Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[Lhklan]

Originally Posted by Filraen

What bothered me the most was the I Stand Alone version of Yuuno: as far as I understand he should be dead in the events of Jail attack or in the immediate aftermath (wasn't the other ending not being taken seriously by the author himself?). Second, he shouldn't be so... defeated as he feels: in the hypotetical case he survived he should be better taken cared of, but he feels the same if not worse. I don't think he should be the happiest man in any world but I think he should have felt not so bad about himself. After all, stopping that attack saving Hayate, Vivio and all those other people should have counted for something, right?


And while I'm not sure what eactly, I'm sure it has to mean something not even Old Iron could recognize him.

Thank you for your input. My thought when I wrote that was, even if they're worried about him after that, how many would stick around afterwards? Hayate and Chrono I can see, but not many others. Sure they'll chat with him and spend some time with him more, but that didn't change the fact that for a long time, they neglected Yuuno. I'd like to believe that somewhere inside of him, he resents some of them, but he didn't show it in public. Hayate is the only one who can see this, since she spends the most time with him compared to the otehrs.

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by Yasanagi

in Nanoha reality, Eisen wouldn't be able to rapidly shift between forms so easily.

Are you sure? Has anyone ever had a problem with their weapon changing too slowly?

If they did, they could also be attacked while doing their magical girl transformations.

I think the lengthy transformation (into barrier jackets or between device forms) is just eye-candy for the viewers.

At most, mages and knights sometimes take things slow and easy when they have the time to spare.

[Craxuan]

And it all comes to an end.

... I can't believe I finished it. 108,090 words (well that includes Author's Notes, but whatever) in total. Just posted it up and would take 30 minutes to show.

I'm never doing it again.

... Probably.

[Lhklan]

Originally Posted by Craxuan

And it all comes to an end.

... I can't believe I finished it. 108,090 words (well that includes Author's Notes, but whatever) in total. Just posted it up and would take 30 minutes to show.

I'm never doing it again.

... Probably.

*pats on the back* Congrats.

[vic-vic]

Originally Posted by Craxuan

And it all comes to an end.

... I can't believe I finished it. 108,090 words (well that includes Author's Notes, but whatever) in total. Just posted it up and would take 30 minutes to show.

I'm never doing it again.

... Probably.

Wow, such a story you write.

I really liked how you fleshed our favorite cast and, of course, Hayate. The ups and downs of her life really grt under my skin, especially her relationship with Nanoha, Yuuno and Reunion.

Spoiler for last chapters:

The last chapters was utter blast. The depart of Vivio and her friends already have a very ominous signs. And indeed with utter massacre of two last chapter now its Vivio and her friend to rebuild TSAB, since I think (and mourn) that Chrono and Amy didn't survive the Ragnarok. And poor Reunion, after all his struggles, he witnesses death of his family and his mother.

A very good work, Crauxian, congratulation!!

[Craxuan]

Thanks, your replies meant a lot to me.

I actually do have a sequel in mind, but unlike the The Two Goddesses the storyline was a little too vague in my head, so until I could have a clear idea on what to write (and fix the various logic errors first), I'm going to put this on hold.

[Old_Iron]

Well done Craxuan. I have to say its been one hell of a ride. All the flesh you gave to the cast really worked out in a superb manner. Not to mention the overall creepy tone of many things.

I will admit to being a slight confused by the ending, but I'm also suffering a severe headache so that may be why. XD

Still, well done. Well done indeed. =3

[NorthernFallout]

Sup.

Spoiler for Potential series. "The Unforgiving I":

The planet burned.

One half, hidden in the shadows, lay dark. No light could be seen in the darkness of the night, no signs of life in those parts of the world. It was an empty entity all of its own, a void where nothing existed. As every night before it, it was quiet and serene without any dangers roaming the land.

The other half was where the inferno raged. Licking flames of hell covered the earth, plumes of smoke stretching to touch the clouds high above. Screams of pain and crying of panic, the lament of the people, echoed through the cities and across the forests, passing the mountains until finally dissolving into white noise; a chorus of collective sorrow with not a single soul listening for miles upon miles.

Hayate saw all this from within the Warship Vengala’s observation deck, lying in orbit around Mid-Childa. Its sleek form seemed to reflect the light from the planet, though she knew it was impossible. No, that light came from the magical shields that lay active on the hull, expecting an enemy attack. The shimmer varied from light blue to orange, terrifyingly similar to the inferno below. Beside the Vengala flew the Yufer and the Arazu, forming a triangle, Vengala being at the front. It was her proper place as the flagship of their flight, a position Hayate was used to at this point. All three of them looked the same; sleek with two pointy ends and a bridge on top, bristling with weaponry ready to be fired. Their hulls wore the color of snow, a stark contrast to the blackness of space.

Behind the planet, she knew, the main fleet awaited their return. All the Warships that had survived the initial onslaught had regrouped after less than a day, forming a temporary defense fleet until the proper chain of command could be restored. The panic from back then had settled, chaos diminishing in favor of order and calm.

However, Hayate thought it was a question of if, not when. That possibility shook her to the core, as it was a terrifying prospect. She hoped she was wrong, for once.

“Commander.”

She turned to face her aide, hands clasped behind her back. “Yes, Mariam?”

Mariam, bringing up a screen in front of her, seemed a little anxious, but otherwise calm considering the situation. Not a strand of hair in her short haircut lay where it shouldn’t be. “We received a message from the Admiral a few minutes ago. They have not detected any hostile ships in our vicinity. Rendezvous ETA remains the same as before.”

“Thanks for the update, but couldn’t he have told me that in person?” Hayate said with a small smile. She let herself be amused, just for a short time.

“He thought you were busy and did not want to interrupt you.” Mariam shrugged. “Odd, but the Admiral tends to have ideas.”

“Doesn’t he always.” It wasn’t surprising why he would suspect she’d be busy with everything going on, but the truth was she had intentionally delegated many tasks to her other officers after some persuasion from Nanoha. She wanted to do it herself, yes, but even Hayate had to see the stupidity of it. Besides, she trusted them to get the job done anyhow. There wasn’t a need for her to spend everything she had on simple tasks.

Mariam said nothing else, the screen disappearing. Usually she would leave at this point, but the silence lasted for half a minute before she broke it: “Commander, what are our estimated casualties?”

Hayate turned to face her, eyebrows raised. An ordinary question, but somewhat surprising when it came from her. “Are you sure you want to know?” The information wasn’t public, not exactly. It was reserved for higher officers and then filtered to the rest of those that needed to know. Mariam couldn’t find out even if she really wanted to.

“Yes.” No hesitance. This girl will go far, Hayate thought. Strategic awareness, loyal, brave. Yeah, it should be her…

“Ten million, give or take half a million. That’s the initial count.” She sighed. “The number will rise once we’ve purged the planet and we can count more accurately.”

If Mariam was shocked, she didn’t show it. Nevertheless, her eyes widened a little before she caught herself. “I did not expect such a high number. I thought it was within the range of a million…”

“I wish that would be true,” Hayate said and turned back to the holoscreen showing the planet. Sometimes an explosion could be seen down on the surface. Several of them sometimes appeared at once, forming weird shapes if you let your imagination run rampant. A power plant igniting a chain reaction, perhaps.

Or a battle involving Aeon-bombs. She shuddered at the mere thought of it.

“Our next course of action will be to send down Purgers, is it not?” Mariam asked after a short silence.

“Yes.”

“Do they stand more of a chance than our current groundside troops?”

Hayate hesitated, biting her lip. Of course they are, she wanted to say. She believed in Nanoha’s special division. She’d always done that. But this time… “I’m sure they do. The Absolution might outclass our Warships, but I doubt they can go head-to-head with Special Forces mages. You’ll see. I promise.”

Mariam nodded, somewhat uncertain at first. Then she clenched her fist and smiled. “You are right, Commander. Of course.” She then saluted and left the observation deck, leaving Hayate alone with her thoughts.

Hayate remained for a while, staring at the flames. From that distance she couldn’t actually see them with clarity. They were more like blurry afterimages that glowed a faint orange color. She could visualize it, though. The hell below. Each flame represented a life lost, a failure on her part that she had to carry within her for the rest of her life, however short it may be. She’d failed to defend the lives of those she had sworn to protect. The planet itself only served as a larger beacon of torment, screaming back at her with rage and disappointment.

“Hope,” she muttered, letting her arms fall to her sides. “That girl has it. My crew has it.” She raised her hands, palms up, and looked down into them. A single tear fell from her eye. “Why can’t I feel that anymore?”

*

Nanoha strode through the cargo bay of the Vengala, ignoring the stench of sweat. The darkness was a mere annoyance, one she had long since gotten used to. The equipment she wore bounced against her shoulders for each step, but she barely felt it. Years of training, and not a little help of magic, made the burden an easy one to bear. The special armor covered most of her body and was a stark contrast to the usual white dress she wore in combat; black as night with lines grey like a foggy, autumn twilight. Plates hung from her knees and shoulders, boosters clung to her ankles and each segment of the armor was connected by strong metal straps. A red visor was attached to her right ear, covering the right side of her face, and the neck protector going around her head reached almost up to her mouth. Its weight made it impossible for the non-initiated to wear them; it’d crush their puny skeletons within a few seconds.

The ‘Purger Suit’. That was its name, an improved version of the Battle Jacket. Solely used by Purge Troopers, the soldiers that formed her squad; a Special Forces division formed from the old RF6. Their purpose had been changed and sharpened, and her squad was one of the few equipped and trained enough to face the Absolution’s troops.

She knew this, but didn’t take pride in it. It wasn’t who she was. She still thought of the normal forces down below that had to face the brunt of the Absolution’s power, while she simply waited for an opportunity. She felt ill, knowing others died because of her own inaction. She wanted to spur into action, to save them from their fates like she had done in the past.

Sealed fates. She knew she couldn’t just run out in the heat of the moment and do it herself. Not any longer. It all required finesse, tactics and coordination with other forces. This wasn’t a time for heroics or solo combat. The situation, no, the world itself had changed, moving into a new era of warfare that she was still getting used to.

She’d have to wait just as the rest.

“Signum,” she said as she arrived at the main section. The Belkan Knight wore the same suit as Nanoha, though with modified parts to accommodate their different styles; Signum’s armor was slanted in place, and somewhat wider in some places than Nanoha’s. It meant more protection against melee attackers. “Is everything prepared?”

“Yes. The supplies have been stored and are ready to be delivered once we launch. The others are ready as well.”

The others. Teana, Vivio, Vita, Yuuno, Zafira. Too few to form the original crew, but that was temporary. She believed that was true. Fate were somewhere on Mid-Childa, fighting together with Subaru and the others. They would help save those who needed it, then regroup with Nanoha. That was the plan, or had been the plan before the invasion. The plan was still in effect. She hadn’t abandoned them and they hadn’t abandoned her.

“Good. We launch in a minute.” She strode onwards, towards a set of open hatches on the wall and stopped there. The others formed a line in front of her, at attention. “Everyone!” she said. “Today marks the second battle when we are needed in this war of believers and heretics. This is the start of a new era for us and for the TSAB, a start of something greater. We will fight back against the Absolution and reclaim our homeplanet.” She paused, looking at each of them. She had their full attention and she saw what she had always seen in their eyes; loyalty, determination and courage. “We will find our friends and bring them back. I promise. Hope is not lost. The Absolution will be defeated.”

A light came on, flooding them in red. It was the signal to prepare for launch. “Let’s go,” Nanoha said, materializing Raging Heart into her hands. The device had been colored black just like her armor, but the red jewel remained as it always had. “Back to Mid-Childa.”

A resounding shout of agreement echoed through the cargo bay and they entered the hatches which closed behind them. It was necessary to drop them in these pods, though it did make her uncomfortable. It was tight, enclosed; warm and loud, though over in a heartbeat once they had passed the border of the atmosphere. Space would always be a mage’s enemy until they found the solution to space combat. Once it had been found, nothing would be able to stop them.

“Hayate,” she said, bringing up a tiny screen on her visor. The Commander looked back at her, smiling. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Hayate nodded. “I know you will.” Her expression grew serious as her smile vanished. The façade of the woman Nanoha had known for a long time crumbled for a short moment. “Now go.”

“THE ‘UNFORGIVING’,” Nanoha shouted, “LAUNCH!”

***

The Unforgiving follows Nanoha and Hayate as they both fight on different parts of a battlefield stretching from Mid-Childa all the way into space. Their goal is simple; to repel the invaders known as the Absolution and reclaim Mid-Childa from enemy hands. With the help of new technology that has propelled them into a new era of magitech warfare, the battlefield has become something else, something more powerful than it once was.

It has become a battlefield of demigods.

[WarpObscura]

Tentatively interested to know more.

[mega1987]

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!!!
(Philippines time...12:05am)

[NorthernFallout]

A bit... longer than I planned :x

Still. IT'S ON NOW.

Spoiler for The Unforgiving II:

The deafening noise stopped abruptly as the pod slammed into the earth. The shock absorbers built into her suit and her pod helped against the instant halt from terminal velocity, but it still rattled her teeth, making her jaw hurt. A second later the walls of the pod flew off and she burst out of it, Raising Heart at the ready. Teana had landed next to her and waited with Cross Mirage in one hand, a serious expression clouding her face. Other pods landed shortly afterwards, one by one, walls flying off and landing in the mud. Rain soon covered the metal pieces as it fell with massive drops, drenching the mages as well. The rain and wind wasn’t so cold that it annoyed her, but she could still feel a chill on her cheek the longer she exposed herself.

