Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Character Creation and Discussion

[Fuyu no Sora]

Originally Posted by Comartemis

Ah, someone I don't recognize. Excellent, you can help me with my next character concept!

*Drags FnS away to his secret character development broom close- *ahem* laboratory*

I'm not sure where exactly I heard this (probably Wikipedia), but Hayate's supposedly classified as a Mage Knight. Given that she's a user of the Ancient Belka system yet seems to specialize in massively-powerful ranged attacks, would it be feasible to make a character who is equally balanced in both melee and at range?

I ask because this is the concept I'm considering for Rico. Rico himself is a user of the Ancient Belka system, while his unison device, Nova, is a Mid-Childa user. Both are fire-elementals, Rico by birth and Nova by design. Instead of providing a massive power boost during unison, however, Rico gains full access to Nova's spell list, making him only slightly stronger (perhaps half a rank's power boost) and much more versatile as an opponent. His overall power ranking would be about AA+, and this added versatility would boost him into the AAA to S+ range.

Hey! Wha-wha-wha!?!?!!! *Is dragged away*

Okay...@_@ Probably super late, but welcome to the thread! I hope you're having fun here

Yeah, Hayate is classed as a Mage Knight but that's what the subs tell us (Wiki also classified this as canon info so it can be both )

Yes, it's possible to make a character equally balanced in both, though I think it would be asking a bit too much if that character was to be an expert in both styles at a very young age say 20 or so unless said person was a prodigy and, I believe, we've banned those from here (^^; )

Hmm....I find that your design might be a bit too much....If it was a Mid-Childan Unison device acting with a New Belka Knight, it could still work but the Ancient Belka and Mid styles wouldn't be compatible for a unison... (I think). Besides, my understanding is that that type of device doesn't necessarily give a power boost but enhances other weaknesses of the user. Hayate mentioned in one episode that she was a total klutz at firing away without Rein to be there for support. In chapter 10 of the manga she also states that her regular usage of her powers are "standing in place, forming an array and firing away" with Rein commenting "that's all I can help with too". Though we could take Agito's Unison into consideration I would say that Signum's increased power is most likely due to her proficiency in middle and close range combat, hence the Unison enhances her reach and strength. Both Rein and Agito are Ancient Belka devices though and I don't think there's even Mid-Childan ones....

Yay! I went to Wiki and found this:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Unison Devices

Also commonly known as a Unity-Type Device. A device form developed only by Belka, it is a type of device that has taken the design ideology of the Midchildan Intelligent Device to extremes. Devices possessing their own wills, and given complete human form and sentience, these devices can "unite" with users to provide Mana control and assistance according to circumstances. These devices exceeds other forms greatly in response speed and in the volume of Mana handled; however users suitable for Unison are rare, and much work is required to fine-tune and ensure compatibility towards the disposition of each specific user. Furthermore, since by nature these devices can cause loss of consciousness and other effects during Unison, these devices have emergency countermeasures set that are not dependent on the host's awareness, allowing even solitary users to employ these devices on themselves, enhancing Mana usage. However, at times these devices may "take over" the user and operate autonomously, causing a "Unison accident", so these devices were nearly never manufactured practically. During a successful Unison, striking hair or pupil color changes become apparent. However, whether the appearance after Unison is more similar to the user or the device depends on whether the user can manage the device. In the event that a user cannot handle the device, the user will lose all control, and will completely take on the appearance of the device.

So apparently unless you're inventing some type of new Unison device I think it might not be possible to go with it ^^;

I hope this was helpful to you ^^

[Jimmy C]

While Agito is defintely an Ancient Belka genuine Unison Device, Rein isn't.

[Fuyu no Sora]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

While Agito is defintely an Ancient Belka genuine Unison Device, Rein isn't.

No, she's just a reformatted Reinforce :3

[Jimmy C]

Not that either, Rein's a completely new device.

[Fuyu no Sora]

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Not that either, Rein's a completely new device.

Hmm... I'm going to have to re-watch the Nanoha series before arguing any further... Right now my head is still full of exam stuff and can't proerly recall anime/manga related stuff -_-;

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Fuyu no Sora

Hmm... I'm going to have to re-watch the Nanoha series before arguing any further... Right now my head is still full of exam stuff and can't proerly recall anime/manga related stuff -_-;

Rein has fragments of Reinforce's memories she sees in her dreams, being that her creation took a fragment of what was left of Reinforce/Hayate, but she's 99% new.

[Liingo]

Replying to the last page......... Since I'm lazy (Well busting everything that's accumulated over the last 2 weeks or so would take me the whole day )

Originally Posted by LoweGear

And continuing from the last chapter...

Belkarangers Task One, Hajimarimasu!

Spoiler for Part One:

MC0077
143rd Non-Administered World “Celica”
The Sovereign Country of Muraea
The Hambrabi Desert

0105 Hours

Conflict is an ever-present constant amongst all beings, regardless of genus, species, or intelligence – especially it seems, amongst those who proclaim themselves to be intelligent. No matter the time, place, or universe it seemed, war was always an ever-looming fact of life for many people.

