Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[vic-vic]

Spoiler for Part 4:

When he ride into Nanoha’s room first time he noted was sliding metal door. Moreover, as he observed, it was a sealed door, which could protect the room from smoke… or poisonous gases.

The right side of room was lined with row of furniture: wardrobe, followed by bookcase and at the end stood a capacious table, with a computer console in the center and two lamps at both sides.

On the left he saw the already common TV set, as usually, installed into wall, though then he noticed an additional device, connected to it (as Nanoha state it were new game console “GameRider-2”). Almost the entire left wall and center of room were occupied by a massive bad, which easily could accommodate all three girls.

To his surprise, the floor was covered by furry carpet, though his joy was dimmed a bit, when Nanoha revealed, that it’s synthetic fiber.

After quick inspection of room, Nanoha leaved Yuuno to sit at windowsill and went, together with her friends to bath. Yuuno actually was grateful to her for this – since he could spend some time in silence to think about his situation and ways to resolve it.

Unfortunately he couldn’t bring up a good idea – there was too little information of his surrounding to create a more or lea working plan. His knowledge about Earth were painfully rudimental to the point when he mostly rely on rumors more than on actual information, though earthling themselves put a great efforts to make sure that mages wouldn’t know many things about them.

He could only shrug when house trembled a bit, when one of smaller air ships float over him.

Archaeologist was too consumed by watching at small flotilla of air ships, which hovered over the black mass of City Park, that he didn’t turn around when door slide open.

He didn’t initially played any attention to actives in the room, but he still looked around when he heard very loud giggle from behind. He almost fall from his place on floor when his gaze fall on Nanoha half-exposed chest.

Yuuno wasn’t a novice in facing dangerous life-threatening situations: the horde of migrating silver ants on Jiger 2 almost eat him and his companions, he barely avoid suffocating when he were trapped in ruins of ancient castle on Revona; his recent expedition on Gerbar almost ended when he and his uncle were caught under avalanche.

But he never thought that visit in girl’s bed room could be that hazardous. Especially when the said room occupied by trio of beautiful maidens in the middle of changing their clothes after bath.

Yuuno never could imagine that he could move that fast – his tiny furry body almost smashed itself into pulp against wall, when he jump from his place on windowsill and lunge under the table. Good thing that his body already recovered from injures completely during the dinner, otherwise he could easily if not kill himself, but render incapable pretty quick.

“Eh, Yuuno-kun what’s wrong?” Nanoha’s voice startled ferret turned archaeologist when he tried his best to catch his breath.

“Bloargh!” Half-screamed, half-wheezed Yuuno, when he saw that expect pink underwear Nanoha. Who crouched down to crawl under the table, have only half-buttoned red shirt on herself, giving him a perfect view of her attractive body.

“Eh, what’s wrong with Yuuno, Nanoha?” Inquired Arisa, coming closer and sitting down… and having the same set of clothes as Nanoha, but with white underwear and yellow shirt.

Yuuno, desperately trying to preserve girl’s dignity (and his own sanity), quickly curled up and shielded his eyes with his paws.

“N-N-N-Nanoha…” Croaked teenage mage, crouching back into corned, his heart beating so hard that it’s reverberate in his ribcage. “I-I beg you, please dress up completely. A maiden shouldn’t show her body to a man whom she met only today.”

He heard Nanoha’s giggling, but still she, thank goddess, pulled back, allowing him to catch his breath a bit, trying to normalize his crazy heartbeat.

“Nya-ha-ha, Yuuno-kun is such gentleman for a little ferret! Maybe I should give you a hug as a prize for such gallantness.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Cried Yuuno on top of his lungs, figuratively as it was a mental scream, at last he hopes so. Nanoha loud shriek and sound of falling tell him, that at last one person heard his anguish cry.

Still, her painful moan make him feel guilty, and teenage archaeologist quickly glanced back over his shoulder to check brunet owner of room wellbeing.

He immediately regretted his decision when his stare meet the view of Nanoha and Arisa, who loomed over he fallen friend, ample bottoms.

“Blurgh!” He dug his head in his paws as much as he can, preventing his eyes from seeing and his nose from leaking all blood in his body from nostrils.

“I’m very sorry for scaring you, ladies.” Pleaded Yuuno to two of them, opening a mental channel to both girls, still refusing to turn to them. “But please you really should know one critical thing.”

“What is that?” Asked both girls, ignoring for a moment worried Suzuka who swiftly closed the distance between her and little chaos near the table.

“I’m a human male.” Right now Yuuno felt as if he was a commander of IAB ship, who pushed a Arc-an-Ciel firing button.

“Eh?” Now blonde and brunet girl instantly freeze in their respective positions (a very provocative ones). “But…?” Then the realization flashed on their faces, together with intense embracement and horror as their cheeks started to rapidly stain in scarlet.

“Eh what’s wrong…?” Started surprised Suzuka, who unlike her two friend was already completely dressed up in her blue pajama, seeing how her two best friends started a contest who too a brightest shade of red.

“Transformation magic.” Admitted Yuuno at the same time, having a feeling, that he took a first step toward a gallows.

On a moment there was an oppressive silent, interrupted only by surprised “uh-ah” from fluttered Suzuka, but then Nanoha and Arisa brain finally completed data processing.

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” Thunderous shriek of brunette and blonde duet send squawked Suzuka toppling backward, forced Yuuno to play a hedgehog again, by curling up in a tight ball and disturb the peace of Talamachi household.

Two fiercely blushing teenage girls hastily buttoned up their shirts, while glaring toward little furry ball, which crouched in the dark corner under the table.

The fire that burned deep inside both maiden eyes, which Yuuno could feel even without turning around, were a perfect sign that Arisa Banning and Nanoha Takamachi really want to give a visitor from faraway star a piece of their minds, but growling rumble of approaching footsteps from outside make a good job quenching their anger.

A moment after door slide into wall with a loud smack, revealing a excited Kyoya and Miyuki Takamachi, both clutched a shock-batons in their hands.

“Girls, what’s wrong?!” Roared Kyoya, franticly glancing around,
searching the bastard who dared to try to assault his little sister and her friends. When a few moments of desperate seek for intruder didn’t reveal anything more than shocked Suzuka, who still sat on floor, and his sister who hid behind bed, accompanied by Arisa, both of them also were strangely red-faced.

“Erm…” Started Kyoya, lowering his weapon, finally managing to get attention from Nanoha and Arisa, both of whom yelped in sync ducking even deeper under the bed so now only their head were visible. “What’s happened?! We heard your screams.”

“Uh-oh…” Now it was a Nanoha and Arisa turn to mumble, exchanging a desperate glances, as if they were a pair of rabbits deciding who should became a wolf’s dinner first. “Well…we saw a spider!!” Finally blurted youngest Takamachi out.

“Huuuuh?” Now it wasn’t only duo of Nanoha’s older siblings trailing out in disbelief, but even Suzuka gave her best friends confused and slightly irritated look.

“You-you mean you two tried to pull out banshees only because you saw a little insect?” Kyoya’s face now almost radiate with sarcastic
amusement.

“Hey it was a big …!” Tried to defeat her friend Arisa passionately, but then she remembered about whom they talked. “…Yuuno.”

“A big Yuuno?! You want to say that a ferret you three find today suddenly transformed into arachnid?” Implored Kyoya ludicrously, raising his left eyebrow, corner of his mouth twitched as if he didn’t know what to do” either curl unto smirk, or twist into scowl.

“N…No! It’s not what we mean!” Protested Nanoha, franticly wavering
her hands in front of herself, while Arisa nodded in agreement with her with same vigor “We…just…uh, saw something move under the table and when we looked closer we saw something very spider-like! But then it’s revealed to be a Yuuno-kun who simply lurked down there an all of this were just a play of shadows and dust. What a silly accident, ehehehe.”


Her clumsy attempt to laugh was supported only by Arisa, Kyoya and Miyuki just stood still, looking at them like judge and prosecutor to whom pair of renowned killers trying to sell a story that their victims jump on their knives totally on their own, while Suzuka wear a gloomy and offended expression.

After a few moments in oppressive silence, Kyoya, and then Miyuki, let out a deep exhaled, while rubbing his own head, then he gave out a tired smile and said.

“I think today events make a impressive job on your imagination and paranoia. Though I admit that face off with ravenous over-sized sunflower is a newer good experience. But please, in future, try not to scare entire house, okay?”

Receiving a positive answer, Kyoya threw baton over his shoulder and marched out of room, followed by Miyuki. When he reached the door he stopped and turned around to said.

“Good night, girls.”

Miyuki repeated a good night wish after her brother, though she flashed a little amused smile at the end of phrase, and leave out closing door behind her.

When they again become on their own, Nanoha and Arisa quickly grabbed pants of their respective pajamas and swiftly start to put them on, while surprised and dissatisfied Suzuka finally managed to stand up, shaking off her clothes; Yuuno, in his case, slowly crawled out from the table, glancing around nervously.

His appearance didn’t went unnoticed, but where Suzuka’s frowning expression almost immediately melt into this of joy and admiration, Arisa and Nanoha give visitor from stars a rather burning glare.

“You… YOU!” Arisa almost bellowed but quickly restrained herself by biting her lower lip and, after a pained twitch of her face, she continue more even. “Pervert!”

Nanoha also wanted to add her own indigent line, but view of Yuuno’s downtrodden form with sadly lowered head and powerlessly limp forepaws melt, her heart and instead she choose a neutrally-polite tone, with a hints of adoration (Yuuno were just too cute and pitiful).

“I agree, it wasn’t very nice deed, Yuuno-kun to not inform us about your true disposition. But I admit, that you tried your best not to peek on us and you…” Her cheeks reddened a bit, when she continue, carefully choosing words. “Get a view when I get closer to you place. So, I think we should let it go Arisa-chan.”

She addressed her last sentence to her blond friend, but when she turned around to look at her face, Nanoha saw that Arisa Bannings, instead of angry scowl had a rather confused and very embarrassed expression.

“Um, Nanoha.” Started Arisa, rubbing her nose sheepishly. “I think we get a bit too carried away for a while. Look around please and you will see what I mean.”

Nanoha compelled and, after finishing a 270 degree turn, her gaze fall on utterly shocked Suzuka Tsukimura, image were completed with her wide open mouth and bulging eyes. Nanoha quickly flushed as hard as Arisa: they spent a last minute to yell at little ferret right in front of Tsukimura household heiress, who could only think that her best friend lost their minds.

“Suzuka…” Started Arisa slowly, while putting a single step toward her flabbergasted friend, who flinched, when distance between them grown shorter; but, thankfully, still didn’t try to run and/or scream. “Please listen to me… uh…this…”

Yuuno sighed, it wasn’t a best condition to reveal his true self to friend of Nanoha and Arisa, but, since they obviously wouldn’t keep lavender-haired girl in the dark about his true identity, he should greet her properly.

Well, he still can prepare some emergency measures, if situation suddenly became worse.

“Greeting, lady Tsukimura.” Was the first line he address toward the girl in blue pajama.

Suzuka Tsukimura couldn’t say that she had nerves of steel. While, with a help of her best friends she tried her best to “grew a spine”, she admitted that it wasn’t hard feat to rattle her. And when unknown voice suddenly appear in her head, after the stressful events of this scary day, her legs give up.

But instead of landing bottom first on the floor, for some reason something similar to spring broke her falling.
Taking glance backward, she could only gasp loudly, when she saw that she was stopped by glowing green circle, filled with numerous rotating runic letters etched around the edges of it.

She slowly, as if it was against her will, she turned to look at Nanoha and Arisa, she always do that to gather some courage, but she gasped even louder, feeling that her heart kicked into high gear, when she saw a gleaming sphere of the same color as circle, pulsating around the paw of the little mammal, they meet today.

“Um…eh…what…” Gaped blue eyed girl, trying to address Nanoha or Arisa, but her overloaded brain simply couldn’t choose a right words to end sentence.

“Suzuka-chan, please listen to us!” Pleaded Nanoha desperately, dashing toward her still shocked friend, Arisa followed her immediately, their bare foots leave a quickly disappeared traces on white surface of carpet.

Thankfully Suzuka only shredded a bit, when Nanoha and Arisa grabbed her right and left arms respectively. Both girls, interrupting each other, hastily explained the situation to shocked Suzuka: mostly about that little ferret, they saved today was a mage, but a good one and they shouldn’t give him to authorities.

“We’re very sorry that we hid from you that Yuuno-kun was a mage!” Begin to chatter Nanoha, still gripping sleeve of blue shirt. “I and Arisa-chan find this when we find him, but then monster appear, then it was Suzaku-senpai and Euphemia-senpait… oh, and Rivalz-senpai too; and we definitely couldn’t say anything before Kaname-sensie, or who know what they could to Yuuno-kun! I swear.”

Nanoha make a short pause, to catch her breath, then she continue in the same frantic manner.

“We really intended to tell you everything this evening, but then we found out that Yuuno-kun is a male… I mean – human male, but in ferret form, uh… I don’t understand it completely myself, to be honest! But, what I try to say is that Yuuno-kun is a real mage, but he’s truly a good guy and he even saved me and Arisa-chan from that monster.”

Suzuka eyelids twitched a bit and in the depth of her eyes, to Nanoha’s great relief, in the mix of panic, shock and confuse, appears spark oh acceptance and gratitude. Saving her friends was a deed that earn a LOT of sympathy and trust points from Suzuka Tsukimura.

“Well, if that so, please accept my sincere gratitude, mister Yuuno…?” She make a pause, taking a questionable glance toward ferret, who carefully observed them, still holding his paw with shinning green sphere around it. Yuuno get her question and give her a small bow.

“Yuuno Scrya at your service, lady Tsykimura.” Now he talked out of loud, using Raiging Heart as translator.

"Oh, thank you Scrya-san.” Suzuka bowed in response, trying to muster enough strength in her wobbling legs to stand up. Nanoha and Arisa get the hint and warped their arms around Suzuka’s limbs, helping her to stand up. Poor girl had enough stresses for one day.

Landing Suzuka on green blanket with a blue stars embroidered on it, Arisa and Nanoha sat on both said of their friend, who started to show signs of recovering. Brunette give a young mage a gesture, asking him to come.

Yuuno deactivated his round shell, which prevent Suzuka Tsukimura from falling and dashed toward room owner. Reaching her leg, he deftly climbed up, following her another gesture, making Nanoha giggle from both tickles and admiration, and finally settling on her knees.

She couldn’t resist a temptation to start to pat stroke him, while adoring little life in her arms, for some reason she also have a lingering fascination with a small shinning jewel, he carried on his neck. Arisa and
Suzuka, in their case, weren’t able to hide their jealousy and adoration respectively.

Though, Nanoha were sensible enough to give Arisa chance to pamper Yuuno too, while she took her time to retell still beaming with delight Suzuka her conversation with Yuuno during their first meet in the depth of Ooka park.

Then Suzuka realized something, as her face expression shift from adoration to interest.

“I’m sorry Yuuno-san, but can I ask you: what bring you on our planet? From Nanoha-chan’s words I can tell that you were in trouble, when we found you.”

Mage nodded, confirming Suzuka’s statement, now looking directly into her blue eyes.

“You’re right lady Tsukimura…”

“Suzuka please!” Interrupted his speech said girl. “Lady Tsukimura is my mother and it’s somehow embarrassing, to be called lady.”

“Very well la… Suzuka.” Quickly corrected himself young Scrya. “As you said: I have really serious problems in completing my mission.”

“Mission?!” Arisa frozen in her place, Yuuno could feel how her fingers tensed, Suzuka and Nanoha also felt could touch of fear and suspicion.

“And what a mission you have here?”

Bannings heiress voice were disturbingly emotionless with a sharp edge.
Yuuno almost sensed smell of ozone in the air, as third pair of eyes now sharply glared at him.

“The level of paranoia is abnormally high on this planet.” Thought archaeologist from Scrya tribe dryly, quickly jumping from dangerously curled blond girl finger on the blanket. “But what I learn told me that Earthlings have a bad rapport with anything magic-related so who I’m to blame them?”

Girls continued to glare at him silently, so, in order to diffuse the situation, he quickly answered.

“I need to find the dangerous magical artifacts, which fall on this area, during my spaceship crash landing.”

He barely restrained sigh of relief when cold flames quickly disappear from Nanoha, Arisa and Suzuka’s eyes at his words. Seems that they don’t found retrieving a personal possession, no matter how dangerous it is, as something rage-inducing.

“Crash land…” Arisa tapped her left cheek with index finger. “Wait a minute?! Today unknown vessel from the news, could it be that it was your ship?”

“Indeed.” Confirmed her suspicion Yuuno and then quickly added, remembering their pervious reaction on his cryptic words. “But I swear our arrival on Earth wasn’t intentional, we were on rout toward IAB capital planet when I and my colleagues suddenly were caught in the centre of insanely powerful Fold-Storm that damaged our ship heavily and send it from its intended course to this planet.”

