Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[Filraen]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

StrikerS 1-45

StrikerS 46

StrikerS 47

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Strikers 48:

Elsewhere...

Groaning as she smelled something unusual, Subaru opened her eyes and groaned. "What happened?" She tried to sit up but found it impossible for a few reasons.

One, she was strapped to a table with metal locks over her wrists, keeping her arms pinned down at her sides, metal locks on her ankles, which forced her to laying flat on the table, and a large metal lock over her stomach, pinning her down. Two, her head was still dizzy and she was having a hard time thinking clearly. Three, her crotch and ass hurt, like she had suffered an Atomic Wedgie for hours. And finally...

"Why am I naked?!"

"Had to make sure that you didn't have anything on you that could cause a problem." A familiar female voice said to her.

"Nove!" Subaru turned her head to see Nove sitting at a nearby table. "What's going on?! Where am I?!"

"I don't know." Nove said softly. "I was going to give you to Teana and take Wendi from her, but I ended up taking you with, and I'm not sure why I even bothered." In Nove's hands was a container of some sort and she took a drink from it. "You're at the secret headquarters of your worst enemy."

"I knew it! You're working for that bulldog that tore Gin-nee's pants that time!" Nove turned to look at Subaru weirdly. "I knew that dog was evil, but trying to kill me like this..."

"...You're an idiot." Nove grumbled as Subaru laughed at her. "Just what was up with that!?"

Subaru sweat-dropped as Nove came closer to her. "Ah, trying to not freak out about the fact that I'm naked and helpless right now?" She tried to move her arms and legs but found it to be impossible. "What is this stuff?"

"You're not breaking out, those things can hold Sette when she loses her temper." Nove reached in and flicked Subaru on the forehead. "And trust me, you aren't anywhere near as strong as she is." When Subaru continued to struggle, Nove crossed her arms and turned around to sit on the table. "I just don't see it. I don't see how it can be true." Nove turned her head and blinked in surprise as Uno came into the room. "Un-nee, what are you doing here?"

"Just checking on our guest, and Nove, if you want to leave a butt-imprint on her arm, just keep sitting on it. Though, if you have to sit on her, I'd think her breasts would be more comfortable." Uno smirked as Nove jumped off of the table, blushing hard. "Now then, miss Subaru Nakajima..." She narrowed her eyes at the nude cyborg. "Quite frankly, I don't give a damn about you. Type Zero cyborg or not, I could hack your mind, wipe out everything that makes you who you are and have you be nothing more than an emotionless fighter." Snapping her fingers, Uno gave a tight smile as a headband with three wires popping out of it lowered from the ceiling. "Wouldn't be hard. Complete personality wipe while I dig in your head for memories." She snapped the headband onto Subaru's forehead and smiled at the girl's terrified look. "Imagine if you will, no personality, your I.S. active and attacking your former friends... Your sister... And your mother."

"Un-nee, what are you..?" Nove looked at Uno with some fear on her face, not only because of Uno's rather harsh behavior, but also because she was afraid that Uno would do that to Subaru.

"Do you really think any of us can trust her? The instant she's free, she'll attack the two of us, run naked through the base until she finds an exit and then leave." Uno tapped her chin. "Though, I'm sure that Wendi and Sein would love to see her running naked, she is rather cute." She cleared her throat and started typing at a keyboard that appeared in front of her. "Anyway, time to do some data, personality and history draining from you." When Subaru whimpered, Uno smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, it will only hurt for a second, then you won't feel anything anymore."

"Un-nee! Stop it!" Uno looked at Nove, before gasping as Nove jumped up and kicked her right in the face, sending her crashing against the wall. "Don't you dare hurt my sister like that!"

"S...Sister?" Subaru blinked in confusion, though she was thankful for Nove for saving her. "Wait, you were..."

"Good kick, Nove." Uno stood up and rubbed her jaw. "That hurt, you know." She grumbled as she walked back towards the table and raised an eyebrow as Nove took a defensive stance in front of Subaru. "Calm down, Nove. I was just testing you."

"Huh?" Nove blinked as Uno chuckled. "Un-nee! It's not funny! You nearly..."

"I know, I wanted to see your reaction." Uno smirked at her. "Though, I didn't expect you to kick me in the face. Anyway, Subaru Nakajima, meet your younger sister, Nove."

Subaru looked at Nove, and then at Uno, and frowned in confusion. "I don't see it."

"Yes, yes, well..." Uno smirked at Subaru. "I could let you up, before Sein comes in here. If you can't fight back, who knows how far she'll go?" She laughed as Nove and Subaru had identical knowing expressions on their faces. "Or maybe you'd like that?" Subaru shook her head and Uno shrugged at that. "A pity," she reached into her coat jacket and pulled out a blue outfit, "it may be a bit small, but it should fit you."

"Um..." Subaru looked at it. "It's one of those outfits you guys wear, right?"

"Eh, an older one," Uno shrugged at Subaru, "so, you can either put it on and look like you belong, stick around here for a little while, or I'll just have Quattro do to you what I was going to do."

"You can't, Un-nee!"

Uno took a deep breath and looked at Nove. "Nove, I'm not making this threat because it's a good thing, I'm doing this because it's needed to keep all of you safe and alive. After all, what's to stop her from leaving here and sending a signal to the Bureau to have them come in and finish things off?"

"I wouldn't..." Subaru gulped at the look Uno gave her. "But I..."

"Every time we were looking for certain Lost Logia to help Miss Lu's mother, you and your Riot Force was there, stopping us." Uno narrowed her eyes, anger on her face. "Ever since we cut ties to the brains, we knew that the Bureau would come for us. You really think I'm going to let the Bureau kill my little sisters because they're so dangerous?" Subaru gulped as Uno grabbed the table and shook with fury. "I would rather die than let my sisters be put on trial and then eliminated for the crime of being created on the Bureau's orders!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Subaru protested, whimpering. "I was on a day off and we found a little girl with a Lost Logia, then Nove and someone else showed up and things went crazy. I swear!" Tears were leaking out of her eyes as Uno glared at her.

"You don't know who that girl is, do you?" Subaru shook her head quickly and Uno snorted before pulling out a small remote and pushing a button. "Nove, if she tries to run..."

"Don't worry, I can stop her." Nove grinned as Uno gave Subaru the outfit.

Uno nodded as Subaru put the outfit on. "Now, hold still..." She pulled out a collar and slipped it around Subaru's neck, before locking it into place with a click. "That's an explosive shock collar." Uno smirked at Subaru. "You thought I trusted you? You're an idiot. Try and leave or attack anyone, you'll be shocked. Try and use magic, you'll be shocked. Try to do a combination of those, it'll explode and take your head off."

Subaru gulped and nodded. "I'll be good." She turned to walk away and yelped as Uno slapped her butt.

"I have to admit," Uno smirked as she looked at Subaru, "a slightly tighter outfit is more flattering, even though it shows off a lot more detail. Now get out of here!"

Subaru nodded and followed behind Nove, her steps hesitant and meek.

Uno sighed softly and closed her eyes. "Sorry, Nove, didn't mean to scare your sister like that, but I can't trust the Bureau, at all."

(---)

Jail smiled as he saw Subaru and Nove a minute later. "Ah, Nove! How are you? And this must be your sister, Subaru then?" He blinked as Subaru nodded rather meekly. "Something wrong?"

"Explosive shock collar." Nove grumbled softly. "Plus Un-nee got mad at her." Jail nodded as he heard that and looked at Subaru, who looked down. What he did next shocked Subaru, but not Nove. In fact, Nove almost expected Jail to do what he did next.

The scientist took a step forward and pulled Subaru into a hug. "Calm down, Subaru." He rubbed her back and smirked as she stiffened in the hug. "Uno is very protective of her younger sisters, and we do have good reason to be afraid of the Bureau right now." He sighed softly as he held the distraught cyborg, who was slowly relaxing in his hug. "I just wish I knew why you were trying to stop us from perfecting our ability to fight against Mazoku."

Subaru blinked and pulled back, looking up at him in confusion. "...What are you talking about? The Riot Force that I work for was designed to train mages to be able to fight against Mazoku."

Jail and Nove both stared at Subaru in shock.

BTW, this story now has over 500,000 words to it.

500K? It's a long fic.

... You've... done a very good job with Levi.

Interesting ending with Jail and Subaru. Now I wonder if Subaru can put 2+2 on Megane (in BtF her memories about the attack on Quint should be clearer, as that was her defining point instead of canon's airport fire.

Ever since Levi kidnapped Reinforce I want her and Jail meet.

[biodude711]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

StrikerS 1-45

StrikerS 46

StrikerS 47

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Strikers 48:

Elsewhere...

Groaning as she smelled something unusual, Subaru opened her eyes and groaned. "What happened?" She tried to sit up but found it impossible for a few reasons.

One, she was strapped to a table with metal locks over her wrists, keeping her arms pinned down at her sides, metal locks on her ankles, which forced her to laying flat on the table, and a large metal lock over her stomach, pinning her down. Two, her head was still dizzy and she was having a hard time thinking clearly. Three, her crotch and ass hurt, like she had suffered an Atomic Wedgie for hours. And finally...

"Why am I naked?!"

"Had to make sure that you didn't have anything on you that could cause a problem." A familiar female voice said to her.

"Nove!" Subaru turned her head to see Nove sitting at a nearby table. "What's going on?! Where am I?!"

"I don't know." Nove said softly. "I was going to give you to Teana and take Wendi from her, but I ended up taking you with, and I'm not sure why I even bothered." In Nove's hands was a container of some sort and she took a drink from it. "You're at the secret headquarters of your worst enemy."

"I knew it! You're working for that bulldog that tore Gin-nee's pants that time!" Nove turned to look at Subaru weirdly. "I knew that dog was evil, but trying to kill me like this..."

"...You're an idiot." Nove grumbled as Subaru laughed at her. "Just what was up with that!?"

Subaru sweat-dropped as Nove came closer to her. "Ah, trying to not freak out about the fact that I'm naked and helpless right now?" She tried to move her arms and legs but found it to be impossible. "What is this stuff?"

"You're not breaking out, those things can hold Sette when she loses her temper." Nove reached in and flicked Subaru on the forehead. "And trust me, you aren't anywhere near as strong as she is." When Subaru continued to struggle, Nove crossed her arms and turned around to sit on the table. "I just don't see it. I don't see how it can be true." Nove turned her head and blinked in surprise as Uno came into the room. "Un-nee, what are you doing here?"

"Just checking on our guest, and Nove, if you want to leave a butt-imprint on her arm, just keep sitting on it. Though, if you have to sit on her, I'd think her breasts would be more comfortable." Uno smirked as Nove jumped off of the table, blushing hard. "Now then, miss Subaru Nakajima..." She narrowed her eyes at the nude cyborg. "Quite frankly, I don't give a damn about you. Type Zero cyborg or not, I could hack your mind, wipe out everything that makes you who you are and have you be nothing more than an emotionless fighter." Snapping her fingers, Uno gave a tight smile as a headband with three wires popping out of it lowered from the ceiling. "Wouldn't be hard. Complete personality wipe while I dig in your head for memories." She snapped the headband onto Subaru's forehead and smiled at the girl's terrified look. "Imagine if you will, no personality, your I.S. active and attacking your former friends... Your sister... And your mother."

"Un-nee, what are you..?" Nove looked at Uno with some fear on her face, not only because of Uno's rather harsh behavior, but also because she was afraid that Uno would do that to Subaru.

"Do you really think any of us can trust her? The instant she's free, she'll attack the two of us, run naked through the base until she finds an exit and then leave." Uno tapped her chin. "Though, I'm sure that Wendi and Sein would love to see her running naked, she is rather cute." She cleared her throat and started typing at a keyboard that appeared in front of her. "Anyway, time to do some data, personality and history draining from you." When Subaru whimpered, Uno smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, it will only hurt for a second, then you won't feel anything anymore."

"Un-nee! Stop it!" Uno looked at Nove, before gasping as Nove jumped up and kicked her right in the face, sending her crashing against the wall. "Don't you dare hurt my sister like that!"

"S...Sister?" Subaru blinked in confusion, though she was thankful for Nove for saving her. "Wait, you were..."

"Good kick, Nove." Uno stood up and rubbed her jaw. "That hurt, you know." She grumbled as she walked back towards the table and raised an eyebrow as Nove took a defensive stance in front of Subaru. "Calm down, Nove. I was just testing you."

"Huh?" Nove blinked as Uno chuckled. "Un-nee! It's not funny! You nearly..."

"I know, I wanted to see your reaction." Uno smirked at her. "Though, I didn't expect you to kick me in the face. Anyway, Subaru Nakajima, meet your younger sister, Nove."

Subaru looked at Nove, and then at Uno, and frowned in confusion. "I don't see it."

"Yes, yes, well..." Uno smirked at Subaru. "I could let you up, before Sein comes in here. If you can't fight back, who knows how far she'll go?" She laughed as Nove and Subaru had identical knowing expressions on their faces. "Or maybe you'd like that?" Subaru shook her head and Uno shrugged at that. "A pity," she reached into her coat jacket and pulled out a blue outfit, "it may be a bit small, but it should fit you."

"Um..." Subaru looked at it. "It's one of those outfits you guys wear, right?"

"Eh, an older one," Uno shrugged at Subaru, "so, you can either put it on and look like you belong, stick around here for a little while, or I'll just have Quattro do to you what I was going to do."

"You can't, Un-nee!"

Uno took a deep breath and looked at Nove. "Nove, I'm not making this threat because it's a good thing, I'm doing this because it's needed to keep all of you safe and alive. After all, what's to stop her from leaving here and sending a signal to the Bureau to have them come in and finish things off?"

"I wouldn't..." Subaru gulped at the look Uno gave her. "But I..."

