RE: [IC][WIP][Arc 1] How I Managed to Quit Worrying and Love The Grief Seed
04-24-2020, 03:18 PM
04-24-2020, 03:18 PM
For some reason, Firefox glitched out on me while I was getting this ready.
Maybe this time I'll be able to get this thing posted.
Sorry for not having it ready sooner, even though I only had to do a few more little things to it. Depression and anxiety together is a real bitch.
Hope you guys enjoy this installment.
Chapter 3
The first order of business for the day was to get the girls all enrolled into school. So it was that after everyone had gotten fed, they all loaded up into the passenger van, now dubbed Athena by Ben.
It was a jolly affair, with Ben driving, Aeka riding shot-gun, and Sasami Nanoha, Fate, Alicia, Arf, Alisa, Suzuka, and Francesca scattered throughout the back. They all chattered like a flock of song birds, giddy and excited about the new possibilities going to a new school would provide. It put fond smiles on Benjamin’s and Aeka’s faces.
And then the entire world color-shifted into purple and green hues and all the other people and vehicles disappeared.
“EMERGENCY PROTOCOL!!!” cried out Bardiche and Raising Heart together as layers of pink and yellow barriers sprung up around the van while it sped down the highway. No one even had a chance to wonder why as a massive concussive blow struck the shields.
“WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!?” cried out Benjamin as his adrenaline spiked and he worked at keeping Athena going straight, then made a bee-line for Exit 13 to Bandera Road.
“PROTECTION STATUS: ALL GREEN!” called out Raising Heart.
“ENEMY DETECTED,” stated Bardiche. “IT IS WOLKENRITTER. RECOMMEND STEALTH AND EVASION.”
“The Wolkenritter!?” cried out Alisa as Nanoha and Fate both changed into their barrier jackets. “But I thought they were supposed to be our friends!”
Ben reached up and opened one of the storage compartments in ceiling console, revealing a pair of buttons - one blue and the other green.
He pushed the blue one. It flashed three times, then remained lit.
“Storming field is up!” called out Ben. “I don’t know if that will keep us safe from Shamal.”
“What do we do, though?” said Aeka.
“We try to get away,” said Ben tersely, “but we also defend ourselves. You might want to change into your battle armor, Aeka.”
“Of course!” replied the Princess as she touched her ring, and suddenly her outfit transformed into her combat dress.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” said Ben as he hooked the easy right-turn onto Bandera Road at speed. “We don’t know for sure who they’re after. But if they attack again, we’ll abandon the van and then scatter. Nanoha, Fate, I want you two to get Alicia back to the apartments and into Washu’s Lab as soon as possible. Then get back over here so we can beat some sense into those four. Fran, Alisa, Suzuka, Sasami, I want you all in one group together. Find a place to hide and stay hidden. Aeka, Arf, you two run interference if you can. Especially be on the lookout for Shamal. Blond hair, green eyes - can’t miss her. Rocks out the gentle onee-san look almost as good as Belldandy does. She’s their command and communications specialist as well as their rear echelon support. Bother her and you’ll impair the rest of the Wolkenritter.”
“What about you?” said Nanoha.
“I’m gonna act as a decoy and keep driving,” said Ben, braking to take the right turn onto Timco West, and then slaloming through the s-curves. “If they’re busy chasing me, then they aren’t following you, and Alicia is probably the most vulnerable out of any of us right now.”
“But you’ll get hurt!” cried out Fate in alarm.
“If I get hurt, I can get better. If Alicia gets hurt, it might kill her. And trust me, I’m a tough bastard. If they want to hurt me, they’re gonna have to work for it. And I’ll make damn sure they know it, too.”
Nanoha and Fate said nothing as Ben braked once more to make a right turn onto Callaghan Road, then floored it.
“You’re a courageous fool, Benjamin Rhodes,” said Aeka just loud enough for Ben to hear her.
“Is there any better?”
Aeka laughed despite her concern. “Touche, Benjamin. Touche. But please, for Our sake and theirs… come back to us safely.”
“I’ll take that as a Royal Decree, Your Highness,” said Ben soberly.
The van rocked once more, causing the girls all to cry out in fear.
“PROTECTION STATUS: EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT,” called out Raising Heart.
“And that’s our cue,” said Ben through gritted teeth as he hooked a right turn onto Thunder Drive, passing Lawrence Powell Elementary School, and dropping into the heavily tree-shaded sub-development. Ben then hooked a left onto Warpath Street and then brought the van to a stop.
“Okay, you know your groups,” called out Ben. “GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!”
The girls wasted no time as they all piled out - except for Aeka who suddenly leaned over and kissed Ben on the cheek.
“A Princess’s Favor for good luck. Be safe, Benjamin.”
“As safely as I can,” said Ben. The doors then slammed shut and Benjamin floored it once more.
It was a peaceful day there at Westwoods Apartments.
And then the Good Neighbor system was tripped and the alarms began hooting loudly throughout the complex, startling everyone.
But they didn’t stay startled for long. Everyone went to the nearest wall and each of them tapped out a rhythm that was unique for each one of them. A portal would open where they knocked on the walls, leading each of them into special rooms.
For the members of Urzu squadron, it was a mech bay with their two M9s and Sousuke’s Arbelest. For Tenchi and his family, it was armory and staging areas where they could quickly change into battle gear and, for those where it applied, arm themselves. And for Kaname and Teletha, it was a Combat Information Center, where Kaname took command of the small army of cloaked drones that were just then filling the air, and Teletha could oversee and control the tactical plot in the holotank.
“What do we have?” called out Teletha as Kaname read the information at lighting speed.
“Four enemy units,” she called out, just as Washu entered the CIC. “Possibly mages - heavy thaumic activity detected. Approximately five miles north-northeast of the Complex.” Kaname’s eyes suddenly widened in horror. “THEY’RE AFTER THE KIDS!!!”
“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” came Ryouko’s voice over the coms.
“Do it, Ryouko!” called out Teletha. “They’re going to need all the help they can get and as quickly as possible! Urzu Squadron, status report!”
“Full battle rattle and ready to roll, Captain,” replied Mao.
“Sortie immediately!”
“Opening portals,” called out Washu. “Event horizons are stable! GO!”
Benjamin’s heart hammered as Athena zoomed down Warpath Street. He didn’t want to get hurt, but he felt he had no other choice - getting their attention away from the girls was absolutely critical. Little else mattered, save that he continue being a distraction.
But distracting was definitely something he could do.
He reach up to the ceiling console again, then tagged the green button, then the red. Both flashed three times, then the red one went out and the green one stayed lit.
The storming field was no longer running. But that was a-okay because the shield was now up. Ben was sure there wasn’t much that could hurt him for now.
But that didn’t mean that the Wolkenritter wouldn’t be ignorant of the ruse for long.
He turned right onto Ingram Road and raced along as quickly as the turbo-diesel engine could push him. At the very least, it wasn’t slow.
Not amazingly fast, but definitely not slow. He thanked himself once more for splurging on Athena.
The van rocked as someone took shots at him once more, but it was a lot less pronounced now. Washu’s tech was top-notch, but not even Ben - especially not Ben - was going to put it to the ultimate test. All things are finite, and he didn’t know for sure how hard they were actually hitting him.
The Loop 410 overpass began exploding into dust, stones, and twisted rebar as he zoomed under it.
Pretty hard, then, he reasoned, feeling oddly calm despite the danger.
He swung far to the left side of the road and plummeted through the right turn slip-lane leading into the parking lot of the Ingram Park Mall. Another right behind the Chik-Fil-A, past the Outback Steakhouse and then a sharp left. He gunned it across the empty parking lot and didn’t even think of hitting the brakes until he plowed through the southwest entrance to JC Penny’s, utterly annihilating the doors, cash wrap, and display cabinets packed with that year’s winter fashions.
Ben shut the engine off and then jumped out, not bothering to close the door behind him. He ran to the back of the van, knowing he’d have only seconds, opened it, grabbed the large, flat, and heavy case from there, and cheesed it through the women’s department, only stopping to take cover in the midst of thickly packed racks of women’s clothes.
Only then did Ben set down the case and open it up, revealing the treasure inside. The smooth, angled sides in matte black with the short barrel and impressive muzzle break greeted him.
The Saint George Arms Leader A1 .50 cal BMG semiautomatic bullpup rifle.
If this little beasty doesn’t make the Wolkenritter stop and reconsider, thought Ben to himself, then I don’t know what will. Hoo-yeah, Gunners Mate.
For a gun chambered for .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun rounds, the weapon was incredibly light-weight - at 18.5 pounds, it was the lightest mass produced weapon of its kind in the world. This was owed to the fact that the gun had a long-stroke gas-piston operation rather than a recoil operation, allowing for far less heavy materials and reinforcement for the receiver assembly to mount the barrel.
The ten round magazine, when fully loaded, added about five pounds to the total weight, but that was behind the grip where it would serve to counterbalance the heavy steel barrel. Rather than a bipod, Ben had a pistol grip added to the front of the weapon, as well as a thick butt-stock pad in the back. A floating red-dot scope of low power was fixed to the top rail.