“Teana,” Nanoha said, approaching her. Since her hearing had returned to normal after the drop, she could now hear fighting close by. It seemed to come from over a ridge. “Scout ahead and report back. The rest of you,” she said and turned as they approached, “wait here for my command.”

“Understood,” Teana said and disappeared right in front of Nanoha. The active camouflage the engineers had modified to work more effectively together with her Optic Hide worked perfectly. Her suit, as Signum’s, was customized to make the most out of her skills; lighter and tighter, it gave her far more agility while sacrificing protection. She wasn’t meant to receive damage, though she still had her basic shield. The suit itself stuck to her skin like a second layer, similar to what the Numbers had once worn.

The only clue to her existence now was the splash of water as she traversed the fields.

Nanoha faced the others. All of them had a small shield over their heads to protect them from the rain. “Once Teana gives the all-clear we fly to the nearest battle and support them. Once we’ve pushed the enemy back, we start moving towards the next objective; Cranagan. We will start our search there.

“Yes,” they said in unison.

Then the wait began. They lunged around in the rain, observing their surroundings while chatting amongst each other. From what Nanoha remembered they stood in a field that had once bloomed with seeds meant for bread, one of the larger corporate farms outside Cranagan. Now all that remained was mud for as far as she could see. The rain secluded the mountains to the East and though she should have been able to see the skyscrapers of Cranagan to the West, all she saw was the rain and grey fog. The closest building she could see was the farm’s, and that had been razed to the ground. It had stopped burning a long time ago.


“Yuuno,” she said and waved him over. He walked over to her, almost slipping on the mud. Behind him, Vita lost another round of rock-paper-scissors to Vivio, throwing a fit about it. “The Absolution. Have you come up with anything else?”

He shook his head. “We don’t have enough data, Nanoha. Beyond what you already know, we’ve discovered from the initial strike that their purpose for coming here has a religious connection. Other than that…” He shrugged.

“Religious?”

“They view us as heretics, or something similar judging from what we’ve been able to decipher. We are, in their words; ‘to be brought in front of God to answer for our sins’.”

“It’s not even our God. If it exists. What sins are they babbling about? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

She bit her lip and grimaced. She wanted something concrete to direct her anger towards, a reason she could understand. Philosophical mumbojumbo was not her forté. “What about Aeon-bombs? Any news on that?”

“Do you remember a lecture a long time ago regarding Earth’s arsenal?” Yuuno said.

“Somewhat.” She giggled, allowing a smile. “I wasn’t really paying attention that time, Yuuno. I think I was busy thinking about a new spell or something…”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “How expected of you. Anyway, these Aeon bombs have similarities to hydrogen bombs when it comes to yield. It’s one of the most powerful weapons ever developed.”

“Oh, hydrogen bombs… Yeah, I know about those. We did have history lessons in Japan, you know.”

He raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before realizing what she meant. “Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, these Aeon bombs are similar to Arc-en-Ciel in a way. The Arc is a bit stronger, but there is a vital difference. That difference is why the Aeon is so much more dangerous.”

“And that is?”

“The Aeon is small enough to fit in a backpack.” He looked up towards the sky. “And since the Absolution uses androids as a majority of their fighting force…”

“Every one of them may carry an Aeon bomb since they can be sacrificed,” Nanoha finished for him. She groaned, closing her eyes. “What are we supposed to do about that?”

“Two things,” Yuuno said. “First, we can detect them from a long distance. It may give us the edge to escape the yield. All of your devices have been upgraded with that functionality. Secondly, judging from how little it is used relative to its size, they might not have that many of them.”

“Still, those aren’t good odds.”

“No, I suppose they aren’t.” He sighed, scratching his head. “If we combine our shields we might be able to create one strong enough to withstand the shockwave, though. A last hope, you could say, in case we get cornered.”

Nanoha nodded, saying nothing. Instead she clasped Yuuno’s hand, looking him deep in the eye. He looked back, surprised, and then smiled. He was more to her than a mentor and friend, she knew that. Nevertheless, she had lost sight of him in the past for whatever reason. Now that the world had become like this, she was determined not to do it again. She would save him. She would save Fate.

She would save them all even if she had to walk towards the end of the world.

“Please be careful,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.”

He nodded, squeezing her hand. “I promise.”

“Nanoha.” Teana’s voice interrupted the moment. It came from her headset with just a hint of static. “There is a battle on-going to the North. No anti-air is deployed and they seem distracted by our allied forces for the time being.”

“How are they holding up?” Nanoha asked, letting go of Yuuno’s hand.

“Outnumbered, but they are holding for now.” A pause. “Shit. You have to hurry. I see several tanks coming in. They will overrun their position.”

“Then we move.” She turned to the others. They had all become alert from her exchange with Teana and were now facing her. “Everyone, go!”

Streaks of light appeared as they all shot into the sky. Since Teana was the only one without the capability of flight, she would remain on the ground and provide intel in case something happened. It allowed Nanoha to focus on the battle at hand, which she could now see in front of her through the rain thanks to her high altitude. The first thing she noticed was the gunfire cutting through the air, bright lines appearing for the fraction of a second over and over. There hundreds of them, both allies and hostiles, the latter getting closer to the former.

“Zafira, Yuuno. Veer off to support our allies. Signum, Vita, Vivio, on me. Let’s break through.”

“Aye!”

The six broke into four and two, turning in opposite directions. Nanoha opted for a higher path than the rest as she prepared for air-to-ground support. Signum and Vita went lower, almost touching the ground, as they aimed for the middle of the enemy. Vivio remained between them in case she needed to support either of them. She would be on stand-by until that moment, just as they had trained.

[Target sighted], Raising Heart said and locked onto the tanks in the distance Teana had reported. Ten of them moved through the mud, their treads kicking up dirt as they moved. They were hard to see in the rain since they had the same color as the ground and had a low profile. [Loading parameters. Core synchronization starting.]

Nanoha glanced at Signum and Vita as they arrived at their position, slamming into the androids that walked close to one another. Chains of fire cut them in half in an eye blink while Graf Eisen proceeded to smash them into metallic dust. Concentrated gunfire rained down upon the two within a few seconds, causing their shields to flicker as they moved back to back, spinning around wrecking havoc. A few shots pierced through eventually, but only glanced off their armor. It would take more than that to bring the two heavy-hitters down, especially when it came to Vita. Her armor was the strongest of them all, almost encasing her inside it, and together with her small build she was even harder to hit.

[Target locked, ready.]

A scope materialized on Raising Heart’s handle and Nanoha peered into it, targeting reticules appearing over five of the ten tanks. White light started to gather behind her together with a constantly rising noise. Raising Heart began to hum as magical energy began to accumulate. The shaft vibrated in her hands and she had to tighten her grip to hold it in place.

“Divine Buster Extension Repeat!”

One second separated each of the beams that shot out from the device. They soared one after another through the rain, making it fizzle, leaving a trail of steam behind them, before they hit the tanks. The energy beam pierced their armor, melting it, and proceeded to burrow through the entire tank until it reached the ground. Each of the tanks burst into flames as their fuel and ammo deposits ignited. The explosions that followed created shockwaves that threw the rain away for a moment before it started to fall again.

“Five to go,” she mumbled as cannon fire graced her shield. She dodged with ease as the remaining tanks had stopped and now fired at her with their main cannons. While their combined firepower would destroy anything the TSAB could throw at them on the ground, they were too slow to track a small, moving target. Dodging them wasn’t a problem as long as they didn’t get reinforcements.

[Target locked, ready.]

Nanoha fired again. The remaining five tanks were destroyed in a mixture of fire, energy and mud. “Armor destroyed,” she relayed to the others. “You don’t have to worry about them anymore—“

“Nanoha!” Teana’s voice. She sounded frantic. “Incoming Wraths from the South!”

Wraths; agile and fast air fighters that looked like malformed hawks. With two pointy wings angled backwards, their shape was thin and slim. She turned and peered into the distance, but she couldn’t see them yet thanks to the fog. “Vivio, I need some backup on this one.”

“Coming.”

Nanoha aligned Raising Heart towards where she thought the Wraths were coming from based on Teana’s last report. She analyzed the situation in her head, but without knowing their numbers there wasn’t much she could do. Starlight Breaker was an alternative, but the magical debris around her wasn’t enough. Besides, if she missed just a few they would have a free shot at the ordinary troops. If they just weren’t so damn quick, she thought, we could take them out before they get too close.

As it was, the Wraths would outrun them if they fled, and dodge any long range attacks. She’d never seen machines that fast before.

“Mom.” Vivio arrived beside her, punching her clenched fists together, wearing a grin. “I’m ready.”

Nanoha grinned back at her. Even amongst all this destruction, her daughter remained how she always was; eager for a fight, ready to go. She hadn’t changed at all since the days of the invasion.

“Wraths visible,” Teana reported. “There are… twenty of them?”

Nanoha’s grin froze. The most she had fought at once was seven. But twenty of them? They needed help. A lot of it. “Vita. Think you can handle those androids by yourself?”

The short girl laughed, noises of war in the background. “What do you take me for, Nanoha? Of course I can take care of these scraps of metal. Signum, go.”

“Yes.”

Nanoha looked down to see a pink streak of light moving up towards her, leaving Vita behind. With the chains of fire gone, all that remained was the hammer. Not that it mattered; the androids clumped together even more now and Graf Eisen dispatched of them with swift, powerful strikes. If anything, Vita seemed to grow more effective when she didn’t have to think about Signum being in the way for the wall of steel. Jet fire grew brighter from Graf Eisen, accelerating the device and its master into a whirlstorm of crushing death. Metal limbs and electronics flew in all directions as she rampaged through them.

“That girl,” Nanoha muttered. “She’s still amazing.”

When Signum arrived she positioned herself in front of Nanoha, Vivio remaining by Nanoha’s side. It was a classic triad position, meant to protect the ranged mage at the back. It wouldn’t be very effective against Wraths, but she hoped it would buy them some time. They needed it.

The Wraths appeared from the clouds, bearing down upon them.

“Here they come!”

Nanoha and Vivio opened fire immediately, the former opting for Axel Shooter while the latter fired off her modified Divine Buster. The Axel beams intersected, spinning around their own axis, before spreading out and piercing three of the Wraths before they had the chance to retaliate. The larger and more powerful Divine Buster beam missed most of its targets as they dodged, but still managed to grace two more Wraths that fell out of the sky, smoke bellowing out from the fuselage.

A few seconds later, after Vivio managed another Divine Buster since it had such a short recharge time, the Wraths were already upon them. Signum raised Laevatein above her head and extended him again, casting Schlangebeißen. The sword disengaged from itself into several parts and rammed the incoming Wraths, hooking them onto the sharp parts. With a quick move of her arm she intended to slam them into the rest of their comrades, but they avoided her before she could do it.

All of the Wraths that had survived so far closed the distance and unleashed their weapons, focusing only on Signum. She became covered in gunfire and smoke for a second or two, before they veered off and prepared for another run. When the smoke cleared Nanoha drew a sharp breath; Signum’s armor was scarred and dented. Her shield seemed to have failed, too, because there was blood dripping from a deep gash on her cheek. She was breathing heavily, Laevatein hanging by her side.

“Signum, are you alright?” she asked, contemplating breaking formation to support her.

Signum looked at her over her shoulder and rustled herself. “I’m fine. Continue the assault.”

Nanoha nodded back and turned to face the Wraths. This time they fired from afar, aiming for Vivio and herself. Some of the shots flew wide, but others hit where they were supposed to. Their shields absorbed them with ease. When the Wraths didn’t focus their fire, there wasn’t much to worry about. The danger was when they did, as they had done with Signum.

They continued to fire as they came closer, Nanoha responding with several Axel Shooters. Vivio started to glow as she gathered magical energy into her fists and then flew straight at the Wraths, dodging their fire. She got close to one of them and smashed it into pieces with one solid hit. She used the momentum to reach another before they veered off again. Debris fell from the sky, down on the forces beneath them.

“Just a few to go,” Vivio said, not showing any signs of fatigue.

The remaining Wraths put a far amount of distance between, which surprised Nanoha. That was different behavior from before; usually they would continue their assault until they or their enemy was destroyed. This was something else.

“What are they doing?” Signum asked, touching the wound on her cheek. She grimaced, but hid the pain after that.

“I don’t know,” Nanoha said. “Prepare for anything.”

The Wraths seemed to wait for something. Eventually they started to clump together, almost hooking their wings into each other to form a larger Wrath.

“What in the world…” Vivio whispered.

From each point of their wings, bright orbs began to glow. Lines started to form between each orb, culminating in the center ahead of the Wraths. The air around them began to warp, as if heat were rising from them. The rain seemed to bend around their hulls as well, creating a weird illusion.

“Is that a new weapon?” Signum asked.

“No idea,” Nanoha said, peering at the Wraths, “but we should gain some dis—“

The Wraths fired. A thick, white beam with a few smaller beams orbiting around it flew towards the trio that scattered before the beams reached them. The beams blew past them at a high speed, heading straight for the TSAB troops on the ground. They left a roaring wake of steam and crackling thunder in the air behind them.

“That was their plan? Shit! I’m mad now,” Vivio said, slamming her fists together again.

Nanoha felt helpless as the beam washed over the allied forces, annihilating them in less than a second. Compared to the magical beams of her own, Absolution weaponry was a mix of ordinary projectiles and energy beams… which meant they couldn’t pacify, only kill. She didn’t know how it felt to be hit by one of those beams, but judging from the scorched earth and burned armor that remained from the soldiers she didn’t want to find out.

