Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Character Creation and Discussion (second reincarnation)

[Tempy]

Ahh Otakon.

It was indeed fun.

The lack of Nanoha is mostly because it's not a massively popular series like Naruto or Bleach is, and despite all the groaning and eye rolling no one can deny its sheer growth and acceptance through the populace. Also, Nanoha isn't released yet in the States, so widespread exposure is still minimal.

I have a few pics too, but as I've said in IRC, I'm not that great of a photographer.

Spoiler for Otakon~:

Cadians Gather! That line outside wrapped around the block a few times.


Now in Artist Alley!


I think this guy is a pilot of sorts.


Raptor Jesus!


Yuyuko!


Who are these guys? (That's me with the Laughing Man thing over my head. I'm shy )

Now I'm warning you, what you may see below may hurt more than just your eyes. The following images were taking at Otakon 2007.

Spoiler for MANOHA:

We just got the package and now trying it on. The guy is a friend of mine. Poor soul. No wig though, but we got that ready for the actual con.


Surprisingly, it fit well.


Though I'm going nowhere near him.


Manoha attacks! Agh that poor guy.


Manoha befriends! Agh that poor guy. (Also to note, I made that staff in two days with $30 of materials.)


There's something horribly wrong with this image...

[Kha]

Originally Posted by LimitedEternal

Should I be worried???

Never fear; that lichking!Kha is only for Negiha. Different experiences will always result in a different Kha.

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

...

*Shackles Kha and incinerates him before stuffing his remains into a very tiny urn*

*resurrects from urn*

You don't like me when I'm dead.

Originally Posted by Tempest Dynasty

Ahh Otakon.

It was indeed fun.

The lack of Nanoha is mostly because it's not a massively popular series like Naruto or Bleach is, and despite all the groaning and eye rolling no one can deny its sheer growth and acceptance through the populace. Also, Nanoha isn't released yet in the States, so widespread exposure is still minimal.

I have a few pics too, but as I've said in IRC, I'm not that great of a photographer.

Spoiler for Otakon~:

Cadians Gather! That line outside wrapped around the block a few times.


Now in Artist Alley!


I think this guy is a pilot of sorts.


Raptor Jesus!


Yuyuko!


Who are these guys? (Yes, that's me in the right. TK is bloody tall.)

Now I'm warning you, what you may see below may hurt more than just your eyes. The following images were taking at Otakon 2007.

Spoiler for MANOHA:

We just got the package and now trying it on. The guy is a friend of mine. Poor soul. No wig though, but we got that ready for the actual con.


Surprisingly, it fit well.


Though I'm going nowhere near him.


Manoha attacks! Agh that poor guy.


Manoha befriends! Agh that poor guy. (Also to note, I made that staff in two days with $30 of materials.)


There's something horribly wrong with this image...

Wow really good pics. And nice to see you've met up with TK there. Wish I could fly out during term time. Or even outside of term time.

Now let's see...

*opens the NSFW pics, eats a Penetrating Hit, and suffers a Vehicle Explodes result*

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

Originally Posted by Kha

*resurrects from urn*

You don't like me when I'm de-

Spoiler for boom:

"We don't like you when you're alive..."

*opens the NSFW pics, eats a Penetrating Hit, and suffers a Vehicle Explodes result*

Seems familliar...

Spoiler for dejavu:

EDIT IN: (I'm bored, entertain me minions!)

Curiosity:

What would it take for Nanoha to want to 'KILL' someone?

[THE JOKER]
And when I say 'Kill', I mean, have absolutely no regrets as to the decision, and no hesitation to put a knife right through some sorry bastard's throat for whatever offense it may end up requiring. No 'starlight breaker, life imprisonment, or divine buster ultimate rage with a trial and trip to Death Row' kind of treatments. Just straight up, clear and simple, 'now you die' cold blooded killer mode that makes 'White Devil' look like a saint...
And of course, it cannot simply be a retaliatory on the spot response, but a pre-meditated cold blooded action perhaps days, weeks, or months later.

What would be the absolute minimum one would have to do to Nanoha to achieve this result?
[/THE JOKER]

NANOHA: *Looking at the night sky, but backlit by burning wreckage* "I don't know where you are, or when I'll see you again... but I'm going to kill you. And I'm going to enjoy... killing you. And on that day, there won't be anyone who will stop me. For what you have done to me, is unforgivable, and unforgettable. And at the end, I will see you, in HELL."

[Estavali]

Following up on the offenders' ID cards I copypasta-ed, here's Lutecia's card which I missed out the last time:



To those who were in the IRC channel with me the day before, it seems that Lu's magus rank is S-rank and that her punishment did involve a 6-rank-drop limiter. Makes one wonder if she was also holding back like what the Knights did in A's.

[Tormenk]

Provoking Nanoha to kill is the same with Batman I suppose. =l Though a possible situation is that the certain someone hurt and crippled her friends/family. After a extended period of emotional trauma of course.

Lutecia being a S-ranker was unexpected. Looks like Katrina taught her well before leaving.

[Evangelion Xgouki]

Originally Posted by Tempest Dynasty

Ahh Otakon.

It was indeed fun.

The lack of Nanoha is mostly because it's not a massively popular series like Naruto or Bleach is, and despite all the groaning and eye rolling no one can deny its sheer growth and acceptance through the populace. Also, Nanoha isn't released yet in the States, so widespread exposure is still minimal.

I have a few pics too, but as I've said in IRC, I'm not that great of a photographer.

Spoiler for Otakon~:

Cadians Gather! That line outside wrapped around the block a few times.


Now in Artist Alley!


I think this guy is a pilot of sorts.


Raptor Jesus!


Yuyuko!


Who are these guys? (That's me with the Laughing Man thing over my head. I'm shy )

Now I'm warning you, what you may see below may hurt more than just your eyes. The following images were taking at Otakon 2007.

Spoiler for MANOHA:

We just got the package and now trying it on. The guy is a friend of mine. Poor soul. No wig though, but we got that ready for the actual con.


Surprisingly, it fit well.


Though I'm going nowhere near him.


Manoha attacks! Agh that poor guy.


Manoha befriends! Agh that poor guy. (Also to note, I made that staff in two days with $30 of materials.)


There's something horribly wrong with this image...

Ah, good times. Good times

Originally Posted by Kha

Never fear; that lichking!Kha is only for Negiha. Different experiences will always result in a different Kha.

So when will we get Macross Frontier Bobby!Kha?

*RUNZ*

Originally Posted by Kha

Wow really good pics. And nice to see you've met up with TK there. Wish I could fly out during term time. Or even outside of term time.

Come to Anime Expo next year. It's closer to you

Originally Posted by Kha

Now let's see...

*opens the NSFW pics, eats a Penetrating Hit, and suffers a Vehicle Explodes result*

It's not that bad . There are worse things out there...

Originally Posted by Tormenk

Lutecia being a S-ranker was unexpected. Looks like Katrina taught her well before leaving.

Indeed

[Kha]

Bobby!Kha was in another series, but give me enough Khrack I'll see how to make one for this universe.

[Evangelion Xgouki]

Originally Posted by Kha

Bobby!Kha was in another series, but give me enough Khrack I'll see how to make one for this universe.

Hmm...Kha fighting with Keroko over clothes during a big sale...

[Kha]

Keroko: Cool 90% off Levitar jeans. MINE!
Bobby!Kha: I touched the leg first!
Keroko: Hands off gay-ass.
Bobby!Kha: Metro is not gay!



Only problem is, does not compute.

Bobby!Kha's incarnation appears in ancient Japan in the year 1918, as a friend, and later wingman, of one male leading Koubu pilot who can barely take his antics at times. Bobby!Kha's famous (or infamous) for acting the female roles in theatre, sometimes even out-doing Maria at being a man.

And he loves making hotblooded renditions of love songs. <.<

And if you haven't got the hint, Fuse Kanzaki "Onna no Ka" is from Sakura Daisen. So, where can we find a sale to fight over?

[Comartemis]

Originally Posted by AdmiralTigerclaw

What would it take for Nanoha to want to 'KILL' someone?

[THE JOKER]
And when I say 'Kill', I mean, have absolutely no regrets as to the decision, and no hesitation to put a knife right through some sorry bastard's throat for whatever offense it may end up requiring. No 'starlight breaker, life imprisonment, or divine buster ultimate rage with a trial and trip to Death Row' kind of treatments. Just straight up, clear and simple, 'now you die' cold blooded killer mode that makes 'White Devil' look like a saint...
And of course, it cannot simply be a retaliatory on the spot response, but a pre-meditated cold blooded action perhaps days, weeks, or months later.

What would be the absolute minimum one would have to do to Nanoha to achieve this result?
[/THE JOKER]

NANOHA: *Looking at the night sky, but backlit by burning wreckage* "I don't know where you are, or when I'll see you again... but I'm going to kill you. And I'm going to enjoy... killing you. And on that day, there won't be anyone who will stop me. For what you have done to me, is unforgivable, and unforgettable. And at the end, I will see you, in HELL."

You can start with hurting Vivio. And I don't mean "strap her to a chair and make her power the Cradle" hurt her, I mean something traumatizing, preferably something sexual. And send her some grisly evidence of the deed like those terrorists do in Goose's "Soldiers of the Wasteland". At that point I am very certain that it will not be enough for Nanoha to see the bastard in prison or hanging from the tallest tree; she'll do the deed with her own two hands as surely as the sun rises, and the whole goddamn TSA won't be able to stop her.

[ghazghkull]

Originally Posted by Comartemis

You can start with hurting Vivio. And I don't mean "strap her to a chair and make her power the Cradle" hurt her, I mean something traumatizing, preferably something sexual. And send her some grisly evidence of the deed like those terrorists do in Goose's "Soldiers of the Wasteland". At that point I am very certain that it will not be enough for Nanoha to see the bastard in prison or hanging from the tallest tree; she'll do the deed with her own two hands as surely as the sun rises, and the whole goddamn TSA won't be able to stop her.

Well start with Vivio, advance to her family and friends, and then fate for the coup de gras (sp?). Basically in terms of Nanoha, since she's quite the idealistic character, you'd have to utterly break her to force her into that state.

Leave her with nothing left. Leave her to the state of no return, and she'll gladly put a knife through the throat of anyone who's wronged her.

[Saint X]

Originally Posted by ghazghkull

Well start with Vivio, advance to her family and friends, and then fate for the coup de gras (sp?). Basically in terms of Nanoha, since she's quite the idealistic character, you'd have to utterly break her to force her into that state.

Leave her with nothing left. Leave her to the state of no return, and she'll gladly put a knife through the throat of anyone who's wronged her.

And create a Shadow Mirror Nanoha that will begin to kill in other dimensions without mercy and so on until she is The One Remaining.

Bad End for all of us.

