Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Crisis
Chapter 21: Assault! The Golden City Beckons
Xx~~*~~xX
Vivio Takamachi was one of the many citizens of Clanagan to see the spire burn. She had dearly hoped neither one of her mamas were in there, but she hadn't heard from either one of them since Aina had brought here here. And now she found herself cowering in one of the many shelters across the city, awaiting the arrival of the floating city.
"I wanna be Nanoha this time!" came a young female voice waving a doll around, causing the daughter of the named person look up.
"Then I get to be Fate!" another girl announced, showcasing a small doll of Vivio's other mama. "She's stronger!"
"Nuh uh!" a third countered, brandishing another lookalike doll. "Hayate is the strongest! She has a higher mage rank and a higher title!"
Vivio sighed and stood up, crossing the room to where the younger children played. "Actually pure strength doesn't matter if you can't control your magic well. All of them are good in different areas!"
"Yeah, right," the Fate girl said, not believing her. "Like you would know anything!"
"Hey mister, what do you think?" the Nanoha girl asked a man in a faded tan robe with brown eyes, sitting on a nearby bench. She showed him her doll. "Nanoha is the bestest, right?"
He chuckled. "I'd say yes, but then, I'm probably a bit biased since I met her. I actually fought against her, and she beat me." A white-haired woman next to him smiled in amusement.
"Really!?" all three doll girls asked, stars in their eyes. "What was she like!?"
"Dolls are for sissies!" one of a trio of young boys jeered. "Especially those dolls. It's not like they can save us anyway! The spaceships couldn't destroy it and they were waaaay stronger!"
"They will save us!" Vivio shouted. "You'll see!"
The second of the trio of boys walked up and grabbed the Nanoha doll out of the girl's hand, holding it above his head so she couldn't get it back. He then tossed it to the third boy, who started a game of keep away. Vivio grew angry as the girl cried, and marched up to the boys, who laughed at her approach.
Thirty seconds later, all three boys were crying while Vivio dusted off her hands and retrieved the doll, returning it to the crying girl. "Here you go, don't cry. Nanoha is my mama and I know she'll save us."
The girl brightened back up. "Really?"
Vivio nodded, then turned to the man. "Is it true you really fought my mama?"
He looked uncomfortable. "Well, I was a slightly different person then, and it was a... bit of a misunderstanding." He turned the conversation around. "Are you really her daughter?"
She nodded and held out her hand. "I'm Vivio Takamachi!"
He took it, hesitantly. "Kyoya, and this is Miyuki. We're... travelers."
"You have the same names as my aunt and uncle!" she said in awe. "Well, I haven't actually met them yet, but my mama has told me she'll take me to them sometime." She tilted her head. "Say, if you've fought my momma, you must be pretty strong. Why aren't you outside helping?"
Miyuki raised an eyebrow. "Yes, why aren't you outside helping?"
Kyoya shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not our fight. My only concern is protecting you."
"Then maybe I should be out there, so you'd be forced to protect me," she suggested, crossing her own arms across her chest. "From the sound of things, they could probably use all the help they can get."
"It's too dangerous!" he insisted. "You're safer in here!"
"Coward!" Vivio insulted. "I wouldn't be afraid to go out there!"
Both adults turned to look at her, each raising an eyebrow.
x~~*~~x
"Sorry, I'm late," Griffith said, entering the Long Arch control room. "You wouldn't believe what hoops some people still want you to go through to switch commands. Even under these circumstances. And Chrono sends his regards."
"I'm glad you're here, Griffith," Hayate told him. "I'm sorry to hear about Lucino."
He looked uncomfortable for a bit, his eyes focused somewhere else for a brief moment. "We lost a lot of good people."
She simply nodded, knowing there was nothing else she could say.
All eyes watched whatever monitor they could, as the timer counted down, eventually reaching 0. Cameras recorded as Alhazard began to descend through the upper atmosphere, it's speed slowing tremendously. Eventually it leveled off several kilometers from the ground, and began to float across the sky, heading straight for Clanagan.
