AnimeSuki Forums

Fuyu no Sora · 2008-09-25, 00:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

I pretty much had Fate quote it word for word...

Disturbing......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

As for being a girl on the internet, basically, there's this old meme that girls on the internet are a myth. Thus the existence of Fuyu, a girl on the internet, is impressive.

I see

But what's abnormal about me being able to spell and post rationally?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

Lol, same here. I normally write WAFF or the harder scale of fantasy/sci-fi - my fic project, the Order of Freelance Mages, are pretty much a mix of ODST, SEAL Team Six and Delta Force rolled into one - but I decided to try something new.

Please, no psychotic, insane, anxious or any other type of fiction. I have enough of that in my own head thank you (Don't we all?

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

But it's a NanoFate story. :P

But Nanoha is killed. And by Fate. And she enjoys it. And she rapes Nanoha. And she's gone nuts. And, and, and...

You know it's not a positive fic, thus, hardcore fans of The Legion will not be happy (Hell, I'm not happy. It's really creepy in a way. I can't find a good reason for Fate to go insane like that....)

markesellus · 2008-09-25, 00:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

It's supposed to be wrong. >:3 :twisted: While I normally write niceness and incestuous waff, sometimes one feels the need to branch out.

Oh yes, that means that I support KyoNano.

Or MiyuNano.

Or KyoMiyuNano.

Afterall, kyoudai-ai is a love beyond comprehension~

(It is an open secret of Goose's that he will, if given a choice, pursue incestuous pairings for all his writings and all fandoms. His Sensei would like to mention that he used to be such a nice guy and is unsure when Goose's love switched from JSFs, Tomcats and Valkyries to kyoudai-ai.)

Hey I support all pairings, and I mean all of them (even when they conflict with one another). It should just be one big Nanoha harem.

I want some MiyuNano, just don't make as weird as Dedication, because I do admit, it was really wrong.
Actually now that I think about it, your story reminds me of a short story called A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner. She basically kills the guy too, but she was also a Necrophiliac. Which is worse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil Rick

Right... Vita is gonna be killed by Toxipoth and you two are only worried of Vivio been a rebel

"Hugs Vita"

Don't worry Vita, I care for you T3T

XD

Lol, we all know you love Vita too much to kill her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laith

Crossroads

Spoiler for Road so far:

Spoiler for part 11:

Spoiler for Decision 11:

Spoiler for Zwei´s Corner:

Big, green. The decision this time is for the next chapter. One gives you NF, the other introduces Hayate. Which one you chose?

We can't give up Vivio!! D: B I like how in both SA and Crossroads, Signum doesn't have any preference on anything. She's just neutral.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

Hmmm Listening to old musicals while in a cracky mood is not a good thing
If anyone's starved for some ideas here's something for you to chew on

Spoiler for ...:

That would be some epic win.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluecoow

hmm...i'm not sure if i can post this here..being new to this forum...
I'm actually looking for a fanfic that i read a while ago, which i cant remember the author or the name. All that i remember is the story....
"Fate return from long period mission and others throwing a welcome party, before she even meet Nanoha she start drinking with Signum. When Vivio and Nanoha finally see her they were not entirely happy about it....something relate to how she's drunk and all..haha"
yeah..something along that, could anyone remember reading that? thanks to all

Welcome! Your question's already been answered, but come a hang around, look for Satashi's signature, everything you might need it under it. And please don't be afraid, the thread is not usually this scary...just a bit crazy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

*nods* It's a bit... "too" perfect, you might say. And it bugs me about fragments a lot.

Spoiler for Quack!Fate, pt 3:

:O it was intended to just be a little snippet but... oh well, whatever. ^o^

Lol Roxy. I love the naming of everything. That was quite an interesting...healing power.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuyu no Sora

......No problem with you not being her, but I understand the logic. Interesting how the old roots bring up new plants no matter how much we cut them off. Hopefully this will not be the start of another war and bring us the (hopefully) hibernating bear that makes the Sky fall on our heads....

Very true, nice subtle hint there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

DIVIDED DESTINY
Two People, Two Paths

Spoiler for Divided Destiny, pt. 03:

Evening had descended upon the colony of Eden. It was a time for most of the workers and scientists to rest before beginning again the next day. Some jobs, like police patrols and operation of critical structures like the Command Center had people on shift all day. Thankfully for Fate, she was not in one of those jobs. As one of the many scientists in the colony, she gets the evenings to herself. There are times when she is able to take several days off due to the nature of the experiments they were running though there were also the ones were she would have to work late hours for days at a time. In the end, it all balanced out somehow.

Like many her age, she had already moved out of her parent's place and into her own room in one of the Residencies. Sometimes she wondered if it was a good idea to have moved out. Her mother now had this large place all to herself since her father passed away some years ago in a surveying accident. They had been there for each other, helping one another through it. Although now her mother was constantly busy. Unlike herself, she worked in one of Eden's Advanced Labs. Now that she thought about, all the scientists working in the various labs have been pretty busy the last few weeks. She had inquired with her mother about it, but her clearance wasn't high enough. The only thing she could think of that they were working on was the terraforming project Eden had put its hopes into.

A few days ago they had announced that their terraforming plan would be accomplished in a matter of decades, rather than the centuries many thought it would take. While many were skeptical, it was mostly accepted and celebrated about. No doubt the Plymouth council would be in an uproar when they find out in the next conference. Speaking of Plymouth, the blond's thoughts strayed for a moment to her friend far off living in that colony. She hoped that the encrypted and hidden communication feed in the last transmission reached her alright. Having friends in the Command Centers of both colonies had its perks. Her eyes wandered to the breast pocket of her coat. There a golden, triangular was clipped with her name engraved on it. It had been a present from Nanoha when she had found out about her desire to work in the labs. Though at the time Nanoha didn't know about the private lessons her mother was giving her which allowed her to graduated from the University earlier than usual.

A few turns later brought Fate to her room. Her coat was hung up and shoes places aside by the door. Some lights in the darkness outside her window caught her attention. Peering out, she could barely make out 2 or 3 vehicles departing from one of the Advance Labs and away from the colony. This had been happening for almost a month or at least from this lab in particular. While no one was explaining these nightly runs, it did help to fuel the rumors of experiments being conducted in secret. Terraforming experiments were the most common rumor given the big hype around it. Then there were the others like a secret labor camp where they took Plymouth supporters or hidden labs where they were making monsters for an army. Whatever it was, it was probably supported by the council given the frequency of the trips and their starting point at the Advance Lab.

Speaking of late-night runs, she wasn't exactly tired. Her mind pondered what she could do to kill some time as staring at the ceiling was not her idea of a plan.

A) See if one of her friends were working the night shift
B) Head out for a late-night snack
C) Change to Nanoha's PoV

Please post your choices BOLD and in DarkOrange

Previous Installments
-Intro
-Chapter 01
-Chapter 02

What other people are at Eden with Fate? A

Evil Rick · 2008-09-25, 00:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by markesellus

Lol, we all know you love Vita too much to kill her.

Hmmm... good point...

I also loved Helga you know...

Kaix · 2008-09-25, 01:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

Ladies and gentlemen, I present a rather short, and IMO touching NanoFate piece here, entitled Dedication.

This piece is dedicated to Haru, Vivio Testarossa, and the tireless work of the NanoFate legion, for NF is serious business and more important, than, say, defending the world, fighting the good fight, and killing Taliban.

Spoiler for Dedication:

You have just demonstrated in real life this study I read, where it was noted that girls are smarter at math than guys, but guys are better at applying themselves to real life and reality.

If you like, I can quote the study, which was referenced in "Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps" by Allen and Barbara Pease. Good book.

As wrong as the whole story is, it was quite entertaining to read. (I find more disturbing the whole reaction and discussion caused after it.

). It's going to be fun to see the continuation if we're going to find out what made Fate do this whole thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laith

Crossroads

Spoiler for Road so far:

Spoiler for part 11:

Spoiler for Decision 11:

Spoiler for Zwei´s Corner:

Big, green. The decision this time is for the next chapter. One gives you NF, the other introduces Hayate. Which one you chose?

Whatever each path may lead to (although I'm hoping Hayate >.>), Vivio can't just be given as some bargaining chip! To battle! B!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

*nods* It's a bit... "too" perfect, you might say. And it bugs me about fragments a lot.

Spoiler for Quack!Fate, pt 3:

:O it was intended to just be a little snippet but... oh well, whatever. ^o^

More Quack!Fate! Or... should it now be Roxy!Fate?

Fate's habit of naming objects is so funny, I can't stop laughing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

DIVIDED DESTINY
Two People, Two Paths

Spoiler for Divided Destiny, pt. 03:

Evening had descended upon the colony of Eden. It was a time for most of the workers and scientists to rest before beginning again the next day. Some jobs, like police patrols and operation of critical structures like the Command Center had people on shift all day. Thankfully for Fate, she was not in one of those jobs. As one of the many scientists in the colony, she gets the evenings to herself. There are times when she is able to take several days off due to the nature of the experiments they were running though there were also the ones were she would have to work late hours for days at a time. In the end, it all balanced out somehow.

Like many her age, she had already moved out of her parent's place and into her own room in one of the Residencies. Sometimes she wondered if it was a good idea to have moved out. Her mother now had this large place all to herself since her father passed away some years ago in a surveying accident. They had been there for each other, helping one another through it. Although now her mother was constantly busy. Unlike herself, she worked in one of Eden's Advanced Labs. Now that she thought about, all the scientists working in the various labs have been pretty busy the last few weeks. She had inquired with her mother about it, but her clearance wasn't high enough. The only thing she could think of that they were working on was the terraforming project Eden had put its hopes into.

A few days ago they had announced that their terraforming plan would be accomplished in a matter of decades, rather than the centuries many thought it would take. While many were skeptical, it was mostly accepted and celebrated about. No doubt the Plymouth council would be in an uproar when they find out in the next conference. Speaking of Plymouth, the blond's thoughts strayed for a moment to her friend far off living in that colony. She hoped that the encrypted and hidden communication feed in the last transmission reached her alright. Having friends in the Command Centers of both colonies had its perks. Her eyes wandered to the breast pocket of her coat. There a golden, triangular was clipped with her name engraved on it. It had been a present from Nanoha when she had found out about her desire to work in the labs. Though at the time Nanoha didn't know about the private lessons her mother was giving her which allowed her to graduated from the University earlier than usual.

A few turns later brought Fate to her room. Her coat was hung up and shoes places aside by the door. Some lights in the darkness outside her window caught her attention. Peering out, she could barely make out 2 or 3 vehicles departing from one of the Advance Labs and away from the colony. This had been happening for almost a month or at least from this lab in particular. While no one was explaining these nightly runs, it did help to fuel the rumors of experiments being conducted in secret. Terraforming experiments were the most common rumor given the big hype around it. Then there were the others like a secret labor camp where they took Plymouth supporters or hidden labs where they were making monsters for an army. Whatever it was, it was probably supported by the council given the frequency of the trips and their starting point at the Advance Lab.

Speaking of late-night runs, she wasn't exactly tired. Her mind pondered what she could do to kill some time as staring at the ceiling was not her idea of a plan.

A) See if one of her friends were working the night shift
B) Head out for a late-night snack
C) Change to Nanoha's PoV

Please post your choices BOLD and in DarkOrange

Previous Installments
-Intro
-Chapter 01
-Chapter 02

Fooood... there has to be food! B.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil Rick

Hmmm... good point...

I also loved Helga you know...

Wouldn't it be a bit difficult to continue VSOTP with the title character dead?

OrderNorChaos · 2008-09-25, 01:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laith

Crossroads

Spoiler for Road so far:

Spoiler for part 11:

Spoiler for Decision 11:

Spoiler for Zwei´s Corner:

Big, green. The decision this time is for the next chapter. One gives you NF, the other introduces Hayate. Which one you chose?

Must keep everyone together..... B please.

markesellus · 2008-09-25, 01:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kai the Reaper

Wouldn't it be a bit difficult to continue VSOTP with the title character dead?

