SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in Chapter 3 and the Finale to the NachtWal arc. After this chapter, there will be a brief breather slice-of-life chapter to transition between arcs before we go at it with the first game arc. As usual, I own nothing canon here.
-December 24th-
[Uminari City]
[University Hospital: Hayate's Room]
-Time: 6:45 pm-
[BGM: "Nervous" Sonic Rush Adventure"]
Loneliness. It is a feeling of isolation, to be cut off from the outside world for even but a moment. For Sonic and Hayate, they shared this feeling as after Suzuka and her friends had left and the Wolkenritter had also stepped away. Neither girl nor hedgehog knew for how long, but the latter had a rather ominous feeling that something was not right. He had a confident feeling that he knew what exactly the knights and their rivals were doing, and he did not like it.
'Of all the times to have a rumble, it had to be now?!' Sonic asked himself in thought, 'Why couldn't they take these 2 days off? It's Christmas for kami's sake!'
"Vita-chan and the others have been away for quite a while." Hayate sounded a little worried as she stroked the blue hedgehog, mainly to keep herself somewhat calm, "You think they're okay?"
"Knowing them, I'd say they're fi-." Sonic cut himself off when he looked out the window. From his good vision alone was he able to spot a series of pink and red lights clashing, followed shortly by clashing yellow and purple lights clashing. The hedgehog bit back a curse in annoyance due to Hayate's presence, "Just… fine."
"Are you okay, Sonic-kun?" The girl asked in concern for her blue friend, "You cut off there…"
"I'm fine" The hedgehog simply waved off her concern, "Just fi-."
It seemed that Sonic, to his annoyance, would not be able to finish a sentence uninterrupted. Surprisingly, the interruption came courtesy of the prototype ring generator at the side of the bed. The machine started to sputter and flash inconsistently and sporadically. For both hedgehog and human, the noises grew louder and the flashes brighter over a span of maybe ten seconds.
"Oh, for kami's sake, can't I finish a sentence here?" The hedgehog made an improvised curse, "Now what?"
"I think it's coming from the ring machine." Hayate noted somewhat obviously. A little weird deadpan look from the hedgehog had her giggle a bit, "Sorry, I guess you figured that out already."
Sonic hopped off the bed and went to inspect the machine. The prototype shook and spasmed erratically and the hedgehog had to cover his eyes to keep him from getting blind as another flash of light was emitted. This flash came with something of a light boom sound as the machine had literally blown up in his face. For a brief moment, a cloud of smoke was all that was left in its wake.
"Sonic-kun!" the girl yelped in shock and concern, "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay." Sonic coughed and waved his hands to dispel away the smoke. He was shocked by what he found when the dust settled, "Whoa…"
The ring generator prototype was destroyed beyond any sense of repair, what it had left in its wake was truly a surprise. Four golden rings shone through the remains of the machine that had made them. Each ring glowed with overflowing power. Sonic and Hayate both stared at them in awe. It was rare for the machine to make one, but four at once in such a short time?
"Pretty…" Hayate thought out loud.
"Yikes… the machine supposedly can generate rings by taking energy from the air." Sonic added, "There must be a lot of power being thrown around right now; if it goes kaput making four at once."
"You don't mean…" The brunette suddenly thought back to the one night in September when she first saw the generator create a ring. Sonic's words started to fill in the gaps and connect the dots, "They're fighting?"
"They're rumbling over something." Sonic replied in confirmation as he stowed the rings away and fetched Hayate's wheelchair, "And we're not going to sit on the sidelines here."
"Sonic-kun?" Hayate blinked rapidly in complete confusion as she was carefully lifted from her bed and into her chair.
"I told Signum I wouldn't get involved here, but things have changed." The hedgehog slowly wheeled the girl, "Your life is at stake now. All bets are off."
[University Hospital: Rooftop]
-Time: 6:50 pm -
[BGM: "It has come to this" Sonic and the Secret Rings OST]
With the speed of the blue hedgehog true, the two reached the rooftop just in time to see the middle part of an epic clash. Nanoha and Fate were locked in intense duels with Vita and Signum respectively. They could also see Shamal and Zafira on the ground in front of them, apparently deep in focus of a spell. The nighttime sky had gained an ominous dark yellowish tint that had Sonic flashing back to the weird dome he saw a few months ago.
There was little doubt to Hayate as to who was who. Their clothing had changed, but there was no mistaking their faces. The stoic seriousness of Signum clashed with the undeterred Fate while the angry, rampaging Vita fought the equally determined Nanoha. Flashes of pink and red clashed with one another sporadically and without pattern. On the other hand, the yellow and purple streaks clashed at predicted, organized points, a testament to their skills.
Vita had shifted her hammer, Graf Eisen, to its Raketenform, where its head resembled a deadly missile. Nanoha's Raising Heart, in return, shifted to Bustercannon mode, resembling a spear with twin prongs at its head.
"Raketen…" Vita's rocket hammer ignited its propulsion engine and spun the knight in place. Without delay, she blasted off for her foe, "Hammer!"
"Flash Move!" Raising Heart Excelion declared an appropriate spell in kind that had Nanoha able to warp away just before she was hit by the hammer attack. Her momentum had given her excellent placement behind Vita.
"Divine Buster!" Nanoha, while she was in her rival's blind spot, fired a large pink beam of mana at her red-clad rival in order to catch her foe off guard.
"Panzerschild!" Graf Eisen responded in kind while his master held out her right hand. The beam, predictably so, collided with a red triangle-like glyph of shielding.
As explosive as Nanoha and Vita's battle had gone, so too did Fate and Signum's. Both of the two were locked in a heated dogfight which had their devices showcase the form changing ability. Fate's Bardiche had shifted to its Crescent form, resembling an energy scythe; while Signum had her Laevatein shifted to the bladed-whip mode, otherwise known as Schlangeform.
"Bardiche, Crescent Saber on my mark." The blonde quietly ordered of her device as she held up her crescent device.
"Yes Sir!" The device pinged in return.
"Laevatein!" Signum called out to her device sternly in return, "Load cartridge."
"Explosion!" declared the bladed whip as it racked the bolt at its handguard and jettisoned an empty shell from the breach.
Fate suddenly grunted and launched the blade from her scythe at Signum. The bladed whip gained a purplish fire as Signum countered with a mid-ranged offensive spell known as the Flying Dragon Flash. Blade and whip clashed in mid-air, both cancelling one another upon the impact. Undeterred, both combatants continued their furious battle.
"Why are they fighting?" Hayate looked around in panic and fear for her friends. To be fair for her, it was the first time she had truly seen the magic of her knights at work. It didn't change the fact that they were fighting with such dangerous ferocity.
"I thought I knew." Sonic answered softly with a small shrug, "but now, eh not so much."
"We have to do something or they'll hurt each other!" The brunette was close to tears, her fragile heart felt a strain over as her friends were, to her at least, senselessly fighting each other.
"I won't even need a ring for this." The hedgehog cracked his gloved knuckles and set the four rings on the handles for the wheelchair, "Just get their attention, I'll have them grounded in a second."
"O-okay…" Hayate acknowledged with a bit of caution, "Just be careful."
"No problem~!" The blue blur got into a runner's stance to ready himself.
"STOP!" the brunette shouted as loud as she could and despite her weak constitution, her voice was still able to travel through the open air.
Hayate's desperate shout had seemed to get a little bit of attention as Shamal had halted her concentration of the jamming spell over the battlefield. Sonic swiftly curled up into his spin form and bolted through the clashing Nanoha and Vita, using the Sonic Boom from his speed to knock both of them to the ground disoriented. Without any delay, he leaped off the side of the building his momentum took him to and repeated the same trick on Fate and Signum, with similar results.
