Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[Insane Inquisitor]

Sorry should be fixed :P. Spoiler tag malfunction on my part. :P

But I'll put it here again anyways (since its a new forum page to make it convenient for everyone)

Spoiler for Length of text:

Pilot Arantir was having the time of his life.

Originally part of the Red Crimson Corsairs, the leading Corsair Lord had heard about Archon Quattro’s endeavour to conquer and occupy a planet occupied by a lesser race. Sure, he had heard some complications regarding a completely different dimension; but to Arantir that made no difference. While the Craftworld cousins play the foolish humble act, Arantir was more than ready to participate in restoring the millennia old prestige of the Eldar race. As far as he was concerned, any other races are Mon Keigh – those who deserve to be exterminated.

To his pleasure, he was assigned to the first wave of the assault element once Quattro’s fleet was able to make planet fall. With the element of surprise on their side, she carefully plotted all aircraft squadron’s deployment to cause maximum bloodshed. In Arantir’s case he was assigned to a city called Cranagan.

As Arantir’s Void Dragon Phoenix sliced through the Mid Childan atmosphere, he could feel the anticipation to the slaughter rising. He could only briefly imagine what it was like for the even more sensitive Commorrite Eldar; already he could see Ravens, Razorwings and Voidravens rapidly peeling off from his formation to engage another area. If the number of buildings were anything to ho by, it seems as though Archon Quattro was right; this planet had enough Mon Keigh for all of them yet.

Even as that thought gained form, his Red Crimson squadron – consisting of his Void Dragon Phoenix, two Phoenixes and two Nightwing Interceptors – were soaring dangerously close to the rooftops of the various buildings. A soft, almost lifelike whine reminded him that the squad was flying close to the area of first strike. This target was marked because Archon Quattro recommended a visit here to best sow chaos.

Once again, she did not disappoint. Looking ahead he could already see a large, milling crowd, most probably staring with stupid amazement at the speed of his graceful fliers. Not that Arantir minded; this would only make the coming part far more enjoyable.

“Our targets are ahead. Let the games begin and may fortune forever favour you.”

Almost as one, the mere second the transmission was completed, Red Crimson squadron unleashed a fusillade of Shuriken Cannon fire into the crowd. Taking speed and accuracy into account, it only took mere micro seconds to reduce a good portion of the crowd into pools of weltering gore. Upon the thickest portion of the crowd, the squad released a payload of Nightfire missiles. Those who escaped the Shuriken barrage were soon choking and immolated painfully in a sea of purple-black gas, condemned to a slow, agonising death.

Nonetheless, Arantir noted to his disappointment that their array of firepower had somehow missed the four figures on the elaborate stage. He does not think highly of two Mon Keigh women and children who were nothing more than glorified actresses.

So it was to his surprise that, a brief glow later, those two women were suddenly armed in somewhat garish battle attire and took to flight, most likely seeking to deliver the young ones to safety.

Arantir grinned. This will turn out to be a hunt after all.
-----------------------------
As citizens, Nanoha Takamachi and Fate Testarossa were horrified by the absolutely unprovoked attack. As TSAB agents, they are both eager to answer the call of duty and help in the greater effort to repel the invasion.

As mothers, their instinctive obligation was to protect the child actresses they clutched in their arms. Leaving them on the ground was not an option. The gas was drifting towards the stage and the screams emanating from within was indication enough of danger.

“[Nanoha, we need to find a safe place!]” Fate mentally urged Nanoha as despite their speed, the attacker’s aircrafts were gaining on them fast. Fate also noted dismally that a rainstorm of various armour types are swiftly gliding down onto the ground; she could only hope that the Ground Forces were holding out.

“[Make for Ground Forces HQ.]” Nanoha replied, having confirmed over the intercom that the attack was planet wide. “[It will be a war zone, but at least it will be the nearest fortified position.]” It was a crucial and unfortunate split second decision. There are raid shelters throughout Cranagan, but attempting to head there with enemy armour on their tail would only cause greater tragedy.

“[Rog…]” Before Fate could finish her acknowledgement, Pulse Laser beams, Starcannon shots and Shuriken streams erupted from behind them. Their pursuers were only too eager for the kill. Though Raising Heart and Bardiche guided their owners through the barrage unharmed, it is still a demanding task.

“Hold tight.” Nanoha whispered to Kaitlin. Freeing her left arm, Nanoha summoned Raising Heart’s staff mode and pulled an agile 180 degree turn on the spot. She aimed briefly in the general direction of the squadron.

“RAISING HEART!”

“Axel Shooter.” Raising Heart chimed in return as a dozen rounds of pink magical orbs manifested and surged towards the tailing Eldar Corsair squadron. As soon as the barrage had departed, Nanoha had taken off again.

To her disappointment she could not hear the tell tale impact sound of her rounds. Unknown to her, this was because her rounds had soared towards mirage projections of the various fighters’ Holofields.

By this time, anyone could see the sky is becoming even more chaotic. Now there were battleships, light cruisers by Fate’s estimation, joining the attack. From these sleek yet ominous leviathans emerged bat winged humanoids. Judging by sheer numbers released, Nanoha knew she could not afford to decelerate without being overwhelmed.
-----
Pilot Arantir regretted his decision to inform Archon Quattro that the primary targets were engaged. With the arrival of the second wave assault accelerated, he would have to compete with the Commorrite Kin to obtain the kills.

Noticing the bat winged Eldars descending from the Dark Eldar fleet, Arantir’s attitude softened a bit. The Scrouges can help impede both targets; and since Arantir was feeling philanthropic to his dying cousins they can consume the four souls too.
-----
“[Fate, clear the path upfront. I need you to concentrate on guiding my flight.]”

As if Fate was one step ahead, Nanoha could already hear Bardiche’s baritone declaration of “Haken From”, resulting in spinning ring of golden energy soaring ahead and knocking out a squad of Scrouges that were preparing to intercept their course.