“Oh my, such tragedy.” Whispered Suzuka, looking at their new friend with pity. “I hope nobody hurt… too much.”

Being a experienced mechanic and having many friends from space construction industry, she understood how little could be chances of crew members to escape from spaceship crash without injures.
Yuuno morosely shook his head, now barely restraining his eyes from leaking, the fate of his uncle again resurface in his mind.

“No… they dead, all crew members, expect me, perished in catastrophe.”
Yuuno’s voice was barely audibly, so filled with naked pain that all three girls flinched. Consumed by self-hate, pain and sorrow teenage mage continue in half-mad trance.

“My uncle, close friend of our tribe died in their prime. He-he-he…” Cold vicious laughter leaked from his mouth when he thought about the matter. “Killed not by space pirates, or dangerous beats, not even by ancient artifacts, but by one measly Fold-storm. He-he-he, don’t you think it’s just so messed up, we survived so many encounters with various dangerous automatons or monsters, but single rapture of hyper-space and two good man died. Ku-he-he-he…! Kuh…uuuh…uuu…”

For now tears fall from his eyes freely, but Yuuno Scrya don’t even understand this, his entire body shacking uncontrollably in soul-crushing grief.

“Oh, Yuuno-kun!” Cried Nanoha, swiftly reaching out for him, snatching his furry body up and pulling little ferret in tight embrace. “I’m so sorry for poking into your fresh wound!”

“I beg for forgiveness too!” Added their voices Arisa and Suzuka almost in unison, with the formed putting right hand over her heart and latter leaking tears together with suffering mage.

“It’s okay…” Finally wheezed out Yuuno after a while, when his sorrow seemed to drained out together with tears. “Thank you so much, for such kind words.”
To enchant his words he turned out from Nanoha’s chest and give a deep bow to all present maidens.

“He such gentleman for a ma… outworlder.” Smiled Arisa, squeezing her flesh through fabric of her pants, it wasn’t very nice to call someone you already sympathize a “mage-scum”.

“So very much, Arisa-chan.” Agreed Nanoha, feeling happy that her new friend at last stopped cry. “But we still don’t know details of accident, Yuuno-kun.”

“Ah, sorry.” Recollected her contributor. “Our ship transported a very old and powerful magical relics called Jewel Seeds to Bureau Ming Ground HQ for research and storing purpose. So, when our ship was destroyed, they were scattered over this city’s region.”

He took a deep breath and looked up, so all girls could see his eyes, he need to show them how serious the situation was.

“I really need to find all of them, so I could seal those artifacts before they could bring a disaster on this land. Believe me, Nanoha, Arisa, Suzuka, Jewel Seeds are relics of unimaginable power, what you saw today were no more than tiny fraction of Jewel Seed’s true might. For now, each of them still in sleeping mode, but it could change pretty soon.”

He made a small pause, looking at them, and Yuuno saw that now he has their utmost attention.

Jewel Seed could response almost to anything, energy outburst, contact, even strong emotion could make them went berserk and it could easily end with another attack of another magic construct. But, since the Seeds would have more time to charge, those beasts would be stronger than one you meet today. And not only that: Jewel Seeds is pretty unstudied matter, so I can’t even imagine, what the next Seed could do, but it could do much worse than simple creation of magical construct..”

Violet, blue and green pair of eyes shot wide open at implication: it was three knightmare frame were necessary to bring monster bush down, more powerful one would require more resources. And they not even wanted to think about worse possibilities.

But what scare them most was the fact that monster still manage to kill innocent peoples, they hoped that poor man was the sole victim, but something tell them that beast kill-count were higher, who know how many citizens of Japan would die if more and more powerful beasts start to rampage through Uminari.

“We need to prevent this!” Exclaimed scion of Bannings house, jumping at her feet in fear and agitation. “God know how many people will die, if today incident will repeated again!”

Suzuka and Nanoha nodded in grim agreement with their blond friend.

“Yuuno-san?” Called Suzuka, drawing little mage attention. “How many those…Jewel Seeds, your spacecraft carrying?”

“Twenty one.” Answered Yuuno.

“It’s mean there is twenty potentially dangerous relics.” Continued Tsukimura heiress, stocking her chin, her eyes clouded. “And one in the possession of our army.”

“Hey, maybe this is an answer?!” Suggested Arisa with a exited smile, her emerald eyes shined at prospect of finding answer. “We should send a message to police about jewel Seeds…” She makes a hand gesture, preventing her friends from pointing out an important detail.

“Obviously, it would be an anonym message, otherwise authorizes could force us to reveal our sources, and we don’t won’t them to eviscerate Yuuno. But at last police, and through them army, would be in state of high-alert and would react swiftly at ever magical weird activity with zeal and determination. I think it would be a crime for us to stay and don’t do anything to prevent the disaster from occurring on the soil of our homeland”

While last lines abide their anxiety a bit, Yuuno, Nanoha and Suzuka still didn’t jump in joy at Arisa’s idea.

Yuuno was the gloomiest of them – while he wanted to save earth from the catastrophe Jewel Seeds could bring he also didn’t want to give Britannia a powerful items, which could enforce Empire wish to unleash another war.

“Arisa-chan.” Started Nanoha, tapping her cheek, which she always did when she think abut something with all of her brain capability. “You’re very right that we shouldn’t sit idly, but viceroy already declared state of high alert in the Area, so our warning won’t do much as it’s already done by His Highness.”

Nanoha completed her line with lifting her left arm to her face, which wear very serious expression was was no place for uncertainty, with an open palm, and bent her little finger for emphasis.

“Moreover, as this day incident show, Jewel Seed’s, which I would call JS in the future, activation occurs spontaneously and, as Yuuno-kun stated, most possible it’s would most possibly happen due to human’s activity or, in worst case scenario in populated areas and even if armed forces react swiftly, there still would be casualties. It’s mean the preventive measures is what’s truly needed.”

Now brunette bent a ring-finger, her gaze intensified, and Yuuno could swear that the light in room dimmed in the shining of Nanoha Takamachi’s eyes.

Brunette continued, but her even voice had the same amount of power in it as her eyes.

“We don’t know what could happen when JS goes berserk, what could army do if the relics instead of monster unleash a volcano eruption in the middle of the city, or summon the giant tidal wave? Yuuno-kun said that today we saw just a weakest display of their power, so I can assume that activation of any of JS, when they reach their full capacity could bring a disaster entire area scale. And multiple awakening of them could bring a national scale catastrophe”

Arisa and Suzuka, who gradually became paler and paler during her speech, now only stared at her with wavering eyes, their skin blanched with a hint of blue and their nostrils were widely inflated at each breath.

Yuuno only stared at Nanoha with a mix of awe and fascination: this girl
assumption of Jewel Seeds destructive potential could be a bit overboard, but still pretty correct, considering what a limited knowledge she has, seems that Arisa’ statement that Nanoha is a good strategist wasn’t a empty brag.

He couldn’t help but take a pitiful and guilty look at her friends, who now stood still, gazing emptily at the disconnected TV set on the wall.

Teenage mage could only sympathize with them: yesterday they simply lived they happy lives, thought about future, celebrated a happy moments, overcome their troubles together; and now they, because of twist of fate, forced to meet, even if indirectly, a looming and steadily growing menace that could easily destroy everything the hold dear.

Yuuno Scrya cursed Fateweaver for such cruel joke: a one undetectable Fold-Storm unleash an all-destructive tempest that already claimed innocent lives.

“What… what do we do?” Arisa hoarse voice were barely louder than whisper, her now milky-white finger dug deeply into fabric of her pants, treating to rip both pajama and her flesh and her face turned into stony mask of horror.

“W-well…” Suzuka nervously patted tip of her fingers together, slightly biting her lower lip, bur overall she seemed in better state than Arisa. Seemed was the keyword as even Arisa’s emerald eyes didn’t held so much despair in them. First time in her life her technical knowledge was useless to help.

“Good work, mr. smart-ass, you totally crushed the spirit of two innocent girls who saved your sorry live today!!” Cursed himself son of Scrya tribe. “I need to help them somehow before their became hysterical!”

But before he could do anything Nanoha reached her arms toward both of her downtrodden friends and squeezed their palm reassuringly. Arisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura jolted as if they were electrocuted, their desperate gazes fall on Nanoha’s face.

Brunette give them a warm reassuring small, her deep amethyst eyes now glistered with a warmth of compassion.

“Don’t you dare to fall in despair Suzuka-chan, Arisa-chan! We still don’t know too much about JS, so we shouldn’t make an assumption that they would went berserk in few upcoming days.”

Yuuno, seeing that girl stop sliding into depth of despair, decided to help Nanoha.

“The Jewel Seed that you meet today activated, because it’s were hit by stray beam of Britannia AA-artillery!”

He stated swiftly, remembering result of quick scan, he gave a bush-monster when he encountered him first time.

“It does supercharge relic with a too massive amount of energy that even my uncle’s seal were broken. Seal disperse as much energy as it can and then dissolved unfortunately, so if they would be left on their own they would need many months is not entire year to reach their full capacity, when they would break the seal.”

Arisa and Suzuka’s expressions brightened and, to both Nanoha and Yuuno delight, deep in their eyes appeared tiny glimmers of hope, Arisa stopped tortured her legs and Suzuka’s mouth even curled into little smile.

“Again, what do we do?” Now in Banning’s house heiress could be heard a demanding notes, so familiar to Nanoha and Suzuka, which mean their friend was preparing herself to battle.

“Nyahaha! For now we need to win upcoming trial of Iron!” Declared owner of the room happily, to collective shock of two present girls and one ferret. Nanoha laughter only increased when she looked at their shocked faces, which now totally lost signs of recent despair.

“What, aren’t all of you wanted to win and prove or Seishou school
proves?” She give both of her friend challenging and mischievous look.

“Hey! Aren’t you spent past few minutes explaining what a horrible catastrophe would await us if we didn’t help Yuuno?!” Angrily hissed her blond friend, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh my, so you also volunteering to help Yuuno-kun, Arisa-chan?!” Gleefully shouted Nanoha, clasping her hands together, tossing an inquiring glance at Arisa.

“Eh… what?!!” Cried said girl with dumbfounded look on her face, which completely replaced her fierce expression. And them, strucked with a realization, she mumbled. “You, it was your aim from the very beginning!
You wanted us to say that we help you to play your heroine games!! So that’s why you’re chosse such apocalyptic scenarios?!”

Nanoha tilted her head cutely, glancing at blonde with an seemingly innocent eyes.

“Mmm, what are saying, Arisa-chan? I just make a few assumptions of what could happen with my limited knowledge, nothing more.” Her eyes glistered with amusement, betraying her intention. “But I’m so happy that your kind heart call you to help my assisting Yuuno-kun in his quest.”

“ARRRRRGH!” Roared Arisa, pulling her hairs in frustration and anger. “How could you be so absent-minded one time and manipulate me so easily another?!”

Suzuka, who remained silent all this time, burst in laugh, clutching her stomach. Her eyes shined with the same amusement as her manipulative friend

“Ahahaha, Seems that Nanoha-chan won this round, Arisa-chan: you can’t go back on your words and I wouldn’t leave you two alone in this!”

“Hey! Wait, I didn’t sa…” Arisa trailed, seeing similar mischievous smiles on both of her friends faces. She took a deep breath, calming down and
then smirked herself.

“Okay! Seems that I have no choices here now, so be it!”

“It’s decided then.” Nanoha smiled broadly for a moment, then her face turned into very serious expression. “Yuuno-kun, tomorrow we should have a long conversation: you need to tell us as much as you know about JS, so we could create a few various follow-up plans. Also it would be nice to know you deeper, so could you tell us more about yourself, additional info of you surrounding could help too.”

She caught her breath and continued with a voice filled with authority.

“I swear, that not I nor Arisa-chan or Suzuka-chan would hide anything from you, you need just ask and we would provide you with all information we have or have access to. If any of you disagree I gladly obey your alternative planes.”

Nobody objected, and Yuuno had lingering feeling, that no one of them simply could: Nanoha quiet easily seized leadership position in their party and, to be honest, he doubt any of them have a better option. Or could inspire all of them as good as brunet girl.

“Then, it’s decided: now we would have a good night sleep and tomorrow, during intermissions we would work on plan.”

“Nanoha?” Inquired Arisa taking a shy glances around. “Where Yuuno would sleep: you know, since he a human male we can’t simply put him in our bed.”

All three present girls blushed at prospect of sharing their bed with a boy. While they wasn’t too hard-nosed in following strict Britannia’s code of proper behavior, they still was very hesitant to let a boy, they meet just today to sleep with the them in one bed.

Especially if they don’t even know how this boy look.

Yuuno also fidgeted nervously, in his entire life he never sleep in the same room with a girl. His uncle, despite his brash attitude, taught him to respect girls dearly and it would be against Yuuno’s own nature to so gravely trespass the border of maiden’s dignity.

“Well, I can sleep on the floor, or under the table, so I won’t bother you.” Teenage mage suggested meekly, gazing down on the blanket, avoiding to look into girl’s eyes.

“I can’t let my guest to sleep on the floor, my ancestors would cry at such disrespect toward code of hospitality.” Protested Nanoha: what kind of monster could leave someone who only recently healed from wounds to sleep in the dusty corners under the table.

“Well, you in ferret form now, so why not sleep together with us?”
Suzuka and Arisa were a bit more hesitant to allow Yuuno to sleep with them in one bed, but they have the same thought as Nanoha: tossing out their new friend was the idea that revolted them deeply.

“Seems, that today your bed would shelter a new guest, Nanoha-chan.” Declared Suzuka softly, with a light blush.

“Nyahaha, so be it.” Shrugged Nanoha lightly. “I always liked to cuddle with someone in my sleep, please be gentle wit me, Yuuno-kun.” At the last words she gave Yuuno a playful wink; poor boy almost combust from extreme embarrassment.

Suzuka blushed even deeper while Alica gaped.

“Na-Nanoha, what are you saying?”

“Nyahaha, what’s wrong Arisa-chan are you jealous?” Inquired Nanoha with broad grin. ”Since it’s were you to whom I’d normally curled in my
sleep.”

Sudden knock on the door was the single thing that prevented Arisa from giving Nanoha piece of her mind.

“Come in, please!” Shouted Suzuka, taking a anxious glances at her agitated blond friend.

When the opened door revealed a Takamachi family matriarch, who clutched a blue plastic basin in her right hand, situation quickly diffused on its own.

“Um, sorry for interrupting you girls.” Said older woman, carefully entering the room, closing the door. “But I thought that Yuuno-kun would like to have his own bed, we don’t have specialized animal sleeping baskets, but I tried my best to make this basin comfortable
enough for him.”

The basin were carefully covered with wool, over the white fiber lay
piece of old cloth – the sheet, in the corner girls noticed carefully folded towel, which obviously would be Yuuno’s blanket. In other corner laid roll of cotton wool, tightly tied with a rubber band – the pillow.

Unknowingly for Momoko, Arisa and Suzuka released sigh of relief.

“Thank you for you work, Takamchi-san.” Suzuka took the basin with a small bow. Though, for some reason, she had feeling that nanoha somehoe disappointed, that she wouldn’t be able to cuddly with her new friend. Arisa thought the same, with addition think that Yuuno disappointed too.

“You’re welcome, Suzuka-chan.” Nodded Momoko, turning around, waling toward the door. Already exiting, she turned around a said. “Good night to all of you girls. Wish you best dreams.”

“Thank you very much.” Came the chorus of voices, completed with a synchronized bow from trio of friends.

Without wasting more time Arisa and Suzuka climbed under the blanket, while Nanoha putted Yuuno into his new bad and looked with amusement how he enshrouded himself into blanket. After making sure that her guest is comfortable she pressed a button on the tiny panel, which she put out from the table desk, cutting of the light in the room. Then she joined her two friends who already make themselves comfortable on her bed and lay between both of them,

The fatigue after stressful day finally catches up to them and soon entire room, illuminated by star and streetlights, became the part of Morpheus kingdom.

~***~


Sun almost hide behind mountain range painting the sky in crimson color, but Tsutsuhino Oreki continued her task of cleaning the yard in front of temple without breaking. And why should spring’s twilight should bother her: the yard’s lamps easily drew away incipient dusk and young seventeen old maiden continued to conduct a vacuum cleaner she hold in her right arm over old stones of cobbles.

Shrill howl of device irritated her a bit, but she still continued to hum a scanty melody under her nose, enjoying a soft embrace of pleasantly warm evening. Though, it could be so much better if her grandfather at last buy new vacuum cleaner instead of their old worn out mechanism.

Oreki’s traditional red and white miko grab, created from new synthetic materials, provided a good defense from chilly sea breeze; still she couldn’t help but shrug a bit when salty breath of ocean raced around the court, lifting the dust. But such minor thing didn’t really disturb her from her work.

