Magical Girl: The Other Side
DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit fanfic written jointly by LSSJ2 Gohan and The King of Soda. We make no claim to ownership over the respective franchises of Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT, all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, and Akira Toriyama, and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, A's, StrikerS, Force, and Vivid, all owned by Seven Arcs, Geneon Entertainment, and Masaki Tzusuki.
(Edited: 06/13/14)
(2nd Edited: 12/05/14)
CHAPTER 3: Raising Heart, Set Up! Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is Born!
Pain... by this point it was getting more and more familiar to him.
Gohan lay on the cracked pavement of the street, battered and beaten, with his T-shirt ripped into shreds, panting heavily and barely able to retain consciousness. Off to the side, Nanoha, his new friend, watched in total horror, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrible spectacle. And in front of him stood a black, amorphous blob with red, demonic glowing eyes.
He tried to muster energy into his weary muscles to stand, but he just toppled over again.
Damn it! he thought. I'm too weak! But I... I have to do something! Nanoha... Yuuno... their lives are depending on me!
But for as weak as he was, he might as well have done nothing.
"Oh no!" Nanoha suddenly cried. "Watch out, Gohan-kun!"
Unfortunately, her warning came just a microsecond too late, as the beast plowed forward and smashed into Gohan. The demi-Saiyan went flying, colliding with a wall behind him and leaving a large dent in it. Gohan slid down the wall to the ground, head lolling and unable to see clearly. For a while, he could swear that he was seeing bright stars.
"Gohan-kun!" Nanoha wailed. "Are you all right?"
With enormous difficulty, Gohan lifted his head. "I'm... fine," he gritted.
And then, through his blurry vision, he caught sight of the monster, charging directly at him! As it got closer, rope-like tentacles shot out from the beast's side and impacted the wall around him, effectively surrounding him.
"No, Gohan!" Nanoha yelled desperately.
But Gohan had been a warrior long enough to know there was no way out for him now. He was trapped, and too weak to fight.
Damn it... he cursed to himself, still in disbelief over the events that transpired. Merely two short days ago, he could easily wield the power to destroy this creature, the Earth, and even the sun itself! Yet now, despite having received medical aid, the crippling injuries he sustained and the constant, aching hunger from the lack of proper food — well, for Saiyan standards, at least — in the last twenty-four hours spent on this strange planet had rendered him incredibly weak and completely useless...
All he could do now was glance to his side. Nanoha, his dear friend, was still there, staring on in horror as the beast, this embarrassingly weak insect, as Vegeta would have worded it, was about to end his life.
In his near-death experience, he could only ask himself one thing...
How did it come down to this...?
"See, Gohan-kun? This is my house!"
"Oh wow. It's really pretty, Nanoha-san," Gohan replied, looking around the place where Nanoha and her family lived. It wasn't very big, but then neither was his previous home, just a small capsule attached to a wood foundation, near his great-grandfather's house. Gohan supposed his parents lived there for sentimental reasons.
"Please, Gohan-kun, I've told you, call me Nanoha!" Nanoha insisted with a bright smile etched across her features.
Gohan felt heat rise in his face. This girl was so strange and yet so fascinating to him.
"S-Sorry about that Nanoha-sa" — Gohan coughed and quickly corrected himself — "erm, Nanoha."
The rest of Nanoha's family entered with him. They were smiling.
"All right, I'm gonna go get dinner ready, but feel free to make yourself comfortable, Gohan-san," Momoko told him.
As a young child who had been drilled in proper etiquette by his overbearing mother, Gohan did the only polite thing and bowed very deep and low, respecting the elder woman's gracious offer to him.
"Thank you very much, Momoko-san," Gohan said gratefully.
"My, you sure are a polite one, aren't you?" Momoko said, placing a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle.
"I guess," Gohan said, standing upright again. "I promise to pay you back for this somehow."
*GROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAR*
Suddenly, Gohan's stomach made its presence known with a large growl that seemed to shake the house. Gohan clutched at his stomach, hugely embarrassed by his body's abrupt and rather impolite actions.
"Oh!" he said. "S-Sorry for that...!"
