Also here's how the battlecruiser generally looks:
Spoiler for Niddhogg prototype:
The actual thing is bigger and has the amount of turrets according to its profile - several are mounted on the sides; guided beam emitters fire through the loopholes distributed across the hull. Full profile coming up.
P.S. I was so tempted to use Portent of Darkness dreadnaught for this But something stopped me.
Saraba Chikyuu yo
Tadaratsu fune wa
Uchuu Senkan
Niddhogg
Hmm... seeing as how Nicholas's weapons were based off of R-1 Kai's Giant Tonfa Revolvers, the choices for a mech are rather obvious, so I'll hold off on that.
In any case, here's a piece of short fiction that I recently made involving my Nicholas. Be sure to read between the lines!
Dimensional piracy is good. Fate's daddy, the OC named Zone and created by Nighty, is one of the most famous and feared, though as of StrikerS timeline neither do both know either party exist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron008R
Sounds promising! As for the opening, perhaps Tamaki's believe could work. Since the baseline series is a combat-Mahou Shoujo type.
*nods*
I can only comment about the first two.
I'm liking the concept. If it was me, I think I'd go with the six months to one year after StrikerS. But we need to fear the Ion Canon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Disclaimer: All this is for fun. Only 3 Units have been planned for production, so the others would only appear as the OCs take turns at the controls, if the situation arises.
About CrosyS and I-n's fic: I'll only do the important and the action scenes as a full fic, while the rest would remain as SS. Saves the redundancy, yet not leave out the details, and mirror the canonical Anime + SS dependency.
Okay, thanks to everyone for their input - so far the audience seems to like either Invoke or Believe. I reevaluated the five I had, and Radiance seems more appropriate to when the 82nd's patrolling the galaxy (If they ever get back to the Rim, I'll probably use it for the OP.); Shangri-La would require major angst; Kindan no Panse simply seemed out of place.
Notes on the Fic:
Re: Zone - If I decide to use him, 90% chance that he'll find Fate-chan, and team up with MD6, then leave when it's all over.
Re: Format - It'll might follow the same format as CrosyS and I-n's, but if I decide to put it on FF.net, there'll be no SS parts.
Re: Timeframe - Okay; it'll be about a year after StrikerS.
Re: I-n's GUNDAM
Okay, so we won't have two dozen enormous mecha running around - that'll be good.
And continuing on from last time, Here is Past, Part III.
Spoiler for length:
Mai Enna.
We first met her only minutes ago during Kha’s briefing of the Necron situation, and how the Church was supposed to deal with them. It was at the end of the briefing when a young girl, clad in a black, and I must say rather tasteful yet enticing goth outfit suddenly appeared right in front of us. Needless to say, she stole the show.
Glock was surprised no doubt, yet he was really happy to see her, immediately flooding her questions about how she was doing. She may have been a very quiet girl of few words, but I only assumed that she was shy. Nonetheless, I could tell that Mai looked up to Glock as an elder brother, from the rare times she did speak (she actually calls him “onii-chan”), and from the way she acted. If we didn’t know better, I would’ve thought the two truly were siblings.
I couldn’t not reconcile what I just saw with the General’s story.
[I know Shinji. I can’t believe it myself.]
I was startled by the Kay’s sudden telepathic voice in my head.
[Me neither.] Was my only reply.
The General stood up, his back to us looking out the window.
“It was not my idea to give Glock this assignment, and I felt that it was a grave insult. He was assigned as Mai’s guardian for a year, reporting any anomalous occurrences with her powers, and to facilitate rehabilitation until a suitable residence was found for her. It would not be an easy task for him, to be entrusted the life of the person who took away that he most cherished.
But he had no choice in the matter. He would have to face his inner conflict head on when he accepted it.
On the first day, Glock finally met Mai. Outwardly, he was as calm and collected as the Private I knew then. There might still be hope I thought to myself.
Only later would he tell me of the intentions that had ravaged his thoughts that day. Disturbing intentions. Murderous machinations to exact his vengeance for Shinobu. How he could not wrest those dark furious thoughts out of his mind. How the very sight of young Mai, her unmoving disposition and seemingly unrepentant stature threatened to shatter his façade of professionalism and unleash the slowly pooling anger simmering underneath, spilled with her blood. It was his only consolation amidst the hollow void left by Shinobu’s death.
It disturbed me as his confidant to hear his revelations. My better judgment told me to relieve Glock of his duty, lest we risk Mai being harmed by his hate and destroy himself in the process.”
Kay had seen Glock in such a state in Megiddo, where his anguish was caused not by burning anger, but by cold fear. And to hear him go through such again… it pained her greatly.
“But against my better judgment I decided to let him continue on his mission. His confidence in me reassured me of the integrity of his character. I could not give him advice that day, as I watched him return to his charge.
Day after day brought more turmoil and grief for Glock. On the surface he performed the duties appointed to him with diligence. But he maintained his façade at the cost of his sanity. He became withdrawn, restless, quick to anger. Isolation became a ritual for him. Worry became prevalent for those of us who cared, at the sight of Glock destroying himself piece by piece in his confusion.”
The General broke his story with a sigh. His sad, reminiscent eyes, reflected off the large plate glass window ingrained itself in my mind. A question formed in the silence. I relayed my curiosity to Kay telepathically.
[Kay, do you think…]
A hushed mental whisper answered.
[I know what you’re thinking Shinji. Even during his time with us, he still maintained the mask he made that time. The mask he made to protect himself. Rey was right. It was just the surface.]
Her reply tinged with a worry I have heard too many times. She reserved it for those souls that mattered to her.
“But it all came to pass.”
The General’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he resumed.
“It all changed one evening as a soft drizzle fell. I was escorting Glock and young Mai back to her quarters, another one of her evaluations completed. She had been quiet the entire day, as was typical for the girl. As we neared the dorm entrance she stopped walking and turned to face us. And her face was shaped by an unspeakable sorrow that haunts me even now.
I remember her words as if it was yesterday, and I will repeat them today.”
The image had formed in my head. Three people drenched by the falling droplets of rain. Mai in their midst, looking at the two older men in front of her with unmoving eyes that conveyed the message that followed from her lips, as she spoke:
“I am sorry.
I am sorry for giving you this pain.
I am sorry for giving you this grief.
I am sorry for the suffering I have caused.
My hollow soul drowns in my unforgivable sins.
Glock.
I will ease your unbearable suffering. “
And the dagger she held in her hands… was stained with her own blood.
Committing suicide?!
Well, it isn't completely illogical, considering what she's been through + guilt.
Nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
Mecha's, huh? Too bad Keroko couldn't care less about mecha's.
She'd prefer something more along these lines, right?
Hmmm... still can't see what those people were thanking Nicholas for. Although the way you detailed the exercise was nice.
And Zafira no longer shafted
Okay... Thanks for commenting, Lowe, but let me explain here. The things one should be looking for when reading "Going through the Motions": Who are Nicholas and Zafira dressed as (well, in Zafira's case, transformed)? Who's taking the pictures?
Wait a sec... Don't tell me you planning to involve the Sword of Zel****h here!
I'm currently working on the Meeting over the Thing found and the extreme drama part of my scenario's. I'm a little stumped to tell the truth.
Working as intended. :3
Need any help?
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoweGear
And continuing on from last time, Here is Past, Part III.
Spoiler for length:
Mai Enna.
We first met her only minutes ago during Kha’s briefing of the Necron situation, and how the Church was supposed to deal with them. It was at the end of the briefing when a young girl, clad in a black, and I must say rather tasteful yet enticing goth outfit suddenly appeared right in front of us. Needless to say, she stole the show.
Glock was surprised no doubt, yet he was really happy to see her, immediately flooding her questions about how she was doing. She may have been a very quiet girl of few words, but I only assumed that she was shy. Nonetheless, I could tell that Mai looked up to Glock as an elder brother, from the rare times she did speak (she actually calls him “onii-chan”), and from the way she acted. If we didn’t know better, I would’ve thought the two truly were siblings.
I couldn’t not reconcile what I just saw with the General’s story.
[I know Shinji. I can’t believe it myself.]
I was startled by the Kay’s sudden telepathic voice in my head.
[Me neither.] Was my only reply.
The General stood up, his back to us looking out the window.
“It was not my idea to give Glock this assignment, and I felt that it was a grave insult. He was assigned as Mai’s guardian for a year, reporting any anomalous occurrences with her powers, and to facilitate rehabilitation until a suitable residence was found for her. It would not be an easy task for him, to be entrusted the life of the person who took away that he most cherished.
But he had no choice in the matter. He would have to face his inner conflict head on when he accepted it.
On the first day, Glock finally met Mai. Outwardly, he was as calm and collected as the Private I knew then. There might still be hope I thought to myself.
Only later would he tell me of the intentions that had ravaged his thoughts that day. Disturbing intentions. Murderous machinations to exact his vengeance for Shinobu. How he could not wrest those dark furious thoughts out of his mind. How the very sight of young Mai, her unmoving disposition and seemingly unrepentant stature threatened to shatter his façade of professionalism and unleash the slowly pooling anger simmering underneath, spilled with her blood. It was his only consolation amidst the hollow void left by Shinobu’s death.
It disturbed me as his confidant to hear his revelations. My better judgment told me to relieve Glock of his duty, lest we risk Mai being harmed by his hate and destroy himself in the process.”
Kay had seen Glock in such a state in Megiddo, where his anguish was caused not by burning anger, but by cold fear. And to hear him go through such again… it pained her greatly.
“But against my better judgment I decided to let him continue on his mission. His confidence in me reassured me of the integrity of his character. I could not give him advice that day, as I watched him return to his charge.
Day after day brought more turmoil and grief for Glock. On the surface he performed the duties appointed to him with diligence. But he maintained his façade at the cost of his sanity. He became withdrawn, restless, quick to anger. Isolation became a ritual for him. Worry became prevalent for those of us who cared, at the sight of Glock destroying himself piece by piece in his confusion.”
The General broke his story with a sigh. His sad, reminiscent eyes, reflected off the large plate glass window ingrained itself in my mind. A question formed in the silence. I relayed my curiosity to Kay telepathically.
[Kay, do you think…]
A hushed mental whisper answered.
[I know what you’re thinking Shinji. Even during his time with us, he still maintained the mask he made that time. The mask he made to protect himself. Rey was right. It was just the surface.]
Her reply tinged with a worry I have heard too many times. She reserved it for those souls that mattered to her.
“But it all came to pass.”
The General’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he resumed.
“It all changed one evening as a soft drizzle fell. I was escorting Glock and young Mai back to her quarters, another one of her evaluations completed. She had been quiet the entire day, as was typical for the girl. As we neared the dorm entrance she stopped walking and turned to face us. And her face was shaped by an unspeakable sorrow that haunts me even now.
I remember her words as if it was yesterday, and I will repeat them today.”
The image had formed in my head. Three people drenched by the falling droplets of rain. Mai in their midst, looking at the two older men in front of her with unmoving eyes that conveyed the message that followed from her lips, as she spoke:
“I am sorry.
I am sorry for giving you this pain.
I am sorry for giving you this grief.
I am sorry for the suffering I have caused.
My hollow soul drowns in my unforgivable sins.
Glock.
I will ease your unbearable suffering. “
And the dagger she held in her hands… was stained with her own blood.
*speechless*
Hell yeah never saw that coming! I sense cool Glock-speech coming. ANd so a relatively quiet night has produced so much good nuggets. I'm happy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron008R
She'd prefer something more along these lines, right?
I thought that Keroko'd pick the Super Stargrasper over the GUNDAM anytime, and I guess I'm proven correct. Though I least expected it to be a Gradius.
---New intelligence data updated---
And now, inconjunction with Ta- I mean, An Hero, I bring you the first part of Dance of Demons Act 5:
Spoiler for Dance of Demons Act 5.1:
“…ate! Fate! Can you hear me?”
“Kha…?”
“You’ve been missed. Cardinal sent us to find you both. I think Signum’s nearby and closing on you fast. Where’s Takamachi-san?”
Fate bristled at the question. “She’s down.”
“Damned! Listen, I know you’re hurt--”
“It’s just a bruise--”
“Then don’t get anymore! Hang on, we’re on our way. Who are you atta--”
Serge made his move.
“Sorry.”
“Fate? Hey wait who--?”
Fate disrupted the mind link and focused on the battle.
~~~~~~
Kha pounded his knee with his fist. “Damned it! What is going on out there?!”
“The hell like we know, Boss.” Artei quipped over the intercomm from his seat at the cockpit. “Whatever they’re fighting has got some kind of disruptor shield going, and sensors aren’t making much sense.
“Did you manage to get anything?” Yuuno leaned over and asked.
The Cleric glanced to his right at the bookworm. “Takamachi-san’s injured...”
“What…” the young Scrya tightened his grip in his pants.
der Kleriker huffed. “I’m sorry for dragging you out like this, Scrya-san.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I did promise to visit Nanoha-chan when I was free, and it so happened that she was out on ops.” Yuuno replied with a weak smile. “After that I heard Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan had disappeared off radar I couldn’t just sit by and watch. If she’s hurt, all the more that I should be here.”
“Mm,“ Kha nodded. “Allie, what’s our ETA?”
“Ettou… About 10 minutes!”
“Thank you.” Kha replied gruffly, his gloved hands clasped in front of his lips.
“Kha…” Sophia began haltingly, trying to pull words out of her mind despite conflicting thoughts. “I’m sure… Fate-san will be alright.”
Even the usually bubbly Unison Device Sakura was quietly sitting on her Meister's shoulder, moping. Kha nodded mutely, feeling the intense agitation build up as he found himself willing the craft to go faster.
~~~~~~
A sudden blast of golden radiance forced Signum to yank Laevatine out of Serge’s limp body and flip away, standing her ground from a higher perch in mid-air, sword raised ready for another attack.
“Who are you?” Signum shouted.
“Aether Origin,” answered the mild voice. “You were fighting against my Master.”
“You’re this bastard’s Device then?” Signum prepared for the worse. “Changed your mind about joining the battle?”
“No-no,” protested Aether Origin phonetically. “You may lower your weapon, Knight Signum. We need to talk.”
The golden light went out, revealing Aether Origin’s looks. A tiny girl, no more than 1 meter height, with long purple hair was floating above Head Investigator’s body. Except for the head, she was completely clad in intricate golden armor.
“Who … is that?” Fate plodded and managed to reach the place Signum stood and was able to see Aether Origin too.
“Signum … are you alright?” The golden-haired mage breathed just barely.
“Yes, with thanks to you, Testarossa,” replied the Knight. “and this one here seems to be the Device we fought.”
“Oh, I must thank you too, Miss Harlaown,” said Aether Origin unexpectedly.
“Me? … Why?” Fate was surprised.
“With that last move of yours you protected your comrade, though you couldn’t be sure that it would work out well,” explained Aether Origin. “The more logical option would have been to try and kill my Master while he wasn’t paying attention, but you didn’t, and I thank you so.”
“I …” started Fate but stopped soon after. The other alternative had never occurred to her, and on hindsight, she would not have taken it anyway.
“You were going to talk with us about something,” reminded Signum.
“Yes,” remembered the Device. “There’ll be quite a lot of people here soon, so I wanted to earn your cooperation in dealing with them, or simply said – I’d like you to cover for my Master and go along with the story made up for the officials.”
“What?” Signum seemed somewhat taken aback. “With what kind of story could you possibly explain this? And why do you think we’re going to cooperate with you?”
“Oh, about the first part you shouldn’t worry – everything will become clear soon enough,” replied Aether Origin. “And I want you to cooperate willingly just because I don’t want to force you to. There’s a reason I withdrew from the fight with you, Knight of the Night Sky, and I’m sorry for your comrade.”
She glanced at Vita, indicating apology. However, the device avatar continued, “But if my reasoning isn’t enough, I may have to break my word.”
“You talk like you know me, and I have this strange feeling too,” the Knight’s eyes narrowed with caution as she stepped closer to Aether Origin. “Did we meet before?”
“So you felt something too, huh?” The girl flew up a little, until she was level with the Crimson General’s head, and looked into Signum’s eyes. “Guess I’ll start the explanation with this then.”
Both Signum and Fate suddenly found themselves falling through the darkness but before they could react the surroundings changed again and they appeared in the sky of another world. They floated above a great city that stretched dozens of miles in every direction. Below them lay thousands of houses, large and small, with narrow streets between them and several wide radial roads gathering at the city’s center. Grand towers were striving to pierce through the clouds and a multitude of arcs and elegant bridges connected them with each other, and above all of this – an enormous castle. The castle hovered in the sky and was so huge that it was impossible for an eye to catch the whole sight of it.
“It can’t be …” mumbled Signum, blinking in astonishment.
“I’m projecting the image directly into your mind,” Aether Origin’s voice ringed inside the girls’ heads, “Just think what you want to see and you’ll be there.”
When they looked closer they realized that the city was in the middle of a vicious battle. Its part on the opposite side from the place they appeared was engulfed in flames. Thousands of warriors were fighting on its outskirts and in the streets. Powerful magic spells continuously used by both armies were mercilessly destroying the creations of unknown architects around them. Though lower in numbers the attackers managed to move further. They were obviously trying to break through to the floating castle.
“This was the time when we almost succeeded…” narrated Aether Origin.
With her words being said a sudden tremor shook the entire castle as its top sank in blazing golden light. It began slowly losing its altitude, then it went faster, and in mere seconds the huge structure crashed into the ground. The impact made the central part of the city crumble instantly. The castle broke into pieces, almost as if it was blown from the inside, burying most of the city under its debris. The colossal scene of destruction even made the fighting armies freeze in awe. Among the remnants of the destroyed castle the golden light was still shining.
“Take us there!” Signum commanded.
“Of course,” agreed the Device.
They were transported almost instantly, without the sense of space being warped, and the trio immediately found themselves closer to the ground. A man in simple clothing, with the golden glove being the only fancy part, was standing still several meters above the ground. Five long golden arrowhead-shaped objects were circling around his head. In front of him in the air was a pulsating cocoon of golden threads, some of which were connected to his glove.
“Amazing,” the man spoke. “So that’s what you achieved… Too bad that it’ll make me end your life here …”
“Whoever you are – let go of her immediately!” Signum heard a familiar voice. “Roaring Storm Gigantcrusher!”
The man didn’t make any moves as a giant hammerhead landed on top of him, crashing to the ground and clouding the scene under the smog of dust.
“Gome,” the man’s voice was accompanied by a short flash of light.
The dust settled and revealed the man standing unscathed at the center of the crater made by the impact. The girl in red armor, who attacked him the moment before, was holding the broken Device in her hands, the hammerhead nowhere to be seen.
“Rest in peace,” said the man calmly as the red Knight’s body rapidly turned into golden dust slowly falling to the ground.
Signum’s blood boiled in an instant. She felt an urge to cut the man’s head off, when her suddenly hearing her own voice gave her pause.
“Teme!” The other “Signum” yelled at the mysterious man, “Who the hell are you? Sturm Falke!”
The arrow she fired was forcefully split in half before it could reach its target, both parts missing the man and leaving long trails of destruction behind them. At the same time she charged at the man herself with the sword.
“How persistent,” the man sighed, and “Signum’s” body started dissolving the same way as “Vita’s” before.
She would’ve disappeared completely not even getting close enough for the strike but a multitude of magical blasts that engulfed the man the next moment threw her body back on the ground. The man countered the attack the same way as “Signum’s” arrow before, effortlessly throwing the raging waves of magical energy in different directions away from him. That brought further destruction to the surroundings, turning the area around the city’s center into a single field covered with small and medium-sized debris. Despite its tremendous power the spell wasn’t able to harm the man even slightly, but either due to his own mistake or the intention of the one who cast the spell one of the stray blasts destroyed the threads connecting the man’s glove to the golden cocoon. It momentarily stopped the dissolution of ‘Signum’s” body and though it was already severely mutilated “she” seemed to be still alive. The cocoon fell down with a ringing sound and cracked open, revealing a pale silver-haired girl lying unconscious in the middle.
