MGLN: Future Tense
Chapter 21: Bound by Fate
Xx~~*~~xX
"I'm Nanoha," the young girl offered earnestly. "Takamachi Nanoha."
The Enforcer Commander opened her eyes as the soft landing sound brought back to the present, but didn't need to turn around. "I knew you'd come."
"I had to," Nanoha confirmed quietly. "But then, we both knew we'd eventually meet."
Fate took a deep breath, then finally turned and glanced upward at the woman standing on the large boulder not too far away, and her breath caught in her throat. If she didn't know the woman standing before her was a clone, she'd swear it was Nanoha come back to life, not having aged a day. Even though she lacked the pony tail, the deep blue eyes and the white and blue barrier jacket of Raging Heart's Exceed mode that flapped lightly in the wind made all of Fate's senses scream one inescapable conclusion.
Last time we couldn't properly introduce ourselves. I'm Nanoha! Takamachi Nanoha! A third grader who attends the Seishou Auxiliary Elementary School.
"Yes," Fate breathed, unable to trust her voice much even though she thought she had adequately prepared herself for this moment.
"It's been a long time, Fate-chan," Nanoha noted softly, then cocked her head slightly. "I'm a bit surprised; you haven't changed as much as I expected you to. But then again, Teana hadn't, either."
Breath caught in Fate's throat, but she controlled it out of long practice. "Yes, it has been a long time. It's thanks to Marial's life-extension machine that aging has been dramatically slowed. So we're both not quite what we should be; I'm biologically about 40... and you're a clone."
Surprisingly, Nanoha didn't look sad at all, but kept the same firm conviction expression on her face. "Yes, I know. It took me awhile to come to terms with that. I know Jail cloned me, and for a long time, I didn't know why."
"They're using you to try and overthrow the Bureau," Fate replied with passion growing, surprising herself with how easily she was switching into comfortable conversation with her old friend. "Don't let them; come with me, instead. You belong with us and the Bureau!"
For a moment, it appeared Nanoha was seriously thinking about it, but her next words dashed that hope. "You said it yourself; I'm a clone created by Jail. If I went with you, I wouldn't exactly be someone you could let go around freely. And you'd probably want information from me on people I've met since Jail awoke me."
Fate wanted to deny that, but she knew Hayate well; the Supreme Commander would put any feelings she had aside and do what she felt must be done as she always had. She clenched her fist, knowing Nanoha was right, and there appeared to be no correct choice here.
"And the Bureau isn't exactly what it used to be, is it?" Nanoha continued, her voice tinged with sorrow. "Perhaps you have done a lot of good, but it's time to change. It's a peacekeeping and police operation, not a space military. Too many individual freedoms have been lost by the Bureau forcing it's will on the people."
Fate fixed Nanoha with an almost accusatory look. "Isn't that what you're trying to do with that time travel plan? Enforce your will on everyone by turning back time and changing history without giving people a choice? Yuuno told me a bit about it, although I not entirely clear on how he planned to accomplish it. I still think he's crazy, but maybe he's convinced you it can be done. Even if it's possible, it's not something we should meddle with. That's something my mother would do, and caused a lot of pain trying to accomplish; you can't bring back the past!"
Fate could see that point hit home, but rather than answer directly, Nanoha paused for a moment before asking, "How are Yuuno and Shari?"
"You'll be happy to know they escaped not long after I delivered them to Hayate on Mid-Childa," Fate replied, sighing. She wasn't entirely proud of how she handled the situation, but things needed to be done and she'd dirty her hands so no one else had to. "I'm not sure how, but they weren't my responsibility after I handed them over."
"I suppose I should be happy for that," Nanoha said simply, her eyes giving a faraway look for a moment.
x~~*~~x
"I see," Vivio said, her face downcast at Nanoha's news. "Yuuno-papa was a good father to me after you died. Despite their disagreements, I don't think Fate would do anything bad to him."
Nanoha raised an eyebrow, Vivio's words triggering a memory about what else Fate had said that night when she attacked Yuuno's house. "She said he was her ex-husband. They were married?"
Vivio nodded after sipping some tea. "I think they were both wrestling with grief over your death, and that brought them close together. Hayate had her family to support her and threw herself into her work to make sure nothing like that happened again, but Yuuno didn't have anyone except for Fate, and they had known each other for almost as long as they had known you. In time, that closeness turned to love and they got married. Yuuno was already helping Fate to raise me, so it seemed like a good fit. And for several years, we were happy."
"What happened?" Nanoha probed.
