Lyrical Wizardry
AN: Wow, I did not expect such an overwhelmingly positive reaction. Thank you everyone for your support of this story through reviews, follows and favourites. Just a note: I tend to reply to reviews through PM unless there is an issue that's mentioned several times in the reviews.
-Chapter 1: A New Beginning-
Fate Testarossa was sat in Luchino Café on Tottenham Court Road in London, waiting for an all important call from her superiors, telling her about what was going to happen with the request she'd sent earlier. She was sure that they'd set someone on the ground to investigate, but how much support she'd get for a backwater world like this was information that she was unable to figure out.
"Sir," said Bardiche. "I have a message from headquarters. It is from further up the chain of command than anticipated."
"Yes, I'll take a look at it."
Subject: U97 First Contact and Lost Logia Assignment
Sender: Admiral Largo Kiel
Hello Enforcer Testarossa. I have given you my personal authorization to station you on U97. A team will be coming within the next 48 Mid Childan hours to inspect their society. Your main priority will be to assist them in investigating the Lost Logia. We feel this would be the best role for you to play. Until then, you are on leave. We will send a rendezvous time at a later date. Unfortunately, I cannot in good conscience assign Captain Takamachi with you for this one, due to her health concerns. I'm truly sorry.
She stared at the message. It took a while to sink in. She was going to be making first contact for the TSAB with the society. All this because she wanted to pick up a few things from Earth for Nanoha, and accidentally transferred to the wrong co-ordinates.
'Sorry Nanoha,' thought Fate as her order arrived. She thanked the waitress in an absent minded manner whilst she re-read the message. 'Our holiday is going to be cut short.'
"Would you like me to message Raising Heart?"
"If you would please."
"Yes Sir."
Fate finished the last of her bland tasting coffee, which may as well have been just lukewarm bitter greyish water, and left the café towards a safe place to start a dimensional transfer. She'd need to value the next forty eight hours with Nanoha and Vivio.
-Lyrical Wizardry: A New Beginning-
Albus and Rose were chatting amicably as they walked along the aisle down the train, with James leading the way. He hadn't disappeared to go grab his circle of friends like he normally would, and instead was sticking with his younger brother and cousin.
Rose was sure this arrangement would change though after a while. James had his image as the Son of the Boy Who Lived to live up to after all. Apparently, he was living up to it, as James waved back to various other students in the carriage who seemed to want everything to do with the firstborn Potter child.
She had the feeling that this sentiment didn't necessarily extend to her and Albus, at least not at this point.
"So," said James as they found an empty campartment. "Is there anything I can do for you ickle firsties."
"Maybe," said Albus. He was slightly distracted, and looked like his mind was drifting off into the distance. "I dunno what to ask."
"Pfft," said James. "Wanna play chess with me then? Rose can help you."
Rose saw the two boys looking at her expectantly. The chessboard was already set up, and Albus' pieces were also joining in on begging Rose to give Albus a hand. James' pieces were also doing the same.
"Oh... alright then," said Rose. "Albus, did you read up on that book I gave you?"
"That chess book?" he asked. "But we spent summer going over the first year textbooks, did you expect me to do more reading?"
Rose put her face in her palm, whilst James sniggered. Albus' pieces looked resigned with defeat, whilst some of James' pieces walked over and patted Albus' on the back.
"You know how I feel about things like this. I don't mind helping you out once or twice, but if you keep asking me to play the game for you I'm not going to be particularly happy."
"Please Rose," said Albus. "My pieces look crushed!"
"... I'll play then," said Rose. "But," she said, before Albus could pipe up. "I'm going to be using my pieces. If you want to make it so your pieces aren't sad, you'll have to learn to play yourself Albus."
She pulled out from her backpack a small purple bag, and from inside sixteen wizard chess pieces marched out, and saluted Rose before taking their positions on the board, where Albus' pieces shuffled away sheepishly. James' pieces reeled back and took up their own positions, looking slightly shaken.
"I... think I'll go back to reading textbooks Rose, thanks," said Albus stunned in silence as Rose's pieces bowed to James'.
"Uh... I don't think my guys are up to another spanking by Uncle Ron's pieces Rose," said James.
"Suit yourself," said Rose. "Sorry guys, you've got to go back."
