Most advanced civilizations found out about dimensions as the last frontier beyond space. Dimensions are sometimes considered as 'alternate realities' due to the similarities between each other. It was known that one can sometimes find alternate dimensional versions of themselves with eerily similar background. While that might be true, scientists have recognized that just because they look similar, share similar names and are supposed to be cross-dimensional forms of themselves, no two person are the same. This had been best proven through the 'Thousand Thomas Tea' of Golk Year of the Itching Chimpanzee when eccentric billionaire Thomas Wayne of Dimension Golk invited all known versions of himself, from female to beggar to his mansion for tea. Invited scientists and sociologists from everywhere had a field day researching about cross dimensional relations on that day. Sadly, the day ended in tragedy with one of the versions turned out to be somewhat suicidal and dimension-phobic.
Extract from 'Devious Dimensions', part of the 'Horrible Science' collection
Just a couple of minutes ago, the sun still cast its orange glow on the evening sky. Before one knew it, everything gave way to the darkness of the night. Then like fireflies, the city came back to life, electrical lighting bursting to life to the crackling of electricity by themselves one by one. Soon, a million dots of lights could be sighted from the dark countryside, flickering just slightly due to the distance.
Gabriel never really liked the dark; especially if the dark was too dark for sight. However, the night darkness was the time of choice for operations; he was counting that his targets like him would not see too well either. But it was always nice to have some light...
Hovering in midair on top of his staff, blended into the surrounding black sky, he looked into the darkness of the countryside through the slits of the featureless mask over his face. There was little street lighting here to light the surroundings. Where there was light, there were hundreds of annoying, buzzing insects fluttering around in hypnotized daze.
Strange. The cottage was still there, fully intact. He swear that he did accidentally destroyed around half of it that day in his desperate bid to escape the fury of the cat familiars. He was impressed. Those mages were good, but that would also make his work much harder.
If the cottage was back, those cat familiars might be back too. Sure, he was more prepared this time; they could be just as more prepared. Gabriel felt in the pockets of his robe for those items he brought. Hopefully these would give him the upper edge but it would be better to avoid confrontation.
There was no light in the cottage, maybe the occupants were asleep. Hopefully not away. 'Away' usually meant that there would not be any of those artifacts to steal to make the stone.
Circling around the cottage quietly, Gabriel lower the altitude of the staff and landed at the side of the cottage. That place he remembered as that old mage's bedroom. It was the only part left not too damaged from his previous visit. If there was any magical artifacts, it would most likely be there. Slower, carefully, the thief crept towards the cottage, avoiding the most direct route where he could be seen from the window. Closer and closer, avoiding even rustling the grass, then there was a brief shimmer.
The quaint cottage had disappeared, leaving behind the scene he last remembered lying in perfect ruins before him. Somewhat taken aback, he took a step back. There was the cottage again. A step forward again. Ruins. At the back of his mind, he was even more impressed by these people. This illusion had worked well enough to have him fooled, it was even somewhat cool.
Yet, there was no time to stand there, basking in the 'coolness' or 'niftiness' of this magic. Just because the cottage was actually in ruins did not meant there was no one. Those cat familiars might still be in there. Waiting for the thief to return to the scene of crime.
The thief kept close to what was left of the walls of the cottage, hidden in the shadows as he made his quiet way to the windows. Silently, Gabriel used his staff to push the window open. Then grabbing the ledge, he hoisted him up and let himself into the room through the opening. He landed softly on the wooden floor, the ends of his robe landed lightly behind him. With a cursory check on his staff's stability to keep the window open, he surveyed his surroundings.
There was no one in the room. There was nary a sound in the ruins except for the singing crickets in the fields. Then there was the conversation going on outside the room, accompanied by laughter.
There were people around! Gabriel stopped his movement, slowed his breathing to avoid any noise that might alert those people. Then he stood up with care, making his way silently towards the door way. Hiding himself behind the door, he strained his ears to catch what those people was saying.
“I was so young then. That was when I met him, Chrono's father... Have you found anything?” A lady.
“No, Admiral Lindy. I think we should check the bedroom,” The younger sounding voice replied.
Gabriel did not really understand the language they were speaking in. Some foreign language, probably Asian from its sound. He did not want to risk discovery to peek out; most of the artifacts should be in this room anyway.
From his position, he could see the bed, the desk, the wardrobe... usual bedroom stuffs. Just where could an old mage keep any magical stuffs? Most likely they were all taken with him, but there might just be a chance that something got left behind. Then there was those people out there; they might be mages of the same association, with magical artifacts of their own. His hands reached into his robe and slowly pulled out a thin wand. If he ambush them fast enough, he might be able to knock them out before...
Footsteps. Worse. Approaching footsteps. Those people were coming towards the room.
For a while, Gabriel panicked. The staff! It was still at the window!
“Mea Virga,” he whispered without thinking, pointing the wand towards his staff. The staff shook briefly in response, then it came flying across the room, into his open hands.