It enraged her all the same. The Wraths disengaged from one another, but remained packed together as they picked up speed.

“I’ll settle this now,” she murmured and Raising Heart began to grow, adding modules. Light began to gather from the skies, magical remnants being absorbed. She had to use it before they dispersed. She wouldn’t get this chance again. The noise of fighting from below urged her on.

“Starlight…”

The Wraths seemed to sense something was happening. Signum and Vivio nodded to each other and split up, flying in a wide arc towards them. They wouldn’t get in the way as they intended to force the Wraths back together, closing any possible escape routes.

“Breaker!”

Whiteness. The beam covered the sky, an arc widening to encompass almost everything in front of her. Rain evaporated and the air bent around it as it pierced the heavens, leaving a deep rumble that rolled across the landscape for several miles. The Wraths exploded in puffs of smoke and fire, falling down to the earth, ruined and battered. A single one that had escaped the slaughter limped away with a broken wing, but Vivio finished it off with a fist, forcing it to crash into the mud and breaking into pieces.

Nanoha caught her breath, feeling victorious. That was that, the battle would be theirs now. She felt relieved, calm, as magic dust fell like snow all around her.

“Nanoha, we have trouble,” Yuuno said. His usual calmness was gone, ice filling his voice. What could it possibly be now? The area wasn’t so important, so why did the Absolution throw everything they had at them right now? They needed a break.

She groaned, brushing away a strand of hair on her sweaty brow, and collected herself. “What now? What do they throw at us this time?”

“We have to run.” He paused. “Check your devices.”

“Raising Heart?” she said, looking down.

[Aeon Bomb detected,] her device said flatly. [Advise gaining range.]

She grew cold, staring at the device. “They aren’t…” She grit her teeth. “But the rest of our forces! They won’t get away in time.”

“Neither will we if we don’t move now,” Vivio said. “There is nothing we can do. We can’t project a shield large enough. Damnit!”

“How could it get so fucking close without us knowing?” she snapped at Yuuno before she caught herself. Shame swept over her. She never spoke like that. What in the world was happening… “Sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s okay.” He sighed. “The detection system still needs work. That’s why.”

“We must move now,” Signum said.

Nanoha nodded, forcing herself to realize the truth. She couldn’t save them; they were already doomed. All that remained was—

She’d forgotten. Teana.

“Teana, where are you right now?” she shouted over the comms. That brought the rest of her squad into panicked attention. How could she have forgotten about one of her own? Insanity. She had never done that before.

“To the South, moving towards the forest,” Teana replied. Nanoha looked in that direction. It was a fair distance, but not enough to escape the blast radius. “Don’t worry about me, I can—“

“Keep running, I’m coming to get you!” She disconnected, refusing to hear any arguments from Teana. “Signum, take the rest and move away. I’ll be fine.”

“Mom…”

Pleading eyes from Vivio made her pause and she felt herself smile. “Don’t worry, Vivio. This is nothing.”

With that said, she shot away towards Teana. She let Raising Heart dissolve into its pendant and erected a shield in front of her, using it to redirect the airflow. While she was faster than most other mages, she had to increase her speed before the Aeon detonated. The raindrops shattered against her shield, leaving small whirlpools in her wake.

“Boosters, ready,” she murmured. She hadn’t used them to their full extent until now. She had only used them for fast maneuvering before so she didn’t know how powerful they were over longer distances. She felt the boosters on her ankles deploy their jet exhausts and a low wheezing noise reached her ears as they started to spin up.

“Boosters, on!”

The wind that had been so loud before became a deafening roar. She went deaf as the boosters activated and a white glare from behind her illuminated the sky all around her. That froze her to the core, because the boosters didn’t give off much light. Which meant…

She pushed them to their maximum. She saw Teana down below, at the edge of the forest, still running. Teana tossed a glance over her shoulder, spotting Nanoha, then the Aeon’s shockwave rushing towards her. Her eyes widened in shock and she pushed herself harder.

I have to make it, Nanoha thought. I can make it. It’s still possible. I have to… go faster…

Five seconds at the most remained until the shockwave would catch up. She could already feel the searing heat behind her, scorching the tip of her boots. She dove, gaining a little more speed, and aligned herself with ground, flying just a few centimeters above it. Mud was flung aside and strands of grass were ripped up with their roots as she passed. She had no idea how fast she was going.

She found she didn’t care.

“Teana!” Her words were drenched out by the chaos around her. The shockwave lay like a massive wall behind her and her skin frizzled from the heat mixed with energy. Just a little more. Two seconds; that was all she needed.

Teana stumbled just as Nanoha caught her in her arms.

The beast caught up to them.

*

“What do you mean, you lost them?” She turned to Mariam, eyes wide with shock and anger. “This can’t be happening!”

Mariam wrote furiously on her keyboard. She didn’t seem affected by the situation and kept her cool, though her eyes darted back and forth as if possessed. “The detonation wrecked havoc with our sensors. The frequency is all messed up. We have to wait until it clears to be certain.”

No. No! It can’t be, not now, Hayate thought, turning back to her console. She tried to regain control of her emotions. She had to remain calm until they knew for certain. Yes. That’s what she had to do. Not panic like a little girl. She had been through worse than this.

Right?

Of course she had. All the stress and loss that had collected itself in the past few days came crashing down onto her shoulders, trying to crush her. She wouldn’t let it. She would remain standing because she was still needed. Nanoha wouldn’t die from that. None of them would.

“Commander,” one of the navigators said, “God Fist on visuals.”

Hayate turned her attention to her screen and looked at the flagship of their defense fleet. Their orbit completed, they’d reached the rendezvous. It was a little larger than the rest of the warships, having been fitted with more armor than usual. It seemed bulkier, as if it had more muscle; a new concept, developed before the Absolution had arrived, and it had worked out well so far.

“Commander!” Same navigator, but her voice had changed into panic. That was never a good sign. “Several new signatures just appeared over the north-pole. The Absolution fleet has returned!”

We really don’t need this, Hayate thought and prepared her mind for battle. They just couldn’t catch a break. “Man all stations. Raise alert to highest. Prepare for battle.”

The Vengala turned, slowly, to face the new arrivals. So did the rest of the fleet as they, too, had discovered the threat. The Absolution fleet was already within engagement range and data flooded across her screen. The only reason the fleet hadn't fired was because they were still recharging their man drives.

The TSAB fleet had the upper hand, for now.

“Target the closest battlecruiser,” Hayate said, not bothering to wait for the rest of the fleet to call targets. “Once that is down, focus on the smaller ships. We can’t let them close this range.” She paused, looking at her screen. “Use everything we can afford to fire. Now!”

The Warship shuddered as it unleashed its full firepower. Hundreds of beams emerged from its hull and rushed across the emptiness of space towards the hostile fleet. Soon the rest of the warships were firing, coloring everything in white and yellow; rainbows of pure destruction. She couldn't even begin to count the amount of beams fired as the warships prepared to fire again, creating a lull in the volleys. The magical drives required a few seconds of recharge for each volley.

Not that it mattered. The poor ship that had been selected as the primary target became engulfed in energy that proceeded to rip it apart down to its bare molecules. It broke apart at the middle, its superstructure rupturing. Flames were suffocated as soon as they appeared and the remnants collided with the ships closest to it. They had all emerged way too close to each other; either brought on by a navigational error, or, as Hayate suspected, limitations with their jump drives. The ships that were bumped spiraled out of control in various directions.

Yet despite their inferiority in navigation, once their drives came online Hayate wouldn’t stand much of a chance unless they could lessen their numbers before that happened.

“Second volley firing,” the navigator said.

Another shudder, more beams. Each of them homed in on a ship of their own, destroying them as soon as they touched their shields. Flowers of destruction appeared over the planet as they all exploded simultaneously. The smaller ships didn’t have much in terms of defenses and the beams were too large to easily dodge.

“Thirty-two fighters down, Commander,” Mariam said. “However, the rest of the hostile fleet is preparing a counter attack.”

Hayate glanced at the screen and saw the Absolution starting to move away from each other, forming up in formation. Their weapons lined up to point towards the main allied fleet. “Shit. We’ve run out of time. Target the—“

The words stuck in her throat as a new Absolution ship emerged from warp, one she had never seen before. It dwarfed the other ships, towering above them. Gasps and murmurs made their way through Hayate’s crew. It was much wider than the other ships, almost as flat as a disc. A normal Absolution ship had a rectangular shape, which made this one even weirder. The ship’s middle had small open ports all around it and something was extending from them; weapons. Large ones.

Hayate stood as if rooted to the floor, staring at the behemoth. Only Mariam retained her cool, though she also hesitated slightly.

“Judging from our data it may be an Absolution Dreadnaught, Commander. Compared to all other ships in the enemy fleet, it has identified itself with a name.”

“And that is?”

“It is being translated now,” Mariam said, falling quiet. She stared at the screen as light began to form around the dreadnaught, gathering at a location on the disc that pointed towards the allied fleet. Hayate noticed it, too, and ice raced up her spine. This wasn’t good. She had to give an order, anything, but her mind was blank. They were too slow. What could they possibly do now?

“Well?” she asked.

“…Messiah…” Mariam whispered.

The behemoth called the Messiah fired, engulfing God Fist in hellfire.

[vic-vic]

Originally Posted by NorthernFallout

A bit... longer than I planned :x

Still. IT'S ON NOW.

Spoiler for The Unforgiving II:

The deafening noise stopped abruptly as the pod slammed into the earth. The shock absorbers built into her suit and her pod helped against the instant halt from terminal velocity, but it still rattled her teeth, making her jaw hurt. A second later the walls of the pod flew off and she burst out of it, Raising Heart at the ready. Teana had landed next to her and waited with Cross Mirage in one hand, a serious expression clouding her face. Other pods landed shortly afterwards, one by one, walls flying off and landing in the mud. Rain soon covered the metal pieces as it fell with massive drops, drenching the mages as well. The rain and wind wasn’t so cold that it annoyed her, but she could still feel a chill on her cheek the longer she exposed herself.

“Teana,” Nanoha said, approaching her. Since her hearing had returned to normal after the drop, she could now hear fighting close by. It seemed to come from over a ridge. “Scout ahead and report back. The rest of you,” she said and turned as they approached, “wait here for my command.”

“Understood,” Teana said and disappeared right in front of Nanoha. The active camouflage the engineers had modified to work more effectively together with her Optic Hide worked perfectly. Her suit, as Signum’s, was customized to make the most out of her skills; lighter and tighter, it gave her far more agility while sacrificing protection. She wasn’t meant to receive damage, though she still had her basic shield. The suit itself stuck to her skin like a second layer, similar to what the Numbers had once worn.

The only clue to her existence now was the splash of water as she traversed the fields.

Nanoha faced the others. All of them had a small shield over their heads to protect them from the rain. “Once Teana gives the all-clear we fly to the nearest battle and support them. Once we’ve pushed the enemy back, we start moving towards the next objective; Cranagan. We will start our search there.

“Yes,” they said in unison.

Then the wait began. They lunged around in the rain, observing their surroundings while chatting amongst each other. From what Nanoha remembered they stood in a field that had once bloomed with seeds meant for bread, one of the larger corporate farms outside Cranagan. Now all that remained was mud for as far as she could see. The rain secluded the mountains to the East and though she should have been able to see the skyscrapers of Cranagan to the West, all she saw was the rain and grey fog. The closest building she could see was the farm’s, and that had been razed to the ground. It had stopped burning a long time ago.


“Yuuno,” she said and waved him over. He walked over to her, almost slipping on the mud. Behind him, Vita lost another round of rock-paper-scissors to Vivio, throwing a fit about it. “The Absolution. Have you come up with anything else?”

He shook his head. “We don’t have enough data, Nanoha. Beyond what you already know, we’ve discovered from the initial strike that their purpose for coming here has a religious connection. Other than that…” He shrugged.

“Religious?”

“They view us as heretics, or something similar judging from what we’ve been able to decipher. We are, in their words; ‘to be brought in front of God to answer for our sins’.”

“It’s not even our God. If it exists. What sins are they babbling about? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

She bit her lip and grimaced. She wanted something concrete to direct her anger towards, a reason she could understand. Philosophical mumbojumbo was not her forté. “What about Aeon-bombs? Any news on that?”

“Do you remember a lecture a long time ago regarding Earth’s arsenal?” Yuuno said.

“Somewhat.” She giggled, allowing a smile. “I wasn’t really paying attention that time, Yuuno. I think I was busy thinking about a new spell or something…”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “How expected of you. Anyway, these Aeon bombs have similarities to hydrogen bombs when it comes to yield. It’s one of the most powerful weapons ever developed.”

“Oh, hydrogen bombs… Yeah, I know about those. We did have history lessons in Japan, you know.”

He raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before realizing what she meant. “Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, these Aeon bombs are similar to Arc-en-Ciel in a way. The Arc is a bit stronger, but there is a vital difference. That difference is why the Aeon is so much more dangerous.”

“And that is?”

“The Aeon is small enough to fit in a backpack.” He looked up towards the sky. “And since the Absolution uses androids as a majority of their fighting force…”

“Every one of them may carry an Aeon bomb since they can be sacrificed,” Nanoha finished for him. She groaned, closing her eyes. “What are we supposed to do about that?”

“Two things,” Yuuno said. “First, we can detect them from a long distance. It may give us the edge to escape the yield. All of your devices have been upgraded with that functionality. Secondly, judging from how little it is used relative to its size, they might not have that many of them.”

“Still, those aren’t good odds.”

“No, I suppose they aren’t.” He sighed, scratching his head. “If we combine our shields we might be able to create one strong enough to withstand the shockwave, though. A last hope, you could say, in case we get cornered.”