Of course, it had been expensive, but as far as Ben was concerned, it was paying for itself already. Even though he wasn’t counting on this to do anything more than inconvenience one of the Wolkenritter, weapons like this were despised in magical societies for their utterly indiscriminate nature.
And then there was his anti-magic field. If he pushed it enough, then just maybe…
Ben hurriedly clipped a pouch to his belt - it carried two of the ten-round round magazines, already loaded with .50 cal BMG. He took a third magazine and slapped it into the receiver, pulled back and let go of the charging handle, and then flicked the safety off.
And not a moment too soon.
“I know you’re in here,” came Vita’s voice. “All we want are the Testarossa girls.”
Shock, dread, and rage began to fill his chest all at once.
“No fucking way,” called out Ben, certain that the acoustics of the department store would keep her from being able to follow his voice. He shoved the active hearing protection muffs over his ears and began to move, quietly duck-walking his way through the clothing racks towards the entrance to the mall. “I had to practically sell my soul to get that girl back from the dead. You’re not gonna take her away just like that.”
“I admire your spirit, but I think you’re being a little melodramatic about it.”
Ben felt his anger begin to build. “Little girl, you have no fucking clue what you’re dealing with, here. This isn’t the world you think it is. There are literal Gods and Monsters out there these days. And they’re the sort that think of you and I as either a tasty treat or a fun toy to play with.”
“Do you think that’s supposed to scare me?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” called out Ben. He then dared to poke his head out because it sounded like she was moving away. He was in luck - she wasn’t looking in his direction, so he brought the gun to bear on her, sighting through the scope. “But I’m pretty sure this will.”
Fun fact about Ben - he was certain his vision was actually 20/15 rather than 20/20. The optometrists always stopped at the 20/20 line, even though he could still read the next two.
He noted, aside, that she was wearing the default combat suit she originally appeared with, and not one of Hayate’s outfits.
Ben pulled the trigger and the gun punched him in the shoulder. The gas actuated action and muzzle break took away the worst of the recoil, but it still kicked like a mule.
Ben wasn’t used to it, but he sucked it up and fired two more times.
Vita had no idea what hit her - but it was just as hard as one of Signum’s ranged attacks of lesser power. And three times! She actually saw stars with the second and third impacts as her barrier jacket could only absorb so much kinetic energy in such small points.
Ben took his opportunity and bolted for the mall entrance.
As they entered the dimensional bubble, Noike put her many years of experience with the Galaxy Police to work.
“Ryouko! Three fast-movers heading in our direction. That has to be Fate, Nanoha, and Alicia. Get to them before someone else does.”
“Right!” snapped off Ryouko before she zoomed off fast enough to leave shock waves in her wake.
“Aeka, are you online? Status report.”
“Noike, good to hear your voice. I’m here with Arf. Benjamin sent us looking for Shamal - she’s supposed to be a com-com support specialist. Wait one, Noike.”
There was a split-second burst of static, then Arf’s voice came onto the channel.
“Arf, now online. Noike, we’re dealing with a group known as the Wolkenritter. Don’t let the name throw you - these people are very high-level combatants. There are four of them. Signum is their command unit. She specializes in frontal assault, but she can do ranged attacks if she needs to. She is tall, full figured, with fuchsia hair. Vita is their heavy assault unit. Child with red hair. Don’t be fooled by her looks. Even if she looks no older than Nanoha, she was able to take Nanoha out in under two minutes the first time they met. Zafira is a canid familiar much like me. He’s a CQC and front-line support specialist. And you heard about Shamal already. Similar build to Signum, but blond with green eyes.
“Use extreme caution when engaging. They specialize in taking out hard targets.”
“Thank you Arf. Did everyone copy that?”
There was a round of acknowledgments at that.
“Very well, then. Urzu Squadron, hang back. I don’t think even the Arbelest will be fast enough to effectively face them.”
“Understood,” replied Mao. “Standing by for further instructions.”
“Aeka, what about everyone else?”
“Sasami has the other girls with her. Benjamin went ahead with the van to run a distraction, and it seems to be working. Their efforts have been effectively divided.”
“Does Sasami have coms?”
“No. We will remedy that as quickly as possible.”
“And Benjamin?”
“He has his cell phone, but I wouldn’t call it unless it was absolutely necessary. Even if he has silenced it, the distraction could be lethal.”
“Understood. I’ll pass that along to Washu-chan. Continue as you were. Tenchi, Mihoshi, wait here with me. I’ll hold you in reserve until we need you. Urzu squadron, deploy at the edge of the dimensional barrier - hold your positions until I give the word, but if you see a real opportunity, then you may use your own discretion.”
“Urzu squadron copies. Moving out.”
In Benjamin’s bedroom, Ben’s little Masser was agitated.
And with good cause - it could sense Ben’s emotions like they were it’s own. And right now, it knew Ben was in danger. It was straining itself against the glass, trying to get out. However, Washu had placed a protective device on the tank to keep Squishy from escaping.
But that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t take that lying down.
With a determined look in its eyes, a red glow lit up the Masser from within.
*PhTOOEY-BOOM!*
And just like that, the little creature spat a precisely measured matter-antimatter bomblet at the top of the cage, completely destroying it and shattering the aquarium.
Normally, Washu might have noticed it, but it was just one minor warning amongst other alarms at that moment - very much like the Reactor Sump Warning Light at Three Mile Island - a critical warning lost in a myriad of others.
With its freedom secured, the little Masser phased through the bedroom window to the outside, and then zoomed off, making a beeline for Benjamin.
It hoped that he would be okay when it got there.
Sasami led Alisa, Suzuka, and Francesca down the block - one house at a time, hiding under overhangs and in car ports. The little Princess’s foot falls were unusually quiet, as were Suzuka’s. At one particularly large carport, Sasami stopped them all for a short moment.
“How is it that you can move as quietly as I, Sasami-chan?” asked Suzuka.
“Special training,” replied the Princess as she took off her hair ornaments, letting her long cerulean hair come down in a single, beautiful fall. She then used one to tie her hair back up, this time in a single high ponytail. “My mother is in charge of the Emperor’s Bodygaurds. It was only natural that she would teach me the same way.” With that, the leftover ornament on her hand did something. The elastic band straightened and stiffened, and then expanded into a long staff with the ball ornaments forming studs at either end.
“How do you do it?” asked Sasami.
Suzuka smiled. It was a friendly smile, though the fact that she let her fangs come out on display put the lie to that.
“Vampiric ability. We can deaden any noise we generate.”
“Whatever your abilities are,” said a cool, clipped, feminine voice, “I assure you that they will not match my own.”
They all snapped to look - Suzuka hissing as her eyes glowed red and she bore her fangs, Sasami taking a defensive stance, and Fran…
…From seemingly nowhere, Fran pulled out a Colt Government, racking the action and flipping the safety off in one fluid motion.
“WHAT THE HELL!?” cried out Alisa in alarm. “HOW THE HECK DID YOU HIDE THAT THING AND SINCE WHEN DO YOU SHOOT A GUN!?”
“My masters are Vampires, Miss Lowell-Bannings,” said Francesca primly. “Ever since I could lift one, I’ve been trained to protect myself and my Masters from other Vampires, or worse, Vampire Slayers.”
“…I’m still here,” said the woman before them.
And it was certainly a woman indeed. She was tall and beautiful with a sharp, narrow face, an athletic build despite her buxom attributes, and had a truly large sword leveled at them. Her incredibly long hair was a vivid hue of fuchsia, and barely tamed by the high ponytail style she wore, tied with a thin gold ribbon. She wore a gray greatcoat with segmented bracers over her fore-arms and armor at her waist, protecting her midsection and upper legs. Under her coat she wore a halter-top tunic, black and featureless. Her boots were shod with metal reinforcement at the heels, toes, and in the uppers above the ankles.
“What do you want?” called out Sasami with a severity that was all out of proportion to her size and appearance.
“Tell me where to find the Testarossa Girls and I shall leave you in peace,” said the woman coldly.
“Okay, that’s it!!!” snapped Alisa. “I am through with being the bystander! No more!”
“Alisa?” said Suzuka, puzzled by her friend’s sudden turn.
“Now it’s my turn! Now I have the power to do something about this!” She then held out a beautiful glowing green gem, caged in gold like a Faberge Egg. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of green light, and then the old Alisa was gone.
In her place was a girl with her features. But she wore a western hat that bore a brilliant green gem in the fastener of the hat band, a blouse with a rather severe looking corset with a large white collar and loose-fitted sleeves, leather riding gauntlets, a pleated skirt that bloomed around her small hips and went all the way down to her calves, and a pair of knee-high button-up Edwardian Boots with modest heels. And it was all in the color of an Army Officer’s Khakis.
With a final flourish, an ornate winchester rifle appeared in her right hand, spinning on the lever-action and cocking the gun just before she caught the grip in her hand and then took aim at Signum.
“I’m Magical Girl Sure-Shot! In the name of Love and Justice, I’ll shoot you right through the heart!”
Without any further warning, she began shooting at Signum, rapidly working the lever action between each shot like she had done this for far longer than she had lived.
