Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Fan Fiction ❯ Movements ❯ 08 - End Game ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: KC Komicer This marks the official end of 'Movements'. Read on to enjoy a short epilogue (that might end up as a story by itself, you never know) and my writing notes.
A chill descended upon them as the air froze, forming rows and rows of icicles suspended in midair by magic before them. Each one of their sharp, cold tips pointing towards them. Professor Dante smiled broadly, delightfully. Then with a flick of her finger, the icicles rained on her targets.
Almost immediately, almost together, Fate and Gabriel did a double-turn and casted their respective spells against the cold ice barrage.
“Sagita Magica Septendecim Sagittae Fulguralis!”
“Photon Lancer!”
The multiple electric-based magic projectiles sped towards the icy spears, smashing them into a cloud of ice shavings that scattered like snow around them.
In the midst of the attack, Dante had already stepped back with the cane in her hand, slamming into the ground. The streaks of magical lightning coursed from the cane, spreading across the floor and raising the ground they stood on.
Just before the ground destabilized them, they took a quick glance at each other and their eyes met. Then they both agreed on something: That while they were definitely not allies and would not hesitate to fight each other; they would have a temporary truce until one of them acquired the Philosopher's Stone from Dante.
Fate leapt off the rising ground just as Gabriel took to his staff; getting out of the way fast enough to see the next stage of the old woman's alchemic attack.
The ground continued to tremble as it rose and took shape. The groans of the splitting floor took on a serpentine roar as the features of the rising form took shape. The giant snake of concrete snarled furiously, spitting bits of debris onto the floor as it turned to face the children. Then with a roar, it reared its ugly head and dived towards them, scattering even more debris around them.
Bardiche's barrel spun as it slammed its cartridges into itself, providing the instant magical boost to its attacks. As it released the hissing steam of expended magic, the head moved upward with a grounding sound into its scythe form.
'Scythe Form.' the electronic voice announced. Instantly, a burst of magical energy spurted forth from Bardiche, forming itself into the shape of an electrical blade.
'For Mother,' Fate silently thought to herself as she gripped Bardiche with both her arms and leapt-started her flight into the air to avoid the alchemic serpent's crash. Flying along the body of the twisting snake, avoiding the jerks and spasms, she dragged Bardiche's blade through the concrete, cutting it up as she flew towards Dante and the Philosopher's Stone, trailing sparks of electricity behind her flight path.
A slicking sound as a couple of poker cards sliced through the air and embedded itself into the concrete body of the serpent. Fate turned to avoid that area, summoning the electrical balls of magic around her for an attack on Dante. Behind her, she could hear the explosion of the cards rip the snake apart. Having been blown up into half, the rest of the snake crumbled back to the ground with a tremendous roar.
Dante had clapped again, swiping her hand over the air. The sudden chilling of the air as all heat was removed through alchemic reactions within. A wave of dark arrows hit the growing ice from her flank, shattering up the icy shield. Then Gabriel came swooping down, his hand outstretched to snatch the stone from the Professor's hand.
Before he could close in on Dante, the Professor did a flourish in the air with her hand and the ice formed at the side, growing longer, thicker into another serpent of ice. With a chilly roar, the serpent soared into the air and came diving down towards where Gabriel was attacking from. Gabriel could only swerve in time to avoid the tons of ice from crashing into him.
“Plasma Lancer!”
Fate sped forward, mentally guiding her magical attacks towards Dante. As expected, the barrier of ice formed in their direction to hold the attack. That would not work this time.
Her magical balls of electric shifted their directions, flying along the ever-growing icy barrier, looking for a point of weakness to penetrate. She herself closed in on the barrier and held Bardiche high above her head, ready to bring the energy blade down into the ice.
A roar from above attracted her attention. She looked up to see the gapping mouth of a crashing ice serpent coming towards her. Diverting her lightning balls towards the snake, she brought her scythe down in a arch, smashing through the ice. Shattered ice scattered all over the room as Fate accelerated towards Dante.
Dante backed away, thrusting her free hand forward. An 'fwoosh' sound as the air pressure suddenly changed according to Dante's becking. Fate quickly flew upwards, just in time to avoid the blast of air from below. Then she dived down, thrusting Bardiche's end forward to knock the Philosopher's Stone out of the woman's hand.
More sounds emitted from below as Dante's staff twisted in shape, turning longer, sharper and harder. With a swift movement, Dante used the newly formed cane sword to parry Fate's attack. Pushing Fate back, she unleashed another fury of icicle shards onto the young mage.
'Defenser'
The auto-guard program for Bardiche activated immediately to hold the damage from the attack. The wave continued unabated. Gritting her teeth to maintain the active defence, Fate raised her palm forward. The yellow magical circle formed before it, signaling that Thunder Smasher was ready for casting.
Gabriel landed with a thud beside them, having used Dante's momental distraction to fly over the wall of ice. Jabbing his wand forward, shouting off the necessary enchantments, he fired off another round of dark arrows point-blank towards Dante. Dante swung the sword upwards in the direction of the arrows, neutralizing each and every single one of them heading in her direction.
“Thunder Smasher!”
Taking the chance, Fate blasted the spell towards the ground where the old woman stood. The impact blew the woman off the feet, throwing her into the air before a wave of air brought her descend into control. Gabriel pounced immediately, casting his spells on his professor, aiming specifically for the hand holding on to the Philosopher's Stone.
His cast was held off by a swift retaliation from the Professor, casting a deflection spell before her. Not to be left out, Fate flew forward, attacking with furious swipes of Bardiche. Neither of the young attackers gave the Professor any chance to perform any more alchemy, continuously pressing on her with their attacks. Every parry was met with another attack from the other side, then another. Then another. And another.
The fighting trio moved, the young fighters never letting the pressure die off, always pressing forward, forcing Dante into a corner. Despite the pressure from both flanks, the Professor showed no sign of slowing, defending herself with her single cane sword with ease and flair, keeping her hold on the coveted stone.
Gabriel swung his staff clumsily, having not been training in proper melee fighting before. However, his determination and grim resolve made up for it in the ferocity of his swings and his thrusts, supported by his liberal use of magical attacks at close range.