This was the thought running through my head, a singular idea that repeated itself over and over for no reason at all, other than the fact that I found it tantalizing. There was nothing much to do for someone like me who’s already done the housework and is now just waiting for his boss to arrive. Said housework was lying stiff on my feet with his mouth agape and his eyes emptily staring into space as blood trickled out of the extra hole I put on the back of his head, staining the dry desert sand. He looked… disappointed in this snapshot of his final moment, like he was telling me “f***, this wasn’t what I ordered.”

Even though I may have taken away his life for my sake, it was no reason not to give the guy respect, a battle-hardened veteran it seems. I closed his eyes, wrapped his head with the turban he wore, and then buried him in the shallow grave I had created for him a few minutes before... A chore I’ve repeated nearly a dozen times for the last two nights.

God bless their souls.

I don’t know if this planet has a moon - or two - but its absence was a blessing that allowed an impenetrably tranquil darkness to reign over the desert, concealing our definitely unwelcome presence in the area. Still, it was better safe than sorry, and I was certain that this man was the last of the patrols in the area. The sandstorm forecasted to arrive in an hour would explain away their absence to any concerned parties in the meanwhile.

Only a couple more pistol mags for my sidearm, a model I was unfamiliar with, and of which I wouldn’t be bothered to inquire into, having been pilfered off the first of the goons I dispatched.

How long has it been since I wielded a firearm of any sort? A deadly one no less? And for a cause that didn’t involve robbing another person of their possessions for my own survival? I don’t think I can remember… and nor was this the time to try. But this semi-automatic pistol, though alien in origin, felt oddly familiar in my hands, oddly… nostalgic.

This feeling of wielding power in my hands, the power to take away one’s life at my discretion. It’s like seeing that former flame who once took your heart away yet tore it apart at the end – you’re very glad to have finally met her again, and reminiscing on the times you spent together… yet knowing that nothing can ease the aching of her betrayal. Nothing you do will bring back those good times, only a dull and lasting pain.

But for the moment, I clearly have no choice in the matter. I stowed the sidearm on a holster I also lifted off an unfortunate one, and slung a couple of their assault rifles, which vaguely resembled an HK-G36 onto my shoulder. I removed the starlight scope NVG’s (night vision goggles) off my head, which was getting sticky with sweat after being worn for hours on end now.

It was now time to wait by the land rover for my “reinforcements”, which was bound to arrive right about…

And the brief yet loud hum from the very low-flying transport plane that just passed overhead was the now, blasting my face with sand and wind. At least the Nareevan plane was as fast and stealthy as advertised, as the sound of its twin turboprop engines vanished as quickly as it arrived.

I blinked to clear my eyes, but before I could open my eyes I heard a yelp that made my arms reach out and catch it.

And when my eyes regained their sight the first thing they saw… was a blue-haired angel, illuminated by the soft blue glow of the magical floater field in front of us, wearing the standard SGS casual uniform. And she lay curled up in my arms like a baby, looking most confused.

“Not a very good landing was it milady Julie?” I asked of her while I set her down carefully so she can stand up dignified at least.

“No… it was… okay.” She replied in her usual soft and delicate voice, looking down on the ground and staring at it like it suddenly became very interesting. It was a sight I’ve seen lots of times before… yet one I didn’t mind looking at over and over again.

“Nice catch!!”

Fortunately Mayura, who just spoke, and Asagi didn’t bounce off the floater field like Julie had, and they slid out the side just as the field disappeared. Mayura was still giving me the thumbs up as she went to ascertain Julie’s condition, and thus I was left with my boss and employer Asagi standing in front of me as she asked in her ever cheerful voice.

“Had fun while we were away Gilliam Aker-san?”

“Nah, boring as hell.”

Spoiler for After Chapter Note:

For those wondering what a Floater Field is:

It's the stack of magic circles that mages use as trampolines and cushions. Yuuno used it to cushion Nanoha's fall during their first encounter with Fate, and Signum with Rein used when she got knocked down by Zest in their second encounter. And yes, that is its official name.

Haven't read the first part of this but it's looking good

And Bride Carry position? >.> Does this mean some action later on



*runs*

Originally Posted by Keroko

I think people are misunderstanding what it means to be a h4xxbuster. Being a h4xxbuster does not mean nitpicking every single detail, it means pointing out things that are overpowered and toning them down untill they fit canon. An artificial eye is perfectly acceptable.

:nods: That and pointing out any flaws in the storys that they might have missed. Well that's what I do anyway..

Originally Posted by Comartemis

Ah, someone I don't recognize. Excellent, you can help me with my next character concept!

*Drags FnS away to his secret character development broom close- *ahem* laboratory*

*watches for a moment before stepping in*
Oy, she has enough backlog to get through without helping eveyone else

*waves*
Domo, I'm another of the haxxbusters in here. Just on an extended hiatus. I'll get to reading maybe next week when I have a break from uni.