What truly did was entire flotilla of Britannia air ships, which circled around opposite edge of city, where one of city parks located. She trued her beast to concentrate on cleaning the dirt from the yard, but couldn’t fight back occasional attentive looks, she tossed on the large metal birds in the distance.
She never truly liked isolated position of her family temple, since when she was forced to love here, helping her grandfather to support the old shrine, she had hard time getting news in time. Damn, why she always had to move to this dusty shrine at the beginning of April, her parents seemed to live in the past, it’s not even Japan anymore for Amaterasu sake!

Now she could only guess, what could happen there: their TV set and computer didn’t work because of electric circuit failure and she forgot her communicator at school so now Oreki could only wait to go to school tomorrow to hear the news from classmates and friends.

She spent another twenty minutes wandering around, cleaning the black, polished by numerous feet, rocks, before finally cutting her cleaner off and wiping the sweet from forehead with left sleeve oh her haori. Teenage girl grimaced at thought that she could do all cleaning with simple broom if cleaner broke just like TV; her free time she could spent listening to her favorite audio-books or playing her GR Zita would gone up in smoke.

Turning around, girl, despite her disdain to isolationistic nature of shrine, couldn’t help but adore this ancient-looking building. Single-storey temple were build from the wood, just like hundred years ago his predecessor, that was burned down during last months of Twilight War, were. The wood could be a special breed of constructing pine, but still it had the charm with plastic or metal simply didn’t have. Hard to imagine but this temple indeed mostly consisted food in his frame: walls, doors, floor and cellar even tokyo bracket system were wooded.

Well, roof was a metallic one, but was carefully painted and didn’t break the composition. She admitted that builder did a splendid job integrating new modern technologies without crushing spirit of old shrine should exhibit. Carefully implanted flexy-plastic screens helped in creating atmosphere of mysticism and mystery, komainu statues, with inbuilt sensors, were part of security system, now truly playing their roles as home guardians. Even this old vacuum cleaned have a stylized dragon head attached to it’s nozzle.

Well, new TV set and computer could be a bit out of picture but her grandfather said that he may be a conservator but he’s NOT a retrograde.

Oreki stretched her body, stretching her stiff back muscles, as she finished her job she would put cleaner at storehouse, take a bath (illuminating a bathroom with a few powerful lights) and then spent rest of evening either playing Force Leader 2 (yes, girl also liked RTS) or listening another tome of Twists of Fate since she already finished her homework when sun shined bright.

And tomorrow grandpa Goldtooth – their acquaintance electrician and good friend of her grandfather – would fix the electric, without missing the opportunity to have a good chat, with the bottle of sake with his friend. Tsutsuhino Sozo was surprisingly open-minded in his choice of friend and had no problems with his friend being Britannian, despite being native Earth Japanese.

Tsutsuhinos, actually, were one of the people of Japan Empire who hated Kururugi Genbu and his carefully “spawned” breed of True Japanese when the bastard was alive and had no problems with becoming a Britannia citizens when Japan Empire of Never Setting Sun fell and then absorbed by Holy Britannia Empire.

Walking toward the edge of temple, her gaze accidentally fall on the decorative vine thickets, under which little monkey sat, looking at her with attentive eyes. He was a one of few monkeys living in shrine’s surrounding, and was most communicative one. Daughter of Tsutsuhino family smiled broadly at sight of her little friend: she tried with some success to train little primate and grow attached to playful and cunning animal.

Without thinking she make a few step to it and monkey response with quick dash into bushes, though a moment latter Toro (as she names him) looked up from the green and cried appealingly. Oreki giggled and run toward tiny beast, enjoying their little play, going deeper and deeper into forest; she didn’t worry – she know surrounding area pretty well and was confident in her legs to carry her away from any trouble.

Thankfully, Toro hadn’t intention to run away deep into forest, she immediately spotted him, when she break through the branched of lilacs, which were planted at the borders of temple. Brushing leaves off her clothes, Oreki walked toward her would-to-be pet, rejoicing inwardly that she fought back the right to wear comfortable shoes instead of traditional miko’s sandals, otherwise her cross-country through the bushes wasn’t that funny.

She glanced around, enjoying the view of small forest glade. Old tall fir-trees and massive bushes framed small area covered with various herbs and flowers. The sun slowly give up her right to the night, cowered the forest in shadows, increasing feeling of mystery and old. Oreki couldn’t help but savor this feelings and view, silently thanking her parents for sending her to the temple.

Closing the distance between them, teenage girl notices that monkey didn’t run away because he found something on the ground, which caught his attention too much to continue their tag. Stopping in a some distance from curious mammal, Oreki craned her neck to see what was the mysterious object that was too interesting for Toro to run longer. To her utter surprise her gaze fall on the dim green diamond-shaped stone and with some imagination she could said that she see a Romanian digit “six” inside.

She became even more shocked when she saw that any time Toro try to grab the stone, a faint greenish light appear around it and force monkey’s paw away. Oreki now sweated cold bullets – magic, cursed art that nearly destroyed entire Earth was there, right near her house! She need to do something… she need to call the police right now! Oh, kami, so that was the reason why army was in Uminary!

Making a small step on trembling legs toward curious primate, trying to scare him off, Oreki said with unsteady voice:

“T-t-toro-cha…an. Get…” Her voice fell to wheeze. She coughed, cleaning her throat, then she swallowed all saliva that flooded her mouth and try to address little animal again with more steady voice. “Toro-chan, get away from that thing!”

It’s still didn’t do a thins since monkey still was too consumed by his attempts to grab mysterious shiny thing to pay attention to scared human girl. Gritting her teethes and squeezing handle of vacuum cleaner for additional bravery, Oreki made a two another steps to chase monkey away physically.

She didn’t made a third step as cold wave of pain washed over her entire body. She moaned loudly, her eyes leaked a streams of tears which mixed with river of sweat form her forehead. She almost drop cleaner, but managed to catch it with both hands at last moment.

Her eyes widened when she saw as mysterious stone suddenly flared brightly, caring shrieked monkey a few meters away. But then shining dimmed as quickly as appeared and Toro again dashed to grab it, but again was repelled with the same greenish light. But griping dread didn’t disappear, on contrary, now Oreki glanced around madly.

Something occurred here, something not good. In the woods, without lamp’s light, shadows and dusk didn’t look as appearing as it was on the temple yard. Now darkness slowly engulfed everything around and girl felt as unknown menace creep closer to her with every passed second.

Whimpering in horror, she still mustered all remaining bravery and tried to call her little friend again.
But then she was thrown on the ground by much more powerful wave of chilling agony. It was insane, the previous experience now looked almost pleasant in the compared to current torment: her limbs lose all coordination and now franticly wavered in all directions, she particularly felt how cold rip her skin off. Strength left her hands and cleaner fall on the grass with a soft thud.

Almost suffocation on foam that gushed out from her mouth, she still managed to roll on her belly, sobbing, coughing and moaning. But her eyes, even clouded with tears, still saw how Toro managed to grab at last, now fiercely shined stone.
Then a high-pitched animal shriek pierced the air and then binding flash filled her dimming vision.

[vic-vic]

Spoiler for Part 5:

First lieutenant Mamory Shijido commander of First Special Assault Platoon of Uminary City 28th police station gritted his teethes, gripping control joysticks of his knightmare frame tightly. Twitching brown eyes, bared teethes and viciously crimson color of face were an precise indicators that first lieutenant’s mood was at furthest point from good.

His foul mood had a pretty firm basis – his platoon was on its scheduled training curriculum in training center outside the city. He and his men should spent another day, honing their skills in knightmare combat, teamwork, operating of various battle systems.

But few hours ago he receive a emergency transmission from his commanding officer – captain Araki Yogi, who ordered him immediately return at station and immediately proceed to patrolling duty.

“Damned attention whore!” Leered Shijido, thinking about thin and long, so mouse-like, face of his commander.
“He know pretty well that my platoon, despite the fact that we even have attached UAVs, we still couldn’t compare t our army counterparts not in equipment nor in experience, but he SO want to show that he also perform his duties with heroic resolve. He just want show off the prestige of his station special unit”

The last line almost made him to spat in disgust: Uminary city was a new city, built right before the war started and, his police forces simply didn’t manage to recive proper equipment before all recourses gores to army. After Japan’s fall majority of moneys goes passed Police’s pockets, since law enforcement fall to Britannia army.

All in, only a handful of police platoons in Uminary have the full payroll and proper equipment. His, Mamory Shijido’s platoon was one of those lucky units and of course that rat of a captain wasn’t slow to hog all glory for himself. Despite the fact that it was an efforts of entire 28th police station, whose personnel work themselves to the bones for weeks, until big wigs in regional department of supply noticed them and finally send enough amount of equipment to equip their station properly.

Maybe their station still didn’t have all properly equipped platoon, but soon enough it would became truth at this rate. But for now Yogi wanted to brag about them as much as he could.
Mamory took a deep breath, pushing away thought about his detested captain and concentrated on road: liked he order or not he’s a police officer and he would obey it.

More or less calming down, lieutenant Shijido, glanced down at Tactical Control Display – an interactive map, which showed all members of his units and all objects knightmare devicer programmed it to display. The last part was pretty important as if greenhorn devicer unwisely choose “all” he would overload system which would try to pack all cars, peoples, motorcycles, birds and animals.

He honestly didn’t understand what developers smoke when they add this feature, or maybe it was a hidden test of stupidity.

Thankfully, his properly tuned TCD give him schematic view of highway, their support truck and all twelve knightmares of his platoon, moving in diamond-shaped formation. Standard police knightmare platoon: four squads with three knightmare in each. One assault squad, two basic squads and one heavy weapon squad; pretty scary force for local cities like Uminary, plus their truck had six missile armed UAV, which added the firepower to his unit.

Unlike most cases, platoon leader was commander of heavy weapon squad, but again Mamory always liked the big guns and placing commander in heavy weapon platoon wasn’t against standard doctrine. And he himself would never go into assault squad anyway.

Still, all of his knightmares were old, though upgraded, Sutherlands that couldn’t compare to Vincent Commander or Vincent Wards, which were used by Britannia army and now, as he know from additional messages from station mainframe, patrolled Ooka surroundings. So again, why he and his platoon were chased around by Yogi’s ambitions.

Soon all twelve humanoid war engines, followed by blocky 6-wheeled armored truck “Serf” rounded the edge of cliff and entered city’s outskirts. The main camera dutifully displayed upcoming kaleidoscope of lights that was a living quarters and he could even see Shinto, surrounded by small mass of woods.

Mamoru Shijido gritted his teethes: soon he would forced to see unpleasant visage of his chief. And what was this magical construct attack? Right on their capital planet!

“Oi, lieutenant, cheer up!” Voice of platoon vice-commander pierced his grim thoughts. Quickly raising his eyes, Mamoru saw that in the upper right corner of main display appeared small window, showing smiling face of his old friend, leader of first basic squad and second-in-command – second lieutenant Masaomi Richiga.

Masaomi, wear the same mouse-gray pilot suit as every member of knightpolice in Britannia Empire, his short-cut tan colored hairs, revealed his tricky green eyes, positioned on both sided of his short pointy nose, which, together with triangle from of his head, give him pretty foxy appearance. Big grin, that show his teethes helped to complete the image of playful fox-spirit from ancient legends.

“Believe me, right now I had feeling that our platoon unfortunate enough to had an angry potato of commander.”

Said lieutenant couldn’t help but snicker a bit, feeling that his bad mood lightened a bit, despite the fact that Masaomi hit the nerve. For his impressive height (for Japaneese), powerful built and slick black hairs, Mamoru were cursed with Shijido males massive round nose, which indeed look like potato. Any other could meet quite unpleasant rebuttal for such statement, but for some reason he simply couldn’t get mad at Masaomi.

“Ha-ha-ha,” Answered Mamoru with dry humorless laugh, gazing grimly right into his friend’s eyes, trying to wordlessly transmit his rightful indignation to foxy policemen. “What a funny joke. I suppose you try to imitate our brave leader, captain Yogi’s precision opinion of my look?”

Second lieutenant Richiga only flashed another smirk at those words, seemingly reflecting his negative wave attack with secret fox magic. “I don’t give a fuck” was indeed a powerful spell.

“Aww, sorry but I don’t like the potatoes too much, unlike our glorious captain, I’m not a rat after all.” Masaomi’s grin grown wider, giving him even more foxy look, when he said nest line. “Though, I like to watch your royal potato turn into dancing tomato when you angry shouted at black screen, when your conversation with captain ended.

Lieutenant Shijido sent a nasty glare at his disrespectful vice-commander. Damn him, does he really need to hit his sourest spot so often. Masaomi only laughed lightheartedly at his angry face. Mamory understood that his nose again grew bigger and redder and blushed, this time in embarrassment. But then second lieutenant stop laughing and looked at him with a very serious face, now his dark green eyes gaze at him with sympathy.

“You really need to grow stronger constitution toward this rat-bastard antics Mamoru. Really after all troubles with enlisting you went through, after all struggling with trainings, exams and then growth through ranks; even after you survived JLF’s ambush, you still allow this scumbag Yogi get under your skin.”

Masaomi’s voice, now cold and suave, had a surprisingly chilling effect on him. Mamoru almost physically felt as his anger drawn away from him, replacing with calmness and some melancholy.

“Honestly this pencil-pushering ass-kisser don’t deserve your hatred. For kami sake, he’s TEMPORARY commander, he will serve here for the year, then he got back to Tokyo as he want and then YOU would take his place, as there’s no one sited fir this job better. So allow him to pamper his ego for a while.”

Finishing hid small speech, Masaomi Richiga, continued to look at his friend and superior with confident smile and Mamoru find himself smiling in response. Kami, his friend right: maybe he was dragged from training field before the schedule, but Yogi would have massive headache with all upcoming paperwork for violation of carefully planned schedule. And there also was high-state of alert, thus mean he need to prepare and confirm new patrol and service rosters, prepare knightmare frames and armored cars to work and there is such nice bonus as daily report to city police chief – general Kojiro Shinomiya.

Enjoying his little vengeful thoughts, he gives his friend high five, on which Richiga answer with giggling and then cut the transmission. Mamoru, shifted slightly making himself more comfortable in the chair and then adjust main screen to have more clear view of surrounding landscape.

Putting his grieves aside, last he could simply enjoy beautiful vies of evening city and surrounding nature. Shining of city’ lights, dark mountains surrounded by red setting sun, wavering surface of ocean. All of this was surely beautiful to Mamoru’s sight, completed with almost unnatural shine of sunlight above forest...

Column of binding aquamarine light, that shot upward from nearby forest, immediately followed by roar of alarm claxons, wasn’t that appealing though.

His drill sergeant would be proud of him (and no he wasn’t nasty guy, just strict) as his hands already pushed sensor buttons in sequence that open channel to every member of platoon and open a windows with mana-meter and tactical map.

“To all member of First Assault Platoon, combat alert! I repeat – combat alert! All squads, prepare to engage the enemy!!”

Quick glance at mana-meter reading make all hairs on his body stood. No matter what it was it’s could bring a small-case natural disaster on the defenseless inhabitants of nearby quarter, an to make it worse – the indicator of mana’s charge slow but steadily rose. He and his mans need to stop it, no matter what!

“Harashima!” Roared first lieutenant, now directly addressing the driver of Serf. “We need to get to the area of mana-discharge! Could your boy got there?”

Unlike the knightmared armored truck, despite being built as all-terrain vessel, couldn’t even hold a candle in terms of mobility and passability to fast and agile KMFs, which could easily circle around trees or jump over pits and ravines. And right now second lieutenant Shirou Harashime franticly search for possible passage through forest for his machine, using 3D map of this area

Well, it’s not like he wanted to actually bring their supply vehicle on the battlefield. Despite his armor and pair of powerful gating cannons, Serf still was first and foremost a support machine. It’s main role were providing platoon with ammo, control UAV’s and use it’s more advanced communication system for long-range transmissions.

He need it to get the truck near the area of presumable battle contact to help them resupply their empty magazines, if it’s would be needed, not to turn it into big cozy target.

“Done! I found the rout for our baby” Roared Harashime over the comm-link. But then he added with grim voice. “But I need to make a ten kilometers long detour to get at optimal position near the area of discharge!” I would be here after fifteen minutes!”

“I get it!” Nodded Mamoru – not a best condition, but not worst either. All knightmares had the additional magazines, and even if the situation press them harder they still could, theoretically, hold on enough time to wait for truck to get to them. As last resort they simply could retreat to Serf, reload their guns and chase their enemies down. “Don’t break the car on your way there! And prepare UAVs to launch at my command! And, most importantly, send the message about this incident to all available military and police units in area!!”