By now, Nanoha’s barrier jacket was only at 60% integrity; the added firepower and flexibility of the Scrouges meant it is near impossible to dodge the increasing hailstorm of fire without harm. More concerning was that some of the beam weaponry was capable of bypassing her shields. It was a miracle that thus far, both child actresses remained alive. Unless something was done, Nanoha knew the chances of them reaching Ground Forces HQ were increasingly slim.

Discreetly, Nanoha released a Wide Area Search sensor. Not only would she need to fire without physically looking at her targets; she would have to do it backwards while protecting a child.

Thanks to everyone for their help!

[SonicNanohaFan2012]

Uh.. Blaster bits.. 5 Starlight Breakers fired at the same time...

[Insane Inquisitor]

Could Nanoha do the same without having to stand still though?(Remember, these are Eldar Interceptors/Void Dragons that can knock out TANKS - and I suspect if she stood still for too long she would be overwhelmed by the firepower thrown at her.) Also, since it is the initial hours of the invasion it would be difficult to gather enough mana to pull of a Starlight Breaker, not to say 5...

(Though having said that, I do agree that should she have the opportunity she can easily turn said air crafts into scarp metal/scrap wraithbone.)

[SonicNanohaFan2012]

True... Anyways.. on another note, anyone hear? FF's cracking down on lemons it seems... They'll get rid of anything that has Adult content versus Mature...

[Justin_Brett]

We just got done discussing Marvel, and now you bring in 40k? What is it with that series and siccing it on other universes?

[ZeroIchiNi]

Originally Posted by SonicNanohaFan2012

True... Anyways.. on another note, anyone hear? FF's cracking down on lemons it seems... They'll get rid of anything that has Adult content versus Mature...

They use to allow lemons years ago.

[SonicNanohaFan2012]

Originally Posted by ZeroIchiNi

They use to allow lemons years ago.

well.. not so much now.. looks like something stops them now

[ZeroIchiNi]

Originally Posted by SonicNanohaFan2012

well.. not so much now.. looks like something stops them now

There used to be a genre dedicated for it in the site. When I said years I mean around 10 years ago. I remember when they decided to wipe out that entire genre section and banned it.

[SonicNanohaFan2012]

Originally Posted by ZeroIchiNi

There used to be a genre dedicated for it in the site. When I said years I mean around 10 years ago. I remember when they decided to wipe out that entire genre section and banned it.

I think that's what they are doing here

[blitz1/2]

For material days, I think Yuuno still comatose or unconscious, w.e is getting ridiculous, unless he's suffered some MASSIVE brain injury, I can hardly find that he will stay quiet for THIS long.

[Yasanagi]

Originally Posted by blitz1/2

For material days, I think Yuuno still comatose or unconscious, w.e is getting ridiculous, unless he's suffered some MASSIVE brain injury, I can hardly find that he will stay quiet for THIS long.

The thing is that Yuuno had been specifically given a sedative to keep him in that state until a more formal examination can be done by Shamal to see how far his mentality had been compromised. Just refresh your memory by reading this episode.

[WarpObscura]

Originally Posted by Insane Inquisitor

Thanks for the reply, everyone. Though in response to Tiresias' question, the aircraft I had in mind were actually:

Spoiler for Identity of air crafts:

Eldar Phoenix bombers and Nightwing Interceptors. Yep, this will be another Nanoha and 40K crossover.

Those guys are on a completely different level from modern vehicles. Given the things that are weak in the series are superb by modern standards. You can't compare like that!

[SPARTAN 119]

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Well her spells will be effective against them, that's for sure. I'm more curious on why would someone send fifth generation fighters against mages; unless they're modified with thaumaturgic sensors or something they can't do squat against mages because their sensors won't even be able to detect such small targets.

Actually, that depends, how much heat does Nanoha's magic generate? If she generates enough, in theory, they could get a heatseeker lock on her.

Also, speaking of which, an idea for a fanfic I'll never write, but I'll put it her anyway, as it pertains to using conventional weapons against mages:

Cult of the Lost Logia:

Basic premise is that, shortly after the end of StrikerS, some cultist psycho who happens to have magical abilities with a compound in the mountains north of Uminari gets a hold of a powerful Al Hazard device (possibly in the form of some kind of sword).... that becomes more powerful by feeding on the life force of those it kills. So, naturally, the cult leader thinks he's chosen by God and starts with usual cult stuff: preparing to survive coming apocalypse, stockpiling illegal arms, etc.

In order to feed his device, the cult leader starts killing people in secret, the cult leader starts luring them to his compound and ritually murdering them.

This naturally draws the attentions of a 19-year old Suzuka Tsukimura and Alisa Bannings, students at Uminari City University, who investigate the case, possibly as an article for the student newspaper. So, they go to a "open meeting" of the cult, only to end up being dragged into a sacrificial chamber in an old mine under a mountain, where the cult leader naturally tries to kill them. Unfortunately for the cultists, either Alisa or Suzuka manage to escape her binds, grapple with one of the cults, who was armed with an illegally owned AK47, disarm him and kill the four or so other guards in the room, at which point the leader runs away and sends more of his minions after them.

So, for the next few minutes, Alisa and Suzuka play badass normal and shoot up a few cultists. When they make it to the surface, they run into a couple of familiar faces: Nanoha and Fate. So, naturally, the cult leader shows up, and Nanoha and Fate confront him. Naturally, however, he's not going to give it up, and so he slugs it out with both Nanoha and Fate.

Spoiler for Spoilers for the fic that may never be written:

So, for once, the White Devil herself finds herself outgunned, and after a long fight, the cult leader manages to beat down Nanoha and Fate to the point they are lying on their back, with cult leader armed with his sword-device, about to finish them off when.... BOOM!!! the cult leader is impacted by two RPGs and blown to pieces, his magical shield weakened by the fight with Nanoha and Fate.

