Nanoha StrikerS: Pursuit of Perfection 15
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!"
"Engh! Deh!" Caro winced and strained, clawing against the armored fingers choking her. "Who… who are…." Her right hand gave up the fight.
"For all this time, setting up this trap, that's all you have to ask? Who am I?" The green haired teen smiled as he emerged fully from Soran, who seemed undamaged from the process. "You should think more about what I'm going to do to…."
"SHOOTING RAY!" She raised her fist to his chest and Kercleyon's wings fired.
"Dah!" The villain released her and fell to the side in a cloud of smoke.
Caro quickly got up and backed away, a magical shield on her left hand and her right hand prepped with her beam wings. "Ah!" As the dust cleared, the boy was smiling, none the worse for wear.
"That tickled, Girly!" He stood a little taller than Soran, all dressed in a black and gray barrier jacket that went up to his jawline. His hair was bright green, spiked and darkened in black streaks, and his eyes made him look like the devil himself. His left arm was covered in a thick black armor, the wrist and forearm wrapped by a type of cartridge system, similar to the Nakajima Knuckles, with a dark blue ID core on the shoulder.
"If you're the one that led us here, where is the real Soran Berkt?!"
"Oh? I'm impressed that you noticed that this one was a hologram." He snapped his fingers and Soran disappeared. "This however…." He snapped again and Soran appeared in the light, further away. "Is the real one."
"Soran-san!" Caro gasped. "I'll be right…."
"Pay attention to your enemy." He appeared next to her in a flash of green light and gave her a shield-shattering punch that sent her flying.
"ACS Strike Fist, successful." His device blinked in a male voice.
"Kgh!" Caro stood up quickly. "Wing Shooter!"
The enemy raised his fist to the wall and the air rippled around it. Suddenly he was ten feet to his right, her attacks missing completely. "Air Pulse, successful."
"Make that one instinctive."
"Acknowledged."
"Who are you, and why are you attacking us?!" Caro brought her shield in front of her. "I've never seen you before!"
"That's because I was erased… by your darling commander!" A ring of magic spheres appeared in front of him and he pointed forward. "Bang!"
Caro's eyes went wide as she jumped to the side. The energy bullets curved and whirled around her, landing and exploding at her feet. One impacted her shield, which absorbed the energy. "Erased? If you were erased, how are you even here?"
"Arc Shooter, one of six successful."
"Make adjustments and increase reaction time for faster enemies."
"Acknowledged."
"There won't be any faster enemies to deal with once I stop you!" Caro snarled, a pink circle underneath her.
"You?! The fullback of Section 6, Caro La Rushe, are going to stop me? Oh don't give me that surprised look. I know exactly who you are, and exactly what you're going to do."
"Mystical energies, flow through me and increase my strength! Boost up: Barrel Power!" She spread her arms. "Wing Shooter!" Hundreds of balls of light appeared in her magical circle. The enemy leapt into the air, avoiding the attack. "Kgh!" Caro's gaze followed, firing more at the airborne enemy.
The black Device twisted its barrel until it locked into a position and loaded a cartridge. "Crush!" He swung it down and fired a rippling burst of air.
"Kagh!" Caro was sent to her hands and knees as an intense pressure indented the ground she was under.
"Pressure Pulse, successful."
"Am I your guinea pig or something?" She gasped, struggling to move.
He landed next to her and sat on her back, crossing his legs and examining the nails on his right hand. "Well let's think about this logically. To defeat a teacher, you first need to know what the students have been taught. And since you're one of that demon's students, you're the first on the list to be destroyed."
"Get off me you fucking prick!" She grunted.
"Tch tch tch. Such language for a young innocent girl. Where did you learn that? Could it be from that one over there?" He motioned towards Soran.
Caro bent lower, stretching her hands and feet out to the edges of her magical circle. "Why are you doing this to us?"
"Because of your commander!" He grabbed her bangs and lifted her head up. "That demon took away everything from me, and erased me from existence. All that remains is the thirst for blood and revenge for that one white-jacketed bitch!"
"Y-you want Nanoha-san!" Caro gasped, wincing.
