A/N: Wow, that was some delay…
...
Takamachi Nanoha of 2814
by Shadow Crystal Mage
Chapter 23: The Linker Cores War, Part 13: Book of Truest Darkness
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story. If I did… well, this would all be canon. WARNING: MAY CAUSE HEAD EXPLOSION!
...
24/12- Before
Beneath the shadow of the World Tree, two figures danced.
Anyone who's read before, of course, knows this is an artsy way of saying "Two martial artists were beating the crap out of each other".
Negi Springfield attacked, hands and feet moving faster than one would expect for someone with his small frame. He traced circles in the air, each movement both an attack and a trap, meant to eight harm or, at the very least, hold the enemy in place so his next strike could do harm. Each move was calculated and thought out, then thought out a lot more. These moves had seen him through many battles, and had allowed him to overcome one who even he had thought was invincible.
It was very annoying to find it wasn't doing him any good.
Cassandra flowed from his blows, always a heartbeat ahead. For every trap, counter and attack of opportunity he made, she was already evading as quickly as Nodoka would have, or quicker. Her parries were few, far between and mainly disinterested, always where he couldn't take advantage. It was frustrating… and educational.
Negi had no illusions about his martial arts skills. While he had beaten enemy after enemy, many just barely, he knew he had done so mainly from superior speed, magical capacity and efficiency, creative and frankly genius-level spell development, and– he was willing to admit– reckless use and over-use of an extremely dangerous technique that literally had 'DARK MAGIC' stamped on it. While he had developed a fair bit of speed and strength from training with Fei and the Master, most of his physical ability came from magical boosts. And when it came to actual hand-to-hand skill, all things being equal, either one of his teachers could still mop the floor with him. One-handed. On one leg. Blindfolded. With a cold.
Since learning that Cassandra was also a martial arts expert, he'd taken to training with her as well. She was fitting in perfectly with his class. That is, she was a complete and utter mystery, and it was anyone's guess whether she'd later turn out to be friend, foe, alien, demon, ninja, princess, or time-traveling descendant with her own hidden agenda. When Nodoka had told him of her stand at Evangeline's he'd, for once, done the sensible thing and told the rest of the faculty. She'd been frustratingly closed-mouth about what happened, answering at most monosyllabically. Ala Alba had testified on her behalf and the dean had, to much exasperation from some of the other teachers, agreed not to erase her memories as long as she agreed to keep quiet about magic. Given that she was second only to Zazie in not talking and first when it came to how little she actually said, this was not hard.
A palm slammed hard into Negi's face, not because he was distracted by the train of thought that was the info dump of the previous paragraphs– he'd been thinking no such thing, concentrating completely on the spar– but because Cassandra had just snaked a hand through his defenses like he was a paraplegic senior citizen. The impact knocked him, back, and in less time than it took to register, Cassandra had once again swept his feet out from under him and gripped his arm in yet another lock, and had him face-down on the ground, using his back as a cushion.
He immediately relaxed, and Cassandra got off him, letting him get to his feet before she took another ready stance. That was completely for his benefit, he believed. She could pretty easily defend against him sitting on a chair with a baby on her lap. They were alone under the world tree, their towels and gym bags far to the side. Negi suspected that Ala Alba were rushing about trying to buy last-minute presents. He knew Asuna, at least, hadn't bought anything yet, and had heard Chisame bemoaning about how their 'playing at Magical Girls' had taken up her shopping time. The others had been surprised to hear she had set aside shopping time. She'd been pretty annoyed at how they'd made a big deal about it.
He stood, set his feet, raised his arms.
The dance began anew.
...
Now
The wind blew cold across the roof.
Shamal drew her coat tighter against her, trying to block it, and Signum had to resist the urge to put an arm around her. Those guilty, apologetic urges had been coming up all week, since the incident with that Archer person, and though she'd been indulging them, both to assuage her guilt at her behavior and because she'd been raised as a knight, now was definitely not the time.
Vita wasn't with them yet. She was to be their backup, and was taking the time to spend a few last moments with Hayate until one of them sent her word that the meeting was confirmed. Neither of them blamed her.
Testarossa stood at the far end of the roof from the access door, her hair whipping with the breeze, the coat Shamal herself had helped hang wrapped around her. She was shivering slightly too.
Signum pursed her lips. She'd been half-hoping the young mage wouldn't put in an appearance. The jamming spell Shamal had cast on her and her phone might have hindered her, but all it would take was a pay phone to contact anyone, and they couldn't knock out the entire city's communications network. She wondered whether the TSAB was already in position as she took the lead, keeping herself between the two blondes and off to one side to let Shamal keep Testarossa in sight.
Apparently, Shamal thought the same. "Your friends might as well come out, Testarossa-san," she said, her rings' gems glowing slightly. "I know they're there."
Fate pursed her lips as well, but there air behind her shimmered, before turning bright, vivid green, the cloaking-effect dissolving to reveal–
Shamal gasped.
"Hello, Shamal-san," Nanoha said apologetically, clad in her black and green dress with its glowing lines and Corps emblems, her face fully exposed. The ring on her left middle finger glowed brightly. "I guess you know why I always have a lot of Green Lantern stories, now."
"Nanoha-chan?" Shamal said, her voice catching.
Illya stood next to her, clad in her pink and white magical girl dress, Ruby in her hands. "You hurt my sister," Illya said, face also unmasked, set into determined lines. "I might forgive you for that– she's really annoying– but not before I kick you around first."
Nanoha put a restraining hand on Illya, her gaze never leaving Shamal. "When I first met Hayate-chan, I scanned her with my ring," Nanoha said. "Imagine my surprise when the scan came up inconclusive. In hindsight, it should have been obvious. Ring-chan has difficulty scanning magical phenomena if they're not actively causing some kind of anomalous physical side-effect."
"There is no such–" Ring-chan begun.