Nanoha is naturally more than a bit disappointed that they had to kill the cult leader, but realizes it was all for the best, and cue the yuri foursome... I mean joyous reunion.

Note: I'm considering changing the background of Alisa and Suzuka slightly so that Suzuka's parents are the owners of a major media corporation- hence Suzuka's involvement in the university newspaper- she'd be a journalism major in this AU, and Alisa's father being the owner of a private military company involved with a US base in Uminari, making it more plausible that Alisa would be able to use some of the weapons they steal in the cultist compound, for instance if she at one point fired off a few rounds at a range or something. (it also helps that the cultists aren't exactly well trained either).

[Nanya01]

Numbers

SSX 1-15

SSX 16

SSX 17

SSX 18

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - SSX 19:

Chrono felt like banging his head against a wall. Or maybe between Filia and Amy's chests, that wouldn't give him a headache at least when he was done. "It's been over a month, is it really that difficult to figure everything out?"

"I think a healthy sex life has destroyed your sense of patience." Chrono turned and glared at Verossa, who was just smirking at him. "I believe that cute blonde girl, Fate, took longer than this for her trial, didn't she?"

Chrono took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, I guess I have gotten too used to things going smoothly." He looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "So, how are those two?"

"I did a quick mind scan of Runessa," Verossa couldn't help but let some disgust come over his face at that. Even if it was to make sure that there was no Mazoku influence, he didn't like just diving into a person's brain unless he had to. "She's been completely purged of the Mazoku, and strangely enough, I can barely feel any emotions coming from her."

Chrono shrugged, that was in line with what he had heard from the others. "I see, and Ixpellia?"

"As you know, she's currently staying at the Saint Church. The information they can get from her and the fact that there's no better bodyguards on Mid-Childa made it an easy decision for her. Anyway, something interesting came up when I was there last time concerning her ability to create those Mariage," Verossa ignored the look of interest that Chrono shot him, "I'd almost say that her ability to do what she did before, that is, those weird women, has been shorted out." Chrono gave him a confused look. "She was actually commenting that her Control Core seems to be shut down. The doctors and engineers that we had looking at it agreed that something weird happened to it."

"Does it work anymore?" Chrono asked, narrowing his eyes. If Ixpellia couldn't create anymore Mariages, then any punishment that would be metered out wouldn't be as bad.

Verossa narrowed his eyes, despite the fact that he was rather smart, device specifics usually went over his head. Especially when it came to something that was almost as old as the Tome of the Night Sky. "Well, I believe that Shari said that it had been overclocked and had shut down and something like new sub-routines being put into place to over-write the old ones." He coughed into his hand when Chrono gave him an amused look. "I had one of her assistants translate what she said into a more common language."

Chrono nodded and fought the urge to laugh at Verossa. "So, now what?"

"Now?" Verossa smirked and turned to leave. "I have an appointment to keep."

Chrono blinked and wondered what Verossa was talking about before deciding to ignore it. The guy had been complaining over the past couple of weeks that the investigation was keeping him too busy for something important.

(---)

Meanwhile, at the Saint Church...

Ixpellia closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she enjoyed the morning air. "It feels so nice."

"Does it now?" Tre asked as she walked up to Ixpellia. When the small girl looked at her and smiled at the tall cyborg, Tre gave her a light smile and knelt down to ruffle her hair. "So, it's my turn to watch over you today. Is there anything you want to do?"

Smiling, the young girl spread her arms out to enjoy the sunlight and the sudden cool breeze that came up. "Can we just walk?"

"Sure." Tre nodded as they walked through the yard. "So, Ixpellia, tell me, what are you going to do now?"

"I have no idea," Ixpellia sighed softly. "My kingdom is gone, making the Mariage seems to be lost to me," Ixpellia didn't really believe that she would no longer be able to create the Mariage, but it was nice to not have to worry about it for now, "so, for now, I have nothing to do with my time." She shrugged and turned to walk. "So, for now, I just wish to enjoy myself."

"Of course." Tre nodded and followed after her.

Several minutes later, Ixpellia and Tre found themselves in the game room where some of the nuns were playing various games. Looking around the room, Ixpellia blinked, wondering why people would bother hitting small balls with a stick on a table, she didn't know why people would have pictures of queens and kings on small plastic cards, but found it interesting how they were using the king to murder the queen in cold blood so they could get all of the treasure for themselves. Looking at the far wall, Ixpellia gasped and her eyes widened as she saw a target board and some people throwing small projectiles at it.

"Something wrong?" Tre asked as Ixpellia walked over to where people were throwing darts.

"Excuse me," Ixpellia looked at one of the nuns, who looked down and blinked at her, "may I please try?"

"Um, sure." She nodded and handed three darts over to Ixpellia. "Do you know how to play?" Ixpellia shook her head. "Well, you just take this dart, aim at the board and throw it. You want to hit within the circle so that you get points."

"Okay." Ix nodded and stood behind the line that the nun told her to stand behind. "So... Like this, right?" She quickly threw all three darts in her hand, one after the other, in rapid succession.

"That's..." The nun was cut off as the alarm on the board rang out three times.

Looking at the board, everyone stared in shock as the three darts were in the bulls eye zone, one of which was straight in the middle.

Ixpellia frowned softly. "I seem to be out of practice." She blinked as people fell to the ground. "...Was it something that I said?"

"You hit three bulls eyes." Tre said as she recovered. "I might be pretty good, but even I can't get a grouping like that." And she had cybernetic eyes to help her out.

Ixpellia blinked at her. "Is it not standard practice to teach young children how to throw small projectiles into small targets?" When Tre shook her head, Ixpellia twitched slightly. "But... What if an assassin comes for them when they are alone? How are you supposed to be able to hit the assassin in the eyes or throat or even between the legs if you do not teach them to throw knives, rocks, glass, poisonous snakes that were thrown at you first?"