"Ah, that's right!" He slammed her face into the ground. "Takamachi Nanoha, the White Devil, pride of the TSAB, and savior of the world many times over."
"But why? Why are you doing this to me and Soran?" She lifted her head up again, her eyes tightly shut.
"Because I'm going to make that bitch know what it feels like. The agony and suffering of seeing the people around you disappear in a blaze of white light. The empty hatred that comes with having nothing left to lose. And in the end, you'll watch her. You'll watch her as I make her disappear!" He smashed her head into the cracked tile.
"Never." Caro grunted. She lifted her head, her nose bloody, as the pink circle glowed white hot. "ALCHEMIC CHAIN!" Her summoned chains shot into the air, throwing the vengeful boy away, wrapping around him and lifting him high into the air. She stood up, wiping the blood off with her sleeve. She ran over to the limp boy strapped to the wall.
"You talk too much."
"Shut up and figure it out already, Jor." The boy struggled against the binds.
"Soran! Soran-san!" Caro nudged him. "It's okay Soran-san! I'll heal you! Kercleyon!"
"Physical Heal." She pressed her hands against his chest as Kercleyon's jewels glowed.
"Enabling." Jor said, and black armor covered his right hand with long claws. Both armors began to vibrate, and the chains broke apart. "Bind Shatter, successful."
"Make that a manual option." The boy said as he landed.
"Acknowledged."
"Ah!" Caro gasped as she heard him take a step forward. "Soran-san, wake up!"
"I'm interested in finding out how you're going to heal someone who's already dead, girly!" He called to her.
"Eh?!" The energy disappeared from her hands. She looked up at Soran's face with wide, trembling eyes.
"But if you want to waste your time on that corpse, I'll let you indulge."
"Soran… san…." She lifted a hand to his cheek, and a tear ran down hers. Her legs went limp, her hand still outstretched and her eyes locked on his face as she went to her knees. "No…."
"He wasn't easy, I'll admit, but he just kept asking 'Where's Caro? What have you done with her?' throughout the whole fight. In the end I had to kill him just to shut his mouth. He just wouldn't stop." The pink-haired girl leaned forward, her tears hitting the floor loudly in her ears. "And I wanted him especially to be in the collection of spectators. But there's really nothing for it."
Caro gritted her teeth, sobbing as she raised her head. "Mou… ii…. It's fine, isn't it?" She whispered as her magic circle spread out under her in a four point summoning diamond. "I've had enough! VOLTAAAAAAAIIIIIIREEE!" She lifted her head into the air and screamed out the name of the Black Flame Dragon. The earth split behind her and amongst a volcano's flames rose the Alzas Guardian. Its solid yellow eyes opened, and it spread its four great wings, hitting the edges of the dark complex as it let forth a battlecry.
The green haired boy let out a whistle. "Ho ho ho!"
"This will be fun." His device blinked.
"Let's go, Jor!" He went forward in a flash of green light.
"Stop him." Caro whispered, and Voltaire's lower wing crossed his path. The armored fist punched through it and continued until he landed a blow smack dab inbetween the eyes.
"ACS Strike Fist unsuccessful."
"Eh?" He looked back as the hole sealed up. "Keh! Now you've made me mad!" Using his other hand, he slashed into Voltaire's armor with his armored claw.
"GUAAAHHH!" It cried, giving the enemy a headbutt back.
As he sailed to the ground, his fist went underneath him and let out a burst of air, slowing him until he was safely on the ground again. "Oh yeah, we're really going to have fun with this one. Jor, tactic development."
"In progress."
"Kercleyon, level three." Caro spoke hoarsely as she looked up at the boy with half-dead eyes.
"Wha? She has a level three?!"
Kercleyon's gloves extended down to her elbows, magical glowing veins running throughout them. They extended over her fingers, the elemental particles in the air solidifying metallic armor around them. Her shoes solidified with a hard coating and her hat disappeared. Caro's cape flared out behind her as she raised her hand to her face, closing her fist as her jewel glowed white hot. Within a half second, that fist was plowing into her enemy's cheek. "Aye!" She reared back her foot and sent it into his chest. A wave of black and gray washed over the target point as she made contact, sending him flying away. She backflipped into landing and prepped to defend a return attack.