“She is--” The present Signum hardly finished her sentence when a knight in full-body armor descended near the girl, covering them both with a glowing protection sphere.
“Naze da?” The man asked, turning his head to the knight. “Isn’t it your army attacking this city? You can’t know my reasons, but don’t we have the same goals here?”
The knight didn’t answer, but slowly raised his arm, pointing his weapon at the man’s chest. His Device loaded multiple cartridges, probably everything that was left in its magazine. The amounts of magical energy around it could almost be felt physically. A large gray Belkan triangle sigil materialized in front of it. The man made a move for the first time, facing the knight’s weapon with an open palm of his right hand. For a second nothing was happening, and then they unleashed their spells simultaneously.
“TORA-HATO BREAKER!!!” shouted the knight.
“Aether Ruler,” announced his opponent coolly.
Three massive beams of energy emerged from the vertexes of gray triangle, combining into a single overwhelming attack that scored a clean hit at the target, resulting in a gigantic explosion. However it didn’t expand as it could be expected, but all the energy rushed into the sky instead. The man with the golden glove was standing in the center of a circle of complete destruction, pointing his right arm upwards. The masses of energy exploded like a huge firework, producing hundreds of shining sparkles. The next moment they rained down on the ruined city. The sight was spectacular and frightening. It was unclear whether the initial spell was this powerful or it was intentionally enhanced by the man’s own magic, but its effects were truly devastating. Every sparkle actually represented a concentrated ball of magical energy that exploded on contact. Each time a sparkle hit the ground the whole city could feel a tremor and the explosion utterly destroyed everything in a hundred meter radius from the epicenter. When the terrible rain calmed down it was hard to say if there was ever a city in this area. Both armies tried their best to save themselves; but regardless of any action taken, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
“You don’t understand. I’m trying to save your world.” the man lowered his hand in a sweep that encompassed the entire battleground. “Saving all of them!”
“You’re right. I do not understand,” the masked knight replied non-chalantly, his stance unrelenting. “You really don’t look like a rescuer.”
“The girl… She has to disappear – that’s not her fault, nor mine. Only then would balance be preserved.”
“I don’t know what kind of balance you’re talking about, but I’m not letting you anywhere near her.”
“Then I will make you to,” the man gritted and pointed his finger at the knight.
A multitude of magical shields appeared instantly in front of the knight, protecting him and the girl from a possible attack. The level of defense they provided was truly incredible, but the next moment they all got shattered at the same time. The protection sphere was also blown away and the outer layers of the knight’s armor were disintegrated, revealing his face. One of the golden arrowheads darted towards him, piercing his chest below the left collarbone and pinning him to the ground. Despite his struggle it didn’t allow him to stand up.
“This should do it,” mentioned the man as several golden threads protruded from his glove and rushed to the silver-haired girl.
Blood splattered, but it didn’t belong to the girl. Making use of the short distance between them, the second knight placed his right arm on the threads’ path, catching them at the same time as they ran through.
“You’re strong…” panted the knight to the man, keeping a firm grip on his sanity despite the amount of blue murder his arm was screaming in pain. “But as long as I’m still alive, you’re not getting past me!”
“The one you’re trying to protect…” said the man in a sad tone. “…will bring all known existence to end. Why won’t you allow me to prevent that?!”
“You said yourself – All this… It isn’t happening due to her own will, correct?”
“That is true.” The caster replied to the crippled knight.
“Than it doesn’t matter!” the latest knight replied with force. “Whatever happens in the future, I will always stay by her side. I will not let this imbalance that you speak of happen!”
“So you’re ready to condemn everyone to inevitable death, doom your own world and all of the others – to save the life of a singe girl now?” The mage with the golden halo sighed.
“I made a promise…” said the knight with conviction. “That I’ll live for the sake of her happiness. No matter what grim fate awaits us, I will fight against it. I will triumph against it!
“But if you intend to end this girl’s life here,” the injured knight glared. “I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Over. My. Dead. Body.”
“You are a fool,” said the man, then commanded, “Stand up.”
All five golden arrowheads disappeared and the light around the man went out. The glove and golden plating on his right arm turned into a simple bracelet. The knight struggled to his feet, then faced the man.
“Master!” The golden Device spoke for the first time, and its voice was panicking. “You can’t! Not when we’re so close! I will not allow!”
“Fast,” told the man, extending his right arm towards the knight. “Cut it off.”
~~~~~~
Back in the present, at the bustling Command Room under Monarch Church, Carim was close to being a nervous wreck, watching the central holographic sensor screens for any signs of… something. She could see Signum’s position, as well as the Blackbird which was several kilometers away, but nothing else. Nanoha and Fate’s psynet signatures were no where to be found, which meant that, either their device beacons were being jammed, or the mages have been beaten until they are too weaken to continually project such a signal. She tried to blame it on the minor voidstorm in progress around that area, for they do weaken psycommu transmissions till unboosted signals get lost, but she did not like the spot where Signum was estimated to have stopped ; it was a way off of the designated operation zone where Nanoha and Fate had been dispatched to investigate. With the warp storm hanging around, they could not get through Signum, and their link with the Blackbird was dimming fast.
The last thing she and the head operator Nouera wanted to hear was a brief klaxxon, followed by a swarm of red dots racing from the west at speed.
“Good heavens,” Schach remarked in shock. “There’s close to 70 units of Type-1s and Type-2s inbound! They are coming from the vicinity of that research lab!”
“That means Nanoha and Fate might have been ambushed before they could clean it out properly...”
The dots suddenly started splitting along the middle and began encircling a radius around Signum.
“Carim-san! I think the Gadgets are trying to flank whatever’s out there.”
Carim’s clasped hands grew tighter. “Kha is going to need help, but… any nearby units ready to assist?”
“TSAB’s closest one is about 10 minutes away…” Schach’s voice trailed off as she read her panel more closely. “It’s the Silvana!”
“Can you raise them?”
“I’ll try.” With that, Schach tapped a few keys. A dialogue box promptly appeared on the screen, indicating that a call was being made.
And they prayed for it to connect.
~~~~~~
The Blackbird detected the Gadgets a second later.
“Oni-chan! Gadgets from the west sector. There’s a lot of them, and they seem to be headed for Fate-san’s area!” the little pilot cried over the intercomm, snapping Kha out of his meditation.
“ETA!”
“Gadgets will overrun Signum-san’s position 5 minutes ahead of us.”
“It can’t get any worse than this!” Kha barked. He unbuckled his harness and jumped up. “Allie! Open the bay doors, we’re heading out! Sofie--”
“Faster than you are!” The girl grinned, already free from her seat. Kaempfer too.
“Ready here,” Yuuno affirmed.
Kha nodded back and closed his face mask with a loud clang.
Lurching slightly as the locks came free, the heavy door on the Blackbird’s rear whined and creaked as the hydraulics pushed it down, jerking again once Allie took her finger off the button.
“Move out!” Kha yelled.
Kaempfer silently broke into a run and flung himself off, dragon wings springing out of his back as he flapped and banked towards their original heading. Yuuno went next; the green mage somersaulted a little, then having gained control darted forward;
"Sakura!"
"Coming, Father~~!" the little chibi cheered up and dematerialized to white energy as she approached Kha, who was already running towards the open hatch.
"Unison... IN!"
There was a flash of white and blue, then Kha charged out of the glow, hair silver white, eyes red, Unison complete.
[Knight Armor in Jaegerform.] Tausend Kreuz chimed mechanically, skittering runes across its blue C-stone face.
Kha stepped off and let himself fell freely while his long coat faded away and was quickly replaced with his custom vernier packs. Mode shift complete, and, firing all four rocket sets, the leader thundered after the two fliers.
Sophia stood on a red spinning square, chanting runes as she called forth her robotic steed from the divine realm. Bellophon answered it promptly, bursting out of another sigil, trotting and snorting like a real horse. Sophia mounted up.
“Ja!” She kicked the saddle and Bellophon galloped forward and away, spreading its white wings and gliding gracefully in an arch before resuming its airborne dash forward.
Artei watched his comrades surge forward and griped to his co-pilot Allison. “Man why can’t I fly…?!”
And now, inconjunction with Ta- I mean, An Hero, I bring you the first part of Dance of Demons Act 5:
Spoiler for Dance of Demons Act 5.1:
“…ate! Fate! Can you hear me?”
“Kha…?”
“You’ve been missed. Cardinal sent us to find you both. I think Signum’s nearby and closing on you fast. Where’s Takamachi-san?”
Fate bristled at the question. “She’s down.”
“Damned! Listen, I know you’re hurt--”
“It’s just a bruise--”
“Then don’t get anymore! Hang on, we’re on our way. Who are you atta--”
Serge made his move.
“Sorry.”
“Fate? Hey wait who--?”
Fate disrupted the mind link and focused on the battle.
~~~~~~
Kha pounded his knee with his fist. “Damned it! What is going on out there?!”
“The hell like we know, Boss.” Artei quipped over the intercomm from his seat at the cockpit. “Whatever they’re fighting has got some kind of disruptor shield going, and sensors aren’t making much sense.
“Did you manage to get anything?” Yuuno leaned over and asked.
The Cleric glanced to his right at the bookworm. “Takamachi-san’s injured...”
“What…” the young Scrya tightened his grip in his pants.
der Kleriker huffed. “I’m sorry for dragging you out like this, Scrya-san.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I did promise to visit Nanoha-chan when I was free, and it so happened that she was out on ops.” Yuuno replied with a weak smile. “After that I heard Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan had disappeared off radar I couldn’t just sit by and watch. If she’s hurt, all the more that I should be here.”
“Mm,“ Kha nodded. “Allie, what’s our ETA?”
“Ettou… About 10 minutes!”
“Thank you.” Kha replied gruffly, his gloved hands clasped in front of his lips.
“Kha…” Sophia began haltingly, trying to pull words out of her mind despite conflicting thoughts. “I’m sure… Fate-san will be alright.”
Even the usually bubbly Unison Device Sakura was quietly sitting on her Meister's shoulder, moping. Kha nodded mutely, feeling the intense agitation build up as he found himself willing the craft to go faster.
~~~~~~
A sudden blast of golden radiance forced Signum to yank Laevatine out of Serge’s limp body and flip away, standing her ground from a higher perch in mid-air, sword raised ready for another attack.
“Who are you?” Signum shouted.
“Aether Origin,” answered the mild voice. “You were fighting against my Master.”
“You’re this bastard’s Device then?” Signum prepared for the worse. “Changed your mind about joining the battle?”
“No-no,” protested Aether Origin phonetically. “You may lower your weapon, Knight Signum. We need to talk.”
The golden light went out, revealing Aether Origin’s looks. A tiny girl, no more than 1 meter height, with long purple hair was floating above Head Investigator’s body. Except for the head, she was completely clad in intricate golden armor.
“Who … is that?” Fate plodded and managed to reach the place Signum stood and was able to see Aether Origin too.
“Signum … are you alright?” The golden-haired mage breathed just barely.
“Yes, with thanks to you, Testarossa,” replied the Knight. “and this one here seems to be the Device we fought.”
“Oh, I must thank you too, Miss Harlaown,” said Aether Origin unexpectedly.
“Me? … Why?” Fate was surprised.
“With that last move of yours you protected your comrade, though you couldn’t be sure that it would work out well,” explained Aether Origin. “The more logical option would have been to try and kill my Master while he wasn’t paying attention, but you didn’t, and I thank you so.”
“I …” started Fate but stopped soon after. The other alternative had never occurred to her, and on hindsight, she would not have taken it anyway.
“You were going to talk with us about something,” reminded Signum.
“Yes,” remembered the Device. “There’ll be quite a lot of people here soon, so I wanted to earn your cooperation in dealing with them, or simply said – I’d like you to cover for my Master and go along with the story made up for the officials.”
“What?” Signum seemed somewhat taken aback. “With what kind of story could you possibly explain this? And why do you think we’re going to cooperate with you?”
“Oh, about the first part you shouldn’t worry – everything will become clear soon enough,” replied Aether Origin. “And I want you to cooperate willingly just because I don’t want to force you to. There’s a reason I withdrew from the fight with you, Knight of the Night Sky, and I’m sorry for your comrade.”
She glanced at Vita, indicating apology. However, the device avatar continued, “But if my reasoning isn’t enough, I may have to break my word.”
“You talk like you know me, and I have this strange feeling too,” the Knight’s eyes narrowed with caution as she stepped closer to Aether Origin. “Did we meet before?”
“So you felt something too, huh?” The girl flew up a little, until she was level with the Crimson General’s head, and looked into Signum’s eyes. “Guess I’ll start the explanation with this then.”
Both Signum and Fate suddenly found themselves falling through the darkness but before they could react the surroundings changed again and they appeared in the sky of another world. They floated above a great city that stretched dozens of miles in every direction. Below them lay thousands of houses, large and small, with narrow streets between them and several wide radial roads gathering at the city’s center, grand towers were striving to pierce through the clouds and a multitude of arcs and elegant bridges connected them with each other, and above all of this – an enormous castle. The castle hovered in the sky and was so huge that it was impossible for an eye to catch the whole sight of it.
“It can’t be …” mumbled Signum, blinking in astonishment.
“I’m projecting the image directly into your mind,” Aether Origin’s voice ringed inside the girls’ heads, “Just think what you want to see and you’ll be there.”
When they looked closer they realized that the great city was in the middle of a vicious battle. Its part that was on the opposite side from the place they appeared was engulfed in flames. Thousands of warriors were fighting on its outskirts and in the streets. Powerful magic spells were continuously used by both armies, mercilessly destroying the creations of unknown architects around them. The attackers were lower in numbers but managed to move further. They were obviously trying to break through to the floating castle.
“This was the time when we almost succeeded…” narrated Aether Origin.
With her words being said a sudden tremor shook the entire castle as its top sank in blazing golden light. It began slowly losing its altitude, then it went faster, and in mere seconds the huge structure crashed into the ground. The impact made the central part of the city crumble instantly. The castle broke into pieces, almost as if it was blown from the inside, burying most of the city under its debris. The colossal scene of destruction even made the fighting armies freeze in awe. Among the remnants of the destroyed castle the golden light was still shining.
“Take us there!” Signum commanded.
“Of course,” agreed the Device.
They were transported almost instantly, without the sense of space being warped, and the trio immediately found themselves closer to the ground. A man in simple clothing, with the golden glove being the only fancy part, was standing still several meters above the ground. Five long golden arrowhead-shaped objects were circling around his head. In front of him in the air was a pulsating cocoon of golden threads, some of which were connected to his glove.
“Amazing,” the man spoke. “So that’s what you achieved… Too bad that it’ll make me end your life here …”
“Whoever you are – let go of her immediately!” Signum heard a familiar voice. “Roaring Storm Gigantcrusher!”
The man didn’t make any moves as a giant hammerhead landed on top of him, crashing to the ground and clouding the scene under the smog of dust.
“Gome,” the man’s voice was accompanied by a short flash of light.
The dust settled and revealed the man standing unscathed at the center of the crater made by the impact. The girl in red armor, who attacked him the moment before, was holding the broken Device in her hands, the hammerhead nowhere to be seen.
“Rest in peace,” said the man calmly as the red Knight’s body rapidly turned into golden dust slowly falling to the ground.
Signum’s blood boiled in an instant. She felt an urge to cut the man’s head off, when her suddenly hearing her own voice gave her pause.
“Teme!” The other “Signum” yelled at the mysterious man, “Who the hell are you? Sturm Falke!”
The arrow she fired was forcefully split in half before it could reach its target, both parts missing the man and leaving long trails of destruction behind them. At the same time she charged at the man herself with the sword.
“How persistent,” the man sighed, and “Signum’s” body started dissolving the same way as “Vita’s” before.
She would’ve disappeared completely not even getting close enough for the strike but a multitude of magical blasts that engulfed the man the next moment threw her body back on the ground. The man countered the attack the same way as “Signum’s” arrow before, effortlessly throwing the raging waves of magical energy in different directions away from him. That brought further destruction to the surroundings, turning the area around the city’s center into a single field covered with small and medium-sized debris. Despite its tremendous power the spell wasn’t able to harm the man even slightly, but either due to his own mistake or the intention of the one who cast the spell one of the stray blasts destroyed the threads connecting the man’s glove to the golden cocoon. It momentarily stopped the dissolution of ‘Signum’s” body and though it was already severely mutilated “she” seemed to be still alive. The cocoon fell down with a ringing sound and cracked open, revealing a pale silver-haired girl lying unconscious in the middle.
“She is--” The present Signum hardly finished her sentence when a knight in full-body armor descended near the girl, covering them both with a glowing protection sphere.
“Naze da?” The man asked, turning his head to the knight. “Isn’t it your army attacking this city? You can’t know my reasons, but don’t we have the same goals here?”
The knight didn’t answer, but slowly raised his arm, pointing his weapon at the man’s chest. His Device loaded multiple cartridges, probably everything that was left in its magazine. The amounts of magical energy around it could almost be felt physically. A large gray Belkan triangle sigil materialized in front of it. The man made a move for the first time, facing the knight’s weapon with an open palm of his right hand. For a second nothing was happening, and then they unleashed their spells simultaneously.
“TORA-HATO BREAKER!!!” shouted the knight.
“Aether Ruler,” announced his opponent coolly.
Three massive beams of energy emerged from the vertexes of gray triangle, combining into a single overwhelming attack that scored a clean hit at the target, resulting in a gigantic explosion. However it didn’t expand as it could be expected, but all the energy rushed into the sky instead. The man with the golden glove was standing in the center of a circle of complete destruction, pointing his right arm upwards. The masses of energy exploded like a huge firework, producing hundreds of shining sparkles. The next moment they rained down on the ruined city. The sight was spectacular and frightening. It was unclear whether the initial spell was this powerful or it was intentionally enhanced by the man’s own magic, but its effects were truly devastating. Every sparkle actually represented a concentrated ball of magical energy that exploded on contact. Each time a sparkle hit the ground the whole city could feel a tremor and the explosion utterly destroyed everything in a hundred meter radius from the epicenter. When the terrible rain calmed down it was hard to say if there was ever a city in this area. Both armies tried their best to save themselves; but regardless of any action taken, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
“You don’t understand. I’m trying to save your world.” the man lowered his hand in a sweep that encompassed the entire battleground. “Saving all of them!”
“You’re right. I do not understand,” the masked knight replied non-chalantly, his stance unrelenting. “You really don’t look like a rescuer.”
“The girl… She has to disappear – that’s not her fault, nor mine. Only then would balance be preserved.”
“I don’t know what kind of balance you’re talking about, but I’m not letting you anywhere near her.”
“Then I will make you to,” the man gritted and pointed his finger at the knight.
A multitude of magical shields appeared instantly in front of the knight, protecting him and the girl from a possible attack. The level of defense they provided was truly incredible, but the next moment they all got shattered at the same time. The protection sphere was also blown away and the outer layers of the knight’s armor were disintegrated, revealing his face. One of the golden arrowheads darted towards him, piercing his chest below the left collarbone and pinning him to the ground. Despite his struggle it didn’t allow him to stand up.
“This should do it,” mentioned the man as several golden threads protruded from his glove and rushed to the silver-haired girl.
Blood splattered, but it didn’t belong to the girl. Making use of the short distance between them, the second knight placed his right arm on the threads’ path, catching them at the same time as they ran through.
“You’re strong…” panted the knight to the man, keeping a firm grip on his sanity despite the amount of blue murder his arm was screaming in pain. “But as long as I’m still alive, you’re not getting past me!”