Tre sweat-dropped heavily before clearing her throat. "I guess Ancient Belka was really bad, huh?"

Ixpellia nodded at her. "Yes. If a king cannot defend herself, what chance do the common folk have?"

One of the nuns scratched her head and looked at Ix in confusion. "But, your highness," while Vivio was the majesty of the Church, Ixpellia was a living relic of Ancient Belka and was a ruler at one point, so she did deserve some consideration from the Church, "did you not say that you took on the Mariages because your Kingdom was in danger?"

Ixpellia nodded to the nun. "Yes, while I could easily defend myself from an assassin, I dare say that fighting an entire army was a bit beyond my abilities, even if I had a limitless supply of small projectiles to throw."

"Didn't you learn any other form of combat?"

"Well, I was supposed to learn something else, but..." Ixpellia sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I am sorry, I must be getting tired."

"You have been up since three this morning," Tre chuckled softly as she looked at the time, "perhaps your highness should take a nap?"

Ixpellia nodded as she yawned again. "I could not help myself, I wished to see a sunrise, again. They are quite lovely." She walked off with Tre right behind her, but not before she turned and gave Tre a small glare, "please, would you stop calling me that? I am just Ixpellia, my kingdom is long dead."

"Of course, your highness." Tre fought back the urge to snort in amusement as Ixpellia groaned while turning away.

(---)

The next day...

Ixpellia smiled as she saw Vivio, Subaru and Nanoha walking into the Saint Church. "Hello, my friends." She waved as Vivio ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "Ooomph! How are you, Vivio?"

"I'm good, Ixy." Vivio smiled even as Ixpellia's eyebrow twitched. "What?"

"I wish that you would just call me..."

"Ixy," Subaru chimed in at that moment, causing Ixpellia to groan in dismay. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Ixpellia muttered as Vivio released the hug. "Good morning, Nanoha, how are you?"

Nanoha giggled softly. "I'm doing fine. How about you?"

"Other than people calling me 'highness' like these two call me Ixy, nothing bad is happening here."

"What's wrong with Ixy, Ixy?" Vivio asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Before Ixpellia could answer, Sein popped out of the ground, smiling. "Your highness, your majesty, good morning."

"Don't call me that." Both Ixpellia and Vivio said at the same time.

Sein blinked several times. "Woah, stereo." Both girls blushed at that. "But, um, if I didn't call two former Belkan rulers by majesty and highness, Sister Schach and Knight Carim would have my cute little butt on a sling, and believe me, that hurts."

Ixpellia blinked and looked at Vivio. "...I feel foolish for not noticing before, but... I must ask, are you..?"

Vivio sighed heavily and nodded. "I am the clone of the last Saint Kaiser, Olivie Segbrecht." It wasn't something that she liked to think or talk about, since she wasn't Olivie, even if she was Olivie's clone.

Ixpellia blinked several times. "...I feel very stupid right now..." Then again, she had never seen Olivie in person, nor had seen a really good portrait of the Saint Kaiser when she was alive.

Vivio just giggled in amusement. "So, Ixy, did you want to play today?"

Ixpellia nodded and jerked a thumb behind her. "Did you know that they throw weapons as a game around here? They call it darts."

Subaru and Vivio face-faulted and Nanoha just laughed as Ixpellia blinked in confusion. "Oh, Ixy... I've said it before, but you've got a lot to learn about life."

Ixpellia just shrugged, Nanoha was probably right, but that didn't matter to her too much. She had time to learn now.

[Auxilism]

Spoiler for Left alone, abandoned by love Chapter 7:

Shamal managed to get Kiran to wake up and set him at a corner before turning her attention to Ginga. He still had a major headache but most of the pain in his left shoulder was gone. He could still see the gash and figured that Shamal just numbed it. Focusing on his right hand, he called forth the focused internal skill and started to seal up the wound. Sweating as the flesh knotted itself together, he let out a gasp after completely sealing it, not even leaving a scar.

Vice noticed this via the rear mirror and started to talk to Kiran. "So, you can double as a medic now?"

"It's almost useless, it has the same adverse effect on mages and knights from this world as their healing magic does on me. Their bodies won't accept much of it since it is an unknown substance, healing a very limited amount only. Furthermore, it only heals external injuries. Can you open the hatch? I need to assist the Lightning squad now," he said the last sentence while moving slowly towards the hatch.

"Woah, you were unconscious a few moments ago and you want to throw yourself into battle already? Your body still hasn't fully recovered from that day…"

"Alright! I get it! I'm useless!"

"I didn't mean it like that… I'm just saying that you should rest after going on a mission which you weren't supposed to. Anyway, the Lightning squad has subdued Lutecia and her summons so your operation has ended. Don't kick yourself anymore."

"I don't think you'll understand. I couldn't save myself and needed somebody else. My father lost his life because of that and now Ginga is out cold after saving me."

"I may not know about the pain of losing someone, but I do know the pain of failing someone you love. I had a sister who was kidnapped. I was in charge of sniping the kidnapper and missed, causing my sister to lose her eye. Although I still feel guilty, she's the reason I had the courage to pick up my gun again. You're not the only one who's messed up, others have as well and we pick up sooner or later."

"Say what you want, but you should open the hatch to let the StarS team and the others in." Vice looked at the window and pressed a button, opening the door. Shamal managed to stabilise Ginga's condition and turned her attention to Nanoha and Vita. Hayate and Zafila then contacted Shari for the mission progress.

"The Saint's Cradle is moving upwards slowly now and the inter-dimensional fleet is just waiting in position. Everyone's devices and linker cores have been completely drained but we've done it!" Hayate heaved a sign of relieve as Rein unisoned out and Zafila turned to help Shamal move Vita to a seat. Shari was still cheering in the background.