The blue blur landed on top of a pole of the rooftop that was ravaged from one of Vita and Nanoha's clashes. While he was definitely shorter than everyone there by a significant margin, his elevation advantage allowed him to effectively glare at the grounded four with stern annoyance.
"I think I've let you girls play along more than enough for one night," He spoke with a tone to match how stern his glare was, "The next one to throw a spell is going on the naughty list."
[OP: "Eternal Blaze" Nana Mizuki, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's OST]
Sonic the Hedgehog: Wind of the Night Sky
Chapter 3
The Promise & Christmas Eve (Part 2)
[Uminari City]
[University Hospital: Rooftop]
-Time: 6:52 pm-
[No BGM]
All eyes were on the hedgehog as his form shone in great contrast to the light of the night sky. Everyone had varying degrees of emotion. For the Wolkenritter, there was confusion but it was mixed with frustration and ire; both due to the fact that he went against his word to Signum and had intervened in their affairs. The confusion was more evident in Nanoha and Fate as they couldn't help but wonder whose side he was really on.
For Hayate, it was confusion and awe, both emotions were justified without a shadow of a doubt. It was her first time truly seeing the blue hedgehog in action. She was aware that he had speed, but to combine it with his hedgehog physiognomy and put it to use so effectively was awe-inspiring.
As for Sonic, he felt a little bit of remorse for having to go back on his word to Signum, but he didn't have much of a choice. The Book of Darkness was taking its toll on Hayate's life and every second that the Wolkenritter spent fighting could've been utilized in stopping the book. He also had taken notice of the fact that Nanoha and Fate were deathly concerned for Hayate once they had connected the dots and realized who she was. The hedgehog needed answers, and it just so happened that one of his new human friends wanted the fighting to stop, thus the intervention.
"Oy! Hedgehog!" Vita spat in pure rage as she bit back a curse, "What are you doing?!"
"You gave your word that you would not intervene," Signum regarded the hedgehog with a cold glare as she reminded him of his promise to her, "Yet, you intend to do such now. Are you aware of the consequences for your actions?"
"If the looks I'm getting from you didn't make it obvious." Sonic simply shrugged, unfazed by the tone and apparent killing intent he felt from the knights, "You might want to look behind you before you do anything drastic."
The hedgehog pointed a gloved finger directly behind the grounded mages and knights for emphasis. All eyes had immediately fallen upon the brown-haired, blue-eyed girl in the wheelchair. To her credit, Hayate had shivered a bit in discomfort from being the center of attention, but she still didn't look too happy. In fact, to those that knew her, she seemed sad, nearly heartbroken.
To see their master in such a state of sadness had nearly stripped the Wolkenritter of their will to fight. They knew how kind of a girl she was, and how peaceful she just wanted to live with her family. Her kindness was such an admirable trait and they had wanted to protect it; and yet, the girl whose happiness they wanted to protect was before them, sad and nearly heartbroken.
"Hayate-chan…" Shamal fought back the tears so bad when she saw the sad look in her mistress's face.
"Why?" Hayate composed herself enough to ask. Her knights had broken their promise to her; anyone else might've been more upset, but it wasn't in her character. She wanted to know the reason for the violence, "Why are you guys fighting?"
"Hayate-ojou-sama…" Signum's stoic demeanor had cracked upon seeing her kind mistress so saddened.
"I want to know…" The brunette fought back a tear. She wasn't the judgmental type, but the situation was trying for her mental state, "My friends are fighting to hurt each other, why?"
"We don't have a choice." Vita spoke up in honesty.
"Do you now?" Sonic shot back with a deadpan look. He jumped down from his pole and stared down each of the grounded mages and knights. For him, it was the time for answers, "I want the whole story now.
"And I want both sides this time." The hedgehog stared at both Nanoha and Fate. Were it not for the hedgehog's serious demeanor, the significant size disadvantage he was at might have made things a bit more comical, "Including yours…"
"E-eh?!" Nanoha could not help but blink her eyes in rapid confusion upon being put on the spot, "W-well..."
"We came here with the intention of stopping the Wolkenritter from completing the Book of Darkness" Fate said bluntly. She was mostly unfazed from the hedgehog's glare, "For the safety of their master…"
Both Nanoha and Fate started to explain their reasoning in full. They had been recently informed of a tragic event that would have occurred if the Wolkenritter were allowed to complete the book in the state it was in. Needless to say, the knights did not believe the story, but their disbelief was not unjustified. To think that all of the work and trouble they went through to complete the book for the sake of their master's safety, only to find out that it was going to kill her upon completion anyways?
"We don't know how it happened, but the book has been maliciously altered." Fate concluded her point with a regretful expression on her soft, kind face.
"And…. If you complete it now," Nanoha added with an equally saddened look, "Hayate-chan will die."
"But if we don't complete it, it's going to kill her!" Vita all but shouted. Her disbelief was most obviously expressed in her angry facial expression, "The Book of Darkness is killing Hayate!"
"For all the time it has been incomplete, the Book of Darkness has been feeding of Hayate-ojou-sama's core." Signum added, shooting a serious look at the accursed item in question, "Our mistress has been so kind, we couldn't allow it to harm her. That is why we've been collecting cores."
"That way the book will feed off of them" Shamal added softly, "Not off of Hayate-chan."
Nanoha and Fate seemed to believe the story as it added a likely motive. For Nanoha, it explained why Vita was so stubborn and protective. Fate believed it because she could feel the determination from Signum each time the two had clashed in battle.
For Hayate, she couldn't help but allow a smile on her kind face as the explanations made it clearer to her. The knights were trying to protect her; trying to save her life. She wasn't selfish, and she was regretful that other had to be harmed to protect her, but she couldn't just find fault with her knights for trying to protect something so dear to them.
In fact, the only one who seemed confused out of the group was the blue hedgehog. Sonic frowned a bit as he tried to make sense of the stories. The contradictions had made little sense to his mind. He was able to simplify it enough to a "damned if you do" and "damned if you don't" scenario. It just didn't make too much sense when he thought about it.
"Okay, I'm a little confused here." The hedgehog was quick to voice said confusion, "If the book isn't completed, it'll kill Hayate by draining her life… yet somehow it will kill her if it's complete?"
"Y-yeah…" Hayate nodded, though she had a tough time swallowing the story herself.
"That makes, like really, no sense!" Sonic threw up his arms in disbelief, "Would somebody mind explaining this to me?"
It seemed as if the hedgehog was about to have his request granted as the Book of Darkness suddenly lit up in a bright glow. A large, silver glyph resembling a spinning triangle appeared on the ground between the group. The book had placed itself, rather ominously in the middle of the glyph and opened up. Everyone had to shield their eyes as a small beam of light and following flash was emitted from the book.
[Uminari City: Shopping District]
-Time: 6:59 pm-
[No BGM]
Three mages, Chrono, Lindy and Yuuno, along with one familiar, Alph, all soared over the city nightscape toward the University Hospital, on their way there after they had suddenly lost contact with Nanoha and Fate. All were worried over the condition of their friends, Alph even more so because she was Fate's familiar.
"Our last contact with Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan had them at the hospital." Lindy explained in a bit of exposition as they swiftly trekked through the skies, "They believe they can confirm the identity of the Book of Darkness's master. Our communication with them was interrupted before they could disclose the identity in question."
"Do you think the Wolkenritter may have jammed the communications?" Chrono asked in contemplative thought, "It would stand to reason for it if they didn't want their master's identity to be known to us."