“The one you’re trying to protect…” said the man in a sad tone. “…will bring all known existence to end. Why won’t you allow me to prevent that?!”
“You said yourself – All this… It isn’t happening due to her own will, correct?”
“That is true.” The caster replied to the crippled knight.
“Than it doesn’t matter!” the latest knight replied with force. “Whatever happens in the future, I will always stay by her side. I will not let this imbalance that you speak of happen!”
“So you’re ready to condemn everyone to inevitable death, doom your own world and all of the others – to save the life of a singe girl now?” The mage with the golden halo sighed.
“I made a promise…” said the knight with conviction. “That I’ll live for the sake of her happiness. No matter what grim fate awaits us, I will fight against it. I will triumph against it!
“But if you intend to end this girl’s life here,” the injured mage glared. “I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Over. My. Dead. Body.”
“You are a fool,” said the man, then commanded, “Stand up.”
All five golden arrowheads disappeared and the light around the man went out. The glove and golden plating on his right arm turned into a simple bracelet. The knight struggled to his feet, then faced the man.
“Master!” The first knight’s device spoke for the first time, and its voice was panicking. “You can’t! Not when we’re so close! I will not allow!”
“Fast,” told the man, extending his right arm towards the knight with the bloodied arm. “Cut it off.”
~~~~~~
Back in the present, at the bustling Command Room under Monarch Church, Carim was close to being a nervous wreck, watching the central holographic sensor screens for any signs of… something. She could see Signum’s position, as well as the Blackbird which was several kilometers away, but nothing else. Nanoha and Fate’s psynet signatures were no where to be found, which meant that, either their device beacons were being jammed, or the mages have been beaten until they are too weaken to continually project such a signal. She tried to blame it on the minor voidstorm in progress around that area, for they do weaken psycommu transmissions till unboosted signals get lost, but she did not like the spot where Signum was estimated to have stopped ; it was a way off of the designated operation zone where Nanoha and Fate had been dispatched to investigate. With the warp storm hanging around, they could not get through Signum, and their link with the Blackbird was dimming fast.
The last thing she and the head operator Nouera wanted to hear was a brief klaxxon, followed by a swarm of red dots racing from the west at speed.
“Good heavens,” Schach remarked in shock. “There’s close to 70 units of Type-1s and Type-2s inbound! They are coming from the vicinity of that research lab!”
“That means Nanoha and Fate might have been ambushed before they could clean it out properly...”
The dots suddenly started splitting along the middle and began encircling a radius around Signum.
“Carim-san! I think the Gadgets are trying to flank whatever’s out there.”
Carim’s clasped hands grew tighter. “Kha is going to need help, but… any nearby units ready to assist?”
“TSAB’s closest one is about 10 minutes away…” Schach’s voice trailed off as she read her panel more closely. “It’s the Silvana!”
“Can you raise them?”
“I’ll try.” With that, Schach tapped a few keys. A dialogue box promptly appeared on the screen, indicating that a call was being made.
And they prayed for it to connect.
~~~~~~
The Blackbird detected the Gadgets a second later.
“Oni-chan! Gadgets from the west sector. There’s a lot of them, and they seem to be headed for Fate-san’s area!” the little pilot cried over the intercomm, snapping Kha out of his meditation.
“ETA!”
“Gadgets will overrun Signum-san’s position 5 minutes ahead of us.”
“It can’t get any worse than this!” Kha barked. He unbuckled his harness and jumped up. “Allie! Open the bay doors, we’re heading out! Sofie--”
“Faster than you are!” The girl grinned, already free from her seat. Kaempfer too.
“Ready here,” Yuuno affirmed.
Kha nodded back and closed his face mask with a loud clang.
Lurching slightly as the locks came free, the heavy door on the Blackbird’s rear whined and creaked as the hydraulics pushed it down, jerking again once Allie took her finger off the button.
“Move out!” Kha yelled.
Kaempfer silently broke into a run and flung himself off, dragon wings springing out of his back as he flapped and banked towards their original heading. Yuuno went next; the green mage somersaulted a little, then having gained control darted forward;
"Sakura!"
"Coming, Father~~!" the little chibi cheered up and dematerialized to white energy as she approached Kha, who was already running towards the open hatch.
"Unison... IN!"
There was a flash of white and blue, then Kha charged out of the glow, hair silver white, eyes red, Unison complete.
[Knight Armor in Jaegerform.] Tausend Kreuz chimed mechanically, skittering runes across its blue C-stone face.
Kha stepped off and let himself fell freely while his long coat faded away and was quickly replaced with his custom vernier packs. Mode shift complete, and, firing all four rocket sets, the leader thundered after the two fliers.
Sophia stood on a red spinning square, chanting runes as she called forth her robotic steed from the divine realm. Bellophon answered it promptly, bursting out of another sigil, trotting and snorting like a real horse. Sophia mounted up.
“Ja!” She kicked the saddle and Bellophon galloped forward and away, spreading its white wings and gliding gracefully in an arch before resuming its airborne dash forward.
Artei watched his comrades surge forward and griped to his co-pilot Allison. “Man why can’t I fly…?!”
Sorry An Hero, I couldn't wait... It looked perfect, and nothing of the original was changed much, so I put it up.
Next part in progress!
IMPRESSIVE
So many awesome things happening at once, and was that Saga in that flashback? And bad timing for drones to appear. It's gonna be a looong day indeed
Though, am I wrong in thinking this should be labelled Act 6? Minor nit for an awesome chapter
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnigmaticThief
Okay... Thanks for commenting, Lowe, but let me explain here. The things one should be looking for when reading "Going through the Motions": Who are Nicholas and Zafira dressed as (well, in Zafira's case, transformed)? Who's taking the pictures?
Nope, still can't get it
__________________
Against all the evil that hell can conjure, all wickedness that mankind can produce... We will send unto them, only you.
I was kinda surprised no one saw the Nia = Null thing. I mean... I've hinted that Null's already very mildly unisoned with Saga, which implies she's inside him... another daughter aside from Rein was a little ???... alongside the fact that it's a dream that reflects his inner conscious... those who remembered way back knows that for all Saga's care for Null, he wishes she could be...more normal and less rebellious. :3
Well... there should be 2 parts left now, the End of Nightmare and Epilogue... I'll leave the epilogue mildly open so that those who already had base ideas on the tome can crack it out a little.
Man... to think the Saga's profile went on for this long... over 20000 words and 80 pages... I hadn't written this much ever since my unpublished SEED fic draft.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
---New intelligence data updated---
And now, inconjunction with Ta- I mean, An Hero, I bring you the first part of Dance of Demons Act 5:
Spoiler for Dance of Demons Act 5.1:
“…ate! Fate! Can you hear me?”
“Kha…?”
“You’ve been missed. Cardinal sent us to find you both. I think Signum’s nearby and closing on you fast. Where’s Takamachi-san?”
Fate bristled at the question. “She’s down.”
“Damned! Listen, I know you’re hurt--”
“It’s just a bruise--”
“Then don’t get anymore! Hang on, we’re on our way. Who are you atta--”
Serge made his move.
“Sorry.”
“Fate? Hey wait who--?”
Fate disrupted the mind link and focused on the battle.
~~~~~~
Kha pounded his knee with his fist. “Damned it! What is going on out there?!”
“The hell like we know, Boss.” Artei quipped over the intercomm from his seat at the cockpit. “Whatever they’re fighting has got some kind of disruptor shield going, and sensors aren’t making much sense.
“Did you manage to get anything?” Yuuno leaned over and asked.
The Cleric glanced to his right at the bookworm. “Takamachi-san’s injured...”
“What…” the young Scrya tightened his grip in his pants.
der Kleriker huffed. “I’m sorry for dragging you out like this, Scrya-san.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I did promise to visit Nanoha-chan when I was free, and it so happened that she was out on ops.” Yuuno replied with a weak smile. “After that I heard Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan had disappeared off radar I couldn’t just sit by and watch. If she’s hurt, all the more that I should be here.”
“Mm,“ Kha nodded. “Allie, what’s our ETA?”
“Ettou… About 10 minutes!”
“Thank you.” Kha replied gruffly, his gloved hands clasped in front of his lips.
“Kha…” Sophia began haltingly, trying to pull words out of her mind despite conflicting thoughts. “I’m sure… Fate-san will be alright.”
Even the usually bubbly Unison Device Sakura was quietly sitting on her Meister's shoulder, moping. Kha nodded mutely, feeling the intense agitation build up as he found himself willing the craft to go faster.
~~~~~~
A sudden blast of golden radiance forced Signum to yank Laevatine out of Serge’s limp body and flip away, standing her ground from a higher perch in mid-air, sword raised ready for another attack.
“Who are you?” Signum shouted.
“Aether Origin,” answered the mild voice. “You were fighting against my Master.”
“You’re this bastard’s Device then?” Signum prepared for the worse. “Changed your mind about joining the battle?”
“No-no,” protested Aether Origin phonetically. “You may lower your weapon, Knight Signum. We need to talk.”
The golden light went out, revealing Aether Origin’s looks. A tiny girl, no more than 1 meter height, with long purple hair was floating above Head Investigator’s body. Except for the head, she was completely clad in intricate golden armor.
“Who … is that?” Fate plodded and managed to reach the place Signum stood and was able to see Aether Origin too.
“Signum … are you alright?” The golden-haired mage breathed just barely.
“Yes, with thanks to you, Testarossa,” replied the Knight. “and this one here seems to be the Device we fought.”
“Oh, I must thank you too, Miss Harlaown,” said Aether Origin unexpectedly.
“Me? … Why?” Fate was surprised.
“With that last move of yours you protected your comrade, though you couldn’t be sure that it would work out well,” explained Aether Origin. “The more logical option would have been to try and kill my Master while he wasn’t paying attention, but you didn’t, and I thank you so.”
“I …” started Fate but stopped soon after. The other alternative had never occurred to her, and on hindsight, she would not have taken it anyway.
“You were going to talk with us about something,” reminded Signum.
“Yes,” remembered the Device. “There’ll be quite a lot of people here soon, so I wanted to earn your cooperation in dealing with them, or simply said – I’d like you to cover for my Master and go along with the story made up for the officials.”
“What?” Signum seemed somewhat taken aback. “With what kind of story could you possibly explain this? And why do you think we’re going to cooperate with you?”
“Oh, about the first part you shouldn’t worry – everything will become clear soon enough,” replied Aether Origin. “And I want you to cooperate willingly just because I don’t want to force you to. There’s a reason I withdrew from the fight with you, Knight of the Night Sky, and I’m sorry for your comrade.”
She glanced at Vita, indicating apology. However, the device avatar continued, “But if my reasoning isn’t enough, I may have to break my word.”
“You talk like you know me, and I have this strange feeling too,” the Knight’s eyes narrowed with caution as she stepped closer to Aether Origin. “Did we meet before?”
“So you felt something too, huh?” The girl flew up a little, until she was level with the Crimson General’s head, and looked into Signum’s eyes. “Guess I’ll start the explanation with this then.”
Both Signum and Fate suddenly found themselves falling through the darkness but before they could react the surroundings changed again and they appeared in the sky of another world. They floated above a great city that stretched dozens of miles in every direction. Below them lay thousands of houses, large and small, with narrow streets between them and several wide radial roads gathering at the city’s center, grand towers were striving to pierce through the clouds and a multitude of arcs and elegant bridges connected them with each other, and above all of this – an enormous castle. The castle hovered in the sky and was so huge that it was impossible for an eye to catch the whole sight of it.
“It can’t be …” mumbled Signum, blinking in astonishment.
“I’m projecting the image directly into your mind,” Aether Origin’s voice ringed inside the girls’ heads, “Just think what you want to see and you’ll be there.”
When they looked closer they realized that the great city was in the middle of a vicious battle. Its part that was on the opposite side from the place they appeared was engulfed in flames. Thousands of warriors were fighting on its outskirts and in the streets. Powerful magic spells were continuously used by both armies, mercilessly destroying the creations of unknown architects around them. The attackers were lower in numbers but managed to move further. They were obviously trying to break through to the floating castle.
“This was the time when we almost succeeded…” narrated Aether Origin.
With her words being said a sudden tremor shook the entire castle as its top sank in blazing golden light. It began slowly losing its altitude, then it went faster, and in mere seconds the huge structure crashed into the ground. The impact made the central part of the city crumble instantly. The castle broke into pieces, almost as if it was blown from the inside, burying most of the city under its debris. The colossal scene of destruction even made the fighting armies freeze in awe. Among the remnants of the destroyed castle the golden light was still shining.
“Take us there!” Signum commanded.
“Of course,” agreed the Device.
They were transported almost instantly, without the sense of space being warped, and the trio immediately found themselves closer to the ground. A man in simple clothing, with the golden glove being the only fancy part, was standing still several meters above the ground. Five long golden arrowhead-shaped objects were circling around his head. In front of him in the air was a pulsating cocoon of golden threads, some of which were connected to his glove.
“Amazing,” the man spoke. “So that’s what you achieved… Too bad that it’ll make me end your life here …”
“Whoever you are – let go of her immediately!” Signum heard a familiar voice. “Roaring Storm Gigantcrusher!”
The man didn’t make any moves as a giant hammerhead landed on top of him, crashing to the ground and clouding the scene under the smog of dust.
“Gome,” the man’s voice was accompanied by a short flash of light.
The dust settled and revealed the man standing unscathed at the center of the crater made by the impact. The girl in red armor, who attacked him the moment before, was holding the broken Device in her hands, the hammerhead nowhere to be seen.
“Rest in peace,” said the man calmly as the red Knight’s body rapidly turned into golden dust slowly falling to the ground.
Signum’s blood boiled in an instant. She felt an urge to cut the man’s head off, when her suddenly hearing her own voice gave her pause.
“Teme!” The other “Signum” yelled at the mysterious man, “Who the hell are you? Sturm Falke!”
The arrow she fired was forcefully split in half before it could reach its target, both parts missing the man and leaving long trails of destruction behind them. At the same time she charged at the man herself with the sword.
“How persistent,” the man sighed, and “Signum’s” body started dissolving the same way as “Vita’s” before.
She would’ve disappeared completely not even getting close enough for the strike but a multitude of magical blasts that engulfed the man the next moment threw her body back on the ground. The man countered the attack the same way as “Signum’s” arrow before, effortlessly throwing the raging waves of magical energy in different directions away from him. That brought further destruction to the surroundings, turning the area around the city’s center into a single field covered with small and medium-sized debris. Despite its tremendous power the spell wasn’t able to harm the man even slightly, but either due to his own mistake or the intention of the one who cast the spell one of the stray blasts destroyed the threads connecting the man’s glove to the golden cocoon. It momentarily stopped the dissolution of ‘Signum’s” body and though it was already severely mutilated “she” seemed to be still alive. The cocoon fell down with a ringing sound and cracked open, revealing a pale silver-haired girl lying unconscious in the middle.
“She is--” The present Signum hardly finished her sentence when a knight in full-body armor descended near the girl, covering them both with a glowing protection sphere.
“Naze da?” The man asked, turning his head to the knight. “Isn’t it your army attacking this city? You can’t know my reasons, but don’t we have the same goals here?”
The knight didn’t answer, but slowly raised his arm, pointing his weapon at the man’s chest. His Device loaded multiple cartridges, probably everything that was left in its magazine. The amounts of magical energy around it could almost be felt physically. A large gray Belkan triangle sigil materialized in front of it. The man made a move for the first time, facing the knight’s weapon with an open palm of his right hand. For a second nothing was happening, and then they unleashed their spells simultaneously.
“TORA-HATO BREAKER!!!” shouted the knight.
“Aether Ruler,” announced his opponent coolly.
Three massive beams of energy emerged from the vertexes of gray triangle, combining into a single overwhelming attack that scored a clean hit at the target, resulting in a gigantic explosion. However it didn’t expand as it could be expected, but all the energy rushed into the sky instead. The man with the golden glove was standing in the center of a circle of complete destruction, pointing his right arm upwards. The masses of energy exploded like a huge firework, producing hundreds of shining sparkles. The next moment they rained down on the ruined city. The sight was spectacular and frightening. It was unclear whether the initial spell was this powerful or it was intentionally enhanced by the man’s own magic, but its effects were truly devastating. Every sparkle actually represented a concentrated ball of magical energy that exploded on contact. Each time a sparkle hit the ground the whole city could feel a tremor and the explosion utterly destroyed everything in a hundred meter radius from the epicenter. When the terrible rain calmed down it was hard to say if there was ever a city in this area. Both armies tried their best to save themselves; but regardless of any action taken, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
“You don’t understand. I’m trying to save your world.” the man lowered his hand in a sweep that encompassed the entire battleground. “Saving all of them!”
“You’re right. I do not understand,” the masked knight replied non-chalantly, his stance unrelenting. “You really don’t look like a rescuer.”
“The girl… She has to disappear – that’s not her fault, nor mine. Only then would balance be preserved.”
“I don’t know what kind of balance you’re talking about, but I’m not letting you anywhere near her.”
“Then I will make you to,” the man gritted and pointed his finger at the knight.
A multitude of magical shields appeared instantly in front of the knight, protecting him and the girl from a possible attack. The level of defense they provided was truly incredible, but the next moment they all got shattered at the same time. The protection sphere was also blown away and the outer layers of the knight’s armor were disintegrated, revealing his face. One of the golden arrowheads darted towards him, piercing his chest below the left collarbone and pinning him to the ground. Despite his struggle it didn’t allow him to stand up.
“This should do it,” mentioned the man as several golden threads protruded from his glove and rushed to the silver-haired girl.
Blood splattered, but it didn’t belong to the girl. Making use of the short distance between them, the second knight placed his right arm on the threads’ path, catching them at the same time as they ran through.
“You’re strong…” panted the knight to the man, keeping a firm grip on his sanity despite the amount of blue murder his arm was screaming in pain. “But as long as I’m still alive, you’re not getting past me!”
“The one you’re trying to protect…” said the man in a sad tone. “…will bring all known existence to end. Why won’t you allow me to prevent that?!”
“You said yourself – All this… It isn’t happening due to her own will, correct?”
“That is true.” The caster replied to the crippled knight.
“Than it doesn’t matter!” the latest knight replied with force. “Whatever happens in the future, I will always stay by her side. I will not let this imbalance that you speak of happen!”
“So you’re ready to condemn everyone to inevitable death, doom your own world and all of the others – to save the life of a singe girl now?” The mage with the golden halo sighed.
“I made a promise…” said the knight with conviction. “That I’ll live for the sake of her happiness. No matter what grim fate awaits us, I will fight against it. I will triumph against it!
“But if you intend to end this girl’s life here,” the injured mage glared. “I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Over. My. Dead. Body.”
“You are a fool,” said the man, then commanded, “Stand up.”
All five golden arrowheads disappeared and the light around the man went out. The glove and golden plating on his right arm turned into a simple bracelet. The knight struggled to his feet, then faced the man.
“Master!” The first knight’s device spoke for the first time, and its voice was panicking. “You can’t! Not when we’re so close! I will not allow!”
“Fast,” told the man, extending his right arm towards the knight with the bloodied arm. “Cut it off.”
~~~~~~
Back in the present, at the bustling Command Room under Monarch Church, Carim was close to being a nervous wreck, watching the central holographic sensor screens for any signs of… something. She could see Signum’s position, as well as the Blackbird which was several kilometers away, but nothing else. Nanoha and Fate’s psynet signatures were no where to be found, which meant that, either their device beacons were being jammed, or the mages have been beaten until they are too weaken to continually project such a signal. She tried to blame it on the minor voidstorm in progress around that area, for they do weaken psycommu transmissions till unboosted signals get lost, but she did not like the spot where Signum was estimated to have stopped ; it was a way off of the designated operation zone where Nanoha and Fate had been dispatched to investigate. With the warp storm hanging around, they could not get through Signum, and their link with the Blackbird was dimming fast.