Nanoha nodded, saying nothing. Instead she clasped Yuuno’s hand, looking him deep in the eye. He looked back, surprised, and then smiled. He was more to her than a mentor and friend, she knew that. Nevertheless, she had lost sight of him in the past for whatever reason. Now that the world had become like this, she was determined not to do it again. She would save him. She would save Fate.

She would save them all even if she had to walk towards the end of the world.

“Please be careful,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.”

He nodded, squeezing her hand. “I promise.”

“Nanoha.” Teana’s voice interrupted the moment. It came from her headset with just a hint of static. “There is a battle on-going to the North. No anti-air is deployed and they seem distracted by our allied forces for the time being.”

“How are they holding up?” Nanoha asked, letting go of Yuuno’s hand.

“Outnumbered, but they are holding for now.” A pause. “Shit. You have to hurry. I see several tanks coming in. They will overrun their position.”

“Then we move.” She turned to the others. They had all become alert from her exchange with Teana and were now facing her. “Everyone, go!”

Streaks of light appeared as they all shot into the sky. Since Teana was the only one without the capability of flight, she would remain on the ground and provide intel in case something happened. It allowed Nanoha to focus on the battle at hand, which she could now see in front of her through the rain thanks to her high altitude. The first thing she noticed was the gunfire cutting through the air, bright lines appearing for the fraction of a second over and over. There hundreds of them, both allies and hostiles, the latter getting closer to the former.

“Zafira, Yuuno. Veer off to support our allies. Signum, Vita, Vivio, on me. Let’s break through.”

“Aye!”

The six broke into four and two, turning in opposite directions. Nanoha opted for a higher path than the rest as she prepared for air-to-ground support. Signum and Vita went lower, almost touching the ground, as they aimed for the middle of the enemy. Vivio remained between them in case she needed to support either of them. She would be on stand-by until that moment, just as they had trained.

[Target sighted], Raising Heart said and locked onto the tanks in the distance Teana had reported. Ten of them moved through the mud, their treads kicking up dirt as they moved. They were hard to see in the rain since they had the same color as the ground and had a low profile. [Loading parameters. Core synchronization starting.]

Nanoha glanced at Signum and Vita as they arrived at their position, slamming into the androids that walked close to one another. Chains of fire cut them in half in an eye blink while Graf Eisen proceeded to smash them into metallic dust. Concentrated gunfire rained down upon the two within a few seconds, causing their shields to flicker as they moved back to back, spinning around wrecking havoc. A few shots pierced through eventually, but only glanced off their armor. It would take more than that to bring the two heavy-hitters down, especially when it came to Vita. Her armor was the strongest of them all, almost encasing her inside it, and together with her small build she was even harder to hit.

[Target locked, ready.]

A scope materialized on Raising Heart’s handle and Nanoha peered into it, targeting reticules appearing over five of the ten tanks. White light started to gather behind her together with a constantly rising noise. Raising Heart began to hum as magical energy began to accumulate. The shaft vibrated in her hands and she had to tighten her grip to hold it in place.

“Divine Buster Extension Repeat!”

One second separated each of the beams that shot out from the device. They soared one after another through the rain, making it fizzle, leaving a trail of steam behind them, before they hit the tanks. The energy beam pierced their armor, melting it, and proceeded to burrow through the entire tank until it reached the ground. Each of the tanks burst into flames as their fuel and ammo deposits ignited. The explosions that followed created shockwaves that threw the rain away for a moment before it started to fall again.

“Five to go,” she mumbled as cannon fire graced her shield. She dodged with ease as the remaining tanks had stopped and now fired at her with their main cannons. While their combined firepower would destroy anything the TSAB could throw at them on the ground, they were too slow to track a small, moving target. Dodging them wasn’t a problem as long as they didn’t get reinforcements.

[Target locked, ready.]

Nanoha fired again. The remaining five tanks were destroyed in a mixture of fire, energy and mud. “Armor destroyed,” she relayed to the others. “You don’t have to worry about them anymore—“

“Nanoha!” Teana’s voice. She sounded frantic. “Incoming Wraths from the South!”

Wraths; agile and fast air fighters that looked like malformed hawks. With two pointy wings angled backwards, their shape was thin and slim. She turned and peered into the distance, but she couldn’t see them yet thanks to the fog. “Vivio, I need some backup on this one.”

“Coming.”

Nanoha aligned Raising Heart towards where she thought the Wraths were coming from based on Teana’s last report. She analyzed the situation in her head, but without knowing their numbers there wasn’t much she could do. Starlight Breaker was an alternative, but the magical debris around her wasn’t enough. Besides, if she missed just a few they would have a free shot at the ordinary troops. If they just weren’t so damn quick, she thought, we could take them out before they get too close.

As it was, the Wraths would outrun them if they fled, and dodge any long range attacks. She’d never seen machines that fast before.

“Mom.” Vivio arrived beside her, punching her clenched fists together, wearing a grin. “I’m ready.”

Nanoha grinned back at her. Even amongst all this destruction, her daughter remained how she always was; eager for a fight, ready to go. She hadn’t changed at all since the days of the invasion.

“Wraths visible,” Teana reported. “There are… twenty of them?”

Nanoha’s grin froze. The most she had fought at once was seven. But twenty of them? They needed help. A lot of it. “Vita. Think you can handle those androids by yourself?”

The short girl laughed, noises of war in the background. “What do you take me for, Nanoha? Of course I can take care of these scraps of metal. Signum, go.”

“Yes.”

Nanoha looked down to see a pink streak of light moving up towards her, leaving Vita behind. With the chains of fire gone, all that remained was the hammer. Not that it mattered; the androids clumped together even more now and Graf Eisen dispatched of them with swift, powerful strikes. If anything, Vita seemed to grow more effective when she didn’t have to think about Signum being in the way for the wall of steel. Jet fire grew brighter from Graf Eisen, accelerating the device and its master into a whirlstorm of crushing death. Metal limbs and electronics flew in all directions as she rampaged through them.

“That girl,” Nanoha muttered. “She’s still amazing.”

When Signum arrived she positioned herself in front of Nanoha, Vivio remaining by Nanoha’s side. It was a classic triad position, meant to protect the ranged mage at the back. It wouldn’t be very effective against Wraths, but she hoped it would buy them some time. They needed it.

The Wraths appeared from the clouds, bearing down upon them.

“Here they come!”

Nanoha and Vivio opened fire immediately, the former opting for Axel Shooter while the latter fired off her modified Divine Buster. The Axel beams intersected, spinning around their own axis, before spreading out and piercing three of the Wraths before they had the chance to retaliate. The larger and more powerful Divine Buster beam missed most of its targets as they dodged, but still managed to grace two more Wraths that fell out of the sky, smoke bellowing out from the fuselage.

A few seconds later, after Vivio managed another Divine Buster since it had such a short recharge time, the Wraths were already upon them. Signum raised Laevatein above her head and extended him again, casting Schlangebeißen. The sword disengaged from itself into several parts and rammed the incoming Wraths, hooking them onto the sharp parts. With a quick move of her arm she intended to slam them into the rest of their comrades, but they avoided her before she could do it.

All of the Wraths that had survived so far closed the distance and unleashed their weapons, focusing only on Signum. She became covered in gunfire and smoke for a second or two, before they veered off and prepared for another run. When the smoke cleared Nanoha drew a sharp breath; Signum’s armor was scarred and dented. Her shield seemed to have failed, too, because there was blood dripping from a deep gash on her cheek. She was breathing heavily, Laevatein hanging by her side.

“Signum, are you alright?” she asked, contemplating breaking formation to support her.

Signum looked at her over her shoulder and rustled herself. “I’m fine. Continue the assault.”

Nanoha nodded back and turned to face the Wraths. This time they fired from afar, aiming for Vivio and herself. Some of the shots flew wide, but others hit where they were supposed to. Their shields absorbed them with ease. When the Wraths didn’t focus their fire, there wasn’t much to worry about. The danger was when they did, as they had done with Signum.

They continued to fire as they came closer, Nanoha responding with several Axel Shooters. Vivio started to glow as she gathered magical energy into her fists and then flew straight at the Wraths, dodging their fire. She got close to one of them and smashed it into pieces with one solid hit. She used the momentum to reach another before they veered off again. Debris fell from the sky, down on the forces beneath them.

“Just a few to go,” Vivio said, not showing any signs of fatigue.

The remaining Wraths put a far amount of distance between, which surprised Nanoha. That was different behavior from before; usually they would continue their assault until they or their enemy was destroyed. This was something else.

“What are they doing?” Signum asked, touching the wound on her cheek. She grimaced, but hid the pain after that.

“I don’t know,” Nanoha said. “Prepare for anything.”

The Wraths seemed to wait for something. Eventually they started to clump together, almost hooking their wings into each other to form a larger Wrath.

“What in the world…” Vivio whispered.

From each point of their wings, bright orbs began to glow. Lines started to form between each orb, culminating in the center ahead of the Wraths. The air around them began to warp, as if heat were rising from them. The rain seemed to bend around their hulls as well, creating a weird illusion.

“Is that a new weapon?” Signum asked.

“No idea,” Nanoha said, peering at the Wraths, “but we should gain some dis—“

The Wraths fired. A thick, white beam with a few smaller beams orbiting around it flew towards the trio that scattered before the beams reached them. The beams blew past them at a high speed, heading straight for the TSAB troops on the ground. They left a roaring wake of steam and crackling thunder in the air behind them.

“That was their plan? Shit! I’m mad now,” Vivio said, slamming her fists together again.

Nanoha felt helpless as the beam washed over the allied forces, annihilating them in less than a second. Compared to the magical beams of her own, Absolution weaponry was a mix of ordinary projectiles and energy beams… which meant they couldn’t pacify, only kill. She didn’t know how it felt to be hit by one of those beams, but judging from the scorched earth and burned armor that remained from the soldiers she didn’t want to find out.

It enraged her all the same. The Wraths disengaged from one another, but remained packed together as they picked up speed.

“I’ll settle this now,” she murmured and Raising Heart began to grow, adding modules. Light began to gather from the skies, magical remnants being absorbed. She had to use it before they dispersed. She wouldn’t get this chance again. The noise of fighting from below urged her on.

“Starlight…”

The Wraths seemed to sense something was happening. Signum and Vivio nodded to each other and split up, flying in a wide arc towards them. They wouldn’t get in the way as they intended to force the Wraths back together, closing any possible escape routes.

“Breaker!”

Whiteness. The beam covered the sky, an arc widening to encompass almost everything in front of her. Rain evaporated and the air bent around it as it pierced the heavens, leaving a deep rumble that rolled across the landscape for several miles. The Wraths exploded in puffs of smoke and fire, falling down to the earth, ruined and battered. A single one that had escaped the slaughter limped away with a broken wing, but Vivio finished it off with a fist, forcing it to crash into the mud and breaking into pieces.

Nanoha caught her breath, feeling victorious. That was that, the battle would be theirs now. She felt relieved, calm, as magic dust fell like snow all around her.

“Nanoha, we have trouble,” Yuuno said. His usual calmness was gone, ice filling his voice. What could it possibly be now? The area wasn’t so important, so why did the Absolution throw everything they had at them right now? They needed a break.

She groaned, brushing away a strand of hair on her sweaty brow, and collected herself. “What now? What do they throw at us this time?”

“We have to run.” He paused. “Check your devices.”

“Raising Heart?” she said, looking down.

[Aeon Bomb detected,] her device said flatly. [Advise gaining range.]

She grew cold, staring at the device. “They aren’t…” She grit her teeth. “But the rest of our forces! They won’t get away in time.”

“Neither will we if we don’t move now,” Vivio said. “There is nothing we can do. We can’t project a shield large enough. Damnit!”

“How could it get so fucking close without us knowing?” she snapped at Yuuno before she caught herself. Shame swept over her. She never spoke like that. What in the world was happening… “Sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s okay.” He sighed. “The detection system still needs work. That’s why.”

“We must move now,” Signum said.

Nanoha nodded, forcing herself to realize the truth. She couldn’t save them; they were already doomed. All that remained was—

She’d forgotten. Teana.

“Teana, where are you right now?” she shouted over the comms. That brought the rest of her squad into panicked attention. How could she have forgotten about one of her own? Insanity. She had never done that before.

“To the South, moving towards the forest,” Teana replied. Nanoha looked in that direction. It was a fair distance, but not enough to escape the blast radius. “Don’t worry about me, I can—“

“Keep running, I’m coming to get you!” She disconnected, refusing to hear any arguments from Teana. “Signum, take the rest and move away. I’ll be fine.”

“Mom…”

Pleading eyes from Vivio made her pause and she felt herself smile. “Don’t worry, Vivio. This is nothing.”

With that said, she shot away towards Teana. She let Raising Heart dissolve into its pendant and erected a shield in front of her, using it to redirect the airflow. While she was faster than most other mages, she had to increase her speed before the Aeon detonated. The raindrops shattered against her shield, leaving small whirlpools in her wake.

“Boosters, ready,” she murmured. She hadn’t used them to their full extent until now. She had only used them for fast maneuvering before so she didn’t know how powerful they were over longer distances. She felt the boosters on her ankles deploy their jet exhausts and a low wheezing noise reached her ears as they started to spin up.

“Boosters, on!”

The wind that had been so loud before became a deafening roar. She went deaf as the boosters activated and a white glare from behind her illuminated the sky all around her. That froze her to the core, because the boosters didn’t give off much light. Which meant…

She pushed them to their maximum. She saw Teana down below, at the edge of the forest, still running. Teana tossed a glance over her shoulder, spotting Nanoha, then the Aeon’s shockwave rushing towards her. Her eyes widened in shock and she pushed herself harder.