Signum, despite all her experience, was caught completely flat-footed by the barrage, though this was mostly due to the horror she experienced at what she had witnessed.
Sweet merciful Kaisers in Heaven! Is that really her soul inside that gem!?
Not only did she have to deflect the magical gunfire, which came out as something more like plasma bolts than actual bullets, but she also had to dodge real bullets coming from Fran’s gun.
These were not ordinary bullets, of course. The .45 ACP is a good man-stopping round, but when faced with Vampires or Slayers, you needed something with a little more oomph. These were custom-loaded rounds made by Noel, her older sister: hot-loaded Teflon-jacketed tungsten carbide penetrators. The additional charge was only to make up for the incredible weight of the rounds so they kept the mussel velocity at the cost of increased recoil. But Francesca had been well-drilled with this particular combination of weapon and ammunition, and as a result her aim was nearly unerring. The weight and hardness of the tungsten carbide made them cut through armor like a hot knife through cold butter, and the thick Teflon coating only added to the penetration power.
In fact, Fran normally had often been warned about overpenetration, but she knew from past experience that the dimensional barrier they were inside would curtail collateral damage and civilian casualties entirely.
Suffice to say, the heavy, slippery rounds in combination with Alisa’s magical firepower were giving Signum a difficult time.
And then there was the blue-haired one.
Signum had the sinking suspicion from the way the girl moved that she was easily her equal.
And this was born out as she suddenly moved like a wraith over water, somehow weaving herself through the magical and non-magical gunfire, and closing the distance faster than she thought possible.
No little girl should ever have such an expression that so clearly communicates a killing intent. That alone sent a chill up Signum’s spine - she had only ever seen such looks from mothers protecting their children. But that couldn’t be right - there was no way this child was a mother in any way, was there?
The final nail in the coffin was seeing the demonic looking little girl nick her thumb with one of her fangs, and then begin to paint a magic circle in the very air itself with her blood.
A BLOOD MAGE!?
Granted, Signum was in no real danger. While what Suzuka was doing was an bit advanced, it was one of the few tricks she knew, and only by virtue of having it drilled into her by her father, mother, and older sister.
What it did was special, for certain. It was a protection spell that used her own blood to reinforce her body and those of her allies, making it far more difficult for anyone to hurt them.
Of course, Signum did not know this. In fact, she did not want to stick around to find out at all - she had heard stories of magic like this, and it always ended with scores of battle-hardened warriors dying hideously gruesome deaths. The few that survived such encounters were never right in the head afterward.
Time to fall back. The others were probably faring better anyhow.
Zafira was most decidedly not having a good day.
It had started out well enough. For certain, Vita’s first strike had been unable to breach the shields that sprung up around the vehicle, which then vanished. That had stymied them for a moment until Shamal could figure out how to trace them, and then relay that information to Vita so she could try again.
And that had made them run scared, breaking up into several groups. Zafira had gotten lucky and found the Testarossa girls, breaking cover like frightened rabbits and flying at high speed to escape with the white-suited one firing shooter spells at him to force him to keep his distance.
And suddenly he was struck in the face with what felt like an artillery shell.
“Hey, who do you think you are there?” called out a husky female voice. “The Big Bad Wolf or sumthin? Ya know it ain’t nice to pick on little girls.”
The woman he saw was easily as tall as Signum, but far more lightly built. Everything about her physique screamed speed and agility, and yet there was not even the slightest implication that she was any sort of glass cannon. Not with the way she dressed in such an eye-catching black and red pattern. And that was to say nothing about that wild and utterly untamed mass of blue hair.
“Stand aside. My Master has called for the deaths of those two little females.”
“Hold on,” she said in surprise “You’re going to kill them!?”
“Was I not clear?” said Zafira.
The woman glared at him coldly. “Oh, I heard you alright. I just wanted to be sure, because if you’re going to try and kill them? Then that means I get to do far worse to you, buddy.”
“And who are they to you?”
“To me directly? Nothing much. But to someone I care about? This guy, you see, he gets me on a very personal level. And I get him, too. If I didn’t already have a man in my life, then he would have been a strong contender. But these girls? They’re very special to him. He calls them his family. And I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way. They belong to him and he belongs to them.
“So even if they aren’t anything to me directly, you might as well have just threatened my own family. Get ready, buster. I’m about to rearrange your face so badly that your own mother won’t even recognize you.”
And that was when Zafira’s day became very bad indeed.
Right after entering the mall concourse, Ben looked around and then charged straight into the Lane Bryant store. After he settled himself in behind the display stands stacked with clothes, he heard Vita’s voice drifting in from the concourse.
“Alright!” she called out, sounding equal parts annoyed and impressed. “I gotta admit. You got me with that one. But whatever the hell that was, it’s not gonna be enough to take me down.”
Ben could just barely see through the gaps in the displays and clothing racks out into the concourse, but it was enough. He could see Vita pacing around like a circling shark, looking for him.
She then went on, “I’ll tell you what. You give up the girls nice and quietly, and I’ll let you live. You’re obviously a warrior with some serious guts. And I really don’t like having to kill guys like you.”
Ben’s anger began to boil over and Vita was starting to feel it - a faint hiss like the background radio noise of the universe. It made her skin prickle and sent a shiver up her spine.
“First of all, I’m a Sailor of the United States Navy and a Gunners Mate - I’m a bringer King Neptune’s Thunder.” Vita head snapped to the direction of the Lane Bryant store and Ben took aim. “Second of all, I’m a lot harder to kill than you think I am!”
He snapped off two shots - one for the head and one for the body. Vita cried out in pain as the kinetic energy bled through her barrier jacket. This time, she had actually been hurt. Not fatally, but the kinetic forces were like a hammer-blows to her head and her chest, laying her out like a puppet with its strings cut.
Once again, Ben cheesed it, this time for the back door, but taking the time to open and shut the door quietly. He found himself in one of the service corridors that gave each store a back door access.
Suddenly, his phone rang and Ben cursed quietly, pushing the button on his blue tooth headset to take the call and then pushed one of his muffs aside so he could stuff an earbud in his ear.
“Yes?” said Ben in a terse, low tone.
“Oh thank God you’re okay, Benjamin,” came Teletha’s voice. “Where are you and what’s your situation?”
“Inside Ingram Park Mall. I have Vita hunting me in here. They’re after Fate and Alicia - she thinks I got them with me.”
“Good. They just arrived here. Nanoha’s going back out, but Fate is staying just in case. Are you really alright though?”
“For the moment. And I seem to be doing a good job of keeping Vita occupied.”
“Just get out of there! Fate and Alicia are safe for now.”
Ben paused, then nodded to himself. Mission accomplished. Time to go home.
“Copy that. I’ll try to get out unnoticed.” He then clicked the button on his headset, disconnecting the call. And to be safe, he took out his phone and silenced the ringer.
Just then, he heard an enraged shout from inside the store and the sound of a great many things crashing against the walls.
Vita was back up on her feet and she was not pleased.
“Fucking coward! SHOW YOURSELF!”
“Not on your life,” whispered Ben as he made for the exit of the service corridor. He never got there, though.
The wall next to him exploded and everything went dark.
Shamal, meanwhile, was doing what she did best: coordination and support.
She had to admit - whatever trick they had used to hide themselves after the opening salvo from Vita had been a good one. But not good enough - it left a very subtle dimensional wake. It was hard to detect, but not so much for Shamal. She just had to be careful.
Once Vita had struck again, they had scattered, forcing them to divide their efforts.
Shamal was surprised by the sheer guts being shown by the man driving the vehicle. Even if he was shielded somehow, it spoke volumes of him that he wasn’t panicking. Surely this was no ordinary man.
While she directed Signum and Zafira after their targets, she wondered where the other group was.
She didn’t have to wonder long as she suddenly detected something coming at her. Only a hastily performed fast movement spell kept her from being pounded into the dirt by a young woman wearing the strangest and most elaborate barrier jacket she’d ever seen.
She then stood up and glowered at Shamal through her war-painted face. “You will cease and desist at once!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said Shamal as she began to consider her options.
“That was not a request,” said the girl in a tone that reminded her of the highest of the Belkan Nobility. The girl then gestured grandly and suddenly the air was filled with… cut logs? Almost a split-second too late, Shamal realized they were drones of some kind.
Very powerful drones.
Cursing internally, Shamal executed a fast-teleport spell, and not a moment too soon, as the drones blasted the spot she had previously occupied into molten glass.
It was so close that she felt the heat.
“Heya Shamal,” said a voice directly below her - the use of her name made her skin crawl. How does she know my name!? “What’s up? Trying to steal linker-cores again?”
Below, Shamal found a woman with brilliantly orange hair and a much simpler barrier jacket with maroon short-shorts and a white form-fitting mid-drift halter-top. A short cape and half-skirt gave her relatively good coverage, and she also wore heavily armored boots and fingerless gauntlets. The white-tipped ears and tail gave her away as a familiar as she glared up at Shamal with pale-blue eyes.
As Shamal worked on another teleport spell in the back of her mind, she also prepared Claerer Wind to bind this new intruder.
“How do you know my name?”
“Huh. So you don’t remember me?” said the familiar in mild puzzlement. “Does the name Hayate mean anything to you?”