"Hush," Nanoha ordered. She kept staring at the blonde knight. "Shamal-san… correct me if I'm wrong, but… were you the one who took my Linker Core, when all this first began?"
"Nanoha-chan…" Shamal repeated, unable to tear her eyes away from the girl she'd laughed with in Hayate's room for many afternoons. "You…"
Nanoha's smile saddened. "It's all right. There was no permanent damage. I forgive you."
The blonde flinched as if Nanoha had cursed at her.
"Shamal-san, please," Nanoha pleaded, taking a step forward. "I bought you and Hayate cake. We've laughed together. I've seen the sadness in your eyes when Hayate was turned away. You and I have talked. Please, talk to me now. Tell me what this is about. Help me understand."
"We have nothing to say to you, Green Lantern," Signum said, voice cold as the realization came over her that this girl, the enemy, had been with their mistress all that time, right under their very noses, and they had been unaware.
"Yes you do, Signum-san," Fate said. "Or else you wouldn't have agreed to this."
"Shamal-san," Nanoha continued pleading. "You know me. You know I care about Hayate-chan too. Please, talk to us."
Shamal stared mutely at Nanoha. She could remember the feel of the Linker Core in her hands, had heard the scream that had been carried to her via her spell. She'd done things like that before. They all had. The Wolkenritter had often faced people for their cores under some of the masters long past remembered. Even she, who didn't really have the stomach for this, had done so. But for her, it was usually a long way away. Her Mirror of Travels never showed their faces at the moment of attack, and she had learned to never look when she had. She'd just taken their core, or if their master was vindictive, their heart or some other organ, and closed the way. That was all there was to it to her.
You weren't supposed to meet the victims afterwards. You weren't supposed to learn their names and their habits, and become friends with them.
They weren't supposed to forgive you.
Nanoha continued to look soulfully at her. "Hayate-chan is the mistress of the Book of Darkness, isn't she?"
The Book hanging inside Shamal's coat seemed to burn incriminatingly. "Yes…" she said.
"She doesn't know, does she, what you've been doing?" Fate said. "She doesn't seem that sort of person."
Shamal managed a watery smile. "No, she doesn't. She isn't. She's a kind girl who doesn't deserve what is happening to her."
"What is happening?" Nanoha asked. "How is magic causing her paralysis? How can we help?"
How can we help?
The victims weren't supposed to want to help you either. So this must be a trick. Except… this was Nanoha-chan. She wouldn't do that…
Shamal hands tightened into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she tried to keep her dignity as a knight.
Shamal? she heard Signum ask. Are you all right?
"Nanoha-chan!" Shamal demanded. "Why do you care? You're working for the TSAB. All you should care about is stopping us."
Nanoha shook her head. "I work with the TSAB, not for them. There is an essential difference. And I care because Hayate-chan is my friend. And so are you, Shamal-san. We're friends, aren't we? Let me help you."
"Shamal!" Signum snapped. "Snap out of it! Remember our duty!"
Shamal jerked, shaking her head. She turned her gaze to Nanoha, determined now. "You can't help, Nanoha-ch– Green Lantern. No one can. The only way to save Hayate is by completing the Book of Darkness. Only then will it stop feeding on her core and allow her body to regenerate. We would have finished days ago if the book hadn't been damaged in Mahora."
"Hey, you bought that on yourselves!" Illya cried. "You come in with an army of monsters and robots, what are people supposed to do? Stand around and get eaten? You killed Archer!"
Shamal blinked. Robots?
"You are mistaken," Signum said. "Archer defeated us. He was alive when we parted ways."
"Well, he was dead when we found him two minutes later!" Illya snapped.
Signum didn't flinch, didn't react. "Then you have my sincerest condolences. Archer… helped us. We owed him. Was he the one who told you how to find Hayate? Did he leave some kind of message behind?"
"No one told us about Hayate," Nanoha said. "Today's meeting was just that, an accident."
Illya blinked. "Wait, ARCHER knew about you guys? He knew about Hayate being… Hayate. Yagami Hayate?"
There was something like dawning horror in the girl's voice that compelled Shamal to reply. "Yes. That is Hayate-chan's full name. I guess the introductions were a bit lacking. I'm sorry," she added, feeling self-conscious.
Not the time, Shamal, Signum sent, sounding exasperated.
Well, excuse me for having manners!
"Yagami Hayate… Yagami Hayate…" Illya repeated to herself as Fate turned to look at her in concern, while Nanoha merely looked sideways at her so as not to leave an opening. "I thought that name was familiar. Oh no… Oh no…"
"Illya?" Fate said. "What are you talking about?"
"At the end of the fight in Ryuudo," Illya said, voice still slightly distant. "A Servant from the 4th Holy Grail War appeared to help us. She'd been keeping herself bound to the Grail for the last ten years waiting for an opportunity to destroy it. She said… she said her name was Yagami Hayate. Destroyer of Worlds. Queen of the Night Sky."
Nanoha blinked. "Night Sky?"
Signum frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Illya-chan, what are you talking about?" Fate said. "Hayate might not even have been born yet, ten years ago."
"She and Archer kept talking about some kind of plan…" Illya continued, frantically chasing a line of thought. "They talked like they knew each other. She said something about how Archer's Linker Core had been uploaded a long time ago…"
"Illya, you're not making sense…" Nanoha said.
"I don't know what sense there is to make!" Illya said. "All I know is this is the second Hayate I've heard about this month, and both seem to be related to each other!"
Shamal and Signum didn't exchange a look. They didn't need to. "I don't know who this other 'Hayate' is," Signum said, "but she isn't related to our master, and thus irrelevant to this conversation. We cannot let you stop us. It will soon be possible to grant Hayate's wish."
"If you're going to interfere…" Shamal said. "Even if you're Hayate-chan's friends…"
"Please, just listen to us," Nanoha pleaded. "Your information is incomplete. If the Book of Darkness is completed, then Hayate-chan will– !"
"Don't listen to her!"