I'm not sure where exactly I heard this (probably Wikipedia), but Hayate's supposedly classified as a Mage Knight. Given that she's a user of the Ancient Belka system yet seems to specialize in massively-powerful ranged attacks, would it be feasible to make a character who is equally balanced in both melee and at range?

I ask because this is the concept I'm considering for Rico. Rico himself is a user of the Ancient Belka system, while his unison device, Nova, is a Mid-Childa user. Both are fire-elementals, Rico by birth and Nova by design. Instead of providing a massive power boost during unison, however, Rico gains full access to Nova's spell list, making him only slightly stronger (perhaps half a rank's power boost) and much more versatile as an opponent. His overall power ranking would be about AA+, and this added versatility would boost him into the AAA to S+ range.

I don't see a problem with the hybrid character. There's a few in the thread already, most noticably Aurion (Aaron008). One point I would like to point out that Ancient Belka does not necessarily imply Melee User. Hayate being one example, along with Shamal. Carim and Across are others who don't fit in with the AB = Melee mentality.

That said though, I don't see the need to introduce new AB users given the 'rarity' of the users of the style. I'm with Fuyu on the Unison device issue as well. While Rein is a 'new' unison device, she's also a Belkan device, not a mid one. The power and control issue has been brought up by her as well.

[Comartemis]

So apparently unless you're inventing some type of new Unison device I think it might not be possible to go with it ^^;

Hm. Since A's Reinforce didn't have any kind of trouble using Mid-Childan spells with the Belka system, I guess it doesn't make much difference anyways. Two ancient/modern Belka users then.

Besides, my understanding is that that type of device doesn't necessarily give a power boost but enhances other weaknesses of the user.

I see your point. Still, providing ranged proficiency is a form of enhancing weaknesses...

The idea behind Rico and Nova's joint fighting style stems from the magister/minister system from Negima; Rico tanks the enemy in melee while Nova pelts him with shooting-type spells; she's refined the classic fireball into an art form. Alone, their strengths and weaknesses complement each other, much like Signum and Agito's natures complement each other. Put them together, and Rico fights in melee or at a distance: Nova boosts his control over his spells and grants him her specialty with shooting spells; the enhanced control allows Rico to use the equivalent of about two dozen Accel Shooter spheres at once, or hundreds of unguided spheres Rico uses to turn aerial battlefields into floating minefields, among many other uses.

That said though, I don't see the need to introduce new AB users given the 'rarity' of the users of the style.

I'll address that in a moment.

Right, here's a bit more preliminary info on Rico and Nova:

The world of Arcadia was one of Belka's staunchest allies during the last great war; now it's nothing more than a wasteland after most of its' major cities experienced death by Arc-en-Ciel. The only people who stick around on this worthless hunk of rock are the people who can't manage interdimensional teleportation. The entire planet is a post-apocalyptic nightmare, and Rico Sachara grew up as an orphan right in the thick of it. What separates Rico from his fellows, however, is the fact that Rico's an extremely powerful mage, descended from a Belkan general named Hikaru Shidou (yes, little miss Rayearth). He's a natural B-rank at the age of 13, and he's practicing daily to get to the point where he can jump ship and go world-hopping. Since Arcadia was so closely-aligned with Belka during the great war, it's hardly uncommon to find Ancient Belka users, though few if any of them are very powerful, Rico aside.

Rico meets Nova while she's seeking after Hikaru, who used to be her meister in the last great war. With Hikaru dead, Nova is despondant and feels utterly alone in the multiverse until Rico offers to be her new meister. "If you have a need to be needed, then stick with me, I'll find a use for you!"

With Nova's help, Rico gets off-world and falls head-first into the outer rim, an area of dimension space outside the TSAB's influence; the seedy underbelly of the multiverse. Rico and Nova get involved in a series of adventures that bind them together as friends and partners of the Kamina/Simon type (right down to the similarities in personalities). Eventually, the two set up business as freelance mages in the outer rim. Just after StrikerS, they pick up the trail of a bounty placed on the head of one Ciel Clearwater by an unknown party, which leads them into contact with Zero and Ciel.

Speaking of Zero, I might not be able to get his final profile posted until Monday; I've got a lot of work to catch up on for school tomorrow, and I'm just about ready to hit the sack at the moment.

[Wild Goose]

This is non serious crack and is written to amuse myself. I need to laugh before I go back to the funeral parlor.

Spoiler:

Wearing Nanoha's face, Due cackled as she unleashed her trump cards on Vivio, multiple Infection forms skittering towards the teen. Shocked and stunned, especially as Syn was KOed, Vivio was unable to move, paralyzed by her feelings of betrayal...

How could my mother do this to me?!

Then sustained bursts of fire rang out, the Infection forms blew apart, and Due whirled around. Standing on high ground were four men, dressed in the barrier jackets of the OFM's Assault Company, carrying smoking assault rifles and battle rifles. Their leader, a graying dark-haired man wearing sunglasses, smirked, pointing his assault rifle at Due.