"In hindsight, I think shared grief wasn't enough to sustain a marriage," Vivio replied sadly. "For almost eight years, though, it was really good. They both were really good to me, and helped me get over your death. But after years went by, they began to disagree on things. It started small, but eventually it became philosophic differences over the course Hayate was taking the Bureau. Fate supported Hayate, but Yuuno was more hesitant. I think he was also working on something that was taking all his time. I remember them arguing one night, and Fate shouted something about how nothing Yuuno could do would bring you back and that he should live in the present. In the end, they decided to separate."
"I see," Nanoha stated, her heart heavy at what her friends had gone through with her death. She never wanted anyone to go through that kind of pain because of her; she gave up her life so they could live.
"But things returned to mostly normal after that!" Vivio insisted strongly, trying to imply it wasn't all bad. "Once separated, they were able to resume a more casual working relationship, and they both had time for me. Until Yuuno came to me one night and said he had to go away, but that he loved me, and he knew Fate would take good care of me. I wasn't sure, then, what was going on, but I understand now that he probably was going into hiding to work on his time travel theory. Still, by that time I was 16 and able to take care of myself anyway."
Nanoha was silent for a moment while she digested all that, then smiled slightly. "Both of them loved you very much, at least."
"They both loved you, too, in their own ways," Vivio said softly, reaching out to place her hand on top of her mother's.
Nanoha gave it a squeeze.
x~~*~~x
"I care about them, too," Fate stated softly, bringing Nanoha out of whatever thoughts were going through her head. "For a time, I honestly loved him. I still care about him to a degree, but I can't let feelings override my judgment."
"I've always believed that if feelings are at odds with judgment, then something is wrong," Nanoha countered.
Fate sighed in frustration, wondering if there would be no way to work things out after all. "So are you still going through with it?"
"About the time travel or stopping the Bureau?" Nanoha questioned, unconsciously reaching up and grasping the small red jewel hanging around her neck. "I'll admit I don't know about the former. But I do know the current situation can't continue; the Bureau has to change, back to what it was before. If that happens, then I don't think there will be a need to to try time travel."
"Come back with me!" Fate pleaded earnestly. "It might not be perfect, but we're still doing a lot of good; work with us!"
"You know Hayate better than I do now," Nanoha stated, her face an interesting mix of hope and doubt. "So can you tell me honestly: Would she scale things back? Would she undo what she has done and return the Bureau to the more peaceful organization it was before? Would you do that?"
Zafira, Shamal, Subaru, Genya, Ginga, Mother, Chrono, Arf, Caro...
"It's not bad the way things are now!" Fate protested earnestly. "There are some hardships here and there, but a lot of people have given their lives to make things better, and we can't let their sacrifices be in vain! Thanks to them, we've brought peace to a lot of planets. We can't stop doing what we need to to bring peace and safety to all the planets in the dimensional sea."
Silence descended on the pair for a moment, and Fate could easily see that words weren't going to reach her after all. They had both been through too much to abandon the paths each felt was right.
When Nanoha finally spoke, her words tinged with sadness and regret, Fate knew that Nanoha felt the same. "We're not going to be able to talk each other through this, are we?"
The Enforcer Commander closed her eyes, forcing back the tears. "It doesn't look that way. As much as I hate to, I have to bring you in as a Bureau Enforcer dedicated to protecting the peace. We can't let our personal feelings override our duty."
Fate-chan! You said nothing would change just by talking... but I'm sure there are things we can't communicate to each other without using words! We might not be able to do anything about competing with each other like this... but I can't stand fighting like this without knowing anything about you!
Fate was unable to suppress a chuckle, envisioning a scene so far away. "Do you remember? This isn't the first time we stood like this. You and Arf tried to convince me to stop, but we both had our convictions we couldn't be swayed from. Back then, you said it would be our first and last true fight, but it appears that wasn't true."
"And it still seems like there are some things that words can't solve, no matter how much we want them to," Nanoha stated sadly in agreement.
When her eyes opened again, Fate had sufficiently hardened her feelings into conviction once more, and thus activated her barrier jacket while the staff of Bardiche appeared in her right hand. "Nanoha, you're special to me, because you brought me out of shadow and into the light, and because of that, I can't let them use you to destroy the peace we have fought so hard to gain. If you succeed, many worlds will be thrown into chaos and countless lives will be lost. So I have to do for you, what you once did for me."
Nanoha changed Raging Heart straight into Exceed mode, her own conviction-filled expression tinged with sorrow. "I know; neither one of us can just throw everything we've done so far. So if we can't talk this out, then we'll let this fight determine everything. Winner takes all."
"Agreed," Fate confirmed, then put a finger to her ear. "Captain, order all the Enforcers to retreat to the transport. No matter what you detect or hear, they are not to leave the transport until I give the order. Also, I am erasing my signal. Do not attempt to trace it. Is that understood?" There was a brief pause, and then she signed off, pulling a small object from her left ear, which she dropped to the ground and then stepped on. "This is between you and me."