"Hey Shari," started Hayate. "Shh for a moment." Shari gave a surprised face which washed over with realisation when she saw Vita, Nanoha, Vivio, Subaru and Teana sleeping on the seat while Kiran nodded off in the corner, back against the wall and Ginga lying down on the floor. "Everyone, good work."
---

Quattro was in the cannon room, crawling towards the energy camber. Only her will to serve the doctor kept her from fainting even after being on the receiving end of Nanoha's Divine Buster. "I will show them… the power of the doctor's dream!" she said as she touched the energy core, providing it with a single burst by sapping all of her life force. Her lifeless body then fell to the ground as the crosshairs buzzed around, looking for any moving target since the targeting mechanisms were fried.
---

Klarwind started to blink rapidly as Shamal took the readings. "Hayate! It's not over yet! The Saint's Cradle is charging a cannon and it has a lock on the helicopter somehow! Estimated rank, SS!"

"Rein, do unison with me! Shamal and Zafila, protect the helicopter with your spells as I prepare counter fire! Vice, open the back door!" The hatch opened as the three of them jumped out. Hayate immediately began to chant her spell as Shamal set up a giant green barrier. Zafila then summoned his Steel Yokes from the barrier itself, combining the two defensive spells into one.

The Saint's Cradle fired the blast which impacted the spiked barrier which bent but didn't crack. Although the bulk of the beam dissipated, many smaller versions of it went through the sides of the barrier. Vice took evasive action, dodging them as he tried to make it through the field. He almost did it when a shot impacted the middle of the left hull, exploding and making the whole helicopter sway ninety degrees. Vice tried to get his control back as the sleeping members slumped forward and towards the hole.

Vita felt the sudden change in position and grabbed Nanoha while holding onto the chair who held onto Vivio. Teana took a while longer but did jolt awake and managed to grip onto the side of the hole, wincing as the frayed hull cut deep into her palm. Her other hand reached out to Subaru, but she just missed her.

"SUBARU!.!" Ginga and Kiran whom had just rolled from one wall to the other flashed open their eyes, widening them the moment they had visual. Ginga held onto Teana, trying to pull her back up as Kiran was dazed, seeing Subaru falling through, her headband fluttering in the wind. Time seemed to slow for him as his mind replayed an event.
---

A five year old child was looking at a butterfly get out of its pupa. When it finally did, it spread its wings and displayed a vast array of colours, enough to attract the child. He started to chase the insect, thinking that it was a game. Suddenly a bird swopped in from the sky, squishing the butterfly as the child fell on his bottom. A beautiful and growing creature just died like that. Kiran had witnessed it all.
---

Vice immediately dived down, trying to catch up to the falling Subaru. 'Everyone's out of magic, they can barely move let alone fly out and stop her…' He desperately tried to build the steam jets but formed too slowly. His whole body was aching as well, making him unable to stand. 'Was that knife poisoned? That would explain why I passed out there… My elemental core is only at ten percent… I can't let the mission be marred just because my limitations are shackling me again!'

Strands of light blue appeared on his pupils while a voice inside of him said, "Elemental core, mode 2. Overdrive stage one. Output at 100%." The sting of the poison vanished as he formed the steam jets much faster.

Kiran jetted through the air, falling faster as he tried to work out a plan. Subaru had accelerated too much so if he just grabbed her it might crush her body like what the ground would do. Watch's snow field was too spread out, if he just casted it not much of the impact would be absorbed. What's more, the time he took to finally fly out had increased the distance between him and Subaru. At his current speed, the ground would reach her first.

'Have to fall faster… Stage one only brings my elemental core back to one hundred percent, with my linker core depleted Watch can't direct the magic for conversion… Subaru will die at this rate…' Kiran grimaced as he brought Watch into view. With a steely tone, he said, "Watch, override restriction 001 with emergency situation 004."

"Override failed. There is a level ten lock on restriction 001 placed by the hospital. No more cartridges are to be loaded as it will exceed your maximum toll."

"What?.! I think they also limited my overdrive to stage one only… Watch, activate code 199-A."

"Gravity around body set to ten times." Kiran felt his body getting heavier and the communicator in his ear being crushed. He took it out and threw it away. Now he was falling almost twice as fast, quickly catching up to Subaru.

"Watch, once I get under her deactivate code 199-A and begin snow fusion with my arms. Maximum rate.

"Master, are you sure? A fusion rate that high will completely freeze your arms. There's a chance you may lose them for good."

"I don't really have the time to do trial and error now do I?" As Kiran approached Subaru, he softly said, "I'm sorry, Watch."

Kiran did a 180 degree flip, his feet now pointed at the ground and pushing against it. He felt his arms turn into snow and piled it up, cushioning Subaru's fall as she plowed through it but Kiran kept forming more. He felt his legs crack from the vertical g-forces and lost the feeling in his arms. He heard a crack and saw that Watch's frame was cracking. He knew it would happen. After falling at ten times gravity the only way to stop at such a small distance was to push upwards with at least eleven g-forces and ten was the limit of Watch's frame.

Kiran landed on the concrete softly, mostly because his steam jets had tenderised the ground. He placed Subaru onto a last layer of snow he created before disengaging the fusion. His eyes returned to normal as he crashed into the snow himself, his legs screaming from the pain. He wanted to scream as well, but his face was embedded in snow. He tried to roll over using his arms but they felt like they were touching nothing although they were already pushing against the snow. The effects of the poison came back, stronger than before. He felt as if every cell was being stabbed at once. He caved in to the pain and passed out as Shamal and the helicopter touched down.

"Shamal, are they ok?.!" cried Teana as she jumped out of the helicopter, blood still freely flowing from her palm.