"Well, team, it looks like we got here just in time to rescue the girls from the Evil Imposter. What does that make us?"

"Sir! Big damn heroes, SIR!"

Due snorted comptemptuously, raising her claws. "Can you fight me? Me, who wears the face of your friend?"

"Heh," snorted Franz Jaeger. "Team! Limiter All Release! Device Mode; Full Drive. VARIABLE FORMATION!"

"YOSH!" souted Remington Smith and Colt Wesson, as they and Franz jumped up into the air, limiters unlocking their full power, Devices in Full Drive harnessing that power, forming battle auras as they landed in front of Due and the Spawn, their hotblooded voices shouting as one:

"Tenkan muteki no MOERU TAMASHII!! KOKONI KENZANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Get them, precious. Get them for Mommy," purred Due, waving her Infection Forms and Hydralisks forward.

Franz's rejoiner was simple and to the point. "Cobra, Full Drive, Spirit Command Release," he ordered.

[Da, Comrade.]

"Spirit Command: All Cast."

[Spirit Command System unlocked. SC charge full. Casting: Valor. Focus. Alert. Strike. Accel. Guts. Drive. Fury. Guard. Zeal.]

"Team. Let's get them. IKUZE! DUE! ORE-TACHI WA!"

"DARE DATTO OMOTTOE YAGARU!!!!!!!"

Standing behind them, Yuuno sweatdropped and hung his head in despair.

Right, totally non-canon, and is just for cracklulz and Variable Formation and Neppu! Shippu! CYBUSTER.

[Tk3997]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

That seems to what 'melee' in Nanohaverse bulks up to, really. Ability to hold one's self in close-combat. How one ago it, doesn't seem to be an issue.

Well that's what we see from the tactically inept CC in the series anyway...

ARGH, somehow the whole structuring of the story fucked up once viewed in Notepad. Got the gist of it, but damn, it gave me a headache.

All in all, I rather liked it. I felt the scene with Nanoha wasn't really all that neccessary, but it's draw was Felixta 'gluff' anyway.

Sucks about the formating thing as for the other stuff...

Well she’s dose more stuff later and I’m considering doing some side stories and stuff with her so I felt the need to have her around at least in the background so when she appeared later it’s not like “LOL and then Nanoha shows up!”

It’s also part of something of a larger plan I have for Felix since recall from his history he did adopt and basiclly raise a kid and I’ve been looking for an avenue to get him around her a bit for some interaction on that front for awhile. I’ll admit it was slightly forced and any such interaction is sometime off (I plan this fic to be rather long), but again for it to not seem totally forced I wanted to have her around and give a plausible reason he might be hanging around her enough for the interaction to occur. Plus we also just don’t get enough Vita/Nanoha Period so I couldn’t help myself in cramming just a smidgen of that in too.

The next chapter has some more random bits with her in it too so, she's not going away since she's pretty much part of the plan.

[Kha]

[RP mode on]

I tried to conduct an intervention at the IRC, and got kicked for it. Such is the EVIL that is the IRC.

LIES! BLASPHEMIES! DESECRATIONS IN THE NAME OF A PUNY DAEMON!

I /spit at you Cultists! Never again shall we speak in kindness. YOU SHALL BE PURGED!!!

[/RP mode off]



Thanks for giving me something to post about.



But I still wish there was something worth replying to here rather than making more Khrack. After all, SOCOM is coming soon, and there's Genderbent of Chrono AKA Chronko when I bothered about him/her, but this isn't called progress. It's a digression.

I curse the thread for being slow on weekends.

Ah well back to assignments with me. ... ... ...

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

Originally Posted by Kha

[RP mode on]

I tried to conduct an intervention at the IRC, and got kicked for it. Such is the EVIL that is the IRC.

LIES! BLASPHEMIES! DESECRATIONS IN THE NAME OF A PUNY DAEMON!

I /spit at you Cultists! Never again shall we in kindness. YOU SHALL BE-

What were you saying?

[Kha]

--PURGED!!!



*runs*

[Tk3997]

Originally Posted by Kha

--PURGED!!!



*runs*

*Catches Kha and Administers another beating*


Your cause was noble, but your methods barbaric spam can never be tolerated!

[PhoenixG]

Originally Posted by PhoenixG

A quick question about elemental affinity (or how do you call it?):

I know a mage can only have one elemental affinity, but what about a mage with two weaker elemental affinity?

example:
Mage1 has 100% fire affinity, Mage2 has 100% water affinity and Mage3 has 50% fire and 50% water affinitiy.

Because of the lower affinity Mage3 is unable to cast high level spells like buster class and with a lower affinity her spells are weaker than Mage1 or Mage2 if Mage3 cast the same spell as Mage1 or Mage2.

Is this acceptable?

Pokes the thread for being ignored.....

[Tk3997]

Originally Posted by PhoenixG

Pokes the thread for being ignored.....

If you know they can't have two how come your asking if they can have two?