The last thing she and the head operator Nouera wanted to hear was a brief klaxxon, followed by a swarm of red dots racing from the west at speed.
“Good heavens,” Schach remarked in shock. “There’s close to 70 units of Type-1s and Type-2s inbound! They are coming from the vicinity of that research lab!”
“That means Nanoha and Fate might have been ambushed before they could clean it out properly...”
The dots suddenly started splitting along the middle and began encircling a radius around Signum.
“Carim-san! I think the Gadgets are trying to flank whatever’s out there.”
Carim’s clasped hands grew tighter. “Kha is going to need help, but… any nearby units ready to assist?”
“TSAB’s closest one is about 10 minutes away…” Schach’s voice trailed off as she read her panel more closely. “It’s the Silvana!”
“Can you raise them?”
“I’ll try.” With that, Schach tapped a few keys. A dialogue box promptly appeared on the screen, indicating that a call was being made.
And they prayed for it to connect.
~~~~~~
The Blackbird detected the Gadgets a second later.
“Oni-chan! Gadgets from the west sector. There’s a lot of them, and they seem to be headed for Fate-san’s area!” the little pilot cried over the intercomm, snapping Kha out of his meditation.
“ETA!”
“Gadgets will overrun Signum-san’s position 5 minutes ahead of us.”
“It can’t get any worse than this!” Kha barked. He unbuckled his harness and jumped up. “Allie! Open the bay doors, we’re heading out! Sofie--”
“Faster than you are!” The girl grinned, already free from her seat. Kaempfer too.
“Ready here,” Yuuno affirmed.
Kha nodded back and closed his face mask with a loud clang.
Lurching slightly as the locks came free, the heavy door on the Blackbird’s rear whined and creaked as the hydraulics pushed it down, jerking again once Allie took her finger off the button.
“Move out!” Kha yelled.
Kaempfer silently broke into a run and flung himself off, dragon wings springing out of his back as he flapped and banked towards their original heading. Yuuno went next; the green mage somersaulted a little, then having gained control darted forward;
"Sakura!"
"Coming, Father~~!" the little chibi cheered up and dematerialized to white energy as she approached Kha, who was already running towards the open hatch.
"Unison... IN!"
There was a flash of white and blue, then Kha charged out of the glow, hair silver white, eyes red, Unison complete.
[Knight Armor in Jaegerform.] Tausend Kreuz chimed mechanically, skittering runes across its blue C-stone face.
Kha stepped off and let himself fell freely while his long coat faded away and was quickly replaced with his custom vernier packs. Mode shift complete, and, firing all four rocket sets, the leader thundered after the two fliers.
Sophia stood on a red spinning square, chanting runes as she called forth her robotic steed from the divine realm. Bellophon answered it promptly, bursting out of another sigil, trotting and snorting like a real horse. Sophia mounted up.
“Ja!” She kicked the saddle and Bellophon galloped forward and away, spreading its white wings and gliding gracefully in an arch before resuming its airborne dash forward.
Artei watched his comrades surge forward and griped to his co-pilot Allison. “Man why can’t I fly…?!”
Sorry An Hero, I couldn't wait... It looked perfect, and nothing of the original was changed much, so I put it up.
Next part in progress!
Yeah, An Hero sent me a draft of it, bar the parts with Kha/Schach too for an input... I was wondering why he haven't posted even after my greenlight... So he went to you as well...
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoweGear
And continuing on from last time, Here is Past, Part III.
Spoiler for length:
Mai Enna.
We first met her only minutes ago during Kha’s briefing of the Necron situation, and how the Church was supposed to deal with them. It was at the end of the briefing when a young girl, clad in a black, and I must say rather tasteful yet enticing goth outfit suddenly appeared right in front of us. Needless to say, she stole the show.
Glock was surprised no doubt, yet he was really happy to see her, immediately flooding her questions about how she was doing. She may have been a very quiet girl of few words, but I only assumed that she was shy. Nonetheless, I could tell that Mai looked up to Glock as an elder brother, from the rare times she did speak (she actually calls him “onii-chan”), and from the way she acted. If we didn’t know better, I would’ve thought the two truly were siblings.
I couldn’t not reconcile what I just saw with the General’s story.
[I know Shinji. I can’t believe it myself.]
I was startled by the Kay’s sudden telepathic voice in my head.
[Me neither.] Was my only reply.
The General stood up, his back to us looking out the window.
“It was not my idea to give Glock this assignment, and I felt that it was a grave insult. He was assigned as Mai’s guardian for a year, reporting any anomalous occurrences with her powers, and to facilitate rehabilitation until a suitable residence was found for her. It would not be an easy task for him, to be entrusted the life of the person who took away that he most cherished.
But he had no choice in the matter. He would have to face his inner conflict head on when he accepted it.
On the first day, Glock finally met Mai. Outwardly, he was as calm and collected as the Private I knew then. There might still be hope I thought to myself.
Only later would he tell me of the intentions that had ravaged his thoughts that day. Disturbing intentions. Murderous machinations to exact his vengeance for Shinobu. How he could not wrest those dark furious thoughts out of his mind. How the very sight of young Mai, her unmoving disposition and seemingly unrepentant stature threatened to shatter his façade of professionalism and unleash the slowly pooling anger simmering underneath, spilled with her blood. It was his only consolation amidst the hollow void left by Shinobu’s death.
It disturbed me as his confidant to hear his revelations. My better judgment told me to relieve Glock of his duty, lest we risk Mai being harmed by his hate and destroy himself in the process.”
Kay had seen Glock in such a state in Megiddo, where his anguish was caused not by burning anger, but by cold fear. And to hear him go through such again… it pained her greatly.
“But against my better judgment I decided to let him continue on his mission. His confidence in me reassured me of the integrity of his character. I could not give him advice that day, as I watched him return to his charge.
Day after day brought more turmoil and grief for Glock. On the surface he performed the duties appointed to him with diligence. But he maintained his façade at the cost of his sanity. He became withdrawn, restless, quick to anger. Isolation became a ritual for him. Worry became prevalent for those of us who cared, at the sight of Glock destroying himself piece by piece in his confusion.”
The General broke his story with a sigh. His sad, reminiscent eyes, reflected off the large plate glass window ingrained itself in my mind. A question formed in the silence. I relayed my curiosity to Kay telepathically.
[Kay, do you think…]
A hushed mental whisper answered.
[I know what you’re thinking Shinji. Even during his time with us, he still maintained the mask he made that time. The mask he made to protect himself. Rey was right. It was just the surface.]
Her reply tinged with a worry I have heard too many times. She reserved it for those souls that mattered to her.
“But it all came to pass.”
The General’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he resumed.
“It all changed one evening as a soft drizzle fell. I was escorting Glock and young Mai back to her quarters, another one of her evaluations completed. She had been quiet the entire day, as was typical for the girl. As we neared the dorm entrance she stopped walking and turned to face us. And her face was shaped by an unspeakable sorrow that haunts me even now.
I remember her words as if it was yesterday, and I will repeat them today.”
The image had formed in my head. Three people drenched by the falling droplets of rain. Mai in their midst, looking at the two older men in front of her with unmoving eyes that conveyed the message that followed from her lips, as she spoke:
“I am sorry.
I am sorry for giving you this pain.
I am sorry for giving you this grief.
I am sorry for the suffering I have caused.
My hollow soul drowns in my unforgivable sins.
Glock.
I will ease your unbearable suffering. “
And the dagger she held in her hands… was stained with her own blood.
She's not gonna die like my Gil Graham girls...is she?
__________________
Night~and~Gale: ~ The Final Mythology of the Man who Defied Destiny.
The sleeping lion shall awaken beyond the depths of time, crossing ten billion lights, come to Terra.
I was kinda surprised no one saw the Nia = Null thing. I mean... I've hinted that Null's already very mildly unisoned with Saga, which implies she's inside him... another daughter aside from Rein was a little ???... alongside the fact that it's a dream that reflects his inner conscious... those who remembered way back knows that for all Saga's care for Null, he wishes she could be...more normal and less rebellious. :3
Well... there should be 2 parts left now, the End of Nightmare and Epilogue... I'll leave the epilogue mildly open so that those who already had base ideas on the tome can crack it out a little.
Man... to think the Saga's profile went on for this long... over 20000 words and 80 pages... I hadn't written this much ever since my unpublished SEED fic draft.
Well, despite the hints, I still wouldn't have guessed Although Null should really show her Nia side from time to time
And THAT is the true Bluecheesium trap of the OC thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightengale
She's not gonna die like my Gil Graham girls...is she?
Well, the story itself is a flashback, and she's obviously alive in the present. I've no intention of making her follow in A.R.I.A.'s and Lieze's footsteps anytime soon
__________________
Against all the evil that hell can conjure, all wickedness that mankind can produce... We will send unto them, only you.
A crowded battlefield...the sound of weapons clashing, beams being fired, screams and explosions.
The sound Weapons breaking and shots dispersing as they hit a barrier...the outside no longer mattered, only the two of them inside it did.
"Ewan-sama! Ewan-sama!!" she clinged onto him as she called his name.
He opened his eyes "*cough* A-are you okay, Maren?" He asked her with a weak voice.
"You idiot...why did you do that?" She scolded him, her eyes overflowing with tears.
He brought a hand to her cheek, "Because...I don't want to lose you..."
Maren grabbed his hand, "You can't die here, not now..."
"I...I wanted to live the rest of my life with you...and no one else."
"Even though I'm a..." Maren was stopped by a finger that closed her lips.
He shook is head, "What you are doesn't matter to me...but who you are." He smiled.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She cried, clinging to him.
He then leaned on her shoulder, "I wonder how it would have been...our future...together."
Maren held onto him gently, "A modest cottage in a meadow, near a lake..." She closed her eyes.
"That would be nice..." He closed his eyes too.
"There, we'd watch the sunset everyday...together" She added.
"How many children?" He asked.
"...As many as you'd like." The tears didn't stop flowing.
"...You can stop healing me...this wound isn't going to close." He told her.
"No...no no no no!" She kept trying to heal him.
"Maren...thank...you..." He whispered.
"Ewan...sama?" She opened her eyes and saw him smile with the remainder of the strength.
She screamed his name countless times, but with no effect.
"I...I finally found someone...but..." She gently put her master's body on the floor and got up, dispelled the barrier.
"Because of you..." She looked at the enemy soldier.
"Miserable humans..." A fiery aura surrounded her.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" She screamed.
----------------------------
*GASP* Maren suddenly wakes up in a dark room, panting heavily.
"That dream...again." She brought a hand to her face and wipe off the sweat.
She calmed down and looked at the alarm, "4:18 am..."
Lying her head back on the pillow, she looked at the ceiling, remembering...
"After that...it all went blank." She sighed.
"The only evidence of what I did was the burning ruins that surrounded me when I came to my senses..."
"...The seemingly endless trail of destruction across countries..."
"After that, I became aware of how big my powers are..." She raised her arms and looked at her hands.
"I wonder if mother, father or my brothers were this powerful..."
Her eyes dimmed with tears, she holds onto the pillow, burying her face into it.
"Mother..." Her grip on the pillow tightend.
"After 257 years...in times like this, I still feel like a child."
----------------------------
Maren with a "psyco Kaede look" is too terrifying to draw :X
And I'm too lazy to draw right now
Maybe later...*imagines Maren in her bed with underwear only* hm...
So, I finally decided to establish an age to Maren...she's quite old, isn't she
Before her parents and brothers were killed by the "demon", they taught her basic magics.
Taking human form, speaking their language, etc...for their race it's the basics.
She had to learn the rest on her own, before meeting with the young mage who would become her first master.
Yeah, An Hero sent me a draft of it, bar the parts with Kha/Schach too for an input... I was wondering why he haven't posted even after my greenlight... So he went to you as well...
The thing is the story is written partially by me and partially by Kha, so some time was needed to coordinate. To be continued.
A crowded battlefield...the sound of weapons clashing, beams being fired, screams and explosions.
The sound Weapons breaking and shots dispersing as they hit a barrier...the outside no longer mattered, only the two of them inside it did.
"Ewan-sama! Ewan-sama!!" she clinged onto him as she called his name.
He opened his eyes "*cough* A-are you okay, Maren?" He asked her with a weak voice.
"You idiot...why did you do that?" She scolded him, her eyes overflowing with tears.
He brought a hand to her cheek, "Because...I don't want to lose you..."
Maren grabbed his hand, "You can't die here, not now..."
"I...I wanted to live the rest of my life with you...and no one else."
"Even though I'm a..." Maren was stopped by a finger that closed her lips.
He shook is head, "What you are doesn't matter to me...but who you are." He smiled.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She cried, clinging to him.
He then leaned on her shoulder, "I wonder how it would have been...our future...together."
Maren held onto him gently, "A modest cottage in a meadow, near a lake..." She closed her eyes.
"That would be nice..." He closed his eyes too.
"There, we'd watch the sunset everyday...together" She added.
"How many children?" He asked.
"...As many as you'd like." The tears didn't stop flowing.
"...You can stop healing me...this wound isn't going to close." He told her.
"No...no no no no!" She kept trying to heal him.
"Maren...thank...you..." He whispered.
"Ewan...sama?" She opened her eyes and saw him smile with the remainder of the strength.
She screamed his name countless times, but with no effect.
"I...I finally found someone...but..." She gently put her master's body on the floor and got up, dispelled the barrier.
"Because of you..." She looked at the enemy soldier.
"Miserable humans..." A fiery aura surrounded her.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" She screamed.
----------------------------
*GASP* Maren suddenly wakes up in a dark room, panting heavily.
"That dream...again." She brought a hand to her face and wipe off the sweat.
She calmed down and looked at the alarm, "4:18 am..."
Lying her head back on the pillow, she looked at the ceiling, remembering...
"After that...it all went blank." She sighed.
"The only evidence of what I did was the burning ruins that surrounded me when I came to my senses..."
"...The seemingly endless trail of destruction across countries..."
"After that, I became aware of how big my powers are..." She raised her arms and looked at her hands.
"I wonder if mother, father or my brothers were this powerful..."
Her eyes dimmed with tears, she holds onto the pillow, burying her face into it.
"Mother..." Her grip on the pillow tightend.
"After 257 years...in times like this, I still feel like a child."
----------------------------
Maren with a "psyco Kaede look" is too terrifying to draw :X
And I'm too lazy to draw right now
Maybe later...*imagines Maren in her bed with underwear only* hm...
So, I finally decided to establish an age to Maren...she's quite old, isn't she
Before her parents and brothers were killed by the "demon", they taught her basic magics.
Taking human form, speaking their language, etc...for their race it's the basics.
She had to learn the rest on her own, before meeting with the young mage who would become her first master.
Kowaii... But expected of a 2-tailed.
I've suddenly had this mental image for the ending of Maren no Yuutsu:
The Akatsuki grabbing her,
Koji mounts a daring rescue,
Succeeds but almost kills himself
And she confesses...
Hmm...how many other beastly-mages do we have among our OCs?
Wira's an ancient half-lion beast/half human beastiality born hybrid... Maren's a centuries old 2-tailed fox...who else?
If only the power gap wasn't so large between B+ ~ AA Wira and S Maren... I'd think of a scenario where they could clash.
FEMALE TAILS VS KIMBA...I mean SIMBA!!!!! That'd be classic.
Hmm... Wira is working along with the rest of the knights at a flower shop in Mid-childa after all...
*goes to think of something*
__________________
Night~and~Gale: ~ The Final Mythology of the Man who Defied Destiny.
The sleeping lion shall awaken beyond the depths of time, crossing ten billion lights, come to Terra.
Saraba Chikyuu yo
Tadaratsu fune wa
Uchuu Senkan
Niddhogg
Hmm... seeing as how Nicholas's weapons were based off of R-1 Kai's Giant Tonfa Revolvers, the choices for a mech are rather obvious, so I'll hold off on that.
In any case, here's a piece of short fiction that I recently made involving my Nicholas. Be sure to read between the lines!
They were forced to cosplay as Spike and Ein from Cowboy Bebop!
HAHA! That was unexpected. Great details in the movements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoweGear
Tell me, WHAT IS THAT BEAUTY?!
Gradius.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Working as intended. :3
Need any help?
Thanks. I'll PM you some time later.
Quote:
And now, inconjunction with Ta- I mean, An Hero, I bring you the first part of Dance of Demons Act 5:
Spoiler for Dance of Demons Act 5.1:
“…ate! Fate! Can you hear me?”
“Kha…?”
“You’ve been missed. Cardinal sent us to find you both. I think Signum’s nearby and closing on you fast. Where’s Takamachi-san?”
Fate bristled at the question. “She’s down.”
“Damned! Listen, I know you’re hurt--”
“It’s just a bruise--”
“Then don’t get anymore! Hang on, we’re on our way. Who are you atta--”
Serge made his move.
“Sorry.”
“Fate? Hey wait who--?”
Fate disrupted the mind link and focused on the battle.
~~~~~~
Kha pounded his knee with his fist. “Damned it! What is going on out there?!”
“The hell like we know, Boss.” Artei quipped over the intercomm from his seat at the cockpit. “Whatever they’re fighting has got some kind of disruptor shield going, and sensors aren’t making much sense.
“Did you manage to get anything?” Yuuno leaned over and asked.
The Cleric glanced to his right at the bookworm. “Takamachi-san’s injured...”
“What…” the young Scrya tightened his grip in his pants.
der Kleriker huffed. “I’m sorry for dragging you out like this, Scrya-san.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I did promise to visit Nanoha-chan when I was free, and it so happened that she was out on ops.” Yuuno replied with a weak smile. “After that I heard Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan had disappeared off radar I couldn’t just sit by and watch. If she’s hurt, all the more that I should be here.”
“Mm,“ Kha nodded. “Allie, what’s our ETA?”
“Ettou… About 10 minutes!”
“Thank you.” Kha replied gruffly, his gloved hands clasped in front of his lips.
“Kha…” Sophia began haltingly, trying to pull words out of her mind despite conflicting thoughts. “I’m sure… Fate-san will be alright.”
Even the usually bubbly Unison Device Sakura was quietly sitting on her Meister's shoulder, moping. Kha nodded mutely, feeling the intense agitation build up as he found himself willing the craft to go faster.
~~~~~~
A sudden blast of golden radiance forced Signum to yank Laevatine out of Serge’s limp body and flip away, standing her ground from a higher perch in mid-air, sword raised ready for another attack.
“Who are you?” Signum shouted.
“Aether Origin,” answered the mild voice. “You were fighting against my Master.”
“You’re this bastard’s Device then?” Signum prepared for the worse. “Changed your mind about joining the battle?”
“No-no,” protested Aether Origin phonetically. “You may lower your weapon, Knight Signum. We need to talk.”
The golden light went out, revealing Aether Origin’s looks. A tiny girl, no more than 1 meter height, with long purple hair was floating above Head Investigator’s body. Except for the head, she was completely clad in intricate golden armor.
“Who … is that?” Fate plodded and managed to reach the place Signum stood and was able to see Aether Origin too.
“Signum … are you alright?” The golden-haired mage breathed just barely.
“Yes, with thanks to you, Testarossa,” replied the Knight. “and this one here seems to be the Device we fought.”
“Oh, I must thank you too, Miss Harlaown,” said Aether Origin unexpectedly.
“Me? … Why?” Fate was surprised.
“With that last move of yours you protected your comrade, though you couldn’t be sure that it would work out well,” explained Aether Origin. “The more logical option would have been to try and kill my Master while he wasn’t paying attention, but you didn’t, and I thank you so.”
“I …” started Fate but stopped soon after. The other alternative had never occurred to her, and on hindsight, she would not have taken it anyway.
“You were going to talk with us about something,” reminded Signum.