[tshouryuu]

Sort of bored and just decided to do something silly like make a new magic system for absolutely no rhyme or reason

Spoiler for Kardia Magic system (NOT Khardia):

Magic System:
The Kardia Magic system is a system that has never really gain much in turn of influence and in turn its practitioners are few and varied. Card Meisters as its practitioners are known as, are often device meisters with very weak mage powers but great knowledge of spells due to the strengths and weakness of the system. One of the more defining features of the Kardia system is the the sheer number of devices which gives its practitioners a great deal of versatility.

Devices:
The system is generally made up of 3 components, a certain number of cards, a book and a staff which are all usually storage devices.

The main part of the Kardia system are the cards. Similar in all ways to temporary spell cards, Kardia cards however are inscribed with permanent magic arrays and then entirely optimized for each individual base spell, technically making each card a device. Charged with Mana, this allows a user to used the stored spell without expanding their own mana.

The book portion of the system is basically the physical storage medium of the cards. It usually also acts like a recharging port for the cards so that cards that have expanded the mana stored can be recharged. The user usually charges the book when they have the time and resources to do so. Most such devices has an ability to summon out cards based on the needs of the user at that time.

Although the staff portion of the Kardia magic system isn't very impressive, this is actually the portion that gives the system additional versatility. While the cards store the individual base spells, the staff stores the type variations. For example, the card itself stores the base spell for [Wind], the staff stores the variations like Bind type, Barrier type, Buster type etc and the resulting spell that is unleashed is [Wind bind], [Wind barrier], [Wind Buster] etc. Some users have installed an AI for easier usage.

Advantages:
[Sheer versatility] aka Unlimited powwa!! - The more base spells and type variations a user has, the more spells they have available.
[Expands little personal mana] aka Weaklings friendly - Since mana is stored in the cards, the only mana expanded are only for Barrier Jackets and activation of devices.
[No need for a powerful mage] aka Cartoonishly powerful mages, buzz off - See above.

Disadvantages:
[Array inscription] aka No dumb ass - This is required so that in inscribing the base spells, there will be minimal unforeseen side effects.
[Devices knowledge] aka No dumb ass redux - As the system is made up of multiple devices, this is to allow optimization of the system as well as repairing any damaged system.
[Maintenance nightmare] aka Keep ATC's OC Crash away!! - Each device is so finely tuned that it is a headache to repair and maintain.
[Recharge times] aka Why can't A/C power work - Since the system uses the stored mana in the cards, the user has to recharge the book portion after every use of the card devices as the cards draw mana from the book to recharge themselves.

[Wild Goose]

Originally Posted by Comartemis

You can start with hurting Vivio. And I don't mean "strap her to a chair and make her power the Cradle" hurt her, I mean something traumatizing, preferably something sexual. And send her some grisly evidence of the deed like those terrorists do in Goose's "Soldiers of the Wasteland". At that point I am very certain that it will not be enough for Nanoha to see the bastard in prison or hanging from the tallest tree; she'll do the deed with her own two hands as surely as the sun rises, and the whole goddamn TSA won't be able to stop her.

Just one thing I want to correct here: those fellas were Saint Church cultists following an extremist, twisted interpretation of a certain Cleric's interpretation and teachings on the Saint Church.

Terrorists act to sow terror. These people?

They're going to free the Sankt Kaiser from the shackles of the vessel where her essence is trapped in. And when the vessel is shattered, the Sankt Kaiser will emerge...

[Evangelion Xgouki]

Originally Posted by tshouryuu

Sort of bored and just decided to do something silly like make a new magic system for absolutely no rhyme or reason

Spoiler for Kardia Magic system (NOT Khardia):

Magic System:
The Kardia Magic system is a system that has never really gain much in turn of influence and in turn its practitioners are few and varied. Card Meisters as its practitioners are known as, are often device meisters with very weak mage powers but great knowledge of spells due to the strengths and weakness of the system. One of the more defining features of the Kardia system is the the sheer number of devices which gives its practitioners a great deal of versatility.

Devices:
The system is generally made up of 3 components, a certain number of cards, a book and a staff which are all usually storage devices.

The main part of the Kardia system are the cards. Similar in all ways to temporary spell cards, Kardia cards however are inscribed with permanent magic arrays and then entirely optimized for each individual base spell, technically making each card a device. Charged with Mana, this allows a user to used the stored spell without expanding their own mana.

The book portion of the system is basically the physical storage medium of the cards. It usually also acts like a recharging port for the cards so that cards that have expanded the mana stored can be recharged. The user usually charges the book when they have the time and resources to do so. Most such devices has an ability to summon out cards based on the needs of the user at that time.

Although the staff portion of the Kardia magic system isn't very impressive, this is actually the portion that gives the system additional versatility. While the cards store the individual base spells, the staff stores the type variations. For example, the card itself stores the base spell for [Wind], the staff stores the variations like Bind type, Barrier type, Buster type etc and the resulting spell that is unleashed is [Wind bind], [Wind barrier], [Wind Buster] etc. Some users have installed an AI for easier usage.

Advantages:
[Sheer versatility] aka Unlimited powwa!! - The more base spells and type variations a user has, the more spells they have available.
[Expands little personal mana] aka Weaklings friendly - Since mana is stored in the cards, the only mana expanded are only for Barrier Jackets and activation of devices.
[No need for a powerful mage] aka Cartoonishly powerful mages, buzz off - See above.

Disadvantages:
[Array inscription] aka No dumb ass - This is required so that in inscribing the base spells, there will be minimal unforeseen side effects.
[Devices knowledge] aka No dumb ass redux - As the system is made up of multiple devices, this is to allow optimization of the system as well as repairing any damaged system.
[Maintenance nightmare] aka Keep ATC's OC Crash away!! - Each device is so finely tuned that it is a headache to repair and maintain.
[Recharge times] aka Why can't A/C power work - Since the system uses the stored mana in the cards, the user has to recharge the book portion after every use of the card devices as the cards draw mana from the book to recharge themselves.

Very interesting. I've toyed around with the idea of a card-based system before and this pretty much covers it . Though I wonder if a cartridge system could be integrated into it, like to be used as an emergency re-charge for the card(s). It would probably make repairing after a real b**ch though

[Kha]

Lol Khardia. Since the experimental Chapter Approved profile regarding Sakura Zaki's Sakura Cards is part of Kha's Codex, I guess its rather apt.

Titbit: She's going to get her own Codex and Independent Character status in 5th Edition, so even more thoughts about this Belka's adaptation of Kardia magic coming soon.

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

Just one thing I want to correct here: those fellas were Saint Church cultists following an extremist, twisted interpretation of a certain Cleric's interpretation and teachings on the Saint Church.

Terrorists act to sow terror. These people?

They're going to free the Sankt Kaiser from the shackles of the vessel where her essence is trapped in. And when the vessel is shattered, the Sankt Kaiser will emerge...

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!

*runs*

[Satty]

Back from my vacation in the Philippines...and also finished with SearcherS chapter 13 too! To be honest, I still have an uncomfortable feeling with the 13th chapter in terms of it's writing, but I think it's because I'm still relatively new.

Anyway...I'm also adding Chapter 12 in for a reason: 13 can't be really well understood with 12, so here it is. 12 doesn't have the special effects...it's just cut-and-paste.

Spoiler for SearcherS 12:

Saturday, August, 8, MC 0075
8:10 P.M.

Everyone was silent as the Raven flew along the night sky, heading to its destination. Everyone knew what was happening, everyone hoped that all of them would come back out alive. Satoshi was well aware of the situation, and he too was staying silent. He looked at everyone inside the helicopter, closely watching their movements. The Major and Captain Stada were staring at the sky, wondering about something. From the small opening, he could see Scuderia, piloting the very same helicopter that nearly was destroyed last time, seriousness on his face. Looking on the other squad, he could see Arvis using his magic style in very small amounts, making some small marbles float. Lian was spinning one of her Devices around on her index finger. Anne was busy loading and reloading her own Device for any defects, checking to see if anything went wrong. Nobuyuki was sleeping, as always.

Looking away at everyone to see the sky for a few seconds, he turned back to see his own squad. Vincent was looking at the floor, seemingly in deep thought. Satsuki was also looking at the floor, taking quick glances at Vincent from time to time. Margaret had her glasses off, placing them on her lap, staring at them. Looking towards Sydney, he could see her holding both of her Devices in their sealed forms, giving a sigh before closeing her hand. Something in his head made him stare at the pendant that Sydney gave to him a while ago, still thinking about what in the world did he see.

“Hey, at least this thing’s back on the air, right?” Scuderia shouted out, breaking the silence. Satoshi quickly noticed it, and he hit one of the panels hard. “Let’s see if you can keep it that way now.”

“Cut me some slack, man. I could easily drop you off here out in the sky.” Scuderia retorted.

“Fine, I’ll meet you there, then.” Everyone gave a smile and a small chuckle, at least, and then the Major started to give out the mission objectives.

“Alright then, reports have indicated that Gadget Drones and Replica soldiers have been seen at a group of abandoned building clustered together near the outskirts of the city. Other units have sealed the perimeter, so there’s no worry about the escaping.”

“So, it’s a ‘go in, clear out, go home’ type of mission?” Arvis asked. “Sounds easy enough.”

“What’s the plan, then?” Anne added, knocking Nobuyuki out of his sleep with a well-placed elbow.

“There’s three wings on the complex: the west, north, and east wings. The southern part of the complex is where your squad is going to land, Anne. Your job is to go to the north wing and clear it out.” Turning over to Satoshi, he continued. “Satoshi, you and your squad are landing on the north wing’s roof first; your job is to clear out any opposition on the rooftops, then search the west wing.”

“And what about you two?” Vincent asked. “You gonna stay in this helicopter and sit your butts off?”

“No, we’re actually doing something today. I’m landing with you, Captain Stada’s landing with them; either way, we’re clearing out the east wing for you. How’s that sound?”

“Perfect.”

Scuderia interrupted the Major, saying, “We’re near the complex. I suggest everyone get ready.”

In a flash, everybody was ready to fight, just waiting to actually land and get this over with. “Hey, you don’t think…?” Lian said, apparently worried about something. “What is it you’re worried about?” Satsuki asked.

“Those Numbers everyone’s talking about; I wonder if they’re there?”

“You mean the ones that tried to take down RF6’s helicopter a while ago?” Scuderia answered. “Those ones, yeah.” Satoshi and Sydney had heard of them from Nanoha and Fate themselves. “Hey…” Sydney said to Satoshi telepathically, “you really think they’re there?”

“If they are, that’s gonna be a problem.”

“I see…”

“Well, let’s hope they’re not there.”

“I don’t think so. Why would they be here?” Anne answered. “It’s not like they don’t have any Relics or anything to steal.”

“That’s true.” Nobuyuki added. “Wish Scagletti himself would show up; I would like to give him one for all of this trouble before sending him to Haralown.”

“If he did, it’d make our job much more easier.” Rachel replied. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

“Hey, cut the chatter. We’re almost there.” Scuderia finally said, and everyone went back to silence. “Over the complex in 5.” he added, before several shots zoomed in front of him from the right side. “Damn it, they’re firing on us…Blitz Stiker, get those Troikas firing now!”

