Magical Atoner Lyrical Alicia
Training
In the combat training center Alicia Testarossa leaped up as her black cape swirled around her, the simple black swimsuit like garment clinging to her slim form. Hanging in midair she held Bardiche in scythe mode, the energy blade glowing golden in the simulated sunlight, and her eyes were focused and intent.
"Surround her!" the Hardsuit clad figure yelled as his teammates closed in, "Hem her in so she can't use spells!"
"Ooh, BAD idea," Haruhi Azuna murmured from the sidelines, the hardsuit pilot wincing as the brown haired girl watched intently. Dressed in the blue and white uniform of the Earth forces, with a hardsuit division patch on her shoulder, she looked sharp and capable.
Instead of trying any complicated attacks Alicia merely used her energy scythe, striking with sudden speed and force. The weapon disrupted tech without hurting anyone, thankfully, but two rapid strikes disabled two of the suits and made the third jerk back in alarm.
Pressing the call button for the training arena Haruhi leaned forward as she said, "All right, session's over. Everyone take five."
Alicia descended to the ground, her long blond hair shimmering as she landed. She seemed barely mussed by the ongoing combat training, rather unlike the combat suits she had trashed. Haruhi really wanted to be annoyed by that, but considering they had asked her to come train with them...
"Are you all right?" Alicia asked as she helped one of the pilots up, grunting a bit in effort at hauling up the suited figure.
Kyo Yamada shook his head wryly, the black haired young man standing more than a foot taller than her. "I should be asking you that," he noted wryly, the experienced pilot feeling more than a bit sheepish at the drubbing the pilots had taken.
"You're not used to magic, I think," Alicia said gently, "or at least not my type of magic."
"True," Kyo admitted, having mostly dealt with magic users that projected attacks from a distance. He wasn't used to a mage that got in close and hammered at you physially as well as using long range spells.
The third pilot, a rookie and the only person fast enough to get out of range, was helping the other pilot up. "Nice, Catrine," the other pilot smiled, his red hair falling into his face.
Catrine blushed, the blue haired woman shrugging. "I was lucky," she said, tucking her helm under her arm as the pair nodded to Alicia.
"Good match," Rockuro Yamada nodded.
"You too," Alicia bowed to them both slightly.
Haruhi went down the steps from the control room as she nodded politely to Alicia. "You know, when Ran talked you into helping us I don't think she expected we'd be getting our asses kicked so regularly," she noted.
Alicia shrugged, "I'm a combat mage, Miss Azuna, and I feel fairly certain you don't get to spar with someone with my training very often."
"Haruhi, please," she corrected, smiling. She nodded thoughtfully as she walked with Alicia out the door into the base hallways, "The closest we've had was when Archmage Sakura Kinomoto came by to spar, once."
"Haruhi," Alicia smiled, blushing slightly.
"Do you want to have lunch in the cafeteria?" Haruhi invited.
"I'd like that," Alicia nodded as she banished her barrier jacket, the swimsuit and cape combo disappearing to be replaced by a simple skirt and blouse combination.
"Damn, I wish I could do that," Haruhi muttered, laughing.
Alicia looked amused, "At least your clothes don't disappear as your shields weaken. In one training combat a few years ago I was down to bra and panties..."
Haruhi's eyes widened slightly as that mental image registered. "I can see where that would be a problem," she admitted as they went into the lift and rose through Tokyo base. Silently she was a bit shaken by her imagining Alicia naked... yes, the blond was hot but Haruhi had never really been drawn to women before.
The cafeteria was as busy as ever, with pilots, hardsuit officers, marines and ship crews mingling on the sprawling base. Friend called out greetings to Haruhi as they made their way to the counter to pick up their food then found a table.
"How is Subaru doing?" Haruhi asked politely as they began to eat.
"I'm running her through the basics now," Alicia admitted, "she's picking things up incredibly fast." She shook her head, "Really, I'm starting to wonder if genius is inherited."
"Maybe we should train with her too," Haruhi noted, frowning just a bit. She, Hazuki and Ran Mizuno had fought against Subaru when they had mistakenly tried to arrest Alicia, and the girl had been a formidable fighter just using the training provided by her device Raising Heart. What she might do with real training was rather frightening.
"I don't think so," Alicia shook her head slightly, "from what she's said Subaru plans to maintain as normal a life as she can."
"I suppose I can't blame her," Haruhi admitted as she ate her burger.
Eating from her more traditional bento box Alicia looked at the pilot across from her. "Haruhi, how did you get into piloting Hardsuits?" she asked. "I understand it can be more dangerous than other piloting duties."