The boy wizard's shortcomings in close range combat were more than made up for with Fate's expertise in the field. She continued to apply the pressure on Dante with her scythe, slashing towards her target of the stone. As she maintained her waves of attack, turning, blocking, slashing, the thought of Lindy continued to spur her on against the growing strain of tiredness in her young body.
She must get the Philosopher's Stone from Dante.
She took another swing at Dante, only to be held off by the cane sword at Bardiche's staff, the tip of the energy blade stopping just centimetres away from her target. Fate was forced back again before she leapt forward with another attack. Using the opportunity to go back into the offensive, Dante stepped forward in Fate's direction, stabbing the cane sword towards her.
Gabriel flicked a card out from his long sleeves, holding it in his hand for a second, just enough for Fate to notice a small alchemic symbol at the corner start glowing. Then using the card, he slashed towards his Professor's hand.
The card cut through the hand like butter, spilling the Professor's blood across the floor and the assailant. By the time the blood-stained card completed the arch of Gabriel's wild slash, Dante had stopped her attack. Dropping the cane sword, she held up her injured hand with her free hand; her face twisted in agony and pain as the blood spurted out in gushes of red. There was only the index finger and the thumb left on her hand; the rest of her fingers scattered in units across the warehouse floor.
The crystalline red stone, released from the Professor's tight grip, sailed through the air unguided before landing on the floor with a final thud, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.
Another quick look between Fate and Gabriel. Then both of them lunged towards the unclaimed stone on the floor.
Whatever truce they had had, it was off.
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Get out! Get out!
Arisa's survival instinct screamed madly at her and her foolhardiness as Arisa and Suzuka helped Ms. Testarossa to her feet. The roar of the artificial serpents struck terror into her soul, drawing out her girlish repulsion towards those slimy creatures, weakening her will.
That must be why Fate and Nanoha always make sure they were never involved in their Bureau matters. They were always so close to danger, living on the edge of their lives. They never wanted their non-magical friends to experience the same terror.
The crashing sound of tons of ice cascading to the ground reinforced her fear for herself. Everything was too dangerous. It would be best to just get out while she still can. Get out while the old witch with her magic was occupied with fighting Fate and Gabriel.
What about her friends? Her conscience, the great defender of friendship questioned her. The reason why she even came to this city in the first place was to help her friends, Fate and Nanoha. Was she going to just make her getaway just like that?
Then what can she do? Her survival instinct questioned. She was only human. She could not even master that magic trick with the cards from her 'Magic for Beginners' book, let alone help them in their magical battle.
Fine ice showered upon them as Fate destroyed the icy serpent in the air with her explosions. Suzuka had gotten Ms. Testarossa's arm around her shoulders. They were ready to leave, now that they were helpless against the situation.
Arisa turned away from the fearsome sight, running over to Suzuka's side and together they dragged Ms. Testarossa out of the warehouse. Fate and Gabriel had started to engage the witch in melee combat, having penetrated her barrier of ice; they as a whirlwind of blurred action slowly drifting towards a corner of the emptying warehouse.
An unconscious body lying some distance away from them caught her eyes. Those azure locks of hair... Arisa broke away from Suzuka, ignoring all the protests from her survival instinct. She had to get Admiral Lindy out of the danger zone too. It was the least she could do to help.
“I'll be back!” Arisa shouted back to Suzuka and ran towards where Admiral Lindy laid. The lady was laying there, unmoving with an almost peaceful look on her face. The pool of blood was still growing around the body, dying the regal gown redder than before. Above all, the horrible piece of wood that pierced out of her womb like a stake, stained rusty-red from the drying blood on it.
Stop the blood!
No! There was nothing that she could use around her... she looked down to her own clothings. Won't that be- It was not time to be hesitating! Taking hold of the hemp of her dress, she tore a generous portion off it, roughly reducing the dress to a 'mini-skirt'. Then using the piece of cloth, she attempted to soak up the blood as she frantically tried to recall the first aid skills she had learnt in the past. Nothing useful seemed to be coming to her.
Pull the stake out? No, that would widen the wound, most likely making it worst. The fitful breathing was getting slower, less often. CPR? No, that was for drowning or heart attacks, she think. It would not help stop the life-draining flow of blood. Move the body? It might make the wound worse. Arisa started to fumble helplessly with the cloth that used to be part of her dress.
Once again, she was useless.
A shout of pain, followed by the clang of dropping sword punctured the steady clash of weapons. Arisa looked up from Admiral Lindy to see the old woman clutching her bleeding, fingerless hand in pain. She stumbled back, falling on the ground as she stared blankly at her missing units. The Philosopher's Stone that everyone wanted, the red, diamond-like stone had been flung from the momentum through the air, landing on the ground.
There was a brief pause from the battle before both the young fighters lunged towards the stone, their hands outstretched to grab it before the other one did.
Gabriel's staff propelled him forward at a faster speed as he got ahead, closing his hands around the stone. A painful thrust from the back end of Fate's scythe knocked him off his balance, sending him skidding across the floor. His hands loosened in surprise and pain, allowing the force of the blow to knock the stone off.
The stone traveled up into the air, then falling directly into the waiting hands of Fate. Fate closed her hands around the stone, just in time for the strong surge of wind to sweep her off her legs and the stone off her hands. Gabriel zoomed past her, grabbing the stone before it landed. As he rose into the air, he turned back for a moment and pointed his wand downwards.
“Sagita Magica Septendecim Sagittae Obscuri!”
The dark, murky spurts of shadows burst from the tip of his wand, all of them heading directly towards Fate. The boy did not even looked back as his magic connected, releasing clouds of billowing dust from the ground upon impact. He continued heading up, then turning towards the exit of the warehouse.
The dust cleared, revealing Fate unharmed under her magical shield. The shield was dispelled and Fate was on Gabriel's tail again. As she drew her scythe back, there was the calm electronic announcement of 'Arc Saber'. Then she hurled the energy blade like a boomerang across the air towards Gabriel.
Gabriel swerved in the air to avoid the spinning blade. Fate was already up into the air, catching the returning blade expertly and swinging it towards the boy. He dodged the attack, drawing his wand back and jabbing it forward for another spell.
“Practe Bigi Nar Ardescat!”