"Every time we were looking for certain Lost Logia to help Miss Lu's mother, you and your Riot Force was there, stopping us." Uno narrowed her eyes, anger on her face. "Ever since we cut ties to the brains, we knew that the Bureau would come for us. You really think I'm going to let the Bureau kill my little sisters because they're so dangerous?" Subaru gulped as Uno grabbed the table and shook with fury. "I would rather die than let my sisters be put on trial and then eliminated for the crime of being created on the Bureau's orders!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Subaru protested, whimpering. "I was on a day off and we found a little girl with a Lost Logia, then Nove and someone else showed up and things went crazy. I swear!" Tears were leaking out of her eyes as Uno glared at her.

"You don't know who that girl is, do you?" Subaru shook her head quickly and Uno snorted before pulling out a small remote and pushing a button. "Nove, if she tries to run..."

"Don't worry, I can stop her." Nove grinned as Uno gave Subaru the outfit.

Uno nodded as Subaru put the outfit on. "Now, hold still..." She pulled out a collar and slipped it around Subaru's neck, before locking it into place with a click. "That's an explosive shock collar." Uno smirked at Subaru. "You thought I trusted you? You're an idiot. Try and leave or attack anyone, you'll be shocked. Try and use magic, you'll be shocked. Try to do a combination of those, it'll explode and take your head off."

Subaru gulped and nodded. "I'll be good." She turned to walk away and yelped as Uno slapped her butt.

"I have to admit," Uno smirked as she looked at Subaru, "a slightly tighter outfit is more flattering, even though it shows off a lot more detail. Now get out of here!"

Subaru nodded and followed behind Nove, her steps hesitant and meek.

Uno sighed softly and closed her eyes. "Sorry, Nove, didn't mean to scare your sister like that, but I can't trust the Bureau, at all."

(---)

Jail smiled as he saw Subaru and Nove a minute later. "Ah, Nove! How are you? And this must be your sister, Subaru then?" He blinked as Subaru nodded rather meekly. "Something wrong?"

"Explosive shock collar." Nove grumbled softly. "Plus Un-nee got mad at her." Jail nodded as he heard that and looked at Subaru, who looked down. What he did next shocked Subaru, but not Nove. In fact, Nove almost expected Jail to do what he did next.

The scientist took a step forward and pulled Subaru into a hug. "Calm down, Subaru." He rubbed her back and smirked as she stiffened in the hug. "Uno is very protective of her younger sisters, and we do have good reason to be afraid of the Bureau right now." He sighed softly as he held the distraught cyborg, who was slowly relaxing in his hug. "I just wish I knew why you were trying to stop us from perfecting our ability to fight against Mazoku."

Subaru blinked and pulled back, looking up at him in confusion. "...What are you talking about? The Riot Force that I work for was designed to train mages to be able to fight against Mazoku."

Jail and Nove both stared at Subaru in shock.

BTW, this story now has over 500,000 words to it.

I think this would describe my reaction to this plot twist:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqyixwqiCag

[Nanya01]

Poor Hayate...

StrikerS 1-45

StrikerS 46

StrikerS 47

StrikerS 48

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 49:

Back at the Riot Force, Caro could only look around as she sat outside of the operating room.

"Hurry up! We're losing her!"

"Oh gods! Her eye!"

"Hold him still, dammit!"

"Caro!" She gasped and turned her head to see Teana, her left arm in a sling, walking up to her. "What are you doing here?" When Caro couldn't give her a real answer, Teana rolled her eyes, grabbed Caro's arm and pulled her away from the operating room. "Come on, standing too close to that place will make you worry too much."

"What about your arm?" Caro asked as she was dragged away. "I can..."

"Don't," Teana shook her head, "I was told to let the bones set for at least two days before they fully fix it." When Caro tried to protest, Teana sighed heavily. "Look, my bones were almost nothing but paste, and too much healing is bad for the body, okay?" Caro nodded slowly. "Besides, my bones are back in place properly and they just need to recover."

"I wish I..."

"Hold it." Teana turned and knelt down to look Caro in the eye. "You're going to wish you could have done more to help Signum, right?" Caro nodded at her. "Stop that, right now." Caro's eyes widened and Teana sighed heavily. "Listen, from what I understand, you were busy helping Erio out, right?" Caro nodded slowly. "Tell me, Caro, when facing a situation where your comrades are injured, what is the correct course of action? Making sure that you tend to injuries or going after fleeing criminals?"

"Ano... I always thought we should secure our enemies first, to prevent the enemy from doing more harm?"

Teana smiled lightly. "While this is true, Caro, tell me, were you alone when helping Erio and Fried?" Caro shook her head and Teana nodded. "Yeah, Signum was there too. In your situation, I would have tried to heal Erio and help Fried as well. Besides, Signum told you to heal Erio, right?"

"Uh huh..." Caro nodded and looked down, blushing. "I guess, I... I'm upset that I couldn't do more to help her." She blushed harder as Teana rubbed the top of her head. "Teana-san..."

"Don't worry about it, Caro. Right now, let's just hope for a speedy recovery for everyone, okay?" Caro nodded, mollified at that. "Besides, Fried's okay now, right?" Caro smiled softly, her Dragon was back in its smaller form, resting now after being healed from the knives stuck in its mouth.

"What about you?" Caro stopped smiling as she looked at Teana. "Subaru is..."

Teana sighed heavily, sadness on her face before she smiled softly. "I know, but I think she's okay. I don't know why, but I'm sure that she'll be okay. She's too stupid to get hurt."

Caro sweat-dropped at hearing that. "Um... You keep complaining about her, do you not like her?"

Teana sweat-dropped at the question. "There are times I want to smack her with Cross Mirage and shoot her when she's being an idiot or a pervert, but..." Teana sighed heavily and shook her head, "when she's really cheerful it's hard to be mad at her, and she's always encouraging me and wanting me to do my best, and..." Teana suddenly felt her eyes burning as tears filled her eyes, "dammit, that stupid, stupid girl," she slammed her good fist into the ground, "dammit, Subaru! Why'd you have to get kidnapped?! Huh?! You just had to get beaten, didn't you? You were always the stronger of us, why? WHY?!"

Caro couldn't think of anything to say, so she just wrapped her arms around Teana, "GUH!" her eyes widened as Teana's hugged her so tightly with her good arm that it drove the air out of her lungs. Even if Teana was letting the negative emotions out of her system, it was probably going to be hard for Caro to remain concious for much longer.

Especially with the way her vision was starting to go dark. 'Can't... Breathe... Need... Help... Yuuno-papa...' Her mind called out in desperation.

(---)

Peeking into Hayate's office, Shari winced as she saw Hayate pacing back and forth. "Commander..?" She hedged as she knocked on the door. "I'm sorry, but you wanted to know if something happened to that Unison Device we have..."

Hayate stopped pacing and sighed, turning to her and nodding. "Go on."

"I'm sorry, but, we lost her." Shari bit her lip and wrung her hands together. "I really am sorry! We tried to save her, did everything we could, but... She just... Dissolved and turned to dust before our eyes," tears came to Shari's face, "she looked so scared and screamed as she dissolved and... I'm sorry!"

Hayate sighed heavily and shook her head. "No, don't be, you didn't kill her. Is there anything else?"

"Uh, we found most of Laevantein." Shari was almost bowled over when Hayate grabbed her shoulders tightly. "Ah... It's in a lot of pieces, but we can probably salvage the core components. I think that the A.I. is mostly intact, but I need to look at it more closely."

"There is that," Hayate sighed, and blinked as Shari looked away, "what's wrong?"

"There's not much of the body that's left. Even if I salvage as much as possible, I don't think I can rebuild it to what it was before."

"...Do what you can, okay?" Hayate nodded to Shari and let go of her shoulders. "Ugh, I'm worried... Signum was so badly injured... Laevantein's been destroyed... And Reinforce and Zafira have been gone for hours now."

Shari stared at Hayate. "Um, hours? Haven't they called back?" Hayate shook her head. "Um..."

"Zest and Zelgadis were dispatched to check up on them." Hayate wrung her hands together. "I just..." There was a sudden beeping and Hayate turned as a screen appeared in front of her. "Zest! This is Commander Yagami, what did you find?"

"Not good," Zest spoke gravely to her. "We found Zafira, alone, out cold and badly injured." Hayate stared, her eyes widening as her body had a cold chill fill her. "No sign of Reinforce, but there was a struggle here."

"...What?"

"Zelgadis is working on healing him, but it may be too late." Zest shook his head. "I will call you with an update, regardless of what happened, Zest out."

When the screen turned off, Hayate grabbed her chest and grimaced, stumbling back as her breathing became labored. "Nnnngh..."

"Hayate..." Shari watched as Hayate fell to her knees. "Hayate!" Rushing over, she grabbed Hayate and called up a screen to the medical staff. "If anyone can get to Commander Yagami's office, now would be a good time, she suddenly clutched her chest and is on her knees in pain." She gasped as Hayate slipped out of her grasp. "Correct that, that's out cold."

A little while later later, Hayate groaned as she opened her eyes. "...What happened?" Above her was Shari and a doctor were looking at her, Shari in concern and the doctor in relief. She didn't know the doctor's name and guessed that he was one of the people Shamal had come over to learn new healing spells. Hayate sat up and blinked as a blanket was draped over her body. Her eyes widened when it flopped off, revealing that she was in just her bra.

"You're okay," the doctor smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You just had an extreme anxiety attack. If it had been any worse, your heart would have stopped." Hayate stared at him and he shook his head. "Commander, I know that you're young and that you worry about things, but please, take it easy and rest for the rest of today." He patted her shoulder. "I would hate to find out that you died so young."

Hayate nodded and grabbed the blanket. "Um, why take my clothes off?"

"Had to check on your heart, hard to do with your outfit in the way." The doctor stood up. "I mean it though, Commander Yagami, take it easy for the day."

"Sure, doc." Hayate groaned and put her hand over her eyes. 'What else can happen today?' She wondered to herself.

[bhl88]

Nooooo it's dark!

Comedic stuff that destroys atmosphere:

Caro: Did you kiss?

Teana: *spittake* DID NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[biodude711]

Poor Hayate indeed.

Also,

Originally Posted by Nanya01

"Sure, doc." Hayate groaned and put her hand over her eyes. 'What else can happen today?' She wondered to herself.

Hayate, unless you want bad things to happen, don't say that!

[Filraen]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Poor Hayate...

StrikerS 1-45

StrikerS 46

StrikerS 47

StrikerS 48

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 49:

Back at the Riot Force, Caro could only look around as she sat outside of the operating room.

"Hurry up! We're losing her!"

"Oh gods! Her eye!"

"Hold him still, dammit!"

"Caro!" She gasped and turned her head to see Teana, her left arm in a sling, walking up to her. "What are you doing here?" When Caro couldn't give her a real answer, Teana rolled her eyes, grabbed Caro's arm and pulled her away from the operating room. "Come on, standing too close to that place will make you worry too much."

"What about your arm?" Caro asked as she was dragged away. "I can..."

"Don't," Teana shook her head, "I was told to let the bones set for at least two days before they fully fix it." When Caro tried to protest, Teana sighed heavily. "Look, my bones were almost nothing but paste, and too much healing is bad for the body, okay?" Caro nodded slowly. "Besides, my bones are back in place properly and they just need to recover."

"I wish I..."

"Hold it." Teana turned and knelt down to look Caro in the eye. "You're going to wish you could have done more to help Signum, right?" Caro nodded at her. "Stop that, right now." Caro's eyes widened and Teana sighed heavily. "Listen, from what I understand, you were busy helping Erio out, right?" Caro nodded slowly. "Tell me, Caro, when facing a situation where your comrades are injured, what is the correct course of action? Making sure that you tend to injuries or going after fleeing criminals?"

"Ano... I always thought we should secure our enemies first, to prevent the enemy from doing more harm?"

Teana smiled lightly. "While this is true, Caro, tell me, were you alone when helping Erio and Fried?" Caro shook her head and Teana nodded. "Yeah, Signum was there too. In your situation, I would have tried to heal Erio and help Fried as well. Besides, Signum told you to heal Erio, right?"

"Uh huh..." Caro nodded and looked down, blushing. "I guess, I... I'm upset that I couldn't do more to help her." She blushed harder as Teana rubbed the top of her head. "Teana-san..."

"Don't worry about it, Caro. Right now, let's just hope for a speedy recovery for everyone, okay?" Caro nodded, mollified at that. "Besides, Fried's okay now, right?" Caro smiled softly, her Dragon was back in its smaller form, resting now after being healed from the knives stuck in its mouth.

"What about you?" Caro stopped smiling as she looked at Teana. "Subaru is..."

Teana sighed heavily, sadness on her face before she smiled softly. "I know, but I think she's okay. I don't know why, but I'm sure that she'll be okay. She's too stupid to get hurt."

Caro sweat-dropped at hearing that. "Um... You keep complaining about her, do you not like her?"

Teana sweat-dropped at the question. "There are times I want to smack her with Cross Mirage and shoot her when she's being an idiot or a pervert, but..." Teana sighed heavily and shook her head, "when she's really cheerful it's hard to be mad at her, and she's always encouraging me and wanting me to do my best, and..." Teana suddenly felt her eyes burning as tears filled her eyes, "dammit, that stupid, stupid girl," she slammed her good fist into the ground, "dammit, Subaru! Why'd you have to get kidnapped?! Huh?! You just had to get beaten, didn't you? You were always the stronger of us, why? WHY?!"

Caro couldn't think of anything to say, so she just wrapped her arms around Teana, "GUH!" her eyes widened as Teana's hugged her so tightly with her good arm that it drove the air out of her lungs. Even if Teana was letting the negative emotions out of her system, it was probably going to be hard for Caro to remain concious for much longer.

Especially with the way her vision was starting to go dark. 'Can't... Breathe... Need... Help... Yuuno-papa...' Her mind called out in desperation.

(---)

Peeking into Hayate's office, Shari winced as she saw Hayate pacing back and forth. "Commander..?" She hedged as she knocked on the door. "I'm sorry, but you wanted to know if something happened to that Unison Device we have..."

Hayate stopped pacing and sighed, turning to her and nodding. "Go on."