“[Roger that, chief.]” The guns started firing at the small group bunched up on the right. Within seconds, most of them had either scattered or were already dead/ destroyed. The chopper hovered on top of the roof, ready to drop off its first occupants off. “Alright, let’s go. Remember, whatever you do, as long as you go with the plan, it’s okay by me.” the Major said before being the first one off. “Sky Squad, let’s move!” Satoshi yelled out, everyone jumping off the next second. The Raven flew off, preparing to drop off everyone else.

Meanwhile, the Major started clearing out the roof, taking out another group that was unlucky to get in front of his Needler spell. He turned around to see one Replica soldier start to aim at him. Quickly, he grabbed the unlucky soldier, and threw her into three others, knocking them down.

“Schenelles Feuer.” (Rapid Fire) Margaret said, letting a burst take out two Gadget Drones. Satsuki was already set up at the edge of the building, finding for any targets that could hurt the others. She found one sniper, and shot at the gun, taking it out of the sniper’s hands. Finding another, she disarmed that one, too.

“You guys…” Vincent said in an annoyed tone to another group of Replicas and Drones nearby, “you just have to wreck a perfectly good day to rest! Shell Bullet,
Blattform!(Bladeform!) Spatz Flieger (Sparrow Flyer)!” “[ich verstehe schon…]” (I get it…) Several projectiles went towards them, but only hit the Drones, disappearing into the distance and not even laying a scratch on the Replicas. Switching back to Faustform, he got into a sprinting position. “Sprinten sie Schnell (Quick Sprint).” he muttered before dashing towards all of them. “Schrotflinte Faust (Shotgun Fist)!” he yelled, firing a spread of projectiles that hit all of them. “Serves you right…”

Sydney and Satoshi were side-by-side, clearing out the rest of them from the roof. Taking out one of them easily, Sydney started to take out another two on the left of her, starting to fire. Their shots harmlessly went off into the air as two Shadow Blades struck them at the same time. Turning back to Satoshi, she saw that another one was aiming straight at him. “Satoshi, dive right!” she yelled, crouching down and aiming Equinox. “Ice Bullet…” A burst from Equinox a moment later, and the same Replica went down with all 4 hitting in the head. Satoshi dived right, rolling on his side and getting up. Looking back, he saw another Replica firing at him. “Mach Move.” he quietly said, quickly heading towards the Replica in a zigzag pattern. Trying to shoot him, it was in vain, as Satoshi stabbed her a second later, slashing horizontally and taking out the last Drone, unintentionally, in the process.

Seeing that the roof was clear, the Major called over to Rachel. “How are things on your end?”

“Not the best, but it’s better than nothing.” she replied, taking cover on a wall nearby. Trying to look out, she could see someone with something that looked like a gun emplacement before several scattered bullets hit another nearby, forcing her to get back to cover. On the right of her was the whole of Thunder Squad, also taking cover on another wall nearby. Amidst the fire, Rachel could see Nobuyuki mention something to Arvis. He nodded, then got out of cover, using his Shield spell to block all of the bullets going at him. A shot from Anne a second later silenced the emplacement permanently.

“Now we’re going in. See you there.” Starting to move in, more Replicas popped out of the surrounding buildings, firing at all of them while moving in. A couple of Shields from Arvis managed to stop them from getting turned into dead bodies again, while Lian prepared to take them all down. “Azura, let’s get to it.”

“[Gut (Got it.). Explosion.]” Lian wasted no time casting Bombenstoß (Bomblet Burst) and sending Azura to them. The little shards spread out, bursting just inches of the Replicas. As soon as the explosions occurred, Anne, Nobuyuki, and Rachel dashed out of cover and started to take out the remaining Replicas. Stabbing one in the back with the elbow blade, Rachel saw two more of them aiming at both Nobuyuki and Anne. “You two, move to cover!” she said quickly while quickly casting one of her spells. “False Cross…”

Two cartridges ejected out as Rachel threw the cross-shaped projectile at both of them. The spell did the trick as the two Replicas were concerned for the incoming projectile, unaware that several smaller ones were being hidden from sight. The smaller ones tore them up quickly, saving both Anne and Nobuyuki from taking some fire. “Geez, just because of two of these guys…” Nobuyuki said to her telepathically, extending his right arm while a black circle appeared below him, “…you have to leave yourself open to one.” Looking back, Rachel could see a lifeless body of a Replica hanging by shadows. The body let go of a small knife, intended to backstab her when she didn’t notice. “Thanks. Really.” she replied back telepathically, relieved.

“Just doing….” he replied back, taking down two other Replicas through his spears behind him while disarming and stabbing another one in the chest, “my job.” Three started to fire at him, but another barrage of his spears coupled with Shadow Pierce took care of all three quickly. Near his right, Arvis was taking on some other Replicas. With a pulling motion, he took one of their guns out of their hands and opened fire on each of them. Using his Shield power to defend himself, in a matter of seconds, he killed them all, dropping the gun to the ground. On his right was Lian, using Drahtfessel on her Device as a lethal yo-yo to cut up three of them.

Taking a second to look in the courtyard, everything was clear. Taking the opportunity, she reported to the Major. “Courtyard clear. We can move in, Major.”

“That’s good to hear. Alright, move out.” Turing to Sky Squad, he mentioned quietly to move into a rooftop door leading into the west wing. Nodding, Satoshi motioned everyone to go through first. Everyone understood what needed to be done, and moved there quickly. As they went in, the Major grabbed Satoshi on his shoulder before he went inside. “Be careful in there, boy.”

“Huh? Wha-“

“Don’t talk, just listen. I got a bad feeling about this whole mission, but I feel like there’s something there you don’t want to know about you.”

“What are you talking about?” Satoshi asked quickly, confused. “Just a feeling. It may be nothing anyway. Go, get with your squad.” As the Major saw him enter the door, though, something started to bother him. “If Sion’s here…we may have something on our hands…” he thought before heading to meet up with Rachel.

Saturday, August 8, MC 0075
8:31 P.M.

“Damn these small, splitting corridors. They’re good for work, but they’re deathtraps in situations like these.” Vincent said, sighing after that outburst. They had been in the west wing of the building, having been attacked by groups of tow Replicas at random times.

“Think about it this way: it’s a deathtrap for them, too.” Satoshi replied, smiling a bit.

“Yeah… if we could get them in here.”

“Come on, you two, let’s get focused here.” Sydney said to both of them, simultaneously casting Area Search in order to see if anyone else was about to give them a surprise. “No one’s showing up.” she said quietly, relieved.

“Bastards probably chickened out.” Vincent said in a cocky tone, grinning. “They don’t have the balls to face up after we kill some of them. I thin-.” An elbow from Margaret to the right side of his ribs shut him up quite nicely, and he staggered to the side a bit, clutching his right side. “Agh!” Turning he head, he saw Margaret looking towards the rest, a small grin on her face. “Damn Unison Device…” Getting up, he sighed and started to catch up with the rest. “Why is Margaret with Satsuki anyway?” Vincent thought to himself. “She doesn’t know Neo-Belka; Margaret can’t unison with her.” His thoughts were stopped again, this time because everyone else stopped.

“A two-way intersection…nice.” Satoshi said to everyone in a cynical tone. “Great. I never wanted to split up, anyway. Anyway, Cipher?”

“[Yeah, what is it?]” the Device said instantly. “Switch to Pix; I’m gonna need his ease of maneuverability.”

“[Roger that. Switching.]” In a flash, Pixy took over for Cipher, and his shotgun-like form was in Satoshi’s left hand while he guided with his right. “Here’s the deal: Syd, you take both Satsuki and Margaret and go to the right. Vince and I will take the left.”

“Gotcha.” Sydney said, looking at him. “Just be careful, alright?” she added, concerned.

“Aren’t I always?” Satoshi replied with a smile as he raised Pixy and took point, with Vincent following after him. Seeing him move into the corridor, she couldn’t help but think about what happened to him at this day. “I hope you’re right…”

Turning to Satsuki and Margaret, she said, “Anyway, Satsuki, Margaret, follow me.” Nodding, all of them went to the right.

Saturday, August 8, MC 0075
8:33 P.M.

“Boring so far…” Nobuyuki muttered to himself as both he and Anne were slowly walking, still cautious about any other attacks. “Just focus on what’s happening now.” Anne quickly replied, quickly closing what she thought as his whining. “Geez…fine, fine.” Ignoring her for a second, he called both Arvis and Lian, who were on the other side of the same floor. “So, how are you guys doing?”

“Not bad.” Arvis said, kicking the body of a Replica to see if she didn’t respond. “We ran into a couple of Replicas, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Good, at least you guys got something to do.”

“Still, it’s not what I expect to be a time-killer. I-.” he replied before he suddenly went quiet. “Hey, Arvis, ARVIS!” Nobuyuki yelled before Lian reported back. “Something’s happened, Arvis got knocked out. I don’t…”Lian said in desperation before continuing again, “know what’s going on, but- You’re-.” Nothing from her was heard after that. After calling out both of their names, Nobuyuki knew it was useless to do so. “Come on, they’re may be time left for them.” he said to Anne quickly, running to the place where both Arvis and Lian were. Getting to the entrance, Anne quickly went in, seeing both Arvis and Lian on the ground, unconscious, and a man in a black trenchcoat and sunglasses with a crimson sword trying to finish off Lian. Without time to even think, she shot off the sword out of his hand. Someone was waiting and ready, though, because a shot rang out, narrowly missing Anne’s head. Looking back, she realized that Nobuyuki was not inside; the door had closed shut.

Two others then came out of the shadows; one of them had a hooded cloak and was pointing a compact sniper rifle at her, her face impossible to discern, while the other was wearing a black coat and tinted glasses and had no Device of any sort. The one without the Device picking up the sword Anne had shot out, handing it back to the one in the black trenchcoat. “Wait a minute…” she thought, knowing instantly that she had seen them before. “So, you’re the three I saw a while ago.” she said to them, pointing her own Device at all of them. “Who are you and what are you doing here? Are you with that Scagletti guy?”

“Heh, him?” The one in the trenchcoat replied, almost as if Anne’s question was a joke. “We don’t deal with freaks like him. We have another purpose on why we’re here.”

“Then why don’t you tell me before I start shooting?”


“Like I would.” The one in the trenchcoat mentioned the person without a Device to get back, then he prepared to fight with his sword. “Now…let’s see if you can live out of this.”

Anne stayed silent; she knew that she was very likely she wouldn’t leave through the room. But for the sake of Arvis and Lian, she had to survive, or at least let them live.

Nobuyuki, from the other side of the door, chuckled silently, for he knew that everything was going as intended. “As long they follow orders, she’ll be fine…as for Scagletti’s proposition, though, it might be fun to see Satoshi have his hands full…might as well see.” he thought as he started to leave.

Saturday, August 8 MC 0075
8:37 P.M.

“No one here…” Alexi muttered as he and Rachel moved into another room. For a while now, there was no resistance; it was like the whole place was empty. “Again and again; we probably stepped into the wrong building or something.” Rachel said, joking about their current situation.