The pieces saluted back to Rose and began to march back to their container. Albus had taken his brand new copy Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1 (3rd Ed) by Miranda Goshawk and was already on the contents page.
"Third edition?" said James. "You lucky buggers, I heard dad say that it makes the second edition look like it was written in MS DOS... whatever that means."
"Books aren't written with computer code," said Rose. "The enchantments just make things more user friendly, that's all."
"I don't get why you'd want to read through now though. It won't make sense until you have your first les...sons," said James, trailing off towards the end of the sentence.. "... wait," he continued. "What does that say? I didn't know Professor Jaeger wrote the foreword."
Though they'd gotten used to seeing the name of Harry Potter all over things like textbooks or newspaper articles, something that surprised them was the words of a professor appearing on one of their own texts. They flicked to the foreword and began to read.
Foreword II: Altima Jaeger - Hogwarts Defence Professor
This third edition of The Standard Book Of Spells series was brought on by a massive shift in views, as wizard society seeks to move forward and undo the mistakes of the past.
Wizarding Britain is slowly shedding the policy of isolation fathered by Salazar Slytherin, which whilst relevant for the dangers of his era, only serves to hurt relations today, instead now the magical community is getting more and more involved in the affairs of muggles, most recently, involvement in both stopping the SRN uprising in Africa, and the coup de etat from the New Russian Federation to help wizardkind to understand their world, and to set the building blocks for a stable and safe integration.
So now we have the creation of the Third Edition of such a solid series of textbooks, something young witches and wizards are sure to appreciate on their journey, as they emerge from their chrysalis into mature adults.
"Professor Jaeger," said Rose. "Doesn't he work with Uncle Harry on tougher cases or if they think that fighting is inevitable?"
"Yeah, and he really knows his stuff," said James, with a tone of awe. "I've told you about that Virtual Reality setup he uses in school right?"
"Yes," said Albus. "I think you've told the story about how you got your first date because you saved Melissa Hunter from a VR dragon. After the twentieth time it got really boring."
"Or about how your entire class got their asses kicked by a girl in VR that was only known as the White Devil," said Rose. "But hearing from Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny that you nearly wet your virtual pants never gets old."
"HEY! I really thought I was going to die to her," said James, a slight smirk crossing his face. "Seriously, an eleven year old girl who can fly freely, and shoot beams that can level entire cities would scare anybody."
The other two sniggered.
"Don't laugh! Come to the Defence Club, you'll see what I mean. The White Devil is an introductory scenario, I'd love to see how you do."
The banter continued through the journey, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime. James had taken to tutoring the two younger children in the basics of magic, and by the end of the journey, the two of them were somehow able to produce a glow from the tips of their wands.
"Well, that's Lumos," said James. "I think any more advanced than this is pushing it, especially since we were trying to hide what we were doing from the prefects every time those stupid patrols pass us."
"Albus, you did really good," said Rose, patting her cousin on the back. "And James, you're an amazing teacher."
"Thanks, I know," said James. Albus merely nodded.
"Oh god, are you worried about the sorting again?" asked James.
"Uh huh," said Albus. "You can't blame me can you?"
"Yes I can," said James. "Dear Merlin Albus, Dad even told you that you can ask the hat for a favour and to drop you in Gryffindor about as many times as I talked about VR training and optional defence classes. Really, the way you talk about it, its like you're about to face off against a dragon."
Albus couldn't help but crack a weak smile whilst Rose gave a slightly nervous laugh.
-Lyrical Wizardry: A New Beginning-
[Lunch Time: Gringotts]
Reina Amemiya stood in front of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. The information given about Gringotts was surprisingly detailed, and seemed to have been gathered first hand. The building was exactly as Reina had pictured it, though a few details had probably changed, probably related to how recently the building had been cleaned.
"Amemiya," said a voice in Reina's head. "This is Simmons. How're things on the ground?"
"Things are pretty good," said Reina telepathically. "I've got a visual on the bank, but now its time to get in there and raid the vault. I want to find any clues about where Papa might be or what he might be doing for now."
"I see. By the way, don't you think this operation stands out just a little bit?"
"How so?"
"Well, it is a little unexpected, given the world we're in."
"What, were you expecting me to go undercover in a school? I understand that the school is important to them, a lot more so than other schools in other cultures are, but I don't see how investigating a bunch of schoolchildren can be of any relevance ata ll."