"I'm sorry, but, we lost her." Shari bit her lip and wrung her hands together. "I really am sorry! We tried to save her, did everything we could, but... She just... Dissolved and turned to dust before our eyes," tears came to Shari's face, "she looked so scared and screamed as she dissolved and... I'm sorry!"

Hayate sighed heavily and shook her head. "No, don't be, you didn't kill her. Is there anything else?"

"Uh, we found most of Laevantein." Shari was almost bowled over when Hayate grabbed her shoulders tightly. "Ah... It's in a lot of pieces, but we can probably salvage the core components. I think that the A.I. is mostly intact, but I need to look at it more closely."

"There is that," Hayate sighed, and blinked as Shari looked away, "what's wrong?"

"There's not much of the body that's left. Even if I salvage as much as possible, I don't think I can rebuild it to what it was before."

"...Do what you can, okay?" Hayate nodded to Shari and let go of her shoulders. "Ugh, I'm worried... Signum was so badly injured... Laevantein's been destroyed... And Reinforce and Zafira have been gone for hours now."

Shari stared at Hayate. "Um, hours? Haven't they called back?" Hayate shook her head. "Um..."

"Zest and Zelgadis were dispatched to check up on them." Hayate wrung her hands together. "I just..." There was a sudden beeping and Hayate turned as a screen appeared in front of her. "Zest! This is Commander Yagami, what did you find?"

"Not good," Zest spoke gravely to her. "We found Zafira, alone, out cold and badly injured." Hayate stared, her eyes widening as her body had a cold chill fill her. "No sign of Reinforce, but there was a struggle here."

"...What?"

"Zelgadis is working on healing him, but it may be too late." Zest shook his head. "I will call you with an update, regardless of what happened, Zest out."

When the screen turned off, Hayate grabbed her chest and grimaced, stumbling back as her breathing became labored. "Nnnngh..."

"Hayate..." Shari watched as Hayate fell to her knees. "Hayate!" Rushing over, she grabbed Hayate and called up a screen to the medical staff. "If anyone can get to Commander Yagami's office, now would be a good time, she suddenly clutched her chest and is on her knees in pain." She gasped as Hayate slipped out of her grasp. "Correct that, that's out cold."

A little while later later, Hayate groaned as she opened her eyes. "...What happened?" Above her was Shari and a doctor were looking at her, Shari in concern and the doctor in relief. She didn't know the doctor's name and guessed that he was one of the people Shamal had come over to learn new healing spells. Hayate sat up and blinked as a blanket was draped over her body. Her eyes widened when it flopped off, revealing that she was in just her bra.

"You're okay," the doctor smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You just had an extreme anxiety attack. If it had been any worse, your heart would have stopped." Hayate stared at him and he shook his head. "Commander, I know that you're young and that you worry about things, but please, take it easy and rest for the rest of today." He patted her shoulder. "I would hate to find out that you died so young."

Hayate nodded and grabbed the blanket. "Um, why take my clothes off?"

"Had to check on your heart, hard to do with your outfit in the way." The doctor stood up. "I mean it though, Commander Yagami, take it easy for the day."

"Sure, doc." Hayate groaned and put her hand over her eyes. 'What else can happen today?' She wondered to herself.

Spoiler for ...:

HOLD IT!

Who was Shari taking about? BtF!Signum is human, she can't dissolve and turn to dust. Aria and Lotte tried it before and failed.

I thought for one moment Signum was dead. Well done.

[Nanya01]

Originally Posted by Filraen

Spoiler for ...:

HOLD IT!

Who was Shari taking about? BtF!Signum is human, she can't dissolve and turn to dust. Aria and Lotte tried it before and failed.

I thought for one moment Signum was dead. Well done.

Spoiler for Reply:

The Unison Device that Teana had sealed into Cross Mirage.

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Poor Hayate...

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Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 49:

Back at the Riot Force, Caro could only look around as she sat outside of the operating room.

"Hurry up! We're losing her!"

"Oh gods! Her eye!"

"Hold him still, dammit!"

"Caro!" She gasped and turned her head to see Teana, her left arm in a sling, walking up to her. "What are you doing here?" When Caro couldn't give her a real answer, Teana rolled her eyes, grabbed Caro's arm and pulled her away from the operating room. "Come on, standing too close to that place will make you worry too much."

"What about your arm?" Caro asked as she was dragged away. "I can..."

"Don't," Teana shook her head, "I was told to let the bones set for at least two days before they fully fix it." When Caro tried to protest, Teana sighed heavily. "Look, my bones were almost nothing but paste, and too much healing is bad for the body, okay?" Caro nodded slowly. "Besides, my bones are back in place properly and they just need to recover."

"I wish I..."

"Hold it." Teana turned and knelt down to look Caro in the eye. "You're going to wish you could have done more to help Signum, right?" Caro nodded at her. "Stop that, right now." Caro's eyes widened and Teana sighed heavily. "Listen, from what I understand, you were busy helping Erio out, right?" Caro nodded slowly. "Tell me, Caro, when facing a situation where your comrades are injured, what is the correct course of action? Making sure that you tend to injuries or going after fleeing criminals?"

"Ano... I always thought we should secure our enemies first, to prevent the enemy from doing more harm?"

Teana smiled lightly. "While this is true, Caro, tell me, were you alone when helping Erio and Fried?" Caro shook her head and Teana nodded. "Yeah, Signum was there too. In your situation, I would have tried to heal Erio and help Fried as well. Besides, Signum told you to heal Erio, right?"

"Uh huh..." Caro nodded and looked down, blushing. "I guess, I... I'm upset that I couldn't do more to help her." She blushed harder as Teana rubbed the top of her head. "Teana-san..."

"Don't worry about it, Caro. Right now, let's just hope for a speedy recovery for everyone, okay?" Caro nodded, mollified at that. "Besides, Fried's okay now, right?" Caro smiled softly, her Dragon was back in its smaller form, resting now after being healed from the knives stuck in its mouth.

"What about you?" Caro stopped smiling as she looked at Teana. "Subaru is..."

Teana sighed heavily, sadness on her face before she smiled softly. "I know, but I think she's okay. I don't know why, but I'm sure that she'll be okay. She's too stupid to get hurt."

Caro sweat-dropped at hearing that. "Um... You keep complaining about her, do you not like her?"

Teana sweat-dropped at the question. "There are times I want to smack her with Cross Mirage and shoot her when she's being an idiot or a pervert, but..." Teana sighed heavily and shook her head, "when she's really cheerful it's hard to be mad at her, and she's always encouraging me and wanting me to do my best, and..." Teana suddenly felt her eyes burning as tears filled her eyes, "dammit, that stupid, stupid girl," she slammed her good fist into the ground, "dammit, Subaru! Why'd you have to get kidnapped?! Huh?! You just had to get beaten, didn't you? You were always the stronger of us, why? WHY?!"

Caro couldn't think of anything to say, so she just wrapped her arms around Teana, "GUH!" her eyes widened as Teana's hugged her so tightly with her good arm that it drove the air out of her lungs. Even if Teana was letting the negative emotions out of her system, it was probably going to be hard for Caro to remain concious for much longer.

Especially with the way her vision was starting to go dark. 'Can't... Breathe... Need... Help... Yuuno-papa...' Her mind called out in desperation.

(---)

Peeking into Hayate's office, Shari winced as she saw Hayate pacing back and forth. "Commander..?" She hedged as she knocked on the door. "I'm sorry, but you wanted to know if something happened to that Unison Device we have..."

Hayate stopped pacing and sighed, turning to her and nodding. "Go on."

"I'm sorry, but, we lost her." Shari bit her lip and wrung her hands together. "I really am sorry! We tried to save her, did everything we could, but... She just... Dissolved and turned to dust before our eyes," tears came to Shari's face, "she looked so scared and screamed as she dissolved and... I'm sorry!"

Hayate sighed heavily and shook her head. "No, don't be, you didn't kill her. Is there anything else?"

"Uh, we found most of Laevantein." Shari was almost bowled over when Hayate grabbed her shoulders tightly. "Ah... It's in a lot of pieces, but we can probably salvage the core components. I think that the A.I. is mostly intact, but I need to look at it more closely."

"There is that," Hayate sighed, and blinked as Shari looked away, "what's wrong?"

"There's not much of the body that's left. Even if I salvage as much as possible, I don't think I can rebuild it to what it was before."

"...Do what you can, okay?" Hayate nodded to Shari and let go of her shoulders. "Ugh, I'm worried... Signum was so badly injured... Laevantein's been destroyed... And Reinforce and Zafira have been gone for hours now."

Shari stared at Hayate. "Um, hours? Haven't they called back?" Hayate shook her head. "Um..."

"Zest and Zelgadis were dispatched to check up on them." Hayate wrung her hands together. "I just..." There was a sudden beeping and Hayate turned as a screen appeared in front of her. "Zest! This is Commander Yagami, what did you find?"

"Not good," Zest spoke gravely to her. "We found Zafira, alone, out cold and badly injured." Hayate stared, her eyes widening as her body had a cold chill fill her. "No sign of Reinforce, but there was a struggle here."

"...What?"

"Zelgadis is working on healing him, but it may be too late." Zest shook his head. "I will call you with an update, regardless of what happened, Zest out."

When the screen turned off, Hayate grabbed her chest and grimaced, stumbling back as her breathing became labored. "Nnnngh..."

"Hayate..." Shari watched as Hayate fell to her knees. "Hayate!" Rushing over, she grabbed Hayate and called up a screen to the medical staff. "If anyone can get to Commander Yagami's office, now would be a good time, she suddenly clutched her chest and is on her knees in pain." She gasped as Hayate slipped out of her grasp. "Correct that, that's out cold."

A little while later later, Hayate groaned as she opened her eyes. "...What happened?" Above her was Shari and a doctor were looking at her, Shari in concern and the doctor in relief. She didn't know the doctor's name and guessed that he was one of the people Shamal had come over to learn new healing spells. Hayate sat up and blinked as a blanket was draped over her body. Her eyes widened when it flopped off, revealing that she was in just her bra.

"You're okay," the doctor smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You just had an extreme anxiety attack. If it had been any worse, your heart would have stopped." Hayate stared at him and he shook his head. "Commander, I know that you're young and that you worry about things, but please, take it easy and rest for the rest of today." He patted her shoulder. "I would hate to find out that you died so young."

Hayate nodded and grabbed the blanket. "Um, why take my clothes off?"

"Had to check on your heart, hard to do with your outfit in the way." The doctor stood up. "I mean it though, Commander Yagami, take it easy for the day."

"Sure, doc." Hayate groaned and put her hand over her eyes. 'What else can happen today?' She wondered to herself.

Me: NNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *promptly got knocked out with a good punch to the face.*

Odin: Ah Shut up! *Ahem!* Too bad for that Unison Device... This chapter is filled with heavy tension and depressing emotion. Anyways.... Since the I knock out the NEET I'll say this in his place. Continue your work. I'm sure everything will workout in the end.

[Nanya01]

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Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 50:

Later that day...

"Nanoha," Yuuno nodded to the girl as he sat down in the cafeteria, "how are you?"

"Other than feeling sick, I'm fine." Nanoha smiled at him. "How tired are you?"

"Pretty tired, and," Yuuno blinked as he noticed the small bunny in Nanoha's hands, "what's that for?"

"That little girl that my brother found," Nanoha smiled at him, "I figured if she might need a little friend. Um, how's Signum and Erio?" When Yuuno stood up, she shook her head, "you don't need to go with."

"I'd rather come with you, the walk will do me some good."

Nanoha smiled as grabbed his arm as he stood up, before walking to the girl's room. "I'm glad, you're better with kids than I am." She giggled as Yuuno blushed heavily. "I hope that everyone's okay."

"They're alive," Yuuno took a deep breath, "if Rein hadn't unisoned with Shamal, we probably wouldn't have been able to save Signum. We had to remove what was left of her right hand though." He nodded as Nanoha grimaced heavily. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant to look at, same with her eye."

Nanoha looked at him in confusion. "Can't we fix her eye and hand with healing magic?"

"Unless you know a healing spell that can regrow lost limbs, no," Yuuno sighed as they continued to walk down the hallway, "even Resurrection can only heal what's there. Her hand was gone, and her eye... I don't know if she'll ever be able to see out of her right eye ever again."

Nanoha bit her lip lightly and nodded. She couldn't even begin to imagine how it was for Signum at that moment. "What about Erio?"

"He's fine, Caro did most of the work before he got back, Fate's been with him in his room right now. What about you? You said you were feeling sick."

Nanoha nodded at that. "Whatever that girl," Nanoha would have sworn what she saw was a boy, but from Yuuno's description, Otto had to be a girl, "hit me with, it's really screwed me up. I'll be fine, I'm sure, but I'm just feeling out of it right now."

Yuuno nodded as they walked into the room where that girl was at. He blinked when he saw Arashi in the room talking to her. "Hello," he smiled as the girl turned to look at him, somewhat fearfully.

Letting go of his arm, Nanoha walked up to the bed and smiled at the tiny blonde girl. One thing that surprised her was that the girl had one red and one green eye. "Hi," she said softly and smiled, even as the girl whimpered, "what's your name?"

"Vivio..." The girl looked almost ready to cry and Nanoha held up the small stuffed bunny for her.

Seeing the girl gasp and look at the bunny, Nanoha held it forward for her. "Hi, Vivio, my name is Nanoha," when Vivio took it and hugged the thing tightly, tears forming in her eyes, Nanoha had to fight the urge to hug the little girl herself. "What were you doing out there?" Her voice was still soft as Vivio sniffled while hugging the bunny.

"Mama... Where's mama?"

Nanoha gave Vivio a sad smile. "I don't know where your mama is, Vivio." The girl whimpered heavily and tears welled up in her eyes. "Vivio, how about you stay here?" The girl looked at Nanoha, who had moved closer to her. "I'll help you find your mama, okay? But, um, until then, I can look after you."

"Wow, sis, you're going to be her mama?" Arashi blinked and Nanoha looked at him in confusion before tapping her chin.