"Emergency armor activated." Jor said as its master stood up, fingering the new breastplate. "Analysis complete. Kercleyon Level Three: Melee fighting type. High speed acceleration due to levitation cape. She is using her summon's energy to strengthen her attacks."
"Well that would explain how a fullback could pull a blow that drew blood." He wiped off the corner of his mouth. "Countermeasures?"
The revolver on his left arm rotated and clicked into place, extending a cylinder. "Mid-range combat. Still working on combat strategies for Summon."
He pulled out the cylinder with his clawed right hand and it extended into a glowing sword. "I'll keep her busy until then!" He dashed forward.
Caro narrowed her gaze and kicked off, intercepting him in the middle of the dark stadium. Their glowing weapons were the only things that indicated they were there, the flashing light as they connected, sword on fist and fist on fist. Each attack sent sparks flying as they deflected each other. "My name is Caro Ru Lushe! I am a member of the elite TSAB squadron Section 6, call sign Lightning 4! You have murdered one of my comrades and indicated your desire to harm others! I will use everything I have to ensure that will never happen!" Caro jumped backwards and Voltaire's fist came down from above.
"Egh!" He raised the flat of his blade above his head and braced it as the giant extremity came down. "Rrrrr!" He fought against Voltaire's strength, in the end, going down to a knee.
"I demand to know your name!" Caro sent a jarring roundhouse kick into him, flinging him back into the wall. "The name of the man who killed my friend!"
"Hahaha. Hahahahah!" The man stood up and walked forward, grinning. "You're going to have to earn that right, Girly!"
"Impo… how could he even stand up?"
"I'm a lot tougher than you think, Girly!" He rushed forward again.
"Voltaire!" The dragon's fist came down again.
"Not this time!" He jumped backwards as the fist came down. He leapt up on it and started running up the arm, his blade at the ready. "Stay out of the way, ugly! Or should I say 'Cyclops'?!" He stabbed the dragon in the left eye, roughly yanking out the weapon before somersaulting to the floor.
It let out a pained wail as it covered its eye. "Voltaire! Kgh!" She broke into a run. "You bastard!" She pounded her left fist into the sword and caught his fist in her right.
"Keh." He smirked, releasing the hilt of the sword. Without any resistance, Caro lost her balance, falling forward. In a silent swipe, his claws dug into her shoulder and scraped across her cheek.
"Mgh! RRN!" The shock of pain held her back for only a second as she swung her leg hard into his side, sending him cartwheeling away. However the sword had pitched forward as well, and on the return, the glowing blade burned deep into her calf muscle. "GAAAAAHHHH!" She cried as she fell to the floor. With her good arm she quickly removed the blade, sweating from the pain as she tried to use a healing spell on it.
"I hope I didn't sever a major artery there." He said from the dust cloud. "After all, I want you alive. Should I give you some time to heal, I wonder?"
"KGH!" Caro's eyes trembled as she looked back between Voltaire's legs, at Soran's limp body. "Voltaire, I'm disabling all restrictions in our contract! I don't care if you destroy me and half the city in the process, he needs to be stopped!" The summoning circle appeared under her, and she spread some of the blood from her face onto one of the rings of the circle. "Blood Oath Release! Maximum power!" The massive beast charged up the energy cannons on its wings and chest. "DESTROY HIM!"
Her enemy's eyes went wide. "Uh… Jormungand Zwei!"
In the sleepy city a twinkle of light emerged from a warehouse before three city blocks were wiped out in a blast of magical energy. "GRAAAAAAHHHH!" Voltaire cried as he spread his wings to their fullest extent.
Caro dragged herself to the edge of the crater. "That had to get him. Ah!"
In the middle of the pit was a glowing blue and green scrawl dome. The dome cracked and then shattered, revealing her enemy, kneeling down with his arms spread out to the sides, panting and sweating heavily as the mystical energy dissolved around him. "Power Shell duration, one shot."
"Mark as failure. It needs to last at least three."
"Acknowledged."
"Egh!" The boy leapt into the air.
"Voltaire! Don't hold anything back!" Caro cried as loud as she could. The dragon took to the sky, diving for a heavy punch.