"If Jaeger is in Hogwarts, he has ready uninterrupted access to a large number of magically talented children in a position of authority."
Reina had no reply to that last statement, and decided to continue with the mission regardless. Two security guards were stationed at the doors, eyeing Reina with suspicion as she walked in.
"Two guards at the front," said Reina back. "This can't be it. They must have more defences for the entire wealth of a nation."
"Maybe they're pumped up with M-Steroids, or whatever equivalent they have down here," suggested Simmons.
"I don't think so," replied Reina. "Their linker cores don't look too different from the others. So just training?"
"There's no real need to find out," said Simmons. "Go as far as you can without alerting anyone."
"Pfft."
Reina marched forward confidently, pushing the doors aside as she entered into the old building. She was sure one of the guards shivered as she entered. Maybe it was the fact that she was wearing a bodysuit underneath a poncho and red miniskirt. Anyone who dressed that ridiculously was either insane, powerful or both.
Past the first set of doors was a small entrance hall, with a second door that lead to the inside of the bank proper. There was something inscribed above the door
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
'How cute,' thought Reina sarcastically.
"Amemiya, that's not like, a challenge now. Alright?"
"I know. I'm just here to see if Papa has anything down here of value."
Her appearance drew stares from the goblins sitting at the sides of the bank, measuring precious stones and metals. She stared straight back with a look that could have sliced open a battle tank.
The bank was, despite being the only wizarding bank in Britain, surprisingly quiet. Reina walked towards the nearest customer desk, which had both the Union Jack and the French Tricolore on plaques at the front.
"Bonjour," said the goblin in French. "Can I help you madam?"
'I see. They greet in both languages, so that the customer is free to proceed in the language of their choice.'
"I wish to open an account at Gringotts," said Reina. "I just moved into the country and have nothing of real value to deposit at this point in time. I'd just like to get it out of the way."
"I see. Your name please, madam?"
"Eva Mitsubishi."
-Lyrical Wizardry: A New Beginning-
[Later that evening: Hogsmeade]
The Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade station, and it was there the students all departed. James had separated from the other two soon to be first years and went on ahead to take a carriage towards Hogwarts. Rose and Albus were therefore stuck with following the sound of Hagrid's voice.
"Firs' years! Firs' years! This way please."
The enormous groundskeeper had changed a little compared to the photographs that their parents had shown them, from their school years. Hagrid had become a little more wrinkled, his posture a little more stooped over, and his hair was starting to show a few white locks. All in all, he was getting older, and though his giant blood had managed to keep him away from the ravages of time for a while, things were starting to catch up.
"Alright Hagrid?" said Albus as the group of first years gathered around.
"Alrigh' Alb, Rose," said Hagrid in reply. Now that the children were closer, they noticed that he had a distracted look on his face, like he was looking out for something coming over the horizon, something that Rose noticed.
"Hagrid?" asked Rose. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Listen," said Hagrid. "There's been a bit o' an inciden'. I'd like ter get yer into the castle as fas' as poss'ble."
"Will we still be able to take the boats across the lake?" asked Albus. Rose put her face in her left palm. Albus could be incredible at times, in every sense of the word.
"... I don' think so today."
It was true. Once all the first years had gathered, Hagrid lead them to the carriages. There was a little bit of confusion as to why this was happening, especially since as policy, Hogwarts' enrolment procedure for first years was very clearly shown to all the children, especially to muggleborns who wouldn't have even heard of Hogwarts before receiving their letters. In recent years, they also made sure to send letters to non magically aware families at least year in advance so that they could brief the parents and the child in question, answer any questions, and work out a suitable cover story, such as the child was being transferred to a prestigious boarding school for talented youngsters, or something similar.
"C'mon!" said Hagrid. "The castle's waitin' fer yer." He was trying to put on a brave face, but worry and nervousness was written all over his face. He was still scanning the skies for a threat that might not even arrive.
Albus and Rose sat in one of the seemingly self pulling carriages, and they were sat opposite a very familiar looking blonde boy.
"Nervous are you Potter?" asked Scorpius Malfoy.
"Leave him alone Scorpius," snapped Rose.
"Oooh, I'm scared... but seriously, I'm a little nervous too," said Scorpius.