No one in the room, however, seemed very offended; instead, they burst out laughing, and after a minute of uncertainty, in which Gohan glanced from one person to another, he gave them a sheepish grin.
"Well, I'm sure your stomach agrees with that decision," Momoko teased.
"Come on, dear, let's give the youngsters some privacy now," Shirou stated, taking her by the arm and lovingly guiding her away.
"Come on, Gohan-kun!" Nanoha burst out once they were gone. "Let's go see my room!"
"A-Are you really sure about that, Nanoha?" Gohan asked, still very unsure about the idea of sleeping in a girl's room.
"Yes, now come on, there's no need to be shy!" Nanoha chirped.
"I-I..." Gohan stammered, blushing deeply.
With a soft giggle, Nanoha latched onto Gohan's arm and began dragging him up the stairs. He glanced helplessly back at Kyouya and Miyuki, but they just stood there with amused smiles on their faces. Nanoha led him through a door at the end of the hall and brought him into a room that, based on the color, Gohan assumed was her own.
It was a light, cheerfully colored room with soft pink curtains, a beautiful wooden desk pressed up against the wall, a large and very comfortable-looking bed, and a spacious area for Nanoha to move about freely. Overall, it was a pretty, seemingly feminine room, but toned down from what Gohan would normally assume a little girl's room to look like.
"So, what do you think?" Nanoha asked.
"I-It's very pretty..." Gohan muttered. "K-Kinda like mine... only pink... and more decorated..."
Nanoha giggled, letting go of Gohan's arm. For some reason, Gohan felt oddly upset by that action. Odd.
"Where did you live before this, Gohan-kun?" Nanoha inquired innocently.
"O-Oh... I, um..." Gohan stammered.
What could he tell Nanoha? He still didn't want to reveal that he was from another universe, or worse, any of his powers. Her parents would probably kick him out on the streets if they learned he could destroy the Earth just by pointing a finger!
In the end, he decided there was no harm in telling the truth.
"I lived in the mountains, w-with my parents," Gohan confessed to her honestly. "On Mt. Paozu specifically..."
"I've never heard of Mt. Paozu," Nanoha remarked. "Is it anywhere near Mt. Fuji?"
"No, not really..." Gohan mumbled. "It's actually pretty far from here..."
And then he almost snorted at his purposeful understatement. Pretty far indeed!
"Oh, okay," Nanoha replied, shrugging.
With that, she picked up the ferret that Gohan had been carrying, scooping him out of his arms and bringing him close to her face. The nauseatingly cute little critter chirped happily and nuzzled up to her, bringing a smile to Gohan's face. After a few minutes of just cuddling the soft little creature, Nanoha turned her attention back to Gohan, glancing at him inquisitively.
"Does this little guy belong to you?" she asked.
"Er... well, not exactly," Gohan said. "I found him in the woods a bit after the b-bear attack."
"Well, you could say that he found me in the forest and saved my life," a cute, soft-spoken voice suddenly said.
"Ah!" Nanoha yelped, looking around the room in surprise. "What the..."
Then she glanced down at the ferret and had a realization.
"Oh my gosh!" she squealed. "You talked!"
Gohan wasn't as surprised, but then again, he did come from a universe with talking pigs and flying cats. After seeing that, a talking ferret certainly wasn't going to shock him, but he did gather from Nanoha's dialogue that such things were rare in her world.
"Well, yes," the ferret said. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Yuuno Scrya."
"Yuuno..." Gohan muttered. "Yuuno... why does that name sound familiar?"
Nanoha blinked before giving him a bright smile.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Yuuno Scrya!" Nanoha told the ferret named Yuuno cheerfully, never one to turn down a friend, not even a talking ferret. "How is it that you are able to talk to us, Yuuno-kun?"
"Oh, I'm smarter than your average ferret," Yuuno replied proudly.
"Wow, well, it's so amazing to meet you, Yuuno-kun," the auburn-haired girl chirped happily. However, her joy quickly transformed into surprise as she came to a sudden realization and she gasped loudly. "You're the one who called out to me in my dreams, weren't you?" she asked Yuuno, causing Gohan to raise an eyebrow at Nanoha's query.
"Huh? What do you mean by that, Nanoha-san?" he asked in mild confusion.