"Uh..." She looked at Vivio and saw the girl trembling softly. "For now, I guess, yes, I will be her mama for now."

The next thing Nanoha knew, Vivio threw herself at Nanoha and was hugging the older woman as tightly as she could while sobbing out mama. Nanoha closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, patting Vivio on the back gently and whispering that it would be okay.

Though, as she looked at Yuuno, she had a sudden image of herself, Yuuno and Fate as chibis, holding onto smaller versions of Vivio, Caro and Erio and her chibi self sticking her tongue out and going "I finally have one too!"

'...Where did that come from?'

(---)

Shamal wiped her forehead and smiled at Zwei. "Thank you for your help, Zwei." The girl nodded and sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I wish sis had me come with, I could have saved her hand..."

"Zwei..." Shamal tapped Zwei on her head. "Signum didn't know that was going to happen. And if you were with Signum, you could have been badly hurt as well," Zwei whimpered heavily, "why don't you go and make sure that Signum is okay? It might be good if she sees you when she wakes up, okay?"

Zwei nodded and zipped off, causing Shamal to sigh heavily. "What a day..." She groaned and blinked as one of the security officers came up to her. "Is there a problem?"

"The prisoner is awake, ma'am, you may want to have a talk with her."

Shamal blinked several times. "I'm not an interrogator. I'm a doctor and psychologist."

"Trust me, ma'am, you should talk to her first."

Shamal could only look on in confusion.

(---)

"Here you go, ma'am." The officer led Shamal into the holding cell. As she walked in, Shamal had to fight the urge to shiver as she felt her magic suddenly cut off from her. It had been a needed safety precaution, to find a way to make a room completely shut off magic, even if unwillingly.

Of course, such a thing wasn't easy to make, and creating weapons to seal away a person's magic wasn't practical, not yet. Though Mary had stated that she could probably have it done in another ten to fifteen years if she wasn't disturbed.

The room itself was pretty simple in design, a toilet in one corner, a sink not too far from it, a small bed across the room and nothing else except for the pink haired person on top of the bed.

"Oh!" She noticed Shamal for the first time and sat up. "My name's Kyrie Florian, and I gotta say, you guys are a lot nicer than my last captors were. I mean, a new pair of panties and bra?" Kyrie pulled her shirt up, revealing those scars on her stomach, though she did show off a white bra underneath. "And a shirt, pants and socks?!" Kyrie dropped her shirt and crawled to her knees. "If you wanted to seduce me, you could have just said 'spread your legs', it would have been much easier than getting me new clothes... And a bed... A bed! Oh my god!" Kyrie bounced on her knees, causing her breasts to wobble slightly as she bounced on the bed. "This is awesome! And you guys have meal plans?!" Kyrie clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "If you want, I'll be your slave forever!"

"I can see why they had me come in." Shamal shook her head. "So, Kyrie... My name is Shamal Yagami, and, I just want to talk with you."

"Aww..." Kyrie pouted and stopped bouncing. "I was expecting a bunch of guys to come in here while I can't use magic and I don't have my weapon and use my body to satisfy them." She blinked as Shamal blushed. "What? Isn't that normal? A pretty young girl gets captured and the men go in while she's naked, take their pants off and do stuff to the girl until she can't walk and won't fight back?"

"So, when did that happen to you?" Shamal walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kyrie, who sat down normally and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Hmm... Let's see, dad was murdered when I was four... And then hmm... I think it was about five years later..." She blinked and closed her eyes, muttering something. "Hmm... There was that time on Ginbes III, and then on Menucel and on Slenser... Yeah, five years later, so I was nine."

"Kyrie, how old are you now?"

Kyrie blinked at the question and scratched her head. "Uh... Seventeen, maybe... Amitie's older than I am, I think she's nineteen, maybe... I dunno. Not really important knowing that." Kyrie smiled at Shamal. "After all, it's more important to enjoy yourself, right? I mean, if you're not killing people because of your master, you're probably sleeping with them, right? Well, maybe not on this world, it's really peaceful, but then again, Kuma didn't know about Mazoku. I wonder why."

"Mazoku?" Shamal blinked at her. "There's a Mazoku here?"

"Maybe, but I don't know. I mean, isn't everyone with magic a slave to a Mazoku or Shinzoku and forced to fight each other?" Shamal slowly shook her head and Kyrie blinked. "Huh, because that's the way it is where I'm from." Her stomach gurgled lightly and Kyrie blinked. "Uh... Sorry, guess I'm pretty hungry."

"I'll have some food brought down to you."

"Cool!" Kyrie grinned at her. "I've had some ice cream and... A hoagie, yeah, a hoagie, since I got to this universe. Gotta admit, I'm surprised I'm hungry so soon, I ate like three days ago. Then again, I usually use my magic to regulate how fast my body digests food, and I can't..."

"Stop," Shamal sighed as she looked at Kyrie, "is this all true?"

Kyrie sweat-dropped at the question, "if I lie, you'll get upset and you'll likely chain me to the wall and then whip me, right? So, why would I lie? It never helps to lie. My masters never liked it when I lied... Or when I talked back... Or asked questions really."

"I see," Shamal said softly and put her hand on Kyrie's shoulder, "those things you said, that you asked if we do... The rape, the starving, the torture... We would never do those things to you." The next thing Shamal knew, Kyrie was hugging her. "Kyrie?"

"Mmmm! You're all so awesome! What if Amitie comes for me? I can't tell her no, she'll be worried about me and..."

"Let's worry about that later." Shamal smiled as Kyrie let go. "For now, let's talk about some other stuff, okay?"

"Shamal, you can talk about how you want me to warm your bed, I don't care." Kyrie smiled happily. "This universe rocks."

Shamal sighed softly and knew she was going to hate it when she found out just what kind of horrors Kyrie had gone through in her life. "You're not from this universe then?"

Kyrie shook her head. "Nah uh... Amitie and I are from the universe where Death Fog and the White Cloud Dragon were enemies."

'Well, isn't that perfect? Now there's people from the Dark, Red, and White universes on this one.' Shamal thought to herself. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she knew one thing...

It would be interesting.

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

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Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 50:

Later that day...

"Nanoha," Yuuno nodded to the girl as he sat down in the cafeteria, "how are you?"

"Other than feeling sick, I'm fine." Nanoha smiled at him. "How tired are you?"

"Pretty tired, and," Yuuno blinked as he noticed the small bunny in Nanoha's hands, "what's that for?"

"That little girl that my brother found," Nanoha smiled at him, "I figured if she might need a little friend. Um, how's Signum and Erio?" When Yuuno stood up, she shook her head, "you don't need to go with."

"I'd rather come with you, the walk will do me some good."

Nanoha smiled as grabbed his arm as he stood up, before walking to the girl's room. "I'm glad, you're better with kids than I am." She giggled as Yuuno blushed heavily. "I hope that everyone's okay."

"They're alive," Yuuno took a deep breath, "if Rein hadn't unisoned with Shamal, we probably wouldn't have been able to save Signum. We had to remove what was left of her right hand though." He nodded as Nanoha grimaced heavily. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant to look at, same with her eye."

Nanoha looked at him in confusion. "Can't we fix her eye and hand with healing magic?"

"Unless you know a healing spell that can regrow lost limbs, no," Yuuno sighed as they continued to walk down the hallway, "even Resurrection can only heal what's there. Her hand was gone, and her eye... I don't know if she'll ever be able to see out of her right eye ever again."

Nanoha bit her lip lightly and nodded. She couldn't even begin to imagine how it was for Signum at that moment. "What about Erio?"

"He's fine, Caro did most of the work before he got back, Fate's been with him in his room right now. What about you? You said you were feeling sick."

Nanoha nodded at that. "Whatever that girl," Nanoha would have sworn what she saw was a boy, but from Yuuno's description, Otto had to be a girl, "hit me with, it's really screwed me up. I'll be fine, I'm sure, but I'm just feeling out of it right now."

Yuuno nodded as they walked into the room where that girl was at. He blinked when he saw Arashi in the room talking to her. "Hello," he smiled as the girl turned to look at him, somewhat fearfully.

Letting go of his arm, Nanoha walked up to the bed and smiled at the tiny blonde girl. One thing that surprised her was that the girl had one red and one green eye. "Hi," she said softly and smiled, even as the girl whimpered, "what's your name?"

"Vivio..." The girl looked almost ready to cry and Nanoha held up the small stuffed bunny for her.

Seeing the girl gasp and look at the bunny, Nanoha held it forward for her. "Hi, Vivio, my name is Nanoha," when Vivio took it and hugged the thing tightly, tears forming in her eyes, Nanoha had to fight the urge to hug the little girl herself. "What were you doing out there?" Her voice was still soft as Vivio sniffled while hugging the bunny.

"Mama... Where's mama?"

Nanoha gave Vivio a sad smile. "I don't know where your mama is, Vivio." The girl whimpered heavily and tears welled up in her eyes. "Vivio, how about you stay here?" The girl looked at Nanoha, who had moved closer to her. "I'll help you find your mama, okay? But, um, until then, I can look after you."

"Wow, sis, you're going to be her mama?" Arashi blinked and Nanoha looked at him in confusion before tapping her chin.

"Uh..." She looked at Vivio and saw the girl trembling softly. "For now, I guess, yes, I will be her mama for now."

The next thing Nanoha knew, Vivio threw herself at Nanoha and was hugging the older woman as tightly as she could while sobbing out mama. Nanoha closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, patting Vivio on the back gently and whispering that it would be okay.

Though, as she looked at Yuuno, she had a sudden image of herself, Yuuno and Fate as chibis, holding onto smaller versions of Vivio, Caro and Erio and her chibi self sticking her tongue out and going "I finally have one too!"

'...Where did that come from?'

(---)

Shamal wiped her forehead and smiled at Zwei. "Thank you for your help, Zwei." The girl nodded and sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I wish sis had me come with, I could have saved her hand..."

"Zwei..." Shamal tapped Zwei on her head. "Signum didn't know that was going to happen. And if you were with Signum, you could have been badly hurt as well," Zwei whimpered heavily, "why don't you go and make sure that Signum is okay? It might be good if she sees you when she wakes up, okay?"

Zwei nodded and zipped off, causing Shamal to sigh heavily. "What a day..." She groaned and blinked as one of the security officers came up to her. "Is there a problem?"

"The prisoner is awake, ma'am, you may want to have a talk with her."

Shamal blinked several times. "I'm not an interrogator. I'm a doctor and psychologist."

"Trust me, ma'am, you should talk to her first."

Shamal could only look on in confusion.

(---)

"Here you go, ma'am." The officer led Shamal into the holding cell. As she walked in, Shamal had to fight the urge to shiver as she felt her magic suddenly cut off from her. It had been a needed safety precaution, to find a way to make a room completely shut off magic, even if unwillingly.

Of course, such a thing wasn't easy to make, and creating weapons to seal away a person's magic wasn't practical, not yet. Though Mary had stated that she could probably have it done in another ten to fifteen years if she wasn't disturbed.

The room itself was pretty simple in design, a toilet in one corner, a sink not too far from it, a small bed across the room and nothing else except for the pink haired person on top of the bed.

"Oh!" She noticed Shamal for the first time and sat up. "My name's Kyrie Florian, and I gotta say, you guys are a lot nicer than my last captors were. I mean, a new pair of panties and bra?" Kyrie pulled her shirt up, revealing those scars on her stomach, though she did show off a white bra underneath. "And a shirt, pants and socks?!" Kyrie dropped her shirt and crawled to her knees. "If you wanted to seduce me, you could have just said 'spread your legs', it would have been much easier than getting me new clothes... And a bed... A bed! Oh my god!" Kyrie bounced on her knees, causing her breasts to wobble slightly as she bounced on the bed. "This is awesome! And you guys have meal plans?!" Kyrie clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "If you want, I'll be your slave forever!"

"I can see why they had me come in." Shamal shook her head. "So, Kyrie... My name is Shamal Yagami, and, I just want to talk with you."

"Aww..." Kyrie pouted and stopped bouncing. "I was expecting a bunch of guys to come in here while I can't use magic and I don't have my weapon and use my body to satisfy them." She blinked as Shamal blushed. "What? Isn't that normal? A pretty young girl gets captured and the men go in while she's naked, take their pants off and do stuff to the girl until she can't walk and won't fight back?"

"So, when did that happen to you?" Shamal walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kyrie, who sat down normally and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Hmm... Let's see, dad was murdered when I was four... And then hmm... I think it was about five years later..." She blinked and closed her eyes, muttering something. "Hmm... There was that time on Ginbes III, and then on Menucel and on Slenser... Yeah, five years later, so I was nine."

"Kyrie, how old are you now?"

Kyrie blinked at the question and scratched her head. "Uh... Seventeen, maybe... Amitie's older than I am, I think she's nineteen, maybe... I dunno. Not really important knowing that." Kyrie smiled at Shamal. "After all, it's more important to enjoy yourself, right? I mean, if you're not killing people because of your master, you're probably sleeping with them, right? Well, maybe not on this world, it's really peaceful, but then again, Kuma didn't know about Mazoku. I wonder why."

"Mazoku?" Shamal blinked at her. "There's a Mazoku here?"

"Maybe, but I don't know. I mean, isn't everyone with magic a slave to a Mazoku or Shinzoku and forced to fight each other?" Shamal slowly shook her head and Kyrie blinked. "Huh, because that's the way it is where I'm from." Her stomach gurgled lightly and Kyrie blinked. "Uh... Sorry, guess I'm pretty hungry."

"I'll have some food brought down to you."

"Cool!" Kyrie grinned at her. "I've had some ice cream and... A hoagie, yeah, a hoagie, since I got to this universe. Gotta admit, I'm surprised I'm hungry so soon, I ate like three days ago. Then again, I usually use my magic to regulate how fast my body digests food, and I can't..."

"Stop," Shamal sighed as she looked at Kyrie, "is this all true?"

Kyrie sweat-dropped at the question, "if I lie, you'll get upset and you'll likely chain me to the wall and then whip me, right? So, why would I lie? It never helps to lie. My masters never liked it when I lied... Or when I talked back... Or asked questions really."