If gods were merciful, they could even didn’t meet anyone dangerous there. But he couldn’t believe in that, especially after report he get together with emergency transmission from captain Yogi. Something bad happens there, in Uminary.

Pushing such loser though out of his mind, Mamory Shijido, gripped control joysticks firmly, his eyes steadily locked on big purple circle in the middle of tactical map – dark purple tumor grow slowly, engulfing more and more – the growth of magical energy around its source.

At main display this area were circled in green ellipse, encircled with numerous readings – arena of death match for his platoon.

“Listen everyone, we need to investigate this case! And, as you can see, as we come closer and closer; engage a dangerous enemy!” Commanded First Lieutenant Shijido, his voice now steady and cold. “Be very careful, my friends, as you can see on your sensors it’s not a small problem, but a looming threat to innocent citizens of Uminary-ciry, whom we all swore to protect!! But don’t waver; we – humans of Earth already defeated those mage-using bastards once, and we do it again!! ALL HAIL BRITANNIAAAAA!!!”

Eleven additional voices roared a familiar and famous war cry at top of their lungs. And in almost perfect unison all members of First Special Assault Platoon gunned their throttles, speeding their respective knightmare frames toward their target, deftly jumping over road obstacle and then disappearing in dark mass of forest.


~***~

The light grew brighter and brighter, switching from being blinding to hurtful very fast. Oreki, mustering all remaining bits of strength, managed to roll around and, barely forcing her body to move, cover her face with both hands. Even such trivial matter as moving her both palms to cover her face almost drive her into insanity, as waves of freezing agony washed through her entire body any time she tried to move.

She felt as if someone forced her to drank gallons of insanely cold water and then toss her naked into blizzard. The terrific pain and vicious cold gnaws on her flesh and bones driving more and more tears from her eyes. Tsutsuhino Oreki never could imagine that cold can bring so much suffering with it.



“Stop! Stop this!! I beg you!!” Tried to scream teenage girl, but only gurgling rattle leaked from her twitching mouth. Through haze of agony, she felt that her haori and hakama now were drenched in sweat and clung to her body, fueling torturous cold flame, which engulfed her body.

She bitted her lower lip trying to overcome the pain, even such little effort send jolt of pain through her flesh, and attempt to stand up and escape. But her struggles only increased her agony as if any movement of muscles sucks more and more chill into her body from atmosphere.

The intensity of light reached its peak and Oreki was forced, whining and moaning to curl in tight ball, burying her palm-covered face into red fabric of her hakama. Pain reached it apogee, gnawing at her body with such intensity that she almost lost conscious; her limbs were paralyzed with cold agony just like her mind, leaving only silent plea “Help me!” in her franticly jolting head.

Tsutsuhino Oreki now could only hope that something would release her from this pain, even if it would be death.

Then, just in opposite to previous pattern, the light start to rapidly grow dimmer and dimmer. Her agony also weakened: while pain became weaker pretty slowly, at last binding feeling of cold swiftly leaved her body.

“Guh… keh…” Oreki slowly moved her barely-responding legs and arms from her face, finally letting her tearing dark blue eyes to see already dark and now pretty scary forest. Furious spasm, shook her entire body and brown-haired teenager puked an unpleasant mix of saliva, foam and stomach juices.

Gasping for breath, she rolled on her back, wiping her face with left hand, not wanting to ruin her haori.

“It’s…over…” Moaned blue eyed girl, trying to ignore pain, which still chew in on her insides.
Low and threatening growl, from her right told her that her assumption was VERY wrong. Quickly turning her head toward source of scary sound, she could feel how her blood froze in her veins. In the middle of the circle of scorched grass stood four meter tail humanoid monster.

His entire body were covered in ash-gray fur, baring only his hands, feet and face. His visible flash was dark brown in color and were covered in callosities. His lower jaw stick out, with two massive fangs pointed upward as stalagmites. In the middle of his face, right between edged of his dreadful fangs Oreki could see a relatively small snout-like nose, with two tiny blood-red eyes on the both sides.

The beast squatted, additionally leaning on his hands, each finger on then ended with short but massive claw. The wind blow from the back of monster, engulfing brunette in salty smell of musk, though Oreki somehow find this aroma appealing.

But most impressive trait of beast was the familiar aquamarine stone, which gleamed pretty bright right now, which was firmly engraved into monster’s forehead.

The gleam of the stone seemed to ignite the flame of life in beast’s eyes. It took few unsteady steps forward,using both pair of limbs during movement. Then the newborn creature, with a sudden burst of energy, suddenly straightened stood on hinder legs and raising upper extremities above its head. The shine of red eyes and aquamarine stone intensify, Oreki dug her nails into her palms, trying to ignore the raising pain and concentrate on more potent danger, a beast make a deep inhale, opening its mouth wide, revealing a massive blunt teethes smeared in thick saliva and…

Let out a loud “UUUUUK!”

Oreki froze in shock unable to move and her mind going numb and even pain was pushed back by sheer overwhelming astonishment. Teenage girl could only half-sit, half-lay among herbs and flowers in circle of old trees, gazing at… happy creature, who carelessly danced around, shouting in delight and wavering his paws around.

Its antics finally confirmed weird but only logical conclusion in this macabre situation.

“T…Toro-chan…?” No matter how weird it was to think about monstrous creature as her cute little friend, but Oreki saw him staying on the same spot where little monkey stood before this ghastly light appear, and she wasn’t able to find other possibilities.

Hearing her voice mo… her pet stop dancing around and turned toward still motionless girl, who start to fell how pain start to resurface again. Red eyes gazed at her with unreadable expression but then, to her unimaginable relief, flashed with joy, then former primate dashed toward girl in miko grab, shouting in even greater joy.

With a great leap ex-monkey threw his massive body in air, closing the distance between them. Oreki could only stare in awe as seemingly bulky hairy body preformed a deftly somersault in air and then smashed into earth with a loud thump, covering his human friend in mass of mixed earth, grass and, unfortunately, worms.

Oreki understood, that she should be scared by presence of knightmare sized humanoid, which hopped up and down, grinding herbs and flowers into multi-colored mush under his feet and rams, right in front of her and whose face was close enough for his breath to riffle her hairs (oh Amaterasu the smell is hideous!), big teethes and saliva which oozed from the corner of mouth didn’t help either.

But Toro’ eyes shined with such joy and his face twisted in such funny and goofy expression, which particularly shouted “Look! Look! How awesome I become!”, that young brunette couldn’t help but laugh. Though, this fit of jovialness send her body to spasm in new outburst of pain.

Toro, seeing her agonizing expression, squeaked in alarm, leaning closer to inspect her condition. He tapped her right side with his left index finger (thankfully, he was more or less aware of his newfound strength so he tried his best to put as minimum of power in his fingers ad he could), forcing of muffled “guh” from her, them he sniffed all over her strained set clothes and stumbled away with disgusted yelp (Oreki was VERY offended and revolted by this reaction – who do he think at fault that now her haori and hakama were drenched in sweat and covered in dirt?!), then overgrown primate start to gently stroke her forehead with tip of his finger trying to sooth her pain in a similar manner as she pampered him when he wound his paws.

Oreki tried to fight back pain in her body too, attempting to concentrate at her clenched fists or trying to perform one of few known breath gymnastics her grandfather taught her, but all her efforts were proven fruitless, when new flash of agony bent her body in perfect arch.

Giant Toro shrieked from the shock of her sudden spasm, but then, looking at how pointless all his efforts to help teenage girl who laid on the cold earth were, his face twisted in mixed expression of anger and despair and then large humanoid toss his hands upward and roared, shooting his eyes tight.

Oreki, for a moment, forgot about her own pain looking at darkened silhouette of gray furred transformed primate, since sun were too low to shine its light on this place already, and, mustering all remained strength, lifted her body for a bit, leaning on elbows, trying to reach out her grieving friend.

“Uuk?” Toro questionably tilted his head, seeing brunette’s feeble movements, then he noticed her shaking right hand. He carefully move his bulky left arm to meet pale and fragile girl’s arm, warped in soaked sleeve of haori.

With one final push, Oreki grabbed Toro’s index finger with her entire hand and give transformed primate a reassuring squeeze.

“I… it’s okay, To…ro-chan…” Her voice shake as much as her entire body out of strain, but she was too scary to give in to pain and simply lay on ground. It was already a evening, and while her grandfather eventually would get worry about her absence, she didn’t know how possible it was for old grandfather Sozo to get there to find her. Tsutsuhino family shrine was pretty remote from the closest living quarter, so chances that the wandering passerby will find her was very slim.

The wind grow stronger and temperature rapidly dropped, promising an cold night, so if she would stay here until morning she most likely catch pneumonia, especially considering her weak state.

To make matter worse, she hear about few wild bears, that were transferred to Japan Special Zone from Britannia mainland due project of restoration of natural environment, which receive a terrific damage during Twilight War. And while Tsutsuhino daughter liked animals, she didn’t want to meet face to face with insanely strong bear, whose temper she couldn’t predict.

And since she couldn’t run away due muscles could end being paralyzed by this pain and cold and who know how bad SUCH situation could end. Oreki needed help to get to home and the only one who could help her was Toro, so she needs him to calm down and somehow tell him to help her to move.

And she really hated to worry this li… well, ex-little guy.

“…I… would be okay if…guh..!!” She gritted her teethes, trying not to scream, when new prick of pain pierced her stomach. “…Please…Toro-chan…. I need you help…”

Large humanoid, who gazed at her with mixed look of confusion and dear, emit a loud shriek and jolted backward a bit, when teenage girl suddenly jumped and latched on his left arm, warping both hands around it. Oreki barely managed to catch her breath, almost fainting from pain in muscles, her throat was as dry as yesterday crackers and she fell how nor her clothes was so wet with her sweet that both haori and hakame need a good sqeezing.

“Toro-chan… home…” Oreki put all her remained strength in the last word, while pointing with her left hand toward the direction they both come from.

Now she could only desperately hope that her friend would remember how often she called the Tsutsuhino temple a home, or even understand human language. She really hoped that ex monkey wouldn’t drag her to his den – long cold night in company of monkey family wasn’t the best of her dreams. Assuming that primates didn’t run away in sheer horror when they saw Toro’s new look: gut feeling told her that it was a pretty possible scenario.

“Uk…” Gray furred giant stared at her for a very long a terrifying moment, Oreki hold her breath, gazing directly into his red eyes, biting her lower lip with enough force to draw the blood.

“Please, please! Oh kami, I beg you, make it work! Make him understand me!” In her entire life Oreki Tsutsuhino never prayed as passionately as she did at this moment.

“Uuu…” Toro raised his head to see where she pointed, staring at darkened frame of temple in the distance, then his face brightened and with a especially loud “UUUK!!” he turned and looked into Oreki’s, now glistering with delight and relief, blue eyes and nodded.

Sheer joy pushed away pain, thoughts about Toro’s surprisingly high intelligent and fear how she need to prevent her grandfather from meeting new Toro, she just started to sob in delight, when two strong furry arms gently picked her stiff body up from the ground and then carefully cradled her against super-primate’s chest.

“Schwalbefliegen!”

Oreki almost suffocated on her own scream: pain could be not as warping as previous seizure, but much sharper – it was as if someone jammed a massive cone in her belly and now twist it, pushing it deeper and deeper into her flesh.

She couldn’t understand from where voice come, bare herself and Toro there was no one on this already dark (and now frankly scary) glad; on other hand she could bet on anything that she absolutely precisely heard cold, hard and metallic voice.

It was very dark feeling in it, also it was a pretty low, but powerful voice with an accent pretty similar to a German, she heard during on live interview with some general from Prussian Empire. This voice give her feeling of a sword, that was drawn from its’ sheath to strike any opponent down. After few tense moments, Oreki with grown fear understood – voice come from the depths her own mind.

Brunette craned her neck, trying to look at what happening behind Toro’s back (the said monkey also stood still, franticly looking around huffing fiercely, pinned by unknown feeling in his forehead and equally strong fear). For on moment she desperately wished for miracle – that she just imagined this scary voice – but then, her widened eyes saw how from dark mass of forest three glowing crimson spheres shoot out.

They not flied in straight trajectory as any normal projective should do – they quickly changed vectors of their flight, they speed, actually dancing in the air akin to trio of serpents, who creep closer and closer to their prey. The flashing tails, they left beside them only strengthened the impression.

Oreki was both fascinated and terrified of this spectacle, unable to avert her gaze from staring at shimmering orbs, as if they were eyes of giant demon snake who already paralyzed its victim and now prepare itself for feast.

Toro also had similar feeling, and make a sole right decision in such situation – he pulled her closer and then jumped forward, taking a big leap toward Tsutsuhino temple. Crimson spheres, as if reacting on movement, froze in place for a moment, then around each of them appeared a strange shimmering rotating triangle of the same color, with unknown symbols engraved all over their surfaces.

She heard loud boom, then Oreki’s ears were assaulted with agonizing howl and after this she was hurled into evening sky. Despite the fact, that her falling were softened by tall mass of grass and that angle of her flight was pretty small, Oreki’s already tormented body received a quiet painful blow. Brunet girl coughed, too tired even to scream, but then she saw WHAT caused her failing and she instantly forgot about anything.

Toro lay on earth, hollering and twitching, clutching in both arms a small bloodstained sausage, which she, to further horror, recognized as stump of primate’s left leg.

Gray furred humanoid squeezed the gaping wound with all his might, trying to stop the stream of blood, that stained his reminded leg and some part of his lover body. Oreki never know that living creature can emit SUCH pitiful cry of fear and agony. Then she noticed a line in the ground that stretched from the behind of Toro’s body and goes somewhere behind her bac; turning around, she saw on the end of this line a metallic orb.

The earth and grass were blasted away with tremendous force of impact, and combining the impressive length of furrow with previous boom, indicated that something propelled this ord to supersonic speed, which allow it to blast poor Toro’s leg off. Said leg she immediately find on the edge of the furrow.

Another boom deafened her for a moment, but she still saw how second sphere, shoot out almost vertically and blasted away Toro’s right arm. Tsutsuhino family scion now very regretted that she remained deaf only for split-second, since now her hearing were filled with high-pitched agonizing shriek. Now Toro’s body shook fiercely, droplets of his blood fly everywhere, as now almost his entire body, which now curved in an arch, was covered by his own blood.

His head smashed into earth with each spasm, as poor gut tried to end his own life to escape the pain, foam gushed from his mouth and his agony-filled red eyes, which almost crawled out of their socket, gazed directly into Oreki’s blue orbs.

Oreki remembered about her own sufferings, only when she tried to crawl to her friend downed figure. Her body now was on fire, each nerves were engulfed in fire, her moth was filled with blood from her bitten-through lip and seems she chewed a part of her cheek’s flesh. Fierce spasm almost send her flat on the ground, she barely managed to overcome it, but wasn’t able to keep her stomach’s content inside.

But even when she pucked out gobs of bile, Oreki wasn’t able to avert her gaze from terrific conclusion of ghastly spectacle. The last orb lazily took a position right above troro’s head, and she almost seen the line that connect crimson orb and aquamarine diamond, which brightly shined in the middle of Toro’s forehead.

A moment after the triangle around him disappear in quick flash, which send mtall ball down with speed to great
for her to eyes to follow.

The silence, that follow sickening crunch was almost painful to hear, she saw how shards of Toro’s crushed skull and pieces of his brain blasted away by force of collision and stream of blood that almost reached motionless girl.

The cursed diamond fall near Oreki’s left arm, bounced two times and then lay still in few centimeters from her fingers.

The horrified girl’s gaze slowly wandered from the gem, which was surprisingly clean, to the tattered remnants of
her animal friend again and again, as if she tried to emulate a mechanic doll. She gasped when she saw how monkey’s body rapidly starts to return to its original form.

Giant frame quickly shrank to its true small size, terrible claws disappear, replaced by her favorite cute little finger she so liked to touch. In the middle of pool of blood now lay a little corpse of her bellowed little pet.

Just a few minutes ago he was so lively, so happy, so eager to play with her, so full of live; and now he reduced to nothing more than mutilated remnants. Never again he would greet her with gleeful shriek, never again he would dance on of his clumsy but funny dances to cheer her, never again this little furry ball of joy would show her his love.

Tears continued to fall from her eyes as she sat on the ground, coughing and whimpering, until she heard low rumble, which come from the part of forest that was closer to mountains. Right from the direction from where those crimson orbs came.

Oreki tiredly lift her head, mustering all little courage that was left to meet new calamity with raised head. Her eye shoot wide open when she saw the source of now pretty loud howl.

With uncanny agility the six heavy mechanism rode off from the woods. All of them were massive and on first sight clumsy simulacrums of KnightMare Frames, which represented a bulky humpbacked torso, built into tank chassis with a various dangerous weapons in their possession.