"I suppose you'd want to end in Slytherin?" asked Albus.
"What? Potter, have nerves really rattled your brain? I mean this is nothing like what my father told me. We were supposed to go in boats."
"Yeah," said Albus dumbly. "Boats..."
The rest of the journey proceeded in silence.
-Lyrical Wizardry: A New Beginning-
Albus Severus Potter was extremely nervous as he waited in the entrance hall to be sorted with the other fifty or so first years. Rose was twitching with a little nervousness, but it was the excited nervousness that one had when they were trying a box of every flavour beans, or preparing to go to Disneyland.
Albus's nerves was due to the dread that had caught up to him in the last thirty minutes of the train journey, dreading that the sorting hat would call out 'Slytherin!' in less than three seconds of him putting it on.
Instead he just quaked in line as the first years were lead to Great Hall, where they would sit for the sorting ceremony. He wasn't the only scared one, it seemed. He recognized Scorpius Malfoy not too far ahead of him, probably praying to whatever deity the Malfoy family worshiped that the hat would do the very thing that Albus didn't want it to do.
On one of the tables, Albus saw his brother James give him a thumbs up; one that his friends wouldn't notice, but because he knew Albus would be searching for some form of support, would be found by Albus.
The gesture had its impact lessened somewhat when James' friend pulled a funny face at him, and James joined in with the silent laughter. 'Some things never change,' thought Albus as he in the middle of the hall with the rest of the first years.
Looking up at the staff table, he noticed the staff were all scanning the first years, evidently looking to see who or what they would have to deal with for the next seven years. One that caught his eye was the presence of a man with an eye patch, full beard and shoulder length messy hair. Though Albus never met him in person, he knew who it was immediately: he was looking at Altima Jaeger.
"Potter, Albus!" called a voice from the front of the hall
Before he knew it, he was called up to be sorted. With these other thoughts in his mind, as well as James' secret support, he walked up to the stool where the sorting hat lay with a confidence that he wouldn't have had earlier.
As he sat on the stool, the hat flopped down over his eyes, and he heard the voice within it talking to him.
'Another Potter eh?' said the hat to Albus in his mind. 'I've been expecting you.'
'Really?' thought Albus back. 'I guess James must have mentioned something.'
'Yes, and though he did ask me to do a small favour right at the end of last year... oh, but I'm afraid I cannot take requests for friends and family; each child needs to be sorted according to his or her own merit you see.'
'What did he ask for?'
'... lets see...' said the hat, ignoring the question. 'A thirst to prove yourself... loyal... a keen mind... and prone to the occasional insane disregard for the rules... Potters never make my work easy.'
'Sorry.'
'Please take it as a compliment. As you would be suitable for several houses, I will place you somewhere I know you can make friends. That will be in...'
"GRYFFINDOR!" finished the sorting hat out loud. To Albus it felt like an eternity, but really he had only sat on the stool for more or less thirty seconds. Albus took off the hat, smiling a little sheepishly as he realized what the hat was saying between the lines. James clapped the loudest as his brother walked towards the Gryffindor table, before clapping him on the back, making room for his little brother.
Now that he was at the safety of the Gryffindor table, he even worked up the courage to give his cousin Rose a quick thumbs up, which she returned. Soon, Rose was asked to take a seat next to Albus, and this section of the family was reunited again.
"See Alb," said James. "Told you it would be easy."
"Easy? James, the Sorting Hat told me it didn't take requests."
"I... wait what?"
"Yeah, it said that you..."
"Oookay, not another word Albus," said James. Rose suddenly gasped as she read the Evening Prophet, and seemed to almost swing it in front of her cousins.
The headline explained why Hagrid was so tense, and why the boats were skipped over. There were two simple words on the headline.
-GRINGOTTS ATTACKED-
[Earlier that day - Lunchtime at Gringotts]
Reina looked bored as the goblin verified her identity. As she claimed to be a non magical person with a magical relative, she managed to bypass most of the checks that she assumed would have become standard after the 2nd Wizarding War. In fact, as she read up on their history, she was totally surprised at both how incredible and incredulous the events were. It looked like child soldiers were a common thing everywhere.
"Alright," said the goblin handling her account, as he finally finished signing through the paperwork. "Come this way please to confirm your vault's location."