Nanoha nodded, understanding. "Just you and me."
Each held the gaze of the other for a moment longer, their thoughts identical.
I will
save her.
Then, as if by unspoken signal, they shot into the sky as one.
x~~*~~x
Streaks of light darted through the sky, one pink and one gold, giving off multi-colored sparks whenever they clashed. One moment they behaved like parabolic arcs, repelling each other before curving back towards like magnets with alternating poles, while the next moment they curved around each other in a perilous dance that resembled the outline of double helix.
While the magic wasn't lethal, it was no less dangerous; at least, that's the conclusion Nanoha reached. While Fate was holding back, Nanoha knew they both were still feeling each other out. The last time they had fought was ages ago, and so there was a bit of caution in these preliminary stages.
[Just like me, she's playing defensively, so there's no openings,] Nanoha realized as they parted from their latest clash, magical sparks flying as their devices rang out against each other. [She's keeping it close-range, though, not giving me a chance to fire anything from range, probably expecting me to. If so, she's in for a surprise.]
Nanoha prepared a spread of shooter orbs before flying back in at top speed, but kept them circling her body while the pair dropped lower along the forest tree tops. Fate showed no hesitation about charging back, however, her Haken scythe crackling with magic power. Their eyes met and weapons met once more, determination mirrored within, as Nanoha unleashed her bind on Bardiche. It wasn't a very strong one, but it didn't need to be as she was going to fire her wave of magic missiles from near point blank range.
She almost didn't get the chance.
"Dual Haken Form," Bardiche intoned as powerful electrical magic flowed along the shaft to shatter the bind.
But it didn't stop there; Fate reversed her swing as a second magic scythe formed on the other end. In one smooth move, Fate sliced all the orbs with the second energy tip and brought it back around to attack. Nanoha barely managed to block the second strike with a small barrier from her hand, but then the energy tip exploded and, when combined with the momentum of the swing, sent her crashing down through several tree branches before leveling out and skidding to a stop along the dirt floor.
Partially numb, she flexed her fingers to regain full feeling while glancing up, finally getting a look at how Fate had reformed her weapon in that split instance. Bardiche was now nearly three meters in length, the scythes on either end both curved more inward oriented on opposite sides so that it was almost hypnotic when Fate slowly twirled it in her hands.
"I've got a 50 year advantage over you, Nanoha," Fate stated softly, almost with a tinge of sorrow. "And I know all your attacks. You can't win this."
"She's SSS-rank now, too," Vivio warned softly. "And she's learned a lot of new tricks. Even when I fought her during the war, it wasn't as easy I thought it might be. She's good."
[So am I,] Nanoha added silently, gripping her spear tighter. "We're just getting started."
"Yes," Fate agreed, preparing to attack again. "Bardiche, let's go, Riot Haken."
Nanoha focused her thoughts. "Raging Heart, Divine Cutter."
While Fate separated Bardiche into two short-handled scythes and began to spin rapidly as she dove, Nanoha rose to meet her, forming two separate rings of shooter orbs that spun around her body in perpendicular arcs at high speeds. The two collided once more like a pair of buzzsaws, spinning attacks clashing in a shower of sparks as each sought to cut through their opponent's attacks. They glanced off each other several times while streaking through the sky seemingly evenly matched, but Nanoha realized she was losing orbs with each pass.
Thinking quickly, Nanoha fired off a near-pointblank Divine Buster immediately after separated from their next encounter, although Fate adjusted her spin and merely cut through it, dividing the beam easily. Nanoha kept up the pressure, though, sending her remaining orbs at her opponent while charging her next attack. As expected, Fate dropped out of her spin and cut through them while darting through the sky with her legendary speed to attack Nanoha again.
[She's not the only one with speed,] Nanoha thought grimly to herself.
"A.C.S., Strike Flame," Raging Heart chirped, deploying both the magical spear tip and several wings near the base of the spearhead. "Booster engaged."
Nanoha kept a firm hold on her staff with both hands as the rear end extended and expanded, forming something that greatly resembled the exhaust port of a jet engine. In the next half-second it ignited, a powerful pink flame propelling both spear and wielder towards the incoming Fate. It was almost too fast for the other woman to react to, but she managed to get a shield up before impact and for one moment it looked like it would hold.
[Break through it!] Nanoha commanded silently, Raging Heart answering her wish by loading several cartridges, shattering the shield.