"Subaru suffered from four g-forces, opening all the wounds I healed earlier. I'll perform medical treatment for her now but most likely she'll be unable to move for a while when she wakes up. There won't be any serious internal damage, save for her left arm. Kiran's legs took thirteen, I can't say for sure but he might have smashed the whole leg bone. I'm not getting any response from his arms and the poison within him has been accelerated. My healing magic doesn't have much effect on him so Hayate, can you take him straight to the hospital from here?" Hayate nodded as she took off, each of her six wings blaring with thrust.
---

Kiran woke up on a normal hospital bed. He looked around slowly and saw that his limbs were covered in bandages again. Unlike the last time though, he could move them slowly. A nurse then walked in and greeted him. "Your body is amazing, after taking thirteen g-forces vertically I would expect even S ranked knights to lose their legs but yours just suffered from hairline cracks. The recovery rate is astonishing as well, it was like your bone was patching itself together right in front of our eyes. The bandages are the same as the last time, just to speed it up even further."

The nurse flipped the page and continued, "Your arms however, were in jeopardy. If you were not sent here in two minutes after they were completely frozen, we would have to amputate them. This time we wrapped them with fire attribute bandages. They will heat up your skin and nerves. Don't worry about it interfering with your elemental liquid, we made sure the heat didn't penetrate the bone. We have some painkillers on that desk for your headache, take them three times a day. All in all, you should be discharged in three days."

"What about the side effects of the poison?"

"Silly me, it was so trivial that I forgot. Once we extracted it and placed you in the camber your cells regenerated almost immediately. You would have woken up there if your head wasn't rejecting the liquid this time."

"Thank you for that. Now, if I may, how is my device doing?"

"Oh, that. The mechanics are working on the frame now. It seems that the AI was unaffected, only the frame suffered heavy damage." Kiran instantly cursed in his mind. That would mean that the frame would have to be replaced completely and he would lose the watch Nagato gave him.

"Thank you…" he croaked as nurse left the room. When he was sure that no one was around to stop him, he slowly got to the door, stumbling a little.
---

Subaru woke up a few minutes after Kiran did and saw Teana beside her, with her palm wrapped up. Teana saw that Subaru's eyes had opened and immediately rushed to her side. "Tea, why does my body feel so weak? I can't move at all…" She immediately cringed and yelped in pain when she tried to move her left arm. Instinctively her right arm clutched her left, somehow bypassing the heaviness it felt.

"Don't try to. You just fell from a high altitude and almost plummeted to the ground." A tear was forming from the corner of Teana's eye as she tried to hide it. "The backlash from the battle with the three combat cyborgs was aggravated, you won't be able to move normally for a while. Although, there are some muscle pulls in your left arm. They say it you should not move it too much for the next few days."

"Really? I don't remember anything after we entered the helicopter…"

"That's because you completely passed out and didn't even notice that you fell out of it…" Teana wanted to hit Subaru but couldn't as it was also her fault, for not being able to secure the safety of her partner.

"Then that means… Tea saved me?" Kiran just arrived at the door and overheard the question. He slowly removed his hand from the door and went back to his room. He just wanted to make sure he succeeded after that ordeal. He would deal with the guilt shoving later.

"Idiot… Cross Mirage and I were out of magic. How could I possibly help you?" she responded as a single tear flowed down her cheek.

"Then it must have been Nanoha!" A smile formed on her lips as she continued, "She saved me again, I really don't know how to thank her."

Nanoha then entered the room and sat down beside Subaru, patches all over her. "I'm glad that you hold me in such high regard, but after using my blaster mode I was powerless as well. Before you think it was Vita or Ginga, I'll tell you now that both their linker cores are still in stasis mode, no magic is available to them even now."

"Don't tell me it was Kiran… He can't use any magic to slow down or absorb the fall… Which means he jumped out of the helicopter himself?.!"

"Uh, Subaru, before I tell you the next part promise me you won't freak out." Subaru was taken aback but nodded. "If you had fallen straight to the ground, your body would have fifteen g-forces acting on it, instantly killing you. Kiran saved you by applying thirteen g-forces to himself and freezing his arms to create a snow field concentrated enough to cushion you. I also heard that both his devices were damaged doing so."

Subaru's eyes widened as she opened her mouth slowly. "Does it mean he's dying right now?"

"I don't know what he did to his body but his legs only suffered a hairline crack which would normally take a month to recover. They say his internal elemental skill is boosting his recovery speed by ten times so he'll only take three days. Hayate rushed him to the hospital in one minute thirty seconds so they were able to salvage his arms."

Now Teana was speaking, her tone filled with shock, "Are you saying that he might have been training on artificial gravity much higher than the planet's so his bones didn't shatter completely?"

"Teana has always been sharp."

"Shouldn't you stop him? Over-exerting himself like that…"

"As long as he doesn't do it during official training it's not in my jurisdiction. Let's not worry about this now. I saw your report Subaru, you should be able to move normally by tomorrow and the day after you can be discharged. If you would pardon me, I'm going to see Vivio." The two girls nodded as Nanoha left the room.

"Tea, can you see Kiran and thank him for me?"

"Show more sincerity would you? I'll go with you tomorrow if you insist I come."

"I just feel so guilty towards him… He put his body through such torture just to save me and Ginga and now he just destroyed his device…"

"Then don't let him regret doing so. Get stronger so that you can return the favor one day. Get some sleep now, I have to go back to the Asura."

"Tea, can you help me with something before you do?"

"What is it?"

"Help me move my right arm back, I'm having trouble doing so."

"Idiot…" She replied as she did so and Subaru gave a sheepish smile.

Since it's my holiday now...

Spoiler for Plan:

Beta Chapter 7 - Monday
Beta Chapter 8 - Tuesday
Beta Epilogue - Wednesday
Chapter 7 - Thursday
Chapter 8 - Friday
Epilogue - Saturday
Omake - Next monday (24 hours wait for questions to come in)

[bhl88]

Ixy... You have a lot to learn. Ask Kyrie or Hayate for good ideas xD

[Insane Inquisitor]

Those guys are on a completely different level from modern vehicles. Given the things that are weak in the series are superb by modern standards. You can't compare like that!