A tiny spark of flames burst to life just before his wand. It flared once. Then it blew up, knocking both parties off their flight paths with its throwback. Gabriel turned in the air for a moment before flying up towards the roof. Fate quickly regained control of her fall, having managed to protect herself from most of the fiery blast with her cape. She then followed closely behind, determined to stop Gabriel's escape.
Both flew upwards, diving and turning among the aerial beams above, dodging and deflecting each other's attacks, leaving trails of magical streaks behind them. The building's structure groaned with each misguided impact on it.
Arisa turned her attention back to Admiral Lindy. The blood was flowing nonstop, even soaking into her socks and shoes. What can she do? What can she do?
“Arisa!” Ms. Testarossa's voice rang out.
Arisa looked up from Lindy's body to see Ms. Testarossa running towards her anxiously. Upon reaching the girl, she knelt down and hugged her tightly.
“What's taking you so long?” she said softly, “We were so worried about you...”
Her voice trailed off as she finally took notice off the bloodied body beside Arisa. The lady released her and took a grim, closer look at Admiral Lindy, lifting her limp hand slightly to feel for a pulse.
“Apply pressure on the bleeding area,” she ordered, “Do not touch that piece of wood; do not even try to remove it.”
Grateful for the instructions, Arisa nodded, performing the instructed task immediately. Ms. Testarossa checked Lindy's breathing. Satisfied, she picked up a piece of nearby debris to prop Lindy's head up.
“I did not spend years in the hospital for nothing,” she answered when Arisa gave her a brief questioning look. She then stood up, looking up at the battle with a mixture of sadness and anger.
Fate and Gabriel continued to exchange blows and magic with each other from above, neither of them gaining an advantage over each other.
There was a clap. Arisa looked to see the old woman bring her injured palm to the floor. Magical streaks jumped from her hand, electrifying the ground as the ground crumbled. The concrete slabs and metal bits seemed to melt into each other, sharpening and reshaping itself, surrounding and reinforcing her arm and forming an armor of sort. When she stumbled back to her feet, the old woman flexed her newly acquired metal claws with an bitter grimace. The metal units creaked into position in accordance to her will.
She then turned her head towards Lindy's body. An annoyed frown.
Ignoring Ms. Testarossa, she continued to turn towards Arisa, staring at her for a moment. Then she smirked in satisfaction.
That brought chills down Arisa's spine, freezing her to her spot, unable to run or scream when the old woman started to run towards the young girl in large, heavy stomps, dragging the massive artificial claw behind her.
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'Zamber Mode'
Gabriel decided to risk a glance behind as he swerved over the beam. What he saw did not make him feel particularly hopeful. The head of her staff was realigning itself, splitting into a hilt. Then the electrifying yellow blade burst into presence.
Great. Just what he needed. A big bloody blade of energy that was bigger than its wielder.
Fate swung the gigantic sword towards him with surprising ease, cutting through all those metal support as though they were nothing. Gabriel turned, landing himself on another support beam away from her. The sword-wielding girl flew closer, blade ready for another slash.
He tightened his hold on the evil stone in his hand. No way was he going to give it up. No way could he ever turn back. He had given up his innocence, his conscience for it.
He will use it to save his mother. For now, nothing else matters.
And that girl coming towards him was yet another obstacle towards that.
Reaching into his cloak, he drew his cards. Allowing his fingers to brush against the alchemic circle he had drawn for each and every single card, Gabriel threw them towards Fate. The multiple cards started the alchemic transformation in mid air, becoming harder and sharper as they spun towards Fate.
Fate swung the sword at the cards, deflecting them away from her. She continued speeding towards him with the cold, determined look on her face, bating not an eyelid as the deflected cards exploded beside her.
Gabriel threw another set of cards. And another set. Every set he threw was deflected by Fate, until she got too close. She was before him, unharmed by his attacks and swinging her gigantic sword at him.
Gabriel took a step back, jumping backwards off where he stood just in time to avoid the slash. As his fall was broken by his staff, he drew an entire deck of cards and threw them upwards into the sky. The cards scattered into the air. As they fluttered down in descend like snowflakes around the surprised girl, the alchemic circles glowed briefly.
Then they all exploded.
“The two of you! Stop fighting now!”
Gabriel jerked his head towards the voice. Mother stood below, cupping her mouth and shouting angrily towards the both of them.
That was it. He will grab her and make a run for it. Then he could perform the healing ceremony.
Turning his staff, Gabriel sped towards Mother. He reached his arm out to catch her as he came closer.
Stomping. A savage swing hit him from the side, knocking him into the wall. The stone fell from his hand, rolling onto the ground. Red clouded his vision as the pain from his back spread across his body.
Dante scooped up the stone, never slowing down in pace in her strides towards the auburn-haired girl beside the bleeding body.
He could barely hear his mother scream at the sudden attack on him. Mumbling the healing spell, he lifted his injured head up just to see Professor Dante knock Mother aside, pushing her off her feet and into a pillar.
“Mother!”
He scrambled back to his feet, scrambling towards his mother's side, gaining speed as his body began to heal magically.
Mother tilted her head slightly towards him and smiled faintly. Then she frowned.
“Now you stop all that fighting! You have caused enough harm...”
There was a scream from behind. Gabriel ignored everything, feverishly casting the healing spell on his mother to heal her physical injuries. The loss of the Philosopher's stone and the possibility of Fate coming from behind had been temporarily casted to the back of his mind.
As she regained her strength, Mother's facial expression changed from anger to horror. She then pushed Gabriel away from her, rising up and ran towards Professor Dante.
Dante's new claws were wrapped around the girl's body, lifting her up in the air for Dante to inspect. Her eyes widened in surprise, and glee. Another sadistic grin came to her as the Professor licked her lips, unaffected by the girl's struggles and cussing.
Mother rammed her own body against Dante in a bid to free the girl. The Professor did not even bulge. Instantly, a wall of concrete rose from the ground, separating her from the woman.
“Mother!”
Gabriel rose, having fully healed and sped towards his reeling mother, landing at her side. Mother grabbed him by his collar and held tightly, breathing heavily and coughing hoarsely.