Oh yeah! I forgot about that too. So Vita can't die! because she is immortal! >.>

darkbluemint · 2008-09-25, 02:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

DIVIDED DESTINY
Two People, Two Paths

Spoiler for Divided Destiny, pt. 03:

Evening had descended upon the colony of Eden. It was a time for most of the workers and scientists to rest before beginning again the next day. Some jobs, like police patrols and operation of critical structures like the Command Center had people on shift all day. Thankfully for Fate, she was not in one of those jobs. As one of the many scientists in the colony, she gets the evenings to herself. There are times when she is able to take several days off due to the nature of the experiments they were running though there were also the ones were she would have to work late hours for days at a time. In the end, it all balanced out somehow.

Like many her age, she had already moved out of her parent's place and into her own room in one of the Residencies. Sometimes she wondered if it was a good idea to have moved out. Her mother now had this large place all to herself since her father passed away some years ago in a surveying accident. They had been there for each other, helping one another through it. Although now her mother was constantly busy. Unlike herself, she worked in one of Eden's Advanced Labs. Now that she thought about, all the scientists working in the various labs have been pretty busy the last few weeks. She had inquired with her mother about it, but her clearance wasn't high enough. The only thing she could think of that they were working on was the terraforming project Eden had put its hopes into.

A few days ago they had announced that their terraforming plan would be accomplished in a matter of decades, rather than the centuries many thought it would take. While many were skeptical, it was mostly accepted and celebrated about. No doubt the Plymouth council would be in an uproar when they find out in the next conference. Speaking of Plymouth, the blond's thoughts strayed for a moment to her friend far off living in that colony. She hoped that the encrypted and hidden communication feed in the last transmission reached her alright. Having friends in the Command Centers of both colonies had its perks. Her eyes wandered to the breast pocket of her coat. There a golden, triangular was clipped with her name engraved on it. It had been a present from Nanoha when she had found out about her desire to work in the labs. Though at the time Nanoha didn't know about the private lessons her mother was giving her which allowed her to graduated from the University earlier than usual.

A few turns later brought Fate to her room. Her coat was hung up and shoes places aside by the door. Some lights in the darkness outside her window caught her attention. Peering out, she could barely make out 2 or 3 vehicles departing from one of the Advance Labs and away from the colony. This had been happening for almost a month or at least from this lab in particular. While no one was explaining these nightly runs, it did help to fuel the rumors of experiments being conducted in secret. Terraforming experiments were the most common rumor given the big hype around it. Then there were the others like a secret labor camp where they took Plymouth supporters or hidden labs where they were making monsters for an army. Whatever it was, it was probably supported by the council given the frequency of the trips and their starting point at the Advance Lab.

Speaking of late-night runs, she wasn't exactly tired. Her mind pondered what she could do to kill some time as staring at the ceiling was not her idea of a plan.

A) See if one of her friends were working the night shift
B) Head out for a late-night snack
C) Change to Nanoha's PoV

Please post your choices BOLD and in DarkOrange

Previous Installments
-Intro
-Chapter 01
-Chapter 02

I hope there's time to get a B

TheShinySword · 2008-09-25, 06:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vivio Testarossa

I think it started when TheShinySword published his story "Secret Ambition" (which I loathe), then Laith followed with the story "Crossroads"

.

Go Hayate!

...Wow. I don't think I've ever had someone loath what I've done... Looks like Laith's getting some bowing action XD:3 well that just inspired me to sally forth

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuyu no Sora

Spoiler for Opinion:

That's totally the point Fuyu

Spoiler for ...:

Seraph42 · 2008-09-25, 07:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

*nods* It's a bit... "too" perfect, you might say. And it bugs me about fragments a lot.

Spoiler for Quack!Fate, pt 3:

:O it was intended to just be a little snippet but... oh well, whatever. ^o^

More Please!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

DIVIDED DESTINY
Two People, Two Paths

Spoiler for Divided Destiny, pt. 03:

Evening had descended upon the colony of Eden. It was a time for most of the workers and scientists to rest before beginning again the next day. Some jobs, like police patrols and operation of critical structures like the Command Center had people on shift all day. Thankfully for Fate, she was not in one of those jobs. As one of the many scientists in the colony, she gets the evenings to herself. There are times when she is able to take several days off due to the nature of the experiments they were running though there were also the ones were she would have to work late hours for days at a time. In the end, it all balanced out somehow.

Like many her age, she had already moved out of her parent's place and into her own room in one of the Residencies. Sometimes she wondered if it was a good idea to have moved out. Her mother now had this large place all to herself since her father passed away some years ago in a surveying accident. They had been there for each other, helping one another through it. Although now her mother was constantly busy. Unlike herself, she worked in one of Eden's Advanced Labs. Now that she thought about, all the scientists working in the various labs have been pretty busy the last few weeks. She had inquired with her mother about it, but her clearance wasn't high enough. The only thing she could think of that they were working on was the terraforming project Eden had put its hopes into.

A few days ago they had announced that their terraforming plan would be accomplished in a matter of decades, rather than the centuries many thought it would take. While many were skeptical, it was mostly accepted and celebrated about. No doubt the Plymouth council would be in an uproar when they find out in the next conference. Speaking of Plymouth, the blond's thoughts strayed for a moment to her friend far off living in that colony. She hoped that the encrypted and hidden communication feed in the last transmission reached her alright. Having friends in the Command Centers of both colonies had its perks. Her eyes wandered to the breast pocket of her coat. There a golden, triangular was clipped with her name engraved on it. It had been a present from Nanoha when she had found out about her desire to work in the labs. Though at the time Nanoha didn't know about the private lessons her mother was giving her which allowed her to graduated from the University earlier than usual.

A few turns later brought Fate to her room. Her coat was hung up and shoes places aside by the door. Some lights in the darkness outside her window caught her attention. Peering out, she could barely make out 2 or 3 vehicles departing from one of the Advance Labs and away from the colony. This had been happening for almost a month or at least from this lab in particular. While no one was explaining these nightly runs, it did help to fuel the rumors of experiments being conducted in secret. Terraforming experiments were the most common rumor given the big hype around it. Then there were the others like a secret labor camp where they took Plymouth supporters or hidden labs where they were making monsters for an army. Whatever it was, it was probably supported by the council given the frequency of the trips and their starting point at the Advance Lab.

Speaking of late-night runs, she wasn't exactly tired. Her mind pondered what she could do to kill some time as staring at the ceiling was not her idea of a plan.

A) See if one of her friends were working the night shift
B) Head out for a late-night snack
C) Change to Nanoha's PoV

Please post your choices BOLD and in DarkOrange

Previous Installments
-Intro
-Chapter 01
-Chapter 02

B please

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluecoow

hmm...i'm not sure if i can post this here..being new to this forum...
I'm actually looking for a fanfic that i read a while ago, which i cant remember the author or the name. All that i remember is the story....
"Fate return from long period mission and others throwing a welcome party, before she even meet Nanoha she start drinking with Signum. When Vivio and Nanoha finally see her they were not entirely happy about it....something relate to how she's drunk and all..haha"
yeah..something along that, could anyone remember reading that? thanks to all

you mean Lightning of the skies
sadly it no longer on FF.net

Knight of L-sama · 2008-09-25, 07:46

You know, it occurred to me that for Divided Destiny's choices, you could have A /and/ B. Why not have a midnight snack and bump into some other people there? Surely she has some scientists friends with the same work schedule she does.

I go with A even though I would rather go with

D) Fate sneaks to the border of Eden and has a midnight rendezvous with her /friend/ Nanoha.

@CYOA Authors: This is just a little request but when you post new chapters, could you post the whole answer choice that got picked? I don't pay enough attention to both the stats and the answers to put two and two together after the (short) delay in posting the actual chapter...

Please and thank you~

And that description sounded more like "It's all coming back to me now" than "lightning of the skies" now that I think about it...

@Q!F readers: After Quack, I think I made it a longstanding char trait of Quack!Fate to name stuff. Fate must've been such a lonely child... But now I have to go look for where Arf is in this world...

NorthernFallout · 2008-09-25, 07:55

First off, let me just say that Death Rage chapter 2 is under way. I'm going home for the weekend and that gives me the opportunity to write some more and come up with ideas. FFC + School work is pretty distracting...

FotR Chapter 9 is slowly gaining content but I'll have to see when that's done. I have a conversation written down and it's just a thing to fill in the holes inbetween. Look forward for more information on the Reaper history...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki

DIVIDED DESTINY
Two People, Two Paths

Spoiler for Divided Destiny, pt. 03:

A

Sassy_Bread · 2008-09-25, 10:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by markesellus

Actually now that I think about it, your story reminds me of a short story called A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner. She basically kills the guy too, but she was also a Necrophiliac. Which is worse.

Another thing to add: her crime is kept a secret until after the character dies. >_>;; With that said, we should probably stop; I think we're giving Goose ideas.

And I want to see some of the other people there! A!

Evil Rick · 2008-09-25, 10:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kai the Reaper

Wouldn't it be a bit difficult to continue VSOTP with the title character dead?

Quote:

Originally Posted by markesellus

Oh yeah! I forgot about that too. So Vita can't die! because she is immortal! >.>

lol

Sheba · 2008-09-25, 11:40

I was not so hot about posting this story in FFT.
However, Satashi told me it is fine to post it.

Warning:

- It's BIG. Something I have not expected as I went my merry way to write. And expand.

- No NxF.

- No WAFF

- Alternate Continuity. It's after the Corpse Weapons Incident in the sound stages.

Now, you have been warned. I'll classify it under the adventure genre, because it's how I view it. It's going to be Hayate and Vivio. Signum & Zaffy to a lesser extent. And OCs.

Chapter 1 is pretty much an introduction chapter. It explain the situation, how and why.

The Journeyers

I can't decently slap in "Lyrical Nanoha" since there are going next to no Nanoha in it.

Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Part 1:

Sheba · 2008-09-25, 11:42

Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Part 2:

Sheba · 2008-09-25, 11:44

Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Part 3:

Sheba · 2008-09-25, 11:46

Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Appendix:

Spoiler for Credits:

I will post the chapter 2 tomorrow. And chapter 3 is in the porcess of being written.

Evangelion Xgouki · 2008-09-25, 12:02

Current standings for Divided Destiny:

A) IIIII
B) IIII
C)

6 hours remaining.

Satashi · 2008-09-25, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evil Rick

Spoiler for Vampire Fate:

I missed this in the backlog! D:

Rick, looks really neat :3 can't wait to see ^^

Laith · 2008-09-25, 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vivio Testarossa

I think it started when TheShinySword published his story "Secret Ambition" (which I loathe), then Laith followed with the story "Crossroads"

.

Go Hayate!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

...Wow. I don't think I've ever had someone loath what I've done... Looks like Laith's getting some bowing action XD:3 well that just inspired me to sally forth
[/SPOILER]

...the hell? No...why... i... just...whatever

So...