Fated managed to quickly lean out of the way, but the wings tore gashes along her barrier jacket's midsection as Nanoha shot past. The lightning flew backwards and prepared her next attack, but the brunette was gone. Fate's eyes narrowed, and only her instincts saved her by executing a quick Sonic Move a split second before Nanoha came in rapidly on another attack angle. But her opponent anticipated that and executed another Flash Move, one that put her right next to Fate while conserving all previous momentum and velocity.
"Thunder Arm," Bardiche announced as Fate barely managed to throw up her brightly glowing left-handed gauntlet as a block, smacking the Strike Flame tip.
There was an explosion and both combatants were tossed away from each other, but Nanoha was satisfied as she recovered, having inflicted more damage with that attack than she received. Fate's gauntlet was destroyed and she had two gashes along her midsection, although the other woman didn't appear winded at all.
[Still, it's not enough,] she realized. [The best I've done is graze her. Her speed has only increased since I fought her last, and now she can dodge most everything I throw at her. I need something bigger that she can't avoid or block. An Excelion Buster Force Burst or Starlight Breaker might do it, but will I get time to use either?]
Then her eyes widened as Fate began a familiar chant. "Arukas, Krutas, Eygias..."
x~~*~~x
A small insect flew through the air, landing on the fingertip perch, flapping it's wings a very specific matter. The owner of the finger brought it close to her face, closing her eyes as she received the message.
"Yes, I know," Lutecia spoke softly as the ground trembled and various flashes appeared on the horizon. "She's fighting right now."
A larger humanoid figure was suddenly there beside her, turning his head to look down at her in a questioning manner.
Lutecia shook her head. "No, Garyuu, but thanks for offering. This is their fight. As much as I'd like to, she has to do what she needs to, just like we have our own jobs to do. We can only have faith in her."
He nodded, and Lutecia glanced once again towards the horizon, her heart unsettled. [But why can't I dispel this uneasy feeling?]
x~~*~~x
[I almost underestimated her again,] Fate realized, slightly chagrined as she reformed Bardiche back into one unit and canceled Haken form. [She's been deliberately engaging me at close range to throw me off instead of playing to her strength of long-range attacks. I wonder if she senses that I was planning on her doing so to end this quickly? Let's put it to the test...]
She held Bardiche out vertically in front of her and began to chant. "Arukas, Krutas, Eygias..."
Nanoha immediately reacted to stop the cast. "Excelion Buster!"
But Fate figured on that, and instead thrust out her right hand. "Trident Smasher!"
A golden beam exploded forth to smash into Nanoha's singular pink one, vying for supremacy, but overpowering Nanoha wasn't Fate's goal. Hidden within her first spell, the second one took effect, and the smaller two outer beams of her Trident Smasher that erupted a moment later began to spiral and coil around Nanoha's Buster as they worked their way up towards the caster. Fate knew that if Nanoha tried to break off her attack she'd be hit by the main beam, but if she continued to shoot, Fate would have her.
"Blaster One!" Nanoha called, taking a third option as the power in her beam increased, as well as its size; apparently, Nanoha was aiming to try and bring Fate down before the coils reached her.
Fate grit her teeth as Bardiche popped a few cartridges to try and counter it, but Blaster was a monster of a system and she found her Smasher being forced back at an alarming rate. Still, Nanoha's action wasn't quite enough, and the two coiling beams finally reached her to releas their stunning Lightning Bind.
Fate let out a small sigh as both beams died, gazing grimly at her opponent while preparing her next attack. "It's over, Nanoha."
The Enforcer Commander's golden magic circle expanded greatly underneath her as she gathered mana, Bardiche informing her that preparations for the next spell were ready. "Legion Shift."
Nanoha met Fate's even gaze with one of her one while struggling against the binds holding her wrists, ankles, and wrapped around her body, but Fate knew she wouldn't be able to break it in time. "You've tried this once before. You know it won't... work...."
She trailed off and her eyes widened as nearly two hundred golden orbs faded into existence around Fate, who gave her bound opponent a grim smile. "That was then. Things have changed. Take this! Plasma Lancer, Legion Shift; Full Auto Fire!"
In the next instant, Fate filled the sky with thousands of magical projectiles. They didn't just fly in a straight line, but many of them flew out in different angles, arcing back around to strike Nanoha from all sides. Fate knew the first time she did this many years ago, Nanoha had managed to put up a Round Shield even while bound to block all her shots; that's how she had withstood it back then. But this time, Nanoha would be struck from all sides, and thus no shield or barrier could possibly stand up to this kind of barrage.
Fate felt a pang in her chest, but hardened her heart and continued the attack. [I'm sorry.]