Much noted...but then we are back to (almost) square one. Can we actually expect Nanoha to be able to put a dent in Eldar vehicles? (Probably a given yes with Blaster 3 active, but with anything below...?)

Anyways, two questions that is strictly more related...

(1) What would be a good estimation for the military strength of Mid-Childa (on planet) at a time of peace when an attack is not expected? I'm aware there is at least 386 Battalions (re. the one where Subaru/Teana served before RF6), but then that seems a tad disproportionate for planet size strength...

(2) Regarding Quattro - as insane as she is, is it a realistic projection for her to become an even worse monster?

Many thanks.

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by Insane Inquisitor

Much noted...but then we are back to (almost) square one. Can we actually expect Nanoha to be able to put a dent in Eldar vehicles? (Probably a given yes with Blaster 3 active, but with anything below...?)

Very likely, given her strength. That said she could still bind one up while it was in flight and let it tear itself apart, I guess.

Originally Posted by Insane Inquisitor

Anyways, two questions that is strictly more related...

(1) What would be a good estimation for the military strength of Mid-Childa (on planet) at a time of peace when an attack is not expected? I'm aware there is at least 386 Battalions (re. the one where Subaru/Teana served before RF6), but then that seems a tad disproportionate for planet size strength...

Keep in mind that not all of Mid-Childa is settled, there's various frontiers on the planet that haven't been developed. It did come out of a devastating war relatively recently.

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Numbers

SSX 1-15

SSX 16

SSX 17

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - SSX 18:

Chrono felt like banging his head against a wall. Or maybe between Filia and Amy's chests, that wouldn't give him a headache at least when he was done. "It's been over a month, is it really that difficult to figure everything out?"

"I think a healthy sex life has destroyed your sense of patience." Chrono turned and glared at Verossa, who was just smirking at him. "I believe that cute blonde girl, Fate, took longer than this for her trial, didn't she?"

Chrono took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, I guess I have gotten too used to things going smoothly." He looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "So, how are those two?"

"I did a quick mind scan of Runessa," Verossa couldn't help but let some disgust come over his face at that. Even if it was to make sure that there was no Mazoku influence, he didn't like just diving into a person's brain unless he had to. "She's been completely purged of the Mazoku, and strangely enough, I can barely feel any emotions coming from her."

Chrono shrugged, that was in line with what he had heard from the others. "I see, and Ixpellia?"

"As you know, she's currently staying at the Saint Church. The information they can get from her and the fact that there's no better bodyguards on Mid-Childa made it an easy decision for her. Anyway, something interesting came up when I was there last time concerning her ability to create those Mariage," Verossa ignored the look of interest that Chrono shot him, "I'd almost say that her ability to do what she did before, that is, those weird women, has been shorted out." Chrono gave him a confused look. "She was actually commenting that her Control Core seems to be shut down. The doctors and engineers that we had looking at it agreed that something weird happened to it."

"Does it work anymore?" Chrono asked, narrowing his eyes. If Ixpellia couldn't create anymore Mariages, then any punishment that would be metered out wouldn't be as bad.

Verossa narrowed his eyes, despite the fact that he was rather smart, device specifics usually went over his head. Especially when it came to something that was almost as old as the Tome of the Night Sky. "Well, I believe that Shari said that it had been overclocked and had shut down and something like new sub-routines being put into place to over-write the old ones." He coughed into his hand when Chrono gave him an amused look. "I had one of her assistants translate what she said into a more common language."

Chrono nodded and fought the urge to laugh at Verossa. "So, now what?"

"Now?" Verossa smirked and turned to leave. "I have an appointment to keep."

Chrono blinked and wondered what Verossa was talking about before deciding to ignore it. The guy had been complaining over the past couple of weeks that the investigation was keeping him too busy for something important.

(---)

Meanwhile, at the Saint Church...

Ixpellia closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she enjoyed the morning air. "It feels so nice."

"Does it now?" Tre asked as she walked up to Ixpellia. When the small girl looked at her and smiled at the tall cyborg, Tre gave her a light smile and knelt down to ruffle her hair. "So, it's my turn to watch over you today. Is there anything you want to do?"

Smiling, the young girl spread her arms out to enjoy the sunlight and the sudden cool breeze that came up. "Can we just walk?"

"Sure." Tre nodded as they walked through the yard. "So, Ixpellia, tell me, what are you going to do now?"

"I have no idea," Ixpellia sighed softly. "My kingdom is gone, making the Mariage seems to be lost to me," Ixpellia didn't really believe that she would no longer be able to create the Mariage, but it was nice to not have to worry about it for now, "so, for now, I have nothing to do with my time." She shrugged and turned to walk. "So, for now, I just wish to enjoy myself."

"Of course." Tre nodded and followed after her.

Several minutes later, Ixpellia and Tre found themselves in the game room where some of the nuns were playing various games. Looking around the room, Ixpellia blinked, wondering why people would bother hitting small balls with a stick on a table, she didn't know why people would have pictures of queens and kings on small plastic cards, but found it interesting how they were using the king to murder the queen in cold blood so they could get all of the treasure for themselves. Looking at the far wall, Ixpellia gasped and her eyes widened as she saw a target board and some people throwing small projectiles at it.

"Something wrong?" Tre asked as Ixpellia walked over to where people were throwing darts.

"Excuse me," Ixpellia looked at one of the nuns, who looked down and blinked at her, "may I please try?"

"Um, sure." She nodded and handed three darts over to Ixpellia. "Do you know how to play?" Ixpellia shook her head. "Well, you just take this dart, aim at the board and throw it. You want to hit within the circle so that you get points."

"Okay." Ix nodded and stood behind the line that the nun told her to stand behind. "So... Like this, right?" She quickly threw all three darts in her hand, one after the other, in rapid succession.

"That's..." The nun was cut off as the alarm on the board rang out three times.

Looking at the board, everyone stared in shock as the three darts were in the bulls eye zone, one of which was straight in the middle.