“Save Arisa,” she said angrily, “You caused this mess, stop it now!.” She then released the boy, grabbing a piece of wreckage and swinging it at Dante.
The Professor casually swatted her aside, never leaving her eyes off the captive girl.
Gabriel flew ahead, grabbing Mother before she hit ground. She coughed painfully, still struggling to get back to her feet and having yet another go at Professor Dante. Taking care to lay her down gently, he turned towards his Professor. She had been so concerned, so grandmotherly, offering so much guidance in the past. All those... were only to use him as a pawn for her own ends?
That he did not mind. But to use up his last chance of saving Mother. But to hit Mother...
If he was to save Mother, the stone must be his. If that meant defeating Dante, so be it.
“Mother, go now!” he hissed as he raised his wand, firing off a blast of lightning, destroying the concrete barrier.
“Not until Arisa is safe and you, stop all these nonsense!” Mother used her make-shift bat to support herself as she coughed.
“Fine! I'll save her, okay?” Gabriel replied to his foolhardy mother in frustration, “Just stay here.” Then grabbing his staff, he sped towards his target.
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Arisa kicked at the metal arm furiously, cussing in words that she had no idea the meaning of but had heard before when the monster knocked Ms. Testarossa away. Her mind was going into a frantic overdrive as fear and panic started to sweep across her.
The grip tightened slightly, just enough to keep her still but not enough to hurt.
The old woman tilted her head in interest as though she was studying a fascinating new specimen.
“I had chosen you, since I am in an even more urgent need of a new body now and that you are the only suitable candidate at the very moment” she said slowly and deliberately, casting a disappointed eye at Admiral Lindy's dying body before peering back at the frightened Arisa with curiosity, “But you possess a most interesting magical aura... this could do me real good...”
What magical aura? What is going on now? Arisa slammed her fist into the arm in another futile attempt to make the old hag let go.
The monster lifted the clear red stone in her other, normal hand with satisfaction. Without warning, the floor trembled as symbols started to form in depressions on the ground.
A single streak of dark matter knocked the stone off her hand onto the ground. She turned her head to where the shot came from, just in time to see Gabriel sped forward, seizing the stone from the ground. Then he circled, flying back towards the old woman.
There was a crash, as Fate came swooping down from above, her outfit somewhat charred and tattered from all the explosions but otherwise physically unharmed, bringing her gigantic sword down on the ground before Gabriel's path. Gabriel swerved wildly to avoid the blade, turning away from her blond friend. Fate then swung it towards Arisa's captor, slicing through all the slabs of ice that had formed around the old woman.
There was a fleeting moment of fear in the old woman's maniacal eyes, then she pushed Arisa into the path of the sword. Arisa watched helplessly as the blade came down in an arch towards her, cringing in fearful anticipation of the inevitable.
The blade stopped just in time as Fate pulled back, glaring at the old woman in anger. The balls of electricity started to gather around her, filling the air with the buzzing of electricity.
Gabriel came from behind, knocking Fate roughly aside and continuing his path towards Arisa. He turned and twisted, avoiding the incoming stakes of icicles, swinging upwards and slammed his palm onto the metal claw that had held Arisa so tightly.
Arisa noticed the pendent on his bracelet glowed briefly, then the air seemed to become more concentrated and thicker around. A crushing sound as a dent appeared on the metallic arm, then more started to form around it.
Gabriel smiled in satisfaction as the air pressure started to crush the arm, weakening its grip on Arisa. As he leapt off the arm to avoid the blast of ice, the grip around Arisa loosened enough for her to slip through the claws.
She fell into Gabriel's waiting arms and before she knew it, Gabriel was speeding just above the ground, straining to carry Arisa to the safety of Ms. Testarossa.
As she tightened her hug on him to avoid falling, Arisa could see Fate returned to her feet, engaging the old woman in combat. The old woman, despite the weight of her damaged metal arm jumped acrobatically to dodge Fate's magical attack, returning the fire with many of her own projectiles.
At the mean time, the ground cracked along the path of Gabriel's flight and long, thick spikes burst out of them, threatening to impale both of them. Gabriel swerved to avoid the rows of spikes, leaning downwards for more speed. Out-flying the spikes, he came to a stop before Ms. Testarossa, putting Arisa down by her side.
“There! I've gotten the Philosopher's Stone! And I've rescued her!” he said to his mother, firing off a couple of magical arrows to destroy the incoming spikes, “Let's get out of here now! Then I can heal you!”
After Arisa finally caught her breath, her first reaction was to hit Gabriel as hard as she could.
“How could you do that to Fate!?” she cried as fear and sheer relief came rushing back into her.
Gabriel stared unbelievingly at her. Almost immediately, Arisa regretted hitting him. He was after all, the one who saved her... and a magical user compared to her. Technically, he wasn't the good guy either.
“What!? I- I saved you!” Gabriel clutched his cheek in hurt, “Even my father has never-
Arisa's blow was followed by one from Ms. Testarossa.
“Must you hurt Fate? Must you do all these?” the lady scolded her son, “You are the cause of all these. You go and help Fate defeat that murderer.”
“I did it to save you!” he answered bitterly, clutching the crystal, red Philosopher's Stone in his hand tightly, “I fought with them. I was hurt, thrown, kicked, punched, chased, all to get this. All to save you!” he looked to the ground, ignoring the fight between Fate and the monster behind him.
“I can come back later to help her,” he said, “After you are saved, after you are healed.”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at Ms. Testarossa in shock.
“No,” the lady repeated herself as she knelt down to hug her son, “Thank you. I'm really, really happy that you did this for me. Thank you, my son.”
She then pushed Gabriel away gently, “But this is wrong. I never taught you to steal, or to do anything illegal or wrong. And you know it.”
“But-
Ms. Testarossa's eyes suddenly widened in shock as she grabbed hold of her son and threw him aside.
For Arisa, time seemed to slow down as the horrible scene played out before her. With her actions, Ms. Testarossa exchanged positions with her son. The stake of icicle pierced through her body from the back, spurting blood out of the already frail body. Ms. Testarossa never screamed, just gasped in pain before she fell to the ground, never to get up again.
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“Mother!”