“Yes,” remembered the Device. “There’ll be quite a lot of people here soon, so I wanted to earn your cooperation in dealing with them, or simply said – I’d like you to cover for my Master and go along with the story made up for the officials.”
“What?” Signum seemed somewhat taken aback. “With what kind of story could you possibly explain this? And why do you think we’re going to cooperate with you?”
“Oh, about the first part you shouldn’t worry – everything will become clear soon enough,” replied Aether Origin. “And I want you to cooperate willingly just because I don’t want to force you to. There’s a reason I withdrew from the fight with you, Knight of the Night Sky, and I’m sorry for your comrade.”
She glanced at Vita, indicating apology. However, the device avatar continued, “But if my reasoning isn’t enough, I may have to break my word.”
“You talk like you know me, and I have this strange feeling too,” the Knight’s eyes narrowed with caution as she stepped closer to Aether Origin. “Did we meet before?”
“So you felt something too, huh?” The girl flew up a little, until she was level with the Crimson General’s head, and looked into Signum’s eyes. “Guess I’ll start the explanation with this then.”
Both Signum and Fate suddenly found themselves falling through the darkness but before they could react the surroundings changed again and they appeared in the sky of another world. They floated above a great city that stretched dozens of miles in every direction. Below them lay thousands of houses, large and small, with narrow streets between them and several wide radial roads gathering at the city’s center. Grand towers were striving to pierce through the clouds and a multitude of arcs and elegant bridges connected them with each other, and above all of this – an enormous castle. The castle hovered in the sky and was so huge that it was impossible for an eye to catch the whole sight of it.
“It can’t be …” mumbled Signum, blinking in astonishment.
“I’m projecting the image directly into your mind,” Aether Origin’s voice ringed inside the girls’ heads, “Just think what you want to see and you’ll be there.”
When they looked closer they realized that the city was in the middle of a vicious battle. Its part on the opposite side from the place they appeared was engulfed in flames. Thousands of warriors were fighting on its outskirts and in the streets. Powerful magic spells continuously used by both armies were mercilessly destroying the creations of unknown architects around them. Though lower in numbers the attackers managed to move further. They were obviously trying to break through to the floating castle.
“This was the time when we almost succeeded…” narrated Aether Origin.
With her words being said a sudden tremor shook the entire castle as its top sank in blazing golden light. It began slowly losing its altitude, then it went faster, and in mere seconds the huge structure crashed into the ground. The impact made the central part of the city crumble instantly. The castle broke into pieces, almost as if it was blown from the inside, burying most of the city under its debris. The colossal scene of destruction even made the fighting armies freeze in awe. Among the remnants of the destroyed castle the golden light was still shining.
“Take us there!” Signum commanded.
“Of course,” agreed the Device.
They were transported almost instantly, without the sense of space being warped, and the trio immediately found themselves closer to the ground. A man in simple clothing, with the golden glove being the only fancy part, was standing still several meters above the ground. Five long golden arrowhead-shaped objects were circling around his head. In front of him in the air was a pulsating cocoon of golden threads, some of which were connected to his glove.
“Amazing,” the man spoke. “So that’s what you achieved… Too bad that it’ll make me end your life here …”
“Whoever you are – let go of her immediately!” Signum heard a familiar voice. “Roaring Storm Gigantcrusher!”
The man didn’t make any moves as a giant hammerhead landed on top of him, crashing to the ground and clouding the scene under the smog of dust.
“Gome,” the man’s voice was accompanied by a short flash of light.
The dust settled and revealed the man standing unscathed at the center of the crater made by the impact. The girl in red armor, who attacked him the moment before, was holding the broken Device in her hands, the hammerhead nowhere to be seen.
“Rest in peace,” said the man calmly as the red Knight’s body rapidly turned into golden dust slowly falling to the ground.
Signum’s blood boiled in an instant. She felt an urge to cut the man’s head off, when her suddenly hearing her own voice gave her pause.
“Teme!” The other “Signum” yelled at the mysterious man, “Who the hell are you? Sturm Falke!”
The arrow she fired was forcefully split in half before it could reach its target, both parts missing the man and leaving long trails of destruction behind them. At the same time she charged at the man herself with the sword.
“How persistent,” the man sighed, and “Signum’s” body started dissolving the same way as “Vita’s” before.
She would’ve disappeared completely not even getting close enough for the strike but a multitude of magical blasts that engulfed the man the next moment threw her body back on the ground. The man countered the attack the same way as “Signum’s” arrow before, effortlessly throwing the raging waves of magical energy in different directions away from him. That brought further destruction to the surroundings, turning the area around the city’s center into a single field covered with small and medium-sized debris. Despite its tremendous power the spell wasn’t able to harm the man even slightly, but either due to his own mistake or the intention of the one who cast the spell one of the stray blasts destroyed the threads connecting the man’s glove to the golden cocoon. It momentarily stopped the dissolution of ‘Signum’s” body and though it was already severely mutilated “she” seemed to be still alive. The cocoon fell down with a ringing sound and cracked open, revealing a pale silver-haired girl lying unconscious in the middle.
“She is--” The present Signum hardly finished her sentence when a knight in full-body armor descended near the girl, covering them both with a glowing protection sphere.
“Naze da?” The man asked, turning his head to the knight. “Isn’t it your army attacking this city? You can’t know my reasons, but don’t we have the same goals here?”
The knight didn’t answer, but slowly raised his arm, pointing his weapon at the man’s chest. His Device loaded multiple cartridges, probably everything that was left in its magazine. The amounts of magical energy around it could almost be felt physically. A large gray Belkan triangle sigil materialized in front of it. The man made a move for the first time, facing the knight’s weapon with an open palm of his right hand. For a second nothing was happening, and then they unleashed their spells simultaneously.
“TORA-HATO BREAKER!!!” shouted the knight.
“Aether Ruler,” announced his opponent coolly.
Three massive beams of energy emerged from the vertexes of gray triangle, combining into a single overwhelming attack that scored a clean hit at the target, resulting in a gigantic explosion. However it didn’t expand as it could be expected, but all the energy rushed into the sky instead. The man with the golden glove was standing in the center of a circle of complete destruction, pointing his right arm upwards. The masses of energy exploded like a huge firework, producing hundreds of shining sparkles. The next moment they rained down on the ruined city. The sight was spectacular and frightening. It was unclear whether the initial spell was this powerful or it was intentionally enhanced by the man’s own magic, but its effects were truly devastating. Every sparkle actually represented a concentrated ball of magical energy that exploded on contact. Each time a sparkle hit the ground the whole city could feel a tremor and the explosion utterly destroyed everything in a hundred meter radius from the epicenter. When the terrible rain calmed down it was hard to say if there was ever a city in this area. Both armies tried their best to save themselves; but regardless of any action taken, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
“You don’t understand. I’m trying to save your world.” the man lowered his hand in a sweep that encompassed the entire battleground. “Saving all of them!”
“You’re right. I do not understand,” the masked knight replied non-chalantly, his stance unrelenting. “You really don’t look like a rescuer.”
“The girl… She has to disappear – that’s not her fault, nor mine. Only then would balance be preserved.”
“I don’t know what kind of balance you’re talking about, but I’m not letting you anywhere near her.”
“Then I will make you to,” the man gritted and pointed his finger at the knight.
A multitude of magical shields appeared instantly in front of the knight, protecting him and the girl from a possible attack. The level of defense they provided was truly incredible, but the next moment they all got shattered at the same time. The protection sphere was also blown away and the outer layers of the knight’s armor were disintegrated, revealing his face. One of the golden arrowheads darted towards him, piercing his chest below the left collarbone and pinning him to the ground. Despite his struggle it didn’t allow him to stand up.
“This should do it,” mentioned the man as several golden threads protruded from his glove and rushed to the silver-haired girl.
Blood splattered, but it didn’t belong to the girl. Making use of the short distance between them, the second knight placed his right arm on the threads’ path, catching them at the same time as they ran through.
“You’re strong…” panted the knight to the man, keeping a firm grip on his sanity despite the amount of blue murder his arm was screaming in pain. “But as long as I’m still alive, you’re not getting past me!”
“The one you’re trying to protect…” said the man in a sad tone. “…will bring all known existence to end. Why won’t you allow me to prevent that?!”
“You said yourself – All this… It isn’t happening due to her own will, correct?”
“That is true.” The caster replied to the crippled knight.
“Than it doesn’t matter!” the latest knight replied with force. “Whatever happens in the future, I will always stay by her side. I will not let this imbalance that you speak of happen!”
“So you’re ready to condemn everyone to inevitable death, doom your own world and all of the others – to save the life of a singe girl now?” The mage with the golden halo sighed.
“I made a promise…” said the knight with conviction. “That I’ll live for the sake of her happiness. No matter what grim fate awaits us, I will fight against it. I will triumph against it!
“But if you intend to end this girl’s life here,” the injured knight glared. “I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Over. My. Dead. Body.”
“You are a fool,” said the man, then commanded, “Stand up.”
All five golden arrowheads disappeared and the light around the man went out. The glove and golden plating on his right arm turned into a simple bracelet. The knight struggled to his feet, then faced the man.
“Master!” The golden Device spoke for the first time, and its voice was panicking. “You can’t! Not when we’re so close! I will not allow!”
“Fast,” told the man, extending his right arm towards the knight. “Cut it off.”
~~~~~~
Back in the present, at the bustling Command Room under Monarch Church, Carim was close to being a nervous wreck, watching the central holographic sensor screens for any signs of… something. She could see Signum’s position, as well as the Blackbird which was several kilometers away, but nothing else. Nanoha and Fate’s psynet signatures were no where to be found, which meant that, either their device beacons were being jammed, or the mages have been beaten until they are too weaken to continually project such a signal. She tried to blame it on the minor voidstorm in progress around that area, for they do weaken psycommu transmissions till unboosted signals get lost, but she did not like the spot where Signum was estimated to have stopped ; it was a way off of the designated operation zone where Nanoha and Fate had been dispatched to investigate. With the warp storm hanging around, they could not get through Signum, and their link with the Blackbird was dimming fast.
The last thing she and the head operator Nouera wanted to hear was a brief klaxxon, followed by a swarm of red dots racing from the west at speed.
“Good heavens,” Schach remarked in shock. “There’s close to 70 units of Type-1s and Type-2s inbound! They are coming from the vicinity of that research lab!”
“That means Nanoha and Fate might have been ambushed before they could clean it out properly...”
The dots suddenly started splitting along the middle and began encircling a radius around Signum.
“Carim-san! I think the Gadgets are trying to flank whatever’s out there.”
Carim’s clasped hands grew tighter. “Kha is going to need help, but… any nearby units ready to assist?”
“TSAB’s closest one is about 10 minutes away…” Schach’s voice trailed off as she read her panel more closely. “It’s the Silvana!”
“Can you raise them?”
“I’ll try.” With that, Schach tapped a few keys. A dialogue box promptly appeared on the screen, indicating that a call was being made.
And they prayed for it to connect.
~~~~~~
The Blackbird detected the Gadgets a second later.
“Oni-chan! Gadgets from the west sector. There’s a lot of them, and they seem to be headed for Fate-san’s area!” the little pilot cried over the intercomm, snapping Kha out of his meditation.
“ETA!”
“Gadgets will overrun Signum-san’s position 5 minutes ahead of us.”
“It can’t get any worse than this!” Kha barked. He unbuckled his harness and jumped up. “Allie! Open the bay doors, we’re heading out! Sofie--”
“Faster than you are!” The girl grinned, already free from her seat. Kaempfer too.
“Ready here,” Yuuno affirmed.
Kha nodded back and closed his face mask with a loud clang.
Lurching slightly as the locks came free, the heavy door on the Blackbird’s rear whined and creaked as the hydraulics pushed it down, jerking again once Allie took her finger off the button.
“Move out!” Kha yelled.
Kaempfer silently broke into a run and flung himself off, dragon wings springing out of his back as he flapped and banked towards their original heading. Yuuno went next; the green mage somersaulted a little, then having gained control darted forward;
"Sakura!"
"Coming, Father~~!" the little chibi cheered up and dematerialized to white energy as she approached Kha, who was already running towards the open hatch.
"Unison... IN!"
There was a flash of white and blue, then Kha charged out of the glow, hair silver white, eyes red, Unison complete.
[Knight Armor in Jaegerform.] Tausend Kreuz chimed mechanically, skittering runes across its blue C-stone face.
Kha stepped off and let himself fell freely while his long coat faded away and was quickly replaced with his custom vernier packs. Mode shift complete, and, firing all four rocket sets, the leader thundered after the two fliers.
Sophia stood on a red spinning square, chanting runes as she called forth her robotic steed from the divine realm. Bellophon answered it promptly, bursting out of another sigil, trotting and snorting like a real horse. Sophia mounted up.
“Ja!” She kicked the saddle and Bellophon galloped forward and away, spreading its white wings and gliding gracefully in an arch before resuming its airborne dash forward.
Artei watched his comrades surge forward and griped to his co-pilot Allison. “Man why can’t I fly…?!”
Next part in progress!
EDIT: Some more changes.
COOL!
This is really starting to get interesting. Though I sense time paradox because of Saga. A first look into Aether Origin's true nature and the Sovereign form. And Jaegerform? Finally!
I'll be looking forward to more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlameSparkZ
Ok, more Maren development...kinda...
Spoiler for Recurring Dreams:
A crowded battlefield...the sound of weapons clashing, beams being fired, screams and explosions.
The sound Weapons breaking and shots dispersing as they hit a barrier...the outside no longer mattered, only the two of them inside it did.
"Ewan-sama! Ewan-sama!!" she clinged onto him as she called his name.
He opened his eyes "*cough* A-are you okay, Maren?" He asked her with a weak voice.
"You idiot...why did you do that?" She scolded him, her eyes overflowing with tears.
He brought a hand to her cheek, "Because...I don't want to lose you..."
Maren grabbed his hand, "You can't die here, not now..."
"I...I wanted to live the rest of my life with you...and no one else."
"Even though I'm a..." Maren was stopped by a finger that closed her lips.
He shook is head, "What you are doesn't matter to me...but who you are." He smiled.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She cried, clinging to him.
He then leaned on her shoulder, "I wonder how it would have been...our future...together."
Maren held onto him gently, "A modest cottage in a meadow, near a lake..." She closed her eyes.
"That would be nice..." He closed his eyes too.
"There, we'd watch the sunset everyday...together" She added.
"How many children?" He asked.
"...As many as you'd like." The tears didn't stop flowing.
"...You can stop healing me...this wound isn't going to close." He told her.
"No...no no no no!" She kept trying to heal him.
"Maren...thank...you..." He whispered.
"Ewan...sama?" She opened her eyes and saw him smile with the remainder of the strength.
She screamed his name countless times, but with no effect.
"I...I finally found someone...but..." She gently put her master's body on the floor and got up, dispelled the barrier.
"Because of you..." She looked at the enemy soldier.
"Miserable humans..." A fiery aura surrounded her.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" She screamed.
----------------------------
*GASP* Maren suddenly wakes up in a dark room, panting heavily.
"That dream...again." She brought a hand to her face and wipe off the sweat.
She calmed down and looked at the alarm, "4:18 am..."
Lying her head back on the pillow, she looked at the ceiling, remembering...
"After that...it all went blank." She sighed.
"The only evidence of what I did was the burning ruins that surrounded me when I came to my senses..."
"...The seemingly endless trail of destruction across countries..."
"After that, I became aware of how big my powers are..." She raised her arms and looked at her hands.
"I wonder if mother, father or my brothers were this powerful..."
Her eyes dimmed with tears, she holds onto the pillow, burying her face into it.
"Mother..." Her grip on the pillow tightend.
"After 257 years...in times like this, I still feel like a child."
----------------------------
Maren with a "psyco Kaede look" is too terrifying to draw :X
And I'm too lazy to draw right now
Maybe later...*imagines Maren in her bed with underwear only* hm...
So, I finally decided to establish an age to Maren...she's quite old, isn't she
Before her parents and brothers were killed by the "demon", they taught her basic magics.
Taking human form, speaking their language, etc...for their race it's the basics.
She had to learn the rest on her own, before meeting with the young mage who would become her first master.
She'd prefer something more along these lines, right?
Well.... *glances at Keroko-chan, who is drooling over the ship* ..... yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
I thought that Keroko'd pick the Super Stargrasper over the GUNDAM anytime, and I guess I'm proven correct. Though I least expected it to be a Gradius.
If it has wings, goes fast and can shoot lots of things, Keroko's there to pilot it. The reasons she doesn't care about mecha is, and I quote: "Because they can do every single thing I can, but need to be so absurdely big to do so." Plus, in her experience with Mecha shows they have the tendency to get stuck in hand-to-hand combat. Keroko simply fails to see why you would get a big machine, loaded with lot's of lasers, rifles, misiles, energy weapons etc. that would make excellent dogfight material, only to get stuck in hand-to-hand combat.
(Kamina would flip out if she ever met Keroko )
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
---New intelligence data updated---
And now, inconjunction with Ta- I mean, An Hero, I bring you the first part of Dance of Demons Act 5:
Spoiler for Dance of Demons Act 5.1:
“…ate! Fate! Can you hear me?”
“Kha…?”
“You’ve been missed. Cardinal sent us to find you both. I think Signum’s nearby and closing on you fast. Where’s Takamachi-san?”
Fate bristled at the question. “She’s down.”
“Damned! Listen, I know you’re hurt--”
“It’s just a bruise--”
“Then don’t get anymore! Hang on, we’re on our way. Who are you atta--”
Serge made his move.
“Sorry.”
“Fate? Hey wait who--?”
Fate disrupted the mind link and focused on the battle.
~~~~~~
Kha pounded his knee with his fist. “Damned it! What is going on out there?!”
“The hell like we know, Boss.” Artei quipped over the intercomm from his seat at the cockpit. “Whatever they’re fighting has got some kind of disruptor shield going, and sensors aren’t making much sense.
“Did you manage to get anything?” Yuuno leaned over and asked.
The Cleric glanced to his right at the bookworm. “Takamachi-san’s injured...”
“What…” the young Scrya tightened his grip in his pants.
der Kleriker huffed. “I’m sorry for dragging you out like this, Scrya-san.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I did promise to visit Nanoha-chan when I was free, and it so happened that she was out on ops.” Yuuno replied with a weak smile. “After that I heard Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan had disappeared off radar I couldn’t just sit by and watch. If she’s hurt, all the more that I should be here.”
“Mm,“ Kha nodded. “Allie, what’s our ETA?”
“Ettou… About 10 minutes!”
“Thank you.” Kha replied gruffly, his gloved hands clasped in front of his lips.
“Kha…” Sophia began haltingly, trying to pull words out of her mind despite conflicting thoughts. “I’m sure… Fate-san will be alright.”
Even the usually bubbly Unison Device Sakura was quietly sitting on her Meister's shoulder, moping. Kha nodded mutely, feeling the intense agitation build up as he found himself willing the craft to go faster.
~~~~~~
A sudden blast of golden radiance forced Signum to yank Laevatine out of Serge’s limp body and flip away, standing her ground from a higher perch in mid-air, sword raised ready for another attack.
“Who are you?” Signum shouted.
“Aether Origin,” answered the mild voice. “You were fighting against my Master.”
“You’re this bastard’s Device then?” Signum prepared for the worse. “Changed your mind about joining the battle?”
“No-no,” protested Aether Origin phonetically. “You may lower your weapon, Knight Signum. We need to talk.”
The golden light went out, revealing Aether Origin’s looks. A tiny girl, no more than 1 meter height, with long purple hair was floating above Head Investigator’s body. Except for the head, she was completely clad in intricate golden armor.
“Who … is that?” Fate plodded and managed to reach the place Signum stood and was able to see Aether Origin too.
“Signum … are you alright?” The golden-haired mage breathed just barely.