As they walked along slowly, the Major said, “Where I lived, there exists a saying that the place is ‘quiet…too quiet’.”

“A trap?”

“Maybe…” Taking a few steps forward, a glint alerted Alexi that something was about to happen. He sidestepped out of the way as a couple of playing cards cut into the grund beneath him, disappearing as quickly as they came in. “Better for you to come out of the shadows yourself, Asteright, than for me to flush you out.”

“And where’s the fun in that?” Asteright dropped out from above, landing directly in front of the two. “I would have needed the exercise.” Shuffling the deck of cards in his hand, he then threw one between the Major and Rachel, into a wall behind them. “Oh well, at least both of you and I will have some fun today.” Suddenly, red orbs appeared, surrounding all three of them. They came out, with guns pointed at both the Major and Rachel. “Stealth Replicas. Nice way to make an ambush, don’t you think?”

Alexi said nothing, but noticing Rachel, he knew that she was going to try and attack him in the next second or two.

“Don’t try it.” he said to her telepathically. “Those guns will tear you to pieces.”

“But-He’s the one...”

“I know. Look, don’t get foolhardy and go in. Even with magic spells, numbers and the fact that we’re surrounded is more than enough. Let’s just see what he wants. Besides, if you go, I’ll have to go too. Remember, I already made your sister a promise. I’m gonna keep it to the end.”

Hesitating, she finally agreed to it after a second. “Good.” Focusing on Asteright, he then said, “So, let me guess, if we try to leave, we’ll get shot.”

“You got it.”

“The only way out is to fight you then, huh?” Asteright grinned, and then raised his right arm, motioning for the Replicas to go. Immediately, the Replicas backed away, still aiming their guns at both of them. “Thought as much…”

“Rachel, looks like you get your chance today.” Alexi commented, getting Potemkin ready by discharging 3 cartridges. She smiled and discharged two cartridges from Fixer.

“Heh, falling for the bait, huh? I’ll keep you guys busy.” Asteright thought as he shuffled out his deck, ready to fight. “Sion, you better make this gamble work, or I’ll be sure to get you. As for Hollow…let her do whatever she wants.”

Saturday, August 8, MC 0075
8:40 P.M.

“Anything there?” Sydney asked Margaret, covering the hallway ahead of them to the left. “Nothing.”

“What about on the right?” she then asked to Satsuki. “Nope, nothing.”

“Alright…let’s go.” Telling both of them to move towards a door nearby, Sydney could only think about the fact that nothing seemed to be here. “It’s strange…nothing seems to be here, but I feel like someone’s been watching all of us….wait.”

Stopping, she turned around to her back, and told both Satsuki and Margaret, “Go ahead. I’ll be staying here.”

“Wha-Why?” Satsuki asked, confused. “I said go! Don’t ask, just go!”

Hesitantly, Satsuki went through the door to the next room, taking Margaret with her.

“Good, they’re in…must have-.”

“You know that you led them into a trap.” a robotic voice said to her. Noticing a glint, Sydney ducked and moved away from where the voice came out, seeing a lock of her hair fall out. Getting back up, she noticed who the voice belonged to. “It can’t be….Wolf…” she thought, shocked that he was still here.

“Yacoby? How did you? I thought-.”

“I can’t die…not yet.” he replied, interrupting her. “What are you-?”

“I still have orders to do.” was his answer. “And what are those?”

“To keep you busy.” he replied before going straight at her, trying to stab her with his blade. She moved to the side, grabbing his arm and disarming him. He retaliated with a kick to the stomach, which sent her to the ground instantly. She only had time to aim Equinox onto Wolf, for he was also aiming at her with a blaster on his left arm. Sydney stayed where she was: he had a better chance of killing her than she did killing him.

“So, did Scageltti give you these orders?” she asked, wanting to know who sent him.

“No, not him.”

“Then who?”

“That is not what you should be concerned about.”

“Then what, huh? What should I be concerned about?”

After a moment of silence, Wolf started to talk. “This place is a trap, for all of you. They’ll be sure to kill you all. Except one.”

“One? Who?”

“You know who that ‘one’ is, don’t you? He’s the only one that matters to him.”

Sydney suddenly knew who Wolf was talking about, something that she wished that she didn’t know. “No…not him…” she said quietly. She felt guilty now, not for being in this situation, but because she knew something that she should have told him. She stayed silent, then asked, “Why are you helping Scagletti, then? Why?”

“We have our own reasons. Now…” he jumped back a little bit away from Sydney, giving her time to get up. “I still have to keep you busy. You’re no use to me dead.”

Getting up, she could only think of one person besides Wolf.

“Satoshi….”

Saturday, August 8, MC 0075
8:43 P.M.

Carefully, both Satsuki and Margaret moved towards the right side of the lobby they were in, trying to not attract attention from anyone else. Taking cover behind some columns, Satsuki took a look around the right side, and after a couple of seconds, she silently motioned Margaret to go ahead. Nodding, she did, reaching the door nearby. She tried to open the door, but strangely, it wouldn’t budge.

“Hey, Sat-chan, this door…” she said, pulling the handle, “won’t…open!” She stopped pulling it and started to kick the door down. The door still stayed shut.

“What are you talking about?” Satsuki replied, confused. She also tried to open the door, but it still didn’t move. Suddenly, Satsuki stopped trying to open the door. Slowly, she let go of the handle. Whispering, she said to Margaret, “on 3, move to the right.”

Margaret almost spoke before noticing the reflection on the handle itself: it showed a silhouette of someone, pointing something behind them. She didn’t turn around; that would expose the fact that both of them would know that they were there.

Satsuki started counting quickly. “One, two…three!” Both of them got away from the door, as a shot hit the door, near where they were standing. In an instant, they were taking cover on the columns, trying to find out where the shot came from. Several other shots were fired by, pinning both of them down. The fire stopped coming at both of them as suddenly as it came in, leaving both of them to wonder what was happening. “Is it-.” Margaret asked herself before two disk-like shaped objects stuck on the wall near them.

“Don’t tell me that’s-.”

Both of them ran out of cover quickly, trying to not get blown into pieces. They thought those disks were explosives. It was a really clever error in judgment. Aiming at the silhouette quickly, Satsuki was ready to fire at it. She took a shot at it quickly, but couldn’t tell if she hit it, because something else appeared that took her attention away from the silhouette. As soon as she turned her head to take another look, several binds sprouted out of the ground under her. She couldn’t back out; she was binded tightly, her Device on the floor near her.

“Satsuki!” Margaret yelled to her in panic, but someone managed to kick her in the back of the left leg, and grab her, holding a knife near her throat. Looking back, she knew who it was. “July…” she said with disgust.

“If that’s July, then…” Satsuki realized before Hollow herself came out of the shadows, holding a rope. Letting it go, the silhouette fell to the ground, revealing itself as an already-dead Replica with a sniper rifle.

“Silly…” Hollow muttered as she walked towards Satsuki. “Or maybe stupid, following idiotic orders to be sent inside a building with that with you.” she added, referring to Ellis, lying harmlessly on the ground near Satsuki.
“Maybe I should kill you now and get it over with….” she added, before turning around. “But that wouldn’t be nice to my sister, wouldn’t it?” Reverting her Device to its sealed state, Hollow dropped her right arm to her side, letting Satsuki see how it looked like.

“No way…that’s…” She looked at it in shock, turning her head slowly to her own Device. “A mirror image….the only person that has it is…”

“You’re lying! You can’t be her!”

Turning around, Hollow took out from a pocket an old photo, from years past, and showed it to Satsuki. It was crumpled and losing its color, but it still was easy to distinguish who the people were.

“Mother…Father…” Satsuki muttered in shock and horror, realizing that she was telling the truth.

“But…but why? Why are you working for Scagletti, Nina!?!”

Hollow didn’t respond for a second or two before she turned around, her Device activated again, and started to point it at her again for the second time.

“Even though…even though you’re my sister…you’re still a member of the TSAB. I must kill you.”

Satsuki could only think of one thing in her mind. “Why? Why did you become like this?” She suddenly managed to break out of her binds, and in an instant, without even thinking about it, reached for her own Device. Hollow could only fire one shot, grazing Satsuki’s head before she managed to get her Device back, pointing it at Hollow herself.

At the same time, Margaret broke out of July’s hold on her, putting two rounds onto his leg. In return, he managed to get a lucky stab into her right arm. Wincing in pain, Margaret dropped the gun, holding the wound in order to try and stop it from bleeding anymore. July, on the other hand, got up easily, oblivious to the wounds on his leg.

“Looks like I have the advantage now.” he said with a sly look on his face, ready to attack at any minute. Slowly getting up, Margaret prepared to try and at least defend herself. “He’s right…I’ve never been an expert on knives…but why me only? Why not Satsuki? Shouldn’t he be helping Hollow right now?”

She didn’t voice her thoughts, since another quick stab by July interrupted her. Dodging quickly to the right, taking a swipe at him. July managed to somehow sprint out, throwing one hidden knife, hitting Margaret on the left leg. She staggered, managing to stay up even after the hit.

“A product of Seifel itself…you should have died with all the others.”

“Then you’re…” The second Unison Device to go through all of the experiments in that place. It made sense to Margaret now why he was after her only.

“The second one? Yes. And I’ve been following my mistress for a long time, like you. But, as she said, you’re a member of the TSAB. I’m still gonna have to kill you.”

The Unsion Devices and their mistresses were at a standstill, ready for one thing to let them start fighting again.


Saturday, August 8, MC 0075
8:55 P.M.

“Hey, stay cool Vince; no need to get antsy.” Satoshi said to him as he was scanning the room for any trouble.

“I’m not getting antsy, man. Just…I’m just waiting to give them some hell for wrecking my day.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Satoshi replied nonchalantly. “Going to enjoy your day with Satsuki, huh?”

“None of your business.” Vincent said angrily, blushing a bit.

“Okay, then, don’t mind me and stack up on that door.”

“Always trying to get me…” Vincent thought as he took his position on the left side of the door.

With caution, Satoshi opened the door with his left hand slowly, making sure that nobody was inside. Vincent followed him in, checking the left side of the room.

It was a relatively small room, with windows on the left side looking over to a storage room below.

“Nothing inside here, Vince.”

“Yeah… I see nothing down there either.”

Noticing something that seemed to be moving in the window in front of him, Vincent turned back, trying to figure out who or what was it.

“Hey, Satoshi?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you-.” he said before a figure knocked him out to the window behind him. Under pressure, it cracked easily, letting Vincent fall into the storage room below.

It was easily recognizable who the figure was to Satoshi himself. “Sion…”

“Don’t worry.” Sion said dryly with a condescending smile on his face. “I’m sure the fall didn’t kill him.”

No sooner than he had said that, Satoshi was already in front of him, sticking the barrel into his chest and firing one shot. He staggered from the shot, crumpling down on the ground in a second.

