The wave of unease and dread had shaken her from slumber some thirty minutes ago. As Nanoha dressed herself with incredible haste, shaking off sleep as she did so, she couldn't help but hope she would be fast enough this time. The events had been occurring with growing frequency and each time the feeling of dread grew stronger. But what it was exactly, she had never been able to find out until now. She had been too slow each and every time. Adding to her desperate ire, the TSAB didn't have a ship in orbit to scan the surface for the disturbance.
It would be another week before one would return. At least it would be with her friends in tow.
She knew the spell was some sort of temporal distortion by the fact there appeared to be no damage to the city when it vanished and that the uneasy feeling in her gut was eerily similar to what she felt whenever she had been inside Yuuno's own Temporal Force Field spell. It was an unease comparable to being thrust into a place you knew nothing about. That sort of claustrophobic feeling of the unknown. Even if it looked the same, it felt quite alien.
But now she finally had a chance to see what it was that had created such a feeling. It was as awe inspiring as it was dreadful; a great dome of deep, ash colored mist.
Now she could finally find out who was behind this spell. For whomever was behind it was almost certainly behind the unknown horror assailing her home. The horror manifested as a long string of near deaths that had been rampaging through Uminari like a plague. And taking into account the state of many survivors, Nanoha would have labeled it as a curse more than a plague.
What few pictures released by the media had shown her still too young mind a chilling sight. Those empty, yearning eyes struggling to regain their light. Some fared better than others, but all whom regained their senses and could actually speak of their ordeal could not put into words what had happened. The only consistency was a repeated mentioning of darkness. An absolute, inescapable dark.
Nanoha knew it wasn't a good idea to venture into the unknown without backup, but she couldn't be sure that she'd have this chance again. This was the first time in over a dozen attempts that she'd actually laid eyes upon the anomaly, much less made it to the even itself.
"Here goes." She steeled herself and grasped Raising Heart tightly. Placing her hand on the fog, she prepared to pierce the barrier and enter the field within. What she was not prepared for was the barrier to pull her inside. With a yelp of surprise and fright, Nanoha vanished into the mist.
Everything went white and colorless for a moment before she found herself on the other side. Aside from the world now looking like it was cast in some sort of fain shadow, everything appeared to be the same. At the very least she knew she had made it through.
"Raising Heart, Wide Area Search please." Nanoha spoke her command and lowered herself closer to the ground. Not knowing what she would find within this place, she couldn't afford to be too careful. Her faithful device intoned the affirmative and began scanning the realm. "I feel cold..."
"Master, I confirm the presence of at least one entity approximately six kilometers ahead. There are potentially two other presences, however I cannot confirm."
"Right. I'll be careful." Taking flight, she sped off towards the one confirmed target. All the while she made certain to have Raising Heart continue scanning the area and giving her updated. It wouldn't do to get caught in an ambush. She almost wanted to giggle as she imagined Chrono and Yuuno berating her for doing just that.
She might be taking the most reckless course of action, but she couldn't wait for reinforcements. And it wasn't like she was a stranger to taking independent action.
It wasn't long before she came across the one confirmed figure pointed out by her device. Flying at top speed tends to make trips rather short after all. The figure was cloaked in shadows and still as the night. All she could really discern was that it was tall. Very tall. Were she standing on the ground, she might have reached half as tall as it.
She came to a slow halt before the giant and held Raising Heart across her chest in a protective gesture.
"Excus-" She never had a chance to finish the first word of her question when the begin came alive. It moved faster than she could fathom and lashed out with something solid and unrelenting. Before Nanoha's vision tunneled and the world retreated from her at a breakneck speed, she saw what appeared to be a pair of hard, grey eyes.
There was pain and agony in her retreat and she could barely hear the warnings and cautions blaring from Raising Heart. Where her side and midsection screamed in agony, her back would soon join them.
Nanoha flew through the twenty seventh floor window with an ear-shaking crash. Had her Barrier Jacket not been in tip-top condition, then the world may very well have bid farewell to the youngest Takamachi. There was a very real limit to the amount of punishment her defenses could take and she was feeling that it wouldn't be long before she discovered exactly what that limit was.
As she spat up a gob of mucus and blood that only further stained her far from pristine garb, Nanoha stared bleary eyed out at the sky through the hole her body had made in the building. A detached portion of her mind ventured she must have been blown close to the center of the skyscraper considering how far from the edge she was laying. How exactly she had flown so far was beyond her comprehension. It simply didn't make sense. No human could be that strong. And there wasn't even any magic behind the strike from what she could tell.