"Highly likely," the admiral agreed with her son's speculation, "But we cannot be certain just yet until we find out more."
"Which is why we're flying there to check it out ourselves." Yuuno connected the dots easily. The young archeologist and defense-oriented mage tried to look on ahead to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary, to little success.
"Fate…" Alph frowned in concern as she looked on ahead.
As the mages closed in on the hospital, they spotted a small beam of light from the rooftop. The beam wasn't exactly big, but its light color clashed against the nighttime sky and made it more prominent. It was obviously not something one would see every night.
"Not to point out the obvious," Yuuno commentated a bit awkwardly, "But I think that came from our destination."
"We should hurry." Lindy said in a serious tone as she focused on that beam with narrowed eyes.
"Right!" The other three nodded their heads and picked up the pace in their flight.
[University Hospital: Rooftop]
-Time: 7:03 pm-
[No BGM]
The light had soon subsided to reveal a figure kneeling in the middle of the triangular glyph. It appeared to be a human woman with a rather buxom figure, long silver hair and crimson red eyes. Her attire consisted of a navy-colored, short-skirted mini dress with a golden yellow trim. On her hands were matching sleeveless gloves, cuffed at her wrist. She wore mismatched stockings; the right one reaching up to her thigh and the left barely reaching past her ankle. High heeled boots covered her feet, fitting the theme as well.
Immediately, the four Wolkenritter recognized the figure before them and dropped into a formal kneel out of respect. Nanoha, Fate and Sonic could only stare at the woman in confusion while Hayate stared in mild puzzlement. It was as if she had recognized the woman before, but she was having trouble figuring out where and when.
"The 'Master Program'…" Signum spoke softly, just enough for everyone else to hear, "The 'Will of the Book of Darkness'."
"I am The Tome." The silver-haired woman confirmed her status simply, "I serve as the Unison Device and Master Control, representing, as my Blazing General says, the 'Will'."
"I'm guessing you know what's going on here, then." Sonic presumed, "Bout the whole, uh, book killing the master thing?"
"You are correct, friend of the Mistress." The woman responded with a little hint of a smile; though it soon faded when she elaborated, "I am responsible for Hayate-ojou-sama's pain and suffering, and will be the eventual cause of her death, though not by choice.
"NachtWal, my defense program, has become corrupted and has changed the Tome from what it was originally, a benign storage medium, into what it is referred to now. As a result, I have been unwillingly devouring her core over the time the Book is not complete. This has been the case of previous masters; a cycle of activation, collection, destruction and reincarnation."
"Can't it be stopped?" Sonic asked, "Like, can't you stop the program, reset it or something?"
"Unfortunately, not on my own, not while incomplete." The woman shook her head in regret, "Once the Tome is complete, I can fully manifest myself into this realm. Only then, and with the help of the current master, can I try to reprogram the Tome."
"All right." The blue hedgehog smirked, "Then let's get working on that then."
Nanoha, Fate and even the Wolkenritter were surprised by Sonic's sudden turnaround. The former duo was concerned for Hayate's safety while the knights were concerned that the hedgehog's impulsive decision, while it would fulfil their duty, would have serious ramifications.
"Are you sure about this, Sonic-san?" Nanoha asked out of concern.
"Not to disagree with our duty to complete the Book, but even I have to question this decision." Signum added; her concern stemmed from the recent confirmation due to the master program's own admission.
"Oy! it's not like we have any other choice. I wanna save Hayate too." Sonic argued back with validity in his own point, "Besides, I have a hunch."
"How do you plan on assisting?" The woman asked as she stood up with the tome in her right hand. She was in favor of the hedgehog's plan if it would save the master. Her only concern was in the execution. "Outside of the Knight programs, everyone else here has had their core absorbed once already, it cannot be repeated."
"And the knights might be needed in case that book goes all screwy when it's complete." The hedgehog pondered for all of maybe five seconds before he held out his right hand, "Oh Hayate? One ring please!"
"Eh? Oh!" the brunette, a little unceremoniously so in surprise, grabbed a ring from the rung of her wheelchair and tossed it at the hedgehog, "Here!"
"Thank you~!" Sonic caught it on his index finger with a smirk. Despite the fact that the woman had towered over him in height, the hedgehog still maintained eye contact with her, "I was thinking of using this. These rings pack a lot of power. If I use this in coordination with some of my own power, it might be enough."
"You'd willingly sacrifice even a portion of your life force?" The master program asked, "Why?"
"Too many reasons, more than I can count, actually," The hedgehog replied with that serious look on his face, "Most importantly, I made a promise to her, and I can't keep it if she's gone."
"Fair enough." The woman opened the book to the first unfilled page, "Be careful of how much you allow to be absorbed. Too much will be fatal."
"Ok! Just promise me one thing," Sonic requested of the woman, "When you're complete, you will do everything you can to stop this program from killing Hayate."
"You have my word." The program acknowledged with a straight, serious face, "Hayate-ojou-sama will survive tonight."
"One last thing…" The hedgehog turned to face the girl in the wheelchair, "Hayate, are you okay with this?"
"Y-yeah." The brunette nodded firmly, her mind was likely set before she was asked, "If this will stop the Book's pain, then I want to help it too."
With nothing to hold him back, the hedgehog clenched the ring in a fist. Once again, its power enveloped his form and his energy flared up dramatically in a light blue aura. Without warning, he thrust his hand forward and pressed it against the empty page of the book. The Book of Darkness, in recognition of the offering, activated its absorption ability.
One by one, the pages rapidly filled themselves with energy and data from the hedgehog and ring combined. In a matter of seconds, the remaining fifty pages were filled. The book gave off a confirming indication as it completed. Sonic stumbled back a bit, feeling winded from the exertion despite the added boost of a ring.
"Sonic-kun!" Shamal immediately rushed to support the blue hedgehog in concern for his wellbeing, "Are you alright?"
"Hehe." The blue blur chuckled, "It'll take more than that to do me in."
Suddenly, the silver glyph around the master program and the book glowed brighter and Hayate was dragged into the middle of it. From there, the three were enveloped in a bright light that became a blinding pillar, forcing everyone on the outside shield their eyes.
[Uminari City: Shopping District]
-Time: 7:05 pm-
[No BGM]
The light from the first flash had started to die down as the four mages had started to close in on the hospital. They had to stop for a moment as Alph had suddenly received a telepathic ping from her mistress, which had her stop to establish communication.
"Fate!" The wolf woman called to her mistress, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Alph." The girl replied softly, "Our communications were jammed briefly by the Wolkenritter, but things have calmed down now."
"What's going on?" Alph asked as she saw the others halt their flight, "We were on our way to check on you when some li-!"
Suddenly, a large flash of light emitted from the rooftop that had all of them shield their eyes to protect from going blind. There was little doubt that both lights were connected, it was only a question as to how.
"Fate! That's the second time within the last 2 minutes!" Alph barked in annoyance from the interruption, "What's going on over there?!"
"The Book of Darkness." Fate replied, "It's complete!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!" The wolf woman shouted in frustration; which was furthered even more when the telepathic line cut out.
"What's going on?" Yuuno asked, feeling a little bit worried.
"Fate says the Book is complete!" Alph replied, her frustration replaced with worry.
"We should hurry then." Lindy sternly declared, "Before it's allowed to kill its Master."
"Right!" The others simultaneously nodded.
Now pressed for time due to the completion of the Book of Darkness, the mages redoubled their speed and blazed off in flight towards the hospital. With lucky, they may arrive before anything deadly occurred.