Then the window came down with a deafening crash. Wincing to the noise, Gabriel cursed his lack of consideration. If they were not already coming, that crash would have attracted those people outside.
Sure enough, there was shouting followed by running, approaching footsteps.
Gabriel tightened his grip of the staff in anticipation. There was no place nor enough time for him to hide save for... he turned his attention towards the wardrobe. This was so not his day.
---------------------------------------------
“Bardiche 'Assault' Set up!”
The triangular intelligent device crackled with electrical energy in Fate's hand as she ran towards the room.
'Set up,' the computerized voice replied as the black mechanisms of Bardiche materialized and assembled themselves into her staff within seconds. The barrel spun with a whirl for a system check before the device announced, 'Barrier jacket set up.'
Her civilian clothings gave way for the lighter, more maneuverable barrier jacket. The intelligent device attached itself to the glove of her right hand. Armored glove formed around her other hand along with the stockings and metal boots at her legs. As Fate stepped into the bedroom, her black cape formed from neck down, appearing like a wave of black around her.
'Set up complete.' The entire process only took seconds.
“Thank you, Bardiche,” Fate replied as she looked at the room that laid before her. Nothing seemed touched. There did not seem to be anyone in the room. Could it had been the wind?
“It is not the wind,” Admiral Lindy said levelly as she entered the room, “The window was supposed to be shut in the first place. Someone was here” She switched her attention towards the wardrobe to the right. Walking towards it, she placed a hand on the handle. Then she looked at Fate knowingly, pointing towards it and placing a finger to her lips to signal silence. Fate nodded and leveled Bardiche towards the wardrobe, ready for battle.
Then suddenly without any sign, Admiral Lindy opened the door of the wardrobe.
There was a tense moment.
Then Fate gave a sign. There was no one in there. Just some of Graham's clothings and some other stuffs. Seeing that Fate had relaxed, Lindy looked into the wardrobe and reached into it, removing a box from within.
Curious, Fate walked towards the Admiral to see what she had retrieved. It was a wooden box with intrinsic designs carved onto it. Holding the box, Admiral Lindy smiled fondly and with nostalgia.
“What's in it?” Fate asked, studying the strange design of the box.
“Something precious,” Admiral Lindy replied, dusting it with a fond look. Then she looked towards Fate delightedly, “Let me show it to you.” She proceed to open the box carefully. Fate came closer to get a better look at what was inside, what had invoked so much fondness in Admiral Lindy.
That was when they heard the rustling sound.
That was quickly followed by the dropping of a couple of pellets. They bounced on impact with the floor, once, twice, drawing the attention of the Bureau mages.
"Unus Fulgor Concidens Noctem, In Mea Manu Ens Inimicum Edate"
A blast of white electricity coursed from above, striking the pellets with an illuminating white energy. For a moment, Fate could make out someone, wearing a smooth mask of pure white clinging on to the ceiling above, a hand holding on to a wand which had released the magical blast.
Then the pellets exploded with a blinding white light.
---------------------------------------------
He had not expected that 'Spiderman' trick to work but it did. Gabriel could hear the crashing sound he made when he dropped to the ground with his eyes closed. Those flash pellets should have blinded those people temporary. The cries of surprise confirmed that.
The blinding effect would not last long, but it would just be enough... Opening his eyes, he made a lunge towards his target, that wooden box which the lady was holding. The lady tried to tighten her grip on it but Gabriel was too fast.
With a swift action, he swiped the box and made a run for it. Whatever was in the box should be something of decent value for the lady for the box to be so elaborately decorated. If there was a magical artifact in here, that would be it.
Tucking the box into his robe, he leapt onto his staff and mentally ordered it to fly. Go as far, as high, as fast as possible. He had to make himself scarce; be as far away from the ruins as possible. The chase would soon start- There was a shout from the room, sounded like an order.
Running. The younger mage emerged, holding on to that battle-axe-liked staff. No wings. However, he had learnt never to underestimate these mages. With what look like a leap, the girl levitated into the air.
The mature, lady mage appeared outside the room. She seemed like the superior, probably around the same age as his mother. She was using a communication device, must be calling for reinforcements.
The pursue was on.
Faster, faster! He urged his staff. The girl was catching up. Fast. As if she had rocket boosters to her feet. Her cape billowed in the wind as she narrowed the distance between herself and Gabriel. Close enough for him to hear her quiet magical commands.
“Sonic form.”
Taking the risk, Gabriel turned to look at his pursuer. Her cape along with the bulkier armor on her dissipated into the wind in a shower of yellow sparks. Wings, tiny yellow wings appeared at her boots and arms. With a sudden burst of speed, the blond mage zoomed forward, swinging her staff towards him.
Up! He griped the staff and pulled it upwards, narrowly avoiding the swing of the staff. He was now flying upwards, gaining altitude as he climbed the sky. No time to think. Escape as far as he could.
The girl was no where in sight.