That made Shamal pause as the name tugged sharply on something in her mind, but the Ultimate Defense Program acted quickly, making sure that she would not remember anything about that name.
Even so, Shamal was still left somewhat rattled. But not so rattled that she didn’t act.
“That doesn’t matter,” said Shamal as her binding suddenly sprang into being around the familiar. “What does matter are my Master’s orders.”
The familiar didn’t even struggle. “Huh. So that’s how it is, then. Go ahead and clobber her, Aeka.”
Shamal didn’t even waste any time. She executed the teleport spell and got out of there, and right before the Jyuraian Princess flew through the space Shamal had formerly occupied.
Shamal sighed, safe now at a fair distance from the battle field. Quickly she checked on the status of the others.
Vita... Vita was HURT!? By a baseliner!? Going over the damage log, Shamal winced.
Mass weapons. I should have known. This is going to be more difficult than I thought.
Vita was already getting back up on her feet and she wasn’t happy. Shamal didn’t envy the guy that she was after.
Checking on Signum, Shamal got another surprise.
Signum was emotionally disturbed!
“Signum, what is going on?”
“Bad omens, Shamal. One of those children was a Lich and another was some kind of Blood Mage.”
“Blood magic!? But how? I thought that had been wiped out by the Kaisers hundreds of years ago!”
Signum then appeared by way of a teleportation spell and said, “Regardless, it seems an isolated pocket has persisted.”
“We may need to retreat," said Shamal as she went over the sensor readings from Claerer Wind. "I’m now reading the presence of some kind of golems armed with mass weapons.”
“Zafira here. Agreed. This is a loss. The Testarossa girls have escaped and I’ve been seriously injured.”
Signum frowned thoughtfully at that. “Zafira, this is unlike you. What happened?”
“A woman. She was incredibly powerful. And faster than anything I have ever fought before. She was... most displeased with us.”
“Displeased?” said Signum. “That’s not like you, either. What is so special?”
“... If this wasn’t a blood feud before, then it is now. The only reason I still breathe is because she prioritized the safety and wellbeing of our targets over my elimination.”
Shamal and Signum shot concerned looks at each other. Wars over succession were one thing. They were practically commonplace in Belka. But a blood feud meant that someone had taken a very personal offense - one so grave that they were now out to completely exterminate your family line.
The looks on their faces communicated their thoughts clearly: What have we found ourselves in the middle of?
“Can you move, Zafira?” asked Shamal.
“I should make it to the fall back position. I will let you know if that changes.”
There was suddenly a deafening report coming from the direction of the mall. By the time the sound had gotten to them, there was already a petite mushroom cloud forming in that direction.
“Good, because I think Vita is in trouble.”
The first thing that registered in Ben’s conscious mind was a garbled noise. Like a hundred computers were generating those warbled digitized tones that film makers in the 1970’s thought computers of the future would make.
Ben had only heard this sound once before, and it was when he’d nearly blacked-out from a choke-hold.
Huh. Something bad must have happened.
The next thing he registered was pain.
A stinging, burning, pins-and-needles sensation all over his body that made him want to writhe in agony, but he couldn’t because every touch brought a new explosion of pain. Something had momentarily pinched his spinal nerve, putting it to sleep. So he simply grit his teeth and tried not to scream.
Shit, I REALLY must have fucked up...
Finally, though, he could open his eyes. And then he wished that he hadn’t.
His right arm was gone below the shoulder. Right away, Ben distanced himself - purposefully pushing himself to the very brink of outright dissociation.
Okay. I don’t see a whole lot of blood. Which means the artery went into spasm... but that won’t work for long. Gotta tie a tourniquet and fast...
A concerned sounding chirping noise came from overhead, and Ben saw his pet Masser drifting down through the wreckage.
“Squishy!” he called out weakly. “Ngh... ‘m hurt bad lil’ guy. Need you... find ‘shu-chan. Can you do that? Huh?”
Benjamin knew that Massers were very simple creatures, pretty much responding to stimulus and not much else. They were profoundly empathic, though. And it was clear that Squishy knew exactly how bad off Ben was just by the pain and emotion he was experiencing.
For this, the Masser as a species had only one response.
“Squishy?” said Ben in concern as he saw a determined look settle on the little blob’s beady little eyes.
Those eyes suddenly vanished into its mass as it then went straight for the stump of Ben’s arm... and was absorbed.
“Uurrrgghh!” groaned Ben, caught somewhere between pain and nausea as his innards suddenly began to shift. Without him noticing, a new arm suddenly sprouted from the stump of his old one, glossy and featureless as the Masser are, but slowly starting to take on definition and texture.
In just seconds it was over and Ben laid back as he caught his breath. Afterwards, Ben opened his eyes again and then stared in amazement at his whole and intact right arm.
“oh squishy,” he murmured mournfully to himself. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring up any sense of loss for his little friend. Instead, there was only a sort of strange satisfaction that what needed to be done had been done. There was also an echo of something... it wasn’t exactly words, but an emotion. If Ben had to put it into words, he would say it was a sense of Nakama - of the idea behind the many supporting each other.
“You’re not dead yet?” came Vita’s voice from up above, raising Ben’s hackles. Though he took some grim satisfaction in the fact that she was sporting one hell of a shiner on her left eye. “Boy, you weren’t kidding when you said you’d be hard to kill. Sorry, it’s not usually in my nature to kick a guy when he’s down like this. Belkan Code, you know. But I just figured out your trick. You’re an anti-mage. You create anti-magic fields just by existing. And that means you’re way too dangerous for me to allow you to run around. Don’t take it personally, but I’m gonna have to put you down permanently.”
“shut up,” muttered Ben at a barely audible level.
“...What?” said Vita in surprise.
“I told you to shut the fuck up,” said Ben as he slowly and painfully levered himself up. Squishy had fixed the major damage, but all the smaller hurts had remained. But that only became fuel - fuel that was added to the already massive bunker that was his rage at life’s unfairness, and how he so dearly wanted to wreck life’s shit until it caved in to his desires.
Vita began to back away. That prickling sensation was back, and with a vengeance as her ears began to fill up with that hissing sound again, only it grew louder and louder as he spoke. Even her vision was starting to get hazy from all the interference.
She didn’t understand how it was that he could have suddenly become so strong. Was he this strong all along? Had he just been messing with me!? But what neither of them knew was that Benjamin now had a biological antimatter reactor in his chest. And that reactor was now powering his anti-magic ability to a degree that Ben could never have accomplished, even with training.
For Vita’s part, though, despite her not having any real memories until recently, she somehow knew this much for certain: this was the first time in a very long time she had actually started to feel fear for her life.
“I’m so fucking DONE with this bull shit!” snarled Ben as his rage started to spool up, hitting critical levels as he felt his chest become heavy and hot. “I’m gonna beat you down so fucking hard that you won’t be able to stop me from turning you over my knee and whaling the goddamned tar out of your ass!”
And then without really thinking about it, he raised his right arm, shut his eyes, and felt something release.
He only heard a brief scream saying “MASS WEAPON!?” before there was a massive report that knocked Ben back down on his ass and left him deaf.
Once he could open his eyes again, it was to a mind-bending tableau. A few hundred feet away in the middle of the parking lot, there was a crater with a fireball climbing up into the sky, and a thin plume of smoke trailing from the epicenter of the blast.
Did I just...
Suddenly, Ryouko was there, yelling something... Ben couldn’t tell because he was still deaf.
He pointed at his ear, made a fist, and then a ‘boom’ motion with his hand.
Ryouko grimaced, then nodded, understanding exactly what had happened. She simply helped Ben up and then and then teleported back to the complex. If Ryouko understood only one thing, it was that Ben had been severely hurt and needed to get to Washu-chan, ASAP.
Shamal knew that Vita was in trouble. Fortunately for her, the area was clear for the moment, their targets having fled and the rest of the enemy withdrawn, allowing Shamal the chance to do the same with Vita.
And Vita was in a sorry state indeed - her barrier jacket was all but completely destroyed, blackened and soot stained, with the burnt-away patches leaving second degree flash burns all over her body.
“Saint Kaiser’s Blood! What happened to you Vita!?”
Vita winced as she slowly tried to push herself up. “it’s... bad shamal,” said Vita weakly. “he’s got... NGH! mass weapon now.”
Shamal went to work right away, running a quick diagnostic. “But ordinary mass weapons can’t do this!”
“no... reaction mass weapon. think... was anti-matter.”
The color drained out of Shamal’s face and she checked the diagnostic report. Indeed, Vita had been exposed to a truly horrendous burst of Gamma Rays so intense that it nearly flash-cooked her on the spot. This was bad - not only because Shamal was going to need to spend the rest of the day repairing the systemic DNA damage and radiation burns, but also because this meant their enemies had an irresistibly powerful weapon in their hands.
At a certain point in the history of ancient Belka, even the most bloodthirsty among them had given up on reaction weapons such as those simply because they were far too destructive - of course, that was too little too late, for Belka was for the most part no more. But now? Now there was someone among their enemy who had access to Matter/Antimatter weapons.