"It's firing again!" Gerard called.
Hayate brought up a screen. "Shari!"
"Almost!" the senior technician replied from the monitor. "A few more minutes! We have to hook these relics up just right or the whole city will blow!"
"We don't have a few more minutes!" the Long Arch commander responded.
The ground rocked as several crimson beams impacted across the city, vaporizing buildings and trees, and cratering the ground.
"More shots incoming!" Gerard announced.
Hayate grit her teeth. "Shari!"
"Coming online now!" she called, slamming a button.
The next wave of crimson beams impacted a magical purple barrier that flared to life, covering the entire city, as Hayate collapsed into her chair with relief. For the moment, the shield appeared to be holding, but the floating city was coming closer.
She opened another window to Mariel and Auris. "How long until the shuttle can launch?"
"Alhazard is approaching from the northwest side of Clanagan," Mariel replied, turning toward the screen. "Since the Einherjar cannon is sitting directly south of the city, we'll basically have to wait until it's almost on top of you in order to get a good attack angle."
"Understood," Hayate acknowledged. "Launch when you can. We'll be doing our best to give you cover." She signed off and stood up, turning to Griffith. "Can I leave you in charge? I need to head out there now."
He nodded, saluting. "You can count on me. Good luck!"
x~~*~~x
"T minus 5 minutes to launch," a voice sounded over the speakers. "All personnel to their assigned stations."
Subaru sat down in her chair lined up against the right side of the craft and buckled herself in, noticing the look on her friend's face as she did so. "What is it, Tea?"
"What if..." the orange-haired girl started, glancing downwards a bit, worry evident in her voice. "What if this doesn't work?
"Then we all get vaporized!" Subaru answered with a smile, laughing at her friend's blanch. "Oh, cheer up. We'll be fine. Yuuno won't let us down."
Both girls looked over to the suddenly apprehensive archeologist, sitting in the chair in the middle all by himself. He chuckled nervously.
Arf sat down next to Subaru and strapped in as well, while Nanoha, Caro, and Erio occupied the three seats lining the other side. Fried was also strapped into a special baby-seat, and Fate occupied the pilot's seat up front. While most of the flight would be automatic, there would be a need for someone to take control after passing through the shield in order to find a place to land.
The back of the craft was sealed, as Nanoha handed a red jewel to Yuuno and smiled. "You'll need this."
He nodded, understanding, holding it in his hand as he began to chant the activation password: "I, the one who accepted this mission, by the ancient contract, order you to release your power! The wind is in the sky, and the stars are in the heavens. And a resolute heart beats within my chest. This magic in my hand, Raging Heart, Set up!"
Light fluttered around him as his barrier jacket formed and Raging Heart shifted into staff mode. It had been a long time since he had worn this outfit; it was almost an exact copy of the won he had worn in his younger days, except for being sized to fit his larger frame and tan pants instead of shorts. Yuuno was the original owner of Raging Heart, and thus could use it, although not as well as Nanoha. Still, it would be critical to boosting his barrier magic for the 34 second flight. However, there was one more component needed.
"Are you ready, Caro?" Yuuno asked, looking over at her.
She nodded, already having Kerykeion activated with arms crossed over her chest, back of her hands facing outward. She would also be boosting his barrier power.
"Boarding bridge has been retracted," Fate announced from the front. "Flight program has been uploaded. We launch in one minute."
Subaru grinned, then spoke the sentiment they all shared. "Let's do this!"
x~~*~~x
"The target has ceased firing for now," Gerard announced. "But there appear to be multiple contacts dropping from it!"
"We see them," Hayate replied from a monitor. "Some type of robot forces; they are passing through the city barrier. Tell all forces to engage. We must hold out and protect the shelters until the strike team deals with the city!"
"Understood," Griffith replied. "I received a report from Colonel Nakajima; all forces are in position now."