She panted as her orbs shrunk in size in response to her barrage ending, but then raised her hand and gathered them all into one, forcing it into her finishing move, a giant golden spear interlaced with similar barrier bursting magic to Nanoha's improved Starlight Breaker; this would end it, once and for all.
[Forgive me.] Taking a deep breath, she threw it at the huge cloud of dust. "Spark... End!"
Breathing heavily more from the emotional impact of what she had just done rather than the physical exertion, Fate slowly lowered her hand as the last vestiges of the sun disappeared beyond the horizon; it was over.
Or so she thought.
"Break... SHOOT!"
Fate's eyes widened as a large number large, pink energy tendrils filled the sky above her.
x~~*~~x
Erio paused as the ground shook again, wondering for the umpteenth time what the hell was going on. This area wasn't really known for quakes; in fact the tectonic stability had been the main reason the preserve had been created here many years ago. He shook his head and continued back to his cabin, placing the large pair of buckets, filled to the brim with fish, down beside his drying shack along with his fishing pole.
The bushy-bearded man felt, more than heard, the presence behind him, and chuckled to himself while pushing one of the buckets over. "I figured you'd show up."
The great white dragon simply stared at him, wiggling his ears slightly before leaning down to sniff the bucket of freshly-caught fish, but then huffed as if disappointed.
Erio placed his hands on his hips. "What's your problem? That kind of fish is your favorite! That's about the only reason you visit me these days."
Fried cocked his head, then turned and blew some smoke over towards the horizon.
"Yes, I have a feeling what's going on, but I don't know what you expect from me," Erio told the dragon gruffly.
The reply was a snort in his direction that contained copious amount of hot smoke.
Erio coughed and waved his hand to clear the white cloud. "You big lummox! What was that for? It's not my fight!"
Fried almost shrugged, as if to say, "Whatever," before finally leaning down to munch on his fish.
Bright lights flashed once more on the horizon, drawing Erio's solemn gaze as several thunderclaps echoed through the air. [It's not my fight....]
x~~*~~x
Fate was right in one respect; Nanoha knew she wouldn't be able to fully block this attack like the last time, and had she still been there when the final spear was thrown, it would have finished her. Instead, she toughened her auto-barrier along with her Round Shield, clenching her teeth against the pain as the first shots came in. Under the cover of the explosions, she activated Blaster Two and used her two newly formed blaster bits to cut the binds, and then executed a Flash Move out of the trap to end up far above Fate.
Still, her barrier jacket took quite the beating; it was missing all of her sleeve below the right elbow, her left shoulder pad, several chunks from her skirt, and a breeze against her back let her know there was a large hole there as well. Still, it did it's job and left her in one piece, and knew exactly which spell to use in the time she had before Fate ended her attack.
Nanoha pointed and fired as Fate finished her own attack. "Excelion Buster, Force Burst. Break... SHOOT!"
Her Force Burst derivative normally split her single beam into five to cover a wider range and increase power via cartridges, but her extra two blaster bits multiplied that, enabling a total of fifteen magical tendrils to bathe a large swath of forest below in destructive energies.
[There's no way Fate could have dodged that, no matter how fast she is,] Nanoha concluded as her spell ended, flying up a bit higher and panting to regain her breath while waiting for the dust to settle. From what visibility she had due to the full moon above, the forest was a mess for over a hundred meters of the newly formed crater; and Fate had to be somewhere down there among the smashed timber, unconscious.
"You almost had me with that," Fate's voice drifted from behind Nanoha, proving her assumption wrong. "It appears we're both still underestimating each other."
Nanoha's eyes widened, and she quickly turned and flew backwards to gain some distance. But the biggest surprise wasn't quite so much that she had survived; it was that seemed untouched and was sporting a new look. It was essentially a skin-tight black body suit that covered everything, even part of Fate's chin, just leaving a small area around her ears, eyes, nose and mouth uncovered. Her hair was now a single pony tail wrapped with several bands of black material, protruding from a topknot on the top and back of her head. Familiar pairs of golden wings sprouted from her ankles and wrists.
"Barrier Jacket, Slipstream Mode," Bardiche announced in Riot Zanber form, as if that answered everything.
Fate raised her left hand as if to study it. "I developed this for use against Vivio, and was planning to save it for her; a barrier jacket to compete against her Saint's Armor. While it doesn't provide much enhanced protection, it both cancels the effects of inertia and reduces friction against physical forces against me by 95%, thus increasing my standard speed and response time greatly. No matter how strong someone is, it's pointless if they cannot touch me."
Nanoha kept her composure, taking hold of her staff with both hands. "And no matter how fast you are, you can't dodge if there's no space to dodge to! Raging Heart!"