Gabriel threw himself to Mother's body, frantically feeling for any signs of life still in her. Arisa, the girl he had just rescued and ungratefully hit him in return knelt down, crying out his mother's name as tears streamed from her eyes.
There was still life, but it was weakening fast. There might just be enough time for him to do it.
Grabbing a card from his sleeves, he brought it to the ground, using its alchemically-reinforced edges to start drawing out the alchemic circle he had memorized and revised so many times in the past. He could just feel the power that the Philosopher's Stone could offer him. He could do it, once and for all.
A hand stopped him.
“No, son. Let it be,” Mother whispered weakly as she withdrew her trembling hand, “This is something that could come eventually anyway.”
She coughed again, then she sighed in relief.
“It would be a good release from my pain.”
Gabriel hesitated, before he brought the card back down on the ground. He can do it. He will save Mother-
Mother brought her hand onto his, using what little strength she had left to stop his actions again. She then shook her head weakly, too tired to speak. Taking one last deep breath, she spoke.
“Arisa,” she addressed the girl, raising her trembling hand to wipe off the tears from the girl's face, “You know I want a daughter. Would you mind being my god-daughter? I can make you the elder one.” She smiled weakly at her little joke.
Arisa nodded as she tried in vain to sniff back the mucus and wiped off the tears, putting up a brave front.
“Thank you. Now I have a wonderful daughter to help me take care of Gabriel. He is a good boy, really...” her voice was trailing off as she seemed to be looking ahead at something they could not see, “Gabriel... I will always be proud of you. Stay strong... and do the right thing always...”
“I will save you first!” Gabriel stared helplessly at the wound despite his bravado. It was not something magic can heal. But he had the Philosopher's Stone. He could use it.
“No. Let me go,” Mother gasped her last words, “Go and help Fate and her mother instead. This is my last wish...
With a sigh of satisfaction and relief, she exhaled one last time. Then with a light, gentle smile on her face, Mother closed her eyes with a peaceful expression and died.
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Fate swung Bardiche in Dante's direction as Dante leapt away and brought her hand and her claw to a clap. The aged woman separated her hands as magical streaks danced briefly on her fingers.
Fate could feel the chill of the forming ice around her as the very air chilled around her. Before the icy bits threatened to engulf and imprison her body, she soared away while magical balls of electrical energy gathered at her side for another attack.
Gabriel's scream of frustration echoed across the warehouse, followed by the loud sobbing of Arisa.
Taking a quick glance to the side, she noticed the scene.
Arisa was hunched over Ms. Testarossa's limp body, crying loudly in mourning. A melting stake of icicle not unlike Mother Lindy's wooden stake protruded from the lady's body. Gabriel simply stared blankly at his mother, the Philosopher's Stone rolling out of his loosened grip due to the shock. A single drop of tear streamed from his eyes to the ground as he bit into his lips in anger and helplessness, drawing a tiny flow of blood from it.
The significance of the scene hit Fate.
Ms. Testarossa was dead.
The Precious Testarossa of Dimension Terra had died, just like her Precia Testarossa, her mother.
And she could not do anything about it.
She paused too long for Dante's frost to catch up. The cold ice burned her skin as they formed quickly around her limbs, incapacitating her movements. Fate fell to the ground clumsily, losing her hold on Bardiche's hilt. Separated from her, Barchide returned back to its Harken form.
Dante towered over her fallen form, gazing at her with her greedy, desirous eyes. She took a lustful survey of Fate, even bending down to feel Fate's skin and hair.
“In ten years or so, you would be perfect,” the Professor mused pensively as she got up, “Perhaps I should hold you for now...”
This must be how Mother Lindy had felt previously. Fate squirmed unsuccessfully against Dante's touch. She had to get herself free, get the Philosopher's Stone to save Lindy.
She could not let another of her mother die before her again.
Dante jerked reactively towards Gabriel's direction, forming her shield of ice just fast enough to hold against the multiple dark arrows coming towards her.
Gabriel had stood up, holding his wand with one hand and the Philosopher's Stone on the other. His wand was directed towards Dante, trembling in its wielder's anger. He stepped forward heavily, not looking up. Without a word, he pointed the wand at his Professor, his mouth moved silently to form the enchantment, “Tel. Ma. Amoris.”
His staff left aside, trembled before it flew towards the ice shield at an incredible speed, smashing the cold barrier with the knob at its end upon impact.
He took another step forward. The pendent at his wrist glowed as Fate felt the air around her became more concentrated. A single spark of fire burst to life at the tip of Gabriel's wand, transferring the heat from it to the air around her. Her icy restraints were starting to melt.
Dante brought her hands together and the ground trembled as the dragon of earth rose from it, roaring as it came to life. With a swift movement of his hand, Gabriel threw his cards at the dragon before it had time to fully emerge. The cards embedded itself on the head and exploded, scattering the debris around them in fine particles.
Her restraints were weak enough for her to break loose. Fate brought her ice-encased hands to the ground, smashing up the ice. Dragging herself towards where Bardiche was and taking it up with her still shivering hands, she brought the end of her intelligent device to her feet to smash the ice around it.
Something caught her eye from the side. Raising Heart was lying just across the floor. Scrambling to her feet, she made a grab for Nanoha's intelligent device.
The ground around Dante started to freeze, coating the floor with its slippery ice. Stalagmites of crystal-clear ice burst from the ground, surrounding her with a shield of spikes. Even more of the cold spikes punched out of the ice-covered floor randomly across the room, forcing Gabriel to dive and slide away from the attacks.
Raising Heart's orb gleamed in acknowledgment of Fate when she took hold of the staff and rolled away to avoid the rising icy spikes. The circular head of the intelligent device realigned itself to form the spear-head. The gears within Bardiche cranked and shifted as Bardiche switched to its Scythe form, the blazing scythe blade flaring to life.
The air began to heat up as Gabriel's pendent glowed brightly in response to Dante's freeze. The ice around them were starting to melt fast, causing the ground to become even more slippery. Without a word, Gabriel fired off another round of magical arrows. As the projectiles of dark matter punched through the melting shield of ice easily, Dante raised her metallic claw to defend herself, allowing the arrows to damage her artificial arm.