And the Wolkenritter had just walked right into a blood feud against them.
“Mother of Kaisers," whispered Shamal in horror. "What have we started?”
Maybe this time I'll be able to get this thing posted.
Sorry for not having it ready sooner, even though I only had to do a few more little things to it. Depression and anxiety together is a real bitch.
Hope you guys enjoy this installment.
Chapter 3
The first order of business for the day was to get the girls all enrolled into school. So it was that after everyone had gotten fed, they all loaded up into the passenger van, now dubbed Athena by Ben.
It was a jolly affair, with Ben driving, Aeka riding shot-gun, and Sasami Nanoha, Fate, Alicia, Arf, Alisa, Suzuka, and Francesca scattered throughout the back. They all chattered like a flock of song birds, giddy and excited about the new possibilities going to a new school would provide. It put fond smiles on Benjamin’s and Aeka’s faces.
And then the entire world color-shifted into purple and green hues and all the other people and vehicles disappeared.
“EMERGENCY PROTOCOL!!!” cried out Bardiche and Raising Heart together as layers of pink and yellow barriers sprung up around the van while it sped down the highway. No one even had a chance to wonder why as a massive concussive blow struck the shields.
“WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!?” cried out Benjamin as his adrenaline spiked and he worked at keeping Athena going straight, then made a bee-line for Exit 13 to Bandera Road.
“PROTECTION STATUS: ALL GREEN!” called out Raising Heart.
“ENEMY DETECTED,” stated Bardiche. “IT IS WOLKENRITTER. RECOMMEND STEALTH AND EVASION.”
“The Wolkenritter!?” cried out Alisa as Nanoha and Fate both changed into their barrier jackets. “But I thought they were supposed to be our friends!”
Ben reached up and opened one of the storage compartments in ceiling console, revealing a pair of buttons - one blue and the other green.
He pushed the blue one. It flashed three times, then remained lit.
“Storming field is up!” called out Ben. “I don’t know if that will keep us safe from Shamal.”
“What do we do, though?” said Aeka.
“We try to get away,” said Ben tersely, “but we also defend ourselves. You might want to change into your battle armor, Aeka.”
“Of course!” replied the Princess as she touched her ring, and suddenly her outfit transformed into her combat dress.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” said Ben as he hooked the easy right-turn onto Bandera Road at speed. “We don’t know for sure who they’re after. But if they attack again, we’ll abandon the van and then scatter. Nanoha, Fate, I want you two to get Alicia back to the apartments and into Washu’s Lab as soon as possible. Then get back over here so we can beat some sense into those four. Fran, Alisa, Suzuka, Sasami, I want you all in one group together. Find a place to hide and stay hidden. Aeka, Arf, you two run interference if you can. Especially be on the lookout for Shamal. Blond hair, green eyes - can’t miss her. Rocks out the gentle onee-san look almost as good as Belldandy does. She’s their command and communications specialist as well as their rear echelon support. Bother her and you’ll impair the rest of the Wolkenritter.”
“What about you?” said Nanoha.
“I’m gonna act as a decoy and keep driving,” said Ben, braking to take the right turn onto Timco West, and then slaloming through the s-curves. “If they’re busy chasing me, then they aren’t following you, and Alicia is probably the most vulnerable out of any of us right now.”
“But you’ll get hurt!” cried out Fate in alarm.
“If I get hurt, I can get better. If Alicia gets hurt, it might kill her. And trust me, I’m a tough bastard. If they want to hurt me, they’re gonna have to work for it. And I’ll make damn sure they know it, too.”
Nanoha and Fate said nothing as Ben braked once more to make a right turn onto Callaghan Road, then floored it.
“You’re a courageous fool, Benjamin Rhodes,” said Aeka just loud enough for Ben to hear her.
“Is there any better?”
Aeka laughed despite her concern. “Touche, Benjamin. Touche. But please, for Our sake and theirs… come back to us safely.”
“I’ll take that as a Royal Decree, Your Highness,” said Ben soberly.
The van rocked once more, causing the girls all to cry out in fear.
“PROTECTION STATUS: EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT,” called out Raising Heart.
“And that’s our cue,” said Ben through gritted teeth as he hooked a right turn onto Thunder Drive, passing Lawrence Powell Elementary School, and dropping into the heavily tree-shaded sub-development. Ben then hooked a left onto Warpath Street and then brought the van to a stop.
“Okay, you know your groups,” called out Ben. “GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!”
The girls wasted no time as they all piled out - except for Aeka who suddenly leaned over and kissed Ben on the cheek.
“A Princess’s Favor for good luck. Be safe, Benjamin.”
“As safely as I can,” said Ben. The doors then slammed shut and Benjamin floored it once more.
It was a peaceful day there at Westwoods Apartments.
And then the Good Neighbor system was tripped and the alarms began hooting loudly throughout the complex, startling everyone.
But they didn’t stay startled for long. Everyone went to the nearest wall and each of them tapped out a rhythm that was unique for each one of them. A portal would open where they knocked on the walls, leading each of them into special rooms.
For the members of Urzu squadron, it was a mech bay with their two M9s and Sousuke’s Arbelest. For Tenchi and his family, it was armory and staging areas where they could quickly change into battle gear and, for those where it applied, arm themselves. And for Kaname and Teletha, it was a Combat Information Center, where Kaname took command of the small army of cloaked drones that were just then filling the air, and Teletha could oversee and control the tactical plot in the holotank.
“What do we have?” called out Teletha as Kaname read the information at lighting speed.
“Four enemy units,” she called out, just as Washu entered the CIC. “Possibly mages - heavy thaumic activity detected. Approximately five miles north-northeast of the Complex.” Kaname’s eyes suddenly widened in horror. “THEY’RE AFTER THE KIDS!!!”
“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” came Ryouko’s voice over the coms.
“Do it, Ryouko!” called out Teletha. “They’re going to need all the help they can get and as quickly as possible! Urzu Squadron, status report!”
“Full battle rattle and ready to roll, Captain,” replied Mao.
“Sortie immediately!”
“Opening portals,” called out Washu. “Event horizons are stable! GO!”
Benjamin’s heart hammered as Athena zoomed down Warpath Street. He didn’t want to get hurt, but he felt he had no other choice - getting their attention away from the girls was absolutely critical. Little else mattered, save that he continue being a distraction.
But distracting was definitely something he could do.
He reach up to the ceiling console again, then tagged the green button, then the red. Both flashed three times, then the red one went out and the green one stayed lit.
The storming field was no longer running. But that was a-okay because the shield was now up. Ben was sure there wasn’t much that could hurt him for now.
But that didn’t mean that the Wolkenritter wouldn’t be ignorant of the ruse for long.
He turned right onto Ingram Road and raced along as quickly as the turbo-diesel engine could push him. At the very least, it wasn’t slow.
Not amazingly fast, but definitely not slow. He thanked himself once more for splurging on Athena.
The van rocked as someone took shots at him once more, but it was a lot less pronounced now. Washu’s tech was top-notch, but not even Ben - especially not Ben - was going to put it to the ultimate test. All things are finite, and he didn’t know for sure how hard they were actually hitting him.
The Loop 410 overpass began exploding into dust, stones, and twisted rebar as he zoomed under it.
Pretty hard, then, he reasoned, feeling oddly calm despite the danger.
He swung far to the left side of the road and plummeted through the right turn slip-lane leading into the parking lot of the Ingram Park Mall. Another right behind the Chik-Fil-A, past the Outback Steakhouse and then a sharp left. He gunned it across the empty parking lot and didn’t even think of hitting the brakes until he plowed through the southwest entrance to JC Penny’s, utterly annihilating the doors, cash wrap, and display cabinets packed with that year’s winter fashions.
Ben shut the engine off and then jumped out, not bothering to close the door behind him. He ran to the back of the van, knowing he’d have only seconds, opened it, grabbed the large, flat, and heavy case from there, and cheesed it through the women’s department, only stopping to take cover in the midst of thickly packed racks of women’s clothes.
Only then did Ben set down the case and open it up, revealing the treasure inside. The smooth, angled sides in matte black with the short barrel and impressive muzzle break greeted him.
The Saint George Arms Leader A1 .50 cal BMG semiautomatic bullpup rifle.
If this little beasty doesn’t make the Wolkenritter stop and reconsider, thought Ben to himself, then I don’t know what will. Hoo-yeah, Gunners Mate.
For a gun chambered for .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun rounds, the weapon was incredibly light-weight - at 18.5 pounds, it was the lightest mass produced weapon of its kind in the world. This was owed to the fact that the gun had a long-stroke gas-piston operation rather than a recoil operation, allowing for far less heavy materials and reinforcement for the receiver assembly to mount the barrel.
The ten round magazine, when fully loaded, added about five pounds to the total weight, but that was behind the grip where it would serve to counterbalance the heavy steel barrel. Rather than a bipod, Ben had a pistol grip added to the front of the weapon, as well as a thick butt-stock pad in the back. A floating red-dot scope of low power was fixed to the top rail.
Of course, it had been expensive, but as far as Ben was concerned, it was paying for itself already. Even though he wasn’t counting on this to do anything more than inconvenience one of the Wolkenritter, weapons like this were despised in magical societies for their utterly indiscriminate nature.