"I see," Shamal said softly and put her hand on Kyrie's shoulder, "those things you said, that you asked if we do... The rape, the starving, the torture... We would never do those things to you." The next thing Shamal knew, Kyrie was hugging her. "Kyrie?"

"Mmmm! You're all so awesome! What if Amitie comes for me? I can't tell her no, she'll be worried about me and..."

"Let's worry about that later." Shamal smiled as Kyrie let go. "For now, let's talk about some other stuff, okay?"

"Shamal, you can talk about how you want me to warm your bed, I don't care." Kyrie smiled happily. "This universe rocks."

Shamal sighed softly and knew she was going to hate it when she found out just what kind of horrors Kyrie had gone through in her life. "You're not from this universe then?"

Kyrie shook her head. "Nah uh... Amitie and I are from the universe where Death Fog and the White Cloud Dragon were enemies."

'Well, isn't that perfect? Now there's people from the Dark, Red, and White universes on this one.' Shamal thought to herself. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she knew one thing...

It would be interesting.

Reia: Awww..... Soo Cute. *Looks at Nanoha and Vivio hugging and got a glimpse of what Nanoha just though a while.*

Iris: That's one way to break this depressing mood in this awesome story.

Me: @_@

Odin: Looks like I hit him a tad too hard...

Val: A TAD too hard? I heard his bone crack when you hit him.

Odin: Oh....

Val: Anyways... I'm sure once Jail and his loyal daughters manage to get the whole story, and RF6 accept their apologies, Signum will be fine.

Reia: And she'll be the same as Lamia-chan, a cyborg.

[Filraen]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

StrikerS 1-45

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StrikerS 47

StrikerS 48

StrikerS 49

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 50:

Later that day...

"Nanoha," Yuuno nodded to the girl as he sat down in the cafeteria, "how are you?"

"Other than feeling sick, I'm fine." Nanoha smiled at him. "How tired are you?"

"Pretty tired, and," Yuuno blinked as he noticed the small bunny in Nanoha's hands, "what's that for?"

"That little girl that my brother found," Nanoha smiled at him, "I figured if she might need a little friend. Um, how's Signum and Erio?" When Yuuno stood up, she shook her head, "you don't need to go with."

"I'd rather come with you, the walk will do me some good."

Nanoha smiled as grabbed his arm as he stood up, before walking to the girl's room. "I'm glad, you're better with kids than I am." She giggled as Yuuno blushed heavily. "I hope that everyone's okay."

"They're alive," Yuuno took a deep breath, "if Rein hadn't unisoned with Shamal, we probably wouldn't have been able to save Signum. We had to remove what was left of her right hand though." He nodded as Nanoha grimaced heavily. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant to look at, same with her eye."

Nanoha looked at him in confusion. "Can't we fix her eye and hand with healing magic?"

"Unless you know a healing spell that can regrow lost limbs, no," Yuuno sighed as they continued to walk down the hallway, "even Resurrection can only heal what's there. Her hand was gone, and her eye... I don't know if she'll ever be able to see out of her right eye ever again."

Nanoha bit her lip lightly and nodded. She couldn't even begin to imagine how it was for Signum at that moment. "What about Erio?"

"He's fine, Caro did most of the work before he got back, Fate's been with him in his room right now. What about you? You said you were feeling sick."

Nanoha nodded at that. "Whatever that girl," Nanoha would have sworn what she saw was a boy, but from Yuuno's description, Otto had to be a girl, "hit me with, it's really screwed me up. I'll be fine, I'm sure, but I'm just feeling out of it right now."

Yuuno nodded as they walked into the room where that girl was at. He blinked when he saw Arashi in the room talking to her. "Hello," he smiled as the girl turned to look at him, somewhat fearfully.

Letting go of his arm, Nanoha walked up to the bed and smiled at the tiny blonde girl. One thing that surprised her was that the girl had one red and one green eye. "Hi," she said softly and smiled, even as the girl whimpered, "what's your name?"

"Vivio..." The girl looked almost ready to cry and Nanoha held up the small stuffed bunny for her.

Seeing the girl gasp and look at the bunny, Nanoha held it forward for her. "Hi, Vivio, my name is Nanoha," when Vivio took it and hugged the thing tightly, tears forming in her eyes, Nanoha had to fight the urge to hug the little girl herself. "What were you doing out there?" Her voice was still soft as Vivio sniffled while hugging the bunny.

"Mama... Where's mama?"

Nanoha gave Vivio a sad smile. "I don't know where your mama is, Vivio." The girl whimpered heavily and tears welled up in her eyes. "Vivio, how about you stay here?" The girl looked at Nanoha, who had moved closer to her. "I'll help you find your mama, okay? But, um, until then, I can look after you."

"Wow, sis, you're going to be her mama?" Arashi blinked and Nanoha looked at him in confusion before tapping her chin.

"Uh..." She looked at Vivio and saw the girl trembling softly. "For now, I guess, yes, I will be her mama for now."

The next thing Nanoha knew, Vivio threw herself at Nanoha and was hugging the older woman as tightly as she could while sobbing out mama. Nanoha closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, patting Vivio on the back gently and whispering that it would be okay.

Though, as she looked at Yuuno, she had a sudden image of herself, Yuuno and Fate as chibis, holding onto smaller versions of Vivio, Caro and Erio and her chibi self sticking her tongue out and going "I finally have one too!"

'...Where did that come from?'

(---)

Shamal wiped her forehead and smiled at Zwei. "Thank you for your help, Zwei." The girl nodded and sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I wish sis had me come with, I could have saved her hand..."

"Zwei..." Shamal tapped Zwei on her head. "Signum didn't know that was going to happen. And if you were with Signum, you could have been badly hurt as well," Zwei whimpered heavily, "why don't you go and make sure that Signum is okay? It might be good if she sees you when she wakes up, okay?"

Zwei nodded and zipped off, causing Shamal to sigh heavily. "What a day..." She groaned and blinked as one of the security officers came up to her. "Is there a problem?"

"The prisoner is awake, ma'am, you may want to have a talk with her."

Shamal blinked several times. "I'm not an interrogator. I'm a doctor and psychologist."

"Trust me, ma'am, you should talk to her first."

Shamal could only look on in confusion.

(---)

"Here you go, ma'am." The officer led Shamal into the holding cell. As she walked in, Shamal had to fight the urge to shiver as she felt her magic suddenly cut off from her. It had been a needed safety precaution, to find a way to make a room completely shut off magic, even if unwillingly.

Of course, such a thing wasn't easy to make, and creating weapons to seal away a person's magic wasn't practical, not yet. Though Mary had stated that she could probably have it done in another ten to fifteen years if she wasn't disturbed.

The room itself was pretty simple in design, a toilet in one corner, a sink not too far from it, a small bed across the room and nothing else except for the pink haired person on top of the bed.

"Oh!" She noticed Shamal for the first time and sat up. "My name's Kyrie Florian, and I gotta say, you guys are a lot nicer than my last captors were. I mean, a new pair of panties and bra?" Kyrie pulled her shirt up, revealing those scars on her stomach, though she did show off a white bra underneath. "And a shirt, pants and socks?!" Kyrie dropped her shirt and crawled to her knees. "If you wanted to seduce me, you could have just said 'spread your legs', it would have been much easier than getting me new clothes... And a bed... A bed! Oh my god!" Kyrie bounced on her knees, causing her breasts to wobble slightly as she bounced on the bed. "This is awesome! And you guys have meal plans?!" Kyrie clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "If you want, I'll be your slave forever!"

"I can see why they had me come in." Shamal shook her head. "So, Kyrie... My name is Shamal Yagami, and, I just want to talk with you."

"Aww..." Kyrie pouted and stopped bouncing. "I was expecting a bunch of guys to come in here while I can't use magic and I don't have my weapon and use my body to satisfy them." She blinked as Shamal blushed. "What? Isn't that normal? A pretty young girl gets captured and the men go in while she's naked, take their pants off and do stuff to the girl until she can't walk and won't fight back?"

"So, when did that happen to you?" Shamal walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kyrie, who sat down normally and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Hmm... Let's see, dad was murdered when I was four... And then hmm... I think it was about five years later..." She blinked and closed her eyes, muttering something. "Hmm... There was that time on Ginbes III, and then on Menucel and on Slenser... Yeah, five years later, so I was nine."

"Kyrie, how old are you now?"

Kyrie blinked at the question and scratched her head. "Uh... Seventeen, maybe... Amitie's older than I am, I think she's nineteen, maybe... I dunno. Not really important knowing that." Kyrie smiled at Shamal. "After all, it's more important to enjoy yourself, right? I mean, if you're not killing people because of your master, you're probably sleeping with them, right? Well, maybe not on this world, it's really peaceful, but then again, Kuma didn't know about Mazoku. I wonder why."

"Mazoku?" Shamal blinked at her. "There's a Mazoku here?"

"Maybe, but I don't know. I mean, isn't everyone with magic a slave to a Mazoku or Shinzoku and forced to fight each other?" Shamal slowly shook her head and Kyrie blinked. "Huh, because that's the way it is where I'm from." Her stomach gurgled lightly and Kyrie blinked. "Uh... Sorry, guess I'm pretty hungry."

"I'll have some food brought down to you."

"Cool!" Kyrie grinned at her. "I've had some ice cream and... A hoagie, yeah, a hoagie, since I got to this universe. Gotta admit, I'm surprised I'm hungry so soon, I ate like three days ago. Then again, I usually use my magic to regulate how fast my body digests food, and I can't..."

"Stop," Shamal sighed as she looked at Kyrie, "is this all true?"

Kyrie sweat-dropped at the question, "if I lie, you'll get upset and you'll likely chain me to the wall and then whip me, right? So, why would I lie? It never helps to lie. My masters never liked it when I lied... Or when I talked back... Or asked questions really."

"I see," Shamal said softly and put her hand on Kyrie's shoulder, "those things you said, that you asked if we do... The rape, the starving, the torture... We would never do those things to you." The next thing Shamal knew, Kyrie was hugging her. "Kyrie?"

"Mmmm! You're all so awesome! What if Amitie comes for me? I can't tell her no, she'll be worried about me and..."

"Let's worry about that later." Shamal smiled as Kyrie let go. "For now, let's talk about some other stuff, okay?"

"Shamal, you can talk about how you want me to warm your bed, I don't care." Kyrie smiled happily. "This universe rocks."

Shamal sighed softly and knew she was going to hate it when she found out just what kind of horrors Kyrie had gone through in her life. "You're not from this universe then?"

Kyrie shook her head. "Nah uh... Amitie and I are from the universe where Death Fog and the White Cloud Dragon were enemies."

'Well, isn't that perfect? Now there's people from the Dark, Red, and White universes on this one.' Shamal thought to herself. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she knew one thing...

It would be interesting.

What a way you have with the mood whiplash, even if it make complete sense.

"I finally have one too!" XD

[Old_Iron]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

StrikerS 1-45

StrikerS 46

StrikerS 47

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Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 50:

Later that day...

"Nanoha," Yuuno nodded to the girl as he sat down in the cafeteria, "how are you?"

"Other than feeling sick, I'm fine." Nanoha smiled at him. "How tired are you?"

"Pretty tired, and," Yuuno blinked as he noticed the small bunny in Nanoha's hands, "what's that for?"

"That little girl that my brother found," Nanoha smiled at him, "I figured if she might need a little friend. Um, how's Signum and Erio?" When Yuuno stood up, she shook her head, "you don't need to go with."

"I'd rather come with you, the walk will do me some good."

Nanoha smiled as grabbed his arm as he stood up, before walking to the girl's room. "I'm glad, you're better with kids than I am." She giggled as Yuuno blushed heavily. "I hope that everyone's okay."

"They're alive," Yuuno took a deep breath, "if Rein hadn't unisoned with Shamal, we probably wouldn't have been able to save Signum. We had to remove what was left of her right hand though." He nodded as Nanoha grimaced heavily. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant to look at, same with her eye."

Nanoha looked at him in confusion. "Can't we fix her eye and hand with healing magic?"

"Unless you know a healing spell that can regrow lost limbs, no," Yuuno sighed as they continued to walk down the hallway, "even Resurrection can only heal what's there. Her hand was gone, and her eye... I don't know if she'll ever be able to see out of her right eye ever again."

Nanoha bit her lip lightly and nodded. She couldn't even begin to imagine how it was for Signum at that moment. "What about Erio?"

"He's fine, Caro did most of the work before he got back, Fate's been with him in his room right now. What about you? You said you were feeling sick."

Nanoha nodded at that. "Whatever that girl," Nanoha would have sworn what she saw was a boy, but from Yuuno's description, Otto had to be a girl, "hit me with, it's really screwed me up. I'll be fine, I'm sure, but I'm just feeling out of it right now."

Yuuno nodded as they walked into the room where that girl was at. He blinked when he saw Arashi in the room talking to her. "Hello," he smiled as the girl turned to look at him, somewhat fearfully.

Letting go of his arm, Nanoha walked up to the bed and smiled at the tiny blonde girl. One thing that surprised her was that the girl had one red and one green eye. "Hi," she said softly and smiled, even as the girl whimpered, "what's your name?"

"Vivio..." The girl looked almost ready to cry and Nanoha held up the small stuffed bunny for her.

Seeing the girl gasp and look at the bunny, Nanoha held it forward for her. "Hi, Vivio, my name is Nanoha," when Vivio took it and hugged the thing tightly, tears forming in her eyes, Nanoha had to fight the urge to hug the little girl herself. "What were you doing out there?" Her voice was still soft as Vivio sniffled while hugging the bunny.

"Mama... Where's mama?"

Nanoha gave Vivio a sad smile. "I don't know where your mama is, Vivio." The girl whimpered heavily and tears welled up in her eyes. "Vivio, how about you stay here?" The girl looked at Nanoha, who had moved closer to her. "I'll help you find your mama, okay? But, um, until then, I can look after you."