Dante then clapped her hands, bringing them to the ground. Instantaneously, the ground below the combatants started to rise, lifting all of them up into the air. Then like a tidal wave, the ground around them rose higher up, walling them in, closing in on them, threatening to bury them alive.
Fate pounced forward, thrusting Raising Heart like a spear towards Dante. The Professor turned quickly, using her metallic arm to parry the attack. The ground movement stopped with the Professor distracted. The surrounding air was starting to feel increasingly warm as the pool of water from the melting ice gathered at their feet.
The surrounding air gravitated between heat and cold through the alchemic manipulation of both Dante and Gabriel as both alchemists continuously altered the surroundings to gain an advantage over the other. Fate continued to attack, wielding both Bardiche and Raising Heart to push Dante back, occasionally firing off a Thunder Smasher or even Divine Buster, punching holes through the wall that had came to surround and cut them off from the outside.
With a violent cry, Dante clapped her hands and thrust her artificial arm forward. Before they knew it, the arm split into two, extending forward at a fast speed. Each one of them grabbed a surprised child, wrapping itself tightly around them, immobilizing them.
The arms continued to push ahead, pressing the children against the wall. The grip around them tightened, crushing the breath out of them, forcing them to drop their weapons in pain, including the Philosopher's Stone from Gabriel's hand. Without releasing any pressure from her grip, the claw that held them steadfast to the wall then separated from her main arm like viscous liquid, sealing them to the wall.
Fate watched Dante as the villain smiled in sinister satisfaction at the sight of the red stone. She walked forward leisurely towards Gabriel. The ground below the Philosopher's Stone rose like a mini pedestal, lifting the stone to Dante's height.
“You killed her!” Gabriel spat in fury, struggling against the hold of the metal claw, “You monster! To think I trusted you!”
“In my defense, I was not aiming at her,” the Professor took the stone without even looking at her student, checking it for any damage done. Satisfied with its condition, she turned back to Gabriel and smirked, “I was aiming at you for damaging my body. You were such a good student; I had such high hopes for you... You could have been such a good alchemist, better than Edward even. Too bad really. Too bad...”
“And you!” she turned towards Fate, ignoring Gabriel's angry curses at her back, “I am getting tired of this unsightly automail. Since I cannot get that beautiful officer, she been dying and all, I shall take you instead.”
She stroked Fate's cheek in perverse delight, “It will be fun to enjoy another childhood again. I will be most disappointed when it would be time to change again. That friend of yours outside would do perfectly by then.”
“They will be able to tell,” Fate answered as calmly as she could, clamping down on all the fear in her, “You can take my body and my friends will be able to tell. They will catch you for Mother Lindy's and my sake.”
“Not when no one knew,” Dante replied, pointing towards the walls around them, “Only my poor student will see it and he will soon be an ex.”
“They can tell. You'll see.”
Dante stared at the girl before she grinned, revealing her yellowing, rotting teeth. There was the stench of death around her.
“So we'll see,” she leered confidently.
Suddenly there was a crash from directly above, followed by the falling shards of glass. There was a loud “Ook!” as the mass of orange fur and muscles fell through the roof window and landed with a heavy thud on the Professor.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Dante flung the orangutan aside, using her free hand to form a cage of concrete where the ape had landed.
The ape leapt agilely away before the cage was fully formed. It then charged towards Dante with a ferocious bellow, smashing through the rising slabs of ice shield towards the Professor.
As the orangutan closed in upon the Professor, raising its fist to a direct punch, Dante brought her hands to another clap, shouting at the same time.
“Monkeys should stay where monkeys should be!”
The orangutan stopped in its track, staring dubiously at the Professor. Its shoulders seemed to sag in defeat and despair as it turned away slowly, taking a couple of heavy, thoughtful steps away.
“Is this depressed monkey the best you can throw at me now?” Dante laughed, believing that she had found a simple weakness to the new enemy, “Monkey! You hear that? Monkey!”
The orangutan turned back and nodded sagely. It had heard it alright.
Then it grinned broadly, cracking its knuckles as it reared to its full height. And it did not like what it heard.
The orangutan charged again, faster, more fearsome. Climbing over the debris without any loss of speed, with an angry “Ook!”, it brought its fist down heavily onto Dante's metal arm, breaking it apart with the sheer force of its punch.
The faint whistling sound of a gathering breeze caught Fate's ears. Turning towards Gabriel, she could see the tell-tale sign of his glowing pendent. The wind currents from below blew their weapons upwards, into their waiting hands.
Fate felt the sturdy grip of Bardiche in her hand. Concentrating on the spell, she turned her palm towards her bind and fired off a Thunder Smasher on it. It broke easily, releasing her from the hold.
At the side, mini explosions could be heard. Then Gabriel emerged from the dust, bitter and vengeful.
The orangutan continued its fury of attacks upon Dante, punching and scratching the aged villain, keeping her down and distracted. There was little time for her to react; using what was left of her metal arm to shield her from the powerful punches.
Gabriel dashed forward, the winds growing ever stronger below them, lifting everyone upwards. Fate took flight, the wind whipping her cape from behind as she hovered upwards, the electrical sparks trailing her from behind through the roof into the sky outside. Gabriel followed behind, allowing the wind to carry him up before his staff returned to his side. With a fast movement, he grabbed his staff and sat himself on it, circling the air quickly, his pendent glowing brighter.
The orangutan gave the villain one last punch into the arm, then it threw Dante into the air. The swirling wind immediately took hold of the body, sweeping it up into the green-tinted sky above.
Fate closed her eyes, concentrating on the spell she had in mind. As she murmured the incantation, 'Arcus Cultus Aegeas', the yellow magical circle started to expand below her.
'Photon Lancer Phalanx Shift', Bardiche announced as the air started to electrify. Multiple magical circles were materializing around them, flashing in and out of sight as more and more formed, each one creating a ball of energy for the attack, electrifying the surrounding air.
As Dante fell from her position, four magical circles flashed briefly around her as magical binds formed around her limbs, holding the villain in place.
Dante stirred from her position, flexing her arm from the bind. Then she looked up towards Gabriel, circling the air like a vulture; towards Fate, the magical orbs of electrical magic surrounding her like fairy light and buzzing in overflowing volts. The young mage's cape billowed behind her in the wind as the magic concentrated around her, ready for firing.