"It is," Haruhi conceded, "but there's a incredible rush too." She looked thoughtful as she ate her fries, "As to how.. well, mostly just from progressing through the ranks." She shrugged casually, "I started out as a pilot of shuttles and the like, moved into fighter combat then finally earned a place on the Hardsuit Corps."
"I think it was probably harder than that," Alicia noted thoughtfully.
"Well, yes..." Haruhi admitted.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Subaru Yagami had been hoping she could carry on her life as it had been going before she received the device Raising Heart. Maybe unrealistically hoping, as things turned out...
Subaru had told her parents, of course, and they had taken it pretty well if somewhat differently. Her mother had been rather worried about having a magical girl in the family but otherwise seemed fine, while her father was overjoyed to see the family legacy of magic return.
Subaru got her first inkling that things were changing a few days later, when her family received a entirely unexpected invitation for her to transfer to the prestigious Tokyo Central High School. TCH was one of the hardest schools to qualify for, and they did not just randomly invite students in.
The next day two representatives of Tokyo Central appeared, to discuss if she wanted to transfer as well as meet with the family. Hikari Yamada was a smiling, warm older woman, at least in her thirties with blond hair and a amused gaze, while Erica Tenoh was a black haired, somewhat intense student was moved with a easy confidence.
Yuchiro Yagami welcomed them both, the older man nodding respectfully as he said, "I knew our Subaru had good grades, but I never expected her to be head hunted like this."
"Her grades really are exceptional," Hikari smiled warmly, "and we have hopes she'll try out for the school sports teams too."
"She's very athletic," Rachel Yagami nodded, the mother of the house looking impressed.
Erica put her hand on Subaru's arm as she said quietly, "Could I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Subaru agreed, the two women leaving the living room and walking down to the hall to her bedroom. "Grab a seat," Subaru waved her inside.
"Thanks," Erica sat down at the young woman's desk as Subaru sat on the edge of the bed, sighing as she said, "I wanted to talk to you while the teacher keeps your parents distracted."
Subaru raised her eyebrows, "That doesn't sound good."
"It's not that bad," Erica reassured her. She studied Subaru thoughtfully a moment, "Why do you think we contacted you now?"
Subaru thought about it no more than a second or two, "You know about Raising Heart."
"Got it," Erica nodded briskly. She leaned forward, "The Hardsuit pilots put in a report about what happened, and certain strings were pulled."
Subaru narrowed her eyes a bit, "Are you trying to recruit me?"
"No, no," Erica shook her head, "her Majesty has issues around making under aged kids fight to protect the kingdom. No, they want you to transfer for your own protection."
"Huh?" Subaru blinked.
Erica shrugged slightly as she said, "Miss Yagami..."
"Subaru," she corrected, "Miss Yagami is my mom."
"All right, Subaru," Erica smiled, "and you can call me Erica." More seriously she continued, "You realize that you now possess a source of incredible power in Raising Heart?"
"Yes," Subaru nodded, "I'm already training to control it."
"Good," Erica nodded, "but having Raising Heart also makes you a target. There are people who will think they can use the device for their own ends, or possibly force you to work for them."
"I see," Subaru nodded. She frowned slightly as she asked, "But how does transferring to Tokyo Central help?"
"It's the nearest high school to the Palace," Erica smiled slightly, "in case of emergency a squad can be deployed in minutes." She shrugged, "And if things get really crazy the Senshi themselves might come out to help."
Subaru's eyes went wide as she yelped, "I'm not that important...!"
"Any citizen of the realm is that important," Erica corrected firmly, "at least, that's what her Majesty thinks."
Subaru nodded as she considered the situation. "Do you think I need to switch schools?" she asked her quietly.
"It's up to you," Erica admitted, "but personally I think you might be better off. Not only will you be safer but the school itself will help you out a great deal."
Subaru sighed, not wanting to leave her friends at her old school. Still, it would help her out in university if she attended there, and to be honest she was intrigued... "All right," she said, "if my parents agree, I'll switch."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Erica smiled, "knowing Miss Yamada she probably has both of them eating out of her hand..."
To be continued...
Magical Atoner Lyrical Alicia
Alicia Testarossa felt more than a bit of nervousness as she stood in the bustling crowd of the Crystal Palace, dressed in a simple tunic and skirt that she had picked for the occasion. They looked dressy, but were still comfortable and easy to move in. She was here among dozens of others to take the oath of citizenship, something the young blonde had decided on doing some days before.
Talking with Ran Mizuno, not to mention with Subaru, had convinced Alicia that she wanted to stay here in Crystal Tokyo. The realm wasn't perfect, of course, no place is, but so far she liked the people she had met. And to be honest she had not liked returning to Midchilde, dealing with the bureaucracy and the constant tracking of anyone possessed of power. Earth seemed much more free, in that respect.