"HRM!" He put his hand out and spread a magical circle as a barrier. Before he would smash into it, Voltaire pulled the punch and came from below sending him flying with his clawed feet. "Kuso!" The dragon charged up its wing cannons again and fired into the air. "Tch!" His fist's Air Pulse slid him left, away from the first attack, and he spiraled around the second one as he went down. The third shot charged in his chest, and the black armored devil curved under it as it cut a swath into the ground. "If this keeps up, backup will get here soon. Jor, we need to finish this now!"
"Solution found. Use number 3."
"WHAT? You're making me use that?!"
"Do you want to win or not?"
"Tch! Jormungand Zwei, Gillium Form!"
"Acknowledged." The revolver clicked four times and hissed as it released itself from his arm. It twisted together into a long black staff with a shooting barrel. Around the loading port was a revolver with the numbers 0 to 9 written on them.
"Load number 3."
"Loading 3." The revolver spun until 3 was at the port and loaded it.
"That's…!" Caro gasped as she recognized the code phrase. "He has Casters! I… can't…." She struggled to stand. "I can't… let him… use that weapon!" She balled her right fist as her glove and cape began to glow white hot. "HAH!" She leapt for him.
"Pagua sunfa, pagua sun…."
Caro rose in a blink of an eye, slamming her fist into the chest plate and wrapping her legs around him. "You've said your last sunfa!" Her cape shuddered and vibrated as she pulled him into a descent. "Now Voltaire! Take the shot!"
"Uh?!" He gasped.
Voltaire just stood there, grunting. "Why won't you…? Do it! This is your chance! Nullify our contract and him at the same time! DO IT!"
"Heh. Looks like he's content on being your servant!" The teen smirked before smashing his forehead into hers.
"Guh…." The impact made her lose her grip and fall away.
"You're in my way." Jor suddenly pointed towards the girl and shot an Air Pulse at her sending her flying to the ground below.
"Caro!" The boy gasped and inched for her before an electric shock made him wince. "Jor!"
"Remember what you're here for. Or have you gone soft again?"
"Jor!"
"Finish the job. Sympathies can come later."
"Kgh! Pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa, pagua sunfa." The black wings extended from the vent holes in Jor's barrel and stretched out horizontally as they spun. "Pagua sunfa. LaGrange Point! Pagua sun FAIRE!" A wave of black air hurtled towards Voltaire.
The giant dragon folded its wings over itself quickly to block the attack, but when it impacted the great guardian, it expanded into a dark bubble that encapsulated him, Caro, and the remains of the building. Everything began to levitate out of control. Voltaire spread his wings again to try and restore balance as Caro floated underneath him. "What… what is…." Caro blinked.
"Don't bother Voltaire! LaGrange Point negates all gravitational and levitational effects. You're nothing but a sitting duck!" A swirling multi-colored blade emerged from Jor's tip as he dove. "You're through!" He plunged the lance straight through the chest plate armor, into his heart.
"GOOAAAAHHHH!" Voltaire cried as he fell back towards the ground.
"Voltaire, no." Caro began to cry as his back closed in on her.
"No no no no!" The green haired teen gasped! "Caro!"
The massive dragon slammed into the ground, a few moments later, his body began to disintegrate into magical particles, leaving only the girl underneath him. "I can't… beat him… Soran-san…." The green haired boy landed next to her, a worried look in his eye. "Who… are you? Why… are you… so…?"
He picked her up gently in his arms. "I'm sorry, Little Princess. This is what I have to do."
"'Little Princess'?" Her eyes filled with tears. "No… you can't… you're… you're…." She passed out.
"Jor."
"Acknowledged."
"GREEEAAAAHHHH!" Friederich cried as black tears flowed from his eyes. He shook and flapped in a rage.
"Woah! Fried, calm down! You've got a rider!" Erio grabbed his reins quickly. "Ever since he suddenly turned large, I've barely been able to keep him under control."
"What could cause him to do that anyway?" Subaru rolled next to him in midair. "The only one who can unlock that form is Caro, and I didn't think she could do it long distance."
"I know."
"We're heading to the center of the disturbance right now." Nanoha said, carrying Tea by the arms.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, I swear it." The redhead said. "Caro… where are you? What happened to you?"
