The winner is Sheba. no zombie can beat plants, not even ones with screen doors or butter on their heads. Even Michael_Jackson!Zombie can't handle the plants...
... why do I suddenly feel like making a fic where Yuuno, Chrono, and Zafira are discoing to "Staying Alive" ?
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow, in a house dropped on an ugly, old woman.
Rough draft of MGLN Crisis Chapter 22 is ready. 23 is half done, as I've gotten back into my writing groove. Hoping to have it out in another day or two as well.
The robots stopped firing, causing the pair in the yellow bubble to blink in surprise.
"Why did they-" was all Arf got out before Fate inhaled sharply.
"Mother..." she breathed, nearly snarling the word, as a life-sized hologram of Precia Testerossa flew through the robots which were now simply hovering in standby mode.
"Why, it is a pleasure to see you again!" the Precia hologram stated in mock happiness. "Although, I should have realized that you would be among the ones who chose to visit my fair city. And I see you brought that pathetic familiar with you."
"Why are you doing this!?" Fate demanded, ignoring Arf's growl. "Didn't you get what you wanted already?"
"Things are a bit more complicated that I had expected," the hologram admitted. "But the look on your face tells me you had already suspected that." She turned around, heading back for the circle of robots. "If you want to know more, feel drop by my personal residence; I assume you can find it." She paused, sending a last look over her shoulder. "If you can survive, that is."
"MOTHER!" Fate screamed in anger, as the hologram disappeared. [What is she hiding!?]
Arf resumed her ready stance in response to the robots powering up their chest cannons. She sent her acknowledgment as Fate relayed her plan and both began to gather magic.
In the next moment, the robots fired, shattering the shield. That was promptly followed by a brilliant golden blast that exploded in all directions, encompassing them all, the epicenter belonging to a certain angry young woman.
Yuuno awoke, groaning in pain as a dull ache in the back of his head made itself known. He slowly sat up against a wall and took a deep breath, remembering how several of the robots had ganged up on him, firing into his barrier. With him already weakened from the trip, the shield dissolved under multiple explosions and sent him careening through the air.
"Well, I'm still alive somehow," he noted aloud. "They didn't finish me off, perhaps thinking I was taken care of. Which perhaps leaves me some time to explore this city for knowledge and information. It's hard to believe I'm really here, in the city of the Ancients. The architecture alone is amazing."
"Thank you," a light female voice answered. "I knew I was correct in ensuring you remained unharmed."
Yuuno turned in surprise, seeing a young girl with gold hair in twin pony tails standing several meters away. "You're... Alicia!?"
"Negative," the Alicia-looking individual replied. "I have merely borrowed the appearance of a recent traveler, in order to facilitate communication with the biological beings of this time."
The archeologist had a thought as he stood up, studying her. "Wait... are you a personification of the city itself?"
"Close enough," it responded. "Alhazard's computer network proliferates throughout this principality, so I could partially be considered a manifestation of the urban capital."
"But aren't you under the control of Precia Testerossa?" Yuuno asked, coming up to her, reaching out to confirm she was a hologram when his hand passed through her.
"Currently control of most city functions is under that aspect," the Alicia-hologram informed him. "But it is... complicated for normal humans to understand. For instance, I was able to... convince the combat units to not end your existence."
That caught him off-guard. "Why?"
"Part of my programming is to assist knowledge-seekers," she explained, holding up one hand. A miniature version of himself appeared there.
"Probably untold knowledge, laying in wait in its depths," the recording spoke, then disappeared.
Yuuno was impressed. "Well, I am an archeologist and the head librarian at the Infinity Library. I would seek to learn more about you, this city, and the ancients who built it." This program appeared to be separate from Precia's control. Perhaps he could learn something to use against her. But first, "Can you help my friends like you did for me?"
She shook her head, her first real physical action. "I apologize. I have limited control at this current juncture in time. I could only conceal you from detection from that aspect." She rose, floating several inches above the floor. "If you follow me, I can guide you to the library of Alhazard. All knowledge is available within."
"Lead the way," he told her, smiling, as she turned and floated down the street, guiding him.
Nanoha seethed as she deflected another attack, then destroyed the attacking robot with her remaining Axel Shooter orbs. She had long lost track of how many she had eradicated, yet more still came.
And to make matters worse, she had lost contact with everyone; there appeared to be some sort of jamming field interfering with electronic communicators, and even mental telepathy seemed to be repressed beyond a certain range. She had learned that, when an attack had forced farther away from Fate in the middle of a conversation.
She dove to the ground to escape her attackers, but they pursued, firing. She formed more orbs, firing behind her to take them out, then ducked down a narrow side street. One of the robots tried to follow, but the alley was too narrow and it merely crashed into both buildings, then was promptly crushed by falling debris.
The TSAB Ace emerged on the other side, cursing that yet more knight-like robots were waiting for her. They fired as she put up her barrier, and she detonated it to give herself some cover. When the smoke cleared, her attack was charged.
"Divine Buster!" she shouted, sweeping the beam over several targets.
She took off again as more dove from the sky, swerving to dodge the hail of energy blasts that sought her out. A large open doorway of a domed-structure ahead gave her an idea, and she put on an extra burst of speed to stay ahead of her pursuers; just enough to send her through ahead of their attacks. She immediately turned and charged up again, preparing to finish off all of her attackers at once as they came through.
But long moments passed with nothing appearing. Then the door promptly shut tight, leaving her in darkness.
"Welcome!" a familiar voice addressed her. "You seemed to have found me."
Nanoha turned to see a pair of lights illuminate a female figure standing on a high podium, her arms spread wide to welcome the girl. "Precia!"
"I must admit, you were very impressive out there," the grand mage complimented her. "I can see now how you managed to beat my Fate."
"You are under arrest on suspicion of assault and causing a disturbance of the peace," Nanoha told her, aiming her staff. "If you surrender, you will be given a chance to defend yourself in court. Disarm now if you agree."
Precia roared in laughter. "Oh my, that was too good, my dear! I can see now why my Fate likes you so much." She wiped her eyes. "But unfortunately, you are an obstacle that needs to be removed. It was your interference last time that ruined my chances at obtaining the Jewel Seeds. You corrupted my Fate away from me." She formed a golden energy ball in her left hand, that crackled with electric power. "And now you will die."
The TSAB Ace grit her teeth, leaping out of the way as the sphere of generated power was thrown at her. "If you had treated Fate more like a daughter, then perhaps you wouldn't have lost her!" She formed several Axel shooter orbs, sending them at her mage opponent.
As the smoke cleared from the multiple explosions, the podium was empty; the real Precia was revealed to be floating higher up as the lights in the large dome came on, exposing a sort of sports coliseum. "Perhaps if Fate was a real human, I might have. But she was just a tool, created for a purpose: to serve me. Tools can be treated anyway a person wants." She suddenly realized Nanoha had disappeared from her previous spot.
"Fate is no tool!" Nanoha shouted back from above, angry, her attack charged. "She is more of a person than you will ever know!"
"Divine Buster!" Raging Heart chirped, firing.
The large beam enveloped her targeted a split second before Precia could think about moving. As the beam faded, Nanoha eyes widened in surprise. "Precia" was falling backwards, but parts of her clothing and flesh had been blasted away, revealing mechanical circuitry underneath. The automaton hit the ground and broke into several pieces.
"As expected of the Bureau's Ace of Aces," came Precia's voice from the side of the sports dome; another "Precia" had just entered. "As you may have figured out, that version of me was a robot, designed to evaluate your moves and spells." She lowered her staff, firing off a golden blast of electrical energy.
Nanoha threw up a quick Round Shield to deflect it aside, spinning out of the way of the beam and firing in return. Precia merely held up her own hand, stopping the Divine Buster cold. Then she leapt into the air, her staff firing off six golden beams that arced to converge on their target.
"Crossfire shoot!" Nanoha shouted, pointing her right hand. Several beams lanced out, each impacting Precia's shots. Smoke from the impact explosions filled the upper reaches of the domed coliseum, temporarily obscuring the combatants' views of each other.
To her surprise, Precia came flying through the smoke, laughing maniacally. She batted aside Nanoha's follow up shot with her staff and thrust out her other hand, golden energy blasting forth. Nanoha put up a barrier to block it, concentrating. Precia's laughter ended as a dozen Axel shooter orbs impacted her body from all directions.
Nanoha felt herself breathing heavier now as the second automaton fell to the ground in pieces. All this continuous combat would begin to wear at her; she couldn't stay here forever. Yet another Precia appeared from the door again, this time without speech, and immediately fired on her. She quickly sprang above it, but another blast caught her in the back and sent her slamming into the wall.
She dropped to the ground, but as she picked herself up, Nanoha glimpsed two Precia robots advancing on her, their hands glowing.
"Damn that girl!" Teana cursed, slogging through the water. She grit her teeth, wondering for the umpteenth time why she had to jump down here after that fool cyborg.
The gun mage recalled how Subaru had been snagged, and consequently freed by Arf. And then had the audacity to charge full steam down into the hole, shouting that she was going to get rid of those tentacles at their source. And Teana just *had* to jump down after her, because she knew Subaru would end up needing her help.
The TSAB junior agent had found herself in what looked like an underground water collection pit; Tea was just glad it wasn't a sewer. Although it could have been one; with no one occupying the city for thousands of years, there wouldn't be much in the way of waste. Either way, the last she saw of her friend was right after she had leapt down the hole. Subaru had been deliberately falling even deeper into the large pit, although Tea the bottom was obscured due to the darkness.
The gun mage used her magic grappling rope to swing down to the watery bottom, but lost track of of her target. Only the sound of an explosion had led her to taking this particular tunnel.
"Subaru!" she called, no longer hearing any sounds except for the running water.
Teana sighed, wondering if she'd ever find that girl and make it out of this alive. She turned a corner and heard a scream, recognizing the voice it belonged to. She took off sprinting down the tunnel as it eventually led her to a large open underground area, filled with several shallow pools and various streams running in and out of them.
It was here that she found her friend and the target she had been chasing, which appeared to be some sort of large square robot at the center of the mass of mechanical tentacles. She surmised it must have been what was attacking them from below, and Subaru had chased it down. But now the cyborg girl had both arms and legs trapped, and the robot was slowly trying to pull her apart.