“Bastard…serves you right.” Satoshi muttered, pumping out the used shell from Pixy. Heading to the broken window to check on Vincent’s condition, he was stopped by a knife barely missing his head, sticking to the frame of the broken window ahead.

“Damn it…that didn’t do enough!?!” Satoshi thought, turning around. There was Sion, standing up, his freshly made hole in the body healing up. He himself was actually smiling as he slowly got up from the shock

“Close…but no cigar.” he said to Satoshi, pointing to a spot in his mid-lower chest, seeming like he was taunting him silently.

“Pixy, let Cipher take over now.” Satoshi said to Pixy.

“[Fine. Just let me get the last shot, alright?]”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” With that, the shotgun-like Device turned back into the familiar cross-spear.

Readying himself, Satoshi casted Mach Move, then started to dash in a zig-zag motion. Sion threw several knives at him, all parried away, falling harmlessly to the ground. Switching Tartarus back into combat knife form, he slashed at the blur, missing it completely.

Satoshi gave Sion no mercy. He pierced the right side of Sion’s body, dragging the blade clean out the backside of his body.

“Shotgun Blast…”

Several spheres headed towards Sion’s back, bursting individually as all of them hit his body. Immediately came the top point of Satoshi’s Device through him. Satoshi stabbed twice, with a twist on the second stab.

Sion’s body fell to the floor, a pool of blood forming around it. Panting, Satoshi was sure he had killed Sion; after all, no person could survive that.
“Distorting Throw.” Sion muttered quietly. A big flash blinded Satoshi, stunning him long enough for Sion to get up and go hide. When the flash subsided, Satoshi looked around, seeing that his body was gone.

“No…” he thought, shocked at the revelation that even a barrage of attacks didn’t kill him, not being aware of the fact that Sion himself was sneaking up on him. He turned around, but it was too late, as Sion took out what looked like to be a syringe and plunging it into Satoshi’s neck.

Managing to back away from Sion, Satoshi seemed fine. Soon, though, he was developing headaches so strong, he had to let go of Cipher. He was screaming in pain a second later, holding his head.

“What in the hell did you do!?!” Satoshi screamed to Sion, his head still in pain.

“Wake up.” was Sion’s cryptic answer, making Satoshi look up. At this point, whatever Sion injected in him was messing with his vision, and he could barely see anything clear, since almost everything was blurry to him. He could only watch as a fist went straight to his face, then darkness covered his eyes.

Saturday, August 8, MC 0075
8:58 PM

“Aw God, landing on boxes…not something I want to do again for a while…” Vincent muttered as he got up from the ground. Luckily, the boxes took the fall for him, although he was knocked out for a good 3 minutes or so. Looking up, Vincent saw Sion looking down on him, grinning as he walked away from the edge.

“Satoshi…looks like he got himself into something…I’d better help.”

Struggling to get up, he tried to look around for a way back up. Finding one on his right that seemed to lead to the room, he approached the door, only to be blindsided by a blow to the left side of his body that sent him flying into another stack of boxes.


“Well, looks like we got someone to mess with for a while…”

Getting up and wiping the newly-coughed blood out of his lips, Vincent looked up, seeing what appeared to be two females, one with a board, floating around and another that had sharp, yellow eyes and a sort of fist-like Device, similar to one of the forwards of Riot Force 6. Both were wearing blue form-fitting suits.

“Ah, he’s awake….really now, Nove, was that necessary?” the one with the board said to the yellow-eyed girl.

“For a mage that’s blind, yeah, Wendi.” she responded.

“Why that little…” Ignoring the fact that he wanted to grind Nove into dust, he still wanted to get out of this place. That was impossible, though, since they already blocked the way. He had no choice.

“So…” Vincent finally said to the both of them, “if you don’t want to get out of the way…” Prepping to attack, he discharged two cartridges. “I’ll make you.”

Nove responded in kind, smirking at what seemed to be an easy target.

“Let’s go.”

“You first.” Vincent motioned both of them to come forward. “Hold on, Satoshi…just let me take care of these two first…”


???

Memories…from those recently to the past….today….the cafeteria where he was at several days ago….a small store….a secluded place where he and the Major trained…a bright light….a forest…a burning facility…a battlefield littered with the dead and the dying and the remains of equipment used….a tube of sorts….all of these flashed through Satoshi around him before he blacked out.

“Ugh…where in the world am I?” he muttered to himself, darkness surrounding him as he got up. It was pitch black, and there seemed to be no sign of a place to get out of. “I’m not outside…a room, maybe?” Quickly realizing what happened to him, Satoshi prepared for a surprise attack.

“I don’t have Cipher with me….it’s too damn dark to see anything…Sion probably dragged me here to play with me before he decides to kill me. Shit, this isn’t looking good.”

A distant blue light radiated behind him. Quickly turning around, Satoshi saw that a terminal was open nearby, able to be used quickly.

“Sion must have turned it on, to try and draw me to get out of this room while he backstabs me…still, I have no other way to get out of here.”

Approaching the terminal, he saw that a folder had been opened, showing one file in it. There was nothing else on the screen, just only that one file. Sighing, he opened it, expecting to be a list of instructions. Instead, he got something entirely different.

“Hey…this is a profile…MY profile….”

--
Name:Satoshi Kazukuni
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Birthdate: 10/23/0050
World of birth: Mid-Childa
--

“Hold up. I thought I was born on Earth, not in Mid-Childa.” he muttered to himself. “Someone must have gotten this thing wrong.” Curious, he continued to check this profile out.

--
Program Involved in: Storm Phase, formerly 1st group, switched 2nd group
Designation: SPII-000
--

“Storm Phase? 2nd group? I don’t know of anything like that, and I didn’t get involved in something like that. And what’s with the designation number? TSAB ID numbers aren’t anything like that.” Remembering the necklace that Sydney showed him before the mission, he realized it was the same number, as well as a date. “I wonder what the date is…might as well figure out.”

--
Reason for group switch: Pulled from 1st group and sent from second group for experimentation.
Role: Prototype speed attacker/ tactical leader
--

“Me, a prototype? And what’s with getting experimented on?”

--
Self Personifying Assault/Defense Enhancing System: Flashpoint
--

“Self Personifying Assault/Defense Enhancing System?”

--
Function: Gathers and focuses mana from surroundings to enhance speed, reaction times, and perception. User will feel as though time is “slowing down” while they “speed up”,
--

“Then that means…” The slowdown fighting the forwards…the counterattack on those Extended Relic Weapons…it couldn’t be.

--
Qualifications:
--Combat:
-Expert in Ustio artificial magic system
-Expert in hand-to-hand fighting
-Expert in Device usage
-Tendency to wield two weapons at one time
-Expert in conventional weapon usage
-Also tends to dual-wield, favors pistols, shotguns, and rifles
-Expert in Explosives
--

“Conventional weapons? Explosives? I wasn’t trained in anything like this.”

--
--Highly recommended for leadership position
-Manages group well, gets along with most of them
- Led 2nd group to pass Training Mission-WS117 efficiently
-Passed Rainsford scenario working with SPII-001
--

“I still don’t know what in the world’s going on…”

--
Date of graduation: 11/4/0058
Handed Dual Device “Garm” to him; Two-sword pair: one long and the primary system, one short and the secondary system; secondary system changes into a pistol.

Battle History:
-Sent to 121th Administered World of Eridan to deal with rebels on12/9/0058

-Performed well with assigned squad, SPII-001, SPII-032, SPII-11 taking out key targets and destructuring rebel leadership with the loss of SPII-11.

-Lost over Eridan with SPII-001 on 2/3/0059; transport chopper shot down during extraction
--

“The end of the profile….” he said with confusion and doubt. “I don’t believe any of this. This is just-.”

“Worthless junk that is inaccurate?” a younger voice said behind him.

Startled, Satoshi turned around, seeing a small boy that looked exactly like him. He had seen him before, in one of his hallucinations, but why was he here, of all places?

“No…this must be another hallucination of mine…” he said to his younger self.

“You wish it was. Look at the screen again, then tell me what you see. I’ll warn you that what you see is true.”

Looking back, he saw that there were several clips inside that folder, each containing a date.

--
2/10/0059….12/7/0060…8/24/0062…8/2/0064….5/5/0067
--

Opening the clips one by one, Satoshi watched in shock and horror. He saw his younger self, who was behind him, on these clips, seeing the things he had done….kneeling down to Jail Scagletti with another person besides him that looked strangely similar, swearing allegiance to him….On the second clip, there showed several people attacking his younger self, only to have him cut them up easily….The third clip again showed his younger self and the same person as in the first clip killing several mages before escaping. The fourth showed both of them setting up a bomb inside a reactor of some sorts…

Normally, he didn’t believe it. The only thing was that he could remember what those things were. He knew what happened next.

“That guy near me….Sion…it’s Sion.”

“Yes.” His younger self replied with a grin. “My partner, my brother, and yet we fight on different sides today.”

“We?”

“Or more precisely, you. See the last one….”

Was this some sort of joke? Some psychological attack or something? Maybe…but he had already seen these things before. Somehow, he had to find out. There was that last clip left. He had to know.

Opening it, he saw both his younger self and Sion walk on a forest trail before TSAB mages came out of the woods, surrounding both of them from all sides. There were some mages that came from the armed forces that Satoshi couldn’t tell, but there were others that he could definitely figure out: people that he knew…people that he considered friends…

“Hayate…Chrono…Fate…Nanoha….Major…Sydney…”

Seeing who they were, Satoshi suddenly felt something burning in his chest, painful enough to bring him down kneeling. Slowly getting up, he saw his younger self getting pierced by one of Chrono’s spells, followed by a white light before ending.

Turning around, Satoshi saw that his younger self grew a bit older, looking like the one he had just seen in the clip recently.

“You…why?” Closing his eyes for a moment, he opened them again, seeing his younger self turn into an exact copy of himself. He was grinning evilly, chuckling to himself.

“This is how the fake disappears…don’t worry about me, anyway. After all, this is my body, my mind. You are I...”

“…and I am Nil.”

The last thing Satoshi saw before darkness came again…

[Satty]

Sorry for the double post, but whenever I try to put 13 in with 12, the system give me a message "too short" error (as if.)

Anyway, chapter 13, oh, and I'm curious to see if anybody could find some references I've put in.