I have to make it, Nanoha thought. I can make it. It’s still possible. I have to… go faster…

Five seconds at the most remained until the shockwave would catch up. She could already feel the searing heat behind her, scorching the tip of her boots. She dove, gaining a little more speed, and aligned herself with ground, flying just a few centimeters above it. Mud was flung aside and strands of grass were ripped up with their roots as she passed. She had no idea how fast she was going.

She found she didn’t care.

“Teana!” Her words were drenched out by the chaos around her. The shockwave lay like a massive wall behind her and her skin frizzled from the heat mixed with energy. Just a little more. Two seconds; that was all she needed.

Teana stumbled just as Nanoha caught her in her arms.

The beast caught up to them.

*

“What do you mean, you lost them?” She turned to Mariam, eyes wide with shock and anger. “This can’t be happening!”

Mariam wrote furiously on her keyboard. She didn’t seem affected by the situation and kept her cool, though her eyes darted back and forth as if possessed. “The detonation wrecked havoc with our sensors. The frequency is all messed up. We have to wait until it clears to be certain.”

No. No! It can’t be, not now, Hayate thought, turning back to her console. She tried to regain control of her emotions. She had to remain calm until they knew for certain. Yes. That’s what she had to do. Not panic like a little girl. She had been through worse than this.

Right?

Of course she had. All the stress and loss that had collected itself in the past few days came crashing down onto her shoulders, trying to crush her. She wouldn’t let it. She would remain standing because she was still needed. Nanoha wouldn’t die from that. None of them would.

“Commander,” one of the navigators said, “God Fist on visuals.”

Hayate turned her attention to her screen and looked at the flagship of their defense fleet. Their orbit completed, they’d reached the rendezvous. It was a little larger than the rest of the warships, having been fitted with more armor than usual. It seemed bulkier, as if it had more muscle; a new concept, developed before the Absolution had arrived, and it had worked out well so far.

“Commander!” Same navigator, but her voice had changed into panic. That was never a good sign. “Several new signatures just appeared over the north-pole. The Absolution fleet has returned!”

We really don’t need this, Hayate thought and prepared her mind for battle. They just couldn’t catch a break. “Man all stations. Raise alert to highest. Prepare for battle.”

The Vengala turned, slowly, to face the new arrivals. So did the rest of the fleet as they, too, had discovered the threat. The Absolution fleet was already within engagement range and data flooded across her screen. The only reason the fleet hadn't fired was because they were still recharging their man drives.

The TSAB fleet had the upper hand, for now.

“Target the closest battlecruiser,” Hayate said, not bothering to wait for the rest of the fleet to call targets. “Once that is down, focus on the smaller ships. We can’t let them close this range.” She paused, looking at her screen. “Use everything we can afford to fire. Now!”

The Warship shuddered as it unleashed its full firepower. Hundreds of beams emerged from its hull and rushed across the emptiness of space towards the hostile fleet. Soon the rest of the warships were firing, coloring everything in white and yellow; rainbows of pure destruction. She couldn't even begin to count the amount of beams fired as the warships prepared to fire again, creating a lull in the volleys. The magical drives required a few seconds of recharge for each volley.

Not that it mattered. The poor ship that had been selected as the primary target became engulfed in energy that proceeded to rip it apart down to its bare molecules. It broke apart at the middle, its superstructure rupturing. Flames were suffocated as soon as they appeared and the remnants collided with the ships closest to it. They had all emerged way too close to each other; either brought on by a navigational error, or, as Hayate suspected, limitations with their jump drives. The ships that were bumped spiraled out of control in various directions.

Yet despite their inferiority in navigation, once their drives came online Hayate wouldn’t stand much of a chance unless they could lessen their numbers before that happened.

“Second volley firing,” the navigator said.

Another shudder, more beams. Each of them homed in on a ship of their own, destroying them as soon as they touched their shields. Flowers of destruction appeared over the planet as they all exploded simultaneously. The smaller ships didn’t have much in terms of defenses and the beams were too large to easily dodge.

“Thirty-two fighters down, Commander,” Mariam said. “However, the rest of the hostile fleet is preparing a counter attack.”

Hayate glanced at the screen and saw the Absolution starting to move away from each other, forming up in formation. Their weapons lined up to point towards the main allied fleet. “Shit. We’ve run out of time. Target the—“

The words stuck in her throat as a new Absolution ship emerged from warp, one she had never seen before. It dwarfed the other ships, towering above them. Gasps and murmurs made their way through Hayate’s crew. It was much wider than the other ships, almost as flat as a disc. A normal Absolution ship had a rectangular shape, which made this one even weirder. The ship’s middle had small open ports all around it and something was extending from them; weapons. Large ones.

Hayate stood as if rooted to the floor, staring at the behemoth. Only Mariam retained her cool, though she also hesitated slightly.

“Judging from our data it may be an Absolution Dreadnaught, Commander. Compared to all other ships in the enemy fleet, it has identified itself with a name.”

“And that is?”

“It is being translated now,” Mariam said, falling quiet. She stared at the screen as light began to form around the dreadnaught, gathering at a location on the disc that pointed towards the allied fleet. Hayate noticed it, too, and ice raced up her spine. This wasn’t good. She had to give an order, anything, but her mind was blank. They were too slow. What could they possibly do now?

“Well?” she asked.

“…Messiah…” Mariam whispered.

The behemoth called the Messiah fired, engulfing God Fist in hellfire.

Ooh, one of my favorite premises - magitech VS tech. Interesting start.

[Twi]

If I can make a recommendation for the beginning of the the new year, I thought that many of you might be interested in Game Theory since it was just completed and you could read it without waiting for the next chapter in painful anticipation. In it Precia accepts Fate and takes more proactive and positive steps in accomplishing her goal, meaning she doesn't act abusive and this changes the entire scope of the story, including the relationships between characters in canon.

[Justin_Brett]

You might be interested in the inevitable sequel, though, given the way it ends.

[Craxuan]

Btw, anyone interested in the latest Nanoha H-doujin game? XD XD

[Mr Coin]

Originally Posted by NorthernFallout

A bit... longer than I planned :x

Still. IT'S ON NOW.

Spoiler for The Unforgiving II:

The deafening noise stopped abruptly as the pod slammed into the earth. The shock absorbers built into her suit and her pod helped against the instant halt from terminal velocity, but it still rattled her teeth, making her jaw hurt. A second later the walls of the pod flew off and she burst out of it, Raising Heart at the ready. Teana had landed next to her and waited with Cross Mirage in one hand, a serious expression clouding her face. Other pods landed shortly afterwards, one by one, walls flying off and landing in the mud. Rain soon covered the metal pieces as it fell with massive drops, drenching the mages as well. The rain and wind wasn’t so cold that it annoyed her, but she could still feel a chill on her cheek the longer she exposed herself.

“Teana,” Nanoha said, approaching her. Since her hearing had returned to normal after the drop, she could now hear fighting close by. It seemed to come from over a ridge. “Scout ahead and report back. The rest of you,” she said and turned as they approached, “wait here for my command.”

“Understood,” Teana said and disappeared right in front of Nanoha. The active camouflage the engineers had modified to work more effectively together with her Optic Hide worked perfectly. Her suit, as Signum’s, was customized to make the most out of her skills; lighter and tighter, it gave her far more agility while sacrificing protection. She wasn’t meant to receive damage, though she still had her basic shield. The suit itself stuck to her skin like a second layer, similar to what the Numbers had once worn.

The only clue to her existence now was the splash of water as she traversed the fields.

Nanoha faced the others. All of them had a small shield over their heads to protect them from the rain. “Once Teana gives the all-clear we fly to the nearest battle and support them. Once we’ve pushed the enemy back, we start moving towards the next objective; Cranagan. We will start our search there.

“Yes,” they said in unison.

Then the wait began. They lunged around in the rain, observing their surroundings while chatting amongst each other. From what Nanoha remembered they stood in a field that had once bloomed with seeds meant for bread, one of the larger corporate farms outside Cranagan. Now all that remained was mud for as far as she could see. The rain secluded the mountains to the East and though she should have been able to see the skyscrapers of Cranagan to the West, all she saw was the rain and grey fog. The closest building she could see was the farm’s, and that had been razed to the ground. It had stopped burning a long time ago.


“Yuuno,” she said and waved him over. He walked over to her, almost slipping on the mud. Behind him, Vita lost another round of rock-paper-scissors to Vivio, throwing a fit about it. “The Absolution. Have you come up with anything else?”

He shook his head. “We don’t have enough data, Nanoha. Beyond what you already know, we’ve discovered from the initial strike that their purpose for coming here has a religious connection. Other than that…” He shrugged.

“Religious?”

“They view us as heretics, or something similar judging from what we’ve been able to decipher. We are, in their words; ‘to be brought in front of God to answer for our sins’.”

“It’s not even our God. If it exists. What sins are they babbling about? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

She bit her lip and grimaced. She wanted something concrete to direct her anger towards, a reason she could understand. Philosophical mumbojumbo was not her forté. “What about Aeon-bombs? Any news on that?”

“Do you remember a lecture a long time ago regarding Earth’s arsenal?” Yuuno said.

“Somewhat.” She giggled, allowing a smile. “I wasn’t really paying attention that time, Yuuno. I think I was busy thinking about a new spell or something…”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “How expected of you. Anyway, these Aeon bombs have similarities to hydrogen bombs when it comes to yield. It’s one of the most powerful weapons ever developed.”

“Oh, hydrogen bombs… Yeah, I know about those. We did have history lessons in Japan, you know.”

He raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before realizing what she meant. “Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, these Aeon bombs are similar to Arc-en-Ciel in a way. The Arc is a bit stronger, but there is a vital difference. That difference is why the Aeon is so much more dangerous.”

“And that is?”

“The Aeon is small enough to fit in a backpack.” He looked up towards the sky. “And since the Absolution uses androids as a majority of their fighting force…”

“Every one of them may carry an Aeon bomb since they can be sacrificed,” Nanoha finished for him. She groaned, closing her eyes. “What are we supposed to do about that?”

“Two things,” Yuuno said. “First, we can detect them from a long distance. It may give us the edge to escape the yield. All of your devices have been upgraded with that functionality. Secondly, judging from how little it is used relative to its size, they might not have that many of them.”

“Still, those aren’t good odds.”

“No, I suppose they aren’t.” He sighed, scratching his head. “If we combine our shields we might be able to create one strong enough to withstand the shockwave, though. A last hope, you could say, in case we get cornered.”

Nanoha nodded, saying nothing. Instead she clasped Yuuno’s hand, looking him deep in the eye. He looked back, surprised, and then smiled. He was more to her than a mentor and friend, she knew that. Nevertheless, she had lost sight of him in the past for whatever reason. Now that the world had become like this, she was determined not to do it again. She would save him. She would save Fate.

She would save them all even if she had to walk towards the end of the world.

“Please be careful,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.”

He nodded, squeezing her hand. “I promise.”

“Nanoha.” Teana’s voice interrupted the moment. It came from her headset with just a hint of static. “There is a battle on-going to the North. No anti-air is deployed and they seem distracted by our allied forces for the time being.”

“How are they holding up?” Nanoha asked, letting go of Yuuno’s hand.

“Outnumbered, but they are holding for now.” A pause. “Shit. You have to hurry. I see several tanks coming in. They will overrun their position.”

“Then we move.” She turned to the others. They had all become alert from her exchange with Teana and were now facing her. “Everyone, go!”

Streaks of light appeared as they all shot into the sky. Since Teana was the only one without the capability of flight, she would remain on the ground and provide intel in case something happened. It allowed Nanoha to focus on the battle at hand, which she could now see in front of her through the rain thanks to her high altitude. The first thing she noticed was the gunfire cutting through the air, bright lines appearing for the fraction of a second over and over. There hundreds of them, both allies and hostiles, the latter getting closer to the former.

“Zafira, Yuuno. Veer off to support our allies. Signum, Vita, Vivio, on me. Let’s break through.”

“Aye!”

The six broke into four and two, turning in opposite directions. Nanoha opted for a higher path than the rest as she prepared for air-to-ground support. Signum and Vita went lower, almost touching the ground, as they aimed for the middle of the enemy. Vivio remained between them in case she needed to support either of them. She would be on stand-by until that moment, just as they had trained.

[Target sighted], Raising Heart said and locked onto the tanks in the distance Teana had reported. Ten of them moved through the mud, their treads kicking up dirt as they moved. They were hard to see in the rain since they had the same color as the ground and had a low profile. [Loading parameters. Core synchronization starting.]

Nanoha glanced at Signum and Vita as they arrived at their position, slamming into the androids that walked close to one another. Chains of fire cut them in half in an eye blink while Graf Eisen proceeded to smash them into metallic dust. Concentrated gunfire rained down upon the two within a few seconds, causing their shields to flicker as they moved back to back, spinning around wrecking havoc. A few shots pierced through eventually, but only glanced off their armor. It would take more than that to bring the two heavy-hitters down, especially when it came to Vita. Her armor was the strongest of them all, almost encasing her inside it, and together with her small build she was even harder to hit.

[Target locked, ready.]

A scope materialized on Raising Heart’s handle and Nanoha peered into it, targeting reticules appearing over five of the ten tanks. White light started to gather behind her together with a constantly rising noise. Raising Heart began to hum as magical energy began to accumulate. The shaft vibrated in her hands and she had to tighten her grip to hold it in place.