The gun mage acted quickly, gathering her magic. "Crossfire Shoot!" Four shots took out the tentacles holding Subaru up, while another two went for the robot itself. A shield flickered around it as those last two magical bullets were nullified.
"Tea!" Subaru shouted in relief, as she landed on the ground.
"I figured you'd get yourself in trouble," Tea yelled back, shooting down the tentacles coming after her, one after another. "Go for the body while I cover for you!"
The cyborg nodded, taking off like a shot up a nearby wall, while Teana continued to snipe its appendages. But she realized she was making very little headway, as the severed ones healed themselves, re-growing the metal grasping claws. She took a step back as the number of targets grew and advanced on her.
"Divine Buster!" Subaru shouted, firing straight down as she fell. The force of the blast shoved the robot's main body into the ground, a second before the cyborg's revolver knuckle made impact. "Vibration Shatter!"
The shield held for a moment, and then the vibration attack tore apart the body from within. Teana leapt down from her perch as Subaru rebounded off the dying monstrosity and skated up to her friend.
Only to get a whack in the head from an angry gun mage. "You idiot! What did you think you were doing, going off like that!?"
"Ow!" Subaru exclaimed, rubbing her noggin. "Sorry, but we couldn't fight it like that. I realized it was coming from underground, so I went after it."
"You're just lucky I managed to find you in time!" Tea huffed. "Now let's go find the others and-"
She stopped as a sound came from above. Both girls looked up into the darkness, as two more of the multi-tentacled robotic creations dropped down onto them.
Erio had also ended up underground, but not entirely by choice. He had leapt off Fried to charge into a robot, skewering it and coming out the other side, when he heard Caro cry out. She had been knocked off Fried. He was about to dive for her, when she summoned, and then was caught by, Adelinde.
Instead, he spun and blocked a sword strike from one of the robots above him, but the force of the attack sent him falling backwards. He couldn't use Strada to regain flight, as he needed it to block and parry attacks from the robot and its blade, who were falling with him. Erio saw two more robots closing in out of the corner of his left eye, but then heard Caro shout for Fried's Blast Flare and they both exploded.
A port on the robot's chest began to glow, and Erio barely managed to twist his body aside as it fired. Still, it singed the barrier jacked on his side, and he felt more than heard, the explosion below. Continuing the twist, he managed to switch their positions as they fought in free-fall so that he was on top, the pair tumbling into a cratered hole in the road and disappearing into the darkness below street level.
He eventually broke away from his robot assailant, and used Strada's Snakeform to slice it up.
"Erio!" Caro called for him, flying straight down on Adelinde. The bottom of the hole loomed larger and larger, but she managed to grab his hand and level out as the ceiling started to come down. The pair shot into a side tunnel with Fried, who had returned to his smaller form, as the debris piled up behind them and blocked the tunnel entrance.
"I can't contact the others!" Caro told him worriedly after they had stopped to catch their breath. "Telepathy and the communicators aren't working!"
Erio discovered she was right. "They must be jammed or something." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down; we should be able to reach them again once we return to the surface."
She looked up at him, determination returning to her face, and nodded. She then de-summoned Adelinde, as the tunnel was a bit too narrow for flight, and the pair took off, the splashing of their footsteps in the water the only sound. The passage slowly wound around to the left a good distance, and Erio felt they might be traveling counter-clockwise around the city. There was still no sign of a way up, however.
After several minutes, the tunnel narrowed a bit into more of a tube shaft, and the water level rose up to their knees to compensate. Then Caro screamed out behind him. He turned just in time to see her disappear under the water, apparently having found a weak spot in the construction.
"Caro!" he shouted, diving through the hole for her. He managed to grab her with one arm, and use Strada's booster to slow their flight, landing them gently. But both immediately noticed the precariousness of their new surroundings.
While the water continued to fall from the hole in the large pipe above them, it paled in comparison to the size of the room they found themselves in the middle of. All around them, machinery hummed and worked, constructing hundreds of various kinds of robots. From the knight types to more technological humanoid ones, they rode along on conveyer belts in different states of construction.
Including the fully completed ones at the end of the line, which had begun to turn towards the intruders.
Erio realized that he and Caro had just roused one big hornet's nest.
Arisa sped along the ground in wheeled roller skate mode, slashing with her vibroblade. The robot knight, that had been dubbed a type-2, exploded as it's internal energy was released. The type-1s were the humanoids with the double-barreled energy cannons. The type-2s looked more like armored knights, possessing more defensive and melee oriented equipment like swords and spears, though most still possessed some form of single energy cannon mounted in their chest.
It took more magical energy to get through the shield of a type-2, but Arisa found her vibroblade went through them nicely. It also required less magic. The spear-equipped mage units following the modern Belkan style, had begun to focus their attention on those, as combination magical-melee attacks penetrated easier.
She backed around a corner as two more came down the street, firing. She counted to three, then launched a thin strand across to latch onto a building on the other side. Both robots were split in half as they flew through the magic-enhanced garrote wire. Retracting, she took stock of her next move.
"Several units are breaking past our defensive line!" came the announcement from a front-line troop. "They are heading for the medical facility!"
Arisa cursed, then opened up her communication line, springing into the sky. "I'll get them!"
Terra brought up a map of the area, with blinking cursors marking friend and foe. Sure enough, two of the type-2 units and one of the type-1s were quickly approaching the medical center and firing, which is what she was supposed to be protecting. Green shields popped up to deflect the blasts, letting her know that Shamal had been watching. Arisa pushed the boosters and stowed the vibroblade, noting the range meter counting down.
"Not on my watch!" she yelled, taking aim.
Terra's hands exploded off her wrists, shooting downward while still attached via cables. The hands burned bright gold, punching through the type-2 shields and grabbing their stubby necks, squeezing. The type-1 stopped and turned, firing, but Arisa had already gone into a dive, retracting her golem's fists. She needed one more quick ranged attack, and fast; her magic barrier was taking several direct hits.
Deploying her magic artillery boxes, the golem pilot took careful aim, firing off a staggered series of blasts. She didn't want to hit the hospital. The thin blue beams exploded against it's bubble shield as it shot upwards. She dove passed it, brought out her main gun, twisted and took aim. A burst of multi-colored leapt from the barrel and struck the type-1 dead on, blasting through easily, as its shield had been weakened by the artillery.
"Immediate threat to the hospital has been averted," she informed the ground mages through her communicator.
[But the damn things kept coming!] she thought in frustration. She glanced upward for a moment at the huge floating city just sitting there, wondering how Nanoha and the others were doing.
Then her communicator crackled to life again, informing the golem pilot that she still had work to do.
"Father, we're here!" Nove shouted as she, Dieci, and Cinque leapt off Wendi's board. "Dieci got her cannon up and running, too!"
Genya turned to glance out the back side of the mobile HQ van, at his four newest daughters. "Good timing! Carim's church knights are helping to reinforce the northern section, but several of the shelters around the east are in danger. We could use your help."
"We'll handle it!" Wendi said confidently.
"Actually, you'll need to let your other three sisters handle it, Wendi," Genya told her, half-smiling and handing her a packet. "I have a special mission for you, and it's going to require you to fly as fast as you can."
Hayate clenched her teeth. This wasn't going too well.
They could just barely handle the type-1s and type-2s, and now a dozen of a new type were landing, that they were dubbing type-3s. As opposed to their smaller brethren, these were four-legged and huge, bigger than three-story buildings. They reminded Hayate of a cross between a crab and centaur, but huge and mechanical. They had a pair of energy cannon arms, but also numerous other weaponry such as missiles and smaller blasters.
Their shields were also nearly impenetrable. Hayate had just dumped a Rein-boosted Ragnarok spell into one, without leaving a scratch on it. As she ducked around a building to avoid return fire, she wondered how they were supposed to deal with these.
"It appears you are having some problems, young woman," an older voice admonished. "Mages today, thinking that brute power is everything."
Hayate blinked. "Bureau Chief of Staff Mizetto Kurooberu? What are you doing here? I thought you were evacuated with the other higher ups!"
She smiled, activating her staff as she walked past Hayate. "The council, such as it is, was evacuated. But I grew up here, and I'll be damned if I let it be destroyed or taken over by an ex-pupil of mine!"
"Wait, don't go out there!" the SS rank mage cautioned. "There's a huge, powerful robot!"
Mizetto stepped out, gathering her magic. "And you need to learn a few things, such as there is more ways to attack than through brute force alone!"
The Mistress of the Tome of the Night Sky peeked out, watching the elderly mage jam her staff, glowing with white magic, into the ground. Huge stalagmites shot up from underneath the type-3 giant, impaling it several different ways two seconds before it exploded into white hot metal.
"Wow," Rein admired from inside. "She's good!"
Hayate's nodded in agreement, then her eyes widened as she realized what that meant. "The shield stops at ground level?"
The elderly mage turned back, smiling, and tapped her head with her staff. "Indeed. Study your enemies for weaknesses before you go off, blasting your biggest spells at them." She turned to stare up at the floating city.
A sudden thought struck Hayate. "Wait, you said 'ex-pupil' before. Is Precia...?"
Mizetto nodded, her withered face hardening. "Precia Testerossa was once my student. But I never dreamed she'd go this far. Perhaps some time I'll tell you more about that, but not now. We have to protect this city until your friends succeed in their mission."
"Right," Hayate responded, taking flight to follow the old mage to their next target. There were more type-3s out there that needed smashing.
Nanoha floated down, landing on the stairs between two sections of seats, using Raging Heart for support as she panted heavily. The remains of the two Precia robots had joined their predecessors on the floor. If the pattern held up, more would be coming. She needed to get out of here. Feeling her breath return, she took off for the doorway she entered through.
She detected the attack out of the corner of her vision, changing her angle 45 degrees as a blast of golden energy smashed the ground in front of the door. Twisting on instinct, she threw up a Round Shield and deflected the attack from the second Precia-bot, sending it at the first. The automaton exploded in a shower of sparks.
"You're doing quite well, Ms. Takamachi," the Precia-bot told her. "But you've probably noticed by now that you'll lose. Each of these robots sends back what it learns, and a new one is created, programmed with counter-measures against how the previous one was destroyed."