“What a pity,” Dante said without any tinge of regret in her voice, “You would have made a wonderful body.”
Fate opened her eyes, raised her hand up to gather all the magical balls around her. “Photon Lancer Phalanx Shift,” she gave the command as she brought her hand down towards the binded Dante, “Fire!”
Every single orbs of electricity around her blitzed towards their target. Hundreds, thousands of them exploded into a thunderous crackle of electrical energy upon impact, drowning off any other possible sounds.
Above them, Gabriel had stopped his circle, instead swooping down towards the warehouse. He had noticed something Fate had failed to see. Fate watched the Philosopher's Stone fell towards the ground from where Dante was.
Gabriel sped downwards, his hand outstretched as he closed his fingers around the stone. Then he turned around, removing a single card from his cloak and threw it upwards.
Sensing danger, Fate quickly flew downwards, trying to catch up with Gabriel's fall.
The single card flew upwards as it started to glow. Then it blew up in a release of heat.
The air around Dante flared orange as the heat spread. Then it started to burn brightly, fiercely in the abundance of flammable gases in the air. Wildfire swept across the sky, consuming everything above them, burning everything to ashes. The fire in the mid-air brought an orange hue to all within the force shield.
Nothing could have survived the blast.
Ashes and bits of flaming debris rained into the warehouse like miniature meteorites as Gabriel and Fate landed on the ground. Already, parts of the ruined warehouse were starting to catch fire from the burning sky.
Gabriel looked at Fate for a while and then threw the Philosopher's Stone to the ground before her in disgust. He never looked back up, walking blankly towards where Ms. Testarossa's body laid. The orangutan and Arisa stood silently beside the body, mourning her passing. Arisa had placed his mother's hand across her stomach, covering up the gaping wound. There the boy fell to his knees, spent and defeated. Then he stayed in the position, staring blankly at his dead mother, oblivious to Arisa's consoling arms around his shoulders.
Picking up the stone, Fate ran towards where Mother Lindy laid and felt hurriedly for a pulse. It was still there, but it was getting very weak. It was sheer luck that the body had been protected from all the crossfire near it. Perhaps it was part of Lindy's will to survive that kept her alive for so long, despite the wound. However, it would not last much longer.
She had the stone; she could heal her, save Mother.
...
How?
She did not know alchemy. Fate tried putting the blood-red stone on Lindy's body. Nothing happened. She tried clapping her hands together, then placing her palms near the wound.
There was nothing.
She tried again, hoping against hope that something magical will happen. Perhaps Lindy would open her eyes again and smile. Perhaps the wound will magically closed by itself. Nothing happened.
The stone was useless.
She could not do anything about it. Another of her mother will die again before her.
She had failed.
Fate took the stone and almost flung it away in frustration. Then she looked towards the other end of the room where the rest had sat quietly beside Ms. Testarossa's body in mourning. Part of her felt that she should be with them, but only after her mother had been saved. Something in her frantic mind clicked.
Gabriel.
Gabriel knew alchemy. He knew healing magic. He could save Lindy.
She walked softly towards Gabriel, placing a hand on his slumped shoulders as she knelt down to his level beside him. Ms. Testarossa looked almost peaceful, as though she had only gone for a deep sleep.
“I'm sorry,” Fate whispered gently to Gabriel, “I did not know this will happen.”
“Just let me be,” he answered without looking back, his voice on the verge of breaking.
“I need your help. I need you to help me heal her using the Philosopher's Stone,” she pointed towards where Lindy laid.
“Not my problem.”
“Please, Gabriel. Help me save her. I- I cannot let someone else die again.”
Gabriel never replied, merely stared dumbly at his dead mother.
“Please,” Fate begged weakly, “You are the only one who can do so now.”
Silence.
“Please, sh- she is my mother. Please save her,” her vision was starting to blur from the flowing tears. He was her last and only hope now.
Gabriel turned his head slowly to face her, gazing at her. For a moment, sympathy and understanding seemed to flash across his look. Then without a word, he took the Philosopher's Stone from her hand, stood up and walked thoughtfully towards where Mother Lindy laid.
Fate followed his actions closely, holding her breath in hope.
As he approached the dying body, the pendent around his wrist started to glow. Wind swept away all the debris from around Lindy. Then an alchemic circle began to be punched out by air pressure around her. First the outline, then the symbols and lines within. When Gabriel reached the edge of the newly formed circle, he glumly threw the stone into the centre of the circle. The stone landed lightly on Lindy's body, inducing a slight wince of response from Lindy. Then he knelt down and touched the circle.
By the time Chrono and Yuuno burst into the room with Nanoha lying unconscious on Yuuno's back, a bright, warm glow from the alchemic circle filled the warehouse.
---------------------------------------------
It later became known as the Philosopher's Stone case and was considered a landmark case for the Bureau. What started out as a simple search and capture mission to retrieve stolen devices quickly escalated into a matter of life and death as Admiral Lindy Harlaown's assigned personnel was captured.
Due to the rash actions of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer, this mission had cost the lives of hundreds of our best troopers to subdue the cross-dimension criminal known as 'Dante'. However, due to the valiant actions of the young officer cadets and local collaborators, 'Dante' was probably killed in the final battle that resulted in the firestorm that burned over most of London for days before it was extinguished. Her body was never found.
After the incident, the Bureau had felt it prudent to work more closely with the local authorities towards a common goal and to protect its interest. Dialogues and high-level exchanges between the local magical communities and Bureau representatives had been organized and an official Bureau ambassador appointed for Dimension Terra. Relations between the dimension and the Bureau have never been better.
Official Bureau File on the Philosopher's Stone Case
---------------------------------------------
Fate walked up to the grave, dressed formally in black. As she knelt down, she placed the bouquet of lilies onto it. Engraved elegantly onto it was the name “Precious Testarossa”. A yellowing photograph, fading from its exposure to the elements had been taped to the grave.
Through the photograph, the late Ms. Testarossa smiled her eternal smile, consoling young Gabriel. It was a brief moment of family bliss captured in the single piece of aging photograph.