“Yes, with thanks to you, Testarossa,” replied the Knight. “and this one here seems to be the Device we fought.”
“Oh, I must thank you too, Miss Harlaown,” said Aether Origin unexpectedly.
“Me? … Why?” Fate was surprised.
“With that last move of yours you protected your comrade, though you couldn’t be sure that it would work out well,” explained Aether Origin. “The more logical option would have been to try and kill my Master while he wasn’t paying attention, but you didn’t, and I thank you so.”
“I …” started Fate but stopped soon after. The other alternative had never occurred to her, and on hindsight, she would not have taken it anyway.
“You were going to talk with us about something,” reminded Signum.
“Yes,” remembered the Device. “There’ll be quite a lot of people here soon, so I wanted to earn your cooperation in dealing with them, or simply said – I’d like you to cover for my Master and go along with the story made up for the officials.”
“What?” Signum seemed somewhat taken aback. “With what kind of story could you possibly explain this? And why do you think we’re going to cooperate with you?”
“Oh, about the first part you shouldn’t worry – everything will become clear soon enough,” replied Aether Origin. “And I want you to cooperate willingly just because I don’t want to force you to. There’s a reason I withdrew from the fight with you, Knight of the Night Sky, and I’m sorry for your comrade.”
She glanced at Vita, indicating apology. However, the device avatar continued, “But if my reasoning isn’t enough, I may have to break my word.”
“You talk like you know me, and I have this strange feeling too,” the Knight’s eyes narrowed with caution as she stepped closer to Aether Origin. “Did we meet before?”
“So you felt something too, huh?” The girl flew up a little, until she was level with the Crimson General’s head, and looked into Signum’s eyes. “Guess I’ll start the explanation with this then.”
Both Signum and Fate suddenly found themselves falling through the darkness but before they could react the surroundings changed again and they appeared in the sky of another world. They floated above a great city that stretched dozens of miles in every direction. Below them lay thousands of houses, large and small, with narrow streets between them and several wide radial roads gathering at the city’s center. Grand towers were striving to pierce through the clouds and a multitude of arcs and elegant bridges connected them with each other, and above all of this – an enormous castle. The castle hovered in the sky and was so huge that it was impossible for an eye to catch the whole sight of it.
“It can’t be …” mumbled Signum, blinking in astonishment.
“I’m projecting the image directly into your mind,” Aether Origin’s voice ringed inside the girls’ heads, “Just think what you want to see and you’ll be there.”
When they looked closer they realized that the city was in the middle of a vicious battle. Its part on the opposite side from the place they appeared was engulfed in flames. Thousands of warriors were fighting on its outskirts and in the streets. Powerful magic spells continuously used by both armies were mercilessly destroying the creations of unknown architects around them. Though lower in numbers the attackers managed to move further. They were obviously trying to break through to the floating castle.
“This was the time when we almost succeeded…” narrated Aether Origin.
With her words being said a sudden tremor shook the entire castle as its top sank in blazing golden light. It began slowly losing its altitude, then it went faster, and in mere seconds the huge structure crashed into the ground. The impact made the central part of the city crumble instantly. The castle broke into pieces, almost as if it was blown from the inside, burying most of the city under its debris. The colossal scene of destruction even made the fighting armies freeze in awe. Among the remnants of the destroyed castle the golden light was still shining.
“Take us there!” Signum commanded.
“Of course,” agreed the Device.
They were transported almost instantly, without the sense of space being warped, and the trio immediately found themselves closer to the ground. A man in simple clothing, with the golden glove being the only fancy part, was standing still several meters above the ground. Five long golden arrowhead-shaped objects were circling around his head. In front of him in the air was a pulsating cocoon of golden threads, some of which were connected to his glove.
“Amazing,” the man spoke. “So that’s what you achieved… Too bad that it’ll make me end your life here …”
“Whoever you are – let go of her immediately!” Signum heard a familiar voice. “Roaring Storm Gigantcrusher!”
The man didn’t make any moves as a giant hammerhead landed on top of him, crashing to the ground and clouding the scene under the smog of dust.
“Gome,” the man’s voice was accompanied by a short flash of light.
The dust settled and revealed the man standing unscathed at the center of the crater made by the impact. The girl in red armor, who attacked him the moment before, was holding the broken Device in her hands, the hammerhead nowhere to be seen.
“Rest in peace,” said the man calmly as the red Knight’s body rapidly turned into golden dust slowly falling to the ground.
Signum’s blood boiled in an instant. She felt an urge to cut the man’s head off, when her suddenly hearing her own voice gave her pause.
“Teme!” The other “Signum” yelled at the mysterious man, “Who the hell are you? Sturm Falke!”
The arrow she fired was forcefully split in half before it could reach its target, both parts missing the man and leaving long trails of destruction behind them. At the same time she charged at the man herself with the sword.
“How persistent,” the man sighed, and “Signum’s” body started dissolving the same way as “Vita’s” before.
She would’ve disappeared completely not even getting close enough for the strike but a multitude of magical blasts that engulfed the man the next moment threw her body back on the ground. The man countered the attack the same way as “Signum’s” arrow before, effortlessly throwing the raging waves of magical energy in different directions away from him. That brought further destruction to the surroundings, turning the area around the city’s center into a single field covered with small and medium-sized debris. Despite its tremendous power the spell wasn’t able to harm the man even slightly, but either due to his own mistake or the intention of the one who cast the spell one of the stray blasts destroyed the threads connecting the man’s glove to the golden cocoon. It momentarily stopped the dissolution of ‘Signum’s” body and though it was already severely mutilated “she” seemed to be still alive. The cocoon fell down with a ringing sound and cracked open, revealing a pale silver-haired girl lying unconscious in the middle.
“She is--” The present Signum hardly finished her sentence when a knight in full-body armor descended near the girl, covering them both with a glowing protection sphere.
“Naze da?” The man asked, turning his head to the knight. “Isn’t it your army attacking this city? You can’t know my reasons, but don’t we have the same goals here?”
The knight didn’t answer, but slowly raised his arm, pointing his weapon at the man’s chest. His Device loaded multiple cartridges, probably everything that was left in its magazine. The amounts of magical energy around it could almost be felt physically. A large gray Belkan triangle sigil materialized in front of it. The man made a move for the first time, facing the knight’s weapon with an open palm of his right hand. For a second nothing was happening, and then they unleashed their spells simultaneously.
“TORA-HATO BREAKER!!!” shouted the knight.
“Aether Ruler,” announced his opponent coolly.
Three massive beams of energy emerged from the vertexes of gray triangle, combining into a single overwhelming attack that scored a clean hit at the target, resulting in a gigantic explosion. However it didn’t expand as it could be expected, but all the energy rushed into the sky instead. The man with the golden glove was standing in the center of a circle of complete destruction, pointing his right arm upwards. The masses of energy exploded like a huge firework, producing hundreds of shining sparkles. The next moment they rained down on the ruined city. The sight was spectacular and frightening. It was unclear whether the initial spell was this powerful or it was intentionally enhanced by the man’s own magic, but its effects were truly devastating. Every sparkle actually represented a concentrated ball of magical energy that exploded on contact. Each time a sparkle hit the ground the whole city could feel a tremor and the explosion utterly destroyed everything in a hundred meter radius from the epicenter. When the terrible rain calmed down it was hard to say if there was ever a city in this area. Both armies tried their best to save themselves; but regardless of any action taken, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
“You don’t understand. I’m trying to save your world.” the man lowered his hand in a sweep that encompassed the entire battleground. “Saving all of them!”
“You’re right. I do not understand,” the masked knight replied non-chalantly, his stance unrelenting. “You really don’t look like a rescuer.”
“The girl… She has to disappear – that’s not her fault, nor mine. Only then would balance be preserved.”
“I don’t know what kind of balance you’re talking about, but I’m not letting you anywhere near her.”
“Then I will make you to,” the man gritted and pointed his finger at the knight.
A multitude of magical shields appeared instantly in front of the knight, protecting him and the girl from a possible attack. The level of defense they provided was truly incredible, but the next moment they all got shattered at the same time. The protection sphere was also blown away and the outer layers of the knight’s armor were disintegrated, revealing his face. One of the golden arrowheads darted towards him, piercing his chest below the left collarbone and pinning him to the ground. Despite his struggle it didn’t allow him to stand up.
“This should do it,” mentioned the man as several golden threads protruded from his glove and rushed to the silver-haired girl.
Blood splattered, but it didn’t belong to the girl. Making use of the short distance between them, the second knight placed his right arm on the threads’ path, catching them at the same time as they ran through.
“You’re strong…” panted the knight to the man, keeping a firm grip on his sanity despite the amount of blue murder his arm was screaming in pain. “But as long as I’m still alive, you’re not getting past me!”
“The one you’re trying to protect…” said the man in a sad tone. “…will bring all known existence to end. Why won’t you allow me to prevent that?!”
“You said yourself – All this… It isn’t happening due to her own will, correct?”
“That is true.” The caster replied to the crippled knight.
“Than it doesn’t matter!” the latest knight replied with force. “Whatever happens in the future, I will always stay by her side. I will not let this imbalance that you speak of happen!”
“So you’re ready to condemn everyone to inevitable death, doom your own world and all of the others – to save the life of a singe girl now?” The mage with the golden halo sighed.
“I made a promise…” said the knight with conviction. “That I’ll live for the sake of her happiness. No matter what grim fate awaits us, I will fight against it. I will triumph against it!
“But if you intend to end this girl’s life here,” the injured knight glared. “I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Over. My. Dead. Body.”
“You are a fool,” said the man, then commanded, “Stand up.”
All five golden arrowheads disappeared and the light around the man went out. The glove and golden plating on his right arm turned into a simple bracelet. The knight struggled to his feet, then faced the man.
“Master!” The golden Device spoke for the first time, and its voice was panicking. “You can’t! Not when we’re so close! I will not allow!”
“Fast,” told the man, extending his right arm towards the knight. “Cut it off.”
~~~~~~
Back in the present, at the bustling Command Room under Monarch Church, Carim was close to being a nervous wreck, watching the central holographic sensor screens for any signs of… something. She could see Signum’s position, as well as the Blackbird which was several kilometers away, but nothing else. Nanoha and Fate’s psynet signatures were no where to be found, which meant that, either their device beacons were being jammed, or the mages have been beaten until they are too weaken to continually project such a signal. She tried to blame it on the minor voidstorm in progress around that area, for they do weaken psycommu transmissions till unboosted signals get lost, but she did not like the spot where Signum was estimated to have stopped ; it was a way off of the designated operation zone where Nanoha and Fate had been dispatched to investigate. With the warp storm hanging around, they could not get through Signum, and their link with the Blackbird was dimming fast.
The last thing she and the head operator Nouera wanted to hear was a brief klaxxon, followed by a swarm of red dots racing from the west at speed.
“Good heavens,” Schach remarked in shock. “There’s close to 70 units of Type-1s and Type-2s inbound! They are coming from the vicinity of that research lab!”
“That means Nanoha and Fate might have been ambushed before they could clean it out properly...”
The dots suddenly started splitting along the middle and began encircling a radius around Signum.
“Carim-san! I think the Gadgets are trying to flank whatever’s out there.”
Carim’s clasped hands grew tighter. “Kha is going to need help, but… any nearby units ready to assist?”
“TSAB’s closest one is about 10 minutes away…” Schach’s voice trailed off as she read her panel more closely. “It’s the Silvana!”
“Can you raise them?”
“I’ll try.” With that, Schach tapped a few keys. A dialogue box promptly appeared on the screen, indicating that a call was being made.
And they prayed for it to connect.
~~~~~~
The Blackbird detected the Gadgets a second later.
“Oni-chan! Gadgets from the west sector. There’s a lot of them, and they seem to be headed for Fate-san’s area!” the little pilot cried over the intercomm, snapping Kha out of his meditation.
“ETA!”
“Gadgets will overrun Signum-san’s position 5 minutes ahead of us.”
“It can’t get any worse than this!” Kha barked. He unbuckled his harness and jumped up. “Allie! Open the bay doors, we’re heading out! Sofie--”
“Faster than you are!” The girl grinned, already free from her seat. Kaempfer too.
“Ready here,” Yuuno affirmed.
Kha nodded back and closed his face mask with a loud clang.
Lurching slightly as the locks came free, the heavy door on the Blackbird’s rear whined and creaked as the hydraulics pushed it down, jerking again once Allie took her finger off the button.
“Move out!” Kha yelled.
Kaempfer silently broke into a run and flung himself off, dragon wings springing out of his back as he flapped and banked towards their original heading. Yuuno went next; the green mage somersaulted a little, then having gained control darted forward;
"Sakura!"
"Coming, Father~~!" the little chibi cheered up and dematerialized to white energy as she approached Kha, who was already running towards the open hatch.
"Unison... IN!"
There was a flash of white and blue, then Kha charged out of the glow, hair silver white, eyes red, Unison complete.
[Knight Armor in Jaegerform.] Tausend Kreuz chimed mechanically, skittering runes across its blue C-stone face.
Kha stepped off and let himself fell freely while his long coat faded away and was quickly replaced with his custom vernier packs. Mode shift complete, and, firing all four rocket sets, the leader thundered after the two fliers.
Sophia stood on a red spinning square, chanting runes as she called forth her robotic steed from the divine realm. Bellophon answered it promptly, bursting out of another sigil, trotting and snorting like a real horse. Sophia mounted up.
“Ja!” She kicked the saddle and Bellophon galloped forward and away, spreading its white wings and gliding gracefully in an arch before resuming its airborne dash forward.
Artei watched his comrades surge forward and griped to his co-pilot Allison. “Man why can’t I fly…?!”
Next part in progress!
EDIT: Some more changes.
Impressed... confused.... must know more.... need more!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlameSparkZ
Ok, more Maren development...kinda...
Spoiler for Recurring Dreams:
A crowded battlefield...the sound of weapons clashing, beams being fired, screams and explosions.
The sound Weapons breaking and shots dispersing as they hit a barrier...the outside no longer mattered, only the two of them inside it did.
"Ewan-sama! Ewan-sama!!" she clinged onto him as she called his name.
He opened his eyes "*cough* A-are you okay, Maren?" He asked her with a weak voice.
"You idiot...why did you do that?" She scolded him, her eyes overflowing with tears.
He brought a hand to her cheek, "Because...I don't want to lose you..."
Maren grabbed his hand, "You can't die here, not now..."
"I...I wanted to live the rest of my life with you...and no one else."
"Even though I'm a..." Maren was stopped by a finger that closed her lips.
He shook is head, "What you are doesn't matter to me...but who you are." He smiled.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." She cried, clinging to him.
He then leaned on her shoulder, "I wonder how it would have been...our future...together."
Maren held onto him gently, "A modest cottage in a meadow, near a lake..." She closed her eyes.
"That would be nice..." He closed his eyes too.
"There, we'd watch the sunset everyday...together" She added.
"How many children?" He asked.
"...As many as you'd like." The tears didn't stop flowing.
"...You can stop healing me...this wound isn't going to close." He told her.
"No...no no no no!" She kept trying to heal him.
"Maren...thank...you..." He whispered.
"Ewan...sama?" She opened her eyes and saw him smile with the remainder of the strength.
She screamed his name countless times, but with no effect.
"I...I finally found someone...but..." She gently put her master's body on the floor and got up, dispelled the barrier.
"Because of you..." She looked at the enemy soldier.
"Miserable humans..." A fiery aura surrounded her.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" She screamed.
----------------------------
*GASP* Maren suddenly wakes up in a dark room, panting heavily.
"That dream...again." She brought a hand to her face and wipe off the sweat.
She calmed down and looked at the alarm, "4:18 am..."
Lying her head back on the pillow, she looked at the ceiling, remembering...
"After that...it all went blank." She sighed.
"The only evidence of what I did was the burning ruins that surrounded me when I came to my senses..."
"...The seemingly endless trail of destruction across countries..."
"After that, I became aware of how big my powers are..." She raised her arms and looked at her hands.
"I wonder if mother, father or my brothers were this powerful..."
Her eyes dimmed with tears, she holds onto the pillow, burying her face into it.
"Mother..." Her grip on the pillow tightend.
"After 257 years...in times like this, I still feel like a child."
----------------------------
Maren with a "psyco Kaede look" is too terrifying to draw :X
And I'm too lazy to draw right now
Maybe later...*imagines Maren in her bed with underwear only* hm...
So, I finally decided to establish an age to Maren...she's quite old, isn't she
Before her parents and brothers were killed by the "demon", they taught her basic magics.
Taking human form, speaking their language, etc...for their race it's the basics.
She had to learn the rest on her own, before meeting with the young mage who would become her first master.
Tragedy... drama... I like!
Psyco Kaede look, huh? You do realize we all want to see that now, right?
A lot of backlog, but I've been keeping tabs on what's happening...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reiji Tabibito
@Kha:
Okay, got some stuff for you.
1: What exactly does DPS stand for?
2: If not everyone needs a GUNDAM, then the 82nd will only be taking 1 unit - Boomer and Arcas will switch places depending upon what's needed at the battle. Therefore, Mel and Sevasti will not have a GUNDAM design.
@Kha, Aaron008R, USB500, Saint X, LoweGear, Satty, Keroko: I'm working on a fic that'll be post CrosyS and I-n's - what's the timeframe for both of these series? My planned timeframe for the series (if it involves MD6) ranges from 6 months to 3 years down the road from StrikerS end. If not, the series will start ASAP.
Furthermore, I'm busy trying to get an OP at least conceptualized for said series, and I wanted input from you. I currently have 5 options: T.M. Revolution's Invoke, Nami Tamaki's Believe (SEED is my favored Gundam series), ANGELA'a Shangri-La, Saori Ishitsuka's Kindan no Panse, or Mami Kawada's Radiance. Don't worry about translations; I have access to many. If I could get feedback soon, that'd be great.
Also here's how the battlecruiser generally looks:
Spoiler for Niddhogg prototype:
The actual thing is bigger and has the amount of turrets according to its profile - several are mounted on the sides; guided beam emitters fire through the loopholes distributed across the hull. Full profile coming up.
P.S. I was so tempted to use Portent of Darkness dreadnaught for this But something stopped me.
lol, Nepthis. I was tempted to use Jehuty, but decided against it. As for the ship, that's a big one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron008R
She'd prefer something more along these lines, right?
lol, Gradius, although I expected a X-wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Kowaii... But expected of a 2-tailed.
I've suddenly had this mental image for the ending of Maren no Yuutsu:
The Akatsuki grabbing her,
Koji mounts a daring rescue,
Succeeds but almost kills himself
And she confesses...
True my heart remains as the OP though.
GO FLAMEZ!!!
Pschyo-Maren?
Hmm....might be interesting
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint X
If God Empress Willing, If AX finds another ship ruin, i'll bet they'll have this in their arsenal as well.
Spoiler for Possible AX Fighters:
Spoiler for Kyla's Unit:
Spoiler for Sub-Commander Units:
Spoiler for 'Grunt' Units:
Spoiler for Elite Units:
- They are compact, no need for the huge Register System to set their payloads- esp. the Dreadlords and more can be stored.
Great, both planes and mecha.
Anyway, I'm finally done with my 4th character and Sky Squad.
Spoiler for Sky 4:
Name: Satsuki Himeno
Nickname:Sat-chan
Gender: Female
Age:15
Birthday: January 1
Homeworld: Mid-Childa
Occupation/Rank: Sergeant
Unit: 456th Surface Corps (former), 216th Special Combat Unit (current)
Mage Rank:A- (AAA in Unison mode)
Magic Type: Mid-Childa/ Neo-Belka (only in Unison Mode)
Magic Circle Color: Ghost White
Favored Element: none
Height:5'6
Weight: 139 pounds
Hair: Short dim gray hair with two braids at the side (Long blonde hair in Unison Mode).
