A/N
Man who remembers the last time I tried anything Nanoha related? Ahhh... I was a way worse writer back then. Anyway, I feel this demands a bit of setup before it starts because of how... interesting the Nanoha canon has been as of late. Think of this fic as something a combining AU with elements of the original timeline and the movie timeline.

Technically this is post A's, but before Reflection/Detonation despite character ages... hopefully it'll make sense as this story goes on why I set it up this way, but who knows. Either way, glad to be back, and happy 20th franchise anniversary and the new anime this year! (As of when this chapter is posted)

[Record 01: End of the Ordinary]

Around the time I was nine, I started having these dreams.

I'm not even sure if they're dreams to be honest. Each one sticks in my head like a memory, almost impossible to forget once I've seen it play out.

Sometimes I see battlefields. Marching my way through countless foes, sword in hand blazing with iridescent light.

Or sometimes, the quiet after the battle, standing across warriors strewn about, dead or wounded, gazing across the wake behind me, the flecks of blood staining my armor and coat.

Other, quieter days. Strolling through ornate halls and making small talk with familiar faces or seated at meeting tables, grumbling my way through the boring talk of the statesmen and magistrates.

And sometimes, looking at the rolling lands beneath me from atop a massive, flying ship of some kind, the expanse nothing short of wondrous to my eyes.

No matter what I see in these dreams though, there is always a phrase that stuck out, oft repeated time and again.

"Hero of the Saint Kings."

Be it the praise on the battlefield even from a respectable foe, or those following behind me. Even those who seem to pass by with scorn in their eyes would say it. Some meant it earnestly, glowing respect in their eyes when they said the phrase. For some, their scorn was all too apparent, as if the notion of this "Hero" was an offense to them.

[The King who will unify us once more!]

[An empty title given by fools.]

[The heroic savior come to end this war!]

[They call you a Hero?! You're a bloody Demon!]

Praise. Scorn. Love. Hatred.

All of these things I saw, night after night when these dreams occurred. These dreams, these memories… they weren't mine. They couldn't be. And yet they felt so painfully familiar, so wistfully nostalgic. Something felt like it was pulling at my heart with each memory, something deep inside of me aching in pain at the recollection.

It felt like I was peering into a life some part of me knew was mine, even if I felt so detached from it all the same.

But… how could it be? These memories couldn't be about me. They weren't.

The one some called "Hero" and others "Demon" was someone else. Id Sagebrecht… a name I rarely heard but was called every so often in these dreams. Not my name… the name of someone else.

Someone I knew had to be long gone.

And then one night… the dream changed.

I found myself, really myself, standing amid a field of countless flowers. In the distance was a castle, and in the sky, that ship I had been on so many times before. The Cradle. It was peaceful, quiet. And before me, the one whose eyes I had seen all of this through. I don't know how I knew… but something told me that was who the figure was.

It couldn't have been anyone else.

Back turned to me, he was gazing out across the field of flowers, of the clear waters that coursed through them, and then to the ship above. A shift of his arm adjusted the regal clothing he wore, and on his right forearm was something else I had become all too familiar with.

A wristlet made of dark leather and decorated with an ornate silver band, its standout feature the gleaming blue crystal laid within.

"Sephirah…" a name popped into my mind as I saw the wristlet, though the figure didn't turn to face me.

"If you could claim power, would you?" said the man, his white hair fluttering from the breeze.

"What… what do you mean? What kind of power?"

"Power to be a savior or a demon," something stirred in me from the man's words, and that was when the item on his wrist began to glow with that iridescent light. "If that was a power you could claim, would you? Would you claim it for the sake of a selfish desire, or for one other than yourself? To have the power to fell an army, or protect that which stands behind you from one?"

"That's… a lot to be asking me, y'know?"

"Such is the burden we Kaisers bear to answer. Do we become heroes or demons? Saviors or destroyers? Gods, or Devils? Especially us who bear this light…" the main raised his right arm, that stream of iridescence growing more intense as he clutched his fist tightly. "To a holder of Kaiserfarbe, it is up to us to define what this light means. What will it mean to you? When it is your turn to answer the question?"

Before I could answer, the man swung his arm out, that energy he had gathered washing over me like a gale, blowing a storm of petals into the air as I shielded my face. And in the brief glance of the man I saw, one thing stood out all too much.

We had the same face, despite him looking more aged. But what stood out the most were his eyes: Right a deep blue, and the left a brilliant crimson.

"Until the time comes, Riku."