“Divine Buster Extension Repeat!”

One second separated each of the beams that shot out from the device. They soared one after another through the rain, making it fizzle, leaving a trail of steam behind them, before they hit the tanks. The energy beam pierced their armor, melting it, and proceeded to burrow through the entire tank until it reached the ground. Each of the tanks burst into flames as their fuel and ammo deposits ignited. The explosions that followed created shockwaves that threw the rain away for a moment before it started to fall again.

“Five to go,” she mumbled as cannon fire graced her shield. She dodged with ease as the remaining tanks had stopped and now fired at her with their main cannons. While their combined firepower would destroy anything the TSAB could throw at them on the ground, they were too slow to track a small, moving target. Dodging them wasn’t a problem as long as they didn’t get reinforcements.

[Target locked, ready.]

Nanoha fired again. The remaining five tanks were destroyed in a mixture of fire, energy and mud. “Armor destroyed,” she relayed to the others. “You don’t have to worry about them anymore—“

“Nanoha!” Teana’s voice. She sounded frantic. “Incoming Wraths from the South!”

Wraths; agile and fast air fighters that looked like malformed hawks. With two pointy wings angled backwards, their shape was thin and slim. She turned and peered into the distance, but she couldn’t see them yet thanks to the fog. “Vivio, I need some backup on this one.”

“Coming.”

Nanoha aligned Raising Heart towards where she thought the Wraths were coming from based on Teana’s last report. She analyzed the situation in her head, but without knowing their numbers there wasn’t much she could do. Starlight Breaker was an alternative, but the magical debris around her wasn’t enough. Besides, if she missed just a few they would have a free shot at the ordinary troops. If they just weren’t so damn quick, she thought, we could take them out before they get too close.

As it was, the Wraths would outrun them if they fled, and dodge any long range attacks. She’d never seen machines that fast before.

“Mom.” Vivio arrived beside her, punching her clenched fists together, wearing a grin. “I’m ready.”

Nanoha grinned back at her. Even amongst all this destruction, her daughter remained how she always was; eager for a fight, ready to go. She hadn’t changed at all since the days of the invasion.

“Wraths visible,” Teana reported. “There are… twenty of them?”

Nanoha’s grin froze. The most she had fought at once was seven. But twenty of them? They needed help. A lot of it. “Vita. Think you can handle those androids by yourself?”

The short girl laughed, noises of war in the background. “What do you take me for, Nanoha? Of course I can take care of these scraps of metal. Signum, go.”

“Yes.”

Nanoha looked down to see a pink streak of light moving up towards her, leaving Vita behind. With the chains of fire gone, all that remained was the hammer. Not that it mattered; the androids clumped together even more now and Graf Eisen dispatched of them with swift, powerful strikes. If anything, Vita seemed to grow more effective when she didn’t have to think about Signum being in the way for the wall of steel. Jet fire grew brighter from Graf Eisen, accelerating the device and its master into a whirlstorm of crushing death. Metal limbs and electronics flew in all directions as she rampaged through them.

“That girl,” Nanoha muttered. “She’s still amazing.”

When Signum arrived she positioned herself in front of Nanoha, Vivio remaining by Nanoha’s side. It was a classic triad position, meant to protect the ranged mage at the back. It wouldn’t be very effective against Wraths, but she hoped it would buy them some time. They needed it.

The Wraths appeared from the clouds, bearing down upon them.

“Here they come!”

Nanoha and Vivio opened fire immediately, the former opting for Axel Shooter while the latter fired off her modified Divine Buster. The Axel beams intersected, spinning around their own axis, before spreading out and piercing three of the Wraths before they had the chance to retaliate. The larger and more powerful Divine Buster beam missed most of its targets as they dodged, but still managed to grace two more Wraths that fell out of the sky, smoke bellowing out from the fuselage.

A few seconds later, after Vivio managed another Divine Buster since it had such a short recharge time, the Wraths were already upon them. Signum raised Laevatein above her head and extended him again, casting Schlangebeißen. The sword disengaged from itself into several parts and rammed the incoming Wraths, hooking them onto the sharp parts. With a quick move of her arm she intended to slam them into the rest of their comrades, but they avoided her before she could do it.

All of the Wraths that had survived so far closed the distance and unleashed their weapons, focusing only on Signum. She became covered in gunfire and smoke for a second or two, before they veered off and prepared for another run. When the smoke cleared Nanoha drew a sharp breath; Signum’s armor was scarred and dented. Her shield seemed to have failed, too, because there was blood dripping from a deep gash on her cheek. She was breathing heavily, Laevatein hanging by her side.

“Signum, are you alright?” she asked, contemplating breaking formation to support her.

Signum looked at her over her shoulder and rustled herself. “I’m fine. Continue the assault.”

Nanoha nodded back and turned to face the Wraths. This time they fired from afar, aiming for Vivio and herself. Some of the shots flew wide, but others hit where they were supposed to. Their shields absorbed them with ease. When the Wraths didn’t focus their fire, there wasn’t much to worry about. The danger was when they did, as they had done with Signum.

They continued to fire as they came closer, Nanoha responding with several Axel Shooters. Vivio started to glow as she gathered magical energy into her fists and then flew straight at the Wraths, dodging their fire. She got close to one of them and smashed it into pieces with one solid hit. She used the momentum to reach another before they veered off again. Debris fell from the sky, down on the forces beneath them.

“Just a few to go,” Vivio said, not showing any signs of fatigue.

The remaining Wraths put a far amount of distance between, which surprised Nanoha. That was different behavior from before; usually they would continue their assault until they or their enemy was destroyed. This was something else.

“What are they doing?” Signum asked, touching the wound on her cheek. She grimaced, but hid the pain after that.

“I don’t know,” Nanoha said. “Prepare for anything.”

The Wraths seemed to wait for something. Eventually they started to clump together, almost hooking their wings into each other to form a larger Wrath.

“What in the world…” Vivio whispered.

From each point of their wings, bright orbs began to glow. Lines started to form between each orb, culminating in the center ahead of the Wraths. The air around them began to warp, as if heat were rising from them. The rain seemed to bend around their hulls as well, creating a weird illusion.

“Is that a new weapon?” Signum asked.

“No idea,” Nanoha said, peering at the Wraths, “but we should gain some dis—“

The Wraths fired. A thick, white beam with a few smaller beams orbiting around it flew towards the trio that scattered before the beams reached them. The beams blew past them at a high speed, heading straight for the TSAB troops on the ground. They left a roaring wake of steam and crackling thunder in the air behind them.

“That was their plan? Shit! I’m mad now,” Vivio said, slamming her fists together again.

Nanoha felt helpless as the beam washed over the allied forces, annihilating them in less than a second. Compared to the magical beams of her own, Absolution weaponry was a mix of ordinary projectiles and energy beams… which meant they couldn’t pacify, only kill. She didn’t know how it felt to be hit by one of those beams, but judging from the scorched earth and burned armor that remained from the soldiers she didn’t want to find out.

It enraged her all the same. The Wraths disengaged from one another, but remained packed together as they picked up speed.

“I’ll settle this now,” she murmured and Raising Heart began to grow, adding modules. Light began to gather from the skies, magical remnants being absorbed. She had to use it before they dispersed. She wouldn’t get this chance again. The noise of fighting from below urged her on.

“Starlight…”

The Wraths seemed to sense something was happening. Signum and Vivio nodded to each other and split up, flying in a wide arc towards them. They wouldn’t get in the way as they intended to force the Wraths back together, closing any possible escape routes.

“Breaker!”

Whiteness. The beam covered the sky, an arc widening to encompass almost everything in front of her. Rain evaporated and the air bent around it as it pierced the heavens, leaving a deep rumble that rolled across the landscape for several miles. The Wraths exploded in puffs of smoke and fire, falling down to the earth, ruined and battered. A single one that had escaped the slaughter limped away with a broken wing, but Vivio finished it off with a fist, forcing it to crash into the mud and breaking into pieces.

Nanoha caught her breath, feeling victorious. That was that, the battle would be theirs now. She felt relieved, calm, as magic dust fell like snow all around her.

“Nanoha, we have trouble,” Yuuno said. His usual calmness was gone, ice filling his voice. What could it possibly be now? The area wasn’t so important, so why did the Absolution throw everything they had at them right now? They needed a break.

She groaned, brushing away a strand of hair on her sweaty brow, and collected herself. “What now? What do they throw at us this time?”

“We have to run.” He paused. “Check your devices.”

“Raising Heart?” she said, looking down.

[Aeon Bomb detected,] her device said flatly. [Advise gaining range.]

She grew cold, staring at the device. “They aren’t…” She grit her teeth. “But the rest of our forces! They won’t get away in time.”

“Neither will we if we don’t move now,” Vivio said. “There is nothing we can do. We can’t project a shield large enough. Damnit!”

“How could it get so fucking close without us knowing?” she snapped at Yuuno before she caught herself. Shame swept over her. She never spoke like that. What in the world was happening… “Sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s okay.” He sighed. “The detection system still needs work. That’s why.”

“We must move now,” Signum said.

Nanoha nodded, forcing herself to realize the truth. She couldn’t save them; they were already doomed. All that remained was—

She’d forgotten. Teana.

“Teana, where are you right now?” she shouted over the comms. That brought the rest of her squad into panicked attention. How could she have forgotten about one of her own? Insanity. She had never done that before.

“To the South, moving towards the forest,” Teana replied. Nanoha looked in that direction. It was a fair distance, but not enough to escape the blast radius. “Don’t worry about me, I can—“

“Keep running, I’m coming to get you!” She disconnected, refusing to hear any arguments from Teana. “Signum, take the rest and move away. I’ll be fine.”

“Mom…”

Pleading eyes from Vivio made her pause and she felt herself smile. “Don’t worry, Vivio. This is nothing.”

With that said, she shot away towards Teana. She let Raising Heart dissolve into its pendant and erected a shield in front of her, using it to redirect the airflow. While she was faster than most other mages, she had to increase her speed before the Aeon detonated. The raindrops shattered against her shield, leaving small whirlpools in her wake.

“Boosters, ready,” she murmured. She hadn’t used them to their full extent until now. She had only used them for fast maneuvering before so she didn’t know how powerful they were over longer distances. She felt the boosters on her ankles deploy their jet exhausts and a low wheezing noise reached her ears as they started to spin up.

“Boosters, on!”

The wind that had been so loud before became a deafening roar. She went deaf as the boosters activated and a white glare from behind her illuminated the sky all around her. That froze her to the core, because the boosters didn’t give off much light. Which meant…

She pushed them to their maximum. She saw Teana down below, at the edge of the forest, still running. Teana tossed a glance over her shoulder, spotting Nanoha, then the Aeon’s shockwave rushing towards her. Her eyes widened in shock and she pushed herself harder.

I have to make it, Nanoha thought. I can make it. It’s still possible. I have to… go faster…

Five seconds at the most remained until the shockwave would catch up. She could already feel the searing heat behind her, scorching the tip of her boots. She dove, gaining a little more speed, and aligned herself with ground, flying just a few centimeters above it. Mud was flung aside and strands of grass were ripped up with their roots as she passed. She had no idea how fast she was going.

She found she didn’t care.

“Teana!” Her words were drenched out by the chaos around her. The shockwave lay like a massive wall behind her and her skin frizzled from the heat mixed with energy. Just a little more. Two seconds; that was all she needed.

Teana stumbled just as Nanoha caught her in her arms.

The beast caught up to them.

*

“What do you mean, you lost them?” She turned to Mariam, eyes wide with shock and anger. “This can’t be happening!”

Mariam wrote furiously on her keyboard. She didn’t seem affected by the situation and kept her cool, though her eyes darted back and forth as if possessed. “The detonation wrecked havoc with our sensors. The frequency is all messed up. We have to wait until it clears to be certain.”

No. No! It can’t be, not now, Hayate thought, turning back to her console. She tried to regain control of her emotions. She had to remain calm until they knew for certain. Yes. That’s what she had to do. Not panic like a little girl. She had been through worse than this.

Right?

Of course she had. All the stress and loss that had collected itself in the past few days came crashing down onto her shoulders, trying to crush her. She wouldn’t let it. She would remain standing because she was still needed. Nanoha wouldn’t die from that. None of them would.

“Commander,” one of the navigators said, “God Fist on visuals.”

Hayate turned her attention to her screen and looked at the flagship of their defense fleet. Their orbit completed, they’d reached the rendezvous. It was a little larger than the rest of the warships, having been fitted with more armor than usual. It seemed bulkier, as if it had more muscle; a new concept, developed before the Absolution had arrived, and it had worked out well so far.

“Commander!” Same navigator, but her voice had changed into panic. That was never a good sign. “Several new signatures just appeared over the north-pole. The Absolution fleet has returned!”

We really don’t need this, Hayate thought and prepared her mind for battle. They just couldn’t catch a break. “Man all stations. Raise alert to highest. Prepare for battle.”

The Vengala turned, slowly, to face the new arrivals. So did the rest of the fleet as they, too, had discovered the threat. The Absolution fleet was already within engagement range and data flooded across her screen. The only reason the fleet hadn't fired was because they were still recharging their man drives.

The TSAB fleet had the upper hand, for now.

“Target the closest battlecruiser,” Hayate said, not bothering to wait for the rest of the fleet to call targets. “Once that is down, focus on the smaller ships. We can’t let them close this range.” She paused, looking at her screen. “Use everything we can afford to fire. Now!”