A =3
B =5

Votes ending in... 1 1/2 hrs.

page claim for... good ridance on your life

2008-09-25, 11:40	Link #9514
Sheba RUN, YOU FOOLS! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost Age: 44	I was not so hot about posting this story in FFT. However, Satashi told me it is fine to post it. Warning: - It's BIG. Something I have not expected as I went my merry way to write. And expand. - No NxF. - No WAFF - Alternate Continuity. It's after the Corpse Weapons Incident in the sound stages. Now, you have been warned. I'll classify it under the adventure genre, because it's how I view it. It's going to be Hayate and Vivio. Signum & Zaffy to a lesser extent. And OCs. Chapter 1 is pretty much an introduction chapter. It explain the situation, how and why. The Journeyers I can't decently slap in "Lyrical Nanoha" since there are going next to no Nanoha in it. Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Part 1: It was not the brightest day for Hayate. Her magic, turning out to be less reliable as time went on, was not a personal crisis in the least. This was expanding out into the general community, as the need to find out the root of the evil that was affecting magic in the universe was stronger than ever. She left her friends behind her, in a Mid-Childa besieged by the Alwion Confederacy. She had arrived, on an alien planet, hinted to be the source of their problems. She was brought here by the Conquistadores, since the ship was one of the few to not have been affected by the magical chaos. Her legs were burning, her head scorched by the bright yellow sun. A few steps before her, Signum surveyed the landscape in front of them. Behind her, Vivio was squatting, checking out her possessions, mainly books, scrolls, and a standard issue S2U staff, while Zafira watched over the little girl. Reinforce was floating well above the ground, checking the skies and the horizon. Regarding the Namshub, the vessel that captain Kyoya Kibagami jokingly called "the Yagami's taxi", it was badly damaged from the chaos in the dimensional sea, a result of the distortion caused by a supernova in the normal space. Ynana, the ship's operator, was severely wounded in her attempt to protect her passengers against the radiation burst that had spread from the normal space to the dimensional sea. During their journey toward this planet, Hayate felt powerless as she witnessed the loss of magical power the crew suffered through. Vivio did everything to comfort to Antigone who took the worst part of this. The nail in the coffin was when Arngrim, her favourite summon and her friend,faded out of reality. Now, it was Sieraza who stayed with her mistress and friend. While that planet was Sieraza's home, the leather-winged girl felt that there were nothing left of her motherland; this was something Hayate could remember as the Urashima syndrome. Signum and Reinforce reported that everything was all clear, while Kyoya and Sieraza were manually activating the camouflage mechanism of the spaceship by following Ynana's instructions. Then Hayate's mind tried to gather what had brought her on this planet, Madhyaloka. *** From what Hayate could remember, it all started in the winter of the year MC 0078 with rumors from worlds on the rim of TSAB's influence. It was a few months after TSAB's first official contact with the Alwion Confederacy. From these worlds within the TSAB's jurisdiction, it was rumored that arias, the chants used for the more powerful spells, had lost their powers. Various magicians had their own magic turning against them, either not working as they used to work or just weakening to the point to disappear. Then, news about a tragedy had reached the offices of the Intelligence Department of the TSAB: one of the administrated worlds, the Administrated World #44, had gone into a global war. Indeed, all the local powers had tried to grab the remaining magical resources for themselves. As a result, their civilization collapsed and a TSAB rescue team led by Subaru could have saved only a few survivors. Another world, Ymir where the sun never set, was wiped out of all life. Its magical protections had gradually failed while a flare coming from its dim red sun had hit the planet. It was now a ghost world. The more Hayate had thought about it, the more she believed that it might have started earlier. As far as she was personally concerned, bad news had been piling up in her office. She always suspected that the Alwion Confederacy was not the democracy it claimed to be. The few meetings with the officials were actually covers for both parties to evaluate their mutual strengths. She also had the feeling that the pirates who had been bothering the TSAB navy for a while could be potential allies. The Confederates had demanded the TSAB to capture the leader, claiming him to be terrorist and a traitor. However, if he were really a criminal, why would small groups of people flee their motherland to join him and fight against their government? While diplomats of the TSAB had suggested her to not take this stance in public, she could not help but draw a comparison between the captain Morgan and famous rebel leaders of her homeworld. Another subject of annoyance for Hayate was the demands from the Confederacy to give them Vivio's friend, Fiana Vickers, a political refugee. She was suspected to have conspired against the republic. Hayate found the idea of a rather shy kid plotting the fall of a republic absurd. Fiana was a lonely and withdrawn girl whose heart gradually opened at the contact of Vivio. Moreover, she had shown a promising magic potential. Fiana Vickers' crime was to be the survivor of the House of Vickers, the former ruler of the Confederacy, when it was still an imperial monarchy. To add up more on the worries of Midchildan citizens, TSAB's intelligence agents and recon units had reported moves from the troops of Alwion on the frontier worlds of the TSAB's zone. Diplomats and ambassadors of Alwion had claimed that these mentioned frontier worlds used to belong to the former empire. Moreover, the intelligence agents of the TSAB and the Enforcers had discovered that the Confederacy had set a plan named "Crimson Skies" in motion. It meant a full-scale attack. Something they expected at some point, but not that early. Then reports came in of people sighting those they thought dead. It was very different from undead seen in bad horror movies. They were closer to ghosts abruptly appearing in front of their loved ones. Then they would go on their own business, unaware of their surrounding, and vanish as if they were just dreams. These specters looked real and surreal, leaving a feeling of unease in those they had come to visit. This happened in one of the ghost towns of Midchilda, those that were remains of the Great War. People who had come to visit the ruins had reported to have seen people in old Midchildan clothing. These ghosts carried on their former lives, then disappeared about as fast as they have appeared. On a darker note, Teana had come to Hayate, looking extremely troubled, after her late brother had "visited" her. Soon, the reported calamities had hit them harder when it was their turn. At first, it was a few grunts, under the training of Nanoha, who were unable to tap in their magical energy. Some others were unable to chant their arias for their more powerful spells. Then other trainees could not get their spells working as expected. The worse had come to another trainee when the energy of his spell had backfired. The poor man had to be sent to the hospital. Finally, there were Caro who uttered in a trembling voice: "My friends would not come to me anymore. They don't understand my calls any longer." before tears overwhelmed her. Lately, Hayate had two recurrent dreams. The first dream had Hayate standing in front of a chasm, inside a cave that appeared to be the heart of a labyrinth. In an attempt to find out what could lie in the depth, she gazed into the darkness and could feel something gazing back at her from the gaping hole, while unintelligible whispers urged her to leap inside the abyss. Most of the time, she would wake up from this dream before she made the decision to jump. Another dream was a mist of light where she could float and feel at peace. Then a glowing golden fire would float toward her and as soon as she touched it, a series of still scenery started flashing through her mind while a calm feminine voice whispered in Hayate's ear: "If you hear me, you will come.". As these words floated in her mind, Hayate found herself beneath a starry night sky on which she could see unknown stars. The voice kept on whispering: "Look up, and see the three moons and the Lone Red One." Hayate raised her head to see three moons and a lone red star, surrounded by constellations she had never seen anywhere on the maps of the TSAB. She lowered her glance to the direction of the voice that had become clearer. In front of her, a little girl was standing. She was clad in a simple but large white dress with a golden scarf and wearing a platinum tiara over her long black hair. A necklace of beads with an eight-pointed star medallion was worn around her frail neck. She looked to be about thirteen years old, but her purple eyes could tell that she was much older than she looked "Now you have heard me, you will come under this sky. The sky of Mezzo Terra". Obsessed by this dream, Hayate had requested Yuuno Scrya to find out about this Mezzo Terra and asked Carim if she could find a sense in her dreams. However, they were busy, trying to gather as much information as they could about the crisis, in preparation of the meeting involving most of the TSAB new High Council members and the directors of the different departments, as well as the Aces.