"Why are you doing this?" Nanoha asked, seeking to stall for time to recover, since she seemed talkative again.
"Fate asked me the same question," Precia told her. "I'll tell you the same thing I told her; if you want to know, then you'll just have to come visit me!"
"Then why now?" Nanoha questioned.
The Precia-bot fired another shot, forcing Nanoha to move. "I can tell you that at least. I assume that idiot Jail finally detonated the relic bombs I gave him the plans for. The data I gave him suggested he could eliminate magic with it. The fool actually believed he could do that; I used his hatred of magic and love of science to free this city from its prison. I knew it was only a matter of time before he was tempted to use them."
"Axel Shooter," Raging Heart intoned, creating a dozen more orbs in response to the robot's continued attacks.
"Pathetic," Precia told her opponent as she was bombarded by them. The smoke slowly cleared to reveal her unharmed. "I am immune to that weak attack now." She looked around to find her target, noticing the charging action. "Interesting, but that attack you're planning now won't work, either."
Nanoha had chosen her position carefully. "Divine Buster!"
The pink beam flared downward at an angle, just missing her target, and instead impacting the door beyond that she had initially come through, on the ground level.
Precia began to laugh as Nanoha took off for it. "I'll give you credit for that, but surely you didn't think it would be that easy?"
Nanoha stopped as the smoke cleared, revealing the door still intact. She turned and glared at her robotic adversary.
"This entire dome is shielded," Precia told her, gathering a large ball of crackling golden energy. "You are here, Ms. Takamachi, until you die."
Author's notes:
I remember seeing a few panels of the manga, where Mizetto beat the crap out of both Nanoha and Fate at the same time(although this was years before Strikers). It was implied she beat them, not through force alone, but through out-thinking them. Since then, I had that particular scene above in my head. :P
I also resisted the urge to call this chapter: "Will the real Precia Testerossa please stand up?" Although I admit the idea came from an old episode of Star Trek: TNG. Riker, Data, and I think Tasha were trapped on a planet, and a new attack probe would launch every 11 minutes or something, from the destruction of the old one. Each was stronger than the last as it learned. But don't think watching that episode will give you any insights here!
Minor note, but if there is anyone with an OC combat mage they created, and wants it to have a small cameo in the big battle, let me know. It's not necessary, but I thought it might be fun. The more detail you give me, the better chance they get in. It's not guaranteed, but there's a decent chance. Feel free to PM me with the details, or post here.
I awoke before Raising Heart's alarm went off, thanks to the small bundle clinging to me shifting. Groggily I opened my eyes and blinked a few times before shifting the covers to see Vivio huddled against my chest, one of her small hands gripping my shirt. The sight made me smile fondly, and I was reluctant to move away from her. Slowly I pulled my shirt from her loose grasp and sat up. I slide my arms under Vivio and moved her to the other side of myself, placing her near Fate's back and under the mass of blonde hair that was strewn over the pillows before turning to brown and leading up to my head. I giggled quietly and scooted over to the side of the bed, grasping Raising Heart's bars to pick myself up. I felt a weird sensation on my scalp that I wish I hadn't ignored. When I allowed myself to flomp into my chair, a searing pain came mixed with a startled cry from Fate-chan.
AlternativeS V
By: Satashi
"Nanohaaaaaaa." Fate groaned as she climbed over a dazed Vivio who was still half asleep. "Sweetheart, you know better than to sleep back-to-back with me."
"Ow... I'm sorry, Fate-chan." I rubbed my head ruefully and watched the still groggy Fate pick up the tangled mess of hair between us. Brown and gold strands were mixed like a bad quilting job, knotted in several places. "I didn't think about it."
Fate seemed to be waking up more and sighed out. "Sorry, I was lost for a moment."
Nanoha repressed an urge to reach out and hug the girl when she realized what Fate meant by that. "Can you undo it?" She asked instead, blue eyes going to Vivio who was sitting up now as well.
"I think..." Fate sat Indian style and started to pick at the clutter. "I'll have to break a few of our hairs." Her fingers quickly worked, narrowing down the situation until she had no choice but to grip the hair and start tugging. Once their hair was free, she sighed out in relief. "There."
"You're quite skilled at that." Nanoha mused, inspecting the tips of her hair.
"Get used to it." Fate yawned again and laid down, taking Vivio down with her. The child seemed to be lulled back to sleep immediately and held onto Fate's nightie. "Sleep face to face or back to front...."
Nanoha blushed softly. "Face to face sounds nice..."
"Mmn..." Fate managed to mumble out as sleep started to overtake her once more. "I'll be there later, have a good day."
"You too, Fate-chan..." Nanoha smiled happily. 'Wow, its like waking up next to your wife...' The thought made her grin as she moved around to get her uniform on. Several minutes passed as she dressed in silence, glancing over at the bed every now and then to see Fate and Vivio sleeping peacefully. 'Its going to be a good day.'
Heading to her field, Nanoha saw a forest setting already displayed on the training grounds. Curiously, she brought up her monitors and saw both Teana and Subaru already in a mock battle against each other. "Good morning," She greeted them contently.
"Ah, Nanoha-san!" Teana looked nervous. "Um, sorry for activating the field before you got here..."
"It seems," Nanoha mused, making each girl go stiff in fear of being punished. "That Fate-chan was right about you two. Could each of you report to my podium outside of the training area?" Both girls saluted, eyes wide in fear.
When the monitor cut off Teana looked at Subaru. "I told you we should have waited!"
"But... I thought she would be proud." Together they walked to where Nanoha was waiting for them.
"I just got transferred here too..."
"...I'm sorry, Tea."
A low groan came. "Its fine, I agreed to it anyway..." Standing before Nanoha, each one saluted once more."Ma'am!"
Nanoha held up her hands, a white card with a red X on it in her left, and a necklace with a clearish blue gem on it in her right. "I'd like to introduce you to your new partners."
Spoiler for AlternativeS 5-2:
~**~
"What the hell?" Lexus looked up at Nanoha's training field, seeing a flying blue road of magical energy along with a girl skating across it yelling out at the top of her lungs in excitement. At the same time he saw countless orange spheres of energy flying around near the bottom. Teana was dodging bullets from Nanoha while countering with her own. What he noticed the most, however, were teh matching barrier jackets each one sported. "Instructor!"
"Yes?" Nanoha turned to look over her shoulder before groaning. "What do you want now?"
Lexus stood by her and pointed. "What did those two do to deserve custom jackets and storage devices?"
"They're intelligent devices," Nanoha mused with a hidden smirk. "Teana Lanster is a prodigy. Combined with Subaru and the two have already become some of my best students. We had the devices made specifically for them."
"You can't make an intelligent device in under a week for Lanster."
Nanoha shrugged. "Fate-chan had the schematics with her. We just employed them."
"That contracted mage had that information!?"
"She's very smart." Nanoha took the opportunity to rub it in. "Not only was she recently marked SS- by the bureau, she gave us the information for both Mach Caliber as well as Cross Mirage, the devices. Teana is capable of outstanding illusion magic and Subaru has almost doubled her skill since the two have been together."
"Che..." Lexus scoffed at her.
"And you are here because?" Nanoha asked after enjoying his annoyance.
"There was an artificial mage that was recovered from a recent investigation. An investigation that your team was on before it was even reported."
"Is that so?" Nanoha breathed out, shrugging again.
"I have papers requesting that mage." Lexus held out the documents.
"What!?" Snatching them, Nanoha looked over the certified request form that was signed by TSAB staff. "She's a living person, you can't treat her like an object!"
"According to the law she has human rights, but she is still underage and the church you love so much has already put out an adoption request. My base will simply look after her until one is found."
Nanoha glared. "You can't have her."
"Oh? And why is that, Instructor?"
"Because.... Because..." Nanoha looked up at him challengingly. "I have already filled out the forms to become her legal guardian!"
"Ohhh? Can I see them then?" Lexus crossed his arms when the girl went pale. "I see then. Well, I'll just be on my way to talk to your base leader to get ownership."
"You can not own something that is alive," Fate's voice came to their ears as she walked forward.
"I have every right to-" Lexus stopped talking when Fate met his eyes.
"If you touch her, I will cut off your hand." Fate warned, voice firm.
"She will," Bardiche's metallic voice came up from Fate's glove.
Lexus snorted. "I'm sure you will. However, I still have the papers stating-"
"Bardiche," Fate cut him off. "Show this man Vivio's adoption records." A screen appeared, displaying pictures of Vivio and the documentation of both Nanoha and Fate's written agreement to take the girl into their custody as legal guardians. "A dollar short and a day late, Lexus."
The man glared at her hard, crumpling the papers in his hand as he made a fist. "Who the hell are you, and why are you suddenly in my life?"
"I'll be watching you," Lexus challenged her as he walked past, hitting Fate's shoulder as he went.
Once the man out of hearing range, Fate looked down at Nanoha. "If he investigates my claim, he will find out that I don't have her as my daughter in this time line."
Nanoha looked like she was about to be sick. "I... I don't know what I should do..."
"Nanoha, calm down." Kneeling, Fate put both her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Don't worry-"
"How can I not worry!?" Nanoha almost shouted. "I've only had Vivio for a few days and already I feel like... like... Fate-chan, I can't raise a daughter, I don't know how to!"
"Take a breath." Fate told her sternly, looking into Nanoha's eyes until she finally tried to breathe properly. "We will think of something."
"There's no time!" Nanoha shook her head again. "He could very well go to the people above Hayate-chan and get Vivio transferred to him! He will treat her like a thing." Her eyes looked at Fate once more. "I... I have to do something."
"I can contact the church," Fate offered. "I can become her legal guardian until I approve of a foster home for her."
"But you don't even exist on this planet!" Nanoha shot the idea down. "You were only able to get a bank account because you said you were married to me and were escorted by military who's base you were in! If you try to get a child under your care they will need more than just a recommendation!" Realization slowly started to sink in on the girl. "I'll have to do it... Oh god, I'm going to adopt a child..." Tears came to her eyes and she tried to blink them away. "Fate-chan, I'm scared..."
Leaning over to hug the girl, Fate though about what to say. "Nanoha, you can be her guardian without being her mother... I think there is some sort of law stating that you have a certain amount of time to adopt or something..." The blonde tried to rake her memories for when she tried to adopt Caro and Erio.