Oh shi- she appeared before him, swinging the staff at him again. Too late to dodge. The only way-
Gabriel threw himself off his staff to avoid the attack. Falling from the sky, he could see the staff plunging into the countryside downwards as it lost the direct magical control from Gabriel. The girl was speeding down towards him once again. A hand out-stretched towards him. To save him.
It was a nice gesture. Really. But he was not in the mood to get caught. Not when she needed the stone. He drew his wand from his robe.
“Mea Virga!“
His staff stopped its descent from the sky, pausing as Gabriel took magical control over it again. It swung like a compass towards Gabriel and then sped towards him.
The girl was closer now. “Grab my hand!” she was shouting, in badly accented English. So they could speak English. With her so close up, she looked so young, probably around his age, give or take a couple of years. Despite her attacks, she seemed like a really nice girl too.
Too bad about his speeding staff coming from behind which she failed to notice.
Killing her was not what he had in mind. He pointed towards his speeding staff, just enough a warning. The girl diverted part of her attention towards where he pointed to, just enough for a reaction to avoid a direct hit from the incoming staff. Though not enough to fully avoid the fast moving staff from scrapping across her shoulder.
There was a cry of pain as the young mage was veered out of course. She spun out of momentum in the air before regaining stability. By then, Gabriel had caught his staff with a hand, holding on to it tightly as the staff continued its blind speeding to nowhere. The girl would survive. Right now, he needed to run
With a swing, Gabriel got himself back onto the staff. Mentally, he urged the staff to accelerate, to get as far away as possible. Lowering his body toward it to minimize air resistance. Destination did not matter. Distance was what mattered.
Actually... he could consider taking down that young mage for her magical artifact. As long as he was fast enough to do so before reinforcements arrived. As long as he was fast enough to bring the fight to familiar terrain.
It might just work-
The surrounding air glowed yellow with lightning. The crackle of electricity. A shout of “Photon Lancer!”
A brief glance confirmed that the girl had started throwing out magical balls of electricity at him. She was hovering in midair, her face a picture of calmness despite her wounded shoulder, the magical balls revolving around her while a yellow magical circle glowed faintly in the night sky at her feet with illegible symbols inscribed in it. He had seen those before, these were the symbols of whatever type of magic those people used.
They meant trouble. So the gloves were off... The magic trailed him like heat-seeking missiles, leaving behind a blazing trail of yellow light.
A weave to the right! Down! Accelerating down! As the treetops beckon, pull up to the left! He could feel his perspiration sweeping away into the wind as soon as they dripped from his temples, just as the combination of crashing and blitzing noise from the impact between tree and electric ball echoed at the back. There were still more coming behind him, plus the mage seemed to be conjuring up more.
Climbing the sky. Pure running was no longer an option. It would not be long before he was overwhelmed by all those magical attacks. Time to fight back.
Balancing on his speeding staff, he turned back to face the incoming magical attacks. Directed his wand towards them. Feel his magic coming to him, concentrating themselves at the tip of his wand. It was strangely trilling, pitting his skills against another.
The spell was a simple one, one taught to beginners for magical dueling. But very effective and popular among the duelists back in the academy.
“Sagita Magica Septendecim Sagittae Fulguralis!”
As he raised his voice at the last part of the enchantment, he could feel the magic bursting out of his wand like streamers from a popper, releasing seventeen electrically charged magic arrows, each one towards their intended targets. Each magic arrow went straight for a trailing magical ball, each one exploding on impact, neutralizing both itself and the target.
The rest of the magical arrows went for the pursuing mage herself. Gabriel directed the staff to fly reverse, keeping his eyes on his attack. The remaining arrows zig-zag across the night sky, before rushing head-on towards the young mage.
The mage did not even bat an eyelid. Coolly, she simply raised an open palm towards the incoming magic arrows. The arrows hit something and exploded.
When the dust cleared, the mage remained standing in mid-air, glowing circles of magical symbols forming a magical shield around her. She looked non the worse, ready to continue fighting.
Not a good idea to stay gawking. Gabriel forced the staff to accelerate. If he could reach the built-up city, he might have a better chance of winning. Without the barrier set-up, every single damage done remained done. Those mages should be less inclined to pull off too powerful a magical attack in fear of harming innocents or attracting too much unwanted attention.
The female mage was catching up again. He could hear a monotonous, robotic voice spoke, 'Load Cartridge. Haken Form.' A cranking sound as something was ejected and then loaded, followed by the hissing of emitted steam. Even more cranking sound as if gears were in movement. Finally ending off with an eruption of blitz and static.
Then he could hear another magical command from behind.
'Haken Saber!'
A swishing sound as though something was slicing through air. Approaching at a very fast speed. Too close for any form of comfort.
Taking another glance, he could see the spinning blade of electrical energy spinning through the air like a boomerang towards him. Swerving abruptly to the right, the blade past him by and continued spinning ahead.