2008-09-25, 11:42	Link #9515
Sheba RUN, YOU FOOLS! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost Age: 44	Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Part 2: The day of the meeting, May 7th, MC079, had come rather quickly. Before entering the meeting room, Hayate saw that Vivio had followed Nanoha until this place. When Hayate had asked the reason of Vivio's presence, Vivio had replied that she felt as concerned as everyone else did. Unfortunately, she had to stay outside, while the conference was being set up and about to start. When the door of the room was shut, Hayate surveyed the assembly; the heads of the different departments of the TSAB were present, with the exception of the director of the Enforcer department, never seen by anyone else. His or her only friend and servant, the familiar Kayna who would occasionally assume the form of a raven, represented him or her. The servant had brought a Midchildan laptop computer that had a blank screen. It was supposed to be a proxy for the director, as shown by a miniature camera and mike. Other than the different directors, there were the secretary of defense and the secretary of foreign affairs, the top officers like the Admiral Chrono, and her friends Fate and Nanoha were sitting by her sides. In other occasions, Hayate would crack one of her jokes to ease up the atmosphere, but the crisis was too severe to allow that. A middle-aged man gathered the assembly. He was tall, athletic, fair-haired with strands of grey hair. He had the sharp but weary blue eyes of a veteran who had lead battles well beyond the boundaries of the TSAB's zone. Wrinkles had developed on his forehead and the corners of his mouth and his eyes. He retired from the frontline duty a few years ago. He was chosen as the new head of the TSAB High Council to replace those who had been killed during the Scaglietti Incident. He was elected because he was not related to any of the camarilla waging their war of influence in the offices of the TSAB. His name was Nigel McLaren. He watched over the assembly, then started the opening speech of the meeting: "Ladies and gentlemen. I have gathered this assembly to discuss about the crisis we are going through. This crisis is shaking the ideals of the TSAB and the foundations of our civilization. As we speak, the magic and the technology based on sorcery are failing us. Starting from about one or two years ago, mages was starting to lose their powers or worse, their powers had turned against them. This had lead to dramatic events in worlds with lower levels of technology. There, mages would be often imprisoned, exiled or, worse, executed or lynched by the local population. On worlds with a higher level of technological sorcery, this had lead to disasters. The most famous of them is the destruction of Ymir and its lifeforms by a flare of its star, after the failure of the planet's magic-based shields. This was just the tip of the iceberg. Our best engineers had slowed down the spread of the failure of our magitechnology. Sadly, this could be just a temporary solution. If it goes on, we may be forced to resort to the older technology, with the potential dangers we all expect from their use. It doesn't apply to just the civilian domain, but also in the military field. Indeed, a vast Confederacy had set its eyes on our territories, and its resources. They first appeared as friendly, but as time passed, their masks had fallen. They attacked our neutral stance regarding Fiana Vickers. Our diplomats told them that we were just offering her the chance to enjoy a new life as an ordinary child. In turn, they labelled us as accomplices of a conspirator. Not to mention that they have taken by force various mining settlements in our zone, pretending that these territories used to belong to them. Claims were later proven false by independent archaeologists. Their attitude toward the TSAB had shifted to a thinly veiled hostility and resulted in a volatile atmosphere between the two powers. A conflict is not unlikely. The crisis of technological sorcery and magic is endangering the survival of our people in worlds heavily dependant on it. But the addition of a potential, yet tangible, conflict is putting our very existence, as a model of civilization and autonomous power, at stake." The following silence had given the meeting a solemn atmosphere as people were weighting the gravity of the crisis. One with a good hearing sense could almost hear the chuck-chuck of the fans of the climatization system behind the walls. "Ground Army General Chrysler, what can we do if magic and sorcery keep failing like it does?" Nigel asked. "We would have to revert to the older technology. Or an hybrid." The General replied. "This means the old firearms. Or the energy based weapons designed by Shari and Tsuzuki. The problem would be to equip the troops stationed pretty far." "I've read from the files that the research and development department had been working on a kind of... Battery device. Care to tell us more?" Nigel enquired. "It's just as they said. Devices that are designed to contain a limited amount of magical energy, just like battery. They used the cartridges as a basic framework and expanded on it. They purpose was to artificially increase the magical energy pool of our mages, especially in combat. The weakening of magic had forced the R&D scientists to works on seals that prevent, at best, the energy from leaking. At least, it could slow down the leaking of the energy. Doctor Shamal, Shari and Instructor Nanoha had together devised training methods to make an optimal use of the energy present in the mages and these battery devices." Chrysler answered. "It's like someone on a remote island first uses a lighter to light a campfire then fall back to a magnifying glass when the lighter is empty. And when the magnifying glass is broken in an unfortunate accident, he fall back to make a fire with a flint, then a wooden branch." Nigel thought to himself. "Gentlemen, I hope you understand why the question of the removal of the ban of conventionals is in the air." Nigel simply declared. This statement had raised uproar in the audience. As Nigel expected. "I do not like it either. But unless you find a solution in the next days, it cannot be prevented." Nigel carefully weighted the consequence of this decision. He knew he was doing it for the sake of the TSAB's worlds. "Admiral Chrono, what's the situation of the navy?" He asked. "The dimensional sea seems to have turned less safe than before. Indeed, it have been reported that several of our ships have gone missing while going through the usual routes. Or they just have stopped working. As a result, some ships are immobilized and left drifting in the middle of the dimensional sea until they are rescued. It just doesn't have affected our ships, but also the civilian or private ships. As a result, the navigators have to find alternate and safer routes. This slows the general navigation down and affects the commerce and the logistic. In addition, I fear that the merchant syndicates have to raise the price of the manufactured goods and raw materials as result of the increased risk and travelling time. To add up to our worries, some of our worlds are gradually isolated by the disturbances of the dimension sea. Indeed, the intensity of these disturbances could endanger our ships. On the brighter side, this also affects our main opponent. However, they have the number of ships and their willpower on their side." Admiral Chrono reported. Nigel closed his eyes upon hearing these worrying reports. He then opened them and glanced toward General Chrysler: "Compared to the confederates and their allies, what are the odds of the TSAB?" "About five confederates and allies to two TSAB troopers." The general answered. "It just doesn't help that our main advantage, magic, is wavering. It is not just the decline of magic that is problematic. It's the fact that most of our troops have never killed another human being. We are most certain that the confederates have done it and have the will to do it. Not only they have the mindset. But they also have the equipment. Removing this ban on conventional would greatly help us." Nigel gritted his teeth. He had killed people before. He knew how it felt and how it haunted one's nights. That was before his homeworld, torn by war, was discovered and saved by the TSAB. He looked at the Aces, wondering how they would feel when their hands would be covered in another human's blood. And what about the Knights? Wouldn't their old and buried memories of ancient wars awaken at the sight of corpses littered battlefields? "Do they have weapons of mass destruction?" Nigel asked. "Yes, however, it is unlikely that they are going to use them. They want the resources. And if it is possible, they want to convert the local population to their cause at best, or enslave them through forced labors at worst. It's because they need the manpower to exploit the resources they can gain." The general Chrysler replied. "And we can't use the mass destruction weapons we have concealed against them, or we may alienate those who still resist in the Confederacy's main system" Nigel commented. "That's right." Chrysler responded. Nigel looked at the secretary of foreign affairs, Renault: "Do we have potential allies?" Renault saluted: "One of them is the Agisymba Emirate. The Confederacy has indeed bought two important worlds with underhanded means from the Emirate. These worlds have provided the Emirate with raw materials and have been strategic pivotal points for the Emirate's commercial routes and military garrisons. The League of Varcian is the second potential ally." "Good, what do we know about their strengths?" Nigel asked. "The biggest asset of the Emirate's army is their manpower. While inferior to the one that can be mobilized by the Confederacy and its allies, it is still enough to complete ours. Moreover, they specialize in quick but devastating strikes, and their well-trained akinci, asappi and janissaries divisions and their equipment back this up. However, while they are willing to help us, on the basis of their animosity toward the Confederates, they expect us to pay a price." The secretary Renault asked. "Of course, it is to be expected. What is the price?" Nigel asked. "A sovereignty of about one century and one year over two of our frontier worlds, the administrated worlds 121 and 68, Ordova and Lestilla." Renault answered. "At the end of the period, the citizens of these worlds can choose to stay in the Emirate or return to the TSAB." Nigel thought it over. This price seemed so little when the TSAB's survival was at stake. "I think our citizens are ready to pay this price. Expect a speech from me in the next days to convince the Ordovans and the Lestillans. As soon this very meeting is over, I want you to send a delegation to negotiate with the involved parties, in order to make them understand all the benefits. And do not be afraid to exaggerate these advantages." Renault bowed over Nigel's words: "I'll do it straight away." "And what about the League, what help can we hope from them?" Nigel asked. "They can use their powerful navy to supply us. While slower, their ships are more enduring, can withstand large amount of damage and are less sensible to the disturbance of the dimensional sea than our ships. They expect a joint protection force from our ships to keep the supply lines alive." The secretary of foreign affairs replied. "How do they manage to do that?" Nigel enquired. "They answered that everyone has their secrets." Renault answered. "I would have done the same." Nigel commented. "What is their price for their help?" "They want us to teach them magic, if we can solve this crisis. The Variants have a history where mages used to be the ruling power. Then it just plain faded. They expect us to bring those answers over how to bring it back, should we manage to solve our own magic crisis. They think that this crisis is not the first, but they have never expected this scale." Renault said. "They hope magic can heal their world." "Heal their world?" Nigel had not expected this. "Their technological leap has been paid with a heavy price: the near destruction of almost all their ecosystem. If magic can help them to restore their ecosystem, they are fully willing to help us." Renault responded. "So it all comes to find out what is happening and how to undo it." Nigel shifted his gaze to Yuuno Scrya. "Mister Scrya, I have invited you with the hope you can have some answers. I would like to hear your opinion about the current state of magic." Yuuno then stood up, adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat: "All these incidents are linked together, in one way or the other. Otherwise, how would you explain the way the dimensional sea have been disturbed to the point to endanger our navigation? What is telling us that the thing that disturbs the dimensional sea would not spread over our reality? When we have asked the failing mages why their powers is dying up or failing, they all answered the same thing." "What is it?" Nigel asked. "It usually comes in the form of a recurring dream about a call inviting the dreamers to give something. In turn, they are supposed to gain a greater power. Instead, their powers start to fade away or get corrupted." Yuuno's reply had triggered a lot of reaction from the audience, ranging from worry to the realization that something was not exclusive to one person, but many people in the known universe. Known by the TSAB. Nigel then looked at everyone: "How many of you have had this dream?" Nearly everyone raised his or her hands. "And how many of you have given this call a positive answer?" Much fewer hands rose. Much to Hayate's relief, her friends, the Aces and her Knights, were not of those who had given in this call. "Now, this is really troublesome." Nigel commented. "It doesn't help that the more the dreamer ignore the call, the more subtle yet forceful the next calls becomes." Yuuno added. "So, someone is corrupting or absorbing magic..." Nigel commented. "The problem is how this someone achieved this." "I think I have a theory regarding this point." Yuuno said, while lifting his finger. "I have read a lot of old scriptures dating from the ancient times. First, Earth has an interesting theory regarding the lines of power. This has given birth to concepts like the ley lines and could explain the setups of many sites. Earth inhabitants even have created sciences like the Feng Shui. They have thought that favorable setups of various elements in a given landscape can modify the flow of mystical energy in favorable ways. What's more interesting is that this theory have found echo in a civilization way older than the civilizations found on Earth. This civilization is supposed to have existed before Al Hazred and Ancient Belka. Moreover, according to very old Belkan history chronicles, this civilization have been Belka's main concurrent, before fading from history." Yuuno looked at the audience then quickly got to the point. "Now, here is the interesting thing. This civilization has believed in a point of origin. From this point of origin, energy has flown and has shaped the universe we know. But not just the galaxies and the stars. It also have shaped the planets, the landscapes and the beings found these planets. They have believed that magic is a way to resonate with the point of origin and bend the reality according to the effects that are desired by a given spell. As for the magical energy, they believe that it also comes from this point of origin, like how a river comes from a spring and have branched out into myriads of smaller streams." Eyes in the audience widened at what Yuuno could mean, uproar of disapproval and denial ensued. "I am afraid of what you are trying to imply." Nigel said. "I too fear it myself. What if this people's theory holds a bit of truth? What if someone has found the source and is trying to use it to his or her own benefits?" Carim said. "Exactly." Yuuno welcomed Carim's conclusion. "When one want to rule the desert, all the tyrant needs is to take over all the water." Shamal commented in turn. "And this has to happen just when war is at our gates!" One of the people in the audience shouted. "Couldn't we just give Fiana Vickers to the Confederates to appease them?" Hayate felt anger in her flesh, she turned toward her friends. Nanoha and Fate had the same reaction, for different reasons. The former could not let Vivio lose her friend; the latter was angered by this demonstration of cowardice. A loud thud silenced everyone, Nigel McLaren had slammed his fist on the table, giving a scolding stare at the one who had said that: "Be quiet. You know very well that the Confederate will do their move regardless they have the exiled princess or not. You have heard the speech of their president about their 'vital space', don't you?" He then turned to Hayate, "And Miss Yagami knows the reason she have been invited by them about four months ago, right?" "The goal was a demonstration of their forces, they also tried, with little to no success, to obtain information about our forces when it was their turn to visit Midchilda. I hate to admit it, but their elite unit, the 108 Immortals can rival our Combat Cyborgs, the Nakajima sisters and the former Numbers, in many ways. Any of their Majestic Twelve, their generals, is a capable leader and is gifted with a power about as good as an Ace. One way to tip the balance in our favor is to call for potential allies, like those contacted by our diplomats. I would suggest another potential ally: the Belkan diaspora. One potential problem would be to find a leader to rally them. I may suggest Carim Gracia. As far as Vickers is concerned, I say we keep her. I have seen what the Confederacy truly is. It is not a democracy; it is one of the worst dictatorships that exist today. Most of its population are brainwashed by their omnipresent propaganda, those who refuses and resists are oppressed. Those who managed to escape joined what the Confederacy heads call the terrorists." Hayate declared. "The very same terrorists who harass our fleet, Miss Yagami!" Another man, the vice-admiral Horacio Punto, angrily retorted. To be fair, the ships of his fleet were the first ones to have been raided by the Screamsax Pirates led by the Captain Morgan. Being in charge of the transport and logistics for the TSAB military only made him a prey of choice for the pirates. "Their leader has promised us to not do it anymore" Fate replied, in defense of Yagami. Punto turned his head to Fate, scornfully snorting: "Are you telling me that you, an Enforcer, have negotiated with a terrorist?" A synthetic, non-human, voice had boomed in the room, causing all heads to turn to the small computer. Its owner was viewing the meeting through a camera integrated in the computer. With Kaina who was standing behind the machine all the while: "I have personally required the enforcers Testarossa and Lanster to not take action against the leader of the pirates should they meet him again. If one is to blame, it is not them, but I." "Would you care to tell us the reason, Director of the Enforcer Department?" The vice-admiral asked. "I am certain that in this time of crisis, we will need to get as much cards in our hand as we can. These pirates are rebels against the Confederates, and more members of the clans that used to be the bricks of the former Alwion Empire are joining the captain De Havilland. This is why I asked the collaboration of the Intelligence department." the Director of the enforcer Department answered. "Miss Director of the Intelligence Department?" Nigel enquired. Then, a middle-aged woman stood up. Tightly clad in the uniform of the Intelligence Department, Carla Kyalami, saluted the audience: "Yes, High Council head." Carla said. "Since most of your informations are sensible, I'll simply ask one question, you'll