Little Princess, I get really crass when I'm pissed. I can't help it."

"Unh." She shook her head. "It's okay. More importantly, what are we going to do?"

"Well something tells me we won't be able to fly over."

"And I'm not fast enough to run along the walls."

"Looks like that wouldn't matter either. They might have tiles on the walls too."

"What about your Lightning and Glacial Busters?"

"Electricity attracts electricity. If anything I'd be feeding it more power. And Glacial Buster freezes a target. It itself doesn't create ice. It's also too dangerous to use on us."

"Then maybe I can help." Caro went back a few feet, closing her eyes and spreading her arms. A pink magical circle appeared before her. "World of atoms and elements come forth. Coalesce into the form I desire! Wrought Iron Summon!" Pink veins spread out on her gloves and the floor underneath the circle twisted and writhed until it made a large slab of metal. She opened her eyes again. "Wrought Iron Summoning, it's a Caro Ru Lushe special." She winked.

"When we get back I'm treating you to ice cream, Little Princess. Barrage!" His staff appeared in his hand. "Encase this world in eternal ice!"

"Glacier."

He jammed the shooting staff into the plate. "Glacial Buster." It became completely enveloped in a thick coating of ice. "Hop on!"

Caro leapt onto the slab of icy metal and Soran gave a big heave, running pel mel towards the flashing lights. "Get on quick, Soran!"

"Hep!" He leapt on and they started sliding, the lights running up the wall, away from the cold. "Get your head down! It might still be able to sense the body heat!"

"We're coming up on a turn!"

"Stay in the center! Make sure you don't get close to the wall!" Rainbow, charged with ice magic, was stabbed and dragged across the wall until Soran pushed off again, making the turn without impacting the side.

"Way to go, Soraaaaaaaaaa!" The flashing lights stopped, but the slope dropped, accelerating them.

"They planned this too?! Aaaahhhhh!"

"I'm slipping! I'm slipping!" Caro gasped in panic as she tried to grasp a piece of the smooth icy metal.

"EGH!" Soran stabbed Kiryu into the center and stood up, grabbing her as she lost her grip. "I've got you!"

"Soran-san…." Caro blushed.

"Aw fuck!" Soran yelled. "A fork!"

Ahead of them and closing fast was a two path fork with a very sharp looking edge at the split. "Turn this thing, Soran-san!"

"There's no time! Bail out!" They both tucked and rolled as the metal clanged and twisted against the sharp fork. They slid to a stop next to each other. "Okay… this really is not my day." He grunted as he got on his knees.

"We still have a ways to go if we're going to save everyone." Caro panted, clawing the wall to get to standing position. "Uh? Soran-san!"

WHAM! A clear wall slid down between them, cutting them off from each other, and the different paths. "Ojou-chan!" Soran pounded on the glass, and she did the same. "Can you hear me?!" She shook her head. "Stand back!" He raised his staff to the glass.

"Variable Bullet." He squeezed the trigger and it just bounced off.

"Eh? Then how about a Double Variant?!" The twice-layered bullet fired and he had to duck before it ricocheted into his face. "Fuck! Kiryu, Garyu, Mole Mode!"

"Stonessen!" Soran shoved the glowing drill at the glass, and it just bounced off, sending tiny little sparks flying.

"RGH! DAMN IT!" He slammed his mechanical fist into the wall so hard the false skin on the knuckle ripped.

"Soran-san…." Caro sighed from the other side of the glass and placed her hand where his fist was. He looked up, tears in his eyes. "Don't cry, Soran." She shook her head. "We're not dead. I know you can't hear me, but I hope my feelings can reach you. Let's go on, and meet up together later. I'm an elite of Section 6 as well, raised by the great Fate T. Harlown." She pressed her lips to the glass and backed away. "We'll see each other again." She turned and ran down the hall, leaving Soran pounding on the wall, mouthing her name.

Caro raced down her path at full speed. From panels on the walls and ceiling, different weapons popped up. Some of them shot restraint capsules while some fired actual bullets or even more deadly weaponry. "Booster Protection!" She cried as she raised her left hand. It took each attack, only slowing her down a little. She made a fist with her right hand as Kercleyon glowed. Multiple balls of light appeared around her wrist. "Wing Shooter!" She thrust her right hand forward, sending them flying into the weapons.

She did this three more times before she started huffing. "Just how long is this hallway?!" She stopped, panting, and yet she felt motion. "Wait a minute, I'm still moving? This isn't a hall! It's a moving walkway!" She turned around and dove into the emptiness behind her.

She fell, she fell far down until she hit the ground, going to her knees. In this wide room with nothing in it, a light turned on in front of her, revealing the far wall. "Hagh!" Her breath caught in her chest. "S-Soran-san?" He was strapped to the wall in the form of a crucifix by glowing chain bind spells. His head was slumped down, his devices were at his feet, all energy seemingly drained from them. "Soran-san!" She forced herself onto her feet and ran for him. "Soran-san! Soran-san!" She shook him.

"Heh. Heheh." He clamped his left hand around her neck, but the hand fell back, revealing an arm covered in black and gray metal armor. She struggled futilely as she was lifted higher into the air. A teenager pitched forward from Soran's body with green hair. "I finally have you." He looked up at her with enraged red eyes. "GIRLY! Kah! Kahkahkahkahkah!"