[University Hospital: Rooftop]
-Time: 7:10 pm -
[No BGM]
The light had died down once again, but Hayate was nowhere to be seen. Only the silver haired woman had remained with the Tome in her hand. Her outfit had changed into a sleeveless dress with purple trims along the body and a slit skirt that naturally revealed one of her legs. If there was any change in the woman's demeanor or any indication of foul play, no one on the rooftop could've seen it.
"Where's Hayate?" Sonic asked in concern, "Is she okay?"
"You need not worry. We are currently in a state of 'Unison'." The woman calmly stated to assuage the nerves of those present, "We have united with one another. In normal circumstances of this happening, the Master's body would've been used. However, she has been weakened physically and mentally from the Tome's damage to her core already. Such, that is why my form is used."
"Okay, that's cool, and some lovely exposition for the fanbase here." The hedgehog shook his head, "But that didn't answer the question of 'Where is Hayate'?"
"As of right now, she is inside the Tome with me." The device answered, "We're working on reprogramming it to stop the Defense Program, which has sensed the completion."
"And how can I be sure of that?" The hedgehog asked with some justifiable skepticism, "How can I be certain that Hayate's alive?"
"She wanted me to tell you that tonight's dinner will be chili-dogs." The woman replied, with a slight hint of mirth in her tone, "Your favorite kind too; with jalapenos, cheese and onions."
"Yay~!" Sonic was easily convinced, only Hayate would know of that particular combination in the hedgehog's favorite food.
"I don't know how to react to this, Fate-chan…" Nanoha sent Fate a telepathic ping with a tone torn of indecision "This seems petty… but to correct him would be rude."
"Agreed…" The blonde could only blink in soft exasperation, "Well, I guess he is young."
"Fate-chan…" the girl in white retorted softly, "We're not really able to talk on that one."
"Oh..." Fate's cheeks flushed a cute shade of pink.
By a show of great timing, the reinforcements from the Bureau, Alph, Chrono, Yuuno and Lindy, had arrived. Fate and Nanoha were quick to intercept and inform them that, for the moment, the situation was under control. Understandably so, Lindy had exercised caution as she approached the device in hopes of questioning her as to the degree of control.
"The Book of Darkness, I presume." The woman calmly addressed the device, "Though I doubt that's your real name."
"You are partly correct. Book of Darkness was not the Tome's original name." The device confirmed such, "Originally, it was called the 'Tome of the Night Sky'. But due to NachtWal's corruption, it has been given the cursed name.
"As for me…" A slight hint of sadness could be heard in the unison device's tone, "I've never had a name."
"Yowch, that's kinda sad." Sonic couldn't help but feel a bit of pity, "Even Eggman named his creations. He has no sense of naming logic, but that's beside the point."
'Eggman, that name again…' It was then that Lindy had taken notice of the blue hedgehog that was closer to the glyph that the device had stood upon and chose to address him politely, "Excuse me, blue hedgehog-san."
"If you're going to call me something, can you please use my name?" The blue hedgehog requested, partly due to how awkward it felt to be called something like that, "I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Lindy Harlaown, Admiral of the Time-Space Administration," the older woman bowed politely and offered a warm, friendly smile in greeting, "You may call me 'Lindy', though."
"S-sure…" Sonic nodded, somewhat awkwardly.
Lindy carefully analyzed the hedgehog before her. She could tell that it would've been easy to underestimate him due to his small frame and young age, but she was well aware of the power he had within. Fate had told her when she arrived that it was Sonic who volunteered to help complete the book under the pretense that it would keep its master from dying. The revelation, while believable, still led the admiral to ponder the hedgehog's motives in the case. She had to put those question aside, however, as there was a far greater threat at hand.
[Within the Tome of the Night Sky]
[No BGM]
True to the unison device's word, Hayate had begun recuperating in the Internal Space, a sort of pocket dimension within the subconscious she shared with the Unison Device of the Tome of the Night Sky. As she rested, she could feel herself absorb the Tome's gathered power and knowledge. Due to that, she was made aware of the activities that the Wolkenritter had performed on their own, but wasn't really surprised.
With the power and knowledge also came the instinctive ability to use such, and she put it to work right away with a clever trick on the Tome's Defense Program. Much like a root user with a computer, Hayate had issued a top priority order on the program to perform a hard reboot. The command would not stop NachtWal completely, but it did buy her time.
The silver haired woman had been by her side the whole time. She couldn't help but feel amused by her young master's antics. At the same time, she was also glad to have a master as kindhearted as Hayate.
"You really don't have a name?" Hayate asked of her in genuine concern.
"I don't have a true name." The woman replied sadly, "I have only been known as the 'Unison Device', the 'Will', or the 'Master Program'. Those are all titles."
"If you'd like, I could give you one" the brunette offered kindly, "Something that fits you better."
"If that is what you desire," the device answered, "Then I will not oppose."
"Okay!" Hayate beamed with a bright smile. Truthfully, she had already started thinking of names when she first saw the woman and one particular name had stood out, "From now on, you shall be known as… 'The Blessed Wind: Reinforce'."
"It would be an honor to accept the name and title, Master." The woman, aptly christened as Reinforce, smiled softly in gratitude, "Thank you."
"Your welcome." The kind brunette nodded, "Now, I don't think NachtWal will go down without a fight after we separate it. Do I get access to a weapon or armor?"
"Indeed, your unison with me grants access to a staff that has been a part of me for a long time, even though sometimes I forget it's there." Reinforce awkwardly admitted, "The Tome will let you create a copy should you require such. The Knight Clothing you will gain will be of your design. Focus on the image you want and let the Tome's magic do the rest."
Following Reinforce's directions, Hayate closed her eyes and drew a picture in her mind. The magic went to work immediately and enveloped her form. Her previous clothing had disappeared and was soon replaced by her Knight Clothing. The armor consisted of a black and gold trim mini-dress underneath a white two-part jacket, black fingerless gloves for her hands and plated boots for her feet; both bearing the same color scheme. Three pairs of black wings sprouted from her back and a cute white balmoral laid on top of her head.
The girl held out her right hand as a flash of silver light soon emitted. Once the light had settled, a staff laid in its place. The staff's overall body was yellow with a black trim; white bandages wrapped around the pole to make for an easy gripping. At the head of the staff was a golden full circle with three blades protruding outward from it in the pattern of a holy cross.
"Whoa…" Hayate said in awe as she admired the new outfit.
"It suits you, master." Reinforce said with a small but kind smile, "How are you feeling?"
"Better now," The girl smiled with confidence, "I'm ready."
The Tome appeared before the mistress by her mental call. Hayate waved her hand across and willed the book to open. Her tone was calm and a determined expression graced her face. If she felt nervous, she didn't let it be shown; she was determined to do her part.
"Master rights, initiated." She spoke softly as she ran her finger across a page to input a command, "Defense system, separate!"