"Wow, sis, you're going to be her mama?" Arashi blinked and Nanoha looked at him in confusion before tapping her chin.

"Uh..." She looked at Vivio and saw the girl trembling softly. "For now, I guess, yes, I will be her mama for now."

The next thing Nanoha knew, Vivio threw herself at Nanoha and was hugging the older woman as tightly as she could while sobbing out mama. Nanoha closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, patting Vivio on the back gently and whispering that it would be okay.

Though, as she looked at Yuuno, she had a sudden image of herself, Yuuno and Fate as chibis, holding onto smaller versions of Vivio, Caro and Erio and her chibi self sticking her tongue out and going "I finally have one too!"

'...Where did that come from?'

(---)

Shamal wiped her forehead and smiled at Zwei. "Thank you for your help, Zwei." The girl nodded and sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I wish sis had me come with, I could have saved her hand..."

"Zwei..." Shamal tapped Zwei on her head. "Signum didn't know that was going to happen. And if you were with Signum, you could have been badly hurt as well," Zwei whimpered heavily, "why don't you go and make sure that Signum is okay? It might be good if she sees you when she wakes up, okay?"

Zwei nodded and zipped off, causing Shamal to sigh heavily. "What a day..." She groaned and blinked as one of the security officers came up to her. "Is there a problem?"

"The prisoner is awake, ma'am, you may want to have a talk with her."

Shamal blinked several times. "I'm not an interrogator. I'm a doctor and psychologist."

"Trust me, ma'am, you should talk to her first."

Shamal could only look on in confusion.

(---)

"Here you go, ma'am." The officer led Shamal into the holding cell. As she walked in, Shamal had to fight the urge to shiver as she felt her magic suddenly cut off from her. It had been a needed safety precaution, to find a way to make a room completely shut off magic, even if unwillingly.

Of course, such a thing wasn't easy to make, and creating weapons to seal away a person's magic wasn't practical, not yet. Though Mary had stated that she could probably have it done in another ten to fifteen years if she wasn't disturbed.

The room itself was pretty simple in design, a toilet in one corner, a sink not too far from it, a small bed across the room and nothing else except for the pink haired person on top of the bed.

"Oh!" She noticed Shamal for the first time and sat up. "My name's Kyrie Florian, and I gotta say, you guys are a lot nicer than my last captors were. I mean, a new pair of panties and bra?" Kyrie pulled her shirt up, revealing those scars on her stomach, though she did show off a white bra underneath. "And a shirt, pants and socks?!" Kyrie dropped her shirt and crawled to her knees. "If you wanted to seduce me, you could have just said 'spread your legs', it would have been much easier than getting me new clothes... And a bed... A bed! Oh my god!" Kyrie bounced on her knees, causing her breasts to wobble slightly as she bounced on the bed. "This is awesome! And you guys have meal plans?!" Kyrie clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "If you want, I'll be your slave forever!"

"I can see why they had me come in." Shamal shook her head. "So, Kyrie... My name is Shamal Yagami, and, I just want to talk with you."

"Aww..." Kyrie pouted and stopped bouncing. "I was expecting a bunch of guys to come in here while I can't use magic and I don't have my weapon and use my body to satisfy them." She blinked as Shamal blushed. "What? Isn't that normal? A pretty young girl gets captured and the men go in while she's naked, take their pants off and do stuff to the girl until she can't walk and won't fight back?"

"So, when did that happen to you?" Shamal walked over to the bed and sat down next to Kyrie, who sat down normally and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Hmm... Let's see, dad was murdered when I was four... And then hmm... I think it was about five years later..." She blinked and closed her eyes, muttering something. "Hmm... There was that time on Ginbes III, and then on Menucel and on Slenser... Yeah, five years later, so I was nine."

"Kyrie, how old are you now?"

Kyrie blinked at the question and scratched her head. "Uh... Seventeen, maybe... Amitie's older than I am, I think she's nineteen, maybe... I dunno. Not really important knowing that." Kyrie smiled at Shamal. "After all, it's more important to enjoy yourself, right? I mean, if you're not killing people because of your master, you're probably sleeping with them, right? Well, maybe not on this world, it's really peaceful, but then again, Kuma didn't know about Mazoku. I wonder why."

"Mazoku?" Shamal blinked at her. "There's a Mazoku here?"

"Maybe, but I don't know. I mean, isn't everyone with magic a slave to a Mazoku or Shinzoku and forced to fight each other?" Shamal slowly shook her head and Kyrie blinked. "Huh, because that's the way it is where I'm from." Her stomach gurgled lightly and Kyrie blinked. "Uh... Sorry, guess I'm pretty hungry."

"I'll have some food brought down to you."

"Cool!" Kyrie grinned at her. "I've had some ice cream and... A hoagie, yeah, a hoagie, since I got to this universe. Gotta admit, I'm surprised I'm hungry so soon, I ate like three days ago. Then again, I usually use my magic to regulate how fast my body digests food, and I can't..."

"Stop," Shamal sighed as she looked at Kyrie, "is this all true?"

Kyrie sweat-dropped at the question, "if I lie, you'll get upset and you'll likely chain me to the wall and then whip me, right? So, why would I lie? It never helps to lie. My masters never liked it when I lied... Or when I talked back... Or asked questions really."

"I see," Shamal said softly and put her hand on Kyrie's shoulder, "those things you said, that you asked if we do... The rape, the starving, the torture... We would never do those things to you." The next thing Shamal knew, Kyrie was hugging her. "Kyrie?"

"Mmmm! You're all so awesome! What if Amitie comes for me? I can't tell her no, she'll be worried about me and..."

"Let's worry about that later." Shamal smiled as Kyrie let go. "For now, let's talk about some other stuff, okay?"

"Shamal, you can talk about how you want me to warm your bed, I don't care." Kyrie smiled happily. "This universe rocks."

Shamal sighed softly and knew she was going to hate it when she found out just what kind of horrors Kyrie had gone through in her life. "You're not from this universe then?"

Kyrie shook her head. "Nah uh... Amitie and I are from the universe where Death Fog and the White Cloud Dragon were enemies."

'Well, isn't that perfect? Now there's people from the Dark, Red, and White universes on this one.' Shamal thought to herself. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she knew one thing...

It would be interesting.

That was bone-chillingly disturbing...

Well done I say.

[Rising Dragon]

I finally have something worth posting! But it's something new. I blame Nanya for this, and not because of Blood That Flows.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha:
Altered Course

CHAPTER ONE:
Door To The Other Side

Spoiler for Chapter 1:

The observer hung silently in the emptiness of space, a geosynchronous orbit ensuring that its soulless gaze remained locked on the desolate landscape of the lost grounds. Nothing could escape its gaze, or its reach. One command, and it could obliterate anything that tries to escape from the wastes. But for now, it waited, and watched, observing the single point in the mountains… waiting for the command to strike.

Down on the planet below, a single, non-explosive missile embedded in the stone ground spoke to the inlanders gathered around it. The viewscreen within its casing gave a static-y, but nonetheless captivating image of the smug gentleman in a black suit.

“… and while I have you all together, there’s a little present I wanted to give you,” he said amicably, his smile on the snowy screen a sharp contrast to the fear and anger that screwed up the audience’s faces. “It’s not much, really, but it comes from the sky, far, far away.”

The man’s smirk grew a fraction of an inch wider. “I hope you enjoy it.”

The screen cut out as the women among the group began to panic, and up above, the observer was finally given the command it had been waiting upon.

In an instant, an electronic signal traveled through the machine, and the H.O.L.Y. Eye moved into action—panels opened up underneath its chassis, extending the fangs that would strike down the wastelanders within the lost ground. It opened up the solar panels upon its wings, gathering up the energy needed to rain down destruction from the atmosphere as it locked upon the now-dormant missile.

“That bastard, he’s gonna hit us from up there!”

“What’re you waiting for!? We hafta get out of here!”

Underneath the atmosphere, the strongest among them had decided that fleeing from its wrath was not an option.

“You gotta be kidding.”

“Not a chance. I’m staying right here!”

“I’m not gonna RUN AWAY!”

The ground and missile disappeared in a flash of light, consumed by golden and silver power as the fangs of the H.O.L.Y. Eye lit up within the vastness of space, and fired.

The roar of the azure beam erupted all around the lost grounds as it punched through the atmosphere and pierced the clouds, boiling away the air as it came crashing down on the two men. They roared their defiance and met it head-on—the twin rays of gold and silver smashed into it, and a crown of blue light exploded at the top of the mountain, spreading out for all to see. The shockwave was seen and felt for miles as rays of light lanced out, spinning as the two powers fought for dominance. Mountaintops were sheared off in neat lines, and the waters evaporated underneath its heat as it cut into the ocean.

Miles away, in an imposing tower of science and metal, a little girl cried and lifted her hand into the air, dreaming of the two heroes that raged against the satellite that hung above them all like the storied blade of Damocles.

“Reaction is confirmed.”

Within a room showcasing wealth and power, the silver-haired gentleman smiled and removed the green-gray spectacles upon his face, tossing them away in glee—his goal was finally within reach.

“That’s it! It’s the Door to the Other Side! It’s opening the Door to the Other Side!”

The H.O.L.Y. Eye could no longer withstand against their power—but that was all right with the machine, which could only do as it was commanded. Below, the lost grounds felt another shockwave as the two men held their ground and fought back, pushing the baleful azure light back into the sky, lifted up on wings of gold and silver, and the massive rainbow portal that exploded beneath their feet. As the satellite gave up, its power depleted, it was content—its task had been complete, just as the gentleman had wanted. Now, years of planning had finally come into fruition.

He sailed through the blackness, his pale face split in a grin of delight.

“Thank you gentlemen, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for!”

==========

It was a relic, a memory from an age that was all but forgotten. More than machine, but less than a person. But it still lived, and now, as it hung silently in the air, almost forgotten, its heart beat could be felt within the dislocated space of the city. Yet for all its beating, waiting for someone to claim it, it stood forgotten as the two young girls struggled against one another, their power and their words unable to reach one another.

“Fate-chan!”

The tiny gemstone, the Jewel Seed, Serial Number 19, could wait a bit longer. It had waited for millennia, longing for someone to take hold of it and make their wish known to it. Millennia in darkness, waiting since the days of Al-Hazard. As the kind third-grader turned her words upon the child with the sad eyes… It could wait a bit longer.

But not forever.

The reverie of the two girls was broken as the orange-furred wolf cried out in anger at them. “Fate! You don’t have to answer that!” she bellowed, staring up at the two children. “You don’t have to tell anything to a little brat who’s lived her life surrounded by nice people!”

The words stung Nanoha Takamachi, and her voice failed her as the familiar raged on, her words full of fury and pain.

“Our primary objective is to capture all the Jewel Seeds!” Arf yelled. The girl with the sad eyes shut everything else out of her heart, and brought her weapon up to bear.

“Nanoha!” the ferret called out, worried. They couldn’t lose sight of what they had to do! The Jewel Seed was still laying in wait, waiting for one to claim it!

Fate Testarossa turned her cold gaze down upon the street, upon Yuuno Scrya and the crystal hanging silently over the fractured asphalt of the street, and charged down at it, with the white-clad mage quickly following after her.

The Jewel Seed’s heart beat as they closed in. It could be felt throughout the city.

But it didn’t know what to do when it felt the two devices converge upon it, striking one another at an angle. It felt both of their wishes, both of their wants and desires. But it was too much, even for this wondrous jewel from an age long dead.

Sound was destroyed as the Intelligent Devices cracked and the might of the Jewel Seed roared across Unimari City and all of time and space.

==========

He was in a magnificent world of light and color, yet the gentleman in the black suit could only look within himself and rage as he pondered the events that drove him to his destitution and his refinement. It had left him empty, hungry for something more—a hunger that no food, no base desire could ever satisfy. How he had longed to fulfill his desire! That wretched boy who had had everything, while he had been left with nothing… now the tables had been turned.

He had passed through the Door to the Other Side.

It was here, he would finally find the power to satisfy his unrelenting thirst. Light was building up behind him, and he could feel it, calling out to him. He laughed as he turned to face it, and the crystallized form of the Other Side appeared before him, curious at this newfound visitor that had wandered into its realm.

He forced himself forward, taking in its magnificent body of black flame and otherworldly bone. “I knew I would find it!” his demented laugh echoed through the eldritch realm. “This is it! This is the power! The power I’ve been looking for all this time!”

The being was bathed in that wonderful light, and as he approached, it lifted up its white-clad hand, ready to strike. His hand lifted up to meet it.

“Don’t be afraid now,” he soothed, smiling at the frowning, impassive face of the crystallized form. His gloved limb sank into the white hand, and he felt a startling sensation of burning heat and icy cold. He pushed forward. “We’re not enemies, you and I—”

The Other World rocked as something horrible passed through it, a silent scream that twisted the passage of prismatic light about in a violent storm. He halted, his hand slipping from its form as something else called to it. The crystallized form spoke, an unearthly, melodious cry like that of song of a whale. It echoed throughout the other side as it was pulled away by the dimensional tremor.

The gentleman could only scream his rage and shock as the power slipped from his fingers. “No! After this long I won’t be denied! This can’t be happening to me!”

The world twisted and pulled at him, ignoring his indignation and fury. He was swallowed up into the light.

The little girl gasped as she felt his rage echo throughout the Other Side.

==========

As suddenly as it had appeared, the building storm of the Jewel Seed broke, sending its power hurtling into the sky, dispersing the storming clouds up above in a frightful manner. The two girls came plummeting down as they regained their ability to see, blinking red and violet eyes to dispel the spots swimming in their vision.

Nanoha quickly regained control of her flight and stabilized, twisting her body around and aligning herself upright. Her boots hit the ground gently, and she gave a breath of relief before looking up. What had happened?

Fate also landed easily, having regained her senses at the same time. She made a quick check of her Device, and in a broken voice it gave its confirmation, she nodded and allowed it to revert its form. As Bardiche settled down on a niche in her glove, she looked up to see the Jewel Seed rise up from the crater. She’d only have one chance now—she hunched forward and launched herself, hurtling through the air at it.