Before he knew it, the blade made a turn in front and made its way back, just like a boomerang. To the left! Missing the blade narrowly, slicing off part of his robe that got caught in its path. The dark material of his robe fluttered its way down to the ground as he watch the blade returned and reattached itself onto the mage's staff.
A scythe. A damn scythe. A small voice in his head recognized the weapon was based on. The energy blade of the weapon cackled with pulsing energy.
The young girl lifted the weapon again and floated higher, gaining for precious upper ground. Then, she dashed towards him, swinging the energy scythe in a downward slash.
With a cuss, Gabriel tilted his staff and flew aside, barely avoiding the attack. Then, accelerating as fast as he could, he placed vital distance between him and the adversary before slowing down and turning back.
Escape! Run! His mind urged him. This girl was unlike the rest. She was too strong.
Then, what about the stone? His heart questioned. He needed to get that artifact of hers, even if it was a dangerous looking piece of work that could kill him if he make a wrong move.
He needed it to create the stone for her.
To save her.
For a while, neither of them moved, staring each other down.
He still balancing on his floating staff with his wand drawn, bidding his time to make a quick run for the approaching city lights.
She, levitating in midair without any form of support. Even more balls of electricity forming around her along with that familiar magical circle glowing at her feet. Her staff, now a scythe of blazing electrical blade.
Great, that was just too unfair.
Death was a cute girl in black; and she was on the other side.
---------------------------------------------
Fate tried to maintain her calm composure, ignoring the wound at her shoulder. After all, having survived Nanoha's Divine Buster before, a brush with a speeding wooden staff was nothing. Not that much at least.
In her mind, she could hear Admiral Lindy's instructions to her and the rest of the team across their communication line. Chrono and Amy had found a suitable apartment for rent. The one in the closest vicinity would be Nanoha, she would be arriving in a couple of minutes. Both Arf and Chrono were also on their way.
She concentrated on the thief some distance away before her. Not exactly big sized, might be a young boy. Magic user. Unfamiliar form of magic. Neither Mid-Childan nor Belkan. Probably a local form. More interested in running.
The thief stared back at her, as if he too was making his own analysis and strategy against her. He seemed to be especially interested in Bardiche, staring at it with somewhat nervous eyes much longer than he should. She might be able to use that against him.
At least she was sure she had an advantage over him for now. In a few minutes, with the arrival of Nanoha, the odds should get overwhelmingly high against him.
The thief made his move first. He drew his wand back, then jabbing it forward,
“Sagita Magica Septendecim Sagittae Obscuri!”
That move again. This time instead of lightning, arrows of dark matter shot out of his wand, blending seamlessly into the darkness of the night sky, visible only by their speeding trails toward Fate.
“Plasma Lancer!”
She directed her own magic to counter the attack. Magical balls of electricity went head on with the dark arrows, releasing static and energy with each impact.
The boy had taken the chance to make his escape, flying away on his staff towards the approaching cityscape. Fate quickly gave chase, keeping him in her sight. Throwing her off would take more than random twist and turns across the sky.
She must get him.
First, he was the thief they were after. Capture him now and their mission would be over. She would have time for everyone. Chrono, Amy, Arf. Admiral Lindy. Suzuka, Arisa. Nanoha.
More importantly, he took something that belonged to Admiral Lindy.
She had to get it back.
Before she knew it, the noise of the city hit her. The blaring of horns by impatient drivers. The footsteps of hundreds of pedestrians below her. The untamed melody of a city alive at night.
The thief ducked quickly between the narrow gap between some buildings. No time to think. Fate followed behind him. Ducking occasionally to avoid the various pipes or obstacles before her, staying on his trail.
He had slowed down somewhat, also encumbered by the need to duck and turn in the built-up area. Turning back, he unleashed another wave of attacks towards her. The dark projectiles sped towards her, changing their directions when necessary to avoid obstacles while the thief further himself from Fate.
She twisted herself to avoid the attack, using Bardiche's blade to counter some of them, the rest that could not be avoided, Bardiche's auto program, “Defenser” took the damage for her.
Stop him from running. Fate raised her free hand towards the boy. The binding threads of Mid-Childa symbols materialized around her hand, ready to keep the boy still.
“Lightning bind.”
With that command, the threads flew forward with lightning speed, ignoring all obstacles for their one target. The first one caught the staff, wrapping itself tightly over its pole, bringing it to an abrupt stop.
Inertia. With a shout of surprise, the boy was flung forward off his transport, in to the air with land still some meters away from him. The mask hiding his face was flung off, hitting the streets with a dull thud. He was lucky the second magical bind caught in by his hand. The rest of the bind caught up fast, capturing and binding the thief to prevent too much movement. When they were done, only his head and hands could move. He was caught like a fly in a spiderweb, with only the ability to struggle futilely. The chase was over.
Fate slowed herself down, stopping before her captive to take a better look. A young boy. Young, probably around her age.