"...Will you come with me?"
"...Yeah." Fate took a deep breath. "I dropped Vivio off at Hayate's office this morning so I could help you train."
"I see..." Taking a steadying breath, Nanoha tried to get herself collected. "I wonder what Vivio will think about all of this."
Fate gave the girl an honest smile. "Vivio," she told her softly. "Will be very, very happy."
"...Really?" Nanoha thought about it. "She really will?"
"Of course," Fate added. "You are saving her."
"Saving?"
"This isn't just changing your life," Fate whispered to her lovingly. "You're changing hers as well... Taking her away from pain and loneliness, offering comfort for when she cries, and making her smile every day when she sees you."
Nanoha felt her eyes moisten yet again. "... I really am, aren't I?"
"Yes." Fate nodded, massaging Nanoha's shoulders encouragingly. "You are changing her life, making sure nobody like Lexus will ever harm her."
The words made Nanoha calm down noticeably. "...Yeah." Reaching up, she touched Fate's hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Fate-chan. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"The same thing," Fate replied without hesitating. "I know it."
"...Thank you." Nanoha wiped away a tear. "I needed to hear that."
"Whenever you want to hear the truth, I'll give it."
"Fate-chan..." Nanoha brought Fate's hand to her lips and gave it a small kiss. "Thank you, for being here for me."
"Always."
'Always,' Nanoha thought to herself as she let go of her hand and moved to head towards Hayate's office. 'Please, Fate-chan.'
Spoiler for AlternativeS 5-3:
~**~
"And you're done," Hayate informed Nanoha once the signature was on the paper. "All I need to do is show it to the church to make it final." Taking the document, she had it scanned and sent to the church via her device. "But I must say...this is a huge step for you. Why did you want to do this?"
Nanoha looked down at Vivio in her lap and noticed that the girl was still confused about what was going on. "Well...Lexus forced my hand but... I don't know, I just... when the thought of her being with someone else actually was put in my face I couldn't deal with it. I don't know what I'm going to do but... there are a lot of single mothers out there who raise children on their own, you know? I can swing something..."
"You'll do just fine," Fate encouraged her. "I know because I've seen it." the words worked as she planned and Nanoha noticeably lightened up. Before she could offer any more advice, however, a sudden knocking on the door came. Hayate blinked but allowed entrance, smiling when Subaru and Teana saluted everyone.
"Sorry for imposing, ma'am," Teana began. "We just wanted to thank you personally for allowing us to have these devices." Subaru nodded eagerly at teh words.
"Thank Fate-chan over there," Hayate mused. "She had all of the information for Cross Mirage, down to the smallest detail. Mach Caliber was already being designed as it was and the specifics Fate-chan had really helped."
Teana looked confused. "Ma'am... Why was this device fine tuned to me? It does everything I could ever want..."
Fate waved it off, not wanting to reveal the fact that Teana was her partner in her world. "Don't worry about it."
Nanoha looked at Subaru. "Subaru? what is it?"
Subaru laughed and scratched her head. "That little girl, she's the one that was rescued right?"
"Yes. Vivio, introduce yourself,"
Vivio tried to bow from her place in Nanoha's lap. "Hello. My name is Vivio, I'm six years old."
"Nice to meet you, Vivio." Teana and Subaru spoke at the same time, making each girl blush. "So," Subaru continued. "Are you looking after her?"
Nanoha nodded. "I just sighed the official papers."
"Papers!?" Subaru gasped. "You adopted her!? Nanoha's a mama!?"
"Mama?" Vivio repeated the word, turning to stare at Nanoha in shock.
"Ah...um..." The flight instructor looked down into Vivio's wide eyes. "If... you want, you can call me that."
"Mama....?" Vivio tried the word, her little voice breaking halfway through.
"Yes?" Nanoha tilted her head to the side.
"Mama!" Lunging forward, Vivio hugged the woman's neck tightly. "Mama!"
"Awwwwwwww!" The blue haired girl held up her hands and cooed. "That's so cute!" Her ranting was stopped when Teana elbowed her, not very discreetly, in the ribs. "Hey, ow..."
"There, there, Vivio," Nanoha soothed the girl clinging to her. turning to look at a smiling Fate, she couldn't help but grin as well. "Wow, hearing her say that..."
"Really makes your heart flutter, doesn't it?" Fate finished for her.
Slowly Vivio moved from Nanoha's neck and reluctantly sat down again. "Mama..." She was smiled at so she turned to look at Fate, the girl who slept with her and her mother.
"Oh! I'm, um...." Fate felt he heart break a little. "I'm like an aunt. Nanoha-mama's good friend, like Hayate." She pointed at the other girl.
Vivio seemed to take this information and process it. "Nanoha-mama," She pointed at Nanoha, who nodded. "Aunt Hayate..." She looked at the leader of the base and was given a peace sign. Now encouraged by this, she happily turned to Fate and pointed. "Aunt Alicia."
Fate knelt down slowly, reaching out to Vivio to make the girl look at her. "Vivio?" Her voice was soft, almost shaking. "Where did you hear that name?"
"But... that's your name." Vivio looked confused.
"No, my name is Fate....Alicia... is my sister."
Nanoha gasped. "You have a sister!? Why didn't you say so?"
"She died," Fate whispered. "I... no its a long story. Vivio, where did you see Alicia?"
"With the bad man." The child shivered. "She hurt me."
"Vivio, this is really important," Fate's voice got a little firmer. "I need you to think hard, okay? Tell me, where did you see Alicia?"
Vivio leaned back against Nanoha, unsure of what she should say. "I... don't know... In a dark place...There were lots of red and blue lights..."
"Red and blue lights..." Fate repeated the words while standing.
"Fate-chan?" Hayate asked with concern. "What's going on?"
Fate shook her head. "The bad man has to be Jail. The red lights are probably relics..."
Nanoha looked up at her. "...And the blue?"
"...Life pods, the liquid glows an eery blueish green. The numbers were created that way."
"Numbers?" Yuuno asked.
"Combat cyborgs, like Subaru and ginga. They were created by the project Fate system, but a little bit differently depending on which one"
Hayate shook her head. "No, that was destroyed years ago and even if it wasn't, that system doesn't create cyborgs, it creates humans."
"Like me," Fate confirmed. "I am a clone of my sister Alicia. The TSAB may have forbidden the practice but it doesn't mean it isn't done..." She looked down at Vivio, unsure if she should continue or not. "There's another, a clone created by the DNA of the Sankt Kaiser."
Hayate looked at Vivio and then back to Fate. "We need to talk about this."
"Later," Fate whispered. "I need... some answers first." Turning, she walked to the door.
"I'm sorry." Fate looked over her shoulder. "Hayate, I need to go off on my own. If Alicia is alive, I need to find her."
"Fate-chan, we don't even know if that's true." Hayate disagreed. "I can't allow you to-"
"Please." Fate said the word hard. "this is important to me."
"...Fine. You can go."
Nanoha gasped. "Hayate-chan!?"
The short woman watched Fate leave the room. "We don't have enough information to require her to be present. If she can get some more info to bring back to us, then her leaving now will benefit everyone."
"But-"
"Nanoha-chan," Hayate said the name a little sternly.
Vivio looked at everyone in the room in turn before slowly hugging onto Nanoha and resting her head on the woman's chest, not liking the tension in the room.
~**~
Fate leaned against the metal bar of the swing set support beam and looked out over the playground she was standing at. The sun was setting across the buildings lining the horizon, making the light fade at an ever increasing rate. 'Alicia...' The name brought back bittersweet memories. The small amount of time she had spent with her sister inside the book of darkness had left a lasting impact on her. 'If she's alive in this time... Does that mean that mother perfected the design, or that Jail completed it?' Shaking her head, Fate took to walking around the small play area. 'Vivio was scared of me because she mistook me for my sister... Does that mean that she's working with Jail?' Her red eyes looked up into the sky. 'So many questions...' As she lowered her eyes, she saw a lone boy standing on top of the stairway leading up into the park. Red hair fluttered in the wind as a breeze came by and a smirk graced his face when the blonde started walking towards him.
"You knew you were being tracked," Erio stated the obvious.
"Yes," Fate agreed simply while lifting her hand to release the small thumbtack type device that Lutecia had stuck on her. The tracker flew to Erio, who accepted it into his palm. "I need to talk to you."
"About?" Erio stood his ground, looking down at Fate at the base of the stairs.
"Alicia."
"Who's that?"
Fate frowned. "Don't pretend, Erio. You and I both know you know who she is."
Erio shrugged. "You're mistaken. Even if I did, what would be in it for me?"
"Have you given up on Project Fate already?"
The boy leapt down in front of Fate at once, glaring up at her. "What do you know about it?"
Fate stayed where she was without flinching. "I was born the same way."
"You lie."
"My DNA was taken from Alicia Testarossa, Precia's daughter."
Erio snorted at her. "That plan failed, the doctor told me about it."
"He lied. Alicia is still alive and I need to find her."
The two looked at each other a long moment before the boy spoke again, walking around Fate in a slow circle. "Tell me, Fate, How is it you know so much? I did some research after I saw you were with that mobile force unit, and your name was never mentioned. It was as if you just appeared."
Fate took a breath. "That doesn't matter."
"If you are who you claim to be, where did you escape from? What lab where you in, and why didn't I know about it?"
"I was born twenty years ago, or so. I was away from here while I grew up."
"You don't look that old."
"I age well." Fate met Erio's eyes when he stood in front of her again. "Please, Erio, tell me where Alicia is."
"I don't know who she is." Erio replied back again. "I do know, however, that the doctor would tell me if he had any information on my origins. That is part of our deal; I work for him, he provides information about me and helps me protect my summoners."
Fate sighed. "Erio, he is tricking you. He did the same thing in my timeline-"
"Oh hooooooo," Erio slid his hands back into his pockets. "Your timeline, huh? This suddenly got interesting."
"Erio!" Fate almost shouted. "Listen to me!"
"You're not my mother." He grinned.
"I'm your sister!" Fate reached out and gripped the boy's shoulders. "Trust me!"
Erio looked at the hands a moment before lifting his own to make them release him. "I was hoping for a more informative conversation. I'll be on my way now."
"Erio!"