All across the city, beams of light began to crisscross as the battle was joined.
x~~*~~x
From a mesa to the far south side of Clanagan, a section of the plateau opened up and the three large box cannons of the Einherjar system were slowly raised into position. Braced in the center of the middle cannon by crossed iron beams, occupying less than half of the barrel, the strike team's shuttle sat.
The notification was given that the the magic capacitors below were fully charged now, and they dumped all their energy into the cannon as it roared to life.
Yuuno activated his full Steel Defense oval-shaped barrier seconds before white fire engulfed the tiny shuttle. The engines flared to life, and the ship took off like a rocket, riding inside the beam. The force of the blast impacted Alhazard's shield shortly thereafter, but the ship itself would still take more time to reach it.
Inside, Yuuno and Caro both strained, dumping the full limits of their power into maintaining shield strength. But despite all their power, he wasn't sure he could make it, the sheer pressure of the magical forces being brought to bear threatening to overwhelm him. Never had 34 seconds seemed so incredibly long.
Nanoha had been watching his face, and came to a decision. She unbuckled her harness and surged forward against the force of the bucking vessel, grabbing onto his chair. She came to kneel in front of him, placing her hands over his on the shaft of Raging Heart, adding her magic to his. What's more, small beams of pink light began to streak in to the red orb on the staff.
Yuuno's eyes widened a bit, understanding what she was doing. Not only was she adding her magic, but she was activating the pre-firing component for her Starlight Breaker. She was actually absorbing the spent magic from both the cannon and the shield, and using it to reinforce his own powers. The extra strength was just enough for him to hold out the required time.
"Yuuno, we're almost there!" Fate called. "AMF armor coming online in 4... 3... 2... 1!"
The barrier-mage cut power to his shield a second after the armor came up. The ship surged forward almost uncontrollably, and Nanoha tumbled into him. He reached around and locked his arms behind her back, gritting his teeth as the ship felt like it was coming apart. Nanoha slide her arms under his and pressed her cheek into his shoulder, holding on as best she could.
Like a boat dropped out of a waterfall and onto a calm lake, it was suddenly over.
"We're in!" Fate shouted, trying to get control of the craft as it began to tumble out of control. "Hold on!" She fought the controls, managing to bring a semblance of domination over the ship, but she also noticed the warning lights. "We lost an engine at the last moment; landing is going to be rough!"
She managed to line up on one of the empty streets as it came down roughly, skidding along while she fired the retro-boosters. The shuttle bounced and flipped once, then came back down right-side up again, drifting sideways. A large building loomed closer and closer as speed bled off, and then the ship slammed into it.
All was suddenly quiet again as the craft powered down.
x~~*~~x
There were several types of robots attacking. The first and most numerous types were golden and silver, and humanoid in appearance, but lacking a real face. Instead, they just had a short, squat head with two glowing red eyes. Their arms ended in the barrels of energy cannons, their main form of attack. Their mobility was high, and also had a fairly strong bubble shield that took a lot to overwhelm and penetrate.
As Signum sliced into another one, she decided she hated that type the least. She could at least get through its shielding with enough fire power, but the lower ranked mages had to combine multiple shots for a period of time to punch through it. And while they currently held the numerical advantage, robots continued to fall from the city almost faster than they could be destroyed.
Her vision caught several ground mages being overrun by three of the humanoid robots, and she dove lower, syncing her thoughts with Agito.
"Fire Phoenix Flash!" Both of them intoned, lancing out with a whip of fire to slash into all three, destroying two and sending the third tumbling into a building.
"Behind you!" Agito's alarmed voice called from within.
Signum turned, too slowly she realized, as a pair of humanoids closed in behind her, arm barrels charging with crimson energy.
In the next split second, both robots we're holed through the middle by a pair of green energy lances.
"[You need to be more careful about watching your back,]" came Vice's amused telepathic message.
The Belkan Knight frowned, tracing the lances to their source, barely making out a mechanical looking form on top of a building at the edge of her vision. "[Your sniping skills seemed to have increased in range and power.]"