This question is dumb and the answer is: no.

[Kyral]

Originally Posted by Fuyu no Sora

Yeah, Hayate is classed as a Mage Knight but that's what the subs tell us (Wiki also classified this as canon info so it can be both )

Well I'm sure its canon. Hayates DVD ID card classifies her as "Zauber-Ritter" wich pretty much can be translated as "Mage-Knight"

On the other hand, Vita and Erio are just "Ritter".

So it maybe the Zauber-Ritter were the artillery of Old Belka.

[Kagerou]

Spoiler for MSLN Alpha Episode 3, Scene IV:

World 52

"Nice to see that she still has the touch," a man said, kneeling down and putting a hand to the ground. Across the forest floor, slowly decaying and foul-smelling bodies were littered, along with an interweaving set of hundred-meter scorch marks that were left in the wake of a powerful spell. "Can't believe that she took all these on by herself... even if that was several days ago."

"I would just like to know where she is," A female voice said next to the white-haired man. "We haven't had any contact with her since the incident here, and I'm starting to get worried..." red eyes looked down and away. "And recently... my own kids have disappeared."

"The support ship Aus'ruf was in the vicinity of both attacks," the man told the woman behind him as he stood to observe the area around him. "I don't know a whole lot about them, but if I would have to guess, then Keroko and the others are safe." He gave a comforting smile to the woman. "Besides, they're all tough as nails. I was planning on Erio becoming a Cleric Knight, you know."

The two walked out of the shadowed forest floor, revealing the clearing that Keroko had so desperately fought in just days ago. Kha der Kleriker and Fate Harlown were greeted by a myriad of TSA personnel as they were investigating the still-growing Spawn biomass in the middle of the clearing. Compared to the battlefield it was just days ago, the area had become a full-blown Lost Logia investigation, and for added security, a few other personnel from several different branches had shown up to investigate the area.

Familiar and strage faces passed by the two as they walked toward the "command center" of the investigation, from all walks of life, yet all drawn here by the investigation going on. Despite their nature as hostile, the so-called Spawn were considered Lost Logia and thus were to be studied. DNA samples were taken from the bodies, some of which had hardly decayed while others had seemed to fall apart altogether; bodies were cut apart and inspected, piece by piece; and the biomass itself had been walked into and out of as reserachers gathered notes.

Kha's unit, the Cleric Knights, were the principal form of security in the area, though the TSA had sent other forces to act as security in the event that somehow the Knights were unable to fight off a grandiose outbreak of Spawn. This unwelcome "addition" to their investigation only put a hammer to the back of the ever-deeper wedge that threatened to cause the Saint Church to leave TSA space altogether, as it seemed that neither ally really trusted the other in these harsh times. Moreover, the TSA had the gall to send Kha's own wife to spearhead the TSA side of the investigation, as if they were doing it out of spite.

The two didn't have too much of a problem with it, as it was really just an excuse to spend time together, something that been steadily decreasing ever since six years ago, but Kha nearly saw it as an act of war.

He showed it, too; when Fate arrived on the scene a few days ago, at first he was elated... until he saw the detachment she had to bring with her. The two had an argument after that, but both eventually cooled down and settled things between them. Well, after some much needed "alone time".

Nontheless, Kha had to keep from twitching violently when one of the people Fate brought with her gave a report.

"Ma'am!" Barked the young man, giving a salute. "The fifth search of the biomass has been completed!"
"Have you found something?" Fate asked.
"No, ma'am." was her answer. "Though Inspector Verossa is still in there. I asked him to leave, but-" He paused upon Fate's eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "Ma'am?"

"Oh, that man!" she growled. "How does Hayate put up with him?! Excuse me, Major," walking past him, Fate began to roll up her sleeves, prepared to give a certain investigator a beating. Shamsel Nagisa, the aforementioned Major, looked toward Fate, then back at Kha.

"What's her problem?"
Kha just shrugged. The two watched as Fate disappeared inside the biomass. Turning on a flashlight and scrunching her nose slightly at the stench, she nontheless moved forward, walking through the anthill-like structure of the mass. As she walked, her ears picked up the sound of a voice; a rather familiar one at that. Frowning in annoyance, Fate walked forward around a corner to see her "target".

Acous Verossa was knelt down, talking into a recording device. His long green hair was matted with sweat due to the heat in the biomass, and his eyes were narrowed in thought. The Investigator ignored Fate upon her arrival, opting instead to stare at this particular piece of wall and put his hand up to it. Only when Fate cleared her throat did he stop his recording and look up. "Ah, Miss Harlown, how nice to meet you in this dreary place."

"Very funny, Verossa," Fate snapped. "Why didn't you come out with the rest of the search party? It's dangerous in here!" Verossa smiled at Fate as she scolded him, not lifting a finger in defense. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Miss Harlown," Acous said. "I am not helpless in here. Besides, I have found something that's quite interesting." He gestured toward the fleshy wall. "Looks like a part of a larger being, yes?" Fate nodded.