"Next time we meet," The boy glanced over his shoulder. "We won't be talking." With that, his body blurred slightly as he ran away from her.
Fate looked at the spot where Erio once was and slowly sank down to her knees. 'Why is everything so suddenly complicated...? Hugging herself, she felt tears escape her eyes. 'Erio... Caro...Nanoha... Alicia...' Holding herself tighter, she forced herself not to cry. 'I just want to go home...'
Spoiler for AlternativeS 5-5:
~**~
Fate opened the door to Nanoha's room slowly. "I'm back," The soft spoken greeting was answered by Vivio, who suddenly ran across the room with Nanoha following.
"Welcome home!" Vivio shouted out, reaching for Fate's legs. The hug didn't go as planned and Vivio found herself falling forward, only to be swept up by Fate's arms. "Wah!"
"Don't run inside, Vivio," Fate scolded lightly.
Nanoha stopped and looked up at her friend. "What's wrong, Fate-chan?"
"Nothing... I just..." The blonde let out a hard sigh. "I'm just really home sick right now. It went from just waiting to go home to suddenly realizing that things are going on here that are just so complicated... Why is Alicia alive? Is it even her or just another clone like me?"
"Fate-chan..." Nanoha reached out and took the hand that wasn't balancing Vivio on the blonde. "You're more than just a-"
"Thank you, really, but you don't know. Knowing I'm a replacement for Alicia isn't that bad since I always had friends who helped me identify myself... but being here... where I died... and she's alive... It just makes me feel..." She looked down. "Even more like I don't belong."
"Aunt Fate?" Vivio's words made both women look at Vivio. "Don't be sad."
"...Thank you, Vivio." Fate bent over and sat teh girl on Nanoha's lap. "I'm going to take a shower, okay?"
"Ah, I have dinner ready for us alre-"
"Thank you." Fate shook her head. "I just want to be alone right now.
The two watched Fate walk away from them and go up the small ramp leading to the upper half of the room. "Mama?" Vivio patted Nanoha's shoulder to get attention on her. "What's wrong with Aunt Fate"
"...Its an adult thing," Nanoha moved her chair over to the dining room table and transferred Vivio over. "Here, let me get your dinner ready."
After eating her fill and making sure Vivio ate her vegetables, Nanoha plopped the small girl onto the couch and gave her the coloring books they had gotten earlier. Vivio took to the new task at once, proclaiming that the coloring books were full of ghost that she had to bring back to life by coloring them. With her temporary child taken care of, Nanoha went upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door. "Fate-chan? You okay, you've been in there for almost an hour."
"...Yeah, I'm sorry." The sounds of water splashing came as the woman stood up. "I lost track of time."
"Its okay..." Nanoha leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "Hey...?"
"Yes?"
Looking at the closed door in front of her, Nanoha brought a hand to her chest and gripped her shirt. "I know its hard being here... And this may not really help but... I'll listen if you want to talk about it... Because you're important to me, even if there is an Alicia in this world. Fate-chan is Fate-chan, no matter what." No answer came for a few moments, leaving Nanoha to wonder if she should just leave or call out Fate's name again. Before she could make up her mind on either, the door opened to reveal a still damp Fate with hair that was still dripping slightly.
"Nanoha..." Fate's voice shook slightly and her puffy eyes revealed that she had been crying for quite a while. The woman in the wheelchair opened her arms and got a wet hug at once. "Thank you. I really needed that..."
"That's what I'm here for," Nanoha whispered back to her. When they parted, Nanoha felt herself take in Fate's figure in just the towel. "Get dried off, I'll do your hair, okay?"
"...Okay," Fate nodded and slowly retreated back into the bathroom, closing the door softly.
Nanoha smiled to herself as she looked down at her now wet clothes. 'For some reason, being able to help her makes me feel so much better than when she just spends time with me.' Moving over to the balcony of the bedroom, Nanoha looked down at Vivio. The girl was still coloring contently, a pleased smile on her face. Taking the moment to check on the girl, Nanoha felt a warm feeling in her chest. Her mood lifted and she contently watched Vivio swap crayons several times as she worked. When Fate finally came out again, Nanoha turned and smiled at her, getting a weak one back. "Come here," Nanoha requested while moving to the bed. Raising Heart formed the bars for her to grab a hold to so she could shift to the bed but she found arms wrapping around her.
"Here," Fate whispered to her, picking up Nanoha and holding her close while getting onto the bed. Sitting down, she let Nanoha sit sideways in her lap between her slightly parted legs. Arms went around the girl at once and she rested her chin on Nanoha's hair.
"Fate-chan?" Nanoha giggled. "I can't comb your hair like this."
"It'll be fine," Fate whispered to her lightly. "Just for a little bit...?"
"No," Nanoha answered back, shifting so she could wrap her arms around fate as well. Her head rested against Fate's shoulder and she squeezed her softly. "Not just for a little bit, but for a long time."
"... Thank you."
"Stop saying that," Nanoha scolded her gently. "Don't thank me for things I want to do." Raising her head, she brought a finger to Fate's chin and made her look at her. Leaning forward, Nanoha touched their noses and rubbed them together playfully. "Eskimo kisses make everything better."
Fate couldn't help but give a laugh. "You're so weird."
"I know," Nanoha smiled brightly, watching Fate reach up to take her hand. "But aren't I supposed to be holding you when comforting?"
"We can swap later, I prefer this." Fate replied in kind, closing her eyes when Nanoha went to touch their noses again. "Silly."
"Yes..." Nanoha inhaled lightly, shifting so her nose missed the playful kiss and moved her lips closer to Fate's.
"Mama!" Nanoha jerked back, panting and looking as if she had just heard an explosion. "Mamaaa?"
Fate smiled happily, missing what Nanoha had just tried for. "Get used to it, she didn't get over her 'yell for mama' phase until she was nine."
Nanoha sighed. "I'm coming, Vivio-dear!" She felt herself being picked up yet again and moved to her chair. 'The joys of motherhood...' Despite this, she smiled to herself.
This plotbunny is all RadiantBeam's fault, so feel free to blame her.
Spoiler for Altered Course #00: Raising Heart:
"Raising Heart, Set Up!"
First and the most important thing: Alicia <3~~~
Right-o, just something that bothers me, and that Avalon Alavon said, is the fact that Precia is the antagonist while her reason to do so is alive, but surely you already thought about it. Also the whole BoD incident should have happened already and i am sure that Nanoha would have involved in it somehow, or the whole city what with the arc~en~ciel business, unless of course the plan of freezing them did happen... but hey my suspension of disbelief is strong so i let that slide.
If Alicia never died, why did Precia continued to be bad? She was a caring and gentle women who broke after Alicia died; so what is her motivation now?
Other than that, I really believe it will turn into an awesome fic. Please do more!
If you remember from Chrono's infodump in season one, Precia was doing bad and illegal things before Alicia died. One of her illegal experiments is what killed Alicia in the first place.
So Alicia's death wasn't Precia's Start of Darkness, it was the start of her insanity. By removing Alicia's death from the equation, Precia stays evil and sane, with a Dragon who has no reason to waver in her commitment. Dangerous, dangerous.
What Precia's motives are to gather the Jewel Seeds (rather than traveling to Al Hazard to resurrect Alicia) is something different that I won't go into here because it's something of a major spoiler.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laith
First and the most important thing: Alicia <3~~~
Right-o, just something that bothers me, and that Avalon Alavon said, is the fact that Precia is the antagonist while her reason to do so is alive, but surely you already thought about it. Also the whole BoD incident should have happened already and i am sure that Nanoha would have involved in it somehow, or the whole city what with the arc~en~ciel business, unless of course the plan of freezing them did happen... but hey my suspension of disbelief is strong so i let that slide.
It's an AU, so the timeline's fucked with a bit. The BoD incident, I can't really talk about that much, because it would be a big spoiler. ^^;
I wanted the characters to be older since it would better fit the tone of this type of re-imaging. A nine year old girl shooting beam spam is fine for a hot-blooded sci-fi adventure romp like canon, but notsomuch for a Darker and Edgier, Anyone Can Die retelling where the powers have been brought down to earth and beam spam has real consequences (namely serious injury or death).
If you remember from Chrono's infodump in season one, Precia was doing bad and illegal things before Alicia died. One of her illegal experiments is what killed Alicia in the first place.
So Alicia's death wasn't Precia's Start of Darkness, it was the start of her insanity. By removing Alicia's death from the equation, Precia stays evil and sane, with a Dragon who has no reason to waver in her commitment. Dangerous, dangerous.
What Precia's motives are to gather the Jewel Seeds (rather than traveling to Al Hazard to resurrect Alicia) is something different that I won't go into here because it's something of a major spoiler.
Actually while it's on a different continuity the movie manga had quite a few hints of Precia being framed for those illegal experiments.
Interesting info there on Precia being framed though, but since this is a major AU it doesn't matter. ^^; Anyway having already seen emo!Nanoha, I've pretty much declared the movie tie-in manga Discontinuity.
Loved the cookie metaphor. Very smart ^^ Oh, and Vivio's last thought kind of stings >.<
@Satashi: Poor Feito-chan T_T I know this might sound a bit mean towards her, but I actually want the Alicia mentioned here to be the real Alicia, not just another clone XD It'd really spice things up =3
... why do I suddenly feel like making a fic where Yuuno, Chrono, and Zafira are discoing to "Staying Alive" ?
Well, it's not Staying Alive, but I have Chrono and Yuuno doing 'Bombs over Bagdad' remixed as...
Spoiler for BEAMS OVER BELKA!!!:
[Chrono]
1, 2.. 1, 2, 3; yeah!
In-ter-d'mensional, Magical
Al-Hazzard's not where you will go(Woo!)
Like a million dissidents and criminal masterminds
You can't stop her kind!
Who want some? Don't come un-pre-pared
She'll be there, but when she leave there
Better be a household name
Bureau, Tellin' us, it's always the same
So now we sittin' in a cruiser, catching up
In our jackets sippin' our tea cup
Hit Double S when powered up
But this'll be the mage that we won't hold up
En-Ay-En-Oh, HA! To her anything goes, be whatchu wanna be
Long as you know consequences, for mages who cheat
The fence is too high to jump For Jail
A man who thinks, yet always will fail
LOST! Logia, jewel seeds on sale
Then she just cast you a spell, look at what came in the mail
A Book, A Ring and some Sword an' Hammer, Raising Heart and some cartridge packer!