“I don't know why you do what you did, but you fought well,” Fate said encouragingly towards the boy. The boy shot her a dirty look in reply, wriggling his arms in vain against the tight bind.
“Admiral Lindy, Nanoha, I have caught the thief,” she reported back through their mental communication link.
“Are you injured?” Fate could hear Admiral Lindy's concerned voice.
“I'm fine, just a flesh wound,” she replied, keeping a eye on the culprit, “Thank you,” she added.
“Okay, then once Nanoha arrived, bring him back to base.”
“Roger!” Nanoha's enthusiastic, cheerful voice could be heard over the link. Fate felt a slight bubbling of happiness as she listened to her best friend's voice, “Good job, Fate-chan! Wait for me! I can almost see your location already!”
“Alright,” Admiral Lindy said, “I will report to the main HQ later about the success and the rest of the week should be fre-
Their communication line had went dead. That was when Fate noticed the silence. No cars, no people, no noise. The sky, still dark but with a reddish-tinge to it. Barrier, her mind identified. Cuts off most links with the outside. Damage to physical landscape dealt within could be restored by caster of the barrier.
Her captive smirked confidently at her. His barrier.
After all those wriggling, she could see a small, metallic pendent fall into his palm. He grasped it tightly, directed the face of the pendent towards Fate. The circular symbol glowed for a while, then she felt a massive force flung her into the wall of the next building.
There was a crash. Her crash, as she hit the wall hard, leaving causing some of the looser bricks to fall to the ground below. Then she fell to the ground, her landing softened by the rubbish bags laden on the backstreet. She was going to wake up with an aching back the next day.
With the loss of concentration, the binds loosened, allowing the boy to release himself. As he fell, he quickly summoned his staff back to his side and after giving her an apologetic look, made a run for it.
Fate quickly forced herself to regain the composure, pushing herself up from the dump to give chase again. The barrier was giving her the creeps, it felt too quiet, as though time had stopped within the area.
She flew up, above the buildings and looked around. It was relatively easy to spot her target flying within the dark alleyways. He was the only one moving. Other than the two of them, there was no other signs of life within.
This time, she would keep a better eye on him if she managed to immobilize him again. Flying as fast as she could, she swooped down like an eagle, slashing down her Bardiche at him.
The boy managed to dodge, swerving to a side, starting a climb to get above and avoid getting ambushed again. Fate sped forward for another direct attack. He dodged again.
“Why do you do this? We can help you,” Fate tried talking while she dodged the counterattack. It had worked so well against her in the past when she first met Nanoha. Somehow, she could sense a similar vibe from the boy. Confidence in his own skills but yet, some form of sadness and sorrow.
The boy laughed while he circled himself back towards Fate.
“Who do you think you are, Death? Social Service?”
“Death?” Fate paused in surprise. “No,” she answered hesitantly, “I'm not Death. My name is Fate.”
The boy frowned before he retorted, “Death or Fate, they are the same. I'm sick of facing either all the time.” Fate could feel a subtle change in the air, dodging by instinct, avoiding that air attack from him. It was followed by multiple magical projectiles coming directly towards her.
'Defenser' Bardiche's auto-guard program kicked off just in time to protect Fate. The magical attack was stopped just centimeters away from her, close enough for her to see the dark matter smashing into the magical barrier around her and dissipating after that.
“Thank you, Bardiche,” she said out of habit as she hurried to catch up with the thief, “Lightning Bind again, please.”
'Yes sir,' The robotic voice replied from the chip, 'Lightning Bind.'
The magical binding threads materialized again, soaring through the dark-reddish barrier sky towards the target. This time, she would make sure to bind his hands as well.
He had seen it, speeding as fast as he could, cruising alongside the building. The threads closed in onto him. Just as it reached him, he jumped, crashing through the windows, leaving his staff to speed away. The glass shards scattered, fell to the ground, shattering with its sharp sound.
Fate saw him dusting himself of the debris, then running deep into the building, away from the windows. She followed suit, avoiding the sharp edges of the broken windows. The room was dark, dark enough for the thief, if he wanted to, to meld into it.
She walked, carefully avoiding the littered grounds, using the glow from Bardiche's blade to light her way. It was one of those office buildings with full length glass windows. No one inside. Working hours was over anyway.
'Area scan complete, sir. No life found on this level.'
Fate walked into the next room, keeping her guard up just in case. It was the lift lobby, an elevator moving up, stopping at the next. Probably the boy.
Too easy. She took the stairs, careful not to make any sound.
Step by step.
The entrance to the next level laid in sight. The lock to the door had been broken, zapped to be more exact. Gave the door a little push. Nothing.
Just in case. “Lightning Form activate.” In closed areas, defense might be more useful than speed. She could feel the added weight of the extra armor and cape forming on her barrier jacket.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Fate entered to see the boy seated on one of the chairs comfortably, tapping on the armrest patiently.