Citizenship, also, hadn't been quite what Alicia had expected. She had honestly been pretty dubious hearing that there was a queen and such, and had almost been expecting some kind of binding oath and 'god save the queen.' Instead the requirements seemed terribly easy, though on closer examination were a bit more complex.
Citizenship in Crystal Tokyo seemed to require only two things: a promise to contribute to the realm, and another promise to defend it with all your abilities. On the surface both of those were easy requirements, but Alicia knew that to one who was serious about their word they would have great impact. She could imagine any number of ways to contribute or defend the realm, some of which might be more than a bit ethically dubious.
'Not that I think I'd be so ordered,' Alicia admitted to herself as she waited. She took a moment to scan the crowd with her eyes, taking in the variety of people. There was a cat-person of the Khanite over to one side of the chamber, and several naked men and women she guesses were from a colony world. A heavily cyborged man frowned as he studied the crystal facets of one wall, while a woman in a skin tight spacesuit fidgeted as she studied her surroundings.
The heavy doors at the far end of the chamber opened, and a green haired man strode out, a sword slung over his shoulder. "To accept your oaths," he smile slightly, "is the Princess of Mercury, Guardian of the Inner Ring, Champion of the Great Library, Professor Eternius of Tokyo University, Doctor of Philosophy at Jurai Tech, and Fellow of Science Academy!"
The blue haired woman in a blue and white formal dress should have crumpled under all those titles, but instead gave the man a pained look, "Do you have to list all those titles, Saionji?"
Saionji smirked, "Of course."
Lady Mercury sighed, and Alicia bit back a giggle. It was clear these two knew each other very well, and he got a great deal of pleasure out of playing the humble servant. She wondered for a moment how long they'd been playing this little game, then dismissed the thought.
There was a small podium by the doors, and Mercury smiled as she stood behind it and looked over the group. "I want to thank you all for coming today," she said warmly, "and for offering your oaths to our realm. We feel that each and every citizen can contribute to making Crystal Tokyo a better place, and I look forward to seeing how you all will contribute."
Alicia watched as the naked people shifted forward through the crowd, frowning slightly. There was something... off about them. They moved as a unit, pushing people aside, and they seemed focused on Mercury with a dangerous intensity.
"Look out!' Alicia called, even as the first attack begun.
The man broke from the group and leaped forward, his hand shifting into a kind of blade. Almost as fast as he moved Saionji was there, drawing his sword as he parried the attack, then drove him back with a sweep of his katana. However the other five moved up at the same time, bodies bulging inhumanly as they took on some kind of battle mode.
There were screams and panic as people stampeded away from the battle, and Alicia cursedsoftly. "Bardiche!" she grabbed her device, shifting the gem into scythe mode. Taking off she soared over the crush of the crowd, then dove right at the attackers.
"Aaarr!" the woman made a incoherent sound as her fingers shifted to claws, scything at Alicia.
"Round Shield!' Alicia snapped out the order, the claws skittering across the golden barrier. She grabbed Bardiche and shoved the blunt end into the creatures gut, sending it reeling backwards.
"Huh!" with a grunt of effort Saionji cut down his opponent, splashing himself with white blood. "Boomers," he scowled, the survivors stalking towards him and Mercury.
Mercury made a stiff gesture, "Icy wave!" From her hand came a burst of almost absolute zero chill, freezing two of the attackers yet somehow not chilling the room. Well, not very much anyway.
Leaping back from another attack Alicia swept her scythe around to drive her attackers back a bit. "Photon Lancer!" she yelled, summoning several globes of golden power, "Fire!" The energy bolts slammed into two of the still active attackers, blasting them backwards and exploding.
"One left," Saionji advanced warily across the rubble of the room, now emptied of everyone but the three of them.
The Boomer, whatever that was, paused as it assessed the situation. It's eyes glowed once as it said flatly, "Self destruct mode, maximum yield."
Making a snap decision Alicia leaped forward, yelling "Round Shield!" Extending the barrier to maximum she slammed the attacker against the wall and held it there, bracing herself.
BOOOM! The blast shook the room, sending crystal fragments falling from the ceiling as the energy was directed outward through the wall. The force of the explosion blew the wall right out, vaporizing much of the material even as it sent Alicia staggering back, reeling and disoriented.
"Got you," a gentle female voice said just as Alicia blacked out.
There wee certain memories that Alicia held precious. Picnicking with her mother, playing in the sun... even after everything that had happened, she cherished them. Laying with her head in her mother's lap, safe and warm, it was a good memory.
Now as she came awake, she was remided of that feeling as she looked up at the blurry figure and murmured, "Mother..."