"That's why we're investigating it," she reminded him. "This isn't any excuse to go off on your own-"
"This wall is man-made."

Fate blinked. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you."
"Oh no!" Acous declared. "You heard me correctly! This wall is not of the same composition as the Spawn creatures outside! This wall was made by humans like me and you. In fact, I do believe that we're standing in front of a door as well!"

"Why do you say this?" Fate asked, confused. Acous lifted one hand gestured toward his side, where his hunting dogs stood, a few of them pawing at the wall. Confused, Fate looked at Acous expectantly. "So... what is it?"

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest," the TSA Spook admitted. "But let's find out. Miss Harlown, will you do the honors?" Fate nodded, quickly summoning Bardiche to Riot Zamber form. With the precision of a practiced soldier, Fate quickly sliced a giant square into the biomass covering the metal. As the "sheet" of flesh fell to the ground, the two were greeted with a large steel wall with a smaller door in the middle. Rust and grime covered the walls and the door, giving an impression that the walls were bleeding. Words were written on the door, in proper Mid-childan language.

"Throne Room," Fate read. To Acous, she said. "Shall we visit the lord of this place?"
"Can't be any more terrifying than what we've already seen," he agreed. Together, the two pushed on the door, which gave out and simply fell down, hitting the floor with such a clang that it caused the two of them to jump. Hot stale air rushed out at them, blowing their hair back and causing the two to squint.

Within was a dim room. Blue lights glowed from along the walls and the floor, tracing indescipherable static images everywhere. A set of blue lights trailed from the door to a set of steps, leading up to a large chair, where a small figure sat, unmoving. Fate and Acous looked at each other before nodding and moving forward, with Fate readying her weapons just in case.

"You know," Acous said quietly. "I once had a fantasy of being alone in a dark room with you, but this isn't quite what I had in mind."

"Very funny," Fate replied.

As they began to walk up the steps to the throne, they heard whispers in the air, speaking a language familiar yet strange. It was a dread voice that whispered, sending chills down both their spines.

Upon reaching the throne, Fate was mortified. Sitting the throne was a body of a small child, no more than ten or twelve. His body was unmoving, and a cursory sensor scan by Bardiche comfirmed that the body had indeed expired. No signs of decay had begun yet, and so the room was surprisingly free of any such odors as the area just before it. The body itself had been chained to its throne, and the armor the boy wore suggested that he was a Belkan Knight of some sort; his spear, rusted and the AI apparently scrambled, had been impaled in the floor next to the throne.

Acous encircled the throne, amazed. When he reached the back, he traced a set of words in Mid. "Project ATX Subject Number 15," he read off. "Project... ATX. That sounds familiar."

"Yeah..." Fate nodded. She tried to think about it, and her memory came to her easy.

"I'm a practitioner of Alternative Type-X or ATX magic," Glen told Fate. "It's one of the projects that were attempting to form the new Belkan style of magic, a competitor to the project that became Neo-Belkan today."

"Of course," Fate nodded to herself. "Acous, if Project ATX and Alternate Type-X have any sort of relation, I know who can tell us! And if this boy is related to that Project, and thus related to the Spawn..."

"That's kind of a stretch," Acous told the Enforcer. "...but, it's the best lead we have. What do you think about these runes everywhere?" Verossa looked over his shoulder, falling into silence as he stared at the Aztec-looking symbols on the walls and floor. They look quite familiar... he noted. ...like Al-Hazared language.

Fate took one last look at the dead boy. "Let's go; that body creeps me out."
"Right," Acous nodded. "We'll return later."

The two walked down off the throne's rise and headed for the door. Both of them made haste, eager to leave the disturbingly calm room. Suddenly, a sound, akin to that of a heartbeat, resonated throughout the room, giving the two tremors. The biomass regenerated at speeds unheard of, sealing the pair inside the throne room and somehow making everything seem... darker.

Behind them, a chain rattled.

Slowly, the two turned around, and to their horror, the corpse that should have been dead, began to rise. His bones creaked in protest, muscles snapping from prolonged disuse and a horrible, inhuman rasp coming from its throat. The boy opened his mouth and spoke a single word.

"Come."

Against their wills, Fate and Acous began to walk back toward the throne, up the stairs, and before the throne itself. The boy stared up at them, gnashing his teeth and staring at them with eyes the colors of the galaxy.

"Children of humanity, why have you come?" A rasp emanates from him with an inhuman voice; a voice coming from him, yet not spoken. "Why have you stepped into my realm?"

Fate opened her mouth to speak, to ask a question, but was cut off. "I sense a presence within them, Master," The boy said. "The presence of the one you seek."

"The one you seek?" Acous echoed. "What do you mean by that? Who are you? What are you?"
"Are you related to the Spawn?" Fate asked.

"Spawn?" The second voice said. "[i]Foolish girl, I AM the Spawn!"
"The master of all that is," The boy droned. "The master of all that was, and all that will be." The boy groaned in pain suddenly. "His is the hand that guides the galaxy, pushing it ever further..." Massive tumors began to grow on the boy's shoulders.