"I've had these weird flashes of insight as well as a mysterious voice calling to me in my dreams ever since last night," she explained to the raven-haired boy. "It was you, wasn't it?" she asked the ferret again.
"Yes. I sent out a magical message in the hopes of contacting somebody with enough magical potential to sense the signal. I... I admit I was quite desperate," Yuuno confessed, seeming slightly bashful.
"Magical? What do you mean? Is magic real?" Nanoha asked, hints of excitement in her voice.
"Are you some sort of magical ferret, Yuuno-san?" Gohan asked, scratching his cheek.
"You could say so, yeah... I actually came from a very distant world in search of something very important," Yuuno explained hesitantly.
"So you're an alien animal?! Wow, that's so cool!" Nanoha squealed, her eyes sparkling with childish wonder.
"Well... that's impressive, Yuuno-san," Gohan said, blinking in surprise.
"I suppose, but... I-I have come to realize that I cannot fulfill this quest by myself. I require your assistance," the ferret added, his tone becoming very hesitant as he glanced between Nanoha and Gohan. "Both of you. I... I need your help. I promise to repay you in any way that I can once it's over!" Yuuno said, his tone now a doubtful plea.
Nanoha's only response was to tilt her head in confusion.
"What do you think, Gohan-kun?" she finally said, looking at the boy.
"I don't know... why don't you tell us what kind of assistance you require first, Yuuno-san?" Gohan offered, not sure what to make of the whole situation, but he wanted to give this strange animal a chance.
"Right. Nanoha-san, I require you to utilize the power I carry. And Gohan-san has shown exceptional abilities as well that would prove to be very useful to our interests," Yuuno began, taking a deep breath.
However, before he could speak, Nanoha interrupted him.
"What do you mean, Gohan-san has demonstrated extraordinary abilities? Are you magical too?" She stared at Gohan, a look of growing hurt etched across her features, something Gohan could not bear to see on her pretty face.
He winced. "N-Nanoha-san..." He sucked in a deep breath before pouring his heart out to Nanoha. "The truth is, I wasn't really attacked by a bear, and while I'm not magical, I do have great powers. I was injured in my home universe."
"Home universe?" Nanoha inquired.
Gohan nodded. "I'm from another dimension, Nanoha."
"But why did you lie, Gohan-kun?" Nanoha asked.
"Because... because of my powers, my daddy ended up dead!" Gohan confessed, tears pooling in his eyes.
"Oh, Gohan-kun, really?" Nanoha said softly, staring at Gohan with renewed emotion.
"It was all so stupid, Nanoha!" he said, filled with self-loathing, the tears now spilling. "I had all the power to save my father, but I waited too late to use it and as a result, now I'm stuck here in this universe! I-I didn't want to tell you and your family about my powers because... well, I didn't want you to kick me out or grow afraid of me. I... I am deeply sorry for that, Nanoha. I'm sorry."
Nanoha walked over and wrapped her arm around Gohan's shoulder.
"Hey, it's all right, Gohan-kun," she said soothingly. "I don't blame you for that. And anyway, I forgive you for not telling the truth."
Gohan glanced up at her, eyes sparkling with hope through the tears. "You really mean that?"
"Sure I do, silly!" Nanoha chirped. "We're friends now."
"Yes, Nanoha-san is correct, Gohan-san," Yuuno said. Both teens turned to look at him. "That may be the harshest lesson you ever have to face, but in the end, you can learn from your mistakes, and grow stronger because of it."
Gohan wiped away the tears. "Yes, you're right." Then he steeled himself, nodded once with a small smile at Nanoha, and turned to face Yuuno again. "Now, you were going to tell us why you need our help, Yuuno-san?"
"Oh yes, I almost forgot!" Yuuno exclaimed. "You see, I..."
He was never allowed to finish that sentence, however, as a dark presence suddenly was felt by the three. Nanoha began shaking as Yuuno tensed up and Gohan's face morphed into a serious frown.
"Oh no, it's approaching!" Yuuno cried urgently.
"I sense it too," Gohan growled. "Whatever or whoever it is... it's very strong... and dangerous..."