Reina walked with the goblin towards the back of the main hall, which she assumed meant that she was heading towards the underground vaults the Gringotts pamphlet was talking about. However as she walked through a doorway into what would have been a room for visitors to store belongings that they would not like to fall during the mine cart ride (again, the pamphlet was quite informative), there was an ear piercing buzz.
'Huh? Did I just walk through a metal detector or something?'
"Excuse me miss Mitsubishi," said the goblin. "Could you please empty your pockets of any items so that they can be scanned for magical traces?"
"Uh... I just have my wallet and my mobile phone," said Reina, bringing both items onto the table. Both were fake; neither contained anything pertaining to Reina herself. The goblin ran over the objects with a sort of metal detector like probe.
"It appears then that you have failed to disclose magical ability," said the goblin. His tone switched to something a lot colder and confrontational. "Under Gringotts policy, we are to detain you until the relevant authorities arrive to take you for questioning."
"It was good while it lasted," said Simmons. "Alright, I think its time to leave."
"No, not yet," replied Reina. "I came here to look for anything that Papa could have been hiding, and I will find it." Reina's face shifted to a hungry smile; one of a child that had just been let loose in a sweet shop with twenty entire pounds of money. She turned to the goblin and uttered words that showed her intent. Several guards were closing in on her.
"I guess you'll have to arrest me then," she said. "Metatron!"
She shouted the last word, and her entire body became encased with a paleish blue light. When it faded, Reina was there, but there were changes to her attire. She was now clad in a greenish blue bodysuit, with pale blue lines radiating out from blue jewel in the centre of her chest towards her fingertips and her feet, which were encased in hard metal boots. Her eyes were covered by a black visor that seemed to float in front of her head. On her back was a pair of floating blue wing like lights, accompanied by similar looking wings on the sides of her knees. On her left elbow was a hexagonal deep blue crystal, and on her right forearm, there was a pale white blade, emitting sparks about the length of her entire arm that was pointed towards her elbow.
"Good Morning," said a feminine disembodied robotic voice that seemed to come from Reina's chest. "Ready For Combat Operation."
Reina flicked her right arm back, and the blade flicked forward so that it was now pointed in the same direction as her right forearm, in a ready position. Blue sparks flew out from the blade as it locked into position, giving off a blue aura. Before anyone could react, Reina had flown towards the back of the security room, and swung her arm at the door at the back that barred her entry to the vaults. The arm mounted blade sliced through the door like a hot knife through butter, and she kicked it in half, splitting the door sideways.
People in the cart room were taking cover as Reina flew past them following the track. She then flew down deeper and deeper into the cavern. As she did so, she felt a sudden wave of pressure come over her, like the cavern itself was objecting to her presence. However through that sensation, Metatron had picked up a different but familiar signature.
"Simmons, I'm getting readings that belong to a Mid Childan style device."
"I'm getting it too! Didn't Jaeger specialize in Belkan Style?"
"Yeah, but he always appreciated the long range abilities of Mid Style. I'm going in!"
She dived down, into the seemingly bottomless cavern, following the waypoint marker that Metatron had given her. However on the way down, a proximity warning blared mentally in her ears.
"Reinforcements approaching."
"I'll finish it in ten seconds!"
"You Won't Finish Them In Ten Seconds."
Reina turned around, and brought her left arm up, with her elbow pointed towards the mine cart entrance. A blue shield appeared around her, absorbing a variety of spells which crashed into the shield.
"Reina, forget them! Just get what you came here for!"
Reina obliged. She somersaulted backwards in midair, hanging upside down for a second before boosting her flight spells to send her flying downward. The air was starting to get more and more musty and dank. She had the feeling that as she descended, signal quality with Simmons would become poorer and poorer.
"Telepathic Support Is Unavailable Due To Interference."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"It Also Appears Pursuit Has Ceased."
"Based on?"
"No Approaching Human Linker Cores Or Life Signs."
"Any discernable cause?"
"None Currently."
Dropping towards the ground, Reina could sense that she was getting closer to her target, but there was something else as well. Below Reina, there was a burst of orange light, followed by the flapping of wings and the jangling of chains. As she landed with a crunch, Reina was able to take note of her surroundings. There were a series of stone pillars surrounding a pale looking scaled beast in the middle of the makeshift plaza. The long pointed smoking snout, with a pair of wings that served as the frontal limbs, and its posture, all indicated that it was there to guard the vaults. Just beyond it was the origin of the signal she was tracking.