[Eyecatch #1: Sonic: Wind of the Night Sky bio card #5: Zafira]
Name: Zafira
Katakana: ザフィーラ (Za-fī-ra)
Age: Unknown (Presumably in 20s)
Gender: Male
Height: 175 cm (in human form) 105 cm (In wolf form)
Weight: 60 kg (Human), 40 (wolf)
Color: Indigo White
System: Ancient Belka
Rank: AA
Device: None
[Eyecatch #2: Sonic: Wind of the Night Sky bio card #6: Eins]
Name: Reinforce Eins
Katakana: リインフォースⅠ (Ri'-in-fō-su Ainsu)
Master: Hayate Yagami
Age: Unknown (presumably in her 20s)
Gender: Female
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 52 kg
Color(s): Purplish Black, White
System: Ancient Belka
Device(s): Tome of the Night Sky, Nacht
Rank: S+ (Synthetic)
[Uminari City]
[University Hospital: Rooftop]
-Time: 7:20 pm-
[BGM: "Anger" Sonic Colors DS Version]
The glyph at Reinforce's feet suddenly turned from silver to a dark purple and darkness began to form on her left arm. A large gauntlet formed from the dark and covered part of her forearm. As the gauntlet took form, a chain wrapped around the woman's arm and four snakes wrapped around the gauntlet. Everyone present could easily have felt the darkness that the equipment gave off.
Sonic took a defensive stance from his position, his eyes going between the woman and the rings he had left on Hayate's vacated wheelchair. If the other mages had noticed his behavior, only Lindy chose to take note of it in her mind and file it away for later reference.
Curiously, the woman before them did not appear to be concerned by the sudden appearance. Rather, she seemed to be expecting it; likely due to what was going on within the Tome's programming. The woman looked at the new equipment with a somber, regretful expression.
"NachtWal… You and I have suffered much over the years during this vicious cycle of destruction and reincarnation." Reinforce's tone was soft, possibly kind as she lamented, "But, the cycle ends tonight. Your pain will be put to rest."
Without delay, the woman grabbed the gauntlet in her right hand and pulled it off, ignoring the pain it had caused. She gave NachtWal one last look of regret before she threw the gauntlet with an astounding amount of strength behind her arm. The gauntlet sailed through the air and into the ocean.
"Whoa!" Even Sonic was impressed by the feat of strength, "Nice throw."
"That won't stop it." Reinforce said as she looked down at the chain that remained on her left arm, "NachtWal may be separated from the Tome, but we still have to destroy it."
An ominous feeling fell upon everyone present as they looked out into the ocean where the program had landed. Darkness slowly rose from the waters and slowly took shape. A large purple orb was formed with the snakes from before encircling it. Although it felt incomplete, everyone, even Sonic, could feel the overwhelming power it gave off.
"…" The hedgehog fell silent, watching the orb. He could feel his hands tremble slightly, but he kept his cool.
"What's happening?" Nanoha asked nervously as she could feel the ground shake from the rooftop.
"NachtWal's form is becoming unstable." The device answered with a hardened gaze, "It's taking all of the cores from the creatures the Tome has absorbed so far and combining them."
"We've absorbed the cores of many monsters within the past few months," Signum elaborated, "We minimized the number of human cores we sought after, only going after the ones with a significant potential of power."
"The rest were all monsters or creatures from other worlds." Vita added, "Dragons, worms… pretty much anything that could've posed a threat to the world's local populace."
"Now it's combining the cores you've gathered." Reinforce noted, "We have to destroy it before it's allowed to rampage."
"Any ideas?" Chrono queried to the general gathering.
"We could hit it really hard?" The blue hedgehog answered without missing a beat. He immediately was put on the defensive when everyone shot him a weird look, "What? It works for me."
"A coordinated assault would do some damage, but with all of the mana around it, NachtWal will be able to regenerate." The silver haired woman shook her head, "We need something capable of dealing a massive amount of damage in a very short period and bypass the regeneration factor."
"How about an orbital magic cannon?" Lindy offered, "The Arthra, our vessel, happens to have one capable of that."
All but Chrono sent the Lindy a weird look, but the woman was undeterred by it and started to elaborate her point. The Arthra, the Time-Space Administration spaceship that was currently in orbit of Earth, had been retrofitted with a powerful magic cannon known as the Arc-en-ciel. As the ship's captain explained, the vessel had to undergo maintenance for the cannon to be installed at the behest of Admiral Gil Graham. Apparently, he had planned to use the cannon on the Book of Darkness when it was complete, provided that it was also out of control.
With the overwhelming power that the Arc-en-ciel had, it was natural that there would be some limitations. Namely, it would have to be fired with the ship captain's key. Lindy Harlaown was the captain, but she was in the field. Though that problem had an easy solution of the admiral simply teleporting herself back onto the ship, it would leave the gathered collective to attack NachtWal one short at a time when numbers mattered.
The one who voiced the problem regarding the Arc-en-ciel was Amy Limietta, a brown-haired female teen who had appeared in a view screen call with the Admiral. Lindy, for her part, listened to her subordinate from the ship calmly.
"I'm aware that you will need as many competent forces on the ground, but we need you up here." Amy voiced somewhat wary, "A majority of our forces are still recovering from the previous incident, so it's just us up here on the bridge."
"Is the cannon operational?" The woman asked.
"Yes," the girl confirmed, "But we still need you up here to fire it."
"Correction, you will need the key and authorization from the captain of the ship." Lindy aptly countered, "Take a look at your desk."
There was some activity in the background as the young teen had apparently done what the admiral requested. The girl returned to the call and had a look of absolute shock on her face.
"Why's your key on my desk, admiral?!" Amy asked in surprise.
"In the event that the commander in charge of a vessel is rendered unable to perform their duty on board. The command will fall to someone directly below them." Lindy couldn't stop the light smile from gracing her lips, "You are my direct subordinate and a very competent officer. I could hardly think of a better candidate."
"T-thank you…" The teen's face hardened in determination after her awkward acceptance, "I won't let you down."
Lindy had returned to her thoughts after the video call had ended. Truthfully, it would've been simpler for her to teleport up to the Arthra, but something in her heart disagreed. The woman gazed out at the ominous purple orb in the ocean. She and Chrono both had something personal driving them.
11 years ago, was the last time the Book of Darkness had been completed. The tome had gone out of control and was poised to start a rampage across many worlds in the sea of dimensions. That, however, never came to pass thanks largely to the sacrifice of the Time-Space Administration "Estia". Estia's captain, Admiral Clyde Harlaown, was Lindy's husband and Chrono's father. His death, however noble, still left the mother and child saddened.
'Clyde…' The woman thought to herself in memory as she looked at the device in her right hand.
The woman's device, codenamed "Durandal: The Staff of Freeze", was a blue and white staff with two nozzles and fins at the neck. A dark blue kite shaped crystal laid between the fins at the neck of the staff and the head, which resembled a spear or icicle. There were blue snake-like marks above and below the gem and they were also present in the fins at the neck.
'Tonight.' Lindy said to herself in determination as her eyes lingered once again on the ever-changing purple orb, 'It ends tonight.'
Suddenly, Reinforce knelt down as a bright silver light enveloped her form. The aforementioned unison ended due to Hayate's complete recuperation. Hayate, clad in her new Knight Clothing, appeared beside the still kneeling Reinforce. Her sudden appearance had surprised them all.
"Nice duds." Sonic complimented her with a smirk.
"Thanks." The girl gave a modest smile in recognition.
"How are you feeling, Hayate-chan?" Nanoha asked in relief and concern.
"Better, thank you. I'm sorry if I worried all of you." Hayate smiled softly with a bow, "I heard what we're planning, and I'd like to help."
"Are you ready to perform the Unison again, Master?" Reinforce queried upon seeing the determined look.
"Yeah," Nodded the brunette as she raised her staff to the stars. Her voice incanted softly, "Bless the light of the night sky. Reinforce, Unison in!"
Reinforce, in acknowledgement of the master's orders, turned herself into a glowing silver orb and flew into Hayate's body. For a brief moment, there was a flash as the girl's body was enveloped in the light. It had soon subsided, revealing Hayate, albeit with glowing sandy-blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. Her expression seemed unchanged and unwavering.