Two of them, who rumbled forward on the front of formation, were wrapped in thick slabs of armor as cabbage in leafs. Their heads, which resembled a gas-mask of shock troopers, with a long triangle-shaped emerald visor, were bigger than heads of their comrades and were simply a continuation of body than actual head, since they don’t have necks and were simply built into torso directly.

Their massive arms, covered in thick armor from the oval shoulder pieces to the elbows, were pressed together on the chest, connecting two large shields, fixed on their forearms, into one massive defensive construction.

On machines’ shoulders and on rotating turret on the front of their chassis Oreki could see sophisticated cylindrical devices – most likely cannons, judging by their design and pair of recognizable features – with many wires and hoses connected to them, the most distinct trait of them was small dull crimson lens in the centre of cylindrical tip of unknown weapon.

Oreki also couldn’t help but notice a numbers of metallic trapezes, attached to shields and armor of vehicles. Her eye widened, when she recognized them by blue glow they periodically emitted – a crude attempt of Belkans to reverse-engineering of Russian Coalition’s Rocket Jammer generator.

Now she know what was those red and bulky machines are. The warjacks – one of the primary battle mechanism of all nation of Belkan Empire or Interstellar Administrative Bureau. The mages come back to Earth!

On small distance behind bulky jacks the two distinctly different mechanoids threateningly closed the distance between them and scared teenage girl. They have less armor than their comrades and were a bit more humanoid: they had a neck and their heads was more human-like in terms of proportion in size against torso, though they still have a very scary look –as soldier in helmet and gas-mask with a thin dark-green visor, where a small red dot of camera moved around.

They clutch a relatively small but bulky battle axes in their right fists and from time to time those warjacks slightly wavered them - a sign of old and experienced cortex (a primary warjack’s CPU), who already start to develop a blood-thirsty temperament.

Left hands of those constructs ended with short-barreled cannons, whose wide muzzles betrayed a highly destructive capability of cannons.

They also had a twin barreled machine-gun in their turrets, which not dispersed Oreki’s tension.

At the very end of formation, with a quiet erratic manner, rode a pretty thuggish looking warjack. He looked pretty similar to the two cannon-wielders, and just like them he also had an axe as a weapon. To be specific, both of his fists have a vicious-looking and jaded battle axes, whose handles were longer and butt of both melee weapons have an cylindrical attaches, whom Oreki recognized as… exhausters of jet engines.

This jack had a numerous gashes and metallic patches on his “face” and armor (which were a bit thinner than axe-wielders), indicating that this guy saw a numerous battles in his service. He also had a twin barreled cannon on his hunch, similar to his colleagues with two long ammunition belts coming out from them and disappearing somewhere in warjack’s back.

He didn’t have a turret on his tank part unlike the previous four jacks, but he had a large cylindrical accelerators’ on both sides of his tank chassis.

But the machine, who give her strongest chill rumbled forward in the centre of formation. This jack was very different from others present: he was much slicker and humanoid than other jacks. For instance – his head, instead modern of soldier in gas-mask, resembled that of a medieval knight in open helmet where instead on sole visor, she could see two glowing spheres, right where humans have eyes.

While his armor was richly decorated and wasn’t any thicker as “thug-looking” jack’s armor, something tell Oreki that this guy could shrug off the same amount or enemy firepower as much as both of the forward riding “thick-guys” could. Or even more.

On his shoulder he had two strange-looking cannons, bigger cousins of those, whom were armed two forward heavy-armored warjack, supported by a pair of familiar cannons were installed on his forearms, allowing him to use two massive fists to use additional weapon or strike in close combat.

“Though, why should he use his fist in close combat if he can smash and bash his opponents with those monstrosities on his back?” Oreki thought darkly, gazing at pair of giant crimson war hammers, attached to unknown warjack’s armor right under shoulder cannons.

Each of insanely large hammers, who looked like it can flatten a knightmare frame with one strike, were equipped by the same type of jet engine as the axes of the dual-wielding warjack. Moreover, it’s fore-end ended in a massive spike, shaped like drill which obviously could rotate, increasing its crushing power to an incredible extent.

The brunette noticed, that the unique warjack’s chest area had the familiar edges of pilot cabin, with was a stark contrast with others, so it’s mean that inside of him ride a mage, who controlled an entire this battle group. This thought was reinforced with a sight of insignia – Three black hammers, crated a triangle in the centre of red circle.

Leader’s steed had the same rocket accelerators as rear guardian, but what makes her heart skip a beat was a pair of massive launchers on both sides. She didn’t know how but she KNOW that those upward looking tubes launched those metal orbs, that rob poor Toro of his life.

Oreki could only half-lay half-sit, shivering uncontrollably, when six warjacks stop their charge, creating a circle around the place, where Toro’s corpse floated in the pool of blood and gore, while eyes of leading machine gazed right at her.

“Heh.” A quick sharp sound of snickering froze the blood in the veins of a girl in miko’s grab. Oreki never heard such voice – cold, stern, vicious. It’s sound like unsheathing sword, which hungry for battle.

“Look whom we have here – a little monkey.” The oriental girl now was pretty sure that it was a young female voice, she wasn’t sure, but Oreku could assume that speaker was as old she is – the seventeen years old. But she never heard such hatred and malice in her age-mates voices.

“By the way – was it’s your brother I killed right now?” Asked unknown her mage with a plainly lazy voice. The decorated warjack raised his right hand and pointed on dead monkey’s corpse.

The wave of anger and hate that hatched in the depth of Oreki’s heart washed over her entire body twitching her stomach into tight knot, forcing her to grind her teeth together with such force, they almost break and melting all ice in her veins. How DARE she?! How dare this shitty mage say that she killed her poor little friend with such indifferences?

Suddenly Oreki understood that now the fever in her body stopped causing her a pain. Yeas, right now the flames, which dance on her nerves fell rather pleasant. The surge or rage brings rampaging torturous heat under her control.

Leading vehicle’s loudspeakers emitted a cold chuckle when daughter of Tsutsuhino family raised her burning eyes to stare directly into eye-shaped cameras.

“Heeeh. What with that defiant look, lil’ monkey?” Warjack raised both of his arms, pointing forearm-mounted cannons at teenage girl, whom in her case, not even bunged at the sight of weapon pointed at her. “I admit that you got guts yellow-ass. Well at last you preserve some dignity before your death.”

It was obvious now – she wouldn’t get from this satiation alive. Oreki didn’t know why she didn’t feel the terror of upcoming death, why not she cry, why not she try to be for mercy. But right now she could feel only burning rage, hatred and soul-crushing thirst to wreck some arrogant bitch head off.

Now she feel how heat turned into bubbling mass of chaotic energy, pressed into her stomach area. Oreki growled, biting her already bloodied lip and trying to concentrate.

She refused to give in, she refused to die silently before the unrepentant killer’s eye. At last, before the she descent into Yomi-no-kuni, she let this mage-using trash to hear her roar.

The dark rumbling wave hatched in the depth of her chest, then its burst upward, and then hurled through her lips in the form of astonishing roaring howl. But it wasn’t only her roar that assaulted the 6 metallic harbingers of doom now.

The ghastly aquamarine light come back to her vision, together with a massive wave of heat that was born right in the centre of her own body. Her heart beat like sledgehammer against the anvil, the heat now was so strong that steam from her clothes now clouded her vision together with tears.

The hatred gnawed on her guts with intensity of hungry beast and her stomach now twisted in the tight knot, her teethes, strained in blood munched her lips, digging deeper and deeper in the flesh, while her entire vision was drowned in the aquamarine light.

And then something snapped in the very depth of her being. Orki Tsutsuhino’s mind was drown in hatred, forgetting all other things in existence bar the sheer rage and wish for most vicious vengeance. Her head jolted backward, almost breaking her neck, her mouth open as wide as her physiology allowed it and then hell-fire that lingered in her body finally went berserk.

All the energy, the accumulated during this terrible evening in her body finally run wild: the storm of familiar aquamarine energy, burst out from any pore of her body, incinerating her clothes instantly and them flushing in the surrounding as wave of destruction.

[vic-vic]

Spoiler for Part 6:

As any proud man the first lieutenant Mamoru Shijido wasn’t happy when he got reminded about his mistakes.
Yes, he know that he really should check about transmissions jamming BEFORE he lead his platoon into the maw of the unknown menace, but again WHAT else he could do in situation like that?

“Hm, creating a protective barrier between the resident area and the forest and await for reinforcement for instance?” The Masaomi’s voice was almost pitiful, that was even more insulting for Mamoru’s hearing. Good thing that short-range communication was still alive, losing ability to control entire platoon would be a complete and utter disaster.

Though, he was forced to agree that Masaomi is right. He really was too high on adrenalin at that moment.

“Are you suggesting a retreat to edge of resident area, Masaomi?” Pride be damned, the survival of unit and protection of citizens always would be hundred times more important than his wounded heart.

“It would be most rational, commander.” His friend’s voice was absolutely serious, without any hints if humor in it.

“I had few words with Harashime a few seconds ago – he still can’t break through the jamming even with all his skills and his equipment.”

Mamoru gritted his teethes, drastically decreasing the speed of his knightmare frame, prompting the others to do the same. It was a very bad sign, that Shirou Harashime – a men, who undergoes a training with a skilled Britannian communication officers – wasn’t able to send a single word to HQ. No mater it was – it wasn’t a trivial matter.

“Mamoru…” Masaomi Richiga’s voice became even more somber. “ I have a clue, what’s could happening, but you wouldn’t like it.’

Mamoru’s only answer was a mirthless chuckle, the darkness of surrounding forest perfectly fit his current mood and overall situation.

“You know, I don’t fucking like this situation already. So, please, you can spice it up already.”

“A sub-dimensional barrier, Mamoru.” Richiga’s answer still managed to rattle him. A sub-dimensional barriers was a invention of Belkan mages when the war reach the state when Jaspan’s adversaries was forced to rely on hit-and-run tactic to stall Empire advance instead of their favorite “charge of steel rows”, when soldiers of Wolkenreich understood that their fansy barriers crumble pretty fast under the barrages of Sakurahydrogen-filled shells.

While definitely not as powerful as full-fledged dimensional barriers, they was much harder to notice and allow small unit of combatants and warjacks to snuck into Japan forces positions. Though, they consume less mana, they were much harder to create support, since the caster was forced to maintain the distorted cluster of warped space in time-space fabric, rather than creating a small sector of secluded sub-space.

This mean they fought against pretty skilled and powerful mage, with a platoon who never faced a real battlefield. Mamoru was too experienced to dare to ask how it could be worse, he know very well how Goddess of Fate liked to teach the mortals lesson of humility.

Any further thought were interrupted by roar of alarm claxon (he hoped that this wouldn’t become too familiar to his ears) and then blinding flash of aquamarine light, which pushed back the surrounding night, send the surrounding shadows into mad dance. The number he saw on both thermometer and mana-meter makes him gulp.

“Commander!” Masaomi loud roar struck him like a bats. “The sub-dimensional barrier is falling apart! This outburst of energy bring it down! Shit! We got six hosltile signals hundred meters right ahead of our location!”

“All members of First Special Assault Platoon - attack!!” Roared Mamoru, if they saw the enemy it was very much possible that enemy saw them too (though, more likely, enemy spotted them time ago but simply await 1st platoon in the ambush), opening special channel to platoon’s support vessel. “Harashime, launch our UAVs ASAP and send them at my position!”

Barely noticing shrill “Sir, yes sir!” from communicator, First Lieutenant Mamoru Shijido lead his soldiers in the battle.

Now it was only opinion left to them. May Amatersu be with them.


~***~
General Vita ven Schoneherd, the Grossherzogin (Grand Duchess) of the nation of Wolkenreich hissed in strain, trying her best to maintain the shield around members of her battle group. Her hands fly over the keyboard, setting another set of cartridges to release their content and pour more and more mana through her Panzerritter’s mana-transmitters.

Thanks goddess that only half of her machine’s mana-cartridges were empty due her emergency sortie, since her field wouldn’t withstand such terrific outburst of energy on her own already richly spent stock of mana. But who could think that this certain jap would pull out such stunt!

She couldn’t believe how fast her luck could change from horrible to good and then revert back to very bad in span of one evening.

When she was ordered to take a small battle group and goes at emergency recon mission she was rightfully pissed off. She already work herself to the bones, with hard every day trainings in both physical and magic training, tactical and strategic control over battlefield, Panzerritter piloting, and it’s all goes without mentoring her mandatory courses in sociology and economic, and all other lessons any self-respectful grossherzogs should know.

And today, when she barely walked out of shower, after particularly exhausting drill, she was interrupted by urgent message from Signum, who urgently told her that she obtained an valuable information that she NEED to confirm. Any Vita’s protests were repulsed by three phrases:

“You’re the only available warcaster in this area! And we cannot lose such opportunity! And you need to make up for you misbehave during our last raid.”

Vita loved her adopted sister and leader dearly, but she still savored the thoughts of pounding pinkette ass into floor when they meet again. What the hack was this “opportunity” anyway? Al’Hazardian super-weapon, on this godforsaken planet that shun magic in ANY form?

And kek, how many times Signum would continue to berate her for this incident during the fast skirmish in one of Brits settlements: it wasn’t that she deliberately shoots on that house. No one of yellow-asses was hurt to seriously by the way so why Signum was so mad about her fire in so-called civilian area. She don’t remembered yellow-asses for being merciful or show any concern about Wolkenreich civilians during invasion.

Still, she obeyed, she was a Belkan knight and she couldn’t even imagime the situation where she would betray her commander expectation. She ordered to recharge the half of remaining full-charged cartridges, while she changer from her casual clothes into pilot suit and checked her battle roster. She decide not to take mage-mechanics or heavy-armored infantry, nor she take tanks or even new arrived spell-conductors, she just assemble old and reliable “dagger” formation: commander, 2 vanguard warjacks, 2 assault warjacks and one counter-charge jack.

Vita found artifact during the second hour of search. Like the Signum’s Intel said: the area of search was a secluded forest zone on the edge of the city. Getting positively mad out of pointless and boring stalking around, while trying her best not to get into Britannia eyesight, she sent all security protocol under the Janack’s tail and cast wide-area search spell.

Okay, she admit it was very stupid, but she already grew sick looking at the mountain or forest landscapes, where she usually lead her battle group, since being too close to Britannia settlement even in normal circumstances was bad idea. And when Britannians where ready to fire at any suspicious shadow, trying to use even a tiny road in the depth of forest was a call for a Hewris – the Goddess of Death.

Good thing that her Panzerritter were equipped with special mechanism that allow her machine and all machines in her zone of control ride through any terrain like it were a straight road. Still it didn’t make a nerve-wrecking voyage through dense forest near heavy fortified settlement, when she and her battle-group was forced to froze at any suspicious activity from Brittanian aerial flotilla, more enjoyable.

Good things that locals was much more concerned about what happen inside of city to unleash full-scale search of near-settlement area, but she know – soon the situation would drastically change, and she should get away from here ASAP.

To her utter surprise she get a small but steady response almost immediately. Even the faint echo told Vita that she found something very powerful. Intrigued redhead, decided to dig deeper and casted special enchanted version of search spell, this one was more sensitive and accurate, but most importantly, it has also seal and barrier-breaking spell, installed into it.

Vita even pushes additional energy from few her own mana’s pool to enchant the spell. The seal-breaker would crack almost any known types of magic shields and she doubted that any ancient relic (if it would be here) would be protected by energy barriers. She got her answer in manner she newer expected: her senses were overwhelmed for a moment when she felt the response of Jewel Seed when her spell break the seal on ancient treasure.

A moment after Vita felt that something awakened Jewel Seed and rushed to its location, cursing her carelessness and twist of fate that threatened to snatch recently founded relic away.

She quickly casted a sub-dimensional barrier, to prevent Britannians from noticing the flash. Of course, soon their detectors would find time-space anomaly, but they would be already too late to prevent her from escaping. Now only ones, who could see the true panorama was the beings, who were in the area of effect, when barrier activated. And she specially double-checked the last news, so Vita knew that nor police station in city should have any units in this area.

And why should they have if Britannia army already was in the city?

To her relief, she quickly found the JS – it was activated by contact with a member of local fauna (a monkey, that how those weird humanoid mammals were called by natives) and then promptly turned curious furry humanoid into quiet repulsive thing.

Without second though, Belkan nobility activated one of her few distance spells – the Schwalbefliegen – sending three homing spheres toward misshaped thing. Vita didn’t have any time (nor wish) to play a heroine and try to carefully remove the JS from the monkey’s body without harming the subject, so she simply smashed it into the goo.

Sorry, furry-guy, but I can’t afford to play nice, she don’t have too much of time. Though, while she have a sympathy for the killed mammal (albeit, a very little amount) she didn’t feel anything from the sheer hatred and disgust toward the second humanoid she found on this remote glade.