The grave was well tended to, the weeds trimmed and another fresh bouquet of flowers placed prominently before it. Someone had just visited the grave.
Behind her, her friends, Nanoha, Yuuno, Suzuka, even Hayate and her Belkan Knights approached, each one of them dressed in black and carrying a stalk of lily. Without a word, they solemnly placed the flowers beside Fate's flowers and bowed in respect towards the lady.
Then they filed out of the graveyard silently, each of them deep in thought.
“I wish I had met the lady personally before,” Hayate finally broke the silence as she walked unsteadily with them. Vita quickly held on to her master's hand, acting as her support.
“She was a good woman,” Yuuno said softly, “She lived her life to the fullest till the very end.”
“She had a liking for driving at extremely fast speed and a knack for it too,” Suzuka added quietly.
“She was beautiful, gentle and kind,” Nanoha said, “Always willing to help and sacrifice.”
“Ms. Testarossa was a wonderful person,” Fate ended, “She was survived by her son, Gabriel Testarossa and her god-daughter, Arisa Bannings. She would always be in our heart, inspiring us all.”
The group fell silent as they continued to walk down memory lane, recalling their respective encounters with the lady. As they strolled along the path, they finally came to a stop at a particular ice-cream parlor. It was where Ms. Testarossa had brought Suzuka and Arisa to snack at that time.
The gang took their seats overlooking the busy main street teeming with people moving on their daily lives. Most of them would never know what had happened at that time; most of them would never know the truth behind Ms. Testarossa's demise. It was something even few within the Bureau knew about.
Their order soon came and they began to talk again, the solemn pall of melancholy lifting from them and laughter soon returned. To think that everything had happened only one year ago. So many things had happened since then. All the injuries they had sustained during the many battles had healed. The damaged buildings had been repaired by the Bureau's expertise and then there were school and all the other missions. It was only on a summer break like this that they could return and look back on the events.
“The report did not say much about Gabriel's involvement, did it?” Hayate asked as she dug into her vanilla ice-cream.
“No,” Fate answered. After the events, Chrono pulled many strings behind the scene to remove all the official charges Gabriel will be facing. Most of the official telling of the case was pure fiction. The truth behind everything, about Ms. Testarossa's sacrifice lived only in those who were there and a few selected few...
“That is why we had to preserve this memory, to honor her.”
“So where is Gabriel now?”
They looked around them. There was one of them who was conspicuously missing. Arisa had honored Ms. Testarossa's last favor, taking Gabriel in under her care. Since Gabriel had also insisted on taking over Dante's role of spreading alchemy and learning more about it, they generally travel during the holidays to various magical schools around Terra from the list that Chrono had given them.
Suzuka added, “I think he is also teaching her some magic. The last time a boy teased her about her new 'brother', his books caught fire... ”
Judging from the maintained look of the grave, they must have arrived earlier than the rest of them. And they had most likely left too. Gabriel seldom talked to them if he could afford it. Arisa on her part, respected his decision although she never gave up trying to make him befriend the rest of the gang.
Could things have happened differently? What if Ms. Testarossa had survived the final battle with Dante? Perhaps. Just perhaps, Fate could have 'found' another mother. Perhaps Gabriel and she could be sworn siblings, maybe even getting along with each other.
“Fate-chan!”
It would have been only a futile dream. Investigations with the hospital had confirmed that Ms. Testarossa was probably at the last stage of her life by then. She would have died from her illness soon, that was why Gabriel was so desperate to get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone.
“Feeeiiitooo-chaaan!”
And he did, at the heavy cost of hundreds of Bureau troopers and his conscience. But even with the stone, he was unable to prevent the death of his mother.
It was sad, as though fate had rolled him a role in a comic tragedy.
“FEEEIITTOOO-CHAAN!”
“Ah,” Fate returned from her drifting thoughts to face Nanoha.
“Fate-chan, you are day-dreaming again,” her friend said as she pointed towards her left, “they had finally arrived.”
Chrono and Lindy were walking towards them, waving at them in welcome. As they approached, the observant shop owner brought out two more seats for his new customers. Their table was getting quite cramped with the new arrivals and the atmosphere, joyfully rowdy.
Gabriel's use of both alchemy and healing spells had worked wonders with Lindy's wound. When Lindy came to, there was not a single scar on her. According to the Bureau's medical staffs, subsequent checkups had found all of Lindy's scars, blemishes, maladies healed.
It was as though Gabriel had given her an entirely new body, free from all diseases of the past. With saving Lindy's life, the Philosopher's Stone had been used up. Not a single bit of the red crystal was left. For Gabriel's sacrifice, she was grateful.
Fate looked at her friends around her. Could it have ended better for everyone?
“Fate,” Lindy's soft, gentle voice called out to her, bringing her back to reality.
“Yes, Mother?”
“You're zoning out again,” her mother said as she rubbed the girl's head in warm gentleness, “You are thinking about it again.”
“Yes, Mother,” Fate admitted. It was hard putting the memory of Ms. Testarossa's sacrifice away. It was something so tragic, yet so brave of her.
“Precious Testarossa was a brave woman, a wonderful mother. I am sure wherever she has passed on to; she has done so without regrets. She will always be proud of her children,” Mother said, “and you, my dear daughter.”
“Do you think, when a time like that comes around... I will be able to do the same?” Fate asked quietly.
“Oh,” the lady gasped in surprise and then she started to laugh lightly, “I would think you are still too young for that at the moment.”
Fate started to feel her face burn with the coming of the blush. Embarrassed by the implication of her question, she sought to hide her feelings by poking the untouched ice-cream before her. Everyone else were talking merrily with each other, living the life they want the best they can before her.
“But...” Mother mused as she drew closer; placing her arms gently around Fate's shoulder and leaning the child on her own shoulder lovingly, “I am sure when the time comes. You will make the right choice and be a great mother.”
The embarrassed blush grew deeper as Fate nodded in her mother's warm hold, determined to fulfill her future. She carried in her, the name of the two greatest mothers she knew. She will not let her legacy down.
“Fate-chan! The ice-cream is delicious! You've really got to try it!” Nanoha's cheerful voice urged Fate.
With a nod towards her friends, in the presence of her friends and family, Fate T-Harlaown tucked in.