Ixpellia frowned softly. "I seem to be out of practice." She blinked as people fell to the ground. "...Was it something that I said?"

"You hit three bulls eyes." Tre said as she recovered. "I might be pretty good, but even I can't get a grouping like that." And she had cybernetic eyes to help her out.

Ixpellia blinked at her. "Is it not standard practice to teach young children how to throw small projectiles into small targets?" When Tre shook her head, Ixpellia twitched slightly. "But... What if an assassin comes for them when they are alone? How are you supposed to be able to hit the assassin in the eyes or throat or even between the legs if you do not teach them to throw knives, rocks, glass, poisonous snakes that were thrown at you first?"

Tre sweat-dropped heavily before clearing her throat. "I guess Ancient Belka was really bad, huh?"

Ixpellia nodded at her. "Yes. If a king cannot defend herself, what chance do the common folk have?"

One of the nuns scratched her head and looked at Ix in confusion. "But, your highness," while Vivio was the majesty of the Church, Ixpellia was a living relic of Ancient Belka and was a ruler at one point, so she did deserve some consideration from the Church, "did you not say that you took on the Mariages because your Kingdom was in danger?"

Ixpellia nodded to the nun. "Yes, while I could easily defend myself from an assassin, I dare say that fighting an entire army was a bit beyond my abilities, even if I had a limitless supply of small projectiles to throw."

"Didn't you learn any other form of combat?"

"Well, I was supposed to learn something else, but..." Ixpellia sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I am sorry, I must be getting tired."

"You have been up since three this morning," Tre chuckled softly as she looked at the time, "perhaps your highness should take a nap?"

Ixpellia nodded as she yawned again. "I could not help myself, I wished to see a sunrise, again. They are quite lovely." She walked off with Tre right behind her, but not before she turned and gave Tre a small glare, "please, would you stop calling me that? I am just Ixpellia, my kingdom is long dead."

"Of course, your highness." Tre fought back the urge to snort in amusement as Ixpellia groaned while turning away.

(---)

The next day...

Ixpellia smiled as she saw Vivio, Subaru and Nanoha walking into the Saint Church. "Hello, my friends." She waved as Vivio ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "Ooomph! How are you, Vivio?"

"I'm good, Ixy." Vivio smiled even as Ixpellia's eyebrow twitched. "What?"

"I wish that you would just call me..."

"Ixy," Subaru chimed in at that moment, causing Ixpellia to groan in dismay. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Ixpellia muttered as Vivio released the hug. "Good morning, Nanoha, how are you?"

Nanoha giggled softly. "I'm doing fine. How about you?"

"Other than people calling me 'highness' like these two call me Ixy, nothing bad is happening here."

"What's wrong with Ixy, Ixy?" Vivio asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Before Ixpellia could answer, Sein popped out of the ground, smiling. "Your highness, your majesty, good morning."

"Don't call me that." Both Ixpellia and Vivio said at the same time.

Sein blinked several times. "Woah, stereo." Both girls blushed at that. "But, um, if I didn't call two former Belkan rulers by majesty and highness, Sister Schach and Knight Carim would have my cute little butt on a sling, and believe me, that hurts."

Ixpellia blinked and looked at Vivio. "...I feel foolish for not noticing before, but... I must ask, are you..?"

Vivio sighed heavily and nodded. "I am the clone of the last Saint Kaiser, Olivie Segbrecht." It wasn't something that she liked to think or talk about, since she wasn't Olivie, even if she was Olivie's clone.

Ixpellia blinked several times. "...I feel very stupid right now..." Then again, she had never seen Olivie in person, nor had seen a really good portrait of the Saint Kaiser when she was alive.

Vivio just giggled in amusement. "So, Ixy, did you want to play today?"

Ixpellia nodded and jerked a thumb behind her. "Did you know that they throw weapons as a game around here? They call it darts."

Subaru and Vivio face-faulted and Nanoha just laughed as Ixpellia blinked in confusion. "Oh, Ixy... You've got a lot to learn about life, don't you?"

Ixpellia wondered what Nanoha meant by that before shrugging it off. She had time to learn now.

Odin: *Looks at Ixpellia's board.* Hm.... I believe when I retire, I got someone who'll inherit the Devil Arms "Lucifer".

Val: After at least 50 to a hundred years or so? C'mon, Odin. We all knew you'll age the slowest among our group.

Odin: And you haven't change in over 150 years, Val.

Val: *Sighs.*

Mariemeia: No mariages from Ixy anymore? Awwww....

Sarah: Got a problem with that?

Mariemeia: They're quite excellent for cannon fodder against another army of mazoku. Or even better, against those AMF drones and the Huckenbiens...

Sarah: Good point, but it's better for Ixpellia to have at least a normal life to enjoy.

Me: And bhl88, let Hayate and/or Kyrie teach Ixy? We got already 4 perverts that will flirt anythings that moves/interest them in the story. We don't need a loli that got a sexually active mind.

Yukari: And what's wrong about having a sexual active mind during preteen?

Odin: Sendo, we got standards on that part of life. So bug Fang boy instead of implying that bhl88's advice on Ixpellia should learn from Hayate, Sein, Kyrie and Thoth.

Hayate: We're not THAT bad!

Odin: I rather have you as a tsundere with a short fuse, Yagami.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Insane Inquisitor

(1) What would be a good estimation for the military strength of Mid-Childa (on planet) at a time of peace when an attack is not expected? I'm aware there is at least 386 Battalions (re. the one where Subaru/Teana served before RF6), but then that seems a tad disproportionate for planet size strength...

Judging by the force they could muster during Scaglietti's final attack... very small. (Hell, were there actually more than a hundred air-mages that participated on attacking the Cradle?)

Also, nobody thinks it's necessary for their capital world to be constantly patrolled by warships, if the slow response of Chrono's fleet is any indication.

Anyway, when did this invasion happen, before or after StrikerS?