"W-What is this feeling...?" Nanoha whispered tensely, her pupils shrinking as she felt a cold chill run down her spine. She could... just sense something approaching, coming closer and closer to them! It was overwhelming!
"Oh no..." Yuuno whispered, horror evident in his voice. "It's tracking me! I shouldn't be here! I've endangered you all!"
Hearing the distress in the small ferret's voice made Gohan steel himself even further. He failed his daddy and he wound up dead, but he was NOT going to fail at saving his new friends! No matter what!
"Don't worry, Yuuno-san. Come with us, and we'll lead whatever that... thing is away," Gohan exclaimed, sounding far braver than he felt. However, as he looked back at Nanoha, still visibly shaken, he couldn't help but worry.
Nanoha-san is just an ordinary girl... even with any latent magical ability, getting her into the battlefield now will only endanger her. And even with his magic, Yuuno-san is in no condition to fight this thing. Gohan sighed. I guess there's no other way.
"Stay here, Nanoha-san. You too, Yuuno-san," he told the girl and ferret duo as he opened the window of her room.
"E-Eh? Gohan-kun, what are you doing?!" Nanoha asked as she saw the boy climb up on the windowsill.
"Gohan-san... you can't mean to..." Yuuno whispered, realization dawning on him.
Gohan's nod only served to confirm his suspicions.
"Yeah, I will fight that thing myself!" Gohan stated boldly.
"But you can't! Gohan-kun, you're too weak and injured to fight! Let me call Papa and my siblings! If whatever is out there attacks us, they can fend them off!" Nanoha said, clearly holding out hope her family could help her.
"No," came Gohan's reply. "Nanoha-san, we'll be needlessly endangering you and your family. I can't allow that. I won't let any more innocents suffer if I can prevent it!" he declared, promptly jumping off the window.
"Gohan-kun..." the blue-eyed girl whispered as she saw the boy managing to skillfully jump to a nearby tree branch, before landing on the ground and starting to run, hoping to draw the beast away from here.
"He really is a brave boy..." Yuuno muttered. "Even with all his wounds, he's still willing to fight."
"He really has a courageous heart..." Nanoha added.
"I need to follow him!" Yuuno added, determination showing in his voice.
"You too?"
"Yeah. Even if I'm still weak, I should be of some help. I can't allow him to throw his life away like that!"
Listening to the little ferret's words, Nanoha felt a pang in her heart. That feeling of emptiness, of being an extra wheel with her friends and family, returned in full force as she found herself letting go of Yuuno, who jumped straight to the window's edge.
"Are you going to come, Nanoha?"
Nanoha's hands gripped her chest tightly as she glanced down. This was the chance that she'd been waiting for... all her young life she had wanted a purpose... all this time she wanted to be of use to others... to do something with her life! This was it. Her chance to prove herself!
"Yeah..." she said with a small nod. She then looked up, her sapphire orbs shining with determination.
"I'll go with you. I can't let Gohan-kun face this alone!" she said passionately.
"All right then, Nanoha, meet me outside." With that, the little ferret jumped off as well.
She flew out of her room, jumping down the stairs two at a time, opened her front door, and raced out. Even with her great speed, she was hard-pressed to catch up to Yuuno; the little ferret was running full-tilt towards where it was he was going.
"Um, not to be rude, Yuuno-kun, but do you have any idea where we are heading?" she asked him uncertainly.
"Don't worry," Yuuno assured the nine-year-old. "I can still sense Gohan-san's life force. We have to find him!"
Nanoha nodded. They kept on running, through back alleys and deserted streets, Nanoha marveling at how quickly Gohan could run in such a short amount of time, when they turned the corner and saw...
"Oh my goodness!" Nanoha exclaimed.
Gohan stood there, face-to-face with a demonic monster. It had large, glowing red eyes and appeared to be just a giant black blob.
Gohan apparently noticed them then, because he made a sweeping motion with his arm.
"Nanoha, Yuuno-san, get back!" he cried.
Nanoha shook her head. "Uh-uh," she said. "No way! We're not leaving you!"
"That's right, Gohan-san!" Yuuno stated. "We have just as much at stake in this!"
Gohan sighed, as if he was resigned to that answer, and then turned to face the monstrous creature standing in front of him.