"Not quite," the kind woman responded, and with a blink Alicia's vision focused again. They weren't in the hall, but another part of the palace, and Alicia was laying on a sort of recliner while Mercury looked down at her worriedly.
"I'm so sorry," Alicia quickly apologized as she tried to sit up, then cringed in pain, "Oww," she grabbed her head, wincing.
"Easy!" a familiar voice said, and Alicia saw Ran Mizuno come into her line of sight, carrying a glass of water. She smiled at Alicia as she offered the glass and a tablet, "Here, this'll help."
"Thank you," Alicia smiled as she took them.
"No, thank you," Ran said, flashing a grin at Mercury as she said seriously, "it's not everyday someone saves my mom's life."
"What?" Alicia blinked, surprised.
Mercury smiled wryly as the older woman said, "I don't use my original last name any longer, but yes, I am Ran's mother." She added, "And thank you from me too."
As they were speaking Saionji stalked in, carrying a tray of drinks. "I'm glad you're up," he said as he handed out the cups of some unidentified juice, "and I'm sorry you had to do that." He scowled, "Clearly I'm losing my touch."
"Oh don't give me that," Ran snorted, "I saw the imagery. There was no way you could have seen them coming before Alicia did."
Saionji shook his head, "I've trained for longer than you've been alive. I should have seen it."
"Seriously?" Alicia blinked.
Saionji, who looked no older than a man in his mid-thirties, smiled to himself wryly. "Long story," he shrugged.
Alicia shook her head, not sure she wanted to know. "Unless you have esp or some other powers, I don't think you could have done any more than you did," she said firmly. She smiled suddenly, "And you did it just using a normal sword too."
"Thank you," Saionji bowed his head slightly.
"Do you think you're recovered enough to move some?" Ran asked after a moment, studying Alicia thoughtfully.
The younger teen stood, wobbling a bit but quickly recovering. "I think so," she admitted, "though a hand might be nice."
Both Mercury and Ran gave Alicia a steadying hand as they left the room, and at least for the start Alicia was too wobbly to take a good look around. After a few moments she realized they were going through the private sections of the palace, the residences of the Queen and her closest associates. They went through a large set of doors, and Alicia's eyes widened as she saw the two thrones.
Queen Serenity was smiling as Alicia entered, her long white hair glittering as she spoke with her husband, Endymion. She turned as they entered and surprisingly rose, walking right to Alicia as Endymion followed behind her.
"Uhm," Alicia froze, unsure to bow, curtsey or what, since she hadn't sworn the oaths yet.
"Thank you," Serenity said simply as the white gowned woman suddenly hugged the stunned Alicia, "if you hadn't acted, the Manpower assassination team might have succeeded in killing Ami and Saionji."
"It's confirmed it's Manpower?" Saionji murmured to Endymion.
"The attackers were apparently human, but had nanotechnology implanted in the marrow of their bones," Endymion answered as the black suited man pushed purple black hair from his eyes, "I don't think they even knew what they were before they attacked."
"Explains how they got by screening," Ran noted. She smiled coldly, "No way they're doing that again, though."
"I didn't plan on saving your friends," Alicia admitted a bit sheepishly, "I was just acting on instinct." She smiled shyly, "But you're welcome."
"I also wanted to thank you," Endymion smiled. He hesitated a moment as he added, "I hope that this experience hasn't made you change your mind about citizenship?"
"I still want to be a citizen," Alicia said firmly. She hesitated a moment, "After today, I know I want to protect the friends I've made here from these kind of enemies."
Saionji clapped the smaller woman on the shoulder as he declared, "Well said!"
"Ooof!" Alicia nearly fell before Ran caught her, this time. "Saionji!" she scolded him fiercely.
"Sorry," he apologized quickly.
Once Alicia straightened up, Serenity smiled slightly. "Normally, Mercury would have accepted your oath, but would you mind if I did?" she asked gently.
Alicia's eyes widened slightly, "I would be honored."
Serenity stood there, somehow taking on a more regal aspect as she gazed down at Alicia. "Do you, Alicia Testarossa, swear to contribute to the well being of the Realm and to defend it to the best of your ability?" she asked formally.
"I so swear," Alicia said, meeting her eyes calmly.
"Then I welcome you to Crystal Tokyo," Serenity smiled, "citizen."
To be continued...
Notes: I may add another chapter before this one, depending on my time and inspiration. The idea for Alicia becoming a citizen just hit me, and I wanted to write it up. Heh!
This also ties into my Crystal Tokyo series, with the Manpower subplot etc etc. You can probably expect some bouncing back and forth between this fic and Eternal City Crystal Tokyo...