“I'm expecting you guys to come along soon enough,” he said as he stood up, walking towards the wall, hands in his robe, “The enforcers would soon come to stop me from stealing, robbing every one of you. I'm pretty sure I have fought some of your investigators in the past”
“I'm sorry,” she said as she prepared her Lightning Bind, her magical symbol forming at their feet, lighting up the dark room somewhat, “We cannot let more harm come to our people on the ground. Come with us. Let us help you.”
“I'll have to reject your kind offer. Not when I'm so close to completion.”
He started running, slamming a hand onto the wall. That was when Fate noticed the symbol drawn crudely on the wall with chalk. A simple circle, with some triangles and lines in it. When the boy's hand touched the symbol, it glowed with a white light for a while.
The room started to shake. Fate sent out the Lightning Bind towards him. He deftly dodged, using his wand to direct the furnitures in the room in their direct path.
A creak. From above.
Fate looked up to see a hand made out of concrete forming from the ceiling. It came down, too fast and too surprising for her to avoid, grabbing her, forming a prison of concrete around her, lifting her up from the ground. Not too tight, just enough for her not to move.
Seeing that the Lightning Bind had stopped their advance, the boy walked towards her.
“Sorry, but I've got a life to save,” he apologized as he prepared his spell, “I would try to make it hurt as little as possible.”
Fate watched quietly. His tone. His eyes. They reminded her of someone.
Herself.
Back when she was still collecting jewel seeds for her mother, Precia. Perhaps he was in a similar position like her in the past.
He needed help. Despite his stubborn stand, he needed help. She was speaking from experience. And to do that, she needed to stop him first, even if it meant hurting him in non-fatal ways.
Before the boy could finished the spell, she mouthed one of her own.
“Jacket Purge.”
She could feel the magically-enhanced defense of her barrier jacket unraveling, switching over to explosively charged magic. Then they let loose, blowing off the surrounding concrete, smashing them into little pieces.
Fate could just held him cursed as the boy ducked to avoid the fragments of concrete from hitting him. She herself fell to the ground, defenseless, quickly gathering magic to form another barrier jacket.
She could hear light bouncing. The boy had threw another bunch of pellets at her. She was not going to fall for that again. As fast as she could, she got up, avoiding looking at the floor directly, ready for the flash of white lightning to activate the blinding effect.
Before she knew it, the thief was on her, tackling her like a rugby player, pushing her towards the window. Then together, they smashed through the glass window. Down to the streets below.
The boy was struggling to remove Bardiche from her, grabbing it with both his arms, tugging it towards him. Fate tightened her grip, struggled against him, ignoring all the cuts she received from glass shards of the window from smashing back first into it.
As both of them struggled for the possession of Bardiche, all the while, they fell without control towards the pavement below.
---------------------------------------------
“Fate! Fate! Answer back!”
There was no answer from her ward. Admiral Lindy could see the reddish barrier that engulfed the city from where she stood. It had appeared so suddenly, sweeping across the buildings and streets. When it stopped enlarging, it towered over everything like a mysterious dome.
That was when the communication with Fate was cut off. Who knows what might be going on within the barrier?
Lindy considered her options as she ran along the gravel country road towards the city. She had been doing so, trying to catch up with them since the box had been snatched by the thief. Curses! Such carelessness! She should have been more careful. Right now, the box and its contents were the last thing in her mind. She should not have let Fate face the thief alone, could have ordered her to simply track him until reinforcements arrived.
If anything happened to Fate, what will she do?
“Lindy-san! I have reached the barrier where Fate is. Permission to break the barrier,” Nanoha's voice rang through the communications link. Nanoha had arrived, hovering just above the reddish surface of the barrier in her sailor-uniform barrier jacket, Raising Heart ready in hand.
“Not a good idea,” Chrono's leveled voice came in, “I am on my way now, I would be better to have more people on standby. I am sure Fate would be able to handle herself for some time.”
Everything was happening so quickly, so suddenly. While Fate had faced and survived harder opponents before, this thief was an unknown, unpredictable They came expecting only a simple thief, underestimating him. She had seen how Fate was hit by the speeding staff. This thief, he was smart, he would not be an easy target. No one knew just how much tricks he had up his sleeves and from experience, the strongest ones were the young ones. There were so many 'what if's or 'if only's. Her main concern was Fate's safety.
“Fate could be in mortal danger! We should get to her and join her as soon as possible. Permission to break the barrier,” Nanoha again, her voice filled with anxiety. Particles of pink light were already gathering like fireflies at the firing tip of Raising Heart in preparation.
“Go ahead,” Lindy gave the order. She could only hope that she made the right choice and that Fate would still be safe at the moment.
She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Fate.
With the permission given, the magic gathered around the head of Raising Heart as pink luminous light-balls took up speed, coming together to form the main core of magic for the attack. Nanoha could sense the growing magical power, almost ready for activation.
Her magical circle formed before her, rotating slowly and glowing faintly pink. On cue, 'I am ready, my master.'
“Thank you, Raising Heart. Please start the countdown.”