That single blow had held only personal might behind it.
She struggled to rise to her feet but found them too weak to accomplish the task. She had to hurry, pull herself together. Pull herself together before her foe was upon her once again. She had people depending on her.
Her heart stopped when the sound of crumbling concrete and groaning rebar was momentarily silenced by the thunderous impact of her pursuer making his presence known. Something about this being told her that subtlety was anathema to them. The field that kept their battlefield separate from reality was not doubt the work of someone else. This knight, this fearsome knight would have marched down a bustling city street without a single care beyond its mission if given the opportunity.
There were words being said, but she couldn't understand them. Nanoha didn't know whether it was because the voice was too quiet or because she was so wounded. All she knew was that at this moment in her life she was closer to death than ever before.
And Death took the form of a great knight.
A knight clad in Iron.
Its sword, far too massive to be considered even remotely feasible for human use, was held at her throat with an obscene ease. It was as though the iron blade weighed no more than a feather to it's wielder.
That towering shield of black iron was slung over the knight's back as to allow the hand that likely once held it to glow with an ominous light; a light that shone only the color black.
Nanoha could not avert her eyes from her doom as it hurtled towards her.
Only a flash of brilliant green light saved her from that deathly, hollow fate which had been burned into her eyes.
"Yuuno, I'll draw his attention. You take care of Nanoha." Nanoha recognized that voice. She also recognized that name. They weren't supposed to be here for another week, weren't they? Whether they were or were not, her two dearest friends had saved her life.
"H-How are you going to do that?" Yuuno's voice sounded strained as he poured everything he had into the barrier which held the deathly hand at bay. The knight didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. Rather, it seemed as though to was merely adding one more body to the tally.
"The same way you defeated me in practice the other day." There was very little time in between Fate's audible transmission and the execution of her words.
Appearing like a golden meteor, Fate T Harlaown blindsided the towering black knight. It had no chance to react as it was hurled from the building. Even after they cleared the building, Fate continued pushing. She held Bardiche's haft in front of her and poured every spare bit of magic she could into her flight spell, pushing Nanoha's foe through the air and everything in her path. Walls. Windows. Anything that stood in her way to get this opponent as far away from her friend as possible.
Had she not been using the knight as a makeshift battering ram, Fate might not have made it through the first building in her reckless charge. She was only so skilled in defensive spells and it was faster to simply go around obstacles that it was to go through them. Unless one wished to put a target through said buildings.
When she finally came to a stop, it was not by ay choice of her own. Instead, it was a great bolt of lighting aimed to break her miraculously successful charge.
As the black iron knight appeared to tumble out of the sky, Fate was forced to turn her attention to the source of the spell. Rather than a mage aiming at device at her for a second shot, she saw another knight; this one clad far differently from the one she had sent flying. Chain mail, simple steel armor, and a white tabard appeared to be his choice of defense. What's more, he was more prominently decorated than the black knight. A bucket shaped helmet with a red feather upon his head and a great sun painted upon his tabard.
"Good evening, young miss! We apologize for all of this unfortunate mess, but sadly we have little choice in the matter." And he was speaking in such a jolly tone whilst waving at her. Even if it was painted through and through with a deep sadness, the man's voice was perhaps the friendliest she had ever heard.
"Who are you? Wh-What were you going to do Nanoha?" She thrust her weapon towards the white knight in what she hoped was a threatening manner. Only now did she take notice of the large circular shield held in one hand and the sword strapped to his side. He seemed to sag slightly, as though he wished not to give the answer to her question.
"We..." He hesitated, but never gave the answer as the sound of shattering asphalt and concrete became audible. The knight turned to the direction of the sound with an impressed tone. "Goodness, you sent him far. A considerable feat for such a young lady." A sound comparable to a stampeding beast soon reached their ears.
Fate's eyes widened as she saw that black iron knight barreling down the street, dead set on the direction of where she had left Nanoha and Yuuno. He was moving far too fast for what he was wearing and she could only gape in horror. Yet before she could make a move to pursue, the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath pulled her back to the white knight. She swallowed as he began advancing upon her, rising up into the air as though he were scaling an invisible staircase.
"I may not be capable of such an amazing feat as flight, but I do hope you will accept this as my best effort." Indeed, he was standing before her now solidly as if his feet had been firmly planted upon the earth. "This humble knight of Astora shall be your opponent this day. I am Solaire."