A small, quick form descended from high above as Vita charged at Nanoha, hammer in hand. Nanoha darted to the side, one hand raised. A barrier snapped into existence in front of her hand, the surface rippling in a flower-like pulsing wave as a green disk of energy appeared beneath it. The barrier slowed the hammer, absorbing kinetic energy until it struck the shield, which stood immovable. Still moving, the hammer slid from the layered defense, striking the ground and only slightly indenting the concrete rather than bursting through, the energy of the strike expended.
"Nanoha!" Fate cried as Illya backed away in surprise. Instinct made the blonde dart back father, neatly avoiding Signum's overhand strike as Bardiche came to her hand in a flash of golden light. Laevatein, too, struck concrete.
"It will be quite a problem if you inform the TSAB of our Mistress' identity," Signum said as she rose.
"I can't let you escape the range of my communications jamming barrier," Shamal said. Her face was shadowed, her voice bleak. Nanoha thought she could see the woman's cheeks sparkling.
"Well, tough, they already know!" Illya said. "You weren't able to jam Green Lantern-chan's ring!"
Shamal jerked. She stared at Nanoha, who stared at her just as evenly.
"You're not the only one with a duty," the Green Lantern of sector 2814 said.
Vita stood, head bowed, face shadowed as she faced Nanoha, who'd slid to a halt. The wind blew over the knight's limbs. In a sweeping burst of crimson light, her red dress materialized on her. "Don't you dare interfere," Vita said, voice dead. "Just a little longer, and we'll be able to save her! Hayate will become lively and joyful… she'll return to us! We've been working so desperately! There's only a little left, so…"
A tear glistened down her cheek.
"DON'T INTERFERE!" Vita cried, hammer raised to strike.
"Are you insane?" Nanoha cried, frantic. "We're on top of a hospital! We're on HAYATE'S hospital! What if you accidentally break through into her room?"
Vita froze.
"Klarwind!" Shamal cried. "Mass Dimensional Transfer! Raise Barrier!"
Nanoha felt the displacement effect as the Transport spell kicked in. There was a moment of disorientation as the light receded, her instincts screaming at her she was in danger.
"Ring-chan! Shields at full!" Nanoha cried, just as Vita's mallet slammed into her. He feet slid back as she mentally redirected the concentration of her will towards the point of impact, and could feel the emerald light warring against the power of Vita's magic. Feedback erupted through her mind as it broke through, but she'd learned her lesson. The mallet slammed into the next layer, and the next and the next, and stopped cold.
"Raging Heart!" Nanoha cried. Her eyes took in details, noting the slightly discolored air of the area. Barrier effect. They were at what looked like a gas station. She recognized some of the landmarks in sight, and knew they were near the bay, away from the hospital. Shamal must have picked a location randomly…
"Graf Eisen!" Vit cried back.
"Set Up!"
"Explosion!"
A brilliant circle of pink light snapped into place, surrounded by an emerald shield as Graf Eisen slammed into it with magically empowered force. Nanoha was thrown back, slamming into the ground, which cracked and burst under her. The smell of gasoline filled the air before she slammed into the tanks full of liquid beneath, sending up a large wave of fluid.
There was a shockwave as the gas ignited, exploding into an enormous ball of fire.
"Nanoha!" Fate and Shamal both cried, the latter surprised at her reaction.
Vita panted as the flames licked, her heart suddenly tensed as she realized maybe she'd gone a tad too far…
A figure encased in green light rose from the flames like a creature out of hell, her hair and skirt fluttering in the breeze of the flames. Nanoha stared at Vita with sad eyes, Raging Heart in her hands.
Relief in Vita quickly turned into rage. "You… What kind of green devil are you!-?"
Nanoha smiled sadly. "Listen to me and find out."
A cartridge burst from Raging Heart. "Axel Mode. Drive Ignition."
"Ring power at 89 percent."
They clashed.
...
24/12- Before
Tomoyo, it turned out, had an extensive underground garage.
Meilin looked critically at the sleek, black war machine in front of them. "Didn't they discontinue this?"
"What's your point, Meilin-chan?" Tomoyo said, smiling at her.
Sakura stared. "Wow…" she said, sounding both amazed and a little apprehensive. "Tomoyo-chan does have a helicopter."
"I've extensively modified everything personally," Tomoyo said, and the faintest hint of pride crept into her voice.
"Hoe…" Sakura breathed. "Tomoyo-chan, this is so cool!"
"Oh, it's nothing compared to you, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said, and you could practically see the special twinkly background behind her as hearts floated around her head.
Syaoran looked at it with a more cynical eye. "It's armed to the teeth with actual things that go 'boom', isn't it?"
Tomoyo smiled brightly.
"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura said. "Do you have any…" she hesitated, trying to remember. "Nukes?"
The Lees turned to stare at her, but Tomoyo only said, "Yes. Why?"
"I…" Sakura said, confused. "I need you to put as many as you can on your helicopter… and then I need you to take me somewhere on it."
Tomoyo frowned slightly in puzzlement. "Why?"
Sakura took a deep breath. "I had a dream…"
...
24/12- Now
"Shamal, stay back and concentrate on maintaining the jamming barrier," Signum ordered. "Prevent them from summoning reinforcements."
"The Book of Darkness was broken and altered a long time ago," Fate said, facing her. "If you force trying to complete it now, Hayate will…"
"In a sense, we are part of the Book of Darkness," Signum interrupted, leveling her sword at Fate.
"Which is why we obviously know everything about it!" Vita cried as she attacked Nanoha.
"Then why…" Nanoha said as she blocked, "do you call it the Book of Darkness?"
Vita blinked at this, confused.
"Why don't you call it by its real name?" Nanoha said.
Vita stared. "Its… real name?"
"It has a real name, doesn't it?" Nanoha said. "In time past, it was called the Tome of the Night Sky!"