Bardiche Assault and it's your nightmare
Stack of papers with no answers
Stop the cradle, stop the numbers
Make it all happen like a force a thunder
Get back home, place is trashed
If only she'd been there to stop the blast
Buster builds up, to a ball of power
Thoughts at a thousands miles per hour
Hello, Quatro, no escape now,
believe me she'll just say, SHOOT!
[Chorus: 2X]
[Chrono] Don't yell to set up, unless you plan to spam
[Choir] BEAMS OVER BELKA!!
[Chrono] Yeah! Ha ha yeah!
Don't even spam unless you plan to hit all them!
[Choir] BEAMS OVER BELKA!
[Chrono] Yeah! Uhh-huh
[Yuuno-Kun]
Uno, Due, Tre, you're on
Didja' ever see a Ferret rock a microphone?
I'm just a boy but still discreet
Big things happen every time we meet
Like a crack team, pink beam , not so weak
Spell cast firin' up and down the street
Saint King, clone thing, five breaker deep
Seventy-five mages she's already beat
Cause to befreind, beat friend, is her mood
Should have gave up first, but you copped a tude
Should have held back, but you fired the shot
'Spose to make her weak but its not what you got
No M to the 'er', to the C for you.
White Devil's come to play, everyone say Boo Hoo
As a little girl was tough back then
Never turn her back on potential friend
Should have hit it (hit it) quit it (quit it) cy (cy) borg (borg)
Be glad she held back, you'd be in THE MORGUE
The agressor in herself, girl, has some goals
Make a fat diamond out of dusty coals
Working on forwards, and well on the road
Set up, charge up, shoot, control
Like bright light Good Night, Excellion mode's on.
Wrong move you see, she show how it done
Got locked up with binds, and now yer trapped in place
Knowin it's bad 'cause she's an Ace
In a three count flash, your will she'll erase
Yo, start praying now, before she find your base
Pity you cyborgs gonna' take a dive
She's a lyrical fiend but leave you alive
When you use the AMF better have no pride
cause White Devil's gonna have your hide, hah!
[Chorus: 2X]
[Chrono] Don't yell to set up, unless you plan to spam
[Choir] BEAMS OVER BELKA!!
[Chrono] Yeah! Ha ha yeah!
Don't even spam unless you plan to hit all them!
[Choir] BEAMS OVER BELKA!
[Chrono] Yeah! Uhh-huh
[Choir]
BEAMS OVER BELKA! YEAH!
BEAMS OVER BELKA! YEAH!
BEAMS OVER BELKA! YEAH!
BEAMS OVER BELKA! YEAH!
[Chrono and Yuuno-Kun: 15X]
Bob your head. Cy-Borg.
Interesting info there on Precia being framed though, but since this is a major AU it doesn't matter. ^^; Anyway having already seen emo!Nanoha, I've pretty much declared the movie tie-in manga Discontinuity.
Same here about Emo!Nanoha.
But, yeah, they might have decided that inverse the producter chose to have a more morally ambiguous big bad (though Precia in MGLN did say she was innocent).
Anyway, good start. Wasn't Fate not born but grown to be 6-7 in a few months though? If so, is Nanoha fighting against a 6 yo? <_<
I wasn't able to confirm that, so I extrapolated that Fate grew up normally (as Erio, Subaru and Ginga did) and thus would need an equal amount of time in order for the not-so-dead Alicia to grow up.
I awoke before Raising Heart's alarm went off, thanks to the small bundle clinging to me shifting. Groggily I opened my eyes and blinked a few times before shifting the covers to see Vivio huddled against my chest, one of her small hands gripping my shirt. The sight made me smile fondly, and I was reluctant to move away from her. Slowly I pulled my shirt from her loose grasp and sat up. I slide my arms under Vivio and moved her to the other side of myself, placing her near Fate's back and under the mass of blonde hair that was strewn over the pillows before turning to brown and leading up to my head. I giggled quietly and scooted over to the side of the bed, grasping Raising Heart's bars to pick myself up. I felt a weird sensation on my scalp that I wish I hadn't ignored. When I allowed myself to flomp into my chair, a searing pain came mixed with a startled cry from Fate-chan.
AlternativeS V
By: Satashi
"Nanohaaaaaaa." Fate groaned as she climbed over a dazed Vivio who was still half asleep. "Sweetheart, you know better than to sleep back-to-back with me."
"Ow... I'm sorry, Fate-chan." I rubbed my head ruefully and watched the still groggy Fate pick up the tangled mess of hair between us. Brown and gold strands were mixed like a bad quilting job, knotted in several places. "I didn't think about it."
Fate seemed to be waking up more and sighed out. "Sorry, I was lost for a moment."
Nanoha repressed an urge to reach out and hug the girl when she realized what Fate meant by that. "Can you undo it?" She asked instead, blue eyes going to Vivio who was sitting up now as well.
"I think..." Fate sat Indian style and started to pick at the clutter. "I'll have to break a few of our hairs." Her fingers quickly worked, narrowing down the situation until she had no choice but to grip the hair and start tugging. Once their hair was free, she sighed out in relief. "There."
"You're quite skilled at that." Nanoha mused, inspecting the tips of her hair.
"Get used to it." Fate yawned again and laid down, taking Vivio down with her. The child seemed to be lulled back to sleep immediately and held onto Fate's nightie. "Sleep face to face or back to front...."
Nanoha blushed softly. "Face to face sounds nice..."
"Mmn..." Fate managed to mumble out as sleep started to overtake her once more. "I'll be there later, have a good day."
"You too, Fate-chan..." Nanoha smiled happily. 'Wow, its like waking up next to your wife...' The thought made her grin as she moved around to get her uniform on. Several minutes passed as she dressed in silence, glancing over at the bed every now and then to see Fate and Vivio sleeping peacefully. 'Its going to be a good day.'
Heading to her field, Nanoha saw a forest setting already displayed on the training grounds. Curiously, she brought up her monitors and saw both Teana and Subaru already in a mock battle against each other. "Good morning," She greeted them contently.
"Ah, Nanoha-san!" Teana looked nervous. "Um, sorry for activating the field before you got here..."
"It seems," Nanoha mused, making each girl go stiff in fear of being punished. "That Fate-chan was right about you two. Could each of you report to my podium outside of the training area?" Both girls saluted, eyes wide in fear.
When the monitor cut off Teana looked at Subaru. "I told you we should have waited!"
"But... I thought she would be proud." Together they walked to where Nanoha was waiting for them.
"I just got transferred here too..."
"...I'm sorry, Tea."
A low groan came. "Its fine, I agreed to it anyway..." Standing before Nanoha, each one saluted once more."Ma'am!"
Nanoha held up her hands, a white card with a red X on it in her left, and a necklace with a clearish blue gem on it in her right. "I'd like to introduce you to your new partners."
Spoiler for AlternativeS 5-2:
~**~
"What the hell?" Lexus looked up at Nanoha's training field, seeing a flying blue road of magical energy along with a girl skating across it yelling out at the top of her lungs in excitement. At the same time he saw countless orange spheres of energy flying around near the bottom. Teana was dodging bullets from Nanoha while countering with her own. What he noticed the most, however, were teh matching barrier jackets each one sported. "Instructor!"
"Yes?" Nanoha turned to look over her shoulder before groaning. "What do you want now?"
Lexus stood by her and pointed. "What did those two do to deserve custom jackets and storage devices?"
"They're intelligent devices," Nanoha mused with a hidden smirk. "Teana Lanster is a prodigy. Combined with Subaru and the two have already become some of my best students. We had the devices made specifically for them."
"You can't make an intelligent device in under a week for Lanster."
Nanoha shrugged. "Fate-chan had the schematics with her. We just employed them."
"That contracted mage had that information!?"
"She's very smart." Nanoha took the opportunity to rub it in. "Not only was she recently marked SS- by the bureau, she gave us the information for both Mach Caliber as well as Cross Mirage, the devices. Teana is capable of outstanding illusion magic and Subaru has almost doubled her skill since the two have been together."
"Che..." Lexus scoffed at her.
"And you are here because?" Nanoha asked after enjoying his annoyance.
"There was an artificial mage that was recovered from a recent investigation. An investigation that your team was on before it was even reported."
"Is that so?" Nanoha breathed out, shrugging again.
"I have papers requesting that mage." Lexus held out the documents.
"What!?" Snatching them, Nanoha looked over the certified request form that was signed by TSAB staff. "She's a living person, you can't treat her like an object!"
"According to the law she has human rights, but she is still underage and the church you love so much has already put out an adoption request. My base will simply look after her until one is found."
Nanoha glared. "You can't have her."
"Oh? And why is that, Instructor?"
"Because.... Because..." Nanoha looked up at him challengingly. "I have already filled out the forms to become her legal guardian!"
"Ohhh? Can I see them then?" Lexus crossed his arms when the girl went pale. "I see then. Well, I'll just be on my way to talk to your base leader to get ownership."
"You can not own something that is alive," Fate's voice came to their ears as she walked forward.
"I have every right to-" Lexus stopped talking when Fate met his eyes.
"If you touch her, I will cut off your hand." Fate warned, voice firm.
"She will," Bardiche's metallic voice came up from Fate's glove.
Lexus snorted. "I'm sure you will. However, I still have the papers stating-"
"Bardiche," Fate cut him off. "Show this man Vivio's adoption records." A screen appeared, displaying pictures of Vivio and the documentation of both Nanoha and Fate's written agreement to take the girl into their custody as legal guardians. "A dollar short and a day late, Lexus."
The man glared at her hard, crumpling the papers in his hand as he made a fist. "Who the hell are you, and why are you suddenly in my life?"
"I'll be watching you," Lexus challenged her as he walked past, hitting Fate's shoulder as he went.
Once the man out of hearing range, Fate looked down at Nanoha. "If he investigates my claim, he will find out that I don't have her as my daughter in this time line."
Nanoha looked like she was about to be sick. "I... I don't know what I should do..."