And then there was his anti-magic field. If he pushed it enough, then just maybe…
Ben hurriedly clipped a pouch to his belt - it carried two of the ten-round round magazines, already loaded with .50 cal BMG. He took a third magazine and slapped it into the receiver, pulled back and let go of the charging handle, and then flicked the safety off.
And not a moment too soon.
“I know you’re in here,” came Vita’s voice. “All we want are the Testarossa girls.”
Shock, dread, and rage began to fill his chest all at once.
“No fucking way,” called out Ben, certain that the acoustics of the department store would keep her from being able to follow his voice. He shoved the active hearing protection muffs over his ears and began to move, quietly duck-walking his way through the clothing racks towards the entrance to the mall. “I had to practically sell my soul to get that girl back from the dead. You’re not gonna take her away just like that.”
“I admire your spirit, but I think you’re being a little melodramatic about it.”
Ben felt his anger begin to build. “Little girl, you have no fucking clue what you’re dealing with, here. This isn’t the world you think it is. There are literal Gods and Monsters out there these days. And they’re the sort that think of you and I as either a tasty treat or a fun toy to play with.”
“Do you think that’s supposed to scare me?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” called out Ben. He then dared to poke his head out because it sounded like she was moving away. He was in luck - she wasn’t looking in his direction, so he brought the gun to bear on her, sighting through the scope. “But I’m pretty sure this will.”
Fun fact about Ben - he was certain his vision was actually 20/15 rather than 20/20. The optometrists always stopped at the 20/20 line, even though he could still read the next two.
He noted, aside, that she was wearing the default combat suit she originally appeared with, and not one of Hayate’s outfits.
Ben pulled the trigger and the gun punched him in the shoulder. The gas actuated action and muzzle break took away the worst of the recoil, but it still kicked like a mule.
Ben wasn’t used to it, but he sucked it up and fired two more times.
Vita had no idea what hit her - but it was just as hard as one of Signum’s ranged attacks of lesser power. And three times! She actually saw stars with the second and third impacts as her barrier jacket could only absorb so much kinetic energy in such small points.
Ben took his opportunity and bolted for the mall entrance.
As they entered the dimensional bubble, Noike put her many years of experience with the Galaxy Police to work.
“Ryouko! Three fast-movers heading in our direction. That has to be Fate, Nanoha, and Alicia. Get to them before someone else does.”
“Right!” snapped off Ryouko before she zoomed off fast enough to leave shock waves in her wake.
“Aeka, are you online? Status report.”
“Noike, good to hear your voice. I’m here with Arf. Benjamin sent us looking for Shamal - she’s supposed to be a com-com support specialist. Wait one, Noike.”
There was a split-second burst of static, then Arf’s voice came onto the channel.
“Arf, now online. Noike, we’re dealing with a group known as the Wolkenritter. Don’t let the name throw you - these people are very high-level combatants. There are four of them. Signum is their command unit. She specializes in frontal assault, but she can do ranged attacks if she needs to. She is tall, full figured, with fuchsia hair. Vita is their heavy assault unit. Child with red hair. Don’t be fooled by her looks. Even if she looks no older than Nanoha, she was able to take Nanoha out in under two minutes the first time they met. Zafira is a canid familiar much like me. He’s a CQC and front-line support specialist. And you heard about Shamal already. Similar build to Signum, but blond with green eyes.
“Use extreme caution when engaging. They specialize in taking out hard targets.”
“Thank you Arf. Did everyone copy that?”
There was a round of acknowledgments at that.
“Very well, then. Urzu Squadron, hang back. I don’t think even the Arbelest will be fast enough to effectively face them.”
“Understood,” replied Mao. “Standing by for further instructions.”
“Aeka, what about everyone else?”
“Sasami has the other girls with her. Benjamin went ahead with the van to run a distraction, and it seems to be working. Their efforts have been effectively divided.”
“Does Sasami have coms?”
“No. We will remedy that as quickly as possible.”
“And Benjamin?”
“He has his cell phone, but I wouldn’t call it unless it was absolutely necessary. Even if he has silenced it, the distraction could be lethal.”
“Understood. I’ll pass that along to Washu-chan. Continue as you were. Tenchi, Mihoshi, wait here with me. I’ll hold you in reserve until we need you. Urzu squadron, deploy at the edge of the dimensional barrier - hold your positions until I give the word, but if you see a real opportunity, then you may use your own discretion.”
“Urzu squadron copies. Moving out.”
In Benjamin’s bedroom, Ben’s little Masser was agitated.
And with good cause - it could sense Ben’s emotions like they were it’s own. And right now, it knew Ben was in danger. It was straining itself against the glass, trying to get out. However, Washu had placed a protective device on the tank to keep Squishy from escaping.
But that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t take that lying down.
With a determined look in its eyes, a red glow lit up the Masser from within.
*PhTOOEY-BOOM!*
And just like that, the little creature spat a precisely measured matter-antimatter bomblet at the top of the cage, completely destroying it and shattering the aquarium.
Normally, Washu might have noticed it, but it was just one minor warning amongst other alarms at that moment - very much like the Reactor Sump Warning Light at Three Mile Island - a critical warning lost in a myriad of others.
With its freedom secured, the little Masser phased through the bedroom window to the outside, and then zoomed off, making a beeline for Benjamin.
It hoped that he would be okay when it got there.
Sasami led Alisa, Suzuka, and Francesca down the block - one house at a time, hiding under overhangs and in car ports. The little Princess’s foot falls were unusually quiet, as were Suzuka’s. At one particularly large carport, Sasami stopped them all for a short moment.
“How is it that you can move as quietly as I, Sasami-chan?” asked Suzuka.
“Special training,” replied the Princess as she took off her hair ornaments, letting her long cerulean hair come down in a single, beautiful fall. She then used one to tie her hair back up, this time in a single high ponytail. “My mother is in charge of the Emperor’s Bodygaurds. It was only natural that she would teach me the same way.” With that, the leftover ornament on her hand did something. The elastic band straightened and stiffened, and then expanded into a long staff with the ball ornaments forming studs at either end.
“How do you do it?” asked Sasami.
Suzuka smiled. It was a friendly smile, though the fact that she let her fangs come out on display put the lie to that.
“Vampiric ability. We can deaden any noise we generate.”
“Whatever your abilities are,” said a cool, clipped, feminine voice, “I assure you that they will not match my own.”
They all snapped to look - Suzuka hissing as her eyes glowed red and she bore her fangs, Sasami taking a defensive stance, and Fran…
…From seemingly nowhere, Fran pulled out a Colt Government, racking the action and flipping the safety off in one fluid motion.
“WHAT THE HELL!?” cried out Alisa in alarm. “HOW THE HECK DID YOU HIDE THAT THING AND SINCE WHEN DO YOU SHOOT A GUN!?”
“My masters are Vampires, Miss Lowell-Bannings,” said Francesca primly. “Ever since I could lift one, I’ve been trained to protect myself and my Masters from other Vampires, or worse, Vampire Slayers.”
“…I’m still here,” said the woman before them.
And it was certainly a woman indeed. She was tall and beautiful with a sharp, narrow face, an athletic build despite her buxom attributes, and had a truly large sword leveled at them. Her incredibly long hair was a vivid hue of fuchsia, and barely tamed by the high ponytail style she wore, tied with a thin gold ribbon. She wore a gray greatcoat with segmented bracers over her fore-arms and armor at her waist, protecting her midsection and upper legs. Under her coat she wore a halter-top tunic, black and featureless. Her boots were shod with metal reinforcement at the heels, toes, and in the uppers above the ankles.
“What do you want?” called out Sasami with a severity that was all out of proportion to her size and appearance.
“Tell me where to find the Testarossa Girls and I shall leave you in peace,” said the woman coldly.
“Okay, that’s it!!!” snapped Alisa. “I am through with being the bystander! No more!”
“Alisa?” said Suzuka, puzzled by her friend’s sudden turn.
“Now it’s my turn! Now I have the power to do something about this!” She then held out a beautiful glowing green gem, caged in gold like a Faberge Egg. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of green light, and then the old Alisa was gone.
In her place was a girl with her features. But she wore a western hat that bore a brilliant green gem in the fastener of the hat band, a blouse with a rather severe looking corset with a large white collar and loose-fitted sleeves, leather riding gauntlets, a pleated skirt that bloomed around her small hips and went all the way down to her calves, and a pair of knee-high button-up Edwardian Boots with modest heels. And it was all in the color of an Army Officer’s Khakis.
With a final flourish, an ornate winchester rifle appeared in her right hand, spinning on the lever-action and cocking the gun just before she caught the grip in her hand and then took aim at Signum.
“I’m Magical Girl Sure-Shot! In the name of Love and Justice, I’ll shoot you right through the heart!”
Without any further warning, she began shooting at Signum, rapidly working the lever action between each shot like she had done this for far longer than she had lived.
Signum, despite all her experience, was caught completely flat-footed by the barrage, though this was mostly due to the horror she experienced at what she had witnessed.