Illya froze as a scene flashbacked in her mind; a woman floating in the sky, garbed in white, blazing with power and holding forth a book. Noble Phantasm: Tome of the Night Sky!
She shook her head, pointed at Shamal. "Don't get comfortable, lady!" she cried. "I'll be your opponent!"
Signum frowned, her body shining as she changed to her Knight Armor, Shamal following suit. "Then I shall fight you as well, child."
Illya moved to stand beside Fate as the latter held out her device. "Barrier Jacket," Bardiche intoned as a cartridge discharged, its shape changing. "Sonic Form. Haken Form."
Fate's clothes changed, noticeably altered now. Little wings of light grew from her ankles and wrists.
Signum tilted her head. "So you made your lightweight armor even lighter."
Illya turned to stare at Fate. "Wow, Fate-chan, that's really… light. Wow, it's so light, it's practically not there. And the mask really isn't helping. Honestly, I feel kinda dirty just looking at you."
Fate blushed slightly behind her black mask. "I can move much faster because of it," she said defensively.
"If you take even a glancing blow, you'll die," Signum said bluntly. "Are you crazy, Testarossa?"
"I've been spending time on Earth," Fate said. "I'm afraid it rubs off on you."
Illya wasn't letting the subject go. "Seriously, Fate, you look like you just stepped out of a really dirty doujin drawn from the world's skeeziest pervert's wettest dream. I mean, look at you! You make me want to stare at your ass, and I don't like you that way!"
Signum bowed her head and, strangely, began to chuckle. "Had we met before this… we may have become good friends."
"We still can, Signum," Fate said, frantically pushing down her blushes at Illya's words. "Stand down. Let us help you help Hayate."
Laevatein's point rose. "No," Signum said sadly. "We can't. All we do must be for Hayate. We have no room for anything else."
"You know, you sound just like this girl I know," Illya said, taking a defensive stance. "Tall girl, blonde, answers to Saber?"
Behind Signum, Shamal summoned the Book to her hand, ready to use its few abilities to assist in the battle. Illya twitched at seeing the book.
There was a pregnant moment as, above, Vita and Nanoha fought.
Fate charged forward as Illya darted to the side, circling to try and get past the swordswoman. Laevatein ejected a cartridge as it changed forms, the suddenly whip-like blade sweeping outwards to slash at both girls. Illya yelped, raising Ruby, a barrier forming in front of her and deflecting the whip as Fate dodged under the slash, scythe blade sweeping upwards. Signum spun her wrist, wrapping a length of flexible blade around the shining width of energy going for her throat, locking it in place.
"Thunder Blade, single strike!" Power gathered in Fate's hand, a circular sigil-inscribed ring of light coming into existence around her hand, stabilizing the crackling ball of energy there. The energy quickly formed into a sword, and she swung her arm, the brilliant blade floating in the circle sweeping towards Signum's unguarded side. The blade of concentrated electric energy ionized the air, only to meet Laevatein's sheath, held in her other hand. With a snap, the sword snapped back into its default form, Signum pushing Fate back with a burst of strength and leverage. The Armed Device's blade bit into the ground, cutting through it like butter, and with a flick of her wrist, a triangular chunk of concrete the size of a head popped out, the sheath slamming into it with tremendous force. Illya yelped and darted back as the chunk flew at her, raising another shield to block it. Overhead, green light and steel balls were flying like crazy, and Illya didn't want to risk flying up and getting caught in the crossfire.
Signum raised an eyebrow at Fate, Bardiche clutched in her left hand the lightning spell in her cupped right. "Dual-wielding, Testarossa?" she said, holding both blade and sheath before her. "I didn't realize you were the type."
Fate smiled thinly. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama and I spoke, and we exchanged notes on fighting you. Allow me to give you his regards." The sword suddenly shot at Signum like an oversized Photon Lancer. Signum raised her weapons to guard, but before it could strike, Fate cried "BREAK!"
The spell exploded in a burst of destructive electricity, and some of Signum's loose hairs lifted at the sudden charge, even as the energy struck her. The power ground itself through Laevatein, barely thrust into the ground in time to give the lightning a way to earth itself. Signum stumbled as random spasms briefly twitched through small areas of her body, but she managed to raise her weapons in time to block Fate's follow-up attack. Fate was a shining yellow blur, her scantier armor obviously effective, the glowing wings leaving trailing after images against the dark night. Bardiche spun in her hands, and the curved tooth of a blade became a comet as it sought Signum. Signum parried, blocked, but Fate's surprise attack had left her slightly uncoordinated, random spasms across her body throwing off her rhythm
There was the snap of another cartridge being expended, and suddenly Fate's wings burned brighter, bigger, and there was a faint crackling hiss in the air. "Blitz Rush!" she cried, literally disappearing from Signum's sight as the entire immediate area around the knight suddenly glowed yellow. Her eyes caught movement, instinct moving her before conscious thought as she moved to block slashes her mind didn't really perceive until after the fact, centuries of combat experience seeing her in good stead. This wasn't completely enough, however, and she felt the burning as the scythe blade struck the flesh on her arms and legs, felt the impact on her back and torso.
She tried to attack, tried to go on the offensive, but Fate was taking her initiative and running with it, using her speed for every advantage she could. Signum nearly dropped Laevatein as a sharp rap struck her hand, but she kept her grip on the Armed Device. Not two seconds later, however, there was another sharp rap. And another. And another. Her hands started to go numb with pain. The golden glow began to die, and Signum felt a screaming at her back– not to be confused with how her back was screaming in agony– and spun, catching Bardiche as it slashed sideways at her. The glowing winglets at Fate's wrists and ankles had dimmed now, returning to their previous size, the spell obviously having worn off. Fate's shoulder's were heaving, her hands shaking, but her grip on Laevatein was steady as she disengaged and moved back slightly, her device already spinning to either counter Signum or launch into a retaliatory strike.