The Warship shuddered as it unleashed its full firepower. Hundreds of beams emerged from its hull and rushed across the emptiness of space towards the hostile fleet. Soon the rest of the warships were firing, coloring everything in white and yellow; rainbows of pure destruction. She couldn't even begin to count the amount of beams fired as the warships prepared to fire again, creating a lull in the volleys. The magical drives required a few seconds of recharge for each volley.

Not that it mattered. The poor ship that had been selected as the primary target became engulfed in energy that proceeded to rip it apart down to its bare molecules. It broke apart at the middle, its superstructure rupturing. Flames were suffocated as soon as they appeared and the remnants collided with the ships closest to it. They had all emerged way too close to each other; either brought on by a navigational error, or, as Hayate suspected, limitations with their jump drives. The ships that were bumped spiraled out of control in various directions.

Yet despite their inferiority in navigation, once their drives came online Hayate wouldn’t stand much of a chance unless they could lessen their numbers before that happened.

“Second volley firing,” the navigator said.

Another shudder, more beams. Each of them homed in on a ship of their own, destroying them as soon as they touched their shields. Flowers of destruction appeared over the planet as they all exploded simultaneously. The smaller ships didn’t have much in terms of defenses and the beams were too large to easily dodge.

“Thirty-two fighters down, Commander,” Mariam said. “However, the rest of the hostile fleet is preparing a counter attack.”

Hayate glanced at the screen and saw the Absolution starting to move away from each other, forming up in formation. Their weapons lined up to point towards the main allied fleet. “Shit. We’ve run out of time. Target the—“

The words stuck in her throat as a new Absolution ship emerged from warp, one she had never seen before. It dwarfed the other ships, towering above them. Gasps and murmurs made their way through Hayate’s crew. It was much wider than the other ships, almost as flat as a disc. A normal Absolution ship had a rectangular shape, which made this one even weirder. The ship’s middle had small open ports all around it and something was extending from them; weapons. Large ones.

Hayate stood as if rooted to the floor, staring at the behemoth. Only Mariam retained her cool, though she also hesitated slightly.

“Judging from our data it may be an Absolution Dreadnaught, Commander. Compared to all other ships in the enemy fleet, it has identified itself with a name.”

“And that is?”

“It is being translated now,” Mariam said, falling quiet. She stared at the screen as light began to form around the dreadnaught, gathering at a location on the disc that pointed towards the allied fleet. Hayate noticed it, too, and ice raced up her spine. This wasn’t good. She had to give an order, anything, but her mind was blank. They were too slow. What could they possibly do now?

“Well?” she asked.

“…Messiah…” Mariam whispered.

The behemoth called the Messiah fired, engulfing God Fist in hellfire.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Another story with more battles and less over-rated and over-written romance stories of you know who are they couples!

Is this taken from the last Chapter of Kaiser's Divine Grimiore and I feel the Mecha and Magic battles are going to be awesome.

But there is still something off, it could be that this chapter is lacking an expression of doom. I can feel the dread that the characters are experiencing with their helplessness but the experience and portrayal of an upcoming Armageddon is not completely told.

I'll just have to wait for the upcoming chapter.

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Are the other worlds affected as well. Both Administered and non-administered?

Originally Posted by Craxuan

Btw, anyone interested in the latest Nanoha H-doujin game? XD XD

Congratulations on finishing the two Goddesses.

I wonder where is Fate right now after she went rouge. I wish you did not bus-ed her.

[bhl88]

Originally Posted by Craxuan

Btw, anyone interested in the latest Nanoha H-doujin game? XD XD

Wait, there is?
Who is the seme and uke?

[Craxuan]

seme? uke?

[Nanya01]

Spoiler for RL comments:

Hey guys. I know it's been awhile, but...

Real Life's been kicking me to the curb the last few weeks.

Between getting my car wrecked, (basically) losing a job and worrying about being kicked out of the house, I haven't had the motivation to do much writing.

Plus my muse wasn't cooperating.

But, at least I have this to share. It's longer than usual.

ViVid

Revolution 1-10

Revolution 11

Revolution 12

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Revolution 13:

Outside...

Arashi rubbed his eyes as he, Corona, Vivio and Einhart got out of that shack. "Ugh, too hot." He couldn't imagine how someone could work in such conditions so easily. "Now what?"

"Hope that Lyos will take us to somewhere we can get into contact the Bureau." Einhart leaned against the shack and sighed heavily. "I'd rather not face things like these Mazoku again." She could barely touch them, how the heck could anyone hope to harm them with anything if they weren't really there? Even with her progress with Black magic, she doubted that she'd be too much more effective against them than she already was. 'Maybe if I had that Dragon Slayer spell that Pokota used?'

Einhart's eyes widened as she saw a large red sphere heading their way. "Watch out!" She tackled Arashi out of the way as the sphere passed by where he was a moment ago, hitting the ground with a thunderous explosion.

Blinking, Arashi looked at Einhart, who was only inches away from his face. "Ah, thanks." She nodded and got off of him as Teo flew over to her and activated, allowing her to go to her adult mode just as Vivio did the same with Sacred Heart.

Corona gripped Brunzel tightly, wondering what she could do in this situation. She gasped and stared in shock, along with the others as monsters of all shapes and sizes moved towards them. "What are they?"

"Lesser Demons!" Corona turned to see Lyos, Nila, Pokota and Nove rush out of the shack. "Damn, there's a lot."

"What's a Lesser Demon?" Nove narrowed her eyes. "Some sort of Mazoku?"

"Incredibly weak though, they're bonded with physical items, so you can beat them with normal weapons and spells, but they're as tough as a boulder." Unsheathing Banisher, the man grinned as water started to spiral around the large blade. "Not that it matters to me in the slightest."

"You might want to reconsider your position." A gruff voice spoke up as a beast man that looked like a humanoid tiger in an unusual armor stepped forward. "After all, Knight of the Aqualord, you'll have to deal with me."

"Duclis!" Pokota couldn't believe that his old friend would work with Mazoku of all creatures. "What's going on? Why are you attacking?! You know that I've..."

"Ah, Pokota," the beastman's growling voice was almost sorrowful as he spoke. "It's been so long, I thought you had died."

"No way!" Pokota swung his arms to the side. "Come on! Help us! We finally have an item that might just break the seal on Taforashia! We can finally."

"It won't matter." Duclis closed his eyes as he shook his head. "The kingdom's long gone and its people forgotten. There's nothing left..." A red blade snapped to life in his right hand. "Except revenge against all those who refused to help.

"Duclis..." Pokota couldn't keep the shock off of his face. "Why?"

"Even with all the advances in technology, especially to medicine, no one has tried to save Taforashia. For that, they will all die."

"I didn't even know there was a Taforashia." Vivio grunted as Einhart elbowed her in the side.

"Not now." Einhart muttered and looked around, wondering how to deal with these things.

"Knight of the Aqua Lord, you're mine, as for your friends..." Duclis raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. "I hope they can handle Lesser Demons, some Mazoku and a magic tank."

"No! You didn't!" Pokota stared in shock as he looked past Duclis and saw what looked like a deformed elephant head on wheels heading his way. "Duclis!"

"Destroy all of them!"

The Lesser Demons let out a scream and rushed through the air towards the group.

A second later, a piercing white light crossed over the group, destroying the lead attackers in an instant. The other Lesser Demons stopped their assualt and looked at the one who had attacked them.

"Nila!" Lyos saw her out of the corner of his eye. "Think you can take them out?"

She nodded and pointed her right index finger at the Lesser Demons again. "Abyss Flare." Was all she whispered when another similar beam of white lanced out, burning away the Lesser Demons in its path.

Lyos smirked at Duclis and ran forward, his sword slammed into Duclis' much thinner energy blade. His eyes widened as the water around his sword dissipated. "What the?"

"Surprised, boy?" Duclis threw his arm to the side, knocking Lyos off balance before grabbing his clothes and throwing him over his shoulder. "Knight of the Aqua Lord you might be, but the Zannafar Armor makes me immune to your magic."

"Zannafar, huh?" Lyos rolled to his feet and narrowed his eyes. "I've heard of that, it's dangerous, but it makes you unkillable normally." Water formed around his blade before hardening and becoming ice. "I wonder, what's better? Your armor or my sword?"

Duclis snarled and rushed Lyos, his energy blade slashing into the Banisher. Duclis' eyes widened as the ice only gave a slight crack but did not shatter. "How?"

"This ice is so dense that I could use it to cut a mountain into pieces." Lyos smirked and pulled his sword back before swinging horizontally at Duclis, which the beastman parried with his energy blade . "You think you're good enough?!" Lyos yelled as he brought his sword around and over his head, dropping it down on Duclis, who leaned out of the way to avoid the strike.

A sudden concentrated burst of water sent Duclis flying backwards. The beastman growled and threw his arms to the side, breaking the water apart. "Fool!" He glared at Lyos as his energy sword shrank in size. "You think that you can stop me with something so pathetic?"

"Well, usually I don't have to work much harder than that." Lyos smirked at him. "Usually my enemies are pretty pathetic." He smirked as the air around him started to waver. "Shall we see just what I can really do with water?"

Duclis just sneered at him as a second energy blade formed in his left hand. "Let's see you be cocky when I'm done with you." He suddenly threw the energy blades in his hands forward like a spear, shocking Lyos enough tha the was just barely able to create a wall of ice to stop the attack cold.

"Didn't know you could do that." Lyos admitted as the air continued to waver. "Guess I can't play anymore." With a yell, he rushed in, his sword held high above his head as he twisted around a couple of more thrown energy spears before slashing downwards, striking Duclis on his chest and getting the beastman to grunt in surprise and his eyes widened as the sword slammed into him with such force that he was sent flying backwards into and through a tree, causing it to break and collapse around him.

Duclis looked up with narrowed eyes, that attack didn't hurt him at all, but it was obvious that he had seriously underestimated the Knight's strength. When Lyos pointed his sword forward, Duclis wondered what was going on, until he saw the air boiling around the sword. "Oh hell."

Lyos smirked as the boiling water spun around his sword before launching itself at Duclis in such a way that it looked like a coiled spring. The water raced at him so loudly it sounded like a thunderclap had gone off as it tore the ground asunder and slammed into Duclis with the force of a stampeding dragon and sending him crashing to the ground several feet away.

Duclis growled as he got up. This was starting to get annoying.

(---)

"Stay back!" Nove yelled at the girls as she called up her Barrier Jacket. "Just stay back here, I'm not losing anymore of you!"

Arashi nodded as Nove used her Airliner to rush towards the Lesser Demons. "Good luck." He whispered and turned around as he heard the door to the shack suddenly opened. "Ixy, we're in trouble."

"It's Ixpellia." She muttered as she held her new sword in her right hand and looked at the descending demons that Nila was destroying from just a few feet away. "This is bad." She muttered and jumped back as several dark hands erupted through the ground. "What the?"

"Come here..." A female voice spoke up from somewhere. "Come play with Grelia."

Turning around, Nila pointed her hand at the ground and several white beams of energy pierced the ground, getting a scream from the shadows.

"Excuse me." Ozel said softly as she chopped another hand apart. "I cannot let you harm these children." She looked at Nila. "Continue to deal with those creatures, these blades were created to harm Astral creatures."

Nodding, Nila turned back to the Lesser Demons and ran forward, launching several large spheres of fire into the group.

"You think normal swords can stop me?" Grelia's voice was heard around the group as the multiple shadow arms lashed out at them. "I'm not so easy."

Ozel slashed through three arms and watched as they disappeared. "Could have fooled me."

"Hey!" Vivio yelped as she formed a multi-colored sphere in her hands. "Watch where you're grabbing!"

"Oh ho?" Grelia chuckled as more hands formed out of the ground and shot at Vivio. "Don't like it when I grab you, huh?"

"Divine... BUSTER!" Vivio let out a scream as she punched the sphere, sending out a burst of magical energy that had Grelia screaming in pain. "Take that!"

"How?!" Grelia hissed as steam came out of the ground. "I'll kill you!"

"Vivio!" Ixpellia yelled as she saw several hands erupt out of Vivio's own shadow and wrap around her body before grabbing her throat and squeezing. "Vivio!"

Vivio grabbed at her throat as her air was cut off but found that she couldn't grab anything as the shadows were completely incorporeal.

"Vivio!" Einhart yelled as she spun around and held an open palm out at her friend. "Hold still! Elemekia Lance!" The energy blade she launched at Vivio hit her square in the chest, but it made Grelia hiss in pain and let go of Vivio's throat.

Vivio dropped to her knees as the hands let go of her body and gasped to get air back into her lungs.

"Vivio!" Einhart ran towards her friend but jumped back as a hand shot straight out at her. "Are you okay?"

Vivio nodded and rolled away, quickly getting to her feet and looking around. "Worse than I thought." She mumbled to herself.

Meanwhile, Corona whimpered as she quickly backed up against the shack. What could she do? Her golems were next to useless in this kind of fight. Even if she could create a golem to fight against those Lesser Demons, what would happen if one of those Mazoku things came after her?

"Why?" She whimpered and fell to her knees. "Why am I so weak?"

A snapping noise drew her attention and Corona turned, only to go pale as she gasped. "No..."

The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was a grinning face.

(---)

Pokota grumbled as he blasted another Lesser Demon while making his way to the magic tanks that were firing down at the shack. Well, trying to, he was quick to intercept the attacks as he got close. "I'll take you out from here, you bastard!"

"Oh? We haven't even met yet, it's quite rude to call me a bastard." A male voice spoke up and Pokota spun around to see a trim man in what looked like a skin tight black body suit, blonde hair that was combed back and a handsome face...

Well, half of a face, the entire right side was just white, as if it was paper for an artist who had grown bored with the drawing and just stopped.