"[I got an upgrade,]" came his pleased tone as he shot down another android.
She noted that his position had been made known, as a trio of robots were homing in on him, firing. Reacting swiftly, she joined her sword with her scabbard, turning Levantine into bow form.
"Sturm Falken!" she shouted, releasing the powerful energy arrow, piercing the middle of the three and sending the other two spinning away. "[You need to be more careful about watching your own back.]"
"[Point taken,]" he replied, chastened, taking out the other two. "[But I think more action and less conversation is called for.]"
Signum agreed, and both warriors returned their full attention to the fight.
x~~*~~x
"You'll be leaving for the shuttle soon," the human-looking male told her. It wasn't a question.
The woman with orange ears nodded, pausing from her workout. "You won't be coming along?"
There appeared to be something behind his eyes. "No, my place is with my mistress, and the rest of the Wolkenritter. I see you are working on your fighting skills; would you like to spar with me?"
"Sure!" Arf smiled, stepping into an open area of the training room.
They studied each for several moments, then sprang at each other trading lightning-fast punches and kicks. She seemed pleased as she slowly drove him backwards, gaining the edge ever-so-slightly in strength and speed. But she was also seemingly a bit less skilled, as he used long-practiced techniques to deflect and counter her attacks.
Somehow, she was enjoying it more than she thought she would.
Eventually, she managed to break this defense, sending him to the mat. Quickly, she pounced on top of him, pinning his arms with her hands, and his legs with her own. For several moments, they panted and watched each other.
She grinned. "I won."
He smiled slightly. "Maybe." In a quick move, he somehow managed to dislodge her and switch their positions. "But you let your guard down at the end. An enemy will take advantage of that; never lower your guard, so that you may protect those dear to you."
"I'll keep that in mind," she told him, struggling a bit. She felt she might have been able to push him off, and his bared fangs seemed to indicate he was baiting her to try.
But then he surprised her by getting off, and as she stood up, he tossed something at her. "A small gift. I look forward to you coming back alive, along with everyone else." He turned and started to walk out of the room.
Arf looked down at the loose collar in her hands, a small gold locket hanging from it, and wondered.
x~~*~~x
Arf shook her head as she awoke, wondering why she suddenly thought of that. Absently, she touched the locket on her neck, still wondering what it was for. The collar expanded and contracted based on what form she was in, so it held no disadvantage for her. But even so, it pleased her to wear it. Why was that?
"Is everyone alright?" Teana called as she recovered, beginning to undo her harness.
Nanoha seemed to jump away from Yuuno, and Arf realized she had still been in the kneeling position, but looking up at him. What startled her so much?
"Fate-chan!" Nanoha called, taking off the for cockpit. Arf joined her.
"I'm fine," Fate replied, pulling her head away from the airbags as the girl and the guardian beast worked to undo her harness. "Remind me to thank Mariel for including that particular safety feature."
"Will it be able to fly again?" Nanoha asked.
Fate hit a few controls. "Maybe. There's a decently good chance we can make an awkward flight out of here, but if worse comes to worse, we can just fly down individually, too. Provided the city doesn't go too much higher into the atmosphere."
Subaru kicked the back hatch open when it refused to lower on its own, then whistled. "Now that's some city!"
"It's so pretty...." Caro added in awe, coming up beside her.
The three in the cockpit joined Yuuno and the strikers at the hatch, and they all stepped out together, admiring the pristine architecture and layout.
Arf could sum it up in one word: "Gold."
Of course, that was a bit simplistic, as there was a multitude of gold shades, intermixed with silver and brass. And surprisingly, there were green trees planted every so often along the sidewalks. Skyscrapers rose to the right of them, while shorter buildings lay to the left. At the far end of the street, an ornate arch hung, inlaid with many different jewels of varying colors. It was all very technological-looking, but also somewhat... fancy in an aesthetic sense.