Signum lunged, her sword aiming straight for Fate's center of mass. Fate turned the spin into a parry, but the thrusting blade was a feint, the sheath darting in after it. Fate managed to block it with the new heavy bracer on her arm, but the awkward move left her back exposed. Signum dropped the sheath, her now-free hand snapping up to focus her grip on Laevatein. Fate tied to move Bardiche to lock her arm in place, but the knight twisted, kicking her flight into gear, using the added maneuverability to complete the slash.
Fate twisted, back-flipping with grace, agility and no small amount of flexibility that would definitely not be out of place in the aforementioned really dirty doujin drawn from the world's skeeziest pervert's wettest dream. She activated her flight in midair, spinning to catch Signum's riposte, Device slamming against Device. Her speed was no match against Signum's mass in such as direct contest, and she was pushed back before she disengaged, trying to stay in the extreme edges of close range. Signum had too many advantages up close, and she couldn't lure her to an extended long-range battle because that would leave the knight open to attack either Nanoha or Illya. She would have to walk a delicate balance to make sure she retained all her advantages, and Signum probably knew it.
Oddly, the thought made her… eager.
With a cry, she turned and attacked again.
...
They clashed.
Vita charged, as straightforward as the hammer she wielded, voice crying in rage. Nanoha darted away, wary. She'd fought Vita twice now, knew from experience her magic was good at breaking through her constructs. The knight was still crying.
"Why!-?" Vita cried as she slammed with savage blows, Nanoha's construct shields, made quickly rather than sturdily, breaking under her weapon. "Why couldn't you just leave us alone?-! We're just trying to help Hayate-chan walk again! We're just trying to bring her smile back! Why won't you leave us alone?-!"
Nanoha squashed the urge to remind her they'd attacked her, raising a Round Shield when Vita got too close for comfort. "Vita-chan, please, surrender! We can still help Hayate-chan! Just stop all this! If you keep filling the book, it's going to–"
"Shut up!" Vita cried. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"Flash Move," Raging Heart said, the Flier Fins on Nanoha's feet flapping and causing her to move, disappearing momentarily from sight as she dashed out of Vita's line of sight. Vita's instincts screamed at her through her rage, and she whirled in time to catch Nanoha's Flash Impact to the back of her head. The green aura around Raging Heart erupted, transmuting into chain that wrapped around Graf Eisen. Nanoha wrenched, flying back as she tried to rip the weapon out of Vita's hands.
Vita let go abruptly, surprising Nanoha and sending her tumbling. She recovered, only to cry out in surprise as her construct chains broke, Graf Eisen's anti-theft functions coming into play. The force disoriented her, threw her back. A foot slammed against her front, and dampened though it was by both her barrier Jacket and her aura, the mass behind it managed to throw her back, the force snapping her head forward, disorienting her slightly.
"Round Shield," a tandem pair of voices said.
Vita's hammer slammed into a double layer of green and pink energy as Raging Heart and Ring-chan both defended their wielder, blocking the strike as Nanoha recovered herself. "Ring Bind!" she cried, rings of energy suddenly appearing to snap around Vita's wrists and ankles. The knight managed to dodge, but one of the rings caught on the trailing end of the bow on her back, the sturdy armor holding fast and delaying her for a crucial moment.
It was all Nanoha needed.
She shoved Raging Heart's tip at Vita's stomach, crying out her spell over the sudden explosion of a cartridge being expended as Raging Heart powered up to obey her command. "Divine Danmaku!"
Vita was blasted back violently, her bow tearing from the binding ring as she took the spell at point-blank range. The dozens, hundreds of Shooters released their power into her, only a small fraction slipping around to impact harmlessly on the surrounding buildings and terrain. The little knight was thrown into a building across the streat, breaking easily through the concrete as shooters perforated the walls around it. The front of the building began to collapse as the sounds of more walls breaking echoed. Nanoha hesitated, wondering if perhaps that had been a tad too much. She strove for height, her ring scanning, displaying its findings on her visor, checking for Vita's location. She could vaguely make out where she thought the knight had stopped, a building with a big hole trailing dust on one side but no hole at the other.
Distantly, she heard multiple explosions, as if several cartridges had just gone off in rapid succession. Her instinct was to freeze, but rational thought overrode instinct, throwing her flight into high gear as she suddenly moved in a quick burst, weaving through a basic evasive maneuver learned in Rookie Lantern training meant to avoid tracking projectiles.
"Schwalbe Schwarm!"
The entire building she suspected Vita was in exploded, a silvery cloud tearing through the roof and most of the upper walls. Her visor screamed warnings as Raging Heart suddenly cried out, "Alert! Evasion!" A heartbeat later, Nanoha realized what she was looking at. Had she been a deeper person, she'd have considered the irony of her own attack tactic being used against her.
Because she was a lot shallower person than that, however, she instead kicked her flight into high gear, deactivating her self-imposed super-sonic safeties as she went straight up, vaguely aware of the shockwave she left behind as she went from a flight speed of a few dozen kilometers per hour to multiples of the speed of sound.
The entire mass of head-sized metal spheres ripped after her, tearing every unfortunate power line, post, and building in their path.
Emerald light began to wrap around Nanoha as she strove for altitude, stopping as she reached the upper limit of the barrier. She turned to face the oncoming swarm, standing in the center of her construct.
The Schwalbe Swarm struck the gut of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, causing the enormous stomach to ripple. They plunged in, but Nanoha was ready now. This wasn't a pure magic attack, but an attack that boosted the destructive properties of a solid material. She used that, the constructs mass absorbing and redirecting the kinetic force of the spheres, turning them back on themselves. The spheres shook and began to fracture almost immediately, reduced to dust before they'd penetrated halfway through the giant, gelatinous form. The magic faded away, lacking something to anchor it.