Spoiler for SearcherS 13:

August 8, M.C. 0075
9:02 P.M.
“Where in the hell is that damn captain of ours?” Anne thought to herself, taking cover behind a pillar on her left side. “At least he could have opened the stupid door.”
Nearly getting hit by a magic blast, she returned fire, shooting blindly. Casting Round Guard, she moved forward to another pillar, deflecting shots fired at her.
Taking a peek out, she could only see two of them visible: both seemed to stay in the same place, pinning her down. Another shot kept her from finding out where the third one disappeared to. “Where’s that other person?” she thought, trying to peek out and find out. Shots kept her from taking another look. Casting Round Guard again, she went out. A barrage of shots kept her still, focusing on keeping the shield’s shape. The pressure of keeping the shield active was beginning to strain her quickly; the shield started to give way under the pressure.
A second later, both of them stopped firing at her, allowing her the chance to recover. Taking the chance, she started to aim her Device at them, only to find out that something was wrong. Her arm moved towards her back: it seemed to have a mind of its own. As soon as she realized that, her other arm also started to move to her back. She tried to resist, but the pull was too great: she was restrained.
“Marionette…” a voice said from behind her. Trying to find out who it was, she turned around, finding the girl with tinted glasses, her right arm out to her like a puppeteer. “Sorry for this.” She put out her left arm, and out of her hands came several threads that attached to several points on Anne’s head. With a slight pull, she made her head turn away from her, only to be in front of a barrel of a Device.
It was the one with the cloak, pointing a different type of Device: a submachine-gun type. Behind the cloaked person was the man in the trenchcoat beside Arvis, pointing a machinegun-type Device at Arvis, deciding where to put the bullet in him.
“You put one bullet in him or Lian, I will personally kill you. Got it!?!” Anne yelled out to him. She tried to move, but the cloaked person stopped Anne by getting close and pressing the barrel of her Device to her head.
A small, static sound suddenly came up, and the one with the trenchcoat pulled out an earpiece.
“Radio? I thought they would communicate with their minds instead…” Anne thought to herself.
The man stepped away from Arvis, talking to whoever was on the other line, turning his back on all of them.
“Yes…They’re incapacitated…What? You don’t-….But….I understand.”
He turned around to all of them. “Rushuna, Saika, we have orders to retreat. Let’s go.”
The cloaked person was the first to talk back. “So, what about her, Jacques?”
“Bind her down; we do have orders not to cause any casualties.”
“Got it.” The one with the glasses said, releasing the threads on her head and casting another spell.
“Wire Bind.” The threads restrained both Anne’s wrists and ankles, causing her to fall down on the ground. She turned around to see the one with glasses cast another spell, causing them to disappear gradually.
“Who are you people?” she asked. They gave no answer as they disappeared completely. A moment later, her binds also disappeared. “Saika…Rushuna…Jacques…the only trace for them.” Getting her Device quickly, she went over to Arvis and Lian. They were starting to wake up, oblivious on what just happened.
“Man...something hit me bad, huh?” Arvis mumbled, getting a hold of a pillar’s wall, trying to stand up.
“At lest you two are still alive.” Anne answered him, helping Lian up. “What is the last thing you guys remember?”
“Just three people who ambushed us.” Lian responded weakly.
“There’s no use figuring out who they are now…” Anne thought. “Still, who were they and why isn’t our idiot of a captain here with us?”
“Come on, let’s see if we can get out of here…” Anne said to both of them.
---
9:02 P.M.
“Good…they’re out of the way, giving the Replicas time to escape. If there's any still left. Hope Anne isn’t too bothered by it…” Nobuyuki thought, a small smile on his face. Quickly he started telepathic communications with someone else.
“Asteright, this is Papillion. How’s your situation?”
“Not that much, just dealing with your commanders.”
“Then listen up: you will continue to fight until I give the order to retreat. You and you only.”
“What about Hollow?”
“Expendable.”
A moment of silence came through before Asteright answered back. “I’m not leaving without her.”
“Judging by how much time you can expect to have to escape, you’re going to cut it close if you do get her.”
“I’ll gamble on it, then. It seems to work out, anyway.”
“Your call…I can’t be responsible if something happens to both of you.”
Nobuyuki heard a bang on the radio, followed by a period of silence. After what seemed to be about a minute, Asteright’s voice was in the radio again.
“There…escaped from them.” he said, catching his breath.
“Never thought you’d have a conventional weapon with you.”
“Always be prepared, that’s what I say…what about Sion and Scagletti’s Numbers?”
“They will leave on separate times.”
“And what about our true target?”
Looking down on the fight between Satoshi and Sion, he responded, “He’s planning something…it’s still within our goal…”
“Good…I’m getting her out right now.”
“Just focus and wait for my signal. Papillion out.” Looking down again on both of them, he knew everything was going well. He left, laughing to himself at how brilliant everything went and how nobody thought otherwise. “Anne’s an exception…but she can be dealt with easily. That reminds me…time to get back to my squad…”
---
August 8, M.C. 0075
9:03 P.M.
“Damn it…” Vincent muttered as he got up, clearing the remains of several boxes and filler inside from him.
“Eh? I thought he would be a better challenge.” Wendi said to Nove, hovering near her.
“Yeah, as if.” she replied. “At least he makes a good punching bag.”
“Let’s see you say that again.” Vincent muttered under a couple of coughs that gave out blood each time. Wiping the blood off of his mouth, he suddenly charged towards both of them, catching them off-guard.
“If I could get a good hit ….”
“Shell Bullet, Blattform (Blade Form)!”
“[Wollen wir dazu kommen!] (Let’s get to it!)” 3 cartridges shot out of Shell Bullet’s ejection port as the hand switched into a blade.
“Beleuchtung Blatt (Lighting Blade)!” At once, the blade became covered in lighting, letting Vincent get ready to swipe at Nove and Wendi.
Having no time to talk, Wendi immediately flew out of the way while Nove started to charge at him. Getting into range, Vincent swiped at Nove, only to find out that she ducked down. A second later, he was on his knees, coughing up more blood.
“Great…another stomach hit.” he told himself, getting up again. “[Fluch…(Damn…)] Shell Bullet said, indicating that it had used up all of its cartridges. Quickly, Vincent searched for more cartridges. There were none left. “…I’m screwed now. Still…”
He felt like a brick wall hit by a wrecking ball, not being able to even stand properly. Seeing Wendi fly in, he weakly casted Panzerschild (Tank Shield). The shield quickly formed up, flickering a bit.
“Time to finish this…Nove!” Wendi flew in, shooting at Vincent’s shield. The shield lasted enough to withstand a few shots, cracking steadily each time. Nove charged in after, ready to break the shield. A few seconds was all the time Vincent had left, struggling to keep the shield up. He had no other defense left when the blow came through, hitting him again in the stomach.
He slid a couple of inches, gripping his stomach, coughing. Still, he stood, not ready to fall down yet.
Nove pressed on, giving him a string of blows. Another hit in the stomach, the head, it didn’t matter; he still kept on standing.
“What…are…you!?!” she cried out, striking him enough that he soon hit the wall with his back. He slid down a bit, his hands slumped down. Somehow he was still up, his head down, blood going down in small streams.
“Is he still alive?” Nove said, a bit cautious. She hadn’t seen something like this before: someone who could stand up to a barrage like that.
“He didn’t say that there would be no casualties, right?” Wendi replied to her. “Right…”
“Well-.” Wendi added before something else came up. “A call?” she wondered as she grabbed the radio receiver she got before the mission.
“Wendi?”
“Papillion…what is it now?”
“It’s….”
Nove wondered what was going on, seeing Wendi nod to whatever the voice was saying. She couldn’t hear it clearly, but by the looks of it, it was troubling.
“Well?” she said to Wendi after she stopped talking.
“We’d better leave now.”
“What? Why!?!”
“It’s an order…”
“So? We still have no reason to get out of here!”
The sound of footsteps closing in stopped their argument. Quickly, they left, leaving Vincent on the wall.
“They’re…gone…” Vincent thought. Slowly turning his head to the left, he managed to see a glimpse of someone, running towards him. “Others…good.” Another thought also entered into his mind. “Who in the hell…is Papillion?” He had no time to figure it out. Slowly, his eyes closed, his body sliding down, losing the feeling that something was wrong. “I…wonder…how’s Satsuki and…the Vice-Commander’s doing…” He fell unconscious by the time TSAB mages reached him.
---
Earlier…
August 8, M.C. 0075
8:46 P.M.
She couldn’t believe it…her own sister…alive…on the other side…and she was ready to kill her…all of these things were in Satsuki’s mind.
“She’s not truly focused on what’s happening right now…” Margaret noticed, looking at Satsuki. “I can’t believe it, too, but we have to admit they are our enemies…no matter how hard it is.”
“If you’re going to kill me right now, then do it.” Hollow said indifferently, coldly staring down at Satsuki.
Hollow could see she had no intention to do so; she could see the rifle shaking in her hands, her body shaking slightly. She couldn’t bear the fact that she was working with Scagletti. “Her mistake…”
Quickly moving out of the way, she disarmed Ellis out of Satsuki’s hands. Satsuki didn’t react in time as she received a blow in the stomach, knocking to the ground. A second later, she was looking the barrel of Carrossea.
“Satsuki!” Margaret cried out, heading towards her own Device. “You’re not going anywhere…” July muttered as he threw two knives aimed at both her legs. Both of them hit their targets, taking down Margaret.
Margaret still crawled towards it, hoping for a chance to use it. July came right in front of her, smiling. He looked down on both her and her Device.
“You don’t need this anymore.” he said sadly, kicking the gun out of the way. He then approached Margaret with one knife in his left hand. “Not where you’re supposed to go.”
Grabbing her head, he put the knife next to her throat, right in front of Hollow. “On your signal.”
Hollow nodded, staying focused on Satsuki. “Any last words?” she said. Satsuki could say none as Hollow readied herself to pull the trigger.
“I see you got the situation under control.” Asteright said, coming out of the shadows.
“Of course.” she replied.
“Finish them off; we have to get out of here now.”
“Right…”
Satsuki closed her eyes, waiting for it. “I’m gonna die, am I? I’m gonna die…” She heard the shot and waited. “Am I dead…no…” she slowly opened her eyes, seeing Asteright, Hollow, and July walking away.
“Next time…” she said, turning to her, “I won’t miss.” She turned back and all three of them run out of a door. Quickly standing up, she ran to the door, only to find that it was locked. She let go of the handle and walked to the other side of the room.
A surge of pain went through Margaret as she pulled both of the knives out. Catching her breath, she saw Satsuki sit down near her.
“Damn you…just because she was your sister…and now…” she said angrily, “ NOW WE’RE LIKE THIS! JUST DAMN YOU AND DAMN IT ALL! JUST-” She stopped…she saw tears coming out of Satsuki’s eyes. But she didn’t cry out or even look at Margaret. She was sitting down, looking at the door, crying silently.
“…Sorry…” Margaret muttered softly, noticing the fact that she was crying too. She heard a door open nearby, revealing several other TSAB mages who went in.
---
August 8, M.C. 0075
8: 46 P.M.
Dodging several slashes from Wolf’s sword, Sydney ducked down and aimed Equinox at Wolf’s chest.
“Ice Bullet.”
“[Yes, meister.]”
Several ice projectiles painfully hit the cyborg’s chest, sending him back a bit. He staggered, recovering from the blows. Sydney rushed in, slashing several times at him, all of them deflected easily with Wolf’s sword. He stepped back, aiming the blaster at Sydney.
“Perfect.” Sydney thought, as she readied her ace in the hole.
“Equinox, Eternal Coffin.”
“[Yes, meister.]” Wolf could see the ice rushing towards him, able to freeze anything instantly. He aimed his blaster arm downwards, trying to burn the ice off. The ice reached the blaster arm first, freezing it up to the elbow. He tried to fire, but it was jammed; he was stuck. Looking down, he saw that the ice neared his feet. It was slowing down, though, eventually stopping. Looking up, he could see Sydney, definitely exhausted nearly to the point of exhaustion. She stood up slowly, trying to approach Wolf.
“Why…why does he want Satoshi again?” she muttered, struggling to stay standing. She stood still near Wolf, aiming Equinox at him. “He’s changed! How could he-.”
“Scagletti’s found a way. In fact…I bet he’s back again.” Wolf replied slowly. Sydney looked at him in shock. “No...it isn’t possible. Bringing Satoshi back into…him…that monster.” Sydney muttered to herself
“Unfortunately, you’ll have to see if that’s true. I have to leave.” Wolf replied, snapping Sydney back into focus.
“No, you’re staying here and telling me everything.”
“There are things you just have to find out yourself.” Wolf replied, hearing footsteps coming in their direction. He quickly cut his left arm off, freeing himself. “Yacoby!” Sydney tried to rush him, but he had already put up a smokescreen, blinding her. When the smoke cleared, he had already disappeared.
“Fuck…” she muttered, suddenly leaning on the left wall. She pushed it too far even getting up; she had trouble staying conscious at that moment.
“Hey, it’s one of them!” a male TSAB Ground mage called out. Sydney looked to see a whole squad going in her direction. She turned and smiled, not noticing that she was falling forward.
“Got you!” a voice said, helping her sit down on the ground. Realizing what happened, she quickly looked at the person who helped her. It was a woman, with short pink hair, smiling at her.
“You okay?”
“Yeah…thanks…who are you anyway?”
“Sergeant Ellen Rochefill of the 378th Ground Battalion.”
“2nd Lieutenant Sydney Megane. 216th Special Combat Unit. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Ellen helped Sydney up on her feet, holding her up since she still couldn’t stand up on her own.
“You’re squad leader, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I have a favor to ask. There’s two members of my unit inside.” Sydney said, pointing to the door where Satsuki and Margaret went in. “Check on them, would you?”
“Right. Kajima, Roots, Freebell, you three go inside and support them if necessary. Rest of you, get back outside and help secure the perimeter.”
“Yes, Sergeant!”
As Ellen’s group was heading to their assigned spots, Sydney asked Ellen another favor: to help find her squad leader. “That’s twice you owe me, then.”
“Not now…Apex, Area Search.”
“[Yes, ma’am.]”
“Umm…isn’t that bad to do in your state?” Ellen asked to Sydney, focusing on Area Search.
“Shut up, Sergeant.”
“Geez…sorry.”
“There…” she thought, finding the place where Satoshi was.
“I’ve found where he is. Since I can’t walk that well yet, you drag me and I’ll tell you where to go.”
“Well…alright then.”
“Go straight from here, then go left to start.”
- - -
Present time…
August 8, M.C. 0075
9:03 P.M.
“You understand, right?” Satoshi said telepathically to Sion, deflecting a thrown knife from Sion and a sword slash from Deed. “Have Scagletti send me a package if he agrees.”
“For what?” Sion replied, dodging Satoshi’s Gale Sabers and casting Scattering Ice.
“So it doesn’t look suspicious.” Satoshi casted Variable Shield, blocking the ice knives. Firing Burst Shooter to distract Otto, he countered a stab by Deed, hitting her in the stomach with the blunt end of Cipher. “Get it?” Satoshi switched from Cipher to Pixy, aiming at Sion.
“I see…” Sion dodged several shots from Pixy, keeping him busy. “Alright then. Now what?”
Hearing footsteps, Satoshi decided it was time. “Make it believable but fast; you guys are already lagging on getting it out of here.”
He dropped his weapon, letting Sion and Deed rush him. He didn’t mind; after all, these beating would send him to another hospital, better than the one at base, and easier to escape from. He fell unconscious almost immediately.
“Good…Otto, Deed, we’re done. Let’s get out of here.”