"Those ancients really knew how to make an expensive-looking city," Subaru said off hand. "This place is worth a small fortune!"
"Probably untold knowledge, laying in wait in it's depths," Yuuno agreed, nodding.
Nanoha looked at him with a smile, then shook her head.
"Precia is here somewhere," Fate said, bringing them all back to the present. "Probably somewhere in a control center which will most likely be in the middle of the city. Let's not waste time."
Caro summoned the adult form of Fried up for her, Erio, and Teana, while Nanoha, Yuuno, Fate, and Arf drifted upwards to get a better look around.
"What's that?" Fate wondered aloud, the other three orienting on the direction she was pointing. Several objects could be seen in the distance, growing larger as they approached.
"Look out!" Yuuno shouted in warning, jumping in front of them and quickly throwing up his strongest Round Shield as the objects fired. He winced as the crimson and gold energy shots were deflected.
"Yuuno!" Nanoha called, helping to reinforce his barrier. "You're still weakened from the efforts on the shuttle ride; you need to take it easy for awhile."
He grit his teeth. "I can handle this."
"Trident Smasher!" Fate shouted, thrusting her hand out, firing three brilliant yellow beams. "Nanoha is right, you should withdraw to the shuttle for now. We'll cover you."
To the surprise of all, the three targets that were stuck seemingly shrugged off the attack and kept coming, being joined by more of their brethren. As they were closer now, Arf couldn't shake the feeling that the knight-like characteristics appeared somehow... familiar. The golden-armored figures each held a large shield in their left hand, and a sword or a lance in their right.
"Fate-chan, aren't those..." Nanoha started as she deflected another energy attack.
"They look like my mother's old robots," Fate finished for her, dodging between shots. "But it's obvious she upgraded them."
Arf growled, shifting to full beast form, leaping at the nearest sword-wielder as it came close. For a moment, she was stopped by its bubble shield; then she roared and pushed in with her claws which had begun to glow bright pink. It swung the sword at her as the bubble shattered, but Arf caught it in her jaws and broke it. The rest of the mechanical creation was shortly turned to scrap under the vicious animalistic fury assault.
Bloodlust roaring strong now, the Guardian Beast hungrily looked for another target, but realized something: the group was becoming separated. Only a bright pink flash let her know where Nanoha was, and Fate was similarly starting to drift out of view, trying to fight off several of the flying knight robots.
On the ground, Subaru and Teana appeared to be fighting the city itself, which had seemingly come alive. Mechanical tentacles snaked out of various nooks and crannies, and several bright red orbs had appeared, firing beams at them. The cyborg had smashed up a few, but now had one arm and leg held tight by several tentacles, being dragged into a hole that had opened up in the middle of the street. Tea was trying to free her, but was also finding herself overwhelmed.
Yuuno, Erio, and Caro were nowhere to be seen.
Arf growled; she couldn't help them all, and two more of those robotic creatures were closing in on her. Still, she unleashed a rain of magical bolts at the tentacles holding Subaru, destroying them to free her, then took off towards Fate at top speed, eventually smashing into the backside of one that was cornering the golden-haired girl. It's barrier must have been weakened, because it didn't take much to shatter both shield and robot.
"[Arf, Nanoha, we're being deliberately herded away from each other!]" Fate sent, switching Bardiche to Haken form and charging head on into the group of robots, slicing into one's shield. "[I've lost contact with Yuuno and the Strikers.]"
"[Same here,]" Nanoha sent. "[I can just barely see you. The barrier on these things are strong, and there's too many. We need to rendezvous back at the shuttle and-]" The rest of her message cut off.
"[Nanoha!]" Fate called as she shielded Arf and herself in a Defenser Plus barrier to ward off the rain of energy shots.
As the barrier began to crack, Arf snarled in anger. One by one, they were losing each other. And if things didn't change soon, the two of them would soon be next.
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
Rewrite finished for this chapter, but as always, constructive feedback is still welcome.