She could not help but grip Bardiche tightly, fear coiling within her gut even more strongly than before. "Fate... Fate Testarossa Harlaown."
"A splendid name!" Solaire charged and a resounding clang echoed through the battlefield as sword met axe.
Knowing time was not on their side, but unknowing of how rapidly what time they had was dwindling away, Yuuno struggled to heal as much of the damage done to Nanoha as possible. He'd never seen her so battered before. Even in the worst outcomes during the Jewel Seed Incident she'd never taken such a beating. The green glow of his magic served to illuminate their surroundings only slightly.
"You're early, you know." Nanoha's voice was less strained than she expected ti to be. Probably because the pressure on her lungs had been lessened considerably. "I wanted to have a party. Mama was looking forward to it too." She smiled mischievously despite the still biting pain in parts of her body. "Silly Yuuno, always causing trouble~"
"You know me. If I'm not manhandling ancient relics, I'm ruining your mother's plans." He grinned despite of himself. "We can still have have party. It just won't be a surprise anymore. And we're early because Lindy said she had some business here."
Nanoha chuckled. "Of course she won't say what, right?" She flexed her hands, feeling the strength return to them.
"Of course." Yuuno had gotten a little more used to the admiral's eccentricities, but there was only so well one could adapt to someone like her. Particularly if you weren't even ten years old. If there was any solace to be found, it was in the fact Chrono was only minutely more tolerable as a result.
In the distance, a barrage of lightning bolts crossed paths with a single, far more brilliant spear of the same element. The roar of thunder reached their ears and it took a tremendous amount of self control for Nanoha to not simply break away and rush to Fate's aid.
"Why is this even happening?" She bit her lip in frustration as her strength continued to return.
"I don't know, but we'll find out. It's kind of what we do." Yuuno's attempt as humor was met with a bemused sigh. "Almost done... It won't be nearly as good as seeing a proper healer, but it's the best I can do right now." And Nanoha was going straight to one on board the Arthra the second this was all over and done with.
The green light of his healing magic flickered as they both snapped their heads towards the rapidly approaching sound of crushing concrete.
"No way..."
"Ahahaha... This is bad..." At least she felt like she could fight again. She just had to not get hit. Ever.
A beam of golden light split the sky in the background, illuminating the world for a moment before the black giant appeared again. His sword was reared back and ready to deliver the deathblow even as he seemed to fly through the gaping hole in the building he had left through.
It seemed as though fate was on their side for a brief moment however, as orange hued bind brought the knight's lethal advance to a grinding halt.
"Yo!" A familiar voice floated down from behind the bound figure, effort filling her jovial tone as the knight struggled against his bindings. "I swear. If there's a way to get into trouble, you'll find it. Even without trying."
"Arf!" Relief filled the duo as Nanoha called out the familiar's name. It made sense for the wolf girl to be here. Where Fate went, Arf was always not far behind. Still, the timing could have been just slightly better. Just slightly.
"Now hurry up. I can't hold him forever." As if to emphasize the point, one of the chains strained and snapped. "Faster please!"
Nanoha stood and didn't even bother dusting herself off. She didn't have the luxury of making herself look pretty in a fight. Rather, she pointed Raising Heart at the knight and began the casting procedures for one of her staple spells. Her target didn't seem phased in the slightest as his captor moved clear of the blast zone, keeping him barely in place.
"I'll ask you to stop fighting. Please, just stop and we can talk about this!" Another bind snapped and the knight lurched forward, pulling Arf along with him. Nanoha's brow furrowed in blatant irritation. "Why won't you lis-!"
Her exclamation was cut off as a pillar of fire exploded out of the damaged floor, chewing its way upwards and turning everything it touched to molten ruin. All four combatants were forced to break away lest they be caught in the growing storm. Nanoha, Arf, and Yuuno few through whatever exits were available while the knight seemed to simply jump backwards out of the building the moment Arf's magic faded.
"Whoa..." Yuuno's awed response to the sight they now beheld seemed plenty enough for his friends. The building was being consumed by fire, the blazing pillar reaching all the way through the roof and into the sky. It didn't take long for the structure to give in after that final bout of punishment. With a final groan, it began collapsing in on itself as it's insides were melted and charred by the relentless flame.
They didn't have long to be distracted by the wreckage before a voice called out, though not directed at them in the slightest. It was not a shout, but the undercurrent of power in the feminine voice still made it clearly audible amongst the sounds of thunder and ruin.