"Fine, just don't come any closer!" he told them. "And I mean it! I don't want you two getting hurt!"
Nanoha nodded. "We promise, Gohan-kun!"
Gohan stood facing down the black monster, assuming a fighting stance and radiating total, deadly seriousness. From the moment she had first met him, this was a side of Gohan Nanoha had never seen before.
"H-How strong is Gohan-kun, Yuuno-kun?" Nanoha asked.
"Very strong," Yuuno told her. "He was able to save me from one of the Jewel Seed beasts using some strange golden power."
Nanoha gasped. "The gold transformation from my dream! That... that was Gohan-kun, wasn't it?"
Yuuno nodded. "You seem to possess an innate gift for magic, so yes, I wouldn't be surprised if it was."
Suddenly, Gohan shot forward at the beast with a punch, but the monster dodged his blow and whipped its tentacles into him. Gohan went flying, but flipped in midair and landed on his back, skidding several inches along the pavement.
Then he winced and dropped to one knee, obviously still feeling the effects of his injuries. The monster began charging at him.
"Oh no!" Nanoha cried. "Watch out, Gohan-kun!"
Unfortunately, she was too late. The monster plowed into Gohan, causing Gohan to smash into a nearby wall. His collision left a large indent in the wall. Gohan slid down it, looking dazed and beaten.
"Gohan-kun!" Nanoha wailed in despair. "Are you all right?"
Gohan gritted his teeth and lifted his head. "I'm... fine," he was able to say.
Nanoha could see that this was a lie immediately. He was obviously struggling just to stay conscious.
The beast, meanwhile, lashed out with its many tentacles and slammed them into the wall on all sides of the battered boy, effectively surrounding him and cutting Gohan off from all avenues of escape.
"No, Gohan!" Nanoha shouted desperately.
This couldn't be happening, it couldn't! She just couldn't see Gohan die!
Yuuno, however, seemed to be weighing his options, and he turned to Nanoha, speaking very seriously.
"I was hoping to avoid this, but I guess it can't be helped," the little ferret sighed.
"What?" Nanoha asked. "What is it, Yuuno-kun?"
"You'll have to use the powers I have, the powers of magic!" he declared. "I promise you'll be rewarded for your help."
"Magic?" Nanoha repeated, recalling that earlier Yuuno had said she possessed magical powers.
Yuuno bit off the jewel he had been carrying around his neck and climbed up Nanoha's shoulder, offering it to her.
Nanoha took the jewel. "It's so warm..." she shared.
"Hold it tight," Yuuno instructed.
Just then, there was a growl from the beast, and Nanoha suddenly noticed that it had grabbed Gohan around the throat and lifted him up, choking him with its immensely powerful grip. Gohan beat helplessly at its tentacles.
"Gohan!" Nanoha screamed.
"Ignore all distractions!" Yuuno said urgently. "Nanoha, trust me, this is the only way to save Gohan-san!"
Nanoha gulped, then steeled her resolve and nodded once. "I'm ready!"
"Close your eyes and open your heart," Yuuno told her. "Now, repeat after me."
Nanoha closed her fingers around the little jewel in her palm.
"Okay, here goes," Yuuno said.
"Hmph!" Nanoha said, to show she was ready for whatever the little ferret wanted her to do, and she shut her eyes.
If there was any chance at all to save Gohan, she had to take it, no matter how slim. She would save her friends and she would stop that horrible beast, no matter what it took from her, no matter the cost.
"'I am the one who has been given a mission,'" Yuuno said.
"'I am the one who has been given a mission,'" Nanoha repeated dutifully.
The jewel began glowing brightly within Nanoha's closed fist.
"'Under the contract, release those powers onto me,'" Yuuno said.
"'Under the contract, release those powers onto me,'" Nanoha repeated with determination.
As she said that last line, the jewel began humming with power, as though it had its own beating heart. She could feel it vibrating within her palm. By now Nanoha was so deeply immersed in the ritual she was only peripherally aware of the world around her, too focused on the warmth she could feel that was spreading from deep within her body.
"'Winds to the sky, stars to the heavens.'"