"MG Shooter," her device answered, and tn the next moment, dozens of orbs erupted from the tips of Nanoha's spear and her two blaster bits, firing nearly a dozen shots a second, but Fate appeared almost mournful as the initial volley closed in.
She appeared to vanish, but Nanoha's eyes just barely managed to track her and swept her staff over to Fate's new location, the black-clad girl almost invisible in the night sky. Cartridges were steadily loaded in a steady thump every few seconds as Nanoha not only continued to poor it on, but widened the radius of her Machine Gun Shooter, magical bullets spraying the entire area from three separate points. Somehow, though, Fate was ducking, weaving, and slicing her way through the semi-guided shots, at least half of which were exploding near her into a volley of chains that were also avoided or destroyed.
"Blaster THREE!" Nanoha called, gritting her teeth and upping the ante by slamming in a new magazine as two more Blaster Bits appeared and added their own considerably spray of Axel shooter orbs.
But the only thing taking damage was the forest below during the times she swept her firepower down below to try and follow Fate's almost impossible agility and speed. Still, Nanoha began to notice something weird about the way her magic was behaving when it got, however Fate chose that moment to turn and head straight for Nanoha, her Riot Zanbar blades held out to either side.
"Kodachi Nito Mikamiryuu!" Fate called out. "Nigenteki Sen!"
The name of the technique barely registered in Nanoha's memory, but too late for her to do anything when Fate blurred and appeared behind her She felt more than saw the slashes that shredded more of her barrier jacket and sent her plummeting towards the ground as she temporarily lost control of her flight magic. She did retain enough presence of mind to brace her feet against the head of her spear while she fell backwards, however, tilting it upward and quickly preparing another spell.
"Strike Stars!" Nanoha shouted.
Fate's eyes widened as five large beams, each surrounded by a dozen orbs each, exploded forth and converged on her location from different angles. As the entire area lit up into a brilliant explosion dozens of meters across, Nanoha finally reactivated Axel Fin and leveled off several meters from the treetops, panting heavily and wincing while grabbing her side when the pain finally informed her it would no longer be ignored. Her barrier jacket was now little more than an enlarged top and a short raggedy skirt with the entire sleeve from her left arm missing, but if she was right...
"That move," Nanoha noted, regaining a little feeling in the numb parts of her body. "It's Mikami style. You've been taking lessons from my brother."
Fate floated down to stop some distance away, and Nanoha was partially relieved to see she had finally taken some decent damage. Her jet black unitard had several gashes and tears along the arms and legs and Fate's heavier breathing told Nanoha that the other woman had been using up quite a bit of her magic as well.
"I wondered if you'd notice," Fate said with a bit of melancholic humor. "I did take some lessons from him and your sister a long time ago, but those stopped several years before the war."
"I also figured something else out," Nanoha stated, trying to stall for more recovery time. "Your Slipstream Mode is powerful, but there is a cost to it. I'm guessing it takes most of your magic to use the effects."
Fate nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "It does take most of my magic to maintain, but you went into Blaster Mode first."
"However, it doesn't just reduce inertia effects and air friction," Nanoha deduced. "The reason you seem to be moving so inhumanly fast, is that you're also slowing down time for magical objects within a short distance of your body, which allows you to dodge my MG shooter spell." Nanoha smiled grimly. "But slowing down magical energy doesn't do much good if I bathe you with it from all directions."
"However, I see you've canceled your Blaster Mode," Fate stated, noting the lack of blaster bits in the air. "So unless you're planning to use it again, you can't hit me from all sides like that again. But, in return, I won't use anymore techniques from your family's school." She brought her Riot Zanber blades together, forming the familiar large Zanber sword. "Though you're still more damaged than I am, and have used more magic that I have."
Nanoha pointed her staff and took a deep breath while readying her next spell. "I'm not done yet, and something tells me you won't be able to move as fast as you were before."
But inwardly, she was unsure. [Will I have to use Blaster Overdrive? It enhances my attacks and defenses, but since I can't fully control it yet, my speed and reaction time suffer. My only other chance is...] She bit her lip, wondering if she could pull it off.
"I'm still much faster than you!" Fate shouted as she charged in.
Under the single large moon of Supool, the final round had begun.
x~~*~~x
"Are you still unable to get a lock on what's going on?" Einhart asked, walking into the control room with Ix at her side, the main screen mostly static.
Vivio sighed and sat back, accepting the cup of tea from Ix. "Thank you. And yeah, all sensors are down in that area. It's a big dead zone, and the expended magic is causing interference with the sensors placed farther away." Vivio paused to take a long drink from the cup, then set it down on the small plate.
"But she'll be alright, won't she?" Ix asked nervously; combat matters were still mostly over her head.