"Tarkus, we don't have much time left. Make haste."
From down on the ground, a sphere of fire sprung into being. It illuminated a figure clad in voluminous black robes who seemed completely unperturbed by the fact it was holding a ball of liquid fire the size of a basketball. The tilting of the figure's head towards Yuuno was the only warning he had before the ball flew from the caster's hand towards him.
Despite the fact he'd been able to erect a shield to defend himself, the blond boy still felt the tremendous heat from the fireball as it exploded with a vicious roar against his defense.
"Nanoha. You and Arf take care of the black knight." He glanced to the side where he caught vision of Fate still trading blows with a knight in white. "...Fate seems to have things under control." Was it him, or did it seem like that fight wasn't really being taken to the same level as theirs? He wasn't any kind of warrior, so he couldn't be sure.
"But!" Nanoha was about to protest, but stopped. There was no time to debate. Yuuno had made the decision before she could, so they were stuck. Arguing over who did what would only cost them dearly. "If you get hurt, I'm going to tell Papa about your ferret form." She nearly laughed as he paled in response. Arf did actually chuckle.
"J-Just go!" They finally did and broke away to chase down the heavily armored knight. Turning back to their newest foe, Yuuno swallowed heavily. The flame mage rose into the sky, apparently having decided to let them have their little moment before reengaging the battle. Now that it was closer, he was able to discern a more female form to the caster. "I don't supposed we can talk about this?"
"We cannot..." The mage shook her head and regarded Yuuno with a distant gaze. "Some things simply cannot be reduced to discussion about a table, young one. Particularly ones beyond thine own hand." Fire once more erupted about her hand.
"It was worth a try?" Green light surrounded his own hands as he began pulling on the knowledge of every defensive spell he could think of.
A faint smile. "Perhaps."
As a new battle erupted, Fate was beginning to curse her own ability more and more with each passing moment. The upper hand was always just one step beyond her. Each trick she tried. Every tactic she knew. Even the wide range of combat options she had at her disposal did not seem to be enough against Solaire. Even in moments where his movements did not seem to appear committed, she could not gain an advantage. Not even he tremendous speed was of a considerable boon.
She grit her teeth in a rare feeling of frustration as she soared upwards to put some distance between them and try once more to launch a counter offensive. A searing bolt of lightning cut off her escape and she was forced to call up a protective shield to defend against the arcing swing that followed moments after. The helplessness had begun to wear on her more and more with each passing second.
"What do you want!?" Her voice finally broke out in a desperate frustration as Solaire's nondescript sword smashed once more against her defenses. Perhaps it was the tone in her voice, but he gave pause. Not one large enough for an escape, but one long enough to let her know he was truly considering her words.
"Alas, I am bound to never tell another soul. Had I the will I most certainly would, rest assured." A potent regret had seeped into his voice. One so old it made Fate shiver slightly. "Perhaps I can convince you to surrender?"
"N-Never! I'll never abandon my friends. Especially not after everything they've done for me." They had saved her from a deep darkness. One which would have left her a ruined husk of a tool to be used until broken by her... Mother.
"Such conviction in one so young..." He drew his sword back almost mechanically and brought it down once more. It was so predictable and sloppy that Fate merely had to move out of the way to evade it. "It is both commendable and inspirational. Perhaps then you have found what it is you seek? Or at the very least, a quest that will lead you towards it." Fate blinked at the odd change in demeanor before being forced to block another strike from the knight's sword. And another. And yet one more. Solaire's movements were returning to their more finely honed status and it pushed her further and further away from the battlefield where Nanoha, Arf, and Yuuno were fighting for their lives.
"You... You don't want to do this, do yo-!" Her question was aborted near the end as a scream rent the field asunder and made her heart quake.
Knight and mage turned towards the source of the sound and Fate felt her heart stop.
Falling.
She was falling.
Nanoha Takamachi was falling.
Following her was an arc of what must have been a deep red color.
The scene she now bore witness to would be forever etched into her mind and the day she would for the first time in her life, declare she had felt the darkest hatred and the deepest fear.
Even from this distance, everything was all too clear.
Illuminated by the remaining city lights and the growing conflagration stood the knight in black armor. He floated up high, motionless and victorious as if standing upon an invisible hill he had conquered. Orange hued chains crumbled around him.
Held in one hand, consumed in darkness, was a great wisp of white flame. It blazed for a moment before being drawn away into the darkness.
In the other was that sword. That massive blade of iron.
Crimson dripped from its edge.