"'Winds to the sky, stars to the heavens.'"
"'And, the unyielding soul.'"
"'And, the unyielding soul.'"
Suddenly, without the need for words, without needing to have them spoken, Nanoha could sense what needed to be said now.
"To this heart!" both cried at the same time. "Magic to these hands. Raising Heart, set up!"
The jewel glowed brilliant in her hands, glowing to the farthest corners of the street.
「Standby ready, set up,」 a mechanical voice suddenly responded.
A beam of brilliant pink light shot up into the heavens. On the other side of the street, Gohan glanced over at Nanoha, still clutching feebly at the tentacles that held him in their grip. "Na... noha..." he rasped.
Suddenly, the monster lost all interest in him and dropped Gohan to the ground, turning to face this mysterious new power.
"What's happening?" Nanoha asked worriedly.
"What power..." Yuuno muttered, before he spoke up to the clearly scared Nanoha. "Calm down, it's okay," he soothed the frightened girl. "Draw a picture of a magic wand in your mind that will control your powers. Then imagine a suit of armor that will protect you."
"Okay, if it will help protect Gohan-kun, then here we go!" she yelled.
And as she did as Yuuno suggested, a picture of a white dress-like outfit appeared in her mind, conjured seemingly out of her control, yet in her heart she knew it was her subconscious that was controlling it.
"That's it!" she declared.
And with that said, she was suddenly enveloped in a bright pink flow. Nanoha felt her whole body overflowing with energy. She barely noted her clothes practically disintegrating as raw magical power caressed her skin. Within the miasma of pink, however, she managed to barely notice a staff in front of her. Extending her hand, she grabbed ahold of it and brought it close to her. It was a white-and-pink staff capped by a red jewel suspended within a partial gold ring, said gold ring also had two exhaust valves on its sides, giving it a semi-mechanical look. As she clutched at the item, she began feeling the magic around her condensing and starting to take a physical form around her body. The form it took was a simple blue-and-white dress with a metallic waist guard, as well as a bright red ribbon tied around her upper chest. The dressing was actually similar to that of her average school uniform.
From outside the light, Yuuno stared in amazement, feeling her emerging power.
"It's incredible... I never thought she could have so much raw power within her. She truly is one of a kind," he whispered in amazement.
On the other side of the battlefield, Gohan, barely able to remain conscious, lifted himself and leaned against a nearby wall for support. His eyes focused blearily on the girl in front of him before morphing into concern.
"N-Na... Nanoha!" he cried out for his friend.
What is this power...? He wondered. It feels different than anything I've ever felt before... it's like ki, but at the same time, it isn't...
Soon enough, the pillar of pink light faded from sight, and where it rose now stood Nanoha, clad in that peculiar outfit, and wielding that oddly intimidating staff. She blinked in surprise at what she'd done.
"You did it!" Yuuno congratulated her as she emerged.
"E-Eh? What is this? W-What's happened to me?" Nanoha asked as she stared at herself and the weapon she had in her hands.
Before she could obtain any answers, however, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over her...
King here now. Well, another chapter out. Sorry it took so late, but real life, you know. No, we have no intention of abandoning this story and actually have a fairly large portion of it planned out, with some minor tweaking. Well, I won't be uploading my mage levels here because in the something odd months since posting the last chapter, trying to figure out each mage's individual power at their rank was very hard to calculate and eventually I gave up. However, we will still be uploading the power levels we believe to fit with each chapter we write. Here's the power levels for chapter 3:
Gohan: 22,000(1)
Yuuno: 0.001
Nanoha: 5
Nanoha (powers activated): 1,270,000(2)
(1) The injuries he received from Cell are still hampering Gohan's progress.
(2) Since so many people have complained about it, here is our explanation: Magical energy, mana, spills over into the surrounding environment, meaning that despite her power level being over one million she loses like 30%, 50% of that power when she uses magic spells.
We have a pet theory that to become a Super Saiyan, you need a power level of 100,000; for a Super Saiyan 2, a power level of more than 1,000,000; and for the always awesome Super Saiyan 3, your power level has to be at least 10,000,000, for your body to be able to sustain all that power, especially when it comes to Super Saiyan 3.
Well, please review!