only need to answer with yes or no. If you can't, you don't have to." Nigel stated the rules of the following dialogue, if one can call that a dialogue. "Does our first contacts with the Confederacy date from way before the official contacts?" Nigel started. "Affirmative" Carla nodded. "The coming of Fiana Vickers in TSAB's zone of influence during MC 070, then the ensuing request of political asylum from her servants, had caused your department to send undercover agents in the Confederacy's territory, correct?" Nigel continued. A silence was the only answer from Carla. A silence that could be interpreted in many ways. Nigel then asked his next question. "You have kept contacts with your agents?" "Negative." Carla replied "In the absence of contact with the HQ, your agents had become sleeper agents, right?" Nigel continued. "Classified information." Carla kept her composure. "The Yagami's delegation that was sent soon after the first official contact was more than a diplomatic delegation. Am I correct?" "Classified information." Another answer left to anyone's guess. Hayate nodded to these words, she had to learn the working and traps of foreign diplomacy, and being the front cover of espionage activities was one of the aspects she had to live with. Then the synthetic voiced continued: "In a time when magic is less reliable we'll have to use every available trump card, the sleeper agents card may be one of our wild cards. Sadly, this may not be enough. We have to find out why magic is not working as intended in some cases, or why it is running dry. If anything said by Mister Scrya is true, it means something or someone is attacking magic at its very source. What, who, how, where and why." "This is why I called Carim Gracia." McLaren replied. "You did well" The synthetic voice commented. "The audience would like to know your opinion and theories on the matter of magic. And possibly, a solution." Nigel said. Carim stood up with a rather solemn expression on her face. "I need not to repeat what Yuuno said about the state of magic. My own abilities had offered a small hint about how to deal with this crisis, this is what I have read: 'A master and a companion, a knight, a throneless emperor and her guardian will sail the sea of the stars. Beyond the starry ocean, lies the earth of the middle, where a princess and a giant of the ancient times will meet and join their forces to face their worst fears and ghosts. Upon the defeat of their ghosts, hubris waits for them in the heart of darkness, under the lonely shore. Should they overcome it, the pain of the world will be eased, should they don't, and the world will crumble from losing its blood." Carim offered the best answer she could have, in this time of troubles. "So that's how it is?" Nigel commented. "That's the most my own abilities could have done." Carim replied, as if she apologized. "What's this earth of the middle? There are plenty of worlds that could claim to be the earth of the middle." The puzzled secretary Renault asked. This was the moment for Yuuno Scrya to speak up on the topic: "Colonel Yagami had talked to Carim and me some days ago about a recurrent dream that could be related to this earth of the middle." All eyes turned toward Yagami who suddenly felt the weight of the growing responsibility, she then went on describing her two recurrent dreams: "Like all of you, I have received this call about the promise of a greater power. However, there was another dream. I was feeling at peace, in a mist of light, hearing an appeasing light. There was an appeasing voice trying to tell me something. Then I found myself under a starry night. I could see three moons. The first moon was silvery white, almost like the one seen from my homeland. The second one was a small but beautiful blue moon. Then the third one was a sinister greyish shattered moon. Another thing I could see in this sky is a lone red bright star and the constellations. The most notable was the one that was supposed to indicate the north of the planet. With a great deal of imagination, it looked like a sword. However, if one looked a little at the southeast, a constellation in the form of a bowman could be seen. Another constellation, at the west, looked like a lone tower. And... There were the Twins, southward. That was all the constellations I could remember from my dream. Then the voice that appeased me became clearer and I turned my eyes to the source of this voice. It was a little girl, in her early teens, with very old eyes and a tiara around her black hair. She looked like a religious figure from her clothing. She had said something like 'If you hear it, you will come' and 'now you have heard me, you will come under the sky of Mezzo Terra.'" Hayate had tried her best to not omit the important details of her dream. "The Earth of the Middle in one of the Earth's languages, and the native language of the House of Borgia when its founder father have come to Midchilda" The synthetic voice of the director of the Enforcer department commented. A silence had fallen on the assembly as if they were all trying to figure out hypothesis, hints or solutions. The Admiral Chrono soon interrupted the silence. "About two years ago" Chrono said, "One of the ships under my command had discovered a solar system that was not claimed yet by any of the known transdimensional superpowers. I think you all remember the ship named Namshub and its operator, Ynana." Hayate remembered this ship. This spaceship and its alien operator were relics of a time now forgotten by history, way before the ice age on Earth ended. In many regards, they were anachronisms. On one hand, they seemed to not belong to the distant past. On the other hand, they should not have been here before a few centuries. "Ynana had sent various drones and probes on this planet to gather as much information as possible." Chrono continued, "The purpose was to find out if the people living there could be contacted by the TSAB personnel without any unwanted tension. But also to detect any potential lost logia-class objects in need to be recovered and secured. However, I think that this planet and its solar systems would be better presented by the navigator of Namshub." It was not too long before the doors of the council room opened. With a glance, the three Aces could see Vivio peeking at the room while a seemingly young, yet ageless, silver-haired woman clad in the uniform of the TSAB navy walked in the room with various files under her arm. Ynana then turned her head toward the assembly, her eyes as cold as two quicksilver marbles surveying everyone who were present. Like a puppet whose the strings were pulled by a hesitating master, Ynana mechanically saluted the people. Chrono motioned his head at Ynana, telling her she can report what she knew about the newly discovered system. A cold monotonous voice then started the presentation of one of the TSAB's new discoveries: "The planet we have discovered orbit a yellow dwarf star of about 1.05 solar mass, meaning that this star is slightly bigger and brighter than Earth's Sun. Beside the planet that interest us, eleven other planets orbits that sun. This is not counting this sun's distant companion, a red dwarf of 0.4 solar mass that is located about 54.8 Astronomical Units, its velocity, orbit and distance allows this companion to complete its revolution every 405.66 earth years. The only habitable planet is the fourth planet, orbiting in a distance of 1.125 Astronomical Units. It takes 425 earth days to complete its orbit and its rotation period last 26 earth hours. Three moons orbit the planet that is the home of seven humanoid races. Surprisingly, there are also humans of the Homo sapiens type on this planet. They apparently immigrated to this planet over three millennia ago; a range of 1300 to 1100 BC would be the rough estimation of when humans first came to this planet. They soon entered in competition with another immigrant humanoid race, the Bhadra, who had come to this planet when Earth was in the middle of the Bronze Age. A range between 2800 BC and 2600 BC would be the best estimation." Carim tried to remember where she had heard the Bhadra name. Before rising to the top as empire, Belka had come to supplant various ancient civilizations. Are Bhadras one of them? Ynana continued: "The Bhadra were allied to one of the three native races and basically shaped the world to their desires after winning a war against one of the other native race. From now on, even if humans are now superior to the Bhadra in term of population, and influence on the civilization, everyone still call their world by the name the bhadra had given to it: Madhyaloka. In their language, it means, The Middle World." Ynana then turned her head to look at Hayate: "Colonel Yagami. As observed from the surface of this planet by my drones, you could see the lone red dwarf star by night. As well as the three moons and the different constellations that could be as described in your dream. I don't have a great imagination but this is nearly how the rest of the crew of my ship had described them from the photos." What should I do, this thought had raced through the Colonel's mind. Fate and Nanoha stared at Hayate, their eyes filled with interrogations and worries. How can they help their friend? Chrono considered the options that were presented, sadly, there were so little. Did the answer lie in this planet lost beyond the boundaries of the TSAB's zone of influence? What if the Confederacy discovered this planet too? Safe, in that place where no one but Kaina had ever come, the director of the Enforcers department considered the fact that there may be spies and traitors inside the TSAB working for their enemy. The slightest move will set this war in motion. Midchilda was cornered since the beginning. Carim and Yuuno pondered over Hayate's dream, this could be a call. What for? Vivio was listening by sticking her ear close to the door, she could not hear everything, but she had heard about "a journey" and "a throneless emperor". Was it her? The Knights looked at their master, trying to get a sign of what to do. But no answer from their master, lost in her thoughts. Reinforce Zwei was trying to know what her master planned to do; it was one of these times she could not read in Hayate. Nigel knew that eventually, the TSAB would have to face a large-scale conflict. He just wished it were not at that time, when their biggest advantage was failing them. Lifting the ban in conventional weapons, having to relearn how to wage this kind of war, it was not as easy as it sounded. However, he had no other choices. He looked at the Colonel Yagami. Maybe the girl who called Hayate in her dreams knew something about Hayate that the Colonel herself did not know? Hayate thought to herself, she had to make a decision. Answering this call did mean leaving her friends behind her. Somehow, she believed that she must find out what was wrong with magic, her magic had not failed her yet. However, she did not want it to fail her in the middle of a crucial battle. Maybe, finding the root of their problems may help her to attain a better understanding of herself. "Mister Head of the Council, McLaren. I will go. And I will find out how to restore magic." She realized that this decision would throw her on a lonely road. "I'll go alone, with the Conquistadores, and accompanied by my companion Reinforce." Nanoha and Fate both stood up, voicing their concerns: "Hayate!" Only to be stopped by Hayate gesturing with her hand. "Please, stay behind. The Midchildans needs their heroes. What would they do if we all leave them?" "But we did everything together, we shared the same joys, we went through the same moments of sorrow" Nanoha replied. "I cannot decently train my troops without knowing that you are safe." "Nanoha. You are a greater instructor than you want to believe. Look at how you have raised Teana and Subaru into the prides of their respective departments. It is all thank to you. Moreover, the more common soldiers will need a heroic figure like you to find courage. Finally, you are from Earth like me, you'll have no problems to adapt to the changes of policy, if we have come to remove that ban on the conventionals." Hayate looked straight into Nanoha's eyes. "Hayate, I cannot stay behind, uncertain you are going to make it!" Fate said. "The enforcers department will need all its people to find out the spies and the supporters of the Confederacy. Even you can make a difference between a discovered spy and one that can lead thousands of us to a certain death." Hayate was reminding Fate of her duty as an enforcer. "Nanoha, Fate" Hayate shifted her glance in the direction of her Knights, "My family. There are times when someone has to walk a road alone. This time, for me, is coming soon". Signum protested. "I refuse to let go you alone. Please, meister, let me be your sword." Signum took Hayate's hands, as if she was about to make an oath, "If there are a knight in Carim's prophecy, let me be this knight." Hayate then looked at Vita and Shamal who answered her interrogative gaze with a nod of agreement. Fate, Hayate and the Knights knew that Nanoha had suffered more than anyone else from the Scaglietti incident. More incidents or conflicts like this one would lead her to her downfall. "I'll look over Nanoha." Vita declared. "I'll be watching over her health." Shamal said. The next minutes were then followed by a long ruckus. It was either protests against what appeared to be a fanciful impulse of the Colonel, sighs of relief over what could be solutions, or cheers in support of the decision that was taken. Nigel then brought back the order in the assembly with another loud knock against the table. He then stood up and looked at Hayate. "Colonel Yagami. Please, you are going to be our beacon of hope in the dark times that will come. Never forget it. Remember why you are doing it. As far as I am concerned, I can only wish you the best of luck." "I will, sir" Hayate saluted. Nigel then turned his eyes to the audience. He wondered who could be the throneless emperor, Vivio? Fiana? The future will tell. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is no more the time for half-measures. We will have to play all the cards we have been dealt, it is no more the time for the petty struggles between the Bureau factions. We will either win or have to face our annihilation. This means that we will have to vote the removal of the ban on the conventional weapons. I know that some of you are going to question me over how my proposition is going against the ideals that founded the bureau. I know they have right now the intention to vote against it. I am not going to force them to do otherwise. However, I would like them to think more about it, to think about what they are fighting for, why they joined the bureau and consider the enemy who is at our gates. Some of you, and some of the people under your command are indeed very young. Those had never faced the dilemma resulting from whatever it is right or wrong to kill. I will not lie, if you have never killed, you will have to learn or you will be killed. Even the Colonel Yagami may soon face this dilemma in a world she does not even know. When this upcoming war will be over, maybe some people in this assembly will be dead, even I may be killed. Moreover, the survivors will know that nothing will be the same as they used to be. This is why I'll promise you fire, steel, mud, blood and tears." People present at the meeting applauded. Then Nigel motioned his hand for silence. "The vote for the removal of the ban on conventional weapons begins now. I have prepared the ballot. So, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to accomplish your duty." This was when everyone took a sheet of paper to write a single word, yes or no. * Under three moons, there was a magnificent grove, a few kilometers away from the shore. Several hundred years old trees offered a shelter to a very tall and reasonably toned protohuman was sitting in the lotus position. In font of him, there was a simple plate with simple food. His silver hair was blown by a gentle wind; his eyes were shut while his mind was trying to seize the mysteries of the universe. He was clad in very simple cotton clothing that left his chest bare, and wore only a necklace of beads around his neck. He then opened his three eyes to see a woman walking toward him then sitting by his side, under the tree. He did not need to look at her to guess the playful smirk she was hiding behind her fan. She was dressed in an elaborate gold and purple silk clothing that was mainly a purple tunic and ankle-length skirt fastened by a golden stash that emphasized her figure. "I have expected you to come. Would you eat some of the pastries done by the villages I visited?" The man said. "I guess I can't surprise you anymore, my dear. Thanks you for the pastries." The purpled-eyed woman giggled while picking up something that looked like a sticky cereal paste ball. "I wonder if you have ever laughed or felt entertainment. You seem to be so boring to hang with. No wonder your brother was upset with you." "My brother always let his emotions get the best and worst of him." He replied. "But he is not the topic, right?" "Indeed." The Lady twirled her long platinum blonde hair between her thin fingers. "It's this crisis again? The Matriarch has finally found someone that can help us to undo the wound of our world?" The holy man asked. "Times will be fun again. The one who answered the call looks to be a fun fellow." She commented. "Don't you have enough fun? Don't you think that this one monster you have allowed into this world and is causing disasters in our world is enough?" The man asked. "This fellow has, as one of her friends, the one who can bring peace and hope of redemption to our monster. Tame this beast and we may have a valuable ally against the one causing my world so much misery." She replied. "Now this is interesting." He conceded. The woman stood up and looked at her companion, with her deep purple eyes. "I knew you would say that." She smiled and took a deep breath. "You now look forward to meeting them, don't you?" "Indeed" He answered. The woman then walked into what looked like a rift torn by a dozen of ghostly hands in the thin air. * During one night, Hayate was dreaming again. The same girl who had haunted her slumber stared at her with a joyful smile: "You have heard me and answered my call." "Why do you have to call me? Why me?" Hayate asked. "My call was nothing more than a message in the bottle. It just so happened that the waves of fate had pushed the bottle toward you." The petite girl answered. "That's all?" Hayate could not believe that this call was nothing more than a gamble. The mysterious girl was walking up to Hayate and cupped Hayate's hands between hers: "You are thinking that I was throwing a dice and hoping to roll a six? Funny enough, I rolled a six. You hold the key that may heal our world, your world and maybe the universe." she declared. "What is this key?" Hayate just could not understand. "You are a smart girl, you will understand when you will come to me." The girl replied. "I have one more thing to ask." Hayate said. "I am all ears" Such was this girl's reply. Hayate then told her about the other recurring dream. The mysterious girl's eyes widened and showed worry. "It's as your friend Yuuno said. You must not comply with this voice's demand. And it will become harder to resist as the days passes." The girl then looked up, skyward. She then lowered her glance: "We have to part our ways. It takes me a lot of effort to get tuned with you and be able to communicate" "And who are you exactly?" As the girl faded from Hayate's mind, she answered: "The last alive disciple of my world's savior" The rest of the night was dreamless and the alarm clock then pulled Hayate off her sleep. Last edited by Sheba; 2008-09-27 at 20:05.