"Agh!" Subaru gasped as she saw the damage ahead of her. "Four city blocks are completely totaled!"
"All of the dead…" Erio turned away.
"This is Voltaire's work. I've never seen such total devastation come from any other." Fate bit her thumb. "Caro, why did you call him?"
"Tracking signal confirmed." Cross Mirage spoke. "ID signal, Soran Berkt."
"Ah!" Everyone gasped and redoubled their speed. Subaru was the first on the ground. "Soran! Soran-kun! Caro! Where… uh?!" She rounded a corner and saw it, Kiryu was stuck in a rock, the energy blade flashing on and off, with Garyu off not too far away. There was a pile of rocks near where they landed. "Soran!" She dashed forward and punched the heaviest of the rocks away. "Soran!" She desperately began to dig. "Everyone, I found him! I need help!"
Nanoha and Tea were next on the scene, shoving their devices underneath more of the rocks to get enough leverage to push them out of the way. Erio and Fate stayed back, knowing they would only get in the way of their effort unless they called. "Fate-chan!" Nanoha yelled, and the blonde was at her side in a flash. They each took an arm and lifted the boy out of the rubble, quickly finding a spot to lay him down.
"Caro… no…" Soran shuddered and winced in his nightmare. "What are you… stop…." His eyes opened slowly, his jaw set as he got up.
"Soran, don't move, you're badly hurt!" Subaru gulped.
He didn't hear her as he gripped Barrage and slammed it into the stone, pulling himself up. "Let go of her…." He clomped forward, using the staff as a crutch. "Don't touch her…. Stop! Get back here!" He raised his hand up to the sky. "Caro! Caro answer me! CARO!" His head slumped.
"Soran-kun…." Nanoha stared at him.
He raised his head in tears. "KUSO!" His swear echoed through the rubble, before he pitched forward and collapsed once again.
The commanders and subcommanders had gathered in Hayate's office, all of them solemn and serious. "We're continuing to search through the wreckage throughout the night and into tomorrow, but so far there is no sign of her." Zaphila growled, before putting his wolven head down on the carpet.
"Forensics say that the damage was done shortly after Friedrich was summoned. The amount of magical residue in the area is enormous." Signum reported for her group.
"She must have used it." Fate lowered her head and her tears dripped onto the backs of her hands. "She must have used the Blood Oath Release. Which means Voltaire could have killed her."
"That's not possible." Vita answered quickly. "I contacted Alzas. Voltaire is lying in his lair right now. He was stabbed in the eye and heart. It will take a long time for him to recover, but the observers seem to think that he's in a lot more emotional pain then physical right now. He won't stop crying, just like Fried is doing."
"Where is Fried desu?"
"Sleeping in an empty aircraft hangar. It was near impossible to find him a spot. Fate-chan, Caro's mark is still on Fried's neck. If the contract were broken, it would've disappeared. She's alive. We know that much."
"Unh." Fate still gripped her kneecaps tight.
Nanoha rubbed her back. "What about Soran-kun? When can we talk to him?"
"At the very earliest, tomorrow afternoon." Shamal answered. "His energy is drained, and he has had some serious trauma to the skull. As you probably have guessed, Subaru is at his side. She has orders to report everything he says."
"Erio and Teana have volunteered to do investigative work overnight." Akito said, hovering next to her partner. "If you can, forward some of the stuff to them."
An encrypted transmission appeared on Hayate's desk. She opened it away from everyone's eyes and instantly took in a deep breath. "No." She stood up quickly. "This is now an S rank classified investigation! Akito, tell Erio and Teana to go home. They won't be needed. Damn it!" She slammed her fist into the desk.
"What happened, Hayate-chan?" Nanoha asked her quickly.
"They found a Caster."
Fate's eyes went wide and she was instantly over the brunette's shoulder. "A type 3 shell?! These are supposed to be extremely rare! That means if Soran didn't fire it, then…."
"Then whoever defeated Voltaire is a Caster user!" Nanoha's nails bit into her palm. Fate backed into the wall, her hand over her mouth, tears running out of her eyes. 'Soran, you need to get better quickly.'