The long, thin wings like those of her flier fins materialized on the staff of Raising Heart in preparation for the attack.'Yes, my master. Countdown begin. Nine...'
Roman numerical signifying the countdown status flashed on her intelligent device, slowly dropping as the feminine, robotic voice counted down the seconds to the eventual blast.
“Nanoha! I still think it is a bad idea now. You know Fate,” Chrono's urging came in, “She can handle it.”
“Sorry, Chrono-kun. Please come as fast as possible. I'm going in for Fate now.”
That said, multiple magical circles had appeared before her, around the tip of Raising Heart, concentrating the magical power at one single point; a large one directly in front, acting as the targeting cross hair for the attack.
“Starlight...” Nanoha tightened her grip on Raising Heart, anticipating the throwback from the blast, “Breaker!”
Every single stored magical power was released into the single shot, creating a beam of concentrated magical power, directly against the walls of the barrier. Starlight Breaker, possibly one of her most powerful attacks, was known to destroy everything in its path. Few could have survived a direct hit by it. The barrier held on for a while, then everything crumbled, shattering into the air, into nothingness as the magic weakened.
The path was now clear.
'Fate-chan, I'm coming,' Nanoha thought as she began her descent downwards.
---------------------------------------------
'Sir. Barrier Jacket ready. Set up.'
Bardiche announced evenly, either unconcerned towards the struggle for his possession, or more likely confident of his sir. Fate felt the armor returning to her, her cape formed, now swept in the passing wind as they fell.
Concentrating magic on her index finger, she let loose a Thunder Smasher square on the thief's chest. He grunted before he was flung by the impact towards another building, smashing through the windows into it, then out again. At that point, his staff came flying towards him. He grabbed it and climbed onto it again. Hovering for a while before swooping down to the streets.
Fate allowed Bardiche's flight magic to take control, slowing down her fall before she came to a stop in midair. Finally, 'Load Cartridge', the intelligence device ejected the spent cartridge and loaded another one into it with a slam. The cartridge fell to the ground with a tinkle.
The thief was on the run again, descending to the main street, speeding in between the stationary vehicles on the road. Fate followed closely behind. There was not a single person in the vehicle. It was as if someone had taken this area and removed every form of life in it without touching anything else. It was creepy. If a simple local magically trained thief could perform magic like that, who knew what else he could do.
He directed the wand towards a dustbin beside and chanted evenly, “Tel. Ma. Amoris!” The bin glowed before following the turning of his wand, flying directly towards Fate. She simply levitated herself slightly higher, bringing Bardiche down, cutting through the dustbin and spilling its contents across the road.
Then there was the cracks on the inner barrier surface. First a little. Then it spread across the entire wall. A bright pink glow emitted from the cracks before the entire barrier gave way to the familiar magical blast from outside.
Fate smiled. Starlight Breaker. Nanoha had came.
The blast continued, smashing through a building, causing slabs of concrete, bricks and steel to come falling towards the ground.
That was when the people reappeared on the roads, in the buildings, along the pavements, like a wave. Time was moving again, along with traffic on the road.
'Sir. Danger from behind.'
Fate turned and stared into the approaching headlights, heard the surprised shouts, only pulling up in the final minute, avoiding the vehicle. Everyone could see her.
Worst, they were in the path of the falling debris. When the civilians had took notice, there were screams and pandemonium as the mad scrabble to avoid being hit took place. None of them took notice of the two dueling magicians. They only and rightly so saw the danger from above.
She could see the thief's eyes growing wider in surprise. His mouth opening to mouth some pretty nasty language. He turned, ready to take the chance to run.
Fate would not stop him, she need to protect the civilians first. The gigantic corner of the ledge was coming closer. As fast as she could while she flew upwards to meet the falling debris, she gathered more magical power for a Photon Lancer.
She unleashed the first wave of magical balls, each one of them smashing into a debris, causing it to shatter into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, these smaller pieces were still large enough to hurt and they were more numerous too. Then there was the largest one, heading straight towards her.
“Divine Buster!” A blast of magical energy shot past her, taking out that one before Fate could react. She looked back and nodded a thank you to her best friend. Nanoha nodded in return and together they turned their attention towards the rest of the debris.
The first one hit the ground, leaving a depression on the pavement and smashing into dust but luckily, hitting no one. The rest were only a couple of meters away from the ground.
Fate and Nanoha sped closer while preparing the spells. Before they knew it, multiple magically charged arrows sped past them towards the rest of the debris. Each one exploded into their intended target, shattering the remaining debris into dust and fragments that showered lightly towards the ground.
Fate looked back in surprise. It was the boy, wand ready pointing towards them, frowning at his own civility. He might not be such a bad guy after all. He signed in relief and turned, speeding away as fast as he could.
“He doesn't seem too bad. Maybe we can let him go this one time. For helping us,” Nanoha spoke, smiling, “At least you are safe.” She looked at Fate, noticing her cuts and bruises from the fight for the first time.