2008-09-25, 11:44	Link #9516
Sheba RUN, YOU FOOLS! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost Age: 44	Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Part 3: It was the morning of the 24th of May. Hayate had done most of her morning duties, like showering, eating her breakfast with her Knights and she was now preparing herself for her journey with Reinforce Zwei and Signum, stuffing changes of clothes in her bag as well as Reinforce Zwei's. The past days were eventful; the ban on the conventional had been lifted, leading the armed forces of the TSAB to be trained by the few allies of the TSAB who had not fully banned the mentioned weapons, namely those from Erusia. Some of the TSAB diplomats had left Midchilda, to sail beyond the boundaries of TSAB's zone, to negotiate alliance with the Agisymba Emirate and the League of Varcian. Hayate knew that the Alwion Confederacy was not alone and was assisted by three other allies, maybe closer to the status of satellite states than true allies. The unknowns of the equation were the Belkan diaspora, the TSAB sleeper agents meant to sabotage the Confederacy from the inside, and herself. Herself and the success of her mission: restore the magic to its state before the crisis. Of course, there were the Cyborgs, the same Cyborgs who were her enemies some years ago, but how can they hold against the Confederate army's Immortals, and the generals known as the Majestic Twelve? Then there were this newest development, Vivio had expressed her wish to follow Hayate and help her. Of course, her adopted parents had refused at first, but the girl had shown a determination and obstinacy that had made Nanoha proud of her. Upon hearing Vivio's decision, Zafira had decided to follow up and join Hayate, much to Vivio's joy. While stroking Reinforce's hair, Hayate looked through the window, contemplating Cranagan City one last time. She realized that the city won't be the same when she will return, then her train of thoughts drifted to the years of her childhood, from that time when the Knights were summoned, her first meeting with Suzuka then the first time she had meet Nanoha and Fate. "Remember why you are doing it." These words echoed in Hayate's mind with more strength than ever. This thought brought a weight on her shoulders, the weight of people's hopes and expectations, she knew she could not turn back, she could not afford to fail them. "Rein" she lowered her gaze to the cute little companion who turned her head and replied her meister's look with a smile. "Yes, Mistress?" Hayate smiled, feeling a faint pinch on her heart. "Let's enjoy our last hours before our journey." This day, she had her last lunch with her friends. All of Aces, Knights and Strikers who were on Midchilda attended this lunch. The menu was copious and cooked by one of their friends, a cook named Kevin, who also hailed from Earth. Today, it was a Chinese themed lunch, mainly dim sum with a local twist: "Here Hayate, a little gift for you. That's a collaboration between Tsuzuki and me, I have given one to Vivio and Signum already." Shari had given Hayate a necklace. "What is it?" Hayate asked. "A translator and interpretator. I have asked Ynana's help to load the most common languages of that world in this device. You should have little problems to understand and be understood. However, there are still time where you'll need to use your own intelligence and intuition to get your way through the more complicated conversations." Shari pointed here and there the important parts of her device. "This is where your short experience in diplomacy can be helpful." Hayate nodded and took some dim sum with her chopsticks, Reinforce was trying to gulp some as much as her appetite and frame allowed her. She soon got into a small bickering with Agito. "The pork, it's all mine. All you can take are the ones with just the vegetables." Agito grinned. "You've gotten quite a lot of guts, reddie." Reinforce retorted. "You are eating too much lately. Don't you fear that your master switch to a new costume model?" Agito was trying to hit the Reinforce's sensible cord. "You are one to talk, muffin monster." Reinforce replied while shrugging in a mocking manner. Signum who had knocked over their heads with her chopsticks stopped the bickering. "You two, don't disrupt this lunch." Signum's hand grabbed her cup filled with tea by Shamal. Nanoha was picking up bau and breathed on one to cool it down. Looking at Hayate, she said: "How do you feel about your travel?" "I am eager to find the answers I am looking for. But at the same time, it's like my shoulders felt heavier." The Colonel answered. "I would like to follow you, especially because of Vivio. But..." She looked through the window, thoughtfully. Beyond that window, one could guess where Vivio's school was. Just like Hayate, she was enjoying her last day in this world. "But?" Hayate enquired. "I have my duties as an instructor. As a person from Earth, I have had some trouble to get my trainees to understand some concepts from Earth. Then, I looked at them, wondering how many will go through this conflict, alive." Nanoha looked unusually worried. "With the help of the Erusians who have lived through a war, we can make up for what Midchildans have been lacking." Vita bluntly stated. "Then there are also the issue of the traitors or the spies." Fate added. Eyes turned toward Fate. "There are not that many in the worlds closer to Mid. However, the closer we get to the borders, the more vocal the supporters of the old technology gets. These people have sympathies toward the Confederacy, and this gets even truer as our magic is failing more and more. Moreover, the propaganda from the Confederates has been slowly spreading in these places." Fate said. "As a result, enforcers have to investigate the past of many agitators on these worlds. Under the suspicions that they may be spies working for the Confederates. We are doing the job of a political police, we are slowly turning similar to those on the other side." The atmosphere had gotten somber, but Nanoha had laid her hand on Fate's shoulder. "It feels like something is slipping between our fingers. I wish that things would be much simpler, like in battlefields. At least, I could see my adversary, face to face, looking straight into his eyes. Here, it is as if anybody can be an enemy. Anyone can be guilty and innocent." Fate continued. "So this is how the enforcers have changed? The counter-espionage has become one of their tasks..." Hayate thought. "But there are Teana who have an uncanny intuition when it comes to them." Fate concluded. "So the work is not as bad as I feared." Teana looked somewhat embarrassed over the compliments of Fate. "W... Well... We have a lot to learn from each other." Teana shifted her glance away from the group. "Teana?" Nanoha asked. "Have you been 'visited'?" Teana looked at her seniors: "It's fine. There are no more visits from my brother. If it is what you meant." "And this call?" Hayate asked. "Don't worry about it. I have not succumbed." Teana smiled. "Fate?" Nanoha asked. "Yes, Nanoha?" The blonde enforcer answered. "Is Caro ok?" Nanoha enquired. "She has gotten better. However, for her safety, we have sent her to the Emirate. There, she is supposed to meet thaumaturgists who apparently can provide her some help. Erio and Lutecia have followed her, for mental support but also to protect her. If something goes wrong." Fate replied. "Nanoha, what's your feeling about Vivio's leaving?" Hayate asked. "At first, I was pretty worried. I would not be at her side when she will be on this world. However, knowing that she will be with Zafira, Signum and you, it put my mind at ease. I could not stop her, there is no way I could do that. The flames in her eyes when she has told me her decision have been very telling." Nanoha replied. She then laid her hands on Hayate's shoulders. "You better bring me back Vivio in one whole piece! Or..." "Or?" "I'll make sure that Shamal will be your exclusive cook for the rest of your life!" She said, beaming Hayate with a wide smile. Hayate then cowered over Nanoha's words while Shamal, red with embarrassment, shouted: "Please, don't make fun of me!" A loud laughter from all people present echoed in the room. Kevin the cook then brought up the dessert, a bunch of delicious cakes with lotus paste fillings. "I hope it was all good for you." Kevin said. "Oh, it was great." Reinforce and Agito answered in... unison. Then they looked into each eyes. Their gazes seemed to throw lightning. Much to the others' amusement. Then someone had rung the doorbell. Shamal stood up and walked toward the door. It was Subaru. "Sorry for being late. Big sister has let me go, so I could leave the training and join you. But I was caught in a traffic jam." She said while rubbing her head. "But you are welcome anytime" Shamal replied. "Place take a seat." Subaru gladly complied and had started to eat all the food, like a glutton. TV was broadcasting the news. It could have been better. Hayate wished that this last day, things would not be so grim for the citizens. News reported food shortage on various worlds. As predicted by Chrono, days ago in that meeting. When one thought about it, it was only the natural progression of this crisis from long months. Then came that face that most of Midchildans had come to hate, the face of Cornelius Westminster. He was too hosting a meeting, in front of a literal ocean of people. The crowd was hypnotized by his voice and his martial body language. An atmosphere of contained anger filled the atmosphere of the piece. "How did they let a mad man like him get to the head of their state? This is beyond me." Shamal commented. "If it was up to me, he'll be kissing my hammer." Vita said, between her gritted teeth. "Testarossa, I am wondering something." Signum said. "Yes?" Fate replied. "How much do we know about the twelve generals?" Signum asked, pointing her finger to the twelve figures behind the CEO Cornelius, president of the Confederate parliament, officially. "They used to command the imperial army. They were the personal guards of the ruling House." Fate replied. "The parliament had tricked them into believing that the House of Vickers planned nothing about the crisis that was shaking the old empire. Worse, the parliament had charged the House of Vickers with treason." Teana added. Nanoha's eyes widened. "So we have a way to turn one of them against the others!" She said. "Easier said than done. They are fanatical and loyal... To their country." Teana replied. "I am pretty sure there is one who is faithful to the values of their former empire, and have aspirations to resistance. Maybe Fiana's butler can tell us about the Majestic Twelve." Nanoha affirmed. "And you always find a way. Always." Subaru added with admiration. "Now the problem is the Immortals." Signum said. "And we only have fragments of information regarding them." "Yes, they are apparently cyborgs too. Different in concept from the numbers and the types-0" Shari said. Then looking at Subaru. "Sorry." "Please don't worry about it and just carry on your line of thought." Subaru said. "According to the Department of Intelligence. They are products of the nanotechnology. Tsuzuki claims that if they made up of nano-machines, one could design nano-destructors." Shari explained. "If it can bleed, we can kill it." Vita commented. "Did you make up that line yourself, Vita?" Nanoha teased. "W... Well, I have heard it in a movie." Vita looked kind of embarrassed while Nanoha patted her head. 'I think it would be better to capture one and study him so Tsuzuki and I can make these nanodestructors. Easier said than done." Shari added. "Should the occasion come, you may count on Yuuno and me to carry on this task." Shamal said. "However. I have something more urgent do do!" Shamal then stood up and clapped her hands together; she was indeed leaving the group to help Kevin the cook into washing the dishes. Gradually, everyone but Hayate and Reinforce had left the place to get back to their respective professional tasks. Hayate and Reinforce then dressed up in their TSAB attires. Before they left, Kevin had come to meet Hayate and said: "Well, this is the last time before we see each other for a while." He then hand Hayate a small notebook. "Here, I have written simple recipes you can cook in any remote place. You can call that the survivor's cuisine!" Kevin grinned. "This is going to be very handful." Hayate said, not knowing how to express her gratitude in a better way. "Kevin, if the war reaches Cranagan, be careful." Kevin looked at her with wide eyes then laughed loudly. "Heheh, there are no way a cook like me can get killed. Confederates should better be scared of cooks." Then Hayate, Reinforce and Kevin laughed as loud as their lungs allowed them. "Well, I have to go too." He then stretched his arms toward Hayate and Reinforce. His fists were clenched, with only the pinky fingers sticking out. "Let's make a pinky promise." Kevin said. Hayate then crossed her pinky finger with Kevin's while Reinforce could only take Kevin's other pinky between her hands. Together, the trio claimed: "We swear to all come back in this place, in one piece. No matter what." Then Kevin hugged Hayate, patted Reinforce one last time, and walked away. In turn, Hayate and Reinforce left their home to visit the TSAB's office. They had to complete a few paperwork they had not done. They wanted to make sure they had not forgotten any office business before leaving. Accompanied by Reinforce, Hayate visited the intelligence department to bid her farewell to the few people who helped her in the tricky office intrigues, like the public relation officer, Diana Dornier. "It's been a while I have not visited you." Hayate said. She knew that she was not really popular in this department. Nevertheless, Diana accepted the friendship that Hayate offered her, and returned it well. "Well, to be fair, we all have been busy these last months." Diana replied, with a smile. "Your smile. It's not lying to me. If you have something on your heart, at least speak up." Hayate had learnt well how to deal with those from the Intelligence Department and read in them. "You are leaving, just like how Roland and the other men have left. I am not even sure if you or any of them can return here, alive." Diana turned her head sideways, so Hayate would not see her worried look. "You should not think negatively." Hayate replied with a wide smile. "Oh well, I am just an egotistical girl." Diana turned her face to look right into Hayate's eyes. "Unlike Roland and the others, you can afford to say goodbye to everyone. This makes me feel better, so let me wish you the best of luck." Diana turned her head to look at Reinforce Zwei, and kissed the cute little being on her forehead. "I am sorry, I don't have any coins for the machine." "You don't have to apologize. It's one of these days." Reinforce was rubbing the back of her head. Diana replied with a smile. The both women and Reinforce Zwei then parted their ways, not before Diana told Hayate that Nigel McLaren needed to see her. * Hayate took the elevator and had reached the office of the head of the High Council. Nigel’s secretary, a rather shy and complexes glasses girl who always looked flustered in the presence of the high profiles of the Bureau welcomed her. Right now, Lou Ibiza was squeezing a tea bag between her fingers to get the most of it. She then noticed the Colonel and Reinforce Zwei and abruptly stood up. "Goo... Good Day Colonel!" She said while trembling. "You do not have to be scared, I am not that bad." Hayate replied with a giggle. "The Head of the Council wanted to see me, that's right?" Lou regained her much needed professional composure. "Yes, he does." Lou then pushed a white