"This feels much better." Hayate smiled as she looked over herself, "Reinforce, can you hear me?"
"Yes." Confirmed the unison device within their shared mind-space, "The Unison was successful."
"Good!" The master nodded her head and looked amongst the rest of the gathered forces, "Is everyone ready?"
With the notable exception of Sonic, the others gathered had confirmed their status. The blue hedgehog in question was occupied counting out the rings he planned to use for the battle. He nabbed two and stowed them in the cuffs of his gloves before rejoining the group.
"Ready!" Sonic affirmed with a smile and cute salute.
"Um…" Nanoha raised a finger; there was something that had concerned her about the hedgehog, "You can't fly, can you?"
"No…" The hedgehog's eyebrow twitched.
"And you can't swim." Vita also aptly countered, noting that the battle was apparently going to take place over the Sea of Japan.
"Hehe... no…" There was no shortage of embarrassed shame as the hedgehog found himself observing the reds of his shoes.
"Vita-chan, don't be mean," Shamal kindly took the hedgehog's side and offered a very valid point, "I'm sure he's light enough for any of us to carry."
"Also, Reinforce believes he could do a lot of damage," Hayate offered as well, "So I think we should let him help."
The point made by Reinforce and Hayate had rendered any further arguments against letting Sonic help null. Since Shamal would be doing less actual fighting than the others present, it would make sense for her to carry the hedgehog over to the battle site. With the plans set, the group took off in flight.
[Battle: VS NachtWal -Monster form]
[BGM Insert: "Sacred Force" Nana Mizuki, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the MOVIE 2nd A's]
- AN: Lyrics in Romaji (Translation in English)
Mechanical tentacles sprouted from the dark orb as the mages began their approach. Their plan was to attack in waves and leave little pause. Each attacking wave would attack with a high-powered spell of their specialty. They anticipated that NachtWal, being a defense program, would likely project as many barriers it could muster to deter them, hence the wave formation. Alph, Yuuno and Zafira, designated as the first wave, flew over the orb as it slowly took shape.
"We'll provide support until the core is exposed," The wolf woman said to the other two as they took a triangle formation surrounding the orb, "We have to pin it down."
"Yeah!" Yuuno agreed without missing a beat.
"Got it." Zafira added.
Before any of them could act, geysers formed upward in the sea as dark purple streams of light soared to the sky. It appeared that NachtWal's transformation was about to finish. The aura of foreboding could be felt by all present; it was almost sickening.
"It's begun…" Chrono observed.
"The program that gave rise to the name, the cursed 'Book of Darkness'…" Hayate added calmly as the orb suddenly burst open, "NachtWal's infective destructive form… The 'Book of Darkness's darkness itself."
The orb dispersed finally to reveal the towering, chimeric amalgamation of limbs that was NachtWal. A behemoth borne afloat the waves of the ocean with at least six tree-like limbs anchoring itself. Protruding from the front of its bulbous body was a many-eyed head dominated by a gaping maw with razor sharp fangs. Rising above the abomination's fearsome visage were a pair of three-pronged serrated claws. Further behind the claws were a pair of massive gray wings that lay just behind a massive blueish ring. Ahead of both wings and ring was a serpentine tendril with the torso of a topless humanoid female with a mask covering the top part of her face and as dark mesh material covering the female's exposed vital points. The large ring glowed ominously with malign radiance as the monstrosity let out a bestial roar.
"Uh…" Sonic tapped his quilled head in thought as his arm was carried by Shamal in flight, 'You'll have to come back to me for a quip later, cause I got nothin'."
"Pay attention, Sonic-kun." Shamal softly requested, "You'll see a full display of our magic here."
NachtWal let out another feral roar as metallic snakes and tentacles started to flail wildly. Perhaps it was fortune, or simply due to the program lacking any sort of brain or real intelligence, but the flailing parts did not even come close to hitting those airborne.
"Caging Circle!" Yuuno called out as a green circular glyph appeared in front of him.
"Chain Bind!" Alph followed up as a similar but orange glyph materialized before her.
Yuuno's Caging Circle spell materialized as a large green circle that encased the monstrosity within. Alph's Chain Bind followed suit and wrapped around each leg of the beast. Orange chains appeared from the bindings on each leg and connected them to the large green circle.
Seiya heno kane ga nariwataru ten kara chi heto yuuki wo tamesu (A bell rings for the Holy Night)
"Trap it, Steel Yokes!" Zafira called out as an indigo-white triangular glyph appeared at his feet.
A multitude of spikes fell from the sky above Zafira's position with a high velocity. The spikes, or yokes as Zafira's spell indicated, pierced through several parts of NachtWal's body and anchored themselves like stakes into the ground. They had appeared to have done their job as the monster roared out in pain.
Seikou no shirushi kakagetara mirai no flare furikazase (Testing courage from Heaven to Earth)
NachtWal struggled to move its legs and break free of the orange chains and silver stakes. The humanoid face contorted and screamed in pain. As it had resisted, the Chain Bind and Steel Yokes started to break, but the Caging Circle stayed in place and confined the monster within its boundary. The behemoth had started to take its own offensive, firing off beams at the departing trio, but it failed to connect on any of them as they were flying too fast.
Chiisana sono te ni takusareta nanika ga tatoe omoku tomo (Once you raise the star, brandish the flare of the future)
Tsunaida ai mo nigirishime (Even if that which was entrusted to your small hands is heavy)
saa… ima tashikameau shinjitsu wo (Hold tightly this connected love and let's go confirm the truth)
The behemoth let out another fearsome roar as the claws fired off a round of beams at the gathering of mages on the approach. None of the blasts came close to connecting as the mages dispersed their formation and started their true offensive attack.
"Forward team, coming in!" Shamal declared, "Nanoha-chan, Vita-chan, please!"
Kanashimi mo yorokobi mo subete boku wa seou koto akiramenai (I won't give up anything, be it sorrow or joy)
"Right!" The gothic loli sent her former rival a pointed look and blushed a little bit, "Back me up… Takamachi Nanoha."
Yowaki wo shiru kara tsuyoku naru (I know what it means to be weak so I can be strong)
"Huh?" The girl in white had to almost double-take as she had realized something. Vita actually pronounced her name correctly, "Sure!"
Mamoru to chikaun da kizuna wo mune ni Sacred Force (I swear to protect it with bonds in my heart, the Sacred Force)
"Let's go, Eisen!" Vita called out to her device.
"Gigant Form!" Responded the device as it loaded two cartridges and changed modes. The hammer part grew in size and the face became octagonal like a sledge, as opposed to the usual cylindrical shape reminiscent of a polo mallet.
Undeterred by Graf Eisen's weight, Vita soared towards the monstrosity to get herself in position. Nanoha flew behind her to support her flank position. As they flew, she sent Raising Heart a wordless command to shift forms into the Full Drive, Excelion Mode. Due to the device already being in Bustercannon mode like before, there wasn't much change aside from the head widening and the prongs moving closer to closely resemble a spearhead. A rocket engine equipped itself at the end tip for the mode's Accelerate Charge System, or "A.C.S" for short. Mana fins generated at the neck, though they resembled sickles more.
"Axel Shooter, vanishing shift!" Nanoha called out to her device as they soared.
"Lock On!" Raising Heart pinged as the device's HUD displayed several target reticules over the snake and tentacles that laid in Vita's path.