"WAAAAAGH!"

Riku's voice split the air as he went tumbling out of his bed, crashing to the floor and left staring up at his ceiling in a daze, blue eyes dully gazing around as his head throbbed.

"That one was new… never thought I'd talk with the guy. Be a savior or a demon… what kind of nonsense was that?"

Giving a sigh, Riku stood and brushed off his pajama shirt. A quick step brought him to the mirror that was part of the nearby dresser. For a moment, in that reflection he saw the man from his dreams staring back at him, only to fade away to his own far more familiar face.

The soft features of a boy still in middle school, not the weary adult he had been faced with before. Black, messy hair instead of that white, regally kept quaff. And eyes that matched one another rather than differing in color.

"Id Sagebrecht… are you just someone I made up in my dreams, or is this something else?" Riku ran a hand across his face. After a moment, the boy pulled his hand away, giving a laugh. "What am I saying? This isn't some manga! No way this is anything but some weird dream. Haaaa… must've just been some stupid idea in my sleep. Whatevs."

Turning away from the mirror, Riku got to his typical morning routine. Gathering his uniform from its hanger, he darted out of his room and to the bathroom down the hall, doing any other morning cleanup before throwing the uniform on.

When that was done, as he made his way downstairs to the living room, there wasn't any hint of surprise when Riku heard the TV currently on, playing whatever morning news was running to provide background noise.

"As always, Granddad is somehow up before me," giving a snicker, Riku slid into the living room. "Ooossuuu! Morning Gramps!"

"Always with all of the energy in the mornings, huh?" Seated on the couch was an elderly gentleman sipping away at a cup of coffee, newspaper in hand as his wizened blue eyes turned to his grandson, scruffy hair and beard long turned pale grey. "Sleep well, I assume?"

"About the same as usual. Still kinda sore from my sparring with Kyouya yesterday, but that'll pass on the way to school."

"No more of those odd dreams that scared you so much a few years ago?"

"Ech…" Riku gave a chuckle as his face flushed a bit. "C'mon Gramps, I was like nine! It was probably just me watching too much anime or something. Not that I had much else to do during those trips we took out of town."

"You're only fourteen now, Riku. Don't go acting too mature with me," the old man snickered as Riku looked the other way even as he shuffled into the kitchen and started pulling out things for breakfast. "Hmhmhm, I'm only teasing. What're you in the mood to make this morning?"

"Something quick and easy so I can leave sooner. I was going to talk about some homework with Nanoha on the way to school before we meet up with Fate and Hayate. You want anything while I'm in here?"

"I'll be fine. I already ate myself, you have fun. Are you going to stop by Midori-ya after school today?

"Was thinking about it. You want me to pick anything up from there?"

"Just wondering. I'll be headed over there for lunch, so I was curious."

"Got it."

Once he'd gotten his breakfast in order, Riku was quick to pack it up and head out, grabbing his school bag on the way. The old man sent the boy off with a smile, but once the sound of the door closing came down the hallway, he stood and went to a small, lacquered wood chest set on the many shelves of the living room. The latch gave a soft click as it was opened, and a brief glint came from within as he lifted the lid.

"He never said if the dreams have stopped. They only started after the incidents from four years ago happened. I was sure drawing him away would ensure his abilities would be delayed for a while longer. But was four more years all the extra time I bought? Or is it because he's in proximity to mages like those three girls?"

Opening the box in full, the object glinted on the light that hit it. Nestled within the plush dark blue velvet was an old, worn wristlet. Faded, frayed leather beneath a tarnished silver band and clasp, centered by a dulled blue gem contained within, which flashed for a moment as the old man angled the chest.

"What do you think, Sephirah? Will the inevitable happen sooner, or later? How much longer can I give that child a normal life before he is forced to confront who he is? Before the legacy he's inherited rears its head?"

Since he was a child, Riku had been fairly established in his neighborhood. He knew plenty of his neighbors on the street and was friendly with all of them. But there was only one family that happened to have a child his age, and it was the family that was his direct neighbor. It was such a normal routine of his in the mornings, it was honestly something Riku didn't think about, even as he was leaning against the neighbor's wall and shoveling down the breakfast onigiri he'd thrown together.

"Still can't stop thinking about that dream," Riku muttered to himself as he stuck the last of his breakfast into his mouth. "Normally I just forget about 'em quickly. So, why's this one sticking so much? All these names too… Id Sagebrecht, Sephirah, Kaiserfarbe, Belka… why do I know them? Can't be stuff I'm making up… though I know I heard Belka in a videogame before, so maybe?"