button on her desk and spoke to the intercom. "Colonel Yagami is here, sir." "Ok", a voice responded. "You can go in," Lou said to Hayate while bowing. Lou then stared at Reinforce Zwei. "Hum..." Lou was hesitating. "Can she stay a bit with me while you are in the Head of the Council's office?" Hayate and Reinforce Zwei looked straight into each other’s eyes. "It will be a pleasure for me to get to know Miss Ibiza better," Reinforce said. Lou expressed the excitation and joy of a little girl when she heard Reinforce's answer. The Colonel then walked toward the office and knocked on the wooden door. "Colonel Yagami." Hayate announced. "Good." It was the sober answer. Hayate opened the office door. It was a sober room, with a couch on the right, two cabinets loaded with books and files on the left and the Head's desk at the center. McLaren, who was walking to her and greeting her, welcomed Hayate. "I am glad to see you." "It is my pleasure." Yagami replied. On the desk, Hayate could see the unfinished miniature model of a boat. "Well, the reason I called you is pretty petty. I just wanted to say goodbye to you before you board your ship. My schedule wouldn't allow me a slot to go to the port. I have to visit an orphanage." Nigel said. "Oh?" Hayate never knew about this. "It's something I do beside the politics. A small part of my income goes to this orphanage." He answered. "Before this crisis, I have planned to retire from the politics and join this orphanage as a simple employee." "Why?" The Colonel asked. "I have been appointed as head of the Council because the Council have needed someone for a smoother transition after the Scaglietti incident. I am free from the wars of influence between the official or secret factions of the bureau or the lobbies who found the Bureau. And I do have experience in the military field." He replied. Hayate meditated on this reply, realizing that she was also a part of this secret game. Was she the pawn? The knight? The bishop? "Don't worry about yourself over this. You have friends, the other Aces, your knights and the Strikers. And I believe you also have allies who sympathized with you." Hearing these words from Nigel, Hayate realized that he was likely meaning allies like Diana Dornier. "Hayate. Do you think that I was always a military?" Nigel asked. Hayate thought over it. This question expected a no as answer. Why would he ask this question if he was always a military? She then said: "You used to be a civilian. Am I right?" Nigel answered with a nod. "I used to be a school teacher in a non-administrated world. I enjoyed teaching children what I knew and watched them improving their knowledge and personality. Seeing them growing into better men was my pleasure. I was about 26 when a war broke out. I was drafted into the army and climbed the ranks as I survived and watched my companions and friends dying. I have seen enough horrors during this war to lose sleep and appetite in various occasions. It was stopped by an intervention of the Bureau. The officer who was in command had managed to negotiate a ceasefire treaty after dealing with the source of our war. This war had started because of a Lost Logia. It had driven our leaders into madness, and had thrown our world in a pointless spiral of hate, terror and suffering. Owing a welcomed peace to the TSAB, my world joined them. Knowing that I could not go back to my former life and profession, I offered my services to the TSAB. I joined the crew of the man who had stopped the war: Gil Graham." Hayate's eyes widened over this name. "You knew him. To be honest, after the death of the Admiral Clyde Harlaown. I estimated I have seen enough and retired. I married and I have gotten two children. However, I always kept a correspondence with Gil through written letters. There he could voice his concerns over various topics. The one that always came back was what to do if he found the new owner of the Tome of the Night Sky. I was a coward, I refused to answer him and tell him what to do. My mind was blank whenever the topic was brought up. All I wanted was to enjoy raising my children. Later, I learnt that the case was finally solved, but deep inside me, I felt I failed him as a friend, I should have been with him. I have not gotten the courage to attend his funeral and see the girl he protected all these years, while he was trying to find a solution to deal with the Tome." Hayate felt that Nigel was trying very hard to keep his composure. "Now, I see you. You are a promising woman, who can be a great leader figure. You are at the crossroads; each of your decisions could make you or break you. The torch you are holding will guide us to a new path of grandeur, or bring us our downfall. You are human, Hayate. It's not bad to doubt about yourself, as long as your doubts doesn't tie you down. In doubt, always remember your friends and what had brought you up to this place." "Mister McLaren. I am not sure what to answer." Hayate was at loss of words. "Let me tell you one more thing. As a soldier, I had to kill people, for my own survival, because I believed that the world would be sad without me. Miss Yagami, there will be times when you'll be alone, where you'll be placed in a life or death situation. You will have to kill, especially on this foreign world where the laws of the Bureau are meaningless. Kill to protect those who are dear to you. Don't take pleasure to do it, I have seen too much young soldiers become bloodthirsty war hounds after their first kills, do it because you must live. If you die, people will mourn and lose hope. And it is something they cannot afford in the times to come." "Mister McLaren, I'll remember your words." Hayate said while trying to not doubt. "Excuse the ramblings of the aging man." Nigel took Hayate's hands in his. "You have the firm hands of a leader, but they are still as tender as those of a woman." "Are you saying all of this because you fear something about yourself?" Hayate inquired. "Your mind is sharp indeed. I am an old man who is seeing his own death approaching and try to make the best use of the few time he still have." Nigel responded. Then McLaren reached something in his jacket, and pulled out a silver pocket watch. He looked at it for some long seconds and handed it to Hayate. "Take this pocket watch as a lucky charm." Hayate took a closer look at the watch. It was a very plain silver pocket watch, marked by the years that had passed "You are wondering what it is and why I am giving it to you" Nigel said, "Months ago before this war, when I was still a teacher, my students pooled a bit of their money together. They offered me this pocket watch as a token of gratitude. The saddest thing about this watch was that all of those who poured their penny in its purchase had later died during the conflict. Only I have survived." "It's not right for me to accept it, it just meant too much for you." Hayate replied. "Take it with you. With this watch, it's my hope and the hope of those who died that will go with you." Nigel closed Hayate's hands over this watch. "I couldn't be by your sides when you were trying to survive the intrigues of the bureau. At least, allow me, in spirit, to follow you in this journey, through this watch." It was as if Nigel could not forgive himself for failing his late friend. "You can go now." He said. Hayate shook hands with the head of the council and turned about to walk toward the door. As she was about the turn the knob of the door, she turned her head over to see McLaren one last time and said: "Mister McLaren. Promise me to not die before I come back. I want to visit your home and your family. Moreover, wouldn't it be sad for them if you die?" "As you wish, Colonel" Hayate left the office and saw Reinforce Zwei sitting on a paperweight while Lou was drawing a sketch of the small Unison Device on a small notebook. "Here, that's all I could do with this little time" Lou said. She tore the page to give it to Reinforce who looked very happy over her portrait. Lou then noticed Hayate who was looking over her shoulder, she gasped in surprise and stood up while bowing about twice. "Oh, I am very sorry. I got distracted." Lou apologized profusely. "You made a great sketch." Hayate stated. Reinforce then flew to her master while showing off her portrait. "Don't I look pretty, Master?" Reinforce Zwei asked. "Yes. But.. Hum..." Hayate noticed something about the sketch. "Have I done something wrong?" Lou enquired. "An artist should never forget the signature" Hayate smirked. "Oh, I am very sorry!" Lou then signed the sketch. While Hayate fixed Lou's necktie. "Your necktie was not looking right. There are people in this place who are less forgiving regarding the formalities. It would be sad for me to not see you in this place if you get the sack because of that." Lou was blushing with a lot of embarrassment. "Than... thank you for everything, Colonel" She saluted in a rather unassumed and clumsy manner. Hayate and Reinforce waved at Lou for a last goodbye. * Hayate left the TSAB's main building to call a cab and be driven to the TSAB Navy docks, where her ship was waiting for her. She was usually driving her own car. However, for this last day, she wanted to get in contact with the common folk. She did not know her driver. She soon found out he was rather good-natured and talkative, he offered small chocolates to Reinforce Zwei while engaging a short conversation with the Colonel: "You know I have a daughter who looks up to you and your friends." As he showed her a photography of himself, with his wife and his daughter. A little girl about as old as Vivio. "You are one lucky man." Hayate exclaimed As a sign of modesty, the driver waved his hand, as if he did not feel worthy of this compliment. "You are about as lucky, Colonel. You know, my daughter have always said that the day she'll be a grown-up, she will have her own Reinforce Zwei." Reinforce Zwei stopped to crunch on her piece of chocolate with a look of surprise. She blushed and hid her face behind that piece of chocolate. "Do you mean that I have fans?" The little being blushed. "Of course!" He then laughed, amused. He continued. "You may not realize this, Colonel. But a lot among the common people look up to you and your friends. These people are placing their hope on you all. They feels that with the Aces, the Knights and the Strikers on their side, they can withstand anything. I am ready to grab my weapon and welcome the enemy as they deserve it, magical failure or not." Hayate then looked at the photography and at the driver. She wanted to spare the daughter the loneliness she had experienced before she met the Knights. "Please, don't be unreasonable. Think of your family first." The driver stayed silent then said, gritting his teeth. "I don't know what kind of future the Confederacy has planned for us. I refuse the idea of my daughter living under their rule." An awkward silence ensued, even Reinforce felt discomfort. Minutes passed, and the cab arrived to the spacesport. Hayate was about to leave the car with Reinforce when: "I am sorry for my little outburst, Colonel." The cab driver said. "You should not. There is nothing wrong about worrying the future of your child." Hayate replied. "If you really have to fight for her. Don't be reckless and always think about living on for your family's sake." "I will" The driver answered with a smile. The Colonel and the driver parted ways after a handshake, the cabbie handing Reinforce a chocolate, a simple gift, as a sign of his thanks. After watching the cab rolling away, Hayate turned to the port and walked toward the docks. She then saw that Nanoha, Fate, Vita, Shamal, Signum, Agito, Zafira, Vivio, the Strikers and a few people from the TSAB and Vivio's school waiting for the pair. Signum then talked to Agito who nodded and flew to land on Vita's shoulder while Signum walked away to join her master. Vivio was trying to comfort a crying girl, Fiana Vickers, promising her that everything will be fine. She then hugged Nanoha and Fate one last time, a long and emotional hug. After Vivio was done, she walked up to Hayate, Signum and Reinforce, followed by Zafira who had gotten one last pat from Shamal and Vita. The crew of the ship meant to bring Hayate to this unknown planet had joined the small group. The captain Kyoya Kibagami, banned from the home fleet due to his reputation of sexual harassments, the ship operator Ynana, the navigator and scholar Antigone, her familiar and assistant Sieraza, and the cook Pranee saluted the Colonel who returned the salute. Kyoya, putting on his best airs, was doing his best to not be his normal, drooling and perverted self. He approached and laid a hand on Hayate's shoulder. "It's time to go, Colonel." Hayate nodded. Leading her group, she turned toward the wellwishers, gathered here to say their goodbyes. Vita was doing her best to suppress the tears, while Shamal could not stop the waterworks. Hayate could not tell who was hit hardest by the separation. Her throat hurt her, her eyes had been feeling a slight burn from the tears that were about to come out. The both groups then raised their arms and waved in unison. Then Hayate's group marched toward the Namshub, following the ship's crew. When she was about to board the ship, a loud choir of voices boomed all over the docks. It was the voices of everyone present in the place, cheering for their Colonel, placing their hope and confidence on her. Hayate could not hold her tears any longer and had let them flow. Seeing her master, Reinforce tried to wipe her tears, and Signum placed her hand on Hayate's shoulder. "Master, I may have sworn to be your sword. But remember that I too can be the shoulder that will help you to carry that weight." "Signum have said it better than I could have." Zafira said. Vivio grabbed Hayate's hand and looked right in her eyes, "If you don't feel strong enough, I can lend you my strength. This is what friends are for." "Together we can overcome everything!" Reinforce cheerfully shout. "You are right." Hayate replied while drying her tears, "I have made the decision to accomplish this mission myself, but you all have decided to lend me your help. I have no right to fail you and I do not intend to fail those who have placed their hope on me." "I see you are ready, Colonel" Kyoya remarked. "Welcome to the Namshub. The ship you had fought so long ago with your friends." "Where is Ynana?" Hayate asked. "She had already gone to her post, synchronizing with the intelligence of her ship." Kyoya replied. Hayate looked at the inside of the ship. She had been told that the Namshub was transdimensional, and the fruit of a technology long lost with the extinction of Ynana's species. The inside was much bigger than it looks from the outside. However, it stayed within the limit of the strange transdimensional laws, to prevent the ship from collapsing onto itself. Antigone introduced Hayate, Reinforce, Signum, Vivio and Zafira to their rooms, so they could feel comfortable during the travel. Antigone warned Hayate about the attitude of Kyoya around pretty women. The Colonel took note of it. Everyone then heard the voice of Ynana, telling them to get ready for the take off. They rushed to their respective seats on the bridge and fastened their belts. It was not too long before it began. Seconds passed. They became minutes. These minutes became an eternity. Then the pressure had been lifted from their body. Namshub had left Midchilda's gravity pull and entered the dimensional sea. Hayate then contemplated the journey that had started. The travel alone may last for a few weeks, maybe two or three months because of the distance separating Midchilda and the mysterious Madhyaloka. This was not counting the dangers on this road, rogues, pirates, dimensional storms...