"Before she died, it was generally accepted that there were few who could fight Nanoha on an even level when she was serious," Vivio commented. "And while we saw some pretty impressive enhancements Shari made to Raging Heart, Fate has had many years to hone her magic, although since the war, she hasn't engaged in any major combat operations, so her skills may be a bit dull. Thus, it's hard to say."
"She won't lose," Einhart stated confidently, crossing her arms over her chest. "I fought Fate a few times during the war, and fought Nanoha in virtual reality. There is something Nanoha has... I can't quite explain it, but I know she won't lose."
Vivio swiveled in her chair. "I hope you're-ack! My cup!"
All three began to make strides to catch it after Vivio's elbow knocked the cup off the counter, but none were able to in time. As the porcelain object hit the ground, all three promptly froze and stared.
The cup had split cleanly in two.
x~~*~~x
Nanoha was right in one respect, the golden-haired woman concluded; Fate's speed had dropped, and due to the damage to her Slipstream barrier jacket, she couldn't force as much magic in to maintain the effects. It was the one weakness of it; any damage caused leakage, but she couldn't take the time nor mana to try and reform it. It was the reason why she had switched Bardiche to Zanber form, in order to give her enhanced reach. Fate was still faster than Nanoha, but the Ace of the Sky was living up to the reputation Fate had remembered Nanoha was famous for.
Why?
Once more their dance among the night sky had turned into a close range affair, streaks of light interspersed with bright flashes where they clashed, and small magic missiles fired occasionally in an attempt to catch the other off-guard. The bigger blade she wielded meant Nanoha had an easier time predicting attacks, but Fate knew her best chance was to keep the pressure up and hope Nanoha got tired enough that she messed up and left an opening; the Enforcer Commander still had the edge in mana reserves to outlast her opponent.
Why are you still fighting so hard?
As they spiraled upwards into the sky under the bright light of the full moon, rebounding off each others weapons, Fate knew Nanoha could see it, too, which means her opponent would have to make a more daring move first.
Just as she predicted, the gamble came.
During one particular fierce weapons lock, Nanoha cast a barrier around them both. Before Fate could figure out what she was up to, it exploded, sending the two far apart.
[Barrier Burst!] Fate realized, reeling from the attack, more of her own barrier jacket missing. [Crazy! She probably hurt herself more than me, since my barrier jacket was more intact before the burst. Nanoha, do you really want to win this badly? Why can't you just give in?]
Her second realization was that Nanoha wasn't done as fired what looked like an enlarged Axel orb. Fate simply swung her large, golden blade and cleaved the spell apart and kept moving, only to realize the spell she broke wasn't what she thought.
[Sacred Cluster!] Fate deduced.
She recognized it mostly because it was a favorite of Vivio's, who had picked up the spell when collecting magical data as a young girl; but this particular version had Nanoha's own twist. The pieces of the scattered buster exploded, half of them with stunning concussive force that left no room for her to avoid via her slipstream mode, and the other half with chain binds that secured her arms and legs. Fade knew better than anyone that unexpected combination attack/bind spells were Nanoha's particular forte, and she had used it to great effect here.
[But she has to be desperately low on mana, which means she only has one option.... there!]
Fate found her skilled adversary quite some distance away, the familiar glow of a Starlight Breaker sphere forming, and knew she had to act fast. She released Bardiche into standalone flight mode to work on cutting the binds from her upper body, realizing she'd have to employ one last trick to save herself.
As her arms broke free, she grabbed her sword again and commanded, "Bardiche, Rail Form," while silently praying, [Please be in time.]
The sphere was larger now, so Nanoha had to be close to firing, but Fate knew her attack would travel faster if she could just get it off in time. The long, golden blade split straight down the middle, opening up into two prongs while electrical charges crackled between them. The handle elongated and she grasped it under her right arm, glancing through the magical scope and centering the crosshairs on target.
Despite the fact that she was far away, Fate heard Nanoha begin to call it out: "STARLIGHT-"
But Bardiche signaled a lock as the magical bullet finished forming, and she announced her own spell: "Rail Gun, FIRE!"
Accelerated between the prongs, the bullet of compressed magic took off at several times the speed of sound, faster than Nanoha could complete her attack. Fate's spell streaked through the sky and ripped straight into the sphere of pink magic, obliterating it and impacting the mage beyond before finally detonating into an expanding cloud of magical damage.
In the next instant, Fate's mood went from elation of victory, to horror as Nanoha's limp form began to fall backwards from the sky, two pieces of Raging Heart also beginning their descent away its master.
No!
Eyes beginning to water, Fate quickly broke the binds remaining on her legs and dove, striving to catch the battered brunette before she hit the ground; Nanoha still wasn't making any move to break out of her fall.