Nanoha gasped as light broke around the gemstone. In an instant, she knew something was wrong. “Fate-chan, don’t!”

But the other mage had saw it too. Prismatic light, like that of a rainbow, was expanding in points behind the Jewel Seed, like holes in reality. Her feet struck the asphalt once more as she slid to a halt.

Tendrils of a prismatic mist spun about and converged on one another as the rift widened. Motes of blackness settled around one another, and in moments it began to take form. All four beings present gasped in shock as an adult man clad in a crisp black business suit materialized before them. Soon the transformation was complete, and they looked upon a surprisingly youthful face framed in slick, silvery-gray hair held neatly back by curiously pointed ears.

The man was smiling, but Nanoha felt no warmth from it. It couldn’t reach the cold, rage-filled eyes set in his face. As Yuuno raced up her skirt and onto her shoulder, she stepped back fearfully from those monstrous eyes.

The man stared down at the blue Jewel Seed that floated before him, and he cocked his head curiously. After a moment, though, his grin widened imperceptibly.

“So, this is what called me here, away from that spacious world,” he said, his voice amicable in tone. He brought a gloved hand up, never touching the Jewel Seed, but it moved with him, raising up to eye level. Fate froze in her stance, eyes narrowing, unsure of what to do. She could feel how tense the air was, and in the corner of her eye, she could see her familiar also freezing up, waiting for an opportunity to strike but unsure if she should take it.

“How interesting,” he said. “How very interesting that this tiny little thing can hold so much power…”

He lifted up his other hand, bringing it level with the Jewel Seed, lifting it up into the air. And then, he closed his hands around it, causing everyone’s hearts to stop.

Blazing light erupted from his hands, but in an instant he had let go, and not out of fear. He was laughing! His laughter echoed in the city, and as the Jewel Seed’s light blazed, they saw more of that alien mist spreading out from it, being sucked into his mouth.

“Stop!” Fate yelled.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Arf demanded.

The man ignored them both, focused entirely on the power that he was now devouring.

Nanoha and Fate watched in horror as the Jewel Seed’s light began to dim. The suction of that prismatic mist accelerated, disappearing into the man’s open mouth.

Arf transformed, going from a fearsome wolf to a beautiful and angry woman with wolf ears and a bushy tail. She launched forward and swung a gloved fist at the interloper.

The light was extinguished and the Jewel Seed was gone. Arf’s fist crashed uselessly against a rainbow wall as the man licked his lips and smiled.

“Damn you!” Arf roared, smashing her fists against the barrier over and over. Her gloves exploded, blood from her knuckles splashing and sizzling away against it. “What the hell did you do!?

The man turned his gaze upon her, and the familiar froze on the spot. He gestured with his hand, and the barrier suddenly exploded, throwing her back. “All I did was fulfill some of my hunger. I must admit, that little thing was quite satisfying. I’ll have to find more.”

Incensed, the wolf-woman’s eyes narrowed, and she bristled. She launched herself at the man once, howling wordlessly as mana formed over her fist, and she swung for his head. The man closed his eyes, sidestepping her attack effortlessly. Snarling, Arf spun around, energy crackling in her hand as she flung it him. Once more he avoided it within a single step, and brought up an open hand, forming another circular shield of rainbow light to halt her follow-up punch.

“You have such spirit, to wield this curious power of yours with such passion!” he exclaimed, looking delighted. Arf’s eyes snapped open at the look in his eyes. “I guess I’ll take that power too.”

Arf gasped as she felt something within her slip, followed by a jolt of pain. The orange light around her fist dissipated as the interloper opened his mouth again, filled with that horrible prismatic mist. The little ache she felt within her suddenly bloomed, spreading through her and filling her with pain even as her outer extremities felt like they were fading.

She screamed, and his eyes danced in a sadistic light.

He suddenly halted, stepping back as in a split-second, a golden blade cut through the air where he was, only millimeters from his face. The blond-haired girl landed between them as Arf fell back on her rear, gasping and twitching, and she pivoted and swung again, the energy scythe forcing him back further.

The interloper was about to smile again when he looked up, feeling the rush of energy only moments before it would’ve struck. A barrier materialized once more, catching the pink wave of energy with a thunderous crash. He frowned, not realizing the other girls would’ve had this power as well. His grin quickly returned as the blast died out, sending the smoke cloud swirling about him.

The redheaded girl had aimed her staff at him, the intense look in her face set in relief by the glow of the wings of light emanating from her weapon. “Who are you?!” she demanded. “Why are you after the Jewel Seeds?!”

“My name?”

A corona of rainbow light flared around him for the briefest of moments, and green-gray spectacles slowly materialized on his face as he looked straight at Nanoha, still smiling.

“My name is Kyoji Mujo.”

[Nanya01]

Whoo hoo! Finally!

The idea I've had in my head for a long time has come out! Awesome!

Can't wait for more, RD.

[Lycodrake]

S-CRY-ed, hm?
I don't know if I should applaud you two, or bemoan the fate that is likely to happen with Kyoji around...

[Nanya01]

StrikerS 1-50

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Strikers 51:

Elsewhere...

"Something wrong?" Kuma asked as he and Amitie rode along in his car. The girl he had rescued back at the battle and sent off in his car had left the car in the woods somewhere. Kuma may not have remembered her name, but he could remember how cute she was, plus that large cannon she had was fairly intimidating to him. Then again, seeing her blush like she did, it almost made him put her in the back seat and force her to stay in the car as well. She was easily as cute as that girl, Tiyana was.

It was almost a shame that he had to program the car to let her out and come and meet up with him and Amitie. Then again, Kuma had lost all feeling in his legs from running for so long and was having trouble just moving his body normally.

Amitie turned and glared at him. "You ask what's wrong? You left my sister behind!" She pulled out her gun and pointed it at him. "I'm telling you, right now, you better turn around and go back for her or so help me..."

"Go back to get her, get beaten and arrested?" Kuma asked as he looked ahead, completely unaffected by the gun she was pointing at his face. "And, unlike you, I'm sure that your sister is fine."

"No, she's not." Amitie trembled and winced. "Nnnngh, what's..."

"You've got at least one broken rib from blocking that magic attack back there." Kuma said as he pulled his car to a stop. The doors to the car opened up and Amitie blinked at where they were.

"...What the?" She saw the large building that Kuma had pulled up to, but didn't know the significance of it. "What's this for?"

Kuma stretched as he stuck his legs out of the car and forced himself to stand up. "An outdoor hot springs, miss Anita."

"It's Amitie." She grumbled as she got out. "You can call me Amita or Ami, but not Anita." Holstering her weapons, she glared at him as he hobbled towards the steps, "and why are we at a hot spring?"

"I own it." Kuma smirked at her as he stumbled forward. "But it's so far out of town that it never sees business. Which works out for me, actually. I like the mercenary work." He grimaced as he fell forward, collapsing to the ground and rolling to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, damn, I knew I shouldn't have gone so fast for so long." He looked up as a hand was offered to him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Amitie muttered as she helped him up the stairs. "So, how'd you know that my rib was busted?" Her eyes widened when he took his shades off and put them on her face. "What the heck?"

Kuma smiled softly as they made their way inside. "Those glasses double as a data collection visor. It lets me see things far ahead of me so I can adjust my trajectory when making a run, zoom in on small details from at least forty kilometers away, see a person's physical condition if they're not too far away, block out annoyingly bright lights, like the sun on a cloudless day, scan a person and get an idea of how strong their magic is, there's a clock that tells me the time of day on any world and they work great at making me look awesome."

"That's... Pretty cool." Amitie nodded as he took the glasses back and put them on. "So, where to next?"

"I'll show you. We're going to soak in the hot springs." Amitie nodded and Kuma grabbed a towel as they walked down the hallway. "Though, there is another reason that we came here."

"Of course." Amitie nodded, not the least bit surprised. "So, you want it in the changing room or should we do it in the water itself?"

Kuma stared at her, blinking a few times. "Ah, that's not what I meant, missy. What I meant was, there's clean clothes for you here." Amitie stared at him. "You probably haven't noticed, but you haven't changed your clothes much since you got here. I figure that you'd like to have a clean pair of underwear on at least."

"You have women's underwear?"

"My mother ran a clothing store before she died." Kuma shook his head. "Sad thing is, it was just after I opened this place up. And I couldn't stand the thought of people buying the clothes just because we had to sell everything, so I stole everything and brought the clothes here."

Amitie shook her head. "So, what's so good about these hot springs?"

Kuma chuckled as they got to the changing rooms. "My dear, when you get in, you'll find out."

Amitie could only blink in wonder.

A little later...

Kuma sighed as he lowered his body into the water. "Nnnngh..." The hot water always felt really good on his legs after he pushed himself too hard. For once, he wasn't wearing his sunglasses as he took a deep breath of the steamy air. "Feels good."

"I agree." Kuma blinked several times and sat up, staring as Amitie was walking towards him in the hot springs. What made him stare wasn't that she was walking towards him, it was the fact that she was completely naked. "...What?"

"We do have modesty towels." Kuma wasn't going to stop looking, she was quite lovely.

Amitie shrugged, her breasts bouncing as she slid under the water and sighed as she felt her damaged ribs tingle. "Nnngh... Wow... What's in this water?"

"I don't know." Kuma shook his head and looked at her. "So, how come you don't care if I see you naked?"

"Look," Amitie narrowed her eyes at him, "you've been a nice guy, and I don't mind that, but the truth is, if you wanted to use either Kyrie or myself for your own personal pleasure, neither of us could have stopped you. Sure, we might have driven you off once or twice, but you'd find a way to take us if you wanted to." She turned and slid up to him, straddling his waist and putting her hands on his shoulders. "So, what is it? You finally give in and want to have me? You want me like this? Or maybe bent over the side so you don't have to look at me as you mount me from behind?" Kuma could only stare at her and she laughed at him. "I don't have any reason to fight against you. At least men lose interest after they're done using me."

Kuma just stared at her, and he would admit, her naked body on top of his was tempting, very tempting, but he just couldn't. "Is Kyrie just as messed up as you are?"

"Kyrie snapped a long time ago," Amitie shook her head, "she can only smile and be cheerful for being alive." Amitie lowered her head and shook lightly, "she doesn't care what someone does to her, she wouldn't care if her captors chopped her arms and legs off of her, she'd still smile."

"That's... I don't..." Kuma stuttered as Amitie looked at him, anger in her eyes.

"You don't understand, that's right. She hasn't cried, gotten angry, sad or anything for almost half her life! All she does is smile, nod her head and ask for more. That's why I'm worried! I'm worried that they'll have her do something horrible and then she'll end up dead!" She squeezed his shoulders tightly. "Don't you get it, Kuma?! Kyrie doesn't care what's done to her. If I wasn't there..." Amitie shuddered before growling at him. "If I wasn't in her life, she'd be dead by now, I have to save her! I have to! Just let me go!"

Kuma put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her down so she was laying on top of him completely. "You know that I can't let you go just to get captured." He could feel her shaking, whether it was out of anger, frustration or sadness, he couldn't tell. "Without a plan, you'll never succeed at all. I'll help you free your sister, but right now, you need to relax and recover." She nodded against him and hugged him, not moving her body.

After a few moments, Amitie looked at his face and gave him a small smirk. "Couldn't help it, huh?"

"I am a guy, and you are a very lovely young lady."

She snorted and closed her eyes. "If you want me to take care of that, let me know..." Her breathing started to slow down. "I'm kind of tired right now."

Kuma nodded and rubbed her back, careful to only touch her back. He mentally cursed as she moved slightly. 'This is a horrible torture.' He whimpered as tears fell out of his eyes.

He knew he could have just asked her to deal with it, but considering what she told him, he didn't have the heart for it. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he gave her a hug, causing her to groan while asleep. "I won't let Bevi use you like you've been used in the past." He whispered to her.

Oddly enough, Amitie had a small smile creep onto her face as she slept.

Spoiler for Comments:

Yeah, I know, hot springs episode...

How often can one use fanservice to get some plot and character development?

Or rather, the question is, how often DOES fanservice get used for character and plot development?

Plus I think we could use a breather after all that dark stuff.

[Filraen]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

StrikerS 1-50

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Strikers 51:

Elsewhere...

...

Oddly enough, Amitie had a small smile creep onto her face as she slept.

Spoiler for Comments:

Yeah, I know, hot springs episode...

How often can one use fanservice to get some plot and character development?

Or rather, the question is, how often DOES fanservice get used for character and plot development?

Plus I think we could use a breather after all that dark stuff.

You sure the last line of your comments isn't sarcastic?

[mega1987]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

StrikerS 1-50

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Strikers 51:

Elsewhere...

"Something wrong?" Kuma asked as he and Amitie rode along in his car. The girl he had rescued back at the battle and sent off in his car had left the car in the woods somewhere. Kuma may not have remembered her name, but he could remember how cute she was, plus that large cannon she had was fairly intimidating to him. Then again, seeing her blush like she did, it almost made him put her in the back seat and force her to stay in the car as well. She was easily as cute as that girl, Tiyana was.

It was almost a shame that he had to program the car to let her out and come and meet up with him and Amitie. Then again, Kuma had lost all feeling in his legs from running for so long and was having trouble just moving his body normally.

Amitie turned and glared at him. "You ask what's wrong? You left my sister behind!" She pulled out her gun and pointed it at him. "I'm telling you, right now, you better turn around and go back for her or so help me..."

"Go back to get her, get beaten and arrested?" Kuma asked as he looked ahead, completely unaffected by the gun she was pointing at his face. "And, unlike you, I'm sure that your sister is fine."

"No, she's not." Amitie trembled and winced. "Nnnngh, what's..."

"You've got at least one broken rib from blocking that magic attack back there." Kuma said as he pulled his car to a stop. The doors to the car opened up and Amitie blinked at where they were.

"...What the?" She saw the large building that Kuma had pulled up to, but didn't know the significance of it. "What's this for?"