2008-09-25, 11:46	Link #9517
Sheba RUN, YOU FOOLS! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost Age: 44	Spoiler for Chapter 1 - Appendix: Timeline of the events leading to the TSAB - Confederacy Transdimensional War June 12th MC 079: The Confederacy of Alwion and its allies had gathered troops on the worlds at their common borders with the TSAB. June 27th MC 079: A delegation of the TSAB had come to the territory of the Confederacy to negotiate a retirement of the Confederate troops and the creation of a buffer zone. June 29th MC 079: the Confederate political police under the suspicion of espionage had arrested the delegation. July 05th MC 079: The TSAB demands the liberation of the delegation member. July 07th MC 079: In turn, the Confederacy parliament demands Fiana Vickers to be given to the Confederacy, for the liberation of the TSAB delegation. July 09th MC 079: A poll is held by the High Council of the TSAB, regarding the fate of the political refugee, Fiana Vickers. One voice had tipped the vote against the extradition of Fiana Vickers. July 10th MC 079: An ultimatum had been issued by the Confederacy to the TSAB that had been given fifteen days to comply with their demands. July 25th MC 079: The ultimatum had expired. The TSAB had refused to comply. August 01st MC 079: The Confederacy declared war against the TSAB. August 02nd MC 079: Invasion of the TSAB's 16th Administrated World by the Confederate 09th Army. * Lexicon Alwion Confederacy: One of the transdimensional superpowers met by the TSAB. Lead by a parliament comprised of the Coos of the main corporations of the Confederacy. Its president is the Cornelius Westminster, CEO of the Westminster Cybernetics Inc. While pretending to be a democracy, it is actually a plutocracy deceiving its common people with the help of an all-powerful propaganda. Their monstrous media machine brainwash its common citizens into people blind to their own problems and full of a sense of superiority over the other people of the multiverse. Its political police track down opponents and dissidents while uprisings are fought with the iconic elite unit of the Confederate army: the 108 Immortals. A trio is usually enough to pacify a planet. The natural competitiveness and aggressiveness of the people have been feed by the Confederacy's near perpetual wars of expansion, motivated by the greed of its Parliament. It eventually collided with the TSAB and have sparkled tensions between the two powers. Economy-wise, its extreme capitalism echoed the one that was the rage in the 1800s. However, its politics are closer to Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. (former) Alwion Empire: The Confederacy before the coup d'etat that have overthrown the House of Vickers. It was mainly a federation of smaller states, comprised of one planet or groups of stellar systems, ruled by its home clan. However, an Emperor or an Empress, belonging to the House of Vickers, ruled all the clans. It was a constitutional monarchy ruled by the Parliament, the Assembly of the Lords and the Emperor or the Empress. The combination of bad harvests, economical recession and social unease had triggered a crisis that culminated into a civil war between clans. To carry on their war, the noble clans had borrowed a lot of money from the merchant corporations who in turn rose to power and took over the parliament. All the while, the former Empress had tried to put an end to the conflict. But her efforts were fruitless while the corporations were gradually taking the noble class' power. The Empress and her family were soon caught in a trap that framed them. Charged with high treason, they were sentenced to death. The butler and the maid of the imperial family took Fiana Vickers, who was then just a baby, to the TSAB's territory. Her presence in Mid will later be the casus belli of the war between the Confederates and the TSAB. Its main inspiration is the old British empire. Agisymba Emirate: The Emirate is a monarchy ruling over several dozens of stellar systems. It is ruled by an Emir, with the help of a council of wisemen and priests. The people of the Emirate are curious by nature and have shown to be open-minded. This has led them to make various progresses in medicine, or biotechnology. Inspiration is Baghdad in its golden age. The League of Varcia: It is a republic that has paid the price of their very advanced technology with the sacrifice of their homeworld's ecosystem. The working class is entirely comprised of synthetic beings, duplicating human appearance and living only thirty years. The more marking trait of the Varcian is their eagerness to find out new horizons. Hence, they are also good navigators and have made robust ships to withstand long travels. It's the closest thing to a cyberpunk-themed transdimensional state in this fanon. * Author Notes: I am not too sure how long it going to take me to complete this story. I knew how to start it and how to finish it, thanks to Campbell who offered the very simple barebones of a story. All the while, I had tortured my braincells to find a working premise. However, by taking an inspiration from Ursula Le Guin, I unintentionally touched on other topics I liked but had not expected to touch: namely the relationship between the man and its environment, exhaustion of resources, etc... A more down-to-earth explanation would be an excuse to nerf the mages, for a time, so I will not have to give in the fanservice coming in the form of beamspams and huge explosion. Now, for the OCs, I used a few from my little vault and borrowed more from other posters. I apologize in advance if you felt offended. Nigel McLaren was created with the mental image of the actor Robert Redford, his roles in "The Last Castle" and "Spy Games" came in mind. The clumsy secretary was more or less as an expy of Lou Collins from the manga Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita. As for the "Confederacy", I picked the word because it sounded cool, just like "Confederate". If people were drawing parallels with the US Civil War, it's an accident. * References The 108 Immortals: The Immortals are mostly a homage to Xerxes' Immortals. However, they are closer to the Berserkers from Gunnm, or mass produced Eva-07, and the Sardaukar from Dune, these mixed references helped me to envision an elite troop used as a tool of terror. Just like the Sardaukar, they always work in trio. The Majestic Twelve: The miniboss squad. The Nanto generals were the first thing in mind when I had imagined them. Thus, any future similarities to Saint Seiya's Gold Saints will be disregarded as accidental. I will tell more about who are the mysterious wise man and the mysterious lady clad in purple later. But some people may recognize the reference in the purple clad woman. Spoiler** for Credits: Thanks to: Aaron008R: For beta reading and corrections. Estavali: For beta reading and suggestions. PhoenixFlare: For beta reading and corrections. Ryand-smith: For reading and fixing funky grammar I may have done. Tempest Dynasty: for beta reading and corrections. And everyone on IRC who had to stand my rumbling about relatively alien concepts that were often out of their own frame of references. I will post the chapter 2 tomorrow. And chapter 3 is in the porcess of being written. __________________

2008-09-25, 07:46	Link #9510
Knight of L-sama Family Pet Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wherever you aren't. :D	You know, it occurred to me that for Divided Destiny's choices, you could have A /and/ B. Why not have a midnight snack and bump into some other people there? Surely she has some scientists friends with the same work schedule she does. I go with A even though I would rather go with D) Fate sneaks to the border of Eden and has a midnight rendezvous with her /friend/ Nanoha. @CYOA Authors: This is just a little request but when you post new chapters, could you post the whole answer choice that got picked? I don't pay enough attention to both the stats and the answers to put two and two together after the (short) delay in posting the actual chapter... Please and thank you~ And that description sounded more like "It's all coming back to me now" than "lightning of the skies" now that I think about it... @Q!F readers: After Quack, I think I made it a longstanding char trait of Quack!Fate to name stuff. Fate must've been such a lonely child... But now I have to go look for where Arf is in this world...

2008-09-25, 12:02	Link #9518
Evangelion Xgouki NERV Personnel Author Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Tokyo 3, Japan Age: 38	Current standings for Divided Destiny: A) IIIII B) IIII C) 6 hours remaining.