"...toward paradise." The second voice claimed. As if on cue, the tumors erupted into massive tentacles, which flailed about, stretching toward Acous and Fate, before falling flat on the floor.

"What do you want with humanity?" Fate asked.
"To join its songs with mine, and usher in a new era for the galaxy!" The inner voice declared.
"To fulfill the prophecy as set by our ancestors millenia ago."

"Prophecy? Ancestors?"
"The Bringers of Light."
"Al-Hazared."

Acous and Fate looked at each other before looking back at the boy. "What's the prophecy?" Fate asked.
"Lies for those who believe in them." The inner voice dismissed. The boy blinked, sending shivers through the tentacles.

"Translated, it reads: When the time is set and the stars are right, they will return to our galaxy. They are the Warped Ones, the Shadows of Ourselves, coming to reclaim what is theirs. They will be led by the right hand of God, and will attempt to seek out and take in the ultimate power. The White Devil."

Fate put two and two together. "White Devil... Nanoha?!"

"The Replacement Saint will be raised as a sacrifice, and not even the sword and the shield will be able to stop it. The portal that opens will brings forth the flood, the swarm, and usher in the era of darkness that they seek. Only Ghosts will remain."

"We have touched the power, and we desire it again." The inner voice growled.

"How do you know all this?" Acous asked, trying to keep calm. Upon hearing the Spawn's desire for Nanoha, Fate had broken down slightly, shivering and nearly dropping Bardiche.

"It is their destiny to know."
"Project ATX."

Acous looked at Fate, then back at the boy. "I suppose you're not going to let us go easily, are you?"
"Never."

The tentacles came to life again, raising up like snakes to surround the two. Acous looked around, preparing to cast spells, when suddenly, the tentacles fell again.

"Get out of here!" the boy shouted. "Listen, you must hurry while I can hold him off!"
"Weren't you-"
"I was faking it, to convince him I had fallen. Take her and run!" The boy looked at them with desperate eyes. "Find the one, the most powerful of my former classmates, and seal his magic! Only then will the prophecy be stopped! Find the girl, the White Devil, and protect her! You must do this!"

"Foolish Boy!" The inner voice rumbled from within. "You dare to deceive me?! Then suffer the consequences!"

The boy begin to scream in unholy pain as Acous grabbed Fate's hand and started running back to the exit. Behind them, Acous heard crunching and snapping sounds, followed by the boy's screams... then suddenly silence. Acous didn't dare to turn around and look, instead opting to pause at the biomass and look at Fate in the eyes.

"Snap out of it, woman!" He shouted. "We have to get out of here!" Fate nodded slowly, barely comprehending and still lost in thought.

Is that why... she's so-

"Fate!"

Fate blinked, stared at Verossa, and nodded. Summoning Bardiche into its Riot Zamber form, she lifted the swords into the air to cut apart the biomass. But the Spawn weren't finished yet, and dozens of tentacles bound Fate and Acous and pulled them apart, lifting them into the air. Fate watched as a tentacle wrapped around Bardiche and yanked it out of her hands, throwing it off to the side.

"You will make an appropriate sacrifice, girl." The voice rumbled around the throne room. Fate's eyes dilated at the thought of what that implied, and as the tentacles began to drag her back to the rapidly decaying body of the little boy, she felt a dread fear clench her heart. "Your Core is powerful enough, I can taste it." The mouth of the boy opened to an impossibly huge length, large enough to consume Fate and then some. Fate gasped at the impossible thing that the tentacles began to drag her to.

Fate screamed.

The biomass blocking the exit suddenly violently exploded inward, sending chunks of meaty flesh everywhere. A flash of white light severed the tentacles completely, dropping Acous and Fate to the floor. Stepping through the threshold like a valiant hero, Kha took one look at the now-formless mass that had once composed the boy.

"Oh, an interloper?" the voice trembled. "You think that you can interfere with the will of Omega?!"

Kha smirked bitterly. "Omega? I've heard more threatening names from a kid's book," he said, pointing Tausend Kreuz at Omega. "Now, begone from this mortal coil!" Lifting his weapon into the air and shifting it to a bow, Kha pulled a magical arrow back. "Caladblog Zwei!" A beam of energy blasted outward, eviscerating the boy/creature/mass into pieces and ending its pitiful existence.

"...well... that was easy," Kha said, helping Fate up as summoning Bardiche to float next to him. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, thank you," Fate replied, smiling at Kha and grabbing the Intelligent Device from its place. Behind him, Acous groaned and stood up.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"FOOLISH HUMANS!" A voice erupted around them. "SINCE YOU REFUSE TO SUBMIT TO MY CHORUS, THEN YOU WILL BE DRAGGED TO ME BY THE MARROW OF YOUR BONES!"