Kuma stretched as he stuck his legs out of the car and forced himself to stand up. "An outdoor hot springs, miss Anita."

"It's Amitie." She grumbled as she got out. "You can call me Amita or Ami, but not Anita." Holstering her weapons, she glared at him as he hobbled towards the steps, "and why are we at a hot spring?"

"I own it." Kuma smirked at her as he stumbled forward. "But it's so far out of town that it never sees business. Which works out for me, actually. I like the mercenary work." He grimaced as he fell forward, collapsing to the ground and rolling to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, damn, I knew I shouldn't have gone so fast for so long." He looked up as a hand was offered to him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Amitie muttered as she helped him up the stairs. "So, how'd you know that my rib was busted?" Her eyes widened when he took his shades off and put them on her face. "What the heck?"

Kuma smiled softly as they made their way inside. "Those glasses double as a data collection visor. It lets me see things far ahead of me so I can adjust my trajectory when making a run, zoom in on small details from at least forty kilometers away, see a person's physical condition if they're not too far away, block out annoyingly bright lights, like the sun on a cloudless day, scan a person and get an idea of how strong their magic is, there's a clock that tells me the time of day on any world and they work great at making me look awesome."

"That's... Pretty cool." Amitie nodded as he took the glasses back and put them on. "So, where to next?"

"I'll show you. We're going to soak in the hot springs." Amitie nodded and Kuma grabbed a towel as they walked down the hallway. "Though, there is another reason that we came here."

"Of course." Amitie nodded, not the least bit surprised. "So, you want it in the changing room or should we do it in the water itself?"

Kuma stared at her, blinking a few times. "Ah, that's not what I meant, missy. What I meant was, there's clean clothes for you here." Amitie stared at him. "You probably haven't noticed, but you haven't changed your clothes much since you got here. I figure that you'd like to have a clean pair of underwear on at least."

"You have women's underwear?"

"My mother ran a clothing store before she died." Kuma shook his head. "Sad thing is, it was just after I opened this place up. And I couldn't stand the thought of people buying the clothes just because we had to sell everything, so I stole everything and brought the clothes here."

Amitie shook her head. "So, what's so good about these hot springs?"

Kuma chuckled as they got to the changing rooms. "My dear, when you get in, you'll find out."

Amitie could only blink in wonder.

A little later...

Kuma sighed as he lowered his body into the water. "Nnnngh..." The hot water always felt really good on his legs after he pushed himself too hard. For once, he wasn't wearing his sunglasses as he took a deep breath of the steamy air. "Feels good."

"I agree." Kuma blinked several times and sat up, staring as Amitie was walking towards him in the hot springs. What made him stare wasn't that she was walking towards him, it was the fact that she was completely naked. "...What?"

"We do have modesty towels." Kuma wasn't going to stop looking, she was quite lovely.

Amitie shrugged, her breasts bouncing as she slid under the water and sighed as she felt her damaged ribs tingle. "Nnngh... Wow... What's in this water?"

"I don't know." Kuma shook his head and looked at her. "So, how come you don't care if I see you naked?"

"Look," Amitie narrowed her eyes at him, "you've been a nice guy, and I don't mind that, but the truth is, if you wanted to use either Kyrie or myself for your own personal pleasure, neither of us could have stopped you. Sure, we might have driven you off once or twice, but you'd find a way to take us if you wanted to." She turned and slid up to him, straddling his waist and putting her hands on his shoulders. "So, what is it? You finally give in and want to have me? You want me like this? Or maybe bent over the side so you don't have to look at me as you mount me from behind?" Kuma could only stare at her and she laughed at him. "I don't have any reason to fight against you. At least men lose interest after they're done using me."

Kuma just stared at her, and he would admit, her naked body on top of his was tempting, very tempting, but he just couldn't. "Is Kyrie just as messed up as you are?"

"Kyrie snapped a long time ago," Amitie shook her head, "she can only smile and be cheerful for being alive." Amitie lowered her head and shook lightly, "she doesn't care what someone does to her, she wouldn't care if her captors chopped her arms and legs off of her, she'd still smile."

"That's... I don't..." Kuma stuttered as Amitie looked at him, anger in her eyes.

"You don't understand, that's right. She hasn't cried, gotten angry, sad or anything for almost half her life! All she does is smile, nod her head and ask for more. That's why I'm worried! I'm worried that they'll have her do something horrible and then she'll end up dead!" She squeezed his shoulders tightly. "Don't you get it, Kuma?! Kyrie doesn't care what's done to her. If I wasn't there..." Amitie shuddered before growling at him. "If I wasn't in her life, she'd be dead by now, I have to save her! I have to! Just let me go!"

Kuma put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her down so she was laying on top of him completely. "You know that I can't let you go just to get captured." He could feel her shaking, whether it was out of anger, frustration or sadness, he couldn't tell. "Without a plan, you'll never succeed at all. I'll help you free your sister, but right now, you need to relax and recover." She nodded against him and hugged him, not moving her body.

After a few moments, Amitie looked at his face and gave him a small smirk. "Couldn't help it, huh?"

"I am a guy, and you are a very lovely young lady."

She snorted and closed her eyes. "If you want me to take care of that, let me know..." Her breathing started to slow down. "I'm kind of tired right now."

Kuma nodded and rubbed her back, careful to only touch her back. He mentally cursed as she moved slightly. 'This is a horrible torture.' He whimpered as tears fell out of his eyes.

He knew he could have just asked her to deal with it, but considering what she told him, he didn't have the heart for it. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he gave her a hug, causing her to groan while asleep. "I won't let Bevi use you like you've been used in the past." He whispered to her.

Oddly enough, Amitie had a small smile creep onto her face as she slept.

Spoiler for Comments:

Yeah, I know, hot springs episode...

How often can one use fanservice to get some plot and character development?

Or rather, the question is, how often DOES fanservice get used for character and plot development?

Plus I think we could use a breather after all that dark stuff.

Me: O_O

Val: You won't see that every know and then...

[Nanya01]

StrikerS 1-50

StrikerS 51

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - StrikerS 52:

The next day...

Subaru looked at Nove as the two of them walked down the hallway of Jail's base. "Um... He, uh... I think I broke him." She flinched at the glare Nove gave her. "Hey, come on, how was I supposed to know that's what you guys were doing?"

"I tell you, it makes no sense!" Nove growled as she balled her hands into fists. "Why would the Bureau do the same thing that the doctor's doing?"

"Um, we're kind of an experimental group," Subaru chuckled nervously as Nove glared at her, "but why are you all going after those Lost Logia?"

Nove stopped and looked at her sister, before turning and opening a door. "In here, I'll show you why we're after the Relics... At least one of them."

Subaru blinked and stared in shock as the answer became apparent. "...A naked woman?"

"Her name is Megane Alphine." A new voice spoke up and Subaru noticed, for the first time, the silver-haired cyborg in the room. "Someone that I injured heavily years ago."

"Cinque..." Nove was about to move to her but her older sister held a hand up. "What's wrong?"

"I've... I did it again. When I fought that pink haired knight... I was fighting to keep myself from losing control the whole time against her, but still, I..." Cinque drew in a shuddering breath. "I still used that power during that fight."

"You fought against Signum?" Subaru stared at Cinque. "But you're still in one piece." Subaru remembered her first one-on-one spar against Signum. The gash that she took from one of Signum's strikes was so bad that she was afraid that she would have died right then and there.

"I lost my hand in the fight, then I regrew it." Cinque took a deep breath and shook her head. "I was too busy fighting off the urge to destroy everything."

"Ano... Did Signum use any magic on you at all?" Cinque shook her head and Subaru blinked owlishly. "You were really lucky then. She could have turned you into fried chicken from a distance."

"She's lucky she didn't try to then." Cinque narrowed her eye at Subaru. "I was having a hard time keeping myself in check..." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don't doubt that she could have beaten me, probably killed me, but if she had tried to use offensive magic on me, I would have lost complete control and that Dragon, the summoner and the two knights would have died in the process." Cinque looked at the floor, shame on her face as her body trembled. "That's what happened to Megane Alphine, and why we have her daughter. Even if we could fix her, I could never repay any debt that I owe her."

Nove glared at Subaru and walked over to Cinque, hugging the smaller cyborg. "Shhh... Cinque, you didn't lose control, you're okay, nothing bad happened, I'm sure."

"It's more... Debt... I owe so much." Cinque hugged Nove and took a shuddering breath. "Nove, how can I repay everyone?"

Nove closed her eyes and looked at Cinque. "You might need to do what you're afraid of the most," Cinque looked at her and they both looked at Megane before turning to look at each other again, "you're going to have to use that power again, but try to use it to save her." Cinque fidgeted in place and looked away. "Dammit, Cinque!" Nove grabbed her shoulders to make Cinque look at her directly. "I love you, but you're really pissing me off right now! You're the only one who can fix her, so either do it yourself or you can let her rot, either way, stop looking at her and being sad. Just do something, anything!" She pushed Cinque away and turned to look at Subaru. "If you don't do something, then you can never achieve anything. If you decide to at least try, get Un-nee to make it easier to get to her."

Cinque could only stare as Nove and Subaru left the lab. Turning her head, she looked at Megane and gulped softly. 'Can I use this power for more than just... Death?' She asked herself as she looked at her trembling hands. It was so terrifying. Nove couldn't understand it. Only Dieci could understand it like she could. Using that power was like being consumed in a sea of infinite darkness and the coast was nowhere in sight. The mere thought of using it scared her. Reaching up to her right eye, Cinque pulled her eye patch off and looked at Megane, gasping as she saw the black and gold energy surrounding the older woman. "...You understand it too, don't you?"

Cinque fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands as tears fell out of her face. "I was an idiot. I'm so sorry. I was so afraid of it... So terrified of what I could do that I never... Never thought what it was like for you, you've been immersed since that day, haven't you?" She looked up and a screen popped up in front of her. "Uno... I need your help."

Uno just looked at her in confusion, but nodded.

(---)

"Nove," both Nove and Subaru turned to see Tre walking up to them, she narrowed her eyes at Subaru, "there's still going to be training today, even if your sister," Tre snorted at that, "wants to watch, she's welcome to, but if not, she'll need to be locked up in your room."

"I'll be there." Nove nodded and Tre brushed past them without a word.

"...She's not nice, is she?" Subaru looked at Nove, who snorted at her. "What?!"

"She doesn't like the Bureau anymore than any of us do." Nove sighed heavily. "Though, she hates it more for a different reason." Subaru blinked several times. "Do you know why Cinque has an eye-patch?" She looked at Subaru, who shook her head slowly. "During one of their earlier missions together, Cinque, Tre, Sein and Quattro ran into a Bureau group and they ended up fighting. Due was part of that group and nearly died, and Cinque lost her right eye in that fight. Tre was badly injured as well. But she was more mad about the fact that Cinque and Due were hurt rather than herself." Nove turned to watch Tre walk away and sighed heavily. "Come on, you wanna watch?"

"Sure..." Subaru followed Nove, wondering just why she was putting up with everything.

Part of Subaru knew why, even if she wouldn't admit it.

She was curious about who her sister was living with, and what kind of people they were.

(---)

"Uno..." Jail spoke up, his voice was distant and sounded old. "What have I done?" No one answered him as no one was in the room with him. Jail was looking up, his eyes unfocused as he leaned back in his chair. "All this time, I was preparing them to fight an enemy so that the world could survive, but, was I wrong? Why didn't we know about this Riot Force? Why didn't we know what it was for?" He stopped leaning back and slumped down in his seat, head hanging low as his arms rested on his legs. "What have I been doing all this time?" He groaned and grabbed his head as a memory came to him, unbidden.

*Flash*

"Mazoku scum!" One of the men around him yelled before firing a weapon at the Mazoku, who laughed as it blasted through his body, doing nothing. "Dammit!"

"You know that won't work, let me!" Jail, no, it wasn't Jail, he wasn't called that back then, his precursor turned to see a woman in a skin-tight black outfit, glowing wings on her back, a sash around her mid-section, a shield on her right hand and a spear in her left, on her chest was a red gem protected by a metal case. Her head was protected by a metal helmet as she looked at the Mazoku that were threatening their lives. "This Knight Valkyrie Armor will end all of you! Raising Heart, let's go."

"Alright, Divine Slasher."

The Mazoku laughed, until a white circle appeared under the woman's feet. "Begone, now!" Gripping the spear with both hands, she rushed in at the group of Mazoku and stabbed forth, "sword," she cried out, her spear turning into a long, single-edge sword that she used to cut down the enemies with ease.

"Dammit! When Lord Garoth hears about this, you'll be, GAH!"

The Mazoku never got to finish as the sword turned into a large, single tube cannon, that rested on the woman's arm, evaporated the Mazoku's body in a single shot.

Jail's precursor could only watch as the woman undid the helmet and take it off, letting her long, silver hair to flow freely down her back. Turning, she smiled at him, her eyes showing nothing but good cheer. "I told you, didn't I, father? Between the Knight Valkyrie Armor, what will happen to me and the Tome of the Night Sky, and also if we get the secret weapon complete, even the mighty Garoth will fall."

He nodded to her. "Yes, that's right."

The weapon would be finished in ten days. If they could just get that much time, they would win.

*End Flash*

"We never got that time," Jail muttered to himself and grabbed his head. "Garoth wiped us out within the week."

He looked to the side and saw a screen as a 3-D model of a ship rotated on it. "The Saint's Cradle." But they had lost the Saint Kaiser, "do I even need it anymore?" He stood up and walked over to the screen and typed in some information. "The real prize, Al Hazard, I know where you are now." The only problem was, getting to Al Hazard. "The cradle could do it, easily."

Jail just hung his head, sighing heavily. For the first time in ten years, he was uncertain about all of his plans.

Spoiler for Comments:

What? I hinted at that stuff in the flashback before.

[Lycodrake]

Looks like a few details that we've been wondering about have come together, and that Subaru's stay with Jail and the Numbers is going alright...for now.

...Jail second-guessing himself feels really, really weird... XP