All three of them barely made it out of the room as Sydney and Ellen arrived inside.
“Satoshi!” Sydney cried out, rushing towards him. “Damnit…not even Physical Heal could do much.
“Cipher, what happened!?!”
“Sion ambushed us…there was nothing we could have done.” Cipher said. It was a lie, instructed by Satoshi to say it. It was believable in these conditions though.
“At least he hasn’t been taken by them…” she thought. “Better tell the Major now.”
“Major,” Sydney said telepathically. “this is Sky 2. I’ve found Sky 1. He’s unconscious, looks severely hurt. I’m dragging him out, now.”
The Major answered. “Right, get him out of there. In fact, everyone else is out except you.” With a solemn voice, he added. “I think that this mission was a failure.”
Silent for a moment, she answered. “I agree.”
---
August, 8, M.C. 0075
9:17 P.M.
“Another group finding something….Scagletti’s forces coming at us with no intention.” Bulgakov muttered to Rachel. “I have the feeling that something’s gone wrong.”
“Yes…the report by Anne about three people who are cloaked and in black….how Asteright immediately disengaged.”
“Should have known the bastard would have prepared something like this.” Bulgakov looked up and sighed; it was all past. “And now we have 2 critically injured. I wish we weren’t assigned this mission…at least reinforcements came when I asked.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself that much.” Sydney muttered. She was sitting nearby the two of them, looking at Satoshi being hauled off to the ambulance.
“You too.” Bulgakov answered, knowing what she was looking at. “There was also that cyborg ninja you mentioned appearing again.”
“He mentioned that Scagletti found a way again…”
“For what?”
“Turning him back.”
Bulgakov looked at her in shock and horror. “If he was back again…” he thought. “we would be in a whole lot of trouble. It was bad enough the first time.”
“You mean-!?!” Rachel asked Sydney.
“Yes…Nil.”
Rachel stayed silent, as well as the Major. She had seen how he was like first-hand. She didn’t want to see that again.
“I wonder why they didn’t take him though.” Sydney said
“Maybe he couldn’t be changed back.” Rachel replied.
“I hope so….I wish I could have gotten him…managed to escape before he could tell me more.”
Sydney quieted down, looking at the sky. It was dark and cloudy, preventing anyone to see the stars or even the moon itself. “Must be some kind of omen…” she thought to herself. Looking down on the situation below, she could see Vincent being carried off to another waiting ambulance.
Satsuki was nearby when Vincent was being carried off in front of her.
“Vince…VINCE!” she cried out, rushing to him.
“Hey, move out of the way. We’re trying to get him in.” one of the medical crewperson carrying him said to her.
“How bad is it!?! Tell me!”
“He’s in serious condition. He needs to be getting to a hospital now, so move it!”
She quickly moved out of their way, sitting down again.
From afar, Sydney could see what was happening. Getting up and talking to her was the least she could do. “Well…”
“Just go.” the Major replied. Rachel only nodded in agreement.

Nearby the entrance where the Ground Forces were going in and out was Anne, Arvis and Lian.
“Three others…neither with Scagletti or with us…now that’s something to think about.” Arvis said. “They were good fighters though, taking us by surprise.”
“Right…” Anne replied, still thinking about them. “I wonder why they were there in the first place. Are they looking for something…someone?”
Arvis noticed that something was on Anne’s mind. “Anything wrong?”
“No, nothing.” Anne said quickly. “I’m just having my head in the clouds.” she added sheepishly.
“Right…” Arvis noticed something: Lian wasn’t talking at all. “What’s wrong, huh?”
“That red sword…it’s the same one…” he heard her mutter. “What sword are you talking about?”
“Huh?” she said, surprised. Looking back to see Arvis, she was trying to make an excuse. “Save it.” Arvis immediately said. “Everyone wants to keep secrets, fine by me.”
Lian was relieved; at least she didn’t have to say what was troubling her. In a sense, it was a relief. In another sense, though, it didn’t feel right to hide stuff from him. Putting that aside, she had another question.
“Oh, by the way…where is our captain?”
“Probably ran off somewhere, is what.” Anne said. “I wonder where that idiot is now.”
---
August 8, M.C. 0075
9:19 P.M.
“Papillion…how nice of you to stop by here.” Jacques said jokingly to Nobuyuki, coming into the room.
“And how nice of you to think of me like that.”
“Funny.”
“So, how’s Satoshi?” Rushuna said to him. “After all, all we’ve been doing is distracting the TSAB mages.”
“By the looks of things, he’s been changed back.”
“Then our real mission begins.” Saika said.
“You do know what we have to do if he turns out to be uncontrollable, right, Papillion?” Jacques said.
“Right…kill him…from afar. That means you, Saika.”
“Don’t worry about me…even if he is my brother, I wouldn’t hesitate.”
“I see…” Nobuyuki said, looking up at the sky. “A dark one…must be a sign.”
All three of them looked up silently, not even saying a word. After a while, Nobuyuki broke the silence. “Well, I have to go. Gotta keep up my cover in the TSAB.”
“Alright then.” Rushuna said.
As Papillion left, Jacques asked both of them a question. “Do you think he’s not using us?”
“I’m not sure…” Rushuna answered.
“But he’s been a great help to the Azalea Dawn.” Saika added.
“Still…I can’t shake off the feeling.”
---
August 8, M.C. 0075
9: 22 P.M.
“Papillion…you’re here.” Asteright said. “Well, manage to keep them off our backs?
“Of course. They don’t know where you are right now.”
“Well, that’s good.” Wendi added in. “I really don’t want to be fighting a battalion right now.”
“I don’t mind.” Nove replied. “It doesn’t matter to me anyway.”
“She’s right, we shouldn’t waste this chance.” Sion said. “It’d be better until we wait, anyway.”
“Then what about the Replicas?” Papillion said, changing the subject.
“Dead….all of them.” Asteright noted. “They were all second-class, anyway.”
“I see. No wonder their aiming wasn’t as good as I was normally used to.”
A screen came up in front of all of them, showing Scagletti’s face. “How was the mission?”
“Better than expected. The TSAB didn’t know what was happening at all.” Sion reported.
“And what about Nil?” he asked, curious.
“Back…but he’s got something.”
“A plan, huh?” Scagletti replied, smiling. “This might be interesting…tell me more.”
---
August 8, M.C. 0075
9: 23 P.M.
“Medical personnel are working on me…well, my old self, anyway. Looks like I’m going somewhere else to be treated on…

I’m back….and it’s going…just as planned.”

Sorry for the squished text...I'll fix that later. Now...to work on my MG Ez8...later

[Tempy]

This is the stuff that happens when you spend too much time in IRC and talk about a certain hobby...

New OC!

Spoiler for It's a Chef!:

He has no magic, yet he is a vital part of their lives.