The Japanese girl! There is nothing more in entire universe she hated more than yellow-asses. Seeing her making such terrified and vulnerable expression only fanned the fire in Vita’s heart. How dare this slit-eyed bitch try to pretend to be a victim?! How dare she try to pretend to feel any human emotions after all the horrors her god-damned compatriots done?!!

The young Grand Duchess vision quickly started to be drown in red as she could almost heard roar of her boiling blood. Vita snapped out of her berserker trance only when she hear painful groan of control joysticks, which she squeezed with all might of her trained hands. Quickly lowering the pressure on the precious controllers, and took few dip inhales, calming herself a bit.

Her mood brightened a bit more when she looked more carefully and saw utterly pitiful and broken state of Japanese teenager. Well, since she wanted to keep secrecy a bit more, she couldn’t let this girl to live, why not to give this yellow-ass a piece oh her mind.

“Look whom we have here – a little monkey.”

Vita couldn’t believe how good those words feel, to finally give the cronies of Japan Empire the piece of her mind.

Her joy only increased when girl, in response to her words, cringed pilling her head in shoulders. Jap’s face now was sickeningly pale and her swelled up blue eyes, filled with fear and sorrow, was now wide open.

Boredom and slight amusement almost managed to drive away her hatred. Honestly, seems that she meet a standard cowardly jap, who could show any courage only when her side had numerical advantage. Well, not that she expected more from the member of this cowardly race of indiscriminate murderers.

“By the way – was it’s your brother I killed right now?” Snorted Belka’s noblewoman, making her steed to pointing at remnants of mammal with its arm. Her instincts told her that jap had some connection to slain animal, so Vita wanted to see: would the yellow-ass be angry at her friend’s killer or would she be so consumed by fear to do anything. Vita wanted to know - is there any grain of self-esteem in that body?

The girl’s body jolted and her head shoot upward, revealing a burning rage in Earth girl’s eyes, showed that Japanese girl indeed have some dignity in her. The previously wavered lips was now pressed into tight line, which quickly transformed into scowl, baring her teethes, confirmed a remains of fighting spirit in brunette’s heart. Vita only chuckled at this – what that, a yellow-girl tried to show that she had some bravery in her?

“Heeeh. What with that defiant look, lil’ monkey?” Sneered red-head, working with her joysticks to point pair of S-4 “FeuerRegen” auto-cannons at soon-to-die earthling; it was time to put this jap out of her miserable existence. The red mark on display was right on the girl’s heart: a slight movement of her finger and the universe would say a goodbye to a blue-eyed yellow-ass.

Vita’s smirk grew broader when girl suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, since she already start to pull the trigger – the japs anguish screams always welcome to her hearing - but then an alarm claxon roared, signaling about upcoming danger.

The body of jap girl suddenly started to glow with familiar aquamarine light, to be specific, a orb of pale light appear in the centre of girl’s chest, rapidly growing in the size. The stream of vapor jettisoned from soaked clothes of screaming teenager, betraying a massive outburst of heat from the inside of brunette body.

The intensity of light grew more and more and forcing Vita to half-turning away from the ghastly show, to save her tearing eyes from pain. This movement almost cost Vita her life when suddenly the girl entire body explode into roaring storm of aquamarine energy that engulfed entire area in maelstrom of destruction, while Belkan grossherzogin instinctively pulled her right arm from console to shield her eyes.

Thankfully Graf Eisen reacted faster than his flabbergasted driver.

“Panzerhindernis!” - Stern and powerful voice of her device come out together with loud thump of empting cartridges, pouring additional energy into glowing red dome, that formed around entire battle group. A split-second later massive wave of energy engulfed entire area. The air roared from gargantuan amount of power, which powered into surrounding space.

Alarm claxons goes mad, as Vita, while fiercely cursing, desperately taped on keyboard, imputing a command to unload another few cartridges to strengthen a barrier around her warjacks and her steed which tried to withstand the relentless assault.

She couldn’t believe that - the yellow-ass hasn’t show any hints of being a mage, not saying to be able to force Vita and her steel warriors in such grave danger. Even Signum couldn’t unleash an attack of such magnitude. The mana-meter and thermometer readings, if the terrible strain she felt right now wasn’t a dead giveaway already, proved that her Panzerhindernis protection spell meet her biggest challenge in her entire life. With growing drear Vita admit that if shield collapse, despite their renowned armor, her entire battle group would be turned into molten slug in matter of seconds.

The roar of energy disappears as surprisingly fast as all this pandemonium spontaneously started. The terrible strain just go, the alarm claxons, which threatened to deaf her immediately stop roar as wounded in ass dragon. The wave of all-destructive energy extinguished itself in a matter of few moments and then the mortal danger was gone.

What was left was just one pretty shocked and (she SO much didn’t want to admit it) pretty scared teenage girl with read hairs in a tight space of cockpit. The only sounds, which interrupting pressing silence was a hum of war machine engines, beeping of sophisticated electronics and loud exhales and inhales of Belkan warrior.

Gasping for breath, covering in sweat, and tightly squeezing the edge of control panel Vita Schoneherd looked up at central monitor, trying to take a grasp on current situation.

The entire area was a mess: the previously green-covered glade was now a scorched wasteland: all floras was gone, burned out by storm of energy, what remained was a barren smoking ground.

Vita also could see the still boiling puddles of liquefied rocks which excluded stream, which make her silently thank Graf Eisen for swift reaction, or her Panzerritter and warjacks would be in the same state. The trees, which grown on the edge of glade were gone, and those of them who was lucky to be further from the epicenter of inferno became a charcoal black lifeless sticks.

Sheisse! – Cursed Vita. There was no way in Janak’s Pit that Britannians would left such disastrous incident unnoticed. There is no doubt that right now, their aerial flotilla started to pick up the search parties the deployed in park, where the first Jewel Seed awakened, and then sail toward her position on top speed.

She need to hurry up to find and took the Jewel Seed and then ran away into the maze of tunnels under the mountains.

The beep from the console and a flash on the screen drag her attention. Vita, magnified the view and almost jumped in joy – the Jewel Seed was still alright. Now it was totally dormant, but Eisen still picked the remaining energy readings. Seems that cunning artifact protected itself at the cost of all his gathered energy.

Then she saw a weird shadow nearby, and slightly turned the head-mounted eye-shaped main camera to see what that was.

The scion of House Schoneherd almost suffocated when smoke cleared a bit and she saw that the jap girl was still alive. Vita was utterly convinced that brunette used Flamme desletztenWillens (Flame of the Last Will) – the ancient spell which allow the user to compress all his mana, raw emotions and life-power in sphere of destruction, which allowed him to drag his enemies down into Janak’s Pits together with him.

But the earthling was still here, in the middle of destroyed glade, still alive as the reading of bio-scanner told her. Even though now jap was completely naked, she, to redhead utter shock, laid flatly on the burning-hot ground unconscious, but otherwise alright. How could it was possible, how did she survived this insane storm of destruction, how could she still wasn’t cooked alive by overheated earth?

Vita shook her head furiously; she didn’t have the time to think about that. She was really short on time to think about this mystery. All she needed to do was to grab the relic, smash the dangerous girl and run away like bat from Jank’s Pits.

Then she found out that her troubles didn’t end there: when she tried to order one of her Stahlrammers to escort her Panzerritter she could “touch” his cortex. And a second later Vita Shoneherd, with growing dread found that he‘s not alone in his deafness.

All warjacks in her battle group stopped responding to any of her mental command. No matter how hard she tried to send the simplest of orders, she couldn’t get an answer from her war machines.

Disruption! Vita gritted her teethes in blend of impotent rage and frustration: why this evening Janak liked to grace her by his attention so much that Lord of Razor-Glass Wasteland decided to add one of the most dangerous warjack’s malfunctions in the list of her troubles.

Well, malfunction wasn’t a very correct term, a diversion would be much more on point.

During the middle period of war, when Japanese already controlled half of Wolkenreich space, the planetary invasion on the series of key planets, after the series of brutal battles come to a stalemate.

The first few months after the start of the war were nothing more but series of catastrophic defeats at the hands of Reborn Japan Empire’s armies. The damned earthlings anti-magic ammunition utterly screwed Wolkenreich’s main battle doctrines.

From the ancient times of Grundung to fierce clashes between many fractions of Great Belkan Empire the strength of battle mages and sophistication of art of spell-writing was as important to Belkan’s nation military force as much as ingenuity of weapon engineering and development of new was engines. And when one of the two pillars of Wolkenreich military might was shattered the usual outcome of battle between Belkans and Japanese was sadly predictable.

The inability to use their most destructive spells was truly frustrating for desperately resisting warriors of Wolkenreich, but more frustrating part was that they had the technology and knowledge to counter earthlings’ murderous rampage through the vast of their homeland, but they were forced to toss away the legacy of many generation of their ancestor to use their potential at needed levels.

The sakurahydrogen, depending on its concentration, eat through any barrier jackets of barrier and could distinguish attack spell of any might in few seconds leaving many prominent Belkan mages at mercy of their enemies (the mercy they didn’t receive). The end of magical constructs and/or guardian beasts was also grim but mercifully fast. But the Janakish gas have much less eroding potential at spells that were engraved into any object created by non-magical methods or living creature.

The enchanting spells that was casted onto grunt soldiers, tanks, helicopters, warjacks and other manufactured machines of war resisted the effect of sakurahydrogen for a very long time. This revelation brings a new hope to defenders of Wolkenreich, many of whom slowly started to give into despair.

The Nations (though all of them preferred to call themselves Autonomic Provinces, since no one of them lost the wish to rebuild strong and prosperous Belkan Empire) of Belka always praised both arts of war and put equal effort into development of both magic art and military technology, so Wolkenreaich had a significant amount of non-magic war engines. Unfortunately, just like their brethrens from Bleka, Wolkenreich always followed Code of Diamant Palmen (Codex of Diamond Hands) which strictly limited strength of armies of each nation, and Wolkenreich didn’t have enough numbers to face Japan Empire hordes.

Thankfully, production capacity of Vita’s homeland was very high and time, bought by noble sacrifices of many soldiers and militia give Wolkenreich enough time to field enough war machines to stall earthlings’ advance. Their country always had a fame of being splendid jack-marshals and tank commanders and now it was time for those arts to shine in the middle of whirlwind of destruction and despair.

And the long time of nurturing warcasters oriented on warjacks and vehicles boosting and spending tons of funds on improvement of armored warfare technology give the fruits. The enchanted regiments of tanks and battle groups of properly boosted warjacks gave damned yellow-asses a trip to Janak’s pit they so richly deserved.

The sight of bulky and heavy armed Belkan red warjacks, boosted by special spells, charging into formation of knightmare frames, supported by thunderous fire of empowered tank formations and winning the day was most wonderful to any Wolkenreich defender. Maybe there wasn’t always a victories (heck, the Japanese was disgusting keking killers, but they always make Wolkens pay for their victory), but the message that previously unstoppable killers can be slain fanned the fire of defiance in their hearts.

The arrival of allied forces from neighbor nations gave additional boost to the spirit of citizens of Wolkenreich. The possibility, that invaders could be beaten back from their home soil, slowly but steadily grown into reality.

Unfortunately, Japanese have their own vision of future and the delightful moment of Wolkenreich’s liberation from their caustic presence wasn’t in it.

Just like Kaiser of Wolkenreich, the leader of slit-eyes called for aid from neighbor power – Chinese Federation, how another breed of earthlings called themselves. But what was more disastrous the find, that Japanese find the method to affect on warjacks main processor unit – the cortex.

Using specialized devices (a combination of what they called “tuned up ECM” and EMI-emitters) earthlings could send any cortex that Belkans used in their warjacks into state of disarray and then affected machines could use only most simple orders, with warcaster should give only through manual control panel, as without properly working cortex warjack simply couldn’t receive any magical encrypted orders, or being boosted by any means. This state Belkan tech corps called Disruption.

So, once warjack was disrupted he couldn’t do anything then rolling toward near enemy on battle speed and try to him them with basic attack. Moreover, since cortex was main CPU, damage to him greatly reduced the efficiency of targeting system and coordination of movements. And until cortex reboot itself, warcasters should only hope that they know an area-effect spells that would affect warjacks, without need to contact with cortex.

Using that method to greatly reduce warjacks efficiency on battlefield, Japanese and Chinese overwhelmed Belkans’ resistance. After their last sword was countered, the Wolkenreich simply fought losing war right until sustaining final defeat right on their capital planet Wolkendomane.

Vita shook her head – it wasn’t the time to brooding over the past, if she struck here for too long, the Britannia army would cook her alive. She needs to get Jewel Seed and escape to the nearest evacuation tunnel.

Her right hand in standard Belkan armored warcaster gauntlet, swiftly sprung from the joystick and start to furiously dancing on the sensor the keyboard under separated monitor, which showed the six stylized figures: the simplified image of five warjacks and one panzerriter – her entire current battle group. The Battle-group Status and Control Display – one of the key tools for any warcaster.

Under each of them she could see rows of icons, each of them showed the status of important system. The five warjacks had the very same set of icons, her panzerritter had few additional: a small crimson star – warcaster and a brown wheel - a man manned unit.

The new shimmering icons – a small lighting - near all warjacks indicated that all war machines now suffered a disruption; or course the icon of antenna – the symbol of working connection between cortex and control device – disappeared. Thankfully, warjacks support CPU was still active and they still properly respond to remote control system – the icons of little green orb with letter “C” and stylized remote controller was still there.

Her fingers continued to fly over the glimmering surface of sensor keyboard, sending the orders to steel soldiers. On the same time, Vita pushed both pedals a bit, sending both threads of her panzerritter into motion. Her Graf Eisen jolted and moved toward the ancient relic, which lay on barren earth, near the motionless frame of Japanese girl.

The warjack clumsy obeyed and followed her lead, thanks Sankt Kaiser, the new soft, developed by dame Testarossa improved vehicles response to command, movements and coordination. Warjacks even displayed some rudimental sense to avoid the collision, while moving in linear formation.

The dried rigid earth crumbled under the tracks of her war machines. To make the matter worse, the outburst of energy axed the long-range radar, so now she couldn’t response to appear of threat until her enemies would in range of her tactical sensors. Which mean – when the start to shoot at her, and it was an optimistic scenario, as Brtitannians more likely would simply blast her with their favorite long-range fire. She pushed pedal even deeper, increasing the output of engines.

Quickly reaching point of destination, Vita moved the left joystick, sending additional mental command through her Armed Device Graf Eisen, whose name carried her personal panzerritter.

Both sophisticated joystick consisted from two metal rods and plastic handle (which were overstrained with buttons and switches), connected by joints, such design allowed controller to bend like human arm, which give a driver an wide freedom of movements he could perform with hands of his machine. Device, which performed a role of a main panzerritter’s CPU, helped with smoothness, swiftness and accuracy of motions. The movements of panzerritter’s torso were controlled by the motions of the driver’s seat.

The metallic hand of machine carefully grasped priceless artifact, lifting it from the ground. Vita took a glance on the tactical map, where shining gold line showed her a shortest way to nearby entrance into the maze of tunnels.

Vita glanced on chronometer in the left lower edge of main screen, the 2 minutes already passed since the energy blast, she need to hurry. Vita gently touched the pair of symmetrically located red buttons on both joysticks - the triggers of twin SEW-10 “Vulkan” cannons, located on the shoulders of the panzerritter, but then the sudden thought, crossed her mind.

The girl used accumulated magical energy, stored in her own body, to initiate a catastrophic explosion. Sanct-Kaiser Helmut know how many energy was left in this body. She couldn’t shook away the thought that if she dared to underestimate the earthlings obsession with killing her kin and determination to do so, she would pay with her life, as she almost done if it wasn’t for Graf Eisen’s attentiveness.

Quick glance on the DSCB told her that warjacks still was in the state of Disruption. Not a surprise, considering what amount of emitted energy goes through them, thank Sankt-Kaiser that their cortexes at last survived this magical onslaught. Okay, decided crimson haired grossherzog, she would maintain the barrier for the case of another explosion, since the magical reserves both in her body and in the cartridges wasn’t that large already, and the honor of shooting would go to one of her warjacks.

She pulled back, putting some distance between Graf Eisen and unconscious girl and then, executing a series of fast clicks on the glowing keyboard, ordered a Stahlhelm (Steel Helmet), who stood at the edge of formation - the point furthest from place, where laid still motionless Japanese - to aim his cannon at unconscious girl. The low hum of mana-turbine in the depths of her panzerriteer appeared after few additional touches on the keyboard.

The additional mana she immediately poured in the formed barrier, but deciding not wasting too much of valuable energy Vita created crescent moon-shaped barrier, that would protect them from the hypothetical explosion.

Despite her hatred toward the denizens of already crumbled Japan Empire, Vita still admitted that girl had the courage and ability (who could imagine that blue eyed teenager could pull out such explosion) to resist her and that she deserve to die like warrior in the blaze of fire, instead of being crushed like insect under the threads of warjacks, like she wanted to do in the very beginning.