Nanoha was just breathing a sigh of relief when the blunt face of a hammer the size of her construct slammed into the giant movie icon. Nanoha gave a cry as the attack, more mass, energy and magic than her construct had been made to overcome, slammed into her, the causing feedback. She was swatted out of the air, the giant form beginning to dissolve into gooey mush that faded away into the night. Pushing through her sudden headache, Nanoha grit her teeth, stabilizing her flight with her Flier Fins, swinging Raging Heart as she cast another spell. "Ring Bind" she cried.
Pink rings locked the haft of the enormous hammer into place, and a few moments later, emerald chains burst from her ring, locking gravitational anchors into place in the air to steady themselves before engulfing the giant weapon. The hammer shook slightly as someone tried to tug it away.
"Vita-chan!" Nanoha cried out, amplifying her voice with her ring and transmitting through telepathic frequencies. "Listen to me! You can't complete the Book! It would–"
SHUT UP! came Vita's telepathic scream.
Interesting thing. Apparently, Graf Eisen's anti-theft measures also scaled up.
There was a pillar-shaped shockwave as the hammer broke both her bind and her chains, sending dual feedback through Nanoha and causing her to cut off with a surprised cry. Graf Eisen was wrenched out of place, already shrinking as it did so.
Nanoha grit her teeth, the beginnings of annoyance rising in her. "Darn it!" she yelled, her visor switching to telescopic view as a targeting circle appeared before her. Both locked on to the distant but rapidly approaching form of Vita. "Listen to me!" She gestured, pushing will into the ring, making it shape her visions.
Vita looked up in time to see an entire school of giant sharks with chainsaw teeth and gatling guns on their heads burst from Green Lantern's hand, mouths open wide and hungry as they fell upon the knight.
The knight's eyebrow twitched. "I'm really coming to hate these fish," she said as she hefted her hammer…
Then Shamal's voice came into Nanoha's mind.
…get… away…
The pain in the sending alarmed her, and she whirled, her concentration broken, scanning the ground, spotting the telltale flashes of Fate's own fight. Opposite from her, Vita stopped as well, obviously having heard the voice.
Suddenly, the littlest knight's eyes widened. "NO!" she cried, suddenly streaking towards that battlefield. "No, Shamal! Not you too!" She flew, the battle forgotten.
Nanoha hesitated, arm and staff raised, taking in the perfect opportunity to attack before her…
… and shook her head, considering that unworthy of her. She rushed after Vita, her mind already worrying for Shamal. What had…?
She heard Vita say a bad word. She knew it was a bad word, because instead of translating it, Ring-chan just made a sort of (BLEEP) sound. They hovered high above, and the shorter girl was staring downwards.
Abruptly, she turned towards Nanoha, face unreadable but tears coming to her eyes. Nanoha halted, half-hearted raising Raging Heart, unsure whether she'd need to defend from an attack.
Finally, the knight seemed to come to a decision. "If you really are Shamal's friend," Vita said, barely restrained sobs audible in her voice, "you'll help me take her down."
Nanoha blinked, confused at the sudden words. "Vita-chan…?"
Vita turned away. "Shoot her. Shoot her with everything you've got. I'll go save your friend."
She was rushing down before Nanoha could say another word, leaving her to stare at Vita's retreating underwear.
From below rose a cry, and green light blasted a pink-haired figure. A dark-clad figure, too tall to be Fate, turned towards Illya's form as Vita rushed downwards, one hand raised to attack. The knight wouldn't reach in time. What…?
Nanoha spotted Illya lying fallen before the dark figure and made a snap decision.
"Buster Mode. Prime Will-fire Intermix Lens!" she ordered, aiming Raging Heart downwards, her ring starting to glow as a trail of emerald energy began to feed into the receiver at the base of the stock she was holding.
"Priming Will-fire Intermix Lens," Raging Heart said.
"Beginning Intermix Process," Ring-chan said. "Willpower entering reaction chamber."
"Fire when ready," they chorused.
"DIVINE BUSTER, EMERALD PLASMA CORE SHOT!"
Will-reinforced magic drew its blazing line of light across the sky…
...
Illya was slightly, slightly tempted to wave and see if Fate still remembered she still existed, but a part of her mind that sounded suspiciously like Archer pointed out how stupid that idea was. She dashed around the two, giving them a wide berth, clutching Ruby tight as she turned to attack Shamal. She kept her gaze intent on the book floating slightly above the blonde woman's hands. She had vivid memories of a Noble Phantasm that looked exactly like that book being used to utter destroy an incarnation of ultimate evil, making her very nervous.
As such, she was so intent she almost didn't notice the person holding it.
"Wind Shackles!" Shamal cried, small, whirling vortexes of green wind suddenly springing into being, raising dust and small debris as they shot at Illya. They were surprisingly slow, and Illya managed to dodge them easily. Experimentally, she slammed a shield into the path of one, just to see what would happen.
The star-shaped barrier shattered like glass, making Illya yelp and leap back involuntarily. Those little whirlwinds were strong! She was so shocked, she nearly stumbled into the path of another one. The wing-like cape she wore was partially shredded as it was caught in the funnel, and Illya was nearly pulled off her feet at the neck. She darted back, kicking off from the ground slightly to get above the little funnels. "My turn!" she cried. She raised Ruby and swung, the wand blasting out several balls of energy at the blonde.
"Wind Shield," Shamal intoned, a vaguely whirling shield of glowing green appearing before her. The spell intercepted Illya attack easily, though she sort of figured on that. After all, it was never that easy.
Well, let's see how she dealt with her defense-breaker. She formed the attack: long, narrow, cutting. She swung Ruby again. "Schneiden!" she cried, the blade-like concentrated attack flying forward. It slammed into the shield, and for a moment it seemed to hold… until the middle rippled, a diagonal break in its plane suddenly appearing as Shamal was suddenly thrown back, pieces of her Knight Armor tearing from her torso, revealing her reddening skin and the faintest hint of the edge of a white bra.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Illya sweatdropped as Shamal was thrown back. "Ruby!" she cried. "Why is this attack a stripping spell?"