Sweet merciful Kaisers in Heaven! Is that really her soul inside that gem!?
Not only did she have to deflect the magical gunfire, which came out as something more like plasma bolts than actual bullets, but she also had to dodge real bullets coming from Fran’s gun.
These were not ordinary bullets, of course. The .45 ACP is a good man-stopping round, but when faced with Vampires or Slayers, you needed something with a little more oomph. These were custom-loaded rounds made by Noel, her older sister: hot-loaded Teflon-jacketed tungsten carbide penetrators. The additional charge was only to make up for the incredible weight of the rounds so they kept the mussel velocity at the cost of increased recoil. But Francesca had been well-drilled with this particular combination of weapon and ammunition, and as a result her aim was nearly unerring. The weight and hardness of the tungsten carbide made them cut through armor like a hot knife through cold butter, and the thick Teflon coating only added to the penetration power.
In fact, Fran normally had often been warned about overpenetration, but she knew from past experience that the dimensional barrier they were inside would curtail collateral damage and civilian casualties entirely.
Suffice to say, the heavy, slippery rounds in combination with Alisa’s magical firepower were giving Signum a difficult time.
And then there was the blue-haired one.
Signum had the sinking suspicion from the way the girl moved that she was easily her equal.
And this was born out as she suddenly moved like a wraith over water, somehow weaving herself through the magical and non-magical gunfire, and closing the distance faster than she thought possible.
No little girl should ever have such an expression that so clearly communicates a killing intent. That alone sent a chill up Signum’s spine - she had only ever seen such looks from mothers protecting their children. But that couldn’t be right - there was no way this child was a mother in any way, was there?
The final nail in the coffin was seeing the demonic looking little girl nick her thumb with one of her fangs, and then begin to paint a magic circle in the very air itself with her blood.
A BLOOD MAGE!?
Granted, Signum was in no real danger. While what Suzuka was doing was an bit advanced, it was one of the few tricks she knew, and only by virtue of having it drilled into her by her father, mother, and older sister.
What it did was special, for certain. It was a protection spell that used her own blood to reinforce her body and those of her allies, making it far more difficult for anyone to hurt them.
Of course, Signum did not know this. In fact, she did not want to stick around to find out at all - she had heard stories of magic like this, and it always ended with scores of battle-hardened warriors dying hideously gruesome deaths. The few that survived such encounters were never right in the head afterward.
Time to fall back. The others were probably faring better anyhow.
Zafira was most decidedly not having a good day.
It had started out well enough. For certain, Vita’s first strike had been unable to breach the shields that sprung up around the vehicle, which then vanished. That had stymied them for a moment until Shamal could figure out how to trace them, and then relay that information to Vita so she could try again.
And that had made them run scared, breaking up into several groups. Zafira had gotten lucky and found the Testarossa girls, breaking cover like frightened rabbits and flying at high speed to escape with the white-suited one firing shooter spells at him to force him to keep his distance.
And suddenly he was struck in the face with what felt like an artillery shell.
“Hey, who do you think you are there?” called out a husky female voice. “The Big Bad Wolf or sumthin? Ya know it ain’t nice to pick on little girls.”
The woman he saw was easily as tall as Signum, but far more lightly built. Everything about her physique screamed speed and agility, and yet there was not even the slightest implication that she was any sort of glass cannon. Not with the way she dressed in such an eye-catching black and red pattern. And that was to say nothing about that wild and utterly untamed mass of blue hair.
“Stand aside. My Master has called for the deaths of those two little females.”
“Hold on,” she said in surprise “You’re going to kill them!?”
“Was I not clear?” said Zafira.
The woman glared at him coldly. “Oh, I heard you alright. I just wanted to be sure, because if you’re going to try and kill them? Then that means I get to do far worse to you, buddy.”
“And who are they to you?”
“To me directly? Nothing much. But to someone I care about? This guy, you see, he gets me on a very personal level. And I get him, too. If I didn’t already have a man in my life, then he would have been a strong contender. But these girls? They’re very special to him. He calls them his family. And I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way. They belong to him and he belongs to them.
“So even if they aren’t anything to me directly, you might as well have just threatened my own family. Get ready, buster. I’m about to rearrange your face so badly that your own mother won’t even recognize you.”
And that was when Zafira’s day became very bad indeed.
Right after entering the mall concourse, Ben looked around and then charged straight into the Lane Bryant store. After he settled himself in behind the display stands stacked with clothes, he heard Vita’s voice drifting in from the concourse.
“Alright!” she called out, sounding equal parts annoyed and impressed. “I gotta admit. You got me with that one. But whatever the hell that was, it’s not gonna be enough to take me down.”
Ben could just barely see through the gaps in the displays and clothing racks out into the concourse, but it was enough. He could see Vita pacing around like a circling shark, looking for him.
She then went on, “I’ll tell you what. You give up the girls nice and quietly, and I’ll let you live. You’re obviously a warrior with some serious guts. And I really don’t like having to kill guys like you.”
Ben’s anger began to boil over and Vita was starting to feel it - a faint hiss like the background radio noise of the universe. It made her skin prickle and sent a shiver up her spine.
“First of all, I’m a Sailor of the United States Navy and a Gunners Mate - I’m a bringer King Neptune’s Thunder.” Vita head snapped to the direction of the Lane Bryant store and Ben took aim. “Second of all, I’m a lot harder to kill than you think I am!”
He snapped off two shots - one for the head and one for the body. Vita cried out in pain as the kinetic energy bled through her barrier jacket. This time, she had actually been hurt. Not fatally, but the kinetic forces were like a hammer-blows to her head and her chest, laying her out like a puppet with its strings cut.
Once again, Ben cheesed it, this time for the back door, but taking the time to open and shut the door quietly. He found himself in one of the service corridors that gave each store a back door access.
Suddenly, his phone rang and Ben cursed quietly, pushing the button on his blue tooth headset to take the call and then pushed one of his muffs aside so he could stuff an earbud in his ear.
“Yes?” said Ben in a terse, low tone.
“Oh thank God you’re okay, Benjamin,” came Teletha’s voice. “Where are you and what’s your situation?”
“Inside Ingram Park Mall. I have Vita hunting me in here. They’re after Fate and Alicia - she thinks I got them with me.”
“Good. They just arrived here. Nanoha’s going back out, but Fate is staying just in case. Are you really alright though?”
“For the moment. And I seem to be doing a good job of keeping Vita occupied.”
“Just get out of there! Fate and Alicia are safe for now.”
Ben paused, then nodded to himself. Mission accomplished. Time to go home.
“Copy that. I’ll try to get out unnoticed.” He then clicked the button on his headset, disconnecting the call. And to be safe, he took out his phone and silenced the ringer.
Just then, he heard an enraged shout from inside the store and the sound of a great many things crashing against the walls.
Vita was back up on her feet and she was not pleased.
“Fucking coward! SHOW YOURSELF!”
“Not on your life,” whispered Ben as he made for the exit of the service corridor. He never got there, though.
The wall next to him exploded and everything went dark.
Shamal, meanwhile, was doing what she did best: coordination and support.
She had to admit - whatever trick they had used to hide themselves after the opening salvo from Vita had been a good one. But not good enough - it left a very subtle dimensional wake. It was hard to detect, but not so much for Shamal. She just had to be careful.
Once Vita had struck again, they had scattered, forcing them to divide their efforts.
Shamal was surprised by the sheer guts being shown by the man driving the vehicle. Even if he was shielded somehow, it spoke volumes of him that he wasn’t panicking. Surely this was no ordinary man.
While she directed Signum and Zafira after their targets, she wondered where the other group was.
She didn’t have to wonder long as she suddenly detected something coming at her. Only a hastily performed fast movement spell kept her from being pounded into the dirt by a young woman wearing the strangest and most elaborate barrier jacket she’d ever seen.
She then stood up and glowered at Shamal through her war-painted face. “You will cease and desist at once!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said Shamal as she began to consider her options.
“That was not a request,” said the girl in a tone that reminded her of the highest of the Belkan Nobility. The girl then gestured grandly and suddenly the air was filled with… cut logs? Almost a split-second too late, Shamal realized they were drones of some kind.
Very powerful drones.
Cursing internally, Shamal executed a fast-teleport spell, and not a moment too soon, as the drones blasted the spot she had previously occupied into molten glass.
It was so close that she felt the heat.
“Heya Shamal,” said a voice directly below her - the use of her name made her skin crawl. How does she know my name!? “What’s up? Trying to steal linker-cores again?”
Below, Shamal found a woman with brilliantly orange hair and a much simpler barrier jacket with maroon short-shorts and a white form-fitting mid-drift halter-top. A short cape and half-skirt gave her relatively good coverage, and she also wore heavily armored boots and fingerless gauntlets. The white-tipped ears and tail gave her away as a familiar as she glared up at Shamal with pale-blue eyes.
As Shamal worked on another teleport spell in the back of her mind, she also prepared Claerer Wind to bind this new intruder.
“How do you know my name?”
“Huh. So you don’t remember me?” said the familiar in mild puzzlement. “Does the name Hayate mean anything to you?”