“Farewell, warrior of Earth.” Whispered Vita, giving a small salute to strange girl, while preparing special spell Werg(Tow), with would allow her to drag the warjaks like cars in trains after her panzerritter by the set of binding spells. Confirming that spell is set properly and that all five machines wouldn’t fall back when Graf Eisen reach cruising speed, since she couldn’t use her link to order warkacks to use maximum speed too, because of still remaining Disruption effect, and returned her attention to her today’s adversary. “You fought well and meet a glorious death, protecting your home soil.”

Vita couldn’t see, but still imagine in smallest details, how plasma round was pulled from the magazine into the chamber, while the rapidly increasing magnetic field in the matter of split seconds reach the point when it would became powerful enough to send the shell at suoersonic speed right into the target.

But before the warjack could execute his command booming roar of knightmare frames’ auto rifles pierced the air. The Stahlhelm fiercely shuddered under the relentless bombarding. But then he gives in to the damage and explodes, sending the burning wreckage into the surrounding.

[vic-vic]

Spoiler for Part 7:

~***~

- Kso! – Spat out Mamoru, avoiding charcoal-black remnants of threes. The image that appear on main screen a moment ago, after he pointed main camera of a factsphere at the weird red dots, revealing a small group weird shaped crimson machines, a warjacks – one of the mainstream war engines of damned mages, which trundled across in the centre of former glade – the calculated epicenter of energy outburst.

He cursed even louder when he failed to recognized some of those bastard children of tank and knightmare frame – they get a new models of warjacks. Why should his evening grown worse and worse with each passed minute?!

Good thing that new passive ECM, installed in their machines, seemed to prevent enemy’s short-range sensor from spotting them. Well, at last Amaterasu have some mercy for him and gave his platoon opportunity for surprise attack.

First lieutenant Shijido touched a button on the panel, opening channel to all machines under his command.

“All units, prepare to battle! I repeat – prepare to battle! Do you copy?” Ordered Mamoru, his gaze pinned on the upcoming blood-red machines. His heart kicked into high gear when he recognized a pretty sophisticated machine, obviously more advanced than others, reveling a presence of a warcaster directly on battlefield.

“Sir, yeas sir!” Roared chorus of voices through communication channel. The swiftness of reply give their commander a small measure of comfort. Which quickly start to erode since the image of bulky mechanisms on screen grown more and more detailed.

Mamoru was a fan of a wartime history and during the mixed exercise with army he gained enough knowledge to know how dangerous those heavy-armed hunchbacks are under the control of powerful mage. The Japan Empire paid a heavy price in lives for their wins against mage’s vehicles.

His eyes shoot wide open when the factsphere caught the glimpse of what was the reason that warjacks stopped and then formed a clumsy but distinct formation. Mamoru magnified the imaghe and cursed again: right on the smoking ground laid bizarre naked and unconscious girl, whom his knightmare frame’s computer dutifully recognized her as Oreki Tsutsuhino.

The slow motions of her ample bare breasts (Mamoru slammed a fist into his own forehead – what was he thinking in situation like that!) indicated that she was still alive. Mamoru’s brain goes into overdrive, trying to figure best course of actions.

They need to get the girl from the battlefield, since the peaceful resolution of meeting was as possible as concert of purple spider, so they could use their heavy weapon freely. But to do so, his platoon should cross the open vast of ruined glade under the enemy fire.

He know that belkan guns was effective at short ranges, but compensated this with truly catastrophic destructive power. Mamoru Shijido didn’t wanted to test how good the Blaze Luminous system, installed on their KMFs would be against he cannons of unknown jacks.

Maybe they could try to use feint attack – send the bulk of his forces bombarding the Belkans, while dashing at full speed over the edge of clearing and when enemy forces would turn around from the girls to face them – one machine would charge from the deep of forest and snatch Tsutsuhino-san right from under their noses.
Well, they could pull out something like that if the trees, the ones who didn’t turn into ash, on the edge of glade weren’t smoking lifeless sticks.

The trains of his thought come to screeching halt when he saw as the closest jack raised his cannon, pointing it right on the source of Mamoru’s brainstorm.
To fuck with all cunning plans!

“All machines – fire on my target!!” Bellowed the first lieutenant, raising his knioghtmare’s auto rifle, and sending spray of shells right into Belkan machine’s side. His subordinates didn’t let him down this time too, almost immediately adding their own share into storm of rounds.

The red warjacks convulsed madly under the torrent of fire the sparks and pieces of metal fly in every direction. After few seconds later, the tormented machine suddenly bloated up, fire jettisoned from the holes in armor, and one moment after warjack viciously explode, showering the nearby warjackas in the shrapnel of deformed metal. Seems that one of the rounds accidentally caused a detonation of ammunition.

The explosion, unfortunately, had a very little effect on the near jack, who became the protecting wall for another Belkan’s vehicles. The thick armor of bulky machine absorbed the power of blast and withstands the bombardment of metallic shrapnel in exchange for suffering a numerous but shallow gashes and cuts on the thick red-painted metal.

Mamoru gritted his teethes – such thick armor would be a really tough cookie to crack for his police unit. Where the reinforcement, damn them to hell?! The only good thing was that thick-jack also protected the still unmoving girl from being smashed by shockwave.

The Belkan war engines slowly trundled toward his rapidly upcoming platoon, raising their guns, trying to catch the knightmares into sight.

“Scatter!!” Bellowed First Special Unit commander, sharply yanking the joysticks, sending his KMF into evasive maneuver. His squad followed him, the other squads, emulating their commanders, also quickly darted from the line of upcoming attack, the four squad of knightmare frames dashed toward their adversaries by long arching
trajectories.

Belkans discharge their guns, thunderous roar reverberate through entire glade, when shells leaved barrels at supersonic speed, it was followed with even more deafening explosion, when they slammed into the ground, batching the surrounding in wave of fire.

Belkan’s cannon rounds were a sophisticated mechanism, that created the cloud of overheated plasma in the centre of shell, contained by magical barrier, and when round break, the released plasma burst into surrounding space.

The clumsy and unfocused fire confused Mamoru for an instance. What are they doing? What’s happened to Belkan machines targeting system? Why don’t warcaster enchant the warjack’s aim with his magic?

Then the realization bloomed on him – that outburst of magical energy overloaded warjack’s brains… or how was Belkans call their CPU. So, right now Belkan machines was as agile as drunken monkeys - a chance he so longed for!!

“Masaomi!! Pick up the girl and transport her to Serf, now!!”

“Yes sir!” Retorted through the inter-com second lieutenant Richiga sharply. “Ichinose! Kotomine! Follow the orders of second lieutenant Shogo in my absence!”

Without listening to instantly coming “yes, sir!” Masaomi Richiga’s kniughtmare, which already put his rifle on special fasteners, bolted from the formation toward the line of the red half-humanoid machines, which still, unsuccessfully thanks to Amaterasu, to hit knightmares of their platoon.

Masaomi Richiga had the reputation of most talented and agile pilot in the platoon, but the warjacks hardly could hit even the greenhorn pilots who saw their first battle. Still, not wishing to tempt the fate, the tan-haired devicer send his machine into series of drifts, akin the figure skater performance.

He couldn’t ignore the most advanced looking machine in the enemy formation – obviously a warcaster steed, which quickly turned his torso around and raised its left arm and guns, installed on the forearm spit out a torrent of fire, which he was forced to quickly avoid by sending his knightmare into quick jump, which unfortunately stalled his charge to unconscious civilian.

To make things worse, the twin axed wielded warjacks, who looked like a seasoned pirate, also turned his torso with twin-barreled gun on it, aiming at second lieutenant knightmare frame. The canon roared sending a entire spray of plasma rounds at knightpolice machine, while the caliber of gun was lower and the aim of warjack was as pretty much horrible, the sheer rite of fire cover previous drawbacks.

Not mention that even smaller plasma rounds were still very destructive and even direct hit of one of them could if not destroy his KMF on spot but definitely inflict grievous damage.

Thanks Amaterasu, that other jacks had their own problems to concentrate on him. The brother of killed jacks send round after round at maneuvering knightmares, without any success. While two bulky jacks were busier, with circling protecting their comrades with their super-thick armor and they seemed to perform good, since no more jacks succumbed to First Platoon fire.

Seeing, that he have a problem arching his target his squad-mates, together with members of second basic platoon quickly circled around and opened a volley fire at Belkans formation, aiming on the Ruchiga’s assailants mainly.

The ghostly crimson field appeared around the leading machine, deflecting the storm of rounds, and one of the heavy armored jacks was forced to roll back to cover bandit-like machine from fire. But the mage was still forced to divert his attention from Masaomi’s machine, while “bandit” concentrated to fire on Richiga’s platoon-mates.

Without missing a second, Masaomi, pushed both joysticks forward, the cloud of dust blasted from under the landspinners of his Sutherlands who stormed at maximum speed toward the naked girl on the ground.

The cabin-mounted tank-robot tried to prevent him to get closer, but roaring sound of upcoming rocket forced him to turn around toward new danger. The hastily appeared familiar crimson-colored shinning barrier consumed the power of explosion, but the delay give Masaomi such needed seconds, for quickly closing the gap between his KMF and mrs. Tsutsuhino, and make a sharp turn, sending another wall of earth and dust over red machines, quenching the velocity.

Sutherland leaned forward, swiftly picking the brunette up, then blue and white Sutherland performed backward dash, before jumping to the side avoiding the incoming fire from the warcaster’s machine, as he managed to shield himself with two bulky warjacks from the fire of KMF’s platoon auto rifles, and then darted zigzagging toward the point where First Special Assault Platoon entered this ill-fated glade.

~***~

Mamoru nodded in small relief, seeing that Masaomi managed to save the girl and get her away from the enemy. The faint glimpse of satisfaction was swiftly drown under the wave of anxiety, when he saw that all warjacks rumbled forward, seemingly having enough with playing as practice targets for earthlings forces. Somehow the Belkans machines managed to look very pissed off, even without having any expression-capable faces.

Maybe it was a very loud roar of their engines, or the look of shell-gashed armor. Mamoru, with growing fear understood, that first kill was achieved only because their platoon managed to fire on the thin rear armor of torso, while the frontal armor could withstand much more damage before giving up.

Well, while the “rogue” jack seems to had thinner armor than others, but all other present assailants, especially two rock-like build jacks, would be a tough targets. Thanks kami now, since Masaomi evacuated the civilian from the area, he and his mans could use their heavy ordnance and grenade launchers without hesitation.

“Heavy squad, fire on the Boogie-3!” Commanded Mamoru, pulling his rocket launcher from the back, and aiming at the brethren of the slain jack, the other members of his squad emulated his movement. “First and second basic squad, aim on the Boogie-5, use your grenade launchers! Assault squad, charge into close combat distract the Boogie-2 and 4, but don’t engage Boogie-1!!”

“Sir, yes sir!!” With quick and fluid motions the remaining knightmares darted toward their targets, splitting the formation and opening a clear line toward the Belkans advancing forces.

Just like on training course, Mamoru connected the crosshairs with red circle and push the button. Knightmare frame jolted a bit from the recoil, when the rocket flies toward its target. A moment after the air was pierced by dual roar when two other members of his squad fired their rocket launchers in unison too.

One of the rockets (thankfully, not his) suddenly changed its course and slammed into the frond with explosion. But the heavy rocket from his advanced rocket launcher D-7 “Eliminator” with sacuradite warhead reached its target.

The entire glade shook under the power of explosion, the Belakn machine was torn apart with such destructive force, that now even tank chassis was ripped to shreds unlike the previous one that now stood like black and burn tomb-stone.

Mamoru allowed a small smile to creep on his face – had gambit was proven right. During the last stages of war Belkans, despite that their side now only dragged the time before the defeat, managed to reverse-engineered the Russian Coalition’s rocket jammer generator (though the quality was so-so at best) and pretty much all warjacks were equipped by them making rocket weapon much less effective.

But since rocket jammers required control from cortex, only commanding machine would be able to use the generator since other jacks still suffered disruption. And while they managed to get one rocket out of course, the jack still received his share of rockets.

Then mana-meter roared again, the reading of warcaster’s machine skyrocketed, indicating that something huge is coming.

Mamoru Shijido braced himself for the worst, silently praying to Amaterasu. The scored a few kills, but enemy
was still strong and had a powerful spells and weaponry at his dispose. And everyone know, that even cornered mouse would fight with utmost ferocity.

And black-haired devicer has no doubt that his platoon cornered not mice, but the pack of feral wolves.

~***~

Vita roared in mix of rage and frustration when another Stahlhelm was destroyed by enemy fire.

“Kek you all, shit-suckers!” Hollered red-haired mage, looking at how grin satiation became for her battle group. Three knighhtmare frames, armed with spears cornered one of Steinshilds. The Steinshild was a primary siege and anti-heavy tanks warjack – he plowed through enemy fire until he reaches the point from where he can unleash his destructive SEW - 8 “Lawine” cannons.

And while he had heavy spiky fists that could smash APC apart, their usage would open his fragile belly, since movements of arms would move the slabs of armor, attached on them. She issued the order to not the retaliate in melee until her command, so jack wouldn’t attack under the influence of his support CPU. But the relentless attackers now tried to use their spears as leverages to open Steinshild’s arms by force, and then the third member of their squad would jam his spear right into the jack’s vital parts.

The second Steinshield stumbled back from the explosion when the another rocket barrage struck him, when her protected Vita’s personal warjacks Exermut (named after ancient hero of Belka folklore). His thick armor withstand the power of blast, but the ghastly large dent on the armor almost screamed that another attack would pierce the armor and then the warjack would share the sad fate of Stahlhelms. And without protection the Exermut would shortly join him.

Vita’s blood pressure reached the dangerous levels. Those keking treacherous shits!! They already claimes the two of the precious war machines that was left from her homeland war legacy, and those monkeys wanted an another trophy?!

Kek them all to Janak’s Pits!

Vita almost ripped the left joystick from the its fixing with vicious jolt. The Graf Esien left hand bolted upward, aiming FeurRegen auto cannon at the trio of knightmares that harassed the warjack.

The knightmares was swift enough to either darting back or using the Steinshild as barrier (much to Vita’s increasing rage), but they still was forced from continuing their assault. Vita didn’t stop there and rotated the torso of her steed to the point when the Vulkan cannons could take an aim at the squad of knightmare frames, armed with heavy weapon.

The twin stream of red and black energy didn’t have more luck than previous shooting, but Vita didn’t tried to hit her adversaries right now, what she needed was a distraction and she achieved her goal.

Her lips curled into savage grin when she imputed a few commands and the majority of remained cartridges exploded in rapid succession, pouring an insane amount of mana into Graf Eisen core. But the result was worth it
– Vita’s most powerful boosting spell, the pride of entire Wolkenreich that turned the ride of many battles, were completed.

The large Belkan blood-red triangle appeared under the Graf Eisen tracks, the runes flared so bright that panzerritter almost disappear from the sight. Then the triangle suddenly explodes into the massive wave of energy that washed over the entire glade.

The stunned Braitannia police unit stood still for a moment, looking how now all Blekan machines was engulfed in the flickering red areolas, with a small rune-etched triangles around engraving into their chests.

The trio of melee oriented knighmares, restored their formation and charged at the Steinshild they choose as their pray, not knowing that tables was turned around. The warjacks spread his arms, allowing both cannon on his shoulders to take an aim, licking the fire with the cannon in the turret on the front of his tank chassis.

When the knightmares were just a few seconds from the strike, Steinshild unleash the terrible barrage of energy. Knightmared were expecting this and covered themselves with their thick shields with inbuilt Blaze Luminous system. In normal circumstances the shield was sturdy enough to withstand a torrent of energy long enough for KMFs to jam their melee weapon into warjacks vulnerable chest area, destroying him. But this time a vicious storm of red and black energy almost blow them away.

The knightmares and their armament withered and melted away in the embrace of enchanted stream of energy in the matter of few seconds. The thunderous roar reverberate through the glade, when the all three knightmares explode, claiming the lives of Second Lieutenant Marii Dokubari, Private Asemu Asodo and Private Ikudo Ise.

The UberirdischeWut(Unearthly Rage) – the spell that boost both accuracy and destructive power attack performed by all possible members of battle group (both warjacks and warcaster’s panzerritter), regardless was they melee or ranged, to their limits on the same time. The praised spell of Wolkenreich, they give only to their closest allies (though after the fall of Wolkenreich the spell became much more wild spread in order to repulse Earth Empire attacks), which was able to turn warjacks into monstrous engines of destruction, cleaving and blasting their way through the ranks of enemies. And now it was a First Special Assault Platoon to have a taste of this spell.