Eye Color: Turquoise (purple in Unison Mode)
Build: An average build for a 15 year old.
Device: Experimental Device- "Ellis"
Unison Device Margaret (voiced by Mamiko Noto)
Magic Style- Neo-Belka
- Experiimental Device- "Nadie"
Voiced by: Mitsuhashi Kanako
Background:
Satsuki was born in the Mid-Childan Capital suburbs in MC 0060 along with her twin sister, Nina Himeno. Her parents, Faye and Daisuke Himeno, were TSAB technicians charged with building and testing out new Devices and improving on current ones. Satsuki, as a little child, was brought along with her twin sister to a lot of demonstrations, and wanted to be like her father and mother. That changed, though, in MC 0064 on the Seifel Testing Compound in Southern Mid-Childa when an experiment concerning experimental Intelligent and Storage Devices, and the possibility of Unison Devices being used for the Mid-Childa magic style went haywire, and the compound that was performing the experiments was about to explode. Satsuki managed to get out, along with a small necklace, but both of her parents died in the ensuing explosion and Nina was missing, along with the people who escaped from the compound with her. The Seifel Incident, as it was named, was covered up, citing it as noting more than a training exercise, and to cover it up further, the survivors were not recognized, nor were they compensated. The missing were listed dead, and the survivors were on their own. Satsuki didn't have any other family, and she was forced to live in the streets. The people who looked at her ignored her and she was constantly subjected to abuse and harassment in the poorer sections of the capital. She became unresponsive, and her eyes seemed distraught with death and suffering. Finally, an old couple that also lived in the capital suburbs, Les and Rinna Vestelli decided to take her in when she was 7, although they didn't officially adopt her. Les was a former TSAB technician himself, and knew a lot about Devices. He used to make little things that would make Satsuki laugh and some for her to use. Rinna was extremely caring to Satsuki, and almost seemed like Satsuki was her true daughter. Over time, she started to She also found out her magical ability, but her new foster parents weren't too happy about it. They originally had a daughter that resembled Satsuki in both appearance and personality. She became a mage about 20 years ago, but died in a mission when she was hit by her own spell, reflected back at her, and her team couldn't do anything. They didn't want the same thing to happen to Satsuki, but she was extremely glad when finding out that she had magical powers, and they decided to let her decide. They had no choice, though, one day when Satsuki found something outside. She saw a small girl that was unconscious. Wanting to help, she took her inside. Her foster parents found out about it, and Les identified it as an Unison Device. The girl woke up suddenly, and touching the necklace Satsuki had, activated what was hidden in the necklace; an AI. The AI told of its name, "Ellis", and requested that Satsuki follow through with an incantation. She accepted, and the necklace turned into its true form: one of the few Experimental Devices left. The Unison Device also gave its name: Margaret, and showed another Device like Satsuki's before collapsing again. The two acts suddenly bolstered Satsuki's resolve and her new dream; seeing the death of her parents, not being able to do anything, and hearing about the Aces themselves from other people made her want to be a mage, protecting everyone that she could. Her foster parents were reluctant at first, talking about it late at night, ans Satsuki heard it all, but they decided to send her to the training academy
At the training academy, she was watched closely, due to being both a survivor of the Seifel Incident and having two of the few Experimental Devices that survived the explosion. Headquarters was in a divided fury about this. They had been trying to find Margaret, and they were shocked that a young girl had managed to find her while countless mages couldn't. Some wanted to take Satsuki, her Experimental Device, and Margaret. Others wanted to see what would happen. It was eventually decided that they would watch her performance, but one slip-up and they would put her under containment and everything taken away form her. In reports sent from the training academy, Satsuki was very good as a long-range attacker, scoring very high in marksman tests. Her Unison Device was reported to be good at close combat, and together, they made a good team. During the time training, she had a chance to meet with the Ace of Aces, Nanoha Takamachi herself. It was a surprise, and Nanoha managed to see Satsuki training, and she was impressed at the accuracy Satsuki had. Satsuki noticed Nanoha, and the instructors gave them some time to talk. Although it was short, it had a profound effect on Satsuki, who strived to be her, like so many others. She graduated and was placed in the 456th Surface Corps, where she rose up to the A- rank. Disaster was to come, though, when trying out for an AA mage rank at 13. She and a couple of others were lagging behind, and it was certain that they wouldn't make it. A desperate plan was made, and Satsuki decided to go into Unison Mode with Margaret. Both of them had never tried that before, not in training in both the academy and by themselves. They managed to combine, and finished the course in record time. Near the end, she stopped short of the finish line, to the puzzlement of the other mages who were with her. She then turned, and started to fire Ellis at the others. Several were seriously injured, and both Satoshi Kazukuni and Nanoha Takamachi went in to interfere. Satsuki seemed almost possessed but calm at what she did when both of them fought her, and she managed to injure both mages, although they were slight wounds. She finally managed to get a hold of herself and get out of Unison Mode, with the help of Nanoha. It is still a mystery on why Satsuki acted that way, but a tearful meeting happened soon after. The other participants were sent to be treated, and no one fortunately was killed. Still, she was transferred out of the unit, and held in a compound, where she stayed for a year before someone managed to get her out: Satoshi Kazukuni. Impressed with her ability and potential use, he argued with both the Major and the higher-ups at headquarters to let her be put into the Sky Squad. It took a full year and 5 months, with the arguing and the paperwork, but he finally managed to persuade both of them, although it was with great reluctance. When Satsuki was informed of this, she was nervous about meeting someone who she injured face-to-face, thinking that the only reason that they wanted to meet with her was to get revenge. Satoshi turned out to be forgiving to her, saying that it wasn't her fault, and went so far as to reunite Satsuki with Margaret, which he had also managed to free. He also managed to get her Device back, which he also gave to Satsuki while in the compound. Nanoha also visited her at the same time Satoshi was there, and they both discussed on where Satsuki would go. It was decided that Satsuki would go with Satoshi, and they asked Satsuki herself if she agreed. She did, and she went with Satoshi to the 216th, where she still is placed.
Personality:
She's soft-spoken, but is a person that's always glad at what life has given her, and is pretty friendly to people. She likes being with others, although she usually doesn't speak; she just listens to them. She's pretty sharp, and knows usually what's happening around her. She's also curious, and, in an ironic twist, is also a klutz sometimes, falling down a lot. She tends to be the solution to many people's trivial problems, though, when she's falling down often. She's also very forgiving to people, even to those who make insults, inappropriate advances, etc. In combat, she's another person. She's cold, ruthless, and always follows commands, rarely questioning them. However, one thing remains reminding people of her other side: she never takes killing shots. All of her shots have been non-lethal and have been incapacitating shots. Even in training, all of her shots directed at training drones have only been shots disabling the drones, not destroying them completely.
Device:
Experimental Device- "Ellis"
Made from the Seifel Compound shortly before it's destruction, it's similar to an advanced Intelligent Device. The AI, which is female, is more advanced than other Devices, although not on the scale of the Dual Devices or Unison Devices. Ellis usually helps Satsuki on shots, usually determining the probability of one. Satsuki has learned to not fully trust on Ellis' calculations, which gets them into an argument, and has actually done some shots thought impossible to Ellis. The most intersting thing about Ellis is its magical "bullet". The mechanism is the same as with Intelligent Devices such as Nanoha's Raising Heart, but the magical energy fired comes from inside the barrel, not outside the barrel, as shown with other Devices. As a result, there is no obvious sphere outside the barrel, giving Satsuki more stealth, and the bullet is more faster than normal, giving it anti-AMF capabilities without a need for a barrier around it, although it cannot go through solid objects without a barrier. Multi-shot spells are no problem, as Ellis can tell how much magical energy a spell needs and holds back the bullet until it is ready. The drawback of this is that Satsuki can't fire rapidly for an extended period of time due to the barrel not being able to handle the heat effectively, although this is not a problem in most cases. Ellis carries a magazine with 10 full-sized cartridges. The AI addresses Satsuki as "Master" and it resembles a Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova when in its only form, the Sniping Form. In it's sealed form, it resembles a necklace that looks like it's been cut in half with an inscription on the back, telling of Satsuki's name, birthdate, and a small message, looking like someone intended to give this to her....
Unison Device- "Margaret"
Looks like a 10 year old girl with long blue hair and purple eyes, covered with glasses, although there is no apparent reason to have them. She is usually shy most of the time, but always defends Satsuki when there is danger or if someone makes fun of her. She tends to act like a little sister to Satsuki, and everyone else treats her that way. She came from the Seifel Compound as a base for experimental Unison Devices. She was one of the few Devices that were spared destruction by escaping with several scientists. The TSAB tried to find her after she escaped, but Satsuki found her first. When the TSAB found out, it was the subject of arguments until they decided to let Satsuki keep her for a while. After the berserker incident, she was taken from Satsuki and was kept inside a research compound before Satoshi managed to get her out. She seems to know something, but she won't tell anyone, not even Satsuki herself. If you talk about the Seifel Incident to her, she'll just ignore you or be very angry at you. She's probably doesn't want to remember something there. In combat, she's just like Satsuki, except for two things: one, she is a close-combat fighter, opposite of Satsuki's long-range fighting, and two, she will kill someone if they pose enough danger to Satsuki, which may probably lead to some arguments. She thinks she is responsible for the berserker incident, but there is no information that she was responsible, not even experienced technicians know what caused it. Since then, both Satsuki and Margaret have decided not to go into Unison Mode unless it is absolutely needed until the problem is solved. Margaret carries a Experimental Device herself, suggesting that she was made to use one too.
-Experimental Device- "Nadie"
Margaret's own Experimental Device, it is basically an advanced Storage Device, with an advanced AI unlike other Storage or even Armed Devices. Nadie actually contains a tremendous amount of spells that wouldn't fit into a regular Storage Device. However, Margaret actually doesn't use all of them; she tends to use spells that suit her fighting style. As a result, Nadie has adjusted to Margaret's needs, using spells that Margaret would use the most. It has the same mechanism and "bullet" that Ellis has, although the "bullet" is shorter and does not have the anti-AMF ability of Ellis' own "bullets". No one except Margaret herself knows how she got an Experimental Device in place of an Armed Device, and she refuses to tell. Nadie uses a magazine carrying 8 small versions of the Belkan cartridge. It has a sealed state, resembling a necklace with a dark red rose at the end. In its only form, the CQC form, it resembles two things: a SIG P210 at her right hand, and a Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife in her left hand.
Incantation: As the world becomes despaired, let a bullet of light shatter the veil and release the light for all of the world to see. Ellis...set up!
Fighting Style:
Satsuki:
She usually fights at a long-distance, due to her Device. As explained, she never takes killing shots, but tries to find ways to incapacitate targets. She uses the surroundings to her advantage, always hiding on or shooting things. If she gets in close combat, which is unlikely, she knows somewhat of close-quarters combat from Margaret and Satoshi, and she has a spell just in case that happens. Still, she is better off fighting at long-range, and her spells are suited to it.
Margaret:
She usually stays with Satsuki, being both cover and a spotter for her, but she is a very deadly close-combat fighter. She has the ability to take down opponents may times her size, and she is a great shot with her Device. She sometimes strays from Satsuki for scouting and interception purposes. When she fights, it seems like Gun Kata, but she interchangeably uses melee attacks with the knife part of her Device along with shooting, and she usually deflects attacks, not avoiding it. She is also good at fighting without weapons, with her style of fighting taken from a mix of several martial styles.
Barrier Jacket:
Satsuki:
Her Barrier Jacket is a red shirt, covered by a dark green jacket that has an insignia, showing a black crow and a white dove, and the sleeves end near her elbow, instead of covering up her whole arm. She wears black pants, combat boots, and fingerless gloves. She also wears small earrings that resemble the birds in her jacket's insignia; the black crow on her left ear, and the white dove on her right.
Margaret:
Her Barrier Jacket is a blue-gray shirt covered by a dark blue jacket, blue jeans, and combat boots. She also has a shoulder holster for the gun part, covered by the jacket, and a visible knife holster on the chest. She also has glasses when she makes the Barrier Jacket; it seems that she probably likes wearing them.
Spells:
Other:
-Focus Jump: Satsuki focuses magical energy to jump into places that normally can't be reached unless by flying.
-Greller Schritt(Flash Step): Margaret's dual-purpose speed and jump spell. She can dash faster than what normal eyes can track and can also use the speed to jump into places that can't be reached normally.
-Shadow Dash: Satsuki's speed spell, it allows her to move quickly from one place to another. All people see is a blur, but Satsuki can only keep this up for a short period of time.
-Optic Hide: Same as the Optic Hide used in StrikerS Ep.1.
-Optic Hide Syntax Shift- Satsuki can now attack while still in Optic Hide, but now has to be held for as long as she can hold it.
-Nachbild(Afterimage) Margaret makes a afterimage of herself to distract or to lead targets into a trap.
Offensive:
-Double Bullet:Satsuki shoots four bullets, with one bullet disguising another when they separate into two groups of two. Uses 2 cartridges.
-Streuungstoß (Scatter Burst): Margaret unloads a full magazine, scattering shots in random directions to take out targets in a circle.
-Counter Bullet: Satsuki's bullets go through solid material using a barrier, potentially incapacitating people who hide there. Uses 2 cartridges
-Trickblatt (Trick Blade) Margaret makes an afterimage of her knife, confusing targets on where the real blade is.
-Flash Bullet: Satsuki makes a bullet that can blind enemies for a short time.
-Psychischer Schwall (Psychic Barrage) Margaret systematically takes targets down without them ever actually having a chance to react, almost like she was psychic.
-Desperado Barrage: Using a full magazine, Satsuki makes two bullets for every cartridge loaded, and fires rapidly. It makes Ellis unusable for a while, and Satsuki only uses it in an emergency.
-Stielhandgranate (Stick Hand Grenade) Margaret makes a magical grenade that looks like ones from one the numerous conflicts of the 97th Non-Administered World. It is harder to avoid than with Satsuki's Grenade spell, but does less damage than Grenade when placed correctly.
-Grenade: Satsuki makes a sphere of magical energy that is thrown. It is avoided more easily than Margaret's Stielhandgranate, but it does more damage.
-Grenade Blaster Shift: Satsuki makes several pellet-shaped grenades that can be used to scatter enemies or to make a line of explosions.
-Schnelles Feuer(Rapid Fire): Margaret makes 4 small magic bullets from one and fires. The bullets are extremely weak themselves, but the rate of fire makes up for it.
-Bayonet: Satsuki makes an energy blade, connected near the end of the barrel. It allows her to fight in close quarters, but makes her a little inaccurate if left on Ellis.
-Panzergewehrkugel (Tank Bullet) The opposite of Schnelles Feuer, Margaret spends 4-8 cartridges to make a slow-firing but powerful single bullet.
Defensive:
-Snipe Deflect: Satsuki actively deflects incoming attacks by shooting at them.
-Twirl lenken Sie ab (Twirl Deflect): Margaret twirls around the gun part of Nadie to deflect attacks.
-Round Shield: Same as Nanoha's Round Shield
-Diamant Schild (Diamond Shield) Margaret makes a shield using two Belka-style triangles that covers a moderate area.
-Rotunda:Satsuki makes a geodesic dome that is cast on everyone.
-Grösserer Gegenangriff (Greater Counter Attack) Same as Vincent's Gegenangriff, except that Margaret attacks the target right after their attack has been canceled.
Increase:
Quick React: Satsuki reacts faster to threats at the cost of accuracy.
Aim Support: Satsuki makes a sort of magical bipod to help with accuracy, but at a cost of reduced reaction time.
Unison Mode:
These are the spells noted when Satsuki was in Unison Mode besides her usual spells; she may have more...
Haubitzegewehrkugel (Howitzer Bullet): Using about 6 cartridges, Satsuki fires a very large bullet that makes a beam behind it. The bullet itself is powerful enough to puch a hole into large targets.
Equilibrium Flight: Satsuki's flying spell, black and white wings appear on her feet, giving her the ability to fly.
Valkyrie Flugkörper (Valkyrie Missile): Using Bayonet, Satsuki goes at extremely high speed to attack someone at close-range.
Spinner Deflect: Satsuki spins Ellis around, deflecting shots or attacks in front of her.
Trivia:
Satsuki:
-She likes teddy bears a lot for some reason.
-She's always concerned with Vincent and always follows him around on base, which annoys him a lot.
-She is also an anime fan, but like Satoshi, hates cosplaying. In fact, she tends to run and hide the moment someone mentions "cosplay"
-She likes to sleep a lot, and can be seen in the base usually sleeping away.
-Satsuki has a penchant for ice cream.
Margaret:
-She's also a fan of anime, unlike Satsuki, she's also a cosplayer, something they get into arguments about.
- She has a penchant for pasta, and sometimes asks for it.
- She forgets to do stuff often, and it comes to her that she forgot something way after it has been done.
- As stated, she wears glasses, for no apparent reason. If you ask her, though, the reason is that it "reminds her of someone."
- She seems to be a fan of a certain type of movie genre in the 97th Non-Administered World called "heroic bloodshed" films.
I also changed my mech post to show hers... Edit...
Another Edit: Changed Satsuki's style as so not to make confusion.
Last edited by Satty; 2007-06-26 at 22:08.
Reason: Spelling, grammar, etc.
If God Empress Willing, If AX finds another ship ruin, i'll bet they'll have this in their arsenal as well.
Spoiler for Possible AX Fighters:
Spoiler for Kyla's Unit:
Spoiler for Sub-Commander Units:
Spoiler for 'Grunt' Units:
Spoiler for Elite Units:
- They are compact, no need for the huge Register System to set their payloads- esp. the Dreadlords and more can be stored.
- Yup... I got the bug as well...
@ readers... the worst case is all of them getting killed.
It's not if but when, with Kyla's familial knack for finding things and Kha's personal drive for mecha to be the next stage of magical progression.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satty
Anyway, I'm finally done with my 4th character and Sky Squad.
Spoiler for Sky 4:
Name: Satsuki Himeno
Nickname:Sat-chan
Gender: Female
Age:15
Birthday: January 1
Homeworld: Mid-Childa
Occupation/Rank: Sergeant
Unit: 456th Surface Corps (former), 216th Special Combat Unit (current)
Mage Rank:A- (AAA in Unison mode)
Magic Type: Mid-Childa/ Neo-Belka
Magic Circle Color: Ghost White
Favored Element: none
Height:5'6
Weight: 139 pounds
Hair: Short dim gray hair with two braids at the side (Long blonde hair in Unison Mode).
Eye Color: Turquoise (purple in Unison Mode)
Build: An average build for a 15 year old.