Perking up when he heard a door open, Riku glanced to the side as he flicked a bit of rice off the corner of his mouth. He could save those thoughts for later.

"Well, you're on time as usual, huh, Riku-kun?"

Greeting Riku was the sole peer he had in the neighborhood, Takamachi Nanoha. An auburn-haired girl who at their age kept it up in a single, askew ponytail held up by a white ribbon, her clear indigo eyes matching the warm greeting she gave Riku as she strolled out past the gate. And bouncing lightly off her chest, a pendant Riku had been quite familiar with for years now, a simple red orb clasped to a leather chord around her neck. Where Nanoha had gotten it, he didn't know, but she'd had it since they were small.

He figured it had been some kind of birthday gift.

"My internal clock is as good as always," Riku chuckled as he hefted his bag up over his shoulder, Nanoha matching his pace as they set off. "How did the homework last night go for you anyway?"

"You mean the homework you dropped to go and train with Nii-san after you got bored?" Nanoha's smug look brought a groan from Riku, who returned the face with a grimace.

"I finished it! Probably got more answers right than you did too!"

"Sure~. Let's review it on the way after we meet up with everyone else. Fate-chan can lend a hand too."

"Fine, challenge accepted!" Riku clenched a fist as he gave a smirk of his own. "Still… kinda funny to think we're already almost done with middle school, huh?"

"Third years before we knew it. Are you thinking about going to high school?"

"Not like I got much better to do. I was thinking I'd keep at the whole kendo thing. Been working out so far. What about you? Gonna go right into work about that part-time thing you do?"

"How'd you guess?" Nanoha playfully lifted a finger to her cheek, Riku scoffing.

"Well, I mean it does cause you to be out of town whenever there's a break, same with Fate and Hayate," Riku had a bit of bitterness behind that remark, Nanoha lightly tapping his arm as she chuckled, but Riku could tell there was a bit of frustration behind the gesture.

Not towards him, but towards herself.

Her face tensed up for a moment, and she clearly was biting her tongue about something, even if for just a brief moment.

"You're not the only one," Nanoha countered though, Riku raising a brow. "Remind me who was out of Japan for most of third grade?"

"That was Granddad's idea! And it's not like that's consistent."

"Well, you did learn plenty when you were gone."

"I guess."

Such was the nature of their conversations as they followed their usual route. Day to day, ordinary things as they walked to the train station. Mundanity at its finest, but plenty for a couple of fourteen-year-olds just yammering about school and life. It was as the station got closer that Riku caught a lull in Nanoha's own rambles, the girl's gaze the analytic sort.

"Nanoha? Something up. You're staring pretty hard… did I forget to make sure my uniform was clean or something?" As Riku quickly got too looking himself over, Nanoha let out a laugh, the boy stopping as a sudden feeling of awkwardness hit. "What?"

"No, it's nothing. Something just felt a bit… different is all. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Y'sure?" Riku got a nod in response, so he just shrugged it off. "Are Arisa and Suzuka gonna meet up with us today?"

"No. They had to go ahead for class meetings. Student council is busy work, isn't it?"

"Says miss part timer. So just us, Fate, and Hayate today."

"Yeap. Speaking of…"

Looking ahead, Nanoha and Riku were greeted by two other girls in the same uniforms as them waving from further up the road. One a taller girl with a curtain of blonde hair tied in part with a white ribbon, ruby red eyes looking to Nanoha then Riku. Second, the shortest of the lot, a girl with short brown hair decorated by a set of colored clips, and darker blue eyes than Nanoha.

"Morning, Nanoha-chan, Riku-kun!" the blonde girl, Fate Testarossa-Harlaown, called out first, Nanoha trotting ahead.

"You're looking a bit of a mess, aren't you Riku?" Hayate glanced at Riku as he caught up, the boy giving a chuckle. "Did Kyouya-san give you the run through yesterday?"

"I got a few hits in at least," Riku tugged at a bit of his hair as he admitted such. "I've got a long way to go before I catch up to Kyouya."

"I think it's impressive enough you keep up with him at all," said Nanoha. "You're the pride of the kendo team for a reason."

"You also keep up with Signum!" added Hayate. "And that counts for something. She always looks forward to sparring with you."

"Yes, don't sell yourself short, Riku-kun," said Fate, though despite her attempt to be gentle about it, Riku clearly looked more annoyed at being patronized. "You didn't get too caught up and not finish your homework though, right? You and Nanoha were working on it together."