"Seigi" "yume" donna kotoba demo (Be it justice or your dreams)
"shinjiru" dakara honmono ni naru (They only turn real once you believe in them)
One of the snakeheads fired a blast at Nanoha, but the girl was quick to defend with a pink barrier. Several pink bolts appeared at the girl's side in immediate succession and they were quickly fired off with Nanoha's command. The bolts arced over Vita with uncanny precision and took out the snakes and tentacles that bared the loli knight's path.
Ankoku no yami wa itsu no hi mo imawashii kage ni oborou no (It is the darkness that always lies underneath the shadow of doubt)
With the cover fire provided by her former rival, Vita was able to navigate herself above the behemoth. A few bolts of darkness had tried to pick her off from the air, but they were quickly negated by well-timed pink bolts from Nanoha. Both girls shared a look of recognition as Vita had acknowledged that she had Nanoha's support and was free to attack.
Nando demo kitto tachiagari (We'll stand up as many times as it takes)
soukyuu no toki wo egakun da (To clear up the skies)
Yuuen to utau tame ippo wo (It's time to take the first step of many)
"THUNDERING… EXPLOSION!" Vita shouted to the heavens as she stood on a red triangular glyph and spun in place. Eisen loaded several cartridges as it grew size to an even more massive form. The hammer was bigger than the monstrosity itself. In addition, the handle extended to allow for easy reach
AH… ima tokihanatou kono chikara (Ah… Let's unleash this power now!)
"GIGANT SCHLAG!" The knight nearly screamed as she slammed the hammer down upon the monstrosity.
Shinwa heto kawaru ichi peeji boku wa sou issho ni kakenuketai (I want to create a legend together with you)
The massive hammer had combined the torque from its wielder's movements with the natural gravity pull that came with such a heavy weight. Though contact was inevitable, the behemoth pulled up two barriers, one pink and the other yellow, just at the point of impact. It didn't matter much, though, as the hammer had enough power to shatter the upper pink barrier and partially sink the monstrosity into the water.
Migite niwa kimi no hidarite wo (With your hand in mine)
Namida wa mada hayai kitto kirameku Precious Star (I'll believe that our precious star will surely shine)
(Instrumental Chorus)
"Signum, Fate-chan!" Shamal, with no delay, called out for the next wave to begin their attack run.
The sunken claws and snakeheads soon rose and fired off beams of darkness at the aforementioned duo as they made their own approach. Signum and Fate flew close to one another to share a few words.
"Let's go, Testarossa." The older woman declared.
"Yes, Signum." The blonde replied softly but surely.
As Fate began her approach, Bardiche Assault answered to her wordless command to activate the Full Drive, Zanber Form. Spikes emerged from the top of the head to form a new trident shape. The trident served as the hilt for a massive blade of pure mana, causing the device to resemble a claymore. With a mighty swing of the new blade, Fate sent a shockwave of lightning at the behemoth and sliced of several tentacles and snakes to cover her approach.
After a brief pause to watch her rival get into position on the other side of the amalgamation, Signum calmly conjured a purplish-pink triangular glyph to stand on and drew her blade from its sheath. Strangely, she did not dismiss the sheath, instead she held it in one hand and held the blade so that she could insert the hilt into it.
"Bowgenform!" Laevatein declared as it loaded a cartridge and the sheath and hilt combined. The device briefly glowed as the hilt and blade changed shape to a mighty bow with the string generated by mana.
Signum pulled the string back and generated an arrow out of mana, ready to fire at will. At the same time, Fate held her claymore close to her and a flash of lightening ran through the massive blade
"Kakaeru, Hayabusa! (Fly, falcon!)" The taller woman commanded with absolute authority.
"Sturmfalken!" pinged the bow device in response as several cartridges were loaded and the knight's aura flared in absolute power
"Break through, Raijin! (Thunder god)" Fate called out
"Jet Zanber!" declared Bardiche as purplish lightning sparkled off the blade with pure power.
In pure synchronicity, Signum let the arrow fly and Fate took a devastating hack at the beast. The burning arrow pierced through the barrier and exploded upon impact in the center. Shortly thereafter, the blade came down and cut through the yellow barrier and dealt direct damage. Both attacks caused a severe amount of pain and forced NachtWal to lose its balance and slowly sink. For a moment, it seemed as if the monster was down, but not out.
"Did we do it?" Alph asked in hope.
"I don't think so!" Yuuno indicated such.
The gathered mages had to disperse rapidly again as NachtWal let out a massive roar and fired off a volley of aimless spells at them. Shamal, forgetting for a moment that she was carrying the blue hedgehog, rapidly darted away from a blast, much to the hedgehog's annoyance.
"Oy!" Sonic aptly called her out for forgetting his presence, "Warn me before you do that!"
"Sorry!" The medic apologized on the spot, feeling a bit guilty, "I'm not used to carrying others in flight."
NachtWal once again roared as its wings soon propelled it to flight with the legs unable to support much of its weight anymore. As it took flight, three layers of light blue mana took form and shielded the monster in a bubble.
"Sonic-kun, it's shielding itself again." Shamal sent the hedgehog a pointed look as an idea came to her, "If I get you into a good position, do you think you can do something about it?"
"No problem~!" Sonic replied with a wink.
The medic soared higher up the monster, thankfully undeterred as the monster seemed incapable of attacking while its' efforts were put into the shielding array. Once she got to a high enough angle of arc, Shamal allowed the hedgehog to swing off her arm to build momentum. At the highest arc of her swinging arm, she released Sonic into the air.
"All right~!" Sonic beamed as he held his pair of rings in each corresponding hand. His power flared up even more than usual, likely due to the double amount of absorption than usual. The hedgehog allowed himself to freefall as he probed his mind.
"Uh… okay I got nothin' in the cool spell name department." The blue hedgehog had a comical look of awkwardness on his face that soon gave way to his usual cockiness as his power boost flared up his light-blue aura, "I can put a little "spin" on things. Go!"
Power flowed through Sonic as he curled up as tight as he could into his spin form and his quills sharpened themselves by will to their limit. With hypersonic speeds and spikes sharp enough to cut through solid metal, the blue ball cut through the barriers like they were made out of papier-mache. Sonic didn't allow his attack run to simply end there though as he utilized his speed and momentum to cut through NachtWal's wings, legs, ring; and even penetrated through the main body! As he pierced through the body and into the core, the hedgehog could feel his quills briefly shred through some sort of iron chain; while it felt weird, it didn't deter him so he simply shrugged it off.
Unknown to him, Reinforce felt some sort of tug to her left arm as the corresponding chains suddenly shattered, leaving only a red mark to indicate where they originally were.
'No way…' The unison device allowed herself to be briefly shocked, though she shrugged it off so her mistress would not be worried.
The hedgehog blazed his way out of the body as NachtWal fell. Unfortunately for him, the power boost generated from his ring energy had soon faded, disrupting his aerial momentum. Naturally, Sonic's expression turned into a comical one of fear.
"Uh-oh~…" Sonic gulped as he looked down to find that gravity had reminded him of its laws as it pulled him straight down into the water. He tried to run in place as a futile attempted to stop his fall, but comically failed, "Crap baskets!"
Unable to do anything, the hedgehog closed his eyes in preparation for the inevitable impact and splash that was to follow. Time seemed to slow down as if to tease Sonic with suspense. He could feel the breeze of the waves coming closer and closer until…
"Oy!" A female voice shocked Sonic out of his stupor as his fall was broken, "You can open your eyes now, goofball."
Sonic slowly opened his eyes in acknowledgement of the voice's request. He could see the waves of the ocean just below his pointed red shoes. Registering the familiarity of the female voice, the hedgehog looked up to find that Vita had easily carried him by the wrist.