Ordinary Iron Chef

Name: Kevin
Age: 36
DOB: May 23
Height: 6'
Weight: 195 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Blood type: O negative

Affiliation: None
Position: Chef
Rank: Civilian
Air Combat Rank: None
Ground Combat Rank: None
Composite Rank: None
Magic System: None
Magic Color: --
Specialty: Cooking
Style: Eclectic

Device: Personal set of kitchen knives

Personality:

Although generally a dry and sarcastic sort, Kevin does honestly care for the people closest to him. Of course, this doesn’t mean they’re exempt from his off-color and often silly remarks and comments. He has a dark sense of humor, able to make a comment in just about any situation regardless of the mood, and years of working in high-stress kitchens has granted him incredible patience and almost unflappable calmness. At the same time, his experience with dealing with such a variety of people has also filled him with good advice. Still, he is not without a silly side, though only a select few has ever witnessed it.

Appearance:

Rather than adapting to the fashion designs of his current residence, Kevin has clung to his Earthborn style (or lack thereof) of blue jeans, a black shirt, and black boots. Ever present on his left wrist is a silver watch, and more often than not around his waist is his chef’s apron. Overall he is unremarkable, sporting short black hair and glasses, with no outwardly distinguishing features. He is ordinary, and perhaps because of it, he is different.

History:

Kevin’s history with the Aces begins all the way back when Nanoha was still a student in elementary school. He was traveling the world, doing a bit of soul searching after a particularly unsuccessful romp through college. Though he got his degree, he found it… lacking. His travels brought him to Uminari City, Japan, to the Midoriya where he hoped to get a job filling in a gap in the roster caused by schoolwork. By then Kevin had accumulated a fair amount of culinary work, having slaved in a number of kitchens to help pay for his travels, and it was with these skills that he was put to work in the bakery and kitchens of the Midoriya. Little Nanoha found herself fascinated by the foreigner, whose clipped speech, fledgling grasp of the Japanese language, and strange kitchen antics amused her greatly. Perhaps it was because they were kindred spirits, both lost and unsure where their lives’ paths would take them. This all changed when the Jewel Seeds came to town, though through much of it, Kevin remained ignorant. It wasn’t until Nanoha herself came to him to talk about her insecurities that he became aware of Nanoha’s involvement with otherworldly entities, and even then, he only gave advice and let the girl grow on her own.

The events of A’s had him formally meeting Fate, as well as bumping into several members of the Wolkenritter in his forays into the public. For much of the incident, Kevin remained relatively ignorant of the events, knowing only that Nanoha, Fate, Yuuno, and Arf were involved in some way. Still, he didn’t pry into their business, content in simply providing something tasty for them upon their return. Unknowingly, he befriended the likes of Signum, Shamal, and Vita with his frequent outings, ultimately cumulating into visiting Hayate at their home and the hospital. All attempts to teach Shamal cooking had thus far failed, but still they tried. It was during the final confrontation that he bore witness to it all, along with Suzuka and Arisa. Though the Wolkenritter felt guilt over deceiving their friend, he merely waved off their concerns and told them to visit him tomorrow – he’d have a nice stew ready for them.

Following the incident, Kevin found himself becoming more deeply involved with magic and mages, despite having zero ability in it. Tested and observed, he was found to be completely unable to use magic, though he remained sensitive to the magic around him, a bizarre feature that no one had managed to figure out why thus far. Regardless, he remained a close friend to the growing Aces. Kevin’s ultimate fate was to be employed Riot Force Six in their headquarters as the canteen chef, where he continues to produce delicious meals and advice to all those that seek it.

Despite his older age, Kevin is considered a close friend to the Aces and the Wolkenritter.

Style:

Kevin has no real focus in his cooking style, instead simply making whatever he deems delicious at the time. He does have a particular strength in Italian, Chinese, and American cuisines, but more often that not he’ll make a dish from a different style and region of the world each day. Variety is the spice of life, and Kevin makes sure to season well. Ever since coming to Mid Childa, his cookery has grown to incorporate influences of the local cultures. Still, his dishes tend to be a welcomed nostalgia for those from Earth and a new taste sensation for everyone else. He’s had some bartender experience as well, allowing him to mix up a few tasty beverages to accompany meals. Few people know of this though – you have to go up and ask him personally for one.

Unique Skills:

Sensitive – Despite having zero magical power or ability, Kevin remains sensitive to the magic around him. This can manifest as knowing who is coming near home, or even go as far as being able to penetrate a Temporal Distortion Field. Still, he requires special technologies and devices to allow telepathic communications as well as get him though a typical day in Mid-Childa, such as his watch.

Equipment:

Being a non-mage, Kevin has a few gadgets that allow him to at very least navigate the world without having to rely on others.

Watch – Designed to look like his old Seiko wristwatch, this handy device serves as a PDA, communicator, translator, GPS, and other functions all in one. This is the once gadget that Kevin cannot go without, for it does so much for him.

Cellphone – Redundant in Midchilda, this device has been altered to allow communications with networks outside of Midchilda, like that of Earth. Though the connection isn’t perfect, it at least lets him keep in touch with friends and family on Earth. Sometimes this device is abused by Nanoha to contact her family.

Glasses – His corrective lenses contain modifications that link with his watch’s functions, letting him operate on the run. There’s a rumor that they also contain nightvision, thermal, and electromagnetic field options.

Pipe – Just a simple briar pipe.

WASP Knife -- What? What knife? He doesn't have one, really!

This guy looks a little familiar...

Interestingly, his name means "Agile Change" or "Convenient Home" in Japanese o_O

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

Originally Posted by Tempest Dynasty

This is the stuff that happens when you spend too much time in IRC and talk about a certain hobby...

New OC!

Spoiler for It's a Chef!:

He has no magic, yet he is a vital part of their lives.

Ordinary Iron Chef

Name: Kevin
Age: 32
DOB: May 23
Height: 6'
Weight: 240 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Blood type: O negative

Affiliation: None
Position: Chef
Rank: Civilian
Air Combat Rank: None
Ground Combat Rank: None
Composite Rank: None
Magic System: None
Magic Color: --
Specialty: Cooking
Style: Eclectic

Device: Personal set of kitchen knives

Personality:

Although generally a dry and sarcastic sort, Kevin does honestly care for the people closest to him. Of course, this doesn’t mean they’re exempt from his off-color and often silly remarks and comments. He has a dark sense of humor, able to make a comment in just about any situation regardless of the mood, and years of working in high-stress kitchens has granted him incredible patience and almost unflappable calmness. At the same time, his experience with dealing with such a variety of people has also filled him with good advice. Still, he is not without a silly side, though only a select few has ever witnessed it.

Appearance:

Rather than adapting to the fashion designs of his current residence, Kevin has clung to his Earthborn style (or lack thereof) of blue jeans, a black shirt, and black boots. Ever present on his left wrist is a silver watch, and more often than not around his waist is his chef’s apron. Overall he is unremarkable, sporting short black hair and glasses, with no outwardly distinguishing features. He is ordinary, and perhaps because of it, he is different.

History:

Kevin’s history with the Aces begins all the way back when Nanoha was still a student in elementary school. He was traveling the world, doing a bit of soul searching after a particularly unsuccessful romp through college. Though he got his degree, he found it… lacking. His travels brought him to Uminari City, Japan, to the Midoriya where he hoped to get a job filling in a gap in the roster caused by schoolwork. By then Kevin had accumulated a fair amount of culinary work, having slaved in a number of kitchens to help pay for his travels, and it was with these skills that he was put to work in the bakery and kitchens of the Midoriya. Little Nanoha found herself fascinated by the foreigner, whose clipped speech, fledgling grasp of the Japanese language, and strange kitchen antics amused her greatly. Perhaps it was because they were kindred spirits, both lost and unsure where their lives’ paths would take them. This all changed when the Jewel Seeds came to town, though through much of it, Kevin remained ignorant. It wasn’t until Nanoha herself came to him to talk about her insecurities that he became aware of Nanoha’s involvement with otherworldly entities, and even then, he only gave advice and let the girl grow on her own.

The events of A’s had him formally meeting Fate, as well as bumping into several members of the Wolkenritter in his forays into the public. For much of the incident, Kevin remained relatively ignorant of the events, knowing only that Nanoha, Fate, Yuuno, and Arf were involved in some way. Still, he didn’t pry into their business, content in simply providing something tasty for them upon their return. Unknowingly, he befriended the likes of Signum, Shamal, and Vita with his frequent outings, ultimately cumulating into visiting Hayate at their home and the hospital. All attempts to teach Shamal cooking had thus far failed, but still they tried. It was during the final confrontation that he bore witness to it all, along with Suzuka and Arisa. Though the Wolkenritter felt guilt over deceiving their friend, he merely waved off their concerns and told them to visit him tomorrow – he’d have a nice stew ready for them.

Following the incident, Kevin found himself becoming more deeply involved with magic and mages, despite having zero ability in it. Tested and observed, he was found to be completely unable to use magic, though he remained sensitive to the magic around him, a bizarre feature that no one had managed to figure out why thus far. Regardless, he remained a close friend to the growing Aces. Kevin’s ultimate fate was to be employed Riot Force Six in their headquarters as the canteen chef, where he continues to produce delicious meals and advice to all those that seek it.

Despite his older age, Kevin is considered a close friend to the Aces and the Wolkenritter.

Style:

Kevin has no real focus in his cooking style, instead simply making whatever he deems delicious at the time. He does have a particular strength in Italian, Chinese, and American cuisines, but more often that not he’ll make a dish from a different style and region of the world each day. Variety is the spice of life, and Kevin makes sure to season well. Ever since coming to Mid Childa, his cookery has grown to incorporate influences of the local cultures. Still, his dishes tend to be a welcomed nostalgia for those from Earth and a new taste sensation for everyone else. He’s had some bartender experience as well, allowing him to mix up a few tasty beverages to accompany meals. Few people know of this though – you have to go up and ask him personally for one.

Unique Skills:

Sensitive – Despite having zero magical power or ability, Kevin remains sensitive to the magic around him. This can manifest as knowing who is coming near home, or even go as far as being able to penetrate a Temporal Distortion Field. Still, he requires special technologies and devices to allow telepathic communications as well as get him though a typical day in Mid-Childa, such as his watch.

Equipment:

Being a non-mage, Kevin has a few gadgets that allow him to at very least navigate the world without having to rely on others.

Watch – Designed to look like his old Seiko wristwatch, this handy device serves as a PDA, communicator, translator, GPS, and other functions all in one. This is the once gadget that Kevin cannot go without, for it does so much for him.

Cellphone – Redundant in Midchilda, this device has been altered to allow communications with networks outside of Midchilda, like that of Earth. Though the connection isn’t perfect, it at least lets him keep in touch with friends and family on Earth. Sometimes this device is abused by Nanoha to contact her family.

Glasses – His corrective lenses contain modifications that link with his watch’s functions, letting him operate on the run. There’s a rumor that they also contain nightvision, thermal, and electromagnetic field options.

Pipe – Just a simple briar pipe.

WASP Knife -- What? What knife? He doesn't have one, really!

This guy looks a little familiar...

Interestingly, his name means "Agile Change" or "Convenient Home" in Japanese o_O

Sounds like a Nanoha version of Gainan to me... only male.