"Do I frighten you? My name is Vizea."

"Mazoku." Pokota growled and glanced at the tank as it took aim at the shack again. "Oh no you don't."

"I think it does." Vizea smirked as black spiraling spears shot out of the white of his face.

Pokota's eyes widened as he had to dodge out of the way of cannon fire and the black spears. "Dammit!" He screamed as he watched the attack got near the shack, sending his companions sprawling.

"Oh, too bad." Vizea smirked at him. "If only you had time to cast the Dragon Slave..." Pokota glared at him and the Mazoku chuckled. "I imagine that the reason you didn't cast it before was because there were too many Lesser Demons between you and the tank?"

"Elmekia Flame!"

"Now, now!" Vizea jumped backwards, twisted to the side and bent backwards to avoid the attacks. "Is that any way to talk to me?" Chuckling, the Mazoku flung his arms out at Pokota, causing more spears of darkness to fling at the rabbit. "After all, Mr. Duclis was so kind as to tell me so much about you over the years." When Pokota stared at him in shock, the Mazoku continued, grinning at him. "Who would have thought that such a puny little animal was actually a prince, hmm? Maybe we should tell your companions what you're hiding? How it was your kingdom that once had these weapons."

Pokota growled and grabbed at his chest, revealing a zipper in the middle of it. "You... Shut up!" Pulling it down with his long ears, he reached inside and pulled out what looked to be a sword hilt. "Light Come Forth!"

For the first time, Vizea looked rather stunned. "What? The Sword of Light? But that's impossible! It was sent back to the Dark staff years ago!"

Pokota would have answered, but he was distracted by a cannon firing. "Damn you!"

"That won't work!" Vizea snapped his hands out as Pokota tried to fly to the tank again, sending several black spikes in front of the rabbit. "You won't be interfering with our plan."

Pokota narrowed his eyes at the Mazoku. "Fine! Dark MIST!" He clapped his hands in front of him and a blanket of darkness covered the immediate area, blocking out all light. Pokota was a bit dismayed to find that he could barely see the Sword of Light in this darkness, but he could live with that, he knew what he needed to do.

"Blocking my sight?" Vizea snorted as he looked around. "My eyes are beyond anything a mere human has. I don't need to see you to find you."

"Oh, I know that." Pokota's voice came from his left. "But I didn't use this to hide from you."

Vizea snorted as he fired several dark spears into the mist. "It doesn't matter, you're going to die."

"Yeah, you are." Vizea's eye widened as he heard Pokota's voice from right behind him. "Got'cha!"

"What?!" Vizea jumped back, but not before his left arm was removed from his body. "GUH!"

"I missed." Pokota muttered as he flew through the mist. "Oh well, that should buy me enough time."

Grunting, Vizea fell to his knees and gripped his arm. "Damn, I was careless, I'll just..."

"Darkness Beyond Twilight...
Crimson Beyond Blood That Flows
Buried in the Stream of Time
Is Where your power grows
I pledge myself to conquer
All the Foes that stand
Against the mighty gift bestowed
In my unworthy hand
Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed
by the power you and I possess..."

Vizea could only gape as the Dark Mist spiraled and gave way to a grinning rabbit holding a red and black sphere above his head. "No..."

"Yep!" Pokota grinned as he thrust his ear-hands forward. "DRAGON SLAVE!"

Vizea's eye widened as his pupil shrank in fear. "Damn you." He muttered as the spell rushed in on him.

Pokota nodded as the Dragon Slave easily destroyed the magic tank and the Mazoku disappeared in the explosion. "That's one less..." He trailed off as a brilliant light caught his attention. "What the heck is that?"

(---)

Nove growled as she kicked another Lesser Demon's head off. At least most of these things seemed made out of gargoyle statues and not something worse. She was thankful for the support from down below, though she suspected something bad was happening. "This is too easy."

"You think so?" Uno's voice spoke up from her left foot. "I mean, it's not like these things are made of granite even. I think it's just some softer stones."

"I'd be more worried about the fact that the shadows seem to be attacking our friends." Jail spoke up and Nove's eyes widened as she spun around on her Airliner and saw the dark hands trying to attack her friends.

"Dammit!" Nove cursed and started to move forward, but stopped as several Lesser Demons got in her way. "Fuck! They're just a distraction!"

"A dangerous one." Jail said as the clawed hands of the Lesser Demons suddenly got longer and sharper than before.

"Obviously!" Uno snorted at him. "Though, I have to wonder, if they're just a distraction, what for? Do any of us have anything their master would want?"

"Now's not the time!" Nove growled as she jumped back and reactivated her Airliner. "Just..." She kicked one in the arm and grinned as she kicked through it. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" The cyborg screamed as she quickly spun around and slammed her feet into the Lesser Demon's face, causing it to fall apart. "...I'm beginning to think that these aren't Demons at all."

"Figured it out?" A whispered voice reached Nove as she looked around for the source of it. Surprisingly, the creatures around her weren't moving. "They aren't true Lesser Demons, but rather stone constructs, similar to your friend's golem that she used before."

"What about Corona?" Nove hissed as she reached for her gauntlet and did some adjusting to the device.

"Oh, is that her name?" The voice whispered some more. "I wouldn't know, all I know is that it was interesting. And making these constructs look and feel like Lesser Demons was so useful."

"You were after Corona, weren't you?" Uno's voice broke into the conversation. "What good is a girl who can only create golems anyway?"

"I'm afraid that's not my place to tell you. But if you survive, maybe you'll find out." A snapping sound was heard and the constructs let out a bellow and rushed in.

Nove smirked and held her arms to the side. "Why don't you just... Chill?" She spun around a few times as a blue cloud erupted from her gauntlets, instantly freezing the constructs and sending them to the ground below, where they shattered into pieces.

Ignoring them, Nove rushed back to the shack and hoped that she wasn't too late. Sure, from what she could see, everyone was still alive and well, but they were still so far away from her. "What I wouldn't give to know how to teleport." She muttered as she moved as fast as she could.

(---)

Duclis smirked as he threw a tree at Lyos. He doubted it would do much to this guy, but it would suffice for what he needed.

Lyos slashed the tree in half, letting it fall on either side of him. "What was the point of that?"

"A distraction." Duclis said from behind him.

Spinning around, Lyos gasped as Duclis' energy sword pierced him in the chest. "D...Damn..."

"You lose." The beastman grinned at him. "Too bad you decided to fight me alone, if you had help you might have..."

"Duclis!" The beastman gasped and jumped away from Lyos as Pokota flew in and swung down with the Sword of Light. "How dare you ally yourself with a Mazoku?!"

Duclis shook his head slowly. "You'll never understand. Even after all this time, all you want to do is restore Taforashia. Don't you get it, Pokota?" He held an open hand out at his friend. "The kingdom's been destroyed, there's nothing left there. Even us, our bodies are sealed away with the rest of them."

"So?! That doesn't mean you have to work with a Mazoku!" Pokota threw his arms to the side while his ears held the Sword of Light in front of him. "Come on!" He begged his old friend. "Please? Whatever you're being offered by the Mazoku..." He trailed off as Duclis laughed at him. "Duclis?"

"You think a Mazoku made me an offer?" He grinned at Pokota. "Vizea works for me! Not the other way around!" He smirked at Pokota's shocked look. "I should let you know, we will soon have completed Zannafars. And with that..." He laughed as he brought his hands up in front of him. "We'll make them all pay."

"Duclis..." Pokota could only stare in dismay.

"You think..." Lyos looked at him and grinned, despite the pain. "That I'd let you?" He chuckled and forced himself to his feet.

Duclis stared at him. "...How?"

Lyos chuckled and removed his hand, revealing that there was minimal damage. "To master Holy magic means that you can control all attributes of that element. My element's water, you know what the human body is made up of?"

Duclis snorted. "So, you can heal. Big deal. That won't be enough when we make our move!" He turned his back to the two of them and started to walk away. "Next time, you won't be so lucky, Knight of the Aqua Lord."

"Duclis!" Pokota screamed and flew after him. "You get back here!"

Lyos didn't try to stop the rabbit, he knew Pokota would be okay, the Sword of Light was one of the two weapons that was said to be able to hurt the Zannafar after all. 'An army? How could he control that? The last Zannafar was supposed to be uncontrollable and destroyed everything.'

(---)

Ixpellia frowned as she watched her friends have to deal with the shadow-like hands that kept raising themselves out of the ground and attacking the group. "Watch out!" She yelled at Ozel, who turned a half a second too late. "No." Ixpellia's eyes widened as Ozel's head was removed from her body, flying several feet and rolling in the grass as her body fell down harmlessly.

"That's one. Who's next?" Grelia sing-songed as the shadow arms danced around the attacks that Einhart and Arashi were launching at her. "I don't know just what you're doing, but I do know that I don't like it."

Ixpellia looked around and frowned as she noticed something unusual about the grass and dirt that they were on. 'Why is it..?'

"You can't fight the shadows, who knows where I'll strike from?"

"Shadows?" Ixpellia muttered before pulling out one of her long, thin blades and throwing it into the ground hard enough to bury it to the hilt. When Grelia let out a scream, she nodded in satisfaction. "Thought so."

"HOW?!" Grelia screamed as the ground seemed to shift and spin before pulling itself upwards, revealing a tall, multi-armed creature with no face. "How did you..?"

"Know? You said the shadows and then I noticed the ground was dark." Ixpellia grinned at the Mazoku. "Now we can deal with you."

"I'll kill you, brat!"

"No, you won't." A soft voice spoke up and Grelia turned around to see Nila pointing an open palm at her. "Blam Blazer."

Grelia let out a scream as the blinding white light tore a hole through her body. "You..." She hissed as she faded away. "I'll kill all of you..."

"Thank you." Ixpellia nodded at Nila and looked at the creatures still in the sky, heading towards them. "This is..."

"Ixy..." Vivio spoke up as she noticed something.

"It's Ixpellia!" The redhead glared at her friend. "What?" She blinked when Vivio pointed at her sword. "What the?"

"The Blessed Blade was designed to absorb miasma, you know." An older voice spoke up and Ixpellia spun around, yelping as she saw Masha smiling at her. "You must have unlocked it's power somehow. That's good news!"

"When did you get out here?"

"It doesn't matter!" Masha shook his head. "Now, I should mention that all my swords have nice effects, that one I can't figure out, but I'm sure that it'll be good."

Ixpellia looked at the sword in confusion and waved it up and down, blinking in shock as the air seemed to be displaced by pure energy. It was only for a moment and the energy dissipated as quickly as it had came.

Looking up at the creatures, Ixpellia held her sword out to the side. "I wonder, old man, Masha, what was it you were trying to do with this sword?"

Masha shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "I'm not sure then."

Ixpellia looked at the sword and concentrated, pouring a small amount of her magic into it. Sure, she didn't use her magic for much these days, but maybe a small amount wouldn't...

"Ixy, what are you..?" Vivio trailed off and jumped back as a magical silver-colored aura surrounded the blade and erupted outwards.

Ixpellia's eyes were focused ahead of her. "Blessed Blade, please, live up to your name and clense the skies."

"Think we should move?" Vivio looked at Einhart, who was already running past her and behind Ixpellia. "Hey!"

Jumping up and onto the roof of the shack, Nila watched with some interest what Ixpellia was going to do next.

Ixpellia gripped the sword with both hands and bit her lower lip as the thing shook in her hands. "What... No... This is..." She looked at the skies with a determined expression. "The Blessed... BLADE!" Letting out a wordless scream, she swung it across her body at the enemies.

For a moment, nothing happened.

"...Was I wrong?" Ixpellia muttered, before falling down in shock as the air shimmered for a moment before a large wave of silver light rushed outwards and towards the creatures in the sky.

"...Woah..." Einhart could only stare, wide-eyed as the energy crashed into the oncoming enemies, causing them to shatter and explode in mid air as the attack continued on, unabated.

"Oh, so THAT'S what it can do after absorbing some energy!" Masha slapped a fist into his open palms. "This is good news! Yes..."

"Hey! Is everyone okay?!" Lyos' voice was heard as he ran back to them. "I saw the light and thought..." He trailed off as he looked at the group. "Looks like everyone's okay then." He looked at Nila as she touched down next to him. "So..?" She shook her head. "Too easy?" When she nodded, Lyos felt like swearing.

Nila looked him over and frowned as she saw him putting his hand on his chest. She was about to touch his arm when she heard a voice interrupt them.

"Hey!" Nove yelled as she rolled over the ground to look at everyone. "What happened? Where's Corona?!"

"Corona?" Vivio looked around and paled as she couldn't see her friend. "Where is she? Arashi? Where are you?!"

"Over here!" Arashi yelled as he came out from around the shack. "I saw Corona was missing awhile ago and I slipped away to make sure she was okay." There was worry written all over his face as he shook. "But, I couldn't find her anymore. She disappeared!"

"DAMMIT!" Nove screamed as she realized she was too late, again. "Corona!"

(---)

Several miles away, Vizea grimaced as he reformed in the real world. "That.... I can't believe that! He could use the Dragon Slave?!" It was no minor miracle that a Mazoku such as himself had been able to survive that. Hell, even Generals and Priests had trouble surviving that spell, and he was nothing more than a minor Mazoku. "And that Sword of Light..." Snarling, the Mazoku disappeared from the world again. He had revenge to plot against that rabbit thing.

"And next time, you will die, I swear it." His voice lingered in the air as he disappeared.

[bhl88]

Originally Posted by Craxuan

seme? uke?

Refer to Nanya01's pimp Yuuno.