"It's always been that fanservicey, Illya-chan" Ruby said. "Remember what happened to Kuro?"
Illya blushed as she remembered that first battle that had ended with her then-evil-clone being naked.
"Incoming," Ruby said helpfully.
Illya darted to the side, mindful of not flying too high lest she get caught in the crossfire of Nanoha and Vita's battle, to evade a couple of crystals trailing long rope-like threads of green energy. The crystals suddenly turned, their threads trailing after them. Illya raised a shield, but the crystals just went around it. It was, obviously, a homing attack, and likely some kind of capture technique. It didn't really take much to figure that out. Honestly, she'd seen attacks exactly like it on Trope-Tan Organization the TV!
Though unfortunately, she couldn't actually remember any instance where they were used that didn't end in capture…
Well, in that case…
"Ruby, wide-area shotgun blast!" Illya cried, throwing back her arm and smoothly waving Ruby on the return. The blast shot forth, fitting the ground beneath and in front of her. There was a violent eruption, throwing up dust in an obscuring screen as the crystals flew into it. There was a short scream soon afterwards.
Shamal allowed herself a small, grim smile, ignoring the screaming voice in her head telling her these were Hayate's friends, and tugged on threads, intending to pull Illya into view to better judge the firing angle to finish her off.
A metal drum was suddenly flying at her face, wrapped in her Device's threads, and she hastily threw it aside, frowning. This wasn't the first time that someone had tried to use a smokescreen to avoid her attack, and thus she knew better than to be fooled by it, directing the crystals with something besides her own eyes. Still, it looked like this girl had a new trick for evading. She turned back to the settling cloud as the drum bounced and then rolled to a ponderous stop not far from her…
Wait. Ponderous stop?
The drum exploded, and Shamal barely managed to raise a shield. Even as she did, shrapnel-like shards tore at the fringes of her armor, slicing through it. She felt a sudden burning sensation as a shard imbedded itself in her arm, and she cried out in surprise. While she wasn't unfamiliar with pain, her support role meant she wasn't used to sudden instantaneous bursts of it. The rest, fortunately, where deflected by her shield.
Illya streaked from where's she'd been hiding inside the former drum, Ruby drawn back, a mallet-head now topping the end of the staff. "Ruby, speed burst!" she cried, and she suddenly shot forward, Ruby poised to strike. "Maximum power to the strike! Break through anything she has!"
Shamal turned, Book in hand, instinctively raising a hand and calling forth a shield, but it broke like sugar glass before the force of Illya's blow. Illya prepared to strike on the backswing, but the Book of Darkness began to glow, red shining on the designs traced on it.
A wave of force exploded from Shamal, blasting Illya back. The girl gave a pained cry as her shoulder slammed against the ground, feeling the bruise already growing there. She'd hadn't had time to reallocate her energy after the speed boost.
Before she could recover, however, a scream pierced the air.
Shamal's.
Illya got to her feet, staring at her opponent, eyes widening. Something was pouring out of the book in Shamal's hands, pouring down the surprised and screaming knight's arm and covering her, staining her with its inky blackness. Something that made Illya's insides roil as she recognized it. She could feel it, feel it in a way she was shocked to realize had nothing to do with primal senses of flight or fight, or the added powers that Ruby gave her. She could feel it in her soul, twisting as a fiery sensation against her skin. Was this was what feeling magic was like?
Whatever it was, she knew that sensation, knew that dread in her stomach feeling it invoked. It was the taint, the Ultimate Evil.
It was the corruption of the Grail.
She couldn't help it. She screamed too.
Shamal's clothes were darkening, her hair and skin becoming washed out. Already, her eyes glowed gold, and crimson lines were erupting over her Knight Armor. The expression on her face was flat and merciless, contrasting with the screams of pain still rising from her mouth .
She heard a cry behind her, and saw Signum breaking away from Fate, the pink-haired knight trying to reach out to the blonde. A surprised Fate followed after her, disoriented from the suddenly interrupted fight.
"SHAMAL!" Signum called out moving towards her.
…get… away…
The voice echoed in their heads, weak and thready. It faded away just as the screams did, the latter abruptly cut off as if with a switch. Shamal turned to look coldly at them, her dress now in shades of black and darkest gray, covered with angular, crimson lines. Her now gauzy, lace-like, semi-transparent skirt revealed her legs, and the new hole in her now-tight, corseted bodice covered by glowing swirls gave a very fan-servicey view of her chest.
In Illya's hands, Ruby twitched. "Isn't this sort of an inappropriate time to insert fanservice?"
They ignored her.
"Signum," Shamal said, her voice now cold and hard. "I believe you have bungled collecting power for our mistress enough. You have outlived your usefulness."
The Book suddenly began to glow.
"Divine Buster."
Signum had no time to react as a beam of green light streaked through with twisting black lines slammed into her. She was flung back, voice crying in agony as she was engulfed by the attack, flying through the air as she struck a building behind her. The building last all of two heartbeats before it was destroyed by the overwhelming force, Signum flying through what was left of it.
"NO!" Fate cried, suddenly flickering and disappearing as she raced after the knight.
"HEY!" Illya cried. "Don't leave me here!"
She turned to look with horror at Shamal, trying to get to her feet even as panic began to gnaw at her. The possessed knight turned to her, eyes empty of anything vaguely human. Illya's hands tightened on Ruby. The Kaleidostick was shivering in her hands. It wasn't an observation to inspire confidence. Illya gulped…
… and that was when a brilliant pink beam of energy, glowing a bright, shining emerald at its center, shot down from the sky and slammed directly in front of Shamal.
The point exploded, and both Ruby and Illya yelped in surprise as she frantically waved the staff, raising a defensive shield. Illya, low to the ground, was relatively unaffected by the miss, but Shamal, unshielded and nearly on ground zero, was thrown back, skidding over the ground before she abruptly stopped and righted herself, floating in the air.