From the ruins of the boy's body, five objects began to rise into the air. The three mages instantly recognized the objects: Four Jewel Seeds, slowly spinning around a rotating Relic. Electricity arced from the spinning Lost Logia, and Fire flew from the Relic itself, opening up rifts across time and space within the area. Massive tentacles began to slither forth like snakes.

The three looked at each other.

"Time to go?" Kha asked.
"Time to go," Fate agreed.
"Let's get the hell outta here!" Verossa shouted. The three broke into a run, running across pulsating and exploding biomass and droplets of flesh that began to form into Infection Forms, with tentacles hot on their trails. Fate quickly summoned an impromptu Trident Smasher and hurled it at the nearest wall, blowing a six-foot hole to the outside in it. The three leaped out of the hole, shouting voices of retreat as they ran back to the camp. Confused, the others just stood around, staring... that is, until the massive tentacles of the Gravemind burst out of the biomass, quickly grabbing and entangling people.

The biomass shivered and began to sink into the ground, into another gigantic rift in space. Within the rift, a seething mass of Spawn could be seen, running across a dark brown and green surface, hissing at the rift above them. Tentacles sprouted from the surface and ejected into the rift, grabbing at people; those too slow to react, unable to fly, or simply unlucky. As if becoming excited by the panicked screams, the tentacles moved faster, dragging the victims to the rift below.

Slowly, the biomass sank into the rift, taking with it dozens of people and any leads that would have helped the cause against the Spawn. Fate, Kha, and Verossa watched from several hundred meters away, mesmerized.

"What is that?" Fate asked.
"The depths of Hell itself..." Kha whispered. Closing his eyes, he furrowed his brow. All that was in his mind were the screams of the damned.

Fate shivered. Nanoha... is this part of what you saw? Why you changed? Will this happen to others?

"Acous," turning to the TSA Spook, Fate looked resolute. I won't let it happen to others.
"I'm one step ahead of you, Harlown," Acous answered, bringing up a computer screen. "I'm going to see this through to the end, and I know you want to come with me. I have a Prowler ship in orbit. I'll use some of my connections to get us where we need to go, to figure out this mystery."

"We'll need extra firepower," Fate decided.
"Then I'll order up one Teana Lanster, courtesy me," Acous confirmed. "What about you?" looking at Kha, he expected that the Cleric Knight would want to do. However, Kha shook his head.

"I need to report to the church. We'll start our own investigation." Looking at Fate, he said. "Good luck, Fate. Though our paths take us far, my heart goes with you."

"And mine with you," Fate said, smiling.

"Right, let's do this," Acous nodded to himself. "One Investigation, coming right up!"

Well that was fun

[PhoenixFlare]

Originally Posted by Comartemis

Your suggestions are also horrifically outdated compared to what Mid-Childan science should be capable of, given their access to multiple universes worth of scientific advances. We're not dealing with modern science, Phoenix, we're dealing with a mad scientist outfitted with the absolute latest tech available to an interdimensional civilization. Since apparently you don't believe in the power of the SPARTAN project (never mind the very successful end results), and I'm not interested in creating random technobabble to explain how Zero was created, I'm going with the following explanation:

Me: "Zero's stronger, tougher, and has better eyesight than the average human because that's the way he was built."

You: "How exactly was he built?"

Me: "Dunno. Ask Light or Wily, they're the experts."

You: "But they're dead!"

Me: "Too bad. Guess that means nobody knows."

The best part is that this even fits in with X and Zero's construction in the Mega Man games: the reploids are based off of X's design, but X's (and Zero's) internal workings are a mystery even to those who've studied him.

... I guess you don't get the main idea.

The suggestions were to serve as your base for which you can modify to something else, Wily's superbrain included. Yes, those are the current technologies that we have, but if you just tweak them slightly (insert random technobabble even), everything would have fitted nicely, and I'd be glad to stop prodding (because it tires me, even).

The SPARTAN-II project has some nice features (I don't even know what ceramic carbide is and how it can make the bone almost indestructible), but some of them are borderline impossible (like the eyes and muscles), so it's better to change them to something more relevant. You don't have to explain to me whether those things are real or not (like injecting Z-protein complex, etc.), just use the same base concepts and we're done. :3

Originally Posted by Comartemis

*Facepalm*

That was the intention right from the beginning. The problem is, Phoenix wants to know how it was made, and I'm not the least bit interested in whipping up an entire branch of scientific advances just to explain Zero's construction.

Oh well, guess it's my bad to seem to be nitpicking these details cleanly, even though the how doesn't include you having to read every scientific literature available.

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

It looks like he believes what you are doing is "enhancing" a human eye to be superhuman. All you had to do was state it was artificially manufactured to a higher specification than a human eye. That should have worked.

Yes, much better and easier, instead of the blood flow thingy. A human eye can only be tinkered so far before serving less than what is intended, so an artificial one would work better.

[Jimmy C]

Originally Posted by Kagerou

MSLN Alpha Episode 3, Scene IV:

Just one thing, was it really neccessary to use Riot Zamber on the wall? Since Trident Smasher was enough later on, Fate should have used Riot Blade instead.