"Nanoha, calm down." Kneeling, Fate put both her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Don't worry-"
"How can I not worry!?" Nanoha almost shouted. "I've only had Vivio for a few days and already I feel like... like... Fate-chan, I can't raise a daughter, I don't know how to!"
"Take a breath." Fate told her sternly, looking into Nanoha's eyes until she finally tried to breathe properly. "We will think of something."
"There's no time!" Nanoha shook her head again. "He could very well go to the people above Hayate-chan and get Vivio transferred to him! He will treat her like a thing." Her eyes looked at Fate once more. "I... I have to do something."
"I can contact the church," Fate offered. "I can become her legal guardian until I approve of a foster home for her."
"But you don't even exist on this planet!" Nanoha shot the idea down. "You were only able to get a bank account because you said you were married to me and were escorted by military who's base you were in! If you try to get a child under your care they will need more than just a recommendation!" Realization slowly started to sink in on the girl. "I'll have to do it... Oh god, I'm going to adopt a child..." Tears came to her eyes and she tried to blink them away. "Fate-chan, I'm scared..."
Leaning over to hug the girl, Fate though about what to say. "Nanoha, you can be her guardian without being her mother... I think there is some sort of law stating that you have a certain amount of time to adopt or something..." The blonde tried to rake her memories for when she tried to adopt Caro and Erio.
"...Will you come with me?"
"...Yeah." Fate took a deep breath. "I dropped Vivio off at Hayate's office this morning so I could help you train."
"I see..." Taking a steadying breath, Nanoha tried to get herself collected. "I wonder what Vivio will think about all of this."
Fate gave the girl an honest smile. "Vivio," she told her softly. "Will be very, very happy."
"...Really?" Nanoha thought about it. "She really will?"
"Of course," Fate added. "You are saving her."
"Saving?"
"This isn't just changing your life," Fate whispered to her lovingly. "You're changing hers as well... Taking her away from pain and loneliness, offering comfort for when she cries, and making her smile every day when she sees you."
Nanoha felt her eyes moisten yet again. "... I really am, aren't I?"
"Yes." Fate nodded, massaging Nanoha's shoulders encouragingly. "You are changing her life, making sure nobody like Lexus will ever harm her."
The words made Nanoha calm down noticeably. "...Yeah." Reaching up, she touched Fate's hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Fate-chan. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"The same thing," Fate replied without hesitating. "I know it."
"...Thank you." Nanoha wiped away a tear. "I needed to hear that."
"Whenever you want to hear the truth, I'll give it."
"Fate-chan..." Nanoha brought Fate's hand to her lips and gave it a small kiss. "Thank you, for being here for me."
"Always."
'Always,' Nanoha thought to herself as she let go of her hand and moved to head towards Hayate's office. 'Please, Fate-chan.'
Spoiler for AlternativeS 5-3:
~**~
"And you're done," Hayate informed Nanoha once the signature was on the paper. "All I need to do is show it to the church to make it final." Taking the document, she had it scanned and sent to the church via her device. "But I must say...this is a huge step for you. Why did you want to do this?"
Nanoha looked down at Vivio in her lap and noticed that the girl was still confused about what was going on. "Well...Lexus forced my hand but... I don't know, I just... when the thought of her being with someone else actually was put in my face I couldn't deal with it. I don't know what I'm going to do but... there are a lot of single mothers out there who raise children on their own, you know? I can swing something..."
"You'll do just fine," Fate encouraged her. "I know because I've seen it." the words worked as she planned and Nanoha noticeably lightened up. Before she could offer any more advice, however, a sudden knocking on the door came. Hayate blinked but allowed entrance, smiling when Subaru and Teana saluted everyone.
"Sorry for imposing, ma'am," Teana began. "We just wanted to thank you personally for allowing us to have these devices." Subaru nodded eagerly at teh words.
"Thank Fate-chan over there," Hayate mused. "She had all of the information for Cross Mirage, down to the smallest detail. Mach Caliber was already being designed as it was and the specifics Fate-chan had really helped."
Teana looked confused. "Ma'am... Why was this device fine tuned to me? It does everything I could ever want..."
Fate waved it off, not wanting to reveal the fact that Teana was her partner in her world. "Don't worry about it."
Nanoha looked at Subaru. "Subaru? what is it?"
Subaru laughed and scratched her head. "That little girl, she's the one that was rescued right?"
"Yes. Vivio, introduce yourself,"
Vivio tried to bow from her place in Nanoha's lap. "Hello. My name is Vivio, I'm six years old."
"Nice to meet you, Vivio." Teana and Subaru spoke at the same time, making each girl blush. "So," Subaru continued. "Are you looking after her?"
Nanoha nodded. "I just sighed the official papers."
"Papers!?" Subaru gasped. "You adopted her!? Nanoha's a mama!?"
"Mama?" Vivio repeated the word, turning to stare at Nanoha in shock.
"Ah...um..." The flight instructor looked down into Vivio's wide eyes. "If... you want, you can call me that."
"Mama....?" Vivio tried the word, her little voice breaking halfway through.
"Yes?" Nanoha tilted her head to the side.
"Mama!" Lunging forward, Vivio hugged the woman's neck tightly. "Mama!"
"Awwwwwwww!" The blue haired girl held up her hands and cooed. "That's so cute!" Her ranting was stopped when Teana elbowed her, not very discreetly, in the ribs. "Hey, ow..."
"There, there, Vivio," Nanoha soothed the girl clinging to her. turning to look at a smiling Fate, she couldn't help but grin as well. "Wow, hearing her say that..."
"Really makes your heart flutter, doesn't it?" Fate finished for her.
Slowly Vivio moved from Nanoha's neck and reluctantly sat down again. "Mama..." She was smiled at so she turned to look at Fate, the girl who slept with her and her mother.
"Oh! I'm, um...." Fate felt he heart break a little. "I'm like an aunt. Nanoha-mama's good friend, like Hayate." She pointed at the other girl.
Vivio seemed to take this information and process it. "Nanoha-mama," She pointed at Nanoha, who nodded. "Aunt Hayate..." She looked at the leader of the base and was given a peace sign. Now encouraged by this, she happily turned to Fate and pointed. "Aunt Alicia."
Fate knelt down slowly, reaching out to Vivio to make the girl look at her. "Vivio?" Her voice was soft, almost shaking. "Where did you hear that name?"
"But... that's your name." Vivio looked confused.
"No, my name is Fate....Alicia... is my sister."
Nanoha gasped. "You have a sister!? Why didn't you say so?"
"She died," Fate whispered. "I... no its a long story. Vivio, where did you see Alicia?"
"With the bad man." The child shivered. "She hurt me."
"Vivio, this is really important," Fate's voice got a little firmer. "I need you to think hard, okay? Tell me, where did you see Alicia?"
Vivio leaned back against Nanoha, unsure of what she should say. "I... don't know... In a dark place...There were lots of red and blue lights..."
"Red and blue lights..." Fate repeated the words while standing.
"Fate-chan?" Hayate asked with concern. "What's going on?"
Fate shook her head. "The bad man has to be Jail. The red lights are probably relics..."
Nanoha looked up at her. "...And the blue?"
"...Life pods, the liquid glows an eery blueish green. The numbers were created that way."
"Numbers?" Yuuno asked.
"Combat cyborgs, like Subaru and ginga. They were created by the project Fate system, but a little bit differently depending on which one"
Hayate shook her head. "No, that was destroyed years ago and even if it wasn't, that system doesn't create cyborgs, it creates humans."
"Like me," Fate confirmed. "I am a clone of my sister Alicia. The TSAB may have forbidden the practice but it doesn't mean it isn't done..." She looked down at Vivio, unsure if she should continue or not. "There's another, a clone created by the DNA of the Sankt Kaiser."
Hayate looked at Vivio and then back to Fate. "We need to talk about this."
"Later," Fate whispered. "I need... some answers first." Turning, she walked to the door.
"I'm sorry." Fate looked over her shoulder. "Hayate, I need to go off on my own. If Alicia is alive, I need to find her."
"Fate-chan, we don't even know if that's true." Hayate disagreed. "I can't allow you to-"
"Please." Fate said the word hard. "this is important to me."
"...Fine. You can go."
Nanoha gasped. "Hayate-chan!?"
The short woman watched Fate leave the room. "We don't have enough information to require her to be present. If she can get some more info to bring back to us, then her leaving now will benefit everyone."
"But-"
"Nanoha-chan," Hayate said the name a little sternly.
Vivio looked at everyone in the room in turn before slowly hugging onto Nanoha and resting her head on the woman's chest, not liking the tension in the room.
~**~
Fate leaned against the metal bar of the swing set support beam and looked out over the playground she was standing at. The sun was setting across the buildings lining the horizon, making the light fade at an ever increasing rate. 'Alicia...' The name brought back bittersweet memories. The small amount of time she had spent with her sister inside the book of darkness had left a lasting impact on her. 'If she's alive in this time... Does that mean that mother perfected the design, or that Jail completed it?' Shaking her head, Fate took to walking around the small play area. 'Vivio was scared of me because she mistook me for my sister... Does that mean that she's working with Jail?' Her red eyes looked up into the sky. 'So many questions...' As she lowered her eyes, she saw a lone boy standing on top of the stairway leading up into the park. Red hair fluttered in the wind as a breeze came by and a smirk graced his face when the blonde started walking towards him.
"You knew you were being tracked," Erio stated the obvious.
"Yes," Fate agreed simply while lifting her hand to release the small thumbtack type device that Lutecia had stuck on her. The tracker flew to Erio, who accepted it into his palm. "I need to talk to you."
"About?" Erio stood his ground, looking down at Fate at the base of the stairs.
"Alicia."
"Who's that?"
Fate frowned. "Don't pretend, Erio. You and I both know you know who she is."
Erio shrugged. "You're mistaken. Even if I did, what would be in it for me?"
"Have you given up on Project Fate already?"
The boy leapt down in front of Fate at once, glaring up at her. "What do you know about it?"
Fate stayed where she was without flinching. "I was born the same way."
"You lie."
"My DNA was taken from Alicia Testarossa, Precia's daughter."
Erio snorted at her. "That plan failed, the doctor told me about it."
"He lied. Alicia is still alive and I need to find her."