"Enemy Identified As A Wyvern Type. It Appears To Be Guarding The Vaults"
"I think we found our discernable cause. Any ideas on its capabilities yet?"
"Scanning Is Currently In Progress. However, It Is Being Restrained. It Also Has Some Fairly Significant Magic Resistance. Current Data Indicates That With Enough Patience Close Range Melee Attacks Should Dispose Of It Easily. Evasion Is Also An Option."
As IWS Metatron gave Reina it's thoughts and analysis of the relatively young and fit guard dragon, it tried to breathe a spout of flame at Reina, who blocked the attack by forming a shield with her left elbow's shield generator, diverting the flames aside.
"I was going to leave you alone, but now?" said Reina.
Reina put more power into her flight spell, and rushed towards her target with her arm mounted blade drawn and glowing at its brightest blue. There was a flash of light as she swung the blade in a forehand swing that sliced straight across the dragon's snout. It howled as she did so, and reared its head back and opened its jaws wide, and turned its head so that it was sideways. It then tried to snap at her. Reina managed to slip above it, slicing downward at the face of the dragon again as it approached, skimming her legs with its teeth.
Reina continued to hover just out of range, taunting the dragon with her arm blade flicked back in the idle position. The dragon didn't take very well to that, and tried to swipe at Reina with its claws. Its struggling managed to strain the chains that were holding it in place. Reina cast a fast shield up to block the claw swipes, which knocked her back through the air. She braked by planting her feet into one of the pillars that formed a sort of stone cage around the beast. She then pushed off the pillar and hovered just above the dragon's head.
The dragon reared up and tried to charge at Reina again, pushing off its hind legs which were tethered to the wall.
There was a crunch as fixture where the chain was attached to the wall was torn out. The dragon, suddenly freed from its bindings, flexed its wings and began to charge.
Reina backpedalled as fast as she could, quickly clearing out of the cage before the dragon followed and shattered the stone pillars like matchsticks.
"Reassessment Complete. Your Chances Of Victory Have Significantly Reduced."
"Wanna tell me the odds?"
"You Never Want To Hear Them."
The cavern had just about enough room for the dragon to fly as well as Reina. It seemed like the little exchange they had whilst the dragon was chained up was just a warmup. Reina dropped down as the dragon tried to breathe a stream of flames at Reina. The flames skimmed her hair, singeing it.
Reina responded by dashing towards the dragon, slashing at it with a backward spinning attack aimed at its vulnerable underside, slipping between its legs and talons as she passed. It seemed to work as she saw a spray of red where the blade had pierced the flesh.
The dragon turned once it realized what had happened, and with about a hundred metres between the two combatants, it shot towards Reina, wings swept back and fire roaring out of its mouth.
"Maybe My Assessment Overestimated The Dragon."
Reina ignored that statement and flew in a spiral, aiming for the bottom jaw of the dragon's head. She drew her right hand back, the arm blade flicking forward as it began to glow with a blue light. Then she rushed forward, thrusting her right arm towards the underside of the dragon's head, and covered the distance of about ten metres in a flash.
-RULES OF NATURE-
The blade pierced through the soft lower jaw of the dragon's mouth, pinning it to the upper hard palate of the dragon's mouth. If the dragon wanted to roar in pain or rage, it couldn't, because the force of Reina flying into its lower jaw was keeping it shut.
Reina pushed up and up and up, until the dragon's head was almost vertical, and its neck was almost at full extension. The dragon, sensing danger, began to redouble its efforts to escape. It was trying to force its neck back down, to throw Reina off from its head. Dragon blood began to fly out of the beast's mouth as it fought the impaling sting of Reina's blade, and the force of Metatron's flight spells.
-And they run when the sun comes up-
-With their lives on the line-
The dragon was starting to win the struggle. As the struggle continued, they began to lose height as the weight of the dragon was no longer adequately supported by its wings. The continued effort was also threatening to split its skull as the two of them descended. Reina decided that a head on approach was not going to work, and prepared a safety measure.