Vita’s hands danced at keyboard under the BSCD’s sending new commands into the Steinshilds’ support CPUs. The Exermut didn’t needed that, his could suffer the Disruption, but he still had a special imprinted programs and, no matter what the scientists of Bureau said, his own battle spirit. And one command from his lady was enough.

“Totet Sie, Exermut!! (Kill them, Exermut)” Intoned Vita, her voice almost rumbled from barely hidden growl of vicious delight.

With bloodcurdling roar of activating rocket thrusters, the old warjack charged right into the formation of stunned enemies.

~***~

Mamoru could only gasp in horror, seeing how entire squad was obliterated in matter of few heartbeats. He know that belkan weapon is destructive on close-range encounters and that he and his subordinates never should let their guard down but to see how three KMFs was simply vaporized wasn’t something he was used to see.

To make matters even worse, the ragged warjacks, covered by précising fire from the commanding machine, which Mamoru’s mans barely was able to doge (inner voice tell Mamoru that they dodged only because it was covering fire), on binding speed closed the gap between him and two knightmare frames from Richiga’s squad.

The warjack’s twin axes started to wave a deadly web of slashes with unfortunate machine of private Asagi Ichinose parried with a blow of a left hand with activated Blaze Luminous.

The shield of greenish energy hold for a few seconds, before collapsing under the both numbers and the power of the attacks. The pieces of both arms and destroyed auto rifles flied everywhere, before the bandit-like warjacks sliced a knightmare frame in half with an overhead chop with both hands. Thanks Amaterasu, Asagi managed to activate her Ejecting System and her cabin rocketed away from the explosion.

Her squad mate, Kurage Kotomine wasn’t that lucky – his vehicle got torn apart by point-blank fire from the turret on the warjack’s hunch.

The rage in Mamoru’s heart exploded as fiercely as the KMF of his recently perished comrade. Those bastards already took the lives of four good soldiers under his, Mamoru Shijido’s. care and who know what terrible things they do to poor Oreki Tsutsuhino, whom they find naked and unconscious on red-hot ground. They would pay!

Seeing how another heavy armor clad jacks mimicked the movements of his comrade, by spreading his arms and, judging by growing flickering shine of infamous red and black color in the depth of focusing lenses, starting to charge his deadly cannons.

“Heavy weapon squad, maneuver T-32!!” Bellowed platoon commander, already finishing a insane plan in his mind.

Mamoru’s KMF moved sharply, taking an aim and preparing for daring maneuver. Right on the moment when all three weapon released the deadly column on energy, Mamoru, who carefully listened to increasing beeping of sensors, shoot his Rocket launcher and pushed the pedals sending his KMF in the dash on the same time. His steed jolted fiercely, Mamoru almost bite his tongue, avoiding the storm of red and black energy by velocity from both working motor and recoil from the shoot.

The rocket, from his launcher explode somewhere in the forest, while a moments after the two rockets from another launchers hit warjack’s opened chest area. While, those rocket wasn’t as destructive as sacuradite warheads equipped ones from Mamoru’s Eliminator, they still was pretty powerful rounds. The warjacks’ torso was blasted apart, while his tank chassis was now engulfed in fire.

The joy from the success was, unfortunately, short-lived, when the even more powerful red and black beam vaporized one of rocket launcher wielding humanoids. Seems the enemy commander was tired of just covering his warjacks with fire and decided to claim a few kills himself. The sole consolation was that Ken Nobukatsu was quick enough to activate Ejecting System right on the moment when he heard alarm claxon that tell him he was on enemy sights.

Now it was three against five.

The three knightmares from the second basic squad was locked in deadly dance with bandit-jack. His closeness preserved them from the bombardment, but the web of destructive clashes and fierce fire bursts from turret gun wasn’t less deadly.

Those three was seasoned veterans and they were able to hold the rampaging tank robot in check, but they also weren’t able to start to retaliate either. Their stun tonfas look pretty weak against razor-sharp twin edgy axes, but they took a lesson from Asagi’s defeat and didn’t allow bandit-jack to start to rain the Blaze Luminous field for too long, immediately darting backward when the warjack start to rain any of them with strikes longer than three seconds.

Fearing that soon enough warcaster would join the fray, and then they would perish without a doubt, the squad decided to act. The squad leader, Ibaraki Shogo tossed his rifle away (it was damaged by stray swing anyway) and, activating both tonfas charged at jacks. His squad mates opened a fire, aiming at the ground right under jack’s, threads.

The cloud of dust, blasted upward, managed to blind the jack for instant, since his sensors was working barely for 40% due disruption, giving Inbaraki an opening he longed for. The Sutherland crashed his right hand down on the warjacks, imitating the overhead chop that jack used to destroy Asagi Ichinose’s machine.

The jack, despite all of this, was still powered by arcane magic and had a rich experience himself, so he swiftly moved his axe, bashing both much weaker Sutherland’s arm upward, preparing to strike opened KMF’s chest with horizontal slash with another axe.

But Shogo know he wouldn’t be able to pierce the jack’s defense with pure melee skills and the jack’s movements was his true aim.

The moment bandit-jack lock his kginghtmare’s right arm with his right hand and started the deadly right-arm slash, Ibaraki ejected his knightmare frame’s left arm right into jack’s head. The power of impact forced jack’s torso to jolt backward, breaking the strike and releasing his KMF’s hand.

Ibaraki’s machine jumped backward, opening two other knightmares line of fire. The pair of grenade launchers boomed in unison, sending deadly projectiles into rigged jack. The red Belkan machines tried to avoid the impact with impressive speed, but the distance was too short. Jack managed to save his torso, but the grenades still hit his turret gun and blasted away his right wrist.

The crippled machine quickly turned around and his rocket engines roared to live as he darted from the machines of basic squad. Seemed that jacks finally overcome the disruption and reestablished the mental link to their leader.
Mamoru and his remaining squad mate Kio Sakurai was busy with fighting with warcaster’s machine. They was forced to scuttle back to the edge of glade, sending rocket after rocket at powerful war machine, while desperately dodging incoming shots, as trying to fight it on the closer distance was a suicide.

The knightmares start to chase their target, showering him in gun fire. The jack shacked under fire, his armor loosed its pieces, threatening to give in. Suddenly the damaged belkan machine sharply changed the direction, leaving jacks at the line of fire of the fully charged cannons of the second thick-armored jack, who stood with separated arms in front of them like he wanted to embrace them with death hug.

Mamoru hollered in horror and rage, knowing that he can’t save his comrades. They were too careless and fall right into enemy’s trap.

The twelve rockets, roaring down from the skies, slammed into jack’s chest, blasting him apart. Shocked Mamoru raised his gaze to meet a wonderful view of pair of UAVs, circling in the sky above glade. The Harashime finally took a position to support them!

“Mamoru!!” The voice of Masaomi Richiga never sound more beautiful than today. “Hold there, my friend! The aerial flotilla would reach your position very soon!”

The message reach all remaining members of First Special Assault Platoon, pouring new strength into them. The Mamoru and Kio aim now could rival that of sniper and only the barrier preserved warcaster’s machine from damage. The basic squad darted through the glade to join the forces with heavy weapon squad and aid them in mage hunting.

But the Belkan mage refused to give up. Another stream of energy forced Kio and Mamoru to stop their barrage and take evasive maneuvers. Then red machine raised its hands, reaching and pulling out both of his hammers. Then amalgamation between tank and knightmare connected both hammers in one deadly weapon and charged toward the upcoming basic squad.

The movements of wascaster’s jack were refined and fast, when tank-robot’s weapon continued its mysterious but deadly dance in the air, but knightmares already started to spread up, preparing to repel the upcoming charge.

“Giganthammer!!” The Belkan mage’s hate-filled roar (it was a woman’s voice!) reverberate through entire area as thunderclap, when the hammer, the jack hold in his arms suddenly rapidly increased his size and the length of the grip.

The jet exhauster on the backside of hammer roared to life sending the monstrous weapon into destructive swing. The sharp tip of hammer goes through all three knightmares without stalling, crushing all of them in the metal slug. Ibaraki and his squad mates were barely able to eject in time.

Mamoru Shijido, stared in shock at this insane spectacle, until the beep in the corner of the dashboard dragged his attention. Cold and grim smile crawled on his face when he saw the reason.

“Kio, we’re retreating!” Ordered Mamoru, dropping all official protocol.

“B-but, sir…” Started flabbergasted Sakurai, who wasn’t able to look away from the warcaster’s jack who menacingly turned toward their two remaining knightmare frames, raising his war hammer again.

“Do it!!” Roared First Lieutenant Mamoru Shijido, giving his subordinate an example with pulling his rocket launcher back on its fixing and turning away. Seeing his superior’s movements, the younger devicer obeyed.

The pair of UAV’s who spent all their ammunition when they destroyed the last non-damaged jack, followed them.

“Don’t worry Kio.” Reassurred his subordinate Mamoru, guiding his machine out of the recent battlefield. “The bitch wouldn’t get away with this. Those guys would take care of her.”

Kio Sakurai gasped, when he saw about whom his commander talked about.

~***~

Vita take a few breathes, calming down, while checking the map and sending the mental order to sole remaining jack in her battle group to move close, when alarm claxons roared again.

Redhead looked at the image, which Garf Eisen sent to the main screen and gasped in horror. The white and gold bulk of the Logres-call aerial battleship, followed by pair of Caeleon-class aerial frigates, suddenly appeared in the sky already charged their Hadron cannons, aiming at her.

Vita could only stare ion horror and despair at approaching doom, she know very well she wouldn’t be able to outrun new guests, neither dodge the shot.

“Vita!!” Signum van Wolken voice almost deafened her, but Vita was so happy to hear the voice of her battle sister one last time before her death. “Don’t move, dame Testarossa would bail you out!”

The red haired Belkan noblewoman could only gasp when small dark purple object shoot out from the burned woods and then, reveal itself to be a small bat-shaped UAV, colored in black and dark purple.
The metal bat hovered right above Graf Eisen, start to shine with dark purple light, the same color as large magic circle, which appeared right under the panzerritter and warjack.

“Faster! Faster!!” Pleaded Vita, mentally, when the air ships energy readings’ skyrocketed.

To her unimaginable relief, the brief vertigo, which signalized that teleportation spell completed come faster than agonizing feeling of Hadron radiation burning through the armor of her panzerritter and melting her flash. She had no doubt that there wouldn’t be anything but crater on the place where glade once been.

This evening concluded on rather bad note: she lost almost entire battle group, the Britannians, while already knowing about their presence, now would be even more zealous in their hunt of small army of Belkans. But she had a Jewel Seed and now sons and daughters of the fallen Wolkenreich kingdom make a small step toward the liberation of their homeland.

Author Note: This chapter took a terrifyingly long time to write. But it’s seems to grown almost on its own will when I wrote it. And that damned laziness not helped too! Though I wanted to finish Stage 2 in June the sudden death of my grandmother really stalled all writing process. It wasn’t very inspiriting time to write anything, believe me.

Still, I’m really happy how the battle between Vita and police unit came out. I hope I managed to show that both sides can be pretty dangerous to each other. And a half-tank half-robot swinging a giant rocket-propelled hammer is cool!

Okay, now I really need to overcome my laziness and write Interlude 1: Geburstag.

Wow, that was a long line of posts. Unfortunately, the AS had it's restrictions on amount of text you can post.

Still thanks to anyone who read my story.

[Gx Hero]

Hey I kinda notice something when I was reading through the nanoha fanfictions. We have a lot of Nanoha Fate, but more so we don't have much with Fate by herself on her job as an investigator or Hayate, and most of the ones with Hayate are dark theme ones where she steps on the wrong pah. And by fanfiction I mean long ones more than one chapter.

One of the things I found interesting is that most of the stories are alternate universe, not just a little off cannon but completely different. Weird then again I guess people love are characters and want better settings for them.

[Craxuan]

I would recommend The Two Goddesses, which is my own fanfiction with the main cast being Hayate Yagami. I haven't bothered cleaning the inconsistencies though, so don't scrutinize at it too badly.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7633280/1/The-Two-Goddesses

[Gx Hero]

read it and it felt too dark for me, and just couldn't read it but thanks for the recomendation.

I guess I am looking for something that is similar to leave of absense by Old Iron, recomened reading. I guess it is hard to write about Hayate since most people use her as a comander. THough I think a case where she is on special investigation, which she gose to after the Riot Force 6 Disbands. I think it would be neat dealing with something like that. HEck I am getting ideas.

[Moczo]

New Infinity is live.

Finally in the home stretch on this story, and God it's a relief. It feels so nice to be in the ending stages...

[Tiresias]

"And I'm sure little brother and sisters," the woman said cheerfully, "Will be just delighted.

"After all, they looked so happy when they killed us. And I've always wanted to return the favor."

This gave me, of all things, Negima flashbacks. Specifically, the part where additional Averrunci constructs came out of nowhere and started curbstomping everywhere.

It is not a good flashback to remember, in a storytelling kind of way. So, yeah...

On the bright side, at least this arc is finally over.

[bhl88]

Yeah I nearly thought that they were unbeatable.

And here comes another long session.

Amaterasu is going for it this time... Probably...

Tsukuyomi/Amaterasu: Please teach us, Yuuno-sensei! (lol kidding xD)

[Moczo]

I actually have some revisions to make... newer version of the chapter will be up sometime today. One of the scenes that just seemed fine to me when I posted it just falls flat to me on a re-reading. Extensive re-write needed.

Originally Posted by Tiresias

This gave me, of all things, Negima flashbacks. Specifically, the part where additional Averrunci constructs came out of nowhere and started curbstomping everywhere.

It is not a good flashback to remember, in a storytelling kind of way. So, yeah...

If it helps, I absolutely guarantee the problem will not be solved by a sudden timeskip during which the villain is defeated off-screen.


EDIT: Revised chapter is live. Didn't change a huge amount, but added to two scenes significantly and I think it's an overall improvement.

[xenomorph91]

I got the question, could Caro summon in a fic The Dragon King Bahamut from the Final Fantasy series as the one in the opening movie of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn was just that bad ass. Maybe a human form taking ancient Bahamut talking about the brats of modern days being all about the big beams of death.

As another thing, cross overs between Fairy Tail and Nanoha are surprisingly rare considering the magic and family centered tales. As a matter a fact, a fic where Reinforce Eins ends up in Fiore and meets Fairy Tail is a rather interesting idea in my opinion. There she would have to face the wackiness and nakamaship of the guild as well as face a whole new kind of magic, while searching for a way to find a way back to her mistress Hayate. She would easily fit into an older members role in the guild by looking after them from pre-canon times.

At some point of the fic more characters could appear from Nanoha-verse and comlicate things even further as well as increase the crazy situations she finds herself in, though it should be during or after StrikerS with Nanoha timeline and perhaps around Phantom Lord or Tower of Heaven arks in Fairy Tail

[Gx Hero]

Your question if Caro can summon the king dragon is no, unless she has made a contract with said dragon. Granted I could be wrong after all Lutecia can summonthe intellegent insects in quantity. Most likely though you have to make a con tract or something.

I wonder can one have a human summon. Vivio can have Nanoha as a summon, or einheart.

[shadowofchaos]

alright new here but here's a question for everyone anyone know whats happened to Daishi Prime the author of the Deva series? http://www.fanfiction.net/u/829343/
his work is really good and I would love to see it concluded

[agetreme]

Originally Posted by Gx Hero

Your question if Caro can summon the king dragon is no, unless she has made a contract with said dragon. Granted I could be wrong after all Lutecia can summonthe intellegent insects in quantity. Most likely though you have to make a con tract or something.

I wonder can one have a human summon. Vivio can have Nanoha as a summon, or einheart.

Isn't human summon just a normal dimension jump/teleportation?

(Edit: In fact I think all Summoning magic are just long-distance teleportation magic)

[Gx Hero]

It has been awhile since anyone posted anything, then again with everything that has been going on in the world it may be no surprise.

Anyway something I am currently working on is links to previous stories in the over 2000 pages of this thread, note not all will be included, but still something to look forward to.

also on fanfiction form old Iron has posted Leave of absence prologue, he is redoing the story.

Also I wish to propose a challenge in order to liven things up.

Write a story with the main characters being the materials.

Lastly I was wondering if yunno X reinforce eins, or Hayate x reinforce eins would be a better couple

[bhl88]

Probably a unison threesome ceremony.

[agetreme]

Originally Posted by bhl88

Probably a unison threesome ceremony.

Triple Unison or something....

*Age think he got something store in his head*



Let see...

Hayate unison with all knights.

Giving her access to all their spells and giving her staff multiple forms.

[Gx Hero]

I think she already dose since the knights were absorbed at one point. In theory she has access to Fate's, Nanoha's , and the wolkinriter's spells from the time of A's.

Hayate casts starlight beaker to befriend someone.

[bhl88]

Unison Hayate x Yuuno.