"He totally got caught up after getting bored," Nanoha's snipe brought an annoyed sound from Riku.

"I said I finished it!"

"Then let's review it on the way," Fate's offer was nothing but sincere, the sort of tone that instantly defused anything else even as Riku and Nanoha exchanged those smug looks of theirs.

"That's two against me…"

"Make that three!" Hayate's playful chime made Riku's expression droop. "Ganging up on you is too fun after all."

"I will throw you."

Hayate snickered as she took off, Riku yelling after her as she ran ahead. Nanoha and Fate exchanged a look, giggling before picking up the pace to catch up with the two. Just an average morning after all.

At least, as far as Riku was concerned.

Normal enough that there wasn't any notice to the mechanical device fluttering just out of sight yet still following the teens as they hurried along.

Somewhere else, somewhere far away.

A dark room was illuminated by a glowing screen, the very image on it being of Riku on his path to school, the focus especially on him, but just enough showing of Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate from the image as well.

Three figures stood in the room, gazing at the image. One let out a low, deep rumble of a chuckle.

"To think all this time, that boy was hidden away on such a quiet little world. Haha… I have to hand it to Mikhail, he knew well enough how to keep eyes off the young heir. Just when Jail had all but given up on finding him."

"The same world the Jewel Seed and Book of Darkness incidents happened on…" said another, the figure's voice another man, but higher pitched and more lilting. "I'm shocked Ryder didn't flee to some other remote planet in Dimensional Space as soon as mages even began sniffing around this world."

"Ah, but it's actually a well thought out plan," said the third figure, his voice a nasally rasp. "UA-97 is almost a dead zone for the TSAB. Its only remarkable feature is the fact humans evolved on it. Other than that? Compared to other Third Planets it's hardly special. We certainly didn't think to look there for the past fourteen years."

"The trouble is the fact he's around those girls," said the first man, an annoyed huff rumbling through him. "The TSAB's newest Aces… our lost child has some troublesome friends. However, it may also be their presence that has even allowed us to find him. To grow up around such powerful mages, even unaware of his true being. Hmm, perhaps we can test him even with potential interference."

"I say if it speeds up his awakening, why not?" The nasally voiced man snickered. "Mikhail must have spent so much time trying to give the child a normal life. Would be a shame if something… crashed in that upset such a thing, wouldn't it?"

"Don't go overboard now," scolded the second. "Fourteen years of searching cannot go to waste. Not when the rebirth of the Kaiser is at stake."

"Relaaaax. I wouldn't dare throw something at him that would be that harmful! I'll send one that's been tuned down to be more… manageable. I'll even send some Type Is to act as distractions to the main party doesn't get disturbed. But if they do interfere, I'm sure they'd go on to explain it all to the little Kaiser, maybe even bring him into the fold! Anything to hasten his awakening! No doubt Mikhail also kept the Device nearby as well. And that will answer it's Kaiser's call at any time."

"Do what you will," the first man folded his arms. "Jail may have given up, but we shall not. The awakening of a Kaiser to match Olivie awaits us… the inevitable fate that child was granted would come no matter what he tried to do. Let's give our young Kaiser a proper test."

"As you command, Brave Leader."

"And yet again, I leave school on my own."

Riku sighed as he trotted along his usual route home from the station, now on his lonesome opposed to the morning. With no club practice set for the day, classes ended with no fanfare, and something he was all too used to from his friends now.

"Sorry, we've actually got some business to handle, so we'll be out for a while."

Nanoha's words, a phrase so common Riku had started to find it actually annoying to hear.

And the frustrating part was he could tell he wasn't being told something. It had all started back when they were children, not long after he'd returned from spending almost a year living abroad with his Grandfather.

For reasons entirely unknown to Riku, Mikhail had suddenly decided to take him out of the city to live elsewhere in Japan. At the time, Riku hadn't thought much of it, and it had been fun, something that had been a fun story to tell all of his schoolmates about once he returned near the end of third grade.

But that was when it had begun.

When his odd dreams had begun to occur, the memories of that other life and world.

When he'd both made new friends yet also seemed to have only become distant to them as the years went on.

Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate. The three Riku would call some of his best friends. The latter two he'd met thanks to Nanoha at all, someone he'd known basically since infancy.

And yet, Riku couldn't get past the sense that they were hiding something from him.

Heck that everyone he knew was hiding something from him. From how dodgy the girls tended to be about what their supposed side-jobs even were—something Riku wasn't even sure middle schoolers were supposed to have at all—and heck even their families.