… and that was when an entire school of giant sharks with chainsaw teeth and gatling guns on their heads dropped out of the sky and tried to rip Shamal apart.
"Move, it fool!"
Illya suddenly found herself being tackled as Vita suddenly appeared out of the sky, singed, smoking, her hem now uneven and smelling strongly of ozone, pulling her away from Shamal as Nanoha coordinated her sharks, trying to bring Shamal down.
Illya turned at her unexpected rescuer in surprise. "W-wheh–? "Illya said eruditely. "W-why are you saving me?"
Vita give her an intense, angry glare that made Illya shrink back slightly, though something told her the anger wasn't at her directly. "We owe Archer," was all the knight said.
"Kilipl Astrape."
The sharks were all ripped apart as the Anti-Army lightning spell erupted right on Vita and Illya's heels, tearing apart what was left of the landscape. Vita was swearing as they got out of the way, suddenly sent tumbling by the shockwave that came a moment later, sending them flying across the ground, eating dirt. She vaguely heard Green Lantern's cry as she was caught in the area of the spell.
Fortunately, Illya's physical shields were up now, and all she felt was a hard thump as she landed and slid. Having Vita land on top of her was only slightly more painful .
"Traitor!" Shamal declared coldly, turning her eyes towards Vita.
The knight gritted her teeth, getting to her feet. "Fight it, Shamal!" she cried. "Something's got you! You have to fight it! This isn't you!"
For a moment, Shamal looked blankly at her. And then her hand snapped up, the rings on her hands trailing crimson light as two of the crystals shot forward, trailing lines of energy behind them. Vita tensed, hammer rising–
She jerked, staring down in horror at the hand erupting from her chest, clutching her linker core.
"Armor Override successful," Shamal said, voice unchanging as one hand stuck through the Mirror of Travel's she'd cast. "No mercy to traitors. Serve Hayate in death. Download."
Illya could only watch as Vita screamed, fading away, leaving only a pile of children's clothes that were bown away in the wind…
"NO!" she heard Nanoha cry from above. "Vita-chan!"
Illya felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle and rise as another stream of pink and green energy streaked for Shamal from above, this one straight and true, aiming for her center of mass. The corrupted knight's hand swung, a the air above her ripping. "Silence Wall" she intoned as the beam was blocked, stopped cold.
Something flickered out of the corner of Illya's eye, a pink blur that streaked for Shamal like a bullet.
The other hand moved, too fast to see, the Book not leaving it's position floating above it. "Trace, on," Shamal said, and Illya's blood ran cold. There was a shower of blood and a surprised cry. Thump.
"Downloading…"
"NO! Signum!" she vaguely heard Fate cry.
Illya found herself beginning to shake. "No…" she began to mutter, eyes wide, staring at the fallen form that was already beginning to fade, leaving only a set of clothes. "No… no fighting… no fighting…"
Another blur, this one leaving a blazing golden contrail, even as another beam shot down from the skies…
She could hear Ruby yelling, telling her to move…
"…no fighting… no fighting…" she said, unable to stop, unable to turn her eyes away…
"Shinmei Ryu Jutsu:Shin Raikouken."
The world cracked, and Illya was blasted back, tumbling. When she stopped, the world was sideways, and she blurrily saw a shining green figure falling from the sky as a small form with glowing gold wings stumbled and did not move.
…no…no…
Shamal turned to regard her. Their eyes met. Golden eyes blazed.
"… no… no…" Illya found herself breathing. In her hands, Ruby was struggling to move. Illya realized her hands were aching from their death-grip, but couldn't find it in herself to let go.
Shamal stepped torward.
A single name left Illya's lips even as she felt her Command Seal burn.
"Berserker…"
...
The city was quiet. Too quiet.
"What the hell just happened?-!-?-!-?-!" Alisa cried as they walked through the streets, streets that had until moments ago been filled with people walking, cars running. Now, the people were gone, and the cars stood idle and dead on the road still as if someone had taken all their batteries at once.
Suzuka looked about worriedly. Was this one of those 'Invasions of evil forces from another dimension' they had drills in school about? It sort of looked like it. Everything was eerie, bathed in a slightly green light…
Wait. Green?
She looked up.
"Hmm? Hey Suzuka, what are you looking at?" Alisa said, also craning her head back to look.
They both stared.
"My knowledge of old American movies is a bit rusty," Alisa said impassively, "but isn't Gozer appearing a sign of the end of the world?"
"I think so, yes," Suzuka said, just as impassively.
They both kept staring.
"Well, crap," Alisa said succinctly.
"I," Suzuka said quite clearly. "Am going to die a virgin."
There was a beat.
"Alisa, that was your cue to make some kind of comment about remedying that."
"Suzuka, you're always really weird after you've talked to your cousin Tomoyo over the phone, so I'm going to be a good friend and pretend you didn't say anything."
"Can't you be a good friend and–"
"NO!"
A sigh.
"I am going to die a virgin."
"If you don't shut up about that, it's going to be because I beat you to death with my bag."
"Sorry."
"Good. Now, let's put all those tax yen they've been spending on 'Forces of evil invade' drills to good use and find shelter, and maybe a magical girl or two, shall we?"
"And then, maybe–?"
"NO!"
"Fine, no need to bite my head off… unless you feel like–"
"Suzuka, I swear, if you don't shut up about that–!"
They bickered on as they ran.
...
- To be continued...
...
A/N: I have no idea where that came from…
Signum keeps getting blasted through walls, isn't she?
Credit for Schwalbe Schwarm goes to Zeranion, for the base idea.
Berserker was in spirit form when they were teleported, and wasn't caught in the effect.
Shorter than I'd like, but I was running out of inspiration, and since reviews are good for those…
Still, the end is nigh… maybe five more chaps to go?
Please review, C&C welcome. Lots of reviews and C & C. Really, I need it, else I might develop writer's block.
Until next time, this is Shadow, signing off.