“Fate-chan! You're hurt!” Nanoha quickly took out a handkerchief from a pocket of her barrier jacket, spat into it and wiped lightly at her bleeding cuts.
“I'm fine,” Fate replied, her heart fluttered lightly at Nanoha's concern towards her, “I think I want to speak to him. He reminds me of myself. And he took Admiral Lindy's item.”
Nanoha gave her a light push, “Then go. I'll support you from behind.”
With that, Fate took off, changing to sonic form and quickly caught up with the back of the thief. He had been ascending the sky, getting out of sight of the civilian, flying as fast as he could, towards his destination.
“Stop! I would like to talk to you!”
The boy looked behind, a look of panic took over.
“Not again!?” he whined, accelerating his flight, turning slightly to get away from Fate. However she was fast enough to keep up and catch up, now that she was in her sonic form, without the extra burdens of her barrier jacket.
The boy fumbled in his pocket, and threw something out. Then he threw it behind him.
Into her face.
As she tried to slow down, she could see that the item was two test tubes filled with liquid. They hit each other, shattering. The liquid were exposed to each other and then-
---------------------------------------------
There was a small explosion behind him. Gabriel knew that the explosion should emit harmless but very, very thick, gray smoke that could cover a large enough area, enough to throw off any pursuers.
Then there was a scream.
That was not supposed to happen.
He turned to watch the girl fall from the sky, unconscious, her staff/scythe flung away from her into elsewhere. Mentally, Gabriel made a note that the explosion could also render one unconscious in close proximity.
Curses! Damn bloody agents of... whatever! Must they look so human? And young? There should be a law against employing children in magical services. Then he remembered he was probably just as young.
Anyway. He found himself descending as fast as he could to get the falling girl. Curse his kind nature! Actually it was probably more of his fear of death, especially other's death. Death, whosoever death only reminded him of the impending death in his hand. He did not appreciate the reminder.
Gabriel had drawn level with the girl, made a grab on her gloved hand, the one with the yellow, triangular chip on it. Then he forced his staff to slow down.
The grip slipped. Slightly. Then the girl slipped out of her glove to continue her descend downwards. The rooftops was approaching fast.
Gabriel fumbled with the glove, then threw it into the air. Hurrying downwards again and made a grab at her wrist. Such a delicate wrist. For a while, he feared that it would break when he forced his staff to come to another stop.
Safe. He held on to the unconscious girl by her wrist, straining to maintain his grip. The smoke was already slowly dissipating to the wind. Never mind, his home was just around the corner. Well, he would slowly descend and let the girl down on another rooftop far from his apartment before-
“Fate-chan!”
Damn! There were more of them. There would soon be enough visibility for them to see him. Not enough time to hide else where and put the girl at a safe place.
Gabriel looked towards the window into his apartment. Perhaps he should consider the risk. His apartment was after all, shielded against magical detection, some of them wards personally placed by Professor Dante.
“Feeeeeiitttooo-chan!”
The smoke was clearing fast. He could already make out, one, no, two shady figures in the smoke. Another girl in a dress with a staff of her own. The other a slightly taller boy figure.
If he could see them, it would not take long for them to see him.
With a sign, he swung the girl- she called herself Fate, right? -onto his back and made a dash into his windows. The smoke did not bother him, he knew the place where he had grew up like the back of his palm.
Bending down lower than usual to accommodate the extra weight on his back, he entered his room. Quickly, he placed the girl down on his bed. Then he went on to shut the windows and pulled the curtains. Silently, he peeked through it. The smoke had cleared, leaving two fancifully dressed characters hovering outside, shouting for 'Fate-chan'.
They kept at it for a while before they flew off, looking elsewhere. Satisfied, Gabriel turned away from the window cautiously to face the unconscious girl on his bed.
He left himself down on the floor, exhausted from all the magic of the night. Panting. Slowing letting the laughter of relief creep onto him. He had survived! He was not dead! Only a section of a building in the city had been destroyed but no dead! He was one step closer to completing the stone for her, to save her!
He had survived. With the prize. At least- he petted a bulky part of his robe, where he had placed the box -he gotten something today. Everything, the fight and the career switch to kidnapper would not be for naught.
When he finally calmed down, enough for him to start the mandatory checks on the security and shielding wards, one thought came to him. What was he going to do now? Especially if he had a hostage.
Deal with their wounds for one. Her blood was already staining his bedsheets. Taking up his staff again, he placed the knob at the tip on the girl's chest. It was moving up and down lightly with her breath, still alive at least.
“Planta of vita , commodo thy vires ut resarcio viscus , vigoratus!”
The staff glowed lightly with channeling the spell into the body; the wounds, the nasty cuts and bruises slowly closed up and faded from her body as if they were never there. With that done, he turned his attention towards himself, preparing for the strange feeling of magically accelerated healing. He could check his booty later.
Regardless, his guts told him, everything was so going to get very messy now.