"Now that I think about it… Hayate's family's barely changed at all these last four years… Vita's still as small as when we met…"

Riku tilted his head, brow knitted as he put these thoughts aloud. The more he thought about it, the more things just felt… off. And the more it ate at and bugged him. The more uncomfortable it got to really consider.

Heck his life was odd enough as is. The only relative he really knew was his-supposed-grandfather, Mikhail, who had been raising him since he was an infant when they'd arrived in Japan. Riku didn't even know where they were actually from, the only indication being he looked foreign despite his name. But, he didn't know of any other relatives, and Mikhail had been rather terse about his own past before arriving in the city.

And considering his dreams, it left Riku with a lot of questions about who he was and where he was from. Especially as a teenager, where these things suddenly felt more pressing than ever.

So, needless to say, feeling like everyone in his life was dancing around some kind of big secret only made him feel all the more troubled.

"Gah! Can't something just… happen?! Something that could let me know what it is? I'll take something falling from the sky at this point!"

Riku meant to just vent his frustrations. He'd done it plenty of times before. Why not shout at the afternoon sky when he was alone on the streets?

What Riku didn't expect at all was for a sudden streak of white to split the air, and the sound of something getting closer all too quickly.

Aimed right for him.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoa!" Riku jumped back repeatedly, whatever the thing was crashing down right on the street where he'd been.

As a dust cloud covered the street, Riku kept his arms defensively raised, squinting as a shape became clear within the smoke.

Yet even weirder was, as whatever was within the cloud gleamed, Riku felt a pulse hit him as something passed right through him. And following it, the sky somehow took on an odd amber, wavering color.

"W-What the…?!" Riku looked around, eyes turning back to the cloud of dust as it was blown aside by a sudden gust.

What it revealed was some kind of machine. Hovering just above the road, it's body a gleaming shade of steel, a single glowing eye staring out from the steel body, and its "limbs" a series of sickeningly sharp blades be it as legs or "arms."

Riku backed away as a spike of fear shot up his spine, feeling some implicit idea of just what the hell the machine before him was.

"What is one of those doing here?" It wasn't Riku's thought, but it sure felt like it. A familiar voice. Id's.

"Anerkannt…" the machine spoke, it's voice electronic and speaking what Riku vaguely recognized as German… yet he understood it perfectly. "Recognized… Kaiser…"

"RUN!"

Riku didn't need a voice in his head telling him to do just that, dashing off as the machine slashed ahead with one of its blade arms, the weapons smashing into the asphalt as Riku jumped out of the way.

"Keep moving, find somewhere to hide!"

Following the voice's advice, Riku took off at a dead sprint, diving behind the first corner he could and then over the wall of the nearby house.

"What in the hell is that thing?!" Riku clutched his chest as he panted, flinching when he heard the whirring machine passing by, pressing himself back against the wall. "And why is it after me?"

"A Jaeger drone…" said the voice, Riku raising a brow. "That means somebody found it."

"What is it and who are you?!" Riku hissed the words out, "Please tell me this isn't me being crazy?!"

"You're not crazy, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you," said the voice. "This trapped you in a barrier, that's not an ability that thing should have. Somebody's targeting you and trying to isolate you."

"Who would target me?! I'm just some kid!"

"Not exactly… it's coming back around, move!"

Riku snarled, ducking into the space between the house and wall, jumping onto the wall and hard leaping into the next yard over, right as he heard the sounds of the drone smashing into the last yard.

"Keep going and don't stop! Try to get to the edge of the barrier!"

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!"

Riku leapt into the next yard, glancing back as he bolted back out to the road and veered a hard right. He dared to glance back, eyes widening as the drone came smashing through the walls and houses, and he took off before it could see him again.

"What the heck's even going on?! There should be people in these houses! Somebody should have come out by now!"

"Barriers like this create a replica of the space they're cast over. Think of it as a digital space layered onto the normal one."

"That doesn't make sense! To do something like that you'd need magic!"

"That's exactly what it is. Now book it!"

Riku growled again, moving as fast as his legs would carry him, taking cuts from one part of the road to another, and yet as far as he ran this barrier didn't seem to end. At least, not until he took one more turn back to the main road, where what looked like an amber, semi-transparent wall marked the end of things.

"Can I get out through there?!"

"You'll have to try."