Faster! Faster!
She extended her arm, her vision focused solely in on a Nanoha, whose barrier jacket was a mere tatters of it's former self, the ground rapidly approaching. [Almost... there! Why did you have to force me to go so far, you dummy!?]
But when the distance closed to only several meters, Nanoha's head came up, blood trickling from her lip as she spoke softly, "Fate-chan. I'm sorry."
Before Fate could realize what was going on, she found herself caught by multiple binds around her body, staring at the brunette in shock. "Nanoha? Did you fake unconscious to get my guard down!?"
"I didn't want to resort to this trick, but I promised Vivio I'd bring you home one way or another," Nanoha explained solemnly as she stopped falling and floated some distance away, the pink wings on her feet flickering, barely visible.
Fate realized Nanoha was directly enforcing these binds, so there was no breaking them just yet, but she was still confused. "I destroyed your Starlight Breaker, and you don't have Raging Heart, nor much mana remaining. Let me go, there's nothing more you can do! Why go this far?"
"I promised Vivio I'd bring you home, and we'd be a family again," Nanoha said softly, wincing a bit as she reached up to hold her left shoulder, obviously in great pain. "Even though we only had a few years together, it was good, wasn't it? Don't you want us to be a family again?"
The thought struck Fate hard, and she felt a momentary surge in her chest. [A family again... but....]
Arf... Chrono... Mother...
Unable to control them this time, Fate's eyes began to leak more. "I can't! Too much has passed. But if you and Vivio submit to the Bureau and..." She trailed off, realizing the words they were back to; the ones they would have both preferred to use, but knew were useless.
"We can't, either, so this is all we have left," Nanoha said.
Fate was growing desperate; Nanoha's mana tank was clearly running on fumes, and Fate just couldn't stand to see her best friend tear herself apart just to win. "Nanoha! Stop! You don't have anything left! Don't push yourself like this. Just give up, please!"
"That's where you're wrong," Nanoha informed her softly, shaking her head. "I released Raging Heart to Stand-alone flight mode. Oh, and I never canceled Blaster Mode, either."
"Then where are they..." Fate trailed off as she looked around, but didn't see anything.
Nanoha smiled and glanced up. "It's a nice moon tonight."
Fate's gaze immediately shot up, now realizing the moon appeared far brighter than normal, and also comprehended the reason why; there was a large ball of Starlight Breaker magic somewhere far, far up between her and the moon. What's more, her scope detected the array of Blaster bits revolving around an enlarged Raging Heart; but the most horrifying aspect was that Bardiche relayed that the sphere of magic was nearly 50 meters across!
Fate swallowed. "When did you...."
"I sent all four blaster bits up when you thought I canceled them, using the light of the moon as cover to hide the gathering of magic," Nanoha explained, then smiled sadly. "It was a little trick I picked up from Teana, and was my backup in case you had something to stop my Starlight Breaker, which you did; I sent Raging Heart up there to join them a short time ago. This is another variation of my Divine Buster; well, more accurate to say a variation of Starlight Breaker. Not only does it gather spent mana that we emitted here, but ambient magic from both the planet and nearby celestial objects, and then fires from a low orbit at supersonic speeds. This is everything I have left.
She lifted her left arm straight up into the night sky, her eyes firm as she slowly floated away, and then swung her arm down. "Moonlight Breaker."
Fate knew she had little time and quickly shifted Bardiche back to Zanber free flight form to cut the binds on her arms, but that was all the time she could afford to spend freeing herself. Taking hold of Bardiche in Rail Form once more, she took aim at the huge stream of magic that was pouring down from above, bathing the heavens in pink light. She put everything she had into this shot with a cannon shell-sized bullet of compressed magic, Bardiche's separated prongs growing a bit larger and longer to compensate.
Fate knew this was going to be close, and so gave it everything she had left. "Rail Gun Mark II, FIRE!"
When Fate's compressed magic shell struck the wide beam descending from above, the resulting growing explosion of brilliant magical energies quickly encompassed both combatants. Before unconscious claimed her, Fate wondered if either one of them would survive this.
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
In keeping with my statement of pulling stuff from all Nanoha materials, the translation of Fate's attack: "Kodachi Nito Mikamiryuu" is Kodachi Twin Blade Mikami Style and "Nigenteki Sen" is "Dual Flash." Partially pulled from the Triangle Hearts OVA as the attack Kyoya uses at the end, although mine is a a little variation (Kyoya only had one sword at the time, whereas Fate had two, hence the "Dual" Flash). Also, Fate's "Spark End" was taken from the Movie 1st.
2010-10-18, 13:34
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