-(Alive)-
For a while
(No choice)
-Gotta follow the laws of the wild-
The dragon gave one last heave, trying to throw Reina down into the abyss. But Reina wasn't interested in resisting directly. As soon as the pressure increased, Reina flew to the dragon's left, twisting its head and using its downward momentum to assist in the motion. Its neck began to crack as Reina continued to pull the dragon's head along with her, cranking its head and neck around with a series of sickening snapping noises until its entire body was falling through the air. Reina was now on top of an inverted dragon, pushing it down towards the bottomless abyss below.
-(Alive)-
With their lives on the line
(No choice)
-Out here only the strong survive-
Reina watched below, waiting for the dragon to come back. She knew it was inevitable, and was prepared when she saw a burst of orange light fly towards her from below. She darted to one side, allowing the vertical jet of flame to whiff straight past her. The dragon coming up was bloody and gasping. The dragon's reflexes were slowed. It was trying to compensate for its dulling senses and injuries by quadrupling its ferocity, but both of them knew it was just desperate.
-What's done is done-
Survived to see another day
The dance of life
-The hunter and the agile prey-
Reina moved too quickly for the dragon to respond to. Reina slipped past its head on its right as the dragon sluggishly tried to take a bite out of Reina, but missed her comfortably. Reina turned in the air outside of the dragon's vision to slice straight towards the base of its right wing with her arm blade. The blade cut through the wing, severely injuring it. By the time Reina was through, the dragon let out a howl of pain and fear, and Reina decided to finish it off. She grabbed the dragon's left wing securely under her left armpit, and stabbed the blade in her right hand through the dragon's spine, severing its spinal cord. Metatron's flight spells suddenly quadrupled in size. The pale blue wings over her back and knees glowed brighter and brighter.
-No guarantee-
Of which of them will succeed
-Strong or weak-
She spun the helpless dragon around, spinning it into the surrounding cavern walls, increasing her speed and rising up towards the platform where the dragon originally stood. She managed to release the enormous mass of dragon upwards. By this point, reinforcements had already arrived inside the cavern itself, on a ledge overlooking the fight that was about to end below. The thirty or so security wizards were just in time to see Reina throw the one winged dragon up at their location with a strange airborne variant of a giant throw.
-Rules of Nature-
The dragon corpse scattered the guards before they could open fire. Reina used this opportunity to land on the platform and flick her arm blade, cleaning the blood and cerebrospinal fluid off her blade.
-RULES OF NATURE-
"Reinforcements Are Retreating."
"Told you I'd finish things in ten seconds."
"I Calculate One Hundred And Seventy Four Seconds From Initial Contact To Their Rout. Your Premmise Is Flawed."
-Lyrical Wizardry: A New Beginning-
[Hogwarts: The Great Hall - Start of Term Feast]
"They killed a DRAGON?" said James, incredulous.
"She killed a dragon to get inside the vault," said Rose. "Read the article, it only mentions one attacker! Gringotts won't be happy about them publishing this."
Albus felt sheepish. He reflected that compared to the problem of which house he was going to be in, there were things going on outside that made what was his own plight pale in comparison. Apparently they weren't the only ones who were shocked at the news. Some of the older students were huddled around in their own groups, discussing the article and writing home.
"What did they take?" asked James. "They must have done it for a reason, right?"
"Well... I think there's only so far a journalist can go before they start breaking laws," said Rose. "There's no mention of what was taken in here."
-Lyrical Wizardrry: A New Beginning-
[At that time: Aboard the Hayabusa]
Reina was staring at the object she retrieved. It wasn't quite a Mid Childan intelligent device. It looked like a virtual reality helmet, with goggles that covered the eyes. Reina recognized the object as soon as she saw it after cutting the bank vault open. She had gone through the files and functions several times, and found that it was part of an enormous network of about fifty other similar devices. They were probably designed to operate in tandem with each other to create mass VR simulations.
However, Reina remained mystified
'Why would Papa leave this object lying around in a vault in Gringotts?' thought Reina.
The only thing that made sense with relation to this was that he was trying to play a game.
And there was only one person he ever played games with.
"Simmons, lets stay away from U97 for a while," said Reina. "We should work on upgrading Metatron before we go down again."
"Why?" asked Simmons.
"He's expecting me."
Songs used in this chapter
Rules of Nature (vs RAY) - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST
-Vocals: Jason Miller
-Composer: Jamie Christopherson