So he ran, right as the drone crashed through another few buildings in pursuit. Riku reached his hand out as he neared the barrier, hoping to go right through it… only to crash right into it, face planting hard as his run was brought to an abrupt halt, falling right onto his rear as he bounced off the bright wall.

"Damn, a full isolation field… no good. Only way is to break through or beat that drone."

"HOW?!" Riku shot around, grimacing as the drone spotted him. With a series of chirps, the machine starting to stalk over as the boy scrambled back until he hit the barrier again.

"Damn, if only you hard Sephirah on you… I'll have to do it myself. Hold tight… this will feel a bit strange."

Before Riku could say anything, he felt a bloom of warmth in his chest, and he began to stand despite not even trying to. It felt like he'd become separated from himself, distant yet still awaer. Riku moved his left hand to his face, his left eye feeling like it was burning as his right arm raised towards the approaching drone, wisps of iridescent light beginning to rise from his fingers by the moment.

"Netzach."

The word left Riku's lips without a thought, layered under the voice saying it as well, and the wisps whirled to his palm, gathering into a tight orb. With a flash as the drone swung its blade arms again, the gathered light formed into an iridescent sword, the energy blade deflecting the drone's swing in a single, resounding blow.

When the swing ended, Riku found that distant feeling slip away, his left hand slipping down his face, his eye still stinging like mad, forcing him to keep it shut.

"What… was that?" Riku looked at the energy sword in his hand, confusion writ across his face. "Did I…?"

"Eyes up!" Riku looked back to the drone, surprised to find its blade arms had been cut into quite deeply from his counter. "It's not as strong as it should be… and the AMF isn't active. Good… it means you should be able to beat it even without Sephirah."

"If I've got a sword then I can definitely do it!" Riku took adjusted his grip on the energy weapon, lifting it into a stance just at his shoulder and drawing his left hand down the flat until he reached the tip while setting his feet wide. One that was new, yet oddly familiar all the same. "It's strange though… I already get what this thing is, how to use it and even move… like I always knew."

"I'll explain later. For now, focus on winning… at best, try and buy time for someone else to show up. Just make sure you don't get hit, one blow from that thing will do a lot more than just cut you."

"Osu!"

The drone struck again, Riku sidestepping and slashing at it again, the energy blade cutting deeper into the arm blade. Riku elected to move inwards, taking his left hand off the blade and already moving into a slashing motion, a second blade flashing into form as he closed his fingers, the swing striking home on the drone's body.

And the second the next blade moved to strike, Riku ducked into a roll, a quick kick from his foot knocking him away as the drone tried to stamp on him, and he threw his left-hand blade right back at it, the machine batting the energy blade aside and shattering it.

And before he knew it, Riku was falling into a rhythmic dance against the Drone as it pushed its assault. His mind felt sharper than ever, and even when down an eye the blind spot hardly hampered him. Every step he took to avoid, every swing he made as he reformed and spent energy swords to counter or damage the drone. It was a mixture of his own years of training, but also something else. A familiarity, not just with the feel of the energy blades, but also of the drone that was his enemy.

When a swing finally took the damaged arm blade, Riku stepped back to avoid the retaliation, blocking with the energy blade only for it to break in his hands, being sent skidding back across the street and coming to a kneel, heavy breaths leaving him as sweat ran down his brow, while a pressure cut over his left eye ebbed blood over it.

"This is… way different… not even sparring with Kyouya feels like this," Riku got back to his feet, feeling the hairs on his neck stand. "Everything's too close… every time that thing almost hits me… I just know I'll die if it does…"

"This is real combat, life or death, with no choice but to take victory for yourself. But I think you bought just enough time. Someone's incoming."

As the drone approached again, it was stopped when a pink beam of energy smashed through the exterior of the barrier, nearly hitting the thing dead on before dissipating. Someone descended in the same moment, Riku catching a flare of pink feathers as the individual landed between him and the drone

Auburn twin tails, a white and blue coat and waist cape falling to the ground. In her left hand, something Riku couldn't tell was being either a staff or spear, its head bright yellow and containing a red orb, while the white haft also bore a gun-like mechanism below the head.

"You did a good job holding out this long, sorry for the…" the girl paused as she turned, Riku's eyes widening in time with hers. As Nanoha's eyes widened in shock just like his. "Riku-kun?!"

"Nanoha?!

In a situation like this, attacked out of nowhere, his life on the line and a mysterious voice guiding him along, somehow the last thing Riku could have at all expected to come across was that girl. And yet, looking at her, it also felt as if the answer to one of his oh so burning questions had just become clear.