That made Shamal pause as the name tugged sharply on something in her mind, but the Ultimate Defense Program acted quickly, making sure that she would not remember anything about that name.
Even so, Shamal was still left somewhat rattled. But not so rattled that she didn’t act.
“That doesn’t matter,” said Shamal as her binding suddenly sprang into being around the familiar. “What does matter are my Master’s orders.”
The familiar didn’t even struggle. “Huh. So that’s how it is, then. Go ahead and clobber her, Aeka.”
Shamal didn’t even waste any time. She executed the teleport spell and got out of there, and right before the Jyuraian Princess flew through the space Shamal had formerly occupied.
Shamal sighed, safe now at a fair distance from the battle field. Quickly she checked on the status of the others.
Vita... Vita was HURT!? By a baseliner!? Going over the damage log, Shamal winced.
Mass weapons. I should have known. This is going to be more difficult than I thought.
Vita was already getting back up on her feet and she wasn’t happy. Shamal didn’t envy the guy that she was after.
Checking on Signum, Shamal got another surprise.
Signum was emotionally disturbed!
“Signum, what is going on?”
“Bad omens, Shamal. One of those children was a Lich and another was some kind of Blood Mage.”
“Blood magic!? But how? I thought that had been wiped out by the Kaisers hundreds of years ago!”
Signum then appeared by way of a teleportation spell and said, “Regardless, it seems an isolated pocket has persisted.”
“We may need to retreat," said Shamal as she went over the sensor readings from Claerer Wind. "I’m now reading the presence of some kind of golems armed with mass weapons.”
“Zafira here. Agreed. This is a loss. The Testarossa girls have escaped and I’ve been seriously injured.”
Signum frowned thoughtfully at that. “Zafira, this is unlike you. What happened?”
“A woman. She was incredibly powerful. And faster than anything I have ever fought before. She was... most displeased with us.”
“Displeased?” said Signum. “That’s not like you, either. What is so special?”
“... If this wasn’t a blood feud before, then it is now. The only reason I still breathe is because she prioritized the safety and wellbeing of our targets over my elimination.”
Shamal and Signum shot concerned looks at each other. Wars over succession were one thing. They were practically commonplace in Belka. But a blood feud meant that someone had taken a very personal offense - one so grave that they were now out to completely exterminate your family line.
The looks on their faces communicated their thoughts clearly: What have we found ourselves in the middle of?
“Can you move, Zafira?” asked Shamal.
“I should make it to the fall back position. I will let you know if that changes.”
There was suddenly a deafening report coming from the direction of the mall. By the time the sound had gotten to them, there was already a petite mushroom cloud forming in that direction.
“Good, because I think Vita is in trouble.”
The first thing that registered in Ben’s conscious mind was a garbled noise. Like a hundred computers were generating those warbled digitized tones that film makers in the 1970’s thought computers of the future would make.
Ben had only heard this sound once before, and it was when he’d nearly blacked-out from a choke-hold.
Huh. Something bad must have happened.
The next thing he registered was pain.
A stinging, burning, pins-and-needles sensation all over his body that made him want to writhe in agony, but he couldn’t because every touch brought a new explosion of pain. Something had momentarily pinched his spinal nerve, putting it to sleep. So he simply grit his teeth and tried not to scream.
Shit, I REALLY must have fucked up...
Finally, though, he could open his eyes. And then he wished that he hadn’t.
His right arm was gone below the shoulder. Right away, Ben distanced himself - purposefully pushing himself to the very brink of outright dissociation.
Okay. I don’t see a whole lot of blood. Which means the artery went into spasm... but that won’t work for long. Gotta tie a tourniquet and fast...
A concerned sounding chirping noise came from overhead, and Ben saw his pet Masser drifting down through the wreckage.
“Squishy!” he called out weakly. “Ngh... ‘m hurt bad lil’ guy. Need you... find ‘shu-chan. Can you do that? Huh?”
Benjamin knew that Massers were very simple creatures, pretty much responding to stimulus and not much else. They were profoundly empathic, though. And it was clear that Squishy knew exactly how bad off Ben was just by the pain and emotion he was experiencing.
For this, the Masser as a species had only one response.
“Squishy?” said Ben in concern as he saw a determined look settle on the little blob’s beady little eyes.
Those eyes suddenly vanished into its mass as it then went straight for the stump of Ben’s arm... and was absorbed.
“Uurrrgghh!” groaned Ben, caught somewhere between pain and nausea as his innards suddenly began to shift. Without him noticing, a new arm suddenly sprouted from the stump of his old one, glossy and featureless as the Masser are, but slowly starting to take on definition and texture.
In just seconds it was over and Ben laid back as he caught his breath. Afterwards, Ben opened his eyes again and then stared in amazement at his whole and intact right arm.
“oh squishy,” he murmured mournfully to himself. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring up any sense of loss for his little friend. Instead, there was only a sort of strange satisfaction that what needed to be done had been done. There was also an echo of something... it wasn’t exactly words, but an emotion. If Ben had to put it into words, he would say it was a sense of Nakama - of the idea behind the many supporting each other.
“You’re not dead yet?” came Vita’s voice from up above, raising Ben’s hackles. Though he took some grim satisfaction in the fact that she was sporting one hell of a shiner on her left eye. “Boy, you weren’t kidding when you said you’d be hard to kill. Sorry, it’s not usually in my nature to kick a guy when he’s down like this. Belkan Code, you know. But I just figured out your trick. You’re an anti-mage. You create anti-magic fields just by existing. And that means you’re way too dangerous for me to allow you to run around. Don’t take it personally, but I’m gonna have to put you down permanently.”
“shut up,” muttered Ben at a barely audible level.
“...What?” said Vita in surprise.
“I told you to shut the fuck up,” said Ben as he slowly and painfully levered himself up. Squishy had fixed the major damage, but all the smaller hurts had remained. But that only became fuel - fuel that was added to the already massive bunker that was his rage at life’s unfairness, and how he so dearly wanted to wreck life’s shit until it caved in to his desires.
Vita began to back away. That prickling sensation was back, and with a vengeance as her ears began to fill up with that hissing sound again, only it grew louder and louder as he spoke. Even her vision was starting to get hazy from all the interference.
She didn’t understand how it was that he could have suddenly become so strong. Was he this strong all along? Had he just been messing with me!? But what neither of them knew was that Benjamin now had a biological antimatter reactor in his chest. And that reactor was now powering his anti-magic ability to a degree that Ben could never have accomplished, even with training.
For Vita’s part, though, despite her not having any real memories until recently, she somehow knew this much for certain: this was the first time in a very long time she had actually started to feel fear for her life.
“I’m so fucking DONE with this bull shit!” snarled Ben as his rage started to spool up, hitting critical levels as he felt his chest become heavy and hot. “I’m gonna beat you down so fucking hard that you won’t be able to stop me from turning you over my knee and whaling the goddamned tar out of your ass!”
And then without really thinking about it, he raised his right arm, shut his eyes, and felt something release.
He only heard a brief scream saying “MASS WEAPON!?” before there was a massive report that knocked Ben back down on his ass and left him deaf.
Once he could open his eyes again, it was to a mind-bending tableau. A few hundred feet away in the middle of the parking lot, there was a crater with a fireball climbing up into the sky, and a thin plume of smoke trailing from the epicenter of the blast.
Did I just...
Suddenly, Ryouko was there, yelling something... Ben couldn’t tell because he was still deaf.
He pointed at his ear, made a fist, and then a ‘boom’ motion with his hand.
Ryouko grimaced, then nodded, understanding exactly what had happened. She simply helped Ben up and then and then teleported back to the complex. If Ryouko understood only one thing, it was that Ben had been severely hurt and needed to get to Washu-chan, ASAP.
Shamal knew that Vita was in trouble. Fortunately for her, the area was clear for the moment, their targets having fled and the rest of the enemy withdrawn, allowing Shamal the chance to do the same with Vita.
And Vita was in a sorry state indeed - her barrier jacket was all but completely destroyed, blackened and soot stained, with the burnt-away patches leaving second degree flash burns all over her body.
“Saint Kaiser’s Blood! What happened to you Vita!?”
Vita winced as she slowly tried to push herself up. “it’s... bad shamal,” said Vita weakly. “he’s got... NGH! mass weapon now.”
Shamal went to work right away, running a quick diagnostic. “But ordinary mass weapons can’t do this!”
“no... reaction mass weapon. think... was anti-matter.”
The color drained out of Shamal’s face and she checked the diagnostic report. Indeed, Vita had been exposed to a truly horrendous burst of Gamma Rays so intense that it nearly flash-cooked her on the spot. This was bad - not only because Shamal was going to need to spend the rest of the day repairing the systemic DNA damage and radiation burns, but also because this meant their enemies had an irresistibly powerful weapon in their hands.
At a certain point in the history of ancient Belka, even the most bloodthirsty among them had given up on reaction weapons such as those simply because they were far too destructive - of course, that was too little too late, for Belka was for the most part no more. But now? Now there was someone among their enemy who had access to Matter/Antimatter weapons.
And the Wolkenritter had just walked right into a blood feud against them.
“Mother of Kaisers," whispered Shamal in horror. "What have we started?”