"Vita! Thank you~!" Sonic immediately expressed his gratitude, "I owe you one!"
"I'd say we're even after what you did for Hayate," The knight said, but soon had a sinister smirk to her cute face, "But since you insist, I'll put it on your tab and make you pay me back with a favor later."
Soshite bokutachi wa taisetsu na nanika wo mitsukeru yo… (Thus, we find something precious)
'Those two…' Shamal thought with a giggle. Her focus was re-centered on the battle at hand as she looked up to her mistress, "Hayate-chan!"
Kyoumeishiau concerto (A resonating concerto)
The sandy-blonde girl had positioned herself above NachtWal with a silver glyph at her feet. Her staff was in her right hand while the Tome of the Night Sky was open in her left. Hayate's eyes were closed as she and Reinforce focused on the spell that they wanted.
Ah… (Ahhhhh~)
"Rise from beyond, mistletoe branch." Hayate's voice softly incanted
"Become spears of the silver moon and break through!" Reinforce added within the shared mind scape with her posture mirroring her master's.
ima tashikameau shinjitsu wo (And see the truth for ourselves)
A dark cloud swirling cloud formed between Hayate and the Defense Program. Eight spheres of light soon formed and glowed along with the glyph. The large spherical lights seemed to line themselves up with the body of the behemoth.
Kanashimi mo yorokobi mo subete (Be it happiness or sorrow)
boku wa seou koto akiramenai (I will not abandon anything)
"Petrifying spears…" Hayate raised her staff as she and Reinforce finished the spell incantation at the same time, "Misteltein!"
Yowaki wo shiru kara tsuyoku naru (I find my strength because I know my weakness)
Mamoru to chikau'n da kizuna wo mune ni (I promise to protect you with our bond firmly in my heart)
The girl lowered the staff down in indication and the spheres took the shape of spears and descended upon the Defense Program. At the point-blank range, the Misteltein spells impacted every portion of the body and the petrifying part of its name soon took hold as the monster turned to stone before everyone's eyes. Gravity took over once again and pulled the stone statue of the monster into the water.
Egao to kyou ni… (And with a smile on my face)
dakishimesasete Sacred Force (Let me embrace you, my sacred force)
Saa… hajimari heto tabidatou (And take you to where it all begins)
[Insert ends, No BGM]
Slowly, but surely, the monster rose from the water and the magic around it enabled a notably slow regeneration. Though as the creature regenerated, its form became much more monstrous and chaotic. Just like the behemoth would not go down without a fight, neither would the mages.
Lindy and Chrono stood next to one another, the former held out her staff as a cold mist enveloped them both. Their synchronized breaths of air could be seen as they readied themselves for a combined attack.
"Chrono-kun," Lindy spoke to her son, "It's our turn."
"Understood!" The boy affirmed as he raised his staff up to the air, conjuring at least one hundred blades of pure mana, "Stinger Blade, execution shift!"
Without delay, Chrono let the volley fall upon the Defense Program. Due to NachtWal's massive size, its agility was null and rendered it unable to avoid as all one hundred blades pierced and anchored it in place. The Stinger Blade allowed for the enforcer's mother to ready her own spell.
Lindy raised her staff and hardened her gaze. Four spear heads, resembling the tip of Durandal positioned themselves above the behemoth. The cold intensified, but the woman did not falter. For her, it was time for justice.
"Freeze!" The woman thrust her device down and out towards the pinned monstrosity
"Eternal Coffin!" Pinged the device in a male voice.
Immediately, a flash of frost and ice shot from the device and impacted the program. The four spearheads acted as mirrors to re-direct the beams back onto NachtWal. In no time, the behemoth was frozen solid. Lindy knew that while her attack was effective, it was only a matter of time before the monster could recover.
"Nanoha, Fate, Hayate!" The woman called out to the trio.
Nanoha, Fate and Hayate seemed to be one step ahead of the woman's planning as they were already above the monster in a triangular formation. Their respective glyphs of pink, yellow and silver glowed in the dark below their feet.
"Starlight Breaker." Raising Heart Excelion declared as a large pink orb gathered from the loose mana left over from the high-powered spells fired off prior.
"Zenryouku zenkai (Maximum power)!" Nanoha shouted as she raised her device in the air, "Starlight…"
"Plasma Zanber." Bardiche declared as lighting struck the device and enveloped both itself and Fate in power.
"Raikou Issen (Flash of Lightning)!" Fate called out as she readied herself to bring her device upon the frozen program, "Plasma Zanber!"
"Sorry, rest in peace…" For a moment, Hayate bowed her head in remorse for her incoming spell. The girl raised her staff as orbs of black and silver flowed into it and a much larger triangular glyph appeared. At each end of the glyph was a sphere of light. "Resound, horn of the end. Ragnarok!"
"BREAKER!" All three called out at the same time as they each lowered their devices and triggered the spells.
Simultaneously, a barrage of beams was unleashed from the trio's glyphs. Fate's took the form of a powerful beam of lighting mana, Nanoha's was a massive, gigantic blast and Hayate's was three beams that combined. Each blast was intensely as powerful and potent as the other and they all impacted the frozen program with nothing to stop them.
Everyone present, with the exception of the trio, had to cover their eyes from the resounding bright flash of light that resulted from the resounding impact and boom of the three breakers. As the monster's body was engulfed and torn apart by the blasts, Shamal carefully watched the humanoid part through her Mirror of Travels as it broke apart to reveal NachtWal's core
[BGM Insert: "Arc-en-ciel" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 2nd A's OST]
"Found it!" the medic shouted as she isolated the core with the help of Klarwind in the form of a pendulum.
"Long-distance transfer!" Yuuno held out his hand and focused his power
"Target on track!" Alph added as she did the same
Yuuno and Alph's magic glyphs appeared respectively below and above the exposed core as they began their transfer spell. The core of the program was suddenly shot up into space where the Arthra laid orbit.
[Arthra: Bridge]
[BGM: "Arc-en-ciel"]
Amy Limietta oversaw as her tech team tracked the core of the Defense Program in teleport as it flew towards the vessel's firing range.
"The core is coming!" One male tech observed as he typed at his terminal.
"It's regenerating as well!" The other tech added, "But it's going slower than normal."
With all of the damage the core's body had taken, its regenerative factor should've allowed it for a swifter recovery, but something seemed to be off. The staff on the Arthra held no issue with that as they reasoned it would make a perfect sitting duck for the Arc-en-ciel.
Before Amy's eyes' the firing lock system opened and magical energy took the form of a massive orb at the pronged tips of the vessel. The captain's key felt heavy in her small, youthful hands as she watched a red cubic array appear with an opening in the middle for the key.
"Arc-en-ciel…" The girl gave no hesitation as she inserted the key and gave it a turn, "Fire!"
[No BGM]
Silence filled the void of space as the Arthra's cannon fired the Arc-en-ciel. A beam shot from the massive orb and made contact with the unrecognizable form of the Defense Program's core, enveloping it wholly in a massive explosion that generated a huge burst of light.
Meanwhile on earth, the mages, knights, familiar and one hedgehog all watched silently as they saw the light from the cannon envelop NachtWal's form wholly. Each of them stared with a determined expression. Not even Sonic had anything to say, his focus was locked on the scene above, waiting impatiently for what was to come of the Arthra's blast.
[Ending: "Mi-Ra-I" Run & Gun, Sonic X OST]
[End of Chapter 3]
Author's Note: Another cliffhanger! HA! HA! Did anyone really thing I would show the result after that much buildup and that massive a fight scene? Nice try folks! Find out next time!