Device: Experimental Device- "Ellis"
Unison Device Margaret (voiced by Mamiko Noto)
- Experiimental Device- "Nadie"
Voiced by: Mitsuhashi Kanako
Background:
Satsuki was born in the Mid-Childan Capital suburbs in MC 0060 along with her twin sister, Nina Himeno. Her parents, Faye and Daisuke Himeno, were TSAB technicians charged with building and testing out new Devices and improving on current ones. Satsuki, as a little child, was brought along with her twin sister to a lot of demonstrations, and wanted to be like her father and mother. That changed, though, in MC 0064 on the Seifel Testing Compound in Southern Mid-Childa when an experiment concerning experimental Intelligent and Storage Devices, and the possibility of Unison Devices being used for the Mid-Childa magic style went haywire, and the compound that was performing the experiments was about to explode. Satsuki managed to get out, along with a small necklace, but both of her parents died in the ensuing explosion and Nina was missing, along with the people who escaped from the compound with her. The Seifel Incident, as it was named, was covered up, citing it as noting more than a training exercise, and to cover it up further, the survivors were not recognized, nor were they compensated. The missing were listed dead, and the survivors were on their own. Satsuki didn't have any other family, and she was forced to live in the streets. The people who looked at her ignored her and she was constantly subjected to abuse and harassment in the poorer sections of the capital. She became unresponsive, and her eyes seemed distraught with death and suffering. Finally, an old couple that also lived in the capital suburbs, Les and Rinna Vestelli decided to take her in when she was 7, although they didn't officially adopt her. Les was a former TSAB technician himself, and knew a lot about Devices. He used to make little things that would make Satsuki laugh and some for her to use. Rinna was extremely caring to Satsuki, and almost seemed like Satsuki was her true daughter. Over time, she started to She also found out her magical ability, but her new foster parents weren't too happy about it. They originally had a daughter that resembled Satsuki in both appearance and personality. She became a mage about 20 years ago, but died in a mission when she was hit by her own spell, reflected back at her, and her team couldn't do anything. They didn't want the same thing to happen to Satsuki, but she was extremely glad when finding out that she had magical powers, and they decided to let her decide. They had no choice, though, one day when Satsuki found something outside. She saw a small girl that was unconscious. Wanting to help, she took her inside. Her foster parents found out about it, and Les identified it as an Unison Device. The girl woke up suddenly, and touching the necklace Satsuki had, activated what was hidden in the necklace; an AI. The AI told of its name, "Ellis", and requested that Satsuki follow through with an incantation. She accepted, and the necklace turned into its true form: one of the few Experimental Devices left. The Unison Device also gave its name: Margaret, and showed another Device like Satsuki's before collapsing again. The two acts suddenly bolstered Satsuki's resolve and her new dream; seeing the death of her parents, not being able to do anything, and hearing about the Aces themselves from other people made her want to be a mage, protecting everyone that she could. Her foster parents were reluctant at first, talking about it late at night, ans Satsuki heard it all, but they decided to send her to the training academy
At the training academy, she was watched closely, due to being both a survivor of the Seifel Incident and having two of the few Experimental Devices that survived the explosion. Headquarters was in a divided fury about this. They had been trying to find Margaret, and they were shocked that a young girl had managed to find her while countless mages couldn't. Some wanted to take Satsuki, her Experimental Device, and Margaret. Others wanted to see what would happen. It was eventually decided that they would watch her performance, but one slip-up and they would put her under containment and everything taken away form her. In reports sent from the training academy, Satsuki was very good as a long-range attacker, scoring very high in marksman tests. Her Unison Device was reported to be good at close combat, and together, they made a good team. During the time training, she had a chance to meet with the Ace of Aces, Nanoha Takamachi herself. It was a surprise, and Nanoha managed to see Satsuki training, and she was impressed at the accuracy Satsuki had. Satsuki noticed Nanoha, and the instructors gave them some time to talk. Although it was short, it had a profound effect on Satsuki, who strived to be her, like so many others. She graduated and was placed in the 456th Surface Corps, where she rose up to the A- rank. Disaster was to come, though, when trying out for an AA mage rank at 13. She and a couple of others were lagging behind, and it was certain that they wouldn't make it. A desperate plan was made, and Satsuki decided to go into Unison Mode with Margaret. Both of them had never tried that before, not in training in both the academy and by themselves. They managed to combine, and finished the course in record time. Near the end, she stopped short of the finish line, to the puzzlement of the other mages who were with her. She then turned, and started to fire Ellis at the others. Several were seriously injured, and both Satoshi Kazukuni and Nanoha Takamachi went in to interfere. Satsuki seemed almost possessed but calm at what she did when both of them fought her, and she managed to injure both mages, although they were slight wounds. She finally managed to get a hold of herself and get out of Unison Mode, with the help of Nanoha. It is still a mystery on why Satsuki acted that way, but a tearful meeting happened soon after. The other participants were sent to be treated, and no one fortunately was killed. Still, she was transferred out of the unit, and held in a compound, where she stayed for a year before someone managed to get her out: Satoshi Kazukuni. Impressed with her ability and potential use, he argued with both the Major and the higher-ups at headquarters to let her be put into the Sky Squad. It took a full year and 5 months, with the arguing and the paperwork, but he finally managed to persuade both of them, although it was with great reluctance. When Satsuki was informed of this, she was nervous about meeting someone who she injured face-to-face, thinking that the only reason that they wanted to meet with her was to get revenge. Satoshi turned out to be forgiving to her, saying that it wasn't her fault, and went so far as to reunite Satsuki with Margaret, which he had also managed to free. He also managed to get her Device back, which he also gave to Satsuki while in the compound. Nanoha also visited her at the same time Satoshi was there, and they both discussed on where Satsuki would go. It was decided that Satsuki would go with Satoshi, and they asked Satsuki herself if she agreed. She did, and she went with Satoshi to the 216th, where she still is placed.
Personality:
She's soft-spoken, but is a person that's always glad at what life has given her, and is pretty friendly to people. She likes being with others, although she usually doesn't speak; she just listens to them. She's pretty sharp, and knows usually what's happening around her. She's also curious, and, in an ironic twist, is also a klutz sometimes, falling down a lot. She tends to be the solution to many people's trivial problems, though, when she's falling down often. She's also very forgiving to people, even to those who make insults, inappropriate advances, etc. In combat, she's another person. She's cold, ruthless, and always follows commands, rarely questioning them. However, one thing remains reminding people of her other side: she never takes killing shots. All of her shots have been non-lethal and have been incapacitating shots. Even in training, all of her shots directed at training drones have only been shots disabling the drones, not destroying them completely.
Device:
Experimental Device- "Ellis"
Made from the Seifel Compound shortly before it's destruction, it's similar to an advanced Intelligent Device. The AI, which is female, is more advanced than other Devices, although not on the scale of the Dual Devices or Unison Devices. Ellis usually helps Satsuki on shots, usually determining the probability of one. Satsuki has learned to not fully trust on Ellis' calculations, which gets them into an argument, and has actually done some shots thought impossible to Ellis. The most intersting thing about Ellis is its magical "bullet". The mechanism is the same as with Intelligent Devices such as Nanoha's Raising Heart, but the magical energy fired comes from inside the barrel, not outside the barrel, as shown with other Devices. As a result, there is no obvious sphere outside the barrel, giving Satsuki more stealth, and the bullet is more faster than normal, giving it anti-AMF capabilities without a need for a barrier around it, although it cannot go through solid objects without a barrier. Multi-shot spells are no problem, as Ellis can tell how much magical energy a spell needs and holds back the bullet until it is ready. The drawback of this is that Satsuki can't fire rapidly for an extended period of time due to the barrel not being able to handle the heat effectively, although this is not a problem in most cases. Ellis carries a magazine with 10 full-sized cartridges. The AI addresses Satsuki as "Master" and it resembles a Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova when in its only form, the Sniping Form. In it's sealed form, it resembles a necklace that looks like it's been cut in half with an inscription on the back, telling of Satsuki's name, birthdate, and a small message, looking like someone intended to give this to her....
Unison Device- "Margaret"
Looks like a 10 year old girl with long blue hair and purple eyes, covered with glasses, although there is no apparent reason to have them. She is usually shy most of the time, but always defends Satsuki when there is danger or if someone makes fun of her. She tends to act like a little sister to Satsuki, and everyone else treats her that way. She came from the Seifel Compound as a base for experimental Unison Devices. She was one of the few Devices that were spared destruction by escaping with several scientists. The TSAB tried to find her after she escaped, but Satsuki found her first. When the TSAB found out, it was the subject of arguments until they decided to let Satsuki keep her for a while. After the berserker incident, she was taken from Satsuki and was kept inside a research compound before Satoshi managed to get her out. She seems to know something, but she won't tell anyone, not even Satsuki herself. If you talk about the Seifel Incident to her, she'll just ignore you or be very angry at you. She's probably doesn't want to remember something there. In combat, she's just like Satsuki, except for two things: one, she is a close-combat fighter, opposite of Satsuki's long-range fighting, and two, she will kill someone if they pose enough danger to Satsuki, which may probably lead to some arguments. She thinks she is responsible for the berserker incident, but there is no information that she was responsible, not even experienced technicians know what caused it. Since then, both Satsuki and Margaret have decided not to go into Unison Mode unless it is absolutely needed until the problem is solved. Margaret carries a Experimental Device herself, suggesting that she was made to use one too.
-Experimental Device- "Nadie"
Margaret's own Experimental Device, it is basically an advanced Storage Device, with an advanced AI unlike other Storage or even Armed Devices. Nadie actually contains a tremendous amount of spells that wouldn't fit into a regular Storage Device. However, Margaret actually doesn't use all of them; she tends to use spells that suit her fighting style. As a result, Nadie has adjusted to Margaret's needs, using spells that Margaret would use the most. It has the same mechanism and "bullet" that Ellis has, although the "bullet" is shorter and does not have the anti-AMF ability of Ellis' own "bullets". No one except Margaret herself knows how she got an Experimental Device in place of an Armed Device, and she refuses to tell. Nadie uses a magazine carrying 8 small versions of the Belkan cartridge. It has a sealed state, resembling a necklace with a dark red rose at the end. In its only form, the CQC form, it resembles two things: a SIG P210 at her right hand, and a Fairburn-Sykes fighting knife in her left hand.
Incantation: As the world becomes despaired, let a bullet of light shatter the veil and release the light for all of the world to see. Ellis...set up!
Fighting Style:
Satsuki:
She usually fights at a long-distance, due to her Device. As explained, she never takes killing shots, but tries to find ways to incapacitate targets. She uses the surroundings to her advantage, always hiding on or shooting things. If she gets in close combat, which is unlikely, she knows somewhat of close-quarters combat from Margaret and Satoshi, and she has a spell just in case that happens. Still, she is better off fighting at long-range, and her spells are suited to it.
Margaret:
She usually stays with Satsuki, being both cover and a spotter for her, but she is a very deadly close-combat fighter. She has the ability to take down opponents may times her size, and she is a great shot with her Device. She sometimes strays from Satsuki for scouting and interception purposes. When she fights, it seems like Gun Kata, but she interchangeably uses melee attacks with the knife part of her Device along with shooting, and she usually deflects attacks, not avoiding it. She is also good at fighting without weapons, with her style of fighting taken from a mix of several martial styles.
Barrier Jacket:
Satsuki:
Her Barrier Jacket is a red shirt, covered by a dark green jacket that has an insignia, showing a black crow and a white dove, and the sleeves end near her elbow, instead of covering up her whole arm. She wears black pants, combat boots, and fingerless gloves. She also wears small earrings that resemble the birds in her jacket's insignia; the black crow on her left ear, and the white dove on her right.
Margaret:
Her Barrier Jacket is a blue-gray shirt covered by a dark blue jacket, blue jeans, and combat boots. She also has a shoulder holster for the gun part, covered by the jacket, and a visible knife holster on the chest. She also has glasses when she makes the Barrier Jacket; it seems that she probably likes wearing them.
Spells:
Other:
-Focus Jump: Satsuki focuses magical energy to jump into places that normally can't be reached unless by flying.
-Greller Schritt(Flash Step): Margaret's dual-purpose speed and jump spell. She can dash faster than what normal eyes can track and can also use the speed to jump into places that can't be reached normally.
-Shadow Dash: Satsuki's speed spell, it allows her to move quickly from one place to another. All people see is a blur, but Satsuki can only keep this up for a short period of time.
-Optic Hide: Same as the Optic Hide used in StrikerS Ep.1.
-Optic Hide Syntax Shift- Satsuki can now attack while still in Optic Hide, but now has to be held for as long as she can hold it.
-Nachbild(Afterimage) Margaret makes a afterimage of herself to distract or to lead targets into a trap.
Offensive:
-Double Bullet:Satsuki shoots four bullets, with one bullet disguising another when they separate into two groups of two. Uses 2 cartridges.
-Streuungstoß (Scatter Burst): Margaret unloads a full magazine, scattering shots in random directions to take out targets in a circle.
-Counter Bullet: Satsuki's bullets go through solid material using a barrier, potentially incapacitating people who hide there. Uses 2 cartridges
-Trickblatt (Trick Blade) Margaret makes an afterimage of her knife, confusing targets on where the real blade is.
-Flash Bullet: Satsuki makes a bullet that can blind enemies for a short time.
-Psychischer Schwall (Psychic Barrage) Margaret systematically takes targets down without them ever actually having a chance to react, almost like she was psychic.
-Desperado Barrage: Using a full magazine, Satsuki makes two bullets for every cartridge loaded, and fires rapidly. It makes Ellis unusable for a while, and Satsuki only uses it in an emergency.
-Stielhandgranate (Stick Hand Grenade) Margaret makes a magical grenade that looks like ones from one the numerous conflicts of the 97th Non-Administered World. It is harder to avoid than with Satsuki's Grenade spell, but does less damage than Grenade when placed correctly.
-Grenade: Satsuki makes a sphere of magical energy that is thrown. It is avoided more easily than Margaret's Stielhandgranate, but it does more damage.
-Grenade Blaster Shift: Satsuki makes several pellet-shaped grenades that can be used to scatter enemies or to make a line of explosions.
-Schnelles Feuer(Rapid Fire): Margaret makes 4 small magic bullets from one and fires. The bullets are extremely weak themselves, but the rate of fire makes up for it.
-Bayonet: Satsuki makes an energy blade, connected near the end of the barrel. It allows her to fight in close quarters, but makes her a little inaccurate if left on Ellis.
-Panzergewehrkugel (Tank Bullet) The opposite of Schnelles Feuer, Margaret spends 4-8 cartridges to make a slow-firing but powerful single bullet.
Defensive:
-Snipe Deflect: Satsuki actively deflects incoming attacks by shooting at them.
-Twirl lenken Sie ab (Twirl Deflect): Margaret twirls around the gun part of Nadie to deflect attacks.
-Round Shield: Same as Nanoha's Round Shield
-Diamant Schild (Diamond Shield) Margaret makes a shield using two Belka-style triangles that covers a moderate area.
-Rotunda:Satsuki makes a geodesic dome that is cast on everyone.
-Grösserer Gegenangriff (Greater Counter Attack) Same as Vincent's Gegenangriff, except that Margaret attacks the target right after their attack has been canceled.
Increase:
Quick React: Satsuki reacts faster to threats at the cost of accuracy.
Aim Support: Satsuki makes a sort of magical bipod to help with accuracy, but at a cost of reduced reaction time.
Unison Mode:
These are the spells noted when Satsuki was in Unison Mode besides her usual spells; she may have more...
Haubitzegewehrkugel (Howitzer Bullet): Using about 6 cartridges, Satsuki fires a very large bullet that makes a beam behind it. The bullet itself is powerful enough to puch a hole into large targets.
Equilibrium Flight: Satsuki's flying spell, black and white wings appear on her feet, giving her the ability to fly.
Valkyrie Flugkörper (Valkyrie Missile): Using Bayonet, Satsuki goes at extremely high speed to attack someone at close-range.
Spinner Deflect: Satsuki spins Ellis around, deflecting shots or attacks in front of her.
Trivia:
Satsuki:
-She likes teddy bears a lot for some reason.
-She's always concerned with Vincent and always follows him around on base, which annoys him a lot.
-She is also an anime fan, but like Satoshi, hates cosplaying. In fact, she tends to run and hide the moment someone mentions "cosplay"
-She likes to sleep a lot, and can be seen in the base usually sleeping away.
-Satsuki has a penchant for ice cream.
Margaret:
-She's also a fan of anime, unlike Satsuki, she's also a cosplayer, something they get into arguments about.
- She has a penchant for pasta, and sometimes asks for it.
- She forgets to do stuff often, and it comes to her that she forgot something way after it has been done.
- As stated, she wears glasses, for no apparent reason. If you ask her, though, the reason is that it "reminds her of someone."
- She seems to be a fan of a certain type of movie genre in the 97th Non-Administered World called "heroic bloodshed" films.
I also changed my mech post to show hers... Edit...
MIYUKI-CHAAAAAAAAAAN
She looks like a Velka sniper, but the Mid Childa in her kinda blurs the definition. Nevertheless, I think "Beowulf" has another friend, and instead of a yanmana, its a meganekko! I'm starting to see a trend amongst the Velka snipers: good at gun-fu, and represent a certain... trait. What's next guys, a Maid? Wait that's Linda Zwei Battleroid mode
Spoiler for AlternateS II Proposed Arc V2.0: Rescue Pt.1:
“This is nuts!!!” Kyla could only mutter as she entered the Silvana’s briefing room. “Okay… here is the heads up… MD6 has been rendered powerless and captured, if that wasn’t insult enough; they placed them in stasis cells to stop them from even thinking of escaping. I’ve just received orders from all those who were brought powerless by this outrage to get their asses out of there before they arrive at Treblinka Prison- if they reach there, they might be well considered dead… and we only have 5 hours to do that… Vincent?”
The android second in command stepped in.
“We are currently tracking the 30-car train when it left Central a couple of hours back, and we are currently just at the extreme edge of their psydar, edging it with the help of the ship’s new paint job (AlternateS I paint is red, AlternateS II paint is blue). Inside sources indicate the most of the carriages carry the escort and defense, and only six of those cars actually contain the members- ‘A’ for the Aces, ‘B’ for the second in commands- namely the Wolkenritter, ‘C’ for the forwards, ‘D’ for the devices, ‘E’ for the noted staff (AKA Everybody Else) and ‘F’ for the files.”
Just then a screen opens, revealing the just expatriated Mashiro Windbloom, now wearing a bureau admiral’s uniform.
“The uniform fits you well Commander…” Kyla commented. “And have you got the feel of your ancestor’s flagship?”
“Yes…” the queen turned admiral replied. “My Mo- she would be very proud…”
“Glad to hear that… and yes, just in time. Did the supply transports arrive?”
“Yes, and they are starting to unload now…”
“Good.” Kyla replied quickly. “Okay… as we were saying…”
“The contents of the train are simple…” Vincent once again resumed. “MD6 in stasis, five ground battalions, enough firepower to even scare an S+ mage, and to top that cake, this person…”
Another screen opened, showing ‘X’ of the ‘Numbers’ on post above a carriage, cannon ready to shoot anything out of the sky.
“And according to our inside sources, cars A-F are linked together, with ‘Deci’ guarding ‘A’, so that would be easy to pick off. And here is the plan… Captain?”
Kyla again took the room.
“Currently we have 2 Dreads ‘running escort’ along the train. And above that is the 21st’s Carryall, under jury-rigged cloak, sensors scanning any activity in the train. Crystal team, which is composed of Arika, Nina, *****n, and Chacha, will procced to attack, as soon as the fighters leave the train on my command- starting the mission timer.”
“In the meantime, the six transports from the Kagatsuchi will be on route to the train under cloak and the following Otome will have the following roles; Arika and Nina will try to disable as much as possible the train and its defenses, *****n will support them while Chacha cuts cars A-F from their couplings, just as the transports arrive and pick them up to be carried to the Silvana, where as soon as the last car leaves the track, all forces are to withdraw and chronoshift to where the Kagatsuchi and the Fumi Maru are waiting. And from there, we chronoshift to the secret coordinates of the GDI Flagship Nilathiel and her First Fleet.”
“We have the asked to do something insane, we have allies that are willing to cover our traces, and we only have 4 minutes to execute the entire plan… are you up to it?”
“YES!!!” was the resounding reply. “For our friends and allies!”
“And AX helps a fellow AX in need… even if they wear another coat…” Kyla closed the spiel. “We have an hour and a half of preparation… Transports 1-6 on the Kagatsuchi, prepare for a rush mission… All personnel to battle stations!"
"Operation Total Rescue is now active!!!”
01:29:59...
- Ground Forces, prepare to have bad day with girls- err, i mean Maidens.
- Actual battle time is 00:03:45
---
I'll still the other two arcs as promised, just let this arc out of my head first.
2007-06-26, 09:45
Graphic Designer
But something stopped me.