The two looked at each other a long moment before the boy spoke again, walking around Fate in a slow circle. "Tell me, Fate, How is it you know so much? I did some research after I saw you were with that mobile force unit, and your name was never mentioned. It was as if you just appeared."
Fate took a breath. "That doesn't matter."
"If you are who you claim to be, where did you escape from? What lab where you in, and why didn't I know about it?"
"I was born twenty years ago, or so. I was away from here while I grew up."
"You don't look that old."
"I age well." Fate met Erio's eyes when he stood in front of her again. "Please, Erio, tell me where Alicia is."
"I don't know who she is." Erio replied back again. "I do know, however, that the doctor would tell me if he had any information on my origins. That is part of our deal; I work for him, he provides information about me and helps me protect my summoners."
Fate sighed. "Erio, he is tricking you. He did the same thing in my timeline-"
"Oh hooooooo," Erio slid his hands back into his pockets. "Your timeline, huh? This suddenly got interesting."
"Erio!" Fate almost shouted. "Listen to me!"
"You're not my mother." He grinned.
"I'm your sister!" Fate reached out and gripped the boy's shoulders. "Trust me!"
Erio looked at the hands a moment before lifting his own to make them release him. "I was hoping for a more informative conversation. I'll be on my way now."
"Erio!"
"Next time we meet," The boy glanced over his shoulder. "We won't be talking." With that, his body blurred slightly as he ran away from her.
Fate looked at the spot where Erio once was and slowly sank down to her knees. 'Why is everything so suddenly complicated...? Hugging herself, she felt tears escape her eyes. 'Erio... Caro...Nanoha... Alicia...' Holding herself tighter, she forced herself not to cry. 'I just want to go home...'
Spoiler for AlternativeS 5-5:
~**~
Fate opened the door to Nanoha's room slowly. "I'm back," The soft spoken greeting was answered by Vivio, who suddenly ran across the room with Nanoha following.
"Welcome home!" Vivio shouted out, reaching for Fate's legs. The hug didn't go as planned and Vivio found herself falling forward, only to be swept up by Fate's arms. "Wah!"
"Don't run inside, Vivio," Fate scolded lightly.
Nanoha stopped and looked up at her friend. "What's wrong, Fate-chan?"
"Nothing... I just..." The blonde let out a hard sigh. "I'm just really home sick right now. It went from just waiting to go home to suddenly realizing that things are going on here that are just so complicated... Why is Alicia alive? Is it even her or just another clone like me?"
"Fate-chan..." Nanoha reached out and took the hand that wasn't balancing Vivio on the blonde. "You're more than just a-"
"Thank you, really, but you don't know. Knowing I'm a replacement for Alicia isn't that bad since I always had friends who helped me identify myself... but being here... where I died... and she's alive... It just makes me feel..." She looked down. "Even more like I don't belong."
"Aunt Fate?" Vivio's words made both women look at Vivio. "Don't be sad."
"...Thank you, Vivio." Fate bent over and sat teh girl on Nanoha's lap. "I'm going to take a shower, okay?"
"Ah, I have dinner ready for us alre-"
"Thank you." Fate shook her head. "I just want to be alone right now.
The two watched Fate walk away from them and go up the small ramp leading to the upper half of the room. "Mama?" Vivio patted Nanoha's shoulder to get attention on her. "What's wrong with Aunt Fate"
"...Its an adult thing," Nanoha moved her chair over to the dining room table and transferred Vivio over. "Here, let me get your dinner ready."
After eating her fill and making sure Vivio ate her vegetables, Nanoha plopped the small girl onto the couch and gave her the coloring books they had gotten earlier. Vivio took to the new task at once, proclaiming that the coloring books were full of ghost that she had to bring back to life by coloring them. With her temporary child taken care of, Nanoha went upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door. "Fate-chan? You okay, you've been in there for almost an hour."
"...Yeah, I'm sorry." The sounds of water splashing came as the woman stood up. "I lost track of time."
"Its okay..." Nanoha leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "Hey...?"
"Yes?"
Looking at the closed door in front of her, Nanoha brought a hand to her chest and gripped her shirt. "I know its hard being here... And this may not really help but... I'll listen if you want to talk about it... Because you're important to me, even if there is an Alicia in this world. Fate-chan is Fate-chan, no matter what." No answer came for a few moments, leaving Nanoha to wonder if she should just leave or call out Fate's name again. Before she could make up her mind on either, the door opened to reveal a still damp Fate with hair that was still dripping slightly.
"Nanoha..." Fate's voice shook slightly and her puffy eyes revealed that she had been crying for quite a while. The woman in the wheelchair opened her arms and got a wet hug at once. "Thank you. I really needed that..."
"That's what I'm here for," Nanoha whispered back to her. When they parted, Nanoha felt herself take in Fate's figure in just the towel. "Get dried off, I'll do your hair, okay?"
"...Okay," Fate nodded and slowly retreated back into the bathroom, closing the door softly.
Nanoha smiled to herself as she looked down at her now wet clothes. 'For some reason, being able to help her makes me feel so much better than when she just spends time with me.' Moving over to the balcony of the bedroom, Nanoha looked down at Vivio. The girl was still coloring contently, a pleased smile on her face. Taking the moment to check on the girl, Nanoha felt a warm feeling in her chest. Her mood lifted and she contently watched Vivio swap crayons several times as she worked. When Fate finally came out again, Nanoha turned and smiled at her, getting a weak one back. "Come here," Nanoha requested while moving to the bed. Raising Heart formed the bars for her to grab a hold to so she could shift to the bed but she found arms wrapping around her.
"Here," Fate whispered to her, picking up Nanoha and holding her close while getting onto the bed. Sitting down, she let Nanoha sit sideways in her lap between her slightly parted legs. Arms went around the girl at once and she rested her chin on Nanoha's hair.
"Fate-chan?" Nanoha giggled. "I can't comb your hair like this."
"It'll be fine," Fate whispered to her lightly. "Just for a little bit...?"
"No," Nanoha answered back, shifting so she could wrap her arms around fate as well. Her head rested against Fate's shoulder and she squeezed her softly. "Not just for a little bit, but for a long time."
"... Thank you."
"Stop saying that," Nanoha scolded her gently. "Don't thank me for things I want to do." Raising her head, she brought a finger to Fate's chin and made her look at her. Leaning forward, Nanoha touched their noses and rubbed them together playfully. "Eskimo kisses make everything better."
Fate couldn't help but give a laugh. "You're so weird."
"I know," Nanoha smiled brightly, watching Fate reach up to take her hand. "But aren't I supposed to be holding you when comforting?"
"We can swap later, I prefer this." Fate replied in kind, closing her eyes when Nanoha went to touch their noses again. "Silly."
"Yes..." Nanoha inhaled lightly, shifting so her nose missed the playful kiss and moved her lips closer to Fate's.
"Mama!" Nanoha jerked back, panting and looking as if she had just heard an explosion. "Mamaaa?"
Fate smiled happily, missing what Nanoha had just tried for. "Get used to it, she didn't get over her 'yell for mama' phase until she was nine."
Nanoha sighed. "I'm coming, Vivio-dear!" She felt herself being picked up yet again and moved to her chair. 'The joys of motherhood...' Despite this, she smiled to herself.
Interesting info there on Precia being framed though, but since this is a major AU it doesn't matter. ^^; Anyway having already seen emo!Nanoha, I've pretty much declared the movie tie-in manga Discontinuity.
I'm looking forward to more of this, I admit when I saw this I went: 'Oh, no! This is what I get for writing slow!' But it turns out that we're exploring different things and you got some really interesting premise! Although I did have some concerns about why Precia was evil in your continuity but I'm willing to wait for the next chapters to find out what drives this Precia.
Interestingly, according to the sound stages about the movie, the movie is actually a movie within the MSLN continuity. Kinda like Macross' Do You Remember?
Here's a quote from Jimmy C from the Music thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy C
Just gone through the chinese sub of the Movie SS.
According to the SS, a certain world (that is unnamed, heh) is shooting the movie. Nanoha and Fate go look over the materials for the movie (scripts, design prints, costumes and props of their Devices) at the start of their discs. Nanoha is first and Fate's visit is a week later.
It also looks like Nanoha and Fate got some oversight role in the movie's production. On Nanoha's Side, we also have Subaru talking with Tia about who's going to watch the movie together, basically everyone in the cast on the friendly side as of MC0078 (when the SS takes place.)
Most of both Sides have everyone involved in the Seeds case reminicing about those days over a bunch of unsorted photos taken over the years.
For those who want a taster of Chapter two, here are two messages from the exchange.
Spoiler for a selected exchange of letters, no. 1:
Dear Doctor:
I may have given permission for my daughter to write to you as a mother. As an officer of the Time/Space Administration Bureau, however, I must remind you:
You have yet to account for your actions regarding the Lost Logia of Chulan Nanobots, as well as aiding a wanted fugitive (former Captain Jack Harkness) of the Time Agency sub-branch in escaping arrest. This is in addition to additional charges of at least one extra-dimension timeline disruption, one charge of dimensional destabilisation, one charge of dimension breach, and two charges of reparable timeline subversions. Furthermore, you are an involved suspect in at least another twenty plus reparable timeline subversions. Although Earth is a ‘non-administrated world’, it does not mean we have taken no notice of your actions.
Just as my daughter is waiting, I am also waiting. Please note that serious infractions threatening the time/space continuum will not be tolerated, and you will be brought in for questioning and imprisonment if the TSAB deems necessary, Time Lord or not.
Spoiler for a selected exchange of letters, no. 2:
Dear Officer Testarossa:
I am writing to say that I have done nothing wrong on my part. I must also ask-if you are so stringent on such matters, can you explain the TSAB’s absence when the Daleks interfered with the timeline of the Fourth Bountiful Human Empire, reducing the entirety of the population to game show addicts? Why was the TSAB absent when the Daleks threatened to burn the entirety of the Earth down? Where were you when Torchwood breached the void, allowing the Cybermen and Daleks to pour forth?
Or is the TSAB just another bunch of Judoon hit men, hiring your ‘police’ services out to whoever pays you the most?
Answer my questions responsibly, on behalf of the Time/Space Administration Bureau, and then I will answer yours.
Otherwise, until then, I answer to no higher authority-because I AM the highest authority there is around in my universe.
2009-11-24, 11:00
Author
